WordPress recently came up with their latest version 3.8, just about two months after version 3.7 was released. ‘Parker’, as it is named after jazz legend Charlie Parker is aimed to make web publishing easy, quick and stylish. The swanky new blogging software comes with redesigned themes, quick loading features, responsive dashboard and revamped admin interface. The updated version has been made more useable on tablets and aesthetically attractive.
Aiming to make the pages quick loading, WordPress 3.8 has released “vector-based icons that scale to your screen” while removing the clutter of pixels. Besides the various updates on the backend, WordPress 3.8 has a superb magazine-style default theme, which they are calling 2014. There’re numerous front-end changes; the old skeuomorphic, low contrast rounded corner interface has given way to a responsive, touch-friendly, typographically rich user interface. All this means, that now the websites based on WordPress would become much more responsive then earlier.
The 3.8 rollout uses MP6 admin user interface, which enables resizing and reformatting of the layout with changing screen sizes, thereby making interface more responsive. New version is also going to make website more responsive on tablets and mobile handsets, providing Windows 8 users who use Snap a better experience. The WP toolbar has become more touch-friendly, as the size of bars and buttons gets bigger on smaller screen sizes.
The new layout is spick and span; and has been revamped to be fluid and useable in terms of tabs and smartphones. The orange dashboard is a major overhaul as well; there’re more colours in case you’re not orange lover. Besides the numerous colour combos like default, sunrise (orange I was talking about earlier), blue, ectoplasm, midnight, coffee, and ocean, you get Twenty Fourteen default theme to create a magazine like website. Now you can add slider or grid atop the main page to highlight your favourite stuff and also insert widget sidebars on both sides of the webpage. The Theme Manger also gets a facelift, as it becomes more intuitive and uncluttered interface.
WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg disclosed that in order to manage update with numerous contributors, most of the features of version 3.8 were created in the form of plug-ins, thereby enabling contributors to iterate individually and later combine them with the codebase.
If you’re super excited about using this new version, then simply go to the WordPress.org and download WP 3.8 right away. The WP loyalists can simply update from their dashboard.