Over the past 6+ years there have been several versions of WordPress released, the latest being WordPress 2.8, many people do upgrade to the latest available version or in many cases start out with the latest version available, however over time not many users upgrade their installations.
It would be interesting to know which versions of WordPress you are using, if you are using a earlier versions, if possible please let us know the reason you are still using it.
Do feel free to share your views about which version you are using.
Version 2.8 doesn’t play well with some of the plug-ins I like the most, like Woopra and Zemata. Since what it brings in the way of improvements are not all that vital or impressive, I’ve kept a few blogs at version 7.X, only updating two of them. And those two I’d love to revert to 7.X if I weren’t afraid of doing damage to the database.
Woopra’s plugin works just fine on 2.8 AFAIK…
“Since what it brings in the way of improvements are not all that vital or impressive…”
Maybe not in the frontend, but there are plenty of useful additions under the hood, that plugin developers are already starting to take advantage of. (E.g. the new widget API.)
I had absolutely no trouble downgrading from 2.8 to 2.7.1. I just deleted out the WordPress directories, and uploaded the 2.7.1 files fresh.
I was worried about the database, as I’d neglected to backup my blog (my previous back-up was about two months ago), but it went off without a snag.
I run the very latest version of WordPress on all of my blogs of course. I like features, speed, and security. 🙂
I’m using 2.8.1 b2 on all but one of my sites (total of 9 installations). The only reason I haven’t updated the last site yet is that there are multiple authors and users of the site, most of which are fairly computer illiterate; and there are a huge number of specialized plug-ins and theme modifications to make the site work the way it’s supposed to. I loathe the scope of the update project, between finding and correcting all the little things that will break in the update, and re-training all the users.
I upgraded to 2.8 the day it came out. Result, the website collapsed and I had to rely on an older server backup to restore my website. I am hesitant to try again right now. No time…
I’m still on 2.7 since every time I attempt to upgrade to 2.8 the whole blogs goes down – as in page not found, I’ve disabled all plugins – tried manual and automatic upgrade. Nothing works. I think it’s my hosting provider. In another week or so it’s time to give it a go again on my test blog.
That’s a bug (Highest OMG! type) in 2.8 in that if the upgrade does not complete for whatever reason it may end up deleting critical core files during it’s cleanup routine. This bug has already been fixed in the 2.8.1 trunk and beta builds so once 2.8.1 hits the streets you should be able to auto-upgrade with no problem.
I am using WP 2.8 the latest the greatest 🙂
I just upgraded to 2.8. Everything works fine except the Widget panel. All my sidebar widgets display properly on the website, but they do not show up in the Admin window which makes it impossible to edit them or rearrange anything. Does anyone have any suggestions? I’m using Justin Tadlock’s “Options” Theme.
i already upgraded to the latest version because im not aware that it could give your blog harm, but now i would take it into consideration before upgrading.
I THINK I TRUST THEM TOO MUCH FROM NOT FAILING I THINK, but yeah, this is a program that may have bugs…
thanks!
-NHOEL OF KEYWORDSPEAK.COM
I upgraded 2.8 using automatic upgrade plugin, now I cannot log in
I get a white page, my website works ok.
I don’t know how to downgrade.
I’m still using 2.0.7. Everything works on the site as it is running that version and I have no interest in “rocking the boat”.
Well, actually I’m running 2.9-rare, and do nightly updates. Voted for 2.8 😉
I’m still on 2.7-something. The reason I haven’t updated is that I’ve installed wordpress in its own directory, and for some reason the auto updater can’t deal with that. I’ve tried moving it to the root of the domain, but ever time I’ve tried, the proverbial shit has hit the fan.
Still waiting for 2.8.1 before I make the leap. Did update some customer sites.
2.7.0 here. I tried to go to 1.7.1 but My Category Order didn’t work with it, then I just skip it.
ATM I’m updating all my plugins and then I’ll try 2.8, but probably I’ll wait for 2.8.1 to upgrade.
