14 DAY TRIAL // The WordPress UI team has published a few screenshots to show what CMS' upcoming default theme will look like, theme slated to be included in the next WordPress release, version 4.4.
As with any CMS, forum, blog, or wiki, WordPress always shipped with a default theme.
Since 2010, these themes have followed a simple naming scheme, in accordance with the current year. In 2010, it was Twenty Ten, in 2011 it was Twenty Eleven, in 2012 Twenty Twelve, and so on. You get the point.
The theme will arrive with WordPress 4.4 later this year
While in WordPress 4.3 Automattic's UI & UX team focused on adding small improvements to the platform's mobile interface, with the upcoming 4.4 version, the team is scheduled to release Twenty Sixteen, the default theme for 2016.
The man in charge of this task was once again Takashi Irie, the same designer that created Twenty Fourteen and Twenty Fifteen.
While Twenty Fifteen wasn't really that well-liked by the WP community, the new Twenty Sixteen theme looks like an overhauled, modernized version of the Twenty Ten theme.
Support for mobile devices is included out of the box (as it should be)
"Twenty Sixteen is a modernized approach of an ever-popular layout - a horizontal masthead and an optional right sidebar that works well with both blogs and websites," said Takashi Irie, Twenty Sixteen's creator.
"It has custom color options that allow you to make your own Twenty Sixteen. The theme was designed on a harmonious fluid grid with a mobile first approach. This means it looks great on any device," he added.
And indeed, the screenshots reveal some color customization options which the previous themes did not have, while also keeping familiar elements like the header image and the beautiful thick line sidebar separators (from Twenty Ten) in place.
