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A great business name is essential for building a strong brand. It needs to immediately catch the attention of potential customers and become something that stays top-of-mind for the long term.

You could wait until you have a flash of inspiration and stumble upon an excellent brand name. But what if you want something to spark your inspiration right now? Perhaps a tool that could get your creative juices flowing and start you on the path toward success?

That’s where our Instant Business Name Generator comes in. We’ve recently revamped this free tool with the power of AI so you can uncover dozens of great ideas in seconds. 

Using the Business Name Generator

Start the process by visiting the Instant Business Name Generator and entering a keyword or phrase for your business idea:

Next, you’ll be presented with several options to choose from:

Want to see more options? Try the same keyword or phrase again or enter a different term to get a new set of ideas.

If you see a name that you like, click “Next” to purchase the domain name. You can choose from over 350 extensions to find the one that’s best for your new business.

Once you have a domain name, there’s no better place to host and build your website than WordPress.com. Choose any paid annual plan and you’ll get your domain name free for the first year. If you need help building your website, Built By WordPress.com, our own website design service, has you covered—and you’ll still get your domain name free.

3 tips for choosing your business name

While the Business Name Generator is helpful for effortlessly spinning up tons of ideas, you’ll still need to choose just one that’s going to represent your business. Here are a few tips to choose a name that sticks:

Simplicity is key

If your name has too many words, or is hard to understand, people might not remember what your business is called. Or they might be reluctant to recommend your business to others. Choose a name that isn’t likely to require repeating several times in conversation.

Make it memorable

Once you have a handful of ideas that you like, try sharing them with a trusted friend or two. Then, see if they can remember your ideas a day or two later. 

It’s not a perfect system, but as long as your friend is willing to help with your market research, it might help you determine which of your ideas has staying power. 

Own it everywhere

Once you have settled on your business name, buying the domain name is a clear next step. In addition, you should also make sure matching social media usernames are available across networks that your business might use. 

Be quick to create accounts and claim those handles, even if it might be a while before you’re ready to promote your business. It could save you some disappointment later on.

Try the Business Name Generator

If you’re planning on starting a business soon, then take the Business Name Generator for a spin. And if your big idea becomes a world-famous brand and people ask where you found the name? Well, we won’t even ask for any credit. We’ll just be glad we could help.

WordPress Executive Director, Josepha Haden Chomphosy, returns to a recent episode of the WordPress Briefing, which discussed two resources for openly licensed media in the WordPress project– Openverse and Photo Directory– and how they differ from one another!

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
Editor: Dustin Hartzler
Logo: Javier Arce
Production: Brett McSherry
Song: Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod

Show Notes

• Photo Directory Make Page
• Submit a Photo to the Photo Directory
• Openverse Make Page
• Openverse Call for Contributions: Block Editor Integration (now closed)
• Small List of Big Things
  • State of the Word – The countdown is on for this year’s State of the Word! If you missed the initial announcement a few weeks ago, you’ll want to mark your calendars for December 11, 2023. State of the Word will include a Q&A session. If you want to participate, you can send your question to ask-matt@wordcamp.org or ask during the event via the Q&A app Slido. A QR code for your submission will be provided during the event live stream.
  • WordCamp Asia has extended their call for sponsors, slated to take place in Taipei, Taiwan, March 7-9, 2024. The new deadline has been extended to November 30, 2023.
  • The Documentation Team created a new GitHub repo for end-user documentation and its translations to all locales. More info about this can be found here.

Transcripts

[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, we’re going to take a listen to last year’s episode about Openverse and the Photo Directory. A lot has changed in that project, well in, in both of those projects since then. For instance, the Photo Directory just passed a 10,000 photo milestone. And Openverse, in the past year, got their own URL and have been hard at work strengthening the reliability of their APIs.

[00:01:03] Josepha: But for some folks, it might still be a little unclear just what the difference is between these two projects. So let’s take a listen, and don’t forget to catch the updated small list of big things at the end of the episode. 

