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




















































";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:16:"WordPress Planet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://planet.wordpress.org/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:8:"language";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2:"en";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:47:"WordPress Planet - http://planet.wordpress.org/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"item";a:50:{i:0;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:90:"WPTavern: Work on the Twenty Twenty-Two Default WordPress Theme Should Already Be Underway";s:7:"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=113906";s:7:"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:225:"https://wptavern.com/work-on-the-twenty-twenty-two-default-wordpress-theme-should-already-be-underway?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=work-on-the-twenty-twenty-two-default-wordpress-theme-should-already-be-underway";s: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:5806:"<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>[The Eksell theme] does such a great job of selling a block editor-driven WordPress. It was a missed opportunity to not pair something of this quality with the block editor when WordPress 5.0 was released.</p><p>It&rsquo;s responsive! I&rsquo;m amazed this stands out as a highlight for me, but, as the official theme, Twenty Twenty-One breaks in pretty basic ways in multiple places for different screen widths. I think this visual approach is also probably more approachable as &ldquo;good design&rdquo; for the average person than Twenty Twenty-One&rsquo;s attempt at a more typographical approach&hellip;</p><cite>Daniel</cite></blockquote>



<p class="has-drop-cap">In hindsight, it is easy to look back at past default themes and find fault. There is always something better around the corner. However, Daniel makes some good points <a href="https://wptavern.com/compatibility-is-not-enough-the-eksell-wordpress-theme-creates-art-with-blocks#comment-369254">in his comment </a>on our recent <a href="https://wptavern.com/compatibility-is-not-enough-the-eksell-wordpress-theme-creates-art-with-blocks">review of the Eksell theme</a>. The theme does sell the idea of blocks to the user far more so than many others.</p>



<p>It would be hard to convince me that launching a great block-ready theme with 5.0 would have been feasible, given that so much about the new block editor was changing at a lightning-quick pace. <em>But, a year or two later?</em> Probably.</p>



<p>Twenty Nineteen, which launched with WordPress 5.0 and its block editor, is the worst-rated (3.5 stars) default theme in history. Twenty Twenty was a decent block-ready outing. It also happened to be forked from Chaplin, a theme built by Eksell&rsquo;s designer, Anders Nor&eacute;n. While I still believe that Twenty Twenty-One was a refreshing shift and a fun experiment at the time, my fondness for it has waned in the last few months.</p>



<p>None make a convincing case for the block editor. If we are being honest, there are not that many third-party themes in the official directory making it either.</p>



<p>I may have already said it thousand times, so once more will not hurt. Themes are the face of WordPress. They are often a new user&rsquo;s first introduction to our beloved platform and blogging in general. And, the default themes are the first they see.</p>



<p>The defaults also have another role they need to play today. They need to showcase blocks to all the old-timers among us who have clung to the classic editor and page builders we have used over the years.</p>



<p>It is no doubt a tough job working on a default theme. We have world-class developers and designers putting in the hours to create something that needs to work on millions of websites. However, part of the toughness of the job is in the process.</p>



<p>Each of the last three default themes was announced in September or October of the year before a November &ndash; December release. While I am not privy to any private discussions or work that went on beforehand, the bulk of the theme-building and testing process has happened in a small window. WordPress has also forked at least the last two themes from existing projects, presumably because of the time constraints.</p>



<p>In 2021, the community should expect its fourth default theme, Twenty Twenty-Two, in the block era. It is time we begin thinking about what that should be instead of waiting until the 11th hour.</p>



<p>We are in mid-March. WordPress 5.9 is currently scheduled for December 2021, which should coincide with the Twenty Twenty-Two theme launch.</p>



<p>By starting the research phase now, it gives us the head-start we lacked in years past. The development team would also not need to fork an existing theme. Forks are not necessarily bad, but starting early means the team can go down the from-scratch route if preferred. It is an opportunity to rethink the approach to default themes and do more community outreach before laying down the first code.</p>



<p>What are the trending features this year?</p>



<p>Which types of themes are most popular?</p>



<p>What has the community been asking for that we have yet to deliver?</p>



<p>Will this be the first block-based default theme to showcase Full Site Editing?</p>



<p>There are tons of questions we should be asking, and more-seasoned designers are better suited to the task than I am.</p>



<p>Like Daniel said in the comments, we are not asking for Eksell to be ported to default-theme status. However, something with that design-quality level is what the community should expect. Make us believe; make us passionate; make us want to build our sites with it.</p>



<p>High-quality themes meant for public release are not built overnight. Except in the rarest cases, they are not created in a month. Client projects can often move faster because they are typically under controlled settings with fewer edge cases. Publicly-released themes do not have the same benefit because they need to handle everything users will throw at it and work alongside untold numbers of plugins. While all designers and developers have different processes and work at different paces, three months is easily the minimum amount of time to code and test a well-rounded theme for modern sites. Some of the best theme authors I know spend upwards to half a year fine-tuning their creations.</p>



<p>We need research, followed by a decision about what type of theme we are building. We need an outline of the goals it should achieve and its primary audience. Rounds of mockups before the code hits a repository. A real community effort.</p>



<p>Three months ago was the best time to begin planning for Twenty Twenty-Two. The second best time is today.</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, 17 Mar 2021 22:20:46 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:1;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:80:"Post Status: Chris Hardie on WP Lookout, WordPress updates and information flows";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://poststatus.com/?p=81771";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:90:"https://poststatus.com/chris-hardie-on-wp-lookout-wordpress-updates-and-information-flows/";s: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>Chris Hardie has been a web developer since the late 1990s. In this episode of the Post Status Draft podcast, Chris talks with Brian Krogsgard about his career as a deep generalist. Chris has worked as a writer, journalist, political candidate, and consultant, as well as a technologist and web developer. </p>



<p>This conversation touches on the challenges of winding down an agency and handling clients. Chris also talks about his experiences with the Special Projects team at Automattic, running for local office, being a journalist, and now launching WP Lookout to help site owners and developers safely update WordPress websites.  </p>



<h2 id="h-safe-wordpress-updates"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/261d.png" alt="☝" class="wp-smiley" /> Safe WordPress Updates</h2>



<p>Automatic updates are great, but what if you could get critical information about potentially breaking changes to WordPress core? What if you could get notified about changes to the plugins and themes you and your clients rely on? </p>



<p>WP Lookout is a new service that monitors WordPress core, plugin, and theme updates so you can apply them safely. You can subscribe to get notices about potentially breaking changes to the software you and your business depend on.&nbsp;</p>







<h3 id="h-topics-mentioned-in-the-show"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f517.png" alt="🔗" class="wp-smiley" /> Topics mentioned in the show</h3>



<ul><li><a href="https://chrishardie.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chris Hardie</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/chrishardie" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@chrishardie</a>)</li><li><a href="https://wplookout.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WP Lookout</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/lookoutwp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@LookoutWP</a>)</li><li><a href="https://wpspecialprojects.wordpress.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Automattic Special Projects</a></li></ul>



<h3><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f44d.png" alt="👍" class="wp-smiley" /> Sponsor: <a href="https://poststat.us/bluehost" rel="sponsored nofollow">Bluehost</a></h3>



<p>Everything your website needs — from start-up to success story — is at <a href="https://poststat.us/bluehost" rel="sponsored nofollow">Bluehost</a>.&nbsp;Whether you're looking to create a website, blog, or online store, <a href="https://poststat.us/bluehost" rel="sponsored nofollow">Bluehost</a> will get you started with an all-in-one website platform tailored to your specific needs. Get a free domain name in your first year, free 24/7 lifetime support, and total design freedom with WordPress at <a href="https://poststat.us/bluehost" rel="sponsored nofollow">Bluehost</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, 17 Mar 2021 20:54:12 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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:2;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:83:"WPTavern: WooCommerce Live Africa to Host First Online Meetup Event, March 18, 2021";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=113837";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:207:"https://wptavern.com/woocommerce-live-africa-to-host-first-online-meetup-event-march-18-2021?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=woocommerce-live-africa-to-host-first-online-meetup-event-march-18-2021";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2421:"<p><a href="https://www.meetup.com/woocommerce-live-africa/">WooCommerce Live Africa</a> is hosting its first online meetup on Thursday, March 18, 2021, from 5:30 PM&nbsp;to&nbsp;7:00 PM GMT+1. The new regional group is part of the <a href="https://www.meetup.com/pro/woocommerce/">WooCommerce network</a> of more than 100 meetups with nearly 30,000 members across 40 countries. Events will be focused on topics pertinent to store owners and entrepreneurs with a focus on making it easy for anyone to get started with e-commerce.</p>



<p>Mary Job and Sunday Ukafia will be hosting the first event, titled &ldquo;<a href="https://www.meetup.com/woocommerce-live-africa/events/276460743/">Getting Started in eCommerce</a>&rdquo; that will guide new store owners from idea to first customer. No technical knowledge is required to join the session, since it&rsquo;s aimed at absolute beginners. Topics include basic business concepts:</p>



<p>1. Choosing an audience<br />2. Finding a problem to solve<br />3. Selling your product before you make it<br />4. Creating the product<br />5. Choosing an operating system<br />6. Delivering the product to your customer<br />7. Creating happy customers</p>



<p>&ldquo;What inspired the new group is the zeal to help every individual succeed in their eCommerce venture, connect with Woo individuals and businesses to learn more about how they use Woo and how we can all help each other overcome challenges and succeed,&rdquo; Mary Job said.</p>



<p>In Nigeria, where Job is located, many store owners are using WooCommerce but most tend to focus on selling more via social media channels. Job said she hopes the group can help merchants be as successful with their WooCommerce stores as they already are with Whatsapp, Telegram, and social media.</p>



<p>&ldquo;The local entrepreneur community is pretty optimistic, despite the environmental challenges that comes with doing business in our country,&rdquo;  Job said. &ldquo;Add to that the irregular and inconsistent government policies (speaking for Nigeria alone here), can&rsquo;t speak precisely for other African nations.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The organizing team plans to focus future sessions on a range of skill levels from beginner to advanced. <a href="https://www.meetup.com/woocommerce-live-africa/events/276460743/">Registration</a> is free and the link to the online event will be visible after you sign up.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 17 Mar 2021 17:39:46 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:3;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:37:"HeroPress: Empowered To Make A Change";s:7:"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=3502";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:126:"https://heropress.com/essays/empowered-to-make-a-change/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=empowered-to-make-a-change";s: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:9237:"<img width="960" height="480" src="https://s20094.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/031621-min.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Pull Quote: WordPress made this world smaller, and empowered me to make a change." /><p>The good part; When writing this, I am working with the top companies in the WooCommerce ecosystem, partnering with creative minds, making things happen that can make a massive difference to many users, or even an essential lifeline to their business survival due to a lockdown. As a partnership manager at YITH, I also had* the privilege of traveling worldwide and attended various WordCamps and WordPress events. I’ve co-organized WordCamps, Meetups, and with 28 WooCommerce London Meetups in 2020 alone.<br />
<small>* We are still in a local lock down due to covid at the time of writing this.</small></p>
<p>The rubbish part; Okay, nine years ago, life was not great, my daughter passed away, and I was stuck as a restaurant owner, working hard and not making much money, plus soon after, I started a court case against my landlord. Maybe this was the year I lost most of my hair, and it also caused my flare-up of UC… so hopefully, you get it, it was not a good time of my life, and I probably had every reason to find ‘the bottle’ more attractive.</p>
<h3>From The Rubbish To The Good Part</h3>
<p>When bad things happen to people, some will hide and go downhill, whereas others use this negative energy into something positive. I can’t say, I fall in either camp, but having been influenced by the right people around me, decisions I made, and by chance, I was being drawn towards the latter one.</p>
<p>Soon after our daughter died, my wife, Nihan enrolled in the open university to finish her Computer Science degree. I have massive admiration for Nihan’s strong determination, and I wholeheartedly supported her in this decision. We managed to finance this with an adult learning grant and working as a chef in various local pubs.</p>
<p>My wife’s coursework interested me a lot, and very soon, we started following the lectures together, plus extra course work I was practicing myself too.</p>
<p>Then came the idea of affiliate commission earnings through blogging, which I started out using Joomla as a CMS platform. Creating websites was slowly becoming a passion for me, and in these first few years, I enjoyed every part of the steep learning curb tackling the basics to more advanced coding and designs.</p>
<h3>Diving Into The Web</h3>
<p>After reducing hours as a chef, I followed various online courses in coding and e-commerce, SEO, and online marketing. One of the training courses I signed up for was a lifetime deal for OSTraining. The lessons came in particularly useful when I applied for a job as a WordPress designer. Please note that at this time, I had heard of WordPress and used it as a blogging platform but not played with it as a designer. One of the tutors on OSTraining became my absolute savior in the next two weeks before my interview for a new WordPress job. His name is Topher, also well-known for being the founder of HeroPress.</p>
<p>Having binge-watched various WP development topics and getting familiar with the structures, I was rather lucky to have been given the job. Still, this was only the beginning of my journey into the world of WordPress.</p>
<p>A year later, my boss asked me whether I would consider taking over the business and clients. Together with my wife, we started a new brand and company that we then build up over the years. This path naturally leads us into a niche of working with WooCommerce in combination with Online marketing.</p>
<blockquote><p>As I often say to people, WordPress is just one of the tools in my box, just like a carpenter can’t do without a hammer.</p></blockquote>
<p>The skill in using it efficiently comes over time and even then, there are different techniques. We all look back at projects and think: “ouch, why did I do it that way?” I often hear the term ‘imposter syndrome.’ I don’t believe in this, as I think whoever progresses and explores is eager to learn and wants to improve. It is frankly in human nature to drive ourselves forward. WordPress has evolved in so many branches that require different skills, and thank goodness for that, or we’d all be in competition. Instead, there are 100’s of areas of expertise, roles, and jobs that complement WordPress to make it what it is. A big part of that is each person’s personal background complements their skillsets. Think about it, who you are and what you do is influenced by what you have done and learned. Cherishing this, adding your culture, language, and experience and you suddenly find yourself more than qualified. And often these are not skills or certificates you list on a CV as they might be good and also bad experiences.</p>
<h3>Joining A Business</h3>
<p>The next part of this chapter was my dealings with YITH. As a long-term customer and having met some of the team at WordCamp London, I got into discussions to represent them at events held in the UK. This soon went global with me attending WordCamps in 3 other countries… and this was the moment I realized I could do much more with my connections and create meaningful partnerships. Within a few weeks, I crafted my dream job and sent a proposal to Nando, the CEO of YITH.</p>
<blockquote><p>It is not easy to pitch yourself with an idea hoping that someone, I never met or spoken, understands this vision.</p></blockquote>
<p>The doubts went through my head; “do I give up my business and work for the benefit of another company? What if I don’t get on? After all, I met 2 out of a team of 40 only three years ago… What do I do with my customers? Thinking of which, they have been demanding and not paying us on time. Plus, they annoy me when I want to be on holiday, not just that, they cause arguments between my wife and me. Because what is more important, family time or a site down and a business that is not earning enough money? Okay, this could work out, and I will try it for a year; if not, I can pick up my business again while my wife continues running it.” That was my thought process every day for months…</p>
<p>Then we agreed, and I was not sure if I should be happy or not. A year later, I can only say that working for Nando at YITH has been the best choice. He has been my mentor, supporter, devil’s advocate, and friend, but not a ‘boss.’ He has never told me what to do, but instead, asked questions to make me realize what is achievable, or even better, simply suggests me to read a book and come to my conclusions. YITH is an organization without hierarchy based on a holacratic structure.</p>
<a href="https://s20094.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/DSC5927-scaled.jpg"><img /></a>The Yith Team
<h3>Looking Back</h3>
<p>I often think back to the moment my daughter passed away. She only lived for a few days, but ask any bereaved parent; it is often the thought of: ‘what could have been.’ It will have been nine years, and every day, I wonder how events would have unfolded if she had survived. So, maybe her memory lives on in every decision I make and the paths I decide to take. But did I make the right decisions? I would have said yes, though only last week, my wife suggested she never really processed the events nine years ago. The path ahead will not always be straight, but whatever the next turning is, I hope I can nudge it in the right direction. After all, I have big and exciting plans ahead!</p>
<p>Is this story helpful to someone? Maybe it is for one of two reasons.</p>
<blockquote><p>If you struggle to change your career, you can do this, though it might take a couple of years of a transitional period.</p></blockquote>
<p>Only looking back do I realize that each small step slowly made a difference in my life. I am no guru or dare-devil entrepreneur that will tell you how to do things. No, I am an ordinary person with dreams and aspirations, just like there are so many in the world. But as I write this, it was WordPress that made this world smaller and empowered me to make a change. Learning from someone on the other side of the world and even getting work and customers from companies and people I never met before. Feeling welcomed into the WordPress community through Meetups and WordCamps added this human dimension and confidence that I can do ‘this’ too.</p>
<p>For those who had a personal tragedy, I hope that I can give you hope and strength to try and put your energy into something else that can lead to more significant changes in your life. Our minds are mighty and the tiny small decisions of: ‘if I do this then that, and if this then that’ &#8211; you see life is like a game of chess and you can influence the outcome a lot… I accept, not always, but take it as one positive decision at a time.</p>
<p><a href="https://s20094.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/PXL_20200912_144823691.MP_-scaled.jpg"><img /></a></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com/essays/empowered-to-make-a-change/">Empowered To Make A Change</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, 17 Mar 2021 08:13:19 +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:13:"Ronald Gijsel";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:4;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:85:"WPTavern: Automatically Create Image Slideshows With the Full Screen Galleries Plugin";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=113770";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:215:"https://wptavern.com/automatically-create-image-slideshows-with-the-full-screen-galleries-plugin?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=automatically-create-image-slideshows-with-the-full-screen-galleries-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:2946:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Earlier today, core WordPress contributor Nick Halsey released <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/full-screen-galleries/">Full Screen Galleries</a>, a plugin that automatically creates a full-screen slideshow when site visitors click on an image. The plugin works with all images, regardless of whether they are in a gallery block. It also supports both the classic and block editors.</p>



<p>Lightbox-type plugins are a dime a dozen. It is tough to wade through them to find the perfect solution. However, sometimes the simplest solution is the way to go. Halsey&rsquo;s plugin has no settings screen, post metadata, or block options. It is plug-and-play.  The only configuration is in activating the plugin itself.</p>



<p>Full Screen Galleries creates a slideshow-style overlay for all images located on a post or page. When a visitor clicks on one, the full-screen slideshow takes over the page.</p>



<img />Slideshow overlay from Full Screen Galleries.



<p>Halsey has a <a href="https://celloexpressions.com/photography/2020/02/raindance-ranch-winter-2020/">demo page on his site</a> where potential users can see the plugin in action.</p>



<p>There are more advanced options out there. Some show EXIF data, create transition effects and other types of animation, and offer a boatload of customizable settings. However, I prefer the simplicity of something that I can activate and forget. Over the years, I have come to appreciate these types of plugins more and more. They let me get back to focusing on the parts of my sites that I care about.</p>



<p>Full Screen Galleries also figures out the full-sized image URL automatically. If a gallery uses thumbnail-sized images and links to the attachment page, the slideshow will still display it in full.</p>



<p>Each slide outputs forward and back arrows to scroll between the images. In the top left corner is an exit button. In the top right, the plugin outputs a northeast arrow button that links to the original image. It also displays the image caption if it is available.</p>



<p>For many users, this is all they need. I am particularly interested in it because it works well with classic content. Many of the sites I am involved with have years of galleries from the pre-block era.</p>



<p>One of the downsides is that the plugin relies on jQuery. The plugin&rsquo;s code has a small footprint, but jQuery has grown into a bit of a beast over the years and is becoming less and less relevant with more recent features of modern JavaScript. For many WordPress sites, this may be a non-issue because their theme or some other plugin is already loading the jQuery library. This plugin will be a lightweight addition. For others who are keeping it lean, they might want to seek out alternative solutions.</p>



<p>Regardless, this plugin is going into my toolbox, ready to pull out when I need it. Overall, it is a dependable version 1.0.</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, 16 Mar 2021 22:41:03 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:5;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:45:"BuddyPress: BuddyPress 7.2.1 Security Release";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"https://buddypress.org/?p=317662";s:7:"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://buddypress.org/2021/03/buddypress-7-2-1-security-release/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2581:"<p><a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/buddypress.7.2.1.zip">BuddyPress 7.2.1</a> is now available. This is a security release. All BuddyPress installations are strongly encouraged to upgrade as soon as possible.</p>



<p>The 7.2.1 release addresses 5 security issues which were reported privately to the BuddyPress team by <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hoangkien1020/">Kien Hoang</a>, in accordance with&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/testing/reporting-security-vulnerabilities/">WordPress’s security policies</a>:</p>



<ul><li>A vulnerability was fixed that could allow a privilege escalation from a regular user to Administrator, using the BuddyPress REST API <code>buddypress/v1/members/me</code> endpoint.</li><li>A vulnerability was fixed that could allow a member to force a friendship on behalf of another member, using the BuddyPress REST API <code>buddypress/v1/friends</code> endpoint.</li><li>A vulnerability was fixed that could allow a member to read private messages in a thread they were not invited to, using the BuddyPress REST API <code>buddypress/v1/messages</code> endpoint.</li><li>A vulnerability was fixed that could allow a member to invite another member to join a group without being friends when that group restricted invites to friends only, using BuddyPress Nouveau and the BuddyPress REST API <code>buddypress/v1/groups/invites</code> endpoint.</li><li>A vulnerability was fixed that could allow a user that has just been demoted from an Administrator role to a Subscriber to add/edit/delete BuddyPress Member Types from the Administration screens introduced in the 7.0.0 release.</li></ul>



<p>The BuddyPress Team also conducted a comprehensive security audit on all BuddyPress REST API endpoints, which led to:</p>



<ul><li>Improving all permission methods to use a WP_Error object as the default return value.</li><li>Fixing unintended behavior allowing any member to edit their own Member Type.</li><li>Fixing unintended behavior that allowed any logged in member to list the members of a private group. </li></ul>



<p>For an even deeper dive, visit the <a href="https://codex.buddypress.org/releases/version-7-2-1/">7.2.1 changelog</a>.</p>



<p>Our deepest gratitude goes out to Kien for practicing coordinated disclosure and being extremely patient while we worked through these issues.</p>



<p>Update to BuddyPress 7.2.1 today in your WordPress Dashboard, or by&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress/">downloading from the WordPress.org plugin repository</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 16 Mar 2021 20:45:06 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12:"Mathieu Viet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:6;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:95:"WPTavern: Attackers Continue to Exploit Vulnerabilities in The Plus Addons for Elementor Plugin";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=113763";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:235:"https://wptavern.com/attackers-continue-to-exploit-vulnerabilities-in-the-plus-addons-for-elementor-plugin?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=attackers-continue-to-exploit-vulnerabilities-in-the-plus-addons-for-elementor-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:2911:"<p>Last week, security researchers at Seravo and WP Charged <a href="https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/c311feef-7041-4c21-9525-132b9bd32f89">reported</a> a critical zero-day vulnerability in The Plus Addons for Elementor on March 8, 2021. WPScan categorized it as an authentication bypass vulnerability:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>The plugin is being actively exploited to by malicious actors to bypass authentication, allowing unauthenticated users to log in as any user (including admin) by just providing the related username, as well as create accounts with arbitrary roles, such as admin. These issues can be exploited even if registration is disabled, and the Login widget is not active.</p></blockquote>



<p>It&rsquo;s important to note that this particular vulnerability affects users of the commercial version of The Plus Addons for Elementor, not the free version, and not core Elementor. </p>



<p>The plugin&rsquo;s authors pushed out a partially patched version 4.1.6 after disclosure and then a second version 4.1.7 to more fully address the issue. </p>



<p>Wordfence is reporting that they are still blocking attempts on sites that are using unpatched. They have blocked 1900 site takeover attempts from a specific username, blocked 1170 attempts from a specific email, and blocked 4,000 attempts over the past week. Attackers are still targeting sites that have not updated to the patched version.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Evidence suggests it had been actively exploited for ~5 days before that,&rdquo;  Wordfence threat analyst Chloe Chamberland said on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYfg7iLbSlE">Wordfence Live</a> show today. &ldquo;Our earliest date of compromise was March 5th that we know of so far. There was a vulnerability for a few days that nobody really knew about except for this attacker who was going out and exploiting it.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Those whose sites have been exploited have seen malicious admin accounts created.  Others have experienced every URL on their sites redirecting, making it very difficult to clean. Attackers have also been installing malicious plugins called &ldquo;WP Strongs&rdquo; and &ldquo;WP Staff.&rdquo; Those who cannot access the admin dashboard will have a more difficult time removing these plugins. </p>



<p>Elementor users who have the Plus Addons plugin installed are advised to update to the latest version and check for malicious plugins and files. Ideally, site owners who were subject to exploits would have a backup to restore.  Chamberland concluded the Wordfence Live broadcast today by walking users through manually cleaning up exploited sites, including replacing the wp-includes and wp-admin folders, along with standard files outside those directories. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYfg7iLbSlE">recording</a> might be helpful for those who are struggling to clean up the damage.</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, 16 Mar 2021 19:26:23 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:7;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:65:"WPTavern: Google Accuses Microsoft of “Breaking the Open Web”";s:7:"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=113773";s:7:"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:163:"https://wptavern.com/google-accuses-microsoft-of-breaking-the-open-web?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=google-accuses-microsoft-of-breaking-the-open-web";s: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:4506:"<p>Just before the weekend, Google published a caustic <a href="https://blog.google/products/news/google-commitment-supporting-journalism/">statement</a> on Microsoft&rsquo;s public support of Australia&rsquo;s new law that forces Google and Facebook to pay publishers for their content. The law requires the companies to negotiate licensing agreements with publishers in order to include news articles in both search and news feeds, including snippets.</p>



<p>Last month, Microsoft published its <a href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2021/02/11/endorsement-australias-proposal-technology-news/">endorsement</a> of the Australian proposal and stated intentions for its Bing search engine to comply. </p>



<p>&ldquo;In the hunt for better ideas, Google&rsquo;s threat to boycott an entire country got our attention,&rdquo; Microsoft President Brad Smith said.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Satya Nadella and I reached out to Prime Minister Morrison. It was an opportunity to combine good business with a good cause and, as we explained, even if Google wanted to leave Australia, we would stay.&rdquo;</p>



<p>After negotiations, Facebook decided to simply block Australian publishers from posting and block users from sharing any news originating from the country. In a full reversal, the company <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-news-corp-facebook/news-corp-reaches-deal-with-facebook-in-australia-idUSKBN2B72Q9">inked a three-year agreement with News Corp</a> today, which covers The Australian national newspaper and several metropolitan papers. </p>



<p>Similarly, Google did not make good on its threat to remove its search engine from Australia, reluctantly making deals with Australian publishers and News Corp a few weeks ago. The company&rsquo;s <a href="https://blog.google/products/news/google-commitment-supporting-journalism/">statement</a> on Friday characterizes Microsoft&rsquo;s position and its overt contrasting with Google, as &ldquo;naked corporate opportunism&rdquo; and an attack:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>We also believe that this important debate should be about the substance of the issue, and not derailed by naked corporate opportunism &hellip; which brings us to Microsoft&rsquo;s sudden interest in this discussion. We respect Microsoft&rsquo;s success and we compete hard with them in cloud computing, search,&nbsp;productivity apps, video conferencing, email and many other areas. Unfortunately, as competition in these areas intensifies, they are reverting to their familiar playbook of attacking rivals and lobbying for regulations that benefit their own interests. They are now making self-serving claims and are even willing to break the way the open web works in an effort to undercut a rival. And their claims about our business and&nbsp;<a href="https://blog.google/supportingnews#facts">how we work with news publishers</a>&nbsp;are just plain wrong.</p></blockquote>



<p>The historic rivalry has been reignited, as Google fired back at Microsoft&rsquo;s insinuation that the company doesn&rsquo;t support journalism and is unwilling to collaborate with publishers.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Proposals that would disrupt access to the open web (such as requiring payment for just showing links to websites) would hurt consumers, small businesses, and publishers,&rdquo; Google&rsquo;s SVP of Global Affairs Kent Walker said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s why we&rsquo;ve engaged constructively with publishers around the world on better solutions and will continue to do so.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Microsoft supports Australia&rsquo;s new law as a means to rectify &ldquo;competitive imbalance between the tech sector and an independent press.&rdquo; It also gives the company a high perch from which to call out Google and Facebook as &ldquo;profitable tech gatekeepers on which businesses must advertise to reach consumers.&rdquo; Microsoft believes its endorsement spurred Google to reverse its decision in order to remain in competition for the Australian search market.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Unlike Google, if we can grow, we are prepared to sign up for the new law&rsquo;s obligations, including sharing revenue as proposed with news organizations,&rdquo; Brad Smith said. &ldquo;The key would be to create a more competitive market, something the government can facilitate. But, as we made clear, we are comfortable running a high-quality search service at lower economic margins than Google and with more economic returns for the press.&rdquo;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 16 Mar 2021 03:13:47 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:8;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:89:"WPTavern: Compatibility Is Not Enough: The Eksell WordPress Theme Creates Art With Blocks";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=113779";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:221:"https://wptavern.com/compatibility-is-not-enough-the-eksell-wordpress-theme-creates-art-with-blocks?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=compatibility-is-not-enough-the-eksell-wordpress-theme-creates-art-with-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:6218:"<img />



<p class="has-drop-cap">It is easy to become jaded after reading the same old keyword-stuffed theme descriptions. After viewing the same hero-plus-three-boxes theme designs. After seeing another theme with &ldquo;block editor styles&rdquo; that utterly fails to deliver on its promise.</p>



<p>As I peruse <a href="https://andersnoren.se/themes/eksell/">the demo</a> of Anders Nor&eacute;n&rsquo;s latest WordPress theme, <a href="https://www.andersnoren.se/teman/eksell-wordpress-theme/">Eksell</a>, I am reminded that artists still exist in the WordPress theming realm. For those familiar with his past theming work, this is not revelatory. Most of his 20+ free themes have 1,000s of active installations &mdash; <a href="https://wptavern.com/first-look-at-twenty-twenty-new-wordpress-default-theme-based-on-chaplain">Chaplin even became the base of the Twenty Twenty</a> default theme.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img />Single post view.</div>



<p>Awaiting a theme from Nor&eacute;n is almost like counting down the days until your favorite director&rsquo;s film hits the theater. You know you are going to like it before you see it. Even the worse outing is better than everything else spilling through the pipeline. Every now and then, you are greeted with something special.</p>



<p>I could not wait this time. Nor&eacute;n&rsquo;s latest project is at a pitstop in the review system, so it is not <em>officially</em> available in the WordPress theme directory yet. In the meantime, anyone can still grab a ZIP file from its <a href="https://themes.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/96348">Trac ticket</a> and upload it the old-fashioned way.</p>



<p>Eksell is a love letter to the block editor.</p>



<p>It is more than just making a few style adjustments to work around any quirks of the default block styles. It is an extension of those styles to create something unique. It is more than running a theme through a few tests and calling it <em>compatible</em>. It is looking at common problems and making sure they are styled correctly on the front end. And it is more than slapping a few blocks together and calling them a pattern. It is about providing users with a one-click solution for custom-designed or tough-to-build elements.</p>



<p>Building WordPress themes means being able to wrangle tons of elements that users can rearrange on a whim. The block editor has increased those pieces at least tenfold. It is rare to see a theme that manages to handle every edge case, and I am sure there are some that Eksell misses. However, the whole of the work is one of &mdash; if not the best &mdash; block-ready themes available today.</p>



<p>If there is one area in which Eksell did not go far enough, it is with block patterns. The theme registers five of them:</p>



<ul><li>Cover Header</li><li>Featured Items</li><li>Call to Action</li><li>Contact Details</li><li>Stacked Full Groups</li></ul>



<img />Cover Header block pattern.



<p>Each of these is in the demo. However, there are some missed opportunities, such as the following three-column &ldquo;pattern&rdquo;:</p>



<img />Three columns with images on the outside and text on the inside.



<p>Pros at building layouts with blocks could recreate that in minutes. A one-click option for inserting it into a post might save a headache or two for average users.</p>



<p>This is not the only example. Eksell&rsquo;s demo is full of experimental groupings that showcase the flexibility of the block system. As bold as it is, the theme is a bit timid with its patterns. There is no need to be. They are already there. They simply need to be registered in the system.</p>



<p>Users can stack individual Image and Gallery blocks, making them appear as part of the same gallery. The theme automatically adjusts the margins between the blocks, bringing them together.</p>



<img />Gallery + Image + Gallery block stacked.



<p><em>Another candidate for a block pattern.</em></p>



<p>And, here&rsquo;s the thing. I firmly believe the traditional theming paradigm held back this theme. Its uniqueness is in its handling of blocks, which are still limited to the content area in WordPress. When the site editor and global styles land in WordPress later this year, a theme like this would already be miles ahead of others in integrating with Full Site Editing.</p>



<p>Eksell is more than just a theme that <em>does cool stuff with the block editor</em>. It is a genuinely useful portfolio theme. Instead of marketing it as yet another <s>multipurpose</s> general-purpose project, it has a target audience. Despite that, it is well-rounded enough to handle a variety of situations. Nor&eacute;n made sure the theme would work for blogging with on-point typography.</p>



<p>By default, the theme displays blog posts in a grid-style portfolio. However, Jetpack users can opt to use the plugin&rsquo;s portfolio project post type to keep their portfolio separate from their blog.</p>



<p>One feature that might go overlooked is that Eksell provides an option to upload a fallback featured image. Far too often, portfolio-style themes with post-image grids fail to load a default image. The expectation is that the user will have featured images for every post, which is not always the case. When a theme is built around this idea, it needs to cover all of its bases, covering edge cases where things might fall apart. Eksell handles this, but Nor&eacute;n is an old pro at this point. He doubtless knows these common pitfalls.</p>



<p>The theme does not overwhelm users with options. It provides enough flexibility to personalize the theme&rsquo;s color scheme and make a few layout-related decisions.</p>



<p>Old-school theme options will be a thing from a past era in the coming years. It is best to focus on the elements users will be working with for the long term. The customization power is with what users decide to do with blocks, and Eksell is ready for whatever users might throw at it.</p>



<p>Every WordPress theme author should dive into the Eksell theme. Consider it a free masterclass in building on top of the block editor. It is the standard by which we should be judging all other offerings.</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, 15 Mar 2021 22:54:38 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:9;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:62:"Gutenberg Times: Gutenberg, Block Editor and WordPress Roadmap";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?p=6188";s:7:"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://gutenbergtimes.com/mullenweg-on-gutenberg-roll-out-plan/";s: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:51020:"<p><em>Last updated March 14, 2021</em></p>



<h2>Full-Site Editing Go/NoGo decision for 5.8</h2>



<p>Now that <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/03/esperanza/">WordPress 5.7 is released since  March 9th, 2021</a>, the core team is planning 5.8 and putting the next release team together. </p>



<p><em>Josepha Haden Chomphosy</em> published two posts with additional information.  </p>



<ul><li><strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2021/03/12/full-site-editing-pre-merge-overview/">Full-site editing pre-merge overview</a>&nbsp;</strong>an updated time line of decision-making on the prototype/MVP and communication roll-out for the merge of Full-Site Editing (FSE) into the core software. </li><li>In a follow-up post<strong>,&nbsp;</strong>Josepha shared the core team’s&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/03/12/early-thoughts-on-wp5-8-planning/"><strong>early thoughts on 5.8 Planning</strong></a>&nbsp;and elaborated on the changes, depending on if FSE will be merged or not in assembling the release team.</li></ul>



<p class="has-text-color has-background has-large-font-size">The team will decide on April 13 or 27, if a successful merge can be achieved for the 5.8 release in July (Yes, it was moved a month) or if it will be pushed to 5.9 in December 2021.</p>



<h2 id="2021goals"><strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2021/01/21/big-picture-goals-2021/">Big Picture Goals 2021</a></strong></h2>



<p>Josepha Haden set the goal posts for the WordPress projects for 2021</p>



<ul><li>Timeline for <strong>Full Site Editing: </strong><ul><li>MVP&nbsp;in the plugin by April 2021</li><li>v1 in Core by WordPress 5.8.</li></ul></li><li><strong>Learn.WordPress </strong><ul><li>regularly publish new workshops and lesson plans, </li><li>maintain a high pass rate on workshop quizzes to establish learner success and comprehension.</li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/block-editor-workshops-wordpress/">Block Editor related Workshops </a></li></ul></li><li><strong>Contributor tools</strong> decrease the manual overhead of maintenance work for teams through better tooling.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2021/01/21/big-picture-goals-2021/">Read the full post here</a></p>



<h2>Follow along with these resources:</h2>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/5-7/">WordPress 5.7 Development Cycle</a><br />WordPress 5.7 Beta 1 is scheduled for February 2nd, 2021.</li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/">Keeping up with Gutenberg Index</a><br />if you missed a week or month with updates from team you can always go back </li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/category/weekend-edition/">Weekend Edition of the Gutenberg Times Archive</a>  </li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/">Gutenberg Changelog Podcast</a>, every other week. <br /></li></ul>



<form class="wp-block-newsletterglue-form ngl-form ngl-landscape" 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">The Weekend Edition via Email</label><div class="ngl-form-input"><input type="email" class="ngl-form-input-text" name="ngl_email" id="ngl_email" /></div></div><button class="ngl-form-button">Subscribe</button></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>



<h2>State of the Word 2020</h2>



<p>December 17, 2020, Matt Mullenweg gave his State of the Word talk with an extensive Q &amp; A afterwards with him and other team members. </p>



<ul><li><a href="https://wordpress.tv/2020/12/17/matt-mullenweg-2020-state-of-the-word/">26 minutes keynote</a></li><li><a href="https://wordpress.tv/2020/12/17/matt-mullenweg-2020-state-of-the-word-qa/">Questions and Answer session</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/site-editor-demo-sotw/">Site Editor coming to WordPress</a></li></ul>



<h2>WordPress 5.7 &#8211; March 2021</h2>



<p><strong>WordPress 5.7</strong> planning has already begun. </p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/5-7/">WordPress 5.7 Development Cycle</a></li><li>Francesca Marano posted <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/23/wordpress-5-7-whats-on-your-wishlist/">WordPress 5.7: What’s on your wishlist?</a> to collect input from the WordPress Community. </li><li>JB Audras posted a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/12/11/call-for-volunteers-early-bug-scrubs-for-wordpress-5-7/">Call for Volunteers – Early bug scrubs for WordPress 5.7</a></li></ul>



<h3>Block Editor in 2021 &#8211; Full-Site Editing and Global Styles</h3>



<p><strong>Matias Ventura</strong> posted a <strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/12/10/status-check-site-editing-and-customization/">Status Check: Site Editing and Customization</a></strong>. In this post, Ventura summarizes  the current status of Gutenberg’s Phase 2 Projects:  Site Editor, Block-based Themes, Navigation Block, Query Block, and Global Styles. </p>



<p>He ends with: &#8220;In terms of timelines, all of these are in advanced stages and can be used in the Gutenberg plugin already. The main hurdle to include the work in major WordPress releases are the various dependencies between each project when it comes to ensuring a great user experience. The immediate focus is then on completing the milestones, stabilizing the work, and doing as much testing with different kinds of users as possible. For that last purpose, there will be some calls for testing announced soon as part of the&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/handbook/full-site-editing-outreach-experiment/">Site Editing Outreach Program</a>.&#8221;</p>



<p><strong>🔖</strong>&nbsp;<strong>Bookmark&nbsp;<a href="https://gutenbergtimes.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=e3062ef0fb204dbbc2135b555&id=71d0f52b69&e=3e58a13321" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“Keeping up with Gutenberg – Index”</a>&nbsp;</strong><br />The WordPress Make Blog posts from various teams involved in Gutenberg development Phase 2 are listed on one page: Design, Theme Review Team, Core Editor, Core JS, Core CSS from June to December 2020</p>



