In this episode of the WP Minute podcast, host Matt discusses various WordPress news and topics.He starts by highlighting a WordPress.com initiative to encourage people to transfer their domain registration from Google Domains to WordPress.com. Matt also talks about a joint effort by open source projects, including WordPress, to raise concerns about the proposed Cyber Resilience Act in the European Union.He mentions an article about the new WordPress editor, Gutenberg, and concludes by remembering and honoring two individuals who made significant contributions to the WordPress community. Matt encourages listeners to subscribe to the podcast and mentions available sponsorships.WordPress.com offers to pay domain transfer fees for the first millionWordPress.com is offering to cover the transfer fee for the first million domains that move from Google to WordPress.com. This also extends the domain registration for an additional year.WordPress.com commits to matching or even lowering the renewal price that users were paying with Google Domains. This applies to over 400 top-level domains (TLDs) they offer. They also promise to keep domain prices low, only raising them if their wholesale costs increase.WordPress.com has been a domain name provider for over a decade and is committed to the open and inclusive web. They aim to support users’ ability to truly own their content and identity on the web. Users don’t need a site or hosting plan to manage their domains with WordPress.com.LinkWordPress, Drupal, Typo3, and Joomla join forcesOpen Source Matters, Inc. (Joomla), Typo3, WordPress, and the Drupal Association have issued a joint letter to the legislators of the European Union raising concerns about the proposed Cyber Resilience Act. This is a significant move as these four organizations collectively serve over 50% of the European websites.The organizations argue that the proposed regulation could undermine effective software practices due to its ban on “unfinished software”. They also express concern that the expansive definition of “commercial activity” could deter the contributions of many developers to open source software.The groups see this as an opportunity to explain the unique role that Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) plays in the software that underpins much of the web and to develop a model for how regulation should be applied to it. They also aim to educate legislators and policy-makers about the shared values that open source communities have with the European Union.LinkThis project is moving hella fastThe author expresses their love for Gutenberg, the block editor for WordPress, but also highlights its rapid pace of development. They note that this speed can sometimes leave developers behind, especially due to the shift from PHP to JavaScript (JS).The author discusses the challenges of debugging Gutenberg, particularly when encountering errors. They note that unlike PHP, where errors are logged in a file, JS errors are logged in the browser console. This shift in error handling can be confusing for developers used to PHP.The author criticizes the lack of proper documentation for Gutenberg, particularly when it comes to resolving specific errors. They argue that the current documentation is inadequate and that developers often have to search through GitHub issues to find solutions to their problems. They believe this is one of the reasons why some developers have negative feelings towards Gutenberg.LinkRemember those that have passedWordPress dedicates this page to the memory of those we’ve lost. They’ve shaped our project and enriched our community. As we remember their passion and commitment to WordPress and open source software, we celebrate their spirit.Forever in our hearts, their legacy endures through every line of code and every user they’ve impacted.LinkFrom the grab bag!Here are some other interesting links from the week.https://www.underrepresentedintech.com/webinars/sponsor/https://wptavern.com/classicpress-community-considers-re-forking-woocommerce-for-classic-commerce-v2https://jonathanbossenger.com/2023/07/28/the-state-of-wordpress-developer-tools-survey-results/https://us.wordcamp.org/2023/schedule/ ★ Support this podcast ★

If you're sick and tired of the WordPress dashboard, maybe you want to give Eric's post, The WordPress Dashboard Needs Some Love, a read. Also in today's episode, I'm reminding you about our other podcast feed The WP MInute+, a free podcast that covers the long form WordPress discussions like my old podcast, The Matt Report. The conversation I just published featuring CliftonWP highlights a lot of what a modern day WordPress entrepreneur is thinking in this fast paced iteration of our favorite CMS. Be sure to add us to your podcast app! Search for "The WP Minute" and you'll see both podcasts available to follow. ★ Support this podcast ★

