AppMan

Yesterday WordPress 2.1 was released and I decided to give it a try. I had been using WP 2.0 for 6 months and I was really satisfied with it. But when I read the list of the improvements in 2.1, I went through a “oh-yeah-that-was-annoying-me” discussion with myself. This session resulted in a list of 10 things that are now better in my opinion. Are you already aware of the improvements? Are you ready to step in to the new era of WP? After reading this post you might not be the same person you were 33 seconds before…

The 10 things I like the most in the new WP 2.1:

1. Tabbed editor for switching between WYSIWYG and code editing. I usually write with WP’s WYSIWYG editor and I found myself editing the HTML code quite often. Since now the code is just a click away, I have more time to burn!!! My wish list for future versions would include the positioning of the cursor. When I switch the editor, the cursor is located in the beginning of the post. If I’m writing a long post, I have to scroll down every time I change the editor mode. But I can live with this - at least for a while :)
   
2. Spell checking. N-I-S-E!!! Sorry, I mean N-I-C-E! But guess what words in this post were mispelled according to the spellchecker? ‘WordPress’ and ‘blog’ :)
   
3. Search engine privacy option. With one perfectly aimed point-and-click I can choose my blog to be private. In this case the word “private” means staying out from the search engines. Anyone who finds the blog can read it, though. This is just perfect for blogs intended only for your relatives/friends.
4. Any page can be set as the front page. This opens up a lot of possibilities. I would use the front page e.g. as a promoter for my other sites or as a landing page. Maybe you can use it to create a member login page?
5. Faster database code. According to WP, “Domas Mituzas from MySQL went over all our queries with a fine-toothed comb”. I think this is the reason everything seems to be working FASTER!!! This was the most significant single benefit, that made me upgrade to 2.1.
6. Subcategories in blogroll. This will help to keep my blog links organized.
7. New login screen. Wow! Space age is here!
   
   
8. More AJAX functionality. Less loading of web pages -> faster user experience. I like to have my blogs as my hangovers: fast and painless…
9. Enhanced user interface. Well done, WP team! I’m discovering little details that now work better and smoother than before. Especially the handling of comments is now easier . Usability is an important issue and WP has definitely gone through positive improvements.
10. It’s new! It’s always refreshing to get new toys :) Since the WP installation is so easy, it works as a quick afternoon treat. I had my fun!!!

I’d love to hear comments. Did you have good/bad experiences upgrading to 2.1? Share the gains/pains!