Church Website Ideas
  • Web Design
  • Web Content
  • Web Security
  • Web Traffic
  • Tools & Resources
  • Perspectives
Preview WordPress 3.8 Features You Can Test Drive TODAY

Preview WordPress 3.8 Features You Can Test Drive TODAY

By: Grace McCrorie|Posted in: Tools & Resources

WordPress 3.8 is scheduled for release on December 12th. YAY!

WordPress 3.7, released about a month ago, was all about functional improvements. We saw plenty of  “behind the scenes” features  like automatic updates to help simplify and streamline workflow.

WordPress 3.8 features are focused on enhancing the user experience. The church Web worker’s user experience. Lots of exciting visual and accessibility improvements to the interface are on tap.

Unlike previous WordPress updates, the “cool factor” for this release is that some of the new features have been developed as plugins. That enabled contributors and developers to work in tandem on their projects.

You can test drive these plugins now. But a word of caution: since they’re still in development, I don’t recommend using them on a “live” website. If you’re feeling adventurous, take them for a spin in a development environment.

New WordPress 3.8 Features

Visually Overhauled Admin Area

The WordPress Admin area hasn’t seen a major visual upgrade since WordPress 2.7. The MP6 plugin is currently in use on WordPress.com websites, and greatly simplifies the Admin user interface. Approved for core, MP6 gives WordPress 3.8 a complete visual overhaul right out of the box.

Wordpress 3.8 Default Color Scheme
Wordpress 3.8 Default Color Scheme

The updated interface sports the Open Sans font, cleaner styles, flatter elements, and lots of spacing among elements. The upgrades work together to create an interface that’s very user friendly and easy on the eyes.

In Users » Profile, you can choose from eight beautiful, high-contrast color schemes to customize your experience.

Wordpress 3.8 Ectoplasm Color Scheme
Wordpress 3.8 Ectoplasm Color Scheme

Redesigned Dashboard

When I activated the Dashboard plugin, I was like, “Whoa!” My Dashboard went from this:

Current WordPress Dashboard
Current WordPress Dashboard

To this:

Wordpress 3.8 Dashboard
Wordpress 3.8 Dashboard

As you can see, this new feature rearranges, tightens, combines, and cleans up the Dashboard nicely.

So what’s changed?

  • WordPress Blog, Other WordPress News, and Plugins are now combined to form WordPress News.
  • Recent Comments as well as your scheduled and recently published posts have been merged into Activity.
  • QuickPress and Recent Drafts are now Quick Drafts.
  • Number of columns screen option is removed and replaced with a new responsive Dashboard. Now, the appropriate number of columns will automatically display based on your screen resolution.

A few extras are also added, including that  fun little smiley in Activity if you delete all posts and comments.

Simpler widgets area interface

I work a lot with the Striking Theme by Kaptinlin. The theme is packed with widgets and sidebars. On top of that, the ability to create custom sidebars is built in. I love that! Then, some of the plugins I use add even more widgets to the Widget area. I love that too. But, the current layout and “drag and drop” functionality has always made working with widgets and sidebars a pain in the neck.

This problem is solved beautifully with the new Widget area User Interface. The new Widgets Area Chooser allows you to simply click a widget and choose where it goes. Juggling lots widgets and sidebars will definitely be made a lot easier.

Widgets Area Chooser Plugin
Widgets Area Chooser Plugin

If you try out the plugin, be sure you have the MP6 plugin installed and activated first. The developer of the Widgets Area Chooser notes that if you don’t “things may look a little wonky.” This is a true statement.

Better theme browsing and full-screen previews

The Themes area is currently very text heavy and overloaded with information. The THX38 plugin transforms the WordPress Themes experience into an interface that’s uncluttered and easy to use. And when previewing a theme, you’re now able to completely collapse the sidebar for a  full-screen theme preview.

