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";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:80:"WPTavern: #59 – Corey Maass on How To Use WordPress To Kickstart Your SaaS App";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:48:"https://wptavern.com/?post_type=podcast&p=141113";s:7:"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:94:"https://wptavern.com/podcast/59-corey-maass-on-how-to-use-wordpress-to-kickstart-your-saas-app";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:46303:"Transcript<div>
<p>[00:00:00] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Welcome to the Jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley.</p>



<p>Jukebox is a podcast which is dedicated to all things WordPress. The people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case, how WordPress can be used to get your SaaS app off the ground.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;d like to subscribe to the podcast, you can do that by searching for WP Tavern in your podcast player of choice, or by going to WPTavern.com forward slash feed forward slash podcast. And you can copy that URL to most podcast players.</p>



<p>If you have a topic that you&#8217;d like us to feature on the podcast, I&#8217;m keen to hear from you and hopefully get you or your idea featured on the show. Head to WPTavern.com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox. And use the form there.</p>



<p>So on the podcast today, we have Corey Maass.</p>



<p>Corey is a full stack developer who works with agencies and businesses, large and small. He specializes in advanced WordPress functionality and building products for, and using, WordPress.</p>



<p>Over the last decade or so SaaS, or software as a service, apps have become more and more popular. Not only are we using our computers more, but with the rise of smartphones, we&#8217;re connected to our services all the time. There does not appear to be any corner of life where online platforms don&#8217;t have some presence. From email to taxis, fitness to food planning and delivery. You can find it all in a SaaS app somewhere.</p>



<p>Now that many people are comfortable using SaaS apps, there&#8217;s been a deluge of new players coming into the market, but it won&#8217;t surprise you to learn that most of them fail to make an impact and shut up shop.</p>



<p>Corey is on the podcast today to talk about why he thinks that building an MVP, or minimum viable product, app on top of WordPress is a good way to start your product journey.</p>



<p>We talk about how WordPress comes bundled with many of the features that apps require. User login, roles, permissions, and the REST API. This means that you don&#8217;t have to reinvent the wheel for the things that WordPress already does.</p>



<p>On top of that, the plugin ecosystem which surrounds WordPress, might enable you to short circuit the need to build all the features that your service needs. It may be that there&#8217;s an existing plugin, which does most of what you require, and is ready to go right away.</p>



<p>Corey talks about how using WordPress in this way might enable you to see if there&#8217;s really a market for your app. And if there&#8217;s not, you&#8217;ve used less resources finding that out. And if there is, then you might have some revenue to develop the app in other ways.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;ve toyed with the idea of creating a SaaS app in the past, but never quite got there, this episode is for you.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re interested in finding out more, you can find all of the links in the show notes by heading to WPTavern.com forward slash podcast. Where you&#8217;ll find all the other episodes as well.</p>



<p>And so without further delay, I bring you Corey Maass.</p>



<p>I am joined on the podcast today by Corey Maass. Hello, Corey.</p>



<p>[00:03:58] <strong>Corey Maass:</strong> Hey there.</p>



<p>[00:03:58] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Very nice to have you on. Corey, we&#8217;re going to talk today all about the capabilities of WordPress as a SaaS platform. But as we typically do on this podcast, it would be very nice if we could orientate the listeners, allow them to figure out what your credentials are, what your WordPress chops are, if you like. So would you spend a few moments just giving us a brief potted history of your relationship with tech and WordPress more specifically?</p>



<p>[00:04:24] <strong>Corey Maass:</strong> Absolutely. Back in the late nineties in college, a roommate of mine introduced me to this internet thing and the first websites I saw were some of my favorite bands. And I was a aspiring musician at the time, and I said, well, I want to appear as famous as they are. How do I make one of these website things, and the rest is history.</p>



<p>I taught myself basic web design, web development. That led to learning some programming, JavaScript and then ASP classic way back in the day. But around that time there was the new trend of SaaS apps. 37 Signals was popular talking about this. Forums like Joel Spolsky&#8217;s, Joel on Software. And I caught the bug because I&#8217;ve always had an entrepreneurial streak.</p>



<p>So I said, oh, this internet thing, building software, but not selling a download, but selling access to a website. So, I started going down that path, building websites for clients, but also building SaaS apps to try to sell on the side. And then WordPress took off and for a number of years, WordPress was pretty much my day job. Doing development or website setup or what have you, and then building Sass apps. Not using WordPress for a number of years.</p>



<p>And then suddenly the light bulb went off. One, the WordPress market was getting bigger and bigger, and I realized that there actually was money in it. So that led me to start building plugins, which I think is what had you and I talking last time. But also at some point it occurred to me that WordPress had matured enough and solved enough of the problems that I was encountering over and over building SaaS apps that I said, let me look at WordPress as a SaaS platform, and I&#8217;ve been doing it ever since. So now it&#8217;s been probably five years or something, and WordPress only continues to mature, and this conversation continues to evolve.</p>



<p>[00:06:27] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So you, in the last few years, you&#8217;ve joined together the idea of a SaaS platform, but with WordPress handling some of the basic things in the background, if you like. I say basic, I just mean some of the things that we are more familiar with in WordPress. So user management, obviously if you throw some other things like WooCommerce at it, you may be able to handle billing or subscription or whatever it might be, and getting people to the right page depending on whether they&#8217;re logged in or not. Is it basically the promise of that? You can cut out a whole body of work, which you would need to build, well potentially from scratch, each time you create your own new SaaS app?</p>



<p>[00:07:04] <strong>Corey Maass:</strong> Yeah, I think that&#8217;s the way to think about it. So, when you&#8217;re solving problems for people online, these days it&#8217;s definitely more broad than it was five years ago and 10 or 15 years ago, of course. So if you&#8217;re building something that&#8217;s B2B, technically speaking. So if you&#8217;re trying to build an API or some sort of true service that other systems are going to talk to. WordPress is probably not the answer you want.</p>



<p>The REST API is, has come a long way, but it&#8217;s not really what it&#8217;s meant for, right? But if you think of most B2C apps, business to consumer, most of these apps are websites that you&#8217;re signing into. Well, WordPress accommodates that. You&#8217;re clicking through from page to page. WordPress accommodates that. You&#8217;re taking billing, you&#8217;re handling subscriptions. WordPress with WooCommerce or Easy Digital Downloads, or Restricted Content Pro or any number.</p>



<p>I&#8217;ve been paying more attention to the membership plugins lately, which are in some ways are specifically designed to handle exactly this problem. Users signing in and doing something, interacting. Interacting with the website. Interacting with each other, that kind of thing. One of the things that, an example that I pick up on a lot is, years ago when I was building apps regularly for clients, for friends, for myself. Over and over and over again, I had to implement some sort of user password reset. And it&#8217;s so mundane. Once you&#8217;ve solved it once, it&#8217;s boring to solve as a developer. But it&#8217;s crucial to every app.</p>



<p>And I got to the point where I was like, I just don&#8217;t want to ever think about this stupid problem again. But I had to integrate the code, again every time over and over again. It&#8217;s like with WordPress, I never have to think about that. And there&#8217;s a plugin called Theme My Login, that&#8217;s one of my favorites that you drop in and users can register for your website and immediately get access to a slash dashboard, which you can change. But arguably that&#8217;s the first huge leap, you set up a basic website.</p>



<p>You want users to be able to register and have exclusive access to a page that they don&#8217;t have if they haven&#8217;t signed in or haven&#8217;t paid or what have you. So, these kinds of plugins just solve all of these basic problems. The bottom of the pyramid, so to speak. So that you can get onto whatever problem, your unique problem, that your SaaS is going to solve. As opposed to spending days, weeks, months, tackling the not unique problems like user registration.</p>



<p>[00:09:36] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So what you are suggesting here, let&#8217;s just lay this out. The audience that you are suggesting this to, is people who want to get something shipped quickly. And really, if you are at the beginning of your SaaS app journey, you&#8217;re not quite sure yet whether the market even exists. You&#8217;re just trying to float a solution to something that you believe might be viable in the marketplace, but you&#8217;re not sure.</p>



<p>So we&#8217;re creating a shortcut. We&#8217;re offsetting the billing, the user management and so on to WordPress, just as a, as a quick way of getting an MVP or a minimum viable product out there. Is that the idea? Just to sort of test the water? WordPress is a good bet for that, and then presumably at some point you would advise that if it turns out to be an out and out success, then maybe, at that point you might need to look at different tooling.</p>



<p>[00:10:28] <strong>Corey Maass:</strong> Not necessarily. There was a time when I would&#8217;ve said that definitively, but WordPress has come a long way. Hosting has come a long way. Optimization has come a long way. So it&#8217;s definitely the scenario that I&#8217;m using WordPress the most. I&#8217;ve got a new idea, or I&#8217;m working with somebody and they&#8217;ve got a new idea and this is how I want to get it off the ground.</p>



<p>But there are a number of companies, big companies, in the WordPress space that continue to work, use WordPress as the core of their SaaS app, and they&#8217;ve got plenty of customers. I think it really, when you get to that level of, if you see a, a good amount of success, then there&#8217;s going to be technical problems to overcome.</p>



<p>And so it&#8217;s either ramping up hosting, server power or optimizing queries or rewriting certain aspects of your app. We can talk about that. I had to do that for one of mine, about a year ago. Or again, depending on the amount of user inactivity or user, user interactivity, how much and how often your users are using your app, you may find that it handles it just fine.</p>



<p>[00:11:43] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So right at the beginning you started talking about why you use WordPress. You mentioned a few plugins, which might assist you on this journey. So I think some of the ones that you mentioned were things like Easy Digital Downloads, WooCommerce, and so on. Whilst I don&#8217;t want to necessarily promote certain plugins, I&#8217;m just wondering if, given the experience that you&#8217;ve had, if you could give us some tips as to plugins that you have found to be helpful for particular problems that you&#8217;ve faced while you&#8217;ve been trying to build it. And then in a few moments we&#8217;ll get onto the subject of how you&#8217;ve had to amend WordPress to do things, let&#8217;s say more efficient.</p>



<p>[00:12:20] <strong>Corey Maass:</strong> Sure. So these days, I actually use Beaver Builder for building pages out. Beaver Builder&#8217;s a page builder. Elementor is another good one. But I find that doubling down and knowing these tools well, helps greatly with being able to solve a variety of problems because they&#8217;re not a theme, so they&#8217;re not locked into a certain layout or that kind of thing.</p>



<p>But most SaaS apps have a pattern called CRUD, create, retrieve, update, and delete. So if it&#8217;s Twitter, then you are creating tweets. You are retrieving tweets, meaning you&#8217;re viewing all of them. You can&#8217;t really update tweets, but you can update your profile, that kind of thing. And again, you can&#8217;t really delete tweets, but you could delete your account, and that kind of thing. Facebook, you can create posts, you can delete posts, your viewing posts, so your retrieving posts, that kind of thing.</p>



<p>So, a lot, a lot, a lot of software comes down to that pattern, and so using something like, Advanced Custom Fields and there&#8217;s a great plugin called ACF Front End, I think it&#8217;s called, that essentially puts an ACF form on the front end. So that&#8217;s how users can create and update. You could also use Gravity Forms. Or there are a couple of other plugins, form plugins, that you can then put on the front end, for again, collecting data from users or letting users post data. Essentially insert data into the database. And then using something like Beaver Builder or Elementor that have post modules.</p>



<p>So it&#8217;s like if I was recreating Twitter, I would create a form, and this obviously once I&#8217;m logged in, but I would create a form that said, what do you want to tweet? And that would insert it into the database as a post record. And then I would use Beaver Builder, me personally, but you could use Elementor or again, any number of page builders, with a posts module that says, okay, show all posts, meaning tweets, with the author of Corey. So then you&#8217;ve just created a way to create tweets and then for somebody else to go look at all of Corey&#8217;s tweets, that kind of thing.</p>



<p>So thinking, breaking it down to these kinds of patterns and then looking at these different plugins on how to solve them. A lot of the time I&#8217;m able to find ways to quickly implement. And it, again, it doesn&#8217;t have to be quick, and this doesn&#8217;t have to be forever, but a lot of the time it can be where WordPress and these plugins can solve these problems so that my SaaS offers the, again, the unique problem or solves the unique problem that I&#8217;m, the whole reason I&#8217;m building it in the first place.</p>



<p>To get back to your question about those other plugins in particular. If you only want users to sign in, I love the plugin called Theme My Login. Again, look at membership plugins. And then, if you want to charge, again, break down the problem. What are you actually, what do you want? Usually you want subscriptions, like that&#8217;s a SaaS pattern that most people are used to now. And what are users paying for? Usually they&#8217;re paying for access to a page or pages or content or some feature to interact with other users or something like that. And there are plenty of plugins that restrict content. Which is the way to think about that.</p>



<p>And so there&#8217;s literally Restricted Content Pro as a plugin. Easy Digital Downloads, which is e-commerce, but they have an add-on for restricting content. WooCommerce is really more e-commerce, but can handle this kind of stuff. And then again, membership plugins that are, as people are setting up communities, as at least some people are trying to get away from social media and get back to more private communities without relying on Facebook groups or Twitter or what have you.</p>



<p>Membership plug-ins have been mature for a while, but are, I&#8217;m seeing them become even more and more popular. And are designed exactly for this. So a user pays for access to features, pages, what have you. And that&#8217;s again, kind of the core of most SaaS apps.</p>



<p>[00:16:24] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I suppose that if you are thinking of building a SaaS app, you must have some kind of kernel of an idea of whatever it is that you are trying to solve. So, you&#8217;ve got this fabulous idea, and the most important thing at that point is to judge whether or not this idea A, can be built, and let&#8217;s assume that after sitting down and thinking it through and mapping it out, you&#8217;ve decided, yep, yeah, this has got legs. This can be built with the technology that&#8217;s currently available on the web.</p>



<p>And then thinking, okay, is there an audience for this? Are there going to be enough people out there who are willing to open their wallet to make it worthwhile? And if you go down the SaaS route, you may very well be an incredibly adept developer, in which case this may be in your purview.</p>



<p>But if you are not and you are just trying to figure out whether the market is there and you want to do that affordably, then WordPress seems like a fairly decent bet, just because of what you said. The fact that with 60,000 plus plugins in the WordPress repository and countless more that you can purchase, in many cases for a very small amount of money.</p>



<p>It may be that you can get 90%, 80%, 70% of the features that you are trying to build, but without having to do much in the way of custom coding. It may be that you can&#8217;t get a hundred percent of the way there, and that would require some tweaking, which we&#8217;ll get into. But is that essentially it? You know, you might have to cut some corners or, on your roadmap, cut out some of the things that you really thought would be nice to have in and just go for the things which can be enabled quickly and affordably.</p>



<p>[00:17:58] <strong>Corey Maass:</strong> Yeah, I think it just depends on what you&#8217;re trying to accomplish. I have a buddy who is non-technical, knows enough CSS to be dangerous, which he&#8217;s learned over times, specifically for this scenario. He wanted to create a mentor program, and so he needed scheduling for matching mentorees to mentors.</p>



<p>So we found a plugin that did that, or did that well enough. And then put I think a membership plug in. I don&#8217;t remember how he handled subscriptions. But basically put WordPresses stylized user management in front of it. Limited access to features based on a user being logged in or a user paying. And then a little bit of CSS to make it look a little more integrated or little more branded or what have you.</p>



<p>And that was kind of all he needed. It solved the problem. He was able to charge for it. He got some customers. And then at some point he did end up hiring a developer to add a few bells and whistles or whatever features he found that were missing. But yeah, it got him 70, 80% of the way. Arguably it got him a hundred percent of the way of solving the problem enough that at least users could start using it.</p>



<p>[00:19:10] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, I suppose that&#8217;s it, isn&#8217;t it? If he&#8217;s got a core body of users, and he&#8217;s determined that, in this case he can use a calendar plugin or whatever it may be, and it will get him the user base that he needs. Then he can start to use the revenue that&#8217;s generated from the, let&#8217;s call it the SaaS app, to invest in having something done bespoke.</p>



<p>That&#8217;s really interesting. That&#8217;s kind of nice to know. I guess one concern, which I may have, and I&#8217;m sure you&#8217;ve come across this before. Is just the notion that if you did build this and you fully had the intention of it staying on WordPress for all time. Then you are of course very much dependent upon the plugins that you are using. The spaghetti of plugins being updated regularly.</p>



<p>In many cases that would very much be the case. It&#8217;s updated frequently. It&#8217;s made secure, and any vulnerabilities and things like that are taken care of. But there is always that chance that the developer of a key part of your SaaS app may just decide to call it quits, and then you might be left hanging a little bit.</p>



<p>[00:20:14] <strong>Corey Maass:</strong> And the scenario I&#8217;ve seen more often is a mature product. Meaning your own SaaS app evolves away from what the plugin that you purchased does. So I saw this with a very big company in the WordPress space, who long ago had built their platform on top of EDD, Easy Digital Downloads. But over time had hacked and slashed at it, so that they couldn&#8217;t update it anymore.</p>



<p>And that&#8217;s just a decision they had to make at some point of whether they were going to keep going with EDD and just lean into the features that EDD had and forego the other features. Or most good, big WordPress plugins are well documented and have hooks so you can add function extra functionality, or figure out how to sort of hack around them, to a point.</p>



<p>And then, yeah. They had to make the decision to just stop updating it, and there was discussion. Last I heard that they were going to maybe move to something custom altogether. But the idea being, one of my favorite phrases, we made the best decision we could with the information we had at the time, right?</p>



<p>So starting out early. It solves all your problems. Go for it. And then down the road you can migrate away from it. You can code around it. You could build something custom, what have you. But yes, that is certainly a risk. I mean, it&#8217;s also a problem that a lot of apps have broadly speaking. So it&#8217;s, you know, if you&#8217;ve built an app that uses the Twitter or Facebook API, you&#8217;re putting yourself in their, their hands.</p>



<p>Or if you are operating system dependent or even, something I&#8217;m seeing right now is, microchip dependent, right? If you build software for MacOS and it only works on Intel and, and they move to M1 or M2. So these are just risks that I think you assess over time.</p>



<p>But what I like is, the point you keep emphasizing, that this is a, a way to solve the technical problem. What I think that a lot of SaaS founders, small and large, real and imaginary, don&#8217;t take into account and, I struggle with, and most of us struggle with, is that these days the technical lift of building an app often pales in comparison to the marketing.</p>



<p>We hear about these wonderful, amazing stories, like Instagram selling for whatever it was, 8 billion after two months, and yada, yada, yada. Most SaaS apps fail. And so you, you want to build quickly with a low lift and then spend most of your time, like you said, trying to get it in front of customers, validating the idea, getting feedback from customers about what features they actually want, or now that you&#8217;ve built the features they want, does it actually solve the problem for them?</p>



<p>All of that is arguably way more important than the actual platform you use. But that&#8217;s what brings me back to WordPress as a platform, is in fact often a great way to get something out the door. Even if it&#8217;s just a form to collect data and then a page builder or a theme of some kind to then show the data back to the user, if that&#8217;s what solves the problem.</p>



<p>[00:23:36] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> It&#8217;s interesting because if there&#8217;s a body of people listening to this who are not building SaaS apps on WordPress, and they&#8217;re just building client websites, you&#8217;ve probably encountered that scenario where the client comes and they have incredibly grandiose expectations of what they want the website to do.</p>



<p>And because you&#8217;ve been building websites for so long, you just know, you have an instinct which says, well, we could build all of that. But how about we just start here? Because I would imagine it&#8217;s quite unlikely that your staff are actually going to start using some kind of intranet solution that we build as WordPress. Or some messaging system that we build in the app. It&#8217;s much more likely that they&#8217;ll continue to use things like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp or Slack or whatever it may be.</p>



<p>And so over the years you&#8217;ve become accustomed to figuring out what is plausible, what is likely to work, and I think I feel it&#8217;s the same with SaaS apps. It&#8217;s very easy to come to the table. You&#8217;ve got your blank canvas and you throw everything at it, every idea, every permutation, every possible thing that the app could do, and then decide that&#8217;s what must be built.</p>



<p>That&#8217;s it. Until that is all done, we&#8217;re not going to launch it. And I think history shows that you have to be much more agile than that. You have to be able to drill it down and say, okay, what&#8217;s the 10, 20, 30% of all of that, that we&#8217;ve decided upon, which is going to get us off the ground? And so that feels like where this goes. If you try to build everything, it&#8217;s probable that you&#8217;ll A run out of money, B run out of time, and nothing will be shipped.</p>



<p>Whereas in your scenario, offset the uninteresting jobs that probably don&#8217;t need to be tackled because they&#8217;ve already been tackled by plugins or WordPress Core. And just concentrate on the things which are going to benefit your users. And frankly, you don&#8217;t know what is going to benefit your users.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s always amazing to me when I open up a new SaaS app that I&#8217;ve never use before. And you think, oh, this will be perfect what I need. And you end up on support saying, does it do this? No, I wish it did that. And those companies that succeed tend to be, well in my experience, the ones who listen to their early adopters and quickly pivot their solution to satisfy them.</p>



<p>[00:25:45] <strong>Corey Maass:</strong> Exactly. There&#8217;s obviously no harm in thinking through what your dream app does, all the features. You make a long, long list. But one of the things that drew me to WordPress plugins, and selling WordPress plugins early on, was a rather cynical observation that I made.</p>



<p>I was building blogs for customers. I was building e-commerce websites for customers. And instead of writing another article, which is hard and work. Or instead of inserting more products, which is hard and feels like work. A lot of my clients would get in the WordPress plugin repo where all the plugins are free and go, oh, I could use a to-do list plugin and they&#8217;d install it.</p>



<p>Or, it&#8217;s winter. I should install a plugin that adds snowflakes falling over my theme. And they would waste an unbelievable amount of time on what felt productive and felt free. And I was like, well, if people are people, we are all human, we are all valuable and we are all, don&#8217;t want to do the things that are hard.</p>



<p>But I see all these people that are spending time just digging through the plugin repo, I&#8217;m going to start building and selling plug-ins, because the discoverability is amazing. And so I think you&#8217;ve touched on that for SaaS as well, which is, we generally shy away from the things that are hard.</p>



<p>We also tend to skew towards our own genius. What we think is the best idea. Because we thought of it isn&#8217;t necessarily the features, or it isn&#8217;t ecessarily solving the problem that your actual paying customers have. The real strength, and the real challenge, comes more in that side of things. Marketing, sales, talking to customers, getting over your own ego, optimizing your own time, all that kind of stuff.</p>



<p>[00:27:48] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. It&#8217;s interesting the marketing piece you mentioned. Never ceases to amaze me how much of the overall budget needs not to be sunk into the development of the actual software, but in alerting people to its existence. A significant amount. And it&#8217;s not to be underestimated.</p>



<p>And obviously if at the beginning you sink a hundred percent of your finances into the code, that&#8217;s great, but I guess you better be a really good word of mouth, somebody that can spread by word of mouth incredibly successfully. Because experience at least tells me that it&#8217;s very hard to gather an audience from a standing start.</p>



<p>So we&#8217;re a WordPress podcast. We&#8217;re obviously very keen on WordPress, we think it&#8217;s amazing. But I&#8217;m guessing that there must be downsides to this. Let&#8217;s just talk about that for a moment. Any drawbacks to this system that you&#8217;ve encountered over time? Just some quick examples may be that, well, does it scale very well? Does WordPress tend to be doing a lot of things in the background that a leaner, more specifically custom-built solution may get you out the hole of? Just questions around that. Any drawbacks that you would alert people to if they do decide to go down this approach?</p>



<p>[00:28:59] <strong>Corey Maass:</strong> A few years ago, I was tasked with building a food subscription website. So think Blue Apron or Freshly kind of website, if you&#8217;re familiar with those. And for better or worse was told that I had to use WooCommerce. And so I spun up a WordPress website, installed WooCommerce, got subscriptions going, customized the choose the meals that you want, and then check out. And that all was okay.</p>



<p>But it turned out that, I think some of this has been changed, because this was a number of years ago but, WooCommerce was storing all of the data in a very WordPressy way, which was fine because it was a known pattern. But was not very optimal. And then for the business, because all of those meals were cooked every morning and then shipped out, all of the charges had to go through at the same time, at like two in the morning. And it turned out that WooCommerce subscriptions was built so that if you signed up for a subscription at 10:30 in the morning, it would renew at 10:30 in the morning. While we needed it to renew at two in the morning so that all of the orders went through, so then the chef knew how many dishes to make, and how many chicken dishes to make or whatever.</p>



<p>And that&#8217;s the kind of risk that you run into, right? So if you are using a third party piece of software, WordPress, and then with plugins. And you are essentially building it to your, or bending it to your will, so that it&#8217;s doing things that it&#8217;s not necessarily meant to do. You&#8217;re going to run into issues.</p>



<p>We found that our server didn&#8217;t have enough power to process all of these orders at the same time, because it&#8217;s essentially multiple threads need to be run at the same time. We wound up in that instance sticking with WooCommerce and WordPress for at least a little while longer.</p>



<p>But switching off of a hosting company that really was most popular for blogs and delivering content and not necessarily running process, CPU power. And moving to a custom AWS set up. And we watched the CPU go from 80% all the time, to 3% all the time. So in that instance, we just needed to throw more metal at it.</p>



<p>But again, we were definitely using a tool, at least slightly, in ways that it wasn&#8217;t meant to do. I also, during the pandemic, or at the beginning of the pandemic, my wife made the mistake of turning to me and saying, you know, my family plays this game called Mexican Train, in person all the time. Boy, I wish there was an online version. And she should just know better than to put that kind of idea in my head.</p>



<p>So within a couple of months I had spun up the only interactive online version of Mexican Train, which was great for our family, but it&#8217;s a very popular game in retirement communities. And naturally during the pandemic a lot of people in retirement communities were isolating a lot more. The game became quite popular, because it spread word of mouth. And the first Christmas, I think I built it early in the year, and, and the first Christmas it peaked at like 2,600 concurrent games or something. Which, for me, I had never built anything that needed quite that much power.</p>



<p>And it did eventually fall over. But initially I&#8217;d built it so that every time somebody played, all the other games, so four people are playing, basically all four games are sitting there pinging the server, looking for updates. That&#8217;s very inefficient because most of those pings don&#8217;t return anything, but the CPU still has to accommodate them. So I wound up switching to a pushing system. So I had to integrate with that. And originally I had built it so that the game itself, so when you&#8217;re signing into mexicantrain.online, that&#8217;s the website, the login screen you&#8217;re seeing is Theme My Login.</p>



<p>All of the delivery of content, so like when you go to the My Games page and you see all of your games, that&#8217;s just Beaver Builder. And then the actual game I had to build, so it was quite a lift as far as development goes. But that was what that SaaS needed. But I built an app in a JavaScript framework called React that then talks to the server.</p>



<p>Well, I built the initial version using the WordPress API. So my game talked to WordPress, functionality that was built into WordPress. And the API worked, until it didn&#8217;t. So, in that instance, again, too many people hitting the server too much. Aw, shucks, it was too successful.</p>



<p>I had to revisit it after a year or two and build a custom API. Now I&#8217;m a developer. I have that luxury, right? But these are things that, I got enough of a version out the door. So, thinking about it from the perspective of a non-developer. I could have set up most of it except for the game itself.</p>



<p>And the game is sponsored by donations. So I installed GiveWP, which is one of the bigger WordPress donation plugins. And I still used the free version. And so I got most of those sort of basic stuff using third party plugins out of the box. And then if I wasn&#8217;t a developer, I might have had to hire a developer.</p>



<p>And so yes, I would&#8217;ve had to put some money into it. But they wouldn&#8217;t have had to build everything. And I also could conceivably hire different developers, or I could by using WordPress. So one of the things we haven&#8217;t talked about is because of the popularity of WordPress, you also have a lot more developers to choose from if you&#8217;re going to hire somebody.</p>



<p>But anyway, if I wasn&#8217;t a developer, I would&#8217;ve had to hire somebody to build the game. And then down the road, presumably I would&#8217;ve proven that the platform was popular, hopefully in the form of donations, which would&#8217;ve been enough money to then hire somebody to rebuild the API, if I couldn&#8217;t have done it myself.</p>



<p>You know? So there&#8217;s sort of this evolution of, as you&#8217;ve said. Try things, see if it&#8217;s popular, and then maybe hire somebody if you have to, you know, if you&#8217;re going to grow parts of the platform, parts of the app beyond WordPress.</p>



<p>[00:35:40] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> It&#8217;s really interesting you mentioning about all of the very large number of WordPress developers. The developers I guess, go into different niches, don&#8217;t they? They might be experts in one field or another. Do you detect that there&#8217;s a lot of people doing this kind of thing? Building SaaS on top of WordPress. Or is it just you shouting into an empty room? What I&#8217;m basically saying is, is there a community, a subset of the WorldPress developer community who, like you, are interested in building SaaS apps on top of WordPress.</p>



<p>[00:36:10] <strong>Corey Maass:</strong> There is a book called Building Web Apps with WordPress that came out from O&#8217;Reilly. So it&#8217;s popular enough that people are writing books about it. I&#8217;ve given talks on it at a few different WordCamps as far back as I think four or five years ago or more. And I&#8217;ve come across a number of people who are doing it, or are thinking about it or have done it. But it&#8217;s definitely not, and even Mullenweg has talked about it, but it&#8217;s not the most common use case.</p>



<p>I think in part because people just don&#8217;t necessarily think about SaaS apps separately as much anymore. More and more websites do something. And so if they have functionality, maybe that people are paying for, and users are signing in to use the web app to do something.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s a SaaS app. But that&#8217;s, again, I think more and more commonly just how people view websites. So it&#8217;s not necessarily something that people are thinking about or searching for. Except for, I think, as you&#8217;ve mentioned a few times, if you&#8217;re looking for no code now means something different. But if you&#8217;re looking for a non-developery way to spin something up quickly using third party software, then it still gets some attention. But to answer your question, no, I&#8217;ve never found a community. I&#8217;ve thought about starting one, but never have. Because I just haven&#8217;t gotten a sense that enough people are talking about it.</p>



<p>Which is okay. Maybe at some point they will, or, you know, maybe some other better solution will come along and consistently solve the problems. But, right here, right now, I still find WordPress a great option.</p>



<p>[00:37:57] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> It&#8217;s really interesting because curiously, there&#8217;s a great deal of overlap with something that&#8217;s going on in my world at the moment in that I have been working with a developer on a SaaS app. I won&#8217;t go into the details, but reached a point where a couple of years ago, the interest in it, from my point of view, I think probably, is best to describe it. It waned a little bit and so it went on the back burner and it&#8217;s never been revived.</p>



<p>And as a couple of years have gone by, I&#8217;ve decided that, actually wouldn&#8217;t it be nice to revive this? And so with a couple of friends decided that, yeah, let&#8217;s give this another go. But actually, let&#8217;s just begin again, because I&#8217;ve noticed there&#8217;s significant things in what&#8217;s already been built that I would change.</p>



<p>And guess what we&#8217;ve decided to do? We&#8217;ve decided to do the MVP inside of WordPress. Basically for pretty much all the reasons that you&#8217;ve suggested. We&#8217;re familiar with it. There are sometimes free, sometimes commercially available plugins, which will do a significant amount of the lifting. Will it be exactly what we would like from our roadmap? No. Will it be close enough to get us to measure whether there&#8217;s an audience for this? Yes, I think it will. And so, curious that this is actually playing itself out in my life at this moment.</p>



<p>[00:39:19] <strong>Corey Maass:</strong> Nice, yeah. Depending on the problems you&#8217;re trying to solve, but I think that&#8217;s like most things, a bit of planning, sit down, design. I encourage everybody to do this. What is the all the bells and whistles version. We nerds are a big fan of what&#8217;s called the 80 20 rule.</p>



<p>So what&#8217;s the 20% that needs to be solved now, today to prove the idea? And then see what plugins align with that. How they can get you there. Will it solve the problem? Do you need custom development? Are there features that just don&#8217;t have solutions or aren&#8217;t solved by any of the plugins you might want to use.</p>



<p>And then go from there. See what you can do. The nice thing too about WordPress is you can start locally, which is free. Locally meaning on your computer, not locally in your town, although you can do that too. Most computers using software like Local WP, I&#8217;m a big fan of, and there&#8217;s a few others. Also InstaWP, which lets you spin up instances of WordPress online for free, for, you know, seven days or something, and then pay to keep them, or you can download them, I think, I don&#8217;t know.</p>



<p>I definitely have been guilty of getting an idea and I needed to illustrate the idea rather than just write the idea down. So I spun up an instance of WordPress real quick. Installed a couple of plugins real quick, and then said, what do I need next? Or what would the next step be? Or, if I was a user, what would I expect to see next? All that cost me was a little bit of time. There&#8217;s kind of that advantage too, where it&#8217;s, you can use it for wire framing means something specific, but conceptually you can use it for wire framing ideas, which I think is crucial. Without it costing you anything.</p>



<p>[00:41:04] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Corey, if people listening to this, if they&#8217;re resonating with it and they&#8217;re thinking actually, do you know what, this is something that I&#8217;ve been doing for a while, or, I&#8217;m curious to get into the community that you said might need to exist. Where would be the best place to get in touch with you?</p>



<p>[00:41:20] <strong>Corey Maass:</strong> Honestly, the place that I talk about this the most is Twitter. twitter.com/coreymaass, c o r e y m a a s s. Just start a conversation with me. I&#8217;d love to hear people who are interested in this. If this resonated with them, if they&#8217;ve tried it at all. Because again, I&#8217;ve run into people who have done it. I&#8217;ve heard about people doing it. A book exists. So there must be people talking about it somewhere.</p>



<p>But I think it would be neat to have a community of people, or even just a network of people, helping each other out, solving some of these problems. Hey, does anybody have a good recommendation for a plugin that solves such and such a functional, or a problem that I have. Where should I start? Suggestions for hosting companies. I mean, there&#8217;s, there&#8217;s always information to be shared. And honestly, that&#8217;s one of my favorite things about the WordPress community is that it&#8217;s so open. So many people are talking to each other and willing to help each other. I definitely think there could be more conversation around using WordPress as a SaaS platform.</p>



<p>[00:42:21] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Corey Maass. Thank you for chatting to us on the podcast today.</p>



<p>[00:42:25] <strong>Corey Maass:</strong> My pleasure.</p>
</div>



<p>On the podcast today we have <a href="https://twitter.com/coreymaass">Corey Maass</a>.</p>



<p>Corey is a full-stack web developer who works with agencies and businesses, large and small. He specialises in advanced WordPress functionality and building products for, and using, WordPress.</p>



<p>Over the last decade or so, SaaS, or software as a service, apps have become more and more popular. Not only are we using our computers more, but with the rise of smartphones, we’re connected to our services all the time.</p>



<p>There does not appear to be any corner of life where online platforms don’t have some presence. From email to taxis, fitness to food planning and delivery. You can find it all in a SaaS app somewhere.</p>



<p>Now that many people are comfortable using SaaS apps, there’s been a deluge of new players coming into the market, but it won’t surprise you to learn that most of them fail to make an impact, and shut up shop.</p>



<p>Corey is on the podcast today to talk about why he thinks that building a MVP, or minimum viable product, app on top of WordPress is a good way to start your product journey.</p>



<p>We talk about how WordPress comes bundled with many of the features that apps require, user login, roles, permissions and the REST API. This means that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel for the things that WordPress already does.</p>



<p>On top of that, the plugin ecosystem which surrounds WordPress might enable you to short circuit the need to build all the features that your service needs. It may be that there’s an existing plugin which does most of what you require, and is ready to go right away.</p>



<p>Corey talks about how using WordPress in this way might enable you to see if there’s really a market for your app. If there’s not, you’ve used less resources finding that out. If there is, then you might have some revenue to develop the app in other ways.</p>



<p>If you’ve toyed with the idea of creating a SaaS app in the past, but never quite got there, this episode is for you.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Useful links.</h2>



<p><a href="https://37signals.com/">37 Signals</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.joelonsoftware.com/">Joel Spolsky&#8217;s, Joel on Software</a></p>



<p><a href="https://easydigitaldownloads.com/">Easy Digital Downloads</a></p>



<p><a href="https://woocommerce.com/">WooCommerce</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.advancedcustomfields.com/">Advanced Custom Fields</a></p>



<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/acf-frontend-form-element/">ACF Frontend</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.gravityforms.com/">Gravity Forms</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.wpbeaverbuilder.com/">Beaver Builder</a></p>



<p><a href="https://elementor.com/">Elementor</a></p>



<p><a href="https://thememylogin.com/">Theme My Login</a></p>



<p><a href="https://restrictcontentpro.com/">Restrict Content Pro</a></p>



<p><a href="https://mexicantrain.online/">Corey&#8217;s Mexican Train website</a></p>



<p><a href="https://givewp.com/">GiveWP</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/building-web-apps/9781491990070/">Building Web Apps with WordPress book</a></p>



<p><a href="https://localwp.com/">Local WP</a></p>



<p><a href="https://instawp.com/">InstaWP</a></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 18 Jan 2023 15:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Nathan Wrigley";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:46:"Do The Woo Community: Looking at Code as Words";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=74188";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:45:"https://dothewoo.io/looking-at-code-as-words/";s: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:425:"<p>The hurdle is getting past looking at code and saying, "Oh, this is code. I can't understand it." You're not looking at zeros and ones, you're looking at words you can understand.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io/looking-at-code-as-words/">Looking at Code as Words</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce Builder Community</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 18 Jan 2023 11:07:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:125:"WPTavern: Jetpack Revamps Mobile App, WordPress.com Users Must Migrate to Keep Using Stats, Reader, and Notification Features";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=141116";s:7:"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:133:"https://wptavern.com/jetpack-revamps-mobile-app-wordpress-com-users-must-migrate-to-keep-using-stats-reader-and-notification-features";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6594:"<p>When Automattic <a href="https://wptavern.com/jetpack-launches-new-mobile-app">launched a mobile app for Jetpack</a> in June 2021, it was targeted mainly at users who were on a paid Jetpack plan, as it enables access to features like backups, restores, and security scanning. Most importantly, the app gave Automattic a more direct path for monetizing Jetpack, without adding more commercial interests into the official WordPress apps. </p>



<p>This week <a href="https://wordpress.com/blog/2023/01/16/say-hello-to-the-new-jetpack-mobile-app/">Jetpack announced that it has revamped the app</a> and is offering a more compelling reason for those using the free plan to migrate. As part of a longterm effort to <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/2022/07/27/refocusing-the-wordpress-app-on-core-features/">refocus the official WordPress apps</a>, features that require Automattic&#8217;s products (the Jetpack plugin or a WordPress.com account) in order to use them, will soon be removed. This includes the Stats, Reader, and Notifications features, which have been relocated to the Jetpack app. </p>



<img />WordPress.com <a href="https://wordpress.com/blog/2023/01/16/say-hello-to-the-new-jetpack-mobile-app/">announcement</a> for the revamped Jetpack app



<p>WordPress.com users and Jetpack users on the free plan who previously relied on these features will need to switch to the free Jetpack mobile app. All the features that are moving over from the core WordPress app will still be free in the Jetpack app.</p>



<p>While most self-hosted Jetpack users may easily understand the need for the switch, this transition may be rougher for WordPress.com users who do not understand the history of the mobile apps and see it all as &#8220;WordPress.&#8221; They may not be aware that Automattic’s integrated products have been controversial features in the official WordPress apps for nearly a decade. </p>



<p>The <a href="https://wordpress.com/blog/2023/01/16/say-hello-to-the-new-jetpack-mobile-app/">announcement</a> on WordPress.com is confusing, as it presents Jetpack as just a new optional app and doesn&#8217;t convey the urgency of migrating if users still  want access to stats, notifications, the reader, and any additional paid features. </p>



<p>The post&#8217;s FAQ section describes the Jetpack app as &#8220;the premium mobile publishing experience for our super-connected world&#8221; and states that &#8220;the Jetpack app is free to download.&#8221; WordPress.com users who commented on the post found the words &#8220;premium&#8221; and &#8220;free to download&#8221; to be suspicious and confusing. They don&#8217;t understand the reason for two apps:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>&#8220;Do we have to change over? I only want to blog, I’m not technical and I don’t understand why you have done this or how to use it?&#8221;</p>
</blockquote>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>&#8220;So is WordPress now called Jetpack?&#8221;</p>
</blockquote>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>&#8220;If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This move is not in your users’ best interests so why is it being done? This smacks of the recent pricing debacle.&#8221;</p>
</blockquote>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>&#8220;I’m really disappointed by this decision. Why are you forcing us to use two apps? Your explanation of the differences makes no sense, and sounds like you made a decision for some reason you won’t tell us and you’re just trying to justify it. This is not user-focused at all.&#8221;</p>
</blockquote>