There are a lot of exciting features coming to WordPress 6.3 which will set the tone for the next few years of our favorite CMS.We’ll explore the upcoming state of this new release and provide some thoughts on which demographic of WordPress user it’s shaping to serve. As always, please share this on social and be sure to join the newsletter.The Not-So-Nice Side of the WordPress CommunityThe WordPress community, like any other, has its share of negative behaviors and incidents. While the majority of the community is supportive and positive, there are instances of abuse and misconduct that can’t be ignored.Several recent incidents highlight the issue: Mika Epstein, a member of the WordPress Plugin Review team, faced abusive behavior from plugin developers; Raiber Cristian, a WordPress developer, decided to stop offering free support on WordPress.org due to abusive behavior; and WordCamp Dhaka was cancelled due to concerns about corporate influence and favoritism.The author suggests that the community needs to police itself, support each other, and stay informed about abusers. They also suggest that more concrete rules could be part of the solution, but acknowledge the challenges in enforcing them and the potential for unfairness.Read the original articleAccessibility expert Adrian Roselli sued for wanting accessibility to be accessibleAdrian Roselli, a well-known accessibility expert, is being sued by AccessiBe, a company that provides automated accessibility solutions. The lawsuit is in response to Roselli’s criticism of AccessiBe’s product.Roselli’s main argument is that automated tools like AccessiBe’s cannot fully ensure a website’s accessibility and may give a false sense of compliance, potentially leading to legal issues for the website owners.The lawsuit has sparked a backlash from the web accessibility community, with many viewing it as an attempt to silence valid criticism and discussion about the effectiveness of automated accessibility tools.Read the original articleVox media drops its own CMSIt stopped licensing Chorus to external publishers last year, per Adweek, but continued to use it to power its own network of over a dozen digital media sites.The company still owns other tech products, including Concert, its advertising platform, and Coral, the commenting platform it acquired in 2019. But moving forward, monetizing its own audience engagement will become a bigger focus.Vox Media will move its own websites off of Chorus and into WordPress VIP, the enterprise arm of the 20-year-old CMS company.Read the original articleUse ChatGPT to Generate Group Conversation Topics for Your Online CommunityThe article discusses how AI, specifically OpenAI’s ChatGPT, can be used to generate conversation topics for various online communities, including those focused on Brie cheese lovers, video game wiki writers, backyard gardeners, and digital nomad business owners.The author emphasizes the importance of a well-crafted prompt in generating relevant and engaging conversation topics. Being clear and specific in communicating what you want from the AI greatly improves the chances of getting a useful response.The article also promotes Paid Memberships Pro, a WordPress plugin for building and managing online communities. The plugin allows users to sell free and paid subscriptions to their community and offers a variety of add-ons and integrations designed for community websites.Read the original articleLinks from the grab bagJeff Matson has officially joined Pressable’s marketing teamSyed Bahlki defends WordPress with a $1M wagerWPCoffeeTalk: Going deeper with Bluehost new WondersuiteWatch the 6.3 product demo ★ Support this podcast ★

Matt explores some of the more challenging aspects of the WordPress project, in today's episode. With so many parts of the project being planned or already underway, the challenge to keep up with the software's evolution might become rather difficult. Pointing to a WordCamp talk from Courtney Robertson "We are they" Matt provides a bit of a public service announcement to dealing with the upcoming changes. Read this week's news updates on the website. ★ Support this podcast ★

In this WP Minute podcast episode, Matt discusses changes in WordPress. He focuses on a feature called the Command Palette. This used to be known as the Wayfinder. Matt talks about how this is similar to things you can find in Apple's Spotlight and Descript Notion. He also looks at the competition between WordPress and new platforms like Wix and Squarespace.Then, Matt talks about what it's like to run a WordPress news site. He shares his experience trying to work with WordCamp, but getting rejected. He thinks about how the relationship between media and events like WordCamp could get better. This episode gives a straightforward look at the challenges of running a WordPress media site and why it's important for people to know your brand. If you're interested in what's next for WordPress or how media partnerships work, this is a great episode to listen to.WordPress 6.3 Will Introduce A Command