Wordpress 3.8 Themes Experience
Wordpress 3.8 Themes Experience

As with the Widgets Area Chooser, if you want to try out this plug, you’ll need to have the MP6 plugin installed and activated first.

Other goodies on the way

Omnisearch

Omnisearch enables users to search once and get results from all of your posts, pages, comments, and feedback. The plugin is currently available for JetPack plugin users. But, it’s still “in development” for core, and won’t be included with the new WordPress 3.8 features.

Twenty-Fourteen Theme

Twenty-Fourteen is a beautiful magazine layout theme that is scheduled for release with WordPress 3.8. It will become the default theme for the new year. A customizable Featured Content area and stunning treatment of Featured Images are just two of the many design changes, performance tweaks, and UI enhancements rolled into this great looking theme.

Twenty-Fourteen WordPress Theme
Twenty-Fourteen WordPress Theme

If you want to take a peek, a live demo is available. A beta release is available at GitHub, if you’ve got a hankering to get your hands dirty.

Which features are you most excited about?

I hope you’re as excited as I am about the new features coming with WordPress 3.8. Actually, I have a confession to make. The new Widgets Area Chooser made me squeal! {blushing}

Do any of the new features make you especially giddy? Please let me know by leaving a comment below.

And, if you found this post helpful, please be sure to share it with all of the WordPress lovers you know!

No related posts found

July 7, 2015 Grace McCrorie

About the author

Grace McCrorie

Grace McCrorie is a professional Web worker who's passionate about the Church online and Wordpress. You can connect with Grace here and on Twitter.

← Stay Focused – 8 Apps That Will Keep You Focused
Choosing An Online Giving Solution For Your Church Website (Part 1) →

7 Responses to Preview WordPress 3.8 Features You Can Test Drive TODAY

  • Best of the Week #3 | Wordpress Themes November 22, 2013

    […] 3.8 is scheduled for release on December 12th and in this article you will find most of new featuresincluding new widget area, dashboard changes and […]

    Log in to Reply
  • Steven Gliebe December 10, 2013

    Nice roundup of WP 3.8 changes. I’ve been developing on 3.8 using the beta tester plugin for the last few weeks and at first I didn’t like the new UI (mainly the dark menu) but I have to say it has grown on me and now when I look at an install of 3.7, it looks dated. The theme page is a really nice improvement and the way widgets are handled now is much easier to work with.

    This update sort of keeps WordPress’s admin area up with the times.

    Log in to Reply
    • Grace McCrorie December 13, 2013

      Thanks for your comment, Steven. I agree. The visual style definitely reminded me of Apple’s iOS the first time I saw it. Looks like “flat and light” is the new trend. Of course, the new Widget area is my favorite! So, now that it’s live, have you chosen a lighter color scheme for your workspace?

      Log in to Reply
      • Steven Gliebe December 16, 2013

        I just tried the Light scheme and I do like it better. The contrast on the default scheme is pretty strong.

        Log in to Reply
  • Steven Gliebe December 10, 2013

    What’s interesting about the new default theme too is that Automattic originally developed it as a commercial theme and set a price of $150 dollars on. I haven’t tried it yet but I’d expect it to be the most robust default theme as of yet.

    Log in to Reply
    • Grace McCrorie December 13, 2013

      You’re kidding? $150?!?! “Robust” sounds like an understatement. LOL

      Log in to Reply
      • Steven Gliebe December 16, 2013

        True story, check out a screenshot from Creative Market: https://twitter.com/stevengliebe/status/403212240695734273

        I don’t know how well it was selling for $150. I only know of one theme maker that sells themes for more and they’re very specialized for a specific industry while this is basically a blog theme.

        Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment

Copyright © A Bright I Creative LLC | All Rights Reserved | Powered by Wordpress + Striking by KaptinLin
About Church Website Ideas | Revenue/Affiliate Disclosure
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. If you continue using the website, I'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Reject Learn More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

SAVE & ACCEPT