Summary of discussions
What’s Been Happening in the WordPress World Last Month
- BuddyPress 2016 Survey Results Show 54% of Respondents are on PHP 7.0+, https://wptavern.com/buddypress-2016-survey-results-show-54-of-respondents-are-on-php-7-0
- New WordPress Plugin Shows Users Where a Plugin’s Settings Link Is Upon Activation, https://wptavern.com/new-wordpress-plugin-shows-users-where-a-plugins-settings-link-is-upon-activation
- Hacked Home Routers are Launching Brute Force Attacks on WordPress Sites, https://wptavern.com/hacked-home-routers-are-launching-brute-force-attacks-on-wordpress-sites
- Advanced WordPress Facebook Group Moves to Curb Low Quality Content with Admin-Approved Posts, https://wptavern.com/advanced-wordpress-facebook-group-moves-to-curb-low-quality-content-with-admin-approved-posts
- WordPress Editor Experience Survey Shows 75% of Respondents Don’t Use Distraction-Free Writing Mode, https://wptavern.com/wordpress-editor-experience-survey-shows-75-of-respondents-dont-use-distraction-free-writing-mode, full results here, https://make.wordpress.org/core/2017/04/07/editor-experience-survey-results/
- Yoast SEO’s PHP Upgrade Nag is Producing a Significant Increase in Sites Upgrading to PHP 7, https://wptavern.com/yoast-seos-php-upgrade-nag-is-producing-a-significant-increase-in-sites-upgrading-to-php-7
- Blog Helper: An Alexa Skill for Managing a WordPress Blog with Your Voice, https://wptavern.com/blog-helper-an-alexa-skill-for-managing-a-wordpress-blog-with-your-voice – Interesting to see where things are heading and what is possible now the REST API is available
- Manage Multiple Social Media Accounts in WordPress With Social Media Suite, https://wptavern.com/manage-multiple-social-media-accounts-in-wordpress-with-social-media-suite – While you can do this, you probably shouldn’t. There are better technologies available to manage social media accounts rather than WordPress
- 10up Releases WP Docker, an Open Source Docker Configuration for Local WordPress Development, https://wptavern.com/10up-releases-wp-docker-an-open-source-docker-configuration-for-local-wordpress-development – Docker is a system to containerise server infrastructure securely without the need for traditional Virtual Machines to be spun up
- Shopify Discontinues Its Official Plugin for WordPress, https://wptavern.com/shopify-discontinues-its-official-plugin-for-wordpress – When WooCommerce is available, this is no real surprise
- Watsonfinds WordPress Plugin Uses IBM’s Watson to Determine Most Likely Emotional Response From Readers, https://wptavern.com/watsonfinds-wordpress-plugin-uses-ibms-watson-to-determine-most-likely-emotional-response-from-readers
- 2017 Open Source Security and Risk Analysis Report Shows Widespread GPL License Conflicts, https://wptavern.com/2017-open-source-security-and-risk-analysis-report-shows-widespread-gpl-license-conflicts – Always keep your WordPress website secure
- WordCamp Europe 2017 Introduces Small Business Sponsorships, https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-europe-2017-introduces-small-business-sponsorships with full information here, https://2017.europe.wordcamp.org/2017/03/23/wordcamp-europe-2017-sponsorship-exclusively-for-small-business/
- WordPress 4.8 Will End Support for Internet Explorer Versions 8, 9, and 10, https://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-8-will-end-support-for-internet-explorer-versions-8-9-and-10 – Woo! Supporting older technologies is often more trouble than its worth where in fact it is just better to encourage your users to upgrade their systems – We’ve even seen some companies adding additional charges onto ecommerce orders for customers using older browser technologies in the form of a tax, which can be removed should they upgrade their technology – an interesting idea for sure!
- New Plugin Offers Better Plugin Recommendations in the WordPress Admin, https://wptavern.com/new-plugin-offers-better-plugin-recommendations-in-the-wordpress-admin
- WordPress 4.7.4 Fixes 47 Issues, https://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-7-4-fixes-visual-editor-incompatibility-with-upcoming-version-of-chrome – Again, keep everything up to date folks
- Google introduces new methods for search quality based on user feedback, https://blog.google/products/search/our-latest-quality-improvements-search/
- Google Maps now remembers where you parked your car, although probably best not to completely rely on this information, https://www.blog.google/products/maps/remember-where-you-parked-google-maps/
- Google has announced more changes to highlighting non-SSL websites to encourage more people to migrate to HTTPS. If you haven’t done this yet, you need to be planning this as soon as possible, detailed guidelines on how to implement this yourself can be found at the bottom of this page, https://www.contradodigital.com/2016/09/01/claim-your-free-ssl-certificates-for-https/
Thanks to Mark Wilkinson from Highrise Digital for his talk on Hidden Features Within the WordPress Admin!
The next meetup is on Wednesday 7th June, full details here, https://www.meetup.com/Blackburn-WordPress-Meetup/events/239048780/