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Join WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy as she discusses the role WordPress Enterprise plays along with the WordPress community.

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

• The 2023 Community Summit in Washington, DC
• WordPress Enterprise
• NASA Website (beta)
• A small list of big things (SLBT)
  • Evolving the FSE Outreach Program – With WordPress 6.3 bringing Phase 2 to completion, it’s time for the FSE Outreach Program to evolve alongside the broader WordPress project and needs.
  • Proposal: An update to the Field Guide – This proposal is one step, but not necessarily the only step, at improving communication around WordPress releases and making it easier for WordPress updates to instill confidence.
  • We are still looking to receive more ideas on the future of WordPress events – We have brought this up in the past, but there is still time to submit ideas.
  • Proposal for updated support guidelines – As these result from work during WordCamp Us 2023, if you are at the venue and wish to discuss something, please feel free to reach out.
  •  Call for Testing: Performant Translations – Provide your feedback; if you encounter any issues or have questions about the plugin, please comment or open a new support topic. In addition to that, contributions can be made on GitHub.
  • WordPress Diversity Training – This is a 2-day workshop for women in India (other countries are welcome to join us, too) who are considering speaking at a WordPress Meetup or WordCamp.
  • Let’s talk about WordPress! – The WordPress Community team is looking for some folks to take the lead in hands-on organizing your Meetups
  • WP Includes
  • WordPress Insights: WCUS Recap and WCEU Vision with Ruth Kalinka

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!

(Intro Music) 

[00:00:29] Josepha: In our last episode, we talked about the Community Summit and some trends that I was seeing. I’ve spent a lot of time since then summarizing the notes from each session, and I was processing notes from the session about aligning WordPress Enterprise and WordPress Community, which is a session that explored the various strengths and weaknesses of WordPress from an enterprise perspective, but especially when it comes to contributing to or communicating about WordPress.

Now, my vantage point on analyses like these is generally pretty different. Since I work mainly in an operations space for the project, I’m almost always looking at the health and safety of our ecosystem, product excellence, funding, things like that. So, I especially like to attend sessions that are from the vantage point of people who are much closer to the work than I am.

[00:01:15] Josepha: When I looked at the brainstormed list of things from the session, my first inclination was to catalog the relationships between what we saw as a positive or a negative and the things that we saw as intrinsic to us versus part of the environment. But the more I look at it, the more I see that there’s confirmation of what I have always known to be true. That WordPress is a valuable starting point for web-based solutions of all sizes and any purpose. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest themes that shine through from that session. I was able to distill them down to about nine primary themes, but I especially want to focus on some that come up year after year in talking with our community.

[00:01:57] Josepha: The first, of course, is the community and ecosystem. If you’ve listened to this podcast 62 times, then you’ve heard me say at least like 60 times that the community is what sets us apart from other open source projects. But, I would encourage you to expand that understanding to include the ecosystem that the community provides.

The community not only helps to plan and create WordPress, our primary software, but it also makes it distributable through the Polyglots team and Accessibility and Docs and Training. It also makes it extendable through plugins and themes and all of the work that goes into reviewing plugins and themes and the support that’s provided to people who come to the WordPress.org site, trying to figure out how to make this thing work for them.

And we also, this community, make it knowable, not only through the community part with our event series but also in marketing and the videos that we provide on WordPress TV and all of the training and learning cohorts that we provide on learn.WordPress.org, all of those teams make WordPress learnable and knowable and easy to use and usable to more people and available across the world, regardless of whether you speak English or not. And so yeah, the community and the ecosystem are some of the things that makes WordPress valuable for enterprise, but also WordPress valuable in general. 

[00:03:24] Josepha: The second is the software’s usability and flexibility. I said at WordCamp US that we exist for as long as people want to use our software, and that’s a funny little two-sided coin for us. WordPress remains very usable for folks who come to it in the same way that I came to it, which is as a user who is trying to accomplish a goal unrelated to WordPress. I didn’t start using WordPress because I wanted to figure out how WordPress worked or because I wanted to figure out how to contribute to WordPress. I came to WordPress because I was trying to market something, and WordPress was the best choice for that. But it’s also flexible for our brilliant developers out there who are doing things like building a suite of sites for NASA or creating bespoke social networks. So, our usability and flexibility, both of those things working together, are certainly one of the things that make me know that WordPress is incredibly valuable for anyone who needs to use it.

