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




















































";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"WordPress Planet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://planet.wordpress.org/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"language";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2:"en";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:47:"WordPress Planet - http://planet.wordpress.org/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"item";a:50:{i:0;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:74:"WPTavern: Blocksy WordPress Theme Provides a Solid Block-Editor 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:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=96555";s: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:85:"https://wptavern.com/blocksy-wordpress-theme-provides-a-solid-block-editor-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:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:7060:"<img />Screenshot of the Blocksy theme blog posts page.



<p>Creative Themes dropped version 1.6.8 of its <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/blocksy/">Blocksy WordPress theme</a> yesterday.  It was an update to a theme that is quickly becoming popular, having garnered 58 five-star reviews and one thousand active installs since it first went live in the WordPress theme directory.  The theme is specifically built to work with the block editor and is a nice example of what is currently possible with blocks.</p>



<p>Blocksy is billed as a general-purpose theme and also works with other popular page builders like Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Visual Composer.  The truth-test is whether it handles the block editor, especially given its primary audience (it is named <em>Blocksy</em>, after all).  Aside from a few trivial quirks, the theme handled nearly every bit of test content I threw at it.</p>



<p>Blocksy is one of the better-designed free themes for the block editor that I have seen.</p>



<p>I want to use this theme for a project.  Unfortunately, I have no site to use it on at the moment.  I do not say this about many free, repository-hosted WordPress themes.  The quality of work is on par with themes from the majority of commercial theme shops I have tested or used over the years.</p>



<p>The theme is not without a few issues, which we&rsquo;ll get to, but it is a solid offering.</p>



<h2>Block Design</h2>



<img />A few block design examples from the theme.



<p>With a name like <em>Blocksy</em>, I went into this review with a mindset that the theme better handle every test block I dropped into the block editor with grace.  I wanted to make sure it lived up to its name.</p>



<p>I am happy to report that it handles block design as good as or better than most themes designed for showcasing the block system.  It adds just enough stylistic flair, such as a unique pull-quote design, without getting in the way of the content.</p>



<p>One problem area is the font in the editor does not match the font on the front end completely.  This is a minor issue that should be easily fixed in an update.</p>



<p>You can find some good examples of block design on the theme&rsquo;s <a href="https://demo.creativethemes.com/blocksy/main/gutenberg/">Gutenberg demo page</a>.</p>



<h2>Block Editor Sidebar</h2>



<img />Custom block editor sidebar for post meta.



<p>The latest update of the theme includes additional integration with the block editor.  The team moved its old meta box, which sat below the post content editor, to a new sidebar panel.  This change is refreshing.</p>



<p>I did not know the meta box existed until the theme developers pointed out this change in feature (I first started testing the previous version of the theme).  At this point, I never look at the bottom of the block editor for meta boxes.  I expect any additional settings to be placed firmly in the right sidebar area.  I applaud this move.  It could confuse old theme users when updating, but it feels more natural in its new home.</p>



<p>The team has done a nice job with this custom sidebar for the most part.  The biggest issue is with the button for switching to it.  By using both an icon and the &ldquo;Page Settings&rdquo; text, it uses more room than necessary.  To fit in line with the existing UI, it should simply display an icon.  The button text is also hard to read when selected, which is a minor CSS issue that can be corrected in an update.</p>



<h2>Customizer Options</h2>



<img />Custom-designed customizer control panel.



<p>For users who like to have full control over the site&rsquo;s display, this theme won&rsquo;t disappoint.  For users who dislike by many options, the number of design settings will likely feel overwhelming.  </p>



<p>Blocksy has more design options than most people will ever need.  Some options, such as letter-spacing and line-height controls for fonts may be going overboard.  Ideally, those things would be automatically adjusted based on the chosen font family.</p>



<p>The theme also uses a custom design for the customizer control panel.  In general, the custom design looks nice.  However, is not good practice for themes to customize a shared WordPress UI element.  Plugins with options in the customizer could break.  It is best to stick with the default design.</p>



<h2>Blocksy Companion Plugin</h2>



<p>The theme promotes an additional plugin named Blocksy Companion.  The add-on plugin provides users with additional widgets, a cookies-consent feature for the front end, and integrations with Mailchimp, Instagram, and WooCommerce.  It also provides an avenue for importing custom-made demo content.</p>



<p>Most of the companion plugin&rsquo;s features are fairly routine compared to similar themes in the WordPress theme repository.  The cookies-consent feature is something I haven&rsquo;t seen before as part of a theme add-on plugin.</p>



<p>My biggest complaint with the plugin is that it makes the &ldquo;Blocksy&rdquo; admin menu item a top-level item.  It is a waste of valuable real estate in an already-cluttered admin menu.  Plus, there is no good reason for a single theme/plugin screen to take a top-level spot when it has no sub-menus.</p>



<h2>How Does the Code Look?</h2>



<p>If I were describing the code in one phrase:  <em>average but gets the job done</em>.</p>



<p>The theme has a lot of PHP code.  Most of it is dropped into a single <code>/inc</code> folder and not organized nearly as well as it could be.  It feels like a giant mish-mash of functions with almost non-existent inline documentation for most of them.  It&rsquo;s not something a developer who is not intimately familiar with the theme would want to dive into.</p>



<p>This is not an argument that the theme&rsquo;s code is bad.  It passed the official WordPress.org review process and made it into the theme directory, so it is at least doing the minimum necessary.  It&rsquo;s simply unimpressive, which is par for the course when it comes to most WordPress themes.  Code architecture seems like an afterthought, which could make it tougher to maintain over the long haul.  With a theme that has as much code as this one, this is more important than it is for simpler themes.  It can also easily be remedied with a week or so of dev time strictly devoted to architecture.</p>



<h2>Final Thoughts</h2>



<p>Blocksy is a well-designed theme that does the job it sets out to do.  It is ideal for users who are working with the block editor or a third-party page builder.  The theme is packed with far more options than I could cover in this review.  If customizability is your thing, you will likely enjoy it.</p>



<p>The team shared some of their future ideas.  They have plans to add conditional headers, footers, and sidebars; a sticky header; AMP support; and more.  They seem excited about the future of the theme.</p>



<p>Overall, I would recommend this theme for users who want a clean, relatively fast, block-ready WordPress theme.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 17 Jan 2020 21:34:37 +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:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:1;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:51:"WPTavern: WordCamp Houston Returning After 10 Years";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=96499";s: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:62:"https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-houston-returning-after-10-years";s: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:4308:"<img />



<p>After a 10-year hiatus, <a href="https://2020.houston.wordcamp.org/">WordCamp Houston</a> will return in 2020.  The event will run from May 9-10 at the Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake and expects 250-300 attendees.  The team behind the Texas-based WordCamp is still in the process of putting the event together and is looking for volunteers, speakers, and sponsors.</p>



<p>With 10 years between events, local organizers had to rebuild their WordPress community.  &ldquo;After <a href="https://wptavern.com/it-took-houston-four-years">WordCamp 2010</a>, the community seemed to have dismantled,&rdquo; said Christina Hawkins, lead organizer for WordCamp Houston.  &ldquo;I can only guess that because it takes an active community and dedicated volunteers, that if any piece starts to have trouble, it becomes challenging to continue,&rdquo; she speculated as to why the original event never continued.</p>



<p>Hawkins began the Sugar Land meetup, located south of Houston but a greater part of the Houston area.  The overall area has several regular WordPress meetups.  &ldquo;John Peterson and a few others were instrumental in building the community again,&rdquo; she said.  &ldquo;They were dedicated and made sure we had regular monthly meetings with quality speakers.&rdquo;  Currently, they have 12 wranglers who are working to make sure this year&rsquo;s WordCamp runs smoothly.</p>



<p>Considering that Houston is the hometown of Matt Mullenweg, the co-creator of WordPress, it would seem like the city would be the ideal location for an annual WordPress event.  He is not involved in the event or currently on the speaker roster, which is still open.  Hawkins hopes that he can at least attend the event in an unofficial capacity.  &ldquo;I want to iron out any wrinkles first and present a flawless WordCamp for him,&rdquo; she said.  &ldquo;We expect 2020 to be a WordCamp that knocks it out of the park, but I want to make sure we represent WordPress in the best light and formally invite him as a keynote next year.&rdquo;</p>



<p>WordCamp Houston is currently <a href="https://2020.houston.wordcamp.org/call-for-speakers/">accepting speaker applications</a>.  The process will remain open until February 29.  Those who want to speak should submit a topic and plan for a session that lasts 30-40 minutes.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Heather Baker is our Speaker Wrangler,&rdquo; said Hawkins.  &ldquo;Since this is the first one in years, she has been actively training future speakers. We had an in-person workshop last fall and we are preparing a webinar series soon that will be broken up in chunks.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Thus far, the event organizers have received 29 applications and are expecting more.  They will evaluate applications from the first of March and let speakers know if their session is approved on March 15.</p>



<p>The team is still on the hunt for sponsors.  &ldquo;We have the national sponsors, which is very helpful, but we are in the process of getting the word out locally,&rdquo; said Hawkins.  &ldquo;Most of Houston has never heard of WordCamp so it&rsquo;s up to us to start knocking on doors. We have a long list of people and companies that we are reaching out to.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Individuals or businesses who wish to sponsor the event can sign up via the <a href="https://2020.houston.wordcamp.org/become-a-sponsor/">sponsorship page</a>.  There are four tiers, ranging from $150 to $3,000, with various perks for each level.</p>



<p>The team chose the Hilton Houston NASA Clear Lake venue for this year&rsquo;s event.  The location was ideal because it had a good room setup, which could allow them to expand in case they had an increase in attendance.  They can also add an extra room if they need to add another speaker track.</p>



<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s also close to NASA which fits our overall theme of &lsquo;Taking Off!'&rdquo; said Hawkins.</p>



<p>The team initially had some trouble finding a venue that met their needs, budget, and location.  &ldquo;Houston is a vast city, and it is not very easy to manage so many people that live all over,&rdquo; said Hawkins.  &ldquo;I am sure other cities like Atlanta, LA, and Chicago have the same problem with having a vast city that can extend to an hour drive in each direction.&rdquo;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 16 Jan 2020 19:59:16 +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:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:2;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:79:"Post Status: Introducing a new chapter, with Cory Miller as Post Status partner";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://poststatus.com/?p=73897";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://poststatus.com/cory/";s: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:4335:"<p>I <a href="https://poststatus.com/launched/">created</a> Post Status in January 2013 and <a href="https://poststatus.com/lets-grow/">started</a> the Club in January 2015. January 2020 marks another huge milestone for this community and business.</p>



<p>I’m very excited to share that <a href="https://corymiller.com/">Cory Miller</a> is now an equal partner of Post Status. Cory purchased half the business and will be working with me in the day-to-day management, writing, community engagement, and everything else we do with Post Status.</p>



<p>Many should know Cory from his ten years running <a href="https://ithemes.com/">iThemes</a>. After they sold the business to Liquid Web and he spent some time there, he decided to step away and continue his entrepreneurial journey. He’s working on a few projects, and Post Status is a significant part of where he’s dedicating his time and energy.</p>



<p>Cory is a long-time friend, and iThemes has been a Post Status sponsorship partner since 2015. Cory understands the community, the role Post Status plays in the space, and he brings so much to the table, from established community relationships to product and business experience.</p>



<p>We’ve known one another going back to 2010 or so. I got to watch as he navigated the WordPress space as the CEO of a theme company turned plugin company, from inception to exit.</p>



<p>Cory has so many qualities I admire. Most of all, I admire his honesty, his compassion, his passion for people, and his vision for what’s possible. I look forward to working with a true partner on Post Status after so many years of managing the primary responsibilities with much help from many friends and contractors along the way.</p>



<p>In addition to Cory and myself, David Bisset and Dan Knauss continue to be integral parts of the Post Status effort. Cory and I are thankful for their energy, consistency, and talents.</p>



<p>We are working together in Oklahoma City this week to finalize our plans for the 2020 year. We already have a lot planned and are looking to get these new initiatives and processes off to a rocking start.</p>



<h3>Potential in the WordPress community</h3>



<p>There is so much potential in the WordPress community, and Post Status plays an important role through news, community, and professional development. We are going to continue to do that, and we are also going to make changes that we think will benefit the community as a whole and Post Status Club Members in particular.</p>



<p>If you’ve ever thought about joining the <a href="https://poststatus.com/club">Post Status Club</a>, it’s a great time to do so. At a minimum, anyone in the WordPress community should subscribe to the <a href="https://poststatus.com/newsletter">newsletter</a>. If you’ve been a member before, we thank you, and we hope we are able to continue to serve you for years to come — better than ever, better together.</p>



<h3>Cory's thoughts</h3>



<p>I asked Cory to share a couple of his own thoughts on why he’s investing in Post Status, both with his money and energy.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>I’ve been a fan and supporter of Post Status since the beginning. At iThemes we were one of Brian’s first sponsors. Over the years I leaned on Brian’s insights and counsel — personally as well as through Post Status — to inform and grow iThemes.</p><p>When Brian approached me about becoming a partner my first reaction was, “Heck yes!” Over our weeks and months of conversations, my excitement grew and grew as our goals and aspirations for Post Status were revealed to be so well aligned.</p><p>I truly believe in what Brian has built. And I only want to be a value add and look forward to coming alongside Brian, the Post Status team and this great community.</p></blockquote>



<p>We're so excited to finally be able to make this official. We look forward to continuing to serve you our readers, our Club members, our partners, and the broader community.</p>



<p>Onward!</p>



<h3>Audio & Video Q&A; with Cory and Brian</h3>



<p>We’ll be announcing more specific plans over the coming weeks, and below is our conversation post-announcement by audio and video:</p>







<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="embed-vimeo"></div>
</div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 16 Jan 2020 13:55:21 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Brian Krogsgard";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:3;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"Matt: Thirty Six";s: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=50760";s: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:33:"https://ma.tt/2020/01/thirty-six/";s: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:3332:"<p>I am now solidly entering my late thirties, and fortunately I am in good health, good cheer, and doing one of my favorite things — exploring a part of the world and culture I haven’t experienced before (Maldives and Sri Lanka).</p>



<p>The past year has included a number of professional milestones including <a href="https://ma.tt/2019/09/series-d/">a significant amount of fundraising</a> and related activity, bringing in <a href="https://ma.tt/2019/08/tumblr-the-day-after/">a major new product to the Automattic family</a>, the <a href="https://ma.tt/2019/11/state-of-the-word-2019/">maturation of Gutenberg in the WordPress ecosystem</a>, launching the <a href="https://distributed.blog">Distributed blog and podcast</a>, and a growth in the breadth and depth of the Automattic team.</p>



<p>Partially because of the schedule those milestones required, this ended up being my year with the most travel ever since I started tracking: I flew over 515k miles, to 124 cities in 24 countries. I was able to incorporate a <a href="https://photomatt.tumblr.com/post/186959053572/some-beautiful-trails-near-aspen-ran-the-heavy">good amount of running</a> in my routine, started picking up musical instruments again, and learning more about sound and its impact on our lives. I found <a href="https://streaksapp.com/">small daily habits</a>, like a little bit of exercise or stretching first thing in the morning, to be sustainable and high-impact.</p>



<p>What suffered in 2019 was my <a href="https://ma.tt/2020/01/29-books-in-2019/">book reading time</a> and making a dent on the <a href="https://www.theworlds50best.com">top 50 list</a>. I still check <a href="https://www.techmeme.com">tech news every day</a>, but I had to unplug from daily non-tech news because it was just too hectic — I’ve found a lot of value in <a href="https://www.economist.com">weekly publications like the Economist</a> to make sense of what’s going on in the world with the benefit of a little distance and time.</p>



<p>Personally my main goals this year are for the health and wellness of my family, incorporating more playing music and photography into my life, and strengthening <a href="https://www.calm.com">my meditation practice</a>. If you’re reading this, I hope to run into you online or in person and this year let’s do our best together to leave the world a little better than we found it.</p>



<p>All birthdays: <a href="https://ma.tt/2003/01/bday/">19</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2004/01/so-im-20/">20</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2005/01/hot-barely-legal-matt/">21</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2006/01/matt-22/">22</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2007/01/twenty-three/">23</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2008/01/twenty-four/">24</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2009/01/twenty-five/">25</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2010/01/twenty-six/">26</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2011/01/twenty-seven/">27</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2012/01/twenty-eight/">28</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2013/01/twenty-nine/">29</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2014/01/matt-3-0/">30</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2015/01/thirty-one/">31</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2016/01/thirty-two/">32</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2017/01/thirty-three/">33</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2018/01/thirty-four/">34</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2019/01/thirty-five/">35</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 16 Jan 2020 09:15:02 +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:4;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:62:"WordPress.org blog: WordPress Leaders Nominated for CMX Awards";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=8288";s: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:78:"https://wordpress.org/news/2020/01/wordpress-leaders-nominated-for-cmx-awards/";s: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:3074:"<p>Two members of the WordPress leadership team were nominated for excellent work in their field in the first ever Community Industry Awards. <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/andreamiddleton/">Andrea Middleton</a> is nominated for <a href="https://cmxhub.com/awards-executive">Executive Leader of a Community Team</a> and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/">Josepha Haden Chomphosy</a> is nominated for <a href="https://cmxhub.com/awards-professional">Community Professional of the Year</a>.</p>



<img src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2020/01/josepha_and_andrea.jpg?fit=632%2C281&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-8292" />



<p><a href="https://cmxhub.com/">CMX</a> is one of the largest professional organizations dedicated to community builders. The awards were open to public nomination, and finalists were chosen by panels of their peers in the CMX community.</p>



<p>Andrea has been a vital community strategist for the WordPress project since 2011. Her work to build and support a vibrant community has played a part in the success around the popular open source CMS. Her work is sponsored by Automattic, where she leads a team that focuses on educational efforts, funding, and in-person community-driven events that serve a global base.</p>



<p>Josepha has been the Executive Director of the WordPress project since 2019. Her work to coordinate and guide volunteer efforts spans 20 teams and involves thousands of volunteers. Her work is also sponsored by Automattic, where she leads the open source division that focuses on all aspects of open source contribution including design, development, volunteer engagement, and the health of the overall WordPress ecosystem.</p>



<h2>Votes are Open</h2>



<p>Final recipients are chosen with open voting — if you feel like either Andrea or Josepha have had an impact on your careers, your trajectory in the WordPress project, or the health of WordPress as a whole, there are three ways you can show your support:</p>



<ul><li>Stop by and vote for them (Andrea&nbsp;<a href="https://href.li/?https://cmxhub.com/awards-executive">here</a>, Josepha&nbsp;<a href="https://href.li/?https://cmxhub.com/awards-professional">here</a>)!</li><li>Share this post with your own communities!</li><li>Tweet some inspirational thoughts about your time/experience/learnings with WordPress (using&nbsp;#WordPress, naturally)!</li></ul>



<h2>Thank You Notes</h2>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>A lot of care and passion goes into making the WordPress Project as fantastic as it is. I think these awards are a reflection of how wonderful the community and ecosystem are, and I appreciate everyone&#8217;s continued trust in my stewardship!</p><cite>Josepha Haden Chomphosy</cite></blockquote>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>WordPress community organizers are some of the most generous and creative people in the world — working with them is exciting and interesting every day. I’m humbled by this nomination; thank you!</p><cite>Andrea Middleton</cite></blockquote>";s: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, 15 Jan 2020 21:42:12 +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:"Francesca Marano";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:5;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:67:"WPTavern: Get Involved With Block-Based WordPress Theme Experiments";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=96502";s: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:78:"https://wptavern.com/get-involved-with-block-based-wordpress-theme-experiments";s: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:4426:"<p>As the WordPress theme review team wound down their team meeting yesterday, they were finalizing what their focus area for 2020 would be.  The general agreement among members was that block-based themes should be at the top of the list.  There was some pushback from a minority that did not want to see block-based themes at all.  The reality is that themes will be changing in the next year or two.</p>



<p>As a team, this is the group of people who will ultimately need to set guidelines based on something WordPress has never done before.  They will also need to work diligently to bring theme authors up to speed on how themes of the future will be built.</p>



<p>At this point, there are many unknowns, but work on <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/labels/%5BFeature%5D%20Full%20Site%20Editing">tickets for full-site editing</a> is happening at a quick pace.</p>



<p>Allan Cole, Theme Imagineer at Automattic, later invited team members to get involved with the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/theme-experiments">Theme Experiments project</a> on GitHub.  It is a way for developers in the WordPress community to help steer the theme-development ship.  Currently, the repository is fairly bare-bones and represents only the early work toward creating themes from blocks.  Each sub-directory in the repository will be an individual experiment that explores creating themes using blocks or block templates.</p>



<p>The <a href="https://wptavern.com/initial-documentation-for-block-based-wordpress-themes-proposed">initial documentation</a> for block-based themes was introduced in early December 2019.  Since then, a handful of contributors have put together some working theme examples to get the ball rolling.</p>



<p>The repository is <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/theme-experiments/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md">open to contributions</a> from anyone.  This would be a good moment for members of the larger theme development community to start sending in pull requests to share their experiments.</p>



<p>To test any of the experiments in this repository, you need to be running the latest version of the Gutenberg plugin.  You must also enable the &ldquo;Full Site Editing&rdquo; and &ldquo;Full Site Editing Demo Templates&rdquo; options from within the plugin&rsquo;s &ldquo;Experiments&rdquo; screen.</p>



<h2>Parisienne Theme</h2>



<img />Screenshot of the Parisienne theme.



<p>Currently, the only approved theme experiment is the Parisienne theme.  It&rsquo;s a test of how block templates and template parts work.  A <a href="https://parisiennetheme.mystagingwebsite.com/">live demo</a> of the theme is available.</p>



<p>Don&rsquo;t expect to be blown away.  There are many missing pieces in the Gutenberg plugin, such as blocks for displaying posts and similar items.  The idea is to explore how templating will work and provide feedback to the Gutenberg development team.</p>



<p>One major concern I have at this point is the flat nature of the two sub-directories for housing templates and template parts.  With the seven template part files in this theme, I worry that we are not learning from the mistakes of the past.  The sub-folders could become unruly, particularly <code>/template-parts</code>, and house dozens upon dozens of files in a real-world scenario.  This is no different from how themes currently work other than the location of the template files.  Now would be a good time to reimagine the folder structure and optimize the organization of theme templates.  For example, group sidebar templates under a <code>/template-parts/sidebar</code> folder instead of dumping everything into one location.</p>



<h2>Twenty Nineteen and Twenty Twenty</h2>



<img />Early look at a block-based Twenty Nineteen theme.



<p>The repository has two open pull requests for experimenting with blocked-based versions of the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/theme-experiments/pull/4">Twenty Nineteen</a> and <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/theme-experiments/pull/5">Twenty Twenty</a> default themes.  Of the two, the Twenty Nineteen Blocks theme seemed the least broken, despite the original not being designed specifically for the block editor.</p>



