Test Beta Versions of the WordPress Core and Plugins

Running your development site on the latest nightly release is a great way to find new bugs before they hit your live site. You’ll can also save millions of other sites in the process.

To get started, simply install the WordPress Beta Tester plugin.

Then go to:

• Tools
• Beta testing
• Save

Once that’s done, you can update WordPress as you normally do, except now you’ll get the latest nightly version that you selected.

To report bugs, follow these steps.

Another great way to help out is to test upcoming features. WordPress has a made plugins available for easier testing.

Go to the Beta Testing area on WordPress and test any that interest you. I’d recommend focusing on features that you’re likely to use in your sites. You can install them as you would install any other plugins..

To provide feedback on a feature, use the plugin’s Support tab.

As you can see, it’s very simple to get started with contributing to WordPress’ development.

It’s a great way to give back to the community, learn something new in the process, and shape WordPress’ future in a small, but meaningful way.

If you want a more automatic way to test code, PluginTests is a great way to test WordPress plugins.

Are you interested in other ways to contribute? If so, check out make.wordpress.org.

Do you have any tips or advice for others? Post a comment below.