Getting familiar with the new feature list since 3.0
Since the last edition of this book was published, quite a staggering number of new features have been added to the WordPress software. If you're new to WordPress, this list may not mean a whole lot to you, but if you're familiar with WordPress and have been using it for a long time, you'll find this list quite enlightening.
- Internal linking available through the standard "add link" box
- Inclusion of the admin bar when browsing the blog while being logged in
- Full-screen mode for editing posts and pages
- Custom menus that can be included anywhere in the predefined areas within the current theme
- Faster page load times
- Faster upgrades
- Dropped support for Internet Explorer 6
- Inclusion of the single upload button (with file type detection)
- Drag-and-drop media uploading
- Responsive design of the admin panel (Dashboard)
- The possibility to select custom header images and custom background images from the Media Library
- Improved internationalization and localization features
- Renaming HTML Editor in the edit post/page screen to Text Editor
- New media manager makes it easier than ever to manage photos, videos, and other media files through a beautiful user interface
- Galleries can be created faster with drag-and-drop reordering and simplified controls
- New welcome screen in the Dashboard
- High-Dots-Per-Inch (HiDPI) compatible Dashboard design (also known as Retina-ready)
- Better accessibility for screen readers, touch devices, and keyboard users
- XML-RPC is always enabled by default and supports fetching users, managing post revisions, and searching
- All buttons updated to a modern shape (more rectangular)
- Autosave and post locking, together with the new revisions functionality for easy content editing
- In-line login feature to save expired user sessions
- Automatic maintenance and security updates in the background
- Automatic installation of language files (localization)
- New password meter to help users set secure passwords
Learning more
If you'd like to see detailed lists of all new features added since WordPress version 3.0, take a look at these links:
Also, you can read a fully explained feature list at http://wordpress.org/about/features/.
