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Wordpress 2.8 had been released at 10th June 2009. There are a lot of add on features and improvements in this version. It is good for Wordpress users to upgrade to the latest version. Today, we are going to summarize some of the important features and also something that you should read/consider before you upgrade to the latest version.
Before you upgrade
There are two criteria that you need to consider before you upgrade your Wordpress to the latest version.
1. Plugins Compatibility
This is the most important thing that you need to consider before upgrade your Wordpress to 2.8 version. We use a lot of plugins for our Wordpress blog. At least some plugin to improve our SEO, right? If your plugins are not compatible with Wordpress 2.8, it may crash the whole blog! Wordpress 2.8 Codex does provide us a checklist that list out plugins that have been tested for compatibility with Wordpress 2.8.
Besides the Wordpress codex, BraveNewCode also provide us a Wordpress Plugin Compatibility Checker that has more details about the requirements for each plugin. Currently, the list contains around 5040 plugins. Below is the screenshot for the list.
If your plugins are not listed in the list, you better contact the plugin author before upgrade your Wordpress.
2. Themes Compatibility
After make sure your plugins are working fine, you can then proceed to check your theme whether it is compatible with Wordpress 2.8. Most probably your theme will be compatible with Wordpress 2.8, except it comes with a lot of features that use wordpress action hooks and filters extensively. You can proceed to check your theme compatibility by visiting the Wordpress Codex.
For those who are using premium/custom theme, you may need to consult the theme author.
After you upgrade
If you had already make sure your plugins and theme are compatible with Wordpress 2.8, then you should upgrade your Wordpress and start enjoying the cool features that it brings to us. Below we will look into 8 main improvements of Wordpress 2.8.
1. Theme Installer
Wordpress 2.7 adds Plugin Installer, which make installing plugins very quick and easy. In Wordpress 2.8, this feature come to Theme Installer.
You can find a theme base on its specific features such as colors, columns and width. You can upload your custom theme through the built-in uploader or browse the theme gallery from the new Theme Installer. Wordpress 2.8 also adds the ability to install themes with a single click.
2. Better Themes Management
In the previous version, you have to click on the particular theme’s screenshot and then the “activate” link in order to activate the theme. That means, you have to preview the theme before you activate it. However, the preview sometimes get stuck because of plugin not found or incompatible, which makes activating the theme impossible!
Now, with the brand new Themes Management System, you can easily activate/preview/delete the theme by using the links provided.
3. Better Theme/Plugin Editor with functions lookup and syntax highlighting
If you had been using the previous built-in code editor, then you will know how much improvements had been done to it. Take a look at the new code editor before we proceed:
As you can see from the screenshot above, we have syntax highlighting and functions lookup now. The functions lookup will point you to the Wordpress documentation. ( not Wordpress codex!)
4. Edit Comments In Individual Post Section
In Wordpress 2.8, we are able to view and edit comments while we are editing the post. The comments are placed in a separate box, which by default is under the Discussion box. You can easily approve, unapprove, spam, delete. edit. and reply the comment without leaving your post.
5. Better Tags Management System
Wordpress 2.8 has a better Tags Management System. Just like the Categories Management, you can add/edit the Tag name, Tag slug, and Tag description. The main difference within 2.8 and previous version is the add-in Tag description, which make it acts like a category.
6. Improved Widgets Management UI
There are not much changes on the widgets management. The first thing that it impressed me is the new UI. Now, the widgets management will list out all the sidebars, where the previous version require us to select from the drop-down list. It is better in terms of user-friendly and usability
Besides this, the new widgets management also adds a box called Inactive Widgets, which is the place where we put our widgets aside, but still want to keep their settings for future use.
7. Timezone selection and Daylight Savings Time
In the previous version, you have to manually update your timezone for Daylight Savings Time. In the new version, you just have to select the city in the same timezone with you, and Wordpress will automatic update the DST for you. This feature require PHP 5.1.0.
8. Finally, a better Screen Options
The new screen options adds a layout selection, which you can choose number of columns that you want to be shown.
Some Resources for Theme/Plugin Developer
Below are few links which maybe helpful for theme/plugin developer:
I wouldn’t put my faith in Plugin Checker application. Most of the data in this list is incorrect, and it will be some time until this list is usable. I would like to see more progress on this checker in the future.
