WordPress Changelog

What's new in WordPress 6.5.2

Apr 10, 2024

A cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability affecting the Avatar block type; reported by John Blackbourn of the WordPress security team. Many thanks to Mat Rollings for assisting with the research.

New in WordPress 6.5 (Apr 10, 2024)

New in WordPress 6.4.3 (Jan 31, 2024)

New in WordPress 6.4.2 (Dec 6, 2023)

New in WordPress 6.4.1 (Nov 9, 2023)

New in WordPress 6.4 (Nov 9, 2023)

Meet Twenty Twenty-Four:
Experience site editing at its finest with Twenty Twenty-Four. This new multi-faceted default theme has been thoughtfully crafted with three distinct use cases in mind, from writers and artists to entrepreneurs. Save time and effort with its extensive collection of over 35 templates and patterns—and unlock a world of creative possibilities with a few tweaks. Twenty Twenty-Four’s remarkable flexibility ensures an ideal fit for almost any type of site.
Let your writing flow:
New enhancements ensure your content creation journey is smooth. Find new keyboard shortcuts in List View, smarter list merging, and enhanced control over link settings. A cohesive toolbar experience for the Navigation, List, and Quote blocks lets you work efficiently with the tooling options you need.
The Command Palette just got better:
First introduced in WordPress 6.3, the Command Palette is a powerful tool to quickly find what you need, perform tasks efficiently, and speed up your building workflow. Enjoy a refreshed design and new commands to perform block-specific actions in this release.
Categorize and filter patterns:
Patterns are an excellent way to leverage the potential of blocks and simplify your site-building process. WordPress 6.4 allows you to organize them with custom categories. Plus, new advanced filtering in the Patterns section of the inserter makes finding all your patterns more intuitive.
Get creative with more design tools:
Build beautiful and functional layouts with an expanded set of design tools. Play with background images in Group blocks for unique designs and maintain image dimensions consistent with placeholder aspect ratios. Do you want to add buttons to your Navigation block? Now you can do it conveniently without a line of code.
Make your images stand out:
Enable lightbox functionality to let your site visitors enjoy full-screen, interactive images on click. Apply it globally or to specific images to customize the viewing experience.
Rename Group blocks:
Set custom names for Group blocks to organize and distinguish areas of your content easily. These names will be visible in List View.
Preview images in List View:
New previews for Gallery and Image blocks in List View let you visualize and locate where images on your content are at a glance.
Share patterns across sites:
Need to use your custom patterns on another site? Import and export them as JSON files from the Site Editor’s patterns view.
Introducing Block Hooks:
Block Hooks enables developers to automatically insert dynamic blocks at specific content locations, enriching the extensibility of block themes through plugins. While considered a developer tool, this feature is geared to respect your preferences and gives you complete control to add, dismiss, and customize auto-inserted blocks to your needs.
Performance wins:
This release includes more than 100 performance-related updates for a faster and more efficient experience. Notable enhancements focus on template loading performance for themes (including Twenty Twenty-Four), usage of the script loading strategies “defer” and “async” in core, blocks, and themes, and optimization of autoloaded options.
Accessibility highlights:
Every release is committed to making WordPress accessible to everyone. WordPress 6.4 brings several List View improvements and aria-label support for the Navigation block, among other highlights. The admin user interface includes enhancements to button placements, “Add New” menu items context, and Site Health spoken messages. Learn more about all the updates aimed at improving accessibility.
Other notes of interest:
PHP 8.1 or 8.2 are recommended for use with WordPress 6.4. Find in-depth details on PHP support in this post.
WordPress 6.4 disables attachment pages for new installations.

New in WordPress 6.3.2 (Oct 13, 2023)

New in WordPress 6.3.1 (Aug 30, 2023)

New in WordPress 6.3 (Aug 27, 2023)

Do everything in the Site Editor:
WordPress 6.3 brings your content, templates, and patterns together in the Site Editor for the first time. Add pages, browse style variations, create synced patterns, and enjoy fine-tuned control over navigation menus. Spend less time switching across different site areas—so you can focus on what matters most. Creation to completion, all in one place.
Preview Block themes:
Experience block themes before you switch and preview the Site Editor, with options to customize directly before committing to a new theme.
Create and sync patterns:
Arrange blocks and save them to the ‘My Patterns’ section for use throughout your site. You can even specify whether to sync your patterns (previously referred to as “Reusable blocks”) so that one change applies to all parts of your site. Or, utilize patterns as a starting point with the ability to customize each instance.
Work faster with the Command Palette:
Switch to a specific template or open your editor preferences with a new tool that helps you quickly access expanded functionality. With simple keyboard shortcuts (⌘+k on Mac or Ctrl+k on Windows), clicking the sidebar search icon in Site View, or clicking the Title Bar, get where you need to go and do what you need to do in seconds.
Sharpen your designs with new tools:
New design controls bring more versatility for fine-tuning, starting with the ability to customize your captions from the Styles interface without coding. You can manage your duotone filters in Styles for supported blocks and pick from the options provided by your theme or disable them entirely. The Cover block gets added settings for text color, layout controls, and border options, making this powerful block even more handy.
Track design changes with Style revisions:
With a new audit trail, you can now see how your site looked at a specific time. Visualize these revisions in a timeline and access a one-click option to restore prior styles.
Annotate with the Footnotes block:
Footnotes add convenient annotations throughout your content. Now you can add and link footnotes for any paragraph.
Show or hide content with the Details block:
Use the Details block to avoid spoiling a surprise, create an interactive Q&A section, or hide a long paragraph under a heading.
Performance gets a boost:
WordPress 6.3 has 170+ performance updates, including defer and async support for the Scripts API and fetchpriority support for images. These improvements, along with block template resolution, image lazy-loading, and the emoji loader, can dramatically improve your website’s perceived load time.
Accessibility remains a core focus:
Incorporating more than 50 accessibility improvements across the platform, WordPress 6.3 is more accessible than ever. Improved labeling, optimized tab and arrow-key navigation, revised heading hierarchy, and new controls in the admin image editor allow those using assistive technologies to navigate more easily.
Other highlights:
Set aspect ratio on images:
Specify your aspect ratios and ensure design integrity, especially when using images in patterns.
Build your site distraction-free:
Distraction-free designing is now available in the Site Editor.
Rediscover the Top Toolbar:
A revamped Top Toolbar offers parent selectors for nested blocks, options when selecting multiple blocks, and an interface embedded into the title bar with new functionality in mind.
List View improvements:
Drag and drop to every content layer and delete any block you would like in the updated List View.
Build templates with Patterns:
Create unique patterns to jumpstart template creation with a new modal enabling access to pattern selection.
Changes in PHP support:
Support for PHP 5 is discontinued. The new minimum supported version of PHP is 7.0.0.
Failed update safeguards:
WordPress will now auto-restore the previously installed version of plugins or themes if something goes wrong during a failed manual update.

New in WordPress 6.2.2 (May 21, 2023)

New in WordPress 6.2.1 (May 17, 2023)

New in WordPress 6.2 (Apr 24, 2023)

Manage menus in more ways with the Navigation block:
Add, remove, and reorder menu items faster—with a new sidebar experience that makes editing your site’s navigation easier.
Discover a smoother experience for the Block Inserter:
A refreshed design gives you easier access to the content you need. Use the Media tab to quickly drag and drop content from your existing Media Library. Find patterns faster with a split view that lets you navigate categories and see previews all at once.
Find the controls you want when you need them:
Your block settings sidebar is better organized with tabs for Settings and Styles. So the tools you need are easy to identify and access.
Build faster with headers and footers for block themes:
Discover a new collection of header and footer patterns. Use them with any block theme as a quick, high-quality starting point for your site’s templates.
Explore Openverse media right from the Editor:
Openverse’s library catalogs over 700 million+ free, openly licensed stock images and audio—and now it’s directly integrated into the WordPress experience through the Inserter.
Focus on writing with Distraction Free mode:
For those times you want to be alone with your ideas. You can now hide all your panels and controls, leaving you free to bring your content to life.
Meet the new Style Book:
Get a complete overview of how every block in your site’s library looks. All in one place, all at a glance, directly in the Site Editor.
Copy and paste styles:
Perfect the design on one type of block, then copy and paste those styles to other blocks to get just the look you want.
Custom CSS:
Power up your site any way you wish with design tools and custom CSS for another level of control over your site’s look and feel for maximum creativity and artistry in your designs.
Other highlights in 6.2:
Sticky positioning: Choose to keep top-level group blocks fixed to the top of a page as visitors scroll.
Importing widgets: Options to import your favorite widgets from Classic themes to Block themes.
Local fonts in themes: Default WordPress themes offer better privacy with Google Fonts now included.
Performance highlights:
“Dolphy” includes several impressive performance improvements. You’ll note overall faster load times for block themes of 14 to 18%, and for classic themes, speed increases of 2 to 5%. Server-side performance is also significantly boosted, with an increase of 17 to 23% for block themes and 3 to 5% for classic themes, 3 to 5%. The performance team is dedicated to these kinds of improvements. You can learn more about their work by following the Making WordPress blog using the #performance hashtag.

New in WordPress 6.1.1 (Nov 16, 2022)

New in WordPress 6.1 (Nov 16, 2022)

Twenty Twenty-Three:
A fresh default theme with 10 distinct style variations:
After introducing foundational elements for block themes and style variations in releases 5.9 and 6.0, WordPress site builders welcome a new default theme, Twenty Twenty-Three, that is powered by 10 different styles and tagged as “Accessibility Ready.” These intentionally unique styles ensure users can apply a different look and feel to their site with a single click—all within a single theme.
New templates for an improved creator experience:
New and more refined templates now give site builders more control over the creation of their sites. In this suite of new templates, find a custom template for posts & pages in the Site Editor. Create and edit template parts like headers and footers more quickly with a new search-and-replace tool and easily view your new site.
Design tools for more consistency and control:
Thoughtful upgrades to the controls for design elements and blocks make laying out and building your new site a more consistent, complete, and intuitive experience.
Manage menus with ease:
New fallback options in the navigation block mean you can edit the menu that’s open; no searching needed. Plus, the controls for choosing and working on menus have their own place in the block settings. The mobile menu system also gets an upgrade with new features, including different icon options, to make the menu yours.
Cleaner layouts and document settings visualization:
View and manage post and page settings with a better-organized display improving the use of features like template picker and scheduler.
One-click lock setting for all inner blocks:
When locking blocks, a new toggle lets you apply your lock settings to all the blocks in a containing block like the group, cover, and column blocks.
Improved block placeholders:
Various blocks have improved placeholders that reflect customization options to help you design your site and its content. For example, the Image block placeholder displays custom borders and duotone filters even before selecting an image.
Compose richer lists and quotes with inner blocks:
The List and Quote blocks now support inner blocks, allowing for more flexible and rich compositions like adding headings inside your Quote blocks.
More responsive text with fluid typography:
For developers working with block themes and/or theme.json, fluid typography lets you define font sizes that adapt for easy reading in any screen size.
Add starter patterns to any post type:
In WordPress 6.0, site builders could add suggested patterns so that when creating a new page, you did not have to start blank. In 6.1, site builders can continue to opt-in to this feature for not only pages but for any post type.
Find block themes faster:
The Themes Directory has a filter for block themes, and a pattern preview gives a better sense of what the theme might look like while exploring different themes and patterns.
Keep your Site Editor settings for later:
Site Editor settings are now persistent for each user. This means your settings will now be consistent across browsers and devices.
A streamlined style system:
The CSS rules for margin, padding, typography, colors, and borders within the styles engine are now all in one place, reducing time spent on layout-specific tasks and helps to generate semantic class names.
Updated interface options and features:
Updates include styling elements like buttons, citations, and links globally; controlling hover, active, and focus states for links using theme.json (not available to control in the interface yet); and customizing outline support for blocks and elements, among other features.
Continued evolution of layout options:
The default content dimensions provided by themes can now be overridden in the Styles Sidebar, giving site builders better control over full-width content. Developers have fine-grained control over these controls.
Block Template parts in classic themes:
Block template parts can now be defined in classic themes by adding the appropriate HTML files `parts` directory at the root of the theme.
Expanded support for Query Loop blocks:
New filters let Query Block variations support custom queries for more powerful variations and advanced hierarchical post types filtering options.
Filters for all your styles:
Leverage filters in the Styles sidebar to control settings at all four levels of your site—core, theme, user, or block, from less to more specific.
Spacing presets for faster, consistent design:
Save time and avoid hard-coding values into a theme with preset margin and padding values for multiple blocks.
Content-only editing support for container blocks:
Thanks to content-only editing settings, layouts can be locked within container blocks. In a content-only block, its children are invisible to the List View and entirely uneditable. So you control the layout while your writers can focus on the content. Combine it with block-locking options for even more advanced control over your blocks.
Other notes of interest:
6.1 includes a new time-to-read feature showing content authors the approximate time-to-read values for pages, posts, and custom post types.
The site tagline is empty by default in new sites but can be modified in General Settings.
A new modal design offers a background blur effect, making it easier to focus on the task at hand.
Enhancing WordPress 6.1 Accessibility:
Accessibility is an integral part of the WordPress mission of fostering an inclusive community and supporting users of all types around the world. With this in mind, WordPress 6.1 includes nearly 60 updates specifically focused on enhancing the accessibility of the platform. Read these updates to learn more about the continual initiatives aimed at improving accessibility.
Improved Performance in WordPress 6.1:
WordPress 6.1 resolves more than 25 tickets dedicated to enhancing performance with improvements for every type of site. A full breakdown can be found in the Performance Field Guide.

