Automattic is hosting a free, remote conference called Design and Exclusion on April 21. The event will bring together design and technology experts who will discuss solutions for the ways that digital products and services exclude people. Lead organizer Ashleigh Axios, Design Exponent at Automattic, said inspiration for the event came from the exclusion that…
If you’ve ever heard your parents say something like,”My son works for the internet,” or “My daughter owns some kind of computer company,” then you know the struggle. Many parents have a difficult time understanding the professions of their grown children, especially when they are in the tech industry. This can also be compounded by…
If you’re looking for ways to expand your ReactJS knowledge, the free React Fundamentals course from ReactTraining.com has been updated for the latest React v15.5 release. The 48-lesson course takes approximately 287 minutes to complete. It was designed for a wide range of professionals, including backend engineers new to JavaScript, Bootcamp graduates and front-end developers…
WordPress contributors to the customizer have published a merge proposal for a new JavaScript and REST API-powered core image widget. The new widget interfaces with the WordPress media library to provide a simpler, more intuitive experience for adding images. No new widgets have been added to core since the Custom Menu widget was included in…
Security researchers at Wordfence are reporting that thousands of hacked home routers are attacking WordPress sites. Wordfence firewall and malware scanner products are in use on more than 2 million WordPress sites and the company estimates that 6.7% of all attacks on these sites are coming from hacked home routers. “In the past month alone…
The Advanced WordPress Facebook group (AWP) is making a radical change. After three years of allowing members to post freely, the group’s administrators voted to restrict posting to admin-approved content only. The popular WordPress watering hole has amassed more than 28,000 members and plays host to many lively conversations. Over the years some have suggested…
The first ever WordCamp for Publishers will be held August 17-19 in Denver, Colorado. The niche WordCamp will be open to anyone who uses WordPress to manage a publication, no matter what size. Organizers submitted an application last November and received approval from WordCamp Central in February. https://twitter.com/aschweig/status/850040392812810241 In previous planning stages, the event was…
The WordPress Editor Experience survey results have been published with data from 2,563 participants, a significantly larger sampling than the 50 who responded to the recent customizer survey. Both the editor and the customizer are included in Matt Mullenweg’s three main focus areas for core development in 2017. The purpose of the surveys is to…
Less than three weeks ago Yoast SEO version 4.5 was released with an ugly, non-dismissible notice for sites on PHP 5.2. The notice encourages the user to upgrade to PHP 7, explaining that it is faster and more secure. It includes links for getting started and example emails that users can send to their hosting…
UK-based web developer Jeremy Keith published Resilient Web Design as a free e-book in December 2016. Over the past few months, industry leaders have been raving about the book, so I decided to take an evening to find out what all the fuss is about. Keith has been blogging for more than 15 years at…
“Alexa, tell Blog Helper to create a new post called ‘Granny’s banana bread recipe.’” Imagine logging a new draft on your WordPress site using only your voice while working in the kitchen. That’s what Blog Helper, an Alexa skill, enables for WordPress.com and self-hosted Jetpack users. It is available for free in Amazon’s catalog of…
Jetpack 4.8 was released this week with a settings redesign that is a continuation of the React.js-powered admin interface introduced last September. The new settings screen has been completely rearranged under a more simplified menu. “We went through every setting on WordPress.com and Jetpack to make sure it was necessary to keep around, and to…
WooCommerce 3.0 “Bionic Butterfly” was released today with significant improvements to the product gallery and developer tools. This version, which was previously going to be 2.7, is the first major release since the plugin switched to semantic versioning. It was released after more than three months in beta and an extended RC testing period that…
WP-CLI has hired Alain Schlesser as a new part-time co-maintainer. The position was made possible by sponsorships from Automattic, Bluehost, DreamHost, SiteGround, WP Engine, and more than 60 individuals who contributed to the project. “With Alain joining the project as a co-maintainer, the WP-CLI project is restoring capacity to meet current demands (e.g. support), and…
The original Raspberry Pi was released five years ago and the micro computer product line is still going strong. The Raspberry Pi Foundation sold its ten millionth Pi last year and just released the Pi Zero W in February 2017 with built-in WiFi and Bluetooth. If you are among the millions of Raspberry Pi owners…