• WordCamp US 2023 Contributor Day Signup Is Open

    WordCamp US 2023 Contributor Day Signup Is Open

    WordCamp US 2023 is happening next month in National Harbor, Maryland. The Contributor Day will kick off the event on Thursday, August 24, preceding the conference days. It is open to any attendee, including those who have never contributed before and seasoned contributors alike. There are many technical and non-technical ways to contribute to WordPress.…

  • WordPress 6.3 to Introduce a Development Mode

    WordPress 6.3 to Introduce a Development Mode

    As the dev notes for the upcoming WordPress 6.3 release are rolling out, there are so many exciting features that have not yet been highlighted. The new development mode, initiated by declaring the WP_DEVELOPMENT_MODE constant, is one that will be particularly useful for theme developers initially. “The development mode configured on a site defines the kind…

  • Bluehost Launches WonderSuite Product with AI-Powered Site-Building Guide

    Bluehost Launches WonderSuite Product with AI-Powered Site-Building Guide

    Bluehost launched its new WonderSuite product this week, which introduces a setup and site creation experience guided by AI. In September 2022, the hosting company debuted its managed WooCommerce packages after acquiring YITH, a WordPress plugin company with more than 100 WooCommerce extensions. The new WonderSuite product is included in all Bluehost WordPress hosting plans…

  • All-In-One Security Plugin Patches Sensitive Data Exposure Vulnerability in Version 5.2.0

    All-In-One Security Plugin Patches Sensitive Data Exposure Vulnerability in Version 5.2.0

    All-In-One Security (AIOS), a plugin active on more than a million WordPress sites, was found to be logging plaintext passwords from login attempts in the database and has patched the security issue in version 5.2.0. In a post titled “Cleartext passwords written to aiowps_audit_log” published to the plugin’s support forum two weeks and five days…

  • WordPress Selects Inaugural Cohort to Launch Experimental Mentorship Program

    WordPress Selects Inaugural Cohort to Launch Experimental Mentorship Program

    WordPress’ Community Team kicked off its experimental mentorship program this week, announcing that the inaugural cohort has been assigned to a group of mentors who will guide them forward on project contribution across various teams. “Our mentors offer 1:1 support to each contributor in our cohort,” Automattic-sponsored Community Team contributor Hari Shanker R said. “These…

  • State of Digital Publishing to Host WordPress Publishers Performance Summit, July 27, 2023

    State of Digital Publishing to Host WordPress Publishers Performance Summit, July 27, 2023

    The State of Digital Publishing, a startup market research publisher focused on digital media, is hosting an online event called WordPress Publishers Performance Summit (WPPS) on July 27, starting at 2PM EST. The organization’s mission is to help publishers develop sustainable business models through education, guides, online courses, and other resources. They have partnered with…

  • WordPress 6.3 Makes the “Edit Site” Link Open the Current Template

    WordPress 6.3 Makes the “Edit Site” Link Open the Current Template

    WordPress 6.3 will make site editing several clicks faster for users who are moving from the frontend to edit the corresponding template. When you click the “Edit Site” link in the admin bar from a category page, for example, you currently get dumped out into the Site Editor on the home page. From here it’s…

  • MalCare, Blogvault, and WPRemote Plugins Patch Vulnerabilities Allowing Site Takeover Through Stolen API Credentials

    MalCare, Blogvault, and WPRemote Plugins Patch Vulnerabilities Allowing Site Takeover Through Stolen API Credentials

     Snicco, a WordPress security services provider, has published an advisory on a vulnerability in the MalCare plugin, which is active on more than 300,000 sites. “MalCare uses broken cryptography to authenticate API requests from its remote servers to connected WordPress sites,” WordPress security researcher Calvin Alkan said. “Requests are authentication by comparing a shared secret stored…

  • WordPress to Host 6.3 Live Product Demo on Thursday, July 20

    WordPress to Host 6.3 Live Product Demo on Thursday, July 20

    WordPress 6.3 is scheduled to be released one month from today on August 8, 2023. The live product demo date and time has now been set for Thursday, July 20, at at 16:00 UTC. Participants can join live via this Zoom link. Automattic-sponsored Gutenberg contributors Anne McCarthy and Rich Tabor will be hosting the event, moderated by Nathan…

  • Hey: An Elegantly Simple WordPress Block Theme for Blogging

    Hey: An Elegantly Simple WordPress Block Theme for Blogging

    Hey is a block theme designed by Automattic for users on WordPress.com and also released for free in the WordPress.org Themes Directory. It’s the kind of simple theme that enables you to quickly get started writing online, without having to configure a bunch of design elements. The homepage features a profile image (Site Logo), site…

  • WordPress 6.3 to Drop Support for PHP 5

    WordPress 6.3 to Drop Support for PHP 5

    WordPress is officially dropping support for PHP 5 in the upcoming 6.3 release, which is expected on August 8. WordPress’ minimum supported version has sat at PHP 5.6.20 since 2019, but will be updated to 7.0.0 in the next release. The recommended PHP version will stay the same at 7.4+. “The minimum supported version was last…

  • WordPress 6.3 Beta 3 Released, Introduces UI Changes to Pattern Management

    WordPress 6.3 Beta 3 Released, Introduces UI Changes to Pattern Management

    WordPress contributors are onto another round of testing, as 6.3 Beta 3 was released this week. RC 1 is expected on July 18, and a live product demo is anticipated to be broadcast on Thursday, July 20, 2023 at 16:00 UTC. These demos have become a more regular part of the release process and allow…