New in WordPress 6.0.3 (Oct 18, 2022)

New in WordPress 6.0.2 (Aug 31, 2022)

New in WordPress 6.0.1 (Jul 13, 2022)

New in WordPress 6.0 (Jun 27, 2022)

Enhanced Writing Experience:
Writing improvements abound, whether you’re writing a brand new post or adding elements to an existing page. Explore more ways to streamline your content creation process, including:
Select text across multiple blocks for easier copying and pasting.
Type two open brackets `[[` to quickly access a list of recent posts and pages.
Keep existing styles when you transform some blocks from one kind to another—from a Paragraph block to a Code block, for instance.
Create customized buttons and any new buttons you make will retain the style customizations automatically.
Make tag clouds and social icons even more appealing with updated settings and controls, and a new outline style for the tag cloud.
Style Switching:
Block themes now include the option to contain multiple style variations. This expands the new Style system even further and enables shortcuts to switch the look and feel of your site all within a single theme. In block themes that support this feature, you can change both the available settings, like the font-weight, and the style options, like the default color palette. Change the look and feel of your site with just a few clicks.
More Template Choices:
WordPress 6.0 includes five new template options for block themes: author, date, categories, tag, and taxonomy. These additional templates provide greater flexibility for content creators. Tailor each with the tools you already know or with the following new options in this release:
Featured images can be used in the cover block.
New featured image sizing controls make it easier to get the results you want.
While editing a template, at the root, or between blocks, the quick inserter shows you patterns and template parts to help you work faster and discover new layout options.
The query block supports filtering on multiple authors, support for custom taxonomies, and support for customizing what is shown when there are no results.
Integrated Patterns:
Patterns will now appear when you need them in even more places, like in the quick inserter or when creating a new header or footer. If you’re a block theme author, you can even register patterns from the Pattern Directory using `theme.json`, enabling you to prioritize specific patterns that are most helpful to your theme’s users.
Additional Design Tools:
Design tools grow more powerful and intuitive with each release. Some highlights for 6.0 include:
A new color panel design saves space, but still shows your options at a glance.
New border controls offer a simpler way to set your border exactly as you like it.
Transparency levels for your colors allow for even more creative color options.
Control gaps, margins, typography, and more on a collection of blocks, all at once, in the Group block.
Switch between stack, row, and group variations to position groups of blocks with more layout flexibility.
Use the gap support functionality in the Gallery block to create different looks – from adding spacing between all images, to removing spacing altogether.
Better List View:
New keyboard shortcuts enable you to select multiple blocks from the list view, modify them in bulk, and drag and drop them within the list. List View can be opened and closed easily; it comes collapsed by default and it automatically expands to the current selection whenever you select a block.
Block Locking Controls:
Now you can lock your blocks. Choose to disable the option to move a block, remove a block, or both. This simplifies project handover, allowing your clients to unleash their creativity without worrying about accidentally breaking their site in the process.
Improved Performance in WordPress 6.0:
This release includes several updates focused on improving the performance of WordPress. These enhancements cover a range of performance areas including improving the page and post-load speed, reducing the execution time of various query types, caching, navigation menus, and much more. The performance team working group is an important focus area of the core development team. For more information on this group’s work, please follow their work on Making WordPress with the #performance hashtag.
Enhancing WordPress 6.0 Accessibility:
Accessibility is an integral part of the WordPress mission of fostering an inclusive community and supporting users of all types around the world. With this in mind, WordPress 6.0 includes more than 50 updates specifically focused on enhancing the accessibility of the platform. You can read about these updates and learn more about the accessibility initiatives that are ongoing.

New in WordPress 5.9.3 (Apr 6, 2022)

New in WordPress 5.9.2 (Mar 14, 2022)

New in WordPress 5.9.1 (Feb 23, 2022)

New in WordPress 5.9 (Feb 23, 2022)

Full site editing is here:
It puts you in control of your whole site, right in the WordPress Admin.
Say hello to Twenty Twenty-Two:
And say hello to the first default block theme in the history of WordPress. This is more than just a new default theme. It’s a brand-new way to work with WordPress themes.
Block themes put a wide array of visual choices directly in your hands, from color schemes and font combinations to page templates and image filters, all from the Site Editor. So in one place, you can give Twenty Twenty-Two the same look and feel as your organization’s other materials—or take your site’s look in another direction.
You already have the Twenty Twenty-Two theme—it came installed with WordPress 5.9. You will find it with your other installed themes.
Your personal paintbox awaits:
Twenty Twenty-Two is not the only theme built for full site editing. More block themes are in the Themes directory, and the number will grow.
When you use any of those new themes, you no longer need the Customizer. Instead, you have all the power of the Styles interface inside the Site Editor. Just as in Twenty Twenty-Two, you build your site’s look and feel there, with the tools you need for the job in a fluid interface that practically comes alive in your hands.
The Navigation block:
Blocks come to site navigation, the heart of user experience.
The new Navigation block gives you the power to choose: an always-on responsive menu or one that adapts to your user’s screen size. And your choices are remembered! In 5.9, the block saves menus as custom post types, which get saved to the database.
More improvements and updates:
Do you love to blog? New tweaks to the publishing flow help you say more, faster.
Better block controls:
WordPress 5.9 features new typography tools, flexible layout controls, and finer control of details like spacing, borders, and more—to help you get not just the look, but the polish that says you care about details.
The power of patterns:
The WordPress Pattern Directory is the home of a wide range of block patterns built to save you time and add to your site’s functionality. And you can edit them as you see fit. Need something different in the header or footer for your theme? Swap it out with a new one in a few clicks.
With a nearly full-screen view that draws you in to see fine details, the Pattern Explorer makes it easy to compare patterns and choose the one your users need.
A revamped List View:
In 5.9, the List View lets you drag and drop your content exactly where you want it. Managing complex documents is easier, too: simple controls let you expand and collapse sections as you build your site—and add HTML anchors to your blocks to help users get around the page.
A better Gallery block:
Treat every image in a Gallery Block the same way you would treat it in the Image Block.
Style every image in your gallery differently, or make them all the same, except for one or two. Or change the layout with drag-and-drop.

New in WordPress 5.8.3 (Jan 7, 2022)

New in WordPress 5.8.2 (Nov 16, 2021)

New in WordPress 5.8.1 (Sep 9, 2021)

New in WordPress 5.8 (Aug 9, 2021)

ntroducing 5.8 “Tatum”, our latest and greatest release now available for download or update in your dashboard. Named in honor of Art Tatum, the legendary Jazz pianist. His formidable technique and willingness to push boundaries inspired musicians and changed what people thought could be done.
So fire up your music service of choice and enjoy Tatum’s famous recordings of ‘Tea for Two’, ‘Tiger Rag’, ‘Begin the Beguine’, and ‘Night and Day’ as you read about what the latest WordPress version brings to you.
Three Essential Powerhouses:
Manage Widgets with Blocks
After months of hard work, the power of blocks has come to both the Block Widgets Editor and the Customizer. Now you can add blocks both in widget areas across your site and with live preview through the Customizer. This opens up new possibilities to create content: from no-code mini layouts to the vast library of core and third-party blocks. For our developers, you can find more details in the Widgets dev note.
Display Posts with New Blocks and Patterns:
The Query Loop Block makes it possible to display posts based on specified parameters; like a PHP loop without the code. Easily display posts from a specific category, to do things like create a portfolio or a page full of your favorite recipes. Think of it as a more complex and powerful Latest Posts Block! Plus, pattern suggestions make it easier than ever to create a list of posts with the design you want.
Edit the Templates Around Posts:
You can use the familiar block editor to edit templates that hold your content—simply activate a block theme or a theme that has opted in for this feature. Switch from editing your posts to editing your pages and back again, all while using a familiar block editor. There are more than 20 new blocks available within compatible themes. Read more about this feature and how to experiment with it in the release notes.
Three Workflow Helpers:
Overview of the Page Structure:
Sometimes you need a simple landing page, but sometimes you need something a little more robust. As blocks increase, patterns emerge, and content creation gets easier, new solutions are needed to make complex content easy to navigate. List View is the best way to jump between layers of content and nested blocks. Since the List View gives you an overview of all the blocks in your content, you can now navigate quickly to the precise block you need. Ready to focus completely on your content? Toggle it on or off to suit your workflow.
Suggested Patterns for Blocks:
Starting in this release the Pattern Transformations tool will suggest block patterns based on the block you are using. Right now, you can give it a try in the Query Block and Social Icon Block. As more patterns are added, you will be able to get inspiration for how to style your site without ever leaving the editor!
Style and Colorize Images:
Colorize your image and cover blocks with duotone filters! Duotone can add a pop of color to your designs and style your images (or videos in the cover block) to integrate well with your themes. You can think of the duotone effect as a black and white filter, but instead of the shadows being black and the highlights being white, you pick your own colors for the shadows and highlights. There’s more to learn about how it works in the documentation.
For Developers to Explore:
Theme.json:
Introducing the Global Styles and Global Settings APIs: control the editor settings, available customization tools, and style blocks using a theme.json file in the active theme. This configuration file enables or disables features and sets default styles for both a website and blocks. If you build themes, you can experiment with this early iteration of a useful new feature. For more about what is currently available and how it works, check out this dev note.
Dropping support for IE11:
Support for Internet Explorer 11 has been dropped as of this release. This means you may have issues managing your site that will not be fixed in the future. If you are currently using IE11, it is strongly recommended that you switch to a more modern browser.
Adding support for WebP:
WebP is a modern image format that provides improved lossless and lossy compression for images on the web. WebP images are around 30% smaller on average than their JPEG or PNG equivalents, resulting in sites that are faster and use less bandwidth.
Adding Additional Block Supports:
Expanding on previously implemented block supports in WordPress 5.6 and 5.7, WordPress 5.8 introduces several new block support flags and new options to customize your registered blocks. More information is available in the block supports dev note.
Check the Field Guide for more!
Check out the latest version of the WordPress Field Guide. It highlights developer notes for each change you may want to be aware of: WordPress 5.8 Field Guide.

New in WordPress 5.7.2 (May 13, 2021)

New in WordPress 5.7.1 (Apr 16, 2021)

New in WordPress 5.7 (Apr 16, 2021)

Meet “Esperanza”, the first WordPress release of 2021. “Esperanza” is named in honor of Esperanza Spalding, a modern musical prodigy. Her path as a musician is varied and inspiring—learn more about her and give her music a listen!
With this new version, WordPress brings you fresh colors. The editor helps you work in a few places you couldn’t before without getting into code or hiring a pro. The controls you use most are right where you need them. Layout changes that should be simple, are even simpler to make.
Now the new editor is easier to use
Font-size adjustment in more places: now, font-size controls are right where you need them in the List and Code blocks. No more trekking to another screen to make that single change!
Reusable blocks: several enhancements make reusable blocks more stable and easier to use. And now they save automatically with the post when you click the Update button.
Inserter drag-and-drop: drag blocks and block patterns from the inserter right into your post.
You can do more without writing custom code:
Full-height alignment: have you ever wanted to make a block, like the Cover block, fill the whole window? Now you can.
Buttons block: now you can choose a vertical or a horizontal layout. And you can set the width of a button to a preset percentage.
Social Icons block: now you can change the size of the icons.
A simpler default color palette:
This new streamlined color palette collapses all the colors that used to be in the WordPress source code down to seven core colors and a range of 56 shades that meet the WCAG 2.0 AA recommended contrast ratio against white or black.
Find the new palette in the default WordPress Dashboard color scheme, and use it when you’re building themes, plugins, or any other components. For all the details, check out the Color Palette dev note.
From HTTP to HTTPS in a single click:
Starting now, switching a site from HTTP to HTTPS is a one-click move. WordPress will automatically update database URLs when you make the switch. No more hunting and guessing!
New Robots API:
The new Robots API lets you include the filter directives in the robots meta tag, and the API includes the max-image-preview: large directive by default. That means search engines can show bigger image previews, which can boost your traffic (unless the site is marked not-public).
Lazy-load your iFrames:
Now it’s simple to let iframes lazy-load. By default, WordPress will add a loading="lazy" attribute to iframe tags when both width and height are specified.
Ongoing cleanup after update to jQuery 3.5.1:
For years jQuery helped make things move on the screen in ways the basic tools couldn’t—but that keeps changing, and so does jQuery.
In 5.7, jQuery gets more focused and less intrusive, with fewer messages in the console.

