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


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




















































";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"WordPress Planet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://planet.wordpress.org/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"language";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2:"en";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:47:"WordPress Planet - http://planet.wordpress.org/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"item";a:50:{i:0;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:89:"WPTavern: Query Loop: The Ins and Outs of One of WordPress 5.8’s Most Powerful Features";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119799";s: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:215:"https://wptavern.com/query-loop-the-ins-and-outs-of-one-of-wordpress-5-8s-most-powerful-features?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=query-loop-the-ins-and-outs-of-one-of-wordpress-5-8s-most-powerful-features";s: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:8613:"<p class="has-drop-cap">WordPress 5.8 is on deck for July 20, just a mere 10 days from now. The release is geared up to be the most feature-packed update the community has seen in a while. <a href="https://wptavern.com/diving-into-wordpress-5-8s-new-widgets-screen">Block-based widgets</a>, <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-8-beta-1-released-new-blocks-new-widgets-screen-and-pattern-directory-on-deck">the pattern directory</a>, <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-8-introduces-support-for-webp-images">WebP image support</a>, <a href="https://wptavern.com/getting-to-know-the-upcoming-wordpress-5-8-template-editor">template-editing mode</a>, and many more tools are nearly ready to ship to the masses.</p>



<p>However, one of the most powerful features is the Query Loop block.</p>



<p>If you are unfamiliar with the terms &ldquo;Query&rdquo; and &ldquo;Loop,&rdquo; they are vital concepts within WordPress. Traditionally, they were only necessary for theme and plugin development. However, through the Query Loop block, users will gain exposure to what is, for all intents and purposes, the backbone of how WordPress displays posts on a site&rsquo;s front end.</p>



<h2>Queries? Loops?</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">Not everyone will be immediately familiar with these developer terms that WordPress is plopping down in the user interface. For theme and plugin authors, these are everyday concepts. However, even some users who have been using the platform for a decade have never been exposed to them. So, we should get some basic definitions in place.</p>



<p>The term &ldquo;Query&rdquo; is simpler than you might think. It merely means to &ldquo;query&rdquo; or &ldquo;ask&rdquo; for posts from the database according to a defined set of options. For example, one might attempt to get the last 10 blog posts.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Loop&rdquo; is an even easier concept to grasp. It means to &ldquo;loop&rdquo; or &ldquo;cycle&rdquo; through each queried post and output it. Technically, a developer could do things other than displaying the posts during this process, but we are only concerned with what gets printed on the screen.</p>



<p>The two things combined become the Query Loop block. It allows users to ask for a set of posts and display each one.</p>



<p>There is also a Post Template block, which throws a wrinkle in all of this. Aside from the word &ldquo;template&rdquo; being overused in WordPress for various features, this is a new method for an old concept. Traditionally, WordPress theme authors would write out all the HTML and call specific template tags within the queried posts loop to show things like the post title, author, content, and more. This is easy to do within a PHP file. However, in the block editor, there needed to be a new way to group these things together. The Post Template block acts as this group, housing the things users want to display in the Query Loop.</p>



<p>WordPress also has a variation on the Query Loop block called Posts List. They do the same thing, but the latter has a more user-friendly title than the former. The only problem with this variation is that, when it is inserted, the user still sees the same &ldquo;Query Loop&rdquo; block title. There is a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/32268">ticket to fix this</a>, but it is unlikely to make it into WordPress 5.8.</p>



<h2>Query Loop Pattern Inserter</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">When first inserting a Query Loop into the editor, WordPress will introduce users to another version 5.8 feature: the pattern inserter. Instead of having immediate access to interact with the block, users can select from a list of predefined patterns.</p>



<p>By default, the inserter is a carousel that lets users can scroll through patterns individually:</p>



<img />Query Loop pattern inserter: carousel view.



<p>However, they can switch to a grid-based layout and view all of the patterns at once:</p>



<img />Query Loop pattern inserter: grid view.



<p>WordPress 5.8 is set to ship with six Query Loop patterns by default, unless more are added in the coming days:</p>



<ul><li>Standard</li><li>Image at left</li><li>Small image and title</li><li>Grid</li><li>Large title</li><li>Offset</li></ul>



<p>I am not particularly fond of any of the default patterns other than the &ldquo;Large title&rdquo; one (shown in the screenshots above with the black background and white text). For this block to shine, users will need to build out their own designs or wait for theme authors to begin bundling custom Query Loop patterns.</p>



<p>And, that is how it should be. Core WordPress should ship some basics while letting our community of theme designers showcase their craft.</p>



<img />A custom simple blog posts listing.



<p>This is also an opportunity for theme authors to offer alternatives to their custom page template designs. It is not time to throw them out entirely. However, it is a way to begin recreating old ideas in the block era, such as building out eCommerce plugin integrations, portfolio grids, and much more. Some of the tools are still limited (we are getting to those next), but there is enough initial groundwork for exploration, helping users experience WordPress in new ways.</p>



<h2>Block Options</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">The Query Loop block has several options for users to customize which posts to <em>query</em> the database for:</p>



<img />Query Loop block and its options.



<p>In the block toolbar, there is a &ldquo;Display settings&rdquo; button. When clicked, it creates a popover with options for how many posts to show:</p>



<ul><li><strong>Items per Page:</strong> Number of posts to display per page</li><li><strong>Offset:</strong> Number of posts to skip over</li><li><strong>Max page to show:</strong> Limit pages (this requires using one of the Query Pagination blocks)</li></ul>



<p>The &ldquo;Settings&rdquo; panel in the Query Loop&rsquo;s block sidebar has several secondary options. Users can enable &ldquo;Inherit query from template&rdquo; to use WordPress&rsquo;s global query, but this is mostly useless for WordPress 5.8 users without the Gutenberg plugin enabled and a block-based theme. For now, you will almost always want to disable this option. This will grant access to a slew of new choices, such as:</p>



<ul><li>Post type</li><li>Ordering</li><li>Filters panel for categories, tags, author, and keyword</li></ul>



<p>The Settings and Filters panels are the most fine-tuned pieces of the Query Loop block. The development team struck a sensible balance between ease-of-use and the dozens of query-related parameters available through code. It provides users with a ton of power right of the gate but should be flexible enough in the future for plugin authors to extend.</p>



<h2>The Post Template</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">When inserting a Query Loop, the editor automatically adds its inner Post Template block. This is where most of the magic happens. Users can directly change how their posts appear. Primarily, they will do so by adding blocks from the Theme category, many of which are for outputting post-related data.</p>



<img />Theme-categorized blocks for outputting dynamic data.



<p>Nearly all other blocks are available for insertion here too. However, many of them will not be great candidates for use within the Query Loop.</p>



<p>One thing that may not be immediately evident is that changes you make to one post within the Post Template block will affect all others. So, if you add a Video or Buttons block here, they will be identical. Remember, this is a &ldquo;template&rdquo; for designing how all posts within the Query Loop will appear.</p>



<p>The drawback for customizing the Post Template block output is the lack of design options for some of the blocks. It is easy to build something like a simple post list:</p>



<img />Posts list with titles and dates.



<p>You can also build a layout like a portfolio project grid, as shown in the following screenshot. However, the Post Featured Image block does not currently have sizing controls, so you are stuck with your theme&rsquo;s default post-thumbnail size &mdash; assuming it is actually registered. <em>Experiences may vary. Wildly.</em></p>



<img />Building a basic portfolio grid.



<p>For more advanced things than changing typography, colors, and spacing, users will need to wait for WordPress 5.9 and beyond. However, theme authors still have the block styles API at their disposal. I, for one, look forward to seeing what they do with 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:"Sat, 10 Jul 2021 05:17:12 +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: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:103:"WPTavern: WordPress.org Meta Team Fixes Search Snippet Issue with Download Page Promoting WordPress.com";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119785";s: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:251:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-org-meta-team-fixes-search-snippet-issue-with-download-page-promoting-wordpress-com?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wordpress-org-meta-team-fixes-search-snippet-issue-with-download-page-promoting-wordpress-com";s: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:4709:"<p>Yesterday evening Chris Klosowski, Sandhills Development Partner and Director of Technology, tweeted out a problem with the way WordPress.org&rsquo;s <a href="https://wordpress.org/download/">Download page</a> was appearing in Google&rsquo;s Search results snippets when searching for &ldquo;WordPress.&rdquo; Underneath the link, the preview text referenced WordPress.com&rsquo;s hosting: </p>



<p><em>WordPress.com is the easiest way to create a free website or blog. It&rsquo;s a powerful hosting platform that grows with you. We offer expert support for your WordPress site.</em></p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Seems like maybe the SEO is not working correctly here&hellip;.or is it? You decide&hellip; <a href="https://t.co/hhwZ6LQnW4">pic.twitter.com/hhwZ6LQnW4</a></p>&mdash; Chris Klosowski (@cklosowski) <a href="https://twitter.com/cklosowski/status/1413261396624568322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 8, 2021</a></blockquote>
</div>



<p>Others <a href="https://twitter.com/hlashbrooke/status/1413268151643504641/photo/1">reported</a> seeing the intended description when Googling, which is designated in the Schema.org tag in the head tag but not printed on the page: </p>



<p><em>&ldquo;Download WordPress today, and get started on creating your website with one of the most powerful, popular, and customizable platforms in the world.&rdquo;</em></p>



<p>The reference to WordPress.com came from the hosting providers listed at the top of the page, where it randomly displays two upon each page refresh. The Download button <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210106091723/https://wordpress.org/download/">used to be at the top of the Download page</a> but ever since mid-January 2021, it has been pushed further down below recommended hosts. This is presumably to help people who want to set up a self-hosted site but don&rsquo;t know where to get started.  </p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img /></div>



<p>&ldquo;Google was skipping our defined page descriptions in favor of some in-page content,&rdquo; WordPress lead developer Dion Hulse <a href="https://twitter.com/dd32/status/1413325529223073798">said</a>, regarding the issue with the search results snippet.</p>



<p>The WordPress Meta team was alerted to the problem and quickly put a solution in place to encourage Google to look somewhere else on the page for the main content.</p>



<p>&ldquo;The Download page has info about the mobile apps and hosting for WordPress,&rdquo; core contributor Corey McKrill wrote in the <a href="https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/11108">commit message</a>. &ldquo;These are in&nbsp;<code>section</code>&nbsp;container elements, which might be the reason that Google is using the content of the hosting container for its search result snippet, instead of the meta description tag. By changing these containers to&nbsp;<code>aside</code> elements, hopefully Google will get the message that they don&rsquo;t contain the most pertinent information for that page.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The meta team also <a href="https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/11109">marked the hosting recommendations on the download page as exempt</a> from being included in the Google search result snippet, so that it doesn&rsquo;t pull text from these <code>aside</code> elements.</p>



<p>Here is what the updated search result snippet looks like after the changes were put in place:</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img /></div>



<p>Klosowski&rsquo;s tweet highlighted the perennial tension that arises from the confusion between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. The <a href="https://wordpress.org/hosting/">recommended hosting</a> page has always been a contentious bit of real estate on WordPress.org but especially now that hosting companies are also prominently promoted on the Download page.</p>



<img /><a href="https://twitter.com/cklosowski/status/1413264854643736577">https://twitter.com/cklosowski/status/1413264854643736577</a>



<p>In this situation, Josepha Haden Chomphosy, WordPress&rsquo; Executive Director, quickly <a href="https://twitter.com/JosephaHaden/status/1413262537928310785">acknowledged</a> that the search snippet promoting WordPress.com was in fact a problem, heading off those who might promote the notion that it was intentional. The Meta team acted swiftly to resolve the issue and return the snippet to its former meta description. It is not known how long Google has been pulling from the text in the recommended hosts sections to populate the snippet, but the code is now more explicit about the fact that those companies are not the most important content on the Download page.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 10 Jul 2021 02:05:55 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:2;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:42:"WPTavern: Awesome Motive Acquires SearchWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119714";s: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:129:"https://wptavern.com/awesome-motive-acquires-searchwp?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=awesome-motive-acquires-searchwp";s: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:4345:"<p>Awesome Motive, the company behind <a href="https://www.monsterinsights.com/">MonsterInsights</a>, <a href="https://optinmonster.com/">OptinMonster</a>, <a href="https://wpforms.com/">WPForms</a>, and several other popular products, has acquired <a href="https://searchwp.com/">SearchWP</a>, a commercial plugin that enhances WordPress&rsquo; search functionality. No changes have been announced for the plugin and Awesome Motive CEO Syed Balkhi says it will be &ldquo;business as usual&rdquo; for current customers.</p>



<p>&ldquo;We have built a lot of internal tools to improve our website search that I&rsquo;m really looking forward to sharing with the WordPress community,&rdquo; Balkhi said.</p>



<p>&ldquo;We will be combining Jon&rsquo;s vision with our own experience, so you can literally have the best search plugin in the industry without the high costs.&rdquo;</p>



<p>In 2013, when Jon Christopher launched SearchWP, he quickly carved out a slice of the WordPress search market among early competitors. The freemium model was already popular in those days with plugins like <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/relevanssi/">Relevanssi</a>, but Christopher chose to launch SearchWP as a commercial-only product. </p>



<p>&ldquo;There was already freemium competition, and I felt that the pricing model (which is the same today) was stronger given the product itself,&rdquo; Christopher said. &ldquo;I saw the pricing model as something that would help SearchWP stand out, and I also wanted to avoid opening the doors to overwhelming amounts of support requests right from the start. </p>



<p>&ldquo;I had no idea if SearchWP would be successful given the landscape, I built it first to scratch my own itch while knowing that even if no one bought it, I would 100% use it in my own work, and use it&nbsp;<em>a lot</em>.&rdquo;</p>



<p>His gamble paid off and the plugin has been used on more than 30,000 WordPress sites. Christopher had one support contractor but otherwise had been running the business alone for the past eight years. WordPress&rsquo; growing market share has made one-person plugin businesses difficult to maintain once they become very popular, as seen in the recent <a href="https://wptavern.com/delicious-brains-acquires-advanced-custom-fields-plugin">sale of ACF to Delicious Brains</a>.</p>



<p>&ldquo;I was looking ahead and considering what would be best for SearchWP&rsquo;s customers,&rdquo; Christopher said. &ldquo;I want SearchWP to live as long as it possibly can. If I&rsquo;m by myself it&rsquo;s a bit of a risk to continue that way as the business continues to grow. I know that I prefer to build things from the ground up, and I also know that I&rsquo;m not the guy to build (or manage) a team, it&rsquo;s not my strong suit. Given all of those pieces it was clear to me that it was a good time to consider selling.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Christopher described the 2013 WordPress ecosystem as more &ldquo;scrappy,&rdquo; as developers launched product businesses and worked to figure it out along the way.</p>



<p>&ldquo;There are pros and cons to an environment like that, but it was fantastic from my perspective,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Over time that feeling went away as companies grew, matured, and playbooks began to take shape. That cycle has continued over time and especially in the last 18 months we&rsquo;re getting a look at where WordPress is headed &ndash; lots of big players in a really big space.&rdquo;</p>



<p>For those who are jumping into the waters with a new product business, Christopher underscored the need for strong marketing. </p>



<p>&ldquo;I think that a lack of serious marketing will in fact be a limiter in today&rsquo;s WordPress economy,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Products that have been around a long time have a natural momentum that&rsquo;s really tough to beat, but that momentum doesn&rsquo;t come without friction. In order to keep up with where WordPress is going, I do feel like you need assets (and capital) aimed directly and solely at marketing for the long haul.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Balkhi did not elaborate on Awesome Motive&rsquo;s immediate plans for the search plugin but said the company will be executing on a 12-month plan to make it easier for beginners and non-technical business owners to set up in less than 10 minutes.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 09 Jul 2021 03:17:48 +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:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:111:"WPTavern: Gutenberg 11.0 Includes Over 70 Bug Fixes, Continues Improving With WordPress 5.8 Just Two Weeks Away";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119703";s: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:265:"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-11-0-includes-over-70-bug-fixes-continues-improving-with-wordpress-5-8-just-two-weeks-away?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gutenberg-11-0-includes-over-70-bug-fixes-continues-improving-with-wordpress-5-8-just-two-weeks-away";s: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:6795:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Gutenberg 11.0 landed yesterday with a pile of changes. The development team has been moving fast, and it shows.</p>



<p>For a two-week cycle, version 11.0 includes an insane number of bug fixes. Contributors squashed over 70 in this release alone. This seems to be in preparation for WordPress 5.8, which is expected to land on July 20. The upcoming block-based Widgets screen had the lion&rsquo;s share of bugs. However, the block library had nearly two dozen, many of those issues with new theme-related blocks.</p>



<p>The downside of such a massive release is that there are too many features and not enough time to cover them all. I will be cherry-picking some of my favorites, but feel free to dive into the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/releases/tag/v11.0.0">release notes</a> for a complete picture.</p>



<h2>Theme and Template-Editing Mode Changes</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">One of the primary Full Site Editing features making its way to WordPress 5.8 will be disabled by default for most users. In a rare move from the core project, the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/32858">template editor will be opt-in</a>, at least for users with classic themes.  It is opt-out for block themes.</p>



<p>As I <a href="https://wptavern.com/getting-to-know-the-upcoming-wordpress-5-8-template-editor">wrote last month</a>, until users are on actual block themes, the template editor is &ldquo;a sort-of-OK-but-kind-of-amazing landing page creator.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Template-editing is really only as good as the weakest link in the system. This will almost always be the theme over the next few months. Because the template editor is a new feature that directly attempts to overwrite the front-end output, it will always be at odds with many themes that were never designed with it in mind. The opt-in approach is unlikely the best route to mass adoption, but it is in the interest of the user experience.</p>



<p>Making it opt-in also allows theme authors to make template editing a smooth experience. Gutenberg 11.0 introduces a new <code>defaultBlockTemplate</code> editor setting. Theme authors can <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/32771">create the default blocks</a> that users begin with when creating a new template.</p>



<img />Starting with a custom default block template.



<p>Ideally, this default template should include some base layout components, such as a header, footer, and post/page content. However, themers are free to put their own spin on this.</p>



<p>For more information on creating default block templates, theme authors should read Themes Team rep Carolina Nymark&rsquo;s <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2021/07/08/summary-theme-features-in-wordpress-5-8/">overview of WordPress 5.8 theme features</a>.</p>



<h2>Media &amp; Text Block: Drag-and-Drop Media Replacement</h2>



<img />Dragging a new media file into the Media &amp; Text block.



<p class="has-drop-cap">Users have long been able to drag and drop an initial image or video into the Media &amp; Text block. However, they were unable to replace it using the same method. Gutenberg 11.0 creates a new <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/29710">&ldquo;drop zone&rdquo; over the media column</a>, making it easy to change the media to something new.</p>



<p>The feature already exists with the Cover and Image blocks, so this change brings Media &amp; Text up to date. We probably should have had this feature months ago, but the patch sat in limbo waiting for a code review.</p>



<h2>Accessibility: Categories Dropdown Has Label</h2>



<img />Label difference between the Archives and Categories blocks.



<p class="has-drop-cap">The development team added a new <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/33060">&ldquo;Categories&rdquo; label</a> when the Categories block is shown as a dropdown. This is a welcome improvement to help those using screen-readers better navigate the page.</p>



<p>The problem with this change is the lack of consistency. In <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-10-8-adds-new-typography-controls-and-block-previews">Gutenberg 10.8</a>, the team removed the <code>.screen-reader-text</code> class for the Archives block label, making it appear on screen for all users. These types of inconsistencies that seem trivial on the surface tend to pile up, creating code bloat for theme designers in the long run as they try to wrangle them.</p>



<p>I would prefer both labels to be marked as screen-reader text. Regardless of the default, the two should match. Then, throw in an option for the end-user to decide whether to show the label similar to how the Search form handles it.</p>



<h2>The Return of Post Classes</h2>



<img />Post classes appear for Post Template block.



<p class="has-drop-cap">For those theme designers who need them, Gutenberg 11.0 <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/30497">brings back post classes</a>. If you are wondering where posts classes had gone, you may not be alone. In the world of blocks, they are not needed as much as they once were. Traditionally, WordPress theme authors used these classes to dynamically change the output of a post based on contexts such as type, format, category, and more.</p>



<p>When the Post Template block (formerly named Query Loop) was introduced, there was a noticeable lack of the traditional classes attached to the wrapper for individual posts. This latest update brings them back.</p>



<p>In the future, block themes will likely rely on these classes less and less. With much of the design configuration moving to <code>theme.json</code> files and user-controlled options, it is probably time to say goodbye to one of the core features of theme design over the past decade. However, it is a comfort to know it is there when needed.</p>



<h2>Decimals Allowed in Spacing Controls</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">For those who are particular about getting their margin and padding <em>just</em> right, they can finally rejoice. Spacing controls now <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/32692">allow for decimal values</a> and not just whole numbers.</p>



<p>In past versions of the plugin, a value such as <code>1.5</code> would be rounded up to <code>2</code>. When used with <code>rem</code> and <code>em</code> units, such rounding created a 50% difference between the intended spacing and reality.</p>



<p>I am happy about this one. It is a fix for <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/31964">one of the tickets</a> I opened (<em>hooray for contributing!</em>). However, I cannot take credit for fixing the problem. That honor goes to Themes Team representative Ari Stathopoulos.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 09 Jul 2021 02:55:19 +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: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:81:"WPTavern: Private Note-Taking and Journaling With the Hypernotes WordPress Plugin";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119707";s: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:207:"https://wptavern.com/private-note-taking-and-journaling-with-the-hypernotes-wordpress-plugin?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=private-note-taking-and-journaling-with-the-hypernotes-wordpress-plugin";s: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:4831:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Ella van Durpe, a core WordPress contributor and software engineer at Automattic, released a note-taking plugin earlier today. <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/hypernotes/">Hypernotes</a> is a simple custom post type that allows end-users to take private notes or serve as a journaling tool.</p>



<p>I have seen similar plugins in the past. I even began building one years ago before ultimately abandoning it for a simple Markdown solution in a private repository.</p>



<p>What makes Hypernotes unique is its handling of &ldquo;folders,&rdquo; which essentially work like categories. However, each folder gets its own sub-menu link under the Notes section in the WordPress admin.</p>



<img />Hypernotes&rsquo; folder system.



<p>This more closely mimics other note-taking apps where users can switch between various folders to quickly find notes.</p>



<p>The code to make this happen is simple; the idea is ingenious. It is the sort of outside-the-box thinking I love to see from plugin developers.</p>



<p>There are a few trivial issues with it, such as the folder names not being highlighted when viewing their screens. However, that is a WordPress-specific bug. A simple dash before each folder name could spruce up the UI a bit too. They sit below the &ldquo;All Notes&rdquo; menu item, so it would create more of a folder effect.</p>



<p>On the whole, the plugin works well as a note-taking application.</p>



<img />Writing a note in the WordPress editor.



<p>The plugin description does have a security note for users who are wondering just how private their content is:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>Only you will be able to see your notes within the WordPress admin, but the notes are NOT encrypted at the moment, so anyone with database access will be able to read them.</p></blockquote>



<p>Hypernotes also ensures that no post is ever accidentally published for all the world to see. Under the hood, it automatically sets all notes to the &ldquo;private&rdquo; status. The plugin&rsquo;s post type cannot be publicly queried on the front end either.</p>



<p>It is worth mentioning that the plugin does not create custom capabilities (permissions) for its post type and taxonomy. Any registered user on the site with the right post-editing capabilities can access others&rsquo; notes in the backend, such as people with the Editor role.</p>



<p>This is unlikely an issue given the nature of the plugin. I imagine the primary audience will be made up of solo bloggers who want a simple note-taking solution.</p>



<p>I ran into one not-so-trivial issue when I began trying out Hypernotes, believing my website was broken. This is usually because of a patch I am testing for the Gutenberg plugin or just one of its run-of-the-mill updates. However, the typical culprit was not to blame. After a half-hour or so trying to figure out why my theme styles were not appearing for Note posts, I finally cracked the issue.</p>



<p>Hypernotes disables all theme editor styles. The beautiful typography of my currently active theme was gone, which would work well with a note or journaling plugin.</p>



<p>This was easy enough to overrule with a few lines of custom code. If I was going to save a few quotes that I liked as personal notes, I at least wanted to do it in style:</p>



<img />Bringing back my theme&rsquo;s custom quotes style.



<p>The plugin also attempts to disable wide/full alignment and theme editor font sizes. The code it uses works for traditional WordPress themes but not for block themes, which have a different mechanism for registering such support. This was also one of the reasons it was tough to track down the issue. Everything else from my theme was working but custom editor styles.</p>



<p>I understand the idea behind removing support for those features. Themes design the front end of the site, and Hypernotes is purely a backend tool. However, I would rather see an option for letting the user control what gets disabled. Some theme editor styles would pair well with the plugin.</p>



<p>Disabling these features has other implications too. For example, all of my theme&rsquo;s custom block style variations were registered and usable from the editor. However, because my styles were not loaded, they did not work correctly.</p>



<p>Another option would be for the plugin to provide its own editor styles. There would still be some complications going that route, such as the block style variations issue, but the plugin could become a beautifully designed note-taking app in its own right.</p>



<p>For a version 1.0 outing, I am a fan of the simplicity. More so, I am impressed with the clever method of handling note &ldquo;folders.&rdquo; I am eager to see how this plugin evolves over future iterations.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 08 Jul 2021 03:13:07 +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: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: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:18:"Matt: Open Insulin";s: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=54516";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://ma.tt/2021/07/open-insulin/";s: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:895:"<p>One of my big themes is that open source will transform every industry, with key examples being WordPress in web publishing, WooCommerce in online commerce, Wikipedia in reference, and Bitcoin/Ethereum in finance. Medicine, though, has been relatively unscathed so far. Here&#8217;s a great video introducing the <a href="https://openinsulin.org/">Open Insulin project</a>, which for the past 6 years has been developing their own method of manufacturing insulin and is going to open source its process to the world for anyone to recreate.</p>



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

</div>



<p>It also reminds me of the <a href="https://www.economist.com/what-if/2021/07/03/what-if-biohackers-injected-themselves-with-mrna">What If? article in the Economist a few days ago about mRNA self-biohacking</a>. <em>Hat tip: <a href="https://github.com/RiaanKnoetze">Riaan Knoetze</a>.</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:"Wed, 07 Jul 2021 13:49:33 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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: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:79:"WPTavern: WordPress 5.8 Adds Support for New Emoji Introduced in Twemoji 13.1.0";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:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119656";s: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:203:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-8-adds-support-for-new-emoji-introduced-in-twemoji-13-1-0?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wordpress-5-8-adds-support-for-new-emoji-introduced-in-twemoji-13-1-0";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:3577:"<p>In the upcoming 5.8 release, WordPress is <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/52852">updating its version of Twemoji</a>, Twitter&rsquo;s open source emoji&nbsp;library that supports the latest Unicode emoji specification. <a href="https://github.com/twitter/twemoji/releases/tag/v13.1.0">Version 13.1.0</a> introduces five new smileys and emotions, including heart on fire, mending heart, face with spiral eyes, face in clouds, and face exhaling. </p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img /></div>



<p>Version 13.1 adds mixed skin tone support for all variations of the &ldquo;Kiss&rdquo; emoji and the &ldquo;Couple with Heart&rdquo; emoji. It also makes it possible to add a bearded man or a bearded woman in all skin tone variations.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img /></div>



<p>WordPress 5.8 will also include significant changes to the syringe emoji that were committed to a previous version of Twemoji (13.0.2) earlier this year. Instead of a blood-filled barrel accented with drops of blood leaking out of the tip, the new syringe emoji contains a non-specific liquid. This makes it more flexible for use cases that don&rsquo;t involve removing blood. Emojipedia has a fascinating look at <a href="https://blog.emojipedia.org/vaccine-emoji-comes-to-life/">the syringe emoji&rsquo;s history</a>, dating back to 1999 when it was primarily used in Japan for blood donation. A 2021 refresh on the syringe makes it possible for it to be used in reference to vaccines, a topic of public conversation across the globe.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img /></div>



<p>In addition to changes to the syringe, Jonathan Desrosiers, who opened the trac ticket to initiate the update, summarized a few other changes from previous Twemoji versions that modify existing emoji:</p>



<ul><li>Cricket: the colors have been adjusted to improve readability on small screens and to prevent confusion with other Emoji that had a similar color.</li><li>T-Rex: The color and posture of the T-Rex has been adjusted.</li><li>Portuguese flag: A line within the flag&rsquo;s circle has been corrected.</li><li>Thai flag: The proportions of the stripes for this flag have been corrected.</li><li>Fox face: The symmetry has been improved.</li><li>Transgender flag: The lines have been updated to prevent small gaps between stripes from showing when rendered with antialiasing.</li><li>Rolling on the floor laughing: Adjusted to be less exaggerated and appear more natural.</li></ul>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img /></div>



<p>The official emoji lexicon is constantly being tweaked and updated for accuracy, and to better serve conversations, as current events increase demand for visual representations of specific objects and emotions. Although many of these updates and new additions may seem pandemic-inspired, there&rsquo;s a lengthy, official process for proposing changes to the Unicode Consortium. The Unicode Emoji Subcommittee reviews <a href="https://unicode.org/emoji/proposals.html">proposals</a>, which require compelling data on compatibility, expected usage level, distinctiveness, and other factors. Candidates approved for inclusion do not arrive to major platforms for approximately a year.</p>



<p>WordPress 5.8 will bump Twemoji from 13.0.1 to 13.1.0. Unicode 14.0, the next major update, is expected for release in late 2021. Emojipedia has a <a href="https://emojipedia.org/emoji-14.0/">draft list</a> of what is on deck for the next version and those that are approved would likely make it to major platforms by the end of 2022.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 07 Jul 2021 05:16:34 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:70:"WPTavern: Jetpack 9.9 Released With a Refreshed Image Gallery Carousel";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119629";s: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:185:"https://wptavern.com/jetpack-9-9-released-with-a-refreshed-image-gallery-carousel?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=jetpack-9-9-released-with-a-refreshed-image-gallery-carousel";s: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:3094:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Today, Automattic <a href="https://jetpack.com/2021/07/06/jetpack-9-9-make-your-best-photos-shine/">released version 9.9</a> of its popular Jetpack plugin. The development team improved the modal animation and transition speed for the Instant Search module and added the Social Preview panel to the pre-publish sidebar. However, the most notable user-facing update was a refresh of its Carousel feature.</p>



<p>The module creates a fullscreen overlay gallery of a post&rsquo;s images once one is clicked. Users can <a href="https://jetpack.com/support/carousel/">enable this feature</a> via the Jetpack &gt; Settings &gt; Writing page in the WordPress admin. Users can also turn on the display of EXIF data and the media attachment commenting form.</p>



<p>Jetpack Carousel handles Image and Gallery blocks a bit differently. Regardless of whether Gallery images are linked or not, they will always be included in the image carousel when clicked. However, only Image blocks that specifically link to the attachment page are added.</p>



<p>I have never much cared for the Jetpack Carousel feature. There were always prettier image-overlay, lightbox-type solutions out in the wild. We use the plugin here at WP Tavern, so it is just something I have learned to live with. There was no sense in installing <em>yet another</em> plugin when we were already using the massive mono-project to run many other features on the site. And, it generally got the job done.</p>



<p>However, today, I can finally say that I am happy with the implementation. It is cleaner, offers a larger viewing area for individual images, and tucks unnecessary bits away for the average user.</p>



<p>The following is a screenshot of the carousel in all its fullscreen wonder:</p>



<img />Jetpack carousel in version 9.9.



<p>For comparison, here is what the same image slide looks like in Jetpack 9.8.1:</p>



<img />Jetpack carousel in version 9.8.1.



<p>In the new version, the image metadata and commenting form are hidden by default. The user must click the info or comment icon buttons to slide each section open. This is a better implementation because it decreases the noise in the carousel while still making the features available for those who want them.</p>



<img />Image metadata in the carousel.



<p>Overall, I am enjoying this update. Swiping and scrolling through the gallery feels smoother.</p>



<p>I would love for WordPress to bring a standard set of functions and blocks for displaying media metadata to the development community. Every plugin and theme author who wants to showcase that info must build a custom system for their projects, such as formatting aperture, shutter speed, and focal length. The following is the output of an image attachment page from a theme I have worked on:</p>



<img />Custom theme image info.



<p>There is no reason that the theme and Jetpack should be working with custom wrappers for the metadata. WordPress stores EXIF and ID3 tags automatically. It just does not expose them to developers in any meaningful way.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 07 Jul 2021 03:13:32 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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:53:"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 5.8 Release Candidate 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:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=10912";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:69:"https://wordpress.org/news/2021/07/wordpress-5-8-release-candidate-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:3340:"<p>The second release candidate for <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/5-8/">WordPress 5.8</a> is now available! <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/1f389.png" alt="?" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<p>WordPress 5.8 is slated for release on <strong>July 20, 2021</strong>, and we need <em>your</em> help to get there—if you have not tried 5.8 yet, now is the time!</p>



<p>You can test the WordPress 5.8 release candidate 2 in any of these three ways:</p>



<ul><li>Install and activate the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/">WordPress Beta Tester plugin</a> (select the <code>Bleeding edge</code> channel and then <code>Beta/RC Only</code> stream)</li><li>Directly download the release candidate version <a href="https://wordpress.org/wordpress-5.8-RC2.zip">(zip)</a></li><li>Use WP-CLI to test: <code>wp core update --version=5.8-RC2</code></li></ul>



<p>Thank you to all of the contributors who tested the&nbsp;Beta/RC releases and gave feedback.  Testing for bugs is a critical part of polishing every release and a great way to contribute to WordPress.</p>



<h2>Plugin and Theme Developers</h2>



<p>Please test your plugins and themes against WordPress 5.8 and update the&nbsp;<em>Tested up to</em>&nbsp;version in the <code>readme</code> file to 5.8.  If you find compatibility problems, please be sure to post to the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta/">support forums</a>,&nbsp;so they can get ready for the final release.</p>



<p>For a more detailed breakdown of the changes included in WordPress 5.8, check out the <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/wordpress-5-8-beta-1/">WordPress 5.8 beta 1 post</a>.  The&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/07/03/wordpress-5-8-field-guide/">WordPress 5.8 Field Guide</a>, which is particularly useful for developers, has all the info and further links to help you get comfortable with the major changes.</p>



<h2>How to Help</h2>



<p>Can you speak and write in a language other than English? &nbsp;<a href="https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp/dev">Help us translate WordPress into more than 100 languages!</a></p>



<p><em><strong>If you think you have found a bug</strong>, you can post to the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta">Alpha/Beta area</a>&nbsp;in the support forums.  We would love to hear from you!  If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report,&nbsp;<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/newticket">file one on WordPress Trac</a>, where you can also find&nbsp;<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/tickets/major">a list of known bugs</a>.</em></p>



<p class="has-text-align-right"><strong><em>Props to <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lukecarbis/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>lukecarbis</a> for the haiku, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/webcommsat/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>webcommsat</a> and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/marybaum/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>marybaum</a> for peer reviewing!</em></strong></p>



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



<p><em>Five-eight in two weeks<br />So test your plugins and themes<br />Update your readme</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:"Wed, 07 Jul 2021 01:12:57 +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:"Jeffrey Paul";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:72:"Akismet: Version 4.1.10 of the Akismet WordPress Plugin is Now Available";s: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:"http://blog.akismet.com/?p=2117";s: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://blog.akismet.com/2021/07/06/akismet-plugin-4-1-10/";s: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:818:"<p>Version 4.1.10 of <a href="http://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/">the Akismet plugin for WordPress</a> is now available. It contains the following changes:</p>
<ul>
<li>Simplified the code around checking comments in REST API and XML-RPC requests.</li>
<li>Added rel=&#8221;noopener&#8221; to the widget link to avoid warnings in Google Lighthouse.</li>
<li>Set the Akismet JavaScript as deferred instead of async to improve responsiveness.</li>
<li>Improved the preloading of screenshot popups on the edit comments admin page.</li>
</ul>
<p>To upgrade, visit the Updates page of your WordPress dashboard and follow the instructions. If you need to download the plugin zip file directly, links to all versions are available in <a href="http://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/">the WordPress plugins directory</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 06 Jul 2021 20:33:57 +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:"Christopher Finke";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:67:"WPTavern: Taking the Leap: Building My First WordPress Block Plugin";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119592";s: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:177:"https://wptavern.com/taking-the-leap-building-my-first-wordpress-block-plugin?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=taking-the-leap-building-my-first-wordpress-block-plugin";s: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:7356:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Like most years, I spent this U.S. Independence Day cooped up with my furry friends. I closed all the windows, shuttered the blinds, switched on a couple of fans for white noise, and clicked the television on. My cats and I relaxed. It is my job to keep them calm while my &mdash; usually drunken &mdash; compatriots burn hundreds of dollars away in the night sky. It is my ritual, and I enjoy it.</p>



<p>For this holiday, we re-watched Season 1 of <em>Star Trek: Lower Decks</em>, and I learned how to build a block plugin.</p>



<p>This was not my first attempt. When the block editor launched nearly three years ago, I tinkered with a few block type ideas. However, I never got far. Documentation was sparse, and I had almost no experience with JavaScript beyond building trivial bells and whistles for front-end design.</p>



<p>Leaving my day job as a developer to write for WP Tavern also meant limited time to learn block development. And, my free time for the last couple of years has been filled with other projects. Lately, I have had the urge to jump back in and start building things for fun once again. My extended sabbatical from development work gave me time to pursue other interests while allowing my well of creativeness a chance to refill. The break did me some good.</p>



<p>With time to kill yesterday afternoon, I dove right in. After a couple of hours of reading docs, studying other developers&rsquo; code, and breaking things, I had a functional block for a breadcrumbs list.</p>



<img />Custom block registered and ready to insert.



<p>Marcus Kazmierczak&rsquo;s <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/copyright-block/">Copyright Block</a> plugin helped me get over one of the initial humps. It was helpful to see real-world, non-example code written in vanilla JavaScript to get to the meat of how the system worked.</p>



<p><em>My overall thoughts on building custom block types?</em></p>



<p>It was easier than I thought it would be. <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/">Documentation</a> is, at the same time, both overwhelming and limiting. It is tough to find the correct answer if you do not even know what you are looking for. The barrier to entry is much higher than when I built my first plugin in 2007. The <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/how-to-guides/block-tutorial/writing-your-first-block-type/">Block Type API</a> makes some things stupidly simple but complicates others.</p>



<p>Successfully inserting my first block type into the editor canvas was gratifying. I don&rsquo;t think that feeling ever goes away as a developer.</p>



<img />Successful insertion and rendering of my first block plugin.



<p>I am excited about the potential for blocks, such as a breadcrumbs list, when the site editor launches. Many similar features do not make sense in the post editor. However, when users can make direct edits to their templates, it will open a world of possibilities.</p>



<h2>Learning Curve</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">I know enough JavaScript to be a danger to myself and others. Having spent almost the entirety of my professional career in the WordPress realm has meant focusing on PHP. But, programming is programming. Once you have a strong understanding of one language, it not an impossible leap to piddle around enough to create a functional script in another. Most of the same foundational concepts are there. The hurdle is often with learning some new syntax.</p>



<p>However, the biggest obstacle with &ldquo;modern&rdquo; JavaScript is setting up the build tools, bundlers, and more. It can be a tall order to even type out that first line of code.</p>



<p>Sure, some of the documentation has vanilla JavaScript examples, but when you get into anything more complex than the basics, it is not so vanilla anymore. You will need a way to bundle JavaScript and transform JSX syntax. That means tools like webpack and Babel.</p>



<p><a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/how-to-guides/javascript/js-build-setup/">WordPress has its own script</a> for cutting through most of the complexity, but I recommend <a href="https://laravel-mix.com/">Laravel Mix</a>. It is simple enough for even the least-savvy JavaScript programmers among us and has thorough documentation. It is a script made for folks who want to worry less about tooling and more about actually writing code.</p>



<p>Block building is also a different kind of leap. Whether it was custom template tags, shortcodes, widgets, or hooks, traditional WordPress development has meant building those in a PHP environment.  I suspect that most plugin developers have tons of features that they can bring to the masses via the block editor. They will often rely on server-side rendering. WordPress has a <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/reference-guides/packages/packages-server-side-render/"><code>ServerSideRender</code> componen</a>t for actually handling this.</p>



<p>One of the handiest features of registering block types is the <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/reference-guides/block-api/block-supports/">block &ldquo;supports&rdquo; system</a>. <em>Want a background color option?</em> Just one line of code will do. <em>Want the user to access the font-size control?</em> That is a single line too. With little effort, I extended my breadcrumbs block to include a ton of styling options for users. And, they adapt to the site&rsquo;s active theme.</p>



<img />Testing various combination of block-supported styling options.



