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  • WordPress 4.9 Released with Major Improvements to Customizer Workflow, Updated Code Editors, and New Core Gallery Widget

    WordPress 4.9 Released with Major Improvements to Customizer Workflow, Updated Code Editors, and New Core Gallery Widget

    WordPress 4.9 “Tipton” was released today, named for Oklahoma-born jazz musician William Lee Tipton, a gifted pianist and saxophonist. This update introduces major improvements to the design and collaboration workflow in the Customizer, improves WordPress’ built-in code editor, and enhances core text and media widgets. Draft, Schedule, and Preview Changes in the Customizer Prior to…

    Sarah Gooding

  • Gutenberg Contributors Explore Alternative to Using iframes for Meta Boxes

    Gutenberg Contributors Explore Alternative to Using iframes for Meta Boxes

    The discussion surrounding the use of iframes for meta boxes in Gutenberg became more heated over the weekend, as concerned developers implored the team to consider the detriments of the current approach. Responses from Gutenberg’s leadership initially deflected concerns, presenting the iframe implementation as an experiment that “works ‘for now’” but isn’t what the team…

    Sarah Gooding

  • Gutenberg Contributors Discuss the Drawbacks of Using iframes for Meta Boxes

    Gutenberg Contributors Discuss the Drawbacks of Using iframes for Meta Boxes

    A lively and productive discussion regarding Gutenberg’s use of iframes for meta boxes is happening on GitHub. Yesterday, WordPress developer Kevin Hoffman created an issue titled “Are iframes a viable long-term solution for meta boxes?” Gutenberg 1.5 introduced initial support for meta boxes. Hoffman identified several issues with iframes that have been popping up as…

    Sarah Gooding

  • WordPress 4.8.3, A Security Release Six Weeks in the Making

    WordPress 4.8.3, A Security Release Six Weeks in the Making

    WordPress 4.8.3 is available and is a security release for 4.8.2 and all previous versions. This release addresses an issue with $wpdb->prepare() that could lead to a potential SQL injection. While WordPress core is not vulnerable, hardening has been added to prevent plugins and themes from inadvertently causing a vulnerability. If you’re experiencing a bit…

    Jeff Chandler

  • WordPress 4.9 Will Support Shortcodes and Embedded Media in the Text Widget

    WordPress 4.9 Will Support Shortcodes and Embedded Media in the Text Widget

    WordPress 4.8 brought TinyMCE to the core Text widget, along with brand new Image, Video, and Audio media widgets. The upcoming 4.9 release builds on this progress and will introduce some long-awaited improvements to Text widget. Users will finally be able to use shortcodes in the Text widget without the help of additional code from…

    Sarah Gooding

  • WordPress 4.9 Beta 4 Removes ‘Try Gutenberg’ Call to Action

    WordPress 4.9 Beta 4 Removes ‘Try Gutenberg’ Call to Action

    WordPress beta releases typically don’t generate controversy but in WordPress 4.9 Beta 3, a call to action was added to the dashboard that encouraged users to install and activate Gutenberg. Members of the WordPress community raised concerns that clients may install Gutenberg and shared ways to hide the prompt from users. The negative reaction inspired…

    Jeff Chandler

  • Gutenberg 1.5 Adds Initial Support for Meta Boxes, Makes Gutenberg the Default Editor

    Gutenberg 1.5 Adds Initial Support for Meta Boxes, Makes Gutenberg the Default Editor

    Gutenberg 1.5 was released this morning and introduces several major changes to the plugin. This version takes the new editor off the back burner and makes it the default for creating new posts. The team has also included a way for users to create posts with the Classic Editor, but this requires knowing where to…

    Sarah Gooding

  • WordPress 4.9 Protects Users From Fatal Errors Created in the Theme and Plugin Editors

    WordPress 4.9 Protects Users From Fatal Errors Created in the Theme and Plugin Editors

    Over the years, there have been many discussions and debates on whether or not WordPress should have a built-in file editor for themes and plugins. The file editors, while convenient, allow users to easily trigger fatal errors that can be difficult to fix, especially if they don’t have FTP access. Instead of removing the editors…

    Jeff Chandler

  • WordPress Replaces Browserify with Webpack for Build Process

    WordPress Replaces Browserify with Webpack for Build Process

    During a core JavaScript chat held in May, WordPress contributors agreed on using Webpack (and ES6 imports) instead of Browserify for JavaScript bundling in the build process. “Since we split the media files in #28510, the core build process has used Browserify to combine the media files,” Adam Silverstein said in the ticket proposing the…

    Sarah Gooding

  • Gutenberg 1.4 Adds HTML Mode for Blocks

    Gutenberg 1.4 Adds HTML Mode for Blocks

    Gutenberg 1.4 was released today with a new feature that allows users to edit HTML on a per-block basis. HTML mode can be triggered by toggling the ellipsis menu and selecting the HTML icon. This will switch the block between visual and text mode, without having to switch the entire document into text mode. Contributors…

    Sarah Gooding

  • WordPress 4.9 Adds Scheduling, Drafts, and Front-End Preview Links to the Customizer

    WordPress 4.9 Adds Scheduling, Drafts, and Front-End Preview Links to the Customizer

    While WordPress 4.8 focused on adding new widgets, visual improvements to links in the text editor, and a new dashboard widget that displays nearby events, WordPress 4.9 places a heavy emphasis on customization. In WordPress 4.9, the Customizer has a new publish button with options to publish, save draft, or schedule changes. Edits made via…

    Jeff Chandler

  • Gutenberg Engineer Matías Ventura Unpacks the Vision for Gutenblocks, Front-End Editing, and the Future of WordPress Themes

    Gutenberg Engineer Matías Ventura Unpacks the Vision for Gutenblocks, Front-End Editing, and the Future of WordPress Themes

    In a post titled Gutenberg, or the Ship of Theseus, Matías Ventura breaks down the vision for how the project will transform WordPress’ content creation experience and the decisions the team has made along the way. Ventura describes how WordPress has become difficult to customize, as online publishing has embraced rich media and web design…

    Sarah Gooding

  • New WP-CLI Project Aims to Extend Checksum Verification to Plugins and Themes

    New WP-CLI Project Aims to Extend Checksum Verification to Plugins and Themes

    The WP-CLI team is initiating a new project that aims to bring checksum verification to plugins and themes. Checksums are a method of verifying the integrity of files. Three years ago, WP-CLI added the capability of verifying WordPress core checksums using the MD5 algorithm. This is a useful security feature that allows developers to easily…

    Sarah Gooding

  • Gutenberg 1.2 Adds Postmeta Support and Extended Settings Placeholder

    Gutenberg 1.2 Adds Postmeta Support and Extended Settings Placeholder

    WordPress contributors have not yet made a final decision on the JavaScript framework to adopt for core, but Gutenberg development continues on with version 1.2 released this week. The update provides a better experience resolving block conflicts when switching between the “classic editor” and Gutenberg. Previously, if a user had created some paragraph blocks in…

    Sarah Gooding

  • WordPress Core JavaScript Framework Selection Discussion Continues with Input from Open Source Community Leaders

    WordPress Core JavaScript Framework Selection Discussion Continues with Input from Open Source Community Leaders

    WordPress’ #core-js Slack channel hosted a lively and productive meeting this morning led by Andrew Duthie. The discussion focused less on specific framework comparisons and more on the role a framework will play in building JavaScript-powered interfaces for WordPress. Contributors were joined by core developers and leaders from the React and Vue communities, Chrome engineers,…

    Sarah Gooding