WordPress 4.5 now available, adds responsive design previews, faster image loading

WordPress version 4.5 is now available, bringing what the developers call a “more streamlined experience,” whether you’re writing a blog post or building/tweaking your site.

There’s nothing that you’d call a significant change or upgrade, but 4.5 does add convenient responsive design preview toggles so users can preview how their site will look on different devices. There are also new formatting shortcuts that make it easier to add horizontal lines and/or format text as code, as well as the ability to add links inline while you write.

One under-the-hood change that’s worth mentioning is that 4.5 compresses uploaded images slightly more than older versions of the software, making intermediate-sized images load faster for users. The developers say, “This results in a noticeable reduction in file sizes with little change in visual quality.”

For more on WordPress 4.5, see the official announcement and/or check out the introduction video below.