Hi,
Last week saw the WordPress world in an uproar as WordPress.com revealed its new pricing policy. The lack of communication worsened the situation.
There is much to worry about from the security front too. SpringShell vulnerability seems to be altogether bad news.
If you find our Newsletter useful, please forward it to your friends.
See you next week.
Bye!
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📰 Latest from WordPress
- WordPress 5.9.3 is now available: This maintenance release led by Jb Audras and George Mamadashvili features 9 bug fixes in Core and 10 bug fixes in the block editor.
- Introducing WordPress Pro: One plan, infinite possibilities: The new plan from WordPress.com costs $15/month (paid annually) and has received many complaints. Matt Mullenweg has also tweeted on the issue.
- New comment-related blocks arriving with WordPress 6.0: WordPress 6.0 will attempt to tackle comments lists via the block system. Comment output is returning to templates via the block system and PHP filters are no longer required to move the layout around.
- WordPrompts from WordPress.com: After the success of Bloganuary, WP.com, introduced WordPrompt, a single-word monthly exercise that aims to inspire you to create new posts, regardless of what or how you publish.
- Grow Your Story initiative from WP.org: The project aims to highlight the unique stories of WordPress users, developers, businesses and more.
- WordPress 6.0 product walk-through: A first-of-its-kind event whereby the release squad members were joined by various contributors from Core and other teams to conduct a live walk-through of the major features in the upcoming release.
- Help test the Comments Blocks for WordPress 6.0: The results of this testing will allow the contributors behind the development of these blocks to decide whether or not they are ready to be included in the next release of WordPress (v6.0)
- Learn WordPress publishes new lesson plan: A new lesson dropped this week titled “How to use and Contribute to the WordPress Photo Directory and Openverse”.
- Return to in-person events: Share your challenges: Leave your ideas on how to overcome some of the blockers to in-person events here
- 2022 do_action WordPress Charity Hackathon (South Africa): NGO applications are now open until 30 April.
- New Google attribute helps businesses promote sustainability: Google now allows companies to appeal to eco-conscious customers by adding “recycling” to their business attributes.
- Google Multisearch: A new way to search with text & images: Google is introducing a new way to search the web using a combination of text and images at the same time. Multisearch, available as an added function in Google Lens, gives you a different way to find what you’re looking for.
- Google PaLM Algorithm: Path to next generation language models: Google announced a breakthrough in the effort to create an AI architecture. The new system is called the Pathways Language Model, referred to as PaLM.
- Google says AI-generated content is against guidelines: Content generated automatically using AI writing tools is against Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, says Search Advocate John Mueller.
- Google My Business App going away: Google is emailing users of the app notifying them that “the Google My Business app is being replaced.”
- Does word count really matter for SEO content?: Word count won’t be the factor that pushes your content to the top, but it can help you define what’s “relevant and useful” for a particular keyword.
- Google says it’s normal for cached JavaScript pages to appear empty: This is stated by Google’s Search Advocate John Mueller.
- Google Cloud launches BigLake: Google today announced the preview launch of BigLake, a new data lake storage engine that makes it easier for enterprises to analyze the data in their data warehouses and data lakes.
- Twitter confirms it’s working on an Edit Button: But first, it will go through a round of testing with premium users.
- What does Elon Musk’s Twitter look like for digital marketers?: Tesla CEO Elon Musk joins Twitter’s board of directors with a 9.2% stake. As the largest shareholder in the company, Musk will have a large role in determining the direction the company takes.
- Microsoft dogs Strontium domains to stop attacks on Ukraine: Microsoft this week seized seven internet domains run by Russia-linked threat group Strontium, which was using the infrastructure to target Ukrainian institutions as well as think tanks in the US and EU.
🚨 Web security & Vulnerabilities
- Radio Station plugin update: Since this is a security update, update your plugin.
- Google Ads experiencing latency issues: Google Ads’ recent latency and disruption issue has been ongoing since April 1. As of April 7th, the issue has seemed to be resolved for a majority of users but is still listed as an ongoing disruption.
- Critical authentication bypass vulnerability patched in SiteGround security plugin: This flaw makes it possible for attackers to gain administrative user access on vulnerable sites when two-factor authentication (2FA) is enabled but not yet configured for an administrator.
- ACF 5.12.1 patches missing authorization vulnerability: ACF’s changelog notes the fix in version 5.12.1 but doesn’t explicitly identify it as being a security fix.
- Google and Samsung start to patch ‘Dirty Pipe’ vulnerability on their phones: Dirty Pipe has now been fixed in the Linux kernel but the patch will presumably arrive in the May update. You should probably avoid installing sketchy APKs for the time being.
- SpringShell brings hell to Java Developers: Spring Framework is the world’s most popular Java framework and essentially all versions of the Spring Framework are vulnerable. Some believe it could have a larger impact than Log4j and have given it a monstrous Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) score of 9.8.