I am using WP 2.8 and I am waiting for the release of 2.8.1 because get_categories() doesn’t work in 2.8.
Running on 2.8.1 beta 2 but i can`t for that
so i chose 2.8
2.8 on my live sites. 2.9 rare on my test domain.
Using 2.8. I’m having a problem with not being ‘permitted’ to see draft pages (previews) Would love to get this resolved. Otherwise, WordPress is one of the smartest apps around. Impressed with it every day, every site I visit.
I always use the latest stable version of WordPress if I can.
Running WordPress 2.8 on both my personal blog and my WordPress centric blog. 2.8 didn’t give me nearly as much trouble as it did for others so I’m not too concerned with updating to 2.8.1 right away but I hear that has fixed a lot of issues for people.
We’ve made an internal decision to only do major upgrades for clients once a year. So we still have some sites on 2.6.5, will be going over to 2.8 in the next few weeks. Its the UI changes that bother clients the most, so we’re trying to minimize the updating. We’re holding workshops and one-on-one sessions annually to talk about the changes and its working pretty well.
I am running 2.8 on my personal blog but 2.7.1 on my technology blog. Many plugins were not 2.8 compatible when I upgraded my technology blog to 2.8, therefore I went back to 2.7.1
2.81 beta, which isnt there on the list.
A WordPress insider’s site is probably not the best place for an accurate poll:) Most people here are technically savvy enough to update to the new version quite easily and will naturally do so.
I’ve got 2.8 running on a new blog I’m launching and 2.6.2 on my current sites. I’ve got too many plugins running and too little expertise with debugging to fool with minor upgrades, so I tend to leapfrog over time as I do redesigns or significant backend work.
Great point, James. I wonder which versions the majority of bloggers (i.e., non-techies such as ourselves) are using. I’m using 2.8 on my one and only blog but it was the toughest upgrade for me thus far in the way it reacted with my plugins. It took me hours to find out why I had a blank white screen after the upgrade and it turned out to be a single plugin (out of the 16 I use) — Nofollow Reciprocity. This was the first upgrade I had done (I always use the latest version) where I had serious problems due to a plugin. Once I figured it out, 2.8 works like a champ but I sure wish the N/F/R guy would upgrade his plugin to be compatible 🙂
On the other hand, does anybody know if there is another plugin that’ll perform the same function as N/F/R, which IS compatible with 2.8? If so, please let me know…
I use WP 2.8. I still see a lot of WP websites that use older than 2.5 versions, much more than this poll shows. As James Joyner said before, this isn’t the best place for such poll.
I don’t use WP 2.8 as it totally destroyed my blog due to the theme I was using. The theme cannot be upgraded because the developers will not update it. I find it strange that WP 8 is not compatible but it is hard to upgrade knowing that we will loose our theme. Too Bad!
I never update a production site to a new version of anything until after extensive testing and general reports on stability from the community. In my experience (going way back to 2.0.5 days) it’s almost always true that a new major version has errors that can mess up your site. It’s not because they’re sloppy in coding, but at this point there are just too many variables with plugins and themes to do testing for every possible vector of problems–so waiting until the X.X.1 release is always the best policy since those major issues get cleaned up for that release.
The last time that I updated, several functions quit working, many of my old posts had extraneous characters added, and it took me HOURS to partially fix things (I never did got my blogroll working again!). So, I decided that if that many things go wrong when updating, then it isn’t worth the effort to update.
Hesitantly updated all my blogs to 2.8 a few days after it was released. The manual upgrade I did of the beta, a few days prior, killed the two sites I tested it on, but the auto upgrade seemed to work fine.
I usually upgrade ASAP, especially if there are security issues (my host is anal about security *laughs*), but 2.8 has taught me that it’s a good idea to look before I leap.
I guess I’ve been lucky- I pretty much update within a day or so of a new release, so I’m on 2.8 right now. I always used the WordPress auto-update plugin before, now I just use the intergral WP update function.