<p>Porting the most recent default WordPress themes is important because it provides theme authors a way to compare how old methods of handling features will work in the new block system.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 15 Jan 2020 21:39:12 +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:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:6;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:116:"HeroPress: How WordPress Enabled Me To Work Remotely – Bagaimana WordPress Memungkinkan Saya Bekerja Secara Remote";s: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=3037";s: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/starting-early-in-tech/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=starting-early-in-tech";s: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:34324:"<img width="960" height="480" src="https://s20094.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/011320-min-1024x512.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Pull Quote: WordPress people tend to be generous, trusting, and helpful." /><p><a href="https://heropress.com/feed/#indonesian">Esai ini juga tersedia dalam bahasa Indonesia.</a></p>
<p>Growing up, I’ve always been surrounded by technology.</p>
<p>My dad is a programmer, he created my Gmail account and my first blog on Blogger (Blogspot) when I was 10 years old (it’s around 2006?). I filled up my blog with posts resembling diary entries. The content became too private eventually, so I decided to set it on private.</p>
<p>Besides that first blog, I had about 5 other blogs on Blogger. One was for posts I believed not too private and could be consumed by the public, one was for my class’ blog in middle school, and one for me to learn how to write in English. I don’t remember what the other blogs are for, since I just kept creating and deleting them. I got satisfaction and happiness from pouring my thoughts in writing and publishing them in my blog. Many times, writing my thoughts and feelings helped me process them, even until now.</p>
<p>Fast forward to high school graduation. Since I love languages (English is one of my favorite subjects!), I actually wanted to major in English in a top public university in my country, but I didn’t get in, so my second option was Information Systems in a private university. There, I learned a lot about IT and business, I learned Java, HTML, CSS, Javascript, and Android programming. I even took some Coursera and Codecademy courses to learn Bootstrap and Ruby on Rails. I was a good student, I love learning the algorithms and I did more than okay, but I didn’t love programming. I’m not that people who can stay calm finding errors in their codes, and then finding out that it’s only missing a character.</p>
<h3>Meeting WordPress for the first time</h3>
<p>At that time, my parents built some websites to sell backlinks (don’t hate me). I helped them with the sites, mainly proofreading and formatting the articles, and they would pay me. That’s when I first encountered WordPress. I saw WordPress as something more advanced than Blogger, with more themes and plugins to choose from. The default WordPress websites already looked more professional than Blogger does.</p>
<p>I also like to earn extra money (who doesn’t?), so I helped a teacher in my neighborhood teaching high school students from my old high school. I don’t know how to explain this, but in Indonesia, it’s common to take extra courses (outside the school) to learn what you’re already taught at school and prepare for tests. So it’s another 2-hour study time after school.</p>
<p>During another semester, I taught English at a Kumon center (it’s a Japanese franchise for math and English). I also taught about 10 of my peers for 2 semesters and got a pretty good discount for my tuition as a reward. At home, I tried every legal and safe method available to make money online. Some worked, like translating texts from English to Indonesian on Gengo and writing articles in English on Zerys. Some, like online surveys, didn’t. I also created an Upwork account and applied to some jobs there, but I never got one.</p>
<p>In my last year at university, I had to do a year-long full-time internship. I got mine at a big general insurance company as their IT QC Staff. I learned a lot and met many amazing people there, but when I was offered to continue working there as a Business Analyst, I said no. I wanted to apply for a scholarship for a masters’ degree. And I don’t really like the fact that I have to wake up at 6 and be back home at 7 in the evening and do it all over again the next day.</p>
<a href="https://s20094.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/image2.jpg"><img /></a>With my colleagues, I’m the one with the white blouse.
<p>But one thing I realized just now when I’m writing this is, the whole remote work wouldn’t have happened without the internship. My daily 1.5-hour commute to work made me read Medium everyday. And reading people’s stories on Medium made me want to write and share my stories, so I started writing and sharing my stories there. You’ll see in the next 2 paragraphs the significance of this Medium profile in my career.</p>
<h3>Start working remotely</h3>
<p>So after the internship, while I prepared for the scholarship application, I went back to my Upwork profile, revised it, and applied to some jobs as a virtual assistant. Starting from a very low pay, I did everything, like formatting WordPress posts (surprise!), designing social media posts, and processing orders for online shops. I work with people from Singapore, Australia, Europe, and America. After a few happy clients, I increased my hourly rate, slowly but surely. I got familiar with common tools used in a remote work setting, like Slack, Asana, Trello, and Google Suites. I also started writing in English a lot more, on my personal blog on WordPress.com and my Medium.</p>
<p>One day, around 3 months after I started, a job opening on Upwork caught my attention. They’re a WordPress plugin company called Caldera Labs/Caldera Forms, and they’re looking for someone who could deliver consistency on their blog. They want to publish one blog post per week. I sent my proposal along with my Medium profile URL. <a href="http://christiechirinos.com">Christie Chirinos</a> then replied to my proposal. I remembered she mentioned checking my writings on Medium and that I have a ‘great writing tone’. She wanted to ‘meet’ me in video, so she sent me a Calendly link. I notified her that I would be available at 5 a.m. my time. That was my first time seeing Calendly.. (Calendly is awesome!).</p>
<p>That was also my first time having to be interviewed via video call. I was ecstatic, but panicked. On the day, I woke up at 4, got dressed, and opened my laptop. Weirdly, my wi-fi died that morning. So I went to the nearest McDonalds to get the interview done, and it went great!</p>
<p>Long story short, I continued to work with my other clients and started working with Caldera Forms for 15 hours a week. Besides Christie, I also met <a href="https://twitter.com/Josh412">Josh Pollock</a>, Ariella, Anchaal, Rosa, Nico, and Swapnil. At first, I was only tasked with formatting blog posts on WordPress following their style guide. Then I was involved in their overall content strategy, like crafting onboarding emails and coordinating with guest writers. But I’ve always felt welcomed since day one at Caldera Forms. We’re a team of only 5-6 people, we had monthly all-hands video meetings, we talked about our day in Slack. It wasn’t like with any of my clients.</p>
<p>Christie and Josh are also very active in the WordPress community, they had introduced me to the ‘right’ people to connect with. In order to do that, I had to make an account on WordPress’ Slack. I got to know the amazing community behind WordPress. How people voluntarily contribute their time, energy, and skills to the community, from development, marketing, to translating. It was really inspiring. During my time with Caldera Forms, I also went to my first WordCamp, WordCamp Jakarta 2018, sponsored by Caldera Forms!</p>
<a href="https://s20094.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/image3.jpg"><img /></a>Some swags from WordCamp Jakarta 2018, that’s Wapuu ondel-ondel!
<p>It’s only natural then that I wanted to have my own WordPress website. I had a WordPress.com blog once, but this one is different. You can see <a href="http://ascenciafike.com">my blog here</a>. I felt like a grown-up using WordPress.</p>
<h3>Transitioning to full-time</h3>
<p>One day, Caldera Forms was acquired by <a href="http://saturdaydrive.com">Saturday Drive</a>, the company behind <a href="http://ninjaforms.com">Ninja Forms</a>. Josh, Nico, Rosa, and I ‘moved’ there, too. Josh introduced me to <a href="http://jameslaws.com">James Laws</a>, the CEO. But because I was still freelancing and have a few other clients, we used my old contract on Upwork. Saturday Drive was much bigger than Caldera, with 20+ people onboard, and I was really excited! They have product team, support team, and communications team. When we moved there, they’re also in another big transition, which was switching to remote work.</p>
<p>After a month working with Saturday Drive using the old contract, James offered me a full-time position to manage their affiliate program. It was morning in the U.S., but it’s already 8 p.m. where I live. I was <i>really</i> excited, but it’s also a really hard decision to make. Taking the offer would mean letting go all of my clients and specializing in one side of digital marketing, which is affiliate marketing. I would also have to work 8 hours a day. I stayed up late that night, discussing the possibilities with my parents.</p>
<p>The next day, I replied to James’ message and accepted his offer.</p>
<p>It’s been more than 4 months since I started working with Saturday Drive now (time of writing: January 2020). Obviously, it’s different from freelancing, but I love almost every moment of it.</p>
<p>We use Basecamp instead of Slack, where we set up different questions for different times of the week. Every Wednesday, we would be asked: “What do you look like today?”. There are also questions like “What are you looking forward to most this week?”, “What were the highlights of your work day today?”, and “Read any good books lately?”. We even have fiction and non-fiction book clubs!</p>
<p>We also use Basecamp’s method of working, called <a href="https://basecamp.com/shapeup">Shape Up</a>. We work on projects in a six-week cycle, and then we’ll have two weeks of cooldown. In the cooldown period, we get to work on things we want to work on. And before the next cycle starts, we’ll submit pitches about the projects we want to work on next.</p>
<p>What about video calls? We have a big monthly meeting with all team members, and occasional coffee break chats with 4-5 people. If urgently needed, we would also have video calls for projects. Except for these calls, I work in my time zone’s working hours.</p>
<p>So far, I love working with Saturday Drive and getting to know the people. Although I can’t really relate to the U.S. culture (almost all of the team members are U.S. based), I relate to the values that Saturday Drive has. Most importantly, I’m proud of the work we’re doing!</p>
<a href="https://s20094.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/image1.png"><img /></a>We have virtual ‘coffee breaks’.
<h3>Giving back to the WordPress Community</h3>
<p>Notice the pattern in my story?</p>
<p>WordPress people tend to be generous, trusting, and helpful, because the WordPress itself is open-source. WordPress is powered by volunteers, kind people from all over the world doing development, marketing, translation, support, and many more. There are WordPress meetups, local and regional WordCamps, which are organized by organizers and volunteers.</p>
<p>Because I’ve experienced the generosity of the WordPress people, I wanted to give back to the community. Several months ago, I tried contributing to the Marketing team by attending a few weekly meetings on Slack. But I eventually stopped attending because I was too busy with work (and the meetings are at 10 pm my time).</p>
<p>Around November 2019, Devin Maeztri from WordPress Indonesia contacted me through Instagram DM. She invited me to join PerempuanWP, an initiative for Indonesian women working in the WordPress world, similar to WomeninWP. So I followed <a href="https://twitter.com/PerempuanWP">@PerempuanWP</a> on Twitter and joined the WordPress Indonesia’s Slack. Not long after that, I contributed to Indonesia’s polyglot team as well, translating the Code of Conduct and revising our Translation Style Guide.</p>
<p>Currently, I’m preparing an <a href="https://wp-id.org/kulgram-4-onboarding-e-mail/">‘online webinar’ on Telegram</a> and <a href="https://wp-id.org/wpjkt-meetup-21-onboarding-email-and-woocommerce-theme-for-your-business">a talk for WordPress Meetup Jakarta</a>, both about email marketing (both will be done by the time you’re reading this).</p>
<p>By putting myself out there, or here in this article. I want to represent Asian women. In the future, I hope I can inspire more women, especially Asians, to work remotely.</p>
<h3>What you should do if you want to work remotely</h3>
<p>If you’re an introvert, working remotely may sound like a dream come true. Without leaving the comfort of your house (or even your pajamas), you can still work and earn money. But, it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. From my experience, here’s what you should prepare if you want to work remotely.</p>
<ol>
<li>You should be comfortable working with computers. All day.<br />
At least you can do a basic Google search, because that’s where most of the answers are, especially if you want to start as a general virtual assistant. Take care of your eyes. Stand up and walk around once in awhile.</li>
<li>It gets boring. You should be OK with <i>not </i>meeting people all day.<br />
Sometimes you just have to focus on your work so much that you can’t afford to get out of the house. But sometimes, the only way to have that focus is to get out of the house and work from a cafe. Just find the balance you need, it’ll get better with experience.</li>
<li>Learn the English language. Or other international languages.<br />
If you want to work internationally, this one is crucial. You won’t be able to work with people from another country if you can’t speak their language.</li>
<li>Do your best in your current job.<br />
One of the best books I’ve read this year was So Good They Can’t Ignore You by Cal Newport. “Don’t follow your passion; rather, let it follow you in your quest to become, in the words of my favorite Steve Martin quote, “so good that they can’t ignore you.”” So, instead of trying to find your passion, enjoy the work you’re doing at the moment, try to master it, and adopt the craftsman mindset. Collect as many skills as you can, and see what those skills can do for the world.<br />
TLDR; don’t be obsessed with wanting to work remotely. The opportunity will come, eventually.</li>
<li>Don’t settle for mediocrity.<br />
Just learn things. As much as you can. From anywhere, about anything. Keep an open mind. Read books, listen to podcasts, and learn new skills.</li>
<li>Join the community.<br />
If you’re working in the WordPress world, join the WordPress community. It’s a great place to learn from and connect with great people.</li>
</ol>
<p>Of course, I won’t be able to tell you to follow the same path that I took, but I hope my story and the pointers above can help you to pursue the (remote) career you want.</p>
<hr />
<h2 id="indonesian">Bertumbuh bersama teknologi</h2>
<p>Saya sudah dikelilingi teknologi sejak kecil.</p>
<p>Papa saya adalah seorang programmer yang familier dengan teknologi. Saat umur saya 10 tahun, Papa membuatkan akun email Gmail dan blog pertama saya di Blogger (Blogspot). Saat itu, artikel blog saya kebanyakan menyerupai diari, catatan dari kejadian sehari-hari yang saya alami. Akhirnya, saya merasa konten tersebut terlalu pribadi, sehingga saya atur aksesnya menjadi pribadi.</p>
<p>Selain blog pertama itu, saya mempunyai 5 blog lain di Blogger. Satu untuk tulisan yang saya nilai tidak terlalu privat dan bisa dibaca oleh publik, satu untuk blog kelas saya di SMP, dan satu untuk saya belajar menulis dalam Bahasa Inggris. Saya tidak ingat blog yang lain untuk apa, karena banyak yang saya buat lalu saya hapus. Saya merasa puas dan senang saat bisa menuangkan pikiran saya dalam bentuk tulisan. Menulis membantu saya memroses pikiran dan perasaan saya, bahkan sampai saat ini.</p>
<p>Setelah lulus SMA, saya tadinya ingin kuliah Sastra Inggris di salah satu universitas negeri (saya suka bahasa, Bahasa Inggris mata pelajaran favorit saya!), tetapi karena tidak berhasil masuk, akhirnya saya berkuliah di universitas swasta, mengambil jurusan Sistem Informasi. Di kuliah, saya belajar banyak mengenai TI dan bisnis, saya mempelajari bahasa pemrograman Java, HTML, CSS, Javascript, dan pemrograman Android. Saya juga belajar Bootstrap dan Ruby on Rails secara otodidak lewat Coursera dan Codecademy. Saya bisa memahami pelajaran pemrograman dan mendapat nilai bagus, tetapi saya tidak suka <i>‘coding</i>’. Saya merasa saya tidak cukup sabar untuk menulis kode dan mencari kesalahan dalam kode saya.</p>
<h3>Bertemu WordPress pertama kali</h3>
<p>Saat saya kuliah, orangtua saya membangun beberapa website menggunakan WordPress untuk menjual link. Saya membantu mereka mengecek kualitas artikel dan menyusunnya di WordPress, dan mereka membayar saya. Ini pertama kalinya saya bekerja dengan WordPress. Saya ingat, saya menganggap WordPress sebagai platform yang lebih canggih dari Blogger, karena ada lebih banyak cara untuk modifikasi lewat tema dan plugin.</p>
<p>Saya suka mendapat uang tambahan (siapa yang tidak suka?), sehingga saya membantu mengajar bimbel di dekat rumah. Di semester lain, saya mengajar Inggris di Kumon, di dekat rumah juga. Selain itu, selama 2 semester, saya menjadi mentor di kampus, mengajar 10 orang teman saya yang butuh pelajaran tambahan. Sebagai gantinya, saya mendapat potongan uang kuliah.</p>
<p>Di rumah, saya juga mencari semua cara yang legal dan aman untuk mencari uang. Saya menerjemahkan teks dari Inggris ke Indonesia menggunakan Gengo dan menulis artikel dalam Bahasa Inggris di Zerys. Saya juga mendaftar di Upwork (marketplace untuk freelancer), apply ke beberapa pekerjaan, tetapi tidak pernah mendapat satupun.</p>
<p>Di tahun terakhir perkuliahan, saya diwajibkan menjalani magang selama 1 tahun. Saya mendapat kesempatan untuk magang di Asuransi Astra sebagai Staff IT Quality Control mereka. Selama 1 tahun tersebut, saya belajar banyak dan bertemu banyak orang hebat, tetapi saat ditawari posisi tetap menjadi Business Analyst, saya menolak. Saat itu saya ingin mendaftar beasiswa untuk melanjutkan pendidikan S2. Dan saya juga tidak terlalu suka harus bangun jam 6 pagi, sampai di rumah jam 7 malam, dan harus mengulanginya setiap hari.</p>
<a href="https://s20094.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/image2-1.jpg"><img /></a>Foto dengan teman-teman kantor, saya yang berbaju putih.
<p>Tetapi satu hal yang baru saya sadari saat menulis ini, kesempatan remote work yang saya miliki sekarang ini tidak mungkin ada tanpa pengalaman magang tersebut. Perjalanan bus ke kantor setiap hari membuat saya rutin membaca Medium. Membaca cerita-cerita orang di Medium membuat saya ingin menulis dan membagikan cerita saya, sehingga saya melakukannya di Medium.</p>
<h3>Mulai bekerja remote</h3>
<p>Setelah magang, saat saya mempersiapkan diri untuk mendaftar beasiswa, saya teringat dengan profil Upwork saya. Saya perbarui info diri dan CV, dan mendaftar ke beberapa lowongan sebagai asisten virtual (virtual assistant). Saya lakukan segala hal mulai dari bayaran yang kecil, seperti mem-format artikel di WordPress, desain pos media sosial, dan memroses pesanan untuk toko online. Saya bekerja dengan klien dari Singapura, Australia, Eropa, dan Amerika. Setelah beberapa review yang bagus dari klien, saya menaikkan tarif per jam saya perlahan-lahan. Saya menjadi mahir menggunakan aplikasi yang sering digunakan di lingkungan kerja remote, seperti Slack, Asana, Trello, dan Google Suites. Saya juga mulai menulis lebih banyak artikel lagi dalam bahasa Inggris, di blog pribadi saya di WordPress.com dan Medium.</p>
<p>Suatu hari, 3 bulan setelah mulai kerja di Upwork, ada sebuah lowongan yang menarik perhatian saya. Sebuah perusahaan plugin WordPress bernama Caldera Labs/Caldera Forms sedang mencari seseorang yang dapat menjaga konsistensi blog mereka. Mereka ingin menghasilkan satu artikel per minggu. Saya mengirim proposal beserta URL profil Medium saya.</p>
<p>Tidak lama kemudian, proposal saya dijawab oleh salah satu co-founder mereka, <a href="http://christiechirinos.com/">Christie Chirinos</a>. Saya ingat Christie berkata bahwa ia sudah melihat profil Medium saya dan saya mempunyai ‘nada menulis yang bagus’. Lalu, ia mengirimi saya link Calendly (aplikasi untuk mengatur pertemuan secara online, bisa melihat jadwal kosong dari orang yang bersangkutan), dan saya memberitahunya bahwa saya akan dapat bertemu jam 5 pagi keesokan harinya.</p>
<p>Itu juga merupakan kali pertama saya diwawancara lewat video. Saya senang dan bersemangat, tetapi juga panik. Pada hari H, saya bangun jam 4 pagi, bersiap-siap, dan membuka laptop. Anehnya, hari itu wi-fi saya putus! Saya akhirnya pergi ke McDonalds terdekat untuk mendapatkan koneksi internet. Untungnya, wawancara tersebut berjalan lancar.</p>
<p>Saya diterima bekerja di Caldera Forms, sambil terus bekerja dengan klien yang lain, karena beban pekerjaan Caldera Forms saat itu hanya 15 jam seminggu, bahkan kurang. Selain Christie, saya juga bertemu dengan Josh Pollock (co-founder), Ariella, Anchaal, Rosa, Nico, dan Swapnil. Mereka berada di Amerika Serikat, India, dan Perancis.</p>
<p>Awalnya, saya hanya ditugaskan untuk menyusun artikel di WordPress sesuai dengan style guide yang sudah mereka susun. Setelah beberapa bulan, saya dilibatkan di dalam strategi konten mereka secara keseluruhan, seperti membuat email onboarding dan berkoordinasi dengan penulis tamu. Dari awal, walaupun kami belum pernah bertemu secara langsung, saya merasa disambut oleh tim Caldera Forms. Dalam satu waktu, tim kami hanya berjumlah 5-6 orang, dengan pertemuan bulanan melalui video, dan ‘ngobrol’ harian melalui Slack. Pengalaman dengan Caldera Forms tidak seperti dengan klien saya yang lain.</p>
<p>Christie dan Josh juga sangat aktif di komunitas WordPress, mereka mengenalkan saya ke orang-orang yang tepat. Untuk berkomunikasi dengan orang-orang tersebut, saya harus membuat akun di Slack Make WordPress. Saya jadi kenal dengan komunitas di balik WordPress, bagaimana orang secara sukarela menyumbangkan waktu, energi, dan kemampuan mereka untuk kemajuan komunitas, kode, pemasaran, hingga penerjemahan. Melihat itu semua sangat menginspirasi saya. Selama di Caldera Forms, saya juga dikirim untuk menghadiri WordCamp pertama saya, WordCamp Jakarta 2018!</p>
<a href="https://s20094.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/image3-1.jpg"><img /></a>Merchandise dari WordCamp Jakarta, Wapuu Ondel-ondel!
<p>Setelah menghadiri WordCamp tersebut, tentunya saya ingin mempunyai website WordPress sendiri dengan domain nama saya sendiri. Teman-teman dapat melihat blog saya <a href="http://ascenciafike.com">disini</a>. Mempunyai blog dengan domain nama saya sendiri terasa seperti langkah selanjutnya dalam perjalanan karir saya.</p>
<h3>Proses transisi ke pekerjaan penuh waktu</h3>
<p>Suatu hari, Caldera Forms diakuisisi oleh <a href="http://saturdaydrive.com">Saturday Drive</a>, perusahaan di balik plugin form builder lainnya, <a href="http://ninjaforms.com">Ninja Forms</a>. Josh, Nico, Rosa, dan saya ‘berpindah’ juga. Josh memperkenalkan saya ke <a href="http://jameslaws.com">James Laws</a>, CEO dari Saturday Drive. Saat itu, kami masih menggunakan kontrak lama saya di Upwork, dengan batas waktu kerja 15 jam seminggu. Di Saturday Drive, semuanya berbeda, tim mereka jauh lebih besar dibandingkan Caldera (ada lebih dari 20 orang) sehingga saya sangat bersemangat! Mereka mempunyai tim produk, tim suport, dan tim komunikasi. Tetapi, selain akuisisi tersebut, mereka juga sedang melewati transisi yang lain, yaitu berubah menjadi perusahaan remote.</p>
<p>Setelah satu bulan bekerja bersama Saturday Drive dengan kontrak lama saya, James tiba-tiba menawari saya posisi penuh waktu untuk mengelola program afiliasi mereka. Saya sangat senang dan bersyukur mendapatkan penawaran tersebut, tetapi juga mengalami dilema. Mengambil tawaran tersebut dan bekerja penuh waktu dengan Saturday Drive berarti melepas semua klien saya dan harus mengambil spesialisasi <i>affiliate marketing</i> (pemasaran afiliasi). Saya juga harus bekerja selama 8 jam sehari. Malam itu, saya tidak bisa tidur, dan saya berdiskusi dengan kedua orangtua saya yang sama bersemangatnya.</p>
<p>Keesokan harinya, saya menjawab pesan dari James dan menerima tawarannya.</p>
<p>Sudah lebih dari 4 bulan sejak saya mulai bekerja dengan Saturday Drive (waktu penulisan: bulan Januari 2020). Bekerja penuh waktu dengan satu perusahaan memang sangat berbeda dengan freelancing (bekerja lepas), tetapi saya menikmati hampir setiap momennya.</p>
<p>Di Saturday Drive, kami menggunakan Basecamp, bukan Slack, dimana kami dapat mengatur pertanyaan rutin untuk anggota yang lain setiap minggunya. Misalnya, setiap Rabu kami akan mendapat pertanyaan: “Bagaimana penampilanmu hari ini?”. Ada juga pertanyaan-pertanyaan seperti: “Apa yang kamu tunggu-tunggu minggu ini?”, “Apa yang berjalan lancar dari kerjamu hari ini?”, dan “Buku apa yang baru kamu baca dan menurutmu bagus akhir-akhir ini?”. Bahkan kami mempunyai klub membaca untuk buku fiksi dan non-fiksi!</p>
<p>Kami juga menggunakan metode kerja dari Basecamp, yang disebut <a href="https://basecamp.com/shapeup">Shape Up</a>. Kami bekerja dalam siklus, yaitu 6 minggu mengerjakan proyek, lalu 2 minggu mengerjakan hal-hal yang kami ingin kerjakan (disebut <i>cooldown</i>). Sebelum siklus selanjutnya mulai, kami akan mengumpulkan <i>pitch</i> mengenai proyek yang ingin kita lakukan.</p>
<p>Bagaimana dengan panggilan/konferensi video? Kami mengadakan pertemuan dengan semua anggota tim setiap bulannya, dan <i>ngobrol </i>dengan 4-5 orang setiap 2 minggu. Kalau diperlukan sekali, kami juga mengadakan panggilan video untuk pekerjaan. Saya bekerja dalam zona waktu Indonesia, kecuali untuk mengikuti panggilan-panggilan ini.</p>
<p>Sejauh ini, saya menikmati bekerja dengan Saturday Drive dan mengenal orang-orang di dalamnya. Walaupun sulit untuk terhubung dengan budaya Amerika (hampir 90% stafnya berada di Amerika), tetapi saya terhubung dan sangat mendukung nilai-nilai yang Saturday Drive pegang. Dan yang terpenting, saya bangga dengan kerja Saturday Drive sebagai perusahaan!</p>
<a href="https://s20094.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/image1-1.png"><img /></a>Ngobrol virtual dengan tim Saturday Drive.
<h3>Memberi kembali ke Komunitas WordPress</h3>
<p>Apakah teman-teman bisa melihat pola di dalam cerita saya?</p>
<p>Orang-orang di dalam komunitas WordPress biasanya suka berbagi, sangat percaya kepada orang lain (dan potensi orang lain), dan suka menolong, karena WordPress sendiri bersifat open-source (terbuka). WordPress bisa berjalan karena dibantu oleh para relawan, orang-orag dari seluruh dunia yang secara sukarela menulis kode, membantu pemasaran, penerjemahan, suport, dan masih banyak lagi. Meetup dan WordCamp, baik lokal dan regional, diadakan oleh organizer dan relawan.</p>
<p>Karena selama ini saya telah merasakan kebaikan dari orang-orang WordPress, saya ingin memberi kembali/membantu komunitas WordPress. Beberapa bulan lalu, saya mencoba berkontribusi ke tim Marketing WordPress global dengan mengikuti beberapa kali pertemuan mingguannya di Slack. Tetapi lama kelamaan saya tidak datang lagi, karena terlalu sibuk dengan pekerjaan (dan pertemuannya diadakan pukul 10 malam).</p>
<p>Sekitar bulan November 2019, Devin Maeztri dari WordPress Indonesia menghubungi saya lewat DM Instagram. Ia mengundang saya untuk ikut PerempuanWP, sebuah komunitas untuk perempuan Indonesia yang bekerja di dunia WordPress (mirip dengan WomeninWP). Hari itu, saya mulai mengikuti <a href="https://twitter.com/PerempuanWP">@PerempuanWP</a> di Twitter dan bergabung dengan Slack WordPress Indonesia. Tidak lama setelahnya, saya berkontribusi di tim poliglot Indonesia juga, menerjemahkan Kode Etik Komunitas WordPress Indonesia (<i>Code of Conduct</i>) dan merevisi Panduan Penerjemahan (<i>Translation Style Guide</i>).</p>
<p>Saat ini, saya sedang mempersiapkan <a href="https://wp-id.org/kulgram-4-onboarding-e-mail/">kulgram di grup Telegram PerempuanWP</a> dan menjadi <a href="https://wp-id.org/wpjkt-meetup-21-onboarding-email-and-woocommerce-theme-for-your-business">pembicara di Meetup WordPress Jakarta</a>, keduanya tentang <i>email marketing.</i></p>
<p>Dengan membagikan pengalaman dan cerita saya, salah satunya melakui artikel ini, saya ingin mewakili perempuan Indonesia dan Asia. Saya berharap saya dapat menginspirasi banyak perempuan di Indonesia dan Asia untuk bekerja secara remote.</p>
<h3>Apa yang harus Anda lakukan jika ingin bekerja secara <i>remote</i></h3>
<p>Jika teman-teman adalah seorang yang introver (seperti saya!), bekerja remote mungkin terdengar seperti mimpi yang jadi kenyataan. Tanpa harus meninggalkan rumah (bahkan kadang masih memakai baju tidur), Anda dapat bekerja dan menghasilkan uang. Tetapi tidak semua aspek bekerja remote itu menyenangkan.</p>
<p>Berdasarkan pengalaman saya, berikut hal-hal yang harus Anda persiapkan jika ingin bekerja secara remote:</p>
<ol>
<li>Anda harus siap bekerja di depan komputer. Satu hari penuh.<br />
Paling tidak Anda harus bisa melakukan pencarian lewat Google, karena akan sangat dibutuhkan untuk bekerja, terutama jika Anda ingin memulai sebagai asisten virtual. Jaga mata Anda. Berdiri dan jalan setiap 30 menit.</li>
<li>Anda harus siap bosan, dan tidak bertemu orang lain (selain keluarga) selama satu hari.<br />
Kadang Anda harus fokus sekali dengan pekerjaan hingga tidak bisa keluar rumah. Tetapi kadang, satu-satunya cara untuk fokus adalah keluar rumah dan kerja di kafe. Sesuaikan dengan kebutuhan, lama-kelamaan Anda akan menemukan kombinasi yang pas.</li>
<li>Pelajari bahasa Inggris. Atau bahasa internasional lainnya.<br />
Jika Anda ingin bekerja secara internasional. Poin ini adalah keharusan. Anda tidak akan bisa bekerja dengan orang dari negara lain jika Anda tidak dapat berkomunikasi dalam bahasa mereka.</li>
<li>Lakukan yang terbaik di pekerjaan Anda saat ini.<br />
Salah satu buku terbaik yang saya baca di tahun 2019 adalah So Good They Can’t Ignore You oleh Cal Newport. “Jangan ikuti passion Anda; melainkan biarkan passion Anda mengikuti Anda dalam perjalanan, yang Steve Martin sebagai, “bagus sekali hingga mereka tidak dapat mengabaikan Anda.”” Jadi, jangan ikuti passion Anda, tetapi jalani pekerjaan yang Anda punya sekarang sebaik mungkin, coba untuk menguasai kemampuan yang dibutuhkan, dan adopsi cara pikir ‘pengrajin’. Jangan menunggu pekerjaan yang ‘sempurna’, percaya bahwa setiap pekerjaan mempunyai pelajaran bagi diri kita, kumpulkan kemampuan sebanyak mungkin, dan pikirkan apa yang dapat Anda lakukan bagi dunia dengan kemampuan-kemampuan tersebut.<br />
Singkatnya, jangan terlalu terobsesi dengan ingin bekerja secara remote. Kerjakan pekerjaan Anda sebaik mungkin, kesempatan akan datang pada waktunya.</li>
<li>Jangan mudah puas.<br />
Apapun tingkat kemampuan Anda saat ini, belajar sebanyak-banyaknya. Darimana saja, tentang apa saja. Tetap terbuka. Baca buku, dengarkan podcast, dan pelajari kemampuan baru.</li>
<li>Ikut komunitas.<br />
Jika Anda bekerja di dunia WordPress, ikut komunitas WordPress! Selain bisa menolong orang lain, kita juga bisa belajar dari banyak orang hebat dan menambah koneksi.</li>
</ol>
<p>Saya berharap pengalaman saya dan tips-tips di atas dapat menginspirasi dan menolong teman-teman yang ingin berkarir secara remote.</p>
<div class="rtsocial-container rtsocial-container-align-right rtsocial-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-twitter-horizontal-button"><a title="Tweet: How WordPress Enabled Me To Work Remotely &#8211; Bagaimana WordPress Memungkinkan Saya Bekerja Secara Remote" class="rtsocial-twitter-button" href="https://twitter.com/share?text=How%20WordPress%20Enabled%20Me%20To%20Work%20Remotely%20%2D%20Bagaimana%20WordPress%20Memungkinkan%20Saya%20Bekerja%20Secara%20Remote&via=heropress&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fessays%2Fstarting-early-in-tech%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal fb-light"><div class="rtsocial-fb-horizontal-button"><a title="Like: How WordPress Enabled Me To Work Remotely &#8211; Bagaimana WordPress Memungkinkan Saya Bekerja Secara Remote" class="rtsocial-fb-button rtsocial-fb-like-light" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fessays%2Fstarting-early-in-tech%2F" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-linkedin-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-linkedin-button" href="https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fheropress.com%2Fessays%2Fstarting-early-in-tech%2F&title=How+WordPress+Enabled+Me+To+Work+Remotely+%26%238211%3B+Bagaimana+WordPress+Memungkinkan+Saya+Bekerja+Secara+Remote" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Share: How WordPress Enabled Me To Work Remotely &#8211; Bagaimana WordPress Memungkinkan Saya Bekerja Secara Remote"></a></div></div><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal"><div class="rtsocial-pinterest-horizontal-button"><a class="rtsocial-pinterest-button" href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://heropress.com/essays/starting-early-in-tech/&media=https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/011320-min-150x150.jpg&description=How WordPress Enabled Me To Work Remotely - Bagaimana WordPress Memungkinkan Saya Bekerja Secara Remote" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Pin: How WordPress Enabled Me To Work Remotely &#8211; Bagaimana WordPress Memungkinkan Saya Bekerja Secara Remote"></a></div></div><a rel="nofollow" class="perma-link" href="https://heropress.com/essays/starting-early-in-tech/" title="How WordPress Enabled Me To Work Remotely &#8211; Bagaimana WordPress Memungkinkan Saya Bekerja Secara Remote"></a></div><p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com/essays/starting-early-in-tech/">How WordPress Enabled Me To Work Remotely &#8211; Bagaimana WordPress Memungkinkan Saya Bekerja Secara Remote</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 15 Jan 2020 01:00:05 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"Fike Komala";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:7;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:104:"WPTavern: Dollie Platform Launches, Provides Tools to Build and Deploy Pre-Configured WordPress Installs";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=96477";s: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:114:"https://wptavern.com/dollie-platform-launches-provides-tools-to-build-and-deploy-pre-configured-wordpress-installs";s: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:4720:"<p>Stratus5, a company that specializes in cloud container management and business service automation, launched <a href="https://getdollie.com/">Dollie</a> today.  Dollie is a cloud-based eCommerce solution for WordPress developers looking to provide white-label hosting services to their customers.  The platform allows developers and agencies to sell custom, pre-configured WordPress solutions to their clients.</p>



<p>Dollie is built on top of the Stratus5 Cloudware system.  It includes tools like Blueprints, which allows developers to save and clone custom WordPress configurations.  These configurations are saved to the cloud.  Developers can then launch new instances and monetize them at the click of a button.</p>



<p>It also has management tools such as billing automation, customer resource management, analytics, backups, permissions, and more.  The platform serves sites via isolated Docker containers.  It runs on a modern stack that includes NGINX, PHP 7.3, Redis, and PerconaDB.</p>



<p>&ldquo;In the simplest terms, we let developers launch their own cloud hosting service similar to Wix or Squarespace but using WordPress,&rdquo; said Trent Lapinski, VP of Dollie and Stratus5 Cloudware.</p>



<p>Developers can try Dollie for free and only start paying once they are ready to accept customers.  Pricing begins at $100 per month for the first 10 customers.</p>



<p>Customer billing can be done via Dollie&rsquo;s payment gateway or the developer&rsquo;s gateway of choice.  The system is backed by the WooCommerce plugin, so any payment gateway that supports WooCommerce Subscriptions is available.  There are no limits on the business model that developers employ.  They can set up custom pricing.</p>



<p>Take a quick tour of how Dollie works:</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">

</div>



<h2>Filling a Missing Gap in the Market</h2>



<p>&ldquo;We built Dollie because there&rsquo;s a competitive gap in the market between the hosting companies and the developers who actually build websites, themes, and plugins,&rdquo; Trent Lapinski.  &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve seen agencies and many of my developer friends constantly stuck in the rat race of trying to find that next customer, get that next download, and struggle to build sustainable businesses. This is the struggle I faced with CyberChimps selling one-off WordPress products.  Meanwhile, the hosting companies have turned into multi-million and even billion-dollar corporations on the backs of these same developers.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Lapinski feels like Dollie will level the playing field for developers.  He wishes these tools had existed when he bootstrapped his WordPress startup.  The goal is to allow developers to compete on their own terms.  </p>



<p>&ldquo;By empowering developers to build sustainable products and services and generate reoccurring-subscription revenue, much like the hosting companies have accomplished, we can grow WordPress by helping developers and agencies grow their businesses,&rdquo; he said.  &ldquo;The key is helping them acquire subscription customers so they can forecast, budget, and bootstrap their businesses in a way I never could when I ran my own theme shop.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The platform is built on top of WordPress and WooCommerce.  The custom-built technology on top of this allows developers to set up white-label cloud services with minimal up-front knowledge.  The biggest requirement is that developers need to be comfortable with WordPress and WooCommerce.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Bringing these enterprise-level tools to WordPress developers and giving them the freedom to choose their own business models has simply never been done before,&rdquo; said Lapinski.  &ldquo;Dollie automates many of the processes developers have had to work around for decades, and makes saving, cloning, deploying, and monetizing WordPress products and services as easy as a few clicks.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Dollie takes no part in what developers or agencies charge their clients outside of providing the tools.  That relationship exists directly between the developer and the client.  Dollie gets paid when developers convert subscribing customers to cover the cloud hosting costs.</p>



<p>They also allow larger agencies to select third-party cloud providers.  They can then license and partner with Dollie to manage their cloud infrastructure.  The goal is to allow developers to scale as large as needed and customize to suit their needs.</p>



<p>&ldquo;We are optimistic these tools and the freedom we are enabling for our partners will be the point of difference in how developers view their own value in what they can deliver to their clients and customers,&rdquo; said Lapinski.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 14 Jan 2020 21:13:30 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:8;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:65:"WPTavern: Can the Block Directory and Business Interests Coexist?";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=96444";s: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:75:"https://wptavern.com/can-the-block-directory-and-business-interests-coexist";s: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:5388:"<p>WordPress.org is not an official marketplace for plugins and themes.  Except for some plugins that are strictly SaaS products, all extensions to the platform are publicly available for the low cost of $0.</p>



<p>Despite not directly selling through WordPress.org, the plugin directory is a huge source of income for many individual developers and companies via product and service upsells.  Plugins are big business.  Besides a bounty of third-party marketplaces and individual shops, commercial interests often flow directly in and out of the official WordPress site.  For many developers, it essentially serves as a marketplace.</p>



<p>In December, we dove into an <a href="https://wptavern.com/version-1-prototype-of-the-wordpress-admin-block-directory-announced">early proposal of the WordPress block directory</a>.  The new directory should land within the WordPress software itself in version 5.5 and will house a new type of plugin.  The idea behind the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/browse/block/">block directory</a> is that it will allow plugin developers to create and share one-off blocks that users can install on their websites.</p>



<p>This is the future of WordPress.</p>



<p>Love it or hate it, there will come a time when end-users are primarily looking to install individual blocks to solve their problems.  This is not to say that other types of plugins won&rsquo;t exist or have their place.  They will continue to be a major part of the platform.  However, blocks will be a big deal once users can install them at the click of a button via the WordPress admin.</p>



<p>The question is whether blocks can also be big business.</p>



<p>Tavern reader Matt Gowdy <a href="https://wptavern.com/version-1-prototype-of-the-wordpress-admin-block-directory-announced#comment-316657">believes the guidelines</a> for the block directory could be an issue.  &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot to like here,&rdquo; he said.  &ldquo;Though I&rsquo;m still troubled by the directory submission rules that are fairly stringently not allowing for any sort of promotional link or defined up-sell of any kind so as not to &lsquo;disrupt the flow.'&rdquo;</p>



<p>Currently, the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/wporg-plugin-guidelines/blob/block-guidelines/blocks.md">block directory guidelines</a> make it clear that advertising of any kind is disallowed:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>Block Plugins are blocks. They must not include advertisements, prompts, or promotional messages.</p></blockquote>



<p>On the one hand, it makes sense, particularly for something that is not yet built and will eventually serve as a version 1.0. If every block a user installs begins advertising, it could be a recipe for disaster without some type of standard.</p>



<p>On the other hand, would the idea of not having an upselling route turn WordPress businesses away?  While many developers would be willing to submit blocks, is this sustainable?  Many of the most popular plugins are backed by businesses.  The more popular any particular piece of software becomes, the more likely it is that the software will need funding to cover maintenance, feature updates, and support.</p>



