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Join WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy as she discusses the latest from the Community Summit and her takeaways from the 2023 event in Washington, D.C.
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Have a question you’d like answered? You can submit them to wpbriefing@wordpress.org, either written or as a voice recording.
With the release of 6.3 behind us, we are working hard on bringing 6.4 to the community. You can get involved with the development of this important release.
[00:00:00] Josepha: Hello everyone, and welcome to the WordPress Briefing, the podcast where you can catch quick explanations of the ideas behind the WordPress open source project, some insight into the community that supports it, and get a small list of big things coming up in the next two weeks. I’m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Here we go.
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[00:00:28] (Intro Music)
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[00:00:39] Josepha: We are back and catching up from our midyear break. And in true WordPress fashion, we’re just going to start off running. The WordPress Community Summit happened a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been talking about it on this podcast for a few months now, but if you’ve missed it and you want a refresher, go ahead and give episode 49 a listen.
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At the Community Summit, there were 125 people, if I remember correctly. And we covered a wide array of topics that were brought to us directly from the community itself. While the event is small, it is specifically designed for gathering and sharing information. So, I’ve got some top-level trends that I noticed that I’m going to share with you all today, as well as just like a reminder of what happens after a Community Summit.
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[00:01:27] Josepha: So there are three, maybe four, big trends that I noticed. The first one that I noticed is that we have a lot of discussions right now about contributor acknowledgment. That also, for what it’s worth, came with an unresolved question around whether acknowledgment and recognition are the same. I don’t think they are the same.
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But it also was part of a conversation around whether we treat those two things the same. And if they are not the same, should we treat them differently? And et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. For folks who’ve been around for a bit, you know, that we spent a lot of time working on our contributor recognition a few years back and had really made quite a bit of difference in just reported feelings about how the community felt they were being recognized for their contributions.
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And so a lot of the conversations that we ended up having were around whether or not the project as a whole has changed the way that we provide that recognition or acknowledgment. Or, as an alternative, if the community that is supporting WordPress has changed how they would like to be recognized.
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[00:02:32] Josepha: There were also some questions about whether or not making sure that contributors can see their impact. Like they can say, I contributed 10 hours last month, and these are the two things that I got accomplished over there, and that everyone else can see those things too. So, how we can do that more easily while also not having so many metrics and making the metrics so prevalent that we start to close out the people who are truly just doing this for fun.
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Like many of the problems that we have at the Community Summit, this is a bunch of pretty much unsolved mysteries at the moment. But it did; it came up across probably five or six different sessions that I heard about, quite a few that I went to myself, and so contributor acknowledgment and recognition is on our minds again.
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A second thing that I noticed across multiple sessions, and this one honestly is not a surprise at all, is that there were a lot of questions about what the next big thing is after Gutenberg. I always love when people are asking big questions about what comes next because it means that we all still believe that there will be a next.
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[00:03:43] Josepha: And so I never hesitate when I hear these questions to give some ideas about what I think might be coming. But a lot of the discussions that we were having were around, we think this is coming, but now that we think this is coming, what should we do now to make sure that we are ready for it? One of the biggest assumptions that we all had is that for the CMS, for the software itself, probably our next big area after Gutenberg is going to be something about artificial intelligence.
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Matt pointed out in his presentation that he has told us twice to learn something deeply. One was in 2016 when he said, learn JavaScript Deeply. And then one was in 2022 when he said to learn AI deeply. And so we all kind of are guessing that that is our future area. And so that’s an area for everyone to spend some time in. Make sure you understand it. Make sure you know it a bit.
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The second thing that came up as like a future, where are we going here? It was kind of on the business-y side. It was on a lot of questions about enterprise and are we selling properly to enterprise. Can we sell, can we appeal to enterprise? Whose job is it to sell any of these things? Questions like that. So, lots of business questions again. This is not something that I have any concerns about. I’m very excited to see that people are talking about it. That’s been a topic of conversation since, I want to say, February of this year. And so it also wasn’t a surprise inclusion today. And, and I was excited to see, am excited to see what we get out of those conversations over time.
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[00:05:17] Josepha: As far as like questions around what’s next for the community, I’m going to address that separately because it was a huge question for everyone. So I’m going to discuss that as soon as we get finished with this chunk about like the big thing that, that is coming after Gutenberg.
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But, from an ecosystem perspective. Like a WordPress project operations perspective, this came up a couple of times. Never in as clear a word, a set of words as that, but the question about, like, what are we doing with our tools? Are we making sure that we are keeping the tools that our contributors use maintained and still in an excellent space with features that are useful and, necessary, and requested?
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And so that is a big question. I do have a lot of questions about that. Also, there are so many tools that I have wanted in order to make organizing the WordPress community better and easier, but also making contributing better and easier. And hopefully, here soon, we have an opportunity to get to some of those.
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[00:06:16] Josepha: So, the third big trend that I kept seeing at the Community Summit is actually about the community itself, specifically about events. So I was part of or listened to many, many, many conversations over the course of the week that were specifically focused on what we’re going to do with the future of our events. Like are meetups still sustainable? Are WordCamps still sustainable? And that’s from not only the idea of sustainability that we all tend to know from like an ecological standpoint but also, you know, checking in on the resources. So the kinds of questions that folks had were, is it time to continue having many small events, or is it time to move to a few giant events?
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Should we bring back midsized, WP-adjacent events like PressNomics or LoopConf? And if we are bringing those back, do we want to have them be part of a semi-official thing along with a clearly WordPress event and like do joint sales in there? Try to figure out how to get people from one to the other, so that it’s not just WordPress people that we’re talking to, but also business people and advanced developers, things like that.
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There was also a lot of discussion about whether or not we have gotten too big, should we double down on our grassroots efforts? Just go all the way back to, like, BarCamp style, WordPress in a forest kind of thing.
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[00:07:46] Josepha: And yeah, and among all of these conversations, there were questions about the resources that we need. Do we have what we need now? Do we have plans for how to maintain those resources in the future? Do we have enough time? Do we have enough money? Do we have an expertise? The people? So many questions, so many questions. And on the community side of things, we also had a lot of questions that are routine in open source. Like, do we have a pipeline for future maintainers, for future team reps, for future leaders in the project? All of the questions.
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So, those are the three slash four, depending on how you break it out, really big trends that I saw across the conversation at the Community Summit. And I don’t necessarily know the answers to all of these things. Like, I know what my gut tells me, I know what I believe the answer to be. From my own perspective, but as you’ve been told many times with many eyes, all bugs are shallow. And so here is what happens next with a Community Summit. So we’ve gathered all of these things together. We’ve had these conversations, and now all of the notes from every conversation that we had will be put on make.wordpress.org/summit.
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[00:09:10] Josepha: There, you can do any of the following three things, but at least do one before we get any further. I think it’s important to remind everyone that no decisions were made at the Community Summit. There are a few things that will come out of the Community Summit where the answer the way forward is really obvious. And so those probably will get done quickly thereafter because it’s just an obvious thing to do. It makes sense for everyone in the project. It makes sense for everyone who’s using WordPress. Whatever reason.
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So those things will probably move quickly, but mostly not even mostly there were no decisions made. And so if it looks like something is moving quickly there, it is because it makes sense after the fact. So there’s that. But the three things that you can do in order to take part in this information gathering and sharing that happened at the Community Summit.
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Number one, head over to make.wordpress.org/summit and just read the notes. There are a lot of them you can pick and choose based on the teams you contribute to or the topics that are specifically interesting. Or if you have been assigned to read one of these things, obviously, go ahead and read that. But find the notes read them. Take a look at the discussion as far as you can tell it happened and get a sense for what the essential question is.
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The second thing that you can do while you’re there is that you can join in that discussion right there in the comments if you would like to. You can, if you feel like your perspective is not quite accounted for in that, obviously leave some comments and let folks know. But also, if you feel like your perspective was accounted for, but there’s also a very specific question that was not necessarily answered or not even brought up, share those as well. That’s stuff that we would like to know as we are working through this.
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And then the third thing that you can do is you can take those conversations, and if there’s anything that looks like it’s particularly relevant to your local WordPress community, absolutely take those there and have those conversations with them.
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[00:11:23] Josepha: And once you’ve had those conversations, let us know what you thought also in those comments, or take it directly into your weekly teams’ chat, either way. We want to hear what you think about the questions that were brought because you brought them to us. And so you should have an opportunity to tell us what you think.
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[00:11:39] (Music Interlude)
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[00:11:48] Josepha: That brings us now to our small list of big things. My friends, there’s nothing but big things left for the rest of the year. And so here we go. Number one, uh, I mentioned it quite a bit. There’s a conversation, an ongoing conversation about the future of events for our community. Right now, there is an open call for ideas, new features for our NextGen WordPress events, especially on the page that exists on WordCamp Central.
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So, we want to find the most useful and desirable features for a future homepage on central.wordcamp.org that would host a list of all of our upcoming WordPress events. And so we want your opinion there. Please let us know what would be especially useful to you as you are looking for WordPress events to attend.
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The second thing is that we introduced 2024, the default theme that is coming with WordPress 6.4, was announced. We have had, I think, 32 contributors to it at the time of this recording. And yeah, it’s beautiful. It’s got a lot of different implementation options, a lot of default patterns, and curated patterns so that you can get exactly what you want out of that theme. I think it’s going to make a great default theme, a great starter theme for our final release of the year.
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And then, speaking of 6.4, with the release of 6.3 behind us, we are working hard on bringing 6.4 to the community. You can get involved with the development of that. There is a core chat every Wednesday. It happens. I want to say at 21:00 UTC, but I don’t actually know off the top of my head. I just go when my calendar tells me to go, and I live in the central time zone. And so, my UTC conversion is not the best, but we will leave the actual information about that in the show notes so that you can see it. But you can also go over to make.wordpress.org, and then there’s a little card on that homepage that tells you exactly when those core meetings are, including the new contributor meeting, which happens every two weeks.
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And then the fourth thing is that there is a successful WordCamp US behind us. That is our final flagship event of the year, which is always exciting. If you missed it, for one, we missed you. And for two, we have you covered. We’ve got a recap of the event. There is a link to that in the show notes as well.
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[00:14:05] Josepha: And that, my friends, is your small list of big things. Thanks for tuning in today for the WordPress Briefing. I’m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy, and I’ll see you again in a couple of weeks.
WordPress 6.3.1 would not have been possible without the contributions of the following people. Their asynchronous coordination to deliver maintenance fixes into a stable release is a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress community.
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Nearly 2,000 attendees gathered for two days of keynotes, sessions, and community-building conversations at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in the largest attended WordCamp US ever. Saturday’s sessions concluded with back-to-back keynotes by WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg and Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy.
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What’s Next for WordPress
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Josepha launched her keynote by celebrating 20 years of WordPress and reflecting on its journey from a blogging tool to the world’s most popular community-driven web platform. On WordPress as a platform for empowerment and change, Josepha shared, “The more people that know about WordPress, the more people can access the incredible opportunities that WordPress can provide.” And that sustaining the platform for future generations ensures these opportunities will persist. She added, “We exist for as long as people want to use our software.”
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The community is the key to sustaining WordPress, and Josepha touched on the importance of WordCamps, workshops, and events that create value, promote inclusivity, and spark inspiration. WordPress can be a catalyst for positive change in the life of a contributor, end user, or site builder.
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Concluding her keynote, Josepha asked the audience to think about the story they’d want to tell about themselves and their time in WordPress; and the story they would want WordPress to tell the world.
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What’s Next for Gutenberg
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Matt began his keynote with a touch of nostalgia, referring to a comment on his personal blog in 2003 by WordPress Co-founder Mike Little, and then looked ahead to the most recent release, WordPress 6.3. As this year’s largest release, it includes new features such as the Command Palette, a quick way (⌘+k on Mac or Ctrl+k on Windows) to search your site and access common commands.
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Matt continued, “WordPress never rests, so right around the corner is WordPress 6.4 on Nov 7… with some cool new features.” He shared that 6.4, like 5.6, will be an underrepresented gender-led release. A new default theme, Twenty Twenty-Four, is tailored for entrepreneurs and small businesses, photographers and artists, and writers and bloggers. Additionally, 6.4 will feature integrated font management and Image block options to expand single images for optimal viewing.
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Looking further into the future, Matt highlighted Phase 3 of the Gutenberg project, which will focus on workflows and collaboration, “moving WordPress from a single-player to a multi-player tool.” In that spirit of collaboration, a new #LMS working group will also bring WordPress learning management systems together to improve the web standards for courses and learning content.
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Beyond Phase 3, Matt shared thoughts about what it means to support WordPress many years from now. A new 100-Year Plan from WordPress.com is an exploration into long-term planning for your online presence. He encouraged attendees to be inspired by the region’s history, reflecting on what it would mean to honor the past while anticipating and planning for the future.
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Q&A
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A Q&A session followed the keynotes, with questions submitted by the in-person audience and live stream viewers.
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Earlier this year, WordPressers around the globe united to celebrate 20 years of community and innovation. There were parties, blogs, videos, and social media posts aplenty. And, of course, the trending hashtag, “#WP20”.
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Throughout April and May, community members reflected on their journeys – what brought them to WordPress and its personal meaning. The stories, tweets, and videos were inspiring, nostalgic, and even humorous at times. There was swag, and the cakes were epic.
WordPress celebrates 20 years tomorrow. It's grown from a comment on a blog post to a web spanning phenomenon. Thanks to an outstanding community and the freedoms of Open Source. Happy Birthday, WordPress! #WP20#WordPresspic.twitter.com/fght4XMJXb
I'm sure you've seen by now, but today is WordPress' 20th birthday! Thank you to @photomatt and @mikelittlezed1 for following through with a seemingly wild idea. I don't think anyone could have predicted we'd end up where we are today. Happy birthday @WordPress! #WP20pic.twitter.com/tAZRlYThuS
A WordPress event is not complete without a Wapuu, and not only was there one, but there was a whole campaign to color it in! Thanks to Em DeRosia for creating the commemorative Wapuu!
The Marketing team ran an interactive campaign, From Blogs to Blocks, a series of prompts across 20 days for WordPress enthusiasts to celebrate all-things WordPress.
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Additional campaigns took place on social media and included prompting folks to share their favorite WordPress memory and most cherished WordPress swag item, to highlight the 21 contributing teams, and even to share a birthday greeting.
\n \";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:30:\"com-wordpress:feed-additions:1\";a:1:{s:7:\"post-id\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:5:\"15471\";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:66:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n \n \n \n \n \";s: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:4:{s:0:\"\";a:6:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:26:\"WordPress 6.3 “Lionel”\";s: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:42:\"https://wordpress.org/news/2023/08/lionel/\";s: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, 08 Aug 2023 20:03:16 +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:8:\"category\";a:4:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:7:\"General\";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:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:8:\"Releases\";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:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:3:\"6.3\";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:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:8:\"releases\";s: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:35:\"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=15718\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:1:{s:0:\"\";a:1:{s:11:\"isPermaLink\";s:5:\"false\";}}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:196:\"WordPress 6.3 \"Lionel\" is here! Named after Lionel Hampton, the prolific jazz musician and bandleader, this release was made possible by over 650 contributors. Download WordPress 6.3 Lionel today.\";s: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:\"Matias Ventura\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:40:\"http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/\";a:1:{s:7:\"encoded\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:71649:\"\n\n\n\n\n
Say hello to WordPress 6.3 “Lionel,” named after Lionel Hampton, the celebrated American jazz artist. A prolific jazz vibraphonist, pianist, and percussionist, Hampton gained notoriety working in harmony with greats from Charles Mingus to Quincy Jones and as bandleader of the eponymous Lionel Hampton Orchestra. His artistry and charitable work have been recognized with a Grammy, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the National Medal of Arts.
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Be sure to turn up the volume of the musical stylings of Lionel Hampton as you discover all “Lionel” has to offer.
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With “Lionel” you can create beautiful and compelling websites more efficiently than ever. Whether you want to build an entire site without coding or are a developer looking to customize every detail, WordPress 6.3 has something to pique your interest. As you unpack and explore this latest release, you will discover updated functions and navigation designed to help you work and create with less effort, design tools that give you more control over layout, and added functionality enriching the site-building experience.
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“Lionel” marks a major chapter in the evolution of WordPress as a tool for expression. It’s the culmination of years of work from hundreds of contributors, bringing a more powerful and cohesive editing experience for crafting websites with blocks. It continues the quest of making web publishing approachable for everyone—so it’s also just a new beginning!
This momentous release opens new possibilities for the creative expression of designers, creators, and builders. Powerful tools and refined controls give users confidence and allow them to easily manage their sites.
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Do everything in the Site Editor
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WordPress 6.3 brings your content, templates, and patterns together in the Site Editor for the first time. Add pages, browse style variations, create synced patterns, and enjoy fine-tuned control over navigation menus. Spend less time switching across different site areas—so you can focus on what matters most. Creation to completion, all in one place.
\n\n\n\nDo everything in the Site Editor\n\n\n\n
Preview Block themes
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Experience block themes before you switch and preview the Site Editor, with options to customize directly before committing to a new theme.
\n\n\n\nPreview a new block theme before you switch and commit\n\n\n\n
Create and sync patterns
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Arrange blocks and save them to the ‘My Patterns’ section for use throughout your site. You can even specify whether to sync your patterns (previously referred to as “Reusable blocks”) so that one change applies to all parts of your site. Or, utilize patterns as a starting point with the ability to customize each instance.
\n\n\n\nMy patterns: All your patterns in one place\n\n\n\n
Work faster with the Command Palette
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Switch to a specific template or open your editor preferences with a new tool that helps you quickly access expanded functionality. With simple keyboard shortcuts (⌘+k on Mac or Ctrl+k on Windows), clicking the sidebar search icon in Site View, or clicking the Title Bar, get where you need to go and do what you need to do in seconds.
\n\n\n\nGet to know the new Command Palette \n\n\n\n
Sharpen your designs with new tools
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New design controls bring more versatility for fine-tuning, starting with the ability to customize your captions from the Styles interface without coding. You can manage your duotone filters in Styles for supported blocks and pick from the options provided by your theme or disable them entirely. The Cover block gets added settings for text color, layout controls, and border options, making this powerful block even more handy.
\n\n\n\nNew design tools\n\n\n\n
Track design changes with Style revisions
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With a new audit trail, you can now see how your site looked at a specific time. Visualize these revisions in a timeline and access a one-click option to restore prior styles.
\n\n\n\nStyle revisions: See your style revision history \n\n\n\n
Annotate with the Footnotes block
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Footnotes add convenient annotations throughout your content. Now you can add and link footnotes for any paragraph.
\n\n\n\nAdd footnotes effortlessly with the new Footnotes Block\n\n\n\n
Show or hide content with the Details block
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Use the Details block to avoid spoiling a surprise, create an interactive Q&A section, or hide a long paragraph under a heading.
\n\n\n\nDisplay or hide content with the new Details Block\n\n\n\n
Performance gets a boost
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WordPress 6.3 has 170+ performance updates, including defer and async support for the Scripts API and fetchpriority support for images. These improvements, along with block template resolution, image lazy-loading, and the emoji loader, can dramatically improve your website’s perceived load time.
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Accessibility remains a core focus
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Incorporating more than 50 accessibility improvements across the platform, WordPress 6.3 is more accessible than ever. Improved labeling, optimized tab and arrow-key navigation, revised heading hierarchy, and new controls in the admin image editor allow those using assistive technologies to navigate more easily.
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Other highlights
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Set aspect ratio on images
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Specify your aspect ratios and ensure design integrity, especially when using images in patterns.
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Build your site distraction-free
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Distraction-free designing is now available in the Site Editor.
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Rediscover the Top Toolbar
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A revamped Top Toolbar offers parent selectors for nested blocks, options when selecting multiple blocks, and an interface embedded into the title bar with new functionality in mind.
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List View improvements
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Drag and drop to every content layer and delete any block you would like in the updated List View.
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Build templates with Patterns
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Create unique patterns to jumpstart template creation with a new modal enabling access to pattern selection.
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Changes in PHP support
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Support for PHP 5 is discontinued. The new minimum supported version of PHP is 7.0.0.
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Failed update safeguards
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WordPress will now auto-restore the previously installed version of plugins or themes if something goes wrong during a failed manual update.
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Learn more about WordPress and 6.3
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Explore Learn WordPress for quick how-to videos, online workshops, and other resources to level up your knowledge of the latest features in WordPress.
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Check out the WordPress 6.3 Field Guide for detailed developer notes to help you build with WordPress and get the most out of the latest release. Read the 6.3 release notes for additional technical details about this release, including feature recaps, installation information, file changes, fixes, and updates.
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Read and subscribe to the Developer Blog for even more helpful WordPress content.
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To accompany this release, a new web experience has been created to provide a more visual way of getting acquainted with the many improvements and new features of WordPress 6.3.
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Seeing WordPress 6.3 in action doesn’t stop there! Be sure to watch this brief overview video to get a taste of the many things “Lionel” has to offer.
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WordPress is a global software platform
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61 locales have translated 90 percent or more of WordPress 6.3 into their language. Community translators are working hard to ensure more translations are on their way. Thank you, gracias, ありがとう, धन्यवाद, and ευχαριστώ to everyone who helps to make WordPress available in 200 languages.
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Contributing to WordPress
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WordPress believes in democratizing publishing and the freedoms that come with open source. Supporting this idea is a large community of people collaborating to strengthen the software. A big thank you to everyone who makes WordPress.
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Our community of contributors has always been what makes WordPress wonderful. You are what makes sure our project continues to thrive, and our software remains secure, usable, and impactful. Thank you so much for joining together to make the web (and the world) a better place!
WordPress 6.3 arrives thanks to more than 650 contributors’ collective passion and effort in at least 52 countries. This release also includes over 205 first-time contributors!
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The 6.3 release squad
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The 6.3 release was led from start to launch by an active set of contributors from across many disciplines. Over several weeks, they kept the release on track and moving forward by connecting ideas, resolving issues, and removing roadblocks.
Complimenting the release squad is a diverse group of contributors whose global collaboration delivered hundreds of enhancements and fixes, ensuring a stable release for all—a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress community.
Many thanks to the community volunteers who contribute to the support forums by answering questions from WordPress users worldwide.
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Get involved today
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If contributing to WordPress appeals to you, learning more and getting involved is easy. Discover the teams that come together to Make WordPress and explore the product roadmap on the core development blog. You can also use this interactive tool to help you decide which team is right for you.
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Looking toward the future
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20 years ago this past May, WordPress shipped the very first version, 0.7. What started with a blog post from co-founder Matt Mullenweg and a subsequent comment by co-founder Mike Little eventually evolved into the world’s most popular web publishing platform.
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WordPress software continues to evolve and iterate based on the needs and desires of its robust and diverse user community. This release is the capstone of Phase 2 along the WordPress development roadmap. As the community looks to the future, all efforts turn to 6.4 and, subsequently, the transition into Phase 3, which is expected to introduce powerful collaboration tools to the website creation and management experience.
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6.3 Haiku
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A capstone release Ships tools for building great sites Collaboration
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As the world’s most popular open source content management system, WordPress acknowledges the European Union’s initiative to bolster the cybersecurity of digital hardware and software products with the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). The Act’s effort to counter the increasing threat of cyberattacks and promote informed usage of digital products with increased security updates and transparency is commendable.
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While we wholly endorse the objectives of the CRA, we are apprehensive about the Act’s implications on open source software due to unclear terms and definitions.
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Specifically, the Act’s prohibition on “unfinished software” and ambiguous definition of “commercial activity” could inadvertently inhibit innovation and economic participation in the European digital landscape.
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Open source projects, like WordPress, often rely on continual updates and improvements—a process that may technically fall under the label of “unfinished.” Furthermore, the ambiguous definition of “commercial activity” could unintentionally encompass open source projects that are largely driven by communities and operate on a not-for-profit basis.
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Our letter to the EU Commission
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We have jointly authored an open letter addressing these concerns alongside fellow open source projects Drupal, Joomla!, and TYPO31. The letter emphasizes the significant contribution of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) to the EU’s economy and how the proposed regulations might undermine these efforts. Our shared goal is to further bolster the security of digital products without compromising the values of freedom, democracy, and innovation inherent to both the open source community and the EU’s Aims and Values.
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The letter invites the EU Commission and interested parties to participate in a seminar in Brussels to discuss how we can align the objectives of the CRA with the realities and needs of the FOSS community. We are optimistic that, with mutual understanding and cooperation, we can achieve secure digital products without limiting the vital contributions of open source projects.
Drupal, Joomla!, TYPO3, and WordPress are the most popular FOSS content management systems on the web today. While all are based on the PHP programming language and distributed under the GPL open source license, each platform takes a different approach to website publishing. With strength in diversity, they form the Inter-CMS Working Group, promoting the values and benefits of free and open source software. ︎
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WordPress 6.3 RC3 is ready for download and testing.
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This version of the WordPress software is under development.Please do not install, run, or test this version on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, you should evaluate RC3 on a test server and site.
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The WordPress 6.3 release is scheduled for August 8, 2023—just one week away. Now is your last opportunity to test it before the general release.
Since the RC2 release on July 25, 2023, there have been approximately 14 issues resolved in Github and Trac. To prepare for 6.3 general availability, RC3 also addresses several bugs and adds fixes for retrieving templates (#4940) and resolving child theme issues (#53138). Thank you for testing, WordPressers!
WordPress is open source software made possible by the community of people collaborating on and contributing to its development. The resources below outline a variety of ways you can help, regardless of your technical expertise.
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Download RC3 for testing
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You can test WordPress 6.3 RC3 in three ways:
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Option 1: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).
Option 3: Use the following WP-CLI command: wp core update --version=6.3-RC3
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Keep WordPress bug-free—help with testing
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Testing for issues is a critical part of developing any software, and it’s a meaningful way for anyone to contribute—whether you have experience or not. While testing the upgrade process is essential, trying out new features is too.
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Encountered an issue? Please report it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, you can file one on WordPress Trac. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.
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New to testing? This detailed guide is a great place to start if you’ve never tested a beta/RC release.
The monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities is doubled between the Beta 1 release and the final release candidate (RC). Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.
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Update your theme or plugin
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Do you build themes or plugins? Your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for users of all types worldwide.
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This is your final opportunity to test your latest versions against RC3. You will want to continue your testing and update the “Tested up to” version in your plugin’s readme file to 6.3.
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If you find compatibility problems, please post detailed information to the support forums.
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From administrator to web developer thanks to the supportive WordPress community. Through learning from other software users in Pakistan, Ihtisham Zahoor knew that his life would change. He moved cities and careers to make his life through open source.
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The People of WordPress series shares inspiring stories of how people’s lives can change for the better through WordPress and its global community of contributors.
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Ihtisham, from Haripur, a city in northern Pakistan, said: “The WordPress community made me a firm believer in the power of open source software. This is why I am an enthusiast and one who enjoys contributing back to the community via writing, speaking, and helping organize meetups.”
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When Ihtisham discovered WordPress, his fascination for working with computing grew. He knew he did not want to just work in administration his entire career.
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Ihitsham describes himself as an ‘introvert’ and therefore the idea of remote work appealed as he could still add value to others through technology. He was intrigued by the thought of the freedom to choose his work hours. However, without access to others who had already transformed their careers and lives through web development, he felt he ‘had no path to follow to turn my dream into a reality.’
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Challenges become opportunities to learn when there is an active community
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Lacking any kind of informed support network to advise or guide him, Ihtisham devoted time to online research to find the next steps he could take. Looking back, he believes that for those who are not in a network with others with similar interests, it can be hard to keep learning and experimenting with new things. Isolation can be a barrier to working in web development.
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He said: “I think it is not easy to stay motivated when there aren’t immediate rewards for the hard work we do. Sometimes, weeks would go by when my only focus would be to stay motivated rather than give up.”
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After another two years of combining learning and work, Ihtisham took up using WordPress as a full-time career. He moved to the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad. It was not easy at first. He recalls: “After many failed attempts at getting hired and desperate moments, I finally received an offer from a digital agency as a web developer focused on the WordPress platform.”
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He added: “Moving to work with a bigger agency was one of the best decisions of my life as it helped me with my professional growth by becoming familiar with the whole WordPress ecosystem in a supportive environment. I was valued for my opinions in the web projects in which I was involved. I was also appreciated and encouraged for the open source work I did for the company.” He summarized his enthusiasm for WordPress like this: “It is really interesting figuring out what is happening in the backends. I like problem-solving and finding solutions which you can do with WordPress.”
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During the Covid-19 pandemic, Ihtisham moved to join a start-up which provides web development services to international clients. He works as a developer and has the opportunity to learn more about client communication and project management. “WordPress has opened up so many opportunities for me. It has been an exciting journey for me with lots of learning every day,” he said. In particular, he has discovered an interest in APIs and regularly uses his spare time to follow tickets in the hope of one day contributing even more to topics.
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Give back through WordPress community
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It was not just software that made a difference in Ihtisham’s life. Joining a welcoming and sharing community was transforming for him. Recalling those early days of isolation, he values the WordPress community and is wholly committed to the power of open-source software. He now enjoys writing, speaking, and organizing meetups to give back to the community. He has been involved in developing plugins and themes for the platform, which he describes as a ‘humbling’ experience. He is fond of WordCamp Islamabad and in 2023 is on the organizing team to help bring both WordPress and its community to others in Pakistan.
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“My first experience,” he said, “was that everyone was so friendly and open to sharing what they have learned, even though they were all busy working. This really had an impact on me. It really helped me and gave me the confidence that I could work with WordPress…. It was a real step forward for me joining this community.”
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A particular meeting in 2018 led to new friendships through the WordPress community. Ihtisham was on a train to Karachi for the first ever Pakistani WordCamp in 2018 and met a group of fellow attendees he now regards as close friends. What impressed him most about the camp was that although he met many people with considerable expertise, they also had a generosity of spirit and humbleness in their willingness to share this knowledge. Now, with this group of friends he is fulfilling another dream of traveling widely across the country. He says these things and other ‘side benefits’ have been made possible by the WordPress community, and for that, he is ‘forever grateful’.
Ihtisham particularly wanted to share his story through this People of WordPress article to encourage those starting with little or no support to remain persistent. He knows from experience breaking into the tech world can be hard, especially when you may be switching from doing something else and have no ‘track record’ to offer.
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He feels he is a living example of how perseverance can lead to success. He offers these words to anyone thinking of making a move into development using the WordPress platform: “I attribute my success (financial and mental well-being) to the open-source nature of WordPress and its amazing community. It would not be possible to learn and use the plethora of free tools WordPress provides if it weren’t an open-source platform. It is for that reason I feel obligated to contribute back to this platform to the best of my abilities.” To those who are finding getting going difficult, as he did, he adds: “Get yourself a clear learning path and just dive in doing WordPress, and things will get better for you over time as they were for me, I promise. Good Luck!”
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Share the stories
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Help share these stories of open source contributors and continue to grow the community. Meet more WordPressers in the People of WordPress series.
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To help you discover more about how to use the WordPress software, there is a free resource from the community, Learn.WordPress.org
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Contributors
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Thanks to Ihtisham Zahoor (@shaampk1) for sharing about his adventures in WordPress.
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Thank you to Abha Thakor (@webcommsat), Nalini Thakor (@nalininonstopnewsuk), and Meher Bala (@meher) for interviews, the feature and collaborating on images. To Chloe Bringmann (@cbringmann), Mark Smallman (@marks99), and Mary Baum (@marybaum) for reviews. Thanks to the late Surendra Thakor (@sthakor), Maja Loncar (@majaloncar), Maedah Bahtool (@maedahbatool) and other members of the Marketing and Polyglots Team for their contributions.
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The People of WordPress series thanks Josepha Haden (@chanthaboune) and Topher DeRosia (@topher1kenobe) for their support.
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This People of WordPress feature is inspired by an essay originally published on HeroPress.com, a community initiative created by Topher DeRosia. It highlights people in the WordPress community who have overcome barriers and whose stories might otherwise go unheard. #HeroPress
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Synced patterns are replacing Reusable blocks, offering a unified creation experience for new pattern functionality coming to WordPress 6.3. Patterns, first introduced in WordPress 5.5, are a collection of blocks that make it simple to add complex layouts and designs to any WordPress site without starting from scratch. With WordPress 6.3, set to be released on August 8th, you will be able to arrange blocks in unlimited ways and save them as patterns for use throughout your site, directly within the editing experience. You can also specify whether to sync your patterns, so that one change applies to all parts of your site, or to keep them unsynced, so you can customize each instance.
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\n\n\n\n
Create your own patterns
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The ability to create your own patterns, on top of using the ones bundled into each WordPress release, opens up a world of possibilities. Need to repeat the same contact information across your site and keep it up to date? Create a synced pattern with all the details, and say goodbye to repeating yourself, with the ability to quickly insert the synced pattern wherever you need it. If you find yourself creating various banners for your site and want them to have the same layout with unique content, creating an unsynced pattern speeds up your workflow and ensures a level of consistency in approach. While themes and plugins have been able to offer patterns to users and curate the experience, this update allows agencies and site builders to do the same for their clients, directly in the site building process.
\n\n\n\n
Dig into the details
\n\n\n\n
Any previously made Reusable blocks will continue to function as they do now, just under the new Synced pattern name. To help adjust to these changes, a few contextual notices will be placed throughout the interface. Specifically, the menu item in the creation flow will show as “Create pattern/reusable block” until the prompt describing the switch is dismissed in one of the various locations, including the naming and syncing modal:
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For folks using block themes, all patterns will be listed alongside template parts in the Site Editor > Patterns section, where you can enter a focused editing mode to make changes. For Classic themes, the prior reusable block management page will now house patterns in a list, similar to the Posts > All Posts view.
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For a complete overview of patterns on your site, all patterns provided by themes and plugins will be shown in this section but without the option to edit directly.
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Go further
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With the ability to create your own patterns baked into the creation experience, remember that you can copy the patterns available in the Pattern Directory and contribute back, an excellent way to democratize design for every WordPress user and the web.
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WordPress 6.3 RC2 is ready for download and testing.
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This version of the WordPress software is under development.Please do not install, or run, or test this version on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, you should evaluate RC2 on a test server and site.
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While release candidates are considered ready for final release, additional testing and use by the community can only make it better.
\n\n\n\n
WordPress 6.3 is scheduled for release on August 8, 2023 – just two weeks from today.
The About Page now includes a “Get Involved” section (#23348).
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The dark mode option has been restored in the block editor iframe for Twenty Twenty-One (#58835).
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Max height value was fixed in the image scaling in the Edit Media screen (#50523).
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Additionally, some issues regarding internationalization were addressed (#58879, #58067 and #58864).
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Test features in WordPress 6.3
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Testing for issues is a critical part of developing any software, and it’s a meaningful way for anyone to contribute—whether you have experience or not. While testing the upgrade process is essential, trying out new features is too.
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\n
Encountered an issue? Please report it to the Alpha/Beta area in the support forums. If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, you can file one on WordPress Trac. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.
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New to testing? This detailed guide is a great place to start if you’ve never tested a beta/RC release.
Vulnerability bounty doubles during the Beta/RC phases
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The monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities is doubled between the Beta 1 release and the final release candidate (RC). Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.
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Get WordPress 6.3 RC2
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You can test WordPress 6.3 RC2 in three ways:
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\n
Option 1: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).
Option 3: Use the following WP-CLI command: wp core update --version=6.3-RC2
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Thanks to WordPress plugin and theme developers
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Do you build plugins and themes? Your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for users of all types worldwide.
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Hopefully, you have already tested your themes and plugins with WordPress 6.3 betas by now. With RC2, you will want to continue your testing and update the “Tested up to” version in your plugin’s readme file to 6.3.
\n\n\n\n
If you find compatibility problems, please post detailed information to the support forums.
Media Temple (MT) is closing its doors after 24 years in the hosting industry, with the brand now retired and customers fully migrated to GoDaddy. In 2013, GoDaddy acquired MT “to win the hearts and minds of developers,” as then-CEO Blake Irving told VentureBeat at the time. When it was purchased, the highly regarded brand was focusing on advanced technical services that GoDaddy had not yet adapted, and the plan was to have MT operate independently with no changes for employees or customers.
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Thanks for allowing us to serve you for 24 years. The time has come to say goodbye. We will miss you. Keep building amazing things!
The year following the acquisition, Media Temple launched its managed WordPress hosting product, joining the ranks of Flywheel, Page.ly, WordPress.com, WP Engine, and a handful of other companies that were working to elevate the hosting experience for WordPress users.
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In December 2022, MT announced it would be retiring the Media Temple brand and transitioning accounts to GoDaddy, while subtly acknowledging the sentimental place MT holds in many of its customers’ hearts:
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\n
Since joining GoDaddy, we worked hand-in-hand with them to incorporate the best of Media Temple into offerings, including improving GoDaddy’s customer experience and leveraging Media Temple’s unique expertise on what it truly means to run a world-class hosting organization. If you closely examine GoDaddy’s hosting offerings, you will find Media Temple’s fingerprints all around. From specialized teams who deal with complex hosting issues to programs like GoDaddy Pro specifically targeting creatives, Media Temple made its mark on GoDaddy.
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Fans bid the brand farewell on Twitter, as its retirement marks the end of a chapter in web hosting history.
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\n
Basically the entire design community was sponsored by Media Temple back in the day.
In February 2023, Media Temple began migrating accounts to GoDaddy, with no action required from customers. Many of the products and services were already fulfilled through GoDaddy, decreasing the number needing to be migrated.
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Now that the process is complete, the brand will discontinue operations and move current resources into supporting customers inside GoDaddy. The company assured former MT customers that they will retain their current products and pricing for equivalent products with access to more tools.
Discover the latest from the WordPress community. From the future of WordPress & Gutenberg’s next steps to intriguing discussions at the Community Summit. Plus, get a sneak peek into WordPress 6.4’s development cycle. Stay updated, stay involved!
Thanks for reading our WP dot .org roundup! Each week we are highlighting the news and discussions coming from the good folks making WordPress possible. If you or your company create products or services that use WordPress, you need to be engaged with them and their work. Be sure to share this resource with your product and project managers.
Are you interested in giving back and contributing your time and skills to WordPress.org?Start Here ›
Get our weekly WordPress community news digest — Post Status’ Week in Review — covering the WP/Woo news plus significant writing and podcasts. It’s also available in our newsletter.
Build your network. Learn with others. Find your next job — or your next hire. Read the Post Statusnewsletter. Listen to podcasts. Follow @Post_Status and LinkedIn.
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This article was published at Post Status — the community for WordPress professionals.
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\n
[00:00:00] Nathan Wrigley: Welcome to the Jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley.
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Jukebox is a podcast which is dedicated to all things WordPress. The people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case, why the time might be right for the Fields API.
\n\n\n\n
If you’d like to subscribe to the podcast, you can do that by searching for WP Tavern in your podcast player of choice. Or by going to WPTavern.com forward slash feed forward slash podcast. And you can copy that URL into most podcast players.
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If you have a topic that you’d like us to feature on the podcast, I’m keen to hear from you, and hopefully get you all your idea featured on the show. Head to WPTavern.com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox. And use the form there.
\n\n\n\n
So on the podcast today, we have Scott Kingsley, Clark.
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Scott is a WordPress developer who has been working with WordPress since 2007. He’s well-known for his work on the Pods Framework, a popular content and custom fields plugin.
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Scott’s goal is to find ways to enhance the WordPress experience, particularly in terms of working with different types of data. He’s currently involved in the WordPress Fields API project, which aims to provide a better solution for developers looking to wrangle their data. And that is the focus of the podcast today. As you’ll hear, Scott is determined to contribute to the continual growth and improvement of WordPress, and to make the Fields API a reality.
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Scott came from a background using Drupal, which is an alternative CMS. When he first ventured into WordPress, he found certain features were lacking. Things which were baked into Drupal Core were not available in WordPress, a notable example being custom fields.
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We know that WordPress has a myriad of plugins, which can take on the burden of creating custom fields, but Scott has concerns about the interoperability of these plugins, and he wants to create a more solid structure within WordPress itself. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were ways for developers to create custom field plugins so that you weren’t locked into one or the other. Scott imagines a future in which you could move from ACF, Metabox Toolset and more. A future built on top of the Fields API.
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Throughout the conversation, scott talks about his passion for incorporating the block editor, React and other technologies into WordPress. He shares insights on controlling block settings, making them extensible through PHP.
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You might know Scott from his work on the popular Pods Framework plugin. This plugin allows users to create custom content types and fields in WordPress, and certainly speaks to his credentials in trying to push the Fields API project forward.