- VMware patches Spring4Shell RCE flaw: VMware has published security updates for the critical remote code execution vulnerability known as Spring4Shell, which impacts several of its cloud computing and virtualization products.
- SpringShell RCE vulnerability: Guidance for protecting against and detecting CVE-2022-22965: From Microsoft 365 Defender Threat Intelligence Team
- Finland government sites forced offline by DDoS attacks: The websites of Finland’s Defense and Foreign Affairs were taken offline today following DDoS attacks.
- XSS vulnerability patched in Directus data engine platform: Directus is an open source, modular content management system that can be used to wrap SQL databases with GraphQL and REST APIs.
- FFDroider slurps browser cookie to get inside your social media: An information stealer, FFDroider, has been stealing credentials and cookies saved in web browsers to hijack the social media accounts of targeted users.
- Lightning Stealer – New info-stealer spotted in the wild: Lightning Stealer is a .NET-based info-stealer that is capable of targeting over 30 Firefox and Chromium-based browsers.
- Chinese hackers are using VLC media player to launch malware attacks: Symantec’s cybersecurity experts say a Chinese hacking group called Cicada (aka Stone Panda or APT10) is leveraging VLC on Windows systems to launch malware used to spy on governments and related organizations.
- Parrot TDS takes over web servers and threatens millions: The newly discovered TDS is, in some aspects, similar to the Prometheus TDS that appeared in the spring of 2021.
🔌 Plugins & Themes
- Remote theme from Automattic: Remote is a dark, minimal block theme ideal for bloggers.
- Grigora Blocks starter theme: Go to block theme for bloggers, where you can start effortlessly.
- Post Modified Time Block plugin: Review from WP Tavern
- involve.me plugin: It is a no-code funnel builder that allows anyone to easily create highly customizable WordPress funnels.
- Filter Featured Image plugin: It can help you filter your post with or without featured images.
- SVG Block plugin: To display an SVG image as a block, which can be used for displaying icons and dividers.
- Bs grid system plugin: Powerful mobile-first flexbox grid to build layouts of all shapes and sizes.
- Quick QR Code plugin: It generates a QR code based on the current page URL. Each QR code is unique and will be generated on Current Page Link.
- Cacheability plugin: Cacheability improves your website loading time.
- Block Enhancements plugin: It adds more features to make core/blocks.
💵 Investments & Acquisitions
- The WP Wallpaper site joined the HeroPress network: Nick Hamze had bought it earlier from Alison Barret. HeroPress founder Topher DeRosia hopes to see every WordCamp submitting at least one wallpaper.
- WooFunnels joined the WPBeginner Growth Fund: It is the 25th brand under AwesomeMotive.
- Pokémon Go developer Niantic acquires AR focused studio NZXR: In joining Niantic, the NZXR team forms an integral part of the design and development of the multiplayer real-world AR experiences Niantic creates.
- AMD expands Data Center solutions capabilities with acquisition of Pensando: AMD announced a definitive agreement to acquire Pensando for approximately $1.9 billion before working capital and other adjustments.
♿️ Accessibility
- The WebAIM Million report 2022: In CMS system, Squarespace topped the list with least average of errors followed by Wix. Squarespace topped the eCommerce list followed by Shopify.
- Takeaways from the internet is unusable: The disabled view: From Deborah Edwards-Oñoro.
- Twitter extends its accessibility capabilities through new Alt Text feature: Users now have the ability to hover over the “ALT” badge in the corner of an exposed image on a timeline, and a description will pop up to be read out loud.
👥 Community News
- WPManageNinja turns 6 years: Happy birthday team!
- New YouTube channel from ThriveThemes: Check it out.
- Jetpack 10.8 released: The new QR Post feature automatically generates QR codes for your published posts providing more flexibility on how you can share your posts and spread the word.
- GlotPress 3.0 released: GlotPress now requires PHP 7.2 or newer and WordPress 4.6 or newer.
- SeedProd 6.11 is out: All users can now import and export SeedProd themes and landing pages.
- BP Rewrites 1.0.0 Release Candidate from BuddyPress is out: Help test it before it is released into the repository.
- Autoptimize 3.0.1 released: It contains minor fixes.
- MainWP becomes a true Privacy-First WordPress Manager: Also check the new features in MainWP 4.2
- Elegant Themes introduced Divi Cloud: This is an amazing feature for Divi freelancers and agencies, because it allows you to access, organize and share your Divi assets in the context of building a website.
- New starter site from CreativeThemes: “Cleaning Service” has floating header type of look, which can be achieved with just a few clicks around the customizer.
- WordCamp Europe second round of speakers announced: The speakers will talk about Design & Gutenberg.
