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";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:82:"WPTavern: #104 – Thomas Fanchin on Community Engagement in WordPress Sponsorship";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:48:"https://wptavern.com/?post_type=podcast&p=151915";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:96:"https://wptavern.com/podcast/104-thomas-fanchin-on-community-engagement-in-wprdpress-sponsorship";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:42029:"Transcript<div>
<p>[00:00:00] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Welcome to the jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley.</p>



<p>Jukebox is a podcast which is dedicated to all things WordPress. The people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case, community engagement in WordPress sponsorship.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;d like to subscribe to the podcast, you can do that by searching for WP Tavern in your podcast, player of choice, or by going to WPTavern.com forward slash feed forward slash podcast. And you can copy that URL into most podcast players.</p>



<p>If you have a topic that you&#8217;d like us to feature on the podcast, I&#8217;m keen to hear from you and hopefully get you, or your idea, featured on the show. Head to WPTavern.com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox, and use the form there.</p>



<p>So on the podcast today, we have Thomas Fanchin. Thomas is a WordPress enthusiast and is the partnership manager for Weglot, which is a solution for translating websites, not limited to WordPress.</p>



<p>His role means that he&#8217;s immersed in the WordPress community. He&#8217;s passionate about connecting with, and learning from, others in the community. Thomas talks on the podcast about Weglot&#8217;s involvement in WordPress initiatives and events.</p>



<p>We get into how they decide what to sponsor, and what they hope to get in return. Thomas discusses the difficulties in tracking the effectiveness of marketing efforts at events. They&#8217;ve tried all manner of approaches, and we chat about the complex nature of measuring the return on investment, and whether it&#8217;s enough to have brand visibility as the only outcome.</p>



<p>The conversation turns to the unique engagement opportunities within the WordPress and open source community. And whether these events are different from other, more corporate, events held elsewhere.</p>



<p>Weglot operates both within and beyond the WordPress ecosystem, and Thomas shares the company&#8217;s focus on adaptability and replication in other communities. While profitability comparisons between WordPress and Shopify events are not easy to measure, thomas acknowledges both platforms are strong partners for Weglot, expressing interest in engaging with new content management systems and communities.</p>



<p>Thomas wants to explore some innovative sponsor initiatives beyond typical events in the near future. He thinks that guest posts, supporting meetups, and sharing personal expertise might be potential ways for companies to effectively engage in the WordPress space.</p>



<p>But not everything is new, and Thomas talks about Weglot&#8217;s approach towards flagship events, like WordCamp Asia and WordCamp US. They are hard at work already figuring out what they&#8217;re going to bring along, and how they&#8217;re always trying to think outside of the box.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re interested in learning about the intricacies of sponsorship, the impact of sponsored engagements at events, and the future landscape of sponsor initiatives within the WordPress community, this episode is for you.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re interested in finding out more, you can find all of the links in the show notes by heading to WPTavern.com forward slash podcast, where you&#8217;ll find all the other episodes as well.</p>



<p>And so, without further delay, I bring you Thomas Fanchin.</p>



<p>I am joined on the podcast today by Thomas Fanchin. Hello, Thomas.</p>



<p>[00:03:46] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> Hey. How&#8217;s it going?</p>



<p>[00:03:48] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Good, thank you. Very nice to have you on the podcast. We&#8217;ve intended to do this podcast before, but we had some gremlins and so we finally got to it. And I appreciate you staying the course, Thomas. Really appreciate it.</p>



<p>Just to give people some context, we&#8217;re going to be talking a little bit about sponsorship, perhaps about events today. But I guess it would be important to give you an opportunity to say who you are, and why your voice matters in this space. So a little time for a bio. Would you just tell us, Thomas, who you are and what your background is with WordPress. Who you work for, that kind of thing.</p>



<p>[00:04:17] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> Oh gosh. That&#8217;s a lot of information. I&#8217;m going to try to stay brief. Who am I? I work at Weglot, as a partnership manager there. My day to day task consisting interacting with tech partners, but also a lot with communities, including WordPress.</p>



<p>I started my journey within WordPress during my time when I was a student. I wanted to create a website. It was a pet website, back in the days I wanted to launch my own business. So that&#8217;s how I discovered WordPress. But I didn&#8217;t know anything about the community. I was trying to do everything by myself.</p>



<p>When I started to work at Weglot, that&#8217;s when I started to interact a little bit with people from the community, meetup organiser, WorldCamps, organisers. But also just people doing podcasts and other things, inside of WordPress. Once you get to interact with people inside of the WordPress community, you&#8217;re just always going to talk with a lot of people, and do a lot of stuff around WordPress. So that&#8217;s how I got into where I&#8217;m right now today</p>



<p>[00:05:23] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> We should probably explain exactly what Weglot does, because people may or may not understand what it does. But obviously it puts you squarely in the international localisation space. So just give us a, again, almost like a bio for Weglot. What does it do?</p>



<p>[00:05:36] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> Yeah. So Weglot is basically a transition plugin, that allow you to translate our website into multiple language. It&#8217;s super simple plugin to use. It&#8217;s easy to set up. If you ever want to try it, just go for it and let us know what are your thoughts about it?</p>



<p>[00:05:52] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Okay, so we&#8217;re going to talk a little bit today about the WordPress community, and about decisions that Weglot have made, in terms of where their endeavors lie. Obviously, every company in the WordPress space would love to grow and grow, and one of the ways that people do that is to sponsor events. They might sponsor particular online events, or WordCamps, and things like that.</p>



<p>So we&#8217;re going to dig into that a little bit. We&#8217;re not talking about what you&#8217;re going to do in the future, that&#8217;s up to you to decide. But in the past, what kind of things have Weglot done to get themselves out there in front of the WordPress community?</p>



<p>[00:06:27] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> We have sponsored quite a few WordCamps and meetups, in the past. During my first year, we&#8217;ve sponsored around 50 WordCamps, and it was almost the same with the meetups. Like, we sponsored maybe 30 meetups, something like that. Which was great. There was definitely a lot of logistic behind it.</p>



<p>And back then, we were thinking about becoming global sponsors. Because at some point it was hard for us to keep up with all the events, and for logistic matters too. We thought about it. And also, we were starting to think, yeah, what&#8217;s the next big move? What can we do more? What can we do better?</p>



<p>So we tried the global sponsorship, for two years now. It was also super interesting. With the global sponsorship came also new challenges. We also started to invest more into Five for the Future. I would say, yeah, we&#8217;re still super invested and trying to support more initiatives, and support more of the WordPress community.</p>



<p>[00:07:31] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> When you sit down with all of the decision makers in Weglot, how do you decide what it is that you are going to do? Because, obviously I&#8217;m not a sponsor, I have never sponsored anything, but I&#8217;ve spoken to quite a few people from different companies. And if we just take the example of WordCamp, let&#8217;s just stick with WordCamp and maybe some of the bigger events.</p>



<p>My understanding is that most of the companies who support that with sponsorship, they don&#8217;t generally think about it as something which they can measure a return on investment immediately. So let&#8217;s say that they sponsor, and they put $50,000 into sponsoring a particular WordCamp. They&#8217;re not thinking, okay, we need to get that $50,000 back, or $100,000, or some multiple thereof.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s more about just being a good citizen. Making sure that people are aware that the company exists. And we&#8217;re in financial times at the moment, where every dollar spent is really something that has to be thought about. So I just wondered if you wanted to give us an idea, why do you sponsor? Why have you been a global sponsor? What have you hoped to get out of it, and has it delivered what you wanted?</p>



<p>[00:08:40] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> It&#8217;s another big question. So I&#8217;m going to try to reply with as much elements as I can. I think, first of all, it depends on the company culture. So if you are a company and you were built, or you are based, around one specific community, then it becomes easier for you to just talk about budget for the community support. Because, I mean, the company is originally based around it. Maybe the owners are already aware of what it is.</p>



<p>And if you take, for example, Weglot, for us, the community, it&#8217;s equel feedback. So a lot of people from the team used to do support tickets, back in the days. And a lot of us are still doing it. So it make the connection between the users, the community, the support, which is our frontline, and the company. So it&#8217;s just a connection for us. Which can help us when it comes to decisioning to, yeah, we&#8217;re going to support this, or we&#8217;re going to sponsor this event.</p>



<p>The other part that is also super important, obviously is the visibility part. You mentioned it. It&#8217;s super important for us to be visible, for people to be aware of the product, of what it does.</p>



<p>And there is also the giving back part. Because obviously you are a company, you are growing and it&#8217;s good. But when you grow, you make the community also, the people that help you to grow, grow with you. So basically, it&#8217;s like creating a win win situation between your company growth, and the community.</p>



<p>I think when you combine the three, it&#8217;s let&#8217;s say, easier to set up budget, and to have this type of discussion. And it also depends maybe on your marketing strategy too. We can get into that.</p>



<p>For us, we divided into two type of strategies. So there is growth marketing, and there you have some KPIs, and it&#8217;s based on performance. And you have brand marketing. Brand marketing is not based on performance. But the Weglot brand, it&#8217;s combined with community, and with events. So we cannot dissociate both, which is good for us as a brand, and good also for the community. And it&#8217;s not based on performance.</p>



<p>The thing that mattered to us, is that the product, again, is visible. And when someone think about multilingual, we want him to think about Weglot. We know that there are agencies, freelancers, partners, people within the WordPress space, but also outside of the WordPress space, who think about Weglot, because they have met us somewhere in Asia, during WordCamp Asia, or at an event five years ago, or at a meetup, or during a conference. But it&#8217;s hard to track that. But we know that it&#8217;s working.</p>



<p>[00:11:23] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> When you say you know that it&#8217;s working, is that just an intuition that you anecdotally hear that people, when you maybe ask them, where did you hear about us? It may have been that they can link back to a sponsorship at a particular event. Or, is it more anecdotal than that? You just get a sense that there&#8217;s an uptick in sales immediately after events, and things like that.</p>



<p>[00:11:43] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> Yeah. I think the tracking part is really hard to measure. We&#8217;ve tried a couple of things in the past, like coupon deals. It didn&#8217;t work out. We tried QR code too, because I know like a lot of us are trying to flash the QR code, and it wasn&#8217;t the best solution too. We tried to have people fill up forms. It wasn&#8217;t the best solution. And in terms of logistic, it&#8217;s just super hard to maintain.</p>



<p>I know some companies are trying like this massive gift by participating an event, by entering your actual information, and so on. But I&#8217;m not sure that it has the best return on investment for them. It&#8217;s more a visibility thing, I think. I&#8217;m not sure. Maybe it&#8217;s working. If it&#8217;s working, it&#8217;s awesome and it&#8217;s cool. But I think it&#8217;s more a visibility matter.</p>



<p>I think there is no real tracking that you can set up to measure this type of action. Which is why we separate both, and you have growth marketing and brand marketing. Both goals are set aside.</p>



<p>[00:12:44] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> We are in a very interesting community, in that we&#8217;re quite unique I think. The open source movement, but WordPress particular. In that we turn up to these events, and we know that there&#8217;s going to be sponsors there, and we may interact with those sponsors. But on some level, the open source, the nature of open source has this kind of no sponsorship feel to it, if you know what I mean? There&#8217;s this kind of, everything is free, and we give our time for free, and all of that kind of thing.</p>



<p>So I just wonder if you collide with that. You turn up to these events, you&#8217;ve paid a lot of money to be a part of the sponsorship area, and maybe the crowd that have turned up are not, you know, that willing to engage with you. Maybe in a different environment, a much more corporate environment, people would be willing to make that trade a little bit more, and they might be more willing to come and talk with you, because, I don&#8217;t know, they&#8217;ve got a different agenda.</p>



<p>Do you sense that a little bit? Is there something about this community which makes it harder to advertise towards them? And if that&#8217;s the case, I presume that you have to keep juggling that.</p>



<p>[00:13:45] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> I guess the goal is to try to be really innovative, in a way that people come and interact with you. So, it&#8217;s really your role, as a sponsor to try to make sure that you do not cross a certain line. And that everything that you put out there, in terms of content, the booth, the people that are here, the people with whom you are working to, are aligned with the community culture, with the company culture too. That way you make sure that people come and interact with you.</p>



<p>I don&#8217;t see people as really like hostile toward us. Working at Weglot for the past five years, I&#8217;ve only had positive feedback about what we do inside of a community, and also about the product itself. From time to time, people don&#8217;t like it. It&#8217;s totally fine. And it&#8217;s good, because that way you can, yeah, like amazing feedbacks. To be honest, I don&#8217;t see anything wrong within the community and how it&#8217;s working out. From my perspective, and from the sponsor perspective too, I don&#8217;t know about what others might think, but that&#8217;s just my thoughts.</p>



<p>[00:14:57] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> In your introduction, when you were describing Weglot, you mentioned that WordPress is one aspect of that. But I&#8217;m reading between the lines, I could be wrong. Is it the case that Weglot operates outside the WordPress ecosystem as well? And if that&#8217;s the case, do you have a different approach to your marketing in the different markets? So firstly, let&#8217;s answer that question. Does it operate outside of WordPress? And if the answer to that is yes, what kind of things do you bolt onto? Is it other CMSs, or what?</p>



<p>[00:15:25] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> So the two founders of Weglot, they always had these goals of creating a solution for translation, that could be used on any website on the market. That was the purpose of the tool. We started to launch it on WordPress, but we also made a version for Shopify. And now you have this general integration that you can use on any website. And so the answer is yes. You can use Weget outside of WordPress.</p>



<p>Regarding question two, I think it&#8217;s a similar approach. It might be because of the company culture, and because of where we started. WordPress is like a big part of what we do inside of different communities. We believe that what we are doing here is really positive. And if something is working, and it&#8217;s positive, what you are going to try to do is to replicate it in other communities.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s really what we try to do, but at the same time, of course, you need to adapt yourselves to the other communities. Because, I don&#8217;t know, maybe it&#8217;s not the same people inside of a community. Maybe it&#8217;s more like corporate people. Maybe it&#8217;s people that are not interested about open source. Maybe it&#8217;s people who don&#8217;t know at all about how to code. I don&#8217;t know. There is various communities out there. And yeah, I would say like, we try to adapt ourself, and at the same time we try to replicate what&#8217;s working.</p>



<p>[00:16:47] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> This is going to be a difficult question to answer, potentially, because you may not have the numbers hand. But do you know if, let&#8217;s take the example of Shopify. Do you know if Shopify gives Weglot a greater level of profitability? For every dollar spent on events, or on advertising on Facebook, or Google, or whatever it may be, wherever those dollars get spent. Do you know if there is a greater profitability in one of those communities, than there is in another?</p>



<p>[00:17:15] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> That&#8217;s the big question. What I can say is that WordPress and Shopify, they are one of our big partners, with a strong attachment to WordPress. Because when the two founders launch Weglot, it was during WordCamp Paris. So that&#8217;s what I can say.</p>



<p>I don&#8217;t have the specific numbers in mind, but it&#8217;s true that there is a lot of new communities and new CMSs out there that are emerging. And it&#8217;s definitely super interesting to interact with them for me as a partner manager. And to discover new CMSs, new communities, that comes with new people from like various communities out there.</p>



<p>[00:17:54] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So we&#8217;ve spent quite a bit of time talking about sponsoring events, but obviously sponsoring could be in all sorts of different directions. And I think you mentioned things like Five for the Future. I&#8217;m wondering if that&#8217;s something that Weglot explore. So, you know, if you&#8217;re listening to this podcast and you are working for a company, and you&#8217;re trying to think of innovative, interesting ways, and obviously you could sponsor a WordCamp, that one&#8217;s fairly straightforward.</p>



<p>Are there any other things that you do? So for example, do you sponsor particular individuals to contribute to the code base? Do you sponsor some smaller events like meetups, or anything like that? Do you do things like Five for the Future, or any other things that we may not have heard of? So anything outside the normal typical WordPress events.</p>



<p>[00:18:34] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> I think it&#8217;s a quite interesting topic, because I think like everyone within the WordPress space, like companies, they can do like various innovative initiatives. We are all like super, super busy with our agendas. But you could contribute by providing, I don&#8217;t know, guest posts, content in the areas where you are an expert. For example, for us it would be like multilingual.</p>



<p>So if you have a content team, or people from your content team that could help others. You could also, let&#8217;s say, help meet up organisers with their venues. At Weglot, from time to time, there is like this marketing community. They come to have breakfast at Weglot in the morning. It&#8217;s not cool for the employees because you get to work and everybody is eating, and you need to work. You could also do that.</p>



<p>From a personal standpoint, I did a couple of talks during meetups, around multilingual. I mean, I&#8217;m not the best. I&#8217;m sure there is plenty of people with more knowledge than me. But I have my own expertise, and my experience, and I can share it. And so far I&#8217;ve received just positive feedbacks. There is various stuff that you could do at a personal level inside of a company.</p>



<p>And yeah, of course we are also doing Five for the Future. We are sponsoring, I think, right now, three contributors inside of the community team, and the Polyglot team too. It&#8217;s quite interesting. It&#8217;s something totally new for us. We never did it in the past. And what we try to have various people who are really enthusiastic about the community, and who loves to do plenty of stuff. It will be like, I don&#8217;t know, recruitment, just someone that would come like to the Weglot team and work. We try to have the same type of people with whom we&#8217;re collaborating there, which is awesome.</p>



<p>We also supported, you mentioned meetups, we also supported a few meetups in different ways, because we try to always adapt the budget. And also the way that we support those meetups, because some of them, they need money for the venue. Other needs equipment. And there is like layers of people out there who have specific needs, so we try to adapt ourself.</p>



<p>We&#8217;re also doing something quite interesting. There&#8217;s the Weglot community there, where we invite our ambassadors, inside of the company, for one or two days. And they get to meet everyone from the company, and they get to teach about what they do inside of specific communities, and how it helps Weglot.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s super interesting because it helps the company culture. When you are growing, and you have more and more people coming inside of the company, it&#8217;s interesting to learn the basics, but also to understand what we are doing inside of WordPress, or inside of other communities too.</p>



<p>Because obviously for us, it&#8217;s simple. We know what the community is about. We know what we&#8217;re doing. We know what&#8217;s WordPress, what&#8217;s a meetup, what&#8217;s a WordCamp. But maybe like for others, it&#8217;s a little bit more, not hard to understand, but there is less visibility on this type of action. Which is why it&#8217;s super interesting to have community people to come and just interact with the team.</p>



<p>One thing that is quite interesting, because you mentioned that we are present on different communities, and we also have different ambassadors. And this year we&#8217;re making a community day in March, if I&#8217;m right. If I&#8217;m wrong, my event manager is going to be mad at me. And some of them will be outside of WordPress. And they would meet each other and attend like conference during the day, and teach to each other what they do in different space. And also about their approach, because it&#8217;s not the same approach. So it&#8217;s going to be quite interesting to have those type of interaction. But yeah, maybe I&#8217;m being too long.</p>



<p>[00:22:12] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> No, that&#8217;s really interesting. You mentioned the ambassadors. Who are they then? it sounds like they&#8217;re people who are closely aligned with what you do, but not employees. They&#8217;re just people that use your services and products, but they&#8217;re not on the payroll. But they&#8217;re willing to give some of their time over to your endeavors. That&#8217;s interesting.</p>



<p>[00:22:28] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> Yeah. The ambassador program is something that we have put together because we started to sponsor quite a few WordCamps. And it was hard for us to be able to travel from point A, to point B, to point C. You could imagine having an event in France, another one in Spain, and another one in England. So it&#8217;s hard to commute. At the end you would be like totally tired. And it&#8217;s not the goal. The goal is, of course, to have a nice balance between personal life and work life.</p>



<p>We found out that there was plenty of people who were attending WordCamps, and were willing to do it for companies like us. We tried to find some community people who shared the same thoughts as we do, inside of Weglot. Love the product, want to talk about it, and want to participate inside of a community, That&#8217;s how it started.</p>



<p>Now we have a few ambassadors who are working with us. We try now, since this year, it&#8217;s the first time that we did the community day, so we try to have the ones that are representing us in like various countries, to come up in Paris with us and discuss with the team.</p>



<p>[00:23:40] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> That&#8217;s a really nice initiative. I like that. I also just like the fact that there&#8217;s people who are so into what you do as a product, that they&#8217;re willing to donate their time. It&#8217;s almost like a little microcosm of the WordPress project inside the Weglot project. You&#8217;ve got volunteers who are helping you out. Yeah. That&#8217;s fascinating.</p>



<p>I&#8217;m going to just encourage the listeners of the podcast to go to the show notes, and I&#8217;m going to link to a piece on the make.wordpress.org website by Cate DeRosia. It was published on the 29th of November 2023, and it&#8217;s called, Should We Allow Sponsor Demo Rooms or Tracks at Events. I&#8217;m also going to link to a piece over on Post Status by Marieke van de Rakt. The name of that piece escapes me at the moment. But it was all about the WordPress community getting divided into participants on the one hand, and sponsors and companies on the other hand.</p>



<p>And I&#8217;m interested about this. I&#8217;m interested to know from your perspective. Now we&#8217;ve talked a little bit about how you make a return on investment, or whether that&#8217;s necessary or not. But I&#8217;m wondering if, as the years have gone on, you mentioned that you&#8217;ve been involved in WordPress for five years or more. Have you still got the same excitement for attending these kind of events, or do you wish there to be some kind of change?</p>



<p>And in Cate DeRosia&#8217;s piece, she&#8217;s basically saying, do we need to think a little bit outside of the box in order to get sponsors to attend these events? It sounds, the undercurrent, I guess is that it&#8217;s harder than ever to get the sponsors, enough sponsors, to cover the cost of the events.</p>



<p>So I&#8217;m just wondering if the people in the comments, you have any ideas on how your sponsor dollars could be spent? Such that you feel you&#8217;re getting more value than you are at the moment.</p>



<p>[00:25:21] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> From a personal point of view, it&#8217;s definitely super amazing to be able to travel to this event. Because you get to travel from all over the globe, thanks to WordPress, which is super cool. I&#8217;ve never been in Asia, and I went to Bangkok earlier this year, which was awesome.</p>



<p>And you get to spend time there with people with whom you have a close relationship now, thanks to WordPress. And people with whom you are friends now during this event, and that you&#8217;re not probably going to meet throughout the year, which is just amazing.</p>



<p>And from a, more of a sponsor level, I would say maybe five years ago there was more engagement. If you take an event like WordCamp Europe, we&#8217;ve talked a little bit about it, let&#8217;s talk about it again here. Yeah there were for sure like, maybe more participants and more engagement in WordCamp Europe in Berlin, than maybe now the last WordCamp Europe in Athens. It was like a really huge event, with way more sponsors than five years ago.</p>



<p>People I believe, at least that&#8217;s my thoughts, were a little bit lost with all the sponsors, and all the tracks, and everything that was happening. It was still an amazing event. I love it. It was awesome. But yeah, maybe there was a little bit less engagement.</p>



<p>And there were also other events, like in Asia, where it was just like WordCamp Asia, was just amazing. I&#8217;ve spoke with so many people that were interested about the product, about what we do. And it was something new, because it was the first time too. So I guess we&#8217;ll see like this year, next year, and the coming years how it&#8217;ll evolve. But I&#8217;m sure it could be positive.</p>



<p>Yeah, maybe right now there is less engagement. But if we go back to the beginning of this conversation, I think the job of a lot of sponsors here, is to try to be innovative to attract people. It could be your booth. It could be the activities that we are doing.</p>



<p>I think right now it is just, we are at a stage where we should all start to think about outside of the box, and think about crazy ideas that we could put together, to have people come interact with your product. But also with what you do inside of a company.</p>



<p>[00:27:44] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, I think Cate&#8217;s piece really is raising that question. So, maybe it&#8217;s off the back of data saying what you&#8217;ve just said, where the engagement is maybe down. And it&#8217;s curious that you found that the engagement was up in WordCamp Asia. So maybe that&#8217;s because they were doing things differently. Maybe they had a different, just a whole different approach, and they&#8217;re trying innovative new things. Certainly speaking to some of the organisers, that was very much the intent, was to try out some new things. And from your perspective, that seems to work.</p>



<p>But as attendees of the events will know, the ticket price is incredibly low. And that is largely offset by sponsors. And so if sponsors, like Weglot, determine that the engagement, it&#8217;s going down. Maybe we shouldn&#8217;t sponsor this particular event. That then jeopardises the event in the future. So Cate&#8217;s piece, I guess, is trying to figure out if there are things which would attract the sponsors.</p>



<p>So she&#8217;s suggesting things like demo rooms, and various other things are suggested in the chat. But she&#8217;s thinking things like, could we have a standalone room just for demos, for sponsors? Would it be possible to offer them different kind of packages? What would those packages contain? Could there be maybe some, I don&#8217;t know, an event which is at the end of the event as a whole, where the sponsors get up and get to give away prizes or something like that.</p>



<p>The point is thinking out the box. And we did an episode a few weeks ago, which again I&#8217;ll link to in the show notes, where we&#8217;re talking about next gen events. And all of that, again, seems to be talking about a picture of, these events are after the pandemic at least. We&#8217;re struggling to get them back. We&#8217;re struggling for the sponsors to be interested. We&#8217;re struggling to get the numbers back. And so being innovative matters.</p>



<p>Do you think that you&#8217;ll be, in the next five years, sponsoring these events at the same level, or do you have an intuition that you&#8217;ll be going your own route and trying things own way?</p>



<p>[00:29:32] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> Yeah. If we&#8217;re talking about the flagship events, I know that next year we will still support all of them, which is great. I already know that for WordCamp Europe, we are going to have a really nice booth there. And everyone is right now working to be as innovative as possible, to make sure that everyone has a super nice experience entering into the Weglot booth. I hope it&#8217;s going to be amazing.</p>



<p>In WordCamp Asia, I know that we are working right now on the booth, the concept and everything that we&#8217;re going to do there, which is awesome. And I think it&#8217;ll be the same for WordCamp US.</p>



<p>On a more global perspective, I know that this year, we are not going to be global sponsors. But the reason behind it, is that we want to diversify the way that we support WordPress. And we are going to try to invest more into new initiatives, but also into contribution space, and into Five for the Future.</p>



<p>But yeah, it doesn&#8217;t mean that we are stopping anything. We are still going to support the flagships, and other WordCamps too. We are going to be just more selective into the WordCamps that we are supporting.</p>



<p>But I think, for us, it&#8217;s more the logistics behind supporting like all the events. It was hard to follow up. And we always had that goal in mind, that if we were going to be global sponsor, we wanted to have someone representing us in all the WordCamps.</p>



<p>And unfortunately, we were not able to maintain that. It&#8217;s cool, not cool, but it&#8217;s like amazing to support all these events. But you need to make sure that, at least you have someone out there, and not only is there like an empty table with no goodies or with some goodies and no one there.</p>



<p>And even the logistic behind like sending goodies in like, all the places in the world, it&#8217;s like crazy. And we were lucky. Now we have our event manager who is working with us, and she put together an amazing program for the goodies itself. So it was like something that she set up only for that. And we were able to work with ambassadors from a lot of places, which is also like super cool, because now we have more and more people working with us. But still it was hard for us to be able to be present everywhere, as we wanted to. So it&#8217;s part of the reason why. What was the initial question again? Maybe I got lost.</p>



<p>[00:31:57] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, it was really about whether or not you see the landscape in the next five years being the same as in the last five years. So, obviously money is tight everywhere.</p>



<p>[00:32:07] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> I was speaking about this year, and about how we were going to support also like meetups too. So, I&#8217;m in touch with some meetup organisers too, and we&#8217;re going to support their meetups.</p>



<p>I know that a lot of sponsors are struggling, and as we talk about it earlier, it&#8217;s hard to keep a track on everything that we&#8217;re doing. And for sure, if there is room for new types of sponsorship, or new types of visibility action that we can put together, it would be awesome.</p>



<p>The thing that you have to keep in mind, is that it&#8217;s cool to have these new ideas, but we need to make sure that it aligns with the community. And that we don&#8217;t cross that line that we spoke about earlier. The more that people are positive about the new ideas that we have, and the better it is for us, because it means more people are going to engage.</p>



<p>The last thing that you want to have is to put out there like some, I don&#8217;t know, new ideas, or new things to get more visibility. And what is going to happen is that you have less engagement, and then sponsors are going to be, okay, it&#8217;s not working. There is less engagement than before.</p>



<p>[00:33:13] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. I think the endeavor at the moment seems to be to try a lot of these new ideas out on what they&#8217;re calling next gen events. Whether that name will stick around or not, I don&#8217;t know. But the intention, really, is to try these out on the smaller events. So try out some new things, try a different approach at a variety of different events. Who knows what that will be, but there was an example of a much smaller, newer event in the UK not that long ago. See how they go, and see if any of the ideas from those can percolate up into the bigger events, possibly.</p>



<p>But you&#8217;re right, you risk alienating the community at your peril. If at the end of the day you go over a boundary that the community seemingly can&#8217;t tolerate, then you risk polluting the entire river, which would be a complete disaster.</p>



<p>So I guess we&#8217;re going to see. Let&#8217;s see how these things change in the future. Let&#8217;s see how companies cope with the realities of post 2023. Over the next few years, see what their purse strings are like, and let&#8217;s hope these events are continued to be sponsored by companies like Weglot.</p>



<p>Thomas, just a quick one. If anybody has listened to this and thought, do you know what, I&#8217;m struggling with the same sorts of things, it would be nice to chat to Thomas, see if there&#8217;s any alignment. Maybe there&#8217;s some sort of opportunities to work together. Where would be the best place to get in touch with you?</p>



<p>[00:34:24] <strong>Thomas Fanchin:</strong> Maybe on LinkedIn. You could all reach out to me on LinkedIn. I&#8217;m not posting every day, but i&#8217;m really reachable by message. So if anyone wants to reach out, talk about WordPress, talk about Five for the Future, or contribution, or you have a new podcast idea, you&#8217;re looking for support. Or you just want to discuss a little bit about partnership, feel free to reach out to me there.</p>



<p>I also have a Twitter account. It&#8217;s my name, so Thomas Fanchin. Have a look at it on both LinkedIn and Twitter. You will find me, I&#8217;m almost sure.</p>



<p>And otherwise, you could just reach out to the support team. If you want to reach out, support@weglot.com, and just say that you want to talk with Thomas, and I would be tagged. So that&#8217;s also easy if you want to reach out to me. So yeah, it up to you.</p>



<p>[00:35:14] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Thank you Thomas. I really appreciate you talking to me on the podcast today. Thanks so much indeed.</p>
</div>



<p>On the podcast today we have <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-fanchin-b31333137/">Thomas Fanchin</a>.</p>



<p>Thomas is a WordPress enthusiast and is the partnership manager for <a href="https://www.weglot.com/">Weglot</a>, which is a solution for translating websites, not limited to WordPress. His role means that he’s immersed in the WordPress community. He’s passionate about connecting with, and learning from, others in the community.</p>



<p>Thomas talks on the podcast about Weglot&#8217;s involvement in WordPress initiatives and events. We get into how they decide what to sponsor and what they hope to get in return.</p>



<p>Thomas discusses the difficulties in tracking the effectiveness of marketing efforts at events. They’ve tried all manner of approaches, and we chat about the complex nature of measuring the return on investment, and whether it’s enough to have brand visibility as the only outcome.</p>



<p>The conversation turns to the unique engagement opportunities within the WordPress and open source community, and whether these events are different from other, more corporate, events held elsewhere.</p>



<p>Weglot operates both within and beyond the WordPress ecosystem, and Thomas shares the company&#8217;s focus on adaptability and replication in other communities. While profitability comparisons between WordPress and Shopify events are not easy to measure, Thomas acknowledges both platforms as strong partners for Weglot, expressing interest in engaging with new content management systems (CMS) and communities.</p>



<p>Thomas wants to explore some innovative sponsor initiatives beyond typical events in the near future. He thinks that guest posts, supporting meetups, and sharing personal expertise might be potential ways for companies to effectively engage with the WordPress space.</p>



<p>But not everything is new, and Thomas talks about Weglot&#8217;s approach towards flagship events like WordCamp Asia and WordCamp US. They are hard at work already figuring out what they’re going to bring along and how they’re always trying to think outside the box.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re interested in learning about the intricacies of sponsorships, the impact of sponsor engagement at events, and the future landscape of sponsor initiatives within the WordPress community, this episode is for you.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Useful links</h2>



<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/five-for-the-future/">Five for the Future</a></p>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/">Translate WordPress</a></p>



<p><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2023/11/29/should-we-allow-sponsor-demo-rooms-or-tracks-at-events/">Should We Allow Sponsor Demo Rooms or Tracks at Events?</a></p>



<p><a href="https://wptavern.com/podcast/80-angela-jin-on-how-and-why-wordcamps-might-change-in-the-future">Angela Jin on How and Why WordCamps Might Change in the Future</a></p>



<p><a href="https://wptavern.com/podcast/98-marieke-van-de-rakt-on-uniting-the-wordpress-community-for-a-stronger-future">Marieke van de Rakt on Uniting the WordPress Community for a Stronger Future</a></p>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/thomas_fch">Thomas on X</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-fanchin-b31333137/">Thomas on LinkedIn</a></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 20 Dec 2023 15:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Nathan Wrigley";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:1;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:108:"Do The Woo Community: A Post State of the Word Chat with Rocio Valdivia, Pooja Derashri &amp; José Ramón";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78732";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:96:"https://dothewoo.io/a-post-state-of-the-word-chat-with-rocio-valdivia-pooja-derashri-jose-ramon/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:503:"<p>Listen to insights and experiences in the Spanish WordPress community, features and updates announced at SOTW, plus getting involved in the WordPress community. </p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/a-post-state-of-the-word-chat-with-rocio-valdivia-pooja-derashri-jose-ramon/">A Post State of the Word Chat with Rocio Valdivia, Pooja Derashri &#038; José Ramón</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 20 Dec 2023 08:50:41 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:2;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:248:"HeroPress: My Journey From an Intern to WordPress Themes Team Lead – मेरो यात्रा: एक प्रशिक्षार्थीबाट वर्डप्रेस थिम्स टीम नेतृत्वसम्म";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:56:"https://heropress.com/?post_type=heropress-essays&p=6254";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:184:"https://heropress.com/essays/my-journey-from-an-intern-to-wordpress-themes-team-lead/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=my-journey-from-an-intern-to-wordpress-themes-team-lead";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:59383:"<img width="1024" height="512" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/121923-min.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Pull Quote: Being part of WordCamps is like unlocking a door to a whole new world." /><p><a href="https://heropress.com/feed/#nepali">यो लेख नेपाली भाषामा पनि उपलब्ध छ।</a></p>



<p><em>Writing this essay brings me immense joy!</em>&nbsp;</p>



<p>I am from a remote corner of Nepal, where a unique culture emerged, the tradition of taking computer classes after completing <span title="School Leaving Certificate"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_Leaving_Certificate_(Nepal)">SLC</a></span>. It was a time when nearly 2-5% of students embraced this opportunity. I also joined them in the excitement of learning how to use a computer.</p>



<p>Our teacher kept emphasizing the importance of learning how to type. But sometimes, when he wasn&#8217;t around, we would search for the Internet icon, hoping to find interesting things. Sadly, we didn&#8217;t have an internet connection, but we still tried our best.   </p>



<p>Also, in our little learning space, every chance to use a computer felt special. These early experiences, a mix of fear and curiosity, laid the foundation for our technology journey.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It&#8217;s proof of our eagerness to learn, even when resources were limited.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Looking back, those moments of exploring and trying to connect with the wider digital world were like planting seeds of curiosity. Which later grew into a strong love for technology.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-glimpse-into-my-roots">A Glimpse into My Roots</h2>



<p>Let&#8217;s stroll through my tech journey, from mastering algorithms to leading the WordPress theme team. It all began after completing ISC (Intermediate of Science) and believe it or not, it happened in a government school.</p>



<p>After finishing school, I had to choose a path, and I went with IT. Now, the funny part is, that I was at a friend&#8217;s house one day, and I saw this cool digital ID card. I asked my friend about it, and he said it was the college ID card. At that moment, I thought, <strong>&#8220;If I study IT, I can get a modern ID card like this!&#8221;</strong></p>



<p><strong><em>The interesting twist is that I ended up being the topper in the entrance exam for IT.</em></strong>&nbsp;</p>



<p>When I joined, there were only 15-16 students. Surprisingly, only 7 of us made it through the entire degree because many decided to go to India, and some just realized IT wasn&#8217;t their thing. At that time, only a few people were keen on the IT field.</p>



<p>During my studies, programming code seemed like a puzzle to me. It was challenging to wrap my head around it. However, when we started experimenting and learning to give commands, the real-time working of it all was still a mystery.</p>



<p>As I neared the completion of my bachelor&#8217;s degree, technology was booming, and companies began realizing the importance of having a website. Simultaneously, I got involved in some social sector work, and people there started asking about IT. To understand this field better, I participated in IT events, and that&#8217;s when it hit me, I needed to do something significant in this field.</p>



<p>Fast forward, armed with a bachelor&#8217;s in Information Technology from Purbanchal University. In the 3rd &#8211; 4th semester, I wasn&#8217;t entirely sure what I would be working on afterwards.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong><em>But being in this field made me realize that your degree doesn&#8217;t define what you can achieve. It&#8217;s the passion and dedication that truly matter.</em></strong></p>



<p>Following my bachelor&#8217;s, the next step in my journey was pursuing a master&#8217;s degree to become a specialist. This led me to Sikkim Manipal University, where I immersed myself in the world of Information Technology from 2015 to 2017.</p>



<p>Well, it wasn&#8217;t just about learning Computer Science. It was a hands-on experience with a keen focus on the latest technology and software development.&nbsp;</p>



<p>During my time there, I specialized in object-oriented software development, using the newest tools and systems available. The tech adventure included delving into courses like algorithm analysis, web applications programming, and more.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong><em>Providing me with a robust skill set to navigate the ever-evolving tech world.</em></strong></p>



<p>As I lead the WordPress theme team today, my journey from being an intern is a vibrant mix of continuous learning, personal growth, and a profound passion for shaping the digital landscape.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong><em>Join me in this exciting tech adventure, where every challenge is an opportunity to innovate and evolve!</em></strong></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-attending-and-organizing-my-first-wordpress-meetup">Attending and Organizing My First WordPress Meetup</h2>



<p>Here&#8217;s an interesting part of how I got involved in WordPress. Back then, we used to install WordPress, add content to websites, and get paid NPR 5,000 for a website. We were thrilled with that!</p>



<p>Later on, during the <strong>&#8220;<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibeksheel_Nepali">Bibeksheel Nepali</a>&#8221; </strong>movement led by the late <a href="https://kafleg.com.np/an-open-letter-to-matt-mullenweg/"><strong>Mr Ujwal Thapa</strong></a>, I got to know him. We participated in walking events together, covering the stretch from Mechi to Lumbini for a few days.&nbsp;</p>



<p>During that time, Mr. Thapa emphasized the importance of contributing to the community and working together. He taught me that it&#8217;s not just about me learning and earning, everyone should have that opportunity. That changed my entire mindset!</p>



<p>Now, let me take you back to 2010 when I attended my first WordPress meetup. In a gathering of 40-50 people, we discussed the basics of WordPress and how to create a site.&nbsp;</p>



<p>After 2 years in 2012, I got a chance to organise a WordPress meetup. It was there that I discovered someone who created WordPress themes.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I was both shocked and enthusiastic! That night, I went home, and searched for &#8220;Catch Themes&#8221; and &#8220;Graph Paper Press,&#8221; and that&#8217;s when my exploration began.</p>



<p>After that, I stopped using themes from others and started exploring Catch Box of Catch Themes.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Back then, I had just heard about WordPress and was eager to explore its potential. Little did I know that this casual meetup would mark the beginning of an incredible journey.</p>



<p>But the experience was exhilarating, bringing together WordPress enthusiasts, sharing ideas, and building a sense of community.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong><em>It felt like planting a seed that would grow into something much larger.</em></strong></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-volunteering-in-first-wordcamp-to-leading-contributor-day-in-wc-asia">Volunteering in First WordCamp to Leading Contributor Day in WC Asia</h2>



<p>Now moving into my WordCamp journey!&nbsp;</p>



<p>After completing my bachelor&#8217;s, I came to Kathmandu in 2014. Luckily, I had the opportunity to volunteer at a WordCamp event with the help of Mr. Ujwal Thapa. Knowing the organizers made it easy for me to blend in among them.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It was an exciting experience for me! From that point on, my world has revolved around WordPress, and I haven&#8217;t seen anything quite like it.</p>


<div class="kb-gallery-wrap-id-6254_16174c-0b alignnone wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery"><ul class="kb-gallery-ul kb-gallery-non-static kb-gallery-type-grid kb-gallery-id-6254_16174c-0b kb-gallery-caption-style-bottom-hover kb-gallery-filter-none kb-gallery-magnific-init"><li class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item"><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner"><a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/45717552634_4b10a9f688_k.jpg" class="kb-gallery-item-link"><div class="kb-gal-image-radius"><div class="kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32"><img src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/45717552634_4b10a9f688_k-1024x579.jpg" width="1024" height="579" alt="" class="wp-image-6259" /></div><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption">WordCamp Biratnagar 2018</div></div></a></div></li><li class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item"><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner"><a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/contributorday_tableleads_organizers.jpg" class="kb-gallery-item-link"><div class="kb-gal-image-radius"><div class="kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32"><img src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/contributorday_tableleads_organizers-1024x683.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="" class="wp-image-6260" /></div><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption">Contributor Day table leads and organizers of WC Asia 2023</div></div></a></div></li><li class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item"><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner"><a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ujwal_3.jpg" class="kb-gallery-item-link"><div class="kb-gal-image-radius"><div class="kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32"><img src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ujwal_3.jpg" width="960" height="720" alt="" class="wp-image-6261" /></div><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption">Mr Ujwal Thapa speaking in WordPress Meetup</div></div></a></div></li><li class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item"><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner"><a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/with_worpdressers.jpg" class="kb-gallery-item-link"><div class="kb-gal-image-radius"><div class="kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32"><img src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/with_worpdressers-1024x768.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="" class="wp-image-6262" /></div><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption">WordCamp Asia 2023</div></div></a></div></li></ul></div>


<p>On to the year 2015, I ventured into the theme reviewing team, delving into the intricate world of WordPress themes. The learning curve was steep, but the satisfaction of contributing to the WordPress ecosystem was unparalleled. Since 2018, I have been working as a team lead.</p>



