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First, the most important: Wordpress v.2.7 has a one-touch refresher function. It is no longer necessary to superimpose new data over old. The upload is via SFTP and the plugin order no longer has to be pushed manually into the relevant server file. In future this can be done using the so-called "Dashboard" backend of Wordpress. This is a big step forwards for the free blogger system that boasts a huge and extremely active developer community (150 developers worked on this release), not only for security reasons, but also because of the frequent arrival of new releases.

The second big improvement may be less obvious. To encourage even more external developers to dock onto the system, Wordpress has increased the number of API-Calls. This provides Wordpress not only with a functioning admin, but also an entire arsenal of plugins, allows it to allot various roles to users. Not to mention the enrichment of Content Management.

Apropos backend: users are making the lives of Wordpress developers a lot easier because most of the functions can now be reached with significantly fewer clicks. Also, via drag and drop, single components can be pushed around at the users convenience. Articles can now be set to "sticky" on the startpage, a helpful function when important articles are to be picked out of the flow of daily news reports. The appearance of comments, which can be spread over numerous pages, has been enhanced, and with the backboard, comments can be moderated by the users.

Security is a recurring concern at Wordpress -- and will probably stay that way. As usual, the developers have concentrated mainly on the new functions. Whereby themes undergo security checks, plugins don't, which make them an easy entry point for spammers and hackers. Which is why Wordpress recommends reading the comments on their developer website before plugins are used. The Wordpress v.2.7 can be found at the Wordpress.org website.

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