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We talk about what the Fields API might become. The aim is to simplify the process of working with custom fields and content types in WordPress. With the Fields API, Scott hopes to unify the different methods and APIs for managing custom fields, making it easier for developers and non-developers alike to add their fields to different screens within WordPress.
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It’s a complicated undertaking and we get into some of the areas of WordPress, which might benefit from his work. Scott sheds light on the challenges faced during the development of the Fields API, the need for shared storage standards among plugins, and the potential for better integration with the WordPress Admin UI.
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Towards the end of the podcast we talk about the future of the Fields API project, and how gaining support from people in the WordPress community will be crucial to its success.
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If you’re interested in how WordPress can be used as a fully featured CMS, this podcast is for you.
\n\n\n\n
If you want to find out more, you can find all of the links in the show notes by heading to WPTavern.com forward slash podcast, where you’ll find all the other episodes as well.
\n\n\n\n
And so without further delay, I bring you Scott Kingsley Clark.
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I am joined on the podcast today by Scott Kingsley Clark. Hello Scott.
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[00:04:53] Scott Kingsley Clark: Hey Nathan, how’s it going?
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[00:04:55] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah really good. Thank you for joining us on the podcast today. We’re going to get into the weeds a little bit with WordPress code and all sorts of things. We haven’t had one of these episodes for a little while so this will be nice and refreshing.
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Scott, given that we’re going to be talking about something technical I suppose it would be a good thing right at the beginning to learn about your technical expertise. The various different projects that you’ve touched in the WordPress space during the time that you’ve been in that. So just yeah a little moment for you to offer up your bio really. So over to you.
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[00:05:24] Scott Kingsley Clark: Well sure. I started working with WordPress in about 2007 or 8. I used it briefly once before with a one click install from cPanel before that, but I didn’t really like it at the time. And I was doing many other things.
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But ever since that point I have been really involved with trying to make WordPress the best that it can be. And that has evolved through plugin development. One of the plugins I’m more known for is the Pods Framework. And that is a content type, a custom field plugin for WordPress. But I’ve also tried to find ways to make it easier for other developers to build things without needing a plugin. Because a plugin like Pods existed before custom post types had a real API.
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But now that it has a real API you don’t really need a plugin like Pods to just make a custom post type. And the goal for me is, I’d love to see a better way to work with those types of objects inside of WordPress that have very different APIs, or in some cases no API at all. You just have to output your own markup and hook into some hooks. And it’s not really great.
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Especially in this day where we have everything exposed to the Rest APIs. And you want to build really cool blocks, but you can’t leverage some data from different structures that don’t exist. So that’s where I’d love to find ways for WordPress to level up.
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In this particular project of mine, is the WordPress Fields API. There is a group of us who have kind of rebooted it, but it existed in 2000 and, I want to say 14, 15, 16, 2017, all through those years. And we had made some progress, made a few different proposals and it just got stuck up in the process of getting the block editor and Rest API.
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And there was just so many more bigger features that were getting the priority, and it kind of burned me out. And I didn’t find anyone else to carry the torch so it just went away. And just the start of this year we started up again.
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[00:07:30] Nathan Wrigley: What was the reason that it went away? You mentioned there that there were a whole variety of different things going on at the same time. So was it that the community’s focus just seemed to be more interested on other things? And so despite the fact that you were putting in the time, and you obviously just described that it burnt you out a little bit. There just wasn’t enough interest because attention was being put elsewhere.
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[00:07:53] Scott Kingsley Clark: Right. Well Fields API owes so much to WebDevStudios and 10up who offered a lot of my time on the clock. They donated my time towards developing the Fields API and pushing it forward. And at 10up we were really, really close. We got the closest we had been at that point because at 10up we had a really awesome contributor for WordPress. A core committer, Helen Hou-Sandi.
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And that got us really close, but I think it just was that I was practically speaking for Fields API and saying, we should do this, we should do that, and it just wasn’t hitting. It wasn’t hitting right for them. Or the people who were involved in making decisions on what was going to make it, or what was going to get the attention or whatever, just didn’t feel it yet.
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And I can understand that. I mean there’s so much that everyone is trying to do for each release. And I kind of assumed that if I built as much as possible and showed it as a really thoroughly working prototype with tests and everything else. And I just handed it to them and said hey here it is. Can you help me make this part of WordPress Core? Do you have any feedback? And when I did that I guess the biggest problem was I hadn’t really involved all those same voices at that point prior to actually doing the development of it.
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So I had some input from a few different core contributors and committers and such. But as soon as I pushed out that final proposal in 2017 we got so many detractors and people saying, oh we should have done this differently or, why is it like this? And I would have done it this way. And it kind of did not get the consensus that I was needing for it to gain further traction. So we’ve kind of approached it differently in this reboot.
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[00:09:42] Nathan Wrigley: Okay, right. So you did a lot of the work, you put it out there but the feedback that came back didn’t exactly encourage you, let’s put it that way. There were people who just would rather it had been done in their way. I’m guessing that that’s because there are loads of different ways that this type of problem has been tackled I guess on a more or less on a per plugin basis. There’s probably hundreds of plugins out there that do something similar. They do it their way. And so they presumably think that their way is the way that it should be done.
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[00:10:15] Scott Kingsley Clark: Right. I mean there’s so many plugins like ACF and Pods and Toolset, so many more at comparewp.org slash cck. Which is like a really cool comparison list of all these different types of plugins. But there’s so many that each one has their own baked in API for managing fields in WordPress.
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And it’s just bonkers that everyone has to build all these APIs, and in the end they’re almost it’s forcing the need of having to build their own APIs because they won’t accept anything else other than the one that they built. And I think that it’s tricky with developers and egos and everything else. We all have to kind of find a way to, you know, what is the minimum bare essentials API that we could build for this and find a consensus on that.
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[00:11:01] Nathan Wrigley: So I guess this time around the community involvement is going to be there. You’re going to do this much more in the open. So that as you are going along presumably ideas are chipped in, rather than it just being one great big release at the end where everybody gets to either agree or disagree.
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[00:11:18] Scott Kingsley Clark: Right yeah. We tried to do that before but I think the challenge was we moved so quickly. I built so much code and I had made a specification ahead of time. But really the time wasn’t spent in the research specification side to get a consensus at that point, with not just the people who were involved but everyone else. Making sure everyone else had a moment to do that.
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I guess when people just look at a specification like oh, I’ll just look at it later on when he has something for me to look at. And so it just gets delayed. And I’m hoping that this time I can find ways to intuitively make it so people will actively and proactively be part of that process and give feedback
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[00:12:01] Nathan Wrigley: So given that you’ve restarted it, what reinvigorated it for you? Where did your curiosity for something that has been dormant for quite a number of years now. What on earth was it that brought you back to seeing this as a worthwhile use of your time?
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[00:12:16] Scott Kingsley Clark: Since 2017 I’ve had kind of dark years in my contributing to WordPress Core, and just feeling like, well I can’t get anything big done so maybe I shouldn’t spend my time on it. And just the amount of time I’d spent on it had taken away from my full time work and my side projects.
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I’m just like, well if I’m going to do this I really need it to be something I believe in. And up until the start of the year I just didn’t really feel like it was going to be possible. And then Joe Dolson, from the accessibility team was talking about how their team was looking at trying to revitalize the settings screens.
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And one of the biggest challenges were their setting screens are hard coded in a lot of ways. And there’s not really an easy way to just like, here let’s try out this different interface. Let’s try this interface, this markup. We’ll change this markup here. And it’s very difficult to produce different markup inside of WordPress Core right now for a lot of screens really.
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And more importantly for them, it’s not even using the Settings API the same way as most people are building things with the Settings API. And they hooked up with me because Courtney Robertson, a really awesome Dev Rel person, has just connected me with Joe at the end of last year I believe. And we just started talking about it, like hey this would be really cool if we had this Fields API stuff that you were thinking about before.
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And I was like well I don’t know. And then as they discussed it with really the focus on accessibility I was like, you know what accessibility is such a big priority to me that I think it kind of overrides my initial thoughts about well I don’t know if I can get this into Core. Because I thoroughly believe in spending more time on accessibility for lots of different plugins. Especially for WordPress Core and the block editor. And if I can help push that forward I feel like I’ve done something better with my time.
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And at that point I was like yeah I’m in. We’ll focus on the Settings API, just on that. And we’re not going to like build all the different screens and API prototype that we had done before. Until we get the Settings API, let’s focus all of our energy on doing that for the Settings API itself.
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[00:14:26] Nathan Wrigley: So that all kicked off again at the beginning of this year, 2023. And I’m staring at a page on the Make WordPress Core blog, which you wrote right at the beginning of the year, january the 9th. You’ve posted a video there of you, and I think the four other people on the call. So right at the very start of this year, five people involved at the very least.
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How has the project been growing? Has it caught the attention in the way that you’d hoped? Have there been people coming along to assist? One of the enterprises of this podcast episode is obviously to swell the number of people, but it would be quite nice to know how it’s going just prior to that.
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[00:15:04] Scott Kingsley Clark: So as with a lot of these kinds of initiatives it all depends on the time you put in, as someone who has the vision and leads it. And my time on the Fields API had been kind of reduced, just right after this. The economy started having some challenges in the tech space, and job security was a concern in a lot of areas for a lot of people, especially me.
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And so I didn’t have as much free time to focus on that. I was focused on my work, keeping my head down and making sure I was doing all my things. And I just didn’t have enough headspace for it. But I knew that if I could really spend a great deal of time this summer on the Fields API, getting it prepared, getting it to the next phase, so that we have something solid. By the time it is time for Community Summit contributor day for WordCamp US we have a solid chance.
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And then something came out of nowhere. On the Make WordPress dot org core, blog I saw a post come through. And I’ve been watching posts there all the time and sometimes I’ll provide feedback. But this one was unique. This one was talking about revamping the Admin UI. And now I’m getting all sorts of excited and I’m thinking to myself, oh this is my time.
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Like, if I can get the Admin UI perspective on the Fields API, I think this could even help us further, pushing this forward. Because if you want to approach redoing the Admin UI you have to expose these kinds of fields and forms and screens in a way that is more dynamic than it is right now. And that is a sweet spot for the Fields API.
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So I posted on that blog post. I asked Matias, hey can we have Fields API? Please, please, please be part of this conversation. I would love to talk to you more about it. And so we’re probably going to talk about it at WordCamp US, some time during that week. And my hope is we’ll get this really pushed further. Because it takes buy in from the vocal people in WordPress. And I think I’m beginning to see more buy in. And that is really a positive thing for me.
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[00:17:12] Nathan Wrigley: Sounds like a really nice bit of serendipity there. Couple of things happened, and the chance of the Admin UI being overhauled kind of sits perfectly doesn’t it. That really would be the moment.
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It is a dramatic change that’s being proposed. And so I guess if you’re going to go all in on changing the Admin UI, well now would be the time to get all of the fields work done as well.
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It just occurs to me that given the audience that listen to this podcast, there’s a fair smattering of developers no doubt. But also there’s people who are just into WordPress. You know, it’s a hobby. They perhaps do it as a side gig or something.
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So maybe we should rewind and do some explanations about what on earth an API for fields would even do. Why is it even needed? I’m suspecting that many people log in to their WordPress website, certainly since the advent of Gutenberg. And more or less everything that they want to do, publish posts, schedule posts, that’s possibly the extent of it all. It functions.
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So I’m imagining there’s a proportion of people listening to this going, well, what even would this be needed for? Describe a scenario where this would be useful. So, let’s cover that out. What is the Fields API? How would it change what WordPress does?
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[00:18:25] Scott Kingsley Clark: Sure. So let me preface my answer with, there’s a reason why there’s so many plugins out there doing content types and custom fields. There’s a reason why Advanced Custom Fields has millions of active installs. And tons of people have paid for the pro premium versions of these kinds of plugins.
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Now I’ll get into the real answer. This is an incredibly complicated dance. Whenever you want to go add a custom field to a post, or let’s say you’re building a site, a hobby site. I use the book analogy a lot, but let’s talk about music, because I love music too.
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So you’re setting up a site for your music and maybe you’re an artist, a solo artist or a band. And you’re trying to set up a list of albums. And so you’re like well, how do I add albums? You could add that in the block editor. No problem, no issues there. But then what if you wanted to make it more data oriented.
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So if you wanted to do that you’d have to go register a custom post type for album, for instance. Maybe a custom post type for tracks, if you want to relate them to albums in some way. And maybe a custom post type for other things. Maybe custom taxonomies for other items that you want. But the challenge there is not really in the content type. It’s in the custom fields you want to add to that.
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Inside of WordPress, I counted it up recently, there’s somewhere between 16 to 17 different APIs and hooks that are totally different from each other, to add custom fields or settings to different areas on all the different screens, and different objects inside of WordPress. That is a lot. So adding a custom field means you have to go add an action inside of PHP.
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First of all you have to know PHP and kind of know where to put it. Second of all you have to then go add action to add a meta box. Then you have to add your code to render all of your fields markup. So you have to add your HTML in there and have it do that. Then you have to add an action to handle the saving.
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And then at that point you’re probably going to be looking at doing more things for taxonomies possibly. So you have to work with another action there. You have to add things there and it doesn’t look great. So then you have to add more markup. And it’s a lot for someone who just wants to build.
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So you just mentioned that there’s a number of developers listening to this right now. But there’s a lot of people who aren’t really considering themselves developers. They’re just people building sites and they don’t really have time to dig into the code. Or they don’t want to tell their client they can do this if they can’t build it custom, they would have to pay someone else to do that. And they want to avoid that cost. So they’re going to use one of these off the shelf plugins, like Advanced Custom Fields.
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Why would you spend five hours building your albums and tracks and things like that in PHP? The trial and error and figuring out the markup and, why is this not working? And then coming back to it later on and spending another few hours trying to debug something that happens. And then displaying it all on the front end. Why spend all that time when you can just install a plugin and just click a few buttons? And boom, you have another post type and then you have your fields already displayed. And by the way they look really nice. Why would you spend that time?
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So this is more of a feature, or more of a project geared towards developers so that it makes them spend less time on their side of things. And it unifies all 16, 17 of these methods and APIs to work with all these different screens.
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But what the end result would be is anyone using WordPress could then be using a plugin, or potentially use code snippets very easily without having to have a whole lot of knowledge. And be able to add a field to different screens without a whole lot of code, or whole lot of PHP experience. And these types of plugins like ACF, and Pods, and Toolset and various others, they could then leverage the Fields API if they’re supporting that WordPress version that includes it. They could leverage this Fields API in a way that reduces the code that they actually have to have inside their own plugins.
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And at the same time that makes it so WordPress itself, the REST APIs, everything that talks with the Fields API, then knows about the structures you’re registering.
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It’s a hand in hand, win-win scenario for end users who benefit from the stability, and the flexibility, and extensibility of those APIs in place. And developers who want to be able to utilize those things.
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[00:22:54] Nathan Wrigley: Have you any experience with other CMSs? We could probably list off half a dozen or more other CMSs. But certainly some that I have used in the past, a lot of these kind of features are baked into the core product. So the ability to add custom fields to, well it may not be called a custom post type over on that particular platform but you get the idea. It is already built in, if you like.
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You mentioned that you want to have this pushed to Core. Do you see that other CMSs are potentially stealing a march on WordPress? WordPress has traditionally been very good at giving 80% of the people what they want. So there is some argument as to whether or not some things should be added or some shouldn’t. But do you feel its been lacking this? And really a lot of other rival CMSs have been doing this for years.
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[00:23:42] Scott Kingsley Clark: That’s a very good point. The plugin Pods was one of the first ones that did custom content types and custom fields for WordPress in a way that mimicked, and this is in 2008, the end of 2008. It mimicked Drupal at the time.
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Drupal has a major feature called, what they called CCK, which was Content Construction Kit. I think that was what it was.
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And so what value that API had for Drupal was that it would let you do the kinds of things you’re seeing be possible with plugins like Metabox or whatever else, you can use code, and ACF to register your groups and fields, and you can use code to register custom post types.
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So you don’t have to use the UIs. You don’t have to provide a bunch of JSON. You can just register those things through PHP. And Drupal has had this for many, many years. It’s coming up on almost 20 years now that it’s had a feature like CCK. And that is not really that Drupal is ahead of WordPress, it’s that WordPress is severely behind. Because it hasn’t really prioritized these kinds of unifying APIs for its screens. I mean obviously WordPress hasn’t.
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If you look at it, it really hasn’t changed a whole lot until block editor. The interfaces and screens really kind of have been what they are. The structure of where things are has been mostly the same outside the block editor.
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Multisite was a big thing, but the screens themselves they really haven’t changed a whole lot. And I think that is just because we’ve been focused as a project on building features and not looking back at what we’ve done, and finding a better way to represent that. A project like the Admin UI revamp, or even accessibility revamp, could give us that time to kind of be introspective. What are we doing with these screens, and how do we make these things better?
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And backward compatibility doesn’t have to be a hindrance in the Fields API because it can be backward compatible too. It’s just if you want to register the new way you can do that and that is the officially the way that we recommend you do it. It’s just, it works. I really hope that more people see things like Drupal, and there’s so many other plugins, or so many other CMSs out there that have their own kind of CCK situations.
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Because it’s just, you’re building a CMS? Well you’re not going to want to do that the way the WordPress did it way back when. No one’s going to want to do that on purpose. And I think that they all already have their own forms and Fields API processing abilities, because that’s the bare minimum. As a developer, when you’re building something like this you build that. You don’t build all the markup and everything hard coded anymore.
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[00:26:24] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah I was a big fan of Drupal, and I used Drupal exclusively more or less for many years. My first interaction with WordPress was an endeavor to move away from Drupal for a variety of different reasons. And I do remember opening up WordPress and almost being incredulous that I couldn’t achieve some of the things that I was simply able to achieve with a vanilla install of Drupal.
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So custom fields was just trivially easy. It was there, it was baked in. And so I had this expectation, well everybody’s using WordPress it must have, you know, a similar feature set. And so, just flabbergasted that it didn’t exist.
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Of course very quickly found out exactly what you just said. That commercial and also free, there’s plenty of free options as well, Pods being one. That you had to go and find a solution for that. So rather than it being baked into core you’d go out and you’d purchase ACF or you would download Pods or whatever it may be.
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But this sort of feeling that well that’s interesting because I wonder how they’re doing that and if they’re doing it differently than the other one, so if ACF is doing it differently to how Pods is doing it, you could make that spaghetti go in any direction. How am I going to be stuck in the future? You know things that I create with Pods, is that interoperable? Could I start using ACF at a future date on the same website?
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So there’s all of that thrown into it as well. And I guess the endeavor here is to create that basic structure so that everybody can approach it and everybody can start creating these things without the reliance necessarily on a third party plugin.
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[00:28:03] Scott Kingsley Clark: Right. Like if you’re using a plugin like that and the Fields API comes out, there could be a migration thing, or exporting plugin created that exports from Pods or ACF or whatever into the Fields API structure. Much like ACF and some of these other plugins have the ability to kind of export. Maybe the biggest one is Custom Post Type UI. Where it’s just simple. Add custom post types, you add custom taxonomies and you can export that to code.
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And that code works without the plugin. So it just tells it, here is what you tell WordPress to do what you want to do here. That kind of ability to export into just a Fields API code would take your code, your plugin usage of ACF or Pods or whatever, and you could easily switch out into just pure WordPress.
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But also because if it has that ability to use the Fields API at that point you have more interoperability. So you can go between these different plugins more easily because there’s a similar structure we’re all using. And when you’re registering through Fields API you can potentially set like a source, like this is coming from ACF, or whatever you want.
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And then a Pods plugin could say oh hey I recognize you had these ACF fields, do you want to bring them over? The Fields API opens up the door because everyone’s talking the same talk. And we can all talk about things in the same conversation instead of like I need to know the ACF APIs to work with getting the fields out, and I need to know this and then that. And there’s that side.
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But there’s also the storage side. So we’re talking about the way that ACF stores their content. For repeatable fields that can be quite tricky. Flexible content, anything that has to do with data that’s not just a simple single value gets a little bit tricky depending on how you choose to store it in ACF.
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So those sorts of things are more based off of the plugin developers preference. So ACF was developed in a specific kind of point of view, for how they should store the storage. Pods is the same way, we have a specific point of view where it should be stored a certain way. Every plugin will have their own points of view. But if we can settle on the structure of the content fields, the custom fields for each of these objects, and how they’re going to be specified to WordPress, that’s really half the battle.
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Then we can start talking about, okay now that we have this common language let’s work on bringing everyone to the same storage, so anyone can switch between these different plugins and they won’t have to deal with any extra work. We could all agree on a shared set of storage, kind of specification standards really.
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[00:30:35] Nathan Wrigley: The breadth of this project feels like it could be truly enormous because there are fields in all sorts of unexpected places in WordPress. I mean you may not be thinking about them all the time but you know we’ve got post types, and terms, and comments, and settings, and users, and navigation, and the media library and all sorts of different places.
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How are you breaking it down? Is there an order in which you’re going to knock those dominoes over? Are you going for, I don’t know, probably the low hanging fruit of custom post types first, or is the intention to try and get everything done all at once? You did mention accessibility. Perhaps that’s come first because of Joe Dolson’s interactions with you.
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[00:31:17] Scott Kingsley Clark: Yeah. So accessibility is going to be the main driving point for us right now. So we’re focused on the Settings API. If we can get this right and potentially the goal is to get it to the point where we can actually merge it just for the Settings API. Just for the Settings API.
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We have an inside person now, inside of WordPress itself. So now we can start expanding it, and say okay now here’s the proposal to add this to the post types, and to the terms and everywhere else to be powered by the Fields API. And once you have those things powered by the Fields API, the full Admin UI revamp is becoming much more approachable for people who want to switch out the markup there.
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They don’t have to modify core as much to make it happen. They don’t have to duplicate all the code and deal with merge conflicts. It’s just so much more easier when you’re working with data structures that are defined as data structures, and not purely as markup and save handlers like they are in many areas of WordPress.
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[00:32:13] Nathan Wrigley: You’ve been doing this kind of work for years with Pods. So you know you’re incredibly familiar with this. Is there anything during your time working with Pods where you thought, I wish WordPress had this?
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So I’m just wondering if you might try to smuggle into this some unique new feature, not something which we’re already familiar with. You know post types and comments and users. Really that question might go nowhere but I just wondered if there was something innovative that you’ve got. Really I’d love to try this.
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[00:32:40] Scott Kingsley Clark: So I do have something but it’s going to be interesting to see if we can make it happen. So the way that this has been focused on has been replacing existing screens that are kind of hard coded and all that. But we haven’t really talked about, what about the block editor? What about React and all those things?
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And the cool part about that is that if you look at the screen, if you go to the block editor right now, you’re looking at editing a post and you insert a block, like let’s talk about the paragraph block or even a group block. On the right hand side, if you have it open, the inspector control sidebar there. That allows you to control what the block settings are, on margins and adding extra classes if you want to add them to the block.
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And many different blocks have many different settings. And then also you can click over and if you’re looking at the post type, or page post type you’ll see the word post or page up there and there’s a little kind of a tab, and you click that and then you are looking at the object controls.
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So this controls what is going on with the page or post like attributes for the parent, or maybe the date, or the many different things like slug and all that. So both of these areas are areas I would love, not really to sneak in, but I want to get buy in from people. I want to find a way to build these screens, these sets of fields and have them extensible through PHP.
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If we can do this in a way with the Fields API where you could register new sections and controls inside of React, it’s possible. We’re doing this right now. Pods is doing this, ACF, many other block builders are doing this with their blocks, their own blocks APIs. The way that we’re doing it right now is too much. It’s going down the same road of we’re locking ourselves in.
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I want these sections and these controls to be extensible. I want someone to be able to override stuff. I want someone to be able to add new things to them. I want to add something ahead of it or after it. I don’t want to have to know any JavaScript to be able to do the bare minimum for basic controls.
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You can still, with the Fields API even, you could still at that point do all the JavaScript or React stuff you want to build up your own custom controls, and the ways that you want them to display, and special handling for how to work with the blocks and all that. But really the bare minimum ought to be the way that we lower the bar towards developers, new people, new developers.
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But especially at this point, PHP is not getting the love it needs as an API source for WordPress, especially with a block editor. We need to expand that. I think there’s so much potential.
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[00:35:27] Nathan Wrigley: Given everything that you’ve just said, and we’ve now got a real nice full round picture of what it is that you’re trying to achieve, are there any significant roadblocks? I mean obviously hours and coding, the amount of time that it’s going to take you to do all these things, and the amount of people who jump on board the project, that’s a given. Are there any technical obstacles that are in the way that you foresee being problematic?
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[00:35:52] Scott Kingsley Clark: So before, when we built all this stuff in the earlier versions, and I just read, we actually started working on the kind of Fields API idea in 2013. That’s even earlier than I remember. That was back in Freenode, Freenode IRC stuff.
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I think one of the challenges was when we built all the different screens we had to modify WordPress Core files and override them. And as new versions of WordPress would be released we’d have to merge those changes into ours. It’s a headache to keep it up, and keep it updated for every release. And for even maintenance releases to make sure that you’re not breaking something that was changed or fixed inside of WordPress release, and having it so that my prototype should always work with latest WordPress.
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Well that’s difficult because latest WordPress is always changing. I think that’s the challenge is trying to focus not on, like we did before, we had posts, we had terms, we had settings, we had users, we had comments, we had media, we had the customizer. All those different areas were covered.
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We already had those things covered inside of the Fields API code we had before. You could use the Fields API actively to add things to those screens. But that was a lot. That was a lot to deal with. So if we focus on settings, that’s why I’m hoping this reduced focus on setting screens will reduce the amount of pain we have to deal with. Because when we’re merging things we only have to worry about just those settings screens that we’re overriding for WordPress Core. That’s it. And we don’t have to worry about all the different screens and all the different files that we’ve been overriding.
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[00:37:16] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah thank you for that. I mean obviously you would be very warmly welcoming anybody who has listened to this and is intrigued by what you’ve said and thinks, okay I’ve got some technical expertise that I could apply to this project. If that’s the case, where are you hanging out most with this? I’m guessing the Slack channel is probably a good place to start. But maybe there’s some other places too.
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[00:37:39] Scott Kingsley Clark: I really deeply would love to have more contributors. Anyone who can think about things in different points of view for how a Fields API should be built. Things like someone who’s involved with other plugins that do this type of thing. It’s a big plus if you’ve built a Fields API yourself for one of these plugins.
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It’s also a big thing to think about you know just someone who’s not been building those things but maybe someone coming from outside of WordPress, or someone with heavier PHP structure experience. How do we structure the Fields API? And how is that going to look?
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There’s also plenty of room for people who can help write tutorials, or help us write. I think one of my big deficiencies is having time to write up all the great text that we’re going to need for make.wordpress.org core posts about how do we describe what we’re building here, and get people involved and excited?
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What is the proposal going to look like? And how do we lay this out nicely? And those types of things would be also very helpful to have. And you can find all of our efforts inside of Slack right now. So if you go into the WordPress Slack you’ll find us in the core dash fields channel.
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We also have a GitHub that has been totally revamped from the old ones. We now have two different archive repos from the past versions that we had. And now we have this third repo that we’re using that is refreshed and ready to go. It already has some more research already in it and we’re going to start working from that repo now.
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[00:39:03] Nathan Wrigley: That’s perfect. I will make sure to link to those in the show notes. Everything that you’ve mentioned I’ll make sure that it gets a link. But it sounds like not just technical people. There’s also room for people who have skills in, I don’t know, documentation or something that you’ve described. So the door is wide open. This feels like really important work. It would be lovely to get this over the wire. To get some more buy in, and more thoughts from different community members.
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So yeah we’ll round it off there. Scott Kingsley Clark. Thank you so much for chatting to me today. I wish you all the best in getting this into Core in the, well, let’s say near future.
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[00:39:35] Scott Kingsley Clark: I really appreciate you including me and this project in your efforts here to get the word out. I can’t say how much I’m excited. I’m just extremely excited to get this finally pushed up and hopefully emerged into Core. And I am working my behind off this entire month, just to make sure that we can try to get that traction and get it across that finish line.
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[00:39:58] Nathan Wrigley: Well very much appreciated, because everything that you do and achieve will certainly make our WordPress lives a lot better. So thank you, Scott. I really appreciate it.
Scott is a WordPress developer who has been working with WordPress since 2007. He is well-known for his work on the Pods Framework, a popular content and custom fields plugin. Scott’s goal is to find ways to enhance the WordPress experience, particularly in terms of working with different types of data. He is currently involved in the WordPress Fields API project, which aims to provide a better solution for developers looking to wrangle their data, and that is the focus of the podcast today. As you’ll hear Scott is determined to contribute to the continual growth and improvement of WordPress and try to make the Fields API a reality.
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Scott came from a background using Drupal, which is an alternative CMS. When he first ventured into WordPress, he found certain features were lacking. Things which were baked into Drupal Core were not available in WordPress, a notable example being custom fields.
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We know that WordPress has a myriad of plugins which can take on the burden of creating custom fields, but Scott has concerns about the interoperability of these plugins, and he wants to create a more solid structure within WordPress itself. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were ways for developers to create custom field plugins so that you weren’t locked into one or the other? Scott imagines a future in which you could move from ACF, Metabox, Toolset and more; a future built on top of the Fields API.
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Throughout the conversation, Scott talks about his passion for incorporating the block editor, React, and other technologies into WordPress. He shares insights on controlling block settings, making them extensible through PHP.
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You might know Scott from his work on the popular Pods Framework plugin. This plugin allows users to create custom content types and fields in WordPress, and certainly speaks to his credentials in trying to push the Fields API project forward.
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We talk about what the Fields API might become. The aim is to simplify the process of working with custom fields and content types in WordPress. With the Fields API, Scott hopes to unify the different methods and APIs for managing custom fields, making it easier for developers and non-developers alike to add fields to different screens within WordPress. It’s a complicated undertaking and we get into some of the areas of WordPress which might benefit from this work.
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Scott sheds light on the challenges faced during the development of Fields API, the need for shared storage standards among plugins, and the potential for better integration with the WordPress Admin UI.
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Towards the end of the podcast we talk about the future of the Fields API project and how gaining support from people in the WordPress community will be crucial to its success.
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If you’re interested in how WordPress can be used as a fully featured CMS, this podcast is for you.
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Running a successful website is no small feat. It requires a great deal of hard work, dedication, and knowledge from a team of experts all working symbiotically toward a common goal. There are so many different aspects to consider — from designing the perfect user experience to maintaining an effective web hosting infrastructure.
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But one of the most critical aspects that can make or break success is the conversion rate of your forms. Your form conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who successfully complete a form on your website. The higher this rate, the more successful your site will be at generating new leads, sales, and other desired outcomes.
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Whether it’s a contact form, a sign-up form, or a checkout form, the ease and convenience of these for users directly impact business.
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That’s why, today, we’ll explore 25 ways to increase your online form conversion rates and, in turn, boost the effectiveness of your website.
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1. Keep forms short and simple
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The first rule of thumb, when it comes to increasing your form conversion rate, is to keep your forms short and simple. The less time and effort it takes for a user to complete a form, the more likely they are to do so.
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According to the Contentsquare 2023 Digital Experience Benchmark report, the average internet user spends less than 5.6 minutes on a website they’re actively engaged with. Think reading a blog post or trying to make a purchase.
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At first glance, that seems like a decent amount of time, but when you consider session duration has decreased by 7.5% since 2021, it’s clear that user behavior indicates less patience.
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And that’s not a lot of time to capture their attention and get them to fill out a form. By keeping your forms short and straightforward, you’re making it as easy as possible for users to engage with your site and, ultimately, convert.
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Consider only asking for the most essential information. If you’re collecting leads from potential event sponsors, you really only need the representative’s name and email. Your sales team may also want you to ask for a phone number, company name, and budget information, but each of these questions will reduce the number of top-of-funnel submissions you receive. So, you’ll have to consider this balance and optimize your forms accordingly.
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2. Place your forms above the fold
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“Above the fold” is a term borrowed from the newspaper industry that refers to the upper half of the front page. The term “above the fold” in web design is the part of a webpage that’s visible without the need to scroll. Placing your lead generation forms above the fold on their landing page makes them immediately visible to visitors, increasing the likelihood that they’ll be filled out.
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A study by Nielsen Norman Group found that user attention drops dramatically below the fold. By placing your form above, you’re ensuring that it’s one of the first things a user sees when they land on your page.
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The goal is to make it as easy as possible for people to convert. By strategically placing your web forms, you’re removing one more barrier between the user and a conversion.
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3. Limit the use of CAPTCHAs
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CAPTCHAs, those little tests that ask you to identify traffic lights or crosswalks in a series of images, are a common method of preventing form spam. However, they can also be a significant barrier to web form completion.
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CAPTCHAs can be frustrating and time-consuming for users, especially if they’re difficult to solve. And they can also pose accessibility issues for those with impairments. While CAPTCHAs can be effective at preventing bots from submitting forms, they can also deter legitimate users.
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Instead of relying on CAPTCHAs, consider other methods of spam prevention that are less intrusive and more user-friendly…
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4. Use non-intrusive spam protection
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Non-intrusive spam protection methods can be a great alternative to CAPTCHAs. These methods work behind the scenes to prevent spam without disrupting the user’s experience.
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For example, the Akismet anti-spam plugin for WordPress sites offers powerful spam protection without the need for CAPTCHAs. It automatically checks and filters out spam submissions, allowing you to focus on managing your site.
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Through prioritizing non-intrusive spam protection methods, you can improve the user experience and accessibility of your forms, leading to higher conversion rates.
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5. Group related fields together
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Organization is key when it comes to designing user-friendly forms. Grouping related fields together can make your forms easier to navigate and understand, leading to higher completion rates.
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You might wish to group contact information fields (like name, email, and phone number) together, separate from billing information fields (like credit card number, expiration date, and CVV).
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This not only makes your form more visually organized, but it also helps users understand what kind of information is expected in each section.
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6. Use clear and descriptive field labels
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Clear and descriptive field labels are crucial for ensuring that people know exactly what information they need to provide. Ambiguous or confusing labels can lead to errors, frustration, and ultimately, form abandonment.
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For instance, if you’re asking for a user’s phone number, specify whether it’s a home, work, or mobile number.
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If you’re asking for a date, indicate the format you want it in (e.g., MM/DD/YYYY).
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The goal is to make it as easy as possible for users to complete your form. Clear, descriptive labels go a long way towards achieving this and improving your form conversions.
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7. Optimize for mobile devices
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With more than half of all web traffic now coming from mobile devices, it’s more important than ever to ensure your forms are mobile-friendly.
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This means performing a series of form optimization tasks, including:
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Making sure your web forms are fully responsive and easy to navigate on smaller screens
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Ensuring fields are large enough to tap
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Making it easy for users to switch between fields
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Avoiding the use of elements that don’t work well on mobile, like hover tooltips.
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Mobile users are on the go, so they are even less patient than desktop users. By optimizing your forms for mobile, you can make it easier for users to convert and boost your conversion rate.
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8. Use progress indicators
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If your form is long or divided into multiple sections, using progress indicators can be a great way to keep site visitors engaged. Progress indicators show people how far they’ve come and how much further they have to go to complete the form.
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This can be particularly useful for complex forms, like multistep checkout processes or lengthy surveys. When you show users their progress, you’re giving them a sense of accomplishment and encouraging them to go all the way.
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9. Use autofill and auto-suggest features
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Autofill and auto-suggest features can significantly speed up the form completion process and improve the user experience. These features automatically populate fields with relevant information, saving users time and effort.
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For example, an autofill feature might populate a user’s address based on their IP location, while an auto-suggest feature might suggest relevant options as someone begins typing into a field.
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When you reduce the amount of typing and decision-making required, these features can make your forms quicker and easier to complete, leading to higher conversion rates.
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10. Use inline validation
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Inline validation involves checking each field for errors as the user fills out the form, rather than waiting until they hit the “submit” button. If a user makes a mistake, they’re immediately alerted and can correct the error on the spot.
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This can prevent frustration and confusion that can occur when a user completes a form, only to be told they’ve made multiple errors. It also helps users learn as they go, improving the overall experience.
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11. Use conditional logic
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Conditional logic, also known as “if-this-then-that” logic, can make your forms more interactive and user-friendly. It involves showing or hiding fields based on the user’s previous responses.
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So, if someone indicates that they’re from the United States, you might show a field asking for their state. If they indicate they’re from another country, that field would be hidden.
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By tailoring your form to each user’s responses, you can make the form-filling process more relevant and less overwhelming, leading to higher conversion rates.
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12. Limit the use of mandatory fields
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While it’s important to gather as much relevant information as possible, too many form fields can deter people from completing your form. Try to make fewer form fields mandatory and only require the most essential information.
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If a field isn’t absolutely necessary, consider making it optional. Users who are in a hurry or who value their privacy will appreciate the option to skip non-essential fields.
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13. Use smart defaults
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Smart defaults involve pre-populating form fields with the most likely response. This can save users time and effort, making your form quicker and easier to complete.
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For example, if most of your site visitors are from the United States, you might set “United States” as the default option in the “Country” field. Users from other countries can still select their country from the dropdown menu, but U.S. users won’t have to.
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14. Break long forms into multiple pages
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Long forms can be overwhelming and may deter users from starting. By breaking these forms into smaller, more manageable steps, you can make the form-filling process less daunting and more user-friendly.
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Multipage forms also give users a sense of progress, which can motivate them to complete the form. Just remember to include a progress indicator, as we already mentioned, so users know how far they’ve come and how much further they have to go.
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15. Ensure accessibility for all users
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Accessibility should be a priority when designing your forms. This means ensuring that all users, including those with impairments or disabilities, can easily navigate and complete your web forms.
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This might involve using larger text sizes, providing alternative text for images, and ensuring your forms are compatible with screen readers. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) offers all the details about making web content more accessible.
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By making your forms accessible, you’re not only complying with legal requirements and ethical best practices, but you’re also expanding your user base and increasing your potential conversion rates.
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16. Use contrasting colors and clear typography
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The design of your forms can have a significant impact on their usability and, consequently, your conversion rates. Using contrasting colors can make your forms more visually appealing and easier to read.
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Similarly, clear typography can improve readability and reduce the likelihood of errors. Choose fonts that are easy to read and large enough to be seen on all devices.
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17. Eliminate unnecessary distractions
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When a user is filling out a form, you want their focus to be on the form and nothing else. This means eliminating any unnecessary distractions, like pop-ups, excessive text, or irrelevant images.
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The simpler and more focused your form page is, the more likely people are to complete the form. Remember, the goal is to make it as easy as possible for users to convert.
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18. Display trust signals and social proof
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Trust signals and social proof can significantly increase your form conversion rates by building trust with your potential customers and site visitors. This might involve displaying security badges, testimonials, or the number of satisfied customers you have.
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For example, if you’re asking for sensitive information like credit card details, displaying a security badge can reassure users that their information will be safe.
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Similarly, testimonials can show people that others have had positive experiences with your company.
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On the Akismet homepage, there’s a prominent display of how many pieces of spam have been blocked, how many websites have been protected, and the spam detection accuracy.
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19. Clearly state your privacy policy
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In an era where data privacy is a major concern, you need to clearly state your privacy policy on your forms. Let visitors know exactly how their information will be used and stored. This transparency can build trust and increase the likelihood of people completing your form.
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Consider adding a link to your full privacy policy for those who want more detailed information. Also, reassure users that their information will not be shared with third parties without their consent.
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20. Provide instructions and help text
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While your form should be intuitive and easy to understand, providing additional instructions and help text can guide users through the process and prevent errors. This can be particularly useful for complex fields that require specific formats or information.
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Help text should be concise and clearly visible, ideally placed directly under the field it refers to. Providing this extra guidance can improve the user experience and increase form completion rates.
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21. Offer live chat assistance
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Offering live chat assistance can provide immediate help to users who are having trouble with your form. This real-time support can resolve issues quickly, preventing them from abandoning the form out of frustration.
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Live chat can also provide valuable insights into common issues or obstacles, allowing you to continually improve your form based on feedback.
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22. Use action-oriented submit buttons
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The text on your submit button can influence whether users complete your form. Just as you work to refine your call to action copy in other areas, you should pay careful attention to the language used on form buttons. Instead of using a generic term like “Submit,” consider a more action-oriented and specific term that tells users what they’re accomplishing by clicking the button.
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For instance, if your form is for a newsletter sign-up, your button call to action might say “Join our community.”
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Or, if it’s a purchase form, it might say “Complete my purchase.” This small tweak can make your form more engaging and motivate users to take action.