<p>My WordCamp journey became a tapestry of experiences, from <strong>WordCamp Nepal in 2014</strong> to various international events like <strong>WordCamp Tokyo in 2017</strong>, <strong>WordCamp Bangkok in 2019</strong>, and more.</p>



<p>Further, I got the golden chance to organize <a href="https://biratnagar.wordcamp.org/2018/"><strong>WordCamp Biratnagar 2018</strong></a><strong> </strong>as a lead. At that moment, there were very few companies who relied on WordPress to earn. It was a hassle to convince people to attend and let them know about WordPress. But we made it successful though!</p>



<p>The years rolled on, and by 2023, I found myself organizing <strong>WordCamp Kathmandu </strong>once again, alongside events in Sylhet, Mumbai, and Manila. The swift of WordCamps continued into 2024, with Nepal and Asia taking the spotlight again.</p>



<p>Reflecting on these years, I&#8217;ve not just attended events, I&#8217;ve woven connections, shared laughter, and learned valuable lessons. Also, personal anecdotes, like meeting fellow WordPress enthusiasts in unexpected places, make these WordCamps memorable.</p>



<p>Looking forward, I&#8217;m thrilled about the upcoming WordCamps and the new experiences they&#8217;ll bring. Each event adds something special to my journey with WordPress, like a unique stroke on a canvas. The adventure goes on, driven by my love for WordPress and the incredible community that makes it all meaningful.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-growth-in-career-from-volunteer-to-full-time-wordpress">Growth in Career From Volunteer to Full-time WordPress</h2>



<p>In the vibrant world of WordPress, I wear multiple hats with pride. By day, I&#8217;m a WordPress Developer and Theme Reviewer, channelling my passion into crafting digital experiences that stand out.&nbsp;</p>



<p>My role as a team representative for the WordPress.org themes team, contributing full-time isn&#8217;t just a job, it&#8217;s a joyous commitment that I hold close to my heart.</p>



<p><strong><em>Adding a special touch to this journey is the honor of being sponsored by Rank Math.&nbsp;</em></strong></p>



<p>This collaboration with <a href="https://rankmath.com/"><strong>Rank Math</strong></a><strong> </strong>goes beyond the professional, it&#8217;s a shared dedication to the vibrant WordPress community that fuels my passion.</p>



<p>Now, let me share a bit about how this sponsorship unfolded. Well, <strong>Rank Math </strong>was on the lookout for someone to sponsor, and in that pivotal moment, I had the privilege of connecting with <strong>Bhanu Ahluwalia</strong>, the Co-founder of Rank Math.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Our conversation became more than just a chat; it became the catalyst that made the sponsorship a reality. Working full-time suddenly transformed from a dream to a tangible experience.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Beyond the lines of code, my free time transforms into moments of contribution. I find comfort in adding my touch to the WordPress documentation team, weaving words that guide fellow enthusiasts through the vast WordPress landscape.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>My involvement extends:</strong></p>



<ul>
<li>As a WordCamp speaker</li>



<li>Organize WordCamp as a lead organizer</li>



<li>Volunteer in different WordCamps and tech events</li>



<li>Worke in diverse fields like core contributions, and translation, and even dived into theme/plugin development.</li>
</ul>



<p><strong>If you&#8217;re curious about my take on these standards, you can catch a glimpse of my <a href="https://wordpress.tv/speakers/ganga-kafle/">WordCamp presentation video</a>.</strong></p>



<p>But my WordPress journey isn&#8217;t confined to screens, it extends to the heartbeat of meetups and open-source platforms. Actively participating and engaging with the community is not just a routine, it&#8217;s a source of inspiration and connection.</p>



<p>When I&#8217;m not crafting code or contributing, you&#8217;ll find me at the seat of WPEntire, my WordPress blog, sharing insights and experiences. It&#8217;s not just a blog, it&#8217;s a canvas where my WordPress journey finds another expressive outlet.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-10-years-of-volunteering-and-getting-sponsored-by-rank-math">10 Years of Volunteering and Getting Sponsored By Rank Math</h2>



<p>I&#8217;ve been part of the WordPress community for more than ten years, volunteering and sharing my love for technology. It&#8217;s been an exciting journey, from learning the ropes to contributing to a global community.</p>



<p>Being a volunteer isn&#8217;t just about coding; it&#8217;s a personal adventure of growth and connection. Every bit of code feels like a step in a journey filled with innovation and learning.</p>



<p>A significant part of this journey has been the support from Rank Math. Their sponsorship isn&#8217;t just financial help; it&#8217;s a vote of confidence. It encourages me to keep contributing to a community that has become a vital part of my life.</p>



<p>This collaboration with Rank Math goes beyond code. It&#8217;s a shared belief in WordPress and the power of working together. As I look back at the past ten years, I see a story of learning, growing, and building friendships.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Every WordCamp and meetup is like adding a stroke to my WordPress story. I&#8217;m excited about what the future holds, and the support from Rank Math adds a personal touch to my journey with WordPress.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-gateway-to-explore-the-world">A Gateway to Explore the World</h2>



<p>Being part of WordCamps is like unlocking a door to a whole new world. It&#8217;s not just about learning techie stuff, it&#8217;s about meeting people from all over and discovering how big and diverse our world is.</p>



<p>Imagine a big gathering where folks who love working with WordPress come together. It&#8217;s like a big family reunion but with people from different countries and cultures. In this mix, we share ideas, solve problems, and learn from each other.</p>



<p>For me, WordCamps has been a game-changer. They go beyond talking about websites. They help us understand each other&#8217;s worlds.&nbsp;</p>



<p>When I spoke at WordCamp Manila and WordCamp Mumbai, it wasn&#8217;t just about WordPress tricks. It was about learning how people in different places use WordPress to solve unique challenges.</p>



<p>At WordCamp Asia, being in charge of a team with people from all over was a bit like having a superhero squad. We had different skills and backgrounds, and that made us strong. It taught me that when we bring our unique strengths together, amazing things happen.</p>



<p>But WordCamps aren&#8217;t just about work. They&#8217;re about making friends from places you&#8217;ve never been. Sharing stories about how we do things in our hometowns and realizing that even though we&#8217;re different, we&#8217;re also pretty similar.</p>



<p>So, WordCamps have become more than just events for me. They&#8217;ve opened up a whole world of friendships, learning, and exploring different cultures. It&#8217;s like having a passport to a global community where everyone speaks the language of WordPress and friendship.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-my-thoughts">My Thoughts</h2>



<p>Sure, if you&#8217;re in the IT field, you can find internships on your own by doing some research. Don&#8217;t hesitate to apply and use your resources.</p>



<p>For those interested in WordPress, consider spending 3-6 months as an intern. Instead of just thinking about money, focus on learning and gaining experience.&nbsp;</p>



<p>WordPress is not just for blogs, it&#8217;s also a place for programming where you can make money. Depending on your skills, you can find jobs in writing, front-end development, and more.</p>



<p>Surprisingly, you can even work as an HR for US companies while living in Nepal without being there physically. Being a developer is also not too difficult. If you work within the WordPress community, companies might sponsor you.</p>



<p>Remember, as WordPress grows, more companies will want people like you. Technology and WordPress are always changing. For developers, it means earning in new ways. For others, it&#8217;s a chance for something new; bloggers can improve their blogs, and writers can create fresh content.</p>



<p>So, WordPress offers opportunities for everyone involved. Ways of working and patterns might change, but you’ll never be outdated!</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-म-र-य-त-र-एक-प-रश-क-ष-र-थ-ब-ट-वर-डप-र-स-थ-म-स-ट-म-न-त-त-वसम-म">मेरो यात्रा: एक प्रशिक्षार्थीबाट वर्डप्रेस थिम्स टीम नेतृत्वसम्म</h2>



<p>यो निबन्ध लेख्दा मलाई अपार आनन्द मिलेको छ !</p>



<p>म नेपालको एउटा दुर्गम कुनाबाट आएको हुँ, जहाँ एक अनौठो संस्कृतिको उदय भयो, एसएलसी पूरा गरेपछि कम्प्युटर कक्षा लिने परम्परा। यो एक समय थियो जब लगभग २-५% विद्यार्थीहरूले यो अवसरलाई अँगालेका थिए!</p>



<p>हाम्रा शिक्षकले टाईपिङ्ग गर्न सिक्नुको महत्त्वलाई जोड दिनुहुन्थ्यो तर कहिलेकाहीँ, जब उहाँ वरपर हुनुहुन्थ्यो, हामी रोचक चीजहरू फेला पार्ने आशामा इन्टरनेट आइकनको प्रयोग गर्थ्यौं। दुर्भाग्यवश, हामीसँग इन्टरनेट जडान थिएन, तर हामीले अझै पनि सक्दो प्रयास गर्थ्यौं।&nbsp;</p>



<p>हाम्रो सानो सिक्ने ठाउँमा, कम्प्युटर प्रयोग गर्ने हरेक मौका विशेष महसुस गर्थ्यौं। यी प्रारम्भिक अनुभवहरू, डर र जिज्ञासाको मिश्रणले हाम्रो टेक्नोलोजी यात्राको जग बसाल्यो।</p>



<p>यो हाम्रो सिक्न उत्सुकताको प्रमाण हो, स्रोतहरू सीमित हुँदा पनि।</p>



<p>फर्केर हेर्दा, अन्वेषण गर्ने र फराकिलो डिजिटल संसारसँग जोडिने प्रयास गर्ने ती क्षणहरू जिज्ञासाको बीउ रोप्ने जस्तै थिए। जुन पछि प्रविधिप्रतिको बलियो प्रेममा परिणत भयो।</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-म-र-धर-तलहर-म-एक-झलक">मेरो धरातलहरुमा एक झलक</h2>



<p>प्रबिधि बिषयमा बिज्ञता हासिल गर्नदेखि वर्डप्रेस थिम टोलीको नेतृत्व गर्नेसम्मको मेरो प्राविधिक यात्रामा घुमौं। यो सबै ISC पूरा गरेपछि सुरु भयो र पत्याउनुहोस् वा नपत्याउनुहोस् , यो एक सरकारी विद्यालयमा भयो।</p>



<p>स्कूल सकिएपछि, मैले बाटो रोज्नुपर्&#x200d;यो, र म आईटीसँग गएँ। अब, रमाइलो पक्ष के हो, म एक दिन साथीको घरमा गएको थिएँ, र मैले त्यस दिन साथीको राम्रो डिजिटल आईडी कार्ड देखे। मैले मेरो साथीलाई यसको बारेमा सोधें, र उसले यो कलेजको परिचयपत्र हो भन्यो। त्यो पल, मैले सोचे, &#8220;यदि मैले आईटी पढे भने, मैले पनि&nbsp; यस्तो आधुनिक आईडी कार्ड पाउछु!&#8221;</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>चाखलाग्दो ट्विस्ट यो हो कि म IT को लागी प्रवेश परीक्षामा टपर पनि भएँ।</p>
</blockquote>



<p>म भर्ना हुँदा १५-१६ जना मात्र विद्यार्थी थिए। अचम्मको कुरा के छ भने, हामीमध्ये ७ जनाले मात्रै पूरा डिग्री हासिल गर्&#x200d;यौं किनभने धेरैले भारत जाने निर्णय गरे, र कतिपयले केहि समय पछि IT उनीहरूको कुरा होइन भन्ने महसुस गरे। त्यसबेला आईटी क्षेत्रमा थोरै मानिस मात्रै इच्छुक थिए । धेरैको रोजाई इन्जिनियर हुने हुन्थो।</p>



<p>मेरो अध्ययनको क्रममा, प्रोग्रामिङ कोड मलाई के हो के हो जस्तो लाग्थ्यो। मेरो दिमागमा सहजै बस्नु चुनौतीपूर्ण थियो। जब हामीले प्रयोगशालामा प्रयोग गर्न थाल्यौं, आदेशहरू दिन सिक्यौं, त्यै पनि त्यो अझै रहस्यमय थियो ।</p>



<p>जब मेरो स्नातक डिग्री पूरा गर्ने समय नजिक थियो, टेक्नोलोजी फस्टाउँदै थियो, र कम्पनीहरूले वेबसाइट हुनुको महत्त्व महसुस गर्न थाले। यससँगै म केही सामाजिक क्षेत्रको काममा संलग्न भएँ र त्यहाँका मानिसहरूले IT बारे सोध्न थाले। यस क्षेत्रलाई अझ राम्ररी बुझ्नको लागि, मैले IT कार्यक्रमहरूमा भाग लिएँ, र जब यसले मलाई छोयो, मैले यस क्षेत्रमा केही महत्त्वपूर्ण गर्न आवश्यक ठानेको थिए ।</p>



<p>पूर्वाञ्चल विश्वविद्यालयबाट सूचना प्रविधिमा स्नातक हासिल गरे। पहिला तेश्रो चौथो सेमेस्टर सम्म पनि पछि&nbsp; म पछि के काम गर्नेछु भनेर पूर्णतया निश्चित थिएन।</p>



<p><strong>तर यस क्षेत्रमा भएकोले मलाई तपाईको डिग्रीले तपाईले के हासिल गर्न सक्नुहुन्छ भनेर परिभाषित गर्दैन भन्ने महसुस गरायो। यो जोश र समर्पण हो जुन साँच्चै महत्त्वपूर्ण छ।</strong></p>



<p>मेरो स्नातक पछि, मेरो यात्राको अर्को चरण एक विशेषज्ञ बन्नको लागि मास्टर डिग्री पछ्याउँदै थियो। यसले मलाई सिक्किम मणिपाल विश्वविद्यालयमा पुर्यायो, जहाँ मैले २०१५ देखि २०१७ सम्म सूचना प्रविधिको संसारमा डुबें।</p>



<p>यो कम्प्यूटर विज्ञान सिक्ने बारेमा मात्र थिएन। यो नवीनतम प्रविधि र सफ्टवेयर विकासमा गहिरो ध्यान अनुभव गराउने थलो थियो।</p>



<p>त्यहाँ मेरो समयको दौडान, उपलब्ध नयाँ उपकरण र प्रणालीहरू प्रयोग गरेर वस्तु-उन्मुख सफ्टवेयर विकासमा विशेषज्ञता हासिल गरें। मैले यहाँ धेरै प्रोग्रमिंग भाषाहरु र अन्य कुराहरु सिके ।</p>



<p>यसले मलाई सधैं विकसित हुँदै गइरहेको प्राविधिक संसारमा हिनडुल गर्नको लागि बलियो सीप प्रदान गर्दै थियो।</p>



<p>आज मैले वर्डप्रेस थिम टोलीको नेतृत्व गर्नु, इन्टर्नबाट मेरो यात्रा निरन्तर सिकाइ, व्यक्तिगत वृद्धि, र डिजिटल परिदृश्यलाई आकार दिनको लागि गहिरो जोशको जीवन्त मिश्रण हो।</p>



<p>यो रोमाञ्चक प्राविधिक साहसिक कार्यमा मसँग सामेल हुनुहोस्, जहाँ हरेक चुनौती नवीनता र विकास गर्ने अवसर हो!</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-म-र-पह-ल-वर-डप-र-स-म-टअपम-सहभ-ग-ह-द-र-आय-जन-गर-द">मेरो पहिलो वर्डप्रेस मिटअपमा सहभागी हुँदै र आयोजन गर्दै</h2>



<p><br />यहाँ म कसरी वर्डप्रेसमा संलग्न भएँ को एक रोचक कहानी छ। त्यसबेला, हामीले वर्डप्रेस स्थापना गर्ने, वेबसाइटहरूमा सामग्री थप्ने र साइटका लागि नेपाली ५,000 लिने गर्दथ्यौं। हामी त्यो संग रोमाञ्चित भयौ!</p>



<p>पछि स्वर्गीय <a href="https://kafleg.com.np/an-open-letter-to-matt-mullenweg/">उज्वल थापाको</a> नेतृत्वमा भएको ‘<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibeksheel_Nepali">विवेकशील नेपाली</a>’ आन्दोलनको क्रममा मैले उहाँलाई चिनेँ । मेचीदेखि लुम्बिनीसम्म केही दिनसम्म सँगै हिँड्ने कार्यक्रममा भाग लिए।</p>



<p>सो क्रममा श्री थापाले समुदायमा योगदान र मिलेर काम गर्नुपर्नेमा जोड दिए । उनले मलाई सिक्ने र कमाउने मात्र होइन, सबैले त्यो अवसर पाउनुपर्छ भनेर सिकाए। यसले मेरो सम्पूर्ण मानसिकता परिवर्तन गर्यो।&nbsp;</p>



<p>अब, म तपाइँलाई २०१० मा फिर्ता लैजान चाहन्छु जब मैले मेरो पहिलो वर्डप्रेस भेटघाटमा भाग लिएको थिएँ। करिब ४०-५० व्यक्तिहरूको भेलामा, हामीले वर्डप्रेसको आधारभूत कुराहरू र कसरी साइट सिर्जना गर्ने बारे छलफल गर्यौं।</p>



<p>२०१२ मा २ वर्ष पछि, मैले वर्डप्रेस मिटअप आयोजना गर्ने मौका पाएँ। त्यहाँ मैले वर्डप्रेस थिम सिर्जना गर्ने व्यक्ति हरुलाई चिने ।</p>



<p>म स्तब्ध र उत्साहित दुवै थिएँ । त्यो रात, म घर गएँ, र &#8220;क्याच थिम&#8221; र &#8220;ग्राफ पेपर प्रेस&#8221; खोजेँ र त्यही बेला मेरो अन्वेषण सुरु भयो।</p>



<p>त्यस पछि, मैले अरूबाट बनेका थिमहरू प्रयोग गर्न छोडें र क्याच थिमको थिम क्याच बक्स अन्वेषण गर्न थाले।</p>



<p>त्यसबेला, मैले भर्खरै वर्डप्रेसको बारेमा सुनेको थिएँ र यसको सम्भाव्यता अन्वेषण गर्न उत्सुक थिएँ। यो अनौपचारिक भेटघाटले अविश्वसनीय यात्राको सुरुवात गर्नेछ भन्ने कुरा मलाई कमै थाहा थियो।</p>



<p>तर त्यो बेलाको अनुभव रमाइलो थियो, वर्डप्रेस उत्साहीहरूलाई सँगै ल्याउने, विचारहरू साझा गर्ने, र समुदायको भावना निर्माण गर्ने।</p>



<p><strong>यो एउटा बीउ रोपेको जस्तो महसुस भयो जुन पछि धेरै ठूलो बन्नेछ।</strong></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-पह-ल-वर-डक-य-म-पम-स-वय-स-वक-भएर-सहभ-ग-ह-द-र-वर-डक-य-म-प-एश-य-क-कन-ट-र-ब-य-टर-ड-म-अग-व-ई-गर-द">पहिलो वर्डक्याम्पमा स्वयंसेवक भएर सहभागी हुँदै र वर्डक्याम्प एशियाको कन्ट्रिब्यूटर डे मा अगुवाई गर्दै</h2>



<p>अब मेरो वर्डक्याम्प यात्रामा जाउँ ।&nbsp;</p>



<p>मैले स्नातक पूरा गरेपछि, म २०१४ मा काठमाडौं आएँ। सौभाग्यवश, मैले श्री उज्ज्वल थापाको सहयोगमा वर्डक्याम्प कार्यक्रममा स्वयंसेवक हुने मौका पाएँ। आयोजकहरू चिन्दा मलाई तिनीहरूबीच घुलमिल हुन सजिलो भयो।</p>



<p>यो मेरो लागि एक रोमाञ्चक अनुभव थियो । त्यस बिन्दु देखि, मेरो संसार वर्डप्रेसको वरिपरि घुमेको छ, र मैले यो जस्तो केहि देखेको छैन।</p>


<div class="kb-gallery-wrap-id-6254_db195f-01 alignnone wp-block-kadence-advancedgallery"><ul class="kb-gallery-ul kb-gallery-non-static kb-gallery-type-grid kb-gallery-id-6254_db195f-01 kb-gallery-caption-style-bottom kb-gallery-filter-none"><li class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item"><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner"><div class="kb-gal-image-radius"><div class="kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32"><img src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/with_worpdressers-1024x768.jpg" width="1024" height="768" alt="" class="wp-image-6262" /></div><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption">WordCamp Asia 2023 </div></div></div></li><li class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item"><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner"><div class="kb-gal-image-radius"><div class="kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32"><img src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ujwal_3.jpg" width="960" height="720" alt="" class="wp-image-6261" /></div><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption">Mr Ujwal Thapa speaking in WordPress Meetup</div></div></div></li><li class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item"><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner"><div class="kb-gal-image-radius"><div class="kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32"><img src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/contributorday_tableleads_organizers-1024x683.jpg" width="1024" height="683" alt="" class="wp-image-6260" /></div><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption">Contributor Day table leads and organizers of WC Asia 2023</div></div></div></li><li class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item"><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item-inner"><div class="kb-gal-image-radius"><div class="kb-gallery-image-contain kadence-blocks-gallery-intrinsic kb-gallery-image-ratio-land32 kb-has-image-ratio-land32"><img src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/45717552634_4b10a9f688_k-1024x579.jpg" width="1024" height="579" alt="" class="wp-image-6259" /></div><div class="kadence-blocks-gallery-item__caption">WordCamp Biratnagar 2018</div></div></div></li></ul></div>


<p>२०१५ मा मैले वर्डप्रेस थिमहरूको जटिल संसारमा खोज्दै थिम समीक्षा टोलीमा प्रवेश गरें। सिक्ने क्रम ठाडो थियो, तर वर्डप्रेस संरचनामा योगदान गरेको सन्तुष्टि अतुलनीय थियो। २०१८ देखि, म टोली नेतृत्वको रूपमा काम गर्दैछु।</p>



<p>मेरो वर्डक्याम्प यात्रा सन् <strong>२०१४ मा वर्डक्याम्प नेपाल</strong>देखि <strong>२०१७ मा वर्डक्याम्प टोकियो</strong>, <strong>२०१९ मा वर्डक्याम्प बैंकक</strong>, र थप अन्य विभिन्न अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय कार्यक्रमहरूसम्मको अनुभवको एउटा भण्डार बन्यो।</p>



<p>यसबाहेक, मेरो नेतृत्वको रूपमा <strong><a href="https://biratnagar.wordcamp.org/2018/">वर्डक्याम्प विराटनगर २०१८</a></strong> आयोजना गर्ने सुनौलो मौका पाएँ। त्यो क्षणमा, त्यहाँ धेरै कम कम्पनीहरू मात्र थिए जसले वर्डप्रेस मा भर परेर कमाउने गरेका थिए। मानिसहरूलाई उपस्थित हुन र उनीहरूलाई वर्डप्रेस बारे जानकारी दिन मनाउनको लागि यो झन्झट थियो। तर हामीले यसलाई सफल बनायौं!</p>



<p>वर्षहरू बित्दै गए, र २०२३ सम्ममा, मैले सिल्हेट, मुम्बई र मनिलाका कार्यक्रमहरूसँगै फेरि एक पटक वर्डक्याम्प काठमाडौंको आयोजना गरेको थिए। वर्डक्याम्पहरुको आँधी २०२४ मा जारी रह्यो, नेपाल र एशियाले फेरि केन्द्र बनायो ।</p>



<p>यी वर्षहरूलाई प्रतिबिम्बित गर्दै, मैले कार्यक्रमहरूमा मात्र भाग लिएको छैन, मैले समुदायको एउटा राम्रो संजाल बुनेको छु, खुसिहरु साझा गरेको छु, र बहुमूल्य पाठहरू सिकेको छु। व्यक्तिगत उपाख्यानहरू, जस्तै अप्रत्याशित ठाउँहरूमा वर्डप्रेसका उत्साहीहरूलाई भेट्दा यी वर्डक्याम्पलाई यादगार बनाउँदछ।</p>



<p>अगाडि हेर्दै, म आगामी वर्डक्याम्पहरु र तिनीहरूले ल्याउने नयाँ अनुभवहरू बारे रोमाञ्चित छु। प्रत्येक घटनाले वर्डप्रेसको साथ मेरो यात्रामा केहि विशेष थप्छ, जस्तै क्यानभासमा अद्वितीय स्ट्रोक। साहसिक कार्य जारी छ, वर्डप्रेसको लागी मेरो प्रेम र यो सबै अर्थपूर्ण बनाउने अविश्वसनीय समुदाय द्वारा संचालित।</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">कर्ममा वृद्धि: स्वयंसेवक सेवामा बाट पूर्ण-समय वर्डप्रेसमा</h2>



<p>वर्डप्रेसको जीवन्त संसारमा, म गर्वका साथ धेरै टोपीहरू लगाउँछु। दिनहुँ, म एक वर्डप्रेस विकासकर्ता र थिम समीक्षक हुँ, मेरो लगाबलाई डिजिटल अनुभवहरू बनाउनमा सहजीकरण गर्दैछ, जुन अलिक फरक देखिन्छ।</p>



<p>WordPress.org थिम टोलीका लागि टोली प्रतिनिधिको रूपमा मेरो भूमिकामा, पूर्ण-समय योगदान गर्नु भनेको जागिर मात्र होइन, यो मेरो हृदयको नजिक रहेको खुशीको प्रतिबद्धता हो।</p>



<p>यस यात्रामा विशेष स्पर्श थप्नु भनेको Rank Math द्वारा प्रायोजित हुनुको सम्मान हो।</p>



<p><a href="https://rankmath.com/">Rank Math</a> सँगको यो सहकार्य जागिर भन्दा बाहिर जान्छ, यो जीवन्त वर्डप्रेस समुदायको लागि साझा समर्पण हो जसले मेरो जोशलाई बढाउँछ।</p>



<p>अब मलाई यो प्रायोजन कसरी भयो भन्ने बारे केही कुरा गर्नुछ।&nbsp; ठिक छ, Rank Math कसैलाई प्रायोजित गर्ने खोजीमा थियो, र त्यो निर्णायक क्षणमा, मैले Rank Math का सह-संस्थापक भानु अहलुवालिया सँग जोडिने सुअवसर पाएको थिएँ।</p>



<p>हाम्रो वार्तालाप कुराकानी मात्र होइन; यो प्रायोजनलाई वास्तविकता बनाउने उत्प्रेरक बन्यो। पूर्ण-समय काम गर्दा अचानक सपनाबाट मूर्त अनुभवमा परिवर्तन भयो।</p>



<p>कोडको रेखाहरू भन्दा बाहिर, मेरो खाली समय योगदानको क्षणहरूमा परिवर्तन हुन्छ। मैले वर्डप्रेस कागजात टोलीमा मेरो विज्ञता थप्दा सान्त्वना पाउँछु, शब्दहरू बुनाई जसले साथीहरुलाई उत्साही बनाउछ र विशाल वर्डप्रेस परिदृश्य मार्फत मार्गदर्शन गर्दछ।</p>



<p>मेरो संलग्नता विस्तार हुन्छ:</p>



<ul>
<li>म वर्डक्याम्प वक्ताको रूपमा उभिएको छु&nbsp;</li>



<li>एक प्रमुख आयोजक रूपमा वर्डक्याम्प संचालन र सफलता पुर्बक सम्पन्न गरेको छु&nbsp;</li>



<li>विभिन्न वर्डक्याम्पहरु र प्राविधिक कार्यक्रमहरूमा स्वयंसेवकको रूपमा सहयोगी हात दिएको छु&nbsp;</li>



<li>वर्डप्रेसको मुख्य फायालमा योगदान, र अनुवाद जस्ता विविध क्षेत्रहरूमा काम गरे, र थिम र प्लगिन विकासमा पनि डुबेको छु&nbsp;</li>
</ul>



<p>यदि तपाइँ यी मापदण्डहरूमा मेरो लिने बारे उत्सुक हुनुहुन्छ भने, तपाइँ मेरो वर्डक्याम्प <a href="https://wordpress.tv/speakers/ganga-kafle/">प्रस्तुतीकरण भिडियोको झलक</a> हेर्न सक्नुहुन्छ।</p>



<p>तर मेरो वर्डप्रेस यात्रा स्क्रिनमा मात्र सीमित छैन, यो भेटघाट र खुला स्रोत प्लेटफर्महरूको मुटुको धड्कनमा विस्तार हुन्छ। सक्रिय रूपमा सहभागी हुनु र समुदायसँग संलग्न हुनु एक दिनचर्या मात्र होइन, यो प्रेरणा र जडानको स्रोत हो।</p>



<p>जब म कोड बनाउँदै वा योगदान गरिरहेको छैन, तपाईंले मलाई <a href="https://www.wpentire.com/">WPEntire</a> को सीटमा भेट्टाउनुहुनेछ, मेरो वर्डप्रेस ब्लग, अन्तर्दृष्टि र अनुभवहरू साझा गर्दै। यो केवल एक ब्लग होइन, यो एक क्यानभास हो जहाँ मेरो वर्डप्रेस&nbsp; यात्राले अर्को अभिव्यक्त दिने ठाउँ फेला पार्छ।</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-१०-वर-षक-स-व-म-rank-math-ब-ट-प-र-य-ज-त-ह-द">१० वर्षको सेवामा Rank Math बाट प्रायोजित हुँदै</h2>



<p>म दशवर्षदेखि वर्डप्रेस समुदायको हिस्सा भएको छु, स्वयंसेवा गर्दै र टेक्नोलोजीको लागि मेरो प्रेम साझा गर्दै। यो एक रोमाञ्चक यात्रा भएको छ, सिक्ने देखि विश्वव्यापी समुदायमा योगदान गर्न सम्म।</p>



<p>स्वयंसेवक हुनु भनेको कोडिङ मात्र होइन; यो वृद्धि र जडान को एक व्यक्तिगत साहस हो । कोडको प्रत्येक अंश नवीनता र सिकाइले भरिएको यात्रामा एक कदम जस्तै महसुस गर्दछ।</p>



<p>यो प्रायोजन आर्थिक सहयोगको बारेमा मात्र होइन, यो मेरो वर्डप्रेस यात्राको व्यक्तिगत अध्याय हो, अविश्वसनीय जडानहरू र साझा प्रतिबद्धतालाई मुख्य आकर्षण गर्दै जसले यस समुदायलाई विशेष बनाउँछ।</p>



<p><a href="https://rankmath.com/">Rank Math</a> संग यो सहयोग र सहकार्य कोड बाहिर जान्छ। यो वर्डप्रेसमा साझा विश्वास र सँगै काम गर्ने शक्ति हो। जब म विगत सात वर्षलाई फर्केर हेर्छु, म सिक्ने, बढ्दै जाने र मित्रता निर्माण गर्ने कथा देख्छु।</p>



<p>प्रत्येक वर्डक्याम्प र भेटघाट मेरो वर्डप्रेस कथामा तलाथप्नु जस्तै हो। म भविष्यमा के हुन्छ भन्ने बारे उत्साहित छु, र Rank Math को समर्थनले वर्डप्रेसको साथ मेरो यात्रामा व्यक्तिगत स्पर्श थप्छ। म खुसि छु ।</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">विश्वलाई अन्वेषण गर्ने एक प्रवेशद्वार</h2>



<p>वर्डक्याम्पको एउटा अंग हुनु भनेको नयाँ संसारको ढोका खोल्नु हो। यो प्राविधिक सामानहरू सिक्ने मात्र होइन, यो सबै ठाउँका मानिसहरूलाई भेट्ने र हाम्रो संसार कति ठूलो र विविध छ भनेर पत्ता लगाउने बारेमा पनि हो।</p>



<p>एउटा ठूलो जमघटको कल्पना गर्नुहोस् जहाँ वर्डप्रेससँग काम गर्न मन पराउने मानिसहरू एकसाथ आउँछन्। यो एउटा ठूलो पारिवारिक पुनर्मिलन जस्तो छ तर विभिन्न देश र संस्कृतिका मानिसहरूसँग। यस मिश्रणमा, हामी विचारहरू साझा गर्छौं, समस्याहरू समाधान गर्छौं, र एकअर्काबाट सिक्छौं।</p>



<p>मेरो लागि, वर्डक्याम्पहरु एक खेल-परिवर्तक भएको छ। तिनीहरू वेबसाइटहरूको बारेमा कुरा गर्न बाहिर जान्छन्। तिनीहरूले हामीलाई एकअर्काको संसार बुझ्न मद्दत गर्छन्।</p>



<p>जब मैले वर्डक्याम्प मनिला र वर्डक्याम्प मुम्बईमा बोले, यो केवल वर्डप्रेस बारेमा मात्र थिएन। यो विभिन्न ठाउँहरूमा मानिसहरूले अनौठो चुनौतीहरू समाधान गर्न वर्डप्रेस प्रयोग गर्ने तरिका सिक्ने बारेमा पनि थियो।</p>



<p>वर्डक्याम्प एशियामा एक टोलीको इन्चार्ज हुनु भनेको सुपरहिरो भएको जस्तो थियो। हामीसँग विभिन्न सीप र पृष्ठभूमिहरू थिए, र यसले हामीलाई बलियो बनायो। यसले मलाई सिकायो कि जब हामी हाम्रो अद्वितीय शक्तिहरू सँगै ल्याउँछौं, आश्चर्यजनक चीजहरू हुन्छन्।</p>



<p>तर वर्डक्याम्पहरु कामको बारेमा मात्र होइन। तिनीहरू तपाईं कहिल्यै नगएको ठाउँहरूबाट साथीहरू बनाउने बारेमा पनि हुन्। हामी हाम्रो गृहनगरमा कसरी काम गर्छौं भन्ने बारे कथाहरू सुनाउदै र महसुस गर्दै कि हामी फरक भए तापनि, हामी पनि धेरै समान छौं।</p>



<p>त्यसो भए, वर्डक्याम्पहरू मेरो लागि घटनाहरू भन्दा बढी भएका छन्। तिनीहरूले मित्रता, सिक्ने, र विभिन्न संस्कृतिहरू अन्वेषण गर्ने सम्पूर्ण संसार खोलेका छन्। यो विश्वव्यापी समुदायमा पासपोर्ट भएको जस्तै हो जहाँ सबैले वर्डप्रेस र मित्रताको भाषा बोल्छन्।</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-म-र-भ-वन-हर">मेरा भावनाहरू</h2>



<p>पक्का, यदि तपाईं आईटि क्षेत्रमा हुनुहुन्छ भने, तपाईंले केही अनुसन्धान गरेर आफैंमा इन्टर्नशिपहरू फेला पार्न सक्नुहुन्छ। लागू गर्न र आफ्नो स्रोतहरू प्रयोग गर्न नहिचकिचाउनुहोस्।</p>



<p>वर्डप्रेसमा रुचि राख्नेहरूका लागि, एक इन्टर्नको रूपमा ३-६ महिना खर्च गर्न तयार हुनुहोस्। पैसाको बारेमा मात्र सोच्नुको सट्टा, सिक्ने र अनुभव प्राप्त गर्नमा ध्यान केन्द्रित गर्नुहोस्।</p>



<p>वर्डप्रेस ब्लगहरूको लागि मात्र होइन, यो प्रोग्रामिङको लागि ठाउँ पनि हो जहाँ तपाईं पैसा कमाउन सक्नुहुन्छ। तपाइँको सीपको आधारमा, तपाइँ लेखन, डिजाईन विकास गर्न, र थप मा काम पाउन सक्नुहुन्छ।</p>



<p>अचम्मको कुरा के छ भने, तपाईं शारीरिक रूपमा त्यहाँ नभई नेपालमा बसेर अमेरिकी कम्पनीहरूमा एचआरको रूपमा काम गर्न सक्नुहुन्छ। विकासकर्ता बन्न पनि गाह्रो छैन। यदि तपाइँ वर्डप्रेस समुदाय भित्र काम गर्नुहुन्छ भने, कम्पनीहरूले तपाइँलाई प्रायोजित गर्न सक्छन्।</p>



<p>याद गर्नुहोस्, वर्डप्रेस बढ्दै जाँदा, धेरै कम्पनीहरूले तपाईंजस्ता मानिसहरू चाहन्छन्। टेक्नोलोजी र वर्डप्रेस सधैं परिवर्तन हुँदैछ। विकासकर्ताहरूको लागि, यसको अर्थ नयाँ तरिकामा कमाइ हुन्छ। अरूको लागि, यो केहि नयाँ को लागी एक मौका हो; ब्लगरहरूले आफ्नो ब्लगहरू सुधार गर्न सक्छन्, र लेखकहरूले नयाँ सामग्री सिर्जना गर्न सक्छन्।</p>



<p>त्यसोभए, वर्डप्रेसले संलग्न सबैका लागि अवसरहरू प्रदान गर्दछ। काम गर्ने तरिका र ढाँचाहरू परिवर्तन हुन सक्छ, तर तपाईं कहिल्यै पुरानो हुनुहुने छैन!</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/my-journey-from-an-intern-to-wordpress-themes-team-lead/">My Journey From an Intern to WordPress Themes Team Lead &#8211; मेरो यात्रा: एक प्रशिक्षार्थीबाट वर्डप्रेस थिम्स टीम नेतृत्वसम्म</a> appeared first on <a href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 20 Dec 2023 02:15:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"Ganga Kafle";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:3;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:109:"Gutenberg Times: State of the Word, Redesign Developer resources, Block Theme updates — Weekend Edition 278";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?p=26698";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:114:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/state-of-the-word-redesign-developer-resources-block-theme-updates-weekend-edition-278/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:23618:"<p>Howdy, </p>



<p>2023 is coming to the end. This is the last edition for 2023, as I take a few vacation days over the Holidays and be with ailing family members. In January, it&#8217;ll be six years of almost weekly news about the block editor, and its progress into a first class site building tool. Thank you for being a faithful subscriber to the Gutenberg Times, and all your encouraging comments over all those years.</p>



<p>For a highlight reel of 2023, I recommend you watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7M4mBVgP3Y&t=1s">the recording of the State of the Word 2023 by Matt Mullenweg</a>, if you missed it on the live stream. It was a great presentation with an outlook for 2024 and beyond. If you are not the video-watching type, you&#8217;ll also find quite a few links to Recap posts below. </p>



<p>Wishing you and yours festive Holidays, and a prosperous, healthy and happy New Year! </p>



<p>Yours, 💕<br /><em>Birgit</em></p>






<div class="wp-block-group has-light-background-background-color has-background"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow">
<p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p>



<div class="wp-block-sortabrilliant-guidepost"><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-word-press-release-information">Developing Gutenberg and WordPress</a><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#1-state-of-the-word">State of the Word</a><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#2-list-of-recap-posts-from-around-the-word-press-space">List of Recap posts from around the WordPress space</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#3-q-amp-a-after-state-of-the-word-2023">Q &amp; A after State of the Word 2023</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#1-gutenberg">Gutenberg Updates</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#5-strong-upcoming-events-strong">Upcoming events</a></li></ul></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-p">Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#7-theme-development-for-full-site-editing-and-blocks">Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#3-building-themes-for-fse-and-word-press">Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor. </a></li></ul></div>
</div></div>




<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="0-word-press-release-information">Developing Gutenberg and WordPress</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="1-state-of-the-word">State of the Word</h3>



<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7M4mBVgP3Y&t=1s"><strong>State of the Word</strong> recording</a> is available on YouTube. </p>



<p>What stood out for me in terms of what&#8217;s coming next year?Here is my list: </p>



<ul>
<li><strong><a href="https://wordpress.org/data-liberation/">Data Liberation</a></strong> is a massive initiative. Empowering users to take their site with them from one CMS to another is such a pain right now. It&#8217;s not only from Squarespace or Wix to WordPress, it&#8217;s also from one WordPress host to another, and also from one-Page Builder to Core. A giant step towards an open web. <a href="https://github.com/wordpress/data-liberation"> GitHub repository</a> and WP Slack channel:  <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C069AKUBPHB" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">#data-liberation</a>.</li>



<li>The promise of connecting the Block editor to Custom fields is intriguing. <strong>Mario Santos</strong> posted a <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/53300#issuecomment-1808020238">proposal for the first iteration in WordPress 6.5</a>. </li>



<li>The <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/discussions/categories/interactivity-api"><strong>Interactivity API</strong></a>, has been mentioned in a few Weekend Editions. It has been used internally for a few core blocks, in WordPress 6.4 and  will become a public API in WordPress 6.5. </li>



<li><strong>Patterns </strong>will become first class citizens of the site editor with their upcoming partially syncing feature. It means you can change the styling of a pattern that&#8217;s used over multiple pages without updating the content. </li>



<li><strong><a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/playground/">WordPress Playground</a></strong> will also change how we preview and develop for WordPress. We use it as another way to work with the <a href="https://github.com/bph/gutenberg/discussions/81">Gutenberg Nightly</a>. </li>



<li>Mullenweg revealed that <strong>WordCamp US </strong>will be in <strong>Portland, Oregon </strong>with two contributor days and a two &#8211; day conference, <strong>September 17 &#8211; 20, 2024</strong>. Sounds like an exciting new format!  Furthermore, I am excited about more WordCamps in 2024, especially in Europe with the shorter travel distances for me now. For now, I only have plans to be at <a href="https://asia.wordcamp.org/2024/">WordCamp Asia</a> in Taipei, Taiwan and <a href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2024/">WordCamp Europe </a>in Torino. </li>
</ul>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="2-list-of-recap-posts-from-around-the-word-press-space">List of Recap posts from around the WordPress space</h4>



<p><strong>Matt Mederios</strong> was probably the first to publish a <strong><a href="https://thewpminute.com/state-of-the-word-2023/">State of the Word 2023 Recap</a>. </strong></p>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/ioanamuresan"><strong>Ioana Mureşan</strong> </a>wrote the article on the WPTavern <a href="https://wptavern.com/state-of-the-word-2023-hola-wordpress"><strong>State of the Word 2023: ¡Hola WordPress!</strong></a> and includes demo videos from the talk so you can review them in due time. I bookmarked this article for later reference, too. </p>



<p><strong>Joost de Valk</strong> wrote for the Post Status blog: <a href="https://poststatus.com/state-of-the-word-2023-excitement-all-around/"><strong>State of the Word 2023: excitement all around!</strong></a></p>



<p><a href="https://twitter.com/tomwillmot"><strong>Tom Willmot</strong></a>, CEO of Human Made, published his recap: <a href="https://humanmade.com/wordpress-for-enterprise/state-of-the-word-2023-takeaways-for-enterprise/"><strong>State of the Word 2023: Takeaways for Enterprise</strong></a>. </p>



