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:79:"WPTavern: Exploring Photo Blocks, an Experimental FSE-Ready Photoblogging Theme";s:7:"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=109274";s:7:"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/exploring-photo-blocks-an-experimental-fse-ready-photoblogging-theme?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=exploring-photo-blocks-an-experimental-fse-ready-photoblogging-theme";s: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:4979:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Kjell Reigstad announced the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/theme-experiments/tree/master/photo-blocks">Photo Blocks</a> theme on December 9. It is a part of an ongoing set of experimental work from the WordPress <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/theme-experiments">Theme Experiments</a> repository on GitHub. It is essentially a testbed of ideas that are helping to propel the upcoming block-based theming era.</p>



<p>In the past few months, I have covered the repository&rsquo;s <a href="https://wptavern.com/carrd-like-theme-experiment-provides-a-glimpse-into-the-future-of-theming">Carrd-like landing page theme</a>, <a href="https://wptavern.com/twenty-twenty-one-blocks-theme-launching-as-a-separate-project">Twenty Twenty-One Blocks</a>, and the Full Site Editing (FSE) <a href="https://wptavern.com/jump-start-block-based-theme-development-with-the-fse-theme-generator">Theme Generator</a>. There is a lot of movement happening in the repository that theme developers would be remiss to overlook.</p>



<p>&ldquo;I built a new block-based photoblog theme in the experiments repo,&rdquo; Reigstad <a href="https://twitter.com/kjellr/status/1336697938538618882">tweeted</a> just a couple of weeks ago. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s refreshing to see how well this works just with existing FSE tools.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Like most FSE-capable themes currently making the rounds, it is simple. There are miles left before block-based themes and the upcoming site editor reach maturity. Photo Blocks showcases yet another step in the evolution of the system.</p>



<img />Posts page view of Photo Blocks in the site editor.



<p>The theme uses the Query block&rsquo;s new grid view, which was added in <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-9-5-improves-site-editor-and-adds-new-options-for-cover-and-code-blocks">Gutenberg 9.5</a>. The Query block is one of the most important pieces of the Full Site Editing system. Like in traditional themes, the query and &ldquo;the loop&rdquo; output posts on the front end.</p>



<p>The addition of the grid view allows themes to output their posts in columns. This is a nice addition for Photo Blocks and other photoblogging or portfolio themes. Currently, the Query block supports only a second type of view, the default list of posts. It all seems to limit design possibilities right now, but the grid option does provide some hope that more robust tools are coming.</p>



<p>The Query block is undoubtedly one of the most complex features the Gutenberg team is building, and it is a crucial block for the upcoming site editor.</p>



<p>There is also no posts pagination or navigation at the moment. That is because the Gutenberg team is still <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/26557">ironing out the details</a> of such a block. This is another Herculean task given the near-limitless variations on designing posts navigation. The block will need to provide theme authors the flexibility they are accustomed to when writing code.</p>



<h2>Why Testing and Building Experimental Themes Matters</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">The development of Photo Blocks exposed some missing features in Gutenberg. Without community feedback from building and testing block-based themes, it is tough for the development team to identify such issues.</p>



<p>Currently, the only way to have same-height images in the Photo Blocks theme&rsquo;s post grid is to manually crop and upload images with the same aspect ratio. Reigstad opened a ticket to <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/27620">set a consistent crop</a> for the Post Featured Image block. <em>I would also recommend an image-size option similar to how it is handled in the Image block.</em></p>



<p>Traditionally, themes that output a grid of featured images would fall back to a default image or use the first image from the post content if one was not set. There is currently no way to do this with the Post Featured Image block &mdash; another missing key feature. Reigstad opened a new ticket that proposed <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/27617">taking the idea further</a>.</p>



<p>&ldquo;In the past, the featured image was a single image, added and managed separately from the rest of the post content,&rdquo; he wrote. &ldquo;For block-based sites however, that restriction is largely unnecessary. Rather than just an image, we should consider making it possible to set a video or audio embed as the &lsquo;Featured&rsquo; block. Also, since posts are made up of structured data, it&rsquo;s theoretically possible to signify any block from within post content as a &lsquo;Featured&rsquo; block.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The idea of featured media is not new. Many themes have had featured audio and video in the past. However, the concept of marking any type of block as featured is worth exploring. Even if not every block lends itself well to this, surely some do beyond images.</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 Dec 2020 00:35:44 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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:57:"WPTavern: Shutterstock Launches Official 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=108844";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:159:"https://wptavern.com/shutterstock-launches-official-wordpress-plugin?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=shutterstock-launches-official-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:2130:"<p>Shutterstock has released an <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/shutterstock">official plugin for WordPress</a>. The 17-year old company is as old as WordPress itself but this is the first time it has provided convenient access to its library inside the admin.  </p>



<p>Seven years ago, Shutterstock released a <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/shutterstock-affiliate-plugin/">plugin for affiliates</a> using a third-party development company, but it failed to gain much traction and is no longer updated. The new block-based plugin applies more broadly to WordPress site owners looking for commercial stock photography. It provides a block that allows users to search Shutterstock&rsquo;s library of 340 million images and get suggestions based on the text content. Users can place preview images on pages and posts, license with one click, download, and publish images and editorial content.</p>



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



<p>Shutterstock&rsquo;s plugin respects WordPress&rsquo; user roles and permissions system, so organizations can restrict image licensing to editors and administrators while still allowing authors to insert image previews. The plugin also has access to the user&rsquo;s license history so they can download any content that has been previously licensed on Shutterstock.</p>



<p>A couple weeks after launching, the plugin is active on fewer than 10 WordPress sites. It&rsquo;s not clear if that is due to its customers not knowing about it or the endless variety of free images that WordPress users have access to through other services. Since the plugin only offers access to a limited library by default, it is primarily aimed at Shutterstock customers who have an existing subscription to connect for the full collection.  </p>



<p>Along with the official plugin release, Shutterstock also announced a new partnership with WordPress.com VIP. It is now one of the service&rsquo;s &ldquo;<a href="https://wpvip.com/partner/shutterstock/">Featured Technology Partners</a>,&rdquo; streamlining the publishing workflow for Automattic&rsquo;s enterprise customers. </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 Dec 2020 23:32:46 +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:86:"WPTavern: What Is Full Site Editing and What Does It Mean for the Future of WordPress?";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=109217";s:7:"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/what-is-full-site-editing-and-what-does-it-mean-for-the-future-of-wordpress?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-is-full-site-editing-and-what-does-it-mean-for-the-future-of-wordpress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:10892:"<img />Block-based Twenty Twenty-One theme in the site editor.



<p class="has-drop-cap">As I said last week, <em>2021 will be the year of the site editor</em>.  Matt Mullenweg&rsquo;s <a href="https://wptavern.com/state-of-the-word-2020-wordpress-moves-toward-full-site-editing">State of the Word</a> confirms it.  WordPress 5.7&rsquo;s <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-7-development-kicks-off-with-focus-on-full-site-editing">release planning</a> is focused on it.  It has been a long journey getting to this point, and it will be a much longer adventure afterward. The ultimate promise of the work that <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-core-editor-team-publishes-ui-prototype-for-gutenberg-an-experimental-block-based-editor">began nearly four years ago</a> is nigh.</p>



<p>The Gutenberg project was never <em>just</em> about editing content. WordPress was aging software by late 2016. It needed to cater to modern audiences who may be less tech-savvy than the platform&rsquo;s existing user base. It needed to capture a younger generation of developers who were looking at the greener grass of JavaScript-heavy software. It needed to offer an experience on par with modern web applications. WordPress had a lot of boxes it needed to check or face irrelevance.</p>



<p>The one thing that has truly kept the platform afloat is its large and diverse ecosystem of third-party developers.</p>



<p><em>One of the most popular types of plugins?</em> Page builders. Those such as Elementor, which launched in early 2016, were filling in the experience gaps that WordPress was missing. While it was a testament to the platform&rsquo;s extendibility for such third-party projects to arise, it was also a failure that the core platform could not offer a better experience to both users and developers out of the box. Far too many theme authors were forced into supporting third-party builders to remain relevant. They were focusing more and more on compatibility with plugins than simply designing.</p>



<p>The shortcomings of the widgets, shortcodes, meta boxes, and settings systems meant that developers had to either rely on non-core frameworks or reinvent the wheel. Every new API brought with it a new method for adding basic form fields. At best, it was inelegant, a platter of spaghetti that had been thrown at the wall, some of it managing to stick.</p>



<p>WordPress was beginning to show its wrinkles. It needed to revolutionize itself. It needed to feel fresh again. For better or worse, the developers behind the Gutenberg project have been putting in the work to do just that.</p>



<p>It is slow work. But, it is promising work.</p>



<p>While the term &ldquo;Gutenberg&rdquo; is often used interchangeably with &ldquo;block editor,&rdquo; the two are not one and the same. Gutenberg is a project. A plugin. An idea. A new way of thinking about publishing on the web. As the opening lines of the description of the plugin read:</p>



<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Gutenberg&rdquo; is a codename for a whole new paradigm in WordPress site building and publishing, that aims to revolutionize the entire publishing experience as much as Gutenberg did the printed word.</p></blockquote>



<p>The project has four phases:</p>



<ol><li>Easier Editing</li><li>Customization</li><li>Collaboration</li><li>Multilingual</li></ol>



<p>WordPress users who have not been testing the Gutenberg plugin have only experienced Phase 1 of the project. The launch of the block editor in <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-0-bebo-released-lays-a-foundation-for-the-platforms-future">WordPress 5.0</a> and its continued work set the stage for the phases to follow. The underlying block system is what will fuel the next decade or longer of WordPress.</p>



<p>Today, we are firmly in the midst of Phase 2. And, this is where things will get interesting.</p>



<h2>Full Site Editing</h2>



<img />Selecting a template in the site editor, using the Block-Based Bosco theme.



<p class="has-drop-cap">Phase 2 of Gutenberg, which began in late 2018, promised to bring blocks outside of the post content. In an introduction to this next step, Mel Choyce-Dwan <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/12/08/gutenberg-phase-2/">outlined the three main focuses:</a></p>



<ul><li>Be outside of <code>post_content</code>.</li><li>Focus on customization.</li><li>Upgrading themes, widgets, and menus.</li></ul>



<p>Since then, those core concepts have remained the same. However, the full picture, the shape of what those concepts would look like, has changed in the last two years. If there is one thing anyone on the development team has learned, it is probably that it is hard to launch such drastic changes.</p>



<p>Full Site Editing is a mix of concepts. It is one part transition from tradition and one part full overhaul of how users and developers design the front end of WordPress sites.</p>



<p>Nav menus and widgets, which are a part of the old paradigm, have been set to relaunch under the block system for the past two major WordPress releases. They were not ready. Users should expect to see them in WordPress 5.7. However, these feature upgrades are merely stepping stones to true the true Full Site Editing feature. They offer a way for end-users who are still using classic WordPress themes to get a taste of blocks outside of the post-editing screen.</p>



<p>For the users who take the next step, widgets and nav menus &mdash; at least the traditional admin screens &mdash; will disappear. The customizer, which was once touted as the future of theme development, is also getting the ax. Site customization via a system where everything is a block will reign supreme.</p>



<p>Once the switch flips, the world will be looking at a whole new WordPress.</p>



<p>WordPress 5.7 and beyond will be about the site editor and block-based themes. The site editor is the visual representation of block templates that theme developers offer to users. Templates are infinitely customizable by the user from the WordPress admin. While themers will create custom configurations and set defaults, the power to decide what the front end of the site will look like will ultimately reside in the user&rsquo;s hands.</p>



<p>Since the launch of Phase 1, the block editor has been a love/hate affair. Expect the site editor to be no less controversial.</p>



<p>Underneath it all, a theme&rsquo;s code and the site editor will be talking in the same language. This essentially means that users could transition to theme authors if they have a knack for design or simply want to give it a go.  They  should be able to do this without leaving the comfort of the trusty site editor, which already allows exporting templates.</p>



<p>Because the post editor and the site editor both work on the same, underlying block-based foundation, there is no reason for users to not be able to seamlessly switch between the two. There is <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/26355">currently a ticket</a> for adding such a toggle on the post-editing screen. It will allow users to switch to a template-editing mode while never leaving the post editor.</p>



<img />Template-editing mode likely to land in Gutenberg 9.6.



<p>This is not a newly-introduced concept. Josepha Haden, who led the WordPress 5.6 release, <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-6-release-team-pulls-the-plug-on-block-based-widgets">touched on this earlier this year</a>. &ldquo;I think one of the problems that we&rsquo;re trying to solve with Gutenberg has always been a more consistent experience for editing elements across the WordPress interface,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;No user should have to learn five different workflows to make sure their page looks the way they imagined it when it&rsquo;s published.&rdquo;</p>



<p>One of the larger goals is reducing the number of workflows into a single interface. We are likely years away from seeing the whole of WordPress site management reduced that far. However, the site editor is the next step toward that potential user experience.</p>



<h2>What Does All This Mean for the Future?</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">While the last few years may have felt like a whirlwind of changes to our beloved platform, <em>you ain&rsquo;t seen nothing yet</em>. We were just getting our bearings in Phase 1. The development team was building the foundation while also launching the user-facing block editor. With that foundation in place, the team can focus more on features. This will especially be true as the <a href="https://wptavern.com/g2-components-a-from-scratch-reimagining-of-wordpress-components">G2 Components project </a>overhauls and standardizes how core and third-party developers build upon the block system.</p>



<p>The big Phase 2 changes this year means that theme authors will need to get up to speed. Traditional WordPress themes will still be necessary for a while. However, any theme author who is not already tinkering with block-based themes is already months behind. This is the time to be exploring and helping to shape the system. It is time to be filing bug reports and feature requests.</p>



<p>If possible, theme authors should be attending the twice-monthly <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/handbook/about/#meetings">block-based themes meetings</a>. If time does not allow for attendance, you should at least be reading and participating on the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/">Make Themes blog</a>.</p>



<p>It is also important to check out projects like the <a href="https://wptavern.com/q-first-fse-wordpress-theme-now-live">Q theme</a> or follow the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/theme-experiments">Theme Experiments</a> repository.</p>



<img /><a href="https://wptavern.com/carrd-like-theme-experiment-provides-a-glimpse-into-the-future-of-theming">Carrd-like theme experiment</a> from the site editor.



<p>For end-users, this entire project is about you. Your feedback is crucial. If you are not already testing your site with the Gutenberg plugin, you should be. It is sometimes weeks or months ahead of what you are getting with WordPress alone.  Try out an FSE theme like <a href="https://wptavern.com/block-based-bosco-second-full-site-editing-theme-lands-in-the-wordpress-directory">Block-Based Bosco</a>.  Consider joining the <a href="https://wptavern.com/help-steer-the-future-of-wordpress-via-the-fse-outreach-program">FSE Outreach Program</a>. You can test and provide feedback directly on upcoming features.</p>



<p>FSE brings with it the promise of major changes in 2021. Many of these changes will uproot old methods of managing your WordPress websites. Those methods will be replaced with one of the largest overhauls to the platform in its history. It is time to get prepared.</p>



<p>It is going to be an interesting new year.</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 Dec 2020 00:56:53 +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: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:77:"WPTavern: WordPress 5.7 Development Kicks Off with Focus on Full Site Editing";s:7:"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=109212";s:7:"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:199:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-7-development-kicks-off-with-focus-on-full-site-editing?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wordpress-5-7-development-kicks-off-with-focus-on-full-site-editing";s: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:3662:"<p>If the 2020 <a href="https://wptavern.com/state-of-the-word-2020-wordpress-moves-toward-full-site-editing">State of the Word</a> address was any indication, WordPress is moving full steam ahead to land full site editing in 2021. The 5.7 release cycle <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/12/21/wordpress-5-7-planning-roundup/">kicked off</a> this week with the proposed scope centered around full site editing via&nbsp;Gutenberg. Matt Mullenweg will be leading the release and the rest of the team leadership is still being rounded up. Bug scrubs for<em>&nbsp;</em><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/tickets/early" target="_blank">early tickets</a> that require more time or early testing are already underway. </p>



<p>WordPress 5.7 contributors anticipate working on the following features in the next release:</p>



<ul><li>Update WordPress&nbsp;Core&nbsp;to include current releases of the Gutenberg&nbsp;plugin</li><li>Gutenberg: ship additional blocks, refine the&nbsp;UI, add tools for themes and design, and continue working on the&nbsp;widget&nbsp;screen</li><li>Continue work on&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/10/wp5-6-auto-update-implementation-change/">auto-updates</a>&nbsp;and<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/06/29/updating-jquery-version-shipped-with-wordpress/">&nbsp;jQuery</a></li></ul>



<p>&ldquo;We might add more items in the upcoming weeks, and we will reconfirm the above-proposed list after the end-of-Gregorian year holidays,&rdquo; Francesca Marano said in a planning roundup post. She said core development is not &ldquo;closing up shop&rdquo; for the holidays, and volunteers plan to run&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/12/11/call-for-volunteers-early-bug-scrubs-for-wordpress-5-7/">bug scrubs</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/12/11/dev-chat-schedule-for-the-end-of-the-year/">dev chats</a>. Those who cannot attend a meeting but want to advocate for a ticket can always comment on the dev chat agenda post to have it included in the discussion.</p>



<p>Matias Ventura created a GitHub issue in August for contributors to track the progress of <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/24551">full-site editing milestones</a>. Some of the infrastructure and UI is already in place, as well as the ability to navigate through pages, templates, parts, and know which is area is active. Styling, theme blocks, the Query block, and the Navigation block are still in progress.</p>



<p>There are a lot of moving pieces to make full-site editing features cohesive and ready for prime time. In Ventura&rsquo;s most recent <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/12/10/status-check-site-editing-and-customization/">status update</a> on the project he reported that all of the features outlined are &ldquo;in advanced stages&rdquo; and can be used in the Gutenberg plugin already.</p>



<p>&ldquo;The main hurdle to include the work in major WordPress releases are the various dependencies between each project when it comes to ensuring a great user experience,&rdquo; Ventura said. &ldquo;The immediate focus is then on completing the milestones, stabilizing the work, and doing as much testing with different kinds of users as possible.&rdquo; </p>



<p>WordPress contributors are planning <a href="https://wordpress.org/about/roadmap/">four releases in 2021</a>, allowing for multiple opportunities to introduce new features.</p>



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



<p>Beta 1 for 5.7 is planned for early February and the general release is expected March 9, 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:"Mon, 21 Dec 2020 23:18:47 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:4;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:48:"BuddyPress: BuddyPress 7.1.0 Maintenance Release";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"https://buddypress.org/?p=316287";s:7:"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://buddypress.org/2020/12/buddypress-7-1-0-maintenance-release/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1204:"<p>Immediately available is&nbsp;<a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/buddypress.7.1.0.zip">BuddyPress 7.1.0</a>. This maintenance release fixes two bugs related to issues introduced in the 7.0.0 release.</p>



<ul><li>It makes sure the BP Blogs tools to repare Site icons / Site profile photos synchronization is only available to WordPress multisite configs, </li><li>It fixes the unavailability of the Groups Admin screen for site networks using the BuddyPress multiblog mode.</li></ul>



<p>For details on the changes, please read the&nbsp;<a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/releases/version-7-1-0/">7.1.0 release notes</a>.</p>



<p>Update to BuddyPress 7.1.0 today in your WordPress Dashboard, or by&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress/">downloading from the WordPress.org plugin repository</a>.</p>



<h2>Many thanks to 7.1.0 contributors&nbsp;<span class="dashicons dashicons-heart"></span></h2>



<p><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hareesh-pillai/"></a><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/shawfactor">shawfactor</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/slaffik">slaFFik</a> &amp; <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/imath/">imath</a></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 21 Dec 2020 21:08:26 +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:12:"Mathieu Viet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:91:"WPTavern: Ask the Bartender: Integrate With Third-Party App or Use Native 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=109173";s:7:"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:223:"https://wptavern.com/ask-the-bartender-integrate-with-third-party-app-or-use-native-wordpress-plugin?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ask-the-bartender-integrate-with-third-party-app-or-use-native-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:5054:"<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>My question to you is how you see the future (or even the present) of integrating software with WordPress and when you should make the distinction of going the integration vs. native approach.</p><p>In other words, with the vast ecosystem of WordPress plugins out there, how can a website owner discern which responsibilities WordPress the software should handle and whether that functionality is actually better to plug another software or service into instead?</p><p>Alex</p></blockquote>



<p class="has-drop-cap">There was a time when I would have said build <em>all the things</em> in WordPress. I was younger then, a bit more naive. I was optimistic about using WordPress as a framework to build anything. There is a part of me that still leans in this direction. Mostly, this is because I want to see what developers in the WordPress ecosystem can achieve. I applaud anyone who pushes the platform beyond its current limits.</p>



<p>Few people would have guessed that WordPress would become an eCommerce powerhouse. However, WooCommerce has proven it can be done. I still remember when nearly every WordPress theme and plugin author was selling their commercial products via E-junkie. Now, Easy Digital Downloads is the go-to solution, and AffiliateWP handles the affiliate side of things.</p>



<p>Some of the best products from the WordPress plugin market arose from issues with third-party app integration. Their creators bucked the system and brought useful tools directly into WordPress. Many of these are now multi-million dollar products and companies that employ dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people. They have their own ecosystems that allow even more third-party developers to make a living. And this is all done on top of WordPress.</p>



<p>I will always root for the home team, for the developers in our community to build native solutions.</p>



<p>However, the reality is that WordPress is not the best solution for everything. Depending on the application, the development team has likely put years of work into it, creating a specialized system that caters to that application&rsquo;s users. The experience can often be far better than something available for WordPress.</p>



<p>I cannot imagine using WordPress as the backbone of a social video site like YouTube, even if it was a small site. The hosting costs would be astronomical. It is far easier and cheaper to rely on integration with YouTube rather than trying to rebuild it.</p>



<p>In Alex&rsquo;s original correspondence, he also brought up a specific case about integrating with a third-party forum. This is a far more realistic quandary than an average user trying to build the next YouTube. It is also a question that does not have a single answer.</p>



<p>For users who are creating forums on their site for the first time, my advice would be to go with bbPress. It is a plugin that brings native forums to WordPress. While it is not nearly as powerful as some third-party forum applications, its best feature is that it works directly with the built-in user, role, and capability systems in WordPress. These are some of the more complex APIs in WordPress, and trying to sync user accounts between applications can often be a headache. It is also a complex technical topic that goes beyond the scope of this post. If starting from scratch, I would recommend bbPress or another WordPress forum plugin.</p>



<p>On the other hand, if a user already has an existing forum with a large amount of content, I would lean toward integrating it and WordPress, particularly if the site owner plans to keep user registrations strictly within the forum software. Much of that will come down to what the end-user feels comfortable with. If they have a strong history with their existing application, making a change may simply not be the best route. There are other items to consider, such as whether sharing a single theme across both platforms is necessary. bbPress can also import content from many existing forum applications.</p>



<p>The answer to the question is that it depends. Each use case is different.</p>



<p><em>Should a popular seller on Etsy move everything to WooCommerce?</em> Probably not. That user might want to install the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/etsy-shop/">Etsy Shop</a> integration plugin. Eventually, they might expand their brand enough to no longer rely on the Etsy platform. At that point, WooCommerce could be the answer.</p>



<p>It comes down to time, cost, research, and testing. Even when a plugin brings a native solution to WordPress that is ideal for most people, it might not be the best answer for an individual. Specifics matter, and I am always happy to talk those over.</p>



<p class="has-white-color has-blue-700-background-color has-text-color has-background text-white bg-blue-700">This is the second post in the Ask the Bartender series.  Have a question of your own? <a href="https://wptavern.com/contact-me/ask-the-bartender">Shoot it over</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 18 Dec 2020 20:50:28 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:74:"WPTavern: State of the Word 2020: WordPress Moves Toward Full Site Editing";s:7:"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=109009";s:7:"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/state-of-the-word-2020-wordpress-moves-toward-full-site-editing?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=state-of-the-word-2020-wordpress-moves-toward-full-site-editing";s: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:6819:"<p>WordPress enthusiasts around the world tuned into Matt Mullenweg&rsquo;s annual State of the Word address this week, delivered virtually for the first time. Mullenweg recognized the community&rsquo;s efforts in working together during a global pandemic, without the benefit of periodic in-person events that have traditionally re-energized collaboration on the project.</p>



<p>During a most unusual year that has warped the passage of time and slowed it to the speed of molasses, WordPress&rsquo; release schedule kept a steady, reassuring pace in contrast. The first part of the State of the Word highlighted the three major releases shipped in 2020, which introduced improvements to the block editor, a new default theme, application passwords for the REST API, and new, game-changing features like block patterns, to name just a few. </p>



<p>WordPress continues to grow its dominant market share and is currently sitting at 39.3% of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.alexa.com/">Alexa</a>&nbsp;top 10 million sites. Mullenweg attributed&nbsp;that growth to three major contributing factors: the lockdown, e-commerce, and economic uncertainty. The lockdowns put in place to mitigate the virus&rsquo; spread had the effect of giving people the space and time to connect online. It also drove an uptick in entrepreneurship and e-commerce. Mullenweg reported that WooCommerce facilitated more than $20 billion in sales. </p>



<h3>Site Editor Beta Demo Shows Progress on Full Site Editing Project</h3>



<p>Gutenberg design contributor Joen Asmussen joined by video to unveil a sneak peek of the progress on the Full Site Editing (FSE) project with a <a href="https://youtu.be/QI3qCoiuG3w?t=1293">demo of the Site Editor beta</a>. The Site Editor allows users to edit a theme&rsquo;s template outside of the post&rsquo;s content. It introduces new blocks for things like the query loop, navigation, site title, tagline, and other aspects of editing templates.</p>



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



<p>The block list view shows all the different areas of the page, such as the header, footer, columns, and site title, so the user can jump to the section for quick access. Block patterns can also be used within template designs to speed up page layout or match a demo design. Given the current complexity of creating a template design from a blank canvas, block patterns have the potential to become even more indispensable when WordPress users finally get the reins for editing theme templates.</p>



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



<p>&ldquo;This is the culmination of several ongoing projects to expand upon and improve the customization possibilities in WordPress,&rdquo; Asmussen said. The demo offers a quick overview of how the FSE project is coming together. The reality of &ldquo;everything becoming a block&rdquo; is finally materializing. Gutenberg will soon be capable of providing a consistent editing experience across all aspects of site customization. </p>



<p>&ldquo;By creating this common framework that every theme and plugin can build on, we&rsquo;re reducing the balkanization within WordPress from people who are solving these problems lots of different ways, and providing what I believe is the basis for the next decade of WordPress&rsquo; growth,&rdquo; Mullenweg said.</p>



<h3>WordPress&rsquo; Global Community Reiterates the Demand for Multilingual Capabilities</h3>



<p>The number of questions during the Q&amp;A related to multilingual capabilities underscores the fact that WordPress is undeniably a global community. More than 50% of WordPress sites are not using English. Better multilingual support could be key to the next era of WordPress&rsquo; growth. Nevertheless, multilingual features are at the tail end of the four-phase roadmap for the project&rsquo;s immediate future. </p>



<p>Mullenweg said WordPress is about &ldquo;two years into a 10-year project,&rdquo; with good chunks of phase 1 and phase 2 done. Phase 1 includes editing inside the post/page content, creating the fundamental building blocks and also bringing them to the mobile apps. Phase 2 is centered around editing outside the content, using blocks to create the site&rsquo;s templates.</p>



<p>Phase 3 will introduce new collaboration features and workflow for real-time co-editing. Phase 4, which Mullenweg said is &ldquo;just in the imagination stage right now,&rdquo; covers multilingual features. He said he expects this phase to likely &ldquo;be taken underway pretty vigorously in 2022.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Mat&iacute;as Ventura answered a question about a phase 4 roadmap, confirming that there is no specific plan for its multilingual implementation right now. He said there have been some initial conversations regarding the implications of localization, specifically around patterns and block themes, and how those can be built. Nothing substantial has emerged yet but the team will be creating a more detailed overview of what is needed. Fallback languages is one feature that several community members brought up in the Q&amp;A time.</p>



<p>When asked whether some existing multilingual solutions could be reused for core, Mullenweg was hesitant to prescribe a specific approach at this time. He said he is anxious to get better multilingual support in Gutenberg and offered what I believe is the most candid explanation thus far for why multilingual capabilities fall further down the the list of priorities:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>Whether we do it as part of core or as part of an official plugin is to be decided. Part of the reason we made it phase 4 is that we can only do so many things well at a time. It is supremely important that we execute super well on these first phases of Gutenberg blocks. If we don&rsquo;t get phase 1 and phase 2 to be the best experiences in the world for editing bar none, of any open source or proprietary competitors or builders, phase 3 and 4 just won&rsquo;t matter because&nbsp;WordPress won&rsquo;t be relevant a decade from now. I do believe that is the most important problem we&rsquo;re facing. I don&rsquo;t want to dilute the core contributors&rsquo; focus away from the initial phases of Gutenberg because that&rsquo;s how important I think they are.</p></blockquote>



<p>Mullenweg said there is nothing stopping the community from investing more in multilingual plugins and exploring different approaches to see what will get core most of the way there. The next official step would be figuring out a framework that will work well with plugins and themes.</p>



<p>Depending on your interest and involvement in the community, there is a lot more to explore in the Q&amp;A. Check out the whole presentation in the video below.</p>



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

</div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 18 Dec 2020 09:21:01 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:100:"WPTavern: Contact Form 7 Version 5.3.2 Patches Critical Vulnerability, Immediate  Update Recommended";s:7:"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=109081";s:7:"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:241:"https://wptavern.com/contact-form-7-version-5-3-2-patches-critical-vulnerability-immediate-update-recommended?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=contact-form-7-version-5-3-2-patches-critical-vulnerability-immediate-update-recommended";s: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:1899:"<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/contact-form-7/">Contact Form 7</a> has <a href="https://contactform7.com/2020/12/17/contact-form-7-532/">patched</a> a critical file upload vulnerability in version 5.3.2, released today by plugin author Takayuki Miyoshi. The plugin is installed on more than five million WordPress sites. </p>



<p>&ldquo;An unrestricted file upload vulnerability has been found in Contact Form 7 5.3.1 and older versions,&rdquo; Miyoshi said. &ldquo;Utilizing this vulnerability, a form submitter can bypass Contact Form 7&rsquo;s filename sanitization, and upload a file which can be executed as a script file on the host server.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The vulnerability was discovered by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.jinsonvarghese.com/">Jinson Varghese Behanan</a>&nbsp;from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.getastra.com/">Astra Security</a> on December 16, 2020, and Miyoshi released a fix less than 24 hours later. Behanan highlighted a few ways this vulnerability might be exploited:</p>



<ol><li>Possible to upload a web shell and inject malicious scripts</li><li>Complete takeover of the website and server if there is no containerization between websites on the same server</li><li>Defacing the website</li></ol>



<p>Astra Security plans to publish more details on the vulnerability in two weeks after the plugin&rsquo;s user base has had more time to update to the patched version.</p>



<p>Version 5.3.2 removes control, separator, and other types of special characters from the filename to fix the unrestricted file upload vulnerability. At the time of publishing, more than a million Contact Form 7 updates have been downloaded today. Approximately 20% of the plugin&rsquo;s user base is protected from the vulnerability. Now that it has been patched and published, Contact Form 7 users who do not update will be more at risk of having the vulnerability exploited.</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 Dec 2020 22:32:42 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:73:"WPTavern: Help Steer the Future of WordPress via the FSE Outreach Program";s:7:"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=109083";s:7:"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/help-steer-the-future-of-wordpress-via-the-fse-outreach-program?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=help-steer-the-future-of-wordpress-via-the-fse-outreach-program";s: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:4280:"<p>All hands on deck. 2021 will be the year of the Site Editor.</p>



<p>Anne McCarthy announced the official <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/12/11/the-fse-outreach-program-is-officially-starting/">start of the Full-Site Editing (FSE) Outreach Program</a> last Friday on the Make Core blog. The program is primarily geared toward end-users. With few channels for average users to communicate with the development team, this offers an opportunity for them to provide direct feedback.</p>



<p>This announcement comes on the heels of Matias Ventura&rsquo;s full <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/12/10/status-check-site-editing-and-customization/">overview of the FSE project</a>. In the post, he laid out where specific FSE features currently stand and what needs to happen to bring the project to fruition.</p>



<p>The FSE Outreach Program was <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/05/01/an-experimental-outreach-project-for-full-site-editing/">expected to begin earlier</a> in the year. Josepha Haden announced it on May 1. However, there was no movement for most of 2020. An early version of FSE was also expected to land in WordPress 5.6, but that was too lofty of a goal for a feature that will essentially change everything about front-end development on the platform.</p>



<p>The official launch of the program should coincide with the release of Gutenberg 9.6, which is expected to ship within the next week. The program will focus on specific features and flows related to full-site editing. According to the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/handbook/full-site-editing-outreach-experiment/faq-for-fse-outreach-experiment/">program FAQs</a>, participants could be asked to volunteer for up to three hours per week. However, it will also be flexible enough for anyone to participate, regardless of their available hours.</p>



<p>The program is also starting small, limiting feedback to more common user experiences. It is still experimental at this stage. Easing participants into such a testing program seems like a smart approach.</p>



<p>Right now, the Site Editor can sometimes be a painful user experience. While it is already possible to put together some interesting layouts, at least as a labor of love, there are many missing pieces. Workflows are odd. Expected features for a design tool are nowhere to be found.  Someone might look at it today and think there is no way it could be a viable core feature next year, but the development team continues to polish the experience with each Gutenberg update. The Site Editor is not production-ready yet, but it is time to get serious about testing and feedback.</p>



<p>Those interested in volunteering for the program should have a WordPress Slack account and join the <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C015GUFFC00">#fse-outreach-experiment</a> channel. McCarthy said she will also post an update on the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/">Make Test</a> blog with further details for participants once Gutenberg 9.6 is released.</p>



<h2>The First Focus Area</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">The first feature up for discussion is a new <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/26355">template editing mode inside the post editor</a>. It adds a new &ldquo;Template&rdquo; option in the post-editing sidebar that will allow users to jump between editing their post and editing the template that outputs that post. It is a marriage of the post and site editors. Underneath, both are run by the block system, so there is little difference in the experiences.</p>



<img />Potential template editing option in the post editor.



