WordPress has hit another milestone by rolling out what may be one of its best cosmetic updates in a long time. WordPress 3.8, nicknamed ”Parker” after jazz innovator Charlie ”Yardbird” Parker, features several sleek updates to improve the aesthetics of your WordPress blog and the yearly theme upgrade showcasing the versatility of the platform.

Dashboard Upgrades

The admin dashboard gets a lot of emphasis during this upgrade. The blog at WordPress.org says ”The new WordPress dashboard has a fresh, uncluttered design that embraces clarity and simplicity.” If you have used WordPress at all in the past, it is hard to imagine anything being any easier to use, but Parker has placed several key elements in a more convenient array.

Parker also allows you to customize the color of your dashboard side nav bar to a point. At this time, there are only eight color variants. You are able to change the color by accessing the Profile page.

Screen Shot 2013-12-13 at 10.25.33 AMChanges in Display

As the internet has grown and mobile devices have become ubiquitous, there have been some complaints that WordPress does not display clearly across all formats. WordPress 3.8 attempts to solve those issues with the use of a cleaner typeface. The new script, Open Sans, displays more clearly and crisply than previous fonts. To ensure readability across mobile and desktop venues, the new design offers enhanced contrast features, as well.

To further ensure that your WordPress-based website displays across all formats, Parker makes use of vector-based icons that automatically scale to any screen. Since this technology is not pixel based, your pages will load more quickly as an added bonus.

Twenty Fourteen Theme

This year’s theme is aptly titled Twenty Fourteen. The theme is designed to give the look and feel of an online magazine. It offers you the versatility of a grid or slider for homepage content. You can easily customize the basic theme with a maximum of three widgets and two different page templates.
For experienced WordPress developers, Parker marks another level of simplicity in open source blogging. If you are new to the WordPress platform or simply want a clean website to drive traffic toward your brick and mortar in Allentown, Pa, Borelli Designs offers free consultations. Contact us today to schedule yours.