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-- ------------------------------------------------------
-- Date: Thu, 27 Oct 2022 19:44:01 +0000


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They used the public <a href=\"https://developer.chrome.com/docs/crux/\">Chrome UX Report</a> (CrUX) dataset for the report, which collects data from <a href=\"https://developer.chrome.com/docs/crux/methodology/#eligibility\">eligible websites</a> &#8211; publicly discoverable sites with an undisclosed minimum number of visitors.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of the data concerns the performance of the web as a whole over time, but the 2022 Web Almanac highlighted one specific concern regarding WordPress sites&#8217; use of lazy-loading and its impact on LCP performance. Google defines <a href=\"https://web.dev/lcp/\">Largest Contentful Paint metric (LCP)</a> metrics as “the render time of the largest <a href=\"https://web.dev/lcp/#what-elements-are-considered\">image or text block</a> visible within the viewport, relative to when the page <a href=\"https://w3c.github.io/hr-time/#timeorigin-attribute\">first started loading</a>.”</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>Lazy-loading is a good thing when used correctly, but these stats strongly suggest that there’s a major opportunity to improve performance by removing this functionality from LCP images in particular.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress was one of the pioneers of native lazy-loading adoption, and between versions 5.5 and 5.9, it didn’t actually omit the attribute from LCP candidates. So let’s explore the extent to which WordPress is still contributing to this anti-pattern.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the <a href=\"https://almanac.httparchive.org/en/2022/cms\">CMS</a> chapter, <a href=\"https://almanac.httparchive.org/en/2022/cms#most-popular-cmss\">WordPress is used by 35% of pages</a>. So it’s surprising to see that 72% of pages that use native lazy-loading on their LCP image are using WordPress, given that a fix has been available since January 2022 in version 5.9. One theory that needs more investigation is that plugins may be circumventing the safeguards built into WordPress core by injecting LCP images onto the page with the lazy-loading behavior.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, a disproportionately high percentage of pages that use custom lazy-loading are built with WordPress at 54%. This hints at a wider issue in the WordPress ecosystem about lazy-loading overuse. Rather than being a fixable bug localized to WordPress core, there may be hundreds or thousands of separate themes and plugins contributing to this anti-pattern.</p>\n<cite><a href=\"https://almanac.httparchive.org/en/2022/performance\">2022 Web Almanac &#8211; Chapter 12: Performance</a></cite></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Prior to WordPress 5.9, WordPress’ default of lazy loading implementation was causing slower LCP performance, because it had been applied too aggressively and was lazy-loading images above the fold. In 5.9, <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-9-to-fix-lazy-loading-performance-regression-resulting-in-30-faster-page-loads-in-some-cases\">WordPress shipped a fix</a> that more eagerly loads images within the initial viewport while lazy-loading the rest. That&#8217;s why results that show WordPress sites overusing lazy-loading are surprising.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Admittedly, &#8216;lazy-overloading&#8217; a hard problem to solve,&#8221; Viscomi said in his <a href=\"https://twitter.com/rick_viscomi/status/1585248419701874688\">Twitter thread analysis</a>. &#8220;We don&#8217;t always know whether an image will be the LCP.  WordPress core sets it on every image by default and uses heuristics to unset it. Nearly 3/4 of pages that natively lazy-load images are on WordPress.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2020, Viscomi remarked on how quickly the adoption of native image lazy-loading shot up after WordPress 5.5 was released in August of that year with  images lazy-loaded by default. WordPress has been driving adoption of this feature, which is why any implementation &#8220;anti-pattern,&#8221; as Viscomi characterized it, has an outsized effect on the performance of the web.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As of October, 10.6% of the web is using native image lazy loading, per <a href=\"https://twitter.com/HTTPArchive?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@HTTPArchive</a>. That number was 1.5% in July! <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f92f.png\" alt=\"🤯\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /><br /><br />This appears to be _entirely_ driven by WordPress at 28.9% of WP pages, which makes up one third of the web.<a href=\"https://t.co/QYGyyctFgc\">https://t.co/QYGyyctFgc</a><br /><br />left: all web<br />right: WP <a href=\"https://t.co/RQnDw4UZ56\">pic.twitter.com/RQnDw4UZ56</a></p>&mdash; Rick Viscomi (@rick_viscomi) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/rick_viscomi/status/1344380340153016321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 30, 2020</a></blockquote>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;What gives, WordPress?&#8221; Viscomi said. &#8220;My theory is that it&#8217;s not the core heuristics that are wrong, it&#8217;s the plugins. Also, keep in mind that the majority of pages that even use lazy-loading are WP.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;To support the plugin theory, let&#8217;s look at custom lazy-loading of LCP: More than half of the pages that do it are built with WordPress. WordPress is &#8216;only&#8217; a third of the web, so there&#8217;s clearly something going on with JS-based lazy-overloading in WP.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>On WordPress.org there are <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/plugins/search/lazy+loading/\">multiple pages</a> of performance, caching, and image and video optimization plugins that are using lazy-loading in some way. Plugin and theme developers who are using lazy-loading in their extensions may want to test their implementations to see if they are having a negative impact on LCP performance.</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, 27 Oct 2022 03:04:22 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:2;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:106:\"WPTavern: #48 – Christina Deemer on Making Digital Content Usable for People With Cognitive Disabilities\";s:7:\"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=138814\";s:7:\"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:120:\"https://wptavern.com/podcast/48-christina-deemer-on-making-digital-content-usable-for-people-with-cognitive-disabilities\";s: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:42987:\"Transcript<div>\n<p>Christina Deemer</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:00:00] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Welcome to the Jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jukebox is a a podcast which is dedicated to all things WordPress. The people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case making digital content usable for people with cognitive disabilities.</p>\n\n\n\n<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.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have a topic that you&#8217;d like us to feature on the show, I&#8217;m keen to hear from you and hopefully get you all your idea featured soon. Head over to WPTavern.com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox, and use the form there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, on the podcast today, we have Christina Deemer. Christina is a senior UX developer at Lede, a company of the Alley Group, where she champions accessibility and headless WordPress in her work with publishers and nonprofits. She&#8217;s passionate about inclusivity and community and has spoken at a variety of events about the subject.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christina is autistic and brings her personal experience with neurodivergence and disability to bear in her work.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the recent WordCamp US, Christina gave a presentation called &#8220;embracing minds of all kinds, making digital content usable for people with cognitive disabilities&#8221;. And it&#8217;s this talk, which is the foundation of the podcast today.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In her description of the presentation, Christina wrote, &#8220;cognitive disabilities are among the most prevalent types of disabilities, yet experts have struggled to provide web accessibility best practices around this area due to cognitive disabilities being such a broad category. However recent work by standards groups has begun to address this deficiency&#8221;.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In past episodes, we&#8217;ve covered website accessibility from some different angles, and today we focus on how the web might be experienced by people with cognitive disabilities.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, Christina talks about what the term cognitive disabilities actually means, and what it encompasses. It&#8217;s a wide range of things, and so we talk about how people may differ in the way that they access the web. Memory, over complicated interfaces and readability are a few of the areas that we touch upon.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We also discuss what legislation there is in place to offer guidance to those wishing to make their sites more accessible, and as you&#8217;ll hear, it&#8217;s a changing landscape.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Towards the end, Christina talks about her own late diagnosis of autism and how this shapes her experience of the web, particularly with auto-play content and when web design includes elements which flash or flicker.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically when we record the podcast there&#8217;s not a lot of background noise, but that&#8217;s not always the case. This is the last of the live recordings from WordCamp US 2022, and you may notice that the recordings have a little echo or other strange audio artifacts. Whilst the podcasts are more than listenable, I do hope that you understand that the vagaries of the real world were at play.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re interested in finding out more, you can find all of the links and the show notes by heading over to WPTavern.com forward slash podcast, where you&#8217;ll find all of the other episodes as well.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so, without further I bring you Christina Deemer.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am joined on the podcast today by Christina Deemer. Hello.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:14] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Hello Nathan.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:16] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> It&#8217;s very nice to have you on. We are at WordCamp US 2022. We&#8217;re upstairs in the media room, and we&#8217;ve got Christina on the show today because she did a presentation. Have you actually done the presentation yet?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:27] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Yes, I did it yesterday morning. I was lucky in that I got to get it over with early and then enjoy the rest of the conference.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:34] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> How did it go?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:35] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> It went really well. It was a lot of fun. I had a really great audience.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:39] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> That&#8217;s nice to hear. That&#8217;s good. The subject, I&#8217;m just gonna give everybody the title. That&#8217;s probably a quick way to introduce what we&#8217;re gonna talk about. The subject title was embracing minds of all kinds, making digital content usable for people with cognitive disabilities. So we&#8217;ll dive into that in a moment. Just before then, though, just paint a little bit of a picture about who you are and how come it is that you&#8217;re speaking at a WordPress conference particularly about this topic.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:05:04] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Okay. I am a career changer. I spent the first 12 years or so of my career working in arts management. Then I decided I wanted to do something very different, and I became a developer. And one of my early mentors introduced me to WordPress. So, the first projects that I worked on were WordPress sites. I wrote my first WordPress theme when I was 35, and just really enjoyed getting involved in the WordPress community.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And from the beginning of my career, I&#8217;ve been very interested in accessibility for a wide variety of reasons. And it&#8217;s become a passion of mine. I really enjoy sharing knowledge about accessibility with people. I enjoy hearing people&#8217;s stories about accessibility. And recently there&#8217;s been a lot of work done on the standards around cognitive accessibility or accessibility for people with cognitive disabilities, and that work has been really fascinating and I&#8217;ve wanted to share it with people. And that was how, the reason that I pitched this talk for WordCamp US.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:06:13] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Thank you. That&#8217;s great. The words cognitive disabilities, it probably makes a great deal of sense to you because you&#8217;ve parsed and you&#8217;ve said it many times. You fully understand it. Would you just run over a brief definition of what it encompasses? And I&#8217;m sure it&#8217;s not just one thing, maybe it&#8217;s a multitude of things.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:06:28] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> So it&#8217;s a very nebulous term, and it acts as a sort of umbrella for neurological disorders as well as behavioral and mental health disorders that may or may not be neurological. It covers a wide variety of things from autism, ADHD, aphasia, dementia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, tourette syndrome, traumatic brain injury.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It covers a real wide variety of things, which is one of the reasons actually why it&#8217;s taken so long to develop some standards around how to make websites more accessible to people with those diagnoses. But just to take a little further step back with things. When I talk about this I really try to make a point to not focus on some of these sort of diagnostic labels, but to rather focus on underlying cognitive skills.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because a lot of people with cognitive disabilities don&#8217;t even realize they have a disability, for a number of reasons. There are a lot of systemic barriers to getting a diagnosis, and a lot of things come into play there. But really what we&#8217;re talking about is some underlying cognitive skills, like memory issues, focus issues, ability to concentrate, reading, math and language comprehension, decision making, executive function, which has to do with the processes involved in following instructions and planning things and processing a bunch of things at once.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, when I talk about cognitive accessibility, I really like to focus less on those diagnostic labels and more on the underlying cognitive skills that are involved.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:08:13] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So from that, I take it that cognitive disabilities, as you described it, was a long list. There was a really large amount of things that you&#8217;re covering here, which is really interesting. So let&#8217;s unpack that a little bit. Just before we clicked record, I mentioned that we may get into the weeds of what it is like for people who have some of these things. And maybe we could cherry pick some examples.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>What I&#8217;m intending to do here is for you to paint a picture of what the web looks like for some of these different things. So in my case, when I approach the computer and open it up and get it started, I can see the screen, I can hear the video when it&#8217;s played. I just don&#8217;t really have a window into what that might look like. So if you have a moment to just broadly paint a picture of what some of these things feel like and look like.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:09:01] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Sure, and even people who are somewhat familiar with general accessibility and maybe more accustomed to thinking about what the web is like for people who use screen readers. So they think about, they&#8217;ve maybe done some testing and they know how things are read. They think about reading order, and how a screen reader works. And when they&#8217;re thinking about making sites accessible for people who are deaf, they are thinking about making sure that there are captions on videos.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So when we&#8217;re thinking about cognitive accessibility, we&#8217;re thinking about some other issues. So in my talk yesterday, I had a couple of examples of sites that are pages that had weak cognitive accessibility. And one of them was a desktop screen of an interface of eBay, like buying a shirt on eBay. And in the middle of the page, there were four calls to action, with three different designs. So it wasn&#8217;t clear what the user was supposed to push. There was no clear call to action. There was very little white space on the page.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So this isn&#8217;t great for users with cognitive disability. Somebody who has an issue with focus is not going to know really where to look on the page. Could get distracted by all of the various details. All of the sidebars on the left, little small text below an image. People who struggle with decision making haven&#8217;t helped them with those four CTAs in the middle of the page.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anybody with memory issues, it&#8217;s not going to be clear, like, if they bought something on eBay previously. They won&#8217;t remember what they did last time because it&#8217;s a little confusing. So a lot of users may abandon their task on a page like that. So that&#8217;s an example of a page that maybe has complex or overwhelming interface.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And another barrier that users face is if a site has very complex text or unusual words. So I mention Wikipedia page on the planet Saturn, that included words like perihelion, and a word like eccentricity, but people may not be accustomed to understanding what Saturn&#8217;s eccentricity is. Like, what does that even mean?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, readability is often analyzed through a, a system called the Flesh Reading E Score. And I went to a website that measures the readability of, particularly of, Wikipedia pages. And it indicated that this page had a reading level of 10 to 12th grade. So it was very, very difficult to read. And for most adults we say that the reading level of content should be at about a seventh or eighth grade level. So if you want to make your content accessible for people who have reading or language comprehension issues, you&#8217;re going to want to go with even simpler content. A readability of about sixth grade or less. So those are of a couple of examples of some barriers that users with cognitive disabilities face on the web.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:11:57] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So the accessibility piece, the bit that you mentioned earlier, about potentially some of the WCAG guidelines and things like that. That now is being drawn into the domain of, it&#8217;s illegal if you don&#8217;t perform some of these things. Is there anything surrounding that with the cognitive disability side. Is there any mandated things that you must do?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:12:17] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Okay, so that&#8217;s where things are evolving, a lot and some really interesting things are happening. In WCAG 2.1, there&#8217;s already a couple of things, a couple of success criteria that address cognitive accessibility. Things around space around text, stuff like that. Auto filling in or making it possible to auto complete form fields. Those things are great for people with language or reading comprehension issues, people who have issues with focus.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In April, 2021, the W3C came out with a working group note on guidelines for making content more usable for people with cognitive disabilities. And this was a non-normative document, which meant that it was supplementary to WCAG and you don&#8217;t need to conform, follow these guidelines in order to meet WCAG compliance. So they came out with all of these really great framework, with eight objectives, dozens of design patterns, and none of that is necessary to comply with WCAG. So, yeah, that was April 2021.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So now we&#8217;re in September 2022. We now have WCAG 2.2 is in candidate recommendation, I think. And there are two new success criteria that feel like they&#8217;ve come directly out of that working group note. One is on accessible authentication, which is where you need to supply at least one method for logging in that doesn&#8217;t rely on cognitive skills. So you need to have at least one option where somebody doesn&#8217;t have to, by memory, type in their password. They can use a password manager or there&#8217;s an option for magic links, QR codes, single sign on, something like that. So that&#8217;s a new one.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And there&#8217;s also a new success criteria on consistent help. Oftentimes the quickest way for somebody to solve a challenge online is to get help from a real person that can support users. And it&#8217;s important that this information on like how to get help from a real person isn&#8217;t hidden. You don&#8217;t have to scroll and click through a bunch of non obvious links to find out how to get help from a real person. That information is accessible in the same place on consistent pages. And that&#8217;s just even having an email address for help, or a number to get help via text, or social, or a chatbot or something that&#8217;s not a chat, that&#8217;s a real person or something. Just making it possible for somebody to get help from a real person</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So we&#8217;re seeing some of these things that were in that working group note come into the standard, which is very exciting. And part of the reason there were all of these design patterns in the working group note in the April, 2021 working group note, that are not included in the standard, in 2.2. And I think that&#8217;s for a variety of reasons. Like one of them is that so much of it is it&#8217;s hard to figure out a way to test it. To like design it so that you can have some sort of measurable test of yes, you are conforming with this or you aren&#8217;t.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of it, with cognitive disabilities is very contextual and subjective, and it depends on your product and it depends on so many different things that they haven&#8217;t figured out a way to create testable success criteria yet. But it&#8217;s exciting to me that we at . Least have these two new success criteria.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:15:43] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Is one of the things that makes this difficult to pin down, is it because unlike, let&#8217;s take the example of somebody who is blind, it&#8217;s binary in that case. I don&#8217;t mean you, your heart of sight, I mean you are literally blind. You know what to do with that because the outcome is obvious. You can&#8217;t see the screen. So there&#8217;s remedies for that, and you can create those remedies with screen readers and so on. But it sounds like the description of cognitive disabilities, there&#8217;s such a broad spectrum. It&#8217;s hard to pin it down, so it&#8217;s hard to create the solution because each person may be slightly different.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:16:15] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Absolutely. And there&#8217;s a saying in the autism community that when you&#8217;ve met one autistic person, you&#8217;ve met one autistic person. So a lot of times with these things, you can have an interface that works for one person who has a lot of trouble with memory, may not work for another person. Or even that same person when they&#8217;re having a good day versus having a bad day.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, it is very hard to pin down. It comes down then not to an argument about we have to do this to legally comply with the standard, to not get into trouble. It comes down to, you have to do this or you should do this because you want to do the right thing for your users. And sometimes, I talk about this in my talk, that there can be sometimes tension between like business goals and accessibility goals or something like that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And there are a lot of ways to find the like win . Win. You know we&#8217;re improving things for users, for disabled users also improves things for your business goals. But you really have to get out of more of a checklist, we&#8217;re doing this because it&#8217;s legal, because we need to legally comply with the standard, to like having a more accessibility mindset about it all.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:24] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, that makes sense. I don&#8217;t know if you&#8217;re American, but we&#8217;re in America. I&#8217;m from the UK. So, completely different sides of the world really. And obviously you take in every other country on the planet, there&#8217;s gonna be a different complexion there. Is there broad consensus of how important it is across the world? Or is it very much a case that America&#8217;s doing one thing and the UK is doing another, and Australia and all the other countries that we could mention.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:47] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> I can speak more about that in terms of accessibility in general. So there are different laws in different places, which sounds like a really obvious thing when I say it that way. But what&#8217;s really great about WCAG is that it is a sort of internationally recognized standard, and a lot of countries use WCAG as a standard, and they&#8217;ll refer to it because it is kept up to date, because it is all testable.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So there are like slightly different laws in different places, but a lot of places do fall back to WCAG, usually the double A standard. Depends on the places and everything, but a lot of times a law may apply only to like government websites, or sites that serve the public interest or something like that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I think there&#8217;s still a lot of debate around whether or not websites fall under the Americans with Disability Act. There&#8217;s still some argument about that. I mentored a developer out of the UK on accessibility at the end of 2021, in the beginning of 2022, and we talked a little bit about some of the laws there and they&#8217;re, yeah, slightly different than they are in America, but everything falls back to WCAG.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:19:00] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Okay. Thank you. You mentioned in the notes that we exchanged prior to recording this, that there are some, some ways that you can make this job easier for yourself. And you talk particularly about some design patterns that you feel will be able to assist people who, perhaps having listened to this podcast, think, okay, this is something I need to be mindful of. Just run us through what these design patterns are. That may take a long time, I don&#8217;t know. You might have a quick version or it may be a long version. I don&#8217;t know.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:19:25] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Yeah, in the April 2021 working group note, it mentions dozens of different design patterns. And um, I really encourage people to check that out. Of course, read this spec and look at the working group node and understand all of the different things. But a couple of sort of top things for me are making your content as clear as possible. And a lot of times people think of content as post content.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But content is everything that&#8217;s on your site. So it includes button text, it includes how the content in a menu, it includes instructions, it includes headings, and it&#8217;s important that all of that is as clear as possible. So if you have multiple CTAs on a page, if you have a CTA for subscribing, what does subscribing mean? What are you subscribing to? Versus registering for a newsletter. You need to make sure that the CTA for registering for the newsletter, versus subscribing to a publication, that they have a separate CTA. That it&#8217;s clear that you&#8217;re doing two different actions here.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And we talked about readability a minute ago, making sure that you&#8217;re using short sentences with simple common words. That is helpful. And that you&#8217;re using punctuation intentionally, which sounds like a small thing but using punctuation intentionally, like a period when you mean to use a period and using commas. That&#8217;s helpful for, clear content is important for SEO as well. And it helps with users who use screen readers, which includes people with cognitive disabilities who are more comfortable hearing the text, the content, than reading it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And while a blind person who does not have a cognitive disability may be able to work out the meaning of something that&#8217;s not formatted correctly. Somebody who has communication issues may not be able to work out what the meaning of the content is, if it&#8217;s not formatted correctly. So the clear content is one. Using clear step by step instructions for something is important. A lot of times we give users feedback only when they&#8217;re making a mistake.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it&#8217;s important to give them a little help before they&#8217;ve made a mistake in a form. Give them an example of how you want a telephone number formatted. Or like where they can find if a username is actually a user&#8217;s email address, make that clear to the user before they&#8217;ve tried to submit the form and they&#8217;ve made a mistake. Those little bits of instructions sometimes can seem unnecessary or they&#8217;re cluttering up the site. If you feel like they&#8217;re cluttering up the site, you can hide the instructions round like a little eye icon or something like that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the things that I think is particularly important is not making the user have to remember. If a user wants to upgrade their subscription or change their service plan. They should know what their current plan is, how much it costs, when it is set to expire. They shouldn&#8217;t have to remember that when they&#8217;re being asked to upgrade to another plan. So that&#8217;s another one.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And you see that with a number of cases where, you are asked to upgrade and you&#8217;re like what plan am I even on right now? Am I on a particularly high plan? How much money am I, how much extra am I spending to upgrade my plan? And it can be confusing to users. So like, just give them everything that they need on every single screen. That&#8217;s a lot better for them.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So those are some more concrete things. And then there are some more sort of conceptual design patterns around things like making sure that a user&#8217;s most important tasks are featured prominently on a site. What are a user&#8217;s most important tasks? Do you even know what a user&#8217;s most important tasks are on your site?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The example I give in my talk is that, you know if you have a library and the team thinks that the most important thing is getting users to sign up for an event, and it takes two clicks for the users to sign up for the event at the library. But, if you look at the usage data, or focus groups, or user testing, like a user&#8217;s most important tasks may be figuring out what the library hours are. Signing up for a library card. But maybe to do that you have to click on a bunch of different links and maybe even have to search or something to find out what the library hours are.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So you may have to sort of reconcile what the user&#8217;s most important tasks are versus what the team considers the most important. But that&#8217;s only possible when you actually know what your users want to do.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:23:56] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> It feels like there&#8217;s a whole subset, and I&#8217;m, I&#8217;m not saying that this is the norm, but I think there&#8217;s a subset of people out there who quite deliberately go out of their way to make things as confusing as possible. So an example that just comes to mind recently is I purchased a flight, and the process of completing the flight purchase was extraordinarily challenging. In that I couldn&#8217;t get to the end of it without declining hundreds of different things. I simply wanted a flight, but then came the insurance and the, do you want the hotel at the other end? And do you want the car and all of this? I was just completely overloaded by the whole thing. Getting really frustrated.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:24:37] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Yes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:24:38] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> And I thought, but this is intentional. This has been designed to, in a sense, trip me up. Because the button that I wanted to press, which was continue.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:24:47] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Yes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:24:48] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Was masked, and the button which was going to sell me the insurance was large and colorful and obvious. And I feel that there&#8217;s a sort of subset of the internet where they&#8217;re trying to do exactly the opposite of what you&#8217;re describing, because, maybe it&#8217;s profit, maybe that&#8217;s all it is. It&#8217;s as simple as that. So that must be frustrating, shall we say.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:25:05] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Yes, a design pattern, an accessible design pattern, is to make critical paths as short as possible. Anything that can be optional, buying the insurance, upgrading your seat, should be something that happens after you&#8217;ve completed the initial purchase. Because it&#8217;s so easy for users to get distracted. It&#8217;s so easy for users to get confused about what button to push. And again there&#8217;s that tension between accessibility needs and business needs. And I really wonder like, I would want to look at the data. Is this really effective for them?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do they know? Would it be more effective for users if they were allowed to choose whether or not to buy the insurance or upgrade their seat, after they&#8217;ve completed their purchase and feel good about that, and then have the option to like do all of these other things. And then you know that the user isn&#8217;t going to, is less likely to abandon their task, and then they haven&#8217;t even purchased the ticket.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:26:00] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I feel also that the language often is deliberately obfuscating what it is that is intended. So you know you get like double negatives, and if you do not wish to achieve such a thing, tick this box. And actually just have to spend a moment thinking about it. Hang on, what does that even mean? Do I want to tick that box or not? And give it a moment&#8217;s thought and it comes to you. But I guess those trip wires are just really frustrating.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:26:25] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Yeah. And imagine like a user who struggles with reading comprehension issues, managing a sentence with double negatives. Maybe it&#8217;s hard enough for them to just parse the content in the first place, let alone battle that double negative. And maybe they think they&#8217;ve done the right thing and have said that they don&#8217;t want the insurance, but then they find out that they&#8217;ve actually purchased it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then they feel exhausted. They feel embarrassed and frustrated. And maybe reluctant to say anything because they don&#8217;t want to admit that they made a mistake and didn&#8217;t understand the content. It personally makes me feel very frustrated and angry that people maybe intentionally like praying upon people who are disabled. It is, for a lot of people, it may be just a matter of okay, I&#8217;ve gotta take a moment, figure this out. What do I wanna do? And it may just be an inconvenience or a nuisance. But for some people those kinds of barriers, it really can take a toll on people.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:27:28] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, and I feel the flight example, albeit was easy to understand, it&#8217;s not an essential part of my life. But if I was acquiring something which was utterly critical, trying to access healthcare or something and wasn&#8217;t thought through, and I really need to get this form finished yesterday. Those things do matter and so putting the time in to make it as straightforward as possible. It feels like, the word that&#8217;s coming into my head here is, clarity, simplicity, those kind of things. Just keep it as straightforward and as easy to understand as possible.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:27:58] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Absolutely.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:27:59] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> You mentioned that you wanted to talk about in this podcast interview, that you have autism and how this actually impacts you. I don&#8217;t wanna lead you off in any particular direction, so I&#8217;m just gonna ask you if you want to just describe the experience.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:28:14] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Sure. So I am late diagnosed autistic person. I was diagnosed in March of 2020. So like right as the pandemic started. It was a turbulent time for me. But I also have, I have multiple family members who are autistic and the more I learned about autism, the more I found myself relating to a lot of the things that were talked about. And things like having trouble reading social cues, having some very rigid routines, getting really involved in some special interests and a number of other things, but those are some top things.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And a sort of funny thing is that people have told me, they&#8217;re like, hey, you don&#8217;t look autistic. And I&#8217;m like, what does that even mean? Does that mean that I&#8217;m not, I don&#8217;t look like the sort of stereotype for an autistic person as a young white boy who likes trains? And granted, trains are awesome, I do like trains. And I do love Star Trek, especially like the autistic coded characters like Spock and Data and Seven Of Nine. But like, autistic people look like people. There are women who are autistic, there are black people who are autistic.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I think the other thing is that I&#8217;m good at masking, and masking is where autistic people sort of adopt neurotypical traits to fit in. And that is something that a lot of people, especially people who are socialized as girls, get accustomed to doing. So like there&#8217;s that. But I am autistic. Autistic people look a bunch of different ways. I wanted to take advantage of this platform, this opportunity to address that misconception about what autistic people look like.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And earlier we were talking about my experience on the web. What that looks like and how my autism can inform that or what barriers I experience. And a couple of things came to mind, and one is that definitely like any autoplay content, like autoplay media, or auto play video auto play audio, animations that are not functional, it can feel to me like I&#8217;m intending to step into a library and I&#8217;ve, and I walk into a rave. That is how it feels. It feels very loud and bright. And that is no knock on raves, everybody likes a good rave sometimes. But you wanna give people the opportunity to like turn off the music, and turn off the flashing lights.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So a thing that I really hope people can do is, if you have some auto play thing. A, don&#8217;t auto play anything in the first place, it&#8217;s very inaccessible, but like always give users the opportunity to personalize, and turn those things off.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So the other one is like very similar in that it&#8217;s flashing and flickering content. And that can feel like looking at the sun. I can feel pain in my eyes, from flashing and flickering content. And it doesn&#8217;t have to be that super fast flash that can trigger seizures in photosensitive people. It can just be like, a little too much flash. I can feel it in my eyes and I can have even that like startled physical reaction to it. And that&#8217;s just me personally.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think there are a lot of other people who may have different responses to things on the web and, and I&#8217;m fortunate enough that I can, on my team, and this is why it&#8217;s great to have diverse teams, is like when we&#8217;re building content, when we&#8217;re building websites, I can help guide us and say, or help give that feedback about auto playing things and put my foot down and say we are not going to build this in a way that is inaccessible. We are not going to build this animation that seems cute, doesn&#8217;t have any functionality or whatever, but I know is going to like ruin somebody&#8217;s day or whatever, just because they accidentally like encountered this webpage.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:31:53] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Really fascinating. You are educating me in an area that I genuinely don&#8217;t have much contact with. So it&#8217;s really fascinating. Given everything that you&#8217;ve just said, I&#8217;m sure there&#8217;s gonna be a proportion of people who have woken up to this, during the listening of this, and thinking to themselves, okay, how do I find out more? So just for those of us who are starting on this journey, just give us some idea of where the resources might lie. Where might we go? Who might we speak to? Which organizations? So that could be online, or a book, or an organization, whatever you like.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:32:22] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> I think if you&#8217;re interested in learning more about accessibility, there are a few organizations that do a pretty good job with providing accessibility education. The first is the company Deque, they make an accessibility testing extension, but they also offer really great courses and training and have a lot of just general resources on their website. They even have a great resource library of accessible components.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>There&#8217;s Knowbility, which is spelled k n o w b i l i t y. Also has a number of great webinars and they have a conference, so a great place to go for resources. There&#8217;s a really great community on Twitter, on accessibility, Twitter. There are a number of experts there, and I&#8217;m always a big fan of if you really want to understand accessibility, you&#8217;ve gotta read the specs.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And actually, it&#8217;s ironic but when some of the April, 2021 working group note that I keep referencing, when that came out, some folks criticized it online saying, this document itself isn&#8217;t very accessible. It&#8217;s very, very extensive, very thorough, very meaty. And so they went back, God bless them, they went back and they made the document itself more accessible. They added some icons which help with scanning the document. They added some more use cases and examples, so people could better understand how these things work in real life. So it&#8217;s a lot. I think it&#8217;s actually the working group note on cognitive accessibility, I think is actually sometimes easier to parse than WCAG itself, in terms of the content.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I also want people to understand that there are probably some accessibility champions in your network. You may have somebody on your team or in your company who has a good understanding of maybe how accessibility intersects with your product or your sector. And talk to those people. I learned a lot about accessibility from the agency I work for called Alley. Shout out to Kevin and Owen, who both really mentored me and helped me really level up my accessibility knowledge. So like use the people that you have in your network. They really want to talk to you about these things. So I hope that&#8217;s helpful.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:34:34] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, that&#8217;s really helpful. But also just to know that this is an area where there are actual jobs. There are people who do this, who would like to assist you. There&#8217;s probably somebody in your local area who takes this all very seriously, and would be willing to speak to you on the phone. It&#8217;s not just, okay, I heard a podcast, I can forget about it now. There are calls to be made and people to meet who will help you with this.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:34:54] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Absolutely, and so I don&#8217;t do accessibility full time at my job. I&#8217;m a developer. So there may be accessibility champions who are developers in your organization. There may be people who are designers who work in content, who work in strategy. The awesome thing about accessibility is that it touches all areas of the product. And, there are also people, yes professionals who focus exclusively on accessibility and who can do things like perform an audit of your product.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And if you are starting from zero on this, a lot of times those people can be the best people to reach out to because they are going to give you that comprehensive look that includes content design, you know development, all strategy, like all aspects of accessibility.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:35:41] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> You mentioned that you work for . A company called Alley. I&#8217;ll link in the show notes. Your agency isn&#8217;t uniquely focusing on this area?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:35:48] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> No.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:35:49] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> It&#8217;s a web design agency?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:35:51] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Yeah. So the Alley Group is an agency that works with a lot of enterprise level publishers. And I work for a company within the Alley group called Lead, and we&#8217;re a platform for mid and small size independent publishers. But accessibility is something that the Alley group takes very seriously.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We work with a lot of very large publications. So we have to make sure that we get this right for them, and the millions of people who visit those websites. And we are hiring. If you&#8217;re interested in joining a group that takes accessibility very seriously, please visit alley.co/careers. We are always hiring software developers and have a number of other positions available.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:36:33] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> This is such an interesting subject. I feel that we could go on for hours more. But Christina Deemer, thank you so much. Is there a place where you are comfortable people connecting directly with you? It may be Twitter or email?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:36:44] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Yeah, you can find me on twitter at c a h d e e m e r. And this was so much fun. It went by so fast.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:36:52] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Thank you so much for joining us. I&#8217;m really hoping that it&#8217;s gonna have opened some people&#8217;s eyes to something, which seems to be incredibly important. Thank you.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:37:00] <strong>Christina Deemer:</strong> Thank you.</p>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<p>On the podcast today we have <a href=\"https://twitter.com/cahdeemer\">Christina Deemer</a>. Christina is a senior UX developer at <a href=\"https://joinlede.com/\">Lede</a>, a company of the <a href=\"https://alley.com/\">Alley Group</a>, where she champions accessibility and headless WordPress in her work with publishers and nonprofits. She&#8217;s passionate about inclusivity and community and has spoken at a variety of events about the subject.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christina is autistic and brings her personal experience with neurodivergence and disability to bear in her work.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the recent WordCamp US, Christina gave a <a href=\"https://us.wordcamp.org/2022/session/embracing-minds-of-all-kinds/\">presentation</a> called &#8220;embracing minds of all kinds, making digital content usable for people with cognitive disabilities&#8221;. And it&#8217;s this talk which is the foundation of the podcast today.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In her description of the presentation, Christina wrote, &#8220;cognitive disabilities are among the most prevalent types of disabilities, yet experts have struggled to provide web accessibility best practices around this area due to cognitive disabilities being such a broad category. However recent work by standards groups has begun to address this deficiency&#8221;.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In past episodes, we&#8217;ve covered website accessibility from some different angles, and today we focus on how the web might be experienced by people with cognitive disabilities.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>First, Christina talks about what the term cognitive disabilities actually means, and what it encompasses. It&#8217;s a wide range of things, and so we talk about how people may differ in the way that they access the web. Memory, over complicated interfaces and readability are a few of the areas that we touch upon.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We also discuss what legislation there is in place to offer guidance to those wishing to make their sites more accessible, and as you&#8217;ll hear, it&#8217;s a changing landscape.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Towards the end, Christina talks about her own late diagnosis of autism and how this shapes her experience of the web, particularly with auto-play content and when web design includes elements which flash or flicker.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically, when we record the podcast, there&#8217;s not a lot of background noise, but that&#8217;s not always the case. This is the last of the live recordings from WordCamp US 2022, and you may notice that the recordings have a little echo or other strange audio artifacts. Whilst the podcasts are more than listenable, I do hope that you understand that the vagaries of the real world were at play.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Useful links.</h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.deque.com/\">Deque</a></p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://knowbility.org/\">Knowbility</a></p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/\">WCAG</a></p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.w3.org/TR/coga-usable/\">W3C Working Group Note 29 April 2021</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, 26 Oct 2022 14:00:00 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:14:\"Nathan Wrigley\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:3;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:71:\"Do The Woo Community: The Flexibility of the WP-CLI Configuration Files\";s:7:\"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=73110\";s:7:\"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:86:\"https://dothewoo.io/devlife_snippet-the-flexibility-of-the-wp-cli-configuration-files/\";s: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:401:\"<p>For those special projects, you could set multiple WP-CLI config files in various places.</p>\n<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://dothewoo.io/devlife_snippet-the-flexibility-of-the-wp-cli-configuration-files/\">The Flexibility of the WP-CLI Configuration Files</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, 26 Oct 2022 10:13:00 +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:4;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:45:\"HeroPress: A Community That Transcends Labels\";s:7:\"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=4922\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:142:\"https://heropress.com/essays/a-community-that-transcends-labels/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-community-that-transcends-labels\";s: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:18134:\"<img width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/102522-min.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Pull Quote: WordPress is an incredible opportunity to build a successful business that is flexible enough to give me the lifestyle I want.\" />\nHere is Katie reading her own story aloud.\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress has changed my life in so many ways.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the story of how I discovered WordPress and used it to build a business that gives me financial freedom and a flexible lifestyle.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It’s the story of how the unique nature of the WordPress community has allowed me to achieve my dreams, without the obstacles and prejudices which are common in other industries.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It’s the story of how I haven’t achieved this “despite” being a woman founder and a mother. And how it wasn’t “because of” these things either. Instead, it was because of the incredible WordPress community which transcends these labels.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-the-beginning-building-a-career-without-a-goal\">The Beginning &#8211; Building a Career Without a Goal</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I’ve always been extremely motivated and hard working, getting top marks at school and University. However, as a child I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Everyone around me seemed to have specific ambitions to work towards. My sister wanted to be a doctor. My Mum had always wanted to be a doctor too. My Dad had always wanted to be a TV producer. And surprise surprise, they all achieved those goals.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I was different, as I had never seen a job that I wanted to do.</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote><p>It felt like there was something wrong with me.</p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Careers advisors tried to force me into a category. This was normally very basic, for example: “You’re good at writing, you should be a journalist” &#8211; regardless of the fact that I obviously didn’t have the right personality type for that.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, it didn’t really matter because I was hard working enough to do well at whatever I tried, and I didn’t feel I <em>needed</em> a specific purpose &#8211; whatever other people thought. I chose my favorite subjects to study at University (English Literature and Philosophy), focussing on the skills it would give me rather than what career it would lead to. And when I graduated in 2002, I applied for a range of jobs where I felt like I had the required skills. It took about 20 attempts, but eventually I got a job offer.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I didn’t enjoy my first job, which was being a Technical Writer for a software company. After that, I got a job as a Trainee Manager for a relatively small company &#8211; and that’s when things started to get interesting. I discovered that by being enthusiastic and showing my potential, I could mould the job around my skills rather than the other way round. I’m good at research and writing, so the company gave me responsibilities in those areas and let me take over the company newsletter, communication and marketing.