For users of the Classic WordPress editor who often needed to insert special characters into their posts, life was once simple. Click the “Ω” button in the editor to open a modal with a list of characters not found on a standard keyboard. The user then only needed to click on the character they wanted…
WordPress 5.3.1 was released today with 46 bug fixes and enhancements. Changes include several accessibility improvements and four security vulnerability fixes. The update includes multiple changes to the default Twenty Twenty theme. Version 5.3.1 is a security and maintenance release. All users are encouraged to update as soon as possible. For those with auto-updates enabled,…
The past two weeks have been blazing fast for Gutenberg plugin development. A total of 161 pull requests (patches) were merged into version 7.1 of the plugin. Over 20 bugs were squashed while the team added several enhancements, which include better multi-block selection, a new welcome modal, and drag-and-drop featured images. The team refactored several…
Jeffrey Carandang, the creator behind the EditorsKit WordPress plugin, launched a new community site for sharing block designs and templates today. The ShareABlock website allows visitors to download block files directly from the site and import them into the block editor. Users can also sign up to share custom block designs and full-blown block templates.…
Josepha Haden, Executive Director of WordPress, published an update of WordPress’ goals in 2019. The focus for WordPress over the past year has been on nine primary projects. Of the nine projects, WordPress only managed to ship two in 2019. This means that the focus in 2020 will be much the same as the community…
The team behind Zero BS CRM launched version 3.0 of their WordPress plugin today. This is the first major release since the plugin was acquired by Automattic in August. The updated plugin uses custom database tables, opens the plugin for more extensions, and has a more consistent UI than previous versions. CRM is an acronym…
As we quickly head into the final weeks of 2019, we also pass the first anniversary of WordPress 5.0 and, subsequently, Gutenberg coming headlong into our lives. Love it or hate it, Gutenberg is here to stay. If you had asked my thoughts on it last December, I would have probably sided with a large…
In a pull request on the Gutenberg repository yesterday, Riad Benguella created an initial document that outlines how block-based WordPress themes might work. While the document is merely a starting point for the conversation, it is a set of ideas that will likely forever reshape the WordPress landscape. It is paradigm-shifting. For the first time,…
On November 28, millions of people awoke to a Black Friday ad on nearly every page of their WordPress admin, courtesy of the Yoast SEO plugin. That day also coincided with the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, so it left freelancers and agencies scrambling to address a banner on their clients’ sites on a day they likely…
On November 27, Gutenberg 7.0 landed with several features, enhancements, and bug fixes. Most notably, the navigation block is now a stable feature. Theme authors can also start using block template parts and testing the post title and content blocks. The update addressed several bugs with the block editor. It also introduced new developer features…
On Giving Tuesday, December 3, WP&UP is holding an online event called #DoSummitGood that features speakers from various “for good” WordPress organizations. The event will have nine sessions from 13 speakers. It begins at 13:00 UTC. Giving Tuesday is a global movement meant to inspire generosity. The celebration has run each year since 2012 on…
‘Tis the largest shopping season of the year. While you are gearing up for a big weekend of finding that perfect gift for your family and friends, you might take a moment to consider giving your website a little something for the holiday. The following is our roundup of WordPress hosting, services, and plugins that…
If you are viewing WP Tavern from your browser today, you might be a bit shocked. Things are different — much different. If you are reading this post via email or a feed reader, hop on over to the live site to take a look. Welcome to the new design! When I accepted the job…
Premature optimization is the root of all evil. It is a common saying among developers. It makes sense. Optimizing prematurely can mean redoing work down the line, and time is the developer’s most finite resource. It can mean spending that precious time optimizing for scenarios that do not yet exist for a product’s users. It…
WP Agency Summit, a virtual event for WordPress agencies, will kick off December 6, 2019, and last through December 16. The event will feature daily sessions by over 30 WordPress professionals that are designed to help agencies grow their business. Each session will be free to view, but there will be a price tag attached…