WordPress 4.0 Beta 1 was just released, so let’s take a sneak peak at some of the features that it offers. If you would like to test the beta, you can download WordPress 4.0 from the blog page. Remember, you should install the beta on a development server and not a production one! You don’t want to interrupt a user’s reading experience with an error.
Media Library
The Media Library has a new grid view! If you wish, you can still use the list view.
Insert from URL
When inserting an image from a URL, you can now see a preview of the image as well as some additional options. Take a look at the delicious cookie example below:
Improved Plugin Searching
The Install Plugin screen has a brand new grid-like interface with each plugin having its own card.
Clicking on the ‘More Details’ button will display a new modal window:
You can click on the ‘Installation’, ‘Screenshots’, ‘Changelog’, ‘FAQ’ and ‘Reviews’ tabs to learn more about the selected plugin. From now on, instead of having to check the WordPress Plugin Directory’s page, you can view all of the details from your WordPress dashboard.
Choosing a Language
Andrew Nacin suggested this change back in May on this Internalization thread. When installing WordPress, you can now select a language:
Improved Customizer
For developers out there, WordPress 4.0 comes out with an improved API for the Cusotmizer panels.
Unfortunately, we will have to wait a little longer for WP API integration, but it will hopefully be bundled with WordPress 4.1. WordPress 4.0 is slated to release in August. For now, if you find any bugs, you can submit a ticket.