PaletteWordPress 6.3 will feature a new tool called the Command Palette, designed to be a quick search and command execution tool.There was a discussion about renaming the Command Center to Wayfinder, but the majority of participants were against it due to translation and comprehension issues.The decision to move forward with the name Command Palette was made because it's easier to translate, consistent with other tooling outside of WordPress, and it matches the current functionality.The API for the Command Palette is now public and ready for developers to create their own custom commands.Original ArticlePodcasting as a Marketing StrategyThe article discusses the potential of using podcasting as part of a marketing strategy, regardless of the industry.The podcast episode features a conversation between Michelle and Hazel about the different podcasts she manages and how podcasting can help spread the word about a company.They discuss the importance of understanding what your audience wants to hear and where they look when considering podcasting as a marketing strategy.Michelle provides a presentation about starting a podcast, which can be accessed through a link in the article.Original ArticleCMS Market Share Analysis June 2023WordPress continues to lead the CMS market share, remaining stable over the last year.Shopify shows a small decline, but still presents strong financial numbers.Prestashop, which was acquired in 2021, is the fastest-growing CMS in the top 10 and shows real promise.The article provides an in-depth analysis of the CMS market share, with special attention to eCommerce platforms.Original ArticleAI Website Builder: The Next-Gen Builder Created by 10Web10Web offers an AI-powered website builder that allows users to build or recreate any website in minutes.The platform provides AI-generated content and images, and allows customization with a drag-and-drop editor.In addition to the AI Website Builder, 10Web offers services like automated WordPress hosting, WooCommerce hosting, cloud hosting, BuddyBoss hosting, and more.The platform also offers a range of plugins and a blog for users to explore.Original WebsiteHow Guildenberg Hopes To Improve the WordPress EcosystemGuildenberg is an organization aiming to address challenges faced by product founders in the WordPress ecosystem, which lacks cohesiveness and standards for code and marketing.The organization believes that product creators are key to growing the WordPress ecosystem and mitigating the tradeoffs of decentralization.Guildenberg plans to help products succeed through collaboration, without picking winners and losers.The WP Minute article includes a Q&A with Jonathan Wold, CEO of Guildenberg, who shares his vision for bringing positive and profitable change to the WordPress ecosystem.Original Article10 WordPress Site Editor (FSE) Features You Didn't Know AboutThe WordPress Full-Site Editing (FSE), also known as the Site Editor, is a relatively new addition to the WordPress platform and is under continuous development.The article discusses some lesser-known features of the WordPress Site Editor that can help users build better designs and customize their sites more effectively.One of the features highlighted is the ability to change style variations, which allows users to change the entire look of their theme with a single click.Another feature is the ability to edit styles for individual blocks, which can be applied site-wide, providing a consistent look across different templates.Original Article ★ Support this podcast ★

Apple Journals & Day One | Matt MullenwegImportant Takeaways:Apple announced its own Journal app at WWDC, which competes with Automattic’s product, Day One.Day One has a few advantages over Apple’s Journal app. One of them is the upcoming feature of Shared Journals, which allows fully end-to-end encrypted shared private journals with friends and family.Another advantage of Day One is its cross-platform availability. Unlike Apple’s Journal app, which is limited to Apple devices, Day One works on all Apple devices, Android devices, and the web.Link: Original ArticleA Place of One’s Own, in Noho – Automattic DesignImportant Takeaways:Automattic has a unique office space in Noho, New York, which is described as a “magic space” with unobstructed views of lower Manhattan.The office design is inspired by the aesthetics of jazz clubs and features collections of mid-century vintage furniture, art and design books, and original art pieces.The office is designed to be a practical and elastic canvas for diverse uses, and it reflects the rich aesthetics of Automattic’s multiple creative tools.The office space is not just for work; it also serves as a socializing and connecting space for Automattic employees.Link: Original ArticleLinking to Supporting Orgs – Make WordPress.orgImportant Takeaways:The post discusses the need for a dedicated page on WordPress.org to link to independent organizations that support WordPress’s mission