The first change you’ll notice in WordPress 2.7 is the new user interface. The new design of the administration area allows for a quicker interaction with all the items and panels in the back-end, but it is just a hint of the great improvements WordPress have had under the hood, and represent the final step in a migration that started with WordPress 2.5 release.
The changes to WordPress in 2.5 and 2.7 were necessary to break free of much of the legacy cruft and interface bloat that had built up over the years (gradually) and more importantly to create a UI framework and interface language that will be the foundation to build tomorrow’s WordPress on. So at the end of 2009 I expect, interface-wise, WordPress to look largely the same as it does now.
This means that you should jump in now and take the effort of the upgrade, especially if you’re still using 2.3 or an older release. You’ll get great security improvements, a ton of new features that have been added in both 2.5 and 2.6 releases, and a couple great new additions that will enable you to be fully independent in plug-in installations and core upgrades: infact this may be the last time you ever have to manually upgrade WordPress again.
WordPress’ Blog says: “We heard how tired you were of doing upgrades for yourself and your friends, so now WordPress includes a built-in upgrade that will automatically notify you of new releases, and when you’re ready it will download them, install them, and upgrade your blog with a single click.”
Clearly, some wisdom is always necessary when dealing with software updates: you shouldn’t upgrade immediately after a new release comes out, rather wait a couple of weeks, Google for the version number and read if people is having issues with it, and only then you should trigger the automatic upgrade process (after a full back-up of your website and database).
All other new features are subtly sprinkled through the new interface. Here are some:
- The new dashboard that you can arrange with drag and drop to put the things most important to you on top
- QuickPress,
- Comment threading, paging, and the ability to reply to comments from your dashboard,
- The ability to install any plugin directly from WordPress.org with a single click,
- Sticky posts,
- every screen is customizable: let’s say you never care about author on your post listings — just click “Screen Options” and uncheck it and it’s instantly gone from the page. The same for any module on the dashboard or write screen.
For a visual introduction to what 2.7 is, check out this video (available in HD, and full screen):