<h2>WordPress 5.6  &#8211; December 2020</h2>



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<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2020/12/simone/">WordPress 5.6 “Simone”</a></blockquote>
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<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/12/03/wordpress-5-6-core-editor-overview/">WordPress 5.6: Core Editor Overview</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/11/20/wordpress-5-6-field-guide/">WordPress 5.6 Field Guide</a></li></ul>



<p><strong>Update May 13, 2020: </strong>Josepha Haden posted </p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2020/03/06/update-progress-on-goals/">Update: Progress on Goals</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/05/13/wordpress-5-5-planning-roundup/">WordPress 5.5 Planning Roundup</a></li></ul>



<h2>WP5.5 – August Release</h2>



<ul><li><strong>Feature Plugin</strong>: Automatic updates functionality for major WordPress Core releases (opt-in).</li><li><strong>Complete</strong>:&nbsp;<a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/13204">Convert the widgets-editing areas complete</a>.</li><li><strong>Complete</strong>:&nbsp;<a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/13489">Functionality for full site editing complete</a>&nbsp;behind experimental flag in the plugin.</li><li><strong>Complete</strong>: Global styles behind experimental flag in the plugin.</li><li><strong>Ship</strong>: Update WordPress Core to include current releases of the Gutenberg plugin.</li><li><strong>Ship</strong>: Navigation menus block in Core.</li><li><strong>Ship</strong>: Automatic updates for plugins and themes in Core.</li><li><strong>Ship</strong>: Block directory in Core.</li><li><strong>Ship</strong>:&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/01/27/feature-plugin-xml-sitemaps/">XML Sitemaps</a>&nbsp;</li><li><strong>Ship</strong>:&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/01/29/lazy-loading-images-in-wordpress-core/">Lazy Loading</a>&nbsp;</li></ul>



<p class="has-small-font-size">Quoted from Josepha&#8217;s post, these are <em>planned</em> items. </p>



<p class="has-small-font-size">&#8220;Current release of Gutenberg plugin&#8221;, means the current version at time of 5.5 Beta 1, which is <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/05/13/wordpress-5-5-planning-roundup/">planned for July 7, 2020</a>. It probably will be Gutenberg 8.5 or 8.6. Final release of 5.5 is scheduled for August 11, 2020. </p>



<h3>Design &amp; Dev Updates in May 2020</h3>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/05/06/whats-next-in-gutenberg-may/">What’s next in Gutenberg? (May)</a> by Riad Benguella</li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2020/05/08/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-52/">Gutenberg Phase 2 Friday Design Update #52</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2020/05/02/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-51/">Gutenberg Phase 2 Friday Design Update #51</a></li></ul>



<h3>Matt Mullenweg at WPBlockTalk</h3>



<p>Matt Mullenweg open the <strong>April 2, 2020, </strong>WPBlockTalk conference with an updated Gutenberg Roadmap and what&#8217;s next in Gutenberg and Matias showed off the Full-site Editing experience. </p>



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<h3>Design updates Gutenberg Phase 2 <br />Jan &#8211; April 2020</h3>



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<p>April 2020</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2020/04/24/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-50/">Update #50</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2020/04/17/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-49/">Update #49</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2020/04/10/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-48/">Update #48</a></li></ul>
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<div class="wp-block-column">
<p>March 2020</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2020/03/28/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-47/">Update #47</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2020/03/20/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-46/">Update #46</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2020/03/13/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-45-2/">Update #45</a></li></ul>
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<div class="wp-block-column">
<p>Jan / February 2020</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2020/02/21/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-45/">Update #45</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2020/01/31/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-44/">Update #44</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2020/01/24/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-43/">Update #43</a></li></ul>
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<h2>Update on nine focus projects</h2>



<p>In <strong>December 2019</strong>, Josepha Haden, executive direct of the open-source projects published a<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/12/06/update-9-projects-for-2019/">n update on the nine focus projects</a>. </p>



<p>The migration of the widgets to blocks and the merge of the Site Health project into core were shipped in 5.3.</p>



<p>For the work in progress, Josepha also added the targeted versions, when we can expect them in core. </p>



<ul><li><strong>Navigation Block </strong>to build menus (5.5)</li><li><strong>Block Directory</strong> for discovery and installation single block plugins from the Block Inserter (5.5)</li><li><strong>Automating update</strong> opt-in for plugins and themes (5.5)</li><li><strong>Themes registering content areas</strong> for block editor (5.6)</li><li><strong>Widget areas and Customizer</strong> are able to use blocks (5.6)</li><li><strong>Automatic update</strong> of major core releases (5.6) </li></ul>



<p>The <a href="https://wordpress.org/about/roadmap/">WordPress Core Roadmap page</a> shows the target dates for the next releases.  WordPress 5.5 is planned for August 2020 (Call for tickets has already been published) and WordPress 5.6 is slated to be released in December 2020. </p>



<h3><strong>Gutenberg Phase 2 Updates<br />September &#8211; December 2019</strong></h3>



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<p>Nov / December 2019</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/12/20/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-42/">Update #42</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/12/07/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-41/">Update #41</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/11/22/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-40/">Update #40</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/11/08/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-39/">Update #39</a></li></ul>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-column">
<p>October 2019</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/10/25/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-38/">Update #38</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/10/18/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-37/">Update #37</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/10/11/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-36/">Update #36</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/10/04/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-35/">Update #35</a></li></ul>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-column">
<p>September 2019</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/10/11/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-36/">Update #34</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/09/06/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-33/">Update #33</a></li></ul>
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</div>
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<h2>State of the Word 2019 &#8211; Matt Mullenweg </h2>



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<p>During his State of the Word 2019 in St. Louis in October 2019, Matt Mullenweg talked a lot about the first full year of Gutenberg. </p>



<h3>The Four Phases of Gutenberg. </h3>



<ol><li>Easier Editing &#8211; already in Core, refinement is ongoing</li><li>Customization &#8211; Full Site editing, Block Patterns, Block Directory, Block based themes</li><li>Collaboration &#8211; A more Google Doc co-authoring </li><li>Multi-lingual &#8211; Core implementation for Multi-lingual sites. </li></ol>



<p>Currently, it&#8217;s all about Phase 2,  and not only to make the post / page content editable via the block editor but add site-building capabilities to the block editor. The goal is to provide a single interface for all site customizations. </p>



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



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<h3>Gutenb<strong>erg Phase 2 Updates</strong><br /><strong>June &#8211; August 2019</strong></h3>



<div class="wp-block-columns">
<div class="wp-block-column">
<p><strong>August 2019</strong></p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/08/30/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-32/">Update #32</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/08/23/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-31/">Update #31</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/08/16/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-30/">Update #30</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/08/09/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-29/">Update #29</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/08/02/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-28/">Update #28</a></li></ul>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-column">
<p><strong>July 2019</strong></p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/07/19/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-27/">Update #27</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/07/12/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-26/">Update #26</a></li><li>*</li></ul>
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<div class="wp-block-column">
<p><strong>June 2019</strong></p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/06/28/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-24/">Update #24</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/06/21/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-23/">Update #23</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/06/14/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-22/">Update #22</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/06/07/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-21/">Update #21</a></li></ul>
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<p class="has-text-align-right">*There is no Update #25</p>
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<p><em>Updated July 4th, 2019 with Mullenweg&#8217;s Summer update. </em></p>



<h2>WordCamp Europe 2019</h2>



<p>At WordCamp Europe, Matt Mullenweg gave his Summer Update. </p>



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</div>



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<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/on-gutenberg-resources-matt-mullenwegs-summer-update-at-wordcamp-europe/">On Gutenberg (Resources) &#8211; Matt Mullenweg&#8217;s Summer Update at WordCamp Europe</a></blockquote>
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<h3><strong>Weekly Gutenberg Phase 2 Updates </strong><br /><strong>March &#8211; May 2019</strong></h3>



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<p class="has-text-align-left"><strong>May 2019</strong></p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/05/31/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-20/">Update #20</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/05/24/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-19/">Update #19</a>  </li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/05/17/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-18/">Update #18</a> </li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/05/10/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-17/">Update #17</a> </li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/04/26/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-16/">Update #16</a> </li></ul>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-column">
<p class="has-text-align-left"><strong>April 2019</strong></p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/04/19/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-15/">Update #15</a> </li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/04/12/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-14/">Update #14</a> </li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/04/05/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-13/">Update #13</a> </li></ul>
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<div class="wp-block-column">
<p class="has-text-align-left has-normal-font-size"><strong>March 2019</strong></p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/03/29/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-12/">Update #12</a> </li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/03/22/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-11/">Update #11</a> </li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/03/15/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-10/">Update #10</a> </li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/03/08/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-9/">Update #9</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/03/01/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-8/">Update #8</a></li></ul>
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<h2>Progress on <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#9projects">Nine Projects</a>. </h2>



<p><em>February 11, 2019.</em>  </p>



<ul><li>#1 Navigation Menu is still in discussion on GitHub. (<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/13690" target="_blank">#13690</a>)</li><li>#2 has been moved forward already for quite a bit. The latest Gutenberg release(5.0), incorporated the RSS widget. Mel Choyce publishes regular <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/02/05/porting-widgets-to-blocks-feb-4-2019/">updates on this particular project</a></li><li>#3 is coupled with #2</li><li>#4 hasn&#8217;t started yet </li><li>#5 Partial integration in core is scheduled for the WordPress 5.1 release</li><li>#6 &amp; #7 haven&#8217;t started yet</li><li>#8 hastn&#8217;t started yet. It is the one that&#8217;s most exciting to me, as the proliferation of blocks are getting a bit overwhelming. </li><li>#9 The Core is still discussing best methodology and taxonomy for ticket gardening. Jon Desrosiers <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/01/04/short-term-trac-milestone-ticket-triage-proposal/">published a proposal</a> on how to handle punted tickets in the short term and also how to manage the other open tickets.  </li></ul>



<h3>Design Updates for Gutenberg Phase 2</h3>



<p>Every Friday, Mark Uraine publishes Updates for Gutenberg Phase 2 on the make/design blog. Here is the list: </p>



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<p>February 2019</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/02/22/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-7/">Update #7</a> (Feb 22, 2019)</li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/02/15/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-6/">Update #6</a> (Feb 15, 2019)</li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/02/08/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-5/">Update #5&nbsp;(Feb&nbsp;8,&nbsp;2019)</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/02/01/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-4/">Update #4&nbsp;(Feb&nbsp;1,&nbsp;2019)</a></li></ul>
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<p>January 2019</p>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/01/25/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-3/">Update #3&nbsp;(Jan&nbsp;25,&nbsp;2019</a><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/01/18/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update-2/">Update #2&nbsp;(Jan&nbsp;18,&nbsp;2019)</a><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2019/01/11/gutenberg-phase-2-friday-design-update/"> Update&nbsp;#1&nbsp;(Jan&nbsp;11,&nbsp;2019</a></p>
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<h2 id="9projects">Nine Projects for 2019 </h2>



<p><em>Dec 8th, 2019. </em>A couple days after the WordPress 5.0 release, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/12/08/9-priorities-for-2019/">Matt Mullenweg posted</a> on the make/core blog the 9 projects for 2019, highlighting what he outlined in his <a href="https://wordpress.tv/2018/12/27/state-of-the-word-2018/">State of the Word at WordCamp US 2018</a></p>



<ol><li>Creating a block for navigation menus.</li><li>Porting all existing widgets to blocks.</li><li>Upgrading the widgets-editing&nbsp;areas in&nbsp;<code>wp-admin/widgets.php</code>&nbsp;and the Customizer to support blocks.</li><li>Providing a way for themes to visually register content areas, and&nbsp;exposing that in Gutenberg.</li><li>Merging&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/health-check/">the site health check plugin</a>&nbsp;into Core, to assist with debugging and encouraging good software hygiene.</li><li>Providing a way for users to opt-in to automatic plugin and theme updates.</li><li>Providing a way for users to opt-in to automatic updates of major Core releases.</li><li>Building a WordPress.org directory for discovering blocks, and a way to seamlessly install them.</li><li>Forming a Triage team to tackle our&nbsp;<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=accepted&status=assigned&status=new&status=reopened&status=reviewing&order=priority">6,500 open issues on Trac</a>.</li></ol>



<h2><em>WordPress 5.0 &#8220;Bebo&#8221; released on December 6th, 2018</em></h2>



<p><em>December 6th, 2018. </em>Today around 1:30pm ET, the core team released the WordPress 5.0 and with it the new block editor&nbsp; as default editor for content creators.&nbsp; </p>



<a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2018/12/bebo/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img /></a>Putting the final touches on the WordPress 5.0 release:  Tammie Lister, Gary Pendergast, Jonathan Desrosiers and William Earnhardt at WordCamp US  2018



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2018/12/bebo/">WordPress 5.0 “Bebo”</a></blockquote>
</div>


<ul class="wp-block-latest-posts__list is-grid columns-3 wp-block-latest-posts"><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/full-site-editing/">Full-Site-Editing: MVP and Ultimate Resource List</a></li>
<li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/mullenweg-on-gutenberg-roll-out-plan/">Gutenberg, Block Editor and WordPress Roadmap</a></li>
<li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/full-site-editing-testing/">Full-Site Editing Testing, Merge Timeline, and Plugins for Block Editor Weekend Edition #162</a></li>
</ul>


<hr class="wp-block-separator gt-sep-navy" />



<p><em>December 3rd, 2018.&nbsp;</em> <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/12/04/new-5-0-target-date/">Matt Mullenweg posted</a> the new target date for the WordPress 5.0: December 6th, 2018, <a href="http://php.net/archive/2018.php#id2018-11-22-1">the same day PHP 7.3 will be released</a>. WordPress 5.0 includes not only the new Block editor but also compatibility fixes for the new PHP version. <br /></p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>Based on the stability, testing, and reports on the release candidates for WordPress 5.0 so far, we are now targeting Thursday&nbsp;<strong>December 6th</strong> for public release and announcement. 5.0.1 will open for commits soon, and will be an area people can choose to focus on at the contributor day at WordCamp US in Nashville this Sunday.<br />As before, if new information arises that indicates the software is not stable, we will adjust or remove the target date.</p></blockquote>



<p>Below Questions and Answers are taken from <a href="https://ma.tt/2018/11/a-gutenberg-faq/">Matt Mullenweg&#8217;s&nbsp; Gutenberg FAQs&nbsp;</a> as well as from his <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/12/04/new-5-0-target-date/">post about the new target date.</a><br /></p>



<div class="schema-faq wp-block-yoast-faq-block"><div class="schema-faq-section" id="faq-question-1543929591132"><strong class="schema-faq-question">Do I have to switch to Gutenberg when WordPress 5.0 is released? <br /></strong> <p class="schema-faq-answer">Not at all. When it’s released, you get to choose what happens. You can install the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/classic-editor/">Classic Editor plugin</a> today and when 5.0 is released, nothing will change. We’ve commited to supporting and updating Classic Editor until 2022. If you’d like to <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/gutenberg/">install Gutenberg early</a>, you can do that now too. The Classic Editor plugin has been available for 13 months now, and Gutenberg has been available for 18 months. Both have been heavily promoted since August 2018, and more than 1.3 million .org sites have opted-in already to either experience, so nothing will change for them when they update to 5.0.</p> </div> <div class="schema-faq-section" id="faq-question-1543929747530"><strong class="schema-faq-question">Is it terrible to do a release in December?</strong> <p class="schema-faq-answer">Some people think so, some don’t. There have been <a href="https://wordpress.org/about/roadmap/">9 major WordPress releases</a> in previous Decembers. December releases actually comprise 34% of our major releases in the past decade.</p> </div> <div class="schema-faq-section" id="faq-question-1543932662856"><strong class="schema-faq-question">What if I don’t want to update on that date, or I’m not ready?</strong> <p class="schema-faq-answer">That’s totally okay, there’s nothing that says you must update the moment there’s a new version released. You can push the button whenever you’re ready.</p> </div> <div class="schema-faq-section" id="faq-question-1543932734088"><strong class="schema-faq-question">What if I want to upgrade but I’m not ready for Gutenberg?</strong> <p class="schema-faq-answer">No problem, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/classic-editor/">install the Classic Editor plugin</a> and 5.0 will be indistinguishable from 4.9.8 for your posting and editing experience, and you’ll still get the other improvements and fixes that have gone into 5.0. Classic Editor is supported until 2022, and now allows you to switch between Classic and Gutenberg on a per-user or per-post level.</p> </div> </div>



<p><em>November 30, 2018. </em><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/11/29/5-0-gutenberg-status-update-nov-29/">WordPress 5.0 RC2&nbsp;</a> is scheduled for&nbsp; today. Earlier this morning the team released <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/11/30/whats-new-in-gutenberg-30th-november/">Gutenberg 4.6.1.</a>&nbsp; &#8220;This brings plugin up to parity with RC2 packages&#8221;&nbsp; noted Matias Ventura on the #core-editor Slack channel.&nbsp; <br /><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/11/30/5-0-gutenberg-status-update-nov-30/">Read also today&#8217;s status update on the Make.Core Blog</a><br /></p>



<h3>When will 5.0 be released?</h3>



<p>Read Matt Mullenweg&#8217;s answer in his blog post: &#8220;<a href="https://ma.tt/2018/11/a-gutenberg-faq/">WordPress 5.0: A Gutenberg&nbsp;FAQ</a>&#8220;<br /></p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><em>We have had a stable RC1, which stands for first release candidate, and about to do our second one. There is only currently one known blocker and it’s cosmetic. The stability and open issues in the release candidates thus far makes me optimistic we can release soon, but as before the primary driver will be the stability and quality of the underlying software. We made the mistake prior of announcing dates when lots of code was still changing, and had to delay because of regressions and bugs. Now that things aren’t changing, we’re approaching a time we can commit to a date soon.</em></p><cite><a href="https://ma.tt/2018/11/a-gutenberg-faq/"></a>Matt Mullenweg answer in <a href="https://ma.tt/2018/11/a-gutenberg-faq/">his blog post&nbsp; Nov 29, 2018</a><br /></cite></blockquote>



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



<p><em>November 23, 2018</em> WordPress 5.0 RC1 &#8211; the first release candidate was released about 4 days late.&nbsp; On Nov 21, Matias Ventura wrote: &#8220;The date for 5.0 release is under consideration, given it’s not plausible for it to be the on 27th. &#8220;</p>



<span id="more-6188"></span>



<p>Gutenberg 4.5.1 was released Nov 20th. This is the last Gutenberg version before the 5.0 Final release. There will be bug fixes in between, but no more changes to API etc. &#8211; or so I hear. It&#8217;s included in the WordPress 5.0 Release candidate 1 version. You can test both via the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/">WordPress Beta plugin.</a></p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><strong>The WordPress 5.0 release date has shifted from the 27th to give more time for the RC to be fully tested</strong>. A final release date will be announced soon, based on feedback on the RC.<br /></p><cite>Matias Ventura, <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2018/11/wordpress-5-0-release-candidate/">on the make.core blog</a><br /></cite></blockquote>



<p>Unless they are blockers to the 5.0 release, newly found issues will be tagged for Gutenberg 4.6 and 5.0.1. <br /></p>



<p><em>November 9, 2018.&nbsp; </em>Developer lead for Gutenberg, Matias Ventura <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/11/09/update-on-5-0-release-schedule/">announced today the updated schedule</a> for WordPress 5.0 release:&nbsp;</p>



<ul><li>Final release scheduled for November 27, 2018 </li><li>Beta 4:&nbsp; Monday November 12, 2018 </li><li>Beta 5: Thursday, November 15, 2018<br /></li><li>Release Candidate 1: Monday November 19, 2018</li></ul>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>After listening to a lot of feedback — as well as looking at current issues, ongoing pull requests, and general progress — we’re going to take an extra week to make sure everything is fully dialed in (&#8230;)<br /></p><cite>Matias Ventura, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/11/09/update-on-5-0-release-schedule/">on make.blog November 9th, 2018.</a><br /></cite></blockquote>







<p><em>October 31, 2018.</em> After the first beta release date slipped to October 24, Gary Pendergast <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/10/31/wordpress-5-0-schedule-updates/">updated the release schedule </a>yesterday. He added a few more Beta release dates, which pushed the RC 1 to November 12th. The final release date of November 19, hasn&#8217;t been moved, though. </p>



<ul><li><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2018/10/wordpress-5-0-beta-2/">Beta 2</a> released Oct 30</li><li><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2018/11/wordpress-5-0-beta-3/">Beta 3:</a> released Nov 5, 2018</li><li>Beta 4: November 5, 2018&nbsp;</li><li>RC 1: November 12, 2018</li><li>Final release: November 19, 2018</li></ul>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/10/31/wordpress-5-0-schedule-updates/">Details can be viewed in the post on make.wordpress</a></p>



<p><em>Updated Nov 6, 2018: updated with release dates and post for Betas 2 + 3 bph</em></p>



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<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/10/31/wordpress-5-0-schedule-updates/">WordPress 5.0 Schedule Updates</a></blockquote>
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<p><em>Also updated the photo credit. The feature image was shot by </em><a href="http://www.instagram.com/adspedia/"><em>Val Vesa </em></a><em>and can be found on </em><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wceu/41176987410/"><em>WCEU&#8217;s Flickr account</em></a></p>



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<p><em>On October 3rd, 2018</em>, Matt Mullenweg published <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/10/03/a-plan-for-5-0/">&#8220;A Plan for 5.0&#8221; </a>on the WordPress Make Blog with the leadership team that will push Gutenberg over the finish line of becoming the default editor for WordPress.</p>



<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/10/03/a-plan-for-5-0/"><img /></a>



<p><strong>Gary Pendergast</strong>, WordPress Core Developer, followed suit with his post; <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/10/03/proposed-wordpress-5-0-scope-and-schedule/">Proposed WordPress 5.0 Scope and Schedule</a></p>



<h3>The Scope: </h3>



<ul><li>Merging the Gutenberg plugin into trunk.</li><li>Updating the default themes to work well with the block editor</li><li>Creating the new Twenty Nineteen theme.</li><li>Creating an upgrade experience to remove the Gutenberg plugin and offer the Classic Editor plugin.</li></ul>



<h3>The Schedule</h3>



<ul><li><strong>October 3, 2018 WordPress 5.0 Kickoff meeting&nbsp;</strong><br /></li><li><strong>October 19: Beta 1</strong><br /></li><li><strong>October 30: RC 1</strong><br /></li><li><strong>November 19:&nbsp; Release</strong><br /></li></ul>



<p><em>&#8220;We know there is a chance that 5.0 will need additional time, so these dates can slip by up to 8 days if needed. If additional time beyond that is required, we will instead aim for the following dates:&#8221; Gary wrote,</em></p>



<ul><li><strong>Secondary RC 1</strong>: January 8, 2019</li><li><strong>Secondary Release</strong>: January 22, 2019</li></ul>



<p>The following days, strong voices suggested to make Plan B to Plan A and not release WordPress 5.0 until after the busiest online business time of the year for the United States universe. </p>



<p>Here an opinion piece on the WPTavern: &#8220;<a href="https://wptavern.com/if-deadlines-are-not-arbitrary-why-not-release-wordpress-5-0-in-the-beginning-of-january">If Deadlines Are Not Arbitrary, Why Not Release WordPress 5.0 in the Beginning of January?</a>&#8220;</p>



<p>At <a href="https://www.paulisystems.net/gutenberg-ready/">Pauli Systems</a>, we plan to beta-best WordPress 5.0, help surfacing problems and report them either on Trac or on GitHub. The amount of issues and the time it will take to fix them will determine the final release date for WordPress 5.0.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large"><p>With the track record on estimating release dates this year, there might be a RC (Release Candidate) in November. It seems to be a given that the final release will be pushed into late January 2019.</p><cite><em>Birgit Pauli-Haack,Oct 3rd, 2018 0&nbsp; <a href="https://www.paulisystems.net/gutenberg-ready/">Pauli Systems</a></em></cite></blockquote>



<h2>WordPress 5.0 Kick-off Meeting </h2>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2018/10/04/dev-chat-summary-october-3rd-5-0-week-1/">Dev Chat Summary: October 3rd (5.0 Week 1)</a></blockquote>
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<p><em>updated: October 5, 2018 / bph</em></p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator gt-sep-navy" />



<p>At WordCamp Europe, co-founder of WordPress and CEO of Automattic, Matt Mullenweg, laid out the Gutenberg roadmap for the next three months.</p>



<p>For the rest of June, the development team will work on the few issues and features that are identified to land in the first core version. </p>



<p>In July more users will be able to use Gutenberg on wordpress.com as well as on self-hosted WordPress sites <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/try-out-gutenberg-call-out-will-be-in-4-9-5-release/">via a &#8220;Try Gutenberg&#8221; prompt in a future 4.9.x version.</a></p>



<p>In August, the team will work on bug fixes and the merge proposal to land in WordPress Core. Mullenweg said that after one hundred thousand users and two hundered fifty thousand blog posts, Gutenberg could be ready to be released with WordPress 5.0 as soon as August. He also stress he is not making any promises, though. <br /></p>



<img />



<h2>The Gutenberg Roadmap</h2>



<h3>June 2018<br /></h3>



<ul><li>Freeze new features into Gutenberg<br /></li><li>Hosts, agencies and teachers invited to opt-in sites they have influence over. </li><li>Opt-in for wp-admin users on WP.com</li><li>Mobile App support in the Aztec editor across iOs and Android.</li></ul>



<h3>July 2018</h3>



<ul><li>4.9.x release with a strong invitation to install either Gutenberg or Classic Editor plugin</li><li>Opt-out for wp-admin users on WP.com</li><li>Heavy triage and bug gardening, getting blockers to zero</li><li>Explore expanding Gutenberg beyond the post into site customization. </li></ul>



<h3>August 2018 and beyond<br /></h3>



<ul><li>All critical issues resolved</li><li>Integration with Calypso, offering opt-in users.</li><li>100k+ sites having makde 250k+ post using Gutenberg</li><li>Core merge, beginning the 5.0 release cycle.</li><li>5.0 beta releases and translations completed</li><li>Mobile version of Gutenberg by the end of the year.</li></ul>



<h2>Video: Gutenberg Roadmap section of Matt Mullenweg&#8217;s Keynote</h2>



<p><em>Find the transcript&nbsp; below.</em></p>



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<p><strong>Update July 6, 2018</strong><br />So far the Gutenberg section of <a href="https://wordpress.tv/2018/07/04/matt-mullenweg-a-summertime-update-keynote-and-qa/">Matt Mullenweg&#8217;s &#8220;Summertime Update&#8221;</a>. Earlier this month, the volunteers of WordCamp Europe uploaded the video of the <a href="https://wordpress.tv/2018/07/04/matt-mullenweg-a-summertime-update-keynote-and-qa/">whole keynote to WordPress TV</a>.</p>



<a href="https://wpbuffs.com/pricing/affilibuff/paulisystems/"><img src="https://i0.wp.com/wpbuffs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Care-Plan-Wide.jpg?w=640&ssl=1" alt="WP Buffs" /></a>



<p><em>Featured Image: </em>Photo by Stephen M. Blythe, <a href="https://allmyfriendsarejpegs.com">allmyfriendsarejpegs.com</a></p>



<h2>Transcript: Matt Mullenweg&#8217;s Keynote at WordCamp Europe (Excerpt)<br /></h2>



<p>(&#8230;) The major features that are in effect so far are we have a block based writing experience, with over 20 blocks built in. Gutenberg is fully adaptive, meaning that whether you&#8217;re looking at it on a small screen, a medium screen, a large screen, a huge screen, the design and the functionality adapts to be fluid and easy to use on any of those.</p>



<p>There is ah, there we go &#8230; Optimized for direct manipulation of content, so we&#8217;re bringing it closer to where what you&#8217;re editing looks a lot more like what you&#8217;re seeing on the front page. They have a block aid [inaudible 00:00:43], support for static and dynamic blocks.</p>



<h3>Matt&#8217;s Favorite Gutenberg Feature: Copy/Paste API</h3>



<p>This is one of my favorite, the universal API, which is copy and paste. Who&#8217;s ever tried to copy and paste things into the WordPress editor, or anyplace else, and it just goes kind of sideways?</p>



<p>Gutenberg already has support for fully supported copy and paste from Google Docs, a Apple&#8217;s Pages, everyone&#8217;s favorite Microsoft Word, Office 365, Evernote, Legacy WordPress, random webpages, and then finally something that I know will be very popular with this audience is Markdown.</p>



<p>That&#8217;s actually what you are seeing in this little GIF there, is a copy and paste from a Markdown source. That&#8217;s a note editor or for wherever you want. You paste into Gutenberg, it translates it just instantly into Gutenberg blocks. It&#8217;s very, very slick. If you haven&#8217;t tried this yet, I&#8217;d highly recommend trying it. It&#8217;s one of my favorite hidden features alongside &#8230; I&#8217;ll tell you about my other favorite hidden feature. Which is that when you copy and paste the URL onto some text, it auto links it. Saves a ton of time.</p>



<h3>Templates, Shared Blocks, Nested Blocks and Child Blocks</h3>



<p>There are templates for predefined blocks. This is starting to go into where you can see hints of where we are going to end up, with full site customization with this. Which basically allows you to create for your users or for yourself kind of pre-built layouts where you can say, &#8220;Okay. A title goes here, an image goes here, some text goes here, a map goes here.&#8221; That can be reused over and over again, or assigned to entire pages. There&#8217;s shared blogs, so if you do want to reuse things across the entire site, that can be a shared unified resource. So when you edit it once, it shows up everywhere.</p>



<p>And finally, we are very excited about, that we have nested blocks and child blocks. These are blocks within blocks. Like it&#8217;s turtles and blocks all the way down, and child blocks, which only work if the parent block is there. Perhaps like your children. Media drag and drop. Extensions where you can add extra things to the sidebar. Like this beautiful &#8220;Hello Belgrade&#8221; extension here.</p>



<h2>30 Gutenberg releases, 1,700 issues open , 1,100 closed</h2>



<p>There have been 30 Gutenberg releases, since we started, and 12 just since WordCamp US in December. As you can see, this is kind of running through all the different releases. There have been over 1,700 issues opened, and 1,100 closed in the Gutenberg Project thus far. From the development point of view, I&#8217;m very proud of it. We have open development, design-led testing in our releases, presentations across pretty much every WordCamp now, including here. It&#8217;s developed a wide awareness. Support and awareness in every single page builder out there. You know the names.</p>



<p>We already have people who&#8217;ve extended Gutenberg through plugins they are starting to pick up in the directory, and major sites. Agencies and others have been building and launching things with Gutenberg because, to be honest, it works. It&#8217;s not perfect yet. We&#8217;re not ready to release it yet, but for the things it does, it does them well. You can actually start using this in production already.</p>



<p>There are now 14,000 sites actively using Gutenberg. So this isn&#8217;t just installed it&#8217;s actually active. Just released this week are tools for enterprises. This one called <a href="https://vip.wordpress.com/2018/06/13/jumpstart-gutenberg-testing-transition-ramp/">Gutenberg Ramp</a>, which is a new plugin from VIP which basically allows them to turn Gutenberg on for certain post ID&#8217;s, page ID&#8217;s or content text. So that way you can start to phase in. Say you have a really complex setup of WordPress and maybe certain post types of things, extra customization. You can start to turn Gutenberg on for parts of it, not for others until you get to the point where you have everything on and fully done.</p>



<p>But the question I&#8217;m going to preempt it, so you don&#8217;t need to ask it is &#8220;What&#8217;s coming next in the world of Gutenbergification?&#8221; Which is just kinda fun to say. It sounds almost like a German word right?</p>



<h3>Roadmap For Gutenberg Roll-Out</h3>



<h4>Happening in June</h4>



<p>Here&#8217;s the roadmap. So these are things happening in June which means they are highly .. [inaudible] . First I&#8217;m going to freeze new features coming in to Gutenberg. We&#8217;ve reached a point where there is a functionality that matches in affect of in the area it exceeds what we accomplished in the editor. We&#8217;re gonna encourage host agencies and teachers to start opting in folks that they have influence over to start using Gutenberg. Now very much &#8230; especially if it&#8217;s someone who you&#8217;re working with close to so that you can start to gather feedback from third party users of it, people who are involved in development everyday and pass that back, of course, to developers. This is to compliment the user testing, since the user testing that we&#8217;ve already been doing.</p>



<p>One of the hosts that&#8217;s gonna be sort of contributing to this is WordPress.com so there is several hundred thousand, in the high numbers of thousands folks from WordPress.com that actually use wp-admin interface primarily. So we&#8217;re gonna be offering a call to action to opt-in. You can start using it very soon. One of the key measures that we are tracking there are the number of sites and the number of posts that are using this.</p>



<p>Then finally the mobile apps, which I said are getting more and more popular. Right now, if you move between editing things in the mobile apps, Gutenberg, it breaks in pretty spectacular fashion. So within the next few weeks that will be all fixed up across both IOS and Android. </p>



<h4>Coming up in July: Thousands more users .org and .com<br /></h4>



<p>Coming up in July, there is going to be a 4.9 point WordPress release that has a <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/try-out-gutenberg-call-out-will-be-in-4-9-5-release/">strong invitation in the dashboard.</a> The first time we&#8217;ve had this, to either install Gutenberg or the Classic Editor Plugin. So basically we will be encouraging people to get on the train early, or if when 5.0 comes out and your site is not gonna be ready for it, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/classic-editor/">install the Classic Editor Plugin</a>. For those who don&#8217;t know, basically locks in your site to use how WordPress WYSIWYG editor&nbsp; works today. So it kinda opts you out of Gutenberg. We&#8217;re, of course, going to be tracking the use of both those.</p>



<p>We&#8217;re gonna switch to opt-in for their wp-admin on dot com to be opt-out and I&#8217;m tracking who opts out and trying to gather as much data from them as well because there&#8217;s gonna be a lot of information there, especially from people who might be using third party plugins on WordPress.com. Be a heavy, heavy triage on bug gardening, getting all the blockers to zero. Then finally, we&#8217;re gonna actually kick off and maybe even branch off the customization leads to start the work for what we wanna launch hopefully this year. Which is more of the full site editing experience of Gutenberg.</p>



<h4>In August and Beyond: Merge Proposal<br /></h4>



<p>So in August and beyond we&#8217;ll have all critical issues resolved. It&#8217;ll be integrated with the Calypso interface on WordPress.com, which is where the majority of people use it. I want to have 100,000 sites, 250,000 posts made, so 100,000 sites active with Gutenberg over 10x, where it is today, about 10x where it is today. A quarter million posts I think we&#8217;ll be able to say that a lot of the bugs will be worked out. We&#8217;re gonna merge with Core beginning the 5.0 release cycle. So beta releases, translations and then finally we are planning &#8230; there&#8217;s work undergoing, it&#8217;s not ready yet, but there will be full mobile versions of Gutenberg at the end of the year in the iOS and Android app.</p>



<p>By August, they won&#8217;t break when you move between them. Of course, Gutenberg is done in a way that makes the content and the Markup backwards compatible. We&#8217;re actually gonna have the blocks supported in the mobile apps so that as you drag and drop blocks, move them around, have different sort of fun things you can do, that&#8217;ll all be there.</p>



<p>We could have a 5.0 as soon as August. Some of these things that I put up there, I&#8217;m very, very sure about. The big thing that we&#8217;re not sure about is as we vastly increase the average usage of Gutenberg across hopefully 100,000 sites. &#8220;What&#8217;s gonna come in?&#8221; </p>



<h4>Not date promised, though. </h4>



<p>The non-deterministic nature of fixing bugs means that I don&#8217;t know exactly the issues that could raise. Whether they&#8217;re going to be small tweaks or rather they might be sort of huge things that are going to require a few weeks of development. That is why I can&#8217;t promise you a date but we&#8217;ve done a lot of testing this far so the nature of bugs that we find &#8230; there&#8217;s no black swans in there of bugs. I do think that 5.0 is gonna be ready within a relatively short time frame.&nbsp; And that&#8217;s all I got so thank you very much.</p>



<p></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sun, 14 Mar 2021 22:30:07 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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:10;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:109:"Gutenberg Times: Full-Site Editing Testing, Merge Timeline, and Plugins for Block Editor Weekend Edition #162";s:7:"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=17216";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/full-site-editing-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:18059:"<p>Howdy, </p>



<p>With the WordPress 5.7 out of the way, the next couple of month are all about Full-site Editing testing and planing for 5.8. </p>



<p>I love it when a plan comes together! The WordPress team responsible for the release of the 5.7 version delivered on time. <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/03/esperanza/"><strong>Meet “Esperanza”, the first WordPress release of 2021</strong></a>. Marvel again at the numbers: Contributors (457), Trac tickets (250) and  Pull Requests on GitHub(950). </p>



<p> <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/AudrasJb">Jean-Baptist Audras</a></strong>, team rep of the core team, documentation release lead and data wizard compiled additional information about contributors, by country and employers. <a href="https://datastudio.google.com/u/0/reporting/a496c333-7e64-412c-9299-9ea2c84e5d2c/page/j595B?s=gxzoCOs8rSk"><strong>Have a sneak peek on his material</strong></a>, JB will soon share in a blog post. </p>



<p>If it&#8217;s been a while since you checked on the Gutenberg state of affairs, there are plenty of resources in today&#8217;s edition. Let me get out of your way now.  </p>



<p>Yours, 💕<br />Birgit</p>



<p>PS: 🎙️ The new episode, number <strong><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/changelog-39-gutenberg-site-editor/">#39 of the Changelog</a> </strong>is now available with show notes and transcript. </p>





<h2>Full Site Editing Updates</h2>



<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/JosephaHaden">Josepha Haden Chomphosy</a></strong> published in her <strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2021/03/12/full-site-editing-pre-merge-overview/">full-site editing pre-merge overview</a> </strong>an updated time line of decision-making on the prototype/MVP and communication roll-out for the merge of Full-Site Editing (FSE) into the core software. As far as I understood it, the team will decide  on April 13 or 27, if a successful merge can be achieved for the 5.8 release in July (Yes, it was moved a month) or if it will be pushed to 5.9 in December 2021. </p>



<p>Josepha wrote: <em>&#8220;The following is an outline of the communication work needed in the pre-merge period for Phase 2 of the Gutenberg project. This will put us in a position to merge Full Site Editing later this year while raising awareness and increasing the skills of our community as we go.&#8221;</em> She lists in bullet points, the who, what, why,  of the various teams to work together on this feature&#8217;s roll-out. </p>



<p>In a follow-up post<strong>, </strong>Josepha shared the core team&#8217;s <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/03/12/early-thoughts-on-wp5-8-planning/"><strong>early thoughts on 5.8 Planning</strong></a> and elaborated on the changes, depending on if FSE will be merged or not in assembling the release team. </p>




<p><strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;Keeping up with Gutenberg &#8211; Index&#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. <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index-2020/">The index 2020 is here</a></p>




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<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/geoffreygraham">Geoff Graham</a></strong> discussed <a href="https://css-tricks.com/the-wordpress-evolution-toward-full-site-editing/"><strong>The WordPress Evolution Toward Full-Site Editing</strong></a> at CSS-Tricks. He wrote: <em>&#8220;I’m personally all-in on this direction. I’d even go so far as to say (peeking over my shoulder at Chris) that CSS-Tricks is all-in on this as well. <a href="https://css-tricks.com/wordpress-block-transforms/">We made the switch to blocks</a> last year, and it has reinvigorated our love for writing blog posts just like this one.&#8221;</em> </p>



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



<h3>Calls for Testing Full-Site Editing</h3>



<p>Are you as excited about Full-Site Editing as I am? Well, I can&#8217;t wait to follow <strong>Anne McCarthy&#8217;</strong>s <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/03/09/fse-program-testing-call-3-create-a-fun-custom-404-page/"><strong>third call for FSE testing</strong></a>. This time she envisions you to <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/03/09/fse-program-testing-call-3-create-a-fun-custom-404-page/">create a fun 404 page</a>, something you normally couldn&#8217;t do without touching a php file and look at code. It&#8217;s called 404 because that&#8217;s the error code from web servers when they receive a browser request for a URL that doesn&#8217;t exist. If you need some inspiration the people at CreativeBloq have a <a href="https://www.creativebloq.com/web-design/best-404-pages-812505">great collection of 404 pages</a>. </p>