@Milan
Thanks for the warning.
How do you check if a theme is compatible with 2.8?
Every theme released in the past 2 years should be WP 2.8 compatible.
That’s good news..
Thanks
Web developers’ ability to easily customize and extend WordPress makes it one of the most popular and powerful publishing platform. However every time a new WordPress version is released, developer’s should look at their customized solutions and accommodate changes.
W3Avenue has compiled a list of resources for WordPress developers that will help them quickly upgrade their themes or plugins to accommodate latest features.
http://www.w3avenue.com/2009/06/12/wordpress-28-resources-for-developers/
Hi W3Avenue,
You had a great list of resources. Will definitely look into them. Dugg and retweet!
Thanks for sharing with us!
Well count me as not impressed. 2.8 blew up one of our sites and it appears to have corrupted the data files.
My suggestion is don’t upgrade. It is really buggy and not ready for prime time yet. Just go look at the WP forums.
Like these guys normally but there is some lazy programing in this version and new is not always better.
They should at the least have a an automated way to go back to the previous versions. There are tens of thousands of sites blown up with this version and if people are newbies it could take them a long time to get them fixed.
2.8 ain’t all that great… Needs to go back into development. This is not supposed to be Microsoft .. LOL
My suggestion is do not upgrade for a month or two.
Cheers,
Andrew Anderson
http://www.21to21.com
Hi Andrew,
Do you try to disable all the plugins? I have too many plugins installed and this is the main reason i still stay with 2.7!
I suggest you to install a local copy of Wordpress 2.8 and try it out with the same plugins and theme before you upload. Once upgrade, you can’t downgrade or go back to the previous version anymore.
You should be able to downgrade if you backup all your WP files AND your database – then just restore everything.
Hi Jim,
I agree with you. But if you have a very big size, you really need a lot of time to do the backup and restore. But this is the only method if you want to remain everything in case your latest version of Wordpress 2.8 crashed.
I had disabled my plugins and still no joy and ended up going back to 2.7.1.
My back ups were hosed, but I did just manage to go to the export feature as it was working and then did a complete deletion of 2.8 and then did a fresh install of 2.7.1.
You can find 2.7.1 at WordPress. Here is the link.
http://wordpress.org/download/release-archive/
Just Scroll down until you find it and then start.
Will have to see if 2.8.1 is up to snuff. There was a lot to fix though..
Cheers,
Andrew
Andrew, you are not alone. While my move to 2.8 worked on one site, though it was laborious, my shift to 2.8.1 blew up one of our sites, although I followed the instructions to the letter. Another upgrade last night from 2.7 to 2.8 almost killed another site, so this is no coincidence. Even stranger is that the two installations behave totally differently despite being on the same server with nearly the same set-ups.
On one, the latest version is now fine; on the other, weird things are happening with the menus (dashboards loading up inside dialogue boxes, etc.). Certainly the inconsistent behaviour has me worried.
If you can get to 2.8.1 or 2.8.2 easily (using the long, manual install—the upgrade button does not work for me and nearly kills the sites), I would have a peek now, but it will either be very good or very bad, based on the two Wordpress upgrades I’ve done.
Jack, that is pretty consistent from what I am still seeing and hearing.
I just did a complete new install of 2.8.2 last night and again, I am not impressed.
There are still some major flaws with it as far as I am concerned and I really do not see any improved functionality to tell you the truth.
Inconsistent behavior indeed. LOL You are right, it should not do that.
Change for change sake is not necessarily good at all.
My humble opinion is stick with using 2.7.1 as the last truly stable version that I would trust with my money.
Here is a link for anyone that want to use download it and do a manual install. If you follow directions, it is really not that hard.
http://codex.wordpress.org/Version_2.7.1
Good luck and the verdict is…
I am not convinced that 2.8.2 is fully debugged. Going to wait until 2.8.3 and they still need to put in a revert to previous button in there.
I may get a bug and build the darn plugin myself if they don’t.
The 2.8 versions are still creaming a lot of people’s sites. Just be aware of that if you are thinking of upgrading.
Good luck their Jack!