<p>The list of block-supported features offers an array of standardized options at pretty much no development cost. Even the Customize API, previously the most advanced tool for building form fields, did not come this close.</p>



<p><a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/how-to-guides/block-tutorial/block-controls-toolbar-and-sidebar/">Building custom inspector controls</a> was straightforward once I got the hang of how the block edit piece of the puzzle worked. For now, I have a simple toggle option for enabling/disabling a feature. Often, the hardest part is just finding what you are looking for. WordPress has a massive library of <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/reference-guides/components/">components</a> to choose from.</p>



<p>At this point, I have a basic block on the client (editor) side. Most of the complexity is handled on the server via PHP. If I could build this in an afternoon while attending to nervous cats, it should not be a stretch for more plugin authors to hop aboard this train. There are thousands of shortcodes and widgets that developers can convert to blocks with minimal code.</p>



<p>I am not ready to release my breadcrumbs block into the wild just yet. There is still some fine-tuning left to do and a few advanced features to implement. Also, a breadcrumbs list is primarily needed in a site editor context where users can drop it into something like their header template. We are not there yet, but I will undoubtedly share the final result with the community when we are.</p>



<p>Next, I will try to build a block that does not rely on server-side rendering. I think I have the hang of it now. Breaking through that initial barrier is always the hardest step.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 06 Jul 2021 00:28:53 +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: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:69:"WordPress.org blog: WP Briefing: Episode 12: WordPress – In Person!";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"https://wordpress.org/news/?post_type=podcast&p=10889";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:66:"https://wordpress.org/news/2021/07/episode-12-wordpress-in-person/";s: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:13116:"<p>In this episode, Josepha Haden Chomphosy talks about WordPress &#8211; In Person! The WordPress events that provide the dark matter of connection that helps sustain the open source project.</p>



<p><em><strong>Have a question you&#8217;d like answered? You can submit them to <a href="mailto:wpbriefing@wordpress.org">wpbriefing@wordpress.org</a>, either written or as a voice recording.</strong></em></p>



<h2>Credits</h2>



<p>Editor:<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dustinhartzler/"> Dustin Hartzler</a></p>



<p>Logo:<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/beafialho/"> Beatriz Fialho</a></p>



<p>Production:<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mkaz/"> </a><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cbringmann/">Chloé Bringmann</a></p>



<p>Song: Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod</p>



<h2>References</h2>



<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons">The tragedy of the commons</a></p>



<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/wordpress-5-8-release-candidate/">WordPress 5.8 Release Candidate announcement </a></p>



<h2>Transcript </h2>



<span id="more-10889"></span>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy&nbsp; </strong>00:11</p>



<p>Hello, everyone, and welcome to the WordPress Briefing, the podcast where you can catch quick explanations of the ideas behind the WordPress open source project, some insight into the community that supports it, and get a small list of big things coming up in the next two weeks. I&#8217;m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Here we go!</p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy&nbsp; </strong>00:39</p>



<p>Today we&#8217;re talking about one of my favorite parts of the project &#8211; WordPress events. The in-person component of the project is the dark matter that helps us build resilience and thrive as a group. A lot of what I&#8217;m going to share applies to every WordPress event, whether it&#8217;s a meetup or workshop, a contributor day, any other sort of format. But I&#8217;ll be focused on WordCamps. It&#8217;s been a while since we had any in-person WordCamps. Our last two were WordCamp Malaga in Spain and WordCamp Greenville in the US. But that hasn&#8217;t stopped anyone from gathering people together online. Which honestly makes a lot of sense for WordPress. Because there are many reasons we gather, the main three reasons are connecting, inspiring, and contributing. It&#8217;s true. It says so right in our documentation, &#8220;paper rustling.&#8221; All WordPress events should connect WordPress users, inspire people to do more with WordPress, and contribute to the WordPress project. As an aside, I&#8217;ll tell you that some groups also get to collaborate and educate in there, but connect, inspire, contribute. Those are the big three. And that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m talking about today. And if you subscribe to this podcast for the back office deep cuts, I&#8217;ll also have a few of those for you. </p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy&nbsp; </strong>01:57</p>



<p>Alright, so first up, connect. WordCamps are generally annual-ish gatherings organized by local WordPress meetup groups. They&#8217;re not meant to be big or fancy. The definition of the minimum viable product for WordCamp is 50 people gathered all day to talk about WordPress. They are intentionally affordable to allow people from all walks of life to attend, meet, share and learn. This is made possible by donations and sponsorships from local businesses and larger businesses in the WordPress ecosystem. And this helps us get people connected to those in their community that works with or are sustained by WordPress. That connection feeds into the overall health of the global WordPress project. </p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy&nbsp; </strong>02:45</p>



<p>Next up is inspire. WordCamps do not discriminate. They are open to any WordPress users, developers, designers, or other enthusiasts, regardless of their level of experience. And because of this, sessions generally span a variety of formats. So presentations or live demos to workshops or panels, any other format you can think of. But that also means that there are a variety of skill levels represented. There&#8217;s always content about how to use WordPress. That’s a given. But you can also count on content that inspires people to do more with their own dreams and aspirations. When I was still organizing WordCamps, my favorite thing was seeing people who came back year after year, putting into practice something that they learned the year before. It is that <em>Choose Your Own Adventure</em> aspect to WordCamps that lets people see the edge of their ideas and then expand that just a little bit further. </p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy&nbsp; </strong>03:42</p>



<p>And finally, contribute. WordCamps often have a contribution component to them. Sometimes it&#8217;s just a talk telling you how you can get more involved in the WordPress project. But sometimes, it&#8217;s a whole contributor day. And those range in size from single focus, like everyone, will show up and learn how to review a theme or a focus from every team that we have, like at the big flagship events where we gather hundreds of people into a room just to contribute to WordPress and all of the teams that go with it. Getting started with contributing can be daunting, but it is also essential to avoid something called the Tragedy of the Commons, an economic concept. So I&#8217;ll share a link to that in the show notes below. But the most important thing, the most important thing to remember, is that WordPress is open source. And we asked people to help us keep this great tool running by giving back a little bit of their time if they have gotten any benefit from the WordPress project or CMS over the course of their careers.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy&nbsp; </strong>04:40</p>



<p>So that&#8217;s it. The three big things you can get from a WordCamp. I know that I can&#8217;t wait to get back to them myself because while a lot of these things can still happen online and do, it&#8217;s really hard to replace the dark matter of in-person connections for open source projects. And since we&#8217;re talking dark matter anyway, let&#8217;s dig into it a little.</p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy&nbsp; </strong>05:01</p>



<p>At the start of the section, I mentioned that WordCamps are local, locally organized, and people are encouraged to attend locally. But I am part of a group that ends up traveling to a lot of WordCamps. If you don&#8217;t know about the unseen work of WordPress, this raises eyebrows. So here is some clarification around the back office work that some of these traveling WordCampers often do. When I listed these out, there were about 20 different tasks, 20 different jobs, which was, frankly, a bit overwhelming when I listed them that way. So I&#8217;ve grouped them into kind of two genres, each with a group of current versus future types of work. So my two big buckets, big picture stuff, and then community stewardship.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy&nbsp; </strong>05:50</p>



<p>The big picture stuff, our first big genre here, when you&#8217;re looking at current topics, current issues kind of information, when we&#8217;re working on big picture stuff, you get the clarification of the mission or vision of WordPress, the sharing of open source methods or processes that we use in the WordPress project, and also sometimes those goal-setting conversations that you have to have both because we have a bunch of teams and team reps, that have a lot of really great ideas about what can be done in their teams to help WordPress succeed. But then also, because when you are working, when you&#8217;re contributing to a single team in the project, it can sometimes be hard to know how your work relates to the overall goals and visions of WordPress. And so that&#8217;s part of the work that gets done that I do there.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy&nbsp; </strong>06:43</p>



<p>And when you&#8217;re looking at future topics, future issues, the second part of this genre, that stuff like starting conversations or discussions around what the future holds for WordPress, and that&#8217;s the project as well as the technology or hearing from people about big things coming up for them. And any content that can support it, anything that I can provide to support those big things. It&#8217;s also a good time for me and others to identify trends based on what I see in presentations or what I hear from people at social functions. Really, it&#8217;s just a huge opportunity for information gathering to make sure that I know what everyone else in the project is trying to do and if they understand what the project is trying to do.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy&nbsp; </strong>07:32</p>



<p>And then the second big genre of things that happen in that dark matter kind of work at WordCamps is what I call community stewardship—so taking care of the community itself for the project itself. And a lot of that work is actually incident response kind of work. So conflict resolution, mediation often happens at in-person events, but also uncovering the shared foundations, the shared understanding for upcoming changes. So a lot of really, in the weeds kind of change management work. And for me, it&#8217;s certainly doing my best as a cultural liaison when I do see that there has been some miscommunication or gathering context for the latest disagreement that people are having with me so that I can clarify anything that was misunderstood from what I said. And also a little bit of policy clarification, just explaining why we do things and the way we do them. So for community stewardship, that&#8217;s kind of the current stuff that we look at. And that I do when I&#8217;m traveling for WordCamps. </p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy&nbsp; </strong>08:36</p>



<p>And then for the future tasks that we do with community stewardship in the project, that stuff like training, and that&#8217;s training team reps, community deputies, or new contributors like it&#8217;s, it&#8217;s not really one type of training, necessarily. But then also, all of the checking in with our organizers, team reps, volunteers, sponsors, everyone like that, to make sure that what we have in the project and what&#8217;s happening in the project, the tools that we have, the experience that contributors have while they are working here, and WordPress is good, and is what they need. We&#8217;ve got a lot of tools to get things done in WordPress, and we can always make them better. And so checking in with people to kind of see how those processes are, how the tools are making sure that I have an idea of where our holes are and what needs to be patched, and how we can patch them in the long run. So that&#8217;s all of the future planning kind of work and topic stuff, just you know, making sure that WordPress has what it needs to survive long into the future and long after I&#8217;m doing anything with it, and long after you&#8217;re doing anything with it either.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy&nbsp; </strong>09:56</p>



<p>So, lots and lots of unseen work being done at our in-person events. But folks who keep a keen eye on the online global work of WordPress will probably recognize that a lot of that work is also done routinely on make.wordpress.org and within the making WordPress Slack. There’s just, I don&#8217;t know, there&#8217;s just something different about receiving information from a human being with a face rather than an avatar with a photo. So I guess at the end of the day, that means the dark matter that keeps open source together is really an issue of communication. And you&#8217;ll get no arguments for me there.</p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy&nbsp; </strong>10:44</p>



<p>That brings us now to our small list of big things. And there&#8217;s really just one big thing. And that&#8217;s WordPress 5.8. We are about two weeks away from this big release; the community has been working tirelessly on it. And it&#8217;s shaping up to be one of the most tested releases that we&#8217;ve had in a long time. Myself, I&#8217;m grateful to see so much activity before the release. Since 5.8 and 5.9 releases represent such monumental shifts in our software, I&#8217;m incredibly grateful to see so much activity prior to the release, especially in the beta period. We&#8217;ve been testing everything for it feels like six or eight months, and we&#8217;re really starting to see the positive benefits of that. And I think that we, the WordPress community, should be really proud of everything that we&#8217;re going to ship in 2021. Okay, so that was less of a small list of big things and really like one big thing with a generous garnish of encouragement, but you deserve it. So thank you for tuning in today for the WordPress briefing. I&#8217;m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy, and I&#8217;ll see you again in a couple of weeks.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 05 Jul 2021 12:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Chloe Bringmann";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:105:"Gutenberg Times: Block-Based Widget Screen and DevNotes Galore for WordPress 5.8 – Weekend Edition #176";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?p=18404";s: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:73:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/block-based-widget-screen-weekend-edition-176/";s: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:19897:"<p>Howdy, </p>



<p>July is the month celebrating North American Independence (for white people) and the start of the French Revolution. </p>



<p>Happy 154th Birthday, Canada ??  (July 1st). <br />Happy 245th Birthday, USA ?? (July 4th) <br />Happy 232nd Bastille Day, France ??  (July 14th) </p>



<p>There are many more countries celebrating Independence Day in July, though. <a href="https://www.infoplease.com/culture-entertainment/holidays/national-holidays-around-world">Here is the list. Take a look! </a> ?</p>



<p><strong>July 20th</strong>, WordPress 5.8 will be released and there are a ton of block editor related dev notes for themes and plugin developers. <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/wordpress-5-8-release-candidate/">Use this week&#8217;s RC 1 version </a>to test your sites, plugins and themes! </p>



<p>Be well! Have a great weekend, wherever you are located! </p>



<p>Yours, ?<br />Birgit</p>





<p></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<h2>WordPress 5.8 Dev Notes for Block editor features</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">This week was also the deadline to published Developer Notes around the upcoming WordPress 5.8 release. </p>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/07/01/block-styles-loading-enhancements-in-wordpress-5-8/"><strong>Block-styles loading enhancements</strong> </a> by <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/aristath">Ari Stathopoulos</a></strong> &#8211; Ari has the details on how the two new features &#8211; <em>Load styles only for rendered blocks</em>  and  <em>Inline small styles</em> &#8211; work and how theme developers and block builders can tap into it. </p>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/29/blocks-in-an-iframed-template-editor/"><strong>Blocks in an iframed (template) editor</strong></a> by <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/ellatrx">Ella van Durpe</a></strong> &#8211; The new Template editor is the first block editor loaded in an iframe and isolate it from the rest of the admin screen. Ella has the benefits for you as well as the details on how to adjust your blocks if you rely on <code>document</code> or <code>window</code> and provides code fixes for your ReactJS blocks. There is more. Definitely worth a read if you are deep in plugin development. Ella&#8217;s post compliments Grzegorz Ziolkowski&#8217;s post: <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/16/block-editor-api-changes-to-support-multiple-admin-screens-in-wp-5-8/"><strong>Block Editor API Changes to Support Multiple Admin Screens</strong></a></p>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/29/on-layout-and-content-width-in-wordpress-5-8/"><strong>On layout and content width</strong></a> by <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/riadbenguella">Riad Benguella</a></strong> &#8211; This is a shorter post, introducing the Settings for layout and content width and how you can adjust your theme to take advantage of them. </p>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/29/block-based-widgets-editor-in-wordpress-5-8/"><strong>Block-based Widgets Editor</strong></a> by <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/noisysocks">Robert Anderson</a></strong>. He wrote: &#8220;WordPress 5.8 introduces a new&nbsp;block-based widgets editor to the Widgets screen (<code>Appearance → Widgets</code>) and&nbsp;Customizer&nbsp;(<code>Appearance → Customize → Widgets</code>).&#8221; and continues to explain the <strong>three methods</strong> (including the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/classic-widgets/">Classic Widget plugin</a>)  of opting out. You might find interesting to learn how the Legacy Widget block helps with the backward compatibility for existing widgets and widget areas.  </p>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/29/block-editor-api-removals-58/"><strong>Various Block Editor API removals</strong></a> by <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/riadbenguella">Riad Benguella</a></strong> has the details  on the removal of <code>EditorGlobalKeyboardShortcuts</code>, <code>hasUploadPermissions</code> and their alternatives. Also, the block &#8220;Subheading&#8221; has been removed, too. </p>



<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/TimothyBJacobs">Timothy Jacobs</a>&#8216;</strong> post lists all the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/29/rest-api-changes-in-wordpress-5-8/"><strong>REST API Changes</strong></a> necessary for the Widget Block Editor. He also shows how to adjust Legacy widgets, so they are seen and handled by it. Timothy illustrates the changes with extensive code snippets, that should help you get up to speed fast. </p>



<p>And if that isn&#8217;t enough already, <strong>Milana Cap</strong> lists <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/28/miscellaneous-developer-focused-changes-in-wordpress-5-8/"><strong>Miscellaneous developer focused changes</strong></a> in her dev note. The team removed support for IE 11 from build and test tools and gives you more control and consistency for the document title. WordPress 5.8 also brings a consistent type for integer properties of WP_Post, WP_Term, WP_User and a bookmark object and better caching of post/page IDs for subsequent request. There are quite a few more goodies in this upcoming release. Take a look! </p>




<p><strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;Keeping up with Gutenberg &#8211; Index 2021&#8221;</a>&nbsp;</strong><br />A chronological list of the WordPress Make Blog posts from various teams involved in Gutenberg development: Design, Theme Review Team, Core Editor, Core JS, Core CSS, Test and Meta team from Jan. 2021 on. Updated by yours truly.  <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index-2020/"><em>The index 2020 is here</em></a></p>




<h2>User-facing changes in WordPress 5.8</h2>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/TimothyBJacobs"><strong>Timothy Jacobs</strong></a> gave a detailed preview of <strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQgQ4ZeOE0g&t=31s">What&#8217;s coming to the Block editor in WordPress 5.8</a></strong> to the members of the WordPress NYC meetup. You can see a demo of Duotone for image &amp; cover, Single Column color and spacing settings, Table block updates, and reusable block changes. He spent a few more minutes on the new Widget Screen as well as the Post Template Editor and the new Query Block. </p>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/courtneyengle"><strong>Courtney Robertson</strong></a> wrote in <a href="https://www.godaddy.com/garage/what-wordpress-5-8-means-for-your-clients-websites/"><strong>What WordPress 5.8 means for your clients&#8217; websites</strong></a> &#8220;This release expands the role of the block editor to include nearly every area of WordPress. You’ll want to check out all the updates to discover what WordPress 5.8, Full Site Editing, and Block-Based Themes mean for your clients’ websites.&#8221;. The post is a fabulous comprehensive list of what is new in WordPress 5.8 with short videos and the relevant details. </p>



<h2>Block-Based Widget in WP Admin and Customizer</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">You can also watch <strong>Anne McCarthy</strong> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4P5P_L9og4"><strong>Exploring the Block Widgets Editor</strong></a> in WP Admin and Customizer&nbsp;on YouTube. She wrote in the description: &#8220;This video seeks to give an initial look at this feature and answer some top questions people might have. Shout out to <a href="https://twitter.com/critterverse"><strong>Channing Ritter</strong> </a> who put together the demo portion!&#8221;.</p>



<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/karks88">Eric Karkovack</a></strong> also did a deep dive into the block-based Widget Screen for you: <a href="https://speckyboy.com/wordpress-widgets-screen/"><strong>The WordPress Widgets Screen Joins the Gutenberg Era</strong></a> and provides you with a great tutorial on how to use the new screens with screenshot and all. </p>



<p><a href="https://wptavern.com/diving-into-wordpress-5-8s-new-widgets-screen"><strong>Diving Into WordPress 5.8’s New Widgets Screen</strong></a> by <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/justintadlock">Justin Tadlock</a></strong>. He is a fan of the new feature and glad it made it into the WordPress core for this upcoming release. While the WPAdmin Widget screen feels like a good block editor, he wrote about the block widgets in the Customizer: &#8220;Customizer support for block widgets is light years ahead of where it was just a few short months ago. However, it feels awkward at best. There is a deep feeling of not belonging. While it was a remarkable programming feat to make the two features work together, the user experiences are nearly a decade apart.&#8221;  </p>




<p><strong><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/need-a-zip-from-master/">Need a plugin .zip from Gutenberg&#8217;s main (trunk) branch?</a></strong><br />Gutenberg Times provides daily build for testing and review. <br />Have you been using it? Hit reply and let me know.</p>



<p><img alt="GitHub all releases" src="https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/bph/gutenberg/total?style=for-the-badge" /></p>



<p></p>




<h2>Plugins for the Block Editor</h2>



<p>This week, I found quite a few people sharing their experiences with block editor plugins. </p>



<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/chrislema">Chris Lema</a> </strong>compared in his post <a href="https://chrislema.com/content-visibility-for-gutenberg/"><strong>Content Visibility for Gutenberg</strong></a> three plugins that allow you to control the visibility of single blocks on your page or posts. We mentioned two of them here multiple times. Chris tested the pro version for his purposes:</p>




<p><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/changelog-46-devnotes-for-wordpress-5-8/"><strong>Episode #4</strong>6 is now available</a> with transcript. <br />Next recording July 9th, 2021</p>



<p>Send questions, comments or news to <a href="mailto:changelog@gutenbergtimes.com">changelog@gutenbergtimes.com</a></p>



<p> <strong>Subscribe to the&nbsp;<a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/">Gutenberg Changelog</a>&nbsp;podcast </strong><br />?️&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/620NwVKQJGdTupy36zYxvg?mc_cid=4b6c9f88fe">Spotify</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ndXRlbmJlcmd0aW1lcy5jb20vZmVlZC9wb2RjYXN0">Google</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gutenberg-changelog/id1469294475">iTunes</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://pca.st/podcast/f8445ec0-7508-0137-f267-1d245fc5f9cf">PocketCasts</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stitcher.com/show/gutenberg-changelog">Stitcher</a>&nbsp;|<br />?️&nbsp;<a href="https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/chi7j-9904a/Gutenberg-Changelog-Podcast">Pod Bean</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/Gutenberg-Changelog-id2173375">CastBox</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/gutenberg-changelog-878239/">Podchaser</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/podcast">RSS Feed</a>&nbsp;</p>



<img />




<ul><li><a href="https://www.blockvisibilitywp.com/pro/">Block Visibility</a> by Nick Diego</li><li><a href="https://conditionalblocks.com/">Conditional Blocks Pro</a> by Morgan Hvidt</li><li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/content-visibility/">Content Visibility</a> by Rich Tape</li></ul>



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Rich Tabor</strong> released <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/markdown-comment-block/"><strong>Markdown Comment Block</strong></a> in the WordPress plugin repository. He wrote in his description: &#8220;Having the ability to add, and keep, any relevant editing comments within my posts, without rendering them on the front-end, means that I am freed up to mentally jot any idea down without thinking about it. It is simply natural and convenient.&#8221;  <strong>Justin Tadlock</strong> gave it a review in <a href="https://wptavern.com/add-editor-only-notes-via-the-markdown-comment-block-wordpress-plugin">Add Editor-Only Notes via the Markdown Comment Block WordPress Plugin</a></p>



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<p>Thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/remkusdevries"><strong>Remkus De Vries&#8217;</strong></a> new newsletter &#8220;<a href="https://remkus.devries.frl/subscribe/">Remkus Ramblings</a>&#8220;, I learned about two more plugins for the block editor: </p>



<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/highlight-and-share/"><strong>Highlight and Share</strong> </a>by <strong>Ronald Huereca</strong> &#8211; &#8220;It&#8217;s a social sharing plugin that allows you to highlight text and and share among several social networks including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and more,&#8221; Remkus said. I wished I had this plugin when I ran a social media marketing agency&#8230;. </p>



<p>The second one is <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/block-editor-colors/"><strong>Block Editor Colors</strong></a> by MotoPress &#8211; Remkus wrote: &#8220;(&#8230;)which allows you to edit default Gutenberg block editor colors or the ones registered in a theme, as well as add your colors!&#8221;</p>



<p><em><a href="https://remkus.devries.frl/about/">Remkus de Vries</a>, Head of Partner &amp; Customer Relationship at <a href="https://twitter.com/servebolt">ServeBolt</a>, started his newsletter last month, and he uses  &#8211; you probably guessed it &#8211; my favorite newsletter plugin: <a href="https://newsletterglue.com/">Newsletter Glue</a>. ? Waving at Lesley Sim </em></p>



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<p class="has-drop-cap">I got quite excited when I learned about Automattic&#8217;s <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/sketch/">Sketch plugin</a>,  a plugin that allows its users to sketch within the editor and show it immediately on the front end. Based on <a href="https://www.npmjs.com/package/perfect-freehand">perfect-hand </a>library, it is the product of a collaboration between  Matias Ventura, Pablo Honey and Oscar Lopez. It&#8217;s one of Automattic&#8217;s <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/block-experiments/tree/master/blocks">Block Experiments</a>.</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/pootlepress"><strong>Jamie Marsland</strong></a> of PootlePress <a href="https://www.pootlepress.com/2021/07/the-sketch-block-for-gutenberg/">created a video</a> to share some thoughts on how you can use it creatively on your site and he also has a few suggestions for version 2 of the Sketch block. </li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/automattic-releases-sketch-block-for-drawing-in-the-wordpress-editor"><strong>Justin Tadlock</strong>,</a> also took it out for a spin and <a href="https://wptavern.com/automattic-releases-sketch-block-for-drawing-in-the-wordpress-editor">shared his experience</a> on the WordPress Tavern. </li></ul>



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<h2>Building Blocks</h2>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/binarymoon/"><strong>Ben Gillbanks</strong></a> shows you  <a href="https://www.binarymoon.co.uk/2021/06/how-to-get-a-list-of-all-wordpress-blocks-in-the-editor/"><strong>how to get a list of all blocks in the editor</strong></a> of a post or page. He wrote: &#8220;It’s particularly handy for WordPress plugin developers, but will also be useful when setting properties in&nbsp;<code>theme.json</code>&nbsp;a new feature that is part of the upcoming Full Site Editing functionality of WordPress.&#8221;</p>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/fabiankaegy"><strong>Fabian Kägy</strong></a>&#8216;s WordCamp Europe presentation <a href="https://wordpress.tv/2021/06/28/fabian-kagy-building-great-experiences-in-the-new-editor/"><strong>Building great experiences in the new&nbsp;editor</strong></a> is now available on WordPress TV. He wrote in his session description &#8220;Starting out building blocks or experiences for the WordPress block editor can be a bit daunting. Where do I start? Custom blocks, block patterns or just styling core blocks. In this talk, I will walk through the different options and share the benefits and downsides of each while talking about overall good practices for building great editorial experiences.&#8221;</p>



<p><em>If you are looking for other talks, you might have missed, 23 <a href="https://wordpress.tv/event/wordcamp-europe-2021/">WordCamp Europe 2021 talks</a> are now available on WordPress TV </em></p>



<h2>Upcoming WordPress Event</h2>



<p><strong>July 7th, 2021 -1pm EDT / 17:00 UTC</strong><br /><strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/06/24/call-for-testing-thrive-with-theme-json/">Hallway Hangout: FSE Testing call #8 theme.json</a></strong> with Daisy Olson</p>



<p><strong>July 17 + 18th, 2021</strong><br /><strong><a href="https://santaclarita.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp Santa Clarita</a></strong></p>



<ul><li>1pm PT / 4pm ET / 20 UTC &#8211; FSE: <strong>What’s Coming to 5.8 &amp; the Story of the Outreach Program</strong> w/ Anne McCarthy</li><li>2pm PT / 5pm ET / 21 UTC &#8211; <strong>How Theme Developers Should Approach Full Site Editing</strong> w/ Joe Casabona</li><li>3pm PT / 6pm ET / 22 UTC &#8211; <strong>Rapid Landing Page Creation With the WordPress Block Editor</strong> w/ Daisy Olsen</li></ul>



<p><strong>July 23, 2021</strong><br /><a href="https://www.wordfest.live/"><strong>WordFest Live </strong></a>&#8211; <em>The&nbsp;</em>festival of WordPress</p>



<ul><li>July 22 &#8211;  10 PM EDT / 2 UTC  &#8211; <strong>Learn to Build Blocks with Advanced Custom Fields</strong> w/ Cameron Jones</li><li>July 23 &#8211; 3:20 pm EDT / 19:20 UTC <strong>How to Create a Fast Loading Stylish Homepage with Blocks &amp; CSS</strong> w/  Davinder Singh Kainth</li></ul>



<p>A<strong>ugust 6 + 7, 2021</strong><br /><a href="https://nicaragua.wordcamp.org/2021/"><strong>WordCamp Nicaragua</strong></a></p>



<p><strong>September 21 + 22, 2021</strong><br /><a href="https://2021.wpcampus.org/"><strong>WPCampus 2021 Online</strong></a><br />&#8220;A free online conference for web accessibility and WordPress in higher education.&#8221;</p>



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<p id="block-8c56f083-3d78-42e0-84ec-62ea90a2afa5">On the<a href="https://wpcalendar.io/online/"> <strong>Calendar for WordPress Online Events</strong> </a>you can browse a list of the upcoming WordPress Meetups, around the world, including WooCommerce, Elementor, Divi Builder and Beaver Builder meetups.</p>




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<p class="has-text-align-center"><strong>Don&#8217;t want to miss the next Weekend Edition? </strong></p>



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<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 03 Jul 2021 15:17:23 +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:18:"Birgit Pauli-Haack";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:124:"WPTavern: Castos Picks Up $756K in Funding from Automattic and Yoast SEO to Expand Services in the Private Podcasting Market";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119530";s: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:299:"https://wptavern.com/castos-picks-up-756k-in-funding-from-automattic-and-joost-de-valk-to-expand-services-in-the-private-podcasting-market?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=castos-picks-up-756k-in-funding-from-automattic-and-joost-de-valk-to-expand-services-in-the-private-podcasting-market";s: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:3974:"<p><a href="https://castos.com/">Castos</a>, a WordPress-powered podcast hosting provider, <a href="https://castos.com/central/pre-seed-fundraising-round/">announced a $756K pre-seed fundraising round</a> today from Automattic, Yoast SEO, and several individuals. The company raised money from all the investors in this round via a SAFE note, which founder and CEO Craig Hewitt said is a fairly standard investment vehicle for companies at Castos&rsquo; stage of growth.</p>



<p>&ldquo;On both the individual and corporate investor side I think the investors see the vision that we have for what the Private Podcasting market can mean for Castos and want to help us achieve that potential,&rdquo; Hewitt said.</p>



<p>Private Podcasting is a growing trend where creators and organizations broadcast to supporters in a more intimate format that isn&rsquo;t open to the public. Hewitt likens them to membership sites, except in audio format. It is often used by people who are running membership sites, courses, or online communities as a way to stay connected with members.</p>



<p>&ldquo;The other application is companies wanting a way to connect with their employees in audio format,&rdquo; Hewitt said. &ldquo;Podcasting is perfect for that because it&rsquo;s mobile-first, on-demand, and can be consumed asynchronously.&nbsp; We call it the&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://castos.com/step-away-experience/" target="_blank">Step Away Experience</a>.&nbsp;Companies that are adopting Private Podcasting internally are giving their team members a way to consume their internal content without being tied to their computer on a Zoom call or glued to Slack.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Castos is developing a mobile app specifically targeted at the private podcasting market. Hewitt&rsquo;s team is aiming to have the app become a place where people can listen to all of the private podcasts for which they have a subscription. Listeners would simply use the app instead of going through the process of manually subscribing to all their private podcasts via RSS feed. New episodes will appear automatically in the app for subscribers.  </p>



<p>&ldquo;For our corporate clients, the ability to white label our app with their own branding/style is a big win,&rdquo; Hewitt said.&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s also a much more secure way to distribute private podcast content.&nbsp; There&rsquo;s no RSS feed to share around, no files to download (our app is streaming only to offer more security to those files).&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>



<p>The pandemic <a href="https://wptavern.com/podcasting-during-the-pandemic-castos-sees-300-growth-in-new-podcasters">ramped up unprecedented interest in podcasting</a> when lockdowns were in place across the globe. Even with vaccines more readily available now, Hewitt said Castos is still witnessing strong growth in the podcasting industry.</p>



<p>&ldquo;There are all the new podcasters in the market now since so many launched podcasts during the pandemic, but now that people are traveling again and commuting to work we&rsquo;re seeing listenership going up quite a bit,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;&ldquo;This is a trend we expect to continue into the future.&rdquo;</p>



<p>In the past 10 months, Castos has grown to serve nearly 3,500 customers and the team has grown from seven employees to 13. The company&rsquo;s <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/seriously-simple-podcasting/">Seriously Simple Podcasting</a> plugin is used on more than 30,000 WordPress sites. Castos is actively <a href="http://castos.com/careers">hiring for several roles</a> right now, thanks to the new round of fundraising.</p>



<p>&ldquo;All of the funds will go towards growing our team,&rdquo; Hewitt said. &ldquo;This will be pretty evenly split between product (designers and developers) and Sales and Marketing roles &ndash; more people, more energy, more great minds working on ways that we can better serve our customers.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 03 Jul 2021 02:18:40 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:83:"WPTavern: WordPress Biratnagar Announces Plans for Ujwal Thapa Memorial Scholarship";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119267";s: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:211:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-biratnagar-announces-plans-for-ujwal-thapa-memorial-scholarship?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wordpress-biratnagar-announces-plans-for-ujwal-thapa-memorial-scholarship";s: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:3468:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Earlier this week, the WordPress Biratnagar Facebook group <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wordpressbrt/posts/1170172963498116">announced a WordCamp scholarship</a> in honor of Ujwal Thapa. The goal is to honor the legacy left behind by one of Nepal&rsquo;s leaders both inside and outside of the WordPress community.</p>



<p>Thapa <a href="https://wptavern.com/ujwal-thapa-co-founder-of-the-wordpress-nepal-community-passes-away">passed away a month ago</a> at age 44 from complications with COVID-19. He was a political activist, founding the Bibeksheel Nepali party, originally a peaceful movement against corruption and social injustice. He was the co-founder of WordPress Nepal, a group that has grown to 8,000 members. He was also a close friend and mentor to many in the community and helped many more launch careers in the IT industry.</p>



<p>&ldquo;After the untimely death of WordPress contributor and co-founder of WordPress Nepal Ujwal Thapa in 2021, due to COVID-19, the WordPress Biratnagar community decided on this scholarship,&rdquo; wrote the WordPress Biratnagar team. &ldquo;Ujwal was a dedicated patron to the WordPress community in Nepal, and the WordPress Biratnagar decided to pay applause to his memory in this way.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The scholarship will cover the following:</p>



<ul><li>Travel to Biratnagar from within Nepal.</li><li>Hotel stay for the duration of the event.</li><li>A ticket to <a href="https://biratnagar.wordcamp.org/">WordCamp Biratnagar</a>.</li><li>Local transportation.</li><li>Meals outside the official event.</li></ul>



<p>Nepal is still struggling with getting COVID-19 cases under control at the moment. The CDC <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/covid-4/coronavirus-nepal">lists the country</a> as &ldquo;very high&rdquo; risk and recommends avoiding travel. There is no date set for a physical conference, and a WordCamp Biratnagar 2021 event is unlikely. The organizing team may not be able to grant a scholarship until next year at the earliest.</p>



<p>WordCamp Biratnagar lead organizer Ganga Kafle said they are just waiting for the situation to return to normal but cannot be sure when that will happen. While there is no date for the next WordCamp, they are still holding regular meetups.</p>



<p>The group is still discussing the details of the scholarship. Currently, they plan to consult with other community groups within Nepal and the global community. Any help creating and maintaining such a scholarship system would be welcome.</p>



<p>The WordPress Biratnagar team did agree to some guidelines. Once submissions open, applicants must be Nepalese. &ldquo;We believe that empowering community members is an excellent way to honor his memory and carry on his legacy,&rdquo; wrote the team in its announcement.</p>



<p>Group leaders mostly agreed to award the scholarship to those meeting the following criteria:</p>



<ul><li>People with disabilities.</li><li>People from lower-income families.</li><li>Women interested in WordPress.</li></ul>



<p>The group said the selection process would be completely transparent, and the awarded scholarship would be at the discretion of the current WordCamp Biratnagar organizers.</p>



<p>Kafle said the scholarship would also be annual. The team plans to keep this going in honor of Thapa and paying respect to the man who helped jump-start many of their careers and involvement with WordPress.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 02 Jul 2021 23:25:56 +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: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:53:"WordPress.org blog: The Month in WordPress: June 2021";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=10896";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:68:"https://wordpress.org/news/2021/07/the-month-in-wordpress-june-2021/";s: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:11387:"<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>Once you step into contribution time, your main concern is the users of WordPress, or new contributors, or the health of the WordPress ecosystem as a whole or the WordPress project. So you get all this subject matter expertise from competitive forces, collaborating in a very “us versus the problem” way. And when you do that, you’re always going to find a great solution.</p></blockquote>



<p>In the “<a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/episode-11-wordcamp-europe-2021-in-review/#more-10837">WordCamp Europe 2021 in Review</a>” episode of the WP Briefing podcast, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/">Josepha Haden</a> talks about the importance of collaboration, which is vital in building WordPress. This edition of The Month in WordPress covers exciting updates that exemplify this philosophy.&nbsp;</p>



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



<h2>Updates on WordPress 5.8</h2>



<p>Get excited, folks! The beta versions and the first release candidate of WordPress 5.8 are out. <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/wordpress-5-8-beta-1/">Beta 1</a> came out on June 9, followed by <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/wordpress-5-8-beta-2/">Beta 2</a> on June 15, <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/wordpress-5-8-beta-3/">Beta 3</a> on June 23, and <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/wordpress-5-8-beta-4/">Beta 4</a> on June 25. The <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/wordpress-5-8-release-candidate/">first release candidate</a> of WordPress 5.8 was published on June 30. You can test the beta versions and the release candidates by <a href="https://wordpress.org/download/releases/#betas">downloading them from WordPress.org</a> or by using the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/">WordPress Beta Tester</a> plugin. WordPress 5.8 <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/5-8/">will be out by July 20, 2021</a>, and is also <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2021/06/28/wordpress-5-8-ready-to-be-translated/">ready to be translated</a>.</p>



<p>Want to contribute to WordPress core? Check out the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/">Core Contributor Handbook</a>. Don’t forget to join the WordPress <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C02RQBWTW">#core</a> channel in the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/chat/">Make WordPress Slack</a> and follow the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/">Core Team blog</a>. The Core Team hosts weekly chats on Wednesdays at <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?hour=5&min=00&sec=0">5 AM</a> and <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?hour=20&min=00&sec=0">8 PM</a> UTC. Help us promote WordPress 5.8 by <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2021/06/18/meetup-group-resources-talking-points-for-wordpress-5-8/">organizing meetups about the release</a>, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/marketing/2021/06/30/help-produce-social-media-materials-for-5-8-release/">producing social media marketing materials for 5.8</a>, or <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/06/30/help-test-wordpress-5-8s-fse-features/">testing the release</a>.</p>



<h2>Gutenberg versions 10.8 and 10.9 are out</h2>



<p>We said hello to Gutenberg <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/10/whats-new-in-gutenberg-10-8-9-june/">version 10.8</a> and <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/24/whats-new-in-gutenberg-10-9-23-june/">version 10.9</a> this month. <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/10/whats-new-in-gutenberg-10-8-9-june/">Version 10.8</a> adds rich URL previews, enhancements to the list view, and an updated block manager. <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/24/whats-new-in-gutenberg-10-9-23-june/">Version 10.9</a> offers several performance enhancements, along with more block design tools and template editor 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 <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C02QB2JS7">#core-editor</a> channel in the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/chat/">Make WordPress Slack</a>. The “<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/04/whats-next-in-gutenberg-june-2021/">What’s next in Gutenberg</a>” post offers more details on the latest updates.&nbsp;</p>



<h2>WordCamp Europe 2021 concludes</h2>



<p>One of the biggest and most exciting WordPress events, <a href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp Europe 2021</a>, was held from June 7-9, 2021. A team of 40 members organized the event, which had 3200+ registrations, 42 speakers, and 43 sponsors. What a success! You will find more details <a href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2021/a-recap-on-wceu-2021/">in the event recap</a>. One highlight was a <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/gutenberg-highlights/">Gutenberg demo</a> hosted by <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/matveb/">Matías Ventura</a> and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/matt/">Matt Mullenweg</a>. You can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaYQGYDpXpU4A17kxN-AgJQ/featured">watch the event recording on the WordCamp Europe YouTube channel</a>, and videos <a href="https://wordpress.tv/event/wordcamp-europe-2021/">are now available on WordPress.tv</a> as well. The team has announced <a href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2022/">WordCamp Europe 2022</a>, which is being planned as an in-person event in Porto, Portugal. Want to be a part of the 2022 WCEU organizing team? Their <a href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2022/call-for-organisers/">call for organizers is now open</a>. Apply now!</p>



<h2>Full Site Editing updates</h2>



<p>Don’t miss the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/06/24/call-for-testing-thrive-with-theme-json/">latest Full Site Editing (FSE) Outreach program testing call: &#8220;Thrive with theme.json&#8221;</a>, which is aimed at a developer-centric audience. The deadline is July 14. Also don’t miss a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/06/24/call-for-testing-thrive-with-theme-json/">hallway hangout on testing theme.json on July 7 at 5 PM UTC</a>. The team has published a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/06/24/fse-program-polished-portfolios-summary/">recap of the Published Portfolios testing call</a>, which shares some interesting results.&nbsp;</p>



<h2>BuddyPress 8.0 is out!</h2>



<p>The first major BuddyPress release of 2021, <a href="https://buddypress.org/2021/06/buddypress-8-0-0-alfano/">version 8.0</a> “Alfano,” came out on June 6. The short-cycle release offers features such as the ability to recruit new members, an improved registration experience, and profile field types. Download it from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress/">WordPress.org plugin directory</a> or check it out from its <a href="https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/browser/branches/8.0">Subversion repository.</a></p>



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



<h2>Further reading</h2>



<ul><li><a href="https://japan.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp Japan 2021</a> was held from June 20- 26. The weeklong event, which had two session days followed by five contributor days, sold 1300+ tickets, with 45 speakers and 23 sponsors. Catch the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/wordcampjapan">event recording on YouTube</a>!</li><li>Josepha Haden <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2021/06/03/announcing-make-wordpress-org-project/">announced</a> a new Make site — <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project">make.wordpress.org/project</a> — for project-wide announcements, which will no longer be posted to Make/Updates. Check out the latest post on that site on <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project/2021/06/17/the-metrics-of-contributions/">the metrics of contributions</a>.</li><li>The Community Team announced that <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2021/07/01/in-person-meetup-events-for-vaccinated-community-members/">in-person meetups can be organized for fully vaccinated people</a>, in places where vaccines are freely available.</li><li>The Core Team added<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/21/bundled-themes-changes-in-wordpress-5-8/"> block patterns and improvements</a> to all legacy default themes. The team also shared a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/22/extending-the-site-health-interface-in-wordpress-5-8/">feature request</a> that will allow developers to modify and extend the Site Health feature in Core.</li><li>The Design Team shared an update on the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2021/06/23/update-initial-patterns-for-the-patterns-directory/">block pattern directory</a>; the team is continuing to review suggestions and has offered some guidelines in this post.</li><li>The Design Team is also <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/a-new-design-is-coming-to-wordpress-news/">working on redesigning this blog</a> (wordpress.org/news). Catch a sneak peek of the blog&#8217;s new look <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2021/06/03/redesign-of-wordpress-org-news/">in this Make/Design blog post</a>.</li><li>The Accessibility Team shared the <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/coding-standards/wordpress-coding-standards/accessibility/">updated WordPress Accessibility coding standards</a>.</li><li>The Polyglots Team proposed a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2021/06/03/proposal-month-long-translation-day-2021-celebration/">monthlong translation day celebration in September</a>.</li><li><span>The Support Team </span><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/support/2021/06/new-irc-server-for-support/">moved their IRC chat server from Freenode to Libera</a><span>.</span></li><li>The Documentation Team is<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/docs/2021/06/06/writing-documentation-for-wordpress-release/"> working hard on updating our docs</a> for WordPress 5.8.&nbsp;</li><li>The Themes Team has decided to <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/docs/2021/06/06/writing-documentation-for-wordpress-release/">automatically set theme updates live for old themes</a> instead of routing them through the review queue.</li><li>The <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/Requests">WordPress Requests library</a> has a new release: <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/Requests/releases/tag/v1.8.1">version 1.8.1</a>.&nbsp;</li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ujwal_Thapa">Ujwal Thapa</a> &#8211; co-founder of the Nepal WordPress community <a href="https://wptavern.com/ujwal-thapa-co-founder-of-the-wordpress-nepal-community-passes-away">passed away due to COVID-19</a>. Our community deeply mourns his loss and is thankful for his contributions.</li><li>The latest edition of “<a href="https://wordpress.org/news/category/heropress/">People of WordPress</a>” features <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/people-of-wordpress-tijana-andrejic/">Tijana Andrejic from Serbia.</a></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 using this form</em></a><em>.&nbsp;</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, 02 Jul 2021 15:11:24 +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:"Hari Shanker R";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:81:"WPTavern: WordPress Green Lights In-Person Meetup Events for Vaccinated Attendees";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119422";s: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:207:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-green-lights-in-person-meetup-events-for-vaccinated-attendees?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wordpress-green-lights-in-person-meetup-events-for-vaccinated-attendees";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4152:"<p>After considerable discussion, the WordPress Community Team is lifting the requirements of the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/meetup-organizer/2021-returning-to-in-person-meetups/in-person-meetup-decision-checklist/">in-person meetup safety checklist</a> for meetups that gather fully-vaccinated attendees. The checklist is still applicable to all meetup groups but in places where vaccines are freely available, meetup organizers can now forego its requirements if they limit gatherings to those self-reporting as fully vaccinated.</p>



<p>When Andrea Middleton <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-community-team-discusses-adding-vaccination-status-to-in-person-meetup-safety-checklist">proposed adding vaccination status</a> to the checklist in mid-May, the idea was met with a wide range of concerns and strong opinions. WordPress&rsquo; global community has experienced the pandemic in different ways, living under a spectrum of local restrictions, with disparate access to vaccines and varying responses to available vaccines. Some participants in the discussions were concerned about organizers having to request information about vaccination status from attendees, which is illegal in many places. Middleton clarified that attendance would be based on the honor system, and organizers would not be requesting any health information from individuals. </p>



<p>&ldquo;The WordPress community team is&nbsp;<strong>not</strong>&nbsp;expecting or requiring local organizers to organize in-person events for fully-vaccinated people &mdash; we&rsquo;re simply removing the barrier to doing so,&rdquo; she said. The decision <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2021/07/01/in-person-meetup-events-for-vaccinated-community-members/">announcement</a> includes a flow chart for the conditions that are now in place:</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img /></div>



<p>Middleton characterized the proposal as contentious and something that may be an unpopular decision. Participants in the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2021/05/12/proposal-adding-vaccination-status-to-the-in-person-meetup-safety-checklist/">discussion</a> got heated in expressing their opinions, which varied greatly based on each person&rsquo;s unique pandemic experiences and convictions. </p>



<p>While some think it overstepping to prohibit unvaccinated people from attending meetups, others think only allowing vaccinated attendees would create a &ldquo;two-tiered&rdquo; meetup program.</p>



<p>&ldquo;This proposal means that multiple groups of people will no longer be allowed to attend our meetings,&rdquo; Taco Verdonschot commented. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re limited to the meetings that are streamed online. They&rsquo;re basically second class citizens in our community now. They can&rsquo;t join the party, they have to watch through the window. Just this idea makes me extremely uncomfortable.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Verdonschot cited several examples of people who might be excluded by the proposal to restart meetups for vaccinated attendees:</p>



<ul><li>People with a low income in areas where the vaccines aren&rsquo;t provided for free</li><li>Younger people in countries where vaccinations are administered to the elderly first, and only slowly make their way to the younger generations (like The Netherlands)</li><li>People who cannot get a vaccination for medical reasons, for example, because of known allergic reactions to vaccinations</li><li>Pregnant women</li><li>People with a limited immune system</li><li>People whose religion doesn&rsquo;t allow them to get vaccinated</li></ul>



<p>&ldquo;I realize there are some on the team who do not agree, and I hope that these guidelines are flexible enough that you are able to&nbsp;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disagree_and_commit">disagree and commit</a>&nbsp;in this case,&rdquo; Middleton said in the decision announcement.&nbsp;</p>



<p>&ldquo;While I agree that it&rsquo;s only a matter of time when fully-vaxxed-only meetups are a thing of the past, I do think it&rsquo;s important to make that possible for our communities.&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, 02 Jul 2021 02:52:28 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:78:"WPTavern: Automattic Releases Sketch Block for Drawing in the WordPress 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:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119486";s: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:201:"https://wptavern.com/automattic-releases-sketch-block-for-drawing-in-the-wordpress-editor?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=automattic-releases-sketch-block-for-drawing-in-the-wordpress-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:3872:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Automattic released a new plugin titled <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/sketch/">Sketch Block</a> earlier today. It is a one-off block that allows end-users to draw directly in the editor. The plugin is marked as a beta release and requires Gutenberg to be activated to use. It is a part of the company&rsquo;s <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/block-experiments/tree/master/blocks/sketch">Block Experiments project</a>.</p>



<p>To be perfectly honest, I spent an excessive amount of time playing around with this block plugin today. And, if I am going overboard with that honesty, most of that time was just trying to write out my name. It was hard not to. Drawing things directly in the editor is just kind of fun.</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li></ul>Attempts to write my name with Sketch Block.



