What’s Been Happening in the WordPress World Last Month
- VersionPress Launches VersionPress.com to Fund Open Source Project – https://wptavern.com/versionpress-launches-versionpress-com-to-fund-open-source-project
- WPForms Acquires WP Mail SMTP Plugin – https://wptavern.com/wpforms-acquires-wp-mail-smtp-plugin
- WordCamp Europe 2017 Livestream Tickets Now Available – https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-europe-2017-livestream-tickets-now-available which can be registered here, https://2017.europe.wordcamp.org/tickets/
- WP-CLI 1.2.0 Released, Project Unveils New Logo – https://wptavern.com/wp-cli-1-2-0-released-project-unveils-new-logo, for examples of how to use WP-CLI view the resources here, https://developer.wordpress.org/cli/commands/core/
- WordPress Removes HHVM from Testing Infrastructure – https://wptavern.com/wordpress-removes-hhvm-from-testing-infrastructure so be sure to test thoroughly if you are using HHVM for future as there is no guarantee that updates will work out of the box at this current time
- When upgrading to PHP7, be sure to check that everything is likely to work on your website, a handy plugin for this is PHP7 Checker Plugin, https://wordpress.org/plugins/php-compatibility-checker/
- WordPress to Select New JavaScript Framework for Use in Core – https://wptavern.com/wordpress-to-select-new-javascript-framework-for-use-in-core
- WordPress 4.8 Improves Accessibility on Admin Screens – https://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-8-improves-accessibility-on-admin-screens
- WordPress 4.8 Increases Maximum Width of the Customizer Sidebar to 600 Pixels – https://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-8-increases-maximum-width-of-the-customizer-sidebar-to-600-pixels
- Preview the next WordPress Gutenberg release that is planned, https://wpcoredesign.mystagingwebsite.com/gutenberg/
- Avada Theme Version 5.1.5 Patches Stored XSS and CSRF Vulnerabilities – https://wptavern.com/avada-theme-version-5-1-5-patches-stored-xss-and-csrf-vulnerabilities – Another reminder to always keep everything up to date at all times to patch security issues
- WordPress.com’s TV Commercials Are Confusing, apparently, https://wptavern.com/wordpress-coms-tv-commercials-are-confusing
- WordPress 4.7.5 Patches Six Security Issues, Immediate Update Recommended – https://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-7-5-patches-six-security-issues-immediate-update-recommended
- WordPress.com Experiments With Allowing Business Plan Customers to Install Third-Party Plugins and Themes – https://wptavern.com/wordpress-com-experiments-with-allowing-business-plan-customers-to-install-third-party-plugins-and-themes
- WordPress Security Issue in Password Reset Emails to Be Fixed in Future Release – https://wptavern.com/wordpress-security-issue-in-password-reset-emails-to-be-fixed-in-future-release
- Jetpack 4.9 Introduces EU Cookie Law Banner Widget – https://wptavern.com/jetpack-4-9-introduces-eu-cookie-law-banner-widget, although if this is all you need from the Jetpack Plugin, then this may be a bit overkill to use just for this feature
- WordPress Turns Age 14 – https://ma.tt/2017/05/wordpress-14/
- Google’s JamBoard is now available, https://blog.google/products/g-suite/lets-jam-jamboard-now-available/, with quite a hefty price tag, but the technology is pretty cool
- Google is bringing the speed of AMP to search & display ads – https://adwords.googleblog.com/2017/05/bringing-speed-of-amp-to-search-display.html
- Google Analytics is Enhancing Support for AMP – https://analytics.googleblog.com/2017/05/google-analytics-is-enhancing-support.html
- Google is now recommending Schema markup for job postings – https://developers.google.com/schemas/reference/types/JobPosting
- Google for Jobs Launched, an AI-Powered Job Search Tool – http://gadgets.ndtv.com/internet/news/google-io-2017-google-for-jobs-launch-search-ai-machine-learning-1695078 – Running Tendo Jobs, we’re not quite convinced Google Jobs has a long term future based on the lack of quality data powering the platform. Hence, why I believe, they are encouraging companies to use Schema markup to “Help with SEO” when in practice they are using that to capture data for companies and jobs. Unfortunately most businesses haven’t implemented Schema markup for the options that have been around for many years, so I doubt this is going to work over the long term. Time will tell.
- The Good, the Bad and the AMP – https://www.semetrical.com/the-good-the-bad-and-the-amp/ – An interesting topic discussed at the meetup and worth a read for those interested in the potential future
- People WannaCry But I’ve No Sympathy – https://www.contradodigital.com/2017/05/15/people-wannacry-but-ive-no-sympathy/ – A few thoughts on the latest global cyber attack. TL;DR, Invest in proactive security or feel the wrath of cyber criminals. It is up to you to decide to invest in cyber security or decide not to and hope that you won’t be caught up in an attack (top tip, you will be if you don’t invest in keeping your systems secure)
- Google sends out a reminder about links in large-scale article campaigns for SEO – https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2017/05/a-reminder-about-links-in-large-scale.html – TL;DR, Just don’t do it
- Make your own data gifs with our new tool from Google – https://blog.google/topics/journalism-news/make-your-own-data-gifs-our-new-too/ – Pretty cool tool that has been released which can bring data to life easier which you can use here, https://datagifmaker.withgoogle.com/edit
- Introducing Twitter Kit 3 – https://blog.twitter.com/developer/en_us/topics/tools/2017/Introducing-Twitter-Kit-3.html – Lots of new features available to embedding Twitter content into mobile apps for those interested
- Facebook tweaks Trending algorithm – https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2017/05/update-on-trending/
- BA IT systems failure: Uninterruptible Power Supply was interrupted – https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/06/02/british_airways_data_centre_configuration/ – In essence, I’m not convinced this was the issue. These systems are designed to prevent failure, not cause it. Always make sure you have invested well in any critical IT infrastructure to ensure this type of failure cannot happen.
- WordPress TV, where you can hear all about the latest WordPress related talks, https://wordpress.tv/ – Well worth a watch to continually learn new things and you may even see a few familiar faces while browsing around
- Giphy Capture – https://giphy.com/apps/giphycapture – Super handy tool for quickly creating GIFs to help with tutorial based activities and how-to style quick snippets, and for Windows users, take a look here for alternatives, http://alternativeto.net/software/giphy-capture/
- WordPress Template Hierarchy – https://developer.wordpress.org/files/2014/10/template-hierarchy.png – We’ve talked about this before, but always handy to keep referring back to this as it will help you understand how WordPress fits together and how to customise WordPress to suit your needs
The next meetup is on Wednesday 5th July, full details here, https://www.meetup.com/Blackburn-WordPress-Meetup/