Hi,

WordPress 6.1 is finally out! Named after Soviet-Norwegian jazz pianist Mikhail “Misha” Alperin, this is the final release of 2022. Unfortunately, it has broken the group block and you may find this newsletter’s format not perfect.

Also Black Friday is around the corner. Look out for some nice deals.

Also please let us know how you find this newsletter.

Bye!

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📰 WordPress & Around

• WordPress 6.1 “Misha” released: The name is inspired by the life and work of Soviet-Norwegian jazz pianist Mikhail “Misha” Alperin. It introduces new default theme and fluid typography, expands design tools and template options. It’s now compatible with PHP 8.2, and compatibility with 8.0 and 8.1 has improved.
• WordPress 6.1 retires default site tagline in favor of empty string: WordPress’ default site tagline, “Just another WordPress site,” is now a thing of the past, though not yet fully retired to the realm of nostalgia. The recent 6.1 release resolved a ticket that lead developer Mark Jaquith opened 15 years ago to encourage people to change their taglines. 
• Site Editor: a more user-friendly name: In July 2022, the WordPress community participated in a lively discussion around a more user-friendly name to give the suite of features and tools known as Full Site Editor. With community feedback in mind, it will be referred to as the “Site Editor,” from now on. 
• WordPress 6.1.1 Planning: Jeff Paul & Jonathan Desrosiers are planning to lead a 6.1.1 release for some fast-follow items that came up near the end of the 6.1 release cycle.
• What does a truly sustainable WordPress community look like to you?: As per Matt’s suggestion,  a new sustainability channel in the Making WordPress Slack group was setup and Contributors from the whole WordPress community are invited to share their visions about a truly sustainable WordPress community
• Google pulls the plug on Hangouts: Google has finally ended Hangouts for good. The app, which has been Google’s primary messaging platform since 2013, will redirect users to Google Chat. Also Google Ads Liaison Ginny Marvin confirmed that Google will phase out similar audiences targeting in 2023.
• Google predicts strength of backlinks ranking factor will drop: As Google becomes more adept at understanding how content fits in with the rest of the web, Google Search Advocate John Mueller suggests Google’s algorithm won’t have to rely so much on inbound links.
• TikTok should be banned, says US FCC Commissioner: TikTok could be facing a ban in the United States after a commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) raised concerns over national security. New TikTok privacy policy also confirms Chinese staff can access European users’ data
• Instagram launches new ways for creators to earn revenue: Subscriptions are expanding to all eligible US creators, and Instagram is introducing a tool for making and selling digital collectibles.
• Microsoft sued for open-source piracy through GitHub Copilot: Programmer and lawyer Matthew Butterick has sued Microsoft, GitHub, and OpenAI, alleging that GitHub’s Copilot violates the terms of open-source licenses and infringes the rights of programmers.
• Facebook parent Meta is preparing large-scale layoffs this week: Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has said he expects the metaverse investments to take about a decade to bear fruit. In the meantime, he has had to freeze hiring, shutter projects and reorganize teams to trim costs.
• Substack sets its sights on Twitter with new chat feature: This move positions Substack as a direct competitor to Twitter, which is experiencing turmoil in the wake of Elon Musk’s acquisition and subsequent firing of top executives.
• Twitter sued by former staff as Elon Musk begins mass sackings: Musk’s plans to cut up to 3,700 staff may hit a roadblock, as a lawsuit was filed in the US federal court in San Francisco seeking orders for Twitter to comply with the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. To add to the confusion, Twitter then asked some laid off workers to come back.

• Twitter users jump to Mastodon: In the wake of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, some users have been seeking alternative platforms. One of the biggest beneficiaries has been Mastodon. The social network says it now has over 655,000 users – with over 230,000 having joined in the last week.

🗣️Talk of the Town

🎉WordPress 6.1 “Misha”

• Performance improvements in WordPress 6.1: From YoastSEO
• Contribution Stats for WordPress 6.1 Misha: From J B Audras
• The technical highlights of what’s new in WordPress 6.1: Twitter thread from Rich Tabor
• A walk-through of layout classes in WordPress 6.1: From Gutenberg Times
• Some profiling on WordPress 6.1 compared to 5.9 and 6.0: Twitter thread from Jonny Harris

• WordPress 6.1 contained critical, breaking issues with WPML: They have released WPML 4.5.13 and String Translation 3.2.3 to fix these.

🚨Web Security & Vulnerabilities

• Google fixed a bug with some search features that may impact your site’s visibility: Google has confirmed it has fixed a bug that affected some search features, such as the top stories section.
• WordPress Vulnerability Report – November 2, 2022: Regular report from iThemes
• Gatsby patches SSRF, XSS bugs in Cloud Image CDN: A high-risk bug in the Gatsby Cloud Image CDN service allowed attackers to stage server-side request forgery (SSRF) and cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks against some cloud-hosted Gatsby websites.
• Musk’s Twitter-Verification payment tease spurs cyberattackers: A proposed plan to charge users for the platform’s coveted blue check mark has, unsurprisingly, inspired attackers to try to dupe people into giving up their credentials.

🔌 New Plugins & Themes

• Oaknut Theme: A new profile block theme from Anders Norén reminiscent of services like Linktree and Carrd. The theme is for users who want a simple profile landing page with relevant social and work links.
• X3P0 Progress plugin: A block by Justin Tadlock that allows users to create progress bars using a straightforward interface.
• WP Rankings plugin: It helps plugin developers track growth and competitors
• Restrict With Stripe plugin: It harnesses the full power of Stripe to handle the entire e-commerce workflow.

