Update: WordPress 4.1 has now launched! Get started with the latest version of the world's largest CMS [here](/web-hosting/wordpress-hosting)

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We're just a few days away from the launch of WordPress 4.1, the latest installment of the world's largest CMS. The last upgrade, 4.0, bought some great improvements to the post editor and media file management, and this time around there's a whole smorgasbord of new features to enjoy, including the absolutely wonderful new default theme, Twenty Fifteen.

Twenty Fifteen:

We start with the aforementioned theme, which is a fantastic return to the blogging basics of WordPress. It's predecessor, Twenty Fourteen, was always pretty slick, but Twenty Fifteen is even cleaner and makes long text blog posts look absolutely stunning. The default typeface, Google's "Noto Serif", also supports characters from several different languages, meaning you won't have to change font to post non English content.

Don't forget: if you don't like it then there's no need to worry, there's still a whole collection of custom themes available from the Theme Library.

Distraction Free Writing:

The 'Distraction Free Writing' mode has always been a handy feature, but until now you've been required to exit the mode in order to access many key features like text colours, text styling and metatags. For some of us this invariably lead to a quick Facebook detour or even a 7 hour Netflix marathon (guilty as charged). 4.1 makes the distraction mode less... well... distracting, by blending it seamlessly into the rest of the Post Editor.

When you start to type, all metaboxes just fade out of the editor page, helping you to get your head in the game. Move your mouse outside the text editor and all these features fade back in again.

Greater Image Control:

It's not just writing which gets a makeover in the Post Editor, there's also a new inline toolbar to give you control over image formatting. No more must you mess about with complex formatting to get your images into place; simply upload your image from the library and select the easy formatting options.

Manage your Sessions:

We often have multiple sessions of WordPress open at any one time (be it on our desktop, laptop or phone). Now you can now take control of your sessions by visiting the re-tweaked "Users" section of the dashboard (very handy if you've left yourself signed in at work over the weekend).

One click of a button and you're logged out of all other devices. Super Admin's can even manage the sessions of all users and moderators, by limiting their access to certain devices.

Select Your Language:

Finally with 4.1 you can change your WordPress admin language away from within the 'General Settings' section. It's been a long time coming, especially as there are more WordPress accounts than English speakers in the world, but now you can choose between up to 40 languages. Expect this number to grow over the next couple of updates!

Under the Bonnet:

Of course it's not just the front end which has seen changes, there's also a lot going on behind the scenes as well! The Customiser API, which received lots of updates in 4.0, has been improved upon once again with new contextual panels and sections, plus some brand new template controls made with Javascript.

There's also a big makeover for taxonomies: previously if you had a tag and category both called "clothing" then changing the name of one would change the name of the other. Now tags and categories are completely independent of each other, giving you greater control over your grouping structure.

4.1 is still in beta development, so if you want to try it out before the launch on Wednesday 10th you should only do so with a test site. Once it launches however, we recommend that you upgrade as soon as possible, as 4.1 contains several bug fixes which are vital for maintaining your site's security.

If you're an existing WordPress user then you'll be prompted to update when you next log in after the update launch; all new users will be able to download 4.1 shortly after the launch date with our Cloud platform's 1-click auto installer.

What's your opinion on the latest update? You can let us know in the comments section below or on Twitter via @Tsohost.

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