[00:01:13] (Music interlude)

[00:01:21] Josepha: About 18 months ago, the Openverse project became part of the WordPress open source project, and at roughly the same time, we also welcomed in the Photo Directory.

Since that time, we’ve seen growth of teams supporting both of these initiatives. But if you’re not involved in the day-to-day, it can be hard to know how those two things fit together or if they fit together at all.

[00:01:41] Josepha: Today, let’s take a brief tour of those two projects and why they came to be. In my timeline, work on the Photo Directory started before the work on Openverse, so that’s where we’ll start.

For as long as I can remember, the WordPress community has raised the need for WordPress-first ways to have and host GPL-compatible photos for use in themes, site builds, and marketing efforts as a whole. As recently as 2016, that was still coming up as a question at various flagship events and among the career photographers that contribute their time to WordPress.

[00:02:13] Josepha: So, in 2017 and 2018, as attention started to turn toward rebuilding the CMS using blocks, it dropped down the list of priority items. But it never really went away as a thing that people were hoping we could do for the project as a whole. So in 2019, it was becoming clear that having open source-first tools of all varieties for people whose businesses were built on our software would help broaden the availability of the open source freedoms we believe in.

This began the work on the Photo Directory with the intention of providing a GPL-friendly, community-driven repository of images. It has since launched, and we have photos in it now. We have a whole team around it. It’s wonderful. But that is how that all kind of came to be. 

[00:02:58] Josepha: Openverse, on the other hand, was launched as CC Search in 2019 with the laudable mandate to increase the discoverability and accessibility of open access media.

Late in 2020, while work on the Photo Directory was underway, Matt shared with me that the team was looking for a new project home. When I first met with them, they shared an overview of the product, which they shorthanded as an open source search engine that searches openly licensed images. We were working on a repo of openly licensed images, so clearly, this was all written in the stars. And so you might be asking yourself at this point, great, how does it work together?

I think for most of us, the timeline there kind of covers the question of what is the difference between these two things. 

But because I never know which of you will want to strike up a conversation about open source on an elevator, I’ve also got the elevator pitch version as well. 

[00:03:52] Josepha: Openverse is an open source search engine that searches, indexes, and aggregates copy left media from across the web using sources such as WordPress’s Photo Directory, Flickr’s CC Tagged Media, and Wikimedia, to name just a few. 

Another key difference between the Photo Directory and Openverse is that in order to contribute to the Photo Directory, now that it’s all built, that’s mostly done by submitting photos or reviewing photos. So, you don’t really need to be a developer to join in. 

Openverse not only is a developer-centric contribution opportunity, but it also uses a different tech stack than WordPress as a whole. So, it’s a good place for folks to go if they’re looking to broaden their horizons.

[00:04:37] Josepha: So that’s your elevator pitch of what is Openverse and how does it use the Photo Directory. 

You have a couple of ways that you can get involved with these two projects. For the Photo Directory, as I mentioned at the start, you can always contribute photos, and they could always use more photo contributions.

I’ll include a link to the submission guidelines in the show notes below, and as I mentioned, it is a no-code way to give back to the WordPress project. So, no code is required, no development environments, no testing skills. The Photo Directory team also could always use more contributors to help with the moderating of photo submissions.

And so I’ll link to their making WordPress page in the show notes as well so that you can get started there. 

[00:05:22] Josepha: And as I mentioned before, Openverse is an aggregator, so it doesn’t host any media itself, but it is always accepting suggestions for new GPL-compatible media providers. I’ll link the area where you can leave suggestions in the show notes as well.

And if you are more code-inclined, there’s an open issue for adding Openverse browsing to the block editor right now.  

So I’ll link that issue in the show notes in case you thought to yourself, gosh, that sounds like my most favorite thing to do. That is where you can go. 

[00:05:53] (Music interlude) 

[00:06:01] Josepha: And that brings us now to our November 2023 small list of big things.