<p><strong>Courtney Robertson</strong> posted here recap for GoDaddy: <a href="https://www.godaddy.com/resources/news/wordpress-state-of-the-word-2023"><strong>WordPress State of the Word 2023</strong></a></p>



<p><strong>Torque Magazine</strong> also reported on the event: <a href="https://torquemag.io/2023/12/envisioning-the-future-of-wordpress-state-of-the-word-2023/"><strong>Envisioning the Future of WordPress: State of the Word 2023</strong></a></p>



<p>Last but no least, there is the <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/state-of-the-word-2023-recap/"><strong>State of the Word 2023 Recap</strong></a> on the WordPress.org site by <strong>Nicholas Garofalo</strong></p>



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<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="3-q-amp-a-after-state-of-the-word-2023">Q &amp; A after State of the Word 2023</h4>



<p>The recording of the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S01uBD2pyQY"><strong>Q &amp; A portion of the State of the Word</strong></a> is also available on YouTube. Due to time constrains , only a few questions, could be answered. Matt Mullenweg started answering the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project/2023/12/12/overflow-questions-from-state-of-the-word-2023/">overflow questions</a> online. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="1-gutenberg">Gutenberg Updates</h3>



<p><strong><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/releases/tag/v17.3.0-rc.1">Gutenberg 17.3 RC 1</a></strong> is available now for testing. The stable release is scheduled for Dec. 20, 2023. Release lead is <strong>Madhu Dollu</strong>, JavaScript Developer at Automattic. </p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong>Jamie Marsland</strong> interviewed <strong>Matias Ventura</strong> to get the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWN5Vyq3pRE"><strong>WordPress Gutenberg &#8211; The Inside Story!</strong></a> If you haven&#8217;t been around the project for that long, listening to the two of them discuss the Genesis of the project and its early days, gives you a great insight in how decisions were made, about the scope and the four phases of the project. The list of chapters makes it possible to view the one hour and twenty minutes video in several sittings. It&#8217;s a fabulous conversation where both men bring in context and can look at bigger pictures. You might not agree with some decisions made, but listening to Ventura, you will be in a better place understanding the context of decisions in terms of user experience and use cases, and their place in the project. </p>



<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWN5Vyq3pRE"><img width="652" height="197" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-12-at-16.46.31.png?resize=652%2C197&ssl=1" alt="Matias Ventura in a conversation with Jamie Marsland. " class="wp-image-26733" /></a>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p class="has-accent-color has-light-background-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-d02c05917781faad43b455819cf71f89">🎙️ Latest episode:  <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-93-gutenberg-17-1-command-palette-data-views-and-grid-layout/">Gutenberg Changelog #93 – Gutenberg 17.1, Command Palette, Data Views and Grid Layout</a> &#8211; a chat with <strong>Isabel Brison</strong></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="5-strong-upcoming-events-strong">Upcoming events</h3>



<p><strong>Dec 19th, 23 &#8211; 16:00 UTC</strong> : <a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/297143342/"><strong>Developer Hours: Modern WordPress development with the wp-scripts package</strong></a></p>



<p><strong>Jan 16, 24 &#8211; 21:00 UTC</strong> <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/11/23/hallway-hangout-lets-explore-wordpress-6-5/"><strong>Hallway&nbsp;Hangout: Let’s explore WordPress 6.5</strong></a></p>



<a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/297143342/"><img width="600" height="338" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/image.png?resize=600%2C338&ssl=1" alt="Announcement graphic of the next Developer hours on Dec 19 at 16:00 UTC " class="wp-image-26749" /></a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="0-p">Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners</h2>



<p><strong>Jamie Marsland</strong> found that WordPress users have trouble understanding the interdependency between global width and custom content width with Block themes and created <a href="https://www.pootlepress.com/2023/12/beginners-guide-to-customizing-page-width-options-in-wordpress-gutenberg/"><strong>Beginners Guide to Customizing Page Width Options in WordPress Gutenberg</strong></a>. &#8220;The page width options in WordPress Gutenberg, combined with the ability to set these values in global styles in block themes, offer an unprecedented level of control and flexibility in web design.&#8221; Marsland wrote. </p>



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<p>In his video, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyYgMdrXJiY"><strong>Creating a one-page website</strong></a>, <strong>Wes Theron</strong> takes you through the steps on building a one-page website with WordPress. Theron starts with a discussion of what kind of content would be placed on a one-page website, goes through an example of a business website, and walks through the various steps on how to add each section to a page.</p>



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<p><strong>Thomas Zwirner</strong> created a single block plugin called <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/download-list-block-with-icons/"><strong>Download list with icons</strong></a>. It provides you with a block to manage a download list with file type-specific icons. No configuration is necessary. The Block can be used immediately after installation.</p>



<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/download-list-block-with-icons/"><img width="652" height="236" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-14-at-17.44.30.png?resize=652%2C236&ssl=1" alt="Screenshot of the download list block" class="wp-image-26758" /></a>



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<p><strong>Jacob Martella</strong> <a href="https://twitter.com/ViewFromTheBox/status/1732075066727288918">introduced </a>the <a href="https://crosswindsframework.com/">Crosswind Framework</a>, a set of tools, out of the box templates, patterns, and themes and additional blocks for your building websites with WordPress and the Site Editor. Its promise is a complete, nocode way to build websites. </p>



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<p>The <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/create-block-theme/"><strong>Create Block Theme</strong></a> plugin by WordPress core contributors has received an update: with improved child theme export, increases consistency over the plugin pages and forms, and regularly updated Google Fonts available locally. </p>



<p><strong>Ganesh Dahal</strong> recently published a <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/12/05/a-walk-through-tutorial-on-using-create-block-theme-plugin/"><strong>A walk-through tutorial on using the Create</strong></a> Block Theme plugin, that should help you get started and take full advantage of the Theme building plugin. </p>



<p>Brian Gardner shared the updates for his themes: <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/frost/"><strong>Frost</strong></a> - is now sporting, among other refinements,  a progress bar pattern, better shadow presets, hover styles in theme.json.  The Power Studio<a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/powder-studio/"><strong> Theme</strong></a> just landed in the WordPress theme repository and offers a wide variety of wireframe patterns, styles, and templates, and color choices inspired by Tailwind CSS. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="7-theme-development-for-full-site-editing-and-blocks">Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks</h2>



<p>At WordCamp Vancouver,  <strong>Flynn O&#8217;Connor</strong> gave a talk on <strong><a href="https://wordpress.tv/2023/11/13/exploring-block-themes/">Exploring block themes</a></strong>, that is now available on WordPress TV. From the description: &#8220;This session provides an exploration of block themes, the modern approach to building in WordPress. We will examine how block themes differ from traditional PHP-based themes and highlight their core components, including theme.json. Reviewing the advantages of block themes and how they empower users to easily customize the visual appearance of their websites without touching the code. This session offers valuable insights into the world of block themes and their impact on the future of WordPress development.&#8221; </p>




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<p><strong>Anne McCarthy</strong> made a call for response in the <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C015GUFFC00/p1702356362566639">#fse-outreach-experiments </a>channel: <strong><a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C015GUFFC00/p1702356362566639">Opportunity to share your theme building workflow with contributors working on theme tooling</a></strong>. McCarthy already identified about 30+ theme builders who were active in the channel before. If you want to participate in the initiative, chime in on the Slack thread, or email me at pauli@gutenbergtimes.com. </p>



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<p><strong>Maggie Cabrera</strong> shared her experience on being co-developer lead for the 2024 default theme in an <a href="https://onemaggie.com/2023/12/open-letter-to-a-future-default-theme-lead/"><strong>Open letter to a future default theme lead</strong></a>. &#8220;While most of the work will be reviewing contributors’ work, the key part of your role is keeping an eye on the big picture and being ready to make high-level decisions. You won’t always have the answers, but you will have people around you to help you figure out the best outcome.&#8221; she wrote. </p>



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<p><strong>Ellen Bauer</strong> gives you a view behind the scenes, and shares <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXq6pp7IvIE"><strong>how she creates patterns for a WordPress Block Theme</strong></a>. She first shows you her pattern building workflow and then builds a project pattern. </p>




<p><strong> <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;Keeping up with Gutenberg &#8211; Index 2022&#8221;</a> </strong><br />A chronological list of the WordPress Make Blog posts from various teams involved in Gutenberg development: Design, Theme Review Team, Core Editor, Core JS, Core CSS, Test, and Meta team from Jan. 2021 on. Updated by yours truly.  <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index-2020/"><em>The index 2020 is here</em></a></p>




<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="3-building-themes-for-fse-and-word-press">Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor. </h2>



<p><strong>Nick Diego</strong> announced the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2023/12/15/developer-resources-gets-a-refresh/">Developer Resources redesign going public.</a> The design is now block theme based and allows for much better on page navigation and helps developers with breadcrumbs and expandable right side navigation. Developer Resources are available via <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/">developer.WordPress</a>.org and houses all Handbooks for Block Editor, Themes, Plugins, Playground, and Common APIs. </p>



<img width="652" height="311" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-16-at-13.18.58.png?resize=652%2C311&ssl=1" alt="Screenshot of developer.wordpress.org" class="wp-image-26771" />



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<p><strong>Jonathan Bossenger</strong> recording his tutorial on the <a href="https://wordpress.tv/2023/12/15/new-wordpress-developer-apis-the-interactivity-api/"><strong>Interactivity API, as new WordPress API </strong></a>now experimental and hopefully becoming a public API in WordPress 6.5. &#8220;he main goal of the Interactivity API is to provide a standard and simple way to handle the frontend interactivity of Gutenberg blocks. This standard would make it easier for developers to create rich, interactive user experiences, from simple cases like counters or popups to more complex features like instant search, or carts and checkouts. In this session, you will learn more about this new developer API, through a live&#8221; Bossenger wrote in the tutorial&#8217;s description. </p>



<a href="https://wordpress.tv/2023/12/15/new-wordpress-developer-apis-the-interactivity-api/"><img width="652" height="369" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-16-at-14.40.40.png?resize=652%2C369&ssl=1" alt="Still image from the Tutorial Video " class="wp-image-26784" /></a>



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<p>Also at WordCamp Vancouver, Ryan Welcher talked about <a href="https://wordpress.tv/2023/11/13/extending-wordpress-using-the-slotfill-system/"><strong>Extending WordPress using the SlotFill&nbsp;system</strong></a> - &#8221;The SlotFill system can be used to extend blocks and the UI for the Block Editor and Site Editor screens, making it a critically important tool for any WordPress developer. This talk will take a deep dive into how this system works, show how and where you can currently extend WordPress, and finally, how to create your own custom SlotFills!&#8221;</p>




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<p><strong>Bartosz Gadomski</strong> wrote a post about <a href="https://bartoszgadomski.com/filtering-the-theme-json-file-values-such-as-default-color-palette-and-other-global-styles-in-wordpress/"><strong>Filtering the theme.json file values (such as default color palette and other global styles) in WordPress</strong></a> and dives deeper into the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2022/10/10/filters-for-theme-json-data/">four new filters</a> available since WordPress 6.1 to access values programmatically. </p>




<p><strong><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/need-a-zip-from-master/">Need a plugin .zip from Gutenberg&#8217;s master branch?</a></strong><br />Gutenberg Times provides daily build for testing and review. <br />Have you been using it? Hit reply and let me know.</p>



<p><img alt="GitHub all releases" src="https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/bph/gutenberg/total?style=for-the-badge" /></p>




<p class="has-text-align-right has-small-font-size"><em>Questions? Suggestions? Ideas? Don&#8217;t hesitate to send <a href="mailto:pauli@gutenbergtimes.com">them via email</a> or send me a message on WordPress Slack or Twitter @bph</em>. </p>



<p class="has-text-align-right has-small-font-size">For questions to be answered on the <a href="http://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast">Gutenberg Changelog</a>, send them to <a href="mailto:changelog@gutenbergtimes.com">changelog@gutenbergtimes.com</a></p>



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<p>Featured Image: Palace Neptuno, Madrid, with State of the Word 2023 displays.</p>



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<p class="has-text-align-left"><strong>Don&#8217;t want to miss the next Weekend Edition? </strong></p>



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<ol>
<li><a href="https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro/16-inch">16” M3 Max MacBook Pro</a>, with all the memory and storage. I went from carrying two laptops earlier in the year, a 14” as well to just this. I like the Space Black color because it’s novel but might go back to silver next time. Brand new so just a few stickers so far!</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09V4LZS9S/?tag=photomatt08-20">Black Magic Mouse</a>, steady and useful when I’m doing lots of emails. Looking to replace this, as it uses Lightning. At home I’ve been using the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Z81WS5L/?tag=photomatt08-20">Mojo Pro Performance Silent Gaming Mouse</a> because it’s wired and quiet when you click, so something wireless and quiet could be nice for when on the go… I do like the gestures of the Magic Mouse though. I&#8217;ll be testing out some new mice over the holidays.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09P8CNRK1/?tag=photomatt08-20">Universal Airplane Phone Holder</a>, also good along with #4 for mounting an iPhone for using the <a href="https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213244">Continuity camera</a> or <a href="https://ma.tt/files/2023/11/IMG_1637-scaled.jpg">selfies</a> (after taking that he said &#8220;please don&#8217;t go to jail&#8221;). Also super cheap, &lt;$20 for two.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B5S7X6BN/?tag=photomatt08-20">Capstone Continuity Camera mount for MacBook laptops</a>, easy way to mount your iPhone to your laptop to use as a webcam. Looks amazing, but a bit of a pain, which is why I’m excited about #6.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MF6TJLW/?tag=photomatt08-20">Anker 655 USB-C 8-in-1 Hub</a>. I use this mostly for Ethernet, but since everything is USB-C now I can also use this with either phone or the iPad. I seem to have bad luck with USB hubs, I’m always burning through them, but this one has lasted a while. This thing is heavy! I could go smaller/lighter here.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CM8V52PG/?tag=photomatt08-20">Opal Tadpole webcam</a>, this is the <a href="https://opalcamera.com/">Opal</a> product everyone has been waiting for. Quality close to iPhone at a smaller size, plugs in via USB-C so you don’t have to worry about connectivity or charging, doesn’t need any special software, looks amazing. Only fits a laptop though, not a bigger monitor. The way the cable works is really clever, great design.</li>



<li>This is one of my most delightful new additions, a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083SCPFQK/?tag=photomatt08-20">Pixel G1s RGB Video Light</a>, it can cast warm light for a Zoom call or you can send it to a specific color to enhance the ambience of room for a party. It can rotate through a rainbow of colors. I ended up giving this to all my friends, and now when we&#8217;re in the same place we can instantly vibe out a room with two or three of these devices, and turn off any unpleasant default lighting a space may have. It charges via USB-C, natch. Hat tip: <a href="https://rjwalters.info/">Robb Walters</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://pro.ultimateears.com/pages/ue-premier">UE Premier custom headphones</a>. The best aural experience you can have. Invest the time in visiting an audiologist to get earphones and earplugs customized for your ears.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E9W11QM?tag=photomatt08-20">Belkin Rockstar headphone splitter</a>, great for sharing audio with others, especially if they have #8.</li>



<li>Small USB-C to 1/8th inch converter, to be extra though <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09F8M9PDG/?tag=photomatt08-20">upgrade to this one from Belkin with power</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BKGR5B76/?tag=photomatt08-20">Rolling Square inCharge XL 6-in-1 Multi Charging Cable</a>, nice compact all-in-one I’ve been playing with. They make some <a href="https://www.amazon.com/stores/RollingSquare/page/FAB0F15F-9BCA-46AF-A453-A2157CD94CC9?tag=photomatt08-20">other interesting accessories</a>. A 100w Swiss army knife of cables, and the thing they do combining Lightning and Micro-USB is so cool.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C85BVS5V/?tag=photomatt08-20">Baseus has made a retractable 100w/5a USB-C beautiful cord</a>. This is probably the one you’ll want to carry around. Someday it will replace all other cables when we achieve USB-C nirvana.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08JG2YRFB/?tag=photomatt08-20">Chafon USB-C multi-cable is my ultimate workhorse</a>, what I use the most. It’s available at different lengths. I like the way the attachments can be moved around, but there is some fragility being entered at every connection so I like to travel with these not linked so they don’t bend or break.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BY8Q69DC?tag=photomatt08-20">Tiny Miisso 6000mah battery pack with cables built in</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C34DL6Z7/?tag=photomatt08-20&th=1">Pixel Fold</a>. I always try to have an Android device for testing and the pixel fold has been a interesting one, because I found myself using it in ways that feel like sci-fi. Reading a book on the Kindle where you can turn the pages it&#8217;s really nice. It&#8217;s just a fun tool.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1N7SGMZ/?tag=photomatt08-20&th=1">Pixel Buds Pro</a>, they sound remarkably good. Airpods for Android.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CHWRXH8B/?tag=photomatt08-20">Airpods Pro</a>, now with USB-C as God intended. I have a little robot on mine. Just amazing, and how great that you can buy them anywhere in the world. This is the first thing I’d replace if I lost it.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-iphone/iphone-15-pro">iPhone 15 Pro</a>, now that it has USB-C, my favorite iPhone ever. No notes.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00T9CHYOU/?tag=photomatt08-20">Maruman N196A Nemosine Notebook</a>, great paper. I have a small Pilot Couleur pen tucked into the spiral binding. Both brands are Japanese and I think I picked them up on a trip there, probably at the amazing <a href="https://store.tsite.jp/daikanyama/english/">Daikanyama T-Site</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q5VZ8PU/?tag=photomatt08-20">OHTO Needle Point Knock 0.7mm pen</a>, a nice daily driver. I was carrying around a <a href="https://www.montblanc.com/en-us/ballpoint-pens_cod19971654707127749.html">Montblanc Heritage Egyptomania Doué ballpoint pen</a> but I lost it somewhere.</li>



<li><a href="https://ugmonk.com/pages/analog">Notecards from Ugmonk Analog</a>. I really enjoy everything they make, great company, I keep these on every desk as well. These cards are often what drives my day.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08B495319/?tag=photomatt08-20">Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition, finally with USB-C</a>! I prefer the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F7TLZF4/?tag=photomatt08-20">Oasis</a>, but they inexplicably haven’t updated it to be USB-C, so I carry the Paperwhite instead.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJLF3QVN/?tag=photomatt08-20">11-inch iPad Pro</a>, always great in a pinch. I have the pen in case I magically develop an ability to draw and the keyboard and alway-connected 5G makes this great for hopping on Slack or <a href="https://texts.com/">Texts</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.bestbuy.com/site/insignia-35w-foldable-compact-dual-usb-c-port-wall-charger-for-iphone-ipad-macbook-air-samsung-smartphones-tablets-and-more-white/6504662.p?skuId=6504662">35w dual USB-C charger, from Insignia</a> I probably picked up at Best Buy. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09N94ZVFX/?tag=photomatt08-20">Here is a 40w Amazon alternative I recommend and usually carry</a>. This is one of the items I give away the most, so I must have given away my Highsay version.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B091Z6JNX4/?tag=photomatt08-20">Ugreen 100w 4-port compact charger</a>, this is what I break out when I want to charge my laptop quickly.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09H6PJDWB/?tag=photomatt08-20">Belkin 37-Watt Dual USB Car Charger</a>, I use this very rarely now but it’s great in a pinch, especially on older cars that have very weak USB ports.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CG9192B4/?tag=photomatt08-20">Epicka travel adapter</a>. Nice that it has some built-in ports, but I rarely use them. I probably should switch back to the smaller and lighter Muji adapter.</li>



<li><strong>Still my favorite power cable:</strong> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BVW27Y1Y/?tag=photomatt08-20">Baseus 60w</a>. I tried the higher watt models, they didn&#8217;t always work on planes. This is a 6-foot extension cord and can charge a laptop directly. Really a joy. When they do an all-USB-C version I&#8217;ll probably upgrade..</li>



<li><a href="https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MT0H3AM/A/apple-watch-magnetic-fast-charger-to-usb-c-cable-1-m">Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger</a>, of course with USB-C</li>



<li>This year, I’ve been focused more on my overall health. As I’m getting into the habit of moving my body everyday, the <a href="https://www.apple.com/apple-watch-ultra-2/">Apple Watch Ultra 2</a> has been motivating because it’s great at letting me know how much I don’t run. Jokes aside, I’m a data person so seeing the numbers of my habits have helped me optimize my goals.&nbsp;</li>



<li>A candle can make a space feel cozy. Though I don’t travel with my own candle, I like to have my trusted <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GLRLH25/?tag=photomatt08-20">Rechargeable Candle Lighter</a>. Light fire with USB!&nbsp;</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000MF60UC/?tag=photomatt08-20">Swiss Army Card</a>, let’s talk about cool gadgets. I use every feature of this card on a regular basis during my travels. It’s incredibly compact and slim. I’ve had to reorder this card a couple of times because they will confiscate the tiny knife.&nbsp;</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KYTR0HM/?tag=photomatt08-20">Petzl e+LITE Headlamp</a>, as a former boy scout, I’m always prepared for anything including a potential blackout.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>



<li><a href="https://lockpicktools.com/folding-pocket-set/">Lockpick set</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VW8QH4N/?tag=photomatt08-20">Carabiner</a> is always good to have on hand.</li>



<li>You know, a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HS3JKDC/?tag=photomatt08-20">Disposable mask</a> is just good practice. This mask shape is my favorite and very comfortable.&nbsp;</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0062ALC9U/?tag=photomatt08-20">Immunity Throat Spray</a> was recommended to me by Paul Stamets. I’m not sure if it’s a placebo, but I haven’t gotten sick. Thus, 3 sprays twice a day will keep the doctor away… for me at least.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Lately, I’ve been curious about the quality of air. I carry the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YY7BH2W/?tag=photomatt08-20">Aranet4 CO2 monitor</a> to gain insight about different spaces.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/healthybuildings/2021/09/09/impacts-of-indoor-air-quality-on-cognitive-function/">Higher CO2 literally makes your brain slower</a>!</li>



<li>Winter is coming… <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FD7W4SD/?tag=photomatt08-20">BioDerma Chapstick</a> is my go-to for dry lips.&nbsp;</li>



<li>I must admit I don’t really eat the mints from this <a href="http://www.marunao.com/cms_en/products/308/">Marunao Mint Case</a>. However, I have a high admiration for this elegantly crafted case. It has a soft finish feel and a satisfying magnetic closure.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BKMY834?tag=photomatt08-20">Kikkerland Red Plaid Earphone Case</a> is where I store my custom molded ear plugs.&nbsp;</li>



<li><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DX1G5YM?tag=photomatt08-20">SmartMouth travel packets</a> was the best recommendation I received in 2019. It really tackles mouth hygiene well for all day freshness.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Cloth card holder / wallet, simple minimalist way to carry some extra cards and a few bills. I believe <a href="https://tim.blog/">Tim</a> uses one of these as well.</li>



<li><a href="https://twitter.com/helenhousandi/status/746057671531429889">WordPress ring</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.sea2see.org/products/treviso-sun?variant=20495073771618">Sea2See Sunglasses.</a> Sunglasses made from recycled plastic collected from the ocean. I discovered this from a goodie bag at the <a href="https://brilliantminds.co/">Brilliant Minds conference</a> and have since purchased more to have it everywhere I go.</li>



<li>Small plastic holder I got from my sister that helps me carry around stickers without them getting crinkled.</li>



<li>Hermes business card holder. There are some occasions where exchanging business cards is a ritual. Also great to wedge it in a door jamb to keep it from autolocking.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Passport, never leave home without it. Always be ready for adventure! My passport photo is actually AI-generated, because, why not? We live in the metaverse.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.sleepmastereurope.com/">Eye Mask</a>. I like these because the material feels nice on the skin and the wraparound is excellent for blocking out the light and some sound since it covers your ears. Great for sleeping or just needing a moment away from overstimulating environments. Similar one <a href="https://us.drowsysleepco.com/products/eye-mask">here</a> (the version I have doesn’t appear readily available outside of Europe).&nbsp;</li>



<li>REI Goretex mittens. They’re shell liners, lightweight and water resistant. The ones I have are an older version and no longer in stock. <a href="https://www.rei.com/product/194829/rei-co-op-minimalist-gtx-mittens-20?color=BLACK">Version 2.0 available.</a> There&#8217;s no bad weather, only bad clothing.</li>



<li>Gloves, nice in the winter but I carry them year round in case I need to carry wood or something. Also the fingertips have the conductive material that makes it touchscreen compatible for devices.</li>



<li>This is a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035N09CS/?tag=photomatt08-20">grey wool buff</a>, which works as a scarf, a hat, or an eye cover if I’m trying to sleep. I tried this out because of one of <a href="http://tynan.com/gear2017">Tynan’s also-great gear posts</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://www.gorewear.com/us/en-us/m-gore-windstopper-thermo-beanie-100391">Gore Thermo Beanie</a>, my favorite feature are the slits by the ears for sunglasses. Kept my eyes and ears protected while in Antarctica with Tim. He and I recorded a podcast episode in our tent talking about our personal fears, bucket lists, and more. <a href="https://pca.st/qmwhc7zz">Have a listen</a>!</li>



<li><a href="https://aersf.com/collections/backpacks/products/fit-pack-3">Aer Fit Pack 3 backpack</a>, embroidered black-on-black with Automattic and WordPress logos. I upgraded this year from version 2 to 3, which changed some of the interior pockets a bit, and most notably added outside side pockets, which I have found super useful. This is the bag that makes it all work.</li>
</ol>



<p>Not pictured: <a href="https://flipperzero.one/">Flipper Zero</a>, which was actually in my pocket and I forgot to put it in the photo. I have found this device really handy and fun to play with, just a delightful piece of technology.</p>



<p>Here&#8217;s what I was rocking earlier in the year:</p>



<img width="604" height="453" src="https://i0.wp.com/ma.tt/files/2023/11/bag-early-2023-1024x768.jpg?resize=604%2C453&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-106304" />



<p>I&#8217;m not going to label it all, just posting for posterity. It&#8217;s mostly the same except I gave up on carrying around the Airpods Max, the grippy tripod, and haven&#8217;t found a great disco phone light yet.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 15 Dec 2023 12:43:58 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:5;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:104:"Do The Woo Community: Resources and Opportunities in WordPress for Speaking, Contributing and Connecting";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78697";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:66:"https://dothewoo.io/wordcamps-resources-jobs-supporting-community/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:423:"<p>WordCamp opportunities, supporting underrepresented and connecting the WordPress community with resources and sites.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/wordcamps-resources-jobs-supporting-community/">Resources and Opportunities in WordPress for Speaking, Contributing and Connecting</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 15 Dec 2023 12:31:11 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:6;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:11:"
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:66:"HeroPress: Better Development With WordPress, WP Photos, And More!";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://heropress.com/?p=6201";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:171:"https://heropress.com/better-development-with-wordpress-wp-photos-and-more/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=better-development-with-wordpress-wp-photos-and-more";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9783:"<img width="1024" height="768" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/839655ae1936ee3c0.52974282-1024x768.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Boy in a boat on a Bangladesh beach at sunset." /><div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6201_381c02-47 alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6201_11d963-76 inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6201_1ef628-4f wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://heropress.com/">HeroPress.com</a> &#8211; <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/wordpress-taught-better-developer/">How WordPress Taught Me To Be a Better Developer</a></h2>





<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default">
<img width="300" height="300" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ed_finkler-300x300.jpg" alt="Ed Finkler" class="wp-image-999" /></div>



<p>Ed Finkler was a WordPress developer for a long time and then moved on to &#8220;real programming&#8221;. He&#8217;s on the of few that still have respect for The WordPress Way, and is grateful for what it taught him.</p>



<p><em>Ultimately what I find most satisfying in life is not the particular actions I’ve chosen, but <strong>the impact they have upon the people around me</strong>.</em></p>



<p>Ed&#8217;s essay is <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/wordpress-taught-better-developer/">available</a> on <a href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress.com</a>.</p>
</div></div>

</div></div>


<div class="wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-6201_108596-f6"><div class="kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center"><hr class="kt-divider" /></div></div>


<div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6201_71411b-5e alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6201_18957b-7a inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6201_a44261-b0 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://hallwaychats.com">WPPhotos.Info</a></h2>





<div class="wp-block-image">
<img width="300" height="225" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/975656edaa198dd64.92618733-scaled-1-300x225.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6206" /></div>



<p>This week&#8217;s <a href="https://wpphotos.info">WPPhotos Info</a> is called &#8220;<a href="https://wpphotos.info/thermosolar-plant/">Thermosolar plant in Seville</a>&#8220;. </p>



<p>This photo was taken by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/nilovelez/">Nilo Velez</a> and it is the thermosolar plant inside the Heineken factory in Seville. They use it to boil water and save energy when they are making beer.</p>



<p><a href="https://wpphotos.info/thermosolar-plant/">Read more of the story at WPPhotos.info!</a></p>
</div></div>

</div></div>


<div class="wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-6201_92eb7e-24"><div class="kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center"><hr class="kt-divider" /></div></div>


<div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6201_700552-40 alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6201_feb2c3-de inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6201_646446-89 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://wppodcasts.com">WP Podcasts</a></h2>






<a href="https://wppodcasts.com"><img src="https://heropressnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pocket_casts_single_315.png" alt="Pocket Casts image" class="wp-image-4316" /></a>




<p>There were <em>eighteen</em> WordPress podcast episodes released this week! There&#8217;s also a new podcast this week, <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/the-wordpress-edge/">The WordPress Edge</a>!</p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://underrepresented-in-tech.castos.com/episodes/our-thoughts-on-feminism#new_tab">Our Thoughts on Feminism</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/underrepresented-in-tech/">Underrepresented in Tech</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wp-tonic-show-a-wordpress-podcast.castos.com/episodes/891-wp-tonic-this-week-in-wordpress-saas-the-challenges-of-building-kadencewp-on-wordpress#new_tab">#891 – WP-Tonic This Week in WordPress &amp; SaaS: The Challenges of Building KadenceWP On WordPress</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/wp-tonic/">WP-Tonic</a></li>



<li><a href="https://unbilleteachattanooga.com/episodio-240/#new_tab">Episodio 240: Así nos lo montamos para ir a tantos eventos</a> de <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/un-billete-a-chattanooga/">Un billete a Chattanooga</a></li>



<li><a href="https://share.transistor.fm/s/2ca52c75#new_tab">State of the Word 2023</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/the-wp-minute/">The WP Minute</a></li>



<li><a href="https://viewsource.fm/s2/5#new_tab">We want to see more releases like WordPress 6.4</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/viewsource/">viewSource</a></li>



<li><a href="https://dothewoo.io/page-builders-documentation-and-an-scaling-for-swifties/#new_tab">Page Builders, Documentation and an Scaling for Swifties</a></li>



<li>Posted onDecember 8, 2023 <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/do-the-woo-a-woocommerce-podcast/">Do the Woo &#8211; A WooCommerce Podcast</a></li>
</ul>



<p>There are new episodes every single day, so be sure to stop by <a href="https://wppodcasts.com">WPPodcasts.com</a> and search for things that interest you!</p>
</div></div>

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<div class="wp-block-kadence-spacer aligncenter kt-block-spacer-6201_ddcc4c-63"><div class="kt-block-spacer kt-block-spacer-halign-center"><hr class="kt-divider" /></div></div>


<div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6201_2a1478-17 alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6201_1e2866-6e inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 id="wpphotos" class="kt-adv-heading6201_fc6775-27 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://wordpress.org/photos">WP Photos</a></h2>



<p>Here are some of the great photos submitted to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos">WPPhotos</a> project this week!</p>




<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2246576df3eb751b6.70554510-2048x1536-1.jpg"><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2246576df3eb751b6.70554510-2048x1536-1-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6229" /></a><a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/sharankrishna/">sharankrishna</a>



<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/13965785a624c15b8.38688020-scaled.jpeg"><img width="768" height="1024" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/13965785a624c15b8.38688020-768x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-6226" /></a><a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/sheelagc44/">sheelagc44</a>



<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/84657976a91e6c58.90548471-scaled.jpg"><img width="576" height="1024" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/84657976a91e6c58.90548471-576x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6224" /></a><a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/vishalrana2404/">vishalrana2404</a>



<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/257657926fd43a316.15730428-scaled.jpeg"><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/257657926fd43a316.15730428-1024x768.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-6228" /></a><a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/devtanbir/">Tanbir Ahmod</a>



<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/497657723b56b1e82.88549465-scaled.jpg"><img width="1024" height="768" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/497657723b56b1e82.88549465-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6225" /></a><a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/smrajib/">smrajib</a>



<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/40665771219281808.24779285-scaled.jpg"><img width="1024" height="689" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/40665771219281808.24779285-1024x689.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6227" /></a><a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/anildulal/">anildulal</a>




<p></p>



<p>Be sure to check out the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">hundreds of other great photos</a>!</p>
</div></div>

</div></div>


<p></p>



<p>The header photo for this post is a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/839655ae19/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/ardhrubo/">Dhrubo</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.</p>






<p>That&#8217;s it for this week! If you&#8217;d like to get this post in your email every week, <a href="https://heropressnetwork.com/newsletter">make sure you sign up</a>!</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://heropress.com/better-development-with-wordpress-wp-photos-and-more/">Better Development With WordPress, WP Photos, And More!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 15 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:7;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:94:"Do The Woo Community: A Post Mortem Marketing Analysis of Black Friday aka Stuff You Should Do";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78693";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:93:"https://dothewoo.io/a-post-mortem-marketing-analysis-of-black-friday-aka-stuff-you-should-do/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:453:"<p>Adam and Emma discuss the importance of conducting a post-mortem analysis after a major marketing campaign, such as Black Friday.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/a-post-mortem-marketing-analysis-of-black-friday-aka-stuff-you-should-do/">A Post Mortem Marketing Analysis of Black Friday aka Stuff You Should Do</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 14 Dec 2023 11:47:49 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:8;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:54:"Matt: Podcast with Texts founder Kishan and Techcrunch";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:23:"https://ma.tt/?p=109295";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:40:"https://ma.tt/2023/12/kishan-techcrunch/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1280:"<p><a href="https://kishanbagaria.com/">Kishan Bagaria</a> and I had chance to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/13/why-automattic-spent-50m-on-texts-com/">catch up with Alex Willhelm on the Techcrunch Equity podcast</a>, it&#8217;s a bit of a time travel since we recorded this on November 28<sup>th</sup> and there has been a ton of activity in the messaging space including the whole <a href="https://www.techmeme.com/231211/p17#a231211p17">Beeper Mini launch and smackdown from Apple</a>. However it&#8217;s worth listening to get to know Kishan and hear some of Automattic&#8217;s broader, long-term strategy in this space. </p>



<p>To give our current take with regards to iMessage: Right now we run on desktop only, basically automating Apple&#8217;s first-party app. This obviously won&#8217;t work on iOS or Android. With every network we support we want to have a good, non-adversarial relationship that puts the user first, with the utmost standards for privacy and security, and understanding the principles and values each network is trying to uphold. We&#8217;re watching this space unfold very closely, and trying to help where we can. Check out the episode here:</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div>    <div></div>    </div>
</div>



<p></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 14 Dec 2023 03:35:36 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:9;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:43:"WordCamp Central: 2023 Annual Meetup Survey";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:39:"https://central.wordcamp.org/?p=4810030";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:68:"https://central.wordcamp.org/news/2023/12/2023-annual-meetup-survey/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1760:"<p>In November, we launched the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2023/11/17/announcing-the-2023-annual-meetup-survey/">Annual Meetup Survey</a>. This year, we propose a unified survey for all Meetup members and organizers. Because of lack of time, we were not able to coordinate the translation to other languages as we did in previous editions, and I&#8217;d love to apologize to all meetup members and organizers who were waiting for the survey to be available in their languages. Next year we&#8217;ll plan it in advance.</p>



<p>Please take a moment to complete the <a href="https://wordpressdotorg.survey.fm/2023-meetup-annual-survey">Annual Meetup Survey</a> – even if you haven’t participated in a meetup recently! This survey is an important opportunity to share your feedback on WordPress meetups in 2023 and how we can improve the program in the future. Even if you did not attend meetup events in 2023, your input is valuable! The survey takes less than 5 minutes to fill out, and the results will help strengthen WordPress meetups in the years to come.</p>



<p>We hope to achieve a 100% response rate among Meetup organizers and members around the world, and get actionable insights about two challenges that the WordPress ecosystem is facing right now:</p>



<ul>
<li>How can we increase the number of WordPress events?</li>



<li>How can we increase the number of WordPress users worldwide?</li>
</ul>



<p>The survey will remain open until January, Dec 14, 2024.</p>



<p>To open the survey in a new tab, please use the following link: <a href="https://wordpressdotorg.survey.fm/2023-meetup-annual-survey" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://wordpressdotorg.survey.fm/2023-meetup-annual-survey</a></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 13 Dec 2023 15:06:44 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6:"Isotta";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:10;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:96:"WPTavern: #103 – Emma Young on Exploring WordPress, the Software, the Events and the Community";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:48:"https://wptavern.com/?post_type=podcast&p=151850";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:108:"https://wptavern.com/podcast/103-emma-young-on-exploring-wordpress-the-software-the-events-and-the-community";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:48040:"Transcript<div>
<p>[00:00:00] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Welcome to the Jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley.</p>



<p>Jukebox is a podcast which is dedicated to all things WordPress. The people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case getting excited about WordPress.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;d like to subscribe to the podcast, you can do that by searching for WP Tavern in your podcast player of choice, or by going to WPTavern.com forward slash feed forward slash podcast. And you can copy that URL into most podcast players. If you have a topic that you&#8217;d like us to feature on the podcast, I&#8217;m keen to hear from you and hopefully get you, or your idea, featured on the show. Head to WPTavern.com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox, and use the form there.</p>



<p>So on the podcast today, we have Emma Young. Emma is the head of content for Hostinger, and is on the podcast today to chat through her new found love of WordPress and the community which surrounds it.</p>



<p>Emma&#8217;s journey is quite inspirational. From having almost no experience with WordPress just a few years ago, she&#8217;s now immersed deeply in all that WordPress has to offer. Just over a year ago, she&#8217;d been using WordPress a little, but that was it. Then she found employment in the space and has been to all three 2023 flagship WordCamps, as well as the WordPress Community Summit. So the whole conversation is colored with this newness, and energy, which is quite infectious.</p>



<p>We explore the delicate balance between profitability and community values in her job. Emma sheds light on Hostinger&#8217;s commitments in the WordPress space, and how they tread the tight rope of being a good community citizen while still turning a profit.</p>



<p>We also delve into the company&#8217;s recent involvement in WordPress events and WordCamps, discussing the benefits they have reaped from these. It&#8217;s things like brand awareness and invaluable feedback from the community. Emma&#8217;s passion for networking and continuous improvement is evident as she shares her personal experiences. We discussed the inclusive nature of the WordPress community and the various pathways individuals with different personality types can follow to feel at home. Emphasizing the ample opportunities available for everyone to contribute.</p>



<p>We get into the collaborative nature of the WordPress community, exploring the cameraderie, philanthropy, and human connections that thrive within WordPress events and projects. Emma shares her insights from her recent involvement in helping to organize WordCamp Europe, and her dedication to contributing to documentation.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re looking for a way to find your place in the WordPress community, this podcast is for you.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re interested in finding out more, You can find all of the links in the show notes by heading to WPTavern.com forward slash podcast, where you&#8217;ll find all the other episodes as well.</p>



<p>And so without further delay, I bring you Emma Young.</p>



<p>I am joined on the podcast today by Emma Young. Hi Emma.</p>



<p>[00:03:34] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Hello.</p>



<p>[00:03:35] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Very nice to have you on the podcast today. We are going to talk about the WordPress community. We&#8217;re really going to hone in on the community, and Emma&#8217;s recent contributions. Her journey very recently, in really getting stuck into WordPress events and all of that kind of thing.</p>



<p>Before we get into that Emma, I wonder if you wouldn&#8217;t mind just spending a moment, giving us your bio. You can go as far back as you like. But I guess, given that this is a WordPress podcast, maybe if we center it around WordPress and the community and so on.</p>



<p>[00:04:04] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah. So just briefly, I had a lot of failed attempts at WordPress blogs growing up. But they were a lot of fun, and I think led me to content in general, and where I got probably the most involved in the WordPress community. So yeah, all of that leading to traveling to different places, and ending up working for Hostinger, where I used WordPress every single day.</p>



<p>Which led to, I don&#8217;t know, diving feet first, head first, whole body first into the WordPress community earlier this year. One thing just led very nicely to the other. It was just this nice little circle, universe kind of shoving me towards the WordPress community. And me just jumping, or kind of like slowly running, like on the beach, like the 90s rom com, like with open arms and the community just being like, welcome.</p>



<p>I guess really started diving in last year with the contributions to the docs team. Somebody introduced, hey have you ever heard of Five for the Future? Have you ever heard of contributing to WordPress?</p>



<p>And I was like, what, you could do that? Yeah, let&#8217;s look into it. It&#8217;s super easy. Signed up, and then, you know, I love documentation. I love words. I love everything that the docs team stands for. And then I just got super obsessed with it. What else do you need? What else can I do? And that was mid last year. And then I think since then, I don&#8217;t know, I feel like we&#8217;ll unfold a lot more of that in this podcast. I don&#8217;t want to give too many spoilers. Yeah, I don&#8217;t really have that much bio before that time.</p>



<p>[00:05:25] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Okay. That&#8217;s totally fine. It sounds as if you were, I&#8217;m going to use the phrase digital nomad. I could be completely wrong in that intuition. But is there a bit of that? Were you using WordPress over the last decade, as a way of earning a living whilst doing things in different parts of the globe? Or was it more of a hobby thing? You definitely mentioned that you&#8217;d used WordPress repeatedly, but I don&#8217;t know on what level that was helping supplement what you were doing.</p>



<p>[00:05:49] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah, like on a personal level, I wasn&#8217;t making any money. It was more like blogs and trying to give my family a little bit, family and friends a little insight into what I was doing. But digital nomad is for sure a great way to put it. I don&#8217;t stay put in one place. I think for a while there, it was like every six months we were moving. I actually live out of my suitcase right now as well. But with all of that, most of the jobs that I had was using WordPress in one way or another. So it&#8217;s always been like a common denominator through all of my travels and work.</p>



<p>[00:06:18] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Do you know what? I&#8217;ve never heard the idea of a website to keep your parents updated. And yet, that&#8217;s such an obvious way of doing things. I had a period of time where I was roaming the world, and the internet simply didn&#8217;t exist. You know, you had to go through pains of getting on an international call, which inevitably was really difficult to achieve.</p>