<p>I am unsure how many practical uses the plugin actually has at its current stage, but not everything needs a purpose outside of pure entertainment. Like an embedded <a href="https://wptavern.com/block-a-saurus-embeds-a-side-scrolling-t-rex-game-via-the-block-editor">Block-a-saurus game</a> and <a href="https://wptavern.com/the-wacky-world-of-sorta-brilliants-sorta-fun-block-plugins">ghost-written headings</a>, sometimes we just need reminders about the wild and whacky side of the web. We also need to experiment with new ideas from time to time, which can lead to unexpected discoveries, creating the foundation of future technological advancements.</p>



<p>Sometimes we just need to relieve some stress and sketch out our names in a new tool.</p>



<p>I tested the block using my laptop&rsquo;s trackpad &mdash; not an ideal method for freehand drawing. Unfortunately, I did not have access to a larger touchscreen device for a more thorough test.</p>



<p>The block offers a limited number of controls as of version 1.0.7. Users can select between three different stroke widths and choose from their theme&rsquo;s color palette. The block&rsquo;s height can be resized, but there seems to be a minimum of 200px.</p>



<p>I did manage to break it a few times, running into the &ldquo;This block has encountered an error and cannot be previewed&rdquo; error. There also seemed to be an unknown minimum width, which could not be adjusted. My goal was to create a columnized team page with each member&rsquo;s signature beneath their profile photo. However, the Sketch block kept breaking outside of my columns. In the end, I created a single-member bio section:</p>



<img />Creating a profile card with Sketch Block



<p>The plugin is built on top of the <a href="https://github.com/steveruizok/perfect-freehand">Perfect Freehand</a> JavaScript library. When comparing Automattic&rsquo;s block implementation to the <a href="https://perfect-freehand-example.vercel.app/">library&rsquo;s demo</a>, the plugin falls short of offering the same experience in block form.</p>



<p>Perfect Freehand&rsquo;s demo felt smoother. I was able to consistently draw with more accuracy using my laptop&rsquo;s trackpad. I do not know if just the size of the drawing area made a difference or if the editor interfered with the feeling.</p>



<img />Drawing in the Perfect Freehand demo.



<p>The JavaScript library has a ton of extra options too. Users can transform even the worst drawing into something a bit cleaner with the thinning, smoothing, streamline, and other controls. I would love to see the Sketch Block plugin integrate the full suite of tools available through Perfect Freehand.</p>



<p>Despite a few bumps, the plugin is a solid first release for a beta project. I am eagerly waiting for what future versions have in store. I also wonder what applications it might have outside of piddling around for fun, such as notetaking or animations.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 02 Jul 2021 01:50:50 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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: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:51:"WPTavern: Gatsby WP Themes Launches New Marketplace";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=116788";s: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:147:"https://wptavern.com/gatsby-wp-themes-launches-new-marketplace?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gatsby-wp-themes-launches-new-marketplace";s: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:2861:"<p>The <a href="https://gatsbywpthemes.com/">Gatsby WP Themes</a> project has launched a new marketplace for developers who are building WordPress-powered sites with Gatsby on the frontend. Originally founded by Zac Gordon and Alexandra Spalato, the commercial venture is now primarily managed by Spalato and Paulina Hetman. </p>



<p>The team&rsquo;s first project involved <a href="https://wptavern.com/gatsby-wordpress-themes-project-partners-with-theme-shops-to-port-popular-themes-to-gatsby">porting the Twenty Twenty WordPress Theme</a> to a Gatsby WP Theme. They are now focused on creating commercial themes targeted at developers and agencies who can use them to save time when building clients&rsquo; sites. Gatsby is more well-suited to sites that don&rsquo;t have a lot of dynamic content, such as marketing or documentation sites.</p>



<p>Gatsby WP Themes is launching with several starter themes with different styles for each child theme. They include designs suitable for blogs, personal sites, businesses, restaurants, and portfolios.</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li></ul>



<p>Gatsby themes have several distinct advantages over just grabbing a starter or boilerplate Gatsby site from GitHub. Spaloto identified a few reasons why developers might opt for using a theme:</p>



<ul><li>Gatsby themes allow Gatsby site functionality to be packaged as a standalone product for reuse.</li><li>All of your default configuration lives in an npm package.</li><li>Themes are versioned packages that can be updated like any other package.</li><li>If you created multiple sites using the same theme, you can just update the central theme to push changes across all of them.</li><li>Themes are composable: You can install a blog theme alongside a notes theme, alongside an e-commerce theme (and so forth).</li></ul>



<p>All themes in the new Gatsby WP Themes marketplace include built-in support for dynamic comments, search, Mailchimp integration, sitemaps, Google analytics or Google Tag Manager, and various widgets. The marketplace also includes Gatsby plugins that make popular WordPress plugins more compatible with Gatsby frontends. The current offerings add support for Contact Form 7, lightbox functionality, and Yoast SEO. </p>



<p>Spalato and Hetman are aiming at connecting with WordPress users who don&rsquo;t code, those who don&rsquo;t know React but want to use Gatsby, agencies, developers, and marketers. They have not promoted the marketplace much but already have more than 800 subscribers on Mailchimp. The team plans to release new themes and/or starters frequently as they continue building up their catalog of products.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 01 Jul 2021 05:07:41 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:76:"WPTavern: Block Patterns Will Change Everything, Part 2: Headers and Footers";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119402";s: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:193:"https://wptavern.com/block-patterns-will-change-everything-part-2-headers-and-footers?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=block-patterns-will-change-everything-part-2-headers-and-footers";s: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:6656:"<p class="has-drop-cap">It is hard to believe that it was over a year ago &mdash; March 23, 2020, to be exact &mdash; that I wrote a post on why <a href="https://wptavern.com/block-patterns-will-change-everything">block patterns would be the future of WordPress</a>. It has been a slow process as I have patiently waited for the feature to mature into a powerful tool for end-users. I am still as much a believer now as I was then.</p>



<p>WordPress is betting big on patterns too. The feature is now a top-level <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/33094">site-editing component</a> with several sub-features under development. As Gutenberg project lead Matias Ventura noted, &ldquo;From directory browsing to placeholder setup to transformations, patterns are crucial component of the entire site editing scope.&rdquo;</p>



<p>A year ago, patterns were just an idea, almost a footnote compared to other upcoming features. Since WordPress 5.5 included the Patterns API for developers, over 100 themes in the official directory bundle them.</p>



<p>A new pattern directory is launching on WordPress.org next month alongside the version 5.8 release. There are already over 30 <a href="https://wordpress.org/patterns/">community-contributed patterns</a> approved. More are likely to land in the coming weeks. The directory will also eventually be open to anyone who wants to submit new designs. Any WordPress user will have the choice to select from this collection directly from their WordPress admin interface.</p>



<p>These ideas are just scratching the surface.</p>



<p>At its core, the block patterns feature is a simple way of bundling one or more blocks into a preconfigured design. Users can point and click to insert them into their post or page content. The goal of the block system is not just to be a page builder where users must create everything from scratch. While we want it to be flexible enough to do that, most users should have the ability to simply insert sections of a design and customize them. This could be as simple as an audio player with a background to a portfolio layout that showcases their latest projects.</p>



<p>Right now, the user experience is only set up to handle a dozen or patterns at a time &mdash; too many choices can be a less-than-ideal adventure. As the library grows, the interface will need to evolve with it.</p>



<p><em>How can we build experiences on top of this foundation that mitigates some of the complexity?</em></p>



<p>The Gutenberg development team is already working on multiple solutions, such as <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/28736">contextual suggestions</a> for a selected block. However, one of the more promising features is patterns registered for specific block types. In this case, template parts.</p>



<p>For example, if a user wants to select a new pattern for the header of their website, they should not have to sort through every option to find something. With Header patterns, the editor presents the user with a carousel of choices to scroll through specific to that template part.</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li></ul>Scrolling through header patterns.



<p>This same feature is possible with footers too:</p>



<img />Selecting a footer pattern.



<p>Those who have been beta testing WordPress 5.8 or running the Gutenberg plugin in the last few months may have noticed some similarities to the Query Loop block (formerly named Query). It is the same underlying system that allows developers to attach patterns to a specific block.</p>



<p>Users can already select from multiple Query Loop patterns when first inserting the block:</p>



<img />Selecting a Query Loop pattern.



<p>&ldquo;Recent improvements to the Template Part and Query Loop blocks has opened up a whole new world for how patterns can be used,&rdquo; wrote Kjell Reigstad in a recent <a href="https://themeshaper.com/2021/06/25/theme-patterns-for-the-site-editor/">ThemeShaper blog post</a>. &ldquo;Both blocks can now display a carousel of block patterns in their setup state, allowing users to choose between a menu of pre-designed versions of these blocks. These patterns can be bundled with your theme, so that users have a wide range of pre-designed header, query, and footer options available to choose from in the Site Editor.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Reigstad has an <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/31610">open ticket</a> for several core header and footer patterns. The following is a short video clip of how this works:</p>



<div>

</div>



<p>As any theme developer knows, you cannot simply plop anything into the header and make it look good. It is one of the most specialized areas of theme design. One wrong turn and the entire design falls apart. The downside to this feature will be third-party patterns coming from the directory. Some will work. Others will not fit into every theme design, but they are not necessarily meant to. It could be a support nightmare for theme authors or an opportunity.</p>



<p>Theme developers will be able to steer their own ship, offering a range of choices that are perfectly molded to their designs.</p>



<p><em>I can already see it&hellip;multipurpose themes with 50+ header patterns listed in their marketing material.</em></p>



<p>While it is unlikely that many people had this in mind during the conceptual stages of block patterns, they are evolving. They will be more than just something users can stick into their post content at random. They are that semi-controlled experience that will give users the flexibility of choice, but the theme serves as a guide for making intelligent decisions.</p>



<p>If a theme author offers four or five well-designed Header or Footer template patterns, users are more likely to select from those. It is easier than building from the ground up.</p>



<p>Such a system also opens more <a href="https://wptavern.com/block-system-will-create-more-commercial-opportunities-for-wordpress-theme-authors">commercial opportunities</a>. Imagine upselling specialized pattern collections for niches. A restaurant site header might want to focus on an &ldquo;order online&rdquo; button. A news website could feature a &ldquo;latest stories&rdquo; ticker above the site title and navigation. There are endless ideas, all awaiting a savvy theme developer to implement and monetize them.</p>



<p>As always, I am eager to see where patterns go. They are still the most exciting WordPress feature, offering the API that theme authors have needed for the past decade.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 01 Jul 2021 02:06:22 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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:54:"WPTavern: WP Engine Makes Local Pro Free for All Users";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119329";s: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:153:"https://wptavern.com/wp-engine-makes-local-pro-free-for-all-users?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wp-engine-makes-local-pro-free-for-all-users";s: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:3025:"<p>WP Engine <a href="https://wpengine.com/blog/wp-engine-supercharges-wordpress-development-local-pro-free-for-everyone/?utm_medium=organicsocial&utm_source=twitter">announced</a> today that Local Pro, the commercial upgrade for its local WordPress development product, is now free for all users. Beginning with <a href="https://localwp.com/releases/">version 6.0</a>, all features that formerly required a paid subscription are now available with a free Local account. These include Live Links Pro, Instant Reload, Link Checker, and MagicSync. </p>



<p>&ldquo;We believe Local Pro features benefit a broader WordPress developer community and we want to deliver the full value of Local to more developers than ever,&rdquo; WP Engine Senior Vice President Seth Halpern said. &ldquo;We want to empower the freedom to create on WordPress by making all Local features available for free.&rdquo;</p>



<p>WP Engine&rsquo;s recently published research&nbsp;estimates the&nbsp;<a href="https://wpengine.com/wordpress-economy/">WordPress economy at $596.7B</a>. The company may be in a better position to gain customers for its hosting products if they make Local completely free, as the tool was designed to seamlessly connect with WP Engine and Flywheel&rsquo;s hosting. It is currently used by more than 300,000 developers. Over the years Local has gained popularity due to how easy it makes setting up WordPress development and testing environments. </p>



<p>Version 6.0 also introduces Local&rsquo;s new <a href="https://localwp.com/cloud-backups/">Cloud Backups add-on</a>, which will allow users to backup to Google Drive or Dropbox. Cloud backups can be restored from the Tools tab. The 6.0 release post details a few features that have been moved to new locations in the interface:</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://localwp.com/help-docs/connect/magic-sync/">MagicSync</a>&nbsp;is now a global preference, and the default push/pull experience can be toggled in the Preferences menu.&nbsp;</li><li>Live Links Pro, now&nbsp;<a href="https://localwp.com/live-links/">Live Links</a>, will be accessible for all users by connecting your Local account.</li><li><a href="https://localwp.com/help-docs/local-features/link-checker/">Link Checker</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://localwp.com/help-docs/local-features/instant-reload/">Instant Reload</a>&nbsp;have been moved to the Local Add-ons Library.&nbsp;</li><li>Xdebug Add-ons have moved from the Utilities tab into the Tools tab within Local.</li></ul>



<p>Existing Local Pro subscribers will have access to priority support until September 1, 2021. After that time, dedicated ticket support will be discontinued in favor of directing users to the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://localwp.com/community/" target="_blank">community forums</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://localwp.com/help-docs/" target="_blank">help docs</a>. WP Engine is offering customers full or prorated refunds, which will be sent out before July 31, 2021.</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, 30 Jun 2021 04:28:15 +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:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:21;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:51:"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 5.8 Release Candidate";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=10873";s: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/2021/06/wordpress-5-8-release-candidate/";s: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:4740:"<p>The first release candidate for <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/5-8/">WordPress 5.8</a> is now available! <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/1f389.png" alt="?" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<p>Please join us in celebrating this very important milestone in the community&#8217;s progress towards the final release of WordPress 5.8!</p>



<p>“Release Candidate” means the new version is ready for release, but with thousands of plugins and themes and differences in how the millions of people use WordPress, it is possible something was missed.  WordPress 5.8 is slated for release&nbsp;on&nbsp;<strong>July 20, 2021</strong>, but <em>your</em>&nbsp;help is needed to get there—if you have not tried 5.8 yet,&nbsp;<strong>now is the time</strong>!</p>



<p>You can test the WordPress 5.8 release candidate in three ways:</p>



<ul><li>Install and activate the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/">WordPress Beta Tester plugin</a> (select the <code>Bleeding edge</code> channel and then <code>Beta/RC Only</code> stream)</li><li>Directly download the release candidate version <a href="https://wordpress.org/wordpress-5.8-RC1.zip">(zip)</a></li><li>Using WP-CLI to test: <code>wp core update --version=5.8-RC1</code></li></ul>



<p>Thank you to all of the contributors who tested the&nbsp;Beta releases and gave feedback.  Testing for bugs is a critical part of polishing every release and a great way to contribute to WordPress.</p>



<h2>What is in WordPress 5.8?</h2>



<p>The second release of 2021 continues to progress on the block editor towards the promised future of full site editing with these updates:</p>



<ul><li>Manage Widgets with Blocks</li><li>Display Posts with New Blocks and Patterns</li><li>Edit Post Templates</li><li>Overview of the Page Structure</li><li>Suggested Patterns for Blocks</li><li>Style and Colorize Images</li><li><code>theme.json</code></li><li>Dropping support for IE11</li><li>Adding support for WebP</li><li>Adding Additional Block Supports</li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/05/27/whats-new-in-gutenberg-10-7-26-may/">Version 10.7</a> of the Gutenberg plugin</li></ul>



<p>WordPress 5.8 also has lots of refinements to enhance the developer experience.  To learn more, subscribe to the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/">Make WordPress Core blog</a> and pay special attention to the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/5-8+dev-notes/">developer notes tag</a> for updates on those and other changes that could affect your products.</p>



<h2>Plugin and Theme Developers</h2>



<p>Please test your plugins and themes against WordPress 5.8 and update the&nbsp;<em>Tested up to</em>&nbsp;version in the <code>readme</code> file to 5.8.  If you find compatibility problems, please be sure to post to the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta/">support forums</a>,&nbsp;so those can be figured out before the final release.</p>



<p>The WordPress 5.8 Field Guide, due to be published very shortly, will give you a deeper dive into the major changes.</p>



<h2>How to Help</h2>



<p>Do you speak a language other than English? &nbsp;<a href="https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp/dev">Help us translate WordPress into more than 100 languages!</a>&nbsp; This release also marks the&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/handbook/glossary/#hard-freeze">hard string freeze</a>&nbsp;point of the 5.8 release schedule.</p>



<p><em><strong>If you think you have found a bug</strong>, you can post to the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta">Alpha/Beta area</a>&nbsp;in the support forums. We would love to hear from you!  If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report,&nbsp;<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/newticket">file one on WordPress Trac</a>, where you can also find&nbsp;<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/tickets/major">a list of known bugs</a>.</em></p>



<p class="has-text-align-right"><strong><em>Props to <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/audrasjb/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>audrasjb</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cbringmann/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>cbringmann</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/webcommsat/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>webcommsat</a>, and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pbiron/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>pbiron</a> for copy suggestions and final review.</em></strong></p>



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



<p><em>We are almost there,<br />WordPress 5.8 comes next month.<br />We need your help: test!</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:"Wed, 30 Jun 2021 03:47:48 +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:12:"Jeffrey Paul";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:79:"WPTavern: Add Editor-Only Notes via the Markdown Comment Block WordPress Plugin";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119331";s: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:203:"https://wptavern.com/add-editor-only-notes-via-the-markdown-comment-block-wordpress-plugin?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=add-editor-only-notes-via-the-markdown-comment-block-wordpress-plugin";s: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:3843:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Rich Tabor, the Senior Product Manager of WordPress Experience at GoDaddy, <a href="https://twitter.com/richard_tabor/status/1408460733055184897">tweeted that he had an idea</a> for a new block at the end of last week. Shortly after, the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/markdown-comment-block/">Markdown Comment Block</a> plugin appeared on WordPress.org.</p>



<p>The plugin is a one-off block. It allows users to enter notes directly into the post editor that will not appear on the front end of the site. Tabor said he came up with the idea when working on an article for building single-block plugins.</p>



<p>There are few things I love more than simple plugins with a tight focus, performing a single function. Markdown Comment Block lands in this category.</p>



<p>The plugin creates a new block that works nearly the same as a typical Paragraph block:</p>



<img />Adding inline comments to a post.



<p>Users can change the text color, but they will not have access to the typical Rich Text controls. Those should be unnecessary anyway.</p>



<p>As someone who does long-form writing almost exclusively in Markdown, the block&rsquo;s use of the double percent-sign syntax for comments intrigued me. Technically, the Markdown spec does not support any sort of special characters for them. It handles HTML comments. However, those appear in the source code on the front end when the document is rendered. I have only seen the <code>%%</code> mark to denote comments in the <a href="https://www.inspire-writer.com/">Inspire Writer</a> app for Windows. Tabor said he had seen the same in <a href="https://ulysses.app/">Ulysses</a>. The feature also exists in the <a href="https://useiceberg.com/">Iceberg editor</a> for WordPress, which Tabor created alongside Jeffrey Carandang.</p>



<p>The plugin also introduces the <code>%%</code> keyboard shortcut. Typing it directly in the editor will create a new Markdown Comment block.</p>



<p>My primary use case for the plugin would be leaving notes for my later self. However, it could also be handy in users&rsquo; publishing flows. The block adds a &ldquo;Resolve&rdquo; button to the toolbar. Clicking it deletes the comment.</p>



<img />Clicking the &ldquo;Resolve&rdquo; button will delete the block.



<p>The block itself will not likely offer a robust enough feature set for complex workflows. However, pairing it with a plugin like <a href="https://wptavern.com/upgrade-your-publishing-flow-with-the-post-descriptions-wordpress-plugin">Post Descriptions</a> could round out the experience for larger teams of writers and copyeditors.</p>



<p>The Post Descriptions plugin allows users to add notes on the post level. These notes appear on the post-management screen, letting other team members know when to check an article. However, it may be hard to provide the full context of what issues need to be resolved before publishing. Markdown Comment Block adds an inline comments system, letting team members pass in-text notes.</p>



<p>Theme developers should appreciate that the block uses CSS custom properties too, which makes it easy to overwrite its default style rules.  In moments, I was able to make it match my theme:</p>



<img />Custom color, font, and line-height styles.



<p>The <code>--markdown-comment-font-size</code>, <code>--markdown-comment-line-height</code>, and <code>--markdown-comment-color</code> variables are available for theme developers who want to add in support.</p>



<p>The one complaint I had about the block is its title: &ldquo;Comment.&rdquo; It is easy to confuse it with the six other comment-related blocks already in the WordPress block list. And, there will only be more in upcoming versions. Giving it a title of &ldquo;Markdown Comment&rdquo; would better distinguish it from others.</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, 30 Jun 2021 00:15:55 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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: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:113:"WPTavern: BuddyPress 9.0 Scheduled for Short Development Cycle to Ship Block-Based Widgets Ahead of WordPress 5.8";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119255";s: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:271:"https://wptavern.com/buddypress-9-0-scheduled-for-short-development-cycle-to-ship-block-based-widgets-ahead-of-wordpress-5-8?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=buddypress-9-0-scheduled-for-short-development-cycle-to-ship-block-based-widgets-ahead-of-wordpress-5-8";s: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:3801:"<p><a href="https://buddypress.org/2021/06/buddypress-8-0-0-alfano/">BuddyPress 8.0</a> was just released earlier this month on June 6, but the core development team is gearing up for a <a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2021/06/24/bp-dev-chat-summary-june-23-2021/">short development cycle for 9.0</a>. The release will be specifically targeted at getting BuddyPress core widgets ready for WordPress 5.8&rsquo;s new block widgets experience. Contributors are aiming to hit the following timeline to ship 9.0 before the next major WordPress release:</p>



<ul><li>Beta: July 8.</li><li>RC: July 12.</li><li>Final:&nbsp;<strong>July 16</strong></li></ul>



<p>BuddyPress entered the world of blocks with the release of version 6.0 in May 2020, allowing users to insert a specific Member or Group into content. Version 7.0, released six months later, introduced blocks for featuring a list of members, a list of groups, and the ability to embed a public activity post. Over the next few weeks, BuddyPress contributors will continue the process of <a href="https://github.com/buddypress/bp-blocks/issues/37">migrating the rest of the BuddyPress component widgets to blocks</a>. These include the following:</p>



<ul><li><strong>Blogs Recent Posts Widget</strong>: A list of recently published posts from across the network</li><li><strong>BP Core Login Widget</strong>: Shows a Log In form to logged-out visitors, and a Log Out link to those who are logged in</li><li><strong>BP Core Friends Widget</strong>: A dynamic list of recently active, popular, and newest Friends of the displayed member. Widget is only shown when viewing a member profile</li><li><strong>BP Groups Widget</strong>: A dynamic list of recently active, popular, newest, or alphabetical groups</li><li><strong>BP Core Members Widget</strong>: A dynamic list of recently active, popular, and newest members</li><li><strong>BP Core Recently Active Widget</strong>: Profile photos of recently active members</li><li><strong>BP Core Who&rsquo;s Online Widget</strong>: Profile photos of online users</li><li><strong>BP Messages Sitewide Notices Widget</strong>: Display Sitewide Notices posted by the site administrator</li></ul>



<p><strong>BP Nouveau widgets:</strong></p>



<ul><li><strong>BP Latest Activities</strong>: Display the latest updates of your community having the types of your choice</li><li><strong>BP Nouveau Navigation Widget</strong>: Displays BuddyPress primary nav in the sidebar of the site. (Must be used as the first widget of the sidebar and only once.)</li></ul>



<p>In addition to building a block for every BuddyPress widget, contributors are aiming to make it possible to <a href="https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/8496">transform existing BP widgets into their corresponding BP block</a>.</p>



<p>With the new block widgets screen imminently landing in WordPress, BuddyPress has to make this move forward to keep pace with the progress of the block editor&rsquo;s march beyond use in the content editor. Otherwise, BuddyPress users would need to <a href="https://wptavern.com/classic-widgets-plugin-disables-wordpress-5-8s-upcoming-block-based-widgets-system">disable block widgets with the Classic Widgets plugin</a> in order to maintain access to BuddyPress core widgets.</p>



<p>Contributors are also working on creating a new Follow component, a frequently requested feature which would use the now abandoned <a href="https://github.com/r-a-y/buddypress-followers">BuddyPress Follow</a> plugin as inspiration. The feature will work similar to Twitter following or the Facebook follow button that allows users to see public activity posts for those they are following. The Follow component is being built as a plugin first and will ship with 9.0 if it is ready in time.</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, 29 Jun 2021 01:07:05 +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:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:24;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:58:"WPTavern: Diving Into WordPress 5.8’s New Widgets Screen";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119259";s: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:155:"https://wptavern.com/diving-into-wordpress-5-8s-new-widgets-screen?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=diving-into-wordpress-5-8s-new-widgets-screen";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6657:"<p class="has-drop-cap">It has been a while since I have touched widgets. Once the site editor landed in the Gutenberg plugin, I almost exclusively dropped the old sidebar paradigm and moved to block templates. Reactivating old themes and jumping into the widgets screen felt like time-traveling into a bygone era.</p>



<p>After months of being deeply embedded within block themes, it is hard to imagine moving back to the sidebar widgets system that most WordPress users are still using today.</p>



<p><a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-8-beta-1-released-new-blocks-new-widgets-screen-and-pattern-directory-on-deck">WordPress 5.8 is slated to ship</a> with a small taste of bringing blocks outside of the content editor. However, it can feel like a surface-level refresh of a dying system, one that does not always work.</p>



<p>Block-based widgets are part of the transitional phase between classic WordPress and the future, which centers on a complete site editor. Once the bulk of themes are built atop blocks, the need for widgets will wane. The site editor and block themes do not support the old sidebar system. Instead, users will be able to place blocks anywhere.</p>



<p>Last October, I asked the question: <a href="https://wptavern.com/are-block-based-widgets-ready-to-land-in-wordpress-5-6">Are Block-Based Widgets Ready To Land in WordPress 5.6?</a> At the time, the widgets screen was expected to launch with the final release of 2020. However, the development team pulled back on the feature&rsquo;s inclusion, primarily because the customizer implementation was sub-par.</p>



<p>Asking the same question of WordPress 5.8, my answer is mostly the same. It is time to ship the current feature and prepare for a future without widgets. There are so many components that are far more exciting around the corner. The primary user-experience issues will linger around until users have moved on to block themes.</p>



<p>I have long been in the camp of starting from a clean slate for block themes, letting widgets die out. However, the path WordPress has chosen is to create this stepping stone for users who may be on traditional themes for a while. It provides an opportunity to use blocks outside of the editor, which may be a leap forward for many.</p>



<p>With the vast number of libraries, one-off blocks, and support from plugin authors, users have a wealth of block choices at their fingertips. Right now, if there is no equivalent widget, those users can only ever use those blocks in their content. Within a block-widget system, that limitation does not exist.</p>



<p>It also lifts some burdens from developers. Those who want to shed some of their old code and go all-in on blocks can begin considering deprecating or retiring widgets.</p>



<p>Transitioning to the new Widgets screen should feel simple to users familiar with the WordPress content editor. Inserting blocks is the same. The difference is that each sidebar has its own container.</p>



<img />Widgets screen with a Gallery block in the Footer sidebar.



<p>The range of blocks within core WordPress could also let users drop some of their widgets-based plugins. One of the most popular types of widgets over the years has been for handling post lists. There are dozens of such plugins and an untold number of themes that include one. Coupled with WordPress 5.8&rsquo;s Query Loop block, users can now recreate many of those widgets themselves.</p>



<img />Custom post list using the Query Loop block.



<p>Much of this depends on the theme&rsquo;s design support of blocks and whether it will accommodate anything other than traditional widgets.</p>



<p>Customizer support for block widgets is lightyears ahead of where it was just a few short months ago. However, it feels awkward at best. There is a deep feeling of not belonging. While it was a remarkable programming feat to make the two features work together, the user experiences are nearly a decade apart.</p>



<img />Editing a Heading block in the customizer.



<p>Despite the customizer providing a live preview, the Widgets screen in the WordPress admin gives the necessary workspace. Trying to squeeze the block editor into the tiny customize controls panel was never going to be an ideal experience, and it still is not. It gets the job done, but I recommend the traditional widgets screen for fewer headaches.</p>



<h2>Problems Remain</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">In the eight months since I first dived into the block-based widgets, the system has been overhauled. However, the potential issues I brought up remain. Just dropping blocks into a sidebar can have mixed results. For example, compare a Legacy Widget to Heading and Latest Comments blocks in the footer sidebar of the popular OceanWP theme:</p>



<img />Mismatched headings and colors.



<p>The issue is that WordPress treats every block as a widget. Traditionally, widgets have had both a title and content. Blocks have no such concept. A Heading followed by something like a Paragraph, Latest Comments, or another block has no special meaning in the block system. They are all treated separately.</p>



<p>This issue is in full view when adding blocks to the default Twenty Twenty-One WordPress theme:</p>



<img />Block treated as widget in Twenty Twenty-One footer sidebar.



<p>Notice the Heading and Latest Comments blocks are columnized because they are seen as separate widgets.</p>



<p>To address this, users must add multiple blocks into a Group block if they want them treated as a single &ldquo;widget.&rdquo; It is a simple matter, but it could still be a usability hurdle for some.</p>



<p>Even with a fix in place, there is no guarantee that blocks will appear as the widgets the theme author intended.</p>



<p>I long ago gave up on the hope that there would be better handling for block widgets. The <a href="https://wptavern.com/classic-widgets-plugin-disables-wordpress-5-8s-upcoming-block-based-widgets-system">Classic Widgets plugin</a> is available for those who need it, and <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/how-to-guides/widgets/opting-out/#using-remove_theme_support">theme authors can opt-out</a>. These are necessary tools for an experience that can range from downright awesome to utterly broken.</p>



<p>Bringing blocks outside of the content editor for traditional theme users is probably necessary for the transition, but the current site editor experience already feels much smoother than block widgets. The long-term focus should be on moving away from the dated concept of widgets and into a WordPress front-end 100% built on blocks.</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, 28 Jun 2021 23:52:29 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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: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:96:"Gutenberg Times: Theme.json Resources, Block Patterns and WordPress 5.8 – Weekend Edition #175";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?p=18320";s: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://gutenbergtimes.com/theme-json-resources-block-patterns-and-wordpress-5-8-weekend-edition-175/";s: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:13004:"<p>Howdy, </p>



<p>We enjoy cooling off at the community pool after our lunch walks. It&#8217;s the simple things, right? </p>



<p>I learned so much in this week&#8217;s Live Q &amp; A! You might too. Jeff prepared a insightful demo of the basics. Thank you to all those watching and asking great questions! It was a pleasure and honor to have Daisy Olson, Tammie Lister and Jeff Ong on the show. <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/theme-json-for-wordpress-theme-authors-demo-and-live-q-a-w-daisy-olson-tammie-lister-and-jeff-ong/">The recording is available here.</a> So are the links to the shared resources and the transcript. </p>



<p>What else happened this week in WordPress? Amazingly plenty. Get yourself your favorite beverage and start reading and watching. </p>





<p>Yours, ?<br />Birgit</p>





<h2>Release week at WordPress</h2>



<p>WordPress is such a fantastic open-source project. I admire the team and the people in it so much! </p>



<p>The <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C01VACX5E2W">public Slack channel of the release squad</a> helped me understand more of the complexities behind making software that is used by many millions of people all over the world. If you ever get a chance to spend a few minutes scrolling through the discussions on slack, on trac or GitHub, do it. Meet the people, who bring the work of hundreds of contributors over the finish line. Meet the contributors. </p>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/5-8/">WordPress 5.8 Beta 4</a> is out and ready for your testing. WordPress 5.8 RC 1 is scheduled for June 29th, 2021. That comes with a hard string freeze, and the Polyglot teams get into high gear with translations. It&#8217;s also the deadline for DevNotes of the more significant changes coming  with this release. </p>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/24/whats-new-in-gutenberg-10-9-23-june/">Gutenberg 10.9 and 10.9.1</a> were released. Some bug fixes will be ported back to be included in the WordPress 5.8. Grzegorz Ziolkowski and I recorded the Gutenberg Changelog #46 yesterday, and it will be published on Monday. Our editor, Sandy, is on a well-deserved break over the weekend.  <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-10-9-renames-the-query-block-adds-collapsible-list-view-items-and-rolls-out-rich-url-previews"><strong>Justin Tadlock </strong>took 10.9 </a>for a spin at the WPTavern. </p>



<p>&#8212; <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/changelog-46-devnotes-for-wordpress-5-8/">Gutenberg Changelog #46 is now available</a> &#8212; 6/27</p>




<p><strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;Keeping up with Gutenberg &#8211; Index 2021&#8221;</a>&nbsp;</strong><br />A chronological list of the WordPress Make Blog posts from various teams involved in Gutenberg development: Design, Theme Review Team, Core Editor, Core JS, Core CSS, Test and Meta team from Jan. 2021 on. Updated by yours truly.  <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index-2020/">The index 2020 is here</a></p>




<h2>Theme.json Resources</h2>



<p>You can read an&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/25/introducing-theme-json-in-wordpress-5-8/"><strong>Introducing theme.json in WordPress 5.8</strong></a>&nbsp;by&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://twitter.com/nosolosw">Andre Maneiro</a></strong>&nbsp;on the Core Make blog.</p>



<p>You can read up on the details specifications in the Block Editor Handbook:&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/how-to-guides/themes/theme-json/">Global Settings &amp; Styles (theme.json)</a>.</strong></p>



<p>Another fantastic way to get your feet wet is to heed the&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/06/24/call-for-testing-thrive-with-theme-json/"><strong>Call for Testing #8</strong></a>&nbsp;out of the FSE outreach program. <strong>Anne McCarthy</strong> has some interesting tasks for you. <a href="https://wptavern.com/fse-outreach-round-8-a-developer-centric-call-for-testing-theme-json-configuration"><strong>Justin Tadlock </strong></a> has more for you on the <em>WordPress Tavern</em> </p>



<p><strong>Tammie Lister</strong>&nbsp;started a new project <a href="https://ephemeralthemes.com/">&#8220;Ephemeral Themes&#8221;</a> and shared her thoughts on theme.json and why she is excited again for theme development.&nbsp;<a href="https://ephemeralthemes.com/2021/06/20/theme-json-inspires/"><strong>Theme.json inspires</strong></a></p>



<p>The Gutenberg team is in ongoing discussion about various topics. Two were raised during the <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/theme-json-for-wordpress-theme-authors-demo-and-live-q-a-w-daisy-olson-tammie-lister-and-jeff-ong/">Live Q &amp; A</a>. Both could use your opinion and ideas.</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/29568">Default Colors, Theme Colors, and Custom Colors</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/20244">Responsive Global Styles as a work in progress</a></li></ul>



<p>A good way to get started and see the configuration in action is to study the themes available in the&nbsp;<a href="https://github.com/WordPress/theme-experiments/"><strong>Theme Experiments repository</strong></a>&nbsp;on GitHub.</p>



<h2>Full Site Editing </h2>



<p>Another theme by <strong>Ana Segota,</strong>  built for the Site editor will come to the WordPress directory. Justin Tadlock took it for a spin. <a href="https://wptavern.com/clove-a-showcase-of-block-patterns-by-anariel-design"><strong>Clove: A Showcase of Block Patterns by Anariel Design</strong></a>.</p>



<p><strong>Anne McCarthy </strong>published <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/06/24/fse-program-polished-portfolios-summary/"><strong>FSE Program Polished Portfolios Summary</strong></a> with the updated feedback from a great group of participants. </p>



<p>On her personal blog, <strong>Anne McCarthy</strong> also published <a href="https://nomad.blog/2021/06/11/on-future-outreach-program-models-in-the-wordpress-community/"><strong>On Future Outreach Program Models in the WordPress Community</strong></a>. She shared some of her learn lessons on running the FSE outreach program and what needs to happen to make this a permanent contributor activity within WordPress. </p>



<p>Here is the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/06/09/upcoming-fse-outreach-program-schedule-june-july/">Upcoming FSE Outreach Program Schedule</a></p>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/scruffian"><strong>Ben Dwyer</strong> </a>on ThemeShaper posted <strong><a href="https://themeshaper.com/2021/06/23/universal-themes-some-ideas/">Some Ideas for Universal Themes</a>.</strong> He wrote: &#8220;A universal theme would work in both editing modes.&nbsp; A user should be able to build a site in classic mode and switch to FSE mode when the Site Editor is more mature or when they are ready to try all the extra tools that Full Site Editing will bring. Changes to a theme in classic mode should be reflected when I enable the Site Editor.&#8221; and goes into more details on how that could work. At Automattic, they experiment with the <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/themes/tree/trunk/quadrat">Quadrat theme</a>. </p>




