Three years ago Google introduced its new reCAPTCHA v2 API, replacing distorted text challenges with a simple “I’m not a robot” checkbox for validating users. This was a welcome improvement over the fuzzy text in a box that frustrated and infuriated real humans. reCAPTCHA v1 is no longer supported as of May 2016 and most…
In this episode, Marcus Couch and I discuss the stories that are making headlines including, Clef shutting down, WordPress 4.7.3, and WordPress.com’s new add-on for Chrome. I shared two lessons I recently learned from managing a site that has open registration and uses BuddyPress. We also share details of WPCampus 2017. Stories Discussed: WordPress 4.7.3…
Google announced that it is retiring its official Adsense plugin, previously known as the Google Publisher plugin. For the past three years it has allowed WordPress users to easily add Adsense ads to their sites, enable mobile-specific ad layouts, and manage ads with a point-and-click interface. “After reviewing the AdSense Plugin for WordPress, we’ve decided…
Clef, a two-factor authentication service founded in 2013 has announced that it is discontinuing its product. Clef is most well known for removing the burden of remembering usernames and passwords by replacing them with a 300 character key using mobile cryptography. The service’s WordPress plugin is active on more than 1M sites and has been removed from the directory.…
WordPress.com released its new Chrome Add-on for Google Docs today. The free add-on allows users to edit documents collaboratively in Google Docs and then send the document directly to any WordPress.com site as a draft post. The add-on can also connect to Jetpack-enabled sites, offering the same functionality for self-hosted WordPress users. After installing the…
WordPress 4.7.3 is now available with patches for six security vulnerabilities that affect version 4.7.2 and all previous versions. WordPress.org is strongly encouraging users to update their sites immediately. The release includes fixes for three XSS vulnerabilities that affect media file metadata, video URLs in YouTube embeds, and taxonomy term names. It also includes patches…
NRKbeta, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation’s media and technology site, is experimenting with a new way of keeping comments on topic. A new plugin on the WordPress-powered site aims to ensure commenters have read the article by requiring them to complete a short, three-question quiz before opening the comment form. Visitors who get the questions wrong…
I maintain a website with active user registration and a common support question I’m asked is, “How do I change my profile picture?” The answer is not easy as it should be. WordPress’ profile image system is powered by Gravatar, an Automattic owned service. It replaced the old method of uploading a profile picture in…
This past weekend while managing a site that runs BuddyPress, I ran into a situation where I needed to change a group’s slug or permalink. Editing the permalink for a post or page in WordPress is easy but BuddyPress doesn’t have the same functionality. As you can see in the screenshot below, an edit button…
In January 2017, WordPress core design contributors posted a survey titled What are you using the Customizer for? The link was published on the Make WordPress Design blog and wasn’t widely shared, so it only received 50 replies. Responses were anonymous, but most seem to have come from the WordPress developer community. Despite the small…
Web annotations became a W3C standard last week but the world hardly noticed. For years, most conversations on the web have happened in the form of comments. Annotations are different in that they usually reference specific parts of a document and add context. They are often critical or explanatory in nature. One of the key…
After the inaugural WPCampus concluded in 2016, organizers put out a call for campuses across the country to host the event in 2017. The WPCampus planning committee has announced that WPCampus 2017 will be held July 14-15, at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. In addition to announcing the date, the committee is accepting speaker submissions and looking for sponsors.…
When Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of the WordPress project, delivers his annual State of The Word presentation, he always gives props to meetup organizers and attendees. In 2016, there were 3,193 meetup events in 58 countries attended by 62,566 people. Meetups are one of the cornerstones of the community and for many are the gateway to discovering…
Medium started 2017 on uncertain footing, laying off a third of its staff in January after admitting that its ad-based business model was not working. “We had started scaling up the teams to sell and support products that were, at best, incremental improvements on the ad-driven publishing model, not the transformative model we were aiming…
In this episode, Marcus Couch and I are joined by Matt Medeiros, co-founder of Slocum Studio. Medeiros developed Conductor, a WordPress plugin that enables people to display content in blocks, similar to the approach that WordPress core is taking. He shares his thoughts and opinions on core’s approach and how it might impact the content…