[00:06:07] Josepha: The first thing that’s on the small list of big things this week is that the countdown is on for this year’s State of the Word. If you missed the initial announcement a few weeks ago, you’ll want to mark your calendars for December 11th, 2023. State of the Word will include a Q&A session, and if you want to participate, you can send your question to ask-matt@wordcamp.org. Or, ask during the event via the Q&A app Slido. A QR code for your submission will be provided during the event live stream, so if you’re choosing that option, don’t worry; there’s not anything to do right this second. 

[00:06:40] Josepha: The second thing on the list is that WordCamp Asia has extended their call for sponsors for the conference that is slated to take place in Taipei, Taiwan, March 7th through 9th, 2024. The new deadline has been extended to November 30th, 2023, and so if you have been on the fence about whether to sponsor that event or not, for one, please do sponsor it, and for two, you still have a little bit of time to get over there and show your support.

[00:07:05] Josepha: And then the last thing on the small list of big things is that the documentation team now has a new GitHub repo created for end-user documentation and its translations into all locales. For more information about this, come check out the show notes. I will have a link right there for you. And that, my friends, is your small list of big things.

[00:07:26] Josepha: 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 there’s a new episode. If you liked what you heard today, share it with a fellow WordPresser. Or, if you have questions about what you heard, you can share those with me at wpbriefing@WordPress.org. I’m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Thanks for tuning in today for the WordPress Briefing, and I’ll see you again in a couple of weeks. 

[00:07:51] (Music outro)

The best Black Friday deal isn’t a disposable gadget or a trendy clothing item. Instead, consider something that will help you grow and will grow along with you. Your website isn’t just about your online presence—it’s the foundation for everything you hope to achieve.

From today through Cyber Monday (November 27), we’re offering unbeatable deals on website plans and domains.

Save up to 50% on websites  

For a limited time, both our monthly and annual website plans are on sale:

50% off monthly plans 

Get half off the first month of any monthly plan when you use the code bf23monthly at checkout. 

25% off annual plans 

Get 25% off the entire year when you purchase any 1-year plan. Use the code bf23annual at checkout. 

Redeeming your discount is simple 

Three simple steps for taking advantage of this Black Friday discount: 

1. Choose “Monthly” or “Annual” at the top of the page
2. Pick your plan
3. At the checkout page, click “Add a coupon code” 

Here’s what you get with all paid plans

• Stunning design options: dive into a sea of themes and find the perfect one. 
• Monetization tools: set up payments and donations in a flash. 
• Expert support: our dedicated team is here, anytime you need.

150+ premium domain extensions up to 90% off 

With over 150 domain extensions on sale, you have unlimited opportunities to express yourself or memorably brand your business. With some domains starting at under $1 for the first year, owning your identity online won’t break the bank. 

Visit wordpress.com/domains to start exploring. 

The most popular domains—.com, .net, and .org—are always available for just $12 per year. 

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These deals are valid for new website and domain purchases only (no renewals or upgrades). The offers are good through the end of the day Monday, November 27, wherever you are in the world. 

Imagine you spot a new theme that would make your site shine. Or a plugin that will elevate your website’s functionality and user experience to new heights. Understandably, you’d probably like to test these changes before making them live to the world. 

In May, we announced the availability of staging sites, which make it easy to experiment with changes like these. We’re excited to announce that you can now use our new synchronization feature to push changes from your staging site to your live, or “production,” site. 

Starting today, fearlessly try out new ideas and designs before publishing them to the world. Let’s take a deeper look. 

Be sure to check back on Friday in order to grab our best deals of the year on hosting plans and domains!

Staging sites take the stress out of building your website

Let’s say you have a thriving pet grooming business. You have a nice, professional website, but it could use a few more handy features (like appointment scheduling) and a bit more pizzazz in general. Using a staging site, you play around with a few different themes and ultimately decide to design your own with our fun and easy-to-use assembler tool. You land on the perfect design for your site and now you need a plugin that allows clients to book an appointment. You try a couple different options, but nothing looks or works quite how you want it until you land on WooCommerce Bookings. Perfect. 

Now, after those few days of experimenting and trying new things, you have a new, jazzed up website that you’re happy to share with the world. Simply click a couple of buttons on the Hosting Configuration page, and voila, your new site is live. 