• Sharable Password Protected Posts plugin: It helps share a link to anonymous users to view private and password protected posts (or any other public post type).

💵Investments, Acquisitions & Partnerships

• BigCommerce teams up with Snapchat for a new app: The new app will allow BigCommerce users to create shopping ad campaigns on Snapchat. The app was launched in the US and will extend to additional markets sometime next year.

• Snap partners with Amazon for new AR shopping experience: Amazon is now offering Snapchat users the ability to digitally try on eyewear in categories like sunglasses, reading glasses, or seasonal glasses from a number of popular brands.

👥 Community News

• Monster’s Award 2022: Vote for the best web tools out there. Deadline is December 20.
• The 2022 MainWP Web Care Consultant Survey is open for submissions: If you are a Web Care Consultant, please fill out the survey. The results will be published early December.
• An interactive tour of the Museum of Block Art: This tour allows you to choose how you experience the curated art pieces.
• Kinsta launches Application Hosting and Database Hosting: Customers can now deploy, run, and scale just about any web project on Kinsta’s Platform as a Service (PaaS). You can now try Application Hosting and Database Hosting with $20 off your first month.
• Introducing: Tutor LMS integration for AffiliateWP: With AffiliateWP 2.9.8, users will get a 1-click integration with Tutor LMS
• Introducing Loop Builder: Elementor 3.8 includes the first phase of the Loop Builder. The Loop Builder enables you to create and design the main item for repeating content. 
• WPCodey from WPCodeBox: It is a code generator online tool and is in alpha stage
• The first schema generator with entity and hierarchy markup from 20i: The generator is now available for free for everyone who wants to improve their semantic SEO with structured data.
• Jetpack 11.5 released: Jetpack 11.5.1 was released soon to address a conflict with WP Super Cache and an upgrade issue that caused critical errors on some sites.
• WooCommerce 7.1 RC2 is out: WooCommerce Blocks has been updated to version 8.7.5 to improve support for WordPress 6.1 and the Twenty Twenty-Three theme.
• WP All Import is moving away from Lifetime Licenses: WP All Import announced it will soon change its business model to annual licenses. “We are moving to annual licenses simply because we will make more money.”
• Chao Phraya Boat Wapuu is WordCamp Asia 2023 mascot: The Call for Wapuu had received 10 Wapuu design submissions by 8 designers. 
• New Tutor LMS pricing plans: The starting price which was $149 has increased to $199. All existing users can renew their licenses at the old base price.

🔖Interesting Reads & Podcasts

• While the web evolves, WordPress keeps the lights on: From Ollie
• Modern WordPress dev coursework: From Tom Finley
• “Normal” width websites in the block editor: From Brian Coords
• The WordPress enterprise paradox: From Post Status
• WordPress.com ads on free sites – A nightmare on your main street: From WPcomMaven
• What can WordPress do to appeal to the DIY market?: From Speckyboy
• WordPress Black Friday 2022 & being different: From LayerWP
• Smart Contract Auditing Services: Everything you need to know: From Astra
• What is scrollytelling?: From Themeisle
• New mix-and-match computer accessories give people with disabilities easier ways to work and create: From Microsoft
• Intro to the Site Editor and Template Editor: From WordPress.TV
• Don’t let the WordPress Query Loop Block throw you for a loop!: From GoDaddy Pro

• Matt Cromwell on the effectiveness of the WordPress.org Repository for promoting new plugins: From WPTavern

• The WordPress ecosystem needs closer scrutiny: From The WP Minute

🛠 Guide Zone – Howto’s and More

• A developer’s guide to Block Themes – Part 1: From Learn WordPress
• A primer to understanding database sharding: From Kinsta
• How to fix the ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL Error: From Torque
• How to add a video background to a WordPress page: From Jetpack
• WordPress, spam filtering, and you: From SPF to DKIM to Blocklists: From Delicious Brains
• Set up a WordPress.org account (multiple languages): From Learn WordPress

• An overview of JavaScript promises: From Sitepoint

📆 Save The Dates

• WordCamp Nagpur (India) on Nov 12: WordCamp Nagpur is now accepting speaker applications.
• WordFest Live on November 18: This will be the fourth 24-hour WordFest Live, and the theme is Transformation. You can register to speak.
• WordCamp Kolkata (India) on December 17-18: It will be an in-person event. Call for speakers is out.
• WP Wealthbuilder Summit on February 03: Learn how to grow your business profits and in turn build your personal wealth secure your retirement from this online event.
• WordCamp Asia 2023 on February 17-19 at IconSiam, Bangkok Thailand: Apply for WordCamp Asia Diversity Scholarship before Nov 10 to get financial assistance.
• WordCamp Phoenix on March 24 & 25, 2023: More details awaited.
• WordCamp Europe 2023 on June 8-10, 2023: Call for organizers is out.

🎁 WordPress Deals Of The Week

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• Up to 40% off for WPMet products
• 30% off for LifterLMS
• Upto 50% off for RankMath
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• Two months free hosting for Kinsta’s annual plans
• 30% off on TaxoPress Pro (Coupon Code – October30)
• 10% off at Divi
• Upto 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
• 20% off at OceanWP
• Up to 67% off hosting plans at HostPapa
• 50% off for Advanced Giftcards for WooCommerce plugin
• 75% off for Annual Hosting plans at Nexcess
• 85% off at AtlasVPN 
• 20% off for Fluent Forms plugin
• 50% off at Formidable Forms
• 20% off for FluentCRM plugin
• 20% off for WP Social Ninja plugin 
• 95% off for PitchGround products 
• 90% off WordPress Hosting plans at InMotion Hosting
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• 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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