WordPress 6.4 “Shirley”

Posted by download | Posted in Software | Posted on 07-11-2023

Record cover with an image of Shirley Horn, a record sliding down the right side, and the words Shirley WordPress 6.4.

Say hello to WordPress 6.4 “Shirley,” named after the iconic jazz artist Shirley Horn. Her distinctive voice and extraordinary connection to the piano established her as one of the leading jazz musicians of her generation. Horn’s journey from the Washington D.C. jazz scene to the international stage is a testament to her dedication and perseverance. Her influence reached far beyond the confines of traditional jazz, breaking boundaries and inspiring audiences worldwide.

Enjoy the easy pace of Shirley Horn’s music as you take in all that 6.4 offers.

This latest version of WordPress introduces a new, versatile default theme and a suite of upgrades to empower every step of your creative journey. Craft your content seamlessly with further writing improvements. Explore more ways to bring your vision to life and streamline site editing with enhanced tools. Whether you’re new to WordPress or an experienced creator, “Shirley” has something for you. Discover the unmatched flexibility of building with blocks and let your ideas take flight.

Many of the features and enhancements in WordPress 6.4 fall in the “small but mighty” category. Along with the adaptable beauty of the Twenty Twenty-Four theme, these updates help content creators and site developers alike save time and effort while delivering the high value, low hassle WordPress experience the world has grown to expect.

Josepha Haden Chomphosy, Executive Director of WordPress

What’s inside 6.4

Meet Twenty Twenty-Four

Experience site editing at its finest with Twenty Twenty-Four. This new multi-faceted default theme has been thoughtfully crafted with three distinct use cases in mind, from writers and artists to entrepreneurs. Save time and effort with its extensive collection of over 35 templates and patterns—and unlock a world of creative possibilities with a few tweaks. Twenty Twenty-Four’s remarkable flexibility ensures an ideal fit for almost any type of site. Check it out in this demo.

Cropped screenshots of the Twenty Twenty-Four theme, showing its diverse use cases for photographers, bloggers, and small businesses.

Let your writing flow

New enhancements ensure your content creation journey is smooth. Find new keyboard shortcuts in List View, smarter list merging, and enhanced control over link settings. A cohesive toolbar experience for the Navigation, List, and Quote blocks lets you work efficiently with the tooling options you need.

Screenshot of a Quote block showing its improved toolbar and the text "Études has saved us thousands of hours of work and has unlock insights we never thought possible."

The Command Palette just got better

First introduced in WordPress 6.3, the Command Palette is a powerful tool to quickly find what you need, perform tasks efficiently, and speed up your building workflow. Enjoy a refreshed design and new commands to perform block-specific actions in this release.

Screenshot of the refreshed UI of the Command Palette. It displays a search bar with the words "Search for commands" and a variety of shortcuts listed below, including "Add new page," "Preview in a new tab," and "Patterns."

Categorize and filter patterns

Patterns are an excellent way to leverage the potential of blocks and simplify your site-building process. WordPress 6.4 allows you to organize them with custom categories. Plus, new advanced filtering in the Patterns section of the inserter makes finding all your patterns more intuitive.

Screenshot of the Site Editor's patterns view which shows a list of patterns with custom categories, such as "About," "Banners," and "Call to Action," patterns.

Get creative with more design tools

Build beautiful and functional layouts with an expanded set of design tools. Play with background images in Group blocks for unique designs and maintain image dimensions consistent with placeholder aspect ratios. Do you want to add buttons to your Navigation block? Now you can do it conveniently without a line of code.

Decorative image with text "Background images in Group blocks."

Make your images stand out

Enable lightbox functionality to let your site visitors enjoy full-screen, interactive images on click. Apply it globally or to specific images to customize the viewing experience.

Decorative photo of a triangular building structure with a "click to expand" icon on the right top corner.

Rename Group blocks

Set custom names for Group blocks to organize and distinguish areas of your content easily. These names will be visible in List View.

Screenshot of the List View tool. It shows a Group block renamed as "Hero Area" with inner Group blocks also with custom names, such as "Content," "Images," and "Call to action."

Preview images in List View

New previews for Gallery and Image blocks in List View let you visualize and locate where images on your content are at a glance.

Screenshot of the List View tool, showing the new image previews for the Image and Gallery blocks.

Share patterns across sites

Need to use your custom patterns on another site? Import and export them as JSON files from the Site Editor’s patterns view.

Screenshot showing the "Import pattern from JSON files" option from the Site Editor's patterns view.

Introducing Block Hooks

Block Hooks enables developers to automatically insert dynamic blocks at specific content locations, enriching the extensibility of block themes through plugins. While considered a developer tool, this feature is geared to respect your preferences and gives you complete control to add, dismiss, and customize auto-inserted blocks to your needs.

Cropped screenshot showing a mini shopping cart (in a red dotted circle) inserted into a navigation menu by Block Hooks.