By working on your new site in a staging environment, you were able to maintain a professional presence while making magic happen behind the scenes. With our new staging sites synchronization feature, you’re now able to easily push your changes live. 

How to synchronize your staging sites on WordPress.com

First, create a staging site on a Business or Commerce site with Hosting Features enabled. Once your staging site is created, try out some new plugins, play around with a new site design, or build a brand new homepage.

When you are satisfied with your changes and would like to copy them from staging to production, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to your hosting dashboard: Settings → Hosting Configuration 
2. Scroll down to the “Staging site” section
3. Select one of the options under “Choose synchronization direction”
4. Toggle your desired options under “Synchronize this data” 
5. Click “Synchronize”

When the confirmation window appears, proceed by clicking “Synchronize” one final time. 

For more details, including how to use the synchronization feature for different scenarios, visit our staging sites support page. This feature is accessible to all of our customers on our Business and Commerce plans.

Build your next site on WordPress.com

At WordPress.com, we’re committed to making your website management experience as seamless as possible. In the last year alone, we launched SSH and WP-CLI access, site preview links, global edge caching, staging sites, and more. With data synchronization for staging sites, we’ve added yet another powerful feature to your toolkit. Stay tuned for more exciting updates, and don’t forget to follow our Developer Blog to stay in the loop.

What other features would you like to see? How can we make WordPress.com an even more powerful place to build a website? Feel free to leave a comment.

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, photographers, restaurateur, and event planners.

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Magalog

Magalog is a blog theme designed to display your content in a three-column layout. This theme’s structure is comprised of a narrow left-hand sidebar while the blog content of a featured image + title + excerpt live in middle and right-hand columns. The large sans serif typography and clean construction help give the design a modern flair.

There are two style variations in addition to its beautiful default colors, offering engaging palettes to showcase your best stuff.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

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Dawson

Dawson is a portfolio theme specifically tailored for photography. With a two column layout, it’s ideal for those looking to showcase their exquisite work. Dawson offers five distinct style variations, providing a wide range of aesthetic options to choose from.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

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Peirao (Premium)

Peirao is a theme inspired by the pervasive use of deep green paint on restaurant doors in Galicia, Spain. It’s the perfect look for a restaurant whose authenticity and history are their brand.

For typography, we’ve chosen Bricolage Grotesque—a fresh, open-source font brimming with character. The typeface’s feel and personality were just right. The entire theme evokes a feel of pride and dignity, while playful details make it friendly and approachable.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

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Podcasty (Premium)

Podcasty is a podcast theme that’s especially suited for creators who want their cover art and episode titles to shine. This theme is simple, direct, and elegant. There are five vibrant color variations to suit your individual tastes.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

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Foam

Foam is a fun, straightforward theme made with events in mind. Entirely customizable, Foam presents event details—location, speakers, FAQs, etc.—in an appealing and engaging way.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

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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:

The countdown is on for this year’s State of the Word! If you missed the initial announcement a few weeks ago, you’ll want to mark your calendars for December 11, 2023.

State of the Word is the annual keynote in which WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg celebrates the progress of the open source project and offers a glimpse into its future.

For the first time, State of the Word ventures beyond North America, bringing the WordPress community to a new and vibrant city that plays a vital role in the WordPress project — Madrid, Spain! The event will be live-streamed to WordPress enthusiasts and newcomers around the globe via the WordPress YouTube channel.

Please visit the event website for more event details and live-streaming information.

What: State of the Word 2023
When: December 11, 2023, 15:00 UTC (Start of live stream)
Where: Palacio Neptuno, Madrid, Spain
Streaming: Watch the live stream on the WordPress YouTube channel.
Tickets: Request a ticket to attend in person.
Please note that the venue’s capacity is limited; therefore, not all ticket requests will be granted. 
Meetups: The community will sponsor several local watch parties globally, both in
person and online. Find one near you or organize one.

Have a question for Matt?