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since then, every role I’ve had (including at Barn2) has evolved around my skills and experience. This makes it much more interesting, as well as more useful to the company! I realised that you don’t need a specific career goal. Instead, you can just focus on what you’re good at and where your interests lie, and everyone benefits.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-the-drive-to-do-more\">The Drive to Do More</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When I started my career, I absolutely did not have the skills or independence to start my own company. The UK education system does nothing to encourage budding entrepreneurs, or even to acknowledge entrepreneurship as a possible career option. My path had always been to go to University and then “get a job”.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, it was the early 2000’s and the world was changing. I could see the internet taking the world by storm and creating opportunities that had never existed before. I enviously watched people who were becoming successful by building innovative online businesses. I didn’t just want their success &#8211; I wanted the flexible lifestyles that they were achieving by working for themselves.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote><p>My husband Andy and I talked endlessly about how we wanted to stop working for other people and start a business together.</p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>However, neither of us were big risk-takers or “big ideas” people. As a result, we stayed in our jobs for the rest of our 20’s, feeling more and more fed up and longing for more freedom.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-discovering-wordpress-while-becoming-a-mother\">Discovering WordPress While Becoming a Mother</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Eventually, in 2009/10 we agreed for Andy to quit his job to start a web design company. The plan was for him to do the technical work, while I would do the marketing, content and SEO alongside my main job. My salary was just about enough to support both of us through the early days, so while it was the biggest risk we had ever taken, it wasn’t a huge gamble.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Andy was a Senior Software Developer, he had to teach himself web design and PHP. We chose to start a web design business because it felt like an easy market to enter, and would nicely combine his technical abilities with my business and marketing skills. We didn’t have the confidence to start a business that required large upfront investment or a higher level of risk.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>While our initial focus was designing websites for small local businesses, Andy discovered WordPress during our first project. He immediately realized that it was the best way to build any type of website. I remember being sceptical when he first told me about it because it sounded like a template-based blogging platform, but he was absolutely right! We used it for all our clients’ websites.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2011, our daughter Sophia was born.</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote><p>Surprisingly, being a mother actually helped me to build the business.</p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Andy and I had felt comfortable reducing our income to one salary, but it was much scarier for us both to quit our jobs. After all, that was the point where our finances would be completely reliant on the business.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately, becoming a mother eased this transition because my income naturally reduced during my year’s maternity leave. My parents were amazingly helpful while Sophia was a baby, giving me the opportunity to breast-feed every couple of hours while working on the business in between (and often at the same time!). It was also nice having Andy working from home, which meant that I got more help and felt less alone with the baby than if he had to go out to work.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It wasn’t easy. When Sophia was little, I always felt that she was different from other babies but when I raised my concerns, people told me not to be silly. At 6 months old, it became more obvious and she was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood epilepsy along with a lot of uncertainty for the future. I have never been so disappointed to be proved right! Sophia was given strong medication which made her very ill. Luckily the medication worked, but it was a terrifying time.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote><p>Sophia’s illness made me realise how important it is to have flexible work that can fit around your lifestyle.</p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>While Andy and I did less work during this period, we still kept moving forward with some projects. I remember discussing one client’s website in a hospital waiting room! This helped to take our mind off things, while also helping to pay the bills. I’m not sure how we would have copied if we had traditional jobs where we were expected to be in the office.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>When it was time to finish maternity leave and return to my previous job, I wanted to quit and stay with Barn2 full-time, but was still too scared to make the commitment. Fortunately, ‘fate’ made the decision for me because my employer decided to withdraw all their family-friendly policies with no notice. They refused to allow me to work part-time, while at the same time trying to downgrade my role and reduce my salary by about 40%! To make a long story short, this created the perfect opportunity to jump head first into the business, which I wouldn’t have had the confidence to do otherwise.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>After that, the web design business grew quickly. We grew a name for ourselves as one of the only UK companies specializing in WordPress, and had clients all over the world. You can read about this in more detail in my previous HeroPress essay, “<a href=\"https://heropress.com/essays/building-a-new-life/\">Building a New Life</a>”.</p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-the-switch-to-wordpress-plugins\">The Switch to WordPress Plugins</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>True to form, after a few years of building a successful client-facing web design agency, I wanted more. Client work was very demanding in terms of time and commitment, and it was difficult to take time off work. I hired freelance designers and developers to help with the workload, but was managing more projects than I could handle.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2015, Andy and I took a month off work to travel around France in a motorhome. It was the last chance to do this during term time as our daughter Sophia was about to start school. One of my freelance project managers looked after our clients and I tried to switch off for once. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out and I returned home to a lot of unhappy clients! One project completely imploded while I was away, and I remember responding to some very stressful emails by the pool at one campsite.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>As owner of a WordPress agency, I was very familiar with a range of WordPress themes and plugins. I watched the big product companies with envy, such as Gravity Forms, The Events Calendar, and others. I could see that selling WordPress products would bring even more lifestyle benefits than client work.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote><p>After spending a year trying and failing to get a theme accepted onto ThemeForest, we decided to start building plugins.</p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>We figured that plugins could be simpler and more defined than themes, and were therefore more realistic for a single developer to build. We looked around for ideas, and found them in a range of places.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our first plugin was released in March 2016 &#8211; <a href=\"https://barn2.com/wordpress-plugins/woocommerce-protected-categories/\">WooCommerce Protected Categories</a>. We had seen on the WooCommerce Ideas forum that there was demand for a plugin like this, and at that time nothing like it existed. It was relatively straightforward to develop and because it was so niche, I felt confident in how to market it. Despite this, we were still amazed to get our first sale a few days after launching. It actually felt like maybe we could build a product business after all!&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-tables-tables-and-more-tables\">Tables, Tables, and More Tables</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The second plugin was <a href=\"https://barn2.com/wordpress-plugins/posts-table-pro\">Posts Table Pro</a>, which was a more advanced version of a plugin that we had built to list a client’s blog posts in a table. We had released it as a free plugin, which was an excellent opportunity because people started sending us feature requests that we could use to build more plugins. This directly led to the development of <a href=\"https://barn2.com/wordpress-plugins/woocommerce-product-table/\">WooCommerce Product Table</a>, which has turned over more than $1,500,000 since its launch, and our current bestselling plugin <a href=\"https://barn2.com/wordpress-plugins/document-library-pro/\">Document Library Pro</a>.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>All of these plugins are similar in that they list information from the WordPress database in a searchable table with filters. However, people use them for radically different purposes and each plugin is tailored to a specific use case.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote><p>We never planned to become a table plugin company &#8211; it just happened over time, as a result of adding one free plugin to wordpress.org.</p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>I think that’s how a lot of businesses work &#8211; you try one thing, and that opens doors to more opportunities. It’s the same as my career &#8211; I tried a few things and let them evolve in their natural direction. The most important thing is that you put yourself out there and get things done.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-growing-barn2-plugins-and-moving-abroad\">Growing Barn2 Plugins, and Moving Abroad</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The plugin business has continued to grow. We’ve released more and more plugins, mostly specializing in WooCommerce. We’ve built a team, which currently consists of more than 14 people.</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote><p>Andy and I have taken advantage of the freedoms that we have built for ourselves. For example, last year we moved from the UK to the sunny island of Mallorca in Spain!</p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>I work when I realistically can, and I also take time out to do fun things like hiking in the mountains, or paddleboarding in the sea.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I try to be an active part of the WordPress community, for example attending WordCamps and building partnerships with other WordPress companies. I talk to people who run similar companies every day, and hope that I help them as much as they help me. Working together like this helps everyone to grow &#8211; the aim is to complement each other’s work rather than competing.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-being-a-woman-founder-in-wordpress\">Being a Woman Founder in WordPress</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I’ve never had a problem being in a male dominated environment. As a teenager, my best friends were boys despite the fact that I went to an all-girls school. At a school parents’ evening, my teacher said that I had a “male mind” &#8211; whatever that means! As a student, I lived with Andy and 3 other guys. Before having children, most of my friends were men. So maybe ending up in a male-dominated industry is no coincidence.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, I can only talk about my own experiences, and I have never experienced any issues from being a woman in WordPress. A lot of companies aim to be “color blind” and I can’t really comment on this, but I would describe the WordPress community as “gender blind”.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sure, most of the people who run WordPress product companies are men, and so are most of the people at WordCamps. Most of my WordPress friends are men. However, I don’t think that’s due to discrimination because the community is 100% welcoming to the women who do choose to join. In fact, it is rare for people I meet to even acknowledge any sort of gender difference &#8211; even people I know well. Everyone is just treated equally, regardless of gender.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Interestingly, the most marginalized that I have ever felt is by other women, and by people who are trying to promote gender equality. For example, at WordCamp Europe this year, another woman founder asked me if I work at Barn2 or if I’m just here with my husband! I have never, ever been asked a question like that by a man in the WordPress community.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>At WordCamp US this year, I spent almost the entire time with men and not one person drew attention to the fact that I was a different gender. As a result, I resented having my pronouns written in huge letters on my name tag! I realise this is largely in support of people in the LGBTQIA+ community but for me, it was the first time that the WordPress community had ever made a point of my gender, and felt uncomfortable and counter-productive.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, most people feel imposter syndrome at some point, and I’m no exception. I wonder whether people only invite me on podcasts and to join groups because they want a token woman. Equally, I wonder if people respect me less because I’m not a developer. However, those are my own personal hangups and with a couple of tiny exceptions, no one has ever done anything to make me feel this way.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-what-does-wordpress-mean-to-me\">What Does WordPress Mean To Me?</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Most industries &#8211; including tech industries &#8211; demand long hours and huge levels of commitment. It’s much harder to work <em>and </em>have a life. For me, WordPress is an incredible opportunity to build a successful business that is flexible enough to give me the lifestyle I want. I work hard when I choose to work hard. I relax when I want to relax. It’s my choice.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The barriers to entry are incredibly low, and you don’t need any specific qualifications to get started with WordPress. Most people in the industry work remotely, which brings a much better work-life balance for both the founders and team members. Everything is done online, which makes it easier to bootstrap a business with minimal investment. And yet despite this flexibility, the market is absolutely huge and you can find real success with WordPress.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of people think that the WordPress industry is changing due to the spate of acquisitions over the past few years.</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote><p>Some product company owners feel like they will be left behind unless they join one of the big players. However, as the owner of a self-owned plugin company, I haven’t seen any evidence of this.</p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>We’re continuing to grow and thrive. In fact, being independent has advantages because I can make decisions and move quickly, without any red tape.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>As well as the opportunities it brings, WordPress is an incredibly inclusive place to build a business. It does this in a natural, unintentional way where people can just “be”, without being judged. And that’s the best way.</p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://heropress.com/essays/a-community-that-transcends-labels/\">A Community That Transcends Labels</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, 26 Oct 2022 06:00:00 +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:11:\"Katie Keith\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:5;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:67:\"WPTavern: WordPress Accessibility Day 2022 Publishes Speaker Lineup\";s:7:\"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=138914\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:78:\"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-accessibility-day-2022-publishes-speaker-lineup\";s: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:2639:\"<p><a href=\"https://wpaccessibility.day/\">WordPress Accessibility Day</a> is just one week away on November 2-3, and registration is still open. Co-lead organizer Amber Hinds published an impressive speaker lineup with 40 speakers from 14 countries. She also noted that 40% of the event&#8217;s sessions have at least one speaker who identifies as living with a disability.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress professionals who want to learn more about creating accessible websites will want to attend, as the schedule is loaded with a wealth of educational presentations from well-known accessibility experts. Co-lead organizer Joe Dolson will start with opening remarks, followed by the <a href=\"https://wpaccessibility.day/sessions/keynote/\">keynote session</a> from <a href=\"https://incl.ca/\">Nicolas Steenhout</a>, an accessibility consultant and host of the <a href=\"https://a11yrules.com/\">A11y Rules Podcast</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 24-hour event will include practical sessions on <a href=\"https://wpaccessibility.day/sessions/selling-accessibility-to-skeptical-clients/\">Selling Accessibility to Skeptical Clients</a>, <a href=\"https://wpaccessibility.day/sessions/think-smart-and-adapt-meeting-wcag-2-without-rebuilding-from-scratch/\">Meeting WCAG 2 without rebuilding from scratch</a>, and <a href=\"https://wpaccessibility.day/sessions/the-alt-scene-when-and-how-to-write-alternative-text/\">When and How to Write Alternative Text</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gary Aussant, Director of Digital Accessibility Consulting at Perkins Access, and Stephen Plummer, Creative Manager at the Perkins School for the Blind, will be presenting a session titled &#8220;<a href=\"https://wpaccessibility.day/sessions/proof-accessible-websites-can-be-beautiful-too/\">Proof: Accessible websites can be beautiful too</a>&#8221; that will debunk some of the common myths about accessible websites. They plan to show real examples of modern and engaging sites that also work well for screen readers, keyboard users, and sighted users.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Full-stack developer Nikole Garcia and Annie Heckel, Electronic Information Technology Accessibility Manager at Cornell University, will give a session on <a href=\"https://wpaccessibility.day/sessions/developing-accessibility-first-wordpress-themes/\">Developing Accessibility-First WordPress Themes</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out the <a href=\"https://wpaccessibility.day/schedule/\">schedule</a> to browse the rest of the lineup and add the sessions you want to attend to your calendar. <a href=\"https://wpaccessibility.day/attendee-registration/\">Registration</a> is free and the event will be live streamed via YouTube with closed captions.</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, 26 Oct 2022 04:08:02 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s: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:6;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:63:\"WPTavern: Arc FSE: A New Multipurpose Block Theme for 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=138817\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:73:\"https://wptavern.com/arc-fse-a-new-multipurpose-block-theme-for-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:2260:\"<p><a href=\"https://olivethemes.com/\">Olive Themes</a>, a relatively new independent theme shop, has released its third block theme on the WordPress.org directory. <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/themes/arc-fse/\">Arc FSE</a> is a high contrast, multipurpose theme, designed to enable a broad range of flexibility through support for full-site editing features.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>The theme features the open source and exceptionally readable <a href=\"https://fonts.adobe.com/fonts/poppins\">Poppins web font</a> in various weights and sizes. 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There are also section patterns for things like the default footer, 404 page, a promotional video, sidebar, search cover block, services, and more.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>When first installing Arc FSE, the home page is set up to be nearly identical to <a href=\"https://demo.olivethemes.com/?demo=arc-fse\">the demo</a>, making it easy for users to get started customizing. It would be helpful to have a style guide for the theme, but for the most part you get what you see with the demo for the free version. Olive Themes also makes a <a href=\"https://olivethemes.com/wordpress-themes/arc-pro/\">pro version</a>, which includes additional features, WooCommerce support, and more blocks for things like testimonials and star ratings.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Arc FSE is good option for businesses, agencies, foundations, or artists with portfolios. After less than a week, it&#8217;s already being used on more than 100 sites. The theme is available to <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/themes/arc-fse/\">download</a> for free on WordPress.org. </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, 26 Oct 2022 02:55:01 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:7;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:73:\"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 6.1 Release Candidate 3 (RC3) Now Available\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:35:\"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=13670\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:69:\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/10/wordpress-6-1-release-candidate-3/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:6611:\"<p>Release Candidate 3 (RC3) is now available for testing! 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Anyone can take part in testing – regardless of prior experience.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Want to know more about testing releases like this one? Read about the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/test/\">testing initiatives</a> that happen in Make Core. You can also join a <a href=\"https://wordpress.slack.com/messages/core-test/\">core-test channel</a> on the <a href=\"https://wordpress.slack.com/\">Making WordPress Slack workspace</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have run into an issue, please report it to the <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta/\">Alpha/Beta area</a> in the support forums. If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, you can <a href=\"https://core.trac.wordpress.org/newticket\">file one on WordPress Trac</a>. This is also where you can find a list of <a href=\"https://core.trac.wordpress.org/tickets/major\">known bugs</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>To review features in the Gutenberg releases since WordPress 6.0 (the most recent major release of WordPress), access the <em>What’s New In Gutenberg</em> posts for <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/09/16/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-1-15-september/\">14.1</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/09/01/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-0-31-august/\">14.0</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/17/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-9-17-august/\">13.9</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-8-3-august/\">13.8</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/07/20/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-7-20-july/\">13.7</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/07/07/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-6-6-july/\">13.6</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/06/22/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-5-22-june/\">13.5</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/06/10/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-4-8-june/\">13.4</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/05/26/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-3-0-may-25/\">13.3</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/05/12/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-2-may-11/\">13.2</a>, and <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/04/28/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-1-27-april/\">13.1</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n<h2>RC3, A Penultimate Haiku</h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The time ticks forward<br />Release nears ever closer<br />Download and review</em></p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n<p>Props to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/dansoschin/\">Dan Soschin</a>, <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/support/users/spacedmonkey/\">Jonny Harris</a></p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\";s: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, 25 Oct 2022 20:29:49 +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:16:\"Jonathan Pantani\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:8;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:77:\"Do The Woo Community: A WooSesh Chat with Chris Mospaw and Krissie VandeNoord\";s:7:\"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=73158\";s:7:\"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:65:\"https://dothewoo.io/woosesh-chat-chris-mospaw-krissie-vandenoord/\";s: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:428:\"<p>In this episode we talk about integrating 3D visual customizations into your clients WooCommerce sites and WooCommerce performance.</p>\n<p>&gt;&gt; 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The navigation is jumpy and confusing, especially when going from template browsing to template editing to modifying individual blocks. A large PR is in progress for redesigning this UI with the introduction of a &#8220;browse mode&#8221; that would <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/james-koster-shares-design-explorations-that-transform-wordpress-site-editor-into-a-more-visual-user-friendly-tool\">make the experience feel more like a design tool</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gutenberg lead engineer Riad Benguella <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/44770\">opened the PR</a> as a continuation of the ongoing work on this project, which has its roots in <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/23328\">ideas</a> and explorations that have been fermenting since 2019. He shared a video that roughly demonstrates the target for the proposed UI changes.</p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>It essentially introduces a “navigable frame” where users can select from a menu of features on the left. More detailed efforts on improving the animations and placement of the menu items is happening simultaneously within the ticket.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The original idea was to include the &#8220;Navigation menu&#8221; item inside the sidebar, but Benguella removed it in favor of keeping the PR contained to simply adding the &#8220;edit/view&#8221; mode.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although such a large PR has the potential to introduce a slew of regressions, Benguella said there is no other way around a big PR due to the the necessity of the structural changes to how the site editor is organized. He is attempting to keep it narrowly focused and not try to tackle features like browsing capabilities and adding UI (template lists, global styles, etc) to the sidebar.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The idea is not without <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/44770#issuecomment-1281312589\">some pushback</a>. Alex Stine, Cloud Platform Engineer at Waystar, warned against introducing another Mode into Gutenberg, saying it &#8220;feels kind of reckless considering we haven&#8217;t refined existing modes for all users.&#8221; He noted that Gutenberg already has select/edit mode contexts.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;This was a feature basically added for screen readers only,&#8221; Stine said. &#8220;I am hoping this will one day be removed, but we&#8217;re not quite there yet.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I think the community is trying to solve the wrong problem. If Gutenberg itself did not have such a complex UI, there would not be the need for a hundred different modes in a hundred different contexts, blocks, or even editors. We have gone so crazy making everything so quickly, no one thought about how to unify the interface across all editors. This feels like it could be another patch to a bigger problem.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stine cautioned against growing the UI for something that ultimately doesn&#8217;t make things any simpler.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;In a sense this PR doesn&#8217;t introduce any new mode, it just redesigns the current navigation panel a bit,&#8221; Benguella <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/44770#issuecomment-1281319290\">said</a> in response. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s an opportunity to improve the a11y of the navigation in the site editor.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The confusion in this PR is that it&#8217;s not about another mode in the editor itself, it&#8217;s higher level, it&#8217;s how we choose which template and template part to edit before actually entering the editor.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although the project&#8217;s contributors have been referring to it as &#8220;browse mode,&#8221; it is essentially a redesign for the existing UI to make it more intuitive for users to navigate. Gutenberg may not need any more new &#8220;modes&#8221; but the site editor is in dire need design improvements that will unify the experience and make it less chaotic for getting around.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>During the most <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/24/editor-chat-summary-wednesday-20-october-2022/\">recent core Editor meeting</a>, Gutenberg contributors called for feedback on the big PR, since it has so many moving parts and needs more scrutiny. It&#8217;s not ready to land in the next release of Gutenberg yet, but the concept is rapidly taking shape and may expand to include more features in the sidebar once the basic structure is in place.</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, 25 Oct 2022 04:14:58 +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:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:53:\"Do The Woo Community: The Power of WooCommerce Blocks\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:28:\"https://dothewoo.io/?p=73101\";s:7:\"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/the-power-of-woocommerce-blocks/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:374:\"<p>The WooCommerce team is actively exploring the interplay of block themes and full site editing within a Woo store.</p>\n<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://dothewoo.io/the-power-of-woocommerce-blocks/\">The Power of WooCommerce Blocks</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, 24 Oct 2022 09:01:00 +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:11;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:60:\"Gutenberg Times: What art can you create with WordPress 6.1?\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:35:\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?p=22528\";s:7:\"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://gutenbergtimes.com/what-art-can-you-create-with-wordpress-6-1/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:4422:\"<p>Over the last year, the <a href=\"https://href.li/?https://block-museum.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Museum of Block Art</a> was launched, built by and for the WordPress community. The intent is to surprise and show off what one can do with the block editor in the form of making fantastic art. If you look through the site and wonder just <em>how</em> something was made, that’s by design. </p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What art can you create with WordPress 6.1?</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://href.li/?https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/09/26/core-editor-improvement-catalyst-for-creativity/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">With WordPress 6.1 bringing an immense number of new design tools</a> on November 1st, there’s a neat opportunity to show how the art one can create with WordPress continues to evolve with the tooling. Just as you might walk through a museum and see how over the years, craftsmanship refined, this WordPress release marks yet another evolution in what’s possible with a true surge in the tools available. What might not have been possible to do before now might be. Consider this your official nudge to give 6.1 a try and see what you can create:</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https://block-museum.com/contribute/\">Submit art</a></div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<p>As a reminder, if you’re looking for inspiration for your creations and wondering <a href=\"https://block-museum.com/how/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">how folks have made theirs</a>, experimenting is highly recommended; play with <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/support/article/dimension-controls-overview/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dimension controls</a>, <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2021/05/coloring-your-images-with-duotone-filters/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">duotone</a>, and the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/05/20/core-editor-improvement-creating-containing-containers/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Row/Stack/Group blocks</a>. You can also <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/09/26/core-editor-improvement-catalyst-for-creativity/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">check out this roundup post</a> on all the hard work that’s gone into expanding the tools now found in blocks to get a sense of what’s new. </p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Keep in mind that you can always try out 6.1 early by testing the Beta/RC versions (</em><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/10/wordpress-6-1-release-candidate-2-now-available/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>here’s the link to the 6.1 RC2 post</em></a><em> with more information). </em></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>A look at what’s next&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I originally came up with this idea, my mind went wild thinking about <a href=\"https://masterwp.com/an-interview-with-anne-mccarthy-on-wordpresss-coolest-new-project-the-museum-of-block-art/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">printing the art, virtual “exhibits” based on releases, and more</a>; this marks a step into exploring what could be next for the Museum of Block Art with a <a href=\"https://block-museum.com/contribute/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">new checkbox on the submission form</a> asking about whether someone is okay to have their work printed and new pages for each of the last two releases acting as virtual exhibits (<a href=\"https://block-museum.com/wordpress-5-9-exhibit/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WordPress 5.9</a>, <a href=\"https://block-museum.com/wordpress-6-0-exhibit/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WordPress 6.0</a>). While small changes, they set the groundwork for what might be ahead – perhaps you’ll see some of the art grace the next flagship WordCamp event you attend! </p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Thank you to <a href=\"https://twitter.com/karmatosed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tammie Lister</a>, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/visualwebmaster\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rachel Winchester</a>, <a href=\"https://twitter.com/richard_tabor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Rich Tabor</a>, and <a href=\"https://twitter.com/Ana_Segota/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ana Segota</a> for making up the lovely review committee for this art museum. </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:\"Sat, 22 Oct 2022 09:30:00 +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:13:\"Anne McCarthy\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:12;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:85:\"WPTavern: Openverse Audio Catalog Passes 800,000 Files, Audio Support Now Out of 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=138837\";s:7:\"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/openverse-audio-catalog-passes-800000-files-audio-support-now-out-of-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:2857:\"<p><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/openverse/\">Openverse</a>, formerly known as Creative Commons Search before it <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/creative-commons-search-is-now-openverse\">joined the WordPress project</a>, has<a href=\"https://twitter.com/WordPress/status/1583077584136704001\"> passed an important milestone</a> with its support for audio files. The catalog has now indexed more than 800,000 audio files and its development team has taken audio support out of beta.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Openverse visitors can now confidently search for and explore audio files for use in their videos, podcasts, or other creative projects, all available for free use under Creative Commons licenses. It is an incredible resource that is expanding and improving every day. Users can search on any device, but I found that Openverse audio searches and files are surprisingly easy to navigate on mobile.</p>\n\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n\n<p>Search results can be filtered by permitted use, license, audio category, extension, duration, and source. Previewing works well and each file has attribution information readily available to copy. Clicking on &#8220;Get this audio&#8221; will take the visitor to the file on the external collection&#8217;s website where it can be downloaded.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Deeper integration with WordPress core is on the roadmap for Openverse files. It would also be interesting to see WordPress&#8217; core Audio block integrate access to Openverse, in addition to pulling files from URL or the media library, the same way the Image block allows users to browse Openverse.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gutenberg contributors are currently exploring how they can <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/44496\">add basic Openverse integration to the inserter</a>. Matias Ventura, lead architect of Gutenberg, has proposed adding a Media tab to the existing tabs for Blocks, Patterns, and Reusable blocks, which allow dragging and dropping content into the canvas. This would offer more convenient access to the media library while building pages.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The inserter panel should support the ability to drag media from the inserter into the canvas, including dragging into block placeholders to quickly update patterns and such with your own content,&#8221; Ventura said. &#8220;The Media tab would allow users to choose between categorized assets from the media library, and from Openverse.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gutenberg engineer Nik Tsekouras created <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/44424\">a PR with a prototype</a>, basically a proof-of-concept, to explore how this might be implemented.</p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>Development is still in the exploration and early stages, but this looks like a promising new integration that would make it easy for WordPress users to tap into Openverse&#8217;s catalog of 600 million free creative works.</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, 22 Oct 2022 02:03:58 +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:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:81:\"Post Status: New Venue Accessibility Checklist in the WordCamp Organizer Handbook\";s:7:\"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=141561\";s:7:\"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/new-venue-accessibility-checklist-in-the-wordcamp-organizer-handbook/\";s: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:3494:\"<h2 id=\"h-wordpress-community-news-roundup-for-the-week-of-october-17\">WordPress Community News Roundup for the Week of October 17</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You may recall my prior post, <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/5-days-without-a-shower/\">5 Days Without a Shower</a>, in which I wrote about my disability experiences at <strong>WCUS 2022</strong>. Writing things from a place of vulnerability isn’t always easy, but sometimes they’re necessary. Creating that post gave you insight into my experiences, and though I told them with a thread of humor, it was still not easy to share. But sharing with good intent, and with support, can help effect change. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>This week the <strong>WCUS 2023</strong> team reached out to me in two ways, and when I tell you how warmed my heart was, you <em>still</em> can’t imagine the extent of my joy. First, <strong>Joe Simpson Jr.</strong> shared this new section of the <strong>WordCamp Organizer Handbook</strong> with me: <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/wordcamp-organizer/first-steps/venue-accessibility-checklist/\">Venue Accessibility Checklist</a>. This is a HUGE step toward accommodating those with disabilities at WordCamps. The team also reached out to me as they’re touring the venue for next year with questions as they went through, inviting my input. Kudos to the Community Team on these great efforts and forward momentum.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><strong>Black Friday and Cyber Monday</strong> are coming quickly! <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/submit-black-friday-cyber-monday-deals/\">Submit your deals on our site</a>. We’ll be publishing that page soon!</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-1 wp-block-group has-theme-palette-9-color has-theme-palette-5-background-color has-text-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2 class=\"has-theme-palette-9-color has-text-color\">In the <strong>Member Spotlight</strong> this week, it\'s <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/member-spotlight-miriam-schwab/\">Miriam Schwab of Strattic</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Miriam\'s advice for WordPress professionals:</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-style-default has-theme-palette-3-color has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-text-color has-background\"><p><strong>Keep learning.</strong> We\'re in an industry that is always evolving, and always developing, and that\'s one of the things that\'s so exciting, but also challenging, about it. It\'s important to try to stay up to speed on what\'s going on directly in our industry, while also keeping an eye on what\'s going on around us in parallel industries. It keeps us fresh and current.</p><cite><a href=\"https://poststatus.com/member-spotlight-miriam-schwab/\">READ MORE →</a></cite></blockquote>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-2 wp-block-group has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2>Upcoming Events:</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://wpaccessibility.day/\">WordPress Accessibility Day</a> Nov 2-3</li><li><a href=\"https://www.wordfest.live/2022/november/\">WordFest</a> November 18</li><li>Calls for Speakers and Sponsors are open at <a href=\"https://www.wpwealthbuilder.com/\">WP Wealthbuilder Summit</a>.</li><li>WordCamps are back! <a href=\"https://central.wordcamp.org/schedule/\">Check the schedule online</a>. </li></ul>\n</div></div>\n<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:\"Fri, 21 Oct 2022 18:50:46 +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:18:\"Michelle Frechette\";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:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:52:\"Post Status: Tech Roundup for the Week of October 17\";s:7:\"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=141537\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:63:\"https://poststatus.com/tech-roundup-for-the-week-of-october-17/\";s: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:3467:\"<div class=\"wp-container-5 wp-block-group has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2 id=\"h-wordpress-design-development-around-the-web\">WordPress Design & Development Around the Web</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Here’s a glimpse of what’s going on in the world of design and development in the WordPress space this past week.</p>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<h3><a href=\"https://olliewp.com/global-styles-and-the-future-of-css-in-wordpress/\">Move Over CSS, Here’s JSON</a></h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I feel like we just started getting a better rhythm of using CSS and SCSS for bringing design systems to life with WordPress theming, and now we’re taking a step backward. At least that is what I thought <em>BEFORE</em> I read Post Status member <strong>Mike McAlister</strong>’s&nbsp;<a href=\"https://olliewp.com/global-styles-and-the-future-of-css-in-wordpress/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">thorough breakdown</a>&nbsp;of why <strong>JSON</strong> is so important and how it will help us all develop better. This goes for theme creators as well!</p>\n\n\n\n<h3><a href=\"https://wpturbo.dev/\">A New Generator Goes Turbo</a></h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A new code generator site is freshly launched in beta.&nbsp;<a href=\"https://wpturbo.dev/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WPTurbo</a>, from the folks that bring you&nbsp;<a href=\"https://wpmarmite.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WPMarmite</a>, has similar features that you’ve seen from&nbsp;<a href=\"https://generatewp.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GenerateWP</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.wp-hasty.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hasty</a>&nbsp;— <em>BUT</em> Turbo has a <code>theme.json</code> generator, which could come in handy building new block-based themes. It looks like it\'s packed with features comparable to its predecessors but updated for the Gutenberg era.</p>\n\n\n\n<h3><a href=\"https://www.briancoords.com/wordpress-secret-world-of-javascript/\">The Hidden World of Javascript in WordPress</a></h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Post Status member <strong>Brian Coords</strong> shares <a href=\"https://www.briancoords.com/wordpress-secret-world-of-javascript/\">his journey into the JavaScript maze that is contained in WordPress</a>. He explains how we can use it to its full potential, especially when we accept the fact that understanding <strong>Redux</strong> and <strong>React</strong> are super-important to work with the future of WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-6 wp-block-group has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2>Cool Tool</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Each week we feature one cool tool that can help make your life easier as a WordPress builder.</p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Grab Those Things After The Question Mark!</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This week I found myself in a sticky situation where I needed to show the parameters from a URL in the block editor. I really didn’t want to have to create a whole new custom block or a page template, so I searched for a plugin that could help. My discovery landed me on this little gem of a plugin called&nbsp;<a href=\"https://wordpress.org/plugins/url-params/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">URL Params</a>.&nbsp;It gives you the ability to add shortcodes to display the parameters from a URL. Short, sweet, and it works!</p>\n</div></div>\n<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:\"Fri, 21 Oct 2022 18:02:27 +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:\"Daniel Schutzsmith\";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:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:35:\"Matt: Open Source Podcasting Client\";s:7:\"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=67415\";s:7:\"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://ma.tt/2022/10/open-source-podcasting-client/\";s: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:2232:\"<p>Automattic <a href=\"https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/16/22580023/automattic-pocket-casts-podcast-app-tumble-wordpress\">acquired Pocket Casts last July</a>, and since we&#8217;ve been tapping away trying to make the best podcast client for people who love listening to podcasts.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And!</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The team has been working really hard to make those clients totally open source and available to the world, <a href=\"https://blog.pocketcasts.com/2022/10/19/pocket-casts-mobile-apps-are-now-open-source/\">and it&#8217;s now happened</a>. You can see all the code <a href=\"https://github.com/Automattic/pocket-casts-ios\">behind the iOS app</a> and <a href=\"https://github.com/Automattic/pocket-casts-android\">the Android app</a>, and modify it, make it your own, suggest a change, fix a bug, add a feature, fork it and make your own client, anything!</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your code gets merged into core, it&#8217;ll go out to users listening to literally <strong>millions of hours</strong> of podcasts a week. It&#8217;s also unusual to be able to peek under the hood of a consumer mobile app that is this widely used and see how it works.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Audio publishing and consumption is a beautiful complement to the web publishing that <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/\">WordPress</a> is already so good at, and that <a href=\"https://automattic.com/\">Automattic</a> tries to nurture an ecosystem around. I love Spotify and Apple, and I hope that <a href=\"https://pocketcasts.com/\">Pocket Casts</a> can do for podcast clients what Firefox in the early days and <a href=\"https://www.chromium.org/chromium-projects/\">Chromium</a> now does for browsers — push the state of the art, be manically focused on user control, and grow a more decentralized and open web.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you haven&#8217;t tried Pocket Casts yet, <a href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/pocket-casts/id414834813\">install for iOS</a> or <a href=\"https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=au.com.shiftyjelly.pocketcasts\">Android</a>, and here&#8217;s <a href=\"https://support.pocketcasts.com/article/opml-import/\">how to import your subscriptions using a format called OPML</a>. (And wouldn&#8217;t it be nice if trying out a new social network was that easy?)</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, 21 Oct 2022 17:44:14 +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: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:16;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:45:\"Post Status: A Visit from the Good Idea Fairy\";s:7:\"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=141497\";s:7:\"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://poststatus.com/a-visit-from-the-good-idea-fairy/\";s: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:8808:\"<h2 id=\"h-wordpress-business-roundup-for-the-week-of-october-17\">WordPress Business Roundup for the Week of October 17</h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-9 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\">Building, Supporting, and Selling a Winning Product — With or Without WordPress.org • Are Active Install Counts Relevant to Your Business\'s Success? (Even if they are accurate? And they haven\'t been.) • Let\'s Fix What\'s Broken (The Plugin Repo) Not What Isn\'t (The Freemium Model) • Follow Leaders, Adopt Standards • Tools and expertise from rtCamp • Some great and &#8220;doable&#8221; ideas for the future of plugin business metrics on the .org repo. Could some of them help put an end to intrusive and manipulative dark patterns in the WordPress Admin dashboard and notifications?  </p></div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer eplus-wrapper\"></div>\n\n\n\n<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>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<h2><a href=\"https://poststatus.com/building-supporting-and-selling-a-winning-product-with-or-without-wordpress-org/\">Building, Supporting, and Selling a Winning Product — With or Without WordPress.org</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This week I sat down again with <strong>Eric Karkovack</strong> to record an episode of<strong> The Excerpt</strong> to talk about the three top WordPress stories on the top of our minds. The temporary loss of active install stats at WordPress.org has created an opportunity to rethink long-held assumptions and find new ways forward, so maybe it\'s not surprising that we made nearly the same selections. There\'s a single throughline in this episode — what works, what doesn\'t, and what will take WordPress businesses forward in the product, agency, and hosting spaces. A lot of people are thinking down this track and a lot of good ideas are coming forward. We\'ve tried to pull together the ones we feel are best. <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/building-supporting-and-selling-a-winning-product-with-or-without-wordpress-org/\">LISTEN or READ →</a> </p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Are Active Install Counts Relevant to Your Business\'s Success? (Even if they are accurate?)</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In “<a href=\"https://getellipsis.com/blog/org-is-ineffective-plugin-distribution/\">WordPress.org is ineffective for plugin distribution in 2022</a>,” <strong>Alex Denning</strong> argues the likely temporary loss of <strong>Active Install Growth</strong> data for plugin owners is not a bottom-line, business-relevant concern. Apart from the revelation that that data itself was not just obfuscated and inexact but “<a href=\"https://wptavern.com/discussion-on-replacing-plugin-active-install-growth-data-continues-behind-closed-doors\">basically garbage</a>,” Alex draws on <strong>Ellipsis</strong>&#8216; marketing experience and extensive data (as well as <strong>Iain Poulson</strong>&#8216;s <a href=\"https://s.wptrends.co/w/kWJrSn4PAY2Xziux1YiYEQ\">insights</a> at <strong>WP Trends</strong>) to show 1-2% conversion rates are the norm for plugins in the WP.org repository. Only a couple of big players can crack the 100k+ install tiers today.</p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Let\'s Fix What\'s Broken (The Plugin Repo) Not What Isn\'t (The Freemium Model)</h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matt Cromwell </strong>politely disagrees with Alex as he makes <a href=\"https://www.mattcromwell.com/the-case-for-the-wordpress-plugin-freemium-model/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Case for the WordPress Plugin Freemium Model</a>. (There\'s a great <a href=\"https://poststatus.slack.com/archives/C0413T6GD/p1666180505764299\">Post Status Slack thread</a> on it too.) In it, Matt describes ways plugin owners can make the plugin repository\'s search engine work better for them, but Matt also notes a few of its deficiencies as well. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>As <strong>Justin Labadie</strong> and others <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/connect-freemium-plugins-to-premium-extension-sales/\">point out</a>, the search algorithm retrieves irrelevant results with more active installs than the plugin being searched for in many cases. It isn\'t possible to show all your plugins together anywhere on the repository apart from a buried profile tab under Contributor History. Even author searches do not retrieve every plugin from that source.