Performance wins

This release includes more than 100 performance-related updates for a faster and more efficient experience. Notable enhancements focus on template loading performance for themes (including Twenty Twenty-Four), usage of the script loading strategies “defer” and “async” in core, blocks, and themes, and optimization of autoloaded options.

Accessibility highlights

Every release is committed to making WordPress accessible to everyone. WordPress 6.4 brings several List View improvements and aria-label support for the Navigation block, among other highlights. The admin user interface includes enhancements to button placements, “Add New” menu items context, and Site Health spoken messages. Learn more about all the updates aimed at improving accessibility.

Other notes of interest

Learn more about WordPress 6.4

Check out the new WordPress 6.4 page to learn more about the numerous enhancements and features of this release.

Explore Learn WordPress for quick how-to videos, online workshops, and other free resources to level up your WordPress knowledge and skills.

If you are looking for detailed technical notes on new changes, the WordPress 6.4 Field Guide is for you. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Developer Blog to stay on top of the latest development updates, tutorials, and more.

For more information on installation, fixes, and file changes, visit the 6.4 release notes.

The 6.4 release squad

​​The WordPress 6.4 release comes to you from an underrepresented gender release squad to welcome and empower diverse voices in the WordPress open source project.

Being part of the 6.4 release coordination team has allowed me to closely observe the intricate release process, where every detail, no matter how minor, is meticulously addressed—taking into account various factors like performance and backward compatibility. There’s still much to learn, but I feel fortunate to have had the chance to contribute to WordPress 6.4.

Akshaya Rane, 6.4 release coordinator team member

Over several weeks, the 6.4 release squad kept the release on track and moving forward by leading collective work, connecting ideas, and removing roadblocks.

Thank you, contributors

WordPress believes in democratizing publishing and the freedoms that come with open source. Supporting this idea is a global and diverse community of people working together to strengthen the software.

WordPress 6.4 reflects the countless efforts and passion of more than 600 contributors in at least 56 countries. This release also welcomed over 170 first-time contributors!

Their collaboration delivered more than 1150 enhancements and fixes, ensuring a stable release for all—a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress open source community.

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Over 60 locales have translated 90 percent or more of WordPress 6.4 into their language. Community translators are working hard to ensure more translations are on their way. Thank you to everyone who helps make WordPress available in 200 languages.

Last but not least, thanks to the volunteers who contribute to the support forums by answering questions from WordPress users worldwide.

Get involved

Participation in WordPress is not limited to coding. If contributing appeals to you, learning more and getting involved is easy. Discover the teams that come together to Make WordPress, and use this interactive tool to help you decide which is right for you.

Looking ahead

Over the past two decades, WordPress has transformed the digital publishing landscape and empowered anyone to create and share, from handcrafted personal stories to world-changing movements.

The present and future of WordPress hold exciting opportunities for everyone, builders and enterprises alike. The foundational work for Phase 3 of the roadmap continues, with efforts focused on fostering real-time collaboration and streamlining publishing flows to improve how creators and teams work together in WordPress.

Stay on top of the latest news and contributing opportunities by subscribing to WordPress News and the WP Briefing podcast.

A release haiku

The smooth feel of jazz
The cutting-edge of the web
Install 6.4

Learn to Design Your Own Theme in Our Newest Webinar

Posted by download | Posted in Software | Posted on 06-11-2023

Choosing your site’s design is a crucial first step in the creation of any new website and is key to conveying your brand or message online. Our new option to “Design Your Own Theme” revolutionizes this process by introducing predefined Block Patterns, which act as modular elements for your unique design.

This groundbreaking tool provides a straightforward point-and-click interface for quick layout and style adjustments, streamlining the design process. You can now add, remove, and rearrange entire sections of your site layout with ease—saving time traditionally spent on manual construction. This allows you to freely explore different design ideas in a user-friendly playground that encourages exploration and experimentation.

Join us for this enlightening webinar where we will demonstrate how to work with this new tool to create a custom website in minutes. We will then explore the various ways Block Patterns can be used in the page editor to construct unique layouts for any page or area of your website. The session is free to attend and will conclude with a live Q&A to address all your questions.

Also presenting: “Picking the Perfect Plugin”

Expand your website’s range of features through the strategic use of plugins. In this popular webinar, our Happiness Engineers will educate you on the selection, analysis, and management of both free and paid plugins to boost your WordPress.com site. Gain specialized understanding to make decisions that are right for your unique website.  

As with all of our webinars, this session is free to attend, and we will follow our live presentation with an open Q&A to answer all your plugin questions.

Meet Site Profiler: Instant Access to Everything You’ll Ever Need to Know About Any Domain

Posted by download | Posted in Software | Posted on 02-11-2023

Site Profiler is a fast, accurate, and ad-free tool designed to provide WHOIS and hosting information about any domain. Whether you’re a domain owner or just curious about where a site is hosted, Site Profiler is a fast way to pull up the details you need.

