14 DAY TRIAL // WordPress 3.3 is here, it seems that the last release candidate was bug-free so the final version of the popular blogging and content management software is now available for download for everyone. Existing users should also be getting an update notification in their dashboard.
A big emphasis with the new release has been on ease of use, for new and old users alike. There are more help messages and documentation is easier to access, so new users won't feel lost when they first log in.
The dashboard has gotten a few usability upgrades, like hover menus, a new top toolbar and so on. There is also a new unified media uploader that greatly simplifies the process of uploading and inserting any time of media in blog posts, audio, video or photos.
"The latest and greatest version of the WordPress software — 3.3, named 'Sonny' in honor of the great jazz saxophonist Sonny Stitt — is immediately available for download or update inside your WordPress dashboard," Automattic CEO and WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg announced.
"WordPress has had over 65 million downloads since version 3.0 was released, and in this third major iteration we’ve added significant polish around the new user experience, navigation, uploading, and imports," he wrote.
New users will benefit from a new welcome screen, enabling them to get started using WordPress even if they've never used the software before.
What's more, new features will be highlighted and explained in the dashboard for each new release. The contextual help menus have been revamped as well.
The dashboard has gotten a small update, the left sidebar menus are no longer nested. Just hover your mouse over an entry and the submenu will pop out, for faster access.
The new media uploader is a veritable Swiss Army knife, users can simply drag and drop any type of media file to upload it. It can also use several backend methods for actually uploading the files.
WordPress 3.3 is avaialble for download here.