<p>Users are also concerned about data loss, as those who are migrating to the newly revamped app are advised to delete the WordPress app after installing the Jetpack app. The announcement states that &#8220;Managing your site across both apps is currently unsupported and may lead to issues like data conflicts.&#8221; </p>



<p>One user asked if there are premium features in the Jetpack app that will carry additional cost, and if there is any advertising included within the app.</p>



<p>&#8220;For clarity, the Jetpack app is free to use and doesn’t include in-app advertisements,&#8221; Automattic representative Siobhan Bamber said.</p>



<p>&#8220;We’re still planning our 2023 roadmap, and it’s possible in-app purchases will be a part of our plans. The driving goal would be to offer features that bring most value to users, and we’re keen to hear any ideas or feedback. Any in-app purchases would be optional, with the currently free features remaining free to use.&#8221;</p>



<p>In response to those asking about the differences between the two apps, Bamber said there will be a couple more posts on the WordPress.com news blog in the following weeks.</p>



<p>Users will need to have the latest version of the WordPress app installed in order to automatically migrate their data and settings to the Jetpack app. This includes locally stored content, saved posts, and in-app preferences. The FAQ states that after users  download the Jetpack app, they will be “auto-magically” logged in with all their content in place. </p>



<p>&#8220;One good way to confirm whether your version of the WordPress app supports &#8216;auto migration&#8217; is to tap one of the in-app &#8216;Jetpack powered&#8217; banners,&#8221; Bamber advised users in the comments. &#8220;You’ll find these banners at the bottom of sections including Stats and Reader. If you tap the banner, you’ll only see the &#8216;Switch to the new Jetpack app&#8217; prompt in versions that support migration.&#8221;</p>



<p>The revamped Jetpack app has been presented to WordPress.com users as a more feature-rich way to publish to their websites, but it also lays the burden of choice on users to try to understand the difference between the two apps and select one for all the sites they manage.  Many don&#8217;t want the inconvenience of switching to a new app. Based on the users&#8217; responses, it might have been easier for them to understand that the official WordPress apps are removing all features require the Jetpack plugin or a WordPress.com account &#8211; instead of selling it as a new, shiny publishing experience. </p>



<p>Migrating to the Jetpack app is the best option if you want to continue using the Stats, Reader, and Notifications features. In order to make it easy for users to choose the best path forward, future posts on WordPress.com should make it crystal clear what features users can expect in each app and when they will need to take 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, 18 Jan 2023 04:57:30 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:50:"HeroPress: Reflecting on My 3 Foundational Pillars";s:7:"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=5037";s:7:"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:152:"https://heropress.com/essays/reflecting-on-my-3-foundational-pillars/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=reflecting-on-my-3-foundational-pillars";s: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:9650:"<img width="1024" height="512" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/011723-min.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Pull Quote: Everyone deserves to live in a world or operate in a space with Dignity and Mutual Respect." />
<p>I strongly believe that every experience we have up to our most current place in time shapes our identity. With that being said, as we go about living our lives it is not always obvious to see just how those compounding experiences shape us into who we are today. This is what makes all our journeys unique and worth reflecting on, because in our past often lies the tools and budding potential that influences the possibilities in our future.</p>



<p>With that said, I’d like to share three pillars of my journey that have shaped me as a person and become the foundations of my current work.</p>



<h2 id="h-technology">Technology</h2>



<p>I’ve found in one way or another that I have always lived technology-adjacent. When I was a kid my family had a Super Nintendo in the house which I always loved playing Super Mario World on– this device was essentially my first step into computers before we got our first home computer in the house when I was around 6 years old. By age 10, our computer was connected to AOL dial-up, which then allowed me to explore the early internet more deeply– MIRC, Livejournal, AOL Games, Neopets, MySpace… you name it. For the first time my world expanded beyond my immediate home of Rancho Cucamonga, CA, and El Paso, TX and into the interconnected world of the web.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>Due to this opportunity of early access to computers, I became proficient in typing and navigating the internet at a very young age. </p>
</blockquote>



<p>From what I’ve described so far, one would think that I was on track for a technology-related degree; however, there weren’t any people in my family or immediate network of friends who held a position in tech– so the idea that the computer could become a tool to propel my career didn’t really click until after graduating college.</p>



<p>A slight detour– I’m a Social-Anthropologist by trade, having graduated from Lewis and Clark College with a Bachelor’s in East Asian Studies and a minor in Japanese. Following my passion for Japan and inter-cultural studies, I moved back to Tokyo after college and it was about one year later when I landed my first job as a Product Manager for a mobile gaming company called Cocone. This was my reintroduction to the idea that I could have a technology-driven career.</p>



<p>In between working at Cocone and my return to the United States in 2016 I held a couple jobs that were not necessarily reliant on strong technical knowledge such as English Teacher, Executive Assistant, and even working at a karaoke bar. What my time as a Product Manager taught me, however, is that I do have a large thirst for working in the technology space so when I moved back to the States I applied to a Digital Agency called ASA Digital to get me back into that space.</p>



<p>After a year at ASA Digital being a sort of Jack of all trades on projects that included mobile apps, web apps, websites, MR/ER/VR/AR, I knew that this was the right choice for me. Sometimes when you know you know, and when I moved on from ASA Digital to Automattic I was fully embracing my love for and need to have technology in my life.</p>



<h2 id="h-diversity-equity-inclusive-and-belonging">Diversity, Equity, Inclusive, and Belonging</h2>



<p>I haven’t always been aware of what the world now collectively calls DEIB, but since I was little I disliked the idea of injustice and lies. I have also faced adversity in the past due to who I am and what I look like, and it never sits right with me when others are in this kind of predicament as well. Due to this, DEIB practices deeply impacted my values and how I show up to work and with other people.</p>



<p>It wasn’t until around 2019 that I became more involved in the world of DEIB in an official capacity at Automattic or at the incluu, LLC (a woman-owned and operated consultancy specializing in DEIB-thoughtful product strategy and advisement), and this is when I further developed this lens by participating in webinars on various DEIB topics, taking on leadership roles in the space, and keeping my eyes open to not only injustices that are happening but how they are being responded to.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>The principles behind DEIB affect everyone and every aspect of our daily lives in some capacity, and embracing this space more fully not only allowed me to better understand the many systemic practices at play that keep us all from moving forward positively, but it also opened my mind to the real needs of people all over the world.&nbsp;</p>
</blockquote>



<p>Everyone deserves to live in a world or operate in a space with dignity and mutual respect.</p>



<h2 id="h-community-building">Community Building</h2>



<p>While I can understand the intent around the phrase “don’t mix friend groups”, I was never the type to follow this social role wholeheartedly. There are many times in our lives when we are put in situations where we interact with people we wouldn’t necessarily have engaged with such as school projects, clubs, sports, work, etc., and while it’s not all the time, sometimes a positive reaction can occur and we can meet someone new and interesting through these random groupings.</p>



<p>I’m not quick to make friends, but when I do create a strong friendship it is because we share values and experiences which serve as the foundation for our relationship despite any other differences. Maybe it’s because of my (still ongoing) gaming days, but I tend to visualize people in the world as a character with a rich background story and something only they can bring to the table.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>It has always brought me joy to bring people together and see how these chain reactions occur. </p>
</blockquote>



<p>It could be that by some happenstance one of the friends is recruiting, they share a similar hobby, or come from a similar background. Facilitating safe spaces where folks can develop a sense of community has always been a passion of mine.</p>



<p>I have had the pleasure of building community in the WordPress community through various outlets like <a href="https://blackpresswp.com/">BlackPress</a>, with the Training Team, and even in Automattic’s Black employee resource group Cocoamattic.</p>



<h2 id="h-the-outcome">The Outcome</h2>



<p>Early last year I applied for the Community Education Manager with a basic idea based off of the job description of what I would be doing– fast forwarding to today I have found that the three pillars shared above gave me the tools I need to perform in this role successfully.</p>



<p>As a Community Education Manager I work to break down perceived barriers for folks who want to contribute to the Make WordPress Training Team’s goals, and work as a close partner with the Training Team Representatives and members to empower them to excel in their leadership, goals, and strategy. I also help shepherd the Faculty Program, and therefore work to enable these folks to fully own and participate in their roles.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>When working with our contributors, I focus on building relationships, encouraging engagement, and enabling contributions. </p>
</blockquote>



<p>We have contributors from all over the world, so I also take care to be mindful of any language or cultural differences that may be at play and lean in with curiosity to better understand each community’s unique needs.</p>



<p>When working with our Team Reps, I similarly focus on building relationships, and work with them (not for them) to create an environment where the goals of the team can be realized.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Lastly, I work with our Faculty Program Members by building relationships and connecting them with work related to their role, and with contributors who can benefit from their expertise and mentorship.</p>



<p>Can you see how my pillars are directly impacting and influencing the work I currently do?</p>



<h2 id="h-exploring-your-own-foundational-pillars">Exploring Your Own Foundational Pillars</h2>



<p>There are probably many articles with thought-provoking exercises that can lead you in your own self-reflection, so I’ll leave you all with just a some questions from me that have worked to get me started:</p>



<ul>
<li>What have you been given positive feedback on lately?</li>



<li>What actions/things bring you the most joy in life?</li>



<li>What actions/things make you feel motivated?</li>



<li>When was the last time you found yourself “in the zone”?</li>
</ul>



<p>As you go through the questions for yourself don’t discredit or try to change your initial thoughts.</p>



<p>Using these as a starting point, even if what comes up doesn&#8217;t immediately surface something that could be a pillar, you’ll surely learn or get to acknowledge something about yourself that shapes your character and how you present in the world.</p>



<p>Take your time with it– the way we walk through life is a long-term journey which is constantly being updated by new experiences along the way.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com/essays/reflecting-on-my-3-foundational-pillars/">Reflecting on My 3 Foundational Pillars</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:"Tue, 17 Jan 2023 23:00:08 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Destiny Kanno";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:89:"Do The Woo Community: Accepting Cryptocurrency in a WooCommerce Store with Lauren Dowling";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=74258";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"https://dothewoo.io/cryptocurrency-woocommerce-store/";s: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:521:"<p>Lauren Dowling, lead product for Coinbase commerce joins returning guest Dave Lockie from Automattic as the conversation covers accepting cryptocurrency on WooCommerce shops, whether it be for your clients sites or your own.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io/cryptocurrency-woocommerce-store/">Accepting Cryptocurrency in a WooCommerce Store with Lauren Dowling</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce Builder Community</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 17 Jan 2023 11:06:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:79:"WordPress.org blog: WP Briefing: Episode 47: Letter from the Executive Director";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"https://wordpress.org/news/?post_type=podcast&p=14175";s:7:"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://wordpress.org/news/2023/01/episode-47-letter-from-the-executive-director/";s: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:8660:"<p>On episode forty-seven of the WordPress Briefing podcast, Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy shares her vision and current thinking for the WordPress open source project in 2023. <em>Rather read it? <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/01/letter-from-wordpress-executive-director-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The full letter is also available</a>.</em></p>



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



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Credits</h2>



<p>Editor:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dustinhartzler/">Dustin Hartzler</a><br />Logo:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/javiarce/">Javier Arce</a><br />Production:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/santanainniss/">Santana Inniss</a><br />Song: Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Show Notes</h2>



<p><a href="http://make.WordPress.org/core">make.WordPress.org/core</a><br /><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/6-2/">Join the 6.2 Release!</a><br /><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/12/08/suggest-topics-for-the-2023-wordpress-community-summit/">Submit Topics for the Community Summit!</a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Transcript</h2>



<span id="more-14175"></span>



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



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



<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:00:40]&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>Last month at State of the Word, I shared some opening thoughts about why WordPress. For me, this is an easy question, and the hardest part is always knowing which lens to answer through. Though I always focus on the philosophical parts of the answer, I know that I often speak as an advocate for many types of WordPressers.</p>



<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:01:00]&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>So as we prepare ourselves for the start of a new year, I have a few additional thoughts that I&#8217;d like to share with you, my WordPress community, to take into the year with you.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Firstly, the Four Freedoms. If you have already listened to State of the Word, you have heard my take on the philosophical side of open source and the freedoms it provides.</p>



<p>But if you didn&#8217;t, then the TL;DR on that is that open source provides protections and freedoms to creators on the web that I really think should just be a given. But there are a couple of other things about the Four Freedoms, and especially the way that WordPress does this kind of open source-y thing that I think are worth noting as well.</p>



<p>One of those things is that WordPress entrepreneurs, those who are providing services or designing sites, building applications, they have proven that open source provides an ethical framework for conducting business. No one ever said that you aren&#8217;t allowed to build a business using free and open source software, and I am regularly heartened by the way that successful companies and freelancers make the effort to pay forward what they can.</p>



<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:02:02]</strong></p>



<p>Not always for the sole benefit of WordPress, of course, but often for the general benefit of folks who are also learning how to be entrepreneurs or how to kind of navigate our ecosystem. And the other thing that I love about the Four Freedoms and the way that WordPress does it is that leaders in the WordPress community, no matter where they are leading from, have shown that open source ideals can be applied to the way we work with one another and show up for one another.</p>



<p>As a community, we tend to approach solution gathering as an us-versus-the-problem exercise, which not only makes our solutions better, it also makes our community stronger.&nbsp;</p>



<p>As I have witnessed all of these things work together over the years, one thing that is clear to me is this: not only is open source an idea that can change our generation by being an antidote to proprietary systems and the data economy, but open source methodologies represent a process that can change the way we approach our work and our businesses.</p>



<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:03:01]&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>The second big thing that I want to make sure you all take into the year with you is that we are preparing for the third phase of the Gutenberg project. We are putting our backend developer hats on and working on the APIs that power our workflows. That workflows phase will be complex. A little bit because APIs are dark magic that binds us together, but also because we&#8217;re going to get deep into the core of WordPress with that phase.</p>



<p>If you want to have impactful work for future users of WordPress, though, this is the phase to get invested in. This phase will focus on the main elements of collaborative user workflows. If that doesn&#8217;t really make sense to you, I totally get it. Think of it this way, this phase will work on built-in real-time collaboration, commenting options in drafts, easier browsing of post revisions, and things like programmable editorial, pre-launch checklists.</p>



<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:04:00]&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>So phases one and two of the Gutenberg project had a very ‘blocks everywhere’ sort of vision. And phase three and, arguably, phase four will have more of a ‘works with the way you work’ vision.</p>



<p>And my final thought for you all as we head into the year is this, there are a couple of different moments that folks point to as the beginning of the Gutenberg project. Some say it was State of the Word 2013, where Matt dreamed on stage of a true WYSIWYG editor for WordPress. Some say it was State of the Word 2016, where we were all encouraged to learn JavaScript deeply. For a lot of us though, it was at WordCamp Europe in 2018 when the Gutenberg feature plugin first made its way to the repo.</p>



<p>No matter when you first became aware of Gutenberg, I can confirm that it feels like it&#8217;s been a long time because it has been a long time. But I can also confirm that it takes many pushes to knock over a refrigerator.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:05:00]&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>For early adopters, both to the creation of Gutenberg as well as its use, hyperfocus on daily tasks makes it really hard to get a concept of scale.</p>



<p>And so I encourage everyone this year to look out toward the horizon a bit more and up toward our guiding stars a bit more as well. Because we are now, as we ever were, securing opportunity for those who come after us because of the opportunity that was secured for us by those who came before us.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:05:33]&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>That brings us now to our small list of big things. It&#8217;s a very small list, but two pretty big things. The first thing on the list is that the WordPress 6.2 release is on its way. If you would like to get started contributing there, you can wander over to make.WordPress.org/core. You can volunteer to be part of the release squad. You can volunteer your time just as a regular contributor, someone who can test things &#8212; any of that.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:06:00]&nbsp;</strong></p>



<p>We&#8217;ll put a link in the show notes. And the second thing that I wanted to remind you of is that today is the deadline to submit topics for the Community Summit that&#8217;s coming up in August. That comes up in the middle of August, like the 22nd and 23rd or something like that.&nbsp;</p>



<p>We&#8217;ll put a link to that in the show notes as well. If you already have chatted with a team rep about some things that you really want to make sure get discussed at the community summit, I think that we can all assume that your team rep has put that in. But if not, it never hurts to give it a second vote by putting a new submission into the form.</p>



<p>And that, my friends, is your small list of big things. Thank you for tuning in today for the WordPress Briefing. I&#8217;m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy, and I&#8217;ll see you again in a couple of weeks.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 16 Jan 2023 12:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Santana Inniss";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:69:"WordPress.org blog: Letter from WordPress’ Executive Director, 2022";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=14180";s:7:"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://wordpress.org/news/2023/01/letter-from-wordpress-executive-director-2022/";s: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:5901:"<p>Last month at State of the Word, I shared some opening thoughts about &#8220;Why WordPress.&#8221; For me, this is an easy question, and the hardest part is knowing which lens to answer through. The reasons that a solopreneur will choose WordPress are different than the reasons a corporation would. And while artists and activists may have a similar vision for the world, their motivations change their reasons, too. That&#8217;s why I always focus on the philosophical parts of the answer because I know that I am speaking as an advocate for many types of WordPressers. I have a few other reasons, too, which you may not be aware of as you use our software every day.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Why WordPress?</h2>



<p>Most importantly, the Four Freedoms of Open Source. If you have already listened to State of the Word, you have heard my thoughts on the philosophical side of open source and the freedoms it provides. If you didn’t, then the tl;dr on that is that open source provides protections and freedoms to creators on the web that should be a given. There&#8217;s an extent to which the idea of owning your content and data online is a radical idea. So radical, even, that it is hard for folks to grasp what we mean when we say &#8220;free as in speech, not free as in beer.&#8221; Securing an open web for the future is, I believe, a net win for the world especially when contrasted to the walled gardens and proprietary systems that pit us all against one another with the purpose of gaining more data to sell.</p>



<p>A second reason is that WordPress entrepreneurs (those providing services, designing sites, and building applications) have proven that open source offers an ethical framework for conducting business. No one ever said that you cannot build a business using free and open source software. And I am regularly heartened by the way successful companies and freelancers make an effort to pay forward what they can. Not always for the sole benefit of WordPress, but often for the general benefit of folks learning how to be an entrepreneur in our ecosystem. Because despite our competitive streaks, at the end of the day, we know that ultimately we are the temporary caretakers of an ecosystem that has unlocked wealth and opportunity for people we may never meet but whose lives are made infinitely better because of us.</p>



<p>And the final reason is that leaders in the WordPress community (team reps, component maintainers, and community builders) have shown that open source ideals can be applied to how we work with one another. As a community, we tend to approach solution gathering as an “us vs. the problem” exercise, which not only makes our solutions better and our community stronger. And our leaders—working as they are in a cross-cultural, globally-distributed project that guides or supports tens of thousands of people a year—have unparalleled generosity of spirit. Whether they are welcoming newcomers or putting out calls for last-minute volunteers, seeing the way that they collaborate every day gives me hope for our future.</p>



<p>As I have witnessed these three things work together over the years, one thing is clear to me: not only is open source an idea that can change our generation by being an antidote to proprietary systems and the data economy, open source methodologies represent a process that can change the way we approach our work and our businesses.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WordPress in 2023</h2>



<p>As we prepare for the third phase of the Gutenberg project, we are putting on our backend developer hats and working on the APIs that power our workflows. Releases during Phase 3 will focus on the main elements of collaborative user workflows. If that doesn’t make sense, think of built-in real-time collaboration, commenting options in drafts, easier browsing of post revisions, and programmatic editorial and pre-launch checklists.</p>



<p>If Phases 1 and 2 had a &#8220;blocks everywhere&#8221; vision, think of Phase 3 with more of a “works with the way you work” vision.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In addition to this halfway milestone of starting work on Phase 3, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://wp20.wordpress.net/" target="_blank">WordPress also hits the milestone of turning 20 years old</a>. I keep thinking back to various milestones we&#8217;ve had (which you can read about in the second version of the Milestones book) and realized that almost my entire experience of full-time contributions to WordPress has been in the Gutenberg era.</p>



<p><em>I hear some of you already thinking incredulous thoughts so, come with me briefly.</em></p>



<p>There are a couple of different moments that folks point to as the beginning of the Gutenberg project. Some say it was at State of the Word 2013 when Matt dreamed of &#8220;a true WYSIWYG&#8221; editor for WordPress. Some say it was at State of the Word 2016 where we were encouraged to &#8220;learn Javascript deeply.&#8221; For many of us, it was at WordCamp Europe in 2017 when the Gutenberg demo first made its way on stage.</p>



<p>No matter when you first became aware of Gutenberg, I can confirm that it feels like a long time because it has been a long time. I can also confirm that it takes many pushes to knock over a refrigerator. For early adopters (both to the creation of Gutenberg and its use), hyper-focus on daily tasks makes it hard to get a concept of scale.</p>



<p>So I encourage you this year to look out toward the horizon and up toward our guiding stars. We are now, as we ever were, securing the opportunity for those who come after us, because of the opportunity secured by those who came before us.</p>



<p><em>Rather listen? <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/01/episode-47-letter-from-the-executive-director/">The abbreviated spoken letter is also available.</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:"Mon, 16 Jan 2023 12:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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: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:72:"Do The Woo Community: Finding Team Members to Fit Your Companies Culture";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=74204";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:71:"https://dothewoo.io/finding-team-members-to-fit-your-companies-culture/";s: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:442:"<p>Marius Vetrici has built a process to bring in new employees that are drawn to fit his companies values, and to grow with them as a team member.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io/finding-team-members-to-fit-your-companies-culture/">Finding Team Members to Fit Your Companies Culture</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce Builder Community</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, 16 Jan 2023 10:09:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:95:"Gutenberg Times: Box Shadow, Newsletter Theme, Testing Call 20 and more – Weekend Edition 241";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?p=23190";s:7:"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:100:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/box-shadow-newsletter-theme-testing-call-20-and-more-weekend-edition-241/";s: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:15190:"<p>Howdy, </p>





<p>Last week&#8217;s Live Q &amp; A on Layout features went really well, with numerous participants. The post and the show notes are still in the works. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-bKR7yjjOU">recording is available on YouTube</a>, should you want to revisit parts of it or missed it entirely. </p>



<p>Now that feature freeze for the major WordPress release is only three weeks away, the contributors would appreciate it if you could heed the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2023/01/11/fse-program-testing-call-20-find-your-style/"><strong>20th call for testing from the FSE Outreach program.</strong></a> You can help find quirks, bugs and annoyances, so they can be fixed before February 7th and during the round of beta version of the release. </p>



<p>Have a lovely weekend! </p>



<p>Yours, 💕<br /><em>Birgit</em></p>






<div class="wp-block-group has-light-background-background-color has-background is-layout-flow"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container">
<p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p>



<div class="wp-block-sortabrilliant-guidepost"><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-word-press-release-information">Developing Gutenberg and WordPress</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-p">Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#2-word-press-6-0-1-and-6-1-scheduled">Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#3-building-themes-for-fse-and-word-press">Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor. </a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#5-s">Upcoming WordPress events</a><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#1-l">Learn WordPress Online Meetups</a></li></ul></li></ul></div>
</div></div>




<h2 id="0-word-press-release-information">Developing Gutenberg and WordPress</h2>



<p><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/releases/tag/v15.0.0-rc.1"><strong>Gutenberg 15.0 release candidate</strong></a> is available for testing. Sticky positioning,  resizable Site editor, updated to the Page List block, modify block style variations from global styles, and a lot more refinements are coming to the Gutenberg plugin</p>



<div class="wp-block-group has-light-background-background-color has-background is-layout-flow"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container">
<p><strong>🎙️ </strong> New episode:  <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-78-state-of-the-word-wordpress-6-2-gutenberg-14-8-and-14-9/">Gutenberg Changelog #78 -State of the Word, WordPress 6.2, Gutenberg 14.8 and 14.9</a> with Birgit Pauli-Haack and special guest Hector Prieto</p>
</div></div>



<p>Last April, a group of contributors started working on research on how to best implement an API for to make blocks more interactive. This week, <strong>JuanMa Garrido</strong> shared a progress report: <strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/11/update-on-the-work-to-make-building-interactive-blocks-easier/">Update on the work to make building interactive blocks easier</a>. </strong></p>



<p>The resources linked in the post are mostly code internals, so they are definitely very technical at this point. With that said, understanding how the new API works, will not be necessary for developers to use this new standard. A standard proposal will be published the next few months. So for now, this is all bit technical and architectural. The work on the underlying framework is shared on <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/block-hydration-experiments">this GitHub Repository</a></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<h2 id="0-p">Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners</h2>



<p><strong>Munir Kamal</strong>, GutenbergHub, shows you in his latest post <a href="https://gutenberghub.com/how-to-find-and-use-block-patterns-in-wordpress/"><strong>How to Find and Use Block Patterns in WordPress</strong></a>. You learn, how to find patterns in the post and site editor, how to navigate the WordPress Pattern Directory and how to install the patterns via the plugin <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/extendify/"><em>Extendify Patterns and Templates</em></a></p>



<p>If you want to create your own patterns, but don&#8217;t know how to code them, you can use the plugin <strong><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/blockmeister/">Blockmeister &#8211; Block Pattern Builder</a></strong>. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Sarah Gooding</strong> reports on the <a href="https://wptavern.com/lettre-newsletter-theme-now-available-on-wordpress-org"><strong>Lettre Newsletter Theme Now Available on WordPress.org</strong></a>, It can be used with the newly release newsletter feature in Jetpack plugin or as a stand-along theme. &#8220;The theme puts the focus on the subscription form, which is the most important thing a newsletter landing page can do – make it easy for people to sign up. Beneath the form there is a link to read all the posts, followed by another subscription form. All of these elements in the home page design are blocks, making it easy for them to be removed or rearranged.&#8221; Gooding wrote. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Will Morris</strong> explained the three ways <strong><a href="https://torquemag.io/2023/01/table-of-contents-wordpress/">add a Table of Contents in WordPress</a></strong>  in is post for the <em>Torque Magazine</em>. The three ways are: </p>



<ul>
<li>Install a plugin</li>



<li>Use on the Custom Table of Contents blocks</li>



<li>Create you Table manually in the Block Editor. </li>
</ul>



<p>Soon you will be able to use the core Table of Content&#8217;s block once it comes out of the experimental stage. It&#8217;s already available via the Gutenberg plugin. </p>



<h2 id="2-word-press-6-0-1-and-6-1-scheduled">Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks</h2>



<p>In his post, <strong>Justin Tadlock</strong>, walks you through the<a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/01/11/a-walk-through-of-layout-classes-in-wordpress-6-1/"> <strong>layout classes in WordPress 6.1</strong></a>. With the latest release of WordPress, the software has now centralized its layout definitions, created semantic class names, and reduced code duplication on container blocks. &#8220;Originally, this post was intended to be a quick look at the changes to the system for theme authors. However, given the heftiness of the topic, it has evolved into a full overview of the layout framework.&#8221; Tadlock wrote. </p>



<a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/01/12/using-the-box-shadow-feature-for-themes/"><img /></a>



<p>In his second post published on the Developer Blog, <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/01/12/using-the-box-shadow-feature-for-themes/"><strong>Using the box shadow feature for themes,</strong></a> <strong>Justin Tadlock</strong> took a look at the box shadow support, that what just released in Gutenberg 14.9. As it happens with similar features, the first iteration of box shadow support is only available via code. The interface for the site editor screens are still in the works. </p>




<p><strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;Keeping up with Gutenberg &#8211; Index 2022&#8221;</a>&nbsp;</strong><br />A chronological list of the WordPress Make Blog posts from various teams involved in Gutenberg development: Design, Theme Review Team, Core Editor, Core JS, Core CSS, Test and Meta team from Jan. 2021 on. Updated by yours truly.  <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index-2020/"><em>The index 2020 is here</em></a></p>




<p><strong>Daisy Olsen</strong> held her inaugural live programming session on Twitch this week. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZslURB8tos"><strong>The recording is now available on YouTube</strong></a>. In this stream, she talked about: </p>



<ul>
<li>using LocalWP for local WordPress development, </li>



<li>the Create Block Theme Plugin, and </li>



<li>took a look at the code from a couple of existing block themes.</li>
</ul>



<p>You need a Twitch account and follow <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/daisyonwp"><strong>DaisyonWP</strong></a> to get notified when she goes live. </p>



<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZslURB8tos"><img /></a>



<p>In his latest post for <a href="https://css-tricks.com/styling-buttons-in-wordpress-block-themes/"><strong>CSS-Tricks: Styling Buttons in WordPress Block&nbsp;Themes</strong></a>, <strong>Fränk Klein,</strong> takes a detailed look markup of various buttons and how to style them via the theme.json properties. </p>



<h2 id="3-building-themes-for-fse-and-word-press">Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor. </h2>



<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/tommcfarlin">Tom McFarlin</a></strong> continued his series <a href="https://tommcfarlin.com/learning-to-build-block-editor-blocks-5/"><strong>A Backend Engineer Learns to Build Block Editor Blocks with Part 5</strong></a> in which he covers adding color controls to a custom block for the use case, when you want to give the user the option to select the colors for the block themselves. </p>



<p>McFarlin, recommend the previous articles first as they build on top of each other. So far, he published: </p>



<ol>
<li><a href="https://tommcfarlin.com/learning-to-build-block-editor-blocks-1/">Required Tools, Plugin Structure, Dependencies, Block Metadata</a></li>



<li><a href="https://tommcfarlin.com/learning-to-build-block-editor-blocks-2/">The Backend, The Frontend, Functionality, Styles, a Working Demo</a></li>



<li><a href="https://tommcfarlin.com/learning-to-build-block-editor-blocks-3/">Block Attributes, Editable Content, Components, Editor Styles</a></li>



<li><a href="https://tommcfarlin.com/learning-to-build-block-editor-blocks-4/">Saving Data, Styling the Frontend</a></li>
</ol>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/phil_sola123">Phil Sola</a></strong> create a <a href="https://github.com/phil-sola/WordPress-Custom-Color-Picker">Custom Color Picker for WordPress.</a> Sola added some improvements to the existing color picker. It&#8217;s more an experiment rather than a full-fledged solution. His exploration might also be an inspiration for others to start experimenting with WordPress component library. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />




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



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




<h2 id="5-s">Upcoming WordPress events</h2>



<p>February 4 + 5, 2023<br /><a href="https://birmingham.wordcamp.org/"><strong>WordCamp Birmingham, AL</strong></a></p>



<p><strong>February 17 – 19, 2023</strong><br /><a href="https://asia.wordcamp.org/2023/"><strong>WordCamp Asia 2023</strong></a>&nbsp;</p>



<p><em><a href="https://central.wordcamp.org/schedule/"><strong>Check the schedule of WordCamp Central</strong></a> of upcoming WordCamps near you. </em></p>



<h3 id="1-l">Learn WordPress Online Meetups</h3>



<p>January 17, 2023 – 3pm / 20:00 UTC<br /><a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/290412094/"><strong>Patterns, reusable blocks and block locking</strong></a></p>



<p>January 19th, 2023 &#8211; 10:30 ET / 15:30 UTC<br /><a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/290834241/"><strong>Live stream: Building an Advanced Query Loop block variation plugin</strong></a> w/ Ryan Welcher <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/daisyonwp">@ryanwelchercodes</a></p>



<p>January 19, 2023 – 7 pm ET / 24:00 UTC<br /><a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/290363952/"><strong>Let’s make custom templates in the Site Editor!</strong></a></p>



<p>January 20, 2023 – 3 am ET / 8:00 UTC<br /><a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/290363952/"><strong>Let’s make custom templates in the Site Editor!</strong></a></p>



<p>January 20, 2023 &#8211; 10:30 am 15:30 UTC <br /><strong><a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/fhqnbtyfccbbc/">Block Themes and WordPress: Live Stream</a></strong> w/ Daisy Olsen <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/daisyonwp">@daisyonwp</a></p>



<p>January 23, 2023 &#8211; 10 pm ET / 1 am UTC <br /><strong><a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/290412176/">Patterns, reusable blocks and block locking (APAC time zone)</a></strong></p>



<p>January 26, 2023 &#8211; 10:30 am ET / 15:30 UTC <br /><a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/290834152/"><strong>Live stream: Reviewing developer-focused features in Gutenberg 15.0</strong></a> w/ Ryan Welcher <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/daisyonwp">@ryanwelchercodes</a></p>



<p>January 31, 2023 – 3pm ET / 20:00 UTC<br /><a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/290414181/"><strong>Creating a photography website with the block editor</strong></a></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />




<p>Featured Image: <strong>Amit Patel:</strong> Mango Shake Orange Sweet found in WordPress.org/photos</p>



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



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



<form class="wp-block-newsletterglue-form ngl-form ngl-portrait" action="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/" method="post"><div class="ngl-form-container"><div class="ngl-form-field"><label class="ngl-form-label" for="ngl_email"><br />Type in your Email address to subscribe.</label><div class="ngl-form-input"><input type="email" class="ngl-form-input-text" name="ngl_email" id="ngl_email" /></div></div><button type="submit" class="ngl-form-button">Subscribe</button><p class="ngl-form-text">We hate spam, too and won&#8217;t give your email address to anyone except Mailchimp to send out our Weekend Edition</p></div><div class="ngl-message-overlay"><div class="ngl-message-svg-wrap"></div><div class="ngl-message-overlay-text">Thanks for subscribing.</div></div><input type="hidden" name="ngl_list_id" id="ngl_list_id" value="26f81bd8ae" /><input type="hidden" name="ngl_double_optin" id="ngl_double_optin" value="yes" /></form>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide" />";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 14 Jan 2023 22:30:27 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:18:"Birgit Pauli-Haack";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:63:"WPTavern: WooCommerce 7.3 Introduces New Products Block in Beta";s:7:"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=141097";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:74:"https://wptavern.com/woocommerce-7-3-introduces-new-products-block-in-beta";s: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:2242:"<p><a href="https://developer.woocommerce.com/2023/01/12/woocommerce-7-3-released/">WooCommerce 7.3</a> was released this week with the new Products block now in beta. In December 2022, the Products block went into testing in <a href="https://wptavern.com/woocommerce-blocks-9-1-0-introduces-products-block-in-beta">WooCommerce Blocks version 9.1.0</a>. It&#8217;s based on the Query Loop block and is intended to replace all of WooCommerce&#8217;s current product-displaying blocks.</p>



<p>This first beta version of the Products block allows users to list products based on specific criteria and their layout in the list or grid. </p>



<img />



<p>Version 7.3 also introduces three &#8220;commerce-adjacent&#8221; patterns for building WooCommerce store pages. These are patterns that do not tap into WooCommerce store data but allow store owners to customize the images and the links. These patterns were also tested in WooCommerce Blocks 9.1.0. They include an alternating image and text block pattern, a product hero with two columns and two rows, and a &#8220;Just Arrived&#8221; full hero pattern.</p>



<img />image source: <a href="https://developer.woocommerce.com/2023/01/12/woocommerce-7-3-released/">WooCommerce 7.3 release post</a>



<p>This release also brings store owners a new <a href="https://developer.woocommerce.com/2022/10/11/woocommerce-7-0-released/">multichannel marketing experience</a> in beta. Under the Marketing menu in the admin, users can now view a list of recommended marketing extensions without leaving the dashboard. These can be installed directly from the Marketing page.</p>



<img />



<p>Other notable features in WooCommerce 7.3 include Pinterest and Codisto extensions added to the onboarding wizard, a new warning banner when the tax settings have a conflict, and an improved UI for creating product attributes and uploading product images.</p>



<p>Check out the release <a href="https://developer.woocommerce.com/2023/01/12/woocommerce-7-3-released/">post</a> to see the template changes and all the new actions and filters available for developers. The full <a href="https://github.com/woocommerce/woocommerce/blob/7.3.0/changelog.txt">7.3 changelog</a> is available on GitHub.</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, 14 Jan 2023 04:25:34 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:64:"WPTavern: Lettre Newsletter Theme Now Available on WordPress.org";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=141076";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:75:"https://wptavern.com/lettre-newsletter-theme-now-available-on-wordpress-org";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2595:"<p>Automattic has published its <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/lettre/">Lettre theme</a> to WordPress.org. The company <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-com-launches-newsletter-product">launched its newsletter product</a> at the end of December 2022 using Lettre as the default theme. The self-hosted version of this block theme is for those who want to publish a newsletter using Jetpack.</p>



<img />



<p>The theme puts the focus on the subscription form, which is the most important thing a newsletter landing page can do &#8211; make it easy for people to sign up. Beneath the form there is a link to read all the posts, followed by another subscription form. All of these elements in the home page design are blocks, making it easy for them to be removed or rearranged.</p>



<p>Lettre comes with 15 block patterns for building different pages and designs, including about the author(s), a bold color signup, a two-column signup, various designs for the newsletter intro with light and dark background images, newsletter signup with media on the left, newsletter signup with logos for the background, a list of posts, an in-post article promo, three columns of text, and more.</p>



<img />



<p>A <a href="https://lettredemo.wordpress.com/">live demo</a> of the theme is available on WordPress.com. The menu items on the demo give a few examples of the different signup patterns in action.</p>



<p>Lettre is designed to be used with Jetpack&#8217;s Subscription block, which uses WordPress.com&#8217;s infrastructure to manage emails and subscribers. If you like the design but are already using another newsletter service, the Jetpack Subscribe block can be replaced with any other block, including the shortcode block for newsletter services that haven&#8217;t yet made their subscription forms available via a block. Be advised, you may need to write some custom CSS to ensure that the subscribe form matches the original design.</p>



<p>Lettre is one of the only themes in the WordPress Themes Directory that was made to be a newsletter landing page and certainly the only block theme dedicated to this purpose. Combined with Jetpack&#8217;s subscription feature, this is one of the most seamless ways to distribute a newsletter without all the extra steps of copying the content into a newsletter service&#8217;s editor. Lettre is  available for free <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/lettre/">download from WordPress.org</a>. I wouldn&#8217;t be surprised to see more themes like this pop up now that WordPress.com has launched its newsletter service.</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, 14 Jan 2023 02:50:40 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:97:"Do The Woo Community: Taking a Deep Dive Into the Current State of Social Media with David Bisset";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=74300";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:50:"https://dothewoo.io/current-state-of-social-media/";s: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:422:"<p>David Bisset and I share our current experiences with Twitter, Mastodon, Linked, Tumblr, the Fediverse and open source. </p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io/current-state-of-social-media/">Taking a Deep Dive Into the Current State of Social Media with David Bisset</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce Builder Community</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 13 Jan 2023 10:58:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:77:"WPTavern: New Video Explores Site Building Progress from WordPress 5.9 to 6.2";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:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=141039";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:88:"https://wptavern.com/new-video-explores-site-building-progress-from-wordpress-5-9-to-6-2";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:3346:"<p><a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-9-josephine-released-introduces-full-site-editing-and-new-twenty-twenty-two-default-theme">WordPress 5.9 &#8220;Josephine&#8221;</a> was released in January 2022, but that seems like ages ago when you compare the advances made in site building over the past year. Anne McCarthy, an Automattic-sponsored contributor who heads up the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/12/11/the-fse-outreach-program-is-officially-starting/">Full Site Editing Outreach Program</a>, has published a short video that tours the important changes in WordPress over the past few major releases. The video also doubles as a preview of some of the features coming in 6.2.</p>



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

</div>



<p>If you are using the Gutenberg plugin and have been tracking the relentless progress of the Site Editor, you will notice how limited the design options are in 5.9 and how much more consistent and expansive they are today. In 5.9 users users can only add a Front page template, and the site building interface is disjointed and less polished.</p>



<p>McCarthy demonstrates how WordPress 6.2 will introduce smoother interactions with browse mode. It will also greatly expand the template options available for users to add and includes a new colorized list view. </p>



<p>The Navigation block has had a long, rocky journey but seems to be reborn in 6.2. McCarthy showed how much more intuitive it has become with the new experience of editing navigation in the sidebar, and repositioning via drag and drop with live previews.</p>



