I’ve upgraded this blog to WordPress 2.5, the latest version of the content management system released yesterday.

For me, upgrading was simplicity itself as I used the 1-click install procedure provided by my hosting service, DreamHost.

Literally one click and, fifteen minutes later, the blog is upgraded.

Of course, you do need to do some advance preparations before clicking that button; more on that in a minute.

The first thing you notice about WordPress 2.5 is the spiffy new look and feel of the dashboard (your blog admin area), as the screenshot above indicates.

My first impression was that this re-designed structure focuses WordPress firmly on writing and publishing rather than blog administration or management, starting with the highly visible orange band containing links to ‘Write a New Page’ and ‘Write a New Post.’

The overall focus is on your blog rather than on WordPress. In other words, it’s about you not the platform you’re using.

It’s a significant change from the design and appearance of the dashboard that’s been familiar to every WordPress user for the past few years as this screenshot of the old dashboard shows.