[00:04:22] Josepha: But the final thing is WordPress’s longevity or our resilience. So, I used to work at a marketing agency that served enterprise-level clients. And any time we pitched a new site build to a client, one of the main elements of discussion during decision-making was how long the decision would last. Do you want a page that you can launch in a day, run a six-week campaign through, and then abandon it forever? Or do you want a site that can take up to six weeks to build but can be yours to refine and hone for years after that? I know this seems like a silly example, but when you’re looking at the potential for a long-term bet, what you’re worried about, what you’re asking is, is this a software trusted in my industry? Is it time-tested by those companies I aspire to be? Is the available workforce composed of seasoned professionals or flash-in-the-pan peddlers of the latest craze? And of that workforce, how many will still be doing this in five years?

The question of how long we’ve been doing this and why it matters that WordPress has been here for 20 years and has no intention of going anywhere should be so much higher on everyone’s list of reasons to use this software. Yes, the WordPress software is powerful enough to be everything you might want it to be someday, but the WordPress ecosystem brought to us by this community has shown resilience through major breaking changes in 2008, 2016, 2018, 2020, and probably a lot of things between there that we have forgotten. So, if I were hoping to hedge my bets on a long-term solution, I would absolutely place those bets on this community, this ecosystem, and this software. 

(Music interlude) 

[00:06:17] Josepha: 

And now, it’s time for our small list of big things. I actually have a very big list today, so I’m just gonna break it out into two chunks. The first chunk is that we actually have a lot of calls for feedback and testing right now. We have six calls for feedback and testing that I really could use your input on.

The first one is that we still are having that discussion about how to evolve the FSE outreach program. That program started as a way to get faster, more fluid user feedback, specifically about full site editing inside Gutenberg. But there is a question now about where it needs to exist, how it’s serving current project needs, and what the future project needs will be. And so stop by that one. That should be a good, lively discussion. 

[00:07:06] Josepha: Speaking of discussions that are lively, we also have an update to the field guide. We have a proposed update to the field guide. This is not something that we’re looking to put in place for WordPress 6.4, just because that is coming so quickly. But it is something that we want to look at for future iterations of the field guide that come out with every major release. We want to make sure that we’re getting valuable information to the right people at the right time without having so much that it’s overwhelming but also without having so little that we miss really important things. 

[00:07:47] Josepha: There is another request for feedback, which is about additional ideas on the future of WordPress events. I brought this up in the past. I think I mentioned it on one other small list of big things, but there’s still time. So, if you’ve been shy about sharing your ideas, let this be your sign to get brave. Go share your thoughts on what events of the future should be for us. 

[00:08:03] Josepha: There’s also a proposal for updated support guidelines. This proposal comes out of a discussion that was had at WordCamp US, and so there is a summary of the discussion and then also the proposal that’s out there. I think that for all guidelines like this, support guidelines, and probably all things that require some review from ourselves, we always could stand to take a look at where those are, what brought us to where we are today, and what we can use to be better and more current in our client’s needs and our customers needs users needs as we are looking through those guidelines I think that the deadline for feedback on that is around the middle of September as well. 

[00:08:47] Josepha: And then the final bit of feedback/call for testing is on performant translations. That is a testing call for feedback. Contributions to that can be made on GitHub as well if that’s something where you test it and you immediately know how to offer some patches to make things better. That’s great, but you can always just leave your feedback in a comment or a new support topic. 

[00:09:19] Josepha: Okay, so that was the first chunk of the small list of big things. We have the second chunk of the small list of big things, which is to say that if all of that was new to you and sounds a little bit daunting and, you need some support to get started. There are also a couple of kind of group things that you can do in the coming weeks to get you started on that. 

There is a new WordPress diversity training session that’s happening. It’s a two-day workshop for women, specifically in India, but other countries are welcome to join us, too. We’ll be thinking about how to pull together your first presentation proposal, I believe.

The next one is that the WordPress community team is looking for folks to learn more about organizing meetups. And so, I’ll include a link to that in the show notes as well, but if you’ve never done this before and that did not sound like a getting started thing, trust me, organizing meetups not only is something that is easy to do because it’s kind of casual, you can get people together like in a coffee shop to talk about WordPress, but also the team over there has excellent onboarding. And so give it a try; at the very least, give it a read. 

