Is your WordPress site ready for the Next Release?

If you have been watching the WordPress news you know that the next release is coming up very soon and is featuring tons of new updates, interface changes and functionality. You can learn more about WordPress 3.2 here http://ht.ly/5mNgs or see the highlight below

• Refreshed administrative UI – Admin redesign
• New Default Theme “Twenty Eleven” – Uses the latest Theme Features
• Full Screen Editor – Distraction free writing experience
• Extended Admin Bar – More useful links to control the site

How do I know if my site is compatible with WordPress 3.2?

WordPress 3.2 requires a few more things with this release and just clicking the “Upgrade” link may not work for some.

Requirements:

• PHP 5.2.4 or greater
• MySQL 5.0 or greater

If you upgrade and your host does not meet the basic requirements you will receive this message.

How can I check if it will work?

Like most things in WordPress a plugin is here to save the day.

WordPress Requirements Check: This plugin performs a simple check and lets you know if you’re ready.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-requirements-check/

After activating this plugin you will see this….

Wait… what do I do if I don’t meet the bare minimum server requirements?

Contact your host immediately. WordPress 3.2 is not out yet and they still have time to upgrade without any future issues.

Try writing something along the lines of…. (just copy and paste)

Dear Hosting Company,

I am running WordPress on my site at www.YouAwesomeSite.com and would like to upgrade to the latest version when it is released. It has the following requirements:

• PHP 5.2.4 or greater
• MySQL 5.0 or greater

Can you please make sure that my PHP and MySQL are up-to-date prior the this WordPress release?

Thank you!