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Another example is on the Akismet checkout form, which confirms how much a customer will pay:
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23. Make your buttons stand out
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The design of your submit button can significantly increase conversions on your forms. Your button should stand out from the rest of the form, making it clear where someone needs to click to submit the form.
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Consider using a contrasting color for your button and placing it in a prominent location. The size of the button also matters — it should be large enough to be easily tapped on a mobile device, but not so large that it overwhelms the rest of the form.
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24. Use friendly and descriptive error messages
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Error messages matter a great deal in form design as well. They guide users in correcting mistakes, but if they’re not handled well, they can frustrate users and lead to form abandonment.
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Ensure that your error messages are friendly, descriptive, and helpful. Instead of simply saying “Invalid input,” explain what the error is and how to fix it.
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For example, “The email address you entered is not in the correct format. Please enter a valid email address.”
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25. A/B test form elements
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Finally, one of the most effective ways to increase your form conversion rates is to continually test and optimize your forms. A/B testing involves creating two versions of your form, each with a different element, and seeing which one performs better.
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You can A/B test almost any aspect of your form, from the color of your submission button to the wording of your field labels. There are several WordPress plugins that can help you A/B test your forms easily, like Nelio A/B Testing.
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Increase your online form conversion rate with careful planning
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Increasing the conversion rates of your sign up form, lead generation forms or other web forms is a multifaceted process that involves thoughtful design, user-friendly features, and continuous optimization. By implementing the strategies discussed in this article, you can create a web form that not only provides a seamless user experience but also effectively drives conversions.
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One key aspect of this process is ensuring your forms are protected from spam in a non-intrusive way. That’s where Akismet has a role to play. With its robust, conversion-friendly spam protection, Akismet allows you to maintain the integrity of your forms and protect the user experience — without the need for CAPTCHA.
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So, as you work on optimizing all the forms on your site, consider Akismet as your partner in creating a more secure, user-friendly, and conversion-optimized form experience.
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Frequently asked questions
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Let’s now turn our attention to some frequently asked questions about form design and conversion rate optimization.
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1. How do I decide which form fields are essential and which can be removed?
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Deciding which form fields are essential depends on the purpose of your web form. While it’s best to limit required fields, If it’s a contact form conversion rate you’re working on, for example, you’ll likely still need fields for the user’s name, email address, and message .
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Any additional fields should be carefully considered. Ask yourself if the information is necessary to achieve the purpose of the form. If not, it might be best to remove the field to keep the form short and simple.
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2. Why should I avoid using CAPTCHA on my contact forms?
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While CAPTCHA can be effective at preventing spam, it can also deter legitimate users. CAPTCHAs can be frustrating and time-consuming, especially if they’re difficult to solve. They can also pose accessibility issues for users with impairments. Instead, consider using non-intrusive spam protection methods, like Akismet, that provide a better user experience.
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3. What is Akismet, and how can it help with form conversion rates?
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Akismet is an anti-spam plugin for WordPress sites. It automatically checks and filters out spam comments, allowing you to focus on managing your site. By preventing spam without the need for CAPTCHAs or other intrusive methods, Akismet can improve the user experience and increase form conversion rates.
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4. What types of companies generally use Akismet?
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Akismet is used by a wide range of companies, from small businesses to large enterprises. It’s particularly popular among companies that rely heavily on their online presence, such as ecommerce businesses and content creators.
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With over 100 million sites using Akismet, it’s clear that this tool is trusted by many. Notable enterprise brands such as Microsoft, ConvertKit, and Bluehost rely on Akismet to protect their sites from spam and improve their user experience.
\";s: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, 06 Sep 2023 13:00:00 +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:12:\"Kathryn Marr\";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:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:71:\"Do The Woo Community: Live From WCUS, It’s the Robbie and Robert Show\";s: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://dothewoo.io/?p=76369\";s: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:66:\"https://dothewoo.io/live-from-wcus-its-the-robbie-and-robert-show/\";s: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:416:\"
It\'s filled with laughs, insights and simply good times when co-hosts Robbie and Robert take over the mics at WCUS 2023.
\";s: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, 06 Sep 2023 13:00:00 +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:5:\"BobWP\";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:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:41:\"HeroPress: WordPress Is My Ball And Chain\";s: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=5792\";s: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:134:\"https://heropress.com/essays/wordpress-is-my-ball-and-chain/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wordpress-is-my-ball-and-chain\";s: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:9056:\"\nHere is Justin’s story read aloud by artificial intelligence.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
This month marks the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attacked on the World Trade Center in the United States. I can still remember exactly where I was that morning, as I had an argument with my girlfriend the night before, and was sleeping on the couch of someone with whom I used drugs.
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It had only been four months since graduating high school, but I was already an addict. As a matter of fact, I was using drugs heavily at the end of my senior year, and the first summer after high school is when my life really started to spiral out of control.
\n\n\n\n
By the end of 2001 I was selling any drug I could get my hands on to make some money and feed my addiction (except heroin — that is always were I drew the line). Within a couple years I was the goto person for many substances, but primarily methamphetamine.
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Then I got caught, arrested, and thrown in jail. The prosecutor wanted to throw the book at me, recommending a 15 year sentence. But with my family supporting me in the courtroom and my lawyer fighting for me, the judge recognized that with this support, I did not deserve the full 15, and gave me 7 years, with 8 years probation instead. With good behavior, I did just under 3 years in prison.
\n\n\n\n
While in prison, I focused on my restoration. Learning new things, studying for certification in motor vehicle mechanics, and even starting work with accredited college courses funded by my tribe (Comanche Nation).
\n\n\n\n
\n
I knew I had let down my family, and had something to prove.
\n
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Through it all, my addiction, prison, and restoration, my family was always there for me. They knew the real me, not the person addicted to drugs and not the dealer feeding his addiction by providing for other addicts. That’s the person I know I needed to be again, for both myself and for them.
\n\n\n\n
Right after my release in January 2008, I immediately started working in a warehouse and attending college. At the company where I worked, the CEO gave me some excellent advice that I needed to control my narrative on the web (e.g. Google), so I built my first website using WordPress.
\n\n\n\n
Pivoting
\n\n\n\n
At a young age, I was always fascinated by technology. I remember dabbling with computers in grade school, and tinkering on the internet in my teens. While I never did any kind of coding back then, the marketing aspect of web technologies did pique my interest. Then, drugs pulled me away from all that and sent me down a different path.
\n\n\n\n
When I found WordPress around April of 2008, all of that excitement started to come back. I would work my warehouse job during the day, drive to University of Central Oklahoma in the evening for a couple of college courses, then play around with WordPress themes (HTML, CSS, and some PHP) well into the night all that summer.
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\n
This was the beginning of my love for WordPress. I was instantly addicted, and simply could not put down my computer, often getting little sleep before the next day (that’s okay, I was in my early 20s ).
\n
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By late 2010, I was taking on WordPress side projects, building websites, and even making online tutorials about WordPress. All this despite still working in the warehouse and taking night courses at college.
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In 2011, my work caught the eye of Cory Miller, who I had previously met at a marketing event in Oklahoma City. Cory owned and operated iThemes, a WordPress theme and plugin product company based out of Edmond Oklahoma. Although I was still working in the warehouse and taking college courses, Cory offered me a job working at iThemes as a web developer for WordPress themes and plugins. My major in college was marketing, and I still has a few more courses to complete before graduating, but I took the offer anyway and little did I know it was the beginning of a career in software development that led me where I am today.
\n\n\n\n
And Then WordCamp…
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My first WordCamp to both attend and speak was Fayetteville in 2011. That’s actually when I first met Josepha Haden Chomphosy (along with her mother and sister too). Of course, we went different ways in life but it is a marker that I like to remember as it helps me understand the different paths each of us take in this world. While I only spoke at a few other WordCamps, I attended many more over the years. The WordPress community, and its inclusiveness, was simply impossible for me to ignore.
\n\n\n\n
\n
I know my experiences are different, and to understand this I also have to mention that I joined a few other communities through the years, but none ever fully accepted me, and one even did not let me keep coming when they found out I was a former convict.
\n
\n\n\n\n
Although most people in the WordPress community never knew about my past, I never felt they would kick me out even if they did find out. Actually, I felt the community leaders honestly didn’t care at all about your past, culture, identity, etc., but rather just wanted you to love (or at least like) WordPress.
\n\n\n\n
And I did love WordPress. Still do.
\n\n\n\n
Redemption and Acceptance
\n\n\n\n
WordPress unexpectedly led me down a path of redemption and acceptance. For a long time I was angry at the world (especially corporate America) for not accepting me, and in those times of anger I would seek out WordPress people. No one even knew, but they were helping me nonetheless, always there when I needed, always a shiny light in the darkness.
\n\n\n\n
I’ve traveled the world with WordPress. Making WordPress friends in Asia, Australia, Europe, North & South America and beyond. I love the WordPress community, and want to continue watching it flourish and grow. Every time I visit a WordCamp, I get to make new friends, see new faces, and meet awesome people of WordPress. I was able to build meaningful business and personal relationships, joining WordPress communities, attending and hosting WordPress events, and even speaking at several WordCamps across the World.
\n\n\n\n
Most of the WordPress companies for which I have worked had such amazing leaders, knowing about my past yet still giving me the opportunity to continue to demonstrate my new self. Two of which deserve an honorable mention: Cory Miller of Post Status (formerly iThemes) and Jake Goldman of 10up. Both of these leaders embraced me wholly, and the things Jake said to when I mentioned my criminal past before my background check continue to give me confidence in knowing there are amazing leaders working in WordPress.
\n\n\n\n
The WordPress Community has proven itself to be more than just a platform for a tool. In my personal journey, I discovered that it represents a beacon of hope, a testament to what can be achieved when diverse minds come together under the banner of openness and collaboration.
\n\n\n\n
\n
Albeit unknowingly, this community handed me a new lease on life, providing me with opportunities to learn, grow, and reinvent myself.
\n
\n\n\n\n
Its core values of openness and inclusiveness aren’t just buzzwords but are deeply rooted in the ethos of every member who contributes, either by writing code, designing themes, or even just by sharing experiences. It’s a reminder that every individual, irrespective of their background or skillset, has the potential to add value to this thriving ecosystem. As beneficiaries of this incredible community, it falls upon us to ensure that we not only appreciate these values but also embody them. We must commit to fostering an environment where every decision we make, every action we undertake, further deepens the culture of inclusivity and collaboration.
\";s: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, 06 Sep 2023 12:26:44 +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:\"Justin Kopepasah\";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:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:136:\"WPTavern: WooCommerce Blocks 11.0.0 Adds Product Collection Block in Beta, 10.9.0 Integrates Product Button with the Interactivity API\";s: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:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=148515\";s: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:144:\"https://wptavern.com/woocommerce-blocks-11-0-0-adds-product-collection-block-in-beta-10-9-0-integrates-product-button-with-the-interactivity-api\";s: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:4015:\"
WooCommerce is experimenting with improving the store experience through the addition of the Interactivity API to the WooCommerce Blocks plugin. The new API, which was announced earlier this year, will allow developers to build interactive blocks that support frontend experiences where visitors can interact with content without having to refresh the page. The WordPress contributors working on the API are encouraging developers to test it with their own blocks.
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WooCommerce Blocks 10.9.0, released in mid-August, integrated the Product Button with the Interactivity API to support real-time counter updates for the mini-cart, smoother animations, and better transitions from ‘Add to Cart’ to ‘Loading’ status to show the quantity in the cart when a product is added.
The difference is subtle but creates a much smoother shopping experience with nearly instantaneous feedback for the user. Contributors are also exploring how the Interactivity API can be used to improve frontend filters, including the rating, price, stock, and attributes filters. The API will eventually land in Gutenberg and WordPress in the future, but in the meantime WooCommerce is experimenting to see how the plugin’s blocks can benefit from it.
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Version 11.0.0 was released last week introducing the new Product Collection block in beta:
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\n
Like the Products block, you can choose what criteria affect the list of blocks displayed to shoppers and control the product layout in the list/grid by the various element blocks.
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Unlike the Products block, which is a Query loop block variation, this block is a standalone block, enabling us to tailor the block further to better meet the merchant’s needs.
\n
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The Product Collection block is very similar to the Products block from which it was forked, except it is not built as a variation of the Query Loop. It comes with improvements around Inspector controls as compared to the current Products block, as well as a basic set of patterns. The block already has the Interactivity API integrated for the same improved frontend performance.
Version 11.0.0 also enables manual migration of Products to Product Collection. An upgrade notice will appear in the Inspector Controls, informing users that they will get more features with the Product Collection block:
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As the Product Collection block is still in beta, WooCommerce Blocks has not yet changed existing templates that have Product blocks. The development team is looking for more feedback on this block before moving it out of beta. Check out the release post for more enhancements and bug fixes.
\";s: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, 06 Sep 2023 03:59:22 +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:8;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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: Human Made to Host “AI: The Next Chapter” Virtual Conference on September 14, 2023\";s: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:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=148507\";s: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/human-made-to-host-ai-the-next-chapter-virtual-conference-on-september-14-2023\";s: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:3753:\"
Human Made, a leading enterprise WordPress agency, is organizing a followup event to the community’s first ever AI for WordPress virtual conference that it hosted in May 2023. The second edition is called “AI: The Next Chapter” and will take place online on September 14, 2023, at 10AM EST.
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The first event had 13 speakers and drew more than 600 attendees. It focused on WordPress and AI tools that people are building with the emerging technology. (Videos of all the sessions are available on YouTube.) This next edition will explore some of the wider societal, ethical, and tech issues related to the subject.
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The keynote and intro will feature Matt Mullenweg on “AI and the future of WordPress,” along with Human Made CEO Tom Willmot. Dr. Eleanor Drage, a senior research fellow at the University of Cambridge and co-host of The Good Robot podcast, will be speaking about AI and gender. Open source LLM researchers from Georgian will also join for a panel discussion on why they believe open source AI is the best way for companies to leverage this technology.
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Registration is free and participants can sign up on the event’s website. A confirmation email is sent out to registrants and more information will follow via email.
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Human Made has developed a keen interest in fostering exploratory dialogue through these events, as the company is working on AI products and custom implementations for clients. At the first event, the agency showcased some early work in the Altis Accelerate plugin and have been working with clients to determine how AI can augment existing marketing and editorial workflows.
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“The progress and innovation we’re seeing in AI is so rapid at the moment that it kind of demands you stay close to it, keep following what’s happening, and keep learning,” Human Made Marketing Director Alex Aspinall said. “AI is one of our core areas of focus, across all parts of the business, so we’ll definitely be building, sharing, and hosting more in the space in the months to come. Doing all this in the open is really important to us, so the events are a great platform.”
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During the first event, Aspinall reports that Human Made saw registrations and participation across a wide range of business verticals and role disciplines, with conversations continuing months after the first event.
“While there are a few businesses and individuals building things, experimenting, and commercializing their work in the area, the vast majority are still finding their way through, figuring out how best to implement AI to deliver tangible benefit to their companies, their clients, their teams, and their day-to-day lives,” Aspinall said.
“Despite the level of advancement we’ve already seen, we’re still right at the start of this thing, which is really exciting. There’s a lot to learn, and considerable edge available for those experimenting and putting things in place. Imagine what we’ll be talking about this time next year!”
\";s: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, 05 Sep 2023 22:09:23 +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: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:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:50:\"Do The Woo Community: WordCamp US, the First Recap\";s: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://dothewoo.io/?p=76362\";s: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:48:\"https://dothewoo.io/wordcamp-us-the-first-recap/\";s: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:362:\"
BobWP and some attendees share a few highlights of WordCamp US 2023 as well as some WordPress origin stories.
Jamie Marsland has this great YouTube video where he rebuilds TechCrunch.com just using core blocks in WordPress 6.3 in 30 minutes. Worth checking out!
Zeynep Tufekci has a great article, One Thing Not to Fear at Burning Man, that covers well what I have experienced as well growing up in Houston through hurricanes and other natural disasters—that in times of need people help each other in ingenious ways.
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Join WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy as she discusses the latest from the Community Summit and her takeaways from the 2023 event in Washington, D.C.
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Have a question you’d like answered? You can submit them to wpbriefing@wordpress.org, either written or as a voice recording.
With the release of 6.3 behind us, we are working hard on bringing 6.4 to the community. You can get involved with the development of this important release.
[00:00:00] Josepha: Hello everyone, and welcome to the WordPress Briefing, the podcast where you can catch quick explanations of the ideas behind the WordPress open source project, some insight into the community that supports it, and get a small list of big things coming up in the next two weeks. I’m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Here we go.
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[00:00:28] (Intro Music)
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[00:00:39] Josepha: We are back and catching up from our midyear break. And in true WordPress fashion, we’re just going to start off running. The WordPress Community Summit happened a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been talking about it on this podcast for a few months now, but if you’ve missed it and you want a refresher, go ahead and give episode 49 a listen.
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At the Community Summit, there were 125 people, if I remember correctly. And we covered a wide array of topics that were brought to us directly from the community itself. While the event is small, it is specifically designed for gathering and sharing information. So, I’ve got some top-level trends that I noticed that I’m going to share with you all today, as well as just like a reminder of what happens after a Community Summit.
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[00:01:27] Josepha: So there are three, maybe four, big trends that I noticed. The first one that I noticed is that we have a lot of discussions right now about contributor acknowledgment. That also, for what it’s worth, came with an unresolved question around whether acknowledgment and recognition are the same. I don’t think they are the same.
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But it also was part of a conversation around whether we treat those two things the same. And if they are not the same, should we treat them differently? And et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. For folks who’ve been around for a bit, you know, that we spent a lot of time working on our contributor recognition a few years back and had really made quite a bit of difference in just reported feelings about how the community felt they were being recognized for their contributions.
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And so a lot of the conversations that we ended up having were around whether or not the project as a whole has changed the way that we provide that recognition or acknowledgment. Or, as an alternative, if the community that is supporting WordPress has changed how they would like to be recognized.
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[00:02:32] Josepha: There were also some questions about whether or not making sure that contributors can see their impact. Like they can say, I contributed 10 hours last month, and these are the two things that I got accomplished over there, and that everyone else can see those things too. So, how we can do that more easily while also not having so many metrics and making the metrics so prevalent that we start to close out the people who are truly just doing this for fun.
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Like many of the problems that we have at the Community Summit, this is a bunch of pretty much unsolved mysteries at the moment. But it did; it came up across probably five or six different sessions that I heard about, quite a few that I went to myself, and so contributor acknowledgment and recognition is on our minds again.
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A second thing that I noticed across multiple sessions, and this one honestly is not a surprise at all, is that there were a lot of questions about what the next big thing is after Gutenberg. I always love when people are asking big questions about what comes next because it means that we all still believe that there will be a next.
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[00:03:43] Josepha: And so I never hesitate when I hear these questions to give some ideas about what I think might be coming. But a lot of the discussions that we were having were around, we think this is coming, but now that we think this is coming, what should we do now to make sure that we are ready for it? One of the biggest assumptions that we all had is that for the CMS, for the software itself, probably our next big area after Gutenberg is going to be something about artificial intelligence.
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Matt pointed out in his presentation that he has told us twice to learn something deeply. One was in 2016 when he said, learn JavaScript Deeply. And then one was in 2022 when he said to learn AI deeply. And so we all kind of are guessing that that is our future area. And so that’s an area for everyone to spend some time in. Make sure you understand it. Make sure you know it a bit.
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The second thing that came up as like a future, where are we going here? It was kind of on the business-y side. It was on a lot of questions about enterprise and are we selling properly to enterprise. Can we sell, can we appeal to enterprise? Whose job is it to sell any of these things? Questions like that. So, lots of business questions again. This is not something that I have any concerns about. I’m very excited to see that people are talking about it. That’s been a topic of conversation since, I want to say, February of this year. And so it also wasn’t a surprise inclusion today. And, and I was excited to see, am excited to see what we get out of those conversations over time.
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[00:05:17] Josepha: As far as like questions around what’s next for the community, I’m going to address that separately because it was a huge question for everyone. So I’m going to discuss that as soon as we get finished with this chunk about like the big thing that, that is coming after Gutenberg.
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But, from an ecosystem perspective. Like a WordPress project operations perspective, this came up a couple of times. Never in as clear a word, a set of words as that, but the question about, like, what are we doing with our tools? Are we making sure that we are keeping the tools that our contributors use maintained and still in an excellent space with features that are useful and, necessary, and requested?
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And so that is a big question. I do have a lot of questions about that. Also, there are so many tools that I have wanted in order to make organizing the WordPress community better and easier, but also making contributing better and easier. And hopefully, here soon, we have an opportunity to get to some of those.
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[00:06:16] Josepha: So, the third big trend that I kept seeing at the Community Summit is actually about the community itself, specifically about events. So I was part of or listened to many, many, many conversations over the course of the week that were specifically focused on what we’re going to do with the future of our events. Like are meetups still sustainable? Are WordCamps still sustainable? And that’s from not only the idea of sustainability that we all tend to know from like an ecological standpoint but also, you know, checking in on the resources. So the kinds of questions that folks had were, is it time to continue having many small events, or is it time to move to a few giant events?
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Should we bring back midsized, WP-adjacent events like PressNomics or LoopConf? And if we are bringing those back, do we want to have them be part of a semi-official thing along with a clearly WordPress event and like do joint sales in there? Try to figure out how to get people from one to the other, so that it’s not just WordPress people that we’re talking to, but also business people and advanced developers, things like that.
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There was also a lot of discussion about whether or not we have gotten too big, should we double down on our grassroots efforts? Just go all the way back to, like, BarCamp style, WordPress in a forest kind of thing.
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[00:07:46] Josepha: And yeah, and among all of these conversations, there were questions about the resources that we need. Do we have what we need now? Do we have plans for how to maintain those resources in the future? Do we have enough time? Do we have enough money? Do we have an expertise? The people? So many questions, so many questions. And on the community side of things, we also had a lot of questions that are routine in open source. Like, do we have a pipeline for future maintainers, for future team reps, for future leaders in the project? All of the questions.
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So, those are the three slash four, depending on how you break it out, really big trends that I saw across the conversation at the Community Summit. And I don’t necessarily know the answers to all of these things. Like, I know what my gut tells me, I know what I believe the answer to be. From my own perspective, but as you’ve been told many times with many eyes, all bugs are shallow. And so here is what happens next with a Community Summit. So we’ve gathered all of these things together. We’ve had these conversations, and now all of the notes from every conversation that we had will be put on make.wordpress.org/summit.
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[00:09:10] Josepha: There, you can do any of the following three things, but at least do one before we get any further. I think it’s important to remind everyone that no decisions were made at the Community Summit. There are a few things that will come out of the Community Summit where the answer the way forward is really obvious. And so those probably will get done quickly thereafter because it’s just an obvious thing to do. It makes sense for everyone in the project. It makes sense for everyone who’s using WordPress. Whatever reason.
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So those things will probably move quickly, but mostly not even mostly there were no decisions made. And so if it looks like something is moving quickly there, it is because it makes sense after the fact. So there’s that. But the three things that you can do in order to take part in this information gathering and sharing that happened at the Community Summit.
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Number one, head over to make.wordpress.org/summit and just read the notes. There are a lot of them you can pick and choose based on the teams you contribute to or the topics that are specifically interesting. Or if you have been assigned to read one of these things, obviously, go ahead and read that. But find the notes read them. Take a look at the discussion as far as you can tell it happened and get a sense for what the essential question is.
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The second thing that you can do while you’re there is that you can join in that discussion right there in the comments if you would like to. You can, if you feel like your perspective is not quite accounted for in that, obviously leave some comments and let folks know. But also, if you feel like your perspective was accounted for, but there’s also a very specific question that was not necessarily answered or not even brought up, share those as well. That’s stuff that we would like to know as we are working through this.
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And then the third thing that you can do is you can take those conversations, and if there’s anything that looks like it’s particularly relevant to your local WordPress community, absolutely take those there and have those conversations with them.
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[00:11:23] Josepha: And once you’ve had those conversations, let us know what you thought also in those comments, or take it directly into your weekly teams’ chat, either way. We want to hear what you think about the questions that were brought because you brought them to us. And so you should have an opportunity to tell us what you think.
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[00:11:39] (Music Interlude)
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[00:11:48] Josepha: That brings us now to our small list of big things. My friends, there’s nothing but big things left for the rest of the year. And so here we go. Number one, uh, I mentioned it quite a bit. There’s a conversation, an ongoing conversation about the future of events for our community. Right now, there is an open call for ideas, new features for our NextGen WordPress events, especially on the page that exists on WordCamp Central.
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So, we want to find the most useful and desirable features for a future homepage on central.wordcamp.org that would host a list of all of our upcoming WordPress events. And so we want your opinion there. Please let us know what would be especially useful to you as you are looking for WordPress events to attend.
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The second thing is that we introduced 2024, the default theme that is coming with WordPress 6.4, was announced. We have had, I think, 32 contributors to it at the time of this recording. And yeah, it’s beautiful. It’s got a lot of different implementation options, a lot of default patterns, and curated patterns so that you can get exactly what you want out of that theme. I think it’s going to make a great default theme, a great starter theme for our final release of the year.
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And then, speaking of 6.4, with the release of 6.3 behind us, we are working hard on bringing 6.4 to the community. You can get involved with the development of that. There is a core chat every Wednesday. It happens. I want to say at 21:00 UTC, but I don’t actually know off the top of my head. I just go when my calendar tells me to go, and I live in the central time zone. And so, my UTC conversion is not the best, but we will leave the actual information about that in the show notes so that you can see it. But you can also go over to make.wordpress.org, and then there’s a little card on that homepage that tells you exactly when those core meetings are, including the new contributor meeting, which happens every two weeks.
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And then the fourth thing is that there is a successful WordCamp US behind us. That is our final flagship event of the year, which is always exciting. If you missed it, for one, we missed you. And for two, we have you covered. We’ve got a recap of the event. There is a link to that in the show notes as well.
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[00:14:05] Josepha: And that, my friends, is your small list of big things. Thanks for tuning in today for the WordPress Briefing. I’m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy, and I’ll see you again in a couple of weeks.
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[00:14:15] (Music Outro)
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Howdy,
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Apart from The Future of WordPress & What’s Next for Gutenberg with the keynotes by Josepha Haden Chomphosy and Matt Mullenweg, including Q & A, I still haven’t caught up with the videos from WordCamp US. Below is a list with links to the talks I want to see and hopefully catch up over this weekend.
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Then the Community Summit discussion notes are also posted, I haven’t digested any of them yet. This part of my todo-list is also below.
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And I hear you say: Who has time for all this? Well, that is a good question. The project has some great teams, that do outstanding work! And that’s the underlying reason why I only curate news about the block editor. No one can keep track of it all. 🤣
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And I leave you to the rest of the newsletter. Enjoy, learn and share!
Gutenberg 16.6 RC is available now for testing, and the stable release is scheduled for September 6th, 2023. I took a peak at the changelog to prepare for the next episode of the Gutenberg Changelog #89 with Nadia Maya Ardiani as a special guest.
Below you find a short list of discussion notes from the Community Summit directly connected with contributing to core and Gutenberg. When you read notes on the Make Summit blog, keep in mind that two important guidelines governed the Community Summit: no attribution and no decisions.
Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners
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Jamie Marsland recreated TechCrunch’s Website in 30 minutes and shows you in this 15-minute video how he did it. WOW! I rebuilt TechCrunch.com in only 30 mins with WordPress. You’ll also learn a few things: How to have a sticky header, how to create pro-post layouts, how to change your Global style, how image ratio features work and how to use templates.
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Jacob Martella posted his Wishlist for the WordPress Site Editor as it Heads to Phase 3. He explains a few missing items in broad strokes: better responsive controls, more inline options, continued improvement on accessibility and more of the Block Visibility plugin features. The latter is a nice shoutout to Nick Diego’s plugin that has been available in the plugin repo for three years, and shows 10,000 + active installations.
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Tammie Lister, co-tech lead for WordPress 6.4 had thoughts and published them: Reflections on the admin design proposal. On the way from old to new, it needs opinions, listening, documenting, and considering accessibility and extensibility. Implementation of the proposal requires all WordPress teams to become part of the revamp.
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Niels Langepublished the WooCommerce Blocks 10.9.0 Release Notes. He listed as notable that the team uses the Interactivity API together with the Product Button block and Pagination, which improves user experience considerably. In this version, the team continued making performance improvement to the plugin. You can also find improvements to patterns for footer and features products, and with every release fixed a few bugs. The WooCommerce Blocks plugin is available in the WordPress repository
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Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks
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Matt Medeiros took a peak at the early version of the new default theme and shared his thoughts in Previewing the Upcoming Twenty Twenty-Four Theme for WordPress. “With a focus on versatility, ease of use, and multiple website types, Twenty Twenty-Four is shaping up to be one of the best and most flexible default starter themes WordPress has released in years” he wrote.
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Eric Karkovack asked Brian Gardner in his interview “Will There Ever Be a Market for Commercial Block Themes?” Tl:DR: “I’m incredibly optimistic. Having been instrumental in molding the premium WordPress theme market in the late 2000s, we stand at the precipice of a new renaissance, much like before.” was Brian Gardner’s answer. Read more about the challenges and opportunities of Block Themes in WordPress.
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Justin Tadlock‘s latest tutorial covers Adding and using custom settings in theme.json. Custom settings are “one of the most powerful ways to build on top of the block system but is often underutilized by the theming community.” he wrote.
“Keeping up with Gutenberg – Index 2022” A chronological list of the WordPress Make Blog posts from various teams involved in Gutenberg development: Design, Theme Review Team, Core Editor, Core JS, Core CSS, Test and Meta team from Jan. 2021 on. Updated by yours truly. The index 2020 is here
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Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor.
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Aurooba Ahmedand Brian Coords created a couple of tools for block development and made them publically available:
The WordPress Icon Library, a searchable guide to the complete WordPress Icon Library package from the Gutenberg repository
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Both worth a browser bookmark 🙂 Ahmed and Coords also finished their first season of their ViewSource podcast. If you want to give it a binge listen, just search for View Source on your favorite podcast app or download it from the website.
If you missed last week’s Developer Hours, the recording is now available on WordPressTV: Developer Hours: Introduction to the HTML API with Michael Burridge and Dennis Snell. The show started with some quick demos of using the new HTML APIs, then briefly discussed the limits of the new systems, and finished with a time for questions and discussion with participants.
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Angel De Miguel, staff engineer at VM ware working on the WebAssembly, his colleague Rafael Fernández López and Automattic’s Adam Zieliński co-authored this post for the WordPress Developer blog: Exploring the future of web development with WebAssembly and PHP. “Imagine that you can now run PHP code in a new set of environments like a browser, serverless, edge, and even embedded in a different application. That opens a new set of possibilities for PHP. At this point is when PHP meets WebAssembly.” the wrote. You’ll learn what WebAssembly is, how it makes PHP portable like JavaScript, how it is the foundation of WordPress Playground, about sharing libraries across languages and so much more.
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Gobinda Tarafdarstarted a new project, CSS Crafter– a CSS Library for Gutenberg Blocks with premade CSS-styled blocks. Select the style and copy/paste the CSS + Block code for patterns or your custom blocks. Some of them also include pure CSS animations. It’s a fun project, that might shorten the creation time considerably.
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You don’t have to create custom blocks to customize the editor for your clients. Nick Diego posted anintroduction to block variations, and you will learn how to create block variations effectively and discover ways to incorporate them into your workflows.
Featured Image: Roof of the Stefan’s Cathedral in Vienna 2023 – Photo by Birgit Pauli-Haack
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Don’t want to miss the next Weekend Edition?
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Andrew Wikel shares thoughts and insights working on WooCommerce support specifically for builders and developers of Woo shops.
After an accumulation of undisclosed and unpatched vulnerabilities in plugins hosted on WordPress.org, Patchstack has reported 404 plugins to WordPress’ Plugin Review Team.
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“This situation creates a significant risk for the WordPress community, and we decided to take action,” Patchstack researcher Darius Sveikauskas said. “Since these developers have been unreachable, we sent the full list of those 404 vulnerabilities to the plugins review team for processing.”
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Ordinarily, reporting plugins to WordPress.org is a last resort for challenging cases after Patchstack fails to find a way to contact the vendors. In this case, many of these plugin authors have included zero contact information in their extensions or are not responding to communication attempts. Patchstack has characterized it as a “zombie plugins pandemic” due to the overwhelming number of abandoned plugins affecting more than 1.6 million sites.
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The WordPress.org Plugins Team has acted on the report by closing more than 70% of the plugins. In June, the team added six new sponsored volunteers and opened applications for more team members but have struggled with managing a formidable backlog of plugins waiting to be reviews. The backlog is climbing higher and is now over 1,119 plugins with a 71-day wait time.
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Adding plugin vulnerability issues, where hundreds have to be closed, only adds to how long developers have to wait to get new plugins reviewed.
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As of August 31, 2023, Patchstack reports the following stats associated with these reports to WordPress.org:
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\n
404 vulnerabilities
\n\n\n\n
358 plugins affected
\n\n\n\n
289 plugins (71,53%) – Closed
\n\n\n\n
109 plugins (26,98%) – Patched
\n\n\n\n
6 plugins (1,49%) – Not closed / Not patched
\n\n\n\n
Up to 1.6 million active installs affected
\n\n\n\n
Average installs per plugin 4984
\n\n\n\n
Highest install count 100000 (two plugins)
\n\n\n\n
Highest CVSS 9.1
\n\n\n\n
Average CVSS 5.8
\n\n\n\n
“Oldest” plugin – 13 years since the last update
\n
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Patchstack is urging developers to add their contact details to their plugins’ readme.txt and/or SECURITY.md files. To streamline security issue management, the company has created the Patchstack mVDP (managed vulnerability disclosure program) project, which is free for developers to join. Patchstack validates the reports that come through, rewards the researchers, and passes them to the vendor to be addressed.
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The company is also advocating for a dashboard alert when a plugin or theme is removed due to security reasons, as WordPress does not currently give the user this information. Their researchers will soon be submitting more reports that may result in closed extensions.
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“We are preparing more similar lists for the WordPress.org themes repository and repositories focused on premium products,” Sveikauskas said. “We are currently processing about extra 200+ similar vulnerabilities.”
Kevin Ohashi from Review Signal has published his 2023 WordPress and WooCommerce hosting performance benchmarks. This is his 10th round of capturing performance data from hosting companies that opt into the testing. Ohashi’s methodology tests two metrics through a variety of methods: peak performance and consistency.
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The benchmarks include a LoadStorm test designed to simulate real users visiting the site, logging in, and browsing (uncached performance). They also test cached performance, SSL, WP queries per second, performance on some computational and database operations, and a WebPageTest that fully loads the homepage and records how long it takes from 12 different locations around the world. As part of the consistency testing, Ohashi also measures uptime using HetrixTools and Uptime Robot for a minimum of three months.
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Participants pay a standard, publicly documented fee, based on the price tier of the product being tested, to cover the costs. Ohashi does not accept sponsorships for the tests, and has become one of the most trusted sources for unbiased performance reviews of WordPress hosting plans.
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In 2023, Ohashi tested 31 companies across 72 plans and seven pricing tiers, with tests nearly identical to previous years. He made minimal adjustments to the LoadStorm test script to improve performance and make it compatible with newer versions of k6.
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The website makes it easy to review results at a glance by using a star system. Hosts that achieve “Top Tier” status receive a full star:
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\n
This is awarded to companies who maintain 99.9% uptime throughout the entire testing and show little to no performance degradation during load testing, primarily focused on error rate and consistent response times. Error rates above 0.1% and response times above 1000ms* will keep a company away from achieving Top Tier marks.
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The half star indicates “Honorable Mention” status, which is given to companies that came close to Top Tier but fell just short, such as struggling slightly on a load test.
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Among budget hosts in the <$25/month category, the majority of hosts (16/21) rang in at the Top Tier level. Those who did not earn Top Tier status were held back by inferior performance on the the LoadStorm test for the most part, even though several still took top scores in other aspects of the testing.
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There are fewer participants at the $25-50 plan (and other more expensive plans) but the results are similar to the budget hosts, with A2 Hosting, Cloudways, and Stromonic edged out of contention for Top Tier. All three failed to achieve Top Tier for any of the plans tested this year.
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In the Enterprise tier ($500+), the majority of participants handled the LoadStorm test without issue. When testing cached performance, Ohashi found that the overall field of participants is getting faster:
\n\n\n\n
\n
Excluding Seravo, every company was 33ms average or below and 43ms p95 or below. Compared to last year where the fastest average was 6.4 ms and p95 was 20ms. There are four companies this year below both of those levels. The performance at the Enterprise tier is mind bogglingly fast and getting even faster which is hard to comprehend when last year’s 6.4ms was beaten by 4 plans this year.
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Most of the entrants in the WooCommerce category earned Top Tier status, with the exception of Blallo and Cloudways, both of which stumbled on the LoadStorm test. The hosting plans tested range from $25.95/month – $99/month. The WooCommerce-specific tests collect average response times, total requests, errors, and other metrics across four different profiles:
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\n
Profile 1 (20%): Buyer – Homepage, add item to cart, go to cart, checkout (doesn’t submit order)
A more detailed breakdown is available on the WooCommerce benchmarks results page.
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It’s important to note that the tests do not clearly identify a winner or top performer. They also don’t take into account other aspects of the WordPress hosting experience, like reviews, support, and features. Ohashi tests the defaults for all of these plans, but if there are more optimization features that can be customized for sites (which are not clearly outlined in the initial setup) then those are also not taken into account. The methodology simply focuses on performance, so it’s just one factor of hosting, albeit a very important one.
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“As far as surprising results, I keep thinking ‘Are we nearing the point that we won’t see much improvement?’ and each year the whole field gets faster and faster,” Ohashi said. “Even improving on sub 10ms times between years. For example, in the <$25/month tier, in 2022 there were 3 companies with <50ms average response time on the Static k6 test. This year there are 10. I also saw 100ms+ improvements from the other (slower) side bringing up the whole field a meaningful amount. Everyone is getting faster and faster.”
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Why Are Some Managed WordPress Hosting Companies Missing?
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There are many leading WordPress managed hosts that are notably absent from Ohashi’s benchmarks, whose inclusion would be helpful for a deeper understanding of market. I asked him about a handful of them and he reported that WP Engine, DreamHost, and Kinsta declined to participate this year, to name a few. GoDaddy took a year off but may be back next year.
\n\n\n\n
The major reasons for hosts not wanting to participate fall into a few categories, and bad performance is chief among them.
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“Some companies perform poorly or poorly relative to price and don’t want to participate anymore,” Ohashi said. “They usually talk about other ‘intangible’ values that you can’t measure. I think good performance should be a default for every hosting company, and good companies shouldn’t be afraid of bad results – if they actually plan on improving their services.
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“But some would probably rather spend fortunes on marketing instead of better engineering, and bad results aren’t going to help their marketing. I personally love seeing companies who participate year after year despite mixed results. I respect the companies who consistently earn Top Tier are doing a great job. But there’s something special about companies willing to put themselves out there regardless of the results, because it’s a public and open commitment to improving.”
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Ohashi said that occasionally the timing doesn’t work out where a host is going through a major engineering overhaul during the testing and doesn’t want the platform benchmarked when they are about to release a new one. In this case some opt to skip a year.
\n\n\n\n
The costs of the benchmarking can also be prohibitive for some smaller hosting companies. Ohashi raised prices by $250 across all tiers this year (eg. $100->$350, $500->$750) to cover his costs. Although this doesn’t seem like much for a hosting company, they also have to pay for the servers for four months, and have the staff/resources available to work with Ohashi on organizing, executing, and debugging issues. 20i, Krystal Hosting, Nexcess, and Pressable agreed to sponsor upstart companies in the space for 2023.
\n\n\n\n
Another reason some hosts don’t participate is a lack of interest or value. They don’t see how they can use the benchmark results to their advantage.
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“Some companies don’t get as much value from the benchmarks as others,” Ohashi said. “Performance across the board has gone way up. It’s harder and harder to stand out.
\n\n\n\n
“I think some companies may view it as an instant validation and reason for customers to come busting down the doors. But there are a lot of great companies offering great performance. Earning Top Tier status means you’ve got a performant hosting platform. It’s great, and it can help validate some customer needs/desires in the decision making funnel, but it won’t magically generate tons of sales.”
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Ohashi said he has put together notes for hosting companies that earned Top Tier status to help them leverage more value this year from a marketing perspective, based on what he has seen some companies do with their results. Creating more value for participating companies is something he is actively working to improve upon.