<p>&ldquo;More often than not these days, people don&rsquo;t have as much free time to invest in coding just for the fun of it,&rdquo; said Gowdy.  &ldquo;I speak mainly of myself, but I have the notion that while WordPress is still grounded pretty firmly in Open Source (not a bad thing), it&rsquo;s been the open markets that have allowed it to grow as much as it has. I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s wrong to allow people the opportunity (within reason) to make something back off their hard work should they choose. Donations are non-viable in my experience as the vast majority of humanity are way cheaper than they would like to admit.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Currently, the upcoming directory has a limited number of blocks available.  The WordPress Meta and Plugin teams should expect more.  However, it is unclear whether the guideline will slow its growth.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Without any sort of up-sell channel (rule-defined or element defined in blocks), we aren&rsquo;t going to see the plethora that we are hoping for, nor in some cases the quality that could be brought in by people working professionally on a block plugin,&rdquo; said Gowdy. &ldquo;The time to define these up-sell and link options is right now.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Gowdy is not alone in his concerns.  Several others expressed similar opinions in the comments on the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2019/12/06/block-directory-plugin-guidelines">block directory announcement post</a>.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Where WordPress started and where it is now are two separate points in time,&rdquo; said Gowdy.  &ldquo;I hope the Open Source community and the marketplaces can find a way to co-exist here in order to really rev up the platform for the future.&rdquo;</p>



<p class="has-text-color has-background has-white-color has-blue-700-background-color is-style-highlight text-white bg-blue-700">This post is part of a new <a href="https://wptavern.com/category/from-the-comments">From the Comments</a> series where we highlight interesting points of discussion from comments on WP Tavern articles. The hope is to give these comments, which can sometimes get lost, the attention they deserve.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 13 Jan 2020 20:46:34 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:9;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:77:"WPTavern: Upcoming Tailwind CSS 1.2.0 Includes Grid Support and New Utilities";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=96387";s: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/upcoming-tailwind-css-1-2-0-includes-grid-support-and-new-utilities";s: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:3499:"<p>Adam Wathan, creator of the Tailwind CSS, <a href="https://github.com/tailwindcss/tailwindcss/releases/tag/v1.2.0-canary.4">published the early release notes</a> for the upcoming version 1.2.0 update to the framework.  The new version will include the much-anticipated <a href="https://github.com/tailwindcss/tailwindcss/pull/1274">support for CSS grids</a> and several other useful features for app and website designers.  There are no planned breaking changes with the update.</p>



<p>Tailwind CSS is a utility-first CSS framework that is quickly gaining support from designers and developers.  Some WordPress themes are starting to pop up in the public sphere that use it, but is more often used as part of the in-house toolset at agencies, in which standards are necessary to keep teams on the same page.</p>



<p>For developers already using the framework, they can look for an update within days.  &ldquo;Right now I don&rsquo;t have any changes to these features planned, so as long as nobody finds any huge issues I&rsquo;ll tag the real v1.2.0 next week once I get some documentation together,&rdquo; said Wathan on <a href="https://twitter.com/adamwathan/status/1214982042083090433">Twitter</a>.</p>



<p>Now is a good time for new developers to start tinkering with the CSS framework.  With the addition of new CSS grid classes, there is little that is not possible for the majority of use cases.</p>



<p>I have been building with Tailwind, or a subset of its classes, for about a year now.  Aside from highly-custom scenarios, I have been able to build most projects while writing little CSS code.  For someone who comes primarily from a developer background, it has been a godsend for quickly putting together complex layouts.  CSS grid support was the big item I had been waiting for.  I had already built a custom grid system based on Tailwind&rsquo;s naming scheme.  My implementation is nearly the same as what is shipping in Tailwind CSS 1.2.0.</p>



<p>Other new features include classes for CSS features such as:</p>



<ul><li><code>transition</code></li><li><code>transform</code></li><li><code>stroke-width</code></li><li><code>box-sizing</code></li><li><code>clear</code></li></ul>



<p>Version 1.2.0 adds extra utility classes for rounded corners and shadow sizes.  It also extends its support for setting an element&rsquo;s maximum width.  New utility classes were added for removing a max-width and setting it based on predefined breakpoints.</p>



<p>The <a href="https://rsms.me/inter/">Inter font</a> now sits at the top of the font stack and will be used if installed on the user&rsquo;s system or if the developer loads it on the site.  Inter is a popular font created specifically for computer screens.  It comes in both fixed and variable options.  The Twenty Twenty theme <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-3-kirk-released-brings-new-default-theme-editor-improvements-and-ui-tweaks">released with WordPress 5.3</a> uses the variable version of Inter for several elements within its design.</p>



<p>For developers who are extending Tailwind CSS, they now have a <a href="https://github.com/tailwindcss/tailwindcss/pull/1268">new plugin API</a> for building custom plugins.  Plugins can also <a href="https://github.com/tailwindcss/tailwindcss/pull/1162">extend the user&rsquo;s configuration file</a>.</p>



<p>Overall, it looks like it will be a solid update.  I am excited about digging into it and using some of the new utility classes.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 10 Jan 2020 21:11:39 +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:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:10;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:90:"WPTavern: Gutenberg 7.2 Adds Long-Awaited Multi-Button Block and Gallery Image Size Option";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=96362";s: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:101:"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-7-2-adds-long-awaited-multi-button-block-and-gallery-image-size-option";s: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:4723:"<p>The Gutenberg team <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/01/09/whats-new-in-gutenberg-8-january/">released version 7.2</a> of the plugin yesterday after a four-week release hiatus for the holidays.  This update includes at least 180 pull requests to the project&rsquo;s repository by 56 contributors. The largest user-facing features include a new &ldquo;buttons&rdquo; block that allows users to add multiple buttons in a row and the ability to define the size of images in a gallery block.  These were two highly-requested features.</p>



<p>The update supports changing the font size in the relatively new navigation block.  Users can also add a link for the image in the media &amp; text block.  A few dozen other minor enhancements across multiple components made their way into the update.  Most enhancements continue to clean up the interface and improve usability.</p>



<p>Many bug fixes are included in version 7.2.  Accessibility improvements include using radio inputs for text alignment, adding an appropriate <code>group</code> role to the block wrapper, adding a label to the social icons block, and more.  Several fixes should improve how pasting content in the editor works, which generally works well already.</p>



<p>The team continued building upon experimental features, which must be activated via the Gutenberg &gt; Experiments screen in the admin. Outside of a handful of bug fixes and enhancements, the most interesting change is the introduction of a new experimental admin screen.  Gutenberg 7.2 now includes an early beta of a full-site editing page.</p>



<h2>Adding Buttons in a Row</h2>



<img />Adding multiple buttons within the Buttons block.



<p><em>If I had a nickel for every time a user asked how to put two buttons next to each other&hellip;</em>You know how the story goes.</p>



<p>One of the most-common website layouts today is a large &ldquo;hero&rdquo; section, a heading, some text, and a button, perhaps two.  An end-user could easily build this with a combination of the cover, heading, paragraph, and button blocks if only a single button was needed.  However, that second button was troubling without some custom code work.</p>



<p>The introduction of the buttons block changes everything.  It is a block that allows end-users to add any number of individual button blocks in a row.  At the moment, the block essentially serves as a wrapper.  The block&rsquo;s only option is the ability to set the alignment of the inner button blocks.</p>



<h2>Image Size Selector for Galleries</h2>



<img />Selecting a custom image size for the Gallery block.



<p>The lack of an option to set the size of gallery images has been one of Gutenberg&rsquo;s largest failures since its inception.  After years of this basic option for the gallery shortcode with the classic editor, the gallery block has always felt incomplete.</p>



<p>For some users, the lack of basic features that have long existed in the classic editor <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-one-year-later#comment-314188">is frustrating</a>.  That frustration is understandable, given the fast-paced movement on newer and shinier features.  It is refreshing to see work being done toward addressing long-missing features such as this.</p>



<p>The gallery block now has a new &ldquo;Images Sizes&rdquo; dropdown select for choosing the size of the images shown.  This option will solve at least a couple of major issues.  By selecting a custom size, the images will utilize less bandwidth for site visitors.  Previously, full-sized images were displayed.  It also allows users to select a consistent size so that galleries with multiple image aspect ratios are better aligned in a grid.  Basically, it can make for prettier galleries.</p>



<h2>Site Editor Screen Beta</h2>



<img />Testing the beta Site Editor screen.



<p>Gutenberg 7.2 introduces a &ldquo;Site Editor&rdquo; screen, which can be enabled by ticking the &ldquo;Enable Full Site Editing&rdquo; checkbox on the Gutenberg &gt; Experiments admin page.  The new screen is an early, bare-bones beta exploration into what will eventually be fully-fledged site editor.</p>



<p>At this point, the screen does not do much.  End-users can insert blocks and little else.  Content on this screen is not stored for later.  There is not even a save button yet.  Mostly, it serves as another step toward site editing, which could possibly land in core WordPress late in 2020.  However, that is an optimistic schedule, and it is far too early to make a solid guess.  There are a lot of open questions that need answers and technical hurdles to jump.  A 2021 release might be more realistic, depending on the pace of development.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 09 Jan 2020 20:47:39 +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:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:11;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:77:"WPTavern: BobWP.com Shifts Focus to WooCommerce, Rebrands as ‘Do the Woo’";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=96305";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:81:"https://wptavern.com/bobwp-com-shifts-focus-to-woocommerce-rebrands-as-do-the-woo";s: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:4426:"<img />



<p>BobWP.com <a href="https://bobwp.com/bobwp-is-now-do-the-woo-woocommerce-news-and-community/">announced yesterday</a> that the site and its podcast would be rebranded to &ldquo;Do the Woo at BobWP .&rdquo; After a decade of more generalized WordPress topics and news, it will now focus specifically on the WooCommerce plugin and its community.  The podcast will also be aired weekly, notching up their previous twice-monthly episodes.</p>



<p>For Bob Dunn, founder and co-host, this was move was a natural result of where the community he had built was heading.  &ldquo;Over the last 3 years, we have consistently created content around WooCommerce on our site,&rdquo; he said.  &ldquo;I saw that this was what our readers wanted, so built that up and in March of last year, made the decision to focus entirely on WooCommerce.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Dunn said he has been a fan of WooCommerce since its launch.  &ldquo;It has always been a favorite of mine, and I have used it to sell a lot of stuff. But oddly enough, never physical products.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Starting in 2020, the podcast will run weekly.  To keep up the brisk pace, the show is bringing on two new co-hosts.  Joining the team is Jonathan Wold, community lead for WooCommerce, and Mendel Kurland, developer advocate a Liquid Web.  Brad Williams, CEO of WebDevStudios, has been a co-host since 2018.</p>



<p>New episodes of the podcast will air every Thursday.  The show is pre-recorded on Tuesday of the same week, so the content should remain timely.</p>



<p>Do the Woo will specifically cater to its WooCommerce audience, but it may delve into the larger eCommerce world from time to time.  However, Dunn recommends listening in on the <a href="https://wpecommerceshow.com/">WP eCommerce Show</a> for topics that explore the larger WordPress and eCommerce landscape.</p>



<p>Dunn does not feel like there will be a shortage of topics to explore every week with WooCommerce-specific content.  &ldquo;At first, yes, it is a bit of a challenge finding topics around it,&rdquo; he said.  &ldquo;But, expanding it to bring in more of what people are doing in the space, no matter how big or small, opens it up more.&rdquo;  He is optimistic about the show&rsquo;s future.  &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll dig as deep as I need to go.  And, with its growth, it may come to the time where there will always be more [content] than I need.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The podcast&rsquo;s format remains simple.  &ldquo;We basically bring a guest in, learn more about what they are doing and their involvement in the Woo ecosystem,&rdquo; said Dunn.  &ldquo;We wrap it up, typically covering two or three news items. The conversation isn&rsquo;t planned at all.  We just take it where it leads us.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Dunn originally began the Doo the Woo podcast in 2016 but broadened the scope that same year to WordPress and eCommerce.  &ldquo;I missed it, and at the end of 2017, brought it back as more of an interview-style show, with me and a guest,&rdquo; he said.  &ldquo;For the next few months, I did very few shows and felt I need to change it up to be more conversational.&rdquo;  He brought on Williams as a co-host at that point.  &ldquo;We did a few shows where Brad and I would just chat Woo stuff, and both came to the conclusion it would be fun to bring on a guest, but still keeping it conversational.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The podcast episodes were sporadic until the middle of 2019, which was the start of the bi-weekly schedule.  Today, with three extra co-hosts, the team can rotate who is hosting a particular episode.</p>



<p>Dunn said he still catches a few other podcasts but not as many as in the past.  &ldquo;Always been a fan of and still listen to <a href="https://mattreport.com/">Matt Report</a> and <a href="https://getoptionspodcast.com/">Get Options</a>,&rdquo; he said.  &ldquo;I am sure I have listened to just about every WP-centric podcast a few times over the years. Without naming each one, there are several good choices depending on what you are looking for. Podcast listening is a very personal choice and I just recommend people dabble in what is out there and find those that click with you.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Listen to <a href="https://bobwp.com/whats-coming-to-the-do-the-woo-podcast-in-2020/">episode 33</a> where the team discusses the show&rsquo;s plans for 2020 and beyond:</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">

</div>";s: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, 08 Jan 2020 21:07:20 +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:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:12;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:76:"WPTavern: Landing Kit for WordPress Maps Any Post or Page to a Custom Domain";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=96301";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:87:"https://wptavern.com/landing-kit-for-wordpress-maps-any-post-or-page-to-a-custom-domain";s: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:7094:"<img />



<p>Phil Kurth and Jason Schuller launched a new WordPress product named <a href="https://wplandingkit.com/">Landing Kit</a> today.  The plugin allows end-users to map a domain name to any post, page, or custom post type entry.  It includes other features such as SSL support and URL redirecting.  More features like custom templates and Gutenberg blocks are on the way.</p>



<p>Kurth is the director and WordPress product developer at <a href="https://hookturn.io/">Hookturn.io</a>, a premium WordPress plugin company, and runs <a href="https://www.awesomeacf.com/">Awesome ACF</a>, a community hub around the Advanced Custom Fields plugin.  Schuller has several ongoing projects.  He runs <a href="https://rivyt.com/">RIVYT</a>, a website for video creators to share their work.  In October, he <a href="https://wptavern.com/jason-schuller-launches-dsko-a-discovery-network-for-creators-and-brands">launched DSKO</a>, which is a discovery network built on WordPress for creators and brands.</p>



<p><a href="https://leeflets.com">Leeflets</a>, a project Schuller created for building single-page websites, served as the catalyst for the Landing Kit project.  The plugin brings similar functionality to any WordPress install.</p>



<p>Often, WordPress is overkill for single-page sites.  The platform is ideal for larger sites and applications.  For people who need to manage multiple single-page sites, Landing Kit could be a blessing.  By setting up a single WordPress install with the plugin active, users can map any domain to any post or page.  It also works with custom post types.  This keeps site management limited to a single admin interface and point of maintenance.</p>



<p>The plugin should not be confused with domain-mapping plugins built for multisite.  While it will work on multisite, the intent is not to map domains to subsites in a network.  Instead, it is meant to specifically map domains to single posts or pages on single-site installations.</p>



<p>The plugin has two pricing tiers. The lower tier costs $59 per year for support and updates on up to three installations. It will also include access to a single page template in the near future.  The larger pricing tier at $159 per year offers support and updates for unlimited installations and will provide access to all templates as they become available.</p>



<p>Landing Kit is Schuller&rsquo;s first foray in the WordPress product market space since selling his former WordPress theme business, Press75, in 2014.  His return is already making a splash and seems to be a welcome addition to the ecosystem given the feedback on his <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonpatricksc/status/1214574389036900353">Twitter announcement</a>.</p>



<p>&ldquo;It was never a goal of mine to jump back in, but sometimes these things just happen naturally,&rdquo; said Schuller.  &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve consistently used WordPress as a platform to iterate on ideas, and with each new build I end up creating unique functionality to solve specific problems. Landing Kit is the result of one of those problems I had the solve while creating Leeflets.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Kurth was brought in to work on the project because of his experience building WordPress plugins.  He described the first version as not having many technical challenges because they had a working prototype to build from.  &ldquo;The most difficult part was thinking across multiple contexts and maintaining a clear picture of what would be happening across multiple domains at any time,&rdquo; he said.  &ldquo;I expect more difficult challenges as we start to move deeper into feature territory as we&rsquo;ll have bigger decisions to make and new technical hurdles to face, particularly when we start exploring remote block/template libraries.&rdquo;</p>



<h2>Plugin Features</h2>



<img />Potential book template for Landing Kit.



<p>Version 1.0 of the plugin keeps things simple, which is a signature of Schuller&rsquo;s past work.  The plugin has a domain management screen.  It provides a convenient location to edit and configure all mapped domains for the installation.  Domain mapping is also available through the post-editing screen.</p>



<p>The SSL options allow users to serve individual domains over HTTPS or to do so on a global basis.  The plugin also makes it easy to decide whether a post or page should be available via the main website or if requests to the single view should be 301 redirected to the mapped domain.</p>



<p>There are some technical requirements to make use of the plugin.  Users must be on a host with the ability to add alias or add-on domains, have a dedicated IP address for their website, and be running WordPress 5.0 or above.  End-users should also be familiar with managing DNS records, specifically A-Records, with their web host.  These requirements are necessary to make sure domains are pointing to the correct location.  These are common features and available through many hosts.  Each host should have specific instructions for working with these features.</p>



<p>The big value-add will be the plugin&rsquo;s custom templates and its upcoming Gutenberg blocks.  These will allow users to quickly build out single-page sites that look and feel different from the active theme for their WordPress installation.</p>



<p>&ldquo;In line with the idea of complete niche templates (essentially bundled blocks), it makes sense to break that concept down a level in form of niche specific blocks you could pick and choose to create your own landing pages with a bit more freedom,&rdquo; said Schuller. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s so much potential with Gutenberg to get creative, especially when you&rsquo;re thinking specifically about landing pages and what creators might need to achieve a specific goal.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Kurth and Schuller plan to release templates aimed at specific product niches.  &ldquo;I&rsquo;m hoping to get the first template out the door within the next few weeks,&rdquo; said Schuller on <a href="https://twitter.com/jasonpatricksc/status/1214576733669617664">Twitter</a>.  The concept could be interesting as templates could essentially serve as &ldquo;mini themes.&rdquo;  If the plugin gains enough traction and a large user base, there is potential for a larger marketplace to form around single-page template designs.</p>



<p>Take a video tour of the plugin:</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">

</div>



<p>Schuller said that they are kicking around some other feature ideas for the future.  Nothing is set in stone yet.  &ldquo;People have also expressed interest in a Leeflets-style front-end experience for managing pages, which would essentially make Landing Kit a SaaS in a box,&rdquo; he said.  &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not sure if that&rsquo;s something we&rsquo;ll explore in the near term, but an option at the very least.&rdquo;</p>



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



<p class="has-background has-gray-100-background-color bg-gray-100"><strong>Update &ndash; January 8, 2020:</strong>  Additional quotes from Landing Kit creators added.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 08 Jan 2020 03:34:01 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:13;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:68:"WPTavern: Lessons Learned by Stepping Outside WordPress Comfort Zone";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=96264";s: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:79:"https://wptavern.com/lessons-learned-by-stepping-outside-wordpress-comfort-zone";s: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:6861:"<p>It was late summer in 2018. I was an aging developer who wasn&rsquo;t quite sure where I fit into the WordPress world anymore.  I had spent over a decade learning the ins and outs of the platform that launched my career and also served as a hobby for other pet projects I wanted to tackle.</p>



<p>In part, I was bored.  I needed a new challenge.</p>



<p>I love WordPress. More than that, I appreciate what WordPress has allowed me to accomplish over the years. However, I was no longer happy with it for my personal blog.  It was suitable for the job, but I often found it had a lot more gadgets and gizmos than I needed. I had also been writing blog posts in Markdown for many years rather than the classic editor.  WordPress was simply no longer a part of my workflow for my blog.  At times, it was a hindrance.</p>



<p><em>Challenge accepted.</em></p>



<p>Over a weekend, I built a working custom blog system.  I am hesitant to call it a Content Manage System (CMS) because it lacked crucial features, such as an administrative interface, that are at the heart of any CMS.  Nevertheless, I built a working system from scratch in two days.</p>



<p>I had no idea I could accomplish such a feat without relying on the useful functions and tools that WordPress had so generously provided for most of my programming career.  I cannot count the number of times I accidentally typed out <code>esc_attr()</code> or <code>esc_html()</code> only to remember those were WordPress functions.  <em>My WordPress muscle memory was strong.</em>  Without knowing it, everything I had learned through building on top of WordPress pushed me to become a more well-rounded PHP developer.  There are few APIs I had not worked with from core WordPress.  I understood much of the source code and knew the reasons for a lot of the legacy gunk.</p>



<p>My personal project paled in comparison to WordPress&rsquo; power and still does to this day.  However, it moved me outside my comfort zone.  It allowed me to explore old ideas in new ways.</p>



<p>One example was understanding how rewrite rules and routing worked.  Some of my friends and I recently joked that no one really understands the WordPress Rewrite API.  You just tinker with it until something works and the new code no longer breaks your site.  There are many existing libraries out there, but I wanted to understand how this worked for my own edification.  Therefore, I set out to build an HTTP request, router, and controller class.  The end result was an elegant solution, which borrowed heavily from other PHP frameworks.</p>



<p>With a simple line of code, as shown below for setting up a &ldquo;book&rdquo; content type, I could handle incoming requests for a book page, map it to the correct resource, and output the template on the front end. I began to wonder why I had shied away from this foundational website concept for so many years as a developer.</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>// Create 'example.com/books/book-name'.
$this-&gt;router-&gt;get( 'books/{name}', Controller::class );</code></pre>



<p>There were many other areas where I began to question the &ldquo;WordPress way&rdquo; of doing things.  During this journey of discovery, I was able to learn things that I could bring back for use in my WordPress projects.  By stepping out into the larger world of website development, I was able to better see the flaws in the platform that helped me fall in love with programming.  However, I was also better able to see the beauty in the system that thousands of developers have kept running for the preceding 15 years.</p>



<h2>It Is Not All About Code</h2>



<p>I had the opportunity to study and learn large frameworks like <a href="https://laravel.com/">Laravel</a> and <a href="https://symfony.com/">Symfony</a>.  However, I also studied how other platforms worked from a pure user-experience perspective.</p>



<p>The one thing I knew for certain is that I wanted to test platforms created for people who wrote in Markdown.  I wasn&rsquo;t looking for huge platforms to compete with WordPress&rsquo; power, such as Joomla or Drupal.  Instead, I was looking at lighter-weight solutions like <a href="https://getgrav.org/">Grav</a>, <a href="https://jekyllrb.com/">Jekyll</a>, and <a href="https://gohugo.io/">Hugo</a>.  I wanted to understand how the user experience fit in with my workflow.</p>



<p>Of all the solutions I tested, each had its advantages.  Each also had features or methods of doing things that wasn&rsquo;t to my taste.  The good thing about the experience was that I was able to identify how I wanted my blogging platform to work for me.  Reading thoughts from others in those communities also allowed me to hear from users outside of the WordPress community about why they loved their preferred blogging system.</p>



<p>I soldiered forward.  Using what I learned from those platforms, I built something that I was happy to use.  It wasn&rsquo;t perfect and would likely never be.  Room for growth is not a bad thing.</p>



<p>During this time, I rekindled my love of blogging with WordPress.  While not always the popular opinion, the block editor felt leaps and bounds better than the classic editor.  It was something I could see myself using regularly.  Aside from my personal blog, I began using it on other projects.  I still write in Markdown every day.  However, I find myself enjoying writing within WordPress&rsquo; editor for the first time in years.</p>



<h2>Why You Should Try New Platforms</h2>



<p>From a developer perspective, it is not a good idea to become complacent and rely on a single system.  Instead of calling yourself a &ldquo;WordPress developer,&rdquo; think beyond that terminology.  Instead, you should be a PHP programmer or JavaScript programmer.  Or, better yet, simply call yourself a programmer.  Programmers solve problems.  The tools or languages are what you use to get from Point A to Point B.</p>



<p>On the job market, being a more well-rounded programmer opens up more opportunities.  While most of us can only hope that WordPress will be the leading platform for the next 10, 20, or 50 years, you should be prepared for any future.</p>



<p>Another benefit of working with other platforms from time to time is that you learn ideas that you can bring back into the WordPress ecosystem.  For example, it is interesting to see how the <a href="https://roots.io/sage/">Sage starter theme</a> implements Laravel Blade&rsquo;s templating engine.  These ideas can help shape WordPress&rsquo; future.</p>



<p>Some ideas can be pushed into core WordPress.  Others can improve team workflows within agencies.</p>



<p>Continuing education benefits the WordPress community as a whole.  Don&rsquo;t limit that education to WordPress-specific ideas.  Learn from the outside and bring it back.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 06 Jan 2020 21:19:23 +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:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:14;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:45:"BuddyPress: BuddyPress 5.1.2 Security Release";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"https://buddypress.org/?p=309637";s: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://buddypress.org/2020/01/buddypress-5-1-2/";s: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:1190:"<p><a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/buddypress.5.1.2.zip">BuddyPress 5.1.2</a> is now available. This is a security release. All BuddyPress installations are strongly encouraged to upgrade as soon as possible.</p>



<p>The 5.1.2 release addresses one security issue:</p>



<ul><li>Certain REST API requests could result in the exposure of private data. Discovered and reported independently by <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/walbo/">Petter Walbø Johnsgård</a> and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/finebet/">Jacek Suski</a>.</li></ul>



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



<p>For complete details, visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/releases/version-5-1-2/">5.1.2 changelog</a>.</p>



<p>Update to BuddyPress 5.1.2 today in your WordPress Dashboard, or by&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress/">downloading from the WordPress.org plugin repository</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 03 Jan 2020 21:36:11 +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:"Boone Gorges";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:15;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:80:"WPTavern: Pods Framework Loses Primary Sponsorship, Seeks Donors To Fund Project";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=96194";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:90:"https://wptavern.com/pods-framework-loses-primary-sponsorship-seeks-donors-to-fund-project";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:8184:"<img />



<p>Scott Kingsley Clark, lead developer of the Pods Framework, <a href="https://pods.io/2020/01/02/pods-needs-your-help-in-2020/">announced the project was seeking new donors</a> on Thursday.  Automattic, the primary sponsor, dropped out after funding the project since 2012.  This has put the team in a position to seek help for maintaining and supporting the project.  Automattic was previously covering around 90% of the costs.</p>



<p>The <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/pods/">Pods Framework</a> is a WordPress plugin that allows end-users or developers to create and extend custom post types, content types, users, media, and comments.  Essentially, it is a complete content management framework for those who need more than the basics that WordPress offers.  It has well over a dozen <a href="https://pods.io/plugins/">add-on plugins</a> for extra functionality and currently has over 80,000 active installations.</p>



<p>There are <a href="https://friends.pods.io/about-the-team/">six primary contributors</a> to the Pods plugin.  They have also brought on a React developer who is just getting started with UI work on Pods 2.8.  Other than work from the team, the project receives patches and contributions from the larger Pods community.</p>



<p>With the loss of funding from Automattic, Pods is receiving around $700 each month from donors. &ldquo;Once we found out that Automattic was going to focus their sponsorship funding towards other priorities of theirs, we put together a plan of action to reduce overall costs,&rdquo; said Clark.</p>



<p>The team&rsquo;s goal is to have at least 200 sponsors.  The average recurring monthly donation is about $17.  Coupled with their current 40 regular donors, they need an additional 160 at the same donation average to cover costs.  This would at least allow the team to be efficient with their time.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Right now our feature/fix development and support efforts will begin to suffer from lack of funding because we&rsquo;ll be spread too thin,&rdquo; said Clark.  &ldquo;I work a full-time job and can&rsquo;t pick up the extra weight entirely on my own.&rdquo;  Clark&rsquo;s job with Modern Tribe gives him some flexibility to work on the project, but it is minimal and only when time is available.</p>



<p>People who are willing to sponsor the project monthly can contribute via the <a href="https://friends.pods.io/donations/become-a-friend/">Friends of Pods</a> sponsorship page.  The project also has a <a href="https://friends.pods.io/donations/one-time-donation/">one-time donation option</a> for those wanting to go that route.</p>



<h2>Automattic Was Crucial to Success</h2>



<p>In his announcement, Clark said Automattic&rsquo;s decision to pull their sponsorship was because the company wanted to put their funds toward native Gutenberg projects.  Pods is a project that spans beyond Gutenberg.  However, it does have some Gutenberg integration and more features in the works.</p>



<p>Since 2012, Automattic has been the largest sponsor of Pods.  Their funding allowed the team to support and continue developing the plugin.  &ldquo;We&rsquo;re so appreciative of Automattic&rsquo;s support,&rdquo; said <a href="https://twitter.com/podsframework/status/1212792297911443456">Clark on Twitter</a>.  &ldquo;They&rsquo;ve sponsored Pods for over 7 years, I know their decision was a tough one for them.&rdquo;</p>



<p>In 2011, <a href="https://wptavern.com/pods-what-happened-after-the-kickstarter-campaign">Pods surpassed its goal</a> in a Kickstarter campaign.  The project raised over $4,000 with a goal of $1,500.  The campaign was intended to fund the development of Pods 2.0.  In hindsight, the dollar amount was far too low to realistically fund such a complex project.</p>



<p>&ldquo;I naively thought that would be enough to accomplish everything and more we wanted to do for our big Pods 2.0 release,&rdquo; said Clark.  &ldquo;I was really wrong. Adding developers at a late stage in a project can take even more time than you anticipate. I also had to work around those developers&rsquo; schedules and spend time coordinating with them instead of building things myself. It was a huge challenge as I hadn&rsquo;t really led a team on a side project while having a full-time job before.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Clark had to reach into his pocket and put money towards the funding problem.  Yet, the team hit more roadblocks getting Pods 2.0 released.  &ldquo;That&rsquo;s when I reached out to Automattic, which they offered to help out here and there to sponsor some more development&rdquo;, he said. &ldquo;I was at the right job and had the right developers in place to really make the most of that arrangement. I had tons of time on the clock at work to build projects with Pods and I could build features/fix problems every day. With the added help of the funding, we were covered for many years to come.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The arrangement was a blessing for the project, propelling it forward for years.  &ldquo;Without Automattic, we surely couldn&rsquo;t have continued on with the huge undertaking that the Pods 2.0 rewrite was,&rdquo; said Clark.  &ldquo;We would have just shelved everything and only added minor fixes/enhancements to Pods going forward.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Clark described the funding as crucial to maintaining a premium product for free.  &ldquo;Given what I know about many other free products out there, I can see why our support for Pods itself has sometimes been compared to premium support because of the people we could keep involved helping everyone with their project challenges and Pods questions,&rdquo; he said.</p>



<p>After success with Pods 2.0 and several releases, the Pods team reached back out to Automattic.  They were able to secure more funding with the agreement that they would diversify their funding and bring in more sponsors, which they were able to accomplish.</p>



<h2>What the Future Holds</h2>



<p>Clark is hopeful that they can meet their sponsorship goals.  If not, they may have to explore some commercial options.  However, he said Pods and its primary features will remain free of charge.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Development is not cheap,&rdquo; said Clark.  &ldquo;In fact, we&rsquo;ve thought about diversifying our funding for a while, but ironically our sponsorship agreement with Automattic prohibited us from exploring premium add-ons to help fund more growth.&rdquo;</p>



<p>While the funding was a blessing, it may have also been a crutch.  &ldquo;If we had suddenly gotten millions of active installs to support, we would have been in big trouble,&rdquo; he said.  &ldquo;You can&rsquo;t scale sponsorships with a growing userbase.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Clark said he is committed to making sure the next three major feature releases go out for free as part of the main Pods plugin, regardless of the funding situation.  &ldquo;I believe in making it easy to build projects in WordPress and some of those features are just really crucial to normal projects,&rdquo; he said.</p>



