What’s coming in WordPress 2.7
The new features planned for WordPress 2.7 are spreading around in the blogosphere, so here’s what to expect:
Proposed New Features
This is a WordPress Codex article on what will “definitely be in 2.7″. Since it’s in the Codex, it must be pretty official.
Features Planned for WordPress 2.7
This is a report from Weblog Tools Collection based on the discussions at the Codex and informal meetings in the IRC. As WordPress Garage has noted, it appears that WP 2.7 will be “heavily based on existing plugins”. See also Quick Online Tips
WordPress 2.7 Theming May Change Everything
This is a project by Ian Stewart on Parent and Child Themes. He’s put up a Trac proposal and it seems to be working well with the bleeding edge version of WordPress.
WordPress Theme Directory moves to WordPress Extend
You might remember that the official repository of WordPress themes was once hosted at themes.wordpress.net, but unfortunately had to close down for several reasons. Today, WordPress Themes has reopened at a new location at WordPress Extend, a fitting parallel to the Plugins section.
Bringing the new theme directory under the WordPress “extend” umbrella allowed us to take advantage of all the infrastructure that has already been built up to support WordPress.org. If you’ve browsed through the plugin directory, you’ll feel right at home in the new theme directory.
Aside from having the privilege of being at the official site of WordPress, themes uploaded there will be more convenient to update for ordinary WordPress users, as they have done with the automatic plugin updater already built into the latest version of WP.
However, theme authors, keep in mind that you must meet several requirements to get your themes listed. As with the recent development on the old themes.wordpress.net, themes with hidden, paid, or sponsored links are not allowed.
In order to be added to the directory each theme must meet the following
requirements:
- A single zip file, with all of the files themes file included.
- There must be a style.css file containing:
- Name (which must be unique to the directory)
- Tags
- Version (in the format of x.x or x.x.x and must be unique to the theme)
- Image align classes: img.centered, img.alignright, img.alignleft,
.alignright, .alignleft- The screenshot file name must be
screenshot.png, and be a
real screenshot of the theme, not a splash screen.- Licensing must be GPL compatible.
- No hidden, paid or sponsored links in the theme. Links back to the
author’s site are fine.- The theme must be your own original work.
Upload your WordPress theme now!
WordPress 2.6
After 3 betas and one release candidate, WordPress 2.6 “Tyner” is here. Automattic also put up a short video tour of the new version:
Discussed in the WP 2.6 announcement post are the highlighted features we’ve all been expecting for a few months now:
- Post Revisions: Wiki-like tracking of edits
- Press This!: Post from wherever you are on the web
- Shift Gears: Turbo-speed your blogging
- Theme Previews: See it before your audience does
- and many other smaller features and improvements
Ryan Boren discusses in depth SSL and Cookies in WordPress 2.6, which I’m sure is the first of many blog posts to tackle the new stuff under the hood.
What should the next WordPress Default Theme be? Share your ideas and win premium themes!
If you agree with that the current WordPress Default Theme is outdated both in looks and features, then head over to ThemeShaper and share what you think the next default theme should be like.
Either leave a comment or write your own blog post about the ideal next default theme for WordPress. You stand to win premium theme licenses courtesy of iThemes. The deadline is on March 24 at 10:00pm central time.