State of the Word will include a Q&A session. If you want to participate, you can send your question to ask-matt@wordcamp.org or ask during the event via the Q&A app Slido. A QR code for your submission will be provided during the event live stream.

Given the volume of questions usually submitted, only some will be answered live, while others will be covered in a follow-up post published after the event on make.wordpress.org/project.

Is this your first State of the Word? Check out prior events on WordPress.tv for an introduction to the format.

See you in person and online on December 11!

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Thank you to Reyes Martínez and Chloé Bringmann for reviewing this post.

When it comes to designing a website, one size doesn’t fit all. We understand that every WordPress user has unique needs and goals, whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, a passionate photographer, a prolific writer, or a bit of them all. That’s why we are thrilled to introduce Twenty Twenty-Four, the most versatile default theme yet—bundled with WordPress 6.4 and ready to make it uniquely yours.

A theme for every style

Unlike past default themes, Twenty Twenty-Four breaks away from the tradition of focusing on a specific topic or style. Instead, this theme has been thoughtfully crafted to cater to any type of website, regardless of its focus. The theme explores three different use cases: one designed for entrepreneurs and small businesses, another for photographers and artists, and a third tailored for writers and bloggers. Thanks to its multi-faceted nature and adaptability, Twenty Twenty-Four emerges as the perfect fit for any of your projects.

As you dive into its templates and patterns, you will notice how the new Site Editor functionality opens up different pathways for building your site seamlessly.

Patterns at every step

Whether you’re looking to craft an About page, showcase your work, handle RSVPs, or design captivating landing pages, Twenty Twenty-Four has got you covered. Choose from an extensive collection of over 35 beautiful patterns to customize and suit your needs.

For the first time, this theme features full-page patterns for templates like homepage, archive, search, single pages, and posts. Some are exclusively available during the template-switching and creation process, ensuring you have the right options when you need them.

Moreover, you can take advantage of a variety of patterns for page sections, such as FAQs, testimonials, or pricing, to meet your site’s most specific requirements.

With this diverse pattern library, Twenty Twenty-Four offers a flexible canvas to quickly assemble pages of any kind without having to start from scratch—saving you time and energy in the creation process. Just let your creativity flow and explore the possibilities!

Site editing in its finest form

Twenty Twenty-Four ushers in a new era of block themes by bringing together the latest WordPress site editing capabilities. Discover newer design tools such as background image support in Group blocks and vertical text, providing an intuitive and efficient way to create compelling, interactive content.

Find image placeholders with predefined aspect ratio settings within patterns, allowing you to drop images that perfectly fill the space. To go one step further, make your visuals interactive by enabling lightboxes. Ideal for showcasing galleries or portfolio images, this feature allows your visitors to expand and engage with them in full-screen mode. Activate it globally for all images throughout your site or for specific ones.

For a smoother browsing experience on your site, you can disable the “Force page reload” setting in the Query Loop block. This ensures that the necessary content is loaded dynamically when switching between different pages without needing a full-page refresh.

Elegance with purpose

Twenty Twenty-Four goes beyond versatility with a beautiful aesthetic inspired by contemporary design trends, giving your website a sleek and modern look. Key design elements include:

• Cardo font for headlines: The Cardo font adds a touch of elegance to your site, creating a sophisticated visual experience.
• Sans-serif system font for paragraphs: The sans-serif font ensures that your texts are cleaner and easier to read, enhancing overall readability.
• Eight style variations: Twenty Twenty-Four presents a light color palette for a fresh and inviting appearance out-of-the-box, but you can customize it with seven additional style variations. Each includes fonts and colors carefully curated to work beautifully alongside the patterns and templates.
• Sans-serif variations: Besides the default styles, the theme offers two additional sans-serif variations, providing more choices for your site’s typography.

Along with its design, Twenty Twenty-Four has been meticulously optimized for performance. This ensures that your website not only looks great but also delivers a fast and efficient user experience.