Just drop in any URL and you’ll have the hosting and domain registration details right at your fingertips. It’s free, simple, and user-friendly.

Why use Site Profiler?

  • Fast and accurate: Get precise domain information fast.
  • Ad-free experience: Focus on what matters without distractions.
  • Free to use: Absolutely no charge for using Site Profiler.
  • Check for domain availability: You can enter any domain, check if it’s available, and register it immediately through WordPress.com.

A simpler way to switch

With Site Profiler, you can drop in a URL, check the details, and make the switch all from one place—whether you’ve moving a domain over or an entire website. Google Domains customers can transfer their domain(s) to WordPress.com for free, and if you decide to add a paid website plan, too, your first year of domain fees is on us. And if you’re considering moving your entire site, please take advantage of our 7-day free trial for a risk-free, seamless site transfer. Learn more at wordpress.com/move.

What’s coming next?

We’re not done with the Site Profiler just yet. Stay tuned for additional features like performance and security scans to make this tool even more powerful. 

What other site analyses would you like to see in the Site Profiler? Let us know in the comments.

Get started today

Check a site, transfer your domain, and find all the details for any domain under the sun, with Site Profiler. Explore the tool here.

WordPress 6.4 Release Candidate 3

Posted by download | Posted in Software | Posted on 01-11-2023

The third release candidate (RC3) for WordPress 6.4 is ready to download!

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it’s recommended that you evaluate RC3 on a test server and site.

WordPress 6.4 is slated for release on November 7, 2023—less than a week away. If you haven’t tried it, now is the time.

You can test WordPress 6.4 RC3 in three ways:

  1. Plugin: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).
  2. Direct download: Download the RC3 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress site.
  3. Command line: Use the following WP-CLI command:
    wp core update --version=6.4-RC3

Read the RC1 announcement for featured highlights, and check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.4-related posts. If you are looking for detailed technical notes on new features and improvements, the WordPress 6.4 Field Guide is for you.

The WordPress 6.4 release is brought to you by an underrepresented gender release squad to welcome the participation and partnership of those who identify as gender-underrepresented in the WordPress open source project.

What’s in WordPress 6.4 RC3?

Thanks to everyone who has tested the beta and RC releases. Since RC2 was released on October 24, there have been more than 25 issues resolved. You can browse the technical details for all recent updates using these links:

PHP compatibility update

It’s recommended to use PHP 8.1 or 8.2 with the upcoming 6.4 release. Refer to WordPress 6.4’s PHP compatibility post for more details.

Contributing to 6.4

WordPress is open source software made possible by a community of people collaborating on and contributing to its development. The resources below outline various ways you can help, regardless of your technical expertise.

Get involved in testing

Your feedback and help in testing are vital to developing the WordPress software and ensuring its quality. It’s also a meaningful way for anyone to contribute. Check out this guide for instructions on testing WordPress 6.4 features.

The core Query block requires more testing and feedback to ensure the latest changes to prevent full page reloads work smoothly. Please note that this setting was called “Enhanced pagination” but has recently been renamed, and it’s now referred to as “Force page reload” instead.

If you encounter an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums or directly to WordPress Trac if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.

Curious about testing releases in general? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.

Search for vulnerabilities

During the release candidate phase of WordPress 6.4, the monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities is doubled. Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.

Update your theme or plugin

Do you build themes and plugins? Your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for users worldwide.

Hopefully, you have already tested your themes and plugins with WordPress 6.4 betas. With RC3, you will want to continue your testing and update the “Tested up to” version in your plugin’s readme file to 6.4.

Please post detailed information to the support forums if you find compatibility issues.

Documentation

Help the Docs team put the finishing touches on end-user documentation in time for the 6.4 release. Find out what’s needed and how you can help in this post.

Help translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? ¿Español? Français? Português? Русский? 日本? Help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages.

A RC3 haiku

One more week of prep
One more week to test the code
One more week til launch

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @meher, @rmartinezduque, @sereedmedia, @jorbin, @luisherranz, @marybaum.

NaNoWriMo + WordPress.com = The Ultimate Author’s Toolkit 

Posted by download | Posted in Software | Posted on 30-10-2023

NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, is an annual event where writers from all over the world challenge themselves to write a novel in just one month. It’s a celebration of creativity, determination, and the power of storytelling.

In addition to sponsoring NaNoWriMo, WordPress.com is offering a special gift to this year’s participants as a way to reward your efforts in this exciting challenge. Read on for more information.  

WordPress was born from the desire to help anyone tell their story, so we’ve always had a close bond with authors. Below are a number of ways a WordPress.com site can help you on your writing journey.

Write your novel on your WordPress.com blog

WordPress pages and posts are flexible enough for you to write the entire novel on your site. Here’s how you can structure your site to make the writing process seamless. See this guide for step by step instructions.

