Tag Archives: Tavern

WordPress Blog WPLift Joins E2M Solutions – WP Tavern

[ad_1] The popular WordPress blog WPLift has been acquired by E2M Solutions, a leading white-label partner with operations in India and the United States. Founded by Oliver Dale in September 2010 under Kooc Media, WPLift has undergone several ownership changes over the years. Dan Tol acquired the blog from Oliver Dale in 2016 and managed it until 2023 when it was acquired by UnlimitedWP, a WordPress White Label service provider. UnlimitedWP was then acquired by E2M Solutions in June this year, making this latest transition somewhat anticipated. Manish Dudharejia, the CEO of E2M, commented on the acquisition saying: “Bringing WPLift into the E2M family is about more than just expanding our reach. It’s about collaboration and community, WPLift enhances our ability to engage with and contribute to the WordPress ecosystem… WPLift is more than just a great media partner for E2M; it’s our way of supporting and giving back to the global WordPress community.”  Future Plans The E2M team has confirmed that “WPLift will continue its mission to deliver insightful articles and updates.” Future plans include featuring WP expert interviews, sharing the latest news, and covering WordCamps as a Media Partner. WPLift’s acquisition announcement says, “ Some things may be changing around WPLift HQ, but we remain as committed as ever to being your trusted source for verifiable news… If there’s just one thing we want you to take away today, it’s that, even after being acquired, the only way things are going to change around here is for the better.” Another WordPress blog, WP BizDev, reacted to the acquisition: “Great to see an agency invest in media. A smart move too.” [ad_2] Source link

Continue reading

WordPress 6.7 Roadmap Includes New Default Theme, APIs, and Media Enhancements – WP Tavern

[ad_1] Anne McCarthy has unveiled the roadmap for WordPress 6.7, slated for release on November 12, 2024. This will be the final major update of the year. She has emphasized that “More than anything though, this release brings refinement to how everything connects together to create a more seamless WordPress experience, whether you’re trying to upload a HEIC image to your site or display a selection of posts with the Query Loop block.” WordPress 6.7 will ship with a new default theme, Twenty Twenty-Five, that “embodies ultimate flexibility and adaptability”. Fully compatible with the Site Editor, the theme features high-quality fonts supporting multiple languages, a variety of color palettes, and an extensive collection of patterns. This release will also include two new APIs designed to simplify developers’ workflows: Template Registration API to allow templates and template parts to be registered directly within plugins without filters. Preview Options API to expand the Preview dropdown menu in the post/page editor and add greater flexibility in preview functionality. Several existing APIs, such as the Interactivity API, Block Bindings API, and HTML API, will also see enhancements. New features offering more flexibility and functionality will improve the data view experience. Users can expect options to hide or show filters in the interface, adjust the density of information in the grid layout, and configure the grid layout’s aspect ratio to their preferences. The Query Loop block will be updated to ease customization. Improvements include refining settings copy and context detection for a more intuitive user experience. For a better editing experience, WordPress 6.7 will introduce an option to zoom out and work at the pattern level.  Significant updates to media handling are also on the way, including HEIC support, auto sizes for lazy loaded images, and more background image support at individual and global levels.  Other highlights of WordPress 6.7 include: Updates to design tools, including shadow support for Group blocks. Improved support for PHP 8.x and removing code specific for unsupported versions.  A new split view for the iframe post editor to ensure a consistent WYSIWYG experience. Removing the experimental status of typography blocks A new feature in the Styles interface allowing users to customize theme presets. Anne has cautioned that the new features mentioned in the post “ is being actively pursued, but doesn’t necessarily mean each will make it into the final release of WordPress 6.7.” Interested users can look into the demos shared during a recent hallway hangout to get a glimpse into what’s being developed for this release and future updates. Category: News, WordPress [ad_2] Source link