<img />



<p>The instant that Style Variations were introduced in <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-6-0-arturo-adds-more-templates-and-patterns-style-switching-and-block-locking-ui">WordPress 6.0</a>, it seemed they were always with us. Looking back at 5.9 in the video, the Site Editor appears so bare without them. WordPress 6.2 will extend this even further with improved block style previews, a style book, and a new zoomed out view that makes it easy to see changes at a glance.</p>



<p>Everything coming in 6.2 is converging towards better usability and more design options for site editors. The challenge here is to continue introducing new features without the interface becoming cluttered and chaotic. Many of these features are still being ironed out. For example, McCarthy mentioned that the Edit button is still a work in progress and may soon be relocated to be more prominent in the Site Editor. </p>



<p>This video gives a quick visual summary of what is being done to wrap up the full-site editing phase of the Gutenberg project before contributors move on to Collaboration. It is worth a watch to see the site building progress that contributors have made in just one year.</p>



<p>If you want to get involved in making sure all these features in 6.2 are ready for prime time, check out McCarthy&#8217;s latest FSE Testing Call: <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/category/call-for-testing/">Find Your Style</a>.  It will plunge you into the new features of the Site Editor to perform a few tasks. It&#8217;s essentially a guided opportunity to explore the new interface while contributing back to WordPress, and you will earn a fancy testing contributor badge that will display on your WordPress.org profile.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 13 Jan 2023 03:56:21 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:96:"Post Status: On OpenAI And WordPress With Jannis Thuemmig Of WP-Webooks— Post Status Draft 136";s:7:"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://poststatus.com/?p=146297";s:7:"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:104:"https://poststatus.com/on-openai-and-wordpress-with-jannis-thuemmig-of-wp-webooks-post-status-draft-136/";s: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:43261:"<div class="is-layout-flow wp-block-group eplus-wrapper has-theme-palette-2-color has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-text-color has-background"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container"><div class="wp-block-post-excerpt"><p class="wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt">Jannis Thuemmig, founder of WP Webhooks, joins Cory Miller to discuss Open AI and WordPress. Jannis is passionate about utilizing the power of technology to increase efficiency. WP Webhooks is exploring the ways Open AI can be used to revolutionize website processes and management. It seems we are only at the tip of the iceberg for what is possible when working with WordPress and Open AI. </p></div>


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<p class="yoast-reading-time__wrapper"><span class="yoast-reading-time__icon"></span><span class="yoast-reading-time__spacer"></span><span class="yoast-reading-time__descriptive-text">Estimated reading time:  </span><span class="yoast-reading-time__reading-time">2</span><span class="yoast-reading-time__time-unit"> minutes</span></p>
</div></div>







<p><a href="https://poststatus.com/planet/feed/#h-transcript">Transcript</a> ↓</p>



<p>In this episode, Jannis Thuemmig, serial entrepreneur and founder of <a href="https://wp-webhooks.com/">WP Webhooks</a>, dives into the world of automation and Open AI with Cory Miller. Together they look at what is currently possible within the world of integration and automation within WordPress. Then they lean into what is unfolding as Open AI finds its way into the mainstream and discuss what this might mean for the WordPress community.</p>



<p><strong>Top Takeaways:</strong></p>



<ul>
<li><strong>Integrations & Automations to Save Time: </strong>Everyone is in need of some kind of automation. Our main goal is to save time by creating automations wherever there are pain points. Rather than doing things manually, WP Webhooks enables you to automate them within your dashboard.</li>



<li><strong>Avoiding Automation through Software: </strong>Using software as a service partner means hosting your data on their platforms. Using Webhooks for integration and automation allows you to keep things on your server and within your complete control.</li>



<li><strong>Possibilities with Open AI Integration: </strong>Webhooks is focused on using Open AI as an advantage to speed up processes by creating integrations between services and generating original content. They are working on finding cool use cases and understanding the actual power of what it makes possible.</li>
</ul>



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

</div>



<div class="is-layout-flow wp-block-group"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container">
<div class="is-layout-flex wp-container-4 wp-block-columns has-theme-palette-8-color has-theme-palette-5-background-color has-text-color has-background" id="WP-Engine">
<div class="is-layout-flow wp-block-column">
<h3 class="has-theme-palette-9-color has-text-color" id="sponsor-wpengine"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f64f.png" alt="🙏" class="wp-smiley" /> Sponsor: <a href="https://poststat.us/wordpress-vip">WordPress VIP</a></h3>



<p>Founded in 2006, WordPress VIP is <em>the</em> agile <a href="https://wpvip.com/enterprise-content-management-system/">content platform</a> that empowers marketers to build content both faster and smarter so they can drive more growth. We empower content and development teams with the flexibility and ubiquity of WordPress—the agile CMS that powers more than 40% of the web—while ensuring the security and reliability organizations need to operate at scale</p>
</div>



<div class="is-layout-flow wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center">
<div id="WordPress-VIP" class="wp-block-image is-style-default"><a href="https://poststat.us/wordpress-vip"><img width="300" height="132" src="https://cdn.poststatus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/WPVIPlogo-1-300x132.webp" alt="WordPress VIP" class="wp-image-99911" title="WordPress VIP" /></a>WordPress VIP</div>
</div>
</div>
</div></div>



<h3 class="eplus-wrapper" id="h-mentioned-in-the-show"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f517.png" alt="🔗" class="wp-smiley" /> Mentioned in the show:</h3>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thuemmig/?originalSubdomain=de">Jannis Thuemmig</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wp-webhooks.com/">WP Webhooks</a>&nbsp;</li>



<li><a href="https://openai.com/">Open AI</a></li>



<li><a href="https://zapier.com/">Zapier</a></li>



<li><a href="https://teachable.com/">Teachable</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wp-webhooks.com/blog/how-to-use-openai-within-wordpress-yoast-seo-example/">How to Use Open AI within WordPress (Yoast SEO example)</a></li>



<li><a href="https://circle.so/">Circle</a></li>



<li><a href="https://slack.com/">Slack</a></li>



<li><a href="https://twitter.com/karimmarucchi">Karim Marucchi</a></li>



<li><a href="https://crowdfavorite.com/">Crowd Favorite</a></li>
</ul>



<h3 class="eplus-wrapper" id="h-you-can-follow-post-status-and-our-guests-on-twitter"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f426.png" alt="🐦" class="wp-smiley" /> You can follow Post Status and our guests on Twitter:</h3>



<ul class="eplus-wrapper">
<li>Jannis Thuemmig (Founder, <a href="https://twitter.com/wp_webhooks">WP Webhooks</a>)</li>



<li><a href="https://twitter.com/corymiller303">Cory Miller</a> (CEO, <a href="https://twitter.com/post_status">Post Status</a>)</li>



<li><a href="https://twitter.com/lemonadecode">Olivia Bisset</a> (Intern, <a href="https://twitter.com/post_status">Post Status</a>)</li>
</ul>



<p class="eplus-wrapper has-background">The <strong>Post Status Draft</strong> podcast is geared toward WordPress professionals, with interviews, news, and deep analysis. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f4dd.png" alt="📝" class="wp-smiley" /><br /><br /><a href="https://poststatus.com/category/post-status-podcasts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Browse our archives</a>, and don’t forget to subscribe via <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/post-status-draft-wordpress/id976403008" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">iTunes</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS8ySkU5c2M4UA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/PostStatus" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/krogsgard/post-status-draft-wordpress-podcast" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://wordpress-post-status-draft-podcast.simplecast.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Simplecast</a>, or <a href="https://feeds.simplecast.com/2JE9sc8P">RSS</a>. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f3a7.png" alt="🎧" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<h2 class="eplus-wrapper" id="h-transcript">Transcript</h2>



<p>GMT20230105-161248_Recording</p>



<h1>GMT20230105-161248_Recording</h1>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> [00:00:00] Hey everybody. Welcome back to Post Status Draft. This is another interview and discussion in our Product People series, and I've got someone I've met, let's see, last year or the year before Giannis and doing good work, but we were talking about AI and that led to OpenAI and something they're doing with WP Webhooks.</p>



<p>So that's what the conversation is gonna be about today. But Giannis, welcome to the draft podcast. Would you tell us a little bit about yourself and your work and WordPress?</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> Sure, totally. Thanks for having me here. Uh, it's always an honor. Uh, my name is Giannis. I'm from Germany originally, but started traveling a long time ago and since then, I basically work as a digital dumper from anywhere.</p>



<p>And I would say with a, with a very, very deep focus on web. And specifically in automation. This is where W P Airport comes from. So we are basically focused on connecting different services and WebPress plugging to let them talk to each other and kind of just automate the [00:01:00] system and get rid of the human error and save everyone a little bit of time and money, which is really interesting nowadays.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Yeah, I, and I love it. Uh, one part I'll just sidebar real quick is I know when you say digital notepad, uh, the several times we've had zooms, I'm like, where are you in the world today, y'all? It's like, . Um, so I, I love that. I love to see the nude, like landscapes you're in every time we talk. Um, okay. So WP Webhooks, um, I know you've been, so automation is key.</p>



<p>It's about efficiency, um, like really saving that time. In the processes you're doing, um, what, tell me what all does WP Webhooks do?</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> So basically it allows you to use a set of redefine integrations to let other services and WebPress plugin specifically talk to each other. So let's say there's, um, a woo commerce shop, for example, and you have a, a custom programmed plugin that has no integrations [00:02:00] whatsoever.</p>



<p>You can use our plugin as a middleman to allow sending data in between, and that works with mostly any kind of WebPress plugins as well as external data like, uh, external services, something like Zapier or make or integrated. So the, the basic main goal is to just make them compatible, which they, in a lot of cases, aren't from the beginning. Or if they are, they're often very limited, which is something we realized as well. So we just want to kind of get that interoperability to WordPress, which is something that was just lacking over the last couple of years.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Yeah, I, I love that. I know Zapier has used quite a bit uh, obviously we've used it in the past at, at Post Status because of all the external services, and you're trying to link these and do some things that certain pieces of software doesn't do out of the bat.</p>



<p>So I, I love the premise of web hooks for sure. Uh, WP Web Hooks, what are you seeing or finding? Customers are gravitating to webhooks [00:03:00] for, like is there specific tasks that stand out that people are using these over and over and over and going, this is what I need. I don't want to pay for Zapier or some other alternative, I wanna do something here with my WordPress site.</p>



<p>What are you seeing from your customers?</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> So I'd say that's not a specific use case. There's, uh, quite a lot. So everyone, literally, everyone who's in the, in the, has a web presence or has an online shop or something related and does something with website. Everyone is in in need of doing some kind of automations.</p>



<p>Let it be to automatically book orders into your accounting system or synchronize your properties from a property management website with your WebPress website. Or let's say you have a Teachable account and you sell online courses and you want to synchronize your students with a WebPress website to give them extra features.</p>



<p>This is stuff that they are using it for. So basically wherever there's a pain point and there's some time that just can be avoided by automating it through software. This is something where we are, um, jumping in [00:04:00] and it's specifically interesting right now for people that are very critical about privacy because especially in Europe, a lot of people don't want to use software as a service partners like Zapier or Integra.</p>



<p>Because they are hosting their data on other platforms, right? So they have no full control over it, which comes very handy with our plugin because you have your own server, so everything runs on your own server. You are in full control where your data is, what your data does. And this is a very, very critical point that is, uh, always, always well seen at the moment.</p>



<p>Yeah.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Yeah, yeah, for sure. I, you went to a subject I didn't even think about, which is if you don't want your information out there on another service, having it in in WordPress, something you control. I think that's a key facet. Before we start talking about, uh, AI and specifically OpenAI, what are you most excited about with webhooks this year?</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> Ooh, for sure. Bringing that AI space model [00:05:00] web. Because we had so much fun over the last couple of months trying these things out, seeing in which direction it goes. And it's just incredibly fun to, to play around with it because the possibilities are really endless. And we are, we are fully about saving time.</p>



<p>Right? And this is something we can even use to leverage more time out of our daily task, which is really, really good. Okay.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Well let's roll into that because I think that's one of the most, uh, uh, Interesting themes in our community is ai. I've seen a couple tweets saying AI is gonna revolutionize, um, a lot of stuff with a website by the end of 2023.</p>



<p>I can't remember who said that online. And I was like, well, I've been paying attention enough. But talk to me about ai, OpenAI and what you, you see on the horizon for, um, for WordPress particularly, and opportunities and possibilities. . Yeah,</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> so ai uh, specifically in our case with OpenAI, uh, there's, uh, a little differentiation.</p>



<p>So [00:06:00] right now it's very much hyped, the G P T three. So the, the kind of chat ai as you can, as you can, uh, think of, which is basically you just type in something and it, it gives you like a very human answer back, which is really, really incredible. And, uh, we specifically talk about the, the OpenAI api, which kind of allows you to.</p>



<p>Communicate data on a programmatic level, which means you basically don't even need to type something yourself, but you can already use a service to let these things run through the web automatically without ever touching this kind of data. And this is, this is just something that that works very well with, with the automation part.</p>



<p>Right. So we are, we are basically looking into bringing more possibilities that AI through non-static data, and, uh, what I mean by non static data, it's probably interesting to, to understand what an AI actually is. So it's a pre-trained network, right? It has the data that was feeded to it at some point. And with OpenAI, it's made from [00:07:00] mostly 2021.</p>



<p>So it has no actual new data. If you ask it something like what happened yesterday, for example, it could probably not give you an answer to, you could give it the information if you have it yourself. But it can never give you like the, the news and accurate information. And using things like automation, you can basically bring a whole new word to it because you can kind of give the AI the possibility through response and, uh, requests to send data through automation, uh, validate it somewhere else and send it back to the AI and tell the ai, Hey, look, there's new information.</p>



<p>We can use that, uh, or, or learn about that and, um, send me some more information or summarize me something. So it's, it's just a very interesting time in, in regards to giving the AI actual information that you can feed it, uh, that is currently not within its its own, um, possibilities.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> So you said something there.</p>



<p>Um, I, I haven't even gotten that in depth with OpenAI, but So in [00:08:00] 2021 they fed it a ton of data you're saying, and then trained it to be able to, to answer questions and things.</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> Yeah, exactly. So basically they had a, a huge dataset or couple of datasets for sure about the information that they fitted. And the AI can basically make.</p>



<p>An answer that is, uh, in a human real reform, and that seems like it is made from a human, but the data that was fed is all from 2021, right? So it is a static data if we, if we want to hear it or not. So if you're gonna ask the ai, what is the latest model of iPhone, for example, it'll probably tell you something like it's the iPhone 13, because I don't think it has information about iPhone 14.</p>



<p>That would be something cool to try, but I guess it must be, uh, outdated information. And with that gap of, of using that, that automation in, in connection with ai, you can kind of close that gap and you can actually feed it real time data and use that data to, to do certain things within the AI [00:09:00] and, uh,</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> I see, thats a new one.</p>



<p>Yeah, it does. Um, totally to me, and I'm asking as a newbie to all of this, um, because I've used it and I'm like, this is pretty dang fast. And I'm like, how the heck are they doing that? That makes total sense. And then from the training side, um, the model itself is, I was like, gosh, if this had access to that, and you could just ask it questions like that.</p>



<p>It's the, it's the a hundred times better Google. Yeah, because, yeah, it, like, I was, I, I mean I asked what are the strengths and weaknesses of WordPress, for instance, and it came back. Um, but knowing it's, it's a little bit lag on the data side is interesting to me. Um, but I saw the potential for this to truly.</p>



<p>Revolutionized some things on the web. Um, so it's, it, it's been really intriguing and I mean, I asked it all kinds of questions that I was just actually curious about and seeing what, not just from the what, [00:10:00] how the model would work, but the answer. And I was like, this is like a perfectly uh, formatted.</p>



<p>Informative, um, short essay that I would've gotten in college, you know, so that's</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> intriguing. It's actually you can, you can write like on demand stories for your kids based on your own characters. Just type in a sentence, say you run a short story and it spits you out a short story that you can read them from going to bed.</p>



<p>It's amazing. It's just like incredible.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> I'm gonna have to try that today. I, I continue. This subject fascinates me and I think it's something we need to be thinking about and looking at and talking about in WordPress and Post Status, because this new technology coming and then how WordPress is placed in this.</p>



<p>And for years, I think this is a segway to talk about OpenAI and WordPress specifically. But you know, I've either built sites for people or known a bunch of people that build sites for clients. And you turn on this awesome, it's like you turn this car over, you pull this car up to 'em, and [00:11:00] you're like, here's your car.</p>



<p>But you gotta drive it with content, with things inside the site, and it's such a great vehicle for that. But oftentimes people get hung up on that part of. Oh, I don't know what to, I don't know how to drive my car. Right? Like these, you know, WordPress sites with the right architecture, the right things can really drive and make a dent.</p>



<p>That's our kind of thing with WordPress is like it's magic like that. But you still have to like, Drive it, you have to put gas in it and drive it, uh, with content. So that's a compelling angle for me with OpenAI. And I've heard about all these things. Before we segue specifically to the integration you've done too and some possibilities there, what, where do you see all of this and WordPress going?</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> Like, that's a very interesting question. Yeah, yeah. Uh, I think, I think it will be in relay, I mean, it's, right now we are specifically in the content age, right? So I, I've seen a lot of people. [00:12:00] Going into the space where they try to create on demand articles using an ai, which is probably a terrible idea just through plagiarism because it's very easily detected if you don't lose like a rewriter and you use your very own wordings in between.</p>



<p>So this is something that we will see switching, definitely. But what I see as an advantage in the future with WebPress is that people will use to. We, we learn to use AI for the advantage in the sense of speeding up their process. So it's also kind of a, a way of automating things, uh, in the sense that they don't need to write their content anymore from scratch, or they don't need to write a, think about copywriting that much.</p>



<p>They just ask the ai, it's bit something out. They put it in, maybe adjust it, tweak it in their own way so that it has their very own style. And they probably just make the, the way of, of riding blocks 10 times a hundred times faster than it's right now. So we'll definitely see like a, a boost in performance and [00:13:00] probably block block posts over the long term.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Okay. Well, so that leads into this specific integration you have and the tutorial I, I was looking through before we started. Um, so you saw OpenAI has an api and tell us, tell us about that in WP Web Web Hook.</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> So, yeah, we, we basically started, um, after trying a couple of times how OpenAI works to, um, to integrate it with our plugin.</p>



<p>So we, we usually go for creating integrations for different services and plugins, and, uh, in that case it's, it's once separately for OpenAI, which makes it compatible with all of the other services and, uh, plugins. We are integrated. And the main goal was just to provide the integration, right? Because it's so new, barely anyone understands the actual power of it and what is possible.</p>



<p>So we, we just kind of created it out of the blue with a thought of, Hey, it would be cool to just have it, you know, let's see what, what's going to happen. And right now we are basically just [00:14:00] working on finding cool use cases. And, uh, there are definitely a couple, uh, like I've, I've, uh, showed you earlier.</p>



<p>We already have a blog post on our. That basically describes how you can auto generate method descriptions using OpenAI and Yost seo. So you basically just feed it in the title and it spits your order, perfectly made method description that you can just use or adjust as you want. And these kind of things, they just now come through trial and error basically.</p>



<p>And, uh, it's, it's very interesting to see where it goes. And I can see that with these kind of automat. Um, we can also provide what I mentioned earlier, that that possibility of feeding the AI new information that is not available within the AI itself. So because we can make these kind of workflows, um, if that makes sense.</p>



<p>And this is, uh, this is mostly what we are trying to do right now. We basically just working on, on use cases, see what's possible, trying out different things and it's a super, super exciting. [00:15:00]</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Yeah, absolutely. Because I mean, you talk about this car, you some a a site builder turns the car over and they start to use it.</p>



<p>But that meta, uh, description is one thing. Like I honestly confess, I never do, you know, but it's, it's helpful, it's vital. And so like that one little use case in the bigger picture of what I can do, I think starts to step us into this and it is really interesting. Um,</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> oh, totally. Yeah. This is, this is literally just the, the tip of the iceberg.</p>



<p>If you want, you can basically let the AI create a, a full schema, uh, like a shima for your, for your website. So whenever there's a blog post, it can write the how-tos and everything in, in kind of adjacent format and, uh, spits your order perfectly well formatted SEO description and, and everything keyboards, the, the, the whole how to, and this is just, it's just such a time saver.</p>



<p>It's incredible.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Well, okay. Do you have a tutorial on that [00:16:00] too? Because that's really interesting. Um, , or if you don't, we need one. Um, but so you're going into OpenAI or chat GPT or whatever, and then you're saying you're asking a question or something like that, and then it's gonna give you back those things.</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> Yeah, exactly. It's just you literally ask it just a humanly written question, something like, give me back adjacent with each of these information. And it spits you out adjacent with each of the information. And Jason, you can always use on a technical level, right? So we can just leverage that out and use it through our plugin to use it in different automations and do different things.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Oh, that's super cool. Well, what do you have anything you wanna share about what you're doing next with this WP WebHooks?</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> Um. As a, as a use case, it's a, I mean, we, we definitely, for, for now we really try to just work on the OpenAI things mm-hmm. and try to find some cool use cases there. Uh, we had a lot of, um, a lot of actually customers reaching out about the possibilities as well and how exactly it works because the models [00:17:00] and the configuration is a bit complicated if you, if you're not fully aware of it.</p>



<p>But, uh, yeah, we, we just follow the standards and, uh, things should be fairly easy. But yeah, for us, it, it's mostly, mostly OpenAI and creating new integrations. That's something we're, we are hardly focused on at the moment.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> I, I really think this is, like you said, the tip of the iceberg that, um, I'm really intrigued by our WordPress community post at Post Status to go, okay, here's this cool technology.</p>



<p>How do we translate this into practical? Um, uses for the end client, the end user in WordPress. Um, so that, that's, that's interesting. We'll be excited to hear what, what you find in explorer and launch launch next.</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> Yeah, you should just see the block post, uh, our, our, our block. There will be a couple of more tutorials coming.</p>



<p>They're already in the making, so in the next days we should see someone there.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Okay. Perfect. All right. Um, okay. So. You, you [00:18:00] showed me something as like this. I think this is just showing the power of what it could do when we start to get these types of integrations into WordPress. Do you mind showing me the one you were telling me about?</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> Totally. Yeah. Not a problem. Of course. I'm just gonna share my screen, probably this one. Yes, so I, I was basically just fooling around the other day on. With our integration, trying to find some new cool ways we can use to, to present the OpenAI integration. And, you know, like, like I mentioned earlier, you can kind of ask the AI to create adjacent format, um, with specific data.</p>



<p>So Jason is basically just a structured way of presenting data within the web that is something that the, the browser or the, the server can. And in our case, we, we, we wanted to have like, like in here, uh, just a simple field that you can write something and based on whatever you write, it updates the block post of [00:19:00] your choice.</p>



<p>So in our case, we just created a quick contact form seven form as we have an integration with contact as well. And we connected that with open. To create a so-called Jason and update a block post based on a specific information. So I can just demonstrate it here. You can see I have three block posts available and let's just take this one.</p>



<p>I just need the ID because that's the way we wrote it. So we have ID 97, and what I would like to do is, let's say I want to update the, the title of this post, right? So I can, I can write something like, Update the post with the id, let's say post title</p>



<p>with ID 97 and change it to, um, this is a new title based on OpenAI. So it's, it's basically what we read as a, as a human tech, [00:20:00] right. But if I submit that and I let our workflow. The AI basically interprets that and, uh, changes it based on our parameters within, uh, Jason. And when I refresh here and, um, the flow ran, it should display it.</p>



<p>See if it doesn't, no, it doesn't. Uh, so the thing is, because it depends what you feed the ai. So the AI basically needs to understand what you do. And, uh, in some, in some cases, that's, that's the problem with ai. It fits you out text, right? So you try to, you need to, to format. And kind of use the text in a different way so we can see.</p>



<p>Okay. Just didn't follow it. Just what I'm gonna do is, so to, to just, so the very same example, I just tried to type the similar thing again. Let's try it again. So, um, update the post with the ID 87 and change the title to, [00:21:00] um, OpenAI. Something new. Let's see now</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> I always love live demos, . Yeah, I know. When you were showing me before I was like, wow, that's super cool.</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> Yeah, it really depends on the AI, if I, if I do it right or not. Um, but it seems like you see that it's not completed. So basically something stopped within the AI and uh, yeah, I would need to, I would need to see what.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Yeah, so you were showing, you were showing just now the webhooks, uh, pro dashboard. Do you mind taking us for a spin around the Webhooks Pro dashboard?</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> Uh, yeah, totally. So it's basically like, you know, standard WebPress plugin and stuff. On the site menu we have, uh, our W2 Web Hooks Pro, um, menu item, and basically it's, it's separated into two main things, which is the automations, the flows, and the web. So there's, there's kind of a difference in between, because originally we came from the web website, which means it's kind of like a [00:22:00] one-way street for information to present.</p>



<p>Let's say you, you update a, a post on your WebPress website and based on that post you can send data into a, a certain direction, like directly and instantly to inform another service about that there's a new post. But then we realized that there's more of a need to actually automate kind of certain work.</p>



<p>And then we created something called Flows, which basically allows you to connect the, or create a consecutive order of triggers and actions. So web book triggers and actions to do certain things in a, in a specific flow as we call it. So I just head into it, uh, into one, which is the human posture. This was the example I tried to show you, which, uh, was currently not working out because of something that I need to see. Um, but what we have basically, within the floor. You can see we have a trigger, right? The trigger fires on a contact form seven. Within the settings, we basically selected the form that we created earlier, which is [00:23:00] embedded in, in the site.</p>



<p>And we don't want to send the email as we just want to send the data to OpenAI. And it was tested. We set up some conditionals, um, stuff that's not really important for now, but, uh, this is, this is basically what causes the actual workflow to fire, right? So, This specific trigger comes along with all the data that was sent within this form, and we then reuse the data in the other kind of actions here.</p>



<p>And as you can see, the first action is something, uh, is our OpenAI integration, where we basically sent that information that we had earlier, as you can see here, to OpenAI as a, as a text. And this is, this is what we read. So it basically says, get the posterity and the PostIt from the JSON, uh, in the JSON format.</p>



<p>This is the sentence, and the sentence basically is a dynamic string that comes from the input that we sent within this form. So it makes more sense if, if we go through it logically while, while building it. But, um, [00:24:00] when you click into a field like this, you will see it shows a dropdown, and inside of the dropdown you will see all of the information that was sent within the trigger, including the question like, change the title of the post idea, ???</p>



<p>So this is basically what we selected here. And this is kind of more details about the OpenAI stuff. Sure. And yeah, when you, when you continue safe, you can test the action directly within here. That's something I can try, um, just as an example to see what comes back. So basically right now I'm sending a real request with the data that we got earlier.</p>



<p>And this is basically the response. So we can see, we got some text back from the AI, which looks a bit weird as it's text. But within our plugin we have something like a formatter, which allows us to format the data and change into something readable. So I'm just gonna quickly do that to, to give you a better example of what we get back.</p>



<p>So as you can see, this is what we get back from the AI or from the formatter, which came originally from [00:25:00] the OpenAI. And this specific information we want to then use in another action to actually update the post. And this is, this is literally everything it does. You can just think it of simple steps that, like we have a trigger.</p>



<p>The trigger causes, uh, runs whenever the, the specific contact form was sent, then we sent the data to OpenAI. We format it in a certain way, and then we update the post based on whatever data we got back from the OpenAI. Excellent. So, yeah, exactly. This is, this is basically it for that.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> What, what are some of the automations.</p>



<p>Yeah, I, I saw the create the automation. So what are the, some of the things that webhooks can do from the automation side?</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> Uh, you mean some examples for example? Ah-huh. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Like I say, you can, you can, for example, connect the different services together. Let's, for example, say you have newcomer, right?</p>



<p>So you can go to the, to the integration [00:26:00] screen. You can install any kinds of integrations that you, you are working. So we have around hundred right now. And let's, for example, say you have commerce installed, right? So you can then install commerce once it's, once it's available on your website and within one of those automation workflows, you can then say, whenever commerce fires, then send the data using, uh, a WebBook, for example, to mm-hmm.</p>



<p>your bookkeeping system. Or send, send an email using the WordPress integration. So in here I can show you. Click send email, and then you have the possibility to send an email directly from your WebPress to the customer whenever, whenever, uh, an order was created. So it basically, it basically just allows you to do certain things that you would manually do within your dashboard.</p>



<p>Mm-hmm. ? Yes. In an automated way</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> There's a bunch of those things for the Post Status setup out the way. I'm like, oh gosh. Yeah.</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> I can't imagine. Same here.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> And, and what are, what are workflows to, uh, or I'm sorry, it's [00:27:00] webhooks. Oh, I thought that's a workflow somewhere. I read that wrong. Okay. Yes. So what</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> I can show you, it's, it's basically separated in two parts.</p>



<p>It's sent data and received data. What it basically means is these are kind of the triggers available, right? So whenever a user created, or when a user was deleted or when a form was submitted, you can send data to a specific url. Let's say, for example, I want to send a URL to my website, um, I cannot call it demo, and I, I add my api endpoint here and I edit, and then you can see it here. Which basically means when ev, every time a user gets created, you can send a direct webhook request to this url and you can test it, you can customize it with, with more features, more setups, um, based on your needs. Gotcha. And this is, this is what I mean earlier, like a, a direct connection.</p>



<p>And the receive data is basically the exact opposite. So instead of sending data out on a specific event, you send data in and to do something specific. So you can, for example, activate a plugin. As you can see, you can call a PHP [00:28:00] function, you can create a comment, a post a user. So we have basically mostly all of the options of WebPress available through, uh, web as well.</p>



<p>Excellent.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> You don't have a Slack integration, do you by chance ?</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> Um, that's the, that's the thing. Depends what Slack has as an api. Um, if they truly have an API and if they have an api and it can be integrated with something like an API key or a hero token, it can also be used with our plugin. Um, and that's an interesting point.</p>



<p>That's good that you mentioned that we have something like,</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> um, it's a, it's a. Post Status specific thing, but I think a lot of membership sites, which is a big trend too. People building membership sites, course sites, you know, a lot of people like us obviously use Slack. Being able to, um, one, this is a nuance and I'm, uh, sorry for sharing, but this is like create a private group or something like that.</p>



<p>I've looked in some of the Slack API and. I'm using us as a [00:29:00] test for a second to say it is a broader thing. I think a lot of membership sites, they're using Circle, for instance, maybe they want to use something else. So I, I stopped you though. Keep going.</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> Oh, no problem. No problem. Um, yeah, but what I, what I mentioned earlier is that, like you say, with, with, uh, slack, we can kind of integrate with any service that allows, like simple API calls or web and uh, we have an integration available that is called Web itself.</p>



<p>So, When you install one like that, for example, and you go to, let's say an automation workflow, I can, I can come within here, add a new action, and you see I have a WebBook endpoint available, which basically allows me to send data or send a request to a specific site. So if you have Slack, you would, you would uh, add your Slack U URL here, for example, right?</p>



<p>Slack API or something, and then you. Select the method you want to use to send data, and you can send the data and add it here along. [00:30:00] So if there's a, a service out there that just follows the standard rep hook or api, um, standards, you can integrate them as well with our plugin. So there's not directly, uh, integration necessary. Basically.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Excellent. Well, one thing that's intriguing about this is for as long as I've been in WordPress, I, it, it has led the way in truly democratizing publishing, but over the years, you see Facebook, Twitter, what name, whatever default. Closed wall type garden come out. And um, I just did an interview with Mattias who does activity plug plugin for the Fed averse.</p>



<p>And I was like, the, you, you think about what you're doing here with webhooks and then the Fed averse is kind of bringing that power back to the. To the user and saying, okay, fed averse can help. To me, I just see the potential to go, let's, let's decentralize some of the social [00:31:00] networks. So when a billionaire buys the next thing, or they change their policy at one of these closed set social networks, you're, you know, all these people are affected by it.</p>



<p>And, and taking some of that control. So that's where I see FE averse. And then I go, what's the power here is. Ground zero for what you're doing is your WordPress site, and with things like tools like this, then you can start, I don't know, it's just helping bridge that gap of power. There's so much usability and features that these closed gardens have, but tools like webhooks and potential with the Fed averse is like bringing some of that power back, and I see WordPress truly being in the space to lead and innovate and bring that power back to the users.</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> Totally. Yeah, I fully agree with you. The, the, an interesting point about that is actually that using our plugin, for example, you can use it kind of as a standalone on WebPress. So if you say you want to make automations, you don't necessarily need to use WebPress, but [00:32:00] you can just set up a WebPress environment and install our plugin and you can.</p>



<p>Automate external services through WebPress. Right? So you can use it kind of as a middleman for yourself without actually using WebPress.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> And you still maintain control</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> in a lot of ways you have full control. Yes.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Even if it's not a public facing site where you have content on like using that, that's the power, that's the other side of WordPress.</p>



<p>Do this has been become this huge power powerhouse of a, you know, a software. I talked to a lot of people on the enterprise and they mentioned. the connections. There's a, um, my friend Kareem at Crowd favorite talks about WordPress being the open source hub to connect services. So, like your example there.</p>



<p>I, I resonate with it cause I just talked to Kareem a couple weeks ago. I love that example. Yeah. Yep. Well, Gianni, anything else you wanna share, um, that you all have going on or you're excited about or anything I forgot to.</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> Uh, yeah, I'm excited to make this tutorial work, so I think the next blockbuster [00:33:00] will see is probably about this example.</p>



<p>Okay. .</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> I love it. Just to have, I love it. That's the beauty of being a part of this community as I get to ask cool, smart people that can do these things and see, see how they go. But I, I'll be playing around with open api. OpenAI's, API's, mouth, um, just cuz I was playing with that and like, wow, this is powerful and I love this kinda stuff and I love there's people like you experimenting with it, testing it, and giving users, um, that opportunity to do that.</p>



<p>Um, so thanks so much today for being on the Post Status draft podcast. Uh, this is under our product People series. I love our innovators in our community like you, and so thanks for joining me today.</p>



<p><strong>Jannis Thuemmig:</strong> My pleasure, really. So it's an honor. Thank you very much as well for inviting me.</p>
<p>This article was published at Post Status — the community for WordPress professionals.</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, 12 Jan 2023 14:44:47 +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:"Olivia Bisset";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:85:"WordCamp Central: WordCamp Entebbe: First Wordcamp to happen in Africa in 2023 is 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:39:"https://central.wordcamp.org/?p=3158482";s:7:"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:108:"https://central.wordcamp.org/news/2023/01/wordcamp-entebbe-first-wordcamp-to-happen-in-africa-in-2023-is-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:3126:"<p></p>



<img src="https://entebbe.wordcamp.org/2023/files/2022/07/Wordcamp-Artwork-copy-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" />



<p><a href="https://entebbe.wordcamp.org/2023/">WordCamp Entebbe 2023 </a>is set to be a major community event for WordPress developers, website designers, online publishers, students, and teachers to come together and share knowledge and experiences, network with other WordPress users, and gain inspiration for their work. Taking place on Friday, March 10th and Saturday, March 11th at the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre (UWEC) in Entebbe City, this WordCamp will be the first to happen in Africa and is poised to be a memorable event for all attendees.</p>



<p>The event will feature a range of activities, including beginner&#8217;s training, inspirational talks, showcases, best practices, and the latest trends in WordPress development. In addition, there will be a Women in Tech panel discussion, aimed at inspiring and empowering women-led businesses to thrive in the technology industry. A Teacher&#8217;s Workshop will explore the integration of WordPress in the local education curriculum, providing teachers with the tools and resources they need to introduce WordPress to their students for web design projects and assessments.</p>



<p>Attendees will also have the opportunity to take a free tour of the <a href="http://uwec.ug">Uganda Wildlife Conservation Education Center</a>, where they can learn about the animals of Uganda and the ecosystems in which they live. The center, which was founded in the 1950s to accommodate confiscated and injured wildlife, has grown considerably in recent years and is considered a premier facility for showcasing wildlife on the African continent.</p>



<p>Accommodation options are available for those traveling to Entebbe for the first time. Attendees can find a list of hotels and guest houses through booking.com <a href="https://bit.ly/entebbehotels">https://bit.ly/entebbehotels </a>or by contacting the WordCamp team at <a href="mailto:entebbe@wordcamp.org">entebbe@wordcamp.org</a> for more information and guidance. The full schedule of activities will be published soon, and we look forward to welcoming you to WordCamp Entebbe 2023!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Get Involved</strong></h2>



<p>There are several ways to get involved! Check out the details below:</p>



<ul>
<li><strong>Purchase Attendee Tickets:</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://entebbe.wordcamp.org/2023/tickets/">https://entebbe.wordcamp.org/2023/tickets/</a></li>



<li><strong>Call for Sponsors:</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://entebbe.wordcamp.org/2023/sponsors/">https://entebbe.wordcamp.org/2023/sponsors/</a></li>



<li><strong>Call for Speakers:</strong> <a href="https://entebbe.wordcamp.org/2023/call-for-speakers/">https://entebbe.wordcamp.org/2023/call-for-speakers/</a><br /></li>
</ul>



<p><strong> Join the discussion via #WordCampEbbs hashtag on Twitter</strong></p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<a class="twitter-timeline" href="https://twitter.com/WordcampEntebbe?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">Tweets by WordcampEntebbe</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:"Thu, 12 Jan 2023 11:58:51 +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:14:"Kasirye Arthur";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:104:"Do The Woo Community: Reflecting on the Past and Embracing the Future for WooCommerce with Paul Maiorana";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=74261";s:7:"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://dothewoo.io/2022-2023-woocommerce-paul-maiorana/";s: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:442:"<p>It's that time of year again when Paul Maiorana, CEO of WooCommerce, joins us for a review of the year and a looking into 2023.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io/2022-2023-woocommerce-paul-maiorana/">Reflecting on the Past and Embracing the Future for WooCommerce with Paul Maiorana</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce Builder Community</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, 12 Jan 2023 11:29:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:17:"Matt: Thirty-Nine";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:22:"https://ma.tt/?p=75200";s:7:"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:34:"https://ma.tt/2023/01/thirty-nine/";s: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:4687:"<p>The last year of my thirties! <a href="https://wp20.wordpress.net/">WordPress turns twenty this year</a>. <a href="https://automattic.com/">Automattic</a> is now ~2,000 people across 98 countries. There&#8217;s so much that has happened in the past decade yet it feels very much like we&#8217;re on the cusp of something even more exciting.</p>



<p>This morning started well; I pulled the hammock out of the garage (it had been hiding from the rain) and read for a bit, trying to get my 5-10 minutes of sun in the first 30 minutes <a href="https://twitter.com/hubermanlab/status/1481842978117271560?lang=en">like Huberman suggests</a>.</p>



<p>Candidly, the last year was a really challenging one for me personally. There were some beautiful moments, and I consider myself the most lucky in my family, friends, and colleagues, yet among that same group there was a lot of loss, existential health challenges, and that weighed heavily on me. It&#8217;s also my last year to get on 40 under 40 lists! <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f602.png" alt="😂" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<p>Usually when people ask me what I want for my birthday I don&#8217;t have a good answer, but this year I do! As <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/san-francisco-bay-bridge-lights-17708825.php">Heather Knight wrote about in the SF Chronicle, the beloved Bay Lights are coming down in March</a>. This has to happen —&nbsp;the vibrations and corrosive environment of the Bay Bridge is taking lights out strand by strand. Fortunately it&#8217;s now been a decade since the lights first went up, and there&#8217;s much better technology both for the lights and how they&#8217;re mounted and attached to the suspension cables. Finally, the lights were not visible from Treasure Island or the East Bay before, but this new version 3.0 will be, which is why the artist behind the lights, <a href="http://villareal.net/">Leo Villereal</a>, is calling it Bay Lights 360.</p>



<img />



<p>Like the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_series">Foundation series</a>, we can&#8217;t stop the coming period of darkness from happening, but if we raise $11M we can bring the lights back. If we raise it soon we can shorten the time they&#8217;re down to just a few months, so I&#8217;m working with the 501c3 non-profit <a href="https://illuminate.org/">Illuminate</a> to help fundraise. The idea is to find ten people or organizations to put one million each, and raise the final million in a broader crowdfunding campaign, to re-light the Bay Bridge and give an incredible gift to the people from every walk of life that see the bridge, and hopefully have their spirits lifted by the art. I&#8217;ve heard 25 million people see the Bay Lights every year.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s a lot to raise, but every little bit helps so <a href="https://illuminate.org/baylights360/">please donate here</a>, and if you are interested to do a larger gift please get in touch. I&#8217;m committing a million dollars to the fundraise, and myself, Illuminate director Ben Davis, and the artist <a href="http://villareal.net/">Leo Villereal</a> are happy to personally connect with anyone considering a larger donation.</p>