<p>Long-term, it makes sense that users should be able to switch seamlessly between both editors. I worry that we may be jumping the gun a bit on this feature since the Site Editor is still at a rough beta stage. However, it does not hurt to get some early feedback on what the workflow should look like.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Please keep in mind that this is the program&rsquo;s first iteration,&rdquo; wrote McCarthy in the post. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re starting with this first item and expecting the outcome to be a comprehensive list of issues that the Gutenberg team can work on as capacity allows.&rdquo;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 17 Dec 2020 22:09:34 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:9;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:81:"BuddyPress: How BuddyX made its way to the official WordPress.org theme directory";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"https://buddypress.org/?p=316229";s:7:"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://buddypress.org/2020/12/how-buddyx-made-its-way-to-the-official-wordpress-org-theme-directory/";s: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:14561:"<p>We use to feature BuddyPress usage case studies. These are great ways to share with you how BuddyPress can help you achieve your community site projects reading how other buddies did it. The case study you are about to read now is a bit different. It’s about the steps the lovely <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/buddyx/">BuddyX</a> BuddyPress theme had to take to be widely and freely available from the official WordPress.org theme directory. I’m very happy <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/vapvarun/">Varun Dubey</a> took the time to write this guest post to share his experience with all of us. My secret hope is that it will inspire as many BuddyPress Theme authors as possible to do the same <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f607.png" alt="😇" class="wp-smiley" />.</p>



<p>Varun Dubey is a full-stack WordPress &amp; BuddyPress developer. He’s the co-founder of <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://wbcomdesigns.com/about-us/" target="_blank">Wbcom Designs</a>, a WordPress themes and plugins development agency in India. He’s also a regular BuddyPress contributor, we often talk with him about the BuddyPress project during our development meetings (every other Wednesday at 19:00 UTC on Slack), he contributes to our development tasks (testing, reporting issues, patching, documenting, etc..) and he still manage to find time to help you regularly <a href="https://buddypress.org/members/vapvarun/forums/replies/">replying to your support topics</a> (661 replies so far!). So, once again, many thanks to him for <a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/participate-and-contribute/">getting involved with BuddyPress</a> <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f60d.png" alt="😍" class="wp-smiley" />.</p>



<p><em>So let’s learn more from his experience, here’s what he wanted to share with you about it!</em></p>



<span id="more-316229"></span>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>I submitted my first theme at WordPress.org, and now it’s live.</p><cite><a class="bp-suggestions-mention" href="https://buddypress.org/members/vapvarun/" rel="nofollow">@vapvarun</a></cite></blockquote>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/buddyx/">Buddyx</a></blockquote>
</div>



<p>We, at Wbcom Designs, are excited about our achievement to present a full-fledged community theme powered by BuddyPress and WordPress. It took almost a year to work on BuddyX and make it stable enough to submit at WordPress.org.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The approval process was surprisingly short, approx 6-7 weeks to get it approved after initial submission. We usually had heard that it might take 6-9 months to get the theme live.</p>



<p>Submitting the theme at WordPress.org will increase your reach to all sites which are using WordPress. The WordPress theme directory is used by millions of WordPress users all over the world. The directory themes are available for download from WordPress.org, and WordPress users can also install them directly from their administration screens.</p>



<p>By hosting your theme on WordPress.org, you’ll get:</p>



<ul><li>Stats on how many times your theme has been downloaded</li><li>User feedback in the forums</li><li>Ratings, to see what users think of your theme.</li></ul>



<p>We have learned a lot about code reviews, code quality, and theme lifecycle during the approval process. I will give a quick glimpse of how it was for BuddyX; it might help others get the theme approved quickly.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2>How to start with a theme skeleton?</h2>



<p>Lots of developers begin the development of a theme from scratch. There are articles and tutorials available on how to start theme development from scratch, and the <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/">WordPress Themes development handbook</a> also has a detailed step guide on this topic.&nbsp;</p>



<p>After comparing <a href="https://underscores.me/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">_s</a>, <a href="https://roots.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">roots</a>, and other starter themes, we decided to start with <a href="https://wprig.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the WP rig</a>. WP rig helped get a basic skeleton of the BuddyX using the latest tools, best practices, and coding standards. It helped integrate lazy-loading, async/defer JavaScript enqueueing, component-level pre-loaded CSS, optimized Web Font loading, modular extensions, and a full-featured list of optional template hierarchy files at day one.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Along with WordPress Code Quality Testing, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/best-practices/coding-standards/">WordPress Coding Standards</a> integration was also part of it. After getting initial help for the WP rig, we only have to focus on design improvement for BuddyPress Community features.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2>Early prep of the Theme submission</h2>



<p>After the design part gets ready, we have released our theme on our website and make it available for free download to get initial feedback as a soft launch. It received a good response from the community, and we have got some feature requests and feedback on initial versions. It helped us to gain the confidence to submit BuddyX at WordPress.org.</p>



<p>You can follow these steps to check your theme against WordPress requirements before submitting it for review.&nbsp;</p>



<p>1- Code Quality Check- To make sure your theme code is secure ( using proper escaping functions ), it meets <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/WordPress-Coding-Standards">WordPress Coding Standards</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>2- Theme Check by plugin- The WordPress Theme review team checks your theme using the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/theme-check/">Theme Check</a> plugin. It will be useful to double-check your theme against it first before uploading it.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2020/12/buddyx-theme-check.jpg"><img width="1999" height="1738" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2020/12/buddyx-theme-check.jpg" alt="Illustration of the screen generated by the Theme Check plugin" class="wp-image-316230" /></a></div>



<p>3- Theme Requirement Checklist- WordPress Theme review team has published <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/handbook/review/required/">Theme Requirements</a>. You also have to make sure you have gone through all items one by one.</p>



<p>Essential points you have to double-check with Theme requirements are</p>



<ul><li>Debug log should be clean; it should not have any PHP or JavaScript errors.</li><li>All strings should be ready for translation.&nbsp;</li><li>Add unminified source files along with minified JavaScript and CSS files.&nbsp;</li><li>All functions and Classes should have a theme-specific unique prefix.</li><li>All js or CSS should enqueue properly inside theme functions instead of hard-coded in the header or footer.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<p>5- Theme Unit Test XML &#8211; You will also have to check with <a href="https://github.com/WPTT/theme-unit-test">Unit Testing XML</a> data. It will help get proper labels and layout testing on various templates like 404, comments on pages, comments on the post, post format testing, layout, and alignment testing.&nbsp;</p>



<p>6- Screenshot- It should not contain any branded logo or visible human face.</p>



<p>7- Keyboard Navigation- Keyboard-dependent navigators are also mandatory features now. You can find details at the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/handbook/review/accessibility/required/#keyboard-navigation">Keyboard Navigation section of the theme development handbook</a>.</p>



<p>Consider the following non-coding points before submission:</p>



<ol><li>Your website terms and conditions page must indicate that your <strong>company has all products under GPL</strong>.</li><li>All images inside the theme must have GPL.</li><li>Make sure you have not disabled any default WordPress features.&nbsp;</li><li>The readme file must have all credit info for used images, libraries, and references.</li><li>Theme does not represent anything illegal, dishonest, or morally offensive behavior.</li></ol>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2>Upload at WordPress.org&nbsp;</h2>



<p>You can upload the theme using <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/upload/">https://wordpress.org/themes/upload/</a>, any new revision, and the theme updates.&nbsp;</p>



<p>After uploading the theme files, it will create a ticket, and you will have to wait for a couple of days before any developer requests to review your theme. All reviewers are volunteers. You can also get an idea of the current theme review <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/handbook/about/members/">team member </a>from the codex page.</p>



<p>You can also check current themes waiting in the queue at <a href="https://themes.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=reopened&status=reviewing&col=id&col=summary&col=owner&col=priority&col=resolution&col=time&col=changetime&col=reporter&report=8&desc=1&order=changetime">https://themes.trac.wordpress.org</a>. It will also be useful to join the <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/messages/themereview/">Slack theme review channel</a> to discuss review issues in the open channel.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2020/12/buddyx-ticket.jpg"><img width="1660" height="1354" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2020/12/buddyx-ticket.jpg" alt="Screen capture of the Themes Trac environment" class="wp-image-316233" /></a><a href="https://themes.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/89135">View the full ticket</a></div>



<p>Try to be proactive for any comments and points made related to your theme and submit fixes actively to keep your ticket reviewer.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2><strong>About BuddyX features</strong></h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2020/12/buddyx-screenshot-v.png"><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2020/12/buddyx-screenshot-v-1024x768.png" alt="" class="wp-image-316234" /></a></div>



<p>BuddyX is a community membership theme with BuddyPress support. It is a lightweight, fully responsive, SEO optimized, RTL &amp; Translation ready theme. It is a multipurpose theme perfect for all niches, be it membership, social community, corporate, e-commerce, LMS, etc.</p>



<p>The theme also provides support for WooCommerce, WC Vendor, LearnDash, LearnPress, and GamiPress plugins. It is highly customizable and works perfectly with page builders such as Elementor and Gutenberg. BuddyX is perfect for creating social learning, marketplace, and blogging websites using BuddyPress integrations.</p>



<p>BuddyX has the latest best practices for progressive web content and optimization. We have tested it with the latest BuddyPress version and popular BuddyPress addons. BuddyX is developed, maintained, and supported by Wbcom Designs.</p>



<p>We have worked on the following features</p>



<ul><li>User menu for logged in members</li><li>Improved UI for Activity, members, groups directory pages</li><li>Improved UI for Member and Group single unique layout</li><li>Both sidebar options for BuddyPress pages</li><li>Improve sidebar widgets style</li><li>rtMedia supports to display of single and multiple photos in the activity.</li><li>Better widgets layout</li><li>Color scheme options</li><li>Extensible with plugins</li></ul>



<p>Within the theme, we have overridden several template files to make the above changes.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h3><strong>Activity Compotent &#8211;&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<pre class="wp-block-verse">buddypress/activity/entry.php
buddypress/activity/single/home.php</pre>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h3><strong>Members Component &#8211;</strong></h3>



<pre class="wp-block-verse">buddypress/members/members-loop.php
buddypress/members/single/cover-image-header.php
buddypress/members/single/home.php
buddypress/members/single/friends/requests-loop.php
buddypress/members/single/groups/invites.php</pre>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h3><strong>Groups Component &#8211;&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<pre class="wp-block-verse">buddypress/groups/groups-loop.php
buddypress/groups/single/cover-image-header.php
buddypress/groups/single/home.php
buddypress/groups/single/members-loop.php</pre>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h3><strong>rtMedia plugin &#8211;</strong></h3>



<pre class="wp-block-verse">rtmedia/main.php&nbsp;</pre>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<p>We have picked the Nouveau template for BuddyX for various reasons as following.</p>



<ul><li>Nouveau delivers modern markup with fresh JavaScript-powered templates.</li><li>Nouveau provides vertical and horizontal layout options for BuddyPress navigation.</li><li>Provide a grid layout and a classic flat list.</li><li>Minimal styling for better theme compatibility.</li><li>Consistent and flexible PHP template functions.</li><li>Customizer compatibility.</li><li>Better differentiation of content types.</li><li>A rethought Messages component.</li></ul>



<p>Summarizing features for BuddyX, you can check a detailed overview at <a href="https://buddyxtheme.com/features/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">buddyxtheme.com</a>.</p>



<ul><li>Multiple Header option</li><li>Polished member and group directory layout</li><li>Three variations for member and group header layout</li><li>Color Scheme and Typo options</li><li>RTL and translation ready</li><li>AMP ready</li><li>Gutenberg ready</li><li>WooCommerce ready with multivendor using WC vendors, Dokan support in the development queue.</li><li>bbPress Forums Support</li><li>Optimized Mobile Menu Panel</li><li>LMS support: Learndash and Learnpress support included; we will add dedicated support for other popular LMS plugins incoming updates.</li></ul>



<p>We have prepared a couple of demos; you can <a href="https://buddyxtheme.com/demos/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">try the BuddyX demo</a> as a member login.BuddyX is available at <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/buddyx/">WordPress.org</a> for download to create your community; we will appreciate any feedback to improve BuddyX features.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 17 Dec 2020 18:54:06 +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:"Mathieu Viet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:47:"WPTavern: Mapbox GL JS Is No Longer Open Source";s:7:"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=108948";s:7:"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:139:"https://wptavern.com/mapbox-gl-js-is-no-longer-open-source?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mapbox-gl-js-is-no-longer-open-source";s: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:9008:"<p><a href="https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-gl-js">Mapbox GL JS</a>, formerly an open source JavaScript library for interactive, customizable vector maps, has adopted a proprietary license in its recent <a href="https://github.com/mapbox/mapbox-gl-js/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md#200">version 2</a> update:</p>



<ul><li>mapbox-gl-js is no longer under the 3-Clause BSD license. By upgrading to this release, you are agreeing to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mapbox.com/legal/tos/">Mapbox terms of service</a>.&nbsp;Refer to LICENSE.txt for the new licensing terms and details. For questions, contact our team at&nbsp;<a href="https://support.mapbox.com/">https://support.mapbox.com</a>.</li><li>Beginning with v2.0.0, a billable map load occurs whenever a Map object is initialized. Before updating an existing implementation from v1.x.x to v2.x.x, please review the&nbsp;<a href="https://docs.mapbox.com/accounts/guides/pricing/#mapbox-gl-js-v100-and-higher">pricing documentation</a>&nbsp;to estimate expected costs.</li></ul>



<p>Versions 1.x remain under the&nbsp;3-Clause BSD license, but <a href="https://www.mapbox.com/">Mapbox</a> will only be investing in developing new features for the proprietary licensed version 2.0+. This news came as a surprise to many engineers who have built products on top of this previously open source library.</p>



<p>&ldquo;This move has produced&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://joemorrison.medium.com/death-of-an-open-source-business-model-62bc227a7e9b" target="_blank">shockwaves</a>&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://blog.cleverelephant.ca/2020/12/mapbox-morrison.html" target="_blank">in</a>&nbsp;the geospatial industry,&rdquo; Javier de la Torre wrote on the <a href="https://carto.com/blog/our-thoughts-as-mapboxgl-js-2-goes-proprietary/">CARTO blog</a>. &ldquo;Many organizations are using Mapbox GL JS directly or fork from it. This library is responsible for the visualization of the so-called basemap, the cartography layer that underpins most maps. Previously Open Source, MapboxGL is a great solution, and could be used with many different data sources, so it became the de facto way to render basemaps.&rdquo; </p>



<p>Mapbox <a href="https://www.mapbox.com/showcase/">powers all sorts of maps</a> for high profile websites like CNN, The New York Times, Ancestry, Strava, Shopify, Facebook, and more. It is also used by WordPress.com and Jetpack for the <a href="https://wordpress.com/support/wordpress-editor/blocks/map-block/">Map block</a>. The library is used in many <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/search/mapbox/">plugins</a> on WordPress.org, some with tens of thousands of users. Developers using versions 1.x will want to be aware of the future of the Mapbox GL JS library. </p>



<p>&ldquo;Mapbox&rsquo;s decision this week to release a brand new version of Mapbox GL JS and keep it proprietary stunned me,&rdquo; <a href="https://www.azavea.com/">Azavea</a> product specialist Joe Morrison <a href="https://joemorrison.medium.com/death-of-an-open-source-business-model-62bc227a7e9b">wrote</a> on his personal blog. &ldquo;Not only was v1 already a wildly popular open source library, but Mapbox&rsquo;s reputation as a prolific creator of open source software is a cornerstone of their whole identity. Describing what makes Mapbox special without mentioning &lsquo;open source&rsquo; is like trying to describe chocolate milk to an alien without using the word &lsquo;liquid.'&rdquo;</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mapbox GL JS v2: <br />We need to deduct a few points for Mapbox's ridiculously obfuscated and convoluted way of trying to avoid mentioning the licence change in their announcement email. Can only imagine what series of meetings between comms, marketing and devs led to this. <a href="https://t.co/wWK4z51fzo">pic.twitter.com/wWK4z51fzo</a></p>&mdash; Steve Bennett (@stevage1) <a href="https://twitter.com/stevage1/status/1336498655793086464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
</div>



<p>Mapbox hasn&rsquo;t formally clarified why it went proprietary with the library so speculation abounds. Morrison theorizes that cloud providers are killing the open core business model of software companies. <a href="http://crunchydata.com/">Crunchy Data</a> Geospatial Engineer Paul Ramsey <a href="http://blog.cleverelephant.ca/2020/12/mapbox-morrison.html">responded</a> to Morrison&rsquo;s article, contending that Mapbox is not an &ldquo;open core&rdquo; company and that the business of selling location based services may not be panning out for them:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>But like Google, the value proposition Mapbox sells isn&rsquo;t in the software, so much as the data and the platform underneath. Mapbox has built a unique, scalable platform for handling the huge problem of turning raw OSM data into usable services, and raw location streams into usable services. They sell access to that platform.</p><p>Mapbox has never been a software company, they&rsquo;ve always been a data and services company.</p></blockquote>



<p>Mapbox employee Saman Bemel Benrud said the company is finally moving to make its products sustainable:</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Disruption by undercutting costs via VC subsidies is still a thriving business model, and it just creates unsustainable products while destroying the thing that existed before. Mapbox is trying to become sustainable, finally, and I&rsquo;m here for it.</p>&mdash; Saman Bemel Benrud (@samanbb) <a href="https://twitter.com/samanbb/status/1336380594410770434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
</div>



<p>This change has the potential to negatively impact the developers and companies that built products on top of Mapbox GL JS, thinking its open source licensing was set in stone.</p>



<p>&ldquo;The change says nothing about &lsquo;open source&rsquo; in the large as a model, and everything about &lsquo;single vendor projects&rsquo; and whether you should, strategically, believe their licensing,&rdquo; Ramsey said.</p>



<p>&ldquo;I (and others) took the licensing (incorrectly) of Mapbox GL JS to be a promise, not only for now but the future, and made decisions based on that (incorrect) interpretation. I integrated GL JS into&nbsp;<a href="https://github.com/CrunchyData/pg_tileserv/blob/master/assets/preview-table.html">an open source project</a>&nbsp;and now I have to revisit that decision.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Some community members have already <a href="https://github.com/maplibre/maplibre-gl-js">forked Mapbox GL JS</a> to maintain the 1.x version, but the vast majority of contributors to the original library were sponsored by Mapbox. The immediate future of the MapLibre GL fork may not include many new features, as the initial roadmap&rsquo;s stated goal is &ldquo;consistency and backwards-compatibility with previous releases and continued bug-fixes and maintenance going forward.&rdquo; </p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Our first pre-release version of BSD-licensed maplibre-gl is out, a drop-in replacement for mapbox-gl. Big thanks to Seth Nickell! <a href="https://t.co/f9XqzpwDrT">https://t.co/f9XqzpwDrT</a></p>&mdash; MapLibre (@maplibre) <a href="https://twitter.com/maplibre/status/1336875209559855104?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2020</a></blockquote>
</div>



<p>A lengthy <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25347310">discussion</a> on Hacker News drew a <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25350808">response</a> from former Mapbox engineer Tom MacWright, who wrote the company&rsquo;s open source policy as a founding member of the team. </p>



<p>&ldquo;I won&rsquo;t get into all the context, but I think we should consider whether a community without contributors is a community,&rdquo; MacWright said. &ldquo;GL JS never had major active contributors outside of the company, and there are no self-funded webgl experts with lots of time who are ready to maintain a fork.</p>



<p>&ldquo;OSS, we hoped, was about enabling people and unlocking people&rsquo;s ability to collaborate. It turns out that in 2020, it&rsquo;s mostly helping companies and getting nothing in return. That&rsquo;s not a dynamic you can build a sustainable business on.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The MapLibre GL fork may gain some momentum and emerge as a viable alternative to Mapbox&rsquo;s closed source library, but it will take time to see how well it is maintained. In the meantime, the existing version 1.x can meet most users&rsquo; needs. Mapbox has burned through a lot of good will with this controversial licensing update, which some perceive as a &ldquo;bait and switch&rdquo; offense. Rebuilding community trust, after removing the freedoms granted by the previous license, will be an uphill battle.</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 Dec 2020 04:45:01 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:79:"WPTavern: Jump Start Block-Based Theme Development With the FSE Theme Generator";s:7:"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=108900";s:7:"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/jump-start-block-based-theme-development-with-the-fse-theme-generator?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=jump-start-block-based-theme-development-with-the-fse-theme-generator";s: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:4913:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Block-based themes are not complicated. Their structure is almost simple enough that developers are unlikely to need a tool to generate a blank theme. However, for those unfamiliar with how themes are built for the upcoming full-site editing (FSE) feature, a boilerplate is a good place to start.</p>



<p>The <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/theme-experiments">Theme Experiments</a> repository now has a new <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/theme-experiments/tree/master/emptytheme">Empty Theme</a>. Alongside it is a command-line tool to generate a copy of that theme with a custom name, author, and URI.</p>



<p>The idea is not new. There are tons of such tools for generating a theme in the wild. However, it is time for new tools that focus on block-based theming.</p>



<p>For theme authors who want to generate a new block-based theme, they must clone a copy of the Theme Experiments repository. Then navigate to that folder via their command-line tool and type the following command:</p>



<pre class="wp-block-code"><code>php new-empty-theme.php</code></pre>



<p>From that point, it is a simple matter of answering a few questions and letting the tool do the work of creating a new theme folder.</p>



<h2>Digging Into the Generated Theme</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">The generated theme is not much to look at. However, it is a theme that works within the new full-site editing system. After activation, theme authors can begin tinkering with the theme via the Site Editor screen (requires the Gutenberg plugin).</p>



<img />Generated theme in the Site Editor.



<p>There is one exception to it being a <em>working</em> theme. Loading the header template part is currently broken. Of course, I <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/theme-experiments/issues/146">opened a ticket</a> for that issue, which should be easy for the development team to resolve.</p>



<p>The file and folder structure is slim in comparison to traditional themes. It contains the bare-bones to get a theme up and running in the Site Editor. The following files and folders are included:</p>



<ul><li><code>/assets</code><br />&ndash; <code>alignments-front.css</code></li><li><code>/block-template-parts</code><br />&ndash; <code>header.html</code></li><li><code>/block-templates</code><br />&ndash; <code>index.html</code><br />&ndash; <code>singular.html</code></li><li><code>experimental-theme.json</code></li><li><code>functions.php</code></li><li><code>index.php</code></li><li><code>readme.md</code></li><li><code>style.css</code></li></ul>



<p>Even those are likely to be trimmed down in the future. The <code>experimental-theme.json</code> file will eventually be renamed to <code>theme.json</code>.</p>



<p>The current <code>alignments-front.css</code> is nearly 80 lines of boilerplate code for handling the various block alignments. There is no need for every theme author to recreate all of this code, which should not change much between themes. That is why there is an open ticket for Gutenberg to <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/26633">provide alignment styles</a> on the front end. Theme authors will be able to overwrite this. However, the fewer files and lines of code theme authors need to contend with, the better.</p>



<p>The standard <code>index.php</code> template is empty. It will no longer be useful for building themes now that block-based templates are stored in the <code>/block-templates</code> and <code>/block-template-parts</code> folders. <code>style.css</code> just houses the theme information. FSE themes will mostly use <code>theme.json</code> to configure default styles.</p>



<p>In the coming months and years, theme authors will be working primarily in the <code>theme.json</code> file and block template folders. The jury is still out on whether the theming ecosystem will readily accept this change. At the same time, it feels refreshing to see the untangling of theme development. Traditional theming today has created behemoth codebases in an attempt to keep up with features that users want. A shift in how developers build themes was inevitable and necessary.</p>



<p>My one nit-pick with the generated theme is the inclusion of the pluggable theme setup function in the <code>functions.php</code> file, which has somehow become a mainstay of core-developed themes over the years. There are APIs for enabling or disabling everything in such setup functions, and there is no reason for child themes to overwrite them wholesale.</p>



<p>If things go according to plan, even the standard theme setup function may be on the chopping block. These functions are generally a list of calls to <code>add_theme_support()</code>. The long-term plan is for the current theme-supported features to either be enabled by default for block-based themes or configurable via the <code>theme.json</code> 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:"Wed, 16 Dec 2020 21:54:30 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:23:"HeroPress: Marginalized";s:7:"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=3437";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:98:"https://heropress.com/essays/marginalized/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=marginalized";s: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:13958:"<img width="960" height="480" src="https://s20094.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/121520-min.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Pull quote: Being underestimated is a gift." /><p>When I was asked to write an essay for HeroPress, I humbly accepted due to my desire to help others. HeroPress needs a post and perhaps something I say could have a positive impact on another person. Little did I realize that having to write as a “marginalized” individual would cause me to want to retreat.</p>
<p>The word “marginalized” stirs up a lot of emotion in me and thoughts such as “am I marginalized enough”, “what if I offend someone”, and “will I be attacked” tend to come to mind. Interestingly, I worry that I’ll be attacked by more women than men. I could easily write the story of my woes because I’ve had plenty but I like solutions, perseverance and resilience better. Some of these solutions may help you realize why I could be seen as “marginalized” but perhaps we’ll find a new label such as human and worthy of kindness, trust, inclusion, and a seat at the decision table.</p>
<h3>The Beginning</h3>
<p>I have been in the WordPress space since 2005 and tech since 2003. My team realized early on that WordPress was actually a CMS. We ranked #2 in google for web design back when SEO was easy. I was answering phones, marketing, and doing billing at that time. I would ask about budgets when potential clients would call and I had to turn away a lot of business because they couldn’t afford us. The worst part was that I didn’t have a trusted company that I could refer them to at the time. While focusing on web design I couldn’t understand why it took so long to create a website and why we couldn’t create our own less expensive solution to offer them.</p>
<p>Long story short, a prototype was made, then refined and rebranded as Pagely, and the term “Managed WordPress Hosting” was created. It was about 2 years later that our next competitor arrived and another 2 years for the behemoths to create their own managed WordPress solutions. Sounds grand right? Being the first and the originator of a multi-billion dollar industry had its challenges and these are problems that our competitors didn’t have to face. Now, let’s add being a female.</p>
<p>I feel that I need to preface these next parts of my life story mainly because I’m a female and it’s what I’ve been trained to do even subconsciously. I’m joking, sort of.</p>
<p>Usually if I use a word that doesn’t resonate with certain males, I’ll get mansplained to instead of searching for clarity. Their initial jump to assume that “I don’t know” instead of “they don’t understand” astounds me. That’s not to say I am infallible, didn’t say something ridiculous, or am unwilling to learn/self-reflect. It’s unnerving when Captain Obvious brings forth the basics.</p>
<p>That being said, first, I understand that my labels include female, white, American, founder, wife, mother, wealthy, privileged and more depending on who I’m talking with. It took years of therapy to take my own traumas seriously because I didn’t have it as bad as others. It caused me to repress my own experiences and put others before myself even when they didn’t deserve space in my kind mind. Now, I’m more resilient and realize that I can’t be everything to everybody but I can include everyone with exception of the unhinged.</p>
<p>Second, this is my story. It may not be similar to your own, and I don’t have all the answers. I’m not competing with anyone’s troubles. We can both exist.</p>
<p>Third, I’m very grateful because I have been surrounded mostly by successful women and men willing to help Josh and I accomplish our shared goals. Josh is my husband and co-founder of Pagely.</p>
<h3>First Impressions</h3>
<p>When Pagely first started, hate mail ensued along with many people signing up. I went to a WordCamp and a prominent figure in the WordPress community asked me where the person was that came up with Pagely because they really liked it. They were alluding to my husband Josh. This happened even when Josh said repeatedly that I had come up with the idea. It was at that moment that I realized that most people would not associate me with the idea or company I co-founded.</p>
<p>I had to make the conscious choice to decide if I wanted to be right or be successful. I chose to focus on success and also I didn’t get here alone. Many wonderful men and women helped. I had to laser focus on my goal which was to provide the best hosting experience regardless of minor annoyances along the way.</p>
<p>Many times I was not invited to join various non-Pagely meetings. Josh tried to include me even when men told him to uninvite me. Luckily, when I wasn’t allowed in the room, Josh shared the agenda with me and many times was my voice to get things done. Now, if I’m not included, I find a table that will have me, find allies, or I create my own group. I shouldn’t have made getting in that room a big priority. My solution was to remove obstacles, find the win/win to achieve my goal, and not take or make it personal.</p>
<p>This type of scenario happened often and what’s interesting is that the people that were saying these “sexist” remarks were good people. The problem was so prevalent and complex that I had a hard time communicating what I was experiencing.</p>
<h3>Reaching Out</h3>
<p>I asked other women how they handled sexism. I asked a brilliant and well respected female entrepreneur in Phoenix how she handled what I was experiencing. She told me that she saw it all the time and just treated men like her children and gave accolades. She was included because she could stroke their egos. Another friend said that she would wear short skirts so she wouldn’t have to explain and defend why her ideas deserved merit. Another friend would wear business attire daily while her male cohorts wore hoodies. Her brain didn’t change but their outlook did. There were also some that claimed that they didn’t experience it but when the #metoo movement arrived, they were the most vocal. Of course, this is an extremely small subset of people I asked but this was the reality of the time.</p>
<p>What’s striking is that my experience in other fields was worse. At least in tech we’re open to talk about and acknowledge the issue. It’s a start, it’s getting better, and tech attracts early adopters. When I was in healthcare, I graduated college with summa cum laude honors. I had the highest board scores in the state for my field, yet one employer told me I was only hired because I was pretty, another place said that they prefer to hire Mexicans because they work harder, and another place claimed that they like to hire females that didn’t plan on having children.</p>
<p>So many check marks to obtain which can cause females to compete with each other because of a feeling of lack of abundance and no defined rules.</p>
<p>These learnings from the places I worked happened over a period of time and some of my friends experienced sexism and abuse weekly. They were used to being treated poorly and considered less than. They accepted the situation and were grateful for the opportunity to work. Some were afraid to have or share their brilliant ideas because their paycheck was more important than their voice. Also, some were content and had other areas of their life that fulfilled them or they were ultra-resistant. The vast differences we have with one another are amazing, beautiful, and inspiring.</p>
<h3>Representation or Tokenization?</h3>
<p>I still have mixed feelings about being the token female. I was asked to speak on a SXSW panel a couple of times because I was the only tech female the person knew. I’m trying to get comfortable using my gender to get through the guarded gates but I can’t tell if I’m fostering inspiration, adding to the separation, or devaluing my accomplishments. Therefore I tend to stay private and stay focused on creating my ideal work environment that waterfalls over into giving the best hosting experience for our clients. Also, when I ask other women to speak at Pressnomics or work with me at Pagely, I don’t want it to be because I’m trying to hit a quota.</p>
<p>I choose to work with women because they are qualified. Our engineering team is 50% female and our largest teams are run by women because they were the most qualified candidates. Period. (pun intended). What makes this even more gratifying for me is that the entire team participates in the hiring process and it feels like we have an environment for equality that is natural due to the character of the people we hire.</p>
<p>However, we have hired men and learned that they are triggered by assertive females. My solutions in these instances include making sure they realize the issue, what’s at stake if they don’t change, and I leave my door open to conversation. They are still good people. They chose to have a female employer. My general causation theory is the stigma around therapy especially for men, lack of resources to provide a public mental health safety net, repressed feeling of childhood powerlessness from a female, and myriad other possibilities.</p>
<p>The flip side to this is aggressive females which also afflicts me at certain times. My progression to aggression looks something like the following. I start with casual understanding, then I ask questions for full understanding. Then I assert, re-evaluate, assert or accept. If I don&#8217;t accept, I assert again. If my assertions don&#8217;t work, aggression can happen followed by reflection. This may lead to a desire to remove the obstacle and find another solution or evaluate the origin of my aggression. This doesn&#8217;t happen often. I&#8217;ve learned that I&#8217;m triggered by feeling unseen or unreciprocated respect when I have a strong desire for an outcome that seems heavily challenged.  I accept these feelings and understand that I&#8217;m not always right. The awareness allows me to seek clarity, speak up with vulnerability, heal, and choose a healthier approach that humanizes the relationship.</p>
<p>My ideal solution is to remind myself that everyone has a story, listen to their story, find clarity, and let them know they are safe and don’t need to carry the trauma anymore. Open communication with mutual respect is key. You get what you give. Also, burning bridges serves no one and neither does passively laying on train tracks.</p>
<h3>Observation</h3>
<p>Another one of my theories is that women are considered safe. During our Pressnomics conference, Josh will receive more praise and while I do get praise, I tend to get more (or all) of the criticism. This is not about getting praise; although appreciated, it’s not the point. It’s about why people feel more comfortable expressing negative emotions to females. I believe the reason why is because women seem safer and they are more likely to ask about experiences.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this can open a floodgate from people with varying levels of passion which can cause female entrepreneurs to retreat from taking more active roles. I crave feedback for Pagely because it’s something we want to give to the world. However, Pressnomics is an invitation into my proverbial house and if they don’t like it, there’s a lot of other conferences they can attend or make their own. I’ll gladly attend their conference, especially if it’s run by another “marginalized” human and aligns with my goal. I will listen to people who “get&#8221; what Pressnomics is (it’s more of a feeling) but nitpicking my font and color choice for the website is where I draw the line.</p>
<p>I had to get to this place because people were not going to decide my worth or determine if my creations were good enough. When I create, I come from love and a deep desire to help with the golden rule in mind. I’ve been to other conferences, where Josh leaves my side and men have said “I’m creating a Pagely killer”, “We’re going to destroy you”, and competitors that are actively trying to debate with me while my only intention was to be kind.</p>
<p>My goal with Pressnomics is to inspire great minds to work together, share information, and energize the WordPress ecosystem in a safe and caring atmosphere for all who attend.</p>
<p>My ideal solution when dealing with negative people is to not take it personally. Their truth does not need to be my truth and words from jerks no longer have an affect on me. Sadly, most jerks delve out disdain regardless of the recipient which means they might be miserable and lack empathy.</p>
<h3>Wrapping It All Up</h3>
<p>What does WordPress mean to me? It’s a business foundation that allows ALL people the initial building blocks for success. The barrier to entry is low and inclusion is high. Also, the majority of people in the community look past stereotypes and generalizations and want to share and lift all tides. I am very grateful to the community, our supporters, the dreamers, and to the outstanding core contributors.</p>
<p>What do all of us “marginalized” people have in common? We showed up and worked around obstacles. If there’s not room for you at a table, figure out something else. Perhaps, kindly discuss the observation, or create your own table. Life’s too short to be unhappy in someone else’s world. Create your own and invite others. WordPress is a great place to do that.</p>
<p>Last, being underestimated is a gift. They’ll never see you coming until they can’t help but notice. If you’re with the right people while that’s happening, there’s no better feeling.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com/essays/marginalized/">Marginalized</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 Dec 2020 10:02:40 +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:"Sally Strebel";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:90:"WPTavern: Learn WordPress Platform Launches with Free Courses, Workshops, and Lesson Plans";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=108957";s:7:"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:221:"https://wptavern.com/learn-wordpress-platform-launches-with-free-courses-workshops-and-lesson-plans?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=learn-wordpress-platform-launches-with-free-courses-workshops-and-lesson-plans";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3567:"<p>WordPress.org has officially launched its new &ldquo;<a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/">Learn WordPress</a>&rdquo; platform, a free educational resource that includes courses, workshops, quizzes, lesson plans, and discussion groups. The material spans the spectrum of WordPress experience from beginners to advanced, and and allows users to learn asynchronously at their own pace. After a successful beta launch in August, the platform is now ready for the public.</p>



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



<p>Traditionally, most WordPress learning opportunities have been in-person at WordCamps and local meetups. Since large gatherings have been put on pause this year due to the pandemic, the Learn WordPress platform offers a new way for users to stay connected. The discussion groups are a new event format similar to a virtual event that brings learners together at the same time to discuss a topic. Discussion groups are scheduled through Meetup.com and most of them center around workshop material.</p>



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



<p>&ldquo;In addition to the wealth of valuable content available on Learn WordPress, the platform provides an opportunity for individuals to learn alongside other community members and become connected with a global network of WordPress users, developers, and contributors,&rdquo; WordPress community manager Hugh Lashbrooke said. </p>



<h3>A New Way to Contribute to WordPress: Create Learning Resources and Facilitate Discussions</h3>



<p>Learn WordPress is launching with two courses: &ldquo;<a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/course/publishing-with-wordpress/">Publishing with WordPress</a>&rdquo; and &ldquo;<a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/course/unleashing-the-power-of-wordpress/">Unleashing the Power of WordPress</a>,&rdquo; which covers basic customization topics. The project is open to contributions and anyone can <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/workshop-presenter-application/">submit an idea for a workshop</a>.</p>



<p>The platform also includes more than 85 <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/lesson-plans/">lesson plans</a> that the Training team has been working on for the past few years. They are available as resources for people who want to run their own workshops. </p>



<p>Learn WordPress has several lesson plans and workshops on the topic of creating new blocks, such as <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/workshop/intro-to-gutenberg-block-development/">Intro to Gutenberg Block Development</a>. Many WordPress developers have yet to get on board with creating for the block editor and topics like this seems ripe for launching a discussion group with a series facilitated by an experienced block developer.</p>



<p>&ldquo;The work on Learn WordPress has been a strong cross-team collaboration between the Community and Training teams, with the Marketing and TV teams also being really involved in making things happen,&rdquo; WordPress community manager Hugh Lashbrooke said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been super encouraging to see such excellent work across so many teams to make this ambitious project a reality.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Anyone can <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/contribute/">contribute</a> to lesson plans and workshops, as well as facilitate discussions. If you want to get more involved in expanding and promoting the platform, you can join <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/training/">WordPress&rsquo; Training team</a> for meetings on Fridays at 11:00 UTC and Tuesdays at 17:00 UTC in the #training channel on Slack.</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 Dec 2020 23:30:18 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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:73:"WPTavern: Record and Track Past Events With the LifePress Calendar 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=108962";s:7:"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/record-and-track-past-events-with-the-lifepress-calendar-plugin?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=record-and-track-past-events-with-the-lifepress-calendar-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:4784:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Two weeks ago, Ashan Jay released <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/lifepress/">LifePress</a> to the WordPress plugin directory. It is an interactive, front-end calendar for tracking past events &mdash; a journal of sorts. For a version 1.0 launch, it has enough features with just the right touch of simplicity to show promise.</p>



<p>This is not Jay&rsquo;s first rodeo when it comes to calendar-based plugins. He is also the creator of <a href="https://www.myeventon.com/">EventON</a>, a virtual event calendar for WordPress.</p>



<p>The goal of the plugin is simple. As its description reads, &ldquo;LifePress is a calendar based journal recorder that will allow you to track back progress and review past events to learn from the past and make positive progress in the future.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Watch an introduction video to the plugin:</p>



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

</div>



<h2>Digging Into the Plugin</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">Call me a fan. The ease of use of this plugin is spot-on. LifePress creates a page called &ldquo;LifePress Dashboard&rdquo; upon activation, which allows individual users of the site to see and manage life events on the front end on a per-user basis. It feels much like Google Calendar, except in WordPress.</p>



<p>And that is the plugin&rsquo;s main selling point &mdash; it allows end-users to store all of their data in their own database instead of on a third-party server.</p>



<p>On the front end, users are presented with a weekly calendar view by default. However, there is a button for switching between weekly and monthly views.</p>



<img />Monthly calendar view.



