With WordPress 2.5 due to be released today (Hooray!) now would be a good time to go through a series of upgrade checks to see if your blog is ready for 2.5. Lorelle Van Fossen has written up an excellent article on the BlogHerald in regards to the pre upgrade checks you should perform. These include disabling and or removing old plugins, updating themes and plugins, validation, and checking for compatibilities. Going through this series of pre-flight checks as some would say, will help you prepare for a smooth upgrade process.
I know I’ll be one of the first to upgrade my blog when I have the chance. When will you upgrade yours?
*Note* WordPress 2.5 was TENTATIVELY scheduled to be release on March 10th, 2008. However, it looks like it’s not ready for production treatment and thus, has not been released.
As much as I was excited about WP2.5 I’m not sure if I’m really that .. ready .. to do a major upgrade. Security upgrades are one thing – but this will change the complete physiology of my admin and I fear what else it may change … FEAR! Fear is the mind killer!
Well, if it will be realeased when it is daytime here in germany i will start as soon as i got it. And of cource FEAR is THE mindkiller but a GOOD BACKUP is the killer of the mind killer 🙂
I have a file on my root for checking things like this. I can’t wait to load it up there and work with it a few days to see if everything is working well with all plugins and themes, but I won’t put it on my live sites till I’ve worked with it for little bit.
Sure thing, I will update as soon I can.
I will upgrade a couple of weeks after you, Lorelle and the others so I can take a look at all the bugs and problems that may arise.
I doubt that 2.5’s still coming out today. From what I’d read on the mailing list, there’s still testing yet to do. Ma.tt mentioned doing a beta-2 soon, but the version string in SVN is still beta-1.
“When it’s done….”
I’ve already upgraded onto the latest 2.5 beta, so moving up from there will be smooth 🙂
The TinyMCEadvanced plugin seems to foul things, though. 😛
A blogger must learn to skip upgrades if they are not for security reason.
Few fancy features in the admin panel are not paying the effort to upgrade and put your blog on risk for eventual bug and security problems.
Like all major updates, I’ll wait until SP1 to put it on my main sites. My Dev blog could use some breaking, though … perhaps I’ll take an afternoon to test older plugins against 2.5.
@Heliologue,
Yeah, I’m on the wp-testers mailing list and and have also been keeping up with SVN – there is some still some work to do. It was scheduled for release today but that’s not written in stone. They’d rather push it back a few days and release it when it’s truly ready.
Well, I am waiting for it.. will upgrade as soon as it is available 🙂 how many hours from now ?
I tested upgrading one of my blogs (which runs quite a few plugins) in a local copy to trunk with no issues at all, so I’m feeling pretty confident overall. 2.3 was the compatibility killer, it doesn’t look like too many issues should arise other than plugins that directly modify the admin interface.
Looks like I should go add some entries to the plugin compatibility page, it’s looking pretty sparse so far.
I will update as soon as the admin is changed to something less awful.
I’m entirely unhappy with what has happened to the admin section and unconvinced there’s been any changes otherwise which are really worth my time to upgrade.
I would be sleeping when WordPress 2.5 releases, so I’ll update as soon as i wake up in the morning. 😀
I’m upgrading straightaway. Since my site is just for fun, I don’t really mind testing the bleeding edge of things a bit. I already uninstalled the one admin interface plugin I had so I am just waiting for the .zip. 😀
I’ve got a couple of “for fun” installs that could become a testbed.
Now… who’s going to design the “Classic Admin Interface” plugin…?
I seriously doubt you will be seeing 2.5 today, or anytime soon. At latest count (I just checked!) there were 415 open tickets waiting for resolution representing only 53% progress towards a release date… so I wouldn’t be holding your breath:)
c0y0te
“Howl @ The Moon!”
http://www.avalon5.com
I’ll start by upgrading a local copy and test this for a couple of days before upgrading the main site
Rightaway, for sure! I have been looking forward to this one, having tried and liked the beta version on other sites!
