Hi!

We are back from our second meetup of this year, fresh and rejuvenated and we also celebrated the 7th anniversary of our parent company Awsm Innovations. Though spread across 2 countries now, we had a great time.

WordPress 6.3 Beta 3 is now available for testing and the Command Center will be renamed to Command Palette and not as Wayfinder. Also, the Plugin review team has six new members.

You can also subscribe and listen to the podcast version of this newsletter on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

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 16.1 released

The latest version allows users to create and sync design patterns across the entire site, and access them in the Pattern Library, “Reusable blocks” have been renamed to “Patterns”, the addition of a distraction-free mode to the site editor, and includes many more additions and various bug fixes.

• WordPress 6.3 will introduce a command palette: The Command center has been renamed to Command Palette and the API for the Command Palette is now public and ready for developers to create their own custom commands.
• WordPress 6.3 Beta 3 released: The latest version is now available for download and testing. A live product demo is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, July 20, 2023, at 16:00 UTC.
• 6.3 Release parties schedule and hosts: WordPress core team member Francesca Marano has published a post that outlines the release party schedule for the upcoming WordPress 6.3 release. Depending on the circumstances the schedule may see minor changes.
• WP contributor mentorship program: Support team edition: The post by Alvaro Gómez, an Automattic-sponsored contributor discusses how to effectively implement the WP Contributor Mentorship Program in the Support team. The first cohort is scheduled to take place between July 12th and August 9th.
• Plugin review team update: The next phase begins: The plugin review team has six new members who will be contributing over 50 hours a week to the project and Mika Epstein is also stepping down from the team. Those interested in lending a helping hand and want to be a part of the plugin review effort can fill out the form which will be reviewed by the team members.
• Hallway hangout: Performance improvements for WordPress 6.3: The primary focus of this hallway hangout which will happen on July 27, at 08:30 PM GMT+5:30, will be to discuss the performance gains in the upcoming WordPress 6.3.
• Incident report: Recent cancelation of a WordCamp: The post provides a clear explanation of the circumstances that led to the cancellation of a recent WordCamp.

🗣️TALK OF THE TOWN

• Impostor pretending to be YITH is sending out DMCA notices: An ongoing issue where an unknown identity pretending to be YITH has been sending out DMCA notices to website owners who have not violated any copyright laws. The issue which started a few months ago is now affecting a wider group.

🚨WEB SECURITY & VULNERABILITIES

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

miniOrange addresses authentication bypass vulnerability in WordPress Social Login and Register WordPress plugin

The vulnerability allows an attacker to gain access to any account on a site including accounts used to administer the site, if the attacker knows, or can find, the associated email address. A fully patched version, 7.6.5, was released and users are advised to update to the latest version immediately.

• Arbitrary user password change vulnerability in LearnDash LMS WordPress plugin: This vulnerability allows any user with an existing account to reset arbitrary user passwords, including user accounts with administrative-level access. All the users are advised to update to the latest version of the plugin.
• Hacking campaign actively exploiting Ultimate Member plugin: The vulnerability will allow attackers to create new user accounts with administrative privileges, allowing them to take complete control of affected sites. All users are advised to update to the latest version immediately to patch the vulnerability.
• Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (June 19, 2023 to June 25, 2023) (June 19, 2023 to June 25, 2023): 84 vulnerabilities were disclosed in 76 WordPress Plugins and 2 WordPress themes.
• WordPress vulnerability Report – June 28, 2023: Weekly vulnerability report from ithemes
• WordPress vulnerability & patch roundup June 2023: Monthly report from Sucuri

🔌 NEW PLUGINS & THEMES

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

Gravity SMTP plugin

Gravity SMTP will allow users to send emails directly from the concerned WordPress website without depending on the default PHP Mail function. The release is now in the alpha stage and users are requested to test it out and provide feedback.

• Nimbbl for WooCommerce plugin: An all-in-one payment gateway solution plugin for WooCommerce.
• Fonts manager plugin: The plugin allows users to easily integrate and customize fonts without the need for extensive coding or web development skills.
• Ascendoor Fse theme: A block-based theme offering multiple ranges of patterns.
• Lancr theme: A minimalist, multipurpose theme with seven style variations.
• Preslav theme: A multipurpose theme with support for WooCommerce and with light and dark modes that can be toggled with a single click.

👥 COMMUNITY NEWS

Updates and News from WordPress Community

WordCamp Asia 2024 in Taiwan is now officially set!

The dates have been announced for WordCamp Asia 2024 and will be held from March 7-9, 2024 at the Taipei International Convention Center (TICC).