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Matt\'s  best point is that an average conversion rate is just that — an average. He\'s seen much better results due to marketing efforts he feels are accessible to many plugin vendors. Matt also points to examples of successful freemium plugin shops, like <strong>Paid Memberships Pro</strong> which recently did an A/B test with their pricing page. <strong>Jason Coleman</strong> reported <a href=\"https://twitter.com/jason_coleman/status/1582355558396743680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1582355558396743680%7Ctwgr%5E60ce4bbce4981ae7479f4aaa2a1b7b13c8467ff3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mattcromwell.com%2Fthe-case-for-the-wordpress-plugin-freemium-model%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the version with a freemium option converted better</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<h3><a href=\"https://gutenberg.10up.com/\">Follow Leaders, Adopt Standards</a></h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>10up</strong>&#8216;s <a href=\"https://gutenberg.10up.com/\">newly released resource site</a> for <strong>Gutenberg Best Practices</strong> is a signal WordPress has turned a corner. Here are expert tutorials, resources, references, and example code connected to 10up\'s <strong>GitHub </strong><a href=\"https://github.com/10up/gutenberg-best-practices/discussions\">discussion board</a> for this evolving community resource. It\'s intended to go beyond the official WordPress documentation, according <strong>Fabian Kaegy</strong>&#8216;s <a href=\"https://10up.com/blog/2022/10up-publicly-releases-its-gutenberg-best-practices/\">launch announcement</a>. It\'s a “more client-services-centric approach tailored to engineering enterprise-level editorial experiences.” Enterprise agency adoption of Gutenberg is huge. As we see a growing body of accumulated knowledge, standards, and best practices emerging, it signals and amplifies a wave of change.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-10 wp-block-group has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2>Quick Links</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Matt Cromwell</strong>, <strong>Natalie MacLees</strong>, <strong>Sybre Waaijer</strong>, and <strong>Amber Hinds</strong> have good ideas for future types of data disclosures that could help plugin owners. We\'ve rounded them up from <strong>Mark Zahra</strong>&#8216;s renamed <strong>Trac</strong> ticket <a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6511\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">#6511: Provide helpful plugin stats and insights</a>. Mark recently added <a href=\"https://twitter.com/VitoPeleg/status/1577784069596876800\">some really great ideas</a> from <strong>Vito Peleg</strong> on <strong>Twitter</strong> that seemed to draw a nod from <strong>Matt Mullenweg</strong>. <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/five-takes-on-helpful-plugin-stats-and-insights/\">READ →</a></li><li><strong>Justin Labadie</strong> shared his experiences with the WordPress.org plugin repo and how he hopes it can change: 1) Ensure all search results are relevant. 2) Standardize a Premium product upsell interface in WP-Admin. 3) Make it possible to show other products by the same author/company. Could these steps help put an end to unpleasant sales gimmickry in the WordPress Admin dashboard and notifications? <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/connect-freemium-plugins-to-premium-extension-sales/\">READ →</a></li><li>Speaking of leaders and standards, <strong><a href=\"https://poststatus.com/profile/rtcamp/\">rtCamp</a></strong> has a great <a href=\"https://rtcamp.com/subscribe/\">monthly newsletter</a> where they\'ve been sharing expertise and tools like <a href=\"https://github.com/rtcamp/theme-elementary\">Elementary</a>, a starter theme for block-based, full-site editing themes with developer-friendly features. It’s solid boilerplate following WordPress coding standards that’s fully FSE-ready with a baked-in testing framework. <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/best-practices-and-tools-from-rtcamp/\">READ →</a></li></ul>\n</div></div>\n<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:\"Fri, 21 Oct 2022 17:36:58 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:10:\"Dan Knauss\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:17;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:132:\"Post Status: Post Status Excerpt (No. 71) — Building, Supporting, and Selling a Winning Product — With or Without 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:32:\"https://poststatus.com/?p=141328\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:103:\"https://poststatus.com/building-supporting-and-selling-a-winning-product-with-or-without-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:54878:\"<div class=\"wp-container-13 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\">This week I sat down again with Eric Karkovack to talk about the WordPress stories and topics that are on the top of our minds. Independently, we made nearly the same selections. There\'s a single throughline in this episode — what works, what doesn\'t, and what will take WordPress businesses forward in the product, agency, and hosting spaces.  </p></div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer eplus-wrapper\"></div>\n\n\n\n<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>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://poststatus.com/planet/feed/#h-transcript\">Skip to Transcript</a> ↓</p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">This week I sat down again with <strong>Eric Karkovack</strong> to talk about the three top WordPress stories on the top of our minds. Independently, we made nearly the same selections! It seems the temporary loss of active install stats at WP.org has created an opportunity to rethink long-held assumptions and find new ways forward. Our news picks are all related to this in one way or another.  So there\'s a single throughline in this episode — what works, what doesn\'t, and what will take WordPress businesses forward in the product, agency, and hosting spaces.</p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Are Active Install Counts Irrelevant to Your Plugin Business\'s Success? (Even if they were accurate?)</h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote><p>There are always going to be developers who push the envelope when it comes to littering the dashboard and just making it a difficult user experience. Maybe data is part of the way we solve that.</p><cite><strong>Eric Karkovac</strong></cite></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>First up is <strong>Alex Denning</strong>&#8216;s article at <strong>Ellipsis</strong>, &#8220;<a href=\"https://getellipsis.com/blog/org-is-ineffective-plugin-distribution/\">WordPress.org&nbsp;is ineffective for plugin distribution in 2022</a>.&#8221; Alex argues the likely temporary loss of Active Install Growth data for plugin owners is not a bottom-line, business-relevant concern. Apart from the revelation that that data itself was not just obfuscated and inexact but &#8220;<a href=\"https://wptavern.com/discussion-on-replacing-plugin-active-install-growth-data-continues-behind-closed-doors\">basically garbage</a>,&#8221; Alex draws on Ellipsis\' marketing experience and extensive data (as well as <strong>Iain Poulson</strong>&#8216;s <a href=\"https://s.wptrends.co/w/kWJrSn4PAY2Xziux1YiYEQ\">insights</a> at <strong>WP Trends</strong>) to show 1-2% conversion rates are the norm for plugins in the&nbsp;WP.org repository. Only a couple of big players can crack the 100k+ install tiers today. </p>\n\n\n\n<h3>The Plugin Repo\'s Glass Ceiling</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Alex notes this &#8220;glass ceiling&#8221; has a lot to do with how the repo\'s search algorithm works. It\'s biased to favor plugins that have many active installs already, so if you\'re not there yet, it\'s not going to help you get there. As a result of these observations, Alex disrecommends the plugin repo for anyone thinking about launching a business there on the freemium model. He considers WP.org a poor distribution channel and assumes the freemium product model\'s fate is tied to it. On that point, we\'re doubtful and optimistic about exceptions and opportunities for plugin developers to make their own way, with or without the repo.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Eric and I don\'t fully agree with Alex, his data-based analysis does establish that the plugin repository is &#8220;broken&#8221; if it\'s intended to be a place where a small entrepreneur with a good product can break in and take off. </p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Let\'s Fix What\'s Broken (The Plugin Repo) Not What Isn\'t (The Freemium Model)</h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Matt Cromwell </strong>politely disagrees with Alex in a long, thoughtful post of his own:&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.mattcromwell.com/the-case-for-the-wordpress-plugin-freemium-model/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Case for the WordPress Plugin Freemium Model</a>.&nbsp;(There\'s a great <a href=\"https://poststatus.slack.com/archives/C0413T6GD/p1666180505764299\">Post Status Slack thread</a> on it too.) In it, Matt describes ways plugin owners can make the&nbsp;wp.org&nbsp;plugin search engine work better for them, but he also notes a few of its deficiencies as well. His best point is that an average conversion rate is just that — an average. He\'s seen much better results due to marketing efforts he feels are accessible to many plugin vendors. Matt also points to examples of successful freemium plugin shops, like <strong>Paid Memberships Pro</strong> which recently did&nbsp;an A/B test&nbsp;with their pricing page, and&nbsp;<a href=\"https://twitter.com/jason_coleman/status/1582355558396743680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1582355558396743680%7Ctwgr%5E60ce4bbce4981ae7479f4aaa2a1b7b13c8467ff3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mattcromwell.com%2Fthe-case-for-the-wordpress-plugin-freemium-model%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the version with a freemium option converted better</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Where Alex and Matt agree is how much the plugin repo has changed due to market saturation. It isn\'t an easy place to win in anymore. And I\'m pretty sure Alex would agree with Matt this is true across the web as a whole — you can expect to have to work hard with stiff competition and give high attention to <strong>Google</strong> as well — not to mention all the other things that go into making and supporting a good product. </p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Ideas for Improving the WordPress.org Plugin Repository</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Eric and I also discussed the excellent suggestions for useful, actionable data that product owners — and even agencies — would like from&nbsp;<a href=\"https://poststatus.com/five-takes-on-helpful-plugin-stats-and-insights/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a new, improved plugin directory</a>.&nbsp;<strong>Vito Peleg</strong>&#8216;s ideas are <a href=\"https://twitter.com/VitoPeleg/status/1577784069596876800\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">especially exciting</a>&nbsp;and seemed to draw a nod from <strong>Matt Mullenweg</strong> on Twitter. We also note how better data for plugin owners might satisfy some needs that historically have led them to try all kinds of (often unpleasant) gimicks in the WordPress backend to connect with users and upsell or cross-market their products. In a comment at Post Status this week, <strong>Justin Labadie</strong> imagines <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/connect-freemium-plugins-to-premium-extension-sales/\">how this could work as part of the plugin install process</a>, along with other suggestions. Eric connected this line of thinking with <strong>Mark Zahra</strong>&#8216;s question in a recent post at <strong>WP Mayor</strong>, <a href=\"https://wpmayor.com/is-deceptive-marketing-ruining-wordpress-reputation/\">Is Deceptive Marketing Ruining WordPress’ Reputation?</a></p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Plugin Developers Must Make Their Own Way</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Eric asked (and answered) a big question at the <strong>WP Minute</strong>:&nbsp;<a href=\"https://thewpminute.com/what-should-plugin-developers-expect-from-wordpress/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">What should plugin developers expect from WordPress</a>? You\'ve got to make your own way is a message I agree with, and I brought up my conversation with <strong>Till Krüss</strong> about&nbsp;<a href=\"https://poststatus.com/till-kruss-on-wordpress-performance-the-plugin-business-and-life/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Performance and the Plugin Business</a>&nbsp;as an example of all the possibilities that open up if you think about meeting big needs nobody else is meeting or solving big problems others are creating! </p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Follow the Leaders, Adopt Standards</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Where we end up is <strong>10up</strong>&#8216;s <a href=\"https://gutenberg.10up.com/\">newly released resource site</a> for <strong>Gutenberg Best Practices</strong>. It\'s got tutorials, resources, references, example code — and they\'re encouraging use of <a href=\"https://github.com/10up/gutenberg-best-practices/discussions\">their GitHub discussion board for the site</a>. It\'s intended to go beyond the official WordPress documentation, according <strong>Fabian Kaegy</strong>&#8216;s <a href=\"https://10up.com/blog/2022/10up-publicly-releases-its-gutenberg-best-practices/\">launch announcement</a>. It\'s a “more client-services-centric approach tailored to engineering enterprise-level editorial experiences.”</p>\n\n\n\n<p>To me, that\'s a signal WordPress has turned a corner with Gutenberg. Top agency adoption of Gutenberg is huge, and as we see a growing body of accumulated knowledge, standards, and best practices emerging, it signals and amplifies a wave of change.</p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Building Products to Scale Opens Doors and Creates Opportunities for Growth</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Toward the end of the show I suggest that plugin developers (as well as agencies) targeting middle and low-end markets have tended to neglect standards around performance testing and security because their customers don\'t need to scale and because they can treat performance and security as a hosting problem. That\'s a barrier to accessing high-value enterprise clients, hosts, and agencies connected to both. It represents lost opportunities and money left on the table.</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-14 wp-block-group has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h3><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f517.png\" alt=\"🔗\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Also mentioned in the show:</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Along with <a href=\"https://gutenberg.10up.com/\">10up\'s Gutenberg resource hub</a>, several other future-facing WordPress sites sharing tools and knowledge catering to different audiences emerged in the last week or so:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://olliewp.com/\">Ollie</a> from <strong>Mike McAlister</strong> is shaping up to be &#8220;a blog where WordPress creators can get handy tips, tutorials, and tools for the WordPress block editor and full-site editing.&#8221; </li><li>A <a href=\"https://www.modernwpdev.co/\">Modern WP Dev Course</a> is being offered by <strong>Joey Farrugio</strong> and will cover end-to-end WordPress site builds for SaaS and Enterprise clients. So far you can learn <a href=\"https://www.npmjs.com/package/create-acf-block\">how to register and scaffold your ACF blocks through a CLI</a> along with a few other <a href=\"https://www.modernwpdev.co/lessons/\">lessons in building ACF blocks</a>.</li><li><a href=\"https://wpturbo.dev/introducing-wpturbo/\">WPTurbo</a> from <strong>Alex Borto</strong> offers more than <a href=\"https://wpturbo.dev/generators/\">40 free WordPress code generators</a>, <a href=\"https://wpturbo.dev/snippets/\">snippets saved by users</a>, and there\'s <a href=\"https://wpturbo.dev/blog/\">a dev blog</a>.</li><li><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed7s5MFg_vs\">Create Pro WordPress Page Layouts in Just 10 Minutes</a> from <strong>Jamie Marsland</strong> is a fun video tour of some layout design fundamentals that are really essential for good results with full-site editing and the block editor\'s power and flexibility.</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p>And, last but not least —<a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/10/wordpress-6-0-3-security-release/\">WordPress 6.0.3 was released</a>. Update as soon as you can! WordPress 6.1 is just around the corner, and its a doozy. <strong>Dave Smith</strong> has <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mUrwyyw-8I\">the highlights on new features in this fun video</a>.<br /></p>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-18 wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<div class=\"wp-container-17 wp-block-columns has-theme-palette-8-color has-theme-palette-5-background-color has-text-color has-background\" id=\"WP-Engine\">\n<div class=\"wp-container-15 wp-block-column\">\n<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>\n\n\n\n<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>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-16 wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center\">\n<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>\n</div>\n</div>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-19 wp-block-group has-theme-palette-9-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h3><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f44b.png\" alt=\"👋\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> Credits</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul id=\"block-a3e9962f-97ca-4009-be8e-db47b5d1fddf\"><li><a href=\"https://twitter.com/karks88\">Eric Karkovack</a>, Owner at <a href=\"https://www.karks.com/\">Eric Karkovack Web Design Services</a>&nbsp;(Twitter)</li><li><a href=\"https://twitter.com/dan_knauss\">Dan Knauss</a><span>, Editor for </span><a href=\"https://twitter.com/post_status\">Post Status</a><span> (Twitter)</span></li><li><a href=\"https://twitter.com/lemonadecode\">Olivia Bisset</a>, Web Producer intern for <a href=\"http://twitter.com/post_status\">Post Status</a> (Twitter)</li></ul>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\">Every week <strong><a href=\"https://poststatus.com/podcast/the-excerpt/\">Post Status Excerpt</a></strong> will bring you a conversation about important news and issues in the WordPress community and business ecosystem. <img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f399.png\" alt=\"🎙\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /><br /><br />You can listen to <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/podcast/the-excerpt/\">past episodes</a> of <strong>The Excerpt</strong>, <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/category/post-status-podcasts/\">browse all our podcasts</a>, and don’t forget to subscribe on <a href=\"https://open.spotify.com/show/1m3xwXbe0MG5BzFVPtB0A7\">Spotify</a>, Amazon Music, <a href=\"https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS8ySkU5c2M4UA\">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/post-status-draft-wordpress/id976403008\">iTunes</a>, <a href=\"https://castro.fm/podcast/c53552c6-1ee0-4fc4-9de4-08ed6bf1ee4d\">Castro</a>, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/c/PostStatus\">YouTube</a>, <a href=\"http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/krogsgard/post-status-draft-wordpress-podcast\">Stitcher</a>, <a href=\"https://player.fm/series/wordpress-post-status-podcasts\">Player.fm</a>, <a href=\"https://pca.st/05rR\">Pocket Casts</a>, <a href=\"https://wordpress-post-status-draft-podcast.simplecast.com/\">Simplecast</a>, or by <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>\n\n\n\n<h1 id=\"h-transcript\">Transcript</h1>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> So what\'s your top pick for important news of the week emerging, or I guess a lot of this stuff is going on continually, multi-week as we kind of think it over and conversations unroll. What\'s the top one on your mind?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> I think the conversation around the removal of the active install growth data is just continuing, isn\'t it?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I mean, we\'re getting a lot of different points of view on it from developers, non-developers, and pretty much anyone else in the community who has an opinion on it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:01:00]</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Definitely. I\'ve been kind of pleased that it, you know, it settled down a bit and people are coming up with some pretty creative and constructive ideas of, um, well, just a lot of different perspectives on it. What did you think of Alex Denning\'s? He put out a newsletter last week, and I summarized some of that, and he put out a post. Um, now this week, um, that\'s not really surprising, but maybe a little sharply worded Stu um, kind of a bit of a, a shock to actually see it there that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah. How did you, how do you feel about that? Take that, that the freemium model is not one his marketing agency would recommend necessarily as much as they did previously.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> Well, I mean, the good thing Alex did was he backed all that stuff up with numbers. I mean, he has charts. He\'s showing how hard it is right now for.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>New plugin to get into the [00:02:00] repository and, you know, break through with either, I think you mentioned a hundred k, a 500 k or a million active installs. Now you see like the numbers of that just going down, uh, throughout the years. And, you know, that\'s kind of the issue the plugin repository has right now is that you have, you know, just a few really large plugins.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, you have. You know, plenty of them are, you know, related to automatic in some way. Um, and those are the ones getting, you know, the most visibility, at least when you\'re first visiting the, uh, the repository. So I think, you know, Alex makes a lot of sense and, you know, just kind of gave us an honest take of what the challenges are if you\'re trying to go with that model these days.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Right. Yeah, it\'s, it\'s definitely gotten to be. A tougher, um, tough market to break into. And yet some of his, um, important numbers come from [00:03:00] Ian Paulson. Um, uh, WP Trends put out some of that stuff too, that, um, probably the mix of, of consolidation in the market and, and just it\'s own maturity. Yeah. It\'s hard to debut and, and crack quickly into, into the upper tears.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I, I always look at, I always wonder what the exceptions are and there are some, and he did note, um, a few. And if, yeah, if you can bring other channels and other, other marketing, um, if you have a significant marketing empire or like, um, awesome motive, but even I think on a much smaller scale, it\'s, it\'s definitely gonna help.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is this your only channel or, um, or, What did, um, what did you think of, of his take overall? You know, we have Matt Cromwell, um, kind of giving a, um, a counterpoint, [00:04:00] um, today. I saw that come out.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> Yeah, I mean, I, I think overall Alex makes a lot of good points. Um, you know, I\'m not a plug-in developer myself. I\'m not starting that business, but I could see.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You know, if five to 10 years ago, if you were to dream about, okay, I\'m gonna create this plugin and it\'s going to kind of go viral within the community and people are going to pick up on it and use it, um, it, that\'s just not as realistic anymore. Um, you know, like I kind of referred to it on Twitter as like the wild west, um, you know, where anyone you could just, you know, start their own plot of virtual land and, you know, start selling and you.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Break through that market. Now you are, as you said, you\'re up against these companies with large marketing budgets. Um, they, they\'re very skilled at getting the word out about their products. So if you were going to do this just through the repository [00:05:00] and, you know, as an individual or small agency, I\'m not sure, you know, you\'re gonna have a lot of success without just a major commitment and probably a little bit of luck and a great product.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Right. Yeah. His, um, his headline, um, Alex is, is the.org repo is ineffective for plugin distribution. You know, kinda generalization as of this, this year or so. Um, I would say that\'s, he\'s really saying ineffective as maybe a single channel for, for distribution. A freemium model rooted just in.org is a, i I would say that\'s always been, you know, why limit yourself?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You know, why not, Why not cultivate other, other channels? And, um, we\'ve promoted partnerships a lot. A lot of people open up, um, other ways to get their, their plugin out by having hosting or agency partners that, um, make it easier. [00:06:00] Or required. It comes along with, with another product. Um, see Main WP is, um, packaged in with, at Tarm, which is packaged in with rocket.net.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\'s a, that was an interesting development there. Um, veto on, on Twitter was proposing a number of things that would be useful to get from data that, um, Matt Mullenweg, um, said, Hm, these are, you know, he gave some positive signals about that. Um, did you catch.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> I did. Yeah. And I, I think something will come back eventually, um, you know, as to what that is and how long it\'ll take Will.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mm-hmm. be interesting to see. But, you know, I, that kind of goes into, you know, what should they be providing to plugin developers and what should they, you know, what, what should anyone really expect about that? I\'m sure that\'s something we\'re gonna kinda get on in a bit.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Right. Yes. Um, I\'ve seen a lot of reasonable opinion just come that the [00:07:00] more and more to, let\'s do what dr.org does.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just release all the raw data. Don\'t interpret it on.org maybe, but leave that to however people choose to use it. And, and you could do an opt-in, opt out if you don\'t want your, your, um, your metrics in the mix. You can opt out or privatize, you know, only I get those. But the aggregate, uh, signal coming out of there is of high interest to.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>On a lot of levels to a lot of people, including researchers. Um, and as, as Alex mentions, I\'ve said a lot, it\'s a data poor market and anyone who\'s curious in understanding it, uh, WordPress ecosystem, you want the, want the data, um, what you do with it, what you think it means is a whole, whole nother thing.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, and I think it seems like there\'s an agreement too, kind of a consensus emerging that, um, Actually that growth, that growth number isn\'t [00:08:00] or hasn\'t been, um, terribly useful. So it\'s sort of irrelevant to, um, on a lot of levels Alex would say, because it\'s, it\'s not gonna help you, um, in this market anyway.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, but, um, you know, there\'s, there\'s other more useful things we could potentially get out of there. Um, yeah, so Matt\'s, Matt\'s take, I think the, for both of us, those are the two. This dialogue is um, kind of the top of mind thing here. Um, did you get a chance to break into, think through Matt\'s comments today?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> Yeah, so Matt Cromwell kind of gave a, a very respectful rebuttal to, uh, Alex Denning, um, which I like to see. Cuz you know, we can have those disagreements and you. And still talk about it rationally and, you know, uh, as community members and not as adversaries necessarily. So I think that that was the absolute right approach.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, so, you know, Matt kind of went [00:09:00] into the plugin repository search algorithm and says that, you know, if, if you go in there and optimize your product with the right name or, um, tag your product under, you know, relevant, uh, terms, You can still be found in the search engine. Um, it\'s not necessarily, um, that you\'re gonna have the immediate visibility.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\'s go going on the repository and, you know, seeing like, um, the classic editor or Yost or something like that. But you\'re going to be able to be found if you, if you optimize. And he also said that, you know, in his experience with plugins and he\'s worked with a few of \'em, give WPS the one that comes to mind.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, You can actually convert a lot more, uh, freemium users into, uh, paying customers than the one to 2% that, uh, Alex Denning was uh, mentioning in his post. So, uh, I, I think that\'s, you know, so he, he\'s actually lived it a [00:10:00] bit and I think that\'s, um, mm-hmm. , you know, very relevant, I think kind of good news for other people that are trying to break into</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> the.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, I\'ve always thought that if you\'re using that model or any model, you should be doing everything you can as soon as you have any kind of audience to get in relationship with your best users. You know, figure u usually you\'d have some kind of persona, you know, you, you know who your, your target audience is, and then maybe that revises over time as you, you get to actually know them.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that\'s the best data you, you can get. Finding ways to develop that, um, that relationship is, um, is really key. There\'s then you, you kind of take control of your, you\'re not sitting back passively looking for a number to come in that might be dubious, um, is a big generalization. Um, can you get together a focus group or something like that?[00:11:00]</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The, um, the thing that. I, I think, uh, resonated seems be resonated with a lot of people. With, with Matt\'s, is that that number you mentioned yet? Alex, Alex is speaking of, um, this, going through a lot of data. This is a general figure. This is the, the kind of conversion you can expect on a freemium plugin in, in the, um, what do you, uh, in the, in the.org repo.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\'s, that\'s an average. So, An average for 50, 60,000 possible. Um, I suppose I\'m not, I\'m not sure what the restricted, um, data set is that they\'re looking at. Maybe it\'s a little more targeted than that, but, um, you may not be the average. Do you want to be the average? Do you want, do you wanna market yourself and, and consider your, your success based on relative to, to an average?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you wanna do 200 [00:12:00] times better than that? Um, and I, I would say, yeah, shoot for that is, is, is that kind of where you, you see Matt, um, saying, Look, there\'s, there\'s plenty of ways to be an exception to this.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, one of the things he mentioned was, you know, it also depends on the category, the type of plugin you\'re in.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mm-hmm. . If you\'re competing against the big SEO plugins or form plugins, for example, you\'re gonna have a hard time. There are a lot of established plugins out there that do these things and that have massive install numbers. Um, but if you have a great product that is in the right niche at the right time, there\'s no reason why you still can\'t have success.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, yeah, I mean, one to 2% is kind of low. Um, but that doesn\'t mean your particular plugin is going to have to settle for that. I mean, Regardless of where you put your plug in. And I, I think, um, both [00:13:00] gentlemen agreed that, you know, dot org is a lot different than it was a few years ago, But regardless of where you put that effort, you still have to put in a lot of work in order to get good results.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, you know, Right. It, it\'s, you know, it ultimately it\'s up to the, to the developer, um, to market their product, to make a great product. And, you know, That, that\'s what\'s gonna lead to the results more than just, it\'s, it\'s home on the web basically.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Right? Yeah. There, it, it seems to me like there\'s a, there\'s an important perspective, um, shift that it\'s, it\'s worth, um, considering if there\'s kind of, there\'s a, there\'s a, you can look at at general.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall market numbers. You can try to look at how peers are doing within a certain trench there. And, and then there\'s the numbers you generate yourself and the, and it, it\'s somewhat, it [00:14:00] can be somewhat disempowering to, to get over occupied with, um, um, comparison to others. Um, just the whole psychology of that is that really doing well.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, Or do you wanna define your own? I remember when, um, like some years ago, MailChimp or people in the newsletter marketing, um, world posted, here\'s industry averages on open rates and click rates, and I don\'t know where exactly how they computed this. Um, uh, I think the ones coming from MailChimp are based on their data.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, Okay, this is probably reliable. And then, and then some years later, I\'ve, I\'ve seen totally. Figures, but um, in reference to that, like, wow, we\'re consistently two, three, even four times over that. So great . But is there really any actionable, um, data in that there, there\'s such broad, um, broad [00:15:00] figures. What, what, what do you think are the useful, um, practical things coming out of this, out of this conversation?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I see Matt has some things that they agree. It is tougher these days. Um, the market has changed a lot. Um,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> yeah, I, I, I just think it\'s, it\'s a long overdue conversation. It\'s kind of funny that it took this particular incident to kind of spark it, but mm-hmm. , you know, as I said, if you\'re starting a, uh, a plug-in business today, it\'s so much different than it was a few years ago.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You know, I, I think this could only benefit people in that position. Right now. They\'re, they\'re seeing both sides of the argument. They\'re seeing, you know, how they fit into, to what\'s happening out there in the WordPress community. So, you know, it, it\'s, it is very productive at the very least. And hopefully it leads to, you know, Some rethinking of the [00:16:00] statistics that really matter and that allow developers to make good</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> decisions.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Right? Yeah. Um, I\'d, I\'d really like to, I\'m one of those who likes more data just to out of curiosity and analysis of, you know, understanding. The market as a whole, but when you\'re, when you\'re actually doing, making practical moves for your, your business, everyone\'s unique or different and, um, you know, or do you have a extension in the W commerce, uh, marketplace?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\'s a growth area. Uh, that\'s, is that, do you have all your eggs in one basket? Um, everything that Matt says at the end, that\'s a practical tip is like kind of a no brainer, but you get distracted from that. Pretty easily by looking over your shoulder at another side, I suppose identify your niche should keep it focused.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, launch day one with your free and paid options. Focus on user experience and excellent customer [00:17:00] support. I think those are, those are really key and are under, under practiced, um, across the, the board, um, user experience all the way to plays well with others. How, you know, whether you\'re bombarding people with notifications to, to upsell them.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, there was, someone recently suggested a standard, um, a kind of industry, uh, standard way of doing that, that was part of the discussion. Um, maybe like the in line with WP Notify, What if we get to a consensus on, um, ways to reach. With freemium plugin plugins to, to the audience instead of all trying our own things inside the dashboard.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is there anything else in that discussion or any other contributions to it that, um, you\'ve been reflecting on this week? Any anyone else writing in [00:18:00] on it?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> Yeah, I, I think you know, what you just mentioned about the notifications is interesting because we had, uh, You know, the post that Mark Zara, uh, had a couple of weeks ago about the marketing tactics, it kind of got me thinking about this data.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I mean, if you have accurate, actionable data, do you need to really go down the rabbit hole with some of these unsavory, I guess I\'ll call them marketing tactics, You know, if you had that access to the right data. You know, right now it\'s so open to experimentation because people may not exactly know what the right path is for them.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So they\'re going to experiment. They\'re always going to be developers who push the envelope when it comes to, you know, littering the dashboard and, and just making it, uh, uh, a difficult user experience, I guess I should say. Um, [00:19:00] maybe data is part of the way we solve. Yeah. I,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> I, I think that that\'s a good, a good tangent for this to, to go in tho Those two seem related to me as well because they\'re, they\'re two parts of that transaction.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, they\'re due to the not having. Telemetry and you\'ve gotta find some other way to reach out. And the easy, the low hanging fruit has seemed to be, well, let\'s put in a big, you must respond, you know, something where people are gonna click on it and, um, and respond. Um, but then there\'s all this pushback against that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other, other forms of marketing, like you\'ve, you\'ve mentioned, like Mark\'s mentioned, I should bring that up with him and see what his thoughts are since he\'s recently weighed in on both. And that that is ultimately though the user experience is where you get the, the pushback. Um, they want [00:20:00] someone using your plugin, um, may actually want to give you feedback.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Can you find an appropriate channel? It\'s such a, it\'s such a one way transaction. Um, yeah, I don\'t, it seems like there should be some opportunities there and if there was collaboration, In the plugin industry to, hey, this is how we\'re all gonna do this. If there was a cluster of, of people or, or one particular company or, um, a group that agreed, let\'s try this particular way of, um, standardizing how we do this part of the interface, how we reach out to customers.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, um, I don\'t think we do anything as a community to set expectations at all or to educate people who are just casual users. And that cascades into them. Just, you know, never really entering more deeply into, into the WordPress project as maybe as much as they would. Um, [00:21:00] I wonder if there\'s lost opportunities there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, that\'s a good one. The notification thing I is a pet issue for me too. No one likes it. . No. No. Well, the other, the other thing I was gonna. Mention ties in into your, your other pick too. You, you wrote a piece on what developers should expect from, um, from WordPress and, Yeah. What, Let me walk us through your, your main points there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> Yeah. So, you know, with, with all the, the talk about the data being removed, that also kind of got me thinking of, well, you know, what is it that if I\'m a plugin developer, what should I expect from the WordPress project? You know? And my conclusion is that I don\'t know that the WordPress project is necessarily interested in helping you make money off of your plugin.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You know? Mm-hmm. , they\'re providing us with a [00:22:00] platform. That we can build on. So there\'s the opportunity to make money, and they\'re offering us, you know, documentation and, you know, different events and things like that to help us learn, um, how we can use the platform for, for our needs. However, you know, when it gets to the point of, you know, are, are they in the market to help any big plugin developer make.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I mean, should they be, Is that something that. You know, we should reasonably expect them to care about, um, you know, like personally, I felt like the data that was there, they should have done a, a much better job in explaining why it was removed. Because I think that is the part of it that gets people fired up the most perhaps, is that there\'s just no explanation for it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\'s no official word. You know, there\'s a, a rumor here and there. In, when you look at it [00:23:00] in, in a, uh, broader view, is that data something that WordPress owes to plug in developers necessarily? Right. So that was kind of my point as to, you know, Yes, we\'ve missed this data and it could be useful, but we also have to realize that every one of these plug-in developers is a third party entity.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of them are commercial, including automatic, and so. , you know, are we going to expect WordPress to facilitate our money making? You know, that\'s ultimately up to the company. That\'s up to the developer, right? Um, they\'re giving us the tool to build upon and you know, we take it from there. And that\'s right kind of where it ends.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Exactly. Um, yeah, it\'s a bit of a humbling message, but I, I think it\'s, it\'s an over overdue one. And, and maybe that\'s actually a good, explicit conversation to [00:24:00] have. What, what should, what should the project set as expectations? Um, can those be explicitly laid out, um, to people who are in the extender category of, you know, building plugins and themes and services?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, you, you often, You know, Des describing. The very large realm of third party, um, businesses built around WordPress, um, describing them as, as super fans, um, is, is an interesting thing. I I, I kind of had a chuckle out of, because I, I think there\'s another side of that perspective where it\'s like, you know, with friends like these, you , like this is the, the people who.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You know, con, you know, everyone, everyone who\'s had some success or prominence in, in the market, there\'s a, there\'s a strong tendency towards maybe conveying, you know, especially if you\'re Twitter, active personality, God\'s gift to, uh, [00:25:00] to WordPress and expanding the market here and well from, um, from other, other perspectives.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Compared to other projects, testing performance is, uh, something that a lot of third party, uh, products have delegated upward to hosts to deal with. Um, it\'s not just WordPress core, although that\'s there, but, um, the tightening focusing in on performance now, I, I think is really important. But it\'s something that, um, you know, unlike other projects, Testing is not as, um, aggressively implemented or standardized, um, across the board.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can get stuff in the, in the repo without, you know, necessarily doing, you know, end to end deep testing of, um, for security and performance. And I think any, anything, any developments on [00:26:00] that front are, are to be encouraged. There\'s. That\'s ongoing. But, um, if, if plugin developers really took charge of that, um, that\'s an area that there\'s clear.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Clear synergy and, uh, alignment of interest with e everybody. And I think that\'s where everyone benefits. Um, you, you may not be owed anything, but um, for your, for your, your contributions, but everyone benefits when, when those are good, when, uh, when everyone\'s kind of aligned and, and, uh, performance and, and security are, are ones where just absolutely everyone is.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In, in it together? No, no one, um, everyone has an interest in, in everything performing as well as possible and being as secure as possible. So that, that kind of touches the, um, the other thing I wanted to bring up, which is one of our own, um, back in August, [00:27:00] I, uh, recorded a, a conversation with Tell Chris, um, who\'s Object Cash Pro and is working on a success.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Product, Um, and has had huge success with a high value hosting market. Partnerships with, with that, he has a freemium plugin that is also super valuable. That is originally from a forked product of, um, I think some core, core developers quite some time back about a decade, um, that they, they established and then left and, and till took over.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, with his own, his own versions, he has over a hundred thousand. Installs tracked on the on the.org repo with that. But his premium product, which actually is not open source to protect, to protect it as intellectual property, um, that is where you get the big, the bigger revenue from fewer clients [00:28:00] because it appeals to hosts who have such, or anyone who has such a high volume of traffic paying you a thousand bucks.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Uh, a month. Is saving me 20 20,000 on the bandwidth that, so it, it\'s kind of, um, it\'s a, it\'s a really fascinating model that I think doesn\'t translate to everybody. It\'s a niche product, but there are lessons from it that really do, and it\'s how can I build something that\'s so tested rigorously and so performant that I don\'t have more than like five minutes of support time a day.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>All plugin developers complain, , plugin, plugin businesses are complain about support. So amazing relationship there with kind of sell itself and, and two, this is coming from someone who is self taught, I believe, largely self taught developer who then spent time outside of WordPress in Lve and got deeply into performance and, and testing and brings a [00:29:00] rigor from that project back to WordPress, which is sad.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not common and not part of the culture and not intensely supported and taught. Um, so I, I think those are things plugin developers can look to and, and learn from. I don\'t know if you had a chance to listen to that. I, I actually did more writing about, about that conversation the more I thought about it than I usually do.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> Yeah. Hi. His story is very interesting and I said going to the hosting market. Is really unique. No, I mean, how many WordPress plugins are really doing that? And I think what he shows is that there are still opportunities. If you have something that is very niche that you don\'t have to necessarily even worry about the plugin repo so much.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Right.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Yeah. And it\'s partly an opportunity that\'s been, it\'s very stereotypical. It goes back a long way. It\'s an [00:30:00] structural feature of, of WordPress culture and, and software engineering. Um, he\'s solving a problem that exists because WordPress. Is is not super competitive on the performance front. More and more, that\'s more and more an issue at time, uh, over time.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So it\'s being more aggressively dealt with now. Uh, but a large part of that, I remember 10, 15 years ago, you know, hosts, it was like a glass half full glass, half empty. Everyone\'s installing WordPress and 250 plugins, and some of them are nuts, . And it\'s like it brings it to a crawl. Um, so there\'s been this huge boom.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Managed WordPress hosting and really to cater with that to, to that. Um, and I think, and it\'s not just that all P h p MyQ, um, CMS platforms that got popular around the same time, you, you can, you [00:31:00] know, left to your own devices someone can install and quite a lot of stuff on there and. That\'s never, performance, hasn\'t been pushed to as a core competency and responsibility of third party developers in, in WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I think that\'s really overdue and is hugely in their interest and until has a, a winning product because it matters so much at scale. Um, and that\'s another, that\'s another thing if your plugin doesn\'t. Doesn\'t, wasn\'t conceived of and architected towards, towards scale. Well you, are you going to be able to market this, um, in a higher tier?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Is this something that a V I P agency is gonna do code review and say, you know, we like this future set, but, um, you know, uh, uh, this is gonna, here are, here are issues with security, [00:32:00] performance and so on. I think that sort of. That sort of barrier is there and maybe not talked about as much as, as it should.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\'s a lot of learning, um, that could happen there that\'s constructive. Um, if you\'re going for a middle or low market, maybe you don\'t think about that as much, but there\'s a lot of high dollar value in having, having something that is going to be adopted by high value market.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> Yeah. I mean, if you make yourself indispensable to, uh, Larger installs.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think you could find yourself, uh, doing pretty well in this space. But, you know, talking about performance, I mean, there\'s really not a lot of formal educational opportunities out there right now for that. Um, you know, and the kind of the. Blessing and curse of programming is that you can build things more than one way.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You know, if you ask me to build you a form, I can build you a form in many different ways. [00:33:00] Doesn\'t necessarily mean it\'s gonna be the most performant. Um, and you know, if there\'s no real standard or there\'s nobody sitting there and, you know, testing all of these things, um, before they get into repository.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\'re, you could be stuck with something that you know isn\'t very performant and, you know, the average site owner\'s not going to know that there are faster, better alternatives. So that\'s kind of the, the, uh, the challenge we find ourselves in right now.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Yeah, I\'ve, I\'ve said before, somewhat, you know, half serious, you know, that I would love to see statistics on, you know, what\'s the average amount of, of queries, queries that this.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plugin will add to my site if I install it. And is it arbitrarily loading dependencies and, and adding, adding page weight on, um, absolutely every page load? Or is it just doing that where it needs to? There there are [00:34:00] things like that that, um, I think public attention to would, would have a, be. Impact. Um, it just hasn\'t, hasn\'t really been considered.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you have a third, uh, third item or, or was the Alex and, and Matt, the kind of counting his too. Did, Is there one more? Um, Pick of the week for</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> you? Well, I, I, I think, uh, I was really interested in, in looking at, uh, 10 UPS Gutenberg best practices site, cuz that kind of ties into this a little bit with the education.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\'s a very big agency, does a lot of, um, large WordPress based projects and they\'re kind of sharing their methods for building Gutenberg blocks, for working with block themes and the theme json file. Um, and you know, maybe that\'s one of our solutions community. Mm-hmm. members that have had success and have a reputation for quality sharing, how they do things.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I know web dev [00:35:00] studios has done similar things in the past where if you can kind of see how they do things, maybe that rubs off on other developers and they also, you know, build things to be performant and sustainable. Um, you know, that\'s the kind of information I think is, is really just crucial to have cuz it goes beyond just the basic documentation that WordPress</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> provides.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, absolutely. I, I\'ve, um, I was pleased to see that come out. I\'ve kind of been looking for that for years. I was like, you know, knowing that\'s kind of a bellwether, you know, we\'ll have turned a corner when, when you see the, um, top agencies, uh, turning. Um, case studies, documentation, tutorials, explainers that are, are really useful and, and helpful, but are also signaling, hey, they\'ve, they\'ve turned the corner on that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>They are, they\'re doing Gutenberg first, um, with, with new, new site builds. Um, [00:36:00] and I, I think I, I\'ve never seen anyone mention this, but. I, I feel that there\'s a, um, there\'s a need there. Maybe there isn\'t enough of a hunger for, for unofficial standards. Uh, when, when back, way back when managed hosting, um, started to come out and, um, I remember WP Engine was, I think the, the first I recall where there was a public list of do of plugins.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\'t allow or, Yeah. Um, and I was like, Cool. That saves me a lot of time, . And I, I kept up with that and I kind of, I aligned my own lists with that and, and tried to learn, Okay, why is that? And to kind of sharpen my own understanding of. How experts are, are picking and screening and you know, you look at, um, WordPress v i p documentation, I, I\'ve done that from time time.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, what is their [00:37:00] perspective on, on ACF or, um, or, or something else that, uh, I, I don\'t, I don\'t know that that\'s done at. People who are serving a kind of lower middle market and who can count on, let\'s just, we\'ll just throw more server horsepower on that, that will be the client\'s problem. Um, there are, there are leaders who build the topnotch, you know, flagship sites out there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You know, everyone always mentions White house.org, which used to be, which was a big brag for Duple back in the day. That was, it was originally a droople site. And if we\'re going to recognize leadership and leaders like that, then I think what comes along with that is, is taking the best practices at standards seriously, and hopefully seeing more of those come out.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So there was a 10 up one, and then I also noticed really all at the same time. So Mike McAllister has, um, Launched Ollie, [00:38:00] um, WordPress tutorials and tools that are really focused on the future of the block editor and full site editing. Um, and there were a couple of others that, um, that popped out. Do you know Alex, the WP Marmite?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, I don\'t really, I don\'t know them that well,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> but, uh, that one I, no, I, I, I don\'t know Alex very well. Um, I\'ve heard, I\'ve heard of WP Marmite, but I.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> I\'ve looked over there a few times. I noticed I, it is like, wow, this is a trend in the, in the last seven to 10 days. Um, new tutorial sites being launched that he has one on per, I think it\'s a performance.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, have to look back up, up in here. W p Turbo. Um, yeah, which has got, uh, code generators, short code generators, um, familiar things from the past, but, um, gear. Um, reminds me to generate wp, um, or what was that site called? Um, I think that was [00:39:00] it. It, this, yeah, where you can, but it\'s, it\'s got a tutorial component too.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, uh, kind of updating those things for, um, performance and the future of. Of the word press editor, um, Jamie Marclin put out a nice, uh, video on how to build quality page layouts in just 10 minutes. right is his, uh, sales line there, which is, which actually there, it, it\'s not easy to make things look good.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I mean, you need layout, You need to learn some layout, design, skill, basics. Make hash in, um, any kind of , any kind of page builder. And I think people turning to focus on those, um, on those things is a really good sign.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> Yeah. I mean, when you think about it, it\'s, you know, we have great tools and some, some tools don\'t require us to write code, but you still have to have some fundamental skills in place mm-hmm.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>before you can [00:40:00] really have success with them. And I think you know it, I mean, Elementor is a great product, but it doesn\'t necessarily make you a designer by trade. No. Um, just from installing it, I mean, there, there, there\'s, you still have to put in a little bit of work. So these kind of sites are, are nice.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>To have because you, those references, you know, can help you become better at what you\'re doing. Right?