More information can be found in the following links:

• Download Twenty Twenty-Four
• Twenty Twenty-Four Documentation
• Twenty Twenty-Four Kick Off

The Twenty Twenty-Four theme was designed by Beatriz Fialho and made possible thanks to the passion and tireless work of more than 120 contributors.

WordPress Executive Director, Josepha Haden Chomphosy, speaks to the strategic approach to integrating open source solutions within your company and offers insight into initiating open source advocacy conversations. Tune in for a session that could redefine your company’s technological approach.

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
Editor: Dustin Hartzler
Logo: Javier Arce
Production: Brett McSherry
Song: Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod

Show Notes

• Small List of Big Things
  • WordPress 6.4 “Shirley” – The final major release of 2023 launched on November 7 – WordPress 6.4 “Shirley.” Download and check out this empowering release.
  • The Training Team recently published several new Learn resources for training guides to support Meetup Organizers. From lesson plans to online workshops, there are several ways to help you in your goals as a contributor to WordPress.
  • The Diversity Team recently published a new Diverse Speaker Training page, providing resources for new and experienced contributors to bring more diverse speaker lineups and inclusive, diverse WP events for official WordPress Meetups and WordCamps.
  • If you have a story showing how WordPress has impacted what you are doing or what people you know have done, record something and send it to wpbriefing@WordPress.org. We’d love to hear from you.

Transcripts

[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, we’re talking about something I used to have a lot of experience with in my career before WordPress. I worked at a marketing agency. I wasn’t a developer. I was in data and strategy sorts of things. But part of the work heading into every project was an evaluation of what software was best. There were always a variety being considered, but WordPress was frequently one of them.

Now, I don’t know if any of you have had that moment where you’re having to talk open source with a CTO or a CEO, but it can be nerve-wracking, to say the least. And it makes sense, right? Open source has a PR problem, especially when you’re speaking to leadership inside a business. And it doesn’t really matter the size, right?

You’re advocating for something that requires a completely different mental model. It doesn’t fit into accepted concepts of what makes a business thrive or what makes a bet a sure thing. There were three, maybe four, concerns that came up every time I had this conversation. So, I’m going to share those concerns with you and a few possible counterpoints to get you started.

[00:01:48] Josepha: First and always is the concern around security. I believe that this particular mismatch is rooted in an idea that controlled equals secure, which isn’t always the case. So the talking point is this. Since open source has a transparent development process, it is often more secure than proprietary software, contrary to what you might hear.

That transparency allows vulnerabilities to be identified by independent researchers and community members and then patched quickly because you aren’t limited by who or what you know personally.

And if you’re not having a conversation where you’re having to defend the security in open source and you just want to bring it up yourself, here is a conversation opener for that. Security is a top concern for all of us. Surprisingly, open source solutions often have stronger security measures due to the collaborative nature of their development. It’s a proactive approach to minimizing risks. 

[00:02:43] Josepha: A second thing that frequently came up was questions around innovation and future proofing of open source products. I think this mismatch is fully rooted in the Cathedral and the Bazaar methods of advancement. So the talking point for that one is this. Embracing open source fosters innovation. We can tap into the latest technologies and stay ahead of industry trends that way. It is specifically because we have a diverse set of viewpoints that we can make sure to quickly account for future risks, along with taking advantage of future opportunities. And by our organization being more active, we can potentially get exactly the solutions we need for our clients long term.

And the conversation opener for this, if you are the one bringing up the topic, is I’ve been thinking about our long-term goals and how to keep our technology stack relevant. Open source not only keeps us current but also positions us as innovators in our field.

[00:03:40] Josepha: And finally, the thing that seems to make or break the decision is the concept of independence. Part of any good business decision, especially around software, is determining upfront costs to getting started, long-term effectiveness of the chosen solution, and long-term mobility should circumstances change. Open source can address these from multiple vantage points.

So here’s a good talking point for that one. Open source liberates us from vendor lock-in. We’re not tied to a single vendor’s roadmap or pricing changes, providing us with more options that suit our needs our clients’ needs. Also, given how ubiquitous WordPress is in particular, there will always be a disaster recovery option should a senior developer leave.

