WordPress 4.0 Beta 1 is Now Available – Download it Now

WordPress is the most perfect Content Management System and the number one choice for bloggers and webmasters to create websites and blogs. This free CMS system has come a long way since its early days and has introduced many new features with every update. The last version, WordPress 3.9.1 introduced new media features that allowed users to create audio and video playlists.

So what can we expect from WordPress 4.0 Beta 1 version? As we know that WordPress always brings new features with every update, the 4.0 Beta 1 also boasts of new features. So let’s take a look at the features that will come with the latest version.

Note: The 4.0 version is still in open Beta and not a final release. If you want to test it, do it on a test site and not on your main websites. There might be a lot of bugs and incompatibilities in the Open Beta version. So test it out and report any bugs you you come across.

Features of WordPress 4.0 Beta 1:

New Media Library Grid View:

The all new “Grid” view is added to the Media library in addition to the list view. You will be able to add details to the images by just clicking on the image and filling in its details.

Preview Embed URLs:

Now you will be able to see live previews of the embedded URLs in the Visual Editor. You can insert a YouTube video URL and see the live preview of what it will look like. That’s pretty cool when you add a lot of videos in your posts.

Plugins Installation:

The Plugins section in the WordPress dashboard has been given a completely new look thanks to the updated WordPress 4.0 Beta 1 version. While searching for a particular plugin, you will see more visual changes in the dashboard along with more info about the plugin.

Image Source – WPTavern.com

Visual Editor and Cursor Improvements:

The editor easily re-sizes its top and bottom pins whenever needed. This is a huge improvement. Along with that, there have been some improvements made on how the keyboard and cursor interacts with the TinyMCE views.

Widgets:

The Widgets in the Customize panel are now loaded in a separate panel for ease of use.

Other Changes:

You will now be able to select a language when you are installing WordPress for the first time. Also some changes have been made in the formatting section so if you find something wrong, file a bug report.

Download WordPress 4.0 Beta 1:

If you are a developer of a plugin or a theme, you need to download the Beta version and check the compatibility issues of your web properties. Since its a major update for WordPress, you need to test out your sites, plugins and themes while the version is still in the early stages.

When you are testing out the Open Beta version and you come across a certain bug, you need to report it so that when WordPress 4.0 is officially released, it will be free of all the bugs and issues, thanks to developers like you and others who tested the Beta version. Here is the list of known bugs that have already been identified so if you come across a new bug, please report it.

You can download WordPress 4.0 Beta 1 version from the release announcement post from WordPress.org or you can download WordPress Beta Tester plugin to test the beta version. The official and final version of WordPress 4.0 will be released in August.