I don’t think I’ll upgrade that soon. I’m still on WP 2.2.1 :/ Too lazy to upgrade…
Tell me you’re kidding! Another upgrade, I just switched hosting and spent most of today rebuilding and getting everything just right…
db
Figures. I just upgraded to 2.3.3 yesterday, only to find out today that there’s another one on the stove. Good thing the upgrades are getting easier and easier with practice! (Looking forward to any upgrade on admin stuff… yay!)
I’ll wait until 2.5.1 comes out! That’s usually when I upgrade. I hate to be the first with problems and no answers!
I’ll be upgrading immediately. I’ve been privately testing the svn betas (I wonder, why has there been no pre-packaged, “public” beta yet?) and I’m ready now, though I’m not looking forward to dealing with the changes to the Write Post page on my day-to-day blogs.
I’m so sure it won’t be released today that if 2.5 comes out today, I’ll leave the internet forever…starting the day I die.
But no, based on the traffic in the hackers list, and the fact that it hasn’t even had a real Beta, it would be unprofessional to release it as the current WP version.
I’m already using WordPress 2.5… WordPress 2.5-beta1! And I am glad to say that it works like a charm.
on of my *I need this plugin for my photoblog* is not ready this days, so I can’t update my webdesign-in.de
but I’m using wp 2.5 beta on of my other domain and try to change the admin css 😉
regards
Monika
I saw the Gallery that Matt had yesterday, and was consumed with jealousy. I’ve been checking about every hour today to see if it’s out yet LOL.
I am really looking forward to v2.5, but I’ll wait for at least a week or two before I’ll upgrade.
@ c0y0te:
The number of tickets has nothing to do with how close they are to a release. They just move up the open tickets to the next milestone (2.6).
I was considering upgrading as soon as it came out but, since none of my questions on what we could expect from 2.5 in regard to themes have been answered – even in passing – I’ll wait until all the complaints roll in and then see what is left in the debris.
I would upgrade RIGHT NOW! But I must wait with all the WP-minions…
I will update mine when I feel like it.
Thanks for the news! Like some of the other commentators, I’m also VERY reticent about upgrading my WP installation. The plugins I use are essential to the site, and I haven’t yet had time to verify that they are all 2.5 compatible (many probably aren’t! Thanks for the article with the checklist) so I’d have to consider alternative plugins if they’re even available. Secondly, I don’t want to break the site, and I *like* the current admin interface. And as with all new WPs, teething problems crop up… so I’ll wait for at least 2.5.2 (or thereabouts) before I upgrade 🙂
Why should I upgrade? (I’m being serious… other than a UI refresh of the admin panel, what else might motivate me?) Assuming there’s something interesting, I’ll probably get on board 2.5.2ish once the bugs and security issues (and plugin compatibility) are worked out.
Although I’m running the latest trunk build on my main blog and being on the wp-testers list I can’t see where 2.5 is ready to be released yet. Soon, but not today. Still, a lot of work is being done on it at a rather furious pace so we’ll see I guess.
I will say that this is going to be a fine upgrade when it’s finished. best WordPress version yet.
I have no plans to upgrade to 2.5 until the admin interface is based on the Shuttle design or something else that’s decent. Must support IE6+ and Fifefox 1.5+ and not look like someone threw up on it.
Having been testing 2.5 on a local installation, my conclusion is that I won’t be putting this release anywhere near a site I need to work on. The new admin interface has taken away useful functionality (that easy to customise sidebar) and added nothing that I need. I’d rather not have to scroll up and down to get to things that work perfectly well in a sidebar.
@Les
The admin interface, particularly the write post/page, is not something I’m fond of either. I haven’t had time to play around too much with my local install but I think it’s time to dig into jquery and move the stuff from under the write window BACK to the siebar – where it should be.
Oops, typo. *sidebar*
I don’t see any point in hurrying now. I will upgrade after I find a guide to adapt my themes that I actually understand and can implement. The codex in many instances is clearly written by tech-savvy people for tech-savvy people.