Never had anything other than (very) minor issues.
Running on 2.6.5 only because I waited for the 2.7.1 release then that came out and 2.8 was shortly on it’s heels so I just decided to skip 2.7 altogether.
Looking forward to the automatic update feature, but most of what I’m seeing in the latest versions won’t benefit me or save me any time for the hassle involved in updating. If my site is secure and running well and I’m not looking to add features, there’s no reason to upgrade.
I usually wait for the .1 release of any version, because I like to focus on my sites content not on debugging software/hardware issues. WordPress is just a tool to get content out there.
Still using 2.7. I’m very tempted to upgrade to 2.8 as I could use the speed (or so I here). I just don’t want the possibility of having to restore everything if 2.8 fails.
Cpanel + Fantastico + WP + Backup plugin + ‘Plugin-updating’ plugin = Easy WP upgrades.
most of the time i will go with the latest version but 2.8 made my setup run mad slow!!!!
so i went back to 2.7.1
I am using 2.8 with Fusion 1.8 theme and I have no problem with any plugins, WP is the best option to me.
Plugins
Askimet
Contact Form 7
Google Translator
Smart Youtube
StatPress Reloaded
WP-Cumulus
Regards
My version of wp is missing from your list. What happened to WPMU? 2.7.1.
Interesting posy. I am looking forward to reading your analysis about this poll in a future post.
I still use WP 2.7, because any template not yet compatible with new WP 2.8
I wait a long time for the 2.8.1 now, because the 2.8 has some bugs and uses a lot of memory. Any ideas when the update is coming?
2.8 completely f’ed the image insertion-panel. Didn’t work anymore, so I downgraded again 🙂
Using 2.5.1 here… Reason? Mostly because I got sick and tired to keep updating the whole time. I did some specific edits in the source a couple of times, and I have to keep doing that if I want to keep my site as is.. if I don’t do this, I might as well just stop using WP.. (work arounds through plugins and such don’t work)
But yah, to keep doing all those changes manually is a LOT of work, plus sometimes in a new update, it also require some new changes, so yeah, I just gave up in updating. It’s working fine as it is.
I using the lates version of wordpress, i always upgrade when the new version release. but its ironic, I regulary upgrade the system then posting 😀
how do I know which version I am using?????
I don’t like 2.8 because I am very used to the interface of the one I am using. Now I need to re-install wordpress and need a previous version…
I’m using 2.7.1 on all of my blogs except for the one that I upgraded to 2.8. You know, the one that’s now blank. Fortunately, I use it as a test site of sorts and just decided to let it lie until 2.8.1 comes out. The backend’s neat, though! I’ve upgraded several times in the past to the first release, and always had problems on my primary site, but never my secondary blogs. This time I listed to that little voice that told me to wait.
I am really behind the times as I have a few blogs that are I think around 2.3. One was even hacked because there are turkish words in footer (plus it says so). My biggest fear is to lose permalinks or have a problem but obviously security is more important!
Deb
I upgraded today from 2.7.1. After reading the WP forum posts about problems with the upgrade I had calculated a certain downtime for my site, but everything was done in 1½ hours.
Well now, I went from ver 2.33 to ver2.5, and went into an immediate ‘regret’. Sorry folks, all the version upgrades are to ‘change for the sake of change’.
Now, I don’t pretend to be savvy in programming, and there are neat things with the newest WP version, but it is the most clumsy thing I’ve ever seen. Had the basics of Ver 3.33 been kept and worked into the newest version, nothing on the market could top it.
When I switched over, the new vew ver 2.5, messed up the database and my posts. If I have to give up Ver 2.33 I would find something just like it rather than go to 2.8 or wherever it is.
Yes, I posted my gripe. Yet the good features were dropped. My blog is a multi-blog, NOT a multi-user blog. I had switched over to WP from Blogger, and my nightmare kicked in.
I like the look and feel of the new version, when viewed, but not as one doing a post.
Awkward and ten pounds of programming squeezed into a five pound box.
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