Organize your pages 

Define how and where your content will be organized. Whether it’s chapters, characters, settings, or any other category, WordPress.com provides the flexibility you need.

Just write

Each post can represent a chapter, and you have full control to edit or re-order your content as you see fit.

Let your readers read

Let the world read your masterpiece or only share it with a select audience. You decide! Utilizing a paywall or newsletter setup may work well for your goals.

But what if you don’t want to write the actual novel within your blog? How can a WordPress.com blog help in that case? In plenty of ways, actually.

Build anticipation with your website

One of the most powerful tools an author has in their arsenal is anticipation. Building excitement and intrigue around your book, even before its release, can be a game-changer. And what better way to do this than with a WordPress.com website? Here’s how:

Intriguing sneak peeks 

Share short snippets from your novel on your blog. These tantalizing glimpses into your plot can pique the interest of potential readers and keep them coming back for more.

Character deep dives 

Everyone loves a well-developed character. Use your blog to discuss the backstories of some of your characters. By giving readers a deeper understanding of your characters’ motivations and histories, you can get them invested in their journeys even before they pick up your book.

Share your progress 

Keep your readers in the loop by announcing your progress as you write. Whether it’s hitting a word count milestone or completing a particularly challenging chapter, sharing these moments can build a sense of community and excitement.

Exclusive sign-ups 

Allow readers to sign up for newsletters or alerts. They can be the first to know about your novel’s release date, receive exclusive content, or even get special discounts.

Book signing and event announcements 

If you’re planning book signings, readings, or other events, your blog is the perfect place to let your readers know. It’s a great way to meet your fans in person and build a stronger connection with them.

Engage with your readers 

Use the comments section of your blog to engage with your readers. Answer their questions, discuss plot theories, or simply thank them for their support. This two-way interaction can foster a deeper connection between you and your audience.

In essence, a WordPress.com blog isn’t just a platform for sharing your work; it’s a dynamic space where you can engage with your readers, build anticipation, and create a community around your novel. So, as you embark on your NaNoWriMo journey, remember that your website can be an invaluable companion, helping you connect with readers every step of the way.

Our special offer for NaNoWriMo participants

To support all the budding authors out there, we’re offering a special 20% discount on the first year of an annual plan. So, if you’ve been thinking about starting a blog or website, now is the perfect time. Check out our Plans & Pricing for more details, and use the coupon code nanowrimo2023 to claim your discount.

Whether you’re a seasoned author or just starting out, WordPress.com is the perfect platform to support your writing journey. We’re excited to be a part of NaNoWriMo 2023 and can’t wait to see all the incredible stories that will emerge from this challenge. 

Happy writing!

WP Briefing: Episode 65: Little Sun Success

Posted by download | Posted in Software | Posted on 30-10-2023

Join WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy as she looks at a recent WordPress success story, the clean energy solution Little Sun, and learns about their WordPress story.

Have a question you’d like answered? You can submit them to wpbriefing@wordpress.org, either written or as a voice recording.

Credits

Host: Josepha Haden Chomphosy
Special Guest: Romane Guégan
Special Guest: Ashley Mrozek
Editor: Dustin Hartzler
Logo: Javier Arce
Production: Brett McSherry
Song: Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod

Show Notes

  • Website: Little Sun
  • Small List of Big Things
    • State of the Word – This year’s annual keynote, State of the Word, will be on December 11. Save the date to hear the WordPress project’s co-founder, Matt Mullenweg, share reflections on the project’s progress and aspirations for the future of open source.
    • Celebrating 10,000 Photos in the WordPress Photo Directory – On October 11, the 10,000th photo was approved! The Photo Team is one of the newest ways to contribute to the WordPress open source project.
    • Community Team Training #11: Using the Translate Live tool – Uncover the potential of the “Translate Live” tool, which is ideal for presenting at local meetups to engage and onboard new translators for your native language. If you’re organizing a WordCamp, consider introducing this tool during your Contributor Day.
    • A New WordPress Showcase – The journey to update WordPress.org continues with the launch of a new Showcase design. The Showcase is a natural starting point for visitors arriving on WordPress.org, and it both inspires creativity and demonstrates what’s possible with WordPress.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Josepha: 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’m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Here we go.

[00:00:28] (Intro music) 

[00:00:40] Josepha: Today, I’ve got a special guest with me. I have here a couple of folks from Little Sun, a nonprofit organization that recently moved its entire online presence to WordPress. And we’re talking everything from their mission statement and donations all the way to their blog and shop.

Welcome both to the WordPress Briefing. 

[00:00:59] Ashley: Thank you.

[00:01:00] Romane: Thank you. 

[00:01:01] Josepha: We have with us Little Sun today. Can you start by introducing yourselves and your organization? Just tell us a little bit about what you all do. 

[00:01:08] Romane: Hi, my name is Romane Guégan. I’m a Senior Press and Communications Manager at Little Sun. 

[00:01:14] Ashley: And I am Ashley Mrozek. I’m the Senior Digital Manager. 