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



<p><strong>Sarah Gooding</strong> walked the path before you, and shared her experience on the WPTavern, calling it the <strong><a href="https://wptavern.com/new-full-site-editing-testing-challenge-create-a-custom-404-page">Full Site Editing Testing Challenge</a></strong>. </p>



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<p>The results of the second testing call are in. <strong>Anne McCarthy</strong> published the summary overall comments:  <strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/03/12/fse-program-build-a-homepage-testing-summary/">FSE Program Build a Homepage Testing</a></strong>. The team gained invaluable information from those tests reports. 29 GitHub Issues were either confirmed, commented on or newly filed. </p>



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




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



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




<h2>Block Editor for Content Creators</h2>



<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/critterverse">Channing Ritter</a></strong>, a new contributor on the design team she designed a site with large type, Dark Mode detection, and other accessibility-friendly styling such as visible underlines and focus states on links with the block editor. In her article <strong><a href="https://automattic.design/2021/03/12/accessibility-in-the-block-editor/">Accessibility in the Block Editor</a>: A Beginners Guide.</strong> She wrote about the <em>&#8220;many useful accessibility features available and provide some context about how recent improvements are helping take accessibility and usability to the next level.&#8221;</em> She elaborates on recent Keyboard Navigation, Keyboard Shortcuts, and other Usability updates of the block-editor. </p>



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



<p>To learn about <strong><a href="https://wordpress.org/support/article/block-editor-keyboard-shortcuts/" rel="nofollow">keyboard shortcuts the block-editor</a></strong> the documentation team  just published a comprehensive list of shortcuts and what they do, for both, Windows and Mac Operating Systems. </p>



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<p><strong>Will Morris</strong>, staff writer at <em>WordCandy, </em>published an in-depth article on the <em>Torque Magazine</em>: <strong><a href="https://torquemag.io/2021/03/gutenberg-full-site-editing/">What Is Gutenberg Full-Site Editing (And How to Access It Today)</a></strong>. He wrote: <em>&#8220;The upcoming Full-Site Editing (FSE) feature promises to be the next major step in WordPress design and development. By getting some hands-on experience now, you can ensure your site is prepared for the changes ahead.&#8221;</em> </p>



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<p><strong><a href="https://www.meetup.com/WordPressNYC/events/276672145/">Fantastic Blocks and Where To Find Them</a></strong> is the title of <a href="https://twitter.com/newyorkerlaura"><strong>Laura Byrne</strong></a>&#8216;s talk at the <strong>WordPress NYC Meetup</strong> group on Tuesday, March 16th, 2021 at 7:00 pm. She wrote:<em>&#8220;With so many blocks to choose from (both native and 3rd party blocks) and more being added every day, which are the most vital ones to have in your content creation arsenal? Pick up indispensable tips and tricks for yourself and your clients.&#8221;</em> It&#8217;ll be a fast-paced presentation and Laura has a wealth of knowledge. Come for the blocks and stay for the second talk: <strong>The Three Layers of WP Maintenance</strong> with Mervin Hernandez. I definitely try to make it. Will we see you there, too?</p>



<h2>Block Editor for Themes builders</h2>



<p>Given the above mentioned timeline for the merge of Full Site Editing, it&#8217;s no surprise that <strong>Hector Pietro</strong> grouped the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/03/08/whats-next-in-gutenberg-march-2021/"><strong>focus projects for March </strong></a>around that feature and the possible adoption path for conventional Themes.  He covers: Widget Screen, Navigation Screen, and Full-Site Editing. You might appreciate the section <strong>&#8220;Areas to be aware of&#8221;</strong> for block and plugin developers, theme builders, contributors and designers. </p>



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



<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/jeffikus">Jeffrey Pears</a> </strong>again keeps everyone updated on the specific discussions and issues around Themes in the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2021/03/12/gutenberg-themes-week-of-march-11-2021/">Gutenberg + Themes: Week of March 11, 2021</a> for this week. </p>



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<p>In <strong><a href="https://wptavern.com/recreating-the-music-artist-wordpress-theme-homepage-with-the-block-editor">Recreating the Music Artist WordPress Theme Homepage With the Block Editor</a></strong>, <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/justintadlock">Justin Tadlock</a></strong> walks us through his experience to replicate the theme&#8217;s design sections with the block editor and patterns starting with a theme already supporting the block editor.  It&#8217;s a great example, how theme developers and site builders could embrace the Block editor and create new designs fast and support their users. Not all the modifications are yet available in Gutenberg. Justin use the EditorPlus plugin by Munir Kamal to add additional styling. </p>



<h2>Developers and Block Building</h2>



<p><strong>Justin Ahinon</strong> updated the WordPress community on the <strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/03/12/block-editor-handbook-restructuring-project-update-march-12/">block editor handbook restructuring project</a>.</strong> &#8220;<em>The idea is to build technical documentation around four parts: <strong>tutorials</strong>, <strong>how-to guides</strong>, <strong>technical reference</strong> and <strong>explanation</strong>.&#8221; he wrote. </em></p>



<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/jasonbahl">Jason Bahl</a></strong>, creator of the WPGraphQL plugin, tackled the topic <strong><a href="https://www.wpgraphql.com/2021/03/09/gutenberg-and-decoupled-applications/">Gutenberg and Decoupled Applications</a>.</strong> He walks you through three different approaches to use Gutenberg in a decouple application environment and lists the trade-offs for each. </p>



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<p><strong>Greg Ziolkowski</strong> shared on the core blog what it takes to <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/03/08/publishing-wordpress-packages-to-npm/"><strong>Publishing WordPress packages to npm</strong></a>, the NodeJS package manager registry. As of today, there are nearly 80 actively maintained packages under the <a href="https://www.npmjs.com/org/wordpress">WordPress organization</a> available. Greg shared some details about the latest addition to the process and summarize the overall strategy for publishing.</p>




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



<img />




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



<p>Meet <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/olivercampion">Oliver Campion</a></strong> and his plugin <strong><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/options-for-twenty-twenty-one/">Options for Twenty-Twenty One.</a> </strong>This plugin adds a ton, over 70 modification options to the default WordPress theme. James Huff, calls Oliver <em>&#8220;the most active helper in the Twenty-Twenty-one support forum&#8221;</em></p>



<p>He also created the plugin <strong><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/display-remote-posts-block/">Display Remote Posts Block</a></strong>, used to display recent posts from a WordPress or Blogger sites, bringing back the blog roll. </p>



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



<p>Speaking of Blog roll, <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/tw2113">Michael Beckwith</a></strong> released the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/blogroll-block/"><strong>Blogroll Block</strong></a> plugin. <em>Justin Tadlock</em> wrote <a href="https://wptavern.com/a-throwback-to-the-past-introducing-the-blogroll-block-wordpress-plugin">about it for the WPTavern.</a> </p>



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<p>The <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/NewspackPub">Newspack </a></strong>team at Automattic published their <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/newspack-newsletters/">Newspack-Newsletter</a> plugin in the WordPress repository. Similar to the <a href="https://newsletterglue.com/">Newsletter Glue</a> plugin, that I use here, this plugin also enables you to use the block-editor design your newsletters, store them on your site and send them through Mailchimp or Constant Contact. Besides an account at one of the offered providers you also to apply for a free API key at MJML.org </p>



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<p><strong>GeneratePress</strong> offers their future <a href="https://generatepress.com/introducing-the-gp-theme-builder/">GP Theme Builder plugin in public beta</a>. It brings you theme building using the core block editor and the GenerateBlocks plugin.</p>



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<p>The <strong><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/block-manager/">Gutenberg Block Manager</a></strong> Plugin by <a href="https://twitter.com/KaptonKaos"><strong>Darren Cooney</strong></a> helps you organize the hundreds of blocks on your site on various screens. It definitely will help you get organized. <em>Sarah Gooding</em><strong> </strong><a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-block-manager-plugin-enables-global-block-removal-and-recategorization">reviewed it for the WPTavern.</a></p>



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<h2 id="4-word-press-events">WordPress Events</h2>



<p><strong>March 16, 2021, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT</strong><br /><a href="https://www.meetup.com/WordPressNYC/"><strong>WordPress NYC Meetup Group</strong></a><br />Fantastic Blocks and Where To Find Them  with Laura Byrne<br />The Three Layers of WP Maintenance with Mervin Hernandez</p>



<p><strong>March 18, 2021 6:30 &#8211; 8:30 PM EDT</strong><br /><strong><a href="https://www.meetup.com/SF-WordPress-Users/events/276654859/">Mega-Meetup South Florida</a></strong></p>



<p><strong>April 15 &#8211; 17, 2021</strong><br /><a href="https://centroamerica.wordcamp.org/2021/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WordCamp Centroamérica 2021</a></p>



<p><strong>April 16th – 18th, 2021.</strong>&nbsp;<br /><strong><a href="https://greece.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp Greece 2021 Online</a></strong>.<br />The organizer published the&nbsp;<a href="https://greece.wordcamp.org/2021/call-for-speakers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">call for speakers</a>.</p>



<p><strong>April 16th – 18th, 2021</strong><br /><strong><a href="https://neo.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp Northeast Ohio</a></strong><br /><a href="https://neo.wordcamp.org/2021/call-for-sponsors/">Take a look at the Call for Sponsors</a></p>



<p><strong>May 24 &#8211; 27. 2021</strong><br /><a href="https://wordsesh.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WordSesh 2021</a></p>



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



<p>On the<a href="https://wpcalendar.io/online/"> <strong>Calendar for WordPress Online Events</strong></a> you&#8217;ll find a list of the upcoming WordPress Meetups, around the world, including WooCommerce, Elementor, Divi Builder and Beaver Builder meetups.</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, 13 Mar 2021 21:44:46 +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:"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:11;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:90:"WPTavern: Gutenberg Block Manager Plugin Enables Global Block Removal and Recategorization";s:7:"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=113596";s:7:"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:225:"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-block-manager-plugin-enables-global-block-removal-and-recategorization?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gutenberg-block-manager-plugin-enables-global-block-removal-and-recategorization";s: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:3249:"<p>The world of Gutenberg blocks is expanding. WordPress&rsquo; official block directory <a href="https://wptavern.com/call-for-block-plugins-the-wordpress-block-directory-is-open-for-business">launched in June 2020</a> with just 60 single-block plugins. Today, it has grown to more than <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/browse/blocks/">480 blocks</a>. As users incorporate more blocks into their websites, the block inserter can become a very long list to scroll when browsing.</p>



<p>Block management capabilities were added to Gutenberg in <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-5-3-introduces-block-management-adds-nesting-to-the-cover-block">version 5.3</a>, released in 2019. It allows users to search for a block and turn individual blocks and sections on or off in the block inserter. The feature hasn&rsquo;t changed much over the past two years but will soon be getting a major update that will relocate it to the Preferences modal and redesign it to use panels with support for&nbsp;<a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/27708">toggling block variations</a>&nbsp;on and off.</p>



<p>If you need more fine-grained block management, <a href="https://connekthq.com/">Darren Cooney</a>&lsquo;s <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/block-manager/">Gutenberg Block Manager</a> plugin offers an admin interface for removing and recategorizing blocks. It is different from the core capabilities in that site admins can globally manage the enabled/disabled state of each block and changes will be reflected in the block inserter for all users. The plugin provides a full-screen interface for managing blocks on its own settings page outside of the editor.</p>



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



<p>Each block has a description and a toggle button for disabling it. There is enough space to include the number of instances for each block, and this seems like something useful the plugin could add in the future. Block categories are available as a quick navigation list in the sidebar and entire categories can be turned on or off with one click. </p>



<p>The latest version of the plugin adds Category Switcher support for all blocks, including core Gutenberg blocks. Changing a block&rsquo;s category will update its location in the block inserter.</p>



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



<p>This plugin could be useful for periodically tidying up, improving the organization of&nbsp;blocks&nbsp;within the&nbsp;block&nbsp;inserter. Paring back the list of available blocks could also make it easier for website managers to have access to only the blocks that are necessary for their work. The plugin includes a filter for controlling the status of blocks across multiple WordPress environments.</p>



<p>After testing the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/block-manager/">Gutenberg Block Manager</a>, my only criticism is that the plugin&rsquo;s name is the same as the core WordPress feature, making it somewhat confusing. It might be more clear to focus on its distinctions and include that in the name, such as &ldquo;Global Block Manager&rdquo; or some variation. Other than that, it functions just as advertised and is available for free in the official plugins directory.</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, 13 Mar 2021 03:14:39 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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:12;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:64:"WPTavern: 2nd Annual Atarim Web Agency Summit Kicks Off March 23";s:7:"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=113661";s:7:"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:173:"https://wptavern.com/2nd-annual-atarim-web-agency-summit-kicks-off-march-23?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2nd-annual-atarim-web-agency-summit-kicks-off-march-23";s: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:6118:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Atarim is launching its 2nd annual <a href="https://atarim.io/summit/">Web Agency Summit</a> in a couple of weeks. The free event will run from March 23 &ndash; 26. The goal of the event is to help agencies and freelancers in the WordPress space grow sustainable businesses.</p>



<p>Atarim is the company formerly known as WP Feedback. In February, the <a href="https://wptavern.com/wp-feedback-rebrands-to-atarim-moves-to-a-full-saas-model">business rebranded</a> because its primary product had grown beyond a mere feedback plugin into an across-the-board agency solution.</p>



<p>&ldquo;While I&rsquo;m a big fan of WordCamps and a big believer in the value that events can bring to personal growth, we found that most events in our space focus on the technical aspect of building a website,&rdquo; said Vito Peleg, Atarim&rsquo;s founder. &ldquo;We take a more business-oriented approach. From finding the first clients through building solid recurring revenue and all the way to lessons from some of the biggest agencies in the world at full scale.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The event has 36 sessions, which are broken down into four categories that focus on:</p>



<ul><li><strong>Build:</strong> Best practices for performance, SEO, accessibility, and the future of building websites.</li><li><strong>Expand:</strong> Building recurring revenue and maintaining profits.</li><li><strong>Scale:</strong> Project management, completing services, payment, and getting projects unstuck.</li><li><strong>Thrive:</strong> Hiring, community building, profitability at scale, and exit strategies.</li></ul>



<p>Peleg hopes that attendees can glean some knowledge in the sessions while saving years of trial and error.</p>



<p>&ldquo;All are delivered through our own summit platform, so attendees don&rsquo;t need to jump around between Zoom calls, YouTube Lives, and Slack channels,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We brought it all into our own interactive platform.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Atarim has made several sessions publicly available from <a href="https://wptavern.com/wp-feedback-kicks-off-free-virtual-summit-for-wordpress-professionals-on-april-27">2020&rsquo;s event</a>. For those on the fence, it should provide insight into the types of talks they can expect.</p>



<ul><li><strong>Lee Jackson</strong>: <a href="https://atarim.io/summit/mastering-content-creation-with-lee-jackson/">Mastering Content Creation and the New Work Environment</a></li><li><strong>Clifford Almeida:</strong> <a href="https://atarim.io/summit/six-figure-recurring-revenue-business-with-clifford-almeida/">Blueprint To Building a Six-Figure Recurring Revenue Business</a></li><li><strong>Alex Panagis:</strong> <a href="https://atarim.io/summit/simple-seo-strategy-with-alex-panagis/">Developing a Simple and Replicable SEO Strategy for Your Business</a></li><li><strong>Alison Rothwell:</strong> <a href="https://atarim.io/summit/profitable-wordpress-care-plans-with-alison-rothwell/">The Path To Selling Profitable WordPress Care Plans</a></li><li><strong>Kristina Romero:</strong> <a href="https://atarim.io/summit/remote-team-management-with-kristina-romero/">Remotely Managing Projects and Your Team</a></li></ul>



<p>This year, each session will be running live &mdash; last year&rsquo;s sessions were pre-recorded. This will allow attendees to be involved in real-time. There will also be a designated Q&amp;A time for each session.</p>



<p>The event is free to attend through the last week of March for anyone. However, the sessions will eventually fall behind a paywall, which helps cover costs.</p>



<p>&ldquo;We offer an All Access Pass for those that want to watch the replays for $97, which is the investment for those that get it before the event,&rdquo; said Peleg. &ldquo;This also includes 30+ sessions from last year&rsquo;s event for a total of 50+ hours of expert advice, specifically designed to help web freelancers and agencies build a solid business.&rdquo;</p>



<h2>Success and Lessons Learned From 2020</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">Last year&rsquo;s event kick-started as a response to the changing nature of conferences in the Covid-era. Peleg described the initiative as a way of &ldquo;licking our own wounds&rdquo; after his company had planned to attend, sponsor, and have its own retreat at WordCamp Asia in Thailand, which was <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-asia-2020-canceled-over-covid-19-concerns">canceled in 2020</a>.</p>



<p>&ldquo;This drove me into action, wanting to lift some spirits in the community,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know that we would end up with the biggest event in the WordPress space and have such incredible partners that came along for the ride.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Last year&rsquo;s event had 5,725 attendees from 126 countries. In total, they watched 53,945 hours of videos. They also won 1,000s of prizes at sponsor booths that included iPads, board games, and more.</p>



<p>&ldquo;This was way more than what we expected, and the summit platform even broke on the first day when we were getting more than 240,000 requests to the server in an hour,&rdquo; said Peleg. &ldquo;Luckily, there isn&rsquo;t a better community for something like this to happen. Very quickly, some of the sponsors joined forces with some of the speakers and our team and got us back on the air for a full week of action. While they were working to get this sorted, I was mostly pacing back and forth in my office like a headless chicken, but this year we&rsquo;ve come prepared, with load balancers, auto-scaling processes, and a much leaner platform to sustain the scale.&rdquo;</p>



<p>There are no plans to switch to a physical Web Agency Summit in the coming years. For now, the virtual model is working.</p>



<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very much looking forward to the return of WordCamps as physical events when [Covid-19] blows over, but I believe that virtual events are here to stay, so for the foreseeable future, once a year, we&rsquo;ll bring back our summit as a celebration of the business side of the WordPress industry.&rdquo;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 12 Mar 2021 17:16:36 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:13;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:76:"Post Status: Post Status Excerpt (No. 1) – WordPress 5.7 &amp; Plugin Rank";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://poststatus.com/?p=81617";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:45:"https://poststatus.com/post-status-excerpt-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:3013:"<h2 id="h-learn-what-s-new-in-wordpress-5-7-this-week">Learn what's new in WordPress 5.7 this week <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f195.png" alt="🆕" class="wp-smiley" /></h2>



<p>With this episode of Post Status Excerpt — the first of many to come — David Bisset and Cory Miller kick off the new show with a quick chat about the latest WordPress release (5.7 &#8220;Esperanza&#8221;) — what it addresses, and maybe a pet peeve or two about the new editor. </p>



<p><strong>Also covered:</strong> PluginRank.com and the way it might be useful for WordPress entrepreneurs. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f50c.png" alt="🔌" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<p>Every week Post Status Excerpt will brief you on important WordPress news relevant to the Post Status community — in about 15 minutes or less! Learn what's new in WordPress in a flash.<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/26a1.png" alt="⚡" class="wp-smiley" /></p>







<h3 id="h-mentioned-in-the-show"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f517.png" alt="🔗" class="wp-smiley" /> Mentioned in the show</h3>



<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/dimensionmedia">David Bisset (Twitter)</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/corymiller303">Cory Miller (Twitter)</a></li><li><a href="https://poststatus.com/footnotes/wordpress-5-7-was-released-on-schedule/">Some 5.7 release highlights</a></li><li><a href="https://us.wordcamp.org/2020/">WordPress 5.7 Field Guide</a></li><li><a href="https://www.wpbeginner.com/news/whats-coming-in-wordpress-5-7-features-and-screenshots/">WPBeginner Guide To WordPress 5.7</a></li><li><a href="http://pluginrank.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow">PluginRank.com</a></li></ul>



<h3>Sponsor: <a href="https://www.godaddy.com/pro/hub-dashboard?utm_source=events_sponsor_page&utm_medium=events&utm_campaign=en-us_events_prd_awa_partners_part_poststatus_2021_001" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow">GoDaddy Pro</a></h3>



<p>Manage your clients, websites, and tasks from a single dashboard with <a href="https://www.godaddy.com/pro/hub-dashboard?utm_source=events_sponsor_page&utm_medium=events&utm_campaign=en-us_events_prd_awa_partners_part_poststatus_2021_001" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow">GoDaddy Pro</a>. Perform security scans, backups, and remote updates to many sites on any host. Check up on site performance, monitor uptime and analytics — and then send reports to your happy clients. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f64c.png" alt="🙌" class="wp-smiley" /> </p>



<p><a href="https://www.godaddy.com/pro/hub-dashboard?utm_source=events_sponsor_page&utm_medium=events&utm_campaign=en-us_events_prd_awa_partners_part_poststatus_2021_001" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow">GoDaddy Pro is free</a> — and designed to make your life better. Try it today, for free.</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, 12 Mar 2021 16:45:24 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12:"David Bisset";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:14;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:88:"WPTavern: Publish Text, Image, and Gallery Snippets With the Shortnotes WordPress Plugin";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=113624";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:217:"https://wptavern.com/publish-text-image-and-gallery-snippets-with-the-shortnotes-wordpress-plugin?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=publish-text-image-and-gallery-snippets-with-the-shortnotes-wordpress-plugin";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4448:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Yesterday, Happy Prime owner and engineer Jeremy Felt released <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/shortnotes/">Shortnotes</a>, a plugin for writing notes from the WordPress editor. The intention is for users to create short pieces of content, such as that found on Twitter, Instagram, and similar social networks. However, it does not come with a front-end posting interface, at least not in version 1.0.</p>



<p>The plugin works just like the post and page editor. It should be straightforward for most users.</p>



<p>While the Shortnotes plugin is relatively bare-bones for now, it serves as a foundation of something that could be more. Part of what makes social networks appealing is the ease of publishing quick content. Publishing notes through the plugin requires visiting the WordPress admin, clicking &ldquo;Add New,&rdquo; writing the content, publishing, and clicking a new link to view it on the front end. A quick-publishing interface either through a Dashboard widget or a front-end form would be a useful addition.</p>



<img />Note post type in the block editor.



<p>Some new concepts that not all users may be familiar with are the &ldquo;Reply to URL&rdquo; and &ldquo;Reply to name&rdquo; fields. These are semantic fields for creating a note in reply to another post or person on the web. The plugin will automatically output this reply link on the front end.</p>



<p>The plugin integrates with the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/webmention/">Webmention plugin</a>. A Webmention is a standardized protocol for mentions and conversations across the web. The goal is a decentralized social &ldquo;network&rdquo; of sorts where everyone owns and controls their content. It is an alternative to what <a href="https://indieweb.org/">IndieWeb</a> calls the &ldquo;corporate&rdquo; web in which large tech companies have control.</p>



<p>When entering a Reply to URL, Shortnotes will automatically send that URL through the Webmentions plugin system. It will also parse URLs in the post content as webmentions if they exist.</p>



<p>Users may also notice that the note title field is <em>missing</em>. This is intentional. The plugin automatically generates titles. They are needed for the <code>&lt;title&gt;</code> tag, which tools like search engines use.</p>



<p>The idea is for titles to not appear as part of the theme layout. Because most themes are not coded to check for post-type support before displaying them, there is a high chance that a user&rsquo;s theme will output the auto-generated title on the front end. For now, that means editing a bit of theme code for those who do not want them to appear. Felt has an <a href="https://github.com/jeremyfelt/writemore/blob/0b344cc9613b1ed011cba13cb3c09376def596fc/template-parts/content/content-single.php#L16-L36">example of how he modified this</a> for his site&rsquo;s custom Twenty Twenty-One child theme. In the long run, as more themes begin supporting the upcoming site editor, users will be able to make this customization directly in the WordPress admin.</p>



<p>With a few tweaks like removing the title and some minor CSS adjustments, I was able to create a clean Notes archive page using the Genesis Block theme:</p>



<img />Modified notes archive.



<p>One of my interests in checking this project out was diving into a real-world example of a plugin that limited which blocks could be used with the editor. The notes post type only allows the Paragraph, Image, and Gallery blocks. Again, the idea is to replicate the feel of what you can do on social networks. Overall, this feature worked as it should, limiting the notes to a subset of blocks.</p>



<p>However, I ran across a bug with the block editor. All block patterns, regardless of what blocks they contained, appeared in the inserter. Clicking on one containing a disallowed block would not insert it into a post. However, the editor did add a pop-up note that it had. There is a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/23275">GitHub issue for this bug</a> that has seen little movement since it was opened in June 2020.</p>



<p>Felt created a plugin to solve this called <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/unregister-broken-patterns/">Unregister Broken Patterns</a>. It removes any patterns that contain blocks that a post type does not support. At best, it is a temporary measure and needs to be addressed in WordPress.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 11 Mar 2021 22:04:40 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:15;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:75:"WPTavern: New Full Site Editing Testing Challenge: Create a Custom 404 Page";s:7:"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=113522";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:193:"https://wptavern.com/new-full-site-editing-testing-challenge-create-a-custom-404-page?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=new-full-site-editing-testing-challenge-create-a-custom-404-page";s: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:7250:"<p>The Full Site Editing (FSE) Outreach program has launched its <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/03/09/fse-program-testing-call-3-create-a-fun-custom-404-page/">third testing call</a>, continuing the effort to engage users in a structured testing flow focused on specific practical tasks. Previous rounds had testers <a href="https://wptavern.com/fse-outreach-round-2-building-a-custom-homepage-with-gutenbergs-site-editor">building a custom homepage</a> and exploring the distinction between editing modes (template vs page/post).</p>



<p>The challenge in round #3 is to create a fun, custom 404 page. This page is often an opportunity for brands and individuals to inject a little humor and creativity into their websites, transforming a potentially negative experience into a path back to working links. In the past, site owners not comfortable with code had to rely on plugins in order to design their 404 pages. The new FSE capabilities will open a whole new world of customization. </p>



<p>Testers who want to jump in on this challenge will need to set up a testing environment that uses WordPress 5.7, the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/tt1-blocks/">TT1 Blocks Theme</a>, and Gutenberg&nbsp;10.1.1 (<a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/releases/tag/v10.1.1">latest version</a>). Nothing special is required so it&rsquo;s easy to jump in and start testing right away.</p>



<p>Anne McCarthy, who is spearheading the FSE Outreach program, has published a detailed testing flow that provides a guided exploration of the 404 template and simple tasks like adding navigation and other blocks. </p>



<p>This challenge seemed like a good place to dip my toe into FSE testing and check out the progress the team has made in the past few months. Here is what I set out to do: add a funny gif, a search form, and a button to get back home. </p>



<p>One of the first steps is to open the&nbsp;<a href="https://cldup.com/UzP6gqLQYP.png">Navigation Toggle</a>&nbsp;and head to Templates &gt; 404. The &ldquo;Navigation Toggle&rdquo; refers to the WordPress icon in the top left corner of the page, but as a new user I would expect that to take me back to the dashboard. The naming doesn&rsquo;t seem clear and I had to look up what was meant by Navigation Toggle. </p>



<p>Following the instructions, I selected the Header template part and removed it from the 404 page, but I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s obvious to users that it&rsquo;s possible to delete the entire template part in one go. Without the instructions, I probably would have started deleting all the blocks within the header template part before trying to figure out how to remove the entire thing.</p>



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



<p>The testing flow asks users to insert a Template Part Block, select the &ldquo;New Template Part&rdquo; option, and add a custom title like &ldquo;404 Header.&rdquo; While this feature technically works, it seems like power user knowledge and I don&rsquo;t see less technical site owners having any idea that this is possible or understanding its purpose without reading tutorials. </p>



<p>One aspect of it that could be improved is that new Template Parts don&rsquo;t save until you click &ldquo;Update Design.&rdquo; If you move away from the block and continue other parts of the design, it appears that it hasn&rsquo;t saved and you may be tempted to create it again, as I was. Clicking &ldquo;Update Design&rdquo; will show you all the Template Parts you have created and requires confirmation to save them. This can get confusing if you don&rsquo;t make a point to stop and save periodically.</p>



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



<p>Once the design is saved, there is no confirmation but the button is no longer operable. The interface could communicate this better. </p>



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



<p>I didn&rsquo;t encounter anything that was broken, though several aspects of it could be significantly improved. Everything outlined in the testing flow seems to work as it should, if users can ever find it. It is going to be a real challenge to make the interface spectacularly simple enough for ordinary users to feel comfortable knowing when and how to create their own template parts.</p>



<p>Adding more blocks was easy enough when I customized the 404 page content. I skipped the part of the testing script that involved creating a menu. </p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<a href="https://cloudup.com/cZ2pTjzGoU4"><img src="https://cldup.com/fSlprFinO2.gif" alt="404 preview" width="1072" height="627" /></a>
</div>



<p>Unfortunately, the preview looked nothing like the display on the frontend, but I assume that is still in progress. After trying multiple sources, I found that embeds didn&rsquo;t work and some of the block styles were off. </p>



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



<p>The testing flow for this challenge focused primarily on creating content within the new Template Part. That aspect of the test seemed to work, but there are a few things that could be significantly improved. The last part of the challenge is to answer the following questions: </p>



<ul><li><strong>Did the experience crash at any point?</strong>  <em>No</em></li><li><strong>Did the saving experience work properly?</strong>&nbsp;<em>Yes but it was confusing without any confirmation.</em></li><li><strong>Did the saving experience make sense when making changes to the Template Part vs the general content?</strong>&nbsp;<em>It did after taking some time to explore it, but it&rsquo;s not a concept that would be immediately evident to beginners.</em></li><li><strong>What did you find particularly confusing or frustrating about the experience?</strong> <em>Saving template parts was confusing, and the previews are much better than what you get on the frontend.</em></li><li><strong>What did you especially enjoy or appreciate about the experience?</strong>&nbsp;<em>I appreciated the ability to edit templates and template parts without jumping into code.</em></li><li><strong>Did you find that what you created in the Site Editor matched what you saw when you viewed your 404 page?</strong>&nbsp;<em>No, it was far from similar to the preview.</em></li><li><strong>Did it work using Keyboard only?</strong> <em>No</em></li><li><strong>Did it work using a screen reader?</strong> <em>Did not test</em></li></ul>



<p>My expectation when I began testing the 404 page design editing experience was that it would be a simple and enjoyable customization process with a few bugs. It ended up frustrating in the end because I could not trust the previews at all. </p>



<p>Is WordPress close to having an MVP of full site editing ready for 5.8? All the bones are in place. It feels like a rough prototype with enough momentum to reach MVP status in a few months. Editing and saving template parts works but the current interface design falls squarely within the realm of power users.</p>



<p>If you want to join this challenge, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/03/09/fse-program-testing-call-3-create-a-fun-custom-404-page/">follow the testing flow</a> and post your feedback by March 23, 2021.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 11 Mar 2021 16:14:23 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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:16;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:82:"WPTavern: A Throwback To the Past: Introducing the Blogroll Block WordPress Plugin";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=113555";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:207:"https://wptavern.com/a-throwback-to-the-past-introducing-the-blogroll-block-wordpress-plugin?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=a-throwback-to-the-past-introducing-the-blogroll-block-wordpress-plugin";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4838:"<p class="has-drop-cap">It was 2003. I was just getting my first taste of blogging and similar experiments on the world wide web. Seemingly every blog I toured showcased a long list of the owner&rsquo;s friends. These were all the other cool kids jumping onto this blogging bandwagon &mdash; the blogroll was almost a status symbol. You had a sense of belonging with your online clique.</p>



<p>Let&rsquo;s face it. Many of the people blogging in that era were loners, geeks, nerds, artists, and people who generally did not feel they fit into groups of &ldquo;normal&rdquo; people. Perhaps that is overly stereotypical, but that was the culture I found exploring this new world. It was a breakthrough for me as a person. I could let my <em>geek flag fly</em> in this new group of non-normal-but-so-much-more-interesting people than those I grew up with from my small hometown. Blogs were a home away from home for those who felt like outsiders.</p>



<p>I could share that I cared more about comic books than football on my little corner of the web. I could link to like-minded people in my blogroll. And they would link back to me.</p>



<p>It has been eight years since the <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/21307">death of the link manager</a> in WordPress. The underlying code is still there, only shown for those with existing links or the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/link-manager/">Link Manager plugin</a> installed.</p>



<p>It was the end of an era. Social media had taken over much of that camaraderie from my early venture into the blogging world, replacing it with a much more toxic version. There are groups and pockets within the social spheres that replicate that feeling, but it is all on a third-party server. The people no longer control their content or their content&rsquo;s fate. Our likes and shares and retweets are lost in the endless void of memes, parodies, and libelous hot-takes. We no longer curate our links, cutting out the cruft to make room for the things representing who we are in the moment.</p>



<p>One of the early highlights of my development career was building an image gallery using the WordPress links system. I was able to showcase all of my must-read WordPress blogs on one page.</p>



<img />Link manager used to create image gallery.



<p>I also used the link manager as a menu-management interface for my theme users long before WordPress adopted its nav menu system. Themes at the time were still using a page-listing function that often required end-users to edit code to manage.</p>



<p>Not only was the blogroll a vital aspect of my introduction to blogging, but it was also equally as crucial to my evolution as a developer. WordPress&rsquo;s built-in link manager allowed me to step outside the box and innovate.</p>



<p>Maybe I am a bit nostalgic for blogrolls adorning every blog&rsquo;s sidebar. There was a bit of a trust system built into it. If I liked your blog, there was a good chance that I would find something interesting in the links that you decided to share.</p>



<p>Sure, there are other ways to achieve the same result today. However, the blogroll was a neon-sign in pitch black that shouted, &ldquo;Hey, check out these cools things!&rdquo;</p>



<p>That is why I am giddy any time I see something that takes me down the memory lane of nearly two decades ago. It reminds me of how far we have come and how the web has changed over the years. And how much I wish things would sometimes stay the same.</p>



<p>Michael Beckwith released the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/blogroll-block/">Blogroll Block</a> plugin two weeks ago. While I do not see a blogrolling revolution any time soon, it is nice to see a block-editor option for those of us who are still clinging to our links.</p>



<p>Blogroll Block requires the Link Manager plugin, which still has 60,000 active installs despite no updates since it was first dropped into the WordPress plugin directory. <em>Maybe there is hope for a comeback.</em></p>



<p>The block is straightforward. It replicates most of the options for the <code>wp_list_bookmarks()</code> function, which outputs the links. The downside to the plugin is there is no live preview in the editor. It currently outputs a box with a link to the developer reference. I am hoping this is a stopgap measure between version 1.0 and the next iteration.</p>



<img />Editor view of the Blogroll Block.