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Although Review Signal had approximately 35,000 people visit in the past year, Ohashi doesn’t think the traffic captures the full value of the benchmarks very well. The people who dig into these metrics are those who have a large impact on where their WordPress clients host their websites.
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“The people who care about the benchmarks are seriously into WordPress / hosting / performance,” Ohashi said. “It’s a lot of agencies, developers, large website owners and hosting people. One way I’ve measured impact is by going to the major WordCamps (EU/Asia/US) and talking to people. The number of folks who are aware of the benchmarks there was surprisingly high to me. The people who are interested enough to spend time at WordCamps are the same folks interested in reading the benchmarks. It’s not the largest number of people who read them, but it is the largest impact people who read and value them.”
\";s: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, 01 Sep 2023 21:17:38 +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: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:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:55:\"Do The Woo Community: WooBits Hits the Air Waves, Again\";s: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://dothewoo.io/?p=76231\";s: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://dothewoo.io/woobits-hits-the-air-waves-again/\";s: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:341:\"
WooBits takes another twist and turn and introducing Global Community Friends.
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For an upcoming show, tell us what your takeaway was from WordCamp US or why did you attend Contributor Day.
\";s: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, 30 Aug 2023 14:11:37 +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:5:\"BobWP\";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:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:71:\"WPTavern: Performant Translations Plugin Now Available on 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:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=148364\";s: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/performant-translations-plugin-now-available-on-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:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:2844:\"
After an in-depth performance analysis earlier this year revealed that translations can impact server response times, WordPress contributors proposed half a dozen technical solutions for consideration to improve performance for the ~56% of sites that use translations.
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Performant Translations, a feature project by the core Performance Team, is now available as a plugin on WordPress.org. It incorporates some of the proposed solutions and speeds up translations by converting .mo files to .php files, allowing them to be parsed faster and stored in OPcache.
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It supports multiple file formats (.mo, .php, and .json) and multiple text domains and locales loaded at the same time. Existing .mo files get converted to .php files which are then loaded by WordPress.
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A chart included on the plugin’s details page shows a significant page load time reduction when using the plugin, as compared to sites with translations that don’t use the plugin. The plugin brings translations very close to the same page load times as English (non-translated) sites.
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“With enough testing and feedback, we hope to eventually merge this plugin into WordPress core,” Performance Team contributor Pascal Birchler said when announcing the plugin on X.
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“In the coming weeks and months we will share more testing instructions and continue to improve the plugin. This will be made available via Performance Lab, too.”
Performant Translations is considered to be a beta testing plugin but can be tested and used in production at your own risk. It doesn’t require any changes to settings or configuration after installation. The plugin can be safely removed after testing, because it essentially cleans up after itself. All .php files it generates will be removed by the server once the plugin is deactivated and uninstalled.
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A collection of leading WordPress agencies have launched a collaborative project to promote the platform to large-scale organizations. Big Bite, in partnership with 10up, Alley, Human Made, Inpsyde, and XWP, have published a free WordPress for Enterprise guide that includes contributions from Google and WordPress VIP.
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The guide highlights many high profile companies and organizations using WordPress, including CNN, Vogue, Google, The Wall Street Journal, Spotify, Harvard University, the White House, Meta, PlayStation, and many more.
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Even after 20 years of unprecedented growth and adoption across major brands, the misconception that WordPress is just a blogging platform persists among many who don’t keep up to date with open source software.
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“Despite being the number one CMS, many people still associate WordPress solely with bloggers and small businesses, and are surprised to learn that it powers sites for some of the biggest brands on the planet,” Big Bite CEO Iain McPherson said. “By coming together to create this guide, we’re aiming to change that perception and highlight the many advantages it offers to enterprise organizations that have lots of contributors, lots of content, and lots of challenges.”
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The guide offers an easy-to-read overview of how well-suited WordPress is for the enterprise market and the possibilities for creating a customized platform to fit any organization. It includes short chapters on the following topics:
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From small blogs to big brands
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Open source advantages
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Platform security
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Scalability and internationalization
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Solution cost and value
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Editorial experience
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Performance matters
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Feature extensibility
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Headless capabilities
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“While smaller brands are able to switch CMS platforms fairly easily, for large-scale enterprises it’s often a major undertaking, so we hope this guide makes the decision process much easier for those exploring open source options,” WordPress VIP Director of Product Marketing Michael Khalili said.
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The guide is a useful resource for large organizations examining WordPress as a platform or for small agencies looking to pitch WordPress to larger clients. It’s free and does not require you to enter your email address or other contact information to download it.
WordPress 6.3.1 would not have been possible without the contributions of the following people. Their asynchronous coordination to deliver maintenance fixes into a stable release is a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress community.
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WordPress.com is now selling a 100-year plan, one of the longest available in the industry, for a one-time payment of $38,000. It includes managed WordPress hosting (whatever that looks like in 100 years), multiple backups across geographically distributed data centers, submission to the Internet Archive if the site is public, 24/7 dedicated support, and a domain that doesn’t need to be renewed by the customer for a century.
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ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, limits domain registration to a maximum of 10 years. Auto-renewing after this time requires the customer to renew on time and keep their payment method updated. A 100-year plan removes these uncertainties but still hinges on the registrar staying in business into the next century.
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Customers who buy into the plan will need to have superior confidence in WordPress.com, coupled with the belief that domain names will still be important to the fundamental architecture of the web decades from now.
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Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg commented on the difficulties in pricing the 100-year plan during his presentation at WordCamp US 2023, while simultaneously discouraging WordPress product owners from offering lifetime licenses. The distinction here is that the 100-year plan has a finite length of time, even if its future support seems unfathomable at the moment.
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“It also got me thinking about lifetime licenses, which I think we should stop doing in the WordPress world,” Mullenweg said.
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“If you’ve ever worked with an accountant or an acquirer they don’t like when you have those because it’s essentially an open ended commitment, including often with support. How do you recognize that revenue? Offer a 20 year plan or something. I think when you’re saying ‘lifetime,’ it sort of cheapens the word. If we’re really thinking long-term, what promises we’re making to our customers, I think we should re-examine those practices.”
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Mullenweg also said he was inspired by the Long Now Foundation, a non-profit established to foster long term thinking. The organization’s first project is the “Clock of the Long Now,” a mechanical monument designed to keep accurate time for the next 10,000 years:
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It is still being assembled deep inside a mountain in west Texas. The Clock provides a rare invitation to think and engineer at the timescale of civilization. It offers an enduring symbol of our personal connection to the distant future.
WordPress.com is building something parallel to this in the digital world, enabling people to create their own virtual, lasting monuments and preserve their homes on the web.
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Embedded in the new offering is also a poignant reminder that WordPress.com is a domain registrar, as the company recently made a bid to capture Google Domain customers ahead of their domains being sold off to Squarespace. Even if the new 100-year hosting plan is too expensive for 99.9% of prospective customers, it gives the impression that the company is capable of hosting entrusted domains for the long term.
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Nobody, not even WordPress.com, knows what that will look like in 50 years, but it’s an ambitious, thought-provoking offering. What resources will a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) point to 50 years from now? Or will URLs be discarded into the scrap pile of obsolete building blocks as soon as there’s a better, more efficient way to identify web addresses? What does longevity look like in the digital world?
\";s: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, 29 Aug 2023 04:25:16 +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:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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: Video: WordPress Leaders Discuss Project’s Future at WordCamp US 2023\";s: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:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=148270\";s: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://wptavern.com/video-wordpress-leaders-discuss-projects-future-at-wordcamp-us-2023\";s: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:3006:\"
WordCamp US concluded this weekend after gathering nearly 2,000 attendees in National Harbor, Maryland, for the Community Summit, Contributor Day, and main conference days. For the majority of people in the WordPress world who were unable to attend, the recordings of the presentations from project leadership will give you an idea of what to expect in the near future and beyond. These videos were published right away and are embedded below.
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WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomposy spoke on “The Future of WordPress,” with an emphasis on how the project can continue to thrive, build resilience, and outlast its current contributors. She encouraged the community to be proactive about expanding their learning and connections. She also reaffirmed the importance of the project’s mission to democratize publishing and the impact that can have in the world.
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WordPress co-creator Matt Mullenweg capped off the event with a presentation titled “What’s Next for Gutenberg,” followed by a Q&A. He highlighted a few features coming in 6.4, including font management, an image lightbox, and the new Twenty Twenty Four default theme.
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As WordPress is moving into the Collaboration phase of the Gutenberg project, which will enable multiple authors to edit simultaneously, Mullenweg highlighted the importance of redesigning the admin. This will be the first major redesign since MP6 and is also aimed at improving workflows for administrators.
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Mullenweg announced that WordPress has launched a new LMS (Learning Management System) working group. He commented on the benefits and drawbacks of having multiple plugins in the ecosystem that do the same thing. Although the competition can encourage more innovation, it can also lock users into one solution if they aren’t built to be interoperable.
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Representatives from Tutor LMS, Learndash, LifterLMS, and Sensei met to discuss using common data models so users can easily switch between solutions. They are working in a new #LMS slack channel to establish industry standards that will preserve user freedom and choice through practical interoperability changes to their products.
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Mullenweg also said he would like to see more plugins, such as those handling SEO or site builders, to agree on some data models so that products can operate in a more standardized and performant way, serving users better in the long term.
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Check out the presentation below, along with the Q&A that followed. There were more than 80 questions submitted, and those that were missed during Q&A will have answers published to in a future post on WordPress.org.
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\";s: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, 28 Aug 2023 22:15:14 +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:24;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:\"Gutenberg Times: Gutenberg Changelog #88 – WordPress 6.4 and Gutenberg 16.4 and 16.5.\";s: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:53:\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?post_type=podcast&p=25373\";s: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://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-88-wordpress-6-4-and-gutenberg-16-5/\";s: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:83824:\"
Ellen Bauer and Birgit Pauli-Haack discuss WordPress 6.4 and Gutenberg 16.4 and 16.5 and proposed wp-admin changes.
Birgit Pauli-Haack: Hello and welcome to our 88th episode of the Gutenberg Changelog podcast. In today’s episode, we will talk about the releases of WordPress 6.3 and 6.4, Gutenberg 16.3 and 16.4, and I’m your host, Birgit Pauli-Haack, curator at the Gutenberg Times and full-time core contributor for the WordPress Open Source project on the Automattic Five for the Future Program. And it’s a great pleasure for me to have with me today, Ellen Bauer. She’s a theme developer and 6.4 co-design lead on the release board. She’s also a co-founder of Elma Studio, a theme development shop and AinoBlocks is one of their products. Ellen has been a very early adopter of blocks and block themes and provided a ton of feedback to the core team. Thank you for joining me today, Ellen. Good evening to New Zealand. How are you?
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Ellen Bauer: Thank you very much, Birgit. I’m very good. Yeah, I’m just excited to be here. And actually, coming on here has helped me a lot to catch up with all the things that are happening and it’s so exciting to see it all coming together. Yeah, I’m just really, really excited for 6.4 and to be part of it and all the things that are coming to WordPress. It’s really, really cool.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Excellent, excellent. So how is AinoBlocks doing? Do you have a theme and separate blocks for it?
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Ellen Bauer: So yeah, yeah, we do have blocks like block collection or single blocks. It was mainly we started that AinoBlocks to experiment with building blocks and bring blocks into our workflow and to make things happen that weren’t possible for a long time with just the default blocks. That’s just how it started, just to build the designs out that we wanted. And we still love to use a lot of the blocks there, especially we have an advanced grid block and things like that. We need to catch up on the spacing and things like that that came into default.
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I’m planning to do that within the next one or two months to have a bigger update because what we’ve also been doing is building more block themes, coming back to our roots and back to themes because yeah, it’s now possible to build block themes and bring the two worlds together and just designing. We missed that with all just block building, we missed doing cool designs, but we didn’t want to build classic themes, too. So yeah, we were on hold for a long time. And now, we are really, really excited to get back into designing and we have a few cool new designs in the works and it’s just a lot of fun now to bring the worlds together and really create advanced and modern designs at WordPress. It’s really cool.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, I’m looking forward to your new designs and what you and Manu will come up with. So for our listeners, the last Changelog was a little bit was about four weeks ago, and a lot has happened in those four weeks. We will not cover it all and we hope you can catch up on the other news outlets on those 6.3 came out and 6.3.1, the release candidate was just released this week, will come out next week. We are recording this on August 25th, 2023, and 6.3.1 is scheduled to come out on August 29th. So for those who are binge listening to this at a later date, if you haven’t upgraded yet, do that now. 6.3.1 is coming out with some bug fixes for some of the features that surface quite late in the release cycle.
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Announcements – WordPress 6.3 and 6.4
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Speaking of 6.3 or WordPress release, the roadmap for 6.4 was also just published this week.
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It’s a tight release cycle with the first beta scheduled just four weeks from now, September 26 I think, and this makes it an ambitious list of features and updates. The release is set to be scheduled for November 7th, so there’s always the two months between beta or six weeks. No, it’s only five weeks, six weeks, five weeks between beta one and final release. So this one is quite special because the release was, is all about underrepresented gender people that lead the release in all release categories. And you are on design team, Ellen, I’m on the editor triage team with Anne McCarthy together, each of the release teams of two or three people deep. So what is the design team going to do in this release?
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Ellen Bauer: So yeah, I’m just starting to get really into the work and kindly, Anne has, we have created a side channel in the Slack community for the design team and Estella did actually take the initiative on that. And kindly, Anne has posted and put together a list of tickets and things we are going to get into and some more people shared tickets and issues there. And then of course, the about page and yeah, we’re just getting started on that. It’s really exciting, I’m excited to be on the design team again and it’s really cool. Tammie Lister also is helping out and Rich put together a to-do list in the beginning, which was cool because last time, I joined for 5.6. Also for the underrepresented gender release, I was struggling at some points like what I’m supposed to do and when.
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So yeah, this is way more organized now and yeah, it’s really cool to do it a second time and have a group of people who have also done it before and let’s just know more what is happening. And I’m really excited about the new default theme, too. That’s really cool that this is going to be added for 6.4 because we also had a new default theme released with 5.6 back then. I can’t believe it’s already two or three, I think last podcast, you said it’s three years ago. I was like, what? It’s crazy, but I guess it is. Yeah, so that’s really exciting and-
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. So the default theme leads are Jessica Lyschik and Maggie Cabrera.
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Ellen Bauer: Maggie. Yep.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: And they just introduced the designs for the theme on a separate post and we will certainly share that in the show notes as well, as well with the roadmap, but that’s only one thing on the roadmap. The others are that there are two new features coming in. Well, at least one of them is the font library.
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Ellen Bauer: Yes. So excited for that.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, that independent from themes, you can now have fonts on your site and manage them, or that’s the goal for it. So you’re not tied to a theme with the font, how your site looks and how your text is displayed independent from the theme. And there will be the backend is already working for that. That comes in in Gutenberg 16.5, so that is one of them. And Anne McCarthy’s post, she also had some designs already added to it, some pictures of it. Another part is the revisions for the styles were new in 16.3, but there were no revisions for templates and template parts and those will come with 16.4 there on the list.
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We will have new blocks where a table of contents block has been long time in experimental, but it’s slated now to be released into core. There’s still a discussion about the time to read block because there is some, well, if you say okay, you have 30 minutes to read, that’s a normal, it normalizes how the reading capabilities, but if you are dyslexic or in other ways have accessibility issues, it’s ableism to give you how long you can read about this, that you’re not normal.
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And that is definitely a discussion to have if we want to have that in core. So the discussion is ongoing. Another block would be the scrolling key block, which it comes out of the ’90s and will never leave us scrolling.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, I actually felt, I mean, we’ve seen that a lot in designs being trendy, but I was also surprised to see that as a core block in discussion. I mean, it’s cool that we don’t have to have custom solutions, but yeah, I’m most excited about the table of contents block. I remember last year, I was about to like, okay, should I have a custom block? Should I do that? And then I read, okay, it’s being done. So it’s cool to finally see that being added. Can’t wait for it.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. And I was playing around with it or testing it, playing around equals testing and I always found it in the previous versions limiting because if I have a table of contents, I want to style it, I want to have some maybe different fonts, maybe different backgrounds, maybe different titles, a control over which heading goes in or out. I’m not sure that all my expectations will come in. So there is definitely room for a custom table of contents block, but I really don’t like when a table of contents that’s only 10 or 15 items long that has all the numbers and the indenting numbers in addition, that’s not additional information, any distracts, is this a priority or not. So I wasn’t really able to make it a bullet list, but I think that those things will be fixed definitely.
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Then there’s also the image lightbox or each image block will have a feature that you can, with light box, zoom in on it or have a larger version on it on your screen. If you click on the image, that has been experimental in the Gutenberg for a while. I’m very excited about the order insert blocks because that is a piece that has been missing for since the beginning. I think that you can add something to a block that is not in the interface, like what would it be?
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So the example is a like button to add it to a comment, or another heading link or maybe just a citation or anything that you can put in dynamically that the user doesn’t have to control it. So I was thinking sometimes for the click to tweet, can we do this on a block? And it doesn’t have to be in a separate block, you can just put it in a paragraph or in a heading, or have an additional anchor on a heading without having to do a table of contents to get them automatically built. All these, they’re all different. I’m sure there are a lot of use cases for that, too, but I’m really excited that that is coming to the editor.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, I think so too. It’s, like you said, been missing for forever, just like you said, a like button or tweet button that yeah, it just makes it more attractive and easy to use blocks if you have these things auto inserted. Yeah, you don’t want to tweak around with these little items. I think that’s pretty cool. And I was surprised about the next one, the post formats. That’s pretty cool to come back to these ones. We have an old theme that’s like a post format Tumblr-style theme and it’s been ongoing popular with post formats, so it’s cool. We can maybe do a block version redesign for that theme, that would be amazing.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, and post formats weren’t really tended to in the block editor at all.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, not at all.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: So bringing that in, it’s definitely there has been some feedback that this is missing and some theme developers actually didn’t switch because it wasn’t available. So that is a good thing for adaptability, but it’s also with all the insecurities around the social networks and the fragmentation of it that many content creators are thinking about maybe building their own and just giving them post formats. And one of them is actually the non-title post that you just like a tweet, you get just 280 characters and put it in a post and you don’t need a title for it, and you have it on your website and then you can share it via an ActivityPub process with any of the social networks that you wanted to do. And you don’t have to go out and go directly to the social networks.
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Ellen Bauer: I always love that so much and I’m already excited to actually build a theme for these kind of purposes. And yeah, like you said, with Twitter not being there anymore, it’s sad. I feel for the first time actually really excited to start blogging again, and I think it will do that, just like a private blog because I don’t feel there’s the right home anymore on any social platform. And yeah, I really miss something and I’m really excited to use WordPress as not only for business websites and things like that, but actually for blogging again, which is funny and cool to come back to that.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: I haven’t felt the urge to just blog for such a long time and now, I want to blog again. So yeah, that’s really exciting to see that. And I’m already seeing some new block themes come out of that project as well, which is pretty cool and creative.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: And it’s certainly for writers and blogging, but it’s also for if you cherish Instagram just to share one photo and be done with it from your mobile phone and now you could do this with your own website, I think it would be just as well, but people who are interested in would follow your blog and your pictures on the blog. And if it has a nice theme that highlights that similar to Instagram or something like that, then and people can follow with a Jetpack or wordpress.com account, they can follow any blog they want. And I know that the ActivityPub plugin is now sponsored by Automattic and so we can create WordPress so it can actually push things into those social networks and even people following on the social networks, but you don’t have to create on those social networks, you are in control of your own posts and pages and pictures. And so I’m really, I think this is the most important thing for the web, for the independent web in the future.
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Ellen Bauer: I think so, too. I think so, too.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: So I’m really, really great.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah. Seeing what can happen to these network, it just doesn’t feel right to just post your… Yeah, I feel exactly the same. I was like yeah, even Instagram, it doesn’t really feel good to post your content there. I was like, “I want to do it on my own website and still share there”, but yeah, I think yeah, we really make these experiences now and it’s cool. Yeah, it’s really exciting.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: All right, yeah. And then also 6.4, the writing experience will have a focus on that. So the content creation flow on the writing part, like the distraction-free writing, list items, quotes and navigation items, getting additional capture toolbars and all this nice things. Then interfaces and tools like list view, top toolbars, command palette, they’re all getting additional enhancements or expansions. Site editing will get definitely additional UX polish and quality of life and also additional features.
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Ellen Bauer: I love the list view.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Oh yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: It’s my favorite thing. So having the group locks, custom naming is like yeah, I mean, we have been asking for that for quite a while and it’s coming up. And now having that, it will be so cool.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, yeah, and then this…
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Ellen Bauer: I mean for designing, the list view is just… We need to be in control.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Right, right, right. And if it’s just a group, group, group group, you don’t know where you are.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, it’s awful and it will be cool. And for page patterns, having them like the sections ready with naming and stuff to get out to your customers and theme users, that will be just improving the whole experience because at the moment, it doesn’t look great, but I still love to use the list view.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, yeah. And yeah, there will be an expansion on the box shadow component, which is in the Gutenberg plugin. It’s also I think for one or two blocks available, but now it will be available for more blocks, of course. And then custom CSS enhancements are coming, more support for elements for individual blocks, and all these little but important things will get a refinement and enhancements. The same for the global styles, the style book especially, which is such a great help in previewing themes in designing, seeing how the style variations change your sites and all that.
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Ellen Bauer: I love that, too.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, that’s actually one of the big features in 6.2 and 6.3. 6.2 only was a little bit hidden in the global styles, but it brought forefront in 6.3 for the site editor in the site editor so you can directly access it. And another focus for 6.4 is the pattern, realm of patterns like the ability to set categories to update the inserter experience to improve the compatibility with non-block themes, which is still an issue. And another idea might not work with 6.4, but there’s definitely a stretch goal there to have partially synced patterns. Right now, we have either sync patterns or unsynced patterns, but sometimes you want to have update the style of a pattern and that replicate through previous posts or pages, but not the content. So you couldn’t do that right now, but there’s an effort to do that. Depending on how the testing goes and how easy it is to work with, it might make it into 6.4, it might not make it, but that is still… So there’s quite more navigation creation and management. Now that there’s the base is done, there’s some additional…
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Ellen Bauer: It’s like never ending. It’s so cool.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: No ending, no.
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Ellen Bauer: I saw the poster, I was like, “What is happening? This is so cool.”
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: I mean, it’s a lot of work. We will see how much we can get into with not a lot of time, but it’s exciting. I mean, at one point, these things will get added to the core, so very exciting to see that.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. So when you go, dear listeners, to look at that roadmap post that will be linked in the show notes, you’ll also see links to the current GitHub issue or PR that is in the works about the certain items and you can then gauge how far it is along, how long it is, and also chime in and help with the testing. That would be really good. Another way of it is we will have a separate, there is a separate project board for 6.4 with quite a few items on it. More will be added to it of course, from this and from some of the tracking issues, and there you can follow along on the progress of in the next five weeks until we get to Beta 1. So all new enhancements, new things need to be in the release that are supposed to be in the release by Beta 1.
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Then it’s new feature freeze. And then after that, there’s only bug fixing in the beta cycle to release candidate one. There’s even possible to do some bug fixing afterwards, but then there’s also release candidate one string-free. So if there’s anything, user interfaces or something like that won’t get into the release after that because the translators are working on the translation of the new release. And so yes, it’s a long list for such a short turnaround time, but well, we don’t know where the boundaries are until we get to them. So we will report of course on the progress on things. We mentioned already the introducing of 2024, we will share the link in the show notes as well. What do you think?
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Ellen Bauer: So I read the post that was posted yesterday by Jessica and maybe I think what we didn’t mention yet is so Maggie and Jessica are leading the theme development, but Beatriz actually did the design work for it. And yeah, I checked out the Figma file today this morning and I think it’s really, really amazing. I’m really excited. It seems like a lot of work, but I think a lot of people are already helping out with creating patterns and stuff. I hope maybe I have the chance to do one or two patterns as well if I find the time, or style variations I think is a topic that people can help out with creating and contributing like we did with the last default theme. But yeah, I think it’s beautiful, it’s very sophisticated, and I like that they’re working on different user cases. So I think there’s a blogger writer category and business, small business portfolio type or small business and yeah, and portfolio.
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I think the three are the main topics they want to cover with that theme and yeah, it looks beautiful. It makes me really excited and I think it fits to WordPress and the new WordPress we see. It’s really, really beautiful, I love it. And I think yeah, it’s really exciting to see all the patterns and page templates and all the things you can do because the last team had style variations, but not a lot of a layout building included so that’s going to be exciting. And that, combined with the free font library and the options there, really, really cool to see that.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. I think we’re getting to a place where when you install WordPress for the first time and you use the default theme out of the box there that you have a headstart on getting your website finished just with the tools that come from the default theme. So there are two things that are not possible now, but that they’re working on for the 2024 that is that you can have templates, more than one template for a homepage. Right now, you can only have one. Well, the front page and yeah. And then if you create another one, it overrides that and it doesn’t give you a choice.
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So that’s one thing, that would cover all the three use cases that you mentioned. And the other part is to actually also provide designs for the various post formats. And when you look into the post, there is one section there that shows you, or in the Figma file, there’s one section there that shows you just a mason gallery how the posts are, the different post formats are displayed. And I think that’s what you mentioned with your older theme, Ellen, that it’s still very attractive for people and I’m glad that we might have that out of the box.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, it’s really, really exciting. Yeah, and you can do so much with this theme. And I think, yeah, we never had that before, that default theme was really that flexible and people can really… Very usable, it looks very usable for the first time. I’m really, really excited. And the design is I think really fits to what WordPress has to offer. I think it’s a really great work, very exciting.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: And I’m looking forward to also seeing the page patterns. So when you create a new page that you can have a series of right now, you have to assemble the page yourself with various different patterns that might fit together or not. And with the page patterns, you have a single page fully created and you just need to change your content, the pictures and the content, but that it already gives you a blueprint for single pages, be it a service page or be it an about page or even the homepage. So I think that gives any user a head start with a new site or with an existing site that decides to have that theme.
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Ellen Bauer: So true. And yeah, I remember really advocating for… We need page templates, page patterns, whatever we call it, but ready-to-go pages pre-designed for users to choose and have multiple options. We can imagine three or five about pages and they can choose because yeah, putting the patterns together is for, like a lot of users, still like a daunting idea and it’s overwhelming and why not provide it? We have patterns, we can do that. And yeah, we’ve also been doing that with our themes quite a lot and I think it’s really, really attractive to have that come together.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. I have to say that, yeah, you have the feedback loop directly with your customers, so I’m glad that WordPress is on the right track there.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, I think so because patterns just in general, it’s still, I mean, people getting more used to it but it’s really hard to understand for a lot of people, like what is that? It’s just a section? I want a page, and providing ready-to-go pages is just so much easier. It’s really, really cool to see that and have more themes, have that available. Maybe even, I remember saying that last year, even already discussing that, that we have next to a pattern library, like pattern directory, have a page pattern or maybe even there’s a new word that needs to be created for these patterns. Maybe not, maybe they can live in the pattern preview but they could be too long maybe for preview, I don’t know. But you have a library for that to theme independent available. I think that’s really, would be really attractive.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, and that’s I think where the pattern category work comes in where you can categorize those patterns and also the browsing the previews. So if you have a bigger screen, you get a two-column preview of patterns that are under a certain category so you get a thumbnail view, how they’re big, and that works nicely, but those underpinnings had to first be built. Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: Yep. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It really comes together and I love what I see, yeah. It’s so funny that things, like I said last year, it felt like so much struggle to get people excited about block themes and site editing and now it’s coming together. I think with a little bit more practice, users will really just love it and forget about what we had before. It’s really cool.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. Well, it also comes in handy that the navigation block editor has gotten a lot of improvements in 6.2 and 6.3.
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Ellen Bauer: So true.
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Community Contribution
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. And Dave Smith, a core Gutenberg contributor, posted an update on it so you can read up about it, how it’s going to work, but because to be honest, I personally struggled after the first year trying to make navigation work beyond a simple navigation with pages to add a site logo to it or to add a search bar to it or something like that. It was definitely a struggle and it was not thought through, and I wanted to have multiple menus and now, that all came together in 6.3 with the site editor where you have multiple places where you can tap into the navigation and make adjustments, be it providing navigation places and just switch out the menu for that, that was not possible. Before, you had to remove the navigation block and add it again and then yeah, it was yeah, the…
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, yeah, it was the biggest blocker I think for users to get into, they’re like, “It’s not working”. And yeah, like you said, very simple sites and then it ended. Yeah, very, very exciting to see that. I think now, yeah, just with that, people can really start building entire websites, block themes and stuff, it’s really tremendous work. And I can imagine it was difficult to get that right, or it’s still an ongoing process. But yeah, I’m really happy to see that, too.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, and that is, we’re just, it’s all I wanted to point out from hosts, from the themes and then now, we get into what is actually happening in the Gutenberg plugin.
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Gutenberg 16.3 and 16.4
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So Gutenberg 16.4 was released on August 9th, so right after 6.3 was released, and certain items from the Gutenberg 6.4 release actually made it into 6.3. There were actually quite a few, I think 20 to 25 items. I have not identified them, but you will see it in the PR if you follow through the Changelog and click on one of the PRs and you want to know, it had a back port to WordPress release candidate labor that was added and then once it was back ported removed, you see that in the history of the PR. So Sarah Norris was the lead manager for the release manager for 16.4 and she wrote that it introduces exciting new features, including both a new experimental feature and a new component, and we will talk about what those are alongside many enhancement and bug fixes.
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Bug fix highlights include many improvements to the recently added footnotes block and enhancements to patterns. The footnotes block, most of the bug fixes actually made it into 6.3 major release, WordPress release and some of the enhancement for patterns, too. Those were the two areas where there were last minute bug fixes that made it into the release. There were in total 184 pull requests authored by 60 contributors, including two new contributors, and the release has a list of all of them.
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Features
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One of the features that she mentioned, the new component was a basic progress bar component and in the release note, she also, Sarah also has some notes to that.
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And it’s a horizontal progress bar component that can be used in various places and it replaces the spinner component for the site editor loading experience. Of course, these are public components that can also be used in third party or custom blocks or custom plugins, so there was that. It also gets some design tools with it as well. And it can be tested in the Storybook, which is other, it’s a different thing than the Style Book. The Storybook is for developers and on the WordPress GitHub repo, you can see the Storybook of all the components with all the attributes and you can test around just in isolation and then grab the code and add it to your own code base.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, I’ve just looked at that the other day with the progress bar and yeah, I think it’s definitely an improvement. And I’ve actually just opened the Storybook for the first time.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Oh, really?
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Ellen Bauer: It’s pretty cool to have.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah. I’ve never seen that. But I used lots of these items for our blocks before, but I’ve never seen that. That’s great to know. It’s new to me.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, I think we need to…
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Ellen Bauer: Was it? Yeah, no.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: It has been there since a long time.
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Ellen Bauer: I think it’s a long time, yeah. Maybe I have been there, I forgot about it. Maybe I have seen it, but pretty cool.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: If you click on the introduction, it says how the site works and the resources to learn more. And also, it has the code that you can add. It shows you different variables on things, attributes and how they look, so and so, and it also has, there is a section there for components experimental. If you go there, just be aware that it might, and progress bar is one of them, just it might change slightly of the course of development. We definitely need to promote that more that people can go through the Storybook and test some of the components and see how they work, what the documentation is about.
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Enhancements
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So the next item on the Changelog is that now the keyboard shortcut for the command palette is now visible in the side view, it’s command K or control K, but I never remember keyboard shortcuts, so I’m glad that it’s now displayed in the header section of the site editor and so you can know it, too.
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Ellen Bauer: I actually love shortcuts, but I also tend to forget them. So that’s handy because there are some cool ones and you can really speed up your workflow, especially if you’re really designing in WordPress, so that’s really cool. Yeah, I love to have the shortcut. Okay.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, I think you would really love to use the command palette for these quick steps things because you don’t have to click through all the menus to get there. So the command palette is a open page or add page and then you get a … or open page and then you get a list of the pages that are on the site and then you can select them without going to out of the site editor into the pages or from wherever you are and go to pages and then go down the menu items. So I really like the command palette, and that will definitely speed up content creation.
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Ellen Bauer: Oh, true. Yeah, it’s really powerful.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: What also comes with enhancement on the site editor, there are quite a few, but I’m only pointing out to that one. The pattern library, it switches to a three-column layout on use screen, so that is definitely…
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Ellen Bauer: I love that.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: That fills it all up. Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: Yes, I love that because we are building a lot of patterns and I was always like, can we just preview more?
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: One thing I noticed with the pattern, like the explore all patterns view, I feel weird and I wonder if it’s just temporary or so because the two-column layout is like a light gray background because most of the patterns are most likely with a white background, in most themes at least. And then explore all patterns is a white background and it doesn’t look great. Have you noticed that? And I wonder, is that an error or is it just…
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: I think it would be something to make an issue out of on GitHub, but what you are referring to is the inserter.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s true.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: And the switch to three-column layout on your screen, that’s on the site editor.
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Ellen Bauer: In the site editor, okay, I get it. I get it.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: In the patterns section of the site editor where you have the menu on the left-hand side.
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Ellen Bauer: Okay, okay. Yeah, of course, where on the site editor. Oh, yeah.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: In the site editor, yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: But yeah, in the site editor, I have the dark background as I can see here.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah. Okay, that makes sense. I have to test that out again.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, but it’s definitely worth I think creating an issue for the inserter to maybe also recognize some of the dark light contrast there.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah. I haven’t checked if there’s an issue and it’s also not consistent, why I have this light gray and then switch to white? Yeah, I will check it out if there maybe is an issue already or what’s going on there because yeah, it doesn’t really make sense.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: And I tested a few themes just to see if it was me, if I had it, but they all had the same issue. Maybe it’s temporary.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: And it might be even a good way to say that the browse all patterns goes to the site editor if it’s a block theme. With the classic theme, that wouldn’t work, but yeah. But to have that, that would go site editor. Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: That makes sense, yeah. So true. Yeah, I mean, we just want to stay in the site there because it looks so nice and polished. That is true. It would be cool. I will test that out, maybe I can create an issue.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: I’m just making a note there.
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Ellen Bauer: So now, we go into the post editing.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, we are now here at the post editor. There are new commands available now to show or hide the block breadcrumbs. That’s I think on the bottom of things to get into switching off settings. So enable pre-published checklist or disable the pre-published checklist or change into, or just make a preview in the new tab. Those new commands for the power users there to switch off, on and off the settings so you don’t have to go through the menu items to go to the options bar and then change the settings for certain things. Even if you just want to toggle on and off and not have it permanently done, changed for your session.
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Ellen Bauer: I love all the fine-tuning we are now at. It’s incredible to see that. Oh my god, all these little things happening that do make a difference, it’s so cool.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. Speaking of, there’s the footnotes received in 16.4, add link background and text color support. So now, you can not only create the footnotes and they take on any styling from the theme, but now you can as a user also change the text color background and all that for your footnotes. That’s actually a very interesting new block, I really love it and I’m glad that it’s now in core to test it further on various use cases.
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Ellen Bauer: So true.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: And then also, the…
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Ellen Bauer: And then you have the pre-formatted.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: Get spacing support.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. In 16.4, there were more additional enhancements to the blocks performance, you got the spacing support you said, yeah. And then in the words block, you can have now and even the line breaks so you can, instead of paragraph, you also can have line breaks there. Social links get the threads icon so you can have in your list of social profiles that you point people to also go to the new Threads environment of Facebook.
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Ellen Bauer: That is good to have. I’ve yet to check out Threads. I mean, it’s good to have it. I think especially that since we don’t have Twitter anymore really, I’m excited. I want to try it. Have you tried it yet?
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: No, and I’m also hesitant. It’s not rolled out to all Instagram users. So you need to have an Instagram account and what I saw…
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, that’s true.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: … on certain platforms when people tried it was if you wanted to delete it again, you actually needed to delete your Instagram account…
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Ellen Bauer: Oh, wow.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: … and I wouldn’t want to go there.
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Ellen Bauer: That’s not nice. Oh yeah, that’s not nice.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: So I wouldn’t going to go there.
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Ellen Bauer: That’s true.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Well, but on the other hand, yeah, maybe I should delete my Instagram account already.
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Ellen Bauer: You can delete everything. Yeah, I mean, we don’t need more social platforms to be honest, I feel. But I’m always keen to check something new out.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, we do. Me, too.
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Ellen Bauer: It looks nice, it looks nice and simple and while you’re already at Instagram, but yeah, I think it’s weird that it’s connected with Instagram because I know how they… Maybe.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: I didn’t get it offered yet, so maybe because I’m not on Facebook, I’m only on Instagram, so I don’t know.
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Ellen Bauer: Oh well, was it that maybe or could it be that this had something to do with European Union holding back with it? I think I have no clue. I didn’t follow it, but I think Manu mentioned something like that.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yes. Yes, you’re right.
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Ellen Bauer: So I think that’s it.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: It’s only for US Americans and not for EU people. So that’s another reason.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah. New Zealand somehow, we got lucky. We can use it, but I just didn’t have time yet.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah. I think that’s the problem, which is actually good that they… But yeah, I don’t know where that will go, but it’s good to have the icon at least.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. Yeah, so true. Yeah. I just started being on Bluesky, I just got my invite so I just set it up. So I’m wondering if there’s actually a Bluesky icon already, so we’ll see. If not, I’m going to create an issue about it.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah. Historically, I think I remember WordPress being always super late to add icons, so it’s cool that they’re faster now.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. So next thing on our list is that unsync patterns didn’t come into the quick inserter. So if you started slash and started typing, you didn’t get a selection of your patterns. That is now… You can now do that. You find your patterns in there if you use the quick inserter. So that is… Also, if you search for it, you find them in the quick inserter. So I think that’s a really good enhancement. I was always wondering why I needed to go to the big blue button to get to my patterns.
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Ellen Bauer: That’s another big improvement with the sync patterns, unsync.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Definitely quality of life improvement. Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: It’s so helpful for a user.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, absolutely. So we are almost at the end of what I wanted to point out as enhancements. Go and read the post release. I wanted to point out also that with this release, the plugin minimum supported PHP version is 7.0. I don’t think that anybody who uses a Gutenberg plugin is actually on 5.6, but just so if you are, now is the time and you want to be in touch with all the future releases, make sure that you upgrade your site to at least a 7.x version of PHP. That coincides with the WordPress 6.3 release that also bumps the minimum supported PHP version for WordPress to a 7.x PHP version. So 6.3 is the first version that does not support 5.6 anymore, PHP 5.5 versions, 5.x versions.
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Bug Fixes
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In the bug fixes, I found a few things that I wanted to point out because there were bugs that we had to deal with and we don’t, or maybe not.
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So the cover block ContrastChecker, or the ContrastChecker that is in the sidebar to give a hint when your contrast between the foreground and the background color was not accessible or not high enough to be accessible, that algorithm didn’t work well with the cover block because of the combination between text, image, alpha overlay color and all that, that was way too much for the algorithm. So they disabled it for the cover block. They didn’t disable it for the InnerBlocks. So if you have InnerBlock a paragraph and you change the background color there and the text color of that doesn’t match, it still works. But for the cover block itself, it’s disabled because it had too many false positives and it was just the algorithm doesn’t go far enough. And then it’s better to not have it than having false positives in there. There’s, in the release in the PR, there’s also some discussion in there on why the team came to that decision.
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Ellen Bauer: It could be that it’s maybe temporary or…
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, I don’t know if there’s a focus on improving the ContrastChecker because that was an external tool, but it’s definitely just the nature of the cover block just has too many variables in there. So the image block finally got a fix on the image sides for the all wide and full width alignments. Sometimes that wouldn’t fill it all up or grab the wrong size, so this is now fixed. It has multiple variations there and it’s definitely a better feel for the image block when you add alignments there. And then the last one is that the video block got a fix for the styling. For the vertical alignment of the video, there was always a little gap on top of it. That was hard coded and they removed it. So if you fix it locally on your own theme or in your own site, you might need to look at it.
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Ellen Bauer: I think I saw that. Oh, I have to check that out. I haven’t used the video block quite often, but I mean, it is handy. I have to test it. I think I saw that once that it has this gap. I remember, I think.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. Any spacing is now with the space. So from the beginning, the spacer block was one of the most used blocks amongst the top five most used blocks.
