Last year WordPress developer Hardeep Asrani and the folks at ThemeIsle released Custom Login Customizer, a plugin that allows users to design their own login pages in the customizer. Since that time core developers have made more progress on the customizer roadmap, allowing for more varied uses outside of a theme-related context. Last week the…
Last week the feature plugin decision deadline closed and WordPress core contributors approved Responsive Preview and Selective Refresh for merge. The merge deadline is Wednesday, February 17, followed by the first beta next week. Both feature approved for 4.5 extend the customizer to improve live previews. A new version of the Customize Partial Refresh plugin…
Contributors to the WordPress core Customize component are targeting the upcoming 4.5 release for inclusion of a new feature plugin. Customize Pane Resizer allows users to drag the edge of the pane to make the customizer wider than the default 300px. According to Customize component maintainer Weston Ruter, the idea for the plugin came out…
When the WordPress theme review team announced it would require theme authors to use the customizer to build theme options, many voiced their displeasure in the comments. Bruce Wampler, lead developer of the Weaver Xtreme WordPress theme, commented that his theme received a death sentence due to the requirement. Eight months later, Wampler has changed…
When menu management was proposed to be merged into WordPress 4.3, a common complaint expressed by readers was that clicking the Widgets menu item in the admin bar loads the customizer instead of the Widgets admin screen. WordPress 4.3 separates the management interfaces by moving the Customize link to the top-level menu of the admin…
WordPress 4.3 beta 3 was released this week right on schedule, and beta 4 is expected to arrive next Wednesday. This release includes more than 140 fixes and improvements since last week’s beta. One of the most important changes you’ll notice is that the Site Icon feature is now available in the customizer in addition…
Argentinian WordPress developer Damian Logghe had never touched the Customizer API, but with all the controversy swirling around it, he decided to jump in to see what all the fuss was about. “The customizer has been making a lot of noise lately, as we all know, bringing politics to WordPress, and by politics I mean…
The video of Matt Mullenweg’s Q&A session at WordCamp Europe is now published on WordPress.tv. For those who were unable to attend, this session provides a glimpse into what WordPress’ co-founder sees for the future of the software and the community. One of the most exciting parts of the video is where Mullenweg talks about…
WordPress 4.3 will introduce menu management via the customizer, providing live previews on the frontend for adding, deleting, and ordering menu items. Although users still have the option to manage menus using the admin interface, developers who are not keen on the feature are searching for an easy way to disable the customizer and remove…
The WordPress Theme Review Team is now curating a library of code examples on GitHub for theme developers. The first section is devoted to customizer code with examples for panels, sections, basic controls, and advanced controls. “We will continue to add to the library, including more examples of custom controls, and more advanced examples, such…
One option that users often appreciate in themes is the ability to control typography without having to modify any code. Justin Tadlock has been experimenting with adding a typography control class for the WordPress customizer. Instead of writing a lengthy tutorial, he opted to create a a proof-of-concept plugin that demonstrates how theme authors might…
Ryan Boren published a post to the Make/WordPress Core blog this afternoon, titled Trust, Live Preview, and Menus in the Customizer. In it he clarified the reasons why he and several other core contributors are committed to iterating the customizer and identified the feature as a means of building user trust through live previews. Being…
Contributors on the Menu Customizer feature plugin are proposing its inclusion in WordPress 4.3. Nick Halsey posted the Customizer Team’s proposal last night, beginning with a summary of the purpose of moving menu management into the customizer: In the process, we hope to offer an updated design with improved user flow, a mobile-first interface, improved…
Contributors on the upcoming WordPress 4.3 release are moving full speed ahead with plans to improve the experience of using the customizer. They’re also exploring ways to re-architect it to make way for feature plugins that would bring in additional functionality. WordPress core contributors have continually demonstrated a commitment to improving the customizer to make…
The Theme Review Team’s controversial decision to require the use of the Customizer API for building theme options unearthed a wave of criticism and concern about the capabilities of the customizer. In response to more than 150 comments debating on the topic, Nick Halsey, who has worked extensively on the feature in WordPress core, stopped…