Also, I will wait for most plugins I use to reach compatibility.
I go along with Jeffro: It’ll be out today. Later this afternoon, maybe early evening, just to tease us a little more. Feature-freeze was weeks ago, and if something was hanging it, they’d have made the sad climb-down by now. I’ll have it on immediately … well, immediate as dialup gets… 😉
Well, I see a few comments not welcoming the new 2.5, just from what I feel in the comment box.
When it’s out I’ll just install it in my localhost and see for myself. Even if some people argue–eventually we got to update when your plugin moves to the new 2.5 syntax.
Right now here is 8:00 PM (-4 GMT), and still wondering when they are going to release, probably tommorrow.
I’m like some of the others. My blog is working flawlessly right now with 2.3.3, so I’m in no hurry to muck it up with an upgrade. I used to be an early adopter, but after you are burned several times (never said I was a quick learner), you get to where you take a deep breath and wait a little before jumping. I’ll be watching the .org forum for “I upgraded to 2.5 and now all of this or that is messed up.” When it settles down (possibly around 2.5.1) then I’ll upgrade.
Well, March 10th has come and gone and my blog doesn’t have WP 2.5 on it. So it looks like everyone who claimed that it wouldn’t be released on March 10th was correct. Now we wait on the official word as to why that is.
WP 2.5 is a little weird. WP 2.3 there is a beta release and a RC release before it came out and apparently WP 2.5 comes out straight
No, WP 2.5 has not been released. In fact, according to the trac, the release has been pushed back by at least one week. However, keep in mind that the dates for anything involved with WordPress are TENTATIVE. They take the WHEN ITS DONE approach to releasing things.
Hi
How accurate and reliable is this information? This article proclaims the release of WP 2.5 on 9 March 2008. However at the time of writing this reply it is 11 March 2008 05:45 UTC and WP 2.5 as not been released! Are there more problems with it or is this another example of more hype than results?
@John Hello John. I was under the impression that WordPress 2.5 was surely going to be released on March 10th but I was proved wrong. I have added a note and corrected the text to the post.
@Jeffro2pt0: Yea, but if you look at WP2.3, beta and RCs versions were release before the final version.
Aww darn! And I was eagerly waiting for WordPress 2.5 – especially having had the chance to play with the Alpha demo. I love the AJAX inclusion, but the admin navigation may need a little work. It’s a lot messier than the previous versions.
Does anyone know when it will be released?
I’ll upgrade after a few days, after I make sure that there’s no compatibility issues on my themes and plugins.
If the admin panel is still the same awful thing that I’ve seen I couple months ago, I think I’ll pass. I’m good with 2.3.3 right now.
Have to say I’m not looking forward to it. The new admin section looks horrible. They could have just freshened the current one. They really need to be more open with the release dates and the reasons for missing. This reflects poorly in the organization.
I’ll upgrade after 2 weeks or later after you guys upgrade.. so I can be warn in some errors and upgrading problems :)..
i hope 2.5 would be a great success. 🙂
Any reason why the next release is 2.5 instead of 2.4?
“They really need to be more open with the release dates and the reasons for missing. This reflects poorly in the organization.”
I agree!
Yes the write panel is horrible – but with a little css it is possible to move it into the sidebar-where it should be
scroll down to fill all fields—scroll up to safe or publish ..???
and the colors are very bad for my eye.
the newest plugin in dashboard is the second I would like to kill–
the good information about how many post how many comments ie is now a sentence and so I can’t scan – I have to read it- usability is not the friend of wordpress developer, but they are good coder
regards
Monika
@Azmeen: http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2.....e-delayed/
It’s interesting reading the comments, above, on the admin page. I remember many people complaining that it looked, well, crap and some from the WP side saying that this was only a beta, or a plan, or an idea and nothing more.