[00:01:17] Josepha: So what does Little Sun do for the folks who are listening and maybe don’t know about it yet? 

[00:01:22] Romane: Little Sun brings full power and light to communities that live off the grid, with the focus on sub-Saharan Africa because most of the people who lack access to electricity and need them. And we also inspire people to take climate action globally. 

[00:01:39] Ashley: So access to solar energy helps kids who don’t have electricity and study at night. They can complete their homework at night. If their schools are in a more rural area, they will have a light to kind of guide them back home.

We also work on a lot of electric vocation projects and hospitals. So we’re, we’re kind of supporting labors that are, are taking place in the evening, after the sun goes down, among other things. 

[00:02:07] Josepha: Yeah. It’s, I, I think that that is one of the things that folks, probably most of my listeners, probably take for granted, like the easy access to light. And as we all know, the sun is around a lot. And so that is one of our most readily available resources other than potentially wind power. But I think that that is a great mission. And I really think that that’s wonderful work that y’all are doing.

So, is there a particular reason that you focus on sub-Saharan Africa? Is that where you find a majority of people who don’t have access to that kind of resource are? 

[00:02:43] Romane: Yeah. 70% of those people actually need in sub-Saharan Africa, where solar is actually a viable source of energy. Actually, it’s only 1% of solar, of the solar capital of the generation when we actually deliver solar energy there because there is so much potential.

[00:03:04] Josepha: That’s amazing. So you said that you all were funded in 2012. I imagine that your business has evolved over time. So, obviously, you all are WordPress users. That’s why we have you here with us today. But before we get into the questions about WordPress itself. Why don’t you tell us a bit about how your business needs evolved over time and how you wound up needing a solution that did use WordPress?

[00:03:31] Ashley: So I would say our focus and kind of the different initiatives that we’ve taken on since 2012 have shifted a lot based on various reasons, where our donors are, where we’ve kind of found the most need, and where we can be the most impactful.

And I think as we go into those new geographies, our online presence has become more and more important. 

[00:03:55] Josepha: So, before you all switched to WordPress, I understand that you had several sites that you had to merge into one. And so I assume that as you evolved the business and your focus has changed, you realized you needed something a bit more streamlined. So, how was that transition, that migration from a lot of different sites to one big site? 

[00:04:17] Romane: Yeah, because we started as a global project. And then, with the time, we evolved, actually also getting new donations. And in the past, we used to have one website where we have our webshop and our mission, our vision, all of our project descriptions.

But then we had another website only for the foundation. And then you had another foundation in the U.S. So it was the question, okay, how do we put everything together? So we actually switched from littlesun.com to littlesun.org with WordPress, and it was amazing to see how we managed with the team to create an ecosystem approach, including impact, but also sales, and fundraising. 

[00:05:02] Josepha: That was a big footprint that you all had, and you kind of consolidated it into one. And for all of our folks listening on the podcast, I’m going to include some links, not only to their site but then also to a few other things that we’ve mentioned in here today. So, since you made that change, how has it, how has that impacted the way that you all work with your site or with your online presence?

[00:05:27] Ashley: Yeah, I think using WordPress and having access to WordPress has been hugely valuable for us. We’re a small team, we’re a nonprofit, so it is pretty scrappy. Everyone is kind of doing a lot of different things. We don’t have a dedicated development team. And so being able to easily customize our pages and create new landing pages or make adjustments on the site without that development help has been valuable.

[00:05:55] Josepha: Yeah, so you don’t have a developer team now. Did you have a developer team when you had all the sites? 

[00:06:01] Romane: We just still work with freelancers. 

[00:06:03] Josepha: Okay, yeah. I am also not a developer, for what it’s worth, and have been working with nonprofits for a while. And I understand that problem where you have all these things you need to do and want to do, but there are also things you absolutely have to focus on in order to make your mission possible and your vision come true.

[00:06:23] Ashley: Yeah, and I think, I think WordPress has given us a lot more, like a lot more flexibility to kind of produce new content quickly. And because of that, it’s just been a lot more efficient, too, for us, you know. 

[00:06:38] Josepha: And you all are using Blocks? Are you, like, the best Block builders?

[00:06:42] Romane: Yeah, I love Blocks. 

[00:06:43] Josepha: Blocks are a fairly new innovation for the history of WordPress. WordPress has been around for 20 years, so we’re a nice, mature project. And we’ve really only had blocks as a functional part of the CMS for probably the last five or so. We’ve been working on the project a little bit longer. And it has been fascinating to me, like, in my own work that I have done with WordPress, kind of outside of my work with the project, to see, like, how much autonomy you get to have back as somebody who is not a developer, maybe isn’t a designer, but you do know exactly what you need to have on your site today, right?