<p>Because of some family health reasons I&#8217;m back in lockdown, so going to try and throw an online party tonight in the &#8220;Matterverse.&#8221; We&#8217;re going to party like it&#8217;s late 2020. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f389.png" alt="🎉" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<p>All birthday posts: <a href="https://ma.tt/2003/01/bday/">19</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2004/01/so-im-20/">20</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2005/01/hot-barely-legal-matt/">21</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2006/01/matt-22/">22</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2007/01/twenty-three/">23</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2008/01/twenty-four/">24</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2009/01/twenty-five/">25</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2010/01/twenty-six/">26</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2011/01/twenty-seven/">27</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2012/01/twenty-eight/">28</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2013/01/twenty-nine/">29</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2014/01/matt-3-0/">30</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2015/01/thirty-one/">31</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2016/01/thirty-two/">32</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2017/01/thirty-three/">33</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2018/01/thirty-four/">34</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2019/01/thirty-five/">35</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2020/01/thirty-six/">36</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2021/01/thirty-seven/">37</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2022/01/thirty-eight/">38</a>, <a href="https://ma.tt/2023/01/thirty-nine/">39</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, 12 Jan 2023 04:37:53 +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:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:82:"WPTavern: Automattic Launches Blaze Ad Network for Jetpack and WordPress.com Sites";s:7:"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=140985";s:7:"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:93:"https://wptavern.com/automattic-launches-blaze-ad-network-for-jetpack-and-wordpress-com-sites";s: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:5113:"<p>Automattic is <a href="https://wordpress.com/blog/2023/01/11/promote-your-posts-on-wordpress-com/">bringing Tumblr&#8217;s Blaze ad tool to WordPress sites</a> with its launch today on WordPress.com and Jetpack. Blaze made its debut in April 2022, to the delight of Tumblr users who will gladly shell out cash to get people to look at their cat or <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/CuratedTumblr/comments/yu1l2g/you_know_i_had_to_do_it_to_em_it_being_ruthless/">promote a game they made</a>. It&#8217;s an affordable way to attract new followers or just send out something funny into the universe, starting at $5/day.</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Note To all small Twitch streamers. Tumblr Blaze is the best advertising tool out there. It has an embedding feature allowing you to embed streams. I went from 20 to 100+ live viewers rn! <a href="https://t.co/aolZduCTEe">pic.twitter.com/aolZduCTEe</a></p>&mdash; Ian Miles Cheong's Prime Minister (@MToph91) <a href="https://twitter.com/MToph91/status/1610290440946999303?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 3, 2023</a></blockquote>
</div>



<p>WordPress.com users can now to go to&nbsp;<strong><a href="http://wordpress.com/advertising">wordpress.com/advertising</a></strong>, select a site, and promote content with Blaze. Jetpack users have access to the ad network inside the WordPress.com dashboard.</p>



<img />



<p>After selecting a post, users are taken to the design wizard where they can add an image, title, a snippet, and a destination URL. The URL can be the post or page or it can direct visitors to the main website.</p>



<p>When Blaze first launched on Tumblr there was no way to target the promoted content &#8211; it just displayed to random users. Now there are a few more options. When promoting content from WordPress.com or a Jetpack-enabled site, users can narrow the audience by device: mobile, desktop, or all devices, select from a few main geographic areas (continents) or serve it everywhere. There is also a dropdown with topics of interest, but they are fairly general, e.g. Arts &amp; Entertainment, Automotive, Business, Education.</p>



<img />



<p>After selecting the audience, users can set the budget for the campaign, starting at $5 with a max daily budget of $50. With a minimum of $5/day for a week users can expect an estimated 5,900 &#8211; 8,000 impressions. For $25/day, users can expect 29,700 &#8211; 40,200, and up to 59,500 &#8211; 80,500 for $50/day. Site owners can monitor the success of their ads in the Campaigns tab.</p>



<p>Content sponsored by Blaze will be promoted across WordPress.com sites and Tumblr pages, an audience that accounts for an estimated 13.5 billion impressions per month. </p>



<p>Blazing has become somewhat of an art in the short time it has been available on Tumblr.  It will be interesting to see how ads originating from WordPress.com and Jetpack go over with the Tumblr audience.</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">There's a whole code of ethics around Blaze on Tumblr basically if you use it to do anything other than shitpost people hate you, you can also buy Tumblr merch and buy fake verification (which isn't seen as a serious thing, it's just a way to support tumblr)</p>&mdash; New Year New Simisear Fan <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f400.png" alt="🐀" class="wp-smiley" /> (@LakeUncalming) <a href="https://twitter.com/LakeUncalming/status/1612677568741646342?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 10, 2023</a></blockquote>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="tumblr-post"><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/madmadammims/700822694806044672">https://www.tumblr.com/madmadammims/700822694806044672</a></div>
</div>



<p>Creating advertising content that works across the disparate audiences between WordPress and Tumblr-powered pages may be a challenge for some site owners. Tumblr users can only <a href="https://help.tumblr.com/hc/en-us/articles/5298854249367-Tumblr-Blaze-FAQ">target audiences by location</a> for blazed posts. It&#8217;s possible that WordPress&#8217; additional targeting options can help funnel the ads to sites where they will be most well-received, but the announcement says ads will be promoted across WordPress.com and Tumblr.</p>



<p>Blaze campaigns require approval to be in compliance with Automattic&#8217;s <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://automattic.com/advertising-policy/" target="_blank">Advertising Policy</a> before being published. They are currently moderated in approximately 30 minutes but this may change in the future as more users try out Blaze. </p>



<p>Automattic is treading new ground in creating its own ad network that any user across Tumblr and WordPress can tap into. It&#8217;s a strategic move to extend access to the world of WordPress, given that it&#8217;s such a large audience, and it will be interesting to see how the company improves the targeting options to meet the challenges of serving both audiences.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 11 Jan 2023 22:52:36 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:18;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:107:"Post Status: Improving 5ftF Contributor Journey • Building Interactive Blocks • Layout Classes • WP20";s:7:"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://poststatus.com/?p=146399";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:106:"https://poststatus.com/improving-5ftf-contributor-journey-building-interactive-blocks-layout-classes-wp20/";s: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:16911:"<h2 id="h-this-week-at-wordpress-org-january-9-2023">This Week at WordPress.org (January 9, 2023)</h2>


<div class="has-background has-theme-palette-8-background-color wp-block-post-excerpt"><p class="wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt">Share your feedback about how to improve the Five for the Future contributor journey. Check out work underway on how to make interactive blocks easier to build, and take a walkthrough of layout classes in WordPress 6.1. It's time to start planning; how will you celebrate WordPress' 20th birthday? </p></div>


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



<div id="kt-info-box_adc852-65" class="wp-block-kadence-infobox"><div class="kt-blocks-info-box-link-wrap kt-blocks-info-box-media-align-left kt-info-halign-left"><div class="kt-blocks-info-box-media-container"><div class="kt-blocks-info-box-media kt-info-media-animate-none"><div class="kadence-info-box-icon-container kt-info-icon-animate-none"><div class="kadence-info-box-icon-inner-container"><span class="kt-info-svg-icon kt-info-svg-icon-fe_code"></span></div></div></div></div><div class="kt-infobox-textcontent"><h2 class="kt-blocks-info-box-title">Improvements: Five for the Future, Interactive Blocks, and Layout Classes</h2><p class="kt-blocks-info-box-text">5&#x20e3; <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project/2023/01/09/request-for-feedback-how-can-we-improve-the-five-for-the-future-contributor-journey/">Request for Feedback: How can we Improve the Five for the Future Contributor Journey?</a><br /><br /><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f469-1f3fb-200d-1f3a8.png" alt="👩🏻‍🎨" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2023/01/11/fse-program-testing-call-20-find-your-style/">FSE Program Testing Call #20: Find Your Style</a><br /><br /><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f3d7.png" alt="🏗" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/11/update-on-the-work-to-make-building-interactive-blocks-easier/">Update on the work to make building interactive blocks easier</a><br /><br /><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f4f0.png" alt="📰" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/01/11/a-walk-through-of-layout-classes-in-wordpress-6-1/">A walk-through of layout classes in WordPress 6.1</a><br /><br /><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f973.png" alt="🥳" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/01/wordpress-is-turning-20-lets-celebrate/">WordPress is Turning 20: Let’s Celebrate!</a><br /><br /></p></div></div></div>



<h2 id="h-news">News<a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2022/10/wordpress-6-1-release-candidate-3/"></a></h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/01/wordpress-is-turning-20-lets-celebrate/">WordPress is Turning 20: Let’s Celebrate!</a></li>
</ul>



<div class="wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-_121b9e-cb"><div class="kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center"><hr class="kt-divider" /></div></div>



<div class="is-layout-flex wp-container-13 wp-block-columns">
<div class="is-layout-flow wp-block-column">
<h2 id="h-community">Community</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2023/01/11/community-team-training-using-learn-wordpress-at-your-wordpress-meetup/">Community Team Training: Using Learn WordPress at your WordPress Meetup</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2023/01/04/community-team-meeting-agenda-for-5-january-2023/">Community Team Meeting Agenda for 5 January, 2023</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 id="h-core"><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core">Core</a> </h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/11/update-on-the-work-to-make-building-interactive-blocks-easier/">Update on the work to make building interactive blocks easier</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/10/a-week-in-core-january-9-2022/">A Week in Core – January 9, 2022</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/09/fields-api-kick-off-chat-summary-january-5th-2023/">Fields API Kick-off Chat Summary: January 5th, 2023</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/06/core-editor-improvement-advancing-the-site-editor-experience/">Core Editor Improvement: Advancing the Site Editor experience</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-9-4-january/">What’s new in Gutenberg 14.9? (4 January)</a></li>
</ul>



<h3 id="h-meetings">Meetings</h3>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/10/editor-chat-agenda-11-january-2023/">Editor Chat Agenda: 11 January 2023</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/10/editor-chat-summary-wednesday-4-january-2023/">Editor chat summary: Wednesday, 4 January 2023</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/09/dev-chat-agenda-january-11-2023/">Dev Chat agenda, January 11, 2023</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/08/dev-chat-summary-january-4-2023/">Dev Chat summary, January 4, 2023</a></li>
</ul>



<h3 id="h-developer-blog">Developer Blog</h3>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/01/11/a-walk-through-of-layout-classes-in-wordpress-6-1/">A walk-through of layout classes in WordPress 6.1</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 id="h-docs"><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/docs">Docs</a></h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/docs/2023/01/10/documentation-team-discussion-on-the-2023-community-summit-call-for-submissions/">Documentation Team Discussion on the 2023 Community Summit Call for Submissions</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/docs/2023/01/07/there-is-work-in-progress-in-helphub-documentation/">There is work in progress in HelpHub (Documentation)</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/docs/2023/01/04/agenda-for-docs-team-bi-weekly-january-10-2023/">Agenda for Docs Team Bi-Weekly January 10, 2023</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2023/01/09/documentation-team-update-january-9-2023/">Documentation Team Update – January 9, 2023</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 id="h-hosting"><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/hosting">Hosting</a></h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/hosting/2022/12/28/2022-recap/">WordPress Hosting Team 2022 recap</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 id="h-marketing"><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/marketing">Marketing</a></h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/marketing/2023/01/10/2023-marketing-team-new-meeting-time-and-new-team-reps/">2023 Marketing Team: new meeting time and new team reps</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 id="h-meta"><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta">Meta</a></h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2022/12/22/two-factor-auth-progress-for-wordpress-org/">Two-Factor Auth progress for WordPress.org</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 id="h-openverse"><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/openverse">Openverse</a></h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/openverse/2023/01/10/community-meeting-recap-10-january-2023/">Community Meeting Recap (10 January 2023)</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 id="h-performance"><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/performance/">Performance</a></h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/10/performance-team-meeting-summary-10-january-2023/">Performance Chat Summary: 10 January 2023</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 id="h-polyglots">Polyglots</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2023/01/10/weekly-polyglots-chat-jan-11-2023-0700-utc/">Weekly Polyglots Chat – Jan. 11, 2023 (07:00 UTC)</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 id="h-plugins">Plugins</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2022/12/21/plugin-guideline-update-community-code-of-conduct/">Plugin Guideline Update: Community Code of Conduct</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2022/12/16/plugins-themes-categorization/">Plugins/themes categorization</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2023/01/10/plugin-review-team-9-jan-2023/">Plugin Review Team – 9 Jan 2023</a></li>
</ul>
</div>



<div class="is-layout-flow wp-block-column">
<h2 id="h-project">Project</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project/2023/01/09/request-for-feedback-how-can-we-improve-the-five-for-the-future-contributor-journey/">Request for Feedback: How can we Improve the Five for the Future Contributor Journey?</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project/2022/12/21/announcement-new-wordpress-incident-response-team/">Announcement: New WordPress Incident Response Team</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 id="h-support"><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/support">Support</a></h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/support/2022/12/introducing-the-block-editor-in-the-support-forums/">Introducing the Block Editor in the Support Forums</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 id="h-test"><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test">Test</a></h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2023/01/11/fse-program-testing-call-20-find-your-style/">FSE Program Testing Call #20: Find Your Style</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2023/01/04/proposal-to-update-test-handbook-homepage/">Proposal to Update Test Handbook Homepage</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2023/01/09/test-team-update-9-january-2023/">Test Team Update: 9 January 2023</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 id="h-themes"><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes">Themes</a></h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2023/01/09/themes-team-meeting-agenda-for-january-10-2023/">Themes team meeting agenda for January 10, 2023</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2023/01/10/themes-team-update-january-10-2023/">Themes team update January 10, 2023</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 id="h-training"><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/training">Training</a></h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/individual-learner-survey/">How did you learn WordPress?</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/training/2023/01/09/meeting-agenda-for-january-10-2022/">Meeting Agenda for January 10, 2022</a></li>
</ul>



<h3 id="h-online-workshops">Online Workshops</h3>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=create-block-theme-%E3%83%97%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B0%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%81%A7%E8%87%AA%E5%88%86%E3%81%AE%E3%83%96%E3%83%AD%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%83%86%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%82%92%E4%BD%9C%E3%82%8D-2">Create Block Theme プラグインで自分のブロックテーマを作ろう！</a></li>



<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=create-block-theme-%E3%83%97%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B0%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%81%A7%E8%87%AA%E5%88%86%E3%81%AE%E3%83%96%E3%83%AD%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%83%86%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%82%92%E4%BD%9C%E3%82%8D%E3%81%86">Create Block Theme プラグインで自分のブロックテーマを作ろう！</a></li>



<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=images-on-the-web-past-present-and-future">Images on the web — past present and future</a></li>



<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=ep9-woocommerce-settings-and-faq-bangla-2">EP9: WooCommerce Settings and FAQ | Bangla</a></li>



<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=ep8-introduction-to-products-various-types-of-product-bangla-2">EP8: Introduction to Products (Various types of Product) | Bangla</a></li>



<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=ep7-introduction-to-woocommerce-installation-checkout-flow-bangla-2">EP7: Introduction to WooCommerce (Installation, Checkout flow) | Bangla</a></li>



<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=live-stream-building-an-advanced-query-loop-block-variation-plugin">Live stream: Building an Advanced Query Loop block variation plugin</a></li>



<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=live-stream-reviewing-developer-focused-features-in-gutenberg-15-0">Live stream: Reviewing developer-focused features in Gutenberg 15.0</a></li>



<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=live-stream-reviewing-developer-focused-features-in-gutenberg-14-9">Live stream: Reviewing developer-focused features in Gutenberg 14.9</a></li>



<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=block-themes-and-wordpress-live-stream-4">Block Themes and WordPress: Live Stream</a></li>



<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=block-themes-and-wordpress-live-stream-3">Block Themes and WordPress: Live Stream</a></li>



<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=block-themes-and-wordpress-live-stream-2">Block Themes and WordPress: Live Stream</a></li>



<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=ep8-introduction-to-products-various-types-of-product-bangla">EP8: Introduction to Products (Various types of Product) | Bangla</a></li>



<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=ep9-woocommerce-settings-and-faq-bangla">EP9: WooCommerce Settings and FAQ | Bangla</a></li>



<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=ep7-introduction-to-woocommerce-installation-checkout-flow-bangla">EP7: Introduction to WooCommerce (Installation, Checkout flow) | Bangla</a></li>
</ul>



<h3 id="h-tutorials"><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/tutorials">Tutorials</a></h3>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/tutorial/tools-site-health/">Tools: Site Health</a></li>



<li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/tutorial/introduction-to-theme-json/">Introduction to theme.json</a></li>
</ul>



<h2 id="h-wptv">WPTV</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.tv/category/year/2022/">Latest WordPress TV videos</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />



<h2 id="h-related-news">Related News:</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.php.net/ChangeLog-8.php#8.2.1">PHP 8.2.1 Changelog</a></li>



<li><a href="https://getcomposer.org/changelog/2.5.1">Composer 2.5.1 Changelog</a></li>



<li><a href="https://github.com/npm/cli/compare/v9.1.3...v9.2.0">NPM 9.2.0 Changelog</a></li>
</ul>



<p class="has-theme-palette-7-background-color has-background">Thanks for reading our WP dot .org roundup! Each week we are highlighting the news and discussions coming from the good folks making WordPress possible. If you or your company create products or services that use WordPress, you need to be engaged with them and their work. Be sure to share this resource with your product and project managers. <br /><br /><strong>Are you interested in giving back and contributing your time and skills to WordPress.org?</strong> <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f64f.png" alt="🙏" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/article/contributing-to-wordpress/">Start Here ›</a><br /><br /><strong>Get our weekly WordPress community news digest</strong> — Post Status' <a href="https://poststatus.com/news/week-in-review/">Week in Review</a> — covering the WP/Woo news plus significant writing and podcasts. It's also available in <a href="https://poststatus.com/newsletter">our newsletter</a>. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f48c.png" alt="💌" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



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<div class="wp-block-media-text alignwide is-stacked-on-mobile has-background"><a href="https://poststatus.com/"><img src="https://cdn.poststatus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/vertical-post-status-logo-250.png" alt="Post Status" class="wp-image-85823 size-full" /></a><div class="wp-block-media-text__content">
<p class="has-text-align-left has-normal-font-size" id="h-get-ready-for-remote-work">You — and <a href="https://poststatus.com/#Agency">your whole team</a> can <a href="https://poststatus.com/#choose-membership">Join Post Status</a> too!</p>



<p class="has-text-align-left has-small-font-size"><strong>Build your network. Learn with others. Find your next job — or your next hire.</strong> Read the <strong>Post Status</strong> <a href="https://poststatus.com/newsletter/">newsletter</a>. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/2709.png" alt="✉" class="wp-smiley" /> Listen to <a href="https://poststatus.com/podcasts/">podcasts</a>. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f399.png" alt="🎙" class="wp-smiley" /> Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/post_status/">@Post_Status</a> <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f426.png" alt="🐦" class="wp-smiley" /> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/post-status-llc/">LinkedIn</a>. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f4bc.png" alt="💼" class="wp-smiley" /></p>
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<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>
<p>This article was published at Post Status — the community for WordPress professionals.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 11 Jan 2023 18:08:54 +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:"Courtney Robertson";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:59:"WPTavern: ClassicPress Community Votes to Re-Fork 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=140878";s:7:"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:70:"https://wptavern.com/classicpress-community-votes-to-re-fork-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:3772:"<p>In December 2022, the ClassicPress community <a href="https://wptavern.com/classicpress-at-a-crossroads-directors-consider-re-forking-wordpress">voted on whether to re-fork WordPress</a> or continue on with the project as-is. As WordPress continues to evolve, ClassicPress fell behind in pursuit of PHP 8+ compatibility. The fork is based on WordPress 4.9 and users are increasingly limited in what plugins will work with the five-year-old codebase. </p>



<p>In a <a href="https://forums.classicpress.net/t/the-future-of-classicpress-discussion/4480/31">discussion</a> limited to ClassicPress core contributors, Viktor Nagornyy, one of the project’s directors, announced the results of the vote: <strong>&#8220;The option to re-fork has 20 votes while continue-as-is has 18.&#8221;  </strong>Nagornyy summarized previous discussions and suggested an approach that would be more realistic for the project&#8217;s limited contributors:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>ClassicPress can’t be WordPress without Gutenberg, but it also can’t be its own CMS with a small core team at this time. There are simply not enough developers to make progress without backporting code from WP to move away from WP.</p>



<p>An almost even split in the poll suggests the best option might be a hybrid one, find a compromise solution that will satisfy both sides.</p>



<p>With a small core team, we have to find ways to be more efficient, to get more done with less. The only way to do that is to leverage all the work that’s done by WP contributors. As the core team grows, we can always explore the possibility of splitting away from WP but at this point in time, it’s simply not feasible.</p>
</blockquote>



<p>Some participants in the previous discussion saw re-forking as postponing the inevitable, kicking the can down the road until the next re-fork, but it is the only option if users want to retain compatibility with the rest of the WordPress ecosystem.</p>



<p>&#8220;If you read recent threads, you find out that the community expects plugin compatibility with WordPress… another reason for the re-fork option,&#8221; ClassicPress core committer Álvaro Franz said.</p>



<p>Franz, who is also the author of the WP-CMS fork based on WordPress 6.0, previously <a href="https://forums.classicpress.net/t/community-poll-the-future-of-classicpress/4446/46">said</a> he would be unwilling to help with a continuation of the current version based on WordPress 4.9.</p>



<p>&#8220;It [ClassicPress] doesn’t have to be a competition (and it never could compete with WordPress anyways), but it can be a leaner version, for people who are already disabling Gutenberg via plugins, for developers who want a different approach to the way they develop their projects (closer to &#8216;the classic&#8217; experience, but yet… modern!),&#8221; Franz <a href="https://wptavern.com/classicpress-at-a-crossroads-directors-consider-re-forking-wordpress#comment-435736">said</a>.</p>



<p>&#8220;Eventually, it won’t make sense to run a fresh copy of WordPress to then go and install a plugin that &#8216;disables&#8217; half of it. What’s the point? Why not have a version that covers that specific use case?&#8221;</p>



<p>As part of Nagornyy&#8217;s proposed hybrid approach, he suggested the project retain some changes that were introduced in ClassicPress in v1.x, such as the privacy-oriented changes (anonymizing data CP sends to APIs), the news widget, and ensure that all API endpoints use ClassicPress APIs as in v1.x.</p>



<p>The discussion continues around how to proceed with the fork. ClassicPress contributors are leaning towards using Franz&#8217;s WP-CMS fork based on WordPress 6.0 but have not finalized the details yet.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 11 Jan 2023 15:10:57 +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:"";}}}}}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:63:"WPTavern: #58 – Lax Mariappan on How Headless WordPress Works";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:48:"https://wptavern.com/?post_type=podcast&p=140972";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:77:"https://wptavern.com/podcast/58-lax-mariappan-on-how-headless-wordpress-works";s: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:56075:"Transcript<div>
<p>[00:00:00] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Welcome to the Jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley.</p>



<p>Jukebox has a podcast which is dedicated to all things WordPress. The people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case, how Headless WordPress works.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;d like to subscribe to the podcast, you can do that by searching for WP Tavern in your podcast player of choice, or by going to WPTavern.com forward slash feed forward slash podcast. And you can copy that URL into most podcast players. If you have a topic that you&#8217;d like us to feature on the podcast, well, I&#8217;m very keen to hear from you, and hopefully get you or your idea featured on the show. Head to WPTavern.com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox, and use the form there.</p>



<p>So on the podcast today, we have Lax Mariappan. Lax is a web developer based in the Philippines. He&#8217;s an open source enthusiast and lover of all things WordPress. Lax has been tinkering with websites since high school. But it all changed when he discovered WordPress in 2010. Lax currently works as a backend engineer at WebDevStudios.</p>



<p>We talked today about Headless WordPress, and it&#8217;s a complex topic. Headless is the concept of decoupling the WordPress admin from the front end of the site. WordPress will continue to work as expected, but the presentation layer will be done by a different technology. React Gatsby and Remix being some popular choices.</p>



<p>This implementation of WordPress is complex, requires technical knowledge above and beyond that needed for a more typical WordPress install. But it has its benefits.</p>



<p>Lax talks through all of this in great detail. How keeping on top of all the additional dependencies Headless WordPress requires can be time consuming. How it can create difficulties for content editors who don&#8217;t always get to see what their work will actually look like in real time. Why this approach to WordPress can take more time and resources during the build.</p>



<p>Lex explains how these problems typically crop up, and how it&#8217;s possible to plan ahead and build in solutions for all the problems that you might encounter.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;ve ever thought about going headless with WordPress, then the podcast today is for you.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re interested in finding out more, you can find all of the links in the show notes by heading to WPTavern.com forward slash podcast. Where you&#8217;ll find all the other episodes as well.</p>



<p>And so without further delay, I bring you Lax Mariappan.</p>



<p>I am joined on the podcast today by Lax Mariappan. Hello Lax.</p>



<p>[00:03:30] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Hello, Nathan.</p>



<p>[00:03:30] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Very nice to have you with us on the show today. I have to commend you for your staying power, because Lax and I have tried to record this episode a couple of times and he&#8217;s been incredibly, incredibly thoughtful about getting his, all of his equipment and everything working. So thank you, first of all, I would like to express my gratitude for you staying the course.</p>



<p>But before we get into the podcast, Lax, I wonder if you wouldn&#8217;t mind spending a moment just introduce yourself. Tell us who you are, where you are, who you work for, how long you&#8217;ve been using WordPress, all of those kind of things.</p>



<p>[00:04:06] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Thank you. It&#8217;s good to be on WP Tavern, it&#8217;s one of my favorite publications, and also the favorite podcast. So I&#8217;m Lax, Lax Mariappan. I&#8217;m from India, and also I&#8217;m from Philippines. So I would say I live in both countries, and I use WordPress since my school days, like 2009. So I was looking for a platform to build a website for an event or something, and then I found out Blogger versus WordPress, and I liked WordPress more even that time.</p>



<p>So since then, I&#8217;m using WordPress almost every day. And my first job I got started working as a PHP developer, I would say, and then fully focused on WordPress. And I wrote my first plugin in 2011. It&#8217;s a very simple one. It&#8217;s now kind of obsolete because Facebook changed it a lot. So I wrote a plugin for something to fetch Facebook feed. So, and then my journey goes on. Right now, I work as a backend engineer at WebDevStudios. So where I get a chance to learn and work more with headless CMS every day almost.</p>



<p>[00:05:09] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Your work at WebDevStudios, I don&#8217;t know a great deal about the company, but my impression of the company is that you work with, how should we describe it? Enterprise clients. You&#8217;re dealing with fairly large projects. I would imagine sizable budgets. Those kind of things, right?</p>



<p>[00:05:27] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Yeah, yes. Enterprise level.</p>



<p>[00:05:28] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So when we decided we were going to have this conversation, Lax introduced the subject to me of headless WordPress. Now this is a word which I imagine some of you have heard before. Maybe some of you have never heard the word before. Perhaps there&#8217;s a subset of you which have experimented with it, but I&#8217;m expecting that the majority of WordPress users have not.</p>



<p>So, first of all Lax, would you mind giving us a very, in depth I suppose is the right word. Give us an analysis of what headless WordPress is because I&#8217;m sure many people think they know what it is, but perhaps they don&#8217;t.</p>



<p>[00:06:06] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> So headless, or decoupled CMS, so first we all know content management system, right? So WordPress, we are using WordPress now as a content management system. It started out as a blogging platform. We used it mainly for blogging. And then WordPress introduced custom post types, taxonomies and all that sort of stuff.</p>



<p>So we are now using WordPress to build simple to complex websites. Forums. Some people use it for their colleges, universities as a social media platform, and some of them use it for a job board and everything, right? So we have plugin for everything and we can customize it and we use it.</p>



<p>So when it comes to the traditional CMS, we call that as monolithic. I hope I&#8217;m not using too much jargon here. Monolithic in the sense it has everything into it. So for example, if you go to a website, the header, footer, the sidebar, and the content that you see and the forms and everything that comes from the same CMS itself. So it is going to be, let&#8217;s say, in the case of WordPress, it&#8217;s built mostly with PHP and JavaScript.</p>



<p>So everything is going to be PHP template with a bit of JavaScript and CSS to it. But when you say on the contrast, headless CMS, it means, so you can consider that as a, I would not say person. Maybe something like, you can imagine something that doesn&#8217;t have a head. So in the sense the body is the same, head is different.</p>



<p>So you can imagine that as, you are going to use the same admin panel and you are going to have the same WordPress features. You can add the content, you can add menus, you can edit anything, you can add users, all that stuff. But when I view the website, so it&#8217;s not going to be your theme. So it&#8217;s not the typical way of how WordPress gets rendered.</p>



<p>So instead we will be decoupling it. So that is WordPress admin will stay on another site. It can be on a subdomain or a sub folder, but the front end is going to be a different platform. So it&#8217;s going to be hosted in a, mostly a JavaScript based stuff. So you can use either React based frameworks like React itself or Gatsby, Next.js or Remix, or anything that you like.</p>



<p>And also you can either go in another route as well. So you can make it like a fully static website, or you can render it on every time as a server side rendering as well. So every call will go to the server and renders.</p>



<p>Okay, so now we can call that a small intro about headless. You may already know this one. It became a buzzword a couple of years ago, right? But now everyone wants to go as headless. I see that company goes headless, or my competitor goes headless. So I want to go that way. But, unpopular opinion. Maybe you might hear some other people say that too. Headless is not for everyone, or I would say not for every use case.</p>



<p>It depends on how much content that you publish. What are your goals and what you want to achieve. So headless is good, it&#8217;s performant, it&#8217;s fast, secure, and it gives you more freedom and flexibility, especially in terms of performance it&#8217;s really good. But I would say it&#8217;s not the something like you should go headless. It&#8217;s not the answer.</p>



<p>[00:09:10] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So essentially you&#8217;re saying that there are scenarios where this is desirable, but there&#8217;s going to be other scenarios where WordPress, in the traditional sense of the word. The regular WordPress that you download, perhaps use a hosting company and it&#8217;s all driven by PHP. The normal way of doing WordPress. That might be the best solution for lots of people.</p>



<p>Okay, so we&#8217;ve got our WordPress website, which we can interact with, and then the content that comes out of that website is pushed to something else. And probably we&#8217;ll get into what the options are there. But let&#8217;s take the use case of a company which comes to you and says, okay, we&#8217;ve heard this buzzword. We think that we want to go headless.</p>



<p>What are the benefits of going headless? Let&#8217;s forget about all the problems that might be associated with it. Can we just iterate through the things that you will gain if you manage to pull off a headless WordPress website. Now, I know there&#8217;s going to be all sorts of different scenarios there, but maybe just pick out the low hanging fruit. Some of the things which you believe are really beneficial.</p>



<p>[00:10:17] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Yeah. The first and foremost, or the popular one, is the performance. So WordPress uses PHP templates. We will do everything with PHP and Javascript and also a little bit of caching to render our traditional CMS like traditional pages. If you use a normal WordPress installation with a theme. So that&#8217;s how it&#8217;s get rendered.</p>



<p>So there you can see it depends on the hosting company as well, and also how much plugins that you use and how you configured them. So that affects the performance of a site. But when it comes to headless everything is going to be bundled, and there will be how a normal JavaScript based application gets rendered.</p>



<p>So it&#8217;s going to be a modern web application where you have control over, for example, if your page doesn&#8217;t use certain CSS classes, those CSS will not get loaded for that page. So I would say the assets that are loaded, it will be less. And the images will be more optimized. In either case, like in traditional too you can optimize images, but it&#8217;s like the performance is the first one, I would say.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s going to be both developers will love it and also the site owners, and also, let&#8217;s say marketers, Everyone will like the performance aspect of it. And in terms of headless, I would say developers will like it, especially in terms of, so you can repurpose the content. So if you are having a CMS, WordPress as a headless CMS, you can use that same endpoint, get the data and display it in a different formats quickly.</p>



<p>Other than a WordPress theme. So for example, if you&#8217;re using a WordPress theme, you have to create multiple templates. So this is a template for mobile, and this is something that, for example, if you want to use it for a landing page, you may have to do some small or extra changes. But when it comes to headless, you can just customize it in a way that you want to.</p>



<p>For example, I want to have a landing page. I don&#8217;t want certain stuff to be there. So you can turn on, off certain components, that&#8217;s it. So it&#8217;s like you can render the blocks and render the content faster. So developers and designers will like it. And also, in terms of the security, that&#8217;s where I&#8217;m more interested in cybersecurity especially. When people say WordPress sites are not secure, that triggers me actually. Yeah, I do get angry.</p>



<p>So it&#8217;s like, you don&#8217;t have to worry about that. So you don&#8217;t have to worry about changing your login page url. Adding captcha to your login form, all that stuff. Because that URL is going to be safe and secure. No one knows where you are hosted your CMS.</p>



<p>[00:12:49] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Can I just interrupt there? So could you explain that, because I imagine there&#8217;s a bunch of people scratching their head at this point. Because normally, let&#8217;s say you have a website, it&#8217;s example.com. You&#8217;re going to go to example.com/wp-admin, and there is your login page. But there&#8217;s something in between here. I&#8217;m not sure that we explained that quite. So just explain why the login is secure. Explain where it is and why it&#8217;s not normal WordPress.</p>



<p>[00:13:19] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Yeah, so I mean, normal WebPress is also secure but people can guess it, right? Say example.com/wp-admin, so they know. They can see from the source code and the page source, they can see oh, this looks like a WordPress site. And then they can guess the admin url. So slash wp-admin, it&#8217;ll redirect them to the login page, right.</p>



<p>But when it comes to headless, the example.com will be hosted somewhere, and the front end that you see will be different. So for example, let&#8217;s say CMS is your WordPress installation, all WP. So you can call that like wp.example.com. So that&#8217;s where your WordPress stays in. But when you go to the example.com, that&#8217;s your front end, so that&#8217;s just JavaScript and html. So it&#8217;s like, if somebody wants to hack your site or somebody wants to, just guess what will be the admin url. So they cannot.</p>



<p>[00:14:10] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> It&#8217;s a difficult concept to understand if you haven&#8217;t encountered this before. But what you&#8217;ve got basically is a WordPress website, which is the container for the content, but it isn&#8217;t the website and we&#8217;re not used to that in traditional WordPress. You go to example.com/ wp-admin, get redirected, log in, do all the things, and click publish, and as soon as you click publish, it will be present on the website. That&#8217;s not the way that this is working because the WordPress website is completely decoupled from the thing which is presenting it to the world, right?</p>



<p>[00:14:48] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Yeah. Yeah. Completely decoupled.</p>



<p>[00:14:50] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So given that, there&#8217;s no connection between, okay, here&#8217;s my website at example.com and where I might log in. And because of that there isn&#8217;t the capability to just guess the login page and then bruteforce an attack and so on. So in terms of security, it offers that benefit. The thing which people are most worried about, somebody getting your admin password going in and spoiling your site. That&#8217;s highly unlikely because they simply won&#8217;t know where to look.</p>



<p>[00:15:23] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Yeah. And also, so for example certain normal pages like comments, so that&#8217;s where we get a lot of spam, right? So comments will go to comments.php. When you submit a form without any data, or maybe if it&#8217;s spam data, it just goes there, right? But when it comes to headless, we will be using some extra customization for the comments and everything.</p>



<p>So it&#8217;s not going to be the data will store as comments in the database, and it&#8217;ll be, you can view them as comments in the admin panel. But when you are viewing it in the site, so you are reading a blog post, you have a comment form, so that form is HTML and JavaScript. So that&#8217;s not how a typical, a normal WordPress form, normal comments form.</p>



<p>So that&#8217;s where you will get less spam as well. So you don&#8217;t have to worry about that too. Like people submitting spam data and also any other form. So that&#8217;s another thing. And you don&#8217;t have to worry about any other security related stuff, because it&#8217;s just static.</p>



<p>So people cannot do anything or manipulate data. So it&#8217;s going to be just HTML stuff. Whatever they can do is just view the data. So I would say in the headless, so if you are viewing some pages or we are in a archive page and post archive, news archive, any archive page or any other page that does the data and fetches the data from the database, all that stuff.</p>



<p>So all that stuff will be protected routes. So people cannot easily guess. Sometimes you might encounter database related attacks, right. So you may hear cross site scripting attack or any other stuff like, somebody trying to get data either they pull your data or they want to insert some other data to the database. That&#8217;s not the case.</p>



<p>Everything is going to be static, like just html, and it&#8217;s only read only. So people are not going to input any data. And the input will be just maybe a comments form, contact us form, something like that. And that will be handled. It depends on what form provider you are using, or how you configure it, but still it&#8217;s more secure that way.</p>



<p>[00:17:25] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So just to reiterate the point one more time, just in case anybody hasn&#8217;t been paying attention. We have our WordPress website. It is used by the developers, by the content creators, by the editors. They do their normal work inside of WordPress, but the thing which is being viewed on the front end by the population at large is completely separate.</p>



<p>You&#8217;re just sucking the data out of WordPress and putting it into whatever you like. The security&#8217;s fairly obvious, you&#8217;ve explained that really well. The performance, obviously, if all that you are showing is static html, essentially. That&#8217;s going to load really, really quickly. Nothing needs to be built at the time that the page is viewed and so on and so forth. It&#8217;s already been created.</p>



<p>This all sounds amazing and of course that raises the question, why aren&#8217;t we all doing it? And you have given us, in the show notes you&#8217;ve given me, three different things which we perhaps should talk about, and some of them, you explained the problem and then we&#8217;ll get to the solution.</p>



<p>So the first one that you talk about is dependency hell, you&#8217;ve described it as. And, I&#8217;m guessing that having a headless site is not straightforward. We&#8217;re very used in WordPress to, novices can install WordPress incredibly quickly. You basically upload a zip file and unpack it and connect it to a database, and these days, you know, you go to a hosting company and not even that. You just click a button and, wow, there&#8217;s your WordPress website 30 seconds later.</p>



<p>I&#8217;m guessing that this is not the case for headless. There must be all sorts of complex layers of things going on in the background, and you say that in many cases it can become very difficult. Dependency hell. So describe the problem of all the dependencies.</p>



<p>[00:19:13] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> So when you have a WordPress installation, we will be installing plugins, right? You might be, if you are using WordPress for a while, you are already aware of the jQuery migrate plugin. All that stuff. So WordPress uses jQuery even now. So jQuery is a dependency that WordPress requires. WordPress depends on jQuery in admin panel, and also on the front end.</p>



<p>So if you want to get rid of jQuery, it&#8217;s kind of, WordPress may not be the same, if you want to eliminate that. Because WordPress depends on it. So it&#8217;s something like, let&#8217;s say you cannot say that as a oxygen, but it&#8217;s something that we all need it. So we need that to survive. So WordPress needs jQuery to work normally.</p>



<p>So similar case, when you are building a headless site, you will be requiring a lot of frameworks, libraries, and also packages. So for example, if I&#8217;m going to choose Next.js as my front end platform, front end framework. So Next.js is built with React. If I want to use Next.js, I may want to use some other Next.js related libraries.</p>



<p>So it is something like if you are on Android, you may want to add extra apps on your phone. If you are an iPhone, you&#8217;ll be adding some more extra apps to extend, right? It&#8217;s the same case. Similar to plugins. Instead of that plugins, we will be adding packages. So that packages helps the developers to add extra features that we need.</p>



<p>So the problem here comes in is, everything gets stacked in and one will be dependent on another. So, for example, if someone is installing a package like for SEO, and maybe that package will require something else. And let&#8217;s say if Nathan is maintaining SEO package and I installed it, and for example, for whatever reason, Nathan becomes a musician and he doesn&#8217;t, he is not interested in SEO anymore.</p>



<p>So he may not be more active in maintaining that dependency, maintaining that plugin or that package. So what happens is I&#8217;ll be waiting for him to fix the bug or some errors. Or I will waiting for him to upgrade to the lightest version. But it&#8217;s not the case, right? So, my Next.js package will be waiting for Nathan, so it&#8217;s like I&#8217;m depending on him, but he&#8217;s not available. So in that case, I have to go and do that work as well. So that adds to our development timeline.</p>