<p>I would also like to see the option to include link images in a grid. That way, I could recreate my &ldquo;bookmarks gallery&rdquo; with the block editor. That would be a fun afternoon project.</p>



<p>If we had a blogroll on the Tavern, I like to think that we would link to Beckwith&rsquo;s blog. <a href="https://trexthepirate.com/wp/">We are on his</a>. It would only be fair.</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, 10 Mar 2021 23:45:14 +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:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:17;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:162:"HeroPress: How WordPress Made Space For Me As A Kid Who Grew Up With MS – Come WordPress Mi Ha Accolta Quando Ero Una Bambina Crescendo Con La Sclerosi Multipla";s:7:"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=3492";s:7:"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:194:"https://heropress.com/essays/how-wordpress-made-space-for-me-as-a-kid-who-grew-up-with-ms/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-wordpress-made-space-for-me-as-a-kid-who-grew-up-with-ms";s: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:12228:"<img width="960" height="480" src="https://s20094.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/030821-min.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Pull Quote: Healthy or not, developer or not, blogger or not - WordPress belong to you too. Italian: Spero che ricorderà a chiunque legga questo articolo che WordPress è per tutti. Sano o no, sviluppatore o no, blogger o no, WordPress appartiene anche a te." /><p><a href="https://heropress.com/feed/#italian">Questo saggio è disponibile anche in italiano.</a></p>
<p>I was first introduced to WordPress when I was 13 years old. My parents had the idea to give me my very own WordPress website. I was able to use, play, test, and try whatever I wanted with it.</p>
<h3>My First Encounter With WordPress</h3>
<p>While the technical aspects of my new WordPress website intrigued me, I was more interested in the space it made for me to write. All throughout my childhood I had struggled with chronic pain, fatigue, and other unexplained symptoms. Having a private world I could call my own, I was able to write my story.</p>
<p>And there is something truly amazing about having a place to tell your story.</p>
<p>When doctors, nurses, specialists, and the best hospitals I could go to struggled to find answers for me and my parents, I felt like my life and world were out of control. But logging onto my little website and typing away on the computer keys gave me a sense of control. I couldn’t always do things that other kids had the energy to do. But I could get lost in writing for hours. I couldn’t control my life story, but I could write about it.</p>
<p>It felt like writing letters to my future self, “Look at what you went through, look how strong you were.” And even now, when I go on, I feel like I’m writing letters to my past self, “Look at you, look how you made it.”</p>
<h3>WordPress In The Real World</h3>
<p>I swear I thought that when I grew up, that I’d be healthy. I thought that “unhealthiness” was a part of being a kid. Something as terrible as having a bedtime, or having to eat carrots.</p>
<p>And like most kids, I couldn’t wait to be a grown up so that I could stay up as late as I wanted, never eat carrots again, and— be healthy.</p>
<p>But growing up didn’t change that. In fact, my condition grew slowly worse as years went by. I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a decade later at 18 years old.</p>
<p>I realized that I couldn’t handle a 9-5 work schedule, I couldn’t drive to a job on some days (shout-out to my mom for driving me) and I knew deep down that I would need to find another way to work.</p>
<p>I began writing music and book reviews online. I wrote blog posts. They were getting published and I was getting paid too. WordPress felt familiar, typing on the computer keys felt comfortable, and sharing my words with the world felt surreal.</p>
<p>I think I believed WordPress was mine somehow. I was learning that WordPress is something that belongs to everyone in some way. And I loved it.</p>
<h3>My WordPress Job at Valet</h3>
<p>The thing I love about WordPress is that it’s not just for developers or bloggers or SEO experts. I began to meet more people in the community and was delighted to find people like me, who didn’t know the technical stuff, but were a part of WordPress.</p>
<p>There were social media managers, there were designers, there was a place for everyone. And the community felt as important as the rest of everything that makes WordPress what it is. It felt like it was about people and relationships as well as codes and databases.</p>
<p>I was hired at Valet in 2020 thanks to my relationships with people, in this case, my very own dad.</p>
<p>I like being a part of a WordPress company, and I love that I contribute to a team that helps people with their websites. I understand the importance of having a space that’s yours. Whether it’s a business or personal site, having a website gives you the power of telling your own story.</p>
<p>I didn’t have to work 9-5 jobs, or have my mom drive me to work, I didn’t have to worry about days when I needed to just stay in sweats. I have a 100% remote job which I can do despite the plot twists in my story, thanks to WordPress and the people in it.</p>
<h3>Welcomed Into The WordPress Community</h3>
<p><a href="https://heropress.com/essays/you-make-the-difference/">Kimberly Lipari</a> was the first person to repeatedly tell me that I was really indeed a part of the WordPress community. It felt unreal. I wasn’t a dev, I don’t know how to code, and yet I got to be a part of it all? I felt like I was a fake. But she continues to remind me that I’m real, I get to be here, I get to stay, I have a place.</p>
<p>When <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/i-found-my-tribe/">Michelle Frechette</a> told me I could contribute to <a href="https://www.bigorangeheart.org/">Big Orange Heart</a>, I was honored. I was typing my words, pieces of my story, and sharing them with a community of people.</p>
<p>And when Topher contacted me to write my WordPress Story for HeroPress I could only say yes.</p>
<p>I could go on and on, this community is not perfect, but everyone here is constantly working to be better and do better.</p>
<h3>My WordPress Story</h3>
<p>I’m proud and grateful to be sharing my story today.</p>
<p>I hope that maybe it can be a letter to anyone out there thinking, “I won’t make it.”</p>
<p>I hope that it will remind anyone reading this that WordPress is a space for everyone. Healthy or not, developer or not, blogger or not— WordPress belongs to you too.</p>
<p>I hope most of all that my story can somehow remind you that your story is important.</p>
<hr />
<h1 id="italian">Come WordPress Mi Ha Accolta Quando Ero Una Bambina Crescendo Con La Sclerosi Multipla</h1>
<p>Sono stata introdotta a WordPress per la prima volta quando avevo 13 anni. I miei genitori hanno avuto l&#8217;idea di darmi un sito WordPress personale, tutto mio. Cosi potevo usarlo, provare e riprovare, o fare quello che volevo. Nessuno di noi sapeva l’importanza che WordPress avrebbe nel mio futuro.</p>
<h3>Il mio primo incontro con WordPress</h3>
<p>Mentre gli aspetti tecnici del mio nuovo sito Web WordPress mi hanno incuriosita, ero più interessata nel fatto che ha creato uno spazio per scrivere.</p>
<p>Per tutta la mia infanzia soffrivo con dolore cronico, stanchezza e altri sintomi inspiegabili. Avere quel mondo privato che era tutto mio, avevo la possibilità di scrivere la mia storia. E c&#8217;è qualcosa di veramente potente nell&#8217;avere un posto dove raccontare la tua storia.</p>
<p>Quando i medici ed infermieri, nei migliori ospedali facevano fatica a trovare risposte per me e per i miei genitori, mi sentivo come se la mia vita e il mio mondo fossero fuori controllo. Ma l&#8217;accesso al mio piccolo sito web e la digitazione sui tasti del computer mi dava semrpre un senso di controllo. Non riuscivo a fare tante cose che gli altri ragazzi riuscivano a fare. Ma potevo perdermi nella scrittura per ore ed ore. Non potevo controllare la storia della mia vita, ma la potevo scrivere.</p>
<p>Era come scrivere lettere al mio sé futuro, &#8220;Guarda cos’hai passato, guarda quanto eri forte&#8221;. E anche ora, quando torno a scrivere lì, mi sento come se stessi scrivendo lettere alla persona che ero nel passato, &#8220;Guardati, guarda come ce l&#8217;hai fatta&#8221;.</p>
<h3>WordPress nel mondo reale</h3>
<p>Giuro che pensavo che una volta cresciuta, sarei stata in buona salute. Ho pensato che la &#8220;malasanità&#8221; fosse una parte dell&#8217;essere una bambina. Qualcosa di fastidioso come andare a dormire ad una certa ora, o dover mangiare le carote. E come la maggior parte dei bambini, non vedevo l&#8217;ora di crescere per poter stare sveglia fino a tardi, non mangiare mai più le carote e poi— essere sana.</p>
<p>Ma crescere non ha cambiato niente. In effetti, la mia salute continuava a peggiorare lentamente con il passare degli anni. Mi è stata finalmente diagnosticata la sclerosi multipla, dieci anni dopo, quando avevo 18 anni.</p>
<p>Mi sono resa conto che non potevo gestire un orario di lavoro a tempo pieno, non riuscivo nemmeno a guidare certi giorni (ringrazio mia mamma per avermi accompagnata tantissime volte al lavoro), e sapevo in fondo che avrei dovuto trovare un altro modo per lavorare.</p>
<p>Ho iniziato a scrivere recensioni di libri e musica online. Ho scritto vari post per diversi blog. A volte venivo anche pagata. WordPress per me era familiare, digitare sui tasti del computer era comodo, e condividere le mie parole con il mondo era surreale. Penso che a quel tempo credevo che WordPress fosse solo mio in un certo senso. Ma stavo imparando che WordPress è qualcosa che in un modo o l’altro appartiene a tutti. E adoravo questo fatto.</p>
<h3>Il mio lavoro WordPress presso Valet</h3>
<p>La cosa che amo di WordPress è che non è solo per sviluppatori del web, blogger o esperti sul SEO. Ho iniziato a conoscere sempre più persone nella comunità, e sono stata felice di trovare persone come me, che non conoscevano le cose tecniche, ma facevano comunque parte di WordPress.</p>
<p>C&#8217;erano i social media manager, e anche designer, c&#8217;era un posto per tutti. E la comunità veniva apprezzata tanto quanto il resto di tutto ciò che rende WordPress quello che è. Erano importanti le persone e le relazioni, proprio come erano importanti i codici ed i database.</p>
<p>Sono stata assunta da Valet nel 2020 grazie ai miei rapporti con le persone, in questo caso, mio ​​padre. Mi piace far parte di un&#8217;azienda WordPress e mi piace contribuire ad un team che aiuta le persone con i loro siti web. Capisco l&#8217;importanza di avere uno spazio che è tutto tuo. Che si tratti di un sito aziendale o personale, avere un sito web ti dà il potere di raccontare la tua storia.</p>
<p>Non dovevo lavorare a tempo pieno, o farmi accompagnare da mia madre al lavoro, non dovevo preoccuparmi dei giorni in cui riuscivo solo a stare in pigiama a letto. Ho un lavoro remoto al 100% che posso fare nonostante i colpi di scena nella mia storia.</p>
<h3>Il Benvenuto nella comunità di WordPress</h3>
<p><a href="https://heropress.com/essays/you-make-the-difference/">Kimberly Lipari</a> è stata la prima persona a dirmi piu volte che facevo davvero parte della comunità di WordPress. Sembrava irreale. Non ero uno sviluppatore web, non so costruire un sito, eppure posso farne parte? Mi sentivo come se fossi un’intrusa nella comunità. Ma lei continua a ricordarmi che non sono un’intrusa, posso rimanere qui, ho un posto e uno spazio tutto mio qui.</p>
<p>Quando <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/i-found-my-tribe/">Michelle Frechette</a> mi ha detto che potevo contribuire a <a href="https://www.bigorangeheart.org/">Big Orange Heart</a>, ero così contenta e sorpresa. Posso scrivevo le mie parole, pezzi della mia storia, e li posso condividere con una comunità di persone carissime.</p>
<p>E quando Topher mi ha contattato per scrivere la mia storia di WordPress per HeroPress, potevo solo dire di sì.</p>
<p>Potrei andare avanti all&#8217;infinito, questa comunità non è perfetta, ma tutti qui lavorano costantemente per diventare sempre migliori.</p>
<h3>La mia storia di WordPress</h3>
<p>Sono grata di condividere la mia storia con voi oggi.</p>
<p>Spero che forse possa essere una lettera a chiunque pensa come pensavo io, &#8220;Non ce la farò&#8221;.</p>
<p>Spero che ricorderà a chiunque legga questo articolo che WordPress è per tutti. Sano o no, sviluppatore o no, blogger o no, WordPress appartiene anche a te.</p>
<p>Spero soprattutto che la mia storia possa in qualche modo possa ricordare a tutti che ognuno ha una storia, ed ogni storia ha importanza e valore infinita.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://heropress.com/essays/how-wordpress-made-space-for-me-as-a-kid-who-grew-up-with-ms/">How WordPress Made Space For Me As A Kid Who Grew Up With MS &#8211; Come WordPress Mi Ha Accolta Quando Ero Una Bambina Crescendo Con La Sclerosi Multipla</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, 10 Mar 2021 09:05:00 +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:9:"Allie Dye";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:18;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:70:"WPTavern: WordPress.com and Jetpack Launch Story Block for Mobile Apps";s:7:"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=113427";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:181:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-com-and-jetpack-adds-story-block-for-mobile-apps?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wordpress-com-and-jetpack-adds-story-block-for-mobile-apps";s: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:5217:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Automattic-owned WordPress.com <a href="https://wordpress.com/blog/2021/03/08/introducing-wordpress-stories-a-new-way-to-engage-your-audience/">launched its new Story-publishing feature</a> today. Currently, only users with the WordPress for Android or iOS apps can add stories. Self-hosted users with Jetpack-connected sites can publish via the mobile apps too.</p>



<p>The development team previewed the Story feature in January, <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-for-android-previews-new-story-posts-feature-now-in-public-beta">launching a public beta</a> on the Android app.</p>



<p>Stories are essentially media and text slideshows. They have become popular on the web via sites like Instagram and Facebook. Solutions for Stories already exist in the WordPress space, such as <a href="https://wptavern.com/google-officially-releases-its-web-stories-for-wordpress-plugin">Google&rsquo;s Web Stories</a> and the <a href="https://wptavern.com/makestories-2-0-launches-editor-for-wordpress-rivaling-googles-official-web-stories-plugin">MakeStories</a> plugins, both of which provide a more robust experience than Automattic&rsquo;s offering at the moment.</p>



<p>However, more options and tools do not always create a better overall user experience. WordPress.com&rsquo;s Stories feature has a more streamlined process, allowing users to build Story slides without much fuss.</p>



<p>To create Stories, users must click the &ldquo;New&rdquo; icon from their site&rsquo;s home screen in the mobile app. From there, they should see an option for adding a Story post. First-time users will see a Stories welcome screen.</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><a href="https://wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/wpcom-site-home-1.jpg"><img /></a></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><a href="https://wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/wpcom-story-start-1.jpg"><img /></a></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><a href="https://wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/wpcom-story-welcome-1.jpg"><img /></a></li></ul>



<p>The user experience in terms of editing slides for a Story was straightforward. I ran into no issues adding images, text, and customizing colors.</p>



<p>Right now, users cannot do much more. They are prompted to upload media when first creating a story. Each chosen media item automatically becomes a slide &mdash; users can add more later.</p>



<p>Font customization options are limited to a handful of presets. Text can be aligned or increased in size. Users can also change the color of the text and its background. For WordPress.com users who want more, they will have to wait. For self-hosted WordPress users, they have other plugin options.</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><a href="https://wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/wpcom-story-slide-text-colors-1.jpg"><img /></a></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><a href="https://wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/wpcom-story-slide-text-edit-1.jpg"><img /></a></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><a href="https://wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/wpcom-story-publish-1.jpg"><img /></a></li></ul>



<p>I prefer the lighter experience. The learning curve is next to nonexistent, and the team can always tack on features later. The kitchen-sink route of launching with hundreds of options is prone to more errors. It also often include features that are not needed by a majority of the user base. I will take a smaller start with focused iteration any day.</p>



<p>My first attempt at creating Story had its share of issues, introducing speedbumps in the publishing and updating process. Not all of my slides were published. Some of the text I had worked so hard on disappeared. At first, I thought I might have messed something up along the way. It was my first attempt, after all. Following repeated attempts to update, the issues persisted. I re-added the text. Whether it became a part of the published Story was hit or miss. I put new slides in. One randomly duplicated itself, and others disappeared.</p>



<p>It was an hour-long exercise in frustration to publish a basic recipe. Even now, readers cannot learn how to make my Italian-style steamed Chinese pork buns. On the positive side, I did get four likes on my incomplete post.</p>



<p>Determined not to be defeated, I attempted a second Story. Publishing went off without a hitch. For good measure, I updated the Story and added a new slide. Once again, no issues.</p>



<p>I knew the publishing experience could not be that broken after the initial ease of creating the Story slides.</p>



<p>Maybe the development team fixed a bug between my first and second attempts. Maybe something simply broke down on the technological highway. I will chalk my first attempt up to the internet gods playing a cruel trick on me.</p>



<p>The Story feature is technically a <a href="https://github.com/Automattic/jetpack/tree/master/projects/plugins/jetpack/extensions/blocks/story">block included with Jetpack</a> that can only be edited in the mobile apps. The version I am waiting on is when it works via the browser-based editor. At that point, we will be able to compare it to existing plugins.</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, 09 Mar 2021 22:17:52 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:19;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:149:"WPTavern: WordPress 5.7 Introduces Drag-and-Drop for Blocks and Patterns, Streamlined Admin Color Palette, and One-Click Migration from HTTP to HTTPS";s:7:"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=113299";s:7:"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:339:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-7-introduces-drag-and-drop-for-blocks-and-patterns-streamlined-admin-color-palette-and-one-click-migration-from-http-to-https?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wordpress-5-7-introduces-drag-and-drop-for-blocks-and-patterns-streamlined-admin-color-palette-and-one-click-migration-from-http-to-https";s: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:5269:"<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/03/esperanza/">WordPress 5.7</a> &ldquo;Esperanza&rdquo; was released today, named for Esperanza Spalding, an American jazz bassist who became an accomplished singer, songwriter, and composer in her early 20&rsquo;s. </p>



<p>Versions 9.3 &ndash; 9.9 of the Gutenberg plugin are rolled into this update, bringing hundreds of enhancements and bug fixes that make working in the block editor more efficient and enjoyable. </p>



<p>One of the highlights is the new drag-and-drop capabilities in the block inserter. Users can now drag blocks and block patterns directly into the post content area, making page building even faster. </p>







<p>Many of the user-facing editor enhancements in this release give the user more control when using existing blocks:</p>



<ul><li><strong>Full height alignment</strong>: Blocks such as the Cover block now can have an option to expand to fill the entire viewport.</li><li><strong>Buttons block</strong>: The Buttons block now supports vertical alignments, and you can set the width of a button to a preset percentage.</li><li><strong>Social Icons block</strong>: You can now change the size of the icons in the Social Icons block.</li><li><strong>Font size in more places</strong>: You can now change the font size in the List and Code blocks</li></ul>



<p>This release also improves the UI for block variations to include the icon and description for the variation in the block inspector and a new dropdown to allow for switching between variations. Reusable blocks have been updated to be saved at the same time the post is saved. Quite a few more improvements have been added in <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-10-1-enhances-reusable-blocks-updates-social-icons-spacing-options-and-normalizes-image-block-toolbar#comment-368111">version 10.1</a> of the Gutenberg plugin, which is not yet included core. If you use Reusable blocks frequently, you may want to install the plugin to take advantage of the expanded UI.</p>



<p>In addition to all the editor improvements, WordPress 5.7 introduces a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/23/standardization-of-wp-admin-colors-in-wordpress-5-7/">streamlined color palette for the admin</a>. It standardizes the palette to&nbsp;seven&nbsp;core&nbsp;colors and a range of <a href="https://codepen.io/ryelle/full/WNGVEjw">56 shades</a>. One of the benefits is that all the shades meet the requirements for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/visual-audio-contrast-contrast.html">WCAG 2.0 AA recommended contrast ratio</a>&nbsp;against white or black. </p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img />New Admin Color Scheme</div>



<p>Theme and plugin developers who want to better match the admin color scheme can easily reference the new standardized shades to make their products more at home in the WordPress admin. WordPress&rsquo; existing core classes have also been updated with the new color palette so plugin authors can use them to work within the new standardized palette.</p>



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



<p>One of the most exciting technical enhancements in 5.7 is a new <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-7-will-make-it-easier-to-migrate-from-http-to-https">one-click migration from HTTP to HTTPS</a>. WordPress can now detect if the user&rsquo;s hosting environment has support for HTTPS and update with the click of a button, handling mixed content rewrites where possible. This feature is available on the Site Health recommendations screen.</p>



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



<p>WordPress 5.7 continues the <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/51812">ongoing cleanup after the update to jQuery 3.5.1</a>, which will eventually result in the removal of jQuery Migrate plugin. It fixes numerous jQuery deprecations in external libraries, cleaning up many <code>JQMIGRATE</code>&nbsp;warnings. </p>



<p>Developers may also be interested in the new filter-based <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/49992">Robots API</a> included in 5.7. It enables the central management of the content of the&nbsp;<code>robots</code>&nbsp;meta tag injected into the page, and includes a setting to toggle whether search engines are allowed to display large media from the site. By default, a&nbsp;<code>max-image-preview:large</code>&nbsp;robots directive which will be injected into the&nbsp;<code>robots</code>&nbsp;meta tag based on the new setting.</p>



<p>Version 5.7 also includes native support for <a href="https://wptavern.com/native-lazy-loading-support-for-iframes-coming-to-wordpress-5-7">lazy loading iframes</a>, a follow-up to WordPress&rsquo; support for <a href="https://wptavern.com/native-lazy-loading-support-coming-to-wordpress">lazy loading for images</a> that came in 5.5. This should improve loading for pages that include embeds and other types of iframes. </p>



<p>Check out the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/23/wordpress-5-7-field-guide/">WordPress 5.7 field guide</a> for technical details on everything new in this release. This update is the result of work from 481 volunteer contributors who collaborated on 250 tickets on Trac and more than 950 pull requests on GitHub.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 09 Mar 2021 21:02:58 +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:20;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:49:"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 5.7 “Esperanza”";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=9888";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:45:"https://wordpress.org/news/2021/03/esperanza/";s: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:39674:"<div class="wp-block-cover"><img width="632" height="327" class="wp-block-cover__image-background wp-image-9932" alt="" src="https://i1.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2021/03/about-header-brushes.png?resize=632%2C327&ssl=1" /><div class="wp-block-cover__inner-container">
<p class="has-text-align-center has-large-font-size"><strong>WordPress 5.7</strong> <strong>&#8220;Esperanza&#8221;</strong></p>



<p class="has-text-align-center">Bringing you fresh colors in the admin, simpler interactions in the editor, and controls right where you need them, WordPress 5.7 lets you focus on the content you create.</p>



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



<p></p>
</div></div>



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



<p>Meet “Esperanza”, the first WordPress release of 2021. “Esperanza” is named in honor of Esperanza Spalding, a modern musical prodigy. Her path as a musician is varied and inspiring—<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanza_Spalding">learn more about her</a>&nbsp;and give her music a listen!</p>



<p>With this new version, WordPress brings you fresh colors. The editor helps you work in a few places you couldn’t before without getting into code or hiring a pro. The controls you use most are right where you need them. Layout changes that should be simple, are even simpler to make.</p>



<h2>Now the new editor is easier to use</h2>



<p><strong>Font-size adjustment in more places:</strong>&nbsp;now, font-size controls are right where you need them in the List and Code blocks. No more trekking to another screen to make that single change!</p>



<p><strong>Reusable blocks:</strong>&nbsp;several enhancements make reusable blocks more stable and easier to use. And now they save automatically with the post when you click the Update button.</p>



<p><strong>Inserter drag-and-drop:</strong>&nbsp;drag blocks and block patterns from the inserter right into your post.</p>







<h2>You can do more without writing custom code</h2>



<p><strong>Full-height alignment:</strong>&nbsp;have you ever wanted to make a block, like the Cover block, fill the whole window? Now you can.</p>



<p><strong>Buttons block:</strong>&nbsp;now you can choose a vertical or a horizontal layout. And you can set the width of a button to a preset percentage.</p>



<p><strong>Social Icons block:</strong>&nbsp;now you can change the size of the icons.</p>



<img src="https://i0.wp.com/s.w.org/images/core/5.7/about-57-cover.jpg?w=632&ssl=1" alt="" />



<h2>A simpler default color palette</h2>



<p>This new streamlined color palette collapses all the colors that used to be in the WordPress source code down to seven core colors and a range of 56 shades that meet the <a href="https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG2AA-Conformance">WCAG 2.0 AA recommended contrast ratio</a> against white or black.</p>



<p>Find the new palette in the default WordPress Dashboard color scheme, and use it when you’re building themes, plugins, or any other components. For all the details,&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/23/standardization-of-wp-admin-colors-in-wordpress-5-7">check out the Color Palette dev note</a>.</p>



<h2>From HTTP to HTTPS in a single click</h2>



<p>Starting now, switching a site from HTTP to HTTPS is a one-click move. WordPress will automatically update database URLs when you make the switch. No more hunting and guessing!</p>



<h2>New Robots API</h2>



<p>The new Robots API lets you include the filter directives in the robots meta tag, and the API includes the&nbsp;<code>max-image-preview: large</code>&nbsp;directive by default. That means search engines can show bigger image previews, which can boost your traffic (unless the site is marked&nbsp;<em>not-public</em>).</p>



<h2>Lazy-load your iFrames</h2>



<p>Now it’s simple to let iframes lazy-load. By default, WordPress will add a&nbsp;<code>loading="lazy"</code>&nbsp;attribute to iframe tags when both width and height are specified.</p>



<h2>Ongoing cleanup after update to jQuery 3.5.1</h2>



<p>For years jQuery helped make things move on the screen in ways the basic tools couldn’t—but that keeps changing, and so does jQuery.</p>



<p>In 5.7, jQuery gets more focused and less intrusive, with fewer messages in the console.</p>



<h2>Check the Field Guide for more!</h2>



<p>Check out the latest version of the WordPress Field Guide. It highlights developer notes for each change you may want to be aware of.&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/23/wordpress-5-7-field-guide">WordPress 5.7 Field Guide.</a></p>



<h2>The Squad</h2>



<p>The WordPress 5.7 release comes to you from a small and experienced release squad:&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<ul><li><strong>Release Lead:</strong>&nbsp;Matt Mullenweg (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/matt/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>matt</a>)</li><li><strong>Triage Lead:</strong>&nbsp;Tonya Mork (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hellofromtonya/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>hellofromtonya</a>)</li><li><strong>Release Coordinator:</strong>&nbsp;Ebonie Butler (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/metalandcoffee/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>metalandcoffee</a>)</li><li><strong>Core Tech Lead:</strong>&nbsp;Sergey Biryukov (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sergeybiryukov/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>sergeybiryukov</a>)</li><li><strong>Editor Tech Lead:</strong>&nbsp;Robert Anderson (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/noisysocks/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>noisysocks</a>)</li><li><strong>Design Lead:</strong>&nbsp;Tim Hengeveld (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hedgefield/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>hedgefield</a>)</li><li><strong>Accessibility Lead:</strong>&nbsp;Sarah Ricker (@sarahricke<strong>r</strong>)</li><li><strong>Documentation Lead:&nbsp;</strong>Jb Audras (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/audrasjb/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>audrasjb</a>)</li><li><strong>Test Lead:</strong>&nbsp;Monika Rao (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/monikarao/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>monikarao</a>)</li></ul>



<p>This release is the reflection of the hard work of 481 generous volunteer contributors. Collaboration occurred on nearly 250 tickets on Trac and over 950 pull requests on GitHub.</p>



<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/7studio/">7studio</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aaribaud/">aaribaud</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/technosailor/">Aaron Brazell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aaroncampbell/">Aaron D. Campbell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jorbin/">Aaron Jorbin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aaronrobertshaw/">aaronrobertshaw</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/abagtcs/">abagtcs</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/acerempel/">acerempel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/activecoder/">activecoder</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ad7six/">ad7six</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bosconiandynamics/">Adam Bosco</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/adamsilverstein/">Adam Silverstein</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/adamboro/">adamboro</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/addiestavlo/">Addison Stavlo</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mrahmadawais/">Ahmad Awais</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/engahmeds3ed/">Ahmed Saeed</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aljullu/">Albert Juh&#233; Lluveras</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/albertomake/">albertomake</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ajlende/">Alex Lende</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/alexwoollam/">Alex Woollam</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/alex27/">alex27</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chemiker/">Alexander Lueken</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/alexstine/">alexstine</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/allancole/">allancole</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/allendav/">Allen Snook</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/almendron/">almendron</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/amandariu/">Amanda Riu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ambienthack/">ambienthack</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/amolv/">Amol Vhankalas</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/afercia/">Andrea Fercia</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/andraganescu/">Andrei Draganescu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aduth/">Andrew Duthie</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nacin/">Andrew Nacin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/anevins/">Andrew Nevins</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/azaozz/">Andrew Ozz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/andrewserong/">Andrew Serong</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nosolosw/">André Maneiro</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/afragen/">Andy Fragen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/apeatling/">Andy Peatling</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ankitmaru/">Ankit Panchal</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/annezazu/">Anne McCarthy</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/antpb/">Anthony Burchell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/antonlukin/">Anton Lukin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/atimmer/">Anton Timmermans</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/anyssa/">Anyssa Ferreira</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/archon810/">archon810</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aristath/">Ari Stathopoulos</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/passoniate/">Arslan Ahmed</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/artpi/">Artur Piszek</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/maigret/">Aur&#233;lien Denis</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ayeshrajans/">Ayesh Karunaratne</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bartosz777/">bartosz777</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/basscan/">basscan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bduclos/">bduclos</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/becdetat/">becdetat</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pixolin/">Bego Mario Garde</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/scruffian/">Ben Dwyer</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bernhard reiter/">Bernhard Reiter</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bernhard-reiter/">Bernhard Reiter</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bhanusinghkre/">bhanusinghkre</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/birgire/">Birgir Erlendsson (birgire)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bph/">Birgit Pauli-Haack</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bobbingwide/">bobbingwide</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bonniebeeman/">bonniebeeman</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/boonebgorges/">Boone Gorges</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ibdz/">Boy Witthaya</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kraftbj/">Brandon Kraft</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/brentswisher/">Brent Swisher</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/brijeshb42/">brijeshb42</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/burnuser/">burnuser</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/icaleb/">Caleb Burks</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cvoell/">Cameron Voell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/carike/">Carike</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/carloscastilloadhoc/">carloscastilloadhoc</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/carlosgprim/">carlosgprim</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/poena/">Carolina Nymark</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/celendesign/">celendesign</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cenay/">Cenay Nailor</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ceyhun0/">ceyhun0</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chexwarrior/">chexwarrior</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chipsnyder/">Chip Snyder</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cbringmann/">Chloé Bringmann</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chouby/">Chouby</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chrisvanpatten/">Chris Van Patten</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pixelverbieger/">Christian Sabo</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/amethystanswers/">Christina Workman</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cfinke/">Christopher Finke</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/clayray/">clayray</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/claytoncollie/">Clayton Collie</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/codeamp/">Code Amp</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/collizo4sky/">Collins Agbonghama</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/copons/">Copons</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/coreyw/">Corey</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cristinasoponar/">cristinasoponar</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dam6pl/">Damian Nowak</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/danfarrow/">Dan Farrow</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/talldanwp/">Daniel Richards</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mte90/">Daniele Scasciafratte</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dvankooten/">Danny van Kooten</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dariak/">Daria</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nerrad/">Darren Ethier (nerrad)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/drw158/">Dave Whitley</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidanderson/">David Anderson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidbaumwald/">David Baumwald</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidbinda/">David Biňovec</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dpcalhoun/">David Calhoun</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dlh/">David Herrera</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davecpage/">David Page</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dbtedg/">dbtedg</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dd32/">dd32</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dkarfa/">Debabrata Karfa</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dekervit/">dekervit</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/denisco/">Denis Yanchevskiy</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/denishua/">denishua</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dianeco/">Diane Co</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dilipbheda/">Dilip Bheda</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ocean90/">Dominik Schilling</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/donmhico/">donmhico</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dratwas/">dratwas</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/drewapicture/">Drew Jaynes</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidszabo/">Dávid Szabó</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/e_baker/">e_baker</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/metalandcoffee/">Ebonie Butler</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ediamin/">Edi Amin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/iseulde/">Ella van Durpe</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ellatrix/">Ella van Durpe</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/erichmond/">Elliott Richmond</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/enej/">Enej Bajgorić</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/enricocarraro/">Enrico Carraro</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/epicfaace/">epicfaace</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/epiqueras/">epiqueras</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ericlewis/">Eric Andrew Lewis</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ebinnion/">Eric Binnion</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ericmann/">Eric Mann</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kebbet/">Erik Betshammar</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/folletto/">Erin 'Folletto' Casali</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/estelaris/">Estela Rueda</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/etoledom/">etoledom</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/eventualo/">eventualo</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/fabiankaegy/">Fabian K&#228;gy</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/felipeelia/">Felipe Elia</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/flixos90/">Felix Arntz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mista-flo/">Florian TIAR</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/florianziegler/">Florian Ziegler</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/floriswt/">floriswt</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/francina/">Francesca Marano</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/frank-klein/">Frank Klein</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/fullofcaffeine/">fullofcaffeine</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ecgan/">Gan Eng Chin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/garrett-eclipse/">Garrett Hyder</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pento/">Gary Pendergast</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/geekpress/">GeekPress</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/geekzebre/">geekzebre</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/geoffguillain/">Geoff Guillain</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/georgestephanis/">George Stephanis</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/geriux/">geriux</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gkibria69/">gKibria</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/glendaviesnz/">glendaviesnz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gmariani405/">gmariani405</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/alinod/">Gord</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/greatsaltlake/">greatsaltlake</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gziolo/">Greg Ziółkowski</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/grzim/">grzim</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gumacahin/">gumacahin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gunnard/">gunnard</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bordoni/">Gustavo Bordoni</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hansjovisyoast/">Hans-Christiaan Braun</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hardeepasrani/">Hardeep Asrani</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hareesh-pillai/">Hareesh</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hauvong/">hauvong</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hazdiego/">Haz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/helen/">Helen Hou-Sandi</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/helmutwalker/">helmutwalker</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tejwanihemant/">Hemant Tejwani</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/herregroen/">Herre Groen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nonverbla/">hirasso</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hmabpera/">hmabpera</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/howdy_mcgee/">Howdy_McGee</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hsingyuc7/">hsingyuc7</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/iandunn/">Ian Dunn</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ianmjones/">ianmjones</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ibiza69/">ibiza69</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/igorradovanov/">Igor Radovanov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ingereck/">ingereck</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/iprg/">iprg</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ipstenu/">Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/isabel_brison/">Isabel Brison</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ismailelkorchi/">Ismail El Korchi</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/iviweb/">iviweb</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jdgrimes/">J.D. Grimes</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jadeddragoon/">jadeddragoon</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/whyisjake/">Jake Spurlock</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jakeparis/">jakeparis</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jakubtyrcha/">jakub.tyrcha</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jamesgol/">James Golovich</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/macmanx/">James Huff</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jameskoster/">James Koster</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jnylen0/">James Nylen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jamesros161/">James Rosado</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/janthiel/">Jan Thiel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jason_the_adams/">Jason Adams</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/madtownlems/">Jason LeMahieu (MadtownLems)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/viablethought/">Jason Ryan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jaymanpandya/">Jayman Pandya</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/audrasjb/">Jean-Baptiste Audras</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeffr0/">Jeff Chandler</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jfarthing84/">Jeff Farthing</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeffpaul/">Jeff Paul</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jmdodd/">Jennifer M. Dodd</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jdy68/">Jenny Dupuy</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeremyfelt/">Jeremy Felt</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeremyyip/">Jeremy Yip</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeroenrotty/">Jeroen Rotty</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jessplease/">Jessica Duarte</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/luminuu/">Jessica Lyschik</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joanrho/">joanrho</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joedolson/">Joe Dolson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joemcgill/">Joe McGill</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joelclimbsthings/">joelclimbsthings</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joen/">Joen Asmussen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/goaroundagain/">Johannes Kinast</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/johnwatkins0/">John Watkins</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jonsurrell/">Jon Surrell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jrchamp/">Jonathan Champ</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/desrosj/">Jonathan Desrosiers</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jonathanstegall/">Jonathan Stegall</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/spacedmonkey/">Jonny Harris</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jonoaldersonwp/">Jono Alderson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joostdevalk/">Joost de Valk</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jordesign/">jordesign</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jorgefilipecosta/">Jorge Costa</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jomisica/">Jos&#233; Miguel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jose64/">Jose Luis</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/accessiblejoe/">Joseph Karr O&#039;Connor</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/">Josepha Haden</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joshuatf/">joshuatf</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joshuawold/">JoshuaWold</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tai/">JOTAKI, Taisuke</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joyously/">Joy</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jsmoriss/">JS Morisset</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jsnajdr/">jsnajdr</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jrf/">Juliette Reinders Folmer</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/juliobox/">Julio Potier</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/justinahinon/">Justin Ahinon</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/justinsainton/">Justin Sainton</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jtsternberg/">Justin Sternberg</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kafleg/">kafleg</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kevin940726/">Kai Hao</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/trepmal/">Kailey (trepmal)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/akabarikalpesh/">Kalpesh Akabari</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/karamcnair/">kara.mcnair</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/vyskoczilova/">Karolina Vyskocilova</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ryelle/">Kelly Choyce-Dwan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gwwar/">Kerry Liu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tmfespresso/">kimdcottrell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kirilzh/">Kiril Zhelyazkov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kburgoine/">Kirsty Burgoine</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ixkaito/">Kite</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kjellr/">Kjell Reigstad</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/knutsp/">Knut Sparhell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hwk-fr/">Konrad Chmielewski</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/obenland/">Konstantin Obenland</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/xkon/">Konstantinos Xenos</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kurtpayne/">Kurt Payne</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kbjohnson90/">Kyle B. Johnson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/notlaura/">Lara Schenck</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/laurelfulford/">laurelfulford</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/laxman-prajapati/">Laxman Prajapati</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/leogermani/">leogermani</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/levdbas/">Levdbas</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/litemotiv/">litemotiv</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lovor/">Lovro Hrust</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lucasbustamante/">lucasbustamante</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/_luigi/">Luigi Cavalieri</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lpawlik/">Lukas Pawlik</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lukecarbis/">Luke Carbis</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lukecavanagh/">Luke Cavanagh</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/happiryu/">Luke Walczak</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/oellin/">Magali</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/magnuswebdesign/">magnuswebdesign</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mahfuz01/">Mahafuz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/akramipro/">Mahdi Akrami</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/malinajirka/">malinajirka</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mallorydxw/">mallorydxw</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tomdxw/">mallorydxw-old</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/manzoorwanijk/">Manzoor Wani</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/manzurahammed/">Manzur Ahammed</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/marcelo2605/">marcelo2605</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/marcio-zebedeu/">Marcio Zebedeu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/netweblogic/">Marcus</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mkaz/">Marcus Kazmierczak</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chaton666/">Marie Comet</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/marijnkoopman/">Marijn Koopman</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tyxla/">Marin Atanasov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/clorith/">Marius Jensen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mdwolinski/">Mark D Wolinski</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/markhowellsmead/">Mark Howells-Mead</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/markscottrobson/">Mark Robson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mapk/">Mark Uraine</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/vindl/">Marko Andrijasevic</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/flootr/">Markus</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/marybaum/">Mary Baum</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mberard/">Mathieu Berard Smartfire</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/imath/">Mathieu Viet</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/matveb/">Matias Ventura</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mattchowning/">Matt Chowning</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/matt/">Matt Mullenweg</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mattwiebe/">Matt Wiebe</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/maxpertici/">Maxime Pertici</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mayankmajeji/">Mayank Majeji</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mdrockwell/">mdrockwell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/megphillips91/">Meg Phillips</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/megabyterose/">megabyterose</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/meher/">Meher Bala</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mehrshaddarzi/">Mehrshad Darzi</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mehulkaklotar/">Mehul Kaklotar</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/melchoyce/">Mel Choyce-Dwan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mendezcode/">mendezcode</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mgol/">mgol</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/michael-arestad/">Michael Arestad</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mbabker/">Michael Babker</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mcsf/">Miguel Fonseca</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/miinasikk/">Miina Sikk</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mikeschroder/">Mike Schroder</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dimadin/">Milan Dinić</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/milana_cap/">Milana Cap</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/0mirka00/">mirka</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/daddou/">Mohamed El Amine DADDOU</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/monika/">Monika</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/monikarao/">Monika Rao</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/morenaf/">morenaf</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mrjoeldean/">mrjoeldean</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mukesh27/">Mukesh Panchal</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/munyagu/">munyagu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mzorz/">mzorz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/naveen17797/">Naveen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/krstarica/">net</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nre/">nicky</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nico23/">Nico</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nico_martin/">Nico Martin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nicolalaserra/">Nicola Laserra</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rahe/">Nicolas Juen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nicolaskulka/">NicolasKulka</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ntsekouras/">Nik Tsekouras</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/noahtallen/">Noah Allen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nwjames/">nwjames</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/oakesjosh/">oakesjosh</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/oglekler/">Olga Gleckler</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ovidiul/">ovidiul</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/oxyc/">oxyc</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/paaljoachim/">Paal Joachim Romdahl</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/swissspidy/">Pascal Birchler</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pbearne/">Paul Bearne</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pbiron/">Paul Biron</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pabline/">Paul Bunkham</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/paulschreiber/">Paul Schreiber</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pschrottky/">Paul Von Schrottky</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pawki07/">pawki07</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pbking/">pbking</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pedromendonca/">Pedro Mendon&#231;a</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gungeekatx/">Pete Nelson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/psmits1567/">Peter Smits</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/peterwilsoncc/">Peter Wilson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pinkalbeladiya/">Pinkal Devani</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/boniu91/">Piotrek Boniu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/freewebmentor/">Prem Tiwari</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/presstoke/">presstoke</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/prettyboymp/">prettyboymp</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/princeahmed/">Prince</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/pypwalters/">pypwalters</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/itsjonq/">Q</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/r-a-y/">r-a-y</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rafaelgalani/">Rafael Galani</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rafhun/">rafhun</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ramiy/">Rami Yushuvaev</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rahmohn/">Ramon Ahnert</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ratneshk/">ratneshk</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jontyravi/">Ravi Vaghela</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ravipatel/">ravipatel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/retrofox/">retrofox</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/reardestani/">Reza Ardestani</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/youknowriad/">Riad Benguella</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rianrietveld/">Rian Rietveld</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/iamfriendly/">Richard Tape</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/noisysocks/">Robert Anderson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rodrigosprimo/">Rodrigo Primo</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/roger995/">roger995</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rolfsiebers/">Rolf Siebers</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/romain-d/">Romain</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/burtrw/">Ronnie Burt</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/magicroundabout/">Ross Wintle</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ryan/">Ryan Boren</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sebastienserre/">S&#233;bastien SERRE</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/soean/">S&#246;ren Wrede</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/stodorovic/">Sa&#353;a</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sanketchodavadiya/">Sanket Chodavadiya</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sarahricker/">Sarah Ricker</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sarayourfriend/">sarayourfriend</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/wonderboymusic/">Scott Taylor</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sebastianpisula/">Sebastian Pisula</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sebsz/">SeBsZ</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sergeybiryukov/">Sergey Biryukov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/yakimun/">Sergey Yakimov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sergiomdgomes/">sergiomdgomes</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/shahinsid07/">Shahin Sid</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/shaunandrews/">shaunandrews</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/shital-patel/">Shital Marakana</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/slaffik/">Slava Abakumov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/snapfractalpop/">snapfractalpop</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/souri_wpaustria/">souri_wpaustria</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ryokuhi/">Stefano Minoia</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hypest/">Stefanos Togoulidis</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sabernhardt/">Stephen Bernhardt</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/netweb/">Stephen Edgar</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/stevenkword/">Steven Word</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/subrataemfluence/">Subrata Sarkar</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/quadthemes/">Sunny</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/t-p/">t-p</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/inc2734/">Takashi Kitajima</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/patopaiar/">Tami</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/karmatosed/">Tammie Lister</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tanvirul/">Tanvirul Haque</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/voboghure/">Tapan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/teamdnk/">TeamDNK</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/utz119/">TeBenachi</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tweetythierry/">Thierry Muller</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/thorlentz/">thorlentz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hedgefield/">Tim Hengeveld</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tnolte/">Tim Nolte</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sippis/">Timi Wahalahti</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/timothyblynjacobs/">Timothy Jacobs</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tinodidriksen/">tinodidriksen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tkama/">Tkama</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tmatsuur/">tmatsuur</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tz-media/">Tobias Zimpel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tobifjellner/">tobifjellner (Tor-Bjorn Fjellner)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/skithund/">Toni Viemer&#246;</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/arcangelini/">Tony A</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hellofromtonya/">Tonya Mork</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tonysandwich/">tonysandwich</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/zodiac1978/">Torsten Landsiedel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/toru/">Toru Miki</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/transl8or/">transl8or</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tylertork/">Tyler Tork</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/grapplerulrich/">Ulrich</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/umangvaghela123/">Umang Vaghela</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/vandestouwe/">vandestouwe</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/vcanales/">vcanales</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/vipulc2/">Vipul Chandel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/vladytimy/">Vlad T.</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/webcommsat/">webcommsat AbhaNonStopNewsUK</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/webmandesign/">WebMan Design &#124; Oliver Juhas</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/wendyjchen/">Wendy Chen</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/wesselvandenberg/">wesselvandenberg</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/westonruter/">Weston Ruter</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/wallstead/">Willis Allstead</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/worldedu/">worldedu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/wponlinesupport/">WP OnlineSupport</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tikifez/">Xristopher Anderton</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/yannkozon/">Yann Kozon</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/yoavf/">Yoav Farhi</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/yscik/">yscik</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/fierevere/">Yui</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/yuliyan/">yuliyan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/zebulan/">Zebulan Stanphill</a>, and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/zieladam/">zieladam</a>.



