The long-awaited fourteenth release of WordPress is now available. WordPress 3.1 “Reinhardt” is named in honor of the jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Version 3.1 is available for download, or you can update from within your dashboard.
This release features a lightning fast redesigned linking workflow which makes it easy to link to your existing posts and pages, an admin bar so you’re never more than a click away from your most-used dashboard pages, a streamlined writing interface that hides many of the seldom-used panels by default to create a simpler and less intimidating writing experience for new bloggers (visit Screen Options in the top right to get old panels back), and a refreshed blue admin scheme available for selection under your personal options.
There’s a bucket of candy for developers as well, including our new Post Formats support which makes it easy for themes to create portable tumblelogs with different styling for different types of posts, new CMS capabilities like archive pages for custom content types, a new Network Admin, an overhaul of the import and export system, and the ability to perform advanced taxonomy and custom fields queries.
With the 3.1 release, WordPress is more of a CMS than ever before. The only limit to what you can build is your imagination.
By the Numbers
There were over two thousand commits to the codebase in the 3.1 cycle! For a more comprehensive look at everything that has improved in 3.1, check out 3.1’s Codex page or the more than 820 closed issues in Trac.
Now is the time to drop by our development channels if you are interested in being involved with 3.2, as the agenda will be under discussion shortly. We’re hoping to get the 3.2 release out in a shorter development cycle (3.1 took too long) and include some fun improvements around plugins and the speed of the admin. (Don’t worry, we’re still planning on using PHP.)