New in WordPress 5.6.2 (Feb 23, 2021)

New in WordPress 5.6.1 (Feb 4, 2021)

New in WordPress 5.5.3 (Nov 1, 2020)

New in WordPress 5.5.2 (Oct 30, 2020)

New in WordPress 5.5.1 (Sep 2, 2020)

New in WordPress 5.5 (Sep 2, 2020)

New in WordPress 5.4.2 (Jun 11, 2020)

New in WordPress 5.4.1 (Apr 30, 2020)

New in WordPress 5.4 (Apr 3, 2020)

Every major release adds more to the block editor:
More ways to make posts and pages come alive with your best images. More ways to bring your visitors in, and keep them engaged, with the richness of embedded media from the web’s top services.
More ways to make your vision real, and put blocks in the perfect place—even if a particular kind of block is new to you. More efficient processes.
And more speed everywhere, so as you build sections or galleries, or just type in a line of prose, you can feel how much faster your work flows.
Two new blocks. And better blocks overall:
Two brand-new blocks: Social Icons and Buttons make adding interactive features fast and easy.
New ways with color: Gradients in the Buttons and Cover block, toolbar access to color options in Rich Text blocks, and for the first time, color options in the Group and Columns blocks.
Guess a whole lot less! Version 5.4 streamlines the whole process for placing and replacing multimedia in every block. Now it works the same way in almost every block!
And if you’ve ever thought your image in the Media+Text block should link to something else—perhaps a picture of a brochure should download that brochure as a document? Well, now it can.
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WordPress 5.4 “Adderley”
Posted March 31, 2020 by Matt Mullenweg. Filed under Releases.
Here it is! Named “Adderley” in honor of Nat Adderley, the latest and greatest version of WordPress is available for download or update in your dashboard.
Say hello to more and better.
More ways to make your pages come alive. With easier ways to get it all done and looking better than ever—and boosts in speed you can feel.
Welcome to WordPress 5.4
Every major release adds more to the block editor.
More ways to make posts and pages come alive with your best images. More ways to bring your visitors in, and keep them engaged, with the richness of embedded media from the web’s top services.
More ways to make your vision real, and put blocks in the perfect place—even if a particular kind of block is new to you. More efficient processes.
And more speed everywhere, so as you build sections or galleries, or just type in a line of prose, you can feel how much faster your work flows.
Two new blocks. And better blocks overall.
Two brand-new blocks: Social Icons and Buttons make adding interactive features fast and easy.
New ways with color: Gradients in the Buttons and Cover block, toolbar access to color options in Rich Text blocks, and for the first time, color options in the Group and Columns blocks.
Guess a whole lot less! Version 5.4 streamlines the whole process for placing and replacing multimedia in every block. Now it works the same way in almost every block!
And if you’ve ever thought your image in the Media+Text block should link to something else—perhaps a picture of a brochure should download that brochure as a document? Well, now it can.
Cleaner UI, clearer navigation—and easier tabbing:
Clearer block navigation with block breadcrumbs. And easier selection once you get there.
For when you need to navigate with the keyboard, better tabbing and focus. Plus, you can tab over to the sidebar of nearly any block.
Speed! 14% faster loading of the editor, 51% faster time-to-type!
Tips are gone. In their place, a Welcome Guide window you can bring up when you need it—and only when you need it—again and again.
Know at a glance whether you’re in a block’s Edit or Navigation mode. Or, if you have restricted vision, your screen reader will tell you which mode you’re in.
Your fundamental right: privacy:
5.4 helps with a variety of privacy issues around the world. So when users and stakeholders ask about regulatory compliance, or how your team handles user data, the answers should be a lot easier to get right.
Take a look:
Now personal data exports include users session information and users location data from the community events widget. Plus, a table of contents!
See progress as you process export and erasure requests through the privacy tools.
Plus, little enhancements throughout give the privacy tools a little cleaner look. Your eyes will thank you!
Just for developers:
Add custom fields to menu items—natively:
Two new actions let you add custom fields to menu items—without a plugin and without writing custom walkers.
On the Menus admin screen, wp_nav_menu_item_custom_fields fires just before the move buttons of a nav menu item in the menu editor.
In the Customizer, wp_nav_menu_item_custom_fields_customize_template fires at the end of the menu-items form-fields template.
Check your code and see where these new actions can replace your custom code, and if you’re concerned about duplication, add a check for the WordPress version.
Blocks! Simpler styling, new APIs and embeds:
Radically simpler block styling. Negative margins and default padding are gone! Now you can style blocks the way you need them. And, a refactor got rid of four redundant wrapper divs.
If you build plugins, now you can register collections of your blocks by namespace across categories—a great way to get more brand visibility.
Let users do more with two new APIs: block variations and gradients.
In embeds, now the block editor supports TikTok—and CollegeHumor is gone.

New in WordPress 5.3.2 (Dec 19, 2019)

New in WordPress 5.3.1 (Dec 13, 2019)

This security and maintenance release features 46 fixes and enhancements. Plus, it adds a number of security fixes—see the list below.
WordPress 5.3.1 is a short-cycle maintenance release. The next major release will be version 5.4.
You can download WordPress 5.3.1 by clicking the button at the top of this page, or visit your Dashboard → Updates and click Update Now.
If you have sites that support automatic background updates, they’ve already started the update process.
Security updates:
Four security issues affect WordPress versions 5.3 and earlier; version 5.3.1 fixes them, so you’ll want to upgrade. If you haven’t yet updated to 5.3, there are also updated versions of 5.2 and earlier that fix the security issues.
Props to Daniel Bachhuber for finding an issue where an unprivileged user could make a post sticky via the REST API.
Props to Simon Scannell of RIPS Technologies for finding and disclosing an issue where cross-site scripting (XSS) could be stored in well-crafted links.
Props to the WordPress.org Security Team for hardening wp_kses_bad_protocol() to ensure that it is aware of the named colon attribute.
Props to Nguyen The Duc for discovering a stored XSS vulnerability using block editor content.
Maintenance updates:
Here are a few of the highlights:
Administration: improvements to admin form controls height and alignment standardization (see related dev note), dashboard widget links accessibility and alternate color scheme readability issues (see related dev note).
Block editor: fix Edge scrolling issues and intermittent JavaScript issues.
Bundled themes: add customizer option to show/hide author bio, replace JS based smooth scroll with CSS (see related dev note) and fix Instagram embed CSS.
Date/time: improve non-GMT dates calculation, fix date format output in specific languages and make get_permalink() more resilient against PHP timezone changes.
Embeds: remove CollegeHumor oEmbed provider as the service doesn’t exist anymore.
External libraries: update sodium_compat.
Site health: allow the remind interval for the admin email verification to be filtered.
Uploads: avoid thumbnails overwriting other uploads when filename matches, and exclude PNG images from scaling after upload.
Users: ensure administration email verification uses the user’s locale instead of the site locale.

New in WordPress 5.3 (Nov 14, 2019)

5.3 expands and refines the block editor with more intuitive interactions and improved accessibility. New features in the editor increase design freedoms, provide additional layout options and style variations to allow designers more control over the look of a site.
This release also introduces the Twenty Twenty theme giving the user more design flexibility and integration with the block editor. Creating beautiful web pages and advanced layouts has never been easier.
Block Editor Improvements:
This enhancement-focused update introduces over 150 new features and usability improvements, including improved large image support for uploading non-optimized, high-resolution pictures taken from your smartphone or other high-quality cameras. Combined with larger default image sizes, pictures always look their best.
Accessibility improvements include the integration of block editor styles in the admin interface. These improved styles fix many accessibility issues: color contrast on form fields and buttons, consistency between editor and admin interfaces, new snackbar notices, standardizing to the default WordPress color scheme, and the introduction of Motion to make interacting with your blocks feel swift and natural.
For people who use a keyboard to navigate the dashboard, the block editor now has a Navigation mode. This lets you jump from block to block without tabbing through every part of the block controls.
Expanded Design Flexibility:
WordPress 5.3 adds even more robust tools for creating amazing designs:
The new Group block lets you easily divide your page into colorful sections.
The Columns block now supports fixed column widths.
The new predefined layouts make it a cinch to arrange content into advanced designs.
Heading blocks now offer controls for text and background color.
Additional style options allow you to set your preferred style for any block that supports this feature.
Introducing Twenty Twenty:
As the block editor celebrates its first birthday, we are proud that Twenty Twenty is designed with flexibility at its core. Show off your services or products with a combination of columns, groups, and media blocks. Set your content to wide or full alignment for dynamic and engaging layouts. Or let your thoughts be the star with a centered content column!
As befits a theme called Twenty Twenty, clarity and readability is also a big focus. The theme includes the typeface Inter, designed by Rasmus Andersson. Inter comes in a Variable Font version, a first for default themes, which keeps load times short by containing all weights and styles of Inter in just two font files.
Improvements for Everyone:
Automatic Image Rotation:
Your images will be correctly rotated upon upload according to the embedded orientation data. This feature was first proposed nine years ago and made possible through the perseverance of many dedicated contributors.
Improved Site Health Checks:
The improvements introduced in 5.3 make it even easier to identify issues. Expanded recommendations highlight areas that may need troubleshooting on your site from the Health Check screen.
Admin Email Verification:
You’ll now be periodically asked to confirm that your admin email address is up to date when you log in as an administrator. This reduces the chance of getting locked out of your site if you change your email address.
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WordPress 5.3 “Kirk”
Posted November 12, 2019 by Matt Mullenweg. Filed under Releases.
Album cover for WordPress 5.3 Kirk, showcasing a duotone red/cream Rahsaan Roland Kirk playing the saxophone on a red background.
Introducing our most refined user experience with the improved block editor in WordPress 5.3! Named “Kirk” in honour of jazz multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk, the latest and greatest version of WordPress is available for download or update in your dashboard.
5.3 expands and refines the block editor with more intuitive interactions and improved accessibility. New features in the editor increase design freedoms, provide additional layout options and style variations to allow designers more control over the look of a site.
This release also introduces the Twenty Twenty theme giving the user more design flexibility and integration with the block editor. Creating beautiful web pages and advanced layouts has never been easier.
Block Editor Improvements
This enhancement-focused update introduces over 150 new features and usability improvements, including improved large image support for uploading non-optimized, high-resolution pictures taken from your smartphone or other high-quality cameras. Combined with larger default image sizes, pictures always look their best.
Accessibility improvements include the integration of block editor styles in the admin interface. These improved styles fix many accessibility issues: color contrast on form fields and buttons, consistency between editor and admin interfaces, new snackbar notices, standardizing to the default WordPress color scheme, and the introduction of Motion to make interacting with your blocks feel swift and natural.
For people who use a keyboard to navigate the dashboard, the block editor now has a Navigation mode. This lets you jump from block to block without tabbing through every part of the block controls.
Expanded Design Flexibility
WordPress 5.3 adds even more robust tools for creating amazing designs.
The new Group block lets you easily divide your page into colorful sections.
The Columns block now supports fixed column widths.
The new predefined layouts make it a cinch to arrange content into advanced designs.
Heading blocks now offer controls for text and background color.
Additional style options allow you to set your preferred style for any block that supports this feature.
Introducing Twenty Twenty
A desktop preview of the Twenty Twenty theme, showing both the front-end and the editor view.
A mobile image of the Twenty Twenty theme, over a decorative backgorund of brown-grey bars.
As the block editor celebrates its first birthday, we are proud that Twenty Twenty is designed with flexibility at its core. Show off your services or products with a combination of columns, groups, and media blocks. Set your content to wide or full alignment for dynamic and engaging layouts. Or let your thoughts be the star with a centered content column!
As befits a theme called Twenty Twenty, clarity and readability is also a big focus. The theme includes the typeface Inter, designed by Rasmus Andersson. Inter comes in a Variable Font version, a first for default themes, which keeps load times short by containing all weights and styles of Inter in just two font files.
Improvements for Everyone
An icon showing an arrow rotating a square.
Automatic Image Rotation
Your images will be correctly rotated upon upload according to the embedded orientation data. This feature was first proposed nine years ago and made possible through the perseverance of many dedicated contributors.
A plus in a square, indicating health.
Improved Site Health Checks
The improvements introduced in 5.3 make it even easier to identify issues. Expanded recommendations highlight areas that may need troubleshooting on your site from the Health Check screen.
A email icon.
Admin Email Verification
You’ll now be periodically asked to confirm that your admin email address is up to date when you log in as an administrator. This reduces the chance of getting locked out of your site if you change your email address.
For Developers:
Date/Time Component Fixes:
Developers can now work with dates and timezones in a more reliable way. Date and time functionality has received a number of new API functions for unified timezone retrieval and PHP interoperability, as well as many bug fixes.
PHP 7.4 Compatibility:
WordPress 5.3 aims to fully support PHP 7.4. This release contains multiple changes to remove deprecated functionality and ensure compatibility. WordPress continues to encourage all users to run the latest and greatest versions of PHP.

