WordPress’ Polyglots team has published the first edition of a new monthly newsletter aimed at helping contributors stay informed and engaged with the team’s activities.
WordPress has been translated by volunteers for more than 15 years since version 1.2, with the earliest contributions from the Hindi, French, Japanese, and Norwegian communities. Since that time the Polyglots team has grown to include the work of 55,427 translation contributors. They have also adopted more efficient tools like P2 and Slack to stay connected, but some translators find it difficult to follow the constant stream of posts and meetings.
The monthly newsletter was launched to provide a short-format digest of all the significant happenings and discussions in the translation community. It will include news related to upcoming releases and Polyglots tools, condensed so contributors don’t have to keep a close eye on the team’s P2 blog, Slack channels, or RSS feed.
The first edition features a brief summary of the month-long WordPress Translation Day 2021 event, which brought in 697 new translation contributors. Altogether the contributor teams submitted 518,710 approved translation strings during 22 local and six livestream events.
The majority of people using WordPress are using it with a translation. As of October 2021, 55.36% of WordPress sites are running a translated site. That figure is slowly inching upward as WordPress adoption grows in the non-English speaking world.
Even if you’re not a member of the Polyglots team, this newsletter is a good way to stay up-to-date with the exciting frontier of WordPress translations. Subscribers can sign up to receive monthly Polyglots updates directly via email.
The go/no-go deadline for deciding on features for WordPress 5.9 was set for October 12 but the conversation was pushed back two days. Today, the core leadership for this release announced that everything in the previously-proposed scope for 5.9 will be moving forward.
Users can expect block themes, template and template part editing flows, the new default Twenty-Twenty Two block theme, the Styles interface, design tools, the Navigation Block, all manner of UI improvements, and pattern insertion directly from the Pattern Directory. Héctor Prieto, who is assisting with technical project management on the release, emphasized that many of these features are still in progress:
To note, not all of the above are currently ready, but there is some level of confidence that they can be by the time of 5.9.
A new WordPress 5.9 Must-Haves project board on GitHub shows a broad overview of the issues contributors are focusing on to get the release ready.
Prieto also published an exhaustive transcript of the meeting. There were no strong objections on specific features moving forward but there seemed to be a general acknowledgment that some features are still in a beta state. Those present at the meeting agreed that some kind of beta label might be advantageous where users could be directed to the Gutenberg plugin for faster updates to features that are still not fully polished.
One particularly challenging feature has been navigation. “I think from my perspective, the thing I was a bit worried about was the navigation menu flows, which I think we did a lot of progress over the last few weeks,” Gutenberg lead engineer Matías Ventura said. “And I think we need to set some good boundaries there.
“There has been a lot of work in also supporting sort of mega menus where you have in your sub-menus, you have images and paragraph any sort of block, which is cool. But there’s also like the 80% of cases where you just have a few links, and we need to ensure that that experience is as best as we can make it. I think we’re in a better place. And I think we’ll get there.”
Beta 1 is expected November 16, and the official release is scheduled for December 14. If you want to see an early demo of WordPress 5.9, check out the recording of the meeting below:
Husband-and-wife duo Topher and Cate DeRosia announced the launch of the The HeroPress Network earlier today. It is a collection of content from various sites they are working on in a centralized location.
“Its overarching goal is to be a hub,” said Cate DeRosia. “It will display the newest items from around the HeroPress Network, as well as news from the community (to be added in shortly). We can also post information that we think is helpful or educational.”
The “hub” will incorporate content from at least eight projects:
The team launched WP Podcasts two weeks ago, making over 7,000 current episodes from dozens of WordPress shows available in one place. Find It WP is currently in beta and will be the next project to launch on or before October 19. They will soon launch the public Slack group with dedicated channels for different types of professionals.
The HeroPress Network homepage.
“You could say it’s like the portals of yesteryear,” said DeRosia. “With HeroPress expanding into 8+ or more entities, we wanted one place for people to go and get the most current glimpse of what’s happening.”
She also teased the idea of expanding their educational offerings in the announcement post. However, news on that will have to wait until they build out the projects currently underway.