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Yeah. And, um, on that note, um, the WordPress, WordPress 6.1 is looking like a really, you\'re gonna be a really cool release. And I noted that. Um, yeah. WordPress, v i p put out a, what they called hot takes, um, on, um, On the value of, of what\'s, what\'s in, um, what\'s in 6.1.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>That should be noted by, um, their, their audience, their clientele. So I\'m, I\'m, I\'m interested in, in that often, like, you\'re, Okay, so this is directed towards, towards their [00:41:00] clients. This is, you know, very different than the, the, you know, the, um, The broad, mid middle market. Um, and they\'re, they\'re focusing on things like constraints, you know, that you can lock lock blocks, um, which is huge.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I, you know, you only, I, I\'ve only heard agency people and, and freelancers, anyone dealing with clients talking about, Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You\'ve got reusable block. You know, we\'ve all found ways probably to new car work by. With reusable blocks that aren\'t, aren\'t locked down or, um, uh, even see Brian Cords mentioned something I\'ve, I\'ve done a few times, although I, I had revisions turned on so I could, I could go back.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it\'s, um, it\'s quite easy to have a second tab open and forget you\'ve made changes in this other tab and then, you know, wipe them out or, or something like that. There\'s a lot, there\'s a lot of little ways. So many more [00:42:00] options in, in Gutenberg can, um, frustrate people whose time, you know, that are, you don\'t want your clients foundering in, in these kinds of things.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, so that, that to me is a good sign too, that we\'re, we\'re looking at constraints as, as a positive.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> Yeah, I mean in the old days we went to great lengths to, to lock things away from clients and now Gutenberg kind of takes that away, when it came out it\'s like, okay, well now they have access to everything and they can do freak all sorts of havocs.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So the ability to lock things down is, you know, is, is key for the future, I think.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> Anything else we should throw on the, on the, on the deck or,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> I think that was about it. Busy week.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dan Knauss:</strong> No, it seems not. Not, not. No one got acquired. No major, huge business things, but, um, and still trying to digest the [00:43:00] implications of all, all the new, uh, w w commerce, hosted w commerce platforms that are, are rolling out.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Um, that\'s, that\'s a big deal. Uh, but yeah, another time another conversation all. Well, thanks for, uh, thanks for joining me again, and we can, uh, do a few more roundups like this, uh,</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Eric Karkovack:</strong> now and then. Thank you for having me. It\'s my pleasure.</p>\n<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:\"Fri, 21 Oct 2022 15:45:32 +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:10:\"Dan Knauss\";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:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:66:\"WPTavern: WordPress Themes Directory Adds Style Variation Previews\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=138816\";s:7:\"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/wordpress-themes-directory-adds-style-variation-previews\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:3070:\"<p>WordPress.org theme previews just got a major improvement this week with the addition of <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2022/10/20/displaying-style-variations-for-supporting-themes/\">Style Variation previews</a>. The previews now appear on block themes that include style variations. </p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>Themes that have more variations than what fits in the space beneath the preview pane will display all variations in a carousel with little arrows to navigate to the next ones. Here&#8217;s an example with the Pixl theme from Automattic that contains seven brightly colored variations:</p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s also possible to see a selected style variation loaded into the theme preview now. Clicking the &#8216;Preview&#8217; button will allow users to scroll and explore the theme with their selected style variation applied.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;These style variations, designed by theme authors and packaged in block themes, help users have a diverse set of approaches to their site design allowing them to find one that aligns with their goals,&#8221; Automattic-sponsored Meta team contributor Steve Dufresne said. &#8220;This feature helps to highlight the flexibility of modern WordPress themes and it’s time to have it baked into the theme directory experience.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new style variation previews are fetched from the themes&#8217; <code>/styles/{variation_name}.json</code> files, so theme authors do not have to do anything to make the previews work. They will automatically display for any theme that includes style variations.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meta team contributors are also working on adding the ability to filter the directory for themes with style variations. Dufresne proposed creating a new <code>style-variations</code> theme tag as the simplest route towards implementing this.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Doing so will allow the active filtering of these themes without needing to make many if any code changes,&#8221; he said in the <a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6545\">ticket</a>&#8216;s description.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;A longer-term solution should look at exposing these features visibly somehow without needing to find the obscured filters that we currently have. This feature should be judged equally with others and therefore, this type of implementation should be better debated and falls out of the scope of this ticket and the immediate need to see themes with style variations.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a good observation, as not all WordPress users hunting for themes will know that a tag exists in the Feature Filter. That list is already quite lengthy and not the best user experience for discovering themes with specific features, especially if users don&#8217;t understand what the terms mean.  Theme authors will want to watch this <a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6545\">ticket</a>. If the shorter term solution of creating a new <code>style-variations</code> tag is committed, they will need to update their themes with the tag to be included in the filtering.</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, 21 Oct 2022 15:31:32 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:19;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:65:\"Post Status: Connect freemium plugins to premium extension sales?\";s:7:\"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=141363\";s:7:\"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://poststatus.com/connect-freemium-plugins-to-premium-extension-sales/\";s: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:4531:\"<div class=\"wp-container-27 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\">Justin Labadie\'s wishlist for the WordPress.org plugin repo: <br /><br />1) Ensure all search results are relevant. <br />2) Standardize a Premium product upsell interface. <br />3) Make it possible to show other products by the same author.  </p></div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer eplus-wrapper\"></div>\n\n\n\n<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>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\"><strong>Justin Labadie</strong> from <a href=\"http://slickremix.com/\">SlickRemix</a> left <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/two-key-questions-we-need-to-answer/#comment-492939\">a helpful comment</a> that adds an interesting idea to the mix of possible futures for the wordpress.org plugin repository. </p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Search results should show peer products, not totally unrelated ones</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Confirming <a href=\"https://www.mattcromwell.com/the-case-for-the-wordpress-plugin-freemium-model/\">some problems</a> <strong>Matt Cromwell</strong> has noted about the repository\'s search algorithm, Justin describes how he and his brother <strong>Spencer Labadie</strong> had a plugin there that was &#8220;stacked in the search [results]&#8221; with unrelated plugins showing much higher active installs. Nothing the Labadies tried changed this outcome, so &#8220;After many hours, a few years, and &#8230; little to no growth no matter the hours or money&#8221; they decided to get out of the repo. </p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-standardize-what-works-for-freemium-premium-plugins-upsells-in-the-back-end\">Standardize what works for freemium/premium plugins: Upsells in the back end</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>At the same time, Justin says &#8220;almost every free install was a premium extension sale of some kind,&#8221; so they were definitely getting value from the plugin repository and freemium model but on the strength of their own product and sales funnel. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;With our main plugin we have ways we hook people into purchasing our premium extensions,&#8221; Justin commented. He says there should be &#8220;a standardized way for free plugins to do this.&#8221; Why not standardize what works well?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>How it could look:</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>I imagine a hook [where] users installing plugins see extensions offered by the plugins/themes. If we standardize something clean and not overly spammy-looking where devs can hook into that [and] show users what they offer that is premium&#8230;. Not a “Premium plugins store” but simply a page or way to display offerings within the repo that users can choose to click see that would take them to place to purchase. There would also be a similar and standardized way of hooking into displaying [upsells] on the [end user\'s] WordPress install’s backend.</p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, some kind of &#8220;Here\'s what else we offer&#8221; page or panel would come up during the installation process on each site.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Make it easy to find everything contributed by each author or company</h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<img width=\"752\" height=\"419\" src=\"https://cdn.poststatus.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screen-Shot-2022-10-21-at-7.42.57-AM-752x419.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-141397\" />This is the only place in the plugin repository where you might (possibly) find all the plugins by a single author/vendor.</div>\n\n\n<p>Currently, it\'s not easy or even truly possible to display all the plugins by a single author in the repo. If they are the only author, or if their account is connected to all their plugins in the repo (and many aren\'t), it is only possible to see all those plugins together on the authors\' own profile pages under their Contribution History\'s &#8220;Plugins&#8221; tab. Company/owner pages that list all contributors and all company products — including themes — would do the most to help WordPress businesses using the repository.</p>\n\n\n\n<p></p>\n<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:\"Fri, 21 Oct 2022 13:58:19 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:10:\"Dan Knauss\";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:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:97:\"WPTavern: WordPress Documentation Team to Host Its First Online Contributor Day, October 25, 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:30:\"https://wptavern.com/?p=138800\";s:7:\"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://wptavern.com/wordpress-documentation-team-to-host-its-first-online-contributor-day-october-25-2022\";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:2185:\"<p>WordPress&#8217; Documentation Team will be <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/docs/2022/10/19/the-first-ever-documentation-team-contributor-day-25th-october-2022/\">hosting an online Contributor Day</a> on October 25, 2022, ahead of WordPress&#8217; anticipated 6.1 release the following week. Milana Cap, who has been volunteering with the Documentation team for years and is currently sponsored by XWP, announced the event this week.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The primary goal is to catch up with a lot of tasks in the team’s backlog but also it&#8217;s an opportunity for all contributors to meet, collaborate in real time, and help onboard all new contributors who need any kind of help,&#8221; Cap said.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The virtual event will be the first of its kind for the Documentation team but follows in the footsteps of other contributors teams, including the Polyglots and Accessibility teams, which have hosted wildly successful global events that include contribution and onboarding. These types of virtual gatherings help contributors get connected and put names to faces</p>\n\n\n\n<p>New contributors are encouraged to attend, even if it&#8217;s just for a short time to see what documentation contribution is all about. Cap requested everyone who plans to attend to leave their names on the GitHub <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/Documentation-Issue-Tracker/issues/527\">issue</a> dedicated to the Contributor Day. It outlines the steps to begin contributing and highlights a list of tickets awaiting content review for older documentation as well as more recent block editor and end user documentation tickets. For example, there is a project board specifically for <a href=\"https://github.com/orgs/WordPress/projects/45/views/11\">high priority tickets remaining for 6.1</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Documentation team will be kicking off the event on <a href=\"https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?iso=20221025T1000\">Tuesday, October 25, 2022 at 06:00 AM EDT</a> and it will run for 10 hours. Attendees can <a href=\"https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88088421252?pwd=cnlRSW84YjlwdjRtYStnVXZnV0Vwdz09\">join via Zoom</a> and are not required to stay for any length of time.</p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Thu, 20 Oct 2022 21:30:22 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:21;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:49:\"Post Status: Best Practices and Tools from rtCamp\";s:7:\"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=123187\";s:7:\"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:60:\"https://poststatus.com/best-practices-and-tools-from-rtcamp/\";s: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:4143:\"<p>I\'ve been collecting <strong><a href=\"https://poststatus.com/profile/rtcamp/\">rtCamp</a></strong> news for a while — they have a great <a href=\"https://rtcamp.com/subscribe/\">monthly newsletter</a> — and here are some of the highlights worth sharing broadly.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-rtlearn-rtgrowth\">rtLearn = rtGrowth</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>First of all, is <a href=\"https://learn.rtcamp.com/\"><strong>rtLearn</strong></a> — not new but not as well known as it should be. As a large and growing company well positioned in Pune, <a href=\"https://yourstory.com/2020/01/pune-tech-startup-hub-maharashtra-state-innovation-policy/amp\">India\'s tech hub</a>, rtCamp recruits new university graduates but in the spirit of <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BarCamp\"><strong>BarCamp</strong></a> and the idea of a <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_Table_(disambiguation)\">round table</a> (where the &#8220;rt&#8221; comes from), rtLearn mints WordPress professionals from college students, new recruits, &#8220;dropouts, freshers, or people with some work experience.&#8221; </p>\n\n\n\n<p>A year ago, rtCamp CEO and Founder <strong><a href=\"https://poststatus.com/member-spotlight-rahul-bansal/\">Rahul Bansal</a></strong> wrote that all their new hires had &#8220;gone through remote training via our rtLearn platform,&#8221; and in two years &#8220;these remote classrooms &#8230; allowed us to blow past the <a href=\"https://rtcamp.com/blog/100-rtcampers/\">100-employee mark</a>.&#8221; </p>\n\n\n\n<p>A year later, and rtCamp\'s headcount has about doubled on their path to being fully distributed.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rtCamp on-site campus program is a full-time, paid, six-month training course rtCamp draws some employees from. They also have a free, <strong>CC0</strong> master <a href=\"https://learn.rtcamp.com/courses/wordpress-development/\">WordPress Development course</a> anyone can take online. This is an outstanding model for WordPress workforce development, and it would be terrific if other major agencies in the space borrowed from it.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Compare Plugins Side by Side</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, I\'ve been watching rtCamp\'s <strong><a href=\"https://wpplugincompare.com/\">WordPress Plugin Compare</a></strong> directory evolve as a really helpful site for comparing plugins side-by-side. They keep adding <a href=\"https://rtcamp.com/blog/wppc-feature-update-filter/\">more features</a> to assist in comparative analysis. </p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Sharing Expertise: Personalization </h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Recently published on the rtCamp blog — an unfolding <a href=\"https://rtcamp.com/blog/personalization-web-intro/\">series on Personalization</a> geared toward the enterprise. In an upcoming post, they\'ll have a case study involving a WordPress — Salesforce Marketing Cloud integration with user segmentation functionality that empowers marketing teams to create email campaigns connected to personalized landing pages on the WordPress site.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If case studies, tools, and explainers are your thing, the rtCamp blog is full of treats:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://rtcamp.com/blog/visual-automation-framework-migration-projects/\">A Visual Automation framework for pixel perfect migration and re-platforming</a> (<a href=\"https://github.com/rtCamp/visual-automation-backstop\">GitHub</a>)</li><li><a href=\"https://rtcamp.com/case-studies/migrating-vinsolutions-kentico-cms-to-wordpress-vip/\">Migrating VinSolutions.com from Kentico CMS to WordPress VIP</a> — a client migration case study where Vinsolutions.com is brought from Kentico CMS to a WordPress VIP multisite environment — while increasing the overall website Core Web Vitals performance by 48%.</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2>Elementary: A Block-based Starter Theme</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Available on Github, rtCamp has shared a starter theme for block-based, full-site editing themes with developer-friendly features: <a href=\"https://github.com/rtcamp/theme-elementary\">Elementary</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\'s solid boilerplate following WordPress coding standards that\'s fully FSE-ready with a baked-in testing framework.</p>\n<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, 20 Oct 2022 20:08:31 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:10:\"Dan Knauss\";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:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:89:\"Post Status: A Makeover for HelpHub — and you can help the Docs Team on Contributor Day\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:32:\"https://poststatus.com/?p=137716\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:96:\"https://poststatus.com/a-makeover-for-helphub-and-you-can-help-the-docs-team-on-contributor-day/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:764:\"<p>Pretty <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/docs/2022/10/19/new-design-for-helphub-in-wordpress-org/\">snazzy new looks</a> coming the the WordPress documentation site!</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/docs/2022/10/19/new-design-for-helphub-in-wordpress-org/\">New design for HelpHub in WordPress.org</a></blockquote>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<p>You can help the Docs Team! Come to <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/docs/2022/10/19/the-first-ever-documentation-team-contributor-day-25th-october-2022/\">the first ever Documentation team Contributor Day</a> on <strong>October 25th</strong>.</p>\n<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, 20 Oct 2022 19:10:49 +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:10:\"Dan Knauss\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:23;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:131:\"Post Status: WordPress 6.1 RC2 • 6.1 Sneak Peek with Nick Diego • WP-CLI 2.7.1 • Help Test Plugin Dependencies Feature 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:32:\"https://poststatus.com/?p=137600\";s:7:\"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:130:\"https://poststatus.com/wordpress-6-1-rc2-6-1-sneak-peek-with-nick-diego-wp-cli-2-7-1-help-test-plugin-dependencies-feature-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:18470:\"<h2 id=\"h-this-week-at-wordpress-org-october-17-2022\">This Week at WordPress.org (October 17, 2022)</h2>\n\n\n<div class=\"has-background has-theme-palette-8-background-color wp-block-post-excerpt\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-excerpt__excerpt\">Get a sneak peek at WordPress 6.1 with Nick Diego. Help test 6.1 Release Candidate 2 — and the Plugin Dependencies feature plugin. Be sure to browse the 6.1 DevNotes, Field Guides, and Team Updates. WP-CLI 2.7.1 is available now. </p></div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"kt-info-box_68609b-a8\" 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-fas_stopwatch\"></span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"kt-infobox-textcontent\"><h2 class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-title\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/10/proposal-stop-merging-experimental-apis-from-gutenberg-to-wordpress-core/\">WordPress 6.1 </a>Release Candidate 2</h2><p class=\"kt-blocks-info-box-text\"><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/23f3.png\" alt=\"⏳\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/10/wordpress-6-1-release-candidate-2-now-available/\">WordPress 6.1 Release Candidate 2 (RC) Now Available</a><br /><br /><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f9ea.png\" alt=\"🧪\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/test/2022/09/21/help-test-wordpress-6-1/\">Help Test WordPress 6.1</a><br /><br /><img src=\"https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f50e.png\" alt=\"🔎\" class=\"wp-smiley\" /> <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/dev-notes-6-1/\">WordPress 6.1 DevNotes, Field Guides, and Team Updates</a><br /><br />>  <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/cli/2022/10/18/wp-cli-v2-7-1-release-notes/\">WP-CLI v2.7.1 Release Notes</a></p></div></div></div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-news\">News</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/10/wordpress-6-1-release-candidate-2-now-available/\">WordPress 6.1 Release Candidate 2 (RC) Now Available</a></li><li><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/10/wordpress-6-0-3-security-release/\">WordPress 6.0.3 Security Release</a></li><li><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/10/episode-41-wordpress-6-1-sneak-peek-with-special-guest-nick-diego/\">WP Briefing Episode 41: WordPress 6.1 Sneak Peek with Special Guest Nick Diego</a></li><li><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/10/the-month-in-wordpress-september-2022/\">The Month in WordPress – September 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/12/call-for-testing-plugin-dependencies/\">Call for Testing: Plugin Dependencies</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-_9ee0ac-7f\"><div class=\"kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center\"><hr class=\"kt-divider\" /></div></div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-wp-6-1-devnotes-and-team-updates\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/dev-notes-6-1/\">WP 6.1 DevNotes</a> and Team Updates</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/12/wordpress-6-1-field-guide/\">WordPress 6.1 Field Guide</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/11/performance-field-guide-for-wordpress-6-1/\">Performance Field Guide for WordPress 6.1</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2022/10/20/wordpress-6-1-translation-status-october-20-2022/\">WordPress 6.1 Translation Status (October 20, 2022)</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2022/10/11/wordpress-6-1-ready-to-be-translated/\">WordPress 6.1 ready to be translated</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/20/multisite-registration-and-activation-pages-have-new-html-and-css/\">Multisite registration and activation pages have new HTML and CSS</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/14/global-terms-removed-in-wordpress-6-1/\">Global terms removed in WordPress 6.1</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/11/enhanced-typescript-support-in-wordpress-6-1/\">Enhanced TypeScript support in WordPress 6.1</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/11/reference-styles-values-in-theme-json/\">Reference Styles values in theme.json</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/11/wordpress-6-1-accessibility-improvements/\">WordPress 6.1 Accessibility Improvements</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/11/miscellaneous-rest-api-improvements-in-wordpress-6-1/\">Miscellaneous REST API improvements in WordPress 6.1</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/12/block-api-changes-in-wordpress-6-1/\">Block API changes in WordPress 6.1</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/11/content-locking-features-and-updates/\">Content locking features and updates</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/11/simplified-data-access-with-new-react-hooks-in-wordpress-6-1/\">Simplified data access with new React hooks in WordPress 6.1</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/09/introducing-wp_list_tableget_views_links-in-wordpress-6-1/\">Introducing WP_List_Table::get_views_links() in WordPress 6.1</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/08/escaping-table-and-field-names-with-wpdbprepare-in-wordpress-6-1/\">Escaping Table and Field names with wpdb::prepare() in WordPress 6.1</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/07/create-block-scaffolding-tool-updates/\">Create-block scaffolding tool updates</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/07/introduction-of-presets-across-padding-margin-and-block-gap/\">Introduction of presets across padding, margin and block gap</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/07/improved-php-performance-for-core-blocks-registration/\">Improved PHP performance for core blocks registration</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/06/introducing-update-uri-theme-header-in-wordpress-6-1/\">Introducing “Update URI” theme header in WordPress 6.1</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/04/block-based-template-parts-in-traditional-themes/\">Block-based “template parts” in traditional themes</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/07/improvements-to-wp_query-performance-in-6-1/\">Improvements to WP_Query performance in 6.1</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/06/new-cache-site-health-checks-in-wordpress-6-1/\">New cache Site Health checks in WordPress 6.1</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/09/27/navigation-block-fallback-behavior-in-wp-6-1-dev-note/\">Navigation Block Fallback Behavior in WP 6.1</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<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>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-31 wp-block-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-container-29 wp-block-column\">\n<h2 id=\"h-cli\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/cli\">CLI</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/cli/2022/10/18/wp-cli-v2-7-1-release-notes/\">WP-CLI v2.7.1 Release Notes</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-community\">Community</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/10/17/report-diverse-speaker-workshop-september-2022/\">Report: Diverse Speaker Workshop September 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/community/2022/10/12/recap-of-the-diverse-speaker-training-group-wpdiversity-amer-emea-on-october-12-2022/\">Recap of the Diverse Speaker Training group (#WPDiversity) AMER/EMEA on October 12, 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-core\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core\">Core</a> </h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/03/a-week-in-core-october-4-2022/\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/19/a-week-in-core-october-17-2022/\">A Week in Core – October 17, 2022</a></a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/13/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-3-12-october/\">What’s new in Gutenberg 14.3? (12 October)</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-meetings\">Meetings</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/17/dev-chat-summary-october-12-2022/\">Dev chat summary, October 12, 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/13/editor-chat-summary-october-12-2022/\">Editor chat summary: 12 October 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-documentation\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/docs\">Documentation</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/docs/2022/10/19/new-design-for-helphub-in-wordpress-org/\">New design for HelpHub in WordPress.org</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2022/10/17/documentation-team-update-october-17-2022/\">Documentation Team Update – October 17, 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-hosting\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/hosting\">Hosting</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/hosting/2022/10/19/call-for-action-testing-rollback-feature/\">Call For Action – Testing Rollback Feature</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-marketing\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/marketing\">Marketing</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/marketing/2022/10/19/agenda-global-marketing-team-meeting-october-19-2022/\">Agenda: global Marketing Team meeting, October 19, 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/marketing/2022/10/17/notes-global-marketing-team-meeting-october-12-2022/\">Notes: Global Marketing Team meeting, October 12, 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-meta\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/meta\">Meta</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2022/10/20/displaying-style-variations-for-supporting-themes/\">Displaying Style Variations for Supporting Themes</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2022/10/11/renaming-wordpress-org-support-to-documentation/\">Renaming WordPress.org Support to Documentation</a></li><li><a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6511\"><s>Bring back the active install growth chart</s></a> <a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6511\">Provide helpful plugin stats and insights</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-mobile\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/mobile\">Mobile</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/2022/10/18/call-for-testing-wordpress-for-android-21-0/\">Call for Testing: WordPress for Android 21.0</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/2022/10/18/call-for-testing-wordpress-for-ios-21-0/\">Call for Testing: WordPress for iOS 21.0</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2022/10/18/mobile-team-update-october-18th/\">Mobile Team Update – October 18th</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-openverse\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/openverse\">Openverse</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/openverse/2022/10/20/community-meeting-recap-18-october-2022/\">Community Meeting Recap (18 October 2022)</a></li></ul>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-container-30 wp-block-column\">\n<h2 id=\"h-performance\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/performance/\">Performance</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/18/performance-team-meeting-summary-11-october-2022-2/\">Performance Chat Summary: 18 October 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-polyglots\">Polyglots</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2022/10/20/wordpress-6-1-translation-status-october-20-2022/\">WordPress 6.1 Translation Status (October 20, 2022)</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2022/10/11/wordpress-6-1-ready-to-be-translated/\">WordPress 6.1 ready to be translated</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-test\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/test\">Test</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/test/2022/10/15/fse-program-guiding-the-gutenberg-gallery-summary/\">FSE Program Guiding the Gutenberg Gallery Summary</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/test/2022/10/15/week-in-test-15-october-2022/\">Week in Test: 15 October 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2022/10/17/test-team-update-17-october-2022/\">Test Team Update: 17 October 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-themes\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/themes\">Themes</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2022/10/18/themes-team-update-october-18-2022/\">Themes team update October 18, 2022</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-training\"><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training\">Training</a></h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/individual-learner-survey/\">How did you learn WordPress?</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training/2022/10/18/training-team-meeting-recap-for-october-11-2022/\">Training Team Meeting Recap for October 11, 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training/2022/10/17/meeting-agenda-for-october-18-2022/\">Meeting Agenda for October 18, 2022</a></li><li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/training/2022/10/07/ux-feedback/\">UX Feedback</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-tutorials\">Tutorials</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/tutorial/uncovering-the-cover-block/\">Uncovering the Cover Block</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-online-workshops\">Online Workshops</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=blogging-with-wordpress-2022-edition-2\">Blogging With WordPress – 2022 Edition</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=blogging-with-wordpress-2022-edition\">Blogging with WordPress – 2022 Edition</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=%E3%82%AF%E3%82%A8%E3%83%AA%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%83%97%E3%83%96%E3%83%AD%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%81%A7%E3%83%96%E3%83%AD%E3%82%B0%E3%83%9A%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B8%E3%82%92%E4%BD%9C%E3%82%8D%E3%81%86%EF%BC%81-2\">クエリループブロックでブログページを作ろう！</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=%E3%82%AF%E3%82%A8%E3%83%AA%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BC%E3%83%97%E3%83%96%E3%83%AD%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%81%A7%E3%83%96%E3%83%AD%E3%82%B0%E3%83%9A%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B8%E3%82%92%E4%BD%9C%E3%82%8D%E3%81%86%EF%BC%81\">クエリループブロックでブログページを作ろう！</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=getting-started-with-core-contribution-bangla-part-3\">Getting Started with Core Contribution (Bangla) – Part 3</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=getting-started-with-core-contribution-bangla-part-2\">Getting Started with Core Contribution (Bangla) – Part 2</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/?meeting=getting-started-with-core-contribution-bangla-part-1\">Getting Started with Core Contribution (Bangla) – Part 1</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"h-courses\">Courses</h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/course/introduction-to-block-development-build-your-first-custom-block/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Introduction to Block Development:&nbsp;&nbsp;Build your first custom block</a></li><li><a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/course/using-the-wordpress-data-layer/\">Using the WordPress Data Layer</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-wptv\">WPTV</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/1430\">WordPress TV videos now auto-published to Youtube</a></li><li><a href=\"https://wordpress.tv/category/year/2022/\">Latest WordPress TV videos</a></li></ul>\n</div>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-related-news\">Related News:</h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https://tc39.es/#proposals\">ECMAScript Proposals</a></li></ul>\n\n\n\n<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>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n\n\n\n<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\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-normal-font-size\" id=\"h-get-ready-for-remote-work\">You — and <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/business-membership/\">your whole team</a> can <a href=\"https://poststatus.com/post-status-membership-club/\">Join Post Status</a> too!</p>\n\n\n\n<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\" /></p>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer\"></div>\n<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, 20 Oct 2022 18:58:51 +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: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:24;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:73:\"Do The Woo Community: A WooSesh Chat with Allie Brock and Daniel Espinoza\";s:7:\"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=73152\";s:7:\"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:61:\"https://dothewoo.io/woosesh-chat-allie-brock-daniel-espinoza/\";s: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:415:\"<p>In this episode we dive into a WooCommerce headless case study and discover some insights into monitoring your clients shops. </p>\n<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://dothewoo.io/woosesh-chat-allie-brock-daniel-espinoza/\">A WooSesh Chat with Allie Brock and Daniel Espinoza</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, 20 Oct 2022 10:13:00 +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:25;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:60:\"Post Status: Five takes on helpful plugin stats and insights\";s:7:\"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=137754\";s:7:\"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://poststatus.com/five-takes-on-helpful-plugin-stats-and-insights/\";s: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:7008:\"<div class=\"wp-container-35 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\">Good ideas for the future of data disclosed to plugin authors using the wordpress.org repository: <br /><br />1) Identify surges of unhappy users reacting to a bad release — and the opposite, happier outcome.<br /><br />2) Use pageview analytics to estimate total potential user interest and conversion rates. <br /><br />3) Assess a plugin\'s performance with the .org search algorithm, the quality of releases, and plugin incompatibility as well as PHP compatibility issues. <br /><br />4) Collect significant user behavior data anonymously without phoning home. <br /><br />5) Just reveal all the raw data with privacy options for individual authors — no interpretive analysis on wordpress.org.<br /><br />BONUS: Let\'s take this discussion somewhere else! </p></div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-spacer eplus-wrapper\"></div>\n\n\n\n<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>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">In the renamed <strong>Trac</strong> <a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6511\">ticket</a> <strong>Mark Zahra</strong> opened for the WordPress.org Active Install Growth charts (&#8220;<a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6511\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">#6511: Provide helpful plugin stats and insights</a>&#8220;), the helpful comments offering actionable suggestions comprise about 5% of the total.  At least that makes it easy to summarize the five useful ones here.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>First of all, <a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6511#comment:101\">Matt Cromwell</a> called for a new and proper discussion in a more appropriate setting where stakeholders can &#8220;start a process of talking publicly and with intention and strategy on what it would look like to have real actionable plugin/theme stats that authors need.&#8221; To that end, Matt proposed closing the Trac discussion:</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>Let\'s close this ticket as &#8220;wont fix&#8221; and move on to more important and long term strategies that actually benefit the plugin community. The longer we haggle over these ineffective charts, the longer it\'ll take to actually start getting real plugin data that is meaningful.</p></blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-unhappy-users-reacting-to-a-bad-release\">Unhappy Users Reacting to a Bad Release</h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Natalie MacLees</strong> describes <a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6511#comment:30\">monitoring incoming support requests relative to the current number of active installs</a> and any dip in install growth following releases with &#8220;new features&#8221; or &#8220;large changes&#8221; to &#8220;judge whether a change to a plugin was a positive or negative one.&#8221; <strong>Benjamin Intal</strong> echoed this, and previously <strong>Steve Burge</strong> said he has a similar practice. No doubt others do too. </p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Total Potential User Interest</h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sybre Waaijer</strong> suggested <a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6511#comment:62\">sharing page views and bounce rates for individual plugin pages</a>. Paired with install stats, this would give plugin owners a conversion rate for potential customers coming through wp.org.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Site Search Performance, Release Quality, and Compatibility</h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Amber Hinds</strong>&#8216; <a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6511#comment:105\">blue sky wishlist</a> starts with &#8220;Things that tell us if our readme [which is read by the repo\'s search algorithm] and other ranking factors are on track.&#8221; These are smart, useful metrics:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><li>Number of searches (or impressions) for target keywords</li><li>Average ranking for target keywords for timeframe (month)</li><li>Conversion rates from impression to install for target keywords</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p>So are &#8220;Things that tell us if we may have a problem with our plugin&#8221; like:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><li>Number of deactivations per timeframe (month, preferably week)</li><li>Number of deletions per timeframe (month, preferably week)</li><li>Average time from activation to deactivation or deletion</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<p>And finally, &#8220;Things for better testing of releases&#8221; could include:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><li>Top 20 plugins also active [on a site with your plugin installed and active]</li><li>Top 20 themes also active</li><li>PHP versions (percentage)</li><li>WordPress versions (percentage)</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<h2>Sophisticated Behavioral Data Without Telemetry</h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Vito Peleg</strong> shared <a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6511#comment:106\">a list of his preferred metrics</a> from the wp.org repo <a href=\"https://twitter.com/VitoPeleg/status/1577784069596876800\">on Twitter</a>, which <strong>Matt Mullenweg</strong> indicated &#8220;are very doable.&#8221; <strong>Mark Zahra</strong> brought Vito\'s ideas into the Trac ticket discussion:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-theme-palette-8-background-color has-background\"><li>Time to churn (to deactivate) signals good/bad onboarding, UI/UX</li><li>Repeat installs &#8211; how many users (anonymized) install on multiple sites for community opp & advocacy</li><li>Time to result: dev can choose 1 single hook to trigger as “result” and the calculation checks how long from install to get there. By changing the placement of the hook devs can optimize entire flows.</li><li>Inner page tracker: which/how many inner plugin pages users visit</li><li>PHP ver distribution, general country-based installs, active install to review ratio</li></ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Some of these are very doable.</p>&mdash; Matt Mullenweg (@photomatt) <a href=\"https://twitter.com/photomatt/status/1577981852857475072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 6, 2022</a></blockquote>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<h2>Open All the Data, Let the Community Interpret It</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Finally, <a href=\"https://poststatus.slack.com/archives/CHNM7Q7T8/p1665703515129299\">in <strong>Post Status Slack</strong></a>, <strong>Drupal.org</strong> has been recommended as a model for simply revealing all the raw data without interpretation and leaving that to the community.</p>\n<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, 20 Oct 2022 06:36:07 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:10:\"Dan Knauss\";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:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:71:\"Post Status: How to sell plugins, themes, and services on WordPress.com\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:32:\"https://poststatus.com/?p=137746\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:80:\"https://poststatus.com/how-to-sell-plugins-themes-and-services-on-wordpress-com/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:652:\"<ol><li>Read the <a href=\"https://developer.wordpress.com/wordpress-com-marketplace/submitting-a-product-to-wordpress-com/\">FAQ</a>.</li><li>Fill out <a href=\"https://wordpress.com/partners/\">this form</a>.</li><li>Agree to the <a href=\"https://developer.wordpress.com/wordpress-com-marketplace/wordpress-com-marketplace-vendor-agreement/\">WordPress.com Marketplace Vendor Agreement</a>.</li><li>If needed, integrate with the <a href=\"https://developer.wordpress.com/wordpress-com-marketplace/vendor-apis/\">WordPress.com Store Licensing API</a>.</li></ol>\n<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, 20 Oct 2022 04:40:43 +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:10:\"Dan Knauss\";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:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:97:\"WPTavern: Discussion on Replacing Plugin Active Install Growth Data Continues Behind Closed Doors\";s:7:\"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=138768\";s:7:\"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://wptavern.com/discussion-on-replacing-plugin-active-install-growth-data-continues-behind-closed-doors\";s: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:10185:\"<p>Earlier this month WordPress.org meta contributors <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-org-removes-active-install-growth-data-for-plugins\">removed the active install growth chart from plugins</a>, sending plugin developers who relied on this data into a state of dismay and outrage. The commit cited &#8220;insufficient data obfuscation&#8221; but there was no clear communication about when and where this decision had been made. Developers <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-org-plugin-developers-demand-transparency-regarding-the-removal-of-active-install-growth-data\">demanded more transparency</a> around the charts&#8217; removal but received no clear answers.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Multiple opportunities to communicate the details behind the decision were deliberately forgone, as speculation mounted. Several contributors not directly involved in the conversations prematurely insisted it was removed due to a security or privacy concern, but Samuel Otto Wood has unequivocally confirmed that it was neither of these things.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a recent appearance on the <a href=\"https://wpwatercooler.com/wpwatercooler/ep432-solutions-to-the-active-growth-problem/\">WPwatercooler podcast</a>, Wood elaborated on the decision, which he says was made in May through private channels via Slack DMs in a discussion initiated by Matt Mullenweg.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The reason is really quite simple,&#8221; Wood said. &#8220;It was removed because by and large, nobody was using them. Nobody was using the chart itself.  By and large, the chart was not useful to the majority, and it didn’t really fit the purpose we had for it, that we had in mind when we implemented it.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wood said the active growth chart was intended to just show growth or decline of a plugin on a weekly basis, but the data wasn&#8217;t working as intended:</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>People wanted that feedback on whether plugin’s growing, whether it’s shrinking, et cetera. And that’s valuable information for developers to have,  it’s valuable information users to know. But it really wasn’t working as that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The data that it provided was a percentage based data, and it was a very weak percentage based data. So by and large, the majority of use of that data was people scraping the data and using it to work backwards to the exact quote, exact numbers</p>\n\n\n\n<p>That was entirely the problem was that people were largely using it to get those numbers. Now, that’s not itself bad, but a, the reverse math didn’t work. It was wrong for a number of reasons, mainly because we were doing such a way obfuscating the data in such a way that it made that number wrong.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, Actually, it’s kind of funny. It actually always gave numbers a bit too high, so it was giving people the wrong impression. Third, it really, people trusted it as an active number, as a number of active cells to the point where, to the point where they, they relied on it to make decisions and things like that. It was not a good idea.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Although Otto was not involved in working on the project at the time, he was privy to the discussion and relayed some of the details:</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>I read through all that discussion and we worked, they worked on it for a long, Scott and several people tried various things before removing it. They adjusted the values, they adjusted numbers. They, they went through a ridiculous amount of iteration and in the end, none of it worked. People were still using it even though it was giving them basically garbage. So finally removing it was the only thing to do. We did have a plan for replacing it. We just didn’t have a plan for replacing it immediately. Nevertheless, giving them active install count numbers that are wrong is more harmful, we felt, to both users and developers interests than simply not giving them at all. So that’s why it was removed.</p>\n</blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The concern podcast host Sé Reed and guest Matt Cromwell highlighted was that the decision was communicated in such a way that it suggested it was security related. Since it was not a sensitive security or privacy issue, Reed asked why was it handled in a private chat instead of the meta channel when the decision had such a profound impact on developers being able to track the trajectory of their plugins.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the inaccuracy of the charts was well-known to those more intimately acquainted with the problem, Wood said its removal was &#8220;not quite the big deal&#8221; that everyone else ended up perceiving it to be. They did not anticipate the firestorm the charts&#8217; removal would create in the <a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6511\">trac ticket</a> where developers were pleading to have them restored.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The physical visual chart itself is not so instrumental to the way I operate things,&#8221; GiveWP founder Matt Cromwell said. &#8220;But it’s the act of removing it without any conversation whatsoever.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;And what does that mean for the long run of data about plugins on.org and the viability of their, of us, continuing to have them? That’s the real question. It’s an indicator of an underlying problem that isn’t getting better.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This incident has sparked discussions about <a href=\"https://thewpminute.com/what-should-plugin-developers-expect-from-wordpress/\">what kind of partnership plugin developers should expect from WordPress.org</a>, and whether it&#8217;s time they looked for support from one another instead of the platform, as Eric Karkovack suggested on The WP Minute. In light of plugin developers losing more valuable data that hasn&#8217;t been replaced, Alex Denning, managing director of Ellipsis, a digital marketing agency, makes the case that <a href=\"https://getellipsis.com/blog/org-is-ineffective-plugin-distribution/\">WordPress.org is ineffective for plugin distribution in 2022</a>. He contends that new WordPress plugins are not passing the 100k, 500k , or 1m+ install thresholds and the directory isn’t giving plugins organic reach.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The focus of the ticket has changed from calling on WordPress.org to bring back the active growth charts to be more about brainstorming helpful plugin stats and insights that plugin developers would like to see. It is still receiving angry and frustrated comments from developers who believe the data should belong to the community.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I cannot emphasize enough that conversations about what to replace the active growth chart with should be happening in a public Slack channel or on a Trac ticket,&#8221; Equalize Digital CEO Amber Hinds said. &#8220;This data should belong to the community and the community should be able to participate in deciding how (or not) to display it.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reasons that purportedly necessitate obfuscation have not been clearly explained, but many participants in the discussion have urged WordPress.org to simply publish the raw data so it can be accessed and processed independently of the platform. @Starbuck <a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6511#comment:108\">suggests</a> the community would then be able to create sites that render the data in meaningful and interesting ways.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress developers want far more data than was previously available. Hinds <a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6511#comment:105\">requested</a> an assortment of data points that may or may not be possible:</p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>Things that tell us if our readme and other ranking factors are on track:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Number of searches (or impressions) for target keywords</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Average ranking for target keywords for timeframe (month)</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Conversion rates from impression to install for target keywords</li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Things that tell us if we may have a problem with our plugin:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Number of deactivations per timeframe (month, preferably week)</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Number of deletions per timeframe (month, preferably week)</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Average time from activation to deactivation or deletion</li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Things for better testing of releases:</p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Top 20 plugins also active</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Top 20 themes also active</li>\n\n\n\n<li>PHP versions (percentage)</li>\n\n\n\n<li>WordPress versions (percentage)</li>\n</ul>\n</blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Atarim CEO Vito Peleg <a href=\"https://twitter.com/VitoPeleg/status/1577784069596876800\">suggested</a> some other tools for monitoring growth/decline, to which Matt Mullenweg responded that some of the ideas were &#8220;very doable:&#8221; </p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Time to churn (to deactivate) signals good/bad onboarding, UI/UX</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Repeat installs &#8211; how many users (anonymized) install on multiple sites for community opp &amp; advocacy</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Time to result: dev can choose 1 single hook to trigger as “result” and the calculation checks how long from install to get there. By changing the placement of the hook devs can optimize entire flows.