WordPress comes out with major updates a few times every year to add new features, improve performance, and more. WordPress 4.7 is nicknamed “Vaughan,” honoring jazz vocalist Sarah “Sassy” Vaughan.
The WordPress 4.7 is a “major” update (ie. It’s not a minor security update.). You will most likely need to run your update manually by logging into your WordPress admin panel. (Please note some hosting companies may handle it on their end.)
Not familiar with updating WordPress? Check out my easy-to-follow step by step guide and video on How to Update WordPress to the Latest Version.
Here are the Highlights of WordPress 4.7
Brand New Default Theme: Twenty Seventeen
The newest default theme Twenty Seventeen features a very fresh look and features that make it easy for you to create a beautiful site very quickly and easily. It looks awesome on tablets and smart phones, too!
You’ll first notice the very modern look on the front page. You can even put a video in the header. Other features that help you create your website on the fly make this theme attractive to many.
See the Twenty Seventeen theme in action.
Customizer Has Gotten Even Friendlier
Building a new WordPress site? The new and improved WordPress customizer can come in handy to get your site up and running quickly!
Some of the main new features of the customizer:
- It allows individual theme companies to ship with starter content so that you don’t really need to build everything from scratch.
- Visual icons make it easy for you to edit the part of the web page you’d like to edit. Just click on the edit icon right in the preview screen, and it will take you right where you should go to make the edits. No more clicking on all the tabs to find out where you need to go!
- You can also create tentative pages right from the customizer. A great way to organize your website before putting in content.
- The custom CSS screen within the customizer now allows you to preview how your CSS change would look on the live site. If you use CSS, you know what a timesaver this feature can be.
Media Library Now Shows Preview of PDF Files
You can now see the preview of PDF files in the Media Library! It will help you easily identify the PDF file you want.
Choose Your Language — Available on the User Level
Have a team of international staff working on your WordPress site? Let them choose their language for their admin panel to make things easier.
With WordPress 4.7, once you install the languages of your choice (Settings – General), your staff can choose their language right in the profile screen.
Install a language from Settings – General
Select a language in a user profile page
User profile page in Japanese
To learn more about WordPress 4.7, read WordPress.org’s blog post here.
What WordPress 4.7 features do you like the best? Let me know by adding your comment below.
Remember, if you are not comfortable updating your WordPress, check out my step by step guide and video on How to Update WordPress to the Latest Version.