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<p class="has-text-align-center has-white-color has-text-color has-large-font-size"><strong>Code is poetry.</strong></p>
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<p></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 09 Mar 2021 20:52:32 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Matt Mullenweg";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:21;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:83:"WPTavern: WordPress Considers Dropping Support for IE 11 After Usage Falls Below 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:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=113384";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:209:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-considers-dropping-support-for-ie-11-after-usage-falls-below-1?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wordpress-considers-dropping-support-for-ie-11-after-usage-falls-below-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:5345:"<p>A new proposal on WordPress.org explores the ramifications of <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/03/04/discussion-dropping-support-for-ie11/">dropping support for Internet Explorer 11 (IE11</a>). H&eacute;ctor Prieto summarized the current state of IE usage among WordPress users, citing three metrics that demonstrate declining usage that is now cumulatively below ~1%: </p>



<ul><li>0.71% from&nbsp;<a href="https://gs.statcounter.com/browser-version-partially-combined-market-share#monthly-202001-202101">StatCounter&rsquo;s GlobalStats</a></li><li>1.2% from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.w3counter.com/trends">W3 Counter</a></li><li>0.46% from&nbsp;WordPress.com</li></ul>



<p>StatCounter&rsquo;s GlobalStats record IE11 having dipped below 1.0% for the first time in August 2020, and it has continued declining steadily since then. </p>



<p>The numbers cited in the proposal are similar to those contributors used when WordPress 4.8 officially <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-8-will-end-support-for-internet-explorer-versions-8-9-and-10">dropped support for IE versions 8, 9, and 10</a> in 2017. These types of browser support decisions are always carefully considered, as they affect more users than one might guess, given the scale of a software project with more than <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-passes-40-market-share-of-alexa-top-10-million-websites">40% market share of all websites</a>. </p>



<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s important to keep in mind that when viewing these statistics in the context of WordPress, these percentages represent tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of users that could potentially be left behind if support for IE11 is dropped,&rdquo; Prieto said. </p>



<p>Most of the people still using IE11 are doing so because of forces outside their control. They may not have the ability to simply download an alternative browser. This is more common for users working inside major institutions like banking, government, and education.</p>



<p>At this point in WordPress&rsquo; history, the benefits for the web seem to heavily outweigh the negative impacts on a small percentage of users who might be affected by lack of IE11 support. Improving the performance of the editor is one driving factor in this decision. Prieto shared stats from <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/27685">an exploration by Gutenberg developer Riad Benguella</a>, where he measured the impact of dropping IE11 support, demonstrating an 84.9 kB (7%)&nbsp;reduction in Gutenberg JavaScript build files.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Dropping support would result in smaller scripts, lower maintenance burden, and decrease build times,&rdquo; Prieto said. </p>



<p>&ldquo;The smaller downloads would positively impact all users, especially those on slower networks, or computing devices. We expect a result of dropping IE11 support to improve performance for the vast majority of users.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Most of those participating in the discussion on WordPress.org are strongly in favor of dropping support for IE11, but a few cautioned that it must be done in a controlled way, with an EOL date announced months in advance. There are some institutions that selected WordPress for their projects based solely on the fact that it offers IE11 support, and they need time to plan a transition.</p>



<p>&ldquo;I can see the crowd cheering for finally getting rid of IE and trust me I&rsquo;ll be the first to pop champagne when that day has finally come,&rdquo; WordPress developer Thomas Kr&auml;ftner said. &ldquo;Still I believe we need to make sure this is done in a slow, controlled and careful way so the effort saved for not supporting IE doesn&rsquo;t backfire with extra, even more hellish work for those that don&rsquo;t yet have the choice to drop IE.&rdquo; </p>



<p>Approximately 16 months ago, Riad Benguella <a href="https://meta.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/4863">proposed</a> WordPress add a notice to discourage Internet Explorer usage. Shortly thereafter, the Browse Happy API was updating to consider all versions of Internet Explorer as insecure. In the most recent conversation on WordPress.org, contributors suggested taking it a step further and change the notice to state that IE11 support will be dropped in WP-Admin&nbsp;by the end of year. Many shared additional benefits not outlined in the proposal.</p>



<p>&ldquo;There&rsquo;s lots of things we can&rsquo;t use right now because of the IE11 constraint:&nbsp;CSS&nbsp;Variables, CSS grid, Modern&nbsp;JS&nbsp;are just the 1st things that come to mind,&rdquo; Ari Stathopoulos commented. &ldquo;We would be able to ship smaller files to 40% of the web, so the environmental impact of this change would be quite big, a huge win for our sustainability efforts! 99% of WP&rsquo;s userbase has suffered enough already because of the IE limitation, and removing support for it can really make a dent and urge the few remaining IE users to use a better/newer browser.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Prieto said the initial <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/03/04/discussion-dropping-support-for-ie11/">proposal</a> was just to get the conversation started and was not meant to go into technical implementation details. WordPress contributors are invited to offer feedback about the proposal in the comments before March 18.</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, 09 Mar 2021 05:34:37 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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:22;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:54:"WordPress.org blog: People of WordPress: Olga Gleckler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=9875";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:69:"https://wordpress.org/news/2021/03/people-of-wordpress-olga-gleckler/";s: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:16620:"<p><em>WordPress is open source software, maintained by a global network of contributors. There are many examples of how WordPress has changed people’s lives for the better. In this monthly series, we share some of the amazing stories that are lesser-known.</em></p>



<p><strong>From a natural interest in computers and fixing things as a young woman, Olga Gleckler from St Petersburg, Russia, found WordPress took her on a journey to becoming a successful female tech entrepreneur. On International Women’s Day, we share her story.&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong></p>



<img src="https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2021/03/WCEU-2020-online.jpg?resize=580%2C768&ssl=1" alt="Olga with a WordCamp Vienna t-shirt" class="wp-image-9878" width="580" height="768" />



<h2><strong>Finding your path can take longer than you expect</strong></h2>



<p>From the age of 15, Olga found herself under pressure to find a free place for her professional studies. She said: “I didn’t know how high or low my chances were even if I had very good marks. I could have been just the biggest fish in a small pond. But anyway, I made up my mind to go to technical school.”</p>



<p>On leaving school in St Petersburg with her certificate, Olga felt her knowledge of opportunities was very narrow. She had pictured being an ecologist or guide translator based on the subjects she had been taught at school. There was also an advertising boom in Russia and she began to explore this as a career avenue. She had developed her computer skills and found opportunities to practise by helping her teachers with administrative work.</p>



<p>Though she did not have access to any formal career advice, her journey led her into programming. She said: “The range of technical schools was not wide. I spent four years studying transistor markings, soldering and drawing PCB layouts. Programming courses using Pascal didn&#8217;t do anything useful with it.”</p>



<p>A lack of suitable access to English-language courses made things harder for Olga. She was determined that she would master the language later in her life. In the meantime, she left technical school with an honors degree and improved typing skills.</p>



<p>“I faced it was a wild, unfriendly market. I didn’t know how to recognize a genuine job offer or how to avoid the bad ones. It was difficult and I don’t know how long I would’ve looked for work without help.”</p>



<h2><strong>Think differently to find where you belong</strong></h2>



<p>Olga&#8217;s father worked in an IT company and was able to give her some advice and help with potential introductions. When she was still studying, he suggested her strong technical skills might be useful as a substitute typist. When she finished her studies, he helped her apply for a job updating a legal system on clients’ computers.<br /><br />Six months later, she got a full-time job in the same service department. She liked her position and her clients. However, she was given friendly advice that without a university degree she would not be able to have any further promotions.</p>



<p>At this time, Olga was trying to study PHP from a book. She found it very exciting at first, but a lot of their functions did not give her explanations on how to build something useful. She found when she tried to build practical items from book reading, it did not always make sense and the solutions would often fail.&nbsp;</p>



<p>She said: “It was hard to admit a failure even to myself and it was nagging me for a long time. I had to choose something I could handle, that I was interested in and could afford. It turned out to be advertising.”</p>



<p>She spent most of the family’s holidays on learning sessions during the next six years. Olga recalled: “It was tricky for my husband to make me leave a computer, once I was glued to it, so he bought me my first laptop. English was still hard for me, I got high marks through just memorizing all the words in a textbook and how they should sound.”</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><strong>Doubting your professional skills can happen when you are at home isolated looking after children. Keeping up your interests is important.</strong></p></blockquote>



<p>Olga’s life took a change after having a new baby and she spent three years doubting her professional skills and her chances of getting a good job. She tried to get back into other interests through studying, baking and drawing, but found ‘the pram was pulling me back’. She found she became very isolated and felt less able to contribute as the family was relying on her husband’s income as she tried to focus on looking forward.</p>



<p>She said: “I was convinced (and saw) that not too many companies wanted a woman in the office, who with a small baby might need lots of leave.”</p>



<p>She finished her education when she returned to work after three years caring for her son. She secured a promotion but with changes in the company’s staffing, things were tense. She found the difficulties there had become more heightened and felt that young female colleagues were treated as ‘pieces of furniture’ by one manager. She did not want to stay in this environment and in a few months time decided to leave.</p>



<h2><strong>Your next chapter may be nearby</strong></h2>



<p>Determined to not repeat this type of experience, Olga looked at the brighter side. She said: “I wanted to be a marketer. Knowing how tricky it is to sell intangibles, I wanted a solid product to work with.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>It turned out to be more difficult to find a job outside traditional IT as a young mother. Some human resource officers advised her to remain within the technology arena.</p>



<p>Olga remained hopeful and continued to study hard. She had many learning experiences along the way, which she hopes others can learn from too. One was setting a low bar to employers. She said: “Companies I worked in wanted to get all publicity and sales increases achieved through deductions from my salary.” This happened once and the next time she was in this situation she asked specifically about the budget before signing up. &#8220;I was assured this would not be the case, but again I found the budget for publicity came out of my wages. It was a tough period of disappointments. So when I was offered a part-time administrative job with basic sick leave, I took it gladly as a reprieve.”</p>



<p>The job was far from home and involved a lot of travelling. Olga spent two to three hours a day on buses with Harry Potter audio books for company. “In these traffic jams, I started to feel English at last and loved it. It gave me a freedom no money can buy. Life was getting better.” </p>



<p>Though the job did not pay highly, it gave her something valuable &#8211; a working website. After her boss and the developer parted company, she was asked to maintain the site. Through some studying and reverse engineering, she discovered how it worked and it gave her an insight into how to write simple websites from scratch.</p>



<p>Olga’s first encounter with JavaScript wasn’t easy: “My first JavaScript calculator almost made me crazy, but I pursued it.”</p>



<p>Quickly she started to get small tasks from friends and relatives, usually to solve some urgent problems and started to meet popular content management systems. One of the first she met with was WordPress. There was an issue in a website theme used by a website which had been changed and not maintained. It took a whole weekend to solve, but she was determined to work it out. Back then, WordPress was ‘just a system’. She didn’t know then how much it was to become part of her life.</p>



<p>Olga spent the next two years in this role. As time went on, she started to feel worried and less satisfied with the work. The last straw for her was a negative statement from her boss, who was not a programmer and who hadn’t seen any of the work done on the website. She felt the approach was unfair as she had done extensive work on the site. She recalls: “I became angry, but it was exactly what I needed to move jobs.”</p>



<p>When Olga was job hunting, she didn&#8217;t feel she had the courage to apply for a developer’s role, despite the learning and work she had already done. So instead she started working on projects where she felt she was more like a ‘seller of box-ready websites’. It was another tough half a year for her with a lot of work, low payment and plans not turning out as she had hoped. On top of long hours, she ended up with pneumonia. She said: “I see now that I was doing a disservice to customers, websites are not a microwave meal &#8211; quick, cheap and dummy. There was no life in the sites without a lot of work which no one was willing to buy. Most of the sites I sold back then died after the first year and they never were truly alive and useful.”</p>



<h2><strong>You need to be brave and have courage</strong></h2>



<img src="https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2021/03/Berlin-2019.jpg?resize=632%2C422&ssl=1" alt="Olga in Berlin wearing the WordPress Code is Poetry lanyard and a WordCamp t-shirt" class="wp-image-9879" width="632" height="422" />



<p>Olga really wanted a developer job but seeking jobs of this type was very frustrating. From the job adverts she found, it felt like most IT companies were asking for geniuses who already knew a lot of technologies and frameworks. She found this very demotivating.</p>



<p>She then found a job offer on a website outside the most popular job portals  and it seemed like a perfect fit. They wanted someone with experience to write from scratch, understand someone else’s code and maintain it, with an ability to translate technical documentation and articles, and make simple designs for printing products. After completing a trial task, she was taken on, and enjoyed a better salary, in a calm environment with good colleagues and without the requirement for a lot of extra hours.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The advert turned out to be a direct ad from one of the sales departments in a technology company. By succeeding in the  task set, Olga had bypassed the Human Resources team which she felt&nbsp;would not normally have considered her.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Her boss agreed to her working remotely most of the time. It solved any potential leave problems which Olga had thought may be an obstacle.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For Olga it had been 14 years since the original decision to become a programmer and it was only the beginning.&nbsp;</p>



<p>After a few years at what she describes as an ‘amazing experience’ in this workplace, Olga felt able to move on to her next challenge as a developer.</p>



<h2><strong>Decision-making can benefit from wider knowledge</strong></h2>



<p>After working with different systems Olga became sure that WordPress is the best CMS for developers and clients. But she was disappointed to find that the ease of use meant that good code was not always a priority for some of the sites she looked at.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“The biggest flaw of WordPress &#8211; it’s so easy to make things work that some may feel they don’t need to bother to do things right, but this becomes a problem later.”</p>



<p>In custom themes for a site, she also saw sites being made and clients left without any further support, or items hard coded when clients actually needed more control to change regularly.</p>



<p>Olga used to rely on examples she could easily find, documentation and search engines to improve her understanding in using WordPress. She discovered that just by searching for a specific feature or a solution, you can miss the whole picture.&nbsp;</p>



<p>She turned to online courses to get more comprehensive knowledge and then started to attend WordPress events, firstly online and then by foot, trains and planes! She discovered a worldwide community that was very much alive. She didn’t know when she started studying online materials and attending discussions that she would end up contributing herself to the <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/">Learn WordPress</a> platform a few years later.</p>



<p>WordCamps and contributor days became a big part of her life. From her early days attending events and starting out contributing to WordPress, she is an active member of the WordPress.org Global Marketing and Polyglots Teams, and supported the recent WordPress release. She is just beginning her first WordCamp organiser experience, joining WordCamp Europe 2021 on the Contribute Team. </p>



<img src="https://i1.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2021/03/St-Petersburg-2018.jpg?resize=632%2C602&ssl=1" alt="Olga next to a banner of WordCamp St Petersburg 2018" class="wp-image-9883" width="632" height="602" />



<p>Olga said: “Through the wider WordPress community, I knew not only where to look but also whom to ask. Most importantly, I found allies who don’t think I’m going crazy by speaking with delight about work, and with whom I share a passion and fondness for WordPress. This is what matters.</p>



<p>“Now, after more than seven years of full time development, I am still enjoying endless learning, frequent discoveries, mistakes and an impassioned wish to do better.”</p>



<p>This and a desire to help others use WordPress.org is part of Olga’s continued contribution to its Support and Marketing Teams, and led her to be involved in the Release Marketing questions and answers in 2020.</p>



<h2><strong>There is no chequered flag on the way</strong></h2>



<img width="632" height="946" src="https://i1.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2021/03/Berlin-2019-1.jpg?resize=632%2C946&ssl=1" alt="Olga at WordCamp Europe in Berlin in 2019" class="wp-image-9881" />



<p>The road to freedom and becoming her own boss has not been easy for Olga. It is the path that got her where she is today, and she continues to find joy in it. She retains the lessons she’s learned and is always hungry to learn more.</p>



<p>&nbsp;“I travelled through a very uneven path, with a lot of obstacles and noise, but for me it’s like a kaleidoscope where a little turn presents a new picture, a new “ah-ha” moment, new excitement after seemingly pointless efforts.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>She added: “When in doubt I remind myself about David Ogilvy (generally considered the Founding Father of the modern advertising industry) who tried a lot of things before he struck gold with advertising, and maybe that’s why he did.”</p>



<p>Finally, she learned not only to keep a good spirit and try different things, but also to dare as you move forward.</p>



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



<p>Thanks to Abha Thakor (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/webcommsat/">@webcommsat</a>), Nalini Thakor (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nalininonstopnewsuk/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>nalininonstopnewsuk</a>), Larissa Murillo (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lmurillom/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>lmurillom</a>), Meher Bala (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/meher/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>meher</a>), Josepha Haden (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/">@chanthaboune</a>), Chloé Bringmann (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cbringmann/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>cbringmann</a>) and Topher DeRosia (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/topher1kenobe/">@topher1kenobe</a>). Thank you to Olga Gleckler (<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/oglekler/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>oglekler</a>) for sharing her #ContributorStory.</p>



<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Y3odYTyvSfJbVxUxUWEgKxOprox2zxVwhk7_vdW-AIs4IlE-jK0Zt1itCj867x0dIAbIiK-VeuTLMZr6BjNEY0fkTf--4dT1hkLbnGtsPFNfyrVBYIN59IirTkNnqiQgqxk6E1MI" alt="HeroPress logo" />



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



<p><em>Meet more WordPress community members in our <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/category/heropress/">People of WordPress</a> series.</em></p>



<p><em>#ContributorStory #HeroPress</em></p>



<p></p>



<p><em>Photo credits: 2nd and 4th Pablo Gigena, Berlin, 2019</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, 08 Mar 2021 22:30:00 +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:28:"webcommsat AbhaNonStopNewsUK";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:23;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:76:"WPTavern: Proposal and Steps To Dual-License Gutenberg Under the GPL and MPL";s:7:"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=113368";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:197:"https://wptavern.com/proposal-and-steps-to-dual-license-gutenberg-under-the-gpl-and-mpl?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=proposal-and-steps-to-dual-license-gutenberg-under-the-gpl-and-mpl";s: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:7122:"<p class="has-drop-cap">The GPL is so embedded into WordPress that it is not just the license the platform is under but a part of the community&rsquo;s culture. Friends have been gained and lost over discussions of it. Bridges burned. Battles waged. People cast out to the dark corners of the web that &ldquo;we don&rsquo;t talk about.&rdquo; There was even a time when one could expect a fortnightly GPL dust-up in which the inner WordPress world argued the same points over and over, <em>ad nauseam</em>.</p>



<p>It might be hard to imagine a world where &mdash; outside of third-party libraries &mdash; direct contributions to the software are under anything other than the GPL. However, the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/03/05/dual-licensing-gutenberg-next-steps/">wheels are now in motion</a>. The Gutenberg project, which is the foundation of WordPress going forward, may soon be under both the GNU General Public License (GPL) v2 and the Mozilla Public License (MPL) v2.0.</p>



<p>The goal is to allow Gutenberg to be used in proprietary applications, particularly in the mobile space, where it can be a hurdle to ship GPL code.</p>



<p>Mobile Team contributor Maxime Biais <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/23651">proposed the change in July 2020</a>. &ldquo;Gutenberg supports two main platforms, the web and the native mobile apps. The GPL v2.0 license is a blocker for distributing the Gutenberg library in proprietary mobile apps.&rdquo;</p>



<p>At the moment, the WordPress for Android and WordPress for iOS apps use Gutenberg. Both of these apps are also licensed under the GPL, so it is a non-issue for them. However, it is uncommon for mobile apps to use the GPL. Thus, it limits Gutenberg&rsquo;s potential reach.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Rich text editor libraries in the mobile space are lacking,&rdquo; wrote Biais. &ldquo;There is no well known open source rich text editor for Android or iOS. We believe that Gutenberg could be a key library for many mobile apps, but that will never happen with the GPL v2.&rdquo;</p>



<p><a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-mobile-engineers-propose-dual-licensing-gutenberg-under-gpl-v2-0-and-mpl-v2-0">The proposal</a> was <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/09/21/proposal-dual-licensing-gutenberg-under-gpl-v2-0-and-mpl-v2-0/">announced on the Make Core blog</a> in September 2020. It garnered three comments. WordPress project lead Matt Mullenweg was in favor of the change, pointing out that it could help Gutenberg become a cross-CMS standard.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Right now it&rsquo;s easy to distribute Gutenberg with web apps that aren&rsquo;t GPL, due to the way browsers link and bundle things, but embedding Gutenberg inside a native app on desktop, iOS, Android, or beyond is not possible unless the entire application is also GPL,&rdquo; <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/09/21/proposal-dual-licensing-gutenberg-under-gpl-v2-0-and-mpl-v2-0/#comment-39803">he wrote</a>. &ldquo;Allowing people the option to embed Gutenberg under the MPL I think will increase its usage outside of WordPress, bring more contributors to the core experience, and continue the Cambrian explosion of blocks that will give Gutenberg users more tools to fully express their creativity and vision.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The problem with switching licenses is that Gutenberg needs permission from every contributor who has added code to the project to make this change. The GitHub repository lists <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/graphs/contributors">721 individual contributors</a> since the project began in 2016. To change licenses, each one must consent because they still own the copyright to their code.</p>



<p>Some of these people may not be involved any longer and not respond to the consent request. Others may refuse &mdash; as is their right. In either case, the Gutenberg team will need to either remove or rewrite the code.</p>



<p>The proposal outlines four stops on the timeline before Gutenberg can be officially dual-licensed:</p>



<ul><li><strong>March 19:</strong> All future contributions will be under both the GPL and MPL.</li><li><strong>April 2:</strong> Seek consent via GitHub from past contributors and contributors from open pull requests.</li><li><strong>Three months later:</strong> Begin removing or rewriting code that cannot be relicensed.</li><li><strong>Future:</strong> Once all removed or rewritten code is squared away, update Gutenberg as a whole to a GPL/MPL dual license.</li></ul>



<p>For a licensing discussion, only a few people have chimed in. However, some have brought up concerns.</p>



<p>&ldquo;WordPress has historically strongly believed in the GPL,&rdquo; wrote core WordPress contributor Aaron Jorbin <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/03/05/dual-licensing-gutenberg-next-steps/#comment-40851">in the comments</a>. &ldquo;It has gone so far as to call the Four Freedoms of the GPL it&rsquo;s &lsquo;<a href="https://wordpress.org/about/philosophy/">Bill Of Rights</a>.&rsquo; And now what is being said is that only sometimes do you get these freedoms. Anyone is welcome to take the code and remove these freedoms. Instead of empowering users, this move is empowering the removal of freedom. To me, this feels like a very pro-business move and a very anti-user one.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The MPL is <a href="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/MPL/2.0/FAQ/#virality">not considered <em>viral</em></a> in the same way as the GPL. Applications built with GPL-licensed code must allow for the same freedoms or more. App developers can distribute MPL-licensed code as long as it is in a separate file from their proprietary code. This lets businesses restrict parts of the codebase. Users might not have the freedom to use, fork, modify, and share all of an application&rsquo;s code.</p>



<p>Most who have commented on the official threads so far have been excited or OK with the proposal. It can open Gutenberg to a new market. If developers in the mobile space begin using it for their apps, it could bring in fresh talent to the WordPress project as a whole.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Our app sorely lacks a WYSIWYG editor,&rdquo; <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/23651#issuecomment-653512920">wrote Radek Pietruszewski</a>, the tech lead for Nozbe Teams, on the GitHub ticket in July 2020. &ldquo;We had a working implementation on web, but we decided to scrap it because there was no way to port it on iOS and Android. There are pretty much no viable rich text editors for iOS or Android, let alone both. But even then, shipping three completely separate, but somehow compatible editors would be a vast amount of work. And you know yourself, making a good rich text editor from scratch is incredibly hard. It&rsquo;s not something we could do ourselves. Gutenberg could solve this problem for us if it wasn&rsquo;t for the licensing.&rdquo;</p>



<p>How things move forward comes down to the 700+ contributors. Will the Gutenberg team be rewriting swaths of code? Or, will most developers sign off on the license change?</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, 08 Mar 2021 22:03:16 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:24;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:138:"Gutenberg Times: Using the Block Editor For Content Upgrades, Help Test New Gutenberg Features, Newsletter plugin – Weekend Edition #161";s:7:"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=17170";s:7:"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://gutenbergtimes.com/using-the-block-editor-for-content-upgrades/";s: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:11344:"<p>Howdy, howdy! </p>



<p>I found some spectacular content for the various use cases of the Block Editor, especially for Content Creators and Site Owners,  also new plugins and updates from the WordPress teams. </p>



<p>Enjoy! </p>



<p>Yours, 💕<br />Birgit</p>





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<h2 id="toc" class="toc">Table of Contents</h2>



<div class="wp-block-sortabrilliant-guidepost"><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-block-editor-for-content-creators-and-site-owners">Block Editor for Content Creators and Site Owners</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#1-block-editor-for-developers">Block Editor for Developers</a><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#2-testing-word-press-and-gutenberg">Testing WordPress and Gutenberg</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#3-plugins-for-the-block-editor">Plugins for the Block Editor</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#4-word-press-team-updates">WordPress Team Updates</a><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#5-gutenberg-10-1-was-released">Gutenberg 10.1 was released</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#4-word-press-events">WordPress Events</a></li></ul></div>




<h2 id="0-block-editor-for-content-creators-and-site-owners">Block Editor for Content Creators and Site Owners</h2>



<p><a href="https://torquemag.io/2021/03/gutenberg-features/"><strong>19 Gutenberg Features You Might Not Be Aware Of (But Should!)</strong></a><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/nschaeferhoff"><strong>Nick Schäferhoff</strong> </a>collected for on the Torque Magazine  a great list of block editor features, I would call the secrete features. Most end users don&#8217;t know about them.  Not all featured mentioned are in core, though. You would need to use the Gutenberg plugins to, for instance, use Blocks in Widgets, the Navigation block, the query block or work with Block Themes. Probably the most current of Listicles post about the block editor. </p>



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<p>In <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/11/core-editor-improvement-new-preferences-experience/"><strong>Core Editor Improvement: New Preferences experience</strong></a>, <strong>Anne McCarthy</strong> describes the new modal for preference settings of your workspace coming to WordPress 5.7. The new interface allows you in a more compact way to toggle on or off General settings, appearance settings, the block manager and remove panels in the sidebar you don&#8217;t need for instance,tags or comments. </p>



<img src="https://i0.wp.com/make.wordpress.org/core/files/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-10-at-11.06.45-AM.png?w=640&ssl=1" alt="" />



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<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/joyofwp">Bud Kraus</a></strong>, JoyofWP, has published <strong>two video tutorials on <a href="https://joyofwp.com/topic/using-block-patterns/">using Block Patterns</a> and the <a href="https://joyofwp.com/topic/using-the-block-directory/">Block Directory</a>.</strong> They are quick reminders on how both features work, how you can discover new blocks and how you can integrate them into your workflow as content creators.</p>



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<p>In his post <strong><a href="https://chrislema.com/how-do-i-use-gutenberg-blocks/">How do I use Gutenberg blocks?</a></strong>, <strong>Chris Lema</strong> wrote that with the plugin Blocky, &#8220;I can create what I want, place it where I want, for however long I want.&#8221; and use it  for content upgrades, for upsells, for offers, for announcements and so much more! In his video Lema demos his workflow and in his post also have a few ideas how to apply it to your online business website. </p>



<h2 id="1-block-editor-for-developers">Block Editor for Developers</h2>



<h3 id="2-testing-word-press-and-gutenberg">Testing WordPress and Gutenberg</h3>



<p id="block-8e01da98-000c-4772-b905-62666ce4aac1"><strong>Justin Tadlock</strong> described all the different <a href="https://wptavern.com/user-friendly-methods-for-testing-gutenberg-enhancements-and-bug-fixes">User-Friendly Methods for Testing Gutenberg Enhancements and Bug Fixes</a> on the WPTavern and mentioned the GB Nightly. </p>




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



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




<p>There are times when you want to test single PRs before they are merged into the trunk code base. <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/Paaljoachim">Paal Joachim Romdahl</a></strong>&#8216;s tutorial on <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2021/03/03/testing-a-gutenberg-pull-request-pr/">Testing a Gutenberg Pull Request (PR)</a>  that has not yet been merged into the plugins code base.</p>



<p>In theory each PR added to the repository will run a build process for this particular code change and other people can test a new feature or a bug fix to gauge if it&#8217;s ready to be merged. </p>



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<h2 id="3-plugins-for-the-block-editor">Plugins for the Block Editor</h2>



<p>There have been a few plugins lately that caught my attention: </p>



<p><strong><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/block-patterns-collection/">Block Patterns Collection</a></strong> by&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/jyoti_wp"><strong>Jyoti Shukla</strong></a>, a freelance WordPress and React Developer, providing &#8211; for now &#8211; two patterns: for statistics and a combine pattern with Heading, Text and Button blocks. On her blog, Jyoity Shukla writes about JavaScript and WordPress development. </p>



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<p>Developers at Automattic released the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/newspack-newsletters/"><strong>Newspack-Newsletters plugin in the WordPress Repository.</strong></a> With it, you can use the block editor to build newsletters and connect them with Email Marketing Providers, Mailchimp or Constant Contact, right from your WP Admin. You will need an<a href="https://mjml.io/"> API Key from MJML</a>. </p>



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<h2 id="4-word-press-team-updates">WordPress Team Updates</h2>



<p><strong>Matt Chowning</strong> posted about <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/03/05/dual-licensing-gutenberg-next-steps/"><strong>Dual-Licensing Gutenberg: Next Steps</strong></a> on the Make Core Blog. </p>



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<p><strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2021/03/05/gutenberg-themes-week-of-march-4-2021/">Gutenberg + Themes: Week of March 4, 2021</a>:</strong> The weekly roundup  by <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffikus"><strong>Jeffrey Pearce</strong></a> and the Themes Team on theme-related discussions, fixes, and developments in Gutenberg. Please weigh in on the tickets listed  — your voice and feedback are welcome! In this list, I found the list of <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/29503">Medium projects by Matias Ventura</a>, that shows that beyond the focus on Full-Site Editing, Global Styles and Site editor, the team is also working on refinements on the block editor especially on Cover, Image, Columns and Gallery blocks, as well as continue working on Reusable blocks. </p>



<h3 id="5-gutenberg-10-1-was-released">Gutenberg 10.1 was released</h3>



<ul><li>Read the release notes: <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/03/02/whats-new-in-gutenberg-10-1-3-march/">What’s new in Gutenberg 10.1? (3 March)</a> by Nik Tsekouras</li><li>Get the skinny from Justin Tadlock: <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-10-1-enhances-reusable-blocks-updates-social-icons-spacing-options-and-normalizes-image-block-toolbar">Gutenberg 10.1 Enhances Reusable Blocks, Updates Social Icons Spacing Options, and Normalizes Image Block Toolbar</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/03/04/core-editor-improvement-need-for-page-post-speed/">Core Editor Improvement: Need for (page/post) Speed</a></li></ul>



<p>The new episode, number <strong>#39 of the Changelog </strong>will come to your favorite podcast app on Monday.  </p>




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



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<h2 id="4-word-press-events">WordPress Events</h2>



<p><strong>March 8, 2021 7:00 pm&nbsp;–&nbsp;8:30 pm</strong><br /><strong><a href="https://burbswp.com/">Philly&#8217;burbs WordPress Meetup</a></strong><br /><a href="https://burbswp.com/events/event/bringing-a-wordpress-plugin-to-the-marketplace/">Bringing a WordPress Plugin to the Marketplace</a>  with Brad Williams and Corey Salzano</p>



<p><strong>March 16, 2021, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT</strong><br /><a href="https://www.meetup.com/WordPressNYC/"><strong>WordPress NYC Meetup Group</strong></a><br />Fantastic Blocks and Where To Find Them  with Laura Byrne<br />The Three Layers of WP Maintenance with Mervin Hernandez</p>



<p><strong>April 16th – 18th, 2021.</strong>&nbsp;<br /><strong><a href="https://greece.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp Greece 2021 Online</a></strong>.<br />The organizer published the&nbsp;<a href="https://greece.wordcamp.org/2021/call-for-speakers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">call for speakers</a>.</p>



<p><strong>April 16th – 18th, 2021</strong><br /><strong><a href="https://neo.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp Northeast Ohio</a></strong><br /><a href="https://neo.wordcamp.org/2021/call-for-sponsors/">Take a look at the Call for Sponsors</a></p>



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



<p>On the<a href="https://wpcalendar.io/online/">&nbsp;<strong>Calendar for WordPress Online Events</strong>&nbsp;</a>you can browse a list of the upcoming WordPress Meetups, around the world, including WooCommerce, Elementor, Divi Builder and Beaver Builder meetups.</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:"Sun, 07 Mar 2021 15:17:51 +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:"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:25;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:94:"Post Status: Angela Jin on WordCamp US 2020 Cancellation and the Future of WordPress Education";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"https://poststatus.com/?p=81417";s:7:"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://poststatus.com/future-of-wordcamp-us-and-wordpress-education/";s: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:2679:"<h2 id="h-what-can-the-wordpress-community-look-forward-to-in-future-wordcamps">What can the WordPress community look forward to in future WordCamps? <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f3d5.png" alt="🏕" class="wp-smiley" /></h2>



<p>In this episode of <a href="https://poststatus.com/category/draft/">Post Status Draft</a>, David Bisset talks with Angela Jin about WordCamp US 2020. David recorded this interview around the time WCUS normally would have taken place in St. Louis, Missouri. The conference organizers decided to cancel the event months before, due to COVID-19. <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f637.png" alt="😷" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<p>Angela has been organizing, starting conversations, and setting policies for WordCamps since she joined Automattic in 2018. She is one of the community organizers for the WordPress open source project and was part of the WCUS 2020 team also.</p>



<p>Then and now, there were questions about what led to the decision to cancel such a major event. Why didn't WCUS become a virtual conference, like WordCamp Europe? What are organizers planning for future WordCamp US events and WordPress education in general? </p>



<p>David sat down with Angela to get a better understanding of the WordPress community and its needs during a pivotal time of change.  Join us as we discuss what the future holds for the conferences, meetups, and other social gatherings we've enjoyed together in the past.</p>







<h3 id="h-wcus-2020-and-other-topics-mentioned-in-the-show"><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f517.png" alt="🔗" class="wp-smiley" /> WCUS 2020 and other topics mentioned in the show</h3>



<ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/angelasjin?lang=en">Angela Jin</a> (Twitter)</li><li><a href="https://us.wordcamp.org/2020/">WordCamp US 2020 Official Cancellation Notice</a></li><li><a href="https://poststatus.com/notes/wcus-2020-cancelled/">WordCamp US 2020 Cancellation Q&A; with Organizers</a></li><li><a href="http://learn.wordpress.org">Learn WordPress</a></li></ul>



<h3><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f44d.png" alt="👍" class="wp-smiley" /> Sponsor: <a href="https://poststat.us/pagely" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener sponsored nofollow">Pagely</a></h3>



<p><a href="https://poststat.us/pagely">Pagely</a>&nbsp;offers best-in-class managed WordPress hosting, powered by Amazon's Cloud, the Internet’s most reliable infrastructure.&nbsp;Pagely&nbsp;helps big brands scale WordPress.Thank you to&nbsp;<a href="https://poststat.us/pagely">Pagely</a>&nbsp;for being a Post Status partner!</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, 05 Mar 2021 23:45:06 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12:"David Bisset";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:26;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:80:"WPTavern: User-Friendly Methods for Testing Gutenberg Enhancements and Bug Fixes";s:7:"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=113280";s:7:"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:205:"https://wptavern.com/user-friendly-methods-for-testing-gutenberg-enhancements-and-bug-fixes?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=user-friendly-methods-for-testing-gutenberg-enhancements-and-bug-fixes";s: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:4068:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Living on the bleeding edge of Gutenberg&rsquo;s development is not particularly easy for everyone. There is a ton of work and know-how involved with getting everything set up. You have to clone a Git repository, grab pull requests, and run a build process. Non-developers may find themselves facing an overwhelming learning curve. It can be rough for developers who like to keep things simple too.</p>



<p>There are times when it makes sense to simply download a ZIP file, upload it to a WordPress site, and test things out. The most straightforward way is to wait until the development team officially releases an update. You can snag a copy from its <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/gutenberg/">WordPress.org plugin page</a> or via the plugins screen in the WordPress admin interface. However, how do you test features between releases?</p>



<p>Gutenberg Times has a page for <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/need-a-zip-from-master/">grabbing a nightly-created ZIP</a> of the plugin. This includes the latest features and bug fixes that have been merged into the project. For users who want to test the plugin and provide feedback to the development team, this is the easiest way to get started.</p>



<p>There are also times when you might want to test changes that are not yet available in the nightly build. Gutenberg currently has 589 pull requests (PRs) &mdash; this number changes daily. They are new enhancements and fixes with the potential to be merged into the codebase. Each of these PRs needs a review and feedback. Not all of them will make it in.</p>



<p>For the average user, PR testing is not a reasonable expectation. Even working through Git lingo can be a minefield. However, solutions exist for skipping the intricacies of a developer-only space and hopping into the fray.</p>



<p>One option is <a href="http://gutenberg.run/">Gutenberg.run</a>, a web-based install for testing PRs. The site runs the latest stable release of WordPress and activates a copy of the Gutenberg plugin with the changes from a user-entered PR number. </p>



<p>This is a quick way to test a potential change without spinning up a test install. However, checking out a PR related to Full Site Editing is a no-go. The site has no way to test the site editor, which requires a block-based theme like <a href="https://wptavern.com/blocked-based-version-of-twenty-twenty-one-nearing-readiness-for-the-theme-directory">TT1 Blocks</a>.</p>



<p>Core WordPress contributor Paal Joachim Romdahl <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2021/03/03/testing-a-gutenberg-pull-request-pr/">outlined a method for testing PRs via a ZIP file</a>. The process is simple, but it is not easy to find if you do not know what you are looking for.</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img />Find a PR.</li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img />Click the Checks tab.</li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><img />Build Gutenberg Plugin ZIP</li></ul>



<p>After finding a PR that you want to try, you must click on the &ldquo;Checks&rdquo; tab for it on GitHub. Once on the new screen, you can scroll through the left sidebar until you find the &ldquo;Build Gutenberg Plugin ZIP&rdquo; link.</p>



<p>From that point, it is a matter of clicking it and downloading the ZIP file &mdash; <em>note that it has a ZIP within a ZIP</em>. This download will include the latest version of the plugin with the included PR code applied.</p>



<p>Romdahl has a thorough walkthrough in the following video:</p>



<div>

</div>Video walkthrough to get a ZIP for a PR (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIMj4CYSAxU&ab_channel=OODeveloper">Italian version available</a>).