of democratizing publishing.These organizations are not officially part of WordPress but offer valuable resources and opportunities to get involved.The proposed structure for such a page includes an introduction, organization categories, organization listings, updates and announcements, and contact information.The organizations should align with the mission of WordPress, adhere to a code of conduct, and actively contribute to the WordPress community or the broader mission of democratizing publishing.A vetting process is suggested for adding organizations to this page, including initial screening, detailed review, contacting the organization, decision to list, and periodic review.Link: Original ArticleWordPress Accessibility Day Gains Nonprofit Status Through Partnership with Knowbility – WordPress Accessibility DayImportant Takeaways:WordPress Accessibility Day, a virtual 24-hour conference focused on accessibility best practices for WordPress websites, has gained 501(c)(3) nonprofit status through a partnership with Knowbility.The event was initially started in 2020 by the WordPress core Accessibility Team and was revived in 2022 by Amber Hinds and Joe Dolson as an independent event.The 2022 event was a success, with 11 organizers, 1604 attendees, and 20 volunteers from 52 countries. After all event expenses were paid, WordPress Accessibility Day donated $2,000 to Knowbility.The partnership with Knowbility allows WordPress Accessibility Day to gain nonprofit status, making donations tax-deductible in the United States. It also provides access to Knowbility’s accessible online event planning resources.The 2023 event will be held from 10:00 AM CDT (3:00 PM UTC) on Wednesday, September 27th, until 10:00 AM CDT (3:00 PM UTC) on Thursday, September 28th. The event will be live captioned and have sign language interpreters.Link: Original ArticleOne Equity Partners acquires cloud services provider Liquid Web and forms new holding company, CloudOne DigitalImportant Takeaways:One Equity Partners (OEP) has completed the acquisition of Liquid Web, a provider of managed cloud services, forming a new platform known as CloudOne Digital.The senior leadership team of Liquid Web will transition to expanded roles in the new, larger CloudOne platform with Jim Geiger as CEO, Carrie Wheeler as COO, and Joe Oesterling as CTO.Liquid Web, founded in 1997, operates 10 global data centers with more than 500,000 sites under management. With its brand acquisitions, CloudOne Digital will serve over 187,000 clients worldwide.CloudOne Digital will offer a broad portfolio of cloud products that meet the needs of web-dependent small and mid-sized businesses, cloud servers for developers and businesses with highly persistent, compute-intensive workloads, and managed private cloud for mid-market businesses that require enterprise-grade infrastructure and solutions.OEP plans an aggressive expansion strategy for CloudOne Digital, aiming to combine and integrate complementary businesses in the multi-cloud infrastructure segment.Link: Original ArticleWordCampers Demand Changes to Q&A Format – WP TavernImportant Takeaways:WordCamp attendees are calling for changes to the Q&A format at live events, citing issues with attendees abusing the format for self-promotion or not asking relevant questions.WordPress Core Committer Felix Arntz suggested that questions taking longer than a minute should be asked informally at a later opportunity.Arntz proposed several ideas to improve the Q&A format, including submitting questions to a central platform for upvoting, discarding lengthy questions, and providing mandatory training for emcees on handling problematic Q&A situations.He also suggested making Q&A optional, depending on the speaker’s preference, to create a more inclusive environment for speakers.The feedback received on Arntz’s Twitter thread was largely positive, with other attendees offering their own suggestions for improving the Q&A format.Link: Original ArticleNew Filter Controls: Discover “Commercial” and “Community” in the Theme and Plugin Directory – Make WordPress.orgImportant Takeaways:New categorizations were introduced in the Theme and Plugin Directory in late 2022 to enhance the browsing experience. These filters categorize plugins/themes as “Commercial” and “Community.”The “Commercial” filter allows users to discover themes and plugins developed by professional companies and individuals who offer their products for a fee. These premium options often come with dedicated support, advanced features, and customization options.The “Community” filter showcases themes and plugins created by the WordPress community. These products are often developed by passionate individuals who share their work for free or follow an open-source philosophy.The introduction of these filter controls is part of an ongoing effort to improve the browsing experience and refine the visual aspects of the Theme and Plugin Directory as part of the site re...

