What does WordPress 4.0 mean for you?

WordPress, the world’s most popular blogging and website platform, has announced the release of version 4.0. Let’s look at what’s new and how it affects you…

The new version is called “Benny” after jazz and swing legend Benny Goodman.  While the big “4.0” indicates a major version release, WordPress has not gotten a major overhaul.  In fact, some people question the numbering. The dashboard and editor haven’t changed much, so it’s not like users will have to get used to a whole new interface…

The most significant improvements make managing and publishing media easier.

Previously, when embedding a tweet or a YouTube video, you would have to click the preview button to make sure the embedding was done correctly. In 4.0, tweets, YouTube videos and other embedded media are displayed directly in the editor.

The media manager has been improved as well. In 4.0, you can upload audio, video and images from your desktop or any folder on your computer by simply dragging and dropping them into the media manager. The media manager is easier to browse, and you can listen to and watch audio and video files directly in the media manager.

Take a look at this video overview:

Time to Upgrade?

While these improvements look great and I want to upgrade our installations of WordPress as soon as possible, there are always two big questions when it comes to upgrading WordPress:

1) Are there any bugs? Every new version of WordPress gets tons of testing before is officially released, but with software this big and complicated there are inevitably some bugs that slip through the cracks. There is likely to be a version 4.0.1 released relatively soon to fix those bugs.

2) Are your plugins compatible? Before updating the WordPress core it’s important to make sure that doing so isn’t going to break any of the plugins you have installed. Some plugins may be compatible with 4.0 as they are but the developer needs to confirm that. Other plugins will need to be updated by their developers. If the plugin is an important part of your blog or website, then you’ll want to wait until the plugin developer has a 4.0 compatible version before you upgrade the WordPress core.

OurChurch.Com Client Upgrades On the Way

All of the custom designed websites the OurChurch.Com team develops are done in WordPress. For those clients who have a custom Premier, Pro or Express package or our Full WordPress Support service, we take care of all updates for you.

This means we monitor the plugins installed in your site and when we are satisfied they are 4.0 compatible or have 4.0 compatible updates, we will upgrade your WordPress core for you and give you all these cool new features.

Instead of getting the stress of having to figure out when it’s safe to upgrade, the burden of doing the upgrades, and the headaches of dealing with any unexpected problems, you get the peace of mind that your site will get the latest updates as soon as it is safe and feasible.

If you don’t have one of our custom WordPress sites but you’d like to have a great looking, full-featured site with upgrades and amazing support included, let’s talk. Request a free consultation!

What do you think of WordPress 4.0?

Do you have WordPress site? If so, have you upgraded yet or are you waiting?