<p><strong><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/need-a-zip-from-master/">Need a plugin .zip from Gutenberg&#8217;s main (trunk) branch?</a></strong><br />Gutenberg Times provides daily build for testing and review. <br />Have you been using it? Hit reply and let me know.</p>



<p><img alt="GitHub all releases" src="https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/bph/gutenberg/total?style=for-the-badge" /></p>



<p></p>




<h2>Block Patterns</h2>



<p>About 80 Patterns have been published in the Pattern Directory on WordPress.org, <strong>Kjell Reigstad</strong> reported in his <strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2021/06/23/update-initial-patterns-for-the-patterns-directory/">Update: Initial Patterns for the Patterns Directory</a> </strong>over the last two weeks, Kjell, Mel Choyce and Beatriz Fialho were fielding community submissions and working with the designers. There are wonderful and useful patterns, you can use for your site.</p>



<p>The discussion about <strong>Block Patterns</strong> on the WordPress Tavern has readers ruminating about <strong><a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-theme-lock-in-silos-and-the-block-system">Theme Lock-In, Silos, and the Block System</a>.</strong> In a Post Status discussion, <strong>Tammie Lister </strong>thought the opposite is true. &#8220;it&#8217;s going to be easier, not harder, to switch with the newer set up.&#8221; And then she continues: &#8220;Try swapping between themes now. It&#8217;s not a picnic. It&#8217;s often a sad rained on picnic with soggy sandwiches of sadness, even with the best hope.&#8221; ?️ I might steal that metaphor from Tammie ?</p>



<p>Speaking of Block Patterns, the design team also brought Block Patterns to all WordPress Twenty themes, all the way back to Twenty-Ten. They will be released with WordPress 5.8. <strong>Milana Cap</strong> published about these <strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/21/bundled-themes-changes-in-wordpress-5-8/">Bundled themes changes in WordPress 5.8</a>.</strong> They are a great inspiration for designer on what can be possible with Block Patterns now. Justin Tadlock at the WordPress Tavern also <a href="https://wptavern.com/a-throwback-to-the-past-refreshing-old-twenty-wordpress-themes-with-block-patterns">took the new patterns out for a spin.</a></p>



<p>In <strong><a href="https://themeshaper.com/2021/06/25/theme-patterns-for-the-site-editor/">Theme patterns for the Site&nbsp;Editor</a> </strong> <strong>Kjell Reigstad</strong> show off a new UI to handle the display of different patterns for a header. It is an expansion of the block pattern display for Query Loop for various Post list layouts. He also shared his code and a short tutorial. Kjell also used the Quadrat theme from the Automattic repository </p>




Header Patterns in Quadrat Theme / Automattic




<h2>Block Development and Plugins</h2>



<p>For block builders, the Core-editor team published two DevNotes this week. </p>



<p><strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/23/block-api-enhancements-in-wordpress-5-8/">Block API Enhancements in WordPress 5.8</a> </strong>by <strong>Grzegorz Ziolkowski</strong>, encouraging plugins developers to using the block.json metadata file. He lists under the benefits: </p>



<ul><li>code sharing between JavaScript and PHP and other languages, </li><li>optimized enqueuing of assets on the frontend to support performance increases.</li><li>Allows listing of the block on the Block Type REST API endpoint </li><li>It&#8217;s a requirement for blocks to be included in the WordPress Plugin Directory  </li></ul>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/25/block-supports-api-updates-for-wordpress-5-8/"><strong>Block supports API updates for WordPress 5.8</strong></a>&nbsp; by <strong>Daisy Olsen</strong>, which outlines and additional support options for color, duotone, fontSize, lineHeight, spacing options for blocks and themes. </p>




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<p>Featured Image: <a target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6068229">&#8220;File:Lego Color Bricks.jpg&#8221;</a>&nbsp;by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/13403905@N03" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alan Chia</a>&nbsp;is licensed under&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0?ref=ccsearch&atype=rich" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CC BY-SA 2.0</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:"Sat, 26 Jun 2021 19:18:25 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:18:"Birgit Pauli-Haack";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:127:"Gutenberg Times: Theme.json for WordPress Theme Authors – demo and  Live Q &amp; A w/ Daisy Olson, Tammie Lister and Jeff Ong";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?p=18324";s: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:125:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/theme-json-for-wordpress-theme-authors-demo-and-live-q-a-w-daisy-olson-tammie-lister-and-jeff-ong/";s: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:56956:"<p>On June 24th, we hosted Gutenberg Times Live Q &amp; A on the topic  <strong>&#8220;Theme.json for Theme Authors &#8211; Getting started with theme development for Full-site Editing&#8221;</strong> It was a great pleasure and privilege to have <a href="https://twitter.com/DaisyOlsen">Daisy Olson</a>, developer advocate at Automattic, <a href="https://twitter.com/karmatosed">Tammie Lister</a>, design lead at Extendify and <a href="https://twitter.com/jffng">Jeff Ong</a>, code wrangler at Automattic on the show. </p>



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<p>Jeff Ong prepared <a href="https://youtu.be/dBwhHKKblhU?t=831">a demo</a> for us, and then attendees had some interesting questions our panelists answered. You can read the transcript below.</p>



<p>WordPress 5.8 will come with the infrastructure and foundation to control the block editor and theme settings via the configuration file theme.json. JSON is a universal data format that is readable to PHP and JavaScript alike.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large"><p>Themes no longer have to pretend that they&#8217;re plugins.</p><cite>Tammie Lister</cite></blockquote>



<div class="wp-block-sortabrilliant-guidepost"><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-resources-about-theme-json-and-themes-for-full-site-editing">Resources about theme.json and themes for Full-site editing</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#1-themes-for-full-site-editing-in-the-word-press-org-repository">Themes for Full-site Editing in the WordPress.org repository</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#2-strong-what-will-change-most-for-the-theme-developers-when-building-themes-for-full-site-editing-strong">What will change most for the theme developers when building themes for full-site editing?</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#3-demo-configuring-the-block-editor-with-theme-json-file">Demo: Configuring the block editor with theme.json file</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#3-meta-charset-utf-8-why-do-we-want-to-rewrite-css-in-json">Why do we want to rewrite CSS in JSON</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#4-what-happens-when-you-update-the-color-palette-will-saved-blocks-have-the-new-colors">What happens when you update the color palette? Will saved blocks have the new colors?</a></li></ul></div>



<h2 id="0-resources-about-theme-json-and-themes-for-full-site-editing">Resources about theme.json and themes for Full-site editing</h2>



<p>During the show, we mentioned a few places where you can dive in and learn more about theme.json.</p>



<p>You can read an <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/25/introducing-theme-json-in-wordpress-5-8/"><strong>Introducing theme.json in WordPress 5.8</strong></a> by <strong>Andre Maneiro</strong> on the Core Make blog. </p>



<p>You can read up on the details specifications in the Block Editor Handbook: <strong><a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/how-to-guides/themes/theme-json/">Global Settings &amp; Styles (theme.json)</a>. </strong></p>



<p>A good way to get started and see the configuration in action is to study the themes available in the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/theme-experiments/"><strong>Theme Experiments repository</strong></a> on GitHub. </p>



<p>Another fantastic way to get your feet wet is to heed the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/06/24/call-for-testing-thrive-with-theme-json/"><strong>Call for Testing #8</strong></a> out of the FSE outreach program. Anne McCarthy has some interesting tasks for you. </p>



<p><strong>Tammie Lister</strong> started a new blog and shared her thoughts on theme.json and why she is excited again for theme development. <a href="https://ephemeralthemes.com/2021/06/20/theme-json-inspires/"><strong>Theme.json inspires</strong></a></p>



<p>The Gutenberg team is in ongoing discussion about various topics. Two were raised during the Live Q &amp; A. Both could use your opinion and ideas. </p>



<ul><li><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/29568">Default Colors, Theme Colors, and Custom Colors</a></li><li><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/20244">Responsive Global Styles as a work in progress</a></li></ul>



<h2 id="1-themes-for-full-site-editing-in-the-word-press-org-repository">Themes for Full-site Editing in the WordPress.org repository</h2>



<ul><li><a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/blockbase/">Block Base</a> by Automattic</li><li><a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/naledi/">Naledi </a>by Anariel Design</li><li><a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/tt1-blocks/">TT1 Blocks</a> by WordPress contributors, the FSE sibling of the Twenty-Twenty-One Theme</li><li><a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/block-based-bosco/">Block-Based Bosco</a> by Fränk Klein</li><li><a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/armando/">Armando</a> by Carolyn Newmark</li><li><a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/q/">Q </a>by Ari Stathopoulos</li><li><a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/hansen/">Hansen</a> by Uxl Themes</li></ul>



<p class="has-larger-font-size" id="transcript"><strong>Transcript</strong></p>



<p class="has-text-align-center" id="transcript"><em><span class="has-inline-color has-accent-color">This transcript is still a work in progress</span></em><strong><span class="has-inline-color has-accent-color"> </span></strong>&#8211; Birgit</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Well, and then we can start the webinar here. The webinar is now live and welcome to our 28th Gutenberg live Q and A on this June 24th. My name is Birgit Pauli-Haack and I am your host for today&#8217;s discussion. Thank you all for watching, and it&#8217;s great to have you. And while you all come in, use the chat window to tell us where you are and where you&#8217;re watching from.&nbsp;</p>



<p>And today we will discuss a new way to configure themes, that is black themes, with global styles and settings file theme.json. And it will enable theme developers to centralize all the block-based settings, color palettes, font sizes, and other block-based customizations. This way you will also control which of the other block features the theme supports or does not support.&nbsp;</p>



<p>So that&#8217;s my simple mind&#8217;s description of the new features and I&#8217;m so thrilled to have three experts on the show to go beyond this simple explanation and help theme developers to get started. I&#8217;m extremely honored to have Daisy Olsen, developer advocate at Automatic and WordPress contributor. Hey, good to have you. Also Jeff Ong, code wrangler at Automatic.</p>



<p><em>Jeff Ong: </em>Hello.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Thanks for being here. And at last but not at least Tammie Lister, design lead at Extendify.</p>



<p><em>Tammie Lister:</em> Hello.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> We&#8217;ll do some proper introduction in less than a minute. I just have a few housekeeping notes. So after the introduction, we&#8217;ll have a first round robin question and then we see a demo. Jeff was working really hard on it and I think he was the only one repairing hard for this live Q and A. And then we&#8217;ll discuss the different angles and how they get started. And then, of course, answer your question.</p>



<p>Speaking of questions, how do you pose your questions? There&#8217;s a Q and A on the bottom of the screen, a kind of icon. You click on that and write your question. And for those watching on YouTube use the chat window next to the video player. And so saying hi. Hi, Victor. From Buenos Aires in Argentina. Awesome. Thank you for being here. All right. When you do comments and questions, so please be kind even if you disagree.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This is a family endeavor. All right. Well, I&#8217;m thrilled you all agreed dear panelists to come on the show and I get an hour to talk with you about your work. So, Daisy, tell us a little bit about you, where are you&#8217;re located and what is it that you do as developer advocate on the purpose project and at Automatic?</p>



<p><em>Daisy Olsen: </em>Yeah. I&#8217;m Daisy Olsen and I live in New Hampshire in the United States. It&#8217;s a beautiful day here right now unlike some parts of this country that are really hot. We got the cool weather over here this week. So as a developer advocate, I talk about WordPress a lot.</p>



<p>I get out and do workshops, teach classes, write documentation and just stay involved and close to the projects development so that I know what&#8217;s going on theoretically and can share that out particularly with plugin and theme developers as well as agencies and freelancers and things like that.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Awesome. So glad you&#8217;re here. Thank you. So, Tammie, thank you for coming back to the show. It&#8217;s been over three years. The last time you were on the show was just after Gutenberg was merged into Core and you were one of the three leads with Matias Ventura and Joen Asmussen. </p>



<p>And you shared a lot about the journey of Gutenberg and the philosophy behind it. So I will put the link to the show into the show notes for you who have been coming later to Gutenberg. But this year you joined the WordPress product company Extendify. So what do you do there?</p>



<p><em>Tammie Lister:</em> First of all, has it been three years? That goodness. Time flies. So in Extendify I focus on design. So our solutions extend the editor. And then the aim is to make it even more usable for people&#8217;s purpose that they want to use it for. And I&#8217;m really, really excited about that.</p>



<p>So it means that people can have the best experience from the content they&#8217;re creating, to the layout, the patterns, the styles, whatever that the editor enables, that&#8217;s really what I&#8217;m focusing on. So it&#8217;s a interesting new challenge to do. And you have blew my brain with that time span. You really have. That&#8217;s awesome.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Well, it&#8217;s also over three years that Gutenberg times us. So I&#8217;ve been part of that journey so for so long.</p>



<p><em>Tammie Lister:</em> Congrats.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Nothing really held my attention for so long. And normally I get really bored. Well, I&#8217;m also really happy that Extendify took over <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/editorplus/">Editor Plus</a> from Munir Kumal and the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/block-options/">EditorsKit</a> from Jeffrey Carandang. So, those have a more sustainable way now to access because both Munir and Jeffrey seem to have&#8230; Munir joined you, but Jeffrey moved on to be a consultant at , I think, 10up.</p>



<p><em>Tammie Lister:</em> It&#8217;s so really exciting.&nbsp;</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Yeah. I imagine. So thank you also to Jeff Ong for joining us today as well. You&#8217;re a code wrangler in Automatic and what have you been working on lately except for the demo. I know about that.</p>



<p><em>Jeff Ong</em>: Well, first, thank you for having me and hosting this. Awesome to be here. I feel very honored to be with three on-time contributors. So super cool. At Automattic, I&#8217;ve been working on theme development, pretty solely focused on that for the last year. And my background is not in WordPress. </p>



<p>So it&#8217;s kind of been an interesting journey to transition and learn about the ecosystem and really coming at a transitory time figuring out how do we kind of move into this new block-based paradigm? How do we make themes that work with the block editor really well and can hopefully unlock more creativity for just really great design. And I can tell you what sites again. Well, making new themes and figuring out how to do that with the latest version of Gutenberg, which turns out every day.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> So the viewers follow Jeff Ong, he&#8217;s going to teach you how to do things with the Block Editor. And we will soon see a little demo of that. It&#8217;s what Daisy said, &#8220;What you did in five minutes, I taught a course on that in three hours.&#8221; So it&#8217;s going to be a little fast paced today.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 id="2-strong-what-will-change-most-for-the-theme-developers-when-building-themes-for-full-site-editing-strong">What will change most for the theme developers when building themes for full-site editing?</h2>



<p>But before we head into media&#8217;s raised, I would like to ask each of you, so what do you think will change most for the theme developers when building themes? These are for agency building custom themes for the clients or for theme shops rolling out new themes to sell. Do you want to start, Tammie?</p>



<p><em>Tammie Lister:</em> Yeah. That&#8217;s interesting because I think perhaps it&#8217;s a change if you wanted to be a change. Because lots of this is an opt-in, as is the way. WordPress, the best way to opt-in. I go back to a lot of times that this is a freeing of things and I think it brings an opportunity that has pros and cons, ups and downs with opportunities.</p>



<p>But plug-ins themes no longer have to pretend that they&#8217;re plugins and they no longer have to be everything and have to be things that they weren&#8217;t intended to be in the first. So I think that that is a challenge in itself because there&#8217;s a certain way that you maybe thought you had to do things and now you don&#8217;t have to work around things. We often have to work around things in WordPress.&nbsp;</p>



<p>And if you don&#8217;t have to work around it, it can feel a little bit peculiar, but once you realize you don&#8217;t have to do that, it&#8217;s actually really awesome. But you have to realize you don&#8217;t have to and that WordPress was getting in the way. I also think as a result there&#8217;s going to be a space for more creativity, and this can also be really to challenging because maybe you were limited to what you could do creativity wise because of just the confinements of the space and the confinements of what you could do before.&nbsp;</p>



<p>And it&#8217;s going to open things again to a lot more people. And a lot more people who maybe didn&#8217;t have access to a theme developer with experience who knew the exact ins and outs of it. So I think that&#8217;s a challenge because new people in this space, new creativity. But honestly I think it&#8217;s a good thing. It&#8217;s just if you want to and you&#8217;re open to it and you can kind of explore those new ways, but I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s a change that you have to make. I think that&#8217;s the thing.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Awesome. Thank you. Daisy, what do you think?</p>



<p><em>Daisy Olsen: </em>So I think I would agree with Tammie that the barrier of entry for a new theme designer. And I think that&#8217;s one of the key things is it&#8217;s bringing the design back to theming. Theming over time became very functional. We had a lot of theme companies that were trying to make their themes as flexible, powerful and feature-ful as possible to reach a wide variety of people.</p>



<p>And I think that we can see some opportunity for vertically oriented designs coming out where you have a theme that is geared towards a restaurant or geared towards, I don&#8217;t know, a salon or a certain kind of a business or even a personal site.</p>



<p>And I think that there&#8217;s a lot of opportunity to be able to have a lot of variety out there in the marketplace so that when someone asks you inevitable question, because this was probably the most common question when I was working for a thing company is which theme is best for this?&nbsp;</p>



<p>I&#8217;m doing this kind of a site, which themes should I use. And it could make it so, well, here are five that are really geared towards what you&#8217;re trying to do instead of, oh, you can use any of them. You just have to do all this work to get it to look bright.</p>



<p>Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. That&#8217;s a good point. Thank you. Jeff?.</p>



<p><em>Jeff Ong:</em> Definitely, from a design perspective, it&#8217;s super exciting. I want to highlight maybe a little bit more from the development side. This seems like the biggest opportunity or clearest opportunity to ensure that your theme is integrated with the editor. That the things that you&#8217;re doing with the editor and your ability to customize it to control what presets and options are available there to the users of the theme, this is the theme [inaudible 00:12:27].</p>



<p>It&#8217;s a unifying kind of idea and single point of truth. Talking about theme.json and even just this whole concept of how do we bring the experience together. I think we have an opportunity to do that and that&#8217;s going to change even in some small level. Even if your theme.json cloud just as a few settings. You can take it slow like Tammie was saying. Incorporate parts of it because to me you have this new contract now that can really unify things and bring things together from a lot of disparate parts and pieces.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Lots to think about. And I agree with all of you. I had this pleasure last year that I took over themes from agencies and they were so powerful and all the things that normally a plug-in will do, custom post types and rigid and all that. It&#8217;s all in one place and we won&#8217;t be able to change a theme at all. </p>



<p>So now this is definitely going to make life a lot easier for site owners as well So lots to think about and listening to you is quite inspiring to kind of think, oh, well how many direction can my brain go now? But, Jeff, are you ready for your demo? I think it would be helpful for all the people here on the call to see what it&#8217;s all about and how it kind of gets started.</p>



<p><em>Jeff Ong:</em> Yes. We have 10 minutes roughly. Yes. Can you see my screen? </p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> We can see your screen. Yes.</p>



<h2 id="3-demo-configuring-the-block-editor-with-theme-json-file">Demo: Configuring the block editor with theme.json file</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBwhHKKblhU&t=18s">14.02</a></p>



<p>Jeff Ong: So we have a blank theme here and I just want to kind of go over some, not going to cover everything, but some of the key parts of that theme.json introduces and show how that impacts a blank theme and also the editor. So hopping over to my code editor. I have my theme.JSON here. This is a really basic, simple theme and nothing going on yet.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In here I&#8217;m going to go ahead and the first thing I want to talk about are the settings of your theme.JSON. Settings are kind of what control or give you the ability to configure the editor and what kind of customization options are present to a user and the theme. The only thing I have right now is the layout, which we&#8217;ll get to in a second. But let&#8217;s say I want to add some color options here.</p>



<p>Previously it would be done in the functions PHP. I have kind of a few sheets over here. Sorry. I need to hide these meeting control. I&#8217;m going to copy a color palette from this. I&#8217;m going to set a palette that&#8217;s going to become available to me in my theme. I go to edit the same post. In here I see my cornso, my orange, red, and color blue that&#8217;s become available to me.&nbsp;</p>



<p>What&#8217;s pretty interesting about this is before you would have had to kind of go into functions at this whole palette and then also define the class name, something like this to actually apply those styles. Let&#8217;s say I want this heading to be orange, update it. Show it here. I get all this cool stuff for free. This class was generated for me by Gutenberg using this preset and that I have defined meeting controls defined here in my palette options.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Another cool thing or interesting about the possibility here is within the same configuration. Let&#8217;s say I&#8217;m the theme designer. I have the option right now to change the color to kind of anything I want. The powerful thing about theme.json at this time is it can actually turn something like this off. I actually don&#8217;t want people or my users to be able to change anything, change the color palette.</p>



<p>But let&#8217;s go ahead and reset this back here. Turned off custom colors within theme.json. And then back here you&#8217;ll see that option has disappeared. So inaccessible color combinations or just color combinations that you don&#8217;t want to be available. You can turn that off. This is just one of the options that are available. Color is just one of the options that you can customize.</p>



<p>You can also take a look at something like typography. I think I can find some font sizes here. Refresh. I can see now that those presets were available, are now available to me. I can do the same thing again here too. Say I don&#8217;t actually want people to be able to change all sides here. As a designer I know it&#8217;s best and I don&#8217;t want people putting in random font sizes.&nbsp;</p>



<p>So disable that and now only my presets are available too. Oh, by the way, this content is just kind of some standard block-based content. Again, I&#8217;m getting all of this kind of for free or for free in a way by just applying some preset values here. Well, I think the next thing that I wanted to cover is going into the last thing. I&#8217;ll cover it within the settings because you can actually change these per block.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Remember we were looking at color before. I could add a color key to the paragraph block and actually say, just kidding. I want to allow you to be able to change the color of paragraph blocks. Just the paragraph blocks. I can open up the whole thing. So within here now I can see, oh, I can actually change just for paragraph blocks. I go up to my heading. This custom color is not available. This color option is not available.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If you want to I could also supply a custom palette. I&#8217;m not going to do that, but could say if you wanted a specific palette that&#8217;s just applied for paragraph blocks. That would be how you do it. So I think that&#8217;s it for settings. I&#8217;m going to go ahead and collapse this now and move on to the styles key of our theme.json. And now within here I can start to define some files.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Remember our colors from up here from the palette. I can go ahead and because I know that WordPress is generating CSS variables based on these palettes, I can go ahead and start to use those within the styles application of the style section of my theme.json. So with the preset color, put orange red. See what else do. These are going to apply at the top level. So this is going to apply to everything.</p>



<p>Say I only wanted, for instance, my headings to be&#8230; Let&#8217;s make this. Do the same thing in here and say, ah, I just want, actually, let&#8217;s just make my paragraph colors black. So, again, what I&#8217;ve done here is I&#8217;ve set my global kind of text color to this orange red was preset, which was provided by WordPress and generated here to the entire text. And then actually I can go in and target specific block, set the settings for that as well.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I think we are close. I just want to show, well, if you&#8217;re editing this, something that&#8217;s also probably going to happen and mess this up. It should throw some kind of an error here yet. Notice there when decoding theme.json. So that&#8217;ll let you know there&#8217;s something going on because it&#8217;s pretty easy tip something up here.&nbsp;</p>



<p>And I think that&#8217;s just a small note is we&#8217;ll likely encounter that if you&#8217;re configuring keys and nested objects trying to figure out how each of those apply. You pause here for a second. I guess the last thing I want to cover too is the concept of elements. So within here, any h2 that I have is going to be applied a specific style here. So I have the same because [inaudible 00:24:24] can appear outside of blocks or links, for example.</p>



<p>These are restricted to a specific set at the moment. So let&#8217;s just say text. So, again, because this is not actually rendered as a pocket and an element and that can appear anywhere. That&#8217;s something that I can target with this kind of top level elements select here. Everything else here you can target with the name of the block.&nbsp;</p>



<p>That is most of what I wanted to cover pretty fast, but again all of the settings that you can find here or that I&#8217;m going over, there&#8217;s way more than just color. There&#8217;s spacing, typography and all of that can be found in documentation that Birgit, I think she shared it here. So that I want to open it up. And I guess there are questions. If there are specific parts that anyone would want to go into in a little more detail. Happy to do that.</p>



<p><em>Daisy Olsen: </em>Thank you, Jeff. </p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack: </em>Thank you, Jeff. This was awesome. Do you want to just say something?</p>



<p><em>Daisy Olsen: </em>Yeah. I just wanted to say that maybe we could just talk about layout real quick because I think that&#8217;s going to be a big one for 5.8.</p>



<p><em>Jeff Ong:</em> Yeah. And I kind of skipped over. It was the first thing that was in here. Yes. Layout key is a way for you to quickly define the default, the width of your content within WordPress or within here. So if you see here, if I don&#8217;t define this layout, a lot of my content is just going to be full width by default. </p>



<p>You can supply two values here. Content size, it&#8217;s just going to be the default width. You can also define, I think it&#8217;s, what is it? Wide size. Wide width. Nothing happened there because I hadn&#8217;t provided it. Maybe there&#8217;s a better way to show that with cover block.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Birgit Pauli-Haack: Nice. I like it.&nbsp;</p>



<p><em>Jeff Ong:</em> Pretty cool. You can, I mean, alignment coming together and within a unified system reliably layout content with starting here is pretty powerful stuff I&#8217;d say.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack: </em>Yeah. Awesome. So I shared in the chat window, if you haven&#8217;t seen it, the documentation link where you can read up about the theme.json as a whole. When you say, Daisy, that that&#8217;s the layout will be important for 5.8, which part of it would be, where does it come into play?</p>



<p><em>Daisy Olsen:</em> So with 5.8 with the custom template functionality that&#8217;s coming where you can basically create a custom template for an entire page or a post that would cover your header as well as your content. If you need to have these setting set for the width, especially the content size for it but preferably also wide so that your site knows how wide it should be. </p>



<p>Otherwise you get kind of the facts that Jeff showed where it was the full width of the page. It didn&#8217;t have anything to contain it down to the width that you want. So for any theme that wants to use the template editor would benefit from having a theme.json file that even if it only has the one thing in it, it would be good way to take advantage of it.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Yeah. It&#8217;s an excellent tip. Thank you, Daisy. You heard it here first. So we already got some questions in our Q and A, but I just wanted to have one question for Jeff before. That&#8217;s my prerogative as a host, I get the first question. So if I understood it correctly, so until now, theme.json comes into play I had to create many different places or touch many different places to make a color palette work.</p>



<p>So, I had to put it in my functions.php and then I also have to put it in my style sheet. Is [inaudible 00:30:04] that I don&#8217;t have to do this anymore, or do I still have to put it into my style sheet, or is it automatically created with when I put the color palette in the theme.json?</p>



<p><em>Jeff Ong:</em> It is wonderful question. It is automatically created. This is all that that style sheet looks like since this is one of the big very exciting aspects of a theme.json. It&#8217;s that it&#8217;s managing this for you. And then also I think more down the line by providing colors and styles in this way. And then also by applying the styles here you can guarantee that those blocks are going to integrate properly.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s like the styles for those blocks are going to be more closely tied and actually in how the block is implemented. So no more writing styles that are overwriting that we&#8217;re having to target specific nested blocks. And so there&#8217;s tons of complications to this and there&#8217;s a lot more room to mature and develop, but I think that&#8217;s one of the parts I&#8217;m most excited about. To your point, there&#8217;s one place now where I can define my palette and show how it should be applied. I don&#8217;t have to go into two different places to do it.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> All right. Well, let&#8217;s go to the questions. Victor Kane, from the beginning of the show has already put them in and he&#8217;s particular interested in finding out about the workflow using them theme.json. So one is the best editing alternative for VS Code formatting, and then the second one was the possibility for exporting interactive selections to clipboard and code. I&#8217;m not quite sure I understand the question. Maybe you understand it, Jeff Daisy, Tammie.</p>



<p><em>Tammie Lister:</em> Personally. So I think this is a personal choice. I&#8217;m going to start with an answer and then go to&#8230; I use VS Code, so I may not be able to give the right answer there. I would be curious to know what you don&#8217;t want in VS Code, and I think that that&#8217;s the thing. This opens up personal&#8230; I&#8217;m going to be really bad at reading the response in chat whilst talking. So I&#8217;m going to be a little bit pertinent and kind of speak first. I&#8217;m sorry, I&#8217;ll get back to it.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s your personal choice how you write and then you can kind of go back to it. So the thing that I did, this was my workflow, it has been my workflow so far, and I think this is the thing, we&#8217;re all finding our own new workflows with these new toys that we&#8217;re playing with. So what I&#8217;ve been doing is I&#8217;ve been using theme.json.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I&#8217;ve actually been setting up variables using SAS that have been then pulling in root variables into my theme.json so that I can pull them through. That&#8217;s a weird way to do it. That&#8217;s strange, but the reason being, it means I can reuse and keep things separately. But I&#8217;m sure that everybody on this call has their own little workflows that they are kind of working from.</p>



<p><em>Daisy Olsen:</em> My approach to that was actually the opposite that I was using my theme.json to set all of my variables so that I didn&#8217;t need SAS, which I think for those that never quite got their head wrapped around preprocessed CSS, it might be a way to simplify things for those that prefer it that way.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Awesome. </p>



<p><em>Tammie Lister: </em>I think it&#8217;s what you&#8217;re cozy with, right? And I think that&#8217;s the thing. This can adapt to what was your cozy blanket of coding, and you don&#8217;t have to lose that yet, I think.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> All right. So Victor commented on that. If I get the results, I want interactively with the global settings panel on the right-hand side of the editor, can I export that to a theme.json format?</p>



<p><em>Daisy Olsen: </em>The answer is not right now. I think there&#8217;s discussion in the teams about maybe building it, but it hasn&#8217;t been the highest priority because everything needs to work first before we start working on an exporter. But there are other parts of that can be exported in that full site editing experience that can be exported. So I think it would be a natural progression to add the ability to do a theme.json export.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Yes. Definitely there will be.</p>



<p><em>Tammie Lister:</em> From the very beginning, there were designs in global style. Sorry. The reason I know is that was one thing I did partake on. There was exporting. So I have a feeling if we all wanted to play some little happy bets, there will be exploiting at some point.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Yeah. But if we all bet on the same thing, it&#8217;s not really bet, right? Victor, as always, you&#8217;re a little bit ahead of the time. So and from Jan Horna, from the Czech Republic, it&#8217;s very hot by now there. </p>



<p>He has two questions as a theme developer, one, is the theme.json supposed to include all the styling, formatting definitions and replaced the CSS style? And I think we&#8217;d take it one at a time. So we talked a little bit about it from my question, but would it replace? You could still do all those styling in the style sheets as you want, right?</p>



<p><em>Daisy Olsen:</em> And I think there are some things that will remain in other styling, but you could use the variables that you set or the properties that you set in your theme.json in your CSS. So they can work together. But I don&#8217;t think that theme.json, at least right now, will not completely replace an entire site&#8217;s design, especially if you have a very complex design.</p>



<h2 id="3-meta-charset-utf-8-why-do-we-want-to-rewrite-css-in-json">Why do we want to rewrite CSS in JSON</h2>



<p><em>Jeff Ong:</em> Yeah. And this was one of my first questions and honestly, skepticism early on of the proposal around this, is CSS is great. Why do we want to rewrite CSS in JSON. And then it slowly, I mean, other people are obviously smarter than me understood this quickly. It&#8217;s not about rewriting all of CSS. There&#8217;s definitely going to be aspects of your site, especially if you have taking, like you&#8217;re saying, more complicated designs that will remain in CSS. </p>



<p>But this is about creating, I think, more of the foundational elements and understanding how the blocks will interact with your styles and having that single point of contact, I think is most important. So I think for me, at least it&#8217;s more about the foundational elements that are going to be placed and managed this way than replacing your entirety of your styles. Because this great.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Things like animations and transformation, and this is all really powerful stuff that I don&#8217;t imagine, really, at least in the super near future, having a big part of theme.json. To the question about, will you be able to save an export a theme.json from global styles? I think this is a really important thing to keep in mind is what I just showed you is kind of unnatural. I don&#8217;t imagine a future necessarily where theme developers are writing raw JSON.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s really, there&#8217;s not a great experience for it. It&#8217;s a configuration file. And so the more, to points that have already been raised, it&#8217;s about we&#8217;re in this phase now because we need to kind of identify and get it to work, and then we can kind of build an ecosystem around what would a really cool UI look like to generate one of these files? Is it native directly to global styles? How do we start to imagine those interfaces so the theme developers or theme designers can really get to the core of this experience too?</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> All right. Well, thank you. Good point. You wanted to say something.</p>



<p><em>Tammie Lister: </em>Yeah. I was just going to say over time, CSS has gained so much. So I didn&#8217;t know about anyone else, but I had a block.css file that was getting bigger and bigger of supporting blocks and doing things. And something I&#8217;ve noticed that I can do is throw that file away, and I couldn&#8217;t be happier because what I can do now is lean into these defaults. I&#8217;m still going to have some lines of CSS, the output by whatever, a preprocessor, whatever, my happy little whatever. </p>



<p>Because everyone has got their own way and we should have our own way of doing it. But it&#8217;s a foundation, and it means that we&#8217;re not having to work around the editor or find different ways of doing it. I set up naturally a hack file for the editor out of habit. I haven&#8217;t filled it with anything yet in the latest theme I&#8217;ve been working on.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I&#8217;m delighted if I never fill that up with anything on the next theme, because it means that the new way we&#8217;re doing things hasn&#8217;t had me to work around that. I can just use the foundation and create a really awesome experience on top of it. And that&#8217;s what we should be doing. We should be working with the editor, not having to work around it, or using not important like it was going out of fashion to go over control of it. It was this awkward middle ground we were working in trying to make things fit that paradigm.&nbsp;</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> And I think that fits right into the next question from Jan Horna again, and he says so as a block theme developer, should I focus from a strategic point of view on theme.json block styles, or block patterns. In other words, how do I differentiate? It&#8217;s kind of a high-level question there.</p>



<p>D<em>aisy Olsen: </em>I would say all of the above. They&#8217;re all important things. And your block styles are part of theme.json, I would say. But block patterns are really a powerful partner to the theme.json, that you can create building blocks for a site where you&#8217;ve got some really amazing very specific designed elements that could be used for different things on a site. So if you&#8217;re creating a commercial application that&#8217;s going to go out to a wide audience, they can be more generic. </p>



<p>But if you have a client and you&#8217;re working as a freelancer or in an agency where you have a site that needs to have access to these things that they&#8217;re going to use more than once, patterns are a fantastic way to do that, where most of the work is done for them. They don&#8217;t have to reconfigure everything from the ground up every time they want to create something similar to what they&#8217;ve done before.</p>



<h2 id="4-what-happens-when-you-update-the-color-palette-will-saved-blocks-have-the-new-colors">What happens when you update the color palette? Will saved blocks have the new colors?</h2>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Thank you. And Spencer McCormick in the chat had a question. So what happens when you update the color palette or similar, for example, if you have a primary and secondary colors, when you update and change the palette colors, will saved blocks have the new colors? That&#8217;s an interesting question. Thank you, Spenser.</p>



<p><em>Daisy Olsen:</em> I can answer that to some extent. If you think of your palette as named colors, if you give the different hex code to the same name, it should apply to the site. But if you give it a new name, then that&#8217;s a new element, and it won&#8217;t apply to anything that already had an old name attached to it.</p>



<p><em>Jeff Ong:</em> There is a hefty discussion related to this question on the naming of colors in the way that Gutenberg wants to supply a default palette or a default set of named colors so that you could reliably&#8230; What we&#8217;re seeing I think is that I think patterns have been wanting to rely on specific colors across kind of, so you can guarantee oh, when corn flour shows up it&#8217;s always going to be corn flour. </p>



<p>It&#8217;s always going to be available. There&#8217;s a lot of complication and nuance around it. But if, I think today, to answer your question, like Daisy is saying, today, if I were to supply a value or a named value here and then change it or take it out of my palette, then that would break the experience or it would no longer be applied to that.</p>



<p>And that&#8217;s part of the challenge, how do we reliably solve for that? How do we give theme office the tools to figure that out. But now if they set a custom color, if you set a custom color on an element or a block, then that will remain because it&#8217;s a specific X value, but the class names will go away though, if they&#8217;re supplied by the theme.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> So great discussions. And I&#8217;m probably going to share, and if it&#8217;s one issue where that discuss the theme team every week kind of shares all the things that are discussed and that need input from the community or other theme developers on their make blog. </p>



<p>So that is definitely a place to go to chime in and we&#8217;ll find all the discussions that are happening. And then chime in in the ones that you find important and that you are worried about. So Tim Bowen has the question, how does the theme.json handle responsive sizes for font sizes especially. Responsive sizes.</p>



<p><em>Daisy Olsen: </em>By default, I&#8217;m not sure.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> You&#8217;ve stomped the panelists. Yes, we did it.</p>



<p><em>Tammie Lister:</em> I mean, you can use not just pixel values for your fonts, so-</p>



<p><em>Daisy Olsen:</em> That&#8217;s what I was going to say. </p>



<p>Tammie Lister: &#8230; that helps. And I think it&#8217;s a work in progress. So things like responsive and breakpoints. But the now answer is you don&#8217;t have to just use pixels. And Jeff just gave a great leak.</p>



<p>Je<em>ff Ong: </em>I just dropped the issue in that has not seen a lot of activity around it, but the idea of media. So the first part of your question on font sizes, there are ways of calculating this where they&#8217;re not pixel values tied to specific viewports. You could supply a calculated value, for example, in your small&#8230; that is based on a viewport size. </p>



<p>So it&#8217;s kind of a paradigm shift or design paradigm shift of getting away from you must be 12 pixels under below 600 pixel viewport width, to more of are we okay with kind of a fluid typography kind of system? That being said, there are instances where you need media queries, and that is not currently&#8230; I don&#8217;t know how actively that&#8217;s being worked on right now. But a wonderful thing open to contributors.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> So Patty has a comment and a question after that, Patty O&#8217;Hara, I most often develop custom themes for clients and hand them off for the clients to update the content. And playing around with new tools, I&#8217;m excited to start using them, but don&#8217;t want to give access to global standards to anyone with admin access. Will the granularity of permissions changes so that I can block access to changing fonts and colors from within the admin?</p>



<p><em>Tammie Lister:</em> I think this amazing thing happens in where also Jeff showed some of the control you can do. So in the demo, there was some control that you can do. But my process is a history of configurability and being able to do that be it in code, or be it in a plugin. But I honestly think we need to be a little bit cautious. This is my personal opinion here, and we need to maybe embrace allowing people to do styling. </p>



<p>You can set boundaries, you can set branding boundaries, you can set pallets, you can set topography. But we need to move away a little bit from having such pixel fixated control in that sense and think about safely within boundaries, expression of these tools. And that people can create really amazing things, and you can maintain branding that way, and it can empower someone.&nbsp;</p>



<p>These themes are becoming style guides, and that&#8217;s something that is known in the corporate world and used within that space as well. It&#8217;s a term, but it&#8217;s kind of democratizing design in that sense in giving people all these tools to play with, and I think it&#8217;s a huge change in the way that we&#8217;ve done things, but I think it&#8217;s really, really important and really, really empowering to the people that are using our themes.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack: </em>That&#8217;s a good advocacy for set it free. Thank you.</p>



<p><em>Tammie Lister:</em> But you&#8217;re allowed to have boundaries. I think you can set it free, but be comfortable about some boundaries. I think sometimes when we say set it free, it can be scary because we don&#8217;t say you&#8217;re allowed to have some boundaries, but with pallets and with these style guides, that&#8217;s what you&#8217;re saying. You&#8217;re saying I&#8217;m making these good decisions for you and you can choose from this platform of good decisions. And that&#8217;s kind of awesome. I think,</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack: </em>Yeah. I like the plea for block patterns that Daisy just a couple of minutes had that block patterns also give you the possibility or the option to actually provide different facets of how a section can be organized or styled within the style design system that you build with the block add on. </p>



<p>And so I think that there is a lot of creativity that will come from that as well. So Tim Bowen is brave and contemplating, is it safe to use the theme.json now for a project launching in August? Would we just activate the Gutenberg plugin and add JSON file? Or is there more to it? I would love to move away from our functions in Editor.js method probably as soon as possible. So what would we say to Tim?</p>



<p><em>Daisy Olsen:</em> The theme is not a block theme, as in it doesn&#8217;t use HTML templates, then I probably wouldn&#8217;t put the Gutenberg plugin on a production website, unless you are ready to deal with unexpected things happening. But placing your theme.json file in your classic theme on the 5.8 beta or release candidate that will be coming, I would start testing there and see if the things that you&#8217;re putting in your theme.json file work with 5.8 on a classic theme. That&#8217;d be my suggestion.</p>



<p><em>Tammie Lister:</em> I think if it&#8217;s launching in August, that means 5.8 should be out. She tries to check her mental calendar. So I think tests. I, personally, am okay. I would consider it if it was going into a site, but I would also want to know how many users were using it, what their levels was, what they were doing, what they were going to create, and how they were going to do it. So it&#8217;s a&#8230; this is not legal advice. I feel that there should be [inaudible 00:50:36] advice that I can be. </p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Don&#8217;t try this at home. </p>



<p><em>Tammie Lister:</em> But by then, 5.8 should be out.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Yeah. 5.8 comes out July 20th, that&#8217;s at least the schedule for that. So we ran out of questions right now one the Q and A sessions here. Well, you&#8217;re welcome, Tim. Good luck with that, and let us know. Is there more to the setting it up besides just activating the plugin or adding the JSON file. Well, back to kind of using it and editing. </p>