<p>A simple &ldquo;+&rdquo; button lets users create new calendar entries. After clicking it, an overlay appears for adding a date, title, optional description, and tag. Most users should pick up the system quickly and without documentation.</p>



<img />Creating a new calendar entry.



<p>The tag system allows users to group different types of entries with custom colored backgrounds. Colored dots for each tag adorn the left sidebar, allowing users to toggle specific entry types on and off, which is one of my favorite features of the plugin. It is a simple thing, but it adds to the overall user experience.</p>



<p>The design is, for the most part, great. The interface is uncluttered and simple to use. However, the plugin is not without some flaws, which is to be expected with a version 1.0. The plugin&rsquo;s various overlays, such as from the new-entry popup, butt against the top of the page. Some spacing at the top would help with the layout.</p>



<p>Backend management could use a little work. There is no way to edit a tag&rsquo;s color after it has been created. This feature also does not appear to be available on the front end.</p>



<p>The monthly-calendar view was consistently off by one day of the week when I first installed LifePress in my testing environment. For example, today is Tuesday, December 15, 2020. However, the plugin had the 15th listed under Monday. I managed to track this issue down to the &ldquo;week starts on&rdquo; setting in WordPress. The plugin will only work if this option is set to Sunday (the WordPress default sets this to Monday). Every other day of the week pushes the calendar back another day.</p>



<p>This is a non-issue with the default, weekly calendar view. However, it should be addressed by the plugin author for the monthly layout.</p>



<h2>Features Requests</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">While LifePress is geared toward being a journal and tracking calendar, it would be nice if it could pull double-duty and behave like a simple event calendar too. The plugin already allows end-users to add items to future dates, so the core of scheduling events is already in place. To extend this already-existing feature, the plugin could have a notification system. Users should be able to at least get custom emails as a reminder for upcoming events on the schedule. This could make it worthwhile enough for some users to ditch Google Calendar, depending on their use case.</p>



<p>If the plugin wants to continue focusing on being a great journal and tracking calendar, it should have a progress-tracking mechanism built in. It is great to see that I put in my daily 30-minute jog on the calendar, for example. However, it would be even better if I could see that I am hitting my exercise goals on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis.</p>



<p>That sort of application is not just relevant to personal exercise regimens. It can be applied to other facets of life or used in business environments.</p>



<p>Overall, it is a good first outing for the plugin. However, there is a lot of potential for more features in the future.</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 Dec 2020 21:48:53 +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: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:47:"WordPress.org blog: Introducing Learn WordPress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=9444";s:7:"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:63:"https://wordpress.org/news/2020/12/introducing-learn-wordpress/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9012:"<p><strong><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/">Learn WordPress</a> is a learning resource providing workshops, quizzes, courses, lesson plans, and discussion groups so that anyone, from beginners to advanced users, can learn to do more with WordPress. Learning how to use, build for, and contribute to WordPress is essential for anyone wanting to dive deeper into the software and its community.&nbsp;</strong></p>



<div class="wp-block-buttons aligncenter">
<div class="wp-block-button is-style-outline"><a class="wp-block-button__link" href="https://learn.wordpress.org/">Learn WordPress</a></div>
</div>



<p>This cross-team initiative is part of the WordPress.org network and features content from contributors from the global community. It will be updated weekly and will help connect new and existing WordPress users with the broader community while they learn.</p>



<img width="632" height="331" src="https://i1.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2020/12/learn-link-preview.png?resize=632%2C331&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-9457" />



<h2>What can you learn about WordPress?</h2>



<p>On Learn WordPress you can find a range of material and opportunities to use at the time which works for you.</p>



<p><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/workshops/"><strong>Workshops</strong></a> are practical, skills-based videos that show viewers how to do new things with WordPress, whether you publish, manage, develop with, or contribute to WordPress. Most workshops include quizzes for you to test your newly gained knowledge.</p>



<p><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/discussion-groups/"><strong>Discussion groups</strong></a> provide an opportunity for further collaborative learning with participants meeting together to discuss the workshop content &#8211; they take place online, either in video calls or Slack and accommodate all time zones.</p>



<p><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/lesson-plans/"><strong>Lesson plans</strong></a> are guides for facilitators to use while presenting at events or within educational environments. Facilitators will find learning objectives (telling people what they are going to learn), any prerequisite skills, assets such as screenshots and slide decks, and learning assessments.&nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/courses/"><strong>Courses</strong></a> are a series of interconnected lesson plans to be presented by a facilitator that will strategically focus on defined learning outcomes. Participants can go through these courses individually or as part of a group. After completing the learning, attendees should be able to apply their skills in the real world.</p>



<p>In addition to the wealth of valuable content available on Learn WordPress, the platform provides an opportunity for individuals to learn alongside other community members and become connected with a global network of WordPress users, developers, and contributors.</p>



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

</div>



<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCVEqsAbLffeEXhn9T1yBVTMaHIMtlzFj">Why you should use Learn WordPress</a> &#8211; videos from our community.</p>



<h2>How can you get involved?</h2>



<div class="wp-block-buttons aligncenter">
<div class="wp-block-button is-style-outline"><a class="wp-block-button__link" href="https://learn.wordpress.org/">Start learning today!</a></div>
</div>



<p>Learn WordPress is an open-source platform available for anyone to contribute content in any areas mentioned above. <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/contribute/">Find out more about how you can get involved</a> with this initiative.</p>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/marketing/2020/12/09/help-us-promote-learn-wordpress/">Take part in our fun promotion campaigns</a> on social and with your local community.</p>



<p><em>Hundreds of people spanning a number of years have contributed to the development of learning materials. Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make Learn WordPress a reality.&nbsp;</em></p>



<p><strong><em>Particular thanks to</em></strong>:</p>



<p><strong><em>Training:</em></strong><em> <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/courane01/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>courane01</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/azhiyadev/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>azhiyadev</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/geheren/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>geheren</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/webtechpooja/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>webtechpooja</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jessecowens/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>jessecowens</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/onealtr/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>onealtr</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rastaban/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>rastaban</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/evarlese/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>evarlese</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/manzwebdesigns/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>manzwebdesigns</a></em><br /><strong><em>Meta: </em></strong><em><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/coreymckrill/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>coreymckrill</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dufresnesteven/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>dufresnesteven</a>, <em><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jonoaldersonwp/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>jonoaldersonwp</a></em></em><br /><strong><em>Community:</em></strong><em> <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hlashbrooke/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>hlashbrooke</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/camikaos/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>camikaos</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/harishanker/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>harishanker</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/angelasjin/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>angelasjin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nao/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>nao</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/courtneypk/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>courtneypk</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/andreamiddleton/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>andreamiddleton</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rmarks/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>rmarks</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sippis/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>sippis</a></em><br /><strong><em>Marketing: </em></strong><em><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/webcommsat/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>webcommsat</a>,  <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/oglekler/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>oglekler</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lmurillom/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>lmurillom</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/yvettesonneveld/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>yvettesonneveld</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/meher/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>meher</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nalininonstopnewsuk/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>nalininonstopnewsuk</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/megphillips91/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>megphillips91</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/marks99/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>marks99</a>, <em><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/marybaum/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>marybaum</a></em></em>, <em><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/antialiasfactory/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>antialiasfactory</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/herculespekkas/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>herculespekkas</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chaion07/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>chaion07</a></em><br /><strong><em>Design:</em></strong><em> <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/melchoyce/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>melchoyce</a> </em></p>



<p><em>For a fuller list of the contributors who have been involved in training and Learn WordPress, visit <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2020/08/12/learn-wordpress-is-live/">the initial beta launch post</a>. Thanks to everyone who has been involved to date and will be in the future.&nbsp;</em></p>



<p><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/tag/learnwordpress">#LearnWordPress</a> <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/tag/learnwp">#LearnWP</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, 15 Dec 2020 13:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Hugh Lashbrooke";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:62:"WPTavern: Fast Brings One-Click Checkout to WooCommerce Stores";s:7:"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=108895";s:7:"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/fast-brings-one-click-checkout-to-woocommerce-stores?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fast-brings-one-click-checkout-to-woocommerce-stores";s: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:7203:"<p><a href="https://www.fast.co/">Fast</a>, a startup backed by Stripe, has just added <a href="https://www.fast.co/woocommerce">WooCommerce support</a> to its new <a href="https://www.fast.co/checkout">Fast Checkout</a> experience. The company was co-founded in March 2019, by Domm Holland and Allison Barr Allen, with investment from Stripe, Index Ventures, Susa Ventures, and Global Founders Capital. It has received <a href="https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/byepass/company_financials">$22.5M</a> in funding to reduce the friction that remains deeply embedded in login and checkout experiences.</p>



<p>Online shopping almost always involves a lengthy checkout form where customers have to enter passwords, addresses, and payment information nearly every time. This tedious experience is magnified when gift-giving holidays roll around. Fast&rsquo;s founders have set out to solve this problem with products aimed at modernizing the checkout experience to enable one-click purchasing.</p>



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



<p>Fast Checkout launched in September 2020, so if you haven&rsquo;t seen it around yet it&rsquo;s because it is relatively new and was previously limited to a handful of platforms. Expanding support to WooCommerce was a strategic move, as WordPress accounts for&nbsp;<a href="https://w3techs.com/technologies/details/cm-wordpress">39.3%</a>&nbsp;of the Alexa top 10 million websites. WooCommerce is running on 18% of the WordPress sites W3techs can detect. Fast CEO Domm Holland said the product&rsquo;s availability to WooCommerce increases the company&rsquo;s addressable market by over 2,500%.</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">from today, every single <a href="https://twitter.com/WooCommerce?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WooCommerce</a> store can now install 1-click checkout in minutes, so their customers can checkout in seconds &#128640;<br /><br />compared to yesterday, that increases <a href="https://twitter.com/fast?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@fast</a>' addressable market by over 2,500% <a href="https://t.co/wrqkUnAQVw">pic.twitter.com/wrqkUnAQVw</a></p>&mdash; domm (@domm) <a href="https://twitter.com/domm/status/1338493885245345793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2020</a></blockquote>
</div>



<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve received inquiries from thousands of sellers asking to add Fast on a variety of e-commerce platforms, including WooCommerce sellers,&rdquo;  Fast CCO Jason Alderman said. &ldquo;We prioritized WooCommerce as it automatically gives millions of new sellers access to Fast.&rdquo; </p>



<p>The company has seen a strong uptick in Fast Login adoption since launch, and Fast Checkout has had a promising debut. </p>



<p>&ldquo;For Fast Checkout, the value of merchandise purchased on the platform has more than tripled each month since launching in September,&rdquo; Alderman said. &ldquo;Although not WooCommerce sellers, Fast merchants such as Gerard and Hardwood Lumber are seeing up to 30% (and rising) adoption rates since deploying Fast Checkout and up to a 10% increase in order volume within just 30 days of implementation.&rdquo;</p>



<p>In order to gain all the benefits of Fast login and checkout, users have to sign up with a new service, which seems like it would be hurdle. Fast has embedded this process within the normal checkout flow so that it doesn&rsquo;t feel like the consumer has to sign up for something new. The first time a shopper makes a purchase on a site using Fast Checkout, they enter their contact information. and payment details as they normally would. </p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img />Fast Checkout form on mobile for first time checkout </div>



<p>After that purchase, their details are stored and every subsequent checkout experience on any website using Fast Checkout will only require one click. It works regardless of the device or browser used and does not require a password, the same as the Fast Login product.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img />Fast Checkout on mobile purchase complete</div>



<p>Although Fast Checkout and Login are free to use for buyers, getting store owners on board is going to be the primary challenge for Fast. It charges US sellers <a href="https://www.fast.co/pricing">2.9% +&nbsp;30c per transaction</a>. Fast&rsquo;s fees are not quite as steep as the 5% per shipment that Instagram will be charging for the <a href="https://wptavern.com/woocommerce-tests-new-instagram-shopping-checkout-feature-now-in-closed-beta">new Shopping Checkout feature that WooCommerce is testing</a>.  However, it may still be prohibitive for stores with narrow profit margins. Fast also has competition from the multiple one-click checkout extensions available for WooCommerce that do not charge transaction fees. </p>



<p>Fast claims that the one-click checkout button &ldquo;increases conversion, boosts sales, and delights customers&rdquo; If the checkout experience can deliver on those claims, then some store owners may be willing to part with the 2.9% fee in order to capture a larger percentage of the potential customers that are already arriving at their stores, instead of risking cart abandonment with a frustratingly long checkout process. Store owners are looking for any edge in an increasingly competitive landscape where the online retail giants continue to dominate.</p>



<p>The pandemic has caused <a href="https://wptavern.com/tectonic-shifts-in-retail-industry-are-creating-unprecedented-opportunities-for-independent-stores">radical shifts in the retail industry</a>, creating unprecedented opportunities for independent stores. Many WooCommerce developers and store owners have sought help for optimizing their stores after the pandemic caused business to increase exponentially overnight. A product like Fast Checkout is landing at the right time, as consumer spending habits have become forever altered by the rapid acceleration of the essential role of e-commerce for homebound people across the globe.</p>



<p>&ldquo;E-commerce giants have heightened consumers&rsquo; expectations for online shopping,&rdquo; Alderman said. &ldquo;And with the COVID-19 pandemic this year, more people than ever opted to shop online, but many independent businesses were not prepared to prioritize the online experience. By adding Fast Checkout to their stores, businesses of all sizes can access one-click checkout that offers the seamless experience consumers expect (and eliminates shopping cart abandonment that happens to up to <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.barilliance.com/cart-abandonment-rate-statistics/" target="_blank">80% of potential purchases</a>).&rdquo;</p>



<p>Fast is planning to expand its Checkout support to multiple new platforms in the coming months but did not have any details to share at this time. In addition to providing one-click checkout, Fast centralizes purchases across stores so that users can manage transactions, track shipments, and handle returns through a unified dashboard. Long term, the company is working on launching a universal subscription manager, which Alderman said is currently in development. </p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 15 Dec 2020 06:18:37 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:75:"WPTavern: G2 Components, a From-Scratch Reimagining of WordPress Components";s:7:"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=108342";s:7:"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/g2-components-a-from-scratch-reimagining-of-wordpress-components?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=g2-components-a-from-scratch-reimagining-of-wordpress-components";s: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>Update <em>some</em> of the things.</p>



<p>That was the goal that Jon Quach, a Principal Designer at Automattic, laid out in the <a href="https://g2components.wordpress.com/2020/11/02/the-path-to-integration/">roadmap for integrating the G2 Components project</a> into Gutenberg and, eventually, core WordPress. The project is a reimagining of the pieces that make the block editor, a &ldquo;from-scratch&rdquo; overhaul of the component system. Updating <em>all of the things</em> or even <em>many of the things</em> at once runs the risk of breaking everything.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Ideally, what should happen is you should update just some of the things in a very controlled and intentional manner,&rdquo; wrote Quach in the post. He likened it transitioning a city, section by section, to solar power until the traditional power factory could be shut down. You convert one piece, test, find problems, and correct them before moving to the next section.</p>



<p>That is the plan for integrating <a href="https://github.com/itsjonq/g2">G2 Components</a> into Gutenberg.</p>



<p>&ldquo;G2 Components is a project that embodies the idea of making user interfaces and user experiences better for others,&rdquo; said Quach. &ldquo;At the moment, it&rsquo;s materialized as a Component System designed to work within the context and environments of Gutenberg and WordPress.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The goal is to provide the resources to improve the Gutenberg project&rsquo;s UI. Components should make it easier to create newer UIs without hacking together code. Quach said the consistency and experiences of the Component System should scale and have a ripple effect throughout the WordPress platform. This will also extend to third-party block developers.</p>



<p>&ldquo;The code components are just the starting point,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;My ultimate goal is for this to transcend code and influence and elevate design as well &mdash; creating a unified Design System that enables and empowers folks to craft cohesive and feature-rich UI experiences within the world of WordPress.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Quach believes that platforms have benefited from having similar approaches. He mentioned Material Design by Google as having elevated the Android platform and bringing cohesion across the company&rsquo;s products.</p>



<p>The Gutenberg team has already started integrating the G2 Components into the project. This integration replaces WordPress components (<a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/packages/packages-components/">@wordpress/components</a>) in a controlled manner that should not break existing implementations within the core editor or third-party projects. New components will be swapped in as they become ready. &ldquo;Like flipping on a switch,&rdquo; said Quach.</p>



<p>The following video is an hour-long walkthrough of G2 Components that Quach posted on YouTube:</p>



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

</div>



<p>He routinely posts updates on the <a href="https://g2components.wordpress.com/">G2 Components blog</a>. Alongside those are deeper dives into his design thinking on the project. He also talks about the project on his <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/itsjonq">Twitch stream</a> almost daily.</p>



<h2>What Are Components?</h2>



<img />Screenshot of a component in the <a href="https://g2-components.xyz/">G2 Components Storybook</a>.



<p class="has-drop-cap">Components are everything from buttons to toggles to checkboxes. They are standardized pieces that make up the UI of the block editor. They are available for both core and third-party developers to create what end-users see and interact with. However, there was a problem with how the original component system was built.</p>



<p>&ldquo;The current components aren&rsquo;t built with a system in mind, but rather, to fulfill an immediate need,&rdquo; said Quach. &ldquo;This particular design detail is crucial. A systems-first approach more easily supports the addition of new features, and more importantly, customization!&rdquo;</p>



<p>The new approach is about building a native design system for WordPress. Such a system would allow anyone to build on top of it and create native experiences.</p>



<p>Quach said one of the easiest ways to look at this is from a backend theming perspective &mdash; the Component System also has a theming sub-system. &ldquo;Instead of the traditional method of writing CSS as a &lsquo;skin&rsquo; to layer on top, UI aesthetics can be adjusted through configuration values &mdash; similar to how WordPress can be configured with definitions in the <code>wp-config.php</code> file,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This distinction is important as these values tap directly into the Style system, allowing the styles to load correctly at the right place and at the right time. All without affecting the current environment&rsquo;s styles, and more importantly, not being affected by the current environment&rsquo;s styles.&rdquo;</p>



<p>He was responding to my question on why the component system should be rebuilt from scratch. The idea is to have components that &ldquo;just work&rdquo; in an environment such as the WordPress admin, such as making sure the existence of a WordPress theme&rsquo;s stylesheet does not break components simply by being loaded.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Why rethink, rebuild, and enhance Inputs, Buttons, Modals, Dropdowns, and others?&rdquo; countered Quach in response. &ldquo;So that you the developer don&rsquo;t have to.&rdquo;</p>



<h2>What Does This Mean For Developers?</h2>



<img />



<p class="has-drop-cap">Respecting backward-compatibility is something Quach said he took incredibly seriously when designing the architecture of the G2 Components project. He also said it was a part of the integration strategy he proposed.</p>



<p>&ldquo;I had mentioned that this project &rsquo;embodies the idea of making user interfaces and user experiences better for others,'&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Accounting for backward compatibility and supporting third-party migration absolutely falls under the category of user experience.&rdquo;</p>



<p>As the Gutenberg team continues integrating new components, it should not change what developers have already been doing. However, it could open up some new possibilities.</p>



<p>&ldquo;The new Component System will definitely help in the UI department,&rdquo; said Quach. &ldquo;One area I&rsquo;m particularly excited about is the rapid-development/prototyping space. Because these Components are self-contained units, they can be brought into platforms like <a href="https://codesandbox.io/">CodeSandbox</a> and they&hellip;just&hellip;work. You can hit the ground running and rapidly construct and share prototypes (ranging from tiny-yet-mighty to large and in-charge).&rdquo;</p>



<p>He said he has had success in testing component designs and demonstrating ideas for quick feedback. He has also worked from the opposite direction, building complex components in CodeSandbox and bringing them back into the Component System.</p>



<p>&ldquo;As a designer and front-end developer, I cannot stress how efficient, effective, and creatively liberating this &lsquo;micro building&rsquo; workflow is,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s something I&rsquo;m excited for others to experience as well.&rdquo;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 14 Dec 2020 21:10:46 +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:99:"WPTavern: BuddyPress 7.0.0 Adds 3 New Blocks and Admin Screens for Member and Group Type Management";s:7:"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=108753";s:7:"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:239:"https://wptavern.com/buddypress-7-0-adds-3-new-blocks-and-admin-screens-for-member-and-group-type-management?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=buddypress-7-0-adds-3-new-blocks-and-admin-screens-for-member-and-group-type-management";s: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:3149:"<p>BuddyPress <a href="https://buddypress.org/2020/12/buddypress-7-0-0-filippi/">7.0.0</a> &ldquo;Filippi&rdquo; was released this week, following <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-6-simone-includes-new-twenty-twenty-one-theme-and-improved-editor">WordPress 5.6</a> to ensure compatibility. This version was named for&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://realcheesepizza.com/" target="_blank">Filippi&rsquo;s Pizza Grotto</a>&nbsp;in California. It <a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2020/07/05/wordpress-required-version-update-2/">requires WordPress 4.9+</a>, but sites that are not using the block editor will miss out on many of the new features that make BuddyPress websites easier to customize.</p>



<p>The first set of community blocks was introduced earlier this year, allowing site owners to insert a specific Member or Group into any post or page. Version 7.0.0 adds three new blocks that make it easy to feature a list of members, a list of groups, or embed a public activity post.</p>



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



<p>Blocks make customizations easier for non-technical community managers. Years ago, you would have to write a custom query to display members, groups, or activities anywhere on a page or post. The other option was to install a plugin to do it and use a widget or shortcode to place it somewhere in the content.</p>



<p>The Groups block, for example, lets you select any number of groups using auto-complete, to create a custom list. The block&rsquo;s toolbar has an option for displaying the groups in a list or a grid. In the block settings, users can show or hide group names, select full or thumbnail versions for avatars, and include extra information about the group. </p>



<img />



<h3>New Administration Screens for Member and Group Type Management</h3>



<p>BuddyPress&rsquo; member types and group types&nbsp;are a feature similar to WordPress&rsquo; custom post types. They now have their own management screens in the admin, making them more accessible to community managers who would not be comfortable creating and modifying types without a UI. Member and group types can now be added, edited, and deleted directly in the admin. </p>



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

</div>Source: <a href="https://buddypress.org/2020/12/buddypress-7-0-0-filippi/">BuddyPress.org 7.0.0 release announcement</a>



<h3>New Default Profile Image for Network Sites</h3>



<p>Version 7.0.0 introduces the capability to add a default profile image for sites in a multisite network as part of the Site Tracking component. This can improve the appearance for the sites directory or the activity stream, when networked sites have not added a custom profile image.</p>



<p>A few other notable improvements in 7.0.0 include the BP Nouveau template pack updated to be compatible with the new Twenty Twenty-One default theme, improvements to the BP REST API, and&nbsp;BuddyPress CLI commands expanded to cover more aspects of community management. Check out the <a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/releases/version-7-0-0/">release notes</a> for a full list of changes.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 12 Dec 2020 04:09:16 +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: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:82:"WPTavern: EditorPlus 2.4 Released, Builds Upon Its ‘Extend Core Blocks’ 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=108825";s:7:"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:195:"https://wptavern.com/editorplus-2-4-released-builds-upon-its-extend-core-blocks-system?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=editorplus-2-4-released-builds-upon-its-extend-core-blocks-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:5285:"<p class="has-drop-cap">On Tuesday of this week, Munir Kamal released version 2.4 of his <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/editorplus/">EditorPlus plugin</a>. Aside from a few bugs and making sure the plugin was compatible with WordPress 5.6, he added an icon selector for the Button block and SVG shape overlays for the Image block. This is on top of a new &ldquo;Extend Core Blocks&rdquo; system he added in the previous version.</p>



<p>I last <a href="https://wptavern.com/editor-plus-2-1-overhauls-block-controls-ui-and-adds-lottie-animations">dove into the plugin</a> in early November. In Kamal&rsquo;s world, that may as well have been a lifetime ago. At an almost dizzying pace of development, he has since released three major updates to the plugin with several new features. I continue wondering where he not only finds the time to dedicate to the project for free but also where he keeps getting new ideas. Surely, some of them are coming from his growing user base. The plugin is still relatively young, and it has now passed 2,000 active installs.</p>



<h2>The Extend Core Blocks System</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">When Kamal first built EditorPlus, the idea was to create additional styling options for the WordPress core blocks. Essentially, the plugin allowed end-users to set custom values for CSS properties from an interface in the editor. This can get the average user pretty deep into customization. However, it is still somewhat limiting. There are things that web developers can do with code that go beyond what such a basic interface can do. The question then becomes: <em>how do you provide those advanced methods to users?</em></p>



<p>At the heart of the Extend Core Blocks system, which can be disabled from the plugin&rsquo;s settings screen, the plugin author wanted to push the limits of what is possible with WordPress&rsquo;s existing blocks.</p>



<p>&ldquo;There are different extensions in EditorPlus that offer different features that you can toggle on or off,&rdquo; said Kamal. &ldquo;Like the styling, animations, custom CSS, etc., and now this new one. This extension will offer additional functionalities/features for the core Gutenberg blocks. For example, the &lsquo;list block&rsquo; extended with the option to include icons, split into columns, and more. Similarly, the plan is to extend other core blocks with additional missing features as well.&rdquo;</p>



<img />Creating a two-column team list with icons.



<p>In version 2.3, he created the first set of options with the new system. Starting with the List block, he added columns, options, icons, and several other options. Users can pick and choose from a range of icons from the Font Awesome and Icon Moon libraries.</p>



<img />Adding a &ldquo;blob&rdquo; style to the Image block.



<p>My favorite new feature is the custom &ldquo;blob&rdquo; styles Kamal has added to the Image block. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve simply added 10 SVG shape masks as block styles for the core Image block,&rdquo; he said while also sharing a <a href="https://share.getcloudapp.com/v1u4xR58">demo video</a>.</p>



<p>While I am unsure if I have any immediate uses for blob-shaped images, I am excited about the possibility of other SVG shape masks landing in the future. I am sure there are many potential applications in design where they would be useful. If nothing else, they are fun to tinker around with.</p>



<img />Customizing icons for the Button block.



<p>Perhaps a bit more practical, Kamal added new icon options for the Button block. Like the List block, users can choose from both the Font Awesome and Icon Moon libraries. They can also select left or right alignment, change the background and foreground colors, round out the background with a border-radius option, and control the spacing.</p>



<p>There are a couple of other block-related plugins with similar icon options. However, having them baked into EditorPlus was a good decision. Most of the plugin&rsquo;s users will likely find themselves ditching other block plugins with so much available through one.</p>



<p>Kamal remained tight-lipped about any specific upcoming features in 2.5 and beyond. However, he did say that he would be continuing to build upon the Extend Core Blocks system. If his work thus far is any indication, it will be interesting to see what new options he brings to the other WordPress blocks.</p>



<h2>Background Options</h2>



<img />Adding an SVG background image to the Cover block.