<p>But yeah, the idea of creating a blog or something, with imagery and descriptions of what you&#8217;re doing that your parents and, well, anybody that is interested in what you&#8217;re up to. Yeah, that seems like a really perfect use case.</p>



<p>So you mentioned that the last year has really been the time where you&#8217;ve got stuck into it. Is that because of a collision with a job that you&#8217;ve taken on, or anything like that? Or was it intentional from your part, which then led to a job? Which way round did that go?</p>



<p>[00:07:03] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> The chicken and the egg. Both. I don&#8217;t know. The job I guess was the reintroduction into it, which made me go from just using WordPress slightly, and daily work activities. And for the blog, I think, really jumping into the WordPress community.</p>



<p>Started working at Hostinger. I&#8217;m head of content for their marketing team. And majority of what I do is providing educational content to help people with their WordPress sites. So it was a very easy transition to hear like, oh wait, you can just do this for WordPress, and you can help twice as many people. If it&#8217;s easier for somebody to use WordPress, then it&#8217;s going to be easier for the people that are looking at our tutorials.</p>



<p>So while it first came through my company, that was just kind of like the door. And then when we started learning about WordCamp and participating in that, that was kind of, oh, what&#8217;s Five For the Future? How do you contribute? How do you actually help out with all of this? What are some problems you can help with? That was the second part, but that&#8217;s definitely been a huge part of it.</p>



<p>[00:08:02] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Given the nature of this podcast, it would be great if we don&#8217;t make this slide into an advert for Hostinger, but I think we should dive into that a little bit. What is the position of Hostinger, vis a vis WordPress? I mean, it is a hosting company and obviously we all know that WordPress is incredibly popular with hosting companies, because of the benefits that it has. The fact that it&#8217;s free and open source, and they can offer it to their customers and so on.</p>



<p>What is the position that they&#8217;ve got? Do they send you to events in order to promote? Do they send you to events in order to network? And also you mentioned the kind of content that you create. Is it specifically aligned to Hostinger&#8217;s implementation of WordPress? Or is it a bit of, okay, here&#8217;s just how to use WordPress more generally. So it&#8217;s not necessarily tied to, well, you must be on Hostinger to make use of this article and so on.</p>



<p>[00:08:49] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah. It&#8217;s gonna be interesting to try to teeter the line. But yeah, so Hostinger&#8217;s managed WordPress hosting is what we offer. And WordCamps are all of the above. I guess you could say. Yes, we go there to help the community. We also go there for feedback. We go there to promote as well, and to network.</p>



<p>But I think everything can be boiled down to majority of our users use WordPress. So if WordPress isn&#8217;t working well, and isn&#8217;t continuing to improve and have innovation and have new features, then nobody&#8217;s going to want to use it. So then what are the people that use Hostinger going to want to use?</p>



<p>That is the foundation of their site. While you do need hosting, obviously to get your site online, WordPress being the majority of, what&#8217;s that? I don&#8217;t know what the statistic is these days, around 48% of users online, or 51%. It&#8217;s still a majority, at least halfway. So that is a priority for us as a company, you know. So we want that to be the best that it can be, because it&#8217;s the first line of the first iteration, the first foundation that everybody else is going to use, and we can build on top of that.</p>



<p>[00:09:53] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> What do you have as your content workflow? What is the process of deciding which pieces of content you&#8217;re going to create next? You know, is it driven by support? Is it just driven by ideas that your team have? What&#8217;s going on there?</p>



<p>[00:10:06] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah, so it&#8217;s been quite a few years that we&#8217;ve had support, but also tutorials. So we have like SEO content, that anybody can kind of search for if they have some type of query or problem. And then we have support that&#8217;s geared specifically for our users, like how to exactly do this with our dashboard.</p>



<p>But focusing more on the SEO content. Yeah, it&#8217;s just for anybody. It doesn&#8217;t matter if you&#8217;re using this company or that company. It&#8217;s just as long as you use WordPress. How to set something up, how to get the best out of it, how to recover from the most recent Google updates so that like your site&#8217;s still optimised.</p>



<p>Basically anything from a complete beginner to like, okay, which plugin is the better one for this very specific use that you want it for. Just anything underneath that umbrella.</p>



<p>[00:10:53] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I&#8217;ve always thought it would be really difficult for a company like you to pitch where it puts its content, and how it portrays itself at events and things like that. Because clearly you have to be profitable, you have to pay your staff. And so that&#8217;s really important. Without that, the business collapses, and there would be no content of any description.</p>



<p>But on the other hand, the WordPress community, unlike I think lots of other commercial communities, there is this sense of open source, and not being quite so aggressive with the advertising. Just a conversation about that really. How do you pitch these things? How do you decide, okay, we&#8217;re going to do one Hostinger related piece of content for every three WordPressy pieces of content?</p>



<p>When we show up at events we&#8217;re going to set a certain amount of people on the booth, and they&#8217;re obviously assigned to promoting the product, and getting people to sign up. But then we&#8217;ll also put two of them out, and they were not connected to the booth, that kind of thing. So let&#8217;s just chat that through. How does Hostinger manage that difficult tightrope walk?</p>



<p>[00:11:51] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> That&#8217;s actually a great question. I think it all comes down to like open source. Obviously, this is my personal opinion, but like the idea of open source and helping each other. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. It&#8217;s been something that&#8217;s been in my life, I guess, since before I can remember. Both my parents worked for open source companies as well, and products.</p>



<p>Yeah, I think that&#8217;s kind of why I like Hostinger so much. Because the end goal, as much as you&#8217;re saying like, marketing is to make money. Every company wants to make money. As much as we&#8217;re like, oh, the money&#8217;s not important, it is. But there is a line, and at the end of the day the biggest focus is on the client, and on the customer, and the person that&#8217;s reading the tutorial.</p>



<p>Is this actually even helpful for them? Do they even care what this is about? Are you just regurgitating from SERPs, like from the top 10 things that pull up? Or are you actually checking the steps, making sure that you&#8217;re actually going to get to the solution as fast as possible? And are you answering all of these questions before they even become a problem, so that it&#8217;s all there prepared for you?</p>



<p>And at least for my content team, that is our mission and vision. That we want anybody who reads this to not have to like scroll all the way to the bottom after the history of everything, but just to actually help.</p>



<p>And I think that&#8217;s the nice thing about this line, is that&#8217;s what the WordPress community is about. That&#8217;s what open source project, everything is just working towards a similar goal. At the end of the day it&#8217;s just, was it helpful? And did it solve somebody&#8217;s problem?</p>



<p>And if we happen to make money along the way, awesome. But not all of our content is out there to make money. Some of it, yes. But a lot of it, it&#8217;s just there to answer your question. Hey, if you have a problem, we can help you because we&#8217;ve done it X amount of times before with different content.</p>



<p>[00:13:30] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I would imagine if you&#8217;ve been attending some of the bigger WordPress events in the last couple of years, you will have seen the presence of Hostinger. Because you&#8217;ve been fairly aggressive with the, you know, you&#8217;ve been sponsoring a lot. You&#8217;ve been taking some of the big sponsorship packages, and things like that.</p>



<p>And I know you&#8217;ve only been there for a short amount of time. So this might be out of your wheelhouse. But I was curious as to when that process began. I don&#8217;t know if it&#8217;s been going on for years and years and years, or if it&#8217;s a much more recent push to be part of the WordPress community. So my intuition, my feeling, is that it&#8217;s really over the last two, two and a half years that Hostinger has become more focused on this. So just very quickly, is that right? Have I got that about right?</p>



<p>[00:14:09] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah, pretty much. Not this year, but last year was the first time that we actually, you know, participated in WordCamps, flagship ones. And then also more local ones. But, yeah, you&#8217;re right. The last two years, pretty much.</p>



<p>[00:14:22] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> We have quite a broad audience, but there&#8217;s definitely product owners, and hosting company representatives listening to this podcast. And very often when we get into conversations about this kind of thing, we talk about the fact that there isn&#8217;t really an ROI on attending WordPress events.</p>



<p>And often it&#8217;s a sunk cost, you know, you&#8217;re going, you&#8217;re showing your face, you&#8217;re talking to an already converted crowd in many ways. Those people are, you know, they&#8217;ve been in the WordPress space for a long time, they&#8217;ve figured out what hosting it is that they want.</p>



<p>I just wondered what your intuition was around that. Is attendance at those kind of events, is it more about just making your presence felt, being a good citizen, showing up. Rather than, okay, we&#8217;re going to definitely come out of this with 100, 200, 300 new customers. Because I&#8217;m guessing that isn&#8217;t really what comes out of it.</p>



<p>[00:15:08] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Wow, that would be amazing. I think the biggest thing that we can call a win is the first years WordCamps to this one is, people are not being like, who are you guys? Never heard of you before. And it&#8217;s like, I&#8217;m going to come check out your booth. Like that is a big win just for branding, you know.</p>



<p>Another one is, I don&#8217;t think the intention is to go in there and be like, we have to get a thousand new customers. But in a sense, we can grow quite a bit and, you know, reap the benefits of like a snowball effect by getting feedback from everybody that&#8217;s there.</p>



<p>Like you said, everybody has a niche, or something specific that they work on, and they&#8217;re the expert of. And then they can give us feedback on, and we can improve from there. And in the long run, yeah, we can benefit from that. But it&#8217;s not like short term and boom, boom, boom.</p>



<p>[00:15:48] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, it&#8217;s not a quick win, is it? I remember the first time I saw your logo was at WordCamp Europe, and you had one of the big booths. So obviously, in my head, there was a bit of disconnect there. I&#8217;m thinking, woah, I know that is a very sizable investment, but also I&#8217;ve not heard of that company before. Whereas all the other ones who&#8217;d made the similar investment, and indeed the ones that were on the slightly smaller booth shall we say, I&#8217;d heard of all of them. So that was just curious to me.</p>



<p>And then I went to another event, and there you were again. And so it repeated itself. I feel that&#8217;s the game, isn&#8217;t it. It&#8217;s the long game. It&#8217;s about being recognised. It&#8217;s about showing up. Not necessarily, as you said, trying to get that return on investment, although that would be brilliant.</p>



<p>And so for product owners who are new into the space, I guess there is some lesson to learn there. Those WordPress events, I think sometimes people show up expecting that kind of return on the investment. And often it maybe isn&#8217;t the case. But the long tail of showing up again and again, I could reel off lots and lots of companies who have benefited from that.</p>



<p>Although it is a bit of a hidden benefit, and it won&#8217;t necessarily go on this year&#8217;s profit and loss spreadsheet. It might in the end be worthwhile doing. And I&#8217;m guessing, the fact that you&#8217;re still doing it is proof that you believe there is a benefit to it, albeit it isn&#8217;t entirely tangible.</p>



<p>[00:17:05] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah, exactly. And it&#8217;s definitely like a learn from, I don&#8217;t want to say mistakes because if you&#8217;re learning from it. But learning from your past experiences, and what are you going to tweak this time? What are we going to do better? What are we going to stop? Because, oh, shouldn&#8217;t have done that.</p>



<p>That&#8217;s something that, you don&#8217;t get like a nice checklist that is like, hey, you&#8217;re new to WordPress and the community, do this, this and this. It&#8217;s kind of like, good luck. And the networking helps, because like especially with community, you can get help from other people that have been in there longer, and can give us advice.</p>



<p>We&#8217;ve gotten a lot of advice from people in the community. I think one of the best things about it is, in everyday life we have our competitors, other hosting companies. But then at WordCamps, and more community focused events, it&#8217;s like on pause.</p>



<p>And me and Courtney from GoDaddy had some dinner, you know. GoDaddy people we&#8217;re just like, I think this is the best way to showcase the beauty of WordPress communities. It&#8217;s like Monday, game on. But today like, hey girl, how&#8217;s it been? So like I said, that&#8217;s even on pause.</p>



<p>We learned from that, and it was advice from other people that it was hey, you can&#8217;t look at it as in like, how many people come to your booth? How many hosting plans did you sell? This, this or that. It&#8217;s, hey, but look at it in this way, and look at all the doors that you&#8217;re opening in the future. And I think people that are coming into this should really remember that when they&#8217;re like what did we get from sponsoring this WordCamp? It&#8217;s not just about that.</p>



<p>[00:18:20] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I think that there are quite a few pitfalls. If you are new to the community, and let&#8217;s say that you&#8217;ve been, well, let&#8217;s keep talking about events. Let&#8217;s say that you&#8217;ve been attending events in other walks of life. So nothing to do with open source, or anything like that, specifically WordPress.</p>



<p>It may be that the etiquette, for want of a better word, is slightly different. And there may be pitfalls that you fall into. And I think it is kind of good to have a plan going into that first set of events, just to take the temperature of the room a little bit, and try to figure out what other people are doing.</p>



<p>It just feels a little bit more community related at WordPress events. Well, obviously there&#8217;s a real great opportunity to sell if you wish to. But it does feel that the aggressive sales side of things is not quite so obvious. And you&#8217;ve just pointed to the fact that you put your weapons down, for want of a better phrase. Once the event closes for the night, and go out and have dinner with the other people, and talk about what they&#8217;re doing, and try to figure out things.</p>



<p>And then obviously go off into things like contributor day, and literally do the work together. So it&#8217;s not like you&#8217;re just having a chat over a drink, you&#8217;re actually doing work. But, taken your company T-shirt off for a moment and you&#8217;re just friends. So I guess what I&#8217;m trying to say there is, yeah, take the temperature of the room on the first few times that you go, because it may not be what you expect it to be. And your intuitions may be slightly wrong there.</p>



<p>Let&#8217;s talk about you for a little bit though, personally. Because I&#8217;m just curious as to what you&#8217;re getting out of all this. You&#8217;ve obviously been doing this for, well, the amount of time that you said, just over a year or something like that. And you also said, I think you said, not just feet first, like whole body first or something like that.</p>



<p>What&#8217;s the deal there? Why so much in the space of time? So just to clarify, my understanding is that a year or so ago, you hadn&#8217;t been to any kind of WordPress event. Now, obviously, with the help of the company that you work for, so we need to know that, you&#8217;ve been to the three flagship events.</p>



<p>So you went to WordCamp Asia, you went to WordCamp Europe, WordCamp US. You&#8217;ve been to WordCamp Madrid, which is really big. You know, it&#8217;s not one of the smaller ones. Why so much? I mean, maybe the answer is simply, well, that&#8217;s my job. But it feels like there&#8217;s more to it than that.</p>



<p>[00:20:22] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> It actually isn&#8217;t my job. Now I kind of adapted to that role because I like it, you know. But, I still do run the content team, you know. Organic traffic, woo. But yeah, I think my first flagship, my first WordCamp in general was a flagship.</p>



<p>And it was the beginning of this year, just in January, in Bangkok. And the first time I was ever going to be there. I had been contributing and I was like, yeah yeah, great. You know, I can really help out with this because I like it. I think I was doing it on my spare time, not work time. And it just happened to work very parallel, and overlap with work, that they were like, if she enjoys, it this is perfect.</p>



<p>But then I was, I don&#8217;t know what came over me, but I was like, let&#8217;s just not go. But let&#8217;s volunteer. Let&#8217;s do, I had no idea what that meant. I&#8217;ve never been to a WordCamp. Let&#8217;s also volunteer at the one that probably has the most hype, because it&#8217;s the first one after the pandemic.</p>



<p>And then, I don&#8217;t know, I had public speaking PTSD from being inside my house for three years, only talking to people through the screen. And I kind of challenged myself, and I volunteered as an interviewer. I was like, let&#8217;s just not go to an event where you have to mingle, but let&#8217;s make it a job. And let&#8217;s actually have to find people and sit down and encourage them to talk me. Let&#8217;s just make my life harder, you know.</p>



<p>And it was the best experience ever. I don&#8217;t even know how to explain how much fun I had from like the first day from volunteers. Meeting colleagues from different countries that also came together to be at this WordCamp.</p>



<p>I just remember walking into like volunteers orientation being like, this was the dumbest thing you&#8217;ve ever done, Emma. Like yeah, you like to travel. Yeah, you like WordPress. Nope, just awkwardly moonwalk out of here and just hide in a corner for the next three days and it&#8217;ll be fine, you&#8217;ll just get fired, it&#8217;s okay.</p>



<p>Yeah, I don&#8217;t know, I think it was Milan who was like, oh hey girl. I was like, oh hey dude. And that was it. That was all it took. Like some dude who I had never met before, just come up to be like, hey girl, what&#8217;s your name is? Just like playing around. And the rest was history.</p>



<p>And I enjoyed that so much that I was like I want more of this. I see the point of this. I see the benefit of this, and it also helps my company on the side. So that&#8217;s, I think what led to, you know, being super involved with WordCamp Europe, and volunteering for that.</p>



<p>I tried to do something different, and put myself in kind of like a learning experience. Instead of volunteering as an interviewer, I was like maybe I can be an MC. Let&#8217;s see how I feel on stage. So maybe one day I could be a speaker, I don&#8217;t know.</p>



<p>And right before that same thing, I was like, this is the dumbest idea Emma. Like, why do you keep doing this to yourself? And then when I went out there, I don&#8217;t even know how to explain it. I was like, this is awesome. Nobody cares if I mess up. Nobody cares if I made a mistake. Nobody realises if I made a mistake. I can be as silly as I want to be. Just as long as I say all the things I&#8217;m supposed to.</p>



<p>And it was to an audience of all the same WordPress nerds is me. We would all geek out on the same thing. I could make all of the same jokes that I would say to somebody that I was having coffee with at WordCamp, but to a huge audience. And they would get it because we have the same interests.</p>



<p>I mean like I&#8217;ve done like calls or workshops and trainings, and I still get like butterflies. I don&#8217;t know, it was just a different experience. I had like zero fears when I was emceeing. That was kind of an internal thing that I was using to see how I would do moving forward.</p>



<p>And the WordPress community, WordCamp&#8217;s helped me kind of work through that. And now it&#8217;s just gone and gone and gone, and now I&#8217;m part of the next WordCamp Europe&#8217;s organising team. And it&#8217;s just crazy that not even a few months ago was the first time I&#8217;d ever been to WordCamp Europe.</p>



<p>[00:23:43] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So in summary, no regrets.</p>



<p>[00:23:46] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Oh, zero. I encourage everybody to do it. Or come find me and I will try to give you the best pep talk there is.</p>



<p>[00:23:52] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So a couple of things to throw in there. First of all, I suspect that not everybody is the same as you. So you strike me, forgive me if I&#8217;m getting this wrong, but you strike me as fairly outgoing. And maybe the baggage that you were carrying is that you walked into the room. You were more than willing, when Milan walked up to you, you were more than willing to just throw it off and get stuck in. And all it took was for a friendly face to come over and say hi, and that was it. You were off to the races.</p>



<p>But would you say that for somebody who was, let&#8217;s say more introverted, or a little bit more concerned about how the event might go down, they haven&#8217;t done anything like this before. They just want to lurk. Is that okay in your opinion? You know, you don&#8217;t have to be a certain personality type.</p>



<p>And the kind of roles that you took on, I guess it&#8217;s important to say as well, are very public facing. Whereas you really don&#8217;t have to have that as part of your arsenal. It is quite possible to contribute meaningfully, just sitting at a desk with your computer, not necessarily being outgoing or vivacious. Just chatting to the people that are nearby. Concerned with the thing that you&#8217;re concerned with. Could be docs. Could be TV. Could be, I don&#8217;t know, SEO. Could be anything that any of the tables occupy.</p>



<p>So firstly that. You were well equipped for this. But it&#8217;s not necessarily that that needs to be the case for everybody, right?</p>



<p>[00:25:03] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah, no, 100%. There were also some people from my team that contributed as well for photography. You know, that&#8217;s a great one if you&#8217;re very into like arts and more creative, where you don&#8217;t have to speak to anybody. Everybody sees it, well, not everybody. But oftentimes when they see a camera at this event, they&#8217;re like, okay, I&#8217;d love to smile for it.</p>



<p>But like you said, with the contributions as well. That&#8217;s one of the best ways to start. You can test out every single thing to see where you are the most comfortable with. Where you feel you can help the most, or where you&#8217;re enjoying helping the most. And it&#8217;s not like an outwardly facing, hey, get on stage, kind of contribution. Maybe you&#8217;re very interested in just writing stuff and testing some things out, or QA-ing a plugin or a theme that somebody wants approved. But very important as well.</p>



<p>And same with volunteering actually. You know, there&#8217;s lots of different teams that you don&#8217;t have to go on stage. You don&#8217;t have to ask people to do interviews. You can simply, if you do want to be a volunteer and help with WordCamps that way, you know, just being somebody who can direct somebody to the bathroom. Or like where the emergency kit is. Or working the lost and found, where you talk to people every once in a while.</p>



<p>If you don&#8217;t want to talk to anybody at all, maybe social media, where you sit behind the laptop and people bring you images and you post on there. You know, there&#8217;s lots of different ways that you can volunteer for the WordCamps that aren&#8217;t as outgoing or extroverted.</p>



<p>But you also don&#8217;t have to do any of that. You can also just go there and enjoy it as an attendee, and talk to people when you want to talk to people. Approach them. If somebody says like, hey, how&#8217;s it going? No, sorry, not now. No one&#8217;s going to take offense to it. I think at one of the WordCamps, they actually had interaction badges.</p>



<p>[00:26:35] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. It was WordCamp US in San Diego, I think that was right. There was a little indicator on your lanyard, which indicated how open you were to being talked to out of the blue.</p>



<p>[00:26:46] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> And I think that like extra measures like that is helpful. But there&#8217;s a place for everybody. You don&#8217;t have to go as aggressive as I did. You can be a lot more introverted. Even if you want to try, and I encourage you to be a speaker for the first time, to try it. Even as an introvert. Somebody who&#8217;s never, maybe done a presentation to a large group of people, or at all.</p>



<p>We have like different channels on WordPress Slack, and different resources that we try to help encourage people and feel more comfortable, or help you give just the encouragement and pep talk that you need, to even just apply for it. But I think that&#8217;s another beauty about the community is, there is a place for everybody, where you can be more an extroverted person, more of an introvert. Or somebody who&#8217;s half the time extrovert and half the time, like me, has to go hide in a corner for a couple hours. Recharge your battery and then be wooo again.</p>



<p>[00:27:35] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Back on the mission, yeah. I think the WordPress community is really a bit of a microcosm. It is big enough to be a microcosm of the community in general. There are people who are very outgoing. There are people who are not so. There is a task for people who are outgoing. There&#8217;s a task for people who are not outgoing. You don&#8217;t need to fit any particular mold.</p>



<p>But also, I think the bit that you mentioned, and I really can&#8217;t put my finger on why this is, but I do think that the WordPress community is populated by nice people. And so if you do attend, and you do decide to, oh, let&#8217;s say you really push the boat out and you decide to be a speaker. The reception that you&#8217;ll get, I&#8217;m more or less able to guarantee, it will be fabulous.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s not one of those talent shows on TV where you stand up there, do your thing, and then there&#8217;s a panel of people who just sort of scratch their chins and give you some commentary on where you could have improved it. How it could have been better. It&#8217;s really not like that. It&#8217;s the opposite. It&#8217;s like you get a bunch of tens every time. And so, really have that in the back of your mind.</p>



<p>A few minutes ago, though, you said something which stuck in my head and I don&#8217;t even know if you meant to say it, but it was kind of the nub of everything. And you were describing walking into the room for the first time, and you said something along the lines of, I got it. I understood why it mattered. You said something like that.</p>



<p>And I think that&#8217;s really important. Why does it matter? For you, Emma why does contributing, being involved. What is the point of it? Maybe it&#8217;s something that you get out of it. Maybe it&#8217;s going in that direction. Maybe it&#8217;s the other direction. Maybe you feel, okay great, I&#8217;m doing something philanthropic. I&#8217;m doing something which is not for my own benefit, it&#8217;s for the world. What was the meaning of that sentence? Because that is the heart of it, I think.</p>



<p>[00:29:12] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah. Ooh okay. I don&#8217;t actually know. Let me try to unpack this while I use filler words, while I&#8217;m trying to think through my thoughts.</p>



<p>[00:29:21] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I&#8217;ll give you intuitions from my end, if you don&#8217;t mind. I&#8217;ll tell you why I think it&#8217;s important. I have this notion that the web offered the promise of so much. And when it was invented by Tim Berners-Lee and other people, back in the day, nobody really knew what it could be.</p>



<p>But there was this great promise that it could be this fabulous, unifying force. Not only would the world&#8217;s information be accessible, but we&#8217;d be able to communicate with people in a way that, really, the expense was driven down. The ability to communicate would be approaching zero. You needed access to a computer, and nowadays a mobile phone.</p>



<p>And so the promise was just such a radical departure from everything that humanity had had before. And then part of that culture, right at the beginning, was free and open source. Now, I know that in the decades since then, large corporations have jumped in and the internet has become a very profitable, noisy place, where it&#8217;s possible to feel, well, it&#8217;s just dominated by giant companies.</p>



<p>And I think, for me, that&#8217;s one of the reasons that I love projects like WordPress. Because it offers that promise from decades ago of what the web could be. Does it cost you anything? Yeah, it&#8217;ll cost you a bit in hosting. Is it broadly free? Yes, it&#8217;s broadly free. Do you have to pay to contribute? No. Can you benefit from other people&#8217;s labour? Yes. Are you required to give back? No. Would it be nice if you did? Yes.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s just this feeling, this wonderful feeling that I can&#8217;t, like I said, put my finger on. But there&#8217;s just something excellent about that whole idea. So there&#8217;s what I think.</p>



<p>[00:30:56] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah, I agree. And the entire time we were talking, I was like, what is the word? What word like encompasses everything that you&#8217;re saying, what I&#8217;m thinking. And I&#8217;m like, I can&#8217;t just say community because, come on Emma, you work with words. But it is, like, it&#8217;s it&#8217;s collaborative.</p>



<p>And I like that you brought up communication. I love strategic communication. Different styles of it, between different cultures. And I feel like that is where all of that is a nice melting pot. People from all over the world, people with different things, we all have one thing in common, where all of these things come together, finally. No, maybe not finally.</p>



<p>But like, what a community, what the definition of community in my head, at least, is supposed to be, happens. So we don&#8217;t have to worry about statuses. We don&#8217;t have to worry about the company that you&#8217;ve worked for, we don&#8217;t have to worry about our culture.</p>



<p>Like, we are all there for one reason, and it&#8217;s WordPress. We are all interested in one thing. We all want that one thing to succeed, and it&#8217;s collaborative. Like you were saying, with the way that all the things that the internet promised us, it&#8217;s going to bring us together. It&#8217;s going to be all of these ways to communicate. It&#8217;s going to like, you know, bridge the gap between your grandparents that live in Australia and here.</p>



<p>And it did fix a lot of those things. But then during that adventure and journey, we lost a lot of communication, and a lot of collaboration, and community, and the sense of community. Unless you have one of those, you&#8217;re lucky enough to have one of those in your physical place. This is a place where it can solve that with the bonus addition of, we all just like it.</p>



<p>I think that, in addition to what you were saying earlier with, everybody is genuinely nice people, and good people. There&#8217;s not some malicious agenda on the back of their mind where it&#8217;s like, ha, I&#8217;m gonna be nice to your face, but stab you in the back. Like, there is zero of that, at least from my point of view.</p>



<p>In addition to all of this, it&#8217;s just a nice place to be. You make new friends, you have great conversations, you laugh pretty much for four days straight if you&#8217;re at a live event. If you&#8217;re working online with them, there&#8217;s lots of inside jokes, and it&#8217;s just, I don&#8217;t know, it&#8217;s just community. I can&#8217;t think of a better word.</p>



<p>[00:32:54] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I think I might have the word. I think the word might be humanity.</p>



<p>[00:32:58] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah.</p>



<p>[00:32:59] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> We live in a different world than the world of 30 years ago, before the internet was invented. But it is an enterprise where there&#8217;s a common purpose. I&#8217;ve literally met people at WordCamps who have never used WordPress. I know that sounds strange, but they somehow got themselves to a WordCamp in the past, and they just liked the feeling.</p>



<p>There was something about the attendance of that event, which gave them that warm and fuzzy glow. And so they still attend, and they&#8217;ve never used WordPress. Their intention is not necessarily to ever use WordPress, but they enjoy the camaraderie that they get. They enjoy the fact that they can show up and be a part of that enormous jigsaw puzzle, and help people in a philanthropic way. You don&#8217;t necessarily have to get anything in return. And it&#8217;s just a very human enterprise, I think.</p>



<p>[00:33:47] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah. And all the things that like show up with the events, you know, like the prices aren&#8217;t ridiculous to get a ticket. You don&#8217;t have to go out and separate from people to get food. You grab some food, you sit with some strangers, you introduce yourself to somebody new, or by yourself if you want to. Everything is there, and open, and welcoming.</p>



<p>Yeah, it&#8217;s very different to other conferences, and I like that people that don&#8217;t actually use WordPress or have no intention to, continue to go to these. WordPress is doing something right.</p>



<p>[00:34:18] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Where have you landed then on what you&#8217;re going to be doing? Because obviously you&#8217;re fairly new. You still might have your tendrils out trying to figure out, okay, if I go to another event and there&#8217;s a contributor day, that feels like my thing.</p>



<p>You mentioned that there are things like photography. There are things like docs, which I know you work with words and obviously there&#8217;s a connection there, so maybe that&#8217;s where you&#8217;ve landed. It may be that you want to try other things. What&#8217;s your intuition about that? Where do you think your endeavors will go, if you decide to contribute in the future?</p>



<p>[00:34:43] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yes. So right now most of my, I guess, contributions been going to the organising, for the WordCamp Europe. But before that, it was primarily docs, just because I like it. I like organising. I like just documentation in general, and consistency.</p>



<p>But I do think there was a conversation, quite a few conversations at the community summit, which I also went to, which is maybe not something that happens, I&#8217;ve only been involved for a short amount of time. About like content repurposing, and really like bridging the gap between teams, and merging together, and aligning with each other. I think if I could get more involved with that, to help speed that along or even just give more attention to it. We could help all of the contributions, just not one team specifically improve together.</p>



<p>[00:35:26] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Emma, it&#8217;s been really interesting chatting to you today. Thank you for joining us. If anybody is not entirely sure how much they want to contribute, whether they want to contribute, and they&#8217;ve listened to this and they&#8217;ve been inspired by what you&#8217;ve said, where would be the best place to locate you? I don&#8217;t know, it may be an email address, or a Twitter handle, or a website, or whatever you like.</p>



<p>[00:35:43] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Yeah, probably LinkedIn. I am terrible with Twitter. So I will give you that so you can link it down below, or so people can find me. Because yes, I would definitely just, you can pick my brain, ask me any questions, and I would be more than willing to help and answer in any way.</p>



<p>[00:35:58] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Thank you, Emma Young. Thank you for joining us on the podcast today. I really appreciate it.</p>



<p>[00:36:02] <strong>Emma Young:</strong> Thank you.</p>
</div>



<p>On the podcast today we have <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-sophie-young">Emma Young</a>.</p>



<p>Emma is the Head of Content for Hostinger and is on the podcast today to chat through her new found love of WordPress and the community which surrounds it.</p>



<p>Emma&#8217;s journey is quite inspirational. From having almost no experience with WordPress just a few years ago, she’s now immersed deeply in all that WordPress has to offer. Just over a year ago she&#8217;d been using WordPress a little, but that was it. Then she found employment in the space and has been to all three 2023 flagship WordCamps, as well as the Community Summit. So the whole conversation is coloured with this newness and energy, which is quite infectious.</p>



<p>We explore the delicate balance between profitability and community values in her job. Emma sheds light on Hostinger&#8217;s commitments in the WordPress space and how they tread the tightrope of being a good community citizen, whilst still turning a profit. We also delve into the company&#8217;s recent involvement in WordPress events and WordCamps, discussing the benefits they have reaped from these; it’s things like brand awareness and invaluable feedback from the community.</p>



<p>Emma&#8217;s passion for networking and continuous improvement is evident as she shares her personal experiences. We discuss the inclusive nature of the WordPress community and the various pathways individuals with different personality types can follow to feel at home, emphasising the ample opportunities available for everyone to contribute.</p>



<p>We get into the collaborative nature of the WordPress community, exploring the camaraderie, philanthropy, and human connections that thrive within WordPress events and projects. Emma shares her insights from her recent involvement in helping to organise WordCamp Europe, and her dedication to contributing to documentation.</p>



<p>If you’re looking for a way to find your place in the WordPress community, this podcast is for you.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Useful links</h2>



<p><a href="https://www.hostinger.co.uk/">Hostinger</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-sophie-young">Emma&#8217;s LinkedIn</a></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 13 Dec 2023 14:53:23 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Nathan Wrigley";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:11;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:59:"Akismet: The 6 Best WordPress Form Builder Plugins Compared";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"http://akismet.com/?p=283524";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:61:"https://akismet.com/blog/best-wordpress-form-builder-plugins/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:37912:"<p>A well&#8209;designed form can help your website visitors reach out to you, generate new leads, and grow your email list. While you can add forms to your website by writing code, most WordPress website owners use a WordPress form builder to take care of this task. But, with a <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/search/forms" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">search for ‘forms’</a> on the WordPress plugin directory retrieving hundreds of results, it can be challenging to know which is the best option for your&nbsp;site.</p>

<p>To help, we&#8217;ve put together this essential guide to WordPress form builders, which will assist you in deciding on the best WordPress form plugin for your site. We&#8217;ll explore the key features any good WordPress form builder plugin should have, look at seven of the top choices, and answer all of your burning questions about WordPress forms. Let&#8217;s dive&nbsp;in!</p>


<span id="more-283524"></span>



<img width="1600" height="1066" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/11/image.jpeg" alt="contact form on a website" class="wp-image-283526" />


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What features should a quality form builder&nbsp;have?</h2>

<p>While each WordPress form plugin offers different features, here are some that all should&nbsp;include:</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">An integration with Akismet to block&nbsp;spam</h3>

<p>Sadly, online forms are a target for bots that attempt to flood your site (and email inbox) with <a href="https://akismet.com/blog/how-to-stop-contact-form-spam-on-wordpress/">contact form spam</a> submissions, which can leave you wading through a sea of spam to find one genuine entry from your&nbsp;visitors.</p>

<p>This makes it essential that your WordPress form plugin defends against spam, and <a href="https://akismet.com/">Akismet</a> is the gold&#8209;standard <a href="https://akismet.com/blog/best-anti-spam-wordpress-plugins-compared/">spam protection for WordPress</a>. The service has blocked an astonishing 545,500,000,000+ pieces of spam to&nbsp;date.</p>


<img width="1600" height="787" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/11/image.png" alt="Akismet homepage" class="wp-image-283527" />



<p>Akismet gets to work silently in the background and protects your forms from spam without requiring any form of CAPTCHA or manual user input. Instead, it uses advanced AI technology and one of the world&#8217;s largest anti-spam databases to filter out WordPress form spam. It does all of this with more than 99.9% accuracy.&nbsp;</p>



<p>The great news is that most leading WordPress form builders offer an integration with Akismet, so you can easily guard your forms with the best WordPress spam protection available.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Customization options</h3>


<p>Consistency is key when it comes to branding and the visual appearance of your site. A quality WordPress form builder should allow you to easily modify the colors, fonts, and layouts of your forms, so they reflect your brand&#8217;s style and blend seamlessly into the overall design of your&nbsp;site.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Templates for common form&nbsp;types</h3>


<p>Most modern form plugins try to simplify the creation process with a drag-and-drop builder, but it can still take time to add and configure and style exactly what you need.&nbsp;</p>


<p>To help, some solutions offer a range of templates or patterns covering common form types, which act as a great foundation while allowing you the flexibility to adjust and customize as&nbsp;needed.</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Notification settings</h3>


<p>Your form builder lets you decide what happens after a visitor clicks submit on your form. For example, do they go to a “thank you” page, see a confirmation message, or get a copy of their submission via&nbsp;email?</p>


<p>For most types of forms, you&#8217;ll also want to ensure that you or a member of your team is promptly notified of new form submissions. So it&#8217;s important to check out the notification options offered by each WordPress form builder.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Most plugins will provide a range of options that allow you to configure the emails you receive each time a form is submitted, as well as choose if you want to send your data to any third&#8209;party services or store the data in your WordPress&nbsp;database.</p>

<h2 class="wp-block-heading">A review of the best form plugins for&nbsp;WordPress</h2>


<img width="1600" height="686" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/11/image-1.png" alt="Jetpack Forms homepage" class="wp-image-283528" />


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. <a href="https://jetpack.com/forms/">Jetpack&nbsp;Forms</a></h3>

<p><a href="https://jetpack.com/forms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jetpack Forms</a> is one of the best WordPress form builders. It works from within the WordPress block editor, making it easy to add forms to any post or page on your&nbsp;site.</p>

<p>Jetpack Forms comes with a large set of patterns that allow you to quickly create common form types, including a basic contact form and registration and feedback forms. You can also build your own from scratch using the handy drag&#8209;and&#8209;drop builder, which allows you to select from a wide range of field&nbsp;types.</p>


<img width="1600" height="741" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/11/image-2.png" alt="Jetpack form patterns in a grid" class="wp-image-283529" />



<p>Jetpack’s innovative AI assistant can also be used to help you effortlessly create advanced forms. Just describe the type of form you want, and Jetpack AI will get to work creating it. And you can use the AI Assistant to edit your existing forms. For example, you can ask it to autopopulate a country drop-down, or to add a field for event attendees to let you know their dietary requirements.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="994" height="739" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/11/image-3.png" alt="Jetpack AI assistant translating a post" class="wp-image-283530" />



<p>You can use Jetpack Forms to create as many forms as you need and capture unlimited responses. You can also configure email notifications for each one, which are sent using the native WordPress email function.&nbsp;</p>


<p>All form responses are stored in the “feedback” menu of your WordPress dashboard, and you can export them straight to Google Sheets or download them as a CSV file for further analysis. Jetpack Forms also integrates with several popular services, including <a href="https://jetpackcrm.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jetpack CRM</a> for contact management and <a href="https://www.creativemail.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Creative Mail</a> for email&nbsp;marketing.</p>

<p>Jetpack is a free WordPress form plugin that lets you match your site&#8217;s design and branding by selecting the background and text color for the block and submit button. You can make form fields mandatory to ensure that you’re collecting the information you need from each visitor, configure a custom confirmation message, or redirect users to a “thank you”&nbsp;page.</p>

<p>Jetpack Forms helps keep form spam at bay with a powerful two&#8209;pronged approach. First, all forms contain a honeypot field, which is designed to trick bots and prevent them from submitting your form in the first place. Jetpack Forms also works seamlessly with Akismet to add invisible AI&#8209;powered spam detection to your site, scan all form submissions to identify spam, and ensure that you only get notified about genuine form&nbsp;submissions.</p>


<p>Like Akismet, Jetpack Forms was built by the team behind WordPress.com, so you know that it&#8217;s a powerful and safe WordPress form builder designed for ease of use. It’s considered one of the best WordPress form plugins available.&nbsp;</p>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key features of Jetpack&nbsp;Forms:</h4>


<ul><li>The ability to create forms from within the WordPress&nbsp;editor</li>

<li>A range of templates&nbsp;provided</li>

<li>A drag&#8209;and&#8209;drop form&nbsp;builder</li>

<li>Integration with Akismet for powerful spam&nbsp;filtering</li>

<li>A range of field types including text, date picker, drop&#8209;down, checkbox, and radio&nbsp;buttons</li>

<li>AI&#8209;powered form&nbsp;creation</li>

<li>Mobile responsive&nbsp;designs</li>

<li>Unlimited forms and&nbsp;submissions</li>

<li>Configurable email&nbsp;notifications</li>

<li>Integration with CRM and email marketing&nbsp;services</li>

<li>Google Sheets&nbsp;integration</li>

<li>Customizable actions upon form&nbsp;submission</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pros of Jetpack&nbsp;Forms:</h4>


<ul><li>Jetpack Forms offers a range of powerful features that allow you to create custom forms for free from within the WordPress&nbsp;editor.</li>

<li>The Jetpack form builder works perfectly with Akismet to catch any spam form&nbsp;submissions.</li>

<li>Jetpack Forms is part of the wider Jetpack plugin, which offers a range of useful site management, performance, and security&nbsp;features.</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Cons of Jetpack&nbsp;Forms:</h4>


<ul><li>Jetpack Forms is designed to meet the needs of the average WordPress site owner, so it doesn’t have some specialty features, such as multipage forms, that are found in many paid WordPress form builder&nbsp;plugins.</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use:</h4>


<p>Jetpack Forms has a simple visual form builder that works within the WordPress editor. It&#8217;s simple to configure your form settings, actions, and design. Plus, patterns and AI-powered tools make it quick and easy to create the perfect form for your needs.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Detailed <a href="https://jetpack.com/support/jetpack-blocks/contact-form/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">documentation is available</a>, and you can also access email support from Jetpack&#8217;s Happiness Engineers.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing:</h4>


<p>Jetpack Forms is part of the<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack/"> Jetpack plugin</a>, which is free to download from the WordPress plugin directory. <a href="https://jetpack.com/ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jetpack’s AI Assistant</a> offers 20 free requests, with unlimited requests (for both forms and the many other features offered by Jetpack AI) available for about $8 per&nbsp;month.</p>


<img width="2114" height="1022" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/11/screen-shot-2023-11-15-at-2.07.06-pm.png" alt="WPForms homepage" class="wp-image-283532" />



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpforms-lite/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WPForms</a></h3>


<p>WPForms is a popular plugin for WordPress that helps you create a wide range of forms for your&nbsp;site.</p>

<p>Like most plugins in this list, WPForms is built around an intuitive drag&#8209;and&#8209;drop builder, and offers a range of templates for some of the most popular form types. Once you’ve created your form, you can embed it in any post or page using the WPForms block and tailor its appearance to match your site’s&nbsp;branding.</p>


<p>This WordPress form plugin offers full control over what you do with the data you collect, including the option to send all form submissions by email or store the entries in your database.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Premium versions of WPForms offer integrations with popular email and CRM services, including Mailchimp and Salesforce, along with payment gateways which allow you to create payment&nbsp;forms.</p>


<p>All versions of WPForms integrate with Akismet so that you can keep form entry spam at bay with the leading spam detection plugin for WordPress.&nbsp;</p>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key features of&nbsp;WPForms:</h4>