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Ellen Bauer: Oh my god, I never liked it.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, but it helps. So made it easy for content creators to…
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Ellen Bauer: That is true.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: … just adjust things, yeah. And now with dimensions controls, with padding and margin, it still is probably easier to use than figuring out, okay, what is padding and what is margin again? Is it inside or outside or what? Yeah, but it’s not that necessary anymore, especially when you have patterns and theme templates that actually took care and all of them put together. Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: I’m not sure, but the problem was also that it was fixed, like a hundred pixels stayed a hundred pixels. Is it still like that? I don’t even know why.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: The spacer block? No, no.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, the spacer block.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: It can say four, four pixels, 15 pixels, 150 pixels. Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: No, I mean, does it responsive? The spacing, is it like fluid?
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Is it fluid? I’m not quite sure. That’s a good question. I think it is.
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Ellen Bauer: Because that was the main reason why I never used it.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Because it wasn’t fluid, yeah. Yeah, I think it is.
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Ellen Bauer: I haven’t checked that.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: … it’s definitely a good question.
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Ellen Bauer: Maybe we can… Now, we have spacing way better.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: And that’s fluid. So then on the post editor, you can allow styles to be changed dynamically through the editor settings. That is a PR that refers to the theme JSON. So you can I think, or to block extenders. Yeah, that’s for the extenders to update editor settings. Now you can make them dynamically. So you can have theme styles and then react to that, have through the editor provider. That’s highly technical and there is in the PR some example code for the experiments, but it helps theme developers or plugin developers to also change some of the styling dynamically, CSS or any other means. I think I’ll put that on the list of what’s new for developers on the developer blog. Where else? I think that we are on the end of 16.4 except for one more. There is an experiment for auto inserting blocks on the front end and the editor wire REST API. And the release post has an unusual amount of information about that, which is actually almost a… but it’s really cool how you can auto insert the… We talked about it, right?
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We talked about it here at the… It’s the experimental auto insert on the block JSON file where you can then say, okay, on the core common template for instance, add as last. And you have before, you can add blocks before, after the block you added to or as a first child or last child through the block on the front end. So yeah, definitely try that out, test it. And definitely, there’s a tracking issue also linked in the release post so you can see what other plans are there for this feature because it’s still, as I said, experimental.
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Documentation
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The documentation had a ton of changes, updates, and if you are struggling with some of the things because the documentation is not going far enough or deep enough, I would think that going through the release Changelog and look at the documentation issues to see what all changed.
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So there is an API reference documentation for the interactivity API, which still is, it’s probably not coming for 6.4, but it’s definitely already in the Gutenberg plugin as a private API right now so core blocks can use it. There’s an update on the Gutenberg release process documentation. So if you are a contributor and you think about, “Oh, maybe I want to lead one of those Gutenberg plugin releases”, it’s definitely worth looking into it because it made it more fluid for new people that have had an experience with GitHub and Gutenberg, but they haven’t done a release yet. There’s also a getting startup guide for the interactivity API, started the block API version three has been documented now, and the create block package received support, for example, property and template defaults. So the scaffolding tool create-block is now a little bit more comprehensive in what it offers as a tool. I think that’s it. Any comments on those last three, four things that we talked about, I talked about?
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Ellen Bauer: Not too much. I need to check out the… That’s exciting that you mentioned the create-block tool because I love to use that. I haven’t used it for a while. Now, I need to come up with a new block idea.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: Maybe not. I was so excited to do more design and theming again. I’m holding off with new block ideas.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, you mentioned that you… Yeah, after creating so many custom blocks.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, it’s a little bit… I loved it, but just working with customers that people, I think maybe because for us, knowing that we come from design and theme worlds, they get just way more excited about design and themes and patterns compared to blocks, the people who follow us in our work.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, definitely, because you see something…
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, yeah, visually.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: It’s haptical, yeah. I think the barrier for entry for custom blocks is sometimes a little harder. I can see that.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, it was really good for me to get into it and having that skill and I enjoyed it, but it’s a lot of work with you really have to put a lot of effort into your block to make them work and make them competitive. And yeah, at the moment, I don’t know if we want to do that.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: We don’t do it because it’s easy, we do it because it’s hard, right?
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Ellen Bauer: It is true, but it needs to make sense too. We just started building blocks because there was so much missing. And at the moment, we are fine with what we have. I mean, there are a few ideas we have maybe for blocks, but at the moment, we can build the designs we want to build with the blocks available and with our custom blocks so it works. And yeah, if we ever run into something we can’t do, then we will just create a block. Actually, if you get into it, it’s not, like for most of the blocks, for most things, it’s not so hard, it’s actually pretty easy now. It’s cool.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, and the create-block scaffolding tool has been worked on quite a lot in the last year and a half or so.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah. Yeah, it’s amazing. Yeah. In the beginning, I used to not like, I didn’t even have that available. Since we have that available, it’s really easy to, actually, it’s really easy to build custom blocks.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. And now, it’s a little bit more flexible as well because sometimes you, especially for agency developers who roll out just one plugin with all the blocks, you can now tell the scaffolding tool to just not create the whole plugin to just create a directory for one block and have the rest of it there. You can also distinguish between static block and dynamic block just with a command there or a flag respectively, and you can create your own templates. So if you have a process for creating blocks, you can make the tool work with your process as well with creating templates.
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Gutenberg 16.5
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So Gutenberg 16.5 was released this week, actually yesterday, and the release was done by Sioban Bamber and her release post is also online. And this version is again, bug fixes and had a focus on enriching the command palette even more and customized some more of the blocks that had it featured 219 pull requests by 63 contributors, including five new.
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So we are not talking through 219 line items with you, we only pick a few and that is the command. And that is getting to through the features. There was added new block related commands again to the palette, which was the add block selection, block transforms, block duplicate, copy, remove, edit commands like that. So when you highlight something, you can then have a command that transform to, and then it gives you a list of blocks that you can. So it’s quite an interesting push on those command, creating new commands for that. If you want to follow along and you have plugins that use the block editor and the site editor, there is some documentation in the dev notes for 6.3 on how to create new commands that you can then add to your plugin. So definitely something to look into. There were also fixes to make it render well in smaller view ports and support the commands without icons and make it update the preview in new tab command to reuse the right module for that.
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Yeah, and so those were some of the items that enhances the command palette. It also, in 16.5, there were some components updates and one of them is, we talked in 16.4 about the progress bar that also get additional update with this release 16.5, but there’s also an update to the modal component that it adds now a header action prompt to enable buttons or other elements to be injected into the header, which is pretty cool. And then enhances the overlay into action as well. So that is of course so much more interesting for developers, but it also is developers for blocks as well as for plugin developers because they can reuse the WordPress components.
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The column block received two enhancements. One is a stretch option for the blocks vertical alignment options, meaning that if a two-stretch through the full column, even if the others were longer. So if you have a three-column block, then one column can be shorter or longer than the other columns. And that was hard to correct with a spacer block, we talked about it, but that of course what a spacer block was good for. And now, you have a vertical alignment option where you say, okay, just stretch this to the full space. And then especially when you have backgrounds on them, it looks much nicer when the backgrounds are all in the same length of that.
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Ellen Bauer: That’s very helpful. I haven’t actually tested that, but it sounds very helpful. I have to retest it.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. Well, anybody should test it to see it actually does what you want it to do.
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Ellen Bauer: That sounds really helpful.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, I’ve struggled with that every time when I use a columns block that my columns are not lined up and then I fiddle 90% there and then the last 10%, I fiddle a half an hour with a spacer block to get it all matching up in that, yeah. And the second enhancement I wanted to mention is that now, if you press enter on an empty paragraph at the end, then you get exit out of the columns block. There was no way to, with a keyboard, to get out of the columns block. Now you can when you’re done writing and then you hit enter on an empty paragraph at the end of the block that you get out of it.
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Ellen Bauer: That also makes a lot of sense.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah. I haven’t used the columns like that much, to be honest, myself. I have to check it out again.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, it’s much more versatile now, especially with the different backgrounds for each column, different… You can do all kind of different… The single column has now so many design tools that it’s really helpful for your designs. There was some lacking design tools. They were only available for the full, for the columns block.
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Ellen Bauer: For the main.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, for the main column and now, it’s all you get…
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Ellen Bauer: For the…
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: … yeah, for the single column. Yeah, we always have to distinguish between the columns block and the column block. Yeah, and then other block updates like the file block got spacing options, the image block got aspect ratio support for the light box, the post content block got color controls. And this is the last one I wanted to mention is that the block titles have been changed to remove posts from it. So those are the ones like post author, post title, post content, post… Yeah. So because they’re pretty redundant, if it’s a title.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, there were a lot.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: … can be a post title and a page title and then it’s the author, but it’s the post author block on a page, why would I do that? So it makes more sense, but it also changes the alphabetical list of things. So if you wanted to look for titles, you always put title in and it gave you in the inserter the post title, but now it just says title. So some people are all very tuned in into what they see in the inserter and this makes the visual inserter a little bit different when it doesn’t have posts in it, yeah. They might not recognize it.
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Yeah. So the global styles now got a feature to reset to the default global styles revision thing, and then also reduce the visibility check on two to one revision. So you don’t… Yeah, if you only have one revision, there is no visibility check there. That’s just one of the refinements of things. On the block editor, there’s now a…
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Ellen Bauer: That is the… I haven’t actually looked into that, allow the layout controls to be disabled per block from theme JSON, but that sounds very helpful. But the next one, the fluid typography at minimum and maximum view port for that, like the theme JSON we can, in a theme, can configurate that ourselves. That’s what it means, right?
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Right, right. Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, that’s so helpful because yeah, that’s something that didn’t really work for now, like creating designs with especially a larger typography sometimes. You only want that obviously in larger screens and you couldn’t really control it. That’s really, really helpful to have. I love that.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. There was also a bug fix in an earlier version, I don’t know it was 16.2 or 16.1 where you could also, it changed the progression from screen size, a big font down to smaller screen sizes, it now has a different algorithm to do that, so it actually works. So it actually goes smaller on a smaller screen. Sometimes when you have, I don’t know, 160 big letters, even if you scroll them down to a minimum size, it wouldn’t scroll down. But now, you can also hard code those minimum and maximum with the theme JSON. So it’s even more control now than you just rely on the algorithm to do that.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, and also the layout controls. I mean, from my perspective, anything that we can get control of where theme JSON is amazing because yeah, it just makes it so much more flexible to have everything there. So to disable the layout controls per block basis I think is also pretty neat. I love to see that. Yeah, it’s really cool to see that there’s just more fine control and yeah, things just start to work way better.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: So what else is in there? I’m scrolling, scrolling through that what I wanted to do. But in the block editor, there’s also one PR that didn’t get any notice anywhere else except here in the Gutenberg Changelog, but also in Gutenberg Changelog podcast that there’s now support for container queries in editor CSS. Container queries means okay, if the container is something, the CSS changes in opposed to view port or media queries. And what happened was when if you enqueued a CSS file that used container queries, there would be an error message on the block editor. And that has been fixed and now, theme developers and designers can now use container queries in their CSS files without any problems with the block editor. I think that’s a step in the right direction because container queries are the new thing with CSS for, well, I don’t know how long, but I think it’s a better way to make a website or design flexible on screen size or container size rather than… The browser size rather than the screen size.
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So that is definitely a step in the right direction to be a little bit updated with the modern CSS. For developers, again, interesting that the style engine now includes namespace in layout class names for non-core blocks. So it’s a very slight change, but it makes it so much more controllable that you now can use a theme slugs namespace on your class names for your core blocks and it’s still for your blocks, your custom blocks, and it will be in the style engine and you can use your CSS. It’s consistent, you don’t have to… It’s not so arbitrary anymore. And you can override your other people’s stuff when you can add your namespace there. It looks a little bit unwieldy when you look at the CSS class name, but it’s definitely like so before, it only said my block, my test block is layout-constrained and now, my block, create-block, my test block is layout-constrained. So it adds the namespace just after the WP block in your CSS automatically.
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Ellen Bauer: Wow. Yeah, that makes sense. It just gives you more control.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Gives you more control and isolate certain CSS in class names. Yeah. All right.
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Experiments
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There are two, no three experiments now in Gutenberg. One is the backend for the fonts library is now in the plugin, and then there is also a feature to connect a paragraph to a meta custom field. So there is an effort to have a user interface to connect certain blocks attributes to a custom field, and this is the first test. It’s very early, there is a little UI with it, but that is definitely something for extensibility for plugin developers to test out that you can, when you register your meta field, that you also can add them to the sidebar and allow connections to certain blocks with it. I think that’s a terrific idea and it fills a gap that is missing, and it helps with implementers when they use something like ACF to create meta fields and then they can just add them to a decent blocks, but it’s very early stages so it needs people to be testing but also to discuss that with the core developers.
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And then the last one is a bootstrap minimal sync package. Well, it doesn’t, the name of the PR doesn’t really tell you what it actually is, but it’s part of the real-time collaboration efforts for phase three. Riad has put in little experiments and it’s really just a prototype or a proof of concept where you can have multiple people work on posts at the same time and see how that works. It uses the team has decided or thinks that the best external library to use is the Yjs library that uses web sockets and other in the pipeline tools. And yeah, it’s just the beginning of that little piece of it. And if you read through the PR, you hear a lot that’s not working, but the things, the main thing should be working. So test it out, try it out and just see how it feels.
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Ellen Bauer: I mean, that’s exciting to be able to start looking into it. I want to try it out.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, I think Riad did two years ago, already had a site that’s called asblocks.com where he tested some of that already. So this is bringing it into the Gutenberg repo and see how it works with actually a real implementation, yeah. So I’m just looking also at the fonts library. There is in the PR, it’s a backend test, but in the PR, there is a video where you can see how it would fit into front end view as well. I don’t think there’s UI yet in there, but the experiment is you need to turn it on so you as a developer can use the REST endpoints to figure out how you can include it into your plugin. If you are a plugin developer that works with fonts and has some of the functionality in there, it’s probably good to start working with it.
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Documentation
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And then there we are again, a ton of updates in the documentation, especially I just want to point out one page and that’s the page curating the editor experience because it also now includes how to include the starter patterns for templates and that it’s documented now, but that page is something I point many people to when they say, “Well, I don’t want our users to have access to this, that and other” and I said, “Well, you have tools to make them disappear, to disable things or to curate that a little bit further” and that’s the page that I point people to when they need to explore how they can switch off some of the functionality or some of the features of the design controls and global styles as well. Do you have any… Oh no, no, one more. I’m sorry, one more for the benefits and…
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Ellen Bauer: It’s a lot, I mean…
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: It’s a lot, yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: It’s a lot.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: For Node and NPM, no?
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: For the building tool update, get update?
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. The Gutenberg repo now update the minimum node version to 16 and NPM version to eight. Up until now, I was still working on minimum version 14 and I think six for NPM, but now you need at least be on 16 and on eight for NPM to build with Gutenberg and to, in some of the packages, require now the higher versions. It was mainly updated for I think the fund’s API, well, I’m not quite sure, I’m sorry. I might be misleading. There was a reason why it was happening now because one of the features, either the interactivity API or the fonts API or something like that, required a higher version of it. And so now, yeah, all the build processes now. So on the repo, you might want to rebase them and update your node install. Yeah, other external libraries also got updates like the Storybook or Learner or TypeScript Storybook is now on version 7, Learners on 7.14 and Typescript on 5.1, but that’s all for now. Now, we are at the end of it. Did you see anything that you wanted to explore that we overlooked?
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Ellen Bauer: No, I got a bit more quiet to the end of it. I’m sorry. It’s like I’m sliding into bed time time-wise, sadly.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: So what time is it there?
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Ellen Bauer: My energy level goes a little bit down. Yeah, it’s not that late. It’s just like toddler mom late. It’s 10:00.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Oh, yeah. No, it’s getting close to my bedtime too. So I only have one more thing on the agenda for today and that is the admin design kickoff post that was posted by section. And we only can, our listeners certainly need to go there and read it themselves, but yeah, dear listeners but also go there especially…
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Ellen Bauer: Very exciting.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: … it’s very exciting and it shows you where the site editor design can merge into WP admin in various different ways. And which part of it excites you most? You read through it?
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Ellen Bauer: The merge part because yeah, this side editor, it just looks like yeah, so it’s more modern and I can’t wait for it to merge as much as possible, as fast as possible. Just yeah, because it just represents what WordPress has to offer way more, like coming from a design background myself too. Yeah, we just want to see, see it more clean and modern and just more exciting to work in it, I think, and just more attractive, to make it more attractive to new users and it’s just beautiful.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. And I like…
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Ellen Bauer: And I love the site editing.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. Design?
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, the design of the site editing. So I can’t wait to have all of WordPress look like that.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Oh, I think you need to have some patience because…
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Ellen Bauer: I know.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: … it’s going to take many, many major releases.
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Ellen Bauer: I know. Yeah, sadly. If it would be up to me, we would do tomorrow.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, you and me both. I know. But what I like about it is that it’s more contained. So when you have a plugin right now, a plugin can put itself into the menus on the left-hand side and it.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, yeah, that surround it. Yeah.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: But now, you have a plugin section and then a plugin, and then whenever you click on it, the plugin takes over your screen, but it’s all plugin-oriented. So you have your tabs, you have your everything. And if you want to get out of the setting, you just do the back button and you’re back to the WordPress part. I really like those.
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Ellen Bauer: That’s true. Yeah. I mean, that’s the biggest complaint too. We hear from people that it’s like if a plugin can take over WordPress, it looks wild and it’s sad for WordPress when that happens. And all the promotions and whatever some people put in there, we don’t want to have that. And also finding plugin settings because some put them there and others there, and I think it just grew organically and we have to now improve that.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. And I think it’s also…
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Ellen Bauer: Just for users, I mean, it’s for the users. We do it not to punish people, but to make it a better user experience because at the moment, it’s just suffering.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: But I also can see that it’s so much helpful for the plugin developers to have a coherent WordPress design system that they can rely on and don’t have to come up with all the interfaces themselves because that code needs to be managed and maintained.
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Ellen Bauer: I like that you say that. And probably at the moment, a lot of people won’t agree, but I think too, you have to control that experience. I like it.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. Well, then the control of the experience you still have, just the design. So the user sees the same components over and over again and knows what to do with them. And what they do is the plugins definitely have a freedom on there, but I think if some of the plugins that are really big plugins can rely. And we had a live Q&A on the Gutenberg Times about that with the people from the developers from GiveWP, they do their whole revamp of their plugin based on the WordPress packages and components so that the open source project is actually maintaining their code. And they did additional of course customization on that, but they only have to maintain those instead of the whole plugin.
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Ellen Bauer: Makes their life easier. Yeah, makes everyone’s lives easier.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, and also the…
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Ellen Bauer: I think so, too.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: … and also the feedback loop is now about WordPress’ core elements and not about what the plugin can do and the bug fixes can be in core. It’s fixed upstream instead of just in the plugin, if there is something there that needs to be fixed.
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Ellen Bauer: That makes sense. Yeah, I love that. I can’t wait.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. Dear listeners, I don’t know if I shared that post with you, but I will post it again in the show notes with the live Q&A with the GiveWP developers, Jason Adams and John Weinstein probably yeah, it was the beginning of July. We had that live Q&A and we have the transcript and the video and all the resources there, so you can follow up on that. Anyway, well, it was so great to walk with you through those Changelog items.
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Ellen, thank you so much. And before we come to the end, do you have any announcements or comments that you will like our listeners know? And if people want to get in touch with you, where is a good spot to find you?
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Ellen Bauer: So first of all, thank you for having me. Yeah, I hope I could contribute a little bit to this episode.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: A lot, a lot. Yes, no.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah, so getting in contact with… So we have our website, ElmaStudio on AinoBlocks both work. And yeah, I’m still on, I still call it Twitter, I don’t care. Instagram and YouTube. I actually just about to get into creating a few new YouTube videos, so it’s all Elma Studio there on all the socials, except Twitter is my name, Ellen Bauer. Yeah, just on our website. And news is just that we are about to finish a new free theme and it’s inspired by the statement I made earlier that I just wanted to blog again. So we’re going to do a little blog theme that was just a design idea we had, Manu and I had and we are like, “Just, let’s do it.”
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And I’m actually excited to create a little private blog on this design and we have it almost ready, I think. I hope it will land in the WordPress arc repository within the next four weeks or so, depending on what we still need to do. And then there’s a second one in the works as well that is just a wrap up of a redesign we did, and we had all these materials and patterns and templates ready and we’re like, “Let’s do a theme out of that”. So that’s going to be another free theme coming as well. Yeah, just fun projects we did over the last month.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: I’m looking so much forward to that. Yeah.
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Ellen Bauer: Yeah. We just wanted to create something simple for a change and we’re like, “Let’s do that, just simple block themes or easy smaller themes, make them free themes”. So that’s what we did just out of fun, which is cool to do that too. Yeah, so that’s coming from us. Others, I don’t have anything else to say except thank you for having me. It was really exciting and it helped me a lot to catch up on things actually, which is so cool.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Oh, good.
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Ellen Bauer: And yeah, I’m just amazed and excited about all the changes coming and all the fine-tuning. It’s really so, so cool to see WordPress coming together in that way. Like you said, with the admin and stuff, it’s still a way to go, but I mean, we can see the first glimpses of that and really beautiful to see WordPress going into that direction. I’m really excited.
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Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. Well, I’m glad to be working with you on the 6.4 release. And dear listeners, before we end the show, I want to remind everyone the show notes will be published on gutenbergtimes.com/podcast. This is episode 88. And if you have questions or suggestions or news that you want us to include in the next show, send them to changelog@gutenbergtimes.com, that’s changelog@gutenbergtimes.com. Thank you all for listening. And in two weeks, we have Nadia Maya from Hostinger. She’s a content creator on Hostinger and she will go with us through the Changelog. Thank you so much, Ellen, and hope all will be well. Until the next time, bye-bye.
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Ellen Bauer: Thank you. Bye.
\";s: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, 28 Aug 2023 12:14:13 +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:19:\"Gutenberg Changelog\";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:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:77:\"WordPress.org blog: The Future of WordPress & What’s Next for Gutenberg\";s: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:35:\"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=15879\";s: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:84:\"https://wordpress.org/news/2023/08/the-future-of-wordpress-whats-next-for-gutenberg/\";s: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:5046:\"
Nearly 2,000 attendees gathered for two days of keynotes, sessions, and community-building conversations at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in the largest attended WordCamp US ever. Saturday’s sessions concluded with back-to-back keynotes by WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg and Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy.
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What’s Next for WordPress
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Josepha launched her keynote by celebrating 20 years of WordPress and reflecting on its journey from a blogging tool to the world’s most popular community-driven web platform. On WordPress as a platform for empowerment and change, Josepha shared, “The more people that know about WordPress, the more people can access the incredible opportunities that WordPress can provide.” And that sustaining the platform for future generations ensures these opportunities will persist. She added, “We exist for as long as people want to use our software.”
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The community is the key to sustaining WordPress, and Josepha touched on the importance of WordCamps, workshops, and events that create value, promote inclusivity, and spark inspiration. WordPress can be a catalyst for positive change in the life of a contributor, end user, or site builder.
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Concluding her keynote, Josepha asked the audience to think about the story they’d want to tell about themselves and their time in WordPress; and the story they would want WordPress to tell the world.
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What’s Next for Gutenberg
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Matt began his keynote with a touch of nostalgia, referring to a comment on his personal blog in 2003 by WordPress Co-founder Mike Little, and then looked ahead to the most recent release, WordPress 6.3. As this year’s largest release, it includes new features such as the Command Palette, a quick way (⌘+k on Mac or Ctrl+k on Windows) to search your site and access common commands.
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Matt continued, “WordPress never rests, so right around the corner is WordPress 6.4 on Nov 7… with some cool new features.” He shared that 6.4, like 5.6, will be an underrepresented gender-led release. A new default theme, Twenty Twenty-Four, is tailored for entrepreneurs and small businesses, photographers and artists, and writers and bloggers. Additionally, 6.4 will feature integrated font management and Image block options to expand single images for optimal viewing.
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Looking further into the future, Matt highlighted Phase 3 of the Gutenberg project, which will focus on workflows and collaboration, “moving WordPress from a single-player to a multi-player tool.” In that spirit of collaboration, a new #LMS working group will also bring WordPress learning management systems together to improve the web standards for courses and learning content.
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Beyond Phase 3, Matt shared thoughts about what it means to support WordPress many years from now. A new 100-Year Plan from WordPress.com is an exploration into long-term planning for your online presence. He encouraged attendees to be inspired by the region’s history, reflecting on what it would mean to honor the past while anticipating and planning for the future.
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Q&A
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A Q&A session followed the keynotes, with questions submitted by the in-person audience and live stream viewers.
I had a fabulous time on our Danube River Cruise. We walked the capitals of Austria, Hungary and Slovakia, Budapest, Vienna and Bratislava, learned about the long history of the region and had excellent food and wine tastings.
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In the past three weeks, a lot has happened in many corners of the Gutenberg project. It will take us more than one weekend edition to catch up.
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For this edition, I kept it mostly within WordPress team posts and articles. In the next edition, I will also include content and updated from the community again.
Justin Tadlock curated What’s new for developers? (August 2023). The seventh edition of a monthly series that cuts through all the noise, bringing you the latest features, updates, and fixes you need to know about to build on top of WordPress.
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Anne McCarthy announced Introducing WordPress.org/blocks “To better tell the story of blocks, both within WordPress and as a broader framework for folks to consider with their next project, a new page has been created on WordPress.org that attempts to pull together the ease and power of blocks into a single source”.
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In his Design Share: Jul 31-Aug 11, Joen Asmussen, reports on work by members of the WordPress design time. You’ll find listed various prototypes for the redesign of the Documentation and Learn WordPress site, the Showcase section of the WordPress site, and the already published design assets for the WordPress “Lionel:” 6.3 release and its new microsite and some early mock-up so of list views for the WordPress Admin section.
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Saxon Fletcher, contributor on the design team, published the first design mockups for the Admin Design Kickoff. You can review videos, and screenshots with a ton of explanation of challenges and considerations. The overall look feels like an enhanced version of the Site Editor screens and concepts.
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WordPress 6.3
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It’s probably just me, who feels that WordPress “Lionel” 6.3 was released a long time ago, instead of just two weeks and a half. It’s been a massive release and there is still additional information published, i.e., about the considerable performance improvements and the update to the Navigation blocks and features.
Anne McCarthy published the Roadmap to 6.4, the next major release of WordPress, led by an all underrepresented gender release squad scheduled for November 7th, 2023. A tight release cycle with the first beta scheduled for September 26th, makes this an ambitious list of features and updates.
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Part of the next WordPress release is also a new default them. Jessica Lyschik published the article Introducing Twenty Twenty-Four. “The idea behind Twenty Twenty-Four is to make a default theme that can be used on any type of site, with any topic.” she wrote.
This week, Siobhan Bamber, contributor on WordPress mobile app, handled the Gutenberg plugins release and published the release post What’s new in Gutenberg 16.5? (23 August). She highlighted the new commands and enhancements to the Command Palette and additional block support for multiple blocks including Details and Post Content blocks.
Ellen Bauer and I had a great time catching up since we met in person at WordCamp Asia. I was delighted that Ellen came on the Gutenberg changelog show to discuss the latest happening in WordPress and. The Gutenberg Changelog 88 episode will arrive at your favorite podcast app within a couple of days.
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Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners
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Although the deadline to post feedback for the latest call for testing from the FSE Program #25: Let’s start from the beginning has passed, it’s still a great set of instructions to test WordPress 6.3 and all the new features that come with it.
Anne McCarthy invites you to the next Hallway Hangout about Improving accessibility in the Site Editoron September 14 at 15:00 UTC. WordPress Accessibility team members Alex Stine and Joe Dolson will demo current of pain points and open a discussion about ways to resolve/address current, known issues.
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Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks
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Mary Baum published The anatomy of a letterform, part 2 of the six-part series, “Make your site’s typography make a statement’ on the WordPress Developer Blog. Personally, I enjoy the primer typeface, the deep dive into the terminology and genesis of a typeface and the role it plays on the web and for readers. It’s a great preparation for the new features coming to WordPress the Font Library, a way to select, store and manage fonts on your website.
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ICYMI: The 3-part series on Beyond Block Styles by Justin Tadlock is now available on the WordPress Developer Blog:
Tadlock wrote: “The goal of this series is to teach you how to work with the APIs that block developers get to play with every day. Only, you’ll use those features in a theme, instead of a block. And you’ll use code and techniques that conform to the guidelines for the WordPress theme directory.”
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“Keeping up with Gutenberg – Index 2022” A chronological list of the WordPress Make Blog posts from various teams involved in Gutenberg development: Design, Theme Review Team, Core Editor, Core JS, Core CSS, Test and Meta team from Jan. 2021 on. Updated by yours truly. The index 2020 is here
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Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor.
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If you had trouble getting definitive answers on how to handle assets with the iframe post editor after the WordPress 6.3,release, Nick Diego added a new page to the documentation that should answer all questions: Enqueuing assets in the Editor
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Michael Burridge wrote a tutorial on Styling blocks: empowering users with CSS custom properties describing a way how you can offer more styling options to used of your blocks beyond the settings via block.json. The post is available on the WordPress Developer Blog.
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Juan Ma Garrido posted a status update on the Interactivity API, that includes the links to the GitHub spaces for discussion and code, and a getting started guide.
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Ryan Welcher and Nick Diego invite you to a Hallway HangoutTo explore the power of block variations on September 14, 2023, at 18:00 UTC . An often overlooked feature, you learn how you can use block variations to extend existing blocks and can be as simple or complex as you like.
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Update on HTML API
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Dennis Snell published a Progress Report: HTML APIon the WordPress Make blog. It’s a longer post as he explains why and how the HTML API came to pass and what the future will hold.
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On August 30th, 2023, Dennis Snell, is also scheduled to be on the Developer Hours with Michael Burridge for an Introduction to the HTML API. The session will take place at 15:00 UTC.
\";s: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, 26 Aug 2023 03:53:54 +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:28;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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: Gutenberg 16.5 Adds New Commands to the Command Palette\";s: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:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=148129\";s: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:76:\"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-16-5-adds-new-commands-to-the-command-palette\";s: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:2713:\"
Gutenberg 16.5 was released this week with the biggest changes landing in the Command Palette. Users now have access to more block-related commands for block transforms and block actions, including the following:
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all transforms to the block has defined (e.g. to cover, to gallery, to columns, to file, to group, to media and text, for an image block)
“Together, these new commands not only enrich the command palette’s functionality but also improve the distraction-free mode by offering immediate access to basic functions,” Automattic-sponsored Gutenberg contributor Siobhan Bamber said in the release post.
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Improving the discovery of these new commands may prove challenging. Contributors are exploring displaying the contextual actions as suggestions immediately after opening the command palette, to scale with the increasing index of available commands.
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“Since the aim of this PR is to add so many commands, let’s not surface any suggestions yet,” Automattic-sponsored designer James Koster said. “We can explore that in a follow-up with a thought-out design which considers how to scale the display of so many commands, if necessary.”
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The Command Palette design was also updated in this latest round of version 16.5. Users with a keen eye may notice a new search icon aligned to the right, a reduced width, darker icon color, and more subtle changes.
Gutenberg 16.5 adds more block supports to the Details block, Post Content block, and File block to make them more customizable with controls for colors, block spacing, and padding.
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This update includes many more small enhancements and bug fixes, including improvements to the writing flow, build tooling, fluid typography, existing Command Palette commands, Snackbar component, and Global Styles. Check out the 16.5 release post for the full changelog.
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WordCamp US 2023 kicked off Wednesday with the Community Summit and the Contributor Day on Thursday. The main conference days begin this morning and will be broadcast via high-definition livestreams throughout the event.
In-person attendees will have live captions on the screen in the Woodrow Wilson and Cherry Blossom tracks. The captions are also available on personal devices with livestreaming captions. Organizers have set up Woodrow Wilson StreamText and Cherry Blossom StreamText, which are also available to those watching remotely.
Livestream viewers can watch for free with no tickets required. Check the schedule for specific times. Presentations you are interested in can be starred and emailed to yourself or printed for easy access.
\";s: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, 25 Aug 2023 13:07:56 +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:30;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:97:\"WPTavern: Post Status Celebrates 10 Years, Adds Joost de Valk and Marieke van de Rakt as Partners\";s: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:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=148199\";s: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:107:\"https://wptavern.com/post-status-celebrates-10-years-adds-joost-de-valk-and-marieke-van-de-rakt-as-partners\";s: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:4903:\"
This year Post Status is celebrating a decade of serving WordPress professionals with its member-supported community. The site was founded by Brian Krogsgard in 2013, and now runs an active Slack community with 2,083 members, a weekly newsletter with 4,300 subscribers, and a job board.
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As a testament to the community’s continued growth, Post Status announced it has added WordPress veterans Joost de Valk and Marieke van de Rakt as equity partners who have invested cash in the business. They will also be taking on active roles in leading the Post Status community – de Valk as CTO and van de Rakt as an advisor and editorial contributor.
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“Post Status has created the most important networking possibilities for us in the past and helped us grow our WordPress businesses,” van de Rakt said. “It seems only fit to contribute and to take on an active role in the Post Status community at this point.”
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Post Status CEO Cory Miller said the organization will be moving forward with “the same vision and values – supporting the business of WordPress, with an emphasis on agency owners.” Co-owner Lindsey Miller will be taking on a new role as CMO.
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Although maintaining the professional community remains their first priority, Post Status will be expanding with two new initiatives this year that will benefit both partners and members. The team has soft launched the new poststatus.com, featuring a new Partner Directory that showcases WordPress businesses.
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“I believe a healthy growing business ecosystem inside of WordPress is absolutely key to WP continued growth and success,” Cory Miller said.
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“We want to get a little more organized, professional as an industry, and that means cooperating, communicating, working together, with Post Status being that collective brand, showcasing the agencies, software and professionals of WordPress better.
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“The next step is our directory. We want to say, here’s our professional industry for those looking at WordPress for their web projects.”
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In addition to ramping up editorial commentary and analysis on industry trends, with the depth of expertise of new partners de Valk and van de Rakt, Post Status is in the early stages of planning an annual summit. It will be similar to WordPress’ contributor summit but for businesses and individuals who are making their way in the marketplace.
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“The second step is to gather together, talk business and what are we seeing, what are the issues, challenges, and opportunities as an industry,” Miller said. “That naturally gives us focus and initiatives to cooperate on together.
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“Most industries have this already.
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“Doctors, lawyers, big businesses have these kinds of venues and platforms for conversations about the state of their industry. We need that for WordPress and Post Status is taking next steps to do so.”
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These two initiatives are next on the organization’s roadmap, and with the new partnership they now have the resources to execute on them.
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“Showcase the collective, that’s our directory,” Miller said. “And gather us together to have the key conversations we need about where we’re going as an industry and community. That’s our summit.”
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Sponsors are what keeps the lights on at Post Status. The organization has historically been focused on driving individual membership for WordPress professionals but is shifting its focus on businesses as members now.
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“We want every WP pro in Post Status, this is their home, their trade association,” Miller said. “Those who work at WP companies or with WP as part of their gig, we always want to welcome them in to PS.”
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Post Status is one of the few WordPress organizations that has been operating for longer than a decade. Now that the Pressnomics event has been retired for four years, the WordPress community is sorely in need of an event where the business-focused community can connect and help each other grow WordPress’ success in the wider industry. Post Status is the organization best-suited to step into this role. To stay on top of the their efforts and plans and to support the business community, join as a member and/or subscribe to the weekly newsletter.
WordPress 6.4 will be shipping with a new default theme, expected in early November. The theme’s project leaders unveiled the designs and concept for Twenty Twenty-Four in an announcement on WordPress.org today.
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For those who have complained that past default themes have been too niche or too narrowly focused in design, this theme will take the reverse approach. Contributors are attempting to build the ultimate multi-purpose theme that can be used for nearly any kind of website, highlighting the unmatched flexibility of building with blocks.
“The idea behind Twenty Twenty-Four is to make a default theme that can be used on any type of site, with any topic,” core contributorJessica Lyschik said. “Because of that, and contrary to past years, it has no single topic. Instead, three use cases were explored: one more tailored for entrepreneurs and small businesses, one tailored for photographers and artists and one specifically tailored for writers and bloggers.”
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Last year’s default theme, Twenty Twenty-Three, was a stripped-back and minimal version of Twenty Twenty-Two, with a strong focus on community-submitted style variations. Like its predecessor, Twenty Twenty-Four will put the spotlight on some of the latest WordPress design features.
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“Twenty Twenty-Four will be a block theme fully compatible with all the site editor tooling and it will surface new design tools like the details block or vertical text,” Lyschik said. “Another key intent for the theme is to properly present whole page patterns and template variations so that users don’t need to assemble whole pages themselves, thus easing up their site building process.”
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Whole page patterns are a critical feature that all of the best block themes provide, as most people feel daunted when starting from a blank slate. If a whole page pattern is already pre-inserted on a new website install, users are light years ahead in their site building efforts.
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Twenty Twenty-Four features the Cardo font for headings and a sans-serif system font for paragraph text. Cardo is an Old Style serif typeface designed by David J. Perry in 2002 for “classicists, biblical scholars, medievalists, and linguists.” It grounds the design with a bit of sophistication but should be easy to swap out with the typography management features coming in 6.4.
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The initial previews of the theme don’t stray far from many of the traditional website designs you might see browsing businesses or portfolios. It leans more towards providing an invisible framework for the user’s own creations, instead of pushing a single, opinionated design. This design lets the Site Editor and design controls shine as tools that can unlock human creativity on the screen. So far it has received positive feedback on the WordPress.org announcement. Check out the post for more images/video, and information on how contribute to Twenty Twenty-Four’s development.
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Organic Themes, one of the oldest WordPress theme shops, was founded in 2009 in the town of Lahaina on the island of Maui, which was ground zero for the recent devastating wildfires. Until recently, Lahaina was home to Organic Themes co-founder David Morgan, who hosted the Maui WordPress meetups for years, and co-organized WordCamp Maui in 2015.
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Morgan and his co-founder Jeff Milone have been best friends since high school. In 2007, Morgan sold everything and moved to Oahu, working as a freelance designer while living out of his car after arriving.
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“While living on Oahu, Jeff and I began working long-distance on freelance WordPress projects,” Morgan said. “This led to the idea of starting a theme business together, and I invited Jeff to Hawaii in 2009. While he was visiting me on Oahu, we flew to Maui and fell in love with the island. We decided to start our business there.”
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Organic Themes operated out of Lahaina for ten years before Morgan eventually returned to the mainland to start his family in Sarasota, Florida. Milone still resides in Maui part-time.
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“We have friends that have lost their homes,” Morgan said. “We’ve been in touch with old neighbors and friends, and it’s been beyond shocking for us to see what has happened.”
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The company recently created the Kokua Lahaina website and apparel products as a way to give back to their community. The site is built on WordPress and WooCommerce and uses the STAX block theme. Organic Themes is donating all profits to the Maui Strong Fund, which provides shelter, food, financial assistance, and other services to those impacted by the wildfires.
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Work on WordPress 6.4 is kicking off with a post from Editor Triage Co-Lead Anne McCarthy that highlights everything the team has planned for the release. This will be the third major release of 2023, and is unique in that it’s being led by an underrepresented gender release squad.
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Although WordPress is moving into Phase 3 of the Gutenberg project, which focuses on collaboration, 6.4 will primarily extend existing features in the block and site editors.
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“Initial explorations for phase 3 will continue in the Gutenberg plugin, and any early wins will be added alongside the foundational work already planned in this major release,” McCarthy said.
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WordPress 6.4 is anticipated to introduce typography management features, including a Font Library and server-side @font-face CSS generation and printing. This means users will be able to browse a library of fonts in the admin, similar to how they manage media. It will not be dependent on the theme that is activated but will be a library that is extensible for plugin developers.
WordPress 6.4 will also ship with a new Twenty Twenty-Four default theme that will showcase the latest capabilities of block themes.
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McCarthy emphasized that the features published in the roadmap are “being actively pursued” but may not represent what actually lands in the final release.
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WordPress 6.4 is anticipated to be released on November 7, 2023, with Beta 1 expected on September 26.
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\n
[00:00:00] Nathan Wrigley: Welcome to the Jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley. Jukebox is a podcast which is dedicated to all things WordPress. The people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case, the state of the WordPress community in Australia.
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If you’d like to subscribe to the podcast, you can do that by searching for WP Tavern in your podcast player of choice, or by going to WPTavern.com forward slash feed forward slash podcast. And you can copy that URL into most podcast players.