We’re slapping the beta label on it!For the summer, we’re experimenting with a new format to the podcast and the newsletter. In the past, I’ve talked about the cost of curating and commenting on the weekly cycle of WordPress news. The cost is starting to catch up, sponsors want more, and the audience is falling out of interest.We’re experimenting with delivering your the links our team and members have curated throughout the week, with a podcast episode from contributing members. This doesn’t mean we’re totally off the old format, but need to experiment, in an effort to provide the content our readers/listeners want.“Demand for WordPress in 2023” – The blog post discusses the growing demand for WordPress in 2023, highlighting its dominance as a website platform and the increasing popularity of its ecosystem.YouTube video: “The Importance of Cybersecurity” – The video emphasizes the significance of cybersecurity in today’s digital landscape, providing insights into various threats and preventive measures to ensure online safety.“Introducing Jetpack AI Assistant” – Jetpack, a popular WordPress plugin, introduces an AI assistant that offers personalized recommendations and suggestions to help website owners improve their site’s performance and user experience.“Johannes WordPress Theme” – Johannes is a WordPress theme that boasts a minimalist design and robust features, providing users with a versatile and visually appealing option for building their websites.“Arbitrary Plugin Installation Vulnerability in Formidable Forms” – This blog post highlights a vulnerability in the Formidable Forms plugin for WordPress, emphasizing the importance of promptly updating plugins to mitigate security risks.“WordPress 6.4 Development Cycle” – The blog post provides an update on the development cycle of WordPress 6.4, giving insights into the features and improvements being worked on by the WordPress core team.“Newsletters Paid Subscriptions” – WordPress.com introduces paid subscriptions for newsletters, allowing content creators to monetize their newsletters and provide exclusive content to their subscribers.YouTube video: “10 Tips for Effective Social Media Marketing” – The video offers valuable tips and strategies for effectively utilizing social media platforms to enhance marketing efforts and reach a wider audience.“Underrepresented in Tech Webinars – Sponsorship Opportunities” – The webpage highlights sponsorship opportunities for webinars organized by Underrepresented in Tech, aiming to support diversity and inclusion initiatives in the tech industry.“Design Share May 22 – Jun 2” – This blog post on the WordPress Design Team’s website shares updates and discussions about design-related topics, offering insights into recent activities and collaborations within the WordPress design community.“Tim Ferris Podcast: Seth Godin Hints at Automattic’s Top-Secret AI Plugin” – The article on The WP Minute discusses a podcast episode featuring Seth Godin, where he hints at a top-secret AI plugin being developed by Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.Classifieds listings buy yoursWPSlay 🎯 Get professional #WordPress support and maintenance services tailored to your website needs without breaking the bank!Thanks to all of the members who shared these links today: Eric KarkovackSam MunozMichelle FrechetteAlex Borto ★ Support this podcast ★

We have to start this week’s news with coverage of WordPress’ 20th birthday. Our beloved CMS officially reached the milestone on Saturday, May 27. Dozens of celebratory events were held around the world. You can even sign an online birthday card as part of the #WP20 From Blogs to Blocks campaign.Meanwhile, there is some special content worth checking out. First, WordPress co-founders Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little joined Drupal founder Dries Buytaert for a conversation on open source, AI, and the future of the web.And if you’d like to read about the last 10 years of WordPress history, take a look at Building Blocks: The Evolution of WordPress. The online book serves as the second volume in a series.Not surprisingly, the WordPress community also shared their thoughts via blog posts. That’s how this whole thing got started, right?Among the highlights:WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy shared an ode to the WordPress community’s role in the project’s success;Sarah Gooding of WP Tavern reflected on the impact of WordPress and outlines future challenges;HeroPress founder Topher DeRosia looked back at his start in blogging and what WordPress has meant to him;For more coverage of the big celebration, check out the #WP20 hashtag on Twitter.Links You Shouldn’t MissWordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg wrote a short post regarding his creation’s 20th anniversary. And he also announced the Audrey Scholars program. The aim is to provide 100% scholarships to selected members. There are currently 13 scholars in the program, which renews annually. All are encouraged to apply, although the focus will be on “children of parents or guardians who have contributed significantly to open source, or have been significant in our principal Matt Mullenweg’s life.” Audrey Scholars is run by Audrey Capital, Mullenweg’s angel investment and research company.Does Automattic have a top-secret AI plugin in the works? Author Seth Godin recently discussed such a tool on the Tim Ferris Podcast. The WP Minute’s Matt Medeiros took a closer look at how important AI will be to WordPress. He even makes a guess at this new item Godin referred to as the “single best