WordPress

WordPress is a World-renowned system that focuses on aesthetics, Web standards, and usability.

Since its launch in 2003, it has garnered the attention of users and developers alike, mainly due to the usage of best development practices and a finely tuned UI that made working with the platform a real joy and user-friendly process.

Its early success as an open source blogging engine has lead to the creation of the WordPress.com service, a professional, free (and paid) hosted blogging platform.

Since then, WordPress has slowly grown, moving from the realm of a simple blogging tool to the realm of Content Management Systems, out-doing and sometimes out-performing dedicated tools like Joomla or Drupal.

For a couple of years now WordPress has over-taken these two and is currently the most used CMS for building and hosting websites on the Web.

Use cases have been documented of WordPress being used on Alexa Top 100 websites, handling huge amounts of traffic and user databases in the range of millions.

This range in performance, from small personal blogs to entire news portals have been been and will continue to recommend WordPress as your first choice when needing a new website.

Installation:

Download and unzip the WordPress package, if you haven't already

Create a database for WordPress on your web server, as well as a MySQL user who has all privileges for accessing and modifying it

Rename the wp-config-sample.php file to wp-config.php

Open wp-config.php in your favorite text editor and fill in your database details.

Place the WordPress files in the desired location on your web server

Run the WordPress installation script by accessing wp-admin/install.php in your favorite web browser

System requirements

• PHP version 5.2.4 or greater
• MySQL version 5 or greater
• mod_rewrite Apache module
• Modern Web browser

What is new in this release:

• This release fixes 12 bugs, chief among them a singular class issue that broke sites based on the Twenty Eleven theme, an incompatibility between certain Chrome versions and the visual editor, and an Imagick bug that could break media uploads.

What is new in version 4.6:

• This release fixes 12 bugs, chief among them a singular class issue that broke sites based on the Twenty Eleven theme, an incompatibility between certain Chrome versions and the visual editor, and an Imagick bug that could break media uploads.

What is new in version 4.5.3 / 4.6 Beta 3:

• This release fixes 12 bugs, chief among them a singular class issue that broke sites based on the Twenty Eleven theme, an incompatibility between certain Chrome versions and the visual editor, and an Imagick bug that could break media uploads.

What is new in version 4.5.2:

What is new in version 4.5.1:

• This release fixes 12 bugs, chief among them a singular class issue that broke sites based on the Twenty Eleven theme, an incompatibility between certain Chrome versions and the visual editor, and an Imagick bug that could break media uploads.

What is new in version 4.5:

• Formatting Shortcuts
• Inline Linking
• Live Responsive Previews
• Smart Image Resizing
• Selective Refresh
• Script Loader Improvements
• Better Embed Templates

What is new in version 4.4.2 / 4.5 Beta 3:

• Introducing Twenty Sixteen, new default theme
• Responsive images
• New embed features
• REST API infrastructure
• Comment query improvements
• Term, comment, and network objects
• Term meta

What is new in version 4.4.2:

• Introducing Twenty Sixteen, new default theme
• Responsive images
• New embed features
• REST API infrastructure
• Comment query improvements
• Term, comment, and network objects
• Term meta

What is new in version 4.4:

• Introducing Twenty Sixteen, new default theme
• Responsive images
• New embed features
• REST API infrastructure
• Comment query improvements
• Term, comment, and network objects
• Term meta

What is new in version 4.3.1:

• WordPress versions 4.3 and earlier are vulnerable to a cross-site scripting vulnerability when processing shortcode tags (CVE-2015-5714). Reported by Shahar Tal and Netanel Rubin of Check Point.
• A separate cross-site scripting vulnerability was found in the user list table. Reported by Ben Bidner of the WordPress security team.
• Finally, in certain cases, users without proper permissions could publish private posts and make them sticky (CVE-2015-5715). Reported by Shahar Tal and Netanel Rubin of Check Point.