New in WordPress 5.2.4 (Oct 15, 2019)

New in WordPress 5.2.3 (Sep 5, 2019)

New in WordPress 5.2.2 (Jun 19, 2019)

New in WordPress 5.2.1 (May 22, 2019)

New in WordPress 5.2 (May 8, 2019)

Version 5.2 of WordPress, named “Jaco” in honor of renowned and revolutionary jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius, is available for download or update in your WordPress dashboard. New features in this update make it easier than ever to fix your site if something goes wrong.
There are even more robust tools for identifying and fixing configuration issues and fatal errors. Whether you are a developer helping clients or you manage your site solo, these tools can help get you the right information when you need it.
Site Health Check:
Building on the Site Health features introduced in 5.1, this release adds two new pages to help debug common configuration issues. It also adds space where developers can include debugging information for site maintainers.
PHP Error Protection:
This administrator-focused update will let you safely fix or manage fatal errors without requiring developer time. It features better handling of the so-called “white screen of death,” and a way to enter recovery mode, which pauses error-causing plugins or themes.
Improvements for Everyone:
Accessibility Updates:
A number of changes work together to improve contextual awareness and keyboard navigation flow for those using screen readers and other assistive technologies.
New Dashboard Icons:
Thirteen new icons including Instagram, a suite of icons for BuddyPress, and rotated Earth icons for global inclusion. Find them in the Dashboard and have some fun!
Plugin Compatibility Checks:
WordPress will now automatically determine if your site’s version of PHP is compatible with installed plugins. If the plugin requires a higher version of PHP than your site currently uses, WordPress will not allow you to activate it, preventing potential compatibility errors.
Developer Happiness:
PHP Version Bump:
The minimum supported PHP version is now 5.6.20. As of WordPress 5.2*, themes and plugins can safely take advantage of namespaces, anonymous functions, and more!
Privacy Updates:
A new theme page template, a conditional function, and two CSS classes make designing and customizing the Privacy Policy page easier.
New Body Hook:
5.2 introduces a wp_body_open hook, which lets themes support injecting code right at the beginning of the element.
Building JavaScript:
With the addition of webpack and Babel configurations in the wordpress/scripts package, developers won’t have to worry about setting up complex build tools to write modern JavaScript.

New in WordPress 5.1.1 (Mar 13, 2019)

New in WordPress 5.1 (Feb 22, 2019)

New in WordPress 5.0.3 (Jan 10, 2019)

New in WordPress 5.0.2 (Dec 20, 2018)

New in WordPress 5.0.1 (Dec 13, 2018)

New in WordPress 5.0 (Dec 13, 2018)

We’ve made some big upgrades to the editor. Our new block-based editor is the first step toward an exciting new future with a streamlined editing experience across your site. You’ll have more flexibility with how content is displayed, whether you are building your first site, revamping your blog, or write code for a living.
Building with Blocks:
The new block-based editor won’t change the way any of your content looks to your visitors. What it will do is let you insert any type of multimedia in a snap and rearrange to your heart’s content. Each piece of content will be in its own block; a distinct wrapper for easy maneuvering. If you’re more of an HTML and CSS sort of person, then the blocks won’t stand in your way. WordPress is here to simplify the process, not the outcome.
We have tons of blocks available by default, and more get added by the community every day. Here are a few of the blocks to help you get started:
Paragraph
Heading
Preformatted
Quote
Image
Gallery
Cover
Video
Audio
Columns
File
Code
List
Button
Embeds
More
Freedom to Build, Freedom to Write:
This new editing experience provides a more consistent treatment of design as well as content. If you’re building client sites, you can create reusable blocks. This lets your clients add new content anytime, while still maintaining a consistent look and feel.
A Stunning New Default Theme:
Introducing Twenty Nineteen, a new default theme that shows off the power of the new editor.
Designed for the block editor:
Twenty Nineteen features custom styles for the blocks available by default in 5.0. It makes extensive use of editor styles throughout the theme. That way, what you create in your content editor is what you see on the front of your site.
Simple, type-driven layout:
Featuring ample whitespace, and modern sans-serif headlines paired with classic serif body text, Twenty Nineteen is built to be beautiful on the go. It uses system fonts to increase loading speed. No more long waits on slow networks!
Versatile design for all sites:
Twenty Nineteen is designed to work for a wide variety of use cases. Whether you’re running a photo blog, launching a new business, or supporting a non-profit, Twenty Nineteen is flexible enough to fit your needs.

New in WordPress 4.9.8 (Aug 3, 2018)

“Try Gutenberg” callout:
Most users will now be presented with a notice in their WordPress dashboard. This “Try Gutenberg” is an opportunity for users to use the Gutenberg block editor before it is released in WordPress 5.0.
Privacy fixes/enhancements:
The type of request being confirmed is now included in the subject line for all privacy confirmation emails.
Improved consistency with site name being used for privacy emails in multisite.
Pagination for Privacy request admin screens can now be adjusted.
Increased the test coverage for several core privacy functions.
Administration:
#44611 – try Gutenberg header wraps over text below on narrow screens
#44627 – minor tweaks to Try Gutenberg callout formatting
Bundled Theme:
#44109 – TwentySeventeen backend editor: level 2 bulleted lists nested under numbered lists show numbers instead of bullets
#44646 – Bundled Themes: Bump version number and update changelog in Twenty Seventeen for 4.9.8 release
Comments:
#44126 – Adding fields to comments_form args prevents checkbox displaying
#44141 – Privacy: Don’t replace comment author URL and email with anything
#44342 – Commenter cookie consent message should not be displayed if the cookie action isn’t hooked
Customize:
#44627 – minor tweaks to Try Gutenberg callout formatting
Editor:
#41316 – Introduce “Try Gutenberg” callout
#44341 – Replace _deprecated_function( ‘add_filter’ ) with apply_filters_deprecated()
#44680 – Restrict the Try Gutenberg callout audience
Emoji:
#44339 – minor tweaks to Try Gutenberg callout formatting
Filesystem API:
#43054 – wp_is_stream fails with stream definition containing nonascii chars
I18N:
#44139 – i18n: “About” disambiguation
#44574 – Saratov and other cities missing from translations
Login and Registration:
#44052 – Missing parameter type for `login_header()`
Media:
#44532 – Extreme memory leak related to wp_is_stream in wp-includes/functions.php in WordPress 4.9.7
#43751 – REST API: Attachments controller should respect “Max upload file size” and “Site upload space” in multisite
Options, Meta APIs:
#38323 – Reconsider $object_subtype handling in `register_meta()`
Posts, Post Types:
#36085 – Add action hook to get_inline_data()
Privacy:
#44006 – Privacy Policy page should have suffix like other special pages
#44025 – Privacy: Pagination screen options for the requests list tables
#44099 – Add Request Type into Admin Email Subject for GDPR
#44100 – GDPR Privacy Page setting allows for Draft Pages
#44130 – Mixed Case of Privacy Policy on Privacy Settings page
#44131 – If draft page selected for Privacy Policy page should verbiage change from view to preview
#44181 – The input field id username_or_email_to_export should be something else on remove_personal_data page
#44192 – Title of Privacy Policy Page not used on login page
#44195 – “Silence is golden” index.html generates output
#44265 – Add filter for email subject for erasure complete notification
#44353 – Replace `site_url( ‘wp-login.php’ )` in `wp_send_user_request()`
#44373 – Add a privacy setting to disable comment cookie consent
#44379 – GDPR filters should provide either $request or $request_id
#44382 – Filter the subject within _wp_privacy_send_request_confirmation_notification
#44396 – Inconsistent use of blogname and sitename in Privacy emails
#44612 – Grammar – Missing ‘a’ in ‘select new Privacy Policy page’
#43967 – Admin emails after email confirmation don’t work for data privacy requests
#44590 – Remove “// WPCS:” comments
REST API:
#40861 – REST API saves attachments with absolute path for `_wp_attached_file` on Windows platforms
#43874 – REST API: Only render fields specific to request when _fields= is used
#44321 – REST API: Expose revision count and last revision ID on Post response
Role/Capability:
#44287 – REST API: Declare user capability to perform actions using JSON Hyper Schema `targetSchema`
Taxonomy:
#42691 – WP_Term_Query get_terms generates invalid sql queries
#44096 – REST API: Taxonomy and term endpoints should use correct permission checks
TinyMCE:
#44134 – Update to TinyMCE 4.7.13
#44330 – TinyMCE: do not force-load external TinyMCE plugins

New in WordPress 4.9.8 RC 3 (Aug 1, 2018)

New in WordPress 4.9.8 RC 1 (Jul 25, 2018)

BLESSED TASKS:
A full list of blessed tasks in 4.9.8 Release Candidate 1 can be found on Trac.
Editor:
#41316 – Introduce “Try Gutenberg” callout:
Emoji:
#44339 – Emoji: Update Twemoji to 11.0:
TinyMCE:
#44134 – Update to TinyMCE 4.7.13
See the TinyMCE changelog. WP 4.9.6 included TinyMCE 4.7.11, WP 4.9.8 beta 1 updated to TinyMCE 4.8.0.:
BUG FIXES:
Administration:
#44611 – try Gutenberg header wraps over text below on narrow screens:
Bundled Theme:
#44109 – TwentySeventeen backend editor: level 2 bulleted lists nested under numbered lists show numbers instead of bullets:
Comments:
#44141 – Privacy: Don’t replace comment author URL and email with anything
#44342 – Commenter cookie consent message should not be displayed if the cookie action isn’t hooked
#44126 – Adding fields to comments_form args prevents checkbox displaying:
Customize:
#44104 – Customize: Attempt to count uncountable value:
Editor:
#44341 – Replace _deprecated_function( ‘add_filter’ ) with apply_filters_deprecated():
Filesystem API:
#43054 – wp_is_stream fails with stream definition containing nonascii chars:
I18N:
#44139 – i18n: “About” disambiguation
#44574 – Saratov and other cities missing from translations:
Login and Registration:
#44052 – Missing parameter type for `login_header()`:
Media:
#43751 – REST API: Attachments controller should respect “Max upload file size” and “Site upload space” in multisite
#44532 – Extreme memory leak related to wp_is_stream in wp-includes/functions.php in WordPress 4.9.7:
Privacy:
#44099 – Add Request Type into Admin Email Subject for GDPR
#44130 – Mixed Case of Privacy Policy on Privacy Settings page
#44192 – Title of Privacy Policy Page not used on login page
#44195 – “Silence is golden” index.html generates output
#44265 – Add filter for email subject for erasure complete notification
#44353 – Replace `site_url( ‘wp-login.php’ )` in `wp_send_user_request()`
#44379 – GDPR filters should provide either $request or $request_id
#44382 – Filter the subject within _wp_privacy_send_request_confirmation_notification
#44396 – Inconsistent use of blogname and sitename in Privacy emails
#44590 – Remove “// WPCS:” comments:
Rest API:
#40861 – REST API saves attachments with absolute path for `_wp_attached_file` on Windows platforms
#43874 – REST API: Only render fields specific to request when _fields= is used:
Taxonomy:
#42691 – WP_Term_Query get_terms generates invalid sql queries
#44096 – REST API: Taxonomy and term endpoints should use correct permission checks:
TinyMCE:
#44330 – TinyMCE: do not force-load external TinyMCE plugins:
ENHANCEMENTS:
Options, Meta APIs:
#38323 – Reconsider $object_subtype handling in `register_meta()`:
Posts, Post Types:
#36085 – Add action hook to get_inline_data():
Privacy:
#43967 – Admin emails after email confirmation don’t work for data privacy requests
#44006 – Privacy Policy page should have suffix like other special pages
#44025 – Privacy: Pagination screen options for the requests list tables
#44100 – GDPR Privacy Page setting allows for Draft Pages
#44131 – If draft page selected for Privacy Policy page should verbiage change from view to preview
#44181 – The input field id username_or_email_to_export should be something else on remove_personal_data page
#44373 – Add a privacy setting to disable comment cookie consent
#44612 – Grammar – Missing ‘a’ in ‘select new Privacy Policy page’:
REST API:
#44321 – REST API: Expose revision count and last revision ID on Post response:
Role/Capability:
#44287 – REST API: Declare user capability to perform actions using JSON Hyper Schema `targetSchema`

New in WordPress 4.9.8 Beta 2 (Jul 20, 2018)

New in WordPress 4.9.7 (Jul 6, 2018)

New in WordPress 4.9.6 RC 1 (May 11, 2018)

Customize:
#43945 – Missing closing button tag in ‘Live Preview’ button
General:
#43934 – Missing doc for the user_request_key_expiration filter
#43951 – Typos in `WP_Privacy_Policy_Content::get_default_content()`
#44016 – user_request_action_email_content filter hook documentation inaccurate
#43583 – Account for SimpleXMLElement and `ResourceBundle` in is_countable()
Privacy:
#43964 – “Email Data” button text – Make it more clear that an export link is sent, not the whole data
#43920 – Use the terms erase / erasure instead of remove / removal for personal data
#43905 – Personal data export link does not work
#43913 – On sending the personal data export email, the request should be marked COMPLETED
#43922 – Data removal/erasure requests don’t get marked as “Completed” after erasure happens
#44015 – Add `id` attribute to each row of privacy post list tables
#43852 – Fix spacing on responsive for Use This Page button in Privacy Tools
#43966 – Prioritize the User group in Personal Data Exports to right below the About group
#43968 – Add Request Type into Confirmation Email Subject for GDPR
#44023 – Remove help tab from settings privacy until we have something helpful to say
#43908 – Export keeps generating new .zip files on Windows installations
#43970 – Add request type to the confirmation confirmation page – GDPR
#43973 – Email user once removal request completed – GDPR
#44040 – Potential PHP notice in wp_ajax_wp_privacy_erase_personal_data()
#43954 – Showing the privacy policy admin notice on all screens is intrusive
#43933 – Make the Privacy Policy page intro text shorter and more friendly
#43909 – Improve styling on personal data tables
#43967 – Admin emails after email confirmation don’t work for GDPR requests
#43961 – Privacy Policy popup covers collapsed admin menu
#43929 – Privacy pages: buttons should be buttons and other coding standards
#44031 – Add personal data export request ID to the wp_privacy_personal_data_export_file_created hook
#43980 – Consider outputting the suggested privacy policy content to a new page instead of a postbox
#44023 – Remove help tab from settings privacy until we have something helpful to say
TinyMCE:
#43984 – Customize: JavaScript error when opening Text widget
#43969 – Custom themes will not work in TinyMCE 4.7

