The changelog imperative

A shoutout to the developers of the Blubrry Powerpress podcasting plugin for WordPress.

The shoutout is for not only creating a very cool enhancement for WordPress blogs  – if you’re a podcaster with a WordPress blog, this plugin is a must-have – but also for making it easy to understand what’s changed from version to version.

That’s because they have taken the time and effort to include detailed and easy-to-understand information in a changelog.

The changelog in Powerpress that you see here (click here or on the screenshot to see a full-size version) is one of the most useful I’ve seen in any WordPress plugin.

From a user’s point of view, it contains just enough information, presented in an easy-to-read style, that makes it clear for me to understand what’s changed with a new version when my blog admin alerts me that an upgrade is available.

I can see at a glance the information that helps me quickly decide whether I want to upgrade the plugin to the latest version (not every new version of a WordPress plugin means you have to or should upgrade).

Note also that the Powerpress developers have taken care of a small detail that I find irritating when it’s not done – made sure that information about which WordPress version the plugin is compatible with is up-to-date. In this case, it is.

I wish more plugin developers would do changelogs as useful as this that help their users understand what’s going on with their plugins.

In any event, thanks to the Powerpress developers!

Get detailed information about Powerpress on their website.