In case you missed (like I did), the much awaited WordPress 4.5 “Coleman” was released yesterday.
This version is named in honor of jazz saxophonist Coleman Hawkins and includes different new features that can help users to be more efficient whether it be on writing blog posts or building their blog/website.
Check out the video below to learn more about this release:
New Features and Improvements:
- Inline Linking – Stay focused on your writing with a less distracting interface that keeps you in place and allows you to easily link to your content.
- Formatting Shortcuts – Do you enjoy using formatting shortcuts for lists and headings? Now they’re even more useful, with horizontal lines and
<code>. - Live Responsive Previews – Make sure your site looks great on all screens! Preview mobile, tablet, and desktop views directly in the customizer.
- Custom Logos – Themes can now support logos for your business or brand. Try it out with Twenty Sixteen and Twenty Fifteen in the Site Identity section of the customizer.
Under the Hood Changes and Updates
- Smart Image Resizing – Generated images now load up to 50% faster with no noticeable quality loss.
- Selective Refresh – The customizer now supports a comprehensive framework for rendering parts of the preview without rewriting your PHP code in JavaScript.
- Script Loader Improvements – Better support has been added for script header/footer dependencies. New wp_add_inline_script() enables adding extra code to registered scripts.
- Better Embed Templates – Embed templates have been split into parts and can be directly overridden by themes via the template hierarchy.
- JavaScript Library Updates – jQuery 1.12.3, jQuery Migrate 1.4.0, Backbone 1.2.3, and Underscore 1.8.3 are bundled.
As with any WordPress update, please make sure that you backup before you proceed with the upgrade. Make copies of all important files such as the wp-config.php, .htaccess and other custom files as well as the wp-content folder. To avoid conflicts or issues, it’s also recommended to deactivate all active plugins.
For those who have enabled automatic background updates, you don’t have to do anything as the system will automatically do it for you. If you didn’t then you can upgrade to WordPress 4.5 by logging in to your admin dashboard and heading to Dashboard > Updates then clicking on Update Now. If you prefer to do it manually via FTP, you can download the WordPress 4.5 zip file from the official website and upload it yourself.
Anyone else downloaded, installed and upgraded to WordPress 4.5? Which new feature or improvement do you like best? Please share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
