WordPress 2.8 has been officially released and I did the upgrade without any problems in less than a minute.
But afterwards I've noticed some problems in the widget controls and tagging my posts, but I guess I just gotta read up some posts and discussion how to get'em sorted. I didn't go offline like some have because of the upgrade, but you might want to save the upgrade to a time you have time to solve issues if problems arise.
Upgrading Your WordPress to 2.8
I suggest you upgrade by clicking on the "Upgrade to WordPress 2.8 now" in your WordPress dashboard (unless you have disabled the upgrade notifications).
Or you can go and Download WordPress 2.8 and upgrade manually.
Remember to take backup before doing the upgrade, which is good practise to do before any upgrade / update you do to your blog: either export the blog posts to XML with Tools >> Export, or use a plugin like WP-DBManager mentioned in the the most essential WordPress plugins -post.
WordPress 2.8 New Features
There's a lot of improvements in the 2.8 version and at least for me, the blog seems to be working faster, at least from the dashboard and admin screen.
To name a few which I liked right away:
- Browse the theme directory and install themes from the admin
- no more ftp transfers for free themes = so good
- Allow the dashboard widgets to be arranged in up to four columns
- if you like to take a quick look what's going on, now it's even easier with more customization to the dashboard
- Improved database performance
- like mentioned, everything seems to be faster, but have to wait for more data on this one
- A lot features and fixes to theme and plugin developers
- I'm looking forward to some theme and plugin goodness in the near future with the new features in.
Theres way over 150 features more in 2.8 and you can check the full list of WordPress 2.8 Features here.
What Other Bloggers Are Saying About WordPress 2.8
Every blogger and technology website has announced the news, but I picked a few if you want to read up:
- WordPress 2.8 Now Available for Download @Mashable
- WordPress 2.8 @ghacks.net
- WordPress 2.8 Released @BloggingPro
- WordPress 2.8 is Out, Upgrade Now @the Blogging Herald
- WordPress 2.8 Tips and Tricks Collection @weblogtools collection
All-in-all, reactions have been (mostly) positive, like they were already on beta testing and after first release candidate was out.
Like I mentioned, go ahead and upgrade to 2.8 when you have the time to check that everything is OK afterwards. And remember to BACKUP your blog first!
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