This Week in WordPress #158

Welcome

Issue #158

Another week, and we're bringing you the latest WordPress news from the last seven days, including...

We would like to dedicate this episode to the memory of Puneet Sahalot who sadly passed this week
Wix got into trouble for the 'interesting' advertising campaign
Kadence Themes / Blocks was bought by iThemes
Full Site Editing needs your help and Anne is here to tell you how you can do that...

There's a whole lot more than this, as there is each and every week, and you can find all that by scrolling down and clicking on the links!

This Week in WordPress

This Week in WordPress #158 - "Wixing your metaphors"

Recorded on Monday 29th March 2021. With Nathan Wrigley, Anne McCarthy and Joe Casabona.

Each week we discuss some of the the stories (from below) which captured our attention. It's like this newsletter but with real people!

If you ever want to join us live you can do that every Monday at 2pm UK time on the WP Builds LIVE page.

WordPress Core

Full Site Editing Scope for WP5.8

"The first go/no go date is next week (April 14, 2021), and I’d like to offer a roadmap and some high level clarifications for folks following along..."

Calling All Themers: Design the Next Round of Query Block Patterns

"The Gutenberg plugin repository currently has an open ticket calling for community-contributed Query block patterns. These would launch alongside Full Site Editing’s inclusion in WordPress, which could be as soon as version 5.8 — no hard decision has been made on that yet. Some may not end up bundled directly in WordPress but could be included in the upcoming pattern directory..."

The Month in WordPress: March 2021

"WordPress version 5.7 “Esperanza,” came out on March 9. The release offers fresher admin colors, several improvements to the block editor, single-click HTTP to HTTPS migration, and a new Robots API. Read more about it in the release post, the field guide, and the talking points post for meetup groups. The Core Team has also started work on WordPress 5.8 pre-planning..."

Community

The Page Builder Summit 2.0!

The Page Builder Summit is returning 10th - 14th May 2021! Join the VIP list to be the first to know when you can get your free ticket and make huge progress in streamlining and simplifying WordPress website builds!

Wix’s Negative Advertising Campaign Falls Flat with WordPress Developers and Professionals

"Wix has launched a negative advertising campaign targeting WordPress, following a bizarre marketing stunt where the company shipped out Bose headphones to influential WordPress community members. Recipients were puzzled, because it appeared the company was wasting its marketing budget on people who were not likely to be swayed by the campaign..."

Yes, Comments Are Still Relevant, But We Need a Better System

"More and more, open comments are becoming a thing of the past. Large news organizations have kicked them to the curb. Frustrated bloggers who no longer desire all of the hassles with moderation shut down their forms. The conversations have moved to corporate-controlled social media..."

Plugins / Themes / Blocks

Kadence WP is Joining the iThemes Family!

"We believe Kadence WP is the future of WordPress themes and page building with WordPress. This means that we will finally sunset iThemes Builder and our legacy themes at the beginning of 2022, as we now have a superior solution to replace our original themes that are no longer truly compatible with the future direction of WordPress..."

AB Split Test v1.1.0 Product Tour

AB Split Test updated to version 1.1.0 with Full Page Testing!

Display Dynamic Content Using Kadence Blocks

"Toolset 1.5 brings deep integration with Kadence Blocks plugin. Learn how to use these great new features..."

Twentig Now Upgrades the Twenty Twenty-One Theme Experience

"Twentig, the brainchild of sibling co-founders Diane and Yann Collet, now supports the Twenty Twenty-One theme. The developers originally built the plugin, which is hosted on WordPress.org, around the idea of “supercharging” Twenty Twenty. After its initial success, they have turned their sights onto the most recent default theme, adding a slew of new features over the past few months..."

The Michelle WordPress Theme Launches With Dozens of Block Patterns and Styles

"Oliver Juhas recently released his sixth theme to the WordPress community for free. Michelle is a block-ready theme. However, it also supports Beaver Builder, Elementor, and other page-building plugins..."

Disable the WordPress Block Editor’s Fullscreen Mode With a Plugin

"On Wednesday, Johan Jonk Stenström released Fullscreen Mode B Gone to the WordPress plugin directory. As the catchy title implies, it gets rid of the block editor’s fullscreen mode..."

Security

WordPress Vulnerability News, April 2021

"In April we have listed 6 vulnerable plugins and themes that affected more than 70 000 sites. This year we have listed 112 vulnerable plugins and themes that affect more than 16 million sites..."

Vulnerabilities Patched in WP Page Builder

"On February 15, 2021, the Wordfence Threat Intelligence team began the responsible disclosure process for several vulnerabilities in WP Page Builder, a plugin installed on over 10,000 sites. These vulnerabilities allowed any logged-in user, including subscribers, to access the page builder’s editor and make changes to existing posts on the site by default. Additionally, any logged-in user could add malicious JavaScript to any post, potentially resulting in site takeover..."

WP Builds

'H' is for Health - WP Builds Weekly WordPress Podcast #224

This is another A-Z of WordPress where we attempt to cover all the major aspects of building and maintaining sites with WordPress. Today is H for… Health. Not your health, although that’s important. This is about your WordPress websites, and how healthy they are.

Not WordPress, but useful anyway…

Muons: 'Strong' evidence found for a new force of nature

"From sticking a magnet on a fridge door to throwing a ball into a basketball hoop, the forces of physics are at play in every moment of our lives. All of the forces we experience every day can be reduced to just four categories: gravity, electromagnetism, the strong force and the weak force. Now, physicists say they have found possible signs of a fifth fundamental force of nature..."

Are You One Of The 533 Million Facebook Users Who Had Their Data Stolen?

"Facebook calls recent data leak ‘old news.’ Discover why the information is still valuable to cybercriminals and whether your data was stolen..."