The third thing on that set of things is that there’s a new group called WP Includes working to pair women in the WordPress community with one another for support and advice along their career paths. I will include a link to that in the show notes as well.

And then the final thing is that there is a meetup event that’s focused on flagship events coming up on September 21st. It will recap WordCamp US and host an open discussion for ideas for WordCamp Europe as well. Like I said, that’s going to take place on September 21st. I will include a link to that in the show notes as well.

[00:11:04] Josepha: If you don’t know where the show notes are, if you, sorry, if you’re listening to this on, like, Pocketcasts or Spotify or any other thingy, and you don’t know what I mean when I say the show notes, and you’ve literally never seen them in your life. You can go to WordPress.org/news/podcast, and there are transcripts and show notes with every podcast I put up, and that’s what I mean when I say that. WordPress.org/news/podcast, and then you get a bunch of links. It’ll be great. 

That, my friends, is your small list of big things. Thank you for tuning in today for the WordPress Briefing. I’m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy, and I’ll see you again in a couple of weeks.

(Outro music)

WordPress is excited to announce that Openverse has been awarded the 2023 Open Education Award for Excellence in the Open Infrastructure category!

The Open Education Awards for Excellence, organized by the non-profit organization Open Education Global (OEG), celebrate people, resources, and initiatives that have significantly contributed to the open education field and community. This year, they received 172 nominations across 16 award categories, representing individuals and projects from 38 countries.

This award honors Openverse’s work to make it easy for everyone to discover and use open educational resources. The award reviewers were particularly impressed by Openverse’s one-click attribution feature. Moreover, they highlighted the tool’s ability to filter searches by source collections and other parameters, such as image orientation and specific license, which they noted “provides seekers of open content important affordances to find clearly licensed media they can reuse.” 

“This is an exceptional search engine for the open education community. The one click attribution copy for images makes attribution very straight-forward and easy, even for novice users. The design is excellent; the results are returned fast.”

Award reviewer for the 2023 OEG Award for Open Infrastructure

This recognition not only underscores Openverse and WordPress’s commitment to open content but also celebrates the work of their dedicated contributors, community, and partners in advancing open education and creative works.

Learn more about this Openverse award on the OEG page.

Congratulations, Openverse!

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 and creators of all stripes.

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Al Dente

Al Dente is a blog theme that will captivate both creators and readers who prefer a classic layout imbued with an aura of familiarity. Its front page, adorned with stunning, colorful images, has been designed to effectively engage visitors right away while also fostering email sign-ups with a prominent Subscription Block.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

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Otis

Otis is well-suited for personal blogging. It provides a polished, modern user experience. The default templates include an opinionated header with large type as well as straightforward post and page templates, which are particularly useful for those who don’t want to include images on their site. This theme is focused on simplicity and readability, with a clean and uncluttered layout that allows readers to easily navigate content.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

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Exmoor

Exmoor is a refreshed, modernized version of the popular Exford theme. We kept that theme’s general vibe while updating the layout and typography. We scraped the center-aligned header, significantly shortened the height of the Cover Block (which makes the headline seem bolder and stronger), and decluttered the homepage overall to make it cleaner and less repetitive. This is a great theme that will serve a variety of uses for bloggers, creators, small businesses, and WordPressers of all stripes.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

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Cortado

The design featured in Cortado is simple and elegant. The color palette and typography work together to deliver a subtle style, especially well-suited to restaurants and coffee shops. Single post pages are constructed to work well for short and medium-length copy—which can stimulate succinctness and more frequent publishing.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

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Freddie

Freddie uses a full-screen background image to captivate the viewer with an immersive introductory moment. The design is straightforward and utilizes a semi-bold typography with a tighter-than-usual line height. This theme is perfect for creators who want to showcase visual projects.

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:

September is here, bringing a rich array of learning opportunities to help you elevate your website to new heights. Our team of expert WordPress.com Happiness Engineers is poised to assist you with essential tasks every new site owner should master, including new webinars on choosing the perfect plugins and navigating the intricacies of theme switching.

All of our webinars are designed to be accessible for all skill levels, whether you’re just starting out or already have some experience with WordPress. What’s more, every session concludes with a live Q&A, so your burning questions won’t go unanswered. Below is what we have on tap this September.