<p>The team is exploring the potential for premium add-ons.  However, if going that route, the add-ons would be with useful features that go beyond the core needs of the plugin.  &ldquo;We have some really awesome features that we&rsquo;ve always wanted to do and this could be the avenue to build them while giving huge value to our Friends of Pods,&rdquo; he said.  &ldquo;This could be an added benefit to them for supporting our project, which they&rsquo;d get as a reward for keeping their Friends of Pods membership active.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The future is uncertain.  The project is not in danger of disappearing at this point.  However, the reality is that development and support have real-world costs that need to be met.</p>



<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s still too early to know exactly what we can do with the funding we have and what we can expect to get from our 2020 fundraising efforts,&rdquo; said Clark.  &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t know if those ongoing funding struggles will prevent us from spending time to build new add-ons to generate new revenue either. It&rsquo;s all up in the air right now.&rdquo;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 03 Jan 2020 17:59:56 +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:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:16;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:57:"WordPress.org blog: The Month in WordPress: December 2019";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=8282";s: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:72:"https://wordpress.org/news/2020/01/the-month-in-wordpress-december-2019/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:8184:"<p>As 2019 draws to a close and we look ahead to another exciting year let’s take a moment to review what the WordPress community achieved in December.</p>



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



<h2>WordPress 5.3.1 and 5.3.2 Releases</h2>



<p>The WordPress 5.3.1 security and maintenance release was announced on December 13. It features 46 fixes and enhancements. This version corrects four security issues in WordPress versions 5.3 and earlier. Shortly afterwards, WordPress 5.3.2 was released, addressing a couple high severity Trac tickets, and includes 5 fixes and enhancements, so you’ll want to upgrade. You can read more about these releases in the announcements for <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2019/12/wordpress-5-3-1-security-and-maintenance-release/">5.3.1</a> and <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2019/12/wordpress-5-3-2-maintenance-release/">5.3.2</a>.</p>



<h2>Update on the Nine Core Projects for 2019</h2>



<p>At the end of 2018, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/matt/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>matt</a> <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/12/08/9-priorities-for-2019/">announced</a> the nine projects that would be the main focus areas for Core development in the next year. Have we made progress? Yes! <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>chanthaboune</a> <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/12/06/update-9-projects-for-2019/">posted a full update</a> on the team’s work. In brief, two of the projects have been completed and shipped in major releases, four are targeted for release in versions 5.4 and 5.5 of WordPress, and the remaining three have seen significant progress but are not yet slated for completion. These will continue to see progress throughout 2020.</p>



<p>Want to get involved in building WordPress Core? Follow <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/">the Core team blog</a> and join the #core channel in <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/chat/">the Making WordPress Slack group</a>.</p>



<h2>WordPress Major Release Calendar</h2>



<p>The Core team has published <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/11/21/tentative-release-calendar-2020-2021/">a tentative release calendar</a> for 2020 and 2021. This is intended to provide the community with more information about what lies ahead.</p>



<p>The schedule is considered tentative because there are always variables that could affect these plans — not least that the Core team may need more time to finish the work planned for a release.</p>



<h2>Initial Documentation for Block-Based WordPress Themes</h2>



<p>The Gutenberg team has started working on <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/18890/files">the initial documentation</a> for what block-based themes might look like, marking a significant change in the way themes are conceptualized. With full-site editing now a realistic goal for WordPress, themes will certainly look different in the future.</p>



<p>Want to help shape the future of block-based themes in WordPress Core? Following <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/">the Core team blog</a> is a good start! You can also join in on the discussion <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2019/12/04/questions-about-the-future-of-themes/">on this blog post</a>, or help out with the work to <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/blob/master/lib/demo-block-templates/index.html">create a demo space for experimentation with the future of themes</a>. As always, contribution to <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/">Gutenberg on GitHub</a> is open to everyone! Join the #core-editor channel in <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/chat/">the Making WordPress Slack group</a> to see what other people are saying, and contribute your own thoughts.</p>



<h2>Gutenberg Updates Abound</h2>



<p>It’s been a busy month for Gutenberg! Version 7.0, including a new navigation block, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/11/27/whats-new-in-gutenberg-27-november/">was announced</a> on November 27. This was followed by <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/12/11/whats-new-in-gutenberg-11-december/">version 7.1</a>, announced on December 11; it includes 161 merged pull requests that offer a fresh UI to new users, an option to switch between edit and navigation modes, captions for the table block, and many other enhancements.</p>



<p>Want to get involved in building Gutenberg? Follow <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/">the Core team blog</a>, contribute to <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/">Gutenberg on GitHub</a>, and join the #core-editor channel in <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/chat/">the Making WordPress Slack group</a>.</p>



<h2>Arrival of the BuddyPress Beta Tester Plugin</h2>



<p>On December 2, <a href="https://buddypress.org/2019/12/bp-beta-tester-1-0-0/">the BuddyPress Beta Tester plugin</a> was added to the WordPress.org plugins directory. This feature is a great way for the WordPress community to provide early feedback on releases.</p>



<p>You can <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/bp-beta-tester/">download the plugin</a> now. If you find that something is not working as expected during your beta tests, let the BuddyPress team know by submitting a ticket on the <a href="https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/newticket">Development Tracker</a> or posting a new topic in the BuddyPress <a href="https://buddypress.org/support/">support forums</a>.​​</p>



<h2>An Update on the Block Directory in the WordPress Editor&nbsp;</h2>



<p>The Design team received lots of excellent feedback on the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/07/11/block-directory-in-wp-admin-concepts/">early concepts for the Block Directory</a>. This feedback was incorporated into a Version 1 update to the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/tag/block-directory/">#block-directory</a> project. The Block Directory is to be included in WordPress 5.5, which is slated for August 2020. To learn more about the Block Directory, check out <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/12/19/block-directory-in-wp-admin-v1/">this announcement post</a> and help out by sharing your feedback. </p>



<p>Want to get involved in building the Block Directory? Follow <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/">the Design team blog</a>. If you have a block you’d like to include in the directory you can <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2019/12/06/block-directory-plugin-guidelines/">submit it following the information here</a>. </p>



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



<h2>Further Reading:</h2>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2019/12/06/block-directory-plugin-guidelines/">Guidelines for the Block Directory</a> have been drafted; the team is actively working on them now.</li><li>The<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2020-wordpress-global-community-sponsorship-program/"> Global Community Sponsorship Program for 2020</a> has been announced.&nbsp;</li><li>The Theme Review Team <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2019/12/09/do-not-contact-reviewers-outside-of-the-wordpress-org-system-about-your-review/">has published a reminder</a> for developers about the proper way to communicate with reviewers.</li><li>The Community Team is in the process of <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2019/12/05/community-team-reps-for-2020/">selecting new team reps</a>.</li><li><a href="https://meetup.com/pro/wordpress">The WordPress meetup program</a> crossed the 800-group mark this month and includes groups from more than 100 countries.</li><li>The team that helped to create the 2019 State of the Word slide deck <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2019/12/state-of-the-word-the-story-of-the-slides/">shared how the slides were created using Gutenberg</a>, powered by the Slides plugin.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<p><em>Have a story that we should include in the next “Month in WordPress” post? Please </em><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/month-in-wordpress-submissions/"><em>submit it here</em></a><em>.</em></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 03 Jan 2020 17:05:16 +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:10:"Angela Jin";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:17;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:22:"Matt: 29 Books in 2019";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:22:"https://ma.tt/?p=50689";s: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/2020/01/29-books-in-2019/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4654:"<p>As a follow-on to my lists in <a href="https://ma.tt/2017/12/books-in-2017/">2017</a> and <a href="https://ma.tt/2019/01/39-books-in-2018/">2018</a>, here are the books I completed this year. I&#8217;ve linked all to the Kindle edition except the Great Mental Models, which is so gorgeous in hardcover you should get that one, and the The World is Sound isn&#8217;t available as an ebook. Bold are ones I particularly enjoyed or found myself discussing with others a lot.</p>



<ol><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JMKNZG/">The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coehlo</a></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079WM7KLS/">21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari</a></strong></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MHHRQG/">No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078LJW4G4/">Imagine it Forward by Beth Comstock</a></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1999449002/">The Great Mental Models Vol. 1 by Shane Parrish</a></strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MPZNG63/">Why Buddhism is True by Robert Wright</a></strong></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079WNQFZQ/">There Will Be No Miracles Here by Casey Gerald</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MSICPW3/">Less by Andrew Sean Greer</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078VW3VM7/">Bad Blood by John Carreyrou</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TMKPD67/">nejma by Nayyirah Waheed</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CRJB8WJ/">Trust Exercise by Susan Choi</a> (also on <a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1211033245812441091">Obama&#8217;s book list</a>, and based on the high school I went to, HSPVA)</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FCK206/">Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford</a></strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005GFBNSW/">The Way to Love by Anthony de Mello</a></strong></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005BRSFCC/">The Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz, Don Jose Ruiz, and Janet Mills</a></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CWHYVW5/">Empty Planet by Darrell Bricker</a></strong></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JTYQJ3K/">Brave New World by Aldous Huxley</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005GG0MXI/">How to Talk So Kids Will Listen &amp; Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elian Mazlish</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MPXZYJ7/">Make it Scream, Make it Burn by Leslie Jamison</a></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001JAHG98/">A Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright</a></strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G13W75M/">Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind by Annaka Harris</a></strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/0892813180/">The World Is Sound: Nada Brahma: Music and the Landscape of Consciousness by Joachim-Ernst Berendt</a></strong></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R3MHWUE/">The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer and Diana Chapman</a></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004W3FM4A/">Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse</a></strong></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079G6KMVS/">Four Soldiers by Hubert Mingarelli</a></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07L2F9S6H/">Working by Robert Caro</a></strong></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0049H9AVU/">Attached by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075HYVP7C/">Skin in the Game by Nassim Nicholas Taleb</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012271Z5M/">The Devil&#8217;s Financial Dictionary by Jason Zweig</a></li><li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FLNFRGK/">How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell</a> (also on Obama&#8217;s book list)</li></ol>



<p>What&#8217;s interesting is that if you were to purchase every single one of those books, it would be about $349. You could get them all for nothing from your local library, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200747550">even on a Kindle</a>. The money I spend on books is by far and away the best investment I make every year — books expand my mind and enrich my life in a way that nothing else does.</p>



<p>All years: <a href="https://ma.tt/2017/12/books-in-2017/">2017</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2019/01/39-books-in-2018/">2018</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2020/01/29-books-in-2019/">2019</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 02 Jan 2020 07:00:34 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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:18;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:43:"WPTavern: Building the Community We Deserve";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=96166";s: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:54:"https://wptavern.com/building-the-community-we-deserve";s: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:4338:"<img />



<p>One of our internal discussions about the future of WP Tavern has stuck with me since it wrapped up.  The discussion was centered on pushing comment threads in the right direction.  We often receive comments that border on conspiracy-theory territory (<em>and those that cross over head first</em>).  We also get comments that make statements of fact without backing up those claims with evidence.</p>



<p>Not all those who make such comments have ill intentions.  The issue is often that the ideas presented in a comment are not fully-fleshed out.  Often, the commentator had not taken the time to shape their words into something that births thoughtful responses.  Such is the nature of comments on the web.</p>



<p>WP Tavern&rsquo;s big goal for 2020 should be about shepherding our community.  Going forward, we will take steps toward fostering better discussions.</p>



<h2>Building Our Community in the New Year</h2>



<p>Shepherding the community is about creating a welcoming environment for everyone.  All of our readers should feel comfortable leaving their thoughts on a given topic.</p>



<p>As a new writer in a long-standing community, I sometimes receive uplifting private messages and emails from community members.  They often have kind words or love the coverage of a specific topic.  The trouble is getting some of those people to engage in the comments.  As my grandma, who would welcome anyone into her home, would say, &ldquo;Y&rsquo;all stop by sometime and chat for a while.&rdquo;  Some people are timid about commenting publicly.  Others feel like they will be attacked or their ideas will be dismissed offhand.  Fostering a community they would feel comfortable participating in is the goal.</p>



<p>The first step toward this goal is an <a href="https://wptavern.com/comment-policy">update to our comment policy</a>.</p>



<p>The intention of our policy has remained the same.  In general, be kind to people.  The updated policy includes some new guidelines on what is unacceptable and some clearer language in some areas.  It would be nice to eventually move back to the point where we no longer moderated every comment before publishing them on the site.  We are not there yet, but I remain optimistic.</p>



<p>The other major plan is around integrating community elements into the site design.  Rest assured that this is something being worked on.  Better showcasing recent comments is high on the list.  However, we can go beyond that by showcasing users with the most comments, top comments by the number of likes, and more.  I have some ideas that I hope to implement this year to make our readers feel like they have more of a stake in the site.  This place is as much about you all as it is about our team.</p>



<h2>Ask the Bartender</h2>



<p>We have quietly added an <a href="https://wptavern.com/contact-me/ask-the-bartender">Ask the Bartender</a> form on the site.  This is our idea of an advice column that you might see in traditional journalism.</p>



<p>At this point, it is experimental.  The plan is to publish a periodic article where one of our writers answers questions from our readers.  This will give you all an opportunity to bring up the big questions that you want our community to discuss.</p>



<p>We do not have an official format for how this will work yet.  It will largely depend on the questions that people submit.  We are open to nearly any type of WordPress-related question right now.</p>



<h2>What We All Can Do</h2>



<p>The biggest thing I ask of the Tavern community that we make 2020 the year that we thoughtfully engage with one another. </p>



<p>More than that, when discussing topics with others online, there is no need to feel like you must win an argument.  That usually leads to nowhere good.  Present your ideas and let them stand on their own merit.</p>



<p>With that idea in mind, think about writing responses in the form of a blog post.  Then, let us know about the post here at the Tavern.  Taking the time to write a post allows your ideas to mature.  Doing this lets you build a stronger argument if you rationally think it through.  Also, WordPress is blogging software at heart.  We should use it more often to blog about WordPress.</p>



<p>Happy New Year, everyone!  Let&rsquo;s make this a memorable one.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 01 Jan 2020 21:01:09 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:19;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:48:"WPTavern: Reflecting on 2019: The Year in Review";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=96134";s: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:58:"https://wptavern.com/reflecting-on-2019-the-year-in-review";s: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:11823:"<img />



<p>Another year is in the bag.  With a project as large and far-reaching as WordPress, there was no shortage of news and controversy.  We covered a lot of stories in 2019 and are gearing up for another exciting year.</p>



<p>I always like to take a moment at the end of the year to look over everything that happened.  Despite how well a website or project performs, it is good to take stock of each success.  It is a time of reflection.  Even in bad years, you should be able to find positive things to remember.  This helps shape how you view your websites, projects, or even life.  Ending the year remembering those positive things can help propel you into the new year.</p>



<p>It is equally important to find areas for improvement.  However, you cannot understand what the next steps are until you have taken a look at where you have been. </p>



<p>With that in mind, let&rsquo;s take a moment to reflect on the past year&rsquo;s journey for WP Tavern and WordPress.</p>



<h2>WP Tavern Stats</h2>



<p>In 2019, WP Tavern published 382 posts.  That is an increase of 52 posts over 2018.</p>



<p>Average words per post are the highest in WP Tavern&rsquo;s history, coming in at 587 words.  I am certain my long-windedness played a small role in that.  We also had fewer quick posts on the whole.  That is a format we should experiment with more.</p>



<p>Total and average comments are down.  Admittedly, we have been a bit heavy-handed with deleting comments that break our comment policy this year.  Average Jetpack-powered &ldquo;likes&rdquo; per post are at an all-time high (6.9 likes per post).  Total likes are the second-highest for a year (2,614 likes).  We are also seeing a lot of engagement on Twitter.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out in 2020 with social media having such a stronghold on how people engage with one another online.</p>



<p>We need to continue improving both the frequency and the quality of comments.</p>



<h2>The Year in WordPress</h2>



<p>WordPress <a href="https://wptavern.com/happy-sweet-16-wordpress">turned 16 years old</a> this year.  <em>It&rsquo;s old enough to drive now.</em></p>



<p>The community enjoyed three major updates throughout the year:</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-1-improves-editor-performance-encourages-users-to-update-outdated-php-versions">Version 5.1 &ldquo;Betty&rdquo;</a> improved editor performance and encouraged users to update PHP.</li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-2-jaco-released-includes-fatal-php-error-protection-and-a-recovery-mode">Version 5.2 &ldquo;Jaco&rdquo;</a> included PHP fatal error protection and a recovery mode.</li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-3-kirk-released-brings-new-default-theme-editor-improvements-and-ui-tweaks">Version 5.3 &ldquo;Kirk&rdquo;</a> introduced the Twenty Twenty theme and made significant UI tweaks.</li></ul>



<p>Most of the year was focused on the Gutenberg plugin and porting its features and improvements into WordPress.  WP Tavern covered nearly <a href="https://wptavern.com/tag/gutenberg">everything you ever wanted to know about Gutenberg</a>.</p>



<p>Matt Mullenweg&rsquo;s <a href="https://wptavern.com/state-of-the-word-2019-recap-all-roads-lead-to-the-block-editor">2019 State of the Word</a> primarily focused on the work that went into the block editor in the past 12 months.  He also outlined the next phases of the project, which include full-site customization, collaboration between post authors, and multilingual sites.</p>



<h2>Alex Mills (Viper007Bond) Passed Away</h2>



<p>In February, the WordPress community lost one of its greatest members, Alex Mills, as his <a href="https://wptavern.com/alex-mills-ends-his-battle-with-leukemia">battle with leukemia ended</a>.  Alex was a mentor and hero to many of us.  As a developer, I learned more from his work than I may ever be able to pay forward.  We never met in person, but he was one of my early teachers by simply leading the way for people like me.</p>



<p>His <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/regenerate-thumbnails/">Regenerate Thumbnails</a> plugin also saved me countless hours over the years.  I cannot imagine building or testing WordPress themes without it.  <a href="https://wptavern.com/automattic-adopts-alex-mills-plugins">Automattic adopted the plugins</a> Alex built during his WordPress journey.</p>



<p>Alex, thank you for everything you contributed to the WordPress community.</p>



<h2>Favorites From 2019</h2>



<p>The following are various WordPress and Tavern-related things that I found most interesting throughout 2019.</p>



<h3>Posts From Tavern Writers</h3>



<p>We have had numerous well-written stories from everyone who has contributed in 2019.  The following are personal favorites from contributors other than myself that I wanted to highlight before we close the year out.  </p>



<p>These are my favorites for various reasons and presented in no particular order.  Sometimes, I liked the content of the article.  At other times, I appreciated them for how well-written they were.  If you missed them, now is a good time to hop back and check out some stories our team has written this year.</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-governance-project-flagged-as-unsanctioned-first-meeting-set-for-january-15">WordPress Governance Project Flagged as Unsanctioned, First Meeting Set for January 15</a></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/gpl-author-richard-stallman-resigns-from-free-software-foundation">GPL Author Richard Stallman Resigns from Free Software Foundation</a></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/matt-mullenweg-and-david-heinemeier-hansson-discuss-wordpress-market-share-monopolies-and-power-in-open-source-communities">Matt Mullenweg and David Heinemeier Hansson Discuss WordPress Market Share, Monopolies, and Power in Open Source Communities</a></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/proposal-to-auto-update-old-versions-of-wordpress-to-4-7-sparks-heated-debate">Proposal to Auto-Update Old Versions of WordPress to 4.7 Sparks Heated Debate</a></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/automattic-acquires-tumblr-plans-to-rebuild-the-backend-powered-by-wordpress">Automattic Acquires Tumblr, Plans to Rebuild the Backend Powered by WordPress</a></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-one-year-later">Gutenberg: One Year Later</a></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/possibilities-of-a-cms-in-the-spatial-computing-future">Possibilities of a CMS in the Spatial Computing Future </a></li></ul>



<h3>My Articles</h3>



<p>I am closing in on 70 posts since becoming a fulltime contributor to WP Tavern.  This job has allowed me to explore a variety of topics in a few months, and I look forward to continuing this into 2020.  I enjoyed writing many stories, but there were two that I was particularly happy to have the opportunity to cover.</p>



<p>The first was my coverage of the <a href="https://wptavern.com/u-s-supreme-court-denies-dominos-appeal-to-determine-whether-websites-must-be-accessible">U.S. Supreme Court&rsquo;s denial of Domino&rsquo;s appeal</a> to determine whether its website must be accessible to all of its customers.  This story helped me jump far outside my comfort zone of strictly writing about WordPress and development topics.  It was also a stark reminder that we, as a community, need to become better at making the web accessible for all people.</p>



<p>The post I enjoyed working on the most was <a href="https://wptavern.com/chilean-news-publication-el-soberano-first-to-launch-on-newspack">El Soberano&rsquo;s launch on Newspack</a>.  The interesting thing about covering this story was not the actual re-launch of the publication.  It was getting to chat with other journalists, particularly those who were down in the trenches and fighting for justice.  It reminded me that, at the end of the day, journalism is always about people.</p>



<h3>Favorite Theme</h3>



<p>This was an easy pick.  <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/twentytwenty/">Twenty Twenty</a> takes the top spot on my list.  There were themes released this year with designs better-suited to my tastes.  There were certainly other themes pushing more limits in terms of functionality.</p>



<p>What I like most about Twenty Twenty is that it seems unafraid to be bold.  It showcases how a theme can have personality while being designed around the block editor.  I am not sure if I would ever use it for my sites simply because it&rsquo;s not my preferred style.  However, I appreciate its artistic merit.</p>



<h3>Favorite Plugin</h3>



<p>While it was not released in 2019, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/give/">GiveWP</a> is the most interesting plugin I have used this year.  It is a fundraising plugin that allows WordPress users to accept donations directly from their website.</p>



<p>I worked with the plugin in two capacities this year.  The first was as a plugin developer who was building an integration between it and another plugin.  As a developer, I appreciated how well-written and well-documented the code was.  The team behind the plugin includes top-notch programmers.</p>



<p>I also helped push a couple of friends to set it up for their projects.  Both were pleased with their experiences.</p>



<h2>Top 10 Posts From 2019</h2>



<p>The following posts are the most-commented posts of the year.  Loads of comments typically mean controversy around here, so this list may contain, more or less, the most controversial topics of the year.  Either way, there are some great discussions in some of the comment threads.</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/wp-taverns-new-design-no-more-wood-grain">WP Tavern&rsquo;s New Design: No More Wood-Grain</a> <em>(91 comments, 32 likes)</em></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/jetpack-7-1-adds-feature-suggestions-to-plugin-search-results">Jetpack 7.1 Adds Feature Suggestions to Plugin Search Results</a> <em>(76 comments, 8 likes)</em></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-one-year-later">Gutenberg: One Year Later</a> <em>(75 comments, 29 likes)</em></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/pluginvulnerabilities-com-is-protesting-wordpress-org-support-forum-moderators-by-publishing-zero-day-vulnerabilities">PluginVulnerabilities.com is Protesting WordPress.org Support Forum Moderators by Publishing Zero-Day Vulnerabilities</a> <em>(64 comments, 10 likes)</em></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/black-friday-banner-gone-wrong-advertising-in-free-plugins">Black Friday Banner Gone Wrong: Advertising in Free Plugins</a> <em>(59 comments, 20 likes)</em></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/justin-tadlock-joins-wp-tavern">Justin Tadlock Joins WP Tavern</a> <em>(52 comments, 45 likes)</em></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/yoastcon-overshadowed-by-twitter-storm-joost-de-valk-seo-industry-leaders-called-out-for-objectifying-women">YoastCon Overshadowed by Twitter Storm: Joost de Valk, SEO Industry Leaders Called Out for Objectifying Women</a> <em>(37 comments, 5 likes)</em></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-poised-to-begin-implementing-proposal-to-auto-update-older-sites-to-4-7">WordPress Poised to Begin Implementing Proposal to Auto-Update Older Sites to 4.7</a> <em>(36 comments, 4 likes)</em></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/rebirth-of-creativity-gutenberg-and-the-future-of-wordpress-themes">Rebirth of Creativity: Gutenberg and the Future of WordPress Themes</a> <em>(33 comments, 41 likes)</em></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-3-kirk-released-brings-new-default-theme-editor-improvements-and-ui-tweaks">WordPress 5.3 &ldquo;Kirk&rdquo; Released, Brings New Default Theme, Editor Improvements, and UI Tweaks</a> <em>(32 comments, 24 likes)</em></li></ul>";s: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, 31 Dec 2019 21:06:09 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:20;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:85:"WPTavern: WordPress Theme Review Team Announces Alpha Color Picker for the Customizer";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=96116";s: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://wptavern.com/wordpress-theme-review-team-announces-alpha-color-picker-for-the-customizer";s: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:5142:"<img />Using the color picker in the customizer.



<p>The WordPress Theme Review Team <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2019/12/30/new-color-alpha-package-available/">announced its color picker control</a> today.  The project is a single package that allows theme authors to include an advanced color control in the customizer.  The control allows users to select a hex color with an optional alpha channel to handle transparency.</p>



<p>The color control is the fourth feature package released by the team in 2019.  The <a href="https://wptavern.com/justin-tadlock-proposes-idea-to-solve-common-theme-issues">idea for feature packages</a> took off in June.  Feature packages are repositories for single features that theme authors may use in their themes.  Their purpose is to standardize common features so that developers do not have to <em>recreate the wheel</em>, so to speak.</p>



<p>Arguably, the color control is the most complex package the team has built.  The bulk of the work was handled by feature packages lead, Ari Stathopoulos.  The project is available via its <a href="https://github.com/WPTRT/control-color-alpha">GitHub repository</a> and <a href="https://packagist.org/packages/wptrt/control-color-alpha">Packagist</a>.</p>



<p>Officially, the team launched version 1.0 in October, but the project has undergone some changes since its release.  Initially, the project utilized the Iris color picker script included with WordPress.  However, the team ran into trouble making it work as they wanted with RGBA colors.  The team refactored the project to use <a href="https://casesandberg.github.io/react-color/">React Color</a> instead.</p>



<p>&ldquo;The main issue with this project was the thing that WordPress is most famous for &mdash; backward-compatibility,&rdquo; said Stathopoulos.  &ldquo;Compatibility is one of WP&rsquo;s greatest assets, but at the same time, a pain for developers. Things don&rsquo;t get updated because they need to work for plugin A/B/C that hasn&rsquo;t been updated in 6 years. So scripts like the Iris picker, things that were great half a decade ago, have been abandoned and are just dead weight. RGBA support could easily have been in WP core&rsquo;s picker.  There was always a demand for it.  But it never happened.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The team decided to move forward without relying on past solutions.   Stathopoulos said the biggest hurdle with building the control to use React Color was making it look native to WordPress.  He described the project as an example for others to see that it was possible to use React in the customizer.</p>



<p>Setting up the control with the basics is relatively easy.  Theme authors should be able to quickly integrate it into their themes by following the <a href="https://github.com/WPTRT/control-color-alpha/blob/v1.1.2/README.md#usage">usage instructions</a>.  Color data is stored as a hex value (e.g., <code>#000000</code>) if there is no transparency or as a RGBA value (e.g., <code>rgba(0,0,0,0)</code>) if there is.</p>



<p>The control does come with more advanced features.  For example, it is possible to store color data as an array, which includes a slew of information, such as:</p>



<ul><li>RGB (red, green, blue)</li><li>HSL (hue, saturation, lightness)</li><li>Alpha transparency</li><li>Hex</li><li>CSS value</li><li>Accessibility properties</li></ul>



<p>The accessibility properties are interesting and may allow theme authors to help to ensure users choose colors that meet accessibility standards.  Some of the included data is the color&rsquo;s luminance, contrast with white and black, max contrast color, and more.</p>



<h2>The Future of Feature Packages</h2>



<p>Currently, the TRT&rsquo;s feature packages are not widely adopted by theme authors.  The overall project is still in its infancy.  In the wake of the news that WordPress will be moving toward full-site editing, the team is not sure what that will mean for the project going forward.</p>



<p>Stathopoulos said that some theme authors are hesitant to do big things at the moment.  It&rsquo;s a tough sell to get developers on board when the future of theme development is in a holding pattern, waiting for the other Gutenberg shoe to drop.</p>



<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been discussing and thinking of what packages we should build,&rdquo; said Stathopoulos.  &ldquo;The problem is that the editor is the centerpiece of WordPress.  Everything else just surrounds the editor.  Gutenberg is expanding, and it looks like it&rsquo;s taking over everything else in WordPress. So we think the next packages should be around the editor too.&rdquo;</p>



<p>He said some of the initial package ideas like a standardized hook system, more customizer controls, and accessible menus may not be the best route.  Those ideas may not make sense in the context of a block-editing world.  The team could see the launch of such packages dead on arrival.</p>



<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a tricky, transitional period for themes and theme developers,&rdquo; said Stathopoulos.  &ldquo;We all need to learn how to better leverage the editor.&rdquo;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 30 Dec 2019 20:28:28 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:21;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:52:"WPTavern: What Should an Author Bio Block Look Like?";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=96070";s: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:62:"https://wptavern.com/what-should-an-author-bio-block-look-like";s: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:6173:"<img />Two author bio block mock-ups compared.



