TECHGEEK.com.au

While WordPress is still the best blogging software tool out there in the web, it is still being criticised for not being a “real CMS (Content Management System)”. But, it seems that will change once the 2.9 beta is released around the end of October with brand new features, according to Dougal Campbell.

Campbell has said that the next version of 2.9 will include Post Thumbnails, meaning that an image will be automatically created of the post – making it easier for people to create a list of “Featured Posts” without creating custom metadata for the post; simple image editing – including cropping, resizing, flip and rotating options; and custom post types -  so you can post things outside the conventional page, post or attachment page.

Also included is the integration of a plugin that allows you to simply paste the URL that contains anything that you can embed, like a YouTube video, and it will find the embed code and put the code for you. So far, according to Campbell, it only supports YouTube, Google Video, PollDaddy (owned by WordPress developers Automattic).

Theme and plugin developers will also be happy to find out that you can now place widgets outside the Loop; and you can now access the metadata for all comments. Plugin developers will also be allowed to add additional theme directories to the core, allowing plugins to ship with their own themes.

Those who cannot wait for the beta of WordPress 2.9, you can follow these instructions to get involved. WordPress has also said that the final version of 2.9 will hopefully be released in late November to early December.