WP Mainline: Recent Episodes
Jeff Chandler
In this episode, Malcom Peralty and I catch up on a few of the stories we've missed since the start of the New Year. We briefly go over what's new in WooCommerce 6.1, what I feel was missed in the revised guidelines proposal for in-person WordPress events, and Yoast SEO creating an app for Shopify.
We also discuss whether or not Matt Mullenweg can save the internet. I don't think one person can but, Matt is certainly in a place where he can do a lot of good for the internet and humanity. Last but not least, I share my joy in saving a bit of cash each year as GoDaddy will now include privacy settings for WHOIS information by default.
This Episode is Brought to You By GoDaddy Pro:
Are you looking to increase your productivity? One tool that helps thousands of web developers and designers do more every day is GoDaddy Pro.
Combining site, client, and project management, GoDaddy Pro is an all-in-one solution made by and for web professionals. Whether you’re new to web design or looking to grow your business, you’ll find free tools, products, guidance, and support to help you deliver results for clients.
Manage and monitor all your clients’ WordPress sites from a single place, no matter where they’re hosted. With a single click, perform bulk updates, backups, security checks, and more to save time and free up your day.
Stories Discussed:
- Additional Proposed In-Person Event Guidelines Need to Specify Mask Type
- WooCommerce 6.1 Released
- Open Source Considered Harmful
- Yoast SEO on Shopify
- FrostWP Open Source
- Can Matt Mullenweg save the internet?
- GoDaddy Domains Now Include Stronger Privacy Protection
- WordPress 5.8.3 Security Update
In this episode, Malcom Peralty and I provide an overview of the State of the Word presentation. We cover various points of information, talk about the future of WordPress, and how important CC-0 content is not only to WordPress but to the web in general. We also talk about features coming in WordPress 5.9 and the concerning statistic of open source content management systems losing market share while closed systems are significantly increasing theirs.
This Episode is Brought to You By GoDaddy Pro:
Are you looking to increase your productivity? One tool that helps thousands of web developers and designers do more every day is GoDaddy Pro.
Combining site, client, and project management, GoDaddy Pro is an all-in-one solution made by and for web professionals. Whether you’re new to web design or looking to grow your business, you’ll find free tools, products, guidance, and support to help you deliver results for clients.
Manage and monitor all your clients’ WordPress sites from a single place, no matter where they’re hosted. With a single click, perform bulk updates, backups, security checks, and more to save time and free up your day.
In this episode, Malcom Peralty and I discuss the news of the week beginning with a new Theme.JSON generator created by David Gwyer. We then shared our thoughts on the new redesign of WP Tavern.com. We explain what data was exposed by a recent scrape of public Gravatar data and share alternatives for managing avatar images locally. We congratulated and thanked Helen 侯-Sandí as she leaves her post at 10up and moves on to new adventures. We wrapped up the show by discussing a CMS Marketshare analysis by Joost de Valk.
This Episode is Brought to You By GoDaddy Pro:
Are you looking to increase your productivity? One tool that helps thousands of web developers and designers do more every day is GoDaddy Pro.
Combining site, client, and project management, GoDaddy Pro is an all-in-one solution made by and for web professionals. Whether you’re new to web design or looking to grow your business, you’ll find free tools, products, guidance, and support to help you deliver results for clients.
Manage and monitor all your clients’ WordPress sites from a single place, no matter where they’re hosted. With a single click, perform bulk updates, backups, security checks, and more to save time and free up your day.
Stories Discussed:
- Theme.json Generator
- WPTavern Redesign
- Gravatar Emails Exposed
- Helen Housandi Moves on From 10up/WordPress
- 1.6 Million WordPress Sites under Attack
- CMS MarketShare
Better late than never! I hope everyone had a good holiday last week. I ended up getting some of my much-needed medication so things are not as bleak as they were last week. At any rate, you can listen to last week's news today!
We start off the show by discussing the major breach that occurred at GoDaddy and question whether two-factor authentication will be a requirement going forward.
We took a look at WordPress 5.9 and shared our opinions of user-facing features we're looking forward to. We also share the revised schedule for the release of WordPress 5.9. Last but not least, we have a discussion surrounding Black Friday deals, pricing, psychological marketing triggers, and what constitutes a good deal for the consumer.
Stories Discussed:
- GoDaddy Breached – Plaintext Passwords – 1.2M Affected
- GoDaddy Breach Widens to tsoHost, Media Temple, 123Reg, Domain Factory, Heart Internet, and Host Europe
- WordPress.org Survey
- A Look at WordPress 5.9
- WordPress 5.9 Revised Release Schedule
- Join us for State of the Word 2021, in person or online!
