Aaron Jorbin, who contributes to WordPress core on a regular basis, has published a script called WordPress Theme Directory Slurper. The PHP based script downloads and updates a copy of the latest stable version of every theme in the WordPress.org theme directory. Devin Price put the script to good use and has published a series…
In light of the WordPress Theme Review team’s recent decision to enforce the use of the native customizer for themes in the official directory, the folks behind the Redux and Kirki frameworks are joining forces to better support developers for the new requirement. Redux, which is built on the WordPress Settings API, is one of…
WordPress 4.2 “Powell” has arrived and is now ready for download. It is named for Earl Rudolph “Bud” Powell, an American jazz pianist. This release, led by 10up engineer Drew Jaynes, offers a balanced mix of front-facing features that users will enjoy, as well as improvements for developers. Here is a tour of the highlights.…
The WordPress Theme Review team made a major decision this week to enforce the use of the native customizer on new themes submitted to the directory. Theme authors who want to include customization options will no longer be able to create their own settings panels but will be required to follow the new customizer standard,…
The Customizer Theme Switcher feature plugin was approved for merge today during the regularly scheduled WordPress core development meeting. Lead developers and contributors in attendance agreed that there are no major blocking issues. The Customizer Theme Switcher in WordPress 4.2 will make it possible for users to browse through themes that have already been installed…
This week, Nick Halsey officially proposed the Customizer Theme Switcher feature plugin for merge into WordPress 4.2. Halsey summarizes the goal of bringing theme switching into the customizer: “By integrating themes directly into the Customizer, live-previewing workflows are greatly simplified, and the relationship between themes and theme/site options is clarified for the user,” he said.…
As a result of the improvements to the Customizer API in WordPress 4.0 and 4.1, developers now have access to a wider array of controls and parameters that allow them to extend the feature for more varied uses beyond themes. The new Custom Login Customizer plugin is a prime example of making the customizer available…
The WordPress project is charging full steam ahead with improvements to the customizer. The most recent release featured the addition of dynamic and contextual controls, sections, and panels. As WordPress 4.2 is kicking off development, core contributors are looking to add menus to the customizer for easy management from the frontend. More WordPress theme developers…
WordPress 4.1 was released just yesterday, but core contributors are already planning and working towards 4.2. The Menu Customizer feature plugin is back in development and contributors are hoping to have it ready for inclusion in 4.2. Nick Halsey, who originally started the Menu Customizer work as part of his Google Summer of Code project,…
WordPress theme developers will be pleased to know that the upcoming 4.1 release will remove the custom background and header screens in the admin. These screens will be replaced with deep-links to the customizer. To be clear, header and background menus will still appear in the admin, but they will be deep-linked to the customizer.…
WordPress users were thrilled when widgets were added to the customizer in the 3.9 release. A better UI and real-time previews revived widgets and once again made them a joy to use. The experience was so beneficial to users that the project continues to plough ahead with customizer enhancements. WordPress 4.0 introduced contextual controls and…
WordPress’ native customizer has evolved considerably since its early days when it when it was introduced for adding live previews to themes. WordPress 3.9 added widgets to the customizer and the 4.0 release is set to expand the role of the feature into other aspects of WordPress with support for a wider array of controls.…
On this episode of WordPress Weekly, we give you the low down on all the new features in WordPress 4.0 beta 1. Later in the show, Matt Wiebe who works for Automattic as a design engineer, joins us to discuss his thoughts on the WordPress customizer. Most of what we talked about stems from his…
When widgets were added to the customizer in 3.9, WordPress users were generally surprised and delighted. Live previews are so beneficial to the editing experience that contributors are starting to pursue an expansion of the role of the customizer into all aspects of WordPress. Nick Halsey has been working extensively with the customizer as part…
At age 15, Nikhil Vimal is the youngest guest to ever be interviewed on WordPress Weekly. Based out of Minnesota, Vimal has quickly made his mark in the WordPress community. He’s already spoken at his first WordCamp and contributed to the core of WordPress through the inline documentation project. He’s also been confirmed to speak…