<p>When there are already themes available in the theme repository that use the full set up for full site editing and use all the template parts and templates with the blocks, and header blocks, and photo blocks, and all that. But I&#8217;m not quite sure of that yet. Be careful about the using the Gutenberg plugin in production. It always has a few hiccups there.</p>



<p>So it wasn&#8217;t the first time ever that I retreated to the last version when I had one and had to wait till one, two, or three point releases to come out. So I&#8217;m hesitant to say do it in production. Test it as much as possible. So I have a lot of things on my screen, but not the right thing. Here, so it is. Oh, Ryan, we are pretty good time wise. </p>



<p>So, I don&#8217;t have an additional&#8230; So, when we say how to get started, what was the first thing most difficult part for you for learning, or was there a mind shift until it clicked? Just to kind of get away from a fear of learning something new, and was there something when you go back ages on the theme.json thing.</p>



<p><strong><em>Tammie Lister: </em></strong>So for me, it was realizing it wasn&#8217;t as hard as I maybe mentally thought it was. It was just the same with learning anything. You always think it&#8217;s going to be super hard, or at least with me, I read like dev doc and I&#8217;m like&#8230; My brain makes that noise. And then I just letting my theme be lighter. Letting it take the weight of that, giving up control, which as someone that&#8217;s maybe a bit of an old themer, giving up control of things, that&#8217;s an interesting process to go through. </p>



<p>But it&#8217;s really important embracing those foundations. And when you do, there&#8217;s that mind shift of creating in the editor. That was the moment that&#8230; And I&#8217;m still going through the process. I think it&#8217;s a process, and it&#8217;s a process as these tools are evolving. We&#8217;re talking about be gentle, they&#8217;re in production. These tools are still evolving and working.&nbsp;</p>



<p>If you are using these tools now before it&#8217;s released, then you&#8217;re going to hit bugs and report them. But that&#8217;s the thing. This theme.json also&#8230; the moment I kind of, the Jenga box, the blocks fell in my brain was I stopped seeing it as global stars. And I knew it wasn&#8217;t just global stars, but I felt it wasn&#8217;t just global stars and this felt like it could be the backbone of my theme, and it felt like it wasn&#8217;t everything in my theme, but it felt like it could be the backbone, is the best way I can describe it.&nbsp;</p>



<p>And I could hang my theme from it. And we&#8217;ve hung our theme from functions.php wrongly, I think. So it was just that change from PHP to doing it all in the editor and creating and seeing that JSON. It just was free, and it&#8217;s more in line with how things are made outside WordPress, which I think is delightful.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Any comments from you that you want to add, Daisy?</p>



<p><em>Daisy Olsen: </em>So when I first started working with a theme.json file, I found that I had to&#8230; So there&#8217;s a whole section called styles, and I had to realign my thinking about what that meant, because what it&#8217;s saying is there are style settings in your blocks or for your site level depending on how it&#8217;s being applied, and what you&#8217;re doing is configuring the defaults for it. </p>



<p>So if I think of the theme.json file as a default file, then it helped me frame it so that I&#8217;m not necessarily replacing my CSS depending on&#8230; I mean, I&#8217;m letting theme.json do the heavy lifting, kind of like Tammie said, but then I can take it further if I feel like I need to, or I want to. So I like thinking of it as a configuration file or a defaults file.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> That&#8217;s a good point. Jeff, do you have any stories how I came about?</p>



<p>Jeff Ong: It&#8217;s been really helpful to pair on it with people, to work on a theme with someone. I think if my team at Automattic. It&#8217;s a very culture of collaboration, and if you have the opportunity to say, &#8220;I&#8217;m having trouble with this. Would you want to work on this?&#8221; With someone like that, because this definitely can be a head bashing kind of why is this not being applied? </p>



<p>I literally just wrote color green. Why is it not green? It can be so frustrating dealing with that. So to have someone just to look at your code and be like &#8220;Oh, you missed a comma or actually you need an extra key there&#8221; is really, really helpful for something like this.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Oh yeah. So well, I think we&#8217;re coming to the end of our show. This has been very interesting and inspiring. So thank you all so much. And for those who want to dive into at a guided kind of testing session, Anne McCarthy, who, as you might know, runs the Full Site Editing Outreach program, she&#8217;s about to post the eighth call for testing, and it will all be about the theme.json file.</p>



<p>So as soon as it&#8217;s out, I will share a link in the show notes. And of course, also if you subscribed to our Gutenberg Times newsletter, you will definitely be informed about that. So at this point, I only have two more questions for our panelists. So do you have any announcements that you couldn&#8217;t get out before and you want the people to keep in mind? And if people want to get in touch with you, what would be the best way. Tammie, you want to start?</p>



<p><em>Tammie Lister:</em> Yeah. So I&#8217;m comatose in all the things. I&#8217;m pretty easy to find in a good way. And I love chatting to people. So please do. I think my thing to say would be remember all of what happening now you can help shape. Just because we&#8217;ve sat here talking about it doesn&#8217;t mean we know anything more than you? It just means we&#8217;ve poked it and we&#8217;ve played around with the code. </p>



<p>So do that. Start exploring it. And it&#8217;s a lot more accessible than it ever was. It&#8217;s starting to be more accessible. There&#8217;s more documentation than there ever was coming out. And if you care about what happens with themes or you ever cared about what happens to themes, and maybe you could have that reignited, start to join the conversation. And I guess my final point would be, I think my hope is to see this experimentation come back to themes.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I think we forgot about that a little bit and we need to have some fun again in these. We used to have so much fun in WordPress themes, and I look forward to not just themes to have a purpose, but just themes that are art, themes that are just wacky experiments, and start enjoying theming and make some art. I&#8217;m really excited to see what things people create and use them just for one day even. That&#8217;d be amazing.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah. So Jeff, anything you want to have people keep in mind, and how to get in contact with you.</p>



<p><em>Jeff Ong:</em> Yeah. Contact at J-F-F-N-G. And I guess keeping in mind, I&#8217;m just building on the last thing Tammie said, perhaps find a way to have fun with it and get curious about it, and try it. There&#8217;s really to me, a fundamental tendance of learning about something or you just have, how do I get curious about this thing? How do I play with it and have fun? And that&#8217;s going to be the most important thing to keep in at the center.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Thank you, Jeff, and thank you so much for the audio work on the demo. Daisy.</p>



<p><em>Daisy Olsen:</em> I&#8217;m Daisy Olsen on most things, Olsen with an E, and I would say that as far as what you can do as the next step if you&#8217;re interested in learning more about this, is go to&#8230; I&#8217;m pretty sure that Birgit has a link to this somewhere, the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/theme-experiments/">theme experiments repository on GitHub</a> in the WordPress space has things that other people have done or are working on. </p>



<p>So I love to see examples of something in action to help me learn more about it and to see what other people have done. So I would say go check out something.json files in there and see what people have come up with.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack:</em> Awesome. Thank you so much. So big thank you to Daisy, Jeff, and Tammie to come today and make your time. A big thank you also for the viewers with all your great questions. I think we got a great array of it. And if you have more questions, you can always send them to me via email to <a href="mailto:pauli@gutenbergtimes.com">pauli@gutenbergtimes.com</a>, and I&#8217;ll get you the answers.</p>



<p>And the recording of the show will be available in a few minutes on our YouTube channel. And I&#8217;ll share all the links then also in the video description. And within a few days, we will have also a transcript that we will publish on the Gutenbergtimes.com. So be well, good-bye, and good luck. That was fun. Thank you.</p>



<p>Jeff Ong: Thank you, everyone.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 26 Jun 2021 17:23:43 +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:18:"Birgit Pauli-Haack";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:46:"WPTavern: Major Revamp Coming to GitHub Issues";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119005";s: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:137:"https://wptavern.com/major-revamp-coming-to-github-issues?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=major-revamp-coming-to-github-issues";s: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:2872:"<p>This week GitHub unveiled new features that will be included in a total revamp of <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://github.com/features/issues" target="_blank">GitHub Issues</a>, including project tables that are similar to spreadsheets, custom fields, a keyboard driven command palette, improved task lists, and issue forms. The new project table view is an alternative to project boards, allowing users to filter, sort, and group issues and pull requests. Project managers can customize the table with custom fields and saved views.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img /></div>



<p>GitHub is also making it easier to manage issues that include subtasks. Users can now add lists and the issue will automatically track the status with a progress indicator.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img /></div>



<p><a href="https://github.blog/changelog/2021-06-23-issues-forms-beta-for-public-repositories/">Issues forms are now in beta</a> for public repositories. Many open source projects currently use Markdown issue templates and encourage contributors to provide more details by removing the placeholder text and replacing it with their own. Maintainers can now set up YAML configured forms with required fields and instructions to better guide the process.</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<a href="https://cloudup.com/cxWiOL85R4T"><img src="https://cldup.com/Uh6zy46mrI.gif" alt="Issue forms" width="2010" height="1005" /></a>
</div>



<p>The revamped Issues feature is being updated to provide a bridge between the planning tools and the problems the tools were created to solve. Mario Rodriguez, Head of Product for GitHub&nbsp;Enterprise, explained why they are evolving GitHub Issues in the beta <a href="https://github.blog/2021-06-23-introducing-new-github-issues/">announcement</a>:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>As teams and projects grow, the way you work evolves. Tools that hard-code a specific methodology are too rigid and complex to flex to whatever the moment demands. Often, we find ourselves creating a spreadsheet or pulling out a notepad, just to have the freedom to think. But then our planning is disconnected from where the work happens and quickly goes stale.</p></blockquote>



<p>The WordPress project hasn&rsquo;t yet moved away from Trac but most of Gutenberg development happens on GitHub. It&rsquo;s also the most popular repository hosting site for WordPress theme and plugin authors. Contributors to these projects may soon see some of these features in action for personal accounts and organizations that opt into the beta.</p>



<p>The new <a href="http://github.com/features/issues">GitHub Issues</a> is expected to be out of beta later this year. GitHub plans to bundle it for free, along with the new project planning capabilities, with its Free, Pro, Team, and Enterprise plans.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 26 Jun 2021 03:49:51 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:94:"WPTavern: FSE Outreach Round #8: A Developer-Centric Call for Testing Theme JSON Configuration";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=118998";s: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:229:"https://wptavern.com/fse-outreach-round-8-a-developer-centric-call-for-testing-theme-json-configuration?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fse-outreach-round-8-a-developer-centric-call-for-testing-theme-json-configuration";s: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:7807:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Round #8 of the Full Site Editing (FSE) Outreach Program began yesterday. Instead of the user-centric call for testing features from the UI, program lead Anne McCarthy <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/06/24/call-for-testing-thrive-with-theme-json/">asks that volunteers dive into code</a>. The new adventure is all about testing <code>theme.json</code> files.</p>



<p>The twist is likely to limit the pool of usual volunteers. However, it could open it up to an audience that may have been sitting on the sideline for the previous tests: theme developers.</p>



<p>Before jumping headfirst <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/how-to-guides/themes/theme-json/">theme JSON files</a>, we should probably all get on the same page.</p>



<p>I have been calling <code>theme.json</code> the tipping point between the old WordPress and the new WordPress. When version 5.0 of the core platform launched in late 2018, it was a revolutionary step forward, but not on the surface. A new editor is just a new editor. Some will love it; others will hate it.  And, it was more often clunky than not.  For the most part, WordPress was still WordPress.</p>



<p>The core software was due for an upending. Newer technologies were not only democratizing publishing in their own ways, but they were also bringing that same concept to design.</p>



<p>The introduction of blocks was merely foundational. The new editor was an imperfect tool, often feeling like the proverbial round peg being shoved into a square hole.</p>



<p>The only way to live out the early vision of the Gutenberg project was to continue bridging the gap between what the user sees in the admin and what gets output on the front end. That is what the <code>theme.json</code> file is all about. It is a translator that allows users, themes, and WordPress to all speak the same language.</p>



<p><em>What does this mean exactly?</em></p>



<p>From a user&rsquo;s viewpoint, they see all sorts of controls for changing their blocks. Color, font size, alignment, and other options are tools that allow them to customize their content.</p>



<img />Customizing a profile card for my cat using block options.



<p>There are severe limitations with what is possible in the current system. Theme authors can register a handful of options. Outside of that, the theme and block systems can feel like they are pitted against each other for control.</p>



<p>That is where the <code>theme.json</code> file comes in. It allows themes and WordPress to get on the same page, creating a standardized system that improves the user experience.</p>



<p>This file that lives a theme&rsquo;s root folder hands over the power to configure dozens of presets (e.g., color and font options), custom CSS properties, and default styles for blocks and HTML elements.</p>



<p>It also gives themers the power to enable or disable specific features. For example, developers can turn off the ability for users to set a custom font size but provide access to their perfect scale of choices that fit into the design&rsquo;s vertical rhythm.</p>



<p>However, it will move beyond the simple configuration of blocks in the content editor. When the global styles system launches alongside the site editor in the future, users will customize many of the presets and overwrite the default block styles. Because everyone is speaking that same language, fewer conflicts arise.</p>



<p>As designer Tammie Lister pointed out in her piece for Ephermeral Themes, <a href="https://ephemeralthemes.com/2021/06/20/theme-json-inspires/">Theme.json inspires</a>, themes have been stuck. The software, the community, has put too much responsibility on the shoulders of themers over the years. They have had to innovate and build the systems that should have been coming from WordPress. Not only did the core platform need to be turned on its head, but the design system deserved an overhaul.</p>



<p>&ldquo;I am very aware that saying &lsquo;first major theme process to core&rsquo; in years is quite a statement,&rdquo; wrote Lister. &ldquo;Theme.json to me is that though. I don&rsquo;t say this ignoring iterations and improvements, WordPress is a project flowing with the energy of those. However, themes were on life support stuck in a land when the rest of front end development was moving on. It wasn&rsquo;t for some trying to change that, mostly when they did the time wasn&rsquo;t right and as it didn&rsquo;t come from core it was always a harder change.&rdquo;</p>



<p>It is time for a new front-end design era. But, first, we must test.</p>



<h2>Testing Theme JSON</h2>



<img />Real-world theme.json file.



<p class="has-drop-cap">The more I journeyed into this call for testing, the more I realized it did not feel right for me. Over the past couple of months, I have already been in the thick of working from the <code>theme.json</code> file. I know most of the little quirks and see the gaps. The tricks for working with it feel second nature to me.</p>



<p>I have performed all of the beginner and intermediate steps dozens upon dozens of times. I have already filed tickets for any issues I have run into. Or, someone else has already beat me to the punch.</p>



<p>Those stages of this testing round need fresh eyes. The best feedback will be from theme authors who will be viewing the problems through a different pair of lenses.  If you are in this group, there is no time like the present to test and provide feedback.</p>



<p>The advanced stage calls for recreating a classic theme using <code>theme.json</code>. It is best to stick with something simple. Otherwise, you could be looking at a weeks-long experiment. McCarthy recommends Twenty Twenty or Storefront. I have already been performing this song and dance too. My test project was an old theme that I gutted and turned into a block theme.</p>



<p>There is one overarching issue that I keep coming back to. It is that theme authors must work from a JSON file at all.</p>



<p>I understand the &ldquo;why&rdquo; behind using JSON. It is a universal format that we can pass around from JavaScript to PHP. Third-party APIs can understand it.</p>



<p>However, I am currently sitting on top of 900+ lines of code in my <code>theme.json</code>. I have heard from a couple of other theme authors who have been doing deep work with similar numbers. I expect it to only grow.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Number of lines&rdquo; is not necessarily some metric where a specific total is a dividing point between &ldquo;good&rdquo; or &ldquo;bad.&rdquo; The problem is that comments are not allowed in JSON files. One of the cornerstones of sound development is documenting code. Skipping out on documentation of a few dozen lines is not so bad. However, when you speed past 900, things can get out of hand.</p>



<p>Plus, at a certain point, you start wanting to split pieces into their own groups. This much code is begging for better organization.</p>



<p>The thing that is currently missing is a PHP layer for theme authors to use. Remember, JSON is a universal format. It is easy to convert PHP to JSON and vice-versa. Building in this layer for theme authors would accomplish two things:</p>



<ol><li>They can organize what will likely be 1,000s of lines of code.</li><li>It will be easier to transition to the new system.</li></ol>



<p>The latter point is likely the most salient. PHP has been the language of theming since the theming has been around. Developers know it and are comfortable using it, and WordPress should meet them in the middle. If we are closing gaps, this is the one that needs filling before more configuration possibilities are added and <code>theme.json</code> files balloon into unwieldy, 5,000-line behemoths.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 26 Jun 2021 03:30:07 +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: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:40:"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 5.8 Beta 4";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=10855";s: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:56:"https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/wordpress-5-8-beta-4/";s: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:3891:"<p>WordPress 5.8 Beta 4 is now available for testing!</p>



<p><strong>This software is still in development,</strong>&nbsp;so it is not recommended to run this version on a production site. Consider setting up a test site to play with it.</p>



<p>You can test the WordPress 5.8 Beta 4 in three ways:</p>



<ul><li>Install/activate the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/">WordPress Beta Tester</a> plugin (select the&nbsp;<code>Bleeding edge</code>&nbsp;channel and the&nbsp;<code>Beta/RC Only</code> stream).</li><li>Direct download the beta version here (<a href="https://wordpress.org/wordpress-5.8-beta4.zip">zip</a>).</li><li>Using WP-CLI to test: <code>wp core update --version=5.8-beta4</code></li></ul>



<p>The current target for the final release is July 20, 2021. That’s less than <strong>four weeks away</strong>, so we need your help to make sure the final release is as good as it can be.</p>



<h2><strong>Some Highlights</strong></h2>



<p>Since <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/wordpress-5-8-beta-3/">Beta 3</a>, <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&changetime=06%2F24%2F2021..06%2F26%2F2021&milestone=5.8&group=component&max=500&col=id&col=summary&col=owner&col=type&col=priority&col=component&col=version&order=priority">18</a> bugs have been fixed. Most tickets focused on polishing existing default themes, fixing bugs in the new block Widget screen, and squashing Editor bugs collected during beta.</p>



<h2><strong>How You Can Help</strong></h2>



<p>Watch the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/">Make WordPress Core blog</a> for <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/5-8+dev-notes/">5.8-related developer notes</a> in the coming weeks, which will break down these and other changes in greater detail.</p>



<p>So far, contributors have fixed <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&changetime=..06%2F25%2F2021&milestone=5.8&group=component&max=500&col=id&col=summary&col=owner&col=type&col=priority&col=component&col=version&order=priority">254 tickets in WordPress 5.8</a>, including <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&status=reopened&changetime=..06%2F25%2F2021&type=enhancement&type=feature+request&milestone=5.8&group=component&col=id&col=summary&col=type&col=status&col=milestone&col=changetime&col=owner&col=priority&col=keywords&order=changetime">91 new features and enhancements</a>, and more bug fixes are on the way.</p>



<p><strong>Do some testing!</strong></p>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/testing/beta-testing/">Testing for bugs</a> is a vital part of polishing the release during the beta stage and a great way to contribute. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2728.png" alt="✨" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<p>If you think you’ve found a bug, please post to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta/">Alpha/Beta</a> area in the support forums. We would love to hear from you! If you’re comfortable writing a reproducible <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/reports/">bug report</a>, file one on <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/newticket">WordPress Trac</a>. That’s also where you can find a list of <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/tickets/major">known bugs</a>.</p>



<p><em>Props to <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/desrosj/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>desrosj</a> <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/clorith/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>clorith</a> for reviews and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>chanthaboune</a> for final edits!</em></p>



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



<p><em>Releasing software<br />Is complex when open source<br />Yet WordPressers do</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, 25 Jun 2021 17:14:06 +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:12:"Jeffrey Paul";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:115:"WPTavern: Gutenberg 10.9 Renames the Query Block, Adds Collapsible List View Items, and Rolls Out Rich URL Previews";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119015";s: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:271:"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-10-9-renames-the-query-block-adds-collapsible-list-view-items-and-rolls-out-rich-url-previews?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gutenberg-10-9-renames-the-query-block-adds-collapsible-list-view-items-and-rolls-out-rich-url-previews";s: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:6463:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Yesterday, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/24/whats-new-in-gutenberg-10-9-23-june/">Gutenberg 10.9</a> landed in the WordPress plugin directory. The update overhauls the Query and Query Loop blocks, allows users to expand or collapse items in the editor list view, and introduces rich URL preview cards for links. The new version also packs in an updated template-mode <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/32427">creation modal</a> and <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/32166">moves the blocks manager</a>.</p>



<p>This update ships several enhancements, particularly to the user experience. One of my favorite low-key upgrades is <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/32371">a new set</a> of add-card, bug, key, post author, and security icons by Filipe Varela, a product designer at Automattic.</p>



<p>Another small-but-packs-a-punch UI change is the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/32609">inclusion of the post type</a> in the editor breadcrumb trail. The type&rsquo;s singular name label now replaces the root &ldquo;Document&rdquo; item.</p>



<p>For the past several cycles, the new template editor slated to launch with WordPress 5.8 has been enabled by default. The goal was always to allow everyone the chance to experience it, regardless of whether they were on a classic or block theme. The development team has now scaled this back to only be <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/32858">auto-enabled for block themes</a>. Classic themes must opt-in to support it. Theme authors should read the recent <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/16/introducing-the-template-editor-in-wordpress-5-8/">template editor overview</a> by Riad Benguella for the complete details.</p>



<h2>Query and Query Loop Blocks Renamed</h2>



<img />Query Loop block in the editor.



<p class="has-drop-cap"><em>Query? Query Loop? What the heck is all this?</em> If you are unfamiliar with those terms, you are not alone. Even on the developer end, the early implementation of the Query and its inner Query Loop block could be a little confusing. For the average user, it probably makes even less sense.</p>



<p>Gutenberg 10.9 takes one step toward <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/32514">clearing up this confusion</a> for end-users. The former Query Loop block is now named Post Template. This is a far more accurate description of what it does. It is the &ldquo;template&rdquo; that outputs individual posts. It contains all the things you see, such as the post content or excerpt, the featured image, tags, categories, and more. This template is, of course, customizable via the block editor.</p>



<p>While this is a step toward a less complex user experience, it is not quite where it needs to be yet. The Query block has been renamed to Query Loop. Therein lies the remaining issue. The terminology might still be confusing.</p>



<p>The goal is to expose a variation of this block named Posts List to users. It already exists, but the query-related terminology still appears when using it. There is an <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/32268">open ticket to address this</a>.</p>



<p>The primary win with this update is the overhauled text in the Query Loop block sidebar. &ldquo;The query block is a powerful and complex block,&rdquo; said lead Gutenberg developer Matias Ventura in a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/32694">GitHub ticket</a>. &ldquo;It can be intimidated to users without proper guidance. We can use this block as an opportunity to explain some of the underlying concepts of the WordPress software in a more didactic manner.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The more advanced options, such as whether to inherit from the URL and which post types to include, now have longer descriptions. Each should guide the user through features that have long existed in the developer world.</p>



<p>If you are a theme author and have already been building with these two blocks, do not worry about everything breaking when updating. The Query block has simply been renamed to &ldquo;Query Loop&rdquo; in user-facing text. Under the hood, it is still the same. The former Query Loop block has literally been renamed to Post Template (<code>core/post-template</code> block name). It is backward compatible. However, you should update any past calls to the <code>wp:query-loop</code> block to <code>wp:post-template</code>.</p>



<h2>Expand and Collapse Nested List View Blocks</h2>



<img />List view with collapsed nested blocks.



<p class="has-drop-cap">The development team introduced an <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/32117">expand/collapse feature</a> for the editor&rsquo;s list view. Once opening the panel, users should now see arrow icons next to each item with nested blocks. Closing one or more of them makes it easier to see all or many top-level blocks at once.</p>



<p>The downside is that the open/close state is lost once the list view is closed. If I had one request, it would be to store this data while editing the post. That would improve the user experience with longer documents, particularly when switching between navigating and editing.</p>



<p>This update, along with the persistent behavior of the list view in Gutenberg 10.7, has made for a much more well-rounded document navigation experience.</p>



<h2>Rich URL Previews</h2>



<img />



<p class="has-drop-cap">The editor will now <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/31464">show a website preview</a> in the link editor popup. This feature only works for links in a Rich Text context, such as in the Paragraph, Heading, and List blocks. The preview also only appears after the link has been set and clicked on, not when initially typing it.</p>



<p>If available, the popup preview displays the site icon, title, image, and description.</p>



<p>&ldquo;In the near future however, we expect to extend this to provide previews of internal URLs and to roll out support to more areas of the software,&rdquo; wrote George Mamadashvili in the Gutenberg 10.9 announcement post.</p>



<p>Admittedly, I was not keen on the idea of adding this feature. It felt like unnecessary bloat when more pressing issues were lying on the table. However, in the past day, I have enjoyed the quick previews when double-checking links in posts.</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, 25 Jun 2021 02:34:25 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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: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:41:"WPTavern: Jetpack Launches New Mobile App";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=118883";s: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/jetpack-launches-new-mobile-app?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=jetpack-launches-new-mobile-app";s: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:3798:"<div><img /></div>



<p>Automattic has launched a new <a href="https://jetpack.com/2021/06/21/jetpack-mobile-app/">mobile app for Jetpack</a>, available on iOS and Android. The app features an array of Jetpack-specific features, as well as those applicable to users on paid plans, along with core WordPress features. </p>



<p>Inside it looks nearly identical to the official WordPress mobile apps, but it is noticeably missing WordPress.com specific features like the Reader. The bottom menu links to &ldquo;My Site&rdquo; and &ldquo;Notifications.&rdquo; </p>



<p>Those who are on paid Jetpack plans will have access to features like backups, restores, and security scanning for use inside the app when on the go. It also includes the same Activity Log and Stats features found in the main WordPress app. In its current state, it doesn&rsquo;t look like the app offers anything more than what you are used to on the standard mobile apps unless you are a <a href="https://jetpack.com/features/comparison/">paid Jetpack customer</a>. So far, the app doesn&rsquo;t include any upgrade paths for free users or to jump from plan to plan. If Automattic decides to add in-app purchases, it will have to <a href="https://wptavern.com/automattic-tangles-with-apple-over-lack-of-in-app-purchases-in-the-wordpress-for-ios-app">share the revenue with the app stores</a>. Having a separate app from the official mobile apps gives the company the option to build in more direct paths for monetization in the future.</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li></ul>



<div><img /></div>



<p>You may want to stick with the official WordPress apps if you manage both WordPress.com and Jetpack-enabled sites, to keep everything conveniently in the same place. If you decide to use both apps, you will want to remove your Jetpack sites from the main WordPress app so that you aren&rsquo;t getting double notifications from having the site accessible through both apps.</p>



<p>Automattic&rsquo;s integrated products remain controversial features of the official WordPress apps. It is a good move to separate self-hosted Jetpack sites from the clutter of having WordPress.com-specific features in the app, but it does little for improving the official app&rsquo;s experience for self-hosted users who are not using Jetpack. Clicking on Stats in the app still prompts users to install Jetpack when managing self-hosted sites. The Reader menu item is ever-present at the bottom of the page. These products take up screen real estate regardless of whether they are being used. </p>



<p>A toggle to turn off these features in the app&rsquo;s settings might be a good stop-gap measure towards disentanglement, but ultimately the official mobile apps should not promote any commercial interests. </p>



<p>If Automattic moved WordPress.com features into the Jetpack app, then anyone using the company&rsquo;s products could be directed to this app for managing their sites. The official WordPress app could then be kept free of any products that the user doesn&rsquo;t choose to install. If the vanilla state of the app is not enough, users can be prompted to add themes and plugins to enhance the WordPress experience.</p>



<p>The Jetpack app is aimed at people who have sites using Jetpack but don&rsquo;t need the WordPress.com features that are built into the official WordPress apps. It brings more value to those who are on paid plans and want access to those features on the go. More than 500 people have already downloaded the Android app. It will be interesting to see if Jetpack users will gravitate towards the new app or remain on the standard WordPress app for more centralized management of Jetpack and non-Jetpack enabled websites.  </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, 24 Jun 2021 17:59:04 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:63:"WPTavern: Clove: A Showcase of Block Patterns by Anariel Design";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=119011";s: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:169:"https://wptavern.com/clove-a-showcase-of-block-patterns-by-anariel-design?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=clove-a-showcase-of-block-patterns-by-anariel-design";s: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:5403:"<img />Clove theme homepage.



<p class="has-drop-cap">Earlier today, Ana Segota <a href="https://twitter.com/Ana_Segota/status/1407694456418152458">tweeted</a> and <a href="https://www.anarieldesign.com/free-full-site-editing-theme-clove/">announced</a> via the Anariel Design blog that her company had submitted its second block-based theme to WordPress.org. Clove is a more well-rounded follow-up to her first such theme, <a href="https://wptavern.com/anariel-design-launches-naledi-a-block-based-wordpress-theme">Naledi</a>. It is currently under review for inclusion in the official directory, but anyone can give it a test run by snagging the ZIP file from <a href="https://themes.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/101349">its ticket</a>. Or, just peruse the <a href="https://anarieldesign.com/themedemos/clove/">live demo</a>.</p>



<p>This should officially be the 10th <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/tags/full-site-editing/">block-based theme</a> to go live in the WordPress.org theme directory (note that a couple by Automattic are not tagged). That is assuming all goes well during the review process.</p>



<p>It has been a long road thus far, but 10 themes with the Full Site Editing tag is a notable milestone. The <a href="https://wptavern.com/exploring-full-site-editing-with-the-q-wordpress-theme">Q theme</a> by Ari Stathopoulos was the first to land in the directory back in October 2020. Now, eight months later, there is still room for other theme authors to become pioneers in the space. With almost no competition, who will design that first block theme that squeezes its way into the most popular list?</p>



<p>If &ldquo;practice makes perfect,&rdquo; Segota is now ahead of the curve by pushing her second theme to the directory. This makes her theme company only one of two with multiple block themes.</p>



<p>Clove is experimental, as all block themes are. It relies on the ever-shifting parts of the Gutenberg plugin, but it all comes together into a floral, nature-themed design. There are hints of inspiration from Twenty Twenty-One, but it feels more structured, less chaotic.</p>



<p>The design is less of a theme and more of a showcase of block patterns and styles. Even on the template level, it reuses those same elements across each of its seven templates, providing multiple entryways for users to tinker with its features.</p>



<p>Clove even includes pricing columns.  I seem to recall writing about how theme authors could <a href="https://wptavern.com/you-might-not-need-that-block">implement them via patterns</a> just over a month ago. Maybe the Anariel Design team came to the same conclusion. Maybe they took my message and ran with it. I like to think the latter is true. Either way, the result is a beautiful, theme-specific pattern &mdash; the sort of artistry that is tough to achieve from a plugin.</p>



<img />Customizing the Pricing Columns pattern in the WordPress editor.



<p>I am less of the fan of the overlapping and uneven columns in some of the designs designs, preferring some of the more-structured patterns, such as Three Quotes Images:</p>



<img />Three-column pattern that showcases images along with quotes.



<p>Despite my general dislike of the uneven column style, my favorite piece of the entire theme is the Illustrations page template, which leans into that design method.</p>



<p>The page intro section is an announcement to the world, &ldquo;Hey, check out my work.&rdquo;</p>



<img />Illustrations template intro section.



<p>I also like the Illustrations page template&rsquo;s widgets-like area in the footer. It manages to stuff several blocks in without feeling too crowded. It even showcases a box for artists to highlight their next exhibition.</p>



<img />Illustrations page template footer &ldquo;widget&rdquo; area.



<p>The Clove theme also registers 10 block styles for users to choose from. Most of them add different types of borders or frames to various elements. Plus, there is the fun-but-kind-of-an-oddball blob &ldquo;Shape&rdquo; for images.</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img />Latest Posts &ndash; Dividers</li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img />Image &ndash; Framed</li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img />Image &ndash; Shape</li></ul>



<p>Segota was one of several people to submit custom designs to the upcoming block pattern directory. There is some noticeable crossover between her current theme work and submissions, such as the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/pattern-directory/issues/149">Playful Gallery</a> pattern that did not quite make the cut. Others, like her <a href="https://wordpress.org/patterns/pattern/recipe/">Recipe design</a>, did. There is still an <a href="https://wptavern.com/open-invitation-to-contribute-to-the-wordpress-block-pattern-directory">open invitation for people to contribute</a>.</p>



<p>I am always like a kid in a toy store when a new block theme comes along, reaching out to grab the latest gadget. I want to see more experiments like Clove. Keep them coming, theme authors.</p>



<p><strong>Side note:</strong> For people interested in the background-clipped text design used in Clove&rsquo;s site logo, I <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/32787">opened a ticket</a> to take us one step closer to doing it in the editor. Currently, users must create an off-site image and upload 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:"Thu, 24 Jun 2021 01:23:08 +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: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:76:"WordPress Foundation: Answering FAQs on WordPress Trademarks and their usage";s: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:41:"https://wordpressfoundation.org/?p=189036";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:92:"https://wordpressfoundation.org/2021/answering-faqs-on-wordpress-trademarks-and-their-usage/";s: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:6388:"<p class="has-drop-cap">The WordPress Foundation owns and <a href="https://wordpressfoundation.org/trademark-policy/">manages trademarks</a> for the WordPress and WordCamp names and <a href="http://wordpress.org/about/logos/">logos</a>. Over the years, many people have approached us with questions on WordPress trademarks and how to use them. This blog post aims to address some of the most common questions and clarify the usage of WordPress trademarks.</p>



<h3>Can I use “WordPress” in my name?</h3>



<p>Strictly speaking, you cannot use “WordPress” in your website name or your product name. As mentioned in the <a href="https://wordpressfoundation.org/trademark-policy/">WordPress Foundation trademarks page</a>:  </p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><em>Permission from the WordPress Foundation is required to use the WordPress or WordCamp name or logo as part of any project, product, service, domain name, or company name.</em></p></blockquote>



<p>The purpose of trademark law is to keep others from using or misusing a trademarked name or logo. But it cannot stop them from picking it up. Sometimes, people use “WordPress” in their name, title, URL, or username when “WordPress” really does not belong there. However, such uses of the trademark violate the WordPress trademark nevertheless, and cannot be allowed.</p>



<h3>What is the actual trademark Policy?</h3>



<p>You can find the entire written Trademark policy on the <a href="https://wordpressfoundation.org/trademark-policy/">Trademarks policy page</a> of this website. In short, the purpose of this policy is to make it easy for anyone to use the WordPress or WordCamp name or logo for community efforts that spread and improve WordPress. It also aims to make it difficult for anyone to use the WordPress or WordCamp name or logo to trick or confuse people looking for official WordPress or WordCamp resources. When you are in doubt, ask yourself this question: <em>“Is this an “official” WordPress event or resource?” </em>If the answer is “no,” then you should leave the trademarked name “WordPress” or “WordCamp” out of it.</p>



<h3>Does this mean I cannot build something for WordPress?</h3>



<p><strong>NO. </strong>The trademark policy <strong>does not</strong> restrict people from building anything for WordPress. WordPress, both the software and the community surrounding it, is open source. It takes all kinds of contributors to create, build, support, maintain, educate, and energize WordPress. But it does mean if you are creating something within the WordPress space that is not officially part of the WordPress project, you should not use the name “WordPress” to name it. However, you can use an alternative name like “WP” instead of “WordPress” for your products.&nbsp;</p>



<h3>I was unaware of the Trademark policy and already created something using “WordPress” in the name or the URL. What do I do now?</h3>



<p>If you happen to be in that position and you want to figure out how to fix things, please feel free to reach out to <a href="mailto:trademarks@wordpressfoundation.org">trademarks@wordpressfoundation.org</a> (or send us a message through the <a href="https://wordpressfoundation.org/trademark-policy/">contact form</a> on this site), and someone will help you bring your site, event, or product into compliance with the WP Trademark.&nbsp;</p>



<h3>Does the trademark policy apply to WordPress swag?&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Yes. Using the WordPress logo in products or any sort of swag is not permitted. Without express permission from WordPress Foundation, you cannot sell WordPress goods or co-brand your goods to make them seem affiliated with WordPress.</p>



<p>However, WordPress swag (shirts, stickers, bags, hand sanitizer, stuffed animals, sweatshirts, mugs, cups, pencils… to name a few) &#8211; given out at a WordCamp is okay. Branded WordPress swag from sponsors at a WordCamp is also allowed. This is because the swag is being given out for free (not for profit) at an official WordPress event, and has been approved. You can also find approved WordPress swag in the <a href="https://mercantile.wordpress.org/">official WordPress swag store</a>.</p>



<h3>Reading all this, I realize someone I know is not in compliance with the Trademark. What should I do?</h3>



<p>The first thing is to remember that this person could be unaware they are not complying with the trademark. We want to assume good intent whenever possible. You can talk to them about it if you feel comfortable or even just share <a href="https://wordpressfoundation.org/trademark-policy/">the trademark policy</a> with them. Alternatively, you can submit information to the <a href="https://wordpressfoundation.org/contact/">Trademarks contact form</a> on the site or send an email to trademarks@wordpressfoundation.org and let someone there do the work of assuming good intent and reaching out to them.</p>



<h3>I have already reported this site/thing/person, and nothing has been done!</h3>



<p>The process of resolving trademark issues takes a while, so we have assigned more bandwidth to speed up the process.  If you have reported something in the past, know that it is being worked on in the coming months. If you are worried that it got lost, you are welcome to send it in again. </p>



<h3>Is there anything I can do to help?</h3>



<p>The biggest help anyone in WordPress can give is to respect the Trademark themselves. I know that it seems like passive work for many, and you may be looking to do something actively. Being an active and respectful part of a community is a big help, though.</p>



<p><em>This post is based on </em><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2021/03/30/tuesday-trainings-can-i-use-wordpress-in-my-product-name/"><em>Part 1</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2021/04/06/tuesday-trainings-can-i-use-wordpress-in-my-product-name-part-2-of-2/"><em>Part 2</em></a><em> of the “Can I use “WordPress” in my product name?” </em><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/tag/tuesdaytrainings/"><em>Tuesday Training</em></a><em> from </em><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/camikaos"><em>@camikaos</em></a><em> in the </em><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/"><em>Make WordPress Communities</em></a><em> blog.</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:"Wed, 23 Jun 2021 09:08:25 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12:"Hari Shanker";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:40:"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 5.8 Beta 3";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=10843";s: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:56:"https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/wordpress-5-8-beta-3/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5564:"<p>WordPress 5.8 Beta 3 is now available for testing!</p>



<p><strong>This software is still in development,</strong>&nbsp;so it is not recommended to run this version on a production site. Consider setting up a test site to play with it.</p>



<p>You can test the WordPress 5.8 Beta 3 in three ways:</p>



<ul><li>Install/activate the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/">WordPress Beta Tester</a> plugin (select the&nbsp;<code>Bleeding edge</code>&nbsp;channel and the&nbsp;<code>Beta/RC Only</code> stream).</li><li>Direct download the beta version here (<a href="https://wordpress.org/wordpress-5.8-beta3.zip">zip</a>).</li><li>Using WP-CLI to test: <code>wp core update --version=5.8-beta3</code></li></ul>



<p>The current target for the final release is July 20, 2021. That’s just <strong>four weeks away</strong>, so we need your help to make the final release is as good as it can be.</p>



<h2><strong>Some Highlights</strong></h2>



<p>Since <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/wordpress-5-8-beta-2/">Beta 2</a>, <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&changetime=06%2F16%2F2021..06%2F23%2F2021&milestone=5.8&group=component&max=500&col=id&col=summary&col=owner&col=type&col=priority&col=component&col=version&order=priority">38</a> bugs have been fixed. Here is a summary of some of the included changes:</p>



<ul><li>Block Editor: Move caching to endpoint for unique responses. (<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/53435">#53435</a>)</li><li>Bundled Themes: Improve display of blocks in widget areas. (<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/53422">#53422</a>)</li><li>Coding Standards: Bring some consistency to HTML formatting in <code>wp-admin/comment.php</code>. (<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/52627">#52627</a>)</li><li>Editor: Include Cover block in the list of block types registered using metadata files. (<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/53440">#53440</a>)</li><li>Editor: Include Cover block in the list of block types registered using metadata files. (<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/53440">#53440</a>)</li><li>Media: Add new functions to return the previous/next attachment links. (<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/45708">#45708</a>)</li><li>Media: Improve upload page media item layout on smaller screens. (<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/51754">#51754</a>)</li><li>Media: Update total attachment count when media added or removed. (<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/53171">#53171</a>)</li><li>REST API: Decode single and double quote entities in widget names and descriptions. (<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/53407">#53407</a>)</li><li>Twenty Nineteen: Update margins on full- and wide-aligned blocks in the editor. (<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/53428">#53428</a>)</li><li>Widgets: Add editor styles to the widgets block editor. (<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/53344">#53344</a>)</li></ul>



<h2><strong>How You Can Help</strong></h2>



<p>Watch the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/">Make WordPress Core blog</a> for <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/5-8+dev-notes/">5.8-related developer notes</a> in the coming weeks, which will break down these and other changes in greater detail.</p>



<p>So far, contributors have fixed <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&changetime=..06%2F23%2F2021&milestone=5.8&group=component&max=500&col=id&col=summary&col=owner&col=type&col=priority&col=component&col=version&order=priority">254 tickets in WordPress 5.8</a>, including <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&status=reopened&changetime=..06%2F23%2F2021&type=enhancement&type=feature+request&milestone=5.8&group=component&col=id&col=summary&col=type&col=status&col=milestone&col=changetime&col=owner&col=priority&col=keywords&order=changetime">91 new features and enhancements</a>, and more bug fixes are on the way.</p>



<p><strong>Do some testing!</strong></p>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/testing/beta-testing/">Testing for bugs</a> is a vital part of polishing the release during the beta stage and a great way to contribute. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/2728.png" alt="✨" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<p>If you think you’ve found a bug, please post to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta/">Alpha/Beta</a> area in the support forums. We would love to hear from you! If you’re comfortable writing a reproducible <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/reports/">bug report</a>, file one on <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/newticket">WordPress Trac</a>. That’s also where you can find a list of <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/tickets/major">known bugs</a>.</p>