<p>He has also opened a ticket for helping others more easily <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/28881">access a testing ZIP for PRs</a>. The discussion is ongoing. It is currently leaning toward adding an automated comment that outputs a link to the PR build&rsquo;s ZIP file. This type of exposure should open testing to a wider group of people.</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, 05 Mar 2021 16:54:43 +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:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:27;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:49:"WordCamp Central: WordCamp India 2021 – A recap";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:39:"https://central.wordcamp.org/?p=3136611";s:7:"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://central.wordcamp.org/news/2021/03/05/wordcamp-india-2021-a-recap/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13116:"<p><a href="https://india.wordcamp.org/2021/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WordCamp India 2021 (Online)</a> was held across three weekends. The event kicked off on January 30th and wrapped up on February 14th. Looking back, organizing the event was a one-of-a-kind experience, and as members of the organizing team, we would like to share our experience.</p>
<p>WordCamp India has some history &#8211; the <a href="https://central.wordcamp.org/india.wordcamp.org/2009/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first edition of the event was held in 2009</a>, but back then, the WordPress Community in India was in a nascent stage. Ever since, the community has grown, and now we have several active meetup groups and local WordCamps. The idea of a full-fledged WordCamp India has always been the dream of all Indian community organizers. In 2020, as the COVID-19 Pandemic hit us hard, WordPress events moved online and regional online WordCamps were encouraged. As a result, WordCamp India got a new lease of life &#8211; former <a href="https://mumbai.wordcamp.org/">WordCamp Mumbai</a> organizer &#8211; <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gounder/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alexander Gounder</a>, kicked-off the efforts by sending in an application, and soon WordCamp India was born.</p>
<p>Inspired by the Community team blog post on <strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2020/07/13/reimagining-online-events/">reimagining online events</a></strong>, and excited about the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2020/08/12/learn-wordpress-is-live/">announcement of the Learn WordPress initiative</a> &#8211; we decided to shake things up a bit. Our co-organizer <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/adityakane" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aditya Kane</a> came up with the <a href="https://india.wordcamp.org/2021/why-is-wordcamp-india-happening-over-3-weekends-format-explainer/">idea of a three-weekend WordCamp</a>. We would have Multilingual WordPress workshops for beginners on week 1, our contributor event on week 2, and finally our sessions on week 3. We kicked-off with a plan to hold the event around November-December 2020. Within no time, our design team burned the midnight oil and <a href="https://india.wordcamp.org/2021/wordcamp-india-logo-design-evolution/">released the WordCamp India logo and the design language</a>.</p>
<p>It was ambitious and exciting! However, we underestimated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on our organizing team. Many members of our organizing team had to step back due to personal challenges, which were exacerbated by the global pandemic. With a mounting number of tasks associated with a regional WordCamp and a dwindling organizing team, we decided to postpone the event to January &#8211; February 2021. After a lot of groundwork, by late November 2020, WordCamp India <a href="https://central.wordcamp.org/wordcamps/wordcamp-india-online/">found a place in the WordCamp Central schedule</a>, with dates of January 30-31 (workshops), February 6-7 (contributor day), and February 13-14 (Sessions).</p>
<p>The months of December 2020 &#8211; January 2021 saw the organizing team on overdrive to make the event happen. Even as we continued to lose organizers, we found support in the form of enthusiastic volunteers who stepped in. We also pivoted from a plan to do video production on our own, to hire an external vendor to help us with pre-production, stitching, and some post-production work &#8211; which significantly helped us.</p>
<p>As a result, we successfully kicked off our WordCamp with Introduction to WordPress workshops on January 30-31. The event was spread out across two tracks on each day. These workshops were on basic WordPress topics, such as Introduction to WordPress, Block Editor basics, site hosting basics, and Introduction to WooCommerce. The highlight was that we had these workshops delivered in several Indian languages &#8211; Gujarati, Kannada, Marathi, Malayalam, and Tamil. We premiered recorded workshops in YouTube, and each workshop was followed by a live Q&amp;A with the workshop presenter. The workshop track was a grand success! Participants loved the workshops, which are still being watched by folks outside the event. WordCamp India workshops are <a href="https://india.wordcamp.org/2021/workshops/">available for viewing in our website</a>, and have already been <a href="https://wordpress.tv/event/wordcamp-india-2021/">uploaded to WordPress.tv</a>. The workshops are also being uploaded to Learn WordPress &#8211; and our Introduction to WordPress workshops in <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/workshop/introduction-to-wordpress-malayalam/">Malayalam</a> and <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/workshop/introduction-to-wordpress-kannada/">Kannada </a>are already live!</p>
<div id="attachment_3136614" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://central.wordcamp.org/files/2021/03/Screenshot-2021-03-05-at-8.05.44-PM.png"><img /></a><p id="caption-attachment-3136614" class="wp-caption-text">Suresha N Speaking at a WordCamp India workshop in Kannada</p></div>
<p>The second weekend was noted by the <a href="https://india.wordcamp.org/2021/contributor-days/">contributor day event</a> which was held on February 6-7. The event had contributors from the Community, Core, Design, Marketing, Meta, Polyglots, Support, and Training teams. We had all contributors assembled in a large zoom room, with breakout rooms assigned to each team. The event was planned in a freewheeling format, where teams introduced, supported, and onboarded new contributors. Many times also had some great discussions on ongoing topics concerning the respective team. In short, attendees got to experience a wholesome WordPress contribution experience.</p>
<div id="attachment_3136616" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https://central.wordcamp.org/files/2021/03/Screenshot-270.png"><img /></a><p id="caption-attachment-3136616" class="wp-caption-text">A snap from the WordCamp India contributor day event.</p></div>
<p>We had the best of them all scheduled for the third and last weekend &#8211; our sessions! We did face some unexpected difficulties there, when two of our speakers backed out at the last minute. However, members of our community surprised us by stepping up at the last minute and by delivering excellent sessions in their absence. Most of the WordCamp India sessions were recorded and premiered at the event. After each session, there would be a live Q&amp;A with the speaker joining an emcee on a YouTube live video, to answer questions from the audience that was asked in the form of YouTube chat. We had two tracks, on each day, with each track having its on YouTube playlist in the order of the session (with a mix of premiered and live videos). We also had a large zoom room, where watercooler chats, extended &#8220;hallway hangout&#8221; style discussions with speakers, sponsor booths, and a dedicated sponsor area in breakout rooms. The idea was to give the attendees one place to hang out and hop-in and out between sponsor rooms. Some of our notable sessions at WordCamp India include:<a href="https://youtu.be/iVOmYgNcw6c"> A Fireside chat with Matt Mullenweg and Josepha Haden</a>, A <a href="https://youtu.be/T0Bu1AaJLC8">Live Q&amp;A with Josepha Haden and Shilpa Shah</a>, a <a href="https://youtu.be/yH6XmbV07Qg">Panel Discussion on Future of WordPress translations in India</a>, and <a href="https://youtu.be/U7Cu4Wenoes">&#8220;Outrank your competition with a great content SEO strategy&#8221; by Marieke van de Rakt.</a> WordCamp India sessions can be <a href="https://india.wordcamp.org/2021/watch-now/">viewed in our website</a>, and will soon be available on WordPress.tv.</p>

<a href="https://central.wordcamp.org/news/2021/03/05/wordcamp-india-2021-a-recap/screenshot-2021-03-05-at-8-07-49-pm/"><img width="150" height="150" src="https://central.wordcamp.org/files/2021/03/Screenshot-2021-03-05-at-8.07.49-PM-150x150.png" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="AMA with Shilpa Shah and Josepha Haden" /></a>
<a href="https://central.wordcamp.org/news/2021/03/05/wordcamp-india-2021-a-recap/screenshot-2021-03-05-at-8-07-11-pm/"><img width="150" height="150" src="https://central.wordcamp.org/files/2021/03/Screenshot-2021-03-05-at-8.07.11-PM-150x150.png" class="attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail" alt="Matt Mullenweg speaking at WordCamp India" /></a>

<h3>Tools we used</h3>
<ul>
<li>StreamYard Pro Account ($49/mo) (for helping many speakers record their sessions, and for facilitating Live Q&amp;As)</li>
<li>2 x Zoom Pro accounts (For pre-event planning Q&amp;As)</li>
<li>1 x 1000 Zoom Large meeting add-on (For our large zoom rooms on all three weekends)</li>
<li>Free Slack Instance (for event planning. Organizing teams had private channels, we invited our speakers into a dedicated channel as well).</li>
<li>A WordPress.com P2 (For long-form communications and task management)</li>
<li>Trello board (for task management and sponsor tracking)</li>
<li>The India@wordcamp.org Google Workspace account provided by WordCamp Central (We used Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs/Sheets/Slides extensively for our event)</li>
<li>YouTube for streaming our event (We used a refurbished legacy account from one of our organizers which had streaming embed capabilities)</li>
</ul>
<h3>FINANCES</h3>
<p>All our funds were handled by WordCamp Central directly.</p>
<ul>
<li>Revenue: We raised $6000 in sponsorship revenue ($700 x 6 from Exhibitor sponsors) + ($150 x 12 from Corporate sponsors)</li>
<li>Expenses: $1006.33 ($246.33 for Zoom + StreamYard) and ~$760/INR 55,0000 (Video vendor expenses)</li>
<li>Cost per person per day: USD$ 0.10 (INR 8)</li>
<li>Variance (Leftover funds with WordCamp Central): USD $4,993.67</li>
</ul>
<h3>SOME PLANNING TIPS FOR OTHER WORDCAMPS</h3>
<ul>
<li>In case you don&#8217;t have a strong video production team, consider hiring a vendor for video production &#8211; it will reduce your efforts significantly. Even if you are not able to hire a vendor to do all the tasks, outsourcing at least some, could be very helpful. <strong>Do not underestimate the importance of video production &#8211; start thinking about it from day 1!</strong></li>
<li>Organizing an online WordCamp might seem easier than an in-person event. The number of tasks involved most definitely is &#8211; but please don&#8217;t underestimate it! At least two months of planning and tasks are involved for a successful online event &#8211; especially if it is regional.</li>
<li>Anticipate organizer burnout &#8211; it is no one&#8217;s fault; these are difficult times and everyone is struggling. Check-in with your organizing team constantly and make sure that they have the bandwidth to do what they want.</li>
<li>Make sure all the tasks are well-laid-out, and all the deadlines are clear. Having some sort of project/task management tool is extremely important. It is recommended that each team (speakers, sponsors) has its own tool.</li>
<li>If you are broadcasting your event on YouTube, make sure that your YouTube account supports video embedding for livestreams (it is disabled for newer YT accounts &#8211; including the G Suite-linked accounts provided by WordCamp Central). In case you don&#8217;t have a YouTube account that supports Livestreaming, you can always use the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWQnu9XpK3ze10STZv9ORLg">WordCamp Central YouTube account</a>.</li>
<li>Organizing an online WordCamp offers a lot of flexibility. Consider experimenting with the event format as much as possible! Provided you have a solid plan, you could have some fun online activities that attendees could make the most out of!</li>
<li><strong>Finally: Remember &#8211; as an organizer your goal is not to match an in-person WordCamp experience with your online event. Your goal is to provide a unique online WordPress event experience for online participants from all across the world. </strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Looking back, WordCamp India 2021 was a unique experience by its own right. We are proud of all that we were able to achieve despite the challenges we faced. We would like to thank all our <a href="https://india.wordcamp.org/2021/sponsors">sponsors</a>, <a href="https://india.wordcamp.org/2021/speakers/">speakers</a>, and <a href="https://india.wordcamp.org/2021/volunteers/">volunteers</a> who supported us and helped us in making the event happen.</p>
<p>However, our biggest achievement from WordCamp  India is that we were able represent the idea of India with more local language content &#8211; especially on our workshop tracks. Our biggest success lies in the fact that were able to bring community members together and kick-off a positive sentiment of excitement in our very resilient WordPress community. As Community organizers, it remains to be seen how we can utilize this sentiment to rekindle enthusiasm in our local communities, in 2021!</p>
<p>With regards,<br />
<a href="https://india.wordcamp.org/2021/organizers/">The WordCamp India 2021 organizing team</a></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 05 Mar 2021 14:54:04 +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:14:"Hari Shanker R";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:28;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:123:"WPTavern: Gutenberg 10.1 Enhances Reusable Blocks, Updates Social Icons Spacing Options, and Normalizes Image Block Toolbar";s:7:"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=113244";s:7:"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:287:"https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-10-1-enhances-reusable-blocks-updates-social-icons-spacing-options-and-normalizes-image-block-toolbar?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=gutenberg-10-1-enhances-reusable-blocks-updates-social-icons-spacing-options-and-normalizes-image-block-toolbar";s: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:6430:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Gutenberg 10.1 <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/03/02/whats-new-in-gutenberg-10-1-3-march/">landed yesterday</a> with several new features, many of which focused on improvements to the interface and user experience. Users can now control the justification of items in the Social Icons block. The new release also enhances the UX for creating reusable blocks, groups the Image block toolbar controls, and introduces categorized template parts in the site editor.</p>



<p>The development team corrected two dozen bugs for this release. As usual, they continued to polish the site-editing experience, which should land in WordPress later this year.</p>



<p>One of the better improvements to the UX is with the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/28676">dragging performance for the focal point picker</a>. Users can test the Cover or Media &amp; Text blocks to see it in action.</p>



<h2>Spacing Options for Social Icons and Buttons</h2>



<img />Adding space between items in the Social Icons block.



<p class="has-drop-cap">The Gutenberg development team <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/28980">added the justification toolbar</a> control to the Social Icons block. This allows users to determine how they want their social links to display. The following are the current justification options:</p>



<ul><li>Justify items left</li><li>Justify items center</li><li>Justify items right</li><li>Space between items</li></ul>



<p>The Buttons block now has the space-between option, which gives it and Social Icons the same flexibility as the Navigation block.</p>



<p>The Social Icons block still has left, right, and center alignment options too. This is separate from the justification setting. In comparison, the Buttons and Navigation blocks only have wide and full alignments if the active theme supports them. However, the Social Icons block does not have those options. These blocks&rsquo; alignments should all have parity unless I am missing some crucial reason for the difference.</p>



<h2>Reusable Blocks Updates</h2>



<img />Modal for naming, saving, or canceling a reusable block.



<p class="has-drop-cap">The development team continues to refine the reusable blocks feature. Version 10.1&rsquo;s highlight is a new modal that <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/29040">pops up when first creating a reusable block</a>. It has a simple title field along with buttons for canceling or saving. The cancel feature is also a new addition.</p>



<p>This modal clears up a problem <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-9-7-improves-user-experience-updates-reusable-blocks-and-brings-page-templates-to-fse-themes">introduced in Gutenberg 9.7</a>. That release moved the title field for the reusable block into the sidebar panel. If users did not have that panel open, they could easily overlook it.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Based on these changes, the UI for reusable blocks is most likely going to see some iterations in the upcoming weeks,&rdquo; said Gutenberg developer Riad Benguella at the time. The team has delivered on this promise.</p>



<p>Gutenberg also uses this new modal as <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/29108">part of its template creation flow</a> in the site editor.</p>



<p>The editor toolbar now displays a reusable block&rsquo;s name when it is selected in the content canvas. This adds clarity and helps users better see what they are editing. Users can also update the name of a reusable block from within the editor sidebar.</p>



<p>One issue I still have with reusable blocks is when using wide or full-aligned elements. Once a block is saved, it displays at the regular content width, making it less of a WYSIWYG experience. There is an <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/17640">open ticket</a> for this bug. However, it has seen little movement as of late.</p>



<h2>Semantic Toolbar for Images</h2>



<img />Grouped sections in the Image block toolbar.



<p class="has-drop-cap">The Image block&rsquo;s toolbar received an upgrade. Its <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/29205">controls are grouped</a>, with each group separated by a border. The toolbar follows a specific order: meta, block-level, inline-level, and more options. The goal is for controls on every block to use this order, which translates to a standard UI that users can follow.</p>



<p>This improvement for the Image block brings enough clarity that I already want this across the board. There is an open ticket to <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/25983">normalize the toolbar</a> for all blocks.</p>



<h2>Categorized Template Parts</h2>



<img />&ldquo;General&rdquo; template parts category.



<p class="has-drop-cap">For the experimental site editor, a new patch to <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/29030">group template parts</a> landed in the latest release. The UI change separates parts into four categories: headers, footers, sidebars, and general.</p>



<p>I could not get this feature to work. There are no clear instructions for theme authors to follow. Header templates named <code>header-one.html</code> went to the general category. Template parts in sub-folders, such as <code>header/one.html</code>, also failed. Even just plain <code>header.html</code> did not get grouped.</p>



<p>While there is obviously a bug, I am excited about the prospect of categorized template parts. It is a preemptive step toward decluttering the interface.</p>



<p>The problem with the current approach is that it is unnecessarily limiting. It assumes that headers, footers, and sidebars are the only specific categories of template parts needed. By defining them in core, we lose all flexibility. In past themes, I have built more content-related template parts than I have for those three groups. Under this system, all of these would be tossed into a &ldquo;general&rdquo; category with every other template.</p>



<p>This is not an argument for WordPress to have a category to meet my needs. Instead, put this into the hands of theme authors to make the best decision for their theme. Create a way for end-users to categorize their custom template parts as a next step.</p>



<p>Sure, create some defaults like headers, footers, and sidebars. That makes sense. Just hand over some of the control.</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, 04 Mar 2021 22:54:10 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:29;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:57:"WordPress.org blog: The Month in WordPress: February 2021";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=9842";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:72:"https://wordpress.org/news/2021/03/the-month-in-wordpress-february-2021/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15743:"<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>You don’t have to be rich to have an online presence. You don’t have to find loopholes in proprietary platforms and hope that they never change their terms of service. You own all of the content that you create on a WordPress site and have the liberty to move it to a new host if you need to, or switch your theme if it fits your mood.</p></blockquote>



<p class="has-drop-cap">That was Josepha Haden Chomphosy on <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/02/wordpress-is-freedom/">WordPress is Free(dom) episode</a> of the <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/podcast/">WP Briefing Podcast</a>, speaking about the four freedoms of open-source software. Those four freedoms are core to how WordPress is developed. A lot of the updates we bring you this month will resonate with those freedoms.</p>



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



<h2>WordPress now powers 40% of the web</h2>



<p>W3Techs reported that <a href="https://w3techs.com/blog/entry/40_percent_of_the_web_uses_wordpress">WordPress now powers 40% of the top 10 million websites in the world</a>! Every two minutes, a new website using WordPress says, <em>“Hello world”</em>! For the top 1000 sites, the market share is even higher at 51.8%. Over the past 10 years, the growth rate has increased, which is reflected by the fact that 66.2% of all new websites use WordPress!</p>



<h2>WordPress release updates</h2>



<p>February was an eventful month for WordPress releases!</p>



<ul><li>WordPress maintenance releases — <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/02/wordpress-5-6-1-maintenance-release/">version 5.6.1</a> and <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/02/wordpress-5-6-2-maintenance-release/">version 5.6.2</a> — came out this in February. Update to the latest version directly from your WordPress dashboard or by <a href="https://wordpress.org/download/">downloading</a> it from WordPress.org.</li><li>Members of the Core team are working hard on WordPress 5.7, due in March. <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/02/wordpress-5-7-beta-1/">Beta 1</a>, <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/02/wordpress-5-7-beta-2/">Beta 2</a>, and <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/02/wordpress-5-7-beta-3/">Beta 3</a> versions of WordPress 5.7 launched in February. The <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/02/wordpress-5-7-release-candidate/">first</a> and <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/03/wordpress-5-7-release-candidate-2/">second</a> release candidates of WordPress 5.7 are also out! You can test the Beta versions and the release candidate by <a href="https://wordpress.org/wordpress-5.6-beta2.zip">downloading them from WordPress.org</a> or using the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/">WordPress Beta Tester</a> plugin. To know more about WordPress 5.7, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2021/02/22/wordpress-5-7-ready-to-be-translated/">check out its field guide</a>.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<p>Want to contribute to upcoming WordPress releases? Join the WordPress <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C02RQBWTW">#core</a> channel in the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/chat/">Make WordPress Slack</a> and follow the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/">Core team blog</a>. The Core team hosts weekly chats on Wednesdays at <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?hour=5&min=00&sec=0">5 AM</a> and <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?hour=20&min=00&sec=0">8 PM</a>. UTC. You can also contribute to WordPress 5.7 <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2021/02/22/wordpress-5-7-ready-to-be-translated/">by translating it into your local language</a>. Learn more on the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2021/03/02/wordpress-5-7-translation-status-march-2-2020/">translation status post</a>.</p>



<h2>Gutenberg celebrates its 100th release with version 10</h2>



<p>The 100th release of the Gutenberg plugin — <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/17/whats-new-in-gutenberg-10-0-february/">Version 10</a>,&nbsp; launched on February 17th, more than four years after the project was first announced at WordCamp US 2016. <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/02/reflecting-on-gutenbergs-100th-release/">Matias Ventura’s post</a> offers a bird’s eye view of the project over the last four years. Version 10 adds the basic pages block and makes the parent block selector visible in the block toolbar. <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/05/whats-new-in-gutenberg-9-9-5-february/">Version 9.9</a> of Gutenberg — coincidentally, the 99th release of the plugin, which is also the latest Gutenberg release that will be featured in WordPress 5.7, also came out in February. Key highlights of the release include custom icons and background colors in social icons, a redesigned options modal for blocks (which is now called block preferences), and text labels in the block toolbar.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Want to get involved in building Gutenberg? Follow <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/">the Core team blog</a>, contribute to <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/">Gutenberg on GitHub</a>, and join the <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C02QB2JS7">#core-editor</a> channel in <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/chat/">the Making WordPress Slack group</a>.</p>



<h2>Full Site Editing updates</h2>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/handbook/focuses/full-site-editing/">Full Site Editing (FSE)</a> is an exciting new WordPress feature that allows you to use blocks outside the post or page content. The <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2021/01/21/big-picture-goals-2021/">main focus</a> of the Core team for 2021 is to merge FSE into WordPress core. Here’s the latest on the Full Site Editing project:&nbsp;</p>



<ul><li>The <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/02/18/fse-program-testing-call-2-build-a-homepage-with-site-editing-blocks/">second call for testing</a> as part of the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/12/11/the-fse-outreach-program-is-officially-starting/">Full Site Editing outreach program</a> is out! To participate, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/02/18/fse-program-testing-call-2-build-a-homepage-with-site-editing-blocks/">check out the second testing call</a> on the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/">Make/Test blog</a> and join the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/fse-outreach-experiment/">#fse-outreach-experiment</a> Slack channel. Deadline: March 5, 2021.</li><li>In case you missed participating in the FSE outreach program, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/02/04/fse-program-test-fse-anytime/">you can now test FSE anytime</a> —check out <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/handbook/full-site-editing-outreach-experiment/how-to-test-fse/">this handbook page on testing FSE</a> to learn more.</li><li>Contributor teams are asking for help&nbsp; from local WordPress Communities to support the FSE Project.<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/02/05/fse-program-connecting-with-local-communities/"> Learn more on how you can contribute</a>.</li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/tag/fse-answers/">Check out these answers</a> for the most common FSE questions on the Make/Test blog.</li><li><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>chanthaboune</a> has provided an update on the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/01/full-site-editing-and-themes-where-things-are/">current status of the FSE and themes</a>.</li></ul>



<h2>Decision-making checklist for in-person meetups</h2>



<p>The Community Team <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2021/02/16/announcement-decision-making-checklist-for-in-person-meetups-now-available/">has published handbook pages and a decision-making checklist for organizers</a> to restart in-person meetups at areas where it is safe to do so (e.g., countries such as New Zealand, Australia, and Taiwan, where there are lower COVID-19 risks). However, WordPress meetups and WordCamps in most parts of the world will remain online due to COVID-19.</p>



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



<h2>Further Reading</h2>



<ul><li>The Polyglots team has <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/2021/02/09/proposal-call-for-volunteers-polyglots-training-working-group/">kicked-off a proposal to create a working group of contributors </a>to develop training resources for translation contributors.</li><li>The Meta team is actively <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2021/02/01/call-for-feedback-automated-theme-testing/">working on a tool</a> to help the Themes team automate the theme testing process. The team has already shipped a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/theme-review-action">proof-of-concept of the Theme Review Action tool</a> to test the process and is <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2021/02/01/call-for-feedback-automated-theme-testing/">looking for feedback</a>. The Meta team is also working on <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2021/02/19/reducing-the-plugin-review-teams-workload-through-automation/">reducing the Plugin team’s workload by improving the code scanner tool</a> used for scanning plugins.</li><li>The <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2021/02/24/meeting-notes-matt-josepha-and-theme-review-team/">Themes team met with the WordPress project leadership team (Matt Mullenweg and Josepha Haden)</a> about improving the Theme directory. They decided to reframe the theme review process by adding “review guard rails” with automated tooling.</li><li>The Plugin Review Team reiterated that <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2021/02/16/reminder-forked-premium-plugins-are-not-permitted/">forked premium plugins are not allowed in the Plugin directory.</a>&nbsp;</li><li>After three weekends of celebrating WordPress, <a href="https://india.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp India 2021</a> concluded on February 15. <a href="https://prague.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp Prague 2021</a> took place on February 27. WordCamp India <a href="https://india.wordcamp.org/2021/watch-now/">videos are already available</a>, and videos of both camps will soon be uploaded to WordPress.tv.&nbsp;</li><li>Several online WordCamps were scheduled this month. <a href="https://centroamerica.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp Centroamérica</a>, <a href="https://greece.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp Greece</a>, and <a href="https://neo.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp North East Ohio</a> are scheduled for April 2021. <a href="https://japan.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp Japan</a> takes place in June and has opened-up their <a href="https://japan.wordcamp.org/2021/call-for-speakers-is-now-open/">call for speakers in English and Japanese</a>. Meanwhile, the inaugural <a href="https://cochabamba.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp Cochabamba (Bolivia)</a> runs in July!.</li><li>The Community Team wants <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2021/02/25/proposal-to-improve-the-organizing-experience-for-online-wordcamps/">feedback on how to improve online WordCamps</a>. The team has also announced a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2021/02/18/proposal-2021-global-community-sponsorship-program/">revamped 2021 Global Community sponsorship program</a> to support online events.</li><li>The Design Team is <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2021/02/03/review-feedback-request-ux-for-learn-wordpress-org/">reviewing the user experience</a> for <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/">learn.wordpress.org</a>. Please share any <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2021/02/03/review-feedback-request-ux-for-learn-wordpress-org/">design-feedback that you have as comments on the post</a>.</li><li>The Accessibility Team is working on <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/accessibility/2021/02/28/accessibility-team-meeting-notes-february-26-2021/">publishing the updated accessibility standards document </a>(with regard to WCAG 2.1 changes) alongside the WordPress version 5.7 release. The team has also <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/accessibility/2021/02/28/accessibility-teams-goals-for-wordpress-5-8-and-beyond/">started brainstorming goals for WordPress 5.8</a> and beyond.&nbsp;</li><li>The Support Team is <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/support/2021/02/rethinking-the-master-list/">rethinking the use of the master list</a> used for troubleshooting recurring issues. The team is also <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/support/2021/02/removing-plugin-and-theme-names-used-as-topic-tags-on-the-forums/">removing plugin/theme names used as topic tags</a> in forums.</li><li>The Training Team has <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/training/2021/03/02/march-2021-sprint-planning/">kicked off their March 2021 sprint planning</a> to work on their goals.</li><li>The <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/feature-notifications/">WP Notify project</a> working group (which is working toward a better notification system for&nbsp; WordPress) has completed the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/wp-notify/wiki/Requirements-(v1)">first version of the requirements document</a>, and officially kicked off <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/09/wp-notify-meeting-notes-february-8-2021/">active development of the feature plugin</a>. Contact the team in the <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C2K1C71FE">#feature-notifications</a> Slack channel if you would like to contribute. You can start by reviewing the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/wp-notify/issues">list of the current issues</a>.</li><li><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/02/people-of-wordpress-pooja-derashri/">Pooja Derashri of India</a> was featured in February&#8217;s <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/category/heropress/">People of WordPress</a> series. A cross-team initiative led by the Marketing Team with support from <a href="https://heropress.com/">HeroPress</a>, the series aims to highlight lesser-known stories of WordPress contributors. The Contributor Story series is collecting new features. If you are an active contributor to a WordPress.org team or a local WordCamp, contact the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/marketing/">Marketing Team</a> in the <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C0GKJ7TFA">#marketing</a> Slack channel for more information.</li></ul>



<p><em>Have a story that we should include in the next “Month in WordPress” post? Please </em><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/month-in-wordpress-submissions/"><em>submit it using this form</em></a><em>.</em></p>



<p><em>The Month in WordPress post series is a collective effort, and it would not be possible without contributions from different members of the WordPress Community. Starting this month, we would like to credit and thank all individuals that support this effort with their contributions. I would like to thank the following folks for their contributions to February&#8217;s Month in WordPress: <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/adityakane/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>adityakane</a> <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chaion07/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>chaion07</a> <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/courtneypk/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>courtneypk</a> <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kristastevens/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>kristastevens</a></em> <em>and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/psykro/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>psykro</a></em>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 03 Mar 2021 16:00:41 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Hari Shanker R";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:30;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:84:"WPTavern: Recreating the Music Artist WordPress Theme Homepage With the Block Editor";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=113164";s:7:"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:213:"https://wptavern.com/recreating-the-music-artist-wordpress-theme-homepage-with-the-block-editor?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=recreating-the-music-artist-wordpress-theme-homepage-with-the-block-editor";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:7940:"<p class="has-drop-cap">One of my favorite activities each week is to peruse the latest themes to land in the WordPress theme directory. Often, there are intriguing design concepts. However, much of the time, I am disappointed to learn that homepage designs of many rely on theme options instead of the block editor.</p>



<p>While the editor has several design limitations, theme authors have tons of room to explore. It has enough power to pull off some of these custom homepage designs with far less code work.</p>



<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/music-artist/">Music Artist</a> was one of the latest themes to catch my eye. I loved the large hero area and several elements of the theme&rsquo;s design. After installing it, I realized the homepage layout was handled through theme options. However, the theme author could have built this page entirely out of blocks and wrapped each section or even the entire design into block patterns.</p>



<p>This is all doable with the block editor.</p>



<p>So that I am practicing what I am preaching, I took a couple of hours and recreated the homepage demo for the theme directly from the block editor. No code required. There were a few tricky pieces, which I will get into. However, it was not that hard to build and could have been made easier if the theme supported the block editor.</p>



<p>The plan was to replicate the custom page with the Music Artist theme installed. However, the theme&rsquo;s lack of block support meant that some things were fundamentally broken. Instead, I activated a theme with design similarities, such as fonts and colors. Because I already knew <a href="https://wptavern.com/ariele-lite-is-a-fun-and-refreshing-theme-for-wordpress-bloggers">Ariele Lite worked with the block editor</a>, it made sense to see if I could build with it. It proved to be a solid foundation.</p>



<p>The following is a comparison of the original Music Artist theme homepage (first) and a recreation using blocks via the <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/ariele-lite/">Ariele Lite</a> theme (second):</p>



<ul><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><a href="https://wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/music-artist-original-scaled.jpg"><img /></a>Original Music Artist Homepage</li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><a href="https://wptavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ariel-music-artist-scaled.jpg"><img /></a>Block-Designed Homepage</li></ul>



<p>There are obviously differences in spacing, colors, typography, and other elements. Much of this comes down to stylistic choices by the theme designers. Given more time and modifications via a plugin like <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/editorplus/">Editor Plus</a>, I could have adjusted this enough to get a closer replica. However, my goal was to stick as close as possible as I could to core WordPress. Technically, I have the latest version of the Gutenberg plugin installed, so there might be a few items that have yet to land in WordPress.</p>



<p>For this experiment, I used:</p>



<ul><li>WordPress 5.7 Beta</li><li>Gutenberg 10.1 Beta</li><li>Ariele Lite 1.0.8</li><li>Editor Plus 2.6</li></ul>



<p>I only needed Editor Plus to make a couple of margin adjustments on the Group block. I could have left it alone, but I wanted to reduce some of the spacing between sections on the page to get a closer recreation. In the future, we will see more spacing controls in WordPress, so I considered this a fair trade-off.</p>



<p>This experiment is to show theme authors that they can build their custom designs with the block system. Dropping old-school theme options means a lot less code work for developers, allowing them to focus more on styling. End-users also benefit from more flexibility, such as adding custom elements or removing parts they do not want. That does not even include the style options on the individual block level.</p>



<p>The secondary purpose is to show users that they can create some of these homepages without code. The block editor and a well-rounded, block-ready theme can get you pretty far.</p>



<h2>Recreating the Music Artist Homepage</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">Starting with a base of Ariele Lite meant that the design was boxed. However, the theme has a custom &ldquo;Blank Canvas&rdquo; page template that lets users design the entire page.</p>



<p>There were elements I could not recreate entirely because of limitations with the block editor. Other parts were issues or design choices coming from the theme.</p>



<p>The following is a general overview of how I accomplished building out each section of the homepage. I will skip over parts like adding colors and changing font sizes while focusing on the layout-related concepts.</p>



<h3>Hero Section</h3>



<img />



<p>WordPress&rsquo;s Cover block remains one of my favorite blocks. It allows users to create hero sections without much work. I grabbed the background image from the original demo and plopped it in. I had taken the first real step down this journey.</p>



<p>Then, I added a Heading block, adjusting its size a bit. I followed it with a Spacer and Social Icons block.</p>



<p>I immediately hit two snags. The first was that WordPress does not include an iTunes social icon. I was unable to find an open issue on the Gutenberg repository for this. Perhaps it is not an oft-requested feature. The second issue was that the Social Icons block does not output the social network labels, so I could not replicate that part of the design.</p>



<h3>Discography Section</h3>



<img />



<p>There are a few ways to handle this section. Assuming the albums listed are a custom post type, whatever plugin these albums came from would ideally have a custom block for outputting them. Users could also use the Latest Posts block if these are blog posts or the upcoming Query block.</p>



<p>For simplicity, I decided to add a Columns block and drop three linked images in.</p>



<h3>Media and Text Section</h3>



<img />



<p>My plan for this section was to use the core Media &amp; Text block. However, it only supports self-hosted media. There was no way for me to embed a YouTube video.</p>



<p>Instead, I went with a Columns block. In the left column, I dropped a YouTube video URL. On the right, I added Heading, Paragraph, and Buttons blocks.</p>



<h3>Videos Section</h3>



<img />



<p>This was a relatively simple section to recreate. For the layout, it took only a Heading block followed by a Columns block. Then, I grabbed a couple of video links from YouTube and pasted the URLs into the editor.</p>



<h3>Latest Posts Section</h3>



<img />



<p>This was the part of the layout that I had the most trouble with. WordPress provides the Latest Posts block, which can be set in a grid. However, Ariele Lite did not correctly handle the columns.</p>



<p>So, I cheated a bit.</p>



<p>I switched to a block-based theme that supports the upcoming Full Site Editing feature. Then, I dropped in a Query block to get more control over the columns of posts. Afterward, I switched back to the Ariele Lite theme.</p>



<p>The original design could be done with the current Latest Posts block, so this is not a block-editor problem.</p>



<h3>Footer Sidebar Section</h3>



<img />



<p>Technically, the footer sidebar is outside the scope of the homepage design. It is a part of the theme&rsquo;s footer across the entire site. However, I decided to add it since I was already on a roll.</p>



<p>This section requires the Columns block. From that point, it is a matter of dropping in a Heading block for each column. I added a Paragraph, Calendar, and Gallery block to recreate the three &ldquo;widgets.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Ariele Lite&rsquo;s Calendar block design works better on a light-colored background. It was a small pain point that I overlooked. In the long term, WordPress should provide design controls on blocks that are missing them.</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, 02 Mar 2021 22:52:15 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:31;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 5.7 Release Candidate 2";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=9829";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:69:"https://wordpress.org/news/2021/03/wordpress-5-7-release-candidate-2/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2677:"<p>The second release candidate for WordPress 5.7 is now available! <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f389.png" alt="🎉" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<p>You can test the WordPress 5.7 release candidate in two ways:</p>



<ul><li>Try the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/">WordPress Beta Tester</a>&nbsp;plugin (choose the “Bleeding edge” channel and Beta/RC Only” stream options)</li><li>Or&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/wordpress-5.7-RC2.zip">download the release candidate here (zip)</a>.</li></ul>



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



<h2>Plugin and Theme Developers</h2>



<p>Please test your plugins and themes against WordPress 5.7 and update the&nbsp;<em>Tested up to</em>&nbsp;version in the readme file to 5.7. If you find compatibility problems, please be sure to post to the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta/">support forums</a>,&nbsp;so those can be figured out before the final release.</p>



<p>The&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/23/wordpress-5-7-field-guide">WordPress 5.7 Field Guide</a>&nbsp;will give you a more detailed dive into the major changes.</p>



<h2>How to Help</h2>



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



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



<p><em>Props to <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lukecarbis/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>lukecarbis</a> for the haiku and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/audrasjb/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>audrasjb</a> and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hellofromtonya/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>hellofromtonya</a> for peer reviewing!</em></p>



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



<p><em>Five-seven next week<br />So test your plugins and themes<br />Update your readme</em></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 02 Mar 2021 20:49:55 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Ebonie Butler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:32;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:71:"Akismet: Version 4.1.9 of the Akismet WordPress Plugin is Now Available";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"http://blog.akismet.com/?p=2112";s:7:"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:99:"https://blog.akismet.com/2021/03/02/version-4-1-9-of-the-akismet-wordpress-plugin-is-now-available/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:544:"<p>Version 4.1.9 of <a href="http://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/">the Akismet plugin for WordPress</a> is now available. It contains the following changes:</p>
<ul>
<li>Improvements to how Akismet handles checking pingbacks in XML-RPC multicall requests.</li>
</ul>
<p>To upgrade, visit the Updates page of your WordPress dashboard and follow the instructions. If you need to download the plugin zip file directly, links to all versions are available in <a href="http://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/">the WordPress plugins directory</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 02 Mar 2021 18:13:51 +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:17:"Christopher Finke";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:33;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:65:"WPTavern: Editor Plus 2.6 Adds Block Pattern and Template Library";s:7:"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=113093";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:175:"https://wptavern.com/editor-plus-2-6-adds-block-pattern-and-template-library?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=editor-plus-2-6-adds-block-pattern-and-template-library";s: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:6226:"<p class="has-drop-cap">A couple of weeks ago, Munir Kamal released version 2.6 of his <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/editorplus/">Editor Plus</a> WordPress plugin. The latest version does not add a slew of features as its users have seen in the past. However, it introduces one major upgrade. The new version lets users insert templates from <a href="https://gutenberghub.com/">Gutenberg Hub&rsquo;s</a> growing library directly from the block editor.</p>



<p>I first asked Kamal whether he would include a template inserter in his plugin in July 2020. &ldquo;I will possibly include a direct inserter for templates and blocks in the Editor Plus plugin,&rdquo; he said at the time, not giving away too much.</p>



<p>He had just launched <a href="https://wptavern.com/copy-and-paste-editor-blocks-via-gutenberghubs-block-library">Gutenberg Hub&rsquo;s block library</a> (<em>really, something more akin to block patterns</em>). The system was useful but far from perfect. Users could copy a JSON code snippet and import it via Editor Plus. This was a slight improvement over copying separate block HTML and CSS snippets from an earlier iteration of a <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-hub-launches-collection-of-100-block-templates">block template system</a> he had launched last March. It was still not an ideal system, but anyone paying attention could see the possibilities.</p>



<p>Over the months since that launch, Kamal continued to build more tools into Editor Plus. He launched a separate <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-hub-launches-landing-page-templates-directory">landing page template directory</a>. And, he continued adding more items to Gutenberg Hub&rsquo;s library.</p>



<p>&ldquo;I am already working on adding a Template Inserter in my EditorPlus plugin,&rdquo; he said when we talked in September. &ldquo;It will allow users to browse and insert these templates directly from Gutenberg without leaving the website.&rdquo;</p>



<p>I had already been hounding him for months, and he knew that I would ask. He was looking for feedback, not wanting to push something out before he felt that it worked.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Earlier, I created a template inserter similar to other blocks plugins, but later I changed my mind and thought that I should integrate with the Gutenberg Patterns API and load the templates into the &lsquo;patterns&rsquo; panel in the block inserter,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But, I am having a few issues and thinking about going back to the original idea to have a Templates button on the top toolbar that opens a popup window to browse and filter templates that users can insert on a click.&rdquo;</p>



<p>It was an almost methodical process toward building a massive body of work in a year. As is often the case with Kamal&rsquo;s work, he quietly pushed out version 2.6 of his plugin. Even without much fanfare, he has managed to surpass 4,000 active installs, doubling its number in the past few months.</p>



<p>Now all of the plugin&rsquo;s users have direct access to Gutenberg Hub&rsquo;s section patterns and landing page templates.</p>



<h2>The Template Library</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">Editor Plus 2.6 adds a new &ldquo;Library&rdquo; button to the block editor&rsquo;s post header toolbar. It pops up a simple overlay of the plugin&rsquo;s layout choices.</p>



<p>Users can insert a &ldquo;Pattern&rdquo; or a &ldquo;Template,&rdquo; as they are called through the plugin&rsquo;s UI. Patterns are pre-designed sections that end-users can use to piece together larger page layouts. Templates are full-blown page designs, ready for deployment after content customization. Many of the patterns are present in the templates. It all comes down to how users want to build their pages &mdash; piecemeal vs. having everything in place.</p>



<img />Modal showing block templates.



