WordPress 4.7 Release
WordPress 4.7 will mark the 3rd major release of 2016. While the beta version has been available to developers for a few weeks now, the final version will be publicly released on December 6th, 2016. As with every major update to WordPress, there are some notable features worth talking about.
Welcome Twenty Seventeen
WordPress has carried on its tradition of including a new default theme in the last release of each year. This year the new theme, Twenty Seventeen, will focus on businesses. Previous default themes have all been targeted at bloggers. The new theme features a mobile-first design with large featured images and an overall modern look.
Admin User Language Option
Admins of a WordPress site will each be able to use a different language when 4.7 is released. So now if you have admins based in the US and others in Italy, each user can select which language they prefer to work with. This could also prove very helpful for developers who need to work on sites that are set to a foreign language. Now we can simply ask for a new username (with admin level access) and change it to our native language.
Post Editor Updates
Possibly the most used tool in WordPress, the Post Editor, is getting another update. Reflecting how often people use certain buttons, we will see the underline and justify buttons disappear, and the horizontal line and strike-through buttons moved to the kitchen sink (lower) bar. Our best guess for removing the underline button is to prevent readers from mistaking text for links. Those of you who love keyboard shortcuts will be happy to learn that hovering over buttons will now show you their respective shortcut.
Live Preview for Custom CSS
If you use the Custom CSS feature this will be a huge time saver. WordPress 4.7 will let you see a live preview as you edit your code. The days of writing some code, then saving, then refreshing the page to see the changes, are finally gone!
So there you have it. There are many new features included in WordPress 4.7, but these are the ones that will be the most beneficial. When the release is available please remember to backup your site and database before updating the WordPress core. If you need help with this process please let us know. Those of you who are currently subscribed to one of our maintenance plans can just sit back and relax. We’ll be taking care of your upgrade.