What's new in WordPress 4.8 - - Taking a Closer Look

This is the time of year again! The next version of WordPress is now available to download. WordPress 4.8 "Evans," was released last week, on the 8th June. It comes with a variety of improved widgets and enhancements, along with a handy change to the way that links are displayed within the visual editor. Let's dive in and take a closer look!

•    Exciting Changes to Widgets
•    Link Boundaries in Visual Editor
•    Changes for Developers
•    How to update to WordPress 4.8

Amazing Changes to Widgets

Visual Editor is Now Available on Text Widgets

You can see on the right you now are able to use the visual editor, along with the standard "text" view.

New Image Widget

The company has introduced a new photo widget that is now available in WordPress 4.8. It is ideal for users wanting to easily upload an image, for example, a headshot advertisement, logo, or banners for affiliates. Click on "Edit Image" to add a link to the image.

Below you can see the brand new widget for images on our newly updated WordPress 4.8 site's sidebar.

New Video Widget

Much like the image widget, they also added an Video widget in WordPress 4.8. This is a wonderful method to promote your business, have a quick intro to your business, or perhaps just add some amusement. Formats currently supported include .mp4, .m4v, .webm, .ogv, and .flv. When you select "Edit Video" you will also have the option to play the video in loop.

Below you can see the video widget we have added to the newly-updated WordPress 4.8 website's sidebar.

New Audio Widget

Not to mention, they also added the Audio widget. It's identical to the other two. Could be a nice way to add an intro or greeting, or perhaps the audio from a podcast. When you click "Edit Audio" you can also select an option to loop the audio.

Below, you'll find the brand new audio widget available that we have just updated on our WordPress 4.8 Sidebar of our site.

Updated WordPress News and Events Dashboard Widget

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Link Boundaries within the Visual Editor

They made a small change to the visual editor and how it handles links. There is a lot of writing here at so this is actually our favorite new feature in WordPress 4.8. In the past, when you select the link to edit at times, you could find yourself linking the word that is next to it or not having the ability to move your cursor outside the link element. If you write a lot on WordPress will know that we're talking about. This wasn't an issue or anything, just a tiny annoying thing every publisher needed to address.

To assist in resolving this issue they have added the links' boundaries. Links in WordPress 4.8 are now surrounded by the blue border when they are picked. We still think the choice of links isn't 100% perfect, but this is definitely a improvement!

Changes For Developers

The WordPress 4.8 upgrade was more for non-developers, however, there are a few changes you should be mindful of.

Cleaner Headings

If you're a plugin or theme creator, they have made some accessibility enhancements to the header area in the dashboard. It may require updating your CSS to accommodate for the new.

Removal of Embedding Support for WMV and WMA

The company has now eliminated this auto embed feature for WMA and WMV files. They require Silverlight installed. This is not widely used by browsers.

New APIs for widgets

In addition to adding the visual editor to text widgets, as well as other video/audio widgets, also will be the capability for developers to more effortlessly use APIs for hooking to these areas. Read developer documentation on TinyMCE, the TinyMCE text widget and image and audio widgets.

The Customizer Sidebar Width has been made Variable

The previous appearance customizer sidebar was restricted to a set width of 300px. When you have larger screens it could become quite irritating. This has been changed to be proportional to the size of larger screen sizes.

New Multisite Changes and Functions

If you're keen on WordPress development and want to try the latest nightlies or want the latest information on changes before everyone else is able to, we recommend a visit the website make.wordpress.org. The core section is going to contain the most impactful changes however there are other sections that can be equally informative.

How do I update to WordPress 4.8

As long as everything goes well with the update you'll then be able to see the "What's New" screen. And that's it! Simple and quick.

Troubleshoot Problems with WordPress Update

If people make changes to a new version of WordPress it is not uncommon to have those who experience problems as a result of to the countless themes and plugins currently available on the market. There are several ways to solve common issues.

• You can try deactivating all of your plugins to see what happens. After that, reactivate them one after one until you find which plugin might need an update by the developer.
• Troubleshoot and identify JavaScript issues in your web browser. It can be particularly helpful in the event that a vital component, such as that of the Visual Editor (TinyMCE) breaks.

Some have started experiencing issues with problems with Visual Editor and text widgets See: #40960 and #40951. MaAnna offers a great overview of what she refers as the text widget meltdown.

Summary

There weren't many"stone-mapping" modifications in WordPress 4.8, for non-developers and those just starting out with the CMS using the latest widgets available will make using it more simple. Personally, we are excited to see more links changes in the editor as that is something has been very annoying for publishers and content creators.

Do you have a thought? Was there anything that impressed you during WordPress 4.8? If yes, please let us know in the comments below.

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