The last two chapters of the 2022 Web Almanac were released this week – Structured Data and Performance, completing the 729-page ebook of the report. The WordPress-specific chapter was published earlier this month with metrics that indicate adoption is growing. The Performance chapter was written by Etsy performance engineer Melissa Ada and Google web transparency engineer Rick Viscomi. Performance metrics in the …
Gutenberg Contributors Explore a New Browse Mode for Navigating the Site Editor
It’s easy to get lost while trying to get around the Site Editor unless you are working day and night inside the tool. The navigation is jumpy and confusing, especially when going from template browsing to template editing to modifying individual blocks. A large PR is in progress for redesigning this UI with the introduction of a “browse mode” that …
Openverse Audio Catalog Passes 800,000 Files, Audio Support Now Out of Beta
Openverse, formerly known as Creative Commons Search before it joined the WordPress project, has passed an important milestone with its support for audio files. The catalog has now indexed more than 800,000 audio files and its development team has taken audio support out of beta. Openverse visitors can now confidently search for and explore audio files for use in their …
WordPress Themes Directory Adds Style Variation Previews
WordPress.org theme previews just got a major improvement this week with the addition of Style Variation previews. The previews now appear on block themes that include style variations. Themes that have more variations than what fits in the space beneath the preview pane will display all variations in a carousel with little arrows to navigate to the next ones. Here’s …
Discussion on Replacing Plugin Active Install Growth Data Continues Behind Closed Doors
Earlier this month WordPress.org meta contributors removed the active install growth chart from plugins, sending plugin developers who relied on this data into a state of dismay and outrage. The commit cited “insufficient data obfuscation” but there was no clear communication about when and where this decision had been made. Developers demanded more transparency around the charts’ removal but received …
Jetpack Social Plugin Adds Paid Plan, Free Users Now Limited to 30 Shares per Month
Jetpack has announced changes to its Jetpack Social plugin that may impact publishers who frequently share across social media networks. Previously, users could share an unlimited number of posts automatically via their connected social media accounts. Jetpack is shuffling its monetization strategy for this extension and has capped social sharing at 30 shares per month for the free tier. A …
UniBlock: A Free Business Block Theme for WordPress
WPZOOM is coming in strong with its first block theme approved for the WordPress Themes Directory. UniBlock is a beautifully designed theme that is well-suited for businesses and freelancers. The company plans to adopt the concept of full-site editing in other WPZOOM themes as well, following the release of UniBlock. UniBlock’s default look is sporting a darker color palette in …
Gutenberg 14.3 Improves Image Drag and Drop
Gutenberg 14.3 was released this week with drag-and-drop improvements for both the block editor and the site editor. Automattic-sponsored contributor Aaron Robertshaw published a video, illustrating how the block editor now supports dropping an image onto an empty paragraph block to replace it with a new Image block. The site editor has also added drag-and-drop capabilities for blocks and patterns …
WordPress 6.1 RC 1 Released, Ready for Testing and Translation
We are less than three weeks out from WordPress 6.1’s official release on November 1, 2022. RC 1 was released this week, marking the hard string freeze, which means 6.1 is ready to be translated. The features landing in this release are heavy on block and site editor improvements that will bring users a greater level of design control. Many of …
Raft: A New Multipurpose Block Theme for WordPress
Themeisle, longtime masters of the multipurpose WordPress theme, has launched its first block-based theme with the same trademark style and flexibility of its previous products. The shop currently distributes its Hestia (100K+ installs) and Neve (300K+ installs) themes on WordPress.org, commercializing pro versions with upgrades and support. Raft is the latest addition to the lineup. When it comes to full-site …