The team will open funding options on October 24. The HeroPress Network is a for-profit company, but its goal is to make all of its content available for free to the community as a whole.
The original HeroPress.com website did not hit its funding goal in 2015. It attracted 33 backers who pledged $21,855 of its $60,000 AUD goal on Kickstarter. There was some early pushback, particularly from WordPress lead developer Andrew Nacin who cited its “unambiguous hero worship” and the initial male-only lineup of speakers as problems. However, much has changed in the six years since the fundraiser.
DeRosia called the first fundraising event a test to see how the community would receive it. The project has never been funded financially since then. Hosting and resources have been provided for the project, and a few other companies have occasionally donated toward their time and tools.
Despite failing to raise their initial funds, the project continued onward. Today, HeroPress has been a success by simply providing a platform for people to share their journeys in the WordPress world.
Andrey “Rarst” Savchenko wrote the first essay in March 2015. Since then, the site has published over 200 others.
“It’s always been a challenge to figure out how to fund the project,” said DeRosia. “When the pandemic hit and sponsors had money they couldn’t use on WordCamps, they started some conversations with us. We’ve been kicking around ideas since then and feel The HeroPress Network gives us the best resource for reasonable funding. We want to be giving value back to both the community and supporters, and the diversity of what makes up the Network provides more options.”
If everything falls into place, DeRosia herself or one of their daughters could have a salaried position for the project. Her background is in English and journalism, and she described it as a “dream job.”
I asked DeRosia why she was personally vested in this project. What was it that got her up every morning to build it?
“Topher and I both grew up rural poor here in the US,” she said. “We come from communities dying because there aren’t jobs. WordPress has always been such an excellent answer to this.
“With HeroPress.com we’re able to provide a stage where people can tell their stories of how they’ve built their lives regardless of where they lived or what circumstances they were living in. That’s great, but it only goes so far.
“Now with The HeroPress Network, we can provide simplified, searchable access to practical tools that anyone can use to craft the life they want using the WordPress platform. We can also demonstrate how community and business can work together to get the best for both.
“If the option for something better is out there, I want to help people find it. Helping new people get started in WordPress brings a richness to the community that it needs to thrive. Helping established businesses connect with people and resources continues the growth.
“It’s just so incredible to have the privilege to see people build relationships that allow them to flourish. And who wouldn’t get out of bed every morning to do that?”
Viewing patterns from the WP Block Patterns homepage.
Andrew Starr, the owner of UXL Themes, has cobbled together a new project around block patterns. His new site, aptly named WP Block Patterns, allows users to preview any WordPress.org-hosted block themes and patterns together.
The project does not allow visitors to download anything or ask them to sign up. It is a basic demo system, one that WordPress.org should consider at some point.
Visitors can choose any block pattern. Then, they can select any theme to see what they look like together. It is a quick way to test patterns and themes without actually adding them to your WordPress installation.
For example, a user can view the Team Social Cards pattern — one that I had a hand in creating — along with Anders Norén’s Tove theme.
From Gutenberg Hub’s landing page templates to EditorsKit’s ShareABlock collection, the block system has allowed developers to experiment with unique sites for end-users. Because everything is built upon a standard, I am guessing we will see even more of these creative projects in the future. WP Block Patterns is another step in that journey.
This was not always the plan for the WP Block Patterns site. Starr set out to blog about patterns after their feature release in WordPress 5.5. After only publishing a single post, the project fell to the wayside. Fortunately, inspiration struck.
“I have a site that I use as my reference point when providing support for my themes,” he said. “This site has a blend of varying content and code that allows me to quickly switch/preview any of my themes, without the need to actually change the active theme in the admin, or maintain a different site for every theme.”
In the process of making improvements to his theme-switching functionality, the domain came up for renewal. He had planned to let it expire but decided to see if he could come up with something to do with the site.
“I got the inspiration to use the theme switcher in conjunction with content from block patterns,” said Starr. “If I hadn’t been working on my script at the same time as I coincidently received the domain expiration message, I probably wouldn’t have had this idea.”
Currently, he is manually installing the themes on the site but may have to automate it in the future as more block themes are released. However, he is pulling patterns and categories directly from the WordPress.org API, which is periodically updated.