<p>Of course, everything is editable. Users can insert a template then proceed to removing the bits they do not need and adding custom blocks of their choosing.</p>



<p>The overlay that appears after clicking the Library button allows users to select a pattern or template. This method is becoming increasingly common among block-related plugins. Where the Gutenberg project has <a href="https://wptavern.com/proposal-to-create-an-expanded-view-or-overlay-for-the-block-patterns-inserter">fallen behind in its patterns UI</a>, plugin authors are filling the gaps and creating better user experiences. Genesis Blocks, for example, adds a similar <a href="https://wptavern.com/genesis-block-theme-beta-studiopress-pursuing-a-block-first-future">overlay for choosing layouts</a>. Patterns, templates, layouts, or whatever-you-want-to-call-them all need room to breathe instead of being relegated to a width-restrained flyout. What makes sense on mobile does not always create an ideal experience on larger screens.</p>



<img />Viewing a photography template.



<p>Once a user finds a pattern or template to insert, they can click on it to view a larger version. If they are satisfied, they merely need to click the &ldquo;Add&rdquo; button to insert it into the content canvas.</p>



<p>An important caveat is that what you see in the library is not <em>exactly</em> what you will get. The library uses screenshots to showcase the patterns and templates. These images are created while using a different theme than what a particular user has installed on their site. Things like fonts will match whatever theme is installed. Generally speaking, the overall designs should match up fine.</p>



<p>In the future, perhaps Editor Plus will handle the pattern and template previews with live instances instead of screenshots.</p>



<img />Cafe-type full landing template.



<p>The plugin breaks its library down into 15 categories, such as Arts &amp; Entertainment, Photography, and Real Estate. It is almost a bit excessive. Some contain only one or two templates. Combining categories like Home Services, Professional Services, and Retail into an all-encompassing Business group could help curb the dizzying effects of <em>too much choice</em>.</p>



<p>The new library in Editor Plus 2.6 is a welcome addition. Overall, it worked well in testing.</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, 01 Mar 2021 21:35:12 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:34;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:79:"WPTavern: Elementor Raises Eyebrows with Google Ads Targeting Full-Site Editing";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=112932";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:203:"https://wptavern.com/elementor-raises-eyebrows-with-google-ads-targeting-full-site-editing?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=elementor-raises-eyebrows-with-google-ads-targeting-full-site-editing";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6143:"<p>WordPress&rsquo; <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-passes-40-market-share-of-alexa-top-10-million-websites">growing market share</a> is fueling a continual influx of new users but also a higher level of scrutiny around advertising. Companies with large advertising budgets target this segment of consumers, because many who are new to WordPress need help hosting and creating their websites.</p>



<p>Last week Bluehost pulled an advertisement that <a href="https://wptavern.com/bluehost-misuses-wordpress-trademark-reigniting-controversy-over-recommended-hosts-page">misused WordPress&rsquo; trademark</a>. The company&rsquo;s PR department has not responded to our request for comment, but onlookers have noted that this isn&rsquo;t the first time Bluehost has floated questionable ads. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&ad_type=all&country=ALL&view_all_page_id=235969756424648&sort_data%5Bdirection%5D=desc&sort_data%5Bmode%5D=relevancy_monthly_grouped">Multiple Facebook campaigns</a>, dating back several years, include trademark abuses, as well as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCURv2b4zbEiwN626-T321HQ">active campaigns</a> on YouTube in various markets. </p>



<p>In another advertising-related matter, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/elementor/">Elementor</a>, a popular page builder used by more than five million websites, has caught some attention recently for its Google ads that target &ldquo;full-site editing.&rdquo; Birgit Pauli-Haack, publisher of the <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/">Gutenberg Times</a>, pointed out the ads last week in the <a href="https://poststatus.com/">Post Status</a> Slack community. </p>



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



<p>&ldquo;I have no trouble if Elementor and Beaver Builder duke it out on the Google Ads,&rdquo; Pauli-Haack said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s certainly fair game. Why I think it&rsquo;s shady in regards to WordPress? It&rsquo;s the searcher&rsquo;s intent diverted, in a misleading way. <a href="https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2012/07/17/google-advertising#SEO%20vs%20PPC">30% of Google Searchers</a> do not know that the first results are paid ads and are led astray. Information about Full Site Editing has people already confused and worried. It doesn&rsquo;t help if someone hijacks the new feature&rsquo;s keyword. WordPress is also an easy target because the Foundation certainly doesn&rsquo;t have any money to throw at the problem to bid higher on the keywords.&rdquo;</p>



<p>At first glance the keyword targeting may appear to skirt the line of ethical advertising, but Elementor representative Ben Pines claims the company is simply advertising for <a href="https://elementor.com/help/full-site-editing/">a feature set of the same name</a>. It enables customers to edit the header, footer, archive and single templates, and page or post content on the same screen.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Our google ads vary to provide the most value for users in the search,&rdquo; Pines said. &ldquo;This one is no different. This doesn&rsquo;t represent any new strategy. We released full site editing back in March 2020.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Pines referenced a <a href="https://github.com/elementor/elementor/issues/10718">beta release post</a> dated March 1, 2020, which referred to Elementor&rsquo;s &ldquo;groundbreaking&nbsp;Full Site Editing&nbsp;feature.&rdquo; WordPress&rsquo; Full-Site Editing project predates this release by at least a year. </p>



<p>&ldquo;Full site editing is a very generic industry name and is a fundamental capability in website building tools, searched by many of our users,&rdquo; Pines said.</p>



<p>When asked if Elementor is considering changing the name to avoid confusion with the core WordPress project, Pines said, &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t see any potential confusion. Elementor&rsquo;s capabilities and ads are clear.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Others involved in the conversation on Post Status Slack said this type of advertising seems to be standard practice in the world of ad buying, since they are buying based on relevant keywords. Competitors also routinely purchase each other&rsquo;s keywords. </p>



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



<p>&ldquo;Instead of supporting, it is undermining the project,&rdquo; Pauli-Haack said. </p>



<p>She and other participants in the conversation about the ads found it hard to believe that the strategy is not intentional. Some were also irked by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=all&ad_type=political_and_issue_ads&country=US&id=471775237521825&view_all_page_id=1595730204071266">other Elementor ads</a> running on Google and Facebook that attempt to capitalize on users&rsquo; frustration with WordPress.</p>



<p>Elementor&rsquo;s advertising appears to be a self-preservation strategy, as Gutenberg&rsquo;s full site editing capabilities will inevitably ring the death knell for page builders that don&rsquo;t build on top of the core standard. Third-party page builders will need to overcome severe <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenbergs-faster-performance-is-eroding-page-builders-dominance">performance deficiencies</a> in order to remain competitive.</p>



<p>Understanding where full-site editing is heading is critical for WordPress site owners who are adopting new tools and workflows that will be future-proof with core changes. During this transition many will likely be googling for solutions that will enable them to be on the ground running when core introduces its full-site editing MVP in WordPress 5.8.</p>



<p>Participants in the conversation noted that the Elementor team is not very involved in contributing to the open source project. This may be why the team claims they cannot see any confusion in targeting Google ads at users searching &ldquo;full-site editing.&rdquo;  </p>



<p>&ldquo;We actively contribute to WP and its ecosystem through sponsoring events, translations, accessibility tools and more,&rdquo; Pines said. &ldquo;We are looking to further our contribution even more this year and are on the look out for a dedicated team member.&rdquo;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 01 Mar 2021 21:06:52 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:35;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:107:"Gutenberg Times: Block editor for screen readers, Reusable blocks and so much more – Weekend Edition #160";s:7:"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=17128";s:7:"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:112:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/block-editor-for-screen-readers-reusable-blocks-and-so-much-more-weekend-edition-160/";s: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:14583:"<p>Howdy, howdy! </p>



<p>I found plenty of Gutenberg posts around the net. From the DevNotes for the next major WordPress version to plugin updates and first feedback from the FSE second call for testing. </p>





<p> With the first <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/02/wordpress-5-7-release-candidate/">release candidate of WordPress 5.7 available</a>, we also get to study the upcoming features and changes via <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/23/wordpress-5-7-field-guide/">the Field Guide</a>. If you have more testing capacity, use the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/">Beta Tester plugin</a> and give the new version whirl. </p>



<p>With the most important general WordPress news out of the way, enjoy the cornucopia of block and site editor updates. </p>



<p>Yours, 💞<br />Birgit</p>




<p>ICYMI: <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/">Episode #38 of the Changelog</a> is now available with show notes and transcript. It was another fun conversation with Mark Uraine. We talked about 100th Release of Gutenberg, WordPress Core 5.7, 5.6.1, and Testing Call for Full-site Editing. </p>





<p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p>



<div class="wp-block-sortabrilliant-guidepost"><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-block-editor-for-content-creators">Block Editor for Content Creators</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#1-developing-for-the-block-editor">Developing for the Block Editor </a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#2-block-editor-and-themes">Block Editor and Themes</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#3-plugins-for-the-block-editor">Plugins for the Block Editor</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#4-word-press-events">WordPress Events</a></li></ul></div>




<h2 id="0-block-editor-for-content-creators">Block Editor for Content Creators</h2>



<p>The first in a series of Gutenberg tutorials slated for the WordPress.org News section, <strong>Joen Asmussen</strong> wrote a <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2021/02/gutenberg-tutorial-reusable-blocks/">tutorial on how to create, edit and use Reusable Blocks.</a> This is impeccable timing  as the Reusable Blocks received quite some changes. You learn how to reuse text snippets across posts and pages of your website and save complex layouts once without having to copy/paste them from one page to the next. Joen explains the difference between templates, reusable blocks and Block patterns. He picked plenty of use cases to explain the ins and outs of handling reusable block and use them to your advantage. </p>



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



<p>In his post: <a href="https://www.customerservant.com/an-in-depth-introduction-to-the-wordpress-block-editor-for-screen-reader-users/">An In-depth Introduction to the WordPress Block Editor for Screen reader Users</a>, <strong>John Carson</strong> gave an introduction to the block editor, provides keyboard shortcuts, and walks screen reader users through the editing options. </p>



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



<p>Attendees of <em>WordCamp India</em> received a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqWZ5AMFxug"><strong>sneak preview on the site editor</strong></a> and the full-site editing experience coming to a WordPress instance near you later this year. <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/imranhsayed">Imran Sayed</a> </strong>gave a great introduction to the topic and also show how it currently works and how you can try it yourself via the recording on YouTube. You also learn how the experimental navigation and widget screens work. It&#8217;s a fun look into the future. Sayed also created the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/theme-experiments/tree/master/phoenix">Phoenix block-based theme</a> that is now available in the Gutenberg team&#8217;s Themes Experiments repository on GitHub</p>



<h2 id="1-developing-for-the-block-editor">Developing for the Block Editor </h2>



<p><strong>Robert Anderson</strong> published Block editor <strong>Dev Notes for the WordPress 5.7 release</strong>: </p>



<ul><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/24/changes-to-block-editor-components-and-blocks/">Changes to block editor components and blocks</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/22/changes-in-wordpress-data-api/">Changes in @wordpress/data API</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/22/new-block-variation-apis-in-5-7/">New block variation APIs in 5.7</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/23/inner-blocks-api-changes/">Inner Blocks API Changes</a></li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/23/new-i18n-filters-createi18n-changes/">New i18n filters &amp; createI18n() changes</a></li></ul>



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<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/helenhousandi">Helen Hou-Sandi</a></strong>, WordPress Lead Developer, sometimes streams her WordPress contributer work sessions <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/helenhousandi">on Twitch</a>. In her latest blog post <a href="https://helen.blog/2021/02/updating-a-wordpress-plugin-with-a-publish-metabox-field-for-the-block-editor/">Updating a WordPress plugin with a publish metabox field for the block editor</a>, she summarized an almost <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/videos/925609757">4-hour Twitch session</a>. Don&#8217;t worry, the blog post doesn&#8217;t take as long to read.  She explained the process of achieving the final code, first demonstrated what most people will need, then what she actually did to meet specific UX needs. She also shared the things she tried that didn’t work out. All in all, a great read from a WordPress developer to WordPress developer on how to bridge the gap to the modern block editor. </p>




<p><strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;Keeping up with Gutenberg &#8211; Index&#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. <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index-2020/">The index 2020 is here</a></p>




<p><strong><a href="https://wptavern.com/ask-the-bartender-what-happens-when-block-markup-changes">What Happens When Block Markup Changes?</a></strong> &#8211;<strong> Justin Tadlock</strong> and <strong>Riad Benguella </strong>answer a WPTavern reader&#8217;s question. It&#8217;s a fascinating read that explains some inner workings of the block editor when dealing with static JavaScript blocks. The details are fascinating, and I learned a great deal from the post. Different processes are firing depending on the context the block is used: for the edit screen, storing serialized data in the database, and rendering the block again on the front end, all the while offering hooks for 3rd party plugins to tap into those processes. It&#8217;s a delicate balancing act between the developer experience and the user experience. Riad made clear that the Gutenberg team needed to put the user experience first. </p>



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<p>As&nbsp;Gutenberg&nbsp;grows, the project sometimes experiences regressions: Features that used to work suddenly don’t anymore. To prevent these regressions from happening, contributors can <strong>write end-to-end (e2e) tests </strong>that cover a given piece of functionality and alert us when that functionality is broken. In his <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/19/hallway-hangout-fool-me-once-writing-end-to-end-tests-against-regressions/"><strong>Hallway-Hangout session</strong></a>, <strong>Bernhard Reiter</strong> demonstrated how to write end-to-end tests for the Gutenberg projects to prevent regressions. </p>



<h2 id="2-block-editor-and-themes">Block Editor and Themes</h2>



<p><a href="https://wptavern.com/fse-outreach-round-2-building-a-custom-homepage-with-gutenbergs-site-editor"><strong>Building a Custom Homepage </strong>With Gutenberg’s Site Editor</a> &#8211;  <strong>Justin Tadlock</strong> shared his experience and thoughts when working through the Anne McCarthy&#8217;s instructions for the call for testing the full-side editing experience. It&#8217;s a detailed read, and you&#8217;ll find some GitHub issues, where most pain points are discussed for a better solution. </p>



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<p>For more updates on the topic <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2021/02/26/gutenberg-themes-week-of-feb-25-2021/"><strong>Gutenberg + Themes</strong></a> read <strong><a href="https://twitter.com/one_maggie">Maggie Cabrera</a></strong>&#8216;s 39th weekly round-up  theme-related discussions, fixes, and developments. Many of the listed issues and discussion could use your opinion as how to proceed. Chime in! </p>



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<p>With  <strong><a href="https://wptavern.com/build-a-full-wordpress-site-via-block-patterns-with-the-hansen-theme">Build a Full WordPress Site via Block Patterns With the Hansen Theme</a> </strong> <strong>Justin Tadlock</strong> adds another theme review to the WPTavern. The Hansen Theme is the forth block-based theme in the WordPress repository and provides numerous block patterns and block styles for the site building needs of its users. </p>




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



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




<h2 id="3-plugins-for-the-block-editor">Plugins for the Block Editor</h2>



<p>On the <em>Gutenberg Times</em> we have been using <a href="https://github.com/sortabrilliant/guidepost">Guidepost plugin</a> for our Table of Contents since its first version in 2018. It disappeared from the WordPress repository, but its GitHub repository is still available. Good news, though, the next version of the Gutenberg plugin will include a <a href="https://wptavern.com/the-gutenberg-wordpress-plugin-to-introduce-a-table-of-contents-block#comment-366968"><strong>native &#8220;Table of Contents&#8221; block</strong></a>, inspired by the Guidepost version. <strong>Justin Tadlock</strong> dug a little deeper into the genesis and details of it. </p>




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



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<p>If you have been a listener, please <a href="https://lovethepodcast.com/gutenbergchangelog">write a review </a>on iTunes, Stitcher, Podchaser or Castbox. We would love to read from you, and more reviews help with the distributions.</p>




<h2 id="4-word-press-events">WordPress Events</h2>



<p><strong>February 27, 2021</strong><br /><a href="https://prague.wordcamp.org/2021/"><strong>WordCamp Praha</strong></a></p>



<p><strong>March 4, 2021 11:00 AM ET /  16:00 UTC</strong><br /><strong><a href="https://attend.wpengine.com/decode-2021/">WP Engine DE{CODE} 2021&nbsp;</a></strong><br /><em>With an awesome line-up of speakers! </em></p>



<p><strong>April 16th &#8211; 18th, 2021.</strong>&nbsp;<br /><strong><a href="https://greece.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp Greece 2021 Online</a></strong>.<br />The organizer published the <a href="https://greece.wordcamp.org/2021/call-for-speakers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">call for speakers</a>.</p>



<p><strong>April 16th &#8211; 18th, 2021</strong><br /><strong><a href="https://neo.wordcamp.org/2021/">WordCamp Northeast Ohio</a></strong><br /><a href="https://neo.wordcamp.org/2021/call-for-sponsors/">Take a look at the Call for Sponsors</a></p>



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<p>On the<a href="https://wpcalendar.io/online/"> <strong>Calendar for WordPress Online Events</strong> </a>you can browse a list of the upcoming WordPress Meetups, around the world, including WooCommerce, Elementor, Divi Builder and Beaver Builder meetups. </p>




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



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



<form class="wp-block-newsletterglue-form ngl-form ngl-portrait" action="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/" method="post"><div class="ngl-form-container"><div class="ngl-form-field"><label class="ngl-form-label" for="ngl_email"><br />Type in your Email address to subscribe.</label><div class="ngl-form-input"><input type="email" class="ngl-form-input-text" name="ngl_email" id="ngl_email" /></div></div><button 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>



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<p></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 27 Feb 2021 17:00:00 +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: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:36;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:56:"WPTavern: Chrome is Testing a Follow Button for Websites";s:7:"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=112943";s:7:"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:157:"https://wptavern.com/chrome-is-testing-a-follow-button-for-websites?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chrome-is-testing-a-follow-button-for-websites";s: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:2322:"<p><a href="https://www.google.com/chrome/canary/">Chrome Canary</a>, the browser&rsquo;s nightly build for developers, has been testing a new Follow button, as spotted on Android by the publishers of <a href="https://www.chromestory.com/2021/02/chrome-follow-button/"><em>Chrome Story</em></a>. The button appears on the homepage of a site, as well as in the browser menu:</p>



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



<p>Chrome Story speculates that it may be integrated with Google&rsquo;s Discover feature, allowing sites to be easily added to that feed. Others speculated more broadly that Google may be building a replacement for Google Reader.</p>



<p>Any whisper of Google Reader being resurrected always causes a bit of a stir, as many loyal users are still in mourning for the beloved RSS reader, which was discontinued in 2013. Linking this new Follow feature with Discover may be the closest Google gets to bringing it back. A full-featured RSS reader will likely still be a better option to have full control of your feeds and how they display. However, it may be possible for developers to build tools that fetch and aggregate feeds captured by the Follow button.</p>



<p>Before the explosion of social media sites, RSS buttons were prominently featured on WordPress blogs. Having the ability to follow a site for new updates, without having to check back manually, was an important feature if you wanted to be found in the nascent blogosphere. RSS is still alive and well, even if following a curated list of sites isn&rsquo;t the primary way people get their news today. Many internet users don&rsquo;t know the first thing about subscribing to feeds but Google&rsquo;s new Follow feature might make the idea more approachable.</p>



<p>Canary is unstable, but if want to check out features on the bleeding edge of Chrome development, you can install <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chrome.canary&hl=en_GB&gl=US">Canary for Android</a> alongside your regular browser and choose when you launch it. At the time of publishing, the Follow button was not in the latest build but Google sometimes puts features in and pulls them out while they are in development. We will be following to see how this takes shape.</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, 27 Feb 2021 02:40:49 +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:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:37;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:68:"WPTavern: Ask the Bartender: What Happens When Block Markup Changes?";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=112921";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:177:"https://wptavern.com/ask-the-bartender-what-happens-when-block-markup-changes?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ask-the-bartender-what-happens-when-block-markup-changes";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6837:"<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>I&rsquo;m a developer that has started developing with Gutenberg recently. There are a bunch of amazing benefits and features, but there are also a ton of drawbacks, inconsistencies, as well as absolutely awful and outdated documentation.</p><p>One of the worst aspects of Gutenberg from a developer perspective has been block validation. Consider the following scenario. I build a custom (non-dynamic) JavaScript-based block, and a CMS editor adds the block to thousands of pages. What happens when or if I need to update the markup of the block?</p><p>By default, all of the blocks will enter a state of invalidation and not reflect on the front-end of the site. The CMS editor would have to go into thousands of pages and manually click the button which allows the block to be recovered.</p><p>Block deprecations have been suggested as a way to resolve this, but the API is poorly documented, confusing, and seems like it would become unmaintainable in the long term with more than a few deprecations.</p><p>Shouldn&rsquo;t there either be a way for block developers to opt-out of the validation process or a global way to recover blocks?</p><cite>PJ</cite></blockquote>



<p>You are certainly not holding anything back, PJ. While much of this is a bit more technical than I typically like to cover here at the Tavern, I decided to reach out to Riad Benguella, one of the lead Gutenberg developers, for more insight into the situation.</p>



<p>Before diving into his response, I have given one aspect of your question some thought. There are times when developers need to deprecate old markup and move onto something new. However, this should not happen often. Generally, it is a sign of poor architecture if the HTML needs to be overhauled regularly. This also leads to other issues, such as a third party not being able to maintain stylistic changes.</p>



<p>When developing blocks or any type of application that outputs front-end code, you need to think about what that should look like today and in 10 years. What happens if a user adds some custom CSS to style your block and the block&rsquo;s HTML structure has changed? From their perspective, your block update has broken their site. The same could be said for another plugin that extends your plugin in some way.</p>



<p>Ask any theme author how frustrating it is any time Gutenberg/WordPress changes its block output. While it has improved in the last couple of years, styling blocks for the editor and front-end has often been a maintenance nightmare.</p>



<p>As a developer, I have always tried to think through any real-world consequences of making these changes from a user&rsquo;s perspective. That should happen from Day #1, not after you have released your project.</p>



<p>Doing this adds time to the early project when you are just trying to get it out the door and into users&rsquo; hands. This is where taking a pre-release step back helps. Get away from the computer. Go on a walk. Think about the architecture of your project and whether it is ideal for the long term.</p>



<p>&ldquo;For the block versioning/updates, it&rsquo;s indeed one of the areas of the Gutenberg APIs where we needed to make architectural tradeoffs, and we decided to favor the user experience over the developer&rsquo;s,&rdquo; said Benguella.</p>



<p>Regardless of your development method, following the project&rsquo;s approach of a user-first experience will help in the long term.</p>



<p>&ldquo;To understand the problem properly, one needs to understand how blocks work and are edited,&rdquo; said Benguella. &ldquo;Block instances are a JSON object, and the editor UI manipulate that JSON, but in order to stay backward compatible, to ensure the preservation of user&rsquo;s content in the most readable format, and to embrace web standards as much as possible, the block editor doesn&rsquo;t store the JSON object but an HTML serialization of it in <code>post_content</code>.&rdquo;</p>



<p>That serialization is parsed and converted to JSON when the editor reloads the content to edit again. In the final stages of parsing, it is up to the block author to decide how to save and parse the object.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Now, imagine if a user altered the saved HTML (serialization) and just put any random content there,&rdquo; said Benguella. &ldquo;The block might not be able to parse the HTML properly because it doesn&rsquo;t match its expectations (what has been defined by the block author), which means recreating that JSON object in order to be manipulated won&rsquo;t be possible at this point.&rdquo;</p>



<p>When this happens, the block editor provides the user with an interface to make an informed decision. They can attempt to &ldquo;force parse&rdquo; the block JSON or convert it to an HTML or Classic block.</p>



<img />Invalid block after altering the markup.



<p>This same type of invalidation can happen when a plugin developer updates their block. However, instead of the saved HTML changing, the developer changed the &ldquo;expectations&rdquo; of the block &mdash; altering how it gets saved and parsed.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Which is why we ask block developers to provide block deprecations representing the old markup of the same block,&rdquo; said Benguella. &ldquo;Deprecations can also be thought of as valid, alternate sources for the same block. This allows the editor to parse the old markup when loaded and save the new markup back if an update is made to the block.&rdquo;</p>



<p>WordPress has <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/block-editor/developers/block-api/block-deprecation/">block deprecation documentation</a>. However, it is not thorough. The best source of seeing real-world deprecations is looking through Gutenberg&rsquo;s <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/tree/HEAD/packages/block-library/src">block library</a>. Deprecated blocks have a <code>deprecated.js</code> file.</p>



<p>Benguella said that this system can be frustrating for block authors. This is especially evident in a development environment when making changes. This has lead developers to ask for a method of disabling the validation algorithm.</p>



<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s something we don&rsquo;t want to provide at the moment because, as explained above, the validation is also important when markup changes for another reason (external edit, another editor, etc.),&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;So it may cause content loss for users without them being aware of anything. The preference right now is given to user awareness.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The team has improved the validation system over time, allowing for small changes that do not break the block state. There is also an <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/21703">open ticket for improvements</a> in the future.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 26 Feb 2021 16:53:12 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:38;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:79:"WPTavern: The Gutenberg WordPress Plugin To Introduce a Table of Contents Block";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=112826";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:203:"https://wptavern.com/the-gutenberg-wordpress-plugin-to-introduce-a-table-of-contents-block?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-gutenberg-wordpress-plugin-to-introduce-a-table-of-contents-block";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4589:"<p class="has-drop-cap">What was once likely viewed as plugin territory is now a reality as part of the Gutenberg project. Yesterday, the team <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/21234">merged a pull request for a Table of Contents</a> (TOC) block into the plugin&rsquo;s codebase. It was a contribution driven by developer Zebulan Stanphill, starting nearly a year ago.</p>



<p>The TOC block may feel a bit niche. However, there is obviously a need for it. There are at least two standalone block plugins to handle the feature, and several block library plugins cover it. Last week, a <a href="https://wptavern.com/ask-the-bartender-frustrations-and-finding-the-right-wordpress-block-plugins">reader asked about such a solution</a>. Soon, the Gutenberg plugin and, eventually, WordPress will have him and others covered.</p>



<p>The block is not currently available in the plugin on WordPress.org. It has not officially shipped yet. To test it, users will either need to clone the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg">Gutenberg GitHub repository</a> or grab a ZIP file of the <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/need-a-zip-from-master/">nightly beta</a>. It should land in Gutenberg 10.1 in the coming weeks for those who want to wait.</p>



<p>Including these more-niche blocks is a good direction for the project &mdash; a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/pull/28261">Footnotes block</a> is also a possibility. While it can feel like stepping on the toes of plugin developers, WordPress needs to branch out. There is plenty of room for third-party devs to build other blocks. The experience is degraded when users have to sift through multitudes of plugins to find something core to their writing process. There are limits on what blocks should ultimately be included in the platform. However, WordPress is publishing software. Advanced writing features, such as TOCs and footnotes, belong firmly in the default setup.</p>



<h2>The Table of Contents Block</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">This block is a bit different than other blocks users are accustomed to. A TOC is a list of all the headings in a document. In the case of WordPress and webpages in general, a TOC links to those headings. This allows users to jump around the page. The block depends on other blocks in the content, a slightly new concept for the block editor.</p>



<p>When first adding the block to an empty page, it will display a helper message.</p>



<img />Initial TOC block when no Heading blocks are present.



<p>Users must begin adding Heading blocks in their post to make use of the TOC block. Once they are added, each Heading is shown as a list item. The block also properly nests list items for sub-headings &mdash; an H3 goes into a sub-list under an H2, for example.</p>



<img />Headings become list items in the TOC block.



<p>This is the moment things become more complex. On the web, a TOC needs to link to those headings so that readers can jump to the section they want to view. Right now, this does not happen automatically. Perhaps it will do so in the future, but users must manually add HTML anchors to make the linking part work. <em>Ideally, the initial helper message would link to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/article/page-jumps/">documentation page</a> on how to do this for new users.</em></p>



<p>Adding HTML anchors is easy. However, it could be a ton of work for long posts with dozens of headings.</p>



<p>To add the anchor, users must click on each Heading and navigate to the block options panel. Under the Advanced tab, enter a unique ID. It is easiest to name this after the text itself. A Heading block with &ldquo;A New World&rdquo; gets an anchor of <code>a-new-world</code>. This also helps when others are deep linking into posts, creating prettier URLs, such as <code>yoursite.com/blog/post-name/#a-new-world</code>.</p>



<img />Adding anchors to Heading blocks.



<p>The TOC block does not have any design settings. If users need to change the colors or other design-related elements, it is best to wrap it inside another block, such as Group or Cover.</p>



<img />Wrapping the TOC into a Group block.



<p>If adding a heading for the Group block or before the TOC block, it will be added to the list. It is best to use the Paragraph block as a <em>faux</em> heading and change the font size.</p>



<p>Overall, the block works well. Except for the manual insertion of anchors, it is a welcome addition. Perhaps a plugin author will come along and write the code to make it automatic.</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, 25 Feb 2021 21:49:20 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:39;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:98:"WPTavern: Bluehost Misuses WordPress Trademark, Reigniting Controversy Over Recommended Hosts Page";s:7:"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=112479";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:239:"https://wptavern.com/bluehost-misuses-wordpress-trademark-reigniting-controversy-over-recommended-hosts-page?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bluehost-misuses-wordpress-trademark-reigniting-controversy-over-recommended-hosts-page";s: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:12680:"<p><a href="https://www.bluehost.com/">Bluehost</a> was called out this week for misusing WordPress&rsquo; trademark, as the WordPress Foundation prohibits its use in advertising. The company has been featured on <a href="https://wordpress.org/hosting/">WordPress&rsquo; recommended hosting</a> page for the past 16 years, as one of a handful of hosts that have been arbitrarily selected based on an incomplete list of criteria.</p>



<p>The wording of the ad in this instance,<em> &ldquo;There is a reason WordPress officially recommends Bluehost more than any other hosting service,&rdquo;</em> was a visceral reminder to the hosting community of being excluded from the benefits that listing confers. </p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"We do not allow the use of the trademark in advertising, including AdSense/AdWords."<br />&ndash; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WordPress?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WordPress</a> Foundation Trademark Policy <a href="https://t.co/0pO0z6uAdp">https://t.co/0pO0z6uAdp</a> <a href="https://t.co/NTNShWI2yg">pic.twitter.com/NTNShWI2yg</a></p>&mdash; Morten Wears a Mask (@mor10) <a href="https://twitter.com/mor10/status/1363967590733729793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 22, 2021</a></blockquote>
</div>



<p>In response to the issue, WordPress&rsquo; Executive Director, Josepha Haden Chomphosy <a href="https://twitter.com/JosephaHaden/status/1364308731991781376">scheduled a call</a> with Bluehost to find a resolution. She provided the following statement after the call:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>This was flagged to me on Twitter, and I immediately reached out to learn more. Bluehost removed the ad proactively, and they scheduled a call with me and a representative of Automattic&nbsp;to understand the concerns being raised. As Matt <a href="https://robertjacobi.com/wordpress-org-hosting-and-trademark-rumors-answered.html">mentioned</a>, commercial use of the WordPress trademark is permitted, and Automattic can sub-license that use.</p></blockquote>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>From a WordPress project standpoint, Bluehost was swift to respond to this issue, and took immediate steps to better understand how the trademark and logo are allowed to be used. When mistakes like this happen, we ask companies to keep us informed about how the issue is resolved, and Bluehost has agreed to do that.</p></blockquote>



<p>Bluehost has not yet responded to our request for comment.</p>



<p>In the meantime, the incident reignited the controversy that has plagued <a href="https://wordpress.org/hosting/">WordPress&rsquo; recommended hosting page</a> for years. Continuing the conversation that started on Twitter, members of the <a href="https://poststatus.com/">Post Status</a> community pressed for more clarification in the club&rsquo;s #hosting channel.</p>



<p>In response to claims that inclusion on the page is a closed process, and that the selected hosts haven&rsquo;t changed in three years, Matt Mullenweg offered what is perhaps the most forthcoming response the community has seen on this topic: </p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>When the list is open, anyone can apply. I take 100% responsibility for the editorial, though in the past and future will have people help with testing hosts, and collating all the threads in the forums. I also get a fair number of people emailing me directly feedback about the hosts listed, and how the host follows up is part of my evaluation.</p><p>It&rsquo;s true the list of hosts hasn&rsquo;t been changed in a while. The current list is all in good standing. I stand by the long-term behavior and service of every company linked on that page. It is past-due for open applications again, but I have prioritized other work on .org.</p><p>No one can pay to be on the page, and there are no affiliate payments made for customers sent from that page. It&rsquo;s free, opinionated, and editorially driven. I do believe it drives many millions of year in business, which is why the potential for things like bribery or conflict is high if it were open to a larger group deciding who&rsquo;s on there.</p></blockquote>



<p>The hosting recommendations page exists to reduce barriers for new users looking to get started with WordPress without having to shop around among thousands of hosts. WordPress.org is not transparent about who makes the decisions regarding recommended hosts or what criteria is used. Because it benefits a select few very large companies who have dominated the recommendations for years with few changes, rumors abound. </p>



<p>Mullenweg&rsquo;s response confirms that currently there is no &ldquo;pay-to-play&rdquo; type of arrangement, but he did not say if this has always been the case. In the beginning, this page was called &ldquo;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20050410080902/http://wordpress.org/hosting/">WordPress Hosting Partners</a>&rdquo; and included the following text: <em>&ldquo;Signing up through this page will help us finance WordPress.org&rsquo;s operations through partner deals.</em>&rdquo; That wording was changed in April 2005 to remove the reference to partners. However, previous versions of the page from years ago include what appear to be tracking or affiliate links for the hosts listed. For example, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070807011316/http://wordpress.org/hosting/">a version of the page from 2007</a> includes the following links:   </p>



<ul><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070807011316/http://www.bluehost.com/track/wp/one">http://www.bluehost.com/track/wp/one</a></li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070807011316/http://www.anhosting.com/wordPress.aff.redirect.trk">http://www.anhosting.com/wordPress.aff.redirect.trk</a></li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070807011316/http://secure.hostican.com/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=wordpress&campaign=three">http://secure.hostican.com/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=wordpress&amp;campaign=three</a></li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070807011316/http://www.dreamhost.com/r.cgi?automattic">http://www.dreamhost.com/r.cgi?automattic</a></li></ul>



<p>According to the Internet Archive, 2009 was the last year that tracking ID&rsquo;s were appended to the links on the recommended hosts page. A few <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090701093034/http://wordpress.org/hosting/">examples from that year</a> include:</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090701093034/http://www.dreamhost.com/r.cgi?automattic">http://www.dreamhost.com/r.cgi?automattic</a></li><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090701093034/http://mediatemple.net/go/ref/?affkey=YWZmaWxpYXRlPTIyUDNkSVFPeXU">http://mediatemple.net/go/ref/?affkey=YWZmaWxpYXRlPTIyUDNkSVFPeXU</a></li><li><a href="https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/wordpress-hosting.aspx?isc=wordpress2">https://www.godaddy.com/hosting/wordpress-hosting.aspx?isc=wordpress2</a></li></ul>



<p>The copy on the page hasn&rsquo;t changed much over recent years. It currently gives the following criteria to be listed but it doesn&rsquo;t specify why only three companies meet these standards:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>We&rsquo;ll be looking at this list several times a year, so keep an eye out for us re-opening the survey for hosts to submit themselves for inclusion. Listing is completely arbitrary, but includes criteria like: contributions to WordPress.org, size of customer base, ease of WP auto-install and auto-upgrades, avoiding GPL violations, design, tone, historical perception, using the correct logo, capitalizing WordPress correctly, not blaming us if you have a security issue, and up-to-date system software. </p></blockquote>



<p>With such a diverse hosting ecosystem supporting WordPress users around the world, it&rsquo;s difficult to understand why there aren&rsquo;t more companies included among these listings. The era when tracking links were included on this page was a different time before many things were formalized, but the community could stand to receive a transparent history of this page.  </p>



<p>&ldquo;To my knowledge, no one has ever paid to be on that page, and certainly no one has ever approached me about doing so,&rdquo; Josepha Haden Chomphosy said when asked about the process for getting listed.</p>



<p>Thousands of volunteer contributors are continually building and improving this software. It&rsquo;s only natural that the community is curious about who is benefiting from the project&rsquo;s hosting recommendations and the nature of those arrangements. Mullenweg estimates the impact of that page as &ldquo;many millions per year in business,&rdquo; but the process surrounding the selection of hosts is closed and not clearly outlined.</p>



<p>Following the incident with Bluehost, Mullenweg briefly elaborated on why Bluehost retains its position on the page despite some people reporting poor service:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>Regarding Bluehost or other large hosts, there is an aspect of&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/utilitarianism-history/">WordPress Utilitarianism</a>, any business will have some unhappy people, but a small % gets to a high absolute number at scale. I try to look at hosts that are doing the most good for the most number of people. Will definitely keep an eye on if anything with their approach to WP customers post-merger, but they also have a lot of good karma built up over a very long period of time. Bluehost, for example, does the best job I&rsquo;m aware of in keeping the largest number of WPs on the latest version, and deploying updates incredibly fast. (If another host does more, please let me know! GD I think has more sites, but fewer on latest version.)</p></blockquote>



<p>Another point of contention that regularly pops up is Automattic&rsquo;s exclusive commercial license for using the WordPress trademark. Mullenweg clarified why the company is in possession of this exclusive right after <a href="https://ma.tt/2010/09/wordpress-trademark/">Automattic donated it to the foundation</a>. He confirmed that Bluehost was not given permission to run the ad with the trademark:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>A common misunderstanding is that there is no commercial use of the WordPress trademark allowed. As some know, the trademark was originally held by Automattic, which donated it to the Foundation, and in return got an exclusive commercial license back. That commercial use can be sub-licensed by Automattic, and has been in the past. The ad that is bugging everyone was not approved, as far as I&rsquo;m aware, and that will resolve once everyone has had a chance to talk to each other. Automattic can lose its commercial license to the trademark if it is not a good steward. This license is a bit of an accident of history, but also an entirely fair criticism of Automattic having a special privilege to commercial use of the WordPress trademark (because it&rsquo;s true, vs most of what the company gets accused of). This&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://ma.tt/2010/09/wordpress-trademark/#comment-485223">happened in 2010</a>, and the growth of WP and the WP ecosystem has been incredibly strong since then so I think the idea of a for-profit and non-profit complementing each other has proven successful, and I think better than either would have done on their own. </p></blockquote>



<p>Mullenweg seems to recognize the friction that trademark matters can create in the community and said that he would change the naming of WordPress.com if he could go back in time.</p>



<p>&ldquo;If I could wave a magic wand and go back to 2004, though, it would be nice if .com and .org had distinct names &lsquo;before the dot,&rsquo; as it can be a source of confusion,&rdquo; he said.</p>



<p>These things can certainly be changed in the present but not without a severe blow to the benefits of Automattic&rsquo;s special privilege of commercial use. It would also impact the company&rsquo;s millions of users who call WordPress.com their home on the web. </p>



<p>In the interest of eliminating some of the confusion regarding conflicts of interest and commercial use of the trademark, a continual movement towards transparency will be required. WordPress.org&rsquo;s recommended hosts page is overdue for an update. Ideally, this page will provide clear guidelines about the process and criteria for inclusion before opening up applications again. </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, 25 Feb 2021 04:06:15 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:40;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:78:"WPTavern: Build a Full WordPress Site via Block Patterns With the Hansen Theme";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=112498";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:201:"https://wptavern.com/build-a-full-wordpress-site-via-block-patterns-with-the-hansen-theme?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=build-a-full-wordpress-site-via-block-patterns-with-the-hansen-theme";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5538:"<img />



<p class="has-drop-cap">Earlier today, the WordPress theme directory welcomed its fourth block-based theme. Built by UXL Themes, <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/hansen/">Hansen</a> is one of the more stylish projects capable of working with the site editor in the Gutenberg plugin. The theme author also stepped it up a notch and included several block patterns.</p>



<p>I have written about how <a href="https://wptavern.com/gutenberg-7-7-ships-refreshed-ui-and-first-iteration-of-block-patterns">patterns will be a game-changer</a>. I have talked about the need for a <a href="https://wptavern.com/proposal-to-create-an-expanded-view-or-overlay-for-the-block-patterns-inserter">UI overhaul</a> to better expose them to users. And I have proposed that theme authors use the <a href="https://wptavern.com/armando-wordpress-theme-provides-insight-into-the-current-state-of-full-site-editing">pattern system instead of templates</a>, allowing users to build out full sections of their sites at the click of a button.</p>



<p>UXL Themes has done just that. Most patterns that we have seen thus far have been built primarily for post or page content. The Hansen theme takes that idea a step further and creates patterns for different site sections.</p>



<p><em>Want to try a different look for the header?</em> Just remove the old one and swap in another header pattern.</p>



<img />Inserting the dark header pattern.



