It was with great excitement that Wordpress 2.7 was released late last week, but what does it mean for you? Well, the admin section has been given a makeover, and now looks a lot slicker. Alongside this, there has been an emphasis on doing everything with a single click. You can see the new interface for yourself:

So, how do you get 2.7? If you installed Wordpress using Fantastico then you upgrade by logging into your Fantastico control panel and selecting “upgrade to 2.7″. Its advisable to backup your database first, but don’t let this put you off upgrading – I’ve just upgraded two sites from 2.5.2 and 2.6.2 to 2.7 via Fantastico with no problems at all. Otherwise, head over to WordPress and download the software.

But why should you upgrade in the first place? 2.7’s visual overhaul makes it so much easier to use; you can rearrange your dashboard and have literally everything at your fingertips. You can reply and moderate comments from the dash (even by keyboard shortcuts!), as well as write new posts directly from the dashboard.

Plugins can be installed by installed by searching the Wordpress.org plugins database with a single click without leaving your site. How cool is that! You can upload plugins from your computer without unzipping them and Wordpress will install them. You can also upgrade your plugins with a single click. Speaking of single click upgrading, your upgrade to 2.7 could well be your last manual upgrade as 2.7 includes a feature that lets you upgrade your Wordpress install with a single click.

With Wordpress increasingly being used for everything, a useful new feature, Sticky Posts, allows you to keep a post at the top of your blog, even if you have more recent posts. In practice, this means if you’re running a competition or something like that, then you can keep attention directed at your big post.

The shiny new interface extends beyond the dashboad, and the focus is very much on moving everything around to suit you. The screen below shows how you can rearrange your post-writing page.

And for those wondering why 2.7 isn’t 3.0 with all of these great additions, according to Weblog Tools Collection, Matt doesn’t want to skip version numbers anymore.

For the complete lowdown, visit the codex.

Finally, this video from the Wordpress team briefly looks through some of the new features

This was a guest post by Alex Denning, who is a Wordpress power user, web design freelancer and currently maintains two sites – Nometet.com and GreenGrassGames.com. You can follow him on Twitter here. If you have WordPress knowledge and are interested in writing a post for WordPress Hacks, please contact us.

Related posts:

1. Upgrading WordPress with Fantastico
2. The Importance of Upgrading Your WordPress Installation
3. WordPress Continues to Show Incredible Growth
4. WordPress 2.6 Now Available