Cheers,
Andrew Anderson
Normally with any newer technology, waiting for a little while is the best bet. We are not required to updated to “the newest thing”, people just prefer it. *shrugs*
So I agree, but only in part. If someone has a lot of plugins, wait. Just wait. Or install a test blog and as was suggested below, test out themes and plugins before setting up the new WordPress on your live site.
For those starting out with a new install, few to no plugins – I would still suggest installing a test blog. I’ve recently set up BitNami for WP on my laptop just for testing themes and plugins – specifically so I don’t blow up my site. >.< Heh.
So I half-agree.
Don’t upgrade unless a) You know what you are doing and have backed up BOTH database and site files and b)Test it first!
Hi HLBryant,
Install a test blog on a subdomain/subfolder may be a better approach, since you cannot try everything on your laptop/localhost right?
You’re right. While the upgrade didnt do any damage to my main blog, it however badly affected my sub blog priscus.info which stopped being indexed in google for unknown reason.
I am currently moving it back to 2.7.1 but when the blog is really huge its a pain work.
Since yesterday I am still working on resetting the secondary blog.
Another site of mine expliknu.com theme became a chaos after the upgrade. Just 2 simple click to upgrade and I am spending two days to repair things lol.
I advise people to not upgrade when wp release. Instead wait for some time and let them debug until there is a stable version.
Hi Kurt,
How do you know Google stop indexing your site?
I think you may login to your Google Webmaster page and look whether Google found any broken links.
Sometimes, the upgrading process will make the plugin stop working and then introduce some deadlinks. So i suggest you to deactivate all the plugins and look into the Google Webmaster page before proceed.
While I cannot comment on just how buggy 2.8 is, but given the numbers and diversity of sites using it, some issues are not surprising.
Any upgrades for my blogs are first done in a test environment before I duplicate them in one of my production sites. Sure, its a bit of extra work, but works well for me.
However, I personally wont be upgrading until 2.8.1 – regardless of publisher, unless there is a critical security issue, I never go with .0 releases.
~ Dpak
Very useful, thanks for sharing !
Thanks goes to Dicky and W3Avenue for two great post.
This is great info for those who want to upgrade to wordpress 2.8.
Cool bro
Great article, just what I needed before upgrade – to read what am I getting and loosing
Very Nice~~ Thank you for shared…..
This is great, excellent. This also pointed out a few details that I missed in the WordPress.TV video along with all the chatter buzzing on Twitter. I love you very long time.
Wonderful overview of the new WP 2.8! I have not updated yet, because I would like to check my theme’s compatability. I’m using Visionary by Justin Tadlock. But how do I check this? I’ve put enough effort in it not to want it to crash my blog. Thx in advance!
Hi Bar,
I am not sure about it, as i never use the theme before. I think you should email Justin, or you may visit his forum and see. I know he has a huge and active community and there should be someone who can answer your question.
My advice is not to try without visiting his forums. I’m pretty sure Visionary is discontinued, but he’s still answering support questions.
We upgraded an Options site and broke it most horribly. Looking at the support forums he’d already posted an edit to one of the core files that would have made everything work.
We applied the edit, and all was shiny.
I use the WP posting scheduler.. a lot.
Then I check Edit Posts especially to see if two posts are scheduled too close together or if too many are going up on the same day.
Another pal tells me that once 2.8 is installed that nice chart you see when you click on posts no longer displays when a post is scheduled to appear (i.e. 6 hours from now, 1 days from now, 17 days from now). Is this true? Is there any fix or plug-in out there to alleviate the issue?
So far i can’t find an example anywhere to see what the revised Edit Posts page looks like.
Thanks for any suggestions or insight.
Hi Laura,
They are some minor differences between the schedule posts display. But i think Wordpress 2.8 does better since it displays the exact date the post will be published, while the Wordpress 2.7 only shows “1 day from now, 2 days from now”, which are not really clear.
Wow, thanks for this. I’ve already upgraded to 2.8 just today, but I’ll keep this post in mind if I see anything new and confusing!
Great list…I like the new features.
Nobody should explain to a developer the risks of upgrading.
I made the upgrade, and now i`m using the old version, 2.7, because the 2.8 it`s not what i think. So, when you make a post, the menu with the options for editing color text or text size, or text type, or for editing emage and another thins, is missing!
