The latest version of WordPress has just been released and with it comes some nice new features, enhancements and bug fixes. Here’s a quick rundown on what’s new in WordPress 3.7:
Automatic Updates
Most WordPress sites are now able to be automatically updated in the background. These automatic updates only apply to maintenance and security updates though and not major version changes e.g. 3.7 > 3.8.
The update process has been made reliable and secure with dozens of new checks and safeguards in place to reduce the risk of an automatic update breaking your website.
There are a number of discussions about whether this is a good idea or not as there is the potential for an automatic update to “break” a website (especially whilst the feature is still in its infancy). Rather than just risk it, checking compatibility with themes, plugins and reviewing changelogs is always a good idea.
The new automatic update is enabled by default but for those who wish to, disabling automatic updates is easy, simply add this line of code in to your wp-config.php file:
define( 'AUTOMATIC_UPDATER_DISABLED', true );
Stronger Passwords
Your password is your WordPress websites first line of defence. It’s good practice to create passwords that are complex, long and unique. In WordPress 3.7, the password meter has been updated to recognise common mistakes that people make that can weaken a password
Improved Search Results
Search results are now ordered by how well the search query matches a post, instead of ordered only by date. For example, when your search terms match a post title, that result will be pushed to the top.
Under The Hood
There have also been a number of improvements “under the hood” for WordPress developers.
You can read about all the changes in WordPress 3.7 on the WordPress Codex website.