• Announcing the 2023 Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship Winner: The winner of the 2023 Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship is Yumi Nishioka (mimi) who is a Web/UI Designer and Developer based in Tokyo. She’s the lead organizer of WordCamp Tokyo 2019 and has been a WordPress contributor since 2018.
• Advanced Custom Fields version 6.1.7 is now available: The latest version includes new capability settings for ACF taxonomies, new filters, and various other enhancements and bug fixes.
• Yoast SEO 20.10 released: The latest release introduces an all-new support section, and various fixes and enhancements.
• Jono Alderson is leaving Yoast: After five years of working at Yoast and also serving as the Head of SEO, Jono Alderson is leaving Yoast and is moving on to new challenges.
• Expanding Atlas commerce with the Shopify Blueprint: The Atlas Shopify Blueprint is a complete storefront starter project built on Atlas and connected to the Shopify eCommerce platform, allowing users to create headless eCommerce projects without having to start from scratch.
• Wondercraft AI:  A podcast builder that leverages AI voices to let anyone go from idea to published podcast in minutes.
• Rocket.net celebrates its third birthday!: As Rocket.net celebrates its third successful year, they take a quick look at the journey so far, the obstacles they have overcome, the achievements, and what lies ahead.
• Unlimited Elements 4th birthday sale!: On the occasion of completing four successful years and to celebrate this milestone, Unlimited Elements is offering a 50% discount on all of their pricing plans for a limited-time offer.

🔖INTERESTING READS & PODCASTS

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

• WordPress and AI: A case study: From Mike Reid
• Why did I build WordPress Playground? It was easier than installing WordPress: From Adam Zieliński
• 5 steps to a better ecommerce checkout process: From Iconic
• Proxyjacking: The latest cybercriminal side hustle: From Akamai
• James Dominy on why AI is to be embraced, not feared: From WP Tavern Jukebox
• What is on-page SEO?: From Yoast
• Don’t call it Gutenberg anymore (unless you actually mean to): From OllieWP
• Why WordPress malware scanners are worthless: From ithemes
• How to overcome imposter syndrome in SEO and digital marketing: From Search Engine Land
• 5 SEO techniques to grow organic traffic: From Search Engine Journal
• Deno vs Node.js: The rundown on two runtimes: From Kinsta
• Sustainability isn’t someone else’s weather: From Caspar

🛠 GUIDE ZONE – HOWTO’S and MORE

Handpicked fresh guides from WordPress circle

• Developing for multisite: From Learn WordPress
• How to start using WordPress Playground: From Learn WordPress
• WPPhotos moderator training: From Learn WordPress
• How to programmatically add a block in the WordPress block editor: From Igor Benić
• Developer hours: Exploring editor extensibility: From WordPress TV
• Spamdexing: What is SEO spam & how to remove it: From Sucuri
• How to improve first input delay (FID) in WordPress: From Jetpack
• How to improve largest contentful paint (LCP) on WordPress: From Jetpack
• How to modify WordPress block themes (JSON beginner’s guide): From Torque
• How to add text outline with CSS: From Kinsta
• The absolute beginner’s guide to CSS: From HTML basics to WordPress customization: From Pootlepress

📆 SAVE THE DATES

Do not miss a WordPress event ever again

• WordCamp Iloilo on July 8, 2023: Call for sponsors is now open.
• WordCamp Bengaluru on July 29, 2023: Call for speakers and sponsors is now open.
• WordCamp Kampala on August 5-6, 2023: Tickets are out.
• The WordPress Community Summit on August 22-23, 2023: The Community Summit is an “unconference,” without slides, selected speakers, or planned presentations. 
• WordCamp US 2023 on Aug 24-26, 2023: Call for sponsors is now open.
• WordCamp Kathmandu on September 8-9, 2023: Call for sponsors is now open.
• WordCamp Masaka on October 6-7, 2023: Tickets are available now.
• WordCamp Deutschland 2023 on Oct 19-21, 2023: Call for speakers is now open.

🎁 WORDPRESS DEALS OF THE WEEK

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

EXCLUSIVE DEALS

• 4 Months free offer on hosting plans of WP Engine (Coupon Code- FREEDOMTOCREATE)
• 15% off yearly plans at Videvo (Coupon Code – WPV15)

OTHER DEALS

• 50% discount on yearly and lifetime plans on Variable Inspector Pro
• Up to 50% off on plugins & PHP scripts at CodeCanyon
• Up to 40% off for CartFlows
• Up to 75% off on plugins, themes and hosting at WP Hive
• 50% off Web Hosting Packages at StableHost (Coupon Code – 50OFFYEAR1)
• 80% off for plugins at WPPool
• Up to 75% off hosting plans at HostPapa
• 50% off for Advanced Giftcards for WooCommerce plugin
• 55% off for Annual Hosting plans at Nexcess
• 85% off at AtlasVPN 
• 30% 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 65% off WordPress Hosting plans at InMotion Hosting
• 73% off hosting plans at SiteGround
• 60% off at Hostgator India
• Up to 85% off on VPS plans at Liquid Web (Coupon Code – SUMMER85VPS)
• 50% off on Managed Dedicated Server Hosting at Liquid Web

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