And beyond all of that, clients can own all of the content, audience attention, and clientele that we have all worked so hard to help them earn. And again, if you’re not defending things and instead choosing to bring them up as somebody who is trying to affect change in your own organization, here is a good place to start for that.

Considering the dynamic nature of our industry, having the freedom to choose solutions independent of a specific vendor makes sure that we are always in control of our destiny.

[00:04:59] Josepha: So, those are the three most frequent things I encountered when I was having conversations about which software to choose and what software was the best choice long term for both our organization and our client’s organizations.

If you have been in the midst of this type of conversation and have been longing for some counterpoints, I hope this helps. But if you have been feeling in your heart of hearts that your company or organization would be better off using open source software, and of course, in my context, particularly WordPress as that software, but you’ve been worried about bringing it up, I hope this gives you the courage to get out there and be an agent of change in your organization. You can do it, and I know you can.

[00:05:44] (Music interlude) 

[00:05:51] Josepha: All right, my friends, that brings us now to our small list of big things. 

[00:05:57] Josepha: First on the list, big, big thing. We launched WordPress 6.4 on November 7th, about a week ago. Be sure to download and check out the latest update on this monumental release. And while you’re doing it. Be sure to check out the new default theme that came out with it. It has a lot of patterns in it. I know I’ve talked about it quite a bit over the course of the year, but it’s really beautiful, and I think that it’s worth a good, strong highlight. So WordPress 6.4, you can get it on WordPress.org/download or inside your own host, probably. 

[00:06:29] Josepha: The second thing that we have is that the training team recently published several new Learn resources to support meetup organizers. So we’ve got over there some lesson plans, tutorials, online workshops. And there are also new materials that help you figure out how to accomplish your goals as a contributor to the WordPress project.

[00:06:49] Josepha: And we also have a recently published new diverse speaker training page. It provides incredible resources for new and experienced contributors to bring more diverse speaker lineups and inclusive, diverse WordPress events for official WordPress meetups and WordCamps. 

[00:07:06] Josepha: And the fourth thing on our small list of big things today is that I would love to get a few voice recordings from you all, from folks who are listening to the WordPress Briefing, or folks that you know, to learn more about how WordPress has impacted you. 

One of the things that I miss the most from my days as a WordCamp organizer is that annually, I got to see people who had shown up, once at a meetup, you know, to learn what WordPress was, and then came back year after year to our WordCamp with these new goals and new successes and I got to watch their businesses change over time. And so if you have a story like that where WordPress impacted what you are doing or what people that you know have done, record something and send it to wpbriefing@WordPress.org.

So that, my friends, is your small list of big things.

[00:08:04] Josepha: Don’t forget to follow us on your favorite podcasting app or subscribe directly on WordPress.org/news. You’ll get a friendly reminder whenever there is 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’m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Thanks for tuning in today for the WordPress Briefing, and I’ll see you again in a couple of weeks. 

[00:08:31] (Music outro)

September-October 2023 was yet another fun and eventful chapter in WordPress, with more WordCamps hosting exciting discussions, knowledge sharing, and learning. This month also welcomed the release of WordPress 6.4 and the Twenty Twenty-Four theme. Let’s check it out.

Meet WordPress 6.4 “Shirley”

WordPress 6.4 “Shirley” was released on November 7, 2023, and named after the iconic jazz artist Shirley Horn. With the release of WordPress 6.4 comes the new Twenty Twenty-Four theme, a multi-faceted, highly flexible default theme pre-loaded with more than 35 templates and patterns. 

This release includes more than 100 performance-related updates for a faster and more efficient experience. There’s also a host of new features and enhancements that help improve the content creation process and streamline site editing. 

WordPress 6.4 was made possible by more than 600 contributors in at least 56 countries. 

State of the Word 2023

Mark your calendars for State of the Word! The annual keynote address delivered by the WordPress project’s co-founder, Matt Mullenweg, will be held on December 11, 2023. For the first time, the event will take place outside North America—this time with the Spanish community in Madrid, Spain.

