The WP Minute

Support our work at https://thewpminute.com/supportGet the newsletter at https://thewpminute.com/subscribeThe annual State of the Word event has been scheduled for December 15, 2022 from 1:00 - 2:30pm EST. WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg will take to the microphone to discuss the year that was and what lies ahead. The event will take place in New York City and will also be live streamed. If you’d like to attend in-person, there’s a survey available to fill out. Meanwhile, you can also submit questions to Mullenweg ahead of time by emailing ask-matt@wordcamp.org or during the event via YouTube’s chat feature. Links You Shouldn’t Miss The WP Minute’s Eric Karkovack has a wish list of things he’d love to see from WordPress in 2023. More than any technical enhancements, his hopes include better communication, collaboration, and more opportunities to get together for in-person events. Tom McFarlin contributed to The WP Minute with an in-depth tutorial on working with multiple user metadata queries. He takes us step-by-step through the process of retrieving a custom set of user records. WordPress.org is launching a blog aimed at developers. Sarah Gooding of WP Tavern reports that the project is currently in beta testing. The focus will be on new features that impact theme and plugin developers. According to WP Tavern, the Divi page builder will undergo some major changes in 2023. Version 5.0 isn’t slated to see new features, rather a complete rewrite of its underlying framework. The revamp will be built using React and aims to improve compatibility with the Gutenberg Block Editor. Last week, we reported on Mike McAlister's concept for OpenPress, a plugin that would turn a WordPress install into a syndicated microblogging platform. This week, Alex Standiford expands on the idea and wonders if WordPress might one day have a bidirectional relationship with social media platforms. Classifieds listings buy yours Equalized Digital Get 50% off Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker November 20-30 with coupon code BlackFriday22 and start making your website accessible. From the Grab Bag Now it’s time to take a look at some other interesting topics shared by our contributors. WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg announced that Tumblr will soon add support for ActivityPub, an open and decentralized protocol for connecting to Mastodon and other social media platforms. The announcement comes as more users are contemplating Twitter alternatives. Speaking of Tumblr, Nyasha Green at MasterWP looks at the platform’s recent resurgence. Sell Courses Online have published a study of 240,000 WordPress websites that run a learning management system (LMS). The data shows the most popular LMS plugins, average monthly tech spending, and more. Automattic’s Jetpack has announced its “Build your own Jetpack” offering, which consists of 7 individual plugins. Functionality includes backup, security, performance, and a CRM. Storipress, a competitor to Automattic’s Newspack platform, has secured a $500,000 investment. Jean Galea breaks down the current state of WordPress and wonders what comes next. New Members This Week David Bell, follow @Cape_Dave Jess Frick, follow @renewabelle If you’re not a member yet, go to thewpminute.com/support/ to join. Thanks to all of the members who shared these links today:  Cameron Jones Justin Ferriman Raquel Landefeld Jeff Chandler ★ Support this podcast ★

Support our work at https://thewpminute.com/supportGet the newsletter at https://thewpminute.com/subscribeLots has changed for the WordPress website building experience over the last 4 years and today's WP Product Talk has been on the frontlines of it. Richard Tabor joins the podcast to talk about the major changes in Gutenberg, Site Editing, and the future of WordPress. Looking for a healthy dose of what's under the hood of your favorite CMS? Don't miss this episode. Links Kim Coleman Richard Tabor Matt Cromwell Paid Memberships Pro GiveWP Support the WP Minute ★ Support this podcast ★

Support our work at https://thewpminute.com/supportGet the newsletter at https://thewpminute.com/subscribeHiring is probably the hardest thing to do in any business. There's so much that needs to go into the interview process, onboarding, and we haven't even begun to think about the actual job description! Lucky for us, Kim Lipari joins WP Product talk to give us all the advice we need to become better employers in the WordPress ecosystem. If you enjoyed today's episode, please share it on social media and say thanks to the hosts! Links Kim Coleman Kim Lipari Matt Cromwell Paid Memberships Pro GiveWP Support the WP Minute ★ Support this podcast ★