- The Dark Side of the Black Friday Sales
In this episode, Malcolm Peralty and I are joined by Bob Dunn of Do The Woo fame to discuss the news of the week. We started off by discussing the most surprising acquisition of the year with GoDaddy acquiring Pagely. We briefly touch on what's new in WordPress 5.8.2 while trying to figure out how to pronounce Thijs de Valk's name. Thijs de Valk is the new CEO for Yoast.
Bob explains what exactly his partnership with Post Status entails and what we can expect from it. Last but not least, we had a great discussion about Paul Lacey's post and contributor churn in WordPress and whether or not WordPress could one day run out of free labor to keep the project going. If you tell me the correct number of times I say "Do The Woo" in this episode, contact me and I might have a surprise for you.
This Episode is Brought to You By GoDaddy Pro:
Are you looking to increase your productivity? One tool that helps thousands of web developers and designers do more every day is GoDaddy Pro.
Combining site, client, and project management, GoDaddy Pro is an all-in-one solution made by and for web professionals. Whether you’re new to web design or looking to grow your business, you’ll find free tools, products, guidance and support to help you deliver results for clients.
Manage and monitor all your clients’ WordPress sites from a single place, no matter where they’re hosted. With a single click, perform bulk updates, backups, security checks and more to save time and free up your day.
Stories Discussed:
- GoDaddy Acquires Pagely
- One Hour Interview Between Cory Miller and Josh Strebel
- WordPress 5.8.2 Security and Maintenance Release
- Joost De Valk’s Brother Steps into CEO Role
- Announcing a Partnership with Post Status and Do the Woo
- AMP Has Irreparably Damaged Publishers’ Trust in Google-led Initiatives
- State of the Word 2021
- Blocks, Boards & Fishing Reels – How Gutenberg has Divided WordPress
In this episode, Malcolm Peralty and I discussed the news of week starting off with Automattic's acquisition of WPScan. I also shared my experience of what it was like to spend eight straight hours of reading, participating, and writing about WordPress. It's exhausting.
We then shared news of the WordPress community gift exchange and Malcolm put out a challenge for someone to create a Secret Santa WordPress site so folks could use it instead of Elfster. WordFest 2022 announced it will take place on March 4th, 2022. I'm a huge fan of a Big Orange Heart Foundation and am hopeful the organization can fulfill its sponsorships for 2022.
Near the end of the show, we discussed yet again the writing experience in WordPress. We also described how Bob Dunn is synonymous with WooCommerce. If there's a Woo, there's a Bob. Last but not least, we wonder who could write a WordPress post better, Jeffro or Jeffro AI. Would you be able to tell the difference?
This Episode is Brought to You By GoDaddy Pro:
Are you looking to increase your productivity? One tool that helps thousands of web developers and designers do more every day is GoDaddy Pro.
Combining site, client, and project management, GoDaddy Pro is an all-in-one solution made by and for web professionals. Whether you’re new to web design or looking to grow your business, you’ll find free tools, products, guidance and support to help you deliver results for clients.
Manage and monitor all your clients’ WordPress sites from a single place, no matter where they’re hosted. With a single click, perform bulk updates, backups, security checks and more to save time and free up your day.
Stories Discussed:
- Automattic Acquires WPScan
- The Not So Secret Santa WordPress Community Gift Exchange
- Announcing WordFest Live 2022
- Voting Is Now Open for the 2021 WP Awards
- Partnership between Post Status and Do the Woo
- WordPress Has Never Offered an Ideal Writing Experience
- 8 Ways to Automate Your WordPress Blog with Artificial Intelligence
In this episode, Malcom Peralty and I were joined by Liam Dempsey to cover the news of the week. We shared our views on whether animated plugin icons should be allowed on the plugin directory or not. Spoiler: We all agreed that they shouldn't.
Josh Pollock is working on a new project and like many in the WordPress community, we're excited to see it launch. Props to Josh for naming his product for exactly what it does. We then discussed Theme.json and the possibilities it opens up for theme developers.
After encouraging folks to upgrade OptinMonster to the latest version to patch security vulnerabilities, we wrapped up the show by discussing WebDevStudios accepting Etherum as a form of payment for a client project. It worked for them but is accepting cryptocurrency the thing to do for every other agency?
This Episode is Brought to You By GoDaddy Pro:
Are you looking to increase your productivity? One tool that helps thousands of web developers and designers do more every day is GoDaddy Pro.
Combining site, client, and project management, GoDaddy Pro is an all-in-one solution made by and for web professionals. Whether you’re new to web design or looking to grow your business, you’ll find free tools, products, guidance and support to help you deliver results for clients.
Manage and monitor all your clients’ WordPress sites from a single place, no matter where they’re hosted. With a single click, perform bulk updates, backups, security checks and more to save time and free up your day.
Stories Discussed:
- To Ban or Not Ban Animated Plugin Icons?
