Issue #179 | July 16, 2024 | Reading time: 13 mins
Hello!
WordPress 6.6 is expected to arrive later today with a host of new features and improvements. Also, community help is needed to QA/test the upcoming new website for Learn WordPress.
Don’t forget to subscribe and listen to the podcast version of this newsletter on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts, where you can hear more details and discussions about these topics and more.
See you next week!
Team WP-CONTENT.CO
This weekly newsletter is kindly sponsored by Omnisend and WP Job Openings
📰 WORDPRESS & AROUND
All the updates around WordPress and its closely related technologies
This is an unplanned RC and does not change the general WordPress 6.6 release date, which is scheduled for July 16, 2024. This RC focuses on two editor reverts and one standard task.
- WordPress 6.6 release day process: Meher Bala, the release coordinator of WordPress 6.6 has shared the release process, including the timeline and how users can help.
- Hallway Hangout: Let’s chat about what’s next in Gutenberg (August 2024): The upcoming Hallway Hangout scheduled to take place on August 15, 2024, will focus on what’s being worked on in the Gutenberg plugin to provide broader awareness to more WordPress contributors and get feedback.
- Let’s start testing Learn.WordPress.org: The new Learn.WordPress.org is launching soon and help is needed from the community members to QA/test the new site.
- How we built it: my.blog: The team at WordPress.com explains how they created my.blog in 2016 after they launched the .blog domain and how they gave the website a revamp after 8 years.
- Google AI Overviews only show for 7% of queries, a new low: Some of the biggest visibility drops were on education, entertainment, and e-commerce queries. Reddit and Quora are almost never cited anymore.
- Google’s now translating SERPs into more languages: Google announced they’re translating search results into 8 more languages, giving publishers an opportunity to increase traffic globally.
- Meta pushes GA4 integration, boasts 22% conversion boost: Meta is encouraging advertisers to integrate their Google Analytics 4 (GA4) data with their advertising accounts. Based on recent experimental data, the company claims this integration could improve campaign performance, citing a 22% conversion increase.
🚨WEB SECURITY & VULNERABILITIES
A collection of web security and vulnerability news and updates for the past week
This vulnerability makes it possible for an authenticated attacker, with subscriber-level access and above, to grant themselves administrative privileges by updating user metadata was patched recently.
- Critical vulnerability patched in Backup and Staging by WP Time Capsule plugin: An unauthenticated broken authentication and privilege escalation vulnerability that allows any unauthenticated user to login into the site as an administrator with a single request has been patched recently.
- WordPress vulnerability report — July 10, 2024: Weekly vulnerability report from SolidWP.
- Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (July 1, 2024 to July 7, 2024): There were 121 vulnerabilities disclosed in 91 plugins and 18 themes.
- node-ip maintainer restores GitHub repo after archiving due to overblown CVE rating: The maintainer of the node-ip project restored the GitHub repo after disputing an exaggerated CVE rating, highlighting the impact of bogus CVEs on open source projects.
🔌 NEW PLUGINS & THEMES
Be one of the first ones to explore some fresh plugins and themes
- MyMenu theme: A theme suitable for restaurant owners.
- Lavisto theme: A theme suitable for hotels, resorts, and cafes.
- AnimatePress plugin: The plugin allows users to add seamless transition effects between their pages with over twenty captivating effects.
- Page Preview plugin: The plugin provides a visual enhancement to your WordPress dashboard by automatically adding screenshot of your published pages directly in the post listings.
- auto-sizes plugin renamed to Enhanced Responsive Images: The WordPress Performance team also released a set of updates including optimizations for image `sizes` attributes. This plugin implements experimental enhancements for the responsive images functionality in WordPress.
💵 INVESTMENTS, ACQUISITIONS & PARTNERSHIPS
- BuddyBoss has been acquired by Awesome Motive: BuddyBoss which allows users to create a private community with social networking groups, forum discussions, online courses, and more has been acquired by Awesome Motive.
- Liquid Web and Malwarebytes partner to strengthen hosting security with cutting-edge solutions: Through this partnership, Liquid Web will leverage the ThreatDown multi-tenant console to integrate Endpoint Detection and Response into its packages, ensuring customers benefit from additional security measures as part of a larger initiative to enhance all existing security packages.
👥 COMMUNITY NEWS
Updates and News from the WordPress Community
The Ollie Pro plugin has been released and aims to take site building to the next level with a growing library of expertly designed WordPress patterns.
- Cwicly is now free for all: Visitors to the Cwicly website received a pleasant surprise last week, as the home page was updated and Cwicly is now available for free download. The total number of downloads has already crossed over 1500+. Cwicly’s founder Louis-Alexander Désiré also shared in Discord that Cwicly will be coming to the WordPress plugin directory soon.
- WS Form unveils revolutionary OpenAI powered feature: AI-generated Forms: Leveraging the power of OpenAI, WS Form now offers an AI-generated Forms feature, allowing users to effortlessly create customized forms with a single click.
- 000webhost is shutting down: After 17 years, 000webhost, a free web hosting brand powered by Hostinger, is shutting down its operations. The service is no longer accepting new users and is set for complete closure on Oct 14, 2024.
- WooCommerce 9.1.2: Dot release: This release includes a fix for a separator issue in the flat rate shipping inputs. The WooCommerce team also released a developer advisory concerning the minimum version requirements on Woo-developed extensions. As per the advisory, the users are to have at least the minimum versions of PHP >= 7.4, WooCommerce >= 8.2, and WordPress >= 6.2.
- WordPress Security Survey 2024 from Melapress: The survey is open to all WordPress website owners and administrators and will be available until July 20th. The participants will also stand to enter into a draw to win one of four Yubikeys.