<p>And then, so this is just one package and one scenario. So this happens with multiple packages and stuff. And this is not just Node or NPM packages. It also happens to WordPress stuff as well. So, for example, let&#8217;s say we have a popular forms plugin, or we have a popular slider or any other plugin.</p>



<p>So you will install that plugin and you want that plugin to work with headless. So how we are using headless, it&#8217;s the data is stored in the WordPress, and we want to get the data through either Rest API. It&#8217;s a method that we, you know, you go to a url, you ask the WordPress, hey, give me this data and it&#8217;s going to give. Or you&#8217;ll be using GraphQL. It&#8217;s the same. You go to an endpoint and you&#8217;re going to say, hey, I&#8217;m looking for this post. I want five posts from this date. So it&#8217;s going to give that data as well.</p>



<p>So either you use Rest API or GraphQL. The problem is a plugin that you are using, your popular forms plugin, your popular slider, or any other plugin that you&#8217;re using. LMS plugin, E-commerce plugin or any plugin, like a payment gateway. So you have a plugin and you want to use it with headless. So that plugin should work with the Rest API or Graph QL. So if that doesn&#8217;t work, if that doesn&#8217;t give you the flexibility, and then you are still stuck there.</p>



<p>Because you cannot go and create everything on your own, right? So we cannot reinvent all the wheels. We don&#8217;t have time to create everything from scratch. So that&#8217;s where it&#8217;s like that becomes a bottleneck. So you are like, hey, I found the plugin. I started working on it. It works up to this mark, but it&#8217;s not a hundred percent. So it&#8217;s like it does its job 80%. Now I have to go fill in that 20%. It adds to the budget, it adds to the development timeline. So that&#8217;s the dependency hell.</p>



<p>[00:23:15] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. So in the case of all of the technology, which is in the background if you like, which we haven&#8217;t really talked about too much, but like you said, the things which you are requiring from third party developers. There&#8217;s a dependency there, and it&#8217;s very similar to the dependency that you may have on plugins, you know, you want them to be updated and so on, but you are adding extra dependencies. And of course, the more dependencies you&#8217;ve got, the more costly, time consuming it is.</p>



<p>I&#8217;m guessing that most of the things that you are depending on, in addition to WordPress and you described what a few of those were, you could, I suppose, do some due diligence and figure out which projects have been well maintained, updated frequently, and so on. And I guess in the open source world, much of the dependencies that you&#8217;re using will be open sourced, so you could fork them. But again, you are creating probably a large amount of work for yourself and your team.</p>



<p>[00:24:13] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Yeah that&#8217;s true. Well said. So it&#8217;s like, since it is open source, it&#8217;s good. Like lot of reviewers. We have a lot of eyes on the code, and you can fork it. You have the freedom to do whatever you want. But still you are looking for a solution and that becomes a problem. You have to fix that as well. And that adds to the, another dependency, another dependency. It becomes a cycle that you cannot escape sometimes.</p>



<p>[00:24:36] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I guess this is a bit like a seesaw. You know, on the one hand you described all of the benefits, performance, security, and so on, of headless. And then on the other side is, is all of the things that we are now describing. You know, the dependencies and so on. You&#8217;ve got to weigh up at the beginning of the project whether one thing is worth all of the time and effort that may be required to do it.</p>



<p>And I&#8217;m guessing in many cases, certainly at the enterprise level, the answer&#8217;s going to be yes, because the budget is there, we can put enough bodies to work to make all of this happen, and if we need to fork things, there&#8217;s enough people on the team that can do that and maintain the project, which has fallen into disuse. But for a little project the seasaw may tip heavily against something like headless just because of the things that you&#8217;ve described there.</p>



<p>Okay. So that was our first thing, dependency hell. The second thing that you wanted to talk about was the fact that in the WordPress world, especially in the last five or six years or so, we are really used to what you see is what you get, WYSIWYG. You save something in WordPress, you publish something and you have almost a hundred percent certainty of what it&#8217;s going to look like. The backend looks like the front end, especially with things like page builders and so on. But you say that that&#8217;s not always the case with headless solutions. Why is that?</p>



<p>[00:25:55] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> We will be creating custom blocks. So, either there are a popular way of building now custom blocks is with ACF. So you all might be aware of and using it, even though you are not a programmer, you might be using it, right? So ACF is easy to install and create some custom fields. So you can use ACF to block, to build blocks for the site.</p>



<p>So those blocks can be used or you can build your own custom blocks. You can use any block starters like, frameworks that are available now. Or you can just follow our, WordPress comes with packages that you can on build command, so you can just build your block in a matter of seconds.</p>



<p>But still, all this stuff. So for example, if you are having custom blocks, I&#8217;m not talking about just normal blocks, like where you add a paragraph or image or something very simple. That is easy to build and that&#8217;s easy to see. That&#8217;s different. But I&#8217;m here talking about something complex.</p>



<p>So for example, you can imagine that as an Elementor widget or, some other items that it comes with the page builders. So, let&#8217;s say a slider, maybe tabs, accordions, all that stuff, right? So that can be added through the blocks itself. But you cannot preview them, because when you add them in the admin panel and we add them in the content. Those content gets, you know, you can choose like, oh, this is the tab title, this is the content.</p>



<p>And you can keep adding the content, but you don&#8217;t know how it&#8217;s going to render in the front end. But let&#8217;s say if you are using some, there are a lot of free blocks and also even premium blocks available. So if you are using a block to build them, and then using the normal WordPress installation. Or you can use WordPress with the full site editing, the modern themes, or the hybrid themes, like old plus full site editing themes.</p>



<p>Still they both work well. Like you can preview, oh, okay, this is the tab I added this content. I can&#8217;t view this one. But when it comes to ACF blocks or other certain custom built blocks, you cannot preview them.</p>



<p>So when a editor or a user adds content, they may get lost. So I have a slider. I want to add three, four images to it. I may get lost. Oh, what&#8217;s the third image? What I have added there, and how it looks? Is the images correct? Is the text rendered properly or should I reduce any title or text or anything, right? So all this stuff becomes a little tricky. And also sometimes it becomes a pain for the content writers, content editors, and also the site owners.</p>



<p>[00:28:24] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So in the normal, traditional WordPress, let&#8217;s say we&#8217;re creating a page, we add a page, and we use whatever tool it is that we want to use for that. We add in some blocks. We are perhaps using Elementor, whatever it may be. And we click publish and then we are able to immediately view that because WordPress is working in the traditional sense of the word. The page gets pushed through the templating engine and it&#8217;s rendered with its template and we can see it right away.</p>



<p>But because that&#8217;s not happening here. And the mechanism for rendering that page is entirely different. You can&#8217;t necessarily view it immediately. Have I kind of encapsulated that? What you are doing in the backend, because it&#8217;s decoupled with the presentation layer on the front end, you can&#8217;t necessarily always see it?</p>



<p>[00:29:16] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Yeah, so that&#8217;s the challenge. So the solution here is to customize the way you built. So for example, we can give them a preview button so they can preview what are the slides, and how they look. And they can see that immediately in the editor itself. Like when they are adding content in the block editor, they can see it.</p>



<p>And also the other way is to have a button, a preview button. So that will preview before the content gets published. So, you can change the workflow. So if somebody hits, instead of publish, you can have like a preview button or keep it as a draft. So that way it&#8217;s like nothing goes to the front end without your approval or preview, right? So you have to preview it and see, oh, make sure everything looks correct, and then you can say, hey, I want to publish it. Yes, confirm, publish it, and then it goes to the frontend.</p>



<p>[00:30:04] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> That&#8217;s fascinating. That&#8217;s really ingenious. So, because we can&#8217;t necessarily see it on the frontend, you and your team have built a custom preview system. So on a block by block basis, you can see what that block will look like when it&#8217;s rendered. So in the example of your slider, presumably where we&#8217;ve got three or four fields. We&#8217;ve uploaded maybe some text, we&#8217;ve uploaded an image, and it&#8217;s just a bunch of fields. Normally we&#8217;d click publish and we&#8217;d go to the page and preview the page and we&#8217;d see it right away. But in your scenario, you are going to hit a button inside the block to show what that block and that block alone will look like. Have I understood that?</p>



<p>[00:30:48] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Yeah, that&#8217;s what we did. Because the users, they are used to the traditional WordPress. And especially that was with classic editor, I mean the old editor. So if you insert an image, they can see it&#8217;s an image. And if you insert something, you can see. And we are all used to the page builder era, right? So if you add a accordion, you can see how the accordion is going to look.</p>



<p>But when it comes to headless, all this stuff is going to differ. So, the tabs, accordions, sliders, and also anything else, any other custom stuff that we built, we added a preview button, and when you click on the preview, you can see that right away.</p>



<p>Then you can make sure like, oh, the colors are correct, the image is correct, and everything renders properly. Because sometimes if you are not looking at the content and adding content, you might miss some data, right? So you might have missed a small setting that says full width, or you know, boxed. So then you feel like, oh, why this looks so awful. Oh, I&#8217;ve missed this full width button. So that&#8217;s how the preview button works.</p>



<p>[00:31:49] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So if I&#8217;m looking at the block and it&#8217;s a, let&#8217;s stick with the slider just for the sake of it, and I&#8217;ve uploaded my images and whatever fields were required and I click the preview. Does it literally happen inside that block? Or is this some kind of modal which pops up and shows things? Or is it, is it literally taking over the block itself?</p>



<p>[00:32:09] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Ah, it&#8217;ll be within the block. Like it will replace, so for example, if you have a block and you are adding some content to it, and when you click on the preview, it&#8217;ll replace where you are adding the content, right? It&#8217;ll replace the form. Form of the block where you are saying like, hey, this is the title, this is the subheading, this is the description. Instead of that, it&#8217;ll just render the titles, heading and description.</p>



<p>[00:32:32] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Right, and then you toggle that off again once you&#8217;re, once you&#8217;re happy. So, ah, that&#8217;s really interesting. So the workflow there is really very different. And I&#8217;m presuming that after a period of time, the people who are editing, creating this content, that just becomes part of the process? They just understand that, okay, rather than viewing the whole page or whatever it may be, post whatever, I&#8217;m just viewing this little bit, and I&#8217;ve done it several times now and I&#8217;m confident that if it looks right inside the block preview, then I can click publish, wait for everything to happen, and hopefully that page will go live. And, it&#8217;s just a different workflow that you have to get used to. But once you&#8217;ve done it several times, it&#8217;s, familiar and normal.</p>



<p>[00:33:14] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Yeah, it becomes part of the workflow. And also, like we discussed earlier, your site will be like, CMS.example.com. And the front end will be on example.com. Sorry, every time you have to go to example.com/about, example.com slash contact us. Instead of that we will have a preview button. So, you can preview each block and you, if you, or feel like, hey, I want to see how the whole page looks like, you can click that preview, and that will take you, or that will show you immediately, oh, this is how the front end, like example.com/the page will look like.</p>



<p>[00:33:45] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, that&#8217;s a good point. We&#8217;re so used to the preview button being connected to the URL in question, because it&#8217;s being rendered by WordPress. You click the preview page button or whatever it may be, and it takes you to the correct place. In this case, there&#8217;s no connection between what the URL will be and where you currently are, so yeah, that&#8217;s fascinating.</p>



<p>Just as a bit of an aside. We haven&#8217;t got into this, but I think it would be a good topic to discuss for a couple of minutes. If WordPress is separated from the presentation layer, this sort of headless notion. How often does the website get regenerated, if you know what I mean? So for example, if we click publish in our headless WordPress website, what is typical there? Are you going to generate the page immediately and store it as static html? Or do some clients have different expectations there? You know, for example, if you are a, a site which needs to publish things regularly, perhaps you need that capability.</p>



<p>I click publish. I want that page to be live within a matter of moments. Or it may be that you&#8217;ve got a website where it doesn&#8217;t really matter if the pages are not built, I don&#8217;t know, three hours, six hours a day, whatever it may be. Do different clients have different expectations there?</p>



<p>[00:34:56] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Yeah, that depends on how the publication frequency is. If you want to publish immediately, we can do. If you are okay with publishing the changes after two, three hours, still we can do. So it&#8217;s about how you want to set, how you want to build the things.</p>



<p>So here, few things to consider. You can go with static, fully static website. That&#8217;s just static and only when a page gets updated. So for example, you have a hundred page. All of them are static and those pages will not be regenerated. So if you change just the about page and only that 99 pages will remain the same. Only that about page will get regenerated again. You can go that route.</p>



<p>And also you can go with, every time in the page gets rendered, you can go server side rendering. So every time that&#8217;s new, so you can go that route as well. So that depends on how you want to render the data and everything has pros and cons. The normal way is like how Next.Js does now. Because it is like, keep everything static and if you want to render something, you can still regenerate the specific page.</p>



<p>So this way it&#8217;s like you don&#8217;t have to build everything all the time. So you can build what has changed in the WordPress. You can see that in the headless frontend. And also you don&#8217;t have to wait for it. So, for example, if I go make some change and click update and you can see that immediately.</p>



<p>[00:36:21] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Really interesting, because there is no exact way of doing this is there? You can just build it in whichever way you think is most beneficial, or whatever the client needs. You know, if, if it&#8217;s a newspaper website where, really I need to click publish, and within a few moments I need that page to be live because the content that we&#8217;re creating is tremendously important to be fresh and new and so on. But it may be that, yeah, you don&#8217;t have that expectation and you&#8217;re quite happy to have it work in a different way and publish on a, a much less frequent basis. I can&#8217;t really imagine a scenario where anybody would say no, I&#8217;d rather it was published less frequently, but maybe there are scenarios where that&#8217;s beneficial. I don&#8217;t know.</p>



<p>Okay, and the last point that you wanted to talk about was, the whole conversation has proven to be really interesting, but it&#8217;s pretty clear that there&#8217;s a lot more work involved in this kind of website. And so your first point was about the fact that the dependencies, lots of dependencies. Your second point that was that you don&#8217;t always get to see what you see is what you get in operation. And the third one is basically the amount of time it takes, the amount of resources it takes. You&#8217;ve described this as headless asks for more. Tell us about that.</p>



<p>[00:37:34] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Yeah, so when it comes to creating a normal WordPress, like a standard WordPress theme. So what you do is like, you start with your prototyping tool. Like it can be Figma, Adobe XD or anything. So you have your design ready, right? You are creating mock-ups, discuss with the client, and then create a mock-up and then find the variations, all that stuff. And you are settling in, hey, this is my design. And now I&#8217;m going to create the theme.</p>



<p>So, I want to create this many templates. I want to create this many menus, all that stuff. When it comes to traditional stuff, it&#8217;s like, you don&#8217;t have to consider too many things. So it&#8217;s kind of straightforward process and like designers and developers can, the engineers can work hand in hand. And it&#8217;s, you can follow Agile like, build stuff, reiterate and just deliver it.</p>



<p>So that&#8217;s how that works. But when it comes to headless, so you have to consider a lot of things. I would say the first thing is the knowledge or, you know, expertise. With WebDev Studios, we are, I would say kind of one of pioneers and also experts in WordPress plus headless stuff. So we have launched, it&#8217;s a open source like we have Next.js starter template. So if you want to try out Next.js a headless frontend for your WebPress site, you can just take a look at WDS Next.js starter. It&#8217;s free and it&#8217;s in GitHub, so you can just start using it.</p>



<p>So, expertise comes one, like whether you should be, have sound knowledge in that. So you can go and fix stuff. You know what you are doing and you know what to expect and all that stuff. But this requires something like, for example, I am a backend engineer. I have limited React knowledge. I&#8217;m now catching up with React, Next.js, all that stuff. But I would, I would not say I&#8217;m an expert at it. I build stuff, I still use Next.js every day, but it&#8217;s like, I won&#8217;t say I&#8217;m an expert at it.</p>



<p>So expertise is one. So your team should have sound knowledge in the framework or anything that you do. Or even if you don&#8217;t have sound knowledge, let&#8217;s say if you are doing something like, something very new, like Remix got released only one or two years ago, right?</p>



<p>So if you want to go use Remix, You should be an expert in React and you should play around with React. So that&#8217;s the time. So my point is like time, it asks for expertise and it asks for time. So when it comes to just normal WordPress theme, probably you might finish the theme, let&#8217;s say, in a few weeks, or at least a few days even sometimes. With page builders finish it in few days or few weeks, right?</p>



<p>But maybe if you are building it from scratch and you are doing a lot of customization, it may take a while. But when it comes to headless, may take even longer. So more expertise, more time, and all this adds up to more budget.</p>



<p>This may sound like, oh, well should I do all this stuff? It&#8217;s kind of worth it. So you don&#8217;t have to, for example, if you have your, the front end components ready you may be having your storybook, like where you want to see how the button should look like, how the elements, how the panels are. Let&#8217;s say how each component will look like and how they render, all that stuff, right? So when you have all these parts ready, you can go from, for example, today I&#8217;m using Next.js, sooner I can move to something else, like I can use Remix. Or I can use something else that&#8217;s going to be hot in the market in future.</p>



<p>But when it comes to the typical WordPress, you are going to change everything from scratch. So if you want to add a new theme, so maybe if you want to change the look and feel, that&#8217;s different. So everything has pros and cons, but the short answer is the headless CMS ask for more.</p>



<p>[00:41:13] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. It does sound like not only do you need more time to develop all of this for the reasons you&#8217;ve just described. It&#8217;s more complicated, so it takes more time. There&#8217;s more moving parts, shall we say. And it may also be that you need to spend some of that time not just building the thing, but learning how all of this hangs together, because there&#8217;s an awful lot going on in the backend here. And if you don&#8217;t have expertise in that, presumably things could go pretty wrong.</p>



<p>With that just before we end. You&#8217;ve obviously decided at WebDevStudios that this is an approach. I don&#8217;t know if you build the majority of your sites in this way or subset or a proportion of them, not sure. But, typically what is the amount of time longer it would take to get a website out? Let&#8217;s say, for example, that if you were just going to use WordPress as is a normal WordPress website, and you built an exact same website, but did it headless. And let&#8217;s imagine a site with, I don&#8217;t know, several different custom post types.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s got hundreds of pages. I&#8217;m just kind of making up something off the top of my head. But typically, you know, does it take twice as long, three times as long, 50% longer? What, what are we looking at?</p>



<p>[00:42:28] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> I&#8217;m going to answer just like other engineers do. It depends. But it&#8217;s like, I would say it takes a long, maybe you can say, maybe you can say double, but it should not take more than double or something. So that&#8217;s where I would say start with more of research. So you should not change frameworks or libraries in between. Like once you started as React, go with React. And if your team is, they are very comfortable and they&#8217;re knowledgeable in React, use that. If you are going to use Vue.js or Astro or any other framework. When you start with something and you can go with it.</p>



<p>So, it is a matter of discovering what the client needs and where the goals meet. How we can achieve it. And once we are very clear on that, you can start developing. And during the development phase itself, we can see what are the possible, you know, the bottlenecks or what causes the issue, what could be a problem, and we can figure out other different approaches and solutions.</p>



<p>So, for example, you don&#8217;t have to let&#8217;s say, PayPal is not the only payment provider right now, right? The payment gateway. So we are using so many different stuff and they do the payment integration quickly. But before those days, let&#8217;s say 10, 15 years ago that case was different, so now we have more options.</p>



<p>So similarly, you don&#8217;t have to create a form and you don&#8217;t have to wait for someone to, the third party or some other open source in a package or something to be ready. So either you can build something on your own if you have time and budget, or you can fork something and then you can adjust to it.</p>



<p>Or the other way is, I would say you can go with some existing third party or SaaS or any other solution, which is just already there and you can see how you can use it with WordPress. So these are the stuff that can reduce your development time.</p>



<p>So when you say if you are, I don&#8217;t know exact hours or something, let&#8217;s say a thousand hours. So if you say a thousand hours for a normal WebPress installation, so headless may take a little longer, 1,500 or 2000 or anything. But it depends on what the client wants and what framework you choose and your expertise, like, I mean, the whole team&#8217;s expertise. And also how well we plan, organize, and go.</p>



<p>So sometimes it&#8217;s like just the client takes so long to respond, or sometimes it&#8217;s just like, even the client is clueless or what&#8217;s happening. So that adds up to some stuff. And I would like to also highlight, when you hear all this stuff, somebody listening is, they will be scratching their head like, so headless is yay or nay.</p>



<p>So, recently, I cannot say the client name and stuff, but I would say, how we figured this out and how it is kind of helpful. So we had to publish more than 20 websites. That&#8217;s for a single client. And all of them are different, and all of them are headless, but that&#8217;s for a single parent company.</p>



<p>So what happened is, we had the architecture ready, right? So we, we know what happens when you publish. We have everything ready. I mean, the back end and the front end ready. So things become more easier that way. The development time is actually just for one site and then other sites, it&#8217;s just like, it was fast.</p>



<p>But we had enough configuration and enough options we given to the client. So every site is not going to look exactly the same. They have their own customizations. But still it&#8217;s like amount of development time is the same or is actually less when you compare to traditional. But it depends. It depends on what&#8217;s the use case? How, what you are trying to build and everything.</p>



<p>[00:45:52] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, it really does sound, there were so many good perspectives at the beginning where, you mentioned performance and so on where this is definitely going to be worth it. I guess if the client is willing and the budget is available and the expertise is there, then this sounds like an incredible option. Steep learning curve probably, but a lot of benefits on the backside of that.</p>



<p>Lax, just before we round it up, if somebody has been thinking about playing with headless and they&#8217;ve listened to this and they think, okay, I&#8217;d like to take that a bit further. Couple of things, firstly, where can they get in touch with you? But also have you got any guidance about resources that they may find useful?</p>



<p>So that could be a website or a book or whatever it may be. So let&#8217;s start off with resources and then we&#8217;ll turn to you to finish it off. So what resources do you recommend to learn about headless in general?</p>



<p>[00:46:49] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> In general it&#8217;s like you can start with WP Engine has their own blog. They have stuff about headless WordPress and they also have some of packages and stuff they maintain. They have Atlas. It&#8217;s a platform they are planning to go full fledged on headless stuff. And also you can read about GraphQL, WP GraphQL. Their team is more active and they share a ton of stuff on how to customize and maintain stuff with headless.</p>



<p>And also you can, like a shameless plug. So I&#8217;d also highlight about our WebDevStudios blog. So you can see a lot of headless related articles, tips, and tricks. If you want to play around like, you know, you don&#8217;t have to spend something to test it out. So you can go with a lot of free starter templates.</p>



<p>So we have, WDS has like WebDevStudios has a starter template. We have Next.js starter. So that&#8217;s a headless thing. All you need is your WordPress, and then you can install that on a locally in your laptop or machine, and then you can just test it out, how it looks, compare the performance and everything.</p>



<p>And also, like other developers and writers have their own stuff. Like Colby Fayock is a popular WordPress developer. He has his own Next.js starter. So you can just simply Google WordPress headless starter, and you can find a lot of starter templates. If you are a developer, go this route or if you are a, you know, site owner or you are just hobbyist, you want to just try or understand a little bit more?</p>



<p>You can still do that reading the resources, right? You can actually check our blog as well. WebDevStudios blog. We have, I would say a couple of headless related stuff. That&#8217;s one of the popular article last year. Why headless WordPress is trending. So you can see why it is trending, what to expect. You can read more details in that blog.</p>



<p>[00:48:40] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Thank you very much. And then finally, just to finish this off. Where could people get in touch with you? Are you available on social media? Maybe an email address? Whatever you&#8217;re comfortable with sharing.</p>



<p>[00:48:50] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Sure. You can find me on, you know, Lax Mariappan. I&#8217;m on all the social media like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and everywhere you can find me. So you can reach out to me as an email as well, laxman.0903@gmail.com. Anywhere like GitHub everywhere is the same. Luckily I got my name on all the social media, so you can find it.</p>



<p>[00:49:10] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Lax Mariappan, thank you so much for chatting to me today. I really appreciate.</p>



<p>[00:49:16] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Thanks Nathan. It&#8217;s been great. So I&#8217;ve been listening to WP Tavern Podcast for a while. Especially, I like to catch up with what&#8217;s going on. The new stuff with WordPress. So it&#8217;s good to be on the show,</p>



<p>[00:49:28] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Well, you are most welcome. It&#8217;s been a really interesting and informative episode. Cheers.</p>



<p>[00:49:34] <strong>Lax Mariappan:</strong> Cheers. Thank you.</p>
</div>



<p>On the podcast today, we have <a href="https://mobile.twitter.com/laxmariappan/">Lax Mariappan</a>.</p>



<p>Lax is a web developer based in the Philippines. He’s an Open Source enthusiast, and lover of all things WordPress. Lax has been tinkering with websites since high school, but it all changed when he discovered WordPress in 2010. Lax currently works as a Backend Engineer at <a href="https://webdevstudios.com/">WebDevStudios</a>.</p>



<p>We talk today about Headless WordPress, and it’s a complex topic. Headless is the concept of decoupling the WordPress admin from the frontend of the site. WordPress will continue to work as expected, but the presentation layer will be done by a different technology. React, Gatsby and Remix being some popular choices.</p>



<p>This implementation of WordPress is complex, requiring technical knowledge above and beyond that needed for a more typical WordPress install, but it has its benefits.</p>



<p>Lax talks through all of this in great detail. How keeping on top of all the additional dependencies Headless WordPress requires can be time consuming. How it can create difficulties for content editors who don’t always get to see what their work will actually look like in real time. Why this approach to WordPress can take more time and resources during the build.</p>



<p>Lax explains how these problems typically crop up, and how it’s possible to plan ahead and build in solutions for all the problems that you might encounter.</p>



<p>If you’ve ever thought about going Headless with WordPress, then the podcast today is for you.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Useful links.</h2>



<p><a href="https://reactjs.org/">React Library</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.gatsbyjs.com/">Gatsby</a></p>



<p><a href="https://remix.run/">Remix</a></p>



<p><a href="https://webdevstudios.github.io/nextjs-wordpress-starter/">WebDevStudio Next.js WordPress Starter</a></p>



<p><a href="https://graphql.org/">GraphQL</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.wpgraphql.com/">WPGraphQL</a></p>



<p><a href="https://webdevstudios.com/blog/">WebDevStudio Blog</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.colbyfayock.com/">Colby Fayock&#8217;s website</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, 11 Jan 2023 15:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Nathan Wrigley";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:71:"Do The Woo Community: 95% of Websites Have an Issue with Color Contrast";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=74180";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://dothewoo.io/color-contrast/";s: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:379:"<p>Even just by getting your color contrast right, which is very easy, anyone can do it. You just use a contrast checker.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io/color-contrast/">95% of Websites Have an Issue with Color Contrast</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce Builder Community</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, 11 Jan 2023 10:43:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:86:"WPTavern: WordPress Performance Team Working Towards Unbundling Performance Lab 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=140668";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:97:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-performance-team-working-towards-unbundling-performance-lab-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:4476:"<p>WordPress&#8217; Performance Team met this week with the express purpose of responding to Matt Mullenweg&#8217;s recent request to stop adding functionality to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/performance-lab/">Performance Lab</a> plugin which could otherwise work as a standalone plugin.</p>



<p>At the end of December 2022, the Performance Team published instructions for <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/12/20/help-us-test-the-sqlite-implementation/">how to test the new SQLite implementation</a>, which was bundled into the Performance Lab plugin as a module. Mullenweg commented on the post, indicating he saw the SQLite functionality as better suited to becoming a standalone community plugin:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>Can we please make this its own community&nbsp;plugin, hopefully to become a canonical one, and stop putting additional things like this into Performance Lab — it feels like we’re stuffing things into PL unnecessarily.</p>



<p>In mid-October I have requested that we stop this unnecessary bundling before with&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tweetythierry/">@tweetythierry</a>&nbsp;around WebP, which was put into Performance Lab, so it is disappointing that another large function like SQLite was bundled into Performance Lab plugin.</p>
</blockquote>



<p>In an effort to galvanize a base of testers for upcoming performance features, the Performance Team has leaned towards bundling new performance-related functionality into the plugin. Although they are already developed as self-contained modules so they can be easily extracted as individual plugins, the concern is that their visibility would be greatly reduced. The Performance Lab plugin has more than 30,000 active installs. Any standalone plugin would take time to build up to a user base, whereas functionality added to Performance Lab has an instant audience.</p>



<p>&#8220;Agreed that there are definitely valid use cases for stand alone plugins, remaining mindful of some of the advantages of a single hub plugin such as development/maintenance, adoption, promotion, developer onboarding/contribution etc. which the Performance Lab facilitates well today as a central performance focus community hub plugin,&#8221; Performance Team contributor Thierry Muller <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/12/20/help-us-test-the-sqlite-implementation/#comment-44231">said</a> in response to the unbundling request.</p>



<p>Muller outlined three different options contributors discussed in <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/10/performance-team-meeting-summary-10-january-2023/">this week&#8217;s Performance Team meeting</a>:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<ul>
<li>Option 1: Keep PL as is, but additionally&nbsp;deploy&nbsp;modules as individual plugins</li>



<li>Option 2: Make PL a “wrapper” focused on central infrastructure and recommendation of individual plugins</li>



<li>Option 3: Deprecate PL completely in favor of individual plugins</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>



<p>Option 3 seems to be the least attractive to those who participated in this week&#8217;s discussion, as it introduces more hurdles for discoverability. Performance Team contributor Felix Arntz noted that one benefit of option 1 is the plugin would continue to work as-is for the 30K people who currently have it installed and that option 2 &#8220;would require a complex migration that users likely would not understand.&#8221;</p>



<p>WordPress developer Jonny Harris suggested that having each functionality in its own plugin helps with testing but also asked what defines a module.</p>



<p>&#8220;Would the current Site Health checks all be together, for example?&#8221; Harris asked. &#8220;SQLite and WebP are clearly their own modules, but what about smaller things?&#8221;</p>



<p>Arntz suggested contributors continue the discussion regarding the scope of how the current modules could be distributed as plugins. He suggested every module could become its own plugin where some modules become standalone plugins and others would be grouped together into a few &#8220;topic specific&#8221; plugins. </p>



<p>Contributors are discussing the different approaches in more detail on a GitHub issue and will be <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/performance/issues/618#issuecomment-1377598692">voting on the best approach</a>. The vote will be open until Friday, January 20, 2023. </p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 11 Jan 2023 03:34:14 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:49:"HeroPress: Why small can be just the right choice";s:7:"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=5014";s:7:"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:150:"https://heropress.com/essays/why-small-can-be-just-the-right-choice/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-small-can-be-just-the-right-choice";s: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:7334:"<img width="1024" height="512" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/011023-min.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Pull Quote: WordPress has impacted where we live, who our friends are and which destinations we like to visit." />
Here is Ellen reading her own story aloud.



<p>I feel honoured to write an essay for HeroPress. While thinking about what I should write about, I wanted to make sure it will be helpful to others.</p>



<p>Of course, everyone&#8217;s goals are different. My partner Manuel and I started to create WordPress products, because we saw the opportunity to build a small business and keep it a business we both felt comfortable to work in over the years. And that&#8217;s what we did. We love to travel and searched for a way to live the nomad lifestyle long before the term was even a thing. We travelled and worked on our blog and themes. And don&#8217;t get me wrong, it was not easy in the beginning. We had to build an audience first, so we wrote blog posts about everything we learned while keeping financially afloat with small client projects. We put endless hours of work into our blog, before even dreaming of one day earning income just with our themes. But we loved every minute of it. </p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>We worked from Thailand, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, and we felt creative and free. </p>
</blockquote>



<p>We went to WordCamps and creative conferences along the way and met so many new people with similar values and goals.</p>



<p>Having these experiences formed our way of thinking about the way we wanted to work moving forward. The benefits of being a small team of two seemed so obvious to us. We could make decisions fast and react to new trends without asking anyone for permission. As long as we built something others liked, we would always be ok. So that&#8217;s what we focused on. We built one theme after the other and loved the creative freedom this work gave us. The positive feedback and listening to the stories our customers shared on how our themes helped them reach their goals kept us going.</p>



<h2 id="h-living-abroad">Living abroad</h2>



<p>As we could work remotely from any location. We didn&#8217;t need an office or a local team. Keeping our business so flexible allowed us to move from Germany to New Zealand in 2015. After about two years working towards it, we were able to apply for a business visa and eventually for permanent residency four years later. Living away from family is never easy, but the opportunity to live in another country surely teaches us so many valuable lessons we would never want to miss. It&#8217;s a true gift, all made possible by our small WordPress business.</p>



<h2 id="h-reacting-to-changes">Reacting to changes</h2>



<p>Fast-forward to 2018 and the WordCamp Tokyo, where we first got the chance to dig deeper into the Gutenberg project during contributor day. We knew changes were coming, and we needed to react with our business. Even before, we felt that building one theme after the other felt a bit tiresome and not like the most effective way for WordPress users to build their site design. We were never convinced by the page builder solutions, as it just seemed too bloated and untrue to WordPress core to bring a wow effect to us. We love to keep things flexible and minimal, and adding an entire framework on top of WordPress never felt like a great idea to us.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>So here comes this Gutenberg thing, a promise to a more flexible, component based way of creating designs for WordPress. </p>
</blockquote>



<p>We felt like this is meant to be for us. So once home from the WordCamp we started to build blocks and explore how this new WordPress would work. We did not realize back then how big these changes would become and how much it would impact our work and our business.</p>



<p>But it felt good to build something new and to try to find a better solution to offer for our theme customers. We struggled to gain footage for quite some time, as there were just so many new technical things to figure out and so much was unclear. But we still never doubted that we are on the right track, as with every new release the opportunities seem to get better and more stable.</p>



<p>And just now we are just about to relaunch our business websites with a brand-new block theme that is solely built with our blocks, WooCommerce blocks and WordPress core blocks. It finally feels like all the work comes together and themes and the Gutenberg project are ready to be merged into one and released for production.</p>



<h2 id="h-opportunity-to-pivot">Opportunity to pivot</h2>



<p>During all these changes, we had the time to think about the future of our WordPress business and what we want our road ahead to look like. Many others around us have sold their independent businesses or took a job at one of the big WordPress businesses. I feel like it&#8217;s also a natural path of WordPress and all of us growing up.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>For us, we feel like we are just getting started again, finally having found a way to have fun creating for WordPress again. </p>
</blockquote>



<p>Building one of our last classic themes, we felt like we had lost the fun in designing for WordPress. We felt like themes were stuck, being either too inflexible and or way too bloated to be any good. It felt like we were trying to build, squeeze out a solution into a product that technically was never meant to be this way.</p>



<p>Block themes, the site editor, patterns, and blocks come as a chance for us to do it better. It&#8217;s a big shift and a difficult project to pull off, for sure. WordPress is used by so many people in so many ways. But block themes make WordPress lighter, and they don&#8217;t stand in the way of other add-ons as much as classic themes felt they were. It&#8217;s amazing how we can take all the components apart and mix and match them together. There are still missing pieces, but we are getting there.</p>



<p>For us, we are taking this shift that we are sort of making together with WordPress, as an opportunity to make things better. We always felt like we wanted to offer more support and help to our customers. But we never found the time. So with our upcoming relaunch, we are taking the chance to change that. We will offer new services and are exploring more ways to offer our customers what they actually need. It feels like a breath of fresh air to us, and we haven’t had so much fun with WordPress in a long time.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>It&#8217;s funny, who would have thought that a piece of software can impact your life in such a big way. </p>
</blockquote>



<p>WordPress has impacted where we live, who our friends are and which destinations we like to visit. We feel more open-minded because of WordPress, we believe in the power of open source projects and we believe that a group of people from all over the world can build something meaningful together.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com/essays/why-small-can-be-just-the-right-choice/">Why small can be just the right choice</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, 11 Jan 2023 01:15:32 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"Ellen Bauer";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:63:"WordPress.org blog: WordPress is Turning 20: Let’s Celebrate!";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=14155";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:74:"https://wordpress.org/news/2023/01/wordpress-is-turning-20-lets-celebrate/";s: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:1474:"<p>2023 marks the 20th year of WordPress. Where would we all be without WordPress? Just think of that! While many technologies, software stacks, and fashion trends have come and gone throughout the past two decades, WordPress has thrived. This is due to the fantastic work and contributions of the WordPress community, comprised of thousands of contributors; and millions of users who have embraced the <a href="https://wordpress.org/about/">four freedoms of WordPress</a> and the mission to democratize publishing.</p>



<p>Let’s celebrate!</p>



<p>Throughout the beginning of 2023, leading up to the official anniversary date of WordPress’s launch (May 27, 2003), a number of different events will celebrate this important milestone, reflect on the journey, and look toward the future.</p>



<p>Please join in!</p>



<p>Over the next few months, be sure to check WordPress’s official social media accounts along with the <a href="https://wp20.wordpress.net/">official anniversary website</a> for updates on how you can be involved in this exciting celebration by contributing content, collecting cool anniversary swag, and much more. </p>



<p>Use the hashtag <strong>#WP20</strong> on social media so the community can follow along.</p>



<p>If you have something planned to celebrate that you would like to be considered for inclusion on the official website, please <a href="https://forms.gle/my1yknAJYZ4jFLb79">use this form to share the details</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, 10 Jan 2023 21:38:49 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"Dan Soschin";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:88:"Do The Woo Community: WooCommerce, Payments and Crypto with Keala Gaines and Dave Lockie";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=74249";s:7:"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://dothewoo.io/woocommerce-payments-and-crypto/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:416:"<p>Keala Gaines from WooCommerce and Dave Lockie from Automattic chat about the relationship between WooCommerce and Crypto.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io/woocommerce-payments-and-crypto/">WooCommerce, Payments and Crypto with Keala Gaines and Dave Lockie</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce Builder Community</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, 10 Jan 2023 10:11:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:85:"WPTavern: Gutenberg Times to Host Webinar on How to Use New WordPress Layout Features";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=140874";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:96:"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-times-to-host-webinar-on-how-to-use-new-wordpress-layout-features";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4790:"<p><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/">Gutenberg Times</a> will be hosting a live Q&amp;A webinar titled &#8220;Layout, Layout, Layout&#8221; on January 11, 2023, at 05:00 PM in <a href="javascript:;">Eastern Time (US and Canada)</a> via Zoom. This event is open to WordPress users of all experience levels who are interested to learn more about how to use WordPress&#8217; layout features when building sites with blocks. </p>



<p>Host Birgit Pauli-Haack will be joined by WordPress veterans Isabel Brison, Andrew Serong, and Justin Tadlock. Brison will be demonstrating different layout scenarios during the presentation, and attendees will be able to participate with questions. </p>



<p>Any user who has attempted to layout a design in WordPress has likely tried out container blocks that offer layout settings. These blocks include Columns, the Cover block, and the generic Group block.</p>



<p>The event will cover how to manipulate layouts by defining the width of post content, arranging blocks horizontally or vertically, right or left aligned, and inside container blocks. </p>



<p>&#8220;In terms of block styling, Layout is a complex feature because it affects child blocks in ways that go beyond CSS inheritance,&#8221; Pauli-Haack said. </p>



<p>WordPress 6.1 introduced more layout controls and flexibility in the block editor, but Pauli-Haack said the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/10/updated-editor-layout-support-in-6-1-after-refactor/">dev note on updated layout support</a> was written more for developers.</p>



<p>&#8220;Feedback from users through the FSE program and other connections revealed that handling the layout settings for container blocks is not particularly intuitive and takes some trial and error to find the right combination,&#8221; she said. &#8220;The Live Q &amp; A will bring a better understanding to users and #nocode site builders.&#8221;</p>



<p>When Pauli-Haack started the Live Q &amp; A&#8217;s in 2018, she routinely brought in guests who were building the block editor, with the intention of having users meet them and discuss features like full-site editing, block themes, case studies, and discuss challenges. </p>



<p>&#8220;Since then, quite a few initiatives of the official WordPress project have come to life,&#8221; she said. &#8220;There is the highly successful Full Site Editing outreach program, spearheaded by Anne McCarthy, who now holds regular Hallway Hangouts with community members and contributors.&#8221; </p>



<p>People are also learning the ins and outs of site editing through the efforts of the training team, which began creating courses and lesson plans and hosting workshops on Meetup.com in 2021. These are also recorded and uploaded to WordPress.tv and YouTube. WordPress.org also <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-launches-developer-blog-in-beta">launched a blog for developers</a> in November 2022. With all these new learning opportunities, Pauli-Haack is changing the focus for her live events.</p>



