First of all let me tell you that  Thesis 1.8 beta1 is available for download now for users with a developer version. But, this is “beta” mind it..!! Though Thesis is a very stable framework yet no one can guarantee a beta version. Betas are always meant for test purpose. Not, even DIYThemes can guarantee you about the stability of the latest beta version.

The 1.8beta has come up with many new features and one of the most exciting and a useful feature is the custom header image. Till date all Thesis users had to take pain of creating a custom code for putting up a “clickable header”. But now, you have it right inside your Thesis Options Panel.

Other features are:

1. Support for WordPress 3.0 Nav Menu.
2. Windows Live Writer integration. That’s under your control to enable it..!!!
3. New Home Page controls in Site Options
4. Home Page Display controls in Design Options
5. New Term Options for Categories and Post Tags Pages…!!
6. Introductory Headline and Content input fields for Category/Tag Pages..!!
7. thesis_hook_archive_info is dead now, update your codes if you were using this hook.
8. Improved commenting system with pagination.
9. SEO character counters for every <title> and <meta> tag.
10. And of course, fix for known issues such as CodePress error with WordPress 3.0

Since access to Thesis Support is available to all its customers. I advise you to first go through the instructions on how to upgrade Thesis. Also, backup your thesis database.  You can find the upgrade procedure in “downloads” section of diythemes.com

Also use Thesis Support to know better about whether you should upgrade to Thesis 1.8 beta or not? If you are a newbee, I suggest you not. Start with a  stable version i.e. Thesis 1.7

If you are a Thesis Customer, login to the “developers” section of DIYThemes you might be lucky enough to have a look at the error being displayed. Let me tell you I was the lucky one. But, they fixed it up soon. And its working fine now. Since DIYThemes might raise some objection about this bug, I am not posting the snapshots I had with me.

I hope this article proves useful for those all who look forward to upgrade to Thesis 1.8 beta and support the developers if you come across any bugs / errors.

More Interesting Stories

• [How To] Prevent Wrapping Up Of Text Around Thumbnails In Thesis (1)
• Add A Cool Slide-Show To Thesis Using Custom Functions (9)