FSE Outreach Round #6: Building a WordCamp Landing Page via the Template Editor

As has almost become ritual at this point, I am always looking forward to the next testing round for Full Site Editing (FSE). Spearheaded by core contributor Anne McCarthy, the FSE Outreach Program’s fortnightly user tests are usually fun and offer everyone a chance to get involved, regardless of their experience level. This latest testing round is all about whether …

Gutenberg 10.6 Adds Duotone Filters, Query Pattern Carousel, and Most-Used Tags Selector

The Gutenberg development team has taken massive strides in the latest release. Version 10.6 of the plugin introduces several user-facing features and changes that upgrade the block-editing experience. The new duotone filter for images is just downright fun to play with. The UIs for the Query pattern selector and template-editing mode have been overhauled. Plus, the most-used tags feature from …

Genesis Framework To Become Free, StudioPress Announces Changes

Yesterday, StudioPress announced several changes to its themes and marketplace coming on or around June 8. For those outside its community, the company will be making its Genesis Framework available for free. The company is overhauling its marketplace, no longer selling individual themes. StudioPress’s selection of themes will soon be available only through a Genesis Pro, WP Engine hosting, or …

‘Universal’ WordPress Themes Virtual Hallway Hangout Planned for May 14

Core contributor Jeff Ong announced an upcoming virtual hangout around the concept of universal themes. The meeting could cover much ground for theme authors learning how new and upcoming tools will fit into their workflows, businesses, and more. For an invitation, attendees should leave a comment on the announcement post or message Ong directly. The hangout is slated for May …

Classic Widgets Plugin Disables WordPress 5.8’s Upcoming Block-Based Widgets System

Yesterday, WordPress released a core plugin named Classic Widgets. Core contributors Tonya Mork and Andrew Ozz created the plugin under the WordPress Contributors account. It allows end-users to disable the upcoming block-based widgets system. Support is expected through 2022 or as long as necessary according to the plugin description. Decided last month by a small group of core leads following …

Jetpack 9.7 Makes More Features Available without Connecting to WordPress.com

Jetpack 9.7 was released today with updates under the hood that ensure the plugin’s blocks are compatible with the full-site editing features coming in WordPress 5.8. It also changes how sites access features that require the WordPress.com infrastructure. A pull request merged in version 9.7 changes the connection flow to make Jetpack active as soon as the plugin enables a …

A WordPress Voting Guide to the Webby Awards

The People’s Voice voting for the 25th annual Webby Awards closes in three days on May 6, 2021. Since 1996, the Webbys have recognized excellence on the internet among what is now seven major media types: websites, video, advertising, media and PR, social, apps, mobile, voice, games, and podcasts. After nearly 13,500 entries were submitted from 70 different countries, the International …

Alpha Particle and Flowspoke Acquire Kanban for WordPress for $15K

Digital consultancies Alpha Particle and Flowspoke have acquired the Kanban for WordPress plugin, a tool that puts Kanban boards into the admin to measure progress on a goal. The plugin is used for agile project management, sales tracking, editorial scheduling, and other planning purposes. WordPress developer Corey Maass created Kanban for WordPress in 2015 but struggled to market it enough …