WordPress 3.6 “Oscar” is finally released, and it’s named after the Canadian jazz pianist Oscar Peterson. The latest and greatest version of WordPress features a brand new default blog-centric theme named as Twenty Thirteen, revamped revisions, better autosave handling, native support for audio and video embeds, and improved integrations with Spotify, Rdio, and SoundCloud. Let’s take a closer look at new features that are offered in WordPress 3.6.
New Default Twenty Thirteen Theme
WordPress 3.6 comes with a new default theme Twenty Thirteen, which is a blog-centric theme that’s inspired by modern art. The theme puts a focus on your content with a colorful, single-column design made for media-rich blogging. The theme is developed to take advantage of post formats, and all the features that are offered by WordPress 3.6.
Revamped Revisions
WordPress 3.6 allows you to compare post revisions. As we already know that WordPress automatically saves post revisions, and while there are ways to disable it, many people find it very useful. The new post revision interface allows you to scroll easily through changes to see line-by-line who changed what and when.
Improved Autosave
Now you won’t need to worry about losing your precious content anymore. The new version comes with improved autosave functionality as the content is not only saved on the server but also locally on the browser. Also if you’re running a multi-authored blog, then each author now has their own autosave stream, and there’s also an interface for taking over editing of a post in case multiple authors are working on the same post.
Built-in HTML5 Player
WordPress 3.6 comes with Built-in HTML5 media player for native audio and video embeds so that you don’t have to rely on other external services.
New Menu Editor
The “Menus” feature of WordPress might look confusing to some and that’s why the new version of WordPress comes with a new and simplified menu interface. It has two parts – one for editing menus and other for managing locations.
For those who prefer a more visual version, check out the below video:
Apart from the features mentioned above, there were many other changes and bug fixes. Since it’s a major release, we would definitely advise you to update your WordPress installation right now. Of course, make sure to backup your site and also ensure that your existing theme and plugins are compatible with the new version. Go ahead and enjoy a brand new version of WordPress.
Also Read: WordPress 3.7 and 3.8 Release Date and Features Announced