Don't Upgrade to WordPress 5.0 Yet

in blog •  6 years ago  (edited)


I've been working with WordPress since 2006. As a blogging platform, I wouldn't recommend any other. I've worked with it exclusively since I started blogging and recommend it to all my clients. In fact, I've written more than 10,000 blog posts on WordPress since I took up the form.

WordPress is now more than just a blogging platform. It's also a great content management solution, and I like recommending it for that purpose, as well. In fact, Taylored Content builds WordPress websites for our clients, and we've done plenty of that over the years.

While we're sold on WordPress as a blogging platform and a content management system, we're not ready to upgrade to WordPress 5.0 yet, and we'd encourage you not to, as well.

Why You Shouldn't Upgrade to WordPress 5.0


You may have noticed that WordPress recently rolled out its latest generation solution. Everyone's talking about it, and many people have started using it. I've got clients who have already upgraded their WordPress to 5.0 and I wish they hadn't.

The big deal about WordPress 5.0 is the change that everyone's been talking about for over a year now. The editor uses a block-based process that purports to make publishing easier. I can see why they'd say that.

After using WordPress 5.0, I will tell you that it has some issues. I've got no problem with the block-based editor, per se. It took me a little getting used to, and as far as blogging is concerned, it could very well be a big improvement to the platform. However, I have never seen a first-generation upgrade of WordPress that has worked perfectly. Never. In almost 13 years of using the platform, every single upgrade has had its problems. That's why I adopted the policy many years ago to never upgrade WordPress until it hits at least version .2 on any generation.

The reason I recommend waiting is because it takes time before plugin developers can catch up with the latest developments. If you use a lot of plugins on your WordPress website, you should hold off upgrading until you know for sure that your most important plugins have been updated to be compatible with the current generation of WordPress. Given the drastic changes that WordPress 5.0 brings from previous versions, that's not likely to happen very quickly for many plugin developers.

Six days ago--just days after the 5.0 release--the WordPress team released its first security update. Among the issues found in the initial released, which prompted the security update, was this:

Team Yoast discovered that the user activation screen could be indexed by search engines in some uncommon configurations, leading to exposure of email addresses, and in some rare cases, default generated passwords.
While there are some very smart developers with eyes on WordPress code to help with any anomalies and potential security issues, I've found that it usually takes a few tries before WordPress gets it right with every generation it launches. That's why I caution users to not upgrade their websites until all of the bugs have been found and the WordPress team stops publishing security releases. That typically doesn't happen until they hit version .2 or .3. After that, it's usually safe to upgrade as long as your most important plugins have also been updated for compatibility.

Looking for content for your technology blog? Call or email today.

While you're here, check out Blockurator's Backside 5:
review blockurator

Review Me, Please

CryptoBloggers
Top-notch crypto content for your crypto/blockchain blog.

steemitbloggers

Join us @steemitbloggers
Animation By @zord189

promo-mentors

Helpienaut



Posted from my blog with SteemPress : https://tayloredcontent.com/dont-upgrade-to-wordpress-5-0-yet/

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

Never trough away old shoes before New ones

Ha ha I didn't think of it that way, but yeah.

Haha

I'm just curious are their advantages of using WordPress because I only started here at seemit haha. Anyway thanks for sharing! I'll try to look into it.

It depends on what your goals are. If you're running a business, you need a website. WordPress is a good content management system for websites. And I recommend a blog for most businesses because blog content is good for getting the search engines to re-crawl your website. Every blog post is a separate web page and a new opportunity to achieve a ranking for the keywords you are using to market your business. WordPress allows you to have a website and a blog without needing two separate pieces of software that might play against each other. So there are advantages to using WordPress for your business website and blog. It's always better to have your own domain name with content assets, in my opinion.

Wow, thank you so much for giving me a very detailed answer on what wordpress is about. I really appreciate how you explained it in a manner that is very easy to comprehend. I'll give it a try in the future. Thanks again for explaining it to me! Have a great day!

You're very welcome. I hope it's useful information.

Don't worry it is! Thank you very much!

Thanks for the review... or preview? Depends on when it caught you. I have one brand new free blog that is 5.0 I guess... since I have bumped into that new editor already.

If you have a new blog, you're probably fine. The cool thing about WordPress 5.0 is, they do allow you to go back to the classic editor if it doesn't work for you. I don't know if you have that option on a new blog, but you shouldn't have any major issues on a new blog either.

It is a good idea to handle upgrade like that. Stay on the stable version till you are sure the next one is stable.

Yep, I've been doing it that way for years. Thanks for reading. :-)

Hi, @blockurator!

You just got a 0.97% upvote from SteemPlus!
To get higher upvotes, earn more SteemPlus Points (SPP). On your Steemit wallet, check your SPP balance and click on "How to earn SPP?" to find out all the ways to earn.
If you're not using SteemPlus yet, please check our last posts in here to see the many ways in which SteemPlus can improve your Steem experience on Steemit and Busy.

I just started using wordpress this year and still haven't played around with it a lot. Wow 10,000 posts I bet it pays pretty well for you. As for me I still have a lot to learn from it and best not to update just yet. Thanks for the tip.

If you're just starting out, you might go ahead and upgrade. This is the direction WordPress is going. By upgrading now, you'll already be familiar with the block-based style of the platform and it will be less of a learning curve. This post was meant primarily for people who have been using WordPress for a while.

Thanks for reading.

Thanks for this post. It is relevant to some onboarding projects that I have in the works, and important news to pass along. =)

Glad you could benefit. :-)

Thanks for the warning, but it's too late for most of my WP sites. You'd think I would know after using WP for more than 15 years, ... And I do, but I have been so busy on the Steem Blockchain, and neglecting my WP sites a little... I didn't even cross my mind to wait until the upgrade.
I'll definitely take a closer look at everything tomorrow.

I sent an email to one of my clients saying that it took longer to edit the publication than usual--about two hours longer--because there was a compatibility issue with his template plugin. He reverted back to classic WordPress. So that's an option, if you need it.

Thanks. It is good to have options :0)
It's going to take some time to check all tomorrow, but I guess that'll teach me, lol

Posted using Partiko Android

Live and learn. ;-)

@blockurator,

As usual, good info well written.

Quill

Thanks, my man.

@blockurator,

Merry Christmas, Block. Say Hi to the family.

Quill

You too.

I think the advice to not upgrade imediately and to wait for version two applies to pretty much everything! Great review/article/advice.

...

....

Posted using Partiko Android

You're right. I think it does apply to most things. There are usually bugs in just about version 1 of any software package. That's why I like to wait.

Thanks for reading.

I was just talking this week about the recent changes with a friend who specializes in wordpress. Seems they are causing challenges with plugins and workflow and he is knee deep in research to solve problems.

I leave that stuff to the smart people.

Yep. It happens every time WordPress upgrades.

Good information to hold back awhile, almost everything today is not ready to use out of the box.

WordPress has been the best for many years, good direction given by Yoast, along with other plugin designers, it cannot be easy keeping everything up to date and running, fast furious changes happening all the time.

#steemitbloggers

That is true. Yoast is great. Their plugins are awesome, and they are very active in the WordPress community. I trust pretty much everything they say.

Thank you for the warning, @blockurator. I’ll wait with the update of my main website (that runs on WordPress) for now.

Good for you, but keep an eye on it. At some point, conversion will be inevitable. But I'm waiting until I can be sure all my plugins and templates are compatible.

Never used WordPress. Thanks for the advice, though.

Namaste, JaiChai

Well, if you have your own domains and you don't do HTML, CSS, and all the languages required to build a solid website, WordPress is the best open-source content management solution. I highly recommend it.