WP Weekly 157 – Creators

This issue has a lot going for creators, be is agency folks looking for AI power to generate the first draft of the website with the new ZipWP service. Or the plugin creators looking for a plugin support system powered by FreeScout and a new resource in the form of a premium version of the Kirki framework – now free!

❤️ The WP Awards 2023 with over 125+ Nominations already submitted for WordPress products or services. Thanks to InMotion Hosting, 20i Hosting, Pressable, Meta Box, and Slim SEO Link Manager for the support.


ClickWhale makes it so easy to create beautiful and readable links using your own domain. The click tracking is reliable and super easy.

InMotion hosting provides fast and reliable website hosting for businesses of any size. Trust your website to the web hosting experts at InMotion Hosting.

Breakdance is a new website builder for WordPress – refreshingly simple and remarkably powerful with advanced dynamic data capabilities.

↑ Community Sponsors supporting this weekly

What’s Buzzing in WordPress 💖

  • Big on AI in WordPress… the team behind the Astra theme and Sure Members has launched AI driven ZipWP service promising – “Describe your idea, and watch as a WordPress website is built before your eyes”. Here is a video explaining more by Adam of WPCrafter. Also, Beaver Builder users can use the AI power in Beaver editor powered by OpenAI via the Beaver Team Pro plugin.
  • For Devs & Plugin Creators… Jack Arturo detailed the process of moving the WPFusion plugin support from Help Scout to the open-source FreeScout solution. Also, the Kirki framework was acquired by Themeum from David Vongries sometime back – now they have made Kirki Premium Free for everyone – a good gift for sure!
  • New for Gravity Forms… GravityWiz has launched a new product line, with Gravity Shop Product Configurator being the first product that allows you to add Gravity Forms to the WooCommerce product pages and do a lot more. Also, promising to make import and export of Gravity Forms data between multiple websites easy and quick, the new Gravity Migrate plugin does exactly that!

Extended WordPress Buzz 🔥

  1. New Feature Releases… the Timetics online appointments plugin has introduced the recurring appointment feature and the ability to send SMS updates or notifications to your customers through WhatsApp with Twilio Integration. While the Coupon Affiliates 5.8.0v plugin has introduced dynamic creatives feature that enables you to build advanced, unique images or banners for each affiliate.
  2. New Builder & Cloud… the team behind Yellow Pencil has launched a new Kraft Builder plugin for developing a WordPress website in a visual mode; here is a walk-through video by David McCan. While Brizy Cloud has added the website cloning functionality to allow users to clone the whole website project quickly.
  3. Page Builder Updates… Elementor 3.15v update has added a new Taxonomy Filter Widget allowing you to filter listings in Loop Grids based on taxonomies. While the WPBakery 7.0v is a big update with many changes including new branding and features like blank page wizard, custom JavaScript, and UI improvements.
  4. New in WP Services… InstaWP has announced a partnership with SlimSEO allowing users to install the SlimSEO plugin directly from the InstaWP dashboard. While Jetpack has added a newsletter feature allowing you to send blog posts as an email newsletter, and there is already the Newsletter Glue plugin which offers more flexibility for this use case.
  5. FSE Theme Launches… Manesh Timilsina shared about the Jadro theme, a lightweight Full Site Editing theme, now available on the official WordPress theme directory, a result of efforts from WordPress community members in Nepal. Also, Brian Gardner’s Frost FSE theme was acquired by WPEngine sometime back, and now he has launched a new Powder Studio with theme and child themes (reminds me of awesome Genesis but in current FSE times!).
  6. WP Perspectives… Eric Karkovack highlighted what freelancers need from WordPress – flexibility, a seat on the table, features, and more? Patricia BT was asked “why I work for free” and published in detail why she contributes to the WordPress project. Also, Mika Epstein’s important message in the “Plugins: Bad Thief” write-up about what not to do with GPL freedom and code in general.
  7. WordCamps & Courses… the call for speakers is now open till September 30, 2023, for the 2nd edition of the WordCamp Asia 2024 scheduled for March 07, 2024, in Taipei, Taiwan. Also, Jonathan Bossenger shared about the first Learn WordPress course cohort that will start with preparing an environment for the block development and end with dynamic blocks (Sep 04 to Oct 09, 2023).

