WordPress 2.5 was released 30 days ago, and its first upgrade, version 2.5.1, followed 27 days later. Because WordPress is one of the most (if not the most) popular blogging solutions for individuals and businesses who host their own blogs, this release has been significant.

The overhaul to the WordPress backend is extensive; it’s easy to get lost at first and anyone who has used previous versions of WordPress for some time will instantly understand the importance of usability in design. Much of what my eyes remember seeing and my hands remember clicking has moved. Thirty days later, this still bugs me to some degree, though much less so.

Overall, the new backend seems designed to make it easier for people to write blog posts, which is a good thing. On the other hand, if you spend a good amount of time administering a blog, many of those functions have been moved and no longer fall under the same hierarchy as before. I found this took a little getting used to.

The WordPress people say that the new backend should not only be more user-friendly, but also faster. Is this true? I haven’t really noticed a huge difference, to tell the truth. I suspect that it is a tad faster, but I’ve also looked through the code and noticed that there is much less JavaScript than before, which means it must be faster. Hooray to less JavaScript! (Sometimes)

My only complaint in terms of posting is that the timestamp function for each post is less intuitive to edit. That aside, the inclusion of tags and the new preview system are both welcome changes. Categories have moved to the bottom, which I like. This forces me to think about the categories separately from the post, after I’ve finished writing it. This seems good for SEO.

Speaking of SEO, one thing I would still like to see is the ability to have customized page titles and meta descriptions for each post. Yes, this can be coded in. I’ve always coded it in to my own blogs because the SEO benefit is so overwhelmingly noticeable. I would also like to see the post slug featured more prominently and have more options, but this is another issue that only hardcore SEO-types are going to really worry about.

Overall, WordPress 2.5 is a solid release. It’s not a revolution in blogging, but if I had used it from the beginning I would like it much better than what came before. For those who are completely addicted to the old WordPress, there is some good news: The WordPress 2.0 branch will continue to be supported and updated, at least for the time being.

That’s good news for me!