Continue reading

Key Insights From WooCommerce Survey 2024 – WP Tavern

[ad_1] WooCommerce has unveiled the results of its 2024 summer survey, shedding light on how store owners, developers, and partners gear up for Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) and the holiday shopping rush. Here are the key takeaways from the survey: BFCM Sales Account for a Major Share of Annual Revenue BFCM plays a crucial role for online merchants, contributing to approximately 30%-50% of their yearly sales. The survey revealed that 66% of stores reported increased sales during the holiday season, highlighting its significance for businesses. In fact, for some stores, up to 50% of their annual revenue comes from this period alone. 46% of stores see up to 30% of their yearly sales during this time. 26% generate over 30% of their annual sales. 8% surpass 50% of annual sales during BFCM. Stores & Early Planning Larger stores with annual revenues of $250K+ are 12% more likely to begin preparations early. In total, 81% of stores actively plan for BFCM promotions. 26% of stores begin planning 1-4 weeks before BFCM. 27% start preparations 1-3 months ahead. 13% dedicate 3-6 months to preparation. 4% start more than 6 months in advance. Preparation Tactics & Strategies 26% of stores planned to increase inventory as their primary preparation strategy. This was followed by marketing, promotions, and website optimization. When it comes to marketing channels: 29% of stores find email the most effective, followed by organic social media (25%). Other popular channels include paid social (13%), search ads (8%), and content marketing (6%). For the 2024 holiday season, 34% of stores are adjusting their strategies, focusing on: Introducing new products (26%) Improving marketing efforts (24%) Enhancing website performance (16%) Starting sales early (10%) Offering special discounts (9%) Making changes to customer engagement, social media, and inventory management completes the list. Multi-Channel Sales The survey also noted that 67% of stores sell through multiple channels, including physical locations and online marketplaces. Specifically, 11% of stores sell on Amazon, 8% sell on Etsy and 6% sell on eBay. Customer Engagement & Analytics A significant 91% of stores use analytics tools like Google Analytics, WooCommerce Analytics Dashboard, and Meteorik to evaluate campaign performance. Despite the busy season, 89% of stores do not implement a special refund or return policy  Woo’s Chief Marketing Officer, Tamara Niesen, has shared more insights on the survey results on the WooCommerce blog. [ad_2] Source link

Continue reading

WordPress.org Introduces New Security Measures for Plugin and Theme Authors – WP Tavern

[ad_1] Starting October 1st, 2024, WordPress.org will roll out new security measures aimed at enhancing the safety of accounts with commit access to plugins and themes. This was announced by the Automattic-sponsored developer Dion Hulse. Mandatory Two-Factor Authentication Beginning next month, WordPress.org will make two-factor authentication (2FA) mandatory for all plugin and theme authors. Authors can configure 2FA by visiting their WordPress.org profiles, and the platform has already started prompting them to do so.  Dion Hulse emphasized the importance of securely storing backup codes, as losing access to both 2FA methods and backup codes could complicate account recovery. SVN Passwords for Commit Access WordPress.org will also introduce SVN passwords for committing changes to plugins and themes. This feature separates commit access from the main WordPress.org account credentials, offering an extra layer of security. Authors can generate SVN passwords through their profiles, ensuring that their main account passwords are protected. Those using deployment scripts, like GitHub Actions, will need to update their stored passwords with these new SVN credentials. For those wondering why the Plugin Review Team is not using 2FA with SVN, Dion explained, “Due to technical limitations, 2FA cannot be applied to our existing code repositories, that’s why we’ve chosen to secure WordPress.org code through a combination of account-level two-factor authentication, high-entropy SVN passwords, and other deploy-time security features (such as  Release Confirmations).” For more information, authors can refer to the guides on Configuring Two-Factor Authentication and Subversion Access and Chris Christoff’s post on Keeping Your Plugin Committer Accounts Secure Community Reaction  The community has reacted positively to these changes, with some expressing that these updates were long overdue. “At least we were earlier than someone stepping on Mars, ” joked developer Toma Todua. Recently, the WordPress Plugin Team has ramped up efforts to enhance platform security. In June, they temporarily halted plugin releases and forced all plugin authors to reset their passwords after five WordPress.org user accounts were compromised. [ad_2] Source link