- Breaking change notice from WooCommerce: Starting with WooCommerce 6.5, the woocommerce_emogrifier hook will receive an instance of CssInliner as a parameter, instead of an instance of Emogrifier
- Caldera Forms closure: Updates and support for Caldera Forms and its add-ons have now been discontinued. It is strongly recommended you find an alternative as soon as possible if you have not already.
- Post Status Career Summit sessions: Rewatch your favourite sessions that you missed.
- What might WordPress.com’s pricing changes mean for the WordPress ecosystem?: From Post Status.
- WordPress in the newsroom: Whitepaper from bigbite
- FinTech startup Fast shut down: The company founded by Domm Holland and Allison Barr Allen had raised a $102 million Series B led by Stripe
- What’s the best programming language to learn in 2022?: From Torquemag
- Finding someone else to run your company: Interview with Joe Howard, founder of WP Buffs.
- Chris Coyier talks about why he sold CSS-Tricks: From WPTavern
- Actionable tips for busy WordPress entrepreneurs: From Freemius
- Featured cover blocks and the future of binding data to generic WordPress Blocks: From Justin Tadlock of WP Tavern.
- Why WordPress MUST have a standardized framework before we move forward with Blocks: From the WP Minute.
- SEO’s Whisper Network hasn’t stopped conference harassment: On the backdrop of the news coming out of a Brighton SEO afterparty.
- The struggle of using native emoji on the web: From Nolan Lawson
- Tomaž Zaman left Codeable: He had co-founded the platform with Per Esbensen in 2013.
🛠 Guide Zone – Howto’s and More
- How to build a stunning mega menu on a WordPress website? From WPAstra
- Introduction to the Gutenberg block styles API: From Gutenberg Hub
- How to build a Post Hero Header with blocks: From WP Tavern
- How Gutenberg guardrails empower creators: Theme.json and block locking APIs in WordPress: From WP VIP
- Creating a sidebar for your posts using the Full Site Editing blank template: From WordPress.TV.
- The difference between Reusable Blocks, Block Patterns, Templates & Template Parts: From Learn WordPress team.
- How to choose the right fonts for your website: From WooCommerce
- How to improve email deliverability on WordPress.com and avoid the spam folder: From WordPress.com
- WordPress Comment Blocklist: The ultimate guide: From Akismet
- Principles of Object-oriented Programming in TypeScript: From AppSignal
- How to visualize & customize backlink analysis with Python: From SearchEngineJournal
- SFTP vs FTPS – Secure file transfer protocols explained: From WPMUDEV
📆 Save The Dates
- A11yTalks session on April 14: The session will be on “Practical styling in forced colors mode” by Mike Herchel.
- IAC22 on April 18-23: The IA conference exists to promote discourse and learning about the intentional design of information environments.
- WPEngine’s DE{CODE} 2022 on April 20-21: The virtual event is dedicated to helping developers build better WordPress experiences faster.
- Atarim Web Agency Summit 2022 on April 26th-29th: Join leading agency owners and WordPress professionals to discuss challenges and solutions together.
- Expand 2022 on April 27-28: Expand (organized by GoDaddy Pro in Orlando, FL) is an event created to connect web pros through networking, education, and fun. The theme of Expand 2022 will be Empowerment.
- The First Post Status Twitter Conference on May 24: The goal for the Post Status Twitter Conference is to have two presentations every hour from 9am – 4pm EST, around WordPress and the web industry.
- 10th Annual WordCamp Europe on 3-4 June 2022 in Porto: Tickets are available now.
- The Page Builder Summit on June 20-24: Join the VIP list to be the first to know when you can get your free ticket.
- WordCamp MontcWordCamp Montclair – June 25, 2022 — Montclair, NJlair 2022 on June 22: Call for speakers is now open.
- WordCamp US 2022 on September 9-1: The call for speakers is now open and will close on April 17, 2022.
- WordCamp Nederland 2022 in September 15 & 16: Save the dates
- Inclusive Design 24 on September 22: Call for speakers is open for the 24-hour long livestream conference.
🎁 WordPress Deals Of The Week
EXCLUSIVE DEALS
- 3 Months free offer on hosting plans of WP Engine (Coupon Code- WPE3FREE)
- 4 months FREE on annual and monthly plans at Flywheel (Coupon Code -GrowthSuiteGrow22)
OTHER DEALS
- 33% off on Managed Hosting plans at Nexcess
- 81% off at AtlasVPN
- 20% off for Fluent Forms plugin
- Upto 65% off at Formidable Forms
- 20% off for FluentCRM plugin
- 20% off for WP Social Ninja plugin
- 95% off for PitchGround products (Coupon Code – PG-LPGQ8XR36)
- 90% off WordPress Hosting plans at InMotion Hosting
- 73% off hosting plans at SiteGround
- 60% off at Hostgator India (Coupon Code – SUNSHINE)
- 75% off VPS Monthly Plans at Liquid Web
- 50% off on Managed Dedicated Server Hosting at Liquid Web
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