<p>&#8220;For the Gutenberg Times Live Q &amp; As, I am now looking at topics and discussions about more complex concepts, more case studies, and technology on the cutting edge,&#8221; she said. Most recently, the show <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/live-q-a-block-first-approach-at-pew-research-center/">featured the developers and digital strategies of the Pew Research Center</a>, a high profile site that was built with a block-first approach.</p>



<p>&#8220;We are also in planning phase to hold a Live Q &amp; A with the developers of GiveWP who are using Gutenberg as a framework to build the next generation of their popular donations plugin with the components and scripts that Gutenberg uses, but outside the post or site editor,&#8221; Pauli-Haack said.</p>



<p>She also has another Live Q &amp; A planned with the WordPress VIP design team that works on design systems for companies that need a streamlined way to stay within their design standards. Pauli-Haack intends to talk with them about a plugin they created that lets designers automatically create a website&#8217;s theme.json file with all the styling pulled directly from Figma designs.</p>



<p>The upcoming Layouts webinar is free but attendees need to <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/7616700808432/WN_IG_fXjzCQymTk62cV9_ocw">register</a> to get the zoom link. An archive of all the <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/live-q-a-archive/">past Live Q &amp; A events</a> is available on the Gutenberg Times website. The best way to stay informed about future events is to <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/subscribe/">subscribe</a> to Gutenberg Times&#8217; Weekend Edition, as subscribers get an early invitation for the next Live Q &amp; A&#8217;s.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 10 Jan 2023 03:37:42 +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: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:23:"Matt: State of the Word";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:22:"https://ma.tt/?p=75018";s:7:"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://ma.tt/2023/01/state-of-the-word-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:365:"<p>A few weeks ago, but what feels like a lifetime ago, I was in New York City with a few dozen extra special people from around the WordPress world. Alongside <a href="https://josepha.blog/">Josepha</a> and the community we presented this review of how WordPress did in 2022, and vision for what&#8217;s coming:</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:"Mon, 09 Jan 2023 23:25:18 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:85:"Post Status: Support Inclusion in Tech with Winstina Hughes — Post Status Draft 136";s:7:"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://poststatus.com/?p=146189";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:92:"https://poststatus.com/support-inclusion-in-tech-with-winstina-hughes-post-status-draft-136/";s: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:52730:"<div class="is-layout-flow wp-block-group eplus-wrapper has-theme-palette-2-color has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-text-color has-background"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container"><div class="wp-block-post-excerpt"><p class="wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt">In this episode, <a href="https://twitter.com/planningwrite?lang=en">Winstina Hughes</a> joins Cory Miller to talk about the  <a href="https://supportinclusionintech.com/">Support Inclusion in Tech</a> project created to champion diversity, equity, and inclusion in the WordPress community by providing assistance to WordCamp speakers for travel and hotels. </p></div>


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



<p class="yoast-reading-time__wrapper"><span class="yoast-reading-time__icon"></span><span class="yoast-reading-time__spacer"></span><span class="yoast-reading-time__descriptive-text">Estimated reading time:  </span><span class="yoast-reading-time__reading-time">2</span><span class="yoast-reading-time__time-unit"> minutes</span></p>
</div></div>







<p><a href="https://poststatus.com/planet/feed/#h-transcript">Transcript</a> ↓</p>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/planningwrite?lang=en">Winstina Hughes</a>&nbsp; is a long-term community member and organizer within WordPress. She joins Cory Miller to discuss <a href="https://supportinclusionintech.com/">Support Inclusion in Tech</a>, an effort to increase representation of minority and underrepresented speakers at WordCamp by providing needed financial support. This offers everyone in the WordPress community the chance to share their expertise and contribute resources so everyone has the opportunity to engage.</p>



<p><strong>Top Takeaways:</strong></p>



<ul>
<li><strong>Creativity is our common bond. </strong>WordPress is the playground where we all came to tinker and build for fun or business. It is the software magic where we discover what new things we can do each day, how to make ideas become reality, and how we might leverage what we learn to create a better world.</li>



<li><strong>Ripple effect of inclusion: </strong>When you provide the ability for a large group of people to participate, travel, and network, the impact extends beyond the WordPress community to create the bigger changes we want to see in the world. This is our community magic.</li>



<li><strong>Fifth Freedom in WordPress</strong>: We are all familiar with The Four Freedoms of WordPress. This is the 5th &#8211; full participation. Removing the financial barrier will bring us closer to the reality of being a truly inclusive community.</li>
</ul>



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

</div>



<div class="is-layout-flex wp-container-20 wp-block-columns sponsor has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background" id="Gravity-Forms">
<div class="is-layout-flow wp-block-column">
<h3><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f64f.png" alt="🙏" class="wp-smiley" /> Episode Partner: <a href="https://poststat.us/gravity">Gravity Forms</a></h3>



<p><strong><a href="https://poststat.us/gravity">Gravity Forms</a></strong> is a powerful form builder for WordPress and the #1 choice for businesses and web professionals across the globe. Its vast array of features, intuitive drag-and-drop form editor, and extensive ecosystem of add-ons, ensure customers can design beautiful, intelligent, and accessible forms for any project requirement.</p>
</div>



<div class="is-layout-flow wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center"><div class="wp-block-image cloudways-logo">
<a href="https://poststat.us/gravity"><img width="392" height="299" src="https://cdn.poststatus.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/gravity-forms-logo-stacked.png" alt="Gravity Forms" class="wp-image-88956" title="Cloudways Logo" /></a><a href="https://poststat.us/gravity">Gravity Forms</a></div></div>
</div>



<h3 class="eplus-wrapper" id="h-mentioned-in-the-show"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f517.png" alt="🔗" class="wp-smiley" /> Mentioned in the show:</h3>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://supportinclusionintech.com/">SUPPORT INCLUSION IN TECH</a></li>



<li><a href="https://twitter.com/sbruner">Steve Bruner</a> </li>



<li><a href="https://twitter.com/kcristiano">Kevin Cristiano</a> </li>



<li><a href="https://central.wordcamp.org/">WordCamp </a></li>



<li><a href="https://twitter.com/WPNYC">WPNYC</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.wordprowiz.com/">WordPro </a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.sustainablejersey.com/">Sustainable New Jersey</a> </li>



<li><a href="https://buddypress.org/">BuddyPress</a> </li>



<li><a href="https://www.godaddy.com/">GoDaddy </a></li>



<li><a href="https://yoast.com/">Yoast</a> </li>



<li><a href="https://masterwp.com/">Master WP</a> </li>
</ul>



<h3 class="eplus-wrapper" id="h-you-can-follow-post-status-and-our-guests-on-twitter"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f426.png" alt="🐦" class="wp-smiley" /> You can follow Post Status and our guests on Twitter:</h3>



<ul class="eplus-wrapper">
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/planningwrite?lang=en">Winstina Hughes</a> </li>



<li><a href="https://twitter.com/corymiller303">Cory Miller</a> (CEO, <a href="https://twitter.com/post_status">Post Status</a>)</li>



<li><a href="https://twitter.com/lemonadecode">Olivia Bisset</a> (Intern, <a href="https://twitter.com/post_status">Post Status</a>)</li>
</ul>



<p class="eplus-wrapper has-background">The <strong>Post Status Draft</strong> podcast is geared toward WordPress professionals, with interviews, news, and deep analysis. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f4dd.png" alt="📝" class="wp-smiley" /><br /><br /><a href="https://poststatus.com/category/post-status-podcasts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Browse our archives</a>, and don’t forget to subscribe via <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/post-status-draft-wordpress/id976403008" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">iTunes</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS8ySkU5c2M4UA" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/PostStatus" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">YouTube</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/krogsgard/post-status-draft-wordpress-podcast" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://wordpress-post-status-draft-podcast.simplecast.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Simplecast</a>, or <a href="https://feeds.simplecast.com/2JE9sc8P">RSS</a>. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f3a7.png" alt="🎧" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<h2 class="eplus-wrapper" id="h-transcript">Transcript</h2>



<p>Welcome to back to Post Status draft. I'm with a good friend of mine when Winstina hughes. I met with Winstina a couple years ago in the post status community. We've got to meet in person, talk numerous times, and, um, I'm excited about what we're gonna be talking about here. Um, she's got a new, a project called support inclusion in tech.com and we're gonna dive into that today.</p>



<p>But, uh, hi, Winstina. Hi. And pumped to finally have you on,</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> I'm excited to be with you.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Could you tell us what you do in WordPress?</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> Okay. Um, What do I do in WordPress? every time I speak with, you know, every time I have one of these, um, you know, opportunities to speak with someone in the community, I end up like re repeating the question.</p>



<p>Um, cuz it really helps me. I am a community member, um, and I'm also, you know, a, an organizer, um, a meetup organizer and a board camp organizer. I started, um, going to [00:01:00] meetups in New York City and I transitioned into, Speaking, um, at Word Camp, New York City, and then I was invited to become a meetup organizer.</p>



<p>And so, um, my, you know, my participation in the community was, um, you know, like in the early, um, you know, 2010s. And then around 2015, 2016, um, I started, you know, speaking at, at New York City, and then I became an organizer. I meet up organizer. In 2018, I led my first word camp and my only word, camp , hundred twenties, um, a budget of 120,000, a team of 18.</p>



<p>Uh, it was an amazing experience. They were wonderful people and it was. Really tiring .</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Yeah. You know, over the years, Winstina, I've had so many dear friends that have been Word Camp organizers and really I go, oh my God, I love you so much because of what you're doing for the community. But I also go, I hope you [00:02:00] still like word this afterwards because it's a such a labor of love that I think, um, so often we don't really give the credit and thanks to the people, That do this voluntarily.</p>



<p>Yeah, like you're talking about all the stuff you're done. So anyway, I wanna say thank you because I've said it so many times to dear friends over the years going, thank you for what you're doing. I've always shied away from it because it's so much work and I see all the passion and energy that you and other organizers have and I'm really thankful cuz I think that is so critical to the entire community to have these, and now we're talking in 2022.</p>



<p>But we hear WordCamps are back. You and I got to see each other in San Diego at Word Camp US. Yes, yes, yes. So</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> anyway, so Word, word camp Us. I was a co-organizer for Word Camp US this year. Um, and so yeah, you're right. Like we had a chance to teach other again there, and that was like, yay. That was awesome.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> It was, yeah.[00:03:00]</p>



<p>Yeah. A absolutely. Well, okay, so what drew you to, okay, how did you start with WordPress? Were you using WordPress for, uh, your own website, somebody else's website? How'd you get started with the actual software?</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> So I started with WordPress in 2006, 2007. Um, I had a college course that was . Yeah, I, I had a college course.</p>



<p>Um, and our professor required us to add, um, you know, the work that we'd done, uh, into a wordpress.com blog. Um, it was a geographic information systems class. And, uh, we were looking at public health data at the census block level. Um, and so we were actually, you know, looking to see. You know, where, um, there were instances of like, um, I don't wanna say disease, but you know, like different illnesses.</p>



<p>And so what what's really interesting is that you can, that schools get access to that data and you can actually like, You can [00:04:00] essentially imagine, and I don't wanna go too far deep into it, but imagine you have like, you know, Google Maps, right? And like when you have Google Maps open, you can do street view.</p>



<p>So Google Maps lets you like go from that whole, um, like that map into like street view where you jump in as a person. So, uh, this data essentially took you away from just the geographic element, um, and the typography and like really. The census, you know, track level, like essentially, um, you know, looking at neighborhoods and, you know, the instances of disease in those neighborhoods.</p>



<p>And so he, you know, he gave that to us as our final assignment. Um, you know, we did some like, uh, some heat mapping to show where there were greater concentrations of a particular type of illness, , right. Um, or, um, you know, disease or, you know, Uh, I'm not exactly sure like what, what we [00:05:00] were calling it, but that's what our assignment was.</p>



<p>And, uh, he asked us to, you know, take like a picture of the map and to post it in wordpress.com and that's how it all started with that , with that assignment. Um, so we were you.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> We were using WordPress at the same time. That's the same year I started with WordPress when you started. I did not know you went that, that far back with WordPress.</p>



<p>So I love that. Uh, yeah, I do. Thank you. And then you said like in 2010 you started actually, uh, getting involved with community events. And this is relevant to us talking about support, inclusion and tech. So what drew you to start participating in volunteering and contributing to WordPress?</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> So I went to New York City Meetups, um, and, uh, WordPress, New York City, uh, is the one that's in closest proximity to where I lived.</p>



<p>I could just take the train in. Um, and it was, it was great. Like I, I really felt, um, that the community there was, was [00:06:00] open, like the organizers were open and, and they were welcoming. Um, Dana, rendy, uh, those were organizers at the time, Steve Bruner, who was an organizer. Was he is the organizer, , he started it and he's, he's kept it, you know, um, really like strong, like, since its inception.</p>



<p>Um, and so like just going to these events and meeting these, these like wonderful generous people, these kind people, um, you know, meeting Kevin Cre, Christiana there as well. Um, and you know, just that environ. Was what led me to continue attending events. Um, and they really encouraged me to submit a talk to speak at New York City, um, ward Camp, New York City.</p>



<p>And I submitted a talk to speak there and, you know, since that time I've been more engaged in. Event organizing component, [00:07:00] um, or part of the community. So it moved beyond just, you know, um, Like learning, you know, to use Word Pro, you know, building sites and breaking them, uh, the best, right? Yeah. Like, that's the best way.</p>



<p>That's the only way you can really learn. I mean, I, I started, you know, with different hosting plans, I've had like four or five, like I have multiple domains. Like I think when you're in our space, you got a chance to really create. And, um, and that's what I was able to do and what I'm able to continue doing, and.</p>



<p>Now moved from just creating and building with WordPress to assisting with supporting, you know, our community through events like meetups and, uh, word camp organizing and supporting inclusion in tech is, is an extension of, um, of this work, this contribution that I've been doing. It, it, it pieces together so many different elements that I've come to, like I've come to see and I've come to understand [00:08:00] and. It's, it's a solution that I propose to, um, some current challenges that, um, I've heard being expressed. Yeah,</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> I, uh, I wanna scroll back for a second and say that when you're talking about create, I sometimes it, for as long as you and I have been in WordPress sometimes forget that magic of being able to create something on the web or in the, in the world.</p>



<p>See this cool tool called WordPress, so I appreciate that. I think that's what we rally around in the WordPress community and particularly to post status is helping build tools and projects and things on top of this magical thing we call WordPress. So that was a, when you said create, I was like, it's just little tingle of magic came up of that's, that's why we, I think that's our common bond in</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> WordPress.</p>



<p>I agree. I agree. And I think that, uh, when we create as community members, um, and not necessarily [00:09:00] just as. Business owners or, or, um, you know, those who are providing like services. That's a component of creating. But, you know, in the middle of doing all that, I think, you know, I mean, I like to sit down and just literally play and see, you know, what could I do with it today?</p>



<p>and, um, I entered a com competition, um, held by Sustainable New Jersey, um, right around the time I completed graduate school. And there were municipalities that were seeking, um, solutions for challenges that they had. And there was the city of East Orange and they wanted like a marketplace, um, and a place for their planning department to, you know, add their documents and also something for their green team.</p>



<p>And when I saw this, I was like, I could use WordPress and e-commerce. So I created like a WooCommerce marketplace for them to sell, you know, for residents that would sell their products and services. And I demoed it. Um, and then I also had a website and also a Buddy press site. Um, and the buddy press site would be for their green team members.</p>



<p>And I think that [00:10:00] like, when, when we create with WordPress, like we're able to like see like, you know, These asks and really apply like our knowledge of what we know the c m s can do and then provide a solution. And the city was actually really happy with the solution. Um, and I made it to the finals of the competition.</p>



<p>Um, but there was another, uh, but there were other teams that that won it. Um, but it was, it was really exciting to show what WordPress, you know, software and what WooCommerce can. Uh, that's the</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> dream. Um, that, that's so awesome. Thank you for sharing that backstory. As much as we've talked and stuff, I haven't got the chance to ask those questions and, um, it's a good reminder for me about, you know, I think if you go long enough in the community, you start to, well, I, I'll say I start to.</p>



<p>Forget some of these nuances, [00:11:00] like being able to go, here's a project idea, this could be done in WordPress, you know? And that the tools are mostly freely available. Yes. And you can start and build something online.</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> Exactly. Yeah. You just, you know, download . Yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> So that leads me to support inclusion and tech. And you mentioned you saw a problem or problems and challenges in our community that you wanted to help make some a solution to toward it that became support, inclusion and tech. But can you talk about that a little bit? Cause I know my, my understanding and you continue to help me expand my understanding of all this is it's not just one particular country with DEI, it's a global thing. But could you talk a little bit about the problems and challenges that you saw in the space.</p>



<p>Okay.</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> Absolutely. Um, absolutely. So I, you know, really wanna, like, I wanna hold true to like, um, to how [00:12:00] I, um, shared it on my website. Um, but really the backstory is that. There was a conversation that erupted on Twitter, um, about the need for more diversity on Word Camp, um, organizing teams. And this started, uh, due to, um, you know, uh, some, some thoughts that were expressed about Word Camp Europe, uh, where WordCamp Europe's organizing team, um, not being.</p>



<p>Very reflective, um, of, you know, more ethnicities or a wider range of them. Um, it was a really difficult conversation that was happening. And my take on it really is that it's not where camp you're specific, right? Like, I mean, let's, you know, let's really step back and think about the fact that, you know, there's so many ethnicities around the world that have a ch [00:13:00] like it's really.</p>



<p>When you're in the minority as a group, Really up to the group that's in the majority to weave you into those experiences and those opportunities. Um, and when that doesn't happen, then you have groups that don't have an opportunity to be, to participate and to be involved and, you know, support inclusion and tech.</p>



<p>I mean, considering this was a conversation about word camps and our participation in them. Support, inclusion and tech really seeks to assist us in solving the challenge of, um, not having as much, you know, ethnic or, um, or just diverse representation within the Word camp experience. It doesn't seek to, you know, um, it doesn't, it doesn't seek, you know, to like solve, um, Like these, you know, the world that we [00:14:00] live in.</p>



<p>And it doesn't seek to solve like, um, you know, diversity and inclusion outside of the WordPress space. Um, but I believe that in, in providing these, um, these opportunities within our community, since we're so large, that the ripple effects can extend well beyond the WordPress community. I believe that when you, Absolut.</p>



<p>When you provide such a large group of people, the ability to, um, to participate in work camps, um, the ability to travel to them, the ability to network to them with, when you attend, um, the ability to like, you know, seek, um, you know, out more relationships, friendships, professional relationships. Then there's this ripple that extends outside of our community and I think.</p>



<p>That level of empowerment can extend outside of WordPress and those ripples can assist us in diversity inclusion beyond, [00:15:00] um, you know, our, our involvement in WordPress. But you know, this, this particular solution is intended to solve the challenge that I saw, you know, um, being expressed, you know, within our community.</p>



<p>And so the thought is really, Since, you know, since there's a take on it. And there's, it's a, I mean, it's an, it's an honest one, right? We don't see enough people of color. We don't see, um, enough, you know, people of, um, other minority groups, um, you know, uh, from other parts of the world. Um, You know, we are seeing an equal, more equal balance of, um, men and women.</p>



<p>Uh, you know, but when it extends beyond that into like, you know, more representation in terms of like, you know, a wide range of religions, which ties to ethnicity often. Um, and when you're looking at representation in terms of those of us who, um, have like neuro [00:16:00] diversion, you know, um, you know, like, uh, characteristics and those of us who, um, you know, who we choose to love, , you know, the what society, um, you know, asks of us , right?</p>



<p>Like, and um, and when we choose to hold true to that or when we're dealing with the physical limitations, um, that, you know, that we were born with or when we're in minority. Groups, you know, that have a harder time, you know, uh, receiving opportunities, um, to participate and to increase, you know, their reach and even, um, you know, the professional opportunities that are available to them.</p>



<p>You know, like this. What can we do to, um, to really like solve. To solve that. Mm-hmm. And I thought, what could I do within our community Yep. To, you know, to integrate, you know, like all of those of us who are, um, Either, you know, disadvantaged [00:17:00] or not as represented into WordPress programming and support, inclusion and tech, um, seeks to, you know, take away that financial barrier, which I believe is really what, you know, can limit our participation.</p>



<p>We want to participate, we want to speak, but if we can't afford to speak , right? I mean, if we can't afford to travel to the conference and if we can't afford a place to stay at the conference, um, then. Like, why would we even think to apply to speak at the conference? Right? Like,</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> yeah. That's, that's really beautiful, Winston, because, um, there's a couple of takeaways I, I got from this.</p>



<p>Number one is, I, I've always believed, um, at least in my world, that WordPress has been. The, an inclusive place, ever growing inclusive community. That's like a mirror to my world, the way I want my physical world here in Oklahoma to be. And I have [00:18:00] so much learned from our community leadership, uh, over the years, um, that there's a cons.</p>



<p>Consistent push and drive from the entire community and the leadership to be truly diverse, truly inclusive in all those words. And I, I learn a lot from this. Um, so the mirror I, and I do think WordPress is, our community is so powerful cuz we're distributed all over the world. So if we make change in our community, in our WordPress, That should be, that should be reflected.</p>



<p>And I think that's another, we talked about the software magic. This is the community magic. Exactly. Uh, the other thing is, I, I love and I respect because I try to take too much on that, you said, Hey, here's something I'm passionate about, being an organizer, being at these community events, how special and valuable they are to you and other people instead.</p>



<p>I'm gonna make this dent first. Yeah. Like, I'm gonna, I'm gonna take on this aspect first. You. Beautifully and clearly [00:19:00] shared. This is the thing I'm trying to take on in this bigger, bigger, um, change that you wanna see. We wanna see in the world. Thank you. Okay, so we've got this now we've got a website. Um, you've got a website up to kind of share this.</p>



<p>Now. Take me through, if you would, I am, pretend for a second you're talking to someone that is in an underrepresented, uh, in, in tech. Of, um, situation. Mm-hmm. , how's the process to, to get on the, Hey, I want to go to these WordCamps. I want to speak, but I do need some assistance. What does that process look like for, for support inclusion and tech?</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> So support, inclusion and tech. Um, also weaves into other initiatives in order to, to assist our speakers. Um, and so when you're accepted, support inclusion tech, it become, moves into the position to, to assist you once you're accepted into [00:20:00] Word Camp. Um, as soon as you get that, you know, acceptance, you know, go to https://supportinclusionintech.com/.</p>



<p>Um, and you're simply just, you know, gonna put in the word camp that you were accepted in. And then there are two components, um, in addition that they're suggested , right? Like you're encouraged to do this. Um, you know, uh, we're in the community of consent and so, um, you have, you know, um, You're gonna give, you know, the consent to be included in these other initiatives, um, you're not gonna be forced into it.</p>



<p>Uh, there's underrepresented in tech and there's also the WordPress diversity, speaker channel. Um, both of those, uh, are ways of. Further supporting diversity and inclusion and representation within the WordPress space and creating, you know, um, you know, successful opportunities for us to, um, to, you know, to put together great speaker applications and then to also, um, you know, move beyond just submitting [00:21:00] them. Um, but to being accepted.</p>



<p>The, the ask is that, you know, once you've been accepted to camp and you're starting the process of, you know, receiving funding through supporting inclusion and tech, that you also participate in those other two initiatives as well. Um, because you know, in the process of doing that, it's further supporting the work that we're doing in the WordPress community. Exactly as you said, Corey, that, you know, the word WordPress leadership already has been putting in, um, you know, the work to, you know, to assist us in resolving the challenges that face society as a whole. And so there are initiatives that currently exist and those two in particular, I think.</p>



<p>You know, are ways that we can continue to support underrepresented minority groups in the WordPress community. Um, and so in the process of, you know, uh, applying for the funding, uh, you're encouraged to, you know, to list yourself on underrepresented tech to join the, um, the, the diversity speaker channel [00:22:00] on make WordPress.</p>



<p>Um, and then once you've just put on, put that information in and you've identified the type of support that you're seeking, um, you just like, and it starts from there. Like I start, um, you know, pairing you with, you know, with a partner that you know can, can step in and provide, you know, the funding for you.</p>



<p>And so, you know, they're gonna cover your travel and they're gonna cover your hotel. Um, and that way in order for you to participate, you're not going to be paying anything really that you know, out of pocket. For that participation, um, in that WordCamp. And that's really the goal. Um, the goal is to remove the financial barrier to your participation.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Yeah, that's fantastic. By the way, I wanted to sidebar for a second and say underrepresented in tech, uh, by Allie and Michelle Frechette. If, if you're listening to this and, uh, you also as a be becoming a member of underrepresented in tech, get a free [00:23:00] uh, professional membership at post status?</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> Yes. Yes. I started, I and let's not also forget too, that like there are other opportunities as well as Post Status has been, um, you know, looking into as ways of increasing, you know, diversity and representation within the Post Status community. Um, so underrepresented tech and that membership, and I know that there's some other ways that you're working on it too, Corey.</p>



<p>Um, you know, I think, I think when we can pull all our efforts together. We have a stronger community. Um, and you are, you know, you're, you're offering that and then supporting inclusion and tech, you know, encouraging, you know, speakers to, to register and to participate in those two other programs. Strengthen all our efforts. Yes. Um, and, and that's, you know, that's the process of it. And so once you've submitted, you know, your. once you submitted that form, you know, just letting me know, like the speaker registration that you're seeking, the [00:24:00] support. Um, you're also gonna complete the blind directory listing and that blind directory really.</p>



<p>That Blind directory listing has the word camp that you'll be speaking at. Um, and it has the type of support that you're seeking, whether it's just beach travel or hotel, or both, and that's it. Um, no one in the community, um, you know, needs to know who you are. They don't need to know what your need is. Um, they don't need to know where you come from.</p>



<p>And they don't need to know what makes you underrepresented and what makes you a diverse speaker. Uh, it's simply a way for, um, for companies that are considering sponsoring to see that the need does exist. And it's also a way for our community to see that the need does exist, um, and that we do have members that are seeking the support.</p>



<p>Um, that, that blind directory listing is, is just a way, you know, for our community to see that, um, that our need is there. Um, yeah, and it's also a way of, um, uh, [00:25:00] keeping everyone up to date on the work that's happening.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> So I know we'll have two asks. The first ask is if, um, you need assistance, want assistance to go to a WordCamp to be sure to go to supportinclusionintech.com?</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> Yes. Once you've been accepted, go to supportinclusionintech.com. Complete the form for speaker registration, and you'll, um, you'll be paired currently, um, with four companies, uh, that, um, that have partnered to work on this.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> That comes to our second ask. Yeah, that's right. Okay. So tell me how, um, now this is very relevant for post status because we're a bunch of professional and business members in our community.</p>



<p>So the second ask is, we need someone, one, participants, people that need and want assistance go and speak at Word Camps. And the second part of this is the sponsors and partners. Can you tell me a little bit more, more about that and [00:26:00] how that.</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> Okay, so starting off, partners are sponsors, , um, partners are the first, um, you know, companies that expressed an interest in supporting this project.</p>



<p>Um, you know, this initiative. Uh, and so like that is my way of thanking you, um, by, you know, by acknowledging. that you came into this, um, wholehearted and opened armed. And so thank you to the four companies, um, that have done this, uh, that have stepped forward to say that they will support. Um, you know, it was really exciting once the call went out, um, from Word Camp US that they were seeking, uh, support for underrepresented.</p>



<p>Speakers. It was really exciting because Master wp, um, stepped in at that time, you know, to say that they thought that this was a great project. And, you know, they're the fourth company they joined, um, GoDaddy, Post Status, and Yoast, um, you know, the original three that said that, you know, that they would love to support this initiative.</p>



<p>And so, um, now we have, [00:27:00] we have four of them and there are also several companies as well that are providing in-kind donations. Um, and, you know, they're doing so, makes it possible for support, inclusion and tech, um, you know, to, to function, right? Because like, you have the website and then there are all these different like plugins that make it functional and make it possible, you know, for, um, for, for it to run and function the way that we need to.</p>



<p>Um, so if your company that wants to. Sponsor speakers, you know, you just have to go to the site. Um, there is a section there for you to register your support, um, your register, your desire to support. It'll ask you, um, you know, to provide, you know, like a contact. Um, it'll ask you the type of, uh, How you want to provide this support.</p>



<p>Um, would you prefer to reimburse speakers for their expenses or are you, um, ready and, you know, willing and able to pay for their, um, their travel and their hotel in advance of their trip? [00:28:00] Um, so, you know, once you've identified your contact, you know, your contact is the type of support that you want to provide, you know, then, you know, we'll have an opportunity, I'll have an opportunity, you know, to really. Sit down with you and for us to have a conversation about like, you know what would be your process, you know, what would make it easy or for you to be a part of this initiative? Um, this isn't a cookie cutter means of support for, for companies, because you're all different.</p>



<p>Um, how GoDaddy, you know, is providing support is different from how Post Status is providing support is different from how Yoss is providing support. And it's different from, you know, how, um, Master WP is and, uh, When I started this, and I, you know, I, and I wrote on my blog, like, really this proposal on https://winstinahughes.com/.</p>



<p>I went into it, um, you know, with the understanding, personal understanding is that it's gonna [00:29:00] take a couple years to understand the needs of our community and the ways, you know, companies and our ecosystem can support these needs. And in the last six months, Exactly what I, you know, anticipated, um, is what I've been able to, you know, to, to see.</p>



<p>And, you know, currently, um, there have been three, you know, requests, um, for, you know, to participate, you know, um, for funding, for support, for camps and, um, two unique, you know, individuals have, have made those requests. Um, and you know, so right now it's a question of. You know, like assisting them, you know, with the process of how, you know, our four partners, you know, can support them in that way.</p>



<p>Um, and I think that answers part of your question. Um, the second part of the question is like, so how is this financial component gonna work? Right? [00:30:00] Like, are companies giving me money? No, you're not , like, I'm not receiving, you know, um, any of the money. Is the financial support that you're providing. Um, instead it's looking at your company's processes, um, you know, your, your financial processes, your accounting processes for you to, you know, step back and think like, how could we as a company provide this level of support?</p>



<p>Um, you know, it could be that you already have an existing program. Yoast already has a diversity fund. Um, and so Yoast partnering with me is a way of, um, you know, kind of bringing the need that exists to them as well. Um, and so therefore they're able to like further serve the community, um, you know, through those who are expressing an interest through support inclusion and tech.</p>



<p>Um, the way Post Status, you know, is seeking the support speakers too, is different from Yoast. Um, and, you know, uh, [00:31:00] Yoast has a budget, um, and.</p>



<p>Has their own system and their own ways of support. Um, and so they also have a budget and then Master wp, they also have a budget. And so once that budget has been met, then you know the partners essentially gray out for that year. Um, and they become active the next year. Um, and so. , that is a way of making this sustainable.</p>



<p>You know, you, you pledge how much you can support, um, speakers financially, and once that has been met, then your, I mean, your capacity for the year is, is, is met. And then next year, once you've reallocated your budget, or not re reallocated, but once you've defined, you know, your budget, um, for the year, then you would go, you know, back into the process of supporting [00:32:00] speaker.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> And I wanted to say from personal experience here, that there's many way, there's, there's creative ways to support these speakers, uh, to go, you know, uh, you, you talked about hotel and flights. Yeah. And, um, I, I wanna, I wanted to say that one standard to say this is not an unapproachable. Opportunity to support d uh, diversity inclusion in tech.</p>



<p>Um, this is very manageable for most members at Post Status, by the way. So, you know, flight costs, uh, depending on where it is in the world. Um, I think the first question you asked me was, what's your budget? Yeah. And that's a great way. So as you come in and click sponsor, just be thinking of these things with when st for how you can.</p>



<p>Help support this amazing project. Um, and that there's creative ways to do that. And I, I think Winstina, most members, business members at Post Status can make a meaningful contribution in this way [00:33:00] through this, your project here. And I love the fact also, I know we talked about this too, you wanted to be real careful.</p>



<p>You wanna say you want the support to go to the person as best as possible. A lot of nonprofits have overhead. You have graciously generated your time and your talent to this project, and I, I, I love the way you've done it too, even though I go, gosh, Winston, I love that you have this passion. Um, but thank you so much for this.</p>



<p>But I know you give of your own time. For this particular project, but as you talk to Ena, if you're listening to this now, there's creative options and ENA is so good at helping you, helping understand where you're at, and then pair it with people that need assistance.</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> Thank you. Yes, and that is, that is the goal.</p>



<p>In terms of my contribution to the WordPress community, burnout is so real and because of the fact that I work full-time outside of the WordPress space, the WordPress ecosystem, um, I'm really [00:34:00] cognizant of the fact that I need to perform well. And at a high level , right? Uhhuh , um, at work, you know, and in my personal life.</p>



<p>And WordPress fits into, um, you know, into that. And so I've been able to contribute in different capacities since I was in college and. Graduate school, first attending in college, um, or post-college in graduate school, moving into speaking and organizing, um, and now working, you know, professionally maintaining, you know, organizing as a meetup organizer and a WordCamp organizer, and understanding that this can really lead to burnout.</p>



<p>You know, um, my ultimate decision is, you know, that for the next two years, I'm not gonna be a WordCamp speaker, and I'm also not gonna be a. Organizer, you know, this, these are the ways that I can, you know, I can continue to contribute. I can contribute through support, inclusion and tech. Um, you know, but really pair, pair down all the other ways that I could burn out.</p>



<p>[00:35:00] And so by maintaining, Being a New York City meetup organizer and hosting at least a minimum of six meet meetups a year, and, um, really pivoting and concentrating my energy towards support, inclusion and tech. I can sustainably contribute to the community. And so this is a perfect opportunity to really share with you, um, that, you know, I want to meet with every speaker.</p>



<p>You know, that expresses the interest for support. So as you submit your, you know, your speaker registration and you join the directory listing, I will, um, you know, I'll ask to meet with you, for us to have a conversation, for me to understand your needs and to share. what it is I understand and I've learned over time, and also how our partners seek to support.</p>



<p>So we'll have that conversation. It's gonna be on the weekend. I hope you graciously incorporate that into your schedule. Um, because, you know, I, I work during the week, [00:36:00] um, and so, you know, we'll meet once. Uh, hopefully within a week or two of your registering as soon as possible. Especially it's, it's, it's ideal, uh, not ideal.</p>



<p>It's encouraged to register as soon as possible, um, because the closer you get to your ward camp, you're gonna. Most likely, um, be reimbursed if you apply much sooner, like a, like two or three months in advance. You know, there are companies that will be able to, you know, cover your, your, your costs, um, of participation in advance of your trip.</p>



<p>If you are reaching out like three to two. You know, to the time of, of your support that the time that you need, then you're looking at being reimbursed for your expenses. And so like, you know, that's, that's something to, to keep in mind when it comes to registering, you know, for this is that companies will be able to assist you with removing this.</p>



<p>It just might be [00:37:00] later. When your need is expressed closer to the time that you're speaking that it's more, it'll be a reimbursement instead. Um, and so that's something to keep in mind, the timing in which you submit your interest, and also the fact that, um, you know, that we'll be meeting on a weekend. Um, there's this speaker that just registered and he wanted to meet with me.</p>



<p>Um, On Christmas, he's in another part of the world. I mean, you know, like, so yeah. Um, and so I just, you know, I just like, I think when, and I had a con, you know, I just like responded and let him know that it's, it's Christmas for me. I'm, you know, I'm a Christian and I'm so celebrating my holiday today. Um, you know, and, you know, like, uh, let's, let's meet next week.</p>



<p>Um, so, you know, uh, we'll have like, you know, we'll have these conversations and we'll, we'll see. And you know how. Um, you know, how you and I can, can have that conversation and [00:38:00] meet and how your need can be met. And I'll also meet with, you know, companies that wanna sponsor as well. And I wanna tell you, I want you to tell me what's realistic for you.</p>



<p>Um, I want just, just to, just to give you a sense of how some of the companies are. In fact, um, you have, uh, of the four partner. You have one partner who seeks to provide support, um, you know, within the us. Um, as of our last conversation, you know, the desire is to support minority speakers, um, specifically people of color, um, specifically, you know, black Americans, um, to improve or those of black descent to improve, um, their numbers.</p>



<p>WordCamps in the US. Um, our last conversation was, you know, this is the direction that they wanna go. This is the greatest impact that they think that they can achieve. Um, and [00:39:00] I'm, I'm so glad that I get to listen to what everyone. Hopes to do, you know? Um, because it gives me a sense too that our community is really thinking through, like, this is how we're gonna solve it, right?</p>



<p>Like, this is how we're gonna make the dent that we wanna see. So this company already knows this is how we're gonna make the dent that we wanna see. And there, there. Process too, is that they're just gonna give you a blanket amount of money and they're not gonna micromanage how it is you spend it. Um, they just simply ask, you know, that you, not simply, the requirement is that you put it towards your WordCamp experience and that's where they are with it.</p>



<p>Um, there's, you know, another company host of course, has an established diversity fund and they have processes already in place for the support. And so you're simply gonna go through the existing process that, um, Yoast has established and they have a generous fund. Um, and their support, um, is something [00:40:00] that they've been offering the support for a long time, and they're very, um, they're really respected , you know, for that effort.</p>



<p>And, um, I've had an opportunity to like, you know, to speak with someone who has been a part of their support in the past or received it and they speak so highly of, of Yoast um, and that's, you know, Yoast has already thought it through and they've already walked through. You know, Corey and I, you and I have spoken about, you know, the budget, you know, that you're, that post status is set aside and, and you've already shared.</p>



<p>You know, what is the need? Like, we're not micromanaging, right? Like, let us know what type of support that you need, and we're just gonna provide that to you. Um, and so like you're, you are already thinking about like, how can we make this happen? Like, you know, if you need to, you know, it's a flight, you know, wherever it is.</p>



<p>It doesn't have to be domestic, right? Like, it doesn't have to be in the us it could be anywhere in the world. Um, and, and that's, you know, that's like, [00:41:00] Post Status is thinking, and then GoDaddy is currently working through their process. Um, and I do believe that because of the fact that they have teams around the world that GoDaddy's reach will also be of, um, I think GoDaddy's reach will also extend beyond like the domestic, you know, like within the US and they'll be able to provide support as well toward camps.</p>



<p>you know, around the world. I'm anticipating it's possible that, um, GoDaddy's like impact could, you know, be especially strong with, um, Uh, WordCamps, like Word Camp Asia or Word Camp US or Word Camp Europe. Um, you know, because they'll have team members there and when they have team members there that can help facilitate and smooth the process over for, for those that they're going to be supporting, but they're working through their processes to make this established as well.</p>



<p>And so I think [00:42:00] that, you know, just by me sharing that, you can tell that, you know, each of, you know, my partners are, are working within. Um, you know, like their business processes and their financial processes and also their vision for impact. Um, and I think that's really important.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> So to recap, here's what I've heard.</p>



<p>So support inclusion and tech.com is the bridge between those that want have the desire to share their exper experience and expertise at word camps, but need some financial assistance to get their flights and hotel. That's what f support inclusion and tech.com does. Second, as a participant, as someone.</p>



<p>Um, if you first need to apply and get, uh, approved to speak at work camp, then come to support inclusion and tech.com and, um, sign up, have a conversation.</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> Mm-hmm. , once you've been approved.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Have a conversation with we, Tina. [00:43:00] And then third, the third recap is our ask for, um, well buzzer asked in our community.</p>



<p>Uh, if you're looking to speak to Word Camp, go to support inclu or go apply, get approved, come to support inclusion in tech. And then second for those businesses out there. You know, you have a heart, you wanna support this. That's our community. That's who WordPress is. Uh, go to support inclusion and tech.</p>



<p>Click on the sponsor link and have a conversation with ena. Think about your budget. Think about what you wanna do, uh, when Cena is so creative in helping just make these connections happen so you can really make a difference in our community. Did I get it all right?</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> You did. You did get it right And, okay.</p>



<p>And I think that support inclusion tech also. It goes through vetting process as well to confirm that those who are seeking assistance, you know, to participate actually have been accepted. And that's why, that's why the steps are what they are. Um, partners aren't gonna [00:44:00] question, oh, is this need real? You know, that vetting is gonna happen in advance.</p>