Support our work at https://thewpminute.com/supportGet the newsletter at https://thewpminute.com/subscribeThe 6th episode of WP Product Talk featuring Zach Tirell of WP Events Calendar. Listen in to find out how to hire and manage contractors for your WordPress product (or agency!) business. If you're a WordPress freelancer, this is a fantastic episode to listen to and reverse engineer to better position yourself with employers. If you enjoyed this episode, please say thanks to the hosts and consider sharing this on social media! Links Kim Coleman Zach Tirrell Matt Cromwell Paid Memberships Pro GiveWP Support the WP Minute ★ Support this podcast ★

Support our work at https://thewpminute.com/supportGet the newsletter at https://thewpminute.com/subscribeThe idea of using WordPress to power a social networking site isn’t new. The BuddyPress plugin has offered this functionality since 2009. But Elon Musk’s recent takeover of Twitter (and the ensuing chaos) has WordPress community members taking another look at what’s possible. Mike McAlister recently shared a concept for OpenPress, a plugin that would turn your WordPress install into a microblogging platform. Your site’s content can then be connected with, and followed by, other sites using OpenPress. The aim is to build a network of related content that allows creators to maintain ownership. As McAlister puts it, the network “is powered by individuals, but connected as a community.” Who knows where the OpenPress concept will go. But it’s an interesting proposition for those looking to ditch Twitter and other corporately-owned communities. Links You Shouldn’t Miss The WP Minute’s Eric Karkovack is intrigued by the potential of managed WooCommerce hosting. He took a look at what it can and can’t do to simplify the eCommerce platform. In an effort to decrease the barriers to contributing to WordPress core, project lead developer Helen Hou-Sandí has proposed using GitHub Codespaces. The tool allows for the rapid setup of a development environment. Sarah Gooding has the details at WP Tavern. In a tongue-and-cheek effort to compete with Twitter’s new account verification system, Tumblr is selling two “useless” checkmarks for a one-time fee of $7.99. Yes, that’s one penny less than Twitter’s service. The microblogging platform is owned by Automattic. To paraphrase CEO (and WordPress co-founder) Matt Mullenweg’s tweet, two checkmarks are cooler than one. What’s your top WordPress-related story for 2022? The WP Minute wants to know! Share your thoughts with us on Twitter. Classifieds listings buy yours Equalized Digital Get 50% off Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker November 20-30 with coupon code BlackFriday22 and start making your website accessible. From the Grab Bag Now it’s time to take a look at some other interesting topics shared by our contributors. WordPress 6.1.1 was released on November 15 and fixes a total of 50 bugs. If you missed out on WordCamp Italia 2022, a nearly 9-hour recording of the event is available for viewing. How would you like the WordPress Site Editor to work? What pain points would you like to see resolved? The project has put out a call for user feedback. It’s been a long time coming, but WooCommerce 7.1 is finally adding the ability to store orders in a custom database table. Sarah Gooding at WP Tavern reports that it’s currently an experimental feature, but should become the default sometime in 2023. Podcasters using Automattic’s Pocket Casts platform can now embed their episodes on WordPress.com via a custom block. WordPress marketing firm Ellipsis has announced a new web tool from their SEO product FALCON AI. It aims to help content creators conduct more accurate keyword research through machine learning. WordPress.org’s Showcase section is undergoing a redesign and you can take a peek at what’s in store. Thanks to all of the members who shared these links today:  Birgit Pauli-Haack ★ Support this podcast ★

Support our work at https://thewpminute.com/supportGet the newsletter at https://thewpminute.com/subscribeFeed drop time! Feed drop is when an entirely new podcast shows up in a podcast feed...just like this one!  I'm sharing my friend, Matthew Bliss' Dead Drop podcast with you. It's just like the WP Minute, short form news, but for the video game industry. From the casual gamer to the sweaty l33t, this podcast has it all for your gaming needs.  Links Matthew Bliss on Twitter Dead Drop Podcast Want to feed drop your podcast? Contact us. Support The WP Minute: Donate or get a classified listing ★ Support this podcast ★

Support our work at https://thewpminute.com/supportGet the newsletter at https://thewpminute.com/subscribeThe advent of WordPress Full Site Editing (FSE) has sparked plenty of discussion within the community. But it’s not just the technical aspects that have received attention. Giving the feature a more user-friendly name has also been a hot topic. On November 4, 2022, WordPress project Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy announced that the feature will be simply referred to as the “Site Editor”. Simplicity was only one consideration, however. Haden Chomphosy notes that the term can also be effectively translated into hundreds of languages. Given WordPress’ considerable international user base, a consistent name is desirable. Paired with the Block Editor, the Site Editor name should provide users with a clearer distinction between editing environments. Links You Shouldn’t Miss When we discuss the challenges facing WordPress, we often focus on WordPress core. However, The WP Minute’s Eric Karkovack says that the WordPress Ecosystem Needs Closer Scrutiny. He opines that what happens in the world of themes and plugins can be just as consequential. The phrase “Just another WordPress site” should be familiar to anyone who has installed the software. It’s been the default setting for the Site Tagline for years - but no more. Sarah Gooding at WP Tavern reports that, as of WordPress 6.1, the tagline is now blank. For the sake of nostalgia, the phrase does stick around in the form of placeholder text. In the wake of WordPress.org’s removal of active install growth data from the plugin repository, developers are still looking for relevant information. In response, the folks at AyeCode have launched wp-rankings.com. The site scrapes the repository’s popular plugin data and shows historical comparisons for active installations. WP Tavern has more details on the project. If you couldn’t make it to Spain for WordCamp Sevilla this past weekend, the event has published a virtual tour using the Spatial metaverse platform. Visitors can create an avatar, walk around the space, and access a stream of the event. Classifieds listings buy yours See your ad in this space! From the Grab Bag Now it’s time to take a look at some other interesting topics shared by our contributors. Designer Anders Norén has released Oaknut, a WordPress block theme that lets users create a profile page similar to that of Linktree. Big Orange Heart have announced that their WordFest Live event has been rescheduled to Friday, December 16, 2022. If you run a WooCommerce store and use Stripe for payment processing, be on the lookout for fraudulent orders. Wordfence takes a look at a security flaw in the Blog2Social WordPress plugin. New Members This Week  Jamie Marsland, follow @pootlepress If you’re not a member yet, go to thewpminute.com/support/ to join. Thanks to all of the members who shared these links today:  Birgit Pauli-Haack Michelle Frechette ★ Support this podcast ★

Support our work at https://thewpminute.com/supportGet the newsletter at https://thewpminute.com/subscribeWordPress 6.1, “Misha”, was released on November 1. The new version features more than 120 enhancements and fixes over 240 bugs.  Performance was a focus in this release, including increased efficiencies within WP_Query and the REST API. Query caching is said to provide a significant speed boost. WordPress core contributor Jonny Harris has tweeted test results to back up the claim. Also of note are multiple accessibility enhancements, a myriad of improvements to the block editor, the ability to use block-based template parts within “Classic” themes, the introduction of the Twenty Twenty-Three default theme, and a whole lot more. Check out the WordPress 6.1 Field Guide for a full rundown of what’s new. And if you’re interested in who contributed to the release, Jean-Baptiste Audras has put together some detailed contribution statistics. Links You Shouldn’t Miss The 2022 Web Almanac reports that 72% of WordPress-powered mobile pages may be overusing native lazy loading on images, resulting in a negative impact on performance. Sarah Gooding at WP Tavern offers more details and some possible reasons for this surprising number.  Gutenberg project lead Matías Ventura recently highlighted some improvements to the block editor’s writing experience. Meanwhile, a blog post at Make WordPress Core has further details and demos to check out. eCommerce platform (and WooCommerce rival) Shopify saw rapid growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many of the online stores opened during that time didn’t last. Classifieds listings buy yours See your ad in this space! From the Grab Bag Now it’s time to take a look at some other interesting topics shared by our contributors. Eric Karkovack and Dan Knauss discussed ideas for improving the WordPress user experience on the Post Status Excerpt. The Bertha AI Writing Assistant has introduced the ability to generate images based on artificial intelligence (AI) from within WordPress. Elon Musk’s controversial purchase of Twitter has been finalized. And while some people have vowed to leave the platform, Sarah Gooding reports that many WordPress community members are planning to stick around. The new Missing Menu Items plugin adds hard-to-find block and site editor links to the WordPress Appearance menu. WP Tavern recently took a look at what it does. Matt Mullenweg shared thoughts on why Tumblr’s previous policy on adult content no longer works on the modern web.  Thanks to all of the members who shared these links today:  Andrew Palmer Birgit Pauli-Haack Eric Karkovack ★ Support this podcast ★

