Hi!

History is all set to repeat itself, as WordPress is gearing up for a complete women and nonbinary release squad. A couple of acquisitions have also taken place.

Until next week,

Bye!

Team WP-CONTENT.CO

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📰 WordPress & Around

All the updates around WordPress and its closely related technologies

Gutenberg 15.5 released

The latest version of Gutenberg is here and packs in some new features. The latest iteration supports patterns as template starters, style captions via the styles interface, experimental grid layout support,  and a post-modified date variation for the post date block.

• Preparing for the next women & nonbinary release squad: WordPress 6.4 will be run entirely by a women and nonbinary release squad. The last WordPress release that saw such an initiative was WordPress 5.6 “Simone”.  Also, volunteers are needed for WordPress 6.3 with the tentative release month being July.
• WordPress 6.2 performance improvements for all themes: WordPress 6.2 has drastically improved the loading times for both Classic and Block themes. The server-side performance has also seen a boost when compared to the previous version.
• WordPress.com’s Twitter functionality is restored: WordPress.com’s access to Twitter API functionality has been reestablished after being completely blocked out all of a sudden.
• Jetpack Social’s Twitter functionality is restored: The issue revolving around the Twitter API access and functionality outage experienced by Jetpack Social has been resolved.
• Preferred languages feature plugin needs testing: Pascal Birchler is calling out to users to test out the latest version of the Prefered Languages plugin. The latest version of the plugin introduced new changes and testing is needed, as it is close to a core merge proposal.
• WordPress mobile apps get a new support forum: The new support forum for WordPress mobile apps will be on WordPress.org and not on WordPress.com. This is also beneficial in another way, as the forum is now public all the users can help each other out, go through old threads, and so on.
• Introducing the Advanced Administration handbook: As a part of recategorization several developer-focused articles have been moved and they are now a part of the Advanced Administration handbook.
• WordPress developers are experimenting with Gutenberg-Native AI block and content assistants: WordPress developers have started exploring different ways to integrate AI natively into the block editor. This effort will result in enhancing the overall capabilities of the block editor.
• WordPress.org redesign update: The redesign process that was halted since March will be starting once again later this month. An update on the progress of the redesign has also been published and details on how the community can participate are also given.
• WP20 celebrations – join in the party – online & in-person: WordPress is turning 20 and there are several ways you can celebrate it. Be it online or in-person the Meetup Organiser Handbook has all the resources you need to plan and celebrate this milestone.
• Italy bans ChatGPT: A ban has been placed on ChatGPT usage in Italy. The reason why the ban has been implemented is that ChatGPT violated various privacy rules regarding personal data collection.

🚨WEB SECURITY & VULNERABILITIES

A collection of web security and vulnerability news and updates for the past week

Balada Injector: synopsis of a massive ongoing WordPress malware campaign

Sucuri has provided a deep insight into a long-running WordPress malware campaign and how it operates.

• Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (Mar 27, 2023 to Apr 2, 2023): 82 vulnerabilities were found in 70 WordPress plugins and in one theme.
• WordPress vulnerability report – April 5, 2023: Weekly vulnerability report from ithemes.

🔌 NEW PLUGINS & THEMES

Be one of the first ones to explore some fresh plugins and themes

BizBoost theme

A multipurpose WordPress block theme with a dark and minimal design. The theme has 12+ block patterns, 15 FSE templates, and 8 template parts.

• Creative Blocks theme: A theme with 5 style variations and is based on the Twenty-twenty three theme.
• Roven blog theme: A lightweight, customizable theme with RTL support and is also AMP ready.
• Website screenshot to media library plugin: The plugin allows users to quickly add a webpage screenshot to the media library.
• YayPricing – WooCommerce dynamic pricing & discount plugin: A pricing and discount plugin for WooCommerce. Users can also create promotional campaigns with it.
• WebP Uploads plugin: The plugin adds WebP support for media uploads.

💸 INVESTMENTS, ACQUISITIONS & PARTNERSHIPS

• LearnDash acquires Real Big Plugins collection: LearnDash has acquired Real Big Plugins collection of add-ons including Gradebook for LearnDash, LearnDash Slack, LearnDash MailChimp, and LearnDash ConvertKit.
• WPExperts acquires Payment Plans WC: The popular Payment Plans WC plugin has been acquired by WPExperts. The plugin allows customers to use the “buy now and pay later” option.

👥 COMMUNITY NEWS

Updates and News from WordPress Community

ACF 6.1 Release – custom post type and taxonomy registration, improved field type selection and more

After a long wait, ACF now allows users to create custom post types and taxonomies. There are other additions such as a new browse field, an option to filter field settings tabs, and so on.

