After being developed by a team of 246 contributors, headed up by Konstantin Obenland, WordPress 4.3 has finally arrived and is ready for download! Named ‘Billie’, after Jazz singer Billie Holiday, let’s take a look at what WordPress 4.3 has in store…
The main focus for the new features is to make it even easier for users to format their content and customise their site, so the first course of action was to include menus in the customiser. All you need to do is create your menu, update it and assign it, while keeping an eye on your progress via a live preview in the customiser. The new look customiser is streamlined to make it more mobile-friendly.
Next up, formatting shortcuts. The newly added formatting shortcuts are set to make writing even easier in WordPress 4.3. Asterisks can be used to create lists, and number signs will make a heading – so instead of having to stop what you’re doing to worry about formatting, you can make your text look beautiful with just a * or a #.
Site icons give your site a personalised feel in browser tabs, bookmark menus and on the home screen of any mobile devices. All you need to do is add your unique site icon into the customiser and it will stay in place, even if you switch themes.
Security is always a priority for WordPress, so version 4.3 sees even more secure passwords. Instead of being emailed passwords, you’ll get a password reset link instead. Plus, when new users are added to your site, WordPress automatically generates a secure password.
Other improvements include a smoother admin experience, comments turned off on pages and an improved ability to customise your site quickly and easily. Various bugs have also been tackled, so we’re looking at a smooth, easy to use new version of the world’s favourite CMS. Make sure you update to the new version as soon as you’re able, or visit WordPress.org to download 4.3 manually.