</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Inner page tracker: which/how many inner plugin pages users visit</li>\n\n\n\n<li>PHP ver distribution, general country-based installs, active install to review ratio</li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Wood confirmed that the active install growth charts are not coming back in their previous form and that the endpoint people were scraping before will remain disabled. He said those involved in the private discussion are monitoring the Trac ticket for feedback.  </p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;What’s going to happen is, that the active install count instead of being rounded to the nearest digit is going to be changed,&#8221; Wood said. &#8220;I don’t know the exact break points cutoffs, but as an example show individual up to 50, then round to nearest 10 until thousand and nearest hundred until 10,000, for example. So that we are making the active install count much more fine grained than it has been. So in that sense, yes, we’re giving you the data. It’s not going to be exact numbers, but it’s going be much better than it was before. We’re still working on doing that.&#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:\"Thu, 20 Oct 2022 04:38:07 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:28;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:101:\"Post Status: November: Register to speak at WordFest Live — and come to WordPress Accessibility Day\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:32:\"https://poststatus.com/?p=137720\";s:7:\"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://poststatus.com/register-to-speak-at-wordfest-live/\";s: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:840:\"<ul><li>Coming up on <strong>November 18</strong>, <strong>WordFest Live</strong> will once again <em>“support and promote positive well-being and mental health within remote working communities.”</em> <a href=\"https://www.wordfest.live/2022/november/\">REGISTER →</a></li><li>And don\'t forget <strong>WordPress Accessibility Day</strong> on <strong>November 2-3</strong>! <strong><a href=\"https://wpaccessibility.day/\">REGISTER →</a></strong></li><li>Then on <strong>November 21</strong>, it\'s <strong>Alicia St. Rose</strong> of <strong>WP With Heart </strong>giving a <strong>Meetup</strong> talk on <a href=\"https://www.meetup.com/wordpress-accessibility-meetup-group/events/287994860/\">Being an A11y with Your Content</a>.</li></ul>\n<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, 20 Oct 2022 03:37:00 +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:10:\"Dan Knauss\";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:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:70:\"WPTavern: #47 – Adam Silverstein on the State of Images in 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:48:\"https://wptavern.com/?post_type=podcast&p=138682\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:84:\"https://wptavern.com/podcast/47-adam-silverstein-on-the-state-of-images-in-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:57784:\"Transcript<div>\n<p>[00:00:00] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Welcome to the Jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley.</p>\n\n\n\n<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, the state of images in WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<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.</p>\n\n\n\n<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 over to WPTavern.com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox and use the contact form there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So on the podcast today, we have Adam Silverstein. Adam is a WordPress core comitter, where he works to fix bugs and improve modern web capabilities. As a developer relations engineer in the content ecosystem team at Google, he works to invigorate the open web by empowering and educating developers.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the recent WordCamp US he gave a presentation entitled images on the web, past, present and future. In it, he outlined his thoughts on where the web is going in terms of support for different image formats.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alongside text images are the bedrock of webpages. We browse the internet and expect pages to have images of all forms. Photos, illustrations, charts and images to convey additional meaning to the text.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But how do the images actually get on the page? WordPress makes handling images pretty easy, and Adam explains what happens when you upload an image to the media library and then display it on a page or post in a browser.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We discussed the fact that different image sizes are created automatically by WordPress, which can be used in a variety of contexts across your website. You&#8217;ve likely heard of many of them. But perhaps you have not thought about which image format belongs where.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>As with code, the technology behind images does not stand still. New image formats are being created all the time, and are being supported at differing rates by the major browser vendors.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the past, we typically used JPEG. GIF or PNG files to display images on our websites, but there&#8217;s good reason to think about adopting other defaults in the near future. We discussed some of these new formats, such as WebP, AVIF and JPEG XL, and find out how they are speeding up website loading times because of their smaller file sizes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We also get into how you can optimize your images and how plugins and SaaS solutions can reduce the size of your files before or after you upload them to your WordPress install.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adam has some good advice about a topic which is becoming increasingly important, page load time. And if you&#8217;ve never given the serious thought, this is a great podcast episode for you.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically when we record the podcast, there&#8217;s not a lot of background noise. But that&#8217;s not always the case. Over the coming weeks, I&#8217;ll be bringing you recordings from a recent trip to WordCamp US 2022, and you might notice that the recordings have a little echo or other strange audio artifacts. Whilst the podcasts are more than listenable, I hope that you understand that the vagaries of the real world were at play.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re interested in finding out more, you can find all the links in the show notes by heading over to WPTavern.com forward slash podcast. Where you&#8217;ll find all of the other episodes as well.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so without further delay, I bring you Adam Silverstein.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am joined on the podcast today by Adam Silverstein. Did I get that right?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:38] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> You did. That&#8217;s the way I like to pronounce it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:40] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. Perfect. Adam is here because he did a presentation at Word Camp US this year. What was the presentation about Adam?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:46] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> It was images on the web, past, present, and future. So kind of like a history of images and also what&#8217;s coming in the future for modern image formats.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:04:54] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Okay. We&#8217;ll delve into that in a moment, but before we do, would you just give us the two minute potted history of Adam. How it is that you&#8217;ve come to speak at a WordCamp.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:05:02] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Sure. Yeah. I mean, I used to build sites in, uh, Dreamweaver. Then I discovered WordPress as a way to let my clients be able to edit their content. Then one day I decided I should contribute back to WordPress. I became super involved in Core and help rewrite revisions for 3.6. Eventually, I became a core comitter. And, worked at agency, 10up, for quite a while, and then eventually wound up on the CMS team at Google. Working on the web platform, trying to make the web platform better. And I still work on WordPress quite a bit in that role.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:05:30] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Google seemed to be doing a lot more with WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:05:33] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Absolutely. Since about 2017 when they started showing up at every WordCamp. And also they have that first party plugin Site Kit, which is their own plugin that&#8217;s very well supported that connects your WordPress site to Google Services.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:05:45] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, we spoke to Felix a few episodes ago. So, if you&#8217;re into Site Kit and things like that, you can search for the Felix Arntz episode. But we&#8217;re here to talk about images today. And I&#8217;m going to lead off with something which is going to make me sound incredibly ignorant, and apologize for that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that is simply this. When I visit a webpage or I&#8217;m building a website, images basically just magically appear. They&#8217;re on my computer. I see that there&#8217;s an image, there&#8217;s a file name and a file format, JPEG and so on and so forth. But I honestly have no idea how the browser makes the image appear. I don&#8217;t know what the mystery voodoo that&#8217;s going on in the background to turn a piece of code, I&#8217;m guessing, into something visible on the screen. So ridiculous as it may sound. How do we even get images on the web? How does it work?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:06:31] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Yeah, so it&#8217;s not a stupid question because it&#8217;s it&#8217;s incredibly complex, actually how browsers deal with images. But at a very basic level, typically there&#8217;s a lot of ways images actually appear on webpages, because it could be in your css or you could load it dynamically with JavaScript.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But in a normal HTML context, you have an image tag, and that image tag has a url. When the browser first gets your HTML page, it goes through a parsing phase where it tries to decipher what all the elements that I&#8217;m gonna need to construct this visual page. What CSS do I need, what images do I need?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So it goes through the HTML and each time it encounters an image. It makes another request back to your web server, that&#8217;s running WordPress. And then that image is brought back to the browser. Now that&#8217;s a binary format, that image. So the browser also has to have a capability of decoding that image. That&#8217;s where support for different image formats come in, and all the browsers support all the formats that we&#8217;re used to.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But then there&#8217;s these more modern formats that maybe aren&#8217;t supported. That&#8217;s kind of the simple version of it, is the browser finds the reference that you have on your HTML. Goes out and retrieves it, just like it does any asset, and then it decompresses it and puts it on your display.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:07:37] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> If I was to look at the binary code, which made up the image. Which I presume is possible? Is it just a combination of letters, numbers, and characters?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:07:46] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> I mean, it&#8217;s binary encoding, so I don&#8217;t, I don&#8217;t actually know what, it&#8217;s eight bit probably, or 16 bit encoding. But you&#8217;ll have, typically at the first bites of an image will be like a header block. That defines what the image is, the meta information about the image. And then you&#8217;ll have the actual data of the image. And that&#8217;s in chunks. And it depends on how, what image compression format you&#8217;re using.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But typically images are compressed. So you have some information about that compression in the header, and then you have the chunks that make up the file. But it wouldn&#8217;t be something, if you looked at it, it wouldn&#8217;t make any sense to a human.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:08:17] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Right.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:08:18] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> It would just be like binary data, just a bunch of numbers.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:08:20] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> It kind of reminds me a little bit of TCPIP packets, you know, it&#8217;s surrounded with metadata to give, well, in this case it would be the, the OS stack. But, to give the browser information about what&#8217;s coming down the pipe in the next moment.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:08:32] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Right.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:08:33] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So how big it is, what the dimensions are, and so on and so forth. And then each little bit will render I guess a pixel or something like that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:08:40] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Exactly. You could think of it that way. But you know, in a lot of these compression engines, it&#8217;s actually like an eight by eight block, and then there&#8217;s more detail. It&#8217;s very complicated really.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And even the thing about, like, I very much simplified the how the webpage is loaded because the browser has to decide which resources to load first and which to prioritize. And also just think about an image tag. Image tags now typically have a source set attribute, which indicates which size image we want, depending on the break point that we&#8217;re in.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So the browser has to figure out that information as well. It&#8217;s quite complex and people have written whole articles on it. So if you&#8217;re interested in it, there&#8217;s, like in my talk, I&#8217;ve got like a links document and there&#8217;s some links that I&#8217;ve put out to like how browsers work. It is very interesting to understand and I think it, like, can help inform, just the more you understand that, the more you understand why trying to optimize performance is so complex.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:09:32] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> It really does amaze me, and these days, images on the connection at least that I have in my home, seem to load more or less instantaneously, but I remember going back in the day when it was dial up, this laborious line by line creation of the image. You could watch the image load and it would just sort of generate going down. Do you remember seeing all of that?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:09:51] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> You could see it loading.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:09:52] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> You could actually see the image loading.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:09:53] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> And you could simulate that, you know, in Chrome using the throttling, in Chrome dev. But the other thing to remember is that, we&#8217;re a little privileged here. We have very high speed connections. We have high powered devices, but if you look at the world as a whole, that&#8217;s really not the case. There&#8217;s still a lot of people in the world who are using low powered, they&#8217;re using a phone, it&#8217;s not like a smartphone, like an iPhone. It&#8217;s a very low powered device. So even just the decoding of the images can be expensive.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then the bandwidth thing,. Some people, a lot of places in the world, people are paying for bandwidth. So the more bandwidth you use. So they may have images turned off or they may be in a low data mode. A lot of phones support a low data mode where they&#8217;ll try to reduce the amount of data that they&#8217;re using.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, it&#8217;s interesting. One of the things we introduced recently into Word Press Core is native lazy loading of images. So this is something we used to do in JavaScript, but now is built into browsers. And what it does is it prevents the images that are off your view port from loading until you start scrolling down. Before you reach them, when you start scrolling, as you get closer to the where they&#8217;re gonna appear, then it will load those images. So, of course this is great for saving resource because when your page loads, if it&#8217;s a long page with many images, you don&#8217;t have to load all those images unless and until the user starts scrolling down the page.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And this sounds great, and especially at, in a high speed connection environment, it works great. But someone gave the feedback during the process of introducing this, that they work on a low bandwidth connection. And what they like to do is start loading the page and then they switch to another tab and they wait till everything loads and then they come back and they read all their content. But with lazy loading, it doesn&#8217;t work very well because suddenly they scroll a little bit and now they have to wait for another image to load.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:11:26] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I&#8217;m imagining that typical user is not browsing the web in that way. But that is an interesting.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:11:31] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Isn&#8217;t it?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:11:31] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Is an interesting case.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:11:32] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> What it just brings up is that you really have to think about your users. When you&#8217;re trying to optimize your site, it&#8217;s not just optimizing for yourself, it&#8217;s optimizing for your users. And that&#8217;s why having real user metrics is so valuable. Collecting actual field data about how people are experiencing your website, as opposed to doing lab tests like we are running lighthouse or page speed insights to try to figure out like, oh, how&#8217;s my site performing? That gives you one metric, but that doesn&#8217;t tell you how people actually in the wild experience your website. If most people have low bandwidth connections, that&#8217;s gonna be really different than what you might get from a local test.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:12:03] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Let&#8217;s just pivot a little bit and talk about the different types of images there are. I would imagine almost everybody is familiar with the regular, the usual suspects, shall we say.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:12:12] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Sure.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:12:12] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> You know, the JPEGs and the PNGs, and don&#8217;t even know if that&#8217;s how you pronounce it. Some people I&#8217;ve heard say, ping. But I always say PNG and I say GIF.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:12:20] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Yes, and I say GIF.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:12:21] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Okay, yeah, but there&#8217;s all of these. There&#8217;s more, which we&#8217;ll get onto later. But presumably there&#8217;s dozens more that are not typically used on the web. Why have these formats evolved over time? Why don&#8217;t we just have one?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:12:33] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Right, that&#8217;s a great question, I mean, uh, the GIF format came out 35 years ago, and it pretty much did everything we needed to do, right? It could display images, it had animation, it had transparency. Wow, like images on the web. That was actually a big deal at the time. But there were some limitations. It only had 256 colors. So if you wanted to make a photograph, you had to dither the colors and it only had lossless compression, which is not really that efficient. You know, you maybe get 10 or 15%.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it also had copyright issues. The LZW compression algorithm that was in GIF, there were copyright holders. Big corporations and the free software movement didn&#8217;t feel that they could trust this format. That&#8217;s part of why PNG came about 15 years ago, was as a response to the limitations of the compression algorithm, the copyrights. Of course PNG also added alpha transparency, which is an improved version of transparency because you can define opacity on a per pixel basis, and this lets you create an image with a transparent background that&#8217;s got like smooth edges. Like GIF images with transparent have those like blocky edges. But with a PNG, you can create a gradual fading to opacity.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that was a big improvement. So it actually added a really useful feature. It&#8217;s great for product images, PNGs. Of course, JPEG introduced lossy compression, which let you just tune your compression to whatever level you wanted. You could get 10 times smaller images that still look good, which was really important at that time. But you could also fine tune that if you were a photographer and you wanted higher quality, you could choose that higher quality setting. That was really unique. GIF didn&#8217;t have that, right.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And SVG of course is the fourth kind of major one that we use on the web. And that&#8217;s just like very different. It&#8217;s for illustrations. It&#8217;s vector based instead of raster.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:14:10] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> It&#8217;s a file format isn&#8217;t it?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:14:12] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> It is, it&#8217;s actually XML, think.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:14:13] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:14:14] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Unfortunately it also includes scripting, which means that we don&#8217;t support it in core because of the security concerns. But it&#8217;s also very specific to like illustration type formats. That&#8217;s where it really shines. It has some big advantages. It can be styled with css. You can&#8217;t do that with other image formats. What I&#8217;m trying to get at is that each format introduced new capabilities that were important at the time.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We started to talk about modern image formats, which I include WebP in, even though it&#8217;s 12 years old at this point. What&#8217;s really cool about WebP is, it kind of combines all the features that came before. So it has the alpha transparency of PNG, but it also has the lossy compression of JPEG.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So suddenly you can take a transparent PNG and you get 80% improved compression, by making it into a transparent WebP. You still get all the features you need, the alpha transparency, but the compression is lossy now, which is impossible for we didn&#8217;t have a format that had both lossy and alpha transparency.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WebP kind of is like, essentially trying to be all the things you need. Like if we had started with WebP, we probably wouldn&#8217;t have ever needed another format, because it supports animation, it supports lossy and lossless compression, it supports alpha transparency. It also has better compression than JPEG, like 30% better on average for the same quality. So it&#8217;s a big improvement.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then there&#8217;s a couple other formats that are upcoming, I would say. AVIF is probably the next one. It was just, support was just announced in Safari for AVIF. So Edge is the only remaining browser, major browser, that doesn&#8217;t support it. And the big promise of AVIF really over WebP is not on features, it&#8217;s just the compression that it achieves. And it&#8217;s able to achieve a 50% improvement over JPEG. So it&#8217;s very promising.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And then the one other one that&#8217;s, that&#8217;s kind of coming up that&#8217;s even newer is called JPEG XL. And this is from the same group that made JPEG and it&#8217;s just like a way, way better compression, like AVIF, but it has more affinity to JPEG so it works better with existing JPEGs. Like, it can losslessly recode existing JPEGs. The problem with JPEG XL, at least right now, is that it&#8217;s so new that it&#8217;s not really supported anywhere.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So there&#8217;s a couple things that have happened. There&#8217;s been a lot of advances in compression over the years. A lot of them actually related to video, because we&#8217;ve, we started streaming video on the web and a lot of investment went into making those compressions better. And then those, like the AVI video format is the basis, the same compression, forms the basis of AVIF, hence the naming similarity.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m not sure about the WebP, the history of, of like where that compression algorithm came from, but the, the goal was to create something that was better than JPEG. Higher quality at the same size, or smaller size at the same quality. You can think of it in, in either way.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:16:48] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. I remember back in the day, I hate to age myself in this way, but I remember Internet Explorer six, and the enormous fun that we had with trying to get transparency and the sort of kludges that you had to.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:00] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> To get it wo work?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:03] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, a little JavaScript snippet so that you could get transparency and so on. And so that tells me that, at certain points in. history, certain image formats have not been available in browsers. Broadly speaking, there&#8217;s probably three or four browsers that the majority of people on Earth are using these days. We know what they&#8217;re called. But do they support all of these? Really, the reason I&#8217;m asking this question is, let&#8217;s say I&#8217;ve got a website and I&#8217;ve got 10,000 images on website.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I, I now have learned that there&#8217;s a potentially 30% benefit in getting them rendered as, let&#8217;s say, WebP or, or any of the other ones that you mentioned.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:37] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:37] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Would you say it&#8217;s worthwhile doing that work and re rendering them as, let&#8217;s say, WebP or something like that? Or should I just carry on and do the new formats for the new images? Or like I said, go back and redo them all?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:17:50] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Yeah, I mean, it probably depends on how much actual traffic you get on those older posts. I think a lot of people have older posts on their site that get very little traffic, and then I would say it&#8217;s probably not worth updating it. With the filter that we have in place in core to control the output, you can use regenerate images and regenerate all your old images.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And get that WebP benefit, like switch from JPEG to WebP for your old files. There are some caveats there. You need to make sure that the images have been inserted from the editor so that they&#8217;re actually replaced in the HTML. Because if you&#8217;re changing all your image file names, you don&#8217;t want to have broken images in your old posts.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So WordPress does do that on the fly, where we, if you insert an image from the editor, then it has like a WP image class name. So we can identify the source image and then we go and we, we build that source set into the HTML by looking at the metadata about the image. So when you do that regenerate images, it updates the metadata and therefore you&#8217;ll get the new images even in your old posts.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that&#8217;s not guaranteed. If you have really old posts or they don&#8217;t have that WP class, and then for some reason, because you maybe built it with a page builder tool, for example, that doesn&#8217;t include those, there are scenarios where that could break your images. And all the regenerate images plugins have options around this.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like um, WPCLI, you know, you can have it not delete the old images. So if you have URLs that are still out there referring to the old images, that&#8217;ll work. Or another example is you might have a third party site that has embedded your image. If you&#8217;re okay with that and you don&#8217;t want to break that, then you want to avoid changing your file name.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:19:13] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:19:13] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> So it depends a lot on your use case.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:19:15] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. Caveat emptor really. Just give it a bit of thought. In terms of the browsers. What is the support like for, well obviously we know that the usual suspects that we mentioned at the beginning. The age old ones, GIFs and PNGs and JPEGs, that&#8217;s fine?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:19:29] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Yes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:19:29] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> What about the other ones? What about the WebPs and the AVIFs and.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:19:33] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Yeah. So the great place to check is the, can I use website, right? They&#8217;ve got all the details but, right now WebP is supported in all the browsers, very widely supported. The only exception is older versions of Safari, and Safari support actually depends on the underlying operating system.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So this means that users have to upgrade to, I think it&#8217;s two versions ago of MacOS. So there is a small percentage of users out there that have this older Safari version that won&#8217;t load WebPs correctly. It&#8217;s actually very difficult to tell how many because there&#8217;s a bug, in like one of the subsequent versions of Safari where the user agent string misreported the OS version.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So between a couple versions of Safari and iOS or MacOS, you actually can&#8217;t tell the difference from logs. And so we don&#8217;t have good data about that in the wild, but from the data that we have, we think it&#8217;s between 1 and 2% of browser users in the world that don&#8217;t support WebP currently.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:20:22] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Dare I ask, was there any politics in Safari not.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:20:26] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Supporting it? I don&#8217;t think so. I mean, people say, oh, it&#8217;s a, it&#8217;s a Google format. Like it&#8217;s an open source format that Google developed. But it is widely supported across a huge number of applications. There&#8217;s a lot of criticism of Safari for under investing in web capabilities.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don&#8217;t know if this really falls into that. I do think that Apple as a company has a vested interest in keeping their app ecosystem more powerful than the web ecosystem. So I think there&#8217;s sort of some natural tension there, but I probably wouldn&#8217;t blame the Safari team. My expectation is the Safari team is all on board on making the web better.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it&#8217;s a big corporation and there&#8217;s different interests. So there could be some political part to it, but I, not that I&#8217;m aware of. Safari, just to continue like the AVIF is sort of the next one. And Safari did just recently announce AVIF support. I think they&#8217;re just slower to adopt some things than other browsers.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:21:15] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I guess if I&#8217;m using WordPress and images are a key component. I do want to be really mindful that, that number, the percentage. So you think at the moment WebP is about 98% of.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:21:26] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> 98 to 99.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:21:27] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So, at some point the Rubicon got crossed and you can say to. yourself, that&#8217;s fine. The percentage is easily high enough. I can confidently use WebP.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:21:35] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Yes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:21:36] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> How about the other formats? Also just staying on the WebP, let&#8217;s do that bit. first. Would you recommend people to shift over to WebP henceforth?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:21:44] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Yes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:21:44] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Or is there, is there a good reason to stay with the older formats?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:21:47] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> The only reason I would say not use WebP would be is if you knew most of your users were all on older Safari versions. Or you sent newsletters out to Windows users using Outlook, which is one other use case. We know that doesn&#8217;t support WebP. But this is like old versions of Outlook running on Windows. Not modern outlook.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:22:03] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I guess at some point you just have to take the plunge and say there&#8217;s enough.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:22:07] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Yeah, Well, and we do have a support shim for Safari. So in the browser, if the page is loading WebPs, we add this little bit of JavaScript, it&#8217;s a tiny little bit that does feature detection. So it can actually detect whether the browser supports WebP. And at that point, if it doesn&#8217;t support WebP, we can actually swap the images and use the JPEGs that we do have available, We use like the next largest size that&#8217;s available. And with the current implementation, that would be either your original image or like the one of the H, high definition images that WordPress automatically creates.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So there will be, like, the primary sizes would be WebP, but there would be still be some available sizes in JPEG. If nothing else, the original image. So that means that your Safari users will still see images, they&#8217;ll just get a slower experience. So 1% of users will get a degraded experience. 99% users will get an improved experience, and then it&#8217;s up to you to decide whether it&#8217;s worth it. But at least those Safari users won&#8217;t be totally left out in the dark. They&#8217;ll still be able to see your images.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:23:02] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> It&#8217;s really curious. For some reason I have this atrophy and I&#8217;ve known that WebP was at about 98. And I put several images online each and every week, maybe a, a dozen or so. And for some reason I always export them as a JPEG. I haven&#8217;t managed in my own mind to say, this is now the moment. I think you&#8217;ve convinced me. I think.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:23:20] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Yeah. But I mean, in my opinion, like that really shouldn&#8217;t be up to users to understand that or figure that out. I mean, if you&#8217;re very technical, if you&#8217;re a photographer, maybe. But for the average WordPress user, they don&#8217;t know what image format they&#8217;re using. So this is why, it should be like a core capability where it just happens for users.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:23:37] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. Okay, so WebP, that&#8217;s great. But you, you mentioned a couple of others. There was JPEG, I wanted to say JPEG 2. What was it, JPEG?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:23:46] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> XL.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:23:47] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> JPEG XL.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:23:50] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> And there&#8217;s a bunch of JPEGs actually. There was one called JPEG 2000 that you might remember that was pushed by the JPEG foundation, or organization, for a while, and that was never adopted. But yeah, let&#8217;s talk about those.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:23:56] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So they, they&#8217;re presumably growing in use? Are they safe to use at the moment? Would you recommend, for example, my website using those image formats? Or Should I wait a little bit longer?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:24:07] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Probably wait a little bit longer, yeah. Safari doesn&#8217;t support it yet. They&#8217;ve announced support, it&#8217;s coming out and whenever the next Mac OS comes out, I think it&#8217;s like this week or something. Or it&#8217;s soon. It&#8217;s very soon. But that means that they&#8217;re just starting support so you probably want to wait till a significant number of users are actually on that version.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:24:23] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:24:23] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Which in the Apple ecosystem actually happens pretty quickly. People generally, you know, there&#8217;s a very large percentage of users who will go to the next OS version very quickly. It doesn&#8217;t cost anything. And it&#8217;s like they&#8217;ve proven that it&#8217;s safe. Um, they have a pretty good uptick rate. So yeah, I mean, the only way, if you really wanted to take advantage of AVIF, we have a couple options. One is using an image CDN. So the advantage of an image CDN is that, it can actually negotiate the format.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So when browsers make a request for an image, they actually can indicate in their header, in their request headers, which formats they&#8217;re capable of decoding. And that means that the image CDN can be like, oh, you, you take AVIF? I&#8217;ll give you AVIF. That&#8217;s the best one that we have. But if it doesn&#8217;t support AVIF, okay, how about WebP? You support that? Okay. No, you don&#8217;t support any of those? We&#8217;ll give you the JPEG version. The CDN can use this capability negotiation at header time, to deliver the best image. And also they can resize the image to exactly meet the size specifications of your HTML, which WordPress doesn&#8217;t do.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress generates several sizes, and then we pick the best size that&#8217;s the closest to the one that you&#8217;ve put on your page. And also we can&#8217;t do the header negotiation because we don&#8217;t handle the image requests. Those are handled by Apache or whatever web server you&#8217;re running Nginx, you know. You have a web server running, it actually handles the image request directly. WordPress has no involvement in that whatsoever. And there are plugins that do this, the only way that you can interact with that is, is using like htaccess. There are some ways to do it, but there generally outside of cores scope.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:25:52] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Typically, would this CDN be the kind of thing that you would negotiate with your hosting provider?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:25:56] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Some hosting providers provide it. There&#8217;s of course all kinds of third party CDNs. Jetpack provides an image CDN as one example. Some of them are free, some of them are paid. I think every major CDN has a WordPress plugin that will directly integrate. So you don&#8217;t really have to do much to set it up, maybe put your login or your key in or something. So I would say like, if you can hook up with an image CDN, then you&#8217;re sort of automatically able to take advantage of the latest versions of images.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:26:19] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah that sounds like the way to do it, if you can stretch to that. That sounds like the best way because you can just forget about it. Everything will be taken care of.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:26:26] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Exactly. If you have a reason that you can&#8217;t do it or there&#8217;s a cost associated with it. Your best bet is probably to stick with WebP for now.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:26:31] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Right.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:26:32] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Because that is so widely supported.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:26:33] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> On that point, are there particular types of images that you would recommend given a certain scenario? So, for example, let&#8217;s say I&#8217;m taking wildlife photography. Fairly specific example, but there&#8217;s an awful lot on the image. There&#8217;s dark areas, light areas. Lots of color. Let&#8217;s say for example, I&#8217;m creating some graphic design and it&#8217;s fairly plain, it&#8217;s text based. There&#8217;s not a lot going on in there. Is there a preferred way in, at least in your mind, or is it always WebP?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:26:58] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> I mean, there are definitely cases where WebP like really performs better, and there&#8217;s cases where JPEG performs almost as well as WebP I guess. And even there are images where the WebP will be slightly larger than the JPEG, in certain cases to get the same quality. You know, I would say certainly if you&#8217;re doing illustration, something that&#8217;s like a line art, then if it could be an SVG, that&#8217;s probably gonna be your most efficient format.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But other than that, I think probably WebP is gonna win out on average, right? So you can look at specific images and find that maybe one would be better as JPEG, one would be better as WebP. But in general, if you take all your image is an aggregate, you&#8217;re gonna be way better off going with WebP.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think the exception to that would be like, is if you are a photographer and what you&#8217;re showing on your website is your photography, and you want it to be like the absolute highest quality. You maybe already have changed the default quality that WordPress uses, and maybe you just want to stick with JPEG so that you know that you&#8217;re getting exactly what you&#8217;re used to. There is a visual difference between JPEG and WebP and, you know, there&#8217;s all these tools that, that they use.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I talk about it a little bit in my talk about, how do you measure quality? It&#8217;s a very subjective thing actually. There&#8217;s algorithms, so when I&#8217;m talking about how do you measure quality, So let&#8217;s say you take an image and you compress it with a JPEG and then you&#8217;re comparing it to something you&#8217;ve compressed with WebP and you say, oh, the WebP is smaller. That&#8217;s great. But it&#8217;s not that great if also the quality is lower, right? If the quality is the same and the file smaller, you win. But if the file smaller and the quality is degraded, then is that really something you want? So that you have to look at both quality and file size as two parts of the same discussion.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So it&#8217;s very interesting how we think about quality. I think, I have a slide in my talk where I have two images and there are very different compression qualities, but you actually can&#8217;t tell the difference on the screen because it&#8217;s blurry and you&#8217;re looking at a screen from 30 feet away. And the point is that it matters, the context where you&#8217;re gonna be viewing that matters. If it&#8217;s a little thumbnail, you&#8217;re not going to really matter if it&#8217;s like some pixels that are off. But if you&#8217;re looking at like that big gorgeous wildlife photography and you&#8217;re a photographer, you want the best possible quality.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:28:57] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I guess it&#8217;s a case by case basis, isn&#8217;t It?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:29:00] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> It is.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:29:02] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong>Just suddenly occurred to me that we didn&#8217;t talk about how WordPress deals with images. We have the media library. I would imagine that&#8217;s how most people interact with their images on WordPress. You go into the media library and you upload things, drag them in and what have you. But there&#8217;s all sorts of wizardry going on right at that moment where you pull the image in for the first time. And, potentially people listening to this, they won&#8217;t know about that. So.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:29:20] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Sure.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:29:21] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Are you able to run through that quickly?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:29:22] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Sure, so when you upload your image to WordPress. You&#8217;re uploading your original image, and then WordPress is gonna create a series of subsidized images. By default it has I think four, it&#8217;s actually six sizes built in. Four that you can see in the settings, or three that you can see in the settings screens. Thumbnail, medium and large. There&#8217;s also a medium large size that we added. And then there&#8217;s also two HDMI, high definition screen sizes, that are like even larger than the large size.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So when you upload your image, WordPress will go through this kind of crunching phase where it generates all of these subsidized images, and then those can be used later on the front end, depending on your context. So if it&#8217;s a thumbnail image, it&#8217;s gonna use that really small image. If it&#8217;s a larger image, it&#8217;ll use the larger one.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So we sort of pre-create these images when you upload. That process uses, uh, one of two libraries on the backend that tie into your web server. One&#8217;s called LibGD, which is now built into php. And the other one&#8217;s called ImageMagick, or people call it Image Magic. That&#8217;s like the GUI for it. And both of those libraries are available in WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have built in image handling classes for them. I will say you can also extend the image library to add your own image handling class, but I&#8217;m not aware of specific implementations. But those are sort of the two that we support out of the box. And they&#8217;re very popular and common in php. Like I said, GD&#8217;s built into php now.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those libraries may or may not support different formats. So getting back to your question of which format is supported. In order to be able to use AVIF with WordPress, we really need that server support. because if the server can&#8217;t read AVIF, if that means when you upload an AVIF file or you upload a JPEG and you&#8217;re trying to output AVIF, it can&#8217;t do that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It doesn&#8217;t know how to do that. So until we get to PHP 8.1, which supports AVIF, we&#8217;re probably not going to be able to support directly AVIF in WordPress. So there&#8217;s that server dependency that you have. And also, just to add a little wrinkle to that is that, GD supports WebP or, you know, Imagemagick supports AVIF, but only if it&#8217;s built with that. So literally at compile time, someone has to build the web server, right? It&#8217;s written in C or whatever assembly, like whatever code it&#8217;s written in, and then someone has to compile and they have to decide, am I including the AVIF i library? Am I including the WebP library? And so whether you have support for those depends on your host.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like what is their hosting stack, what is the distribution that they&#8217;re using? It&#8217;s a wide variety of things out there. But yeah, that&#8217;s the general process. You upload, the images get generated, and then, when you insert the image into your post WordPress will use all of those images. They&#8217;ll use it in the source set to build out the responsive design.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:31:48] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> As with all things WordPress there&#8217;s plugins that step in and do additional features. I mean you can code this yourself but you know, you can create other image sizes that WordPress will create on the fly, soon as you, you know, you crunch an image. Yeah, but also there&#8217;s this curious third party industry of image s smushing, I want to call it. You know where, when it&#8217;s uploaded, and I believe also WordPress itself now has a maximum, you know, if you&#8217;ve got a vanilla install of WordPress there&#8217;s a, what is it? What&#8217;s the.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:32:15] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> It&#8217;s It&#8217;s like a max threshold size for image uploads.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:32:18] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. That, I suppose is a useful thing to talk about. The idea that, okay, so you&#8217;ve got this brand new beautiful camera, which is taking images.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:32:27] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Sixteen megapixels.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:32:27] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Right, and honestly you&#8217;ve got a 10 megabyte image but you&#8217;re intending to display it as a thumbnail in the corner of your post or something like that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:32:34] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Right?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:32:35] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> The intention, therefore, from these third party plugins and, and what have you, is to take that image and just reduce it. Make it teeny tiny. Why do we do that? What&#8217;s the benefit to begin there? You talked about bandwidth and all of that earlier. Is that the only reason that we&#8217;re doing, it&#8217;s just to save on bandwidth?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:32:52] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> And to speed up the loading of the page.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:32:53] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Right.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:32:54] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> So, and just to Expand on that. It&#8217;s not really just about the speed of the page, but it&#8217;s about the experience of your users visiting your website. If you have slow images that are too large for what you need, then you are giving your users a poor experience. There&#8217;s all kinds of studies that show that by improving the loading time and responsiveness of your website, you get better results. So whatever those goals may be, conversions into newsletter subscribers or people who purchase products, or someone who reads more than one article on your website. Those things are all enhanced by having a better user experience. And so if we&#8217;re talking about optimizing images, we&#8217;re really talking about creating a better user experience.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:33:33] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> You&#8217;re wearing your Google t-shirt today.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:33:35] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:33:35] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So you know you&#8217;re doing all all the right things.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:33:37] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Google google loves open source.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:33:39] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> You are not on the search team, so maybe this question is not gonna be one that&#8217;s right in your wheelhouse, but I&#8217;m gonna ask it anyway. SEO and search engine results. I&#8217;m presuming there is a benefit because you know, in the last couple of years we&#8217;ve all been thinking about Core Web Vitals and that&#8217;s been a big push from Google, and everybody&#8217;s taken that very seriously.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:33:56] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Yes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:33:56] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> And, you know, is there a benefit to your search position, should you take the time to do images right?</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:34:04] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Yes, and I&#8217;ll say that it&#8217;s only really a very small benefit. Really what gets you the best position in search results is having the best content. And if I have an article about Bartlett pears growing in San Diego and someone Googles it, and I&#8217;m the only article about that on the web, they&#8217;re gonna go right to me. No matter how performant my site is. Where performance comes in is as a waiting factor, like many, many other factors as a signal to Google. Just like HTTPS, mobile support. These are all signals that Google has announced.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, uh, you&#8217;re not gonna be like, penalized for poor performance. It&#8217;s more that if all other things are equal, this could be a weighting factor that would bump you up, having a better experience for your users. But that really shouldn&#8217;t be your motivation. Your motivation should be creating a better experience for your users first, and then secondly better achieving your goals once people reach your site.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So someone described it as a funnel, right? People think of web conversions as a funnel. You start at the top, all the people who see your search results, and then it gets smaller. All the people who click on your search results. And then, all the people who actually do something on your website. And then finally, this tiny, small number of people that convert to being paying customers. And I, and in my hands here just for audio, I&#8217;m going from wide to smaller. And where the user experience parts helps, uh, improving user pitch is not up here at the top in getting more search results. It&#8217;s here where once users reach your site, then you&#8217;re gonna really see that benefit. And so, that&#8217;s where you should think about where the benefit comes. It comes from turning those visiting users into actual, whatever your goal is.