Tidbits from Brian - Issue #21
Is WordPress heading in the right direction? Or is it just a confusing mess? 🤔
I had a great time chatting with the folks on the WP-Tonic podcast earlier today. However, after our conversation, it got me thinking about how convoluted WordPress really is right now, especially for those who might be launching their very first website. Even though I work in the space full-time, I’m still running across new problems every single day. Sometimes it feels like a constant game of whack-a-mole. 🥴
If someone asked me right now what they should use to launch their first online store, Shopify or Wix look like a good choice. These platforms did one thing very well, their workflows, onboarding, UI, etc., are all very beginner-friendly. There aren’t a thousand different choices or things that can break.
However, I would also point out that this is part of what makes WordPress great. Being open-source gives us all sorts of options. But is that just the tinker inside of me? The older I get, the more I prefer simplifying my life, not complicating it. So it makes me wonder how others view it.
With that being said, I’m still excited about the future of WordPress, and it’s where I’ll continue to dedicate my time. I think in a couple of years, some of these issues, specifically around full-site editing, naming conventions, blocks, etc., will slip away. However, we’re not there yet; it will be a bumpy ride for a bit longer.
Updates ✍️
We pushed out an update for our Perfmatters WordPress plugin this month. Here are a few of the changes:
New WP-CLI support for managing plugin license key activation. 🔑
Improved disable cart fragments to only load the script when items are in the cart.
Updated lazy loading fade-in effect to use CSS animation property instead of transition for better compatibility with existing element transitions.
Added Delay JS quick exclusions for Bricks Slider and WP Armour.
Added default array for critical image preload exclusions that are always needed.
Added built-in exclusions for remove unused CSS for better compatibility with Elementor and Google Reviews Widget.
Added requirement for advanced options to be turned on to defer jQuery.
Added WP-CLI request exclusion to MU plugin functions.
Updated instant.page library to version 5.2.0.
We also pushed out an update for our Novashare WordPress plugin. Here are a few of the changes:
New Pinterest image pin options for button and icon colors. 📌
New Pinterest image pin filter to add any hook to exclude the button from printing.
Added logic to display a message if global styles are needed for a block.
Fixed an issue that was preventing the icon hover color from showing.
Fixed an encoding issue with the copy button alert function.
Fixed an issue where the main stylesheet was loading in some instances where it didn’t need to be. ⚡
Interesting things 🔎
Misc.
Fun fact: 40 years ago, the average cost for 1GB of storage was $238,000. Today it’s $0.01. 🤯 See bigger timeline.
Raycast pushed out some great updates. They’ve optimized snippet injections, and you can now pin emoji and symbols to keep them at the top of the results.
I agree 100% with Eric on why sites shouldn’t be using custom scrollbars.
Is YouTube testing a three-strikes policy for ad blocking? This could get interesting.
WordPress
Demand for WordPress is up 11.3% over the last 12 months, and demand for WooCommerce is up 1.0% over the same period. That is a lot! 📈
Easy Digital Downloads pushed out a bunch of updates this month for Stripe, EDD core, and Software Licensing. See all the changes.
Gravatar profiles have gotten a makeover. You can now add payment links.
WordPress.org enables commercial and community filters on the plugin and theme directories.
Speaking of distinctions, Cristian shared an interesting thread on why he has to stop offering support on free plugins. I completely understand his decision.
Fluent Forms 5.0 has been released with a new UI, power-packed features, and official support for PHP 8.2.
We love seeing feedback on our Novashare plugin. Check out these reviews from BloggingTry and WPGIZ.
GenerateBlocks beta (free and pro) is out with more control and improved UX.
group.one (the owners of WP Rocket and one.com) have acquired the Rank Math SEO plugin.
DevKinsta 2.11.0 is out! You can now clone existing DevKinsta sites and turn WordPress automatic updates on or off.
Performance
Google reCAPTCHA is a performance killer. I put together a doc about some great free alternatives you can use for faster speeds and better UX.
Search Console is adding INP issue reporting to the Core Web Vitals report to help you prepare for changes coming in March 2024.
Kinsta is running its first ever sale! New customers can get 4 months off on annual WordPress hosting plans until the end of July. That's a 33% discount. 🔥
WooCommerce is getting a much-needed speed update with High-Performance Order Storage. Looking forward to this.
Cloudflare Speed Week had big announcements: HTTP/3 Prioritization, Cloudflare Snippets, Smart Hints, and Railgun being deprecated.
I’ve been using DebugBear in a lot of my speed testing lately. It’s a great way to double-check data from PageSpeed Insights.
An interesting case study on how Kinsta used Cloudflare Workers and Workers KV to improve cache hit rates by 56%.
The team at WP Hive published an in-depth review of our Perfmatters plugin.
Marketing
Annoying by the Twitter scrollbar? It seems like they keep adding menu times and forgot to fix this. Either way, here is an easy way to fix it with an ad blocker. 🚫
iOS 17 automatically removes tracking parameters from links you click on. It will be interesting to see how this impacts marketers.
Exciting updates for Confluence and Trello users. Whiteboards and AI are coming. There are also improvements when using the products together.
Wow, Google Domains is being shut down, and everything is being moved to Squarespace. 🤦 I recommend moving to Namecheap or Cloudflare. Simon also posted a thread with some interesting alternatives to check out.
As someone who has worked remotely for nine years with multiple teams (some spread across the globe), I wouldn't have it any other way. A great thread!
MailerLite is raising prices on July 10th. However, it’s still cheaper than its competitors. Lately, though, I’ve become a big fan of Substack.
Google has filed a lawsuit to dissuade scammers from using Google Maps and Business Profiles to post fake businesses and fake reviews.
I have three invite codes for Bluesky. First come, first serve.
bsky-social-wbbxc-bahkh
bsky-social-hhd5l-jr7ax
bsky-social-chhsi-w3mjg
AI
It’s almost scary how easy it is to make charts with the help of AI. 🤖
The new Midjourney 5.2 zoom-out feature is pretty impressive.
According to an employee at Microsoft, Bing Chat might be coming to other browsers soon. I would love to make a Chrome web app for it.
With the recent Bard updates, it now generates nicely formatted tables and has an easy export to Google Sheets.
I’m not a big fan of Jetpack, but their new AI assistant feature looks pretty cool.
Ever need to create a quick bullet list of a block of text? AI makes this super easy, just paste the text and ask for it in a bullet list format.
Bitcoin (not financial advice)
The Bitkey beta testing program has launched. Applications are open through June 30th.
If you love stats, check out TimechainStats. Probably the best bitcoin data dashboard ever created.
The state of Texas is rapidly becoming the Silicon Valley of crypto.
Strike now uses its own infrastructure. Cutting out intermediaries is always important for user safety and reliability.
Speaking of Strike, they now allow users to send cross-border payments from the U.S. to phone numbers, debit cards, and bank accounts in Mexico. 🇲🇽
Check out this immersion-cooled bitcoin mining facility in Norcross, Georgia. Pretty cool stuff!
Based on the data, bitcoin mining is currently the highest user of sustainable energy (52.6%) across sub-sectors.
Jack Dorsey pledges $5 million to help bitcoin core developers.
BlackRock files bitcoin ETF application with the SEC. Will this be the first spot ETF to get approved? Their success rate is an impressive 571 to 1.
Speaking of bitcoin ETFs, ARK says it’s first in line. Fidelity has also refiled its ETF application. Institutional adoption appears to be coming. But we’ll see.
If you're ever in the Scottsdale, AZ area, hit me up, and we can grab lunch! 🥗👋