WordPress Release: 4.7.0

TL;DR

WordPress 4.7 "Vaughan" introduces a brand new default theme, Twenty Seventeen, along with significant customization improvements including custom CSS editing, video headers, and starter content for new sites. The REST API is now fully integrated into core, providing developers with a modern, standardized way to interact with WordPress. This release also brings improvements to the admin experience, PDF thumbnail generation, and post type template support for all post types.

Highlight of the Release

• Introduction of Twenty Seventeen, a new default theme designed for business websites
• Full integration of the REST API into WordPress core
• Custom CSS editing directly in the Customizer
• Video header support for themes
• Starter content for themes to provide better initial setup experience
• Post type templates now supported for all post types, not just pages
• Improved PDF thumbnail generation performance

Migration Guide

Post Type Templates

If you've been using custom page templates in your theme, be aware that this functionality has been extended to all post types. You may need to review your template handling code if you've been doing custom implementations.

REST API Integration

If you've been using the REST API plugin, you should review your code as the API is now integrated into core. Some minor differences may exist between the plugin implementation and the core implementation.

Custom CSS

If you've been using a plugin to add custom CSS, you may want to migrate that CSS to the new built-in Custom CSS feature in the Customizer.

WP_Hook Changes

The hooks system has been refactored in WordPress 4.7. If you've been directly accessing $wp_filter, you should update your code to use the appropriate functions instead. A new current_priority() method has been added to WP_Hook to allow plugins to determine the currently running priority of a filter.

Upgrade Recommendations

WordPress 4.7 "Vaughan" is a major update with significant new features and improvements. The upgrade is recommended for all users to benefit from the new customization options, REST API integration, and performance improvements.

Before upgrading:

1. Back up your website files and database
2. Check theme and plugin compatibility
3. Test the update on a staging site if possible

After upgrading:

1. Test your site's functionality, especially if you use custom themes or plugins
2. Review any custom code that might interact with the REST API or hooks system
3. Explore the new customization features, especially if you're using the new Twenty Seventeen theme

If you're a developer, take time to review the REST API documentation to understand how you can leverage this powerful new feature in your projects.

Bug Fixes

TinyMCE Editor

• Fixed an issue where the editor would freeze when wpautop is disabled and a paragraph starts with many white space characters
• Fixed automatic scroll on page load
• Fixed styling of notices generated by the editor UI
• Fixed black outline around _moz_abspos in Firefox

Customizer

• Fixed a race condition issue where a previous iframe fails to get destroyed
• Fixed regression in ability to create submenus for nav menus via drag and drop
• Fixed regression in ability to hide fields for advanced menu properties
• Fixed issues with edit shortcuts positioning and display
• Fixed handling of nav menu item labels that match defaults
• Fixed infinite refresh issues with selective refresh

REST API

• Fixed incorrect capability check on term creation
• Fixed handling of some orderby parameters for the Posts controller
• Fixed bug where comment author and author email could be an empty string
• Fixed handling of meta keys to field names mapping

Twenty Seventeen Theme

• Fixed keyboard navigation on Safari 10
• Fixed display issues with video header and header image in modern browsers
• Fixed style issues with gallery image links
• Fixed broken menu toggle in Customizer after menu items are added

New Features

Twenty Seventeen Theme

The new default theme is designed for business websites with a focus on large imagery, video headers, and a scrolling front page. It provides a clean, modern design that works well across devices.

REST API Content Endpoints

The REST API is now fully integrated into WordPress core, with endpoints for posts, comments, terms, users, meta, and settings. This provides a modern, standardized way for developers to interact with WordPress.

Custom CSS in Customizer

A new Additional CSS panel in the Customizer allows users to add custom CSS directly from the admin interface, with syntax highlighting and error checking.

Video Headers

Themes can now include video headers, allowing for more dynamic and engaging site designs. Twenty Seventeen includes this feature by default.

Starter Content

Themes can now define starter content that appears when a user activates a theme on a fresh site, providing a better initial setup experience.

Post Type Templates

Template support has been extended to all post types, not just pages. Theme authors can now create templates for any post type.

User Admin Language

Users can now set their preferred language for the admin interface, independent of the site's front-end language.

Security Updates

No significant security fixes were explicitly mentioned in the release notes. As with all WordPress updates, it's recommended to upgrade to benefit from any security improvements that may be included.

Performance Improvements

PDF Thumbnail Generation

WordPress now only loads the first page of uploaded PDFs to generate thumbnails, significantly reducing the processing time required.

Test Suite Improvements

Several test classes now reuse fixtures for user and XMLRPC tests, shaving seconds off test execution time.

Background Updates

Fixed an issue that prevented multiple plugins or themes from being updated in the same background update request.

Internationalization

Added an additional caching layer for _load_textdomain_just_in_time() to improve performance when no translation files exist for a text domain.

Impact Summary

WordPress 4.7 "Vaughan" represents a significant step forward in WordPress's evolution, particularly for developers and site customization. The full integration of the REST API into core marks a milestone in WordPress's journey toward becoming a more modern application platform, opening up new possibilities for headless implementations and custom applications.

For site administrators and content creators, the improved Customizer with custom CSS editing capabilities, video headers, and starter content provides powerful tools to create more engaging websites without requiring extensive technical knowledge. The new Twenty Seventeen theme showcases these capabilities with its business-focused design and modern features.

Developers will appreciate the extension of template support to all post types, not just pages, allowing for more flexible content architecture. Performance improvements in areas like PDF thumbnail generation and test suite execution demonstrate WordPress's continued focus on efficiency.

The accessibility improvements in Twenty Seventeen and throughout the admin interface ensure WordPress remains usable for all users, regardless of ability. Overall, WordPress 4.7 delivers meaningful enhancements to both the user experience and developer toolset, maintaining WordPress's position as the leading content management system.