This will be a short review of Wordpress, the next generation.

First of all, WP is free, simple, flexible, and scalable; and I use it for almost every website I develop. So if I have any complaints, they are far and few between. I’d have to say that there are many new features of WP that I really like, but I was surprised at the way they’ve rearranged the interface. Although I’ve always modified WP, I think many more people will start modifying it now to keep the new features but restore the old interface. Especially for someone who uses WordPress everyday, I was a little annoyed with some of the changes to the Write Panel sidebar, and the navigation all over. I can understand though, because the majority of WordPress users are not web developers or programmers, and perhaps the previous layout was overwhelming, especially for a first time blogger or even a convert from LiveJournal or Blogger. Naturally, most people resist change, but for anyone out there who was already customizing WP, you can restore most of the previous interface and functionality issues with some modifications.

I’ve started to use WP 2.5.1 on this blog, but I am still using 2.3.3 on my other sites until I have time to customize the new version, which leads me to an idea: It would be great if future WP updates were released with more details as to which are “necessary” updates (e.g. security issues, bugs) and which updates would change functions and function references throughout the product. With this information, a developer could update certain sections and keep their modifications intact.

That’s all for now. :)

stay in high spirits,

-k.s.

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P.S. - A few recommended posts on the topic:

10 Things You Need to Know About Wordpress (TechnoSailer)

Wordpress 2.5 Blog (Matt Mullenweg)

Why I Love Wordpress (Performancing) - Also read his previous post, “Why I Hate Wordpress 2.5″

Hi Everyone,

Tazzu is hosting its first Wordpress Camp on Wednesday, from 5:30 to 8:30pm at the Network Hub and I’m very happy to say I’ll be presenting on how to build a catalog or mashup site with WordPress. There are a variety of cool presentations including blogging, website development, typography, photo management, social media, and how to make money - all using WordPress.

I was very happy to see that so many people jumped on board and started to support the event with their sponsorships and promotions. I hope this is a first of many WordPress events.

stay in high spirits,

-k.s.