Recently on 8 June 2017, WordPress developers have released latest version WordPress 4.8 “Evans” which was named in the honor of the jazz pianist and composer William John “Bill” Evans. WordPress developers have made WordPress 4.8 available for download or update from your WordPress dashboard. WordPress developers and users were actually already waiting for the release of this version of WordPress since long and they were eager to know the changes and updates in the new version. WordPress 4.8 offers so many changes and upgrades which developers as well as users will like as these will improve the performance and user experience with WordPress.
WordPress 4.8 is a major release of WordPress hence you can manually start the update process if you are not using WordPress on a managed WordPress hosting service. Also you should take the backup before starting the update process. Three new default widgets have been added by WordPress developers in the new version of WordPress as WordPress users were waiting for these widgets since long time and to fulfill their expectation was important.
Also read this : UPDATE ALERT! WordPress 4.7.1 Is Now Available
More Intuitive WordPress 4.8
You have been using WordPress since long and you loved it because of its features and flexibility then you will also like the WordPress 4.8 as the new updates and features add more options to express yourself and increase the brand image. If you are a WordPress developer then you can utilize these new updates for your and the client’s benefits. At first look these new updates may look minor but these are due to the hardwork and vision of hundreds of WordPress developers. Let’s look at these new updates and features:-
- Upgraded new section in WordPress dashboard to inform you about nearby upcoming WordPress events and meetings
- Link improvements
- An upgraded text widget which can support visual editing
- New media widgets under video, audio and images
- Information about upcoming WordPress Events
WordPress has been used all over the world and it has a huge development community which holds regular meetings and events across the world in over 400 cities. Under this new feature WordPress 4.8 will notify you about all of these upcoming events and meeting happening near your area. If you want you can attend these meetings and make new friends or increase your skills by learning new concepts there. Now with the new version of WordPress you can view these events right in the WordPress dashboard.
Link Improvements
In earlier versions of WordPress there was a common problem faced by developers that there was some issue in updating a link which now has been resolved by link boundaries which is a new feature. Hence now you can easily update links without any issue.
Widget Updates
Video Widget
In new version of WordPress, the developers has made it easier to add any video from the media library to a sidebar on your website using the Video Widget. A video can help you in enhancing the brand image of your website. You can also use Videos to show the information about new products and services of your company.
Audio Widget
In the new version, WordPress has made it easier to add your audio file to the widget. It will help you in many ways especially if you are a musician. You can just upload the audio file in the media library and go to the widget setting to select the file.
Image Widget
In the new version 4.8, WordPress has made it more easier to add an image to a widget. Even if you don’t know much of the coding still you will be able to use this feature. You can insert the image within the widget settings.
As we have just shown, with WordPress 4.8, WordPress developers have tried to fulfill the wish of thousands of WordPress developers all over the world. With these popular features, using WordPress will be lot more easier and beneficial for WordPress developers as well as the business owners and the visitors of the WordPress sites.