WordPress.org

It seems like just yesterday that we released WordPress 3.1, but it’s actually been almost three months. We’ve spent that time putting together a new release focused on performance improvements, and are ready for our first beta testers!

As always, this is software still in development and we don’t recommend that you run it on a production site — set up a test site just to play with the new version. If you break it (find a bug), please report it, and if you’re a developer, try to help us fix it.

If all goes well, we hope to release WordPress 3.2 by the end of June, though that is (again, as always) subject to change depending on how the beta period goes. The more help we get with testing and fixing bugs, the sooner we will be able to release the final version. If you want to be a beta tester, you should check out the Codex article on how to report bugs.

Here’s some of what’s new:

• Performance improvements like you wouldn’t believe. What’s that mean? Things are faster!
• Distraction-free Writing. The visual editor’s full-screen composing experience has gotten a major overhaul, and is now available from HTML mode, too. More than ever, WordPress allows you to focus on what matters most — your content.
• Admin UI Refresh. The last major redesign of the WordPress admin was in 2008. This isn’t a major redesign, just a little facelift to keep us feeling young. WordPress turns 8 later this month, you know.
• New Default Theme. Introducing Twenty Eleven, based on the popular Duster theme. Rotating header images, post format support, and more.
• Browse Happy. WordPress is made to work with modern browsers. If you visit your Dashboard using an outdated web browser, we’ll let you know there’s a newer version available.
• Admin Bar. We’ve added more links to the admin bar to make it even more useful.

Remember, if you find something you think is a bug, report it! You can bring it up in the alpha/beta forum, you can email it to the wp-testers list, or if you’ve confirmed that other people are experiencing the same bug, you can report it on the WordPress Core Trac. (I recommend starting in the forum or on the mailing list.)

Theme and plugin authors, if you haven’t been following the 3.2 development cycle, please start now so that you can update your themes and plugins to be compatible with the newest version of WordPress.

Note to developers: WordPress is built by the contributions of hundreds of developers. If you’d like to see this release come out on time, I encourage you to pitch in. Even if you don’t have time to do testing on the beta version, you could help us by contributing a fix for one of the many bugs we already know about.

Download WordPress 3.2 Beta 1

WordPress 3.1.2 is now available and is a security release for all previous WordPress versions.

This release addresses a vulnerability that allowed Contributor-level users to improperly publish posts.

The issue was discovered by a member of our security team, WordPress developer Andrew Nacin, with Benjamin Balter.

We suggest you update to 3.1.2 promptly, especially if you allow users to register as contributors or if you have untrusted users. This release also fixes a few bugs that missed the boat for version 3.1.1.

Download 3.1.2 or update automatically from the Dashboard → Updates menu in your site’s admin area.

Looking for something fun to do during your summer vacation? Why not check out a WordCamp! WordCamps are locally-organized casual conferences of, by, and for WordPress users, developers, and enthusiasts just like you. The focus of a WordCamp is to foster face-to-face connections and collaboration among the local WordPress crowd, but there are usually some out-of-towners there as well. Here are the WordCamps that have been approved so far for the summer:

April 16: WordCamp Seattle in Seattle, WA. This weekend! After taking a year off, WordCamp Seattle is back with tracks for bloggers, designers, and developers. This year they’ll feature a lineup including presentations by both local speakers and visitors like core committer Andrew Nacin, as well as an Ignite session of lightning talks at the end of the day.

May 5: WordCamp Vancouver (Developer Edition) in Vancouver, BC. This one-day WordCamp is aimed purely at developers working on the WordPress platform, and will not have content aimed at bloggers (as previous Vancouver WordCamps have). I predict we will start seeing more of these types of niche WordCamps moving forward, because they will mean smaller, more intimate events that allow more collaboration (and make it easier to find venues!). Note that we’re working with the organizers to get the tickets to a more reasonable price, so keep your eyes open this week if you’ve held off on buying a ticket because of the price tag.

May 7: WordCamp Switzerland in Brugg, Switzerland. This one will cover a wide range of topics, including getting started with WordPress, advanced development topics, BuddyPress, and an inside look at running a WordPress-based business.

