Word Press 2.5 Released

Word Press has released the much anticipated Word Press 2.5. I've been using Word Press for quite a while now on my personal blogs, and I must say they win huge points for what was perhaps the easiest installation ever of a new version. In the past, upgrades have broken my blogs for anywhere from hours to days, but not this time. This time each blog and all of my existing plug ins worked flawlessly right away, with no down time at all.

I'm sure that some of my success in installation stems from the fact that I keep my plug ins and blog template as up to date as possible. I've heard reports that some older designs aren't working as flawlessly. I've also heard reports that some key plug ins, like Bad Behavior, are having problems. I was in fact able to confirm that Bad Bahavior is not currently working on either Word Press 2.3.3 or 2.5.

I can safely say that Comment Luv, Comment Time Out, Askimet, Add My Site (AMS), Audio Player, Mint, Birdfeeder, Digital Fingerprint, Feedburner Feedsmith, Google SiteMaps, Image Manager, Simple Recent Comments, Social Bookmarks, Word Press Mobile Edition and WP-Polls are all working fine. I have the Gravatars plug in turned off for now. It was having issues in the last Word Press version, and the new Word Press already uses Gravatars by default, which is nice. I just have to go in and tweak a few simple settings.

This version of Word Press has some nice features included. Things that required special plug ins before, like tags, no longer require special treatment. You can manage your tags right from the post, and also see a full list of tags beside each post in the Manage Posts tab. I also will be able to turn off my Image Manager plug in - this version includes a full view of all media (pictures, audio and video) in the Manage Media tab. that is perhaps my favorite addition - no more searching 4 photos at a time for that image you need from 3 months ago.

The Dashboard interface and general look of the new version are taking some getting used to. I am not finding navigation as intuitive as it was before, though the new look is certainly more attractive. The interface is sorted a bit differently, with four major categories hiding the rest of the tabs and features. settings and plugins are off to the side now on their own. At first it is like trying to cook a meal in someone else's kitchen. Once you get used to where things are kept, the placement starts to make more sense and the learning curve is quick.

The new version continues to support Widgets and other popular features. Overall, Word Press gets major points for the large number of improvements in this edition of their popular application. The attention to detail I'm seeing as I play with my new installation is impressive. Normally I recommend people wait out a new version of Word Press until bugs are fixed. For once I feel comfortable telling people to jump right on the bandwagon early, especially if they have already kept their plug ins and design updated.