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If you have a topic that you’d like us to feature on the podcast, I’m keen to hear from you, and hopefully get you all your idea featured on the show. Head to WPTavern.com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox and use the form there.
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So on the podcast today, we have Jo Minney.
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Jo is the founder of a small business that specialises in building websites for organisations, mainly nonprofits and the tech industry. With a background in engineering, Jo decided to shift her focus to website development using WordPress. She was excited about the WordPress community and joined her local meetup, eventually becoming an organizer.
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Jo is keen for the WordPress community in Australia to grow, and has been making significant contributions to that growth.
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In this episode, Jo shares her insights on the challenges of organizing WordCamps and meetups in Australia, where the large size of the country, and small population presents some unique obstacles. If you’re used to a European or north American setting, it’s really interesting how the geography of the country presents challenges not seen elsewhere.
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We discussed the importance of paying speakers and covering their travel expenses to create equal opportunities for freelancers and small businesses, as well as to give the Australian community a stronger voice.
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We talk about her journey with WordPress, starting from her early days as a coder in a different field, and navigating the community online. Jo highlights the need for in-person opportunities to learn and connect with others. Especially in a global community where the time zone differences and online platforms can be limiting.
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We chat about the challenges faced by the Australian WordPress community from limited resources and burnout, to the struggle of attracting new organizers and attendees. Jo share some exciting success stories, such as organizing WordPress events and hosting a successful do_action event.
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We briefly get into the need for more diverse voices and the importance of fostering, a supportive and inclusive environment. If you’re interested in hearing about how the WordPress community is doing in Australia, this episode is for you.
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You can find all of the links in the show notes by heading over to WPTavern.com forward slash podcast. Where you’ll find all the other episodes as well.
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And so without further delay, I bring you Jo Minney.
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I am joined on the podcast today by Jo Minney. Hello Jo.
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[00:03:40] Jo Minney: Nice to be here.
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[00:03:41] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah thank you for joining me. Jo is in Western Australia which means that the collision of the time zones is pretty severe on this one. It’s the middle of the afternoon for me which means it’s very, very late in the evening for Jo. So first up Jo, thank you very much for staying the course and being with us.
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I guess my first question, as always, it’s a pretty banal one but it’s worth asking anyway. Given that we’re on a WordPress podcast, we’re going to be talking about the WordPress community in Australia in particular. Would you mind just spending a moment just telling us who you are? What your relationship is with WordPress? Perhaps a little bit about the kind of job that you have, and the role that you have and all of that good stuff.
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[00:04:22] Jo Minney: Sure I can absolutely do that. So I am a small business founder like a lot of people that work with WordPress. I run I guess what you’d call a micro business. I have a grand total of three people in my team, and we build websites for mainly organizations. We work a lot with nonprofits and also a bit with the tech industry. So my background is actually engineering, and I threw in the towel and decided I didn’t want to do engineering anymore and started building websites instead.
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So in a nutshell what I do now, and how I use WordPress. And when I first started using it I got really excited when I found out about the community that was behind it and things like meetups and WordCamps. And that was yes, this is so exciting and went and joined our local meetup and none had been running for the last year and a half. So that was a bit sad. And then I reached out to the organizer who had previously run them and was like, hey, what’s going on? And she’s like here you go. And so I became lead organizer and the rest, I guess, is as they say history.
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[00:05:27] Nathan Wrigley: Did you find the community more or less as soon as you found WordPress? Did you have a nice bit of serendipity there? Because when I discovered WordPress it was many years before I realized that there was any kind of community. I purely viewed it as a piece of freely available software. And whilst I understood that the freely available nature of it meant that there was community involvement in building the software, I had no conception there was a community of people who would be meeting up in the real world or getting into the kind of discourse that they do, in all sorts of different directions. So yeah, to paraphrase that question, did you find the community right away?
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[00:06:07] Jo Minney: I wouldn’t say right away, but fairly soon after I started using WordPress. So I had done a little bit of coding before I started using WordPress but in a very different environment, working as I said in engineering. I was really lucky that my husband, who’s also my business partner now, also works in development.
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And when I first said I want to learn how to use WordPress and I’m going to use it to create my website for my consulting business, which back then was still in engineering, he was like no you can’t use WordPress. WordPress is the devil. He’s come around since then. He’s actually speaking at WordCamp US. We do a lot of collaboration projects now. So he builds custom web applications and my team do WordPress websites. And we do a lot of merging the two together and integrating them.
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When I first started using it I felt like a lot of the time the people that I was asking were a lot more superior at using it to me, and had a lot more experience. So reaching out online was a little bit intimidating. So I actually started looking quite early on in my journey for something that was in person, because it would enable me to kind of go and learn from other people without having to actively start asking questions on online forums, where often I was the only woman there, or I didn’t know if I was the only woman there, but I kind of had assumed in that space.
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[00:07:30] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah thank you. So in terms of the timeline of all of this, you may have mentioned it but forgive me I didn’t pick up on it. How far back are we going in history? What year? 2015, 2016, or later than that? Did you reach out and find these events?
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[00:07:48] Jo Minney: Yeah, so I think I started using WordPress in 2017, quite recently compared to a lot of people that are in the WordPress community. And I took over the meetup as lead organizer I think in 2019. I could be wrong it could have been 2018, but it was either 2018 or 2019. So it was only a year or so into the first time that I had actually touched the platform.
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[00:08:12] Nathan Wrigley: Okay so pre pandemic you discovered the real world community. So paint a picture of what it’s like in Australia. Now clearly you’re going to be able to paint that picture better describing where you live. But if you’re able to give us more information about Australia more broadly that would be excellent as well. And maybe during the course of the next few minutes we can map out how things may have changed since 2017, 2018, 2019, to where they are now.
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[00:08:42] Jo Minney: Yeah, that’s a great question. So I have a question for you in return, cause I know that you’ve been to Australia before. We talked about that earlier. Australia is pretty big. So do you want to have a stab at how big Australia is?
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[00:08:57] Nathan Wrigley: In terms of square miles, or just multiples of the UK.
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[00:09:01] Jo Minney: Either’s fine.
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[00:09:02] Nathan Wrigley: Okay so I would imagine that you could fit the UK into Australia, I’m going to pluck a number out of thin air, 35 times.
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[00:09:09] Jo Minney: I actually have no idea how many times you can fit the UK into Australia but I do know that it is about the same size as the lower 48 in the US. So it’s like 7. 6 million square kilometers, versus 8 million square kilometers for the US. So they’re pretty comparable size wise.
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Do you want to have a stab at what the population of Australia is compared to the population of the US?
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[00:09:34] Nathan Wrigley: Okay, so I’m going to guess Australia has 22 or 23 million people in it.
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[00:09:40] Jo Minney: It’s a little bit higher than that. It’s 26 and a half, thereabouts, million. Which is less than Texas. So think it’s really important to understand that one of the biggest challenges that we face here, and you would know this from having driven across the Nullarbor, is there’s nothing in the middle of Australia.
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We only live around the outside. So if you imagine the entire US but only having people live around the coastal cities and having the entire population of that whole continent being less than Texas.
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[00:10:13] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah that’s fascinating. So I guess if you’re listening to this and you’re a North American, the distance that you would have to go from east to west is comparable from say going, I don’t know, from Virginia to California. They’re on the same kind of scale but the population is significantly smaller. I guess what you’re trying to say is we’re spread out.
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[00:10:35] Jo Minney: Yeah, we really are. And I think if you’re in Europe, again, to travel the length of Australia or the width of Australia you’re traveling through multiple countries. Each of which probably has a higher population than what we do. So the challenge that we’ve got there is that our communities to start with, and I don’t just mean our WordPress communities, I mean our cities, the people that we have living here, are very small in comparison to a lot of other places in the world. So because our population is so spread out, it makes it really hard for us to hold in person events in the first place.
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So that’s a challenge that we’ve always faced here in Australia in building our community. And it’s something we were slowly starting to overcome. And we did before the pandemic have meetups happening in, I think, five different cities around Australia. And then obviously the pandemic happened and all of that stopped.
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But even before the pandemic started, in the city where I live, I mean it’s only 2 million odd people here, but we had never had a WordCamp in the whole time that WordCamps had started running.
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So if you think about someone who’s just coming into the WordPress community for the first time, and they learn about all of this stuff and then they find out actually we’ve got no meetups running. We’ve got no WordCamps running. We don’t actually have a community here. It can be really sad, and really soul crushing I guess.
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That’s kind of where I was at. So I got it in my head, I was like that’s it, I’m going to be the person that organizes the first WordCamp here in Perth. And to do that I reached out to a lot of the other organizers from around Australia, who are fantastic people. And some of them have been doing that for a really long time.
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And that’s probably the second challenge that we have which is burnout. And I know that this is not something unique to Australia. I know this happens everywhere. When you’ve got meetup organizers that are volunteers it’s not just rocking up for the time of the meetup and ordering some pizza. It’s organising speakers, it’s growing the community and actually making sure that people come along to it. There’s a lot that’s involved with it.
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And often it falls on one, maybe two, people to do that. And we really struggled to get more organizers, to get attendees, to get speakers. And when you look at that compounded with the fact that we have such a small population compared to the space we have, you can see how very quickly it becomes a challenge.
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[00:13:04] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah. I guess in Europe, as an example, the population density is extremely high. I’m guessing per square kilometre it probably is even higher than in the US. I don’t actually know if that’s true or not, but I’m imagining it is.
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The point being there’s lots of people. So the reservoir of people who may stumble into the community within a hundred miles of where I live there are likely to be a dozen, two dozen, a hundred, whatever that number may be. Whereas where you are, that number is going to be significantly lower. And so if somebody steps into the community but then gets that burnt out, or just gets fed up, or moves on, or just doesn’t wish to contribute to those events, there really isn’t that pool of people that you can dip into which would be present in North America or other parts of the world, Europe and so on.
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So if somebody moves on there’s often somebody that will take that role on again. And I know that in the recent past there have been discussions about whether or not, even in Europe and other places, the burnout and the replacement of people is more and more challenging. But I guess where you are it’s really acute.
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[00:14:13] Jo Minney: Yeah absolutely. And I think another thing that became a challenge for us is, you mentioned earlier a mutual acquaintance of ours, Cameron. And he moved to the UK. He wasn’t the only one. We actually had two of our other organising committee who we had spent the last couple of years trying to build up that community, and they also moved either interstate or international.
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So I am back to being the only organizer now for our local meetup. And we’ve now got three meetups around Australia running. So Sydney is definitely the most recovered. And a big part of that is because it’s got Will spearheading it who is phenomenal. Who mentors WordCamps and stuff like that, and has a lot of contacts. And also just because Sydney has the biggest population of any of our cities in Australia.
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Brisbane started up again. For anyone who doesn’t know Australia which is most people in the world, they’re in the the top right. So in the northeast of Australia. And our biggest WordCamp that we’ve ever had before the pandemic so it was November 2019 I think or maybe a bit earlier than that, it was in 2019 anyway. That was our biggest WordCamp we’ve ever had in Australia and that was 450 people.
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[00:15:29] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah that’s really interesting as a contrast, the last WordCamp London that I attended, which I think was in 2019. So that’s a subset of the events which go on in the UK. I think that event was about 600, something like that. WordCamp Europe is usually touching about 3,000. WordCamp US, although the numbers have been much smaller recently due to pandemic restrictions, you know eclipses 2,000 as well. So the magnitude, given everything that you’ve said, I guess we’re expecting the numbers to be lower.
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Were you saying 400 as the big flagship event in Australia, the Sydney one? Were you saying 400 because you thought that was a small number, or were you just saying it because that is the number?
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[00:16:11] Jo Minney: A little of both. 450 was actually in Brisbane. So I think actually a lot of the speakers at that had come from interstate, and that’s something that definitely we’ve noticed. Every WordCamp that we have in Australia people travel to it, because they’re so rare here. Even though it costs us an absolute fortune, we still have people flying to Brisbane, flying to Sydney, flying to Port Macquarie.
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And an interesting thing that I noticed was that a lot of the speakers were the same across multiple WordCamps in Australia because again, it comes down to that not having a huge population and we struggle to find speakers for our meetups. So you can imagine it’s equally hard to find speakers for WordCamps.
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So that’s a challenge there. Since post pandemic it’s become even harder. I know I’ve had the same conversation with the Brisbane organisers and the Sydney organisers. And I don’t know if this is something that other communities have experienced, but all three of us have found that our communities are essentially started from scratch again.
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So the number of people that have come back from pre pandemic communities is basically zero. So we had one person at our first meetup when we restarted that had attended a meetup before, ever. It’s not a bad thing, but it’s still a thing. And it’s something that I think has also become a challenge because it means that there aren’t people who are experienced with running events and that sort of thing. And how to put the word out, and what’s involved in organising them, and speaking with who is around to help out with that load.
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[00:17:43] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah. It’s interesting. In the UK there’s several factors which are making it more difficult to get that community engagement back up to the levels that it was pre pandemic. The first one is obviously just related to people’s desire to go out. They may have dropped out of the community. So there’s the process of, as you’ve just described, starting from scratch. So that’s one thing.
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But also the cost of ever so many aspects of life has gone much, much higher than it was prior to the pandemic. Particularly the cost of venue hire. Venue hire over here has become significantly more expensive, orders of magnitude more expensive. And so something that may have cost X 5 years ago, or 3 years ago is now possibly 3 or 4 or 5 X for the exact same building, for the exact same duration. So there’s all sorts of circumstances contriving to make it as hard as possible I think. And if you’re starting from scratch, that is even more of an obstacle.
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[00:18:48] Jo Minney: Yeah absolutely. And I am sure that London is probably about as expensive, maybe even more expensive, than Australia. So one of the things that I think is very different here, so those WordCamps that I talked about, even our biggest ones have always historically been at educational venues. So we’ve always used universities.
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And the one that we were planning locally here was at a TAFE, which is a technical institute. I don’t know what you would call that in places that are not Australia. That’s sort of always the kind of places that we’re looking at and we’re not talking about flashy hotels and things with 2000 people or conference centers. We’re talking about a university during their down times. So even trying to keep those costs really low, it was actually a real struggle for us to be able to fund. And I say us, I wasn’t actually involved in the organising committee for the last one, because I was still fairly new to the community at the time.
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But speaking to Will and some of the other previous organizers about it, A they have to wait until the end of the year to find out the availability for those venues. So it makes planning kind of a challenge. And B, one of the things that WordCamp limited us to, or really pushed for, was for us to keep the ticket prices down at 50 Australian. Which is like 30 Euro or 30 US. So trying to do that and then cover the rest of it, even using a really comparatively cheap venue like a university, was really a struggle still to meet the budget.
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And on top of that, in 2019 that was the first year that we’d had three WordCamps in Australia in the same year. So before that the most that we’d ever had was two. And I think that had only happened once. And what we found is that the organizers for those WordCamps were actually competing for funding. So the sponsors were like, oh I don’t want to fund WordCamp Sydney because we just funded WordCamp Brisbane, and it’s all the same people that are attending.
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So that’s something that has really been something that we’ve noticed, and it’s something that we’re keeping in mind when we go into the future planning WordCamps. While we know that they are historically encouraged to be very local events, that’s something that we’ve got to keep in mind. We are potentially competing against other cities for that attention where we don’t want to be. We want to be helping each other grow because there’s not enough of us to be in competition. We’ve got to be helping each other out.
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[00:21:15] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah. It speaks to coordinating at a higher level doesn’t it? The idea that, let’s say there’s three or five, that they were A spread out geographically, B spread out over time so that you weren’t trying to compete in the same month for a WordPress event. And that obviously, you’ve got to go a little bit higher up the pecking order to figure out all of that stuff.
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But from everything that you’ve said you sound fairly, I’m going to use an English colloquialism, you sound fairly chipper. Which means you sound fairly upbeat.
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[00:21:47] Jo Minney: Optimistic. Hopeful.
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[00:21:49] Nathan Wrigley: Exactly. But I want to probe into this, if you’re willing. How do you really feel about this? Because I can imagine that with all these setbacks and no shows, people coming in smaller numbers, the feeling that the community is dwindling. Do you get moments where you just think, oh this is really hardly worth my time anymore? Do you ever get those moments where you just want to throw in the towel?
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And if that is the case, I wonder if that is another problem which has to be dealt with, you know, people just getting fed up and moving on.
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[00:22:17] Jo Minney: Yeah. I won’t lie. There’s definitely been times where I’ve been like, is it really worth it? I am the only volunteer contributor that I’m aware of, other than my husband who is fairly new to it, in my entire state.
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We have one other contributor who’s full time at Automattic. So when it comes to the WordPress community everyone that I know is online. And that in itself can be really depressing. But it can also be really challenging for me to have a conversation with someone. And I do think that in person conversations are important, and you don’t communicate the same way online and over text and via Slack and things like that. Commenting on blog posts is what you do when you’re having a face to face conversation.
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And while decisions in the WordPress community aren’t made at WordCamps and meetups and things like that, conversations are started there. And those conversations help to drive future decisions. And that is really important. And it’s sad to me that Australia isn’t part of that conversation, and hasn’t been since definitely since pre Covid, but even before then we were struggling.
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So I think for me that’s one of the most disappointing things. For example, WordCamp Asia was earlier this year which was super exciting for us. There were some Australian people that attended that. There were no Australian speakers as far as I’m aware, which I don’t think is a bad thing because I think it was important for WordCamp Asia to really push for representation from Asian speakers, because that was the purpose of it. And I know if we were to ever have a WordCamp Australia in the future that we would be pushing to try and have as many local speakers as possible as well.
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But then if we look at some of the bigger flagship camps there were two speakers at WordCamp Europe that were from Australia, that I’m aware of. So I did stalk and go through every single speaker to check, because what else am I going to do with my spare time that I don’t have?
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So both of the speakers from Australia that were at WordCamp Europe were executives from companies that are very big. And I’m not going to name names. You can go find them yourself if you’re really interested, but they work for the Googles and the eBays and the News Corps.
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And, my concern is that globally the voices that are coming out of Australia are not the ones that are doing the work of rebuilding the community. They represent big interests, not most interests. And to me that’s the most concerning thing about the lack of community here in Australia.
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[00:24:51] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah. There is this phrase which sometimes gets brought out that the people that can contribute to the project, there’s sometimes a feeling that it’s those that can afford to contribute to the project. So in the scenario that you just described, if your very successful company are willing to send you, then you are now sitting at the table where potentially some of those decisions are being made.
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I realize that it’s far more complicated than that, but you have a voice because you’re able to go and prior success for the company that you work for, you know, it’s no reflection on that company. We want the companies to be successful but that’s just how it works. And it’s difficult for people, well such as yourself, to sort of feel like your voice is rising to the top and being heard, I guess.
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[00:25:34] Jo Minney: A hundred percent. And you look at the cost of flights, for example. So it’s easy enough to say we’ll just go to some of these. Get more people and fund them to go over. But flights are like 65% more expensive now than they were pre pandemic, for international flights from Australia. That’s bonkers.
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I certainly can’t afford to pay out of my own money to go over there. And even getting sponsorship, there’s nothing really in it. There is things in it for people, but it is a challenge to communicate them.
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I like stats, you might’ve noticed that already Nathan. One of my favorite stats about why I think it’s important for people to start paying attention to the WordPress community in Australia? So we have the 14th largest market for eCommerce in the world. Which is cool sure. Do you know how much of the web or how much eCommerce on the web is powered by WooCommerce overall globally?
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[00:26:30] Nathan Wrigley: Oh no. I know it’s a significant amount, but don’t know exact number. Yeah I realize it’s very high.
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[00:26:37] Jo Minney: Yeah like everyone knows the WordPress number, right? But nobody knows the WooCommerce number. I like this because I feel like it’s a better, accurate representation of websites that are being used. Whereas the WordPress number still takes into account a lot of sort of dormant sites and that sort of thing. So with WooCommerce it powers about 24% of eCommerce sites on the web globally.
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In Australia however, it’s less than 15%, and Shopify leads with over 20%. So what that tells me, and this is obviously just my interpretation of that data, but it tells me that in Australia we don’t have the same recognition and understanding of WordPress and WordPress tools as what there is globally.
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And that’s an opportunity for people who are earning lots of money from WordPress. For the Automattic’s and the Yoasts and these other big companies that have combined collectively an economy that’s like bigger than Tesla. It tells me that there is value in them paying more attention to Australia and helping us to rebuild the community because I don’t think that we can continue to do it the way that we’re trying at the moment.
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[00:27:45] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah that’s really interesting. That was a really interestingly presented fact because makes it, well it lays bare the opportunity that is maybe being left. The old adage of money being left on the table it kind of fits under that umbrella, doesn’t it?
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It sounds like you are A, you’re very committed to the community. I guess you wouldn’t be on a podcast like this if you weren’t. But B, you’ve identified that there’s a problem. So C, I guess, is what do we do about the problem? Do you have any endeavors? Do you have any thoughts? Do you have any intuitions as to how these challenges might be overcome? How you might reinvigorate the community?
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[00:28:24] Jo Minney: Yeah look I think a lot of people who are much smarter and more engaged and well versed in the WordPress community than me have already suggested a lot of the things that I look at and go that would really help us. Even though we’re not specifically the target audience for those things that are being championed.
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And one of those big ones is, and I know it’s probably a drum that’s been beaten to death, but paying speakers or at least covering their travel. Because as I said, I think a lot of those conversations happen at WordCamps. And even if you’re not paying people to attend them or that sort of thing, by paying speakers you’re giving the same opportunities to the freelancers and those small businesses as you are to those companies that are working for Google and eBay.
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So I think that’s one thing that would go a long way towards evening the playing field, and allowing the Australian community to have a little bit more of a voice. And I know that there’s a huge amount of work that’s being done to push for that in the WordPress community by loads of different, amazing people.
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And there are sponsorship options and stuff out there for people who are underrepresented in tech. But you know they have their challenges. I think that would go a long way towards helping.
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[00:29:39] Nathan Wrigley: I just want to just interject there again and inject the geographical piece again. Because it’s so easy to forget that for where I live, really I can hop into a car and I can be at a local event within an hour, less. You know and typically more or less everybody in the UK could probably drive in one of the directions of the compass and find an event fairly quickly. May not be all that frequent, but at some point during the calendar year, it really is different isn’t it where you are? You know you may just drive off in the same compass direction as I do but you end up in the middle of the desert.
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[00:30:13] Jo Minney: Or the ocean depending on which way you go.
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[00:30:15] Nathan Wrigley: So there really aren’t those opportunities and the fact that you have to travel further, as you’ve described, the cost of airline transportation has gone through the roof. So it may be that you simply are nowhere near something. And so just having a little bit of an offset for the cost, the remuneration as you’ve said for speaking. Simply that may be enough to propel some people to have a different opinion of it, and to make the effort to go.
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[00:30:40] Jo Minney: And I think the same thing goes, and it’s a similar argument, but for the volunteers who are organising. Maybe not all WordCamps but certainly flagship ones. When I was talking to Will about his experience with organising WordCamp Sydney back in 2019, he actually logged his hours for it and he logged 1,200 hours of volunteer work.
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[00:31:03] Nathan Wrigley: Wow.
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[00:31:03] Jo Minney: And I spoke to one of the organizers, not even the lead organizer, just one of the organizers for WordCamp Europe, on a call for the training team last week. We have like a coffee hour every Friday. Only for me it’s wine hour because I have a 12 hour difference from everyone else. And he was saying that doesn’t surprise him at all. And he definitely feels like he logged at least that much as a volunteer for WordCamp Europe.
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So I think there’s something to be said at least for flagship WordCamps and for that sort of core organising committee who are essentially taking on a second full time job to give them some kind of reason to keep doing that. Otherwise we are just going to keep losing volunteers to people that want to pay them.
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[00:31:47] Nathan Wrigley: It’s interesting as well because, suddenly into my head I’m thinking, I wonder if there just needs to be a different approach based upon different parts of the world. This is probably going to sound controversial. If anybody’s listening to this I’m just throwing it out there. Given what you’ve described in Australia, I do wonder if the Australian WordPress community needs a different set of parameters applied for a period of time.
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Because there are different constraints, there are different problems, than say you might have in Europe. And it might be that one size doesn’t fit all, and those considerations could be different for Australia. They could be different for, well pick any part of the world, any country. They might to be judged differently. I don’t know if that would ever happen, but it’s certainly an interesting idea.
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[00:32:35] Jo Minney: Yeah a hundred percent. And if you’ve got Matt’s ear, when we do manage to have our first WordCamp again after the pandemic, we’d love for him to come visit. Maybe that will help get some more people there. So we do want to make it a primarily Australian event with as many Australian speakers as we can get. But I think having the support and the ear of the global WordPress community would be important.
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[00:32:57] Nathan Wrigley: Okay so you’ve given us one possible way of reinvigorating things. The idea of financial help for, for example, speakers. If there’s any other ideas you want to just float, go for it.
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[00:33:09] Jo Minney: Yeah. So I think something that for me is really hopeful and something that I think is amazing, and I’m really excited about seeing it happen in the near future. And I’m not sure how much of this I am meant to be talking about but I’m going to anyway. And that is the idea that we’re going to have sort of a contributor tab in the latest WordPress release. Sort of about page.
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And a little bit more information about that because something that has really been a challenge is that, because again, as you said, you don’t just bump into other contributors here, you have to actually seek that out. And a lot of people don’t realize that that is something that they can do. That you don’t need to be able to code to be a contributor.
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And I think that the two things go hand in hand. So by contributing to something you’re feeling like you’re part of the community and you feel like you’re not just giving back to it, but also receiving from it, because you get to be a part of that conversation and the direction of where everything is going.
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And if we can broaden the people who know about that and make sure that they’re informed. So your average WordPress user or developer has that information sort of plonked in front of them with, hey, did you know that these are a whole bunch of things that you can do that don’t require you to be an absolute guru at PHP?
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Then I think that that’s something that’s going to be really exciting, and hopefully attract more people who historically haven’t been involved in that community.
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[00:34:36] Nathan Wrigley: Great. Any other suggestions or we can move on?
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[00:34:39] Jo Minney: I think they’re the main ones for me. Just trying to increase the representation in any way that we can. I like the idea of the new WordCamps but I’m not sure that anything has really come up that is the new format for WordCamps. I’m not sure that anything has really come up that has sounded like it’s going to be a super fit for us. So if anyone’s got ideas we’d love to hear them.
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[00:34:59] Nathan Wrigley: Can we just dwell on that for a minute? So I spoke to Angela Jin who is the Automattician who, broadly speaking, she steers in many ways the different bits and pieces. And one of the things that we talked about on a recent podcast episode was about this new idea of WordCamp’s having a different flavor. Perhaps more localized, perhaps localized around a specific theme.
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So it may be that there would be an SEO one. Or there might be something about blocks. The idea being though that rather than having an event in which everything goes, you would lock it down a little bit and encourage people to attend if they are into that particular niche, if you like. So having looked at those proposals, none of that’s jumped out. That’s curious.
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[00:35:46] Jo Minney: I think one of the reasons on that for me is that there still seems like there’s going to be, maybe not 1,200 hours worth of volunteer work, but a significant amount of volunteer work to make it happen. And we’re struggling to get 20 people at a meetup. So I personally don’t have the time to put in even 400 hours of volunteer work, or even 50 hours of volunteer work to have eight people show up to an event, and be the only person who is organising and running it.
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[00:36:17] Nathan Wrigley: Yeah that does make sense. Obviously you are operating in a completely different system. I think the endeavor of these new WordCamps is to try and shake it up, because I think although the Australian example that you’ve just described seems to be more severe, I think the feeling has been that over the whole of the international community the numbers have perhaps dwindled a little bit and there are challenges in getting people to come back.
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And so trying new things out, the hope would be that some of it sticks and some good ideas would rise to the surface. But I do like the fact that you’re open to new ideas. And it may be that somebody in the next year puts on an event which isn’t an absolute runaway success. And it’s just quirky in some way that people like, and you may be able to borrow that example.
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[00:37:06] Jo Minney: Yeah absolutely. I think two things that I would love to see happen more of in the community in general is local contributor days. So that’s something that we’ve tossed around and we’re fortunate we do have one full time Automattician that lives in my state.
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So he works on Gutenberg, and while he doesn’t super love public speaking he does get up and do it anyway because he knows that there’s not really anyone else with the same level of experience and expertise as what he’s got. So super grateful for that. Tell Dan thank you. But I think having a contributor day locally would be a great way of driving more sort of enthusiasm around the community.
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But to do that we need to have enough people that can help run it. And I’ve never even been to a contributor day myself, so that’s not something that I really feel comfortable running. And hopefully that will change after WordCamp US. So I will be going to my first contributor day. I’m super excited about that. So that’s something that we’re hoping to do.
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And another thing that we actually did in 2020 right before the pandemic hit, that I would encourage any other struggling communities to consider as a way to, I guess reinvigorate, but also bring the community closer together. And again, it’s a huge amount of work, but it is so rewarding. And that’s the do_action events. So I’m not sure if you’ve heard of these before Nathan.
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So we ran a do_action event back in January of 2020, and it was so fun. So much chaos. We built eight charities websites, theoretically in a day. I ended up finishing off most of them over the following six months. But just for the rewarding experience of bringing that community together and seeing a hundred volunteers in a room, trying to use WordPress to help these charities was phenomenal. And I think it’s probably, when I look at what’s happening and I’m like, oh, is it really worth it? I think back to that. And that’s the thing that keeps me going.
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[00:39:08] Nathan Wrigley: During the last few years, has the community, I know that the real world events have been on hold, but have you got a thriving online event set up? Are there things that are going on in these cities which are online and regular and what have you? Or is it really just that even the online stuff has gone away as well?
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[00:39:30] Jo Minney: Will did run some online stuff. There’s a two and a half hour difference between Sydney and Perth, so our community didn’t attend a lot of that stuff, but I know that he did have some good attendance for a while. I think post pandemic, a lot of people got burned out with Zoom. They just didn’t want to Zoom all the time. And I get that, a hundred percent get that. I’m on video calls pretty much all day, every day with my clients. And I think it’s great that this technology opens up so many doors, but I can also understand that it can be exhausting.
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In terms of things like Slack, we have really struggled to get our local community to use Slack. We actually have a WP Australia workspace, so that has started to bounce back. But it was essentially dead for a couple of years. And there was basically no conversations happening on there.
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Locally, what I’ve found, we tried a bunch of different platforms. People don’t go to Meetup. We struggle even to get people that come to our meetups to use Meetup. So, the one that we’ve had the most success with, which is, sucks for me because I don’t use it, is Facebook. So we’ve actually got a local community group on Facebook, and I log in like once or twice a week to check for comments on there, and that’s the only time I use Facebook, so if that’s where people are, then that’s where I’ll go to try and get them along. But yeah, online not great either, so.
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[00:40:58] Nathan Wrigley: Well, I think probably we’re just approaching the amount of time that we’ve got. So I will just ask that if anybody is listening to this who feels that they could help, obviously if you’re in Australia, that would be, I guess, an added bonus. But you know, even if not, if there’s some way that you feel that you could help. Jo, where would we contact you? Is there an email address or a social handle that you use?
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[00:41:24] Jo Minney: I’m Jo Minney on most socials. I am recently on Mastodon, because I got mad at it being rebranded on the bird, that’s no longer a bird. And if people want to email me all of my stuff, all of my contact details are on my website. So jominney.com is my personal blog, and always happy to have a chat.
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[00:41:45] Nathan Wrigley: Jo Minney, I really appreciate you chatting to me today about the state of the WordPress community in Australia. Thank you so much.
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[00:41:52] Jo Minney: Thanks Nathan. It’s been very fun.
Jo is the founder of a small business that specialises in building websites for organisations, mainly nonprofits and the tech industry. With a background in engineering, Jo decided to shift her focus to website development using WordPress. She was excited about the WordPress community, and joined her local meetup, eventually becoming an organiser. Jo is keen for the WordPress community in Australia to grow, and has been making significant contributions to that growth.
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In this episode, Jo shares her insights on the challenges of organising WordCamps and meetups in Australia, where the large size of the country and small population present some unique obstacles. If you’re used to a European or North American setting, it’s really interesting how the geography of the country presents challenges not seen elsewhere.
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We discuss the importance of paying speakers and covering their travel expenses to create equal opportunities for freelancers and small businesses, as well as to give the Australian community a stronger voice.
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We talk about her journey with WordPress, starting from her early days as a coder in a different field, and navigating the community online. Jo highlights the need for in-person opportunities to learn and connect with others, especially in a global community where time zone differences and online platforms can be limiting.
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We chat about the challenges faced by the Australian WordPress community, from limited resources and burnout, to the struggle of attracting new organisers and attendees. Jo shares some exciting success stories, such as organising WordPress events and hosting a successful do_action event.
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We briefly get into the need for more diverse voices, and the importance of fostering a supportive and inclusive environment
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If you’re interested in hearing about how the WordPress community is doing in Australia, this episode is for you.
\";s: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, 23 Aug 2023 14:00:00 +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:14:\"Nathan Wrigley\";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:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:33:\"HeroPress: From WordPress To Emma\";s: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=5766\";s: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://heropress.com/essays/from-wordpress-to-emma/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=from-wordpress-to-emma\";s: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:10005:\"\nHere is Emma reading her own story aloud.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Pre Emma
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My parents are both into tech. My dad – a Computer Engineer, and my mum – a Semiconductor Engineer, met in the ’80s in Silicon Valley. The romance that started between them eventually led to me, a techy kid who loved doodling on the walls just as much as building computers with her dad.
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Kid Emma
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I can remember Y2K, the Covid of its time in the tech world. My dad and his colleagues were at all the server rooms “just in case”, and we celebrated at a Korean Baptist Church “just in case.”
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I remember the first AOL trial CD – with 30 whole minutes of “FREE” internet, my first IM (instant messenger) username (snugglebunny – I know, I know), free calls after 9 pm, and putting the phone to your ear only to hear a blasting of eeee-oahhh–eeee–uuuuu that told you the internet was on.
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I also remember when our one family computer turned into three personal ones—no more having to wait your turn. Technology was changing.
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Now you could use your home phone and the internet at the same time, and videos went from a 2-day loading speed to 2 hours.
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By the time I was in university, we all had the internet in our pockets. I had a laptop that was way too heavy for its size, BUT my dad’s work computer screen still looked like the matrix.
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Uni Emma
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My first WordPress interaction happened when I was in university studying Marketing and Strategic Communications. I started a blog about working as a barista for Starbucks. I was learning HTML5/CSS (yeah, way back then), practicing the basics of the technical side but also enjoying the creativity of designing what my “readers” would see, such as fonts, colors, and layout. I was really putting my newfound knowledge to the test.
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I didn’t know it just yet, but I was starting to connect my love for creativity with the tech world.
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The days were filled with tweaking code, and the nights were filled with stories. Stories of customers, fellow baristas, and observations watched from afar. The regulars, the missed connections, the extraordinary amount of times someone missed the toilet when they were trying to poo. But that didn’t last long; I got my degree, and life went forward, but my blog stayed behind.
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Twenties Emma
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The next time WP made an appearance in my journey was when I started a blog about being a teacher in South Korea. Stories of coffee as the common denominator turned into the tall tales of a not-so-Korean Korean living in a world that she didn’t know much about. The students and teaching were one thing; the community of expats was quite another. Spending time with such a varied group of weirdos was how I realized there is more to life than a 9 to 5. We shared our stories about how we each got there.
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Ex-military, farmers, film-extras, photographers, journalists, developers, semi-pro footballers, each sharing where they were from and how they got to where they are now.
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With each closed door, another opens, and sometimes more doors than you can imagine. My blog didn’t last long. But the way of life (traveling and meeting interesting strangers) has lasted till now.
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Present Emma
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Fast forward to now-ish.
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I’m the Head of Content at Hostinger.
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I decided to return to school for Computer Engineering and Cyber Security, so I moved to Lithuania. The goal was to get another degree and a visa to the EU, but instead, I found Hostinger, the perfect sweet spot for tech + marketing. Fast forward through COVID, through my graduation, and re-enter WordPress. I didn’t actually think “work” could get much better until the WP Community was introduced into my life.
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I found out then that all those things my dad used to say about “finding a job that doesn’t feel like work” are actually true.
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I’m talking about waking up excited to see what work throws at you, what fires you can put out, what changes you can implement. What can you do today that can make it better than yesterday? That’s when work doesn’t feel like work. That’s when you know you’ve got it good.
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Anyways,
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I joined the WP Slack community, where I was amazed by the number of people, the friendliness, and the amount of information. I had major FOMO for not having had this as a constant in my life until now.
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Enter a new team: Documentation. Now they had their priorities straight. Documentation, words, content, and CONSISTENCY– who knew there was a world of Emma’s out there? Not to mention, it was a collective group of people who were there because they wanted to be there, not because they were told. We all had a common goal. Content may be King, but Consistency is Queen.
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Then came WordCamp Asia 2023. Hellooo, Korean baby Jesus! It was like being thrown into a sea of open doors. Everyone was kind, welcoming, intelligent, silly, happy, joyful… insert 1000 more adjectives here. AND the best part is, everyone is a WordPress nerd and loves to just talk about WP. Was I in WP heaven?
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I found a place where I could be unapologetically me. Genuine Emma. Not one of the many Emma’s in the world, but this Emma. Me.
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Since then, even more doors have opened. I volunteered as an MC. I wanted to see if I could make these stage fright butterflies into something more. I’ve spoken at events and presented at work, but WordCamp was a whole other level. The acceptance, the kudos, and the ease of knowing that everyone was rooting for me to succeed was a breath of fresh air. I took these teachings, experiences, and skils back to Hostinger and it changed the way I led my team and looked at projects, issues, etc.
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So here we are. Volunteering for my 3rd flagship, looking back at my life full of twists and turns with WordPress as my mile markers. I didn’t always realize that it has been a constant in my life. It taught me to write, it taught me to code, it taught me to express myself. It taught me that everyone has a place in WP and all are welcome.
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Bonus:
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While revisiting my WordPress journey, I stumbled upon an old post; even though I had to make a few updates to it, it’s a nice TL;DR.
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Poet Emma
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There once was a girl Who had more than a skip-and-hop in her step Dancing along a string of lights
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One day she noticed – in the sea of her peers To the left were wide eyes and skin as pure as snow To the right was darker skin and hair long, silky, with flow
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Her eyes were not as blue as the 7 seas and crystal waters Her eyes were not brown tree rings filled with stories passed down and reincarnated Her eyes told a different story From her white ancestors– a victory ring protecting what was to come With a starburst of wildflowers shining through the heart With speckles of green, and blue, and brown She had a little bit of everyone But it didn’t turn her frown upside down
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Some of her friends turned red like a tomato Under the hot desert sun While others began to glow a beautiful brown But hid in the shadows till it was gone Her skin did a combo Not red nor brown, Olivey yellow And added a milky way of stars dusted across her nose
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Her friends packed brown paper bags and Superman lunch boxes Filled with tortillas or crustless sandwiches Hers had rice, kim, and a yogortut No one wanted to trade
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Straight A’s were a must! If not, you were grounded She thought this was the same for all the kids But she was wrong
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Fast forward 20 years Her eyes have seen the world Dipped her toes in the 5000 islands Scaled waterfalls after riding her bike up a mountain Jumped from a plane over sand, water, and snow Tickled her taste buds from bugs to Van Gogh
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Her eyes have not changed But other have She no longer is the girl who gets the question, why are her eyes like that? But she is now the girl who gets the question, how do I get eyes like that?
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She no longer longs for her freckles to be gone But now appreciates them as they come, and miss them when they’re gone She no longer wonders why studying was an important loop But now she is always ahead and has a stronger work ethic
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She still wonders She still looks with her eyes The same eyes that were once filled with confusion and doubt But now her eyes embrace it And are ready for the next route
\";s: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, 23 Aug 2023 12:07:14 +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:10:\"Emma Young\";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:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:23:\"Matt: I Love WordCamps!\";s: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=95743\";s: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:39:\"https://ma.tt/2023/08/i-love-wordcamps/\";s: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:5867:\"
One of the cooler things the WordPress community started doing in 2006 was putting on these events we called WordCamps. A big one is about to kick off in National Harbor, Maryland (which is basically Washington DC, but we’re calling it National Harbor for some reason).
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You might be wondering where the name came from: Tim O’Reilly, of the O’Reilly books that so many of us learned from, hosted a hacker event called Foo Camp but it had limited capacity, and was therefore something of an exclusive invite (one time I eventually went I slept in a sleeping bag in an office). Tantek Çelik had been invited the year before, but not in 2005, and I had never been invited, so a group of us put together a more “open source” event in response called BarCamp. (The name was an allusion to the foo/bar concept in teaching programming, and the picture on that Wikipedia page was in the living room of my first apartment in San Francisco, as you can tell by the stand-up piano and Thelonious Monk poster.)
