WordPress 3.2, which was released to public on the 4th of July, was downloaded more than 330,000 times within just 24 hours. When the last version of the blog publishing application WordPress 3.1 was released, it was downloaded more than 15 million times in five months. Since then its popularity as a content management system and as an effective web traffic marketing platform has increased dramatically.
The latest version is called Gershwin in the honor of pianist and composer George Gershwin. Efforts have been made to make WordPress 3.2 faster and lighter with speed optimization and the reduction of excess code. Some tweaks in the user interface are also visible.
Since the major design changes made in WordPress 2.7, released in 2008, there have been few changes in the subsequent versions. Although changes in the latest version are not drastic again, efforts have been made to improve aesthetics by shifting some elements.
One of the cool new additions in the latest version is the DFW (Distraction Free Writing) mode. The Full Screen mode has been replaced with the DFW mode. This mode offers users a clutter free viewing experience by fading the dashboard into background.
The automatic upgrade process has also been enhanced in WordPress 3.2. Unlike older versions in which all old files were replaced during automatic updates, WordPress 3.2 replaces only the modified files, which means much faster updates. The new version also gives credit to the contributors. The credit screen acknowledges all the contributors and offers a link to their WordPress profiles.