Continue reading

Pedraum Pardehpoosh Joins Automattic as VP of Product – WP Tavern

[ad_1] Last week, Automattic announced Pedraum Pardehpoosh as its new Vice President of Product. Though a new face in the WordPress arena, he brings extensive tech experience from both startups and major corporations like Walmart, Apple, and Airbnb. In the announcement, Automattic shared, “As VP of Product, Pedraum will oversee product excellence across Automattic, beginning by immersing himself in the open source WordPress ecosystem that drives innovation for 43% of the Internet.”  I’m thrilled to be joining Automattic. My top focus will be to understand the WordPress ecosystem deeply, first and foremost. After that, I hope to help foster a culture of product development, befitting a company of Automattic’s stature. With so much talent and so many great ideas that go along with that, I expect the top challenges will be prioritization and focus. – Pedraum Pardehpoosh Automattic’s product portfolio includes WordPress.com, Woo, Jetpack, WordPress VIP, Simplenote, Longreads, The Atavist, WPScan, Akismet, Gravatar, Crowdsignal, Cloudup, Tumblr, Day One, Pocket Casts, Newspack, and Beeper.  Pedraum’s appointment comes during an exciting time for Automattic as they migrate Tumblr to WordPress. The company is actively hiring for this migration and other roles, with open positions listed here. [ad_2] Source link

Continue reading

#136 – Matthias Pupillo on Enhancing WordPress With AI Translations – WP Tavern

[ad_1] [00:00:00] Nathan Wrigley: Welcome to the Jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley. Jukebox is a podcast which is dedicated to all things WordPress. The people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case, enhanced WordPress with AI translations. If you’d like to subscribe to the podcast, you can do that by searching for WP Tavern in your podcast, player of choice. Or by going to wptavern.com/feed/podcast. And you can copy that URL into most podcast players. If you have a topic that you’d like us to feature on the podcast, I’m keen to hear from you and hopefully get you, or your idea, featured on the show. Head to wptavern.com/contact/jukebox and use the form there. So on the podcast today, we have Matthias Pupillo. Matthias has extensive experience in the technology and creative sectors, and is currently working as the co-founder of FluentC AI, an AI powered language technology company. With a background in technology, he’s focusing on developing solutions to enhance communication across different languages and platforms. He’s been involved with WordPress since its early days, around version 1.2, and has a rich history of web design and consulting, having worked on hundreds of WordPress websites. But it’s only recently that he’s become more engaged in the WordPress community through events like WordCamp Buffalo. In the podcast today, we talk about AI driven language translations, particularly focusing on Matthias’s work with FluentC, which is his translation plugin for WordPress. It supports multithreaded simultaneous translations of up to 140 languages, enabling your pages and posts to be offered in other languages in just a few moments. We covered the differences between AI models designed for translation, such as ChatGPT, and Llama, which aren’t specialized for this task, and how his platform builds a contextual layer above those. He emphasizes the importance of context and diverse multi-lingual data in producing high quality translations. FluentC’s functionality involves local storage of translated content in an effort to maintain website speed. This is done using native WordPress hooks, and URL modifications. Matthias also offers his thoughts on the ongoing multi-lingual support phase of the Gutenberg project. And his hopes for FluentC to evolve from a standalone plugin to an API, which could be used by WordPress Core. We get into the broader implications of AI in translation, the need for open source models to compete in this rapidly evolving space, and the parallels between AI evolution and past trends like blockchain, and web 2.0. If you’re interested in the intersection of AI and WordPress, or looking to enhance your website’s multi-lingual capabilities, this episode is for you. If you’d like to find out more, you can find all of the links in the show notes by heading to wptavern.com/podcast, where you’ll find all the other episodes as well. And so without further delay, I bring you Matthias Pupillo. I am joined on the podcast today by Matthias Pupillo. How you doing Matthias? [00:03:54] Matthias Pupillo: I’m doing fantastic, Nathan. [00:03:55] Nathan Wrigley: Very, very nice to have you with us. We had a little bit of a chat before we pressed record, and in that chat, Matthias revealed to me that he’s got a long history with WordPress, but not necessarily the WordPress community. Matthias, we’re going to be talking about AI, transcribing, transliteration, multilingual, all that kind of stuff today. Before we do, would you just give us a quick potted bio of your history with tech, WordPress, however far you want to go back. [00:04:19] Matthias Pupillo: Oh yeah, absolutely. So I’ve been a software, I have to say commercially, building software for 25 years. I’ve been recreationally building software for 35 years. So I started pretty much when I was eight building code. And I started in WordPress with 1.2. I was writing hand coded HTML in Microsoft notes, and so it was a dramatic shift back then in 2002, 2003. And I was running my own consulting firm, doing web design professionally, and found WordPress by, it was a divine intervention one day. Someone wanted to pay me for editing, and I didn’t know how to write software, besides HTML, CSS and Java. And Java back then was not building a website. It was a complicated journey and it was fun. The day WordPress 2.5.5, when we had tabs, that was great. And then we got 2.6 and it went horizontal menu, that was a fun day. It’s been a long road with WordPress. I think I’ve built two or three hundred websites with it, maybe more. Not to mention coaching, staffing, and like guidance from an architecture standpoint. [00:05:22] Nathan Wrigley: That’s a really long and storied, well, a really long story basically, so that’s lovely. But however, one of the things that you said a moment ago was that, although you’ve been using WordPress for a long time, the community side of it is more recent I think. Only in the fairly recent past that you’ve got yourself out to events, and started to interact with the community more. Is that right? [00:05:41] Matthias Pupillo: Yeah, that’s right. Yeah, so I built the translation company FluentC, we built for apps, and GraphQL, and other integrations. And I forgot WordPress, I really did. Our website was built in WordPress, our marketing flow, our CRM, everything was in WordPress, and I forgot to build the engine. So, out of my shame of forgetting that, I rapidly built the plugin. Then spent four months trying to get it approved, and then joined the community in person. And my first WordCamp was in Buffalo this last May. [00:06:09] Nathan Wrigley: You alluded to it earlier, but I might as well get the URL out there. So FluentC is the URL, but it’s not what you are thinking, I suspect. I imagine you are thinking it ends in a Y, but my records here show that it’s fluent, and then the letter C,