May 14: WordCamp Orange County in Orange, CA. Already sold out! Orange County had their first WordCamp last year, and the organizers have put together another great event this time around.

May 14: WordCamp Paris in Paris, France. One of the last true unconference-style WordCamps, the Paris group will plan their schedule the morning of the event like they do at BarCamps. WordCamp Paris had one of the best WordCamp t-shirts ever a couple of years ago. And it’s in Paris in the spring.

May 21–22: WordCamp Raleigh in Raleigh, NC. Repeat organizers from the Raleigh WordPress Meetup Group are just starting to select speakers and put together their plans, but if it is anything like last year, the venue will be packed with WordPress professionals (and maybe there will be cookies). I’ll be attending this one, as will Nacin.

June 4–5: WordCamp Reno-Lake Tahoe in Reno, NV. Organized by a WordPress core UI group contributor, WordCamp Reno-Lake Tahoe is taking place in Reno and has a packed schedule full of visiting experts.

June 11–12: WordCamp Kansas City in Overland Park, KS. With publisher, designer, and developer tracks, Kansas City’s WordCamp will have a little something for everyone, presented in large part by local speakers.

June 17–19: WordCamp Columbus in Columbus, OH. WordCamp Columbus has a new organizer this year and is bringing the focus more firmly onto WordPress (and less on social media). Their 3-day event includes an entire day for newbies, and another for non-profits, a nice addition to the usual blogger/developer tracks.

July 9–10: WordCamp Montreal in Montreal, Quebec. This group consistently puts on a great every year. If you register now, you can still get a $10 discount and get both days for only $30 (with sessions in both English and French to reflect the bilingual nature of the city). Montreal plays host to a number of festivals throughout the year, and this weekend is no different, including festivals for the arts, comedy, tango, and even circus arts.

July 16: WordCamp San Diego in San Diego, CA. First WordCamp in San Diego! They have talking about this for over a year, and are now starting to really ramp up the planning. They’re finalizing their venue right now, and I would expect a great roster of speakers.

July 16-17: WordCamp Portsmouth in Portsmouth, UK. The annual WordCamp UK that moves from city to city each year alights this year in Portsmouth. This one is notable because Mike Little, co-founder of WordPress, is part of the organizing team.

July 23–24: WordCamp Boston in Boston, MA. Another one just about to lock down some details and get starting with speaker selection, etc. An easy train ride from so many places, and not in the middle of winter this year!

July 30-31: WordCamp Chicago has new organizers and is a new venue this year. A call for speakers, supporters, and volunteers will likely be posted sometime next week.

WordCamp Portland is looking for a venue before deciding on a date this year, as it has outgrown the space it’s used the past two years, but hopes to happen in September. If you would be interested in donating a venue to this popular event, please contact them.

We’ll hold off on posting fall events until later in the summer since there a lot in the planning stages now. To get the most up-to-date information, visit WordCamp Central.

Hope to see you at a WordCamp soon!

WordPress 3.1.1 is now available. This maintenance and security release fixes almost thirty issues in 3.1, including:

• Some security hardening to media uploads
• Performance improvements
• Fixes for IIS6 support
• Fixes for taxonomy and PATHINFO (/index.php/) permalinks
• Fixes for various query and taxonomy edge cases that caused some plugin compatibility issues

Version 3.1.1 also addresses three security issues discovered by WordPress core developers Jon Cave and Peter Westwood, of our security team. The first hardens CSRF prevention in the media uploader. The second avoids a PHP crash in certain environments when handling devilishly devised links in comments, and the third addresses an XSS flaw.

We suggest you update to 3.1.1 promptly. Download 3.1.1 or update automatically from the Dashboard → Updates menu in your site’s admin area.

Our release haiku:

Only the geeks know
What half this stuff even means
Don’t worry — update

For the past several years, WordPress has been a proud participant in the Google Summer of Code program (aka GSoC). We’ve been accepted as a mentoring organization again this year, and are looking forward to working with a select handful of talented college students who are interested in developing for WordPress. Student applications are currently being accepted, and the deadline to apply is April 8. Are you a college student/developer looking for a summer challenge (or do you know one)? If so, read on to find out how you (or your friend) can make $5,000 developing for WordPress this summer. (Best. Summer. Job. Ever.)

