Let’s take a journey down memory lane and remember the good ole days of WordPress 1.x, 2.x, and 3.x. Let’s discuss WordPress 4.1 and what to expect. The platform has come a long way and today boys and girls the all new WordPress 4.1 has been pushed to the masses for updating. We’ll discuss the newest features for WordPress 4.1 release and how you can start using these features today. As always, before upgrading your WordPress database, please be sure to make a backup copy or install a plugin that will help create a backup. Better safe than sorry.

Twenty Fifteen Theme

The annual twenty fifteen theme shipped with WordPress 4.1 and comes equipped with a brand new design. Think of the theme in a 2 column format. The left column is the location of the static menu items, while all of the dynamic content is located in the right column. The menu comes equipped with minimal descriptions for users to read and have a better understanding of what to expect on the next web page. In addition, widgets and custom HTML code can be inserted in the left column. Only your creativity will limit you here. The right column of the theme will be where the dynamic content will live. With a somewhat infinite scrolling feature, content can be simultaneously loading while the user scrolls through the page. Big images will really take advantage of the theme. Notice how elegantly the large images appear on the theme and professions such as photography will take advantage of the theme’s large imagery display. The theme really breathes freshness into the ever changing annual theme produced by the WordPress team. We are looking forward to the customization’s designers will be making to the twenty fifteen theme. I’m sure a showcase will be displayed in the next couple of weeks.

Distraction Free Writing

From brain to keyboard is a process lots of bloggers implement when drafting a blog. WordPress 4.1 tweaked an already existing feature called Distraction-Free Writing mode. The icon appears in the upper right hand corner of the writing pane and below the Visual and Text tabs. The feature is a nice way of eliminating the noise surrounding the post and provides only the essential tools that are needed when composing a blog entry. Depending on one’s writing style, this may or may not be of use to all. Either way, the mode is welcomed and judging by the revisions to the mode I’m sure we will see more tweaks done the road.

These were some of the big feature updates that came with 4.1. We provided a bullet list of other featured items that include language translation, Vine embed codes, and plugin recommendations.

• Choose a language – Right now, WordPress 4.1 is already translated into 44 languages, with more always in progress. You can switch to any translation under the General Settings.
• Vine Embeds – Embedding videos from Vine is as simple as pasting a URL onto its own line in a post. See the full list of supported embeds.
• Log Out Everywhere – If you’ve ever worried you forgot to sign out from a shared computer, you can now go to your profile and log out everywhere.
• Plugin Recommendations – The plugin installer suggests plugins for you to try. Recommendations are based on the plugins you and other users have installed.

Have you updated your WordPress instance? Let us know in the comments section how it went!