Continue reading

WordPress 6.6.2 Released with 26 Bug Fixes – WP Tavern

[ad_1] WordPress 6.6.2, released on September 10, 2024, brings 15 bug fixes to Core and 11 to the Block Editor. Led by Tonya Mork and Vicente Canales, with Aaron Jorbin mentoring the team, this is a short-cycle maintenance release ahead of WordPress 6.7, scheduled for November 12, 2024. Core Fixes  This update addresses 15 Core issues, including CSS specificity changes in certain themes and the resolution of Button Block CSS conflicts. Other notable improvements include: Global Styles now blocks empty CSS rules and malformed selectors for custom CSS for blocks. Text-wrapping issues on the About page, which caused line breaks in Japanese, have been fixed. A bug that wiped out template contents when renaming templates has been addressed. The Site Health Tool now correctly loads directory sizes. Autofocus query string parameter in the Customizer URL has been fixed.  Issues with the search functionality in the installed themes section have been resolved. Block Editor Fixes This release addresses 11 issues in the Block Editor, including improved layout style specificity in the non-iframed editor and fixes for pseudo-element selectors in custom block CSS. The release also reduces the specificity of the default featured-image block style rules and prevents the duplication of template parts in non-block-based themes. Post Editor has received multiple improvements.  Tonya Mork’s post gives the complete list of bug fixes in WordPress 6.6.2. Websites with automatic background updates will automatically get updated to WordPress 6.6.2 while others can download it from WordPress.org or update the website via the WordPress Dashboard. Category: News, WordPress [ad_2] Source link

Continue reading

Gutenberg 19.2 Released with Enhancements and Bug Fixes – WP Tavern

[ad_1] Gutenberg 19.2 was released on September 11, 2024. This latest release includes notable changes such as Block Bindings UI, enhancements to the Zoom Out mode, an experimental client-side media processing feature, and some bug fixes. Here’s a rundown of the key features and changes: Block Bindings UI Moving Out of the Experimental Phase One of the most significant updates in Gutenberg 19.2 is removing the experimental flag from the Block Bindings UI. This feature, now fully integrated into the editor, allows users to link block attributes with external data sources seamlessly. By default, only admin users can create and modify bindings, ensuring greater control and security.  Vicente Canales from the Core team has shared this video in the announcement post.  Preview Options Extensibility The new release also adds extensibility to Preview Options via the Plugin API.Plugin and theme developers can now introduce custom preview options in the block editor’s preview dropdown. This allows users to preview content in different formats or environments, offering more flexibility in how they view their creations. Enhanced Zoom Out Mode The toolbar now has an “Edit” button, making it easier to switch between modes. Users can also exit Zoom Out mode by double-clicking on blocks and the “Shuffle” block toolbar button has been removed.  Content-Only Mode Enhancements In Content-Only mode, top-level locked blocks now support block styles, providing more consistent designs. Block icons are also now displayed in the toolbar for easier identification. Experimental Client-side Media Processing Gutenberg 19.2 introduces an experimental client-side media processing feature. This reduces the server load and potentially improves performance and efficiency.  Other notable highlights include: A new reorder control is available at the field level on the new view configuration UI. The minimum supported WordPress version for Create Block is now set to 6.6. Only admin users are allowed to create and modify block bindings by default. Block editor improvements include a ‘Reset’ option for the MediaReplaceFlow component and Block Library enhancements include better handling of social icons and pagination blocks. 10 bug fixes, including a fix for pagination arrows pointing the wrong way in RTL languages and resolving an editor error in Safari caused by the checkVisibility method. There has been one reported issue with this release, where it causes problems with the Web Stories editor. WordPress Core Committer Pascal Birchler has confirmed that the issue is related to Gutenberg and not Web Stories. Interested users can also check out Riad Benguella’s post on Gutenberg development practices and common pitfalls. [ad_2] Source link