<p class="has-drop-cap">While the new Extend Core Blocks system has been the focus of the last couple of releases, Kamal has added several other features. One of the biggest that he has pushed out is a set of new background options for every core block, which includes the following:</p>



<ul><li>Insert image via URL.</li><li>Background attachment option.</li><li>Background placement option.</li></ul>



<p>At this point, with EditorPlus, users can nearly do anything they need to do with backgrounds. The biggest boost of customizability comes with the image URL option, which means that users can even input a data URI for SVG patterns. <a href="https://www.heropatterns.com/">Hero Patterns</a> has a ton of options to choose from for anyone who wants to give it a spin.</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, 11 Dec 2020 21:35:07 +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: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:96:"WPTavern: GitHub Introduces Darkmode, Discussions for Public Repositories, and Dependency 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:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=108775";s:7:"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/github-introduces-darkmode-discussions-for-public-repositories-and-dependency-review?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=github-introduces-darkmode-discussions-for-public-repositories-and-dependency-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:3026:"<p>GitHub Universe, the company&rsquo;s annual marquee product and community event, took place this week, bringing users a flurry of new features. Dark mode is now in public beta and can be activated under the <a href="https://github.com/settings/appearance">Settings</a> menu or set to follow system preferences. </p>



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



<p>Discussions is a new feature that GitHub unveiled at its Satellite event in May to facilitate questions and open-ended conversations. The company has been testing it with open source communities like <a href="https://github.com/gatsbyjs/gatsby/discussions">Gatsby</a> and <a href="https://github.com/laravel/framework/discussions">Laravel</a> to iron out bugs ahead of the public launch. Discussions currently allows users to customize categories, transfer and pin discussions, and convert issues into discussion threads. Mobile support is coming soon.</p>



<p>Participants on Discussions can search or sort conversations by newest, top, answered, and unanswered. Threads can be upvoted for better exposure and a sidebar widget displays the &ldquo;most helpful&rdquo; users. Discussions are essentially a modernized forum, with a little bit of gamification sprinkled in. for good measure.  </p>



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



<p>Project maintainers for WordPress plugins, themes, and tools hosted on GitHub may want to explore Discussions to see if it could benefit their communities. The format is more approachable for less technical participants who may not be familiar with GitHub issues. </p>



<p>Building on the existing&nbsp;<a href="https://help.github.com/en/github/visualizing-repository-data-with-graphs/listing-the-packages-that-a-repository-depends-on#about-the-dependency-graph">dependency graph</a> and <a href="https://help.github.com/en/github/managing-security-vulnerabilities/about-security-alerts-for-vulnerable-dependencies">security alerts</a> features, GitHub is introducing dependency review as a way to help developers catch vulnerable code before it gets added to their projects. Dependency review displays the following information for each pull request:</p>



<ul><li>which dependencies were added, removed, or updated</li><li>release dates</li><li>how many projects use these components</li><li>vulnerability information for each dependency</li></ul>



<p>The beta for the dependency review feature is now open to all public repositories and will be gradually rolled out across GitHub in the next few weeks.</p>



<p>Other notable announcements include the ability to auto-merge pull requests when using protected branches, improvements to continuous delivery support, and GitHub Sponsors for companies, which allows organizations to use their existing billing to donate to open source developers and projects. Check out the full details in the <a href="https://github.blog/2020-12-08-new-from-universe-2020-dark-mode-github-sponsors-for-companies-and-more/">announcement summary</a> from the event.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 11 Dec 2020 04:42:17 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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:42:"BuddyPress: BuddyPress 7.0.0 “Filippi”";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"https://buddypress.org/?p=316067";s:7:"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://buddypress.org/2020/12/buddypress-7-0-0-filippi/";s: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:13194:"<p class="has-text-align-center">This major release introduces new administration screens to manage your Member &amp; Group Types <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f64c.png" alt="🙌" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<div class="wp-block-button aligncenter"><a class="wp-block-button__link has-background no-border-radius" href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/buddypress.7.0.0.zip">Get BuddyPress 7.0.0</a></div>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<p>We are very excited to announce the immediate availability of&nbsp;<strong>BuddyPress 7.0.0</strong>&nbsp;code-named &#8220;<strong>Filippi</strong>&#8220;. You can get it clicking on the above button, downloading it from the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress/">WordPress.org plugin directory</a>&nbsp;or checking it out from our&nbsp;<a href="https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/browser/branches/7.0">Subversion repository</a>.</p>



<p><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f449.png" alt="👉" class="wp-smiley" /> <em>If you’re upgrading from a previous version of BuddyPress, it’s always a good idea to back-up your WordPress database and files ahead of time.</em></p>



<p>You can review all of the changes in this 7.0.0 release in the&nbsp;<a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/releases/version-7-0-0/">release notes</a>. Below are a few of the key features we believe you are going to love!</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="has-text-align-center">You can now manage your Member Types and/or Group Types right from your WordPress Dashboard</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2020/12/bp-types-illustration.png"><img width="1043" height="492" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2020/12/bp-types-illustration.png" alt="Illustration showing how to access to the BP Types Admin areas." class="wp-image-316087" /></a></div>



<p>Playing with BP Types just became much easier! The Member Types and Group Types were primarily introduced in BuddyPress as features for advanced users, just like the WordPress Custom Post Type feature. Thanks to the two new&nbsp;<a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2020/09/21/bp-types-admin-ui/">WordPress Administration Screens</a>, adding, editing and deleting Member &amp; Group Types has never been so easy! Now you can set up BP Types using custom code or by simply using the Administration interfaces.</p>



<p>Let&#8217;s watch a demo about how it looks like for <strong>Member Types</strong>!</p>



<a href="https://cldup.com/YbQ4VLuax3.mp4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fullscreen</a>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="has-text-align-center">3 new BP Blocks for your WP Posts &amp; Pages</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><a href="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2020/12/bp-new-blocks.png"><img width="678" height="380" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2020/12/bp-new-blocks.png" alt="Illustration showing the BuddyPress Blocks category inside the Block Editor Inserter." class="wp-image-316092" /></a></div>



<p>3 new BP Blocks are now available via your WordPress Editor. From the BuddyPress blocks category of the WordPress Block Inserter, you can pick a BP Block to feature a list of members, a list of groups or embed a public BuddyPress Activity into your post or page. Read more about it in this&nbsp;<a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2020/10/14/three-new-blocks-to-expect-in-buddypress-7-0-0/">development note</a>.</p>



<p>Here&#8217;s a quick video showing you how to insert a list of Members profile images into your home page.</p>



<a href="https://cldup.com/pVH1gao77N.mp4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fullscreen</a>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="has-text-align-center">A default profile image for the sites of your network</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2020/12/default-blavatar.png"><img width="1099" height="771" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2020/12/default-blavatar.png" alt="Illustration of the BuddyPress Sites directory" class="wp-image-316102" /></a><em>Follow the white arrow to discover the new default profile image for sites.</em></div>



<p>The Site Tracking component now has a default profile image it can use to make your Sites loop prettier if some of them have not customized their WordPress Site Icon. Multisite WordPress configurations will be able to find it when displaying the Sites directory. Read more about it in the&nbsp;<a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2020/11/01/meet-the-new-default-avatar-for-sites/">development note</a>.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="has-text-align-center">BP Nouveau is ready for Twenty Twenty-One <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f3a8.png" alt="🎨" class="wp-smiley" /></h2>



<a href="https://cldup.com/9C2ImNubyC.mp4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fullscreen</a>



<p>You love the latest default WordPress Theme, so do we! It’s important for us to make sure the BP Nouveau template pack looks great in the default themes included in the WordPress package. This is the first of the many improvements we are bringing to our default Template Pack.</p>



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<h2 class="has-text-align-center">BP REST API improvements</h2>



<div><span class="dashicons dashicons-rest-api"></span></div>



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<p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://developer.buddypress.org/bp-rest-api/">Developer documentation</a>&nbsp;has been updated according to the latest improvements we’ve brought to the BuddyPress REST API.</p>



<p>To name two: get the groups the logged in user is a member of, and create a blog when BuddyPress is activated on a network of WordPress sites. Read this&nbsp;<a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2020/11/14/buddypress-rest-api-whats-new-in-7-0-0/">development note</a>&nbsp;to learn about all the others.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="has-text-align-center">Improved support for WP CLI</h2>



<div><span class="dashicons dashicons-arrow-right-alt2"></span></div>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<p>WP-CLI is the command-line interface for WordPress. You can update plugins, configure multisite installs, and much more, all without using a web browser. In 7.0.0, you will be able to use new BuddyPress CLI commands to manage BuddyPress Group Meta, BuddyPress Activity Meta, activate or deactivate the BuddyPress signup feature and create BuddyPress-specific testing code for plugins.</p>



<p>Discover more about it from this&nbsp;<a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2020/10/09/wp-cli-buddypress-2-0/">developer note</a>.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="has-text-align-center">Under the hood</h2>



<div><span class="dashicons dashicons-admin-generic"></span></div>



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<p>7.0.0 includes more than 70 changes such as image lazy loading support, multiple Member Type assignment, a Docker ready development environment to improve your BuddyPress experience as users, and as contributors to our project.</p>



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<h2 class="has-text-align-center">Many thanks to the 55 contributors who helped us build &amp; translate BuddyPress 7.0.0</h2>



<div><span class="dashicons dashicons-buddicons-buddypress-logo"></span></div>



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<p><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/oztaser/">Adil Oztaser (oztaser)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/boonebgorges/">Boone B Gorges (boonebgorges)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sbrajesh/">Brajesh Singh (sbrajesh)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/corsky/">corsky</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dancaragea/">Dan Caragea (dancaragea)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dcavins/">David Cavins (dcavins)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/devnik/">devnik</a>,<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dilipbheda/">Dilip Bheda</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dd32/">Dion Hulse (dd32)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dragoeco/">dragoeco</a>,<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kebbet/">Erik Betshammar (kebbet)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/etatus/">etatus</a>, <a href="https://github.com/ExoGeek/">Didier Saintes (ExoGeek)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/f2010525/">诗语 (f2010525)</a>,<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mamaduka/">George Mamadashvili</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mociofiletto/">Giuseppe (mociofiletto)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hareesh-pillai/">Hareesh</a>,<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/iamthewebb/">iamthewebb</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nobnob/">Javier Esteban (nobnob)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/audrasjb/">Jb Audras (audrasjb)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/johnjamesjacoby/">John James Jacoby (johnjamesjacoby)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joost-abrahams/">Joost Abrahams (joost-abrahams)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/k3690/">k3690</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/knutsp/">Knut Sparhell (knutsp)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/laxman-prajapati/">Laxman Prajapati</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lidialab/">Lidia Pellizzaro (lidialab)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/marbaque/">marbaque</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://github.com/geckse/">Marcel Claus (geckse)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/marioshtika/">marioshtika</a>,<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/markscottrobson/">Mark Robson (markscottrobson)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/imath/">Mathieu Viet (imath)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mercime/">mercime</a>,&nbsp; <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/immeet94/">Meet Makadia</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tw2113/">Michael Beckwith</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/man4toman/">Morteza Geransayeh (man4toman)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/morenolq/">morenolq</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/n33d/">N33D</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/oddev56/">oddev56</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/DJPaul/">Paul Gibbs (DJPaul)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/walbo/">Petter Walbø Johnsgård (walbo)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/psmits1567/">Peter Smits (psmits1567)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pooja1210/">Pooja N Muchandikar (pooja1210)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/raruto/">Raruto</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/r-a-y/">r-a-y</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/espellcaste/">Renato Alves (espellcaste)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/scipi/">scipi</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/scottopolis/">Scott Bolinger (scottopolis)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/shanebp/">shanebp</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/shawfactor/">shawfactor</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sjregan/">sjregan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/netweb/">Stephen Edgar (netweb)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tharsheblows/">tharsheblows</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tobifjellner/">Tor-Bjorn Fjellner (tobifjellner)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/vapvarun/">Varun Dubey (vapvarun)</a> &amp; <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/podporawebu/">wp24.cz (podporawebu)</a>.</p>



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<h2 class="has-text-align-center">BuddyPress <strong>Filippi</strong></h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img width="150" height="150" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2019/09/pizza.png" alt="" class="wp-image-308073" /></div>



<p>7.0.0 is code-named <strong>&#8220;Filippi&#8221;</strong> after <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://realcheesepizza.com/" target="_blank">Filippi&#8217;s Pizza Grotto</a> in lovely San Diego, California, USA. The &#8220;Grotto&#8221; is in the back room of an Italian grocery and butcher shop in Little Italy. Tall pizza lovers will have to watch out for the Chianti bottles hanging from the ceiling, but the red-and-white-checked-tablecloth atmosphere and piled-high pizza is worth it!</p>



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<h2 class="has-text-align-center">Feedback is always welcome <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f60d.png" alt="😍" class="wp-smiley" /></h2>



<div><span class="dashicons dashicons-megaphone"></span></div>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<p>Receiving your feedback &amp; suggestions for future versions of BuddyPress genuinely motivates and encourages our contributors. Please share your feedback about this version of BuddyPress in the comments area of this post. And of course, if you&#8217;ve found a bug: please tell us about it into our <a href="https://buddypress.org/support/">Support forums</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 10 Dec 2020 22:00:07 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12:"Mathieu Viet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:80:"WPTavern: State of the Word 2020 Scheduled for December 17, with Virtual Q&amp;A";s:7:"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=108628";s:7:"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/state-of-the-word-2020-scheduled-for-december-17-with-virtual-qa?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=state-of-the-word-2020-scheduled-for-december-17-with-virtual-qa";s: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:5941:"<p>WordCamp US 2020, previously scheduled for October, was cancelled due to <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-us-2020-canceled-due-to-pandemic-stress-and-online-event-fatigue">pandemic stress and online event fatigue</a>. Organizers did not opt for running it as an online event, but Matt Mullenweg&rsquo;s annual State of the Word address will be delivered virtually this year. It will be streamed on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WordPress/">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/wordpress">YouTube</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/wordpress">Twitter</a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20201217T08&p0=224&msg=State+of+the+Word+2020&font=slab&csz=1">Thursday, Dec 17th, 2020&nbsp; at 1600 UTC</a>.</p>



<p>In previous years, the State of the Word has been one the most highly anticipated keynotes at WordCamp US. Attendees pack into the venue&rsquo;s auditorium in anticipation of hearing about all of the highlights and milestones the WordPress community has achieved over the past year. Mullenweg often uses the time to recast his vision for the project and deliver important announcements. </p>



<p>This year has been unlike anything we have experienced before, but one thing has remained constant &ndash; WordPress&rsquo; phenomenal growth continues, as other major open source CMS&rsquo;s are slowly declining. It is currently sitting at <a href="https://w3techs.com/technologies/details/cm-wordpress">39.3%</a> of the Alexa top 10 million,&nbsp;4.2% higher than November 2019, according to Joost de Valk&rsquo;s biannual <a href="https://joost.blog/cms-market-share-november-2020-analysis/">analysis</a> of the CMS market share. de Valk attributes much of that growth to WooCommerce, which accounts for more than 18% of all the WordPress sites W3techs can detect. </p>



<p>Despite the global upheaval caused by the coronavirus, WordPress&rsquo; development has remained steady. More than 605 people contributed to the last major release (5.6) and there were 805 for the previous release (with 38% of them being new contributors.) In addition to reinventing WordCamps for the new virtual event frontier, the community team has also <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2020/08/12/learn-wordpress-is-live/">launched</a> the <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/">Learn WordPress</a> platform to make educational resources more globally available, placing a new emphasis on training. The platform is cracking open a world of WordPress knowledge that was previously relegated to more limited in-person audiences.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Since we&rsquo;ve collectively come to the realization that talks and training content can be delivered and consumed asynchronously, there will be less need to use the high-bandwidth time of physical events to passively watch a talk where we aren&rsquo;t actively engaging with others,&rdquo; WordPress community manager Hugh Lashbrooke said in a <a href="https://hugh.blog/2020/12/03/building-community-in-a-post-covid-world/">post</a> with predictions on post-COVID community building. &ldquo;The focus of these valuable meetings will rather be on interpersonal connection and mutual learning through active participation.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Lashbrooke&rsquo;s predictions recognize a friction that has always existed at WordCamps: the &ldquo;hallway track&rdquo; is more engaging and more popular than most of the talks given at events. It&rsquo;s the interpersonal connection that people crave more than turning up for sessions that are usually being recorded anyway.</p>



<p>To those who have been homebound for the better part of this year, it may feel as though the world is standing still. But the WordPress community has put many meaningful changes in motion in response to the pandemic&rsquo;s unique challenges. Despite all the uncertainty, WordPress is moving forward like a steady ship, with reliable improvements to the software and the community, thanks to the goodwill and cooperation of its unwavering base of contributors. This stability is worthy of commendation among this year&rsquo;s milestones and is a testament to the maturity of the project.</p>



<h3>Join the Virtual Q&amp;A by Submitting a Pre-Recorded Video</h3>



<p>Matt Mullenweg will be running the Q&amp;A portion of his address virtually this year, with pre-recorded videos of questions from the audience. WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2020/12/state-of-the-word-2020/">outlined</a> the instructions for participating:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>To take part, record a video of you asking your question to Matt on your computer or phone (landscape format, please). Don&rsquo;t forget to include your name and how you use WordPress! Try to keep your video to under a minute so Matt can answer as many questions as possible. </p></blockquote>



<p>There are some positive aspects of this method but also a few drawbacks. It can create a more polished and efficient experience of Q&amp;A where the audience is less likely to have to sit through long, rambling questions. It also allows equal opportunity for people living in all time zones to submit a question.</p>



<p>On the other hand, the questions will be screened and pre-selected, allowing more preparation time for the answers. A live Q&amp;A offers the opportunity to catch the person off guard and get answers that might not be delivered the same way in a different format. Pre-recorded videos have a few trade-offs but they may be the best option we have for this event.</p>



<p>The deadline to submit video questions is Friday, December 11, 2020. Haden recommends participants upload their videos to YouTube as &ldquo;<a href="https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/157177">unlisted</a>&rdquo; and send a link to&nbsp;<a href="mailto:ask-matt@wordcamp.org">ask-matt@wordcamp.org</a>.&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:"Thu, 10 Dec 2020 05:57:20 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:23;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:93:"WPTavern: WordPress 5.6 “Simone” Includes New Twenty Twenty-One Theme and Improved 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=108446";s:7:"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:219:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-6-simone-includes-new-twenty-twenty-one-theme-and-improved-editor?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wordpress-5-6-simone-includes-new-twenty-twenty-one-theme-and-improved-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:9657:"<img />Nina Simone<br />License: CC0 | Credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nina_Simone_geeft_een_interview_in_het_Hilton_in_Amsterdam_in_het_kader_van_haar_nieuwe_album_%27Pastel_Blues%27,_NL-HlmNHA_1478_03720_K.JPG">Noord-Hollands Archief / Fotoburo de Boer</a>



<p class="has-drop-cap">WordPress 5.6 &ldquo;Simone,&rdquo; named in honor of American performer and civil rights activist Nina Simone, was <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2020/12/simone/">released today</a> and is now available for download. The release was led by an <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-6-development-kicks-off-with-all-women-release-squad">all-women release squad</a>, a first in WordPress history. The new version includes many enhancements for the block editor, accessibility improvements, application password support for the REST API, and a new default theme.</p>



<p>This release saw contributions from 605 volunteers who were involved with almost 350 Trac tickets and over 1,000 pull requests on GitHub.</p>



<p>The following women formed the release squad for the 5.6 release:</p>



<ul><li><strong>Release Lead:</strong> Josepha Haden. Cohort: Chlo&eacute; Bringmann and Angela Jin.</li><li><strong>Release Coordinator:</strong> Dee Teal. Cohort: Thelma Mutete and Laura Nelson.</li><li><strong>Triage Lead:</strong> Tonya Mork.</li><li><strong>Core Tech Lead:</strong> Helen Hou-Sand&igrave;. Cohort: Amy Kamala and Ebonie Butler.</li><li><strong>Editor Tech Lead: </strong>Isabel Brison. Cohort: Chandrika Guntur, Anchen le Roux, and Rebecca Hum.</li><li><strong>Design Leads:</strong> Ellen Bauer and Tammie Lister. Cohort: Anyssa Ferreira, Estela Rueda, Tracy Apps, and Sophia DeRosia.</li><li><strong>Design Tech Lead:</strong> Shital Marakana.</li><li><strong>Accessibility Lead:</strong> Sarah Ricker. Cohort: Hauwa Abashiya.</li><li><strong>Marketing and Communications Leads:</strong> Abha Thakor and Yvette Sonneveld. Cohort: Nalini Thakor, Meher Bala, Olga Gleckler, Larissa Murrillo, Michelle Frechette, Breann McDede, and Afshana Diya.</li><li><strong>Documentation Lead:</strong> Shawntelle Coker. Cohort: Daisy Olsen, Meher Bala, and Winstina Hughes.</li><li><strong>Documentation Review Lead:</strong> Michele Butcher-Jones. Cohort: Nidhi Jain and Laura Byrne Cristiano.</li><li><strong>Default Theme Design Lead:</strong> Mel Choyce-Dwan. Cohort: Ellen Bauer.</li><li><strong>Default Theme Development Lead:</strong> Carolina Nymark. Cohort: Kelly Choyce-Dwan&nbsp;and Jessica Lyschik.</li><li><strong>Default Theme Wrangler:</strong> Jessica Lyschik.</li><li><strong>Test Lead: </strong>Monika Rao. Cohort: Allie Nimmons.</li><li><strong>Support Lead:</strong> Bet Hannon.</li></ul>



<p>At times, the 5.6 development cycle felt a bit rocky. Block-based <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-6-release-team-pulls-the-plug-on-block-based-widgets">widgets</a> and <a href="https://wptavern.com/navigation-screen-sidelined-for-wordpress-5-6-full-site-editing-edges-closer-to-public-beta">nav menus</a>, features expected to ship, were punted for a second time to a future release. These were hard decisions, but good leadership means making tough calls to hold off on features that are not ready for production.</p>



<p>&ldquo;You know, I was really hopeful for it too, and that last-minute call was one I labored over,&rdquo; said Josepha Haden after pushing block-based widgets back. &ldquo;When I last looked, it did seem close to ready, but then more focused testing was done and there were some interactions that are a little rough for users. I&rsquo;m grateful for that because the time to discover painful user experiences is before launch rather than after!&rdquo;</p>



<p>Despite dropping what would have been major transitional features from the classic WordPress theming paradigm in preparation for WordPress 5.7&rsquo;s expected site editor, the release still has a lot to offer.</p>



<h2>Block Editor Enhancements</h2>



<img />New dropdown for selecting block pattern category.



<p class="has-drop-cap">The Gutenberg plugin development team continues to make small but vital improvements to the block editor. They have also tacked on many new features in the past few months. Features from Gutenberg versions 8.6 &ndash; 9.2 are included in the update, along with bug fixes and performance improvements from 9.3 and 9.4.</p>



<p>Much of the work this development cycle has been focused on the upcoming site editor. There was some initial hope that a beta version of it would land in the 5.6 release. It was a part of the proposed scope. However, the feature is still months away from being ready. This is not a bad thing. It needs more time to mature, and there should be no rush in integrating a feature that affects so many pieces of the platform.</p>



<p>What end-users will see with this update is a more polished editor. Whether it is extra options for blocks or a dropdown select for block pattern categories, hundreds of minor changes have all led to a better overall experience.</p>



<p>WP Tavern has covered nearly every major Gutenberg plugin release this cycle &mdash; <em>looks like we missed 8.8, sorry</em>. Catch up with anything you missed about editor changes from the following posts:</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-8-6-adds-cover-block-video-positioning-and-updates-block-patterns">Gutenberg 8.6 Adds Cover Block Video Positioning and Updates Block Patterns</a></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-8-7-adds-minor-changes-updates-block-pattern-designs-and-continues-full-site-editing-work">Gutenberg 8.7 Adds Minor Changes, Updates Block Pattern Designs, and Continues Full-Site Editing Work</a></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-8-9-brings-block-based-widgets-out-of-the-experimental-stage">Gutenberg 8.9 Brings Block-Based Widgets Out of the Experimental Stage</a></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-9-0-brings-major-improvements-to-navigation-screen-and-query-block">Gutenberg 9.0 Brings Major Improvements to Navigation Screen and Query Block</a></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-9-1-adds-patterns-category-dropdown-and-reverts-block-based-widgets-in-the-customizer">Gutenberg 9.1 Adds Patterns Category Dropdown and Reverts Block-Based Widgets in the Customizer</a></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-9-2-adds-video-tracks-improvements-to-columns-and-cover-blocks">Gutenberg 9.2 Adds Video Tracks, Improvements to Columns and Cover Blocks</a></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-9-3-provides-indicator-of-where-full-site-editing-is-going-a-future-without-widgets-and-customizer-screens">Gutenberg 9.3 Provides Indicator of Where Full-Site Editing Is Going, a Future Without Widgets and Customizer Screens</a></li><li><a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-9-4-introduces-button-width-selector-and-typography-controls-for-list-block">Gutenberg 9.4 Introduces Button Width Selector and Typography Controls for List Block</a></li></ul>



<h2>Twenty Twenty-One Theme</h2>



<img />Inserting a Twenty Twenty-One block pattern into a post.



<p class="has-drop-cap">Twenty Twenty-One, <a href="https://wptavern.com/first-look-at-twenty-twenty-one-wordpresss-upcoming-default-theme">the new default theme</a> for the upcoming year, takes full advantage of all the latest and greatest features of the block editor. While last year&rsquo;s Twenty Twenty theme had a successful launch, the development team behind the new default has had more time to explore building themes in the block era.</p>



<p>The theme makes use of more visual artistry. It will not be for everyone. It offers a wide range of color schemes for end-users, but it lends itself best to bloggers and other creators who prefer a bit of flair with their website&rsquo;s design.</p>



<p>The best thing is that it pushes the envelope with the block patterns feature, which was not available when Twenty Twenty landed a year ago. Older default themes will be <a href="https://wptavern.com/past-twenty-wordpress-themes-to-get-new-block-patterns">getting the block-pattern treatment</a>. However, Twenty Twenty-One will be the first default built with custom patterns in mind from the get-go.</p>



<p>For users who cannot wait for the site editor to land in WordPress, expected in some form in the 5.7 release, there is an alternate <a href="https://wptavern.com/twenty-twenty-one-blocks-theme-launching-as-a-separate-project">Twenty Twenty-One Blocks</a> theme to tinker with.</p>



<h2>Application Passwords for the REST API</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">Despite being a part of the core platform since 2015, the REST API has lacked support for application passwords. Such a feature is vital for third-party applications to communicate with WordPress. Previously, requests had to be run through cookie and nonce-based authentication. Else, they would need to use the legacy XML-RPC API. This limitation has also affected the mobile WordPress development teams, making it tough to support the block editor, which relies on the REST API.</p>



<p>The <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-6-to-introduce-application-passwords-for-rest-api-authentication">application passwords feature</a> will make it easier for applications to make API requests as well as request and revoke credentials.</p>



<p>The REST API promised a future for all types of applications built upon and around WordPress. However, this vision has not panned out over the years on a broad scale. With a major limiting factor removed, perhaps there is still hope for robust applications in the coming years.</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, 09 Dec 2020 00:07:16 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:38:"WPTavern: Automattic Acquires MailPoet";s:7:"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=108663";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:121:"https://wptavern.com/automattic-acquires-mailpoet?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=automattic-acquires-mailpoet";s: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:3584:"<p>Automattic has <a href="https://www.mailpoet.com/blog/mailpoet-joins-woocommerce/">acquired MailPoet</a>, a popular email marketing solution for WordPress, to give WooCommerce store owners more integrated email management capabilities in the admin. The plugin is used by more than 300,000 websites for everything from building a mailing list to managing transaction and abandoned cart emails. The nine-year old company is now a team of 11 that will be joining Automattic.</p>



<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/mailpoet/">MailPoet</a> launched in 2011 under the name WYSIJA (&ldquo;What you send is just awesome&rdquo;), a branding misstep that founder and CEO Kim Gjerstad readily <a href="https://freemius.com/blog/interview-kim-gjerstad-mailpoet/">acknowledged</a> as &ldquo;a terrible idea.&rdquo; The name was difficult to spell and remember. It was changed early on but the company was stuck with the &ldquo;WYSIJA&rdquo; slug in the WordPress plugins directory, a common issue for many plugins that have rebranded. </p>



<p>When MailPoet version 3 was released in 2017, the company was finally able to get the &ldquo;mailpoet&rdquo; slug in the plugin&rsquo;s URL on WordPress.org. Version 2, which still has more than 100,000 users, has support for multisite and uses the old email designer, among other <a href="https://kb.mailpoet.com/article/189-comparison-of-mailpoet-2-and-3">differences</a>. MailPoet 2 has received security updates for the past three years and plans to continue these following the acquisition.</p>



<p>Gjerstad reported that nearly a quarter of MailPoet users are running WooCommerce stores. The plugin&rsquo;s developers have been <a href="https://www.mailpoet.com/woocommerce-email-marketing/">expanding its WooCommerce functionality</a> over the past three years with features that help store owners catch customers&rsquo; emails at checkout, measure revenue per email, send automated emails using purchase data based on products purchased or product categories, customize store emails, and recover abandoned carts. </p>



<p>Earlier this year MailPoet <a href="https://www.mailpoet.com/blog/mailpoet-smtp-plugin/">introduced its own SMTP solution</a> to ensure emails sent from the plugin land in recipients&rsquo; inboxes, instead of flagged as spam. This silent background feature includes store emails as well, bringing higher deliverability without users having to depend on separate SMTP plugins.</p>



<p>In WooCommerce&rsquo;s acquisition <a href="https://woocommerce.com/posts/better-email-marketing-woocommerce-welcomes-mailpoet/">announcement</a>, CEO Paul Maiorana said adding MailPoet &ldquo;helps accelerate our roadmap toward a fully-integrated commerce experience.&rdquo; Last year Maiorana and Gjerstad met at WordCamp U.S. and exchanged ideas about a partnership.</p>



<p>&ldquo;As our conversation progressed in the following months, we came to realize that we shared a common vision for stores; with store owners being able to access email right in their dashboard,&rdquo; Gjerstad said.</p>



<p> Maiorana said Automattic&rsquo;s initial focus of the acquisition is to work together on improving the experience for WooCommerce users, but the company plans to &ldquo;evolve our collaboration in a way that can benefit the entire WordPress community.&rdquo; MailPoet&rsquo;s FAQ&rsquo;s on the announcement reiterate that all WordPress users will continue to be able to use the plugin, even if they do not have a WooCommerce store. There are no immediate changes planned for the plugin&rsquo;s features.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 09 Dec 2020 00:00:56 +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: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:46:"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 5.6 “Simone”";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=9325";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:42:"https://wordpress.org/news/2020/12/simone/";s: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:58900:"<p>Meet Simone, our latest and greatest WordPress release. Named for the legendary performer Nina Simone, who is known for tunes like &#8220;Feeling Good&#8221;, &#8220;Young, Gifted and Black&#8221;, and &#8220;Four Women&#8221;. Fire up a playlist with her best work and read on to discover what we have in store for you. </p>



<img width="632" height="633" src="https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2020/12/wordpress-5-6_cover-a11y.jpg?resize=632%2C633&ssl=1" alt="WordPress 5.6 Simone with a photo of Nina Simone" class="wp-image-9416" />



<div class="wp-block-cover has-background-dim"><div class="wp-block-cover__inner-container">
<p class="has-text-align-center has-black-color has-text-color has-background has-large-font-size">Welcome to WordPress 5.6</p>
<h3 class="has-text-align-center has-black-color has-text-color">Sharing your stories has never been easier.</h3>
</div></div>



<p>WordPress 5.6 brings you countless ways to set your ideas free and bring them to life. With a brand-new default theme as your canvas, it supports an ever-growing collection of blocks as your brushes. Paint with words. Pictures. Sound. Or rich embedded media.</p>



<img width="632" height="234" src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2020/12/WordPress5-6-1.jpeg?resize=632%2C234&ssl=1" alt="colored circles" class="wp-image-9346" />



<h3>Greater layout flexibility</h3>



<p>Bring your stories to life with more tools that let you edit your layout with or without code. Single column blocks, designs using mixed widths and columns, full-width headers, and gradients in your cover block—make small changes or big statements with equal ease!</p>



<h3>More block patterns</h3>



<p>In some themes, preconfigured block patterns make setting up standard pages on your site a breeze. Let the power of patterns streamline your workflow and save you clicks. Plus, share these features with clients, editors, and more.</p>



<h3>Better video captioning</h3>



<p>To help you add subtitles or captions to your videos, you can now upload them within your post or page. This makes it easier than ever to make your videos accessible for anyone who needs or prefers to use subtitles.</p>



<img width="632" height="120" src="https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2020/12/WordPress5-6-2.jpeg?resize=632%2C120&ssl=1" alt="black vertical line" class="wp-image-9347" />



<h2>Twenty Twenty-One is here!</h2>



<a href="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2020/12/TT1-Screenshots-Compressed.png?ssl=1"><img width="632" height="714" src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2020/12/TT1-Screenshots-Compressed.png?resize=632%2C714&ssl=1" alt="Examples of block patterns available in Twenty Twenty-One." class="wp-image-9426" /></a>



<p>Twenty Twenty-One is a blank canvas for your ideas, and the block editor is the best brush. It is built for the block editor and packed with brand-new block patterns you can only get in the default themes. Try different layouts in a matter of seconds, and let the theme’s eye-catching, yet timeless design make your work shine.&nbsp;</p>



<p>What’s more, this default theme puts accessibility at the heart of your website. It conforms to the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/handbook/review/accessibility/">WordPress accessibility-ready guidelines</a> and addresses several more specialized standards from the <a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG2AAA-Conformance">Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at level AAA</a>. It will help you meet the highest level of international accessibility standards when you create accessible content and choose plugins which are accessible too!</p>



<h3>A rainbow of soft pastels</h3>



<a href="https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2020/12/Rainbow-Compressed.png?ssl=1"><img width="632" height="167" src="https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2020/12/Rainbow-Compressed.png?resize=632%2C167&ssl=1" alt="A mobile screenshot of each included color palette in Twenty Twenty-One, going in ROYGBIV order." class="wp-image-9424" /></a>



<p>Perfect for a new year, Twenty Twenty-One gives you a range of pre-selected color palettes in pastel, all of which conform to AAA standards for contrast. You can also choose your own background color for the theme, and the theme chooses accessibility-conscious text colors for you — automatically!</p>



<p>Need more flexibility than that? You can also choose your own color palette from the color picker.</p>



<img width="632" height="151" src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2020/12/WordPress5-6-3.jpeg?resize=632%2C151&ssl=1" alt="colored circles" class="wp-image-9351" />



<h2>Improvements for everyone</h2>



<h3>Expanding auto-updates</h3>



<p>For years, only developers have been able to update WordPress automatically. But now you have that option, right in your dashboard. If this is your first site, you have auto-updates ready to go, right now! Upgrading an existing site? No problem! Everything is the same as it was before.</p>



<h3>Accessibility Statement&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Even if you’re not an expert, you can start letting others know about your site’s commitment to accessibility! The new <a href="https://github.com/10degrees/accessibility-statement-plugin">feature plugin</a> includes template copy for you to edit and publish, and it’s written to support different contexts and jurisdictions.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h3>Built-in Patterns</h3>



<p>If you’ve not had the chance to play with block patterns yet, all default themes now feature a range of block patterns that let you master complex layouts with minimal effort. Customize the patterns to your liking with the copy, images, and colors that fit your story or brand.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="632" height="185" src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2020/12/WordPress-5-6-4.jpeg?resize=632%2C185&ssl=1" alt="colored and textured rectangles" class="wp-image-9352" />



<h2>For developers</h2>



<h3>REST API authentication with Application Passwords</h3>



<p>Thanks to the API’s new Application Passwords authorization feature, third-party apps can connect to your site seamlessly and securely. This new REST API feature lets you see what apps are connecting to your site and control what they do.&nbsp;</p>



<h3>More PHP 8 support</h3>



<p>5.6 marks the first steps toward WordPress Core support for PHP 8. Now is a great time to start planning how your WordPress products, services, and sites can support the latest PHP version. For more information about what to expect next, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/23/wordpress-and-php-8-0/">read the PHP 8 developer note</a>.</p>



<h3>jQuery</h3>



<p>Updates to jQuery in WordPress take place across three releases 5.5, 5.6, and 5.7. As we reach the mid-point of this process, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-jquery-update-test/">run the update test plugin to check your sites for errors</a> ahead of time.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>If you find issues with the way your site looks ( e.g. a slider doesn’t work, a button is stuck — that sort of thing), install <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/enable-jquery-migrate-helper/">the jQuery Migrate plugin</a>.</p>



<h3>Check out the Field Guide</h3>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/20/wordpress-5-6-field-guide/">Read about the latest version of WordPress in this guide.</a> It highlights developer notes for each change in the release.&nbsp;</p>



<div class="wp-block-cover has-background-dim"><div class="wp-block-cover__inner-container">
<p class="has-text-align-center has-black-color has-text-color has-background has-large-font-size">“It’s a new day, it’s a new life for me&#8230;.and I’m feeling good.”</p>
<h3 class="has-text-align-center has-black-color has-text-color">~Nina Simone</h3>
</div></div>



<h2>The Squad</h2>



<p>The WordPress 5.6 release comes to you from an all-women and non-binary identifying release squad:  </p>