<ul><li>Integration with Akismet to protect your forms from&nbsp;spam</li>

<li>Pre&#8209;made templates for common form&nbsp;types</li>

<li>A drag&#8209;and&#8209;drop form&nbsp;builder</li>

<li>Support for custom field&nbsp;types</li>


<li>Multipage forms</li>


<li>Mobile responsive&nbsp;forms</li>

<li>Unlimited forms and&nbsp;submissions</li>

<li>Advanced customization options, including Webhook support&nbsp;(Pro)</li>

<li>Integrations with popular CRM and email marketing services&nbsp;(Pro)</li>

<li>Email notifications for form&nbsp;entries</li>

<li>A wide range of field types, including file&nbsp;upload</li>

<li>The ability to accept payments&nbsp;(Pro)</li>

<li>Form abandonment notifications&nbsp;(Pro)</li>

<li>Support for a range of complex forms, including surveys, ratings, and polls&nbsp;(Pro)</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pros of&nbsp;WPForms:</h4>


<ul><li>WPForms uses a drag&#8209;and&#8209;drop interface that simplifies building forms and changing form&nbsp;settings.</li>

<li>WPForms’ premium versions make it possible to use forms to accomplish tasks that go beyond a traditional contact form, including taking payments and creating&nbsp;posts.</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Cons of&nbsp;WPForms:</h4>


<ul><li>WPForms does not allow you to create forms from within the WordPress&nbsp;editor.</li>

<li>Some features of WPForms, including advanced field types and integrations with email or CRM systems, are only available in premium versions of the&nbsp;plugin.</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use:</h4>

<p>WPForms’ drag&#8209;and&#8209;drop interface makes the plugin easy to use. Comprehensive documentation is available, and email support is offered for premium&nbsp;customers.</p>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing:</h4>


<p>WPForms Light is available in the WordPress plugin directory and allows you to create basic forms for free. Several different premium versions of WPForms are available, which range from the Basic plan at $499 a year to the Elite plan, which unlocks all features, for $599.50 a&nbsp;year.</p>


<img width="1411" height="526" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/11/image-5.png" alt="Gravity Forms homepage" class="wp-image-283534" />


<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://www.gravityforms.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">3. Gravity&nbsp;Forms</a></h2>

<p>Gravity Forms is a well&#8209;known premium form plugin for WordPress that offers a range of advanced&nbsp;features.</p>


<p>Like many WordPress form plugins, Gravity Forms allows you to create forms without any programming knowledge using a drag-and-drop interface.&nbsp;</p>



<p>You can include 30 different field types within your forms to build almost any type — create contact forms, quizzes, surveys, and even user registration forms.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Gravity Forms offers various field types, along with features that allow you to create in a range of styles, including conversational forms or multipage forms. The plugin integrates with many popular services, like email marketing programs, CRM systems, and payment&nbsp;gateways.</p>

<p>Gravity Forms also helps you keep your submissions spam&#8209;free by integrating with Akismet, meaning you can benefit from world&#8209;class AI&#8209;powered spam protection on all the forms on your&nbsp;site.</p>

<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key features of Gravity&nbsp;Forms:</h4>


<ul><li>A visual form&nbsp;builder</li>

<li>Akismet&#8209;powered spam&nbsp;protection</li>

<li>Integrations with external services, including email automation tools and payment&nbsp;processors</li>

<li>Customizable notifications, emails, and on&#8209;submit&nbsp;actions</li>

<li>The ability to register users and update profiles through registration&nbsp;forms</li>

<li>Support for quizzes, polls, and&nbsp;surveys</li>


<li>Conditional logic</li>


<li>A variety of field&nbsp;types</li>

<li>Form response analytics&nbsp;tools</li>


<li>Responsive forms</li>



<li>Multipage forms</li>


<li>Conversational style&nbsp;forms</li>

<li>Support for merge&nbsp;tags</li>

<li>Hooks and functions, which allow developers to expand plugin&nbsp;functionality</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pros of Gravity&nbsp;Forms:</h4>


<ul>
<li>Gravity Forms allows you to create advanced forms using a simple drag-and-drop interface and easily integrates with a range of external services.&nbsp;</li>


<li>There are a wide variety of add&#8209;ons that can expand upon the plugin’s functionality without needing to hire a&nbsp;developer.</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Cons of Gravity&nbsp;Forms:</h4>


<ul><li>Many form appearance settings can only be customized by using custom CSS or a third&#8209;party&nbsp;plugin.</li>

<li>Unlike the other WordPress form plugins on this list, Gravity Forms does not offer a free&nbsp;version.</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use:</h4>

<p>While Gravity Forms has a drag&#8209;and&#8209;drop form builder, the number of advanced integrations and settings may be confusing if you’re only looking to create simple forms. A <a href="https://docs.gravityforms.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">comprehensive knowledge</a> base is available, and all users benefit from email&nbsp;support.</p>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing:</h4>


<p>Gravity Forms has a range of <a href="https://www.gravityforms.com/pricing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pricing plans</a>, each of which activates more features and integrations. Plans vary. The Basic plan starts at $59 a year and the Elite plan, which enables all features and integrations, is $259 a year. The anti&#8209;spam integration with Akismet is available on all&nbsp;plans.</p>


<img width="2736" height="1104" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/11/screen-shot-2023-11-15-at-3.03.19-pm.png" alt="Ninja Forms homepage" class="wp-image-283536" />


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">4. <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/ninja-forms/">Ninja&nbsp;Forms</a></h2>

<p>Ninja Forms is a popular WordPress form builder that offers a basic, free version alongside a range of premium&nbsp;add&#8209;ons.</p>

<p>Ninja Forms’ free version allows you to create simple forms using a drag&#8209;and&#8209;drop&nbsp;form</p>

<p>builder. The plugin contains a number of templates, or you can select from over 27 different field types to create the perfect custom form for your site. Like all plugins on this list, Ninja Forms allows you to create an unlimited number of forms and places no limit on the number of submissions you can&nbsp;receive.</p>

<p>Ninja Forms offers several different options for notifications, and it allows you to display custom confirmation messages to your users or redirect them to a different page on your site. You can protect any form you create against spam, thanks to its Akismet&nbsp;integration.</p>

<p>The functionality of Ninja Forms can be extended through a large number of official add&#8209;ons, which allow you to add features such as user registration, payment integration, conditional logic, and multistep&nbsp;forms.</p>

<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key features of Ninja&nbsp;Forms:</h4>


<ul><li>Pre&#8209;built form&nbsp;templates</li>

<li>A drag&#8209;and&#8209;drop form&nbsp;builder</li>

<li>27+ field&nbsp;types</li>

<li>Form customization&nbsp;options</li>

<li>Spam management with&nbsp;Akismet</li>

<li>Ajax form&nbsp;submissions</li>

<li>Conditional logic&nbsp;(pro)</li>

<li>Webhook support&nbsp;(pro)</li>

<li>Front&#8209;end post submissions&nbsp;(pro)</li>

<li>The ability to create user registration and management forms&nbsp;(pro)</li>

<li>File uploads&nbsp;(pro)</li>

<li>Form analytics&nbsp;(pro)</li>

<li>Integrations with popular email and CRM services&nbsp;(pro)</li>

<li>PayPal and Stripe payment integrations&nbsp;(pro)</li>


<li>Hooks and filters, which enable developers to extend functionality&nbsp;</li>
</ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pros of Ninja&nbsp;Forms:</h4>


<ul><li>Ninja Forms automatically uses the colors and fonts from your WordPress theme to help your forms match the look and feel of the rest of your site without the need to use&nbsp;CSS.</li>

<li>The add&#8209;on system that Ninja Forms uses allows you to only pay for the additional features you&nbsp;need.</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Cons of Ninja&nbsp;Forms:</h4>


<ul><li>While you can guard against form submission spam using the Akismet integration, this has to be enabled by adding the <a href="https://ninjaforms.com/docs/akismet-anti-spam-action/">Akismet action</a> and selecting the field you wish to protect on each form you&nbsp;create.</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use:</h4>

<p>The drag&#8209;and&#8209;drop builder and simple configuration options offered by Ninja Forms make the plugin generally easy to use. Adding Akismet protection requires several additional steps compared to some other plugins in this list. This may be more complicated than necessary if you just want to create a simple WordPress contact form that’s protected from&nbsp;spam.</p>

<p>A help center is provided for all users, as is support through the plugin’s WordPress support forum. Users with a Ninja Forms membership plan can also access email&nbsp;support.</p>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing:</h4>


<p>Ninja Forms has a free version available on the WordPress plugin directory, which allows you to create basic forms. Various paid <a href="https://ninjaforms.com/add-ons/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">add&#8209;ons</a> are available to extend the plugin&#8217;s functionality for $49 each. Membership plans are also available, ranging from $99 &#8211; $299 a year, each of which includes a selection of add&#8209;ons and access to premium&nbsp;support.</p>


<img width="1968" height="892" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/11/screen-shot-2023-11-16-at-10.30.25-am.png" alt="Contact Form 7 listing in the WordPress repository" class="wp-image-283538" />


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">5. <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/contact-form-7/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Contact Form&nbsp;7</a></h2>

<p>Contact Form 7 was one of the first free contact form plugins created for WordPress. You can use Contact Form 7 to create basic WordPress contact forms or more advanced forms with a range of field types like text boxes, check boxes, drop&#8209;downs, file uploads, and dates. You can also set fields as required to help ensure your form submissions aren’t missing essential&nbsp;information.</p>

<p>You’re able to protect fields on any form you create against spam, thanks to Contact Form 7&#8217;s <a href="https://contactform7.com/spam-filtering-with-akismet/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Akismet integration</a>. Contact Form 7 allows you to configure the email notifications you receive for each form, as well as set custom confirmation messages displayed to users when they submit your&nbsp;form.</p>

<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key features of Contact Form&nbsp;7:</h4>


<ul><li>The ability to create unlimited&nbsp;forms</li>


<li>Unlimited submissions</li>


<li>Email notifications on form&nbsp;submission</li>

<li>Support for file&nbsp;uploads</li>

<li>Form styling via CSS and&nbsp;HTML</li>


<li>Akismet Anti-spam integration&nbsp;</li>
</ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pros of Contact Form&nbsp;7:</h4>


<ul><li>Contact Form 7 is a lightweight plugin that won’t hinder your site&nbsp;performance.</li>

<li>Because Contact Form 7 is a popular WordPress form plugin, there are a number of third&#8209;party add&#8209;ons that you can use to enhance its&nbsp;features.</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Cons of Contact Form&nbsp;7:</h4>


<ul><li>You have to use custom CSS and HTML to style the form, which can make it more challenging to match your&nbsp;brand.</li>

<li>While you can add contact forms you have created to your posts and pages using the Contact Form 7 block, you can&#8217;t create forms from within the WordPress&nbsp;editor.</li>

<li>Contact Form 7 doesn’t store contact form submissions. This means that to use Akismet’s ability to review form submissions, you’ll need an <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/flamingo/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">additional plugin</a> that stores entries in your site&#8217;s&nbsp;database.</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use:</h4>

<p>While there is a very <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/contact-form-7/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">active support community</a> on the plugin’s WordPress support forum, along with <a href="https://contactform7.com/docs/">comprehensive documentation</a>, some users may find Contact Form 7 to be more difficult to use than others on this list. It uses text&#8209;based <a href="https://contactform7.com/tag-syntax/">form tags</a> rather than a drag&#8209;and&#8209;drop interface, and you have to style forms through CSS, which might make it difficult for&nbsp;beginners.</p>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing:</h4>


<p>Contact Form 7 is available free of charge from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/contact-form-7/">WordPress plugin&nbsp;directory</a>.</p>


<img width="1968" height="930" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/11/screen-shot-2023-11-16-at-10.34.10-am.png" alt="Formidable Forms listing in the WordPress repository" class="wp-image-283539" />


<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/formidable/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">6. Formidable&nbsp;Forms</a></h3>


<p>Formidable Forms is a freemium WordPress form plugin built around a drag-and-drop builder. The plugin has an integrated live preview feature that helps you see how your form will look to visitors as you build it.&nbsp;</p>


<p>It offers comprehensive options for form styling and comes with many templates that speed up the process of creating common form types, such as contact forms or review&nbsp;forms.</p>

<p>Both the free and premium versions of Formidable Forms help you keep spam at bay by integrating with Akismet. The plugin&#8217;s premium versions offer integrations with external email marketing and CRM services, as well as a number of additional features that allow you to create a plethora of different form&nbsp;types.</p>

<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key features of Formidable&nbsp;Forms:</h4>


<ul><li>A drag&#8209;and&#8209;drop form&nbsp;builder</li>

<li>A visual form&nbsp;styler</li>

<li>Unlimited forms and&nbsp;submissions</li>


<li>Form templates</li>


<li>Akismet spam&nbsp;protection</li>

<li>Email notifications and form&nbsp;autoresponders</li>

<li>Fully responsive&nbsp;forms</li>


<li>Field placeholders</li>


<li>File uploads&nbsp;(pro)</li>

<li>Conditional logic&nbsp;(pro)</li>

<li>Multipage forms&nbsp;(pro)</li>

<li>User registration&nbsp;(pro)</li>

<li>A range of views, tables, and charts to analyze data&nbsp;(pro)</li>

<li>Form automation&nbsp;(pro)</li>

<li>Integration with third&#8209;party tools&nbsp;(pro)</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pros of Formidable&nbsp;Forms:</h4>


<ul><li>Formidable Forms features an advanced form styler that allows you to fully customize the look and feel of your&nbsp;forms.</li>

<li>The premium versions of Formidable Forms enable a wide range of features that allow you to create complex forms and actions without any coding&nbsp;knowledge.</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Cons of Formidable&nbsp;Forms:</h4>


<ul><li>Your forms are not automatically protected from spam with Akismet, as it has to be enabled on each form you&nbsp;create.</li>

<li>Unlike some WordPress form builders, such as Jetpack Forms, Formidable Forms does not include any integrations with email marketing or CRM services in the free&nbsp;version.</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use:</h4>

<p>The plugin&#8217;s drag&#8209;and&#8209;drop interface and visual form styler make Formidable Forms easy to use. A <a href="https://formidableforms.com/knowledgebase/">knowledge base</a> is provided, and support for the free version is offered via the plugin&#8217;s WordPress support forum. Premium users can also access email&nbsp;support.</p>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing:</h4>



<p>Formidable Forms has a basic, free version available from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/formidable/">WordPress plugin directory</a>.<a href="https://formidableforms.com/pricing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Premium versions</a> range from $79 &#8211; $599 per year, with each plan providing additional functionality on top of the base plugin.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Comparison of the top form builder&nbsp;plugins</h2>


<table><tbody><tr><td>&nbsp;</td><td>Jetpack Forms</td><td>WPForms</td><td>Gravity Forms</td><td>Ninja Forms</td><td>Contact Forms 7</td><td>Formidable Forms</td></tr><tr><td>Protect forms from spam with Akismet?</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><td>Drag-and-drop interface?</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>No</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><td>Create forms from within the WordPress editor?</td><td>Yes</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td></tr><tr><td>CRM and email marketing integration?</td><td>Yes</td><td>Paid only</td><td>Yes</td><td>Paid only</td><td>No</td><td>Paid Only</td></tr><tr><td>Configurable form submission actions?</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Yes</td><td>Limited</td><td>Yes</td></tr><tr><td>Built by the team behind WordPress.com?</td><td>Yes</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td><td>No</td></tr><tr><td>Cost</td><td>Free&nbsp;</td><td>Limited free version. Paid version plans cost $99 -$599/yr</td><td>$59-$299/yr</td><td>Limited free version. Individual add-ons from $49.Memberships from $99-$299/yr</td><td>Free</td><td>Limited free version, premium versions range from $79-$599 a year.</td></tr></tbody></table>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Factors to consider when choosing a form&nbsp;builder</h2>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Akismet integration</h3>


<p>To keep your WordPress forms spam&#8209;free, it&#8217;s important that the WordPress form builder you choose has an Akismet integration. By using Akismet to protect your forms, you can benefit from an advanced AI&#8209;powered spam filtering system that is trusted by over 100 million sites and boasts 99.9%&nbsp;accuracy.</p>


<img width="1600" height="851" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/11/image-6.png" alt="stats about spam blocked and websites protected by Akismet" class="wp-image-283541" />


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use</h3>


<p>The WordPress form builder you choose should be easy to use for visitors and site administrators alike. For your visitors, this means looking for a WordPress form plugin, like Jetpack Forms, that uses Akismet to protect your forms from spam, so they don&#8217;t have to solve a pesky CAPTCHA before submitting your form.&nbsp;</p>


<p>For site administrators, this means choosing a plugin that offers an intuitive drag&#8209;and&#8209;drop interface and allows you to easily make changes to the appearance and design of your&nbsp;forms.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Tools with submission&#8209;based&nbsp;actions</h3>

<p>It’s one thing being able to collect form submissions from your visitors, but it’s also important that you’re able to extract and take action on the information your visitors have given&nbsp;you.</p>

<p>All form plugins in our review allow you to receive email notifications of form submissions, but relying on email notifications alone can require you to manually enter data into a spreadsheet or&nbsp;CRM.</p>

<p>So, you should also look for a form builder, like <a href="https://jetpack.com/forms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jetpack Forms</a>, that stores your submissions in your WordPress admin dashboard, so you can see them in one place. You should also look for a plugin that allows you to easily export data or send it to an external&nbsp;tool.</p>


<img width="1600" height="748" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/11/image-7.png" alt="stored responses in Jetpack Forms" class="wp-image-283542" />


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently asked questions about form builder&nbsp;plugins</h2>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What makes a good WordPress form&nbsp;builder?</h3>

<p>Top WordPress form plugins enable you to quickly create a range of different form types to quickly collect appropriate responses for site visitors. The best WordPress form plugin for your site, such as Jetpack Forms, should also integrate seamlessly with <a href="https://akismet.com/">Akismet</a> for industry&#8209;leading spam protection that doesn&#8217;t hinder the user&nbsp;experience.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">How much does a good form builder plugin cost on&nbsp;WordPress?</h3>

<p>Many good WordPress form builders, such as <a href="https://jetpack.com/forms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jetpack Forms</a>, are free of charge. Some plugins that offer features for complex forms, such as user registration and integration with payment gateways, have premium options that range from $49&#8209;$599 a&nbsp;year.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Can I block WordPress contact form spam when using a form&nbsp;builder?</h3>


<p>Yes, you can block contact form spam by making sure that your plugin has a honeypot feature like <a href="https://jetpack.com/forms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jetpack Forms</a> and integrates with Akismet — the leading <a href="https://akismet.com/wordpress/">anti-spam solution for WordPress</a>.&nbsp;</p>


<p>This state&#8209;of&#8209;the&#8209;art service uses advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence technology to analyze submissions in real time without getting in the way of real, human&nbsp;users.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Should I use CAPTCHA on my contact&nbsp;form?</h3>


<p>If you want to maximize conversions, you should not require users to complete a CAPTCHA.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Researchers from <a href="https://web.stanford.edu/~jurafsky/burszstein_2010_captcha.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stanford University</a> found that CAPTCHAs can drive people away from your forms. The data shows that 29% of users leave a page when confronted with a CAPTCHA. This is particularly concerning if you rely on forms to capture leads or receive valuable customer feedback.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="770" height="925" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/11/image-8.png" alt="CAPTCHA examples prompting users to select red spheres" class="wp-image-283543" />


<p>On average, sites using reCAPTCHA <a href="https://medium.com/rareview/why-your-captcha-is-killing-conversions-f9be6fe17d1f" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">experience a 3.2% reduction</a> in their conversion rates compared to those that do not, which could significantly impact revenue generated from your&nbsp;site.</p>

<p>CAPTCHAs can also have a significant impact on the accessibility of your forms. Individuals with vision or hearing impairments often find it impossible to complete a CAPTCHA, even with assistive&nbsp;technology.</p>


<p>For these reasons, millions of WordPress site owners have turned to Akismet to protect their sites with world-class, <a href="https://akismet.com/blog/convertkit-customerstory/">non-intrusive spam protection</a>.&nbsp;</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">How do I enable the best anti&#8209;spam protection for my contact&nbsp;forms?</h3>

<p>To protect your site with the world&#8217;s leading anti&#8209;spam solution, you need to select a WordPress form builder, like <a href="https://jetpack.com/features/discussion/contact-forms/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jetpack Forms</a>, that integrates with Akismet. You&#8217;ll first need to get an Akismet API key. These are available for free if you&#8217;re running a personal blog or through an affordable subscription for commercial&nbsp;sites.</p>


<p>You then need to download and activate the Akismet anti-spam plugin. Some form plugins, like Jetpack Forms, will start protecting your forms with Akismet straight away, whereas, in others, you&#8217;ll need to enable the Akismet spam protection within the plugin&#8217;s settings.&nbsp;</p>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Akismet: AI&#8209;powered anti&#8209;spam for WordPress&nbsp;forms</h2>

<p>Once you&#8217;ve built your website&#8217;s forms, it&#8217;s time to protect them from spam, and <a href="https://akismet.com/">Akismet</a> is your complete solution for spam detection and&nbsp;prevention.</p>


<p>Akismet blocks form spam using advanced AI technology that works in the background. It automatically analyzes submissions in real time and lets genuine entries through while discarding spam.&nbsp;</p>


<p><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/">The Akismet plugin</a> is simple to install and configure and works seamlessly with many popular WordPress form builders to protect your site without ever getting in the way of the user&nbsp;experience.</p>


<p>Akismet is a safe, efficient, and secure solution from the team behind WordPress.com and is trusted by some of the biggest companies in the world, including Microsoft and ConvertKit. It has blocked a staggering 545 billion pieces of spam (and counting) with an industry-leading 99.9% accuracy rate.&nbsp;</p>


<p><a href="https://akismet.com/pricing/">Select your plan today</a> and say goodbye to spam&nbsp;forever.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 13 Dec 2023 14:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"Jen Swisher";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:12;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:83:"Do The Woo Community: End of the Year Emerging Tech with Kathy Zant and Dave Lockie";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78681";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:50:"https://dothewoo.io/end-of-the-year-emerging-tech/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:558:"<p>In this episode, Kathy and Dave discuss the influence of AI and blockchain on content creation, the rise of businesses using OpenAI API, and the potential of using blockchain for content authentication. They also explore the options for WordPress content and online identity verification.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/end-of-the-year-emerging-tech/">End of the Year Emerging Tech with Kathy Zant and Dave Lockie</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 13 Dec 2023 12:42:20 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:13;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"Matt: State of the Word 2023";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:23:"https://ma.tt/?p=109082";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:45:"https://ma.tt/2023/12/state-of-the-word-2023/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:509:"<p>I was really impressed with the warmth of the WordPress community in Madrid, Spain for <a href="https://wordpress.org/state-of-the-word/">State of the Word</a> this year. The in-person crowd had a ton of energy, and we had tens of thousands stream it live on platforms like Facebook and Youtube. If you missed it, and want to hear about all the fun stuff that happened in WordPress in 2023 and what&#8217;s coming for the future, here&#8217;s the video:</p>



<div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">

</div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 12 Dec 2023 03:17:15 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:14;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:51:"WPTavern: State of the Word 2023: ¡Hola WordPress!";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=151746";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:58:"https://wptavern.com/state-of-the-word-2023-hola-wordpress";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:9062:"<p><br />Exciting day for the WordPress community, as Matt Mullenweg delivered his first State of the Word address from a non-US location. Live from charming Madrid, Spain, he shared annual insights into the WordPress project, celebrating its remarkable 20 year journey and expressing his heartfelt gratitude to the diverse community that propels it forward.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Reflecting on the Year&#8217;s Successes:  A Dynamic and Innovative Community </h2>



<p>Matt took a moment to reflect on the achievements within the WordPress ecosystem over the past year. From its humble beginnings as a blogging tool to evolving into a robust website-building platform and now a powerful application framework, WordPress has reached its 20-year milestone (woo-hoo!) with resounding success.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<ul>
<li>Noteworthy mentions include WordPress&#8217;s prowess in <em>scalability</em> (as witnessed during <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/burhanhamid_i-couldnt-sleep-last-night-i-was-anxious-activity-7138301063371091969-Je5R?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop">Taylor Swift&#8217;s Time Person of the Year announcement</a>  (with 100k requests / second) and <em>security</em>, demonstrated by sites like WhiteHouse.gov and Nasa.gov.</li>



<li>The <a href="https://playground.wordpress.net/">WordPress Playground</a> continues to astonish, allowing users to set up a fully functional WordPress site in the browser in a matter of seconds &#8211; showcasing the community&#8217;s spirit of innovation.<br /><br />Here&#8217;s a brief demo (narrated by Adam Zieliński):  </li>
</ul>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>







<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p><strong><em>That will never cease to amaze me. [&#8230;] It&#8217;s the closest thing to sci-fi we have going on right now in WordPress.</em></strong></p>
<cite>Matt</cite></blockquote>



<ul>
<li>Introducing the <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/twentytwentyfour/">Twenty Twenty Four</a> theme, a masterpiece with 35 built-in patterns catering to artists, entrepreneurs, and anyone seeking the full potential of Gutenberg. Explore the theme&#8217;s highlights in the image below &#8211; and try it out (<a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/twentytwentyfour/">available in the repo here</a>).</li>
</ul>



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<img width="500" height="279" src="https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Twenty-twenty-four-theme-State-of-the-Word-Madrid-2023-500x279.png" alt="Highlights of the Twenty Twenty Four theme - State of the Word 2023 Madrid" class="wp-image-151785" />Highlights of the Twenty Twenty Four theme



<p>Other highlights included 70 WordCamps in 33 countries, 1.3k new contributors in 2023, the upcoming <a href="https://asia.wordcamp.org/2024/">WordCamp Asia</a> in Taipei, Taiwan as well as Openverse being awarded the <a href="https://awards.oeglobal.org/awards/2023/open-infrastructure/openverse/">Open Education Award for Excellence in Education Infrastructure</a>.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Peering into the Future: Collaboration and Workflow Environments</h2>



<p>Matías Ventura, WordPress Lead Architect, unveiled the plans for the Site Editor, aiming to enhance the experience for both writers and designers. The focus is now shifting towards collaboration and workflow environments (Phase 3 of the project), with a working prototype already available. While there&#8217;s no concrete timeline, you can dive into the Gutenberg plugin to test these developments and share your feedback on <a href="http://github.com/wordpress/gutenberg">GitHub</a>.</p>



<p>Matías showcased the prototype&#8217;s main features, emphasizing:</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. Patterns: becoming more versatile </h3>



<p>Explore a new era of <strong>patterns</strong>, allowing users to dive into exciting new features, like: </p>



<p>a. Swapping related patterns</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>







<p>b. Applying theme JSON to specific pattern</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>







<p>Additionally, Matías announced the creation of a hybrid type of pattern, offering text editing while maintaining control of the global design:</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>







<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. Custom fields: the best of both worlds </h3>



<p>Offering the ability to connect blocks to <strong>custom fields</strong> seamlessly, bringing together the best of both developer-friendly and user-friendly capabilities:</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. Performance: for both creators and visitors </h3>



<p>From a new dashboard tracking Gutenberg commits to editor <strong>performance</strong> improvements, WordPress is gearing up for version 6.5, promising significant speed enhancements:</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<img width="500" height="282" src="https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/WP-6.5-faster-that-WP-6.4-State-of-the-Word-Madrid-2023-500x282.png" alt="WP 6.5 faster that WP 6.4 State of the Word Madrid 2023" class="wp-image-151786" />WordPress 6.5 expected to be significantly faster than WordPress 5.4



<p>On the front end performance, Matías shared the team&#8217;s focus is on the <strong>Interactivity API </strong>and demo-ed the improvements &#8211; instant transitions and instant search. You can check it out on <a href="https://wpmovies.dev/">https://wpmovies.dev/</a>. </p>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. Admin design: your own WordPress</h3>



<p>Empowering users to customize their admin area to fit their unique needs:</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">AI in WordPress: Playground Blueprints </h2>



<p>Looking ahead, Matt explored the opportunities of AI tools, introducing Playground blueprints on the WordPress site. This feature enables the creation of playground sites using natural language. He encouraged community members to commit to using AI to expand their knowledge:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>&#8230;<strong><em> our growth and development will only be limited by our curiosity. </em></strong></p>
<cite>Matt</cite></blockquote>



<p>Related: practicing what he preaches, Matt shared that in order to enhance accessibility, the State of the Word recordings will soon be available in five languages, thanks to AI tools lipsync-ing addresses in Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, and Japanese. Available over the coming few days!</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Charting the Course for 2024: Data Liberation</h2>



<p>Matt emphasized a new focus for 2024:  unlocking the web&#8217;s full potential, by focusing on 1-click data migration &#8211; from other platforms to WordPress and among WordPress sites. He invited community members to join the initiative, and shared that the teams will have all necessary tools at their disposal to deliver on this priority. </p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SOTW Reveal: WordCamp US Heading to&#8230; </h2>



<p>In an exciting revelation, WordCamp US is set to unfold its magic in Portland, Oregon, for the next two years. Matt describes the city as &#8216;super fun and weird in amazing ways.&#8217;  More to follow from the organisers. </p>



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<p>For a deeper dive into the State of the Word address check out the full recording below:</p>



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<p></p>



<p><strong>Resources mentioned during the address: </strong></p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://asia.wordcamp.org/2024/">WC Asia 2024</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wordpressdotorg.survey.fm/2023-meetup-annual-survey">2023 anual meetup survey</a></li>



<li><a href="http://wp.org/meet">wp.org/meet</a></li>



<li><a href="http://wp.org/showcase">wp.org/showcase</a></li>



<li><a href="http://wp.org/remember">wp.org/remember</a></li>



<li><a href="http://developer.wp.org/playground">developer.wp.org/playground</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/twentytwentyfour/">Twenty twenty four theme</a></li>



<li><a href="http://github.com/wordpress/gutenberg">github.com/wordpress/gutenberg</a> </li>



<li><a href="https://wpmovies.dev/">https://wpmovies.dev/</a></li>
</ul>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 11 Dec 2023 23:46:45 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Ioana Mureşan";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:15;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:41:"BuddyPress: BuddyPress 12.0.0 “Nonno”";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:32:"https://buddypress.org/?p=332130";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:55:"https://buddypress.org/2023/12/buddypress-12-0-0-nonno/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12104:"<p>We&#8217;re very excited to announce the immediate availability of <a href="https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/buddypress.12.0.0.zip">BuddyPress 12.0.0 “Nonno”</a>, named after the excellent pizza restaurant located in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, France. Get it now&nbsp;from the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress/">WordPress.org plugin repository</a>, or right from your WordPress Dashboard.</p>



<p>It took the BuddyPress Team almost a year to finish baking the <a href="https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&group=resolution&milestone=12.0.0">100 changes</a> to perfection, write the <a href="https://github.com/buddypress/buddypress/tree/master/docs/user" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">user</a> &amp; <a href="https://github.com/buddypress/buddypress/tree/master/docs/developer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">developer</a> documentation resources and build the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/bp-classic/">backward compatibility Add-on</a> that make up our second major release of 2023.</p>



<p>One of these changes is probably the largest shift we have made since BuddyPress was born 15 years ago. </p>



<p>Our new BP Rewrites API solves a <a href="https://buddypress.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/4954" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10-year-old issue</a> and allows BuddyPress to comply with the WordPress way of generating rules to analyze requested URLs and route the visitor to the right site content: the&nbsp;<a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/apis/rewrite/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">WP Rewrite API</a>. Though we have tried to minimize the changes required for BuddyPress plugins and themes to preserve backward compatibility, the following two constraints couldn’t be worked around:</p>



<ul>
<li>WordPress fully analyzes a URL later in the load process than our BP Legacy URL parser</li>



<li>Supporting plain permalinks &amp; customizable slugs required us to completely rethink the way we build BuddyPress URLs</li>
</ul>



<p>Because of these insurmountable limitations, we chose to build the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/bp-classic/">BP Classic Add-on</a> to extend backward compatibility until all of the plugins you use on your site have been updated to use the new system. If you are using one or more third party BuddyPress plugins that have not been updated for the last 4 months or if you are still using the BP Default theme (which was <a href="https://bpdevel.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/the-future-of-the-bp-default-theme/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">deprecated 10 years ago</a>), we strongly advise you to download and activate <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/bp-classic/">BP Classic</a> before upgrading to 12.0.0.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The first step for a Modern BuddyPress</h2>



<p>The <strong>BP Rewrites API</strong> is a massive revolution opening the way for a progressive BuddyPress evolution. Based on 10 years of experience gained through hard work, we are beginning to reimagine what it means to organize and manage communities within WordPress. Here are the immediate benefits of this new API:</p>



<ol>
<li>You can customize each piece of any URL generated by BuddyPress to better reflect your unique community using the new&nbsp;<a href="https://github.com/buddypress/buddypress/blob/master/docs/user/administration/settings/urls.md" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">URLs settings screen</a>.</li>



<li>Pretty or plain, BuddyPress just works no matter which option you choose for your permalink settings.</li>



<li>Routing BuddyPress URLs is faster, more reliable, extensible, testable and fully compliant with WordPress best practices.</li>
</ol>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">A new &#8220;members only&#8221; community visibility level</h2>



<p>We&#8217;ve heard from BuddyPress end-users that being able to easily restrict access to their community is a necessary feature. And, thanks to the BP Rewrites API, we are now able to make this possible. With this first iteration, a site admin can now choose whether <a href="https://github.com/buddypress/buddypress/blob/master/docs/user/administration/settings/options.md#community-visibility" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the community is fully public or is only accessible to logged-in members</a>. In future versions, we hope to add granularity to this choice, so that community administrators can choose to highlight their members but share activities only inside the community&#8217;s &#8220;gates,&#8221; for example.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">BP Nouveau is ready for Twenty Twenty-Four</h2>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<img width="651" height="557" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2023/12/bp-nouveau-twenty24.png" alt="BP Member's profile screenshot" class="wp-image-332137" /><button class="lightbox-trigger" type="button">
			
				
			
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<p>The BP Nouveau template pack has been improved to better support Block Themes in general and Twenty Twenty-Four in particular. As shown in the above screen capture, our default template pack now includes a new Priority Navigation feature.</p>



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<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content"><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/buddypress/">BuddyPress</a></blockquote>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span class="dashicons dashicons dashicons-heart"></span> Many thanks to 12.0.0 contributors</h2>



<p><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/awol/">awol</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bkaindl/">Bernhard Kaindl (bkaindl)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bouncingsprout/">Ben Roberts (bouncingsprout)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/boonebgorges/">Boone B Gorges (boonebgorges)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/btwebdesign/">btwebdesign</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/coffee2code/">Scott Reilly (coffee2code)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/corzel/">corzel</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dancaragea/">Dan Caragea (dancaragea)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dcavins/">David Cavins (dcavins)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/diabolique/">Diabolique</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dj-basstone/">Heikki Paananen (dj-basstone)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/DJPaul/">Paul Gibbs (DJPaul)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/emaralive/">emaralive</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/fanly/">Fanly</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/fawp/">fawp</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/fernandot/">Fernando Tellado (fernandot)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/iandunn/">Ian Dunn (iandunn)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/iamthewebb/">iamthewebb</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/imath/">Mathieu Viet (imath)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/itapress/">itapress</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jaz_on/">Jason Rouet</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/johnjamesjacoby/">John James Jacoby (johnjamesjacoby)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kalich5/">Michal Janata (kalich5)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/koenhuybrechts/">koen Huybrechts (koenhuybrechts)</a> <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lenasterg">Lena Stergatou (lenasterg)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/lidialab/">Lidia Pellizzaro (lidialab)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/magland/">magland</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/makoto-a/">Makoto Akai (makoto-a)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mehrazmorshed/">Mehraz Morshed (mehrazmorshed)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mike80222/">Mike Witt (mike80222)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nekojonez/">Pieterjan Deneys (nekojonez)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/niftythree/">Nifty (niftythree)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nilovelez/">Nilo Velez (nilovelez)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/plugindevs/">Plugin Devs</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/psmits1567/">Peter Smits (psmits1567)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/r-a-y/">r-a-y</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rajinsharwar/">Rajin Sharwar (rajinsharwar)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/raviousprime/">raviousprime</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/espellcaste/">Renato Alves (espellcaste)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/shailu25/">Shail Mehta (shailu25)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/shawfactor/">shawfactor</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/slaffik/">Slava Abakumov (slaFFik)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/sjregan/">sjregan</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/teeboy4real/">teeboy4real</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/upadalavipul/">Upadala Vipul (upadalavipul)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/vapvarun/">Varun Dubey (vapvarun)</a>.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="your-feedback"><span class="dashicons dashicons-format-chat"></span>  Your feedback</h2>



<p>Receiving your feedback and suggestions for future versions of BuddyPress genuinely motivates and encourages our contributors. Please <a href="https://buddypress.org/support/topic/buddypress-12-0-0/">share it</a> <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f64f.png" alt="🙏" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



<p>Thanks a lot for using BuddyPress <img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f60d.png" alt="😍" class="wp-smiley" /></p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading has-text-align-center">Let&#8217;s celebrate &#8220;Nonno&#8221;</h2>



<p>Just like BuddyPress, &#8220;Nonno&#8221; (which means grandfather) has been around for 15 years, its team is very welcoming, caring and friendly; each of its members is committed to offering the best service and delivering the best tasting pizzas of the highest quality to customers. It&#8217;s the perfect place to entertain and have good times with your friends, family, or coworkers.</p>



<p class="has-text-align-center"><strong>Enjoy BuddyPress &#8220;Nonno&#8221;</strong></p>



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<a href="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2023/12/pizza-nonno-1.jpg"><img width="300" height="300" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2023/12/pizza-nonno-1.jpg" alt="Nonno pizza" class="wp-image-332132" /></a>



<a href="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2023/12/pizza-nonno-2.jpg"><img width="300" height="300" src="https://buddypress.org/wp-content/uploads/1/2023/12/pizza-nonno-2.jpg" alt="Spianata piccante pizza" class="wp-image-332131" /></a>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 11 Dec 2023 22:57:15 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12:"Mathieu Viet";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:16;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:48:"WordPress.org blog: State of the Word 2023 Recap";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=16617";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:64:"https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/state-of-the-word-2023-recap/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:10688:"<p>On December 11, WordPress co-founder <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/matt/">Matt Mullenweg</a> traveled to beautiful Madrid, Spain, to deliver his annual <a href="https://wordpress.org/state-of-the-word/">State of the Word</a> keynote. It was the first time this event took place outside the United States. Against the backdrop of <a href="https://www.palacioneptuno.com/">Palacio Neptuno</a>—an iconic architectural gem and UNESCO World Heritage site—nearly 200 contributors, developers, extenders, and friends of the project came together to hear from Matt, with millions more joining online.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">An introduction from the Executive Director</h2>



<p>Kicking off the event, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Josepha Haden Chomphosy</a>, Executive Director of the WordPress project, spoke about the community’s heart and spirit as what fuels hope for the future, ensuring the freedoms of the open web for all. She invited Matt on stage with a closing statement of confidence that such values and characteristics will move the project forward into the next 20 years as it has for the last 20.</p>



<img width="1024" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/12/IMAGE-2023-12-11-13_36_35.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&ssl=1" alt="Josepha Haden Chomphosy, Executive Director of the WordPress project, speaking at a podium " class="wp-image-16627" />



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Looking back at 2023</h2>



<p>Taking the stage, Matt shared his excitement about the event being the first international State of the Word. He honored the Spanish WordPress community for hosting, citing their past WordCamp accomplishments. From there, Matt jumped right into a reflection of this year’s notable moments. He recalled the project’s 20th-anniversary celebrations, how the software has evolved, and how much more the community came together this year—doubling the number of WordCamps to 70, taking place in 33 countries.</p>



<div class="wp-block-group has-off-white-2-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow">
<p class="has-text-align-center">We’re always aiming to learn and improve. Tell us how to make meetups better.</p>



<div class="wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex">
<div class="wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-50"><a class="wp-block-button__link wp-element-button" href="https://wordpressdotorg.survey.fm/2023-meetup-annual-survey?p=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Take the 2023 Meetup Survey</a></div>
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<p>Matt continued with callouts to several resources on <a href="https://wordpress.org/">WordPress.org</a>: the all-new <a href="https://events.wordpress.org/">Events</a> page, the redesigned <a href="https://wordpress.org/showcase/">Showcase</a>, a new <a href="https://wordpress.org/remembers/">WordPress Remembers memorial</a>, and the <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/09/openverse-wins-the-2023-oeg-open-infrastructure-award/">award-winning Openverse</a>. He also demoed <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/playground/">WordPress Playground</a>, a tool allowing users to experiment with WordPress directly in their browsers, as well as the versatile <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/twentytwentyfour/">Twenty Twenty-Four default theme</a>.</p>



<img width="1024" height="682" src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/12/IMAGE-2023-12-11-13_35_53.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&ssl=1" alt="Matías Ventura, Lead Architect of Gutenberg, speaking on stage at State of the Word" class="wp-image-16621" />



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Collaborative editing and more</h2>



<p>Matt recapped the four phases of the Gutenberg project, noting that work has begun on Phase 3: Collaboration before passing the microphone to <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/matveb/">Matías Ventura</a>, Lead Architect of Gutenberg.&nbsp;</p>



<p>After a quick interlude in Spanish, Matías acknowledged how much progress had been made on the software this year. He spoke about the aim of the Site Editor to become both an exemplary writing environment and a superior design tool while noting improvements to the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/footnotes-block/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Footnotes Block</a>&nbsp;and the ease of&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/distraction-free-mode/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Distraction Free mode</a>.</p>



<p>While there was no set timeline for collaboration and workflows, Matías was excited to share a working prototype in the Editor. He showcased some of the most interesting aspects of collaborative editing, including establishing a sync engine that allows real-time edits to be visible across sessions. He invited contributors to test the prototype in the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/gutenberg/">Gutenberg plugin</a> and <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/issues/52593">share their feedback in Github</a>.</p>



