You’ve probably heard some of the buzz about WordPress 3.0.…which is on its way! I’ve been following the beta launch, the testing and some of the articles that highlight what is coming with this new version. I’m going to install this later on a dummy site to test it out and get familiar with it. I’ll be recording the process and sharing those videos with you as I go along. In the meantime, I wanted to share this video by Nathan Rice on the custom menu option that is being built into WordPress 3.0. Nathan Rice is one of the developers at StudioPress, is a blogger and web developer.

Before showing you the video- here are some of the great new functions that are coming with WordPress 3.0! (Screenshots and videos will be on the way soon). You can also check out the complete list of version 3.0 on the official WordPress site here.

• Custom Menu’s (I know, kind of obvious considering the video I’ve mentioned)
• The dashboard is getting a clean new look…looks like it will be easier to focus on YOUR content
• Bulk upgrade of plugins! WOO HOO! No more needing to upgrade individual plugins one at a time
• The ‘Install Themes’ tab has been moved to the top of the themes page (will make more sense when you see it)
• New default theme- it’s called Twenty Ten…so long Kubrick! You can easily upload custom headers AND custom backgrounds
• Advanced Menu’s – this relates to the dashboard. Not your theme menus
• Network all your WordPress sites- from ONE dashboard
• Security Updates: upon installation you’ll get prompted to change your ‘admin’ username. Security keys will also be generated which improves security.

So…there’s a sneak peek into what’s coming. As far as when to upgrade to WordPress 3.0, I’d probably wait a couple of weeks until after it’s officially launched. There’s some big changes coming with this release, so you might want to wait until you’ve seen some videos on 3.0 or install it on a practice site and get a feel for it. And so I don’t forget- StudioPress is of course testing everything with 3.0, so Genesis will be fully compatible with the new version.

Here’s the great video by Nathan Rice on the custom menu’s!

So WordPress put out a poll asking users what they want with the next upgrade- and the answers came back with a resounding “better media management!” They asked users a few questions- only one of which was mandatory. The mandatory question was “what single media feature would you choose to include in version 2.9?” The answer that came out on top with that question was a standalone editable photo album. Currently it’s per post only. The runner up to that answer was that people want easier options to embed video or third party media. While there are plugins that do this pretty easily (I use viper’s video quicktags- and I believe he’s going to be working with WordPress on adding this feature. Too cool.)- it would be nice to have this already built into WordPress.

The third and fourth place answers were basic image editing and post thumbnails. Basic image editing would allow you to crop, resize, edit your image right in WordPress. And of course the post thumbnails option would make it easier to embed a thumbnail image with a post (keep in mind if you use StudioPress themes this option is built in…yet another reason I love StudioPress! ).

I’m looking forward to seeing what ends up making it into 2.9.  Hopefully we’ll see these features this year. If you want to see the full results of the polls and get more info. on each of these potential features, check out the full post on the WordPress blog.