<ul><li><strong>Release Lead:</strong> Josepha Haden (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/">@chanthaboune</a>).&nbsp; Cohort: Chloé Bringmann (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cbringmann/">@cbringmann</a>) and Angela Jin (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/angelasjin/">@angelasjin</a>).</li><li><strong>Release Coordinator:</strong> Dee Teal (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/thewebprincess/">@thewebprincess</a>).&nbsp; Cohort: Thelma Mutete (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/thelmachido/">@thelmachido</a>) and Laura Nelson (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/laurora/">@laurora</a>).</li><li><strong>Triage Lead:</strong> Tonya Mork (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hellofromtonya/">@hellofromtonya</a>).&nbsp;</li><li><strong>Core Tech Lead:</strong> Helen Hou-Sandì (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/helen/">@helen</a>).&nbsp; Cohort: Amy Kamala (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/amykamala/">@amykamala</a>) and Ebonie Butler (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/metalandcoffee/">@metalandcoffee</a>).</li><li><strong>Editor Tech Lead:</strong> Isabel Brison (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/isabel_brison/">@isabel_brison</a>).&nbsp; Cohort: Chandrika Guntur (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cguntur/">@cguntur</a>), Anchen le Roux (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/anchenlr/">@anchenlr</a>), and Rebecca Hum (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rebasaurus/">@rebasaurus</a>).</li><li><strong>Design Leads:</strong> Ellen Bauer (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/elmastudio/">@elmastudio</a>) and Tammie Lister (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/karmatosed/">@karmatosed</a>).&nbsp; Cohort: Anyssa Ferreira (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/anyssa/">@anyssa</a>), Estela Rueda (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/estelaris/">@estelaris</a>), Tracy Apps (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tray/">@tray</a>), and Sophia DeRosia (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/eringoblog/">@eringoblog</a>).</li><li><strong>Design Tech Lead:</strong> Shital Marakana (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/shital-patel/">@shital-patel</a>).</li><li><strong>Accessibility Lead:</strong> Sarah Ricker (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sarahricker/">@sarahricke<strong>r</strong></a>).&nbsp;Cohort: Hauwa Abashiya (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/azhiyadev/">@azhiyadev</a>).</li><li><strong>Marketing &amp; Communications Leads:</strong> Abha Thakor (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/webcommsat/">@webcommsat</a>) and Yvette Sonneveld (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/yvettesonneveld/">@yvettesonneveld</a>).&nbsp;Cohort: Nalini Thakor (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nalininonstopnewsuk/">@nalininonstopnewsuk</a>), Meher Bala (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/meher/">@meher</a>), Olga Gleckler (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/oglekler/">@ogleckler</a>), Larissa Murrillo (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lmurillom/">@lmurillom</a>), Michelle Frechette (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/michelleames/">@michelleames</a>), Breann McDede (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bmcdede/">@bmcdede</a>), and Afshana Diya (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/afshanadiya/">@afshanadiya</a>).</li><li><strong>Documentation Lead: </strong>Shawntelle Coker (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sncoker/">@sncoker</a>). Cohort: Daisy Olsen (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/daisyo/">@DaisyO</a>), Meher Bala (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/meher/">@meher</a>), Winstina Hughes (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/planningwrite/">@planningwrite</a>).</li><li><strong>Documentation Review Lead:</strong> Michele Butcher-Jones (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/m_butcher/">@m_butcher</a>).&nbsp; Cohort: Nidhi Jain (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jainnidhi/">@jainnidhi</a>), Laura Byrne Cristiano (<a href="https://wordpress.org/support/users/newyorkerlaura/">@newyorkerlaura</a>).</li><li><strong>Default Theme Design Lead:</strong> Mel Choyce-Dwan (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/melchoyce/">@melchoyce</a>).&nbsp; Cohort: Ellen Bauer (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/elmastudio/">@elmastudio</a>).</li><li><strong>Default Theme Development Lead:</strong> Carolina Nymark (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/poena/">@poena</a>).&nbsp; Cohort: Kelly Choyce-Dwan (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ryelle/">@ryelle</a>) and Jessica Lyschik (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/luminuu/">@luminuu</a>).</li><li><strong>Default Theme Wrangler:</strong> Jessica Lyschik (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/luminuu/">@luminuu</a>).</li><li><strong>Test Lead:</strong> Monika Rao (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/monikarao/">@monikarao</a>).&nbsp; Cohort: Allie Nimmons (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/alliennimmons/">@alliennimmons</a>).</li><li><strong>Support Lead:</strong> Bet Hannon (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bethannon1/">@bethannon1</a>).</li></ul>



<p>As always, this release reflects the hard work of 605 generous volunteer contributors. They collaborated on nearly 350 tickets on Trac and over 1,000 pull requests on GitHub.</p>



<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/zgrkaralar/">&#214;zg&#252;r KARALAR</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/1naveengiri/">1naveengiri</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/a5hleyrich/">A5hleyRich</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aaroncampbell/">Aaron D. Campbell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jorbin/">Aaron Jorbin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aaronrobertshaw/">aaronrobertshaw</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/abderrahman/">abderrahman</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/webcommsat/">Abha Thakor</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/abhijitrakas/">Abhijit Rakas</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pokhriyal/">Abhishek Pokhriyal</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/acosmin/">acosmin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/adamsilverstein/">Adam Silverstein</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/zieladam/">Adam Zielinski</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/addiestavlo/">Addie</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/adriandegrafreak/">Adri&#225;n de Grafreak</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/adriantirusli/">Adrianti Rusli</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/afshanadiya/">Afshana Diya</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chaion07/">Ahmed Chaion</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/elgameel/">Ahmed Elgameel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ajensen/">ajensen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ajitbohra/">Ajit Bohra</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/atachibana/">Akira Tachibana</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aktasfatih/">aktasfatih</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aljullu/">Albert Juh&#233; Lluveras</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/albertomake/">albertomake</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/xknown/">Alex Concha</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/akirk/">Alex Kirk</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cawa-93/">Alex Kozack</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ajlende/">Alex Lende</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/viper007bond/">Alex Mills</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/alexstandiford/">Alex Standiford</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/alexstine/">Alex Stine</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/allancole/">allancole</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/alliennimmons/">Allie Nimmons</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ambienthack/">ambienthack</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/wpamitkumar/">Amit Dudhat</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/amolv/">Amol Vhankalas</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/amykamala/">Amy Kamala</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/anandau14/">Anand Upadhyay</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/anchenlr/">Anchen le Roux</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/anlino/">Anders Nor&#233;n</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/afercia/">Andrea Fercia</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/andreamiddleton/">Andrea Middleton</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/baicusandrei/">Andrei Baicus</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/andraganescu/">Andrei Draganescu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aduth/">Andrew Duthie</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nacin/">Andrew Nacin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/azaozz/">Andrew Ozz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rarst/">Andrey "Rarst" Savchenko</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/afragen/">Andy Fragen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/apeatling/">Andy Peatling</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/andy/">Andy Skelton</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/andystitt829/">Andy Stitt</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/akissz/">Angel Hess</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/angelasjin/">Angela Jin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/wpgurudev/">Ankit Gade</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ankitmaru/">Ankit Panchal</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/annezazu/">Anne McCarthy</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/antpb/">Anthony Burchell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ahortin/">Anthony Hortin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/antonlukin/">Anton Lukin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/antonisme/">Antonis Lilis</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/anuj2/">anuj2</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/anyssa/">Anyssa Ferreira</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/apedog/">apedog</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/apermo/">Apermo</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/archduck/">archduck</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/archon810/">archon810</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aristath/">Ari Stathopoulos</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/arippberger/">arippberger</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/arjendejong/">arjendejong</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/arnaudban/">ArnaudBan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/arpitgshah/">Arpit G Shah</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/passoniate/">Arslan Ahmed</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/akkspro/">Arslan Ahmed Kalwar</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/asvinballoo/">Asvin Balloo</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tacitonic/">Atharva Dhekne</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/austyfrosty/">Austin Passy</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/austin880625/">austin880625</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/avixansa/">avixansa</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ayesh/">ayesh</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ayeshrajans/">Ayesh Karunaratne</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/backups/">BackuPs</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/barry/">Barry</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bartczyz/">Bart Czyz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bduclos/">bduclos</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/beafialho/">Beatriz Fialho</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/benmeredithgmailcom/">Ben Meredith</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kau-boy/">Bernhard Kau</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bernhard-reiter/">Bernhard Reiter</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bethannon1/">Bet Hannon</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bethsoderberg/">Beth Soderberg</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bgermann/">bgermann</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hareshlive/">Bhagvan Mangukiya</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bhautikvirani/">bhautikvirani</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bananastalktome/">Billy S</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/birgire/">Birgir Erlendsson (birgire)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bph/">Birgit Pauli-Haack</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bobbingwide/">bobbingwide</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/boldgrid/">BoldGrid</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/boonebgorges/">Boone Gorges</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ibdz/">Boy Witthaya</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bradyvercher/">Brady Vercher</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kraftbj/">Brandon Kraft</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bpayton/">Brandon Payton</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bmcdede/">Breann McDede</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bmillersw/">Brent Miller</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/brentswisher/">Brent Swisher</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/brianhenryie/">Brian Henry</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/brianhogg/">Brian Hogg</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bridgetwillard/">bridgetwillard</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/brijeshb42/">brijeshb42</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/burhandodhy/">Burhan Nasir</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/icaleb/">Caleb Burks</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/calin/">Calin Don</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cvoell/">Cameron Voell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/campusboy1987/">campusboy</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/carike/">Carike</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/poena/">Carolina Nymark</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/carolinegeven/">Caroline</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ceyhun0/">ceyhun0</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chadreitsma/">Chad Reitsma</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cguntur/">Chandrika Guntur</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chetan200891/">Chetan Prajapati</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chexwarrior/">chexwarrior</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chintan1896/">Chintan hingrajiya</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipsnyder/">Chip Snyder</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cbringmann/">Chloé Bringmann</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chouby/">Chouby</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/alexandec/">Chris Alexander</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chrisvanpatten/">Chris Van Patten</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chriscct7/">chriscct7</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ctmartin0/">Christian Martin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/christophherr/">Christoph Herr</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/vimes1984/">Christopher Churchill</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chunkysteveo/">chunkysteveo</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/claudiulodro/">Claudiu Lodromanean</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/claytoncollie/">Clayton Collie</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/collizo4sky/">Collins Agbonghama</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/commeuneimage/">Commeuneimage</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/copons/">Copons</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/salzano/">Corey Salzano</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cpapazoglou/">cpapazoglou</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cranewest/">cranewest</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/littlebigthing/">Csaba (LittleBigThings)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ctmartin/">ctmartin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidszabo/">D&#225;vid Szab&#243;</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/daisyo/">Daisy Olsen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/danfarrow/">Dan Farrow</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/danielbachhuber/">Daniel Bachhuber</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/talldanwp/">Daniel Richards</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mte90/">Daniele Scasciafratte</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/danieltj/">danieltj</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dantahoua/">dantahoua</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dkotter/">Darin Kotter</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dmchale/">Dave McHale</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davilera/">David Aguilera</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidanderson/">David Anderson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidbaumwald/">David Baumwald</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dgwyer/">David Gwyer</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dlh/">David Herrera</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dshanske/">David Shanske</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/get_dave/">David Smith</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidjlaietta/">David Wolfpaw</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidbinda/">david.binda</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davisshaver/">Davis Shaver</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dd32/">dd32</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/p00ya/">Dean</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dkarfa/">Debabrata Karfa</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/thewebprincess/">Dee Teal</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/deepaklalwani/">Deepak Lalwani</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dekervit/">dekervit</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/demetris/">demetris (Demetris Kikizas)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/denis-de-bernardy/">Denis de Bernardy</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/valendesigns/">Derek Herman</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/designer023/">Designer023</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dfenton/">dfenton</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dharm1025/">Dharmesh Patel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dharmin16/">Dharmin Shah</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dhruvin/">Dhruvin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dhulwells/">Dhul Wells</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dietpawel/">dietpawel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dilipbheda/">Dilip Bheda</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dingo_d/">dingo-d</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/djzone/">DjZoNe</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dogwithblog/">dogwithblog</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ocean90/">Dominik Schilling</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/donmhico/">donmhico</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/donsony/">donsony</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dossy/">Dossy Shiobara</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dpacks/">dpacks</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/raubvogel/">Dr. Ronny Harbich</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dratwas/">dratwas</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/drewapicture/">Drew Jaynes</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dsifford/">dsifford</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dushakov/">dushakov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dushanthi/">dushanthi</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dyrer/">dyrer</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/elrae/">Earle Davies</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/metalandcoffee/">Ebonie Butler</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ediamin/">Edi Amin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ellatrix/">Ella van Durpe</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/elmastudio/">Ellen Bauer</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/enej/">Enej Bajgorić</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nrqsnchz/">Enrique S&#225;nchez</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/epiqueras/">epiqueras</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kebbet/">Erik Betshammar</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/erikjandelange/">erikjandelange</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/folletto/">Erin 'Folletto' Casali</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/eringoblog/">eringoblog</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/eroraghav/">eroraghav</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/estelaris/">Estela Rueda</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/etoledom/">etoledom</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/thegp/">EugeneBos</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/circlecube/">Evan Mullins</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/fabifott/">Fabian</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/fabiankaegy/">Fabian K&#228;gy</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gaambo/">Fabian Todt</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/felipeelia/">Felipe Elia</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/flixos90/">Felix Arntz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ferkho/">Ferenc Forgacs</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mista-flo/">Florian TIAR</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/flymike/">flymike</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/francina/">Francesca Marano</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/frank-klein/">Frank Klein</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/fjarrett/">Frankie Jarrett</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/fullofcaffeine/">fullofcaffeine</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ecgan/">Gan Eng Chin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/garrett-eclipse/">Garrett Hyder</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/garyc40/">Gary Cao</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/garyj/">Gary Jones</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pento/">Gary Pendergast</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gchtr/">gchtr</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/soulseekah/">Gennady Kovshenin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/subscriptiongroup/">George</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/georgestephanis/">George Stephanis</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/geriux/">geriux</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/glauberglauber/">Glauber Mota</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/glendaviesnz/">glendaviesnz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/goldenapples/">goldenapples</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gziolo/">Greg Zi&#243;łkowski</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/guidooffermans/">guidooffermans</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gumacahin/">gumacahin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hvar/">H-var</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hakre/">hakre</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/happiryu/">happiryu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hareesh-pillai/">Hareesh</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/isharis/">Haris Zulfiqar</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/harrym/">harrym</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/harshbarach/">harshbarach</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/azhiyadev/">Hauwa Abashiya</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hazdiego/">Haz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/helen/">Helen Hou-Sandí</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/henrywright/">Henry Wright</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/herregroen/">Herre Groen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hoasi/">HoaSi</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hongnizzle/">Hong Nga Nguyen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/howdy_mcgee/">Howdy_McGee</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hlashbrooke/">Hugh Lashbrooke</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/iandunn/">Ian Dunn</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/igorradovanov/">Igor Radovanov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gsayed786/">Imran Sayed</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ingereck/">ingereck</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ipstenu/">Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/iqbalbary/">iqbalbary</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ireneyoast/">Irene Strikkers</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/isabel_brison/">Isabel Brison</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jagirbaheshwp/">jagirbaheshwp</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/whyisjake/">Jake Spurlock</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/twentyzerotwo/">Jake Whiteley</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jamescollins/">James Collins</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jameskoster/">James Koster</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jnylen0/">James Nylen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jamesros161/">James Rosado</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jameslnewell/">jameslnewell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/janthiel/">Jan Thiel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/javidalkaruzi/">Janvo Aldred</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jaredcobb/">Jared Cobb</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jaswrks/">Jason Caldwell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/madtownlems/">Jason LeMahieu (MadtownLems)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/javorszky/">javorszky</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jaydeep-rami/">Jaydip Rami</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/audrasjb/">Jean-Baptiste Audras</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeffmatson/">Jeff Matson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jffng/">Jeff Ong</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeffpaul/">Jeff Paul</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeffikus/">jeffikus</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jellypixel/">jellypixel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeremyfelt/">Jeremy Felt</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeremyescott/">Jeremy Scott</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeremyyip/">Jeremy Yip</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeroenrotty/">Jeroen Rotty</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeryj/">jeryj</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeslen/">Jeslen Bucci</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/luminuu/">Jessica Lyschik</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jfoulquier/">jfoulquier</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jimyaghi/">jimyaghi</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jipmoors/">Jip Moors</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joedolson/">Joe Dolson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joemcgill/">Joe McGill</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joelclimbsthings/">joelclimbsthings</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joelyoder/">joelyoder</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joen/">Joen Asmussen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/johannadevos/">Johanna de Vos</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/johnbillion/">John Blackbourn</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/johnny5/">John Godley</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/johnjamesjacoby/">John James Jacoby</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jb510/">Jon Brown</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/psykro/">Jonathan Bossenger</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/desrosj/">Jonathan Desrosiers</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jonathanstegall/">Jonathan Stegall</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/spacedmonkey/">Jonny Harris</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jonoaldersonwp/">Jono Alderson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joostdevalk/">Joost de Valk</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jordesign/">jordesign</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/koke/">Jorge Bernal</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jorgefilipecosta/">Jorge Costa</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joseaneto/">joseaneto</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/">Josepha Haden</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joshlevinson/">Josh Levinson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/shelob9/">Josh Pollock</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joshuatf/">joshuatf</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tai/">JOTAKI, Taisuke</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joyously/">Joy</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jsnajdr/">jsnajdr</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jrf/">Juliette Reinders Folmer</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/junaidbhura/">Junaid Bhura</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/justinahinon/">Justin Ahinon</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/justlevine/">justlevine</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kadamwhite/">K. Adam White</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kevin940726/">Kai Hao</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/trepmal/">Kailey (trepmal)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/akabarikalpesh/">Kalpesh Akabari</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/karthikbhatb/">Karthik Bhat</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kasparsd/">Kaspars</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ryelle/">Kelly Dwan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kellychoffman/">Kelly Hoffman</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kelsu02/">Kelly R</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kellybleck/">kellybleck</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kellylawrence/">kellylawrence</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/khag7/">Kevin Hagerty</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kharisblank/">Kharis Sulistiyono</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kipperlenny/">Kipperlenny</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kirilzh/">Kiril Zhelyazkov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kburgoine/">Kirsty Burgoine</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kishanjasani/">Kishan Jasani</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ixkaito/">Kite</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kittmedia/">KittMedia</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kjbenk/">kjbenk</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kjellr/">Kjell Reigstad</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/knutsp/">Knut Sparhell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/komagain/">komagain</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/obenland/">Konstantin Obenland</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/krupajnanda/">Krupa</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kbjohnson90/">Kyle B. Johnson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/landau/">landau</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lmurillom/">Larissa Murillo</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/latifi/">latifi</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/newyorkerlaura/">Laura Byrne</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/laurora/">Laura Nelson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/laxman-prajapati/">Laxman Prajapati</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/leogermani/">leogermani</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gamerz/">Lester Chan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/leutrimh/">Leutrim Husaj</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/limera1n/">lim3ra</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lpointet/">Lionel Pointet</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/llizard/">llizard</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/louislaugesen/">Louis</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lucagrandicelli/">Luca Grandicelli</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/_luigi/">Luigi Cavalieri</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lukecavanagh/">Luke Cavanagh</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lumne/">Lumne</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mager19/">mager19</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/onemaggie/">Maggie Cabrera</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mahesh901122/">Mahesh Waghmare</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mailnew2ster/">mailnew2ster</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/shamimmoeen/">Mainul Hassan Main</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/malinajirka/">malinajirka</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/manzwebdesigns/">manzwebdesigns</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mkaz/">Marcus Kazmierczak</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/marekhrabe/">Marek Hrabe</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chaton666/">Marie Comet</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/marijnkoopman/">Marijn</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tyxla/">Marin Atanasov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/clorith/">Marius Jensen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/markjaquith/">Mark Jaquith</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/markparnell/">Mark Parnell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/markscottrobson/">Mark Robson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/marks99/">Mark Smallman</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mapk/">Mark Uraine</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/markoheijnen/">Marko Heijnen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/markshep/">markshep</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/m-e-h/">Marty Helmick</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/marybaum/">Mary Baum</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/wetah/">Mateus Machado Luna</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/imath/">Mathieu Viet</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/matveb/">Matias Ventura</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/webdevmattcrom/">Matt Cromwell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gothickgothickorguk/">Matt Gibson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mattkeys/">Matt Keys</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/matt/">Matt Mullenweg</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mattwiebe/">Matt Wiebe</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mattchowning/">mattchowning</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pfefferle/">Matthias Pfefferle</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mattoperry/">mattoperry</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mayankmajeji/">Mayank Majeji</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/meaganhanes/">Meagan Hanes</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/megphillips91/">Meg Phillips</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/meher/">Meher Bala</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/melchoyce/">Mel Choyce-Dwan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mgol/">mgol</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mgrenierfarmmedia/">mgrenierfarmmedia</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/michael-arestad/">Michael Arestad</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tw2113/">Michael Beckwith</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/m_butcher/">Michele Butcher-Jones</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/michelleames/">Michelle Frechette</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mcsf/">Miguel Fonseca</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mihdan/">mihdan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mikeschroder/">Mike Schroder</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mikelopez/">mikelopez</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mikeyarce/">Mikey Arce</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dimadin/">Milan Dinić</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/milana_cap/">Milana Cap</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/eemitch/">Mitchell Bennis</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mmarco9/">mmarco9</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/batmoo/">Mohammad Jangda</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/monikarao/">Monika Rao</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mopsyd/">mopsyd</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/morganestes/">Morgan Estes</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gwendydd/">Morgan Kay</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/man4toman/">Morteza Geransayeh</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/computerguru/">mqudsi</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mreishus/">mreishus</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mrgrt/">mrgrt</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mrjoeldean/">mrjoeldean</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mukesh27/">Mukesh Panchal</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/munyagu/">munyagu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/musicaljoeker/">musicaljoeker</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mweichert/">mweichert</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/n5hzr/">n5hzr</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nabilmoqbel/">Nabil Moqbel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nalininonstopnewsuk/">Nalini Thakor</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/naoki0h/">Naoki Ohashi</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nao/">Naoko Takano</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nateinaction/">Nate Gay</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nathanatmoz/">Nathan Johnson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/navanathbhosale/">Navanath Bhosale</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/naveenkharwar/">Naveen Kharwar</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lcyh78/">Neil James (lcyh78)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nendeb55/">nendeb</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/krstarica/">net</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/arealnobrainer/">Netravnen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nicomollet/">nicomollet</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jainnidhi/">Nidhi Jain</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nielslange/">Niels Lange</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ntsekouras/">Nik Tsekouras</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nikolam/">Nikola</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nbachiyski/">Nikolay Bachiyski</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/njbrown/">njbrown</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nlpro/">nlpro</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/noahtallen/">Noah Allen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/noahshrader/">noahshrader</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nourma/">nourma</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nosolosw/">O Andr&#233;</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/oakesjosh/">oakesjosh</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/oguzkocer/">oguzkocer</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/oglekler/">Olga Gleckler</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/alshakero/">Omar Alshaker</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/omarreiss/">Omar Reiss</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/oolleegg55/">oolleegg55</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/optimizingmatters/">Optimizing Matters</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ov3rfly/">Ov3rfly</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ovann86/">ovann86</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ovenall/">ovenall</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/oxyc/">oxyc</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/paaljoachim/">Paal Joachim Romdahl</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jhonqwerty/">pabloselin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/paddy/">Paddy</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pankajmohale/">Pankaj Mohale</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/swissspidy/">Pascal Birchler</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/casiepa/">Pascal Casier</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pbearne/">Paul Bearne</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pbiron/">Paul Biron</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pabline/">Paul Bunkham</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/paulschreiber/">Paul Schreiber</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/paulstonier/">Paul Stonier</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pschrottky/">Paul Von Schrottky</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pedromendonca/">Pedro Mendon&#231;a</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pentatonicfunk/">pentatonicfunk</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pputzer/">pepe</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pekz0r/">Peter Elmered</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/psmits1567/">Peter Smits</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/peterwilsoncc/">Peter Wilson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/johnstonphilip/">Phil Johnston</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pierlo/">Pierre Gordon</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/decrecementofeliz/">Pilar Mera</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/wppinar/">Pinar</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/boniu91/">Piotrek Boniu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pishmishy/">pishmishy</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pkvillanueva/">pkvillanueva</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/prashanttholia/">prashanttholia</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pratikkry/">Pratik K. Yadav</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/presskopp/">Presskopp</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/presstoke/">presstoke</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/prionkor/">prionkor</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/psealock/">psealock</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/puneetsahalot/">Puneet Sahalot</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/itsjonq/">Q</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rachelbaker/">Rachel Baker</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rajanit2000/">Rajan Vijayan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rajeshsingh520/">rajeshsingh520</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ramiy/">Rami Yushuvaev</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jontyravi/">Ravi Vaghela</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ravipatel/">ravipatel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rebasaurus/">rebasaurus</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/redstar504/">redstar504</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/regankhadgi/">Regan Khadgi</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/renehermi/">Rene Hermenau</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/retlehs/">retlehs</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/retrofox/">retrofox</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/riaanlom/">riaanlom</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/youknowriad/">Riad Benguella</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ribaricplusplus/">ribaricplusplus</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/richtabor/">Rich Tabor</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rnaby/">Rnaby</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/noisysocks/">Robert Anderson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/miqrogroove/">Robert Chapin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kreppar/">Rodrigo Arias</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rogerlos/">rogerlos</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/roikles/">roikles</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rolfsiebers/">Rolf Siebers</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ronakganatra/">Ronak Ganatra</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/roo2/">roo2</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rtagliento/">rtagliento</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bookdude13/">Ryan Fredlund</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ryankienstra/">Ryan Kienstra</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rmccue/">Ryan McCue</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/welcher/">Ryan Welcher</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/soean/">S&#246;ren Wrede</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sabrinazeidan/">Sabrina Zeidan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/saeedfard/">Saeed Fard</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/salvoaranzulla/">salvoaranzulla</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/samful/">Sam Fullalove</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sswebster/">Sam Webster</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/otto42/">Samuel Wood (Otto)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sanzeeb3/">Sanjeev Aryal</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/saqibameen/">Saqib Ameen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sarahricker/">Sarah Ricker</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sarayourfriend/">sarayourfriend</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sawanoboly/">sawanoboly</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/scarolan/">scarolan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/l3rady/">Scott Cariss</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/coffee2code/">Scott Reilly</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/scribu/">scribu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/scruffian/">scruffian</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/seanpaulrasmussen/">seanpaulrasmussen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sebastianpisula/">Sebastian Pisula</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sebsz/">SeBsZ</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/senning/">Senning</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sergeybiryukov/">Sergey Biryukov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/yakimun/">Sergey Yakimov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sergioestevao/">SergioEstevao</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/shaunandrews/">shaunandrews</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sncoker/">Shawntelle Coker</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/shital-patel/">Shital Marakana</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/shramee/">shramee</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sresok/">Simon Resok</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sirreal/">sirreal</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/smerriman/">smerriman</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/snapfractalpop/">snapfractalpop</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sproutchris/">sproutchris</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/stulab/">St&#233;phane Treilhou</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/metodiew/">Stanko Metodiev</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/garubi/">Stefano Garuti</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sabernhardt/">Stephen Bernhardt</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dufresnesteven/">Steve Dufresne</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sterndata/">Steven Stern (sterndata)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/stevenlinx/">stevenlinx</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/stoyangeorgiev/">Stoyan Georgiev</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sudoshreyansh/">sudoshreyansh</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/smub/">Syed Balkhi</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/szaqal21/">szaqal21</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/karmatosed/">Tammie Lister</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/utz119/">TeBenachi</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/techboyg5/">techboyg5</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tellyworth/">Tellyworth</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/thefarlilacfield/">thefarlilacfield</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/thelmachido/">Thelma Mutete</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/thib3113/">thib3113</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/thijsvanloef/">thijsvanloef</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/webzunft/">Thomas M</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/thomasplevy/">Thomas Patrick Levy</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/thomaslhotta/">thomaslhotta</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/timhavinga/">Tim Havinga</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hedgefield/">Tim Hengeveld</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sippis/">Timi Wahalahti</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/timothyblynjacobs/">Timothy Jacobs</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/timotijhof/">TimoTijhof</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tkama/">Tkama</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tmdesigned/">tmdesigned</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tobiasbg/">TobiasBg</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tobifjellner/">tobifjellner (Tor-Bjorn Fjellner)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hellofromtonya/">Tonya Mork</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/toro_unit/">Toro_Unit (Hiroshi Urabe)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/torres126/">torres126</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/zodiac1978/">Torsten Landsiedel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/itowhid06/">Towhidul I Chowdhury</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tray/">tracy apps</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/treibstoff/">treibstoff</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/trisha_cornelius/">Trisha Cornelius</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dinhtungdu/">Tung Du</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tzafrir/">tzafrir</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/desaiuditd/">Udit Desai</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/grapplerulrich/">Ulrich</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/uxkai/">uxkai</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/valentinbora/">Valentin Bora</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/contact-banker/">Varun Sharma</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/vcanales/">vcanales</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ravivaddweb/">vidhiaddweb</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/vinayakanivase/">Vinayak Anivase</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/vinita29/">Vinita Tandulkar</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/usestrict/">Vinny</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/virgodesign/">virgodesign</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/webmandesign/">WebMan Design &#124; Oliver Juhas</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/webmigrates/">Webmigrates Technologies</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/westonruter/">Weston Ruter</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/earnjam/">William Earnhardt</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/williampatton/">williampatton</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/planningwrite/">Winstina Hughes</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/wittich/">wittich</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/worldweb/">worldweb</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/y_kolev/">Y_Kolev</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/yansern/">Yan Sern</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/yoavf/">Yoav Farhi</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/yscik/">yscik</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/fierevere/">Yui</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/yvettesonneveld/">Yvette Sonneveld</a>, and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/zebulan/">Zebulan Stanphill</a>.



