WordPress 3.2 Gershwin – Faster & Lighter!

The much anticipated WordPress 3.2 was released on July 4th! In just 24 hours, about 330,000 downloads of the free, open source web application had taken place. The update is being called “Gershwin” in honor of the pianist and composer. In no time at all, “Rhapsody in Blue” should be playing in the background noise of your head, to get you in the right mindset to appreciate 3.2, which, like Gershwin, “lets you take familiar elements and weave them into something unique.”

WordPress 3.2 Highlights

• Refreshed Administrative UI – Admin redesign
• New Default Theme “Twenty Eleven” – Uses the latest Theme Features
• Full Screen Editor – Distraction free writing experience
• Extended Admin Bar – More useful links to control the site

A full list of updates and features can see at http://codex.wordpress.org/Version_3.2
Matt Mullenweg’s blog post about the update characterizes 3.2 as “faster and lighter” with an emphasis on “a refreshed backend design that improves the typography, design, and code.”

The most recent version of WordPress prior to this, 3.1, was released four months ago and surpassed the 15 million download threshold on Monday.

WordPress 3.2 also introduces the fully HTML5 Twenty Eleven theme, which is in line with WordPress’ plan to replace the default theme every year. On of my favorite updates is the redesigned post editor.  It allows bloggers to enter a “distraction-free writing or zen mode” that fills up the screen. I just used it to write this post and found it very useful. I feel more zen already… don’t You?  :)

“All of the widgets, menus, buttons, and interface elements fade away to allow you to compose and edit your thoughts in a completely clean environment conducive to writing, but when your mouse strays to the top of the screen your most-used shortcuts are right there where you need them,” Mullenweg states.

WordPress 3.2 is available both as an update in your dashboard as well as a download on WordPress.org.

Lines like that, and more, can be found in the video below: