a:4:{s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:3:"rss";a:1:{i:0;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:3:"


";s:7:"attribs";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:7:"version";s:3:"2.0";}}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:1:{s:7:"channel";a:1:{i:0;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:61:"
	
	
	
	




















































";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"WordPress Planet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://planet.wordpress.org/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"language";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2:"en";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:47:"WordPress Planet - http://planet.wordpress.org/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"item";a:50:{i:0;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:67:"WPTavern: Attend the Great WP Virtual Summit for Free: August 19-23";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92796";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:77:"https://wptavern.com/attend-the-great-wp-virtual-summit-for-free-august-19-23";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3312:"<p>For five days next week, from August 19-23, the inaugural event of <a href="https://summit.wpvirtualsummit.com/">The Great WP Virtual Summit</a> will be taking place.</p>



<p>Conceived by South African based WordPress developer <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/anchenlr/">Anchen le Roux</a>, the summit aims to bring together experts from various fields within the WordPress ecosystem to share their knowledge over the five days</p>



<p>I reached out to Le Roux, to find out why she came up with the idea of the summit, and what her goals are for the event.</p>



<p><em>“Being an organiser of WordCamp Johannesburg for the last few years, I&#8217;ve been very aware of how only a small number of people are actually able to attend an event like WordCamp.&nbsp;</em></p>



<p><em>Obviously there are a lot of reasons, but for the most part travelling, accommodation, and other logistical items seemed to be the biggest hindrance.”</em></p>



<p>Being based at the tip of Africa, Le Roux also realized that many other African countries don’t even have a WordCamp, and started wondering what she could do to bring WordCamp to them. The idea for the summit was born.</p>



<p><em>“I&#8217;m hoping an online summit can introduce aspects of WordPress, and being part of the WordPress community, to those living in areas where it&#8217;s not easily accessible. It’s also my hope that this will plant a seed with folks, to start their own local communities around WordPress, and ultimately lead to more local WordCamps.”</em></p>



<p>Anchen is hoping to recreate some of the atmosphere and energy that takes place at a local WordCamp, at this online event.</p>



<p><em>“I know nothing can substitute for the in-person experience of a WordCamp but I&#8217;m trusting that some bits of what makes WordCamps awesome can be recreated in what we do. I&#8217;m hoping for this to be the first of many. This first one is very much an experiment but I&#8217;m anticipating for it to grow into something that more people can be involved in.“</em></p>



<p>I asked Le Roux what she hopes attendees will take away from the event.</p>



<p><em>“Firstly, the goal is to allow folks to learn from top authorities in the WordPress realm on a variety of topics. We have four different tracks catering to all types of  WordPress users. Topics range from branding and design, development, and running your business with WordPress, to running a WordPress agency or being a WP freelancer. </em></p>



<p><em>Above and beyond that, I’m hoping that folks who are new to the community, or are operating on the fringes of our community, are encouraged to become a bigger part of the WordPress community, by giving them the opportunity to chat with other community members, ask questions and/or share ideas.</em></p>



<p><em>We have 20+ experts over 5 days, who will teach you strategies you can use to both improve and scale your WordPress business, no matter which stage you’re at, or what type of user you are.”</em></p>



<p><a href="https://summit.wpvirtualsummit.com/">The Great WP Virtual Summit</a> is happening August 19 &#8211; 23 and you can get your free tickets to the event right now by visiting the <a href="https://summit.wpvirtualsummit.com/tickets/">tickets page</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 16 Aug 2019 23:16:21 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:18:"Jonathan Bossenger";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:1;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:81:"WPTavern: Automattic Acquires Zero BS CRM, Considers Rebranding it as Jetpack CRM";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92774";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:91:"https://wptavern.com/automattic-acquires-zero-bs-crm-considers-rebranding-it-as-jetpack-crm";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4972:"<p><a href="https://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Screen-Shot-2019-08-16-at-1.57.42-PM.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>Automattic has <a href="https://zerobscrm.com/zbs-blog/entrepreneurs/weve-joined-automattic/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">acquired</a> <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/zero-bs-crm/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Zero BS CRM</a>, a free plugin with more than 30 commercial <a href="https://zerobscrm.com/extensions/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">extensions</a> that provide deeper integrations with third-party services. Zero BS was co-founded by a two-person team that includes Mike Stott and Woody Hayday. The team marketed the plugin as a &#8220;no-nonsense CRM&#8221; and have been operating it with a successful <a href="https://zerobscrm.com/pricing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">subscription-based model</a> for bundles of extensions.</p>
<p>With just 1,000 active installs on WordPress.org, Zero BS was not previously a very well-known plugin but it caught Automattic&#8217;s attention based on the strength of the product.</p>
<p>&#8220;Automattic reached out to us after being a happy customer,&#8221; Stott said. Former Automattic executive John Maeda had used Zero BS CRM and recommended it to the company. Stott said the main appeal for the acquisition was &#8220;strong advocacy of the product.&#8221;</p>
<p>It started with a support ticket Zero BS CRM received from a user, asking about Mail Campaigns and how best to set up sequences for customers.</p>
<p>&#8220;What we didn’t realize was this user was linked to Automattic, and was becoming a strong advocate for our product within the company,&#8221; Stott said. &#8220;What followed was a series of conversations with leaders from different parts of Automattic.&#8221;</p>
<p>Talks regarding the deal began in February and carried on at WordCamp Europe 2019 in Berlin.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Great to meet <a href="https://twitter.com/photomatt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@photomatt</a> at WordCamp EU. He's still doing his daily press-up <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/strong?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#strong</a> <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/12.0.0-1/72x72/1f642.png" alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://t.co/QAstY9YrEc">pic.twitter.com/QAstY9YrEc</a></p>
<p>&mdash; ZBSCRM (@zerobscrm) <a href="https://twitter.com/zerobscrm/status/1142501444572110848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 22, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<h3>Jetpack CRM is a Strong Consideration for Rebranding</h3>
<p>Zero BS CRM will be rebranded as the team comes under the Automattic umbrella. The original name was somewhat polarizing in that potential customers either loved it or hated it.</p>
<p>Although the product&#8217;s founders have built extensions that connect WooCommerce stores to a CRM, Stott said the acquisition was not driven by Zero BS&#8217;s potential use with WooCommerce specifically.</p>
<p>&#8220;Variants will fit in well to Woo, Jetpack, as well as serving the standalone market,&#8221; Stott said. &#8220;If our users outgrow us, we will want to help them find the next step (similar to the Basecamp model).&#8221;</p>
<p>Yahoo Finance is <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/automattic-acquires-wordpress-plugin-zbs-130000149.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reporting</a> that Automattic will be rebranding the product as &#8220;Jetpack CRM,&#8221; but Stott said that has not been confirmed yet. He said Jetpack CRM is &#8220;the favorite so far internally but still open to discussion.&#8221; This may be a strong indication of what Automattic intends to do with the product.</p>
<p>Stott said they are not looking to compete against the likes of Salesforce or Hubspot but rather are focused on providing the basic concepts of a CRM &#8211; &#8220;knowing who your customers are, getting leads, and helping businesses grow.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Entrepreneur bundle is Zero BS&#8217;s most popular pricing plan, which includes all of the extensions and priority support for $17 per month, billed yearly. It accounts for approximately 75% of the company&#8217;s ARR. Stott said they do not have plans to stop the subscription model and will continue with their current pricing.</p>
<p>&#8220;We had planned to increase the price with v3.0 because with the updates and mail campaigns we felt we weren&#8217;t charging enough for the product,&#8221; Stott said. &#8220;But we&#8217;ve also found a good price point and Automattic didn&#8217;t want to change what was already working price wise.&#8221;</p>
<p>Next on the roadmap the team plans one of their most requested features: smart inbox linked to CRM data. They are aiming to release version 3.0 in September.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m excited to reach more customers and just keep on building to help people and SMBs achieve the best they can,&#8221; Stott said.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 16 Aug 2019 18:59:55 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:2;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:42:"Post Status: Chat with a WordPress skeptic";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://poststatus.com/?p=67358";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"https://poststatus.com/chat-with-a-wordpress-skeptic/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2078:"<p>I talked with Kira Leigh, a full-stack creative entrepreneur and consultant. Skeptic may be too strong of a word, but she makes it clear that she thinks WordPress is too often used when it&#8217;s not necessary.</p>



<p>Kira handles every part of her projects, which typically stem from marketing and copywriting, but she takes on design, development, and whatever is required to get the job done. She is the type of person who WordPress <em>should</em> be able to serve quite ably. But more often than not, she would rather steer clear.</p>



<p>In this episode of the Draft Podcast, I talk to Kira about her work, why she is pained by WordPress, and I try to come to some conclusions. I am not sure if I accomplished much, but I do feel like I am better able to see where she&#8217;s coming from.</p>



<p>This conversation stemmed from a friend sending me <a href="https://hackernoon.com/this-is-why-wordpress-sucks-and-you-should-probably-stop-using-it-v697y30v7">a post Kira wrote</a> that was (to my mind) a bit aggressive toward WordPress — and while perhaps not 100% accurate, it is 100% her perception of the reality of working with WordPress.</p>







<h3>Links from the show</h3>



<ul><li><a href="http://thereisno.design">There Is No Design</a> — Kira&#8217;s business</li><li>Kira on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirakiraleighleigh/">LinkedIn</a></li><li><a href="https://assemblyline.in">Assembly</a> — a pretty neat page builder I&#8217;ve never seen before</li></ul>



<h3>Sponsor: Pagely</h3>



<p><a href="https://pagely.com/">Pagely</a> offers best-in-class managed WordPress hosting, powered by Amazon&#8217;s Cloud, the Internet’s most reliable infrastructure. Pagely helps big brands scale WordPress. Their new platform <a href="https://northstack.com">NorthStack</a> is a completely serverless solution for managed application hosting. Thank you to <a href="https://pagely.com/">Pagely</a> for being a Post Status partner! <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/11.2.0/72x72/1f44d.png" alt="👍" class="wp-smiley" /></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 15 Aug 2019 21:30:31 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Brian Krogsgard";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:3;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:81:"WPTavern: Gutenberg 6.3 Improves Accessibility with New Navigation and Edit Modes";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92737";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:92:"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-6-3-improves-accessibility-with-new-navigation-and-edit-modes";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2778:"<p>Major accessibility improvements are the headline feature of this week&#8217;s Gutenberg plugin release. <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/08/14/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-august/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Version 6.3</a> introduces new Navigation and Editor modes to address long-standing problems navigating the block UI with a screen reader. The editor is now loaded in Navigation mode by default. Riad Benguella described it as &#8220;an important milestone in terms of accessibility of the editor&#8221; and explained how it works:</p>
<blockquote><p>It allows you to move from block to block using a single Tab press. You can also use the arrow keys to navigate between blocks. Once you reach the block you want to edit, you can enter the Edit Mode by hitting the Enter key. The Escape key allows you to move back to the Navigation Mode.</p></blockquote>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/navigation-mode.gif?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>These modes are still early in their development and will require more testing.</p>
<p>At WordCamp US 2018 in Nashville, Accessibility Team contributor <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/arush/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Amanda Rush</a> gave me a demonstration of what it is like to navigate Gutenberg with a screen reader. Using the editor was painfully difficult for even the simplest tasks, such as setting a title and writing paragraph content.</p>
<p>Since that time, the Gutenberg and Accessibility teams have made great strides towards improving this experience. The new interaction flow in the Navigation mode is one example of their progress. The teams have also worked together to tackle a collection of 84 issues that Tenon created on GitHub in May, based on the findings in <a href="https://wptavern.com/wpcampus-gutenberg-accessibility-audit-finds-significant-and-pervasive-accessibility-problems" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WPCampus&#8217; Gutenberg Accessibility Audit</a>. To date, <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=is%3Aissue+author%3Akarlgroves+" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">54 of those issues</a>, many of which were related to screen reader accessibility, have been resolved and marked as closed.</p>
<p>Other notable updates in Gutenberg 6.3 include support for text alignments in table block columns, border color support for the separator block, and improvements to the BlockPreview component, which allow developers to preview blocks in any context. Check out the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/08/14/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-august/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">release post</a> for the full list of all the changes in 6.3.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 15 Aug 2019 20:27:33 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:4;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:40:"Post Status: Is Tumblr a social network?";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://poststatus.com/?p=67306";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:50:"https://poststatus.com/is-tumblr-a-social-network/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2632:"<p>What the heck is <a href="https://tumblr.com">Tumblr</a>, anyway? I&#8217;ve never done a particularly deep dive into the platform, though it is <a href="https://poststatus.com/automattic-has-purchased-tumblr/">recently relevant</a> for my line of work.</p>



<p>I created a Tumblr back when WordPress was debating post formats — <a href="https://poststatus.com/post-formats-looking-back/">before they died</a>. I also did a small client project on Tumblr — which ended up being a tedious experiment of much custom HTML and CSS inside a customizer-like interface.</p>



<p>I never stopped to think what kind of platform Tumblr is. Is it a blog platform? A site builder? A social network?</p>



<p>Of those three particular options, I would&#8217;ve leaned on blog platform with a dose of light-CMS for tiny site building. I probably would&#8217;ve mostly dismissed a notion that it&#8217;s a social network. But perhaps that&#8217;s where it can be best.</p>



<p>When I visit Tumblr, I see tons of different content formats, mostly short-form and ephemeral — whether a meme, funny pic, quote, or news link. None of the gamified restrictions on the type of content exist on Tumblr, as is so well known on Instagram. It is a fairly simple feed based on the content posted or engaged with by the people you follow.</p>



<p>Tumblr feels like the whimsical side of blogging. Too often, when I blog, I feel like it better mean something. So usually I tweet, or I do something else that feels less permanent. This is a sad outcome, as I loved blogging in the weblog sense — before the arrival of &#8220;big-thought&#8221; blogs finely tuned to the desires of Google algos, carefully crafted with just the right CTAs, sub-heads, and content plans, all within a well-defined site structure.</p>



<p>All that serious businessy stuff is great, I guess. It makes sense. The &#8220;investment&#8221; in our content &#8220;strategies&#8221; — these words are making my old-school web self puke — are totally reasonable. For our businesses, personal brands, stores, and whatnot, we want a good ROI on our blogging. We have strategies.</p>



<p>What is fun about the Tumblr vibe is that it feels strategy-less. It feels social.</p>



<p>I&#8217;m gonna try to <a href="https://krogsgard.tumblr.com">Tumbl</a> for a while, see how it feels, how it works, and what happens. Am I worried about my brand, my audience development, my influence, my monetization strategy? Nah. I can do that on this site, or web-Twitter, or YouTube, or Instagram. I just want to have fun.</p>



<p>Maybe that&#8217;s where Tumblr can shine.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 15 Aug 2019 17:42:32 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Brian Krogsgard";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:5;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:107:"WPTavern: WordPress Theme Review Team Scraps Trusted Authors Program Due to Gaming and Inconsistent Reviews";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92690";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:118:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-theme-review-team-scraps-trusted-authors-program-due-to-gaming-and-inconsistent-reviews";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4459:"<p>After several months of discussion, WordPress.org&#8217;s Theme Review Team has decided to discontinue the Trusted Authors (TA) Program that <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2018/04/30/trusted-authors-program/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">launched in April 2018</a>. The program, which was controversial from its inception, allowed certain authors to bypass the normal theme review queue after demonstrating an ability to submit themes with fewer than three issues. Trusted Author theme submissions went to their own dedicated queue that was handled by team leads.</p>
<p>The objective of the program was to streamline the review process and lessen the burden on reviewers. When it failed to deliver the intended results, the Theme Review team leads made a unilateral decision behind closed doors, <a href="https://wptavern.com/theme-review-team-leadership-implements-controversial-changes-to-trusted-authors-program-requiring-theme-reviews-in-exchange-for-making-themes-live" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">implementing a change requiring TA participants to join the team</a> and perform a minimum number of reviews in order to continue having their own themes fast tracked through the review process. This was loudly decried by other members of the Theme Review team who were blindsided by the decision.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are removing the Trusted Author Program,&#8221; team lead William Patton announced in the most recent meeting. &#8220;It has not fulfilled the intended plan and has caused more problems than it is solving.&#8221;</p>
<p>Fellow team lead Sandilya Kafle outlined the reasons in a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2019/08/14/trusted-author-program-a-year-of-its-journey/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">post</a> published today. The entrance requirements for the program did not ensure that participants were truly &#8220;trusted&#8221; authors, as many had to be removed for gaming the system. Reviewers also reported that there was a group of people releasing clones of themes every week.</p>
<p>&#8220;We got lots of help from the TA authors – for which we’d like to thank them,&#8221; Kafle said. &#8220;However, there was still gaming from some of the authors – which resulted in their removal from the TA program. One of the intentions of the TA program was to reduce the gaming by the use of multiple accounts. However, we still saw some authors having multiple accounts so this intention was not realized though the program existing.&#8221;</p>
<p>The TA program&#8217;s entrance requirements also did not ensure that participants were prepared to review themes at a high level, which resulted in inconsistent reviews.</p>
<p>&#8220;We strongly believed that TA members were highly familiar with the requirements but we found that was not the case for all of them,&#8221; Kafle said. &#8220;Additionally, some authors did not feel confident enough in their own understanding of all requirements to perform reviews and set themes live. Instead many TA reviews went to the admin queue after approval. This was an indicator that the quality of the themes by TA&#8217;s may not be as high as expected.&#8221;</p>
<p>Most of the Theme Review team members present in the meeting were generally agreed on shutting the TA program down. Alexandru Cosmin, the former team lead who introduced the program, was the only vocal outlier, whose acrid responses to scrapping the program reflect a long-standing frustration with the slow queue.</p>
<p>&#8220;Honest opinion, and I could bet on this: by the end of the year we&#8217;ll have 5-month queues and multi-accounters,&#8221; Cosmin said. &#8220;We&#8217;ll see how fair it will be when you have guys with 15 accounts and authors complaining in the main chat about how long the queue is.&#8221;</p>
<p>Today&#8217;s decision to discontinue the TA program restores the natural order to the queue, with all theme authors receiving the same treatment. Tying an incentive program to the review system was ineffective for taming the queue.</p>
<p>Long queues and gaming the system have proven to be continual struggles for the Theme Review Team, but the existence of these problems underscores the significance of the official themes directory for theme shops. Companies continue to use WordPress.org to gain users for their commercial versions, and the directory remains an important distribution channel for WordPress themes.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 14 Aug 2019 22:01:41 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:6;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:18:"Matt: On Vergecast";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:22:"https://ma.tt/?p=49979";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://ma.tt/2019/08/on-vergecast/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:495:"<p>If you&#8217;d like some more background and context on Tumblr and Automattic coming together I had a chance to have <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/14/20804894/tumblr-acquisition-matt-mullenweg-ceo-automattic-wordpress-verizon-changes-vergecast">a short but nuanced conversation with Nilay Patel and Julia Alexander on The Verge&#8217;s podcast, Vergecast</a>. I love how great journalists are able to really dive into the heart of issues, and I really enjoyed the conversation.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 14 Aug 2019 19:59:35 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:7;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"WPTavern: Write for WP Tavern";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92673";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:40:"https://wptavern.com/write-for-wp-tavern";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1146:"<p>WP Tavern is hiring full-time writers. We are looking for reporters with the ability to write WordPress news every day, covering a wide range of topics, including (but not limited to) Gutenberg, core development, community, open source software,  plugin and theme ecosystems, Tumblr, developer trends, and the open web.</p>



<p>The position requires the ability to discern the immediacy of stories that need to be told, attention to accuracy, and the ability to cultivate sources. Applicants must have a commitment to serve the public interest and remain impervious to a constant barrage of companies wanting to influence the press. A deep knowledge of the WordPress ecosystem is helpful for this position.</p>



<p>WP Tavern is, by reputation, WordPress’ newspaper of record. We are looking for writers who can approach this community with a critical and unbiased point of view,  preserving the independent and provocative spirit of the Tavern. Interested applicants should use the <a href="https://wptavern.com/contact-me">contact form</a> to get in touch, and be prepared to submit at least three writing samples for consideration.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 14 Aug 2019 16:34:34 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:8;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:107:"WPTavern: New mycamp.rocks Newsletter Launches with Tips for Conference Organizers, Speakers, and Attendees";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92656";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:116:"https://wptavern.com/new-mycamp-rocks-newsletter-launches-with-tips-for-conference-organizers-speakers-and-attendees";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3713:"<p><a href="http://davidbisset.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">David Bisset</a> launched <a href="https://mycamp.rocks/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mycamp.rocks</a> today, a newsletter targeted at conference organizers, speakers, and attendees. The WordPress newsletter landscape is currently dominated by general industry and developer news digests, such as <a href="https://masterwp.co/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Master WP</a>, <a href="https://wpmail.me" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WpMail.me</a>, <a href="https://poststatus.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Post Status</a>, and <a href="https://thewpdaily.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The WP Daily</a>. mycamp.rocks is the first newsletter to drill down into community event topics and will be sending out new tips every Tuesday.</p>
<p>Bisset has helped organize WordCamp Miami, meetups, and other events for more than a decade. He has accumulated a large store of knowledge, resources, and experience managing all the minutiae of conference organization. The <a href="https://mycamp.rocks/august-13-2019/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of the newsletter includes tips on badge design, lanyards, dealing with rejection as a speaker applicant, communicating special diet requests, and other miscellaneous topics. He is intentionally keeping the focus broad and not limiting it to WordPress events.</p>
<p>Bisset said he decided to go the newsletter route, as opposed to creating a blog, because he was inspired by some developers experimenting with the same format. Newsletters tend to get mixed into an inbox management routine and are more likely to receive attention than websites that broadcast their posts to social media.</p>
<p>&#8220;Perhaps with busy lives people are appreciating small emails,&#8221; Bisset said. &#8220;For some it&#8217;s hard to keep checking a website and I think people are avoiding social media (or filtering it down). So email once again is becoming a good solution for delivering tips, especially if the emails are short and happen once a week.&#8221;</p>
<p>Bisset said the email format is an experiment, since the website is updated with the newsletter information anyway. He plans to evaluate after a month to see if more people are visiting the website versus opening the emails.</p>
<p>The newsletter has already received some feedback that Bisset plans to implement, such as separating the tips that work best for small events, like meetups, and larger conference-type events.</p>
<p>WordCamp US announced last week that it will host <a href="https://2019.us.wordcamp.org/2019/08/08/wordcamp-us-debuts-community-track/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a dedicated track for community-related topics</a>, such as meetups, diversity, inclusion, and kids camps. Bisset said he sees this as a significant development in support of community members and event leaders.</p>
<p>&#8220;Community is the biggest strength of WordPress itself,&#8221; Bisset said. &#8220;Many people have asked for and needed some direction, tips, or general knowledge on how to better run meetups, contributor days, WordCamps, and kid&#8217;s events. I think we&#8217;ve also seen over the past year or two some communication problems in the community itself, and I think addressing all of these things on a national stage like WCUS leads us down the road of educating people on how to improve our interactions with fellow community members. Those members could be fellow organizers, fellow contributors, or just anyone that we interact with &#8211; regardless of their gender, background, or age.&#8221;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 13 Aug 2019 22:37:04 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:9;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:26:"Matt: Tumblr the Day After";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:22:"https://ma.tt/?p=49968";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:43:"https://ma.tt/2019/08/tumblr-the-day-after/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3133:"<p>It is not surprising that the news about <a href="https://photomatt.tumblr.com/post/186964618222/automattic-tumblr">Automattic buying Tumblr</a> has <a href="https://www.techmeme.com/190812/p22#a190812p22">picked up a lot of coverage</a>. I especially appreciated the notes of support <a href="https://www.davidslog.com/186979222210/just-wanted-to-add-my-congratulations-and-thank">from Tumblr founder David Karp</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/marcoarment/status/1161015149563645953">former CTO Marco Arment</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/bijan/status/1161295918123163648">investor Bijan Sabet</a>. I am beyond excited to see what the Tumblr team creates next, and I will definitely be connecting with alumni to hear their perspective.</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Just wanted to add my congratulations and thank you to everyone at WordPress and Tumblr.<br /><br />Matt is a visionary, and the team at WordPress has built something absolutely foundational to the Internet. What an amazing home and opportunity for Tumblr.<a href="https://t.co/6AVXBVuUr1">https://t.co/6AVXBVuUr1</a></p>&mdash; David Karp (@davidkarp) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidkarp/status/1161253181315330050?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 13, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>



<p>There has also been a lot of speculation on the purchase price, which I think is missing the real story. I would like to take this opportunity to express my respect for Verizon and how they approached this entire process. They inherited Tumblr through an acquisition of a merger, a few steps removed from its initial sale; it&#8217;s probably not a company they would have bought on its own, but they nonetheless recognized that there is a very special community and team behind the product. It&#8217;s also worth noting at this point that Verizon is a company that <a href="https://www.verizon.com/about/news-tag/earnings-and-investor-conferences">will do over $130B in revenue this year</a> and has over 139,000 employees.</p>



<p>First, they chose to find a new home for Tumblr instead of shutting it down. Second, they considered not just how much cash they would get on day one, but also &#8212; and especially &#8212; what would happen to the team afterward, and how the product and the team would be invested in going forward. Third, they thought about the sort of steward of the community the new owner would be. They didn&#8217;t have to do any of that, and I commend them for making all three points a priority. </p>



<p><a href="https://automattic.com/">Automattic</a> is still a startup &#8212; I&#8217;m sure there are deep-pocketed private equity firms that could have outbid us, but the most likely outcome then would have been an &#8220;asset&#8221; getting chopped up and sold for parts. (This is a caricature and there are PE firms I like, but it&#8217;s not a terrible stretch of the imagination.) Instead, Tumblr has a new chance to redefine itself in 2019 and beyond. Its community is joining with WordPress&#8217; 16-year commitment to open source and the open web. </p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 13 Aug 2019 21:38:10 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:10;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:87:"WPTavern: Automattic Acquires Tumblr, Plans to Rebuild the Backend Powered by WordPress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92627";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:97:"https://wptavern.com/automattic-acquires-tumblr-plans-to-rebuild-the-backend-powered-by-wordpress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:7202:"<p>Automattic has acquired Tumblr, a long-time friendly rival company, for an undisclosed sum. Just six years after Yahoo acquired Tumblr for $1.1 billion, the company is said to have been acquired for &#8220;a nominal amount&#8221; from Verizon, who indirectly acquired Tumblr when it bought Yahoo in 2017.</p>
<p>Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg declined to comment on the financial deals of the acquisition, but a source familiar to <a href="https://www.axios.com/verizon-tumblr-wordpress-automattic-e6645edd-bc73-45c2-9380-9fe8ca34291f.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Axios</a> puts the deal &#8220;well south of $20 million.&#8221;</p>
<p>Tumblr is Automattic&#8217;s biggest acquisition yet in terms of product users and employees gained. The microblogging and social networking website currently hosts 475.1 million blogs, for which Automattic will now assume operating costs. All 200 of Tumblr&#8217;s employees will be moving over to Automattic, bringing the company&#8217;s total employee count over 1,000.</p>
<p>Mullenweg took to the <a href="https://poststatus.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Post Status</a> community Slack channel for an impromptu Q&amp;A this afternoon where he discussed more of Automattic&#8217;s plans for Tumblr. He outlined a brief roadmap for Tumblr&#8217;s future that includes re-architecting its backend with WordPress:</p>
<ol>
<li>Move infrastructure off Verizon</li>
<li>Support same APIs on both WP.com and Tumblr</li>
<li>Switch backend to be WP</li>
<li>Open source Tumblr.com client similar to Calypso</li>
</ol>
<p>&#8220;WordPress is an open source web operating system that can power pretty much anything, including Tumblr.com, but it&#8217;s also a large property so will take a bit to figure out and migrate,&#8221; Mullenweg said.</p>
<p>Automattic doesn&#8217;t currently have plans to change the frontend Tumblr experience. Mullenweg said the Tumblr mobile app gets 20x more daily signups than the WordPress app. &#8220;It&#8217;s working amazingly well, despite being fairly constrained in what they can launch the past few years,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Tumblr changed its adult content policy in December 2018, banning pornographic content which reportedly accounted for <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2013/05/20/tumblrs-adult-fare-accounts-for-11-4-of-sites-top-200k-domains-tumblrs-adult-fare-accounts-for-11-4-of-sites-top-200k-domains-adults-sites-are-leading-category-of-referrals/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">22.37 percent of incoming referral traffic from external sites</a> in 2013 when it was acquired by Yahoo. Automattic has a similar content policy in place for WordPress.com and Mullenweg confirmed that the company does not plan to lift the ban on adult content.</p>
<p>&#8220;Adult content is not our forte either, and it creates a huge number of potential issues with app stores, payment providers, trust and safety&#8230; it&#8217;s a problem area best suited for companies fully dedicated to creating a great experience there,&#8221; Mullenweg <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20679894" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a> in response to questions on Hacker News. &#8220;I personally have very liberal views on these things, but supporting adult content as a business is very different.&#8221;</p>
<h3>Automattic&#8217;s Tumblr Acquisition Opens Up New Possibilities for E-Commerce, Plugins, and Themes</h3>
<p>Beyond this initial roadmap Mullenweg outlined, he also said he thinks &#8220;e-commerce on Tumblr is a great idea,&#8221; with simpler features developed first. In the past, Tumblr users who wanted to add e-commerce to their sites would need to use a service like Shopify or Ecwid and generate a Tumblr-compatible widget. Users would have to move to a self-hosted site on another platform in order to get more full-featured e-commerce capabilities. Automattic has the ability to build e-commerce into the platform using WooCommerce or any number of other existing solutions for simpler sales features.</p>
<p>An emerging Tumblr/WordPress plugin and theme ecosystem is also a possibility but may not affect the wider WordPress ecosystem as much unless Automattic opens up the Tumblr marketplace to third-party developers. Mullenweg said once Tumblr&#8217;s backend is on WordPress, the idea of plugins can be explored. Whether that is on a private network, like WordPress.com, or a new breed of self-hosted Tumblr sites, is yet to be seen.</p>
<p>Automattic&#8217;s apparent bargain basement deal on Tumblr is good news for the preservation of the open web, as the company is committed to supporting independent publishing. Migrating Tumblr&#8217;s infrastructure to WordPress also expands WordPress&#8217; market share with a significantly younger user base. A study conducted by <a href="https://weareflint.co.uk/main-findings-social-media-demographics-uk-usa-2018" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">We Are Flint</a> in 2018 found 43 percent of internet users between the ages of 18 to 24 years old used Tumblr.</p>
<p>Tumblr&#8217;s primary demographic thrives on community and its current feature set is built to support that. If Automattic can preserve Tumblr&#8217;s distinct community and convenient publishing, while invisibly re-architecting it to use WordPress, users could potentially enjoy seamless transitions across platforms to suit their publishing needs. This improves the likelihood that this generation of internet users will continue to own their own content instead of tossing it away on social media silos that feed on users&#8217; most important thoughts, writings, and memories.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m very excited about Tumblr&#8217;s next chapter and looking forward working with Matt Mullenweg and the entire team at Automattic,&#8221; Tumblr CEO Jeff D&#8217;Onofrio said. &#8220;I&#8217;m most excited for what this means for the entire Tumblr community. There is much more to do to make your experience a better one, and I&#8217;m super confident that we are in great hands with this news. Tumblr and WordPress share common founding principles. The plane has landed on a friendly runway. Now it is time to freshen up the jets.&#8221;</p>
<p>In the <a href="https://photomatt.tumblr.com/post/186964618222/automattic-tumblr" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">announcement on his Tumblr blog</a>, Mullenweg said he sees &#8220;some good opportunities to standardize on the Open Source WordPress tech stack.&#8221; This migration will undoubtedly be a formidable technical challenge and Mullenweg <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20680634" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">promised to document the team&#8217;s work</a> after it is complete. In the meantime, the Tumblr team has new functionality they plan to introduce after the acquisition is officially closed.</p>
<p>&#8220;When the possibility to join forces became concrete, it felt like a once-in-a-generation opportunity to have two beloved platforms work alongside each other to build a better, more open, more inclusive – and, frankly, more fun web,&#8221; Mullenweg said. &#8220;I knew we had to do it.&#8221;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 13 Aug 2019 03:18:29 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:11;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:95:"WPTavern: WooCommerce 3.7 Introduces New Blocks, Updates Minimum WordPress and PHP Requirements";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92601";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:105:"https://wptavern.com/woocommerce-3-7-introduces-new-blocks-updates-minimum-wordpress-and-php-requirements";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5022:"<p><a href="https://woocommerce.wordpress.com/2019/08/12/woocommerce-3-7-has-landed/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WooCommerce 3.7</a> was released today after four months in development. This minor release is backwards compatible with previous versions. Despite containing more than <a href="https://github.com/woocommerce/woocommerce/compare/release/3.6...release/3.7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">1,290 commits</a>, 3.7 is smaller than previous releases, as the WooCommerce team is working towards delivering more frequent releases to improve the stability of the platform.</p>
<p>WooCommerce 3.7 bundles updates from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/woo-gutenberg-products-block/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WooCommerce Blocks</a> feature plugin <a href="https://woocommerce.wordpress.com/2019/08/12/woocommerce-blocks-2-3-release-notes/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">version 2.3</a>, including the following new blocks and enhancements to existing blocks:</p>
<ul>
<li>A new focal point picker on the Featured Product block</li>
<li>A new Product Categories List block</li>
<li>A new Featured Category block</li>
<li>A new Products By Tag(s) block</li>
<li>Featured Product now allows for featuring a product by variation, linking to the product page with the variation pre-selected</li>
</ul>
<p>Here&#8217;s an example of the featured category block, which lets store owners stay right inside the editor to select the category and see an instant preview of the content.</p>
<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/featured-category-block.gif?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>WooCommerce developers are working on creating more block editor capabilities for store owners. Future versions of the WooCommerce Blocks plugin will include new blocks for product filtering and for displaying product reviews. These will be tested first through the WooCommerce Blocks feature plugin before being added to core.</p>
<h3>WooCommerce 3.7 Requires WordPress 4.9+ and PHP 5.6+</h3>
<p>This release bumps the minimum required WordPress version to 4.9 and the minimum required PHP version to 5.6. There are new upgrade nudges in WooCommerce 3.6, alerting users who will need to to upgrade WordPress and PHP versions in order to update their stores to WooCommerce 3.7.</p>
<p>The increased minimum versions allows WooCommerce developers to include new and more performant code in future versions of the plugin. It also enables them to utilize PHP packages. The Product Blocks and REST API functionality have been removed from core and are now loaded via Composer.</p>
<h3>WooCommerce Blocks Rebranded</h3>
<p>Users may notice some visual changes to how WooCommerce blocks appear in the editor. The blocks have been updated to better reflect the WooCommerce brand. This is becoming more common, as plugins with multiple blocks carve out their own branded spaces in the block inserter.</p>
<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/blocks-rebrnded.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>A few other notable enhancements in WooCommerce 3.7 include the following:</p>
<ul>
<li>Email Settings: New &#8220;Additional Content&#8221; sections replace the old hardcoded &#8220;Thanks&#8221; sections so store owners don&#8217;t have to override templates to change the wording</li>
<li>Coupon admin pages: Automatically generate new coupon codes with the click of a button</li>
<li>Performance improvements, new dedicated table for tax classes, reduced number of queries to populate variations, excluding Action Scheduler tasks from comments queries to speed up page load times</li>
</ul>
<p>The <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/woocommerce-admin/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WooCommerce Admin</a> feature plugin continues to make progress and currently has 300,000 active installations. The plugin provides a new JavaScript-based dashboard for monitoring store reports and sales metrics. <a href="https://woocommerce.wordpress.com/2019/07/13/woocommerce-admin-v0-15-0/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Recent updates</a> include more data on the Customer Report page, improved navigation bar design, and an improved Stock Activity panel that automatically responds to inventory updates. Store owners who want to preview this functionality in WooCommerce can install the feature plugin.</p>
<p>Version 3.7 should not cause any backwards compatibility issues but the update includes a few database upgrade routines. The WooCommerce team recommends those with large amounts of data in their databases to upgrade using the WP CLI command wp wc update, instead of through the admin. Check out the <a href="https://woocommerce.wordpress.com/2019/08/12/woocommerce-3-7-has-landed/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">release post</a> and <a href="https://woocommerce.wordpress.com/2019/07/16/woocommerce-3-7-beta-1/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">beta announcement</a> for more details.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 12 Aug 2019 20:41:30 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:12;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:79:"Post Status: Automattic — the maker of WordPress.com — has purchased Tumblr";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://poststatus.com/?p=67143";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:55:"https://poststatus.com/automattic-has-purchased-tumblr/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:10424:"<p>Automattic — which owns WordPress.com — has acquired Tumblr and about 200 employees from Verizon, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/verizon-to-sell-tumblr-to-wordpress-owner-11565640000">according to</a> <em>The Wall Street Journal</em> and confirmed in Post Status Slack by Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg.</p>



<p>Tumblr has had a rocky road since their sale to Yahoo! in 2013 for $1.1 billion. Yahoo! is now owned by Verizon — whose entire content and platform lineup is a mess. The WSJ <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/verizon-looks-to-unload-tumblr-blogging-site-11556823135">reported in May</a> that Verizon was shopping Tumblr.</p>



<p>The most recent controversy for Tumblr was a community revolt over the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/3/18123752/tumblr-adult-content-porn-ban-date-explicit-changes-why-safe-mode">treatment of adult content</a>. Matt says Tumblr&#8217;s new adult content policy will stay in place under the new ownership. On Hacker News, <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20679894">he said</a>, &#8220;Adult content is not our forte either, and it creates a huge number of potential issues with app stores, payment providers, trust and safety&#8230; it&#8217;s a problem area best suited for companies fully dedicated to creating a great experience there. I personally have very liberal views on these things, but supporting adult content as a business is very different.&#8221;</p>



<p>Matt tells me the initial goals for Tumblr are:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>1. Move infrastructure off Verizon.<br />2. Support same APIs on both&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://slack-redir.net/link?url=http%3A%2F%2FWP.com">WP.com</a>&nbsp;and Tumblr.<br />3. Switch backend to be WP.<br />4. Open source&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://slack-redir.net/link?url=http%3A%2F%2FTumblr.com">Tumblr.com</a>&nbsp;client similar to Calypso.</p></blockquote>



<p>Tumblr will remain a separate brand. There is a dedicated Tumblr community even after years of neglect and confusion. Still, Matt says Tumblr&#8217;s user base is &#8220;several times larger than [WordPress.com&#8217;s].&#8221; </p>



<p>The Tumblr backend will change its technology, but the front-end experience will stay similar to what it is today, as Automattic &#8220;[doesn&#8217;t] want to change what&#8217;s working.&#8221; Matt said Tumblr&#8217;s interface is &#8220;working amazingly well, despite being fairly constrained in what they can launch [the] past few years.&#8221;</p>



<p>There are several potential wins here for Automattic. For one, they gain a committed community for pennies on the dollar compared to the $1.1 billion Yahoo! paid — a classic Yahoo! exit.</p>



<p>While the WSJ called the purchase amount &#8220;nominal&#8221; for Verizon, Matt says he considers the brand &#8220;super valuable, but right now not making as much as they could or should.&#8221;</p>



<p>Dan Primack of Axios is reporting a &#8220;source familiar&#8221; put the price &#8220;well south of $20 million.&#8221;</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Automattic paid peanuts for Tumblr. Source familiar puts it well south of $20 million.<br /><br />Reminder: Yahoo paid $1.1 billion for it.<a href="https://t.co/N63c5y3MEh">https://t.co/N63c5y3MEh</a></p>&mdash; Dan Primack (@danprimack) <a href="https://twitter.com/danprimack/status/1161015743531618305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>



<p>Primack later stated the upfront sale price was less than $3 million.</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">3/ Story updated: Price less than $3 million.</p>&mdash; Dan Primack (@danprimack) <a href="https://twitter.com/danprimack/status/1161038705295089664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>



<p>In Post Status Slack, Matt noted that &#8220;adding ~200 people and porting all of Tumblr to Automattic is non-trivial and by far the largest investment or acquisition Automattic has ever made.&#8221; </p>



<p>While unrelated to the upfront cost, the ongoing costs Automattic is taking on — and Verizon was surely quite keen to unload — is significant. The development and hosting effort will surely cost millions per year, not counting employee expenses. Automattic&#8217;s <a href="https://poststatus.com/automattic-acquired-woocommerce-woothemes/">largest previous acquisition</a> — of WooCommerce — was about $30M in cash and stock. Thas is probably not far from the annual cost of the Tumblr employees Automattic is taking on now.</p>



<p>In recent years Automattic has put much more energy into effective monetization, and I have no doubt they can do significantly better than the sprawling Verizon organization Tumblr languished under.</p>



<p>Again <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20679711">on Hacker News</a>, Matt noted, &#8220;We&#8217;ve been evolving Automattic to be more of a Berkshire Hathaway-inspired model and businesses with a lot of autonomy, and this [acquisition] continues that trend.&#8221; This is interesting, particularly as Berkshire is known to let portfolio companies operate quite independently, and of course, Berkshire CEO Warren Buffet is famous for being a savvy value investor. Tumblr is definitely a deep value play at this price.</p>



<p>With Tumblr&#8217;s acquisition, Automattic has an opportunity to diversify its own brands — <a href="https://poststatus.com/resources/wordpress-versus-automattic/">WordPress vs WordPress.com</a> is always very confusing. (Legacy and tech media will surely screw it up talking about this acquisition.) Inevitably different cultures and web communities drift to different spaces online — think Instagram and Facebook, for instance. </p>



<p>Tumblr is a very browse-heavy platform. The potential for eCommerce on such a platform could be significant. Matt said in chat that he thinks &#8220;eCommerce on Tumblr is a great idea.&#8221; I can also see a world where Tumblr could be shaped into a primarily mobile product — a more direct (and more privacy-focused) implementation of what Instagram is, with a similar, minimal interface.</p>



<p>I would really love this, and Matt hints at some alignment on that front. In response to a comment speculating they&#8217;d wind Tumblr down, he said the plan was the opposite because &#8220;the web needs open and independent publishing and social media more than ever.&#8221; I know from my own conversations with Matt that he&#8217;s thinking about this a lot now. The way he plugged &#8220;social media&#8221; in that statement makes me think it&#8217;s at the top of mind inrelation to Tumblr.</p>



<p>If Tumblr is open-sourced, a plugin ecosystem could work there as well. Matt says that &#8220;when [Tumblr] is on [WP&#8217;s] backend that [idea] &#8230; can be explored.&#8221; So a plugin market for Tumblr is not off the table, but it doesn&#8217;t sound like third-party extensibility is an immediate priority. I think the initial goals is to revive a large community and keep to the basics.</p>



<p>Matt Mullenweg now <a href="https://photomatt.tumblr.com/">has a Tumblr himself</a>. He posted his own <a href="https://photomatt.tumblr.com/post/186964618222/automattic-tumblr">announcement</a> of the acquisition there, where he wrote:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>I have worked on WordPress my entire adult life — 16 years now — and so the democratization of publishing is near and dear to my heart. Tumblr and WordPress have always been very philosophically aligned there.</p><p>When the possibility to join forces became concrete, it felt like a once-in-a-generation opportunity to have two beloved platforms work alongside each other to build a better, more open, more inclusive – and, frankly, more fun web. I knew we had to do it.</p></blockquote>



<p>Everyone loves to have a say on social media, but this move is well regarded so far in the tech space. It&#8217;s nice when a company makes a save-attempt on something good that&#8217;s been presumed &#8220;dead.&#8221;</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I'm happy for the Tumblr community and hope Tumblr goes free software like WordPress. Local federated Tumblr would be a lot of fun.</p>&mdash; Paul Ford (@ftrain) <a href="https://twitter.com/ftrain/status/1161017044172718080?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div><br />



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is pretty cool. Can’t think of a better owner today than Automattic for Tumblr’s huge creative publishing community. <a href="https://t.co/G9pVtpjKJ9">https://t.co/G9pVtpjKJ9</a></p>&mdash; Marco Arment (@marcoarment) <a href="https://twitter.com/marcoarment/status/1161015149563645953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>



<p>The CEO of Tumblr, Jeff D&#8217;Onofrio, said the following <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffdonof/status/1161034494465519620">on Twitter</a>:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>I’m very excited about Tumblr’s next chapter and looking forward to working with <a href="https://twitter.com/photomatt">@photomatt</a> and the entire team at Automattic.  I’m most excited for what this means for the entire Tumblr community.  There is much more to do to make your experience a better one, and I’m super confident that we are in great hands with this news.  Tumblr and WordPress share common founding principles. The plane has landed on a friendly runway.  Now it is time to freshen up the jets.   </p></blockquote>



<p>There will be more to come from Post Status about Tumblr joining the Automattic family of properties and also how it fits in the broader WordPress ecosystem. To my mind, porting a decaying but massive platform to an actively developed WordPress stack is a huge net positive for the web. </p>



<p>Additionally, the potential to further develop Tumblr, specifically in the social networking space, could be a beacon for a more user-centric web with clear offramps — it&#8217;s just WordPress! — for folks to protect and own their own data.</p>



<p>I am optimistic.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 12 Aug 2019 20:15:03 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Brian Krogsgard";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:13;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:52:"WordPress.org blog: People of WordPress: Amanda Rush";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=7047";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:67:"https://wordpress.org/news/2019/08/people-of-wordpress-amanda-rush/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6508:"<p><em>You’ve probably heard that WordPress is open source software, and may know that it’s created and run by volunteers. WordPress enthusiasts share many examples of how WordPress changed people’s lives for the better. This monthly series shares some of those lesser-known, amazing stories.</em></p>



<h2><strong>Meet Amanda Rush from Augusta, Georgia, USA.</strong></h2>



<p>Amanda Rush is a WordPress advocate with a visual disability. She first started using computers in 1985, which enabled her to turn in homework to her sighted teachers. Screen reader technology for Windows was in its infancy then, so she worked in DOS almost exclusively.</p>



<p>After graduating high school, Amanda went to college to study computer science, programming with DOS-based tools since compilers for Windows were still inaccessible. As part of her computer science course of study, she learned HTML which began her career in web development.</p>



<h2><strong>How Amanda </strong>got started with WordPress</h2>



<p>Amanda began maintaining a personal website, and eventually began publishing her own content using LiveJournal. However, controlling the way the page around her content looked was hard, and she soon outgrew the hosted solution.</p>



<p>So in 2005, Amanda bought customerservant.com, set up a very simple CMS for blogging, and started publishing there. She accepted the lack of design and content, and lack of easy customization because she wasn’t willing to code her own solution. Nor did she want to move to another hosted solution, as she liked being able to customize her own site, as well as publish content.</p>



<h3><strong>Hebrew dates led her to WordPress</strong></h3>



<p>At some point, Amanda was looking for an easy way to display the Hebrew dates alongside the Gregorian dates on her blog entries. Unfortunately, the blogging software she was using at the time, did not offer customization options at that level. She decided to research alternative solutions and came across a WordPress plugin that did just that.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The fact that WordPress would not keep her locked into a visual editor, used themes to customize styling, and offered ways to mark up content, immediately appealed to Amanda. She decided to give it a go.</p>



<h3><strong>Accessibility caused her to dive deeper</strong></h3>



<p>When the software Amanda used at work became completely inaccessible, she started learning about WordPress. While she was learning about this new software, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0">Web 2.0</a> was introduced. The lack of support for it in the screen reader she used meant that WordPress administration was completely inaccessible. To get anything done, Amanda needed to learn to find her way in WordPress’ file structure.</p>



<p>Eventually Amanda started working as an independent contractor for the largest screen reader developer in the market, Freedom Scientific. She worked from home every day and hacked on WordPress after hours.</p>



<p>Unfortunately Amanda hit a rough patch when her job at Freedom Scientific ended. Using her savings she undertook further studies for various Cisco and Red Hat certifications, only to discover that the required testing for these certifications were completely inaccessible. She could study all she wanted, but wasn’t able to receive grades to pass the courses.</p>



<p>She lost her financial aid, her health took a turn for the worse, she was diagnosed with Lupus, and lost her apartment. Amanda relocated to Augusta where she had supportive friends who offered her a couch and a roof over her head.</p>



<h3><strong>But Amanda refused to give up</strong></h3>



<p>Amanda continued to hack WordPress through all of this. It was the only stable part of her life. She wanted to help make WordPress accessible for people with disabilities, and in 2012 joined the&nbsp; WordPress Accessibility Team. Shortly after that, she finally got her own place to live, and started thinking about what she was going to do with the rest of her working life.</p>



<p>Listening to podcasts led her to take part in <a href="http://wordsesh.org/">WordSesh</a>, which was delivered completely online and enabled Amanda to participate without needing to travel. She began to interact with WordPress people on Twitter, and continued to contribute to the community as part of the WordPress Accessibility Team. Things had finally started to pick up.</p>



<h2><strong>Starting her own business</strong></h2>



<p>In 2014, Amanda officially launched her own business, <a href="http://www.customerservant.com/">Customer Servant Consultancy</a>. Since WordPress is open source, and becoming increasingly accessible, Amanda could modify WordPress to build whatever she wanted and not be at the mercy of web and application developers who know nothing about accessibility. And if she got stuck, she could tap into the community and its resources.</p>



<p>Improving her circumstances and becoming more self-sufficient means Amanda was able to take back some control over her life in general. She was able to gain independence and create her own business despite being part of the blind community, which has an 80% unemployment rate.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In her own words:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><em>We’re still fighting discrimination in the workplace, and we’re still fighting for equal access when it comes to the technology we use to do our jobs. But the beauty of WordPress and its community is that we can create opportunities for ourselves.</em></p><p><em>I urge my fellow blind community members to join me inside this wonderful thing called WordPress. Because it will change your lives if you let it.</em></p><cite>Amanda Rush, entrepreneur</cite></blockquote>



<hr class="wp-block-separator" />



<div class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2019/07/heropress_large_white_logo-1.jpg?fit=632%2C474&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-7026" width="110" height="83" /></div>



<p><em>This post is based on an article originally published on HeroPress.com, a community initiative created by <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/topher1kenobe/">Topher DeRosia</a>. HeroPress highlights people in the WordPress community who have overcome barriers and whose stories would otherwise go unheard.</em></p>



<p><em>Meet more WordPress community members over at </em><a href="https://heropress.com/"><em>HeroPress.com</em></a><em>!</em></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 09 Aug 2019 21:23:23 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"Yvette Sonneveld";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:14;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:70:"WPTavern: BuddyPress 5.0 to Add Category for Storing BuddyPress Blocks";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92240";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:81:"https://wptavern.com/buddypress-5-0-to-add-category-for-storing-buddypress-blocks";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1506:"<p>BuddyPress 5.0 will include a way for developers to organize their blocks under a <a href="https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/12418" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BuddyPress blocks category</a>. Mathieu Viet <a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2019/07/31/a-category-to-store-your-buddypress-blocks/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">shared a code example</a> on the BuddyPress Dev Updates blog, demonstrating how to set the category property of a block to BuddyPress when registering a block type. The blocks registered with this category will appear under the BuddyPress panel in the block inserter.</p>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/buddypress-blocks-panel.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>As the block ecosystem expands, keeping things organized inside the block inserter is becoming more important. BuddyPress having its own designated category helps user find blocks faster, especially if they don&#8217;t know the exact block name to search for, or if they are just browsing to see what blocks are available. With the <a href="https://wptavern.com/buddypress-5-0-to-introduce-bp-rest-api-first-beta-due-mid-august" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BP REST API set to land in the 5.0 release</a>, blocks will be easier for BuddyPress developers to create.</p>
<p>BuddyPress 5.0.0-beta1 is expected to be released around August 15. Subsequent release dates are yet to be confirmed following feedback on the beta.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 09 Aug 2019 19:10:45 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:15;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:87:"WPTavern: Build Customizer Settings Faster by Using the Kirki Framework in Your Project";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92405";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:98:"https://wptavern.com/build-customizer-settings-faster-by-using-the-kirki-framework-in-your-project";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:10422:"<p><a href="https://kirki.org">Kirki</a> is a free open-source (MIT-licensed) framework built for developers who are looking to add Customizer Controls to their themes or plugins.</p>



<p>Aristeides Stathopoulos, Kirki&#8217;s lead developer has been working on the framework <a href="https://wptavern.com/kirki-a-free-plugin-to-style-the-wordpress-customizer-and-add-advanced-controls">since 2014</a>. Thanks to the continuous updates and improvements, Kirki has built a community on Github which includes over 1000 stars and 300 forks.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>Before Kirki I never touched the customizer. Kirki helped me to understand the customizer and do a lot in less time!</p><cite>LebCit &#8211; WordPress Theme Developer</cite></blockquote>



<h3>WordPress Core Customizer Controls</h3>



<p>WordPress Core includes a handful of basic Customizer Controls by default. For example: text, textarea, checkbox, radio, select, dropdown-pages, email, URL, number, hidden, and date controls.</p>



<p>Kirki supports the Core Controls too, plus around twenty more. Generally speaking, the Kirki controls cover the more advanced use-cases. For example:</p>



<ul><li>Typography</li><li>Color Palettes</li><li>TinyMCE Editor</li><li>Sortable Fields</li></ul>



<p>Kirki also offers functionality not available in Core WordPress, such as the auto-generation of your CSS output and postMessage scripts. These features, which we’ll look at later in this article, can easily cut your development time in half.</p>



<h3>Kirki is Slow</h3>



<p>One criticism commonly held against Kirki is that it’s slow. In fact, this criticism is used against most frameworks (including WordPress). It makes sense, right? You are loading a lot of code you might never use.</p>



<p>In this case, the reality is that the opposite is true. Most of the time control panels built using Kirki will actually be faster than the same panels built with Core Controls.</p>



<p>This is because Kirki adds an optimization layer that isn’t built into WordPress. </p>



<p>When the Customizer is initialized WordPress instantly tries to load all the controls, even if they are within a section or panel and the user can’t interact with them yet. In comparison, Kirki postpones the loading until just before the user will be interacting with the control.</p>



<p>To see the effect of this in practice, let’s try adding 50 color controls using each method.</p>



<p><strong>Core Method:</strong></p>


<pre class="brush: php; title: ; notranslate">
for ($i = 0; $i &lt; 50; $i++){
	$wp_customize-&gt;add_setting( 'color_setting_hex_' . $i , array(
		'default' =&gt; '#0088CC'
	) );

	// add color picker control
	$wp_customize-&gt;add_control( new WP_Customize_Color_Control( $wp_customize, 'color_setting_hex_' . $i, array(
		'label' =&gt; 'Color Control',
		'section' =&gt; 'title_tagline',
		'settings' =&gt; 'color_setting_hex_' . $i,
	) ) );
}
</pre>


<p><strong>With Kirki:</strong></p>


<pre class="brush: php; title: ; notranslate">
for ($i = 0; $i &lt; 50; $i++) {
     Kirki::add_field( 'config_id', array(
         'type'        =&gt; 'color',
         'settings'    =&gt; 'color_setting_hex_' . $i,
         'label'       =&gt; __( 'Color Control', 'kirki' ),
         'section'     =&gt; 'title_tagline',
         'default'     =&gt; '#0088CC',
     ) );
 }
</pre>


<p><strong>The results:</strong></p>



<img src="https://i0.wp.com/dannycooper.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/kirki.png?w=627&ssl=1" alt="" />



<p>As you can see, the initial load speed is considerably faster when using Kirki. The code required to create the controls is more concise too.</p>



<h3>Integrating Kirki Into Your Project</h3>



<p>There are multiple ways to integrate the Kirki Framework into your project, the official documentation does a good job of explaining the different methods.</p>



<p>I recommend developers guide the user to install the plugin version of Kirki, rather than including the framework directly within your project’s code. This can be done using TGMPA or the script provided.</p>



<p>The reasoning behind taking the plugin route is that Kirki is frequently updated and improved. By installing the plugin version, your users will have instant access to bug fixes and security updates. </p>



<p>In contrast, when you include the framework as part of your project, users will only receive updates when you update your theme or plugin, which might be less frequently than is required.</p>



<p>Whichever method you use, be sure to check Kirki is initialized before you add your settings:</p>


<pre class="brush: php; title: ; notranslate">
// Early exit if Kirki doesn’t exist.
if ( ! class_exists( 'Kirki' ) ) {
    return;
}
</pre>


<h3>Fields</h3>



<p>In the Core Method example, we first created a setting and then created a control for it. In most cases, the two are directly linked. Kirki simplifies the process and allows us to create a ‘Field’ instead. When a field is created, it builds the setting and control in the background for us.</p>



<p>Fields support all the control arguments you would expect (label, description, section, default), as well as some Kirki-specific arguments.</p>



<p>The ‘type’ argument allows you to choose one of Kirki’s 30 control types: https://kirki.org/docs/controls/</p>



<h3>Sections</h3>



<p>Customizer Sections allow you to group Controls together. WordPress has six built-in sections that you can add your controls too:</p>



<ul><li>title_tagline &#8211; Site Identity</li><li>colors &#8211; Colors</li><li>header_image &#8211; Header Image</li><li>background_image &#8211; Background Image</li><li>static_front_page &#8211; Homepage Settings</li><li>custom_css &#8211; Additional CSS</li></ul>



<p><br />Sections in Kirki work exactly the same as in Core, the Kirki::add_section() method is simply a wrapper for $wp_customize-&gt;add_section() and accepts the same parameters and arguments.</p>


<pre class="brush: php; title: ; notranslate">
Kirki::add_section( 'section_id', array(
     'title'          =&gt; esc_html__( 'My Section', 'kirki' ),
     'description'    =&gt; esc_html__( 'My section description.', 'kirki' ),
 ) );
</pre>


<h3>Panels</h3>



<p>Panels allow you to create another level of hierarchy by grouping Sections together. WordPress Core has one built-in panel, which is ‘Menus’.</p>



<p>Again, the Kirki implementation is simply a wrapper for the Core functionality.</p>


<pre class="brush: php; title: ; notranslate">
Kirki::add_panel( 'panel_id', array(
     'priority'    =&gt; 10,
     'title'       =&gt; esc_html__( 'My Panel', 'kirki' ),
     'description' =&gt; esc_html__( 'My panel description', 'kirki' ),
 ) );
</pre>


<h3>&#8216;transport&#8217; =&gt; &#8216;auto&#8217;</h3>



<p>Traditionally when creating Customizer Controls you have two options for the transport argument:</p>



<ul><li><strong>Refresh</strong> &#8211; Each time the user makes a change the preview pane is refreshed to show the changes. This can take a couple of seconds.</li><li><strong>postMessage</strong> &#8211; Each time the user makes a change the preview pane is updated using Javascript which doesn’t require a refresh and is near-instant.</li></ul>



<p>postMessage is undoubtedly the superior method for updating the previewer and should be used where possible. However, there is one downside, using postMessage means you need to create write custom JS code for each of your controls. A simple implementation looks something like this:</p>


<pre class="brush: jscript; title: ; notranslate">
// Update the site title in real time...
wp.customize( 'blogname', function( value ) {
    value.bind( function( newval ) {
        $( '#site-title a' ).html( newval );
    } );
} );
</pre>


<p>When you have a lot of settings, this can quickly become repetitive.</p>



<p>This is where Kirki shines, it adds a third option: ‘transport’ =&gt; ‘auto’.</p>



<p>‘transport’ =&gt; ‘auto’ works together with another argument Kirki adds named ‘output’. When both values are defined, Kirki will auto-generate the postMessage scripts for you. Which means you get all the benefits of using postMessage without having to write any of the Javascript code.</p>



<p>A field using transport =&gt; ‘auto’ looks like this:</p>


<pre class="brush: php; title: ; notranslate">
Kirki::add_field( ‘config_id’, array(
     'type'        =&gt; 'color',
     'settings'    =&gt; 'color_setting_hex',
     'label'       =&gt; __( 'Color Control', 'kirki' ),
     'section'     =&gt; ‘colors’,
     'default'     =&gt; '#0088CC',
     'transport'   =&gt; 'auto',
     'output' =&gt; array(
         array(
             'element'  =&gt; 'body',
             'property' =&gt; 'background-color',
         ),
     ),
 ) );
</pre>


<p>This time-saving feature of Kirki means that most of the time you will no longer need to write or enqueue your own postMessage scripts.</p>



<h3>Frontend CSS Output</h3>



<p>Another part of creating Customizer settings is generating the CSS output on the frontend. A simple example might look like this:</p>


<pre class="brush: php; title: ; notranslate">
/**
 * Output the Customizer CSS to wp_head
 */
function wptavern_customizer_css() {
	$bg_color = get_theme_mod( 'color_setting_hex' );
	?&gt;
	&lt;style&gt;
		body {
			background-color: &lt;?php echo sanitize_hex_color( $bg_color ); ?&gt;;
		}
	&lt;/style&gt;
	&lt;?php
}
add_action( 'wp_head', wptavern_customizer_css );
</pre>


<p>Like the postMessage example, writing this code can quickly become repetitive if you have a lot of settings. </p>



<p>Fortunately, ‘transport’ =&gt; ‘auto’ takes care of the frontend output for you too. Even in our simplified example, ‘transport’ =&gt; ‘auto’ has reduced the code we need to write by ~50%.</p>



<h3>Conclusion</h3>



<p>In this article, we’ve looked at just the basics of the Kirki Framework and two of its arguments, already we can see how it allows us to create Customizer Controls faster and without compromising on performance.</p>



<p>When you dive into Kirki you will quickly discover the wealth of functionality it adds on top of the Customize API. It’s no surprise that it’s in use on over 300,000 websites and a core part of some of the biggest WordPress themes on the market.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 09 Aug 2019 16:46:37 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12:"Danny Cooper";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:16;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:87:"WPTavern: Proposal to Auto-Update Old Versions of WordPress to 4.7 Sparks Heated Debate";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92391";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:98:"https://wptavern.com/proposal-to-auto-update-old-versions-of-wordpress-to-4-7-sparks-heated-debate";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14387:"<p>WordPress contributors, developers, and community members are currently debating a proposal to would implement a new policy regarding security support for older versions. The <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-security-team-discusses-backporting-security-releases-to-fewer-versions" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">discussion</a> began last week when security team lead Jake Spurlock asked for feedback on different approaches to backporting security fixes to older versions. Following up on this discussion, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/iandunn/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ian Dunn</a>, a full-time contributor to WordPress core, sponsored by Automattic, has published a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/08/07/proposal-auto-update-old-versions-to-4-7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">proposal</a> for moving forward with a new policy:</p>
<blockquote><p>Support the latest 6 versions, and auto-update unsupported sites to the oldest supported version.</p>
<p>That would mean that the currently supported versions would be 4.7 &#8211; 5.2, and the 3.7 &#8211; 4.6 branches would eventually be auto-updated to 4.7.</p>
<p>In practice, that’d provide roughly 2 years of support for each branch, and roughly 10% of current sites would eventually be auto-updated to 4.7. Once 5.3 is released, the oldest supported version would be become 4.8.</p></blockquote>
<p>Dunn outlined a detailed plan for implementing the new policy that involves testing a small subset of sites to identify problems before gradually updating older sites from one major version to the next (not all at once). Site administrators would be notified at least 30 days prior to the automatic updates with emails and notices in the admin that would also offer the opportunity to opt out.</p>
<p>The proposal has received dozens of comments, with some contributors in support, some in favor of modifications to the rollout, and others who are unequivocally opposed to the idea of auto-updating old sites to major versions.</p>
<p>One of the prevailing concerns is that many admins will not receive any notice due to non-functioning email addresses or not logging into their admin dashboards frequently enough. Opponents also contend that even though there are fallbacks for sites that fail to upgrade, some sites may be broken in a way that WordPress cannot detect, due to problems with plugins or themes.</p>
<p>&#8220;A back-end notice will not even begin to make up for the lack of reliable email communication,&#8221; Glenn Messersmith <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/08/07/proposal-auto-update-old-versions-to-4-7/#comment-36344" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a>. &#8220;There are tons of site owners who never venture into the back-end once their site has been developed. These are the very people who will not get email notifications either because the email address is that of some long gone developer.</p>
<p>&#8220;There is no way any sort of error detection can act as a safety net for those who never saw any notifications. There are all sorts of ways that a site owner might consider their site to be &#8216;broken&#8217; which an update script could not possibly detect.&#8221;</p>
<p>In response to concerns about abandoned sites breaking or administrators relying heavily on a plugin that has been abandoned, Dunn agreed that these types of situations may be unavoidable under the current proposal.</p>
<p>&#8220;I can definitely sympathize with that situation, but we have to draw the line somewhere,&#8221; Dunn <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/08/07/proposal-auto-update-old-versions-to-4-7/#comment-36293" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a>. &#8220;We don’t have unlimited resources, and the current policy has damaging effects for the entire WordPress ecosystem.</p>
<p>&#8220;In reality, choices are never between a purely good thing and a purely bad thing; they’re always between competing tradeoffs.</p>
<p>&#8220;I definitely agree that it’s bad if a small number of site owner have to do extra work to upgrade their site, but in the grand scheme of things, that’s much, much better than having our security team be hindered by an extremely onerous support policy.&#8221;</p>
<h3>Proposal Author Claims &#8220;Nobody Would be Forced to Update;&#8221; Opponents Argue that Requiring Users to Opt Out is Not Consent</h3>
<p>In addition to the problem of possibly breaking sites, those opposed to the proposal are not on board with WordPress forcing an update without getting explicit consent from site administrators. Providing users a way to opt into automatic updates for major core releases is one of the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/12/08/9-priorities-for-2019/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nine projects</a> that Matt Mullenweg had identified for working on in 2019. However, the plan for this proposal is more aggressive in that it would require site owners on the 3.7 &#8211; 4.6 branches to opt out if they do not want to be incrementally auto-updated to 4.7.</p>
<p>&#8220;They still retain agency no matter what, nobody would be forced to update, everybody retains control over their site and can opt-out if they want to,&#8221; Dunn <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/08/07/proposal-auto-update-old-versions-to-4-7/#comment-36395" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a>. &#8220;Something being on by default is very different from forcing somebody to do something. We would make it very easy to opt out — just install a plugin, no config required — and the instructions for opting out would be included in every email and admin notice.&#8221;</p>
<p>Dunn further clarified in a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/08/07/proposal-auto-update-old-versions-to-4-7/#comment-36401" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">comment</a> regarding who would receive these updates:</p>
<blockquote><p>Nobody would be forced, it would instead be an opt-out process. If someone has already disabled auto-updates to major versions, that would be respected and their site would not be updated.</p>
<p>If someone clicked the opt-out link in the email, or if they clicked the opt-out button in the admin notice, then the updates would also be disabled.</p>
<p>The only people who would receive the updates are the ones who:</p>
<p>1) Want the update<br />
2) Don’t care<br />
3) Have abandoned their sites or email accounts</p></blockquote>
<p>Several participants in the discussion asked why the process of getting these sites on 4.7 cannot be opt-in for consent, instead of forcing the update on those who don&#8217;t opt out. No matter how convenient the opt-out mechanism is, having one in place doesn&#8217;t constitute consent. Many site owners who will be forced into this process thought they would be safe in opting for maintenance and security updates and leaving their sites to perform &#8220;updates while you sleep,&#8221; as the <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2013/10/basie/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">3.7 release post</a> described the feature.</p>
<p>&#8220;Insecure sites are bad, but arguably, retrospectively enlarging the power granted to oneself by this mechanism is worse,&#8221; UpdraftPlus creator <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidanderson/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">David Anderson</a> <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/08/07/proposal-auto-update-old-versions-to-4-7/#comment-36302" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a>. &#8220;Potentially it could damage trust + reputation more than insecurity. I’d argue that huge dashboard ugly, irremovable notices on older versions warning of upcoming abandonment + the need to update would be better. Let the site owner take responsibility. Don’t play nanny, abuse trust, break sites and then write blog posts about how it was necessary collateral damage. Nobody who wakes up to a broken site will be happy with that.&#8221;</p>
<p>Andrew Nacin, WordPress 3.7 release lead and co-author of WordPress&#8217; automatic background updates feature, encouraged those behind the proposal to clarify that WordPress only supports the latest major version and has never officially supported older versions.</p>
<p>&#8220;It takes a lot of work, for sure, to backport,&#8221; Nacin said. &#8220;But we should still stick to our north star, which is that WordPress is backwards compatible from version to version, that WordPress users shouldn’t need to worry about what version they are running, and that we should just keep sites up to date if we are able.&#8221;</p>
<p>Nacin offered more context on the original strategy for introducing automatic updates, which included gradually moving to having major releases as auto updates so all sites would eventually be on the latest version:</p>
<blockquote><p>First, when we first released automatic background updates, we thought that our next big push would be to get to major release auto updates in the next few years. In practice, we can do this at any time, and, indeed, 3.7 supported this as a flag. But the idea was we would invest energy in sandboxing, whitescreen protection, improving our rollback functionality, etc., so our success rate was as high for major versions as it was for minor versions. (The failure rate scales somewhat linearly with the number of files that need to be copied over, and also gets more complex when files need to be added, rather than just changed.) Once we did this, we’d simply start updating all sites to the latest version and stop backporting. Obviously we still haven’t gotten here.</p></blockquote>
<p>He commented that overall the proposal is &#8220;a great plan&#8221; but emphasized the benefits of communicating to users that it is safe to update and that WordPress only intends to support the latest version.</p>
<p>Most participants in the discussion are in favor of the security team discontinuing backporting fixes to older versions of WordPress. The question that remains unanswered for opponents is why is it WordPress&#8217; responsibility to force older sites to update.</p>
<p>&#8220;I don’t think it should be WordPress’ decision to update sites that they don’t manage to major/breaking versions, but I think maintaining those branches should be stopped,&#8221; Will Stocks said. &#8220;You (WordPress) don’t own the infrastructure or business processes, or understand the support in place to manage those sites. There is also a reason those sites are still on that version today and have not upgraded past.&#8221;</p>
<p>There are other approaches that can still draw a line to respect the security team&#8217;s limited resources without forcing any non-consensual updates to major versions. Rachel Cherry, director of WPCampus, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/08/07/proposal-auto-update-old-versions-to-4-7/#comment-36373" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">commented</a> on the proposal, strongly urging WordPress to establish consent before updating these sites:</p>
<blockquote><p>We are getting into the weeds of whether or not forced updates will cause tech issues and missing the real problem altogether.</p>
<p>We are discussing force updating people’s software when they have not given consent.</p>
<p>And for what end? What is the real problem here? Because we don’t want to worry about updating old versions?</p>
<p>There are other ways to solve this problem.</p>
<p>We can make a clear policy regarding EOL support for releases.</p>
<p>We can add a setting to core that lets the user choose whether or not they want auto updates and going forward that is the decision maker. Then we have consent.</p>
<p>We can work on education and communication regarding updates.</p>
<p>We can email people that their site is outdated and insecure and they should update ASAP, along with links to education and best practices. If they still need help, encourage them to reach out to a professional.</p>
<p>We can fix this problem for going forward, but we do not have implied retroactive consent just because we never put a permission mechanism in place.</p>
<p>If someone didn’t update their site, they did so for a reason. Or indifference. Either way, we have no right to go in like this and modify people’s websites.</p></blockquote>
<p>Participants in the discussion are still wrestling with the potential implications of the proposed policy change. Minor updates have proven to be very reliable as auto-updates. Dunn <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/08/07/proposal-auto-update-old-versions-to-4-7/#comment-36312" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reported</a> that the 3.7.29 auto-update had only one failure that had to be rolled back to 3.7.28. Using the auto update system to push major updates to sites as old as these has not yet been thoroughly tested.</p>
<p>&#8220;Whether or not we do auto-update the 3.7 -> 5.x releases, I fully support making it clear that this is something we expect to start doing for the future (5.x -> x.x+),&#8221; Jeremy Felt <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/08/07/proposal-auto-update-old-versions-to-4-7/#comment-36383" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">commented</a> on the proposal. &#8220;The work on testing infrastructure and code to support this should absolutely be done either way.&#8221; Felt also said he appreciated the staggered rollout scheduling for the proposed releases as well as the plan to provide an officially supported plugin for disabling auto-updates.</p>
<p>Discussion is still open on the proposal, but so far there seems to be a fundamental disagreement among participants about whether WordPress has the right to force major version updates without explicit consent, even if it is with the intention of saving site owners from potentially getting hacked.</p>
<p>&#8220;One thing is for sure, it appears to be a majority concern so far, while many of us are fond of these noble intentions, I’m just not so sure being the benevolent overlord of the Internet is a good image for WP moving forward,&#8221; plugin developer Philip Ingram <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/08/07/proposal-auto-update-old-versions-to-4-7/#comment-36343" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 09 Aug 2019 05:24:22 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:17;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:120:"WPTavern: Jetpack 7.6 Improves AMP Compatibility, Adds Preview and Upgrade Nudge for Blocks Only Available on Paid Plans";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92278";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:130:"https://wptavern.com/jetpack-7-6-improves-amp-compatibility-adds-preview-and-upgrade-nudge-for-blocks-only-available-on-paid-plans";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4082:"<p><a href="https://jetpack.com/2019/08/06/jetpack-7-6-amp-plugin-compatibility/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jetpack 7.6</a> was released this week with several improvements to the plugin&#8217;s AMP compatibility. Automattic was one of the earliest publishing partners on Google&#8217;s AMP project, as well as the original author of the official AMP plugin for WordPress. This release makes three more Jetpack features compatible with AMP:</p>
<ul>
<li>Related Posts now display on AMP views.</li>
<li>AMP images are now rendered via Jetpack&#8217;s image CDN if the module is active.</li>
<li>AMP plugin is now capable of styling the Jetpack sharing buttons, without loading any additional CSS.</li>
</ul>
<p>More AMP compatibility improvements are planned for the 7.7 milestone, including <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/jetpack/pull/12733" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">AMP support for the WordAds block</a>.</p>
<p>Version 7.6 also fixes a security vulnerability in the <a href="https://jetpack.com/support/simple-payment-button/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Simple Payments</a> description output. This fix only affects those who have Premium or Professional plans and are using the Simple Payments button to sell products or collect donations.</p>
<h3>Jetpack is Beta Testing a Preview and Upgrade Nudge for Blocks Only Available on Paid Plans</h3>
<p>Jetpack is testing a new way of marketing its Paid plans inside the block editor. One of the more interesting additions to this release is that the plugin now allows for the insertion and preview of any Jetpack block in the editor, even if the block is only available via a Paid plan. Although it was included as part of the 7.6 release, it look like it&#8217;s currently only active for sites that have enabled beta testing.</p>
<p>The first iteration was merged as <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/jetpack/pull/12823#issuecomment-508545015" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">a generic solution</a> that can be extended for all premium blocks but it currently only applies to the Simple Payments block. Prior to this update, users on the free and personal plans would not see the Simple Payments block in the block inserter. This change adds the Simple Payments block to the list of available blocks and allows users to insert and preview it. The block will not show up on the frontend unless the user upgrades.</p>
<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Screen-Shot-2019-08-07-at-10.09.12-PM.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>Clicking on the upgrade nudge takes the user to the checkout with the plan pre-selected and then drops them back to the editor after they purchase the required plan for using the block. After the initial implementation with the Simple Payments block, the Jetpack team <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/jetpack/pull/12823#issuecomment-508545015" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">plans</a> to do the same for the Recurring Payments, VideoPress, and WordAds blocks.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s easy to see why this controversial addition to the plugin was omitted from the release post. It adds new blocks for features that users cannot access without upgrading. The <a href="https://wptavern.com/anders-noren-release-free-chaplin-theme-designed-for-block-editor-theme-authors-discuss-better-ways-to-promote-truly-free-themes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WordPress.org theme directory has struggled with a similar issue</a>, which Justin Tadlock characterized as &#8220;crippleware,&#8221; where certain features are locked away behind upsells.</p>
<p>If Jetpack&#8217;s implementation catches on and other plugins follow suit, it could cause the block inserter to become a frustrating minefield. Users select from existing blocks, not knowing if the blocks they are inserting require a paid upgrade until the upsell pops into the editor. This is one block editor marketing tactic worth keeping an eye on as Jetpack rolls it out for more of its blocks that are restricted to Paid plans.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 08 Aug 2019 04:14:49 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:18;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:96:"WPTavern: EditorsKit 1.9 Introduces Block Styles, Utility Classes, and Full Height Editor Screen";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92229";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:105:"https://wptavern.com/editorskit-1-9-introduces-block-styles-utility-classes-and-full-height-editor-screen";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5263:"<p><a href="https://jeffreycarandang.com/introducing-editorskit-block-styling-utility-classes/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">EditorsKit 1.9</a> was released this week with a new Block Styling feature for the image and cover blocks. It allows users to change these blocks to be displayed as circular, diagonal, inverted diagonal, rounded corners, or with a shadow. It also adds a &#8220;full screen height&#8221; display option to the Advanced block settings panel. This makes it easy to turn the Cover, Image, and Media &amp; Text blocks into a hero section.</p>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Screen-Shot-2019-08-07-at-10.16.56-AM.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>Jeffrey Carandang, the plugin&#8217;s author, has also added a full height toggle option to the editor screen. It makes the editor&#8217;s minimum height match the browser&#8217;s viewport so that metaboxes are not in view until the user scrolls down. This creates a cleaner interface when creating new posts and pages. It is also optional, so it doesn&#8217;t exclude sites where the content added to the metaboxes is more important than the main posting area.</p>
<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/67519529_10217025088132458_9173961289972580352_o.jpg?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>Version 1.9 introduces a feature called Utility Classes to the Advanced CSS Class(es) option. The classes can be removed in one click from the selected block and the preview instantly updates to reflect the change. It also includes auto-suggestion for classnames so they can be easily re-applied.</p>
<p><a href="https://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/utility-classes.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>Carandang shared sample code for how theme developers can add their own utility classes using a custom PHP filter. This makes it more extensible but seems unlikely to that theme authors would go to the trouble, given the plugin&#8217;s relatively small user base at the moment.</p>
<p>He is working on improving interoperability with other plugins in the ecosystem by adding filters for plugin and theme developers to make better use of EditorsKit. He also continues to add tweaks and improvements for those using Jetpack, Block Lab, the Genesis Framework, CoBlocks, Thrive Comments, ACF, and other popular third party extensions.</p>
<p>Carandang <a href="https://www.producthunt.com/posts/editorskit-wordpress-editor-toolkit" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">launched EditorsKit on Product Hunt</a> where new users are discovering the plugin for the first time. He also set up a new &#8220;<a href="https://wptavern.com/frontenberg-lets-users-test-gutenberg-on-the-frontend" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">frontenberg style</a>&#8221; live demo that lets users test EditorsKit features on the frontend of the site. Demo sites like this are a good way to market Gutenberg blocks, making it convenient for users who would otherwise have to install the plugin on their own test sites.</p>
<p>&#8220;My main objective is for EditorsKit to be known in the community,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I feel like it&#8217;s really solid plugin and I need to reach more people. With tons of blocks plugin available, utility plugins like EditorsKit are being left out.&#8221;</p>
<p>Although Carandang has no plans to release a pro version of EditorsKit at the moment, he has considered creating commercial extensions for it in the future. Marketing a utility plugin has so far proven to be more of a challenge than plugins that offer custom blocks.</p>
<p>There was some discussion in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1306393256173179/permalink/1731127937033040/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">EditorsKit community on Facebook</a> about recent EditorsKit features straying into the design aspect of site building. While the new Block Styling options may be a useful for some users, custom shapes and layouts straddle the line between design and editing features. It seems like a slight departure from the more utilitarian editor features the plugin became know for, such as markdown formatting, block visibility, drag-and-drop import/export, and the ability to disable auto-saving.</p>
<p>Carandang may need to tread carefully to keep the plugin from becoming a catch-all drawer of &#8220;features that would be nice to have for Gutenberg,&#8221; for the sake of marketing it more effectively.</p>
<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t plan on adding design utility classes,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Just padding, margin and flexbox. The rest should be from the theme. I&#8217;m planning to help out theme devs that will support EditorsKit with the integration. I don&#8217;t want the plugin file to be huge and filled with CSS for design. My goal is still Gutenberg Editor Toolkit.&#8221;</p>
<p>A loose EditorsKit roadmap is public with upcoming features outlined in <a href="https://github.com/phpbits/block-options/issues" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">issues on the plugin&#8217;s GitHub repo</a>. Most of of those listed seem more aligned with editing than design, so future versions of the plugin likely will not bloat the plugin with too many design-related block settings panels.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 07 Aug 2019 19:36:37 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:19;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:72:"WPTavern: WordCamp Long Beach to Debut a “Future of WordPress” Track";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92200";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:77:"https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-long-beach-to-debut-a-future-of-wordpress-track";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3417:"<p>The first-ever <a href="https://2019.longbeach.wordcamp.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WordCamp Long Beach</a> is happening October 5-6 at the Pointe Conference Center at Walter Pyramid (CSULB). Organizers are planning to host practical, skill-building talks and panels, abstract discussions, and networking events at locally-owned eateries. The event will be the only WordCamp happening in Los Angeles county this year.</p>
<p>Last week organizers opened the <a href="https://2019.longbeach.wordcamp.org/2019/08/01/call-for-speakers/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">call for speakers</a> and announced a new concept for the schedule. Saturday&#8217;s program will include two traditional tracks, one geared towards users and another towards professionals. Sunday will feature a &#8220;Future of WordPress&#8221; track with more philosophical/concept style presentations focused around the topic.</p>
<p>&#8220;This concept was inspired by the desire to have some &#8216;bigger&#8217; conversations about WordPress, its place in the web/tech ecosystem, and where WordPress is headed,&#8221; co-organizer Sé Reed said. As a former WordPress Growth Council member, Reed has a special interest in facilitating discussions on these ideas.</p>
<p>&#8220;These topics come up occasionally, like with the WP Council/Advisory Board and the WP Governance Project, but they always seems to be relegated to a side conversation,&#8221; Reed said. &#8220;We need to be having these conversations openly and honestly, as a community. The future of WordPress is a big issue that affects everyone who works with WordPress.</p>
<p>&#8220;Since there doesn’t seem to be a place where these conversations are put front-and-center, I suggested we do it at our camp, which just so happens to be one month before WCUS.&#8221;</p>
<p>WordCamp Long Beach&#8217;s <a href="https://2019.longbeach.wordcamp.org/2019/08/01/call-for-speakers/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Call for Speakers</a> post include a few sample topics to inspire potential applicants:</p>
<ul>
<li>Internal Governance (WP Project)</li>
<li>External Governance (WP, WC3, GDPR, other acronyms)</li>
<li>Accessibility</li>
<li>The Future of WordPress</li>
<li>Future of the Web (technology, standards)</li>
<li>The WordPress Community</li>
<li>Backwards compatibility</li>
<li>WordPress’ impact on the open web</li>
<li>Third parties, browsers, operating systems, etc.</li>
</ul>
<p>These are the types of big picture presentations that you rarely see at smaller WordCamps. They are usually sprinkled in with other topics at larger camps, so having an entire track dedicated to the Future of WordPress is a unique opportunity for attendees to join in these important conversations.</p>
<p>WordCamp Long Beach has space for a total of 250 attendees. Although it is the only camp happening in the county this year, the area has a strong group of local meetups throughout.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are lucky to have a really large number of active meetup groups spread through the county, so even though we are based in Long Beach, we are representing more than just our local meetup.&#8221;</p>
<p>Speaker applications are open to anyone, regardless of speaking experience. Each presentation should be 30-40 minutes in length, and applicants can also propose a workshop or panel. Applications will be open through August 23, 2019.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 06 Aug 2019 23:28:18 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:20;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:105:"WPTavern: O’Reilly Partners with Netlify to Publish Free E-Book: Modern Web Development on the JAMstack";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92237";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:112:"https://wptavern.com/oreilly-partners-with-netlify-to-publish-free-e-book-modern-web-development-on-the-jamstack";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4555:"<p>If you are following the JAMstack (JavaScript, APIs, and markup) craze and want to learn more about the history and best practices of the architecture, O&#8217;Reilly has published a short book called <a href="https://www.netlify.com/oreilly-jamstack/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Modern Web Development on the JAMstack</a> that is now available as a free download. Netlify CEO Mathias Biilmann, who coined the term &#8220;JAMstack&#8221; and pioneered hosting for it, co-authored the book with Phil Hawksworth, Netlify&#8217;s principal developer advocate, with contributions from other engineers at the company.</p>
<p>In the introduction, they describe the JAMstack movement as a rare shift in the tech landscape that &#8220;delivers a productivity boost for developers and a large performance boost for users.&#8221; They also see it as a more efficient way of building a secure and stable websites that will advance the open web.</p>
<blockquote><p>We’ve seen firsthand how the JAMstack improves the experience for both users and developers. Most importantly, we’ve seen how increases in site speed, site reliability, and developer productivity can contribute to the continued health and viability of the open web.</p></blockquote>
<p>The book is an important read, not only for those exploring JAMstack architecture but also for getting an outside perspective on the kinds of problems that the WordPress ecosystem needs to solve. The authors describe WordPress and other CMS&#8217;s as monolithic apps, referencing security and performance concerns. The introduction summarizes many of the problems that professionals are routinely paid to solve when managing and scaling WordPress websites:</p>
<blockquote><p>For nearly three decades, the developer community has explored ways to make the web easier and faster to develop, more capable, more performant, and more secure. At times, though, the effort has seemed to trade one goal for another. WordPress, for example, became a revolution in making content easier to author—but anyone who’s scaled a high-traffic WordPress site knows it also brings a whole set of new challenges in performance and security. Trading the simplicity of HTML files for database-powered content means facing the very real threats that sites might crash as they become popular or are hacked when nobody is watching closely.</p>
<p>And dynamically transforming content into HTML—each and every time it’s requested—takes quite a few compute cycles. To mitigate all the overhead, many web stacks have introduced intricate and clever caching schemes at almost every level, from the database on up. But these complex setups have often made the development process feel cumbersome and fragile. It can be difficult to get any work done on a site when you can’t get it running and testable on your own laptop. (Trust us, we know.)</p></blockquote>
<p>Biilmann and his co-authors have kept to the more general concepts and technical details of how JAMstack architecture differs from other, more traditional stacks. JAMstack does not prescribe any specific frameworks or tools but is rather a diverse and growing ecosystem. The authors see it as &#8220;a movement, a community collection of best practices and workflows that result in high-speed websites that are a pleasure to work on.&#8221;</p>
<p>The book covers topics like the benefits of atomic deployments, end-to-end version control, choosing a site generator, and the variety of automation and tooling available. It suggests a few ways of handling some of the more challenging additions to static sites, such as forms, search, notifications, and identity.</p>
<p>Modern Web Development on the JAMstack concludes with a case study on how Smashing Magazine moved its publication from a WordPress site with thousands of articles, 200,000+ comments, and an attached Shopify store, to a new JAMstack setup. The detailed breakdown of the migration provides an interesting look at one solution to the challenges of publishing at scale. These are the kinds of architectural concerns that the WordPress ecosystem needs to continue to address and simplify for the next generation of developers.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.netlify.com/pdf/oreilly-modern-web-development-on-the-jamstack.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">127-page PDF</a> is available for free and an EPUB version is <a href="https://twitter.com/philhawksworth/status/1157647862089617409" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">expected sometime this week</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 06 Aug 2019 18:54:42 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:21;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:70:"WPTavern: WordPress Explores Forming a Nomination-Based Advisory Board";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92162";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:81:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-explores-forming-a-nomination-based-advisory-board";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:10090:"<p>WordPress contributors are weighing in on a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2019/07/23/proposal-a-wordpress-advisory-board/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">proposal</a> for the formation of a nomination-based advisory board with set term limits for its members. Josepha Haden, the project&#8217;s Executive Director, published a first draft two weeks ago with ideas for how the board might operate and feedback is rolling in.</p>
<p>WordPress <a href="https://wptavern.com/matt-mullenweg-proposes-wordpress-growth-council" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">experimented with a growth council</a> three years ago that Haden said was disbanded in December 2018 due to logistics and too much analysis causing paralyzed decision-making. The proposed advisory board would exist to provide &#8220;information on industry trends and risks as well as non-binding strategic advice to the Project Lead and Executive Director.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;I am not proposing that this group would function as a final-say, decision-making body for the WordPress project,&#8221; Haden said. &#8220;It should serve as a collection of bright, insightful people who have contact with clients and end-users of WordPress. This removes the &#8216;analysis paralysis&#8217; challenge that the growth councils faced.&#8221;</p>
<p>Haden proposed that WordPress use a traditional board process of nomination and self-nomination to form the group, where existing members would select candidates from nominees. Previous members of the growth council would be invited to be part of the first iteration of the Advisory Board with a 12-month term. New members would be incorporated in 2020 with an emphasis on creating a diverse group of advisors. Haden plans to publish a list of previous members of the growth council.</p>
<p>&#8220;At the moment, I find that I’m hovering around 12-15 to allow for as many clear subsets of our community/users as possible,&#8221; Haden said when asked how many people would be on the advisory board.</p>
<h3>Advisory Board Proposal Discussion Surfaces Concerns Regarding its Impact, Diversity, and Corporate Influence</h3>
<p>The proposal has so far garnered support and positive feedback, but some participants in the discussion have questioned the impact of an advisory board that lacks any decision-making capability. The structure is not like a Board of Directors where members have authority to vote on matters and bear legal responsibilities. Board members may become frustrated if their advice has no real impact on important project decisions.</p>
<p>&#8220;My eyebrows raised at the specific inclusion of the phrase &#8216;non-binding strategic advice to the Project Lead&#8217; as a way of essentially giving (before the board starts) a feel that this might be just more of the same, where we in the community are asked for our opinion, but then fairly routinely feel ignored or condescended to by the project lead,&#8217; WordPress developer Ben Meredith <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2019/07/23/proposal-a-wordpress-advisory-board/#comment-4622" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">commented</a> the proposal.</p>
<p>&#8220;So my main concern would be how this is going to be different? At the end of the day, it’s still Matt’s party, and he can do what he wishes. I’d love to see true governance here, where Matt submits a bit more officially to the board.&#8221;</p>
<p>Others are concerned about balancing the diversity of the board using a nomination process, although Haden said she reserves the right to invite nominees for diversity and representation purposes. WordPress developer Pat Lockley <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2019/07/23/proposal-a-wordpress-advisory-board/#comment-4625" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">suggested</a> board members be paid in order to prevent them from trying to gain economically from their position. One byproduct of having unpaid board members is that participation might then exclude those who cannot afford to offer their time without compensation.</p>
<p>Several participants in the discussion advocated for the inclusion of people representing users who are not enterprise or industry professionals. If the first iteration of the Advisory Board is comprised of former members of the Growth Council, it&#8217;s possible that the board&#8217;s advice would be skewed towards corporate interests, since it was originally formed for the purpose of marketing WordPress against direct competitors.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think we could do a lot to figure out a roadmap for countering this huge marketing spending being directed against us, because we are the big guy here,” Mullenweg <a href="https://wptavern.com/matt-mullenweg-proposes-wordpress-growth-council" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">said</a> when first floating the idea of the Growth Council during his WordSesh talk in 2016. “We are the 26% and they are like a 1%. But even though they’re smaller, they might be cannibalizing some of the most valuable aspects of the WordPress customer base.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="http://sereedmedia.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sé Reed</a>, one of the members of the Growth Council, said that she and at least one other member were not representing a corporate interest. Overall, the council&#8217;s focus was &#8220;truly was on the WP Project as a whole, and not focused on the needs of any individual company.&#8221; She reported that conversations were open and everyone seemed to be personally passionate about the project and willing to share information. The breakdown was in the execution of their plans and decisions.</p>
<p>&#8220;Unfortunately, and possibly because of the obscured profile, the conversations and actions we attempted to take didn’t really go anywhere within the project,&#8221; Reed said. &#8220;The entire council was frustrated by this. It’s possible that some of those conversations were integrated into the strategies of some of the companies represented, and I personally feel in some cases it was, but I could not say for sure.&#8221;</p>
<p>Reed said the general consensus was that there was &#8220;no clear path to integrate the council’s conversations into the WordPress project, and indeed not a clear role for the council within the project.&#8221; Members were able to speak candidly, knowing the conversations were confidential.</p>
<p>&#8220;These are important discussions to have, but when held publicly, in the Make channel for example, people can’t be, or won’t be, as frank or as honest as they would be in a confidential conversation, especially if they are representing companies,&#8221; Reed said. &#8220;That was, to my understanding, the impetus for the Advisory Board &#8211; to create a space where the difficult confidential discussions can be held, but there is also a clear and public role for the results of those discussions.&#8221;</p>
<p>Reed said she thinks it makes sense for the Growth Council members to be the starting Advisory Board, since the group already has a shared history and a year of conversations under their belts.</p>
<p>&#8220;We all feel strongly about creating a space for this type of bigger picture conversation, so we can hit the ground running,&#8221; she said. &#8220;The first members will likely set the stage for the Advisory Board’s bylaws and elections and such, and then move out of that role once that structure is in place. I think the experience of the council members will facilitate a streamlined process for this, and I think it’s a logical group to start with. It has to start somewhere if it’s going to start at all, and if it is not the Growth Council then it would have to be just Matt and Josepha deciding where the start is. And honestly, that’s just as controversial within the community as having the Growth Council do it.&#8221;</p>
<p>Haden proposed that the advisory board meet using video calls with high level notes published afterwards. One participant in the discussion said he would prefer full transcripts. Simon Dickson, Director of Platform Services of WordPress.com VIP at Automattic, said he would like to see some clear examples of the tasks the board might take on.</p>
<p>&#8220;For example, would the Project Lead or Executive Director be required to present an annual strategy to the Board, and take their questions? Could release leads be required to present a retrospective after each release? Would the Board sign off on ‘State Of The Word’ each year? Would the Board have a role in endorsing key appointments, such as the Executive Director?&#8221;</p>
<p>Dickson also suggested that board members be encouraged to act as representatives of the community.</p>
<p>&#8220;I hope Board members will be tasked with acting as representatives, bringing not only their own personal thoughts, but those of the diverse communities they come from,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They should be encouraged, perhaps even required to blog, tweet, speak and engage; and to reflect back what they hear.&#8221;</p>
<p>With strong user representation and more transparent communication, an advisory board has the potential to be an organization that the WordPress community can feel invested in, if their experiences and opinions are included in important conversations. If ex-Growth Council members are going to be its charter members, the group may have some challenges in assuring the community that they are representing community interests to WordPress&#8217; Project Lead and Executive Director.</p>
<p>&#8220;I absolutely think users need to be represented, and I attempt to represent that viewpoint in all of my community participation, but I also think sometimes we forget that even the larger companies have invested heavily in WordPress and they have an interest in the WP Project’s success,&#8221; Reed said. &#8220;They are the face of WordPress to hundreds of thousands of users who don’t even know the community exists. For better or worse, our fates are intertwined.&#8221;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 05 Aug 2019 22:33:56 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:22;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:85:"WPTavern: Bootstrap Adopts New Long Term Support Plan, Moves Version 3 to End of Life";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92205";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:95:"https://wptavern.com/bootstrap-adopts-new-long-term-support-plan-moves-version-3-to-end-of-life";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2448:"<p><a href="https://getbootstrap.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bootstrap</a>, the most widely used open source front-end component library on the web, has adopted a new <a href="https://github.com/twbs/release" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Long Term Support</a> plan that will make the development cycle a little more predictable. From now on, each major version will receive at least six months of support after it is retired, followed by six months of critical bug fixes and security updates before transitioning to Maintenance.</p>
<p>The Bootstrap development team moved version 3 to end of life this week and plans to move version 4 to LTS after releasing v4.4. LTS versions will generally not get new features but may still receive bug fixes, security updates, and documentation updates.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, version 5 is currently under active development and its initial release date has not yet been set.</p>
<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Screen-Shot-2019-08-02-at-5.38.59-PM.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>BuiltWith ranks Bootstrap as the most popular technology among <a href="https://trends.builtwith.com/docinfo/design-framework" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">design frameworks</a> in use across the internet. HTML5 Boilerplate, the next most popular, has roughly a third of Bootstrap&#8217;s market share. According to W3Techs, Bootstrap.js is used by 25.4% of all the websites whose JavaScript library it can detect, an estimated 19.3% of all websites.</p>
<p><a href="https://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Screen-Shot-2019-08-02-at-10.26.42-PM.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/search/bootstrap/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Hundreds of WordPress plugins and themes</a> implement Bootstrap in one way or another. Depending on how they include the framework and which versions they support, developers will want to note the changes with <a href="https://github.com/twbs/release" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bootstrap&#8217;s new LTS plan</a>. It provides a definitive guide to the development life cycle, helping those in the surrounding ecosystem make better decisions about which versions to support in their projects and how long. The LTS dates are not set in stone but Bootstrap&#8217;s development team said they are working on strengthening timeline assurances.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 03 Aug 2019 04:54:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:23;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:78:"Post Status: WooCommerce vs Shopify: A battle for ecommerce platform dominance";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://poststatus.com/?p=66780";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:88:"https://poststatus.com/woocommerce-vs-shopify-a-battle-for-ecommerce-platform-dominance/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9117:"<p>This post is available below by text, and Jonathan and Brian talked about it for a podcast episode as well. They are additive to one another.</p>







<p>Ben Thompson recently wrote about <a href="https://stratechery.com/2019/shopify-and-the-power-of-platforms/">Shopify and the Power of Platforms</a>. He highlights the difference between an aggregator (e.g. Amazon’s Merchant Services) and a platform (Shopify) and makes a case for how Shopify can successfully compete against Amazon. If you’re new to Ben’s work, I highly recommend following the links he references in the opening paragraphs.</p>



<h3>Aggregators vs Platforms</h3>



<p>As Ben explains, Amazon is an aggregator that owns the users (i.e. customers, Amazon Prime subscribers) and aggregates the suppliers (i.e. merchants, manufacturers). Amazon succeeds by providing a great user experience (e.g. one click checkout, same day delivery) and by treating products and their suppliers as commodities, all available to the customer in a single, aggregated shopping experience. While aggregation can provide high value for customers, it minimizes the opportunity for merchants to differentiate and can ultimately hurt customers as competition and innovation are stifled.&nbsp; </p>



<p>A competitor to Amazon might try becoming a larger aggregator. It&#8217;s a difficult endeavor. Walmart <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=walmart+vs+amazon">has been trying</a> for years. The larger an aggregator grows, the more entrenched their position, and the less likely a competitor can unseat them by utilizing the same strategy. </p>



<p>There is another way to compete with an aggregator. Build a platform.&nbsp;</p>



<p>While an aggregator owns the customer and commoditizes its suppliers, a platform empowers those who build on it, relying on its suppliers being differentiated and successful in their own right.&nbsp;</p>



<p>As Ben details in the article, Shopify’s best shot at taking on Amazon is to double-down on their focus as a platform and, by all evidence, that seems to be their strategy. Shopify wants to be the platform that empowers its merchants to succeed. </p>



<p>There are several problems I suggest with Shopify’s strategy, though.</p>



<ol><li><strong>Data Control</strong> &#8211; Shopify has taken a strong stance on centralizing control of customer data and using their terms of service to enforce their policies. Their recent <a href="https://mailchimp.com/shopify-statement/">clash with MailChimp</a> (who decided to leave the platform) may be indicative of more to come. It makes sense to have a centralized source of truth for your data. Shopify’s position, though, is an all or nothing approach that results in more lock-in to the platform and more data in their control. Actions that stifle or remove <em>choice </em>from the equation for end users and the suppliers who serve them is aggregator thinking more than platform thinking. </li><li><strong>Closed Source</strong> &#8211; Shopify is a proprietary platform with closed source code. While they make efforts to show <a href="http://shopify.github.io/">open source friendliness</a>, the reality is that the platform code is <em>theirs</em>. If you stop paying Shopify, you lose it all and if you don’t like what they’re doing with the platform, you’re stuck unless you choose to leave. </li><li><strong>Growth Risks</strong> &#8211; Shopify is growing fast and as a publicly traded company, they are focused on accelerating growth. Products like Shopify Capital, and the emphasis on offline services through Point-of-Sale as well as the continued push into enterprise, deepen the risk of growing for growth’s sake, rather than doing what’s best for the merchants they serve. </li></ol>



<p>Shopify is a good<em> </em>solution for independent merchants who want to be more than an aggregated commodity. There are problems, though, and while Shopify is likely continue to grow despite the problems I’ve suggested (they have no shortage of interested investors), there is a better approach. </p>



<h3>WooCommerce on WordPressOS</h3>



<p>In my writing on <a href="https://growinwp.com/ecosystem-plugins/">Ecosystem Plugins</a>, I introduced the concept of WordPress as an Operating System for the Open Web and cited WooCommerce as an example of an Ecosystem Plugin. </p>



<p>I believe strongly in the importance and value of WordPress as an Operating System, a <em>platform</em>, for the Open Web.&nbsp;</p>



<p>With WooCommerce, I see potential for it to become <em>more </em>than an Ecosystem Plugin and serve as <em>the </em>platform for ecommerce on the Open Web.&nbsp;</p>



<p>To do that, WooCommerce needs three things:</p>



<ol><li><strong>A great core experience</strong> &#8211; Out-of-the-box, WooCommerce needs to have the essentials built-in and provide a great, user-focused onboarding and operating experience. It needs to be intuitive and accessible for non-technical, small business merchants, who should always be the core focus. Importantly, this is <em>not </em>about removing choices and dumbing interfaces down. This is about doing the <em>harder </em>work and teaching merchants how to make the right choices for them and use the power that WooCommerce provides. </li><li><strong>A vibrant partner ecosystem</strong> &#8211; Shopify has nearly 3000 apps in its “App Store” today. The WooCommerce marketplace has less than 300 extensions, and more than 30% are maintained by Automattic. For WooCommerce to succeed as a platform it needs to be trusted by its partners and seen as the <em>best </em>platform with clear short-term incentives and long-term value.</li><li><strong>A strong community</strong> &#8211; WordPress’ community is a <em>huge </em>key to its success. Meetups and WordCamps create a sense of belonging and shared ownership that drives a loyalty to WordPress that’s unparalleled. WooCommerce needs to create a similar community where merchants feel that they have each other’s<em> </em>backs and are able to share their love for the platform that makes it all possible.</li></ol>



<p>By many standards, Shopify is a giant compared to WooCommerce. With 4000+ employees, a $35+ billion dollar market cap, and a marketing budget to match, they seem to be the dominate ecommerce platform and show no signs of slowing down their efforts. </p>



<p>You can’t buy trust, vibrancy, and loyalty though. Deepening trust through a great core experience, investing in the partner ecosystem, and strengthening community loyalty is where I think WooCommerce has the opportunity to improve and succeed. </p>



<p>Here are three ideas for WooCommerce to increase its value and strengthen its position as <em>the</em> platform for ecommerce on the Open Web:</p>



<ol><li><strong>Introduce a WooCommerce Subscription</strong> &#8211; Provide access to non-SaaS extensions for a flat, monthly rate and easy bundling of SaaS billing for those who want it. Make it a clear win for all involved, including the merchants and marketplace partners. Position the subscription as an investment in the Open Web. The code is GPL &#8211; they could stop paying at any time and keep access. Paying, though, provides support and capital for reinvestment, ensuring the continued success of the platform. A subscription also offers opportunity to streamline the user experience for customers, reducing friction for developers.</li><li><strong>Invest in the Partner Ecosystem</strong> &#8211; Make building a healthy partner ecosystem a priority. Provide guidance, mentorship, and funding to help developers succeed on the WooCommerce platform. Build strong relationships with SaaS providers, including ecommerce focused companies like BigCommerce, and help streamline their integrations into the platform.&nbsp; </li><li><strong>Cultivate Community</strong> &#8211; Invest in and support ecommerce meetups and create more ecommerce focused events. Double-down on the Open Web narrative and encourage community members to support each other in improving and maintaining their freedom as merchants on the Open Web. </li></ol>



<p>Shopify provides a valuable service that empowers merchants. Unfortunately, their approach to centralized data control, their closed source platform, and the risks of a growth focus pose the potential for more harm than good. </p>



<p>I believe that WooCommerce, with data control in the hands of its users, an open source ecosystem, and a strong independent community give it the opportunity to become the <em>best </em>platform for ecommerce on the Open Web. </p>



<p><em>Special thanks to <a href="https://www.embrin.com">Caleb Johnson</a> for his epic illustration.</em></p>



<p class="boxy"><em>This is a guest post by Jonathan Wold. Jonathan has been living and breathing WordPress for 14 years and believes its best years are still to come. He writes about WordPress on </em><a href="https://growinwp.com"><em>GrowInWP.com</em></a><em> and blogs about life and habits on </em><a href="https://jonathanwold.com"><em>JonathanWold.com</em></a></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 02 Aug 2019 15:45:09 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jonathan Wold";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:24;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:72:"WPTavern: Gatsby Theme Jam Contest Inspires Two WordPress Starter Themes";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92099";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:83:"https://wptavern.com/gatsby-theme-jam-contest-inspires-two-wordpress-starter-themes";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4233:"<p><a href="https://www.gatsbyjs.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gatsby</a>, the open source app and website framework based on React, celebrated the <a href="https://www.gatsbyjs.org/blog/2019-07-03-announcing-stable-release-gatsby-themes/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">stable release of Gatsby themes</a> by launching a <a href="https://themejam.gatsbyjs.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Theme Jam contest</a>. Participants were invited to create their own Gatsby Themes and submit them for an opportunity to win swag or the grand prize: an all-expenses-paid trip to the Gatsby Days event of their choosing. Submissions closed yesterday and winners will be announced on August 7, 2019.</p>
<p>Gatsby themes include a site or app&#8217;s configuration as an installable package, which can then be versioned and managed as a dependency and easily updated. They were designed to make Gatsby-based projects more extensible, allowing developers to reuse site configurations, plugins, styles, and components across multiple sites.</p>
<p>Looking through the contest&#8217;s <a href="https://themejam.gatsbyjs.org/showcase" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">showcase</a> of submissions, I found two that were created for sites that are using WordPress. Both rely on the <a href="https://www.wpgraphql.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WPGraphQL</a> plugin to source WordPress content.</p>
<p>Alexandra Spalato created a theme called <a href="https://github.com/alexadark/gatsby-theme-jam" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gatsby Theme WordPress Starter</a> that allows developers to build a standard blog. It has styles for all the standard features, such as featured images, lists, categories, and pagination support. Setup instructions are on GitHub and a <a href="https://gatsby-theme-wordpress-blog.netlify.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">demo site</a> shows the theme in action.</p>
<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/gatsby-wordpress-theme-screenshot.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>Spalato plans to create some video tutorials to demonstrate how to customize the theme. She also recommends using it with the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/webhook-netlify-deploy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Deploy Netlify Webhook</a> plugin to automatically rebuild the site after publishing new posts.</p>
<p>Andrey Shalashov created a theme called <a href="https://github.com/progital/gatsby-theme-wp-source-one" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WordPress source theme for Gastby</a> that he intends to be &#8220;a one-stop solution for a WordPress blog owner who wants to switch to Gatsby powered frontend.&#8221; For most simple sites, the only thing developers have to configure is the source url and the menu location slug.</p>
<p>The theme supports using a WordPress menu from a defined location but only displays first level items. It also supports post categories. It automatically downloads images embedded in posts, pages, and custom post types and converts their tags to the Gatsby img component. Links embedded in posts that lead to other pages are converted to the Link component. Check out a <a href="https://gatsby-wp-theme.progital.dev/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">demo</a> to see it in action.</p>
<p><a href="https://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/gatsby-wp-source-theme.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>So far, the Theme Jam contest seems to have been a successful strategy for Gatsby to quickly expand developer&#8217;s knowledge of creating Gatsby themes, as well as multiple their availability in the ecosystem. The <a href="https://themejam.gatsbyjs.org/showcase" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">showcase</a> displays 112 themes that have been submitted for the contest.</p>
<p>Submissions are being judged on code quality, accessibility, performance, the availability of a live demo, documentation, and other criteria. They are also judged on having accurate metadata for showing up in searches, with certain keywords in the package.json file that enable the theme to show up in both the Gatsby showcase and npm searches.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 02 Aug 2019 06:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:25;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:70:"WPTavern: Ninja Forms Parent Company Saturday Drive Acquires CalderaWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92134";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:81:"https://wptavern.com/ninja-forms-parent-company-saturday-drive-acquires-calderawp";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6890:"<p><a href="https://saturdaydrive.io" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Saturday Drive</a>, makers of Ninja Forms, Ninja Shop, and SendWP, has acquired <a href="https://saturdaydrive.io/saturday-drive-acquires-caldera-forms/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Caldera Forms</a>, a React-based, drag-and-drop forms builder plugin. In addition to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/caldera-forms/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">free plugin on WordPress.org</a>, which has more than 200,000 active installs, CalderaWP&#8217;s product line includes a <a href="https://calderaforms.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pro version</a> and more than 30 free and commercial add-ons for things like payment processors and marketing integrations.</p>
<p><a href="https://joshpress.net/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Josh Pollock</a>, who co-founded CalderaWP in 2015 with <a href="http://christiechirinos.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Christie Chirinos</a>, will be <a href="https://calderaforms.com/2019/08/saturday-drive-acquires-caldera-forms/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">joining Saturday Drive</a> as VP of Engineer Experience, along with three other employees from the company, bringing Saturday Drive&#8217;s total crew number to 25. Chirinos began working as a product manager at <a href="https://www.liquidweb.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Liquid Web</a> earlier this year.</p>
<p>Caldera Forms will still operate under the Saturday Drive umbrella and continue to be developed with more resources.</p>
<p>&#8220;If it ever felt to you like Caldera Forms was a part time thing, that was true,&#8221; Pollock said. &#8220;It’s not true anymore.&#8221; Saturday Drive is aiming to speed up development and decrease support times.</p>
<p>&#8220;Caldera Forms is not going anywhere,&#8221; Pollock said. &#8220;It&#8217;s going to get a lot more focus and attention now. I didn&#8217;t contribute any code to the last release, it was all Nico and community contributors. I reviewed the changes. Kevin (CTO at Saturday Drive) and I helped manage him, but he&#8217;s ready to take over Caldera Forms from me and has all of the support he needs.&#8221;</p>
<p>Pollock will be focusing on improving the engineering process at Saturday Drive and working on some products, starting with SendWP. He also plans to continue writing tutorials about PHP and JavaScript development.</p>
<p><a href="http://jameslaws.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Laws</a>, Saturday Drive co-founder and co-creator of Ninja Forms, said the attraction to CalderaWP was &#8220;a combination of acquiring the team and the profit potential.&#8221; With more resources at their disposal, he anticipates that Caldera will become even more profitable. Laws declined to share more specific details on the financial aspects of the arrangement but shared a few factors involved in considering what it costs to acquire a forms builder plugin in the WordPress space these days.</p>
<p>&#8220;It really depends on the form builder,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It’s similar to any WordPress plugin &#8211; number of customers, active users, growth trend, support load, team makeup, and so much more all goes into the conversation. Some form builders might not be worth anything. Others are worth millions. Much of it depends on the objectives of the buyer.&#8221;</p>
<h3>How Saturday Drive Plans to Market Two Different WordPress Forms Plugins Under one Umbrella</h3>
<p>One of the more intriguing aspects of this acquisition is that Saturday Drive already has one of the most successful WordPress forms plugins in its arsenal. <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/ninja-forms/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ninja Forms</a> has more than a million active installs but is knee deep in competition with alternatives such as <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/contact-form-7/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Contact Form 7</a> (5 million+ installs), WPForms (2 million+), and Gravity Forms. Although Caldera Forms is technically a competitor to Ninja Forms, both Laws and Pollock seem to be confident marketing them separately under the same company umbrella.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve been really friendly competitors for years,&#8221; Pollock said. &#8220;Caldera Forms had always been a developer tool with a goal of being intuitive enough for everyone. I think this will allow us to focus Ninja Forms and Caldera Forms on serving different needs. Neither plugin can make everyone happy.&#8221;</p>
<p>Laws said the plan is to keep Caldera Forms as a unique brand, since it has a different user base and primary message focused on developers.</p>
<p>&#8220;We will focus on this difference in messaging,&#8221; Laws said. &#8220;Ninja Forms for a long time has been moving towards being more user centric with a focus towards simplicity and specific ways of accomplishing particular tasks. This direction has certainly alienated developers who want to do deeper customizations because that just isn’t our primary goals any longer.&#8221;</p>
<p>For Saturday Drive&#8217;s co-founders, the decision to acquire CalderaWP seems to have been just as much about gaining Pollock&#8217;s leadership and his team as it was about gaining the product line.</p>
<p>&#8220;Caldera Forms has always been the WordPress developers form builder,&#8221; Laws said. &#8220;Josh is, at his core, an extremely talented developer who loves helping developers. Caldera Forms is the product of this passion. We saw a great opportunity to have a tool under our umbrella that now focused on this exciting space of developers, agencies, and freelancers that needed a tool that could be truly modified to their hearts content.&#8221;</p>
<p>Laws said Saturday Drive plans to slow down for a bit to ensure all four of the company&#8217;s products are where they want them to be. &#8220;I’m confident that all the products will be seeing some very cool updates over the next 6 months,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Pollock, who has a strong interest in headless WordPress setups, said he has been experimenting with new ways to use the newer React-driven parts of Caldera Forms anywhere. He has a Gatsby + WordPress test site (<a href="https://futurecapable.dev/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">futurecapable.dev</a>) where he set up a first pass at this prior to getting distracted by acquisition negotiations and daily life.</p>
<p>&#8220;Part of the new job is finding new ways to fill the same needs that Caldera Forms, Ninja Forms, and Ninja Shop fulfill today,&#8221; he said. &#8220;If the future is headless and static sites, which I think so, then contact forms, eCommerce, list building, etc. we need to make that easy. That&#8217;s the challenge I&#8217;m most interested in.&#8221;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 01 Aug 2019 20:15:28 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:26;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"WordPress.org blog: The Month in WordPress: July 2019";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=7040";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:68:"https://wordpress.org/news/2019/08/the-month-in-wordpress-july-2019/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6981:"<p>This month has been characterized by exciting plans and big announcements &#8211; read on to find out what they are and what it all means for the future of the WordPress project.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator" />



<h2>WordCamp Asia Announced</h2>



<p>The inaugural WordCamp Asia will be in Bangkok, Thailand, on February 21-23, 2020. This will be the first regional WordCamp in Asia and it comes after many years of discussions and planning. You can find more information about the event <a href="https://2020.asia.wordcamp.org/">on their website</a> and subscribe to stay up to date with the latest information.</p>



<p>This is the latest flagship event in the WordCamp program, following WordCamps Europe and US. Tickets <a href="https://2020.asia.wordcamp.org/tickets/">are now on sale</a> and the <a href="https://2020.asia.wordcamp.org/call-for-speakers/">call for speakers</a> is open. Want to get involved in WordCamp Asia? Keep an eye out for volunteer applications, or buy a micro sponsor ticket. You can also join the #wcasia channel in <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/chat/">the Making WordPress Slack group</a> for updates.</p>



<h2>WordCamp US Planning Continues</h2>



<p>The WordCamp US organizing team is excited to announce some new additions to this year’s WCUS in St. Louis, Missouri, on November 1-3, 2019. The first is that there will be an onsite KidsCamp: child-friendly lessons that introduce your young one(s) to the wonderful world of WordPress.&nbsp; <a href="https://2019.us.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/">You can register your child for KidsCamp here</a>. In addition, free, onsite childcare will be provided at this year’s event &#8211; <a href="https://2019.us.wordcamp.org/child-care/">you can sign up here</a>.</p>



<p>Looking for further ways to get involved? The <a href="https://2019.us.wordcamp.org/call-for-volunteers-form/">call for volunteers is now open</a>. For more information on WordCamp US, <a href="https://2019.us.wordcamp.org/">please visit the event website</a>.</p>



<h2>Exploring Updates to the WordPress User &amp; Developer Survey</h2>



<p>To improve the annual WordPress User &amp; Developer Survey, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2019/06/28/updates-to-the-wordpress-user-developer-survey/">a call has been made</a> for updates and additional questions that can help us all better understand how people use WordPress.</p>



<p>To improve the survey, contributor teams are suggesting topics and information that should be gathered to inform contributor work in 2020. Please add your feedback <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2019/06/28/updates-to-the-wordpress-user-developer-survey/">to the post</a>.</p>



<h2>Gutenberg Usability Testing Continues</h2>



<p>Usability tests for Gutenberg continued through June 2019, and <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2019/07/10/gutenberg-usability-testing-for-june-2019/">insights from three recent videos were published</a> last month. This month’s test was similar to WordCamp Europe’s usability tests, and you can read more about those in the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2019/07/05/wceu-usability-test-results-part-one/">part one</a> and <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2019/07/09/wceu-usability-test-results-part-two/">part two</a> posts. Please help by watching these videos and sharing your observations as comments on the relevant post.</p>



<p>If you want to help with usability testing, you can also join the #research channel in <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/chat/">the Making WordPress Slack group</a>, or you can write a test script that can be usability tested for Gutenberg.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator" />



<h2>Further Reading:</h2>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2019/07/23/proposal-a-wordpress-advisory-board/">A proposal has been made</a> to put together a nominated WordPress Advisory Board &#8211; this is certainly an exciting development for the project.</li><li>The Design team <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/06/28/wceu-contribution-day-recap-design-team/">reported on the work they did</a> at the WordCamp Europe Contributor Day.</li><li>The Theme Review Team <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2019/07/22/theme-sniffer-v1-1-0-and-wpthemereview-v0-2-0-release/">has released updated versions</a> of their ThemeSniffer tool and coding standards.</li><li>The Security team <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/07/29/should-security-fixes-continue-to-be-backported-to-very-old-versions-of-wordpress/">is looking for feedback</a> on whether security fixes should continue to be backported to very old versions of WordPress. </li><li>The Design and Community teams have worked together to come up with <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2019/07/29/proposal-clearer-wordcamp-and-wordpress-chapter-meetup-logo-guidelines/">official guidelines for how WordCamp logos should be designed</a>.</li><li>The Core team has implemented <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/07/12/php-coding-standards-changes/">a few changes</a> to the PHP coding standards within WordPress Core.</li><li>The Community Team <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2019/07/26/discussion-what-to-do-in-case-of-irreconcilable-differences/">is looking for feedback</a> on a tough decision that needs to be made regarding the implementation of the licence expectations within the meetup program.</li><li>The Design team <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/07/11/block-directory-in-wp-admin-concepts/">has presented some designs</a> for a Block Directory within the WordPress dashboard.</li><li>A recent release of WordPress saw an increase in the minimum required version of PHP &#8211; the Core team is now looking at <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/07/29/proposal-for-increasing-recommended-php-version-in-wordpress/">increasing that minimum further</a>.</li><li>The Site Health feature was first introduced in the 5.1 release of WordPress, and at WordCamp Europe this year <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/07/01/new-core-component-site-health/">a new Core component for the feature was added to the project structure</a>.</li><li>The Community Team has posted some interesting data regarding <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2019/07/29/numbers-in-the-netherlands/">WordCamps in the Netherlands</a> over the last few years, as well as <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2019/07/31/wordcamps-in-2018/">WordCamps in 2018</a>.</li><li>The WordCamp Europe team <a href="https://2019.europe.wordcamp.org/2019/07/15/survey-results/">released the results of the attendee survey</a> from this year&#8217;s event in Berlin.</li></ul>



<p><em>Have a story that we should include in the next “Month in WordPress” post? Please </em><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/month-in-wordpress-submissions/"><em>submit it here</em></a><em>.</em></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 01 Aug 2019 09:56:05 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Hugh Lashbrooke";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:27;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:86:"WPTavern: WPWeekly Episode 362 – Fitness, Freelancing, and More With Michelle Schulp";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:59:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92126&preview=true&preview_id=92126";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:91:"https://wptavern.com/wpweekly-episode-362-fitness-freelancing-and-more-with-michelle-schulp";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2062:"<p>In this episode, <a href="http://jjj.me">John James Jacoby</a> and I are joined by Michelle Schulp, an <a href="https://marktimemedia.com/">independent freelancer</a> and Director of Technology at<a href="http://aigaminnesota.org/"> AIGA Minnesota</a>. We discussed the impacts speaking at multiple WordCamps had on her business early on, why she continues to be a freelance contractor as opposed to managing her own agency, and the role fitness has in her life. We also touch on what her personal experience has been like as a woman in the WordPress community.</p>
<h2>Stories Discussed:</h2>
<p><a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-security-team-discusses-backporting-security-releases-to-fewer-versions" rel="bookmark">WordPress Security Team Discusses Backporting Security Releases to Fewer Versions</a></p>
<p><a href="https://wptavern.com/wordsesh-emea-coming-september-25-a-new-virtual-wordpress-event-for-europe-middle-east-and-africa" rel="bookmark">WordSesh EMEA Coming September 25: A New Virtual WordPress Event for Europe, Middle East, and Africa</a></p>
<p><a href="https://allienimmons.com/how-to-be-a-wordpress-ally/">How to Be A WordPress Ally</a></p>
<p><a href="https://fitnessandfreelance.com/">Fitness and Freelance</a></p>
<p><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/16662"><span class="js-issue-title">Add support for gradients in cover image</span></a></p>
<h2>WPWeekly Meta:</h2>
<p><strong>Next Episode:</strong> Wednesday, August 7th 3:00 P.M. Eastern</p>
<p>Subscribe to <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wordpress-weekly/id694849738">WordPress Weekly via Itunes</a></p>
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<p><strong>Listen To Episode #362:</strong><br />
</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 01 Aug 2019 00:41:34 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:28;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:83:"WPTavern: Gutenberg 6.2 Adds Nesting Capabilities to Cover, Media &amp; Text Blocks";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92063";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:87:"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-6-2-adds-nesting-capabilities-to-cover-media-text-blocks";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2210:"<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/07/31/whats-new-in-gutenberg-31-july/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gutenberg 6.2</a> has two new user-facing features that were added based on community feedback. The Cover and Media &amp; Text blocks now <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/16751" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">allow for nesting any type of block inside</a>.</p>
<p>Previously, the Cover block only allowed users to add a heading, button, or paragraph block. Users had resorted to employing clunky solutions to get around the restrictions, such as using the group block with a custom class and using CSS to add backgrounds and overlay styling. The restrictions have now been removed to give users greater flexibility in styling these blocks.</p>
<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/nesting-in-cover-block.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>Another new user-facing feature in 6.2 is the ability to <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/10128" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">customize the link target</a> of the Button block, enabling users to designate the link to open in a new tab. Gutenberg Phase 2 lead Riad Benguella said this small improvement was a frequently requested feature.</p>
<p><a href="https://i1.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Screen-Shot-2019-07-31-at-5.38.50-PM.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>This release also introduces a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/16356" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">new PHP API</a> to simplify the registration of block styles variations. It offers a simple way for plugin and theme developers to register block styles using only PHP function calls, instead of using JavaScript. This should make styling blocks more approachable for those who are more comfortable with PHP.</p>
<p>Gutenberg 6.2 includes more than two dozen enhancements and bug fixes, along with many mobile and documentation improvements. Check out the changelog in the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/07/31/whats-new-in-gutenberg-31-july/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">release post</a> for more details.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 31 Jul 2019 23:34:33 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:29;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:96:"WPTavern: Meta Box Plugin Introduces MB Blocks, a PHP-based Extension for Creating Custom Blocks";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92065";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:106:"https://wptavern.com/meta-box-plugin-introduces-mb-blocks-a-php-based-extension-for-creating-custom-blocks";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5875:"<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Screen-Shot-2019-07-31-at-1.50.39-PM.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://metabox.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Meta Box</a>, one of the most popular WordPress custom fields frameworks, has released a new extension for creating custom Gutenberg blocks using only PHP. <a href="https://metabox.io/plugins/mb-blocks/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">MB Blocks</a> gives developers the ability to build blocks with various settings, using a similar syntax as creating a meta box, without having to know React, Webpack, or Babel.</p>
<p>MB Blocks inherits many settings and field types from Meta Box to speed up development. Those who are experienced using Meta Box should be able to create a new Gutenberg block in under 10 minutes.</p>
<p><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rilwis/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tran Ngoc Tuan Anh</a> created the Meta Box framework in 2010, launched on WordPress.org in 2011, and began releasing commercial extensions in 2014. The plugin&#8217;s user base has grown to more than 400,000 active installs and Tran now leads a three-person team, including two developers and one marketer.</p>
<p>&#8220;The revenue is not as good as other businesses, but it&#8217;s enough for us to run a small team,&#8221; Tran said. Learning React was new for his developers and it took them several months to get familiar with the framework before being able to create the MB Blocks extension.</p>
<p>Following in the footsteps of Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), which offers ACF blocks as part of its <a href="https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/pro/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pro version</a>, Meta Box&#8217;s PHP-only block creation solution is only available as a commercial extension.</p>
<p>&#8220;The MB Blocks extension is our strategy to attract users to Meta Box,&#8221; Tran said. &#8220;Since Gutenberg is becoming a huge thing, people really need a way to work with it. With this extension, we hope to bring more premium users to Meta Box.&#8221;</p>
<p>With more than one million active installs, ACF is the market leader and Meta Box&#8217;s main competitor, but Tran said his team is also keeping an eye on other plugins like <a href="https://toolset.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Toolset</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/cmb2/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CMB2</a> (200,000+ installs), and <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/pods/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pods</a> (80,000+ installs). He identified flexibility as Meta Box&#8217;s chief differentiator, since it is a code-based solution that he believes gives developers a greater level of customization in creating custom fields.</p>
<p>&#8220;The main difference between Meta Box and ACF is Meta Box is more developer-focused. It&#8217;s mainly code-based, e.g. you define meta boxes and fields with code (it has the UI as a premium extension but code is still the main part),&#8221; Tran said. &#8220;Meta Box has some extra things like supporting custom table storage, making frontend forms, advanced conditional logic, and building user profiles on the frontend.&#8221;</p>
<p>Tran said he is satisfied with Gutenberg&#8217;s support for meta boxes at the moment but would like to see it improved.</p>
<p>&#8220;The way it works is kind of a &#8216;fake&#8217; submission for post data via ajax,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Sometimes that makes users have to refresh the page to see the updated content. I mean for complex data, it still doesn&#8217;t have a good way to refresh the meta boxes when a post is saved. I wish there was was a way to do that.&#8221;</p>
<p>This may not be a priority for the Gutenberg team, as the ideal is for meta boxes to be converted to blocks wherever possible to maintain a unified editing interface. The reality is that many plugins are still not block-enabled, which is why the WordPress Plugin Directory has a <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/browse/blocks/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">section</a> devoted to promoting those that are.</p>
<p>&#8220;Many users still need custom meta boxes because of two reasons: building custom Gutenberg blocks is not easy enough, and a lot of plugins still require meta boxes to work,&#8221; Tran said.</p>
<p>The availability of PHP-based solutions for creating custom Gutenberg blocks has been an important development for those who have been slow to take the deep dive into JavaScript and React. Tran said the feedback he has received from his userbase indicates that many have not prioritized gaining the skills necessary to become proficient at custom Gutenberg development.</p>
<p>&#8220;Our main users are web creators who build websites on a daily basis,&#8221; Tran said. &#8220;Many of them have built a solid foundation for their work to speed up the workflow. Things such as a page builder, a custom fields framework, a powerful theme, are their daily tools. Putting Gutenberg into this toolset requires a lot of time learning and mastering it. Sometimes it&#8217;s not feasible, especially when Gutenberg is not powerful enough to build websites. Most of them still use a page builder to build websites, while they keep testing Gutenberg to see what&#8217;s new.&#8221;</p>
<p>Tran said most of his customers are using page builders like Beaver Builder or Elementor. Some give access to their clients and others do not. This is where they often look to plugins like Meta Box to help them build settings for their websites.</p>
<p>With MB Blocks released today, the Meta Box team is moving forward on its roadmap, working on integrations with other plugins like WP All Import, and improving the Meta Box Builder to support creating relationships and settings pages with a UI.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 31 Jul 2019 19:02:01 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:30;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:91:"WPTavern: WordPress Security Team Discusses Backporting Security Releases to Fewer Versions";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=92029";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:102:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-security-team-discusses-backporting-security-releases-to-fewer-versions";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6181:"<p>The WordPress Security Team is <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/07/29/should-security-fixes-continue-to-be-backported-to-very-old-versions-of-wordpress/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">exploring different approaches</a> to backporting security fixes to older versions of the software. The effort that goes into supporting versions back to <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2013/10/basie/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">3.7</a> (the release that introduced automatic background updates) increases with each major version released.</p>
<p>&#8220;For the Core Security team, that means when security updates need to be released, we have to take the testing and release process not just to the current version of WordPress, but we have to test the changes, create code patches, and then release to every major version all the way back to 3.7,&#8221; security team lead Jake Spurlock said. &#8220;With 5.3 around the corner that puts us at over fifteen major versions of WordPress to support long term.&#8221;</p>
<p>Spurlock said 3.7 represents <a href="https://wordpress.org/about/stats/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">0.1% of all WordPress sites</a> but noted that supporting older versions requires &#8220;a large amount of time and energy and hurts the team’s ability to work effectively.&#8221;</p>
<p>When asked how much of a time investment is in involved, Spurlock said it varies depending how many tickets/issues have to be ported. All patches are reviewed, tested, and committed by several team members. There are approximately 50 security experts on the team, many of which are employed by Automattic, although some are volunteers.</p>
<p>&#8220;The problem with developing security releases for older versions of WordPress lies in the amount of testing and then reengineering that is specific to each older version of WordPress,&#8221; Spurlock said. &#8220;As an example. WordPress 4.2 received a fairly large refactor, and so taking a fix back before that time means extra testing, and ensuring that paths works for patches and more. Getting the testing suite to work on older versions has been difficult too with the code changes that accompany each version.&#8221;</p>
<p>Spurlock called for feedback and ideas on how the security team can support fewer versions of WordPress while keeping users secure. An active discussion is underway and opinions range from enthusiastic support for the idea to opposition.</p>
<p>Some who weighed in prefer to focus on urging users to update via emails to admins on older installs and/or a &#8220;please upgrade&#8221; widget ported back to older versions. As big version jumps can be intimidating for users, some recommended WordPress provide better ways to do incremental updates from older versions to the next most recent.</p>
<p>&#8220;If the goal is to keep WordPress users secure against hackers and other rogue agents, you should continue supporting older versions with security releases,&#8221; WordPress core contributor Rami Yushuvaev said.</p>
<p>&#8220;WordPress 3.7 represents 0.1% of all WordPress sites but WordPress 3.0 – 3.6 represents 1.6% of all WordPress sites. You don’t want to increase the number of sites using un-secure versions. With the current policy, &#8216;old version&#8217; is not the same as &#8216;un-secure version.&#8217;</p>
<p>&#8220;I think you should educate users to use updated software, not to stop releasing security releases for older versions.&#8221;</p>
<p>Several commenters are in favor of limiting backporting security fixes to a set number of versions, as outlined by former WordPress security lead, Aaron Campbell:</p>
<blockquote><p>I like the idea if supporting X versions back. That allows users to know that they don’t have to update to the latest version no matter what our release cycles are, and also makes sure we can eventually hone in on how many versions are actually tenable to support.</p>
<p>Supporting X years back would allow users to know they can avoid upgrading for a certain amount of time, but it would also mean that the security team wouldn’t always be supporting the same number of versions and if a release ever took longer than our supported time then all users would be expected to upgrade to the latest version (exceptions could always be made, but it’s harder to rely on those).</p></blockquote>
<p>Stephen Edgar, one of the maintainers of WordPress&#8217; build tools component, suggested implementing automatic major version upgrades to keep moving users forward to supported versions in waves.</p>
<p>&#8220;Maybe continue to ship them until &#8216;major&#8217; updates are implemented,&#8221; Edgar said. &#8220;The current thinking is to add major updates to 3.7 first, bumping 3.7 to 3.8 via automatic updates. Once that’s completed then security updates would no longer be backported to the 3.7 branch.</p>
<p>&#8220;And similarly, once 3.8 major updates are implemented, i.e. 3.8 gets bumped to x.x then again, backports to 3.8 would cease at the same time and so forth through the branches.&#8221;</p>
<p>Edgar also noted that providing users a way to opt into automatic updates for major core releases is one of the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/12/08/9-priorities-for-2019/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">nine projects</a> that Matt Mullenweg had identified for working on in 2019.</p>
<p>Several other commenters said they would like to see WordPress implement semantic versioning and adopt a long-term support (LTS) policy. WordPress would then clearly communicate the number of years those versions would be supported. Older sites could then be auto-updated to the LTS version.</p>
<p>No decision has been made on the ideas proposed and the discussion is still ongoing. If you have experience maintaining older sites or have input on how WordPress can best keep users secure while decreasing the work load, leave a comment on the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/07/29/should-security-fixes-continue-to-be-backported-to-very-old-versions-of-wordpress/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Make WordPress Core post</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:17:51 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:31;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:110:"WPTavern: WordSesh EMEA Coming September 25: A New Virtual WordPress Event for Europe, Middle East, and Africa";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=91993";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:118:"https://wptavern.com/wordsesh-emea-coming-september-25-a-new-virtual-wordpress-event-for-europe-middle-east-and-africa";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4160:"<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/wordsesh-emea.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://wordsesh.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WordSesh</a> is launching a new event aimed at WordPress enthusiasts living in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. The 12-hour virtual event is scheduled for September 25, 2019, from 7:00-19:00 UTC. While the event has always been open to participants across the world, WordSesh &#8220;EMEA&#8221; will be the first to offer a schedule that is tailored to attendees living in the Eastern hemisphere.</p>
<p>Organizer Brian Richards said that hosting an event for this region has been on his mind ever since he took the reins of WordSesh in 2018.</p>
<p>&#8220;I switched to a 12-hour format to make the event easier to manage and attend, but I recognized immediately that I was alienating a huge portion of the audience by setting those 12 hours to track across my own timezone,&#8221; Richards said. &#8220;The primary goal here is to create an event that is more convenient to attend for people across Europe, Middle East, and Africa.&#8221;</p>
<p>WordSesh EMEA sessions will be conducted in English this time around and will also be live captioned just like the previous two events. The schedule will include ten 50-minute sessions (including Q&amp;A) and three 15-minute sessions. All sessions will be recorded and available on WPSessions after the live event has ended.</p>
<p><a href="https://wordsesh.com/speak/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Applications for speakers</a> are already open. Each speaker receives a free coaching session for their presentation and a $250 stipend. The deadline to apply is August 9, 2019.</p>
<p>Richards said he has already had a few talks submitted on topics like image performance, mental health, and Gatsby.</p>
<p>&#8220;I’d love to see talks that angle around a case study or &#8216;recipe,&#8217; (e.g. Here’s a thing I built, how I did it, and how you can too.),&#8221; he said. &#8220;I would also love to see more talks around the area of design, front-end workflows, and things like that. I’m most excited to host presenters who themselves are excited about an idea.&#8221;</p>
<p>With WordSesh officially going global in support of different timezones, Richards said he anticipates the next region will be Asia Pacific and is enthusiastic to organize it.</p>
<p>&#8220;I  don&#8217;t know how many personal relationships I currently have across APAC to make a WordSesh for that region a reality – in terms of sponsors, speakers, and attendees – but it&#8217;s a big region and community, and it&#8217;s on my radar for 2020,&#8221; Richards said.</p>
<p>WordSesh EMEA will be the second WordSesh held this year. There were more than 1,000 attendees registered for the May 2019 event and 700 participated live throughout the day.</p>
<p>&#8220;WordSesh is one of the best attended WordPress events, which is very humbling,&#8221; Richards said. &#8220;I&#8217;m excited to see how many people attend WordSesh EMEA, given how much larger WCEU is relative to WCUS. WCEU 2019 had more than 2X the participants of WCUS 2018.&#8221;</p>
<p>He said he doesn&#8217;t anticipate that kind of disparity in attendance since it&#8217;s the first time for this event, but wouldn&#8217;t be surprised if the attendance at this event surpasses the May 2019 event.</p>
<p>The first WordSesh was held in April 2013 and is now six years running, thanks in part to Richards&#8217; contagious enthusiasm for hosting it and his willingness to try new things in an effort to best serve the community. WordSesh EMEA will mark the seventh event in the series.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think the WordSesh events are popular because the broad WordPress community is a distributed-first body &#8211; not only the contributors, but also the majority of the agencies, product shops, and even client relationships,&#8221; Richards said.</p>
<p>&#8220;Thus, an event that caters to a distributed audience – watch from anywhere, replay at any time – feels like a pretty natural extension of how we already work and interact.&#8221;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 29 Jul 2019 22:47:50 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:32;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:88:"WPTavern: WordPress Contributors Explore the Possibility of a Global Accessibility Event";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=91976";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:99:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-contributors-explore-the-possibility-of-a-global-accessibility-event";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5112:"<p>WordPress&#8217; accessibility team is evaluating the possibility of organizing a virtual Global Accessibility Day, similar to the Polyglots&#8217; Global Translation Day. This marathon-style contributor event has proven to be valuable for the Polyglots in terms of recruiting, onboarding, and <a href="https://wptavern.com/polyglots-team-experiences-record-annual-growth-expands-wordpress-reach-to-millions-with-new-translations" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">fueling progress on translation projects</a>.</p>
<p>Accessibility contributors proposed the idea at a meeting two weeks ago after discussing the team&#8217;s desire to have more representation at WordCamp contributor days. WordCamp Europe 2019 had a strong contingency of accessibility contributors, but being present on the ground in Berlin was not an option for the vast majority of the team.</p>
<p>&#8220;I heard different people saying that this Contributor Day was extremely useful, because they had the opportunity to talk in person and exchange ideas with a lot of other people,&#8221; Stefano Minoia said. &#8220;This is really good: if we want to push forward a project like WordPress, it&#8217;s extremely important to have the opportunity of working together at least once a year in person.&#8221;</p>
<p>Due to the relatively small size of the team and the expense associated with traveling to larger WordCamps, accessibility contributors do not often have the opportunity for in-person collaboration. A remote contributor day focused on accessibility was proposed as an alternative.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re a small group with very little sponsorship,&#8221; Joe Dolson said during the initial discussion. &#8220;I don&#8217;t go to most WordCamps anymore, because the time and expense is just too great for me. I&#8217;ll probably go to my local WordCamp only, this year, if I have the time.&#8221;</p>
<p>Due to the nature of the work, Dolson anticipates the team may face some challenges in working around some of the constraints of collaborating through a virtual event.</p>
<p>&#8220;There are some tasks that work really well as remote contributor days; others are harder,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;ve personally found it difficult to do accessibility contributor sharing remotely.&#8221;</p>
<p>A virtual contributor day could be helpful for some basic things like teaching new contributors how to use Trac, updating the handbook and documentation, and organizing sprints for jumpstarting larger tasks. There is no shortage of accessibility projects to work on, with the new block directory in the admin slated for this year, some major changes needed to <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1KiTigFSgxKTTPTKZ43K7BUP50OSqrUUQ_OZYXdIB7oU/edit#heading=h.7pmszdlkigr5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">improve navigation to Gutenberg&#8217;s advanced settings block sidebar</a>, and more general Gutenberg issues.</p>
<p>One development that is working in the team&#8217;s favor is that Slack has improved the screen reader experience in the <a href="https://slackhq.com/introducing-a-more-efficient-slack-desktop-experience" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">most recent update</a>. Using threads was previously discouraged during accessibility team discussions due to their lack of navigability. Keyboard accessibility for getting around Slack should now be more streamlined than previous versions. This should help to improve remote collaboration for the accessibility team. Users can press CMD + ? to launch the list of <a href="http://The screen reader experience has been updated" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">available keyboard shortcuts</a> in Slack.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">All you need to get around Slack now is:<br />• F6 to cycle through the UI<br />• TAB to navigate through focusable elements<br />• UP/DOWN to navigate through lists</p>
<p>And if you feel adventurous LEFT/RIGHT keys to navigate between the message list &amp; threads.<a href="https://t.co/ir2I52ZBFI">https://t.co/ir2I52ZBFI</a> <a href="https://t.co/hNM1bHutfo">https://t.co/hNM1bHutfo</a></p>
<p>&mdash; George Zamfir (@georgezamfir) <a href="https://twitter.com/georgezamfir/status/1154367220321071104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 25, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<p>As a first step towards organizing a 24-hour virtual event, WordPress&#8217; accessibility team is working to put together a team of 10 or more people to lead the effort. Organizers will then determine the scope of the project, define the goals of the event, set a timeline, and begin the call for speakers and local meetups.</p>
<p>&#8220;The scope of the day can change based on the team,&#8221; Dolson said. &#8220;If we can&#8217;t do 24 hours, that&#8217;s fine, but the team has to come first.&#8221;</p>
<p>Anyone interested to help organize the event can sign up on the project&#8217;s public <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xNbFKhGhTL3HNH7YkRVEtyI6e51QrJQIFgIPJkv2spM/edit?usp=sharing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">spreadsheet</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 29 Jul 2019 19:17:50 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:33;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:58:"WPTavern: WordCamp US 2019 to Offer Free On-Site Childcare";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=91932";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:69:"https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-us-2019-to-offer-free-on-site-childcare";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2986:"<a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Screen-Shot-2019-07-26-at-7.23.15-PM.png?ssl=1"><img /></a>photo credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/1zR3WNSTnvY">Aaron Burden</a>
<p>WordCamp US <a href="https://2019.us.wordcamp.org/child-care/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">announced</a> today that the event will be offering free on-site childcare for children aged 6 weeks to 12 years old. Organizers have contracted <a href="https://www.ahelpinghandevents.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A Helping Hand</a>, a licensed conference childcare service company based in Virginia Beach, VA, to provide childcare for all three days, with flexible drop off and pick up throughout the day as necessary.</p>
<p>When WCUS tickets went on sale in May, parents who registered had the option to indicate whether they would be interested in on-site childcare during the conference, as organizers considered different childcare options. This is the first time WordCamp US has offered it as part of the event. WordCamp Europe has included childcare for years and a handful of other camps have also had it available in a varying capacities, including WordCamp Nordic, WordCamp Pittsburgh, and WordCamp Vienna.</p>
<p>Parents interested in using this service at WordCamp US will need to <a href="https://2019.us.wordcamp.org/tickets/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">pre-register</a> by selecting a &#8220;Parent with Kids ticket.&#8221; Registrants will receive an email with a pre-registration link to complete the signup process on the childcare provider&#8217;s website. Both lunch and snacks will be provided, so parents will not be required to pick their kids up for lunch.</p>
<p>The availability of childcare makes it possible for single parents to attend and speak at events. It can also be helpful for parents with small children who are unable to be separated from their caregivers for long periods of time. With WordCamp US opting to provide childcare at this year&#8217;s event, it&#8217;s clear that this is a growing trend to help promote diversity at WordPress conferences.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">WordCamp is about diversity, this is not a catch phrase, it is not just a moment. It is about real people, doing real things, in the real world across gender, generation and culture. WordCamp embraces the world. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WordCamp?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WordCamp</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WordPress?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WordPress</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/wordcamp?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WordCamp</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WCUS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WCUS</a> <a href="https://t.co/GdcCDNJYed">pic.twitter.com/GdcCDNJYed</a></p>
<p>&mdash; WordCamp US (@WordCampUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/WordCampUS/status/1124054159433584641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 27 Jul 2019 01:11:28 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:34;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:65:"WPTavern: Sound Off! How Has ManagedWP Weathered the Acquisition?";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=91934";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:74:"https://wptavern.com/sound-off-how-has-managedwp-weathered-the-acquisition";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2821:"<p>Back in September of 2016, <a href="https://wptavern.com/godaddy-acquires-wordpress-site-management-service-managewp">GoDaddy acquired ManageWP</a>. What was odd about the acquisition was the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/advancedwp/permalink/1234125919982953/">amount of backlash</a> that was generated by ManageWP customers. </p>



<p>While most were happy for Vladimir Prelovac, founder of ManageWP, many customers worried about GoDaddy&#8217;s reputation, unsatisfactory service, and how such a great service would fit into GoDaddy without changing much in the process. </p>



<p>Nearly three years later, Prelovac is no longer with the company as he quietly left soon after the acquisition. I reached out on Twitter to ManageWP customers who stayed with the service through the transition and asked if they&#8217;re pleased with their service and if it has improved. Here are a few of the responses I received.</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I think it’s gotten a bit better (to my surprise). I run into failures less often.</p>&mdash; Benjamin Heller (@BenjamminHeller) <a href="https://twitter.com/BenjamminHeller/status/1154631493865463808?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">No difference, still fantastic</p>&mdash; Richard Buff (@richardbuff) <a href="https://twitter.com/richardbuff/status/1154712831675252736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Haven't really noticed any difference</p>&mdash; Darren Pinder (@dmpinder) <a href="https://twitter.com/dmpinder/status/1154658228552294401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Personally it’s been about the same for me. No features really added that make my job as a developer/site maintainer easier but none have been taken away either and pricing hasn’t increased for no reason. <br /><br />I wish they would work on the web app  more. It’s sluggish <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/12.0.0-1/72x72/1f615.png" alt="😕" class="wp-smiley" /></p>&mdash; Daron Spence <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/12.0.0-1/72x72/1f339.png" alt="🌹" class="wp-smiley" /> (@DaronSpence) <a href="https://twitter.com/DaronSpence/status/1154559862447079424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>