<p>From there, Matías highlighted other exciting developments, including the emphasis on Patterns and their continued evolution as a powerful tool for workflows, and the ability to connect blocks to custom fields. He was thrilled to speak about performance improvements, noting that work is in progress to make the Editor <a href="https://www.codevitals.run/project/gutenberg">at least twice as fast</a>. Speaking about front-end performance, he shared what’s to come with a <a href="https://wpmovies.dev/">demo of the Interactivity API</a>, showcasing how it can make transitions, search, and other interactions instant—all with standard WordPress blocks and features.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Matías concluded with a look at how the Admin redesign will take cues from the Site Editor, eventually allowing users to shape their WordPress Admin experience based on their unique needs.</p>



<img width="1024" height="684" src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/12/IMAGE-2023-12-11-13_36_09.jpg?resize=1024%2C684&ssl=1" alt="WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg speaking at a podium" class="wp-image-16624" />



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">AI and Data Liberation</h2>



<p>Matt returned to the stage to expand on the future of WordPress, reinforcing his past advice to <em>learn AI deeply</em>. He expressed his excitement about what can be accomplished with the wealth of AI tools available, how contributors are already experimenting with natural language processing and WordPress Playground to create and build.</p>



<p>Finally, Matt introduced an additional focus for the project in 2024: <a href="https://wordpress.org/data-liberation/">Data Liberation</a>, with the goal to make importing from other platforms into WordPress as frictionless as possible. He spoke about the tendency of content management systems to keep users locked in as part of his motivation to <em>unlock digital barriers</em>. The Data Liberation initiative will work on one-click migration and the export format from WordPress.&nbsp;</p>



<p>More than just tools, Data Liberation reflects the project’s ethos to allow seamless contributions. With that, Matt invited anyone interested to jump into the action, noting a new <a href="https://github.com/wordpress/data-liberation">Data Liberation GitHub repository</a> and forthcoming <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/chat/">Making WordPress Slack</a> channels as places to get started.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Questions and answers</h2>



<p>Following the presentation, Matt fielded questions from the live-stream and in-person audiences during an interactive question-and-answer session hosted by <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/monchomad/">Jose Ramón Padrón (Moncho)</a>.</p>



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<p>Additional questions from the live session will be answered in a follow-up post on <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project">make.WordPress.org/project</a>. Subscribe to our blog notifications to be sure you don’t miss it. And don’t forget to mark your calendars for next year’s <a href="https://asia.wordcamp.org/2024/">WordCamp Asia</a> (Taipei, Taiwan), <a href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2024/">WordCamp Europe</a> (Torino, Italy), and WordCamp US (Portland, Oregon, United States).</p>



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<p><em><em>Thank you to <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/laurlittle/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>laurlittle</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/eidolonnight/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>eidolonnight</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nilovelez/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>nilovelez</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/fepr/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>fepr</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cbringmann/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>cbringmann</a>, and the many others who made this event and post possible.</em></em></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 11 Dec 2023 22:55:46 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:17:"Nicholas Garofalo";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:17;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:77:"WordPress.org blog: WP Briefing: Episode 68: Toward a More Interconnected Web";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"https://wordpress.org/news/?post_type=podcast&p=16569";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:79:"https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/episode-68-toward-a-more-interconnected-web/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14558:"<p>In this episode, WordPress Executive Director, Josepha Haden Chomphosy articulates the vision for a collaborative ecosystem where knowledge sharing and contributions to open source tools lead to a more interconnected and empowered web.</p>



<p><em><strong>Have a question you&#8217;d like answered? You can submit them to&nbsp;<a href="mailto:wpbriefing@wordpress.org">wpbriefing@WordPress.org</a>, either written or as a voice recording.</strong></em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Credits</h2>



<p>Host:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/">Josepha Haden Chomphosy</a><br />Editor:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dustinhartzler/">Dustin Hartzler</a><br />Logo:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/javiarce/">Javier Arce</a><br />Production:&nbsp;<a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bjmcsherry/">Brett McSherry</a><br />Song: Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Show Notes</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2022/11/state-of-the-word-2022/">State of the Word 2022</a></li>



<li><a href="https://thephp.foundation/">PHP Foundation</a></li>



<li>Josepha&#8217;s <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project/2022/01/21/big-picture-goals-2022/">Big Picture Goals 2022</a></li>



<li><strong>Small List of Big Things</strong>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/11/22/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-1-22-november/">Gutenberg 17.1</a> has been released and is <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/gutenberg/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">available for download</a>! The latest release includes new enhancements, bug fixes, and continued work on Phase 3 features.</li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2023/11/17/announcing-the-2023-annual-meetup-survey/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Announcing the 2023 Annual Meetup Survey</a> &#8211; The Community team proposed a survey for all meetup members and organizers. Please complete the <a href="https://wordpressdotorg.survey.fm/2023-meetup-annual-survey" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Annual Meetup Survey</a>  by January 14, 2024– even if you haven&#8217;t participated in a meetup recently!</li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/training/2023/11/29/request-for-feedback-lesson-handbook-pages/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Request for feedback: Lesson Handbook pages</a> &#8211; As the Training team progresses towards the 2024 launch of <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/training/2023/07/07/project-thread-learning-pathways-on-learn-wordpress/">Learning Pathways</a>, they&#8217;re developing a set of content creation guidelines to streamline and scale the process. These guidelines will focus on efficient methods for developing, reviewing, and updating content. To gather input, a <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1twvDGmVZsyjBZbi9abiqoA_a2G7O_WNis_iGL2Sccg0/edit#heading=h.srkdcrt4k0v8">Google Doc</a> has been created where you can share your ideas. Please provide your feedback and comments on this document by Tuesday, December 19, 2023.</li>



<li><a href="https://playground.wordpress.net/">WordPress Playground</a> makes WordPress instantly accessible for users, learners, extenders, and contributors.</li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project/2023/11/30/embracing-matrix-for-enhanced-communication/">Embracing Matrix for Enhanced Communication</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Transcripts</h2>



<span id="more-16569"></span>



<p>[00:00:00] <strong>Josepha:</strong> Hello everyone. And welcome to the WordPress Briefing. The podcast where you can catch quick explanations of the ideas behind the WordPress open source project, some insight into the community that supports it, and get a small list of big things coming up in the next two weeks. I&#8217;m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Here we go.</p>



<p>[00:00:28] (Intro music)&nbsp;</p>



<p>[00:00:40] <strong>Josepha:</strong> If you&#8217;re already familiar with the WordPress project, and if you&#8217;re listening to this podcast, I feel like it&#8217;s a safe assumption that you&#8217;re probably also familiar with the fact that we are what&#8217;s considered a free and open source software project. We adhere to the four freedoms of open source. We track bugs in the open, and we believe that knowledge sharing can only improve our products. </p>



<p>But you might not be aware of the other open source projects that are foundational to ours and otherwise are integral to our commitment to the open web. At last year&#8217;s State of the Word, Matt mentioned that one of the coolest things about being a plugin or theme author in WordPress is that you get to run your open source project on the same infrastructure that WordPress runs on. So, no matter whether you have five installs or five thousand, you&#8217;re getting the benefits of our bug trackers, messaging, and network of project sites. But beyond those, which are, of course, near and dear to us, we also support projects like PHP and its foundation. Openverse and its founding organization Creative Commons, and of course, the two that we&#8217;re hearing a lot about this year and next, Playground and Matrix.</p>



<p>[00:01:52] <strong>Josepha:</strong> That&#8217;s a lot of projects and not even a comprehensive list. And honestly, it can seem, I don&#8217;t know, a little weird. Like, we&#8217;re a FOSS CMS, right? You probably know why we contribute back to PHP. It&#8217;s the same reason we ask people to contribute to WordPress. But why are we giving so much time to a media search engine, or a Web Assembly implementation, or even a messaging protocol?</p>



<p>At first glance, there are, of course, a lot of quick and easy answers. For instance, like, open source is open source. Any open source contribution is going to be a good contribution. All open source in the world increases good and freedom in the world. Like, open source is open source. Makes sense, right?</p>



<p>Another quick and easy answer is, you know, they&#8217;re part of us. And that&#8217;s true, definitely, for PHP, like, they&#8217;re part of us, and so we should be contributing back to them. Because we rely on them so much. And then a third quick and easy answer is that we, as the biggest open source CMS on the planet, basically, we can, spare a lending hand. We can offer a little bit of help to those around us.&nbsp;</p>



<p>[00:03:03] <strong>Josepha:</strong> And those are all true. I don&#8217;t think that anyone would disagree with any of that. But the thing that ties it all together for me is something that&#8217;s a little harder to see. In the 2022 goals that I posted, I said that my second goal for our year was to support open source alternatives for all site-building necessities.</p>



<p>At the time, I was primarily talking about Openverse and the directory of photos that was being created as a CC-first source. But that also applies to all of our directories. It did then, just as it does now. And Trac, and our vast network of WordPress sites. All the tools we use in order to collaborate with, and lead for, and learn from each other.</p>



<p>I want us to be able to do everything it takes to build an online presence using open source tools and methods because WordPress is just a glorious little microcosm of the interconnected web. It reminds me of this art installation I had the privilege of experiencing. It&#8217;s called Meow Wolf. I went to the one in Denver, but there are a few different installations across the U.S.&nbsp;The one that I went to is this massive art installation, and it is designed to be interactive, but it wasn&#8217;t until you started sharing your experience sharing your knowledge with other people that you realized it was also collaborative, a set of buttons you pushed in one room would cause a light show in some other room.</p>



<p>[00:04:34] <strong>Josepha:</strong> So you were enhancing the experience of strangers in some completely disconnected room to yours, and they couldn&#8217;t distinguish it from an automation or something they did, or just plain old magic. And that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re doing by supporting these other open source tools. Yes, every new open source contribution results in more freedom in the world. Yes, we owe support to the components that got us where we are today. And yes, we absolutely can and should pay it forward. But more importantly than all that, we&#8217;re creating the opportunity for new interactions, new brilliance, and new defenders of the open web every time that we work on these open source products.</p>



<p>[00:05:20] <strong>Josepha:</strong> And it doesn&#8217;t matter if we will ever see any of those people. And it doesn&#8217;t matter if they will ever thank us. What matters is that we see that knowledge like this is worth preserving and worth sharing. Because knowledge shared, information shared is like light. The more you share it, the more there is.</p>



<p>And I want you to be able to take that sharing and use it to light the world. I want you to be able to go out and tell people how open source has changed your life, how WordPress has opened doors for you, or how much these tools have empowered your clients. I want you to remember why you came to WordPress in the first place, and I need you to hear me when I say that I need you here in WordPress today because every little ripple of good that we create makes the world a little more good.</p>



<p>[00:06:12] (Music interlude)&nbsp;</p>



<p>[00:06:20] <strong>Josepha:</strong> (SLBT) And now, my friends, that brings us to our time for the small list of big things. I&#8217;ve got a kind of a big list because I always kind of have a big list anymore, but the first thing on my list is Gutenberg 17.1. That has been released and is available for download. It includes several new enhancements, loads of bug fixes, and continues that work on phase three features that we are starting to see come through. If you don&#8217;t have it already, go out and grab it, test it, break it, and tell us what you tested and how it broke things.&nbsp;</p>



<p>[00:06:52] <strong>Josepha:</strong> The second thing on my small list of big things is that there is currently an annual meetup survey out. So, we&#8217;ve had an increase in our meetup events, and certainly an increase in the active number of meetup groups that we have, but the community team is proposing a unified survey for all meetup members and organizers, and if you haven&#8217;t participated in it yet go and fill it out. You don&#8217;t have to have actually gone to a meetup event recently in order to take it, but, you know, it might be helpful. Either way, you have until January 14, 2024, to fill that out.</p>



<p>[00:07:30] <strong>Josepha:</strong> The third thing on my small list of big things is a request for feedback. The training team is working toward launching Learning Pathways in 2024. They&#8217;re looking to create a new set of content creation guidelines that enables the learning pathways to scale with a straightforward process for developing, reviewing, and updating that content. There&#8217;s a Google doc for you where you can contribute your ideas, and that doc will be open for feedback through this week and into next week. I believe it closes on Tuesday, the 19th of December, 2023.</p>



<p>[00:08:04] <strong>Josepha:</strong> And then the final thing on my small list of big things is actually, it&#8217;s a dual call-in. I already said with my first one about the Gutenberg plugin: get in there and test it and break it, and then tell us how it broke and what you were doing when you were testing it and broke it. And I encourage you to do that also for Matrix and Playground.</p>



<p>So Playground has been a really big deal all year long. It was a big deal at the end of last year. It showed up for us in November 2022 and has been really just growing in surprising ways all the way through 2023. So if you have not yet seen it, you haven&#8217;t gotten your hands on it yet, it&#8217;s a WordPress installation that is loaded entirely in the browser, totally server-free, and we&#8217;re looking at a couple of new implementations that make it easier for users who are trying to, like, kick the tires of WordPress before they decide, and developers who are wanting to test new pull requests and things like that.</p>



<p>So keep an eye out if it sounds interesting; it is interesting. And wander over and figure out how that&#8217;s working. And the other thing in that last call for collective testing is Matrix. So Matrix is an open source federated messaging protocol, and like so many technology projects out there at the moment, we are trying to make sure that we are preparing ourselves for the future arrival of Web 3 and all of the things that are coming along with current advancements in federated everything and AI and etc., etc.</p>



<p>And so, Matrix is an open source messaging protocol. There are a lot of different ways to get connected. I&#8217;ll share a link to one of the posts in the show notes over on WordPress.org/news. But if you&#8217;re interested in learning a bit about it and you don&#8217;t really want to like figure out what sort of client is comfortable for you to use. There&#8217;s also on-site chat implementations for, I want to say, like 10 or 12 of our largest or most regularly meeting groups that we have. You can go to parts of the website like make.WordPress.org/core/chat and check those out. If you have a WordPress.org account, then you can have access to that on-site chat, and that is it.</p>



<p>That&#8217;s the whole low barrier to entryway of figuring that out with us. Come and break stuff with us, everyone, and tell us how to make it better.&nbsp;</p>



<p>[00:10:33] <strong>Josepha:</strong> And that, my friends, is your small list of big things. Don&#8217;t forget to follow us on your favorite podcast app or subscribe directly on WordPress.org/news. You&#8217;ll get a friendly reminder whenever there&#8217;s a new episode. If you liked what you heard today, share it with a fellow WordPresser. Or, if you had questions about what you heard, you can share those with me at wpbriefing@WordPress.org. I&#8217;m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Thank you for tuning in today for the WordPress Briefing, and I&#8217;ll see you again in a couple of weeks.</p>



<p>[00:11:00] (Music outro)&nbsp;</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 11 Dec 2023 12:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Brett McSherry";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:18;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:113:"Gutenberg Times: Roadmap 6.5, theme handbook, Course on Data Layer, Create a Slider block – Weekend Edition 277";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?p=26647";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:117:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/roadmap-6-5-theme-handbook-course-on-data-layer-create-a-slider-block-weekend-edition-277/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14883:"<p>Howdy, </p>



<p>I am very excited about the State of the Word on Monday and will <a href="https://youtu.be/1MwT9EEkguE">watch the live stream.</a> It will bring everyone in the WordPress space together and imagine the future, building on the fantastic work of contributors, code and no-code a like in the community. Will you watch it? If you do, please let me know what you think and what the most important takeaways were for you. </p>



<p>What else happened in the Block editor space? Scroll down and take a look! </p>



<p>Have a wonderful weekend and be well. </p>



<p>Yours, 💕<br /><em>Birgit</em></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="0-word-press-release-information">Developing Gutenberg and WordPress</h2>



<p><strong>Anne McCarthy </strong>unveiled <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/07/roadmap-to-6-5/"><strong>the roadmap for 6.5</strong></a>, detailing the exciting projects and enhancements that lie ahead. Set to launch in March 2023, this release promises a host of new features that will surely elevate your WordPress experience. Accompanied by handy tracking tickets, you can easily stay connected with the development progress. </p>



<p>The Font Library takes the lead, accompanied by other  design tools and features for the site editor such as Revisions enhancements, a mobile-friendly Navigation block, Patterns, and increased support for Classic Themes. Plugin developers might look forward to the new Data Views and APIs for Interactivity, Custom Fields, and Block Binding. The article also highlights developments in plugin and theme rollbacks after automatic updates, improved dependency management, enhanced PHP compatibility, and overall performance enhancements. </p>



<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/07/roadmap-to-6-5/"><img width="652" height="367" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/FontLibrary.png?resize=652%2C367&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-26669" /></a>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p>As mentioned last week, <strong>Anne McCarthy</strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Saxon Fletcher</strong> invite you to join them to a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/11/23/hallway-hangout-lets-explore-wordpress-6-5/"><strong>Hallway Hangout: Let’s explore WordPress 6.5</strong></a>&nbsp;on <strong>January 16 at 21:00 UTC</strong>.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p class="has-accent-color has-light-background-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-d02c05917781faad43b455819cf71f89">🎙️ Latest episode:  <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-93-gutenberg-17-1-command-palette-data-views-and-grid-layout/">Gutenberg Changelog #93 – Gutenberg 17.1, Command Palette, Data Views and Grid Layout</a> &#8211; a chat with <strong>Isabel Brison</strong></p>



<p>In his <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2023/12/04/design-share-nov-20-dec-1/"><strong>Design Share: Nov 20-Dec 1</strong></a>, <strong>Joen Asmussen</strong> again shares the work of the WordPress design team. He takes us along with screenshots, short descriptions and link to the GitHub issue or Figma spaces:</p>



<ul>
<li>Events</li>



<li>Drag and Drop</li>



<li>Gallery captions and potential Lightbox behaviors</li>



<li>Revisiting social links</li>



<li>Local nav and breadcrumb</li>



<li>Unified toolbar button sizes</li>



<li>Data views: Grid layout. (&lt;- my personal favorite) </li>
</ul>



<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/design/2023/12/04/design-share-nov-20-dec-1/"><img width="652" height="492" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-08-at-17.59.52.png?resize=652%2C492&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-26678" /></a>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="0-p">Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners</h2>



<p><strong>Jamie Marsland</strong>, of PootlePress, <a href="https://twitter.com/pootlepress/status/1731972777266028771">tweeted</a> &#8220;As part of my recent Twenty Twenty Four YouTube video I made 5 different types of websites, and also made the designs available as Themes, using the brilliant Create Block Theme Plugin. They&#8217;ve now been downloaded 231 times&#8221; You can download <strong><a href="https://www.pootlepress.com/free-wordpress-themes/">the free WordPress themes</a></strong>, from his website, for a small donation of your email address. </p>



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<p><a href="https://twitter.com/nerrad"><strong>Darren Ethier</strong></a> shared what&#8217;s new with Woo and WordPress 6.4 in a <a href="https://twitter.com/nerrad/status/1730989297791099141">thread on X (former Twitter)</a> and illustrates them with  short videos. </p>



<a href="https://twitter.com/nerrad/status/1730992780443357614"><img width="533" height="435" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-08-at-18.05.31.png?resize=533%2C435&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-26680" /></a>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide" />



<p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/ellenbauer">Ellen Bauer</a></strong>, Theme builder at Elma Studio, shows you in her YouTube tutorial <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Riuz99A9ZA4"><strong>How to customize the blog template In WordPress</strong></a>, and customize the list of blog post to your liking. Without any developer, you can now adjust the length of the post excerpt, hide date or authors, or add categories and feature image to the listing. </p>



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<p>Plugin developer, <a href="https://twitter.com/rilwis"><strong>Anh Tran</strong></a>, just announced that new Admin page design for <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/falcon/"><strong>Falcon</strong></a>, a plugin that allows its users to customize the WordPress experience and provides access to settings, normally not exposed in the wp-admin space. The list is quite extensive, and you might want to consider using the plugin as  part of the tool box building sites for others. There is always a need to tweak the user interface and customize which WordPress features are exposed to the end user. If you like to check out the source code of the plugin, <a href="https://github.com/elightup/falcon/tree/master">it&#8217;s available on GitHub</a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="2-word-press-6-0-1-and-6-1-scheduled">Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks</h2>



<p><strong>Jonathan Desrosiers</strong>, core contributor, sponsored by Bluehost, published a <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/12/05/proposal-default-theme-task-force-for-2024/"><strong>Proposal: Default Theme Task Force for 2024</strong></a>, that has its history in discussions at the Community Summit 2023. The task force is to research and implement a better way to update WordPress default themes with the latest features, especially with the site editor and Gutenberg. </p>



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<p><strong>Ganesh Dahal</strong> posted <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/12/05/a-walk-through-tutorial-on-using-create-block-theme-plugin/"><strong>a walk-through tutorial on using the Create Block Theme plugin</strong></a>. The <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/create-block-theme/">plugin </a>is the only tool to create different variations of block themes directly from the Site Editor. Dahal explains each feature and how to use it. </p>




<p><strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;Keeping up with Gutenberg &#8211; Index 2022&#8221;</a>&nbsp;</strong><br />A chronological list of the WordPress Make Blog posts from various teams involved in Gutenberg development: Design, Theme Review Team, Core Editor, Core JS, Core CSS, Test, and Meta team from Jan. 2021 on. Updated by yours truly.  <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index-2020/"><em>The index 2020 is here</em></a></p>




<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />



<p>This was mentioned before, and maybe you just read past it.: Over the past few months, <strong>Justin Tadlock </strong>and other theme team members <strong>added new chapters to the WordPress Theme Handbook</strong>, focusing on modern block theming.</p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/getting-started/">Getting Started</a></li>



<li><a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/core-concepts/">Core Concepts</a></li>



<li><a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/global-settings-and-styles/">Global Settings and Styles (theme.json)</a></li>



<li><a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/templates/">Templates</a></li>



<li><a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/features/">Features</a></li>
</ul>



<p>The new chapters are part of a big project to update the Theme Handbook. the team still needs more people to help, and you can join by choosing a topic from the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/Documentation-Issue-Tracker/issues/816">GitHub tracking ticket.</a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="3-building-themes-for-fse-and-word-press">Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor. </h2>



<p>The course to Learn.WordPress,  <a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/course/using-the-wordpress-data-layer/"><strong>Using the WordPress Data Layer</strong></a> is an excellent introduction to the topic with a great example if you are contemplating using the scripts and components outside the block editor for your pages. </p>



<a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/course/using-the-wordpress-data-layer/"><img width="600" height="386" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/WordPress-Data-Layer-Course-Example.jpg?resize=600%2C386&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-26677" /></a>



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<p><br /><a href="https://twitter.com/johnbillion"><strong>John Blackbourn</strong> </a>started a discussion <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/discussions/55642"><strong>Interactivity API showcase</strong></a> to asked community members to show what they are already building with the Interactivity API. It&#8217;s not the direct way to learn how to use the Interactivity API, but the passion for these new standards by those taking part in the conversation can be quite motivating to learn more. To get started with the Interactivity API, you can follow along the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/blob/trunk/packages/interactivity/docs/1-getting-started.md">Getting started guide</a> or dive deep into the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/blob/trunk/packages/interactivity/docs/2-api-reference.md">API Reference. </a></p>



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<p><a href="https://twitter.com/swissspidy"><strong>Pascal Birchler</strong></a>, developer relations engineer at Google,  showcased his <a href="https://twitter.com/swissspidy/status/1733138082591912154">side project on X (former Twitter)</a>. He shares the code of his <a href="https://github.com/swissspidy/media-experiments"><strong>WordPress Media Experiments</strong></a> on GitHub, that allows you to compress Images, auto-convert of  from animated GIFs to video for accessibility or create an image preview of a PDF. There are ten more features already implemented. </p>



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<p>On the Builders site, <strong>Damon Cook</strong> wrote a tutorial on how to <a href="https://wpengine.com/builders/create-a-slider-block/"><strong>create a Slider Block for WordPress with SwiperJS</strong></a>. A Slider block is not available in WordPress out of the box, so Cook closes this gap by walking developers through the various steps of building one, using the <a href="https://swiperjs.com/demos">SwiperJS library.</a> </p>




<p><strong><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/need-a-zip-from-master/">Need a plugin .zip from Gutenberg&#8217;s master branch?</a></strong><br />Gutenberg Times provides daily build for testing and review. <br />Have you been using it? Hit reply and let me know.</p>



<p><img alt="GitHub all releases" src="https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/bph/gutenberg/total?style=for-the-badge" /></p>




<p class="has-text-align-right has-small-font-size"><em>Questions? Suggestions? Ideas? Don&#8217;t hesitate to send <a href="mailto:pauli@gutenbergtimes.com">them via email</a> or send me a message on WordPress Slack or Twitter @bph</em>. </p>



<p class="has-text-align-right has-small-font-size">For questions to be answered on the <a href="http://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast">Gutenberg Changelog</a>, send them to <a href="mailto:changelog@gutenbergtimes.com">changelog@gutenbergtimes.com</a></p>



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<p>Featured Image: <a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a>&nbsp;licensed&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/816376d5dc/">photo</a>&nbsp;by&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/eboxnet/">Vagelis</a>&nbsp;from the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.</p>



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<p class="has-text-align-left"><strong>Don&#8217;t want to miss the next Weekend Edition? </strong></p>



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<hr class="wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide" />";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 09 Dec 2023 15:02:38 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:18:"Birgit Pauli-Haack";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:19;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:11:"
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:1:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:56:"HeroPress: Shayda Torabi, New HeroPress Staff, And More!";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:29:"https://heropress.com/?p=6183";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:151:"https://heropress.com/shayda-torabi-new-heropress-staff-and-more/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=shayda-torabi-new-heropress-staff-and-more";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:10831:"<img width="1024" height="1024" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/2846572fc1dea2e71.03572528-2048x2048-1-1024x1024.jpeg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Hiking trail across a mountain ridge." /><h1 class="kt-adv-heading6183_571a2b-14 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading">HeroPress Network Updates For December 8, 2023</h1>


<div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id6183_08c601-98 alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top kb-theme-content-width">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6183_0a90a0-f7 inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6183_6489f1-15 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading">HeroPress News!</h2>



<p>Things are changing at HeroPress, a long slow progress to make something new. Part of the new HeroPress is expanding the team, so that if something happens to me it goes on, so here are a couple new people.</p>



<h3 class="kt-adv-heading6183_2fc9c9-4b wp-block-kadence-advancedheading">New WPPhotos.Info Editor</h3>



<p>Selena Salustri from the Italian WordPress community has taken over the moderation and management of <a href="https://wpphotos.info">WPPhotos.Info</a>.  She recently had <a href="https://wpphotos.info/sunset-camel/">her own photo</a> on the site, and felt inspired to join in!</p>



<h3 class="kt-adv-heading6183_c2f69e-2d wp-block-kadence-advancedheading">New Tip Of The Week Transcriber</h3>



<p>Cecilio Rodriguez from Venezuela has been transcribing recent Tips Of The Week.  He&#8217;s not replacing Evalyn Maina who works on Hallway Chats, just working in different areas.</p>
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<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6183_b56b28-55 inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6183_e4a964-ec wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://heropress.com/">HeroPress.com</a> &#8211; <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/try-something-new/">Try Something New</a></h2>


<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default">
<a href="https://heropress.com/essays/try-something-new/"><img width="300" height="300" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/headshot-300x300.png" alt="Shayda Torabi" class="wp-image-710" /></a></div>


<p>Shayda Torabi is from Austin, Texas. Her essay &#8220;<a href="https://heropress.com/essays/try-something-new/">Try Something New</a>&#8221; was prophetic, because in the years after this essay first published she became an entrepreneur and got married deep in the desert. Always striving to try something new.</p>



<p><em>I’m rediscovering my happiness every day thanks to the WordPress community, and I believe you can too.</em></p>



<p>Shayda&#8217;s essay is <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/try-something-new/">available</a> on <a href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress.com</a>.</p>
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<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column6183_f16024-34 inner-column-1"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6183_94136c-97 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://hallwaychats.com">WPPhotos.Info</a></h2>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<img width="225" height="300" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/646565ee85a2be41.29146495-scaled-1-225x300.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-6189" /></div>


<p>This week&#8217;s <a href="https://wpphotos.info">WPPhotos Info</a> is called &#8220;<a href="https://wpphotos.info/lemon-tree/">Lemon Tree</a>&#8220;. </p>



<p>During his stay in Paraguay, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/benniledl/">!Benni</a> was exploring the Reserva de Recursos Manejados Ybytyruzú, a conservation gem established in 2001. Spanning an impressive 24,000 hectares within the Atlantic Forest, this protected area is shows Paraguay’s preserving natural beauty.</p>



<p><a href="https://wpphotos.info/lemon-tree/">Read more of the story at WPPhotos.info!</a></p>
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<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6183_6d7c6a-0d wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://heropress.com/">Press Releases!</a></h2>


<div class="wp-block-image is-style-default">
<img src="https://heropressnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/pressitwp_logo-300x130.jpg" alt="Press It WP" class="wp-image-4736" /></div>


<p><a href="https://pressitwp.com">PressItWP.com</a> has been a part of the <a href="https://heropressnetwork.com">HeroPress Network</a> for almost a year now, if you ever release Press Releases, please consider <a href="https://pressitwp.com">PressItWP</a>!</p>



<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-yoast-unleashes-ai-powered-seo-plugin-slashing-time-investments-for-crafting-vital-elements-of-effective-seo-strategies"><a href="https://www.gravitykit.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/GravityMigrate-press-release.pdf#new_tab"><a href="https://newfold.com/newsroom/yoast-unleashes-ai-powered-seo-plugin--slashing-time-investments#new_tab">Yoast unleashes AI-powered SEO plugin, slashing time investments for crafting vital elements of effective SEO strategies</a></a></h2>



<p>Yoast announced AI-powered enhancements to its renowned WordPress SEO plugin that help users write engaging and SEO-optimized titles and meta descriptions for webpages. Using advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques, it generates creative and appealing titles and meta descriptions, captivating audiences while meeting search engine standards.</p>
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<h2 class="kt-adv-heading6183_74e907-d5 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading"><a href="https://wppodcasts.com">WP Podcasts</a></h2>



<a href="https://wppodcasts.com"><img src="https://heropressnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/pocket_casts_single_315.png" alt="Pocket Casts image" class="wp-image-4316" /></a>



<p>There were <em>thirty-one</em> WordPress podcast episodes released this week! Also, the Spanish language podcast WordPress Pódcast is coming in English, French, and Catalan!</p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://wpcoffeetalk.castos.com/episodes/wpcoffeetalk-rytis-lauris#new_tab">WPCoffeeTalk: Rytis Lauris</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/wpcoffeetalk/">WPCoffeeTalk</a></li>



<li><a href="https://www.wppodcast.es/podcast/entrevista-tutorias-wordpress-con-josep-moran/#new_tab">[Entrevista] Tutorías WordPress, con Josep Morán</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/wordpress-podcast/">WordPress Pódcast</a></li>



<li><a href="https://dothewoo.io/growing-meetups-at-the-wordpress-community-day-roma-2023/#new_tab">Growing Meetups at the WordPress Community Day, Roma 2023</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/do-the-woo-a-woocommerce-podcast/">Do the Woo – A WooCommerce Podcast</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wppodcasts.com/allowing-ourselves-to-receive-help-from-others/">Allowing Ourselves to Receive Help from Others</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/wp-motivate/">WP Motivate</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wp-tonic-show-a-wordpress-podcast.castos.com/episodes/890-wp-tonic-this-month-in-wordpress-tech-round-table-show-with-special-guest-katie-keith-of-barn2#new_tab">#890 – WP-Tonic This Month in WordPress &amp; Tech Round Table Show With Special Guest Katie Keith of Barn2</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/wp-tonic/">WP-Tonic</a></li>



<li><a href="https://underrepresented-in-tech.castos.com/episodes/end-of-year-3-recap#new_tab">End of Year 3 Recap</a> from <a href="https://wppodcasts.com/podcast/underrepresented-in-tech/">Underrepresented in Tech</a></li>
</ul>



<p>There are new episodes every single day, so be sure to stop by <a href="https://wppodcasts.com">WPPodcasts.com</a> and search for things that interest you!</p>
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<p>The header photo for this post is a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/">CC0</a> licensed <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/photo/2846572fc1/">photo</a> by <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/author/bhuwanroka/">Bhuwan Bdr. Rokaha</a> from the <a href="https://wordpress.org/photos/">WordPress Photo Directory</a>.</p>






<p>That&#8217;s it for this week! If you&#8217;d like to get this post in your email every week, <a href="https://heropressnetwork.com/newsletter">make sure you sign up</a>!</p>

<p>The post <a href="https://heropress.com/shayda-torabi-new-heropress-staff-and-more/">Shayda Torabi, New HeroPress Staff, And More!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 08 Dec 2023 16:24:51 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:20;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:78:"Do The Woo Community: Page Builders, Documentation and an Scaling for Swifties";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78662";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:76:"https://dothewoo.io/page-builders-documentation-and-an-scaling-for-swifties/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:431:"<p>A look at a couple of polls on page builders and documentation and the WordPressVIP team preparing for an onslaught of Swifties on Time.com.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/page-builders-documentation-and-an-scaling-for-swifties/">Page Builders, Documentation and an Scaling for Swifties</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 08 Dec 2023 12:51:31 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:21;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:60:"WordPress.org blog: The Month in WordPress – November 2023";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=16575";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:72:"https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/the-month-in-wordpress-november-2023/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:10455:"<p>November is usually a busy month for the WordPress project, and this year is no different. Following the empowering release of WordPress 6.4, the energy continues to build, setting the stage for the anticipated State of the Word and upcoming projects.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Read on for all the exciting updates that marked the past month.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Get ready for State of the Word</h2>



<img width="1024" height="683" src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/11/SOTW-Blue.png?resize=1024%2C683&ssl=1" alt="State of the Word 2023" class="wp-image-16438" />



<p>Mark your calendars—State of the Word 2023 is approaching fast. In this annual keynote, WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg celebrates the progress of the open source project and offers a glimpse into its future.</p>



<p>For the first time in WordPress history, the event will be held outside North America, in the vibrant city of <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/11/state-of-the-word-2023-madrid-spain/">Madrid, Spain, on December 11, 2023</a>.</p>



<p>If you’re unable to attend the State of the Word in person, you can watch it live on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/1MwT9EEkguE?si=TYwAe5qnKA3DlRMX">WordPress YouTube channel</a> or join one of the many community-led watch parties. <a href="https://wordpress.org/state-of-the-word">Find one near you</a> or <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/meetup-organizer/event-formats/state-of-the-word-watch-parties/">organize one</a>.</p>



<div class="wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-3 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex">
<div class="wp-block-button"><a class="wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-dark-strokes-grey-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button" href="https://wordpress.org/state-of-the-word/">Learn more about State of the Word 2023</a></div>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Meet Twenty Twenty-Four</h2>



<p>Along with the release of <a href="https://wordpress.org/download/releases/6-4/">WordPress 6.4</a> “Shirley,” the new default <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/11/introducing-twenty-twenty-four/">Twenty Twenty-Four theme was introduced</a>.</p>



<p>This theme breaks away from the tradition of previous default themes that focused on a specific topic or style. Instead, Twenty Twenty-Four was created to fit any website and explore different use cases for entrepreneurs, artists, and writers.</p>



<p>You’ll find more than 35 beautiful patterns, including full-page patterns for templates like homepage, search, and more. Twenty Twenty-Four boasts the latest site editing capabilities and a sophisticated aesthetic inspired by contemporary design trends.</p>



<div class="wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-4 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex">
<div class="wp-block-button"><a class="wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-dark-strokes-grey-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-element-button" href="https://playground.wordpress.net/?theme=twentytwentyfour">Check out Twenty Twenty-Four now</a></div>
</div>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">New in the Gutenberg plugin</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/11/10/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-0-9-november/">Gutenberg 17.0</a> was released on November 9, 2023. It introduced improvements to the Command Palette, an alternative implementation of the DropdownMenu component, additional visual cues for LinkControl, and various accessibility and performance iterations.</li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/11/22/whats-new-in-gutenberg-17-1-22-november/">Gutenberg 17.1</a> shipped on November 22, 2023. In addition to several accessibility and writing flow enhancements, this version brought a new block spacing control in the Quote block.</li>
</ul>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<a class="wp-block-jetpack-podcast-player jetpack-podcast-player__direct-link" href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/">https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/</a>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Team updates</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/project/2023/11/30/embracing-matrix-for-enhanced-communication/">WordPress is switching to Matrix</a> in replacement of the Making WordPress Slack. The move stems from the project&#8217;s commitment to implementing a new chat system aligned with WordPress&#8217;s open source values. If you haven&#8217;t already, now is the time to explore Matrix and share your questions.</li>



<li>With phishing scams on the rise, the WordPress Security team is actively monitoring the current threat and has posted <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/alert-wordpress-security-team-impersonation-scams/">an advisory to help you protect your site</a>.</li>



<li>The Plugin Review team is now <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2023/12/02/join-the-plugin-review-team/">reopening applications to join their team</a>. They’re looking for three new members who can improve the state of the plugin review queue and help create a diverse and inclusive team.</li>



<li>Over the past few months, contributors have been working on <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2023/11/22/redesigning-developer-resources-and-a-call-for-testing/">redesigning the WordPress.org Developer Resources</a> section.</li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/11/06/proposal-2024-major-release-timing/">This post</a> outlines proposed dates for major WordPress releases in 2024.</li>



<li>The Meta team shared an <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2023/11/22/plugin-directory-preview-button-revisited/">improved version of the plugin preview feature</a>. This version builds on feedback and allows plugin developers to safely test the preview experience for their plugins in a <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/playground/">WordPress Playground</a> environment.</li>



<li>Polyglots and Meta contributors introduced <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2023/11/29/create-tours-for-make-p2s/">a new plugin called Tour</a>, which enables the creation of tours to guide contributors through a Make WordPress blog.</li>



<li>Are you looking to broaden your knowledge and improve your WordPress skills? See <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2023/12/01/whats-new-on-learn-wordpress-in-november-2023/">what’s new on Learn WordPress in November 2023</a>.</li>



<li>The latest edition of People of WordPress features back-end web developer <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/people-of-wordpress-artemy-kaydash/">Artemy Kaydash</a> from Ukraine.</li>
</ul>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<a class="wp-block-jetpack-podcast-player jetpack-podcast-player__direct-link" href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/">https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/</a>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Requests for feedback &amp; testing</h2>



<ul>
<li>The Community team announced the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/2023/11/17/announcing-the-2023-annual-meetup-survey/">2023 Annual Meetup Survey</a>. Both event attendees and organizers are encouraged to provide feedback in this 5-minute survey to help strengthen WordPress meetups in the future.</li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2023/11/23/mobile-team-update-november-22nd/">Version 23.7</a> of the WordPress mobile app for iOS and Android is ready for testing.</li>
</ul>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WordPress events</h2>



<ul>
<li><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f1f9-1f1fc.png" alt="🇹🇼" class="wp-smiley" /> WordCamp Asia opened the <a href="https://asia.wordcamp.org/2024/the-third-batch-of-tickets-on-sale-now/">third round of ticket sales</a> and announced that <a href="https://asia.wordcamp.org/2024/announcing-our-first-speaker-matt-mullenweg/">their first speaker is WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg</a>. The conference will be held in Taipei, Taiwan, on March 7-9, 2024.</li>



<li><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f1ea-1f1fa.png" alt="🇪🇺" class="wp-smiley" /> WordCamp Europe <a href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2024/call-for-sponsors/">opened its call for sponsors</a> and <a href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2024/speakers/call-for-speakers/">speakers</a> for their conference slated to take place in Torino, Italy, on June 13-15, 2024.&nbsp;</li>



<li>Don’t miss these upcoming WordCamps:
<ul>
<li><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f1ee-1f1f3.png" alt="🇮🇳" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://ahmedabad.wordcamp.org/2023/">WordCamp Ahmedabad 2023</a>, India on December 9, 2023</li>



<li><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f1f5-1f1f0.png" alt="🇵🇰" class="wp-smiley" /> <a href="https://lahore.wordcamp.org/2023/">WordCamp Lahore 2023</a>, Pakistan on December 9-10, 2023</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />



<p><em><strong>Have a story we should include in the next issue of The Month in WordPress? Fill out </strong></em><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/community/month-in-wordpress-submissions/"><strong><em>this quick form</em></strong></a><em><strong> to let us know.</strong></em></p>



<p><em>Thank you to <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/bernard0omnisend/">Bernard Meyer</a> for contributing to this edition of The Month in WordPress.</em></p>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Subscribe to WordPress News</h3>



<p>Join other subscribers and receive WordPress news directly in your inbox.</p>


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	</div></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 08 Dec 2023 11:20:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Reyes Martínez";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:22;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:92:"Do The Woo Community: Looking at 2023 and Moving into 2024 with Carl and Zach in Woo DevChat";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78657";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:91:"https://dothewoo.io/looking-at-2023-and-moving-into-2024-with-carl-and-zach-in-woo-devchat/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:454:"<p>Carl Alexander and Zach Stepek, hosts of Woo DevChat at Do the Woo Podcast, end the year 2023 the only way these two could end a year.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/looking-at-2023-and-moving-into-2024-with-carl-and-zach-in-woo-devchat/">Looking at 2023 and Moving into 2024 with Carl and Zach in Woo DevChat</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 07 Dec 2023 14:01:24 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:23;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:85:"Do The Woo Community: Share a Question or Comment for the Do the Woo End-of-Year Show";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78650";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:27:"https://dothewoo.io/voices/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:367:"<p>Want to share your favorite episode, host or show? Perhaps you have a burning question or comment. Here's your chance.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/voices/">Share a Question or Comment for the Do the Woo End-of-Year Show</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 07 Dec 2023 11:34:55 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:24;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:70:"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 6.4.2 Maintenance &amp; Security Release";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=16562";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:80:"https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/wordpress-6-4-2-maintenance-security-release/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:6205:"<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WordPress 6.4.2 is now available!</h2>



<p>This minor release features <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&milestone=6.4.2&groupdesc=1&group=resolution&col=id&col=summary&col=status&col=milestone&col=owner&col=type&col=priority&col=keywords&order=priority">7 bug fixes</a> in Core. The fixes include a bug fix for an issue causing stylesheet and theme directories to sometimes return incorrect results.</p>



<p>This release also features one security fix. Because this is a security release, <strong>it is recommended that you update your sites immediately</strong><strong>.</strong></p>



<p>You can <a href="https://wordpress.org/wordpress-6.4.2.zip">download WordPress 6.4.2 from WordPress.org</a>, or visit your WordPress Dashboard, click “Updates”, and then click “Update Now”. If you have sites that support automatic background updates, the update process will begin automatically.</p>



<p>WordPress 6.4.2 is a short-cycle release. The next major release will be version 6.5 released in early 2024.</p>