And having to stop and find a freelancer or stop and find some set of developers who can make those changes. For me, when I was specifically working on nonprofit stuff. That was always kind of a moment where I was like, well, I guess I’ll just go to Facebook and put that on there or something because I was faster than trying to find someone to come help you. And so, I’m so glad you love the block.

[00:07:48] Ashley: We’ve created many a landing page. 

[00:07:50] Josepha: Also, your site is adorable, and your brand is adorable, in case no one’s mentioned that lately. Super cute. Super cute.

[00:07:58] Josepha: So, we’ve talked about how you kind of took a bunch of stuff and made it into one big thing and how that’s been easier for you all to manage it. But from the standpoint of just, like, somebody who’s running a nonprofit, someone who’s running an organization, how has that transition been for your team? I know you said you don’t have a huge team, but was the move toward WordPress a net benefit over time, or was it immediately beneficial? Like, how has that been for your team? 

[00:08:27] Romane: So what’s interesting actually is that we have a team that is spread also all over the world. And so we have teams in Berlin and in U.S., and New York. In Zambia, too. What was really interesting was how people identify to the new website because now we have to really think, okay, what is the content we want people to see, but also we want our critics to see. And so it kind of unified all of our content at Little Sun. And it was much more like much easier to understand afterwards. 

[00:09:03] Josepha: Yeah. 

[00:09:04] Romane: And it was because we also work at the intersection of creative communications, impacts, fundraising, technology, and to be able to put everything and have it on the front. And then have the stories to tell the stories from sub-Saharan Africa, from universities who got either a Little Sun lamps or solar systems, and then we have the donation page, so basically everything could be integrated in a super easy way, and it could target different audiences easily, either it’s someone who wants to partner with us, or a donor, or just someone who wants to be part of our solar training.

[00:09:46] Josepha: Yeah, and I mean, I think that no one will be surprised to hear that if you have multiple things that you have to get everybody to, it really increases the amount of marketing that you have to accomplish, rather than having one place for everyone to go too, and they can see everything that they might want once they arrive. So, that’s wonderful.

[00:10:06] Ashley: I think I was just going to say, or kind of echo what Romane said about the fact that we have so many different audiences, we have partners, we have donors, we have people who are just coming to learn about solar energy, or who are interested in purchasing a lamp. I think prior to this, it was a little bit confusing for those different audiences to kind of navigate to where they were intended to go to on the site, and now it’s much more cohesive. And we often hear that from people where it’s like, it’s quite easy to, to kind to find what they need to find on the site. 

[00:10:39] Josepha: I define the WordPress community as anyone who is using WordPress, regardless of whether they know it or not. And so you all, in my mind, are part of the WordPress Community. And I just wondered if being part of that community has changed your approach to the way that you manage your content online or the way that you have chosen work with your business as like an online entity that also does on-the-ground, in-person thing?

[00:11:06] Ashley: I think definitely. I think we’re kind of going back to what I said before. I think we’re much more efficient now. I think in the past, it’s the idea of, like, well, getting this web page live or publishing this is going to be, you know, we have to think about a huge timeline, that’s, is going to require a lot of resourcing, a lot of different types of expertise and people, and everything now feels like something that we can, we can launch pretty immediately, which is really wonderful too.

I would also say just like being a part of the WordPress community too. It’s the sort of support that we’ve gotten from your team. It’s always really tailored. And I think as a nonprofit working with a, like, a much bigger business, you can be apprehensive sometimes, feeling like you won’t really get that personalized support. 

And I think that’s something that’s been so nice with WordPress. Is really feeling like the people we’re working with are understanding our business and taking the time to understand our needs. And I think that makes us think differently about our online presence as well because then we feel like we have that additional support, which is great.

[00:12:12] Josepha: I’m always a fan of hearing that people who are passionate about WordPress are also passionate about helping others with WordPress. That’s one of my favorite things about us. That’s not true. I have like 25 favorite things about us. And so I need to stop saying that I have one favorite, but I never will.

Okay, well, do you all have any last thoughts that you just want to share with me or podcast listeners that we have? 

[00:12:36] Ashley: Yeah, I think the, the plugins and integrations have been really useful for us. I think it can be really intimidating to bring on, like, a new tech solution or tool and feel like everything that you are already working with or have is going to become outdated or obsolete in some way. And I think it’s just been really nice to work with WordPress and have all of those transitions be really seamless for everything to connect really well. Yeah, I think that’s been. That’s hugely helpful too. 

[00:13:07] Josepha: So, was that part of the decision-making process? Like, do I know that this software will be around in the future so that you’re making an investment in the site now and know that it’s going to hang around now you can find people help? Like, was that part of the decision-making process?

[00:13:21] Ashley: I think so. I mean, I guess I wasn’t completely around during the time, but I would say, like, that’s definitely something that we’re considering in any kind of tech that we’re thinking about is it can require so much work to, to kind of bring something on with such a small team. So we want to ensure that, yeah, it’s going to last, it has longevity, and it’s going to work with the tools that we already have. So I think all of that is really important for sure. 