<p>If you use ManageWP and have been a customer since the acquisition, let us know in the comments about how the service has evolved. Have you noticed any significant changes? </p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 26 Jul 2019 21:30:25 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:35;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:99:"WPTavern: WordCamp Central America Organizers Prepare Proposal for 2020 Event in Managua, Nicaragua";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=90739";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:109:"https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-central-america-organizers-prepare-proposal-for-2020-event-in-managua-nicaragua";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4109:"<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Managua-Nicaragua.png?ssl=1"><img /></a>Managua, Nicaragua &#8211; image credit: <a href="https://costarica.org/nicaragua/managua/">CostaRica.org</a></p>
<p>WordCamp Europe&#8217;s continuing success has inspired other parts of the WordPress world to work towards getting their own regional camps off the ground. With a little help from WCEU mentors and inspiration from WordCamp Nordic&#8217;s proposal, WordCamp Asia is now officially on the schedule for <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-asia-set-for-february-21-23-2020-in-bangkok-thailand" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">February 21-23, 2020, in Bangkok, Thailand</a>. WordCamp Central America is on deck to be the next new regional WordCamp with a proposal targeting 2020 for an inaugural event in Managua, Nicaragua.</p>
<p>Members of the Central American community began discussing the possibility of a larger event at the most recent <a href="https://2019.managua.wordcamp.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WordCamp Managua 2019</a>. For the past five years, Central America has been home to a growing number of local WordPress communities, with 12 meetups across five countries and a total of more than 4,000 participants as of July 2019. Meetup organizers have hosted more than 230 events since 2014, averaging four events per month.</p>
<p>In the working <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qa_-bHMtTY1JTwHxxa28Xutg2vpaB4A7A2J9t4pXkDs/edit" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">proposal</a>, a document that was forked from the Nordic and Asian WordCamp proposals, organizers outlined why the timing is right for a regional camp in Central America:</p>
<blockquote><p>The local WordPress communities have also experienced an exponential growth. In the last five years the local WordPress Meetup groups have increased fivefold. Moreover, the collaboration between the Central American communities is more active than ever; sharing experiences and resources, members attending events in neighboring countries, giving talks and volunteering in WordCamps.</p>
<p>This can be explained not only by the relative closeness of our countries, but also by the shared culture, values and identity of the Central American people.</p>
<p>We believe that hosting a Central American WordCamp will further strengthen the bonds between the local communities and give birth to new initiatives and collaborations between the local WordPress Meetup groups.</p></blockquote>
<p>San José, Costa Rica, has the largest local WordPress community with more than 2,000 meetup members and 750 attendees at recent WordCamps. Managua, Nicaragua, the second largest community, was selected as the first host city due to its central location, direct flights from all major cities in the region, and wide availability of bus services. It is also one of the most affordable capital cities in the region and does not require visas for citizens of other Central American countries.</p>
<p>Organizers are planning a three-day event, beginning with Contributor Day, with four tracks during the main conference days. They are eyeing early October 2020 to avoid conflicts with other WordCamps that are frequently attended by the local community.</p>
<p>WordCamp Central America&#8217;s proposal has not yet been officially submitted but if it is approved, the event would be a strong addition to the region&#8217;s growing technology sector. It also has the potential to expand and amalgamate the local communities through shared knowledge and experience.</p>
<p>If you want to get involved, check out the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qa_-bHMtTY1JTwHxxa28Xutg2vpaB4A7A2J9t4pXkDs/edit?usp=sharing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">proposal</a> in progress and <a href="https://join.slack.com/t/wpcentroamerica/shared_invite/enQtNjQ4MzYwMzEzNjAzLTA4NDk4NzE5ZDNiZjlkYmYyN2Q5ODczMjhlYzVkNjkzZTQ0OGMzOTdmYWZlYTgzNWJhMDlkY2M5MTAwZTg0MTk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">join the dedicated Slack workspace</a> to participate in discussions.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 26 Jul 2019 18:46:37 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:36;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"WPTavern: WP Super Cache 1.6.9 Patches Security Issue";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=91905";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:64:"https://wptavern.com/wp-super-cache-1-6-9-patches-security-issue";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1027:"<p>There&#8217;s a new release of <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-super-cache/#developers">WP Super Cache (1.6.9) available</a> that <a href="https://odd.blog/2019/07/25/wp-super-cache-1-6-9-security-update/">patches a security issue</a> discovered in the debug log. The vulnerability can only be exploited if users have debugging enabled. </p>



<p>It&#8217;s highly recommended that all users upgrade to 1.6.9 to patch the security issue. Details of the vulnerability will be published after users have had time to upgrade. In addition to patching the security issue, this version also improves the debug log by hiding data such as the ABSPATH directory of the WordPress install and login cookies.</p>



<p>&#8220;Unfortunately in the past users have copied the log file data into forum posts. A warning message has been added asking the site owner not to publish the debug log,&#8221; Donncha Ó Caoimh said. </p>



<p>Also worth noting is that after updating to 1.6.9, existing debug logs will be deleted. </p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 26 Jul 2019 00:25:35 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:37;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:87:"WPTavern: Learn How to Build a Headless WordPress App with WPCasts’ Free Crash Course";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=91867";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:95:"https://wptavern.com/learn-how-to-build-a-headless-wordpress-app-with-wpcasts-free-crash-course";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4217:"<p><a href="https://twitter.com/_WPCasts_tv_" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Alex Young</a>, creator of the <a href="https://wpcasts.tv/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WPCasts</a> video tutorials site, has published a free crash course that offers a brief introduction to using WordPress as a headless CMS. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KGuI0UmpMw" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">28-minute tutorial</a> covers the basics of setting up a bare bones React application that uses WPGraphQL to query ACF data.</p>
<p>Young begins by installing four plugins: <a href="https://github.com/wp-graphql/wp-graphql" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WPGraphQL</a>, <a href="https://github.com/wp-graphql/wp-graphiql" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WPGraphiQL</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/advanced-custom-fields/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Advanced Custom Fields</a>, and <a href="https://github.com/wp-graphql/wp-graphql-acf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WPGraphQL for ACF</a>. He demonstrates how to use WPGraphiQL, which provides a GraphiQL IDE inside the WordPress admin, to test GraphQL queries before adding them to the app and check to ensure ACF data is being queried.</p>
<p>Young gave a walkthrough of installing <a href="https://github.com/facebook/create-react-app" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Create React App</a> to quickly get a simple app up and running. When <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Wordpress/comments/chap8d/i_made_a_crash_course_on_headless_wordpress_with/eurfkrr/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">asked on Reddit</a> why he didn&#8217;t use Next.js or Gatsby, he said he just wanted to present the concept with something that might already be familiar to developers.</p>
<p>&#8220;If I were going to launch this into production I would use Gatsby,&#8221; he said. &#8220;In this tutorial I used CRA since it’s a very simple install and I figured most people have used it before. I’ll eventually do a more in-depth and real-world example in the future. But I hope this video helps people understand the basic concept of using WP as a Headless CMS.&#8221;</p>
<p>Young has produced 18 videos since launching <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8eV_x9GaQhcoL4rexOJpXg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WPCasts on YouTube</a> in March 2019. Although the channel has a corresponding website with more videos available for monthly and yearly subscribers, Young said he thinks it is important to release some introductory content for free.</p>
<p>&#8220;I am a self-taught developer who relied heavily on YouTube, blogs, and individual developers creating free learning material (Chris Coyier, Wes Bos, etc.),&#8221; he said. &#8220;So by creating free content, I feel like I can help developers who are just starting out and need those resources just like I did.&#8221;</p>
<p>Young&#8217;s day job at <a href="https://www.clearlink.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Clearlink</a> involves managing about approximately 20 WordPress sites with different purposes and features. He said he hopes to move these sites to a headless setup over the next few years.</p>
<p>His WPCasts project is still very new but Young said he has received helpful feedback from the community that he is incorporating into future videos. The headless WordPress crash course tutorial seemed to hit at the right time when these setups are gaining popularity. His tutorial has been enthusiastically received, passing 600 views on YouTube in less than 24 hours.</p>
<p>&#8220;I feel like Headless WordPress is the future of WP development,&#8221; Young said. &#8220;With powerful frameworks like Gatsby and Next, we have the best of both worlds &#8211; a fast and extendible frontend, and a CMS that has proven itself year after year.</p>
<p>&#8220;With tools like WPGraphQL, ACF, and others, WordPress will be my tool of choice for the foreseeable future. I hope that the tutorials I&#8217;ve made and future tutorials will help others see the power of WordPress and break the misconception that WordPress is &#8216;just a blogging platform.'&#8221;</p>
<p></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 25 Jul 2019 20:07:31 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:38;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:82:"WPTavern: WPWeekly Episode 361 – Introduction to the IndieWeb With David Shanske";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:59:"https://wptavern.com/?p=91889&preview=true&preview_id=91889";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:89:"https://wptavern.com/wpweekly-episode-361-introduction-to-the-indieweb-with-david-shanske";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1793:"<p>In this episode, <a href="http://jjj.me">John James Jacoby</a> and I are joined by <a href="https://david.shanske.com/">David Shanske</a>. David introduces us to a set of philosophies known as the IndieWeb, explains how it&#8217;s different from the Open Web, and how he&#8217;s been involved in the community. We discuss tools that help people own their data while still being able to take advantage of the benefits that social networks offer. We also talk about WordPress&#8217; role and how capable it is out-of-the-box for participating in the IndieWeb.</p>
<h2>Stories Discussed:</h2>
<p><a href="https://brid.gy/">Bridgy</a> connects individual sites with social networks</p>
<p><a href="https://indieweb.org/">IndieWeb Wiki</a></p>
<p><a href="https://indieweb.org/IndieWebCamps">IndieWebCamps</a></p>
<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/indieweb/">IndieWeb WordPress Plugin</a></p>
<p><a href="https://codex.wordpress.org/Defining_Relationships_with_XFN">WordPress XFN</a></p>
<p><a href="https://archive.org/details/indieweb-summit-2019-wordpress">IndieWebifying Your WordPress &#8211; IndieWeb Summit 2019</a></p>
<h2>WPWeekly Meta:</h2>
<p><strong>Next Episode:</strong> Wednesday, July 31st 3:00 P.M. Eastern</p>
<p>Subscribe to <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wordpress-weekly/id694849738">WordPress Weekly via Itunes</a></p>
<p>Subscribe to <a href="https://www.wptavern.com/feed/podcast">WordPress Weekly via RSS</a></p>
<p>Subscribe to <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/wordpress-weekly-podcast?refid=stpr">WordPress Weekly via Stitcher Radio</a></p>
<p>Subscribe to <a href="https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Ir3keivkvwwh24xy7qiymurwpbe">WordPress Weekly via Google Play</a></p>
<p><strong>Listen To Episode #361:</strong><br />
</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 25 Jul 2019 19:52:47 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:39;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:46:"Donncha: WP Super Cache 1.6.9: security update";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://odd.blog/?p=89502593";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:65:"https://odd.blog/2019/07/25/wp-super-cache-1-6-9-security-update/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1776:"<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-super-cache/">WP Super Cache</a> is a full page caching plugin for WordPress.</p>



<p>Version 1.6.9 has just been released and is a required upgrade for all users as it resolves a security issue in the debug log. The issue can only be exploited if debugging is enabled in the plugin which will not be the case for almost all users.</p>



<p>The debug log is usually only enabled temporarily if a site owner is debugging a caching problem and isn&#8217;t something that should be left on permanently as it will slow down a site.</p>



<p>If there is an existing debug log it will be deleted after updating the plugin.</p>



<p>This release also improves the debug log by hiding sensitive data such as the ABSPATH  directory of the WordPress install and login cookies. Unfortunately in the past users have copied the log file data into forum posts. A warning message has been added asking the site owner not to publish the debug log.</p>



<p>Details of the security issue will be added to this post in time to allow sites to update their plugin.</p>

<p><strong>Related Posts</strong><ul><li> <a href="https://odd.blog/2013/10/23/wp-super-cache-1-4/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: WP Super Cache 1.4">WP Super Cache 1.4</a></li><li> <a href="https://odd.blog/2008/10/24/wp-super-cache-084-the-garbage-collector/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: WP Super Cache 0.8.4, the garbage collector">WP Super Cache 0.8.4, the garbage collector</a></li><li> <a href="https://odd.blog/2009/01/09/wp-super-cache-087/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: WP Super Cache 0.8.7">WP Super Cache 0.8.7</a></li></ul></p>
<p><a href="https://odd.blog/2019/07/25/wp-super-cache-1-6-9-security-update/" rel="nofollow">Source</a></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 25 Jul 2019 12:57:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:7:"Donncha";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:40;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:86:"WPTavern: WPCampus 2019 to Livestream Sessions Thursday, July 25 – Saturday, July 27";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=91843";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:91:"https://wptavern.com/wpcampus-2019-to-livestream-sessions-thursday-july-25-saturday-july-27";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1674:"<p><a href="https://2019.wpcampus.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WPCampus 2019</a> kicks off tomorrow at Lewis &amp; Clark College in Portland, Oregon, for its fourth year running. The niche WordPress conference is focused on accessibility and WordPress in higher education. All sessions, with the exception of the workshops, will be live streamed with captioning, beginning at 2PM PDT on Thursday, July 25.</p>
<p>The event includes a mix of general development topics, such as building themes with WP Rig 2.0, managing custom plugin deployments, and building custom Gutenberg blocks with ACF. It also features a variety of sessions on using multisite in higher education, along with topics related to university website design and management, such as mobile accessibility, information security, and using WordPress for individual digital asset management. Check out the full <a href="https://2019.wpcampus.org/schedule/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">schedule</a> for more detailed descriptions of sessions.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s important to note that the schedule references sessions in Pacific Daylight Time. However, a timezone selector on the schedule page will allow you to see the each session&#8217;s corresponding time for your location. Visit <a href="https://2019.wpcampus.org/watch/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">2019.wpcampus.org/watch</a> on July 25th to watch live for free. Those watching remotely can also jump in on the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WPCampus?src=hashtag_click" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#WPCampus</a> Twitter hashtag to engage with others attending and watching the event.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 25 Jul 2019 02:21:32 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:41;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:69:"WPTavern: WPGraphQL for Advanced Custom Fields Now Available for Free";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=91804";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:80:"https://wptavern.com/wpgraphql-for-advanced-custom-fields-now-available-for-free";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5684:"<p>The <a href="https://www.wpgraphql.com/acf/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WPGraphQL for Advanced Custom Fields</a> plugin is <a href="https://www.wpgraphql.com/2019/07/23/re-introducing-wpgraphql-for-acf/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">now available for free</a> on GitHub after a short time as a commercial product. Jason Bahl, creator and maintainer of the <a href="https://www.wpgraphql.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WPGraphQL</a> project, released the extension in April 2019 with a pricing tier ranging from $49/annually (for one site&#8217;s support) to lifetime subscription options.</p>
<p>Bahl created the plugin with the hopes of generating enough revenue to one day fund his efforts working on WPGraphQL full-time. Now that he has <a href="https://wptavern.com/jason-bahl-joins-the-gatsby-team-to-work-on-wpgraphql-full-time" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">joined the Gatsby team to work full time on WPGraphQL</a>, he has the time and resources to make the ACF extension available for free.</p>
<p>The plugin allows developers to interact with their ACF data using GraphQL queries. It works with both the free and pro versions of <a href="https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ACF</a> and WPGraphQL v0.3.2 or newer.</p>
<p>&#8220;When I first started working on the core WPGraphQL plugin, I thought it would be awesome to have meta fields automatically exposed to the WPGraphQL Schema,&#8221; Bahl said.</p>
<p>&#8220;Since WordPress core doesn&#8217;t have a fields API, developers turn to plugins such as Advanced Custom Fields, Metabox.io, CMB2, Carbon Fields, Field Manager, or one of the many other metabox solutions for WordPress.&#8221;</p>
<p>ACF is by far the most popular among these solutions with more than a million active installs. (Metabox.io has roughly half the user base with 400,000+ installs and CMB2 is the next most popular at an estimated 200,000 installs). Bahl started working towards supporting ACF a few years ago but didn&#8217;t have a production use case for it and left it untouched until demand for the plugin increased.</p>
<p>&#8220;In the latter half of 2018 and early 2019 I got many requests via Slack, Twitter, and Github for a quality ACF extension, and I also noticed the top search terms on the WPGraphQL website were &#8216;ACF&#8217; and &#8216;Advanced Custom Fields,&#8217; he said.</p>
<p>&#8220;I initially wanted to release the plugin as a free plugin, but there&#8217;s only so much I can do for free. Maintaining WPGraphQL on the side of my full-time job was already time consuming and I thought if I was making income I could support it better.&#8221;</p>
<p>Since the plugin&#8217;s initial release on April 19, Bahl reports there have been 85 licenses purchased, which enabled him to devote more time to the project. Now that he is no longer attempting to self-sustain his projects, he and the Gatsby team decided the best course of action would be to make it free so that more of the community can benefit from the project. He anticipates being able to provide the same level of support since the plugin&#8217;s launch with more of his time allocated to focusing on the WPGraphQL ecosystem.</p>
<p>Performance is the most common reason that necessitates developers using ACF to implement WPGraphQL on their sites. It offers staggering performance gains over using the WP REST API to query ACF data, as shown in the example below:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Good call. . .I need to market the performance side better. . .here's an example of a REST API call using ACF to REST API and using WPGraphQL for ACF to select specific fields. </p>
<p>*REST:* 24.8 KB, 1.22s<br />*GraphQL*: 1010 b, 377ms (not even 1kb payload!!!) <a href="https://t.co/0qS52bvlEY">pic.twitter.com/0qS52bvlEY</a></p>
<p>&mdash; GraphQL for WordPress (@wpgraphql) <a href="https://twitter.com/wpgraphql/status/1119309324646359040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 19, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p></p>
<p>&#8220;When developers try to build &#8220;headless&#8221; applications with WordPress, they often run into pain points with the WP REST API, and they turn to WPGraphQL to ease those pains,&#8221; Bahl said.</p>
<p>&#8220;Many developers were registering ACF fields to their WPGraphQL Schema by hand, and that can be a tedious process if you have hundreds of fields. A plugin like WPGraphQL for Advanced Custom Fields saves developers a lot of development time, and allows them to take advantage of the features of GraphQL that make headless WordPress development a pleasant experience.&#8221;</p>
<p>WPGraphQL for Advanced Custom Fields can be found on <a href="https://github.com/wp-graphql/wp-graphql-acf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">GitHub</a> and support and feature requests are handled through <a href="https://github.com/wp-graphql/wp-graphql-acf/issues" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Github issues</a>. The plugin is also <a href="https://packagist.org/packages/wp-graphql/wp-graphql-acf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">available on packagist.org</a> for those who want to include it in projects using Composer.</p>
<p>Developers with general questions can join the <a href="https://wpgql-slack.herokuapp.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WPGraphQL Slack workspace</a> or the project&#8217;s online community on <a href="https://spectrum.chat/wpgraphql" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spectrum</a>. Bahl is active in both communities, helping developers find answers to their questions about using WPGraphQL to build headless applications.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 24 Jul 2019 18:25:40 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:42;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:62:"HeroPress: Becoming A Successful WordPress Freelancer In India";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:56:"https://heropress.com/?post_type=heropress-essays&p=2938";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:176:"https://heropress.com/essays/becoming-a-successful-wordpress-freelancer-in-india/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=becoming-a-successful-wordpress-freelancer-in-india";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11047:"<img width="960" height="480" src="https://s20094.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/072419-min-1024x512.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Pull Quote: Sometimes the best thing you can do is say no, even if it means that you have to lose money." /><h3>The Back Story</h3>
<p>In the final year of my Engineering degree, my Head of Department summoned my friend and me to his office. Both of us were not the highest scoring students but we were the most active ones. For our major project rather than building just anything, he wanted us to build a PBX software that our college needed and was already paying for to an outside vendor.</p>
<p>It was a difficult one, we didn&#8217;t know it was possible to make Phone calls from the browser. My friend and I spent the next 3 months researching and building the software. When we were about to deploy it, we realize that the software won&#8217;t talk to the driver of the PRI card. Only 15 days were left for the final exams and if we didn&#8217;t build the project on time, it would never see the light of the sun.</p>
<p>We spend every waking hour on the software for the next 7 days and made it work. When it worked, our HOD used that software to call the Chairman of college, he congratulated us and we got the best project award for that. It was the moment when I said to myself, if I can pull this off, I can do anything and promised myself to do something significant in the world of computers.</p>
<h3>Hello WordPress</h3>
<p>It was 2012, the time when Web was taking over the World, desktop applications were being replaced by websites, and HTML, CSS and jQuery were becoming more and more powerful.</p>
<p>I would spend hours and hours sitting in front of my desktop learning and playing with these technologies. My parents used to think that I was always wasting my time all day.</p>
<blockquote><p>My dad was convinced that I’d join him in his business because I wasn’t good enough for anything else.</p></blockquote>
<p>One day, I saw a post of my Facebook Friend. He wanted someone to build a website for him. I contacted him and gave him an estimate, he agreed and that was my first web project. The project was completed successfully and I got the payment. My confidence was in the sky.</p>
<p>Fortunately, I got another project. This time it was a big one, an ecommerce website. I spent 4 months working on that and completed it successfully but I realized it was a lot of work and the pay was not good enough.</p>
<p>I didn’t know WordPress back then but I knew there would be something that would make developing websites easier. A few months later when I checked WordPress, I was blown away to see the capabilities of this CMS. Adding features like Login with Facebook, Shopping cart, Contact Form, Captcha would only take a few minutes. The things which would take a day or even a week were as simple as installing a plugin and configuring the settings.</p>
<p>I realized that the e-commerce project that I built on core PHP could have been done within 15 days if I had chosen WordPress. It was a win-win for me as my clients. Since then, WordPress is my de facto choice for all web projects.</p>
<h3>About Today..</h3>
<p>I’m an Independent WordPress contractor. I work on designing and implementing web pages, themes and plugins for WordPress, helping clients to troubleshoot and fix their WordPress websites, designing themes that are as functional as they are beautiful, working with startups to quickly set up their MVP, and developing websites for corporates which reflect their brand.</p>
<blockquote><p>I’m leading a happy and balanced life. I’m content, I have a great set of customers. I have the liberty to change my working hours to manage time for my hobbies and family.</p></blockquote>
<p>Sure I don’t make as much money as a CEO but I do have a balanced and happy life. And it does sound exciting but the path wasn’t all easy. In this article, I try to give my best advice which I learned the hard way and I so much wish someone had told me about all this when I was getting started.</p>
<h3>1. Be a specialist</h3>
<p>General Physicians don’t make as much money as specialists make. The world is huge, even a small field like Software Engineering is too big that you can’t master everything in it.</p>
<p>You have to be the greatest in your field if you want to charge a premium amount. You need to be someone who has encountered and fixed every possible problem in that field. You should know your thing like the back of your hand. AND to be able to get there you need to find your thing and be very specific about it. You need to say NO to everything else.</p>
<p>It sounds obvious and easy, right? It isn’t. I can bet that 90% of the people out there are not doing this. I’d say It is not their fault. We, humans, are curious creatures and we get bored easily, that is why when we see a new shiny technology we want to learn that.</p>
<p>This is in our nature but our nature is keeping us from achieving greatness. You want to be great at something, be ready to embrace boredom and put in thousands of hours of practice.</p>
<p>“Pick your niche and say no to everything else”</p>
<h3>2. Understand that not every job is for you.</h3>
<p>Someone on amazon is selling 1500 Live Ladybugs and what shocks me more is the fact that someone is even buying them. But, we shouldn’t be all judgemental because everything has a buyer and everything has a seller.</p>
<p><a href="https://s20094.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/ladybugs.png"><img /></a></p>
<p>When I had started freelancing on Upwork, I’d also get in the race-to-the-bottom along with the other freelancers who were willing to work for literally $3/h. I’d think that it will never be possible for me to get away from this race and making good money.</p>
<p>It took me years, I had to work with many bad client projects for peanuts to realize that I’m a different product and I need a different buyer.</p>
<p>I increased my rates 8 times and dedicated myself to give the best possible service I can to my clients. What happened next shook my whole belief system. Not only people were paying me the premium amount, I was getting more customers. As you go up there is lesser competition.</p>
<h3>3. Not everyone who gives you money is your client. Some client might suck the joy out of work. Stay far away from them.</h3>
<p>Let’s be honest, there are some people that we don’t like and there are some people who don’t like us. If you were in a job, there would be no choice but to bear with the irrational and arrogant boss of yours but thank god, you are a freelancer. You have the liberty to choose the people you want to work with.</p>
<p>Sometimes the best thing you can do is say NO even if that means you have to lose money.</p>
<h3>4. Know your worth and charge that much:</h3>
<p>Imagine, if you are in a public place and a stranger comes up to you and asks you to buy his $5 bill for $1. What would you think? Most of us will not buy that $5 bill even if it is a great deal, you are getting an extra $4 in the exchange. Because we are hardwired to believe that all too-good-to-be-true deals are scams.</p>
<p>While setting your hourly rates, it is important to make sure that you are charging a correct amount. Lowballing isn’t helpful for those clients which you want to work with. The right clients are the probably the businessmen who know that to get good work you have to spend good money and they are there to spend the money. Are you able to do the good work?</p>
<h3>5. Experience what your client is experiencing; think what your client is thinking</h3>
<p>I’m a web developer and I do need help from other freelancers at times to deliver my project. I hire the best freelancers on Upwork for my job and I notice everything that they do. I notice their way of sending the proposals, their way of presenting the work, their way of negotiation when I, as a client, ask for more free work.</p>
<p>This activity will help you learn that there are so many things which you think are right in your head are so incorrect and can be so much better.</p>
<h3>6. Don’t sell technologies, sell solutions</h3>
<blockquote><p>“People don&#8217;t want to buy a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole.”<br />
Theodore Levitt</p></blockquote>
<p>Don&#8217;t be a React Developer, Photoshop Designer or Final Cut Pro Editor. Be a problem solver. Nobody hires a writer because he can use MS Word, a writer is hired because he can write persuasive writing. The copy that can convert visitors to customers. You need the ability to sell solutions, not technology.</p>
<div class="rtsocial-container rtsocial-container-align-right rtsocial-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal-button"><a title="Tweet: Becoming A Successful WordPress Freelancer In India" class="rtsocial-twitter-button" href="https://twitter.com/share?text=Becoming%20A%20Successful%20WordPress%20Freelancer%20In%20India&via=heropress&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fessays%2Fbecoming-a-successful-wordpress-freelancer-in-india%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal fb-light"><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal-button"><a title="Like: Becoming A Successful WordPress Freelancer In India" class="rtsocial-fb-button rtsocial-fb-like-light" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fessays%2Fbecoming-a-successful-wordpress-freelancer-in-india%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-linkedin-button" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fessays%2Fbecoming-a-successful-wordpress-freelancer-in-india%2F&title=Becoming+A+Successful+WordPress+Freelancer+In+India" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Share: Becoming A Successful WordPress Freelancer In India"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-pinterest-button" href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://heropress.com/essays/becoming-a-successful-wordpress-freelancer-in-india/&media=https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/072419-min-150x150.jpg&description=Becoming A Successful WordPress Freelancer In India" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Pin: Becoming A Successful WordPress Freelancer In India"></a></div></div><a rel="nofollow" class="perma-link" href="https://heropress.com/essays/becoming-a-successful-wordpress-freelancer-in-india/" title="Becoming A Successful WordPress Freelancer In India"></a></div><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com/essays/becoming-a-successful-wordpress-freelancer-in-india/">Becoming A Successful WordPress Freelancer In India</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 24 Jul 2019 17:29:38 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Pramod Jodhani";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:43;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:74:"WPTavern: WordCamp Asia Set for February 21-23, 2020, in Bangkok, Thailand";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=91775";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:82:"https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-asia-set-for-february-21-23-2020-in-bangkok-thailand";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2041:"<p>The first ever <a href="https://2020.asia.wordcamp.org" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WordCamp Asia</a> has launched a teaser website and announced February 21-23, 2020, as the dates for the event. This will be the first regional WordCamp for the continent, which is home to 127 WordPress meetup chapters with 73,000 members across 23 countries, according to <a href="https://2020.asia.wordcamp.org/2019/07/19/welcome-to-wordcamp-asia/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">stats</a> from lead organizer <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nao/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Naoko Takano</a>. After four years in planning, and 137 WordCamps in 18 Asian countries and 52 cities, the region is finally ready to collaborate on a larger event that will bring its many diverse communities together.</p>
<p>&#8220;We hope that this first flagship event in the region can help the WordPress and open source community to grow even further,&#8221; Takano said. &#8220;We are really excited to be working on creating a place where community members can learn from and get inspired by each other.&#8221;</p>
<p>The organizing team has a vision to make the WordCamp welcoming, nurturing, and experimental. They are working to make it an inclusive, affordable, and interactive event. WordCamp Asia&#8217;s three-day program will begin with Contributor Day, followed by two days of presentations with an estimated 1,000 attendees.</p>
<p>Organizers have already put out the <a href="https://2020.asia.wordcamp.org/2019/07/23/call-for-media-partners/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">call for media partners</a>, including magazines, newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, bloggers, influencers, WordPress enthusiasts and freelance journalists. The call for speakers will be open until mid-November 2019. Check out WordCamp Asia&#8217;s <a href="https://2020.asia.wordcamp.org/roadmap/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">roadmap</a> to get an idea of what to expect as the preparations continue.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 24 Jul 2019 00:59:24 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:44;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:79:"WPTavern: New Experimental Plugin Brings the Block Editor to WordPress Comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=91762";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:90:"https://wptavern.com/new-experimental-plugin-brings-the-block-editor-to-wordpress-comments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4021:"<p><a href="https://tomjn.com/2019/07/20/gutenberg-comments/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Block Comments</a> is a new experimental plugin from <a href="https://tomjn.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tom Nowell</a> that replaces WordPress&#8217; default comment form with a trimmed down version of the block editor. Nowell gave a presentation at WordCamp Europe 2019 about <a href="https://2019.europe.wordcamp.org/session/using-blocks-outside-the-editor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">using blocks outside the editor</a>, including on the frontend. Block Comments is one example he brought to life using the block list component along with some wrapper components.</p>
<p>The result is a comment form that offers the same UI as the WordPress editor but with a limited set of blocks appropriate for commenting and no block sidebar panel. This includes text-based and embed blocks, along with image upload via URL. It defaults to the paragraph block when the commenter clicks inside the form. Here is an example of using the block editor for a reply on the Twenty Nineteen theme:</p>
<p><a href="https://i2.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Screen-Shot-2019-07-23-at-12.39.28-PM.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>For the most part, Block Comments should fit in with the style of the active theme, as shown below with an example using the Astrid theme. Nowell recommends users watch out for occasional clashes between the editor UI CSS and the theme&#8217;s CSS, since it is still early beta software.</p>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Screen-Shot-2019-07-23-at-12.44.17-PM.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>Incorporating the block editor into commenting could make formatting easier for commenters with more options for expressing themselves. The plugin includes blocks for lists, quotes, code, embeds, headings, pre-formatted text, and other formats, all with Gutenberg&#8217;s built in preview. Commenters can immediately see how the comment will appear without having to struggle with using the correct format tags.</p>
<p>&#8220;I see it as a much more flexible form of those Tiny MCE visual comment forms,&#8221; Nowell said. &#8220;Except instead of just putting a toolbar on top and showing you bold and italic in-line, you can do more.&#8221;</p>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Screen-Shot-2019-07-23-at-1.00.12-PM.png?ssl=1"><img /></a></p>
<p>Nowell said replies and threading work exactly the same with Block Comments enabled. The UI for the comment form is the only thing that changes, but the commenting system remains the same.</p>
<p>Bringing the block editor to comments is not yet on WordPress&#8217; roadmap. The UI is different from the comment forms users have become accustomed to over the years of commenting on the internet. Some commenters may find it confusing if this is their first experience with WordPress&#8217; block editor. For those who have used WordPress 5.0+ previously, the Gutenberg-powered comment form brings a little more unity to the front and backend posting experiences.</p>
<p>&#8220;It’s certainly not for every comment form, but I can see it being very useful in some situations, such as P2 blogs,&#8221; Nowell said. &#8220;As Gutenberg itself improves, it will too.&#8221;</p>
<p>Block Comments is currently <a href="https://github.com/tomjn/block-comments" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">available on GitHub</a> where users can report any issues or conflicts. It is recommended to be used with the Gutenberg plugin installed for best results. It also doesn&#8217;t play well with the Classic Editor plugin, since that plugin removes the block editor hooks and styles.</p>
<p>I would not be surprised to see this experiment further developed for P2-powered blogs or even Jetpack comments , if the idea catches on. These avenues would provide a good testing ground for such a feature before it might be considered for WordPress core.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 23 Jul 2019 20:35:21 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:45;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:61:"BuddyPress: BuddyPress 4.4.0 Security and Maintenance release";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"https://buddypress.org/?p=307083";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:81:"https://buddypress.org/2019/07/buddypress-4-4-0-security-and-maintenance-release/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1228:"<p>BuddyPress 4.4.0 is now available. This is a security and maintenance release. All BuddyPress installations are strongly encouraged to upgrade as soon as possible.</p>