A live stream will be available for WordPress enthusiasts who will not be able to attend in person. Stay tuned for more information, including how to reserve a ticket, soon!

New in the Gutenberg plugin

Two new versions of Gutenberg shipped in October:

• Gutenberg 16.8 was released on October 11, 2023. It introduced enhancements to the Cover block and Font Library, and added the option to view the active template when editing pages.
• Gutenberg 16.9 was released on October 25, 2023. This update lets you rename nearly every block from within the editor, as well as duplicate or rename individual patterns. 

October’s Core Editor Improvement post dives into all the writing enhancements expected in the latest WordPress 6.4 release.

https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/

Team updates

• The journey to update WordPress.org continues with the launch of a new Showcase design. 
• The Performance Team held a Hallway Hangout to discuss WordPress 6.3 performance impact in the field, diving into WordPress 6.4 performance improvements and looking ahead at what can be learned for WordPress 6.5.
• The Documentation Team created a new GitHub repo for end-user documentation and its translations to all locales. You can find out more about this here.
• Openverse has been awarded the 2023 Open Education Award for Excellence in the Open Infrastructure category. Congratulations!
• Learn more about the next chapter for the FSE (Full Site Editing) Outreach Program, which looks to transition into a focused space for solving issues, creating resources, and facilitating conversations around adopting Phase 2 of Gutenberg.
• The Accessibility team is holding weekly office hours to discuss accessibility principles and best practices for the project.

Requests for feedback & testing

• Version 23.6 of the WordPress mobile app for iOS and Android is ready for testing.

https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/

WordPress events updates

• WordCamp Asia has extended their call for sponsors for their conference slated to take place in Taipei, Taiwan, March 7-9 2024. 
• There will be a WordPress #WPDiversity Speaker Workshop for Women Voices in Latin America in San Jose, Costa Rica on November 11, 2023.
• WordCamp Valencia 2023 will take place on November 10-11, 2203.
• WordCamp Verona 2023 will take place on November 17-18, 2203.
• WordCamp Hong Kong 2023 will take place on November 18, 2203.
• WordCamp Islamabad 2023 will take place on November 25-26, 2203.

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Thank you to Bernard Meyer and Reyes Martínez for their contributions to this edition of The Month in WordPress.

WordPress 6.4.1 is now available!

This minor release features four bug fixes. You can review a summary of the maintenance updates in this release by reading the Release Candidate announcement or view the list of tickets on Trac.

WordPress 6.4.1 is a short-cycle release. If you have sites that support automatic background updates, the update process will begin automatically. If your site does not update automatically, you can also update from your Dashboard.

You can download WordPress 6.4.1 from WordPress.org, or visit your WordPress Dashboard, click “Updates”, and then click “Update Now”.

For more information on this release, please visit the HelpHub site.

Thank you to these WordPress contributors

This release was led by Aaron Jorbin and Tonya Mork. Thank you to everyone who tested the RC and 6.4.1, and raised reports.

WordPress 6.4.1 would not have been possible without the contributions of the following people. Their quick and concerted coordination to deliver maintenance fixes into a stable release is a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress community.

@afragen @clorith @desrosj @pbiron @schlessera @azaozz @davidbaumwald @tomsommer @nexflaszlo @howdy_mcgee @baxbridge @earnjam @timothyblynjacobs @johnbillion @flixos90 @joedolson @jeffpaul @zunaid321 @courane01 @audrasjb @tacoverdo @ironprogrammer @webcommsat @otto42 @barry @chanthaboune @rajinsharwar @aaroncampbell @peterwilsoncc @anandau14 @iandunn @matthewjho @coffee2code @boogah @jason_the_adams @joemcgill @johnjamesjacoby @jrf @renehermi @dlh @mukesh27 @sumitbagthariya16 @starbuck @sergeybiryukov

How to contribute

To get involved in WordPress core development, head over to Trac, pick a ticket, and join the conversation in the #core channel. Need help? Check out the Core Contributor Handbook.

Thanks to @jeffpaul and @webcommsat for proofreading.