The site only showcases 100% block themes. Technically, it should work with any that supports editor styles. Starr said it had never crossed his mind to showcase non-block themes.
“I have been keeping my eye on the releases of FSE themes, checking out every block theme that I come across, and it just sort of seems that block themes are the future, and classic themes feel like a step backwards now after investing so much time working with block themes,” he said. “The site would work just fine with classic themes, but there are so many available I’m not sure how to make it manageable or select which themes to feature (and which ones to leave out). I guess that’s also something I’ll have to think about as the number of block themes increases.”
Thus far, Starr has released two block themes, Hansen and Pria, through his UXL Themes brand. Users can preview both via the site. However, he is already working on his next project.
“As a proof of concept, I am working on a classic theme that will have the functionality to also be a block-based theme when FSE is available in core,” he said. “The idea is that the user will not notice any front-end differences when the theme ‘switches’ from classic to block-based, but the user will gain the new FSE admin tools, with the user’s classic customizer modifications switched over intact to the new Site Editor. I have found that there are compromises that need to be made when getting classic and FSE to work together seamlessly in a single theme, so I am not sure whether this will be released generally.”
He also teased a project related to FSE that is neither a theme nor a plugin. However, he was not ready to share any details just yet.
Nick Diego released the Icon Block plugin last week. Unlike similar blocks that are available, it does not rely on a third-party library. Instead, it caters to the developer and DIY crowd, allowing them to add any SVG directly to the editor.
Diego is the author of the Block Visibility plugin, which is just a little over a year old and shaping up to be the best project in the space. Over the summer, he expanded it with a pro version that adds value with more niche options. When it comes to the block editor, he has thus far shown a willingness to find creative solutions to problems with a focus on a well-rounded user experience. His latest plugin seems to be no different.
Piecing together the pricing page for Block Visibility is what pushed him to create Icon Block. He had a massive feature list and was hand-coding the icons via the HTML block.
Block Visibility pricing table.
“I threw this little block together this week after becoming very annoyed at using HTML blocks for SVG icons (and not wanting to use a block library),” said Diego. “My goal was to build a simple SVG icon block using basically all native WP components. And as more functionality is added to core (margin, responsive controls, etc.), I will add them to the block.”
The result was a success. It checks a lot of boxes for such an icon solution that leans into the WordPress block system.
At its core, it allows end-users to copy and paste any SVG code into a text field and have it render in the editor and on the front end.
Adding a basic icon.
However, it does not stop there. It uses a range of core components and block-supported features to round out the solution. It supports must-have features like colors and alignment. Users can adjust the icon size, padding, and the border-radius while linking it to any URL.
One feature I want to see tacked on is a set of border style, width, and color controls. That is more of a nice-to-have extra than a priority.
Adjusting the icon’s colors, size, spacing, and border-radius.
Supporting core components would have been fine for a launch, but Diego took that extra step and added custom functionality. The Icon block has a “rotate” button that allows users to turn the icon in 90° increments. It also has buttons for flipping the icon horizontally and vertically.
There are tons of use cases for such icon plugins in the WordPress editor. One of the more common scenarios is a simple set of boxes with a graphic at the top.
Boxes with icons.
With Icon Block, this is simple enough to do by using the Columns block, dropping in custom icons, and customizing them. However, there is so much more that is possible.
The missing pieces are on WordPress’s end. Currently, there are not many robust solutions for building horizontal layouts. It makes it tough to align icons next to text.
The recently-added Row variation on the Group block shows promise. The experience is a bit fussy, but it is possible to place the Icon block next to a Paragraph, as shown in the following screenshot. I built a quick pricing table with check icons.
Pricing columns with icon list.
There is no way to control the spacing between items in each row from the interface yet. I wanted my icons a bit closer to the text.
The other issue is that this should be a list. There is no reason to repurpose other blocks to build the layout. However, the List block does not allow users to nest blocks.
These are not issues of the Icon Block plugin. It just shows a reasonably common use case that WordPress should make possible. This would make these types of plugins far more powerful.
