On Tuesday, John James Jacoby announced that bbPress 2.6 was available to the public after a six-year wait in a post titled bbPress 2.6 — Better Great Than Never. The announcement landed with a whimper as it was overshadowed by the release of WordPress 5.3 on the same day. bbPress is an official WordPress project for powering forums. It was …
WordPress 5.3 “Kirk” Released, Brings New Default Theme, Editor Improvements, and UI Tweaks
Rahsaan Roland KirkCredit: Heinrich Klaffs CC BY-SA 2.0 WordPress 5.3 “Kirk,” named in honor American jazz musician Rahsaan Roland Kirk, is now available for download. The update includes a new default theme named Twenty Twenty, user interface improvements aimed at accessibility, and new block editor features. This release saw contributions from 645 volunteers, which is the largest contributor group ever …
Beyond Prefixing: A WordPress Developer’s Guide to PHP Namespaces
Prefix everything. It is an adage that is old as the WordPress software itself. Prefixing has been a standard for WordPress developers for so long that it’s hard to imagine doing anything different. But, the time has come for something new. Well, it is long past due, but WordPress lags a bit behind in standard practices in the larger PHP …
Themes of the Future: A Design Framework and a Master Theme
WordPress theming has a rich history. Over the years, theme authors have brought a plethora of features to the platform. In part, it is because they have often had to solve foundational issues with WordPress to create the features that end users want. The post and body classes all theme authors use today? Those were originally in a theme called …
Oklahoma Watch Becomes First U.S. Publication on Newspack; 34 Pilot Newsrooms Announced for Second Round
Homepage of the Oklahoma Watch website on Newspack. Oklahoma Watch is the first U.S. publication to relaunch and the second publication to go live on Newspack, a platform created this year to bring WordPress to newsrooms. Newspack announced the relaunch today. The announcement includes the list of 34 new publications that will work with the Newspack team during its second …
The Power of Stories: Chris Lema and the Bridge Framework
I would tell you that when Chris Lema, VP of Products at Liquid Web, is speaking, you should listen. But, there is no need to say that. He has an infectious quality that grabs your attention and doesn’t let go. I found myself hanging onto every word in his session, The Content Framework that Powers Stories, Landing Pages, & More, …
State of the Word 2019 Recap: All Roads Lead to the Block Editor
If there was one common theme in Matt Mullenweg’s State of the Word address this year at WordCamp U.S., it was that all roads lead to the block editor. His speech was primarily about blocks, blocks, more blocks, and a dash of community. This doesn’t come as a surprise because we are closing in on the one year mark of …
BoldGrid Joins Forces with W3 Edge, Acquires W3 Total Cache Plugin
BoldGrid, a WordPress product and services company, announced today that it has joined forces with W3 Edge, the parent company behind the popular W3 Total Cache (W3TC) plugin. BoldGrid acquired the W3TC plugin and retained its creator, Frederick Townes, along with its development and support staff. The two teams will operate as sister companies but jointly work on the plugin’s …
Jason Schuller Launches DSKO, a Discovery Network for Creators and Brands
On October 23, Jason Schuller officially announced that his new side project built on WordPress was open to the public. The idea behind DSKO was to solve the issue of discoverability for creators and brands across various networks and websites by consolidating everything into a single space. The website offers an easy signup process. DSKO currently features 220 profiles, but …
WordPress Businesses Should Send Out Press Releases
I have only been on the job for less than two months. In that time, one thing has become abundantly clear. The largest companies in the WordPress ecosystem send out press releases to news organizations such as WP Tavern. Small businesses may send an email with few details. Others send nothing at all. As a former business owner, I never …