<p>For more information on this release, please visit the <a href="https://wordpress.org/documentation/wordpress-version/version-6-4-2/">HelpHub site</a>.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Security updates included in this release</h2>



<p>The security team addressed the following vulnerability in this release.</p>



<ul>
<li>A Remote Code Execution vulnerability that is not directly exploitable in core, however the security team feels that there is a potential for high severity when combined with some plugins, especially in multisite installs.</li>
</ul>



<p>To help the security team and WordPressers around the world, you are encouraged to <a href="https://hackerone.com/wordpress?type=team">responsibly report vulnerabilities</a>. This allows vulnerabilities to be fixed in future releases.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Thank you to these WordPress contributors</h2>



<p>This release was led by <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jorbin/">Aaron Jorbin</a>.</p>



<p>WordPress 6.4.2 would not have been possible without the contributions of the following people. Their asynchronous coordination to deliver maintenance and security fixes into a stable release is a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress community.</p>



<p class="is-style-wporg-props-long"><a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jorbin">Aaron Jorbin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/wildworks">Aki Hamano</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/atachibana">Akira Tachibana</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/xknown">Alex Concha</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/angelasjin">Angela Jin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/antonvlasenko">Anton Vlasenko</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/barry">Barry</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/Bernhard%20Reiter">bernhard-reiter</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/icaleb">Caleb Burks</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/coreyw">Corey Worrell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/crstauf">crstauf</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nerrad">Darren Ethier (nerrad)</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidbaumwald/">David Baumwald</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dmsnell">Dennis Snell</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dd32">Dion Hulse</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kebbet">Erik</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/gaambo">Fabian Todt</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/flixos90">Felix Arntz</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/priethor">Héctor Prieto</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/ironprogrammer">ironprogrammer</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/isabel_brison">Isabel Brison</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/audrasjb">Jb Audras</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jeffpaul">Jeffrey Paul</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/luminuu">Jessica Lyschik</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/joemcgill">Joe McGill</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/johnbillion">John Blackbourn</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/desrosj/">Jonathan Desrosiers</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kharisblank">Kharis Sulistiyono</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/krupalpanchal">Krupal Panchal</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kdowns">Kylen Downs</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/meta4">meta4</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mikeschroder">Mike Schroder</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/mukesh27">Mukesh Panchal</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/partyfrikadelle">partyfrikadelle</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/peterwilsoncc">Peter Wilson</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/NekoJonez">Pieterjan Deneys</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rawrly">rawrly</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rebasaurus">rebasaurus</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/SergeyBiryukov">Sergey Biryukov</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/hellofromTonya">Tonya Mork</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/vortfu">vortfu</a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How to contribute</h2>



<p>To get involved in WordPress core development, head over to Trac, <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/report/6">pick a ticket</a>, and join the conversation in the <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C02RQBWTW">#core</a>. Need help? Check out the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/tutorials/faq-for-new-contributors/">Core Contributor Handbook</a>.</p>



<p>As a final reminder, The WordPress Security Team will never email you requesting that you install a plugin or theme on your site, and will never ask for an administrator username and password. <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/alert-wordpress-security-team-impersonation-scams/">Please stay vigilant against phishing attacks</a>.</p>



<p><em>Thanks to <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/angelasjin/">@angelasjin</a> and <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/team/U02SVSW3U">@desrosj</a> for proofreading.</em></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 06 Dec 2023 17:03:48 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12:"Aaron Jorbin";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:25;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:119:"Do The Woo Community: Agency Client Relations, Team Work and Differentiating with Nuno Morgadinho and Jesper Wallmander";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78643";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:117:"https://dothewoo.io/agency-client-relations-team-work-and-differentiating-with-nuno-morgadinho-and-jesper-wallmander/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:520:"<p>Nuno Morgadinho from WidgiLabs and Jesper Wallmander from Wallmander Co chat about their experiences and insights into running a WooCommerce Agency</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/agency-client-relations-team-work-and-differentiating-with-nuno-morgadinho-and-jesper-wallmander/">Agency Client Relations, Team Work and Differentiating with Nuno Morgadinho and Jesper Wallmander</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 06 Dec 2023 11:02:26 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:26;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:79:"Do The Woo Community: Growing Meetups at the WordPress Community Day, Roma 2023";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78619";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:77:"https://dothewoo.io/growing-meetups-at-the-wordpress-community-day-roma-2023/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:455:"<p>In this show the organizers for this event share how the idea transpired for the Next-Gen event and the goals to help grow the Italian WordPress meetup community.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/growing-meetups-at-the-wordpress-community-day-roma-2023/">Growing Meetups at the WordPress Community Day, Roma 2023</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 06 Dec 2023 08:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:27;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:85:"WPTavern: #102 – Artemy Kaydash on Exploring AI and How It Will Alter the Workplace";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:48:"https://wptavern.com/?post_type=podcast&p=151668";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:99:"https://wptavern.com/podcast/102-artemy-kaydash-on-exploring-ai-and-how-it-will-alter-the-workplace";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:41598:"Transcript<div>
<p>[00:00:00] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Welcome to the Jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley.</p>



<p>Jukebox is a podcast which is dedicated to all things WordPress. The people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case, how AI is transforming the workplace.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;d like to subscribe to the podcast, you can do that by searching for WP Tavern in your podcast player of choice. Or by going to WPTavern.com forward slash feed forward slash podcast. And you can copy that URL into most podcast players.</p>



<p>If you have a topic that you&#8217;d like us to feature on the podcast, I&#8217;m keen to hear from you and hopefully get you, or your idea featured on the show. Head to WPTavern.com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox. And use the form there.</p>



<p>So on the podcast today, we have Artemy Kaydash. Artemy is a WordPress and WooCommerce freelance developer who focuses on backend development. After realising his passion lay in back-end work, he shifted his focus from full stack development to creating, supporting, maintaining, and editing WordPress and WooCommerce plugins. He also runs a personal website where he shares his expertise through blogging about WordPress and WooCommerce.</p>



<p>Most of this episode centres around the impact of AI on the landscape of web development. We explore the implications of AI tools for web developers, firstly talking about the way that AI systems have rapidly become somewhat essential and the developer&#8217;s toolkit.</p>



<p>We discussed the pivotal role AI may have in the future and how it could become an indispensable time-saver, relegating many uninteresting tasks from needing to be carried out manually.</p>



<p>We get into the intersection of AI and web development, highlighting the need for developers to adapt and harness the potential of AI tools to remain at the forefront of innovation.</p>



<p>We deliberate on the potential ramifications of AI on job roles within the WordPress space, underscoring the enduring need for human expertise in deciphering customer wishes, refining marketing strategies, and crafting compelling design experiences.</p>



<p>Although Artamy is not sure how the future will unfold, it&#8217;s clear that he sees the present as a pivotal moment in which those who adapt to the realities of AI can flourish, whilst those who do not might be left behind. His perspective allows us to glimpse a future of web development in which AI can be a force for positive change, to be embraced, not feared.</p>



<p>If AI has piqued your curiosity in the past, especially in the WordPress space, this episode is for you.</p>



<p>I am joined on the podcast today by Artemy Kaydash. How are you doing, Artemy?</p>



<p>[00:03:34] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> I&#8217;m doing good. What about you?</p>



<p>[00:03:36] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Good, thank you. Lovely to have you on. We&#8217;re going to talk today about AI, which is a really interesting subject. Something that personally is really fascinating to me. Before we get into that, Artemy, I wonder if you wouldn&#8217;t mind just spending a brief moment giving us your biography. How come you&#8217;re talking on a WordPress podcast today? What is your relationship with WordPress? What do you do for a living? That kind of thing.</p>



<p>[00:03:59] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> So I&#8217;m 24 years old. I&#8217;m a WordPress and WooCommerce freelance developer. I want to underline that I&#8217;m a backend developer. I used to be some kind of a full stack developer, but at some point in my life, I understood that I don&#8217;t like working with front end stuff. So I decided to focus on backend and today I create, support, maintain, and edit WordPress and WooCommerce plugins. That&#8217;s what I do.</p>



<p>I also have a, my personal website, where I blog about WordPress and WooCommerce. Where I share some of my knowledge. Where I teach people how to do some things with WooCommerce and WordPress. You can visit it. It&#8217;s kayart.dev. I guess that&#8217;s all you should know about me,</p>



<p>[00:04:45] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Thank you so much. We will link to any URLs or sites or anything like that we mention. We&#8217;ll make sure to link to them in the show notes. So if you go to WP Tavern and search for this episode, you&#8217;ll be able to find all of the links in there. But we&#8217;re going to have a chat today about AI.</p>



<p>Now, I think I should probably say at the outset, I certainly am no expert in any way about AI. I am just curious. And, I would say more than that, I&#8217;m fascinated by it. I&#8217;m not always particularly enamoured by it. I&#8217;m not entirely sure that it&#8217;s always the best thing to pursue, but I am fascinated by it.</p>



<p>I don&#8217;t know what your credentials are, whether it&#8217;s something that you view Artemy, are you into the technology of this? Do you get yourself in the weeds of any code related to this? Or are you like me somebody that&#8217;s fascinated by what it&#8217;s doing?</p>



<p>[00:05:38] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> I think I&#8217;m more like you, I don&#8217;t know much about how AI works under the hood. I&#8217;m a big fan of philosophy and I think a lot about our future and what&#8217;s ahead of us. So of course, I&#8217;ve been thinking a lot about how AI will change the way we live, the way we work.</p>



<p>So I wrote some posts on LinkedIn about this, especially about the content creators. And you know, I&#8217;m excited but I think that there&#8217;s a lot of hype and marketing around this topic because you know, when I made my first steps in web development in 2017, some people already told me that in a few years there will be no demand in front end developers because, I don&#8217;t know if you ever used the Avocode app.</p>



<p>Avocode allows you to take a PSD template, from Photoshop, and it generates CSS for you. And then we had some tools like Figma, or something like this, that generated CSS on the fly. You create a figure and it generates CSS for it. Even then there were some people that thought that in a few years there will be no demand in HTML and CSS developers. And you know what? We are in 2023 and we still need front end developers.</p>



<p>Front end has become much more complex. We now have things like React, Vue and other front end frameworks. Those tools, they cannot solve these issues. I think that when a new tool comes up that allows you to automate some things, you can go on the next level. You can create much more complex things.</p>



<p>So I think that with AI, at least in the nearest future, that&#8217;s something that&#8217;s going to wait for us. AI will allow us to automate some simple, sometimes stupid, stuff that we hate to do because it&#8217;s boring.</p>



<p>For example, I don&#8217;t like writing HTML and CSS. So if ChatGPT is going to generate HTML and CSS for me, that&#8217;s great, because I want to focus on things that&#8217;s interesting for me. And I don&#8217;t think that, at least at the moment, at least in the state that ChatGPT has now, it can replace me absolutely. It can do some stuff for me, but it cannot replace me fully. That&#8217;s what I think.</p>



<p>[00:07:53] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> That&#8217;s one of the interesting things that we&#8217;ll probably chat through is whether or not we are going to be out of work, because of the advances in AI and the capabilities that they bring. But that&#8217;s a really interesting argument and an argument that I&#8217;m sure many people would share the outcomes that you just suggested. That the AI can increasingly take over the mundane, the uninteresting things that you may well have had to do, but also it allows us to do increasingly more complicated things.</p>



<p>So the things that were available to us as web developers 10 years ago, are no longer the things that we would use anymore. And perhaps in the future AI will enable us to do things as yet unimagined. I guess only the future will tell, but you don&#8217;t have an intuition, certainly at the moment, that anybody using AI could replace a human? You&#8217;re thinking more that it would be able to augment what they can do. Add on to what they can do. Reduce the amount of time it takes them to do things. Have I got that about right? Is that your position?</p>



<p>[00:08:57] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> It absolutely already can replace some people, especially if you&#8217;re talking about some manual stuff like, there are some people that they are paid for, okay, I have an Excel table and I need you to go through every cell and do something with this. And ChatGPT and similar tools, they can do something like this.</p>



<p>So the less intellectual your work is, the more is probability that your work is going to be replaced. So if you want to be in demand, if you want to keep up with these AI tools, you need to work on your intellectual skills, on your soft skills. You have to work on your, way of thinking. And of course, as a law of evolution, you have to adapt. You either adapt or die, unfortunately.</p>



<p>[00:09:47] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Do you think then that one of the tools that you&#8217;ll have to have in the future? And again, let&#8217;s rewind the clock. If we were to go back 10 years, your suite of tools would be, I don&#8217;t know, some software which enabled you to write the code, plus a bunch of possibly books or online resources to enable you to take that knowledge and put it into your head and so on.</p>



<p>But do you imagine that in the future, using AI will be a prerequisite, an essential tool for anybody, just because, well simply from a time saving point of view, the fact that you don&#8217;t have to research everything yourself, and it may be able to fulfill, let&#8217;s say, a proportion, 50%, 30%, 90% of the tasks that you need to achieve. That will be an essential skill, aside from all the other things you need to know. You have to know how to write in in React. You have to know how to set up a server, whatever it is. But the AI will be your companion sitting there helping you, and it will be necessary because of the time benefits and all of that that it brings.</p>



<p>[00:10:48] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> Absolutely. 10 years ago, there were no package managers, there was no NPM, there was no packages or something like this. And now they are part of our life, and we cannot work without it. So I think that some AI tools, absolutely will be a part of our tool set.</p>



<p>And that&#8217;s fine, that&#8217;s great. They will allow us to do some stuff that we had to do manually earlier. That&#8217;s great. It means that we will have more time to focus on things that we do better. At least for now.</p>



<p>[00:11:16] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Do you have any intuitions or have you played with AI and it fulfill what you needed to do? So I&#8217;ve played with AI fairly recently, probably in the last week or so, and I&#8217;m continually amazed by the things that it can achieve from a simple text prompt. So for example, the WordPress code base has been out, completely free, for everybody to examine for many, many, many years.</p>



<p>And so there&#8217;s no inhibition to all of the AI pieces of software, ChatGPT, and Claude and Anthropic, and all of the different pieces that you can go and look at. All of them have had access to that code. And so when I ask it to do something fairly straightforward in WordPress, something that I would have to sit down and write and think through. I am always bowled over by, a, how amazingly accurate it is in understanding what I wanted it to do. But also how clean the bits and pieces that it returns. Now sometimes it gives me something which is entirely unusable, but on the whole I am utterly amazed by how reliable and effective it is.</p>



<p>[00:12:23] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> I use ChatGPT and Bard sometimes. But I usually use it for, I think that every developer has some Stack Overflow threads that they are visiting regularly. Go to see the same answer every and every again, because they cannot remember it. So ChatGPT is good for these things.</p>



<p>Or sometimes I use ChatGPT to generate some boilerplate code for me, and it&#8217;s great. For example, as I told you before, there was a case when I worked on Dokan website. Dokan is a multi vendor plugin for WooCommerce. And I had to get some data about a vendor, if I&#8217;m not mistaken. And, when I asked ChatGPT to find an answer for me, how can I get this data using PHP and without MySQL, it just hallucinated some answers. It told me to use some methods that didn&#8217;t exist. So I still had to go to the source code. I had to find a class I need, and I had to find methods I need.</p>



<p>Or for example, there are some questions that do not have one single answer, you know. For example, how to structure your code? There&#8217;s no single answer. How to stylize your code? There&#8217;s no single answer. How to structure your classes? What should be the relations with each other? There are no single answer for this. So you have to think about it.</p>



<p>And that&#8217;s why, forums like Stack Overflow, they are still the thing, because there are some discussions of real people that have some experience behind their back. And you can read it, and you can make your own opinion about their opinions, and you can find your own way. And I think that ChatGPT, or other stuff, they won&#8217;t help you with this. Because it&#8217;s your decision, and you will take every blame for every error that ChatGPT will make.</p>



<p>[00:14:16] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, I think that&#8217;s a really good point. It is definitely not perfect. But in some situations, it is remarkably close to perfect. But still, as we stand towards the end of 2023, you still need a human to judge whether or not what it has given you is perfect.</p>



<p>I do wonder if in the future, the inspection that humans need to apply to what AI gives us back. I do wonder if as time goes on, that will be less and less required, because it becomes more and more accurate. So for example, if we were to just look at the things that were output by, for example ChatGPT, in versions prior to what we&#8217;ve got now, there was definitely a difference in the quality of things.</p>



<p>If we were for example just to take the silly example of image creation. Now, I know that&#8217;s got nothing to do code, but it&#8217;s an interesting example. It was really easy to spot just 18 months ago, like really, really easy to spot that an AI made that picture of a human being. Because look at the fingers, look at the ears, there&#8217;s just clearly something is not quite right there.</p>



<p>However, if you were to run the same query today, it would be almost impossible to tell that a human being hadn&#8217;t been involved in that, because they have learnt along the way. So I do wonder whether or not we&#8217;ll need the humans to have that level of inspection in the future.</p>



<p>And that brings me to another point, this is something that I&#8217;ve considered a little bit. You, whilst you&#8217;re significantly younger than I am, put it that way, but you&#8217;re no longer a child, let&#8217;s say that. And you have managed to, since you were a child, you have managed to presumably be employed, be paid, be in work, in order to acquire the skills that you now have. And the reason that you have been able to have that work is because somebody needed to have you, for example, as an intern or as a junior developer, and you have acquired skills in steps, getting more and more difficult work as the years have gone by.</p>



<p>I wonder if the AI, if there&#8217;s a risk that it will knock out that bottom layer of people who get into the workplace at the intern level. Because why would we need to employ an intern? Because we now know that the AI can handle pretty much everything that an intern would have done. And so as time goes on, I wonder if there&#8217;s going to be a gap in people coming through, learning the technology, learning all the bits and pieces. So I wonder if that&#8217;s anything you&#8217;ve given thought to?</p>



<p>[00:16:48] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> Well, you cannot take a college graduate and make him as the CEO of your company, right? You still have to learn about your business. So yeah, of course AI will take some of their jobs. But you still, you cannot jump through the levels. You have to go your way. You have to learn your, what you need. You have to live through your experience and there is no way to escape this. So I think that the company owners will still take interns. Maybe they will pay them less I guess, maybe, who knows. But still people need to gain their experience. There is no way to escape this.</p>



<p>[00:17:22] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I guess that may be the concern of people who are worried about AI, is that we just have to think through these problems in advance, so that we&#8217;re not 20 years from now, looking back and saying, boy, we, we really haven&#8217;t had any interns getting through our company and now 20 years on, we&#8217;ve got nobody left to fulfill these positions. What do we do?</p>



<p>[00:17:45] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> That&#8217;s the people natures, right?</p>



<p>[00:17:47] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, but obviously in your own business, that&#8217;s an easy one to fix. You just make that decision. If as a nation or as an industry, we don&#8217;t consciously think about that, there is a risk that, Well, it&#8217;s okay, the other businesses out there, they won&#8217;t farm everything out to the AI. So I&#8217;ll be able to employ people who grew up and went through their internship. And that&#8217;s fine. But if we&#8217;re all doing it, then there&#8217;ll just be this deficit of people. Who knows, maybe that won&#8217;t be the case.</p>



<p>Let&#8217;s move the conversation a little bit. And I&#8217;m going to mention the LinkedIn posts that you wrote, that the URLs for those are far too long to give out. So I&#8217;ll just say go to the show notes and have a look. But you wrote a couple of pieces over on LinkedIn where you shared your concerns about AI hoovering up, vacuuming up, all of the knowledge that we&#8217;ve put out there, so blog posts and what have you. And whether or not there&#8217;s like an ethical problem, or something that we ought to be able to stop the AI from doing that.</p>



<p>So do you just want to outline, you don&#8217;t really give a position on this. You don&#8217;t say whether you think it&#8217;s right or wrong, but you highlight it as a potential issue in the future. Do you just want to go through that?</p>



<p>[00:18:52] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> Well, of course it&#8217;s bad. These AI tools, and the companies behind them, they take your content and use it to make money, and they don&#8217;t share this money with you. Of course, it&#8217;s bad for me. But you know, it is what it is. You have to accept this rule because you cannot change them. So you have to adapt.</p>



<p>And as I said in those posts, you cannot protect your content like fully. And in one of those posts I mentioned an article on The Register where the site, the CEO of Medium, it&#8217;s a huge publishing platform, so they have a lot of content. And I&#8217;m sorry, I don&#8217;t remember his name, but he told that yeah, we try to block AI crawlers from our website. But still there are some companies that scrape our data, and then they sell this data to OpenAI or Google or someone else.</p>



<p>So, yeah, you can block some AI crawlers, very specific crawlers. But there will come more of them and you cannot block all of them. It&#8217;s like an arms racing, right? Websites have been trying to block AI Crawlers for ages, and no one could do this, and you cannot do this. Because when you create a new wall that they have to go through, you will come up with an idea how to go through this wall, and then a new wall and you come up with a new idea. So it&#8217;s a constant process, and you cannot stop it.</p>



<p>And I also tell that the only way to at least kind of protect your content is to use some, paywall features or something like this, or create a private group or something like this. As I told you before, you can automate these things as well. So if someone really want to take your content, they will find a way to take your content. And you cannot fully protect it. So you have to find ways to still, still be in demand. For example, I&#8217;m a content creator myself, because I have a website. I have a blog.</p>



<p>I blog about the WordPress, and just like Stack Overflow, I noticed that when ChatGPT has become public, traffic on my website has decreased. Of course because some people, they don&#8217;t go to Google anymore when they have a software question. They go straight to ChatGPT or Bard or something like this. And they ask these tools these questions. So they don&#8217;t need my website anymore.</p>



<p>And those companies just scraped, I think you can find my content in this tools because, I wrote some unique articles, and they couldn&#8217;t find any other answers. At least I think this way. So yeah, you have to adapt. And my answer about this is that you have to be unique because your content can be stolen, but your way of thinking, your unique life experience, your unique perspective, and sometimes your craziness. It cannot be simulated, at least for now.</p>



<p>[00:21:53] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> That&#8217;s a really good answer. I like that little bit at the end. This is interesting. So if we were to rewind the clock to the beginning of the internet, I get the intuition that it was a really different enterprise. The internet came around, hyperlinks were invented, all of a sudden things could connect to other things.</p>



<p>And then blogging began, and it was a real, a real moment of pride for people to set up their blog and put their voice out there and know that if search engines did their job correctly, those search engines would find your content and then people through the search engine would find their way back to you. And I still think that, although you could argue that Google may have interesting ways of surfacing your content that don&#8217;t necessarily lead back to your article. Broadly, the intention of a search engine is to go around the web, scrape it, and then for people to find themselves back at your site.</p>



<p>Whereas, although I think it&#8217;s a little trickle at the moment, of people who&#8217;ve moved away from search engines to ChatGPT, I can see a moment where the trickle becomes a bit of a stream. And then the stream becomes a bit of a tidal wave. Where if you want the answer to something, you&#8217;re not just trying to find something to read, but you just want the answer to a problem, then I think you&#8217;re right. I think people will increasingly go to the place where that answer will be given back to you, so an AI.</p>



<p>And then the problem is, what&#8217;s the incentive in writing anymore? Why would you write if you know for a fact that the vast majority of people will never see what you&#8217;ve written. It&#8217;s just going to be consumed by an AI, which will spit it out, give you no credit for it. There is a potential for it to ruin the enterprise of writing content in the first place, yeah?</p>



<p>[00:23:48] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> Well, you can think about this way, and I think some people will surely do this. But for example, what&#8217;s the point of listening to this podcast? We were just two guys, what was the point? But, I guess it means that some people are interested in my experience, in my way of thinking and your experience and your way of thinking.</p>



<p>There are some authors that I read, not because they create, not because they give me some answers, but they make me think. They have some good perspectives. And I can use these perspectives to create some of my own perspectives, right? So, it&#8217;s about thinking. It&#8217;s about reading something that, as I said before, there are some questions that do not have one single answer. You have to think about it.</p>



<p>So I think that bloggers will be more focused on this type of content, like my opinion on this, or my perspective on this, or what I think about this. Because, at least for now, ChatGPT doesn&#8217;t have any opinions. It can share some facts. And you can&#8217;t even be sure that these facts are real because it hallucinates sometimes.</p>



<p>[00:24:56] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I do wonder if the AIs maybe need to do a better job of citing where they get things from. So in the example that you gave earlier, where you wrote a few posts, where you tackled something probably for the first time, and if somebody wanted to find the solution, you were the person that had provided it. So you&#8217;ve got an intuition that ChatGPT, in this case, had consumed your article, and when you went to find whether they had or not, you could write a question which clearly gave that content that you&#8217;d written back to yourself.</p>



<p>I do wonder if the AI could do a better job of saying, okay, the information that we&#8217;ve got came from this website and this website. Here&#8217;s the links that we used, that we scraped in order to find the content that we&#8217;ve just surfaced, which we&#8217;re sort of pretending we made up, but we didn&#8217;t really. So if they could give more information about where they&#8217;re getting their information, maybe that would help, provide that gap between what we have now with search engines, and what we have now with AI, where we don&#8217;t really know where the heck it got anything from.</p>



<p>[00:25:59] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> In the perfect world, yeah of course they should do this. And as I know, Bing AI already does this. If you ask Bing Chat about something, it doesn&#8217;t just give you an answer, it also provides you with some links it used to give this answer, and that&#8217;s great I think, But as I said, companies are not interested in you making money, right? They&#8217;re interested in making money for themselves. So, maybe if there will be some legal requirements that will make them to cite properly sources they use, and it&#8217;s something that would be great. As I said, there are always some workarounds. And I&#8217;m not sure if the companies behind these tools will not use these workarounds.</p>



<p>[00:26:43] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> That&#8217;s a good point. I think you&#8217;re right. So you made the point earlier that it doesn&#8217;t matter how clever you are in putting up a wall between your content and the internet. At some point you&#8217;ve got to allow people to get through that wall, and maybe the AIs will figure out how to get through that wall as well.</p>



<p>Yeah, it&#8217;s just an, I just think we&#8217;re on the precipice of something, or the opposite. We&#8217;re at the foot of a mountain and it&#8217;s, rather than it being a precipice that we&#8217;re about to fall into, which sounds really bad, maybe it&#8217;s a mountain that we&#8217;re just at the base of and we&#8217;re going to climb towards the summit.</p>



<p>I don&#8217;t really know. Certainly you mentioned earlier that certain jobs have already gone. If you were to look at the work of, I don&#8217;t know, crafting a spreadsheet, or amending a spreadsheet based upon something that your boss needed doing. That kind of work can now be done by AI. I wonder what your intuitions are as to the level of complexity that is going to be acquired by AI in the next few years.</p>



<p>So you mentioned at the top that you&#8217;re 24 years old. Is there any part of you that&#8217;s concerned about your job stability in the future? Do you think you&#8217;ve achieved a certain level of expertise where you&#8217;re immune? Or are you at that point where you&#8217;re looking over your shoulder thinking, I really do need to keep an eye on this because I&#8217;m afraid for my job? What do you think about that?</p>



<p>[00:28:02] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> Well, of course I cannot guarantee that in the future the AI tools could replace me or could not, because, who knows? Five years ago, we couldn&#8217;t even imagine that there will be things like DALL·E or something like this, and they do really great.</p>



<p>I don&#8217;t know, I really don&#8217;t know. The only thing I can guarantee, at least for myself, I&#8217;m still going to be a person I am. And I can work on my soft skills and I can adapt. Maybe I won&#8217;t be a WordPress developer in five years because ChatGPT will do, will create plugins for me. Well, maybe I will have to find a new job, who knows. But I&#8217;m pretty sure about myself, and I&#8217;m not pretty sure about my job, right.</p>



<p>[00:28:42] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> One of the interesting arguments that I heard recently, it&#8217;s a fairly pessimistic argument, I&#8217;ll put that out there right at the beginning, but the argument always goes a bit like, well, if we invent new technology, then obviously that will disrupt things, but there&#8217;ll always be new opportunities created. So, if 5,000 people lose their jobs over here, what will happen is 5,000 other jobs, or something equivalent, will get created somewhere else. The technology will create a new branch of the workplace that we haven&#8217;t as yet imagined, and that will be where those people will go, once they&#8217;ve figured out how to adapt and what have you. So it&#8217;s this constant process of improvement, alteration, and finding where you fit into this new jigsaw puzzle of the technological landscape.</p>



<p>One of the arguments that I heard recently was that this could be the first time where that argument doesn&#8217;t really hold. And the argument went a bit like this. In every other technological innovation, humans have been able to move out of the thing which was innovated into, and they&#8217;ve been able to go to somewhere else, because now we&#8217;ve got something, there&#8217;s some space available. So a good example would be the industrial revolution, where machines were made to move things, drill holes through things, lift things.</p>



<p>In other words, the machines took the physical things that we needed to do, and it mechanized those, and so people moved from the sphere of physical work, and became more intellectual workers. However, if in this current revolution of AI, the AI also beats us at the intellectual enterprise, it&#8217;s better than us at thinking, it can do things more quickly. Where do humans go? What&#8217;s left? Machines are better lifting things than us. Machines are better thinking through things than us, well, we&#8217;re on a permanent holiday then, aren&#8217;t we? Don&#8217;t know if you&#8217;ve got any thoughts about that? If this technology is literally transformational because it&#8217;s consuming the last vestige of what we&#8217;ve got left, which is our brain, really.</p>



<p>[00:30:45] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> Philosophers and economists have discussed this topic even when ChatGPT wasn&#8217;t even a thing. So for example, like one of the possible scenarios, okay. We&#8217;ll have great AI tools that will do every job for us. Which means that we have like millions and billions of people without a job.</p>



<p>They still need to eat. They need to live somewhere. They need to drink something. One of the possible scenarios is that governments will have to like take some part of those big companies revenue and share it with people like, passive basic income, if I&#8217;m not mistaken, it&#8217;s called.</p>



<p>[00:31:25] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Universal Basic Income, UBI. Yeah.</p>



<p>[00:31:27] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> Right. Maybe this scenario that waits for us. I don&#8217;t know.</p>



<p>[00:31:32] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah. The truth is we really don&#8217;t know. It&#8217;ll be an interesting journey. Let&#8217;s just, before we round this off, let&#8217;s just ground this back into the WordPress space, because obviously that&#8217;s primarily what this podcast is about. What have you experienced over the last 18 months, it literally could have been last week, it could have been something from last year. Can you mention any things in the WordPress space connected with AI that you have found yourself being drawn to, coming back to, using, over the last period of time?</p>



<p>[00:32:00] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> In WordPress, I&#8217;m not sure. I saw that Jetpack now has some AI features, and some of the most popular SEO plugins already allow you to like generate meta descriptions or something like this. I know about this feature, but I don&#8217;t use them for now. And I think that Gutenberg has some potential for AI features.</p>



<p>Elementor, I actually used Elementor AI features, and Divi AI features. It&#8217;s not perfect right now, but I think it&#8217;s great that you can tell those builders, like I want to have a section with an image, and a text in the center of it, and it generates it. You didn&#8217;t have to code it. You didn&#8217;t have to write HTML and CSS what I had. So these tools can be very useful in this case. And I think that Gutenberg may have something like this.</p>



<p>[00:32:50] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> I think the content piece, the creation of content, just getting yourself over the hurdle of that blank page. If it can create some content for you, which then you can tweak, make it your own. But you&#8217;re right, the whole enterprise of laying things out, once you&#8217;ve done that a hundred times, it&#8217;s probably not as interesting as it was the first time. And if you can get the AI to do those kinds of things, and then you adapt it within the tool that you&#8217;re using, whether that&#8217;s a page builder or the block editor or whatever. Yeah, that&#8217;s really interesting.</p>



<p>And I think we&#8217;re moving into a future where the whole site is potentially under the purview of AI. The moment you first log into WordPress, it seems like there&#8217;s a lot of tools coming down the pike at the moment that will ask you a series of questions. It&#8217;s like an onboarding to the creation of your website, and based upon the answers that you give it, it will create a bunch of pages. An about page, a contact page. It will style it. It will give it colors. It will put content in there, which is not the content that you want, but it approximates what you want.</p>



<p>It knows, for example, that you&#8217;re a baker. And so it puts in pictures of baking, and it will have text which is adjacent to the baking industry, and that kind of thing. So I feel that all of that is coming. And again, I guess it sends us right back to the beginning of our conversation. Whilst that&#8217;s brilliant on the one hand, it does also raise concerns about the long term future of many of the jobs that we&#8217;ve been doing for the last 10 or 15 years and whether or not we need to adapt.</p>



<p>[00:34:21] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> As I said before, we can use these tools as our tools, not like our replacements, right. So for example, if I need a website, and I need a good website that&#8217;s going to attract some customers, I still need to have an understanding of what people are looking for, what are their preferences?</p>



<p>I need to understand some marketing stuff, some design stuff. Yeah, I think that if you want a basic website, of course you can already use some of these tools to create this website. But they won&#8217;t be perfect. they won&#8217;t be so detailed for a specific customers you try to attract. And in this case you need designers, you need marketers, you need developers, that&#8217;s going to take this basic website and they will make a perfect website from it. It will allow you to spend less money on this, but you still need an expert&#8217;s perspective on this.</p>



<p>[00:35:20] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, I think you&#8217;re right. It&#8217;s easy to forget because the things like ChatGPT, because their responses are so really remarkable, it is easy to forget that basically at its heart it isn&#8217;t yet, I say yet, it isn&#8217;t yet intelligent. It mimics intelligence. It&#8217;s giving us the next word and the word after that and the word after that, or the pixel next to that and the pixel next to that, whatever it may be.</p>



<p>And it mimics brilliantly based upon the consumption of lots of previous human knowledge. But you&#8217;re right, it doesn&#8217;t cut to the heart of what a human can do. And the human having more experience about, it&#8217;s not just a website. It&#8217;s a website where we have to throw SEO, in because that&#8217;s a piece of the puzzle. We have to throw in the marketing. We have to throw in what humans do, because UX and UI, that&#8217;s important as well, if we want people to actually make use of this website. It&#8217;s got to behave in a certain way.</p>



<p>It&#8217;s easy to forget that as of 2023, no AI is capable of taking this job on, it can make things look nice. It can pretend to be intelligent, but as yet, it truly isn&#8217;t. And so, yeah, adapting, being novel, creating a new future for yourself based upon what the AI can bring seems like the road to go.</p>



<p>Artemy, thank you so much for joining us today. Just before we leave, if people have been intrigued by this conversation and they want to talk to you about AI or anything in particular, is there a place where we could send them? I will, of course, link to your website, but you may want to mention that again, but is there like a social network that you use that you want to drop? Anything like that.</p>



<p>[00:37:03] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> My website contains all social links I use. You can also try to connect me on LinkedIn or you can drop me an email.</p>



<p>[00:37:10] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Artemy, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today. I really appreciate it.</p>



<p>[00:37:16] <strong>Artemy Kaydash:</strong> Thank you.</p>
</div>



<p>On the podcast today, we have <a href="https://kayart.dev/">Artemy Kaydash</a>.</p>



<p>Artemy is a WordPress and WooCommerce freelance developer who focuses on backend development. After realising his passion lay in back-end work, he shifted his focus from full stack development to creating, supporting, maintaining, and editing WordPress and WooCommerce plugins. He also runs a personal website where he shares his expertise through blogging about WordPress and WooCommerce.</p>



<p>Most of this episode centres around the impact of AI on the landscape of web development. We explore the implications of AI tools for web developers, firstly talking about the way that AI systems have rapidly become somewhat essential and the developer&#8217;s toolkit.</p>



<p>We discussed the pivotal role AI may have in the future and how it could become an indispensable time-saver, relegating many uninteresting tasks from needing to be carried out manually.</p>



<p>We get into the intersection of AI and web development, highlighting the need for developers to adapt and harness the potential of AI tools to remain at the forefront of innovation.</p>



<p>We deliberate on the potential ramifications of AI on job roles within the WordPress space, underscoring the enduring need for human expertise in deciphering customer wishes, refining marketing strategies, and crafting compelling design experiences.</p>



<p>Although Artamy is not sure how the future will unfold, it&#8217;s clear that he sees the present as a pivotal moment in which those who adapt to the realities of AI can flourish, whilst those who do not might be left behind. His perspective allows us to glimpse a future of web development in which AI can be a force for positive change, to be embraced, not feared.</p>



<p>If AI has piqued your curiosity in the past, especially in the WordPress space, this episode is for you.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Useful links</h2>



<p><a href="https://kayart.dev/">Artemy&#8217;s website</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7094656120857735168/">LinkedIn post #1</a> mentioned in the podcast</p>



<p><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7113445056941842432/">LinkedIn post #2</a> mentioned in the podcast</p>



<p><a href="https://openai.com/chatgpt">ChatGPT</a></p>



<p><a href="https://bard.google.com/chat">Bard</a></p>



<p><a href="https://claude.ai/login">Claude</a></p>



<p><a href="https://dokan.co/wordpress/">Dokan website</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.bing.com/search?q=Bing+AI&showconv=1">Bing Chat</a></p>



<p><a href="https://openai.com/dall-e-2">DALL·E</a></p>



<p><a href="https://jetpack.com/ai/">Jetpack AI</a></p>



<p><a href="https://elementor.com/products/ai/">Elementor AI</a></p>



<p><a href="https://www.elegantthemes.com/ai/">Divi AI</a></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 05 Dec 2023 15:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:14:"Nathan Wrigley";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:28;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:81:"Do The Woo Community: Rebranding Your WordPress Plugin Business with Robert Abela";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78634";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:55:"https://dothewoo.io/rebranding-your-wordpress-business/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:413:"<p>Robert Abela from Melapress shares his story of rebranding his business and also shares some insights into the under-rated user roles in WP.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/rebranding-your-wordpress-business/">Rebranding Your WordPress Plugin Business with Robert Abela</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 05 Dec 2023 08:32:22 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:29;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:70:"WordPress.org blog: Alert: WordPress Security Team Impersonation Scams";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=16547";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:85:"https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/alert-wordpress-security-team-impersonation-scams/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4174:"<p>The WordPress Security Team is aware of multiple ongoing phishing scams impersonating both the “WordPress team” and the “WordPress Security Team“ in an attempt to convince administrators to install a plugin on their website which contains malware.</p>



<p><strong>The WordPress Security Team will never email you requesting that you install a plugin or theme on your site, and will never ask for an administrator username and password.</strong></p>



<p>If you receive an unsolicited email claiming to be from WordPress with instructions similar to those described above, please disregard the emails and indicate that the email is a scam to your email provider.</p>



<p>These emails link to a phishing site that appears to be the WordPress plugin repository on a domain that is not owned by WordPress or an associated entity. Both <a href="https://patchstack.com/articles/fake-cve-phishing-campaign-tricks-wordpress-users-to-install-malware/">Patchstack</a> and <a href="https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2023/12/psa-fake-cve-2023-45124-phishing-scam-tricks-users-into-installing-backdoor-plugin/">Wordfence</a> have written articles that go in to further detail.</p>



<p>Official emails from the WordPress project will always:</p>



<ul>
<li>Come from a <code>@wordpress.org</code> or <code>@wordpress.net</code> domain.</li>



<li>Should also say “Signed by: wordpress.org” in the email details section.</li>
</ul>



<img width="1024" height="450" src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/12/email-details-signed-by-wordpressdotorg.png?resize=1024%2C450&ssl=1" alt="Screenshot of email sent by a WordPress.org email account. The details include " />



<p>The WordPress Security Team will only communicate with WordPress users in the following locations:</p>



<ul>
<li>the Making WordPress Secure blog at <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/security">make.wordpress.org/security</a></li>



<li>the main WordPress News site at <a href="https://wordpress.org/news">wordpress.org/news</a></li>
</ul>



<p>The WordPress Plugin team will never communicate directly with a plugin’s users but may email plugin support staff, owners and contributors. These emails will be sent from <a href="mailto:plugins@wordpress.org">plugins@wordpress.org</a> and be signed as indicated above.</p>



<p>The official WordPress plugin repository is located at <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins">wordpress.org/plugins</a> with internationalized versions on subdomains, such as <a href="https://fr.wordpress.org/plugins">fr.wordpress.org/plugins</a>, <a href="https://en-au.wordpress.org/plugins">en-au.wordpress.org/plugins</a>, etc. A subdomain may contain a hyphen, however a dot will always appear before wordpress.org.</p>



<p>A WordPress site’s administrators can also access the plugin repository via the plugins menu in the WordPress dashboard.</p>



<p>As WordPress is the most used CMS, these types of phishing scams will happen occasionally. Please be vigilant for unexpected emails asking you to install a theme, plugin or linking to a login form.</p>



<p>The Scamwatch website has some tips for <a href="https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/protect-yourself/ways-to-spot-and-avoid-scams">identifying emails and text messages that are likely to be scams</a>.</p>



<p>As always, if you believe that you have discovered a security vulnerability in WordPress, please <a href="https://wordpress.org/about/security/">follow the project’s Security policies</a> by privately and responsibly disclosing the issue directly to the WordPress Security team through the project’s official <a href="https://hackerone.com/wordpress">HackerOne page</a>.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />



<p><em>Thank you <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/jorbin/">Aaron Jorbin</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/otto/">Otto</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/dd32/">Dion Hulse</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/chanthaboune/">Josepha Haden Chomphosy</a>, and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/desrosj/">Jonathan Desrosiers</a> for their collaboration on and review of this post.</em></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 04 Dec 2023 23:13:35 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12:"Peter Wilson";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:30;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:55:"WordPress.org blog: People of WordPress: Artemy Kaydash";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=16470";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:70:"https://wordpress.org/news/2023/12/people-of-wordpress-artemy-kaydash/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:10937:"<p class="has-darker-grey-color has-off-white-2-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-9b663d0d5861b05380bcaca160ef01c8">The&nbsp;<em>People of WordPress</em>&nbsp;series shares inspiring stories of how people’s lives can change for the better through WordPress and its global community of contributors.</p>



<p>Artemy Kaydash discovered that working with WordPress has opened possibilities greater than he imagined. For him, the &#8220;active, responsive, and enthusiastic community&#8221; makes the software fresh and alive with many ways to experiment and practice adapting it for clients&#8217; needs.</p>



<img width="1024" height="640" src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/10/artemy-featured-img.jpg?resize=1024%2C640&ssl=1" alt="Artemy Kaydash stood in front of water" class="wp-image-16242" />