use I have seen of Chat GPT or whatever they’re using.”European service provider group.one has acquired popular WordPress SEO plugin Rank Math. The free version of the plugin currently boasts over 2 million active installations. This a deeper dive into WordPress for group.one, as they also own web host one.com and the WP Rocket optimization plugin.A couple of well-known WordPress workflow solutions are teaming up. Sandbox site provider InstaWP has partnered with collaboration tool Atarim. There will be cross-product integration. Together, the aim is to make it easier to spin up test environments, collaborate, and track changes.From the Grab Bag Now it’s time to take a look at some other interesting topics shared by our contributors.Automattic has pushed an automated update of the Jetpack plugin to patch a security hole. The vulnerability was found during an internal audit and would allow site authors to modify WordPress files. If you use Jetpack, make sure to update to the latest version immediately.There’s been lots of talk regarding diversity and inclusion related to the upcoming WordCamp Europe. With that in mind, Michelle Frechette has shared some thoughts on moving forward as a community.WordPress developer and accessibility expert Joe Dolson has announced the closure of the Access Monitor and WP Tweets Pro plugins. Both plugins will be shuttered due to complications with their third-party tie ins.The results of the WordPress Individual Learner Survey are in. A total of 583 people participated. An analysis shows that 321 respondents described themselves as ‘somewhat knowledgeable’ or ‘very knowledgeable’ of WordPress, while nearly 32% had more than 10 years of experience.The WordPress Performance Team has conducted an analysis of version 6.2. The goal was to identify opportunities for future enhancements. Based on their findings, performance upgrades for classic theme templates, block widgets, and translation loading are among the identified targets.There’s a new proposal to establish a WordPress Sustainability Team. The group would be responsible for promoting eco-friendly practices on the web and for in-person events. It would also include creating themes and plugins that serve this purpose.Developer Bill Erickson has released BE Starter, a hybrid starter theme. The package combines classic PHP templates with a theme.json file to control block styles.Thanks to all of the members who shared these links today: - Michelle Frechette- Mustaasam Saleem- Daniel SchutzsmithOutroThanks to you, dear listener, for tuning in to your favorite 5-minutes of WordPress news every Wednesday.You can support independent content like this by purchasing us a digital coffee at thewpminute.com/supportOr join the #linksquad membership for $79/year to support the show and become a producer of the WP Minute at thewpminute.com/supportThat’s it for today’s episode, if you enjoyed it, please share it wherever you do social media and jump on the mailing list at thewpminute...

The hot topic this week was diversity. More specifically, how it relates to the upcoming WordCamp Europe speaker lineup.After the event announced its fifth round of speakers, StellarWP’s Michelle Frechette took to Twitter with the following observation:“So far only 25% of the speakers announced for #WCEU are women (by name/photo), and only three appear to be non-white. Hoping to see some more inclusion in the next few rounds of announcements.”What followed were some heated comments - including one from event organizer Sjoerd Blom:“Please stop being prejudiced and wait until ALL speakers have been announced. Thanks.”It’s worth noting that subsequent announcements have included more women and people of color. However, the tenor of conversation in Frechette’s thread has raised eyebrows.To read more about the issues at hand, check out posts from Job Thomas, “Diversity in conference speaker line-up” and MasterWP’s Rob Howard, “For WordCamp, the challenge of diversifying tech takes center stage”.Links You Shouldn’t MissA new proposal aims to modernize WordCamps. In the near future, the events could be focused on a singular topic and a specific audience. The WP Minute’s Eric Karkovack spoke with Angela Jin, WordPress Head of Programs & Contributor Experience, to learn more. They discussed the current state of WordCamps and how these community cornerstones might benefit from a change.This month marks the 20th anniversary of WordPress. As part of the celebration, The WP Minute+ released a panel discussion about the software’s biggest moments. Hosted by David Bisset, the panel features Rae Morey, Jeff Chandler, Ken Elliot, and The WP Minute’s Eric Karkovack.WordPress 6.2.1 was released on May 16. This version includes 20 bug fixes to WordPress core, 10 for the block editor, and a handful of security patches. And it also introduced an issue that breaks shortcodes used within block theme templates. If this describes your site, think twice before updating. Meanwhile, a workaround has been created and a permanent solution is being discussed.Last week, we reported on a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability that was recently patched in the Advanced Custom Fields plugin. Sarah Gooding at WP Tavern reported that, within 24 hours of the vulnerability’s disclosure, attackers had begun attempts to exploit it. According to Ryan Barnett of Akamai Security Intelligence Group (SIG), malicious actors used code examples shared within the disclosure. It’s recommended that users of the plugin update their installs immediately.From the Grab BagNow it’s time to take a look at some