[00:13:48] Josepha: Well, thank you both so much for joining me. Like I said, we’ll have a link to littlesun.org in the notes so that you all can learn more about their project and see their beautiful site with their beautiful little solar sunflowers.

Thank you both for being with me today. 

[00:14:04] Romane: Thank you so much. 

[00:14:05] Ashley: Thank you so much for having us.

[00:14:07] (Music interlude)

[00:14:11] Josepha: What a wonderful organization. I’m so glad that they found WordPress and that it works for them. Let’s continue our tour today with the small list of big things.

Item number one, it’s time to save the date: December 11th, 2023, for this year’s State of the Word. State of the Word is the annual keynote address delivered by the WordPress Project co-founder Matt Mullenweg. Every year, the event shares reflections on the project’s progress and aspirations for the future of open source. And so, if that is something that you like to tune into, December 11th is your day. 

Second thing on our list is that we are celebrating our 10,000th photo submission. So, on October 11th, the 10,000th photo was approved. The Photo Team is one of the newest ways to contribute to the WordPress open source project, and it feeds all of those photos into Openverse as well.

The third thing on our list today is that I want to tell you about a community team training module that just came out. It’s specifically about the Translate Live tool, and it is ideal for presenting at your local meetups to engage and onboard new translators for your native language. If you’re organizing a WordCamp, consider introducing this tool during your Contributor Day. I will leave a link for this in the show notes so that it is easy to find. 

And item number four, the journey to update WordPress.org, continues with the launch of a new Showcase design. The Showcase is a natural starting point for a lot of visitors who are on WordPress.org. It inspires creativity and also demonstrates what’s possible with WordPress. So, stop on by there, it’s WordPress.org/showcase, and give it a bit of a look.

[00:15:58] Josepha: And that, my friends, is your small list of big things. Thank you for tuning in today for the WordPress Briefing. And don’t forget to follow us on your favorite podcast app or subscribe directly on WordPress.org/news. You’ll get a friendly reminder whenever a new episode drops. And if you like what you heard today, share it with a fellow WordPresser. Or, if you had questions about what you heard today, you can share those with me at wprebriefing@WordPress.org.

I’m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy, and I’ll see you again in a couple of weeks. 

[00:16:24] (Music outro)

WordPress 6.4’s PHP Compatibility

Posted by download | Posted in Software | Posted on 26-10-2023

In an effort to keep the WordPress community up to date, this post provides an update on the PHP compatibility of the upcoming WordPress 6.4 release scheduled for November 7, 2023. 

Recommended PHP version for WordPress 6.4

It’s recommended to use PHP 8.1 or 8.2 with this upcoming release. Please refer to the Hosting page for more detailed information, including a few known issues

Reach out to your hosting company to explore PHP upgrade options.

Why does compatibility matter?

PHP is a programming language on which the WordPress code is based. This language runs on the server, and it is critical to keep it updated for security and functionality. Various teams within the WordPress open source project work to both test and fix any issues with new PHP versions so you can update with confidence that the WordPress core software is compatible. 

Happy WordPress-ing! 

Thank you to @annezazu @barry @ironprogrammer @hellofromtonya @chanthaboune @jrf @costdev @javiercasares for reviewing and contributing to the effort of this post.

Hot Off the Press: New WordPress.com Themes for October 2023

Posted by download | Posted in Software | Posted on 25-10-2023

The WordPress.com team is always working on new design ideas to bring your website to life. Check out the latest themes in our library, featuring beautiful new options for bloggers, creators, and small business operators of all kinds.


Programme

Programme is a blog theme inspired by legendary designer Massimo Vignelli’s playbills for the Piccolo Teatro in Milan. This theme is perfect for showcasing programs, calendars, and announcements.

Massimo Vignelli is well-known among designers for his dedication to a select few typefaces. Drawing inspiration from this, Programme includes a style variation featuring Evolventa and another that uses Libre Baskerville.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.


Ueno

Ueno is a mobile-first theme suitable for any kind of blog or website. It features an opinionated default style and two alternative style variations. Ueno was inspired by Japanese kimono patterns and designs attributed to Seikō Ueno.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.


Organizer

Organizer is a portfolio theme that will appeal to a number of different WordPress users. Due to its simplicity, it works as both a simple portfolio/showcase site as well as a blog or small business website.

The theme has a simple structure and displays only the most necessary information. Four vibrant style variations allow you to choose the flavor that best suits your aesthetic.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.


Erma

Erma is a portfolio theme that features gorgeous imagery and modern layouts. With three styles and elegant templates, Erma is the perfect choice for artists, designers, and other creative professionals looking to showcase their work in an eye-catching way. The clean and sophisticated design allows your portfolio pieces to take center stage.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.


StartFitter (Premium)

Although StartFitter’s initial design is geared towards fitness-focused small businesses, it can easily be customized to any service-based organization or side hustle. With professional templates for pricing, product, and contact pages, StartFitter is the theme you need to boost your business’s growth.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.


