WordPress 4.0 sounds like a huge deal because of the WordPress Foundation’s decision to bump up the version to 4. However, the actual changes represent a smaller leap compared to the transition from WordPress 2.x to 3.0. Improvements are welcome nevertheless especially if it means making the world’s most popular blogging platform even better. Here are some of the neat features you can expect from WordPress 4.0.
Post Editor Refinements
The behavior of the post editing window has been changed to a dynamically expanding one. As you continue typing, the text editor will expand vertically always leaving you with room to type more. This change eliminates the need for a scroll bar since the expanding text editor can now depend on the browser’s scroll bar instead. On top of that, WordPress made the editing toolbar sticky too so you will always see it even if you scroll to the bottom of the article. Previews of any embedded videos will also show up on the visual editor.
Media Library Improvements
WordPress updated the Media library with an additional view called “Grid View” which lets you view more media files at once. You can scroll down without clicking as this view takes an infinite scroll approach. Clicking on an image still lets you make edits like you normally would in WordPress 3.x but you can also easily move on to the next or previous image for editing by clicking on the corresponding buttons.
Other Minor Improvements
WordPress 4.0 also benefits new users that may want to choose a different language right from the start. When you go to the installation page, you can select the language just like you would when setting up your operating system for the first time. Finally, there are some cosmetic changes to the plugins section to make it look friendlier as well as added widget support to the WordPress customizer.
WordPress 4.0 is expected to be released this month with Beta 4 rolled out recently.