<p>So when you receive a speaker interest, You know that this is someone who has been accepted a Word camp, and they understand the process and they're working within, you know, your, your policies and your procedures, um, in order for them to participate. So it removes all those questions. Um, you know, so that and that, yeah, that's a part of it.</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> Well, Winston, my friend, thank you so much for this important work, uh, holding the banner up. I know this takes a lot of time. I know you've got a full-time gig. I know you've got a life</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> more,</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> um, But I so much appreciate you post. I just appreciate you, our members do for doing this vitally important work and making a difference in our world that can, like we said, can be a reflection in all these thousands of communities we go out to, to say, how can I be more inclusive?</p>



<p>[00:45:00] How can I make sure everybody is represented as at least an opportunity to be represented? So I really appreciate you, <strong>Winstina</strong>, and your work and also just ringing the bell with me and teaching me and sharing, um, how we can make, make that difference. So I appreciate. Thanks for being. I'm thanks for being on.</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> Sorry. No, no. I mean, I absolutely, like, this gives me life and it makes me wanna show up in the world, you know, different and energy. I wanna exercise more like , you know, like this is, this is, this is really in a lot of ways just like giving me energy to contribute. And so, um, to like, just to be able to like, work with you, you're, you're, you know, I'm, I think you're awesome</p>



<p>You know that, ditto. You're, you have a beautiful family. You know, like your energy is like, you have such great energy and so just a chance to work with you and like the amazing people that I've had a chance to, it, it just, it gives me life and it makes me want to live more, you know? So like, let's, let's [00:46:00] see what we can do to continue to support our community so that the four freedoms, you know, I think that it's, , it's creating a fifth freedom, which is, you know, for all of us to be able to participate in a truly inclusive, um, community.</p>



<p>And, you know, that speaks a lot to what the co-founders of WordPress. I think, um, you know, what, what they created and, and where they want, um, what their vision is and, you know, from their vision where we're, um, going and or how we're evolving as a community. I mean, to have 40% plus of a reach on the.</p>



<p>There's so many people around the world that are impacted by this project, you know? So, um, yeah, I love</p>



<p><strong>Cory Miller:</strong> that. Let's, let's add the fifth Freedom. I love that win. Coined by Win, and I love that leadership vision for our community. We need it. Thank you. Thank you, ma'am. You have a good rest of your year and we'll see you in the next year.</p>



<p>For everybody listening, thanks for listening. Tune in, go to support inclusion in [00:47:00] tech.com, and also Winstina Hughes is in our post Slack community. So you can go at Wednesday and you can ping her and, um, get the conversation started there. So thank you, Eena.</p>



<p><strong>Winstina Hughes:</strong> Thank you. Thank you, Brent.</p>
<p>This article was published at Post Status — the community for WordPress professionals.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 09 Jan 2023 19:17:12 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Olivia Bisset";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:59:"Do The Woo Community: Do the Woo is Headed to WordCamp Asia";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=74283";s:7:"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://dothewoo.io/do-the-woo-is-headed-to-wordcamp-asia/";s: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:373:"<p>We are looking forward to attending WordCamp Asia and also are proud to be a media partner this year.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io/do-the-woo-is-headed-to-wordcamp-asia/">Do the Woo is Headed to WordCamp Asia</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce Builder Community</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 09 Jan 2023 10:19:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:99:"Gutenberg Times: Gutenberg Changelog #78 -State of the Word, WordPress 6.2, Gutenberg 14.8 and 14.9";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?post_type=podcast&p=23141";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:114:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-78-state-of-the-word-wordpress-6-2-gutenberg-14-8-and-14-9/";s: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:41325:"<p>Birgit Pauli-Haack and Hector Prieto talked State of the Word, Gutenberg releases 14.8 and 14.9, WordPress 6.2 and beyond.&nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-69-gutenberg-releases-wordpress-6-0-1-the-create-block-theme/#shownotes">Show Notes</a> / <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-69-gutenberg-releases-wordpress-6-0-1-the-create-block-theme/#transcript">Transcript</a></p>



<ul>
<li>Music:&nbsp;<a href="https://soundcloud.com/xirclebox">Homer Gaines</a></li>



<li>Editor:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandy-reed/">Sandy Reed</a></li>



<li>Logo:&nbsp;<a href="https://markuraine.com/">Mark Uraine</a></li>



<li>Production:&nbsp;<a href="https://icodeforapurpose.com">Birgit Pauli-Haack</a></li>
</ul>



<p class="has-larger-font-size" id="shownotes"><strong>Show Notes</strong></p>



<h2>State of the Word</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.tv/2022/12/30/matt-mullenweg-state-of-the-word-2022/">Matt Mullenweg’s State of the Word</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2022/12/state-of-the-word-2022-recap/">State of the Word 2022: A Celebration of the Four Freedoms of Open Source</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2022/12/episode-45-state-of-the-word-reflections/">Episode 45:<strong> </strong>State of the Word Reflections</a></li>



<li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/design-system-bridge-to-wordpress-fonts-management-playground-and-more-weekend-edition-239/#1-state-of-the-word">GT 239: State of the Word</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/">Pew Research Center</a></li>



<li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/live-q-a-block-first-approach-at-pew-research-center/">Live Q &amp; A: Block-First Approach at Pew Research Center</a></li>
</ul>



<h2>Gutenberg Times Live Q &amp; A </h2>



<p><a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/7616700808432/WN_IG_fXjzCQymTk62cV9_ocw">Gutenberg Times Live Q &amp; A: January 11th at 5 pm ET / 22:00 UTC Layout, Layout, Layout.</a></p>



<p><a href="https://asia.wordcamp.org/2023/session/layout-layout-layout/">Isabel Brison’s talk at WordCamp Asia</a></p>



<h2>WordPress and Gutenberg Releases</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/12/27/wordpress-6-2-planning-schedule-proposal/">WordPress 6.2 Planning Schedule Proposal</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/12/22/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-8-21-december/">What’s new in Gutenberg 14.8? (21 December)</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-14-8-overhauls-site-editor-interface-adds-style-book">Gutenberg 14.8 Overhauls Site Editor Interface, Adds Style Book</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-9-4-january/">What’s new in Gutenberg 14.9? (4 January)</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-14-9s-new-magic-push-block-changes-to-global-styles">Gutenberg 14.9’s New Magic: Push Block Changes to Global Styles</a></li>
</ul>



<p class="has-large-font-size">Stay in Touch</p>



<div class="wp-block-group is-layout-flow"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container">
<ul>
<li>Did you like this episode? <a href="https://lovethepodcast.com/gutenbergchangelog"><strong>Please write us a review </strong></a></li>



<li>Ping us on Twitter or send DMs with questions. <a href="https://twitter.com/gutenbergtimes">@gutenbergtimes </a>and <a href="https://twitter.com/bph">@bph</a>.</li>



<li><em>If you have questions or suggestions, or news you want us to include, send them to <a href="mailto:changelog@gutenbergtimes.com">changelog@gutenbergtimes.com</a>. </em></li>



<li><em>Please write us a review on iTunes! <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/itunes/">(Click here to learn how)</a></em></li>
</ul>
</div></div>



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



<p> </p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Hello, and welcome to the 78th episode of the Gutenberg Changelog podcast. In this first episode of 2023, I wish all our listeners a wonderful, happy, prosperous and healthy new year. In today&#8217;s episode, we will talk about Gutenberg releases 14.8, 14.9, WordPress 6.2 and beyond. I&#8217;m your host, Birgit Pauli-Haack, curator at the Gutenberg Times and WordPress developer advocate, a full-time contributor to WordPress Open Source project. My guest today is Hector Prieto, full-time contributor on the WordPress Core team, coordinating multiple WordPress and Gutenberg releases. And it&#8217;s a great pleasure to finally have you on the show, Hector. Having a conversation about Gutenberg and WordPress with you is a wonderful way for me to start this new year. Happy New Year, feliz año nuevo, Hector. How are you today?</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Happy New Year. Hi, Birgit. I&#8217;m excited to join you on the podcast. It&#8217;s my pleasure.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Oh, the pleasure is really all mine. Where are you right now? Did you have a great holiday break?</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: I&#8217;m currently in Alicante in Spain, very close to the Mediterranean Sea. And today we have a lovely sunny winter day with nearly 20 degrees Celsius. I had a few days to recharge and spend time with the family. What about you, did you enjoy your holidays?</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah. Well, that&#8217;s some warm weather there in Alicante. I would love to have that. But here in Florida it&#8217;s balmy, too. It&#8217;s about 27 degrees, so we are in the air conditioning right now. Yes, my husband and I, we spent the week in Mexico City between Christmas and New Year&#8217;s. We saw some great art, powerful murals from the &#8217;50s and &#8217;70s and &#8217;60s. And we had fantastic food and a fabulous New Year&#8217;s event. It was great, at a restaurant over the roofs of Mexico City, so we really liked it.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Wow, sounds really nice.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah. Well, Hector, as you are the first time on the show, maybe you can share briefly with our listeners your WordPress origin story. When did you come across WordPress the first time and what do you work on now?</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Well, my first time working with WordPress was around 2015 when I worked at the startup agency building sites. However, it wasn&#8217;t until 2020 that I first moved into the contributor space, and here we are. I am currently sponsored by Automattic to work full-time in Core in project management-related duties and supporting the development of WordPress.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: That&#8217;s wonderful. Well, thank you. So 2015, that&#8217;s just about two years before Gutenberg was introduced into the community. Did you, at your agency, have Gutenberg on the radar already, or did you heed the call to learn JavaScript deeply?</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: It wasn&#8217;t until 2018 that we started using Gutenberg for the first time, when it was first released in 5.0.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah. Then the time between learning about WordPress and then starting contributing, that&#8217;s about five years. That&#8217;s pretty much the time that it took me to really embrace the contributing on WordPress, but I started at the Community Project in 2014.&nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>Announcements</strong></h3>



<p>All right, so there are a few announcements that were happening since the last podcast episode. If you haven&#8217;t watched it yet, the recording of Matt Mullenweg&#8217;s State of the Word is available on WordPress TV. The transcript and answers to the questions that didn&#8217;t make it into the recording can be read on the follow-up post, State of the Word Reflections. Josepha Haden Chomphosy kicked off the State of the Word with a reminder on the four freedoms of WordPress, that you are free to run the program, you&#8217;re free to study and change the code, you&#8217;re free to distribute your code and also redistribute WordPress.</p>



<p>She also recorded a separate WP briefing with her reflections in episode 45, State of the Word Reflections in which she highlights, among other things, learn WordPress, that 12,000 students actually went through the courses and the workshops already since the inception. And she also highlighted the WordPress Playground, which is a tool to run WordPress in the browser. You don&#8217;t need a server, you don&#8217;t need a database. You can run it in the browser and test plugins and themes. I think that changes how we approach some of the discovery for WordPress. We talked about it on the show here as well, but it&#8217;s definitely something that will have so many ramifications in the WordPress space later on when it&#8217;s still very raw and very not production ready. It&#8217;s just an idea that has already a proof of concept. And then the recap posts from the community are linked in the Gutenberg Weekend Edition 239 from December 17th, and you can check it out from there.</p>



<p>I also have a side note that the Pew Research Center received a shoutout for the politology quiz that they built with blocks and had one million people already taking it. Seth Rubenstein is the lead developer and was a guest on a Gutenberg Times Live Q&amp;A last year. And he gave a great demonstration about their team&#8217;s work with the block editor, so as they went for the Gutenberg first approach building the website. The recording is available on the Gutenberg Times YouTube channel, and also we have a post here on the Gutenberg Times website as well. So as always, all these links are in the show notes of the 78th episode. So Hector, do you have any comments on this? What is your most exciting topic from the State of the Word? You had a few takeaways?</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Yeah, there were a handful of them. I would actually highlight everything, starting with WordPress Playground. It&#8217;s such amazing technology and it&#8217;s going to open so many doors. But if I had to pick something, maybe for me because it is the thing I&#8217;m the closest to, it was a great recap about the progress WordPress made in the site editing front during the last year, to the point nowadays we can create themes directly in the editor just with blocks and patterns. This brings us very close to wrapping phase two and starting exploration around phase three in 2023. So it&#8217;s great to see that all these progress.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, you&#8217;re right, you&#8217;re right. And it&#8217;s been such a long journey as well. I look back at some of the history on the Gutenberg Times and the Gutenberg podcasts, and we first started talking about full-site editing in January of 2020. That was even pre-pandemic, and we had quite a few developers on our live Q&amp;A talking about the first concepts about that. So now, three years later, it&#8217;s almost finished and it&#8217;s really cool. There are still some things to be done, but I am really excited about the start of phase three of collaboration and I have been constantly trying to unify all the various tools and methods and interfaces to streamline my workflow to produce content for the web. And if I don&#8217;t have to use multiple tools to collaborate with people, I will have arrived on internet nirvana. Yeah, it&#8217;s a high calling of course, but yeah, we are all in a space where we could maybe make it happen. So I&#8217;m really excited about that.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Yeah. Also, it&#8217;s worth noting that even when we move to phase three and we can call a wrap on phase two, phase two will not be fully finished because there&#8217;s always going to be things to do related to site editing improvements, new tools. So I can see contributors working in new features for phase three and also iterating on phase two items. Another big takeaway for me during State of the Word was seeing how much Gutenberg itself has matured. And it&#8217;s now been used in more projects such as Tumblr, bbPress, and even in some mobile apps like Day One. Also, let&#8217;s not forget how WordCamps have made a comeback after COVID hit and stopped all the in-person events. And we went from one single WordCamp in 2021 to up to 22 in the last year, in 2022. That&#8217;s amazing.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, that&#8217;s a nice iteration of the numbers. 22 WordCamps in &#8217;22.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Exactly. Especially since the community is what makes WordPress what it is, it&#8217;s the most important part of WordPress. So that&#8217;s really good to see.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Absolutely. Having the first WordPress in-person event in WordCamp Europe, I realized how much I missed interacting with everybody else in the community and seeing new faces and interacting with old friends. I looked up the number of WordCamps that were done in 2019, in-person WordCamps, and there were 148, or 145, something like that. So there is quite a bit of time to go between 22 to 142 or something like that.</p>



<p>But it&#8217;s coming back especially because all those WordPress meetups, the local meetups, are all coming back as well. I think there was a note in the State of the Word that out of the 500, 260 have already come back to in-person events. And we know that WordPress meetups are actually the prerequisite to actually have local WordCamp organizers together to organize a WordCamp. So yeah, it&#8217;s all coming back and I&#8217;m glad that it&#8217;s coming back because of the connection that you have in the community. Yeah.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: As I mentioned earlier, I came to the contributing space in 2020. It was during the pandemic, so actually my first WordCamp was the only WordCamp in 2021. And my second WordCamp was for computer ware in last year. So it was really nice and refreshing for me to meet all the other contributors. It is something special, for sure.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Absolutely, yeah. It was great to meet you, Hector, although we had so many meetings with people on Zoom. Yeah.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Fun times.</p>



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



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Well, circling back to State of the Word, I would also like to point out that, last but not least, it&#8217;s really cool to see how Openverse has grown since joined WordPress about a year and a half ago. And I&#8217;m super excited to see that coming, Openverse integration in WordPress that will allow users to directly search and add images from Openverse into their WordPress site without leaving the editor at all. That&#8217;s super cool.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, that&#8217;s super cool. And I think it would also be really cool to have that also go back to if somebody uploads an image to WordPress and checks the check mark, also put it into Openverse. I think that part would really make it to a 360 kind of integration. I also love that there&#8217;s not only for images, but there is a lot of audio already uploaded to the Openverse that you can use on podcasts or on videos, and add free without having to think about royalties and buying for it and all that. Yeah, so free to the community.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: There&#8217;s so many possibilities there. The future is exciting.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, it&#8217;s really exciting. And I&#8217;m glad that it&#8217;s all happening in conjunction with WordPress. The same with the WordPress photos library, where people can just upload their photos and have it be it in the public domain and make it available to the broader community. It&#8217;s really cool.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Yeah.</p>



<h3><strong>WordPress 6.2</strong></h3>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: All right. So between Christmas and New Year&#8217;s, Hector, you published the release schedule proposal for 6.2. I think it was something we were all waiting for. Kind of, okay, how do we plan first quarter when we don&#8217;t know when the release is coming? So you provided. So if the release team concurs, what&#8217;s the plan? When will we see the first Beta?</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: If the proposed plan is approved, the first Beta release will be on February 7th, which is 10 days before the first of our WordCamp Asia takes place.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Excellent. In the planning schedule, you also have a call for contributors to volunteer for the release squad. So if you, dear listeners, are inclined to take part in it and you already have a little experience in contributing, throw your hat in the ring by commenting on the release post on the scheduled proposal post. And also throw your hat in the ring also means for those who English is their second language, also means raise your hand, you want to volunteer to be part of it, and then the release team is coming together. When do you expect that you will have a final plan?</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: The call for volunteers is open as we speak. Considering the end of the year vacation people are taking, contributors taking, I think we won&#8217;t have anything until end of next week or the following one. We&#8217;re leaving some extra time for people to come back from the holidays and chime in.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: All right. Okay. Yeah, so there are only two more Gutenberg releases before the feature freeze, if I calculate that correctly. We better get started in reviewing all the great new features that are coming in, in a more consolidated way.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Definitely. I encourage all of our listeners to start testing and giving feedback. It&#8217;s always super helpful. Also, compared to the past releases, the proposed 6.2 schedule both include a fourth Beta release compared to the previous three ones to leave some extra buffer time between WordCamp Asia and release candidate one, which will be on March 7th for a final release on March 28th.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Oh, okay. Yeah, so contributor day at WordCamp Asia is definitely going to be part of it and that is really cool to have. Maybe we need to organize some tables that do some testing there. I don&#8217;t know how far the work of Asia contributor day team is about that, but having that plan definitely gives us all focus on that contributor day. All right, cool. So to repeat that, final release could be March 28th, so that&#8217;s about three months from today. And we will have a 6.2 release, provided everything works out as we anticipate now.</p>



<p>And I have a reminder for our listeners now for next week. The Gutenberg Times Live Q&amp;A, Layout, Layout Layout will be happening on January 11th at 5:00 PM Eastern. That&#8217;s 22:00 UTC. And in this show, Isabel Brison, Andrew Serong, Justin Tadlock and I will discuss the opportunities and challenges for all the layout features for site builders. And we will be available for questions and answer them.</p>



<p>And Isabel Brison will also give us a demo of the various layout scenarios to use. She has, with Andrew, been instrumental in building all the features into the site editor and the blocks, and it&#8217;s going to be a very interesting show. It&#8217;s also going to be a little preview on Isabel Brison&#8217;s talk at WordCamp Asia in February 2023. So join us, link us in the show notes, and don&#8217;t forget you need to register there and to be&#8230; We will have a recording, of course, with the show notes and as well as a transcript, but it&#8217;s always good to have your questions answered live by the experts on the panel, and we have some great experts there.&nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>What’s Released</strong></h3>



<p>So, that brings us to the latest Gutenberg releases. First, there&#8217;s Gutenberg 14.8. That was released in December 12th. Ryan Welcher was release lead and it had 167 PRs merged by 42 contributors, five of which were first contributors. So welcome to the project, first contributors. So Hector, what&#8217;s the most significant enhancement in this release?</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Well, Gutenberg 14.8, so several changes to the site editor user interface, and introduce something I&#8217;m super excited about, which is browse mode. Thanks to this first iteration of browse mode, users can switch between editing and browsing modes in the site editor, making it much easier to navigate through templates and template parts or even add new ones through the sidebar. It&#8217;s a feature that has been long awaited and it&#8217;s finally here and I&#8217;m super excited.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah. And it helps you with where you land when you click on the site editor. You are now not landing into editing your homepage and so now you have a better entrance into the site editor. And I really like that because it gets you better settled into what you&#8217;re going to do.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: It makes for a nicer onboarding and it&#8217;s less dangerous, let&#8217;s say, because it&#8217;s much more difficult to break your design just as soon as you land on the site editor.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, totally. So the navigation block also had some enhancements, especially with the migration from the old menu. So if you have a location primary, it will now fall back to the navigation menu from the classic menu. That is really helpful on the transition. There are other fallback updates made that it also uses the most recently created menu from the classic theme when you start migrating to a block theme.</p>



<h3><strong>Enhancements</strong></h3>



<p>So that is definitely a good help for transitioning from a classic theme to a block theme. But also it kind of decreases the mental load that you don&#8217;t have to recreate all your menus when you switch out the theme, which is something that was sometimes really critical in the classic menu, in the classic theme space, where everybody had different menu locations. And so I don&#8217;t think that it&#8217;s completely solved yet, but this is definitely a first step.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Yes, it&#8217;s a step on the right direction. We all know building menus is one of the most challenging aspects of building your site. And contributors are making a huge step for making the menu building process much easier.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. There&#8217;s also one that came with 14.8 that is for the query block. The parent block is they removed the color block support just because it was always clashing up against the other blocks that are in the query block for the post template for the title and the excerpt. You could kind of get lost in which color did we do, and where do we do that? So removing it from the wrapper query block is definitely a good choice because it removes some of that confusion of where colors are actually set.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Exactly. Contributors have seen a few inconsistencies when adding the color to the wrapper query block, between the title, between the navigation links. So now the colors block supports are all in the inner blocks and there&#8217;s no space for confusion.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: So what else do we see there? Yeah, I think that was it on the 14.8 release, on the highlights. There are certainly the sidebar tabs for the navigation blocks. There is great work on the experimentation that happened. So right now we have five areas of experimentation in the Gutenberg plugin and there is only two more freeze, two more releases to get them out of experimentation into the production of the Gutenberg plugin. One of them is the sidebar for the navigation block. The other one is the separated settings tab in the sidebar that separates the styles from the features. And then the others, I don&#8217;t recall right now. Hang on, I&#8217;m going to check them out. I just had it there and then I closed my browser because, I don&#8217;t know, sometimes I just randomly close browser tabs, which is a really good way to confuse myself.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: The type interface is making good progress and it&#8217;s something we would likely see out of experimental very soon.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Oh, yeah. And then is the global styles for custom CSS is actually in&#8230; We all wait for that, but it&#8217;s now in the experimental stage and need to be switched on through experiments menu item on the Gutenberg plugin. And then the other one is the color randomizer utility that lets you mix the current color palette randomly and change it out. That&#8217;s kind of a funky way of handling your website to do a randomized color palette, but it certainly is a proof of concept of something bigger. Was there anything else in the 14.8 you want to mention, Hector?</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Well, there are a few other main highlights that you might have seen, our listeners might have seen in the release post. One of them is super interesting, which is the custom CSS rules for your site. There&#8217;s now a tiny CSS text field where you can add your custom CSS directly in the editor. As we all know, with great power comes responsibility. So it&#8217;s nice that you can add a custom CSS directly in the editor, but let&#8217;s not overuse the important.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, that&#8217;s definitely a way to&#8230; But that was before, so site editors or site users or site owners who used the custom CSS piece found that that was the missing piece to actually sign on to the full site editing, because they couldn&#8217;t do those very fast changes like changing a font size somewhere or changing a space somewhere or change the color of a border very easily by just using the developer tools, identifying the marker, the selector, and then just change the color in a custom CSS. Yeah, it opens up the capabilities for that.</p>



<p>You need definitely have file editing capabilities on the server and that sometimes was not available to anybody. But those who used it, they really missed it in the file site editing, in the site editing features, so that is really a good thing. And there is also a&#8230; It&#8217;s not yet released and it&#8217;s not merged yet in, but I know that Carolina Nymark is actually working on custom CSS for single blocks. And I think that&#8217;s also a good way to, in the paradigm of getting atomic design going, that that&#8217;s probably a better approach than having custom CSS being pulled in for every site page or page with the custom CSS. Rather do it per block.</p>



<p>Either way, it&#8217;s kind of a interesting feature that people want to have some control or at least go back to that what they are used to do and figure out how they can change it. Well, that definitely was a changelog of 14.8. I don&#8217;t think we&#8217;ve forgotten anything. I think we, in the release post by Ryan, it was a reorganized&#8230;. Oh, the style book is definitely something that was in 4.8. We haven&#8217;t talked about it. So do you want to talk about it, what that does?</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Oh yeah, definitely. The style book is a super cool new feature, which is extension of the style site editor. The style book in a nutshell gives you an overview of all the available blocks you have in a single place so that you can easily browse all the blocks you have available and play with their design.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: When Gutenberg first came out, there were quite a few initiatives where you could have a unit test for blocks, where I think Rich Tabor actually had a plugin and I also worked with some of our clients back then when that we had a list of all the blocks in a page and then looked at it, how the theme works with it. And that was kind of a block unit testing in design. And with the additional features that come with site editing, it was a hard time to figure out what is a change in color on the paragraph block will have additional ramification throughout the site, or when you change style variations.</p>



<p>So I&#8217;m really glad that the style book, that&#8217;s a menu item in the site editor. You can go there and then see all the blocks that you have. And you get an access to the style variations of your theme so you can select them and then see how the blocks change. And that is so powerful that you don&#8217;t have this save and surprise effect anymore. You really look at it and say, &#8220;Oh yeah, I like it.&#8221; And you also see where the style variations may not be entirely working for your site because there are some things that are left out. So this is so powerful for the experience with the block editor.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: For our listeners to picture it in their mind, it&#8217;s like having a page with demo content with all the blocks. You have it registered either core blocks or third party blocks. So as soon as you install it, applying that provides blocks, all these third party blocks will appear in the style book. And you will be able to see all of them together, play with the global styles, play with the accelerations, and see how they affect all these first party and third party blocks in a single place as if you have demo content page but automatically generated for you.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah. So it really offsets the need for these block unit testings and it&#8217;s very, very powerful. Yeah, I so agree. I think we&#8217;ve got it all now. Let&#8217;s move on to the next release, which was 14.9. And it has at the time of this recording not been released, but it will come out any hour now. For those who use the Gutenberg plugin on their sites, it&#8217;s the first Gutenberg release for 2023. 132 PRs by 46 contributors. Again, five new contributors in there. Congrats for your merge of your PR, and welcome to the project. Thank you so much for your contributions, for all of them.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: It&#8217;s refreshing to see all these new contributors, even in these more maintenance oriented releases that happen during holidays. So congratulations to you all, and welcome.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: What are the highlights? What did you see, or what&#8217;s in the release?</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: There are a few changes. They&#8217;re mostly iterative, building on top of past features and enhancements. One of them, one very cool, is a new push to global styles button that appears in the cyber blocks, which allows users to, once they edit the blocks&#8217; style and they like it and they say, &#8220;Hey, I like this how this is looking or how this image is looking. I would like all my image blocks to look like this.&#8221; It allows them to push those styles to global styles so that they automatically affect all the blocks of that type.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Right. And that&#8217;s also why it&#8217;s good to have this style book handy so you can actually see if you made a mistake or something like that and said, &#8220;Oh no, I didn&#8217;t consider this, so let&#8217;s do one more time.&#8221; Yeah. So that&#8217;s a great feature. Yeah, absolutely.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Also, for those who like building patterns, now when registering patterns, there&#8217;s a new property that allows you to specify in which template a pattern makes sense. Let&#8217;s suppose, for example, we are building a 404 pattern. Previously it would be released everywhere, so it would appear everywhere in all kinds of templates. Now you can limit it to only appear on a 404 template, so it doesn&#8217;t bring noise to other templates where it doesn&#8217;t make sense. So this is going to improve pattern discoverability in general as patterns.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: And it also improves separation of concerns. As you said, it will not show up on every page where even if it&#8217;s not suitable for the pattern. But it also themes can then, or plugin can now create custom post types and that all, and just make those patterns available for certain custom post types. I think that is definitely a missing piece that has now been added to it. Excellent. Yeah, I&#8217;m really excited about that.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Yes, there&#8217;s a minor update following up on Gutenberg 14.5. So we are thinking, we&#8217;re looking at two months ago, three months ago, when the list view and the document outline were merged in a single panel. We have seen there are a few improvements that can be made in the design. So now, for example, the word count has been moved to the top of the outline for more clarity.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, there was some confusion. Where is it now? Yeah. And then you didn&#8217;t see it at first because when you hit on update, you post and then the little notification ball totally covered that piece. So it took a while till that goes away so you see the word count and the time to read and also the block count. There were a few pieces missing. I don&#8217;t know why they&#8217;re missing, but they probably don&#8217;t seem to be very important for content creators to see. And the outline, having the other one on the list here in one it definitely makes sense to have that.</p>



<p>So if you haven&#8217;t seen that yet, it was in Gutenberg 14.5. It will come to 6.2, so checking it out through the Gutenberg plugin is definitely worth trying, worth a look so your site owners or the clients are prepared to find it in a different space. What I&#8217;m also very excited about is that there is now an option to import widgets from the sidebars into template parts. And that is in the whole idea of transitioning from a classic theme to block themes or make a site be better prepared to move to a site, to full site editing block theme. This is definitely a step forward. Any additional thoughts on that?</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Oh yeah, absolutely. This is a very important milestone towards block adoption because it allows users to migrate from classic widgets to native blocks. It&#8217;s worth noting that it doesn&#8217;t work on template focus mode yet, it&#8217;s only available for the block inspector. But this is definitely a step on the right direction to increase block adoption.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Excellent, yeah. And George Mamadashvili, who heads&#8230; That&#8217;s his PR. He also has a nice video on how he demonstrates how it&#8217;s going to work. So I hear quite a few people celebrating this piece to make the transition over. Another one is, this is minor thing, but the configurable settings for the fluid typography in the theme JSONs now has a minimum font size, so it can be anchored on the smallest font size. So the fluidity then can increase the font size on a bigger screen. There was a hard coded value of 14 pixels before, with no way to change. And now you can have the minimum font size, like 16 pixels or 18 pixels depending on your site needs. That&#8217;s a minor thing, but I think it is something that quite a few designers were missing.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Yes, absolutely. It&#8217;s a minor improvement, but we&#8217;ve seen lots of these minor improvements in the last, I don&#8217;t know, four or five Gutenberg releases building on top of free typography. And when you look at them altogether combined, you can see huge improvements on how the feature is becoming more and more powerful by the day.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. I think that was at 14 point&#8230; No, one thing is still really important from the release and that is the adding shadow presets support for the theme JSON. So you can do box shadows on your blocks or wrapper blocks, and that is now available for designers of themes. There is no user interface for that yet. But as we said repeatedly here on the podcast, things will be…</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: It will come.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Hmm?</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: It will come.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: But it&#8217;s important to make it work for the theme developers first. Before you have all the added implementation for site owners that want to change it, you first need to know how it&#8217;s actually working so you can see where the pieces are that need to be surfaced in a user interface. So there is a new setting object called shadow, and then you can add different palettes to it for natural and crisp and sharp and soft shadows. And the PR has quite a few information about how that&#8217;s implemented. It gives you quite a few use cases on how you can do the shadow boxes for the buttons, for cover block, for menu block. If you have a sticky menu, then you can put a little shadow underneath it to see the difference between the page and the menu. So there are quite a few design use cases to try that out.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: I&#8217;m curious to see what designers come up with thanks to this new setting. I can see lots of 3D buttons and shadow buttons and all these cool things.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: You could even do the outlines of the shadows, kind of, if you have an outline&#8230; Yeah, there are some great designs out there right now. So, from the changelog we are on, anything else that you wanted to talk about here that we missed? I know that Tonya Mark has updated the tracking issue for the web fonts API. And what&#8217;s merged in this release is the change of architecture to use the Core&#8217;s dependencies API with the web fonts API. And there&#8217;s a call for testing out there, or it will be out there, and making sure that how you use it. She has an update where she asked how you can help. And that is if you have an idea about naming the API, should it be webfonts, or web fonts, two words, or just the fonts API, which I tend to be the fonts API, but there is a renaming before everything gets into the Core that we&#8217;ll be name things right.</p>



<p>And then the other one is a call to test the new architecture and share feedback on your testing reports and using the web fonts API. I&#8217;m not quite sure how the planning is because it seems to be still blocked furthermore through additional architectural work. Hector, do you think that that will come with 6.2, or is it now a little late for 6.2?</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Well, Tony and the other contributors are making their best to have this feature land in 6.2, so I&#8217;m pretty positive it can make it in 6.2. And the best way to ensure it can land in that version is to help with testing and with feedback. That will help unlock the architecture redesign and the renaming and everything that&#8217;s currently being discussed right now.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: All right. Okay. Yeah, if you all are contributing to things, dear listeners, help getting that over the finish line. It definitely needs some testing. So I think that&#8217;s the end of talking about Gutenberg 14.9. We&#8217;re coming also up on the hour, so I think we can go to closing things. Are there anything that you want to point out that are on the roadmap for 6.2 that you want to have our listeners know? And if not, how can the listeners get in contact with you, where to best meet you online?</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Well, you can reach out to me in WordPress Slack. Handle is Prieto. I guess it will be written in the show notes. So please feel free to ping me there or in GitHub or in Track. I&#8217;m using the handle everywhere, so that&#8217;s easy. I would just like to circle back to the 6.2 planning and reminding everyone the call for volunteers is open. So if you&#8217;re interested in participating in the squad, you are more than welcome. We will assist you if it&#8217;s your first time. If you&#8217;re an assistant contributor, you are also welcome and we can learn from you. So everybody&#8217;s welcome, that&#8217;s the long story short.</p>



<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah. And the only thing that I want to remind you is about the next week&#8217;s Gutenberg Live Q&amp;A with Isabel Brison, Andrew Serong and Justin Tadlock on Layout, Layout, Layout. January 11th at 5:00 PM Eastern and 20:22 UTC. That&#8217;s 10:00 PM on UTC. And as always, the show notes will be published on gutenbergtimes.com/podcast. This is episode 78. And if you have questions and suggestions or news you want us to include, send them to <a href="mailto:changelog@gutenbergtimes.com">changelog@gutenbergtimes.com</a>. That&#8217;s <a href="mailto:changelog@gutenbergtimes.com">changelog@gutenbergtimes.com</a>. So thank you so much, Hector, for joining me here for the first Changelog podcast in 2023 to spend the time on preparation as well as in the show. Thank you all for listening and goodbye and again, Happy New Year.</p>



<p><em>Hector Prieto</em>: Thank you for having me and see you soon. Happy New Year, everybody.</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, 07 Jan 2023 19:14:10 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:19:"Gutenberg Changelog";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:121:"Gutenberg Times: 209 Block Themes, Query Block Variations, Forms with Blocks, Block Art and more – Weekend Edition #240";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?p=23042";s:7:"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:124:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/209-block-themes-query-block-variations-forms-with-blocks-block-art-and-more-weekend-edition-240/";s: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:27679:"<p>Howdy, </p>



<p>Tomorrow is the 5-year anniversary of Gutenberg Times. It feels like I just started yesterday to be fascinated by the possibilities of the block editor. For many people, it actually was just yesterday that they dipped their toes into the world of the new thing. Not you of course. You have been a wonderful subscriber and reader for a while now, and I am infinitely grateful for your support. Thank you! </p>



<p><strong>Welcome to all new subscribers this year. So glad you are here. </strong></p>



<p>Let&#8217;s dive into the sixth year together, and learn what will be next for the block editor and what other people make with it and for it. The ecosystem seems to keep expanding quite a bit with the block editor. </p>



<p>Wishing you and yours a fabulous 2023. May you be prosperous, happy, and healthy! </p>



<p>Yours, 💕<br /><em>Birgit</em></p>



<p>PS: Reminder: Hope to see you next week at the Gutenberg Times Live Q &amp; A. <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/7616700808432/WN_IG_fXjzCQymTk62cV9_ocw">Get your seats now for January 11, 2023, at 5pm / ET 22:00 UTC</a></p>




<div class="wp-block-group has-light-background-background-color has-background is-layout-flow"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container">
<p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p>



<div class="wp-block-sortabrilliant-guidepost"><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-word-press-release-information">Developing Gutenberg and WordPress</a><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#1-ne">From the WordPress Developer Blog</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#2-gutenberg-plugin-releases">Gutenberg plugin releases</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-p">Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners</a><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#4-making-block-art">Making Block Art </a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#5-form-plugins-working-with-blocks">Form Plugins working with Blocks</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#2-word-press-6-0-1-and-6-1-scheduled">Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#3-building-themes-for-fse-and-word-press">Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor. </a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#5-s">Upcoming WordPress events</a><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#1-l">Learn WordPress Online Meetups</a></li></ul></li></ul></div>
</div></div>




<h2 id="0-word-press-release-information">Developing Gutenberg and WordPress</h2>



<p><strong>Hector Prieto</strong> published the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/12/27/wordpress-6-2-planning-schedule-proposal/"><strong>WordPress 6.2 Planning Schedule Proposal</strong></a>, and it&#8217;s also a call for volunteers for the release squad. The 6.2 release squad will then decide on the final release schedule. For now, Feature Freeze and Beta 1 would be on February 7th, 2023. Tthere are four Beta releases planned before release candidate 1 will be available on March 7th, and a final release on March 28th, 2023. </p>



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<p>Reminder: January 10, 2023, at 9:30 ET / 14:30 UTC:  <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/12/16/hallway-hangout-performance-considerations-for-block-themes/"><strong>Hallway Hangout: Performance Considerations for Block Themes</strong></a> <strong>Anne McCarthy</strong> wrote: &#8220;At a high level, we’ll go through general intros (what each person does/focuses on), current work underway to address performance, what work is being done specifically for block themes, and general open Q&amp;A. Hallway hangouts are meant to be casual and collaborative so come prepared with a kind, curious mind along with any questions or items you want to demo/discuss.&#8221; </p>



<h3 id="1-ne">From the WordPress Developer Blog</h3>



<p><strong>Justin Tadlock</strong> published a tutorial for <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2022/12/20/building-a-book-review-grid-with-a-query-loop-block-variation/"><strong>building a book review grid with a Query Loop block variation</strong></a>.  WordPress 6.1 introduced an extension to the Query Loop block, which allows plugin developers to filter existing functionality in core WordPress rather than building custom blocks to query posts. This tutorial shows how to build a WordPress plugin that display a list of book review posts including <code>post_meta` </code>data, using a block variation for the Query Loop and set up rendering it on the front end. </p>



<p><strong>Nick Diego</strong> <a href="https://twitter.com/nickmdiego/status/1611377046785081345">tweeted</a>:  I always knew the Query Loop block was incredibly powerful, but I had never explored integrating post metadata into custom block variations! Learn how in this fantastic article by <a href="https://twitter.com/justintadlock">@justintadlock</a> on the new WordPress Developer Blog.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Micheal Burridge</strong> composed a Roundup post to review <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2022/12/28/2022-the-block-developers-year-in-review/"><strong>2022 from a block developer&#8217;s perspective</strong></a> in is post. You&#8217;ll find a select list of resources, to get started or to catch up on the development from the last 12 months, via the Make Blog, WordPress TV and the Learn WordPress site. </p>



<h3 id="2-gutenberg-plugin-releases">Gutenberg plugin releases</h3>



<p><strong>Gutenberg 14.8 </strong>was released on December 22, 2022, and release lead <strong>Ryan Welcher</strong> highlighted in his post <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/12/22/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-8-21-december/"><strong>What’s new in Gutenberg 14.8? (21 December)</strong></a></p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/12/22/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-8-21-december/#new-reorganized-site-editor-interface">A new, reorganized Site Editor interface</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/12/22/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-8-21-december/#introduce-the-stylebook">Introducing the Style Book</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/12/22/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-8-21-december/#Add-custom-CSS-rules-for-your-site">Add custom CSS rules for your site</a></li>
</ul>



<p><strong>Sarah Gooding</strong> reported on the release as well via the WPTavern: <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-14-8-overhauls-site-editor-interface-adds-style-book"><strong>Gutenberg 14.8 Overhauls Site Editor Interface, Adds Style Book</strong></a></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Gutenberg 14.9 i</strong>s the first release of 2023, and release lead Justin Tadlock pointed out a few new features in his post <strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-9-4-january/">What’s new in Gutenberg 14.9? (4 January)</a></strong>: </p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-9-4-january/#push-block-changes-to-global-styles">Push block changes to Global Styles</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-9-4-january/#typography-support-for-page-list-block">Typography support for Page List block</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-9-4-january/#import-sidebar-widgets-to-template-parts">Import sidebar widgets to template parts</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-9-4-january/#shadow-presets-minimum-fluid-font-size">theme.json support: Shadow presets and minimum fluid font size</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-9-4-january/#other-notable-highlights">Other notable highlights</a></li>
</ul>



