wordpress 3.8 – what’s new and why it matters

bull New User Interface Design

bull Improved Theme and Widget Management

bull Twenty Fourteen A lsquorsquomagazine stylersquorsquo Default Theme

bull Other Noteworthy Updates

bull The New is Now

Agenda

2 CHECK OUT LYNDACOMrsquoS WORDPRESS VIDEO COURSES httpwwwlyndacomWordPress-training-tutorials330-0html

3

Introduction

CHECK OUT LYNDACOMrsquoS WORDPRESS VIDEO COURSES httpwwwlyndacomWordPress-training-tutorials330-0html

4

Do you use WordPress


If so your world is about to CHANGE and yoursquore not alone


Recent statistics show WordPress now powers

bull Close to 20 of the web

And controls

bull Close to 60 of the Content Management System market


So when big changes are rolling out therersquos a LOT at stake


The most recent version of WordPress version 38 shows that the platform (and its developers) take this responsibility seriously and aim to further simplify web publishing for everyone


Letrsquos dive in and take a closer look at the WordPress 38 release

9

New User Interface Design



New versions of WordPress follow a general pattern

bull Odd numbered releases are mostly back-end upgrades

bull Even numbered releases carry with them feature additions front-end upgrades and changes


So it should come as no surprise that 38 has some new features

But unless yoursquove been paying close attention the extent of these new features may SURPRISE you


Version 38 is not just a feature upgrade

It is a long awaited facelift


Farewell to the skeuomorphic low contrast rounded corner user interface of old

Hello to a responsive modern touch-friendly typographically-rich user interface


Responsive UI

Desktop Tablet Mobile


A team of developers headed by WordPress co-creator Matt Mullenweg have been working on a new user interface codenamed ldquoMP6rdquo

Over the past year


The MP6 UI aimed to solve a series of issues

From responsiveness to high-resolution graphics

Originally developed as stand-alone plugins MP6 and its cohorts DASH (simplified dashboard) THX38 (new theme experience) and the Widget Area Chooser are now baked into the WordPress core code

This provides a whole new administrative experience that is simpler more accessible and works beautifully across all screen sizes


The only real way to get the full story on the new UI is to try it for YOURSELF

As you dig in let me direct your attention to some of the finer and less obvious points


1MP6 admin UI is fully responsivendashmeaning as screen sizes change the layout resizes and reformats to provide the best possible user experience

This provides tablet and smartphone usersndashndashand also Windows 8 users utilizing Snapndashndasha much improved user experience

Plus it makes WordPress administration truly mobile out of the box

As part of this move to responsiveness the WordPress Toolbar has been subtly changed to be touch friendly by making the bar and its buttons bigger as screen sizes get smaller


2 On the font side the new admin UI swaps out Arial for the Google font Open Sans

Open Sans has looser kerning (more space between the letters) for increased readability

Just as important but less obvious the new UI also replaces its image-based icons for the custom Dashicon icon font to ensure crisp sharp iconsndashregardless of screen resolution


And if you donrsquot like the default charcoal-and-blue color scheme

You now have four versions to choose from

bull Blue

bull Default

bull Light

bull MidnightThough to be honest only Default and Midnight have a high enough contrast to be really useful

3

21

Improved Theme and Widget Management



In tandem with the new admin user interface

The Theme and Widget managers have also been updated to provide better user experiences


The Theme Manager has been reworked with the same minimalist approach as the overall UI and now provides a more intuitive and less cluttered interface


Now Gonebull Vertical separation between your active theme and the themes available to you

bull Theme info is moved to modal windows for a quicker overview of available themes and a more in-depth inspection of theme info


Theme Manager


Widget management has been improved to alleviate an enduring frustration for anyone with a widget heavy site simpler widget selection


Hidden below the traditional drag-and-drop behavior

The new Widgets UI allows users to click on an available widget and select what widgetized (sidebar) area that widget should appear in

This is a very elegant solution that will save users time and frustration


The Customizer has been updated with the new design making it less obtrusive and easier to use

