The time has finally come! WoltLab has let the cat out of the bag and presented the brand new WoltLab Suite 6.0. And what can I say? It has once again become a real highlight! In this article, I would like to give you an overview of the most exciting innovations that this version brings with it. From a completely reworked forum list to an elegant dark colour scheme - WoltLab Suite 6.0 has a lot to offer. And of course, we also take a look at what this means for our own plugins.

So, get ready for an exciting tour of what's new in WoltLab Suite 6.0!

New features at a glance

New forums list with live updates

Let's start with a real bombshell: the new forum list. WoltLab has tidied things up and optimised the display considerably. Finally, the last two topics of a forum are displayed directly, and almost unabridged. But that's not all: the list is now updated in real time as soon as a new post is made - but only if you are a customer of the "WoltLab Cloud" hosting service. Mobile display and accessibility have also been taken into account. In short: The new forum list is a real upgrade and makes browsing the forums even more pleasant.

' More about the new forum list

Dark colour scheme

Next up, we come to a new feature that should especially please the night owls among you: the dark colour scheme. WoltLab has gone to the trouble of developing a colour scheme that not only looks chic, but is also easy on the eyes. Especially in low-light environments, this is a real boon. And the best part? The colour choices are designed to increase accessibility. You can even configure the dark colour scheme individually for each style. Automatic or manual, the choice is yours. And yes, even the admin interface comes in the new dark mode.

' More on DarkMode

CKEditor 5

Now it's getting technical! With WoltLab Suite 6.0, we say goodbye to the old Redactor II and hello to CKEditor 5. This new WYSIWYG editor brings a lot of fresh features. I find the highlighter function, which comes in four different colours, particularly cool. But also the fact that paragraphs are now treated as real paragraphs is a big step forward. And for all those who like to experiment with different fonts and font sizes: CKEditor 5 keeps you in check and ensures better readability. In short, the new editor is a real upgrade and makes writing in forums and comments even more enjoyable.

' More about the editor

Font Awesome 6

Continue with a small but nice innovation that will especially delight the design fans among you: Font Awesome 6. The new version of the popular icon set brings with it a huge selection of fresh icons. Whether you're looking for a special social media icon or need an industry-specific icon, Font Awesome 6 has it. And the best part? The icons are now sharper and more consistent. There's good news for developers too: The icons are modular, which reduces loading times. And if you're thinking of switching to Font Awesome Pro, it's even easier now.

' More on the icons

Reworked map function, dialogues and comments

Last but not least, let's take a look at the technical improvements WoltLab has made in Suite 6.0. Let's start with the map function: It has been completely modernised and now offers a privacy-friendly 2-click solution. The dialogues have also been given a facelift. They are now not only more stylish, but also more accessible. And for the developers among you: The new dialogFactory() makes creating dialogues a breeze. But the comment function has not been forgotten either. It is now more user-friendly and optimised for mobile devices. In short, WoltLab has tweaked many things to further improve the user experience.

' More at WoltLab

Our plugins

Now it's time to take a look at our own developments. We have over 100 updates in the pipeline specifically designed for WoltLab Suite 6.0.

When will the 6.0 versions be released?

The top 20 of these plugins will be available in the Store directly from the release of the new Suite version. The first updates are thus already being reviewed by WoltLab. In addition to the many adjustments and improvements in WoltLab Suite 6.0, some plugins will also be given extensive functions, which we will present on our site in the coming weeks.

What will happen to the plugins from UdoZ?

A particular highlight are the plugins we acquired from UdoZ (JCoins, Community Bot and many more). These will all be optimised for Suite 6.0 and will then also be available in our store. As a special thank you, all former UdoZ customers will receive the same special discounted update price as WoltLab customers.

Update prices

Let's move on to the update prices. For the first time in 8 years, there will be a charge for updating to the new major version. This is due to the significant customisation effort and increased development costs.

But we have good news: The update prices will be extremely reasonable. The former UdoZ plugins will only cost 20% (80% discount) of the new price, and all other plugins will only cost 30% (70% discount).

Two exceptions: our ticket system, which is getting a large number of new features (more on that later), will cost 40% (60% discount) of the new price. Our new AI and Aivor plugins, on the other hand, will receive free updates. This is our way of saying thank you for the tremendous support we received for the release of the plugins.

Conclusion

It is obvious that both WoltLab and we are not standing still. The community can look forward to many exciting features and improvements that will make the online experience even more enjoyable and efficient.

I hope this article has given you a good overview and raised your anticipation for the upcoming updates. Stay tuned as we will be releasing more details about our own plugins and their new features in the coming weeks.

Thanks for reading and see you next time!