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[New!] Picking the Perfect Plugin

This webinar will demystify the world of plugins, guiding you toward making informed decisions. You’ll walk away with actionable insights tailored to your unique website needs:

• Understand the role plugins play in augmenting your site’s functionality.
• Evaluate plugins based on compatibility, updates, and user reviews.
• Implement best practices for effective plugin management.

[New!] Fearless Theme Switching

Switch themes with confidence and explore a new look for your site with our expert tips and tricks. Our live demonstrations will empower you to navigate theme transitions confidently:

• Utilize best practices for an effortless theme switching experience.
• Recognize caveats and issues to watch out for during the process.
• Gain actionable tips and tricks to make theme transitions as smooth as possible.

Mastering Custom Domains

Maximize your online presence by understanding the ins and outs of custom domains. This session will offer valuable guidelines for making a lasting impact on your visitors:

• Choose and register an ideal custom domain to boost your branding and credibility.
• Seamlessly connect your domain for enhanced SEO and a better user experience.
• Employ best practices for efficient domain management and email setup.

Site Editing: Custom Headers

Craft a memorable header effortlessly using point-and-click tools, ensuring your site radiates a distinct and polished vibe from the outset. Step-by-step, using the robust tools within the WordPress.com Site Editor, learn how to transform a header to something that resonates with your vision:

• How to select, customize, and replace header templates in the WordPress Site Editor.
• How to add and edit your site title, logo, navigation menus, and other blocks in your custom header.
• Tips and tricks for troubleshooting common issues if they arise.

Don’t miss this chance to secure your spot for our September webinars. Elevate your skills and enrich your WordPress.com experience. We look forward to your participation!

August 2023 marked another exciting chapter in WordPress, with the Community Summit and WordCamp US bringing the community together for meaningful discussions, knowledge sharing, and learning. This month also welcomed the long-awaited WordPress 6.3 release and offered a glimpse of what’s to come. Let’s dive into it.

Meet WordPress 6.3 “Lionel”

WordPress 6.3 “Lionel” was released on August 8, 2023, and named after the acclaimed vibraphonist, pianist, and jazz percussionist Lionel Hampton.

This major update makes bringing your vision to life with blocks more intuitive and efficient. Your content, templates, and patterns are now seamlessly integrated into the Site Editor, enabling you to craft every aspect of your online presence within a single location. You can sharpen your designs with new tools, enjoy fine-tuned control over navigation menus, and work faster with the Command Palette. Explore what’s new.

WordPress 6.3 features over 500 features and enhancements with a continued emphasis on performance and accessibility. This release was made possible by more than 650 contributors from 52 countries.

While the Site Editor will continue to be enhanced, this release means a significant milestone as it marks the conclusion of Gutenberg Phase 2. Take a moment to watch “Designed with WordPress”—an ode to this remarkable journey worth celebrating.

Download WordPress 6.3.1.

Roadmap to 6.4

Contributors are already working on WordPress 6.4, expected to be released on November 7, 2023. This release, led by an underrepresented gender release squad, will focus on enhancing different aspects of the WordPress experience while continuing the foundational work for Gutenberg Phase 3. Users can anticipate features like font management and a new default theme, Twenty Twenty-Four.

Twenty Twenty-Four aims to be a versatile theme, featuring a range of templates and patterns specifically designed for three use cases: entrepreneurs and small businesses, photographers and artists, and writers and bloggers.

Check out the 6.4 roadmap post for a tentative preview of expected features.

New in the Gutenberg plugin

Two new versions of Gutenberg shipped in the last month:

• Gutenberg 16.4 was released on August 9, 2023. It introduced a new “auto-inserting blocks” experimental feature, a progress bar component that can be used throughout the interface, and block supports for the Footnotes block.
• Gutenberg 16.5 shipped on August 23, 2023, and focused on enhancements to the Command Palette and enabling further customization of blocks.

Follow the “What’s new in Gutenberg” posts to stay on top of the latest enhancements.