<p></p>



<p>In addition, many thanks to all of the community volunteers who contribute in the <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/">support forums</a>. They answer questions from people across the world, whether they are using WordPress for the first time, or they’ve been around since the first release all the way back in 2003. These releases are as successful as they are because of their efforts!</p>



<p>Finally, thanks to all the community translators who helped make WordPress 5.6. available in 38 languages at the time of release. Our community translators are hard at work ensuring more languages are on their way (70 are already at 90%). If contributing to WordPress appeals to you, it’s easy to learn more. Check out <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/">Make WordPress</a> or the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/">core development blog</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, 08 Dec 2020 23:45:03 +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: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: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:42:"BuddyPress: BuddyPress 2020 Survey results";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"https://buddypress.org/?p=315969";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:62:"https://buddypress.org/2020/12/buddypress-2020-survey-results/";s: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:44558:"<p>The BuddyPress 2020 survey was published the same day we released <a href="https://buddypress.org/2020/05/buddypress-6-0-0/">BuddyPress 6.0.0 &#8220;iovine&#8217;s&#8221;</a> (May 13, 2020). Now that we are about to release our next major release (<a href="https://buddypress.org/2020/12/buddypress-7-0-0-rc2/">7.0.0 will be delivered in the coming days</a>), it is time to share with you the survey results.</p>



<p>First, many thanks to all the respondents who participated to this survey <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f60d.png" alt="😍" class="wp-smiley" />. Doing so you contributed to give the BuddyPress Core Team informations about how the plugin is used, could be used and how its usage is evolving. Some of the questions we asked are directions we&#8217;re considering for the plugin (eg: <a href="https://buddypress.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=315969&action=edit#q-9">Q9</a>, <a href="https://buddypress.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=315969&action=edit#q-10">Q10</a>, <a href="https://buddypress.org/wp-admin/post.php?post=315969&action=edit#q-17">Q17</a>), so your inputs are very important to us.</p>



<p>As no questions were required, it&#8217;s difficult to be 100% accurate about how many people took the survey. So we were at least (we also took the survey <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f609.png" alt="😉" class="wp-smiley" />) <strong>483</strong> from <a href="https://buddypress.org/feed/#survey-map">all over the world</a> as it&#8217;s the highest number a question was replied to.</p>



<p>Most of the questions were leaving participants the choice to select more than one reply, this is why if you sum up the percentage results you&#8217;ll often find more than 100% <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f601.png" alt="😁" class="wp-smiley" />.</p>



<p>When we had data about a previous survey we made in 2018, we compared the 2020 results with them and calculated the differences between both years percentages. We thought it could be interesting to see how some results are evolving.</p>



<span id="more-315969"></span>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-1"><em>1. How are you using BuddyPress?</em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>483</strong>.</p>




    <table class="has-fixed-layout">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Possible replies</th>
                <th>Years &amp; evolution</th>
                <th>Results</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">I use BuddyPress on my own site</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>72.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>74.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color"><strong>-1.6%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">I build BuddyPress sites for others</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>35.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>32.4%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>2.8%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3"><strong>I develop BuddyPress themes</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>13.3%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>9.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><strong><span class="has-inline-color">3.6%</span></strong></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3"><strong>I develop BuddyPress plugins</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>15.1%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>13.0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>2.1%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">I host BuddyPress sites</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>15.5%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>14.8%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>0.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Other</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>9.1%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>4.6%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>4.5%</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>




<p><strong>NB</strong>: between 2018 &amp; 2020 the &#8220;<em>I build BuddyPress sites, themes, and plugins.</em>&#8221; choice disappeared.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s interesting to see BuddyPress plugin and theme developers replied more  to this survey. Another explanation could be there are possibly more people extending or designing for BuddyPress <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f64c.png" alt="🙌" class="wp-smiley" />.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-2"><em>2. What types of BuddyPress sites have you built?</em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>409</strong>.</p>




    <table class="has-fixed-layout">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Possible replies</th>
                <th>Year</th>
                <th>Results</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td>Academic</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>33.5%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Artistic</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>18.3%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Gaming</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>14.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Generic</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>30.3%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Religious</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>10.5%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Scientific</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>14.4%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Sports</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>10.5%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Other</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>33.5%</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>




<p><strong>NB</strong>: data from 2018 is missing.</p>



<p>The &#8220;Other&#8221; reply was often chosen. When looking deeply into these replies, we discovered some interesting types, eg: Health / Medical / Therapist communities, Recipe sharing sites, Intranet &amp; Business networks, Non-profit / charity / solidarity / ecological communities, Social Marketplaces, Dating platforms, Local municipality information center / local life / Administration sites and some specific communities like private or restricted ones.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-3"><em>3. How do you host your production sites using BuddyPress?</em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>414</strong>.</p>




    <table class="has-fixed-layout">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Possible replies</th>
                <th>Years &amp; evolution</th>
                <th>Results</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Shared Hosting</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>44.9%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>52.5%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color"><strong>-7.6%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Virtual Private Server</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>30.0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>30.0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>-0.1%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Dedicated Server</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>22.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>18.0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>4.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3"><strong>Managed WordPress Hosting</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>23.4%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>15.1%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>8.3%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Cloud-based Services</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>18.4%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>12.8%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>5.6%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Other</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>6.0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>3.4%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>2.6%</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>




<p>Looks like Managed WordPress Hosting plans are increasing <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f914.png" alt="🤔" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-4"><em>4. How do you set up BuddyPress in your WordPress installations?</em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>427</strong>.</p>




    <table class="has-fixed-layout">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Possible replies</th>
                <th>Years &amp; evolution</th>
                <th>Results</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">WP in domain root</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>68.4%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>74.8%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color"><strong>-6.4%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">WP in physical subdirectory folder</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>19.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>15.6%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>4.1%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">WP in physical subdomain</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>15.0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>9.0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>5.9%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3"><strong>WP Multisite in domain root &#8211; BP Network-activated</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>20.4%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>11.5%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>8.9%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">WP Multisite in subsite (subdirectory) &#8211; BP Network-activated</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>11.0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>4.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>6.3%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">WP Multisite in subsite (subdomain) &#8211; BP Network activated</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>11.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>4.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>7.0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">WP Multisite in domain root &#8211; BP activated only on the main network site</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>9.6%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>3.3%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>6.3%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">WP Multisite in subsite (subdirectory) &#8211; BP activated on a subsite of the network</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>9.8%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>4.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>5.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">WP Multisite in subsite (subdomain) &#8211; BP activated on a subsite of the network</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>9.4%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>4.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>4.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">WP Multisite in domain root &#8211; the constant BP_ENABLE_MULTIBLOG is defined in your wp-config.php file to spread BuddyPress on all sites of the network</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>12.4%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>4.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>7.8%</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>




<p><strong>NB</strong>: between 2018 &amp; 2020 the &#8220;WP Multisite with BuddyPress Multi-Network&#8221; choice disappeared.</p>



<p>Multisite configurations are slightly increasing while regular WordPress configurations are a bit less used.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-5"><em>5. What BuddyPress components/features are always or almost always activated in your site/s?</em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>428</strong>.</p>




    <table class="has-fixed-layout">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Possible replies</th>
                <th>Years &amp; evolution</th>
                <th>Everytime</th>
                <th>Sometimes</th>
                <th>Never</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Account Settings</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>74.5%</td>
                <td>11.9%</td>
                <td>4.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>91.8%</td>
                <td>6.5%</td>
                <td>1.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color"><strong>-17.3%</strong></span></td>
                <td>5.4%</td>
                <td>2.5%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Activity Streams</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>64.3%</td>
                <td>17.5%</td>
                <td>6.3%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>75.0%</td>
                <td>20.9%</td>
                <td>4.1%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color"><strong>-10.7%</strong></span></td>
                <td>-3.4%</td>
                <td>2.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Extended Profiles</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>70.1%</td>
                <td>16.4%</td>
                <td>4.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>86.6%</td>
                <td>12.1%</td>
                <td>1.4%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color"><strong>-16.5%</strong></span></td>
                <td>4.3%</td>
                <td>2.8%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3"><strong>Friend Connections</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>73.4%</td>
                <td>22.2%</td>
                <td>11.4%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>62.9%</td>
                <td>26.5%</td>
                <td>10.6%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>10.5%</strong></span></td>
                <td>-4.3%</td>
                <td>0.8%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Private Messaging</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>55.1%</td>
                <td>22.9%</td>
                <td>8.6%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>67.6%</td>
                <td>25.4%</td>
                <td>7.0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color"><strong>-12.5%</strong></span></td>
                <td>-2.5%</td>
                <td>1.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Site Tracking</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>37.6%</td>
                <td>24.8%</td>
                <td>20.1%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>56.3%</td>
                <td>25.4%</td>
                <td>18.3%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color"><strong>-18.7%</strong></span></td>
                <td>-0.6%</td>
                <td>1.8%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">User Groups</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>55.4%</td>
                <td>23.8%</td>
                <td>8.9%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>64.1%</td>
                <td>26.0%</td>
                <td>10.0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color"><strong>-8.7%</strong></span></td>
                <td>-2.1%</td>
                <td>-1.1%</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>




<p>I must say I was a bit surprised by the fact the Friends component was the only one which usage increased between 2018 and 2020 <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f633.png" alt="😳" class="wp-smiley" />.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-6"><em>6. What theme/s have you activated for your site/s using BuddyPress?</em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>398</strong>.</p>




    <table class="has-fixed-layout">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Possible replies</th>
                <th>Years &amp; evolution</th>
                <th>Results</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3"><strong>Free WP theme</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>37.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>22.5%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>15.2%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Free WP theme with custom BP CSS and/or template modifications</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>18.8%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>14.1%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>4.8%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Free WP theme and I add custom BP CSS and/or template modifications</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>22.9%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>14.1%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>8.8%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Commercial WP theme</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>35.9%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>32.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>3.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Commercial WP theme with custom BP CSS and/or template modifications</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>32.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>38.6%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color"><strong>-6.4%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">I create a brand-new WP theme and write my own custom BP CSS and template modifications using BP theme compat</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>22.1%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>19.8%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>2.3%</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>




<p>Free WordPress themes without any customizations got the highest result: this proves using BuddyPress out of the box can be enough to power a great looking community site.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-7"><em>7. Which BuddyPress Template Pack is your theme supporting in your production sites?</em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>384</strong>.</p>




    <table class="has-fixed-layout">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Possible replies</th>
                <th>Year</th>
                <th>Results</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td><strong>BP Nouveau Templates (introduced in BP 3.0.0)</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>63.3%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>BP Legacy Templates (introduced in BP 1.7.0)</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>28.1%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>BP Standalone theme like the bp-default theme (introduced in BP 1.2.0)</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>13.5%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>I don’t know</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>25.8%</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>




<p><strong>NB</strong>: this question wasn&#8217;t asked in 2018</p>



<p>1 respondent out of 4 don&#8217;t know what Template Pack is active on their website. As the BP Nouveau Template pack is used by default, there&#8217;s a good chance it&#8217;s the one these people are using. FYI: If you want to switch between available Template Packs, you can go into your WordPress Dashboard and activate the BuddyPress Options tab of the Settings &gt; BuddyPress administration page to do so.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-8"><em>8. Which BuddyPress template files do you customize for your own or third-party themes?</em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>377</strong>.</p>




    <table class="has-fixed-layout">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Possible replies</th>
                <th>Year</th>
                <th>Never</th>
                <th>Sometimes</th>
                <th>Everytime</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td>Activity templates</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>36.6%</td>
                <td>31.6%</td>
                <td>22.5%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Blogs templates</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>38.5%</td>
                <td>29.7%</td>
                <td>19.6%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Group templates</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>32.9%</td>
                <td>31.0%</td>
                <td>21.8%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td><strong>Member templates</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>26.8%</td>
                <td>31.0%</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>30.0%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td><strong>Stylesheet files</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>29.4%</td>
                <td>26.0%</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>29.4%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>JavaScript files</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>39.5%</td>
                <td>28.4%</td>
                <td>15.4%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>BuddyPress Email templates</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>32.6%</td>
                <td>30.0%</td>
                <td>25.2%</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>




<p><strong>NB</strong>: this question wasn&#8217;t asked in 2018.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-9"><em>9. What do you prefer: using a BP Template Pack that lets you use most WordPress themes or use a BuddyPress specific theme ?</em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>375</strong>.</p>




    <table class="has-fixed-layout">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Possible replies</th>
                <th>Year</th>
                <th>Results</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td><strong>BP Template Pack</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>58.1%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>BuddyPress specific theme</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>41.9%</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>




<p><strong>NB</strong>: this question wasn&#8217;t asked in 2018.</p>



<p>Building a great BuddyPress theme as a replacement to our good old BP Default theme is something we are considering a lot. It&#8217;s important for us to remember that a lot of you like the fact BuddyPress doesn&#8217;t require a specific theme to run and needs to look as nice as possible inside your active WordPress theme.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-10"><em><em>10. Would you test/use a new theme made by the BuddyPress team?</em></em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>377</strong>.</p>




    <table class="has-fixed-layout">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Possible replies</th>
                <th>Year</th>
                <th>Results</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td><strong>Yes</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>57.2%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>No</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>11.4%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Maybe</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>31.4%</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>




<p><strong>NB</strong>: this question wasn&#8217;t asked in 2018</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-11"><em><em><em>11. What features would you look for in a new BuddyPress theme?</em></em></em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>380</strong>.</p>




    <table class="has-fixed-layout">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Possible replies</th>
                <th>Year</th>
                <th>Results</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td><strong>More BuddyPress customization options</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>85.5%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Compatible with bbPress</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>51.1%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Compatible with WooCommerce</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>44.7%</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>




<p><strong>NB</strong>: this question wasn&#8217;t asked in 2018</p>



<p>Got it! FYI: BP Nouveau has a specific panel into your customizer you should check. One of the comments you made was asking for a way to reorder the Member navigation, BP Nouveau has a section for it <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f448.png" alt="👈" class="wp-smiley" />.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-12"><em><em><em>12. When do you test your sites, themes, and/or plugins with BuddyPress releases?</em></em></em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>396</strong>.</p>




    <table class="has-fixed-layout">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Possible replies</th>
                <th>Years &amp; evolution</th>
                <th>Results</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Trunk</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>15.9%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>11.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>4.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3"><strong>BP Beta 1</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>14.9%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>10.0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>4,9%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3"><strong>BP Release Candidate 1</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>11.4%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>7.5%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>3.9%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">BP Stable Release</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>43.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>55.9%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>-12.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3"><strong>A month after stable release</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>29.0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>19.6%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color"><strong>9.5%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Never</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>19.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>15.0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>4.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Other</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>8.1%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>4.3%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>3.8%</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>




<p>The results the Beta and RC pre-release got is encouraging. We really need to have more beta-testers to avoid bad surprises when you upgrade BuddyPress. We&#8217;ve tried to ease the way you can test BuddyPress with the BP Beta Tester plugin, but I guess we still need to work on ways to help you help us <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f469-1f3fb-200d-1f4bb.png" alt="👩🏻‍💻" class="wp-smiley" />.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-13"><em><em><em>13. If you do beta test BuddyPress, what method do you use?</em></em></em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>236</strong>.</p>




    <table class="has-fixed-layout">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Possible replies</th>
                <th>Year</th>
                <th>Results</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td>I use the SVN repo 
(<code>svn co https://buddypress.svn.wordpress.org/trunk/</code>)</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>31.8%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>I use the read-only Github mirror
(<code>git clone git://buddypress.git.wordpress.org/</code>)</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>46.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td><strong>I use the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/bp-beta-tester/">BP Beta Tester plugin</a></strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>51.3%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>




<p><strong>NB</strong>: this question wasn&#8217;t asked in 2018</p>



<p>Looks like the BP Beta Tester plugin is the most used tool to beta test BuddyPress. This seems great! But the results might be a bit over rated. When looking deeply into it, some of you replied they were <strong>never</strong> beta-testing BuddyPress while using the BP Beta Tester plugin <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f928.png" alt="🤨" class="wp-smiley" />. The goal of the BP Beta Tester plugin is to ease the beta/RC testing&#8230;</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-14"><em><em><em>14. If you installed bbPress, how did you set it up with your BuddyPress site/s?</em></em></em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>311</strong>.</p>




    <table class="has-fixed-layout">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Possible replies</th>
                <th>Years &amp; evolution</th>
                <th>Results</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Sitewide forums only</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>34.7%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>28.3%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>6.4%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Group forums only</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>29.3%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>29.3%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3"><strong>Sitewide and Group forums</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>55.0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>57.6%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color"><strong>-2.6%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>




<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-15"><em><em><em>15. How do you keep updated with the latest in BuddyPress development?</em></em></em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>355</strong>.</p>




    <table class="has-fixed-layout">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Possible replies</th>
                <th>Years &amp; evolution</th>
                <th>Results</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3"><strong>Subscribed to <a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com">bpdevel.wordpress.com</a></strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>27.6%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>23.3%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>4.3%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3"><strong>Viewed changelog for each release in <a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/releases/">codex.buddypress.org/releases</a></strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>47.0%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>49.6%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color has-luminous-vivid-orange-color"><strong>-2.6%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Checking <a href="https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org">buddypress.trac.wordpress.org</a> regularly</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>25.6%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>22.5%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>3.1%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/buddypress">@buddypress</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/buddypressdev">@buddypressdev</a>, and/or <a href="https://twitter.com/bptrac">@bptrac</a></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>23.1%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>19.5%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>3.6%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Slack: <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/messages/buddypress">#buddypress</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/messages/buddypress-commits">#buddypress-commits</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/messages/buddypress-firehose">#buddypress-firehose</a> and/or <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/messages/buddypress-newtickets">#buddypress-newtickets</a></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>15.5%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>12.2%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>3.3%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td rowspan="3">Other</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>16.1%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018</td>
                <td>11.8%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>2018 to 2020</td>
                <td>4.2%</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>




<p><strong>NB</strong>: between 2018 &amp; 2020 the &#8220;Checking buddypress.org/support regularly.&#8221; choice disappeared.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-16"><em><em><em>16. Case Studies: We&#8217;d like to feature how you are using BuddyPress in your current sites at BuddyPress.org. If you’re interested in sharing your BP story, please leave your name, email address, and your BP site URL.</em></em></em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>40</strong>.</p>



<p>Many thanks to the 40 participants who shared their names, emails, and sites URL. We&#8217;ll try to contact you to share about your use cases on this website. It&#8217;s great to see how you&#8217;re using BuddyPress <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f4aa.png" alt="💪" class="wp-smiley" />.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="q-17"><em><em><em>17. BuddyPress is a large plugin with optional components (3MB zipped). There&#8217;s a proposal to reconstitute BuddyPress as core + members only and improved upon with new functionalities and API&#8217;s among others for new BP plugins to hook into. The current optional components like groups, friends, private messaging, etc. can be migrated into separate plugins which can be activated as needed. What do you think?</em></em></em></h2>



<p>Number of respondents: <strong>407</strong>.</p>




    <table class="has-fixed-layout">
        <thead>
            <tr>
                <th>Possible replies</th>
                <th>Year</th>
                <th>Results</th>
            </tr>
        </thead>
        <tbody>
            <tr>
                <td><strong>Keep BuddyPress as is: core + members and optional components</strong></td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td><span class="has-inline-color"><strong>43.2%</strong></span></td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>Break down BuddyPress: BuddyPress = core + members, optional components as BP plugins</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>35.6%</td>
            </tr>
            <tr>
                <td>I don&#8217;t know</td>
                <td>2020</td>
                <td>21.1%</td>
            </tr>
        </tbody>
    </table>




<p><strong>NB</strong>: this question wasn&#8217;t asked in 2018</p>



<p>Ok. Thanks a lot for your replies, using optional components as separate add-ons is not something you are ready for <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f607.png" alt="😇" class="wp-smiley" />.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 id="survey-map">BuddyPress is used from all over the world!</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vT067Mc1bnQPTdiwZzzZj7Kn1Y2V22aJxJnvy13rN2DXg27awoA_GXPJvX0uv2He8udDL_bLjCeUv7M/pubhtml?gid=1888221811&single=true"><img width="1024" height="639" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2020/12/survey-participants-1024x639.png" alt="" class="wp-image-316008" /></a></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:"Tue, 08 Dec 2020 16:45:06 +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:"Mathieu Viet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:76:"WPTavern: Easy WP SMTP 1.4.3 Patches Sensitive Data Disclosure Vulnerability";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=108630";s:7:"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/easy-wp-smtp-1-4-3-patches-sensitive-data-disclosure-vulnerability?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=easy-wp-smtp-1-4-3-patches-sensitive-data-disclosure-vulnerability";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3019:"<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/easy-wp-smtp/">Easy WP SMTP</a> has patched a vulnerability that allows attackers to capture the password reset link from the plugin&rsquo;s debug log file and gain unauthorized access to the site. The plugin is used by more than 500,000 WordPress sites to configure and send all outgoing emails via a SMTP server so they are less likely to end up in recipients&rsquo; junk/spam folders. </p>



<p><a href="https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/10494">WPScan</a> categorized the vulnerability as a &ldquo;sensitive data disclosure:&rdquo;</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>The plugin has an optional debug log file generated with a random name, located in the plugin folder and which contains all email messages sent. However, this folder does not have any index page, allowing access to log file on servers with the directory listing enabled or misconfigured. This could allow attackers to gain unauthorised access to the blog by reseting the admin password by getting the reset link from the log.</p></blockquote>



<p>Easy WP SMTP version  1.4.3 contains the fix, adding an empty &ldquo;index.html&rdquo; file to the plugin&rsquo;s folder to prevent anyone from browsing the files (even if the Option -Indexes is missing on that server). Users are advised to update immediately, as the vulnerability has already been exploited in the wild. Several users took to the plugin&rsquo;s support forums to <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/topic/security-issue-with-debug-log/">report</a> attempts on their sites.</p>



<p>Jerome Bruandet, a security researcher from NinTechNet, reported the vulnerability and published a <a href="https://blog.nintechnet.com/wordpress-easy-wp-smtp-plugin-fixed-zero-day-vulnerability/">post</a> explaining how an attacker might access the debug log where the plugin writes all the email messages sent by the site. Using author archive scans, the hacker can find a username and then send a password reset email that gets intercepted via the Easy WP SMTP debug log file:</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img />Easy WP SMTP log file &ndash; source: <a href="https://blog.nintechnet.com/wordpress-easy-wp-smtp-plugin-fixed-zero-day-vulnerability/">NinTechNet</a></div>



<p>At the time of publishing, approximately 51.8% of users are on 1.4.x versions of the plugin. Without a more specific breakdown, it&rsquo;s not clear how many users have updated to the patched 1.4.3 version. Approximately <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/easy-wp-smtp/advanced/">59,000 sites</a> have downloaded the plugin today, leaving many installations still vulnerable.</p>



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



<p>This is another case where automatic background updates on plugins can quietly save the day. Users who have auto-updates enabled for plugins have already received the fix. Administrators for older installations of WordPress or sites where auto-updates have been disabled will need to update manually as soon as possible.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 07 Dec 2020 20:56:37 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:42:"WordPress.org blog: State of the Word 2020";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=9296";s:7:"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://wordpress.org/news/2020/12/state-of-the-word-2020/";s: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:717:"<p>State of the Word is an annual keynote address delivered by the project co-founder, Matt Mullenweg. Catch this year&#8217;s keynote in the video below!</p>



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

</div>



<h3>New to State of the Word?</h3>



<p>If this is your first time hearing of this talk, you’re in luck! Check out previous recordings below.</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://wordpress.tv/2019/11/03/2019-state-of-the-word/">State of the Word 2019 &#8211; WordCamp US, St. Louis</a></li><li><a href="https://wordpress.tv/2018/12/27/state-of-the-word-2018/">State of the Word 2018 &#8211; WordCamp US, Nashville</a></li><li><a href="https://wordpress.tv/tag/state-of-the-word/">All recordings</a></li></ul>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 04 Dec 2020 22:55:19 +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: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: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:48:"BuddyPress: BuddyPress 7.0.0 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:32:"https://buddypress.org/?p=315858";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:52:"https://buddypress.org/2020/12/buddypress-7-0-0-rc2/";s: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:3608:"<p>Hello,</p>



<p>The second <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/buddypress.7.0.0-RC2.zip">release candidate for BuddyPress 7.0.0</a> is now ready for an ultimate round of testing <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f642.png" alt="🙂" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2>What happened Since the&nbsp;<a href="https://buddypress.org/2020/11/buddypress-7-0-0-release-candidate/">first release candidate</a>?</h2>



<p>We&#8217;ve been working on getting the BP Nouveau Template Pack looks great into the next WordPress default theme &#8220;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/09/23/introducing-twenty-twenty-one/">Twenty Twenty-One</a>&#8220;. We believe BP Nouveau is now ready to enjoy this awesome theme whether you use its regular or dark mode.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2020/12/bp-nouveau-2021.png"><img width="1000" height="479" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2020/12/bp-nouveau-2021.png" alt="" class="wp-image-315860" /></a><em>Screen capture of the Members directory</em> (dark mode)</div>



<p>BuddPress 7.0.0 is&nbsp;still slated for release&nbsp;on&nbsp;<strong>Wednesday, December 9</strong>, and if you haven’t tried 7.0.0 yet,&nbsp;<strong>it’s probably your last chance to do so!</strong></p>



<p>Let&#8217;s test <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/buddypress.7.0.0-RC2.zip">BuddyPress 7.0.0-RC2</a> with <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/12/03/wordpress-5-6-rc-3/">WordPress 5.6-RC3</a> to be sure both will be great as soon as they will be released! It&#8217;s also important to do so if you want to help us check BP Nouveau&#8217;s integration with Twenty Twenty-One is as nice as we think <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f609.png" alt="😉" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<p>You can test the <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/buddypress.7.0.0-RC2.zip">7.0.0-RC2</a> pre-release in 4 ways :</p>



<ul><li>Try the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/bp-beta-tester/">BP Beta Tester</a> plugin.</li><li><a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/buddypress.7.0.0-RC2.zip">Download the release candidate here (zip file)</a>.</li><li>Check out our SVN repository: <code>svn co https://buddypress.svn.wordpress.org/trunk/</code></li><li>Clone our read-only Git repository: <code>git clone git://buddypress.git.wordpress.org/</code></li></ul>



<p>A detailed changelog will be part of our official release note, but&nbsp;you can get a quick overview by reading the post about the&nbsp;<a href="https://buddypress.org/2020/10/buddypress-7-0-0-beta1/">7.0.0 Beta1</a>&nbsp;release.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2>Polyglots contributors, let&#8217;s target 100% of translated strings.</h2>



<p>Since previous release candidate we&#8217;ve reached the&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/handbook/glossary/#string-freeze">string freeze</a>&nbsp;point of the 7.0.0 release schedule, so this one (RC2) does not introduce new strings to translate. Let&#8217;s use the days we have left to try to make BuddyPress fully available into your locale as soon as it is released. Thanks in advance for your help.</p>



<p>As usual, <strong>if you think you’ve found a bug</strong>, please let us know reporting it on <a href="https://buddypress.org/support/topic/buddypress-7-0-0-release-candidate-2/">this support topic</a> and/or on <a href="https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/">our development tracker</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 04 Dec 2020 22:22:05 +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:12:"Mathieu Viet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:116:"WPTavern: State of CSS 2020 Survey Results: Tailwind CSS Wins Most Adopted Technology, Utility-First CSS on the Rise";s:7:"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=108561";s:7:"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:273:"https://wptavern.com/state-of-css-2020-survey-results-tailwind-css-wins-most-adopted-technology-utility-first-css-on-the-rise?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=state-of-css-2020-survey-results-tailwind-css-wins-most-adopted-technology-utility-first-css-on-the-rise";s: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:3346:"<p>The <a href="https://2020.stateofcss.com/en-US/">State of CSS 2020</a> survey results have just been published, with a summary of the tools, methodologies, frameworks, and libraries that are currently favored by CSS professionals. It includes data from 11,492 respondents in 102 countries, after the questions were translated for the first time into a dozen different languages.</p>



<p>In the layout category, CSS Grid logged a 34% increase over the prior year in respondents who report having used it to position elements on the screen. It won an award for &ldquo;Most Adopted Feature,&rdquo; which is assigned to the feature with the largest year-over-year &rdquo;have used&rdquo; progression. Only 6% of respondents said they have used Subgrid, which is included in Level 2 of the CSS Grid Layout specification. </p>



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



<p>CSS Flexible Box Layout has been used by 97.5% of respondents, a ~3% increase over the previous year. Multi-column Layout saw a moderate increase in usage and a small decrease in awareness. CSS Grid experienced the most growth by far in this category.</p>



<p>The technologies section is one of the most interesting parts of the survey, as the CSS ecosystem is constantly changing. The results include a scatter plot graph showing the relationship between each technology&rsquo;s satisfaction ratio and its user count. Technologies in the &ldquo;avoid&rdquo; and &ldquo;analyze&rdquo; groupings are likely to decline in usage soon (or have already fallen out of favor). </p>



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



<p>Tailwind CSS is once again the front-runner among CSS frameworks, followed by Bulma, which seems to be slowly waning in popularity. Tailwind CSS won the award for &ldquo;Most Adopted Technology,&rdquo; given to the technology with the largest year-over-year &ldquo;would use again&rdquo; progression, with a +17.8% progression over 2019. PureCSS, Ant Design, and Materialize CSS also recorded gains in their rankings from the previous year. </p>



<p>A larger trend emerging is utility-first CSS frameworks and tools gaining momentum among professionals. The utility-first approach, which eschews traditional semantic class naming in favor of more functional class names, <a href="http://www.zeldman.com/2017/01/03/kiss-my-classname/">has its ardent critics</a>.  It is somewhat of an eyesore reminiscent of inline styles, and essentially drops the &ldquo;cascading&rdquo; aspect of CSS. Nevertheless, its proponents appreciate being able to look at the HTML and see at a glance which styles are applied, as well as the enforced consistency it offers.</p>



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



<p>If you are interested in some of the finer details on which properties and positioning features professionals are using, shapes, graphics, and interactions, check out the <a href="https://2020.stateofcss.com/en-US/">full report</a>. Each section has recommended resources for learning more about popular and emerging technologies and techniques, including industry podcasts and blogs that professionals are currently enjoying.</p>



<p>The <a href="https://stateofjs.com/">State of JavaScript</a> survey is also now open, which offers a similar treasure trove of data on the JavaScript ecosystem once the results are published. </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, 04 Dec 2020 21:30:03 +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:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:31;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:71:"WPTavern: WordPress Community Team Discusses Return to In-Person Events";s:7:"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=108398";s:7:"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:187:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-community-team-discusses-return-to-in-person-events?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wordpress-community-team-discusses-return-to-in-person-events";s: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:6803:"<p>Although the promise of effective COVID-19 vaccines is shining a light at the end of a long tunnel, the world remains firmly in the virus&rsquo; grip until distribution can ramp up to cover at-risk groups as well as the general populace.</p>



<p>As pandemic-weary communities muster the discipline to ride out the next few months under continued restrictions, a new discussion popped up on WordPress.org regarding the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2020/12/01/discussion-how-can-the-wordpress-community-return-to-hosting-safe-in-person-events/">return to in-person events</a>. WordPress has canceled all in-person events through the end of the year and 2021 flagship events have already been designated as online-only. Community organizer Angela Jin cited recent successful vaccine trials as a prompt for discussing how WordPress can safely resume in-person events: </p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>There has been promising news around some successful trials for vaccines recently! As such, it seems worthwhile to discuss how the WordPress community can return to hosting safe, in-person events.&nbsp;</p><p>Any in-person event would certainly be subject to local laws and any restrictions on gatherings, as they&rsquo;ve always been. Beyond what local health authorities require, the Global Community Team may need to to help organizers identify what additional precautions are necessary to ensure in-person events are safe for participants.&nbsp;</p></blockquote>



<p>Jin offered several examples of &ldquo;additional precautions&rdquo; to ensure events are safe, such as mandatory masks, social distancing, outdoor events, limits on the number of attendees, and no food or drink service. </p>



<p>Although countries like Australia, Taiwan, and New Zealand, seem to have adequately contained the virus, the U.S., Europe, India, and Russia have cases spiraling out of control. The discussion seems oddly timed, as this week the U.S., which is leading the world in deaths, has seen daily deaths climb to <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/12/02/941902471/u-s-hits-100-000-covid-19-hospitalizations-breaks-daily-death-record">2,804</a>, surpassing the previous record of 2,607 reported on April 15, during the first wave of the pandemic.</p>



<p>Several of those commenting mentioned that the discussion opener neglects a critical detail about whether or not in-person events would resume before vaccines are widely distributed.</p>



<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m surprised I don&rsquo;t see mention of the vaccine being a requirement,&rdquo; Mika Epstein said. &ldquo;I could assume so, but the risk of COVID is human life.</p>



<p>&ldquo;That means that unless WordPress (or any public event) has a way to ensure that no one will contract (and die) of COVID, then they have no business having any event, indoor or outdoor.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Not every country is handling things equally well, and just in the US alone, there are many places where the law says &lsquo;do not have events&rsquo; but the local authorities refuse to intercede, which resulted in 80% of the people attending an outdoor party not too far from me all testing positive.&rdquo; </p>



<p>WordPress is a global community and reliance on local laws may still put event attendees at risk in communities that have been subject to a failure of leadership in protecting citizens.</p>



<p>Cami Kaos, an eight-year WordPress community organizer, echoed these thoughts, saying, &ldquo;The one thing we need to have in place in order to make a safe re-entry into in person events is to have wide spread access to an effective vaccine.&rdquo; She commented on the difficulties of trying to ensure attendees don&rsquo;t inadvertently put each other at risk:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>It&rsquo;s all well and good for us to say you can only organize within the recommendations of your local community, but we have no way of knowing how responsible individuals are being. Of knowing if they have come in from out of town for the event. If a member of their household is a frontline worker who might be exposed daily, if someone in their family is high risk and we could be endangering a life.</p></blockquote>



<p>Without widely distributed vaccines, hosting in-person gatherings with the possibility of attendees traveling from hotspot locations would be unconscionable.</p>



<p>Kaos also commented on how difficult enforcement would be for WordPress community volunteers who would be tasked with making sure individuals wear masks properly, use hand sanitizer, maintain distance, and uphold any other requirements. </p>



<p>&ldquo;All of this would be putting unpaid and uncompensated volunteers at risk unnecessarily,&rdquo; Kaos said.</p>



<p>&ldquo;If people would like to make the choice to see their friends and collaborators in person, that can be their choice. But I don&rsquo;t feel morally comfortable legally and finically supporting in-person gatherings when I think we could prevent even one death by extending our pause on in-person events to wait for a vaccine to be readily available.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Other commenters discussed how to manage the logistics of sponsoring masks and sanitizer for organizers by coordinating with local venues and figuring out a way around slow international shipments.  </p>



<p>&ldquo;This actually opens totally new ways to organize WordPress events!&rdquo; WordCamp organizer Timi Wahalahti said. &ldquo;Why not have a bicycle trip or something similar with your WordPress friends?&rdquo;</p>



<p>Live event recordings are another consideration for hosting events in a way that is accessible to more vulnerable populations. According to WordPress community organizer Andrea Middleton, professional video recording has historically been cost prohibitive at scale.</p>



<p>&ldquo;A year ago focusing on recordings may have sounded in some ways counterproductive to growing in-person events,&rdquo; WordPress core contributor David Ryan said. &ldquo;But I think today they provide a short-term fix to the head count crunch, can help bring/keep folx in-the-fold while making in-person attendance even safer, all while adding long-term value even when travel and gatherings normalize.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The discussion on finding a safe path forward for restarting in-person events will be open until December 16, 2020. Organizers and community members can <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2020/12/01/discussion-how-can-the-wordpress-community-return-to-hosting-safe-in-person-events/">comment on the post</a> for consideration. Angela Jin said the Community Team will continue to support online events in 2021 and beyond, regardless of any decisions resulting from the discussion.</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, 03 Dec 2020 22:10:51 +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: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:91:"WPTavern: Gutenberg 9.5 Improves Site Editor and Adds New Options for Cover and Code Blocks";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=108450";s:7:"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:227:"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-9-5-improves-site-editor-and-adds-new-options-for-cover-and-code-blocks?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gutenberg-9-5-improves-site-editor-and-adds-new-options-for-cover-and-code-blocks";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4774:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Gutenberg 9.5 <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/12/02/whats-new-in-gutenberg-2-december/">went live today</a>. The development team is continuing forward with work that we will start seeing down the road in WordPress 5.7 and beyond. The big user-facing highlights for this release were the additions of a full-height alignment option for the Cover block, font-size support in the Code block, and improved previews for block patterns.</p>



<p>The majority of users will not see most of the work that went into the 9.5 release. The team addressed dozens of bugs and enhancements for the full-site editing feature. To test them, users must be using a block-based WordPress theme, such as <a href="https://wptavern.com/twenty-twenty-one-blocks-theme-launching-as-a-separate-project">Twenty Twenty-One Blocks</a>, <a href="https://wptavern.com/q-first-fse-wordpress-theme-now-live">Q</a>, or <a href="https://wptavern.com/block-based-bosco-second-full-site-editing-theme-lands-in-the-wordpress-directory">Block-Based Bosco</a>.</p>



<p>We are a long way from seeing a production-ready site editor, but it is nice to see the improvements with each major Gutenberg release, such as the ability to <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/27224">set a post&rsquo;s featured image</a> if it doesn&rsquo;t exist. The new description, status, and theme <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/27156">admin columns for templates and template parts</a> add useful information. And, the developer side of me is happy to see a new <code>wp_theme</code> <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/27016">taxonomy for grouping templates</a> under the hood rather than metadata.</p>



<p>The development team has made progress on the Query block. It is probably the most important piece of the full-site editing puzzle, and its current state is still holding back movement on block-based themes. The block now sports a new <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/27067">&ldquo;grid view&rdquo; option</a>. There is also a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/26990">Posts List variation</a> that sets up a default of listing blog posts and excluding sticky posts. This block variation is a step toward pushing third-party plugin developers into creating custom variations for their post types in the future, building from the example set by WordPress.</p>



<h2>Full-Screen Cover Block</h2>



<img />Setting the Cover block to full height.



<p class="has-drop-cap">The Gutenberg team added a new <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/26615">Full Height Alignment</a> toolbar option to the Cover block. This is an independent alignment option and does not interfere with the existing horizontal alignments.</p>



<p>When adding the Cover block to a post, users will see a new frame-like button in the toolbar. After clicking, it will automatically set the height setting in the block options to <code>100 vh</code>, which is the full height of the browser viewport. This option is far more flexible than having users set a height with pixel units, which do not automatically adjust based on the visitor&rsquo;s screen size.</p>



<p>By combining this new alignment with full-width alignment, users can create full-screen layouts with the Cover block.</p>



<p>The new toolbar control will likely <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/16385">land in other core blocks</a>. The Media &amp; Text block is another good use case. Plus, third-party plugin developers can integrate it into their blocks. As its use becomes more widespread in blocks, it will offer more robust design options for theme developers too.</p>



<h2>Change Code Block Font Size</h2>



<img />Setting the Code block&rsquo;s font size.



