Since I started covering WordPress in 2009, one of the things I’ve noticed is that certain topics have a cyclical nature to them. One of these is the contention in the WordPress community on what data is sent, stored, and shared on WordPress.org. In a post published on Torquemag.io, Josh Pollock, Founder of CalderaWP, argues…
The Guggenheim relaunched its website on WordPress this week. The site, which represents the collection of Guggenheim museums, was in need of an overhaul that would modernize its underlying architecture and design. Laura Kleger, who oversees the foundation’s online projects, explained why the Guggenheim chose WordPress for its new website. She said that the team…
WordPress 4.5 “Coleman” was released last week without too many issues. However, the WordPress development team recently identified two bugs that are prompting an immediate point release scheduled for next week. The first is that TinyMCE toolbars and tabs are unresponsive in Chrome Version 50.0.2661.75 beta-m (64-bit). The second is that page templates with widgets…
Shortly after Jetpack 4.0 was released yesterday many users reported a fatal error and/or white screen when updating. Developers started warning each other in the Advanced WordPress Facebook group to avoid updating to 4.0, after having received emails from clients with sites that went down. A followup 4.0.2 release was pushed out today for users…
In this episode of WordPress Weekly, Marcus Couch and I are joined by Mika Epstein. Epstein reviews plugins before they’re added to the WordPress plugin directory and volunteers on the WordPress support forums. We learn what the plugin review process is like and common security issues she discovers. I was shocked to learn that Epstein…
Beaver Builder, the drag-and-drop page builder plugin, celebrated two years in business this week. Fastline Media, the parent company, started as a web design agency, but due to the success of their product the team closed down its client services department at the beginning of 2016 to focus 100% on Beaver Builder. After just two…
Mika Epstein, who helps review plugins before they’re added to the directory and is a dedicated support forum volunteer, has a great post on the difficulties associated with plugins that require license keys for updates. She addresses topics like keeping users informed, ownership, and bundling plugins with themes. She also suggests the following solution to…
With 24 states having enacted laws to legalize medical marijuana, the industry is booming and dispensaries need websites. WP Dispensary, released five months ago, is the first WordPress plugin to target this underserved market. After creating Leafly Reviews, a plugin that displays dispensary reviews from Leafly using a widget or shortcode, Robert DeVore decided he…
Based on the number of comments we received on WordPress admin notices being abused, it’s clear that a number of you feel the same way I do. Thanks to the healthy discussion that took place, I learned several new things about admin notices I’d like to share with you. Themes Do it Too While the…
Last month the White House called for developers to comment on its proposed draft for a Government-wide Open Source Software policy. The new policy would require code paid for by the government to be made available for reuse across other federal agencies and a portion (20%) of the custom code would be released as open…
In a rare and deeply personal interview with TED Curator Chris Anderson, Linus Torvalds spoke about how open source made his projects what they are today. Torvalds, creator of the Linux kernel and the Git version control system, revealed that he prefers to work alone, in his bathrobe, in total silence. Although he heads up…
As soon as WordPress 4.5 was out the door, WordPress 4.6 release lead Dominik Schilling opened up the floor for discussion on wish list items ahead of the kickoff chat on Wednesday. The development community chimed in with feedback on their users’ biggest pain points, important UX issues to be solved, and existing features they…
Sucuri, a website security company that specializes in securing WordPress (and other CMS) sites, announced that SSL certificates are now available at no cost to all customers who make use of the company’s firewall. As a sponsor of the Let’s Encrypt initiative, Sucuri joins Automattic as one of the first companies to fully automate free…
The official WordPress Importer plugin is in shambles and has frustrated users with inconsistent performance for years. The plugin has more than a million active installations and is critical for migrations, unless you are familiar with using more advanced tools. With years of unresolved support threads identifying the plugin’s many bugs, the importer is in…
When Google Analytics by Yoast suddenly turned into MonsterInsights yesterday, many users were taken by surprise. Users voiced their frustration and concerns on the plugin’s support forum. Some users thought their sites were hacked after noticing the menu label changed and seeing a bright green menu icon. Syed Balkhi, founder of WPBeginner.com, along with Chris…
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