What is new in version 4.2.2 / 4.3 Beta 3:

• The Genericons icon font package, which is used in a number of popular themes and plugins, contained an HTML file vulnerable to a cross-site scripting attack. All affected themes and plugins hosted on WordPress.org (including the Twenty Fifteen default theme) have been updated today by the WordPress security team to address this issue by removing this nonessential file. To help protect other Genericons usage, WordPress 4.2.2 proactively scans the wp-content directory for this HTML file and removes it.
• WordPress versions 4.2 and earlier are affected by a critical cross-site scripting vulnerability, which could enable anonymous users to compromise a site. WordPress 4.2.2 includes a comprehensive fix for this issue.

What is new in version 4.2.2:

• The Genericons icon font package, which is used in a number of popular themes and plugins, contained an HTML file vulnerable to a cross-site scripting attack. All affected themes and plugins hosted on WordPress.org (including the Twenty Fifteen default theme) have been updated today by the WordPress security team to address this issue by removing this nonessential file. To help protect other Genericons usage, WordPress 4.2.2 proactively scans the wp-content directory for this HTML file and removes it.
• WordPress versions 4.2 and earlier are affected by a critical cross-site scripting vulnerability, which could enable anonymous users to compromise a site. WordPress 4.2.2 includes a comprehensive fix for this issue.

What is new in version 4.1.1:

• This maintenance release fixes 21 bugs in version 4.1.

What is new in version 4.1:

• Introducing Twenty Fifteen, new default theme.
• Try turning on distraction-free writing mode.
• tags in themes.
• The customizer now supports conditionally showing panels and sections based on the page being previewed.
• Metadata, date, and term queries now support advanced conditional logic, like nested clauses and multiple operators - A AND ( B OR C ).

What is new in version 4.0.1:

• Three cross-site scripting issues that a contributor or author could use to compromise a site.
• A cross-site request forgery that could be used to trick a user into changing their password.
• An issue that could lead to a denial of service when passwords are checked.
• Additional protections for server-side request forgery attacks when WordPress makes HTTP requests.
• An extremely unlikely hash collision could allow a user's account to be compromised, that also required that they haven't logged in since 2008 (I wish I were kidding).
• WordPress now invalidates the links in a password reset email if the user remembers their password, logs in, and changes their email address.

What is new in version 4.0:

• Manage your media with style
• Working with embeds has never been easier
• Writing and editing is smoother and more immersive
• Finding the right plugin is easier

What is new in version 3.9.2:

• Fixes a possible but unlikely code execution when processing widgets (WordPress is not affected by default), discovered by Alex Concha of the WordPress security team.
• Prevents information disclosure via XML entity attacks in the external GetID3 library, reported by Ivan Novikov of ONSec.
• Adds protections against brute attacks against CSRF tokens, reported by David Tomaschik of the Google Security Team.
• Contains some additional security hardening, like preventing cross-site scripting that could be triggered only by administrators.

What is new in version 3.9.1:

• Fixes:
• Numerous issues for multisite networks
• Bugs customizing widgets while previewing themes
• The updated visual editor.
• The new audio/video playlists feature
• Adjustments to improve performance

What is new in version 3.9:

• Improved visual editing
• Drag and drop your images
• Edit images easily
• Gallery previews
• Do more with audio and video
• Live widget and header previews
• Stunning new theme browser

What is new in version 3.8.2:

• Pass along additional information when processing pingbacks to help hosts identify potentially abusive requests.
• Fix a low-impact SQL injection by trusted users.
• Prevent possible cross-domain scripting through Plupload, the third-party library WordPress uses for uploading files.

What is new in version 3.8.1:

• Contains a fix for embedding tweets.
• An issue with taxonomy queries in WP_Query was resolved.
• Fixed submit button dead-zone.
• Fixed other 31 bugs.

