Remember Views? It’s the plugin that lets you build complex WordPress sites without coding.
Over the last two years, Views has evolved from very basic functionality to a rich package, loaded with features. Unfortunately, this parade of features has led to a complex GUI. For a plugin that aims to help rapid website development, a complex GUI is the last thing you need.
And so, we’re happy to introduce Views 1.3, with just one goal in mind – usability.
Here is an 18 minute clip that shows the new GUI in action:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBPSdmW-Qao[/youtube]
The main idea behind the new interface was to build the GUI around achieving your goals. You don’t need to search the GUI to find out how to do things. Instead, the GUI adapts to what you are trying to do.
For example, when you want to design a Content Template for a single page. Go to Content Templates, look for the post type that you want to customize and click on ‘New Content Template’. Views 1.3 applies all the settings for you, allowing you to get on with your template design without any additional steps.
Or, let’s say that you want to build a parametric search. Parametric searches are one of the most powerful features in Views. Now, you create your new View, just select that you want to include a parametric search in the view, and add your filters to the search box. There’s a ton of configuration and internal clockwork happening behind the scenes to make this possible. In the past, you had to know how it all worked and how to set everything up, now you just make a couple of intuitive selections and get on with building your site.
Views 1.3 is completely compatible with previous versions of Views. It includes a brand new interface and new workflow, but uses the exact same storage and rendering engine as earlier versions. If you’ve built sites with a previous Views version, you’ll be able to upgrade to Views 1.3 without any changes. Of course, you’ll get the new interface, but nothing else will change on your sites.
When you open Views 1.3, you’ll probably think “sure, that’s how it was supposed to be from the start”. This is what the Toolset development team is aiming for. If it looks simple, it’s done right.
Views 1.3 is going into QA in a few days and should go live in 2-3 weeks from now.
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