As expected, the fine folks over at WordPress have once against upgraded the platform to make it even better than before! There are some great enhancements in this significant upgrade.
What has changed with the new release? Here is a list straight from the Upgrade page (once you upgrade). Before you go and jump on the bandwagon to have the latest and greatest version, make sure you BACKUP your site before upgrading just in case a plugin or something else is not compatible with the new version. You might want to wait a week or so to ensure your plugin and theme developers are playing nice with the new version.
Need a backup solution? I suggest the 3 following options:
- WPTwin – A ‘script’ that backs up your database as well as your files on your WordPress site.
- Backup Creator – Point, click and relax knowing your WordPress sites are safe and secure
- Backup Buddy – Schedule full and partial backups when you want.
Now that you have your back up taken, here is what you can expect from WordPress 3.6!
Introducing Twenty Thirteen
The new default theme puts focus on your content with a colorful, single-column design made for media-rich blogging.
Inspired by modern art, Twenty Thirteen features quirky details, beautiful typography, and bold, high-contrast colors — all with a flexible layout that looks great on any device, big or small.
Write with Confidence
Explore Revisions
From the first word you write, WordPress saves every change. Each revision is always at your fingertips. Text is highlighted as you scroll through revisions at lightning speed, so you can see what changes have been made along the way.
It’s easy to compare two revisions from any point in time, and to restore a revision and go back to writing. Now you can be confident that no mistake is permanent.
Improved Autosaves
Never lose a word you’ve written. Autosaving is now even better; whether your power goes out, your browser crashes, or you lose your internet connection, your content is safe.
Better Post Locking
Always know who’s editing with live updates that appear in the list of posts. And if someone leaves for lunch with a post open, you can take over where they left off.
Support for Audio and Video
New Media Player
Share your audio and video with the new built-in HTML5 media player. Upload files using the media manager and embed them in your posts.
Embed Music from Spotify, Rdio, and SoundCloud
Embed songs and albums from your favorite artists, or playlists you’ve mixed yourself. It’s as simple as pasting a URL into a post on its own line.
(Love another service? Check out all of the embeds that WordPress supports.)
Under the Hood
Audio/Video API
The new audio/video APIs give developers access to powerful media metadata, like ID3 tags.
Semantic Markup
Themes can now choose improved HTML5 markup for comment forms, search forms, and comment lists.
JavaScript Utilities
Handy JavaScript utilities ease common tasks like Ajax requests, templating, and Backbone view management.
Shortcode Improvements
Search content for shortcodes with has_shortcode() and adjust shortcode attributes with a new filter.
Revision Control
Fine-grained revision controls allow you to keep a different number of revisions for each post type.
External Libraries
New and updated libraries: MediaElement.js, jQuery 1.10.2, jQuery UI 1.10.3, jQuery Migrate, Backbone 1.0.
A common problem on updating is with jjquery. Solve this easily by installing the JQUERY UPDATER plugin.
http://wordpress.org/plugins/jquery-updater/
Thanks for sharing, Stephen!