What is new in version 3.8:

• A fresh new look to the entire admin dashboard.
• Admin color schemes to match your personality.
• Refined theme management.
• Responsive layout, works on all modern devices.
• Twenty Fourteen, a sleek new magazine theme.

What is new in version 3.7.1:

• Images with captions no longer appear broken in the visual editor.
• Allow some sites running on old or poorly configured servers to continue to check for updates from WordPress.org.
• Avoid fatal errors with certain plugins that were incorrectly calling some WordPress functions too early.
• Fixed hierarchical sorting in get_pages(), exclusions in wp_list_categories(), and in_category() when called with empty values.
• Fixed a warning that may occur in certain setups while performing a search, and a few other notices.

What is new in version 3.7:

• Stronger password recommendations.
• Localized versions of WordPress will receive faster and more complete translations.
• Updates while you sleep.

What is new in version 3.6.1:

• Block unsafe PHP unserialization that could occur in limited situations and setups, which can lead to remote code execution.
• Prevent a user with an Author role, using a specially crafted request, from being able to create a post "written by" another user.
• Fixed insufficient input validation that could result in redirecting or leading a user to another website.

What is new in version 3.6:

• User Features:
• The new Twenty Thirteen theme inspired by modern art puts focus on your content with a colorful, single-column design made for media-rich blogging.
• Revamped Revisions save every change and the new interface allows you to scroll easily through changes to see line-by-line who changed what and when.
• Post Locking and Augmented Autosave will especially be a boon to sites where more than a single author is working on a post. Each author now has their own autosave stream, which stores things locally as well as on the server (so much harder to lose something) and there's an interface for taking over editing of a post, as demonstrated beautifully by our bearded buddies in the video above.
• Built-in HTML5 media player for native audio and video embeds with no reliance on external services.
• The Menu Editor is now much easier to understand and use.
• Developer features:
• A new audio/video API gives you access to metadata like ID3 tags.
• Can now choose HTML5 markup for things like comment and search forms, and comment lists.
• Better filters for how revisions work, so you can store a different amount of history for different post types.
• Tons more listed on the Codex, and of course you can always browse the over 700 closed tickets.

What is new in version 3.5.2:

• Blocking server-side request forgery attacks, which could potentially enable an attacker to gain access to a site.
• Disallow contributors from improperly publishing posts.
• An update to the SWFUpload external library to fix cross-site scripting vulnerabilities.
• Prevention of a denial of service attack, affecting sites using password-protected posts.
• An update to an external TinyMCE library to fix a cross-site scripting vulnerability.
• Multiple fixes for cross-site scripting.

What is new in version 3.5.1:

• Prevent scheduled posts from being stripped of certain HTML, such as video embeds, when they are published.
• Work around some misconfigurations that may have caused some JavaScript in the WordPress admin area to fail.
• Suppress some warnings that could occur when a plugin misused the database or user APIs.
• Editor: Prevent certain HTML elements from being unexpectedly removed or modified in rare cases.
• Media: Fix a collection of minor workflow and compatibility issues in the new media manager.
• Networks: Suggest proper rewrite rules when creating a new network.

What is new in version 3.5:

• New default theme, Twenty Twelve.
• Refreshed the dashboard styles.
• Retina-ready high resolution graphics.
• A new color picker.
• New Media Manager.

What is new in version 3.4.2:

• Fixed some issues with older browsers in the administration area.
• Fixed an issue where a theme may not preview correctly, or its screenshot may not be displayed.
• Improved plugin compatibility with the visual editor.
• Address pagination problems with some category permalink structures.
• Avoid errors with both oEmbed providers and trackbacks.
• Prevent improperly sized header images from being uploaded.

What is new in version 3.4.1:

• Fixes an issue where a theme's page templates were sometimes not detected.
• Addresses problems with some category permalink structures.
• Better handling for plugins or themes loading JavaScript incorrectly.
• Adds early support for uploading images on iOS 6 devices.
• Allows for a technique commonly used by plugins to detect a network-wide activation.
• Better compatibility with servers running certain versions of PHP (5.2.4, 5.4) or with uncommon setups (safe mode, open_basedir), which had caused warnings or in some cases prevented emails from being sent.