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Foo had the idea of a conference created on-the-fly by its organizers, and also had a radical event where there wasn’t even lodging but all that mattered was getting people together. Bar took that format and opened up the invite list, and did it quickly with just a few weeks of planning. They also open sourced the format so BarCamps could be hosted anywhere in the world, and many were. The following year I riffed on that and made the first WordCamp in San Francisco, at the Swedish American Music Hall, the same place Stewart Brand hosted the first hackers conference in the 70s. (We didn’t know that at the time, it was just a coincidence.)
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WordCamp took the everyone-is-welcome from Bar, mixed it with the attendees-create-the-conference from Foo, added a little more structure and planning so we ended up with these really groovy community-organized events all over the world where people come together to learn, contribute, get to know each other, and have fun. WordCamp San Francisco evolved into WordCamp US, our flagpole event for North America. (I like that US can mean “us” as well as United States.) There have been hundreds of WordCamps around the world, and when we were getting started I used to go to all of them; if someone put one together I’d cram into an economy seat and fly there. I can’t make it to all of them anymore, but I still go as many as I can, and they’re some of my favorite days of the entire year.
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It’s so cool to see a group of people from the eclectic backgrounds come together because we love making the thing that allows people to make the thing. (WordPress.) You’ll see CEOs of multi-hundred million ARR companies brushing shoulders with techno-anarchists, all brought together by a common hope and belief in the four freedoms of open source and the mission of WordPress—to democratize publishing, put the best tools in the world in the hands of everyone, for free and for freedom.
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This year’s WordCamp US is exciting to me for a bunch of reasons. One, I love spending time with other contributors to open source. Second, WordCamp organizers iterate and learn, and so every year I’m excited to see what’s being trialed and what’s improved, because they just keep getting better and better. Third, we’re doing a community summit beforehand for the first time in a while, which is why I’m already in Maryland. Finally, on the amazing schedule are two speakers I’ve invited to bring something new to our milieu.
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Ken Liu is one of my favorite sci-fi writers and will be giving an amazing talk weaving together the history of narrative craft and modern publishing and technology. I’ve read almost everything he’s written or translated, and seen him talk once before, and couldn’t be more curious to hear what he’s bringing to the WordPress community.
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Simon Willison is an engineer and blogger I’ve followed since the earliest days of WordPress, and recently he’s been one of the most interesting explorers in the new world of AI and LLMs. He’ll be sharing with us how to tap into this new alien intelligence, how it can accelerate our coding, security, and mission to democratize publishing.
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So if you ever have a chance to go to a WordCamp, take it! It may be too late for this one, but you can follow the livestream (visit the site once the conference starts), and plan for next year. We also make sure all the talks accessible on WordPress.tv later.
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Foo Camps still happen, by the way, and have branched into science and such, and who gets invited is a whole deal. They’re still awesome.
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I hope what people see here is that creativity and doing generates more creativity and doing.
\";s: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, 22 Aug 2023 23:30:18 +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: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:38;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:139:\"WPTavern: WordPress Coding Standards Maintainer Warns Maintenance Will Be Halted Without Funding: “This Is an Unsustainable Situation.”\";s: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:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=148049\";s: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:142:\"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-coding-standards-maintainer-warns-maintenance-will-be-halted-without-funding-this-is-an-unsustainable-situation\";s: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:4425:\"
WordPressCS 3.0.0 was released this week with what its maintainer, Juliette Reinders Folmer, says are significant changes to improve the accuracy, performance, stability, and maintainability of all sniffs, and its handling of modern PHP. The project is a collection of PHP_CodeSniffer rules (sniffs) that are used to validate code developed for WordPress, helping developers meet the requirements of the official WordPress Coding Standards.
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This update adds many of the non-controversial rules proposed in March 2020 to the Coding standards guidelines but leaves those that generated more discussion or objections for a future release. Many of the new rules are now available as sniffs in WordPressCS.
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Version 3.0.0 includes important architecture changes. Most notably, Composer is now the only supported way to install WordPressCS, as this update includes four run-time dependencies. The release contains breaking changes for those using ignore annotations and those who maintain custom rulesets or have created a custom PHPCS standard based on the project. A detailed upgrade guide is available for these various scenarios.
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WordPressCS is largely maintained by Folmer and a small group of volunteers, but the future of the project is in jeopardy if they cannot get funding. Folmer said it is currently in a good place with this release but this will not last long with the pace at which PHP is moving.
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“WordPressCS 3.0.0 has cost thousands of hours of work and the vast majority of work has been done by one, mostly unpaid, contributor, with code review support from two fellow maintainers,” she said.
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“Unless funding is found to continue maintaining WordPressCS and its dependencies, the future is bleak and maintenance will be halted.”
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Folmer is calling on corporation and agency users of WordPressCS to find a way to fund the project’s continued maintenance and development. She elaborated on the dire need to have more contributors involved:
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If we are being realistic, the bus factor of WordPressCS is 1, which is the most dangerous situation for any project to be in.
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A large part of the WordPress community, including WordPress Core, relies heavily on the WordPress Coding Standards for code quality and security checks and while the community has been pretty vocal with copious complaints about the delayed release, barely anyone has stepped up and actually contributed.
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The majority of the work for WordPressCS requires specialized knowledge. Knowledge which can be learned with enough time investment, but in recent years nobody has stepped up to do so.
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This is an unsustainable situation and it ends now.
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WordPressCS has become one of the most highly used open source tools in the WordPress ecosystem that is now in a vulnerable place with so few contributors. Although many developers commented on the release, thanking Folmer for her efforts, no contributors or corporations have publicly stepped forward to support the project’s continued develpment.
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“With over 15 million installations on Packagist and a 400% increase in monthly installation in the past three years alone, WPCS’s popularity is surging and shows no sign of stopping,” Lucas Bustamante, a backend developer specialized in automated tests, commented on the post. “The situation is alarming as WPCS is a foundational tool that flags not only code style issues but also critical security issues, making WordPress a more secure CMS. Letting WPCS fall into limbo poses a risk to the entire WordPress ecosystem.”
\";s: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, 22 Aug 2023 20:55:56 +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:39;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:\"Do The Woo Community: All About the Page Builder Summit with Anchen and Nathan\";s: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://dothewoo.io/?p=76079\";s: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://dothewoo.io/all-about-the-page-builder-summit-with-anchen-and-nathan/\";s: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:434:\"
We chat about the Page Builder Summit, how it started, what it takes to run the summit and what you can expect in September.
\";s: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, 22 Aug 2023 08:07:00 +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:5:\"BobWP\";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:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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 Chrome Browser Extension Enables One-Click Plugin and Theme Testing with WordPress Playground\";s: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:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=147997\";s: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/new-chrome-browser-extension-enables-one-click-plugin-and-theme-testing-with-wordpress-playground\";s: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:4052:\"
WordPress Playground, an experimental project that uses WebAssembly (WASM) to run WordPress in the browser, makes it possible for users to quickly test plugins and themes without having to set up a local development environment.
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Ordinarily, testing a plugin or theme with Playground requires visiting playground.wordpress.net, which will instantly create a real WordPress instance with admin access without having to install PHP, MySQL, or Apache. It runs inside the browser using a SQLite database. Adding a plugin or theme to the instance is as easy as appending the slug to the URL when creating the test site:
A new Chrome browser extension, created by LUBUS, a development agency, makes this even easier by adding a “Playground” button to theme and plugin pages on WordPress.org. Users can fire up a sandbox instance to test drive a theme or plugin in just one click.
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I tested the extension and it works as advertised. It’s a neat little shortcut for launching a Playground instance without having to remember the URL or get the plugin/theme’s slug to append to it. The video below shows a site created with a selected plugin installed in under 20 seconds.
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“We have been using Playground internally a lot for testing out plugins, and quick demos for internal or client meetings,” LUBUS founder Ajit Bohra said. “We often find a plugin or theme which we would like to test drive. It involves copying the slug of the theme or plugin and using them in the URL. To make this quick we thought of building and quick browser extension to add a button on wordpress.org to quickly launch a plugin or theme in the Playground.”
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Bohra posted his process of creating the extension in a thread on X. He used the Plasmo framework, which offers a dedicated runtime for building browser extensions, taking the project from idea to built in approximately 30 minutes.
Bohra said the browser extension is currently a proof of concept that he would like to further extend with more settings based on feedback from users. He also hopes to collaborate with the Meta team in the future to see something like this added to the plugin and theme pages on WordPress.org so that users don’t have to rely on a browser extension.
\";s: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, 22 Aug 2023 00:56:50 +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:41;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:\"Do The Woo Community: Podcasting and Doing the Woo at WordCamp US 2023\";s: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://dothewoo.io/?p=76107\";s: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://dothewoo.io/podcasting-and-doing-the-woo-at-wordcamp-us-2023/\";s: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:411:\"
Better late than never. Been thinking and talking about WordCamp US for the past few months, so yes, I will be there.
\";s: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, 19 Aug 2023 13:09:52 +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:\"BobWP\";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:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:164:\"Post Status: Translations Across the Project • Admin Design • New Blocks Page • Working Group on Organizations Supporting WordPress • Contributor Mentorship\";s: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:159:\"https://poststatus.com/translations-across-the-project-admin-design-new-blocks-page-working-group-on-organizations-supporting-wordpress-contributor-mentorship/\";s: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:159:\"https://poststatus.com/translations-across-the-project-admin-design-new-blocks-page-working-group-on-organizations-supporting-wordpress-contributor-mentorship/\";s: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:19035:\"
This Week at WordPress.org (August 7, 2023)
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With just a few days before Community Summit, Contributor Day, and WordCamp US, many initiatives across the project are gearing up for time well-spent together. Docs, Training, and several other teams are joining together to work on translations and localizations in a way that supports Gutenberg Phase 4 Multilingual.The Design team is working on the…
Thanks for reading our WP dot .org roundup! Each week we are highlighting the news and discussions coming from the good folks making WordPress possible. If you or your company create products or services that use WordPress, you need to be engaged with them and their work. Be sure to share this resource with your product and project managers.
Are you interested in giving back and contributing your time and skills to WordPress.org?Start Here ›
Get our weekly WordPress community news digest — Post Status’ Week in Review — covering the WP/Woo news plus significant writing and podcasts. It’s also available in our newsletter.
Build your network. Learn with others. Find your next job — or your next hire. Read the Post Statusnewsletter. Listen to podcasts. Follow @Post_Status and LinkedIn.
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This article was published at Post Status — the community for WordPress professionals.
\";s: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, 19 Aug 2023 03:00:27 +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:\"Courtney Robertson\";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:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:116:\"Post Status: WordPress 6.3 • Release Workflows • European Union Cyber Resiliency Act • Gutenberg Accessibility\";s: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:37:\"https://poststatus.com/wordpress-6-3/\";s: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:37:\"https://poststatus.com/wordpress-6-3/\";s: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:18226:\"
This Week at WordPress.org (August 7, 2023)
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WordPress 6.3, Lionel, has been released. It’s time to test out the details and footnotes blocks, give the WP_DEVELOPMENT_MODE a try, and check out the new Get Involved tab on the Welcome screen. The WordPress Training team announces its first course cohort for Learn.WordPress.org. The course will cover Developing Your First WordPress Block, and offer…
Thanks for reading our WP dot .org roundup! Each week we are highlighting the news and discussions coming from the good folks making WordPress possible. If you or your company create products or services that use WordPress, you need to be engaged with them and their work. Be sure to share this resource with your product and project managers.
Are you interested in giving back and contributing your time and skills to WordPress.org?Start Here ›
Get our weekly WordPress community news digest — Post Status’ Week in Review — covering the WP/Woo news plus significant writing and podcasts. It’s also available in our newsletter.
Build your network. Learn with others. Find your next job — or your next hire. Read the Post Statusnewsletter. Listen to podcasts. Follow @Post_Status and LinkedIn.
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This article was published at Post Status — the community for WordPress professionals.
What do WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and TYPO3 have in common? Leaders across these Content Management Systems have come together to express their concerns and seek dialogue with EU legislators regarding the proposed Cyber Resilience Act. They emphasize the vital role of Free and Open Source Software in fostering innovation, security, and economic prosperity. We’re just…
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WP 6.3, Whose Ticket, Merging Gutenberg during Alpha, and EU CRA
Thanks for reading our WP dot .org roundup! Each week we are highlighting the news and discussions coming from the good folks making WordPress possible. If you or your company create products or services that use WordPress, you need to be engaged with them and their work. Be sure to share this resource with your product and project managers.
Are you interested in giving back and contributing your time and skills to WordPress.org?Start Here ›
Get our weekly WordPress community news digest — Post Status’ Week in Review — covering the WP/Woo news plus significant writing and podcasts. It’s also available in our newsletter.
Build your network. Learn with others. Find your next job — or your next hire. Read the Post Statusnewsletter. Listen to podcasts. Follow @Post_Status and LinkedIn.
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This article was published at Post Status — the community for WordPress professionals.
\";s: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, 19 Aug 2023 03:00:27 +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:\"Courtney Robertson\";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:\"\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\";s: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:\"Post Status: What is Coaching & What Are Key Times to Have a Coach with Kelly Gallagher\";s: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:96:\"https://poststatus.com/what-is-coaching-what-are-key-times-to-have-a-coach-with-kelly-gallagher/\";s: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:96:\"https://poststatus.com/what-is-coaching-what-are-key-times-to-have-a-coach-with-kelly-gallagher/\";s: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:47578:\"
In this podcast episode, Cory Miller introduces his professional coach, Kelly Gallagher, to discuss the role of coaching in personal and professional growth. They explore the difference between coaching and therapy and how they can complement each other. They highlight the value of coaching for high achievers and how it can help with career changes, improving performance, and enhancing communication skills. Cory shares his personal experience with coaching and expresses its positive impact on his life.
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Episode Highlights:
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[00:00:00] The role of coaching and introduction of Kelly Gallagher-Cory introduces Kelly Gallagher as his professional coach and discusses their working relationship for four and a half years.
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[00:01:25] Kelly’s background in business development and coaching training- Kelly shares her background in business development and her coaching journey, including her training and pursuit of a master’s degree.
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[00:07:38] The difference between coaching and therapy, and the value of coaching for high achievers-Cory and Kelly discuss the definition of coaching, the distinction between coaching and therapy, and the importance of coaching for high achievers.
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[00:11:39] The distinction between therapy and coaching-Discussion on the differences between therapy and coaching and how they complement each other.
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[00:12:41] The value of having a coach for high achievers-Exploration of the benefits of coaching for high achievers and the importance of self-awareness.
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[00:13:55] Times when people seek coaching-Identification of common situations that lead individuals to actively seek coaching, such as career conflicts, the desire for personal growth, and the need for support during organizational changes.
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[00:23:31] The role of coaching and the importance of ICF certification-Discussion on the role of coaching, the significance of ICF certification, and the difference between coaching and therapy.
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[00:28:34] The value of having a coach for high achievers-Exploration of the benefits of coaching for high performers and the potential negative stigma associated with coaching as a remedial tool.
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[00:31:58] Coaching for entrepreneurs-The essentiality of coaching for entrepreneurs, particularly in navigating change, making big decisions, and improving performance.
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[00:34:24] The role of coaching and seizing opportunities-Cory reflects on the importance of having a coach and making the most of opportunities in business.
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[00:35:18] The importance of personal happiness and joy in work-Kelly discusses the significance of finding joy and personal happiness in one’s work and how it affects performance.[00:37:09] The passion for helping others and personal growth-Kelly shares her passion for helping others find personal growth in coaching and how it is more rewarding than pure sales.
Elementor enables web creators to build professional, pixel-perfect websites with an intuitive visual builder. Quickly create amazing websites for your clients or your business with complete control over every piece, without writing a single line of code. Join a vast community of web creators from all around the world who deliver exceptional websites using Elementor.
Cory Miller (00:00:00) – Hey everybody. Welcome back to Post Status Draft. I’ve got a special guest today and I’m excited because I’ve worked with this awesome person professional for I think it’s been five years now. Four years? No, probably four and a half years now, Kelly. And. So back when I had just sold items, I was working the, you know, my job at trying to transition team, get some things done in the year after we had sold and I was starting to percolate. Okay, I’ve got this huge career change coming up, this huge business, whatever change in my professional life. And I sought out a coach and found Kelly Gallagher. So she’s my professional coach for four and a half years. We’re going to have a great conversation talking about coaching times when it’s so helpful to have a coach. And I’ll share personal experiences, too, but you’re in for a treat today. So Kelly, thanks so much for being on the podcast.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:01:02) – Thank you for having me. I’ve been watching some of your podcasts, and I’m just honored to be the subject of one of them.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:01:07) – So thank you.
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Cory Miller (00:01:09) – I often refer to Kelly as my secret weapon because a lot of the big things that have happened in the last five years, for sure in my life I’ve rehearsed, practiced, talked through all of these with Kelly. So, Kelly, tell us a little bit about your background.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:01:25) – Um, Cory, I came from a business development specialty within corporate America, specifically pharmaceuticals and the medical industry, and also diagnostics and lab testing. So I was a road warrior. I was out closing deals and my responsibilities escalated and escalated to the point where. Um, the last ten years, I was with a diagnostic lab, and I was also training other salespeople. I was interviewing them, hiring them and then coaching them. But I didn’t know I was coaching because I wasn’t sure even what coaching was. I wanted to take over the training department. So I was told, Well, you have no experience, even though I was already doing it. So I challenged and said I would like to go back and get my masters.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:02:16) – And I entered the coaching program, which is a just gold standard industry. I don’t know. It turned out to be one of the best. And so I entered that. And then while I was doing it, I thought, why not just get a master’s in business administration? Because I already know these things. So I went to school for five years and it was the best five years of my life. Um, I learned that I love to learn, and I think that may be what separates good coaches from great coaches. Is that. Constant wanting to move the bar up, that constant going to class mentality to be at another level. And that’s what’s really defined my career. There’s not really a time of the year when I’m not in continuing education and it’s my passion. I just want to be a master of my craft. So that was my journey. The interesting sidebar is I was told you can do all this, but if your sales performance drops, we’re done. We’re not paying. I said, okay.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:03:29) – But the more I studied coaching and communications, the higher myself through. And there’s actually a correlation between the two. It doesn’t seem like there would be, but I learned how to really listen. I was a good listener to begin with, but I became just a great listener and observer of behavior. And I also learned how to challenge people. So if a buyer told me, yes, yes, I’m definitely going to get the contract signed. And I sensed a hesitancy, I would call them out and go, you know, you’re sending one thing, but I’m hearing something else. It sounds like you’re still uneasy. And a lot of times by doing that, I could tease out that they weren’t going to buy it and we can have further discussion. So the coaching actually when I finished up. My sales career. It was as far as I could take it, but I owe it all to the coaching training.
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Cory Miller (00:04:32) – That’s awesome. Now, I know you have ICF credentials and all that and you can share a little bit about what ICF is, but so I know you are very involved there.
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Cory Miller (00:04:45) – Have done there’s so many regular like you said, I do a lot of work with mental health practitioners and there’s such a very, I would say regulated, but no like very intense and purposeful way to do therapy. A lot of guidelines, a lot of regulations, a lot of licensure things, ethical consideration, continuing. Ed But coaching has so much of that too. And that’s where ICF comes into yes.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:05:12) – And unfortunately, there’s not a specific license. I wish there was, but because there isn’t, the consumer has to really be discerning. And one way to start is that ICF because it’s the gold standard and for coach is not doing continuing education and involved with ICF. I don’t know. Chances are there will be less rigor to what they’re going to be able to do. It’s not that they wouldn’t be good coaches.
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Cory Miller (00:05:40) – Yeah, I think the ICF stuff is strong. Sometimes I feel like it’s a little bit too limiting, but I go, Gosh, it’s so good because it’s trying to really professionalize the coaching industry where anybody can just say, Oh, I’m my coach, I’m a life coach, whatever it is.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:05:57) – People just hang out a shingle and say, Boom, magic, I’m a coach. I two think it can be limiting, but I offer a bit of a hybrid because I have so much business experience. I’ll often tell my clients, Hey, I’m going to shift out of coaching if you want. Is it okay if I put on my business act and they almost never had anyone say no in interviews? And so then I’m able to interject a little, you know what this happened to blah, blah, blah. And I think that’s what differentiates me from other coaches. But the ICF standards are just critical. And the other thing about the ICF is you have to have 250 hours of continuing education to keep getting the licensure. That’s not a license to keep, you know, being indoors. And so that really raises the bar and enables the coach to really grow because you’re constantly taking a course. Yeah.
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Cory Miller (00:07:02) – So super, super strong. By the way, if you’re listening, you want to look if the coach has ICF certifications and all that, that’s really important, rigorous, rigorous work that they do to keep that up means to me it goes through taking it very seriously their profession.
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Cory Miller (00:07:19) – So Kelly, what is a coach? We’re going to spend some time talking about the times in which coach has been so, so valuable to your clients, to me, and we’re going to share experiences around that. But first, I kind of want to get a baseline of like, what is a coach?
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Kelly Gallagher (00:07:38) – Great question. Mean a coach. I had this conversation this morning at the pool at 5 a.m. Someone said, Oh, you’re going to coach. They just want content. I said, No, that’s not really what coaching is. I’m not really delivering content. I think a coach is someone that walks on a journey with a professional who wants to raise the bar. Um, it can be a life coach too. So then you’re walking the journey with an individual who has an area of life where they want to improve or progress. And that’s still the same formula for going through the coaching process, whether it be an executive or whether it be. Someone who wants to increase communication with their husband or wife.
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Cory Miller (00:08:25) – So, yeah. And part of how we were working together when we first started working together was I was going to the same school you went to, which is fantastic. University of Texas and Dallas and their coaching program is incredible. And being mentored by you. And because I was getting asked when when I left our teams and I was trying to do my own thing, I thought, okay, it’s going to be coaching People go, What is it, Coach? What do you do? And I was like, Oh gosh, I’m struggling with these. But it’s so much that it’s that walking alongside a person on a journey and I like what you added to it, is like they want to raise the bar, they want to do something more. And, you know, I have so much reflected about my business entrepreneurial career for the last 15 years ago. If I had a coach from the beginning, it would have been so much better in many ways. Not just success, success for sure, but also health clarity.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:09:23) – It’s funny you say that, Cory, because even 20 years ago when I was in pharmaceuticals and I was doing very well, had I had a coach, I would have been a rock star because there were rough edges that I couldn’t see. You can’t see them in yourselves the way someone else can who’s actively listening to you.
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Cory Miller (00:09:43) – Yeah. Well, and you know, the parallel we always give is sports. You know the best. Greatest of all time. Athletes have coaches and have people around them. Like you just assume they wake up and they’re just as good naturally. No, they work on their craft. And I think about that so much. Like, I know you work with a lot of high achievers and oftentimes so many of the entrepreneurs I’ve worked with very high achievers too. I’ve had the pleasure of having people on my team big time, high achievers. And you just go, like, if you really want to do well in what you’re doing, you need to have somebody that’s on your side.
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Cory Miller (00:10:23) – Nobody does it alone. I think that’s the fast that we perpetuate in our culture and especially in business, like with entrepreneurs, is like, Oh, I’m the rockstar. I do this by myself, that you got these icons out there. You know, Steve Jobs is the one you hear over and over and over 100,000 times. You go, He didn’t do it alone. No, there’s no way you can do it alone. And having someone in your corner that’s helping you perform at the highest level is so critical.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:10:54) – Yes, I agree. And, you know, oftentimes people will also say, well, isn’t it like therapy? I would call it therapy. Ten x. Because therapy’s great and I think everyone should go through that process at some time in their life. I really believe in it. But at some point it’s limited because it’s just keeps moving into the past and feelings and often sad feelings. Whereas coaches moving the person forward so high achievers get bored in therapy after a while, after a while, and they might go back and forth to therapy.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:11:34) – But generally they find that coaching helps them because it’s goal oriented.
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Cory Miller (00:11:39) – Yeah, well, and I know there’s a big distinction between therapy and coaching and really, you know, really try to their distinct things. And oftentimes probably you have taught this mentioned like therapy is looking back, coaching is looking forward. Is that how you kind of see that?
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Kelly Gallagher (00:11:56) – Yes. And you know, as a coach and a credentialed coach, I’m ethically bound if I feel like someone continually goes into therapy. Waters and themes, um, I’m bound to refer them on to therapists till they are more stabilized. And then oftentimes a lot of my clients are in therapy and coaching together. They really work well hand in hand.
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Cory Miller (00:12:22) – Yes. In fact, for the bulk of the time right now, I am not currently seeing a counselor, however, for the last see two months, but for the bulk of the time we’ve worked together have had a counselor and a coach. So I think their yin yang, their.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:12:41) – Right. And the people that come to me and have had some therapy, even if it was limited, they have just a little bit more self awareness.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:12:49) – So coaching progresses faster.
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Cory Miller (00:12:52) – Yeah. If you’re doing your work to.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:12:55) – Because other otherwise get clients. Sometimes we’ll say, Well, what does it matter how I’m feeling about this? Well, it matters a lot because, you know, your heart is just as involved in these decisions and actions and creative things you’re asking yourself to do as the frontal lobe of your brain. So they are connected.
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Cory Miller (00:13:14) – Yeah. Okay. So we talked about what coaching is a little bit we talked about the distinctions, therapy versus coaching and how they’re additive and can exist together. And in fact, or even better sometimes, oftentimes, especially in my experience, I would say. Well, I’m curious, Kelly So I know my own personal experience is related to our coaching professional relationship. But I’m curious, what are the times you you see people getting into the meat of this kind of conversation between us is like, what are those times when people go, okay, they’re thrust out to go actively look for a coach and end up, you know, in a in a room or a meeting with you.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:13:55) – I would say that generally there’s some type of struggle. It can be a conflict at work. That’s a huge one because that dips into, well, do I want a career change? And sometimes people come and they don’t know what they want. They’re just not happy. Um, people who want to progress with that and find meaning and integrate what they’re learning about themselves will come to coaching because that process. It really it’s like turbocharging the job search and turbocharging people to take interviews and move on and move up without really any kind of formal instruction to just that self-awareness that it builds. So that’s one of the big ones. Um.
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Cory Miller (00:14:44) – Let’s talk about struggle for a second. So struggle back to that. So is that so you mentioned a couple of factors there. I want to hit both sides. One is maybe I need to make a change, like move out of what I’m doing. But there’s another one, which is maybe I want to get promoted or have been promoted or, you know, within an organization to and I’m curious your experiences around around that too.
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Cory Miller (00:15:10) – So I like that it starts with like there’s some kind of struggle and they’re seeking outside perspective and help support with that. But it starts with some things they’re trying to change and wrestling against. Sounds like.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:15:24) – Right? And many times, you know, when you’re in a new position or you’re in a position where you are striving to do something else within that company, you will conform to their expectations and almost wear a mask. The to the degree that you lose something in the translation because then you’re not really connecting with your creative side or your problem solving side or your heart. And so a lot of work can be done to find that balance for people. The other thing that touches on is fear of failure. Your fear of failure is. It’s just a sweet spot because so many. Points of wanting to change. If we whittle down and we go with the client, what’s beneath that? What’s beneath that or what’s beneath that? And we get down to the core or the middle of the onion. It’s fear of failure.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:16:19) – And that’s that’s just a part of being human. No one wants to humiliate themselves or fall down. But I think, too, in our society, think about schools nowadays. Everyone’s given a trophy. Soccer, Everyone’s campaigning, trophy swimming. Everyone makes the team. No one’s not on the team. Great. So children are raised to not really fail or understand that they founded something and think in a way, I like the philosophy, but in a way I think I see a lot of young adults who come out into the world and they are terrified of not getting a trophy of not. And the reality is, in real life, you don’t get that many trophies.
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Cory Miller (00:17:06) – Yep. Well, we that was that fear of failure thing. We, we talked our last coaching session about that specifically and totally like, you know, when you’ve especially if you’ve been accustomed to winning, doing succeeding and then you hit some failures and or trying to do anything big and new, take that next job, start that new endeavor, whatever that is, and that, you know, oh, this is not a guaranteed success.
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Cory Miller (00:17:35) – So that that definitely resonates.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:17:37) – Right? And if I fail, that also relates to a further theme of then the fear of being actually seen for who you are. Um, yeah, it’s a heavy topic and it can take a while to work through, but it’s, I think most of my clients will say that’s valuable work. And it’s not that they become fearless, but I think they’re able to notice the emotion name and then kind of negotiated.
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Cory Miller (00:18:08) – Yeah, you mentioned the word emotions. And I think when I first started working with you, I didn’t I didn’t go to that realm. I was, you know, okay, more intellectual thinking process and stuff. And you’re extremely helpful with that. And probably because of some of the, you know, understandings between therapy and coaching or misunderstanding to say, I didn’t really get into that. But I think our best work has come with the emotions. Like my my definitely I’ve benefited every time we’ve talked. I’ve been better for it. However, I think the most profound times is when we get into, okay, I’m doing this thing.
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Cory Miller (00:18:48) – It’s an event, like you said, a struggle or something new or a change or something I’m preparing for. But then okay, the emotion around that and understanding that and leveraging, you know, really deep dive into that where I’m trying to improve. I can’t remember how many times you’ve said to me, okay, well they are not in this call. What is the what about you? And I was like, Oh man, doing that hard work, which is made I know it’s made me better as a professional and a leader for sure, because oftentimes you kind of redirect back to me and go, okay, well, they’re not here. Let’s talk about what this means to you, for you. And I’m always like, Well, let me take a deep breath on that one.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:19:31) – That’s a hard one. I learned that actually didn’t learn that at Utd or anywhere. I learned that as a young rep out in the field and I complain about these idiot customers. Right? And the manager told me once, he said, Turn your rearview mirror to your face.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:19:48) – And I didn’t. He goes, Now look at that. That’s the person that would have to change. The client’s not going to change. And it was the most profound thing. It kind of hurt my feelings, but it was so true.
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Cory Miller (00:20:01) – Well, I’ve talked through everything with you from partner team issues, all that. And it’s been so helpful because I think oftentimes kind of thinking, okay, yeah, they’ve got to change. There’s something with them. And the real work, profound and deep, that continues to get deeper is what does that mean for me about me? What do do I need to change something and what is that? And those are the times really in reflective work that I go, okay. And more and more I think I’m getting it. Or I go, okay, So something I’m not aware about myself potentially pointing outwards and then going, I kind of need to turn the rearview mirror back to myself.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:20:46) – Back to your face? Yes.
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Cory Miller (00:20:48) – It’s not the easiest thing to do, but I’m glad you do it.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:20:50) – It’s not the easiest thing to do. And in periods of conflict or intense conversations with bosses or calling people, you’re supervising, it’s extremely hard to stop yourself and say, wait a minute, who am I? And yeah, it’s it’s really, really hard. But I think as people progress in coaching, they become almost a coach within themselves.
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Cory Miller (00:21:16) – Yes. Yes. I can hear you quite a bit doing that.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:21:21) – Yeah. Oh yeah. So that would be my goal is that when I’m not there because I’m not there all the time and I don’t know of it, even though I know so much, I don’t know all of it. But my goal would be when that person’s gone for a week or they’re in a high stress situation, they’re able to somewhat coach themselves through it.
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Cory Miller (00:21:44) – Absolutely. Well, okay. So we talked about like the struggle conflict. Something’s going on there. Want to do reach something new? Maybe they’re evaluating a big change. I mean, that resonates with me. I was that’s how we kicked off our thing.
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Cory Miller (00:21:59) – It was like I was changing my profession career very substantially, knew I was going to be leaving the company I started. And, you know, okay, here’s a totally new avenue and having somebody to talk that through the fear of failure, the emotions of being an achiever, especially a high achiever, trying to do something in the world like an entrepreneur, what are some other things that you you see often in your coaching?
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Kelly Gallagher (00:22:27) – Well, I would say the other thing, the theme is some type of organizational change, because your organization, of course, they’re always changing. And there are new standards that people don’t. We talked about that before we went on tape that sometimes people don’t like change. So being able to go in and help a person challenge their assumptions about the change really recognize within themselves the any negative thinking loops or or extra baggage they’re bringing in the situation and then thrive throughout the change would be a big thing. Um, and as they go along to they learn about themselves and then to integrate that learning.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:23:12) – Back into the organization. That’s changing because change is constant. Yep. I don’t think I’ve ever been in an organization in 30 years that wasn’t doing some type of change. It’s almost never stay.
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Cory Miller (00:23:31) – It’s yeah, absolutely. Well, there’s two things I think about when we’ve worked together and what I know of coaching too. It’s it’s the word change that you said. Some change. Big change oftentimes big change. The other side of the coin for me is performance.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:23:47) – So yeah.
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Cory Miller (00:23:49) – Continual performance. So like and I think about those listening in why you won’t get you want to get coaching for yourself and your team is that performance factor like it’s an investment back into yourself or your team if you’re providing coaching. I think some great organizations, particularly in WordPress I’ve heard of because I’ve referred people to you that happen to be in WordPress. I go, Oh, I love the forward thinking of that. You’re going, it’s an investment in their people, but the performance side. So we’ve talked a lot of some about this change side.
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Cory Miller (00:24:24) – There’s something going on and how we wrestle and adapt to that change where we talk about motions and different things and then but the other side to me is like, I can’t remember how many times I call it performance, but what I think it is, is like preparation. I mean, some of the biggest deals I’ve done in five years have been rehearsed, practiced, polished, perhaps even with you. And gosh, I didn’t have that my previous ten years. And I thought, wow, I went into so many situations. I thought I had done my preparation. But doing it with you with a coach was made things so much better, I think, through that process. Kelly It also eliminated like things I wasn’t aware of, things I hadn’t thought about, and just an approach to get some, like, clarity.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:25:12) – Flirty, some big one. And I think that goes into the third bucket of communication skills. Just people sometimes come to me and in her struggle or there’s conflict or they’re going into a big sales promotion and they’re not quite sure how to go about it.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:25:29) – So that would all fall into the bucket of communication skills. And that that’s a big one. I don’t think oftentimes people think they’re coming across one way, but it’s quite different if you’re observing them. The other thing is. They, you know, like you said, you’ll rehearse. And rehearse. But when you get in that situation sometimes. Hopefully you’re primed with enough rehearsal to lean back. If you forget what you’re going to say, you can lean back into the gist of it. So I think for performance, though, it comes down to communication skills and confidence, because in selling some time it’s not what you said anyway, it’s how you said it. And you can walk in if you say it with conviction and you have that internal clarity, as you mentioned, and conviction. The little wordsmithing and nuances of it aren’t going to matter. They’re going to matter. But the big the capital A to achievement or performance is how you set it.
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Cory Miller (00:26:36) – Well, I didn’t say this in the beginning, but we we now meet twice a week and we’ve I think we’ve met twice a week for the last year or two.
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Cory Miller (00:26:44) – And that was out of, oh, I need these times. We’re kind of booking them at the front of the week and the end of the week. But oftentimes I realize so many times it’s just seeking clarity for myself and those of us who are leaders out there trying to give a clear vision to somebody else, I’ll just say it. Maybe other leaders just wake up with clairvoyant vision. I don’t. I need rehearsal. I need work. I need to bounce it off people. I need a coach to help me kind of ask questions, think, think it through. And every single time I’m better. I remember some of the biggest ones that I’ve, like, talked to you. And it’s not even one session, maybe 2 or 3. They end up talking about it. But I go, Gosh, if I hadn’t had that, I would have made so many mistakes going into that big decision or time of presentation, whatever that was. And I’m so better for like I just need to practice and realize I couldn’t just do that.
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Cory Miller (00:27:40) – I needed someone else to help me. And that’s where you’ve come in and done that. And so clarity for me is like when you say, what? When people would ask me, What’s the biggest takeaway for coaching? I go clarity and what is clarity? Build what you said confidence. And those two alone have made me a better leader. That’s why I can say, let’s just go back to the start of my career. If I’d had a coach, it started my career. Everything would have been better because I’ve been more clear, more confident.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:28:03) – Being a millionaire ten times over just had a coach because I did so many stupid things along with the good things. That you don’t know, but you do learn from failure. You do learn. Oh, and so, you know, maybe not, but I sure would have liked to have a coach. It is a perk for high performers. If if if you if it’s a if there’s an employer listening in and they’re thinking of who does that need coaching? Yes, it can be remedial, but sometimes then it’s not the employees idea.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:28:34) – The high performance will progress the fastest because it generally will be their idea. They want that perk and they want to grow a career.
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Cory Miller (00:28:44) – This is my personal opinion, not Kelly. So I want to be clear about that. But I’ve been around organizations that use coaching as remedial, and I go, Then what happens is coaching gets stigmatized within that organization of if you’re not performing and you’re doing a crappy job, you’re going to get sent. And it has a negative tint to coaching, which is not what it’s supposed to be. It’s supposed to be progressing positive, helping improving, navigating situations. And this one organization in particular, it’s like that’s how they use coaching. I go, Oh man, Like, then they then all these high performers have this worry about it and don’t want to potentially go into coaching and miss this incredible benefit to what coaching is.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:29:31) – That’s so true. There’s someone at my door. Can I. Can we pause?
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Cory Miller (00:29:36) – Yeah.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:29:45) – Yeah, we’re talking about, like, high performers and performance coaching. And I do want to make the point that that’s kind of what I think is my differentiator is that I have all that coaching training, but also I’ve been in the business world for 30 years selling. So if someone asked me about that, it’s easy for me to switch out. Yeah, most coaches have like a background, so they’ve never really had to go out into the world and perform, right?
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Cory Miller (00:30:17) – Yeah. You bring both sides to that coin I think is incredibly helpful. Like I’ve talked so much with you about cells because it’s a weak area. I feel like it’s a weak area for me, but something I’ve had to do but forced to do and now trying to begrudgingly trying to do it. But I know you’ve got such an extensive sales background, business development background that totally leveraged that. In fact I think that’s how our two times a week started was a sales academy where it wasn’t necessarily coaching, it was more like sales coaching.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:30:47) – Right. And it’s very hard for someone to coach you if they haven’t walked down the street, guide you down the path. If I’ve never been on it, I can coach and I can move you in many ways, but can’t exactly help you to perform because I don’t know how to perform. So I think that is the differentiator in my coaching style as I’ve been there. I’ve been in sales meetings where I got humiliated. I’ve had clients slam doors in my face. You know, I’ve executed $1 million contract. So. I just think it helps me to bring more to the party.
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Cory Miller (00:31:25) – Yeah. And you understand the complete picture. That’s why, you know, our community is a lot of founders and a lot of high achiever leaders. You know, I’m curious your thoughts about entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs and coaching. You know, I don’t know your risk, your client base, but I am one. I know I’ve benefited from incredibly navigating change, big decisions and the performance side. But what do you say to entrepreneurs about coaching?
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Kelly Gallagher (00:31:58) – I’d say it’s essential because of everything we’ve talked about in the end.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:32:04) – As an entrepreneur, you’re alone, right? That’s what it is. That’s the gig. You might have a few people on your team, but generally you’re alone. It’s very hard to win deals in isolation. So I would say having a business coach is key to moving forward. Not only in all the things we mentioned, the clarity, the communication, the conflict, the struggle, but then sometimes you just have to go execute. And so for me, it’s very helpful because I’ve been in that sales situation so many times and understand features, benefits. I understand how to extrapolate from a client what’s going to really matter and what’s not. And I can help people with their slide deck or, you know, whatever it is they want to. So I will generally I can come in in that regard like we do and be a consultant on Friday, but a coach on Mondays. And then and most of my clients who are entrepreneurs use me in that way. Like they will sometimes just bring us like back or we’ll practice a presentation or they’ll practice what they’re going to say to their team before they say it.
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Cory Miller (00:33:18) – Yep.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:33:18) – Get some clarity around it to understand. How they’re feeling in that moment of saying these wonderful things they think are are going to move the team. And sometimes they come out of the meeting and they’re going to say something completely different. Once we do the coaching, it’s not that I ever told them to say anything different, but we, you know, polished it. Let’s say, you know, they come out with this big chunk of coal and they leave and they’ve got a little diamond and it’s polished. And like you said earlier, they feel confident.
