The 2.7 features are now here at WordPress.com (where this blog is hosted, despite it’s .org URI). My reaction is mainly positive:
- The transition time was announced in advance. In the past, some WordPress.com bloggers have felt ambushed by new features, especially if they didn’t like the change.
- I didn’t like some of the previous changes, particularly categories and tags being pushed “below the fold” so that I had to scroll down to them on the post screen. 2.7 restores them almost to their rightful place, near the top and alongside the post itself.
- 2.7 also allows me to customize my admin interface by dragging boxes around. And yes, I have already dragged the categories and tags boxes even higher.
My main dislike so far is that WordPress.com seems very slow at the moment. I expect this to pass: there are probably a lot of people trying the new features, and there may be some back-end tuning that will speed up the new regime.
There are some other changes to which I am indifferent. In particular, corners seem rounder. (Hey, should I include a screenshot? It’s probably not necessary, since if you’ve read this far, you’re probably on WordPress.com yourself, or able to get a release candidate 2.7 for your self-hosted WordPress blog.)
So a thumb up from me on the WordPress 2.7 changes at WordPress.com. Rather, I should say at the “write new post” screen. One thing I would like is a small and simple Publish button (not in a box that includes things like post status, just a publish buttom).