New in WordPress 4.9.5 (Apr 4, 2018)

New in WordPress 4.9.4 (Feb 6, 2018)

New in WordPress 4.9.3 (Feb 6, 2018)

New in WordPress 4.9.2 (Jan 17, 2018)

An XSS vulnerability was discovered in the Flash fallback files in MediaElement, a library that is included with WordPress. Because the Flash files are no longer needed for most use cases, they have been removed from WordPress.
MediaElement has released a new version that contains a fix for the bug, and a WordPress plugin containing the fixed files is available in the plugin repository.
21 other bugs were fixed in WordPress 4.9.2. Particularly of note were:
JavaScript errors that prevented saving posts in Firefox have been fixed.
The previous taxonomy-agnostic behavior of get_category_link() and category_description() was restored.
Switching themes will now attempt to restore previous widget assignments, even when there are no sidebars to map.
Bundled Theme:
#42820 - Twenty Seventeen -watch that language
Customize:
#42492 - Selecting menu location changes line height
#42871 - Features box textstrings in Feature Filter area need new linebreak
Database:
#42812 - Use MySQLi when available by default
Editor:
#42664 - Editor link autocomplete suggestions: no fallback title displayed for posts with no title
#43012 - Cannot Update Post in Firefox Due to Editor and TinyMCE JavaScript TypeErrors
External Libraries:
#42439 - Update random_compat external library for PHP 7 linting failure
Formatting:
#42578 - PHP functions inside tags creates new tag, breaking the parent tag into two.
Media:
#42225 - Whitelist Flac Files
#42447 - Mark test_remove_orientation_data_on_rotate as skipped when exif_read_data isn't available
#42480 - Consistent suppression of `getimagesize()` errors
#42720 - Remove unnecessary MediaElement.js files
Plugins:
#43082 - Add plugins search results: the plugin details modal opens in the thickbox modal
REST API:
#42828 - Hard-coded 403 status in REST response should use `rest_authorization_required_code()`
Taxonomy:
#42771 - WP_Term::get_instance() regression for non-category terms queried with 'category' taxonomy
#42605 - category_description() does not work properly since 4.9
#42717 - get_category_link() accepting object but not id
TinyMCE:
#42416 - Code assumes iframe mode, exception in inline mode
Upgrade/Install:
#42963 - Improve deletion of $_old_files during upgrades
Widgets:
#42603 - Widgets Warning after activating theme and on dashboard widgets page
#42719 - Always attempt to restore widgets' previous assignment
#42867 - HTML Widget: toggleClass() should be passed true/false as second param

New in WordPress 4.9.1 (Nov 30, 2017)

New in WordPress 4.9 (Nov 17, 2017)

CUSTOMIZER WORKFLOW IMPROVED
Draft and Schedule Site Design Customizations:
Yes, you read that right. Just like you can draft and revise posts and schedule them to go live on the date and time you choose, you can now tinker with your site’s design and schedule those design changes to go live as you please.
Collaborate with Design Preview Links:
Need to get some feedback on proposed site design changes? WordPress 4.9 gives you a preview link you can send to colleagues and customers so that you can collect and integrate feedback before you schedule the changes to go live. Can we say collaboration++?
Design Locking Guards Your Changes:
Ever encounter a scenario where two designers walk into a project and designer A overrides designer B’s beautiful changes? WordPress 4.9’s design lock feature (similar to post locking) secures your draft design so that no one can make changes to it or erase all your hard work.
A Prompt to Protect Your Work:
Were you lured away from your desk before you saved your new draft design? Fear not, when you return, WordPress 4.9 will politely ask whether or not you’d like to save your unsaved changes.
CODING ENHANCEMENTS:
Syntax Highlighting and Error Checking? Yes, Please:
You’ve got a display problem but can’t quite figure out exactly what went wrong in the CSS you lovingly wrote. With syntax highlighting and error checking for CSS editing and the Custom HTML widget introduced in WordPress 4.8.1, you’ll pinpoint coding errors quickly. Practically guaranteed to help you scan code more easily, and suss out & fix code errors quickly.
Sandbox for Safety:
The dreaded white screen. You’ll avoid it when working on themes and plugin code because WordPress 4.9 will warn you about saving an error. You’ll sleep better at night.
Warning: Potential Danger Ahead:
When you edit themes and plugins directly, WordPress 4.9 will politely warn you that this is a dangerous practice and will recommend that you draft and test changes before updating your file. Take the safe route: You’ll thank you. Your team and customers will thank you.
EVEN MORE WIDGET UPDATES:
The New Gallery Widget:
An incremental improvement to the media changes hatched in WordPress 4.8, you can now add a gallery via this new widget. Yes!
Press a Button, Add Media:
Want to add media to your text widget? Embed images, video, and audio directly into the widget along with your text, with our simple but useful Add Media button. Woo!
SITE BUILDING IMPROVEMENTS:
More Reliable Theme Switching:
When you switch themes, widgets sometimes think they can just move location. Improvements in WordPress 4.9 offer more persistent menu and widget placement when you decide it’s time for a new theme.
Find and Preview the Perfect Theme:
Looking for a new theme for your site? Now, from within the Customizer, you can search, browse, and preview over 2600 themes before deploying changes to your site. What’s more, you can speed your search with filters for subject, features, and layout.
Better Menu Instructions = Less Confusion:
Were you confused by the steps to create a new menu? Perhaps no longer! We’ve ironed out the UX for a smoother menu creation process. Newly updated copy will guide you.
Lend a Hand with Gutenberg:
WordPress is working on a new way to create and control your content and we’d love to have your help. Interested in being an early tester or getting involved with the Gutenberg project? Contribute on GitHub.
DEVELOPER HAPPINESS:
Customizer JS API Improvements:
We’ve made numerous improvements to the Customizer JS API in WordPress 4.9, eliminating many pain points. (Hello, default parameters for constructs! Goodbye repeated ID for constructs!) There are also new base control templates, a date/time control, and section/panel/global notifications to name a few. Check out the full list.
CodeMirror available for use in your themes and plugins:
We’ve introduced a new code editing library, CodeMirror, for use within core. CodeMirror allows for syntax highlighting, error checking, and validation when creating code writing or editing experiences within your plugins, like CSS or JavaScript include fields.
MediaElement.js upgraded to 4.2.6:
WordPress 4.9 includes an upgraded version of MediaElement.js, which removes dependencies on jQuery, improves accessibility, modernizes the UI, and fixes many bugs.
Roles and Capabilities Improvements:
New capabilities have been introduced that allow granular management of plugins and translation files. In addition, the site switching process in multisite has been fine-tuned to update the available roles and capabilities in a more reliable and coherent way.

New in WordPress 4.8.3 (Oct 31, 2017)

New in WordPress 4.9 Beta 3 (Oct 24, 2017)

New in WordPress 4.8.2 (Sep 20, 2017)

New in WordPress 4.8.1 (Aug 3, 2017)

Administration:
#40982 - Permalink Settings: custom structure field keyboard trap
Build/Test Tools:
#41327 - Bump Akismet External - 4.9 Edition
Comments:
#40975 - 'Empty Spam' and 'Empty Trash' comment buttons not displayed on mobile
Customize:
#40978 - Customizer Panel Footer border missing
#40981 - Customizer: Menus: it is far too easy to mistakenly delete a menu because the "Delete Menu" link and the "Add Items" button are too close together
#41158 - Increase tinymce panel z-index
#41410 - Set `'filter' => 'content'` on starter content "business info" widget
Embeds:
#41019 - oEmbed: Update VideoPress oEmbed URL
#41048 - `WP_oEmbed_Controller::get_proxy_item()` should remove `_wpnonce` from cached `$args`
#41299 - oEmbed proxy fails to forward maxwidth and maxheight params
General:
#41056 - WP-API JS Client: Settings is incorrectly registered as a collection
Media:
#41231 - media-views.js: Cannot read .length of undefined (this.controller.$uploaderToggler.length)
REST API:
#38964 - Add filter to allow modifying response *after* embedded data is added
#40886 - REST API: PUT requests fail on Nginx servers when fancy permalinks aren't enabled
Taxonomy:
#41010 - wp_get_object_terms() returns duplicate terms if more than one taxonomy is given in args
TinyMCE:
#41408 - TinyMCE: Images with link and caption look "broken" when selected
Widgets:
#40907 - Introduce widget dedicated for HTML code
#40935 - Facebook Video Works On Preview But Not On Theme
#40951 - New Text Widget - Switching Between Visual/Text Editor Strips Out Code
#40960 - Widgets: The Text widget should respect the “Disable the visual editor when writing” setting
#40972 - TinyMCE editor in Text widget does not have RTL contents
#40974 - Updated text widget do not save text (when using paste)
#40977 - Widgets: Query param for `loop` added for non-hosted external videos
#40986 - Widgets: text widget and media widgets cannot be edited in accessibility mode
#41021 - Text widget does not show Title field or TinyMCE editor
#41361 - Text widget can raise JS error if customize-base is enqueued on widgets admin screen
#41386 - Text Widget - Wording - Legacy Mode 4.8.1 beta
#41392 - Theme styles for Text widget do not apply to Custom HTML widget
#41394 - Text widget: Rename legacy mode to visual mode and improve back-compat for widget_text filters

New in WordPress 4.8 (Jun 9, 2017)

EXCITING WIDGET UPDATES:
Image Widget:
Adding an image to a widget is now a simple task that is achievable for any WordPress user without needing to know code. Simply insert your image right within the widget settings. Try adding something like a headshot or a photo of your latest weekend adventure — and see it appear automatically.
Video Widget:
A welcome video is a great way to humanize the branding of your website. You can now add any video from the Media Library to a sidebar on your site with the new Video widget. Use this to showcase a welcome video to introduce visitors to your site or promote your latest and greatest content.
Audio Widget:
Are you a podcaster, musician, or avid blogger? Adding a widget with your audio file has never been easier. Upload your audio file to the Media Library, go to the widget settings, select your file, and you’re ready for listeners. This would be a easy way to add a more personal welcome message, too!
Rich Text Widget:
This feature deserves a parade down the center of town! Rich-text editing capabilities are now native for Text widgets. Add a widget anywhere and format away. Create lists, add emphasis, and quickly and easily insert links. Have fun with your newfound formatting powers, and watch what you can accomplish in a short amount of time.
LINK BOUNDARIES:
Have you ever tried updating a link, or the text around a link, and found you can’t seem to edit it correctly? When you edit the text after the link, your new text also ends up linked. Or you edit the text in the link, but your text ends up outside of it. This can be frustrating! With link boundaries, a great new feature, the process is streamlined and your links will work well. You’ll be happier. We promise.
NEARBY WORDPRESS EVENTS:
Did you know that WordPress has a thriving offline community with groups meeting regularly in more than 400 cities around the world? WordPress now draws your attention to the events that help you continue improving your WordPress skills, meet friends, and, of course, publish!
This is quickly becoming one of our favorite features. While you are in the dashboard (because you’re running updates and writing posts, right?) all upcoming WordCamps and official WordPress Meetups — local to you — will be displayed.
Being part of the community can help you improve your WordPress skills and network with people you wouldn’t otherwise meet. Now you can easily find your local events just by
logging in to your dashboard and looking at the new Events and News dashboard widget.
EVEN MORE DEVELOPER HAPPINESS:
More Accessible Admin Panel Headings:
New CSS rules mean extraneous content (like “Add New” links) no longer need to be included in admin-area headings. These panel headings improve the experience for people using assistive technologies.
Removal of Core Support for WMV and WMA Files:
As fewer and fewer browsers support Silverlight, file formats which require the presence of the Silverlight plugin are being removed from core support. Files will still display as a download link, but will no longer be embedded automatically.
Multisite Updates:
New capabilities have been introduced to 4.8 with an eye towards removing calls to
is_super_admin(). Additionally, new hooks and tweaks to more granularly control site and user counts per network have been added.
Text-Editor JavaScript API:
With the addition of TinyMCE to the text widget in 4.8 comes a new JavaScript API for instantiating the editor after page load. This can be used to add an editor instance to any text area, and customize it with buttons and functions. Great for plugin authors!
Media Widgets API:
The introduction of a new base media widget REST API schema to 4.8 opens up possibilities for even more media widgets (like galleries or playlists) in the future. The three new media widgets are powered by a shared base class that covers most of the interactions with the media modal. That class also makes it easier to create new media widgets and paves the way for more to come.
Customizer Width Variable:
Rejoice! New responsive breakpoints have been added to the customizer sidebar to make it wider on high-resolution screens. Customizer controls should use percentage-based widths instead of pixels.