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Cory Miller (00:33:50) – Maybe there’s some entrepreneurs that that come fully birthed into the whole process, but most of us have to learn it and grow through it. What I’m hearing, though, you know, big decisions, big challenges, big changes, and then the performance side preparation, Polish getting ready for those big things, too. And then the simply put, just trying to make the most of the opportunity. That’s what I think about. Like so many high achievers that go with an entrepreneur’s, like we have an opportunity.
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Cory Miller (00:34:24) – We often like my my story is I stumbled into it, stumbled into it and go, wow, I have this amazing opportunity. So much with business. You go like, it’s right timing, it’s right place, right people, right, partners, all the things that have to go together for something to go really well. And then you go, I want to make the most of that. And that’s my reflection, is that I had an opportunity. I wanted to seize that opportunity to make the most of it. Now, seeing, Oh, wow. Now I did have a coach during about half of my business time, invaluable to help us with the organization. But I go like having someone that this is why we keep working together as I go. I just need it. It’s just a part of making the most of who I am and my opportunities that come my way to to do even more. And it’s not necessarily just about money, but it’s about making the most of the opportunity.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:35:18) – Right.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:35:19) – And Joy, while you’re doing you we haven’t even touched about that. But there’s that personal happiness factor and a lot of my clients either are working out or I have them. I try to persuade them to start a fitness program while they’re with me. But that joy, that love of what you’re doing, you know, if it’s not there, it’s very hard to perform on your.
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Cory Miller (00:35:43) – Yeah. And you’ve been such a good coach and you walk that talk. Kelly was telling me before we started the recording that she just ran a mile and swam, and I was like, Gosh, you overachiever. But it’s such a good inspiration for me for sure, because that other aspect of just life and business and everything is just being physically healthy. And you are a great encourager and you walk your talk.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:36:07) – I try. I try. I try. I mean, no one’s perfect. But yeah, I definitely try. And I also find because I work out a lot and I’m more effective for people because, you know, it brings all that blood flow to the brain.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:36:20) – So I shared with Cory that sometimes in between clients I’ll just run up the hill outside my house 4 or 5 times just to sharpen myself for the next person because I can feel it within myself. Then I come in their house and I’m all happy again and I’m feeling creative and supercharged and ready to go.
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Cory Miller (00:36:41) – Oh yeah. You can tell what the energy you have for sure. Well, Kelly, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us about what you’re doing. Share a little bit of the experience. I mean, they resonate with me. Everything you’ve talked about are things that we’ve worked on in our coaching sessions, and I’ve been better for it as a person on Earth, as a human, on earth, as a business entrepreneur, leader, all those. But anything else that you want to share that we didn’t get to talk about?
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Kelly Gallagher (00:37:09) – No, I mean, what you just said, that’s what I live for. That’s my passion is did I, you know, did I help someone? Did they feel better after we, you know, did we move the bar? And I just live for success stories.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:37:23) – And I find it so much more rewarding than just pure sales. Although I would have argued back then that I was making people’s lives better because I had a terrific product or whatever, but somehow that what you just said, just seeing personal growth in other people, I just kind of live for that. So thank you.
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Cory Miller (00:37:43) – Bet. Well, thanks, Keller, for being on. And thanks, everybody, for listening. We’ll share in the show notes how you can get a hold of Kelly if you’re interested in talking more with her. She’s fantastic. Coach, you can’t. I’ve referred you numerous times to people that now I believe are our regular clients with you. And we they’re defensive minded and we always talk like, yep, I just had my Kelly session, just had my Kelly Sessions, so.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:38:08) – Well, thank you for doing that. Yes. I don’t really advertise. I haven’t ever. I only did maybe in the first year. But I think that’s the other thing. Good coaches just kind of get referrals and.
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Kelly Gallagher (00:38:21) – That’s the way it should be.
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Cory Miller (00:38:23) – You do. All right. Thanks, everybody, for listening to Post Status Draft. It’s been another episode kind of went out of our league but love to introduce people that have made an indelible difference in my life and to share their wisdom. So we’ll see everybody next time. Thank you.
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This article was published at Post Status — the community for WordPress professionals.
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In this episode, Cory Miller interviews J.J. Toothman, owner of Lone Rock Point, a WordPress agency based in Sudbury, Massachusetts. J.J. shares his agency journey, discussing the growth of his agency and its remote-first approach.
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Episode Highlights:
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The Growth of Lone Rock Point [00:00:32] JJ discusses the growth of his agency, Lone Rock Point, from 4-5 people in spring 2020 to 16 people now.
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Remote-first Approach [00:02:29] JJ talks about adopting a remote-first organizational structure from the beginning and how they didn’t miss a beat when the pandemic hit in 2020.
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Focus on Public Sector and NASA [00:04:02] JJ explains his background in government contracting and how his agency focuses on working with the public sector, particularly in the federal level, including clients like NASA.
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The federal government ecosystem [00:11:29] Discussion on the ecosystem and governance of federal government agencies, including guidance and policies.
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Starting Lone Rock Point [00:13:39] JJ’s decision to start his own agency after exploring side hustles and feeling the desire to be more entrepreneurial.
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Niching down to WordPress [00:18:25] The growth and success of Lone Rock Point after focusing on WordPress as their main service offering.
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Topic 1: Using WordPress as a Content Management System [00:22:17] Discussion on using WordPress as a content management system and adapting WooCommerce for check payments.
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Topic 2: WordPress and the Public Sector [00:22:58] Exploration of using WordPress in the public sector, particularly in government agencies like NASA, for managing and publishing content.
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Topic 3: Web Modernization Project with NASA [00:28:26] Overview of a web modernization project with NASA, including evaluating different CMS options and deciding to invest in WordPress.
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The SEO and Accessibility Tools in WordPress [00:32:35] Discusses the real-time analysis tools in WordPress for SEO and accessibility, such as Yoast, and how they differentiate it from other CMS platforms.
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The Resources and Knowledge Sharing in the WordPress Community [00:34:57] Explains the abundance of resources, knowledge sharing, and community support available in the WordPress ecosystem compared to other CMS platforms.
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The Importance of Open Source and User Experience in WordPress [00:37:11] Highlights the significance of open source adoption in the public sector and how WordPress’s user experience and inclusivity differentiate it from commercial solutions.
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Cory Miller (00:00:02) – Hey everybody. Welcome back to Post Status Draft. Got another great interview in our agency Journey series and I’m talking with JJ Toothman, a member of Post Status and JJ, Hey, thanks for coming on post this draft and talking about your agency journey story.
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J.J. Toothman (00:00:18) – Hey, thanks for having me. Cory. It’s great to be here. Um, really appreciate everything you do for post status and for the community. So I’m happy to be, um, you know, a member of both. So.
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Cory Miller (00:00:32) – Awesome. Well, we’ve gotten to get to know each other over the last, like, I’d say, what, eight months and hear about some of the work that your agency does. It’s super, super exciting. But can you tell me about the agency where it is now? Team clients kind of work. You kind of do.
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J.J. Toothman (00:00:50) – There’s my dog and wife.
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Cory Miller (00:00:54) – Great introduction.
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J.J. Toothman (00:00:55) – Yeah. Um, so the. So my company is Lone Rock Point and I am located outside of Boston, Massachusetts, in a town called Sudbury.
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J.J. Toothman (00:01:09) – Um, if you know the Revolutionary War history, you remember the Battle of Lexington and Concord and Sudbury borders. Concord. I live about five miles from where Paul Revere was captured at the end of his famous ride to tell everybody the British were coming. Oh, wow. Lone Rock Point. We have grown it to 16 people. You know, 12 of those people are full time. And there’s a handful of of, of part timers. Um, the were distributed all over the place. Uh, I’ve got, you know, some of us are in California, Texas. Uh, Michigan. There’s a few people in around Grand Rapids. There’s people in Florida, a few people around Asheville, North Carolina. And we definitely, you know, adopted a remote first, you know, virtual kind of organization, organizational structure from the very beginning. You know, when when the pandemic happened in 2020, we didn’t miss a beat. You know, our the people that we were working with, you know, just it just continued.
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J.J. Toothman (00:02:29) – It’s weird to look back on that time and think about the, you know, ways that we were able to grow during that time in a period where so many small businesses were were, you know, struggling. But, you know, look back on that time and think about like we, you know, we were, you know, going remote, being virtual. That wasn’t a problem for us. We were ready to do that for the very beginning. And the people we were worked with, like just we just kept working on it, kept asking for more from us. It was actually a period of growth for us. We probably went from, you know, at the beginning of. You know, spring 2020, we were around four people and 4 or 5, and now we’re 16. We became a WordPress agency approximately 15, 16 months ago. Um, and we joined WordPress is kind of a continuation of our work with the public sector when I started my company in 2016. Um, you know that we can talk about the genesis of that, but it was, you know, I was had come from a federal government contracting world and I’ve been working for big companies like Raytheon, um, Perot Systems, Dell and, you know, decided that, you know, I wanted to start my own company, you know, had this, you know, the proverbial entrepreneurial itch that most entrepreneurs feel and just kind of wanted to try that out.
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J.J. Toothman (00:04:02) – So I started to serve this company and wanted to start working. There were two customers that I wanted to work with from the very beginning, and one of those was NASA, which is it’s hard for me to talk about my own journey and the work that we’re doing without connecting to the long history I have working with with NASA. So I use that relationship and that relationship capital that I’ve built, you know, from starting working with them back in as early as 2001. Well, one of my first clients and then one of my second clients, big clients was Automattic. Some people over there that had built relationships over the years came to me and said, Hey, you know a lot about, you know, this public sector world, you know, federal government contracting. Can you help us, you know, with kind of get into that vertical and so help them with some some business strategy around that? I helped them with some security compliance, things they needed to be aware of. And then that relation, you know, that work kind of matured a little bit and kind of ran its course a little bit.
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J.J. Toothman (00:05:15) – And then, you know, as they as WordPress VIP, you know, kind of solidified its it’s standing and it’s got themselves into what’s called the Fedramp marketplace. You know, they came to me and said, Hey, you should, you know, your company, you should we should continue working together. You should join the WordPress Agency partnership program. And that’s something I did, you know, specifically because of our shared interest in working together on public sector opportunities. And, um, you know, that’s, that’s, that’s, that’s really what my company is doing right now is, you know, Lone Rock Point. We are, we’re definitely exploring that intersection of WordPress and public SpaC, public sector, predominantly the federal level of that. You know, there’s a lot of state and municipal stuff opportunities there as well. Um, but we’re, you know, the, the kind of the, when you think of like WordPress and public sector, what I want people to come out of that connection with is is Lone Rock point and so that’s you know that’s work we’re doing with and and work we’re doing with NASA and it’s going we’ve been working on some projects from NASA for the past few years.
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J.J. Toothman (00:06:31) – And it’s it’s really rewarding work. It’s good to feel like you’re contributing to. You know, we’re not civil servants, but we’re definitely kind of contributing to. You know, putting the taxpayer dollars to work, being good stewards of taxpayer money. And we think WordPress has a a role in that.
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Cory Miller (00:06:54) – Excellent. Well, there’s a lot here I want to unpack, but it’s so compelling. Congratulations on your success. Congratulations on what you’ve done in the public sector to take WordPress there. I love hearing stories like yours and our other members doing good work in our world. And I get to I think I’ve told you, I get to brag, Hey, I know the people working on these projects, you know, which is pretty fantastic, and taking WordPress to the Enterprise, but Public sector Spaces is really fantastic as WordPress grows. So okay, I want to I want to thank you for telling us kind of what Lone Lone Rock Point does today. So I heard in there 2016. So I, I had assumed, as we had talked for because of the kind of work you’re doing, you had been doing this particular agency type work for a long time.
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Cory Miller (00:07:49) – But wow, that’s why I say congrats one, Congratulations on your success. But like it’s pretty fast timeline to be able to get to doing an agency to doing this kind of work, I think. But can you take me back like before 2016, you said you were doing enterprise or. Yeah, public sector government, government contracting work. What were you doing before the agency?
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J.J. Toothman (00:08:10) – Before. Before I founded my agency. Yeah. Yeah. So I was, I was a software developer, web application developer. I got hired by Raytheon to work on a contract they had with NASA Ames Research Center. And back in 2001, actually, the thing that the opportunity that kind of brought me into that world was that’s when they first started thinking about like, what do they have to do about website accessibility? So they brought me in there to kind of help, you know, help, you know, mature what they were doing around all that kind of stuff. And it’s been interesting to see what the what where was thinking about this over the last couple of weeks.
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J.J. Toothman (00:08:57) – You know, when I first started working at NASA Ames and started talking about website accessibility and looking at all the various websites and web applications that was that were running at Ames Research Center, which is one of the, you know, field centers that’s part of the the NASA enterprise. Um, there was people were really just they were really resistant to it. They were trying to. They were trying to check the box on it quite a bit. You know, they were just like, What’s the minimum I have to do to, like, just check the box on this and so I can move on. Like it really the the optics of how important that was and just it just being the generally the right thing to do, forget the whole legal requirements of it all that really just wasn’t cemented. And here we are, you know, 20 plus years later where, you know, that’s that’s kind of like at the core of what is happening definitely in the public sector, but in the web in general, just like this, this strong emphasis on making it accessible and available to everybody.
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J.J. Toothman (00:10:00) – You know, I saw how that started, you know, 20 years ago. And it’s it was not the same temperature, both from various from developers, designers, project managers, you know, that whole thing is shifted in very positive ways over the last couple of decades. So I was a software developer there working on various, um, you know, web applications, internal business process type applications, looking at accessibility improvements. Um, and then just kind of grew things over the years, you know, you know, started, you know, started rising the ranks a little bit, like getting opportunities to understand how government projects actually work, how it works, which is a pretty thing. I started participating in proposals that big companies like Dell were doing and responding to government RFPs, which are massive undertakings unto themselves, um, understanding compliance and security regulations that exist in government, in government, and really just kind of understanding how these governments, these government agencies and, you know, as individual as they kind of have their own ecosystems unto themselves, that’s probably not, you know, unique to all various massive, you know, corporate enterprises.
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J.J. Toothman (00:11:29) – You know, we talk a little bit about the WordPress ecosystem now, but these these federal government agencies, they all have their own ecosystems around it. And then they’re also operating in this big federal thing where there’s kind of like this. Um, Jennifer Palka just wrote this great book called Recoding America, and she calls this term friendly fire. So where there’s like things where like the Office of Management, the OMB and General Services Administrations and other offices and agencies within the executive branch and other parts of government are putting together governance and policy around it and how the web should work. Um, and it creates all this types of, you know, these, this guidance and guardrails that you have to adhere to. So that becomes like kind of a larger ecosystem unto itself. So, you know, starting to understand how to work within that type of, um, you know, those types of scenarios and guardrails and boundaries and knowing how to interoperate it all just became, you know, something that started gaining more experience with and more exposure to with and, you know, think it’s been a big, you know, that knowledge is a big part of like why, you know, my company’s positioned and why we’ve achieved some success.
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J.J. Toothman (00:12:44) – You know, working and and gaining some credibility in parts of the public sector and procuring our relationship with with WordPress VIP and, you know, expanding our own opportunities within itself. Yeah, it’s exciting. It’s challenging. Exhausting at times, but it’s also exciting and rewarding.
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Cory Miller (00:13:04) – Yeah. Yeah. I can’t imagine. So just just for clarity. So you’re working full time at Raytheon or were you contract as a software?
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J.J. Toothman (00:13:12) – So a contract means you’re you’re you’re like you’re kind of embedded, so you’re a full time employee and you’re your government contractor working on a contract that, you know, a company like Raytheon or Dell or Booz Allen or Lockheed Martin has with the federal government to deliver services abilities that are part of their requirements.
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Cory Miller (00:13:39) – Okay. Okay. That totally makes sense. So what was that catalytic moment when you’re like, Hey, I’m gonna do this for myself, I’m gonna start my agency?
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J.J. Toothman (00:13:46) – Yeah.
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Cory Miller (00:13:47) – So prompted that. Um.
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J.J. Toothman (00:13:50) – A couple of things. So I left NASA for a while and I went and worked for a company, a music ticketing startup called Ticket Fly.
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J.J. Toothman (00:13:58) – I helped them, like, basically create a network of websites for small independent music venues, um, and help those music venues talk about, you know, what shows were coming, how to buy tickets, you know, when the on sale dates were and all the other, you know, all that content that is basically all about converting into ticket sales. And so I was with was, you know, with them when they were really small. And, you know, it was definitely the startup world and that was really exciting. It was also a bad time for my life. I just had like my my second child and like my work life balance was it was it was pretty bad. Um, you know, working at a small startup like that. So ended up going back to NASA. Um, you know, and just trying to, like, find my footing a little bit. I also wanted to leave California and move relocate back to the East Coast. And I knew that was, you know, being in a place, a large organization like that would offer some flexibility like that.
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J.J. Toothman (00:15:05) – Um, but then, you know, I would say around a decade, you know, ten years ago. I started having this, you know, I started having that entrepreneurial itch again. I started thinking about, like, how fun it was to, you know, move fast at ticket fly and wanted that that feeling again. And so I started, you know, I explored a couple of like side hustles, you know, some small little independent web projects. One of them was like a newsletter to help families spend more time outdoors. And they didn’t really take off. They didn’t really get get some traction. And what I mean by that, it wasn’t necessarily traction from a, you know, where we’re making revenue or gaining customers. We were just like just the balance of of, you know, trying to do do that type of initiative while, you know, having a full time job and also like, you know, having a growing family and all that kind of stuff. And then in but was it was clear that.
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J.J. Toothman (00:16:06) – You know, I was exploring something. And, you know, again, that desire to to like be in more, you know, control of of of my destiny, so to speak, and be entrepreneurial is something I just couldn’t I couldn’t get rid of completely. And it wasn’t happening within big companies like Dell in the way that I wanted to know. I really wanted to be, you know, in control of a lot of decisions that wasn’t in control of, um, and, you know, that’s why people start their own things and, you know, be founders of companies. And, you know, I had dinner with a friend of mine who was also in the government contracting space. He’s like, you know, you’ve been thinking about. And he told me he’s like, You’ve been thinking about all these little product ideas, these digital product ideas, like, you know, just just start a services business, you know, like and that will satisfy your need or the desire. You have to be entrepreneurial and, you know, like, you know, look at balance sheets and think about marketing and, you know, attracting talent and retaining talent and stuff like that.
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J.J. Toothman (00:17:12) – And he was right. He was like, You know what? That’s a really good idea. And within 120 days, I’d like set the wheels in motion to, you know, start Lone Rock Point. Um, and, you know, we, we went from there. So it started in the fall of I started the company in the fall of 2016. It was just me for, you know, a year. And then it was like me and a virtual assistant for like another year. And I, you know, I started under this like this umbrella of like, digital transformation consulting. At the time, I was doing a lot of work with the public sector around cloud transformations. So people were were operating applications and on premise data centers and starting to make that migration into things like Amazon Web Services. And so working out a lot of change management type type projects associated with that. And it all kind of just fit under this like big umbrella of digital and cloud transformation, which, to be totally honest with you, is, is is too vague and too broad and borderline meaningless.
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J.J. Toothman (00:18:25) – You know, if you ask ten different people what digital transformation is, you’re probably going to get ten different definitions of it. Yeah. And so it’s really hard to like, you know, grow a services business out that way is really just like me being a consultant at that point. Um, and it wasn’t until like started niching down into, you know what, like let’s just do this WordPress thing, you know, was I was delivering, um, you know, whitepapers and providing analysis of like how what people should do with like their, their inventory of web applications and advising them on what is and what platforms they should be using. And a lot of times ended up started like you know, making recommendations around WordPress oriented applications, sometimes just building WordPress sites, sometimes using WordPress as an application framework. Um, in over the, in the time I’ve been with NASA. I’ve used WordPress with them and a lot of different ways. We’ve done it in a WordPress network multi-site kind of way for allowing smaller NASA missions and programs and projects to, you know, have their own websites where they all communicate what they’re up to and what their findings are and share what they learned with, you know, with, with interested stakeholders and visitors to their sites.
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J.J. Toothman (00:19:55) – Um, there, there’s been some internal things where needed to like communicate various services as it had to various corners of the agency. So we did like a WooCommerce thing where people can go to a web application, a website and just pick what, what services they want. Like I need, I need some Amazon cloud storage or processing or, you know, EC2 units. And they could apply, they could add all those things to a cart and then say, check out and, you know, check, you know, do a checkout with that and just start getting services provided to them that way. So um, and then, you know, over time it just became clear that like, this is, I keep recommending this, like there’s growth opportunity for me here and then, you know, niching down to being like, we’re going to be a WordPress, a more traditional WordPress agency is really when, you know, the growth started happening and the opportunity started becoming a little bit. And it isn’t just like strategic consulting, it became the execution part of it as well.
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J.J. Toothman (00:21:00) – And the tactics part of it too, and the tactics and execution. We’re all oriented for the most of the time.
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Cory Miller (00:21:06) – Yeah, I’d love to hear these stories because you got, you know, a big career in enterprise and public sector, you know, with your Raytheon and NASA days and then entrepreneurial hit. Okay, want to do this and then seeing you know when you say NASA and WordPress, it just seems like those things should always go together, you know, and that’s what really compelling to me is seeing WordPress more on the public sector enterprise. And now there’s really big institutions in in the US federal government anyway, probably around the world too, but that are starting to use WordPress more and more and leverage it and see that opportunity. Um, so I love kind of how those intersection of things happen. So that lone rock point would kind of exist and grow and then you hit your I was going to ask the question when the WordPress come into play, but you pretty much answered it. So like your 2 or 3 or so, it seems like, hey, we’re going to drill down.
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Cory Miller (00:22:04) – And then when you mention WooCommerce that like that use case for an internal tool within a big organization like that to procure and get resources and things, that’s so compelling. You know, most of my.
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J.J. Toothman (00:22:17) – Career that like, people just wanted that checkout expert, They wanted that. They wanted that experience of like, I want X, Y and Z, I want to add it to the cart and I want to tell you that I want it. And we just, you know, WooCommerce has that option to, you know, just do check payments, right? Which removes the credit card processing out of it. And so we kind of adapted that to, all right, we’re going to send this order to somebody who can fulfill that order via this WooCommerce WordPress system. Um, and, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s, you know, it’s using the WordPress ecosystem at its best, like using it almost kind of as Legos and want this part of it. I want that part of it. I want to, I want to glue them together in this way.
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J.J. Toothman (00:22:58) – And it’s, you know, kind of a no code kind of way around WordPress to solve some, you know, some very simple, narrow use cases. But, you know, my, my journey with WordPress, you know, starts way back in 2007 at my first stint with at Ames Research Center. Um, you know, I was working with all these various scientists and researchers and they just like need a place to like publish my, my research findings and publish my data and, and they, they all one, they all had the same, um. You know, requirements and needs. At the highest level, it’s like I just need a place to put it. And I want to I want to be able to manage it myself in a way. And I don’t know. I don’t know how to don’t know how to code. I don’t know. I don’t have anybody on my team who knows HTML. And so that, you know, that basically introduced the concept of like content management systems into all this back in 2007.
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J.J. Toothman (00:24:03) – And, you know, we were looking at things like wikis at the time and, and then discovered WordPress and around that and just the user experience of someone just, you know, managing their content with that type of, you know, WordPress, CMS, this is like version 2.0 of WordPress, you know, back when they added pages in addition to posts was the real thing. That’s like, oh, this is what this satisfies what everyone’s looking for. They want an easy place just to log into. And you know, they all some of them wanted to start blogging. Some of them wanted to start blogging without knowing that they wanted to start blogging. They just want to share what they know and tell their stories. Um, and then back in 2007, I created this is also the Web 2.0 era where, you know, your blogging was, was kind of heavy in the lexicon back then. And I was I did one of NASA’s first official public blogs on WordPress and, and kind of grew with WordPress, you know, from there that led to the ticket fly work.
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J.J. Toothman (00:25:13) – And so WordPress was kind of always in my DNA, even when wasn’t, you know, it wasn’t like a defined part of what I was, you know, of my, my role description. But my role was in some cases to be strategic and provide advice and provide some roadmaps. And, you know, how do we do things? Give us some give us some guidance here. And a lot of times just said like, well, you don’t have to create a custom bespoke application for this. Just use a content management system like WordPress, you know, teach your users how to how to how to manage using WordPress themselves. And and you go from there. So and the WordPress ecosystem is what makes all that happen mean there’s all these different, you know, there’s all these different plugins and themes and you just kind of integrate it all together, um, you know, in a unique way. And you have a great solution architecture, depending on how you put it together.
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Cory Miller (00:26:08) – What you’re talking kind of way back.
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Cory Miller (00:26:11) – But you know, remember a lot of the solutions that we have now didn’t exist. So, you know, big organizations were having to do like the the internal resourcing that you’re talking about. They’d have to custom code those things or build them because they didn’t exist off the shelf. Then you fast forward and you go, you could take WooCommerce save. I can’t even imagine how much time to kind of do git to feature like, you know, par with that and then take that open source solution and then utilize it and just customize with a with a great agency like you all to figure out what their exact needs are. So it’s it’s great to see how everything has fast forward to. Well, we touched on this. I know we’re going to have more conversations down the road. And and I want to talk more about the public sector and enterprise. And I know we’re talking and we’re going to have some great conversations in the next couple of months about this, because I know you’re passionate about it, about the public sector and bringing WordPress to the public sector, but we’ll save that for another time.
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Cory Miller (00:27:07) – I don’t want to spoil too much of that, but I appreciate so much the journey and what you’re doing. So thank you for telling us that. That’s, that’s that’s incredible. Um, okay. What are you excited about today? What are you excited about today and the future going forward and what you’re doing with the agency and your team and the work you’re doing?
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J.J. Toothman (00:27:27) – Yeah. So a few years ago, the government, Pervez passed a Congress passed an act called the Integrated Digital Experience Act. And within that act is basically it tells all these federal agencies how to modernize their website. So, you know. Obvious things like improve accessibility. They have to be accessible. They have to work on mobile. They. They. You have to have like good search. They should. People should be able to find content there. They also need to be based on user research and user needs. So they’re all logical things within. You know, public sector and it’s all so I’m really excited about that. Be something that initiates or triggers a lot of the work that I’ve been doing for the last couple of years.
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J.J. Toothman (00:28:26) – And so for the last few years I’ve been working on a web modernization project with NASA. It exists for a couple of reasons. It exists. One, because of that idea act. It also exists because NASA has a couple of thousand websites and they don’t want there to be a couple of thousand websites. They want all that information in one website. So we’ve been doing a lot of work with them. You know, that started back in kind of mid 2000, late 2000, and it started with, hey, what should be using for its main, you know, web source, major web properties. And so I spent a year taking a look at the landscape of you know, of all the available CMS’s that are out there, you know, Drupal source site, Adobe Experience manager and then some new newer ones like Wagtail. And then there’s even we even took a look at, you know, some of the software as a service type solutions like Contentful and just trying to understand the pros and cons of Elda.
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J.J. Toothman (00:29:38) – And so we spent a year taking a look at the CMS landscape and acquiring data for it, acquiring evidence of it. And while in my heart, you know, being a WordPress guy, I knew like, you know, WordPress makes a lot of sense here. You know, we it’s still there was a lot of benefit for me to kind of like take a look at like what, you know, all the driving factors for making a decision like that were, um, and you know at the end of it WordPress like was the, the solution, the CMS that NASA wanted to invest in for the future. And that’s what we’ve been working on for the last couple of years. So for the last couple of years we’ve been working on a couple of big. Uh, NASA WordPress projects. And a lot of, you know, I talked a lot about how I’ve been using WordPress and a no code kind of way. This is not a no code kind of way. There was a lot of Gutenberg custom development here.
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J.J. Toothman (00:30:34) – It’s the, it’s, it’s the project that has everything like, you know, an emphasis on SEO, an emphasis on accessibility. There’s a new atomic design system that was created for this. And so the seeing the marriage of an atomic design system and Gutenberg, you know, come to bring all that stuff to life has been really, really exciting. And I’m excited to like for, for, you know, people, you know, interested in what NASA is up to and people interested in WordPress to see the fruits of all this labor that we’ve been working on for the last couple of years and it’s all coming in the next few months. And yeah, so I’m really excited to share that with you and share that with other people in the community.
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Cory Miller (00:31:19) – Yeah, that’s excellent. So I want to take just a minute in sidebar because you did this whole year, you know, one of seeing what’s out there, seeing what the options are. And I love that you’ve done some deep, deep research for big organizations trying to make a big, important decision on it.
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Cory Miller (00:31:36) – Um, I’m just curious what we’re couple takeaways. As you just surveyed the landscape. You know, we love WordPress. We understand, you know, we, we support WordPress, but, but we know that there’s a lot of stuff out there. Um, but I’m curious, what, what did the landscape look like? Where were some of the things you saw when you looked at the other platforms you mentioned like Wagtail? I hadn’t heard that one before. I’ve heard of Contentful for instance, and of course Drupal. But what, what were a couple of the takeaways on that year of investigation out there?
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J.J. Toothman (00:32:08) – So the I, I would say that there are two major, maybe three major differentiators that separated WordPress from the rest from the rest of the pack. If you will. Um, you know, there’s a lot of great content management systems out there. You know, they all do the same thing or try to do people the same. They try to make it easy for people to publish information onto the web and make it easy for others to consume it.
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J.J. Toothman (00:32:35) – But the differentiators from WordPress versus the other CMS that we were looking at were number one. A lot of again, it had a lot of it had to do with the ecosystem. WordPress was the only CMS that had real time analysis tools around SEO. So and accessibility to kind of try to improve those situations before the point of publishing. So Yoast is the obvious example. So Yoast, you know, we’ve all been exposed to Yoast. Yoast allows you to allows the content creator user to be authoring and editing content and getting some real time analysis about how friendly or compatible, whatever the term you want to use it is before the point of publish. There’s accessibility tools out there that do the same things that are kind of integrated within the WordPress Admin WordPress dashboard that allow that content creator user to like, you know, when it’s in draft format to analyze. Do I have accessibly accessible content that I’m about to publish in here and make live other CMS didn’t have that baked in. You know, there’s WordPress plugins that do these things.
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J.J. Toothman (00:33:51) – Um, we could even, we even have the ability to prevent publishing until certain excessively thresholds and SEO optimization thresholds are met. That was really, really attractive. All the most of the majority of the other solutions are you publish it first it’s live and then you can go back and check it and then you kind of have to retrofit it. I’ve been working in enterprises enough to know that that doesn’t happen once it’s published, Once it’s out there, people are generally going to move on. They’re not going to do the analysis of like, All right, how do I go back and improve this thing? So you really got to you really got to catch those things early and often. Um, you know, up front in the, in the content publishing lifecycle. So that was one of the big differentiators was that and that again, that’s all a product of the WordPress ecosystem and the innovation that comes out of that ecosystem. The other one was just kind of like the resources around this. So we all, you know, you can take for a grain of salt like, you know, the the whole thing about, you know, WordPress powers, 40% of the web, you know, that kind of stuff.
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J.J. Toothman (00:34:57) – But there is some byproduct of that. And that is there’s a lot of people using it. There’s a lot of people building it. There’s a lot of people developing on it. There’s a lot of people extending on. There’s a lot of knowledge being shared around that. One of the things I did was I went in the stack overflow and compared WordPress with other CMS’s and just being like, How many conversations are happening around this thing, you know, that we’re looking at? And it was, you know, what you expected, the ability for, you know, to be able to. Try to solve a problem by getting by by, you know, interfacing or sponging up knowledge that was already contributed back in some way, you know, via via StackOverflow or, you know, other places on the Web, other groups, Slack channels, etcetera, that exists in WordPress in a way that it doesn’t exist in these other, you know, CMS products. You know, the if you want to if you want to get developer knowledge around Adobe Experience Manager, you for for the most part there are some Adobe experience manager specialists out there, but for the most part you got to go to Adobe for it.
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J.J. Toothman (00:36:02) – Um. Uh, you know, same thing with sorts. There’s not there’s not a huge community of sort site developers out there. So for a place like NASA, you know, resource acquisition becomes a problem. Like, where are they going to find talent for that? Yeah. And you know, again, WordPress, you know, kind of is head and shoulders above the rest in that area. Um, and then, you know, this whole concept of WordPress is for everyone to like that. That rang true in all this research too. Like it’s more than just developer community. There’s user communities out there that are also sharing their knowledge here. Um, you know, there’s all these kinds of like, there’s, there’s solutions for learning WordPress that are provided by the communities and multiple companies with the community that add a lot of value within the equals. So it’s not just like the software ecosystem, but it’s like, you know, the kind of service ecosystem to that exist within WordPress. Um, and then honestly, like, you know, portability matters to, um, you know, there’s, for the most part, like I really just wanted public sector to adopt open source.
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J.J. Toothman (00:37:11) – You know, that’s the first decision I want, I want them to do is just, just, you know, make an open source decision. And then you’ve done that. You know, you’re in a good you’re in a better place than picking a commercial, you know, bespoke solution. You know, And then, you know, once you get past that hurdle now, you know, the obvious open source can cannot exist. And you know, the user experience of WordPress and that whole concept of WordPress being for everyone and being considering everyone, depending on who you are, really rings true and is a differentiator as well.
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Cory Miller (00:37:50) – Well, that’s excellent. And that rings true. You know, I’m curious because as I talked to more enterprise agencies, all of you out there in the world interfacing with clients, with their needs, what they actually are trying to get done. That’s really, really great to hear and it’s reflective of the community. I think sometimes they’ve been in the community like you as long as we have.
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Cory Miller (00:38:10) – I take some of those things for granted. So I think that’s that’s excellent. Well, JJ, thanks so much for the time today. I know you just got back from a big trip and you’ve got work to pile out, but I appreciate you coming on the podcast and sharing your agency journey, and I look forward to our next conversation, sharing the good work you’re doing with WordPress in our world. That too.
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J.J. Toothman (00:38:31) – Corey Thanks for having me.
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Cory Miller (00:38:34) – All right. Thanks, everybody, for being here today. And we’ll talk to you. We’ll see. We’ll talk to you. We’ll hear from you. They’ll listen to us soon.
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This article was published at Post Status — the community for WordPress professionals.
WordPress 6.3 will arrive on August 8, so there isn’t much time left for testing compatibility. Whether you are a plugin or theme maintainer or managing clients’ websites, now is the time to test the latest features. Mike Schroder shares their most anticipated feature with auto-rollbacks coming.Collaborative editing is coming to WordPress, but what might…
Thanks for reading our WP dot .org roundup! Each week we are highlighting the news and discussions coming from the good folks making WordPress possible. If you or your company create products or services that use WordPress, you need to be engaged with them and their work. Be sure to share this resource with your product and project managers.
Are you interested in giving back and contributing your time and skills to WordPress.org?Start Here ›
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This article was published at Post Status — the community for WordPress professionals.
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This Week at WordPress.org (July 11, 2023)
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WordPress 6.3 is less than one month away. Get started testing now and tune in for the live product demo. As we head into WordPress 6.4’s kickoff, it’s time to set our sights on Gutenberg Phase 3: Collaborative Editing. Your feedback to the ideas presented is important. The first cohort of New Contributor Mentorship Program…
Thanks for reading our WP dot .org roundup! Each week we are highlighting the news and discussions coming from the good folks making WordPress possible. If you or your company create products or services that use WordPress, you need to be engaged with them and their work. Be sure to share this resource with your product and project managers.
Are you interested in giving back and contributing your time and skills to WordPress.org?Start Here ›
Get our weekly WordPress community news digest — Post Status’ Week in Review — covering the WP/Woo news plus significant writing and podcasts. It’s also available in our newsletter.
Build your network. Learn with others. Find your next job — or your next hire. Read the Post Statusnewsletter. Listen to podcasts. Follow @Post_Status and LinkedIn.
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This article was published at Post Status — the community for WordPress professionals.
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![\"\"](\"https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/08/6.3-Release-Edition-Main-Image.png?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1\")
![\"Image](\"https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/08/site-editor-2.png?resize=1024%2C666&ssl=1\")
![\"Image](\"https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/08/previewing-themes.png?resize=1024%2C666&ssl=1\")
![\"Image](\"https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/08/patterns.png?resize=1024%2C666&ssl=1\")
![\"Image](\"https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/08/command-palette.png?resize=1024%2C666&ssl=1\")
![\"Image](\"https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/08/design.png?resize=1024%2C666&ssl=1\")
![\"Image](\"https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/08/revisions.png?resize=1024%2C666&ssl=1\")
![\"Image](\"https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/08/footnotes.png?resize=1024%2C666&ssl=1\")
![\"Image](\"https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/08/details.png?resize=1024%2C666&ssl=1\")
![\"↩\"](\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/21a9.png\")
︎![\"Ihtisham](\"https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/07/ihtisham-2.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&ssl=1\")
![\"Ihtisham](\"https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/07/ihtisham-4.jpg?resize=675%2C900&ssl=1\")
![\"Ihtisham](\"https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/07/ihtisham-1.jpeg?resize=800%2C599&ssl=1\")
![\"Ihtisham](\"https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/07/ihtisham-WC-Karachi.jpg?resize=1024%2C512&ssl=1\")
![\"HeroPress](\"https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2020/03/heropress_logo_180.png?resize=180%2C135&ssl=1\"){kind=logo}
![\"Patterns](\"https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/07/Site-Editor-_-All-Patterns-View.png?resize=1024%2C590&ssl=1\")
![\"Post](\"https://poststatus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/vertical-post-status-logo-250.png\"){kind=logo}
![\"✉\"](\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/2709.png\")
Listen to ![\"🎙\"](\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f399.png\")
Follow ![\"🐦\"](\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f426.png\")
and ![\"💼\"](\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f4bc.png\")
![\"example](\"https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/08/image4.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"example](\"https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/08/image10.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"Akismet](\"https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/08/image1.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"name,](\"https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/08/image3.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"form](\"https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/08/image6.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"Page](\"https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/08/image2.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"W3C](\"https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/08/image5.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"amount](\"https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/08/image9.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"Akismet](\"https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/08/image7.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"Nelio](\"https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/08/image8.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"WordPress,](\"https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/essay-cover-1024x512.jpg\")
\nHere is Justin’s story read aloud by artificial intelligence.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n![\"😉\"](\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f609.png\")
).![\"❤\"](\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/2764.png\")
![\"\"](\"https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/product-collection.webp\")
Product Collection block – image source: ![\"\"](\"https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/products-update-to-product-collection-500x466.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screen-Shot-2023-09-05-at-5.44.14-PM.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-02-at-17.30.53.png?resize=652%2C242&ssl=1\")
![\"\"](\"https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-02-at-17.41.25.png?resize=652%2C443&ssl=1\")
Example:![\"GitHub](\"https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/bph/gutenberg/total?style=for-the-badge\")
![\"\"](\"https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screen-Shot-2023-09-02-at-12.01.40-AM.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screen-Shot-2023-09-01-at-11.58.44-AM.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screen-Shot-2023-09-01-at-1.13.36-PM.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screen-Shot-2023-09-01-at-2.56.46-PM.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/performant-translations.png\"){kind=spacer}
\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Page-about-Blocks.jpg?resize=652%2C408&ssl=1\")
\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Twenty-Twenty-Four-Post-Formats-web.jpg?resize=652%2C435&ssl=1\")
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Ellen-Bauer-Birgit-Pauli-Haack-Gutenberg-Changelog-89.jpg?resize=652%2C186&ssl=1\")
\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Blue-Note-screenshot.png?resize=652%2C489&ssl=1\")
\n\n\n\n![\"Screenshot](\"https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/emoji-icon-picker.jpg?w=600&ssl=1\"){kind=icon}
\n\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/updated-command-palette.png\")
image credit: Gutenberg PR ![\"\"](\"https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Screen-Shot-2023-08-25-at-9.05.13-AM.png\")
photo credit: ![\"\"](\"https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/TT4.jpeg\")
image credit: ![\"\"](\"https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/TT4-full-page-designs.jpeg\")
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Screen-Shot-2023-08-23-at-4.19.06-PM.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/font-library.png\")
image credit: ![\"Pull](\"https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/082323-min.jpg\")
\nHere is Emma reading her own story aloud.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/wordpress-playground-browser-extension-lubus.png\")
\n\n\n\n![\"⤴\"](\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/2934.png\")
![\"🙏\"](\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f64f.png\")
Sponsor: ![\"Elementor\"](\"https://poststatus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Elementor-Logo-Symbol-Blue-150x150.png\" "\\"Elementor"){kind=logo}
Elementor![\"A2](\"https://poststatus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/imageedit_1_6433774706-752x470.png\")
A2 Hosting\n![the picture](\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BarCamp#/media/File:BarCamp_originators.jpg\"){kind=link}