<p><em>Props to <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeffpaul/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>jeffpaul</a> <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/desrosj/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>desrosj</a> <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hellofromtonya/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>hellofromtonya</a> <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pbiron/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>pbiron</a> for reviews and final edits!</em></p>



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



<p><em>Esperanza first.<br />Want to know the next jazzer?<br />Then please test beta.</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:"Wed, 23 Jun 2021 02:36:26 +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: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: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:62:"WPTavern: WordPress Theme Lock-In, Silos, and the Block System";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=118923";s: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:165:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-theme-lock-in-silos-and-the-block-system?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wordpress-theme-lock-in-silos-and-the-block-system";s: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:6343:"<p class="has-drop-cap">For many years, I was a hardcore advocate of separating any non-design functionality from themes into their own plugins. I wrote extensively on the issue. Whether it was shortcodes, custom post types, user metadata, and any number of things related to a user&rsquo;s content/data, I drew a deep line in the sand. <em>This belongs in a plugin.</em></p>



<p>If you have never heard of the &ldquo;theme lock-in effect,&rdquo; that&rsquo;s OK. For many, it is a non-issue. Places like the WordPress.org theme directory have, for the most part, drew a similar line in the sand.</p>



<p>The goal has always been to avoid trapping a user into perpetual use of a particular theme. It is not an ideal user experience when some crucial data is no longer available when switching designs. And, all users eventually want to change that up from time to time. Getting stuck with <code>[shortcode-soup]</code> tags littered throughout a site is never fun. Neither is losing admin access to dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of pages from a custom post type that suddenly disappears.</p>



<p>The WordPress theme development community has avoided this problem &mdash; some more so than others &mdash; by bundling crucial content-related features separately in plugins.</p>



<p>Those theme authors who bypassed theme lock-in via plugins have mostly done so in their own silos. For example, instead of integrating with an existing portfolio plugin, they would just create their own. <em>The only themes that support that plugin?</em> Theirs. Ultimately, users were still trapped.</p>



<p>I cannot lay the entire weight of this issue on the shoulders of theme authors. Portfolio plugins are a dime a dozen. Supporting WooCommerce for an eCommerce solution or bbPress for forums are easy choices. But, when there is no clear industry front-runner, an in-house solution is just as good as most others.</p>



<p>However, the block system is already complicating matters. When a theme supports features like font sizes, colors, and gradients, it essentially locks users in. Switch to another with a different configuration, and every font size, color, and gradient the user chose to use is gone.</p>



<p>Imagine inserting a Paragraph block and choosing that sky blue from your theme as the block&rsquo;s background. Now, imagine doing this a few hundred times only to have it disappear a couple of years down the road when you want to switch designs.</p>



<p>I won&rsquo;t dive into the technical details of how this works under the hood. It is just the way the system was designed. Some problems <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/7553">could have been mitigated early on</a>, but that ship sailed two and a half years ago with the launch of WordPress 5.0. There are also ways this might be solved in the future with technical workarounds.</p>



<p>Last week, a reader named Nick <a href="https://wptavern.com/getting-to-know-the-upcoming-wordpress-5-8-template-editor#comment-382930">brought up this issue</a> in regards to block patterns. The theme in question used custom CSS classes to achieve a specific design.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>Because Gutenberg lacks all the features mentioned above, the theme uses some custom CSS classes, and these classes are coded in the theme&rsquo;s style sheet. The problem with this is that now that you have used these patterns, YOU ARE LOCKED IN to this theme. Because the moment you change themes, the new theme will not have these custom classes defined, the patterns will be broken. This is THE SAME reason why shortcodes were outlawed many years ago from inside the themes &mdash; and yet when it comes to patterns, this is somehow allowed?</p></blockquote>



<p><strong>Note:</strong> Shortcodes were disallowed in the WordPress theme directory because the actual post content was broken on theme switch. It was unrelated to a broken design.</p>



<p>I already hear what some of you are thinking. <em>This is not the same as &ldquo;content&rdquo; lock-in.</em> No, it is not. Not exactly. However, because the block system intertwines content and design, it sort of is. I doubt the average user appreciates the distinction when they end up in scenarios with white text on a white background, as shown in the following screenshots:</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img />Blue background with one theme.</li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img />Blue background gone with second theme.</li></ul>



<p>That is a <em>very</em> real scenario. I see it almost daily as I test out different themes.</p>



<p>And, this is just the beginning. As WordPress&rsquo;s design system grows and themers can configure more pieces, users will become more locked into their existing theme. Or, they may be locked into one developer&rsquo;s or one shop&rsquo;s way of doing things.</p>



<p>I do not necessarily see this as a <em>Bad Thing</em>. We have always had these little silos in the WordPress ecosystem, and they have mostly worked out.</p>



<p>In a sense, little has changed.</p>



<p>Users often stick with the same theme companies for one reason or another. And, those same themers tend to build on top of homegrown libraries or frameworks, reusing the same systems &mdash; at least the best ones do. This usually means that users can freely switch between themes made by the same people without losing anything.</p>



<p>The old-school purity test of not mixing content and design is gone.</p>



<p>This is a chance for solo developers and shops to strengthen their brand. If this is the system that WordPress is providing, build strong products on top of it. Build naming schemes that allow users to switch between your themes. Create loyal customers who will want to stick with you for years.</p>



<p>If users are essentially locked into one shop&rsquo;s theme products, that sounds like a lucrative opportunity to build solutions and healthy user communities around individual brands.</p>



<p>I also envision a future where users will need to switch themes far less often. After the site editor and global styles features become available, users will have more direct control over their design. Once they have settled on a solid theme, they may never need to change it as long as it stays relatively 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:"Wed, 23 Jun 2021 01:04:49 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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: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:78:"WPTavern: WooCommerce Selects Paystack as Preferred Payments Partner in Africa";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=118666";s: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:201:"https://wptavern.com/woocommerce-selects-paystack-as-preferred-payments-partner-in-africa?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=woocommerce-selects-paystack-as-preferred-payments-partner-in-africa";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3656:"<p>WooCommerce has named Paystack its preferred payments partner for&nbsp;WooCommerce in Africa. More than 20,000 merchants are using the free  <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/woo-paystack/">Paystack WooCommerce Payment Gateway</a> plugin but searching for and downloading the plugin separately is no longer required. Store owners can now easily select Paystack as a payment method when inside the WooCommerce dashboard.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img /></div>



<p>Paystack has a recently updated tutorial for <a href="https://support.paystack.com/hc/en-us/articles/360009881280-How-to-set-up-Paystack-on-WooCommerce">how to set up the gateway in WooCommerce</a>. As an alternative to the recommended method, merchants can opt to <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/woo-paystack/">install the free plugin</a> instead.</p>



<p>Paystack is the most widely used payment gateway in Africa, accounting for more than half of all online transactions in Nigeria. More than 60,000 stores use the gateway. In October 2020, it was <a href="https://wptavern.com/stripe-acquires-paystack-for-200m">acquired by Stripe</a> for more than $200M. The gateway can be used by businesses in Nigeria and Ghana and last month it <a href="https://paystack.com/blog/company-news/sa-launch">added support for South Africa</a>, after a six-month long pilot program. </p>



<p>&ldquo;Paystack is leading the charge in bringing a world-class payments experience to African merchants,&rdquo; WooCommerce Director of Business Development Mechiel Couvaras said. &ldquo;Their product offering, user experience, and expansion plans within Africa were some of the most important factors in considering the partnership. Receiving funding from&nbsp; Stripe and Visa was also a strong indicator of their potential.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Paystack, like all of WooCommerce&rsquo;s other payment partners, has a financial arrangement with the e-commerce platform where it pays a percentage of transactions processed. Couvaras said the Paystack partnership is directly with Paystack and separate from WooCommerce&rsquo;s Stripe partnership.</p>



<p>&ldquo;eCommerce is still very nascent in most African countries, however, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://trends.builtwith.com/shop/WooCommerce-Checkout/Nigeria" target="_blank">Nigeria</a> and <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://trends.builtwith.com/shop/WooCommerce-Checkout/South-Africa" target="_blank">South Africa</a> are amongst our fastest growing countries globally,&rdquo; Couvaras said. When Stripe acquired Paystack, the company noted that African online commerce is growing 21% year-over-year, 75% faster than the global average. WooCommerce is well-positioned to capture some of that growth with Paystack pre-installed as a preferred payment partner.</p>



<p>The e-commerce platform is also keeping tabs on other emerging markets, as global market adoption has grown to <a href="https://w3techs.com/technologies/details/cm-woocommerce">8.2% of the Alexa top 10 million websites</a>. Over the past year WooCommerce launched partnerships with Indian payment companies <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://woocommerce.com/products/razorpay-for-woocommerce/" target="_blank">Razorpay</a> and <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://woocommerce.com/products/payu-india/" target="_blank">PayU India</a>, as well as <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://woocommerce.com/products/mercado-pago-checkout" target="_blank">Mercado Pago</a>, a Latin American payments company focused on supporting local payment methods across Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.</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, 22 Jun 2021 20:52:26 +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:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:94:"WPTavern: A Throwback to the Past: Refreshing Old Twenty* WordPress Themes With Block Patterns";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=118898";s: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:229:"https://wptavern.com/a-throwback-to-the-past-refreshing-old-twenty-wordpress-themes-with-block-patterns?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-throwback-to-the-past-refreshing-old-twenty-wordpress-themes-with-block-patterns";s: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:5915:"<p class="has-drop-cap">What <a href="https://wptavern.com/past-twenty-wordpress-themes-to-get-new-block-patterns">began as a project in August 2020</a> has now become a reality. All past Twenty* default WordPress themes now have their own unique block patterns. In recent weeks, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/21/bundled-themes-changes-in-wordpress-5-8/">Twenty Ten through Twenty Fifteen received updates</a>.</p>



<p>Designer Mel Choyce-Dwan kick-started tickets for all previous 10 default themes before the WordPress 5.5 release, the first version to support patterns. Twenty Twenty, Twenty Nineteen, Twenty Seventeen, and Twenty Sixteen each made the cut for that update. However, the remaining default themes were left to languish, at least for a few months and WordPress updates.</p>



<p>Jumping back over a decade to update past themes might seem extreme, but all of the default themes are still some of the most popular from the directory. Granted, they had the benefit of being installed directly in WordPress. Still, the current number of active installations means they are worth a small refresh:</p>



<ul><li>Twenty Fifteen: 100,000+</li><li>Twenty Fourteen: 100,000+</li><li>Twenty Thirteen: 70,000+</li><li>Twenty Twelve: 100,000+</li><li>Twenty Eleven: 100,000+</li><li>Twenty Ten: 100,000+</li></ul>



<p>Despite having the lowest installation total, Twenty Thirteen has some of the best pattern designs. The Informational Section and Decorative Gallery patterns stand out the most, but all fit well with the overall theme design.</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img />Informational Section</li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img />Decorative Gallery</li></ul>



<p>Twenty Thirteen is also the only remaining default theme that supports wide and full alignments. Its one-column layout affords it more flexibility, and the old design feels fresh again with its new pattern choices. Perhaps they can revive the theme&rsquo;s lagging numbers relative to the other defaults.</p>



<p>The <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/51104">initial pattern designs</a> for the theme included a suite of layouts for post formats, one of the features Twenty Thirteen leaned on. Something similar to the first gallery design landed, but the others were left out.</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li></ul>Patterns designed to match post formats.



<p>Post formats never garnered widespread support past their launch, and the core development team all but abandoned them, never building atop the feature. However, all of the format-specific patterns might be welcome for those users still running the theme. They would have been a nostalgic nod to the old WordPress, a throwback to yesteryear. If nothing else, maybe they can serve as inspiration for those of us still clinging to that tiny sliver of hope that post formats will make a roaring comeback.</p>



<p>These theme-bundled designs highlight how the <a href="https://wptavern.com/open-invitation-to-contribute-to-the-wordpress-block-pattern-directory">upcoming pattern directory</a> is not meant to be the only destination for snagging the best layout sections to drop into the block editor. Often, the best choices will be specific to the theme. Much of the flavor of custom design is lost when building for a general audience. What looks good with Twenty Twenty-One may look terrible in another and vice versa. Maybe that will change as block design tools become more robust and how they are used becomes standardized, but for now, at least, the most artistic patterns are those that designers include with their themes.</p>



<p>Aside from Twenty Thirteen, Twenty Ten&rsquo;s new patterns stood out the most. The theme was the first of the new era of yearly themes, and its classic blog design has weathered the years well &mdash; just ignore the 12-pixel sidebar font size.</p>



<img />Twenty Ten&rsquo;s new patterns.



<p>The three patterns are at home in the theme. The Introduction pattern, which showcases the Image, Heading, and Paragraph blocks, is simple, but it relies on Twenty Ten&rsquo;s typography for an elegant article intro. The Quote and Alternating image layouts do not try to do too much, simply highlighting the theme&rsquo;s design.</p>



<p>Landing squarely in my favorite-but-most-disappointing category was Twenty Fourteen. The About pattern&rsquo;s image and text looked elegant and roomy in the editor, but the front-end view painted a different picture. Because the theme lacks wide-alignment support, the photo was scrunched up. The gallery-supported Summary pattern has a lot of potential as a full-width pattern, but it falls short in the theme&rsquo;s 474-pixel wide content area.</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img />About Pattern</li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img />Summary Pattern</li></ul>



<p>There is really no reason why Twenty Fourteen could not support wide and full alignments. It has free space.</p>



<p>At least the timeline-esque List pattern is pretty sweet in both the editor and front-end views. I may borrow that for my own projects.</p>



<img />List pattern included with Twenty Fourteen.



<p>I was not particularly excited over the other patterns, but I am happy to see a little love thrown toward the 600,000 or so users with these themes still active. I am sure many will find something they can use on their own sites.</p>



<p>The themes are aging; the wrinkles and weaknesses of their designs are showing. With the site editor looming ahead, it might be time to consider retiring them. That is assuming no one wants to take the reigns and update them for a modern era. Otherwise, they will continue falling behind, remaining a relic of classic WordPress.</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, 21 Jun 2021 23:14:22 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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: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:95:"WPTavern: Google Launches Search Console Insights, a User-Friendly Content Performance Overview";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=118774";s: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:233:"https://wptavern.com/google-launches-search-console-insights-a-user-friendly-content-performance-overview?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=google-launches-search-console-insights-a-user-friendly-content-performance-overview";s: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:2428:"<p>Google Analytics is powerful if you know exactly what kind of metrics you want to investigate, it but can be overwhelming if you just need a simple overview of your traffic and referrals. <a href="https://search.google.com/search-console/insights/">Search Console Insights</a> is a new tool from the <a href="https://blog.google/web-creators">Google Web Creators</a> team that is aimed at making content performance easier to understand at a glance. It combines data from Search Console and Google Analytics for a user-friendly overview of important metrics for content creators.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img /></div>



<p>Search Console Insights can help users quickly ascertain which pieces are their best performing content, how new pieces are performing, and how people are discovering the site. Clicking on the little academic cap icon offers more information about understanding the data and tips for improving content engagement and performance.</p>



<p>The first section shows a site&rsquo;s content performance trend for the past 28 days using page views and page view duration. The next card displays a carousel of new content with page views, average page view duration, and badges for content that has high average duration compared to other content on the site.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img /></div>



<p>Other cards include the most popular content within the past 28 days, top traffic channels, top Google Search queries, referring links from other websites, and social media.</p>



<p>The performance cards are not configurable but they give you a starting point if you want to dig deeper into Google Analytics. It would be helpful if each graph was linked to more data where you could adjust the date range.</p>



<p>Search Console Insights doesn&rsquo;t include all the features unless you are using Google Analytics and associate it with your site&rsquo;s Search Console property. Users can access the tool&rsquo;s overview page by visiting the <a href="https://search.google.com/search-console/insights">link</a> directly. In the near future, Search Console Insights will be available in the iOS and Android Google apps when you tap your profile picture. The tool is <a href="https://blog.google/web-creators/improve-your-content-search-console-insights/">now in beta</a> but Google plans to roll the experience out gradually to all Search Console users in the coming days.</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, 21 Jun 2021 18:43:32 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:75:"WordPress.org blog: WP Briefing: Episode 11: WordCamp Europe 2021 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:53:"https://wordpress.org/news/?post_type=podcast&p=10837";s: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/2021/06/episode-11-wordcamp-europe-2021-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:10494:"<p>In this episode, Josepha Haden Chomphosy does a mini deep dive into WordCamp Europe 2021, specifically the conversation between the project’s co-founder, Matt Mullenweg, and Brian Krogsgard formerly of PostStatus. Tune in to hear her take and for this episode’s small list of big things.</p>



<p><em><strong>Have a question you&#8217;d like answered? You can submit them to <a href="mailto:wpbriefing@wordpress.org">wpbriefing@wordpress.org</a>, either written or as a voice recording.</strong></em></p>



<h2>Credits</h2>



<p>Editor:<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dustinhartzler/"> Dustin Hartzler</a></p>



<p>Logo:<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/beafialho/"> Beatriz Fialho</a></p>



<p>Production:<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mkaz/"> </a><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cbringmann/">Chloé Bringmann</a></p>



<p>Song: Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod</p>



<h2>References </h2>



<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/gutenberg-highlights/">Gutenberg Highlights&nbsp;</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-IvKy3322k&t=12428s">Matt Mullenweg in conversation with Brian Krogsgard&nbsp;</a></p>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/5-8/">5.8 Development Cycle</a></p>



<p><a href="https://japan.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp Japan</a></p>



<p><a href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2021/a-recap-on-wceu-2021/">A recap on WCEU 2021</a></p>



<h2>Transcript</h2>



<span id="more-10837"></span>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:10</strong></p>



<p>Hello, everyone, and welcome to the WordPress Briefing, the podcast where you can catch quick explanations of the ideas behind the WordPress open source project, some insights into the community that supports it, and get a small list of big things coming up in the next two weeks. I&#8217;m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Here we go!</p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:40</strong></p>



<p>A couple of weeks ago, we hosted WordCamp Europe and had the double pleasure of a demo that showed us a bit about the future of WordPress and an interview that looked back while also looking a bit forward. If you haven&#8217;t seen the demo, it was beautiful. And I&#8217;ve included a link to it in the show notes. And if you haven&#8217;t heard the interview, there were a few specific moments that I&#8217;d like to take the time to delve into a little more. Brian Krogsgard, in his conversation with Matt Mullenweg, brought up three really interesting points. I mean, he brought up a lot of interesting points, but there were three that I would particularly like to look into today. The first was about balance. The second was about cohesion. And the third was about those we leave behind.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy 01:24</strong></p>



<p>So first is this question of balance. Brian brought this up in the context of the overall economic health of the WordPress ecosystem. And in that particular moment, he talked about companies that are coming together, companies that are merging. And in Matt&#8217;s answer, the part that I found the most interesting was when he said, &#8220;the point at which there is the most commercial opportunity is also the point at which there is the most opportunity for short-termism. He went on to talk about the importance of long-term thinking and collective thinking about what makes us, and us here means probably the WordPress project, more vibrant and vital in 10 or 20 or 30 years. One of the things that he specifically called out in that answer was the responsibility of larger companies in the ecosystem. For instance, like Automattic, to commit fully to giving back, there are many ways now that companies can give back to WordPress so that we all replenish the Commons. They can pay for volunteer contributors&#8217; time; they can create and sponsor entire teams through the Five for the Future program. They can contribute time through our outreach program. And they can even contribute to WordPress&#8217;s ability to own our own voice by engaging their audience&#8217;s awareness of what&#8217;s next in WordPress, or whatever. And I know this balance, this particular balance of paid contributors or sponsored contributors, compared to our volunteer contributors or self-sponsored contributors; I know that this balance is one that people keep an eagle eye on. I am consistently on a tight rope to appropriately balanced those voices. But as with so many things where balance is key, keeping an eye on the middle or the long-distance can really help us get it right.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy 03:23</strong></p>



<p>The second question was one of cohesion and specifically cohesion over the competition. Brian asked how, if people feel disadvantaged, you can foster a feeling of cohesion rather than competition? And Matt&#8217;s first answer was that competition is great. Specifically, he said that competition is great as long as you consider where your collaboration fits into the mission. And he also spent some time exploring how competitors in the ecosystem can still work from a community-first mindset. I personally cannot agree enough about some of the benefits of collaboration alongside your competitors. I remind sponsored contributors from time to time, and I think it&#8217;s true for any contributor that you are an employee of your company first and a contributor to WordPress second. However, once you step into contribution time, your main concern is the users of WordPress, or new contributors, or the health of the WordPress ecosystem as a whole or the WordPress project. So you get all this subject matter expertise from competitive forces, collaborating in a very us versus the problem way. And when you do that, you&#8217;re always going to find a great solution. It may not be as fast as you want it to build things out in the open in public. And so sometimes we get it wrong and have to come back and fix it but still, given time, we&#8217;re going to come out with the best solution because we have so many skilled people working on this.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy 05:01</strong></p>



<p>And then the third question that I wanted to really touch on is the question of those we leave behind. Brian asked Matt if he thought mid-sized agencies and mid-sized consultants were being squeezed out with the block editor. Matt&#8217;s high-level answer was no, and I tend to agree with him. It&#8217;s not all mid-sized anything any more than it&#8217;s all small-sized anything. His answer continued to look at what stands to change for users with the block editor and who really can stand to benefit. It made me think back to my WordPress 5.0 listening tour. We launched WordPress 5.0, which was, in case anyone forgets, the first release with the block editor in it. I took a six-month-long tour to anywhere that WordPressers were so I could hear their main worries, what Brian is saying in there, and what Matt is saying to really came up all the time in those conversations. And basically, it was that this update takes all the power away from people who are building websites. And in these conversations, and Matt and Brian&#8217;s conversation, it was really focused on our freelancers and consultants. But at the same time, all of them heard that this update gives power back to all of the people who could build websites.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy 06:28</strong></p>



<p>I could not shake the feeling at the time. And honestly, I can&#8217;t shake it now that no high-end consultants, or freelancers, or any other developer or site creator sit around just longing for maintenance work. After six months of talking to people, I didn&#8217;t hear anyone say, &#8220;you know, I just love making the same author card over and over and over.&#8221; Or, &#8220;updated the footer every week, this month. And that&#8217;s why I got into this business.&#8221; And more than the feeling that there just wasn&#8217;t anyone who just loved maintenance, I got a feeling that there were real problems that needed to be solved for these clients and that they wanted to solve them. And that they also would gladly trade updating footers for the much more interesting work of creating modern and stylish business hubs based on WordPress for the clients who trust them so much. All of that, I guess, is to say that, yes, the block editor does give power back to our clients again, but not at the expense of those who have to build the sites in the first place. I think it stands to restore everyone&#8217;s sense of agency more than we truly realize. So that&#8217;s my deep dive on WordCamp Europe; I included links to the demo and the talk below, just in case you haven&#8217;t seen them yet. And you want to get a little bit of insight into the full context of the conversations that I just did a bit of a deep dive into.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Josepha Haden Chomphosy 08:15</strong></p>



<p>And now it&#8217;s time for our smallest of big things. All right, I have three things for you today. Number one, tomorrow, we package WordPress 5.8 beta three. If you&#8217;ve never had a chance to stop by the core channel in slack for the past packaging process, I really encourage you to stop by; we call them release parties. It&#8217;s a bunch of people who stand around and help get it done. So you can also see how it gets done. And if you&#8217;re feeling brave, you can even try your hand at testing out one of the packages as soon as it&#8217;s ready. The second thing is that a week from tomorrow, we reach our first release candidate milestone. So if you have meant to submit any bugs or patches or if you&#8217;ve been procrastinating on documentation, or dev notes, right now is the time so that we can have a chance to get everything into the release by the time we reach the release candidate milestone on the 29th. And the third thing is that we are currently right in the middle of WordCamp Japan. That is a great opportunity to meet some contributors and maybe even get started with contributions yourself. So stop by if you haven&#8217;t had a chance to check it out already. I will leave a link in the show notes. And that, my friends, is your small list of big things. </p>



<p>Thank you for tuning in today for the WordPress Briefing. I&#8217;m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy, and I&#8217;ll see you again in a couple of weeks.</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, 21 Jun 2021 12:33:22 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Chloe Bringmann";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:120:"Gutenberg Times: Block-based Template Editor is coming to WordPress 5.8 and a new Widget Editor – Weekend Edition #174";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?p=18214";s: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:126:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/block-based-template-editor-is-coming-to-wordpress-5-8-and-a-new-widget-editor-weekend-edition-174/";s: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:14624:"<p>Howdy, </p>



<p>Lots happening in the larger WordPress space! More aquisitions and a new service for WordPress plugin business, flippantly named <a href="https://flipwp.co/">FlipWP</a>. </p>



<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/06/wordpress-5-8-beta-2/">WordPress 5.8 Beta 2</a>, <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/releases/tag/v10.9.0-rc.1">Gutenberg 10.9 RC</a> released and the first dev notes dropped for the upcoming release. More on that below. </p>



<p>Don&#8217;t miss next week&#8217;s <strong>Live Q &amp; A on June 24, 2021, at 11am EDT / 15:00 UTC</strong> on theme.json for Theme Authors with our panelists Daisy Olson, Tammie Lister and Jeff Ong. Learn and discuss <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/4216223029678/WN_gyOVb1h4S4iO_UZi1GMQaA">How to get started with building themes for Full-site editing.</a></p>





<p>What are you working on?  Creativity is mushrooming around the WordPress ecosystem and I want to learn from you! Hit reply and let me know! I loved your notes in my inbox! Thank you. </p>



<p>Yours, ?<br />Birgit </p>





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



<h2>WordPress 5.8 DevNotes and more</h2>



<p><strong>Grzegorz Ziolkowski</strong> posted the article <strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/16/block-editor-api-changes-to-support-multiple-admin-screens-in-wp-5-8/">Block Editor API Changes to Support Multiple Admin Screens</a>.</strong> &#8220;WordPress 5.8 is the first&nbsp;core&nbsp;release where the post editor is no longer the only&nbsp;admin&nbsp;screen that uses the&nbsp;block&nbsp;editor. The updated widgets editor screen will also support blocks.&#8221;, he wrote. It&#8217;s quite technical and developers will appreciate it as it opens the doors to use the bock editor on other admin screen, for instance for plugin dashboards and features. It makes my long time wish possible:  replace the &#8220;Quick Draft&#8221; widget with an instance of the block editor and have writers start writing immediately after login, instead of having to open yet another screen. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Riad Benguella</strong> introduces us to the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/06/16/introducing-the-template-editor-in-wordpress-5-8/"><strong>Template Editor coming to WordPress</strong></a> in its 5.8 release. It comes with a series of new blocks to accommodate Site-wide information, like Site Title or Site Logo as well as post parts for the Query Block, like Post Title, Post Excerpt, Feature Image. In total, 13 Blocks that replace some template parts in conventional themes.  Some blocks will be made <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/28744">available also for classic Themes </a>to accommodate <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/29024">hybrid themes</a> and to support the gradual adoption of block-based themes. </p>



<p><strong>Justin Tadlock</strong> wrote <a href="https://wptavern.com/getting-to-know-the-upcoming-wordpress-5-8-template-editor">about it on the WPTavern</a>, too. </p>




<p><strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;Keeping up with Gutenberg &#8211; Index 2021&#8221;</a>&nbsp;</strong><br />A chronological list of the WordPress Make Blog posts from various teams involved in Gutenberg development: Design, Theme Review Team, Core Editor, Core JS, Core CSS, Test and Meta team from Jan. 2021 on. Updated by yours truly.  <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index-2020/">The index 2020 is here</a></p>




<h2>For Site owners and Content Creators</h2>



<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/HariShanker">Hari Shanker</a></strong> from the community team published <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2021/06/18/meetup-group-resources-talking-points-for-wordpress-5-8/"><strong>Talking points for WordPress 5.8</strong></a> of Meetup organizer, that also helps agency owners and freelancers to quickly get an overview of what is coming in the new version. Hari clusters the upcoming changes per WordPress stakeholders. You&#8217;ll find a section for Publishers and users, and another one for site builders and developers. <strong>If you want to read just one article, this would be it. </strong>?</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/chrislema">Chris Lema</a></strong> makes a strong case for  <a href="https://chrislema.com/embracing-gutenberg-completely/"><strong>Embracing Gutenberg Completely</strong></a>. Out of necessity, he decided to rebuild his site with Gutenberg blocks. All site metrics tools suggested reducing the DOM size of his Landing pages build with 3rd party page builders. With this switch, Chris realized, what he needs and doesn&#8217;t need for a highly performing website. His five observations put a few things in perspective for him as a daily writer, he came to appreciate the tools and blocks that come with the block editor. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<p>The team at <strong>PublishPress</strong> posted a short tutorial on <strong><a href="https://publishpress.com/blog/gutenberg/nested-blocks-gutenberg-editor/">How to Use Nested Blocks in the Gutenberg Editor</a>,</strong> as it&#8217;s still a little confusing for content creators to navigate, especially Column blocks. The persistent list view coming to WordPress 5.8 will help with this, though. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/javier">Javier Acre</a></strong> from the WordPress design team published a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2021/06/15/a-walk-around-the-table-block/"><strong>Walk through of possible enhancements for the Table Block</strong></a>. He showcases update to the placeholder state, multicell selection, the sidebar, the toolbar and icon improvements. You&#8217;ll see mock-ups for each. It&#8217;s quite exciting to see, as we probably can all agree that the Table block needs so TLC, ? You can leave your thoughts and ideas in the comments of the post. </p>



<img />Mockup of Toolbor for the Table block 



<h2>Theme builders</h2>



<p><strong>Dave Smith</strong> has notes on <a href="https://aheadcreative.co.uk/articles/testing-the-gutenberg-widgets-editor-for-wordpress-5-8"><strong>how to test the new Widget Editor that will come with WordPress 5.8</strong></a>. He followed <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/05/12/help-test-the-widgets-editor-for-wordpress-5-8/">Andrei Draganescu call for testing</a> and logged his experience. To test for backwards compatibility for your existing widgets, you can first create some with the new widget editor disabled using the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/classic-widgets/">Classic Widget plugin,</a> and then deactivate the plugins and try to manage and edit the widgets with the block-based editor. You have only a month to make sure your sites won&#8217;t run into trouble. WordPress 5.8 will be released on July 20th, 2021. </p>



<div class="wp-block-group has-primary-color has-light-background-background-color has-text-color has-background"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container">
<p class="has-normal-font-size"><strong><a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8816229019893/WN_gyOVb1h4S4iO_UZi1GMQaA">Join us for our next Live Q &amp; A</a> </strong>on <strong>June 24, 2021, at 11am EDT / 15:00 UTC</strong></p>



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<p><strong><a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8816229019893/WN_gyOVb1h4S4iO_UZi1GMQaA">Theme.json for Theme Authors or building themes for full-site editing in WordPress.</a></strong><br /><strong>Host</strong>: Birgit Pauli-Haack<br /><strong>Panel:</strong>&nbsp;Daily Olsen, Tammie Lister and Jeff Ong           <span class="has-inline-color"><strong><a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/8816229019893/WN_gyOVb1h4S4iO_UZi1GMQaA">Register Now</a></strong></span></p>
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<p><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/one_maggie"><strong>Maggie Cabrera</strong></a> posted the <strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2021/06/18/gutenberg-themes-week-of-june-18-2021/">Gutenberg + Themes: Week of June 18, 2021,</a> </strong>roundup of relevant discussions, issue and PRs for Theme builders. She covered Full-Site Editing, Global Styles and block-based Themes. Chime on on the discussion and test the new releases. If you are a theme developer trying to catch up with what&#8217;s happening with Gutenberg, the Overview / Tracking issues section should get you started. You&#8217;ll find links to documentation and tutorials as well. </p>




<p><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/changelog-45-wordpress-5-8-upcoming-live-qa-and-gutenberg-10-7-and-10-8/"><strong>Episode #45</strong> is now available</a> with transcript. <br />Next recording June 25th, 2021</p>



<p> <strong>Subscribe to the&nbsp;<a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/">Gutenberg Changelog</a>&nbsp;podcast </strong><br />?️&nbsp;<a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/620NwVKQJGdTupy36zYxvg?mc_cid=4b6c9f88fe">Spotify</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9ndXRlbmJlcmd0aW1lcy5jb20vZmVlZC9wb2RjYXN0">Google</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gutenberg-changelog/id1469294475">iTunes</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://pca.st/podcast/f8445ec0-7508-0137-f267-1d245fc5f9cf">PocketCasts</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.stitcher.com/show/gutenberg-changelog">Stitcher</a>&nbsp;|<br />?️&nbsp;<a href="https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/chi7j-9904a/Gutenberg-Changelog-Podcast">Pod Bean</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://castbox.fm/channel/Gutenberg-Changelog-id2173375">CastBox</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/gutenberg-changelog-878239/">Podchaser</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/podcast">RSS Feed</a>&nbsp;</p>



<img />




<h2>Plugin Developers</h2>



<p><strong>Dave Smith</strong> published a tutorial on <a href="https://aheadcreative.co.uk/articles/mocking-wordpress-api-fetch-in-gutenberg-unit-tests/"><strong>Mocking @wordpress/api-fetch in Gutenberg unit tests</strong></a>. During development you don&#8217;t want to hit an external API everytime you run a unit test, these instructions show you how to mock data coming from an API call in your block or site. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/genesis-custom-blocks/">Genesis Custom Blocks</a>, (former Block Lab plugin) are a nifty tool to create blocks without going through the pain of learning modern JavaScript. You use the UI to create Field Groups and then add the PHP display code to your theme template. But what if you want to separate the newly create blocks from the theme? Then you could install it on multiple sites, and it would survive a site owners decision to switch themes without loosing content. <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/rob_stino">Rob Stinson</a></strong> has a two-part tutorial for you on <a href="https://studiopress.blog/how-to-package-up-your-custom-blocks-in-a-plugin-part-1/"><strong>How to package up your custom blocks in a plugin</strong></a>. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Jeffery Carandang</strong>, a Gutenberg adopter of the first hour, <a href="https://jeffreycarandang.com/extendify-is-taking-over-the-editorskit-plugin-and-add-ons-shareablock-and-other-tools/">found a new home for his Gutenberg entities</a>: <strong>Extendify. </strong> Jeffery has been pushing the envelope on what is possible with Gutenberg since it first came out in 2017. <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/coblocks/"><strong>CoBlocks</strong></a>, co-authored with Rich Tabor and later sold to GoDaddy, was a favorite block plugin for additional blocks. <strong>EditorsKit</strong> extended blocks with additional tools. We mentioned his <a href="https://shareablock.com/">Share a Block</a> directory on multiple episodes of the podcast. After starting at 10up, he didn&#8217;t find much time anymore for his love projects, especially the very useful <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/block-options/">EditorsKit plugin</a> hasn&#8217;t seen updates for the last nine months. It now found a home at Extendify.  <br />See also: </p>



<ul><li>Arthor Grabowski: <a href="https://extendify.com/extendify-is-adopting-the-editorskit-plugin/">Extendify is Adopting the EditorsKit plugin</a></li><li>Justin Tadlock: <a href="https://wptavern.com/extendify-adopts-editorskit-increasing-its-block-plugin-collection">Extendify Adopts EditorsKit, Increasing Its Block Plugin Collection</a></li></ul>




<p><strong><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/need-a-zip-from-master/">Need a plugin .zip from Gutenberg&#8217;s main (trunk) branch?</a></strong><br />Gutenberg Times provides daily build for testing and review. <br />Have you been using it? Hit reply and let me know.</p>



<p><img alt="GitHub all releases" src="https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/bph/gutenberg/total?style=for-the-badge" /></p>



<p></p>





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<p class="has-text-align-center"><strong>Don&#8217;t want to miss the next Weekend Edition? </strong></p>



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<p>Featured Image: Miami at Night by Birgit Pauli-Haack</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 19 Jun 2021 18:11:08 +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:18:"Birgit Pauli-Haack";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:41;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:68:"WPTavern: Getting To Know the Upcoming WordPress 5.8 Template 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:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=118777";s: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:181:"https://wptavern.com/getting-to-know-the-upcoming-wordpress-5-8-template-editor?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=getting-to-know-the-upcoming-wordpress-5-8-template-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:10320:"<p class="has-drop-cap">WordPress 5.8 is slated for <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/5-8/">release on July 20</a>. In just over a month, many users will get their first taste of one of my favorite new features: template-editing mode.</p>



<p>The template editor is a new tool that allows end-users to create custom templates without ever leaving the post-editing screen. It exists as a stepping stone toward the eventual site editor, a feature that will hand over complete design control to those who want it.</p>



<p>The downside to the new feature in WordPress 5.8 is that users will not have access to their theme&rsquo;s header, footer, sidebar, or other template parts. It is a blank slate in which they must put on their design caps to create the entire page.</p>



<p><em>With these limitations in place, what is the point of the template editor launching with WordPress 5.8?</em></p>



<p>Landing pages.</p>



<p>A blank slate is not always a bad thing. There is a reason all the best themes include page templates named Blank, Empty, Canvas, Open, or something similar. Sometimes users want control over the entirety of the page&rsquo;s output. And WordPress 5.8 is bringing that capability to every WordPress user.</p>



<p>I have been editing templates for months now, but always in the context of a block theme. I have built both a <a href="https://wptavern.com/fse-outreach-7-building-a-portfolio-in-the-upcoming-template-editing-mode">photography portfolio</a> and <a href="https://wptavern.com/fse-outreach-round-6-building-a-wordcamp-landing-page-via-the-template-editor">WordCamp landing page</a> as part of the FSE Outreach Program. Despite some hiccups, it has been a worthwhile journey being involved as the feature has come to fruition. However, most of my testing was on top of the <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/tt1-blocks/">TT1 Blocks theme</a>.</p>



<p>It was time to put it to a real-world test with themes that are actually in wide use.</p>



<h2>Will It Work With My Theme?</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">The question many users will have on their minds will be: will this new template editor work with my theme? The answer is that it depends. Generally, yes, it will work to some degree. However, because older designs were not created with the template editor in mind, not all experiences will be the same.</p>



<p>I wanted to really put this theory of working with every theme to the test. So, I loaded up Twenty Fifteen, one of my favorite default themes from the past decade.</p>



<p>Perhaps I jumped too far back.</p>



<img />Twenty Fifteen has a two-color background meant for sidebar and content.



<p>The block editor did not exist back when Twenty Fifteen was built. Its use of a box-shadow technique on the page background meant the entire page had two colored columns running down it. The design team had to use some hacky methods for equal-height sidebar and content backgrounds. <em>Ahhh&hellip;the good old days before developers had access to CSS flex-box and grid.</em></p>



<p>It is these sorts of problems that could limit some older themes. In the case of Twenty Fifteen, I could hide the background with a Group or Cover block over the top of it.</p>



<p>Users will likely get better results when using something more modern, at least a theme built during the block era. Even something as simple as wide-alignment support will change the WYSIWYG nature of the template editor. If a theme does not support the feature, the front end will not match the editor.</p>



<p>I jumped ahead a few years. Twenty Nineteen was the first default WordPress theme to support blocks. It is old but not ancient in internet years.</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li></ul>Editor vs. front end of Twenty Nineteen.



<p>There are some differences between the editor and front-end views. The Cover block padding is off, the vertical spacing does not match, the search input&rsquo;s font size is different, and the search button&rsquo;s border radius is round on the front end. However, it is nearly a three-year-old theme now. It held up better than expected in this simple test.</p>



<p>Jumping ahead a couple of years, I activated Twenty Twenty-One, WordPress&rsquo;s most recent default theme.</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li></ul>Editor vs. front end of Twenty Twenty-One.



<p>The editor is a pretty close approximation of what you see on the front end. The most noticeable differences are the inconsistent padding for the Cover block and the light gray border for the search input field in the editor view.</p>



<p>It was time to put the template editor to the &ldquo;real&rdquo; test. I activated the latest version of Eksell, one of the <a href="https://wptavern.com/compatibility-is-not-enough-the-eksell-wordpress-theme-creates-art-with-blocks">most well-rounded block themes</a> in existence.</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li></ul> Editor vs. front end of Eksell.



<p>Obviously, the theme outputs a black section on the left. That is intended for the theme&rsquo;s sidebar/menu flyout. However, because the user has no access to the template part that outputs that element, it may be impossible for some to create custom templates with this theme. I am sure that Anders Nor&eacute;n, the developer, will address this problem.</p>



<p>Similar, unknown issues will arise with the many thousands of themes in the wild. It does not mean a theme is necessarily bad. It just means it was not built with the template editor in mind. Users may need to throttle back their hopes a bit until they have thoroughly tested template-editing mode with their active theme.</p>



<p>Oh, and that ugly whitespace that shows the content background at the top of the editor? You will see that with literally every theme. I am clueless as to why the development team thought that it would make for a good default. Nearly every web design I have looked at over the years zeroes out the page&rsquo;s <code>&lt;body&gt;</code> element padding.</p>



<p>For those theme authors who are reading, you will need to deal with this. If you have already been building for the block editor, you are likely a pro at handling such quirks.</p>



<p>If we look at a custom theme I have been building, you can see no alignment issues between the editor and front end.</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img /></li></ul>  Editor vs. front end of custom block theme.