New in WordPress 4.7.5 (May 17, 2017)

New in WordPress 4.7.4 (Apr 20, 2017)

New in WordPress 4.7.3 (Mar 7, 2017)

New in WordPress 4.7.2 (Jan 27, 2017)

New in WordPress 4.7.1 (Jan 12, 2017)

New in WordPress 4.7 (Dec 7, 2016)

Version 4.7 of WordPress, named “Vaughan” in honor of legendary jazz vocalist Sarah “Sassy” Vaughan, is available for download or update in your WordPress dashboard. New features in 4.7 help you get your site set up the way you want it.
Presenting Twenty Seventeen:
A brand new default theme brings your site to life with immersive featured images and video headers. Twenty Seventeen focuses on business sites and features a customizable front page with multiple sections. Personalize it with widgets, navigation, social menus, a logo, custom colors, and more. Our default theme for 2017 works great in many languages, on any device, and for a wide range of users.
Your Site, Your Way:
WordPress 4.7 adds new features to the customizer to help take you through the initial setup of a theme, with non-destructive live previews of all your changes in one uninterrupted workflow. To help give you a solid base to build from, individual themes can provide starter content that appears when you go to customize your brand new site. This can range from placing a business information widget in the best location to providing a sample menu with social icon links to a static front page complete with beautiful images. Don’t worry – nothing new will appear on the live site until you’re ready to save and publish your initial theme setup.
Edit Shortcuts:
Visible icons appear to show you which parts of your site can be customized while live previewing. Click on a shortcut and get straight to editing. Paired with starter content, getting started with customizing your site is faster than ever
Video Headers:
Sometimes a big atmospheric video as a moving header image is just what you need to showcase your wares; go ahead and try it out with Twenty Seventeen. Need some video inspiration? Try searching for sites with video headers available for download and use.
Smoother Menu Building:
Many menus for sites contain links to the pages of your site, but what happens when you don’t have any pages yet? Now you can add new pages while building menus instead of leaving the customizer and abandoning your changes. Once you’ve published your customizations, you’ll have new pages ready for you to fill with content.
Custom CSS:
Sometimes you just need a few visual tweaks to make your site perfect. WordPress 4.7 allows you to add custom CSS and instantly see how your changes affect your site. The live preview allows you to work quickly without page refreshes slowing you down.
PDF Thumbnail Previews:
Managing your document collection is easier with WordPress 4.7. Uploading PDFs will generate thumbnail images so you can more easily distinguish between all your documents.
Dashboard in your language:
Just because your site is in one language doesn’t mean that everybody helping manage it prefers that language for their admin. Add more languages to your site and a user language option will show up in your user’s profiles.
Introducing REST API Content Endpoints:
WordPress 4.7 comes with REST API endpoints for posts, comments, terms, users, meta, and settings. Content endpoints provide machine-readable external access to your WordPress site with a clear, standards-driven interface, paving the way for new and innovative methods of interacting with sites through plugins, themes, apps, and beyond.
Even More Developer Happiness:
Post Type Templates:
By opening up the page template functionality to all post types, theme developers have even more flexibility with the WordPress template hierarchy.
More Theme API Goodies:
WordPress 4.7 includes new functions, hooks, and behavior for theme developers.
Custom Bulk Actions:
List tables, now with more than bulk edit and delete.
WP_Hook:
The code that lies beneath actions and filters has been overhauled and modernized, fixing bugs along the way.
Settings Registration API:
register_setting() has been enhanced to include type, description, and REST API visibility.
Customize Changesets:
Customize changesets make changes in the customizer persistent, like autosave drafts. They also make exciting new features like starter content possible.

New in WordPress 4.7 RC 1 (Nov 24, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.7 Beta 4 (Nov 16, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.7 Beta 3 (Nov 11, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.7 Beta 2 (Nov 6, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.7 Beta 1 (Oct 28, 2016)

Twenty Seventeen – A brand new default theme brings your site to life with immersive featured images, video headers, and subtle animations. With a focus on business sites, it features multiple sections on the front page as well as widgets, navigation and social menus, a logo, and more. Personalize its asymmetrical grid with a custom color scheme and showcase your multimedia content with post formats. Our default theme for 2017 works great in many languages, for any abilities, and on any device.
Video Headers – Sometimes a big atmospheric video as a moving header image is just what you need to showcase your wares; go ahead and try it out with Twenty Seventeen. Need some video inspiration? Try searching for sites with video headers available for download and use.
Set up your site in one flow – From finding and installing themes right inside the customizer, to automatically staged theme-specific starter content, to clickable shortcuts that jump directly to editing an item from the preview pane, to adding pages while you’re building a nav menu or setting a static front page: getting a new site spun up and ready to share with a friend or a coworker is faster and easier than it’s ever been. Note: starter content appears when live previewing brand new sites and is currently only available in Twenty Seventeen. We’ll be expanding this to other bundled themes very soon, and perhaps to sites with existing content in future releases of WordPress.
Custom CSS with live previews – Ever needed to hide or tweak the look of something in your theme or from a plugin? Now you can do it with CSS and live preview the results while customizing your site. CSS can be a powerful tool; you may find that you won’t need the theme editor or child themes anymore.
User admin languages – Just because your site is in one language doesn’t mean that everybody helping manage it prefers that language for their admin. To try this out, you’ll need to have more than one language installed, which will make a user language option available in your profile.
PDF thumbnail previews – Uploading PDFs will now generate thumbnail images so you can more easily distinguish between all your documents.
As always, there have been exciting changes for developers to explore as well, such as:
REST API content endpoints – If you only test one thing as a developer, please test these. This phase is particularly helpful for people building plugins, themes, and in-admin interfaces. Can you build the things you need? Are these ready for release, and is the world ready for them? (#38373)
WP_Hook – The code that lies beneath actions and filters has been overhauled. You likely aren’t affected, but if you’ve done things to the $wp_filter global or experienced funky recursion bugs in the past, please take a moment to read the dev note and test your code.
Custom bulk actions – List tables, now with more than bulk edit and delete.
Expanded Settings Registration API via register_setting().
For theme developers: Post type templates (#18375)
More goodies for theme developers!
Locale switching (#26511)
Comment allowed checks have the potential for a back-compat break.

New in WordPress 4.6.1 (Sep 8, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.6 (Aug 17, 2016)

STREAMLINED UPDATES:
Don’t lose your place: stay on the same page while you update, install, and delete your plugins and themes.
NATIVE FONTS:
The WordPress dashboard now takes advantage of the fonts you already have, making it load faster and letting you feel more at home on whatever device you use
EDITOR IMPROVEMENTS:
Inline Link Checker:
Ever accidentally made a link to https://wordpress.org/example.org? Now WordPress automatically checks to make sure you didn’t.
Content Recovery:
As you type, WordPress saves your content to the browser. Recovering saved content is even easier with WordPress 4.6.
UNDER THE HOOD:
Resource Hints:
Resource hints help browsers decide which resources to fetch and preprocess. WordPress 4.6 adds them automatically for your styles and scripts making your site even faster
Robust Requests:
The HTTP API now leverages the Requests library, improving HTTP standard support and adding case-insensitive headers, parallel HTTP requests, and support for Internationalized Domain Names
WP_Term_Query and WP_Post_Type:
A new WP_Term_Query class adds flexibility to query term information while a new WP_Post_Type object makes interacting with post types more predictable
Meta Registration API:
The Meta Registration API has been expanded to support types, descriptions, and REST API visibility.
Translations On Demand:
WordPress will install and use the newest language packs for your plugins and themes as soon as they’re available from WordPress.org’s community of translators.
JavaScript Library Updates:
Masonry 3.3.2, imagesLoaded 3.2.0, MediaElement.js 2.22.0, TinyMCE 4.4.1, and Backbone.js 1.3.3 are bundled.
Customizer APIs for Setting Validation and Notifications:
Settings now have an API for enforcing validation constraints. Likewise, customizer controls now support notifications, which are used to display validation errors instead of failing silently.
Multisite, now faster than ever:
Cached and comprehensive site queries improve your network admin experience. The addition of WP_Site_Query and WP_Network_Query help craft advanced queries with less effort.

New in WordPress 4.6 RC 2 (Aug 11, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.6 Beta 4 (Jul 20, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.6 Beta 3 (Jul 13, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.6 Beta 2 (Jul 7, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.6 Beta 1 (Jun 30, 2016)

Shiny Updates v2 ([37714]) – Shiny Updates replaces progress updates with a simpler and more straight forward experience when installing, updating, and deleting plugins and themes.
Native Fonts in the Admin (#36753) – Experience faster load times, especially when working offline, a removal of a third-party dependency, and a more native-feeling experience as the lines between the mobile web and native applications continue to blur.
Editor Improvements – A more reliable recovery mode (#37025) and detection of broken URLs while you type them (#36638).
There have been changes for developers to explore as well:
Resource Hints (#34292) – Allow browsers to prefetch specific pages, render them in the background, perform DNS lookups, or to begin the connection handshake (DNS, TCP, TLS) in the background.
New WP_Site_Query (#35791) and WP_Network_Query (#32504) classes to query sites and networks with lazy loading for details.
Requests (#33055) – A new PHP library for HTTP requests that supports parallel requests and more.
WP_Term_Query (#35381) is modeled on existing query classes and provides a more consistent structure for generating term queries.
Language Packs (#34114, #34213) – Translations managed through translate.wordpress.org now have a higher priority and are loaded just-in-time.
WP_Post_Type (#36217) provides easier access to post type objects and their underlying properties.
The Widgets API (#28216) was enhanced to support registering pre-instantiated widgets.
Index definitions are now normalized by dbDelta() ([37583]).
Comments can now be stored in a persistent object cache (#36906).
External Libraries were updated to the latest versions – Masonry to 3.3.2 and imagesLoaded to 3.2.0 (#32802), MediaElement.js to 2.21.2 (#36759), and TinyMCE to 4.3.13 (#37225).
REST API responses now include an auto-discovery header (#35580) and a refreshed nonce when responding to an authenticated response (#35662).
Expanded Meta Registration API via register_meta() (#35658).
Customizer – Improved API for setting validation (#34893, #36944).

New in WordPress 4.5.2 (May 6, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.5.1 (Apr 26, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.5 (Apr 12, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.5 RC 2 (Apr 10, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.5 Beta 4 (Mar 17, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.5 Beta 3 (Mar 10, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.5 Beta 2 (Mar 3, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.5 Beta 1 (Feb 25, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.4.2 (Feb 2, 2016)

New in WordPress 4.4.1 (Jan 6, 2016)

WordPress versions 4.4 and earlier are affected by a cross-site scripting vulnerability that could allow a site to be compromised. This was reported by Crtc4L.
There were also several non-security bug fixes:
Emoji support has been updated to include all of the latest emoji characters, including the new diverse emoji! 👍🏿👌🏽👏🏼
Some sites with older versions of OpenSSL installed were unable to communicate with other services provided through some plugins.
If a post URL was ever re-used, the site could redirect to the wrong post.
Administration:
34987 “Configure” link for dashboard widgets no longer displayed.
35047 Notices are not moved to first header when header-elements are nested inside .wrap
35057 bug in new default_hidden_columns filter
35112 Screen Options in Appearance -> Menu not saved correctly sometimes:
Bootstrap/Load:
34967 SHORTINIT and date_i18n: Call to undefined function _x()
35013 WP4.4 function handle_404 yelds a fatal error on line 613 when trying to clone $wp_query->post if it’s not an object:
Build/Test tools:
30787 Shrinkwrap NPM dependencies:
Bundled Theme:
35270 Bump twentysixteen for 4.4.1:
Canonical:
34890 Canonical meta tag for paginated posts incorrect with ugly permalinks:
Comments:
34946 new comment redirects break anchors in Safari
34997 preprocess_comment filter does not contain old user_ID field for user_id, instead it has new user_id field
35006 Comments sent immediately to Trash for matching keyword blacklist should not generate email notifications
35025 Performance regression in comments_template in 4.4
35068 Comments not showing up when there are unapproved messages
35175 Page parameter no longer works in wp_list_comments:
Customize:
35081 Missing Change Theme button when there are only two themes available:
Embeds:
35152 Remove Rdio embed support
35194 Remove embed discovery tags from HTML header of static home pages
35237 Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /wp-includes/embed-template.php on line 54:
Emoji:
33592 Unicode 8.0 Emoji:
External Libraries:
34948 Update random_compat for “Don’t instantiate COM if it’s a disabled class”:
Filesystem API:
34976 Plug ins fail to update after WP 4.4 installed:
Formatting:
35008 Ampersands in URLs are no longer converted to entities
35058 PHP Fatal when map_deep tries to work on an object that has a property by reference:
HTTP API:
34935 Removed SSL certificates causing errors in WP 4.4:
Help/About:
35215 Setting help tab priorities fails to correctly order the tabs:
Login/Registration:
34925 4.4 wp-login.php: no longer possible to use the login_post scheme
35103 login_url Filter is now applied to Login Form Action Attribute:
Mail:
35212 Update PHPMailer to 5.2.14:
Media:
35045 Responsive images not added when effective scheme differs from image src scheme
35101 image_default_link_type option not being respected
35102 Responsive images support for external URLs
35106 Responsive images break uploads with full path stored in metadata
35108 Responsive images blurry – srcset attribute doesn’t include full size version
35153 Default link target for media files is none:
Menus:
34446 WordPress Notice after add support for post type archives in menu
34449 Remove CPT if exists menu item
35107 wp_nav_menu outputs tags without line breaks in 4.4, causes strange bug with justified text:
Permalinks:
35084 check for post status in get_page_uri causes issues with permalinks:
Query:
35031 wp_old_slug_redirect() in 4.4 redirecting existing posts
35115 404 error when URL includes title=…:
Shortcodes:
34939 Shortcode regex no longer matches [shortcode=XXX]:
Taxonomy:
34723 Warning in get_the_terms() because of non-array
35089 Query var on non-public taxonomy remains boolean true since [35333]
35137 get_terms() with a meta_query filter returns duplicated terms
35156 wp_list_categories() does not accept comma-separated IDs for exclude_tree parameter
35180 In WordPress 4.4 the_tags() is displaying tags ordered by ID instead of alphabetically by name:
Themes:
34962 Issues with wp_get_document_title function causing problems with document titles:
Users:
34993 Deleting a user no longer asks what to do with their content:
Widgets:
34978 Extra quotes in title in WP_Widget_RSS class, widget method
34995 WP_Widget::widget not called:
XML-RPC:
35053 XML-RPC when post with date_created_gmt, its post_date will gmt date not local date
35185 Unable to create Post via XMLRPC after upgrading to 4.4