- The small business accessibility playbook for WordPress: Equalize Digital has teamed up with WP Buffs to create the ultimate guide to website accessibility for small businesses with WordPress websites. This 44-page ebook will guide you through ensuring your website complies with accessibility laws, reducing the risk of lawsuits, and converting more customers.
- Girls in Tech announces closure: After Women Who Code, Girls in Tech has also announced the end of their journey after 17 years.
- Matt Cromwell has provided a glimpse into the various developments at SolidWP: Matt Cromwell the Senior Director of Customer Experience at StellarWP has provided us an update with the all-new developments at SolidWP. A new backup solution is coming, free email and SEO tools are also coming, and the beta testing of their free page caching plugin, Solid Performance is now available.
- 13 years of contributing to WordPress: Peter Wilson recounts his 13 years of contributing to the WordPress project. Over the years he received props 1714 times across the WordPress-Develop and Gutenberg repositories, made 696 commits to the WordPress-Develop repository, opened 247 tickets, and more.
- Liquid Web website got a revamp: The refreshed design brings new help content and search functions, streamlined navigation, a new interface, and a dedicated section that highlights the various hosting solutions, help, and content.
🔖 INTERESTING READS & PODCASTS
More posts and podcasts from the WordPress Community you don’t want to miss
- WordPress wisdom: Matt Mullenweg’s top tips for product success: From WP Product Talk
- How to explain WordPress maintenance to your clients: From Speckyboy
- How we created Hyve, an AI chatbot for WordPress: From Themeisle
- Using WordPress often means subscriptions – A lot of them: From The WP Minute
- The future of WordPress w/ Kevin Geary: From The WP Minute
- Rian Rietveld on understanding the European Accessibility Act and its impact on websites: From WP Tavern Jukebox
- Will WordPress 6.6 have components?: From Brian Coords
- Should the WP Tavern re-position itself?: From WP BizDev
- New class action lawsuit against AccessiBe: From Lainey Feingold
- Handling 30 million users and staying financially sustainable – Interview with Marieke van de Rakt: From Osom to Know
- Complete guide to WooCommerce shortcodes: From Kinsta
🛠 GUIDE ZONE – HOWTO’S and MORE
Handpicked fresh guides from WordPress circle
- Adding custom user roles using a WordPress plugin: From WordPress.tv
- Section Styles: Efficient and flexible styling for block themes: From WP Development Courses
- How to configure WordPress Content Security Policy Headers: From Melapress
- Creating a page to display WooCommerce order details by order ID: From Kinsta
📆 SAVE THE DATES
Do not miss a WordPress event ever again
- .edu: WordPress in higher education by Human Made and WP Campus on July 18, 2024: This a virtual event and the registrations are now open.
- Stellar Spark on July 19, 2024: A free online event with a focus on growth, creativity, collaboration, and more. The full schedule is now available.
- WordCamp Bengaluru on July 21, 2024: The call for speakers and sponsors is now open. The tickets are also now available.
- do_action Ahmedabad on July 27, 2024: The call for sponsors and charity organization applications is now open.
- WordSesh 2024 on July 30: The registrations are now open.
- WordCamp US on 17-20 September 2024: The tickets are now available.
- WordCamp Netherlands on 27-28 September 2024: The call for speakers is now open.
- WordCamp Nagpur on September 28, 2024: The call for sponsors is now open.
- WordPress Accessibility Day on Oct 9-10, 2024: The call for speakers and volunteers is now open.
- WordCamp Asia on February 20-22, 2025: The venue will be the Philippine International Convention Center, Manila, Philippines. The call for speakers is now open.
- WordCamp Europe on 5-7 June 2025: The call for organizers is now open.
🎁 WORDPRESS DEALS OF THE WEEK
Again, these are the best deals of the week, handpicked by yours!
EXCLUSIVE DEALS
MORE DEALS
- 40% off for 4 months on all hosting plans + 40 free migrations at Cloudways (Coupon Code – BFCM4040)
- 53% off for NordLocker
- Up to 50% off on EchoRewards PRO.
- Up to 75% off on plugins, themes and hosting at WP Hive
- 50% off on the Thrive Suite yearly plan.
- 50% off Web Hosting Packages at StableHost (Coupon Code – 50OFFYEAR1)
- 80% off for plugins at WPPool
- Up to 77% off hosting plans at HostPapa
- 50% off for Advanced Giftcards for WooCommerce plugin
- Upto 55% off hosting plans at Nexcess
- 20% off for Fluent Forms plugin
- 50% off at Formidable Forms
- 20% off for FluentCRM plugin
- 50% off for WP Social Ninja plugin
- Upto 95% off for PitchGround products
- Upto 69% off WordPress Hosting plans at InMotion Hosting
- 83% off hosting plansat SiteGround
- 60% off at Hostgator India (Coupon Code- SUNSHINE)
- Up to 74% off at Liquid Web
- 52% off on Managed Dedicated Server Hosting at Liquid Web
Latest from WP-CONTENT.CO
Visitors to the Cwicly website received a pleasant surprise yesterday: the Home page was updated and Cwicly is…
WordPress 6.6 “Dorsey”, the second major release of 2024 has finally arrived. This release brings various improvements to…
WordPress 6.5.5 was launched on June 24, 2024. This short-cycle release led by Aaron Jorbin, addresses three security…
For your website visitors, broken links will result in a 404 page and a bit of extra time…
Team WP-CONTENT.CO
Issue #179 | July 16, 2024 | Reading time: 13 mins
This weekly newsletter is kindly sponsored by Omnisend and WP Job Openings
Built with Newsletter Glue.