What is new in version 3.4:

• New theme customizer.
• Throughout the rest of the admin you'll notice tweaks to make your everyday life easier.
• Expanded embed support to include tweets.
• Image captions have been improved to allow HTML, like links, in them.
• There are hundreds of under-the-hood improvements in this release, notably in the XML-RPC, themes, and custom header APIs.

What is new in version 3.4 RC3:

• Fixed a few lingering issues with the new live preview feature, as well as with custom headers and backgrounds.

What is new in version 3.4 Beta 4:

• Fixed bugs.
• Improved Polish translation.

What is new in version 3.3.2:

• Security updates:
• Plupload (version 1.5.4), which WordPress uses for uploading media.
• SWFUpload, which WordPress previously used for uploading media, and may still be in use by plugins.
• SWFObject, which WordPress previously used to embed Flash content, and may still be in use by plugins and themes.

What is new in version 3.4 Beta 1:

• Theme Customizer with Previewer
• Flexible Custom Header Sizes
• Selecting Custom Header and Background Images from Media Library
• Better experience searching for and choosing a theme

What is new in version 3.3.1:

• This maintenance release fixes 15 issues with WordPress 3.3, as well as a fix for a cross-site scripting vulnerability that affected version 3.3.

What is new in version 3.3:

• New drag-and-drop uploader
• Hover menus for the navigation
• New toolbar
• Improved co-editing support
• New Tumblr importer
• New editor API
• New jQuery version
• Better ways to hook into the help screens
• More performant post-slug-only permalinks

What is new in version 3.3 RC 1:

• WP 3.3 RC!, now with more icons.

What is new in version 3.3 Beta 4:

• Fixed a bunch of bugs.
• Cleaned up the UI.
• Added real text in some of the screens that still had placeholder text in Beta 3 (post-update screen, the Dashboard welcome area, new feature pointers).
• Updated to jQuery 1.7.1.

What is new in version 3.3 Beta 2:

• Updated the Blue theme
• Fixed IE7 and RTL support
• Improved flyout menu styling and fixed several glitches
• Finished the Pointers implementation
• Landed the dashboard Welcome box for new installs
• Improved contextual help styling
• Tweaked the admin bar a little more
• Fixed a bunch of bugs

What is new in version 3.3 Beta 1:

• Media uploader
• Improved admin bar
• Fly out admin menus

What is new in version 3.2.1:

• A little bit tidier code.
• Edge cases covered.
• Fixes for:
• JSON handling.
• The admin interface.

What is new in version 3.2:

• Refreshed dashboard design.
• Faster and lighter.
• Distraction-free writing or zen mode.
• New Twenty Eleven theme.

What is new in version 3.2 RC3:

• Few minor RTL, JavaScript, and user interface fixes.
• Ensure graceful failures if 3.2 is run on PHP4.

What is new in version 3.2 RC2:

• Additional Twenty Eleven tweaks.
• A new theme support option for defaulting to randomized headers.
• Various RTL fixes.

What is new in version 3.1.3:

• Various security hardening.
• Taxonomy query hardening.
• Prevent sniffing out user names of non-authors by using canonical redirects.
• Media security fixes.
• Improves file upload security on hosts with dangerous security settings.
• Cleans up old WordPress import files if the import does not finish.
• Introduce "clickjacking" protection in modern browsers on admin and login pages.