Continue reading

WordPress Community Team to Close Inactive Meetup Groups by September 16, 2024 – WP Tavern

[ad_1] Automattic’s Community Engagement Specialist, Devin Maeztri, has announced that the WordPress Community Team will close all inactive meetup groups by September 16, 2024. Over the past month, the team has been working hard to reactivate recently inactive WordPress Meetups. “This project comes in response to recent data revealing that nearly half of our groups are currently inactive—a statistic that underscores the need for proactive measures.”, Devin explained. As of June 2024, there are more than 762 WordPress Meetup groups across 108 countries and nearly 537,000 members.  The Community Team released a list of inactive Meetups at risk of removal from the WordPress Chapter Meetup Program. Organizers have until September 16 to confirm if they wish to remain active. As per the list, 22 meetups have already requested closure. Spain leads with six closure requests, followed by the USA (4), France (3), and Indonesia (3). Meetup groups that fail to respond will be removed from the WordPress Chapter Meetup Program. Currently, 140 groups are yet to respond, with the largest numbers coming from the USA (33), Italy (8), Brazil (7), Spain (6), India (6), and Venezuela (4). “Once a group is removed from the WordPress network, Meetup.com will guide Co-organizers, Assistant Organizers, Event Organizers, and Members on how to keep the group active independently (including managing the subscription fee).”, Devin assured. Since June 2024, WordPress.com has offered free websites for local WordPress meetups. Organizers who believe their group was mistakenly flagged as inactive and groups that wish to rejoin the WordPress network after removal can contact the Community Team at support@wordcamp.org. [ad_2] Source link

Continue reading

WordCamp Europe 2025 Seeks Organizers – WP Tavern

[ad_1] WordCamp Europe 2025, scheduled to take place from June 5 – 7, 2025, in Basel, Switzerland is looking for organizers to make this flagship event a grand success. The planning phase of this event will start in September 2024.  Organizers will be involved in weekly or bi-weekly meetings leading up to the event and will work in teams including Budget, Community, Content, and Design.  The WordCamp Europe 2024 in Torino, Italy received prestigious patronage from the European Parliament, granted by Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament. The event emphasized accessibility and inclusivity and was attended by 2,584 attendees from over 70 countries. The 2023 and 2022 events were heavily criticized by the community for lack of diversity in speaker lineups and organizing teams but the 2024 version more than made up for it.  WordCamp Europe 2025 looks to be on the right track when it comes to accessibility and sustainability. The venue Messe and Congress Center Basel are fully accessible for people with mobility challenges and prioritize environmental sustainability. However, the event coincides with Eid ul-Adha, a major Muslim holiday. The organizers have assured that: “While we cannot change the dates, the organizing team is committed to making WCEU 2025 more inclusive of attendees who are celebrating Eid ul-Adha. To do this, we will consult with the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Working Group and attendees of the Muslim community to find initiatives that support them to feel welcome at our event during those dates.” The last date for applying is August 31, 2024, at 23:59 CEST. While it is recommended that applicants be based within European time zones due to meeting schedules, any WordPress enthusiast from around the globe can apply. Though all WordCamp communications will be in English, knowledge of French or German is essential to apply for the local team. Those interested in hosting WordCamp Europe 2026 are encouraged to apply for the 2025 organizing team to gain valuable experience and insight into event logistics and organizational requirements. [ad_2] Source link

Continue reading
1 2 3 4 … 20