<p><em>How about changing the look of your blog posts page?</em> The theme comes with two and three-column patterns for outputting the latest posts.</p>



<img />Inserting a two-column blog posts pattern.



<p>It also packages a Content and Sidebar pattern that is more suitable for single posts and pages.</p>



<p>I am still undecided on whether the patterns or template parts system is the ideal solution for this. Right now, patterns have a cleaner UI overall and can be categorized. Template parts might be easier to switch, but there is no way to group them (e.g., header templates, footer templates, etc.). Regardless of what becomes the <em>de facto</em> standard in the long term, we need more theme authors like UXL Themes experimenting with these concepts, seeing what works, and gathering user feedback.</p>



<p>The theme does not add much in the way of content patterns. However, it does include one named &ldquo;2 Columns of Text and a Full-Width Cover.&rdquo; While it is a bit of a mouthful, the name does fully describe what it does. This is also the pattern in use for the homepage in the <a href="https://uxlthemes.com/demo/hansen/">theme&rsquo;s demo</a>. However, the demo has a slight modification, adding a custom latest posts section.</p>



<img />Hansen content-related pattern.



<p>Hansen is more than just its patterns. The theme generally looks pretty good too. It has a bit more pizazz than we have seen from some other block-based experiments. Like the <a href="https://wptavern.com/phoenix-a-block-based-wordpress-theme-with-a-sidebar">recently-released Phoenix theme</a>, developers are becoming more comfortable moving beyond the bare-bones block-based designs from previous months.</p>



<p>These themes are obviously not on par with what one could build on more mature systems. However, Gutenberg&rsquo;s FSE system is inching forward. The theme authors who are experimenting now are paving the way for the next generation of themes, which I am excited to see.</p>



<p>The Hansen theme also includes several block styles. Most are geared toward blocks that users would typically use in the site editor. I have not seen such an approach in previous block-based themes.</p>



<p>Two of the styles are for mobile navigation. The Mobile Friendly style displays a horizontal nav menu on desktop while switching to a hamburger-flydown on mobile devices. The Mobile Style alternative retains the mobile layout on all screen sizes.</p>



<p>There is a Box Shadow style for the Query Loop block, which adds a shadow to each post. In the future, I hope to see WordPress provide box-shadow options for this instead of themes relying on block styles. Nevertheless, it is a welcome addition for the moment.</p>



<img />Box Shadow style for the Query Loop block.



<p>The No Bottom Margin style allows users to remove bottom margin from Columns. I assume the theme author used this to address the common issue of nested blocks and their bottom margins adding on top of each other. I do not like this as a style because it gives the user the responsibility of fixing a design issue that should be taken care of under the hood. Generally, the problem stems from tackling spacing in design using a bottom margin instead of a top margin. It can be corrected in either case, but going with a top-margin approach is easier.</p>



<p>Outside of that one stylistic issue, the other downside to the theme is that it is not well-suited to long-form content out of the box. The content area stretches too wide for the default font size, making for uncomfortable reading. The theme includes a Narrow Width style for the Group block that corrects this. However, it would ideally be the reverse, with the content defaulting to a narrower width. Whenever a user wants to write a long-form blog post, they would need to wrap it in a Group block and apply the Narrow Width style. The more common use case should be the default.</p>



<p>Overall, I love the experimentation. Hansen is one of the best themes for playing around with the site editor in Gutenberg right now.</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, 24 Feb 2021 22:21:09 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:41;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:55:"WordPress.org blog: Did You Know About Reusable 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:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=9777";s:7:"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://wordpress.org/news/2021/02/gutenberg-tutorial-reusable-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:6430:"<p><strong><em>Created by Joen Asmussen, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joen/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>joen</a></em></strong></p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://i1.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2021/02/Reusable-Blocks-featured.png?resize=585%2C329&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-9803" width="585" height="329" /></div>



<p>The WordPress block editor (a.k.a. Gutenberg) comes with a feature called &#8220;reusable blocks.” They are blocks, saved for later, edited in one place.</p>



<p>Have you ever wanted to:</p>



<ul><li>Re-use the same snippet of text across posts and pages?</li><li>Save complex layouts to spare you having to copy/paste from one post to another?</li></ul>



<p>Reusable blocks can do these things.</p>



<h2>Like templates, you mean?</h2>



<p>Not quite. Think of reusable blocks as snippets of globally synchronized content that are personal to you. You can edit all your reusable blocks in one place, and any post or page you inserted that block into, get the updated version as well.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Where you might use templates to structure your website, you can use reusable blocks to structure your content. For example:</p>



<ul><li>A testimonial on your homepage and your product page.</li><li>A &#8220;this post is part of a series&#8221; box that you insert part-way through your article.</li><li>A &#8220;Follow me on social media&#8221; section you can weave into the prose of your popular article.</li><li>Complex but static blocks, such as a &#8220;Subscribe to my newsletter&#8221; box, a contact form, a survey, quiz, or polls.</li></ul>



<p>Key properties are that reusable blocks are unbeatable when you want to reuse a snippet of content, edit it in one place, and have the changes propagate to every instance.</p>



<h2>Show me how</h2>



<p>To create a reusable block, open the block editor and create the content you want to reuse:</p>







<p>Now select the content you want to turn into a reusable block, then click the three-dot &#8220;More&#8221; menu and choose &#8220;Add to Reusable blocks.”</p>







<p>Voilà, you’ve now created a reusable block. From now on, you can find this block, and any other you create, in the &#8220;Reusable blocks&#8221; tab in the block library:</p>







<p>This is also where you can insert the newly created block on any of your posts or pages.</p>



<h2>Where do I edit my existing reusable blocks?</h2>



<p>To edit a reusable block, select it and make your edits. When you make an edit, the Publish button will have a little dot indicator:</p>







<p>This dot indicates you’ve made a global change that potentially affects posts beyond just the one you’re editing, the same as when you’re editing templates. This lets you confirm the change was intentional.</p>



<p><strong>Another way to edit your reusable blocks</strong> is to click the global three-dot &#8220;More&#8221; menu and selecting &#8220;Manage all reusable blocks&#8221;:</p>







<p>This takes you to a section letting you edit, rename, export, or delete every reusable block you created.&nbsp;</p>



<h2>What else can I do?</h2>



<p>Here are a couple of tips and tricks you can leverage to get the most out of reusable blocks.</p>



<h3>Give them a good name</h3>



<p>When you name a reusable block, you are essentially choosing your search terms, as the name is what you search for in the block library (or when you use the &#8220;slash command,” typing / in an empty paragraph):</p>







<p>Avoid names such as &#8220;Gallery&#8221; or &#8220;Image,” as that’ll be annoying when you just want to insert one of those. You can avoid that with a unique name, such as &#8220;My author biography.”</p>



<h3>Insert in the best place of your content flow</h3>



<p>One obvious benefit of reusable blocks is that they are just blocks, just like everything else in the block editor. That means you can insert it anywhere in your content. You might want your rich author biography to sit at the top or bottom of the post, but <em>This post is part of a series</em> box that might sit well two or three paragraphs not to disrupt the reading flow.</p>







<h3>A design shortcut</h3>



<p>Maybe you created a complex layout you&#8217;re happy with, a call to action with the right image and buttons, and it took a while to get it just right. Go on and save it as a reusable block: even if you mean to insert it only to convert it to a regular block, it might still save you a minute.&nbsp;</p>



<p>To convert a reusable block to regular (blocks, select it and click the &#8220;Convert to regular blocks&#8221;:</p>



<p></p>







<p><em>Design by </em><a href="https://beatrizfialho.com/"><em>Beatriz Fialho</em></a><em>.</em></p>



<p><strong>Tip:</strong> You can also find some nice patterns on <a href="https://gutenberghub.com/">Gutenberg Hub</a> or <a href="https://shareablock.com/">ShareABlock</a>.</p>



<h3>Take it with you</h3>



<p>Need to move to another site? You can both export and import reusable blocks. Go to the <em>Manage all reusable blocks</em> section from the global three-dot &#8220;More&#8221; menu, hover over the block you want to export, and click &#8220;Export as JSON&#8221;:</p>







<p>The downloaded file can be imported on any WordPress 5.0 or newer website.</p>



<h2>Try it</h2>



<p>Create a draft post and play around with Reusable Blocks to see how you might start using them. You can always delete them when you’re done playing.</p>



<p>You can test importing and using a small reusable block I created as an example. It&#8217;s a &#8220;Further reading&#8221; block that shows the four latest posts from the category &#8220;Featured&#8221;:</p>



<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/33_L1WQrTxNiidm8IKcSfn7_nYjcpq5zpSzycmKliDnGzFI_hLu7yLPV1vnqWgCS7H6JtFAGEXz-AVkNBLtQQEM80VA6KUfcmj1JAoVZ5ZNMavVzlGzBPEiqiD3-eUzZSvOTYm_E" alt="" />



<p>It might work well as a highlight in an article, giving the reader something new to read or awareness of your other content.</p>



<p><em><strong>The videos in this post show the reusable blocks flow in the upcoming WordPress 5.7.</strong></em></p>



<p><a href="https://gist.github.com/jasmussen/53cb51dcd9a2bb561893aa7c5e126cdf"><strong>Download the block from this gist</strong></a>, import it to your WordPress site, then customize to make it yours.</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, 24 Feb 2021 19:17:20 +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:15:"Chloe Bringmann";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:42;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:69:"WPTavern: WordPress 5.7 Lets Administrators Send Password Reset Links";s:7:"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=112409";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:183:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-5-7-lets-administrators-send-password-reset-links?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wordpress-5-7-lets-administrators-send-password-reset-links";s: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:3479:"<p>It&rsquo;s that time in the release cycle when all the dev notes are rolling out ahead of the next major update. These notes include technical summaries of all the goodies coming in the next release. If you haven&rsquo;t been paying close attention, there are always a few happy surprises in there that pop up as conclusions to tickets that contributors have been working on for years. </p>



<p>The <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/22/send-reset-password-links-in-wordpress-5-7/">new password reset feature</a> coming in WordPress 5.7 allows administrators to manually send a password reset link to users, resolving a five-year old <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/34281">ticket</a>. Instead of having to instruct a user about where to go to click on the lost password link and follow the steps, this new feature lets administrators push a button in the admin to send the link. If you have ever had to support clients or a community of users who may not be very technically inclined, this new password reset feature will save lots of time in helping users regain access to their accounts.</p>



<p>The &ldquo;Send password reset&rdquo; link is available in several places. Administrators can find the link on the Users screen, as well as in the bulk actions dropdown menu. </p>



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



<p>It is also available on the individual user screen with a button and a note clarifying that this action will not change the user&rsquo;s password or force the user to change it.</p>



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



<p>The password reset email notification includes the site name, username, a password reset link, and the IP address where the request originated: </p>



<p><em>This password reset request originated from the IP address [IPADDRESS].</em></p>



<p>There is an open discussion on the original <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/34281">ticket</a> regarding whether this email notification should include the administrator&rsquo;s IP address. </p>



<p>&ldquo;The IP address (while fraught with privacy concerns) is the only thing validating that this email came from the website and is not a phishing email,&rdquo; contributor Gabriel Mariani said. &ldquo;Unless there is a better way to validate the authenticity of the email I&rsquo;d say it would be worthwhile to keep it.&rdquo;</p>



<p>Others see the IP address as useful only if a user is attempting to verify that it is their own IP address or collecting the information to prevent a phishing attack. Giving out the administrator&rsquo;s IP address doesn&rsquo;t seem pertinent to either of those concerns.</p>



<p>&ldquo;I could use my phone to send a reset, and I would have no idea what my IP was,&rdquo; Mika Epstein said. &ldquo;And that can easily be faked. Omitting the IP actually reduces the data being sent out that could be used by bad-actors.</p>



<p>&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s more likely we&rsquo;d have a savvy bad actor than end users who would need to ask for a password reset but also know what a valid IP is and how to ask about it.&rdquo;</p>



<p>This part of the email text may be iterated on in subsequent patches or future releases of WordPress. Check out the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/22/send-reset-password-links-in-wordpress-5-7/">dev note</a> for more discussion on this feature, along with information about further customizing the notification email.</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, 23 Feb 2021 22:38:44 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:43;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:51:"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 5.7 Release Candidate";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=9773";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:67:"https://wordpress.org/news/2021/02/wordpress-5-7-release-candidate/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3768:"<p>The first release candidate for WordPress 5.7 is now available! <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f389.png" alt="🎉" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



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



<p>“Release Candidate” means that the new version is ready for release, but with millions of users and thousands of plugins and themes, it’s possible something was missed. WordPress 5.7 is slated for release&nbsp;on&nbsp;<strong>March 9, 2021</strong>, but <em>your</em>&nbsp;help is needed to get there—if you haven’t tried 5.7 yet,&nbsp;<strong>now is the time</strong>!</p>



<p>You can test the WordPress 5.7 release candidate in two ways:</p>



<ul><li>Try the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/">WordPress Beta Tester</a>&nbsp;plugin (choose the “Bleeding edge” channel and Beta/RC Only” stream options)</li><li>Or&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/wordpress-5.7-RC1.zip">download the release candidate here (zip)</a>.</li></ul>



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



<h2>What’s in WordPress 5.7?</h2>



<ul><li>Robots API and Media Search Engine Visibility</li><li>Detect HTTPS support</li><li>Lazy-load iframes</li><li>jQuery migrate-related Deprecation notice clean-up</li><li>Admin color palette standardization</li><li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/05/whats-new-in-gutenberg-9-9-5-february/">Version 9.9</a> of the Gutenberg plugin.</li></ul>



<h2>Plugin and Theme Developers</h2>



<p>Please test your plugins and themes against WordPress 5.7 and update the&nbsp;<em>Tested up to</em>&nbsp;version in the readme file to 5.7. If you find compatibility problems, please be sure to post to the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta/">support forums</a>,&nbsp;so those can be figured out before the final release.</p>



<p>The&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank" href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/23/wordpress-5-7-field-guide">WordPress 5.7 Field Guide</a>&nbsp;will give you a more detailed dive into the major changes.</p>



<h2>How to Help</h2>



<p>Do you speak a language other than English?&nbsp;<a href="https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp/dev">Help us translate WordPress into more than 100 languages!</a>&nbsp;This release also marks the&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/handbook/glossary/#hard-freeze">hard string freeze</a>&nbsp;point of the 5.7 release schedule.</p>



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



<p><em>Props to <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/audrasjb/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>audrasjb</a> for copy suggestions and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidbaumwald/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>davidbaumwald</a> for final review.</em></p>



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



<p><em>Test this test that <br />Catch everything that you can<br />Before it&#8217;s live&#8230;</em><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.0.1/72x72/1f92f.png" alt="🤯" class="wp-smiley" /></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 23 Feb 2021 21:07:23 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Ebonie Butler";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:44;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:90:"WPTavern: FSE Outreach Round #2: Building a Custom Homepage With Gutenberg’s Site Editor";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=112446";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:215:"https://wptavern.com/fse-outreach-round-2-building-a-custom-homepage-with-gutenbergs-site-editor?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fse-outreach-round-2-building-a-custom-homepage-with-gutenbergs-site-editor";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:7876:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Anne McCarthy announced the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2021/02/18/fse-program-testing-call-2-build-a-homepage-with-site-editing-blocks/">second round of testing</a> for the Full Site Editing (FSE) Outreach program. The call for testing asks that users build a homepage from the Gutenberg plugin&rsquo;s site editor. Feedback is open until March 5.</p>



<p>The <a href="https://wptavern.com/help-steer-the-future-of-wordpress-via-the-fse-outreach-program">first round of testing</a> began in December 2020 and ended last month. Testers were able to <a href="https://wptavern.com/first-round-of-the-fse-outreach-program-concludes-identifies-template-editing-mode-problems">identify several pain points</a> with template-editing mode from the block editor. The program created actionable items that Gutenberg developers could work to improve.</p>



<p>This second round is similar. However, testing covers a much larger and more complex area. Users will be leaving the familiar block editor and moving to the site editor, which is still months away from being a viable product.</p>



<p>McCarthy listed a 22-step process for building out a homepage. While I followed it for the most part, I got bored before finishing. This is one of the reasons I make for a poor test subject. I like to explore and see what is possible on my own. If I have an idea, I want to attempt its execution. I primarily stuck to the overall script, even if it was a bit out of order.</p>



<p>Eventually, I created a custom homepage for a restaurant called The Grilled Cheese &mdash; <em>I would definitely open this restaurant in the real world if I ever leave the WordPress community.</em></p>



<img />Custom restaurant homepage with sidebar.



<p>It is reasonably simple. All told, it took me around two hours of playing around with various concepts before arriving at this stage. To build something I would be happy with would have taken a few more hours.</p>



<p>Overall, I felt limited in laying out my ideal homepage. Each step was an uphill battle against the tools. I could have built this in less than half the time with HTML and CSS. I could do the same and more with other modern page builder plugins for WordPress.</p>



<p>Before diving into the results of my test, I have some brutal honesty. TT1 Blocks, which is the theme used for FSE Outreach testing, is not up to snuff. The theme does not reliably handle the multitude of possibilities the site editor sets in the hands of end-users. This entire experience could be made smoother with a better theme. However, the choices are limited, and I am not sure if there is a better block-based theme to work with at this point.</p>



<p>There were so many inconsistencies between the site editor and the front end that there is little point in listing them all. Spacing was grossly off. I generally see that as a theme issue. I spent much of my time in trial-and-error mode, making an adjustment in the editor and refreshing to see the front-end result. Rinse. Repeat.</p>



<h2>Identifying Pain Points</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">While this post is critical of the site editor, it does not mean the experience was altogether poor. Seeing the improvement every week gives me hope that WordPress will have a site editor that rivals anything on the market. Eventually. However, my goal here is to provide real feedback that the team can use.</p>



<p>Outside of the general spacing issues mentioned earlier, I identified several stumbling blocks while building a custom homepage.</p>



<h3>Maximum Widths</h3>



<p>When designing a full-site page via the site editor, one problem stood out more than most. WordPress lacks a well-rounded &ldquo;max-width&rdquo; system. As a user, I was left with few choices in setting the width of the content area of my homepage. Currently, theme authors can set custom content, wide, and full widths. However, this system is horribly limiting. There is not much theme authors can do with this, and this problem directly limits what users can do in both the block and site editors.</p>



<p>I have previously written about the <a href="https://wptavern.com/themes-of-the-future-a-design-framework-and-a-master-theme">need for a design framework</a>, one that is customizable by theme authors. Tailwind CSS has a <a href="https://tailwindcss.com/docs/max-width">max-width system</a> that offers a boatload of flexibility. WordPress needs to start borrowing ideas from these modern design frameworks.</p>



<h3>Add Block Icon</h3>



<p>Getting the &ldquo;Add Block&rdquo; icon to appear when hovering in between elements in the default content area was rough. I had to position my mouse in a perfect position for it to appear. It was an exercise in frustration where even the slightest movement caused the icon to once again disappear.</p>



<img />Locating the &lsquo;Add Block&rsquo; icon.



<p>Switching to Top Toolbar mode made this far easier. I am assuming the default block toolbar was hiding it to some degree. The problem with switching to this mode is that my toolbar-choice was not saved. Each time I returned to the site editor, I had to enable it once again.</p>



<h3>Query Block</h3>



<p>The most frustrating aspect of listing posts on a custom homepage was setting a limit. I wanted to set the number to three. However, the Query block has no option for doing this. Eventually, I created a <em>faux</em> limit using the category filter, choosing one that had just a couple of posts.</p>



<p><strong>Update:</strong> It is possible to set a limit as noted by <a href="https://wptavern.com/fse-outreach-round-2-building-a-custom-homepage-with-gutenbergs-site-editor#comment-366562">Nick in the comments</a>. There is a &ldquo;settings&rdquo; icon in the toolbar for setting the number of posts per page, an offset, and max number of pages. I am unsure why these particular query settings are separate from the others in the sidebar.  It makes more sense for them to be grouped together.</p>



<img />Limiting posts by using the Query block&rsquo;s category filter.



<p>Another confusing aspect of the Query block is the keyword filter. As far as I am aware, WordPress has never used the &ldquo;keyword&rdquo; terminology. Outside of SEO plugins, there does not seem to be any context for what this filter does. I am guessing it works like a search keyword.</p>



<h3>Global Styles for All Blocks</h3>



<p>When switching over to the Global Styles panel, I noticed that some blocks were missing when applying styles on the block level. In particular, I wanted to adjust styles for the Latest Comments block.</p>



<p>I suppose that only blocks with typography, colors, and other design-related options appear in the list. This will likely confuse end-users when the site editor lands in WordPress. All blocks should have style options that users can customize.</p>



<h3>No Full-Width Columns</h3>



<p>For the content of my homepage, I attempted to create a full-width Columns block. However, the two individual columns were limited in size despite taking up 66.67% and 33.33%, respectively.</p>



<img />Full-width columns not spanning the full area.



<p>This seems like it is a theme issue. I would also argue that this is one of those times where having more direct control over the max-width would have helped. I really wanted something that was between the theme&rsquo;s full and wide widths.</p>



<h3>Featured Images</h3>



<p>There is no way to set the size of the image output by the Post Featured Image block. The only way to get a uniform size at the moment is to pre-crop the images before uploading them to WordPress.</p>



<p>There is no reason this should not essentially be a variation of the Image block. The only thing featured images need that is different is the option to link to the post.</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, 23 Feb 2021 20:47:30 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:45;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:66:"WordPress Foundation: The Basic principles of Open-source Software";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:41:"https://wordpressfoundation.org/?p=181046";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:82:"https://wordpressfoundation.org/2021/the-basic-principles-of-open-source-software/";s: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:4995:"<p>The WordPress Foundation aims to educate the public about WordPress and related open-source software (OSS). Towards that end, the WordPress Foundation created the <a href="https://wordpressfoundation.org/tag/intro-to-open-source/">Introduction to Open-source workshops</a>, which shed more light on the potential of open-source software, particularly in countries where there is less participation in OSS projects. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, <a href="https://wordpressfoundation.org/2020/open-source-workshops-november-2020-report/">these workshops have moved online</a>. The WordPress Foundation hopes to see more open-source workshops held online this year to help spread awareness about the importance of open-source software.</p>



<p><strong>What are open-source software and Free Software?</strong></p>



<p>Open-source software is software whose source code is available for anyone to view, modify and enhance. Free software refers to software that complies with “four essential freedoms” &#8211; to use, study, modify and distribute software for any purpose without legal restraint. Open-source software is characterized by the public accessibility of its code, while free software focuses on the capabilities for using and sharing the software.<br /></p>



<p><strong>Advantages of Free and Open-source Software over Proprietary software</strong></p>



<p>Proprietary software is distributed in executable files where the source code is encrypted and not available. Free and Open-source software enables users to read and modify the code, thus allowing a host of advantages such as little (or no) cost, faster distribution, greater customization, and easy availability of bugs and security patches, to name a few.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The Introduction to Open-source workshops cover the difference between different software types, the history of open-source software, its advantages over proprietary software, and how this applies to WordPress. The workshop also explains the differences between free and Open-source software and highlights the different types of software licenses.&nbsp;</p>



<h3>Want to learn more about Free and Open-source software? Participate in an Introduction to Open-source workshop!</h3>



<p>There are four ways you can participate in an Introduction to Open-source workshop!&nbsp;</p>



<ol><li>You can attend the Introduction to WordPress workshop from the comfort of your home! Learn WordPress now features an <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/workshop/introduction-to-open-source/">Introduction to Open-source video workshop</a> that you can watch at your convenience.&nbsp;</li><li>Community members can also now host or participate in <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/workshop/introduction-to-open-source/">Introduction to Open-source workshop</a> discussion groups in the <a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-discussions/">Learn WordPress meetup group</a> for a global audience. Sign-ups are now open for the following two discussion groups:</li></ol>



<ul><li><a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-discussions/events/276520738/">Thursday, February 25, 2021, at 4:00 PM UTC</a></li><li><a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-discussions/events/276536997/">Tuesday, March 2, 2021, at 10:00 AM UTC</a></li></ul>



<p><em>If you would like to host an Introduction to Open-source discussion group for a global audience, please </em><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/discussion-groups/"><em>apply to become a discussion group </em></a><em>facilitator.</em>&nbsp;</p>



<ol start="3"><li>WordPress Meetup groups worldwide are also encouraged to<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/virtual-events/organize-learn-wordpress-discussion-groups-for-your-wordpress-meetup/"> organize an Introduction to WordPress watch party + discussion group</a> (based on the Learn WordPress workshop on <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/workshop/introduction-to-open-source/">Introduction to Open-source</a>) as part of their meetup (it does not need any prior approval). </li><li><a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/lesson-plan/what-is-open-source/">Lesson plans</a> for the Introduction to Open-source workshops are available! Meetup group organizers can plan their live open-source workshop based on the lesson plans. </li></ol>



<p>The WordPress Foundation invites community members across the world to join these open-source workshops and to organize workshops and discussion groups in their communities to help spread <a href="https://wordpressfoundation.org/philosophy/">our mission</a> of serving the public good with the help of Open-source software.</p>



<p class="has-background">Meetup groups organizing Introduction to Open-source workshops will be featured on this website. All you need to do is to <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/contact/">reach out to us</a> with a brief write-up about your workshop along with pictures, and we&#8217;ll publish them here! </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, 23 Feb 2021 12:58:09 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12:"Hari Shanker";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:46;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:46:"Matt: Invest Like the Best and Building Worlds";s:7:"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=53759";s:7:"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://ma.tt/2021/02/invest-like-the-best-and-building-worlds/";s: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:1736:"<a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes/6786509/mullenweg-the-past-present-and-future-of-the-internet"><img /></a>



<p><a href="https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes/6786509/mullenweg-the-past-present-and-future-of-the-internet">On a Founder&#8217;s Field Guide episode with Patrick O&#8217;Shaughnessy</a> we had an interesting conversation that covered a lot new ground, including an idea I&#8217;ve been playing around with on, as Patrick <a href="https://twitter.com/patrick_oshag/status/1360338056809754630">put it</a>:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>The idea from <a href="https://twitter.com/photomatt">@photomatt</a> that the best companies are those that build intricate worlds (in the same way that J. R. R. Tolkien came up with the elvish language) will always stick with me. </p></blockquote>



<p>We also covered the pendulum of centralization and decentralization, current challenges facing the internet, and being a connoisseur of things overlooked. You can check out the episode on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/matt-mullenweg-past-present-future-internet-founders/id1154105909?i=1000508583385">Apple</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbnZlc3RsaWtldGhlYmVzdC5saWJzeW4uY29tL3Jzcw/episode/ZGI0MjlkYjgtMDUwYy00NDIwLTkwODUtZjVlZTgwNTFkZDIx?hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwjj_KuQnf_uAhWbWM0KHYJUCW4QieUEegQICBAL&ep=6">Google</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/7xwHc7ZUvwJmSUNUssRi2M?si=XSqGqlhjQcOZkL33b8QzpQ">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://overcast.fm/+Lzu0ZSQ_M">Overcast</a>, and <a href="https://pca.st/o8cpe4i8">Pocket Casts</a>.</p>



<p>I&#8217;ve been impressed by the audience of this podcast, a lot of people I admire reached out after this episode.</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, 23 Feb 2021 05:10:36 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s: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:47;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:73:"WPTavern: Native Lazy Loading Support for iframes Coming To WordPress 5.7";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=112383";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:191:"https://wptavern.com/native-lazy-loading-support-for-iframes-coming-to-wordpress-5-7?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=native-lazy-loading-support-for-iframes-coming-to-wordpress-5-7";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5031:"<p class="has-drop-cap">Felix Arntz, a WordPress core committer and developer programs engineer at Google, announced upcoming support for <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/19/lazy-loading-iframes-in-5-7/">lazy loading iframes</a>. The feature is included in the latest WordPress 5.7 beta and will officially ship next month to the larger community.</p>



<p>WordPress has supported <a href="https://wptavern.com/native-lazy-loading-support-coming-to-wordpress">lazy loading for images</a> since version 5.5. However, support for iframes was not included in the initial feature set. Browser support for iframes was widespread at the time. However, it had not yet been formalized as part of the HTML Living Standard. Soon thereafter, it was <a href="https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/iframe-embed-object.html#attr-iframe-loading">added to the HTML spec</a>, and discussion began anew for <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/50756">adding support</a> into WordPress.</p>



<p>Unlike images, many users are likely unaware that they are using iframes. The primary use case for iframes is with embed blocks or the auto-embed system for users who are on the classic editor. For example, whenever a user adds a YouTube video to their blog post, the underlying code outputs an iframe.</p>



<img />Source code of YouTube embed shows iframe.



<p>These iframes add weight to the page size and hamper loading time.</p>



<p>The opposite of lazy loading is eager loading. This is the default on the web, which loads all resources in bulk. This also often leads to slow-loading webpages when they contain many images or iframes. Lazy loading only loads the image and iframe sources when they appear in a site visitor&rsquo;s viewport. This speeds up the initial load time of pages.</p>



<p>WordPress will only add the <code>loading="lazy"</code> attribute if an explicit width and height are set for the iframe. This is to avoid the page-shifting effect that happens when the iframe comes into view. Arntz wrote about this effect extensively when he <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2020/07/14/lazy-loading-images-in-5-5/">announced support for image lazy loading</a>. The same issue applies to iframes.</p>



<p>&ldquo;A common user experience problem in modern websites is so-called layout shifting, often caused by slow-loading media resources like images,&rdquo; he wrote. &ldquo;By default, only after an image is loaded, the browser can layout the page correctly, which results in the content e.g. below the image to shift. This issue can be easily resolved by providing <code>width</code> and <code>height</code> attributes on <code>img</code> tags, as the browser will use them to determine the aspect ratio of the image so that it can infer the page layout ahead of actually loading the image.&rdquo;</p>



<p>There are cases where WordPress will not add the loading attribute, even for oEmbed providers that it supports. The iframe content is not supplied by WordPress. The third-party providers create the HTML and send it back to the individual WordPress site. It is up to those third parties to follow best practices for adding width and height attributes.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Since WordPress cannot guess the dimensions of the embedded resource, the <code>loading="lazy"</code> attribute will only be added if the oEmbed <code>iframe</code> tag comes with both dimension attributes present,&rdquo; wrote Arntz.</p>



<p>Currently, the filter applies to the post content, excerpt, and text widgets. Perhaps WordPress will extend this to comment text one day.</p>



<h2>Potential Problems With Ads</h2>



<p class="has-drop-cap">MaAnna Stephenson, the owner of BlogAid, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/19/lazy-loading-iframes-in-5-7/#comment-40740">brought up a concern</a> for users who display ads on their site. There may be scenarios where lazy loading is banned in advertising terms or has a technical conflict.</p>



<p>&ldquo;Has this been tested with folks who run ads on their site using an ad agency like Mediavine and AdThrive?&rdquo; she asked. &ldquo;They cannot have iframes lazy loaded, as the ads use iframes and they have their own lazy load mechanism for delivery.&rdquo;</p>



<p>The problem is that there is no ideal way to exclude every advertising service and to distinguish them from other types of iframes. From a technical standpoint, it needs to be an all-or-nothing feature.</p>



<p>Handling ads falls squarely into plugin territory. Arntz covered such use cases in the post. Developers can disable lazy loading for iframes wholesale or target specific iframes with basic PHP. It would only take a few lines of code to build a plugin for specific ad services.</p>



<p>Jeff Starr also has a plugin for disabling lazy loading altogether named <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/disable-lazy-loading/">Disable Lazy Load</a>. That could serve as a stopgap solution until something more specific to users&rsquo; needs comes along.</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, 22 Feb 2021 22:44:47 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Justin Tadlock";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:48;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:55:"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 5.6.2 Maintenance Release";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=9764";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:71:"https://wordpress.org/news/2021/02/wordpress-5-6-2-maintenance-release/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5042:"<p>WordPress 5.6.2 is now available!</p>



<p>This maintenance release includes&nbsp;<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&milestone=5.6.2&group=component&col=id&col=summary&col=status&col=milestone&col=owner&col=type&col=priority&order=priority">5 bug fixes</a>. These bugs affect WordPress version 5.6.1, so you’ll want to upgrade.</p>



<p>You can&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/wordpress-5.6.2.zip">download WordPress 5.6.2 directly</a>, or visit the<strong>&nbsp;Dashboard → Updates</strong>&nbsp;screen&nbsp;and click&nbsp;<strong>Update Now</strong>. If your sites support automatic background updates, they’ve already started the update process.</p>



<p>WordPress 5.6.2 is a small maintenance release focused on fixing user-facing issues discovered in 5.6.1. The next major release will be&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/5-7/">version 5.7</a>, currently scheduled for release on March 9, 2021.</p>



<p>To see a full list of changes, you can browse the&nbsp;<a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&milestone=5.6.2&group=component&col=id&col=summary&col=status&col=milestone&col=owner&col=type&col=priority&order=priority">list on Trac</a>, read the&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/02/17/wordpress-5-6-2-rc1/">5.6.2 RC1</a>&nbsp;post, or visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/support/wordpress-version/version-5-6-2/">5.6.2 documentation page</a>.</p>



<h2>Thanks and props!</h2>



<p>The 5.6.2 release was led by <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/desrosj/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>desrosj</a>. Special props to <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/isabel_brison/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>isabel_brison</a> and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/talldanwp/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>talldanwp</a> for helping to prepare the block editor related fixes, and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/audrasjb/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>audrasjb</a> and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sergeybiryukov/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>sergeybiryukov</a> for helping with other release related tasks.</p>



<p>Props to everyone who helped make WordPress 5.6.2 happen:</p>



<p><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aaronrobertshaw/">aaronrobertshaw</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/addiestavlo/">Addie</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nosolosw/">André Maneiro</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/archon810/">archon810</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/aristath/">Ari Stathopoulos</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bartosz777/">bartosz777</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bernhard-reiter/">Bernhard Reiter</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/talldanwp/">Daniel Richards</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidanderson/">David Anderson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dbtedg/">dbtedg</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/glendaviesnz/">glendaviesnz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hmabpera/">hmabpera</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ibiza69/">ibiza69</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/isabel_brison/">Isabel Brison</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/viablethought/">Jason Ryan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/audrasjb/">Jb Audras</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jrf/">Juliette Reinders Folmer</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kevin940726/">Kai Hao</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gwwar/">Kerry Liu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hwk-fr/">Konrad Chmielewski</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jorgefilipecosta/">Jorge Costa</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/magnuswebdesign/">magnuswebdesign</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/clorith/">Marius L. J.</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mattwiebe/">Matt Wiebe</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mukesh27/">Mukesh Panchal</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/paaljoachim/">Paal Joachim Romdahl</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/freewebmentor/">Prem Tiwari</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/itsjonq/">Q</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/youknowriad/">Riad Benguella</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/noisysocks/">Robert Anderson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/roger995/">roger995</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sergeybiryukov/">Sergey Biryukov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/yakimun/">Sergey Yakimov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sterndata/">Steven Stern (sterndata)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/inc2734/">Takashi Kitajima</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/tonysandwich/">tonysandwich</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/worldedu/">worldedu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/fierevere/">Yui</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, 22 Feb 2021 15:35:53 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:19:"Jonathan Desrosiers";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:49;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:61:"WordPress.org blog: Reflecting on Gutenberg’s 100th Release";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:34:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=9750";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:74:"https://wordpress.org/news/2021/02/reflecting-on-gutenbergs-100th-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:3693:"<div class="juxtapose"><img id="9751" src="https://i2.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2021/02/gutenberg_past_3.png?resize=632%2C336&ssl=1" alt="" width="632" height="336" class="image-compare__image-before" /><img id="9752" src="https://i1.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2021/02/gutenberg_today_4.png?resize=632%2C336&ssl=1" alt="" width="632" height="336" class="image-compare__image-after" /></div>1.0 to 10.0



<p>Gutenberg 10.0 released this week, February 17, 2021, marking the 100th release of the Gutenberg plugin; the 100th release of a journey that started more than four years ago when Matt announced the project at WordCamp US 2016.&nbsp;</p>



<h2>Where We Started</h2>



<p>The past four years have not always been an easy journey. Shipping something this impactful is not easy, and there was precedent for keeping the editor as it was: WordPress had already tried to replace TinyMCE a couple of times already. What would be different this time around? The worry was “not much” and initially, very few people actively joined the project.</p>



<p>Six months later came WordCamp Europe 2017 and the first release of the plugin. The editor was nowhere close to being usable, but it “clicked” for some. The reactions to <a href="https://wordpress.tv/2017/07/01/interview-and-qanda-with-matt-mullenweg/">the presentation</a> were hopeful, but afterward, there was a lot of pushback.</p>



<p>Gutenberg was (and is) an audacious project. With a project this big it attracted a lot of attention, and it became difficult to discern constructive debate from mere opposition. We each come with our context, and some people had a fixed idea about what they wanted for the project. Some wanted to reuse an existing page builder, others wanted to revive the Fields API project, some wanted it to be front-end-first, others wanted it just to replace the classic editor’s content area, some wanted it to be in Vue.JS, others wanted no change at all. With a product used by 40% of the web, you hope to find consensus, and when compromises have to be made, it can be difficult for those involved to avoid feeling that their voice is being ignored.</p>



<p>We have also made quite a few mistakes: stability wasn’t great in some releases, performance suffered in others, and accessibility as well. But we kept pushing forward, using feedback to improve the editor and the project in all aspects until its first inclusion in WordPress 5.0, and we’re still working to improve it today.</p>



<h2>Where We Are</h2>



<p>It’s a delight to see some people who strongly disagreed with the initial vision or approach to Gutenberg gradually come to enjoy using the editor and join the project to carry on its vision. Others might still not like it; some won’t ever use it. One thing is certain; we’ll continue doing our best to push forward, improve what’s already shipped, and ship new exciting features. We’ll continue making mistakes and hopefully continue learning from them.</p>



<p>Wednesday marked the 100th release of Gutenberg, and while that looks remarkable on the outside, the release itself holds what all the other releases did. It holds improvements to the existing features, it fixes bugs that users reported, adds new features, and it highlights experiments with new ideas.</p>



<p>What is remarkable about the release is the people. The ones who were with us from the start, the ones who were with us but left, the ones who joined in our journey, everyone who helped along the way, everyone who provided feedback, everyone who got their hands dirty, and everyone who tried to use this editor, extend it and provide ideas.</p>



<p>Thank you all.</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, 19 Feb 2021 18:34:06 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Riad Benguella";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}s:4:"type";i:128;s:7:"headers";O:42:"Requests_Utility_CaseInsensitiveDictionary":1:{s:7:"*data";a:8:{s:6:"server";s:5:"nginx";s:4:"date";s:29:"Thu, 18 Mar 2021 07:40:58 GMT";s:12:"content-type";s:8:"text/xml";s:4:"vary";s:15:"Accept-Encoding";s:13:"last-modified";s:29:"Thu, 18 Mar 2021 07:30:08 GMT";s:15:"x-frame-options";s:10:"SAMEORIGIN";s:4:"x-nc";s:9:"HIT ord 2";s:16:"content-encoding";s:2:"br";}}s:5:"build";s:14:"20210315081824";}