<p>The 4.4.0 release addresses two security issues:</p>



<ul><li>A privilege escalation vulnerability was fixed that could allow user who is not a friend with another user to send him a group invite even though this “another user” has selected to restrict group invites from friends only (This is specific to the BP Nouveau template). Discovered by&nbsp;<a href="https://secasure.com/">Yuvraj Dighe</a>.</li><li>An XSS vulnerability was fixed in the single Group&#8217;s RSS link meta for group names. Discovered by <a href="https://hackerone.com/wxy7174">wxy7174</a>.</li></ul>



<p>These vulnerabilities were reported privately to the BuddyPress team, in accordance with&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/testing/reporting-security-vulnerabilities/">WordPress’s security policies</a>. Our thanks to the reporters for practicing coordinated disclosure.</p>



<p>BuddyPress 4.4.0 also fixes 2 bugs. For complete details, visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/releases/version-4-4-0/">4.4.0 changelog</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 23 Jul 2019 07:45:08 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"imath";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:46;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"Matt: Animated WordPress Wallpaper";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:22:"https://ma.tt/?p=49859";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:51:"https://ma.tt/2019/07/animated-wordpress-wallpaper/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:663:"<p>I didn&#8217;t realize this, but apparently macOS has a built-in ability to show really stunning animated wallpapers, like <a href="https://dynamicwallpaper.club/wallpaper/j82e55k6yds">this one created by Folletto</a> that subtly changes colors throughout the day in an incredibly engaging well:</p>



<a href="https://dynamicwallpaper.club/wallpaper/j82e55k6yds" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img /></a>



<p>Check out Folletto&#8217;s blog for <a href="https://intenseminimalism.com/2019/dynamic-wallpapers-for-macos/">another dynamic wallpaper and some of process behind creating it</a>. This would be awesome to have for iPhones as well.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 19 Jul 2019 15:09:32 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:47;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:63:"WPTavern: All-in-One WP Migration 7.0 Patches XSS Vulnerability";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=91751";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:74:"https://wptavern.com/all-in-one-wp-migration-7-0-patches-xss-vulnerability";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1822:"<p>Those who use the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/all-in-one-wp-migration/">All-in-One WP Migration</a> plugin are encouraged to update to version 7.0 as soon as possible as 6.97 contains an admin backend cross-site-scripting vulnerability. </p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>An attacker would already have to be able to either compromise the database or gain access to a user account with high enough privileges to view the backup history, so some damage has already been done, but such an attacker could then also insert some XSS in order to compromise other admin users. </p><p>When double-clicking the backup description on the backup history overview page, in order to edit the description text, the text is not sanitized/escaped via html entities when generating the input field.</p><cite><a href="https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9461">Vulnerability Report</a></cite></blockquote>



<p>Version 7.0 was released on the plugin directory about a day ago and patches the vulnerability. According to the stats on the WordPress plugin directory, All-in-One WP Migration is actively installed on more than two million sites. </p>



<p>A proof of concept will be published on July 24th which gives site owners about a week to update. Unfortunately, users who view the changelog prior to updating will not be able to determine it patches a security issue due to the patch being labeled as <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/all-in-one-wp-migration/#developers">a general fix</a>. </p>



<h2>Updated July 19th</h2>



<p>All-in-One WP Migration has <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/all-in-one-wp-migration/#developers">released a new update</a> that addresses a different security issue that was introduced in 7.0. Users are strongly encouraged to update to 7.1 as soon as possible. </p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 18 Jul 2019 21:19:24 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:48;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:70:"WPTavern: WPWeekly Episode 360 – CBD and E-Commerce With Javier Cano";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:59:"https://wptavern.com/?p=91730&preview=true&preview_id=91730";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:77:"https://wptavern.com/wpweekly-episode-360-cbd-and-e-commerce-with-javier-cano";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1247:"<p>In this episode, <a href="http://jjj.me">John James Jacoby</a> and I are joined by <a href="https://www.liquidweb.com/blog/author/jcano/">Javier Cano</a>, Director of Marketing for Liquid Web. We discuss the challenges people are facing selling CBD products on e-commerce platforms such as Shopify and WooCommerce and what Liquid Web is doing to be an ally to the industry. We also talk about high-risk payment processors and the brick and mortar approach versus selling high-risk products online. Cano also shares his experiences from attending and speaking at recent CBD expos.</p>
<h2>WPWeekly Meta:</h2>
<p><strong>Next Episode:</strong> Wednesday, July 24th 3:00 P.M. Eastern</p>
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<p>Subscribe to <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/wordpress-weekly-podcast?refid=stpr">WordPress Weekly via Stitcher Radio</a></p>
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<p><strong>Listen To Episode #360:</strong><br />
</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 18 Jul 2019 01:46:29 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Jeff Chandler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:49;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:57:"HeroPress: History and Future of Kids Heroes in WordPress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:56:"https://heropress.com/?post_type=heropress-essays&p=2926";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:166:"https://heropress.com/essays/history-and-future-of-kids-heroes-in-wordpress/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=history-and-future-of-kids-heroes-in-wordpress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12579:"<img width="560" height="315" src="https://s20094.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/WordPress-and-its-surrounding-communities-have-the-opportunity-to-change-the-lives-of-kids-all-over-the-world..png" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" /><p>Kids events are not a new thing in the WordCamp and WordPress event space, however, the number of these events happening around the world are on the rise. Kids events focus on teaching children how to become content creators, creative thinkers, and even business owners. Numerous repeat attendees have morphed their personal blogs into businesses and these kids are only 8-13 years old. Kids events provide an opportunity for local communities to foster long term community growth. These events also offer opportunities for a more diverse event in that kids bring a new perspective to any event. WordPress and its surrounding communities have the opportunity to change the lives of kids all over the world.</p>
<h2>History of Kids Events</h2>
<p>The history of Kids Events is full of many Heroes who have worked tirelessly to ensure that children in our community are included in events. Most of these events happen in tandem with WordCamps, but that is not always the case. Here is the history of most of the Kids Events and the Heroes behind them.</p>
<ul>
<li>2010-03-06 &#8211; Kilkenny, Ireland &#8211; Sabrina Dent<a href="https://www.krishna.me/wordcamp-ireland-in-kilkenny-has-its-own-kids-camp/"> https://www.krishna.me/wordcamp-ireland-in-kilkenny-has-its-own-kids-camp/</a></li>
<li>2011-01-29 &#8211; Phoenix, AZ &#8211; Abbie Sanderson<a href="https://2015.dfw.wordcamp.org/2015/07/06/announcing-wordcamp-for-kids/"> https://2015.dfw.wordcamp.org/2015/07/06/announcing-wordcamp-for-kids/</a></li>
<li>2013-01-20 &#8211; Phoenix &#8211; Natalie MacLees<a href="https://2013.phoenix.wordcamp.org/schedule/sunday/"> https://2013.phoenix.wordcamp.org/schedule/sunday/</a></li>
<li>2013-04-06 &#8211; Miami</li>
<li>2014-05-11 &#8211; Miami &#8211; Tammy Lister and Sarah Gooding <a href="https://2014.miami.wordcamp.org/wordcamp-miami-kids-workshop/"> https://2014.miami.wordcamp.org/wordcamp-miami-kids-workshop/</a></li>
<li>2014-01-19 &#8211; Phoenix &#8211; Bernice Lee and Andy Christian<a href="https://2014.phoenix.wordcamp.org/session/wordcamp-kids/"> https://2014.phoenix.wordcamp.org/session/wordcamp-kids/</a></li>
<li>2014-03-15 &#8211; Atlanta &#8211; Syed Balkhi, Sara Cannon, Micah Wood, and Russell Fair <a href="https://2014.atlanta.wordcamp.org/kidscamp-atlanta/"> https://2014.atlanta.wordcamp.org/kidscamp-atlanta/</a></li>
<li>2015-03-15 &#8211; St Louis &#8211; Russell Fair, Chris Koerner, Lucas Lima, Eric Juden, Michele Butcher-Jones <a href="https://2015.stlouis.wordcamp.org/session/kids-camp/">https://2015.stlouis.wordcamp.org/session/kids-camp/</a></li>
<li>2015-03-27 &#8211; Atlanta, GA &#8211; Russell Fair<a href="https://2015.atlanta.wordcamp.org/"> https://2015.atlanta.wordcamp.org/</a></li>
<li>2015-05-31 &#8211; Miami FL Nikhil V, Sarrah Vesselov, Shawn Hooper and Michele Butcher-Jones. <a href="https://2015.miami.wordcamp.org/wordcamp-for-kids-tickets-now-available/">https://2015.miami.wordcamp.org/wordcamp-for-kids-tickets-now-available/</a></li>
<li>2016-02-20 &#8211; Miami, FL &#8211; Sandy Edwards, Kimberly Lipari, Michele Butcher-Jones, Shawn Hooper,  and Chris Christoff <a href="https://2016.miami.wordcamp.org/2016/02/05/details-on-weekend-kids-activities/#workshop">https://2016.miami.wordcamp.org/2016/02/05/details-on-weekend-kids-activities/#workshop</a></li>
<li>2016-09-26 &#8211; Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX &#8211; <a href="https://2015.dfw.wordcamp.org/2015/07/06/announcing-wordcamp-for-kids/"> https://2015.dfw.wordcamp.org/2015/07/06/announcing-wordcamp-for-kids/</a></li>
<li>2016-10-29 &#8211; Seattle &#8211;<a href="https://2016.seattle.wordcamp.org/speaker/nichole-betterley/"> Nichole Betterley</a> &#8211;<a href="https://2016.seattle.wordcamp.org/session/kidscamp/"> https://2016.seattle.wordcamp.org/session/kidscamp/</a></li>
<li>2017-03-18 &#8211; Atlanta, GA &#8211; Sandy Edwards<a href="https://2017.atlanta.wordcamp.org/2017/01/28/kids-camp/"> https://2017.atlanta.wordcamp.org/2017/01/28/kids-camp/</a></li>
<li>2017-05-20 &#8211; Jacksonville, FL &#8211; Sandy Edwards<a href="https://2017.jacksonville.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/"> https://2017.jacksonville.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/</a></li>
<li>2017-08-21 &#8211; Austin &#8211; Sandi Batik<a href="https://2017.austin.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/"> https://2017.austin.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/</a></li>
<li>2017-11-11 &#8211; Orlando, FL &#8211; Sandy Edwards<a href="https://2017.orlando.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/"> https://2017.orlando.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/</a></li>
<li>2018-03-17 &#8211; Miami, FL &#8211; Chris Christoff, Sandy Edwards, Sam Smith, Paul Champeau, Angelica Yarde, Andrew Wikel, Josh Pollock, David Wolfpaw, Adam Warner, Brian Richards, Chris Edwards, Beka Rice, Joe Howard, Dr Nancy Richmond, Peta Bisset<a href="https://2018.miami.wordcamp.org/kids/"> https://2018.miami.wordcamp.org/kids/</a></li>
<li>2018-04-07 &#8211; Jacksonville, FL &#8211; Sandy Edwards<a href="https://2018.jacksonville.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/"> https://2018.jacksonville.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/</a></li>
<li>2018-04-13 &#8211; London, UK &#8211; Mike Little, Tom Chute, Bernhard Kau, Fred Bradley, Mathieu Sarrasin, Jessica Lyschik, Mollie Pugh <a href="https://2018.london.wordcamp.org/2018/04/06/introducing-the-workshop-for-children-at-wordcamp-london-2018/">https://2018.london.wordcamp.org/2018/04/06/introducing-the-workshop-for-children-at-wordcamp-london-2018/</a></li>
<li>2018-04-14 &#8211; Atlanta, GA &#8211; Sandy Edwards<a href="https://2018.atlanta.wordcamp.org/schedule/"> https://2018.atlanta.wordcamp.org/schedule/</a></li>
<li>2018-05-26 &#8211; Calgary, Canada &#8211; Christina Workman &#8211;<a href="https://2018.calgary.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/"> https://2018.calgary.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/</a></li>
<li>2018-07-22 &#8211; San Jose, Costa Rica &#8211; Roberto Remedios, Ana Maria Montero<a href="https://2018.sanjose.wordcamp.org/programa/kids-camp/"> https://2018.sanjose.wordcamp.org/programa/kids-camp/</a></li>
<li>2018-11-24 &#8211; Harrare, Africa &#8211; Thelma Mutete &#8211;<a href="https://2018.harare.wordcamp.org/2018/11/17/the-wordcamp-juniors-workshop/"> https://2018.harare.wordcamp.org/2018/11/17/the-wordcamp-juniors-workshop/</a></li>
<li>2018-11-10 &#8211; Orlando, FL &#8211; William Jackson, Aida Correa &#8211;<a href="https://www.krishna.me/wordcamp-ireland-in-kilkenny-has-its-own-kids-camp/"> https://www.krishna.me/wordcamp-ireland-in-kilkenny-has-its-own-kids-camp/</a></li>
<li>2019-03-07 &#8211; Nordic, Helsinki, Finland &#8211; Petya<a href="https://2019.nordic.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/wordpress-workshop-for-kids/"> https://2019.nordic.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/wordpress-workshop-for-kids/</a></li>
<li>2019-04-06 &#8211; Raleigh, NC &#8211; Sandy Edwards, Patrik Seus<a href="https://2019.raleigh.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/"> https://2019.raleigh.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/</a></li>
<li>2019-05-11 &#8211; Calgary, Canada &#8211; Christina Workman <a href="https://2019.calgary.wordcamp.org/2019/03/19/kidscamp-is-back/"> https://2019.calgary.wordcamp.org/2019/03/19/kidscamp-is-back/</a></li>
<li>2019-06-29 &#8211; Jacksonville, Fl &#8211; William Jackson, Aida Correa <a href="https://2019.jacksonville.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/">https://2019.jacksonville.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/</a></li>
<li>2019-07-20 &#8211; Boston, MA &#8211; Sandy Edwards, Jim Reevoir, and Elizabeth Desrosiers <a href="https://2019.boston.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/">https://2019.boston.wordcamp.org/kidscamp/</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>More Kids Event Information</h2>
<p>Kids programming with WordPress is here to provide a solid opportunity for minors to be included in the community. The programs offer events, workshops, and inclusion in the ever-growing WordPress community.</p>
<p>The community as a whole has always provided educational and networking events to further personal development. Kids Programming is no different.</p>
<p>Events focus on key skill sets such as public speaking, writing, networking, and communication. Children get to work with peers in exciting and fulfilling ways and leave the events with new friends. These friends often live in various places around the globe and create the opportunity for long-distance friendships fostered through technological resources.</p>
<p>For example, my son lives in Orlando and has friends in Tampa, Jacksonville and even out of state. He keeps in touch through Facebook Messenger or Slack.</p>
<p>The fact is our kids need a fun way to use real-world skills in a non-threatening environment. A place where they won’t be tested and where they can’t fail.</p>
<p>These programs offer just that. With over 40 different volunteers helping to foster this program across the globe it is becoming a WordPress community staple.</p>
<p>There is still much to do. Safety has to be our #1 priority when working with minors and that means keeping things pretty consistent. There is a group of amazing volunteers documenting the process of planning a kids event and class curriculum.</p>
<p>The team is working on checklists and curriculum to make it super easy for a meetup chapter or WordCamp to add a kids event or kids program to their offering.</p>
<p>The future for these programs is looking very bright. There is ever-growing interested in events, and more people wanting to be part of the kids&#8217; event revolution.</p>
<p>You too can be a hero. We need more people to write, edit, translate and test these programs. No experience is necessary and you don’t have to love kids either. This initiative allows so many children from different backgrounds and walks of life to be included in a super caring community. We see kids whose parents are already in the community and also kids who otherwise would never know the community exists. Your time is going to help create the next generation of WordPress! To get involved or update this list of Heroes just email <a href="mailto:Kids@WordCamp.org">Kids@WordCamp.org</a>.</p>
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