I am back from WordCamp Asia 2024, and meeting amazing WordPress people was the highlight of the visit. This issue of WP Weekly is loaded with many product updates and topics that kept WordPress people in an interactive mode.
Also, you may notice subtle content layout changes in future WP Weekly issues, all thanks to the insightful feedback from caring WP Weekly readers!
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What’s Buzzing in WordPress 💖
- New Online Tools… Gobinda Tarafdar has created a Google Doc to Markdown Converter online tool that allows quick conversion of Google Doc contents into markdown text, preserving formatting and structure. Amadeu Arderiu shared about the launch of Ploogins for easy searching of useful WordPress plugins, powered by AI.
- Temp Login & TikTok Feed… the team at Elementor has released a free Temporary Login plugin that creates a secure temporary URL for easy access to WordPress admin without the username and password. Also, WP Social Ninja 3.13.0v has added the ability to add a custom feed for TikTok with multiple user account support allowing you to merge all your TikTok videos in one spot.
- New Product Features… Formidable Forms has added a new ranking field for ranked choices and automatic reports will show the average ranking and number of times each choice is in first. PublishPress Authors has added guest author user role with options to have guest author with no user account, user account but no WP dashboard access, and the default registered user account.
In Focus: Cwicly Closed + Woo Pricing + Apology
Cwicly closure has surprised many… Sridhar Katakam shared 8 possible reasons (Links X) for this closure move, like not being able to include ACF Pro moving forward and insufficient recurring revenue. Sunny Trochaniak shared his reaction in a video, coming from a loyal supporter of Cwicly. Paul from WPTuts expanded on why it is important to support small WordPress developers.
Expensive Woo Subscriptions… Ryan Waterbury shared about (Links X) the Woo Subscriptions getting expensive, with the price changing from $99/year to $129 and then from $179 to $239, and now the new price being $279. Summarizing his views as, “It’s hard to recommend an open source solution that has become more expensive, and is less user friendly for shop owners.”
BricksUltimate and Apology… Chinmoy Kumar Paul, the developer of the BricksUltimate, added a backdoor as a measure to check on the addon piracy. However, this resulted in a big controversy with many questioning this move. He has published an open apology along with a promise of removing those changes.
Extended WordPress Buzz 🔥
- Product Updates… SureCart 2.20v has introduced the tax overrides feature that promises to make tax collection easy and automated for various products in the catalog. WordPress donation plugin, Charitable 1.8.0v has introduced a new visual campaign builder that allows easy creation with drag and drop of various available blocks.
- Fonts Library Location… Based on recent discussions, Josepha shared the Font Library feature is coming in WordPress 6.5 with wp-content/fonts as the default font storage location and wp-content/uploads/fonts as the fallback location where WordPress installation does not support modification of the wp-content directory.
- Two ways for Custom Blocks… Mike Davey explained in detail two ways to create custom blocks. The first method involves using React and the @wordpress/create-block tool, and the other uses the ACF Blocks feature of Advanced Custom Fields.
- WP RC and Gutenberg… WordPress 6.5 RC2 download is now available for your testing. This release includes 20 bug fixes for the Block Editor and 30+ tickets for the WordPress Core. Also, the latest Gutenberg 17.9v adds color and typography presets in global styles and indenting list block items via the tab key.
Quick Bits 👍
- Soon: Beaver Builder with less divs and modules as blocks!
- xCloud with new integrations for Hetzner servers & Slack.
- WordPress .com has partnered with Jamie, 1st video is live.
- Check this quiz to test your Woo knowledge, by Barn2 team.
- 400th episode of Rob Cairns podcast, My Peeps, me included!
- WP people on the new Seriously BUD podcast by Bud Kraus.
- Watch all video sessions from WordCamp Asia 2024 event.
Business of WP: Branding & Acquisitions
Moving to a new brand name… Inpsyde, one of the biggest WordPress agency in Europe, has rebranded to a new identity and will be called Syde, moving forward reflecting its evolution and renewed vision.
New Group brand for Enterprise WP… Scale Consortium is a new group brand representing some of the most successful enterprise WordPress agencies with a focus on the enterprise layer of WordPress.
Woo Plugins Acquired… Gautam Garg shared about (Links X) acquiring two Woo Plugins, UPI QR Code Payment Gateway and Razorpay Payment Links, from Sayan Datta. More in the Business of WordPress database.
WordCamp Asia 2024: Amazing for sure!
I was away for more than a week to attend WordCamp Asia 2024 in Taiwan. It was an amazing experience meeting new people and reconnecting with old friends. Check pics posted on Twitter for contributor day, day 1, day 2, and travel log video.
Check WordCamp Asia 2024 recap posts sharing experiences and images from the event – from Vova Feldman at Freemius, Katie Keith at Barn2, Anh Tran at Deluxe Blog Tips, and the highlights post on the WP .org website.