other interesting topics shared by our contributors.WordPress has accumulated 13 default themes since 2010. To cut down on maintenance requirements, there’s a proposal to retire some of the older themes.Cloud service provider WPCS announced that they’ve secured investment from Emilia Capital. Emilia is owned by Yoast founders Joost de Valk and Marieke van de Rakt.Users of Essential Addons for Elementor should take note of a recently-patched security vulnerability. Sarah Gooding of WP Tavern reports that the unauthenticated privilege escalation vulnerability was rated as critical, and was patched in version 5.7.2 of the plugin.Speaking of security - ever wonder what it’s like to work in the field? Check out an interview with Alexander Concha, an Application Security Engineer at Automattic.The Kirki Customizer Framework plugin has found a new home. Founder David Vongries previously announced that he was sunsetting the product and looking to sell. WordPress development firm Themeum has acquired the plugin and plans to keep it in active development.Gravity Forms has launched a new podcast called “Breakdown”. The show explores different ways to use the popular plugin and will feature special guests. And it’s hosted by our very own Matt Medeiros.WordPress competitor Wix now offers support for “headless” website configurations. The service takes advantage of the growing popularity of headless installs, with the ability to manage content from the Wix site builder.There’s a difference between branding and marketing. Hazel Quimpo and Michelle Frechette discussed the topic on a recent episode of the Audacity Marketing podcast.Curious about the benefits of a 4-day workweek? Social media toolkit provider Buffer have released data regarding their three-year journey using the arrangement.New Members This WeekAdam Weeks ★ Support this podcast ★

Results from the WordPress 2022 Annual Survey have been released. WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy notes that this was a slimmed down version of the survey. It featured 29 questions - as opposed to nearly 100 in past editions. This led to a 26% increase in completion rate. However, there was also a 56% decrease in overall submissions.Among the highlights of this year’s results:53% of respondents say they’ve used the Block Editor. Meanwhile, the Classic Editor saw a 25% drop in use.76% of respondents install WordPress themselves.68% agree or strongly agree that WordPress is as good as, or better than, other site builders and CMSs.Ease of use, flexibility, and plugin options were rated as the top reasons to use WordPress.The most frustrating aspects of WordPress were Gutenberg’s unfinished status and the difficulty of learning full site editing.For more in-depth data, a slideshow is available for download.Links You Shouldn’t MissWordPress turns 20 years old this month. And it has had a major impact on freelancers during its run. The WP Minute’s Eric Karkovack took a look at how the software became the perfect tool for solo entrepreneurs and small agencies.Stacks, the first-ever community theme, is now available in the WordPress theme directory. The theme is geared towards creating slide decks that can be used in presentations. In the official announcement, core contributor Ben Dwyer writes that it’s part of a “new initiative to provide high quality themes for free.”Last week, WordCamp US announced a new approach to programming. The flagship event is looking for speakers outside of the WordPress community. However, the traditional call for speakers is still part of the plan. It’s now open to anyone interested in giving a presentation. WordCamp US will take place from August 24-26 in National Harbor, MD.Keeping with the WordCamp theme, the events may look different in the near future. WordPress Head of Programs & Contributor Experience Angela Jin laid out the vision for the Next Generation of WordCamps. The big change is in event programming. That includes a more clearly defined audience and a focus on specific topics. Community feedback is welcomed.From the Grab Bag Now it’s time to take a look at some other interesting topics shared by our contributors.In acquisition news, WooCommerce multi-vendor plugin WC Vendors has been sold to Rymera Web Co. Rymera is known for building WooCommerce extensions, including Advanced Coupons and Wholesale Suite.MasterWP is providing $1,000 travel grants for WordCamp US speakers from underrepresented groups. The program is now accepting applications and sponsors.Security firm Patchstack reported a reflected XSS vulnerability in the free and pro versions of Advanced Custom Fields. The issue was patched in version 6.1.6, so make sure to update your installs.Speaking of Advanced Custom Fields, users will want to check out the ACF Annual Survey. The feedback received will help “guide the evolution” of the popular plugin.eCommerce platform Shopify has announced staffing cuts. In a letter to employees, founder and CEO Tobi Lütke said the platform’s workforce will be “smaller by about 20%”. Additionally, Shopify Logistics has been sold to supply chain management firm Flexport.Developers Aurooba Ahmed and Brian Coords have launched WordPress Icons Library. It’s a searchable index of all icons used within WordPress. Icons can be copied and pasted in various formats.You can hear Josepha Haden Chomphosy’s thoughts on WordPress’ 20th anniversary in the latest episode of the WordPress Briefing podcast.How do we navigate the future of WordPress? Bluehost will host a webinar on May 11 to discuss the latest trends and predictions. ★ Support this podcast ★