<p>Back-end development with WordPress has proven to be a rewarding career choice for Artemy. He believes developers can inspire others to choose the same career path by sharing the opportunities and satisfaction of working with the content management system (CMS).</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The adventure of learning WordPress</h2>



<p>Learning new software can be daunting, but Artemy realized that learning with and from inspiring people makes a real difference: &#8220;I vividly remember my first WordPress experience. I was confused, had many questions, and was desperately trying to understand how to do the most simple things.&#8221;</p>



<p>Working initially in a small agency in Ukraine, Artemy had basic HTML/CSS skills and had just started learning PHP development. His senior colleagues helped him take his first steps in web development and were patient with his questions.</p>



<p>The agency director later gave him the responsibility of creating a WordPress website for a friend. He recalls being nervous, as he was not yet confident in his PHP skills. Colleagues reassured Artemy as he worked, and he went on to build a career in international web development.</p>



<img width="640" height="1024" src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/10/artemy-at-a-cafe.jpg?resize=640%2C1024&ssl=1" alt="Artemy reflecting on his learning as he looks outside of a window in a cafe
" class="wp-image-16241" />



<p>Like many others, Artemy found that experimenting with WordPress intrigued him, and he wanted to learn more about it. Looking back, he said: &#8220;The first theme I built was awful. It was composed of my own creative solutions and code snippets I found in searches. It had lots of bugs, but as people say, &#8216;the first pancake is always a bit tricky.'&#8221;</p>



<p>Artemy is a great believer in reflective learning, going back and reviewing a piece of development. He said: &#8220;No matter how bad it was, it was my first experience, and I learned a lot about the basic concepts of WordPress. That&#8217;s why I believe that learning by doing is the best way to learn something new.&#8221;</p>



<p>He added: &#8220;My advice to others is don&#8217;t be afraid of doing something awful when you create something for the first time. It&#8217;s okay. We&#8217;ve all been through that initial phase.&#8221;</p>



<img width="640" height="1024" src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/10/artemy-winter-lake.jpg?resize=640%2C1024&ssl=1" alt="Artemy looking across a lake in the winter time" class="wp-image-16245" />



<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s nice to have a mentor when you learn something new. Luckily, you don&#8217;t need a person sitting next to you anymore. All of us have got the best mentor possible: the Internet. If you don&#8217;t know how to do something, then search for how other people have done the same thing,&#8221; Artemy said.</p>



<p>&#8220;No wonder some say that one of the most required skills of every developer is the willingness to learn and to know how to search for information. This is one of the reasons WordPress is one of the best options for beginners. Now there is so much more information and help available to learn, more than there was when I first began.&#8221;</p>



<p>Artemy feels that the willingness of others to share their experience and problem-solve together is a big strength of the WordPress community and also the reason for its ongoing success: &#8220;When you stumble upon a problem, there&#8217;s a high probability that someone already asked the same question on one of the forums or websites. If you&#8217;re lucky enough, someone already wrote a post about your problem with a great explanation of how to solve it with examples and code snippets.&#8221;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">WordPress is for beginners and long-term careers</h2>



<p>WordPress is not a software with strict limits, and it can be adapted and used in many different ways by beginners and advanced developers.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>I like to learn something that excites me and makes my brain work. With WordPress, I am able to find interesting and creative solutions.</p>
</blockquote>



<p>There are so many new things to learn that Artemy decided to stay in web development, and he sees it as a perfect channel for his creativity and abstract thinking. It may seem very different from his initial education in literature, sociology, and philosophy. Still, he has found those studies sharpened his skills for understanding, communicating, and working with clients on creative solutions to challenges.</p>



<p>Artemy enjoys the client side of his work and interacting with different studios and agencies. His international work allows him to use WordPress and WooCommerce in many different environments, both large and small, which keeps the software exciting. He said: &#8220;I believe if you want to learn something you have to practice using it a lot. Open source is a big advantage in this.&#8221; Artemy found that the more he experiences various sites and clients, the more flexible and helpful he can be in helping them find the right solution.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Inspired to help others use WordPress</h2>



<img width="1024" height="639" src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2023/10/artemy-from-pier.jpg?resize=1024%2C639&ssl=1" alt="Artemy standing on the pier" class="wp-image-16243" />



<p>A willingness to share and grow skills together is what open source environments champion. This collaborative environment inspired Artemy to focus on using WordPress professionally and to share what he learned. &#8220;There is a lot of free code and snippets available for anyone to use. I have been grateful to all of the people who have written answers on sites like Stack Overflow, written blog posts, created free plugins, and other helpful materials. It made me want to help others when I was able to.&#8221;</p>



<p>In August 2021, Artemy began blogging about using WordPress:&nbsp;&#8220;I like to think that this way I am repaying my learning debt for all the content I have consumed. It makes me happy to see that people really read my posts, and it helps them solve their WordPress problems. So, today, when I face a problem and can&#8217;t find the solution, I think it might be a great idea for a new post!&#8221;</p>



<p>He also likes to keep up with how other people use WordPress by visiting Stack Overflow, WordPress Facebook groups, and other communities where people ask questions almost daily. He helps where he can in those channels or gains inspiration for new content. He believes&nbsp;<a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Learn.WordPress.org</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Developer Blog</a>&nbsp;are valuable resources for beginners and more advanced developers too. As those resources grow, they will increasingly become a place where others can share their development knowledge and use cases.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Every community is a two-way street</h2>



<p>Artemy encourages everyone to become a part of the WordPress community. “There are a lot of opportunities for everyone,” he said. “You can help with the translation of your favorite plugins or themes. You can create your own plugin or become a contributor to an already existing open source plugin. You can write tutorials. You can write reviews helping other people to choose the best option for them. You can help people on support forums.”</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>Every contribution, big or small, makes WordPress better. It is a great experience to be part of it.</p>
</blockquote>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Share the stories</h2>



<p>Help share these open source contributor stories and continue to grow the community.&nbsp;Meet more WordPressers in the&nbsp;<a href="https://wordpress.org/news/category/newsletter/interviews/">People of WordPress series</a>.</p>



<p>To discover more about how to use WordPress, and start your own story, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://learn.wordpress.org/">Learn.WordPress.org</a>.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />



<p><em>Thanks to <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/kayart/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Artemy Kaydash</a> for sharing about his adventures in WordPress, and to <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/webcommsat/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Abha Thakor</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/nalininonstopnewsuk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nalini Thakor</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/meher/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Meher Bala</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/marks99/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mark Smallman</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/eidolonnight/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nicholas Garofalo</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cbringmann/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chloe Bringmann</a>, and <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/marybaum/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mary Baum</a> for interviews, editorial, images, and reviews. </em></p>



<div class="wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile is-vertically-aligned-center"><img width="180" height="135" src="https://i0.wp.com/wordpress.org/news/files/2020/03/heropress_logo_180.png?resize=180%2C135&ssl=1" alt="HeroPress logo" class="wp-image-8409 size-full" /><div class="wp-block-media-text__content">
<p class="has-small-font-size"><em>This People of WordPress feature is inspired by an essay originally published on </em><a href="https://heropress.com/"><em>HeroPress.com</em></a><em>, a community initiative created by Topher DeRosia. It highlights people in the WordPress community who have overcome barriers and whose stories might otherwise go unheard. </em>#HeroPress </p>
</div></div>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 04 Dec 2023 14:28:33 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"Abha Thakor";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:31;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:78:"Do The Woo Community: Do the Woo is Headed to State of the Word 2023 in Madrid";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78614";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:77:"https://dothewoo.io/do-the-woo-is-headed-to-state-of-the-word-2023-in-madrid/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:439:"<p>BobWP from Do the Woo will once again attend State of the Word. The SOTW 2023 will be in Madrid this year to celebrate Spain's WordPress community.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/do-the-woo-is-headed-to-state-of-the-word-2023-in-madrid/">Do the Woo is Headed to State of the Word 2023 in Madrid</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Mon, 04 Dec 2023 09:14:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:32;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:126:"Gutenberg Times: Responsiveness, styling the details block, create block theme plugin and so much more – Weekend Edition 276";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/?p=26529";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:47:"https://gutenbergtimes.com/weekend-edition-276/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:21079:"<p>Howdy, </p>



<p>The Winter in Munich comes with big steps.  If you are interested, <a href="https://twitter.com/bph/status/1730699245773029537/photo/1">I shared a photo from last night</a> on X (former Twitter) . I am all excited as I haven&#8217;t seen that much snow since I visited a friend in Vancouver in 2021, but that was only for a couple of weeks. Now I have to live in this weather. 🥶 I might venture outside long enough to take some more pictures. Stay tuned.  </p>



<p>In this edition, I share a ton of links to updates about tools, plugins and themes, tutorials and how-to articles. I have a feeling, I also missed a few, so please notify me, so I can add them next week. </p>



<p>Wishing you and your loved ones a Happy Holiday season 🎄 And if you don&#8217;t celebrate, have a wonderful weekend! </p>



<p>Yours, 💕<br /><em>Birgit</em></p>





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<p>Monday, I was on the panel of the <a href="https://wpbuilds.com/2023/11/28/this-week-in-wordpress-277/"><strong>277th episode of This week in WordPress, Mysterious cosmic rays </strong></a>-together with <strong>host Nathan Wrigley, Michelle Frechette, Wendie Huis in t Veld, and Jeroen Rotty</strong>. We covered, the new feature of <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/meta/2023/11/22/plugin-directory-preview-button-revisited">Live preview for the plugin directory</a>, with a shout-out to Alex Shiels and the meta team, and also, as a surprise to me about <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index">Keeping up with Gutenberg Index</a>, the <a href="https://europe.wordcamp.org/2024/speakers/call-for-speakers">call for speakers and diversity efforts for WordCamp Europe</a> was also a topic, as was the <a href="https://wptavern.com/podcast/100-nick-diego-on-the-revamp-of-the-wordpress-showcase-website">new Showcase on the .org site</a> and the <a href="https://bobwp.com/the-road-to-do-the-woo-4-0">new line-up of shows on the  Do the Woo network</a>.  Participating on the panel is a fun way to start a week in the WordPress world. Don&#8217;t be shy, 🙂 <a href="mailto:admin@wpbuilds.com">connect with Nathan Wrigley</a> and see when there is a free slot on the show. You definitely should subscribe to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/wpbuilds">YouTube channel</a> and the Podcast. </p>



<a href="https://wpbuilds.com/2023/11/28/this-week-in-wordpress-277/"><img width="652" height="367" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/TWIW-277.jpeg?resize=652%2C367&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-26599" /></a>



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<div class="wp-block-group has-light-background-background-color has-background"><div class="wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow">
<p><strong>Table of Contents</strong></p>



<div class="wp-block-sortabrilliant-guidepost"><ul><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-word-press-release-information">Developing Gutenberg and WordPress</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#0-p">Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#2-word-press-6-0-1-and-6-1-scheduled">Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks</a></li><li><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/#3-building-themes-for-fse-and-word-press">Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor. </a></li></ul></div>
</div></div>




<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="0-word-press-release-information">Developing Gutenberg and WordPress</h2>



<p>Are you looking for a <strong>State of the Word watch party</strong> near you?  A few are already planned. Take a look at <a href="https://wordpress.org/state-of-the-word/">the events landing page.</a> The countdown will start soon:  <strong>December 11, 2023, at 15:00 UTC Matt Mullenweg will give the State of the Word keynote talk directly from Madrid, Spain.</strong> It&#8217;s the first time it is broadcast from outside the US. </p>



<p>It will be livestreamed on <a href="https://youtube.com/wordpress">YouTube on the WordPress channel</a>. A Q &amp; A section will follow, where Mullenweg will answer questions previously submitted to <a href="mailto:ask-matt@wordcamp.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ask-matt@wordcamp.org</a>. You will be able to submit questions during the event via the Slido App. The QR code will be available on the day of the event. </p>



<a href="https://wordpress.org/state-of-the-word/"><img width="652" height="435" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/image.png?resize=652%2C435&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-26400" /></a>



<p class="has-accent-color has-light-background-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-d02c05917781faad43b455819cf71f89">🎙️ Latest episode:  <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast/gutenberg-changelog-93-gutenberg-17-1-command-palette-data-views-and-grid-layout/">Gutenberg Changelog #93 – Gutenberg 17.1, Command Palette, Data Views and Grid Layout</a> &#8211; a chat with <strong>Isabel Brison</strong></p>



<p><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/releases/tag/v17.2.0-rc.1"><strong>Gutenberg 17.2 RC1</strong></a> is now available for testing.  The stable release will come out on December 6th, 2023. </p>



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<p>Save the date! <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/11/23/hallway-hangout-lets-explore-wordpress-6-5/"><strong>Hallway Hangout: Let’s explore WordPress 6.5</strong></a> on January 16 at 21:00 UTC. <strong>Anne McCarthy</strong> and <strong>Saxon Fletcher</strong> will talk through some of what’s to come in the next WordPress release,&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/11/06/proposal-2024-major-release-timing/">with a proposed schedule for March 26th</a>. This is being shared early to help encourage more folks to tune in and to build some excitement for this next release.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="0-p">Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners</h2>



<p>On &#8220;The WordPress Way&#8221; show, <a href="https://twitter.com/NonStopNewsUK"><strong>Abha Thakor</strong></a> chatting with <strong>Anne McCarthy</strong> and <a href="https://twitter.com/joyofwp"><strong>Bud Kraus</strong></a> <a href="https://dothewoo.io/all-things-wordpress-6-4-with-anne-mccarthy-and-bud-kraus/"><strong>About all things WordPress 6.4</strong></a> Great conversation that goes in a lot of fun and insightful directions with these three. </p>



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<p><strong>Aki Hamano</strong> created the  <strong><a href="https://github.com/t-hamano/enable-responsive-image">Responsive Image plugin</a>.</strong> It adds settings to the Image block to display different images depending on the width of the screen. He cautions you to use it on a production site, as it&#8217;s under active development and might change behavior with new versions. </p>



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<p>In the latest video, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgoNBFDyIaA"><strong>How To Create a WordPress Image Gallery</strong></a>, <strong>Ellen Bauer</strong> of Elma Studio gives you a look behind the scenes on how she built the <a href="https://themes.elmastudio.de/moog/style-variations/"><em>demo page for the style variation</em></a> in their latest block theme, <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/moog/">Moog.</a> </p>



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<p>If you want to test the <a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/need-a-zip-from-master/">Gutenberg Nightly</a> plugin, but don&#8217;t want to set up a test site, you can now use it with a WordPress Playground instance.  Head on over to the  <a href="https://icodeforapurpose.com/gutenberg-nightly-playground/"><strong>Gutenberg Nightly &amp; Playground</strong></a> page on my personal tech blog and click on the <strong>Get Started</strong> button. It&#8217;s a proof of concept for now. I still need to add the daily automatic deployment of the build.zip file to the site. Please let me know what you think about it and how you use it. </p>



<img width="652" height="375" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-11-28-at-19.20.48.png?resize=652%2C375&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-26582" />




<p><strong><a href="https://gutenbergtimes.com/need-a-zip-from-master/">Need a plugin .zip from Gutenberg&#8217;s trunk branch?</a></strong><br />Gutenberg Times provides daily build for testing and review. <br />Have you been using it? Hit reply and let me know.</p>



<p><img alt="GitHub all releases" src="https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/bph/gutenberg/total?style=for-the-badge" /></p>




<p><strong>Seth Rubinstein </strong>of Pew Research Institute <a href="https://twitter.com/SethRubenstein/status/1729545261007929823">announced on X</a> (former Twitter)  that he just released a small plugin to add <strong><a href="https://github.com/sethrubenstein/responsive-core-group-block/releases/tag/v1">responsiveness to the core group block.</a></strong> (GitHub)</p>



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<p><strong>Michelle Schlup-Hunt</strong> published her base Full Site Editing theme, that is meant to be used to build other projects on top of, but probably simple enough to use as-is too: <strong><a href="https://github.com/marktimemedia/Alicorn-Theme">Alicorn-Theme</a></strong> (GitHub)</p>



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<p>The fine folks at 10up, just released the 1.1.3 version of their <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/maps-block-apple/"><strong>Block for Apple Maps,</strong></a> which integrates Apple Maps directly into your WordPress site. It&#8217;s a mighty block with a ton of features to create customized maps right on your WordPress site. You would need to have an Apple ID and sign up for their Developer program to get the right API keys, though. <a href="https://github.com/10up/maps-block-apple">The code is available in the GitHub repo</a></p>



<a href="https://github.com/10up/maps-block-apple"><img width="652" height="438" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Screenshot-2023-12-02-at-11.40.03.png?resize=652%2C438&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-26601" /></a>



<p><strong>Ben Ritner </strong>of Kadence announced the <a href="https://www.kadencewp.com/blog/coming-to-kadence-blocks-pro-advanced-query-loop/"><strong>arrival of the Advanced Query Loop </strong></a>block to their pro-version of the plugin. It&#8217;s an enhanced version of the core query loop block, incorporating many user-requested features. It allows you to specify which post types and taxonomies to display, along with the number of posts per page. Not only that, but it also comes with options to custom transition animation which can be used when viewers click between pages, search, or apply filters on the front end. </p>



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<p>If you are not a Kadence Blocks customer, or only use the free version, there is also the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/advanced-query-loop/"><strong>Advanced Query Loop</strong></a> available by <strong>Ryan Welcher.</strong> It might not be as polished and as frontend oriented as the Kadence version. <a href="https://t.co/7HLrN4pvVw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="2-word-press-6-0-1-and-6-1-scheduled">Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks</h2>



<p>In his post <a href="https://www.briancoords.com/how-to-show-the-choose-a-pattern-modal-by-default-on-new-pages/"><strong>How to show the “Choose a Pattern” modal by default on new pages</strong></a>, <strong>Brian Coords</strong> walks you through the few steps to create a full-page layout patterns for your theme or site. </p>




<p><strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&#8220;Keeping up with Gutenberg &#8211; Index 2022&#8221;</a>&nbsp;</strong><br />A chronological list of the WordPress Make Blog posts from various teams involved in Gutenberg development: Design, Theme Review Team, Core Editor, Core JS, Core CSS, Test, and Meta team from Jan. 2021 on. Updated by yours truly.  <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index/keeping-up-with-gutenberg-index-2020/"><em>The index 2020 is here</em></a></p>




<p>With his post, <strong>Jamie Marsland</strong> helps you <a href="https://www.pootlepress.com/2023/11/understanding-the-theme-json-file-in-a-wordpress-gutenberg-theme/"><strong>Understanding the theme.json File in a WordPress Block Theme</strong></a> and he breaks down the various sections and how you can configure them. Marsland also added a section on how to lock certain areas down for end users, so they won&#8217;t change important design settings. </p>



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<p><strong>Mary Baum</strong> published the 3rd part of the Series,<em>&nbsp;Make your site’s typography make a statement.</em> <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/12/a-great-read-four-simple-steps-to-your-best-body-copy-ever/"><strong>A great read—four simple steps to your best body copy ever</strong></a>, and she provides code examples for theme.json on how to combine settings of measure, line height, spacing to make your text as readable as possible. </p>



<ul>
<li><strong>Part I: </strong><a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/07/make-your-sites-typography-make-a-statement/"><strong>The visual voice of type:&nbsp;</strong>basic type terms, so we can start the discussion</a></li>



<li><strong>Part II: <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/08/the-anatomy-of-a-letterform/">The anatomy of a letterform.</a></strong></li>
</ul>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p>&#8220;For now, let’s leave it at this: if you set a gray wall of type, your reader has to want your information very urgently before they’ll slog through to the end.&nbsp;If you break up your copy into approachable chunks, every subhead has a chance to persuade your reader to go on and read further.&nbsp;&#8220;</p>
<cite><a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/12/a-great-read-four-simple-steps-to-your-best-body-copy-ever/">Mary Baum, on the Developer Blog</a></cite></blockquote>



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<p><strong>Brian Gardner</strong> shared a designer&#8217;s insight into Gradients and how to use them in WordPress Blocks. <a href="https://wpengine.com/builders/default-gradients-block-editor/"><strong>Default Gradients in the WordPress Block Editor</strong></a>. Anyone who listened to the Gutenberg Changelog podcast knows, I am a big fan of gradients, and so I am delighted,  they are now available for almost all Core blocks. </p>



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<p><strong>Justin Tadlock</strong> shared in on the fun of  <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/12/styles-patterns-and-more-with-the-details-block/"><strong>Styles, patterns, and more with the Details block</strong></a>. The Details block combines two HTML elements:&nbsp;<code>&lt;details&gt;</code>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<code>&lt;summary&gt;</code>. It is an HTML-native way to show and hide content: the summary part is a title that hides the details until your user clicks on it to trigger a reveal of the details. It can be used for various use cases, on your website. After covering the out-of-the-box styles of the block, Tadlock shows you how to adopt its look and feel for a Spoiler section, and a  list of FAQs. </p>



<a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/news/2023/12/styles-patterns-and-more-with-the-details-block/"><img width="652" height="338" src="https://i0.wp.com/gutenbergtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/details-summary-faqs-pattern.jpg?resize=652%2C338&ssl=1" alt="" class="wp-image-26607" /></a>



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<p>There have been a few quality-of-life improvements to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/create-block-theme/"><strong>Create Block Theme plugin </strong></a>over the course of the WordPress 6.3 and 6.4 releases. In this tutorial, <strong>Jonathan Bossenger</strong> gave a brief introduction to these improvements.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="3-building-themes-for-fse-and-word-press">Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor. </h2>



<p>On Thursday, <strong>December 7, 2023 &#8211;  14:00 UTC,</strong> <strong>Jonathan Bossenger</strong> will introduce attendees to the <a href="https://www.meetup.com/learn-wordpress-online-workshops/events/297698902/"><strong>new WordPress  Interactivity API</strong></a>. The main goal of the Interactivity API is to provide a standard and simple way to handle the frontend interactivity of Gutenberg blocks. This standard would make it easier for developers to create rich, interactive user experiences, from simple cases like counters or popups to more complex features like instant search, or carts and checkouts. In this session, you will learn more about this new developer API, through a live coding example. Sounds like great fun! </p>



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<p>In his article <a href="https://tommcfarlin.com/generate-a-reference-to-a-block/"><strong>Block Notes: Generate a Reference to a Block</strong></a>, <strong>Tom McFarlin</strong> explains the benefits of generating block references and how they can be utilized in block development. He provides code examples and step-by-step instructions on how to create a reusable block reference using JavaScript and jQuery. </p>



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<p>Block extension plugins in WordPress are quick and straightforward to build and are quite formulaic once you have built a few. During the latest <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9KKpIgNMNQ"><strong>Developer Hours: How to extend Core WordPress blocks</strong></a>, <strong>Ryan Welcher</strong> and <strong>Nick Diego</strong> walk through building an extension for the column block that allows users to reverse the display order on mobile devices.  It uses JavaScript on the front end for accessibility. You&#8217;ll learn three ways on how to do this: a Block Style, a Block variation and a custom block. <a href="https://github.com/ndiego/enable-column-direction">The example code </a>is available on GitHub. </p>



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<p class="has-text-align-right has-small-font-size"><em>Questions? Suggestions? Ideas? Don&#8217;t hesitate to send <a href="mailto:pauli@gutenbergtimes.com">them via email</a> or send me a message on WordPress Slack or Twitter @bph</em>. </p>



<p class="has-text-align-right has-small-font-size">For questions to be answered on the <a href="http://gutenbergtimes.com/podcast">Gutenberg Changelog</a>, send them to <a href="mailto:changelog@gutenbergtimes.com">changelog@gutenbergtimes.com</a></p>



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<p>Featured Image: <em>A Slice of Rainbow Cake</em> by Ajith R Nair</p>



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<p class="has-text-align-left"><strong>Don&#8217;t want to miss the next Weekend Edition? </strong></p>



<form class="wp-block-newsletterglue-form ngl-form ngl-portrait" action="https://gutenbergtimes.com/feed/" method="post"><div class="ngl-form-container"><div class="ngl-form-field"><label class="ngl-form-label" for="ngl_email"><br />Type in your Email address to subscribe.</label><div class="ngl-form-input"><input type="email" class="ngl-form-input-text" name="ngl_email" id="ngl_email" /></div></div><button type="submit" class="ngl-form-button">Subscribe</button><p class="ngl-form-text">We hate spam, too, and won&#8217;t give your email address to anyone except Mailchimp to send out our Weekend Edition</p></div><div class="ngl-message-overlay"><div class="ngl-message-svg-wrap"></div><div class="ngl-message-overlay-text">Thanks for subscribing.</div></div><input type="hidden" name="ngl_list_id" id="ngl_list_id" value="26f81bd8ae" /><input type="hidden" name="ngl_double_optin" id="ngl_double_optin" value="yes" /></form>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-css-opacity is-style-wide" />";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Sat, 02 Dec 2023 06:08:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:18:"Birgit Pauli-Haack";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:33;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:58:"Do The Woo Community: ChatGPT Told Me How I Can Do the Woo";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78585";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:57:"https://dothewoo.io/chatgpt-told-me-how-i-can-do-the-woo/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:377:"<p>How much can ChatGPT tell me about WooCommerce, and doing the Woo. Well, I found out and am sharing it in this weeks WooBits.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/chatgpt-told-me-how-i-can-do-the-woo/">ChatGPT Told Me How I Can Do the Woo</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Fri, 01 Dec 2023 13:12:22 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:34;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:112:"Do The Woo Community: Working on Different Open Source Platforms and More with Ian Gordon and Philip James Wylie";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=78581";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:111:"https://dothewoo.io/working-on-different-open-source-platforms-and-more-with-ian-gordon-and-philip-james-wylie/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:478:"<p>Ian and Philip from Kanuka Digital talk about WooCommerce, Magento, web specializations and the open source community.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/working-on-different-open-source-platforms-and-more-with-ian-gordon-and-philip-james-wylie/">Working on Different Open Source Platforms and More with Ian Gordon and Philip James Wylie</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Thu, 30 Nov 2023 13:04:51 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:35;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:56:"Gravatar: Introducing An All New Gravatar Profile Editor";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"http://blog.gravatar.com/?p=750";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:84:"https://blog.gravatar.com/2023/11/29/introducing-an-all-new-gravatar-profile-editor/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4589:"<p>We are thrilled to unveil the latest updates to Gravatar, better empowering you to personalize and own your online identity. Today, we introduce a new Profile Editor, three new profile fields, and enhanced Privacy settings for all users.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="what-is-gravatar">What is Gravatar?<a href="https://updateomattic.wordpress.com/2023/09/20/introducing-the-all-new-gravatar-plus-whats-next/#what-is-gravatar"></a></h2>



<p>Gravatar stands for “Globally Recognized Avatar” and is your digital signature across countless websites. By associating a single avatar image to your email address, Gravatar makes maintaining a consistent online presence simple.</p>



<p>Having gained popularity as a way to display avatars in blog comments, Gravatar has since extended its reach across the web — you&#8217;ll find your Gravatar in Slack, Open&nbsp;AI, Salesforce, and more. In addition to the avatar, you can build a free online profile to share with those you meet, bringing together all your social media and web accounts.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="the-new-profile-editor">The New Profile Editor<a href="https://updateomattic.wordpress.com/2023/09/20/introducing-the-all-new-gravatar-plus-whats-next/#the-new-profile-editor"></a></h2>



<p>We have completely redesigned the Profile Editor, providing an intuitive interface to customize and preview your Gravatar profile. Express yourself by adding a bio, verifying ownership of your social profiles, adding links, and more. The new Profile Editor lets you curate your online persona, making it easier for others to discover and connect with you.</p>



<p>It is faster, works great on mobile devices, and with this update, <strong><em>you can change the URL of your profile page</em></strong> too.</p>



<p>Log in at&nbsp;<a href="https://href.li/?https://gravatar.com">gravatar.com</a>&nbsp;now to try out the new editor.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="enhanced-privacy-settings">Enhanced Privacy Settings<a href="https://updateomattic.wordpress.com/2023/09/20/introducing-the-all-new-gravatar-plus-whats-next/#enhanced-privacy-settings"></a></h2>



<p>We’ve added <a href="https://support.gravatar.com/profiles/profile-access/">new privacy settings</a> that when enabled will ensure your profile data is private. We’ve also added new settings for users who want to discourage search engines from crawling and indexing their profiles.</p>



<img width="836" height="1042" src="https://gravatar.files.wordpress.com/2023/11/cleanshot-2023-11-29-at-11.35.51-2402x.png" alt="" class="wp-image-857" />



<p>We believe in transparency and empowering users to fully control their digital profiles. With many of the websites you use, there is confusion about the information being collected, how it is used, and when it is shared with third parties. As more Gravatar features are rolled out, you’ll see how we are flipping that model on its head by offering a transparent and open profile experience that puts you in the driver’s seat of your online identity.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Pronunciation and Contact Fields</h2>



<p>There are three new fields available in your profile, all of which were popular requests we&#8217;ve received.</p>



<p>You asked. We delivered:</p>



<ul>
<li>A &#8216;<strong>pronunciation</strong>&#8216; field in your About section. </li>



<li>A &#8216;<strong>contact form</strong>&#8216; field where you can link to a contact form on your website or blog.</li>



<li>A &#8216;<strong>calendar</strong>&#8216; field to link to a public appointment calendar like Calend.ly.</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What’s Next?</h2>



<p>If you&#8217;re paying close attention, you might notice that the profile image above looks a bit different from what you&#8217;re used to. We&#8217;ll be introducing some design improvements to public profile pages in the next few weeks.</p>



<p>We&#8217;ve got more exciting stuff in the pipeline that we can&#8217;t share just yet, but we&#8217;d love to hear from you. Drop a comment below with your thoughts and feedback!</p>



<p><a href="https://wordpress.com/log-in/link?client_id=1854&redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fpublic-api.wordpress.com%2Foauth2%2Fauthorize%3Fclient_id%3D1854%26response_type%3Dcode%26blog_id%3D0%26state%3Dac5a30e6451f6b87ee6a0ac0df70d79046ac480badb660ac4f3753fa70968c12%26redirect_uri%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fgravatar.com%252Fconnect%252F%253Faction%253Drequest_access_token%26from-calypso%3D1">And claim your personal Gravatar profile page today</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 29 Nov 2023 17:45:22 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"Ronnie Burt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:36;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:75:"WPTavern: #101 – Pooja Derashri on Creating Educational WordPress Content";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:48:"https://wptavern.com/?post_type=podcast&p=151581";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:89:"https://wptavern.com/podcast/101-pooja-derashri-on-creating-educational-wordpress-content";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:40167:"Transcript<div>
<p>[00:00:00] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Welcome to the Jukebox podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley.</p>



<p>Jukebox is a podcast which is dedicated to all things WordPress. The people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case creating materials to help other people learn about WordPress.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;d like to subscribe to the podcast, you could do that by searching for WP Tavern in your podcast player of choice. Or by going to WPTavern.com forward slash feed forward slash podcast. And you can copy that URL into most podcast players.</p>



<p>If you have a topic that you&#8217;d like us to feature on the podcast, I&#8217;m keen to hear from you and hopefully get you, or your idea, featured on the show. Head to WPTavern.com forward slash contact forward slash jukebox, and use the form there.</p>



<p>So on the podcast today, we have Pooja Derashri. Pooja is a co-founder of WPVibes, a plugin development company based in India. With a passion for WordPress, Pooja has been actively involved in the community since 2013. Her journey as a contributor began in 2017, when she attended her first local WordCamp. Her expertise and dedication have earned her various key roles in the WordPress ecosystem. She currently serves as a co-team rep for the training team, and GTE for the Hindi locale. In addition, she holds key positions in the WordPress release squad for version 6.3 and 6.4, where she headed up the test team.</p>



<p>Pooja was on the podcast a few weeks ago talking about diversity, but this time the focus is on creating learning materials for WordPress.</p>



<p>We begin discussing Pooja&#8217;s background and her involvement with the training team. She shares how she stumbled upon the training team during a WordCamp event, and got started by finding a simple spelling mistake in a lesson plan. From there she became more involved with the training team and gradually took on roles such as reviewing code and leading the test team.</p>



<p>We get into the importance of training materials in helping new users understand and navigate the WordPress platform, highlighting the learn WordPress website. Pooja emphasizes that contributions to the training team can be as small as reviewing existing content, or as involved as creating new lessons or video tutorials.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re curious about how to get started with the training team, Pooja explains the comprehensive onboarding program available in the team&#8217;s handbook. Additionally, there&#8217;s a mentorship guide program for one on one guidance for new contributors. Whether you have a few minutes or several hours to spare each week, there&#8217;s a place for everyone to make a start.</p>



<p>A key topic of the discussion is the need to keep the training materials up to date, as WordPress is a dynamic and ever-growing software. Pooja explains the team&#8217;s process of reviewing and updating content, particularly in light of new WordPress releases, and frequent changes in terminology.</p>



<p>We also talk about the importance of translations, introducing the opportunity for contributors to help with translating materials into different languages. Making WordPress accessible to a global audience.</p>



<p>Towards the end, Pooja highlights the supportive and collaborative nature of the training team. She shares her experience of making friends and connections across the globe while contributing to the team. There&#8217;s a sense of community and camaraderie amongst the contributors, making it an enjoyable journey for all involved.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re curious about helping others learn WordPress, this episode is for you.</p>



<p>If you&#8217;re interested in finding out more, you can find all of the links in the show notes by heading to WPTavern.com forward slash podcast, where you&#8217;ll find all the other episodes as well.</p>



<p>And so without further delay, I bring you Pooja Derashri.</p>



<p>I am joined on the podcast today by Pooja Derashri. Hi, Pooja.</p>



<p>[00:04:27] <strong>Pooja Derashri:</strong> Hello, Nathan.</p>



<p>[00:04:28] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> It is so nice to have you back. You were on the podcast just a few weeks ago now, talking about something completely different. We&#8217;ll point you in the direction of that episode in the show notes. But today, Pooja, we&#8217;re going to be talking about learning WordPress. About the training team and about the Learn WordPress website and resources.</p>



<p>Just before that, for those people who didn&#8217;t hear the previous episode, would you just give us a short biography? Tell us a little bit about yourself, your journey with WordPress and so on.</p>



<p>[00:04:59] <strong>Pooja Derashri:</strong> Yeah, sure. My name is Pooja Derashri and I&#8217;m from Ajmer, a beautiful city in India. I&#8217;m a co founder of WPVibes, a plugin development company. I&#8217;m also an active contributor to WordPress community. I served as a training team representative for the past two years, and now I&#8217;m serving as a test team rep. I was also in the WordPress release squad for 6.3 and 6.4 version, where I led the test team.</p>



<p>[00:05:27] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Thank you so much. That&#8217;s really great. So obviously you&#8217;re very, very committed to WordPress. And one of the big things about WordPress is getting people to understand how the software works. If you&#8217;re like me, and like you, Pooja, I suspect that it&#8217;s pretty obvious what to do with WordPress. You&#8217;ve used it an awful lot before, and you&#8217;re committed to it, and you understand how it all works.</p>



<p>But people who are new to the platform, or people who are trying to explore something that they haven&#8217;t used with it before, obviously have to learn a little bit about how that works. And it may be that people do not know. But there are training materials that are being created over at Learn WordPress. I will give the links in the show notes.</p>



<p>And that is being done and coordinated by the training team. Would you just tell us a little bit about how you got involved with the training team? When did you begin your journey and what kind of things have you been doing, personally, with training and learn materials?</p>



<p>[00:06:26] <strong>Pooja Derashri:</strong> Yes. Before telling me about my involvement, I would like to tell about how I got started contributing to the training team. I was attending a WordCamp, WordCamp Ahmedabad. There was a contributor day. There are several teams over there, and I decided to learn more about the training team.</p>



<p>On that day, Chetan Prajapati, the table lead of training team, guided me about what is Learn WordPress, and how I can contribute to it. So he guided me to review some lesson plans. When I was reviewing the lesson plans, I found a spelling mistake in one of the lesson plans. And I suggested a correction, simple correction. That was my first contribution to the team.</p>



<p>Basically I had a development background, so I was not sure how I can use my skills in creating content, or something like that. So I was not sure how I can get involved with the training team more, where all other team members were working around content.</p>



<p>But at that time Courtney Robertson and Hauwa Abashiya were the team reps. And the whole team was working on the initial launch of the Learn WordPress .org website. They, guided me on how I contribute to reviewing code in lesson plan. That was my cup of tea and I am fascinated about it. So I joined the forces, at the time, and soon felt very comfortable with the team.</p>



<p>Basically the training team overall helped me a lot in learning and growing. With the team&#8217;s help, I gradually started feeling more confident and part of the inaugural team. That time with my consistent contribution, or my involvement with the team, I was nominated and selected as a team rep back in 2022.</p>



<p>[00:08:09] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> That&#8217;s absolutely fascinating. So your entire journey started out by spotting a spelling mistake, and it grew from there. That&#8217;s lovely. But it also points to the fact that you don&#8217;t need to do something really seismic. You don&#8217;t have to be involved in the training team. You don&#8217;t have to do anything super major, it is possible to be involved to do little things.</p>



<p>You don&#8217;t have to dedicate absolutely ages of your week over to this. Would that be right? There&#8217;s no commitment in terms of time, or the amount that you&#8217;re going to do. Making little changes is just as important as contributing in a big way.</p>



<p>[00:08:45] <strong>Pooja Derashri:</strong> Yes, definitely. It was started just with his spelling mistake correction. And now I&#8217;m more involved with the administrator related things, running weekly meetings with other co-team reps, posting monthly updates, monthly newsletter, reviewing other team&#8217;s content, other team members content. I&#8217;m also a translation coordinator for my Hindi language.</p>



<p>Yeah, and in past I was also wrote few lesson plans. So yeah, it started with a small thing, and gradually with more involvement, I learned many new things.</p>



<p>[00:09:16] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> If somebody was interested, let&#8217;s say that they&#8217;ve listened to this episode and they are keen to, at least have further discussions about what it is that they could do. I&#8217;m, interested in you describing how the team is structured. So, as an example, if I&#8217;m new, how do I get onboarded, and how is it decided where I would be most useful?</p>



<p>So you mentioned a couple of things there, you know, you were talking about the fact that you were able to change spelling mistakes. But you also talked about the fact that you could do things in your own language.</p>



<p>Do you get to show up and pick what it is that you&#8217;re going to do, or is there a hierarchy? Are there people, such as yourself, who&#8217;ve been contributing to this for a while, who have their hands on what needs doing, and kind of farm out those projects to people?</p>



<p>[00:10:05] <strong>Pooja Derashri:</strong> Yes. At the beginning of this year, my co-team rep, Benjamin Evans, who worked on a project for an onboarding program for new contributors. And desperately it helped us win half of the battle. New contributors found learning and getting involved with the training team is very easy. They can find the complete getting onboarded program in our handbook. That is available on make.wordpress.org/training/handbook.</p>



<p>There is a section, getting started. There is a complete video and tutorial format, where they can find the step by step process about how they can involve. And by reading that handbook, they can find their own way to start contributing. That is very easy and concise way to get involved.</p>



<p>And there is also, a program, run by Courtney P. K., that is a mentorship guide program. There is a one on one mentorship program, where few mentors guide mentees about how they can start contributing to the training team, and help them to make meaningful contributions.</p>



<p>[00:11:08] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> Yeah, thank you for that. So, you&#8217;re obviously extremely keen on doing this, and it sounds like you dedicate quite a lot of your time. Again, for the listener who is maybe just coming across this subject for the first time, are there any guardrails, or are there any things which you would suggest, in terms of the amount of time that you need to dedicate if you want to be involved?</p>



<p>I know that you mentioned the handbook, but for people who don&#8217;t quite make it there and are using this podcast audio only as their guide, is there any level of commitment? Do you wish to have people who are willing to give a certain amount of time per week, or can commit to a certain number of weeks or months? Or are you happy to have anybody on board, even for a short period of time? People who drop in, drop out. Are you taking all comers?</p>



<p>[00:11:53] <strong>Pooja Derashri:</strong> Yes, definitely. If our listeners have only a limited time, like let&#8217;s say just half an hour, or one hour in a week. So they can review the content the other content creators are creating, already created content.</p>



<p>In every few months, we review our published content as well. Because as a new version, WordPress version launches, some of the content get outdated. So we always do the auditing the existing content, so people can go through with that content.</p>



<p>If they found any outdated content, or anything that is missing from lesson plans or video tutorials, they can report our issues on GitHub that is dedicated, learn repository over there. They can report issue over there, and other team members can have a look and try to fix them.</p>



<p>So that is the lesser time. If new contributor have lesser time to contribute, they can go through with that reviewing process.</p>



<p>[00:12:45] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> So there&#8217;s no need to commit a great deal of time. Small contributions are just as welcome as large contributions.</p>



<p>I&#8217;m just going to turn the conversation to you, Pooja, just for a few minutes. And I&#8217;m curious as what you get out of it. I don&#8217;t mean that in the way that it maybe sounds, but I&#8217;m keen to know why you commit so much of your time.</p>



<p>You mentioned at the top of the podcast recording that you&#8217;ve obviously got a business to run. You&#8217;ve got other things to do. You&#8217;ve got to generate revenue for you, and the people close to you, and all of that. So I&#8217;m just wondering why it is that you do this. What are the reasons you do it? And I suppose we should clear up the fact that getting paid is not one of them, because this is an entirely voluntary position.</p>



<p>[00:13:29] <strong>Pooja Derashri:</strong> Yeah. I&#8217;m volunteering all my time to the training team, I&#8217;m self sponsored. So no, I&#8217;m not getting paid from anywhere. But, as I already told you, that I was having a background of development. So, in contributing in training team, I got to know more about how content works around. How we can record a video tutorial, how we can write a lesson plan, many things around SEO.</p>



<p>And when we work together, other content creator experts, we learn a lot. So by contributing into training team, I learned a lot about content creation, and that newly gained skills, I can use in my business. So it&#8217;s kind of win win situation.</p>



<p>[00:14:13] <strong>Nathan Wrigley:</strong> That&#8217;s nice. In terms of how the team is organised, if I was to join in, and obviously you&#8217;ve described that there&#8217;s a handbook and it can probably answer many of these questions, but it&#8217;s nice to get it out into the audio. How are tasks assigned? How do the training team, and all of the things that they do, how are those jobs coordinated? Is there a piece of software that we need to be familiar with? Is this all done through Slack or something else?</p>



<p>In other words, if we were to join, how would we know what needed to be done? And report the things that we had done so that they could be checked and approved and so on. Basically, how does it all work in the background?</p>