New in WordPress 4.4 (Dec 9, 2015)

The new default theme, Twenty Sixteen, is a modern take on a classic blog design.
Twenty Sixteen was built to look great on any device. A fluid grid design, flexible header, fun color schemes, and more, will all make your content shine.
Responsive Images - An image of a laptop, iPad, Android phone, and iPhone containing the same image displayed at multiple sizes to demonstrate responsive image features.
WordPress now takes a smarter approach to displaying appropriate image sizes on any device, ensuring a perfect fit every time. You don’t need to do anything to your theme, it just works.
Embed Everything - Now you can embed your posts on other WordPress sites. Simply drop a post URL into the editor and see an instant embed preview, complete with the title, excerpt, and featured image if you’ve set one. We’ll even include your site icon and links for comments and sharing.
In addition to post embeds, WordPress 4.4 also adds support for five new oEmbed providers: Cloudup, Reddit Comments, ReverbNation, Speaker Deck, and VideoPress.
Under the Hood:
REST API infrastructure - Infrastructure for the REST API has been integrated into core, marking a new era in developing with WordPress. The REST API gives developers an easy way to build and extend RESTful APIs on top of WordPress.
Infrastructure is the first part of a multi-stage rollout for the REST API. Inclusion of core endpoints is targeted for an upcoming release. To get a sneak peek of the core endpoints, and for more information on extending the REST API, check out the official WordPress REST API plugin.
Term meta - Terms now support metadata, just like posts. See add_term_meta(), get_term_meta(), and update_term_meta() for more information.
Comment query improvements - Comment queries now have cache handling to improve performance. New arguments in WP_Comment_Query make crafting robust comment queries simpler.
Term, comment, and network objects - New WP_Term, WP_Comment, and WP_Network objects make interacting with terms, comments, and networks more predictable and intuitive in code.

New in WordPress 4.4 Beta 1 (Oct 23, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.3.1 (Sep 16, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.3 (Aug 18, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.2.4 (Aug 4, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.3 RC 1 (Jul 30, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.2.3 (Jul 23, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.3 Beta 4 (Jul 23, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.3 Beta 3 (Jul 16, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.3 Beta 2 (Jul 9, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.3 Beta 1 (Jul 2, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.2.2 (May 7, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.2.1 (Apr 28, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.2 (Apr 24, 2015)

An easier way to share content:
Press ThisClip it, edit it, publish it. Get familiar with the new and improved Press This. From the Tools menu, add Press This to your browser bookmark bar or your mobile device home screen. Once installed you can share your content with lightning speed. Sharing your favorite videos, images, and content has never been this fast or this easy.
Extended character support:
Character support for emoji, special charactersWriting in WordPress, whatever your language, just got better. WordPress 4.2 supports a host of new characters out-of-the-box, including native Chinese, Japanese, and Korean characters, musical and mathematical symbols, and hieroglyphs.
Don’t use any of those characters? You can still have fun — emoji are now available in WordPress! Get creative and decorate your content with 💙, 🐸, 🐒, 🍕, and all the many other emoji.
Switch themes in the Customizer:
Browse and preview your installed themes from the Customizer. Make sure the theme looks great with your content, before it debuts on your site.
Even more embeds:
Paste links from Tumblr.com and Kickstarter and watch them magically appear right in the editor. With every release, your publishing and editing experience get closer together.
Streamlined plugin updates:
Goodbye boring loading screen, hello smooth and simple plugin updates. Click Update Now and watch the magic happen.
utf8mb4 support:
Database character encoding has changed from utf8 to utf8mb4, which adds support for a whole range of new 4-byte characters.
JavaScript accessibility:
You can now send audible notifications to screen readers in JavaScript with wp.a11y.speak(). Pass it a string, and an update will be sent to a dedicated ARIA live notifications area.
Shared term splitting:
Terms shared across multiple taxonomies will be split when one of them is updated. Find out more in the Plugin Developer Handbook.
Complex query ordering:
WP_Query, WP_Comment_Query, and WP_User_Query now support complex ordering with named meta query clauses.

New in WordPress 4.1.2 (Apr 22, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.2 RC 1 (Apr 16, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.2 Beta 4 (Apr 4, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.2 Beta 3 (Mar 27, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.2 Beta 2 (Mar 20, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.2 Beta 1 (Mar 13, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.1.1 (Feb 19, 2015)

New in WordPress 4.1 (Dec 19, 2014)

New in WordPress 4.0.1 (Nov 21, 2014)

New in WordPress 4.1 Beta 1 (Nov 15, 2014)

New in WordPress 4.0 (Sep 5, 2014)

New in WordPress 4.0 Beta 4 (Aug 16, 2014)

New in WordPress 3.9.2 (Aug 7, 2014)

New in WordPress 4.0 Beta 2 (Jul 19, 2014)

New in WordPress 4.0 Beta 1 (Jul 10, 2014)

New in WordPress 3.9.1 (May 9, 2014)

New in WordPress 3.9 (Apr 17, 2014)

New in WordPress 3.9 RC 2 (Apr 15, 2014)

New in WordPress 3.8.3 (Apr 15, 2014)

New in WordPress 3.9 RC 1 (Apr 9, 2014)

New in WordPress 3.8.2 (Apr 9, 2014)

New in WordPress 3.9 Beta 3 (Mar 31, 2014)

New in WordPress 3.9 Beta 2 (Mar 20, 2014)

New in WordPress 3.9 Beta 1 (Mar 12, 2014)

New in WordPress 3.8.1 (Jan 24, 2014)

New in WordPress 3.8 (Dec 13, 2013)

Named “Parker” in honor of Charlie Parker, bebop innovator
Introducing a modern new design:
WordPress has gotten a facelift. 3.8 brings a fresh new look to the entire admin dashboard. Gone are overbearing gradients and dozens of shades of grey — bring on a bigger, bolder, more colorful design!
about-modern-wordpress
Modern aesthetic - The new WordPress dashboard has a fresh, uncluttered design that embraces clarity and simplicity.
Clean typography - The Open Sans typeface provides simple, friendly text that is optimized for both desktop and mobile viewing. It’s even open source, just like WordPress.
Refined contrast - We think beautiful design should never sacrifice legibility. With superior contrast and large, comfortable type, the new design is easy to read and a pleasure to navigate.
WordPress on every device:
We all access the internet in different ways. Smartphone, tablet, notebook, desktop — no matter what you use, WordPress will adapt and you’ll feel right at home.
High definition at high speed:
WordPress is sharper than ever with new vector-based icons that scale to your screen. By ditching pixels, pages load significantly faster, too.
Admin color schemes to match your personality
WordPress just got a colorful new update. We’ve included eight new admin color schemes so you can pick the one that suits you best.
Color schemes can be previewed and changed from your Profile page.
Refined theme management:
The new themes screen lets you survey your themes at a glance. Or want more information? Click to discover more. Then sit back and use your keyboard’s navigation arrows to flip through every theme you’ve got.
Smoother widget experience:
Drag-drag-drag. Scroll-scroll-scroll. Widget management can be complicated. With the new design, we’ve worked to streamline the widgets screen.
Have a large monitor? Multiple widget areas stack side-by-side to use the available space. Using a tablet? Just tap a widget to add it.
Twenty Fourteen, a sleek new magazine theme
The new Twenty Fourteen theme displayed on a laptop. tablet and phone
Turn your blog into a magazine:
Create a beautiful magazine-style site with WordPress and Twenty Fourteen. Choose a grid or a slider to display featured content on your homepage. Customize your site with three widget areas or change your layout with two page templates.
With a striking design that does not compromise our trademark simplicity, Twenty Fourteen is our most intrepid default theme yet.

New in WordPress 3.8 Beta 1 (Nov 22, 2013)

New in WordPress 3.7.1 (Nov 8, 2013)

New in WordPress 3.7 (Oct 28, 2013)

New in WordPress 3.7 RC 1 (Oct 23, 2013)

New in WordPress 3.7 Beta 1 (Sep 30, 2013)

New in WordPress 3.6.1 (Sep 12, 2013)

New in WordPress 3.6 (Aug 2, 2013)

New in WordPress 3.6 RC 2 (Jul 30, 2013)

New in WordPress 3.5.2 (Jun 22, 2013)

New in WordPress 3.6 Beta 3 (May 11, 2013)

New in WordPress 3.6 Beta 2 (Apr 30, 2013)

New in WordPress 3.6 Beta 1 (Apr 5, 2013)

New in WordPress 3.5.1 (Jan 25, 2013)

New in WordPress 3.5 (Dec 12, 2012)

New in WordPress 3.5 RC3 (Dec 4, 2012)

New in WordPress 3.5 Beta 3 (Nov 13, 2012)

New in WordPress 3.5 Beta 2 (Oct 13, 2012)

New in WordPress 3.5 Beta 1 (Sep 28, 2012)

New in WordPress 3.4.2 (Sep 7, 2012)

New in WordPress 3.4.1 (Jun 28, 2012)

New in WordPress 3.4 (Jun 14, 2012)

New in WordPress 3.4 RC 3 (Jun 12, 2012)

New in WordPress 3.4 Beta 4 (May 3, 2012)

New in WordPress 3.4 Beta 3 (Apr 21, 2012)

New in WordPress 3.3.2 (Apr 21, 2012)

New in WordPress 3.4 Beta 2 (Apr 12, 2012)

New in WordPress 3.4 Beta 1 (Apr 5, 2012)

New in WordPress 3.3.1 (Jan 4, 2012)

New in WordPress 3.3 (Dec 13, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.3 Beta 4 (Nov 25, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.3 Beta 2 (Oct 20, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.3 Beta 1 (Oct 11, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.2.1 (Jul 13, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.2 (Jul 5, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.2 RC3 (Jun 30, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.2 RC2 (Jun 25, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.2 RC1 (Jun 14, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.2 Beta 2 (May 26, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.1.3 (May 26, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.2 Beta 1 (May 12, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.1.2 (Apr 26, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.1 (Feb 24, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.1 RC 4 (Feb 8, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.0.5 (Feb 8, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.1 RC 3 (Jan 24, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.1 RC 2 (Jan 3, 2011)

New in WordPress 3.0.4 (Dec 30, 2010)

New in WordPress 3.0.3 (Dec 9, 2010)

New in WordPress 3.0.2 (Dec 1, 2010)

New in WordPress 3.0.1 (Jul 30, 2010)

New in WordPress 3.0 (Jun 18, 2010)

New in WordPress 3.0 RC 1 (May 28, 2010)

New in WordPress 3.0 Beta 1 (Apr 6, 2010)

New in WordPress 2.9.2 (Feb 15, 2010)

New in WordPress 2.9.1 (Jan 5, 2010)

New in WordPress 2.9.1 RC 1 (Dec 30, 2009)

New in WordPress 2.9.1 Beta 1 (Dec 28, 2009)

New in WordPress 2.9 (Dec 19, 2009)