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:35:36] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Okay, I&#8217;m gonna go slightly off piste. Google does a fantastic job. I use Google photos, and Google Photos is able to identify the objects in my photos. And so I did wonder if there was a potential Google search. So, for example if I have a website I don&#8217;t label, I don&#8217;t put any metadata on my images at all. Does Google do any of that? This website is full of trees, and so if I search for a particular tree.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:36:05] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> That&#8217;s a really good question. I don&#8217;t know the answer. I would say, first of all, please put alt tags on your images. Don&#8217;t do that. Because there&#8217;s a reason we have alt tags. Actually someone, so it&#8217;s the reason, the big reason is of course, accessibility, right. People who are visually impaired can&#8217;t see your images. It&#8217;s nice if they have a description of what they&#8217;re missing.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Someone actually today came by and said, do you think there&#8217;s a way we could take image recognition and make it so that non sighted users touch over the image, they get a description of what they&#8217;re seeing. So, if you&#8217;re a non sight user, I don&#8217;t know if you&#8217;ve ever seen people, a lot of times they actually use a touchscreen that&#8217;s haptic.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:36:37] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:36:38] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> So they can move over and they can feel the buttons, right. It&#8217;s not just, having the buttons described to them in text, but literally a screen that as you&#8217;re moving over elements of the page, it bumps up. So you can actually feel, oh, there&#8217;s a button. That&#8217;s where the home button is, and then they can tap it, right? So they already have this technology, screens that are like this, and of course visually impair people are, are often used to reading braille, so they&#8217;re very sensitive with their fingers.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So imagine something where you have a picture of trees and a person and a visually impaired person could move their hand over and say like, oh, there&#8217;s the person and there&#8217;s trees back here, and they&#8217;re feeling the image. Like that would be amazing. And that would again, require that same visual recognition of images.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:37:12] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> That is a truly, astonishingly good idea.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:37:14] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Right, I had never heard that idea.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:37:16] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> That is just mind blowingly clever. Let&#8217;s hope that somebody can build that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:37:21] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Yeah. There was another, just one more that someone posted recently to Twitter, you might have seen, but it&#8217;s the, it&#8217;s like the DALL E tools that are out now with the image generation. So someone has built a WordPress plugin in Gutenberg where you type in, like you&#8217;re working on your post and it&#8217;s about Bartlett pears in San Diego. So you type in like Bartletts flying across the San Diego Bay, and it generates an image for you of that. You&#8217;re there in Gutenberg and you just insert it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:37:45] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> The whole AI piece. Rewind the clock just two years, and I thought it was, no, this is going nowhere.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:37:51] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Right.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:37:51] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> At no point in the future will you be able to tell a computer to create an image or a piece of art, or replicate, well, almost anything, but especially the things which don&#8217;t exist. You know, the triangle dog or whatever it might be.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:38:04] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:38:05] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> And, and yet you input it in and just in the space of two years, it&#8217;s gone me laughing at it. To me, just being in awe of it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:38:13] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> It&#8217;s amazing.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:38:14] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> It&#8217;s truly amazing.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:38:15] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Yeah, so I use one of those tools to generate all the images in my slideshow for my presentation yesterday. So I have like hilarious images, like a raccoon surf boarding and a, a goat driving a race car.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:38:25] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:38:26] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Impossible things, but they look, you know, if you look closely, you can see some weird details. They&#8217;re very, very accurate.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:38:32] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> There&#8217;s lots of them as well. I believe the one that captured my attention recently, I think it was called Mind Journey or something like. It&#8217;s implementation is to create art.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:38:43] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> Right.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:38:43] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So you give it the, the thing that you feed it is, I don&#8217;t know, I&#8217;d like a picture of a sunset that resembles Rembrandt, with a red sky to the left and so on. And it completely does it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:38:54] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> That&#8217;s amazing.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:38:54] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, an absolute miracle. Adam Silverstein, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today. I really appreciate it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>[00:39:00] <strong>Adam Silverstein:</strong> It was fun. Thank you.</p>\n</div>\n\n\n\n<p>On the podcast today we have <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/adamsilverstein/\">Adam Silverstein</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adam is a WordPress core comitter where he works to fix bugs and improve modern web capabilities. As a Developer Relations Engineer in the content ecosystem team at Google, he works to invigorate the open web by empowering and educating developers.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the recent WordCamp US, he gave a presentation entitled ‘Images on the Web &#8211; past present and future’. In it, he outlined his thoughts on where the web is going in terms of support for different image formats.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alongside text, images are the bedrock of webpages. We browse the internet and expect pages to have images of all forms. Photos, illustrations, charts and images to convey additional meaning to the text.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But how do the images actually get on the page? WordPress makes handling images pretty easy, and Adam explains what happens when you upload an image to the Media Library, and then display it on a page or post in a browser.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We discuss the fact that different image sizes are created automatically by WordPress, which can be used in a variety of contexts across your website. You’ve likely heard of many of them, but perhaps you have not thought about which format belongs where.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>As with code, the technology behind images does not stand still. New formats are being created all the time and are being supported at differing rates by the major browser vendors. In the past we typically used JPEG, GIF or PNG files to display images on our websites, but there’s good reason to think about adopting other defaults in the near future.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We discuss some of these new formats, such as WebP, AVIF and JPEG XL, and find out about how they are speeding up website loading times because of their smaller file sizes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>We also get into how you can optimise your images, and how plugins and SaaS solutions can reduce the size of your files before or after you upload them to your WordPress install.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adam has some good advice about a topic which is becoming increasingly important, page load time, and if you’ve never given this serious thought, this is a great podcast episode for you.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically, when we record the podcast, there’s not a lot of background noise, but that’s not always the case. Over the coming weeks, I’ll be bringing you recordings from a recent trip to WordCamp US 2022, and you might notice that the recordings have a little echo or other strange audio artefacts. Whilst the podcasts are more than listenable, I hope you understand that the vagaries of the real world were at play.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Useful links.</h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://wptavern.com/podcast/34-felix-arntz-on-wordpress-and-performance\">Jukebox Podcast episode 34 – Felix Arntz on WordPress and Performance</a></p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://caniuse.com/\">Can I Use website</a></p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://libgd.github.io/\">LibGD graphics library</a></p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://wptavern.com/new-block-diffusion-plugin-creates-ai-generated-images-from-text-prompts\">New Block Diffusion Plugin Creates AI-Generated Images from Text Prompts</a></p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://www.midjourney.com/home/\">Midjourney</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, 19 Oct 2022 14:00:00 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:14:\"Nathan Wrigley\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:30;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:69:\"HeroPress: Making The World A Better Place One Line Of Code At A Time\";s:7:\"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=4906\";s:7:\"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:190:\"https://heropress.com/essays/making-the-world-a-better-place-one-line-of-code-at-a-time/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=making-the-world-a-better-place-one-line-of-code-at-a-time\";s: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:16606:\"<img width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/101922-min.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Pull Quote: Making The World A Better Place One Line Of Code At A Time. Hacer Del Mundo Un Lugar Mejor Una Linea De Codigo A La Vez\" />\n<p><a href=\"https://heropress.com/feed/#espanol\">Este ensayo también está disponible en español.</a></p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"kt-adv-heading_956780-cb wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\"><strong>How I Met WordPress</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It seems like only yesterday that I thought to myself&#8230; There have to be a better way to do this? At that time I was working as a designer for a company dedicated to sports and we were working internally on a kind of CMS to digitize our Football News magazine, but the result was horrendous, the interface did not exist, it constantly crashed and it was full of bugs.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s how in the year 2008-2009 in an Internet search I discovered WP, its version at that time 2.5, I couldn&#8217;t get us to use WP as a CMS and the internal solution won. But there was one seed planted.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>At that time I used WordPress in a very simple way, my background was a graphic designer, I didn&#8217;t know anything about PHP, much less about programming, but studying the WP code I was able to make my first themes, which by the way were terrible.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I learned HTML and CSS, at the same time I started taking Programming courses, especially in PHP, and that&#8217;s how I started this adventure.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first years were literally learning on my own, in my bubble, then I started to add the word web developer in my resume, I found a job in a company as a designer and web master, I designed gif banners, magazine ads, brochures and the website , this company had its page in ASP and since it was very complicated to update it, at least for me, I gave myself the task of migrating it to WordPress, it was 2014 and WP was in version 3.9, this was my first job in which I did everything from the design to the development and programming of the theme, in it I put into practice everything I had learned until then.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"kt-adv-heading_d7c6c7-b7 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\"><strong>Community</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2016, I met Roberto Remedios, my tattoo artist who was also his tattoo artist, told him that if didn&#8217;t know me?, Costa Rica is a small country where one way or another we all have friends in common, he told him that my passion was WordPress, when we met we didn&#8217;t stop talking about how cool it was, but what caught my attention the most was the word Community.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Community </strong>what was that?, I had spent so many years working on my own that I didn&#8217;t know that it even existed, my concept of Open Source was simply something free.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Roberto convinced me that same year to go to WordCamp Miami, it was my first camp, meeting the community behind WP was something that impressed me a lot, the talks, the desire to teach and learn from all the participants, and above all to collaborate with the community, wow everything changed for me.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>When we got back, Roberto and I started talking about the possibility of holding a WordCamp in San José, Costa Rica.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Part of that process is giving talks before the camp as a way to promote it, and as a member of the newly founded WordPress Costa Rica group, it was time for me to give a talk. It was the first time I spoke in front of the public since my student days, I remember how nervous I was, my talk revolved around page builders, there was no Gutenberg back then, I managed to get the Meetup sponsored, there were snacks, swags, A lot of people came, it was incredible. Colleagues who participated that day in that Meetup, are still an active part of the community.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I gave that same talk at WordCamp and it was even more stressful, because my computer did not turn on, at that moment they lent me a computer, but oh surprise I could not run my test site, after 20min I was able to solve the problem, the JavaScript was disabled. I was already sweating profusely, red with shame, in the end I was able to give the talk and everything ended well.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WordCamp San Jose, it was incredible, it was hard work, very rewarding, it was a success, never before had I felt so good professionally, years had passed, without sharing something that I like so much with anyone, suddenly we had a community, we meet regularly, and share about what we are most passionate about.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recently my talks revolve around making my local community aware of new WordPress trends, I collaborate as an administrator of the WordPress Costa Rica group.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"kt-adv-heading_fdbe32-4a wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\"><strong>Outside Costa Rica</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The second year that I attended WordCamp Miami, I participated as a volunteer, and I had the opportunity to interact with many of the humans that I follow on social media, and then I was encouraged to send talks and participate in the WordCamps that take place in my region. Eager to share what I have learned, to date I have participated as a volunteer, speaker, and organizer in my city Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Mexico and in the first Central American WordCamp which was held online.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then came the talks in another language, I have had the opportunity to give talks in Rome, Italy, I participated as a volunteer in the WordCamp US, where I had the opportunity to meet colleagues and the CEO of a company that I admire a lot, this was in Nashville , U.S. seeing colleagues with whom I have had the privilege of working today, my circle of friends expanded.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also had participate in online conferences, such as <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B33I2bvt6TQ\">GatsbyConf</a>, <a href=\"https://javascriptforwp.com/talks/gatsby-wordpress-alfredo-navas-fernandini/\">JavaScript For WordPress</a> and at <a href=\"https://europe.wordcamp.org/2021/session/headless-wordpress- gatsby-or-nextjs/\">WordCamp EU 2021</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I like to share and talk about JAMStack, especially with GatsbyJS and WordPress as a headless CMS.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"kt-adv-heading_aa6505-fd wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\"><strong>Professional Path</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I have a lot to thank WordPress for, the first thing it brought was the curiosity to learn programming, then remote work. I started working for an agency located in Austin, Texas, with several collaborators in Costa Rica, it was the year 2017, they hired me for my knowledge in WordPress, it was not only the first time that I could work completely dedicated to WP, but also from my house, I never set foot in an office again, seeing my children grow up and above all working in flip flops.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>That same year, together with my wife, we founded a small specialized WordPress agency, which we still have and is managed by her. Our most recent work was the website for <a href=\"https://premiosacam.com/\">Costa Rican Music Awards</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"kt-adv-heading_e72b3f-d5 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\"><strong>Expanding my Career</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I decided to pay attention to the Job Boards that you find when you go to a WordCamp, I was looking for the opportunity to work on larger projects, corporate projects where Icould expand my knowledge, I started applying, I was convinced that I had the level to work in a dedicated agency 100 % to WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I worked for agencies in New York and DC but I was still searching for a place to really fit, and the opportunity came, with perseverance and effort today I work as a Senior Frontend Engineer, in the agency that I most admire, WebDevStudios, dedicated 100% to WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress definitely changed my life personally and professionally, I have met incredible people and places, above all I have been able to give time and a quality life to my family, I have learned a lot, and still learning, I write about WordPress, I help my community teaching about the tools with which they can carry out their ideas.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And I am doing what I love the most, making the world a better place one line of code at a time.</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<h1 id=\"espanol\" class=\"kt-adv-heading_68c620-ba wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\">Hacer Del Mundo Un Lugar Mejor Una Linea De Codigo A La Vez</h1>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"kt-adv-heading_c92a36-80 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\"><strong>Como Conoci WordPress</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Parece que fue ayer cuando me dije a mi mismo&#8230; <strong>¿T</strong>iene que haber una mejor manera de hacer esto? En ese entonces me desempeñaba como diseñador para una empresa dedicada a los deportes y estábamos trabajando internamente en una especie de CMS para digitalizar nuestra revista Football News, pero el resultado era horrendo, la interface inexistente, se caía constantemente y estaba lleno de bugs.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fue así como en el año 2008-2009 en una busqueda en la Internet descubrí WP, su versión en ese entonces 2.5, no logre que usaramos WP como CMS y la solución interna gano. Pero habia quedado una semillla,</p>\n\n\n\n<p>En ese entonces usaba WordPress de una manera muy simple, mi background era disenador grafico, no sabía nada de PHP, mucho menos de programación, pero estudiando el código de WP pude hacer mis primeros temas, que por por cierto eran terribles.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aprendi HTML, y CSS, al tiempo empece a llevar cursos de Programacion, sobre todo en PHP y así inicio esta aventura.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Los primero años fueron literalmente aprendiendo por mi cuenta, en mi burbuja, luego empeze a agregar la palabra desarrollador web en mi curriculum, encontre trabajo en una empresa como diseñador y web master, diseñaba gif banners, anucios para revista, brochures y la pagina web, esta empresa tenia su pagina en ASP y como era muy complicado actualizarla, al menos para mi, me di la tarea de migrarla a WordPress, era el 2014 y WP estaba en us version 3.9, este fue mi primer trabajo en cual hice todo desde el diseño hasta el desarrollo y programacion del tema, en el puse en practica todo lo que habia aprendido hasta ese entonces.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"kt-adv-heading_6b09c6-ce wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\"><strong>Comunidad</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Y la vida siguio su rumbo y en el año 2016, conoci a Roberto Remedios, Mi tatuador que era a la vez su tatuador, le decia que <strong>¿S</strong>i no me conocia?, Costa Rica es un pais pequeño donde de alguna u otra forma todos tenemos amigos en comun, el le comentaba que mi pasion era WordPress, cuando nos conocimos no paramos de</p>\n\n\n\n<p>hablar sobre lo cool que era, pero lo que mas me llamo la atencion era la palabra Comunidad.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>¿</strong>Comunidad que era eso?, habia pasado tantos años trabajando por mi cuenta que no sabia que eso si quiera existia, mi concepto de Open Source era simplemente algo gratis.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Roberto me convencio ese mismo año de ir WordCamp Miami, fue mi primer camp, conocer la comunidad que había detrás de WP fue algo que me impresionó mucho, las charlas, las ganas de enseñar y de aprender de todos los participantes, y sobre todo colaborar con la comunidad, wow todo cambio para mi.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cuando regresamos Roberto y yo empezamos a conversar sobre la posibilidad de hacer un WordCamp en San José, Costa Rica.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Parte de ese proceso es dar charlas antes del camp como una forma de promoverlo, y como miembro del recién fundado grupo de WordPress Costa Rica, me llego el momento de dar una charla. Era la primera vez que hablaba frente al publico desde mis tiempos de estudiante, recuerdo lo nervioso que estaba, mi charla giraba en torno a los page builders, no había gutenberg en ese entonces, logre que el Meetup fuera patrocinado, habian snacks, swags, llego bastante gente, fue increible. Colegas que participaron ese día en ese Meetup, aun forman parte activa de la comunidad.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Esa misma charla la imparti en el WordCamp y fue aún más estresante, pues mi computador no encendió, en ese momento me prestaron una computadora, pero oh sorpresa no podía correr mi sitio de prueba, después de 20min pude solucionar el problema, el JavaScript estaba desactivado. ya sudaba a mares, rojo de la vergüenza, al final pude dar la charla y todo termino bien.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WordCamp San Jose, fue algo increible, fue un trabajo arduo, muy gratificante, fue un exito, nunca antes me habia sentido tan bien en mi lo profesional, habia pasado años, sin compartir con nadie algo que tanto me gusta, de repente teniamos una comunidad, nos reunimos habitualmente, y compartimos sobre lo que mas nos apasiona.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recientemente mis charlas giran en dar a conocer a mi comunidad local las nuevas tendencias de WordPress, colaboro como administrador del grupo de WordPress Costa Rica.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"kt-adv-heading_d6d109-dc wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\"><strong>Fuera de Costa Rica</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>El segundo año que asistí al WordCamp Miami, participe como voluntario, y tuve la oportunida de poder interactuar con muchos de los humanos que sigo en redes sociales, y así luego me anime a enviar charlas y participar en los WordCamps que se realizan en mi region, con muchas ganas de compartir lo que he aprendido, al día de hoy he participado como voluntario, charlista, y organizador en mi ciudad Costa Rica, Nicaragua, México y en el primer WordCamp Centroamericano el cual se realizó en línea.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Luego vinieron las charlas en otro idioma, He tenido la oportunidad de dar charlas en Roma, Italia, participe como voluntario en el WordCamp US, donde tuve la oportunidad de conocer a colegas y al CEO de una empresa que admiro mucho, esto fue en Nashville, USA.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>volver a ver a colegas con los que he hoy tenido el privilegio de trabajar, mi circulo de amigos se expandio.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tambien tenido la oportunidad de participar en conferencias en línea, como en el GatsbyConf, JavaScript For WordPress y en el WordCamp EU 2021.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Me gusta compartir y dar charlas sobre el JAMStack, especialmente con GatsbyJS y WordPress como un headless CMS.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"kt-adv-heading_1df56f-ba wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\"><strong>Professional Path</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Tengo mucho que agradecer a WordPress, lo primero que trajo fue la curiosidad de aprender programación, luego el trabajo remoto. Al tiempo empecé a trabajar para una agencia localizada en Austin, Texas, con varios colaboradores en Costa Rica, corria el año 2017, me contrataron por mis conocimientos en WordPress, era no solo la primera vez que podía trabajar completamente dedicado a WP, si no tambien desde mi casa, nunca mas volví a pisar una oficina, ver a mis hijos crecer y sobre todo trabajar en chancletas.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ese mismo año, junto a mi esposa, fúndanos una pequeña agencia especializada en WordPress, la cual aún tenemos y es manejada por ella. Nuestro más reciente trabajo, fue la página de los <a href=\"https://premiosacam.com/\">Premios de la Música Costarricense</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"kt-adv-heading_a5a1dc-37 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\"><strong>Overseas</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Decidi prestar atención a los Job Board que encuentras cuando vas a un WordCamp, buscaba la oportunidad de trabajar en proyectos más grandes, proyectos corporativos donde podría expander mis conocimientos, empecé a aplicar, estaba convencido que tenia el nivel para trabajar en una agencia dedicada 100% a WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trabaje para agencias en New York y DC, y la oportunidad llego y con perseverancia y esfuerzo el dia de hoy trabajo como Senior Frontend Engineer, en la agencia que más admiro, WebDevStudios, dedicado 100% a WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress definitivamente cambio mi vida en lo personal y en lo profesional, he conocido lugares y gente increible, he podido sobre todo darle tiempo y una vida de calidad a mi familia, he aprendido mucho, y aun sigo aprendiendo, escribo sobre WordPress, ayudo a mi comunidad ensenando sobre las herramientas con las cuales pueden llevar a cabo sus ideas.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>y sobre todo estoy haciendo lo que mas me apaciona y es hacer del mundo un lugar mejor una linea de codigo a la vez.</p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://heropress.com/essays/making-the-world-a-better-place-one-line-of-code-at-a-time/\">Making The World A Better Place One Line Of Code At A Time</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, 19 Oct 2022 14:00:00 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Alfredo Navas\";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:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:68:\"Do The Woo Community: Don’t Put Technical Support in the Wrong Box\";s:7:\"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=73116\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:64:\"https://dothewoo.io/dont-put-technical-support-in-the-wrong-box/\";s: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:398:\"<p>Your technical support team is an extension of the customer service department and of the sales department.</p>\n<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://dothewoo.io/dont-put-technical-support-in-the-wrong-box/\">Don&#8217;t Put Technical Support in the Wrong Box</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, 19 Oct 2022 09:51:00 +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:32;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:57:\"WPTavern: 10up Publishes Gutenberg Best Practices Website\";s:7:\"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=138755\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:68:\"https://wptavern.com/10up-publishes-gutenberg-best-practices-website\";s: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:2819:\"<p>10up has published a <a href=\"https://gutenberg.10up.com/\">Gutenberg Best Practices</a> website as a public resource with tutorials, documentation, and example code. Maintaining current documentation has not been a strong point of the official Gutenberg project as the pace of the project makes it difficult for contributors and extenders to keep up.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Gutenberg introduced an entirely new editorial paradigm for content creation and page building within WordPress,&#8221; 10up Associate Director of Editorial Engineering Fabian Kaegy said. &#8220;Because the block editor is still fairly new, it is advancing quickly and changes are introduced regularly; as such, learning opportunities are scarce and we have felt an absence of best practice documentation that meets 10up standards for craftsmanship.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>10up&#8217;s Gutenberg Best Practices were written to supplement WordPress&#8217; core documentation with what Kaegy said is a &#8220;more client-services-centric approach tailored to engineering enterprise-level editorial experiences.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>For developers who are brand new to working with the block editor, the <a href=\"https://gutenberg.10up.com/reference/\">Reference</a> section has a wealth of information about the anatomy of a block, the fundamentals of block theming with theme.json, block extensions, block variations, and more, with supporting videos and gifs. The documentation also gives a little more context for practical usage. For example, the section about <a href=\"https://gutenberg.10up.com/reference/Blocks/block-transforms\">Block Transforms</a> includes information about when and how to define block transforms.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Training section of 10up&#8217;s Gutenberg Best Practices contains a mini crash course on the file structure of a block and all of its components, and how to build a custom block using the <a href=\"https://github.com/10up/wp-scaffold/tree/trunk/themes/10up-theme/includes/blocks/example-block\">10up Starter Block</a>. This is especially helpful for developers looking for some extra guidance developing their first blocks.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https://gutenberg.10up.com/guides/\">Guides</a> section contains more advanced topics like extending core blocks and including frontend JS with a block. The documentation is <a href=\"https://github.com/10up/gutenberg-best-practices\">available on GitHub</a> for anyone to contribute edits. The site also links to a <a href=\"https://github.com/10up/gutenberg-best-practices/discussions\">discussion board on GitHub</a> where developers are welcome to join discussions and workshop the best practices in collaboration with 10up employees. 10up has published the Gutenberg Best Practices website with a beta designation and intends to update and expand it as WordPress evolves.</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, 18 Oct 2022 21:46:59 +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:33;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:73:\"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 6.1 Release Candidate 2 (RC2) Now Available\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:35:\"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=13646\";s:7:\"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:83:\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/10/wordpress-6-1-release-candidate-2-now-available/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:6966:\"<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n<p>The second release candidate (RC2) for WordPress 6.1 is now available!</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n<p>“Release Candidate” means that this version of WordPress is ready for release and it is a key milestone in the 6.1 release cycle! Before the official release date, the community sets aside time to perform final reviews and help test. Since the WordPress ecosystem includes thousands of plugins and themes, it is important that everyone checks to see if anything has been missed along the way. That means the project would <em>greatly benefit from</em> your assistance.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress 6.1 is planned for official release on November 1st, 2022, two weeks from today.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This version of the WordPress software is under development</strong>. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it is recommended that you test RC2 on a test server and site.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can test WordPress 6.1 RC2 in three ways:</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Option 1: </strong>Install and activate the <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/\">WordPress Beta Tester</a> plugin (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Option 2: </strong>Direct download the <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/wordpress-6.1-RC2.zip\">RC2 version (zip)</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Option 3:</strong> Use the WP-CLI command:</p>\n\n\n\n<p><code>wp core update --version=6.1-RC2</code></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Additional information on the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/6-1/\">6.1 release cycle is available here</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/\">Make WordPress Core blog</a> for <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/dev-notes+6-1/\">6.1-related developer notes</a> in the coming weeks detailing all upcoming changes.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>What’s in WordPress 6.1 RC2?</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Since Release Candidate 1, approximately 65 items have been addressed, bringing the total count to more than 2,000 updates since WordPress 6.0 in May of 2022.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/commits/wp/6.1\">GitHub tickets</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=accepted&status=closed&changetime=10%2F11%2F2022..10%2F18%2F2022&resolution=fixed&milestone=6.1&col=id&col=summary&col=status&col=milestone&col=owner&col=type&col=priority&order=id\">Trac tickets</a>&nbsp;</li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress 6.1 is the third major release for 2022, following 5.9 and 6.0, released in January and May of this year, respectively.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>To learn more about the highlights for both end-users and developers, you’re invited to read more about them in the <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/10/wordpress-6-1-release-candidate-1-rc1-now-available/\">RC1 announcement post</a> and review the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/12/wordpress-6-1-field-guide/\">WordPress 6.1 Field Guide</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Plugin and theme developers</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>All plugin and theme developers should test their respective extensions against WordPress 6.1 RC2 and update the “<em>Tested up to”</em> version in their readme file to 6.1. If you find compatibility problems, please post detailed information to the <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta/\">support forums</a>, so these items can be investigated further prior to the final release date of November 1st.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Translate WordPress</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you speak a language other than English? <a href=\"https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp/dev\">Help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages.</a>&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Keep WordPress bug-free – help with testing</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Testing for issues is critical for stabilizing a release throughout its development. Testing is also a great way to contribute. <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/test/2022/09/21/help-test-wordpress-6-1/\">This detailed guide</a> is an excellent start if you have never tested a beta release.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Testing helps ensure that this and future releases of WordPress are as stable and issue-free as possible. Anyone can take part in testing – regardless of prior experience.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Want to know more about testing releases like this one? Read about the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/test/\">testing initiatives</a> that happen in Make Core. You can also join a <a href=\"https://wordpress.slack.com/messages/core-test/\">core-test channel</a> on the <a href=\"https://wordpress.slack.com/\">Making WordPress Slack workspace</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have run into an issue, please report it to the <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta/\">Alpha/Beta area</a> in the support forums. If you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report, you can <a href=\"https://core.trac.wordpress.org/newticket\">file one on WordPress Trac</a>. This is also where you can find a list of <a href=\"https://core.trac.wordpress.org/tickets/major\">known bugs</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>To review features in the Gutenberg releases since WordPress 6.0 (the most recent major release of WordPress), access the <em>What’s New In Gutenberg</em> posts for <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/09/16/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-1-15-september/\">14.1</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/09/01/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-0-31-august/\">14.0</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/17/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-9-17-august/\">13.9</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/08/04/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-8-3-august/\">13.8</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/07/20/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-7-20-july/\">13.7</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/07/07/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-6-6-july/\">13.6</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/06/22/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-5-22-june/\">13.5</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/06/10/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-4-8-june/\">13.4</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/05/26/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-3-0-may-25/\">13.3</a>, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/05/12/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-2-may-11/\">13.2</a>, and <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/04/28/whats-new-in-gutenberg-13-1-27-april/\">13.1</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n<h2><strong>Haiku Fun for RC2</strong></h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Two weeks from the launch </em><br /><em>Constant improvements we make </em><br /><em>Great outcomes await </em></p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" />\n\n\n\n<p><em>Update Oct 25 12:45 UTC: This post has been updated to remove the reference to Gutenberg versions 14.3 and 14.2 being included in the 6.1 release. They will be included in a future release.</em></p>\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:7:\"pubDate\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:31:\"Tue, 18 Oct 2022 19:31:20 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:16:\"Jonathan Pantani\";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:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:93:\"WPTavern: Jetpack Social Plugin Adds Paid Plan, Free Users Now Limited to 30 Shares per Month\";s:7:\"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=138706\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:103:\"https://wptavern.com/jetpack-social-plugin-adds-paid-plan-free-users-now-limited-to-30-shares-per-month\";s: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:2551:\"<p>Jetpack has announced changes to its <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack-social/\">Jetpack Social</a> plugin that may impact publishers who frequently share across social media networks. Previously, users could share an unlimited number of posts automatically via their connected social media accounts. Jetpack is shuffling its monetization strategy for this extension and has capped social sharing at 30 shares per month for the free tier.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>A <a href=\"https://jetpack.com/social/\">new paid plan</a> offers 1,000 shares and re-shares per month, starting at $1/month for the first month and is $10/month thereafter. As a concession, Jetpack is rolling the social previews and re-sharing into the free plan.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>With Jetpack Social, if a post is automatically shared to Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, that counts as three shares. It&#8217;s easy to see how quickly these shares can rack up to where even a casual blogger might require a paid plan. Publishers that are used to being able to automatically share all their posts for free should be aware this change that limits them to to 30 shares per month.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I would not be surprised to see some users switch to another social sharing plugin, as many others offer far more social networks and don&#8217;t limit the number of times users can share. Instead they opt to restrict re-sharing, scheduling, or the ability to connect multiple accounts per social network. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jetpack Social has a new team behind it focused on making the product better. In 2021, Automattic <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/automattic-acquires-social-image-generator-plugin-plans-to-integrate-with-jetpack\">acquired the Social Image Generator plugin</a> with plans to integrate it into Jetpack&#8217;s social media tools. This may make the product more compelling, since it currently doesn&#8217;t stand up well to the myriad of free sharing plugins out there. Jetpack only supports four social networks, but the team is working on expanding the plugin&#8217;s capabilities. The plugin&#8217;s development team also <a href=\"https://github.com/Automattic/jetpack/issues/new?assignees=&labels=%5BType%5D+Feature&template=feature-request.yml&title=Feature+Request%3A\">accepts feature suggestions</a> on its GitHub repository.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Version 1.4.0 of the Jetpack Social plugin moved the share limits code to the Publicize package and added a meter to show users how many shares they have remaining. Users on the free plan should notice these changes in their dashboards.</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, 18 Oct 2022 14:54:34 +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:35;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:96:\"Do The Woo Community: A WooSesh Chat with Paul Maiorana, Kimberly Coleman and 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:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:28:\"https://dothewoo.io/?p=73148\";s:7:\"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:83:\"https://dothewoo.io/woosesh-chat-paul-maiorana-kimberly-coleman-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:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:454:\"<p>In this show we talk about the new turnkey WooCommerce, flash sales year round and a look at the first day of sessions. </p>\n<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://dothewoo.io/woosesh-chat-paul-maiorana-kimberly-coleman-courtney-robertson/\">A WooSesh Chat with Paul Maiorana, Kimberly Coleman and Courtney Robertson</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, 18 Oct 2022 10:15:00 +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:36;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:66:\"WPTavern: Plugin Dependencies Feature Plugin Now Ready for Testing\";s:7:\"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=138684\";s:7:\"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/plugin-dependencies-feature-plugin-now-ready-for-testing\";s: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:3427:\"<p>For more than a decade, WordPress developers have been <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/yet-another-plugin-dependencies-discussion-two-proposals-this-time\">discussing</a> how core can support plugins that require one or more other plugins in order to work. Having a standardized way of managing plugin dependencies would be a useful and time-saving feature for developers, who currently have to roll their own solutions for this. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The situation there is a lot like the relationship between parent and child themes,&#8221; project lead Andy Fragen said in February when <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/02/24/feature-project-plugin-dependencies/\">introducing the idea for the feature plugin</a>. &#8220;Without their relationships to the bigger plugin, those dependent plugins can do very little. Every plugin developer is on their own to code a solution to resolve the issue. The single most common example is WooCommerce, which is a dependency for hundreds, if not thousands, of WooCommerce add-on plugins.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>After nine months of discussion and development, the <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-plugin-dependencies/\">Plugin Dependencies feature plugin</a> is now <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/12/call-for-testing-plugin-dependencies/\">ready for testing</a>. It allows plugin authors to specify any WordPress.org-hosted plugin(s) that are required for their plugins to function. A plugin that has dependencies can be identified by adding a “Requires Plugins” header to the docblock of the main plugin file. Plugin authors can specify as many dependencies as necessary in a comma-separated list of plugin slugs.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>How does it work? Site owners will get an admin notice if there are dependencies they need to install. The plugin card will be updated to display the <em>Requires</em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Required by</em>&nbsp;information on the Plugins screen.</p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p>Fragen <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/12/call-for-testing-plugin-dependencies/\">outlined</a> how the community can test the new core support for handling plugin dependencies. You do not have to be a developer to participate in testing this new feature. It involves installing test plugin files and confirming admin notices appear and disappear at the right times. Testers who are comfortable editing plugin files can try adding dependencies, adding a dependency for non-WordPress.org plugins, and other more advanced tests.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Version control is not part of this project, so developers will not be able to specify a minimum required version, for example. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Version control&nbsp;is out of scope for the feature as described in the original Make post referenced above,&#8221; Fragen said in response to a question on the feature plugin. &#8220;As the majority of the dependencies come from the dot org repository, the most current versions will be installed.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Specifically, WordPress should automatically prompt the user to update to the current version and may use auto-updates as well.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Testing will be open until December 1, 2022. Anyone who wants to be part of moving this long-awaited feature towards a possible inclusion in core can <a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/wp-plugin-dependencies/issues/new\">report issues</a> to the WP Plugin Dependencies plugin&#8217;s repository.</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, 18 Oct 2022 02:53:05 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"Sarah Gooding\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:37;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:52:\"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 6.0.3 Security Release\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"guid\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:35:\"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=13618\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:68:\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/10/wordpress-6-0-3-security-release/\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:6149:\"<p><strong>WordPress 6.0.3</strong> is now available!</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This release features several security fixes. Because this is a <strong>security release</strong>, it is recommended that you update your sites immediately. All versions since WordPress 3.7 have also been updated.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress 6.0.3 is a short-cycle release. The next major release will be <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/6-1/\">version 6.1</a> planned for November 1, 2022.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have sites that support automatic background updates, the update process will begin automatically.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/wordpress-6.0.3.zip\">download WordPress 6.0.3 from WordPress.org</a>, or visit your WordPress Dashboard, click “Updates”, and then click “Update Now”.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information on this release, please <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/support/wordpress-version/version-6-0-3\">visit the HelpHub site</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Security updates included in this release</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The security team would like to thank the following people for responsibly reporting vulnerabilities, and allowing them to be fixed in this release.</p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Stored XSS via wp-mail.php (post by email) &#8211; Toshitsugu Yoneyama of Mitsui Bussan Secure Directions, Inc. via JPCERT</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Open redirect in `wp_nonce_ays` &#8211; <a href=\"https://hackerone.com/devrayn\">devrayn</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sender&#8217;s email address is exposed in wp-mail.php &#8211; Toshitsugu Yoneyama of Mitsui Bussan Secure Directions, Inc. via JPCERT</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Media Library &#8211; Reflected XSS via SQLi &#8211; Ben Bidner from the WordPress security team and Marc Montpas from Automattic independently discovered this issue</li>\n\n\n\n<li>CSRF in wp-trackback.php &#8211; Simon Scannell</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stored XSS via the Customizer &#8211; Alex Concha from the WordPress security team</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Revert shared user instances introduced in <a href=\"https://core.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/50790\">50790</a> &#8211; Alex Concha and Ben Bidner from the WordPress security team</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stored XSS in WordPress Core via Comment Editing &#8211; Third-party security audit and Alex Concha from the WordPress security team</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Data exposure via the REST Terms/Tags Endpoint &#8211; Than Taintor</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Content from multipart emails leaked &#8211; <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/kraftner\">Thomas Kräftner</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li>SQL Injection due to improper sanitization in `WP_Date_Query` &#8211; <a href=\"https://www.gold-network.ch\">Michael Mazzolini</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li>RSS Widget: Stored XSS issue &#8211; Third-party security audit</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stored XSS in the search block &#8211; Alex Concha of the WP Security team</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Feature Image Block: XSS issue &#8211; Third-party security audit</li>\n\n\n\n<li>RSS Block: Stored XSS issue &#8211; Third-party security audit</li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fix widget block XSS &#8211; Third-party security audit</li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<h2>Thank you to these WordPress contributors</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This release was led by <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/xknown\">Alex Concha</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/peterwilsoncc\">Peter Wilson</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/audrasjb\">Jb Audras</a>, and <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/SergeyBiryukov\">Sergey Biryukov</a> at mission control. Thanks to <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/desrosj/\">Jonathan Desrosiers</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/jorgefilipecosta/\">Jorge Costa</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/bernhard-reiter/\">Bernie Reiter</a> and <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/cbravobernal/\">Carlos Bravo</a> for their help on package updates.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>WordPress 6.0.3 would not have been possible without the contributions of the following people. Their asynchronous coordination to deliver several fixes into a stable release is a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress community.</p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-default\"><a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/xknown/\">Alex Concha</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/costdev/\">Colin Stewart</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/talldanwp/\">Daniel Richards</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidbaumwald/\">David Baumwald</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/dd32/\">Dion Hulse</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/ehtis/\">ehtis</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/voldemortensen/\">Garth Mortensen</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/audrasjb/\">Jb Audras</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/johnbillion/\">John Blackbourn</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/johnjamesjacoby/\">John James Jacoby</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/desrosj/\">Jonathan Desrosiers</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/jorgefilipecosta/\">Jorge Costa</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/jrf/\">Juliette Reinders Folmer</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/rudlinkon/\">Linkon Miyan</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/martinkrcho/\">martin.krcho</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/matveb/\">Matias Ventura</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/mukesh27/\">Mukesh Panchal</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/paulkevan/\">Paul Kevan</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/peterwilsoncc/\">Peter Wilson</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/noisysocks/\">Robert Anderson</a><a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/robinwpdeveloper/\">Robin</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/sergeybiryukov/\">Sergey Biryukov</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/sumitbagthariya16/\">Sumit Bagthariya</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/tykoted/\">Teddy Patriarca</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/timothyblynjacobs/\">Timothy Jacobs</a>, <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/vortfu/\">vortfu</a>, and <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/chesio/\">Česlav Przywara</a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-small-font-size\"><em>Thanks to <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/peterwilsoncc/\" class=\"mention\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@</span>peterwilsoncc</a> for proofreading.