Wordpress 2.1 released - what you need to know

Filed under: Internet, Blogging, Open Source, Social Software

Wordpress 2.1 released - what you need to know

by David Chartier Jan 22nd 2007

You just might have to whip out Ross's post-install checklist, because the WordPress crew have unleashed a major update, dubbed "Ella", to their web-based blogging (and now CMS) platform. Matthew Mullenweg lays out a few of the many new features in their announcement post, but to summarize, v2.1 includes:

Autosave - this one's pretty self-explanatory; drafts are now automatically saved to prevent those dreaded "my browser crashed an all I got was this lousy blank post" moments
New Tabbed editor - effortlessly swap between WYSIWYG and code views
Lossless XML import/export - moving between WordPress blogs has never been so easy
Spell checking in the WYSIWYG editor
Search engine privacy option - is being indexed by Google putting the squeeze on your personal space? Exclude yourself from their prying bots
Set any page as the front page - CMS-like features are slowly creeping in, and this is a major one that users have been requesting for a while
Improved upload manager - more manager than mere conduit, you can now administer all your uploads
More AJAX administration - not content with mere eye candy, the Dashboard now includes more AJAXy goodness for better and faster back-end management

Other notables include pages that can now be drafts or private, significant improvements to database code, link sub-categories, over 550 squashed bugs, better internationalization and much, much more! Aaron Brazell also chimes in with 10 things you need to know about the new version, including some screenshots of how a few of the new goodies look and work.

Finally, if you can't wait to get your hands on the upgrade, you might want to check the WordPress 2.1 plugin compatibility page in their codex, as beta testers and developers have been laboring to put everything they can through the ringer to see just what works with the new version, and what might need updating. As with all major platform updates like this, however, you might simply need to wait a little while for everyone to get on the same page. Either way, this looks like an impressive upgrade to an increasingly popular blogging tool that i personally can't wait to get my hands on.

Tags: blogging, blogging tools, BloggingTools, features, update, updates, wordpress

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Lloyd Budd said 8:40PM on 1-22-2007

Maybe it is time to retire the tip "Disable visual rich editor"? At least it is time to give it another try and report any problems.

Digger said 1:36PM on 1-23-2007

Dugg!

http://digg.com/software/Wordpress_2_1_released_what_you_need_to_know

Nalin said 1:46PM on 1-23-2007

I installed it last night and everything seems great.. except that now they have the links and post categories in a single interface. That is a little annoying...

whatever said.. wordpress rocks !! :)

tpp said 12:32PM on 1-24-2007

Captchas still nowhere to be seen?

I'm getting sick and tired of the comment spam that sneaks in even with an EXTENSIVE word blacklist.

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