Sit tight and wait before upgrading to WP 2.2
WordPress 2.2 has been released to much fanfare etc. Unfortunately, this release does not include tags as had been planned, but apparently the new version deals with 240 bugs, and has some other features including Widgets support, a new Blogger importer, and protecting your blog from breaking when activating a plugin or editing a file.
All the WordPress gurus will tell you to quickly update. Not that I’m a guru, but I suggest that you wait. This is because it is inevitable that this new version will contain new bugs that will need to be fixed. Why not let others discover them, and when the really stable version is released, you can install it with little fear. Also, many themes and plugins will probably not work with this new version. If you wait, the list of compatible and incompatible plugins and themes will be more complete, and you will have a better chance of a successful upgrade.
If you are going to upgrade, I suggest you read the following articles:
- WordPress 2.2 upgrade caveats - this guy’s upgrade didn’t go over so smoothly, and he had to spend several hours fixing things up. This post has a good list of things you should make sure to do before upgrading, including “having a backup theme or two hip-pocketed.”
- Compare your current theme and plugins with the list of compatible plugins and themes. These lists will become more complete as time goes on.
In the meantime, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, or you may find yourself fixing a lot more than you had planned!
Category: News & Views
Thanks for the linklove, though I’m not a guy.
In re sitting tight, that’s always excellent advice… my IT management philosophy is “The second mouse gets the cheese.”
One thing my experience taught me is that I really need to do a WordPress install from the ground up, at least once, so I know what’s going on. I recently migrated from Movable Type, and you might think I would rather use one-click installation for WordPress, but in reality–and I’m no code jockey–it made me uneasy not knowing how the MySQL database was referenced or simply how it all gets put together.
Hi K.G.: You know, while I was writing this post I kept thinking “Maybe this guy’s not a guy,” but I didn’t get around to seeing if you have any about info on your site. Sorry! I should especially have been sensitive to this since I am also not a guy!
Re doing a WordPress install from the ground up – in my experience it’s not a great experience. I’ve sat there uploading all the files, and of course my FTP connection keeps resetting, and I don’t know what got put or not, and just getting the files up can take ages. That’s why I’m a big fan of the one-click install like with Fantastico. I’ve used it many times, and to upgrade as well, and it’s worked great. It’s actually a lifesaver (not the candy).
Well, maybe a ground-up WP install is like some sushi I’ve had… seems much better conceptually than when I’m eating it.
No harm, no foul–in a funny way I was flattered.
LOL! Sushi and WordPress – what a creative comparison. I never thought of it that way.
[...] Some bloggers have had problems after upgrading to 2.6. Joost de Valk warns WordPress bloggers using Windows hosting that the upgrade may mess up your permalinks. Upstart Blogger upgraded only to find that all of his categories and category permalinks had been messed up, despite the fact that he took all the necessary precautions like deactivating plugins, etc. Apparently he’s not the only one, either. He says that that there’s a solution, but it involves messing with your database, which is not for the fainthearted. Being a seasoned member of the fainthearted club, and having just moved all my blogs and sites from one host to another, I think I’ll wait a bit before upgrading, as usual. [...]