There is support for an icon block to land in the Gutenberg plugin and, eventually, make it to WordPress. Gutenberg Project Lead Matías Ventura opened a ticket in 2019 to explore the idea of allowing users to insert SVGs directly into the editor. If this ever made it in, it would more likely be a visual selector that does not allow end-users to add custom code. Diego’s block might still exist as an alternative solution with more flexibility in that case.
While the plugin could serve as a perfect solution in its current form to a large share of the WordPress community, Diego has plans for improving it. He is considering adding an icon selector for users who do not want to add SVG code. By default, this would show the built-in WordPress icons. However, he also has plans to allow third-party developers to extend it with custom “icon packs.”
WooCommerce shipped version 5.7.0 through a forced update for some users earlier this week. The minor release was not billed as a security update but the following day WooCommerce published a post explaining that the plugin was vulnerable to having analytics reports leaked on some hosting configurations:
On September 21, 2021, our team released a security patch to address a server configuration setup used by some hosts, which under the right conditions may make some analytics reports publicly available.
WordPress.org pushed an automatic update to affected stores beginning on September 21, for all sites that have not explicitly disabled automatic updates. The WooCommerce team created a patch for 18 versions back to 4.0.0, along with 17 patched versions of the WooCommerce Admin plugin. Those whose filesystem is set to read-only or who are running WooCommerce versions older than 4.0.0 will not have received the automatic update and should proceed to manually update their sites.
WooCommerce recommends users update to the latest version, which is now 5.7.1, or the highest number possible in your release branch. The security announcement post has detailed instructions for how store owners can check to see if their report files may have been downloaded.
More than 5 million WordPress sites use WooCommerce. At the time of publishing, 59.8% are running on version 5.4 or older. Only 12.8% are using the lates 5.7.x release. It’s not possible to see how many sites are still vulnerable, because WordPress.org only displays a breakdown for the major branches users have installed. Some site owners running older versions may still be active in applying security patches but not prepared to update to the latest release.
WooCommerce 5.7.1 was released earlier today after the team received multiple reports of broken sites following the 5.7.0 update. This release includes fixes for regressions and new bugs identified in the previous update.
Automattic has acquired the Social Image Generator plugin, a commercial product that automatically creates social share images for WordPress content from a set of fully customizable templates. The plugin launched in February 2021, with a starting price of $39/year but is now closed to new sales. Daniel Post, the plugin’s creator, is joining Automattic to continue developing it as a new addition to Jetpack’s social media tools.
Automattic is always on the prowl for companies that are doing something interesting in the WordPress ecosystem. The Social Image Generator plugin expertly captured a new niche with an interface that feels like a natural part of WordPress and impressed our chief plugin critic, Justin Tadlock, in a recent review.
“Automattic approached me and let me know they were fans of my plugin,” Post said. “And then we started talking to see what it would be like to work together. We were actually introduced by Chris Coyier from CSS-Tricks, who uses both our products.”
The Social Image Generator plugin has always been a commercial-only product, which tends to limit a plugin’s reach within a market that has been so heavily trained on the freemium model. Its acquisition will undoubtedly get it into the hands of more WordPress users.
“I briefly considered building a freemium plugin but I decided to focus on paid licenses to make sure I could provide great support to all users and, frankly, to see how well it would be received compared to a freemium plugin,” Post said.
Current customers will be able to continue using the plugin “without any changes in the near term,” according to the announcement on the Jetpack blog. Those who have strong opinions about the long-term future of the plugin are encouraged to schedule a session with Jetpack Customer Research to open a dialogue.
“I look forward to the future functionality and user experience improvements that will come out of this acquisition,” Jetpack General Manager James Grierson said. “The goal of our social product is to help content creators expand their audience through increased distribution and engagement. Social Image Generator will be a key component of helping us deliver this to our customers.“
I would not be surprised to see this plugin available on one of Jetpack’s paid tiers in the near future, alongside the Publicize module’s other paid features (scheduling social media posts, tracking and viewing sharing history, and re-sharing existing content). Social Image Generator makes WordPress content more engaging on social media, has built-in support for WooCommerce, and can be extended for use with other plugins. It’s a strategic acquisition where Automattic gains an engineer as well as a new way to make Jetpack subscriptions more compelling.