<p>Joshua Wold, co-representative for the WordPress design team, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/12/23/author-card-block-exploration/">shared an early exploration</a> of an author card block.  Community members explored several ideas at the design table during the contributor day at WordCamp US 2019.  In the post, Wold followed up on the original sketches from that melding of design minds.</p>



<p>The original idea for the author block was a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/1844">GitHub ticket</a> created in July 2017, but it was far ahead of its time.  The Gutenberg project needed to focus on the basics and more common blocks for post content at that point.  Now is the time to shift gears and begin work on these more complex blocks that will likely be a large part of the full-site editing phase of the project.</p>



<p>Currently, there are several proposed components to the author block:</p>



<ul><li>Image/Avatar</li><li>Name</li><li>Description/Biography</li><li>Website Link</li><li>Social Network Links</li><li>Recommended Posts</li></ul>



<p>I am on the fence about a recommended posts option as part of the block.  If they were recommended posts written by that author, it could be an interesting concept to explore.  However, version 1 of the block should focus on the most common elements, which the other components in the list cover.</p>



<p>Wold asked four key questions about the future of the block.  The following are my responses to each.</p>



<h2>What Is the Value of the Block and How Will It Be Used?</h2>



<p>Coming from the theme world, what surprises me is that WordPress has never standardized on this feature at this point.  Author bio sections are commonplace in theme development.  Core should have standardized this feature years ago.  We have a standard search form, comment list, featured image, and more.  Many of the features that WordPress has standardized over the years were born out of theme designers carving the path forward, and author bios are no different.</p>



<p>It has long made sense for an author bio template tag to exist.  However, we are living in a block world.  The concept has merely shifted.</p>



<p>We do not need an author bio block today.  We will need it tomorrow.  As we shift closer and closer to full-site editing, we need to be building, iterating, and testing these types of blocks in preparation for the point of no return.  This block, along with similar blocks, should drop in core at the same time the switch is flipped on full-site editing.</p>



<p>The primary use case will be for end-users to edit their theme&rsquo;s block templates to stick the author bio at the end of their single post views.  However, such a block need not be limited to that scenario.  Users could create a &ldquo;team&rdquo; or &ldquo;authors&rdquo; page on their site.  Some may want to drop these into columns or create some sort of gallery of author bios.</p>



<p>I could see taking this even further and naming it a &ldquo;user bio&rdquo; block.  Use cases do not have to be centered around the concept of an author.</p>



<h2>Where Should the Author Data Come From?</h2>



<p>The primary, or at least initial, source of data should come from user data and metadata stored in the database.  It does not make sense to duplicate efforts by retyping content within the block if it already exists.</p>



<p>One big question will be around social icons.  If these are a part of the block, there is no current source to pull the URLs from.  If automatically generating the data, WordPress will need to add social media contact methods to the user profile screen in the admin.  That can be a slippery slope when deciding which social networks to include.  However, core WordPress could stick to three or four major networks and provide a filter hook for plugin authors to utilize along with a standard for how additional fields are handled.</p>



<p>There is also the possibility that this block could simply be a pre-defined pattern of existing, smaller blocks that pulled in data like a user biography, user social icons, and user avatar.  Then, the site owner could move other blocks in and out as they saw fit.</p>



<h2>What Block Design Options Should Be Available?</h2>



<p>The obvious design options are the standard text color, background color, and font size options.  <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/16848">Border design options</a> would be a bonus, but that goes beyond the scope of this specific block.</p>



<p>The standard alignment options would be welcome, particularly center, wide, and full.  An alignment option for the avatar image to shift it left or right could also be useful.  It could work similarly to the existing Media &amp; Text core block.</p>



<p>I would not go overboard with design options.  Let theme authors create custom block styles for users to choose from.  That is the theme author&rsquo;s job.</p>



<h2>What Additional Features Should the Block Handle?</h2>



<p>Outside of an avatar and biography, a social icon list is the most necessary feature.  It is almost ubiquitous with author bio boxes.</p>



<p>What I would like to see is an author/user &ldquo;gallery&rdquo; block that builds upon this initial idea.  At the moment, I am already imagining the painful user experience of creating a team page and putting individual user bio blocks into columns.  Then, I am further imagining having to update that page and potentially move columns around.  As an end-user, there are times when I want to micro-manage certain aspects of my site.  This would not be one of them.  Just give me a simple block to list user bios in some sort of columnized format.</p>



<p>Such a block could provide an avenue for many types of options.  Maybe an option to list authors of a certain post type.  Perhaps an option to list users by role.  Or, let me list the top users by post count.</p>



<p>This idea may be pushing over into plugin territory.  However, in terms of what I would want to do with my sites, this would be high on the list.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 27 Dec 2019 20:00:24 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:22;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:18:"Joseph: 2020 Style";s: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://blog.josephscott.org/?p=17917";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:51:"https://blog.josephscott.org/2019/12/27/2020-style/";s: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:951:"<p>With the year 2020 fast approaching, I thought it would be a good time to change up the style on <a href="https://blog.josephscott.org/">blog.josephscott.org</a>.  To that end, I&#8217;m trying out the <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/twentytwenty/">Twenty Twenty WordPress theme</a>.</p>
<a href="https://blog.josephscott.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/screenshot-blog-josephscott-org.png"><img src="https://blog.josephscott.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/screenshot-blog-josephscott-org-450x1024.png" alt="" width="450" height="1024" class="size-large wp-image-17932" /></a>blog.josephscott.org
<p>One of the things I&#8217;m really happy to see in the Twenty Twenty theme is the use of <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/twentytwenty/pull/163">vanilla JavaScript, without jQuery</a>.  I&#8217;m hopeful that more WordPress themes will follow that pattern ( jQuery has been great, but if you don&#8217;t need it, don&#8217;t use it ).</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 27 Dec 2019 18:02:43 +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:11:"josephscott";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:23;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:66:"WPTavern: Rank Math SEO Plugin Adds WordPress Block Editor Support";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=95921";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:77:"https://wptavern.com/rank-math-seo-plugin-adds-wordpress-block-editor-support";s: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:5310:"<p>The team behind the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/seo-by-rank-math/">Rank Math SEO plugin</a> released an update that includes full support for the block editor on December 18.  The update includes around two dozen features, improvements, and fixes.  The biggest feature update was the inclusion of a new plugin sidebar for the block editor.</p>



<p>Some of the new features include a filter for unlimited focus keywords, an email notification each time the plugin is automatically updated, and a warning when using the review Schema type.  It also improved compatibility with the Elementor plugin&rsquo;s sitemap module and added Advanced Custom Fields integration to the sidebar.  A full list of features is available in the plugin&rsquo;s <a href="https://rankmath.com/changelog/">public change log</a>.</p>



<p>The team has a <a href="https://s.rankmath.com/demo">public demo available</a> for end-users to test the plugin without having to install it on their sites.</p>



<p>Bhanu Ahluwalia, co-founder and CMO at Rank Math, said that everyone on the team had been experimenting with the Gutenberg plugin since the first beta was released.  &ldquo;We had some experience with Gutenberg, but working on Rank Math has taught us so many things and helped us on so many levels,&rdquo; he said.</p>



<p>It was not always a smooth journey.  Ahluwalia said the team wanted to keep the plugin lightweight and not sacrifice speed with new technologies.  &ldquo;We had to learn React, Webpack, ES6, etc.,&rdquo; he said.  &ldquo;In essence, we had to re-learn patterns, practices, and pitfalls of Gutenberg, and we had to do it all with little-to-no documentation available. We had to dive deep into the code and get ourselves familiar with every line of code to ensure nothing interfered with the existing functions of our plugin.&rdquo;</p>



<h2>Testing the Block Editor Sidebar</h2>



<img />Rank Math sidebar as seen in the block editor.



<p>Immediately upon activating the update, I noted the Rank Math button at the top right of the editor.  Admittedly, I was not happy with the space the button took up or its difference in design when compared to other plugin sidebar buttons.  Instead of a simple icon, the button includes both an icon and an SEO score.  As more and more plugins and themes begin adding sidebars of their own, this space could become cluttered quickly.  I would like to see this scaled back to simply be an icon and not take up precious screen real estate.</p>



<p>The plugin manages to pack a ton of options and information into a tight spot.  Once viewing the plugin sidebar, it presents four sub-tabs (General, Advanced, Schema, and Social), each with custom panels or sections.  While I am not generally a fan of complex SEO plugins and prefer solutions such as <a href="https://wptavern.com/slim-seo-keeps-options-simple-and-handles-the-legwork-of-seo">Slim SEO</a>, the plugin handles the interface gracefully.</p>



<p>In comparison to the old meta boxes, the interface is a huge step up.  The meta box system used in previous versions of the plugin or with the current Classic editor is cumbersome at best.  The team had to get more creative to pull off a solution for the sidebar, which forced them to tighten up the interface.</p>



<p>Not all users were happy with the <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/topic/sidebar-really/">narrow space</a> provided by the new sidebar.  The Rank Math team was ahead of the game and included a <a href="https://rankmath.com/kb/filters-hooks-api-developer/#disable-gutenberg-sidebar">filter hook to disable</a> this feature.  Disabling will return the old-style meta box at the bottom of the post-editing area.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Supporting both the Classic Editor and Gutenberg at once with a single plugin is hectic to say the least,&rdquo; said Ahluwalia. &ldquo;We would rather put our energy into a single editing experience, but seeing how WordPress is evolving after Gutenberg, we have to double our efforts to offer a consistent user experience.&rdquo;</p>



<p>At the moment, the team plans to continue supporting the classic editor until at least 2022.  &ldquo;Depending on the user feedback and the acceptance of the Classic editor, we can continue to support it even further,&rdquo; said Ahluwalia.</p>



<p>The Rank Math also team shared a video of block editor support on Twitter:</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">&#127881; Here's a sneak preview of Rank Math's upcoming major update which adds <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gutenberg?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Gutenberg</a> support &ndash; now it's even easier for people using the latest version of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WordPress?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WordPress</a> to use Rank Math <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SEO?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SEO</a> &#128285;<br /><br />Want to take the Beta for a spin now? Join us on Facebook<a href="https://t.co/Ykfhj2d5Z1">https://t.co/Ykfhj2d5Z1</a> <a href="https://t.co/E1ItpD0b4B">pic.twitter.com/E1ItpD0b4B</a></p>&mdash; Rank Math SEO (@rankmathseo) <a href="https://twitter.com/rankmathseo/status/1198226289129189376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>";s: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, 23 Dec 2019 19:53:12 +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:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:24;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:45:"BuddyPress: BuddyPress 5.1.1 Security Release";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"https://buddypress.org/?p=309527";s: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://buddypress.org/2019/12/buddypress-5-1-1/";s: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:1122:"<p><a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/buddypress.5.1.1.zip">BuddyPress 5.1.1</a> is now available. This is a security release. All BuddyPress installations are strongly encouraged to upgrade as soon as possible.</p>



<p>The 5.1.1 release addresses one security issue:</p>



<ul><li>A denied of service was fixed that could allow a logged in user to remove another user&#8217;s avatar and also any empty folder. Discovered by <a href="https://hackerone.com/nomnom">nomnom</a>.</li></ul>



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



<p>For complete details, visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/releases/version-5-1-1/">5.1.1 changelog</a>.</p>



<p>Update to BuddyPress 5.1.1 today in your WordPress Dashboard, or by&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress/">downloading from the WordPress.org plugin repository</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 23 Dec 2019 09:45:07 +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:"Mathieu Viet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:25;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:78:"WPTavern: Version 1 Prototype of the WordPress Admin Block Directory Announced";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=95946";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:89:"https://wptavern.com/version-1-prototype-of-the-wordpress-admin-block-directory-announced";s: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:7139:"<p>Mel Choyce-Dwan shared the first version of the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/12/19/block-directory-in-wp-admin-v1/">WordPress admin block directory prototype</a> the design team has been working on.  The goal is to bring the block directory to the admin in WordPress 5.5, which is currently <a href="https://wptavern.com/progress-on-wordpress-2019-projects-sets-2020-roadmap">set for August 2020 on the roadmap</a>.  The post also outlines reusable components that can be used in other areas of the admin in the long term.</p>



<p>The <a href="https://www.figma.com/proto/Y4jCNPkjCuSRiGYEoaAZujhm/Gutenberg-Block-Directory-wp-admin?node-id=1460%3A277&viewport=366%2C373%2C0.25&scaling=min-zoom">Figma prototype</a> is available for those who want to give it a test run.  It is important to remember that this is an early version and many things can change by the time the block directory lands in WordPress.</p>



<p>The prototype was built after feedback from the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/07/11/block-directory-in-wp-admin-concepts/">first round of concepts shared</a> in July on the Make Design blog.</p>



<p>For this admin project to be successful, WordPress plugin developers will need to start submitting blocks to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/browse/block/">block directory</a> on WordPress.org.  At the moment, there are only 10 blocks listed.  Getting in early will give block authors an edge on the competition.  The block directory has a few <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2019/12/06/block-directory-plugin-guidelines/">additional guidelines</a> beyond normal plugins that authors should review.</p>



<h2>About Blocks Screen</h2>



<img />About Blocks admin screen.



<p>The About Blocks screen is the primary blocks admin screen.  It appears to be an informational page with resources for users to learn more about using blocks on their sites.  It also has links to development resources for designing and building blocks.  </p>



<p>Making this information directly available, especially to users, would be a smart decision if it makes it into the final design.  As we move toward an entirely new way to build websites with WordPress, it is important to provide learning tools to users.  This seemed to be one of the missing components when the block editor first launched in core.  If done right, it could ease the burden on new users and old users who are transitioning to the new editor.</p>



<p>The above screenshot also shows the new admin screen header proposal.  The page title is followed by a short description of what the screen is about.  Followed the intro are action links on the left and meta-type links on the right.  I am a fan of the generous use of whitespace and extra information.</p>



<h2>Add Blocks Screen</h2>



<img />Add Blocks screen.



<p>The <a href="https://www.figma.com/proto/Y4jCNPkjCuSRiGYEoaAZujhm/Gutenberg-Block-Directory-(wp-admin)?node-id=1460%3A2958&viewport=366%2C373%2C0.25&scaling=min-zoom">add blocks screen</a> is similar to the current new plugin screen in the WordPress admin.  The primary &ldquo;Featured&rdquo; tab (the tab opened when first visiting the screen) is broken down into various sections, such as &ldquo;Blocks We Love&rdquo; and &ldquo;Popular Tags.&rdquo;</p>



<p>One of the more interesting sections of this page is the &ldquo;Top Authors&rdquo; list.  This concept would be a great way to give recognition to block authors who are building useful blocks for the community.</p>



<p>There is also a &ldquo;Recent Blocks&rdquo; section near the bottom of the page.  I would rather see a top tab for that.  It feels a bit buried in the current design.  New plugin and theme authors already struggle to break into popular lists.  Recently-added blocks should be higher up the page or have a dedicated tab/page to showcase them a bit more.</p>



<h2>Installed Blocks Screen</h2>



<img />Installed Blocks screen.



<p>The <a href="https://www.figma.com/proto/Y4jCNPkjCuSRiGYEoaAZujhm/Gutenberg-Block-Directory-(wp-admin)?node-id=1460%3A2958&viewport=366%2C373%2C0.25&scaling=min-zoom">block installation screen</a> is similar to the existing installed plugins screen in core and lists all of the blocks that are installed.  There are also active and inactive tabs.  Improvements here are primarily around list table design.  On the whole, they are minor adjustments, but the look of the tables is much nicer.  <em>Can we have this in core, across the board, now?</em></p>



<p>A new element is the &ldquo;Instances&rdquo; column, which lists the number of times a block has been used on the site.  By clicking the number, you are taken to a new screen that lists the posts the block has been used in.  It also displays the instances for each post.  This would be a useful feature for deciding whether to deactivate or remove a block.</p>



<p>Side note to this:  I have worked on numerous projects in the past where I was doing cleanup and attempting to figure out if a plugin, especially those with shortcodes, were in use on the site.  Showing the instances count for blocks is brilliant.</p>



<h2>Manage Blocks Screen</h2>



<img />Manage Blocks screen.



<p>Plugins such as <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/block-options/">EditorsKit</a> have had built-in block management for a while.  However, this feature feels like it should be in core WordPress.  There are numerous core blocks that some users will likely never use.  Having the ability to hide them from the block inserter will reduce clutter and make it easier to find the blocks they need.</p>



<p>The <a href="https://www.figma.com/proto/Y4jCNPkjCuSRiGYEoaAZujhm/Gutenberg-Block-Directory-(wp-admin)?node-id=1460%3A14224&viewport=366%2C373%2C0.25&scaling=min-zoom">block management screen</a> will allow users to activate or deactivate any specific block on their website.  Like the block installation screen, it also displays the number of instances a block is in use.</p>



<h2>Reusable Blocks Screen</h2>



<img />Reusable Blocks screen.



<p>The <a href="https://www.figma.com/proto/Y4jCNPkjCuSRiGYEoaAZujhm/Gutenberg-Block-Directory-(wp-admin)?node-id=1460%3A15861&viewport=366%2C373%2C0.25&scaling=min-zoom">reusable blocks screen</a> is already available in WordPress.  It does not currently have an admin menu link, so it is not easily discoverable.  You can view it by going to the <code>yoursite.com/wp-admin/edit.php?post_type=wp_block</code> URL or clicking the &ldquo;Manage All Reusable Blocks&rdquo; link under the &ldquo;Reusable&rdquo; tab in the block inserter.</p>



<p>This screen allows users to manage blocks that are stored for reuse within multiple posts.  Like the installation and management screens, the prototype displays an instances column for tracking how often the block has been used.</p>



<p>Users can import and export reusable blocks.  It will be interesting to see if more WordPress users start sharing their block creations with others once this screen has better exposure or if it will be something people simply use to copy blocks from site to site.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 20 Dec 2019 21:09:12 +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:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:26;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"WPTavern: WordPress 5.3.2 Addresses a Handful of Bugs";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=95927";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:64:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-3-2-addresses-a-handful-of-bugs";s: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:2810:"<p>On December 18, less than a week since <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-3-1-includes-security-and-bug-fixes-accessibility-enhancements-and-twenty-twenty-changes">WordPress 5.3.1 security update</a> shipped to the masses, the core team dropped a <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2019/12/wordpress-5-3-2-maintenance-release/">version 5.3.2 maintenance release</a>.  No security issues were named in this update.  Instead, 5.3.2 addresses a couple of high-priority bugs along with a few other issues.</p>



<p>Users with automatic updates enabled should already be updated to the latest version or will receive an update soon.  Other users should update as soon as they are able, especially if their installation is affected by any of the following issues.</p>



<p>The first high-priority fix addressed an issue with modified post objects that have an invalid date.  The fix ensures that the <code>get_feed_build_date()</code> function handles this scenario.  The documentation was updated to clarify the function will return <code>false</code> on failure.  This change also led to a comparison-check fix in the test tools when inserting a post with a future or published status.</p>



<p>The second major bug fixed in 5.3.2 was an edge case where unique file names could clash.  On case-sensitive systems, the <code>wp_unique_filename()</code> function failed to rename some files when the uploaded file matched an existing file with an uppercase file extension.  The fix addresses a fatal error in those cases.</p>



<p>Developers tackled another issue with the <code>wp_unique_filename()</code> function.  When a destination directory for an uploaded file was unreadable, WordPress was throwing PHP warnings.  The fix includes only running the final filename-collision test for files that are saved to the user&rsquo;s <code>/uploads</code> directory.</p>



<p>Building off the accessibility work in the previous release, buttons with the <code>.active</code> class are now properly styled in the non-default admin color schemes.  On some screens, particularly the Permalinks admin screen, active buttons had white text on a light gray background, making them unreadable.</p>



<p>Users who wish to do so, can <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/wordpress-version/version-5-3-2/">view the full release documentation</a> from WordPress.</p>



<p>With the widespread usage of automatic updates, it would be nice to see more of these quicker releases during the development cycle.  Maybe weekly releases are a bit much.  However, shipping a few extra minor releases between major upgrades would be a good opportunity to knock out some of the 6,500 Trac tickets on <a href="https://wptavern.com/progress-on-wordpress-2019-projects-sets-2020-roadmap">WordPress&rsquo; 2020 roadmap</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 20 Dec 2019 00:19:41 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:27;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:55:"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 5.3.2 Maintenance Release";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=8275";s: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:71:"https://wordpress.org/news/2019/12/wordpress-5-3-2-maintenance-release/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2828:"<p>WordPress 5.3.2 is now available!</p>



<p>This maintenance release features 5 fixes and enhancements.</p>



<p>WordPress 5.3.2 is a short-cycle maintenance release. The next major release will be&nbsp;version 5.4.</p>



<p>You can download WordPress 5.3.2 by clicking the button at the top of this page, or visit your<strong>&nbsp;Dashboard → Updates</strong>&nbsp;and click&nbsp;<strong>Update Now</strong>.</p>



<p>If you have sites that support automatic background updates, they’ve already started the update process.</p>



<h2>Maintenance updates</h2>



<p>Shortly after&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2019/12/wordpress-5-3-1-security-and-maintenance-release/">WordPress 5.3.1 was released</a>, a couple of high severity Trac tickets were opened. The Core team scheduled this quick maintenance release to resolve these issues.</p>



<p>Main issues addressed in 5.3.2:</p>



<ul><li>Date/Time: Ensure that&nbsp;<code>get_feed_build_date()</code>&nbsp;correctly handles a modified post object with invalid date.</li><li>Uploads: Fix file name collision in&nbsp;<code>wp_unique_filename()</code>&nbsp;when uploading a file with upper case extension on non case-sensitive file systems.</li><li>Media: Fix PHP warnings in&nbsp;<code>wp_unique_filename()</code>&nbsp;when the destination directory is unreadable.</li><li>Administration: Fix the colors in all color schemes for buttons with the&nbsp;<code>.active</code>&nbsp;class.</li><li>Posts, Post Types: In&nbsp;<code>wp_insert_post()</code>, when checking the post date to set&nbsp;<code>future</code>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<code>publish</code>&nbsp;status, use a proper delta comparison.</li></ul>



<p>For more information,&nbsp;<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&type=!task+(blessed)&resolution=fixed&milestone=5.3.2&col=id&col=summary&col=owner&col=type&col=priority&col=component&col=version&order=priority">browse the full list of changes on Trac</a>&nbsp;or check out the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/support/wordpress-version/version-5-3-2/">version 5.3.2 HelpHub documentation page</a>.</p>



<h2>Thanks!</h2>



<p>Thank you to everyone who contributed to WordPress 5.3.2:</p>



<p><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/azaozz/">Andrew Ozz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rarst/">Andrey &#8220;Rarst&#8221; Savchenko</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dd32/">Dion hulse</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/eden159/">eden159</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/audrasjb/">Jb Audras</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ryelle/">Kelly Dwan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pbiron/">Paul Biron</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sergeybiryukov/">Sergey Biryukov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tellyworth/">Tellyworth</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 18 Dec 2019 22:42:26 +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:9:"Jb Audras";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:28;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:64:"WPTavern: One-Time vs. Recurring Payments for WordPress Products";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=95900";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:74:"https://wptavern.com/one-time-vs-recurring-payments-for-wordpress-products";s: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:6248:"<p>Jeff Starr posed the question at Digging into WordPress: <a href="https://digwp.com/2019/12/pricing-model-better/">Which Pricing Model Do You Prefer: One-Time or Recurring?</a></p>



<p>It is not the first time the question has been asked in the WordPress community and will not be the last.  It is important that we keep coming back to it from time to time.</p>



<p>In the early days of the commercial WordPress ecosystem, many shops sold products for a one-time fee.  This was particularly true during the 2007-2010 years, which were what many dub the &ldquo;WordPress themes heyday,&rdquo; a period in which theme shops raked in tons of cash due to lack of competition.</p>



<p>As the market became more saturated, many businesses saw the writing on the wall.  One-time fees for commercial themes or plugins did not make for a sustainable business model.  Of course, some companies pushed forward with that model.  They were either large enough to capitalize on an influx of new customers every year or they continued to push out new products for existing customers to buy.</p>



<p>Today, most theme and plugin shops utilize a recurring business model.  Many of those shops also set up automatic renewals.  From a business perspective, companies need to keep existing customers while bringing in new buyers to continue maintaining, supporting, and building new features for the current product catalog.  Companies also need growth to build new products.  A recurring fee helps ease the burden of supporting and maintaining the existing products.</p>



<p>Pippin Williamson <a href="https://pippinsplugins.com/automatic-license-renewals-twenty-months-later/">saw massive revenue growth</a> over 20 months after turning on automatic renewals across his company&rsquo;s various products.  Other companies have seen similar increases with the same model.</p>



<p>As a former business owner, I <em>dumb-lucked</em> my way into yearly, recurring payments.  When I first launched a theme shop in 2008, that was the model I went with.  I did not know a single thing about running a business except that money exchanged hands.  I was in my early 20s and accustomed to living off minimum wage, digging change from the couch to buy a value meal, and finding creative ways &mdash; short of dumpster diving &mdash; to scrape by.  Anything better than that was a success for me.  Recurring payments just made sense, especially because I was vastly undercutting my competitors in price.  That one decision helped sustain my business for many years.  In hindsight, I would not have had the little success I had with a single-payment model because I never brought in enough new customers.</p>



<p>Having worked on the business end of WordPress for over a decade and being a member of the community for even longer, it is easy for me to say most companies should use a recurring business model.</p>



<p>However, as a software customer in general, I have not always maintained that mindset.  There are many pieces of software that I loathe paying for each year.  This was particularly true before running a business that dealt with software.  There is a part of me that feels some shame for disliking the recurring model with non-WordPress software.  Those businesses need to pay their employees and afford to continue making the product better.</p>



<p>On the other hand, there is always that part of me that simply wants to pay for something once and always have access to it.  Perhaps I am a product of my culture.  Software is unlike other art forms where Version 1.0 is the finished product.  Customers do not always see the work that goes on to maintain, support, and continue building a product.  That is certainly true when I look at non-WordPress software.</p>



<p>For WordPress products, I am always more than happy to pay a recurring fee because I have been on the other side.  I also get to talk with others every day who are trying to run their own companies.  That human variable in the equation changes how I view software in the WordPress ecosystem in a way that is much harder with other software.</p>



<h2>A Middle Ground</h2>



<p>Starr pointed out a middle-of-the-road option that few WordPress companies take but is often the model used for other software products.  Major releases of software carry an upgrade fee while minor and patch releases are included with the initial purchase.  Often, major software releases have years in between.  Customers may not feel like they are constantly having to pay for updates in this system.  Major upgrades also mean feature upgrades.  Features are what sell the product to the average end-user.</p>



<p><a href="https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview">Scrivener</a>, a writing program for authors, uses this model.  Instead of having to pay yearly, I can upgrade to the new, shiny version when it drops with loads of features.  As a customer, I feel like I am getting something tangible when forking over the cash for an update.</p>



<p>Perhaps I am happy to continue paying for software that helps me pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a novelist.  Perhaps the company simply knows how to sell to its customer base.  Either way, it is one piece of software that I have never complained about renewing.</p>



<h2>What is the Best Option?</h2>



<p>To answer the question posed by Starr, I will always prefer a one-time fee as a customer simply because it is in my nature to want to pay the least amount I can for anything.  However, I would prefer most WordPress businesses to go with whatever model is most sustainable for their specific business.  We are all in this boat together, and I wish growth for the ecosystem.</p>



<p>One of the missing pieces with many WordPress plugin and theme shops is that they need to find creative ways to sell the customer on coming back.  Support and maintenance can be eye-catching for agencies and freelancers, but they are not always selling points for the average consumer after that initial purchase.</p>



<p>Right now, there is a sense of complacency as WordPress-related businesses have stuck with similar recurring options over the last several years.  It might be time for someone to shake things up.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 18 Dec 2019 20:37:31 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:29;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:76:"WPTavern: Bluehost Launches Premium WordPress Theme Marketplace to Customers";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=95726";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:87:"https://wptavern.com/bluehost-launches-premium-wordpress-theme-marketplace-to-customers";s: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:5675:"<img />Screenshot of the Bluehost Marketplace from the customer dashboard.



<p>In November, web hosting provider Bluehost <a href="https://www.bluehost.com/blog/bluehost-news/introducing-wordpress-themes-to-the-bluehost-marketplace-12981/">launched a WordPress plugin and theme marketplace</a>.  The company integrated with <a href="https://www.mojomarketplace.com/">MOJO Marketplace</a> to provide access to WordPress products via its customer dashboard.  Currently, the marketplace is open to third-party theme developers.  Plugin authors will have to wait, but they will eventually be able to sell their plugins through the Bluehost Marketplace.</p>



<p>By integrating with MOJO Marketplace, much of the existing infrastructure and products are already in place.  Bluehost can simply offer the products to its customers through a custom-built interface and provide MOJO sellers with another avenue for distribution.</p>



<p>The idea behind the marketplace is for Bluehost&rsquo;s customers to be able to build their websites without ever leaving their control panel.  &ldquo;Ultimately, we are trying to save customers time and energy from having to hunt for these things themselves and instead work within the dashboard to find the themes and plugins that are best fit for their site,&rdquo; said Suhaib Zaheer, general manager for Bluehost.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Our native marketplace also provides our customers with the ability to automatically install the themes and plugins they have purchased, reducing the amount of time and number of steps required to get their site appearance and functionality up and running,&rdquo; he said.</p>



<p>The Bluehost Marketplace currently has over 900 themes and 18 WooCommerce plugins for customers to choose from.  The themes are all viewable via the <a href="https://www.mojomarketplace.com/themes/wordpress">WordPress themes page</a> on the MOJO website.  All themes uploaded by sellers go through a manual review process by the Bluehost Marketplace team before approval.  This includes basic items like design quality, functionality, installation, and documentation.</p>



<p>There is also a &ldquo;Bluehost Certified&rdquo; filter available to users who want to use themes that have been further tested for quality control.  &ldquo;We conduct additional reviews to certify themes for our Bluehost Certified category on a quarterly basis,&rdquo; said Zaheer .</p>



<p>There appear to be 85 themes that are Bluehost Certified based on a screenshot acquired of the marketplace.  However, that number is not verified.  The MOJO Marketplace page does not appear to have a filter to view these, but it is available to users of Bluehost&rsquo;s hosting service.</p>



<h2>Selling on the Bluehost Marketplace</h2>



<p>Theme developers who want to sell themes via Bluehost can apply through <a href="https://mojosupport.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/categories/200823136-Sellers">MOJO Marketplace</a>.  Authors should note that they would like to be Bluehost Certified.  </p>



<p>Theme sellers who want to get certification must meet the <a href="https://my.bluehost.com/hosting/help/certified-wordpress-themes">Bluehost Certified guidelines</a>.  Some are fairly normal and would be expected in today&rsquo;s market such as responsiveness, browser compatibility, fast load times, and active support from the author.</p>



<p>Others are a bit of a head-scratcher.  </p>



<p>Certification requires that themes support page builders.  It&rsquo;s unclear which page builders need to be supported and what level of support is necessary.  Ideally, this would be the other way around.  Page builders should be built in such a way that they do not need theme-specific support.</p>



<p>Demo content is required.  It is not clear if the requirements simply mean to provide an installable XML file with demo content or for the theme to output demo content in the absence of user content.  Based on the description, it seems like the latter.  If so, I would not want any part of that as a potential theme author.  I could see requiring the use of the WordPress starter content feature in this case but nothing more.</p>



<p>The requirements also list &ldquo;plugins supported&rdquo; with no additional description.  <em>Good luck to theme authors figuring out exactly what that means.</em></p>



<p>Bluehost needs to make its Bluehost Certified page more detailed to be attractive to potential theme authors.  There are far too many unanswered questions.</p>



<p><a href="https://mojosupport.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001076306-Commission-Rates">Commission rates</a> are the same rates as other themes on the MOJO Marketplace.  Themes sold exclusively through the marketplace earn between 50% and 70% based on the number of sales.  Non-exclusive theme commissions are at a flat rate of 50%.  Both exclusive and non-exclusive authors can distribute their themes through the Bluehost Marketplace.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Theme sellers are welcome to set the price of their item,&rdquo; said Zaheer.  &ldquo;However, we recommend they stay within $49-$69 range. If the review team does not feel the price is uniform with other themes in the same category, they will request a price change in order to be sold on the Marketplace.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The pricing recommendation seems to be a bit on the low end, but it is consistent with the theme industry&rsquo;s race to the bottom.  Quality theme work should be at least double.</p>



<p>Fortunately for theme authors, pricing is based on yearly renewals.  They are required to offer technical assistance within 24-48 hours while a user&rsquo;s yearly support license is up to date.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 17 Dec 2019 20:40:48 +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:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:30;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:62:"WordPress.org blog: State of the Word: the story of the slides";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=8233";s: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://wordpress.org/news/2019/12/state-of-the-word-the-story-of-the-slides/";s: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:8021:"<p>During the State of the Word at WordCamp US 2019, Matt Mullenweg shared that Gutenberg was used to create his slides and the presentation was powered by the Slides plugin. Using WordPress to power a slide deck isn’t an obvious choice, so we wanted to showcase the process and give some tips for making slide layouts using Gutenberg.</p>



<p><em>This post is co-written by Ella and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/karmatosed/">Tammie</a>, who (along with <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/melchoyce/">Mel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mapk/">Mark</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nrqsnchz/">Enrique</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/itsjonq/">Q</a></em> <em>and a cast of supporters) helped create this year’s State of the Word slide deck.</em></p>



<h2>How it Started</h2>



<p><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ellatrix/">Ella Van Durpe</a> was selected to speak at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNWNhUPrqB4">JSConf</a> and ReactEurope and wanted slides for her presentation.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In the past, she’d used Reveal.js to create slides and enjoyed the freedom to create anything using HTML, CSS and JavaScript. These languages were comfortable, familiar, and also can be published on the web in their native format.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For these new presentations, she wanted to use Reveal.js again but didn’t feel like writing all the HTML by hand. Creating blocks of content visually, without having to actually write any code, which can be published natively to the web, is exactly what Gutenberg was built for.</p>



<p>The plugin was prototyped quickly, with hardcoded styles on the slides and zero options. At the end of each presentation, Ella shared a brief demo of the Gutenberg-based slides and the audience was amazed.</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/ellatrx?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ellatrx</a> any chance you might open source this? <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/12.0.0-1/72x72/1f642.png" alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://t.co/6hygMpBqUA">https://t.co/6hygMpBqUA</a></p>&mdash; Pascal Birchler (@swissspidy) <a href="https://twitter.com/swissspidy/status/1131573525612048385?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>



<p>As WordCamp US approached, Ella suggested that her plugin be used for State of the Word. Since it was such a hit with her audience members, it seemed like this would be a great chance to share it with the WordPress community as a whole.</p>



<span id="more-8233"></span>



<h2>How it Works</h2>



<h3>Technical information</h3>



<p>The plugin registers a custom post type called “presentation” and a new “slide” block. The slide block is a sort of enhanced “Group” block, which is restricted to the root of the post, but you can put any other block inside it. As a result, you have a post filled with only slides at the root and slides filled with content. This maps perfectly to the Reveal.js markup, which requires content in HTML section elements.</p>



