WordPress 4.1 “Dinah” Has Shipped

The latest version of WordPress, 4.1, has been released! As a WP Engine customer, here’s what you need to know…

For non-security related, major point releases, we usually do not upgrade customers immediately. Above all else our priority is the stability, security and functionality of your sites.

To give our users time to test the new version against their current configuration, we will begin rolling out updates to 4.1 on Monday, January 5th. This is longer than the normal two week period we usually give our customers, due to the various holidays surrounding what would be our traditional upgrade window. We would much rather have you spending time with your family and friends than worrying about your site(s).

If you’re not already familiar with how we do things, our system will send out two notices before the upgrade(s) start. One will be sent seven days prior to your scheduled upgrade. The second will be sent four hours before the process starts. Should you find, as the date gets closer, that you need more time to prepare your site(s) for the upgrade, we encourage you to contact our Support Team. They’ll be more than happy to work out a time frame for upgrading your site(s).

Please note that if you contact Support to delay the upgrade process they will need a list of every site on your account that needs to opt-out.

However, if you do prefer to update immediately, you are more than welcome to do so. Simply start a live chat requesting that we update your site(s). Someone from our Support Team will happily hand-upgrade your install(s) using our Automated Upgrade Protection as soon as possible.

If you’re not familiar with it, our Automated Upgrade Protection process creates a backup of the current state of your site. Once complete, our script then performs the upgrade to 4.1. Then, as soon as the upgrade is complete, we’ll test the site to make sure that it is loading.

If the site comes up without any detected problems, you will then be notified that your install has been upgraded to 4.1. In the case that something appears to be off, our script will automatically roll your site back to the previous version, and let you know that something has gone wrong. And all of this will happen without any intervention required from you!

Thanks, as always, for choosing WP Engine!

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Jason Cosper works as the Developer Advocate for WP Engine. He loves digging into interesting problems and learning new things. Currently, he spends most of his days getting elbows deep in huge messes and doling out WordPress optimization advice. In his spare time, Cosper enjoys spending time with his wife and very tiny dog, grilling meats, sampling assorted whiskeys, writing cranky tweets about the Lakers and brewing coffee.