Support our work at https://thewpminute.com/supportGet the newsletter at https://thewpminute.com/subscribeThe saga of WordPress.org active install data continues as more details trickle out. At WP Tavern, Sarah Gooding reported on an appearance by WordPress contributor Samuel Otto Wood on the WPwatercooler podcast. Wood says the decision to remove the data originated from a private Slack conversation amongst contributors that was started by WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg back in May. It has also been revealed that the removal was not due to security or privacy issues, as previously indicated. According to Wood, the data chart was removed because “by and large, nobody was using them”.  Regardless of the reasoning behind the decision or worthiness of the data, no official outreach appears to have been made by project leadership to the developer community. Meanwhile, WordPress community members continue to voice concerns via a Trac ticket started by RebelCode CEO Mark Zahra. The ticket was created on September 30 and has over 100 comments. Links You Shouldn’t Miss The first ever WordPress Documentation team Contributor Day took place on Tuesday, October 25. The virtual event was held to help team members catch up on tasks and onboard new contributors. Development agency Human Made has published 1001 ways to implement Gutenberg blocks. The guide includes a handy flowchart for determining what blocks to use and when to use them. The inaugural WPWealthBuilder Summit has put a call out for speakers and sponsors. The virtual event focuses on building personal wealth through WordPress and takes place on February 3, 2023. Sarah Gooding of WP Tavern reports that the Openverse Audio Catalog now boasts 800,000 files that are available free of charge. Formerly known as Creative Commons Search, Openverse is now part of the WordPress project. Classifieds listings buy yours WebDevStudios WebDevStudios is seeking a full time, remote Engineering Manager candidate interested in joining our growing team.Sitewide Sales Are you literally losing sleep on Black Friday? Schedule your WordPress site's Black Friday sale so you can sleep off Thanksgiving dinner.GapScout Sign-Up for Early Access - AI that scans reviews (on WordPress.org or elsewhere), revealing to you the most profitable opportunities!WP Mayor Reach a larger, targeted audience of WordPress users with your Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers. Get them listed on WP Mayor. From the Grab Bag Now it’s time to take a look at some other interesting topics shared by our contributors. Automattic’s Pocket Casts podcasting platform has announced that their mobile apps are now open-source.Gutenberg project contributors released a video of a streamlined “browse mode” concept for the WordPress Site Editor.WordPress Accessibility Day takes place from November 2-3 and has released its speaker lineup.The WordPress.org support portal, dubbed the “HelpHub”, is set to be redesigned. Thanks to all of the members who shared these links today:  Birgit Pauli-HaackMichelle FrechetteEric Karkovack ★ Support this podcast ★

Support our work at https://thewpminute.com/supportGet the newsletter at https://thewpminute.com/subscribeIn today's episode of WP Product Talk, we'll explore the methods organizations go through to level up entry-level WordPress developers on their team. This is a fantastic discussion with your weekly hosts Kim Colemen & Matt Cromwell. Today's guest is Courtney Robertson, Web Design Dev Advocate at GoDaddy Pro. If you enjoyed this episode, please re-share it on social media and follow the hashtag #wpproducttalk on Twitter. Links Kim ColemanMatt CromwellCourtney RobertsonPaid Memberships ProGiveWPSupport the WP Minute ★ Support this podcast ★