Google participated at WordCamp US 2017 with a booth centered around performance. One side of the booth showed a data-driven glimpse into the state of the WordPress ecosystem in terms of key performance metrics and coding best practices, as well as the use of tooling (e.g. WebPageTest/Lighthouse) for assessing the performance characteristics of specific WordPress sites. The other side was shared with the excellent XWP engineering team, where they showcased a new auditing tool we’ve been collaborating with them called Tide, which enables quality assessment of plugins and themes. Our goal was to engage with the WordPress community and start […]
State of the Word 2017 Recap
WordCamp US 2017 in Nashville wound down as Matt Mullenweg walked on stage to deliver his annual State of the Word address. The speech delivered the latest WordPress news as well as what to expect for 2018. Gutenberg A huge focus of last year’s State of the Word was Gutenberg. This year was no different. Mullenweg said Gutenberg has been the longest feature development WordPress has ever had. It’s been 11 months since the kickoff. In that time it’s had over 4.302 commits. “It’s really drawn together the community in a really cool way,” said Mullenweg. It has gone through […]
The Open Web and the Fight for Net Neutrality
Dozens of companies and activists – including heavy hitters like Google, Facebook, Netflix, and Automattic – have banded together through the internet-wide day of action to publicly protest the US Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) attack on net neutrality. The protest – which will take place tomorrow, July 12 – will sound the alarm about the attack on net neutrality that aims to roll back regulations established in 2015. What is Net Neutrality? The current regulations, known as Title II, restrict Internet Service Providers (ISP) from slowing or blocking any site or application across the web. In other words, it creates a level playing field […]
WordPress 4.8 “Evans” Is Built with You in Mind
WordPress 4.8 – nicknamed “Evans” after jazz pianist and composer William John “Bill” Evans – is now available. The update features several new improvements, including widget updates, link boundaries, edits to the “WordPress News” section, and more. “Though some updates seem minor, they’ve been built by hundreds of contributors with you in mind,” Mullenweg said in the official announcement. Designed with the user in mind, the updates in 4.8 aim to improve the overall user experience and user interface of WordPress. Evans includes a widget update that enables users to easily add image, audio, and video to a widget on your website without knowing a lick […]
UpdraftPlus Launches Clef Two Factor Plugin Substitute
UpdraftPlus (the backup plugin with 1 million installs) has just announced the launch of Keyy, the 2-factor authentication plugin that enables users to log into websites just by pointing their smartphone at the computer screen, eliminating the need for typed-in passwords. If the idea sounds familiar, that’s because it probably is: as its developers openly admit, Keyy is inspired by and based on another WordPress plugin called Clef. Clef’s distinctive and innovative approach to integrated 2 factor-authentication heralded unprecedented login speed and usability. Created by a small San Francisco-based start-up, Clef worked by sending an encrypted key from users’ smartphone […]
WordCamp Europe 2017 Announces Schedule
WordCamp Europe is just a month away. The team has already announced speakers and sponsors, and today the schedule was released. The conference takes place over two days, with two tracks running each day. After registration and opening remarks on Friday, hour-long talks go from 9 am to 1 pm. Then there’s a break for lunch, followed by a lightning talk and three more full ones. The same schedule is continued on Saturday. Special guest Matt Mullenweg will participate in a Q&A at 3 pm on Saturday, so make sure you make time for that. It will be two jam-packed […]
‘Developing an App Using the REST API and WordPress’ Now Available [Free Ebook]
The REST API is shaping the future of WordPress. It’s opens up a world of opportunity by allowing users to leverage the superior content management capabilities of WordPress on the back-end to power a non-WordPress frontend, resulting in more dynamic web experiences. Sites like Wired, The New York Times, and WordPress.com are already putting it to yes. For example, Wired used it to create a beta version of the site without migrating any information, and Washington State University used it to manage 1083 sites on one installation of WordPress. It’s widely-known that the REST API will truly help shape the future of WordPress, but the […]
Everything You Need to Know About WordCamp Europe 2017
If you’ve gotten a ticket to this year’s WordCamp Europe, you may have received a message from Pierre, the conference’s friendly email robot. The bot will send updates leading up to the conference starting June 15. Pierre is not only your guide through preparing for the conference, he is just one of the many innovations the team is employing this year. The WordCamp is only a little over a month away, and is shaping up to be an impressive conference. It’s the perfect time to catch up on everything the team has announced so far. Here is everything you need to know […]
G2 Crowd Publishes Winter 2017 Web Hosting Results
The web hosting space is expanding. As such, it can be particularly challenging to sort through dozens of different options to determine which one is right for your business needs. G2 Crowd released its Winter 2017 web hosting results, providing a side-by-side comparison of 13 popular managed website hosting companies — all of which offer a WordPress hosting option. Results can make it easier to choose your next host. Each host was evaluated across a range of different categories, including overall satisfaction, satisfaction by category, and satisfaction by feature. In calculating the Grid Scores, G2 Crowd also took into account the […]
WordCamp Europe Announces Second Batch of Speakers
WordCamp Europe announced the second batch of speakers today including: Heather Burns, Sasha Endoh, Tom Greenwood, Alice Orru, David Lockie, and Joshua Strebel. This year, speakers will be announced in waves leading up to the event. The team chose 48 speakers from a group of over 300 submissions. Today, the team released a group of speakers look at the human side of WordPress — touching on topics ranging from customer support to using WordPress for good. “Making Your Voice Heard: How to Win Friends and Influence Policy” This talk by digital law specialist, Heather Burns, looks at how the internet is […]
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