<p>Since these slides each have their own design, the theme styles are disabled and styling is set from each slide. A custom presentation template is provided by the plugin to render the custom post on the front-end.</p>



<p>Then Ella added options to style the slides. For example, she added options to control the slide background and font, at both the document level and individual slide level. She also added Reveal.js options, which allow you to change the transition style and speed. Lastly, she added a custom CSS field to allow style overwrites.</p>



<p>For the State of the Word, she also added speaker notes and a speaker view.</p>



<img src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2019/12/image.png?fit=632%2C363&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-8271" />



<h3>How it&#8217;s Designed</h3>



<img src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2019/12/01.png?fit=632%2C515&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-8262" />



<p>The inspiration for the slide designs came from Blue Note album covers (which were also the inspiration for the <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/photomatt/state-of-the-word-2011/">2011 State of the Word slides</a>). These album covers inspired the recent “About” page in WordPress core and the starter content for the new Twenty Twenty theme. This style consists of strong, geometric shapes and simple forms with clean lines. Photography and bold typography are at the heart of this look.</p>



<img src="https://i1.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2019/12/image-17.png?fit=632%2C541&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-8267" />



<p>Various color palettes and font pairings were explored before selecting the best combination for the presentation.</p>



<img src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2019/12/03.png?fit=632%2C407&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-8259" />



<p>A strong photographic element was needed for the slides. Past WordCamps are a great source of photos, so we dug through years of photo galleries to find just the right shots. With colors, fonts, and photos, we laid the foundation to build the deck.</p>



<h2>Tips for Making Gutenberg Slides</h2>



<h3>Tip One: columns are your friends</h3>



<p>If you want slides with a precise layout, use columns. As you can see here, we used a 3 column layout to center content within a slide:</p>



<img src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2019/12/3.png?w=632&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-8260" />



<h3>Tip Two: spacer blocks are useful</h3>



<p>Want to really unlock the power of columns? Combine them with the spacer block! We used spacer blocks to position content over background images, like in this slide:</p>



<img src="https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2019/12/6.png?w=632&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-8264" />



<h3>Tip Three: test on large screens</h3>



<p>It’s important to preview and test your slides as you go. Make sure to design for the size and aspect ratio of the projector you’ll be using and do a visual check in presentation mode from time to time.</p>



<img src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2019/12/notes.png?fit=632%2C405&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-8269" />



<h3>Tip Four: check your videos</h3>



<p>A good demo video is integral to showcase new features. Joen Asmussen has a great post on <a href="https://automattic.design/2019/11/12/good-ui-demo-videos/">creating effective demo videos</a>.</p>



<h2>Lessons learned</h2>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><em>I’d love to make the art directed compositions easier to create. </em></p><cite><em>Mel Choyce-Dwan</em></cite></blockquote>



<p>As Gutenberg evolves, one big improvement is that art direction will get easier. Even with the improvements this year, creating some layouts in Gutenberg was trickier than expected. For the more complicated compositions, we relied on SVGs. Eventually, the need for hacks will dissolve away, and a new world of exciting possibilities will open for everyone.</p>



<p>Browsers offered one of our biggest learnings in this presentation, more than they would if you use Keynote or Powerpoint, for example (tools most of us have used). Often, we found that what we created in the editor varied a when viewed full-screen. We were able to mitigate this by updating the plugin to use a fixed size, instead of using the entire browser window.</p>



<h2>Wrapping it up</h2>



<p>If you would like to check out the State of the Word, you can watch the <a href="https://wordpress.tv/2019/11/03/2019-state-of-the-word/">video</a> and read all about it in a <a href="https://ma.tt/2019/11/state-of-the-word-2019/">post</a>.</p>



<p>The Slides plugin is not only available on the plugin repo, but you can also get the code from <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/slides">GitHub</a> and <a href="https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/slide/">help translate</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 17 Dec 2019 19:27:01 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Ella van Durpe";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:31;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:36:"Matt: Comments and Collatz Conundrum";s: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=50619";s: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://ma.tt/2019/12/comments-and-collatz-conundrum/";s: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:1480:"<p>Over the summer <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/">Terence Tao</a>, a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fields_Medal">Fields Medal</a>-winning mathematician considered one of the best of his generation, got an anonymous comment <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/the-collatz-conjecture-littlewood-offord-theory-and-powers-of-2-and-3/">on his WordPress blog post from 2011 exploring the Collatz conjecture</a> — one of the most persistent problems in math — suggesting he explore the problem for &#8220;almost all&#8221; numbers. Terence has been a regular WP.com blogger since 2007 and he and his commenters make <a href="https://en.support.wordpress.com/latex/">extensive use of our LaTeX feature to express and embed equations</a>. </p>



<p>That anonymous comment <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/mathematician-terence-tao-and-the-collatz-conjecture-20191211/">led him to an important breakthrough on the Collatz Conundrum, as Quanta Magazine reports</a>. If you want great comments, you as the author have to participate in them and Terence is incredibly active in engaging with the commenters on his site.</p>



<p>I&#8217;ve always said that comments are the best part of blogging, but this is a particularly cool example. <a href="https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2019/09/10/almost-all-collatz-orbits-attain-almost-bounded-values/">Here&#8217;s Terence&#8217;s latest post on it</a>, with an excellent comment thread following.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 16 Dec 2019 21:46:12 +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:32;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:70:"WPTavern: Slim SEO Keeps Options Simple and Handles the Legwork of SEO";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=95857";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:81:"https://wptavern.com/slim-seo-keeps-options-simple-and-handles-the-legwork-of-seo";s: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:7627:"<p>I have been running a blog of some kind since the Spring of 2003.  In a few short months, it will be my 17th <em>blog-aversary</em>.  The most important lesson I have learned over the years is to not do more work than is necessary to publish a blog post.</p>



<p>There was a time when I fiddled with custom field boxes to fine-tune every aspect of a blog post, such as meta keywords, descriptions, titles, and much more.  However, worrying over every bit of metadata about a post became more work than actually writing the blog post itself.  It was killing my creative process.</p>



<p>I have tried numerous SEO plugins and even built such a plugin myself once.  Eventually, I would always come back to simply automating most of the process for whatever project I was working on.</p>



<p>Some SEO purists may balk at the idea.  They might argue that everything must be fine-tuned for the best results in search engines.  I could not say.  Worrying about ranking seems to be a never-ending, uphill battle.  In my experience, no particular plugin has ever given me an edge in comparison to another.  Results were always similar regardless of whether I fixated on every detail that options-filled SEO plugins offered or let an automated system generate the bits and pieces I needed.</p>



<p>I decided to give the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/slim-seo/">Slim SEO plugin</a> a try.  It promised to handle the dirty work and ticked most of the boxes in terms of what I was looking for in an SEO plugin.</p>



<p>Slim SEO is a plugin built by eLightUp, the company behind the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/meta-box/">Meta Box</a> framework and <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/author/gretathemes/">GretaThemes</a>.  Given their history of building quality extensions for WordPress, their SEO plugin made sense for a test run.</p>



<p>The plugin beautifully handles the basics that you would expect from an SEO plugin.  It automatically handles meta tags, including Open Graph Tags for social media.  It generates a sitemap of your public posts and pages.  It outputs structured data via JSON-LD with no work on the user&rsquo;s part.</p>



<p><strong>TL;DR:</strong> For users who are looking for a simple SEO solution with little legwork, Slim SEO is a solid option.  For users who want to tinker with every aspect of their SEO, look elsewhere.</p>



<h2>A Slim User Interface</h2>



<p>As a user, the things I tire of quickly the most are complex options screens.  <em>Just give me the basics.</em>  That is exactly what Slim SEO does.  It has a single options screen titled &ldquo;SEO&rdquo; under the default &ldquo;Settings&rdquo; menu in the admin.  Currently, the only options are for inputting header and footer scripts from various services, such as Google Tag Manager or Google Analytics.</p>



<p>On the post-editing screen, the plugin provides a simple meta box for customizing the meta title and description.  Users can also opt to hide the post from search engines and change the Facebook and Twitter images for the post.  And, that&rsquo;s it.</p>



<img />Per-post SEO options meta box.



<p>Each of these options can be skipped if you prefer to let the plugin handle them automatically.</p>



<p>Suffice it to say, I am a fan of the slimmed-down interface.  The plugin has no SEO scores, keyword rankings, or 20 different options to worry about.  It does not show a preview of what the post might look like in a search engine.  The options available are items that I <em>may</em> want to configure from time to time, so it&rsquo;s nice to have the ability to do so when needed.</p>



<h2>The Downsides of the Plugin</h2>



<p>Slimmed-down does not always equate to being better.  You make sacrifices by allowing the plugin to make decisions that may not always be the best for your site.  Keep these in mind when deciding whether to use the plugin.</p>



<h3>Automatic Redirects</h3>



<p>One of the biggest downsides of automated systems is that I sometimes want things to be handled differently by the plugin.  The plugin&rsquo;s automatic redirect feature is a good example of that issue.  Out of the box, the plugin will redirect all attachment page views to the media file.  It also redirects visitors to author archive pages to the home page if the author has not written any posts or on single-author sites.</p>



<p>These auto-redirects may be desirable for some end-users, but they are not something I want.  The problem is there is no clear way to disable this feature, even via code.</p>



<h3>Header Cleanup</h3>



<p>The plugin also has a &ldquo;cleanup&rdquo; feature that automatically removes the RSD link, Windows Live Writer manifest link, WordPress version number, and post shortlink from the <code>&lt;head&gt;</code> area on the front end.  It may be desirable to remove those items, but their removal would be more appropriate in a cleanup WordPress type of plugin rather than a plugin focused on SEO.</p>



<h3>Automatic Image Alt Attributes</h3>



<p>Slim SEO automatically adds the <code>alt</code> attribute to post thumbnails and when inserting images into the editor.  The problem is that it uses the attachment title.  This could make accessibility worse than simply leaving the alt attribute empty.  If your attachment title is something like <code>DS_IMG9453.jpg</code>, it does not accurately describe an image.</p>



<h3>Breadcrumbs</h3>



<p>The plugin has a shortcode for outputting breadcrumbs.  It must either be manually added to a shortcode-aware area or within a theme template.</p>



<p>The breadcrumbs functionality provides a baseline experience. It doesn&rsquo;t handle every scenario or even close to every scenario.  The feature will not get you far with highly-complex setups.   However, it would work OK for the average install. </p>



<p>That&rsquo;s par for the course with SEO plugins &mdash; mediocre breadcrumbs at best.  Frankly, SEO plugins should drop breadcrumbs from the feature list and let fully-fledged breadcrumb plugins do their thing.  Users should use opt for a plugin that specifically focuses on being a breadcrumb plugin.  Authors who build those tend to have more experience handling edge cases.</p>



<h2>How Does the Code Stack Up?</h2>



<p>From a programming perspective, the code is clean and clear.  It is 90% to the point where it should be.  The missing 10% is that there are no references to many of the objects the plugin creates.  This is not an issue limited to this plugin and is more common than it should be.</p>



<p>This issue makes it next to impossible to remove actions and filters from hooks.  For end-users, this does not matter.  For developers, it is not a frustration-free exercise to manipulate how the plugin works.  This could easily be solved in numerous ways, such as using a container, service locator, static single instance, singleton, or even a global.  Whether some of those methods should be deployed is beyond the scope of this review.  Nevertheless, <em>some</em> reference to the plugin&rsquo;s objects would help.</p>



<p>Addressing this issue would come in handy disabling those auto-redirects.</p>



<h2>The Final Verdict</h2>



<p>Aside from a handful of admittedly trivial gripes, I would use this plugin in lieu of SEO plugins with more options.  Years of running multiple sites has taught me to grab for the simplest solutions so that I can get back to doing the things I enjoy doing.</p>



<p>If you prefer to micro-manage every aspect of your SEO, there are plenty of existing options out there.  Slim SEO will not fit your needs.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 16 Dec 2019 20:48:20 +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:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:33;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:60:"WPTavern: Inserting Special Characters Into the Block Editor";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=95833";s: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:71:"https://wptavern.com/inserting-special-characters-into-the-block-editor";s: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:3696:"<p>For users of the Classic WordPress editor who often needed to insert special characters into their posts, life was once simple.  Click the &ldquo;&Omega;&rdquo; button in the editor to open a modal with a list of characters not found on a standard keyboard.  The user then only needed to click on the character they wanted to insert and go about the business of writing their post.</p>



<p>For users who made the move to the block editor and were accustomed to inserting special characters at the click of a button, life became more complicated.  The answer to their woes was to first insert a Classic block and use its special character inserter, which kind of defeats the purpose of using the new and shiny block editor.  Another option was to use the special character app/program packaged with their computer, which assumes all users know the keyboard shortcut for it or how to run the program.</p>



<p>By many accounts, this would be considered a <em>standard</em> feature for any text editor.  When WordPress is at a stage of trying to sell a new editor, it should be prepared to include features that users of the old editor consider standard.  The lack of a special-character inserter could have been written off as an oversight if people were not asking for it.</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/1678">Reimplement Character Map</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/7162">Just a Few More Text/Paragraph Formatting Choices?</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/8782">Add Special Character Menu</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/8817">Where Are the Special Characters?</a></li></ul>



<p>People <em>were</em> asking for it.</p>



<p>Fortunately, the requests caught the attention of the 10up team.  In September this year, they <a href="https://10up.com/blog/2019/insert-special-characters-wordpress-plugin/">released the first version</a> of their <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/insert-special-characters/">Insert Special Characters</a> plugin.  It has since gone through a couple of updates and works well across browsers.</p>



<p>The plugin is simple and does its job much better than the previous Classic editor inserter.  Instead of just handling the basics, the team went above and beyond what was necessary to launch the plugin.</p>



<p>The plugin adds a new sub-menu item to the text toolbar titled &ldquo;&Omega; Special Characters.&rdquo;</p>



<img />&ldquo;Special Characters&rdquo; rich text menu item.



<p>After clicking the link to insert a special character, a modal box appears on the screen.  The box provides hundreds of special characters to choose from.  It sorts them under Miscellaneous, Math, Latin, and Arrow categories while providing a search filter to narrow down the list.  The box can also be reached by typing <code>ctrl</code>/<code>cmd</code> + <code>o</code> on the keyboard.</p>



<img />Special characters insertion modal box.



<p>Like many modals, the box pops up in a weird position from time to time, depending on where the insertion point is on the screen. Outside of that, I found no major problems with the plugin.</p>



<p>The plugin also <a href="https://github.com/10up/insert-special-characters/blob/1.0.2/README.md#extending">provides a hook</a> for other developers to manipulate the tabs and available characters in the modal.</p>



<p>This does beg the question of whether the feature should be implemented in the core block editor now.  If the core team puts it in at this point, one would hope they would make it competitive with the plugin.  Anything less would be a letdown.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 13 Dec 2019 20:46:17 +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:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:34;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:112:"WPTavern: WordPress 5.3.1 Includes Security and Bug Fixes, Accessibility Enhancements, and Twenty Twenty Changes";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=95815";s: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:121:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-3-1-includes-security-and-bug-fixes-accessibility-enhancements-and-twenty-twenty-changes";s: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:4204:"<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2019/12/wordpress-5-3-1-security-and-maintenance-release/">WordPress 5.3.1 was released today</a> with 46 bug fixes and enhancements.  Changes include several accessibility improvements and four security vulnerability fixes.  The update includes multiple changes to the default Twenty Twenty theme.</p>



<p>Version 5.3.1 is a security and maintenance release.  All users are encouraged to update as soon as possible.  For those with auto-updates enabled, updates are currently rolling out.  All major branches of WordPress from version 3.7 through 5.3 received the new security fixes.</p>



<p>The following security issues were addressed:</p>



<ul><li>Users without the correct permission (capability) could make a post sticky via the REST API.</li><li>An issue where cross-site scripting (XSS) could be stored in links.</li><li>Hardening the <code>wp_kses_bad_protocol()</code> function so that it is aware of the named colon attribute.</li><li>A stored XSS vulnerability using block editor content.</li></ul>



<p>Most of the release focused on maintenance.  Form fields and buttons now have the same height, which should result in a more consistent admin UI.  This has long been an issue, but the accessibility changes in WordPress 5.3 highlighted the problem.</p>



<p>A bug with how permalinks were generated with the new Date/Time changes in WordPress 5.3 has been fixed.  This left some sites using date-based URLs with incorrect post permalinks.</p>



<p>Other changes include removing support for the CollegeHumor oEmbed provider (the site is no longer available), updating the <code>sodium_compat</code> library, and making sure admin verification emails use the user&rsquo;s locale instead of the site&rsquo;s locale.  For a full overview of all changes, visit the <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/wordpress-version/version-5-3-1/">WordPress 5.3.1 release page</a>.</p>



<h2>Accessibility Improvements</h2>



<img />&ldquo;Coffee&rdquo; color scheme with new button colors.



<p>Some of the biggest accessibility changes fixed issues with the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/12/10/alternate-color-schemes-changes-in-wordpress-5-3-1/">alternate admin color schemes</a> available in WordPress.  The accessibility improvements to buttons in WordPress 5.3 did not get carried over to most of the alternate schemes.  Or, rather, those alternate color schemes were not taken into account when the changes went into effect.  This left secondary button elements practically unreadable in some cases, which made accessibility worse.</p>



<p>Version 5.3.1 creates a unified design for secondary buttons for every color scheme.  It also makes sure that the <code>:active</code> state for buttons are consistent.</p>



<p>Other improvements to accessibility include adding underlines to links on the Dashboard screen that were not clearly links by context, properly disabling nav menu forms when they should not be in use, and adding hover effects for links on the &ldquo;About&rdquo; admin screens.</p>



<h2>Twenty Twenty Changes</h2>



<img />Author bio option in the customizer.



<p>The Twenty Twenty theme launched with JavaScript-based, smooth-scroll behavior for anchor links.  This feature did not work correctly in all cases.  It also broke anchor links to individual comments when paginated comments were enabled on a site.  </p>



<p>Version 1.1 of Twenty Twenty <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/12/08/twenty-twenty-animated-scroll-changes-in-wordpress-5-3-1/">includes CSS-based, smooth-scroll behavior</a>.  This greatly simplifies the code by using native behavior.  It also works based on the user&rsquo;s reduced motion setting for their browser, which enhances accessibility for the theme.</p>



<p>The theme update comes packaged with a new option for showing or hiding the post author bio.  The setting is available under the &ldquo;Theme Options&rdquo; section in the customizer.  It is enabled by default and will show the author bio section at the end of every post across the site.</p>



<p>The Twenty Twenty update also includes several bug fixes, most of which were trivial issues.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 13 Dec 2019 00:58:39 +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:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:35;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:68:"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 5.3.1 Security and Maintenance Release";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=8203";s: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/2019/12/wordpress-5-3-1-security-and-maintenance-release/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12695:"<p>WordPress 5.3.1 is now available!</p>



<p>This security and maintenance release features 46 fixes and enhancements. Plus, it adds a number of security fixes—see the list below.</p>



<p>WordPress 5.3.1 is a short-cycle maintenance release. The next major release will be version 5.4.</p>



<p>You can download WordPress 5.3.1 by clicking the button at the top of this page, or visit your<strong>&nbsp;Dashboard → Updates</strong>&nbsp;and click&nbsp;<strong>Update Now</strong>.</p>



<p>If you have sites that support automatic background updates, they’ve already started the update process.</p>



<h2>Security updates</h2>



<p>Four security issues affect WordPress versions 5.3 and earlier; version 5.3.1 fixes them, so you’ll want to upgrade. If you haven’t yet updated to 5.3, there are also updated versions of 5.2 and earlier that fix the security issues.</p>



<ul><li>Props to <a href="https://danielbachhuber.com/">Daniel Bachhuber</a> for finding an issue where an unprivileged user could make a post sticky via the REST API.</li><li>Props to <a href="https://blog.ripstech.com/authors/simon-scannell">Simon Scannell of RIPS Technologies</a> for finding and disclosing an issue where cross-site scripting (XSS) could be stored in well-crafted links.</li><li>Props to the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://wordpress.org/">WordPress.org</a> Security Team for hardening <code>wp_kses_bad_protocol()</code> to ensure that it is aware of the named colon attribute.</li><li>Props to <a href="https://twitter.com/ducnt_">Nguyen The Duc</a> for discovering a stored XSS vulnerability using block editor content.</li></ul>



<h2>Maintenance updates</h2>



<p>Here are a few of the highlights:</p>



<ul><li>Administration: improvements to admin form controls height and alignment standardization (see related <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/12/11/admin-form-controls-height-and-alignment-standardization-in-wordpress-5-3-1/">dev note</a>), dashboard widget links accessibility and alternate color scheme readability issues (see related <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/12/10/alternate-color-schemes-changes-in-wordpress-5-3-1/">dev note</a>).</li><li>Block editor: fix Edge scrolling issues and intermittent JavaScript issues.</li><li>Bundled themes: add customizer option to show/hide author bio, replace JS based smooth scroll with CSS (see related <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/12/08/twenty-twenty-animated-scroll-changes-in-wordpress-5-3-1/">dev note</a>) and fix Instagram embed CSS.</li><li>Date/time: improve non-GMT dates calculation, fix date format output in specific languages and make&nbsp;<code>get_permalink()</code>&nbsp;more resilient against PHP timezone changes.</li><li>Embeds: remove CollegeHumor oEmbed provider as the service doesn&#8217;t exist anymore.</li><li>External libraries: update <code>sodium_compat</code>.</li><li>Site health: allow the remind interval for the admin email verification to be filtered.</li><li>Uploads: avoid thumbnails overwriting other uploads when filename matches, and exclude PNG images from scaling after upload.</li><li>Users: ensure administration email verification uses the user&#8217;s locale instead of the site locale.</li></ul>



<p>For more information, <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&resolution=fixed&milestone=5.3.1&order=priority">browse the full list of changes on Trac</a> or check out the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/support/wordpress-version/version-5-3-1/">version 5.3.1 HelpHub documentation page</a>.</p>



<h2>Thanks!</h2>



<p>In addition to the security researchers mentioned above, thank you to everyone who contributed to WordPress 5.3.1:</p>



<p><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/123host/">123host</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/acosmin/">acosmin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/adamsilverstein/">Adam Silverstein</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aljullu/">Albert Juhé Lluveras</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/xknown/">Alex Concha</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/viper007bond/">Alex Mills</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/anantajitjg/">Anantajit JG</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/anlino/">Anders Norén</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/andraganescu/">andraganescu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/afercia/">Andrea Fercia</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aduth/">Andrew Duthie</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/azaozz/">Andrew Ozz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rarst/">Andrey &#8220;Rarst&#8221; Savchenko</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aravindajith/">aravindajith</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/archon810/">archon810</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ate-up-with-motor/">Ate Up With Motor</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ayeshrajans/">Ayesh Karunaratne</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/birgire/">Birgir Erlendsson (birgire)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/boga86/">Boga86</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/boonebgorges/">Boone Gorges</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/poena/">Carolina Nymark</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chetan200891/">Chetan Prajapati</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/littlebigthing/">Csaba (LittleBigThings)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/xendo/">Dademaru</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/danielbachhuber/">Daniel Bachhuber</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mte90/">Daniele Scasciafratte</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/talldanwp/">Daniel Richards</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidbaumwald/">David Baumwald</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dlh/">David Herrera</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dd32/">Dion hulse</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ehtis/">ehtis</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ellatrix/">Ella van Durpe</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/epiqueras/">epiqueras</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/fabifott/">Fabian</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/flixos90/">Felix Arntz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/flaviozavan/">flaviozavan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/garrett-eclipse/">Garrett Hyder</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hometowntrailers/">Glenn</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gziolo/">Grzegorz (Greg) Ziółkowski</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/grzegorzjanoszka/">Grzegorz.Janoszka</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hareesh-pillai/">Hareesh Pillai</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ianbelanger/">Ian Belanger</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ispreview/">ispreview</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/whyisjake/">Jake Spurlock</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/macmanx/">James Huff</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jameskoster/">James Koster</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jarretc/">Jarret</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/studiotwee/">Jasper van der Meer</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/audrasjb/">Jb Audras</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeichorn/">jeichorn</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeremyclarke/">Jer Clarke</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeremyfelt/">Jeremy Felt</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jipmoors/">Jip Moors</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joehoyle/">Joe Hoyle</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/johnjamesjacoby/">John James Jacoby</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/desrosj/">Jonathan Desrosiers</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/spacedmonkey/">Jonny Harris</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joostdevalk/">Joost de Valk</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jorgefilipecosta/">Jorge Costa</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joyously/">Joy</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jrf/">Juliette Reinders Folmer</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/justdaiv/">justdaiv</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ryelle/">Kelly Dwan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kharisblank/">Kharis Sulistiyono</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ixkaito/">Kite</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kyliesabra/">kyliesabra</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lisota/">lisota</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lukaswaudentio/">lukaswaudentio</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/maciejmackowiak/">Maciej Mackowiak</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/marcelo2605/">marcelo2605</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/clorith/">Marius L. J.</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mat-lipe/">Mat Lipe</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mayanksonawat/">mayanksonawat</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/melchoyce/">Mel Choyce-Dwan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/michael-arestad/">Michael Arestad</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/miette49/">miette49</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mcsf/">Miguel Fonseca</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mihdan/">mihdan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mauteri/">Mike Auteri</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/msaari/">Mikko Saari</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gdragon/">Milan Petrovic</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mukesh27/">Mukesh Panchal</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nextscripts/">NextScripts</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nickdaugherty/">Nick Daugherty</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nielslange/">Niels Lange</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/noyle/">noyle</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ov3rfly/">Ov3rfly</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/paragoninitiativeenterprises/">Paragon Initiative Enterprises</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pbiron/">Paul Biron</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/peterwilsoncc/">Peter Wilson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/larrach/">Rachel Peter</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/youknowriad/">Riad Benguella</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/quicoto/">Ricard Torres</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/murgroland/">Roland Murg</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rmccue/">Ryan McCue</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/welcher/">Ryan Welcher</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/samuelfernandez/">SamuelFernandez</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sathyapulse/">sathyapulse</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/wonderboymusic/">Scott Taylor</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/scvleon/">scvleon</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sergeybiryukov/">Sergey Biryukov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sergiomdgomes/">sergiomdgomes</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sgr33n/">SGr33n</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/simonjanin/">simonjanin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/smerriman/">smerriman</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/steevithak/">steevithak</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sabernhardt/">Stephen Bernhardt</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/netweb/">Stephen Edgar</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dufresnesteven/">Steve Dufresne</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/subratamal/">Subrata Mal</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/manikmist09/">Sultan Nasir Uddin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cybr/">Sybre Waaijer</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/karmatosed/">Tammie Lister</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tanvirul/">Tanvirul Haque</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tellyworth/">Tellyworth</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/timon33/">timon33</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/timothyblynjacobs/">Timothy Jacobs</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/spaceshipone/">Timothée Brosille</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tmatsuur/">tmatsuur</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dinhtungdu/">Tung Du</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/veminom/">Veminom</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/vortfu/">vortfu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/waleedt93/">waleedt93</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/williampatton/">williampatton</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/wpgurudev/">wpgurudev</a>, and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tollmanz/">Zack Tollman</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 13 Dec 2019 00:07:06 +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:9:"Jb Audras";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:36;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:118:"WPTavern: Gutenberg 7.1 Includes Welcome Modal, Improves Multi-Block Selection, and Adds Drag-and-Drop Featured Images";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=95796";s: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:127:"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-7-1-includes-welcome-modal-improves-multi-block-selection-and-adds-drag-and-drop-featured-images";s: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:7146:"<p class="has-drop-cap">The past two weeks have been blazing fast for <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/12/11/whats-new-in-gutenberg-11-december/">Gutenberg plugin development</a>.  A total of 161 pull requests (patches) were merged into version 7.1 of the plugin.  Over 20 bugs were squashed while the team added several enhancements, which include better multi-block selection, a new welcome modal, and drag-and-drop featured images.</p>



<p>The team refactored several areas of the codebase to prepare for future changes and make it possible to use new hooks.  API changes include a new <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/17926">custom select control</a>, <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/18609">text highlight</a>, and <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/17603">custom gradient picker</a> components for developers to use in their plugins.</p>



<p>The release also featured a toolbar button for switching between &ldquo;edit&rdquo; and &ldquo;select&rdquo; mode.  The select mode allows you to select blocks without opening the editing controls unless you click again within a block, which switches you back to editing mode.  The only noticeable difference is that the editing controls do not appear while in select mode.  <em>Wondering when I will ever use this feature&hellip;</em></p>



<h2>Welcome Guide Modal</h2>



<img />New welcome guide modal for first-time users.



<p>The new version of the plugin includes a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/18041">pop-up welcome modal</a> for first-time users.  There are currently three panels with short introductions to what blocks are, how to use them, and getting to know the block library.  </p>



<p>Ideally, the modal will link out to more extensive documentation in a future iteration.  Right now, the information provided does not go into much detail.  It feels like a message to say, &ldquo;Hey, check out this shiny new thing.&rdquo;  However, there needs to be more substance for it to be helpful for first-timers.</p>



<h2>Improved Multi-block Selection</h2>



<img />Selecting multiple blocks at once.



<p>The block editor now incorporates a nicer <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/16835">native multi-block selection</a> process.  The first aspect of this change is to use the native selection color, which improves accessibility.  It also uses native selection behavior when selecting multiple blocks.</p>



<p>The second part is important because it paves the way toward partial block selection in a future release.  Currently, when selecting text across multiple blocks, the editor extends this out to select all text from the selected blocks.  In the future, it should be possible to select only part of the text across multiple blocks.  This would be consistent with normal text-based editors where users can select the last sentence from one paragraph and the first from the next, for example.</p>



<p><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/18746">Selecting multiple blocks and pasting</a> new content works correctly in 7.1.  In the past, the rich text component handled pasting.  This resulted in the blocks being split and the pasted content inserted between the split.  The block editor now handles the pasting process.  This allows users to completely replace multiple selected blocks with a paste.</p>



<h2>Drag-and-Drop Featured Images</h2>



<img />Dragging a featured image from the desktop.



<p>Instead of clicking the featured image box to open the media modal, users can now save themselves a click.  Just like dragging and dropping an image into the editor, the featured image box now accepts any image file dropped into it.</p>



<h2>Table Captions</h2>



<img />Adding a caption to the table block.



<p>For those who have long waited for a true table <code>&lt;caption&gt;</code> implementation, keep on waiting.</p>



<p>A <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/11589">year-old ticket</a> that was opened for a table caption feature was closed with a solution matching that of other blocks with captions (e.g., image, gallery).  The <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/15554">pull request</a> featured a lengthy discussion over the technical limitations of how to best handle the feature.  Ultimately, the decision was to wrap tables in a <code>&lt;figure&gt;</code> element and add the caption via the <code>&lt;figcaption&gt;</code> tag.</p>



<p>While this may work for some who need to add a caption or summary below a table, it is not currently helping users who need captions in their normal spot at the top of a table.</p>



<p>In the long run, users who need to roll out advanced tables will likely need a table block plugin anyway.  The Gutenberg and core WordPress implementation is limiting for anything beyond the most basic table output.  Real captions would have been a nice touch though.</p>



<h2>Alignment for the Navigation Block</h2>



<img />Aligning navigation block items.