• Oxygen 4.6 Beta 2 is now available: This is a bug-fix-focused release with few improvements and enhancements.
• WooCommerce 7.6 Release Candidate 2:  WooCommerce 7.6 is all set to be released on April 11, 2023, and the latest RC version is live for testing.
• Introducing the innovative Kadence Design Library: revolutionizing the world of design patterns: Kadence WP has introduced a new design library with the sole aim of improving the design process stage. The library apart from offering design patterns also allows inheriting theme colors and fonts.
• Say hello to GutenbergHub Shop: your one-stop place for Gutenberg goodness: A one-stop destination for everything related to Gutenberg. From covering a wide range of topics, tricks, and tutorials to being a hub for premium products related to the block editor and also the presence of a community where you can discuss everything and anything related to Gutenberg.
• ColossalChat is here, Open Source’s first major AI chatbot: ColossalChat the first open-source chatbot is now live. It uses an RHLF pipeline similar to OpenAI’s GPT-4 model and let’s hope more open-source chatbots will come in the future.
• Personalized coupon codes for WordCamps: A new plugin has been developed by Vagelis Papaioannou that generates personalized coupon codes for WordCamps. This is a great initiative as it reduces the workload of the organizers.
• The Team Experience Index benchmark survey for WordPress: The first-ever comprehensive survey designed specifically for the WordPress ecosystem. The initial results of the Team Experience Index will be released during WordCamp Europe in Athens this coming June.
• A short recap of Elementor Q2-2023 roadmap event: Elementor has given us a glimpse of the new features and improvements that will be arriving soon. One of the most talked about upcoming features is the implementation of AI into Elementor.
• AI Buddy- AI content generator for WordPress: An all-new AI content creator from Stylemix themes powered by Open AI is here. Users can generate both content and images in an instant and also have the ability to choose the style and tone.
• Jeff Chandler is joining StellarWP: Jeff Chandler the founder of WP Tavern has made it official that he is joining StellarWP as a marketing Generalist.

🔖INTERESTING READS & PODCASTS

More blog posts and podcasts from WordPress Community you don’t want to miss

• Phase 3 of the WordPress enigmatic gutenverse: From WPwatercooler
• Why you should care how green your website is: From Yoast
• What are the main checklist for creating a WordPress site? From What WordPress Experts Are Saying
• Hacked Website Threat Report – 2022: From Sucuri
• Steve Persch and Brian Perry on how hosting is changing: From WP Tavern Jukebox
• WordPress Plugins With AI: A curated list of WordPress plugins that have incorporated the use of AI.
• Friday long read: what to do about AI: From Wordfence
• Recent Cyber Attacks – 2023: From Astra Security
• Staging and launching a site: From Search Off the Record
• 5 Latest translation plugins for WordPress: From Torque
• 6 Best WooCommerce product search plugins in 2023: From Jetpack
• WordPress 6.2, Gutenberg 15.4 and 15.5, Phase 3 – collaboration and a new Interactivity API: From Gutenberg Changelog
• Compiled list of data breaches: From Astra Security
• Why developers should use SVG files: From Delicious Brains
• Little things that hamper the user experience: From Speckyboy
• Entity SEO: The definitive guide: From Search Engine Land
• Web Developer Services Market 2023 Size and Forecast to 2031: From MarketWatch
• Google to sunset 4 attribution models in Ads and Analytics: From Search Engine Land

🛠 GUIDE ZONE – HOWTO’S and MORE

Handpicked fresh guides from WordPress circle

• Creating custom Post Types with Advanced Custom Fields: From David McCan
• How to write the best email subject lines and boost engagement: From MailerLite
• WordPress GitHub Integration: From Kinsta
• Elementor AI – The Game Changer: From The Creative Arena
• Converting a shortcode to a block: From Learn WordPress
• Extending WordPress: common security vulnerabilities: From Learn WordPress
• How to stop bad bots: A guide for WordPress users: From ithemes
• Atarim And Visual Composer Integration For WordPress: From Visual Composer
• How to translate a WordPress theme or plugin with Loco Translate: From WP Marmite
• What is Hotlinking and How to Prevent it in WordPress: From FixRunner
• Keyword Clustering: 3 Simple Ways to Do It: From Ahrefs Blog

📆 SAVE THE DATES

Do not miss a WordPress event ever again

• WordCamp Sofia on April 22 & 23: The call for speakers is out now.
• Web Agency Summit by Atarim on April 25-28, 2023: The online event will feature over 40+ WordPress experts, Disruptors and Thought Leaders.
• YoastCon 2023 on May 10 & 11: It’s a two-day interactive conference focused on search engine optimization and online marketing. 
• php[tek] 2023 on May 16-18, 2023: It is the longest-running web developer conference in the United States that focuses on the PHP programming language.
• WordCamp Lisboa on May 19 & 20: It is one of the largest WordPress conferences in Portugal.
• WordCamp Europe 2023 on June 8-10, 2023: Tickets are available now.
• Call for Mentors – WordCamp Europe 2023: Call for speaker mentors is out.
• The WordPress Community Summit on August 22-23, 2023: In the early planning stages, the Community Summit is an “unconference,” without slides, selected speakers, or planned presentations. 

🎁 WORDPRESS DEALS OF THE WEEK

Just the best deals of the week, again, handpicked by yours truly!

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• Up to 50% off on plugins & PHP scripts at CodeCanyon
• Up to 40% off on Astra theme
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• 50% off Web Hosting Packages at StableHost (Coupon Code – 50OFFYEAR1)
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• 50% off for Advanced Giftcards for WooCommerce plugin
• 33% off for Annual Hosting plans at Nexcess
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• 30% off for Fluent Forms plugin
• 50% off at Formidable Forms
• 20% off for FluentCRM plugin
• 50% off for WP Social Ninja plugin 
• 10% Store Wide Discount for PitchGround products (Coupon Code – PG-D7WCAD75F)
• 68% off WordPress Hosting plans at InMotion Hosting
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• 60% off at Hostgator India
• 75% off VPS Monthly Plans at Liquid Web
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