<p>On the WPTavern, <strong>Sarah Gooding</strong> took the version for spin and reported on the new magic: <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-14-9s-new-magic-push-block-changes-to-global-styles"><strong>Gutenberg 14.9’s New Magic: Push Block Changes to Global Styles</strong></a></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p>In the upcoming <strong>Gutenberg Changelog episode 78</strong>, <strong>Hector Prieto</strong> was my guest. He is a full-time core contributor and coordinator of multi-release WordPress and Gutenberg releases. We discussed Gutenberg 14.8 and 14.9 as well as 6.2 release schedule proposal and other topics.  The episode will hit your favorite podcast app over the weekend. </p>



<img />



<div class="wp-block-group has-light-background-background-color has-background is-layout-flow"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container">
<p><strong>🎙️ </strong> New episode:  <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-78-state-of-the-word-wordpress-6-2-gutenberg-14-8-and-14-9/">Gutenberg Changelog #78 -State of the Word, WordPress 6.2, Gutenberg 14.8 and 14.9</a> with Birgit Pauli-Haack and special guest Hector Prieto</p>
</div></div>



<h2 id="0-p">Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners</h2>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Sarah Gooding</strong> wrote about <a href="https://wptavern.com/block-protocol-announces-new-wordpress-plugin-coming-in-2023"><strong>Block Protocol Announces New WordPress Plugin Coming in 2023</strong></a> It will allow users to embed interactive blocks that are compatible with Gutenberg, and will include blocks for drawing, GitHub pull request overview, timer, calculation, and more. The plugin will also include new blocks powered by OpenAI DALL-E and GPT . </p>



<p>The <a href="https://blockprotocol.org/"><em>Block Protocol</em></a> project is open source and designed to be an open protocol, and WordPress hopes to integrate more with it in the future. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p>In the latest WPTavern Jukebox podcast episode, <strong>Damon Cook</strong>, developer advocate at WPEngine, discussed with Nathan Wrigley the <a href="https://wptavern.com/podcast/57-damon-cook-on-the-future-of-website-styling-in-wordpress">f<strong>uture of website styling in WordPress</strong></a>. Wrigley wrote in the introduction: &#8221; Block-based themes are revolutionizing website styling. You’re going to be able to change any aspect of your website from the UI that you’re familiar with. The hope is that it’ll make styling more accessible to a wider audience.</p>



<p>Damon talks about the fact that we’re in a period of flux right now. The documentation and tooling needed to work with website styles is maturing, but is by no means complete.&#8221; </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Torsten Landsiedel</strong> scratched his personal itch and built the plugin Ignore block name in search, after finding that the WordPress built-in search included in the findings posts where the search keywords are in the HTML comments of blocks, and with that skews, the search result less relevant.  It&#8217;s particular helpful when your blog is about working with the block editor or about content creation with WordPress. Landsiedel feels that the block editor makes the shortcomings of the built-in search feature worse because blocks contain full words, and not just HTML tags. It&#8217;s been a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/3739">long-standing issue</a>, that this plugin now solves. </p>



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<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/tags/full-site-editing/"><strong>209 Block Themes </strong></a>are now available in the WordPress repository with new submissions by <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/author/themeisle/">Themeisle</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/author/sparklewpthemes/">sparklewpthemes</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/author/olivethemes/">olivethemes</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/author/deothemes/">deothemes</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/author/sonalsinha21/">sonalsinha21</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/author/blockify/">Blockify</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/author/hamidxazad/">hamidxazad</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/author/wpzoom/">WPZOOM</a>. </p>



<a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/tags/full-site-editing/"><img /></a>



<p><strong>Ana Segota</strong> of <em>Anariel Design</em> also <a href="https://twitter.com/Ana_Segota/status/1608903485956947968">announced</a> <a href="https://anarieldesign.com/themes/yuna/"><strong>Yuna, a block theme for Nonprofits</strong></a> that comes with 100+ Design Patterns, you can add to your page with a simple drag and drop. Use built-in options to arrange and style them any way you want. It also includes built-in styles for the popular GiveWP donations plugin and is also ready to house your ecommerce store. </p>



<h3 id="4-making-block-art">Making Block Art </h3>



<p>Curious about some art behind Matt Mullenweg during State of the Word? Below are those pieces designed for the&nbsp;<a href="https://block-museum.com/">Museum of Block Art</a>&nbsp;which represent the creativity that Gutenberg blocks inspire. Be sure to stop by and experience the museum’s&nbsp;<a href="https://block-museum.com/interact/">digital interactive exhibit</a>.</p>



<p>You can see </p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://block-museum.com/2022/06/03/circular-rainbow/"><strong>Circular rainbow</strong></a> by Chuck Grimmett&nbsp;</li>



<li><a href="https://block-museum.com/2022/03/01/splitting/"><strong>Splitting</strong></a> by Anne McCarthy</li>



<li><a href="https://block-museum.com/2022/02/02/its-me/"><strong>It’s me</strong></a> by Nick Hamze</li>



<li><a href="https://block-museum.com/2022/01/19/futuro-1/"><strong>Futuro 1</strong></a> by Javier Arce</li>



<li><a href="https://block-museum.com/2022/01/11/019/"><strong>019</strong></a> by Tammy Lister</li>
</ul>



<img />



<p><strong>Anne McCarthy</strong>, instigator and curator of the Museum of Block Art, wrote an insightful blog post about how she approached making art with the Block Editor.  Take a look <a href="https://nomad.blog/2022/12/26/behind-the-scenes-of-creating-art-with-wordpress/"><strong>Behind the scenes of creating art with WordPress</strong></a>. </p>



<p><strong>Chuck Grimmett</strong> has more examples of <a href="https://cagrimmett.com/wp-block-art/"><strong>WP Block Art</strong></a> on his blog. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Rich Tabor</strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Courtney Portnoy</strong>&nbsp;discussed&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.tv/2022/11/18/the-creative-side-of-blocks-vol-3/"><strong>The creative side of blocks</strong></a>&nbsp;on WordPressTV. Rich Tabor walks the viewers through one of his block art creations. It’s quite inspiring to watch Tabor’s exploratory creative process using the block editor. I learned quite a few things about the power of the various color features: gradient, nested group blocks, and how to replace the theme’s primary and secondary colors for the whole site. You’ll also get an introduction to the&nbsp;<a href="https://block-museum.com/">Museum of Block Art</a>, where Rich and other block artists showcase their creations. <em>(also mentioned in GT 239)</em></p>



<h3 id="5-form-plugins-working-with-blocks">Form Plugins working with Blocks</h3>



<p>Two plugins emerged that take advantage of the block editor and its components and scripts so site owners and builders can use them to create forms. </p>



<p><strong>Munir Kamal</strong>, created a block integration for the popular CF7 Forms. It&#8217;s aptly names <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/cf7-blocks/"><strong>CF Blocks</strong></a> and available in the WordPress repository. He wrote in the description: &#8220;With CF7 Blocks, you can easily create and customize contact forms within the familiar block editor interface. No more fiddling with short codes or HTML – just drag and drop blocks to build your forms exactly how you want them.&#8221; Sounds spectacular, doesn&#8217;t it? </p>



<p>In here article <a href="https://wptavern.com/new-cf7-blocks-plugin-brings-blocks-to-contact-form-7"><strong>New CF7 Blocks Plugin Brings Blocks to Contact Form 7</strong></a>, Sarah Gooding, took a more in-depth look and shares her findings. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p>On <a href="https://twitter.com/jrtashjian/status/1610761741025087521">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/jrtashjian"><strong>JR Tashjian</strong></a> developer at GoDaddy, <strong>introduced </strong><a href="https://omniform.io/"><strong>OmniForm</strong>,</a> the next-generation Form Builder for your website. Sign up for early access now and be among the first to try it. The plan is to make the plugin available in the WordPress plugin directory at the end of January, with early access provided to users the week prior. Tashjian continues: &#8220;OmniForm embraces the block editor to the fullest extent and unlike any solution right now. The block editor is the future of editing in WordPress and building any kind of form will be no different from creating a post or page.&#8221; Tall order. Looking forward to doing some testing, too. </p>



<h2 id="2-word-press-6-0-1-and-6-1-scheduled">Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks</h2>



<p><strong>Anne McCarthy</strong> has a new video up on YouTube:  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2bFOZ7O-Po"><strong>Building a site with WordPress 5.9 vs. WordPress 6.2 (in progress features)</strong></a> &#8211; To better show what&#8217;s changed with the Site Editor from when it was first introduced in WordPress 5.9, this video goes through both a demo of the original state and a brief look at what&#8217;s in place today and what&#8217;s to come, especially as 6.2 looks to wrap up much of the work around site editing/phase 2 of Gutenberg. Keep in mind that WordPress 6.2 is not out yet and much of what&#8217;s being shown is very much a work in progress with big opportunities to provide feedback along the way. Either way, I hope you enjoy taking a peak back and a look forward. </p>



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<p><strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;Keeping up with Gutenberg &#8211; Index 2022&#8221;</a>&nbsp;</strong><br />A chronological list of the WordPress Make Blog posts from various teams involved in Gutenberg development: Design, Theme Review Team, Core Editor, Core JS, Core CSS, Test, and Meta team from Jan. 2021 on. Updated by yours truly.  <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index-2020/"><em>The index 2020 is here</em></a></p>




<p>In this video tutorial, <strong>Jonathan Bossenger</strong> gives you an <strong><a href="https://wordpress.tv/2023/01/06/introduction-to-theme-json/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Introduction to theme.json</a>.</strong> You will learn how the theme.js file works, and how you can control these settings and styles.</p>



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<p><strong>Daisy Olsen</strong> started a new Live Stream schedule and will show off Block Themes in WordPress every Friday at 10:30 am ET / 15:30 UTC on Twitch. </p>



<p>The inaugural show took place  Friday, January 6th, 2023 with the topic: <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1699386540"><strong>Building a Block Theme</strong></a>. It&#8217;s a great opportunity to follow along with Daisy and ask questions along the way. </p>



<a href="https://www.twitch.tv/daisyonwp"><img /></a>



<h2 id="3-building-themes-for-fse-and-word-press">Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor. </h2>



<p><strong>Munir Kamal </strong>takes you on a journey of <a href="https://gutenberghub.com/from-wordpress-to-the-world-intro-to-the-standalone-gutenberg-block-editor/"><strong>From WordPress to the World: Intro to the Standalone Gutenberg Block Editor</strong></a>. In his new plugin, Kamal made the journey and found a few challenges along the way, overcame them and new put it all together for others to follow.  Using the app <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/isolated-block-editor"><strong>&#8216;Isolated block editor</strong></a>, from the public repo, maintained by Automattic. Matt Mullenweg in the State of the Word emphasized that the block editor is also used outside of WordPress, with Tumblr, Day One app and with bbPress instance.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p>The team working on <strong>GiveWP</strong> went on a similar route on the revamp of the highly popular donation plugin. Post Status recently posted an article about that: <a href="https://poststatus.com/the-future-of-givewp-and-the-block-editor/"><strong>The Future of GiveWP and the Block Editor</strong></a></p>



<p>GiveWP will hold a Town hall event about the new version on January 25th, 2023 at 10am PT / 18:00 UTC – in case someone is interested.&nbsp;<a href="https://href.li/?https://givewp.com/town-hall-givewp-design-mode-and-whats-next-for-3-0/?"><strong>Learn more Town Hall: GiveWP Design Mode and What’s Next for 3.0</strong></a></p>



<p><br /><strong>Kyle Johnson</strong>, JavaScript developer at GiveWP will present his talk: <a href="https://birmingham.wordcamp.org/2023/session/using-gutenberg-as-a-development-foundation-not-just-a-block-builder/"><strong>Using Gutenberg as a Development Foundation, Not Just a Block Builder</strong></a> at WordCamp Birmingham on February 4th, 2023. As far as we know, the talks will be recorded, but not livestreamed. So, they will show up on WordPress TV in the weeks after the WordCamp. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p>Mohammed Noufal of Hubspot wrote about <a href="https://blog.hubspot.com/website/custom-blocks-wordpress"><strong>How to Create Custom Blocks in WordPress</strong></a>, providing answers to the questions:  why use a custom block, how to make Custom Block Templates and how to use custom blocks on your site. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Jonathan Bossenger</strong>&#8216;s last section of his series: <em>Let’s code: developing blocks without React!&nbsp;</em> is now also available on WordPress TV. <a href="https://wordpress.tv/2023/01/04/lets-code-developing-blocks-without-react-review/"><strong>Let’s code: developing blocks without React! –&nbsp;Review</strong></a>. If you followed along over the past few weeks, you would have learned to build a small WordPress block using plain (vanilla) JavaScript. In this session, we will review everything we’ve learned so far, by rebuilding the entire block from scratch.</p>



<p>The other editions for the series are in order of broadcast/</p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.tv/2022/12/02/lets-code-developing-blocks-without-react-controls/">Controls</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wordpress.tv/2022/11/25/lets-code-developing-blocks-without-react-part-2-take-2/">Attributes and&nbsp;RichText</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wordpress.tv/2022/11/18/lets-code-developing-blocks-without-react-all-about-attributes/">All about Attributes</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wordpress.tv/2022/11/11/lets-code-developing-blocks-without-react-part-1/">Block&nbsp;Basics</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wordpress.tv/2022/12/12/lets-code-developing-blocks-without-react-block-supports/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Block Supports</a>&nbsp;</li>
</ul>




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



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




<h2 id="5-s">Upcoming WordPress events</h2>



<p><strong>January 10, 2023 &#8211; 9:30 ET / 14:30 UTC </strong><br /><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/12/16/hallway-hangout-performance-considerations-for-block-themes/"><strong>Hallway Hangout: Performance Considerations for Block Themes</strong></a> with Anne McCarthy</p>



<p><strong>January 11, 2023 – 5 pm ET / 22:00 UTC</strong><br /><strong><a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/7616700808432/WN_IG_fXjzCQymTk62cV9_ocw">Gutenberg Times Live Q &amp; A: Layout, layout, layout</a></strong><br />Panel discussion with Isabel Brison, Andrew Serong, Justin Tadlock and Birgit Pauli-Haack</p>



<p>February 4 + 5, 2023 <br /><a href="https://birmingham.wordcamp.org/"><strong>WordCamp Birmingham, AL</strong></a><br /></p>



<p><strong>February 17 – 19, 2023</strong><br /><a href="https://asia.wordcamp.org/2023/"><strong>WordCamp Asia 2023</strong></a>&nbsp;</p>



<h3 id="1-l">Learn WordPress Online Meetups</h3>



<p>January 17, 2023 &#8211; 3pm / 20:00 UTC <br /><a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/290412094/"><strong>Patterns, reusable blocks and block locking</strong></a></p>



<p>January 19, 2023 – 7 pm ET / 24:00 UTC<br /><a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/290363952/"><strong>Let’s make custom templates in the Site Editor!</strong></a></p>



<p>January 31, 2023 &#8211; 3pm ET / 20:00 UTC <br /><a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/290414181/"><strong>Creating a photography website with the block editor</strong></a></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />




<p>Featured Image:</p>



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



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



<form class="wp-block-newsletterglue-form ngl-form ngl-portrait" action="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/" method="post"><div class="ngl-form-container"><div class="ngl-form-field"><label class="ngl-form-label" for="ngl_email"><br />Type in your Email address to subscribe.</label><div class="ngl-form-input"><input type="email" class="ngl-form-input-text" name="ngl_email" id="ngl_email" /></div></div><button type="submit" class="ngl-form-button">Subscribe</button><p class="ngl-form-text">We hate spam, too and won&#8217;t give your email address to anyone except Mailchimp to send out our Weekend Edition</p></div><div class="ngl-message-overlay"><div class="ngl-message-svg-wrap"></div><div class="ngl-message-overlay-text">Thanks for subscribing.</div></div><input type="hidden" name="ngl_list_id" id="ngl_list_id" value="26f81bd8ae" /><input type="hidden" name="ngl_double_optin" id="ngl_double_optin" value="yes" /></form>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide" />";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 07 Jan 2023 14:25:00 +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:18:"Birgit Pauli-Haack";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:103:"WPTavern: WordCamp Europe 2023 Speaker Applications Open, Organizers Call for More Interactive Sessions";s:7:"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=140881";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:113:"https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-europe-2023-speaker-applications-open-organizers-call-for-more-interactive-sessions";s: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:2184:"<img />



<p>WordCamp Europe 2023 is being hosted in Athens this year with two conference days scheduled for June 9 and 10. The first day&#8217;s theme is &#8220;WordPress Now&#8221; (Everything that can be currently achieved with WordPress) and the second day is &#8220;WordPress Tomorrow.&#8221;</p>



<p>Organizers have opened the <a href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2023/call-for-speakers/">call for speakers</a> and are especially interested in scheduling talks that &#8220;empower people to feel more comfortable using WordPress.&#8221; They are soliciting new voices this year with fresh perspectives.</p>



<p>After reviewing attendee feedback from the previous year, organizers have identified more than three dozen requested topics across the development, business, community, and design categories. These include many more development topics, such as security, CI/CD, headless CMS, ReactJS for PHP Developers / Building Blocks, and more. Attendees are also eager to hear about content monetization, recurring revenue, GDPR compliance, brand identity, and designing for accessibility, to list a few examples.</p>



<p>Presentation formats will include traditional talks, hands-on workshops, expert panels, and lightning talks. Organizers are encouraging speakers to add activities to sessions that will get the audience involved and avoid the afternoon slump. They cited a few examples, including a WordCamp in the Czech Republic where a security researcher installed a Wi-Fi honeypot in the venue and demonstrated how dangerous public wi-fi is when logging into a WordPress site that doesn&#8217;t have SSL. </p>



<p>WCEU has launched a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2023/?page_id=2755" target="_blank">Speaker’s support program</a> to help fund selected speakers with financial barriers to attending. Organizers arrange for speakers and the sponsoring companies to connect but are not involved in selecting who receives the funds.</p>



<p>The call for speakers will close the first week of February and applicants will receive a response by the second week of March. Speakers will be announced in the second week of April.</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, 07 Jan 2023 03:18:41 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:125:"WPTavern: BuddyPress 11.0.0 Adds Filter for Improved JS and CSS Asset Loading, WebP Support, and New Ways to Fetch Activities";s:7:"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=140854";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:134:"https://wptavern.com/buddypress-11-0-0-adds-filter-for-improved-js-and-css-asset-loading-webp-support-and-new-ways-to-fetch-activities";s: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:3436:"<p><a href="https://buddypress.org/2023/01/buddypress-11-0-0-la-scala/">BuddyPress 11.0.0</a> is now available thanks to the efforts of 34 contributors. The release is named “La Scala” in honor of a pizza restaurant located in Issy-Les-Moulineaux, a Paris suburb.</p>



<p>Version 11.0.0 introduces a few important changes. BuddyPress has <a href="https://wptavern.com/buddypress-11-0-0-to-limit-javascript-and-css-asset-loading-to-community-pages-using-a-filter">improved the way it loads its JavaScript and CSS assets</a> with the addition of <a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2022/11/21/buddypress-will-soon-only-load-its-javascript-and-style-assets-into-the-community-area-of-your-site/">a new filter</a> so that they are now only loaded on community pages. Previously, the plugin would load them indiscriminately on every page, a leftover from how they were loaded in the first Template Pack (BP Legacy). This change is being rolled out progressively, so users who want to take advantage of this improvement will need to add the filter to their <a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/themes/bp-custom-php/">bp-custom.php</a> file.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>add_filter( ‘bp_enqueue_assets_in_bp_pages_only’, ‘__return_true’ );</p>
</blockquote>



<p>BP 11.0.0 also enables the use of use <a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2022/11/24/webp-support-is-arriving-in-buddypress-11-0-0/">.webp</a> images for profile and cover images, after a user requested it in a negative review. This feature requires WordPress 5.8 or newer. </p>



<p>This release introduces the ability to <a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2022/12/01/bp-11-fetch-activities-for-or-excluding-a-group-of-users/">fetch activities for or excluding a group of users</a>. For example, developers can now write code to fetch activities for a select few users based on user ID or block updates from some annoying users by excluding their user IDs. </p>



<p>&#8220;This change is simple but powerful!&#8221; BuddyPress core developer Dan Cavins said. &#8220;For instance, you could create custom interest activity streams, or build a mute feature to let your members take a break from other, too-chatty users!&#8221;</p>



<p>Version 11.0.0 also gives developers the ability to build custom xProfile loops <a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2022/12/06/bp-11-bp_has_profile-now-accepts-an-array-of-profile-group-ids/">including a specific set of profile field groups</a>.</p>



<p>BuddyPress 10.0.0 introduced an add-ons section in the plugin administration screen for users to easily test plugins or blocks maintained by the BuddyPress development team and hosted on WordPress.org. BP lead developer Mathieu Viet said the team will soon be publishing a Community Media Attachments add-on and a block-based Activity Post Form that will &#8220;standardize the way to extend activity updates with richer and more engaging content.&#8221; These feature plugins are part of what Viet anticipates will be &#8220;a transitional year for BuddyPress&#8221; and may be published to the add-ons section independent of a major release. </p>



<p>BuddyPress users should watch for updates to the add-ons section and check out the full list of changes in <a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/releases/version-11-0-0/">11.0.0 in the BuddyPress codex</a>. Updating to the latest version will require WordPress 5.7 or later.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 06 Jan 2023 22:33:59 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:34;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:62:"Do The Woo Community: A New YouTube Channel and WooBits Format";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=74228";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:55:"https://dothewoo.io/new-youtube-channel-woobits-format/";s: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:414:"<p>WooBits now featuring guest hosts for a one-off chance to share their insights and perspectives on various topics. Plus a new YouTube channel.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io/new-youtube-channel-woobits-format/">A New YouTube Channel and WooBits Format</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce Builder Community</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, 06 Jan 2023 10:54:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:51:"WPTavern: Awesome Motive Acquires Duplicator 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=140830";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:62:"https://wptavern.com/awesome-motive-acquires-duplicator-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:2164:"<p>Awesome Motive&#8217;s <a href="https://www.wpbeginner.com/wordpress-plugins/">product suite</a> of nearly 20 commercial plugins has expanded to include a backup plugin. The company <a href="https://www.wpbeginner.com/news/welcome-duplicator-to-the-wpbeginner-family-of-products/">announced</a> its acquisition of <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/duplicator/">Duplicator</a> today, a 12-year-old freemium product with more than 1.5 million users. </p>



<p>In addition to the backup utility, the plugin enables users to migrate, copy, move, or clone a site from one location to another. Commercial licenses range from $49/year to $299.50/year.</p>



<p>Snapcreek co-founders Bob Riley and Cory Lamle, creators of Duplicator, will be moving on to pursue other endeavors but the rest of the team will continue to work on the product at Awesome Motive led by <a href="https://johndturner.com/">John Turner</a>. </p>



<p>This is the first WordPress business acquisition of 2023, and it&#8217;s a major one as 1.5 million users are changing hands to rely on a new company. Users can expect <a href="https://twitter.com/syedbalkhi/status/1611100494839316480">no pricing changes</a> but some have already <a href="https://twitter.com/wpeditorial/status/1611027326795681794">expressed</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/karks88/status/1610991832749539328">concern</a> about having to put up with Awesome Motive&#8217;s trademark aggressive marketing that litters the WordPress admin with ads and upsells. </p>



<p>In the co-founders&#8217; <a href="https://snapcreek.com/blog/news/duplicator-is-joining-the-awesome-motive-family/">farewell post</a>, they assured users that Awesome Motive will continue working on their prior roadmap.</p>



<p>&#8220;We have shared our extensive feature wishlist, and we know that with Awesome Motive’s resources and experience that wishlist will become a reality much faster,&#8221; Riley said.</p>



<p>&#8220;As we pass the baton, Cory and I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported us on this journey. We are extremely grateful to be able to play a small part in the amazing WordPress ecosystem.&#8221;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 06 Jan 2023 02:48:43 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:36;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:75:"WPTavern: Gutenberg 14.9’s New Magic: Push Block Changes to Global Styles";s:7:"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=140717";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:82:"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-14-9s-new-magic-push-block-changes-to-global-styles";s: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:3405:"<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-9-4-january/">Gutenberg 14.9</a> was released this week with a powerful new feature for site editing that allows users to push individual block changes to Global Styles. </p>



<p>When WordPress makes it this easy for users to design their own sites, there&#8217;s always the lingering concern &#8211; will the tools inadvertently be used to make sites that are wild and wacky à la GeoCities? For example, if a user makes a change to a Heading block on the Page template, that doesn&#8217;t get automatically enabled for headings on other templates, which could potentially create an inconsistent design across the website. </p>



<p>The new &#8220;Push changes to Global Styles&#8221; button allows users to apply that same change to all blocks of that type. In the example below, the H1 heading has been updated to have a lime green background with red text. Under the Advanced panel in block settings, a new button appears for pushing changes to Global Styles.  </p>



<img />



<p>It&#8217;s important to note that the feature only works inside the Site Editor. Users writing posts and pages will not have the ability to push changes to Global Styles. The new button gives users a quick way to update blocks across the site without having to manually edit every template or figure out the right CSS to apply. </p>



<p>Other important changes in 14.9 include <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/43316">typography support for the Page List block</a>, a new option to <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/45509">import sidebar widgets into a template part</a> when switching from a classic theme, and  word count/time to read meta info has been <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/46648">moved to the top of the outline</a>. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">New Features for Theme Authors</h2>



<p>Gutenberg 14.9 introduces support for shadow presets in theme.json, with two bundled default presets (Natural and Sharp). Theme authors can <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/46813">see how it&#8217;s done</a> and create&nbsp;custom box-shadow presets, or wait for an <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/developer-blog-content/issues/51">upcoming tutorial</a> on the topic. The 14.9 release post includes a screenshot of how this feature might be implemented:</p>



<img />



<p>Theme authors now have the ability to <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/42489">set the minimum font size for fluid typography in theme.json</a>. It is currently hard coded to 14px by default, which may not work for all designs.</p>



<p>Another new tool for theme developers is the ability to register patterns for specific templates, which would restrict where they appear. This was added via <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/45814">a new templateType property</a> in the patterns registration API. Theme developers can restrict patterns to only show up for the templates where they make sense, such as 404, single-post, single-product, and category templates, for example.</p>



<p>Check out the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/01/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-9-4-january/">14.9 release post</a> to see all the bug fixes and enhancements to the editor, accessibility, performance, tooling, and more. </p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 05 Jan 2023 22:20:46 +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: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:44:"BuddyPress: BuddyPress 11.0.0 “La Scala”";s:7:"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=327885";s:7:"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://buddypress.org/2023/01/buddypress-11-0-0-la-scala/";s: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:10413:"<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>Happy new year &amp; best wishes for Twenty Twenty-Three <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f973.png" alt="🥳" class="wp-smiley" /></p>
<cite>The BuddyPress Core Team</cite></blockquote>



<p>BuddyPress 11.0.0 “La Scala” is now <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/buddypress.11.0.0.zip">available for download</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress/">WordPress.org plugin repository</a>, or right from your WordPress Dashboard.</p>



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<p>This new major version of your site’s community engine introduces around 50 changes mostly acting under the hood to improve performance, consistency and the stability of the plugin. Here are five important changes we would like to highlight:</p>



<ul>
<li>You may now use&nbsp;<a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2022/11/24/webp-support-is-arriving-in-buddypress-11-0-0/">.webp</a>&nbsp;images for your profile and cover images (requires WordPress 5.8 or newer).</li>



<li>A&nbsp;<a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2022/11/21/buddypress-will-soon-only-load-its-javascript-and-style-assets-into-the-community-area-of-your-site/">new filter</a>&nbsp;was introduced to only load BuddyPress JavaScript &amp; CSS assets on BuddyPress-generated pages.</li>



<li>The way BuddyPress loads its&nbsp;<a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2022/11/20/the-way-buddypress-loads-deprecated-code-will-change-in-version-11-0-0/">deprecated code</a>&nbsp;has been improved.</li>



<li>Advanced users or developers can now extend the Activity loop to&nbsp;<a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2022/12/01/bp-11-fetch-activities-for-or-excluding-a-group-of-users/">include or exclude a list of users</a>.</li>



<li>Advanced users or developers can now build custom xProfile loops&nbsp;<a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2022/12/06/bp-11-bp_has_profile-now-accepts-an-array-of-profile-group-ids/">including a specific set of profile field groups</a>.</li>
</ul>



<p>Please note BuddyPress 11.0.0&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2022/07/12/wordpress-required-version-update-4/">will require at least WordPress 5.7</a></strong> &amp; take a few minutes to discover all changes reading this <a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/releases/version-11-0-0/">release note</a>.</p>



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



<h2>11.0.0 also marks the beginning of a transitional year for BuddyPress: get ready for great features and changes.</h2>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<img width="1024" height="285" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2023/01/hello-bp-addons-1024x285.png" alt="" class="wp-image-327887" /></div>


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



<p>In 10.0.0, we’ve introduced a&nbsp;new area in the Plugin Administration screen&nbsp;to easily find BuddyPress Add-ons maintained by the BuddyPress Core Team. Check this list often as we will soon publish the following add-ons:</p>



<ul>
<li>&#8220;THE&#8221; long-awaited feature: Community Media Attachments.</li>



<li>A revolutionary Block-based Activity Post Form to standardize the way to extend activity updates with richer &amp; more engaging content.</li>
</ul>



<div class="is-layout-flex wp-container-12 wp-block-columns">
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<div class="is-layout-flow wp-block-column">
<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/bp-rewrites/">BP Rewrites</a></blockquote>
</div>
</div>



<div class="is-layout-flow wp-block-column"></div>
</div>



<p>An example about this new way to keep moving forward is the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/bp-rewrites/">BP Rewrites</a>&nbsp;Add-on. You can already test this breaking change, which uses the WordPress way to parse URLs (thanks to the WP Rewrites API), and report issues to us or to the third-party plugin authors. Once BP Rewrites are merged into BuddyPress 12.0.0 (our next major release), we’ll make sure to build a backward-compatibility add-on so that you can still use plugins that do not work with &#8220;BP Rewrites&#8221;.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<img width="1024" height="521" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2023/01/bp-rewrites-visibility-1024x521.png" alt="" class="wp-image-327895" /><strong>BP Rewrites </strong>now brings a community visibility option to BuddyPress</div>


<p>By the way, the latest version of BP Rewrites also includes a feature to restrict the community area to your site members only.</p>



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



<h2>Many thanks to 11.0.0 contributors&nbsp;<span class="dashicons dashicons-heart"></span></h2>



<p><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/oztaser/">Adil Öztaşer (oztaser)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/alexmangini/">Alex Mangini (alexmangini)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/baasui/">baasui</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bouncingsprout/">Ben Roberts (bouncingsprout)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/boonebgorges/">Boone B Gorges (boonebgorges)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sbrajesh/">Brajesh Singh (sbrajesh)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dancaragea/">Dan Caragea (dancaragea)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dcavins/">David Cavins (dcavins)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/devutpol/">Deb Nath Utpol (devutpol)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/fawp/">fawp</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/fernandot/">Fernando Tellado (fernandot)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hnla/">Hugo Ashmore (hnla)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nobnob/">Javier Esteban (nobnob)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/johnjamesjacoby/">John James Jacoby (johnjamesjacoby)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jtymann/">jtymann</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rudlinkon/">Linkon Miyan (rudlinkon)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/martinutopia/">martinutopia</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/imath/">Mathieu Viet (imath)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nickchomey/">Nick (nickchomey)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/niftythree/">Nifty (niftythree)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/DJPaul/">Paul Gibbs (DJPaul)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nekojonez/">Pieterjan Deneys (nekojonez)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/r-a-y/">r-a-y</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rafiahmedd/">Rafi Ahmed (rafiahmedd)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://github.com/ranfen/">ranfen</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/espellcaste/">Renato Alves (espellcaste)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/robinwpdeveloper/">Robin (robinwpdeveloper)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/shawfactor/">shawfactor</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/slaffik/">Slava Abakumov (slaffik)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sjregan/">sjregan</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tahmidulkarim/">Tahmid ul Karim (tahmidulkarim)</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/teeboy4real/">teeboy4real</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/thomaslhotta/">thomaslhotta</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/username_/">username_</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/venutius/">Venutius</a>.</p>



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<div class="wp-block-cover"><span class="wp-block-cover__background has-background-dim"></span><img width="2000" height="1247" class="wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-327909" alt="" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2023/01/la-scala-van.jpg" /><div class="wp-block-cover__inner-container">
<p class="has-text-align-right has-large-font-size">Welcome to &#8220;La Scala&#8221;</p>



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



<div class="is-layout-flex wp-container-15 wp-block-columns">
<div class="is-layout-flow wp-block-column"></div>



<div class="is-layout-flow wp-block-column">
<p class="has-small-font-size"><em>As soon as you enter the pasta and pizza restaurant, you are transported to Italy a few years ago. On your right, hung on the wall, in the middle of drawings of hearts and the inscriptions &#8220;Ti amo&#8221; (I love you in Italian), an old coin-operated telephone creates a retro atmosphere. Further on, you come face to face with a rustic van that survived the 70s and which secretly houses the oven and the pizza workshop! &#8220;La Scala&#8221; (stairs in Italian) certainly owes its name to the two magnificent spiral staircases that allow guests to climb to the upper level. On the ceiling, an old map allows you to familiarize yourself with the names of the most important cities in Italy, while your pizza is cooking. When it arrives, it&#8217;s an explosion of authentic flavors and if you have the good idea to have chosen the &#8220;capricciosa&#8221;, the spicy Italian sausages will delight your taste buds.</em></p>



<p>Yum, good treat!</p>
</div>
</div>
</div></div>



<p class="has-text-align-right"><em>&#8220;La Scala&#8221; is located in Issy-Les-Moulineaux, a french city of the Paris suburbs.</em></p>



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



<h2 id="your-feedback"><span class="dashicons dashicons-format-chat"></span>  Your feedback</h2>



<p>Receiving your feedback and suggestions for future versions of BuddyPress genuinely motivates and encourages our contributors. Please&nbsp;<a href="https://buddypress.org/support/">share it</a>&nbsp;<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f64f.png" alt="🙏" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<p>Thanks a lot for using BuddyPress <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f60d.png" alt="😍" class="wp-smiley" /></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 05 Jan 2023 22:18:01 +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: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: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:35:"Do The Woo Community: A 2023 Update";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=74218";s:7:"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:32:"https://dothewoo.io/2023-update/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:357:"<p>In 2022, the show released 115 episodes featuring 112 guests, discussing a wide range of topics related to WooCommerce and e-commerce. </p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io/2023-update/">A 2023 Update</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce Builder Community</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, 05 Jan 2023 10:10:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:63:"WPTavern: New CF7 Blocks Plugin Brings Blocks to Contact Form 7";s:7:"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=140765";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:74:"https://wptavern.com/new-cf7-blocks-plugin-brings-blocks-to-contact-form-7";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3006:"<p>WordPress developer Munir Kamal has released a new plugin called <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/cf7-blocks/">CF7 Blocks</a> that does exactly what it says in the name. It brings blocks to one of WordPress&#8217; most beloved plugins, which has kept the same familiar interface and has not yet adopted the block editor.</p>



<p>The <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/contact-form-7/">Contact Form 7</a> plugin was created by WordPress developer <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/takayukister/">Takayuki Miyoshi</a>, who has devotedly kept it updated for the past 15 years. His stalwart commitment to <a href="https://ideasilo.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/free-plugin-declaration/">keeping it free forever</a> is one of the reasons it has grown to more than 5 million active installs. The developer community has built hundreds of <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/search/cf7/">integrations and extensions for CF7</a> because users found it easy to build forms with its simple interface. </p>



<img />Contact Form 7 interface



<p>CF7 users currently edit forms in the plugin&#8217;s dedicated interface. The plugin also includes a block, so users can return to the block editor and select a form to embed.</p>



<p>The new CF7 Blocks plugin makes it possible to edit CF7 forms using WordPress&#8217; default editor, instead of having to mess with shortcodes and HTML. It still has its own dedicated Contact form editing page, except with the ability to customize fields as blocks. New forms will use the block interface and old ones can still be edited using CF7&#8217;s default HTML editor.</p>



<p>CF7 Blocks offers a more intuitive experience with pre-made form templates that will automatically insert the necessary blocks so users don&#8217;t have to start from scratch.</p>



<img />



<p>In the block settings, users can easily customize the text of the labels, enter a value for placeholders, toggle the label on or off, mark fields as required, customize dimensions, and more. Fields can easily be dragged and dropped for re-ordering, a feature that is especially useful with lengthier, more complex forms.</p>



<p>One handy feature is that form fields can easily be transformed into other fields with the click of a button, making it easy to customize a form when the pre-set templates aren&#8217;t exactly what is needed.</p>



<img />



<p>In the same tradition of Contact Form 7, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/cf7-blocks/">CF7 Blocks</a> is available for free in the WordPress plugin directory. The plugin also has its own <a href="https://cf7blocks.com/">website</a> where users can <a href="https://cf7blocks.substack.com/">subscribe</a> to get updates and find out what&#8217;s coming soon. Kamal said users can expect more fields to be added to the plugin in future releases beyond the standard fields that come with Contact Form 7. Design options for visually styling and customizing forms are another feature on the roadmap for CF7 Blocks.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 05 Jan 2023 02:54:21 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i: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:101:"WPTavern: Linux Backdoor Malware Targets WordPress Sites with Outdated, Vulnerable Themes and Plugins";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=140716";s:7:"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:111:"https://wptavern.com/linux-backdoor-malware-targets-wordpress-sites-with-outdated-vulnerable-themes-and-plugins";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3075:"<p>Security researchers at Doctor Web, a security company focused on threat detection and prevention, have <a href="https://news.drweb.com/show/?i=14646&lng=en&c=23">discovered a malicious Linux program that targets WordPress sites</a> running outdated and vulnerable plugins and themes. </p>



<p>The malware targets 32-bit versions of Linux, but it is also capable of running on 64-bit versions. It exploits 30 theme and plugin vulnerabilities to inject malicious JavaScript into websites, redirecting visitors to the attacker&#8217;s selected website.</p>



<p>The report states that Doctor Webs&#8217; analysis of the application revealed that <strong>&#8220;it could be the malicious tool that cybercriminals have been using for more than three years to carry out such attacks and monetize the resale of traffic, or arbitrage.&#8221;</strong> During this time, the tool has been updated to target more exploitable vulnerabilities.</p>



<p>There are two versions of the malware &#8211; <a href="https://vms.drweb.com/search/?q=Linux.BackDoor.WordPressExploit.1&lng=en">Linux.BackDoor.WordPressExploit.1</a> and <a href="https://vms.drweb.com/search/?q=Linux.BackDoor.WordPressExploit.2&lng=en">Linux.BackDoor.WordPressExploit.2</a>. Version 1 seeks to exploit vulnerabilities in popular plugins like WP GDPR Compliance,  Easysmtp, WP Live Chat, and a dozen other free and commercial extensions. A few of these have been known to have frequent vulnerabilities and one was <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/yuzo-related-post/">closed due to guideline violations</a> but may still be active on some sites.</p>



<p>An updated Version 2 has a different server address for distributing the malicious JavaScript and an additional list of exploited vulnerabilities for a few more widely used plugins, including FV Flowplayer Video Player, Brizy Page Builder, WooCommerce, and more.</p>



<p>Doctor Web&#8217;s report also speculates that attackers may have engineered a long game plan that will give them administrative access even after users update to newer (patched) versions of the compromised plugins: </p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>Both trojan variants have been found to contain unimplemented functionality for hacking the administrator accounts of targeted websites through a brute-force attack—by applying known logins and passwords, using special vocabularies. It is possible that this functionality was present in earlier modifications, or, conversely, that attackers plan to use it for future versions of this malware. If such an option is implemented in newer versions of the backdoor, cybercriminals will even be able to successfully attack some of those websites that use current plugin versions with patched vulnerabilities.</p>
</blockquote>



<p>Doctor Web published a document with <a href="https://github.com/DoctorWebLtd/malware-iocs/tree/master/Linux.Backdoor.WordPressExploit.1">indicators of compromise</a>, detailing hashes, IPs, and domains that the Linux backdoor malware has been using to infect WordPress websites. </p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 04 Jan 2023 22:14:53 +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:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:41;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