If the admin side really is still as crap as it was doing the first showing, I’m not bothering at all. We were asked our opinions, said it was crap, and it looks distinctly as if the users, those who make WP so big in the world, have been ignored.
I think that as soon as everyone’s plugins are 100% functional and working, many of us will make the jump to the new version.
I would like to test the final version locally before putting it online.
I am with WP 2.3.3 and I like the Admin section since I first installed WordPress – it was version 2.0.5, I believe… I saw a bit of the new design of the WP Admin (version 2.5 beta) and I didn’t like it at all!
The previous design was, to my eye, much more user-friendly and had much better color combinations. It was light to load and nice to use. Implementation of 2 rows of tabs was perfect, and widgets in the admin sidebar, too.
I am not sure why WP devs are moving towards this new design? Yeah, it’s new, but this doesn’t mean it’s better than the previous one…
And I hear lots of voices expressing the same thought…
Would be nice to be able to switch Admin themes — and whoever creates the ‘WP Classic 2.3 Admin Theme’ will for sure be praised by the WordPress users’ community! 🙂
(Or better – WP, please, switch back to 2.3.x style in Admin!)
I’m relatively new to WP, so can anyone tell me what are the benefits of 2.5 over 2.3. What does it do better than 2.3?
@ Michel
It’s already possible to switch admin themes 😉
In my mind an ugly and not so useful admin theme will rocket the development of new admin themes.
@Mattias: Don’t tell me it was intentional? 😉
Although I don’t recommend this to the average WP user, I’ve been running two test 2.5 installs for over a month last month, one online and one local, and have been pounding the literal crap out of them. My opinion of 2.5 is that even the trunk builds are solid and stable, it’s faster overall, easier on the server and they’ve really done a lot of work on making the whole platform run much more efficiently and BTW, as of yesterday morning the latest trunk had most of the original blue color back in the admin.
It’s just my opinion here but the old admin we’ve been using over the years was in very bad need of a make over and although I may agree with one or two points made above, overall, I like the new admin. If I don’t like the colors, I’ll put on rose colored glasses. 😀
But like Firefox 3, people seem to be missing the point. Yes, a lot of work has been done to the theme and looks of the software but great deal more work has gone into the code, all the inner workings you can’t see, that’s where the majority of the work has gone…where it counts. The final looks of the admin comes last. You make the admin/interface functional and let it go until the internals are working the way you want, then you finish off the looks of the thing. And I can guarantee you that no matter how it looks, somebody won’t like it. You’re not going to rebuild your old Chevy and start things of by putting a $5000.00 paint job on it first are you?
They can make it as late as they want as long as it’s finished when it comes out.
Oh yeah, I updated my main site 3 days ago…lost a couple minor plugins I really didn’t need and expected to lose anyway. Other than that–no problems.
I read a lot of these comments, and hit the ones that digest like a fist full of razors, and I have to say that it’s kind of – frustrating – reading people and their demands on the WordPress team.
First, let’s remember the price we’re paying for a program as robust as WordPress. FREE. If you paid money for this you’d have more right to complain about when the new version comes out and so on and so forth. But really – you don’t. They’re working as fast as they can, and to be honest I’d rather have an update that’s stable and late than one that’s full of holes and on time.
And as far as the admin design goes: Yeah, I’m unimpressed also. But really, not worried about it. It took me some time to get used to the 2.3.3. admin section, it will take some time getting used to the new section. Right now I’m using the Tiger Style Admin anyway. Perhaps that, and other admin styles, are available and compatible. Let’s not deem 2.5 worthless based on a personal taste for colors and layout.
And perhaps we will see a slew of great admin themes released soon that will open doors that have barely been approached.
In the end, all I’m saying is ‘chill people’. I’m sure all will be revealed in good time and you’ll have your 2.5 and perhaps more answers to your admin theme concerns.
@ Tadd, Thanx for the reality check
Well, the roadmap says “due in 1 week”. But I only checked some minutes ago, so this might have changed lately. But, hey: as far as I’m concerned, everything works just fine with V2.3.3. So, I go with Lenen and Tadd.
