WordPress 3.5 is scheduled for release in December 2012. The 1st beta was released last week so we can test it out but I don’t recommend using it on any of your live sites.
In additional to the beta WordPress also released the full version of the new Twenty Twelve theme. Twenty Twelve is compatible with the current version of WordPress, 3.4.2, so you can start using it now. I wrote about the features of Twenty Twelve in my previous article.
Upcoming WordPress 3.5 Features
- Simplified Welcome Screen – the new welcome screen will contain less information and will focus on customization, next steps and tutorials.
Current Welcome Screen
WordPress 3.5 Welcome Screen
- A new color picker for the theme customization features.
- HiDPI support for the dashboard
- Accessibility features, including keyboard navigation and screen reading support have been improved.
- Favorite Plugins – any plugins that have been marked as favorites in the plugin repository can be installed directly from the dashboard. Go to Plugins > Add New > Favorites > Add your wordpress.org username, click on Get Favorites and a list of all of your favorite plugins will appear. I have not marked any plugins as favorites before but by doing so I could quickly install my most frequently used plugins.
- XML-RPC will be enabled by default, which will make it easier to connect to the WordPress mobile apps. Currently XML-RPC needs to be enabled under Settings > Writing.
- Link Manager Disabled – the link manager will be disabled for new installs but will exist for sites that are upgraded. There is a plugin that will enable the Link Manager for users who still need it.
- New Privacy Message – when set the site to private under Settings > Privacy to keep search engines from indexing i,t the message in the dashboard will now say Search Engines Discouraged rather than Search Engines Blocked. This is probably because this setting can’t force the search engines from indexing so it’s a more precise message.
- External Libraries Updated – libraries used in WordPress, such as TinyMCE and jQuery will be updated.
- Multisite Updates – one of the most important will be that WordPress will allow multisite to be installed in a subdirectory.
- Insert Media – in the beta installation there is a Beta Media button on the edit post/page screen. This will allow you to upload new media and also includes a direct browse of the media library.
I know many of my readers get frustrated by all of the WordPress updates and find it difficult to keep up. I half agree but also prefer frequent updates to software that is never updated and ends up becoming a security risk. There is probably 2+ months to prepare for this release.
photo credit: greencolander
Really this is very useful information and all are waiting for this features. Thanks for sharing with us.
Yikes! I left a comment on the previous version’s article…went back to the Tweet I clicked and noticed that it is indeed marked as “old post”. Same question, though, when will WP improve their search capabilities???
Example: Here on your site, I searched for Real Estate themes. I think since I’ve been following you, you have written about them at least twice maybe 3 times…WP search result: 1.
Thoughts, ideas? THANKS!!
Hi Rick – The search really needs to be better but I don’t know what will be different with it in the next version of WordPress. I’ve had some success with the Relevanssi plugin
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/relevanssi/
I have only written about Real Estate themes once so that search result was accurate.
I’ve been using the Tweet Old Post plugin – you can exclude categories, specific articles, or by a date range – I’ve got most of the ones in there that I need but just discovered two upcoming WordPress articles – 3.3 and 3.4.
Thanks for the “preview” Kim!
I am really excited to see how the Favorite Plugins feature works. Just recently I start using my wordpress.org account when they rolled out the ability to favorite plugins. It is nice to see they went one step forward and integrated this.
There is no doubt that WP is the most easy-to-use and efficient CMS out there. I’ve always love its user interface which is quite user-friendly, unlike most other CMS. Well it has been released now just FIY. Try it….I guarantee that you will definitely love the new features.