</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, 17 Oct 2022 22:55:55 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:9:\"Jb Audras\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:38;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:99:\"WordPress.org blog: WP Briefing: Episode 41: WordPress 6.1 Sneak Peek with Special Guest Nick Diego\";s:7:\"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=13578\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:101:\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/10/episode-41-wordpress-6-1-sneak-peek-with-special-guest-nick-diego/\";s: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:24119:\"<p>In the forty-first episode of the WordPress Briefing, peek into the upcoming WordPress 6.1 release with our host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy, and the release&#8217;s Editor Triage Lead, Nick Diego. </p>\n\n\n\n<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>\n\n\n\n<h2>Credits</h2>\n\n\n\n<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>\n\n\n\n<h2>Guests</h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/ndiego/\">Nick Diego</a></p>\n\n\n\n<h2>References</h2>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/mobile/2022/10/04/call-for-testing-wordpress-for-android-20-9/\">Call for Testing for WordPress for Android 20.9</a><br /><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/10/wordpress-6-1-release-candidate-2-now-available/\">RC2 WordPress 6.1</a> <br /><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/10/multisite-improvements-in-wordpress-6-1/\">Multisite Improvements</a><br /><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/10/block-styles-generation-style-engine/\">Block Style Generation Tool</a><br /><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/10/changes-to-block-editor-preferences-in-wordpress-6-1/\">Editor Preferences Changes</a><br /><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/09/14/6-1-product-walk-through-recap/\">WordPress 6.1 Walkthrough </a></p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Transcript</h2>\n\n\n\n<span id=\"more-13578\"></span>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:00:00]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<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.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Here we go.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:00:40]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>And today I have with me Nick Diego. Welcome, Nick, to the WordPress Briefing.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:00:44]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you so much for having me.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:00:46]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah. Before we get started, why don&#8217;t you tell me a bit about yourself, just kind of your history with WordPress and then what it is that you&#8217;ve been doing with the WordPress 6.1 release squad.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:00:56]</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, so I&#8217;m actually kind of new to working with WordPress full-time. Up until about June of last year, I was in the hospitality industry for a career of 10 years. But I always loved doing WordPress on the side. And after the long pandemic, I figured it was time to kind of pursue my passion and work with WordPress full-time.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that ultimately led to my current role as a developer advocate at WPEngine, where I focus primarily on WordPress and contribution to Core itself. And then I guess it was maybe March or April this year when <a href=\"https://profiles.wordpress.org/annezazu/\">Anne McCarthy</a>, who I&#8217;ve worked with a ton, she asked me if I&#8217;d be interested in helping out on 6.0 as an Editor Triage Lead which was an awesome experience.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And now I&#8217;m back for 6.1.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:01:37]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s excellent. I always like to hear about people who are coming to do repeat tours of duty.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:01:43]</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, exactly.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:01:44]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>I probably shouldn&#8217;t refer to working on WordPress releases as a tour of duty. However, I find that releases are so large and complex, and there are so many people in there now that working on them takes an entirely different skill set now than it used to take when WordPress was like 1% of the web.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so I think it&#8217;s a really big task, and I think it&#8217;s great when people were, like, that was either so good that I would do it again, or I would like a second go because I could do it better. Whichever way brings people to it. So, yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:02:18]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>No, I was just gonna say that&#8217;s a great point because the Editor Triage Lead, which is the role that I currently have, was a brand new role for 6.0. The project kind of got so big that it kind of made sense to have a triage lead focused specifically on Gutenberg. Gutenberg&#8217;s such a big part of WordPress now.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so that&#8217;s where that role kind of came from, and now we&#8217;ve carried it over to 6.1. As the project grows, we need more people to come in and help make sure the release is as smooth as it can be.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:02:42]</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes. Because of that promise of backward compatibility and all the things.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:02:47]</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Exactly.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:02:48]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cool. So, by the time this releases, if I recall correctly, we will have passed RC2, or RC2 is coming the next day or something like that. We&#8217;re right around the Release Candidate two. So you have been doing this for quite some time on this particular release. So far, what is the feature that you&#8217;re most excited about that&#8217;s going out in the 6.1 release?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:03:09]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, this is going to sound really boring, but it&#8217;s actually incredibly exciting. So, the most exciting quote-unquote feature that I&#8217;m excited about is the improved consistency and standardization of block controls that are coming in 6.1. So things like typography and color and borders and dimensions.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>These are things and tools that we&#8217;ve had in a lot of core blocks, but it hasn&#8217;t been consistent throughout. And a ton of work has been done in 6.1 to establish that consistency. We&#8217;re not a hundred percent there, but typography, I think we&#8217;re at like 85% of all core blocks now support all the typography controls, and with each release as we head to 6.2, we&#8217;ll improve on that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it&#8217;s really great for theme builders, theme designers, and users to be able to control the look and feel blocks consistently throughout the editor.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:03:58]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>I was gonna immediately answer you earlier with like, there are no boring answers, there are no boring improvements. And as you were explaining why it is that you kind of thought it might be considered boring, I think it&#8217;s fair to say that anytime that you&#8217;re increasing the consistency and you&#8217;re increasing the confidence between what you saw on the back end and what you actually shipped on the front end– anytime you&#8217;re doing that, I think that that is exciting in the prove the negative way.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you think about the negative excitement that occurs when you have published something, and it looks one way in the back end, and then it looks totally different on the front end, and the panic you feel when you have to fix. Not having that is a really big step up, I think. And so anything that provides more consistency for people who are using WordPress, people who are building with WordPress, I always find exciting. But also, like, I&#8217;m an office person, and so I would find office things exciting, right?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:04:53]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>It creates a more delightful experience. I do a lot of work on the Training team, doing educational things, and we teach people how to change typography and change color. Once they learn how to do it in one block, if they can take that same skill set and apply it to any other block, it&#8217;s that light bulb moment. They understand they know how to manipulate and use WordPress to its fullest. So adding that consistency really helps to level up users.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:05:15]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, I&#8217;m gonna take us off track a little bit and just ask a general question here. Like, I remember the first time that I was working with what was a site, I guess, qualified for a site at the time. And I remember the first time that I discovered that I could change the look and feel with HTML and CSS, and I did that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also was like, well, I accept my fate. Whatever happens, if I kill everything I&#8217;ve ever written, that is just how it&#8217;ll be. Like the sheer terror of all of that is so different now. Do you recall that first moment where you&#8217;re like, Oh, I do have some power over this? I have some control over this, and whether you also found it scary.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:05:52]</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I came to WordPress kinda as a hobby and website development kind of as a hobby. So I was kind of always in that tinkering phase, or I wasn&#8217;t building something for anyone else. I was in a safe place to destroy whatever I was working on with my tinkering. So I never really quite had that fear, but I can definitely see it from the perspective of building something for somebody else.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But you&#8217;re right, the editor and the controls that we have, and you know, now make it a lot easier to kind of manipulate and exert your creative desires in WordPress than it was before with CSS.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:06:23]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>I love the phrase ‘I was safe to destroy things, ’ and if I can figure out a way to make it a tagline for something, I will.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:06:30]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Exactly.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:06:31]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alright. So during your second time around here on the release squad with 6.1, what have been the bright spots of that experience, and have there been any unexpected challenges of being on the release squad?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:06:44]</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Again, I come to WordPress from, you know, from a different career. It&#8217;s kind of a passion of mine to be working with WordPress. So I kinda have a unique experience than maybe some others. And when I approach WordPress, there&#8217;s always that tendency to say, ‘why doesn&#8217;t it do this?’ Or ‘why don&#8217;t they do this?’ And I&#8217;ve always been the person…, well, it&#8217;s open source. We, we, we can, we can</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:07:05]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>…can do it</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:07:05]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>…we can do it. And so that&#8217;s kind of how I approach things. Now, of course, you know, I have the privilege of time to do that. Not everybody does, but one of the unexpected bright spots about working in a release squad is understanding how it all works.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>How does WordPress actually get built? What is the process that it goes through? It was just eye-opening to me, and I really got a shout-out, Anne, for inviting me to be on 6.0. It brought me in. I learned so much about it, and now I&#8217;m just excited to keep working on these releases.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But a release is hard. You know, it&#8217;s a… WordPress is huge. There are a lot of moving parts, there are a lot of things going on. Right now, we&#8217;re trying to get everything ready for the first release candidate. So being on the release squad is not an easy job. But it&#8217;s exciting, it&#8217;s fun, and you really feel like you&#8217;re part of that ‘we’ really helping to build WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:07:53]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the things that I hope that people have learned from any time that they spent working with me is that like we understand here in the WordPress open source project, and I believe that all open source projects must understand this, but like every change that you make, if there are things that are dependent on it, which is gonna be true for most of us, we&#8217;ll have intended consequences and also unexpected consequences, and unintended, unexpected consequences.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so I&#8217;ve always felt like the thing that really makes the biggest difference about how we do open source in WordPress is that, for the most part, we have a concept of where the most likely changes are going to happen across our entire ecosystem.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:08:40]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>We have a better understanding, at least compared to when I got here, a better understanding of how interconnected it all is. And so you&#8217;ve got this change here, and it looks small, but it&#8217;s gonna have this positive or negative impact as you kind of work your way out from it. And so I think that that is an interesting thing, and certainly, you get a really clear concept of it in the release squad, I think.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:09:02]</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oh, absolutely. If you were to build something like the block editor without caring at all about backward compatibility, you&#8217;d be done by now, right? I mean, so much of what we do is concerning ourselves with making sure that everybody who&#8217;s on a classic theme or hybrid theme or whatever it might be that they continue to use WordPress in a safe and stable way.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is part of being such a large content management system.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:09:24]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>So you already told us the feature that you&#8217;re most excited about, and so now I&#8217;m gonna ask you about what feature or what bug fix has the most notable improvements that are coming to 6.1. This is a little different as in, like, there&#8217;s the thing you&#8217;re excited about, which is an office thing, but like a thing that is maybe not new but has the biggest delta, the biggest change to anyone&#8217;s experience of it.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:09:51]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, so obviously, in 5.9, we introduced full site editing, and 6.0 was a natural progression from that with more and more features. Now it&#8217;s safe to say that there&#8217;s only a small fraction of websites that are using the whole full site editing of or block themes, all that kind of stuff. One of the hangups about that was managing templates inside of the site editor.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>You could add the files to your theme, which would then show up in the site editor. But there wasn&#8217;t a direct way to add more complicated templates within the site editor itself. That is changing in 6.1. So now you actually have the functionality to install something like 2023, which is the new core theme, and build out all these very complicated templates within the UI of the site editor that you could not have done before.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:10:38]</strong>&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>I personally think that the biggest benefit of full site editing is really to empower no-code or low-code users. And the ability to add these templates directly in the UI really levels them up. Because now, you can do all that complicated stuff that you normally would need to be adding to theme files and jumping into the code. You can do that within the site editor now, which I think is fantastic.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:10:59]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s great. And just a general caveat, anytime that we talk about anything that&#8217;s very developer-y or very no code-y, I think it&#8217;s always worth mentioning, yes, a lot of what we&#8217;re trying to do with the block editor is to just kind of give some power back to folks who cannot find the time to become a developer or don&#8217;t have the inclination. They don&#8217;t want to do that.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that does not mean that no code is ever involved in WordPress. It&#8217;s still a software. You can still do very complicated things with it. And if you are a developer, you should not think to yourself, ‘oh now that it&#8217;s being available to low code/no code users, that means you don&#8217;t want me.’</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Like, that&#8217;s not at all what&#8217;s happening. You can do very complicated things still.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:11:42]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>A hundred percent. A hundred percent. Absolutely.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:11:45]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Alright, so that brings us to our final question here because we like to stay as true to the name as possible here on the WP Briefing. If someone were wanting to get involved with the next release, so WP 6.2, how would they do that?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:12:01]</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, talk to Anne, and she&#8217;ll get you set up. No, I&#8217;m just kidding. So at the, after each release, there&#8217;s a posting that goes out that lists all the different release teams, and you can just put your name out there and ask to be, you know, for consideration to be part of the team.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, I will say that the best thing you can do right now is help with 6.1. You don&#8217;t necessarily need to be a release lead to do that testing, helping with bug fixes. Reach out to me. Reach out to other release leads, and we&#8217;ll get you involved and engaged with the release. That will give you a really good framework to start working and become a release lead for 6.2.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:12:37]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah. I think we talked maybe two or three episodes ago, or it could be more than that, I&#8217;ll never know, about the release squad, like the group that&#8217;s doing that. In the event you think to yourself, ‘there&#8217;s no way in a million years that I&#8217;m gonna just show up tomorrow and be part of the release squad,’ I heard what they said in the first question/answer moment– that&#8217;s fine, too.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Nick mentioned, you can always get involved with testing, you can get involved with triage. Those are areas where any feedback at all is valuable because we can get better information about what worked and didn&#8217;t, what was expected versus what happened. And that type of information is where all of our co-creators of the WordPress software–really, we rely on what you all are pointing out to us.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re not shining spotlights on the most painful parts of your experience, sometimes we don&#8217;t necessarily know that that&#8217;s a pain point for anyone.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:13:34]</strong>&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And so yeah, that&#8217;s a great place to start. If you are more of a writer, technical or prose, there are different spaces you can go to, like keep our docs up to date or make sure that people know that changes are coming at all in WordPress because that&#8217;s a thing. If you are a backend developer, we have a million things you can do because that&#8217;s just all day, every day, for WordPress.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s just all the deep backend work. And so yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:13:58]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>I did want to mention that, you know, being on the release team does not necessarily mean that you&#8217;re incredibly technical. We have a documentation lead, we have a design lead, you know, a communication lead. So there&#8217;s a lot of different roles in the team that, you know, across all disciplines.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So don&#8217;t think if you&#8217;re not a hardcore developer, that precludes you from being on the team.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:14:19]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, and if you&#8217;re really good with common sense and working fully remotely, you can be the release coordinator. I can tell you because I did that for 5.0. It was a big job. It was our, it was the first time we had a release squad as opposed to just like the release lead.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because there was just so much that was going into that and so much riding on it. And like you said in some other answer that you gave like if you were to just be like, we&#8217;re shutting everything down and rewriting this in six months, and I hope you can come with us on it. Like a lot of open source projects do it that way.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:14:51]</strong>&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that is a choice, and we made the opposite choice. And so we&#8217;re bringing all of our co-conspirators with us, all of our co-creators of WordPress. That&#8217;s the hope all the time. Making sure that they have enough information, that they feel safe to destroy things, enough information, and skills about how to get out of it, that they always feel some high confidence in what they&#8217;re trying to do versus what they actually did do.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, yeah, excellent. Nick, do you have any final thoughts for our listeners?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Nick Diego 00:15:20]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nope. I just hope everybody goes out and downloads 6.1 and enjoys it as much as I am.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:15:25]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yeah, go check it out.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:15:28]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>That brings us now to our small list of big things. And actually, it is a pretty big list today, but still pretty big things too. So first up, we have a call for testing that is out, and it is for our Android users.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a call for testing for WordPress for Android 20.9, and I feel like we don&#8217;t get a lot of calls for testing for Android devices. And so if you have been feeling left out or just like we don&#8217;t always have that kind of mobile testing available, this is the opportunity for you.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>The next thing is that tomorrow, we have RC2, release candidate two for WordPress 6.1.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s coming out on October 18th. There will be a link in the show notes, but that means if you write a plugin or a theme or have anything that kind of extends the core of WordPress, now is the time to start testing anything that might be a bug or represent a breaking change and make sure that you file those bugs so that we can get things as settled and excellent as possible.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:16:40]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>And speaking of Word points, uh, WordPress 6.1, not Word point, WordPress 6.1. I actually have three changes that I think are going to represent some pretty big changes for folks. I will have links to all of these in the show notes. If you don&#8217;t know where the show notes are, it&#8217;s on wordpress.org/news/podcast.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So the three things that I think are gonna be big, worthwhile things. The first one is multisite improvements, and the second one will be the style engine that&#8217;s block styles generation tool, which will ship in Core and I think is really important for y&#8217;all to take a look at. And then also there are some changes coming to the block editor preferences.<br /><br />Like I said, links to all of those are going to be in the show notes, and so they should be pretty easy for you to find. But also, if you want to just get a general look at everything that&#8217;s coming in 6.1, we did a walkthrough that I will link to in the show notes as well, and you can get a full understanding of what is going to be coming early in November.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>[Josepha Haden Chomphosy 00:17:45]&nbsp;</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that, my friends, is your small list –big list– of big things. Thanks 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, 17 Oct 2022 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:39;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:78:\"Do The Woo Community: Highlights from a WooCommerce Keynote 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=73129\";s:7:\"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://dothewoo.io/highlights-from-woocommerce-keynote-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:11:\"description\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:443:\"<p>At WooSesh, Paul Maiorana talked about their new turnkey solution, Woo Experts, new core features, performance and developer resources.</p>\n<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://dothewoo.io/highlights-from-woocommerce-keynote-with-paul-maiorana/\">Highlights from a WooCommerce Keynote 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:\"Mon, 17 Oct 2022 09:08:00 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:5:\"BobWP\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:40;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:151:\"Gutenberg Times: Extending Query Blocks, 160 Block Themes,  new tickets for WordCamp Asia,  WordPress 6.1 RC 1 and so much more – Weekend Edition 233\";s:7:\"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=22413\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:153:\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/extending-query-blocks-160-block-themes-new-tickets-for-wordcamp-asia-wordpress-6-1-rc-1-and-so-much-more-weekend-edition-233/\";s: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:31861:\"<p>Howdy, </p>\n\n\n\n<p>You probably heard that <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/10/wordpress-6-1-release-candidate-1-rc1-now-available/\">WordPress 6.1 Release candidate</a> was released. I am so excited about this ginormous release. Take a look at the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/12/wordpress-6-1-field-guide/\">WordPress 6.1 Fieldguide</a>! There are a ton of posts for developers to check out, be it about performance, accessibility, REST API, database or the block editor. Now it is definitely the time to start testing your sites, plugins, and themes for issues. If you find some report them on the <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta/\">Alpha/Beta/RC  forum</a>. </p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>If you are not a developer, use links in the table of contents to jump past the long list of Dev Notes.</p>\n\n\n\n\n<p>That was however not all, that happened this week. Gutenberg plugin was released, and I also was happy to find a series of great blog posts about the development experience, extending the block editor. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enjoy the news below of plugins, themes, and courses. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Have a pleasant weekend!</p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yours, 💕<br /><em>Birgit</em></p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-layout-flow wp-block-group has-light-background-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<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-word-press-6-1\">WordPress 6.1 </a></li><li><a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#1-more-editor-related-dev-notes-for-word-press-6-1\">Editor and block-theme related Dev Notes </a></li><li><a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#2-gutenberg-14-3-released\">Gutenberg 14.3 released</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/#4-160-is-this-weeks-count-of-block-themes-in-the-word-press-repository\">160 Block Themes</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/#8-learn-word-press-online-meetups\">Learn WordPress Online Meetups</a></li></ul></li></ul></div>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"0-word-press-release-information\">Developing Gutenberg and WordPress</h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"1-word-press-6-1\">WordPress 6.1 </h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Field Guide routinely bundles all the dev notes published around a major release of WordPress. It also lists smaller changes in a &#8220;But wait there is more&#8221; section. For WordPress 6.1 the documentation release team decided on two more guides: </p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/11/performance-field-guide-for-wordpress-6-1/\"><strong>Performance Field Guide</strong></a> and</li>\n\n\n\n<li> A separate list of <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/11/wordpress-6-1-accessibility-improvements/\">Accessibility Improvements</a></li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Leonardus Nugraha</strong>&nbsp;provided insight into  <a href=\"https://www.hostinger.com/blog/wordpress-6-1-beta\"><strong>WordPress 6.1 Beta: First Look Into the Next Major Release</strong></a> with code samples to create a pattern, add fluid typography to a theme&#8217;s theme.json file, and how to add block-template parts to a classic theme. It&#8217;s a great summary of many features coming to WordPress 6.1 </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>In his post for Kinsta <a href=\"https://kinsta.com/blog/wordpress-6-1/\"><strong>What’s New in WordPress 6.1: Fluid Typography, Improved Template System, New Site Health Checks, and Much More!</strong></a>, Carlo Daniele, also describes the major features coming to WordPress 6.1, highlighting the Fluid Typography with example code, list the improvements to existing blocks, and explains how the new Border controls for Columns work. There is a lot more in that post to catch-up on what will be in the upcoming major WordPress release on November 1st, 2022. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WordPress VIP</strong> published <a href=\"https://wpvip.com/2022/10/13/wordpress-6-1-hot-takes/\"><strong>WordPress 6.1: Hot Takes for Enterprise Content Creators</strong></a>. They highlighted the better design consistency, creating richer, more engaging experiences with an improved block editor.</p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"1-more-editor-related-dev-notes-for-word-press-6-1\">Editor and block-theme related Dev Notes </h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Below I shared the links to this week&#8217;s Dev Notes related to Gutenberg. <a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/style-variations-in-theme-directory-beta-first-devnotes-for-wordpress-6-1-ecommerce-blocks-by-edd-and-woo-weekend-edition-232/#1-word-press-6-1\">Last week&#8217;s edition listed four more.</a></em></p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <strong><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/10/updated-editor-layout-support-in-6-1-after-refactor/\">Updated editor layout support in 6.1 after refactor</a> Isabel Brison</strong> wrote all about a new layout type in addition to Flow and Flex: Constrained. It helps designers and site builders to tame the Innerblocks of the layout blocks. In her dev note, Brison also listed additional layout updates.</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>In this post, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/10/changes-to-block-editor-preferences-in-wordpress-6-1/\"><strong>Changes to block editor preferences in WordPress 6.1</strong></a>, <strong>Daniel Richards</strong> describes the in and outs of the new Preference storage mechanism. Many content creators have waited for this for years: Now the block editor will actually remember your setting to switch on the Top Toolbar, and switch off the Full-screen view, and switch off the Welcome screen. Now it&#8217;s all stored in the database of your sites. It does not save it across multiple sites, though. WordPress is powerful but not that powerful. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>Developer are now empowered <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/10/extending-the-query-loop-block/\"><strong>extending the Query Loop block</strong></a>. This post <strong>Nik Tsekouras</strong>, explains how you can add your custom query arguments via a block variation of the Query Loop block. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>The block editor now also has <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/10/filters-for-theme-json-data/\"><strong>Filters for theme.json data</strong></a>, with it plugin and theme developer can query the styling and layout data for all three levels: Blocks, Themes and User. <strong>André Maneiro</strong> has the details for you. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>Components are the building blocks of core blocks and can also be used for custom blocks.  <strong>Marco Ciampini</strong> explained the <strong><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/10/editor-components-updates-for-wordpress-6-1/\">Editor Components updates in WordPress 6.1</a>. </strong></p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>Until now, styling via theme.json only worked for blocks and for Global styling. Now theme developers can start <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/10/styling-elements-in-block-themes/\"><strong>styling elements in block themes</strong></a>,  that means all headers, regardless of where they are added can be consistently styled, same for buttons or input fields. This reduces considerably the lines in a theme&#8217;s custom style.css. This Dev note was authored by <strong>Ben Dwyer</strong>.</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ramon Dodd</strong> explained in his post the details of <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/10/block-styles-generation-style-engine/\"><strong>Block styles generation (Style Engine)</strong></a>, how the styles found in themes, blocks, Styles UI and core blocks all come together in a black box before they reach the frontend of the site. Or something to that effect. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Adam Zielinski </strong>and <strong>Grzegorz Ziolkowski</strong> summarized the  <strong><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/12/block-api-changes-in-wordpress-6-1/\">Block API changes in WordPress 6.1</a>.</strong> They explain several new&nbsp;Block&nbsp;API&nbsp;features available via the&nbsp;<code>block.json</code>&nbsp;file, specifically the new <code>render</code> attribute for dynamic block PHP templates, how multiple scripts can now registered for blocks, and developers can import single core blocks into their apps, rather than all core/blocks/ </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>One of the missing pieces for curating the editing experience were <strong><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/11/content-locking-features-and-updates/\">Content locking features and updates</a>.</strong> In his dev note, <strong>Jorge Costa</strong> explains how content-only editing for blocks, patterns, and templates, will work and how a template lock inheritance for the Column&nbsp;block functions. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/11/simplified-data-access-with-new-react-hooks-in-wordpress-6-1/\"><strong>Simplified data access with new React hooks in WordPress 6.1</strong></a>&nbsp;ensure a better WordPress developer experience, we learn from <strong>Adam Zielinski&#8217;</strong>s dev note.  The amount of code necessary to access WordPress data like post, pages, users, or custom post types have been considerably reduced. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>In his post <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/11/reference-styles-values-in-theme-json/\"><strong>Reference Styles values in theme.json</strong></a>, <strong>Ben Dwyer</strong> outlines how you can ensure consistency and avoid duplication of code across entities. If you have a color palette defined, blocks and template parts can reference the particular variable across all other styles so they adhere to the color palette of the theme. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Brian Alexander</strong> wrote about the <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/07/improved-php-performance-for-core-blocks-registration/\"><strong>Improved PHP performance for core blocks registration</strong></a> which is achieved through making sure that only the files required for the blocks on the canvas are loaded in memory. Until now, all 70+ core blocks were loaded all the time. That&#8217;s a huge performance gain for WordPress sites. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/11/enhanced-typescript-support-in-wordpress-6-1/\"><strong>Enhanced TypeScript support in WordPress 6.1</strong></a> improves the developer experience for WordPress developers, as most programming tools tap into the Typescript signatures and notify the developer, when there is the wrong type or required arguments are missing. In the video embedded into the post,  <strong>Adam Zielinski</strong> shows the interaction of an&nbsp;IDE&nbsp;for auto-completion and static checks.</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Ramon Dodd</strong> also write about the implementation of <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/03/fluid-font-sizes-in-wordpress-6-1/\"><strong>Fluid font sizes in WordPress 6.1</strong></a>. You learn how they work and how you can control them via the theme.json file. This is another feature improving the overall responsiveness of the block editor. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>In the post, <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/10/miscellaneous-editor-changes-for-wordpress-6-1/\"><strong>Miscellaneous editor changes for WordPress 6.1</strong></a>, you learn about the small changes and sometime also make a big difference, for instance, content patterns for custom post types, improvements to the Cover block, or a new filter for he Navigation block. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>Creating a consistent UI for blocks, was one of the focuses for this WordPress release. The team is about 50% there. In this <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/11/roster-of-design-tools-per-block/\"><strong>Roster of design tools per block</strong></a>, you can look up which blocks have which set of design tools in the categories: Typography, Color, Dimension, Border, and Layout controls. </p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"2-gutenberg-14-3-released\">Gutenberg 14.3 released</h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Aaron Robertshaw</strong>  was the release lead for version 14.3 of the Gutenberg plugin. In his release post <a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/13/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-3-12-october/\"><strong>What’s new in Gutenberg 14.3? (12 October)</strong></a> he highlighted: </p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/13/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-3-12-october/#quickly-navigate-blocks-of-text\">Quickly navigate blocks of text</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/13/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-3-12-october/#improved-drag-and-drop-for-images\">Improved drag and drop for images</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/13/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-3-12-october/#typography-panels\">Improved tools panels for the Styles typography controls</a></li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sarah Gooding</strong> at WPTavern, took it for a spin and found <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-14-3-improves-image-drag-and-drop\"><strong>Gutenberg 14.3 Improves Image Drag and Drop</strong></a></p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dave Smith</strong> joined me for the <strong><a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-74-gutenberg-14-2-14-3-wordpress-6-1-style-variations-in-theme-directory-course-on-gutenberg-data-layer/\">Gutenberg Changelog episode 74</a></strong> recording on Friday. We discussed WordPress 6.1, Gutenberg releases 14.2 and 14.3  community projects and what comes next. <a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-74-gutenberg-14-2-14-3-wordpress-6-1-style-variations-in-theme-directory-course-on-gutenberg-data-layer/\">The episode is now available online</a>. </p>\n\n\n\n<img /><strong>Dave Smith</strong> and Birgit Pauli-Haack recording <a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-74-gutenberg-14-2-14-3-wordpress-6-1-style-variations-in-theme-directory-course-on-gutenberg-data-layer/\">episode 74 of the Gutenberg Changelog</a>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-layout-flow wp-block-group has-light-background-background-color has-background\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<p><strong>🎙️ </strong> New episode:  <a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-74-gutenberg-14-2-14-3-wordpress-6-1-style-variations-in-theme-directory-course-on-gutenberg-data-layer/\">Gutenberg Changelog #74 – Gutenberg 14.2, 14.3, WordPress 6.1, Style Variations in Theme Directory, Course on Gutenberg Data Layer</a> with special guest, Dave Smith, and host Birgit Pauli-Haack</p>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"0-p\">Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners</h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Jamie Marsland</strong> make you a master in building layouts with his newest video <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed7s5MFg_vs\"><strong>Create Pro WordPress Page Layouts in Just 10 Minutes</strong></a>. He explains the CSS box model hierarchy, starting with the content, and the adding padding, border and margin with the new controls in the block editor. He then goes on and explains the spacing between columns, he called Gutter. Being able to change the gutter has considerable implications for creating great layouts, Marsland found. Go on, check it out and learn all about columns-based layouts in <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed7s5MFg_vs\">this video. </a></p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>At this week&#8217;s <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eV6z2sNJOI\"><strong>Torque Social Hour: An AI-Generative Art Block for WordPress</strong></a>, DocPop talked to Aaron Edwards, the co-founder of Infinite Uploads and CTO of WPMU DEV.  They discussed my new favorite plugin <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/plugins/imajinn-ai/\">Imajinn, a new WordPress block</a> that brings the power of AI-generative art to your WordPress dashboard.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Jeff Chandler</strong> posted not long ago a review of Aaron Edward&#8217;s plugin: <a href=\"https://torquemag.io/2022/10/imajinn-brings-royalty-free-ai-photo-generation-to-the-post-editor/\"><strong>Imajinn Brings Royalty Free AI Photo Generation to the Post Editor</strong></a>.He describes his experience with it of creating a prompt, receiving images back, going through the free credits fast and also what he finds missing. Chandler wrote &#8220;Being able to create royalty-free images from the backend of WordPress using Artificial Intelligence is one of the coolest features I’ve seen added to WordPress in a long time.&#8221; I entirely agree with him there. 🙌</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The featured image on this blog post and two other blog post on this site were also created through the Imajinn AI block. When you scroll through <a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com\">the home page</a> you will notice them right away, I think. </em></p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"4-160-is-this-weeks-count-of-block-themes-in-the-word-press-repository\">160 Block Themes</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>160 is this week&#8217;s count of <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/themes/tags/full-site-editing/\">Block Themes in the WordPress repository.</a> </p>\n\n\n\n<img />\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/themes/powder/\"><strong>Powder</strong></a> is the latest theme by <strong>Brian Gardner</strong> in the WordPress repository. According to Gardner&#8217;s <a href=\"https://twitter.com/bgardner/status/1580620907168419842\">tweet</a>, it is simple by design, a stripped down version of WP Engine&#8217;s Frost Theme. It&#8217;s still experimental and requires the Gutenberg plugin.</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/[https://twitter.com/mrpaultruong\">Paul Truong</a> </strong> published his first theme ever, called <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/themes/molten/\"><strong>Molten</strong></a>, a theme for passionate chefs and restaurateurs. You can find 20 well-designed patterns listed and when you add the string <code>?beta=style_variations</code> to the theme&#8217;s URL you can also browse through an additional three Style Variations. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>Another first block theme contribution in the repository is <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/themes/raft/\">Raft by Themeisle</a>, with seven Style Variations, and nine patterns. <strong>Sarah Gooding</strong> has a review for you. <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/raft-a-new-multipurpose-block-theme-for-wordpress\"><strong>Raft: A New Multipurpose Block Theme for WordPress</strong></a></p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"2-word-press-6-0-1-and-6-1-scheduled\">Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks</h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Will Morris</strong> published his tutorial on <a href=\"https://torquemag.io/2022/10/create-wordpress-block-theme/\"><strong>How to Create a WordPress Block Theme (In 3 Steps)</strong></a> on the Torque Magazine site. The steps he explains are: Install a WordPress block theme, customize your theme with the Site Editor, export your modifications as a new block theme. Morris works through all that using the <a href=\"https://wordpress.org/plugins/create-block-theme/\">Create Block Theme plugin</a> by the WordPress team in the plugins repository. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Brian Gardner</strong> shared in his post <a href=\"https://wpengine.com/builders/box-shadow-style-blocks/\"><strong>Create a Box-shadow Style for Various Blocks</strong></a> the necessary code snippets to add box shadow to Images, Buttons, and Quote Blocks. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Julio Marchi</strong> explored <a href=\"https://thedigitalinsider.com/why-classic-wordpress-themes-arent-going-away/\"><strong>Why Classic WordPress Themes Aren’t Going Away</strong></a> on the blog The Digital Insider. One of the reasons is that classic themes provide a higher flexibility to build advanced bespoke themes. Marchi also points out that new features comeing to WordPress include ways for classic themes to make use of the theme.json file as well as the feature to allow block-theme template parts to be added to classic themes and offer patterns for those templates parts. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>New on WordPress TV: <a href=\"https://wordpress.tv/2022/10/14/lets-code-creating-custom-templates-and-template-parts/\"><strong>Let’s code: creating custom templates and template parts</strong></a> with <strong>Jonathan Bossenger</strong>. WordPress 6.1 will include ways to create custom templates and template parts for your block theme from the Site Editor. Bossenger shows in this video how you can register and create custom templates and template parts from the editor, as well as how to register them in your theme.json file when distributing your new block theme.</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>On CSS Tricks, <strong>Ganesh Dahal</strong> published a tutorial on how to <a href=\"https://css-tricks.com/fluid-typography-wordpress-block-themes/\"><strong>add Fluid Typography Support to WordPress Block Themes</strong></a>. Dahal has a list of all the blocks supporting Fluid typography, provides instructions on how  to configure font-sizes to play well with the feature and explains what happens under the hood. </p>\n\n\n\n\n<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>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"3-building-themes-for-fse-and-word-press\">Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor. </h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Fabian Kägy</strong> announced this week that <a href=\"https://10up.com/blog/2022/10up-publicly-releases-its-gutenberg-best-practices/\"><strong>10up publicly releases its Gutenberg Best Practices</strong></a> documentation. Kägy is an Associate Director of Editorial Engineering at 10up, an agency with plenty of contributions to the WordPress open-source project. They built highly visible websites, like The White House, Five Thirty Eight, or the World Economic Forum. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kägy wrote in his post:  &#8220;Our Gutenberg Best Practices are meant to work in tandem with the WordPress Core documentation and expand upon its foundation to provide a more client-services-centric approach tailored to engineering enterprise-level editorial experiences.&#8221; The microsite is divided up on Training, Reference, and Guides.  Check it out. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nathan Wrigley</strong> had <strong>Nick Diego</strong> as guest on the 46th episode of the WPTavern Jukebox podcast and discussed <a href=\"https://wptavern.com/podcast/46-nick-diego-on-why-you-should-be-excited-about-the-possibilities-of-wordpress-blocks\"><strong>Why You Should Be Excited About the Possibilities of WordPress Blocks</strong></a>. Wrigley wrote: &#8220;It’s becoming easier to create the blocks, as the tools take away much of the technical burden of getting you up and running without advanced knowledge of JavaScript and React. Coupled with core components, native block supports, and a bit of guidance, Nick thinks that every WordPress developer can add custom blocks to their repertoire.&#8221;</p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Brian Coords</strong> discovered the <a href=\"https://www.briancoords.com/wordpress-secret-world-of-javascript/\"><strong>WordPress’ Secret World of JavaScript</strong></a>, when taking the new Course on <em>Learn.WordPress</em> <a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/course/using-the-wordpress-data-layer/\">Using the WordPress Data Layer</a>. Coords also marveled on the fact that all the great tools available to allow developers to build on basis of WordPress outside the block editor for instance on settings pages of a plugin or on supplement admin pages and not many are using them (yet). </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Cameron Jones</strong> also shared his experience developing around the block editor and found: <a href=\"https://cameronjonesweb.com.au/blog/adding-a-custom-icon-to-the-social-links-block-should-not-be-this-hard/\"><strong>Adding A Custom Icon To The Social Links Block Should Not Be This Hard</strong></a>. His task was to add another service and icon to the core&#8217;s Social Block. Jones takes us along his journey of figuring out how to accomplish this task. There were a few U-turns and cul-de-sac moments on the way. I found it quite an interesting read, as it elaborated on the gaps that need to be closed for the Gutenberg project to be more attractive to extenders in the future. </p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to believe Jones, it was not missing documentation. &#8220;And to my pleasant surprise, the <a href=\"https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/reference-guides/block-api/block-variations/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">official documentation</a> was quite good in this regard.&#8221; he wrote. And after going through all the up and downs of learning new things, Jones concluded: <em>&#8220;The provision of the <code>@wordpress/scripts</code> package and much improved documentation makes me feel far more confident in starting to approach development for the block editor again.&#8221;</em> </p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nevertheless, I have to agree with Jones: it shouldn&#8217;t be so hard to add another block variations to a block that mostly sports block variations out of the box. </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p>In his tutorial <a href=\"https://css-tricks.com/rendering-external-api-data-in-wordpress-blocks-on-the-front-end/\"><strong>Rendering External API Data in WordPress Blocks on the Front End</strong></a>, <strong>Manoj Kumar</strong> shows you how to build a dynamic block that fetches data from an external API and renders it on the frontend when a particular block is dropped into the Block Editor of a post. He uses the create-block scaffolding tool to get started, fetches data with <code>useEffect()</code> and store the data in the database and retrieves for the block rendering on the front end. </p>\n\n\n\n\n<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>\n\n\n\n<p><img alt=\"GitHub all releases\" src=\"https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/bph/gutenberg/total?style=for-the-badge\" /></p>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"5-s\">Upcoming WordPress events</h2>\n\n\n\n<p>November 18, 2022 <br /><strong><a href=\"https://www.wordfest.live/2022/november/\">WordFest Live Returns</a></strong> &#8211; the 24-hour Festival of WordPress</p>\n\n\n\n<p>February 17 &#8211; 19, 2023<br /><a href=\"https://asia.wordcamp.org/2023/\"><strong>WordCamp Asia 2023</strong></a></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>📣 The next tickets will become available on October 19, 2022</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-background-background-color has-background\"><a href=\"https://central.wordcamp.org/schedule/\"><strong>Have a look at the schedule of upcoming WordCamps</strong></a>.