GSoC Logistics:

• 175 mentoring organizations (including WordPress)
• Highly competitive and prestigious program (in 2010, 5539 proposals were submitted by 3464 students, and 1026 were accepted)
• You must be enrolled in an accredited college/university
• Coding period is May-August
• Successful completion of project = $5,000
• GSoC FAQ answers all your questions

WordPress logistics:

• Mentors include WordPress core developers, plugin authors (including BuddyPress and bbPress), mobile app developers, and WordPress professionals.
• Projects are limited only by your imagination and ability.
• Previous GSoC students have gained responsible roles in WordPress core development, like Dion Hulse and Andrew Nacin (core committers), and Daryl Koopersmith (wrote the internal linking feature in 3.1 and much of the custom menus feature in 3.0).
• This year, in addition to accepting project proposals for the main WordPress web app, we’re also encouraging applications for projects with the WordPress mobile apps (iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Phone 7), for community-developed plugins like BuddyPress and bbPress, and even standalone plugins that could become community projects. Check out our Codex page on GSoC 2011 for some ideas to get you thinking.
• Last year we mentored 15 students, and hope to take on about the same number this year.

If you’re a college student/developer, we encourage you to apply. If you’re a professor or a teacher of graduating high school seniors, encourage your students! If you just want to help us spread the word, download the WordPress GSoC flyer and post it on campus bulletin boards in your town. Remember, April 8 is the deadline to apply!

If you’ve ever heard Matt Mullenweg talk about the early days of WordPress, the South by Southwest (SxSW) Interactive festival that takes place each spring in Austin, TX usually crops up in the story. South by Southwest is in full swing right now, and WordPress has been all over the place.

On Friday the 11th, Matt was interviewed by John Battelle of Federated Media in front of a packed ballroom, talking about the future of WordPress. That night, the annual SxSW WordPress BBQ party played host to hundreds of WordPress users, developers, and businesspeople, and attendees got an extra treat this year in the form of a t-shirt made especially to commemorate WordPress and its Texas roots.

On Saturday the 12th, a second party co-hosted by the Austin WordPress Meetup Group and GeekAustin (and co-sponsored by the WordPress Foundation and WPEngine) brought together a similar crowd but with the addition of local WordPress community members who were not registered for the SxSW conference.

Starting today, the South by Southwest trade show opens, and this year for the first time it will feature an official WordPress Genius Bar. Staffed by professional WordPress support staff, developers, advanced users, theme designers, and even some of the core contributors and project leaders, the booth will be open from 11am-6pm each day to answer questions and help people with any WordPress problems they might have. If you are at South by Southwest this year, consider stopping by to say hello and pick up a WordPress button or sticker. We’ll also have a limited supply of the special WordPress/Texas shirts that we’ll be giving away at the booth, so if you’re at SxSW between now and Thursday, stop by.  Hope to see you there!

Location: The WordPress booth will be in trade show stand numbers 829, 831, 928, and 930 (it’s an endcap booth that combines those four spaces). You can find us in those spaces by following the numbered banners hanging from the ceiling.

The long-awaited fourteenth release of WordPress is now available. WordPress 3.1 “Reinhardt” is named in honor of the jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Version 3.1 is available for download, or you can update from within your dashboard.

This release features a lightning fast redesigned linking workflow which makes it easy to link to your existing posts and pages, an admin bar so you’re never more than a click away from your most-used dashboard pages, a streamlined writing interface that hides many of the seldom-used panels by default to create a simpler and less intimidating writing experience for new bloggers (visit Screen Options in the top right to get old panels back), and a refreshed blue admin scheme available for selection under your personal options.

There’s a bucket of candy for developers as well, including our new Post Formats support which makes it easy for themes to create portable tumblelogs with different styling for different types of posts, new CMS capabilities like archive pages for custom content types, a new Network Admin, an overhaul of the import and export system, and the ability to perform advanced taxonomy and custom fields queries.

With the 3.1 release, WordPress is more of a CMS than ever before. The only limit to what you can build is your imagination.

