In December 2020, we reported on a new antitrust lawsuit against Google that claimed AMP was created for the purpose of pushing publishers away from “header bidding.” This is an advertising mechanism that allows sites to route their ad inventory through several ad exchanges and sell the space to the highest bidder. At that time it …
Author: me_anil
The ‘Pattern’ Block and How It Fixes a Longstanding Issue With Dynamic Data in HTML Templates
As I was perusing the latest block themes on WordPress.org, I came across a new favorite: Bai. The typography was on point for those who tend to write long-form content. Plus, it has a built-in dark mode design that did not make me want to rip my eyes from their sockets. I had planned to …
Gutenberg Contributors Focus Efforts on Navigation Block for WordPress 5.9, Navigation Editor Punted to Future Release
Gutenberg contributors have shifted their efforts to focus on the Navigation Block ahead of WordPress 5.9, leaving the Navigation Editor for a future release. Recent check-ins on the progress have further narrowed the scope from what Matias Ventura previously projected to include “both the navigation block and navigation screen projects.” “The Nav Editor will not …
Designing Block-Based WordPress Child Themes With a Single JSON File
From the moment I opened my first theme shop back in 2008 to the present day as someone who merely tinkers, my plan has always been to build a single theme in the mold of CSS Zen Garden. This was a project that Dave Shea launched in the early 2000s to show how designers could …
WPChill Takes Over Gutenberg Forms, Plans To Shake Up the Free Forms Market
WPChill is now the owner of Gutenberg Forms, a project created by Munir Kamal. While still rough around the edges a year ago, the plugin was updated regularly and was something to at least keep an eye on as it matured. Extendify acquired it alongside Kamal’s Editor Plus and Gutenberg Hub at the end of …
Branded Social Images, a New Plugin for Generating Per-Post Open Graph Images
Generated social images seem to be all the rage now. Automattic scooped up Daniel Post’s Social Image Generator last month for eventual inclusion in Jetpack. There is a proposal to dynamically generate them for plugins and themes hosted on WordPress.org. And, there is a new player in town: Branded Social Images. Admittedly, I have had …
Jetpack Launches Commercial Backup Feature as a Standalone Plugin
Jetpack is splitting out its commercial Backup feature into a standalone plugin that can be used without installing the core Jetpack plugin. The commercial product includes automated daily or real-time backups with one-click restores, even for sites that are offline. Backups include all WordPress database, theme, and plugin files, which are stored on WordPress.com’s infrastructure …
The HeroPress Network Launches Find It WP, a Cooperative Resource Archive for WordPress
Two weeks ago, Cate and Topher DeRosia launched the HeroPress Network, a centralized website that would host various projects for helping people with WordPress. Today, the duo announced the opening of Find It WP, a new site that is part of the collective. It will serve as a database or archive of all things WordPress. …
Software Freedom Conservancy Takes On Vizio in Lawsuit Alleging GPL Violations
Inside of a Vizio TV – Model V435-J01 – photo credit: Software Freedom Conservancy The Software Freedom Conservancy announced that it is suing Vizio, an American TV manufacturer, for what it alleges are “repeated failures to fulfill even the basic requirements of the General Public License (GPL).” The 501(c)(3) charity organization is a non-profit that …
Tidying the Media Library With WP Ninjas’ Remove Unused Media Plugin
A few weeks ago, WP Ninjas announced it was stepping into the media optimization plugin market. The team released its Remove Unused Media plugin as a commercial project for tidying storage space. I received a full copy of it and put it through the ropes. With so many commercial plugins, I am accustomed to the …
Build Notification Banners With ElmaStudio’s Latest Block Plugin
A friend and I were discussing the need for more one-off block plugins earlier today. He had mentioned that WordPress has this powerful block search feature that rarely turns up anything useful. Most are part of collections that do not appear in the results. This was part of a more wide-ranging conversation that I am …
Gutenberg Contributors Propose Renaming Reusable Blocks
WordPress’ Reusable blocks may soon be getting re-named, as the feature’s distinct capabilities are less recognizable from its name following the introduction of patterns. When the Gutenberg project first took off, nobody had any idea how important patterns would become in the page building experience, or that they would be getting their own directory on …