<p class="has-drop-cap">The Code block now has the same <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/27294">font-size option</a> as other text-based blocks, such as Paragraph and List. In general, users should probably shy away from adjusting this on a per-post basis and stick to the global default set by their theme or the Global Styles options when they eventually land in WordPress.</p>



<p>However, there are use cases where it makes sense to change the code font-size in particular layouts.  I imagine some development-related site owners will want to highlight or showcase code in some way.</p>



<p>With that in mind, it would be interesting to see other design options brought to Code block. Currently, it does not offer much in the way of customization, but color and background options could allow users to spruce up their code examples a bit without relying on a third-party plugin for that extra bit of pizzazz.</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, 02 Dec 2020 23:45:15 +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: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:57:"WordPress.org blog: The Month in WordPress: November 2020";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=9283";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:72:"https://wordpress.org/news/2020/12/the-month-in-wordpress-november-2020/";s: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:10892:"<p>November 2020 saw several updates to the WordPress 5.6 release. Read on to follow all the latest news from the WordPress world!</p>



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



<h2>WordPress 5.6 updates</h2>



<p>The Core team released WordPress 5.6 <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2020/11/wordpress-5-6-beta-3/">Beta 3</a> on Nov. 2, <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2020/11/wordpress-5-6-beta-4/">Beta 4</a> on Nov. 12, <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2020/11/wordpress-5-6-release-candidate/">release candidate</a> 1 on Nov. 17, and <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2020/12/wordpress-5-6-release-candidate-2/">release candidate 2</a> on Dec. 1. You can test the Beta versions and the release candidates by <a href="https://wordpress.org/wordpress-5.6-beta2.zip">downloading them from WordPress.org</a> or by using the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/">WordPress Beta Tester</a> plugin. Check out the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/20/wordpress-5-6-field-guide/">WordPress 5.6 field guide</a> to understand the features of WordPress 5.6 and learn how you can incorporate them into your websites. WordPress 5.6 <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/5-6/">will be out by Dec. 9, 2020</a>. </p>



<p>But our work is never done: You can submit <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/23/wordpress-5-7-whats-on-your-wishlist/">feature suggestions for WordPress 5.7</a> by Dec. 15.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Want to contribute to upcoming WordPress releases? Join the WordPress Core dev chats on Wednesdays at 5 a.m. and 8 p.m. UTC in the <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C02RQBWTW">#core</a> channel on the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/chat/">Make WordPress Slack</a>, and <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/dev-chat/">catch up with recaps</a> on the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/">Core team blog</a>. If you would like to help with WordPress 5.6 outreach, contact the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/marketing/">WordPress Marketing team</a> on the <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C0GKJ7TFA">#marketing</a> channel.</p>



<h2>Gutenberg 9.3 and 9.4 are out</h2>



<p>Contributor teams released Gutenberg <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-4-november/">Version 9.3</a> on Nov. 4 and <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/19/whats-new-in-gutenberg-18-november-2/">Version 9.4</a> on Nov. 18. Both versions include&nbsp; several improvements to Full Site Editing (FSE) flows, in addition to bug fixes and feature upgrades. Version 9.3 is the first release that isn’t included entirely in WordPress 5.6; the version automatically enables FSE experiments when a block-based theme is active. Version 9.4 introduces some new features like percentage width for button blocks, block variation transformations, social icon support, and font size support for the list block. You can find out more about the Gutenberg roadmap in the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/02/whats-next-in-gutenberg-november-2020/">What’s next in Gutenberg blog post</a>.</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 <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/chat/">the Making WordPress Slack group</a>.</p>



<h2>Learn WordPress updates</h2>



<p>WordPress contributor teams are all set to launch <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/">Learn WordPress</a> in December. Community members can now watch<a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/workshops"> video workshops</a> to learn about various WordPress topics, <a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-discussions/">participate in discussion groups</a>, and use <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/lesson-plans/">lesson plans</a> for organizing their own workshops. Contributor teams have launched <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2020/11/18/quizzes-are-now-live-on-learn-wordpress/">quizzes</a> and are also working on <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2020/11/18/standards-for-learn-wordpress-workshop-content/">setting standards</a> for workshops.<br /></p>



<p>Want to contribute to Learn WordPress? You can now submit a <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/workshop-presenter-application/">workshop application</a> (submissions in languages other than English are welcome!), apply to become a <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/discussion-group-leader-application/">discussion group leader</a>, organize <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/virtual-events/organize-learn-wordpress-discussion-groups-for-your-wordpress-meetup/">discussions for your local WordPress meetup group</a>, or <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/training/2020/11/25/high-priority-items-before-learn-wordpress-org-launch-part-2/">help fix issues with existing lesson plans</a>.</p>



<h2>WordPress 5.6 Translations and Polyglots survey</h2>



<p>WordPress 5.6 is ready to be translated and is now at <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/handbook/glossary/#hard-freeze">hard string freeze</a>. If you would like to contribute, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2020/11/07/wordpress-5-6-ready-to-be-translated/">check out these instructions</a> and ensure that <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/handbook/translating/packaging-localized-wordpress/automated-release-packages/">your locale is ready for an automated release</a>. The Polyglots team has also kicked off its <a href="https://wordpressdotorg.survey.fm/polyglots-translator-research">translator research survey</a>. Please <a href="https://wordpressdotorg.survey.fm/polyglots-translator-research">participate in the survey</a>, share the <a href="https://wordpressdotorg.survey.fm/polyglots-translator-research">survey link</a> with members of your locale, and help amplify the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WPTranslationDay/posts/1275404086174610">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/TranslateWP/status/1333342595913834496">Twitter</a>, and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/wptranslationday_makewordpress-wordpress-activity-6739110862650523648-fX8R/">LinkedIn</a> posts about it.</p>



<p>Want to help WordPress speak your language? Follow <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots">the Polyglots team blog</a> and join the <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C02RP50LK">#polyglots</a> channel in <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/chat/">the Making WordPress Slack group</a>.&nbsp;</p>



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



<h2>Further Reading:</h2>



<ul><li><a href="https://www.php.net/releases/8.0/en.php">PHP 8</a> is out, and WordPress 5.6 <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/23/wordpress-and-php-8-0/">aims to be &#8220;beta-compatible&#8221; with the latest PHP version</a>.</li><li>Contributor teams have kicked off <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2020/11/18/theme-previews-in-the-time-of-blocks/">an ongoing discussion on starter content for WordPress themes</a>. Starter content for the <a href="http://wp-themes.com/twentytwentyone/">Twenty Twenty One</a>, <a href="http://wp-themes.com/twentytwenty/">Twenty Twenty</a>, and <a href="http://wp-themes.com/twentyseventeen/">Twenty Seventeen</a> themes are now available.</li><li>The Accessibility team is <a href="https://github.com/10degrees/accessibility-statement-plugin">testing a tool</a> to generate the structure of an accessibility statement for WordPress websites based on <a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/planning/statements/generator/#create">W3C standards</a>, and it is <a href="https://github.com/10degrees/accessibility-statement-plugin/issues">requesting feedback from the community</a>.</li><li>The <a href="https://wordpressfoundation.org/">WordPress Foundation</a> has published a <a href="https://wordpressfoundation.org/2020/open-source-workshops-november-2020-report/">report on Open Source workshops</a> that were held online in 2020, based on the <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/">Learn WordPress</a> platform.</li><li>The Docs team is actively <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/docs/2020/11/12/follow-up-on-gutenberg-developer-documentation-restructuring-proposal/">following up</a> on a proposal to <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/docs/2020/08/13/plan-proposal-for-a-new-better-structured-gutenberg-developer-documentation/">restructure the Gutenberg developer documentation</a>.</li><li>The Community team is back with <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/tag/tuesdaytrainings/">Tuesday Trainings</a>. The team is <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2020/11/16/community-team-goals-for-2021-share-your-suggestions/">also inviting suggestions on team goals for 2021</a> with a deadline of Dec. 14.</li><li>The Support team is <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/support/2020/11/changing-up-the-forum-front-page/">making changes to the forum page</a> to improve discoverability. </li><li>Two online WordCamps took place in November: <a href="https://finland.wordcamp.org/2020/">WordCamp Finland Online</a> and <a href="https://mexico.wordcamp.org/2020/">WordCamp Mexico Online</a>. You can find Livestream recaps of the events on their websites. Videos will soon be available on WordPress.tv as well.</li><li>The Themes team <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2020/11/11/meeting-notes-tuesday-november-10-2020/">made some changes to WordPress theme requirements</a>. These include removing updated CSS guidelines and a proposed plan to make WordPress themes accessibility-ready. The team is also <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2020/11/19/feedback-requested-resolution-process-for-issues-found-in-live-themes/">requesting feedback</a> on the resolution process for issues found in live themes.</li><li>WordPress 5.6 will feature a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/05/updating-core-jquery-to-version-3-part-2/">major jQuery change</a>, with the bundled jQuery version being updated to Version 3.5.1 and jQuery Migrate being updated to Version 3.3.2.</li><li>The <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/tag/wpdiversity/">Diversity speaker training group</a> of the Community team is requesting feedback on reimagining their work. Please <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2020/11/12/input-requested-re-imagining-the-work-of-the-diverse-speaker-training-group-wpdiversity/">share your feedback as comments on the post</a> by Dec. 18.</li></ul>



<p><em>Have a story that we should include in the next “Month in WordPress” post? Please </em><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/month-in-wordpress-submissions/"><em>submit it here</em></a><em>.</em></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 02 Dec 2020 09:13:48 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"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: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:73:"WPTavern: New Plugin Adds Google-Doc Style Commenting to Gutenberg Blocks";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=108408";s:7:"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/new-plugin-adds-google-doc-style-commenting-to-gutenberg-blocks?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-plugin-adds-google-doc-style-commenting-to-gutenberg-blocks";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3328:"<p><a href="https://www.multidots.com/">Multidots</a>, a development agency and WordPress VIP Agency Partner, has released a plugin that brings content collaboration to the block editor. The <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/commenting-feature/">Google-Doc Style Gutenberg Block Commenting</a> plugin landed on WordPress.org in October and is just starting to gain traction.</p>



<p>It adds inline commenting to the editor where users can highlight text or select entire blocks and leave a comment. Other users can leave comments and/or mark the thread as resolved for a collaborative editing experience. Alternatively, the post author can use comments for making notes on sections that need to be improved or reviewed prior to publishing. The features support the following editorial workflow:</p>



<ul><li>Add comments on Gutenberg blocks</li><li>Reply to comment</li><li>Get feedback</li><li>Resolve it</li><li>Get email notification of resolved comments</li></ul>



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



<p>Multidots has a <a href="https://www.multidots.com/gutenberg-commenting-demo/">live demo</a> set up where you can test leaving comments, replies, and marking threads as resolved. The plugin is currently compatible with a range of text-based blocks that are part of a page or post. Commenting can be accessed by highlighting text and then clicking on the dropdown arrow in the toolbar. Inline comments can be displayed or hidden via the icon in the top toolbar.</p>



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



<p>The plugin restricts adding and editing comments to Super Administrators, Administrators, and Editors. These user roles can edit their own comments but cannot edit or delete those added by other users.</p>



<p>Google-Doc Style Gutenberg Block Commenting could be useful for organizations where multiple teams need to review content before publishing. Not having the ability to collaborate using the block editor may even be a deal breaker for some teams that are considering WordPress. When collaborating on posts in the past I have often used Google Docs just for the ability to give inline comments with notifications. This plugin cuts many time-consuming steps out of that process, such as obtaining collaborators&rsquo; Gmail addresses, pasting the most recent version of the post into a document, and ultimately having to paste it all back into the editor. </p>



<p>The plugin&rsquo;s authors consider this a beta version and plan to add more features based on community feedback. After testing it, I found that resolved threads seem to disappear, but it might be helpful to have a lasting record of them. Users cannot comment on images or other types of non-text-based blocks, and this seems somewhat limiting. There are no notifications for comments &ndash; only resolved threads, which makes it difficult to know when content needs further review.</p>



<p>Multidots is planning for the next release to be a more optimized version with enhanced commenting features, including the ability to leave popup suggestions for adding/removing certain text at a specific location and asynchronous commenting. Anyone interested in following the progress or contributing can <a href="https://github.com/multidots/gutenberg_commenting/">find the project on GitHub</a>.</p>



<p></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 02 Dec 2020 04:40:09 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"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: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:53:"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 5.6 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:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=9274";s:7:"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/2020/12/wordpress-5-6-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:2247:"<p>The second release candidate for WordPress 5.6 is here!</p>



<p>WordPress 5.6 is slated for release on <strong>December 8, 2020</strong>, and we need <em>your</em> help to get there—if you haven’t tried 5.6 yet, now is the time!</p>



<p>You can test WordPress 5.6 release candidate 2 in two ways:</p>



<ul><li>Try the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/">WordPress Beta Tester</a> plugin (choose the “bleeding edge nightlies” option).</li><li>Or <a href="https://wordpress.org/wordpress-5.6-RC2.zip">download the release candidate here (zip)</a>.</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>Plugin and Theme Developers</h2>



<p>Please test your plugins and themes against WordPress 5.6 and update the <em>Tested up to</em> version in the readme file to 5.6. If you find compatibility problems, please be sure to post to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta/">support forums</a>. That way, those can be figured out before the final release. </p>



<p>For a more detailed breakdown of the changes included in WordPress 5.6, check out the <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2020/10/wordpress-5-6-beta-1/">WordPress 5.6 beta 1 post</a>. The <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/20/wordpress-5-6-field-guide/">WordPress 5.6 Field Guide</a> is also out! It’s your source for details on all the major changes.</p>



<h2>How to Help</h2>



<p>Do you speak a language other than English? <a href="https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp/dev">Help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages!</a></p>



<p><em><strong>Think you found a bug?</strong> Post it to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta">Alpha/Beta area</a> in the support forums. We would love to hear from you! If you’re comfortable writing a reproducible bug report you can <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/reports/">file one on WordPress Trac</a>. Don&#8217;t forget to check <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/tickets/major">the list of known bugs</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:"Tue, 01 Dec 2020 22:09:28 +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: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: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:92:"WPTavern: Block-Based Bosco, Second Full-Site Editing Theme Lands in the WordPress Directory";s:7:"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=108321";s:7:"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:227:"https://wptavern.com/block-based-bosco-second-full-site-editing-theme-lands-in-the-wordpress-directory?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=block-based-bosco-second-full-site-editing-theme-lands-in-the-wordpress-directory";s: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:5489:"<img />



<p class="has-drop-cap">Fr&auml;nk Klein, a Principal Engineer at Human Made, is now the second theme developer to release a block-based theme to the WordPress theme directory. <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/block-based-bosco/">Block-Based Bosco</a> is a recreation of his <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/bosco/">Bosco</a> theme, which he released in 2014.</p>



<p>Block-based themes, also called FSE (full-site editing) themes, are currently experimental. They require the use of the Gutenberg plugin, which will automatically detect their structure and activate the beta version of the site editor. This system allows users to experience a WordPress install that is comprised entirely of blocks. Widgets, nav menus, and the customizer screens are out. Everything from posts to site headers to navigation is handled through HTML templates, which users can customize via the site editor. It is still a raw experience but continually improves with each update of the Gutenberg plugin.</p>



<p>Just over a month ago, Themes Team representative Ari Stathopoulos <a href="https://wptavern.com/q-first-fse-wordpress-theme-now-live">released the first block-based theme</a>, named Q, to the official theme directory. It was both a milestone in WordPress theming history and an invitation for developers to follow his lead.</p>



<p>We have since seen the initial work toward a <a href="https://wptavern.com/twenty-twenty-one-blocks-theme-launching-as-a-separate-project">block-based version</a> of the upcoming Twenty Twenty-One default theme. It is not yet in the directory, but the community should expect it soon.</p>



<p>Developers like Klein and Stathopoulos are paving the way for others. For those who do not have the time or the inclination to scour the Gutenberg plugin&rsquo;s code or follow dozens of tickets, they can take the easy route. Study the code of people who have done the legwork.</p>



<p>Klein has also written a detailed post titled <a href="https://wpdevelopment.courses/articles/full-site-editing-theme-learnings/">What I Learned Building a Full-Site Editing Theme</a> in which he goes into detail about his experience. Despite his optimism for the future of theming, he does not shy away from the problems he stumbled upon. It is a must-read for any theme author who is preparing to take the plunge into block-based theme building.</p>



<p>One thing that some developers may find surprising or may even make them feel slightly uncomfortable is that Klein spent much of his development time working from the site editor rather than in a code editor. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s likely that this will be the future workflow for creating themes,&rdquo; he wrote. &ldquo;Because not only can you edit a theme visually, but it&rsquo;s also much more practical than writing block markup by hand. Especially because the interface makes it easy to discover the different options offered by blocks, so that you can adjust them as needed for your desired theme design.&rdquo;</p>



<h2>About the Theme</h2>



<img />Block-Based Bosco in the site editor.



<p class="has-drop-cap">Block-Based Bosco is relatively simple. It is a one-column, no-sidebar theme, which is what most block-based themes will look like at the moment.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Full-site editing themes are still missing a lot of essential features,&rdquo; wrote Klein. &ldquo;Therefore it&rsquo;s important to choose a theme design that fits with these constraints. Else you&rsquo;re going to have a very frustrating experience.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Unlike Q, which is a bare-bones theme primarily for testing theme-related features, Block-Based Bosco is based on a design that users might want to actually use on a site, at least someday. Currently, full-site editing is not yet ready for use with production sites. The theme design holds up well for a simple personal blog.</p>



<p>There are things the theme could do better in the short term. Offering support for wide and full alignments would be ideal, particularly for a one-column theme. The editor and front-end content width also do not match, so it is not a perfect what-you-see-is-what-you-get experience. These are not make-or-break features for these types of experimental themes at this point. We are simply in the testing ground stage.</p>



<p>Right now, end-users need to start tinkering with themes like Block-Based Bosco &mdash; please do so on a test install and not a live site &mdash; and offering feedback. They also allow other developers to get more comfortable with a new system before it suddenly feels like it comes crashing down in 2021.</p>



<h2>Opening Up the Theme Directory</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">One thing is obvious at this point. The WordPress theme directory needs to allow theme authors to upload block-based themes without hacks or other workarounds. Block-Based Bosco and similar themes are currently being shipped with dummy files, such as <code>header.php</code> and <code>footer.php</code>, and unnecessary PHP code in <code>functions.php</code> to bypass the Theme Check system. With these extra files and code removed, block-based themes are minuscule in comparison to traditional WordPress themes.</p>



<p>There is an <a href="https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/5504">open ticket</a> on the WordPress Meta Trac and a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/theme-check/pull/280">patch for the Theme Check plugin</a>. Someone needs to pull the trigger and make it happen.</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, 01 Dec 2020 21:19:54 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:37;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:113:"WPTavern: Admin 2020 Version 2 Introduces New Lite Version, Better Plugin Compatibility, and Modular Architecture";s:7:"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=108302";s:7:"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:267:"https://wptavern.com/admin-2020-version-2-introduces-new-lite-version-better-plugin-compatibility-and-modular-architecture?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=admin-2020-version-2-introduces-new-lite-version-better-plugin-compatibility-and-modular-architecture";s: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:5328:"<img />



<p>Six months ago, <a href="https://admintwentytwenty.com/">Admin 2020</a> captured the attention of WordPress users with its fresh approach to skinning the admin screens. <a href="https://admintwentytwenty.com/admin-2-is-here/">Version 2</a> of the plugin has been completely rewritten to support a modular architecture so users can enable or disable features, or selectively enable them&nbsp;by user role or username. Some users prefer the default menu but want to be able to categorize their media into folders with the plugin&rsquo;s CMS-friendly architecture for organizing media and posts. This update significantly improves performance for those who don&rsquo;t require the analytics, admin bar, menu, or other features. </p>



<p>The plugin now has a new settings interface that is less cluttered than the previous version.</p>



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



<p>&ldquo;Admin 2020 started off as a WordPress admin theme, and that was always at the core of the plugin,&rdquo; developer Mark Ashton said. &ldquo;As we grew, we added more and more features on top of that and it became very difficult in its current iteration to separate those feature sets, or disable some features and let others carry on.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Version 2 also greatly improves compatibility with other plugins. Ashton was spending a lot of time adding support for other plugins, which slowed down development. The new approach to compatibility causes fewer styling conflicts and works without having to add custom stylesheets for other plugins. Prior to this version, Admin 2020 disabled 90% of WordPress admin styling and applied its own. </p>



<p>&ldquo;While this gave us complete control over layouts and styling, it was one of the reasons we had to spend a lot of time adding support for other plugins,&rdquo; Ashton said. &ldquo;So for version 2, we kept the WP styling (most of it anyway) and applied a lightweight theme on top&nbsp;of it. The end result is a theme that is more refined, quicker, and the most compatible we have ever put out.<br />Usually the only plugins we have problems with these days are the ones that actively disable non standard WP scripts and styles, which obviously breaks admin 2020&rsquo;s layout.&rdquo;</p>



<p>In the interest of keeping Admin 2020 lightweight, the plugin now uses a custom build of the <a href="https://getuikit.com/">UIkit</a> framework that is more tailored to its specific use case. </p>



<p>&ldquo;Instead of having uikit as a base, and then layering on top of it, we just tailored it to suit the plugin needs and thanks to the wonders of scss it is an incredibly easy framework to modify,&rdquo; Ashton said. &ldquo;Doing this also allowed us to support RTL much easier which was a very common feature request.&rdquo;</p>



<h2>New Admin 2020 Lite Version Offers Basic Features, Coming to WordPress.org in 2021</h2>



<p>Admin 2020 is now available on the plugin&rsquo;s website in a Lite version for free. In recognition of WordPress.org&rsquo;s undeniable force as a distribution channel, Ashton is considering changing his previous strategy of pursuing a fully commercial model to embrace the idea of marketing a free plugin with a paid upgrade. </p>



<p>&ldquo;Admin 2020 has grown so much since we launched in May this year and it&rsquo;s no longer just an admin theme,&rdquo; Ashton said. &ldquo;In fact, we see it as more of an admin extension now that also has a theme. Because of this, we felt there are now enough features to be able to offer the lite and pro versions.&rdquo;</p>



<p>With the new modular system in version 2, the free and commercial versions are the same plugins, except the lite version has the paid modules removed.</p>



<p>&ldquo;This means the development of the two versions is synched and updates,&nbsp;new features and bug&nbsp;fixes all rollout at the same time,&rdquo; Ashton said. &ldquo;For the time being we are going to stick to our own distribution&nbsp;channel just to keep everything streamlined, but releasing through&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://wordpress.org/" target="_blank">wordpress.org</a>&nbsp;is something we have planned for next year.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Launching a new business during a pandemic is no easy feat but Ashton has grown Admin 2020&rsquo;s user base to 3,642 active installations and is still looking to hire someone to assist in developing and maintaining the plugin.</p>



<p>&ldquo;This has grown dramatically since the release of version 2 and will likely be around 5,000 or more in a week due to the sales from the Black Friday/Cyber Monday event,&rdquo; he said. </p>



<p>Next up on the roadmap, Admin 2020 users can expect more customization options and deeper integration with WooCommerce. Ashton is currently working on the custom admin pages feature set that will allow users to create admin pages using the block editor and some of the more popular page builders. </p>



<p>&ldquo;We are also working on expanding our WooCommerce integration with the idea of having a full suite of cards and data available on the overview page to help better visualize your business and sales,&rdquo; Ashton said. &ldquo;We are also going to be changing admin 2020&rsquo;s name towards the end of the year but I won&rsquo;t say what to just yet.&rdquo;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 30 Nov 2020 23:36:50 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:97:"WPTavern: Block Navigation Plugin Provides Missing Context-Based Outline for 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=108323";s:7:"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:239:"https://wptavern.com/block-navigation-plugin-provides-missing-context-based-outline-for-the-wordpress-editor?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=block-navigation-plugin-provides-missing-context-based-outline-for-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:4596:"<p class="has-drop-cap">&Aacute;lvaro Garc&iacute;a wrote the first code for his <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/block-navigation">Block Navigation</a> plugin back in November 2018. It is one of those hidden gems that I wish I had known about two years ago as I began using the block editor. It has been available. I simply did not know about it until blindly stumbling upon it in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/gutenberghub/permalink/2844169185815585/">discussion</a> in the WordPress Gutenberg Community group on Facebook.</p>



<p>The goal of the plugin is to provide an alternative to the editor&rsquo;s current navigation. For the most part, it excels. WordPress has set the bar so low that any improvement seems like a godsend.</p>



<p>The plugin adds a new sidebar panel titled Block Navigation. That panel then lists each block with the added context needed to understand what block it is associated with in the content. For example, a Paragraph block in the navigation list will display its first few words. Other blocks do the same. Images and galleries in the list display their respective thumbnails. It handles nested blocks too.</p>



<p>All users must do is search for and click on the block they want to jump to in the content.</p>



<img />Navigating to  specific paragraph in the document.



<p>The plugin is packed with several other features. Users can shift blocks up and down from the navigation panel. They can also move blocks anywhere in the document with the click of a button or remove them altogether.</p>



<p>One of the more interesting features of the Block Navigation plugin is its ability to log a block&rsquo;s data to the console. For developers, this could be a handy feature to quickly look up information for a block. While I doubt the average user would use it, there might be some potential applications for support requests, particularly with third-party block plugins.</p>



<img />Console log of a block&rsquo;s data.



<p>The downside of the plugin is that it does not provide a color scheme that simply matches the default WordPress color palette. However, it does provide a dozen color options for users to choose from. The Banana (light) scheme seemed the least out of place.</p>



<p>With the navigation being handled in the sidebar, it could interfere with some users&rsquo; workflows. For users who prefer to keep the block options sidebar available at all times, they will need to switch back and forth between sidebars. The plugin does provide a button for switching to each block&rsquo;s setting via its submenu (vertical ellipsis icon) in the navigation list.</p>



<p>The thing that would make this plugin better would be putting it into the editor toolbar, replacing the current Outline dropdown.</p>



<h2>It Should Be a Core WordPress Feature</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">The block editor&rsquo;s Outline dropdown is lackluster at best. For short posts, it is unnecessary. For long posts, there is no context for any of the blocks in the list. The goal is to be able to jump to specific points in the document without scrolling. However, unless you know the exact location in the block you want to jump to, it can sometimes be impossible to use the feature.</p>



<img />Outline dropdown.



<p>The Document Outline section of the Details dropdown provides some much-needed context. It displays the post&rsquo;s headings. However, this outline does not allow users to click on an item and jump to its associated block.</p>



<img />Details dropdown.



<p>Paal Joachim Romdahl proposed a fix for the Outline dropdown in October 2018. &ldquo;What about just using the icon and then showing some of the text in the beginning of the paragraph?&rdquo; he asked in a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/11010">GitHub ticket</a> that has seen no discussion for nearly a year.</p>



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



<p>There is currently an <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/14956">open pull request</a> on GitHub to merge the Details and Outline dropdowns in the toolbar. The original proposal added a tabbed interface. However, an alternative patch without the tabs proposed in the same ticket would merge the best of both worlds by adding the more-detailed structural outline while linking to the blocks in the document.</p>



<p>The only question left now is whether I can still update my <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-7-wish-list-save-block-editor-settings-per-user">WordPress 5.7 wish list</a> to include this feature.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 30 Nov 2020 23:03:20 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:61:"BuddyPress: BuddyPress 6.4.0 Maintenance and Security Release";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"https://buddypress.org/?p=315780";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:81:"https://buddypress.org/2020/11/buddypress-6-4-0-maintenance-and-security-release/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1569:"<p><a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/buddypress.6.4.0.zip">BuddyPress 6.4.0</a>&nbsp;is now available. This is a security and maintenance release. All BuddyPress installations are strongly encouraged to upgrade as soon as possible.</p>



<p>The 6.4.0 release addresses one security issue: non-capable users could add a style attributes to “span” and “p” elements in possible rich text fields of their profile page. The vulnerability has been fixed.</p>



<p>Version 6.4.0 also fixes 7 bugs, including compatibility updates to welcome <a href="https://www.php.net/releases/8.0/en.php?lang=en">PHP 8.0 release</a> (Congratulations to all PHP 8.0 contributors!).</p>



<p>For complete details, visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/releases/version-6-4-0/">6.4.0 changelog</a>.</p>



<p>Update to BuddyPress 6.4.0 today in your WordPress Dashboard, or by&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress/">downloading from the WordPress.org plugin repository</a>.</p>



<h2>Many thanks to 6.4.0 contributors&nbsp;<span class="dashicons dashicons-heart"></span></h2>



<p><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/johnjamesjacoby">John James Jacoby (johnjamesjacoby)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/zeldatea/">Zeldatea</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dd32/">Dion Hulse</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/r-a-y/">Ray (r-a-y)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dcavins/">David Cavins (dcavins)</a> &amp; <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/imath/">Mathieu Viet (imath)</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 27 Nov 2020 22:32:16 +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:12:"Mathieu Viet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:40;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:65:"WordPress Foundation: Open Source Workshops: November 2020 report";s:7:"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=150204";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:80:"https://wordpressfoundation.org/2020/open-source-workshops-november-2020-report/";s: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:3597:"<p>The WordPress Foundation has been organizing <a href="https://wordpressfoundation.org/2018/open-source-training-events-announced/">Introduction to Open Source workshops</a>, as part of our continuing efforts to educate the public about WordPress and related open-source software (OSS). In 2019, as part of our goal of organizing workshops in parts of the world with less participation in open source, we held <a href="https://wordpressfoundation.org/2019/successful-open-source-workshops-in-bhutan-india-pakistan-and-angola/">four successful workshops</a> in India, Pakistan, Bhutan, and Thimphu.&nbsp;</p>



<p>By March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had engulfed the world, forcing community organizers to cancel all in-person events. Unfazed by these challenges, our community organizers pivoted to online events by organizing <a href="https://wordpressfoundation.org/2020/charity-hackathons-august-2020-report/">four successful online charity hackathons</a> in <a href="https://doaction.org/ja/event/japan-2020/">Japan</a>, <a href="https://doaction.org/event/south-africa-2020/">South Africa</a>, <a href="https://doaction.org/event/india-2020/">India</a>, and <a href="https://doaction.org/event/nigeria-2020/">Nigeria</a>, so far. The Introduction to Open Source workshops have also moved online. The <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/workshop/introduction-to-open-source/">workshop</a> is now available online as part of <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/">Learn WordPress</a>, which is a brand new initiative from WordPress contributor teams to help people learn how to use, build for, and contribute to WordPress. Community members across the world can now<a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/workshop/introduction-to-open-source/"> learn about Open-Source</a> safely from the comfort of their homes and test their knowledge using <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/quiz/introduction-to-open-source/">the embedded quiz</a>. The workshops are also followed by <a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-discussions/">discussion groups</a>, where participants can discuss their learnings in real-time and find answers to their questions.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>As of November 2020, the Introduction to Open-source workshop video has been viewed 757 times. Three online discussion group events with over 152 RSVPs were also held successfully. Sign-ups are open for two more discussion groups that are listed below:</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-discussions/events/274841875/">Tuesday, December 8 2020, at 6:00 AM UTC</a></li><li><a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-discussions/events/274841881/">Wednesday, December 16 2020, at 4:00 PM UTC</a></li></ul>



<p>You can watch the <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/workshop/introduction-to-open-source/">workshop video</a> and participate in these discussion groups to learn about open-source software and find answers to your questions on open-source.</p>



<p>In addition to these scheduled discussion groups, community organizers can organize <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/virtual-events/organize-learn-wordpress-discussion-groups-for-your-wordpress-meetup/">their own online discussion groups</a> or hold online watch parties for the <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/workshop/introduction-to-open-source/">Introduction to Open-Source workshop</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Given the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, WordPress Foundation events are likely to be held online in 2021. We will be announcing our plans for 2021 events later this year.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 27 Nov 2020 09:05:16 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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: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:38:"WPTavern: Something To Be Thankful For";s:7:"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=108221";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:121:"https://wptavern.com/something-to-be-thankful-for?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=something-to-be-thankful-for";s: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:4328:"<img />



<p class="has-drop-cap">Over the past several weeks, I have received around four dozen emails, texts, PMs, and other messages related to Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Last year, we ran a <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-black-friday-sales-roundup">roundup of deals</a> happening throughout the WordPress ecosystem.  However, we are not running such a post this year. It took a solid week to compile and piece together the previous article. It was a lot of work for what was a statistical dud. Readership tends to wane around holidays as people spend more time offline and with their families.</p>



<p>Plus, I firmly believe that our readers would rather see what we have to say about a particular product than simply scroll through a list of offers that are already widely shared on Twitter, Facebook, and elsewhere.</p>



<p>As George Olaru, the CEO of Pixelgrade, wrote in <em><a href="https://pixelgrade.com/upstairs/discounts/">I discount, you discount, we both lose</a></em>, software is not a perishable food item. It is not at risk of spoilage in a few days, and if it is, we have a real problem. On the flip side, some small businesses rely on this holiday to generate a large portion of their yearly revenue. However, we should all have some serious conversations about whether it is healthy for discounted software to permeate the WordPress plugin and theme markets every time a holiday rolls around. Whatever your stance, Olaru&rsquo;s piece is worth reading and thinking on.</p>



<p>It is also tough to get into the holiday spirit this year. With Covid-19, the Black Friday markets have changed, which is probably not a bad thing on the whole &mdash; <em>do we all really need to pile into stores to fight over the latest gadgets?</em> The pandemic has also meant that families have had to make hard decisions about gatherings. The Tadlock family decided to cancel our pre-Thanksgiving/reunion we have in early November. We host it early because the doctors and nurses in the family often have to work on the holiday, and they agreed that a large gathering was not ideal. Fortunately, we live in an era where we can connect with each other in moments and from vast distances.</p>



<p>No, it did not feel right to do a sales roundup this year. Instead, I wanted to get back to the root of the Thanksgiving holiday, at least what I was taught the holiday was supposed to be about.</p>



<p>While tomorrow&rsquo;s Thanksgiving holiday is an American tradition, I am certain our readers abroad can join in the celebration. It is a day of giving thanks for the blessings of the previous year. In times past, this has often meant being thankful for the harvest and having food on the table. Today, it still means the same to many. However, the holiday is all about counting our blessings, and that is something we should all take time to do.</p>



<p>This year, the thing I am most thankful for is the community, the people who all band together to create the most used CMS on the web, the people who evangelize the platform, and the people who continually take part in this grand experiment.</p>



<p>One of the things I attempt to do when writing is to share exciting things happening in our little corner of the world. Yes, I am often critical too. This is because I want to see people and companies strive to create better themes, plugins, and other products. For those times when I stretch to hyperbole or perhaps lean toward the negative, know that it comes from a place that is hoping for your success. It is hard to balance at times, but I am thankful that I can do this day in and day out.</p>



<p>After writing for the Tavern for over a year now, I feel like I am on a wondrous journey with so many of you. Whether it is a random message just to say hello or a ping about a new product, I look forward to seeing it all.</p>



<p>These human-to-human connections were not something I was expecting as I began this gig. Thank you to everyone who has made that possible.</p>



<p>Let&rsquo;s all take a day and share some of the WordPress-related things we are thankful for this year &mdash; <em>we can all save our block editor criticisms for tomorrow</em>. It has been a rough year. We could all really use some positivity right now.</p>



<p>What are you thankful for?</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, 25 Nov 2020 19:51:56 +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: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:67:"WPTavern: Getting Your WordPress Plugins and Themes Ready for PHP 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=108160";s:7:"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:179:"https://wptavern.com/getting-your-wordpress-plugins-and-themes-ready-for-php-8?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=getting-your-wordpress-plugins-and-themes-ready-for-php-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:7380:"<p>On Monday, WordPress core contributor Jonathan Desrosiers published a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/23/wordpress-and-php-8-0/" target="_blank">detailed post</a> on the Make WordPress Core blog about the upcoming PHP 8 release and how it affects WordPress.</p>



<h2>PHP 8 Is Coming</h2>



<p>Scheduled for release on <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://wiki.php.net/todo/php80" target="_blank">November 26, 2020</a>, PHP 8 is the next major update to our favorite scripting language. While previous PHP releases have not had too much of an adverse effect on the WordPress ecosystem, this update has some breaking changes that could affect backward compatibility. It should also be noted that many features that were deprecated in PHP 7.x will now be removed in PHP 8.</p>



<h2>The Status of WordPress Core</h2>



<p>In his post, Desrosiers highlights the work that has been done to keep the core software up to date.  &ldquo;WordPress Core aims to be compatible with PHP 8.0 in the 5.6 release (currently scheduled for December 8, 2020),&rdquo; he wrote. </p>



<p>However, this does not mean it is safe to upgrade to PHP 8 when WordPress 5.6 is released.  WordPress is rarely run just on its own and usually relies on at least one theme and a collection of plugins to function as a blog or web site. As such, he points out, &ldquo;The state of PHP 8 support within the broader ecosystem (plugins, themes, etc.) is impossible to know. For that reason, WordPress 5.6 should be considered &lsquo;beta compatible&rsquo; with PHP 8<strong>.</strong>&ldquo;</p>



<p>What this means, essentially, is that until most major themes and plugins are PHP 8 compatible, WordPress cannot be considered fully compatible.</p>



<h2>Understand How PHP 8 Could Affect Your Plugin or Theme</h2>



<p>Companies like Yoast have been preparing for this for a little while now. In late October, Yoast CTO Omar Reiss, along with fellow contributors Juliette Reinders Folmer, maintainer of the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://github.com/WordPress/WordPress-Coding-Standards" target="_blank">WordPress Coding Standards Sniffs for PHPCS</a>, and Yoast DevOps manager Herre Groen, compiled and published a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://developer.yoast.com/blog/the-2020-wordpress-and-php-8-compatibility-report/" target="_blank">comprehensive WordPress/PHP 8 compatibility report</a>. </p>



<p>While I highly recommend you take the time to read through the entire report, it does outline the main reason that the PHP 8 upgrade could have such a drastic effect on large WordPress sites, especially the plugin and theme ecosystem.</p>



<p>&ldquo;However, PHP 7.* versions have seen a far larger set of deprecations than previous versions of PHP. Where PHP 5.6 to PHP 7 was a relatively simple migration, going from 7.x to 8 could be very painful, especially for very old codebases, like WordPress and many of the plugins that are available for it. For well-typed codebases or codebases which have stayed up-to-date with the latest PHP versions, there isn&rsquo;t a big problem.&rdquo;</p>



<p>As a maintainer of a few plugins, some built on code dating back eight years, it is worrisome that this upgrade could cause sites to break.</p>



<img />PHPCompatibility repository.