(No video yet for 3.1, we’re going to add it later.)

By the Numbers

There were over two thousand commits to the codebase in the 3.1 cycle! For a more comprehensive look at everything that has improved in 3.1, check out 3.1’s Codex page or the more than 820 closed issues in Trac.

Now is the time to drop by our development channels if you are interested in being involved with 3.2, as the agenda will be under discussion shortly. We’re hoping to get the 3.2 release out in a shorter development cycle (3.1 took too long) and include some fun improvements around plugins and the speed of the admin. (Don’t worry, we’re still planning on using PHP.)

We’re All in This Together

WordPress is the result of the combined effort of people from all over the world united with a common goal: to make the best darn web software for publishing your story on the web and sharing it with the world. Here is a list of the more than 180 people who helped out with development during the 3.1 cycle:

Aaron Campbell (aaroncampbell), Adam Backstrom (adambackstrom), John Ford (aldenta), Alex Dunae (alexdunae), Alex King (alexkingorg), Amanda French (amandafrench), Will Anderson (anderswc), Andrea Rennick (andrea_r), Andrew Ozz (azaozz), Andy Skelton (andy/skeltoac), Andy Blackwell (andyblackwell), André Renaut (arena), Andrei Vereha (avereha), Azizur Rahman (azizur), Barry Abrahamson (barry), Mohammad Jangda (batmoo), Beau Lebens (beaulebens), Ben Ward (benward), Matthew G. Richmond (bigdawggi), Rowan Rodrik van der Molen (bigsmoke), Glenn Ansley (blepoxp), blt4, bobbyblade, Boone B. Gorges (boonebgorges), Brian Colinger (briancolinger), Brian Layman (brianlayman), Caesar Schinas (caesarsgrunt), Ben Casey (casben79), Chip Bennett (chipbennett), Chris Sfanos, Chris Jean (chrisbliss18), Marco Cimmino (cimmo), Scott Reilly (coffee2code), Dylan Kuhn (cyberhobo), Darren Meehan (darrenmeehan), Dion Hulse (dd32), Dean Robinson (deanjrobinson), Demetris Kikizas, Δημήτρης Κίκιζας (demetris), Denis-de-Bernardy, djzone, Доктор Бро (doktorbro), Donal MacArthur (donalmacarthur), Dougal Campbell (dougal), Dre Armeda (dremeda), Jon Cave (duck_), Doug Provencio (dougwrites), Edward Hevlund (edward mindreantre), Einar Egilsson (einare), Eric Mann (ericmann), Austin Matzko (filosofo), Gil Rutkowski (flashingcursor), foofy, Francesco Laffi (francescolaffi), Gary Cao (garyc40), Justin Tadlock (greenshady), Reuben Gunday (greuben), hakre, Hui Chen (huichen), Ben Huson (husobj), Matt Thomas (iammattthomas), Ian Stewart (iandstewart), indie-ulf, Jacob Santos (jacobsantos), Jakub Míšek (jakub.misek), James Collins (jamescollins), Jane Wells (jane/janeforshort), jayjdk, Jason Penney (jczorkmid), Jeff Farthing (jfarthing84), Josh Kearney (jk0), joelhardi, John Blackbourn (johnbillion), John James Jacoby (johnjamesjacoby/jjj), John O’Nolan (johnonolan), John Bloch (JohnPBloch), Joost de Valk (joostdevalk/yoast), Aaron Jorbin (jorbin), Joseph Scott (josephscott), Justin Rainbow, Kapeel Sable (kapeels), Adam Harley (kawauso), Jorge Bernal (koke), Daryl Koopersmith (koopersmith), Lance Willett (lancewillett), Lutz Schroeer (latz), Lew Ayotte (layotte), linguasite, Lloyd Budd (lloydbudd), loushou, mailnew2ster, mako09, Mark Jaquith (markjaquith), Mark McWilliams (markmcwilliams), MattyRob, Mauro Gentile, Michael Adams (mdawaffe), Chris Meller (mellertime), Michael Fields (mfields), MichaelH, Mike Schinkel (mikeschinkel), Robert Chapin (miqrogroove), Michael “Mitcho” Erlewine (mitchoyoshitaka), David McFarlane (mrmist), mrwok, John Havlik (mtekk), Martin Widmann (mwidmann), Andrew Nacin (nacin), Nikolay Bachiyski (nbachiyski), Nathan Rice (nathanrice), Niall Kennedy (niallkennedy), Bernhard Riedl (neoxx), Nick Momrik (nickmomrik), Nils Juenemannn, Nicolas Kuttler (nkuttler), nootron, norbertm, Dominik Schilling (ocean90), ohanesian, Samuel Wood (Otto42), Ozh Richard (ozh), Pádraic Brady, Franklin Tse (peaceablewhale), Pete Mall (PeteMall), Phill Brown (phill_brown), Phill Kenoyer (PhillKenoyer), phrostypoison, Michael Pretty (prettyboymp), Simon Prosser (pross), Ptah Dunbar (ptahdunbar), Harsh J. Chouraria (qwertymaniac), Ran Yaniv Hartstein (RanYanivHartstein), Rasheed Bydousi (rasheed), Daniel Jalkut (redsweater), rfw, Rasmus Lerdorf (rlerdorf), Ryan McCue (rmccue), Roger Theriault (rogertheriault), ronbme, rovo89, Ryan Boren (ryan), Sara Cannon (saracannon), Scott Bressler (sbressler), Scott Kingsley Clark (sc0ttkclark), ScottMac, Silviu Cristian Burca (scribu), Sergey Biryukov, Сергей Бирюков (SergeyBiryukov), Alex Petrescu (SeyelentEco), Shawn Parker (shawnparker), shidouhikari, Simon Wheatley (simonwheatley), Matt Martz (sivel), Samir Shah (solarissmoke), sorich87, Mitch Canter (studionashvegas), t31os_, Tracy Cannon (TECannon), tech163, Aaron Brazell (technosailor), TheDeadMedic, Tim Moore (tmoorewp), Tobias Bäthge (TobiasBg), Tom Lany (tomthewebmaster), tonyf12, Utkarsh Kukreti (Utkarsh), Zé Fontainhas (vanillalounge), John Hawkins (vegasgeek), Michael Stewart (vericgar), Alex Mills (Viper007Bond), Vladimir Kolesnikov (vladimir_kolesnikov), wahgnube, wedsxcrfv, Peter Westwood (westi), whoismanu, Will Norris (wnorris), Wojtek Szkutnik (wojtek.szkutnik), wpcanyon, William P. Davis (wpdavis), Ron Rennick (wpmuguru), Kenneth Newman (WraithKenny), Yoav Farhi (yoavf), and Safirul Alfreda (zeo).

