Sandbox Development and Consulting Inc.

I have updated over 25 sites so far and for the most part – everything has gone smoothly. There were a handful of sites though that had issues with a few plugins (including this site) due to one common issue: jQuery. If you are seeing any strange behavior – post upgrade, the first thing you will want to do is to make sure all your plugins are up to date. After that – if you are still having problems – check to see if any of your plugins rely on jQuery. If they do – next check the code (either look at the js files in the plugins, or look at your site’s source code to see if it is loading an old version of jQuery). There is a good chance they are using an older version, or are relying on something that no longer works with the latest release of jQuery (1.3.2 as of today).

Some plugin developers are aware of the issues but have not released an updated plugin. Because you are most likely not alone with your issues – check out their support forums, or post comments to see if someone came up with a quick fix so you can be back in business.

While most WordPress updates can be performed quickly and easily by almost any user – there are times when you run into unexpected problems that can cost you dearly. When this happens – don’t hesitate to call us. We have been working through WordPress updates for years and can help out!

WordPress 2.8 has officially been released. The update contains a number of bug fixes (over790) and tweaks both on the front end and the back end. The most noticeable change for most users will be the redesigned widget interface – which finally allows users a more intuitive interface when working with widgets. You can read more about all the changes and updates that went into 2.8 if you are interested. Overall – there are a lot of great updates, changes, and new functionality that make this release great for both users and administrators.

Download the latest versions of WordPress: WordPress 2.8

WordPress 2.8 is one step closer to being released. The first release candidate is now available: WordPress 2.8 Release Candidate 1. I have been using WordPress 2.8 beta on a few sites now for a few weeks and have not experienced any major issues until now (I just tried to add in tags and nothing happened) – but if you want to take a look to see the changes in action or make sure your plugins/themes all function – download this version (not on production sites unless you are a risk taker).

With WordPress 2.8 beta 1 now available – there are some great new features that I wanted to highlight for the upcoming WordPress 2.8 release.

An exhaustive list of all the updates are available for review, but here are ten highlights for the end user.

• Don’t ask for confirmation when marking a comment as spam
• Don’t notify post author of own comments
• Allow the dashboard widgets to be arranged in up to four columns as set via the Screen Options tab
• Improved Plugin search on Administration > Plugins > Add New
• Autosave post/page when pressing Control/Command+S
• Support more than one gallery on the same page
• “Choose a city in the same timezone as you” for Timezone in Administration > Settings > General
• Add “Send this password to the new user by email” option to Administration > Users > Add New
• In upgrade process, provide better explanation for database upgrade message
• Add password strength meter to Add User and Edit User

Everything looks very promising and the developers are doing a great job with getting bug fixes in place, more options, and easier to user interfaces. Stay tuned for the release of WordPress 2.8 in the near future!

WordPress 2.7.1 has officially been released. The update contains a number of bug fixes. For more information on WordPress version 2.7.1, read the official WordPress version 2.7.1 documentation.

Download the latest versions of WordPress:

WordPress 2.7 has officially been released. The update contains a number of new features and functions but most notably – the admin has been redesigned and made very customizable. For more information on WordPress version 2.7, read the official WordPress version 2.7 documentation which also contains a video that covers the new features/interface.

Download the latest versions of WordPress: WordPress 2.7

There is a great post on the WordPress.com blog about the upcoming release (2.7). If you are looking for a general admin user interface changes/updates overview, take a few minutes to read the blog post on WordPress 2.7.

WordPress 2.6.5 has officially been released (version 2.6.4 was skipped). The update contains a critical security fix (XSS exploit) as well as a few bug fixes. For more information on WordPress version 2.6.5, read the official WordPress version 2.6.5 documentation.
Download the latest versions of WordPress: WordPress 2.6.5

I decided to update a few of my sites to the latest WordPress 2.7 beta so I could see all the new changes. This post will cover some of the changes/details that are beyond the new look and feel of the WordPress Admin. WordPress 2.7 is scheduled to be released in the next few days. I will write more posts on WordPress 2.7 and the more technical changes in the next few days-weeks.

The Customizable Screen Options

There is now a handy tab “Screen Options” at the top of the admin window (right under Turbo/Logout) that allows you to customize each screen very easily.
Here is an example of how you can easily customize the Dashboard screen:

If you click on the “Screen Options” tab on the post page, you will get completely different options:

This is very handy if you want to trim down the admin area or just remove items you do not use.

Media

WordPress users are adding more media to their posts/pages than ever before.

I always felt that WordPress handled Media a little clunky and hard to explain to people that were not tech savy (what do you mean media is post specific…what if I want to use it in multiple posts…) – and I am happy to see the addition of the “Media” menu item so you can add media outside of a post. This will make adding media much easier for WordPress users who were often confused about the media management.

(You could edit media previously outside of a post (Media Library) but having a “Media” menu item is a great addition.

Appearance Menu

Where to put “Themes”, “Widgets” and “Editor” was always a big mystery.

No title quite fit for all of them (Design menu in WordPress < 2.7). I think the folks responsible for this latest update finally got it right this time (with the help of some community feedback). Now users will have a better chance at finding widgets and themes with a more logical title for the grouping.

(Notice how the icon next to the menu title (Appearance) has a color hover state – another nice touch.

Time/Date Stamp

Overall – I think the 2.7 update really makes an impact for users that are not as comfortable with technical settings as us developers.

This nice touch really shows how WordPress is great for non-technical people while not dumbing down the interface so much (they still leave an option in place for anyone comfortable with PHP to format the time and date as they please).

While options like this may seem small and something you can overlook – I know my clients will appreciate them.

Word Count

There are a number of really nice touches to WordPress 2.7 and I am happy to see this be one of them. A number of my clients are very word count conscious and this will make them all very happy.

WordPress 2.6.3 has officially been released. The update contains a security fix to a library (Snoopy) used to fetch RSS feeds. For more information on WordPress version 2.6.3, read the official WordPress version 2.6.3 documentation.
Download the latest versions of WordPress: WordPress 2.6.3