<h2>How to Prepare Yourself</h2>



<p>I asked Reiss and Folmer what plugin and theme developers can do to get ready, and they shared some pointers.</p>



<p>First and foremost, developers should inform themselves about the changes coming in PHP 8: read <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/23/wordpress-and-php-8-0/" target="_blank">the Make post about PHP 8</a>, read the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://developer.yoast.com/blog/the-2020-wordpress-and-php-8-compatibility-report/" target="_blank">Yoast PHP8 Compatibility</a> report, read the &ldquo;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/23/wordpress-and-php-8-0/" target="_blank">Migrating from PHP 7.4 to PHP 8.0</a>&rdquo; section of the PHP manual, and potentially dig deeper by reading the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://github.com/php/php-src/blob/PHP-8.0/UPGRADING" target="_blank">UPGRADING doc in the PHP 8 branch</a> and the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://wiki.php.net/rfc#php_80" target="_blank">RFCs for PHP 8</a>.</p>



<p>Some available tools can be used to help look for incompatibilities:</p>



<ul><li>Run PHP lint on PHP 8 over their code, either via the &nbsp;<code>php -l</code>&nbsp;command (making sure to iterate over all files) or by using <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://github.com/php-parallel-lint/PHP-Parallel-Lint" target="_blank">PHP Parallel Lint</a>.</li><li>Run <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://github.com/PHPCompatibility/PHPCompatibility" target="_blank">PHPCompatibility</a> over their code: it should be noted that nearly all PHP 8 related sniffs are in the as-of-yet-not-yet-released version 10.0.0 of PHPCompatibility, so people would need to use the&nbsp;<code>develop</code>&nbsp;branch or via Composer&nbsp;<code>dev-develop</code>&nbsp;for the time being, until version 10.0.0 is released. </li><li>Run the unit/integration tests for the plugin or theme on PHP 8 and fix anything which that comes up as an error. This will often mean that the test suite first needs to be made compatible with PHPUnit 9.3+. The <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://github.com/Yoast/PHPUnit-Polyfills" target="_blank">PHPUnit Polyfills</a> package and <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://github.com/Yoast/wp-test-utils" target="_blank">WP Test Utils</a> package (both published under the Yoast GitHub organization) can help with this. It&rsquo;s also important to note a considerable test coverage is needed to make this reliable.</li><li>Run the WordPress <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/testing/automated-testing/phpunit/" target="_blank">unit tests</a> and WordPress <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/06/27/introducing-the-wordpress-e2e-tests/" target="_blank">e2e tests</a> with your plugin activated, and fix any issues that arise.</li><li>Check whether the (strict) code coverage of said tests is high enough and if not, add more tests, making sure both happy and unhappy paths are covered.</li><li>If there are no tests, test everything manually, focusing especially on the &ldquo;unhappy paths&rdquo;, and expect to receive bug reports for the foreseeable future. At the same time, this is probably a good time to look into implementing unit/integration tests for your plugin or theme.</li></ul>



<h2>There Is Still Time, But It Is Running Out</h2>



<p>As Desrosiers pointed out in the Make post, WordPress is only officially aiming to be PHP 8 ready by the time 5.6 is released in early December. Potentially, this means that many WordPress-focused hosting companies will only consider offering upgrades to their customers once WordPress core is compatible. So as plugin and theme developers, we have some time to test our products and get them ready, but that window is closing fast. </p>



<p>Fortunately for us, the knowledge and tools to get up to date are out there.  We merely need to put them into action.</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, 25 Nov 2020 17:03:54 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:18:"Jonathan Bossenger";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:70:"WPTavern: WordPress 5.7 Wish List: Save Block Editor Settings Per User";s:7:"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=108176";s:7:"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/wordpress-5-7-wish-list-save-block-editor-settings-per-user?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wordpress-5-7-wish-list-save-block-editor-settings-per-user";s: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:4651:"<p class="has-drop-cap">WordPress 5.6 development is winding down as we begin to close out the beta testing round, inching toward the final release on December 8. That means it is time to think about what WordPress 5.7 will look like. This is one of my favorite times of the WordPress development cycle because I get to see what others want to be added to the core platform. I also get to share a feature request of my own.</p>



<p>Francesca Marano <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/23/wordpress-5-7-whats-on-your-wishlist/">opened the discussion</a> on the Make Core blog. She asks that people link to a specific ticket, which can be from WordPress Trac or the Gutenberg repository.</p>



<p>One consideration for everyone&rsquo;s wish list is that 2021 will potentially see <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/11/21/tentative-release-calendar-2020-2021/">four major WordPress releases</a> rather than the typical three. WordPress 5.7 is tentatively scheduled to land on March 9, 2021. The team has scheduled future releases in three-month intervals. While the dates are not written in stone, it could mean each release&rsquo;s feature set might need to be scaled back to some small degree.</p>



<p>Most features that land in WordPress 5.7 will be items that are already under development. Enhancements like <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-6-release-team-pulls-the-plug-on-block-based-widgets">block-based widgets</a> and <a href="https://wptavern.com/navigation-screen-sidelined-for-wordpress-5-6-full-site-editing-edges-closer-to-public-beta">nav menus</a> that were punted from the 5.6 release should land early and be ready for a full three months of testing. The development team will also focus heavily on pushing an early/beta version of the site editor into core WordPress.</p>



<p>There is still room for other things to land, and now is the time for everyone to make their case for their pet feature.</p>



<p>Unlike past wish-list discussions, I am going to take a step back and control myself. Instead of asking for one of those big-ticket items that I know is unlikely to happen &mdash; <em>hello, <a href="https://wptavern.com/open-call-for-wordpress-5-5-tickets-whats-on-your-wish-list">completed post type API</a> and <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-6-wish-list-homepage-post-type-selection-and-block-management">homepage post type selection</a></em> &mdash;, I will simply ask for something more practical.</p>



<p>In WordPress 5.7, I want the block inspector tabs and some block option defaults to remain the same each time I write a new post.</p>



<p>One of my biggest pet-peeves is with the image block in particular. Each time I add an image, I first close the Styles tab in the sidebar. I do not use it often, so it is not important enough to always be open. Then, I must switch the Image Size setting to Full Size from its default Large. I typically format my images for display before uploading and simply want to use the image at the size I uploaded. These are small things, but they break my workflow. As a daily writer, it has become a nuisance over time.</p>



<img />Configuring image block settings.



<p>These should be per-user settings. Each user&rsquo;s workflow is different, so WordPress likely needs to handle this as user metadata or a similar method.</p>



<p>I was unable to track down an open ticket for saving the tab state. There are over 2,600 currently-open issues. Maybe I did not nail down the right search terminology. Or, it may be a non-issue for other users.</p>



<p>However, there is a two-year-old ticket for <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/8663">remembering the last image size</a> used. I was happy to find like-minded peers who share my frustration in this case. There is also a more recent ticket about <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/20269">storing the default image size</a> on a per-user basis. The feedback in the tickets shows a clear and present need for WordPress to fix this problem.</p>



<p>A representative of Feast Design Co. noted in the first ticket, &ldquo;Every time somebody inserts an image they have to change the image size. This seems small but at 10 seconds per image x 5 images per post x 2 posts per week x 52 weeks per year, this is 86 minutes per year.&rdquo; I believe I can manage it in a little less than 10 seconds per image, but it stills knocks me out of my flow each time. It is a seemingly trivial issue, but the time wastage adds up for those who add many images to posts throughout the year.</p>



<p>What is on your wish list for WordPress 5.7?</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, 24 Nov 2020 21:43:47 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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:77:"WPTavern: Genesis Block Theme Beta, StudioPress Pursuing a Block-First Future";s:7:"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=108147";s:7:"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/genesis-block-theme-beta-studiopress-pursuing-a-block-first-future?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=genesis-block-theme-beta-studiopress-pursuing-a-block-first-future";s: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:5740:"<p class="has-drop-cap">On November 11, StudioPress <a href="https://studiopress.blog/genesis-block-theme-beta/">announced an open beta</a> for its Genesis Block Theme. This is a pivotal moment, or at least one moment in a series of significant moments, for adoption of the block editor. Feel free to call me on this in a year or two if it does not pan out.</p>



<p>The original Genesis theme is the foundational tool that 1,000s of developers use to build many 1,000s more websites across the web. Over the past decade, StudioPress has remained one of the top-tier commercial WordPress theme companies, and it has done so on the back of its Genesis product. It has also remained an important part of the company&rsquo;s offering since <a href="https://wptavern.com/wp-engine-acquires-studiopress">WP Engine acquired it in 2018</a>.</p>



<p>While WP Engine and StudioPress have bet big on the block editor with products like <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/genesis-blocks">Genesis Blocks</a>, the Genesis Block Theme will be a game-changer when it launches as a finished product, likely sometime next year.</p>



<p>This is not necessarily because StudioPress will offer a better product than what many others are creating. It is about one of the largest theme development companies shifting toward a block-first approach. Others will fall in line. Or be left behind.</p>



<p>WP Engine and StudioPress have done this slowly and strategically, thoughtfully transitioning their user base into the block world. With WP Engine&rsquo;s <a href="https://wptavern.com/atomic-blocks-rebranded-to-genesis-blocks-migration-path-to-new-plugin-coming-soon">acquisition of Atomic Blocks</a> (now Genesis Blocks) and <a href="https://wptavern.com/block-lab-team-joins-wp-engine-looks-to-the-future-of-block-building">bringing on the Block Lab team</a> earlier this year, the company is setting itself up to continue pushing what developers and users can do with WordPress&rsquo;s block system. The Genesis Block Theme is the next step in what I am assuming is a long list of product ideas the company is pursuing.</p>



<img />Using the Genesis Blocks plugin with the Genesis Block Theme beta.



<p>Typical Genesis-based child themes, at least those directly sold by the StudioPress team, have always catered to those who prefer a more minimalist-get-out-of-the-user&rsquo;s-way approach to design. Many of them should make an easy transition to the block editor. Add a few style adjustments here, make a few tweaks there, and, you have a theme that is fully capable of handling the block editor. It is a testament to the company&rsquo;s design chops when it does not really matter what WordPress is doing under the hood. The theme designs hold up regardless.</p>



<p>Times are changing, however. The StudioPress team is looking at WordPress 5.7, which is expected to land in the spring of 2021, and getting ready to handle the launch of the WordPress site editor.</p>



<p>David Vogelpohl, the VP of Growth for WP Engine, left specific instructions on how to test the Genesis Block Theme beta in the announcement. One of the key items in that list is to skip modifying the theme directly or using the customizer settings. The goal is to identify pain points when approaching site design via blocks. It is good to start shifting how the Genesis user base approaches building sites in general.</p>



<p>He also asks testers to install the Genesis Blocks plugin. It is a library of various blocks, sections, and layouts for building block-based content. This will help both developers and users become more accustomed to the shift in building with the company&rsquo;s key product.</p>



<p>Vogelpohl <a href="https://wptavern.com/wp-engine-launches-genesis-pro-add-on-for-customers-more-features-in-the-works">teased a &ldquo;Genesis X&rdquo; project</a> in May that would focus on pushing the boundaries of the block editor and, eventually, full-site editing. Deciding against launching a separate product, the team has been pushing features from this project into Genesis Blocks. Three weeks ago, StudioPress <a href="https://studiopress.blog/collections-for-genesis-blocks/">launched its new Collections feature</a>, which was born from Genesis X.</p>



<p>&ldquo;You can think of Collections like a theme&rsquo;s block-based demo content, but available on-demand as you build out content vs. only during one-click-theme-setup features within the framework today,&rdquo; said Vogelpohl.</p>



<img />The Slate Collection from the Genesis Blocks plugin.



<p>Collections are essentially categorized page sections or entire layouts that share a similar design aesthetic. Genesis Blocks currently has one Collection titled Slate available for free. In practice, a user can already build out nearly an entire site with just this single Collection. This seems to be the direction that Genesis and its line of products are heading. Everything is pretty much plug-and-play. Select a few layouts for various pages. Click a few buttons. Customize the content. And, voil&agrave; &mdash; a turnkey system for building websites.</p>



<p>StudioPress must wait for the site editor to land in WordPress 5.7 before it can handle everything. Site headers, footers, and sidebars still require customization outside of the block editor.</p>



<p>Right now, the Genesis Block Theme beta is nothing out of the ordinary. It is essentially a base theme that allows the accompanying Genesis Blocks plugin to shine. It will also allow the development team to test ideas based on user feedback in the coming weeks and months.  Vogelpohl said they will eventually tackle full-site editing based on what they learn from the beta run&rsquo;s feedback.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 23 Nov 2020 22:11:11 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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:46:"BuddyPress: BuddyPress 7.0.0 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:32:"https://buddypress.org/?p=315640";s:7:"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://buddypress.org/2020/11/buddypress-7-0-0-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:2972:"<p>Hi BuddyPress community members!</p>



<p>The first <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/buddypress.7.0.0-RC1.zip">release candidate for BuddyPress 7.0.0</a> is ready for a last round of testing!</p>



<p>This is an important milestone as we progress toward the BuddyPress 7.0.0 final release date. “Release Candidate” means that we think the new version is ready for release, but with more than 200,000 active installs, hundreds of BuddyPress plugins, thousands of WordPress themes, and many possible specific WordPress configurations it’s possible we missed one or more details.</p>



<p><strong>BuddyPress 7.0.0 is slated for release on December 9th, 2020</strong>. Do you want to help us get there? Here&#8217;s how you can:</p>



<ol><li>This release candidate also marks the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/handbook/glossary/#string-freeze">string freeze</a> point of the 7.0.0 release schedule, so if you you speak a language other than English, please <a href="https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/buddypress/">help us translate BuddyPress into many languages!</a></li><li>You are a BuddyPress Plugin and/or Theme developer? You should test your code against BuddyPress 7.0.0. If you find compatibility problems, please report a ticket on our <a href="https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/">Trac environment</a>.</li><li>You are using BuddyPress and can easily set up a staging environment? Please use <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/bp-beta-tester/">our Beta Tester plugin</a> or <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/buddypress.7.0.0-RC1.zip">directly install the Release Candidate</a> on your staging site to make sure everything works as expected for you. If not: tell us what&#8217;s wrong on <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/messages/buddypress">Slack</a> or reply to this specific <a href="https://buddypress.org/support/topic/buddypress-7-0-0-release-candidate/">support topic</a> with a detailed explanation of your trouble.</li><li>You are a WordPress news writer? We&#8217;d love you to share this post with your readers: the more testers, the better!</li></ol>



<p><strong>It&#8217;s always best to anticipate than having a bad surprise after updating the plugin from your WordPress Dashboard</strong>: <strong><a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/participate-and-contribute/">get involved</a>!</strong></p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2>What to expect from BuddyPress 7.0.0</h2>



<p>First, note that <strong>BP 7.0.0 will require at least version 4.9 of WordPress</strong>. Then, read an overview of its top features in the post we published to announce the <a href="https://buddypress.org/2020/10/buddypress-7-0-0-beta1/">first beta of 7.0.0</a>. If you would like more detail, you can read our <a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/category/development-notes/7-0/">7.0.0 developer notes</a>.</p>



<p>Thanks in advance for your contributions!</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 20 Nov 2020 22:15:06 +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:"Mathieu Viet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:79:"WPTavern: Build Editor Blocks for Clients With the Genesis Custom Blocks 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=108109";s:7:"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/build-editor-blocks-for-clients-with-the-genesis-custom-blocks-plugin?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=build-editor-blocks-for-clients-with-the-genesis-custom-blocks-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:4956:"<p class="has-drop-cap">In early September, WP Engine <a href="https://wpengine.com/blog/introducing-genesis-custom-blocks/">announced the launch</a> of <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/genesis-custom-blocks/">Genesis Custom Blocks</a>, a block-creation plugin made possible by its StudioPress team. The concept should feel familiar to developers who have made use of Advanced Custom Fields and similar plugins. However, the focus of this new plugin is entirely on blocks.</p>



<p>The plugin is more of a framework than a plug-and-play extension for WordPress. It requires some PHP knowledge to handle the front-end output. The goal is to make it easy for developers to create custom blocks without JavaScript knowledge. It allows them to render blocks on the server-side via custom templates.</p>



<p>Genesis Custom Blocks handles all the dirty work on the backend while leaving the basic PHP, HTML, and CSS of the front end completely up to developers.</p>



<p>The plugin seemed to slip through the cracks of the plugin directory&rsquo;s guideline against frameworks &mdash; the Plugin Review Team started <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2016/03/01/please-do-not-submit-frameworks/">disallowing new framework-type plugins</a> in 2016. Team rep Mika Epstein confirmed that the plugin should not have been approved. She also said that she would talk to the developers, explain why it&rsquo;s not good, and see about finding a path forward.</p>



<p>Setting guideline issues aside, the plugin is a nice addition to the toolbox of any developer who needs to quickly knock out custom blocks for clients.</p>



<h2>How the Plugin Works</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">Genesis Custom Blocks is currently a lightweight field manager for custom blocks. It provides an admin interface for creating, editing, and managing those blocks. Developers use this interface to essentially create block options in which a user can configure via the editor.</p>



<p>The free version of the plugin includes 13 standard form fields, such as text, image, URL, color, and more. The <a href="https://www.studiopress.com/genesis-custom-blocks/">commercial version</a> includes an additional six field types and allows users to import or export their custom blocks.</p>



<img />Editing the test block included with the plugin.



<p>For the block to output anything on the front end, the developer must create custom templates and use the Genesis Custom Blocks API. This template will render the output in the editor too, at least until the user clicks on the block, which takes them into editing mode.</p>



<img />Inserting and editing a custom block in the editor.



<p>Without anything other than a cursory reading of <a href="https://developer.wpengine.com/genesis-custom-blocks/">the docs</a>, I was able to build a custom block and its associating template in minutes. What makes the plugin stand out is the simplicity of its system. It does not try to do too much. It provides enough basic fields for most developers to create the custom blocks they need for clients. I am certain that many of them will get a ton of mileage out of it.</p>



<p>It also does the extra things that developers should expect from a StudioPress-caliber product like allowing developers to create custom block categories, pick an icon, and set up keywords for each block.</p>



<p>One missing element is the ability to set custom blocks to full and wide-width. Developers may need to write custom CSS for both the editor and front end to handle such use cases. They can create custom inspector (block options sidebar) controls for width or alignment too. However, it would be a nice bonus if the plugin handled the standard WordPress alignments.</p>



<h2>The Big Problem</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">The plugin commits the greatest sin of WordPress development. It fails to <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/plugins/plugin-basics/best-practices/#avoid-naming-collisions">prefix or namespace</a> its custom functions. It is a mistake that is expected of rookie developers. However, for a seasoned company such as StudioPress to create <code>block_field()</code>, <code>block_value()</code>, and similarly-named functions in the global namespace is almost unforgivable.</p>



<p>The problem this creates, particularly given the size of the Genesis development community, is that it is basically stealing potential function names from WordPress. If the core platform ever decides to add these functions, fatal errors will ensue on 1,000s of sites.</p>



<p>If the functions were limited in scope to the plugin itself, it would be an easy fix. However, these functions are meant for direct use by developers who are building with the plugin.</p>



<p>Given the plugin&rsquo;s short time out in the wild, I hope the development team reconsiders their naming scheme and transitions it to something that does not run the risk of a future fatal error.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 20 Nov 2020 19:46:22 +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: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:95:"WPTavern: Gutenberg 9.4 Introduces Button Width Selector and Typography Controls for List Block";s:7:"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=108056";s:7:"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:235:"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-9-4-introduces-button-width-selector-and-typography-controls-for-list-block?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gutenberg-9-4-introduces-button-width-selector-and-typography-controls-for-list-block";s: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:3978:"<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/19/whats-new-in-gutenberg-18-november-2/">Gutenberg 9.4.0</a> was released this week with many small improvements to existing features, while work on full site editing continues. This release will not be included in the upcoming WordPress 5.6 release but those who are using the Gutenberg plugin will have access to the improvements right away. </p>



<p>The button block now has a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/25999">width selector</a>, which allows the user to set the button to 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% of the parent container. By default, a button&rsquo;s width is determined by the size of its content. If you like bigger buttons, this update will give you more flexibility. Button margins are also <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/26781">included in the width calculations</a>, so users can create multiple buttons in a row, or a grid of buttons, and have them properly fit together and aligned. </p>



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



<p>Making a button is easier than it has ever been before. Gone are the days of using shortcodes or hunting for the correct CSS class to apply in order to match the theme. Button creation used to be so needlessly difficult with a fragmented, unfriendly workflow, but the block editor continues to chip away at the complexity with each new release.</p>



<p>Version 9.4 also introduces typography controls for the list block. Gutenberg contributors have been discussing <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/8171">adding color and text size customizations to all text-based blocks</a> since 2018, and the list block is finally getting some font size controls.</p>



<img />



<p>Social icons can also be resized now. Users can select from several preset sizes, including small, normal, large, and huge.</p>



<p>The 9.4 update adds support for &lt;kbd&gt; tags with a new button in the overflow rich text menu. These tags are useful for displaying content in the browser&rsquo;s default monospace font, which helps when writing documentation or articles with inline code.</p>



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



<p>This release lays the groundwork for handling block variation transformations. Block variations are essentially the same block with registered variations that appear as a separate block in the block inserter. For example, the navigation block has horizontal and vertical variations. The editor now introduces a&nbsp;<code>transform</code>&nbsp;option for&nbsp;the <code>scope</code>&nbsp;field in block variations, so developers can control how to handle these transformations.</p>



<p>Enhancements in this release add polish to many aspects of the UI, including the&nbsp;inserter search, custom select menu styles, the link interface, Search block styling, shortcode block styling, and reduces the UI on hover (an optional setting in preferences).</p>



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



<p>One handy new feature for writing is that users can now add a header by typing <code>/h1</code>&nbsp;to&nbsp;<code>/h6</code>&nbsp;followed by enter/return. While I like the idea of this, it seems unintuitive to have to use enter/return to change the block to a header. This feature would be easier to remember if it mimicked the existing feature that allows users to add a header by typing&nbsp;<code>###</code>&nbsp;followed by a space. Changing the trigger action to a space instead of a return would make more sense here.</p>



<p>Version 9.4 also includes a great deal of progress behind the scenes on experiments, including the full site editing framework, FSE blocks, the site editor, and global styles. Check out the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/19/whats-new-in-gutenberg-18-november-2/">changelog</a> for a full list of bug fixes and enhancements.</p>



<p></p>



<ul class="wp-block-social-links"></ul>



<div class="wp-block-buttons"></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:"Fri, 20 Nov 2020 07:00:42 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:86:"WPTavern: WordPress To Combine Its Long-Neglected Theme Previewer With Starter Content";s:7:"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=108035";s:7:"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:217:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-to-combine-its-long-neglected-theme-previewer-with-starter-content?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wordpress-to-combine-its-long-neglected-theme-previewer-with-starter-content";s: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:5669:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Six weeks ago, WordPress 5.6 release lead Helen Hou-Sand&iacute; breathed new life into two almost-forgotten features around the WordPress website and platform. The idea was to take the starter content feature, which themes can optionally add for new installs, and apply it to the WordPress.org theme preview system. It was not a new idea. However, it finally had some teeth because a core lead was making it a priority.</p>



<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m revisiting this in the context of 5.6 and Twenty Twenty-One &mdash; could we possibly consider a combination of starter content (the core feature) and the existing theme unit test data (with room for more later)?&rdquo; <a href="https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/30#comment:66">wrote Hou-Sand&iacute; in a ticket</a> that seemed to be going nowhere after seven years. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think we&rsquo;d want to have just starter content, as that should ideally be a much more limited amount of content pieces, but unifying somewhat would help with the overall goal of aligning the demo with what users can actually accomplish on their sites.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Yesterday, Hou-Sand&iacute; formally <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2020/11/18/theme-previews-in-the-time-of-blocks/">announced the launch</a> of the project. Currently, the <a href="http://wp-themes.com/twentytwentyone/">Twenty Twenty-One</a>, <a href="http://wp-themes.com/twentytwenty/">Twenty Twenty</a>, and <a href="http://wp-themes.com/twentyseventeen/">Twenty Seventeen </a>demos display their respective starter content.</p>



<img />Block-based starter content in the Twenty Twenty-One theme preview.



<p>The initial goal was to turn the feature on selectively, testing it with a few default themes. This would give the meta team time to iron out any bugs. It would also give the Themes Team time to decide on any additional guidelines considerations before opening it to everyone.</p>



<p>The Themes Team reps do not seem to think there will be any need for new guidelines, so there should not be much to do on their end.</p>



<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m up for having a discussion about it but I do think that, in general, guidelines already cover it (we might need to reword the guideline about excluding advertising for clarity), but theme devs aren&rsquo;t gonna want to give a bad impression in their public-facing previews,&rdquo; said Themes Team representative William Patton. &ldquo;We probably want to just check the guidelines to make sure they cover things here, but from my perspective, I think guidelines already cover things quite well.&rdquo;</p>



<p>This is the sort of thing that could get theme authors excited again. Themers can sometimes feel like they are second-class citizens. More often than not, plugin authors get the shiny, new toys long before &mdash; if they ever &mdash; roll out to the theme directory. It is always an exciting time when themes are shown a little love.</p>



<p>Hou-Sand&iacute; pointed out that the theme previewer changes would not be forever limited to a handful of core themes. This is merely the first step.</p>



<p>The big question: <em>why now?</em></p>



<p>There is no doubt that the theme previewer has been a problem area for years. Users have complained about it. Theme authors and reviewers have relentlessly discussed it and called for a change. Some authors have even attempted various, hacky workarounds, sometimes finding themselves on the shortlist for banishment. At the end of the day, most people just want to see themes in all their glory. They are the face of WordPress. As Hou-Sand&iacute; wrote in the announcement, &ldquo;The theme previewer site in today&rsquo;s context does a serious disservice to themes.&rdquo;</p>



<p>To answer the <em>why now</em> question, the block system has a lot to do with it. Internally, the system opens up a world of possibilities that are much easier to implement. Whether it is starter content or custom front page templates, blocks will be a huge part of the equation going forward.</p>



<p>&ldquo;I also believe that between blocks, block patterns, and eventually full site editing, it is more important than ever to the broad success of the WordPress project for themes to showcase their ideal states and make it easier for users to achieve the same thing on their sites,&rdquo; wrote Hou-Sand&iacute;. &ldquo;Starter content, introduced in 4.7, was a step in this direction, but has languished for quite some time.&rdquo;</p>



<p>It is also part of an ongoing rethinking of what should happen with starter content. On October 6, she <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/10/06/revisiting-starter-content-on-org-and-beyond/">opened a discussion</a> for feedback on the feature&rsquo;s future. The post received a few useful responses. However, it could still use feedback from a wider range of people involved with the WordPress project, particularly theme authors.</p>



<p>I also explored some possibilities in response to that post in <a href="https://wptavern.com/the-future-of-starter-content-wordpress-themes-need-a-modern-onboarding-and-importing-tool">The Future of Starter Content: WordPress Themes Need a Modern Onboarding and Importing Tool</a>.</p>



<p>The biggest concern at this point should be whether theme authors consider this <em>too little too late</em>. There is a little excitement brewing from a few short conversations I have seen in theming circles. However, this is a time for theme authors to jump on board, provide feedback, and pitch in. This is the first step in gaining the sort of control over theme previews that many have long sought.</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, 19 Nov 2020 21:40:18 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:49;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:65:"WPTavern: Local 5.9.2 Adds Image Optimization via New Free Add-On";s:7:"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=107997";s:7:"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:175:"https://wptavern.com/local-5-9-2-adds-image-optimization-via-new-free-add-on?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=local-5-9-2-adds-image-optimization-via-new-free-add-on";s: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:2426:"<p>Local 5.9.2 was <a href="https://localwp.com/releases/">released</a> this month with a new image optimization feature. The Pro version of Flywheel&rsquo;s local WordPress development product got a revamp four months ago, bringing in a new collection of pre&#8209;launch&nbsp;tools. While image optimization falls into that category, the company decided to make this new feature available to both free and pro tiers via an optional <a href="https://localwp.com/add-ons/local-addon-image-optimizer">add-on</a>. </p>



<p>Users can install the new add-on directly in the app and then navigate to Tools &rsaquo; Image Optimizer. After enabling the add-on and relaunching the app, Local will be able to scan the installation for image files and compress them offline, without using cloud-based services. The add-on allows users to navigate away from an active optimization session and carry on with development while it works in the background.</p>



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



<p>Before proceeding, users can also navigate to the Image Optimizer settings and elect to strip the metadata (i.e. focal length, date, time, and location) to further reduce the file size and, as a byproduct, remove potentially identifying data. The default optimization simply reduces file size and does not strip metadata.</p>



<p>After optimization is complete, an overview of the total reductions and disk space saved will be displayed.</p>



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



<p>The add-on currently uses <a href="https://github.com/danielgtaylor/jpeg-archive#jpeg-recompress">jpeg-recompress</a> to optimize images, a utility from the open source <a href="https://github.com/danielgtaylor/jpeg-archive">JPEG Archive</a> project. Here is how it works: </p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>Compress JPEGs by re-encoding to the smallest JPEG quality while keeping&nbsp;<em>perceived</em>&nbsp;visual quality the same and by making sure huffman tables are optimized. This is a&nbsp;<strong>lossy</strong>&nbsp;operation, but the images are visually identical and it usually saves 30-70% of the size for JPEGs coming from a digital camera, particularly DSLRs.&nbsp;</p></blockquote>



<p>Local&rsquo;s development team plans to expand this in the future to add more options like lossless compression. Version 5.9.2 also fixes several bugs with the UI and adds improvements to make it more consistent. </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, 19 Nov 2020 03:19:57 +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: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:"";}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}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:"Wed, 23 Dec 2020 03:44:35 GMT";s:12:"content-type";s:8:"text/xml";s:4:"vary";s:15:"Accept-Encoding";s:13:"last-modified";s:29:"Wed, 23 Dec 2020 03:30:16 GMT";s:15:"x-frame-options";s:10:"SAMEORIGIN";s:4:"x-nc";s:9:"HIT ord 2";s:16:"content-encoding";s:4:"gzip";}}s:5:"build";s:14:"20200501142607";}