<p>The difference for my theme is that I am building when the template editor is already a part of the Gutenberg plugin. The others were all created earlier. It is not fair to compare them. However, users should know that older themes might not work well. They may need to wait for updates or try out a fresh design before taking advantage of template editing.</p>



<p>I also chose Twenty Nineteen, Twenty Twenty-One, and Eksell because they were designed by professionals in our industry and were released in the last few years. They each hold up well but have a few issues that would be trivial to fix.</p>



<p>All of this is to say that results may vary &mdash; wildly.</p>



<h2>The Ideal Way To Use the Template Editor</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">My fear with the template editor is that users will begin mixing their content directly into the editor. It is an issue I brought up during round #7 of the FSE Outreach Program. Ultimately, it is a question about the boundary between content and template.</p>



<p>Traditionally, theme authors would build custom templates for their end-users to apply to their pages. Unless those users knew how to make direct code changes, they only selected the template and edited their own content via the editor. It was always clear where content editing ended and template editing began.</p>



<p>The new mode muddies the waters a bit. Because users have direct access to change the template from within the post/page editor itself, I have no doubt that many will create the entire page&rsquo;s content from within the template editor.</p>



<p>Even I made the mistake of putting what would typically be content in my example templates above. This was purely for illustration.</p>



<p>There is nothing wrong with this if it the user&rsquo;s intention. However, templates are generally meant for controlling the layout of the page. Things like the header, footer, and content wrapping element belong within it, while the content itself is stored separately. Templates are also meant to be reused. If you apply the same template to multiple pages, any changes made to that template will update every page.</p>



<p>My recommended starting point is to simply add the Post Content block to the template. You can do so from the block inserter or by pasting in this code snippet:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>&lt;!-- wp:post-content {"layout":{"inherit":true}} /--&gt;</code></pre>



<p>If you just want a blank/empty template, which is what the editor is good at right now, this is all you need. You can move back to the page editor and unleash your creativity.</p>



<p>Here is the start of a novelist landing page I built from this blank template:</p>



<img />



<p>The content of the page was added via the post editor rather than in template-editing mode. This will allow me to create multiple pages using the same open canvas.</p>



<p>If you want to add other layout elements, you can tack them on too. Try mixing and matching the Site Title, Site Tagline, and Navigation blocks as a header. Drop in a Columns block with other blocks to create a &ldquo;widget area&rdquo; in the footer.</p>



<p>The power of the template editor is coming with block themes. Eventually, designers will be able to pre-build these templates, and users will customize them. They will also have access to a more robust suite of blocks, such as loading up template parts. However, we have to wait until at least WordPress 5.9 later this year before they become available, and that is not set in stone yet.</p>



<p>Until then, we have a sort-of-OK-but-kind-of-amazing landing page creator.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 19 Jun 2021 03:08:55 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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:42;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:73:"WPTavern: MapLibre Project Gains Momentum with MapLibre GL Native 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:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=118711";s: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:191:"https://wptavern.com/maplibre-project-gains-momentum-with-maplibre-gl-native-release?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=maplibre-project-gains-momentum-with-maplibre-gl-native-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:2774:"<p>The <a href="https://github.com/maplibre/maplibre-gl-js">MapLibre</a> project is picking up speed with the release of <a href="https://www.maptiler.com/news/2021/06/maplibre-gl-native-open-source-mobile-sdk-for-android-and-ios/">MapLibre GL Native</a>, an open source mobile SDK for Android and iOS. As anticipated, MapTiler&rsquo;s fork of Mapbox&rsquo;s mobile map SDKs are coming under the MapLibre umbrella. This free library enables developers to write native applications that can display vector maps on mobile devices, with advanced functionality like custom map styles and integrating specific business data.</p>



<p>The project was formed by Mapbox&rsquo;s open source contributor community after the company announced that&nbsp;<a href="https://wptavern.com/mapbox-gl-js-is-no-longer-open-source">Mapbox GL JS version 2.0 would be released under a proprietary license</a>.&nbsp;MapLibre GL founders include a diverse group of companies who are contributing to this healthy, community-led fork, including MapTiler, Elastic, StadiaMaps, Microsoft, Ceres Imaging, WhereGroup, Jawg, Stamen Design, and more.</p>



<p>MapLibre GL Native is developed and maintained as an independent mobile SDK, led by the MapTiler team in cooperation with Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, and the MapLibre community. MapTiler forked Mapbox&rsquo;s last version released under the OSS license in December 2020, and ensured that developers can migrate their apps with just a few lines of code. The release post identifies a few critical changes in the MapLibre SDK:</p>



<ul><li>Tracking of end-users (telemetry) has been removed</li><li>OSS license: community ownership ensures it stays open-source forever</li><li>Updated distribution model: the library is now distributed via the Maven Central repository for Android and as a Swift package for iOS</li><li>Optional usage of authorization: access token requirement depended on the map provider and its policy</li></ul>



<p>WordPress core doesn&rsquo;t include a Map block but WordPress.com and Jetpack both use Mapbox GL JS 1.13.0. This is the last open source version before Mapbox updated to its proprietary license. I created a <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/jetpack/issues/20127">ticket</a> to put it on the Jetpack team&rsquo;s radar, and it looks like they may consider migrating to MapLibre in a future release. <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/search/mapbox/">Plugin authors using Mapbox</a> will also be at a crossroads when it comes time to update beyond version 1.13.0. MapLibre is the strongest alternative to Mapbox&rsquo;s proprietary 2.x update. Migration instructions are available in the <a href="https://github.com/maplibre/maplibre-gl-js#migrating-from-mapbox-gl">MapLibre GL readme</a> file.</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, 18 Jun 2021 21:19:16 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:77:"WPTavern: Extendify Adopts EditorsKit, Increasing Its Block Plugin Collection";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=118627";s: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:197:"https://wptavern.com/extendify-adopts-editorskit-increasing-its-block-plugin-collection?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=extendify-adopts-editorskit-increasing-its-block-plugin-collection";s: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:6709:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Extendify has been scooping up some successful block-related plugins in recent months. It acquired the Redux Framework in November 2020 and followed it up with a <a href="https://wptavern.com/extendify-acquires-editor-plus-introduces-commercial-templates-in-its-plan-to-improve-block-editing">purchase of Editor Plus</a> and Gutenberg Hub in December. Its latest pickup? <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/block-options/">EditorsKit</a>.</p>



<p>This <a href="https://extendify.com/extendify-is-adopting-the-editorskit-plugin/">ownership change</a> was an adoption rather than an acquisition. The company is compensating Jeffrey Carandang, EditorsKit&rsquo;s creator, for helping during the transition.</p>



<p>&ldquo;The main motivation was to ensure that EditorsKit has a good home,&rdquo; said Extendify co-founder Chris Lubkert. &ldquo;Jeffrey had taken a full-time role with 10up, and the plugin hasn&rsquo;t seen any updates in 9 months. So we are both excited about Extendify building on what Jeffrey has built and continuing to serve the user base.&rdquo;</p>



<p><a href="https://editorskit.com/">EditorsKit</a> is a playground of extensions on top of the existing blocks. From visibility logic to text formatting to extra block options, it has a little bit of everything. Carandang has often launched features long before something similar has landed in WordPress. It has grown to over 20,000 active installs since he first submitted it to the plugin directory.</p>



<p>Taking on a new role with 10up as a web engineer left him little time to devote to the plugin. &ldquo;My time was occupied by my full-time work and adjusting through my shifts, personal stuff, and with what&rsquo;s happening in the world due to lockdowns; and the covid virus,&rdquo; he wrote in his own <a href="https://jeffreycarandang.com/extendify-is-taking-over-the-editorskit-plugin-and-add-ons-shareablock-and-other-tools/">farewell post</a>. &ldquo;I hate to admit it but I think I&rsquo;ve neglected my role in the EditorsKit plugin/community that I&rsquo;ve built for the past couple of years. With this, my sincere apology to the plugin users and the whole community.&rdquo;</p>



<h2>Changes to EditorsKit</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">When a plugin changes owners, users sometimes must brace themselves for changes. Right now, EditorsKit is the same plugin it has always been. However, the Extendify team has introduced some additions.</p>



<p>The first is a part of what will eventually be a commercial aspect of the plugin: the Extendify Library. The team added this feature to both the Redux and Editor Plus plugins earlier this year. EditorsKit users will see a new &ldquo;Library&rdquo; button at the top of the editor. Once they click it, it opens an overlay for importing patterns and templates from Extendify&rsquo;s collection.</p>



<img />Popup library for importing Extendify patterns and templates.



<p>The amount of imports allowed is limited to three without signing up. &ldquo;EditorsKit users have access to the same library of patterns and templates and can import three patterns and/or templates,&rdquo; said Lubkert. &ldquo;Anyone who signs up for the beta program will then receive unlimited imports during the beta period. We expect this to continue for a few more weeks.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Essentially, the commercial aspect of EditorsKit, Editor Plus, and Redux will be a shared library from the Extendify team. Users of any one of the plugins can continue using their preferred plugin with the option of importing patterns and templates. Lubkert said they still have no plans of rolling all of the plugins into one &ldquo;super plugin,&rdquo; keeping them each as a separate project.</p>



<p>&ldquo;It makes sense for us to invest our energy into a single library and creating the best experience possible for our users,&rdquo; he said.</p>



<p>The second change the team has implemented is making the <a href="https://editorskit.com/wordpress-gutenberg-editor-typography-and-google-fonts-add-on/">EditorsKit Typography add-on</a> a free download. The plugin allows users to select from a list of hand-picked Google Fonts and use them anywhere. It also has a customizable set of default font combinations.</p>



<p>It makes sense to drop the commercial aspect of this add-on. WordPress is already starting to provide theme authors with the tools for typography options at the block level. EditorsKit Typography may be the better of the two right now, but the average user will not need it as the core platform continues to improve.</p>



<h2>ShareABlock and Other Projects</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">The handover includes Carandang&rsquo;s related sites. <a href="https://shareablock.com/">ShareABlock</a>, <a href="https://copyglyphs.com/">CopyGlphys</a>, and <a href="https://copygradients.com/">CopyGradients</a> are all tools for helping WordPress users build on top of the block system. The Extendify team plans on keeping them alive.</p>



<p>Carandang <a href="https://wptavern.com/creator-of-editorskit-launches-community-block-sharing-site">launched ShareABlock</a> in December 2019. Essentially, it was a block patterns directory. Only, block patterns were merely an idea in the bowels of the Gutenberg GitHub repository at the time. The upcoming <a href="https://wordpress.org/patterns/">pattern directory</a>, expected to <em>officially</em> open next month, was not even a blip on most people&rsquo;s radar.</p>



<img />ShareABlock homepage with downloadable &ldquo;patterns.&rdquo;



<p>ShareABlock has had time to mature. Its designs are more modern than the current offering from the pattern directory. The downside is the reliance on EditorsKit to import them via a JSON file instead of copy-paste block HTML code.</p>



<p>With a few tweaks, it could be a serious contender as an alternative directory. If the WordPress development team follows through with a ticket I opened for <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/32696">allowing third-party vendors</a> to hook into the system, it would be easy to do.</p>



<p>&ldquo;In general, we don&rsquo;t see ourselves competing with the pattern directory (or anything else in core Gutenberg),&rdquo; said Lubkert. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d like to solve unmet needs for the community and do so in a way that is complementary to core.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The team already has the patterns in place. Hooking in its existing library would be more of a value-add. The official directory is limited to what can be done with core block options. Extendify would have the wiggle room for adding designs built with its more robust EditorsKit and Editor Plus toolsets.</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, 18 Jun 2021 00:43:53 +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:83:"WPTavern: Automattic Launches Mayland Blocks, Its Second FSE Theme on WordPress.org";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=118429";s: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:209:"https://wptavern.com/automattic-launches-mayland-blocks-its-second-fse-theme-on-wordpress-org?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=automattic-launches-mayland-blocks-its-second-fse-theme-on-wordpress-org";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5502:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Automattic released its second block theme to the WordPress theme directory last week. <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/mayland-blocks/">Mayland Blocks</a> is geared toward photographers and other users who want to showcase their projects. It is the child of <a href="https://wptavern.com/the-automattic-theme-team-announces-blockbase-its-new-block-parent-theme">Blockbase</a>, a sort of starter/parent hybrid the company&rsquo;s Theme Team recently announced.</p>



<p>I had high hopes for Mayland Blocks going in. I have kept a loose eye on its <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/themes/tree/trunk/mayland-blocks">GitHub repository</a> in the last couple of months. It was one of the first 100% block-built themes the team seemed to be working on.</p>



<p>While block themes are still experimental at this stage, I was admittedly disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high. I was eager to be wowed when I should have gone into this review more level-headed. However, I am who I am, and that is someone who is genuinely excited each and every time a new block theme comes along. I am ready for the next big thing, but Mayland Blocks did not fit the bill.</p>



<p>As I began the process of testing the theme, the first order of business was to recreate the Masonry gallery as shown in the theme&rsquo;s screenshot:</p>



<img />Expected gallery layout from Mayland Blocks



<p>My first thought was that the default gallery output would <em>automagically</em> work. <em>It did not.</em> Then, I looked for a Gallery block style. <em>Nothing there.</em> I searched for a custom pattern. <em>Nothing there either.</em> In short, it was impossible to recreate the gallery shown in the theme&rsquo;s screenshot &mdash; one of the primary features that drew me to it.</p>



<p>Bummer. I was looking forward to seeing a Masonry-style gallery of images built on top of the block system.</p>



<img />Standard gallery output with Mayland Blocks.



<p>With a tiny bit of sleuthing and peeking under the hood of the <a href="https://maylandblocksdemo.wordpress.com/">theme&rsquo;s demo</a> on WordPress.com, I saw that it was using the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/coblocks/">CoBlocks plugin</a> by GoDaddy. The thing that made the theme special had nothing to do with the theme.</p>



<p>After a quick install, I converted my existing gallery to the CoBlocks Masonry block. Success!</p>



<img />Masonry gallery output via CoBlocks.



<p>At that point, I began to wonder why I was even testing Mayland Blocks at all. Its claim to fame hinged on showcasing photography. The core Gallery block works well enough, and I can use CoBlocks with any theme. Most decent ones provide the sort of open-canvas template that is no different than Mayland&rsquo;s front page.</p>



<p>What would have made it a great theme would have been living up to its screenshot&rsquo;s promise. This was also a missed opportunity to showcase some alternate Gallery block styles and patterns. If we want more users to buy into this system, some of our best design and development teams need to take that one extra step.</p>



<p>For such a simple theme, one well-suited as a one-page design, this was the moment to lean into the photography angle.</p>



<p>Provide users a Polaroid picture frame option:</p>



<img />



<p>Add a &ldquo;no gutter&rdquo; block style:</p>



<img />



<p>Bundle a few patterns that combine the Gallery block with others. Give us a little flavor.</p>



<p>Mayland Blocks works well as a WordPress.com child theme because its suite of plugins is available to all users out of the box. For a publicly-released project on WordPress.org, it is a little disappointing that it was a straight port.</p>



<p>The child theme is essentially its parent with an open-canvas front page template and some trivial font and color changes. Surprisingly, it made it into the theme directory with so few alterations. Two days later, another child theme was <a href="https://themes.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/100381">outright rejected</a> for just adding &ldquo;some minor changes which can be made directly from the parent theme.&rdquo; The inconsistent application of the guidelines by different reviewers has long been a thorny issue, especially when more subjective rules come into play.</p>



<p>However, block themes have more wiggle room at the moment. There are so few for users to test that it makes sense to let things slide.</p>



<p>One of the Themes Team&rsquo;s previous hard lines has been that bundled front page templates must respect the user&rsquo;s reading settings. This meant that if a user explicitly chose to show blog posts on their front page, the theme must display those posts.</p>



<p>Mayland Blocks is the first that I have seen get a pass on this, a hopeful sign of more leeway for directory-submitted themes in the future.</p>



<p>Block themes are a different beast. HTML files are not dynamic, and there is no way to put a PHP conditional check in a <code>front-page.html</code> file in the same way as themers once did in a <code>front-page.php</code> template. There is a technical workaround for this, but I do not think it is necessary. Block themes are changing the game, and the guidelines will need to follow.</p>



<p>I love seeing the contribution &mdash; any contribution, really &mdash; of another block theme to WordPress.org. However, I want to see more artistry on top of the Blockbase parent 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:"Thu, 17 Jun 2021 00:43:03 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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: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:106:"WPTavern: Alex Denning and Iain Poulson Launch FlipWP, an Acquisitions Marketplace for WordPress Companies";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=118501";s: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:255:"https://wptavern.com/alex-denning-and-iain-poulson-launch-flipwp-an-acquisitions-marketplace-for-wordpress-companies?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=alex-denning-and-iain-poulson-launch-flipwp-an-acquisitions-marketplace-for-wordpress-companies";s: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:5525:"<p>Alex Denning and Iain Poulson launched <a href="https://flipwp.co/">FlipWP</a> today, a private marketplace  to facilitate acquisitions for WordPress companies. WP Engine&rsquo;s recent published research, which estimates the <a href="https://wpengine.com/wordpress-economy/">WordPress economy at $596.7B</a>, has inspired confidence in the ecosystem. An increasing number of acquisitions announced over the past month is also reinforcing the need for a more centralized marketplace for these opportunities.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Iain and I started talking a lot more regularly a year ago, when he started Plugin Rank,&rdquo; Denning said. &ldquo;He was getting people asking him for acquisition opportunities, and with Ellipsis I was getting clients asking for help evaluating acquisitions and with sales. There was no go-to marketplace, so in March we started talking about working together on solving the problem.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Sellers can list on FlipWP privately for free and buyers handle their own sales, with no exclusivity obligation. The site doesn&rsquo;t charge for listings and it doesn&rsquo;t take commission from any sales. The $299 membership for buyers opened today, which offers access to FlipWP&rsquo;s email list of acquisition opportunities. </p>



<p>Listings include business data, such as ARR and monthly profit, the asking price, and commentary about the opportunity from FlipWP. Buyers can reach out directly to sellers with no middleman involved.</p>



<p>In the past, finding a buyer for a WordPress company required having a wide network, knowing the right people, or posting on various marketplaces like Flippa and MicroAcquire.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Every week I was hearing about another acquisition, getting an email from someone looking to buy a plugin business, or emails from developers asking the best way to sell,&rdquo; Poulson said. &ldquo;The need for a WordPress specific acquisition marketplace became more and more apparent.&rdquo;</p>



<h2>The Acceleration of Acquisitions in the WordPress Ecosystem</h2>



<p>There is a lot of buzz on Twitter lately, questioning whether an active acquisition market is a healthy development. Some have expressed concern about small, independent tools getting bought up by larger companies and worry that consolidation will lead to lack of competition. </p>



<p>Eric Karkovack wrote in a <a href="https://speckyboy.com/wordpress-plugin-acquisitions/?mc_cid=fbd013f171&mc_eid=ad602f9b49">post</a> speculating on the future of plugin acquisitions, entertaining the possibility that &ldquo;a few big players simply set the rules for everyone else to follow:&rdquo;</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>Frankly, it&rsquo;s becoming a lot harder for solo entrepreneurs or small development shops to manage a popular plugin. Supporting a large userbase while also focusing on the future could become overwhelming.</p><p>Thus, it&rsquo;s not surprising to see that some of these products are being sold off to larger firms. We saw something similar happen with internet providers back in the early 2000s. The more mature the market, the harder it became for a small company to carry out its mission. Pretty soon, they were just about all bought up by corporate interests.</p><p>While that may not fully reflect the case here, it seems to at least be trending in that direction&hellip;</p><p>It will take some time. But there might come a day when a typical business website runs plugins from perhaps only a few big development houses.</p></blockquote>



<p>Not everyone shares this same bleak outlook on the potential effects of consolidation. During Matt Mullenweg&rsquo;s Q&amp;A at WordCamp Europe, Brian Krogsgard asked what these acquisitions mean for the health of the WordPress economy. Mullenweg sees it as a positive development that should spur more creation:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>It&rsquo;s a really exciting time because it feels so robust and healthy. The fact that these exits are happening then creates more incentives for something new to be created, either from the alumni of these companies or by people that know that they can get something to a certain point and sell it to one of these companies. It&rsquo;s actually not very different from Google and Yahoo and all of these companies that buy up lots of startups. Guess what, that created way more startups, some of which became Airbnb and Uber and challenged the tech giants. That&rsquo;s the beauty of how the ecosystem works.</p></blockquote>



<p>Poulson and Denning are also optimistic that FlipWP will open up more opportunities for business owners to get connected and accelerate the process for all parties involved.</p>



<p>&ldquo;The acquisition trend is indicative of WordPress maturing,&rdquo; Denning said. &ldquo;If WP Engine thinks the WordPress economy is <a href="https://wpengine.com/wordpress-economy/">worth $597 billion dollars</a> and the biggest public companies in WordPress are worth ~$20bn, we&rsquo;re about $577bn short. A lot of that number will be made up through the small businesses we see getting sold, and until now they&rsquo;ve not had a way of selling other than &lsquo;post it on Slack.&rsquo; If that study is right, then the one-most-weeks rate of acquisitions might actually be significantly too low, and those businesses are being undervalued, too. We can make it much easier for buyers to find quality WordPress listings, and we can make it much easier for sellers to get the best price.&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:"Wed, 16 Jun 2021 21:29:56 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:70:"WPTavern: #4 – Dan Maby on the Importance of the WordPress Community";s: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:48:"https://wptavern.com/?post_type=podcast&p=118113";s: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:183:"https://wptavern.com/podcast/4-dan-maby-on-the-importance-of-the-wordpress-community?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=4-dan-maby-on-the-importance-of-the-wordpress-community";s: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:58344:"<h2>About this episode.</h2>



<p>On the podcast today we have Dan Maby.</p>



<p>Dan has been a user of WordPress for many years. As an agency owner he&rsquo;s used it to build client websites, but, as is so often the case, he came for the software and got caught up in the community.</p>



<p>Starting out by attending some local WordPress meetups, he engaged with his fellow WordPressers and enjoying the events he was attending. Attendance turned into organising and over time Dan became the lead of four WordPress Meetups spread all over the UK.</p>



<p>Meetups led to an interest in WordCamps, where he again stepped up to take on leadership roles at WordCamp London.</p>



<p>In the podcast today we talk about the importance of the WordPress community, not just to him as an individual, but to the future of the project as a whole. After all, it&rsquo;s software created by people, and the health of that community will have a direct impact upon the contributions they make.</p>



<p>We recorded this podcast at a time unlike any other. In person events have had to stop; the WordCamps and Meetups have all gone virtual. Perhaps there&rsquo;s light at the end of that tunnel, but it&rsquo;s a perfect time to look back and see how the community has adapted to these new circumstances.</p>



<p>We get into whether hybrid WordPress events should be the new norm, what lessons the community can learn from the past year, and what Dan and his colleagues have done to stay connected and part of a vibrant community. They&rsquo;ve built a platform to enable events and plan on releasing it as a WordPress plugin soon.</p>



<p>We also discuss an event which Dan has been a key player in organising &ndash; <a href="https://www.wordfest.live/">WordFest Live</a>, a 24-hour online event with a focus upon learning and positive mental health.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It&rsquo;s a lovely episode with a member of the community who has been giving back for many, many years.</p>



<h2>Useful links.</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.wordfest.live/">WordFest Live</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.bigorangeheart.org/">Big Orange Heart</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.meetup.com/topics/wordpress/">WordPress Meetups</a></p>



