WordPress has seen some impressive upgrades this past year. The latest version, 3.8, was a notable one as it introduced the new admin dashboard design as well as a new magazine-style default theme. So things are looking pretty good for the time being, right?
No! Not good enough!
Plans are already in place for the next version(s) and the next major release, WordPress 4.0, is scheduled for August of this year. What will it bring? Well, no one knows for sure. Because WordPress is a open source project that is community-driven, the features that are included in any given release are a mix of what is desired by the community and the ability of the (mostly) volunteers to write the code and documentation, and do the other things necessary to make that happen. While there is a roadmap, unforeseen obstacles and opportunities can spring up along the way.
If you are truly interested, there are ways to observe and participate in the discussion and development of the upcoming releases, but I won’t go into those there. (OK, if curiosity is killing you, it’s all found over at wordpress.org if you just have to know.) But the next time you install an upgrade to WordPress and that page of credits is on your screen, take a moment to consider the volunteer effort that goes into making WordPress the most popular, and many say the best, web software available today.
