A recent survey conducted by hashedout, revealed that 49% of the biggest websites built with WordPress are not running WordPress’ latest version. As the most popular CMS in the world with over 60 million users or 30% of websites running the script, it is a huge target for several cyber threats (source-wordpress.org)
WordPress version releases:
2018 marks 15 years since WordPress was first introduced to the world. It has undergone quite a transformation since then. As an open-source software, its features are continuously supported and updated by WordPress developers all over the world. Once a bug, issue or change request is identified or reported, these dedicated members of the WordPress community update and release the changes as soon as possible. In fact, any WordPress user (including yourself!) can report an issue or suggest a change in WordPress. You can take a look at existing issues and also find out how you can contribute to WordPress in your capacity as a web developer. Further, if you have any ideas on how to make the WordPress platform better, you can submit your idea and have other users vote to endorse it at https://wordpress.org/ideas/. You can also take a look at the WordPress roadmap which has links to all future releases. You could see an idea you’ve submitted go live soon!
WordPress version 4.9.5 (which was released on April 3rd) is possibly one of the last releases to go live before the huge revamp to the WordPress Editor, ’Gutenberg’ releases later this year as WordPress version 5.
Highlights of WordPress’ latest version 4.9.5:
- PHP recommended version 7.2
Image source: medium.com
WordPress is largely built with PHP. Like WordPress, PHP is also continuously updated for improved security and functionality. Its latest version 7.2.2 was released in November 2017. Updating your PHP version will speed up the performance of your WordPress website and offer improved security. WordPress recommends a PHP version of 7 or higher to run the script effectively for your website.
Tests done by phoronix.xom states the vast difference in performance by PHP 7.2 vs. PHP 5.3
Image source: https://www.phoronix.com
Here’s how to check if you have PHP version 7.2 or how to upgrade to version 7.2-
A short note before you upgrade your version, take a backup of your website content to be on the safe side. You will also first need to check that your theme and plugins are compatible with the latest PHP version as well.
- Log into your cPanel
- Go to ‘Software’
- Select PHP version
- You may see a version 5 as your default version
- Check the drop-down list for the lastest 7.2 version
- Set it as your current version
2. Install the upcoming Project Gutenberg in just 2 clicks!
Image source: https://wptavern.com
While the release is slated for later this year, users can easily install the beta version of the new editor to try it out.
3. ‘Cheating, uh?’ Error message has been replaced
Image source: http://www.agentwp.com/fix-cheatin-uh-error-in-wordpress
This rather weird message usually occurs when people try to access a function that is not available in the admin panel. The new message (apart from being more polite) will now also explain to people what exactly went wrong.
4. Security updates to WordPress version 4.9.4
WordPress version 4.9.5 plugged 3 security issues present in the previous version:
- To no longer treat the localhost as same host by default.
- To use safe redirects when redirecting the login page if the SSL is forced
- To make sure the version string is correctly escaped for use in generator tags
Twenty-five other bugs were fixed in WordPress 4.9.5. Particularly of note were:
- Previous styles on caption shortcodes have been restored
- WordPress now supports cropping on touch screen phones and devices
- A variety of strings such as error messages have been updated for better clarity
- The position of an attachment placeholder during uploads has been fixed
- Custom nonce functionality in the REST API JavaScript client has been made consistent throughout the code base
You can read more about the changes/introductions with this update here.
How to update to the latest WordPress version;
If you have an old version of WordPress, you will see a message like this when you log into your admin panel.
Click on the version link. For most, this one-click way should work. If it doesn’t, you may need to update your WordPress website manually. If you have purchased WordPress hosting from ResellerClub, you don’t need to worry about anything- your WordPress version will be updated automatically.
We hope you we’ve helped you discover some insights into the dynamic world of WordPress! Do you know which WordPress version you’re running? Make sure you upgrade now to WordPress’ latest version for great website performance.
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