WordPress Calypso is an interface change that was first released at WordPress.com. It’s a platform that is geared more towards a WordPress javascript and the REST API. Currently, it’s not available as an update to the WordPress dashboard for individual sites. However, you can still use Calypso to access all of your sites from the single interface regardless of where they are installed. Essentially, it streamlines the productivity of using WordPress while giving you improved functionality.
What’s the Deal with Using Calypso, Anyway?
The Calypso interface for WordPress was designed to take advantage of the best technologies while streamlining the process of maintaining the website. It comes with several key features that can be incredibly beneficial, especially for those who maintain more than one WordPress domain. Here are just a few of what the upgrade has to offer:
1. Downloadable Application
WordPress.com offers a downloadable application that uses the Calypso interface directly onto your computer system. This is for Windows, Mac and Linux-based computers and gives you access to everything you need to manage your sites. This software is open source and free to use.
2. Multi-site Support
One of the biggest attractions for the Calypso interface is the ability to easily manage more than one WordPress website. It’s exceptionally easy to add domains and will connect with all sites that are included in your WordPress.com account.
3. Enhanced Speed
Another endearing feature of Calypso is the speed in which it operates. Using a WordPress javascript and the REST API, the system operates smoothly and offers a quick access to any webpage within WordPress.
4. Responsive Design
Calypso’s responsive design is engineered to offer an enhanced user experience while giving you access to all of your WordPress websites. It has been streamlined in much the same way for desktops by making the platform very user friendly. This can help you manage sites by making the tools you need easier to find.
5. The Reader
You can add the feeds from other WordPress creators by using the “Reader” available through Calypso. You can browse through the database of content posted by others and have the material brought to you from the same interface that you write content.
Practical Ways to Use Calypso to Your Advantage
First, you need a WordPress.com account in order to utilize Calypso. You’ll also need to activate the Jetpack plugin on any site you wish to fully control. This plugin comes complete with many modules that will enhance your experience, so it may be worth exploring Jetpack.
Once the registration is complete, you can add all of your WordPress websites to the Interface. This gives you a single point in which you can quickly switch from one to another in order to manage and maintain them. Using the app on your computer system can also be a quick and easy way to manage your site’s development.
The Downside of Using Calypso
Although the interface is clean and very easy to manage, there is a drawback to it: current plugins. Not all plugins you have installed will work the same on Calypso, even though you can manage them through this interface. For example, the “Post Thesaurus” and “Page Builder” plugins are not available in Calypso. Any additions you have to the content editing system in WordPress may not be accessible. In many cases, this is because of the difference in programming between HTML and javascript.
Although you don’t have direct access to many plugins through Calypso, the system does link back to your primary WordPress dashboard when you want to utilize some of them. For instance: you can’t access the “Acronix FAQ” plugin from Calypso, but it will send you to the WordPress dashboard of the site when you click on it.
How Will Calypso Affect You?
If you have no wish to change how you manage WordPress, you don’t have to use the Calypso interface. Currently, it’s not available as a standard update. Unless you operate a self-hosted website or use WordPress.com, you may never see the new interface in action. However, it’s there if you would like to explore the functionality of what it can do. It may be something that could influence how you manage your content.
Calypso isn’t a mandatory plugin or update. You don’t have to use it if you’re not comfortable learning something new. If you’re a PHP developer, you may reluctant to use the system since it utilizes javascript instead. Until it becomes a complete addition to the WordPress core, you don’t have to worry about learning something new. Depending on how the community reacts to the platform, it may be something you’ll never have to access.
How many WordPress sites do you manage that can be run completely from Calypso? Would you rather keep the WordPress interface you have now or try the new javascript adaptation?