So, it’s that time of the season again! The new WordPress release is now accessible to download. Evans, the WordPress 4.8 was launched on the June 8th. It has been sufficed with a lot of new improvements and widgets and a new handy improvisation. Check out the amendments in detail below:
Amazing new changes to widgets
The major WordPress 4.8 focus revolved around the changes made to improve the present widget and to release some new ones to help people showcase their blogs, images, videos, and branding in a more easy way. In reality, the widgets do not have any major updates or changes for years, so it’s really good to see them finally with some enhanced functionality. However, as for the developers, there haven’t been a lot of amendments with this release, but the new updates will surely make the CMS simpler for the new bloggers.
You have Visual Editor on the Text Widgets
The very first update is accessibility to now use an easier and better version of the visual editor on the text widget. Prior to this, people could only enter HTML or text. For those who found coding difficult, this feature limited them a little. Because of this, a lot of people downloaded 3rd party plugin to get accessibility to do what they required to be done. But, with this change, you can just format text via WYSIWYG editor and change styles like the bullet list, Italics, Bold and edit and add hyperlinks. The widget also supports shortcodes which were quite a shortcoming suffered by people in the previous version.
The Image widget
They have launched a new image widget in the WordPress 4.8. It is so amazing for those who wish to add a picture quickly like a logo, advertisement, headshot or banner. All you have to do is click on “Edit Image” to include an image link.
The Video widget
Just like the image widget, you also now have a video widget in the WordPress 4.8. It is an amazing way to promote your brand and give an easy and detailed intro about your brand, company or just include some humor. Presently, it supports .m4v, .mp4, .flv, .webm as well as .ogv. All you need to do is click on “Edit Video” and you get the option for video looping.
You also have the option to include URL feature to insert 3rd party hosted videos like Vimeo or YouTube. You just have to ensure that embeds are enabled for it.
The Audio Widget
And, lastly, they also have an option of audio widget now. This is also quite similar to the above two. It is a great way to include a greeting or an intro or just a podcast’s snippet. If you tap on “Edit Audio’, you will get an option for audio looping,
You can upload audio files or embed them from famous sites like SoundCloud.
Modernized News and Events Dashboard Widget of WordPress
With all the above-mentioned updates, WordPress also updated the WordPress News dashboard widget. It will not just have news, but WordCamps as well as local meetups. For all those people who are highly active in the community, this feature will be very attractive. A lot of people will turn on this widget because of this new inclusion. By default, it will try and catch your location mechanically and it also allows you to enter the location manually.
Visual Editor’s Link Boundaries feature
There is a slight change in the visual editor in the way it manages links. People who do a lot of writing will like this update of WordPress 4.8. Before, it was seen that when you chose a link to edit, often you would end up linking the next word and sometimes the cursor wouldn’t move outside the link element. It is a just a small annoyance that publishers had to tackle.
In order to sort this mess, they included a new spec called “link boundaries”. It has a blue border around when selected.
Some Changes for the Developers
Though this update of WordPress has a lot for non-developers, here are some recent releases of 4.8 for the developers also:
Tidier headings
If you’re a theme or plugin writer, there are some accessibility improvisations to the dashboard’s header area. It may make you update your CSS to allocate it.
Elimination of Embedding Assistance for WMA and WMV
You no longer have the auto embed specification for WMA or WMV files. For these file formats, you will need to install Silverlight, which isn’t any more famous amongst browsers.
Better APIs for widgets
Along with the addition of the visual editor to text, audio, and video widgets, the developers now can also make use of APIs to hook in these places.
Personalized Sidebar Width has been made Adjustable
In the past, the appearance customizer sidebar had a 300px width fixed. On bigger screens, it was a little annoying. However, it has been amended and now it can proportionately be sized according to the screen size.
Recent Multisite Functions and Changes
A lot of Meta abilities have included for multisite which permits for better fine-grained control of access to some of the locations. An innovative function, get term parents list () has been included too.
Username appearance on the edit user display
Now, edit user screen will importantly showcase user’s name in the heading.
Conclusion
Though WordPress 4.8 isn’t decked with game changing specs, it is an update which comes as WordPress is endeavoring to steer a somewhat difficult time in which competition is getting tougher than before and the dominance over the market is no longer guaranteed.
If you look at the specs a little deeper, you will find the much more interesting. The new widgets will make using WordPress a lot simpler. Some of the specs are really life savers. Which of the features did you like the most? Feel free to share your thoughts too about how much the WordPress 4.8 excited you in real?