To install any of the above themes, click the name of the theme you like, which brings you right to the installation page. Then click the “Activate this design” button. You can also click “Open live demo,” which brings up a clickable, scrollable version of the theme for you to preview.

Premium themes are available to use at no extra charge for customers on the Premium plan or above. Partner themes are third-party products that can be purchased for $79/year each.

You can explore all of our themes by navigating to the “Themes” page, which is found under “Appearance” in the left-side menu of your WordPress.com dashboard. Or you can click below:

WordPress 6.4 Release Candidate 2

Posted by download | Posted in Software | Posted on 24-10-2023

The second release candidate (RC2) for WordPress 6.4 is now available!

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it’s recommended that you evaluate RC2 on a test server and site.

WordPress 6.4 is slated for release on November 7, 2023—two weeks from today. If you haven’t tried it, now is the time.

You can test WordPress 6.4 RC2 in three ways:

  1. Plugin: Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).
  2. Direct download: Download the RC2 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress site.
  3. Command line: Use the following WP-CLI command:
    wp core update --version=6.4-RC2

Read the RC1 announcement for featured highlights, and check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.4-related posts. If you are looking for detailed technical notes on new features and improvements, the WordPress 6.4 Field Guide is for you.

The WordPress 6.4 release is brought to you by an underrepresented gender release squad to welcome the participation and partnership of those who identify as gender-underrepresented in the WordPress open source project.

What’s in WordPress 6.4 RC2?

Thanks to everyone who has tested the beta and RC releases. Since RC1 was released on October 17, there have been more than 25 issues resolved. You can browse the technical details for all recent updates using these links:

Contributing to 6.4

WordPress is open source software made possible by a community of people collaborating on and contributing to its development. The resources below outline various ways you can help, regardless of your technical expertise.

Get involved in testing

Your feedback and help in testing are vital to developing the WordPress software and ensuring its quality. It’s also a meaningful way for anyone to contribute. Check out this guide for instructions on testing WordPress 6.4 features.

If you encounter an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums or directly to WordPress Trac if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.

Curious about testing releases in general? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.

Search for vulnerabilities

During the release candidate phase of WordPress 6.4, the monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities is doubled. Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.

Update your theme or plugin

Do you build themes and plugins? Your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for users worldwide.

Hopefully, you have already tested your themes and plugins with WordPress 6.4 betas. With RC2, you will want to continue your testing and update the “Tested up to” version in your plugin’s readme file to 6.4.

Please post detailed information to the support forums if you find compatibility issues.

Help translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? ¿Español? Français? Português? Русский? 日本? Help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages.

A RC2 haiku

You have been waiting
Download and give it a test
RC2 is here

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @meher, @rmartinezduque, @michelleames, @cbringmann

One Inbox to Rule Them All

Posted by download | Posted in Software | Posted on 24-10-2023

The internet is undefeated in coining new terms to describe our digital lives: hashtag, blog, clickbait, lurk. Somehow, though, the most universal phenomenon of them all doesn’t have a word yet. 

How many times have you lost track of an online conversation, even accidentally ghosting someone because you couldn’t remember where it was happening? Between iMessage, WhatsApp, Instagram, Signal, Discord, and others, you’ve probably found yourself swiping between apps on a regular basis just to find your various chat threads. Frankly, with “appnesia” on the rise, we’re amazed we have any friends left.

There may not be an official word for it, but there is an answer: Texts.com. All your messages in a single place—truly the one inbox to rule them all. And today, we’re thrilled to announce that Texts.com is joining the Automattic family.

The best messaging app on the market

Texts.com brings all your chats into a single dashboard: iMessage, Slack, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Messenger, LinkedIn, Signal, Discord, and X, with more services on the way. 

Beyond the unmatched convenience, Texts.com also offers end-to-end encryption, as well as some delightful features that other messaging apps can’t seem to figure out, like scheduling messages to send when your recipient is awake, or the ability to mark as unread on services that still don’t have it. 

And then there’s the bevy of handy keyboard shortcuts, a customizable interface, and even group chat summaries for when you’ve been away for a few hours and come back to 100+ unread messages. No more appnesia, just power and simplicity where you need it most.

Messaging is the future 

In 2005, Automattic started as a publishing platform with WordPress.com; in 2015, the acquisition of WooCommerce added a commerce solution to those publishing tools; 2019’s addition of Tumblr brought a new suite of advertising tools to the company’s bench. Now, with the acquisition of Texts.com, Automattic moves into a fourth market that’s integral to the modern web experience: messaging.

Texts.com founder Kishan Bagaria joins Automattic as the company’s new Head of Messaging; the rest of the fully distributed Texts.com team is staying on and working in earnest to bring the desktop app to mobile devices. 

Get on the waitlist today—and get one step closer to the inbox of your dreams.