Imagine going back seven years and working with WordPress 2.3. Do you remember the Dexter Gordon version?
It was the first version that included native tagging, the kitchen sink button in TinyMCE, plugin update notifications, and many other features.
And it included an entirely different look and feel.
One that makes me thankful for all the administrative user interface updates made by WordPress contributors over the past seven years.
Why am I discussing a seven-year-old version of WordPress?
This month I’ve been updating a how-to WordPress manual for a client. And it’s an eye-opener for the number of changes and differences in how a WordPress website is updated.
When I launched their site seven years ago, the client asked for a manual for basic WordPress operations.
I created the print manual, reviewed it with the client, and forgot about it.
Until this month.
The staff member who managed the client’s website left the organization. And my client asked for an updated manual for the new employee.
Looking back in time at how to update a Page, and the steps it took (Manage > Pages, select Edit from the Action section) makes me appreciate the ease of working with today’s WordPress administrative user interface.
The simple uncluttered design with several administrative color scheme options is a sharp contrast to the double row of menu options and various shades of blue found throughout the 2.3 version.
Today’s WordPress administrative menu with clear labeling makes it simple to choose website maintenance and update tasks without having to think about where those tasks are located.
Don’t get me started on how to add images to a post or page in version 2.3.
To all the WordPress contributors, a sincere thank you for all your work, testing, documentation, and re-testing your code. I appreciate all that you do.