The coolest new stuff from a user point of view is:
Global undo/”trash” feature, which means that if you accidentally delete a post or comment you can bring it back from the grave (i.e., the Trash). This also eliminates those annoying “are you sure” messages we used to have on every delete.
Built-in image editor allows you to crop, edit, rotate, flip, and scale your images to show them who’s boss. This is the first wave of our many planned media-handling improvements.
Batch plugin update and compatibility checking, which means you can update 10 plugins at once, versus having to do multiple clicks for each one, and we’re using the new compatibility data from the plugins directory to give you a better idea of whether your plugins are compatible with new releases of WordPress. This should take the fear and hassle out of upgrading.
Easier video embeds that allow you to just paste a URL on its own line and have it magically turn it into the proper embed code, with Oembed support for YouTube, Daily Motion, Blip.tv, Flickr, Hulu, Viddler, Qik, Revision3, Scribd, Google Video, Photobucket, PollDaddy, and WordPress.tv (and more in the next release).
2.9 provides the smoothest ride yet because of a number of improvements under the hood and more subtle improvements you’ll begin to appreciate once you’ve been around the block a few times. Here’s just a sampling:
We now have rel=canonical support for better SEO.
There is automatic database optimization support, which you can enable in your wp-config.php file by adding define('WP_ALLOW_REPAIR', true);.
Themes can register “post thumbnails” which allow them to attach an image to the post, especially useful for magazine-style themes.
A new commentmeta table that allows arbitrary key/value pairs to be attached to comments, just like posts, so you can now expand greatly what you can do in the comment framework.
Custom post types have been upgraded with better API support so you can juggle more types than just post, page, and attachment. (More of this planned for 3.0.)
You can set custom theme directories, so a plugin can register a theme to be bundled with it or you can have multiple shared theme directories on your server.
We’ve upgraded TinyMCE WYSIWYG editing and Simplepie.
Sidebars can now have descriptions so it’s more obvious what and where they do what they do.
Specify category templates not just by ID, like before, but by slug, which will make it easier for theme developers to do custom things with categories — like post types!
Registration and profiles are now extensible to allow you to collect things more easily, like a user’s Twitter account or any other fields you can imagine.
The XML-RPC API has been extended to allow changing the user registration option. We fixed some Atom API attachment issues.
Create custom galleries with the new include and exclude attributes that allow you to pull attachments from any post, not just the current one.
When you’re editing files in the theme and plugin editors it remembers your location and takes you back to that line after you save. (Thank goodness!!!)
The Press This bookmarklet has been improved and is faster than ever; give it a try for on-the-fly blogging from wherever you are on the internet.
Custom taxonomies are now included in the WXR export file and imported correctly.
Better hooks and filters for excerpts, smilies, HTTP requests, user profiles, author links, taxonomies, SSL support, tag clouds, query_posts and WP_Query

New in WordPress 2.8.6 (Nov 18, 2009)

New in WordPress 2.8.5 (Oct 21, 2009)

New in WordPress 2.8.4 (Aug 13, 2009)

New in WordPress 2.8.2 (Jul 21, 2009)

New in WordPress 2.8 (Jun 12, 2009)

Highlights:
New drag-and-drop widgets admin interface and new widgets API
Syntax highlighting and function lookup built into plugin and theme editors
Browse the theme directory and install themes from the admin
Allow the dashboard widgets to be arranged in up to four columns
Allow configuring the number of items to show on management pages with an option in Screen Options
Support timezones and automatic daylight savings time adjustment
Support IIS 7.0 URL Rewrite Module
Faster loading of admin pages via script compression and concatenation
New Features:
User Features:
New Theme Installer routines
Add CodePress syntax highlighting to Theme and Plugin editors
Add Documentation(function) lookup to Theme and Plugin editors
Use "Custom Header" for menu text and revise Default theme to reflect change
Separate Comments into a separate postbox, from Discussion postbox, on the Edit Post screen
Make tags accessible without Javascript on the edit screen
Don't ask for confirmation when marking a comment as spam
Don't notify post author of own comments
Fix comment paging for static front page
Allow the dashboard widgets to be arranged in up to four columns as set via the Screen Options tab
Make titles into links in Dashboard Right Now module (this was in 2.7.1)
Improved Admin icons (grey-to-transparent shadows)
Update Blue Admin Color Scheme
Press This improvements UI, quoting fixes, plus ability for Contributors to use Press This
Add a Cancel Upload button and a Delete link to Administration > Media > Add New
Add column "Rating" in Administration > Links > Edit
Improve installer to help people entering wrong email addresses
Improved Widget user interface
Allow editing of all plugin files (Ticket 6732)
Improved Plugin search (this was in 2.7.1) on Administration > Plugins > Add New
Per Page option for plugins
Move "Install a plugin in .zip format" to new Upload tab under Administration > Plugins > Add New
Show absolute date instead of relative date for scheduled posts
Fix tags suggest for post quick edit and bulk edit
Permalink editor changes and fix for pages
Autosave post/page when pressing Control/Command+S
Add toggle all button to the Gallery tab in the uploader
Support more than one gallery on the same page
Add per page option to Screen Options for comments, posts, pages, media, categories, and tags
Overhaul of LiveJournal importer (also add define WP_IMPORTING)
Import category descriptions for Administration > Tools > Import > WordPress
Show Tools menu for all users so they can access Turbo
Check for new version when visiting Administration > Tools > Upgrade
In upgrade process, provide better explanation for database upgrade message
Fix most popular link category list
Add description field for Tags in Administration > Posts > Tags
WAI-ARIA landmark roles to added to WordPress Default theme
"Choose a city in the same timezone as you" for Timezone in Administration > Settings > General
Remove My Hacks option from Administration > Settings > Miscellaneous
Hide email addresses from low privilege users on Administration > Comments
Allow case-insensitive logins
Login and Registration pages noindex followed
Give login screen proper iPhone viewport
Enforce unique email addresses in Add/Edit users
Make user_nicenames unique during registration
Add "Send this password to the new user by email" option to Administration > Users > Add New
Don't set user's Website url to http:// in Administration > Users > Add New
Add password strength meter to Add User and Edit User
Hide things that need to be available to screen readers via offscreen positioning
Use invisible class for hiding labels and legends
Use a semantic class name for text targeted to screen readers
Development, Themes, Plugins:
Improved database performance
Drop post_category column from wp_posts table, and link_category column from wp_links schemas
Fix delete statements to ensure data integrity when innodb and foreign keys are used
Enforce consistent ID types to allow for foreign keys to be defined between tables
Add Sticky to list of post states
Add a filter to the post states list
Introduction and widespread use of transient and related filters
Add filters so AIM, Yahoo, and Jabber IM labels, in user profile, can be changed
Add hook "after_db_upgrade"
Add hooks for the Users, Categories, Link Categories, Tags and Comments table columns
HTTP API updates and fixes
Add support for blocking all outbound HTTP requests
Updated List of HTTP status codes (Ticket 9297)
Use SimplePie for widget and dashboard feeds
Switch to pomo lib. Support gettext contexts. Deprecate long form functions
TinyMCE 3.2.4.1
Use Jcrop 0.9.8 for cropping
Update pclzip to 2.8
Update PHPMailer to 2.0.4
Update SWFUpload to 2.2.0.1
Improved performance for script loading
Improved archive and calendar queries
Cron spawning improvements
Timezone enhancements for PHP 5
Add WP_Widget class and move native widgets into WP_Widget
Allow other taxonomies (e.g. post categories) to be used with wp_tag_cloud (Changeset 10554)
Add echo argument to wp_tag_cloud()
Allow a plugin to control how many posts are displayed on edit pages
Add "style" and "html" arguments to wp_list_authors (Ticket 4420)
Add "exclude_tree" argument to wp_list_categories and make exclude behave like exclude_tree when hierarchical is specified--this was actually a 2.7.1 change (Ticket 8614)
New Template Tag, the_modified_author (Ticket 9154)
Enhanced support for custom taxonomies
Put page title before blog name in admin title (Ticket 9028)
Use https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/ for the WordPress.org secret-key service
Various phpDoc updates
Refactor filters to avoid potential XSS attacks
XMLRPC improvements
Improved mysql2date coding
Make authentication more pluggable
Switch to using the ID when calling get_avatar internally to support caching plugins
Allow plugins to provide a canonical redirect_url even if WordPress does not provide its own
Drafts have post_date populated now, so look for a zeroed out post_date_gmt to determine non-scheduled nature
Fixes to query_posts (obey post_type, drop orderby=category, use group by for meta key queries, remove meta_value from selected fields)
New orderby=none parameter for use with query_posts
Allow a plugin to filter the classes applied in wp_list_pages()
Functions (get_adjacent_post_rel_link() and adjacent_post_rel_link()) to display relational links for adjacent posts in the head (Ticket 8703)
Add the sticky post grey background to the default theme
Proxy support
Let a plugin filter the expanded capabilities returned by map_meta_cap
Allow the update period to be filtered in RSS/RDF feeds
Store field types in wpdb object
Add tag description functions tag_description and term_description
Add page class to get_body_class()
Deprecate get_catname()
Use comments_open() and pings_open() in WordPress Default and Classic themes
Add wp_trim_excerpt() filter
Consolidate plugin/theme/core upgrade/install functions
Add page-id-x class to body for pages
Return empty list in wp_list_bookmarks() if requested bookmark category does not exist
Allow menu reordering via plugin
Add hook for updating user profile
Add redirect argument to wp_loginout
Add wp_lostpassword_url (Ticket 9932)
Add get_the_author_meta() and the_author_meta() functions
Deprecate the_author_ID, the_author_login, the_author_firstname, the_author_lastname, the_author_nickname, the_author_email, the_author_url, the_author_aim, the_author_yim, the_author_mns, the_author_description and all their "get_*()" functions. (The full list at wp-includes/deprecated.php)
Let plugins use screen layout columns
Add labels to titles and text inputs
Add hook for adding info to plugin update message
Don't do core version check from front page loads
Allow a plugin to vary the comment cookie lifetime (or even remove the cookies altogether)
Allow plugin to replace just the default help while preserving the contextual help
New escaping naming convention Ticket 9650
Deprecate wp_specialchars() in favor of esc_html(). Encode quotes for esc_html() as in esc_attr(), to improve plugin security (ref. Development Updates)
Deprecate sanitize_url() and clean_url() in favor of esc_url_raw() and esc_url() (ref. Development Updates)
Add number/offset arguments to get_pages() (same parameters can be used for wp_list_pages()
Make login more pluggable
Add the_widget() function to output a generic widget anywhere in a template (Ticket 9701)
Allow plugins to override tz support enable/disable
Fix combining category and tag queries
Support IIS 7.0 URL Rewrite Module
Recognize Expression Web 2 as IIS
Allow multiple search form templates
Introduce sanitize_html_class() and use it to give categories, tags, users etc meaningful classnames where possible but fallback to the id if necessary (Ticket 8446)
Allow a different role to be set for users when they are created in a call to wp_insert_user()
Improve Filesystem method choice for 'direct'; introduce FS_METHOD constant
Add a hook in print_footer_scripts as in print_head_scripts
Add a comment_moderation_headers filter
Move upload_dir filter to before directory is created, so plugins can have a better effect
Pass name to sidebar, footer, and header get actions
Upgrader improvements, including move curl to last position and fockopen to 2nd position due to higher compatibility
Updated Trac
Advanced Features:
JS script loader Improvements:
jQuery 1.3.2
Improvements to the script loader: allows plugins to queue scripts for the front end head and footer, adds hooks for server side caching of compressed scripts, adds support for ENFORCE_GZIP constant (deflate is used by default since it's faster)
Load the minified versions of the scripts by default, define('SCRIPT_DEBUG', true); can be used to load the development versions
Remove events from categories chechboxes in quick edit to speed up page unload
Make simple form validation and ajax-add new categories compatible with jQuery 1.3.1
Load farbtastic.js has to be loaded in the head
Note: see Lester Chan's Loading Javascript in Footer blog and Andrew Ozz's Script Loader Updates blog
New Widgets API:
WP_Widget is a class that abstracts away much of the complexity involved in writing a widget, especially multi-widgets.
Basically, you extend WP_Widget with your own class that provides a constructor and three methods -- widget(), form(), and update().
widget() - outputs the actual content of the widget.
update() - processes options to be saved.
form() - outputs the options form.
A widget is registered by passing the name of the widget class to register_widget().
All widgets written with WP_Widget are multiple instance capable.
Options
Options for old single-instance widgets ported to WP_Widget will be upgraded to the new multi-option storage format, which is simply a multi-dimensional array keyed by instance ID.
Options for widgets using the old multi-instance pattern should work as is.
If your widget has custom option storage needs, you can provide your own get_settings() and save_settings() methods.
The WP_Widget source can be viewed here (read the phpdoc for moreinfo on usage): http://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/trunk/wp-includes/widgets.php
You can see examples of how to use it here: http://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/trunk/wp-includes/default-widgets.php
If you author any widgets, try porting them to WP_Widget and give your feedback on what can be improved an Trac Ticket 8441.
Props to the MultiWidget class, on which WP_Widget is based: http://blog.firetree.net/2008/11/30/wordpress-multi-widget/
The above extracted from Ryan Boren's wp-hackers post.
Menu reordering via plugin:
Example plugin demonstrates menus with Dashboard, Posts, and Comments in the first menu group. The remaining menus follow in their usual order.
When filtering the order array, any menus that are not mentioned in the array will be sorted after ones that are mentioned.
Unmentioned menus are sorted in their usual order, relative to other unmentioned menus.
Information extracted from Ryan Boren's comments on Trac Ticket 9652