WordPress releases “Benny”, 4.0

On September 4th, WordPress announced the launch of their new version named Benny after Benny Goodman (jazz clarinetist and bandleader). This new version introduces some features to give users a smoother experience while managing their WordPress website or blog.

Coppertops have updated all of our websites to 4.0, with the usual testing necessary after any update to ensure there are no ill effects! For those of you now using 4.0, we’d welcome your thoughts below on whether it has achieved it’s aims!

Media Management

The media library now boasts an endless grid layout, with details preview. The aim here is to make it easier to view all of your images, check details easily, and quickly select the correct image for your purpose.

Embedding

Personally this is the one that caught my eye when I first scanned the release update from WordPress. This update means that you can add a YouTube video, a tweet from Twitter, a talk from TED and many more just by pasting the relevant URL on a new line within your page or post! The visual editor will even display a preview of embedded content. Very nifty, as the web moves increasingly towards multimedia content obsession!

Editor

The editor has been adjusted so that it will operate more smoothly. As you write the editor window expands, keeping the toolbar available for formatting etc.

Plugins

Similarly to the media library update, there is a layout change here which shows an icon image and details in a grid layout. WordPress also claims to have introduced new metrics and improved their search, initial usages supports this on my part at least!


Read the full update from WordPress here.

Acunetix reviewed Benny without getting too excited as there are no security updates in this release. However they recommend, as always, that you update to the latest version to maintain security on your website. They are reasonably impressed with the changes to the UI.

As with any release, however, it is highly recommended that you test the functionality and look of your site after applying the update to ensure that the changes applied have not broken any of your existing features.

With all of our Customer Support packages we apply regular updates to your WordPress site for maximum security

Benny Goodman Wordpress "Benny" 4.0
11 September 2014
Andrea @ Coppertops

Andrea @ Coppertops

I help small Irish businesses get found online with clear websites, simple marketing, and tech that behaves itself.

Work with me your way:
done‑for‑you if you want it handled,
done‑with‑you if you want a partner,
or do‑it‑yourself with a helping hand.

Through Chemistry Calls, website builds the Coppertops way, and the Nurture IT membership, we make digital feel doable.

Expect straight answers, tidy systems, and gentle encouragement to press publish. Empowering people to do what they thought they couldn’t is my favourite part of the job.

My background is a path from Chemistry to Computer Science to Web Technology, where I found strong feelings about building websites that work rather than just look pretty. Adding marketing, design and strategy skills to that technical foundation means that at Coppertops we build your website to work for your business and to visually represent you online - a site that you can love and feel proud to share!