I have just upgraded the site to WordPress 2.5, and now having fun with that. It’s been a huge update. I found that it is absolutely amazing while using it. Upgrading is not that hard. And it seems all the existing plug-in can still be used. For readers, you may not notice the difference on the front page, but it definitely looks great in the admin panel.
1. Refreshed admin interface
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I didn’t try the beta release of WordPress 2.5, actually. After I upgrade, I logged into the admin panel and found it looks really cool and easy to navigate. The new admin interface comes with better organized options on the top.
2. Write post easily
Previously, you need to upload multiple files one by one. And in 2.5, it is quick and easy. While writing the post, there is a new “Add media” function, you can choose to upload as many files as you want. It will display the progress bar during uploading. It is clearer than ever.
3. Handling YouTube videos in a better way
If you have tried to embed YouTube video in WordPress version 2.3, you should know that is an headache. After I pasted the YouTube embed code in HTML mode, switching to visual mode again will cause error. The code will be edited and changed, making your site looks crazy. I know there is a plugin to deal with YouTube videos, but 2.5 now handles it in better way. The YouTube videos will turn into a yellow square in Visual mode. The code will not be altered no matter you are in Visual or HTML mode.
4. Easy to set thumbnail size
Remember I wrote the tip for editing the thumbnail size for uploaded images? And now, you do not need to edit the WordPress files anymore. You just go into Settings, and you can edit the thumbnail size you want.
5. Organize Media files easily
I uploaded a lot of media files. It is very hard to manage it and delete the old one in the past. WordPress 2.5 now has the amazing new interface for organizing those files. You will be able to search for the uploaded files. And the best part is that it displayed the related post which used the media files.
6. Quickly delete SPAM comments
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winandmac.com got lots of comments everyday. Some of them are SPAM. They are adult links. That explains why I need to moderate before the comments goes to the public. WordPress old versions needs to refresh the page when you click SPAM. And in 2.5, it works much better. I only need to click SPAM, the comments go away. No need to wait for the page to load again. Quick and easy.
These are the 6 new features that I really loved. WordPress 2.5 used a lot of AJAX technology which helps bloggers easier to publish their post. Notice that there is more than 6 new features comes with WordPress 2.5. You can’t imagine how great it is unless you tried. It is so good that WordPress is free.
Good post, but I am still not convinced – I really don’t want to go to the hassle of upgrading mintywhite.com to find old plug-ins don’t work, or there is a huge security vulnerability and I need to move to a newer release soon.