Bonus: Don’t forget to check out the latest on WordPress.tv to see all the cool WordCamp sessions you may have missed.

WordPress 3.0.5 is now available and is a security hardening update for all previous WordPress versions.

This security release is required if you have any untrusted user accounts, but it also comes with important security enhancements and hardening. All WordPress users are strongly encouraged to update.

Three point oh point five
Enhances security
Three point one comes soon

The release addresses a number of issues and provides two additional enhancements:

Two moderate security issues were fixed that could have allowed a Contributor- or Author-level user to gain further access to the site.

One information disclosure issue was addressed that could have allowed an Author-level user to view contents of posts they should not be able to see, such as draft or private posts.

Two security enhancements were added. One improved the security of any plugins which were not properly leveraging our security API. The other offers additional defense in depth against a vulnerability that was fixed in previous release.

Thanks to Nils Jueneman and Saddy for their private and responsible disclosures to security@wordpress.org for two of the issues. The others were reported or repaired by our security team.

Download 3.0.5 or update automatically from the Dashboard > Updates menu in your site’s admin area. Please update immediately.

WordPress 3.1 Release Candidate 4 is also now available.

The Release Candidate 4 build includes the security fixes and enhancements included in 3.0.5 and addresses about two dozen additional bugs. This includes fixes for:

• Deleting a user and reassigning their posts to another user.
• Marking multiple users or sites as spam in multisite.
• PHP4 compatibility.