Thank you to #76. I was scrolling down to type the same thing when you beat me to it. WordPress is FREE. Which means nobody gets paid, they’re all volunteers, most of whom likely have full-time jobs and do this on the side, as a favor to the community. A little gratitude, graciousness, politeness would be nice. I, for one, am eternally grateful for the coders and volunteers. I just discovered WordPress a couple of weeks ago (after having a site for almost 5 years) and this is the first time in those 5 years that I am enjoying updating my site again. It’s by far the easiest, most versatile I’ve found and, can’t beat this, it’s FREE. Did I mention free? (sorry – I wasn’t going to repeat Tadd’s comments, but…couldn’t help it.) I’ll close with one more GREAT BIG THANK YOU to the coders, developers, designers, volunteers. Your work is awesome and appreciated!
@ Tadd and Ms Anthropy: I disagree. We are their customers, whether we’ve paid directly or through ad revenue. It’s akin to saying the only people who can complain about ACCORDING TO JIM are the direct advertisers. WordPress is great software, the best there is; but that doesn’t mean that it’s perfect or that the community that Automattic has previously embraced shouldn’t question these kinds of things.
As for 2.5, I’d rather have a more secure version a little later, but after not correcting the common notion that yesterday was a hard deadline (for heaven’s sake, it was all but advertised on the dashboard), it would’ve been nice if they’d given folks who were furiously refreshing their browsers all day a little heads up that it wasn’t going to happen.
On a side note, does anybody know if 2.5 corrects the issue introduced in 2.3? Do I still need two separate plugins to maintain security from Automattic?
Thanks for the heads up. This gives me time to finish my actual work so I’m not shooting myself in the foot when I do my upgrades.
So far I have seen several blogs with the 2.5 beta version. It seems that the problems are with some plugins. Let´s wait and see or just upgrade with a previous backup.
Well, I was surprised too, I didn’t get a Go Get It! message in my Admin this morning. But I will say, not as surprised as I was some time back, to read that the WordPress authorities planned henceforth to make regular, timed releases, marching off into the future.
Er – that’s actually not how software development works.
Um – actually – it works exactly as we are now experiencing it! 😉
Can’t they just make a fully-tested fully-functional and secure version of WordPress ???
@Pirahna – What do you mean? One that never needs updated or upgraded? One that has every feature under the sun, even ones you never knew you needed? One that will be hackproof? Even the products you PAY for can’t deliver that. Why? Because there are so many variables that are unforeseen, and so many people out there figuring out new and improved way to screw things up. In a perfect society, sure – it’s possible – but this is far from perfect. So sadly, no – there is no way to make a WordPress install that will be fully-tested, fully-functional and secure. Not truly.
I’d rather see it more bug-free than released asap. There are always some unexpected issues that might cause unwanted situations. In WP it’s extremely important as it’s widely used around the world.
Thanks,
Dave
@Jeff: Just so you know, I wasn’t dissin you in my post over at my site … just stating what you said. Didn’t think about the comment you posted on my site until just now – and how my trackback sounds like a criticism of your post …
@Tadd No ill will or feelings hurt. I saw the trackback and visited your site to see what it is you had to say and I enjoyed the post. I merely explained my action and reaction as to why I edited the post just because I thought it needed to be said. I think most of us were all caught off guard for one reason or another because 2.5 didn’t ship.
Ah, ok good to know.
Yeah, I was a little surprised it wasn’t shipped after the excitement – but I wasn’t about to get all .. warky (my word) about it.
So what are you using now?
I’m also curious to know what GoodThings2Life is using for his admin interface. Perhaps Tiger or something similar?
I agree with the need to have IE and FF support, but I’d also like to see some efforts made to support other browsers. Writing a post or a page from Opera, Safari or Konquerer is next to impossible with all the wrapping problems.
I’ve been waiting it’s release whole this month, I wish it’d be coming soon.