I hope, that is not an error on my web site!
That’s a great list. I liked the Theme editing new feature, its simple and easy.
Nice article. Good job.
i made the upgrade already i didnt encounter any problems but i had with my upgrade in localhost upon restoring my database. I’m always redirected to my live site. is that has anything to do with the upgrade?
Are you restoring your “live site” database to your localhost database? If yes, then you may need to login to your phpMyAdmin and change the url to “localhost”.
hi dicky, thanks for the reply. what file exactly i should edit to point the database?
hi lhoylhoy, it depends on which control panel you are using. So, i suggest you to consult your server administrator before proceed to modify. and, make a backup of your database too.
Good!!
I’m new to Wordpress and have just set up a local testing server using XAMPP and downloaded Wordpress 2.8.
Things were OK for a while and then I started to get lots of error messages when logged on to the dashboard, the site looked fine.
Found help in the Wordpress forums and managed to sort it out.
It does appear that lots of people have had the same problems with2.8 so at the moment I reserve judgement.
Great post! I did run into some minor issues once I upgraded, it turns out I had to delete one of the plugins I was using.
Thanks, I’ve just upgraded my site, and I’m loving 2.8
In Wordpress 2.8, we are capable to sight and edit comments while we are editing the post.
The comments are placed in a divide box, which by default is under the conversation box.
You can easily endorse, unapprove, spam, delete. edit. and reply the comment with no leaving your post.
i just upgraded to 2.8 and i see no difference frankly . by the way , is it possible to change your font in wordpress ? i mean without using html ?? thanks
You can change the font by using css. Open your theme’s style.css file and replace the font type.
There’s actually a security vulnerability in all versions of WordPress prior to 2.8.1 so I’d highly recommend upgrading.
I think there is a security bug in all of them. It is just a matter of time before it is found normally.
Is 2.8.1 really stable?
Cheers..
Andrew
almost two weeks ago I upgraded to this newer version and thought I had killed my whole blog. It doesn’t help that I use Javazine as my theme which is also a total pluggin muncher. I managed to get it back online but it took me the best part of a whole day to do so and still have some bugs to sort.
I see wordpress 2.8 is now up to 2.8.4!
Each upgrade appears to be for security flaws.
Anybody know if the 2.8 upgrades are ongoing, or have they finished?
Before you make any changes to your WordPress admin or have contractors or others customize your files or install things on your wordpress site you can have your wordpress instantly copied (or run multiple copies). You can also create a live copy as a development sandbox and test changes or only allow others to install their changes on the sandbox. You can run “what-if” analysis of the changes and if needed use the push button controls to publish the changes from the sandbox back to your live site. There is also a free trial. “BAM!” is found at Bamtastic.com
http://bamtastic.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8:wordpress&catid=3:applications&Itemid=9
this is very good!i will add to my site : http://www.ciciccam.com/fashionwholesale
the 2.8 blew up as well !!! had to revert the old fashioned way with a tar backup. maybe its the plugins, maybe its the programming..lets wait for the fix
This is great, excellent. This also pointed out a few details that I missed in the WordPress.TV video along with all the chatter buzzing on Twitter. I love you very long time.
I see wordpress 2.8 is now up to 2.8.4!
Each upgrade appears to be for security flaws.
Anybody know if the 2.8 upgrades are ongoing, or have they finished?
Hi Skinfood,
The wordpress automatic upgrade tool is very easy to use. So, please make sure that you upgrade to the latest version whenever there is any new release.
Not sure whether they have new release for 2.8. But i know that the new version will be 2.9
That’s a great list. I liked the Theme editing new feature, its simple and easy.
I like it very much.Its really great and amazing.
Thanks, I’ve just upgraded my site, and I’m loving 2.8
Hi Dicky
It seems so long ago… version 2.8.
Where are we now? 2.8.6? and shortly to be 2.9.
Will the wordpress machine accellerate in the future or will it slow down?
Who knows, only time will tell.
This is great, excellent. This also pointed out a few details that I missed in the WordPress.TV video along with all the chatter buzzing on Twitter. I love you very long time.
Great post! I did run into some minor issues once I upgraded, it turns out I had to delete one of the plugins I was using.
Amazing! Thanks for sharing these