“We are still figuring out our exact approach, but the initial plans are to integrate the Social Image Generator features with the existing Jetpack social tools like Publicize,” Post said. “The ability to see exactly what your social media post will look like before publishing it right from your WordPress site is incredible, and a big reason why I’m so excited about this acquisition.”
Automattic is organizing its 2nd annual Worldwide WordPress 5K during the month of October this year. Registration for the race is free and participants will have the opportunity to donate to a charity of their choice, with Automattic matching donations up to $50,000.
Just like the first Worldwide WP 5K that was held in 2015, the race will be virtual. Anyone is welcome to run, walk, bike, or swim the 5K any time between October 1-31. The requirements are fairly loose in that you can use any exercise app to track your run if you want. Participants are also encouraged to share a selfie, a screenshot of your route, and write a blog post that includes the #wwwp5k tag. Automattic will use the hashtag to include pictures on the official race site.
Throughout the pandemic, much of the social running industry has gone online and virtual races have become more common. Although they don’t carry the same energy as in-person races, virtual races help friends keep setting fitness goals and encourage each other through online challenges. Joining in the Worldwide WordPress 5K is a great way to connect with friends around the world for an offline challenge that benefits your health.
There is plenty of time to start training to reach a goal ahead of October and lots of resources available for running your first 5K. If all other motivations fail, maybe Wapuu can get you off the couch. The lack of in-person WordCamps has left some people hankering for new WordPress swag, and the 5K wapuu is ready to deliver. Participants can choose from a wide array of official gear, including hoodies, t-shirts, water bottles, tank tops, pins, socks, and more. Those who prefer not to run but still want to take part in the charitable event can give directly through the donation page.
Earlier this week, websevendev released its fourth WordPress plugin to the official directory named Block Attributes. The extension allows end-users to add any HTML attribute to nearly any block.
One of the problems with the WordPress editor is that it can be a bit fussy about customizing HTML. Blocks are built on a set of standards, and the markup is supposed to meet those expectations. If something does not fit, users see an invalid markup warning.
However, there are times when users need to drop in a custom HTML attribute for various reasons. For example, I sometimes need to add a custom data- attribute for working with a bit of JavaScript. Since I know my way around code well enough, I typically write out the HTML in those situations via the Custom HTML block. But, that does not make sense when minor attribute additions are called for.
WordPress currently allows users to add classes and IDs (called an “HTML anchor” in the admin) to almost every block. It does not allow for direct input of the dozens of other possible attributes that HTML supports. The use cases for the average user are few and far between.
For those scenarios where some users could use the extra feature, the Block Attributes plugin is handy.
The plugin is straightforward to use. It adds a new field named “Additional attributes” under the Advanced tab of every block. Users can add the attribute name and click the “Add” button. From there, it creates a new field for adding the attribute value.
Adding an onclick attribute to a Button block.
The plugin also supports multiple attributes. Once you add one, you simply use the same input field to create more.
For my first test drive, I added a simple onclick attribute with a value of myFunction(). Then, I hopped over to my theme and created that function via JavaScript to output a simple message in the console. Everything looked good under the hood, and it worked.
HTML view and console with custom JS for a Button block.
Most of the use cases I have in mind are for integrating with JavaScript, and this was a simple example of what is possible. There are far more complex things a developer could do with such a feature. That is reason enough to keep this plugin in the toolbox — sometimes you need a wrench instead of a hammer.
I could also see Block Attributes being used for adding ARIA attributes in other situations where it might aid accessibility.
Users could add custom styles to a specific block via a style attribute with the plugin. However, unless this is a simple one-off, I would recommend against it. For more advanced use cases, Blocks CSS is a far more suitable plugin. It has a built-in syntax highlighter. Plus, a textarea is friendlier than a one-line text input box.
The only downside to Block Attributes I have seen is upon deactivation. You will see the dreaded “this block contains unexpected or invalid content” message in the editor if you have added any custom attributes. The editor has managed to resolve any issues I have run into with the core blocks.
Resolving block warning after deactivating plugin.
Deactivating the plugin should not affect the front-end output. Because the custom attributes are a part of the HTML markup, they will still be there. The error message should only show in the editor.