</p>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"8-learn-word-press-online-meetups\">Learn WordPress Online Meetups</h3>\n\n\n\n<p>October 17, 2022 – 4 pm EDT / 12:00 UTC<br /><a href=\"https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/288666247/\"><strong>Part 1: Re-Creating Block Designs</strong></a>&nbsp;with Wes Theron</p>\n\n\n\n<p>October 25, 2022 &#8211; 3am EDT / 7am UTC <br /><a href=\"https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/289106740/\"><strong>Uncovering the Cover Block</strong></a></p>\n\n\n\n<p>October 31, 2022 – 4 pm EDT / 12:00 UTC<br /><a href=\"https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/288666280/\"><strong>Part 2: Re-Creating Block Designs</strong></a></p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n\n<p>Featured Image: Imajinn AI </p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide\" />\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\"><strong>Don&#8217;t want to miss the next Weekend Edition? </strong></p>\n\n\n\n<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>\n\n\n\n<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, 15 Oct 2022 21:43:04 +0000\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}s:32:\"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/\";a:1:{s:7:\"creator\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:18:\"Birgit Pauli-Haack\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}}}}i:41;a:6:{s:4:\"data\";s:13:\"\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n	\n\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";s:5:\"child\";a:2:{s:0:\"\";a:5:{s:5:\"title\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:149:\"Gutenberg Times: Gutenberg Changelog #74 – Gutenberg 14.2, 14.3, WordPress 6.1, Style Variations in Theme Directory, Course on Gutenberg Data Layer\";s:7:\"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=22446\";s:7:\"attribs\";a:0:{}s:8:\"xml_base\";s:0:\"\";s:17:\"xml_base_explicit\";b:0;s:8:\"xml_lang\";s:0:\"\";}}s:4:\"link\";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:\"data\";s:159:\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-74-gutenberg-14-2-14-3-wordpress-6-1-style-variations-in-theme-directory-course-on-gutenberg-data-layer/\";s: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:63293:\"<p>Birgit Pauli-Haack and Dave Smith  discuss Gutenberg 14.2, 14.3, WordPress 6.1, Style Variations in Theme Directory and a Developer Course on Gutenberg Data Layer</p>\n\n\n\n<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>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Music:&nbsp;<a href=\"https://soundcloud.com/xirclebox\">Homer Gaines</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li>Editor:&nbsp;<a href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandy-reed/\">Sandy Reed</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li>Logo:&nbsp;<a href=\"https://markuraine.com/\">Mark Uraine</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li>Production:&nbsp;<a href=\"https://icodeforapurpose.com\">Birgit Pauli-Haack</a></li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-larger-font-size\" id=\"shownotes\"><strong>Show Notes</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Special Guest: Dave Smith</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Dave Smith&#8217;s <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/DaveonWP\"><strong>YouTube Channel Dave on WP</strong></a> </li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e399jQagyTQ\">How to EASILY find all CHANGES coming to WordPress 6.1</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqj2J1QYYoI\">Presentation: Gutenberg Now, Next and How to Use it Better Today</a></li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WordPress 6.1 </strong></p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/news/2022/10/wordpress-6-1-release-candidate-1-rc1-now-available/\">WordPress 6.1 RC1</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/12/wordpress-6-1-field-guide/\">Fieldguide WordPress 6.1 </a></li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/10/changes-to-block-editor-preferences-in-wordpress-6-1/\">Changes to block editor preferences in WordPress 6.1</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/10/extending-the-query-loop-block/\">Extending the Query Loop block</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/04/block-based-template-parts-in-traditional-themes/\">Block-based “template parts” in traditional themes</a> </li>\n\n\n\n<li>Tutorial: &nbsp;<a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/building-a-block-based-header-template-in-a-classic-theme/\">Building a Block-Based Header Template in a Classic Theme</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/11/roster-of-design-tools-per-block/\">Roster of design tools per block</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/03/fluid-font-sizes-in-wordpress-6-1/\">Fluid font sizes in WordPress 6.1</a></li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Community Contributions</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/09/23/client-side-webassembly-wordpress-with-no-server/\">Client-side WebAssembly WordPress with no server</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/6059\">Beta: Display style variations for block themes in the theme directory</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https://wordpress.org/themes/twentytwentytwo/?beta=style_variations\">https://wordpress.org/themes/twentytwentytwo/?beta=style_variations</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li>Learn.WordPress Course: <a href=\"https://learn.wordpress.org/course/using-the-wordpress-data-layer/\">Using the WordPress Data Layer</a></li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Gutenberg Plugin 14.2</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/09/30/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-2-28-september/\">What’s new in Gutenberg 14.2? (28 September)</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-14-2-improves-writing-flow-adds-kerning-controls-for-headings-in-global-styles\">Gutenberg 14.2 Improves Writing Flow, Adds Kerning Controls for Headings in Global Styles</a></li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Gutenberg Plugin 14.3 </strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Release lead</strong>: Aaron Robertshaw</p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/13/whats-new-in-gutenberg-14-3-12-october/\">What’s new in Gutenberg 14.3? (12 October)</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-14-3-improves-image-drag-and-drop\">Gutenberg 14.3 Improves Image Drag and Drop</a></li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What&#8217;s in the Works?</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/38275\">Navigation Project Tracking Issue</a></li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/44720\">Tracking: additional layout options, design tools and refinements</a></li>\n</ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\">Stay in Touch</p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-layout-flow wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<ul>\n<li>Did you like this episode? <a href=\"https://lovethepodcast.com/gutenbergchangelog\"><strong>Please write us a review </strong></a></li>\n\n\n\n<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>\n\n\n\n<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>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Please write us a review on iTunes! <a href=\"https://gutenbergtimes.com/itunes/\">(Click here to learn how)</a></em></li>\n</ul>\n</div></div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\" id=\"transcript\"><strong>Transcript</strong></p>\n\n\n\n<p><em> </em></p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Hello, and welcome to our 74th episode of the Gutenberg Change Log podcast. In today&#8217;s episode, we will talk about Gutenberg 14.2 and 14.3 plugin releases, WordPress 6.1 release candidate, style variations in the theme directory as a beta, a developer course on Gutenberg data layer, and so much more. I&#8217;m Birgit Pauli-Haack, curator at the Gutenberg Times and WordPress developer advocate. And my guest today is Dave Smith, a JavaScript engineer and full-time core contributor on the Gutenberg project, sponsored by Automattic. Good afternoon, Dave. Thanks for joining me today. How are you?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Hi, Birgit. Yeah, I&#8217;m doing really well, thank you. And it&#8217;s great to be able to join you on the show again.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Well, although you have been a guest on the Change Log before we always get new listeners. And so maybe you could tell us briefly about yourself and what you are working on at the moment.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, sure. I&#8217;m a developer living from and working in England in the United Kingdom. And as you mentioned before, I&#8217;m sponsored by Automattic and I work full-time on the Gutenberg Project. So my primary focus tends to be the navigation project, which I&#8217;ve been on for the 6.1 cycle, and that&#8217;s now encompassing all aspects of managing navigation in the editor, including the nav block. I also run a YouTube channel, which is Dave on WP, where I post regular videos on all aspects of the block editor. And most recently I&#8217;ve been working on an overview video for all the key features coming to WordPress 6.1, so if anyone would like to check that out, then they can have a look at the channel, which is youtube.com/c/daveonwp, and I&#8217;m sure we&#8217;ll have that link in the show notes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, of course we do put a link in the show notes. Yeah, and I found great videos about the work on the navigation block there. They were very helpful getting into the problem space and why it&#8217;s all so difficult to solve. So thanks for putting them together.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: No problem, yeah.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah. Oh, there was also another video, I watched your presentation that you gave to an agency team that is starting out adopting the block editor for their work, and they had some interesting questions for you. So what was your takeaway from the discussions with the group?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, so that was the discussion I had with Corner Shop Creative, I believe. Yeah, they were brilliant, they were such a great team. They had loads of questions, I think the Q&amp;A ended up being longer than the actual presentation itself, actually.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: That&#8217;s a good thing.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yes, it was a good thing. I always think it&#8217;s a good sign. But that team had, they really fully embraced the block editor, but they&#8217;re butting up against some of the same problems we hear a lot about, styling and curation of content. An example that came up was this possibility of having a synced block pattern, which could be updated with styling changes after the fact. As you know, once you insert a pattern, it&#8217;s a one time action. Once it&#8217;s done, it&#8217;s done. You can&#8217;t go back and then update it. So every time the client wants to update their styles, they have to go through all of the instances of the pattern and update them so you that you can see how that&#8217;d be a bit of a headache.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So I don&#8217;t see any really good way to deal with that yet apart from inheriting all the styles from global styles instead of applying bespoke ones to the pattern itself. But it&#8217;s certainly a tricky problem anyway, it illustrates that we still have some ways to go to solve all these real world use cases that folks are running up against.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, updating prior work was actually a pain point that I also heard at WordCamp Europe as well as WordCamp US, where it&#8217;s not only the pattern but it&#8217;s also when you have a theme that was modified, the template was modified, when the theme is updated through a theme shop, the user doesn&#8217;t get the new templates because they override it through their user stuff. That also a good problem to solve because if they update the template and. although it was changed by the user, they&#8217;re not getting the new features in there, whatever that&#8217;s in there. So it&#8217;s kind of a tricky bit there. Yeah.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Announcements</strong></h3>\n\n\n\n<p>So yeah, you mentioned it, let&#8217;s discuss WordPress 6.1 release cycle for a bit before we head into the Gutenberg plugin releases. Do you want to start out with that?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, absolutely. So I think we&#8217;ve had the RC1 on the 11th of October, 2022. We&#8217;re recording on the 14th, I think, today. So yeah, it&#8217;s time to perform those final reviews and get testing on that. As usual, we don&#8217;t recommend running this on a production or mission critical website, I think we all know that by now, but just in case. And we&#8217;ve got the final release of this 6.1 is going to be out on the 1st of November, 2022, all being well.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, there&#8217;s some people who say, &#8220;Well, I&#8217;m not going to update until 6.1.1 is out,&#8221; but yeah, I hear there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, well, I mean there&#8217;s absolutely loads of changes in this release. I think there&#8217;s some stat of 1,700 PRs merged or something like that, so there&#8217;s absolutely a load of features coming down the line. But also bug fixes and tooling and testing changes, I think it&#8217;s going to be a really strong release. Do you agree?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, yeah, I agree. Yeah, there are countless changes for the content creators, and we talked about those in the last six or seven episodes when we discuss the Gutenberg plugin releases. But so almost all features from the plugin releases 13.1 through 14.1 will make it or made it into the WordPress 6.1. It&#8217;s already, as you said, in release candidate. So feature freeze was beta one, release candidate one is actually string free. So the army of polyglot contributors that translate all the new things coming to WordPress between now and the final release can be sure that they don&#8217;t have to do it again when there are additional string changes there. So that&#8217;s string free. So it&#8217;s pretty clear.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So there are two or three things that didn&#8217;t make it in there as I discovered, there was a zoom out window, the table of contents block is not in 6.1, and also the theme support for the appearance tool for classic themes that didn&#8217;t make it into 6.1. They need some more testing or some more refinement before it goes out to millions of users. And I just realized that 6.0, WordPress 6.0, was already downloaded a hundred million times.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Wow.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: So the counter resets in about a month&#8230; No, about two weeks, for 6.1, but then we know the final number. So the field guide for WordPress 6.1 has been published and I counted 19 developer notes about the block editor and block based themes, that&#8217;s double the amount of developer notes for 6.0. There&#8217;s also a separate field guide for performance update from the performance team. Awesome work there. And also a separate post that lists all the accessibility changes coming to WordPress 6.1 by Anne McCarthy, and I think she lists about 50 different changes that were coming. So Dave, what are the features that you are most excited about this release?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Oh, there&#8217;s so much. I&#8217;ve just been going through all these changes for WordPress 6.1 actually, and there&#8217;s just so many great things. But I think probably the biggest thing that I think people will notice when they download 6.1 for the first time is just how many more design tools are available across the blocks in 6.1. There&#8217;s been a big push throughout the 6.1 cycle to roll out all the standardized tools for blocks for things like color, typography, layout, spacing, and that kind of thing. And I think now that&#8217;s really coming to fruition. I think we&#8217;re only 50% of the way through all the blocks apparently, I read the last ticket, but it&#8217;s surprising what a difference that makes compared to 6.0.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. And I actually put, I&#8217;m so excited about it, I put a table together with all the core blocks and so you can see all the core blocks and then typography, color controls, dimension controls, border controls, and layer controls, and then you see which block has what. So that&#8217;s in the dev nodes as well.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Oh, that sounds brilliant. Yeah, I&#8217;ll have to look that up. Yeah, well the other thing I wanted to have to talk about was the&#8230; Something that I think will help increase adoption rates for block editing, and that&#8217;s the ability to utilize and edit template parts in classic themes. And first time I heard it I thought, &#8220;Oh, what&#8217;s the point of that? It sounds a bit strange.&#8221; But actually I found that it affords a lot of power, because what it enables you to do is things like make your header or your footer fully editable whilst not requiring our users to have to fully deal with and embrace the full site editor experience. So I was testing this out and I had to go at converting the 2020 theme to allow me to be able to edit the footer. And it was so easy to do, but yet it opened up such an amazing thing because normally if you want to edit just something as simple as the text and the footer, you&#8217;d have to create an option and create a new setting in your theme and do all that sort of thing. And now you can just go in and at the footer text, click save, and it&#8217;s done. And so actually I think it&#8217;s a bigger win than you might expect when you hear that for the first time.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And Justin Tadlock actually did a little tutorial when he did the same thing that you did. I think he converted the 20&#8230; No, he converted the 2021 with some block parts and had a hero image of the header and all that. So that is actually published several weeks ago at the Gutenberg Times website. So I will add that link also to the show notes. But it goes really through the whole problems that he encountered also with CSS, because sometimes you need to update the things and that&#8217;s expected, but also how little there was to update. And he also added a few patterns to it and how you can do that. So that&#8217;s a great tutorial if you want to check that out. Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Absolutely. Justin&#8217;s articles are always really good, isn&#8217;t it? So I&#8217;ll definitely be looking at that.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: There&#8217;s one more thing actually you want to call out, if I may.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, sure.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: And this one, I think, has flown slightly under the radar on this release, but it&#8217;s actually the syncing of editor preferences across devices. So I mean you&#8217;ll be familiar that you can do things like set the persistent list view or you want top toolbar mode within the editor. But in 6.0 these rules just saved locally to the device you were on. So if you went and then switched to a new device, all those changes would be lost, you&#8217;d have to reapply those references, which is kind of annoying. So with 6.1, however, they&#8217;ve now updated it so the changes are saved to the database. So that means that they&#8217;re going to apply across all your devices. So if you&#8217;re at work and you set top toolbar mode at work, you come home, log onto your home laptop, and it&#8217;s going to be exactly the same there. So it&#8217;s a nice quality of life improvement then. And big shout out to Daniel Richards who really spearheaded all the work in that area.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, I think there will be a sigh of relief for millions of block editor users that have said, &#8220;Yeah, I know the welcome guide. Yeah, go away. Let me go on with my work.&#8221;&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Absolutely.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, it&#8217;s really a great. But I also feel that it&#8217;s the right time to actually implement that because now the full range of preference tools is actually known. And then also figure out, okay, how all these editor, being the site editor, being the post editor. Yeah, how they handle those preference tools before you&#8217;re actually put it persistently in a database. I think that&#8217;s a good&#8230; The local storage was a good solution for interim, but now that it&#8217;s in a database now plugins and others can actually also know about that and help them modify that. So for developers in 6.1, there are great improvements on the controls for theme JSON, of course the typography and border controls and color for links coming also there.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the most important thing that I feel is the query loop block extensions that the developer can now create a block variation for the query loop block and define, with the attributes, the customization of the list of posts, custom post types, or pages. And so theme developers working on more complex sites will hopefully make good use of that. I think the ease of style variations for theme developers is also&#8230; You can use them for classic themes. No, we talked about that. Yeah, style variations for the block themes are definitely good, coming to 6.1. They were actually for 6.0 already there, the default theme has it. But the default theme now is actually a base theme and now has 10 variations built from the community that come with a default theme. So I&#8217;m really excited about that. Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, that&#8217;s a pretty amazing thing, that 2023 theme, I think something like 38 contributions and ended up being with 10 different variations. Amazing. A new way of generating default themes for WordPress. I think it really points to the future.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: And I&#8217;m not sure if you should just keep that default theme, kind of change the name to default theme and just add variations in every area.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: There&#8217;s variations now. Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: And do a shout out to the community and say, &#8220;Okay, now it&#8217;s time to show us the best variations,&#8221; and then we add it to them theme or something like that. I also saw theme developers that submitted quite a few style variations, build a child theme, and submitted that to the repository with their style variations in it. So you get, even if the design team just selected 10 of them, you get to see even more style variations for it. So it&#8217;s definitely quite some creativity going on in the community about that. Which brings us to our community contributions section of the site. Dave, you brought some with us.</p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Community Contributions</strong></h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, I found quite a few community contributions this week, actually. So the first one I want to chat is about is client side web assembly, WordPress with no server. It&#8217;s sort of a click bait-y title if I ever heard one. But this was a post on make blog by Adam Zielinski. And what it is is it is what it says on the tin, WordPress running completely in the browser with no web server whatsoever. And probably most of your listeners will be familiar with WordPress, traditionally you have a web server and your browser sends&#8230; When you click on something like posts, it&#8217;s going to send a request to that server and the server&#8217;s going to respond with the answer. But of course if something happens like you go offline, then you can&#8217;t reach the server anymore, and therefore your site doesn&#8217;t work. And that&#8217;s always how WordPress has worked.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>What Adam&#8217;s done is been very, very clever and he&#8217;s used the technology called web assembly, which is a low level assembly like language similar to C or C++ or whatever. And basically what he&#8217;s done is he&#8217;s taken the PHP that comprises the WordPress software, compiled it down to web assembly, packaged it up in a bundle, and then run it completely in the browser. Then any requests that go out that would normally go out to WordPress get trapped by a service worker and it get reroutes them to this in browser version of WordPress. Sounds all very, very clever and you think, &#8220;Oh well, great experiment,&#8221; but it&#8217;s actually got some real world opportunities there, I think. Especially around learning WordPress in the browser. I don&#8217;t know if you saw that post, Birgit.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Oh yeah, I actually reviewed it and had some questions for Adam before he published it. And I also tested some of the things. So it&#8217;s really amazing and I can imagine the opportunities are probably endless, but definitely when you have tutorial type posts, you can add that to it and people can then, in real time, make some changes to the code that they&#8217;re just learning or just reading about and then see how it impacts a website without having to spin up their own local, without any build tools, without any downloading of Gutenberg or something like that to see that all happening. And so it&#8217;s a much faster way to learn and see how things working, instead of&#8230; And then figure out how you add it to your own code. Yeah, yeah, so really I hope&#8230; And I saw Adam in between announcing, I ran into some browser freezes and browser&#8230; Because the bundle, of course, is also pretty big. If you have downloaded WordPress before, it&#8217;s about four or five megabits. And if you load that in a browser and in your memory of your local system, yeah, you need some heavy lifting there. And if you do some more, it kind of poops out on you, so to speak. Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I mean that&#8217;s definitely why I think this is a first sort of prototype. I know Adam and colleagues are looking for people to start contributing and trying to make this more practical in real word usage. So if anyone is interested in that, then the link to that post will be in the show notes for this episode. I&#8217;m also going to be diving into the topic a little bit greater detail with Adam on my YouTube channel, so if you&#8217;re interested in that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Oh, right, yeah. Excellent, yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: I&#8217;m sure you can see that video at some point.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, looking forward to that, yeah. So another community contribution is actually that the Meta team just released a beta version of displaying style variation in the theme directory. There&#8217;s a track ticket that was opened by Carolina Nemark, a full site editing expert if you need one. And so you can browse examples with a 2022 theme. I put the link in there. So the developer Steve Dufresne commented on the ticket, so to turn on the feature add ?beta-style_variations to the URL. And then the URL gets updated when you browse themes. So you&#8217;ll need to re-add that string, however, for each theme page to reload.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what I really like is that it&#8217;s now an increase of interactivity on the theme directory to help site owners to decide which theme they want to take. And every time you click on the little style variation card underneath the screenshot, the screenshot actually changes into displaying that style variation on the screenshot. So it&#8217;s quite fascinating and I&#8217;ve spent quite some time browsing themes that already have style variations in there. So if you don&#8217;t see a style variation, probably the theme doesn&#8217;t have some, but you find the best way&#8230; I saw maybe six or seven themes in there, but of course I didn&#8217;t browse all 160 block themes anymore. But yeah, try it out. I put the link to the track ticket into the show notes, so you can also see the string that you need to add there and a link to the 2022 theme so you can see all the style variations without downloading it. Yeah, let me know what you think about it. Yeah, I&#8217;m totally stoked about that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, sounds really good. Well, the more themes that are adding these style variations, the more we&#8217;re going to need to have stuff like that in the theme directory. Yeah, great to see that happening. One more thing, community contributions this week is a new course on Learn.WordPress, which is the official sort of tutorial site for WordPress. And this is a new course on WordPress data layer and specifically the Gutenberg data layer. So for those who don&#8217;t know, the data layer is used throughout the block editor to read and write data. So for example, if you need a list of posts or you want to create new post, edit a post, you&#8217;re going to need to use the data layer at some point. And really that means it&#8217;s essential learning if you want to make anything more than the most basic of blocks.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So this is a full course which covers not only the basics of the data layer but also best practices and some more advanced usages. I know the author, again, it&#8217;s Adam Zielinski, who&#8217;s been prolific recently. And he&#8217;s extremely knowledgeable in this topic so I&#8217;m confident there&#8217;ll be a great investment for anyone who&#8217;s got the time to look at that course. And the link, again, is going to be in the show notes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, it&#8217;s great for any developer who has ambition in that. Yeah, definitely requires an advanced JavaScript and req knowledge to get through that course.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Well, but not everybody is there yet. So very soon, hopefully in the upcoming weeks, there&#8217;s an introduction to block development course coming up. And it gets you from almost zero to block building a real life example, like a multi-column block when you have a text and then it kind of distributes itself over the multiple columns. So yeah, this is the Adam Zielinski fan show because Adam Zielinski also send in, I think, three dev notes on Monday that we were able to put in the field guide. So there&#8217;s definitely some great work for developers in the works or in the 6.1.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Absolutely.</p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>What’s Released</strong></h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: All right, so that brings us to the Gutenberg plugin releases 14.2 and 14.3. Let&#8217;s start with 14.2, release lead was Michal Czaplinski, who also published a release post on Make Blog, and of course another show note link. It entailed about 80 PRs, 15 enhancements, 24 bug fixes amongst them. And some of them even made it into the release candidate 6.1 that were back ported to the core. It&#8217;s a fairly small release now compared to the last two releases. I remember 14.1 had over 383 PRs.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, it&#8217;s not quite that big.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: That was quite epic. But of course there was a rush to get all the features in to make the feature freeze of beta one. And then nevertheless, there are great enhancements, made it into the plugin. And Dave, what are the key features that were merged in the plugin?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, so for 14.2 we had smarter pattern suggestions for the query loop block variations, we&#8217;ve got improvements to the writing flow, a more polished calendar block, new banners and footers, block pattern categories, and auto completion for links is now in all blocks.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Well, that sounds terrific. So let&#8217;s discuss them one at a time. So there is also letter spacing for the global styles, so you can now, for the heading, and you can now put them in the theme JSON file to have not only letter spacing but also font family selection and the other typography, which is letter like height, case for the headings like sentence case or title case or no case at all. So that&#8217;s all for the headings. And I think the letter spacing didn&#8217;t make it into 6.1, the others you find in the headings. Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: We&#8217;ve also got another PR, which is switching us to using numbers instead of T-shirt sizing for labels for spacing presets. So if you&#8217;re changing something like padding or margin, there&#8217;s a little slider and you can slide between small, medium, large, extra large. That was deemed to be too complex, potentially, and had some accessibility concerns, so they&#8217;ve reversed just numbers, so zero, one, two, three, four, five.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Oh, okay. Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: It&#8217;s simple.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: It&#8217;s simpler, yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah. And there is another quality of life change that made it into, and that is hiding the floating block UI when typing. It was always going away but it now also hides the insert, so there is no distraction coming up when you type on a paragraph block or in any other blocks for that matter. I think that&#8217;s really important because that&#8217;s one of the big concerns for writers, that there is so much distraction, especially when they start out, every time they move the mouse something appears and then there&#8217;s gone until they see what it was. And it&#8217;s kind of disconcerting sometimes for writers when they start out with the block editor. So I like that.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: The color block also got now color support in 14.2, and polish styles, which is nice because I think the color block&#8230; Calendar block, color block. Sorry, let&#8217;s do that again.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Can you say it again?&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Calendar block got now color support and polish style. And I&#8217;m really happy that the calendar block got some more love now because I think that&#8217;s the first change since the beginning of the&#8230; Just the last five years since the calendar block actually made it into the block editor. So that&#8217;s just really cool.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, that&#8217;s nice to see. Under patterns we&#8217;ve also got new categories, as I mentioned, for banners and footers. The reason we&#8217;ve got those is because we&#8217;ve already got the headers category for patterns, but that was really intended for more global elements that might be at the top of your site. But unfortunately people were putting in things like what you might call a hero section, sort of a standout call out within the flow of the page, and that wasn&#8217;t really the right place to put it. So to disambiguate those, they&#8217;ve created a new pattern category called banners and you can put all your hero sections in there as you wish. There&#8217;s also another one called footers, I think that does what it says on the tin, it&#8217;s just complimentary to headers really.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Right. Yes. Yeah. And those are the perfect candidate for actually classic themes to use in their themes, is the headers and footers. But the pattern category is something, it&#8217;s a little bit different. But there are also template parts that go with that. And isn&#8217;t there a semantic recognizing that if there is somebody edits the footer or the header, they get the respective category of patterns for choices in the editor? So I think that was also a reason, definitely for the footer pattern category. So the footer template part can have their own patterns.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yes, and to suggest the most appropriate pattern for you. Yeah, that sounds like a good reason for that change.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah. Another change was a link auto completer that is enabled for the blocks. Is that the&#8230; Oh, right, right. We talked about that. That&#8217;s the bracket bracket auto completer where it shows you, you just put in bracket bracket in the paragraph and in the list block and now in all blocks and you get a choice of the latest published posts or pages that you have on your site. That&#8217;s a very fast way to do inner links on your site, which actually help you with SEO as well, but also keep your reader on the site. So this is a great tool to do that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, it&#8217;s good to see that in all blocks now, not just the paragraph block. Especially with the new list and blocks having inner blocks, so that&#8217;s quite important there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: And it was missing from the list block actually.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: And I used that quite a bit on the Gutenberg Times the list block where I have just a list of links and all of a sudden it didn&#8217;t work anymore. So guess what I did?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Oh, I can guess. So next up, we&#8217;re onto the block live section and there&#8217;s been quite a number of enhancements to blocks. The main one is the query loop block now suggests patterns based on the active variation. So for this one, imagine if you have a query loop block, you might register a variation for it for something like listing out a list of products from your products custom post type. But that variation itself can also register patterns. So you might have a pattern, which is the list layout, and then another pattern which is list products in the grid. So you&#8217;ve got those two patterns.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what happens now is when you insert your products list variation, it will suggest to you those two patterns that the variation is registered. So it&#8217;s surfacing the most appropriate pattern for your query loop variation. And that&#8217;s quite powerful for things like e-commerce sites and things like that. So you&#8217;re not getting loads and loads of patterns you have to pick from that are completely irrelevant to the type of query loop you are inserting.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, it&#8217;s one of the features that quite a few agencies really love because they can narrow down the customization that a user can do and be very strict in certain things, but give a little bit of freedom. That also pairs with the content locking features that come with 6.1. I know I&#8217;m jumping back and forth, but it all comes together in one thing, in that it will be the, it&#8217;s the site editor thing. Yeah. So yeah, there also it was a great writing flow, a fix for it. Now when you partial select between blocks there and now you can drag it again, which wasn&#8217;t possible before.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, you had, when you were dragging from one across a number of blocks, it would have this strange effect where it would go back to showing you the first block you&#8217;d dragged. So if you had a sidebar open as you would drag in between the blocks, it would flash between the first block and then the multi-select, the first block, the multi-select. And now what happens is just when you start, you click on the first block you drag and the toolbar and everything around it stays based on the first block that you selected. It&#8217;s a small change you probably wouldn&#8217;t notice, but if you were doing a lot of multi-selection, especially with drag and click and drag, you would definitely notice it flickering back and forth. It was really, really distracting. So that&#8217;s just another nice quality of life improvement there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, thank you for pointing that out. Cool.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Another one was when you&#8217;re creating templates in the editor, under the template screen. Previously you could, accidentally, if you were a bit overzealous with your clicking, you might create a number of templates because you could just repeatedly click the create button for any of the templates. So yeah, people were ending up with five versions of the one template and just thinking, &#8220;Well, how did that happen? I only clicked once.&#8221; So yeah, we&#8217;ve fixed that so it&#8217;s not possible to do that anymore.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, that&#8217;s definitely a nice fix there because it&#8217;s disconcerting for anybody who has that. And then the last one for 14.2.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yes, under testing we have&#8230; Under storybook. Now this is quite interesting, they&#8217;ve set up a new development aid which adds visual regression testing to the components in storybook. So components are like the low level UI components that we use to build the editor as a whole, not just blocks, but everything as a whole. And storybook showcases those in one place. And what they&#8217;ve done is they set up a visual dipping tool. So you run the test, it takes a screenshot of your component at a point in time, and then the next time you run the test it takes another screenshot and says, &#8220;Is this different to the previous one?&#8221; And if a certain threshold difference is passed, then it flags it up and says, &#8220;This test has failed,&#8221; and then a human comes along and looks at it.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And it caught my eye because I thought, &#8220;Wow, this could be something that we could extrapolate out to maybe other parts of the editor,&#8221; like actual blocks themselves. Because with the best rule in the world, you&#8217;re can have all sorts of end-to-end tests and unit tests and all sorts of things like that. But the end of the day a lot of things are visual changes that only a human can notice. So if we&#8217;ve got this extra step of automation picking up on these things, it might help. Currently this is only running locally, it&#8217;s not running on continuous integration on GitHub, but maybe in the future someone could take that and run with it and maybe it could help.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: That&#8217;s a really great idea. I think that is something that developers who learn how to work with a block editor definitely can use that in their local development into figuring out, &#8220;Okay, what changed now? Yeah, what did I do wrong?&#8221; In the debugging parts, they don&#8217;t need to look at the console first when they see something like that. And they build visual regression into their own components that are based on the storybook components. So we are at the end of the Gutenberg plugin version 14.2. What did Gutenberg 14.3 bring to us?&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Okay.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Go ahead.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: So 14.3 we had release lead Aaron Robertshaw and he&#8217;s posted the what&#8217;s new in Gutenberg 14.3 post on Make Blog. And WP Tavern have also covered this in Gutenberg 14.3 improves image drag and drop. And those links will be in the show notes. Let&#8217;s take a look at the change log, what have we got first here, Birgit?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Oh, first up is the post author blog now includes an option to link actually to the author archive, and this is definitely something that was&#8230; It&#8217;s a small tweak and it was probably a good first issue, but it&#8217;s definitely helping a lot of sites that have multiple authors to use it in the templates. Because then you also can, so you have an author archive and then when you template that you can also, there was one change in one of the other plugins that you can actually add the description that comes from the user database about the buyers, put it on top. So you have the author, you have the description, and then the list of all the blocks that now you can do link to that page from each host when you add the post author block to the post template. It&#8217;s a lot of templates and blocks.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Well, I can see that it&#8217;s a small change, but I think it&#8217;s pretty handy for sites that produce a lot of content. I suppose the Gutenberg Times in fact would be one example of that.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: The next change we&#8217;ve got is we&#8217;re now using the tools panel in global styles. The typography panel is quite complex, as we mentioned before, it&#8217;s got things like letter spacing, case, all sorts of things you can change on typography these days. What it&#8217;s doing is now bringing the global styles interface into line with the typography interface that appears in blocks. So if you need to reset all the changes that you&#8217;ve made to typography across the entire site, on like a heading block, it&#8217;s now really easy to do that through a standard interface, which is a nice win there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Excellent. Yeah. And now the feature that was grabbing the attention of Sarah Gooding at the WP Tavern is to allow an image to drop into an empty paragraph block and to create an image block. I think I intuitively thought that was already possible, but maybe I just dragged it between blocks. So now you can, every time you just hit enter on at the end of one block, you can just drag your image into an empty paragraph and it adds it to the site.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, I expect there&#8217;s probably instances where container blocks have a paragraph block as the default, so now you can just plug an image into that. That&#8217;s probably why it helps a lot as well. So yeah, nice little enhancement there.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: That&#8217;s great. Especially for the cover block, and group block, I can see that, yeah. Yeah, the next one&#8230;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: The next one is improvements to the writing flow, we&#8217;re now implementing of standardized controls that feel quite natural when you compare them with other text editors. So you can now hold down the alt key and use the arrow keys to jump around in blocks of text. So an example given is if your cursor is towards the end of a long paragraph, you can press alt and up arrow to move straight back to the beginning of that paragraph. And similarly, alt down arrow will move you to the end of that block of text. And these are all small little tweaks to the writing flow, but it does allow you to move quickly around text and brings Gutenberg into line with many other normal text editors.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, I think this was very missed for those who use other text editors too, because it throws you when your shift or control and left arrow doesn&#8217;t get you to the beginning of the line and you need to use the mouse to get there. So yeah, I really love that writing flow improvement there. So the next one, it&#8217;s the WP HTML tag processor, I think you need to explain to me and our listeners what that actually does, Dave.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: I&#8217;ll give it a good go. Yes, this is a technical change, but one that is important for people who are working with dynamic blocks. So often dynamic blocks, the ones that use PHP to output the content to the front of the site, because they&#8217;ve got some sort of dynamic requirements and they have to list a post or grab your, I don&#8217;t know, post site logo or something like that. In fact, the site logo&#8217;s a good example because there&#8217;s an attribute to control whether the site logo should be a link or not. And if it isn&#8217;t going to be a link, then we need some way to strip out the anchor tag from the resulting html.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>And before this processor was added, we had to do this with what&#8217;s called regular expressions, which are notoriously unreliable for parsing and modifying html. And this was happening across a number of blocks and the use cases were getting ever more complex, especially around things like using the post featured image in the mark of the cover block for example.</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So what we&#8217;ve done here is we&#8217;ve added this HTML tag processor, which is a very standardized way to walk through the HTML of a given block, and then allow you to make common modifications to it, such as adding or removing class names. Seems like a small thing, but actually unlocks many, many doors and greatly simplifies working with blocks. Not only for core blocks like cover, gallery, and heading, but of course third party blocks can also take advantage of this now and avoid having to write lots of regex, which of course no one likes doing as far as I&#8217;m aware.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, I&#8217;m really excited about that because it improves so much the developer experience for the block editor and it&#8217;s such a nice tool to be a little bit more secure about what you&#8217;re changing. And if something else is in there, does it screw up your edit or your plugin for instance, or the block? Yeah. So yeah, I&#8217;m really looking forward to the dev note for that, it won&#8217;t come until 6.2 and we don&#8217;t know yet what the planning is for next year, but I know that the leadership is working on all the things that come with 6.2, so we will soon have some information about that. But yes, this is definitely&#8230; Try it out, it&#8217;s in plugin 14.3, so the team definitely would need some feedback on that to see if it actually lives up to its expectation.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: And then we have some more changes in the block library and one is also for the image and the team fixed the crop area aspect ratio for when you rotate an image and you crop it, that it keeps the aspect ratio for it. So it&#8217;s a nice change and it keeps you a little bit more safe when you do cropping on your images.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, absolutely. The next one is another fix and it is for link colors in some theme contexts, specifically 2022. There was an issue whereby if an ancestor of the navigation block set a link color, then it would override any text color set on the navigation block, which is really, really confusing because say you had a, I don&#8217;t know, a green link color set on an a parent root block and you had red text color set in your navigation, you&#8217;d be seeing the green color in the editor thinking, &#8220;Well, what&#8217;s happened?&#8221; You wouldn&#8217;t know where this color&#8217;s coming from. It ended up being a temporary patch has being put in to basically increase the specificity of the CSS. But in the longer term we&#8217;re looking to migrate the nav block to use standardized color controls, but it&#8217;s a lot more complex than you&#8217;d imagine. But yeah, if you&#8217;d been experiencing that problem in your theme, then you hopefully shouldn&#8217;t have that problem anymore as of 14.3.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: And that problem was on both ends, editor and front end?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yes.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, good to fix, yeah.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah. And there&#8217;s a next one, which is to re-add styles that were removed from classic themes. Why would we remove styles from classic themes, you ask? Well, obviously it was an accident. Basically a lot of the core styles have been moved to theme JSONs so that we can pass them programmatically, but in doing so some of the styles for buttons were lost and no longer output, which meant that classic themes had blank buttons for a little bit. So now those are in a separate style sheet and buttons are back looking nice again for classic themes by default.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: And I&#8217;m just going through that, and yes, that had been ported back, I think to&#8230; I&#8217;m not sure, is that ported back to WordPress 6.1? It looks like it but I&#8217;m not sure.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: I assumed that it had, if not, I think it has&#8230; Yes, it has been back ported to 6.1.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, that&#8217;s a good thing, yes. So 6.1 is not having some backwards compatibility issues with classic themes, so that&#8217;s definitely a good thing. And then there were quite a few code quality changes that updates some of the tooling and linking code. Linting is when&#8230; Oh, maybe you would explain it better than I do, Dave.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: It&#8217;s just programmatically checking your code for common formatting changes. So WordPress requires you to have a space around parentheses, for example, so it will automatically check those and fix them for you. That&#8217;s linting.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: And the reason behind removing lodash dependencies from some of the JavaScript, I think was performance reasons, right? That it increased performance when you don&#8217;t need to load lodash.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, lodash is a fairly sizable library, so there&#8217;s an effort underway to completely remove that dependency, which should reduce the bundle size going to the editor, which is always a good thing.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah, yeah. Speaking of tools, there&#8217;s another&#8230; It&#8217;s not a tool thing. There was quite a few discussions around the experimental APIs that made it into the WordPress code base, but now there is&#8230; Adam Zielinski actually put a proposal together on how to limit that access and the first version of it is now available in the Gutenberg plugin. Do you have some more information behind that?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah, so experimental APIs were quite controversial because Gutenberg does need to iterate and move quite quickly compared to core, for example. And so they often introduce experimental APIs and they&#8217;re not guaranteed to be stable and might break at any time. But of course some of these APIs were ending up going into a core WordPress release because they hadn&#8217;t been stabilized at the point that WordPress was released. And that was understandably something that we didn&#8217;t want to happen because WordPress has a commitment to backwards compatibility, so you can&#8217;t really have experimental APIs going into a core release.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So a middle ground had to be found between those two positions, one, that Gutenberg needs to iterate quickly, and number two, that core needs to not have breaking changes in it, which is entirely legitimate. So the way that this has been done now is from now on, if Gutenberg wants to expose experimental APIs views within its code base, it has to do so quite explicitly. You have to go through a number of quite laborious steps to do so, which is important. And number two, if you are a plugin developer and you choose to consume and experimental APIs, you also have to jump through a number of code hoops in order to do that.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of which actually requires you to type in, manually, a string of text which says something to the effect of, &#8220;I know that using this experimental API will break my plugin on the next release,&#8221; or something along those lines. I mean, we laugh, but the point is that it is to educate people that if you do use this, it&#8217;s it is at your own risk. And I like to think this is quite a nice middle ground between the two positions and hopefully we&#8217;ll see it come to a fruition in the next couple of releases as the current experimental APIs are stabilized and all future ones have to go through this complex setup state in order to be exposed anyway.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Yeah. And it wouldn&#8217;t so much be hard if only the Gutenberg plugin, that it would use the experimental APIs. But I think because most plugin developers that adopted block development also looked at the source code of the plugin and learned how, &#8220;Oh, let&#8217;s see how the core developer do that.&#8221; And they used that experimental API in their own plugins for many, many years now. And now that&#8217;s really hard to deprecate. If just WordPress using it, it would be easier to deprecate that because nobody else uses it and everybody would know how to change that. But because they are not only the plug-ins that are in the repository, they are plugins that are done by freelancers and agencies for their sites that are third-party plugins that are not in the repo might be using it. So that backwards compatibility promise is really something that needs to&#8230; Though the experimental APIs cannot be deprecated without breaking those and it also cannot be it need, they actually should need to be documented if third-party use them. But the nature of experimental API is actually not documented and can disappear at any time. But that is not possible when they&#8217;re in WordPress core.&nbsp;</p>\n\n\n\n<p>So yeah, so there is a solution coming out and I think there is a lot of&#8230; We talked about it before maybe with&#8230; I&#8217;m not quite sure. On the Change Log before when for 6.0 when there were, I don&#8217;t know, 280 experimental APIs that are merged at the core. Some of them are really only used for the Gutenberg plugin or the block editor, but some of them were actually used in the wider ecosystem. So speaking of JavaScript library, there&#8217;s the next feature is remove enzyme completely, and enzyme is a react testing library.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yes, that&#8217;s right.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: Right. Yeah. But now react has created their own testing library, so that&#8217;s why it doesn&#8217;t have to be bundled anymore, right?</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dave Smith</em>: Yeah. I mean, we would be using these two testing libraries on our components, one was enzyme and the other one is react testing library. And react testing library, which is built on top of react&#8217;s own library, has its own nicer encourages you to test things in a&#8230; More experiencing them how the user would interact with the component, so it encourages better accessibility practices, et cetera. So it made sense to standardize towards one. So finally, after lots of work by lots of contributors, enzyme has been removed. And now if you want to test your components, you should use react testing library.</p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack</em>: All right. Yeah. And in the PR, there are also some code examples on how to do this for your own code, what you need to do in terms of taking out enzyme and using react library, so check out the PR 44494. And of course it&#8217;s on the change log for 14.3. So this concludes 14.3 and our Gutenberg plugin releases and we&#8217;ve come to the things that we discuss what&#8217;s still an active development, but what might come or will come to the Gutenberg plugin in the near future. Dave, you are part of the navigation project, almost exclusively, what is in store for the navigation project?</p>\n\