<p>The Navigation block, which moved out of the experimental stage in version 7.0, has a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/18909">new option for justifying</a> the list items to the left, right, or center.  This will be an important feature for full-site editing in the long term because users will want to set their nav menu perfectly.</p>



<p>This block will likely be in flux for a while.  There are still major questions about how navigation will work on mobile, especially as we inch closer to full-site editing.  <em>Will core play a role in making mobile menus?  Will themes be left to their own devices?  Will themes offer multiple options based on screen size?</em></p>



<h2>Moving Ahead with Templates and Full-Site Editing</h2>



<p>Coming off the heels of a somewhat controversial <a href="https://wptavern.com/initial-documentation-for-block-based-wordpress-themes-proposed">documentation proposal for block-based themes</a>, version 7.1 includes a new demo block template named <code>index.html</code>.  It is a fallback template in cases where no templates are available.  This is an early, experimental step toward making full-site editing a reality.  </p>



<p>Theme developers who want to start looking at what block templates <em>could</em> look like, should <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/blob/v7.1.0/lib/demo-block-templates/index.html">view the demo index.html template</a>.</p>



<p>Unfortunately, the release ZIP file available through the official plugin repository does not include the <code>index.html</code> template.  It was excluded because of a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/19066">bug in the build process</a>.  However, it may be packaged in a version 7.1.1 minor release.  The file is correctly included for developers who clone from the Git repository.</p>



<p>The second step of this process was the addition of a Template Part block.  The idea for this block is that it would be a placeholder to add to templates, which would output a template part on the front end.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 11 Dec 2019 21:21:37 +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:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:37;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"bbPress: bbPress 2.6.3 is out!";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://bbpress.org/?p=206794";s: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:54:"https://bbpress.org/blog/2019/12/bbpress-2-6-3-is-out/";s: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:967:"<p>bbPress 2.6.3 fixes <a href="https://bbpress.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&group=resolution&milestone=2.6.3">9 issues</a> reported by community members:</p>



<ul><li>Fixes a few typos and grammatical errors</li><li>Bumps required WordPress versions to 5.3.0 (bbPress always only officially supports the latest WordPress version)</li><li>Fixes the Forums widget displaying in the wrong order</li><li>Fixes a JavaScript error with hierarchical replies</li></ul>



<p class="has-text-color has-background has-very-dark-gray-color has-very-light-gray-background-color">We&#8217;re continuing to work on improving bbPress 2.6 while also deciding what exactly will make it into 2.7.</p>



<p class="has-text-color has-background has-very-dark-gray-color">Expect for the next minor release (bbPress 2.6.4) to be released sometime before Christmas 2019. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/12.0.0-1/72x72/1f41d.png" alt="🐝" class="wp-smiley" /></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 10 Dec 2019 20:52:48 +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:17:"John James Jacoby";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:38;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:69:"WPTavern: Creator of EditorsKit Launches Community Block-Sharing Site";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=95775";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:80:"https://wptavern.com/creator-of-editorskit-launches-community-block-sharing-site";s: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:4340:"<img />



<p>Jeffrey Carandang, the creator behind the EditorsKit WordPress plugin, <a href="https://shareablock.com/introducing-shareablock-share-and-download-free-gutenberg-block-template-designs/">launched a new community site</a> for sharing block designs and templates today.  The ShareABlock website allows visitors to download block files directly from the site and import them into the block editor.  Users can also sign up to share custom block designs and full-blown block templates.  All downloads are available for free.</p>



<p>At the moment, there are 18 block designs available for download.  There are two primary types of downloads:  block patterns and block templates. </p>



<p><a href="https://shareablock.com/blocks/category/block-patterns/">Patterns</a> are smaller groupings of blocks to create a specific section for a page.  These include designs such as various hero sections, pricing lists, and a call-to-action section. </p>



<p><a href="https://shareablock.com/blocks/category/templates/">Templates</a> work the same way as patterns.  However, they are larger sets of blocks designed to create an entire page.  For example, one template allows users to import a full gallery portfolio page.  Another creates an editable resume layout.</p>



<p>Other than Carandang, two other contributors have shared block designs.  This number should rise as more people sign up and decide to share their creations.  The <a href="https://shareablock.com/how-to-submit-design-on-share-a-block/">registration process</a> is open to anyone who wants to join.  However, each contribution is subject to a review for quality assurance.</p>



<p>&ldquo;One of my primary goals in creating [EditorsKit] is to help users get a little more comfortable with using the new WordPress Gutenberg block editor,&rdquo; described Carandang in the announcement post for ShareABlock.  &ldquo;The goal is to help users create Gutenberg blocks easily. With drag and drop import, layout and designs will be available in an instant.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Carandang feels confident that pre-configured block designs will help users learn how to use the block editor to create richer content.  &ldquo;Even if it&rsquo;s just a little help to make them comfortable with Gutenberg, it means a lot,&rdquo; he wrote.</p>



<p>He said the feedback from users has been positive thus far.</p>



<img />Importing the Fullscreen Profile Card block pattern.



<p>Block designs downloaded from ShareABlock require the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/block-options/">EditorsKit plugin</a>, which is available for free in the WordPress plugin directory.  This requirement is because WordPress does not currently have a native importer built into the block editor.  In the future, this may change and the requirement could be lifted.</p>



<p>Version 1.7 of EditorsKit introduced the <a href="https://wptavern.com/editorskit-1-6-and-1-7-add-tools-for-writers-drag-and-drop-block-export-import">ability to import blocks</a> by dragging and dropping a block <code>.json</code> file into the editor.  The blocks available via ShareABlock work using this feature.  After downloading a <code>.json</code> file from the site, users merely need to drag it into the editor.  Users can also use the &ldquo;Import&rdquo; block available from EditorsKit to do the same.</p>



<h2>Block Patterns and the Future</h2>



<p>&ldquo;The plan is to provide integration with Block Patterns, which is what the core devs are currently working on,&rdquo; said Carandang.  &ldquo;With this integration, the import process will be much easier.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Block patterns are a planned feature that is under <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/17335">active development</a> in the Gutenberg plugin and will eventually make its way into core WordPress. Patterns are predefined sets of blocks.  They will allow users to quickly create more advanced layouts while also teaching what specific blocks do.  The idea is to have a set of patterns with common layouts that people see around the web.  </p>



<p>Carandang said he is actively checking the progress of the Block Patterns feature.  He is eager to see the feature to come to fruition, which carries with it the possibility of more widespread use of the blocks available from his new community.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 10 Dec 2019 19:51:39 +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:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:39;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:48:"BuddyPress: BuddyPress 5.1.0 Maintenance Release";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"https://buddypress.org/?p=309343";s: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://buddypress.org/2019/12/buddypress-5-1-0/";s: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:1258:"<p>Immediately available is <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/buddypress.5.1.0.zip">BuddyPress 5.1.0</a>. This maintenance release fixes 8 bugs related to the 5.0.0 release, and is a recommended upgrade for all BuddyPress installations.</p>



<p>For details on the changes, please read the <a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/releases/version-5-1-0/">5.1.0 release notes</a>.</p>



<p>Update to BuddyPress 5.1.0 today in your WordPress Dashboard, or by&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress/">downloading from the WordPress.org plugin repository</a>.</p>



<h2>Many thanks to 5.1.0 contributors <span class="dashicons dashicons-heart"></span></h2>



<p><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/szepeviktor/">szepe.viktor</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jarretc/">JarretC</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/espellcaste/">Renato Alves (espellcaste)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dcavins/">David Cavins (dcavins)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/boonebgorges/">Boone Gorges (boonebgorges)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/johnjamesjacoby/">John James Jacoby (johnjamesjacoby)</a> &amp; <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/imath/">Mathieu Viet (imath)</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 09 Dec 2019 21:45:08 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12:"Mathieu Viet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:40;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:66:"WPTavern: Progress on WordPress’ 2019 Projects Sets 2020 Roadmap";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=95761";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:74:"https://wptavern.com/progress-on-wordpress-2019-projects-sets-2020-roadmap";s: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:8566:"<p>Josepha Haden, Executive Director of WordPress, published an <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/12/06/update-9-projects-for-2019/">update of WordPress&rsquo; goals in 2019</a>.  The focus for WordPress over the past year has been on nine primary projects.  Of the nine projects, WordPress only managed to ship two in 2019.  This means that the focus in 2020 will be much the same as the community continues building on the progress it has made toward the existing projects.</p>



<p>Currently, there are three <a href="https://wordpress.org/about/roadmap/">planned major releases</a> for WordPress in 2020:</p>



<ul><li>Version 5.4 &ndash; March 2020</li><li>Version 5.5 &ndash; August 2020</li><li>Version 5.6 &ndash; December 2020</li></ul>



<p>Each of those dates are subject to change.  We should also get more specific dates as each release draws near.  The various projects for 2020 should land in each release.</p>



<p>Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress, initially laid out the 2019 plans in his <a href="https://wptavern.com/state-of-the-word-2018-wordpress-embraces-the-block-editor">2018 State of the Word</a> address and <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/12/08/9-priorities-for-2019/">listed the projects</a> on the Make Core blog.  The big takeaway is that 2019 was supposed to be the year that we got closer to full-site customization (Phase 2 of the Gutenberg project).  While developers have made huge strides in making that a reality, much of the project is still in its infancy.</p>



<h2>Projects That Shipped in 2019</h2>



<p>All existing core WordPress widgets now exist as blocks.  Rather than being limited to placing widgets where the theme decides, users can now put widgets in posts, pages, or any other content area via the block editor.  As the project continues to move toward full-site editing, users will eventually have the ability to place these widgets and other blocks nearly anywhere.</p>



<p>The site health project was merged into core.  It features a screen that provides information about the site&rsquo;s health to site owners.  It also has a fatal-error detection script that emails site owners when plugin and theme issues are found.</p>



<h2>Projects to Expect in 2020</h2>



<p>Most of the remaining projects that did not quite make the cut for release in 2019 have still made progress during the year.  The following is a breakdown of what projects to expect in the coming year.</p>



<h3>Navigation Menu Block</h3>



<img />Navigation block in the block editor.



<p>Currently, the navigation block&rsquo;s target is to ship with WordPress 5.4.  This is a likely reality because it is now out of the experimental stage and is available for beta testing in <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-7-0-launches-stable-navigation-block-post-blocks-and-template-parts">Gutenberg 7.0</a>.  The development team worked on this block for several releases and now have something stable enough for user testing.</p>



<p>This block is a major piece of the site-customization puzzle.  In the long term, users will need an easy-to-use block for handling navigation menus across their site.</p>



<h3>Custom Block-Aware Content Areas for Themes</h3>



<p>Phase 1 of the Gutenberg project brought the block editor to post content.  A large part of Phase 2 is <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/13489">breaking outside of post content</a> and allowing users to add blocks in more areas.  It is unclear exactly what that will look like in the long run.  Themes should be able to register additional block-aware areas.</p>



<p>The target release for this feature is set to WordPress 5.5, but it is too early to guess whether that is a realistic target.  It is a tough issue to solve because it will need to coincide with decisions on <a href="https://wptavern.com/initial-documentation-for-block-based-wordpress-themes-proposed">theme block templates</a>, <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/18029">saving multiple entities</a>, and <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/13113">full-site customization</a> in general.  It is not a feature that can be rushed because it will have far-reaching consequences to how WordPress works for years into the future.</p>



<h3>Widget Areas to Support Blocks</h3>



<img />Experimental widget areas feature in Gutenberg.



<p>The current plan is to allow widget areas (sidebars) to support blocks alongside widgets.  The Gutenberg plugin has an experimental widget areas option for enabling an early version of this feature, which has a target release of WordPress 5.5.</p>



<p>There are two aspects to making this feature a reality.  The first is making it work on the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/13204">widgets admin screen</a>.  The second is making it work in the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/13205">customizer</a>, an area where users can also manage widgets.</p>



<p>At the moment, it feels like the sidebar concept should be deprecated.  The experimental feature works by allowing users to add blocks to a sidebar, which are converted into one big &ldquo;block area&rdquo; widget on output.  If WordPress is &ldquo;all in&rdquo; on the block paradigm, energy would be better spent focusing on allowing themes to build custom block areas and letting the official Sidebar API die a slow death.  Mixing an old concept with a new one feels clunky at best.  It&rsquo;s time to move on and soft-deprecate sidebars and widgets until most themes no longer support them.</p>



<h3>Block Directory Search and Install</h3>



<img />Experimental block directory search in Gutenberg plugin.



<p>Eventually, all WordPress users will be able to search for a block via the block inserter.  If the block exists, they can insert it into the block area.  If not, the inserter will allow users to discover new blocks from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/browse/block/">block directory</a>.  The installation, activation, and insertion of the new block should be seamless.</p>



<p>The target release for this feature is set for WordPress 5.5, which should be possible (if not earlier) based on how well the feature currently works in the Gutenberg plugin.  It is not perfect yet and has broken more than a few of my posts when working with installed blocks.  There are still <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/17440">several open issues</a> that need to be addressed.</p>



<p>Plugin authors who are looking to get ahead of the game can submit block plugins by following the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2019/12/06/block-directory-plugin-guidelines/">block plugin guidelines</a>.</p>



<h3>Automatic Plugin, Theme, and Major Core Updates</h3>



<p>After years of extensive testing and using automatic updates for minor WordPress releases, it feels like we should already have auto-updates on everything at this point.  Having to keep up with plugin and theme updates can be a pain for some site owners.  With enough plugins, it is not out of the realm of possibility to have one or more plugins to update daily.</p>



<p>Some hosting solutions and Jetpack have mitigated this issue for many users by offering automatic plugin updates, but this is a long overdue core feature that should be a high priority.  No target release was given for auto-updates on themes/plugins or major core releases.  Let&rsquo;s hope the feature does not get put on the back burner for another year.</p>



<h3>Tackling Over 6,500 Trac Issues</h3>



<p>With the Gutenberg plugin getting much of the attention these days, it is easy to forget that there are <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/">thousands of tickets</a> awaiting patches, reviews, and decisions on Trac.  I have long been a champion of using one major release of WordPress to simply fix existing bugs while adding no new features.</p>



<p>Jonathan Desrosiers has written an <a href="https://jonathandesrosiers.com/2019/06/wordpress-triage-team-3-month-reflection/">extensive post</a> that covers much of the work the Triage Team has done earlier this year.</p>



<p>Triaging is not something that ever truly reaches a conclusion.  It is an ongoing process that must continue throughout the life of a project.  People who are interested in being involved with the Triage Team can find more information on the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/03/01/introducing-the-wordpress-triage-team/">Triage Team announcement post</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 09 Dec 2019 21:25:28 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";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:11:"
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"HeroPress: Video from DoSummitGood";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://heropress.com/?p=3027";s: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:113:"https://heropress.com/video-from-dosummitgood/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=video-from-dosummitgood";s: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:2637:"<img width="960" height="503" src="https://s20094.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/DoSummitGood-mountain_optimised-1024x536.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="" />
<p>I recently took part in DoSummitGood, an online conference for people and organizations working to Do Good in the WordPress community.</p>



<p>The organizers managed to get recordings of all the talks on YouTube the very next day, which is pretty impressive.</p>



<p>In this talk I tell a lot more about what was going on in my personal life while spinning up HeroPress, so I recommend checking it out even if you&#8217;ve already heard the story.</p>



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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:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:52:"WordPress.org blog: People of WordPress: Jill Binder";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=8192";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:67:"https://wordpress.org/news/2019/12/people-of-wordpress-jill-binder/";s: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:10930:"<p><em>You’ve probably heard that WordPress is open-source software, and may know that it’s created and run by volunteers. WordPress enthusiasts share many examples of how WordPress changed people’s lives for the better. This monthly series shares some of those lesser-known, amazing stories.</em></p>



<h2><strong>Meet Jill Binder</strong></h2>



<p>Jill Binder never meant to become an activist. She insists it was an accident.</p>



<p>Despite that, Jill has led the Diversity Outreach Speaker Training working group in the WordPress Community team since 2017. This group is dedicated to increasing the number of women and other underrepresented groups who are stepping up to become speakers at WordPress Meetups, WordCamps, and events.&nbsp;</p>



<h2><strong>Jill’s back story</strong></h2>



<h3><strong>Internship</strong></h3>



<p>Jill’s WordPress story begins in 2011, in Vancouver, Canada.&nbsp;Jill secured an internship for her college program, working on a higher education website that was built in WordPress.&nbsp;As a thank you, her practicum advisor bought Jill a ticket to WordCamp Vancouver 2011: Developer’s Edition. After that Jill began freelancing&nbsp; with WordPress as a Solopreneur.&nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>First steps in the WordPress community</strong></h3>



<p>The following year her internship advisor, who had become a client, was creating the first ever BuddyCamp for BuddyPress. He asked Jill to be on his organizing team. At that event she also moderated a panel that had Matt Mullenweg on it. Then, Jill was invited to be on the core organizing team for WordCamp Vancouver.</p>



<p>Part of this role meant reviewing and selecting speakers. From 40 speaker applications that could be a fit the team had to pick only 14 to speak.</p>



<h2><strong>The diversity challenge when selecting speakers</strong></h2>



<p>For anyone who has organized a conference, you know that speaker selection is hard. Of the 40 applications, 7 were from women, and the lead organizer selected 6 of those to be included in the speaker line up.</p>



<p>At this point Jill wasn’t aware that very few women apply to speak at tech conferences and suggested selection should be made on the best fit for the conference. The team shared that not only did they feel the pitches were good and fit the conference, but they also needed to be accepted or the Organizers would be criticized for a lack of diversity.</p>



<p>Selecting women for fear of criticism is embarrassing to admit, but that’s how people felt in 2013.</p>



<p>By the time the event happened, though, the number of women speakers dropped to 4. And with an additional track being added, the number of speakers overall was up to 28. Only 1 speaker in 7 was a woman (or 14%) and attendees did ask questions and even blogged about the lack of representation.</p>



<h2><strong>What keeps women from applying?</strong></h2>



<p>Later that year at&nbsp; WordCamp San Francisco—the biggest WordCamp at the time (before there was a WordCamp US)—Jill took the opportunity to chat with other organizers about her experience. She found out that many organizers had trouble getting enough women to present.</p>



<p>Surprisingly Vancouver had a high number of women applicants in comparison to others, and the consensus was more would be accepted&nbsp; if only more would apply.</p>



<p>Jill decided that she&nbsp; needed to know why this was happening? Why weren’t there more women applying? She started researching, reading, and talking to people.</p>



<p>Though this issue is complex, two things came up over and over:</p>



<ul><li>“What would I talk about?”</li><li>“I’m not an expert on anything. I don’t know enough about anything to give a talk on it.”</li></ul>



<h2><strong>A first workshop with encouraging results</strong></h2>



<p>Then Jill had an idea. She brought up the issue at an event and someone suggested that they should get women together in a room and brainstorm speaker topics.</p>



<p>So Jill became the lead of a small group creating a workshop in Vancouver: the talented Vanessa Chu, Kate Moore Hermes, and Mandi Wise. In one of the exercises that they created, participants were invited to brainstorm ideas—this proved that they had literally a hundred topic ideas and the biggest problem then became picking just one!</p>



<p>In the first workshop, they focussed on:</p>



<ul><li>Why it matters that women (<em>added later: diverse groups</em>) are in the front of the room</li><li>The myths of what it takes to be the speaker at the front of the room (aka beating impostor syndrome)</li><li>Different presentation formats, especially story-telling</li><li>Finding and refining a topic</li><li>Tips to become a better speaker</li><li>Leveling up by speaking in front of the group throughout the afternoon</li></ul>



<img src="https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2019/12/image-2.png?w=632&ssl=1" alt="women gathering to discussion presentation topics" class="wp-image-8195" />Vancouver Workshop 2014



<h2><strong>Leading to workshops across North America and then the world</strong></h2>



<p>Other cities across North America heard about the workshop and started hosting them, adding their own material.</p>



<p>Many women who initially joined her workshop wanted help getting even better at public speaking. So Jill&#8217;s Vancouver team added in some material created from the other cities and a bit more of their own. Such as:</p>



<ul><li>Coming up with a great title</li><li>Writing a pitch that is more likely to get accepted</li><li>Writing a bio</li><li>Creating an outline</li></ul>



<p>At WordCamp Vancouver 2014—only one year since Jill started—there were 50% women speakers and 3 times the number of women applicants! Not only that, but this WordCamp was a Developer’s Edition, where it’s more challenging to find women developers in general, let alone those who will step up to speak.</p>



<h3><strong>More work is needed!</strong></h3>



<p>Impressive as those results were, the reason Jill is so passionate about this work is because of what happened next:</p>



<ul><li>Some of the women who attended the workshop stepped up to be leaders in the community and created new content for other women.</li><li>A handful of others became WordCamp organizers. One year Vancouver had an almost all-female organizing team – 5 out of 6!</li><li>It also influenced local businesses. One local business owner loved what one of the women speakers said so much that he hired her immediately. She was the first woman developer on the team, and soon after she became the Senior Developer.</li></ul>



<h2><strong>Diversity touches on many levels</strong></h2>



<p>Jill has seen time and again what happens when different people speak at the front of the room. More people feel welcome in the community. The speakers and the new community members bring new ideas and new passions that help to make the technology we are creating more inclusive. And together we generate new ideas that benefit everyone.</p>



<p>This workshop was so successful, with typical results of going from 10% to 40-60% women speakers at WordCamps, that the WordPress Global Community Team asked Jill to promote it and train it for women and all diverse groups around the world. In late 2017, Jill started leading the Diverse Speaker Training group (<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/tag/wpdiversity/">#wpdiversity</a>).</p>



<p>Dozens of community members across the world have now been trained to lead the workshop. With now dozens of workshops worldwide, for WordPress and other open source software projects as well, there is an increase in speaker diversity.&nbsp;</p>



<img src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2019/12/image-3.png?fit=632%2C474&ssl=1" alt="Diverse Speaker Training group " class="wp-image-8196" />WordCamp US 2019



<p>As a result of the success, Jill is now sponsored to continue the program. The first sponsor is Automattic. She’s proud of how the diversity represented on the stage adds value not only to the brand but also in the long-term will lead to the creation of a better product. She’s inspired by seeing the communities change as a result of the new voices and new ideas at the WordPress events.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><em>Jill’s leadership in the development and growth of the Diversity Outreach Speaker Training initiative has had a positive, measurable impact on WordPress community events worldwide. When WordPress events are more diverse, the WordPress project gets more diverse — which makes WordPress better for more people.”</em></p><cite><em> Andrea Middleton, Community organizer on the WordPress open source project</em></cite></blockquote>



<h3><strong>Resources:</strong></h3>



<ul><li>The Workshop: <a href="http://diversespeakers.info/">http://diversespeakers.info/</a></li><li>More information: <a href="https://tiny.cc/wpdiversity">https://tiny.cc/wpdiversity</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/wordcamp-organizer/planning-details/speakers/building-a-diverse-speaker-roster/">How to build a diverse speaker roster</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2017/11/13/call-for-volunteers-diversity-outreach-speaker-training/">Diversity Outreach Speaker Training Team</a></li></ul>



<h2><strong>Contributors</strong></h2>



<p>Alison Rothwell (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/wpfiddlybits/">@wpfiddlybits</a>), Yvette Sonneveld (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/yvettesonneveld/">@yvettesonneveld</a>), Josepha Haden (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/">@chanthaboune</a>), Topher DeRosia (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/topher1kenobe/">@topher1kenobe</a>)</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/fq6qus5qmviDZaznrQnW-4wcbSs6NSrqeqEEGnPjgi2WJrVevNm4Em4KsP-VVH_0kMgWuNtW7mm_V9-hKtrrJFohRi6KrUXAoLHjrymChCltMr9fuh4dBIu_0SqNPts0MZgcvh_W" alt="" width="153" height="115" /></div>



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



<p></p>



<p><em>Meet more WordPress community members over at </em><a href="https://heropress.com/"><em>HeroPress.com</em></a><em>!</em></p>



<p><em><strong>Correction: December 7, 2019</strong><br />The original article mentioned the team Jill lead, but did not mention the team members who joined her. Those have been added. Apologies to Vanessa, Kate, and Mandi. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/12.0.0-1/72x72/1f642.png" alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" /> </em></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 06 Dec 2019 23:27:23 +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:7:"Josepha";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:43;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:94:"WPTavern: Zero BS CRM 3.0 Improves UI, Changes Database Structure, and Becomes More Extendable";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=95739";s: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:103:"https://wptavern.com/zero-bs-crm-3-0-improves-ui-changes-database-structure-and-becomes-more-extendable";s: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:6294:"<img />



<p>The team behind Zero BS CRM <a href="https://zerobscrm.com/road-to-v3/">launched version 3.0</a> of their WordPress plugin today.  This is the first major release since the plugin was <a href="https://wptavern.com/automattic-acquires-zero-bs-crm-considers-rebranding-it-as-jetpack-crm">acquired by Automattic in August</a>.  The updated plugin uses custom database tables, opens the plugin for more extensions, and has a more consistent UI than previous versions.</p>



<p>CRM is an acronym for &ldquo;customer relationship management.&rdquo;  CRM systems allow businesses to manage their customer relationships through an interface.  How CRM systems work can vary greatly, depending on the software used.  In general, the goal is to help manage contacts, sales, and productivity.</p>



<p>Zero BS CRM was co-created by Mike Stott and Woody Hayday.  Despite a low number of plugin users (around 1,000 at acquisition), Automattic acquired the plugin based on the strength of the product.  Currently, Stott and Hayday are the primary developers on the plugin and maintain more than 30 commercial extensions for it.</p>



<p>Many CRM solutions are SaaS products, such as Salesforce CRM and HubSpot CRM.  &ldquo;The main benefit of ZBS CRM over online SaaS type solutions is it sits in your WP admin dashboard, and you own your own data,&rdquo; said Stott.</p>



<p>Version 3.0 of the plugin improves in several key areas.  One major change is the switch to custom database tables rather than pigeon-holing everything into a custom post type.  This change should speed up accessing data such as contacts and transactions in large databases.</p>



<p>Users should benefit from a much improved and consistent UI from previous versions.  Zero BS CRM does not strictly follow the core WordPress admin UI.  &ldquo;When looking at ZBS CRM and how to tie in all our menu items into the WordPress UI &ndash; it wasn&rsquo;t easy,&rdquo; said Stott.  &ldquo;We settled on using a UI framework with our own top menu, and a natural follow-on for that was to draw our list views using that same UI and button systems. Whether we move this back or not depends on feedback from our users &mdash; we get a lot of positive feedback on how easy it is to navigate around and wouldn&rsquo;t want to change something that&rsquo;s been getting good feedback.&rdquo;</p>



<img />Contact management screen in the Zero BS CRM plugin.



<p>Moving to custom tables over custom post types has also helped improve elements of the UI.  Stott said a huge advantage is not having third-party plugins accidentally adding themselves to the plugin&rsquo;s admin pages, such as having unnecessary SEO options on contact records.</p>



<p>Another big change in 3.0 was building out a more extendable foundation for the plugin.  This will open up custom CRM objects in the future.  For example, plugin users could manage resources such as &ldquo;properties&rdquo; or &ldquo;campuses&rdquo; along with customer contact data.  This update creates more potential for industry-specific extensions.</p>



<p>&ldquo;It really opens the door for more extendibility in the future,&rdquo; said Stott, &ldquo;and through an improved API in 2020 will allow for us to do more work across platforms and open up our CRM tools to more people.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The Zero BS CRM plugin remains free and is <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/zero-bs-crm/">available in the WordPress plugin repository</a>.  The primary source of income comes from its extension bundles, which are priced monthly and billed yearly.  The website currently offers freelancer ($11/month), entrepreneur ($17/month), and elite ($30/month) pricing options.  It also has a reseller plan available.</p>



<h2>The Move to Automattic</h2>



<p>When the plugin was first acquired, there was an initial idea to rebrand as &ldquo;Jetpack CRM.&rdquo;  However, they have maintained the Zero BS CRM branding with an acronym instead of the direct expletive for &ldquo;BS.&rdquo;  A rebrand may still be on the table in 2020 or beyond.</p>



<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been gathering user feedback and sentiment following the minor changes to ZBS CRM and the initial reactions if we were to rename as Jetpack CRM,&rdquo; said Stott.  &ldquo;Since the shorter name, there&rsquo;s been less objection or negative feelings, which puts less pressure on a big rebrand project, but it&rsquo;s certainly something we&rsquo;ll be coming back to.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Stott said the primary focus since the acquisition has been less on branding and more on delivering 3.0 to the existing customer base.</p>



<p>The acquisition by Automattic has helped with how their two-person team works.  &ldquo;The main thing is being able to lean on the amazing team and people throughout Automattic,&rdquo; said Stott.  &ldquo;In the past, we&rsquo;d only have Woody and my input, now we can reach out to experts in design, marketing, plus much more, and bounce our ideas around a vast pool of experience.&rdquo;</p>



<p>He explained that the additional support resources of Automattic&rsquo;s Happiness Engineers means that he and his partner can focus more on engineering and growing the product and team.</p>



<p>The acquisition of Zero BS CRM came during a busy year for Automattic.  With major moves such as <a href="https://wptavern.com/automattic-acquires-tumblr-plans-to-rebuild-the-backend-powered-by-wordpress">acquiring Tumblr</a> and the <a href="https://wptavern.com/automattic-raises-300m-in-series-d-investment-round-valuation-jumps-to-3-billion">Salesforce investment</a>, this small plugin has mostly flown under the radar in comparison.  Stott and Hayday have big plans for 2020.  They would like to grow the engineering team and explore bringing their tools to more WordPress.com users.</p>



<p>The plugin&rsquo;s growth has remained stable since the acquisition, according to Stott.  &ldquo;The announcement brought us some additional customers who saw the backing from Automattic as strong advocacy for the plugin over other solutions in the WordPress space, so they made the decision to join us,&rdquo; he said.  The plugin has doubled its active install count and now serves over 2,000 users.  The team expects to continue growing in the coming months.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 06 Dec 2019 20:43:53 +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:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:44;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"WPTavern: Gutenberg: One Year Later";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=95698";s: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:45:"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-one-year-later";s: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:9610:"<p>As we quickly head into the final weeks of 2019, we also pass the first anniversary of WordPress 5.0 and, subsequently, Gutenberg coming headlong into our lives. </p>



<p>Love it or hate it, Gutenberg is here to stay.  If you had asked my thoughts on it last December, I would have probably sided with a large portion of other WordPress users.</p>



<p><em>What are you doing?</em></p>



<p><em>WordPress is fine, leave it alone!</em></p>



<p><em>Stop forcing me to use this!</em></p>



<p>Here we are, twelve months later, and you know what? I LOVE IT.  And, I am not alone.</p>



<p>When it comes to writing content, I cannot <em>imagine</em> using the Classic Editor anymore. Sure, for a few paragraphs, the Classic Editor is fine.  However, when you need to make a 4,000+ word post, Gutenberg and the new block system make things a lot easier.</p>



<p>Yes, the UI is a struggle for someone brand new to WordPress.  We have all heard the &ldquo;<em>Wait, I thought you said this was like Word?</em>&rdquo; line.  A good onboarding process would tackle that going forward.  For the rest of us, if you have not adopted Gutenberg yet, you should take another look at it.</p>



<h2>The Need for a New Editor</h2>



<p>Let&rsquo;s be honest.  The Classic Editor was great for short posts, a couple of headlines and paragraphs, job done.  But, how often were you going into the Text tab to remove an extra line break, fix a shortcode, or cut and paste a section to somewhere else in the post?&nbsp; At best, it was a struggle.  Often, it was excruciating to get your post <em>just right</em> before publishing.</p>



<p>Not only will I <em>not</em> miss this, but I am pleased that new users will not be exposed to it anymore either.</p>



<img />Classic Editor &ndash; Text tab in action



<p>When I first heard of Gutenberg &mdash; before it was released in WordPress 5.0 &mdash; I installed the plugin and was immediately confused and slightly bewildered at the options. I wondered how I would edit in the future. </p>



<p>I, among many others, probably gave out the same noises as when Facebook and Twitter reveal a huge overhaul of their UI, agreeing with everyone that things would never be the same again. <em>This was a mistake. </em>Of course, I was both right and wrong at the same time.  I just didn&rsquo;t know it.  Editing would not be the same again.  Instead, it would be a lot better (with some adjustment).</p>



<p>I also know that many people will not agree with me and do not like the way Gutenberg looks or behaves to this day. But, if you give it some time and understand how it can make your life easier, it will do just that.</p>



<p>First, take the time to work out the difference between Blocks and Document. On the left you have all the blocks for your post or page, inserting them in merrily as you go. On the right, the Document panel controls everything else, handily changing when you need to fine-tune a block.</p>



<img />Gutenberg block editor in action



<p>One of the most common complaints I have read is people struggling with the toolbar that appears as you hover over each block. There is a simple solution to this, and when it is enabled, the majority of people suddenly start to love it! Make sure you set the view to &ldquo;Top Toolbar&rdquo; in the Gutenberg options. Now you have a distraction and clutter-free editing environment to work with.</p>



<h2>Gutenberg vs. Page Builders</h2>



<p>Gutenberg is not a page builder, and it is a common argument thrown out by people on why they refuse to use it. They are right, it is not a replacement for the likes of Elementor or Beaver Builder.  If you remove the comparison to page builders from your mind, you will find adapting to it is much easier.</p>



<p>My peers and I regularly chat about Gutenberg and agree it is already great for writing.  The post creation process is a breath of fresh air.  Others have great stories from their clients about being able to produce content and edit it with ease, and the number of editor-related support requests is down, which can only be a good thing.</p>



<p>However, many of us would not use it for designing pages. Instead, we still prefer to use one of the many page builders for that complete control.</p>



<p>Gutenberg Phase 2 will allow editing of the site to areas outside of the main content (e.g., headers, footers, sidebars) and will creep further into the page builder category, which means we will have a strange blend of Gutenberg and page builders living side by side on many sites soon.</p>



<p>Will it remove the complete need for themes? Who knows? I suspect we will have people further divided into opposing camps going forward, but what a great opportunity for us to collectively work on for a better overall experience in the end.</p>



<h2>By the Numbers</h2>



<p>Let us take a quick look at Gutenberg and its penetration to date.</p>



<p>Currently, 63.8% of all WordPress installs are running 5.x onward according to WordPress.org, which means Gutenberg is available natively on nearly two-thirds of all WordPress installs.</p>



<p>But, it is not all red roses when it comes to adoption. </p>



<p>The Classic Editor plugin has over 5 million active installs (and a rather biased 723 five-star reviews, such as &ldquo;Keep this forever&rdquo; and &ldquo;Never going to give it up!&rdquo;). It is also currently in the top five of the most popular plugins. </p>



<p>Is this the backlash against Gutenberg or incompatibility with older themes forcing users to use the Classic Editor for now? At a guess, a good majority is probably the latter combined with some diehards. </p>



<p>But, look at the graph below from the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" class="ek-link" href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/classic-editor/" target="_blank">Classic Editor plugin page</a>.</p>



<img />



<p>Growth is declining. That is not a movement of people who continue to install Classic Editor on new installs and refuse to adapt.</p>



<p>Classic Editor adoption will likely continue falling, and perhaps the original date of it being supported until 2022 isn&rsquo;t that far-fetched after all (note: they have said they will continue to support it longer if needed).</p>



<p>On the flip-side, the Gutenberg plugin has 200,000 active installs and a whopping two-thirds of reviews (2,003) are a paltry one star. However, many are merely unhelpful complaints (e.g., &ldquo;This is junk&rdquo; and &ldquo;Destroy it&rdquo;).  They do not tell the true story to novices.</p>



<p>As you can see from the graph below for the Gutenberg plugin, active install growth is up and continues to climb.  It is not at the same pace as the decline with the Classic Editor, but that is probably because it is bundled with WordPress now.</p>



<img />



<p>One thing people seem to forget is Gutenberg is a plugin in and of itself.  It is updated frequently, whereas the majority of users only see changes to it when there is a WordPress core update.</p>



<p>If you can see past the fields of one-star reviews and install the plugin, you will be rewarded with more frequent updates to the experience. </p>



<p>For example, version 7.0 recently added in the Navigation block as stable, allowing users to quickly create a menu of links. Don&rsquo;t get me wrong; this does require theme integration for it to work, but you can get a better idea of where it is heading on a more frequent basis this way (7.0 is expected to ship with WordPress 5.4 in March/April 2020).</p>



<h2>Block Party</h2>



<p>Compatibility with Gutenberg continues at a quick pace.  With over 21 pages of block-enabled plugins available on WordPress.org, pretty much all the popular plugins have solutions in place.  A fair amount of plugin updates these days are also adding new and enhanced blocks as standard.</p>



<p>If those are not enough for you, we also now have a new breed of block-specific plugins. There is a growing trend of plugins devoted to purely enhancing the style and number of blocks you can add to your site.</p>



<p>Popular Gutenberg-focused plugins such as <a class="ek-link" href="https://wpstackable.com">Stackable</a> and <a class="ek-link" href="https://editorskit.com">EditorsKit</a> add further styling and editing abilities, bringing you another step closer to full-page design and enhancing your content.</p>



<img />EditorsKit &ndash; a purely Gutenberg plugin.