Quick Bits 👍

WP 6.3 Accessibility & Release Day Process

WP 6.3 Explained in Videos… WordPress Accessibility Team shared Alex Stine’s video of an extensive walk through of how the block editor works for screen readers. Also, check this quick and useful video by Dave Smith explaining WordPress 6.3 features in just 6 minutes.

WP 6.3 Release and Changes… Héctor Prieto published the WordPress 6.3 release day process with the timeline information and how you can help. Also, check this post by Leonardus Nugraha highlighting smaller changes coming to the editor in WP 6.3 release.

Housekeeping: ‘The WP Weekly’ Updates & More

The Tools Page has been updated with new tools and resources like PlugScore, Infinum WordPress Handbook, WP Tally, and That’sWP. Also, the database of Lifetime Deals has been updated with ThriveDesk LTD deal in the SaaS category.

Useful things do get noticed… “Thanks! Unusual plugins that I’d never heard of…”, that’s the amazing feedback I received on sharing three free, small, and useful WordPress plugins in the Plugins Weekly 04 issue of the newsletter.


Elementor is one platform with unlimited web creations: From landing pages and eCommerce stores to full-blown websites – build it all with Elementor.

20i® Managed WordPress Hosting. Easily deploy & manage blazing-fast WordPress sites at scale across 20iCloud, AWS & GCP.

Pressidium® free trial is the perfect way to experience our advanced WordPress hosting features and support. Try it now and take your website to new heights!

↑ Community Sponsors supporting this weekly

Upcoming Events 💬

September 27, 2023: WordPress Accessibility Day 2023, Livestreaming Free.
September 28, 2023: WordPress Web Agency AI Summit 2023, by Crocoblock.
September 28, 2023: Best Practices for Email Marketing, BlueHost online event.

Like this WordPress Goodness? Get the next issue directly in your email inbox. Check support options and connect on Twitter and Facebook. This content may contain affiliate links, read the disclosure for more.

❤️ Our Community Sponsors

Tyche Softwares

Power up your WooCommerce store with premium WooCommerce extensions for setting up online bookings and appointments, scheduling of delivery dates, tackling abandoned carts to increase your store sales and profits.

inmotion website hosting

InMotion Hosting provides fast and reliable website hosting for WordPress websites of any busines of any size. Partner with a company that offers 99.99% uptime, free SSL, 1-click WordPress installs, and a free domain for a year.

Pressidium Hosting

Pressidium® free trial is the perfect way to experience our advanced WordPress hosting features and support. Our team is available 24/7, so you can focus on your website's growth. Try our free trial today and see for yourself!

20i hosting

20i® WordPress Hosting that gives you more for your WordPress websites. Save over $200/mo on plug-ins with Staging, Backups, CDN, Cache, SSL, WP Manager, Security, Git Deploy & Email all baked-in. Plus, get 24x7 expert support.

Elementor Cloud

Elementor is the leading website builder platform for professionals on WordPress. Elementor serves web professionals, including developers, designers and marketers, and boasts a new website created every 10 seconds on its platform.

Breakdance

Breakdance is the new platform for WordPress website creation. With 120 built-in elements, a modern UI and workflow, and deep WooCommerce integration, Breakdance is the ultimate website builder plugin for WordPress.

NitroPack

Get first-hand tips and insights on the new Core Web Vitals metric – Interaction to Next Paint (INP). Sign up for the workshop and learn how to pass the responsiveness metric with experts from Google and NitroPack.

visual composer

Here is an opportunity to enhance the visibility of your WordPress products and services among WordPress users, freelancers, and agency owners with the community sponsorship program at 'The WP Weekly'.