Automattic, Inc., the company behind the ever-popular WordPress content management system, have announced a major refresh of its hosted blogging platform WordPress.com along with a number of extras that are sure to please bloggers and developers alike.
Top of the list is what the company is calling Calypso, a major overhaul of the WordPress back end that dumps the now 12-year-old PHP powered WordPress interface for a still familiar, but fresh under-the-hood redesign that runs on Javascript instead while also leveraging libraries including Node and React.
The need for speed is perhaps the primary focus of the redesigned interface with the use of JS delivering an interface that Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg describes as "incredibly fast…it'll charm you."
Although the code for WordPress itself (the CMS, not the hosted service) has always been open source, the code that specifically ran WordPress.com has not been, until now, with the new backend being completely open sourced and as a bonus is also said to be 100 percent API powered.
Services that were previously add-ons or extras are now included in the backend, including Social, with stats, likes, and notifications, and the drag and drop functions previously available have been vastly improved, complete with new image display options.
If you host your own WordPress site though and this all sounds interesting, the good news is that the interface is also being made available for self-hosted WordPress installs and is available for installation via Automattic's Jetpack plugin.
Last, but not least, the company has also released a WordPress desktop application for OS X that brings the functionality of the new interface to a computer while at the same time leveraging the processing power of the said machine to make the experience even quicker; of note the software, along with the WordPress.com new interface offers vastly improved support for multiple blogs meaning a user can manage and write to multiple sites from the one place.
RELATED: Pantheon announces enterprise solution for Drupal and WordPress web content management Great, but…While the move away from a PHP interface will be of a concern to some developers, from a pure user perspective the changes should not only be strongly welcomed but were arguably overdue as well.
But…and there is a but, that while there are benefits for WordPress users across the board it should be noted that for people with self-hosted WordPress installs who choose to use the new interface need to link into Automattic's servers as well.
The company pitches it as a better way to do things, but it's also a way for them to capture more data from people with self-hosted WordPress blogs; they may well deny an ulterior motive and no doubt Mullenweg will plead a heart of gold (he always does) but if you have a self-hosted WordPress blog and currently don't subscribe to other Automattic services through Jetpack be aware that the implementation of the new interface means giving the company a back door into your site and data.
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Duncan Riley Duncan Riley is a senior writer at SiliconANGLE covering Startups, Bitcoin, and the Internet of Things.Duncan is a co-founder of VC funded media company B5Media and founder of news site The Inquisitr, and was a senior writer at TechCrunch in its earlier days.
Tips? Press releases? Intersting startup? email: duncan@nichenet.com.au or contact Duncan on Twitter @duncanriley
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