<p>Because no one knows how far Gutenberg will go and which toes it will step on, block plugins may have a fight on their hands in the future.  At the pace they are being released and updated, it is a good sign of a committed global collective who not only believe in the future of blocks but is excited about it too.</p>



<h2>What Does the Future Hold?</h2>



<p>Gutenberg is here to stay, and I don&rsquo;t think any of us have ever denied that. It is probably not an issue for anyone who started using WordPress for the first time this year.</p>



<p>Thankfully, for those already deeply embedded in WordPress, things are getting easier (and I would say more enjoyable) with the growth of the new Gutenberg-specific plugins.</p>



<p>With the advent of platforms such as Wix and Squarespace, it was obvious that WordPress needed <em>something</em> to make it more user-friendly and Gutenberg is a solid attempt at that. It is still a bit rough around the edges, but the days we look back nostalgically at the Classic Editor are likely numbered.</p>



<p>How will it look at the end of 2020? Will you still be using the Classic Editor?</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 05 Dec 2019 17:49:15 +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:"Chris Hughes";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:45;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:73:"WPTavern: Initial Documentation for Block-Based WordPress Themes Proposed";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=95687";s: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://wptavern.com/initial-documentation-for-block-based-wordpress-themes-proposed";s: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:7198:"<p class="has-drop-cap">In a pull request on the Gutenberg repository yesterday, Riad Benguella <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/18890">created an initial document</a> that outlines how block-based WordPress themes might work.  While the document is merely a starting point for the conversation, it is a set of ideas that will likely forever reshape the WordPress landscape.  It is paradigm-shifting.</p>



<p>For the first time, theme authors can glimpse what their future holds.  Since the inception of Gutenberg, many have asked for more technical details.  Particularly, they wanted to know whether themes would be reduced to a stylesheet or a stylesheet and a few PHP files.  <em>What would themes look like architecturally?  Would themes exist at all?</em></p>



<p>The document, while open for changes, makes a strong case about the structure of themes going forward.  It is clear that much forethought has gone into the proposal.  It matches the direction of the experimental site-editing feature in Gutenberg that has already been set in motion.  Even though it is subject to change, there seems to be a finality to the overarching idea.  The writing has long been on the wall.  Now everyone can see the wall.  The missing piece is figuring out how to bring the idea to fruition.</p>



<h2>What is Full Site Editing?</h2>



<p>Before understanding how themes of the future might work, you must first understand the direction that Gutenberg is headed.  The end goal for Gutenberg, and eventually WordPress, is for users to have the ability to customize every aspect of their site via the block system.  Currently, the block system primarily handles editing post content.</p>



<p>To move to full-site editing, every piece of dynamic data about a site must be a block.  For example, a site title block must exist as a placeholder for the site title.  Users should be able to place it anywhere they desire to output the title, such as in the header.</p>



<p>This has left theme authors with a reasonable question:  If users can move these blocks anywhere, where do themes fit into the picture?</p>



<p>It is easy to see how themes would become little more than a stylesheet that styles every WordPress block while also handling other necessary styles like typography and vertical rhythm.  Even then, it makes one wonder if themes, at least in how we have come to know them, are necessary at all.</p>



<h2>The Proposed Theme Structure</h2>



<p>The proposed structure does not look much different from current WordPress themes.  The big difference is that theme templates would become &ldquo;block templates&rdquo; and &ldquo;block template parts.&rdquo;  These templates would be HTML files rather than PHP files.</p>



<p>The following is where the structure currently stands.</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>theme
|__ style.css
|__ functions.php
|__ block-templates
    |__ index.html
    |__ single.html
    |__ archive.html
    |__ ...
|__ block-template-parts
    |__ header.html
    |__ footer.html
    |__ sidebar.html
    |__ ...</code></pre>



<p>From a templating perspective, it appears relatively <em>normal</em> for a WordPress theme.  The files simply have a different type and are organized in specific folders.</p>



<p>However, the difference is how the HTML templates would work.  They would essentially become placeholders for blocks.  Users would also have the ability to edit or completely overwrite individual templates via the WordPress admin.  Because templates are made up of blocks, no code would be necessary on the user&rsquo;s part.  They could simply point and click to insert or remove blocks with their mouse.  </p>



<p>In other words, block templates within themes would be unique starting points for users to build their sites.</p>



<p>There are two noteworthy items about the proposed system:  themes are still themes and end-users can become theme builders.</p>



<h3>The Essence of a Theme Remains the Same</h3>



<p>When you cut through everything else, WordPress themes have always been HTML and CSS.  The PHP aspect of theming basically mixes PHP function calls (i.e., template tags) within some structured HTML markup.  If you look at most themes going through the official WordPress theme directory, you will find that the underlying markup is mostly the same.</p>



<p>In the block template system, this idea doesn&rsquo;t change.  If anything, it could simplify the role of theme author by creating a set of standard elements (blocks) that themes output.  If done right, it also creates a standard for class names so that styles can easily be shared across themes and all sorts of similar goodies.</p>



<h3>Anyone Can Build a Theme</h3>



<p>The initial outline explains the potential of exporting themes:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>Ultimately, any WordPress user with the correct capabilities (example: administrator WordPress role) will be able to access these templates in the WordPress admin, edit them in dedicated views and potentially export the templates as a theme.</p></blockquote>



<p>This is where the proposed system could revolutionize website building.  Those without the coding skills to create a WordPress theme today could have the tools to contribute something back tomorrow.</p>



<p>The idea aligns perfectly with the open-source ethos of WordPress.  By giving everyone the ability to export their customizations, it provides an avenue for contributing that we have never had before for non-coders.  <em>A free directory of customized themes created by and for the community, anyone?</em></p>



<h2>The Design Side of the Equation</h2>



<p>Block templates are merely the HTML.  Themes will need to stand apart with their CSS.  However, there must be standardization to pull this off.</p>



<p>Designers will need to shift to a block-based approach when it comes to design.  Some may already be familiar with various &ldquo;component-based&rdquo; systems, which would work much the same way.  Rather than designing from the top-down, theme authors would approach design on a more atomic level by designing each block.</p>



<p>There are also many unanswered questions about how styles will eventually work.  Currently, there is an open ticket for <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/9534">discussing a style system for blocks</a>.  Much of the discussion is around how to integrate a design system with themes.</p>



<h2>Join the Discussion</h2>



<p>It is important to point out that nothing about this proposal is set in stone.  It is a high-level outline of what the future of themes could hold.  However, now is time for input from the community, especially theme authors who may have felt a bit out of the loop in the past.  Now is the time to make your voice heard and to contribute ideas to the discussion.</p>



<p>The WordPress theme review team also has an <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2019/12/04/questions-about-the-future-of-themes/">open discussion on the future of themes</a> that goes along with this proposal and whether themes should start taking advantage of experimental Gutenberg features.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 04 Dec 2019 20:56:39 +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:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:46;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:69:"WPTavern: Black Friday Banner Gone Wrong: Advertising in Free Plugins";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=95661";s: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:79:"https://wptavern.com/black-friday-banner-gone-wrong-advertising-in-free-plugins";s: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:6514:"<img />Screenshot of the Yoast Black Friday Ad



<p>On November 28, millions of people awoke to a Black Friday ad on nearly every page of their WordPress admin, courtesy of the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/">Yoast SEO plugin</a>.  That day also coincided with the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, so it left freelancers and agencies scrambling to address a banner on their clients&rsquo; sites on a day they likely planned to spend with family.  The ad was not limited to users with administrative permissions either, so some site owners were troubled to find users with low-level permissions could see the ad in the WordPress admin.</p>



<p>The initial code for the banner was <a href="https://github.com/Yoast/wordpress-seo/commit/bf13569fa7a25aacac72e8b92c577adcafa9ccc6#diff-9ac66dbc3ac65e9898209f08c006799c">added on October 25</a>, which made its way into version 12.4 of the Yoast SEO plugin.  The code for the banner ad limited its output between November 28 and December 3 (Cyber Monday).</p>



<p>After blowback from users, the Yoast team published an updated version of the plugin without the banner.  However, the initial damage was done.  Users began immediately <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/wordpress-seo/reviews/?filter=1">leaving poor reviews</a> for the plugin.  The 1-star reviews are still coming in, putting the number over 100 in the span of five days.</p>



<p>&ldquo;That BlackFridayBanner was not the best idea,&rdquo; wrote Marieke van de Rakt, CEO of Yoast, <a href="https://twitter.com/MariekeRakt/status/1200077958700044290">on Twitter</a>. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re truly sorry for the annoyance and difficulties it may have caused. We did not think this through properly. If you want, you can update to a new version of our plugin without that banner.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The initial decision to place the ad was about growth for Yoast&rsquo;s premium products.  The company has not grown as fast as expected over the past year explained van de Rakt.  They had also seen other plugins use those types of ads, which was a part of the decision to run it.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Let&rsquo;s be clear,&rdquo; said van de Rakt.  &ldquo;This was a mistake. We just didn&rsquo;t think this one through. It was incredibly stupid. So I can talk about why we made a decision, but I don&rsquo;t want that to be the explanation. The explanation is that we made a mistake.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The ad was an animated banner, and some users complained that it was difficult to dismiss.  All notices in plugins available through the WordPress plugin directory must be dismissible.  &ldquo;That was a technical mistake,&rdquo; said van de Rakt of the issues with clicking the &ldquo;x&rdquo; icon for dismissal.</p>



<p>While the team had seen other plugins run similar ads in the past, van de Rakt explained that they didn&rsquo;t take into account how large of a user base Yoast SEO has in comparison to those plugins.  &ldquo;For so many users, we were the first plugin that done this,&rdquo; she said.  &ldquo;They never saw this before in their backend. And they freak out. This was a complete error of judgment.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Yoast plans to talk more with its plugin&rsquo;s users.  Currently, the team is looking into creating a user-testing panel to prevent similar situations in the future.</p>



<p>&ldquo;In hindsight, and that&rsquo;s what I feel most bad about, the banner did not fit our values,&rdquo; said van de Rakt.  &ldquo;These kinds of banners are not &lsquo;Yoast.&rsquo; Perhaps, if we state more explicitly what we as Yoast find important and what fits Yoast and what doesn&rsquo;t, a mistake like this will be made less quickly.&rdquo;</p>



<h2>Making Money with Freemium Products</h2>



<p>Yoast is a large company within the WordPress space.  It employs 90 people in its primary office in Wijchen, the Netherlands.  It also has an additional 20 employees around the world.  Running a successful business means paying everyone, contributing back to WordPress with its five-for-the-future work, and running charitable programs such as the Yoast Diversity Fund.</p>



<p>Currently, the Yoast SEO plugin has over 5 million active installs.  According to van de Rakt, only around 2% of the plugin&rsquo;s users also use the company&rsquo;s premium products.  Such a large plugin needs continuous funding to support and maintain.</p>



<p>Advertising a product or service in an internet culture that is seemingly averse to ads is not always easy.  &ldquo;It&rsquo;s rather hard to find ways to reach our audience, and we also have some principles on how (not) to do that,&rdquo; said van de Rakt.  &ldquo;We like to advertise in a straight-forward way. Tell people what they&rsquo;re buying. Ads are very annoying, but at least they are clear in what they&rsquo;re doing.&rdquo;</p>



<p>One issue that plugin companies run into is the lack of an official premium marketplace for WordPress.  Currently, companies have to resort to in-admin advertising or similar tactics to push users on an upsell.  Most of Yoast&rsquo;s premium products are sold through banners on the plugin&rsquo;s pages in the WordPress admin.  Such practices do not always go over well with users, particularly when they are using a free product.  One wrong step and it could spell disaster for future growth.  Yoast is large enough to bounce back, but smaller companies may struggle more.</p>



<p>It is a tough balancing act between providing a valuable free product and making enough of a return to run a successful company.  The Yoast team does not want to lock their popular SEO plugin completely behind a paywall.  &ldquo;Our mission is SEO for everyone,&rdquo; said van de Rakt.  &ldquo;We believe that every idea should have a fair chance in the search results. That means that also without any funds, people should be able to have a good working SEO plugin. Our free plugin is really important to us.&rdquo;</p>



<p>&ldquo;I had a really bad weekend,&rdquo; said van de Rakt.  &ldquo;I am a people pleaser and I was terribly sad by what happened. But, the discussion about how to handle this is a good one.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Perhaps some good will come of this incident if there is an open dialogue.  &ldquo;These kinds of things sometimes lead to different &lsquo;rule-sets&rsquo; or policies within WordPress,&rdquo; said van de Rakt.  &ldquo;Might even mean that there will be different and better ways for premium plugins to market their products.&rdquo;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 03 Dec 2019 20:53:17 +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:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:47;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:63:"BuddyPress: ​​Contributing to BuddyPress just got easier :)";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"https://buddypress.org/?p=309282";s: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:52:"https://buddypress.org/2019/12/bp-beta-tester-1-0-0/";s: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:1940:"<p>Yesterday morning we’ve deployed the first stable version of the BP Beta Tester plugin on the WordPress.org plugins directory.​​</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/bp-beta-tester/">BP Beta Tester</a></blockquote>
</div>



<p>This plugin’s goal is to make it easier to beta test our pre-releases. You just need to install and activate the plugin to be ready to try our beta and release candidate versions once we’ve announced them on this blog.​​<br />​<br />Beta testing BuddyPress is very important to make sure it behaves the right way for you and for the community. Although we, the BuddyPress Development Team, are regularly testing it, it’s very challenging to test every possible configuration of WordPress and BuddyPress. That’s why we absolutely need your help during these pre-release stages.​​</p>



<p>Making this plugin available was one of the means we thought about during our post 5.0.0 release development meeting to have more BuddyPress contributors.​​<br />​<br />Beta testing is actually a good way to start contributing, to anticipate and fix potential issues before you have the bad surprise to meet them once you&#8217;re upgrading to a new stable version of the plugin.​​</p>



<p><strong>NB:</strong> to beta test BuddyPress, we strongly advise you to have a local copy of your live site or a staging site : it’s always safer than doing it on a production site.​​</p>



<p>During our next pre-release stages, when you will find something is going wrong during your beta tests, please think of warning us about it submitting a ticket on our <a href="https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/newticket">Development Tracker</a> or posting a new topic in our <a href="https://buddypress.org/support/">support forums</a>.​​</p>



<p>Thanks in advance for your time and help &lt;3</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 03 Dec 2019 12:27:10 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12:"Mathieu Viet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:48;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:89:"WPTavern: Gutenberg 7.0 Launches Stable Navigation Block, Post Blocks, and Template Parts";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://wptavern.com/?p=95640";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:98:"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-7-0-launches-stable-navigation-block-post-blocks-and-template-parts";s: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:7072:"<p>On November 27, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/11/27/whats-new-in-gutenberg-27-november/">Gutenberg 7.0 landed</a> with several features, enhancements, and bug fixes.  Most notably, the navigation block is now a stable feature.  Theme authors can also start using block template parts and testing the post title and content blocks.</p>



<p>The update addressed several bugs with the block editor.  It also introduced new developer features such as the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/17963">card component</a> and the ability to <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/17376">internationalize strings with safe HTML</a>.</p>



<p>Gradient classes are now <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/18590">used for the cover block</a>.  Classes are a nicer solution than the inline styles used in earlier iterations.  Note that gradients are still an experimental feature.</p>



<p>For developers, there is a new <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/tree/master/docs/designers-developers/developers/backward-compatibility">backward-compatibility document</a> that outlines how the project preserves compatibility in its public APIs. This should be useful for all developers working on the project in the future.</p>



<h2>Navigation Block Now Stable</h2>



<img />Creating a nav menu with the navigation block.



<p>The navigation block is now a stable feature and no longer considered experimental.  The interface is much improved over earlier implementations.  For quickly building a menu of links, it does the job.  Users can manually type a link or search for an existing link for the site.</p>



<p>A user interface for nav menus in the block editor is no easy beast to tame.  The Gutenberg team managed to fit in the most common features without making it feel confusing.  For users, theme integration may be limited until their themes are updated with full support.  The default Gutenberg design may not be ideal or work at all in the context of the active theme.</p>



<p>The navigation block also comes with both light and dark block styles.  Theme authors can design these how they prefer, add additional styles, or remove the styles altogether.  More than likely, theme authors will begin adding several variations to their themes as a selling point in the long run.</p>



<p>The Gutenberg team dropped the background color option from the navigation block. Instead, users are encouraged to place it within a group block and add a background to the group. It is possible to change the link text color directly within the navigation block.</p>



<p>Currently, there is no parity between normal nav menu HTML classes and navigation block classes.  This could result in bulkier theme CSS, at least in the transition between how themes currently work and  the full site-editing era.  Inconsistent classes is an issue that should be handled with a <a href="https://wptavern.com/themes-of-the-future-a-design-framework-and-a-master-theme">design framework</a>.</p>



<h2>Post Title and Content Blocks Added</h2>



<img />Customized post title block output.



<p>As part of the experimental site-editing feature, Gutenberg has introduced the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/18461">post title and post content blocks</a>.  These blocks act as placeholders and will output either the title or content.  Both blocks are foundational elements for true full-site editing.  Eventually, users will no longer be as limited to how their posts are output on the screen.</p>



<p>Currently, the post title block simply outputs the post title inside of <code>&lt;h1&gt;</code> tags. There are no classes for customizing the design. The other missing element at this point is the post byline or meta area that often accompanies the title.  In the long run, Gutenberg needs to have a method of handling post header and footer areas.</p>



<p>The custom post header feature has plagued theme authors for years, long before Gutenberg was around.  There are dozens or more implementations in the wild.  Some of them work with the block editor.  Others use custom post meta or the featured image.  However, users are often left with sub-par implementations that don&rsquo;t always work in the context of a specific post.</p>



<p>One of the features I have wanted to implement within Gutenberg is the &ldquo;hero&rdquo; image with text set over the top.  By using the built-in cover block and the post title block, I was able to accomplish this.  However, it was still missing the post byline.  Therefore, I put together a quick filter to output the post byline when the post title block is in use.</p>



<p><em>Any theme author who wants to test it out can modify the following code. I would not recommend this in production since this is an experimental feature, but it is good to start thinking ahead about possibilities.</em></p>


<pre class="brush: php; auto-links: false; gutter: false; title: ; wrap-lines: false; notranslate">
add_filter( 'pre_render_block', function( $block_content, $block ) {

    if ( 'core/post-title' === $block['blockName'] ) {

        $post = gutenberg_get_post_from_context();

        if ( ! $post ) {
            return $block_content;
        }

        if ( 'post' === $post-&gt;post_type ) {

            $block_content = '&lt;h1 class="entry__title"&gt;' . get_the_title( $post ) . '&lt;/h1&gt;';

            $block_content .= sprintf(
                '&lt;div class="entry__byline"&gt;%s &amp;middot; %s &amp;middot; %s&lt;/div&gt;',
                get_the_author(),
                get_the_date(),
                get_the_term_list( $post-&gt;ID, 'category' )
            );
        }
      }

    return $block_content;

}, 10, 2 );
</pre>


<h2>Block Template Parts for Themes</h2>



<p>Gutenberg 6.9 <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-6-9-introduces-image-titles-block-patterns-and-new-theme-features">introduced block templates</a> that resolve from a theme&rsquo;s <code>/block-templates</code> folder as part of the site-building experiment.  Version 7.0 takes that a step farther and introduces a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/18339">block template parts system</a>, which resolves from a theme&rsquo;s <code>/block-template-parts</code> directory.</p>



<p>This new system allows top-level templates to house smaller, reusable template parts.  This is a rather standard method of template-part handling that has become a part of the normal theme-building experience.</p>



<p>It will be interesting to see how this works in the long run.  WordPress&rsquo; current template part system for theme authors (i.e., <code>get_template_part()</code>) is a bare-bones implementation with little flexibility for handling features like hierarchy and passing data.  Thus far, the new feature seems to be a melding of blocks and old templating ideas, but it is too early in the process to see where it goes or whether theme authors will have to make customizations to bend the system to their will.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 02 Dec 2019 19:22:13 +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:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:49;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:57:"WordPress.org blog: The Month in WordPress: November 2019";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=8156";s: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:72:"https://wordpress.org/news/2019/12/the-month-in-wordpress-november-2019/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:8071:"<p>November has been a big month in the WordPress community. New releases, big events, and a push for more contributors have characterized the work being done across the project — read on to find out more!</p>



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



<h2>The release of WordPress 5.3 “Kirk”</h2>



<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2019/11/kirk/">WordPress 5.3 was released</a> on November 12, and is <a href="https://wordpress.org/download/">available for download</a> or update in your dashboard! Named “Kirk,” after jazz multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk, 5.3 enhances the block editor with <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/09/24/new-block-apis-in-wordpress-5-3/">new APIs</a> and <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/09/27/block-editor-theme-related-updates-in-wordpress-5-3/">theme-related features</a>, adds more intuitive interactions, and improves accessibility in a number of areas — including <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/10/18/noteworthy-admin-css-changes-in-wordpress-5-3/">CSS in the dashboard</a>, the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/10/14/improvements-in-media-component-accessibility-in-wordpress-5-3/">media manager</a>, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/09/23/core-widgets-new-aria-current-attribute-in-wordpress-5-3/">core widgets</a>, and <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?focuses=~accessibility&milestone=5.3&group=component&max=500&col=id&col=summary&col=milestone&col=owner&col=type&col=status&col=priority&order=id">dozens of other areas</a>.</p>



<p>You can read the full details of all the included enhancements in the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/10/17/wordpress-5-3-field-guide/">5.3 Field Guide</a>.</p>



<p>Along with 5.3 came <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/twentytwenty/">the new Twenty Twenty theme</a>, which gives users more design flexibility and integrates with the block editor. For more information about the improvements to the block editor, expanded design flexibility, the Twenty Twenty theme, and to see the huge list of amazing contributors who made this release possible, read <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2019/11/kirk/">the full announcement</a>.</p>



<p>Want to get involved in building WordPress Core? Follow <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/">the Core team blog</a> and join the #core channel in <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/chat/">the Making WordPress Slack group</a>. You can also <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/11/15/5-3-retrospective-call-for-feedback/">provide feedback</a> on the 5.3 release process.</p>



<h2>At Last! bbPress 2.6!</h2>



<p><a href="https://bbpress.org/blog/2019/11/bbpress-2-6/">bbPress 2.6 was released</a> on November 12 after a little over six years in development. This new release includes per-forum moderation, new platforms to import from, and an extensible engagements API. You can read more about all of this in <a href="https://codex.bbpress.org/">the bbPress codex</a>.</p>



<p><a href="https://bbpress.org/blog/2019/11/bbpress-2-6-1-is-out/">Version 2.6.1</a> and <a href="https://bbpress.org/blog/2019/11/bbpress-2-6-2-is-out/">2.6.2</a> quickly followed, both of which fixed a number of bugs that required immediate attention.</p>



<p>Want to get involved in building bbPress? Follow <a href="https://bbpress.org/blog/">the bbPress blog</a> and join the #bbpress channel in <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/chat/">the Making WordPress Slack group</a>.</p>



<h2>State of the Word</h2>



<p><a href="https://2019.us.wordcamp.org/">WordCamp US 2019</a> was held in St. Louis, MO this year on November 1-3. At the event, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/matt/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>matt</a> gave his annual State of the Word address, during which he shared what had been accomplished in the past year, announced what is coming next, and shared several ways to get involved.</p>



<p>You can watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LezbkeV059Q&t=21s">the State of the Word</a> as well as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFsVbAo8HwI">the Q&amp;A session at the end</a>, and <a href="https://ma.tt/2019/11/state-of-the-word-2019/">read Matt’s recap</a> of the address. If you didn’t make it to St. Louis, you can still <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1pJFUVKQ7ETHl165LvLVXfB3yBZEzV-q">watch all the sessions</a> at your leisure.</p>



<h2>Five for the Future</h2>



<p>During the State of the Word, Matt announced that there is now <a href="https://wordpress.org/five-for-the-future/">a dedicated landing page for Five for the Future</a>, which features the people and organizations that commit at least it 5% of their resources to the WordPress open source project. There are many ways to contribute to WordPress, such as core development, marketing, translation, training, and community organizing, among many other important paths to contribution.</p>



<p>Five for the Future welcomes individuals and organizations, and highlights all the incredible ways we build WordPress together. For more information, visit <a href="https://wordpress.org/five-for-the-future/">the Five for the Future page</a>.<br /></p>



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



<h2>Further Reading:</h2>



<ul><li>After releasing WordPress 5.3, the Core team announced <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/11/21/tentative-release-calendar-2020-2021/">a tentative release schedule</a> for 2020 and 2021.</li><li>The Core team has announced <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/11/28/new-css-focus-in-core/">a new CSS focus</a> to complement the existing ones for PHP and JavaScript — this focus comes with dedicated tags, targeted work, and a new #core-css Slack channel.</li><li>Version 2.2 of the WordPress Coding Standards <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/WordPress-Coding-Standards/releases/tag/2.2.0">has been released</a> — this new release is ready for WordPress 5.3, includes five brand new sniffs, and plenty of new command-line documentation.</li><li>The latest update to the Theme Review Coding Standards, <a href="https://github.com/WPTRT/WPThemeReview/releases/tag/0.2.1">v0.2.1</a>, is compatible with v2.2 of the WordPress Coding Standards, and helps authors to build more standards-compatible themes.</li><li><a href="https://2019.us.wordcamp.org/2019/11/11/wordcamp-us-2020/">The WordCamp US team has announced</a> the dates for next year’s event in St. Louis, MO — WordCamp US 2020 will be held on October 27-29. This will be the first time that the event will be held during the week and not on a weekend. The team has also announced a Call for Organizers. If you are interested in joining the team, <a href="https://2020.us.wordcamp.org/2019/11/21/join-the-wcus-2020-organizing-team/">learn more</a>.&nbsp;</li><li>The WP Notify project, which is building a unified notification system for WordPress Core, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/11/29/wp-notify-hiatus-till-january-2020/">is on hiatus</a> until January 2020.</li><li>A working group on the Community Team <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2019/11/25/handbook-update-how-to-improve-the-diversity-of-your-wordpress-events/">has updated their Handbook</a> to help organizers create more diverse events.</li><li>The WP-CLI team <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/cli/2019/11/12/wp-cli-v2-4-0-release-notes/">released v2.4.0</a> of the WordPress command-line tool. This release includes support for WordPress 5.3 and PHP 7.4.</li><li>Gutenberg development continues rapidly with <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/11/27/whats-new-in-gutenberg-27-november/">the latest 7.0 release</a> including an early version of the navigation menus block, among other enhancements and fixes.</li></ul>



<p><em>Have a story that we should include in the next “Month in WordPress” post? Please </em><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/month-in-wordpress-submissions/"><em>submit it here</em></a><em>.</em></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 02 Dec 2019 08:38:00 +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:15:"Hugh Lashbrooke";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}s:4:"type";i:128;s:7:"headers";O:42:"Requests_Utility_CaseInsensitiveDictionary":1:{s:7:"*data";a:8:{s:6:"server";s:5:"nginx";s:4:"date";s:29:"Mon, 20 Jan 2020 18:16:44 GMT";s:12:"content-type";s:8:"text/xml";s:4:"vary";s:15:"Accept-Encoding";s:13:"last-modified";s:29:"Mon, 20 Jan 2020 18:00:09 GMT";s:15:"x-frame-options";s:10:"SAMEORIGIN";s:4:"x-nc";s:9:"HIT ord 2";s:16:"content-encoding";s:4:"gzip";}}s:5:"build";s:14:"20130911040210";}