WordPress 2.7 review
written by Craig, 15 December 2008
The hotly anticipated WordPress 2.7 is now available from wordpress.org. As regular readers will know, this website has been implemented using Wordpress for the past couple of years and I’ve been impressed how the product has evolved.
Installation and upgrade
Considering the number of changes, installation and upgrade remains trouble-free. So far, I’ve not experienced any loss of data, plugin compatibility or any other weird issues.
Whilst I’d love to use svn to upgrade, it’s not supported by every host so FTP is the only way to go. However, WP2.7 now offers an automatic upgrade process so it could be the last time I experience that pain! I’ll report back on how successful WP2.7.1 is.
New interface
Most software manufacturers keep their interfaces the much the same and certainly do not make radical changes between minor revisions. However, the WordPress interface has changed dramatically since version 2.6, and this has been the third or fourth revision since v2.0.
Is it better though? It’s certainly different, a little cleaner, and a little quicker, but I’m yet to be convinced that it’s any more usable than previous versions. Time will tell.
The new configurable dashboard is great, though, and it provides quick access to most of the day-to-day facilities you need.
New features
Most of the new features are small enhancements such as ’sticky’ posts and threaded comments. They’ll certainly be useful for some sites, but are unlikely to be killer features.
Should you use it?
WordPress has matured into a fantastic Content Management System and certainly does more than just blogging. Many web developers, including myself, provide it to clients because it’s one of the easiest and nicest web publishing platforms available for end users.
WordPress 2.7 is a great upgrade and is highly recommended.