<p><a href="https://central.wordcamp.org/">WordCamp Central</a></p>


Transcript<div><div class="chat-transcript"><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:00:00]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>Welcome to the fourth edition of the Jukebox Podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley. Jukebox is a podcast for the WordPress community. Each month, we bring you someone who is part of that community to give you an insight into a topic or person who you might not be familiar with. If you enjoy the podcast, you can subscribe to future episodes by going to wptavern dot com forward slash feed forward slash podcast.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"> <div class="chat-text"><p>If you&rsquo;ve got any feedback about the podcast, which could be a suggestion of a potential guest or a subject, then head over to wptavern dot com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox. There&rsquo;s a contact form there for you to complete, and we&rsquo;d certainly welcome your input. Thanks in advance. If you reach out.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"> <div class="chat-text"><p>Okay, so on the podcast today, we have Dan Maby. Dan has been a user of WordPress for many years. As an agency owner, he&rsquo;s used it to build client websites, but as is often the case, he came for the software and got caught up in the community. Starting out by attending some local WordPress meetups, he engaged with his fellow WordPressers and enjoyed the events he was attending. Attendance turned into organizing, and over time, Dan became the lead for four WordPress meetups spread all over the UK. Meetups led to an interest in WordCamps, where he again stepped up to take on leadership roles at WordCamp London. In the podcast today, we talk about the importance of the WordPress community, not just to him as an individual, but to the future of the project as a whole. After all it&rsquo;s software created by people, and the health of that community will have a direct impact upon the contributions they make. We recorded this podcast at a time unlike any other. In-person events have had to stop the; WordCamps and meet-ups have all gone virtual. Perhaps there&rsquo;s a little light at the end of the tunnel, but it&rsquo;s a perfect time to look back and see how the community has adapted to these new circumstances.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"> <div class="chat-text"><p>We get into whether hybrid WordPress events should be the new norm. What lessons the community can learn from the past year, and what Dan and his colleagues have done to stay connected and part of a vibrant community. They&rsquo;ve built a platform to enable events and plan on releasing it as a WordPress plugin soon.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"> <div class="chat-text"><p>We also discuss an event which Dan has been a key player in organizing, WordFest Live. It&rsquo;s a 24 hour online event with a focus upon learning and positive mental health. It&rsquo;s a lovely episode with a member of the community who has been giving back for many, many years.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"> <div class="chat-text"><p>If any of the points raised here, resonate with you, be sure to head over and find the post at wptavern dot com forward slash podcast, and leave a comment there.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"> <div class="chat-text"><p>And so without further delay, I bring you Dan Maby.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"> <div class="chat-text"><p>Am joined on the podcast today by Dan Maby. Hello, Dan.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"><div class="chat-author chat-author-danmaby vcard"><cite class="fn">Dan Maby</cite> [00:03:46]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>Good. Speak to you.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:03:46]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>Yeah, it&rsquo;s really nice to have you on the podcast today. Dan and I have a long history of chatting with each other, so this may end up being quite informal at times, but nevertheless, we&rsquo;re going to talk today about the WordPress community and events in general.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"> <div class="chat-text"><p>To paint some context into that, I wonder Dan, if you wouldn&rsquo;t mind spending just a couple of moments, introducing yourself and perhaps explain your history. Not just with WordPress, the software, but also your history with WordPress as a community.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"><div class="chat-author chat-author-danmaby vcard"><cite class="fn">Dan Maby</cite> [00:04:17]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>Yeah, absolutely. I guess my journey started 15 years ago with WordPress. Funnily enough, we had obviously the 18th birthday quite recently of WordPress, and I was looking back at my history, trying to figure out what had been doing with it. And I realized that I&rsquo;d started with version 1.5, which at the time was really quite a major introduction. Lots of features in that 1.5 update that we still recognize today in the platform. And it&rsquo;s been, an interesting journey with WordPress and the community. One that I&rsquo;ve absolutely loved over that 15 year journey. But really the journey for me with the community started, I think it was around 2012. I was looking for a way to connect with people that were working with and were interested using WordPress. I was working in London at the time in the UK, looked at a meetup. I came across, there was a WordPress meetup that was being run by Keith Devon at the time, the WordPress London meetup. So I went, I headed over to the meetup, came from my day job at the time, which means I was suited and booted. Wandered into this, a room with a bunch of WordPress developers and users. And felt entirely out of place in that in that first meeting. I was the only person there in a suit. Everybody else was nice and casual, but the welcome that I received in that meetup was second to none. It was really an incredible experience, a first experience of the, the wider WordPress community.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"> <div class="chat-text"><p>And it was actually at that event that Keith had asked if anybody was looking to get involved and support in the delivery of the event and that having been there literally for my first time, stuck my hand up, and that&rsquo;s really where it all started. And very quickly moved into a situation where Keith decided to step away from the event to focus on other things, focus on his agency, et cetera. I&rsquo;ve been running the event ever since. And the WordPress London meetup has been a key aspect to everything that I&rsquo;ve been doing within the community. It&rsquo;s been a real pleasure to be able to be a custodian of a that event.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:06:16]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>You have a lot more strings to your bow than just the WordPress London meetup. Do you want to tell us a little bit more about some of the other things that you&rsquo;re, well, were involved in? We&rsquo;ll get onto that a little bit later, about the way that things have had to cease, but tell us apart from the WordPress London meetup, tell us about the other things that you were doing on a monthly basis.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"><div class="chat-author chat-author-danmaby vcard"><cite class="fn">Dan Maby</cite> [00:06:37]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>Sure, so, for me the community was really the important bit, the people within the community. I really grew to develop a, a passion for the people that we were connecting with. And from that point from the running of the WPLDN event, I realized that actually there were other areas that were lacking in meetups across the UK. There were plenty of people running, plenty of meetups, and I was really enjoying being part of that kind of organizers community, if you like a meetup organizers community. But as I said, I noticed that there were areas that were lacking events, even in my local area, as well as further a field, I actually got to the point where I was organizing and leading four meetups a month across the UK, which saw me traveling quite substantial miles on a monthly basis, just to enable these communities to grow and develop.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"> <div class="chat-text"><p>And it was a real pleasure to be able to work with local communities. I always encouraged community members within the local area to come on board as co-hosts and enable them to take the lead and to sow the seed and then move on and help that community thrive. And it was going fantastically well. You know we had, as I say, we have four meetups running across the UK, and then suddenly, obviously we&rsquo;re thrown into the situation where we couldn&rsquo;t physically come together in person.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:07:56]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>Before we move on to that, perhaps we could paint a little picture about the importance of WordPress in your life, because it strikes me that many people, they may use WordPress as a piece of software. And that&rsquo;s the end of it. They have really no understanding that there is a community which can support you in your WordPress knowledge, but also it can be much more than that. And I think it&rsquo;s fair to say that in your case, many of the people that you&rsquo;ve met through WordPress have become actual friends who you actually socialize with. Enjoy their company and stray into non WordPress things as well. So I&rsquo;m just wondering if you could tell us how it has helped you, but perhaps get into the stuff that&rsquo;s not to do with WordPress. Have you met people that you&rsquo;ve really jelled with and found camaraderie with.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"><div class="chat-author chat-author-danmaby vcard"><cite class="fn">Dan Maby</cite> [00:08:41]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>I think this is the the beauty of the WordPress community. It&rsquo;s so much more than just the technology. I found it to be quite a unique community as well, in that the way people are open, the way people will communicate and discuss and talk about topics, which, by all rights where we attended an event together, we&rsquo;re essentially often competing with one another. I run an agency which focuses on design and development services, and I will go and speak with many other people that also run agencies. And essentially we are competitors, but that level of competition doesn&rsquo;t really surface too much in the WordPress community. It&rsquo;s predominantly a community that&rsquo;s very supportive and people are very open to discussing issues. Myself, I was seeking out connection, I wanted to be around like-minded individuals because I was in a situation where I was very isolated. I was looking for people to connect with that had an understanding of what I was experiencing. And that&rsquo;s really what the community has been about for me. It has been about this idea of having similar experiences, having, understanding of the challenges that we can face if we&rsquo;re working alone. And my company has run with distributed team members, so I don&rsquo;t have a central office with a team that all works together. We work in our home offices. You miss out on that ability to be able to have those conversations that you would have, potentially in-person. That for me was where I was seeking out the community, and as I did that, I realized that this community really was very open to discussing many issues and very open to sharing experiences and knowledge, which was unique for me at the time. And as you say, that&rsquo;s then led on to building of relationships and those relationships have gone further afield outside your outside of specifically WordPress related. Very happily, I&rsquo;ve got some wonderful friends across the community now, and they are friends and the people that I will hopefully have the pleasure of knowing for the rest of my life. Nathan, I count you in amongst that I can remember a conversation you and I had in a car park post a meetup many years ago and, it&rsquo;s been wonderful to watch the journey that you as an individual have gone on through your experiences of WordPress and podcasting, et cetera, and the many branches and tendrils that we have within the community. It&rsquo;s a very rich experience. I would say being part of the WordPress community.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:11:04]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>Yeah, I would completely agree. And for those people who perhaps listening to this podcast, obviously this audio will go on in perpetuity, it may be that they&rsquo;re listening to this and the world has become more normal. Shall we say? Perhaps we&rsquo;re allowed to meet up in person again. If that were the case, what would be your best advice for digging into that community? What would your best search be? What would be the best way to go about finding where your local events are taking place?</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"><div class="chat-author chat-author-danmaby vcard"><cite class="fn">Dan Maby</cite> [00:11:32]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>First off is look for meetups. There are thousands of meetups across the globe that are run by local communities, and I really would encourage anybody if you haven&rsquo;t previously. Take a look head over to you know, there are various sites, whether it&rsquo;s meetup dot com, Eventbrite, et cetera, all those kinds of events websites. Do a search for your local area for WordPress meetup event. Sign yourself up and head over. My personal experience and something that I&rsquo;ve spoken about many times historically is simply getting involved in these events. We have this wonderful ecosystem of WordCamps across the WordPress space. And these WordCamps are, you&rsquo;re basically taking a meetup onto a grander scale, again, encouraging local communities to try and run those WordCamps and larger events, but that can sometimes feel quite daunting, just simply turning up to an event. So if you can get yourself embedded in some way, and volunteering is by far and away, the simplest and best way to do that. Every single one of these meetups and WordCamps are run by teams of volunteers. So signing up as a volunteer, simply putting your hand up and saying, yes, I&rsquo;ll get involved in some way. It gives you a purpose within the event. So you&rsquo;re not simply having to be there and trying to figure out where you fit within it. You&rsquo;re there and you have a role. And this was certainly my experience of getting into the WordCamps space. I&rsquo;ve volunteered. I can remember experience at WordCamp Europe, or I was doing some meeting and greeting as people were arriving, and it just opened up so many interesting and wonderful conversations with people that I still have very interesting, wonderful conversations with today. And it&rsquo;s just that embedding yourself in it and enabling yourself to be part of that community. First step I&rsquo;d say, check meetup, look for an event. Sign yourself up, head over there. And if there&rsquo;s any way that you can get involved, do. Most meetup organizers are so grateful for anybody putting their hand up and say, yeah, look, I&rsquo;ll get involved or stepping forward and saying look, do you need any help with this at all? And that help can vary in so many ways. As a meetup organizer, there&rsquo;s an awful lot often goes on behind the scenes that maybe attendees aren&rsquo;t always aware of that really go into delivering these events.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:13:45]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>What is the difference between a meetup and a WordCamp? Probably, if you&rsquo;ve attended, either of those you&rsquo;ll know the difference, but if you&rsquo;re new to this whole WordPress community thing, it might be good to paint a bit of clear blue sky between those two different things.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"><div class="chat-author chat-author-danmaby vcard"><cite class="fn">Dan Maby</cite> [00:14:01]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>So if I use London as an example. Our WordPress London meetup, when we were in person delivering these events, we were seeing the, of an average of a hundred people in attendance every month. So this would run every once a month in our local environment. So the focus for both WordCamps and meetups really are about encouraging local organizers to run them. So our meetup, we feature between two and three speakers on a night. It&rsquo;s usually around two, two and a half hours long. And then post that within, have a bit of a social gathering. Where we continue doing a bit of networking, et cetera. The meetup is a really a trimmed down version, should we say? Or that&rsquo;s probably negative, a negative way of putting it to be honest. The WordCamp is an enlarged version of meetup. Probably the best way of putting it and WordCamps are essentially that. We&rsquo;re taking the concept of a meetup, but on a much, much grander scale. And they don&rsquo;t have to be enormous. I&rsquo;ve attended some you know, a hundred attendee WordCamps and they&rsquo;ve been absolutely spectacular, really personal. And I really enjoy the kind of smaller hundred, hundred and fifty attendee WordCamps, but equally we also have some much, much larger ones. So again, if I look at WordCamp London, the last event we ran we had around 650, I believe was 650 attendees at that event. If we then look at the regional WordCamps. So the likes of WordCamp US, WordCamp Europe or WordCamp Asia. Yeah, WordCamp Europe. I believe there&rsquo;s three and a half thousand attendees at the last event, the last in-person event. So they&rsquo;re often spread across multiple days as well, but not always often there&rsquo;s a, a single day WordCamp as well, but the one telling difference between a WordCamp and a meetup is the WordCamps often have what we call a contributor day associated with them as well, which is a day focused entirely on contributing to WordPress in some way, shape or form. And there are so many ways to contribute. We&rsquo;re not just simply talking about writing code and contributing in that way. There&rsquo;s documentation, there&rsquo;s marketing, there&rsquo;s the multi-lingual there&rsquo;s many ways to get involved. So I really, again, would encourage anybody that&rsquo;s thinking about attending a WordCamp, once we are back to a situation where we are safe to be able to return to in-person events. And obviously some of the virtual events I really would encourage joining the, contributor day in any way that you can.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:16:15]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>So with all of these events going on, obviously we&rsquo;ve got a thriving piece of software, which is turning out to be widely used over 40% of the web. We have the statistic now using WordPress. So the software is one side, but obviously we&rsquo;ve also, as you&rsquo;ve just painted a picture that we&rsquo;ve got this thriving community as well. An awful lot of the project perhaps was going on, at these community events, a lot of things were being organized, so contributor days, possibly different teams meeting up at various times at these events. And then sometime last year, the world paused and is still in a state of pause. I&rsquo;m wondering if you have any thoughts on whether the project as a whole has been stifled. I know that we&rsquo;ve gone online and we&rsquo;ll come onto that in a moment, but I&rsquo;m just wondering if you&rsquo;ve got any thoughts about the impact that the world pausing and not being able to meet up in person. If the project itself has been stymied by that.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"><div class="chat-author chat-author-danmaby vcard"><cite class="fn">Dan Maby</cite> [00:17:14]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>I think this is a really interesting discussion. I can sit on both sides of the fence here. I think there is definitely an element of fatigue within the community at this stage. And I think that fatigue is being born out of the fact that potentially we are not having those in-person connections, the wonderful conversations that can be born out of the hallway track, you know it&rsquo;s spectacular, what can happen, and by hallway track, you&rsquo;re simply wandering around the event itself and not necessarily being in a session, but there&rsquo;s, the people are mingling around and the conversations that can be born out of those chance meetings, really are spectacular. Many times I&rsquo;ve run into individuals in the hallway, or we&rsquo;ve just started the conversation and then somebody else has jumped in, somebody else has jumped in and before we know it, there&rsquo;s, there&rsquo;s a really interesting round table conversation going on about the future of the project. Because as an open-source project, we all have the potential to influence them the potential to participate in the project in some way, shape or form. I think in this virtual environment that we&rsquo;re currently in, on a personal level, I believe that we&rsquo;ve lost some of that. We&rsquo;ve lost that ability in many ways. And it&rsquo;s created this fatigue where we&rsquo;re not necessarily having the opportunity to have those discussions and those new ideas, those new thoughts, or those alternative ways of looking at a problem. I think the project has possibly suffered for that, in some respects, I think is partly why WordPress as the software has been so successful is because of WordPress the community has had that really strong in-person connection and that really strong coming together as a community. Having said that equally, there are many benefits to the concept of the virtual environment that we&rsquo;re in. But yes. I certainly think there are some challenges that we have come up against and we&rsquo;ve tried to work towards resolving to some degree as a community in this virtual environment.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:19:07]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>We&rsquo;re in a strange dichotomy in that we were probably better prepared than almost any industry to move everything online at the drop of a hat, because the WordPress community is online. We understand how to put websites together and turn those websites into virtual events and all of that kind of stuff. Conversely, and perhaps somewhat unexpectedly. We were also a community, that needed to be offline in order to push the project forward. And so in some sense, we were not prepared for that. Two sides of one coin, very well prepared from the technological point of view. But perhaps we didn&rsquo;t really understand that these in-person events, the interactions, the little coincidental meetings that might&rsquo;ve happened, that pushed things forward. The fact that the contributor days, they were a great way of pushing the project forward. All of these little things that required us to be in-person well, they just evaporated and we weren&rsquo;t really prepared for that and that&rsquo;s kinda my take on it. It feels like from the tech point of view, everything&rsquo;s a-okay. We can manage that side really well, but the unexpected consequences from the community going away have become slightly more obvious. And I feel it&rsquo;s not really in any way, catastrophic, it&rsquo;s just little paper cuts. Things haven&rsquo;t perhaps worked as fluidly, perhaps interactions haven&rsquo;t been made, perhaps people have become fatigued, logging onto their computer and so on. And of course, there&rsquo;s the fact that there&rsquo;s a great deal of excitement around turning up to one of these events and whether that&rsquo;s a meetup and you just show up for the evening or you go somewhere further afield. You might need to get in the car or get on a train or get on a plane and you may have booked a hotel and your almost seeing it as a little bit of a vacation, something a little bit outside of the normal experience, all of that side has gone. And so there&rsquo;s less be excited about. And perhaps as you described it fatigue, I&rsquo;m describing it more as a lack of excitement, perhaps that has had a bit of an impact.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"><div class="chat-author chat-author-danmaby vcard"><cite class="fn">Dan Maby</cite> [00:21:10]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>I think you&rsquo;re absolutely right. There&rsquo;s an excitement when you&rsquo;re coming together in personnel, there&rsquo;s excitement. You don&rsquo;t always know what to expect. You don&rsquo;t always know what&rsquo;s going to come in those conversations. You may have a good idea, but the ability to come together in person and really thrive off that energy of one another, it really can be quite special, but equally there are many people that don&rsquo;t thrive off of that there are many people that really struggle with the idea of being in large groups of people, there&rsquo;s absolutely pros and cons to all of this. And it&rsquo;s something that we were in our events, in the in-person events, we were trying to be aware of, be mindful of that experience for people. Some people, as I say will thrive off that environment of being around lots of people, but those that need their own space sometimes. The idea of delivering quiet rooms at in-person events is really important because some people do just need that time away from the crowd to be able to re-energize themselves, by being by themselves. This idea of enabling all walks of life, all the variations of people that build up our community to be able to participate. And I think this is really where we&rsquo;ve got a huge positive in the virtual environment at the moment we&rsquo;ve brought down so many barriers. For a far greater, far more diverse mix of individuals, whether we&rsquo;re talking about speakers or attendees, we&rsquo;ve got some wonderful opportunities right now in the virtual environment. We&rsquo;re not having to consider visas. We&rsquo;re not having to consider travel expenses. The limitation that we&rsquo;re running on right now in terms of attendance of an event is the bandwidth to be able to connect to that event. We were looking at the positive side of this. There are some really good things I think we need to be very mindful of as we move forward. As we move into, as we start to move into a situation where we, if we&rsquo;re in a safe environment, to be able to return to the in-person events, we also need to be mindful of how do we continue to encourage that very open and very inclusive model that the virtual environment has created.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:23:16]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>Do you see in the future, and we&rsquo;ll talk more in a moment about specifically what it is that you and your events have done to move online over the last year or so, but just for now, do you see in the future then a model where, let&rsquo;s say that we all go back and the world returns to how it was in 2018. Everybody&rsquo;s allowed to get on planes and trains and everybody can move freely once more. Do you think that we have reached a point where hybrid events and by that I mean, many people will come and be present in the room, but also perhaps we need to provide the internet access so the people from further afield who don&rsquo;t wish to attend, or perhaps they&rsquo;re literally on the other side of the world and they only want to see two or three of the variety of sessions that are on offer that week. It&rsquo;s really not worth them getting on a plane for that, but they could log in and watch them online. So do you feel that there&rsquo;s a hybrid or will we just consign the online events to the realms of history?</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"><div class="chat-author chat-author-danmaby vcard"><cite class="fn">Dan Maby</cite> [00:24:12]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>So I&rsquo;m very hopeful that as a community, we will adopt the hybrid model. However, having said that, I also appreciate that we need to also figure out what this hybrid model looks like. As a meetup organizer, again, the WordPress London meets up. We were taking quite a considerable amounts of kit into the event to deliver the events. And by kit I&rsquo;m talking about cameras, microphones, tripods, sound equipment, all sorts of stuff, which isn&rsquo;t that common in the meetup space. And as a meet-up organizer, you don&rsquo;t need to be thinking about, or how do I get low cameras, et cetera. But what it meant for us is we were pre pandemic we were already in an environment where we were live streaming the sessions. We were accepting questions coming in from the virtual audience that were consuming the content live whilst the in-person community were also consuming that content. That put us in a very strong model as we move forward, which I can get into in a moment. But the issue that I see is, are we going to try and force the experience where we&rsquo;ve got the in-person and the virtual, combined together at the same time, are we actually going to create a situation where we create the worst of both worlds? So the in-person deteriorates because there&rsquo;s a need for more equipment, there&rsquo;s a need for more organizing and there&rsquo;s need for just a very different experience where you&rsquo;ve got a lot more things needing to happen from an organizer&rsquo;s perspective. And then have you then got the virtual side, is their experience going to deteriorate because the organizers are having to focus on the in person. It&rsquo;s an awful lot to deliver, as an organizer: an event. But to then take that event and say now I need to do at the same time, a hybrid of in-person and live, particularly on the meetup side, I think it&rsquo;s something we&rsquo;re going to have to be very careful of and figure out how do we do that? Are we better to have, I don&rsquo;t know, for example, an in-person event and a virtual event, twice a month. Again, I&rsquo;m not advocating for this for every single meetup because I appreciate every meetup is run by volunteers. It&rsquo;s about the capacity for those organizers. I think when we start to look at WordCamps, it gets a little more interesting because obviously WordCamps do have a slightly larger team often, and there is often some funding supported through sponsorship, et cetera, to enable that. But again, we&rsquo;ve got to look at how do we make sure that the experience is optimal for both the in-person and the virtual. And I&rsquo;m not sure I have the, certainly I don&rsquo;t have the answers to that at this stage, but it&rsquo;s certainly something we&rsquo;ve been having a lot of discussion around internally. And the platform that we&rsquo;ve developed for our virtual events at the moment is something that we&rsquo;re looking to roll into our hybrid model. But again, that we don&rsquo;t have the answers at this stage.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:26:57]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>I&rsquo;m also conscious that perhaps if everything becomes available online, it may persuade people who are almost going to attend live to not attend live. It may dwindle the audience that turn up to the live event, if you know what I mean, which would be a kind of an unexpected consequence, but those people who were flip-flopping and maybe I&rsquo;ll go, maybe I won&rsquo;t, oh, I&rsquo;ll just watch it on the screen, which is fine. But obviously you don&rsquo;t want to get to the point where the in-person event is attended by just a couple of people, because everybody else is just tuning in online because the sort of sense and the purpose of that event and the camaraderie, all the good stuff that you want to happen, in-person disappears.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"><div class="chat-author chat-author-danmaby vcard"><cite class="fn">Dan Maby</cite> [00:27:38]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>So this was something that we discussed, a number of times pre pandemic, when we made the decision to start live streaming, the WPLDN events, and we have that exact concern and it&rsquo;s a genuine concern. Are you going to deteriorate the experience by somebody has the option to just simply watch it online? It never happened. Our numbers, stayed consistent and we saw a numbers of in-person stay consistent and we saw our numbers online, grow and grow. And that really demonstrates to us that people want that in person connection, as you just said, there&rsquo;s so much more to the event than simply consuming the the section that&rsquo;s being delivered. So it is those conversations are happening in hallway tracks. It&rsquo;s the, all the other elements to the event that you often can&rsquo;t gain from a virtual environment.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:28:24]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>Okay. So let&rsquo;s move the conversation a little bit. It was staying on more or less the exact same topic, but I&rsquo;m curious to know what it is technically that you have done since March last year in the UK, March was the moment where everything ground to a halt, and we were unable to see each other. So I just wondered if you could run us through what challenges you faced, how you&rsquo;ve overcome them. And I know that you spent a lot of time trying to build a platform and shape a platform, to make this work in your situation. Perhaps explaining that might encourage other people who would like to take their events online, to reach out to you and see if you can lend them a hand.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"><div class="chat-author chat-author-danmaby vcard"><cite class="fn">Dan Maby</cite> [00:29:00]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>Sure. Absolutely. Just to give a bit of context before I get into this, the WPLDN events, along with several other events that we deliver, now come under the umbrella of Big Orange Heart, which is a registered nonprofit with a mission to support, promote positive mental health within remote working communities. So a big focus for us is about continuing ways to help reduce social isolation and the delivery of events do that. Now the reason I&rsquo;m saying that is because there&rsquo;s a team of volunteers within Big Orange Heart, that have donated time into helping us deliver them. So what I wouldn&rsquo;t want to portray is yeah I&rsquo;m sitting here on my own and it built this platform that enabled the community to continue to do its thing. It&rsquo;s taken a small village of people to continue to do this. And I appreciate not every meetup has that ability to be able to tap into that. But what we did, we actually back, as I said, previously, we were already live streaming. So we had a pretty good idea of, the, kind of the technical aspects of live streaming content and very fortunate, we&rsquo;ve got a fantastic team on WPLDN, specifically Leo Mindel, Paul Smart and Diane Wallace and myself come together. Leo comes in with some fantastic technical knowledge to help support the live streaming side of it. And we took the decision back in February, so prior to the government making any announcement here in the UK, we took the decision that was going to be our last event until we had more information in relation to the pandemic. Little did we know that would obviously continue on as it is right now, but we took what we were doing in terms of our live streaming; so we did our final in-person event in February. We jumped straight into trying to do a virtual event in our next event in March. So we delivered one event a month through WPLDN. The first thing we did in March was jumped straight into Zoom and said, yep, let&rsquo;s get everybody in. Within minutes, we recognize that Zoom was entirely the wrong platform for us to deliver an event on. It&rsquo;s a great platform, for the purpose of meetings one-to-one or one to many meetings, but it really isn&rsquo;t a good platform for any kind of event. Because if in an event you want the ability for people to freely move around. And we&rsquo;ve seen many events that have used Zoom, used multiple Zoom rooms to enable the attendees to jump into different conversations. The problem with that is you don&rsquo;t know what you&rsquo;re jumping into. We often refer to it as Zoom roulette because you&rsquo;ll be jumping into a Zoom call and you don&rsquo;t know who&rsquo;s in that Zoom call. You don&rsquo;t know what you&rsquo;re jumping into, and it adds a huge cognitive load to the attendees of an event, because not only are they having to figure out where the different Zoom links are, they&rsquo;re also then having to figure out once they&rsquo;ve got in who it is that they&rsquo;re communicating with in that conversation, which it just simply didn&rsquo;t work for us. So we very quickly started to work on a solution that would enable us to have that ability to have freedom of movement within a virtual environment. Now, this led us on to looking, we&rsquo;re huge open-source advocates. And we wanted to continue to deliver, we wanted to build something that would tie in and fit with that ethos of the open source projects that we support. So we quickly discovered Jitsi as source video conferencing solution. Ran into many challenges along the way, in terms of building out the platform. But what we ultimately ended up with was a platform that enabled us to use our existing registration process. So all of our attendees are on meetup. So we wanted for people to be able to obviously log in with their meetup credentials. So register for an event on meetup, if they&rsquo;ve registered, be able to then access the event online. So we built a WordPress site, built a custom app that wrapped around a Jitsi instance, which then enabled us to have this concept of tables within the platform. So attendees would register for the event, jump in. We would be able to stream content into that platform as well as then have this idea of tables where people could freely move around and see exactly who&rsquo;s on what table before they were jumping in. We delivered that I believe that was around May time of that year. So two months following the decision to go to virtual and we continue to iterate and evolve that platform from that point on, which has been, it&rsquo;s been a phenomenal experience, the development of this solution. I just wanted to give a shout out to Louis Cowles, who has been doing an incredible job. Taking what I had originally put together, which was this app wrapped around Jitsi and he has turned it into something far more spectacular, which we are now, almost at the stage of being able to deliver as a WordPress plugin. So if anybody has attended any of the Big Orange Heart events or any of the events, the Big Orange Heart supports, have experienced the platform, which includes WordFest. The whole platform that we have developed there will soon be available as a WordPress plugin as well, which we&rsquo;re really excited about.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:33:56]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>I have to say from my part, it is now feeling incredibly mature and the fact that it will soon be a WordPress plugin is remarkable. Will that be something that anybody can access and therefore use at their own meetups? Presumably there&rsquo;s some sort of burden of setting up things outside of WordPress. Maybe there&rsquo;s other containers with the Jitsi software that needs to be done, or does it all get rolled into just the plugin and you&rsquo;re good to go.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"><div class="chat-author chat-author-danmaby vcard"><cite class="fn">Dan Maby</cite> [00:34:22]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>So there&rsquo;s still work that we&rsquo;re working through, how to enable that within the community. Really, what we&rsquo;re trying to do here is build something that is enabling communities to have the experience that we&rsquo;ve had with WPLDN, and also, we&rsquo;re not just simply talking in this current particular space where we&rsquo;ve got the, just virtual again, referring back to the hybrid model. As a platform would work particularly well for the hybrid model, but yes, there are definitely additional technical elements to it, which we will obviously be looking at how we can mitigate that technical challenge that comes with it. There are hosted versions of Jitsi, which you can simply plug into it as it is right now. So again, we&rsquo;ll be able to share more information as we move forward with that. We&rsquo;re really, it&rsquo;s about enabling the community to be able to continue to have that very broad reach. Even as we, as we move back into the in-person.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:35:11]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>You being you, you weren&rsquo;t content to rest on your laurels and carry on just doing the WPLDN event. You&rsquo;ve obviously got this platform and you decided at some point last year, that you wanted to manage and organize an event which spanned the entire globe. And so WordFest was born. I don&rsquo;t know if WordFest was born, basically out of the fact the world was on pause or whether you&rsquo;d have plans for this prior to that. But perhaps you could spend a few minutes just outlining what WordFest is and by good coincidence, there is actually a WordFest, if you&rsquo;re listening to this podcast episode, soon after it was released, there is actually a WordFest event coming up really soon. So perhaps tell us why you started it and then get onto what&rsquo;s going on in the next few weeks.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"><div class="chat-author chat-author-danmaby vcard"><cite class="fn">Dan Maby</cite> [00:35:59]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>Sure. So as a charity, we always intended to have some form of larger in-person event. Events have been something that&rsquo;s had a real passion for a very long time. The ethos of bringing people together, helping reduce social isolation of lone workers is something that really fits well with everything that we&rsquo;re doing in terms of Big Orange Heart. So we wanted to enable people to come together. That had always been on the cards from the very early stages of Big Orange Heart. Of course, when we got thrown into this situation with the pandemic, as I say, we moved into the virtual environment for our monthly events, that platform that I&rsquo;ve been discussing, we actually opened up to other communities. So we&rsquo;ve enabled other communities to be able to run their events through our platform, without any charge to them. We just simply wants to be able to create a solution for those communities to continue to come together when they couldn&rsquo;t deliver them in person. What that actually meant was that we, in the first 12 months that we were delivering events through our live dot Big Orange Heart dot org site, we&rsquo;d had over 12,000 attendees come through that platform, which has meant that we&rsquo;d obviously had a huge amount of feedback and we&rsquo;d been able to iterate very quickly across that solution to get to a point where we actually decided that we want to deliver a larger scale event. It&rsquo;s always been on the cards. Why not do that as a virtual conference or virtual festival? That&rsquo;s really where the concept of WordFest was born. And I want to, again, when we give a huge shout out to Brian Richards, particularly of WordSesh. WordSesh has been around, you know, as a virtual WordPress focused virtual event for many years, I can remember way back in the early days of the first WordSesh, the first few WordSesh&rsquo;s, which were 24 hour events and had a lot of fun attending those. And I remember attending my first one and actually attending for the full 24 hours. So this wasn&rsquo;t something that was new in our space. We were very aware that there was a desire for it, but we wanted to wrap together the two elements of what we do. Our hearts really are in WordPress, but our focus is really around wellbeing and mental health, positive mental health. So this concept of WordFest was about bringing those elements together. So if you attend WordFest, you will find content that focuses on both WordPress and our individual wellbeing as remote workers. It really was about this concept of a global celebration of our community. We talked about different ways of delivering it. We talked about do we do over multiple days because we appreciate time zones, how do we, how do we factor in a way of enabling anybody that wants to attend to be able to attend? But we didn&rsquo;t want to just say here&rsquo;s a set time on this day, here&rsquo;s six hours that would deliver it or, over a period of days, we&rsquo;ll do, it was a real challenge. So we, we kept coming back to this 24 hour concept because it would end up, if somebody wants to attend over that one day, there was some point in the day that hopefully they would be able to join us. And it has mushroomed. It&rsquo;s grown and grown. We set out to deliver the first one back in January, this year, 2021, we set a target of 2000 attendees to the event we had just over two and a half thousand attend. So it was, we completely smashed all our expectations in terms of people attending the event. But also we completely smashed our expectations in terms of the number of sessions that we were delivering. We initially set out a wanting to deliver 24 sessions over the 24 hours. That turned into 36 sessions actually ended up being 48 sessions through the first event. I&rsquo;m really happy. I&rsquo;m not sure it&rsquo;s the right word, but I&rsquo;m really happy to say that this time around we&rsquo;ve actually got 66 sessions that are going to be delivered in the 24 hours. It&rsquo;s been a phenomenal experience, delivering this as again, as a wonderful team of volunteers, sitting behind this people like Michelle, Cate, Hauwa, Paul, just wonderful people that are really enabling us to be able to continue to grow this event into a much larger scale event than it ever was initially. So the next WordFest live is taking place on the 23rd of July. So we&rsquo;ll be featuring 66 sessions over a 24 hour period. And it is, I think one of the most wonderful things I took away from the last WordFest was, as an organizer, having organized many in-person events, there&rsquo;s always a connection with your co-organizers. Certainly if you&rsquo;re running a larger event, such as a WordCamp, for example, you build up this rapport and you build up this relationship that on the day of delivering the event often it&rsquo;s, it&rsquo;s, it&rsquo;s tiring. There are, yeah, there are moments of challenges, but there are just wonderful moments as well. But you experience all of those things together as a team. What I took away from WordFest live, which was a genuine surprise to me was we managed to create that same experience. We managed to create that same shared experience as we were delivering the event. I&rsquo;ll never forget sitting here, I think I was in about hour 36 of because I&rsquo;d been up some time before the event and I was sitting there and just the silence that was actually happening as a bunch of organizers, we all knew how, what we were experiencing in that moment. And it was just a real special time. We use various tools to deliver it. And one of the key secret ingredients for us as organizers was Discord. So having an open audio Discord channel for us to be able to just simply be able to speak to one another as we needed in that moment, it worked incredibly well for us.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:41:40]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>So the event, just tell us one last time. What are the dates and where do we go if we wish to sign up and perhaps importantly, tell us how much does it cost?</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"><div class="chat-author chat-author-danmaby vcard"><cite class="fn">Dan Maby</cite> [00:41:53]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>I&rsquo;m laughing because it costs you absolutely nothing. WordFest Live is a free event, the next event is taking place on the 23rd of July where we&rsquo;ll be starting at midnight UTC. So time zones are always fun in an event like this. So we base it around UTC. So midnight UTC on the 23rd of July running for 24 hours. So that&rsquo;s the Friday 23rd. You can join us at any point over that 24 hour period, we will be running across six continents. Our time zone starts off in the Australia, Australian time zones. We&rsquo;ll move on to Asia, Africa, Europe, south America, and ending up in North America. And then we&rsquo;ve got Antarctica. You can chill out in our community tent all day long. So over that period, we would love to see you join us. As I say, registration is entirely free. There is an optional $10 donation that you can make when registering, all funds go directly into Big Orange Heart, which was the say is a registered nonprofit. There is also an option there to sign up as a micro sponsor. Should you choose to. Micro sponsorship is charged at $250. And for that, we will obviously get some exposure of your company. And it&rsquo;s really a more a reflection of what it actually costs for us to put this together, in terms of the attendees tickets.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:43:13]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>This podcast episode, you could probably sum it up with one word and that word would probably be community. If I was to show up to WordFest live and I had ambitions to socialize with other people. That kind of thing is possible? It&rsquo;s not just about show up to the event, watch the speakers and then wait for the next speaker to start. You&rsquo;ve provided opportunities to socialize. So maybe as a final thing, just explain how that works. What&rsquo;s the provision for meeting up with other people and breaking out into different groups and so on.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"><div class="chat-author chat-author-danmaby vcard"><cite class="fn">Dan Maby</cite> [00:43:42]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>So this was as equally important as finding fantastic speakers. We also needed to make sure that the ability for people to be able to connect, the community, to be able to come together has been a focus for us. So this is where the custom solution that we&rsquo;ve been developing comes into play. So if you are attending WordFest, you can obviously consume, we&rsquo;ve got two tracks running over the 24 hour period. So at any point you have a choice of at least two sessions to choose from. I say at least because there&rsquo;s also some evergreen content that will be available for you to consume through the events as well. And then you can head over to our community tent which we are nicknaming Antarctica this time round, where you can connect with the sponsors. So you will see all the sponsors tables, you can jump in and have conversations, discuss with them for whatever reason you need to to connect with the sponsors, highly encourage you to do that. But in the same space, you can also spin up your own community table. And this is, we try to liken it to a sponsors hall at an in-person event. You might wander into the sponsors hall. You&rsquo;ll have conversations with the sponsors, but equally you might have conversations with your peers, friends, colleagues, in and around the community. So we&rsquo;ve really tried to, as best we can in the virtual environment, replicates that hallway track experience where you&rsquo;re not bound to specific calls, you&rsquo;re not bound to specific tables. You have freedom of movement within that platform to connect with those that you want to connect with. Equally, you also have your own profile within the platform and your own profile then has your own meeting room. So should you want to break out and have you a slightly more private conversation discussion away from the community tent, then again, you have that facility. So it&rsquo;s really about trying to enable people to come together and have the conversations that are so important.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:45:29]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>Thank you so much, Dan, for putting an event like this on, I know that as you&rsquo;ve said, it&rsquo;s not just you, there&rsquo;s a great large community of people in the background as well. So thank you to them equally and during the last 18 months or so, thanks for being there and making sure that the communities can keep meeting and you&rsquo;ve endeavored to to keep all of that going. And I fear that unless it was for people like you who&rsquo;ve really gone the extra mile, perhaps things wouldn&rsquo;t be quite so bright going forward. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you very much, Dan, for coming on the podcast and for everything that you do.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-2"><div class="chat-author chat-author-danmaby vcard"><cite class="fn">Dan Maby</cite> [00:46:01]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>Oh I&rsquo;m deeply appreciate. I thank you. Thank you very much, and likewise. Thank you for all that you do across the community. I appreciate it. I&rsquo;ll see, you spent a lot of time chatting with people like me sharing some wonderful stories.</p>
</div></div><div class="chat-stanza chat-row chat-speaker-1"><div class="chat-author chat-author-nathanwrigley vcard"><cite class="fn">Nathan Wrigley</cite> [00:46:11]</div> <div class="chat-text"><p>Thank you so much.</p>
</div></div></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:"Wed, 16 Jun 2021 14:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Nathan Wrigley";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:42:"HeroPress: Changing The World, Changing Me";s: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=3902";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:134:"https://heropress.com/essays/changing-the-world-changing-me/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=changing-the-world-changing-me";s: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:8049:"<img width="1024" height="512" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/061421-min.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Pull Quote: WordPress has fundamentally changed who I am. I don’t say that lightly." /><p>WordPress was created when I was 10 years old. I try to imagine myself at 10 and the only images I can conjure up are ones of anxiety. My world both felt so small and was so small yet what I felt seemed so big. I don’t look back fondly on those years. I was a ball of competitive anxiety who was just coming out of being made fun of for years for my speech impediments and finally starting to figure out who I might be. My 10 year old self didn’t like change and didn’t know how to cope. My 10 year old self had no concept of what was being created during these strange years and I’m filled with gratitude thinking about those who were paving the way before I could even conceptualize what a website was.</p>
<p>WordPress has fundamentally changed who I am. I don’t say that lightly. I have an urge to jump into a monologue of, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways” when I think about WordPress.</p>
<h3>Finding My Creativity</h3>
<p>The most profound change started in awakening a sense of creativity and belief in myself. I work hard at things but my earlier black and white point of view often limited any amount of creativity I might have had. I’ll never forget in college working for <a href="http://web.unc.edu/">web.unc.edu</a>, UNC Chapel Hill’s WordPress multisite installation, and discovering that I could create as many sites as I wanted. The ease of use and the unlimited possibilities led me to create site after site. This still happens now with <a href="https://letslifechat.com/">https://letslifechat.com/</a> born this year out of my desire to share my love of questions and deeply connecting with others, especially during a year of profound disconnection. Along the way at UNC, I got to work with brilliant and kind coworkers who believed in me to the point of encouraging me to apply to Automattic after I had to graduate a year early.</p>
<blockquote><p>Knowing they believed in me helped me apply and the case of redbull they sent me for my trial helped me get the job!</p></blockquote>
<p>I never saw myself as creative since creativity was defined for so many years as being art focused (poetry, painting, etc) and I have absolutely no artistic abilities. Being able to make an idea come to life online has changed how I view myself – I now see myself as creative and capable. This shift in how I view myself led me to create initiatives like <a href="https://accelerate.lgbt/">accelerate.lgbt</a> and <a href="https://mentoreverywhere.com/">Mentor Everywhere</a> at Automattic in my free time. I never realized that my handwriting and drawing abilities could be terrible yet, at the same time, my creativity could be powerful. The results of my creative actions have solidified a sense of belief in myself that is deeply profound. It’s something I fall back on during tough days of self doubt and tough problems.</p>
<h3>Finding The World</h3>
<p>Because of WordPress’ global and distributed nature, I have been afforded the opportunity to travel to far away lands and to be there for meaningful moments with dear loved ones. Being a “nomad” is something I never thought I’d be. Being connected to people all over the world felt unfathomable and still feels like more of a dream than a reality. It’s challenged every aspect of who I am and I am better for it. Combined with the ability to see the world, I get to work with folks from all over the world every single day thanks to WordPress. This has given me the honor of having a global mindset that I carry with me no matter where I go. I feel I have traveled enough for many lifetimes over. Once you begin thinking at that scale, whether due to a global mindset or due to the percentage of the web powered by WordPress, you can’t go back. Something in you changes for the better.</p>
<h3>Finding Who I Am</h3>
<p>I think often of LGBTQ+ people of years past and how many likely never would have had the chance at a life that I have. This rings particularly true during Pride Month. On top of everything else, WordPress has given me a platform and a job where I can be my truest self whether that’s sharing my mental health struggles, talking about my evolving thoughts <a href="https://surrogacy-stories.com/">on being born through surrogacy</a>, or imagining a different way of existing <a href="https://nomad.blog/2020/01/16/little-homes/">with many little homes rather than one</a>. With WordPress, I can share my words and I can be heard. I can fiercely be myself and be amplified rather than silenced. I can join community meetings and proudly share a rainbow emoji as I say hi. WordPress has emboldened me and has given me so many opportunities to use my newfound creativity to lead in various spaces.</p>
<p>None of the above gets to the root of why I LOVE what I do and love what WordPress is to me. Beyond any personal change, WordPress has allowed me to help others and to increase my own impact on this world. Whether it was working with department sites during my time at UNC or helping a local non profit set up a brand new website to bring theirs out of the 90s, I am thrilled to have a job and a passion that centers on helping others succeed.</p>
<blockquote><p>It’s such a privilege to work with folks during different stages of their sites – it’s always so personal and so sacred.</p></blockquote>
<p>I can vividly remember the first time this gripped me. I was helping a professor at UNC set up a site and when we finally published it, he couldn’t believe it was “live”. He kept asking me whether other researchers, students, professors, etc. could find him. As I began to explain how everything worked, he was nearly brought to tears.</p>
<p>“I can’t believe my life’s work can be found by anyone in the world.”</p>
<p>I was just a freshman at this point and didn’t quite understand what I had stumbled upon with WordPress. I couldn’t have imagined that this would be my life. I had a friend a few years ago say to me, “You are the last person I ever expected to work in technology.” I grew quiet and nodded solemnly, “Me too”. This great adventure and great chance is truly due to those who helped me patiently over the years. It’s also due to those who enabled WordPress to be what it is today and what it will be tomorrow. I don’t take this for granted.</p>
<h3>Finding My Joy</h3>
<p>There’s a concept I am stuck on these days. It’s centered on this quote:</p>
<blockquote><p>“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” – Nelson Henderson</p></blockquote>
<p>When I was 10, so many were working so immensely hard to create the shade in which I currently sit. This gorgeous, remarkable, world expanding shade that I can’t believe I ever found and that I hardly have the words to describe. I send a tearful “thank you” from my soul into the ether for all of you out there who made this precious life of mine possible.</p>
<p><a href="https://nomad.blog/2021/04/17/one-year-in-devrel/">Just over a year ago</a>, I switched into a Developer Relations Wrangler position at Automattic as a full time contributor to the WordPress project and my hope now is that I can pay forward what has been given to me through planting trees of my own. To have the chance to give back to something that has given me so much is something I wake up everyday thankful for, even on the tough days. Even better, I now get to play a role in encouraging, supporting, and believing in other people as a core part of my job in the same way so many have done for me.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com/essays/changing-the-world-changing-me/">Changing The World, Changing Me</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, 16 Jun 2021 12:00:48 +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:13:"Anne McCarthy";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:52:"WPTavern: Automattic Acquires Day One Journaling App";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=118457";s: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:149:"https://wptavern.com/automattic-acquires-day-one-journaling-app?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=automattic-acquires-day-one-journaling-app";s: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:7839:"<img />



<p>Automattic has <a href="https://wordpress.com/blog/2021/06/14/day-one-the-journaling-app-joins-automattic/">acquired Day One</a>, a journaling app available on iPhone, Android, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. The app makes it easy to create journal entries on the go, offers end-to-end encryption for privacy on its paid tier, and has offline capabilities. While most users compose private entries, Automattic&rsquo;s acquisition announcement promises integrations for publishing to the web:</p>



<p><em>That doesn&rsquo;t mean that everything you journal has to stay private, though. When you want to share specific entries &ndash; or even entire journals with the world &ndash; you can expect seamless integrations with both WordPress.com and Tumblr to do just that. On the flip side of that, importing your favorite content from WordPress.com and Tumblr into Day One is on the near-term roadmap.&nbsp;</em></p>



<p>In a <a href="https://ma.tt/2021/06/day-one-at-automattic/">post</a> on his personal blog, Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg said he has been a user of Day One since 2016 and spoke highly of the app&rsquo;s infrastructure: </p>



<p><em>Day One not only nails the experience of a local blog (or journal as they call it) in an app, but also has (built) a great technical infrastructure &mdash;&nbsp;<s>i</s>t works fantastic (when) offline and has a&nbsp;<a href="https://help.dayoneapp.com/en/articles/840428-end-to-end-encryption-faq">fully encrypted sync</a>&nbsp;mechanism, so the data that&rsquo;s in the cloud is secured in a way that even someone with access to their database couldn&rsquo;t decode your entries, it&rsquo;s only decrypted on your local device. Combining encryption and sync in a truly secure way is tricky, but they&rsquo;ve done it.</em></p>



<p>A journaling app is a surprising acquisition for Automattic, which has traditionally gravitated towards snapping up publishing-related companies and tools. WordPress is capable of powering nearly every kind of public-facing website, but private publishing has never been its strong suit. Though many have used WordPress in a sort of &ldquo;private&rdquo; mode for journaling, or set up local installations, the software is not streamlined for this particular use case. Day One expertly handles this niche that has remained relatively untouched in the WordPress ecosystem.</p>



<p>In explaining the acquisition, Mullenweg also touched on his &ldquo;vision of making Automattic the Berkshire Hathaway of the internet,&rdquo; a notion <a href="https://awilkinson.medium.com/the-berkshire-hathaway-of-the-internet-391a8ee83db">shared by Tiny Capital</a> and often applied to Alphabet and its diverse holdings. One distinction is that Automattic&rsquo;s acquisitions tend to complement one another technologically, often introducing the potential for improvements that can be shared with other products through open source software.</p>



<h2>Day One Community Remains Trepidatious About the Acquisition</h2>



<p>Why did Automattic buy the company? Day One customers are curious, as some of them perceive Automattic to be another &ldquo;corporate giant&rdquo; gobbling up a scrappy startup, ready to squeeze every possible drop of revenue out of the app&rsquo;s loyal customers. </p>



<p>Many long-time Day One users have never heard of Automattic and they are understandably leery of seeing their beloved app change hands. Perusing the comments on the <a href="https://twitter.com/dayoneapp/status/1404544058693931012">Twitter announcement</a> and in the app&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/DayOneCommunity/">community on Facebook</a>, the news has precipitated a stream of cancellations and exports as users explore alternatives. Numerous customers were disheartened by one particular ambiguous statement in Day One&rsquo;s <a href="https://dayoneapp.com/blog/day-one-at-automattic">announcement</a>, which left the door open for future changes to the privacy of the app:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>Rest assured there are no current plans to change the privacy of Day One; safely protecting memories and creating a 100% personal space is the foundation upon which this company was built.</p></blockquote>



<p>The statement has since been updated to be more reassuring to users, although it still doesn&rsquo;t explicitly promise no changes. It does contain a hint at why Automattic was interested in acquiring the app:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>Rest assured that Day One&rsquo;s commitment to protecting your privacy remains unchanged. Safely protecting memories and creating a 100% personal space is the foundation upon which this company was built. (In fact, our technical capabilities around privacy are a large part of what Automattic finds valuable in our company).</p></blockquote>



<p>I have never seen a more engaged community with such a strong reaction following an acquisition. Many are deeply invested, having poured years of their lives and private memories into Day One.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Oh, great. I find a journaling app I really like and have 10 years of entries invested, and they get gobbled up by a bigger fish,&rdquo; one user <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/DayOneCommunity/permalink/4349118571799031/?comment_id=4349151848462370&__cft__%5B0%5D=AZWO-PD5BkU0Im_Ul_AnDXTjKt3zxfrG01C6D63pV2eE2wbMb18YOS1sjNEx5BHzE2F84C27ZAvdZAOoAdu1EjSqPBnqFUe5AcJs8NJAPLWbPEmjajQAbHdqHjXz5wIpAqeciIm_ogE6bnV_nSoBeZfBpT1jOCDH5o3i9P1MwCzUCUuB4f273tuokE2AbPstgPY&__tn__=R%5D-R">commented</a> in the app&rsquo;s Facebook community. &ldquo;What will become of our beloved app? Will the safety, security, and integrity of our data be assured? Time to back up all of my data local.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Users have <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/DayOneCommunity/permalink/4349118571799031/?comment_id=4350115481699340&__cft__%5B0%5D=AZWO-PD5BkU0Im_Ul_AnDXTjKt3zxfrG01C6D63pV2eE2wbMb18YOS1sjNEx5BHzE2F84C27ZAvdZAOoAdu1EjSqPBnqFUe5AcJs8NJAPLWbPEmjajQAbHdqHjXz5wIpAqeciIm_ogE6bnV_nSoBeZfBpT1jOCDH5o3i9P1MwCzUCUuB4f273tuokE2AbPstgPY&__tn__=R%5D-R">concerns</a> about Day One&rsquo;s updated privacy policy&nbsp;and whether the company might share data with affiliates. Many embraced the app because it was free of any ties with social media platforms. They have sewn themselves into this app in the most vulnerable way, and they are worried about how their private data will be handled in the future. Automattic may have a long road ahead in easing customers&rsquo; concerns so that they don&rsquo;t feel the pressure to export and look for alternatives.</p>



<p>As someone who considered using Day One years ago, I think I would be more likely to use it now, knowing that Automattic is usually in it for the long haul. I passed on Day On at the time because apps come and go and it&rsquo;s not always easy to predict which ones have the right business model to stay afloat. One of my worst recurring nightmares is that I accidentally throw away my paper journals or that my house burns down with my journals inside. Putting trust in a company to keep your electronic data safe and private is an intensely personal decision.</p>



<p>Knowing that a larger company with more resources is behind Day One, along with leadership that bears a genuine appreciation for its underlying tech, it seems like a safer pick for a journaling app that will be around for the next ten years. The company&rsquo;s founder and CEO Paul Mayne will continue to lead his same team at Automattic and is convinced that the move will be beneficial for &ldquo;the preservation and longevity&rdquo; of the app. Given how passionate Day One&rsquo;s user base is about protecting the app&rsquo;s future, I&rsquo;m eager to see how Automattic handles the challenge of winning their confidence.</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, 16 Jun 2021 05:30:24 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:101:"WPTavern: Ask the Bartender: Is It OK To Provide WordPress Admin Credentials to Plugin Support Staff?";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=118497";s: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:243:"https://wptavern.com/ask-the-bartender-is-it-ok-to-provide-wordpress-admin-credentials-to-plugin-support-staff?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ask-the-bartender-is-it-ok-to-provide-wordpress-admin-credentials-to-plugin-support-staff";s: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:8410:"<p class="has-drop-cap"><em>No. Nada. Nah. Nope. That&rsquo;s a negative. Under no circumstances. My mama didn&rsquo;t raise no fool. Heck naw. Not on your life.</em> And, the other thousands of ways to tell anyone asking for site credentials to bugger off, even plugin support staff of a &ldquo;trusted&rdquo; WordPress development company.</p>



<p>That is my way of saying that I do not trust anyone. Neither should you. However, there are cases where it is necessary to provide admin permissions to a plugin&rsquo;s support staff.</p>



<p>Today&rsquo;s installment of the <a href="https://wptavern.com/tag/ask-the-bartender">Ask the Bartender</a> series comes courtesy of a reader named Niko. Because the entire text is over 1,000 words, I will simply link to the <a href="https://wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/is-it-ok-to-provide-plugin-support-credentials.txt">transcript via a .txt file</a> for those who want to read it in full. Here in the post, I will stick to the vital bits. Or at least the parts that I want to address.</p>



<p>One of Niko&rsquo;s Facebook group members kicked the discussion off.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>&lsquo;Is it okay to send FTP details for a plugin developer to troubleshoot the issue we are having with WooCommerce. We have already provided WordPress Admin credentials.&rsquo;</p><p>This is pretty normal practice in the WordPress world, right? Plugin developers helping out on issues, and if they can&rsquo;t replicate an issue, they need the access so they can check if it is a plugin issue or a server issue and fix things?</p></blockquote>



<p>Over the years, I have seen this become more of a common practice. However, it is not a practice that I recommend from either the user or developer end. Any site owner should ask whether they trust the person to whom they are giving credentials. If the answer to that question is no, you have the answer to the first question.</p>



<p>In over a decade of running a theme and plugin shop, I never needed admin or FTP access to deal with a support question. It did not matter if it was a large and complex plugin or a small one. Because I was the sole person at the company, I also personally answered hundreds of thousands of support questions over the years. Still, not once did I log into a user&rsquo;s site to help them. That always seemed like a liability issue for me, but I also used such scenarios as teaching moments about trust and security.</p>



<p>Users sometimes provided credentials to me without me asking. Often they posted them in plain text in forums, email, or Slack (also, you should never do that). If on-site code needed changing, my users performed the task themselves or installed a bug-free version of the theme/plugin I handed over.</p>



<p>If they did not know how to perform a task via the admin, FTP, or otherwise, I took the time to teach them. Yes, that required more energy on both ends, but I believe we were the better for it. More than once, those moments led some users down the path of becoming developers themselves, or it was at least a tiny stepping stone for them. I remain friends with many of them today and am proud that they started with my little solo WordPress shop.</p>



<p>Some cases were rougher than others. Many times, I would replicate their setup (plugins, theme, etc.) on my machine. The majority of the time, this led me to the solution &mdash; <em>I was using <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/_doing_it_wrong/"><code>__doing_it_wrong()</code></a> long before WordPress introduced the idea.</em> In the long run, I was able to pass countless bug fixes upstream to other developers. I made a lot of developer friends this way too.</p>



<p>I have no doubts that the road I traveled was the longer of the two. There were times when I spent an hour, two, or even more addressing one user&rsquo;s needs. Popping into some of their WordPress admins would have been a quicker course.</p>



<p>However, my theme and plugin users never needed to worry about whether they trusted me enough to provide that level of access. Plus, I had no chance of accidentally breaking their site by making custom changes.</p>



<p>Are there times when a plugin&rsquo;s support staff <em>really</em> needs access? Probably.</p>



<p>The original question was regarding WooCommerce. It is one of the most technically advanced plugins in existence for WordPress. Replicating a user&rsquo;s setup off-site for it is trickier than most others. There may be <em><strong>rare</strong></em> times when you need to provide some access, but you should never trust anyone.</p>



<p>The second part of Niko&rsquo;s question revolves around the European Union&rsquo;s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and user data. It is a vital part of dealing with those times when you decide to hand over the keys to your website.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>Alright so here comes the issue after we think about GDPR. If this developer happens to be outside the EU, then you would need to anonymize customer data and make an NDA agreement with that exact dev or company that is behind the plugin so they can come around and fix things.</p></blockquote>



<p>I will preface this with the usual <em>I am not a lawyer</em>. However, protecting user data is always a legal and ethical priority on any site you run, regardless of what jurisdiction you fall under.</p>



<p>In those &mdash; again, rare &mdash; cases where you need to provide access to your WordPress admin, there are steps you could take to better protect your site and its data. Regardless of the trustworthiness of a developer or a support staff member, there is always one rule of thumb when dealing with website security: trust no one and trust nothing.</p>



<p>The first step should always be having a backup system in place. On the off chance that the support staff breaks something, you will want to revert the site back to its previous state.</p>



<p>Never provide complete admin-level access. I recommend installing and activating a role and capability management plugin. This will allow you to create a custom role for support help and limit the areas of the site they have access to. You would then create a user account for them with this role. Once they have completed their work, delete their account.</p>



<p>If you do not want them to see registered users or do anything with user data at all, make sure their user role does not have the following capabilities:</p>



<ul><li><code>create_users</code></li><li><code>delete_users</code></li><li><code>edit_users</code></li><li><code>list_users</code></li><li><code>promote_users</code></li><li><code>remove_users</code></li></ul>



<p>There are many other admin-level capabilities like <code>edit_files</code>, <code>edit_plugins</code>, and <code>edit_themes</code> that you should also avoid. Essentially, disallow most of the caps from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/article/roles-and-capabilities/#administrator">Administrator list in the WordPress documentation</a>.</p>



<p>Most likely, plugin teams might need access to the <code>manage_options</code> capability and any that are custom to their plugin. Even those can be dangerous, but that backup you put in place should mitigate any potential issues.</p>



<p>As for an FTP password? I trust very few people with that level of access.</p>



<p>This reply probably sounds like I do not think any plugin shops or developers are trustworthy. Honestly, I do not know of any that have breached user trust using login or FTP credentials in this way. On the other hand, I have no way of knowing whether the staff member I am talking to plans to rage quit his job in the afternoon and is willing to burn everything down in the morning.</p>



<p>I have also seen a handful of cases where a developer dropped in to fix something but ended up breaking the site along the way. Backups were crucial in addressing those issues.</p>



<p>This post is not meant to make plugin developers or companies appear untrustworthy. Most are good people just trying to make an honest living. However, not trusting anything is website security 101. It is merely the baseline in which users should operate. If you go into any interaction with this mindset, it should help you make smarter decisions on a case-by-case basis.</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, 15 Jun 2021 23:26:26 +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: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:"";}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}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:"Sat, 10 Jul 2021 06:59:16 GMT";s:12:"content-type";s:8:"text/xml";s:4:"vary";s:15:"Accept-Encoding";s:13:"last-modified";s:29:"Sat, 10 Jul 2021 06:45:10 GMT";s:15:"x-frame-options";s:10:"SAMEORIGIN";s:4:"x-nc";s:9:"HIT ord 1";s:16:"content-encoding";s:2:"br";}}s:5:"build";s:14:"20210608035913";}