WooCommerce 3.6 RC2 was released today with changes to the planned Marketplace Suggestions feature after core developers received overwhelmingly negative feedback on its implementation. This RC removes the ads from the product listings, which was one of the most controversial placements for them. It also adds a new setting to turn Marketplace Suggestions off entirely. Fix: Remove Product Listing suggestions. …
Your WPMU DEV 2019 Quarter 2 Roadmap Roundup Just Landed!
We start each quarter visiting our product Roadmap and spilling the beans on what to look for moving forward. When we published our roadmap nearly 2 years ago (can you believe it), it created a unique direct line of communication with our members. We knew it would help them make better business decisions and plan for the future. What we …
Pipdig Under Investigation, Company is Refusing Customers’ Refund Requests
In the wake of last week’s Pipdidg scandal, the WordPress blogger and developer communities have been working together to help the company’s customers get on new themes and ensure the safety of their websites. Pipdig has been reported to various UK and internet authorities and is currently under investigation. Pipdig’s hosting provider has proactively disabled malicious code in certain files …
How to Defer Offscreen Images in WordPress With Lazy Loading
One of Google PageSpeed Insights performance suggestions is to defer offscreen images in WordPress with lazy loading. Lazy loading images in WordPress lowers the initial load time and page payload, without sacrificing content. Lazy loading improves your visitor’s experience, by serving only what your visitors need when they need it. It’s way more efficient than the load-all-the-images-just-in-case approach that results …
Jetpack 7.2.1 Removes Promotions for Paid Upgrades from the Plugin Search Screen
Earlier this month, Jetpack 7.1 added suggestions to the plugin search screen, a controversial change that has sparked debate this week. When users search for a plugin that matches a term for an existing Jetpack feature, the plugin now inserts an artificial, dismissible search result into the first plugin card slot, identifying the corresponding Jetpack feature. The Jetpack team said …
WooCommerce 3.6 to Add Marketplace Suggestions, Despite Overwhelmingly Negative Feedback from Developer Community
In one of the most unpopular changes in the history of the WooCommerce open source project, version 3.6 will introduce “Marketplace Suggestions.” The update adds suggestions to the products admin screen, which vary based on whether it’s an empty state or within the list of products. “They are contextual mentions of official extensions that may be relevant to a customer,” …
Jetpack Is Promoting Paid Upgrades on Plugin Search Screen, WordPress Plugin Team Says it “May be a Violation” of Directory Guidelines
Yesterday the discussion surrounding Jetpack’s implementation of feature suggestions in the plugin search screen became heated after developers pointed out that Automattic is also using these suggestions to promote paid upgrades. You can test this by searching for “backups” where you find that Jetpack’s commercial offering takes the place of the first result, pushing all other results further down one …
Hello, Hackers! Best Practices for WordPress Security
When talking about WordPress security, it feels like we’re left with 2 choices, devastating paranoia or ignorant bliss. With all the news of our personal information, usernames, passwords, and identities getting jacked and sold on the dark web, the topic of web security to a noobie sounds impossible. But after falling hard into the deep end of web security, I’ve …
Jetpack 7.1 Adds Feature Suggestions to Plugin Search Results
Jetpack 7.1 was released earlier this month with new blocks for WordAds, Business Hours, Contact Info, Slideshows, and Videos. This release also quietly added suggestions to the plugin search screen, a change that has not been well-received by the developer community. If a user searches for a plugin that has a feature that is already offered by Jetpack, the plugin …
WordCamp Asia Proposed for 2020 in Bangkok, Thailand
photo credit: Eustaquio Santimano The organizers of WordCamp Asia, a brand new regional WordCamp, have published a proposal for making Bangkok, Thailand, the host city for a 2-3 day event in early 2020. They are currently planning for February or March to avoid clashing with other regional WordCamps (WCEU, WCUS). The camp has been informally discussed since 2015 while organizers …