WordPress

WordPress 5.2 Beta 1 WordPress 5.2 Beta 1 is now available! This software is still in development, so we don’t recommend you run it on a production site. Consider setting up a test site to play with the new version. You can test the WordPress 5.2 Beta two ways: Try the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (choose the “bleeding edge nightlies” option) Or download the beta here (zip). WordPress 5.2 is slated for release on April 30, and we need your help to get there. Here are some of the big items to test so we can find as many bugs as possible in the coming weeks. Block Editor The block editor has received significant performance improvements since WordPress 5.1, shaving 35% off the load time for massive posts, and cutting the keypress time (how responsive it feels when you’re typing) in half! Accessibility [ more… ]

One-third of the web! WordPress now powers over 1/3rd of the top 10 million sites on the web according to W3Techs. Our market share has been growing steadily over the last few years, going from 29.9% just one year ago to 33.4% now. We are, of course, quite proud of these numbers! The path here has been very exciting. In 2005, we were celebrating 50,000 downloads. Six years later, in January 2011, WordPress was powering 13.1% of websites. And now, early in 2019, we are powering 33.4% of sites. Our latest release has already been downloaded close to 14 million times, and it was only released on the 21st of February. WordPress market share on the rise over the last 8 years. Image source: W3Techs. Over the years WordPress has become the CMS of choice for more and more people [ more… ]

WordPress 5.1.1 Security and Maintenance Release WordPress 5.1.1 is now available! This security and maintenance release introduces 10 fixes and enhancements, including changes designed to help hosts prepare users for the minimum PHP version bump coming in 5.2. This release also includes a pair of security fixes that handle how comments are filtered and then stored in the database. With a maliciously crafted comment, a WordPress post was vulnerable to cross-site scripting. WordPress versions 5.1 and earlier are affected by these bugs, which are fixed in version 5.1.1. Updated versions of WordPress 5.0 and earlier are also available for any users who have not yet updated to 5.1. Props to Simon Scannell of RIPS Technologies who discovered this flaw independent of some work that was being done by members of the core security team. Thank you to all of the reporters for privately [ more… ]

The Month in WordPress: February 2019 A new version of WordPress, significant security enhancements, important discussions, and much more – read on to find out what has been going on in the WordPress community for the month of February. Release of WordPress 5.1 Near the end of the month, WordPress 5.1 was released, featuring significant stability and performance enhancements as well as the first of the Site Health mechanisms that are in active development. Most prominent is the new warning for sites running long-outdated versions of PHP. You can check out the Field Guide for this release for a detailed look at all the new features and improvements. The next release is already in development with plans to improve the Site Health features, PHP compatibility, and a number of other things. Want to get involved in testing or building WordPress [ more… ]

WordPress 5.1 “Betty” A Little Better Every Day Version 5.1 of WordPress, named “Betty” in honour of acclaimed jazz vocalist Betty Carter, is available for download or update in your WordPress dashboard. Following WordPress 5.0 — a major release which introduced the new block editor — 5.1 focuses on polish, in particular by improving the overall performance of the editor. In addition, this release paves the way for a better, faster, and more secure WordPress with some essential tools for site administrators and developers. Site Health With security and speed in mind, this release introduces WordPress’s first Site Health features. WordPress will start showing notices to administrators of sites that run long-outdated versions of PHP, which is the programming language that powers WordPress. When you install new plugins, WordPress’s Site Health features will check them against the version of PHP you’re running. If the [ more… ]