- WordPress Plugin Developers Are Psyched for What Josh Pollock Is Working on Next
- An Introduction to the WordPress theme.json File
- If You Haven’t Done So, Update OptinMonster to the Latest Version
- The first WordPress agency to accept Cryptocurrency payment?
In this episode, Malcom Peralty and I start the show by discussing some weird things that have been happening in our sleep. I share my experience attending the WordCamp Philly meetup group. It was nice to be able to watch a presentation and casually hang out with others in a chatroom.
We then discussed two recent blog posts that describe WordPress as not being an excellent writing tool. We dove into this topic and I think it has a lot to do with the major transition that's going on with WordPress. We talk about Ben Pines stepping down from his role at Elementor and the impact he's had on that ecosystem.
We round out the show by sharing our ideas on what to rename "Reusable Blocks" to and how to make it easier for casual users to learn what's new in WordPress.
This Episode is Brought to You By GoDaddy Pro:
Are you looking to increase your productivity? One tool that helps thousands of web developers and designers do more every day is GoDaddy Pro.
Combining site, client, and project management, GoDaddy Pro is an all-in-one solution made by and for web professionals. Whether you’re new to web design or looking to grow your business, you’ll find free tools, products, guidance and support to help you deliver results for clients.
Manage and monitor all your clients’ WordPress sites from a single place, no matter where they’re hosted. With a single click, perform bulk updates, backups, security checks and more to save time and free up your day.
Stories Discussed:
- Matt's Page Builder
- Should You Really Write in WordPress
- Ben Pines Steps Down From Elementor
- Debate Continues On What to Rename “Reusable Blocks” Too
- Shout Out to Shaun Andrews
- For Casual Users, Information on New WordPress Features Can Be Hard to Find
In this episode, Malcom Peralty and I confirm that the features proposed for WordPress 5.9 will be part of the release. We share our thoughts on the Twenty Twenty-two default theme that will ship with 5.9 and talk about what's next for default themes. Will there be more than one released per year or will we see a new theme every other year?
We then spent a good deal of time discussing the proposal to create a WordPress Performance Team. In my time of covering the WordPress project, I never would have guessed that performance could be a reason to slow down WordPress' market share but as this comment from Mark Jaquith points out, it could happen, "It’s a huge problem, and fixing it is going to take a lot of effort, willpower and time. It’s worth doing. If WordPress frontend performance continues to decline, the project is going to cease to be a viable option for any site that cares about its SERPS."
We talked about GoDaddy's new POS feature that enables WooCommerce store owners to have in-person sales as well as online sales, how being honest to readers is free but losing trust is expensive, and insight into the custom boxcar designs that have been rolling out.
This Episode is Brought to You By GoDaddy Pro:
Are you looking to increase your productivity? One tool that helps thousands of web developers and designers do more every day is GoDaddy Pro.
Combining site, client, and project management, GoDaddy Pro is an all-in-one solution made by and for web professionals. Whether you’re new to web design or looking to grow your business, you’ll find free tools, products, guidance and support to help you deliver results for clients.
At the heart of GoDaddy Pro is the Hub. From one intuitive dashboard, the Hub seamlessly brings your sites, clients, and projects together.
Manage and monitor all your clients’ WordPress sites from a single place, no matter where they’re hosted. With a single click, perform bulk updates, backups, security checks and more to save time and free up your day.
Stories Discussed:
- All Features Proposed for WordPress 5.9 Are A Go
- Introducing Twenty Twenty-Two
- See the theme in action and follow along with its development at https://2022.wordpress.net/
- Performance Team Proposal
- VideoPress Refresh
- What’s the First Thing in WordPress That Made You Google to Learn It?
- GoDaddy’s Point of Sale Seamlessly Integrates With WooCommerce, Making In-Person Sales Quick and Easy
- HeroPress Network Launches as A Multi-Project Portal
- Being Honest to Readers is Free
- Custom Boxcar Designs
Better late than never, right? Things got kind of crazy at the end of last week and today was a bummer but here it is! In this episode, Malcolm Peralty and I talk about the stories that made headlines last week including our thoughts on a Product Hunt website but for WordPress things.
We shared what we like about the new WP Podcasts site and are looking forward to seeing how the site progresses. We also discussed the subject of generational knowledge gaps with how people are saving and access files these days. At the end of the show, I shared some observations I've made with my entrance into the world of NFTs.
Stories Discussed:
- HeroPress Launches WP Podcasts on International Podcast Day
- WPHunts – Providing Exposure to Small Fry WordPress Creators
- Detailed Chart Comparing Content Type and Custom Fields Plugins
- File Structures, Generational Knowledge Gap, and the Media Library
- The WP Mainline Wapuu Has Been Minted but Not by Me
- Casual Observations of NFTs Which Doesn’t Stand for No Freaking Time