In order to write blogs you need a blog engine (the CMS software). Over the years I’ve used several and this includes but is not limited to MovableType, b2evolution, Drupal, Serendipity and several others.

The “big two” I’ve used most are MovableType (abbreviated MT) and WordPress (abbreviated WP). For several years I was a die-hard MT user and absolutely refused to use anything else because I knew the system so well. But then Dave decided to switch over PCMech entirely to WP from an in-house programmed CMS he wrote himself and hasn’t looked back. It impressed me so much that I switched to WP on my own personal blog.

Very recently WP released version 2.5. I upgraded to that version and can say in all honesty that it kicks ass.

Here’s why:

Faster menus

The design of the admin interface is leaner and meaner.

Grouped menus that make sense

The previous WP was very separated in the way the menus were laid out. In 2.5 there’s more grouping and it’s done in a way that works. For example, all templates/widgets are placed under the menu “Design”. This makes sense because it directly affects the design of the blog.

Dynamic automatic updating of plugins via FTP

This is in my estimation a SERIOUSLY cool improvement because you can update plugins in WP now as easily as you would in Firefox. WP will check your installed plugins to make sure they’re up-to-date, and if not will prompt you (like previous versions) to upgrade but it doesn’t stop there. You can then insert your FTP server information, WP will download the plugin, extract it, install it and clean up the old version information afterwards.

How cool is that?

Frickin’ awesome if you asked me.

Overall design is much better, cleaner

In addition to the grouped menus the overall design of the interface (which is what WP admins look at most) is improved. You can tell this is designed for writers first; something the WP team has always taken into consideration.

I won’t say 2.5 is perfect (no CMS is), but this is definitely a no-brainer upgrade.