We're thrilled to announce the launch of CodeWP v2.5, our most significant update to date, which has been under development since November 2023. In this post, we'll guide you through the features of this update and show you how to use them for creating everything from basic snippets to complex WordPress plugins with AI.
This update marks a pivotal moment for our users, and we're eager to see the innovative ways you'll utilize CodeWP.
For a quick TLDR, here’s what’s new:
- Enhanced AI capabilities for both generation and editing. CodeWP's AI has advanced significantly, offering faster and more precise performance. It can now create more accurate multi-file snippets and plugins in less time.
- Integrated testing tools and automatic revisions. We've incorporated WP Playground for swift testing of AI-generated snippets. You can generate code, deploy it directly to a live WordPress environment, visually preview it, and allow CodeWP to automatically make necessary revisions to address any initial PHP warnings or errors.
AI Improvements
In October, shortly after the launch of version 2.0, we identified several bottlenecks in the backend of our platform. We immediately started a major rewrite, primarily focused on optimizing how data from our proprietary AI is processed and then relayed to the frontend. This rewrite, included in version 2.5, ensures 100% stability (excluding client-side issues) and introduces new AI models and methods.
While rewriting the backend, we also updated our WordPress-specific AI models. These enhancements made them more up-to-date, WordPress-focused, quicker, more accurate, and superior on every benchmark.
Unfortunately, the deployment of these improved AI models to production was delayed due to the backend overhaul. But now, we're excited to release both the backend rewrite, enhancing stability, and our AI updates, which improve performance across all metrics.
Better Generations
- You can now generate much longer responses from initial prompts.
- The AI is more potent and tailored to WordPress, capable of creating multi-file plugins from a single prompt.
- Compared to previous versions, our AI shows a 4x improvement in speed, at least a 2x increase in accuracy, and better compatibility with recently updated plugins and core functions.
Better Edits
- Reworking how code is fed to the AI model has significantly enhanced the accuracy of edits and the understanding of user requests.
- Edit requests, which surprisingly constitute the majority of activity on our platform, are handled more conversationally and effectively.
- The AI now accurately comprehends requests for specific code modifications, such as adding code to the start or end of a snippet or managing code across multiple files.
Better Understanding
- The overall understanding of user requests has improved, offering a more seamless process for generating, editing, and explaining specific lines of code or functions.
Conversational Flow
- We're testing a conversational flow with a select group of users, where CodeWP interacts directly to accurately grasp the scope of your project.
- This flow allows our AI to ask clarifying questions, building a comprehensive understanding before generating code.
We're quite excited about these developments and look forward to your feedback on these enhancements.
Built In WordPress Testing
A key feature of version 2.5 is the built-in WordPress testing, enabled by WordPress Playground. This feature allows a live instance of the most up-to-date version of WordPress Core to run directly in the browser. Code generated on our platform can be easily pushed into this testing instance, enabling users to manually preview their work.
Additionally, our AI can detect any PHP errors or warnings. Should any issues be identified, CodeWP can automatically edit the problematic portions of code to ensure they are completely error-free (currently in beta). This functionality is not only beneficial for users to see how their snippet operates on a live WordPress website, but it also significantly enhances the accuracy of our code generations, effectively eliminating hallucinations.
Read more about this implementation here: https://codewp.ai/blog/testing-ai-code-with-wp-playground/
New AI Modes and Presets
In March, we are excited to roll out dozens new AI modes and presets to General Availability, including the much-anticipated Elementor and Bricks Builder modes. These modes have undergone extensive testing in both public and private beta over the past few months and will soon be available to everyone. The advantage of these new additions is their enhanced understanding of the underlying plugins they support, leading to more accurate code generations. This is a significant improvement over other solutions that lack specific knowledge of individual plugins.
Additionally, we'll be introducing complex presets, such as those for Gutenberg blocks, page builder elements, and other general core WordPress API functionalities. These presets are designed to further streamline and improve the development process within WordPress.
Growing Help Center and Resources
We have also significantly expanded our help center, with dozens of new video tutorials demonstrating how to use CodeWP for different tasks.
Whether you need to generate a custom Gutenberg block, tweak an existing plugin, create dynamic Elementor widgets, or build multi-part plugins - we've got you covered. Our goal is to make AI-assisted development as simple and intuitive as possible for WordPress users of all skill levels. Please check out the new video series and let us know if you have requests for any additional topics.
Future Updates
Over the next few updates, we will continue to expand our direct connection to WordPress websites. This expansion will enable AI-powered troubleshooting and security features directly within the CodeWP platform. Additionally, we're excited about initiating a new project, codenamed DAW (Do Anything WordPress). We'll be releasing more information on this initiative soon.
To support these developments, we are looking to expand our team. We are currently hiring more full-stack developers and a senior product designer. If you're interested in these roles, please feel free to apply to the open positions listed on our website.
Let's not forget our previous major releases, versions 2.3 and 2.4, which brought powerful social sharing features and UI updates to enhance the user experience and make the platform more user-friendly.
I'd also like to express my gratitude to our Pro beta testers for their incredible feedback. Their efforts in trialing several of these features and identifying bugs and areas for improvement have been instrumental in our progress.
