Subscribe Via RSSWordPress 4.0 Beta is now available for download and testing.
This software is still in development, so I don’t recommend you run it on a production site. Consider setting up a test site just to play with the new version.
If you’re new to WordPress testing, see my video guide Installing a local development server environment using WampServer (video). It is an ideal starter platform for creating a local development environment. You can then install WordPress in the local development environment (video), and add dummy content using WordPress theme unit test data (video) before theme testing, review and development.
The simplest way to test any WordPress Beta is to use the WordPress Beta Tester plugin. This plugin provides an easy way to get involved with Beta testing WordPress. Once installed it will enable you to upgrade your blog to the latest Beta or Release candidate at the click of a button using the built in upgrader.
- Don’t forget to backup before your start!
Or you can download the beta here (zip) prior to the official release in August.
The following is a summary of some of the changes and improvements coming in WordPress 4.0:
- Previews of oEmbed URLs in the visual editor and via the “Insert from URL” tab in the media modal.
- Media library “grid view” added in addition to the “list view”
- Refreshed plugin install and search experience
- Select a language when installing WordPress
- Improvements to editor resizing its top and bottom bars pin when needed
- Improvements to keyboard and cursor interaction with TinyMCE views
- Widgets in the Customizer are now loaded in a separate panel
- Improvements to formatting functions
When testing the beta, you’ll find that the grid view for the media library is on by default and is simply quite amazing.
- There are a lot of changes packed into the upcoming release and any help testing would be beneficial to the core team. You can help by testing on as many devices as possible.
- If you find a bug post details in the Alpha/Beta forum or file a ticket on trac but view the list of known bugs identified so far first.
As this is a major release of WordPress, developers would do well to test their themes and plugins against the beta while it’s still early.