As outlined in previous RC posts, if you are testing the release candidate and think you’ve found a bug, there are a few ways to let us know:

• Post it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums
• Report it to the wp-testers mailing list
• Join the development IRC channel and tell us live at irc.freenode.net #wordpress-dev
• File a bug ticket on the WordPress Trac

To test WordPress 3.1, try the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (you’ll want “bleeding edge nightlies”). Or you can download the release candidate here (zip). If any new issues become known, you’ll be able to find them here.

After nearly five months of development and testing, we think we’re very close to a final release. Users and developers, please test your themes and plugins.

Download WordPress 3.1 RC4 or WordPress 3.0.5 now.

Mark your calendars: WordCamp San Francisco, the official annual WordPress conference, will be August 12-14, 2011. This year will mark the 5th anniversary of WordCamp, and as always will feature Matt Mullenweg’s “State of the Word” address as well as a variety of amazing speakers that you’d normally only get to see at expensive industry conferences. This year the program will be expanded to three days, with programming for publishers, bloggers, and developers. There will also be related activities, like core team summits, workshops  for contributors, designers, and local organizers, and various professional and networking events. The planning is just beginning, so save the date on your calendar and keep an eye on the WordCamp SF 2011 site (and/or follow the @wordcampsf twitter account) for updates as details become available.

*For people who attended WordCamp SF last year who thought the annual event this year would be called WordCon, with WordCamp SF becoming a more locally-oriented event, you can read my long-winded explanation of why we didn’t go that route over the on the WordCamp Central blog.

WordPress 3.1 Release Candidate 3 is now available. After careful evaluation of the 3.1 features in RC2, we recognized the need to make some adjustments. There are some significant differences from previous versions of 3.1, so please review the changes if you have been developing against a beta or RC version.

The biggest change is the removal of AJAX list tables, which had been an effort to move all of our list-style screens to full AJAX for pagination, searches, and column sorts, and to consolidate the list-style screens into a single API that plugins could leverage. Unfortunately, with more testing came realizations that there were too many major bugs and usability issues with how the functionality was implemented, so we’ve spent the last week rolling back the most important portions of the feature.

• For users: AJAX has been entirely disabled for the list tables. We hope to bring this back again, in a form that is properly and fully implemented, in a future release. Column sorting remains, but everything else has returned to its 3.0 state.
• For developers: The entire list table API is now marked private. If you attempt to leverage new components of the API, you are pretty much guaranteeing that your plugins will break in a future release, so please don’t do that. We hope to enable all the fun new goodies for public use in a future release.

This is the only way we could prevent any regressions in functionality and usability from WordPress 3.0 to 3.1. That’s right, users and plugin authors can still do everything you used to be able to do (and a little bit more).

Because of the code churn between RC2 and RC3, this release candidate needs a lot of testing. Every list screen needs testing. In particular, the comment moderation screen needs testing, especially with keyboard shortcuts (if you didn’t know about those, now’s your chance to try them out).

Other fixes in RC3 include:

• Properly display the author dropdown in Quick Edit
• Various important fixes to numerous taxonomy query variables
• Fixes to the theme deletion process
• Fixes to pages used for posts
• IIS and Multisite: Avoid resetting web.config on permalink save
• Properly validate post formats and their rewrite rules

I’m assembling a group of friends in Washington, D.C., this weekend to test WordPress 3.1 and provide feedback. We’d love to see this idea catch on among friends at coffee shops around the world. (We’ll blog our results, and we’re thinking about using the hashtag #wptest on Twitter.) If you are testing the release candidate and think you’ve found a bug, there are a few ways to let us know:

• Post it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums
• Report it to the wp-testers mailing list
• Join the development IRC channel and tell us live at irc.freenode.net #wordpress-dev
• File a bug ticket on the WordPress Trac

To test WordPress 3.1, try the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (you’ll want “bleeding edge nightlies”). Or you can download the release candidate here (zip).

We’re going to study this release carefully to see where we can improve on our internal processes in the future. With that, our requisite haiku, authored by Jane:

Pulling the AJAX –
sometimes you need to step back
and show some restraint.

Happy testing!