Still, in development, WordPress Beta 2 is now available.

Though it is not recommended to use this version on a live production site, it is available and we advise users to play with the new version on a test site to see the new features and settings.

Here are the two ways to run the WordPress Beta Tester:

1. try the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (you’ll want to select the “bleeding edge nightlies” option)
2. download the beta here (zip)

Below are some of the major bug fixes and changes. WordPress 5.2 is due to be released on April 30th as long as enough feedback is provided for developers to run more bug fixes and tests to dial in the software. After running Beta 1 on a site for Portland car accident attorney, Travis Mayor, many bugs were found and reported. We received nearly 100 open tickets on beta 1 and have closed them all so a big thanks to those who have contributed issues and feedback.

• The Site Health screens have received several bug fixes, tweaks, and performance improvements
• Custom error handlers now load correctly (#46069).
• Superfluous paragraph tags will no longer incorrectly appear in dynamic block content (#45495).
• A brand-new wp_body_open() template tag (and corresponding wp_body_openaction) will let themes (and plugins!) add content right after the  is opened (#12563).
• We’ve added support for Emoji 12! 
• Crash Protection no longer interrupts plugin editing (#46045).

The help team provides this information for those who are testing the software: “If you think you’ve found a bug, you can post to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. We’d love to hear from you! If you’re comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, file one on WordPress Trac, where you can also find a list of known bugs.”

It would be a good idea to run a test site and check out the WordPress Beta 2 and report any glitches and bugs so the process of releasing 5.2 will be quick and efficient.