What is new in version 3.2 beta1:

• Performance improvements like you wouldn't believe. What's that mean? Things are faster!
• Distraction-free Writing. The visual editor's full-screen composing experience has gotten a major overhaul, and is now available from HTML mode, too. More than ever, WordPress allows you to focus on what matters most - your content.
• Admin UI Refresh. The last major redesign of the WordPress admin was in 2008. This isn't a major redesign, just a little facelift to keep us feeling young. WordPress turns 8 later this month, you know.
• New Default Theme. Introducing Twenty Eleven, based on the popular Duster theme. Rotating header images, post format support, and more.
• Browse Happy. WordPress is made to work with modern browsers. If you visit your Dashboard using an outdated web browser, we'll let you know there's a newer version available.
• Admin Bar. We've added more links to the admin bar to make it even more useful.

What is new in version 3.1.2:

• Fix a vulnerability that allowed Contributor-level users to improperly publish posts.
• Fix user queries ordered by post count.
• Fix multiple tag queries.
• Prevent over-escaping of post titles when using Quick Edit for pages.

What is new in version 3.1.1:

• Some security hardening to media uploads.
• Performance improvements.
• Fixes for IIS6 support.
• Fixes for taxonomy and PATHINFO (/index.php/) permalinks.
• Fixes for various query and taxonomy edge cases that caused some plugin compatibility issues.

What is new in version 3.1:

• The security fixes included in WordPress 3.0.4
• Fix issues related to handling a static front page
• Fixes and enhancements for the pagination buttons
• Fix searching for partial usernames
• Properly reactivate plugins after editing them
• Always show the current author in the author dropdown when editing a post
• Fixes for attachment taxonomies
• Fix node removal for the admin bar
• Fix the custom post type show_in_menu argument
• Various fixes for right-to-left languages

What is new in version 3.1 RC4:

• This includes fixes for:
• Deleting a user and reassigning their posts to another user.
• Marking multiple users or sites as spam in multisite.
• PHP4 compatibility.

What is new in version 3.1 RC3:

• For users:
• AJAX has been entirely disabled for the list tables. We hope to bring this back again, in a form that is properly and fully implemented, in a future release. Column sorting remains, but everything else has returned to its 3.0 state.
• For developers:
• The entire list table API is now marked private. If you attempt to leverage new components of the API, you are pretty much guaranteeing that your plugins will break in a future release, so please don't do that.

What is new in version 3.1 RC2:

• The security fixes included in WordPress 3.0.4
• Fix issues related to handling a static front page
• Fixes and enhancements for the pagination buttons
• Fix searching for partial usernames
• Properly reactivate plugins after editing them
• Always show the current author in the author dropdown when editing a post
• Fixes for attachment taxonomies
• Fix node removal for the admin bar
• Fix the custom post type show_in_menu argument
• Various fixes for right-to-left languages

What is new in version 3.0.4:

• It fixes a core security bug in the HTML sanitation library, called KSES. The release is "critical."

What is new in version 3.1 RC1:

• The new features included:
• Post Formats
• Theme Search
• Internal Linking
• Admin Bar
• Ajaxified Admin
• Updated Tiny MCE
• Multi-taxonomy Queries
• Custom Post Type Index Pages
• Admin CSS Cleanup
• User Admin
• Network Admin
• Password Reset Redux

What is new in version 3.0.3:

• Fixes issues in the XML-RPC remote publishing interface which under certain circumstances allowed Author- and Contributor-level users to improperly edit, publish or delete posts.

What is new in version 3.0.2:

• Fixed on day zero.
• One-click update makes the user safe.
• This used to be hard.

What is new in version 3.1 Beta 1:

• Post Formats
• Theme Search
• Internal Linking
• Admin Bar
• Ajaxified Admin
• Updated Tiny MCE
• Multi-taxonomy Queries
• Custom Post Type Index Pages
• Admin CSS Cleanup
• User Admin
• Network Admin
• Password Reset Redux

What is new in version 3.0.1:

• For Version 3.0.1, the database version (db_version in wp_options) changed to 15477. This is a maintenance release.

Requirements:

• PHP version 5.2.4 or greater
• MySQL version 5 or greater
• mod_rewrite Apache module
• Modern Web browser