Also your themersquos info can be more easily read with a larger area of the screen now devoted to it

29

Twenty Fourteen A ldquoMagazine Stylerdquo

Default Theme



Since 2010 WordPress has shipped with a new default theme every year

Unfortunately these themes named after their release year have usually been released towards the end of their year


With Twenty Fourteen the new default theme ships with version 38 following a release schedule more like those of automotive manufacturers


Twenty Fourteen is a magazine-style theme with a heavy focus on featured content sliders and tiles as well as large images

These types of themes have proven exceedingly popular and Twenty Fourteen aims to answer the need for visual options aside from plain old blog themes


bull Magazine-style Twenty Fourteen

bull Blog-centric Twenty Thirteen

bullCMS-focused Twenty Twelve

38 ships with three default themes


Twenty Twelve and Twenty Thirteen were all about simplicity Twenty Fourteen focuses on massive-content-overload with plenty of options


bull The header allows for a large banner image or logo

bull There is an optional featured content area that displays sticky or tab-based posts in a carousel or tiled view

bull The main content is boxed between two widgetized areas on the left and right that disappear on smaller screens

Some of these options


Concerns have been raised that this theme may be too content heavy and prone to clutter but I recommend holding any reservations until we see how the WordPress community as a whole puts it to use

My two cents always keep the widgets in your theme to a minimum


For an in-depth walkthrough of Twenty Fourteen and all it has to offer stay tuned for my upcoming lyndacom video course

Start with a Theme Twenty Fourteen

38

Other Noteworthy Updates



WordPress 38 also introduces some other less talked about updates includingbullUpdated Profile page with choices reflecting more modern sensibilities

bull AIM Yahoo IM JabberGoogle Talk are GONE replaced by the more popular options of Google+ Facebook and Twitter

bullAuto-updating for point releases (which was actually introduced in 371)

bullA smarter password strength indicator for more robust security

bullMany other core code updates to give developers new power and capabilities

40

The New is Now



Now that you have a clear understanding of what WordPress 38 is all about go forth and update your own site

After making a backup of course


WordPress has always been on the cutting edge of current web trends and 38 will put you and your site firmly at the forefront of modern web development best practices

So what are you waiting for Upgrade to 38 today

Browse our video trainingWordpress Training Courses

43

Check out all the lyndacom Wordpress video series including

- Installing and Running Wordpress- Wordpress Quick Tips- Start with a Theme- Wordpress Plugins- Wordpress Ecommerce and much more

3

Introduction


4







And controls








9

















Responsive UI




Over the past year





















bull Blue

bull Default

bull Light


3

21












Theme Manager










29


Default Theme




























38









40

The New is Now









43



4







And controls








9

















Responsive UI




Over the past year





















bull Blue

bull Default

bull Light


3

21












Theme Manager










29


Default Theme




























38









40

The New is Now









43






And controls








9

















Responsive UI




Over the past year





















bull Blue

bull Default

bull Light


3

21












Theme Manager










29


Default Theme




























38









40

The New is Now









43









9

















Responsive UI




Over the past year





















bull Blue

bull Default

bull Light


3

21












Theme Manager










29


Default Theme




























38









40

The New is Now









43

















Responsive UI




Over the past year





















bull Blue

bull Default

bull Light


3

21












Theme Manager










29


Default Theme




























38









40

The New is Now









43





Over the past year





















bull Blue

bull Default

bull Light


3

21












Theme Manager










29


Default Theme




























38









40

The New is Now









43























bull Blue

bull Default

bull Light


3

21












Theme Manager










29


Default Theme




























38









40

The New is Now









43



21












Theme Manager










29


Default Theme




























38









40

The New is Now









43












Theme Manager










29


Default Theme




























38









40

The New is Now









43












29


Default Theme




























38









40

The New is Now









43





























38









40

The New is Now









43









40

The New is Now









43










43



wordpress 3.8 – what’s new and why it matters

Technology

html twenty

twenty fourteen

screen sizes

open sans

theme info

end upgrades

widget

wordpress