Team updates: Next generation of WordPress events, WP Admin redesign, and more

• The Community team has been busy ushering in the next generation of WordPress events. Four pilot events were successfully held in July and August, with another five planned before the end of the year.
• The Admin Design Kickoff post elaborates on the concepts explored so far to revitalize the WordPress admin experience.
• In response to Europe’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), leaders from Drupal, Joomla!, TYPO3, and WordPress co-authored an open letter addressing concerns about the current CRA definitions and terms and the implications for open source projects.
• Check out WordPress.org/blocks—A new page that explores the power of blocks within WordPress and as a broader framework.
• WordPressCS 3.0.0 is now available. This update to the WordPress Coding Standards introduces improvements in accuracy, performance, stability, and compatibility with modern PHP versions.
• The first cohort of the WordPress Contributor Mentorship Program, which aims to help new contributors onboard to Make teams, successfully concluded last month.
• WordPress Remembers went live in August to honor contributors who left a lasting impact on the project and have since passed away.
• Core team members proposed to sync Gutenberg code with core earlier in the release cycle to streamline the integration of new features and reduce risks and delays in major release milestones.
• Blue Note, the second block theme born from the Community Themes initiative, is live on the Theme Directory.
• Every month, the Training team works to expand the Learn WordPress catalog with new courses, tutorials, online workshops, and more. See what’s new.
• Openverse maintainers met in Copenhagen for an exciting exchange with Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK), Denmark’s largest art museum. Learn about their discussions and collaboration efforts to advance openly licensed works.

Keen to see new WordPress event formats happening in your local community? Get inspired by these creative concepts and share your ideas!

Feedback & testing requests

• Core team members suggested updating the WordPress Field Guide by publishing it earlier in the development cycle and introducing a simplified Field Guide on the WordPress Developer Blog. Feedback is open until September 15, 2023.
• Help test the new Performant Translations plugin, which aims to make localized WordPress sites faster.
• A new proposal aims to refine and update WordPress’ support guidelines. You can provide your input by October 1, 2023.
• Version 23.2 of the WordPress mobile app for iOS and Android is ready for testing.

The Training team seeks feedback on the first learning pathways outlined to improve the Learn WordPress educational experience. Share your thoughts by September 15, 2023.

WordPress events updates

• On August 22-23, a group of WordPress contributors gathered at the Community Summit to discuss key topics concerning the project. Read the notes from each session and join the conversations at make.wordpress.org/summit.
• Following the Summit, Washington, D.C. hosted WordCamp US 2023 from August 24-26. This event brought together nearly 2,000 attendees for a Contributor Day and two conference days filled with engaging sessions, conversations, and open source art. Saturday’s agenda concluded with keynotes by WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg and Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy and a subsequent Q&A session. Check out the event recap for highlights.
• Join #WPDiversity with a free online speaker workshop for Indian women in the WordPress Community. The event will take place on September 23-24, 2023.
• The WordCamp Asia 2024 organizing team opened calls for speakers, volunteers, sponsors, and media partners.
• Be sure to visit WordCamp Central to find out about upcoming WordCamps.

Join Josepha Haden Chomphosy in Episode 61 of WP Briefing as she discusses her takeaways from the Community Summit.

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Have a story we should include in the next issue of The Month in WordPress? Fill out this quick form to let us know.

The following folks contributed to this Month in WordPress: @rmartinezduque, @laurlittle.

We’re thrilled to unveil the new and refreshed WordPress.com learning hub! This new resource is easily accessible at WordPress.com/learn. Our mission is to create a central place for all your educational needs. In this post we’ll give you a tour of the new digs and explain the behind-the-scenes design work that has made this resource more accessible, more navigable, and more enjoyable to use.

Let’s take a look!    

Why the refresh?

We’ve always been inspired by the passion and curiosity of our users. To better serve your thirst for knowledge, we’ve kickstarted an ambitious journey to bring together the best of our educational content under one roof.

While there’s plenty to explore right now on WordPress.com/learn—including free courses, webinars, and step-by-step tutorials—know that this is just the beginning. We’re continually evolving and adding material to create a resource-rich hub for all your WordPress.com endeavors.

What’s new?

• Fresh and intuitive design: A sleek new interface that makes navigating through courses and webinars a breeze.

• Webinar times shown in your timezone: We’re thrilled to let you know that webinar sessions are now shown in your local timezone.
• Enhanced functionality: With improved search and responsive design, you’ll find what you need in no time.

• Courses come with more details: You’ll find time estimates and expertise levels (Beginner, Intermediate, etc.) listed on each course page.
• Unified experience: We’ve made the design consistent with our WordPress.com/support and WordPress.com/forums pages, ensuring a seamless experience across our platforms.

Big thanks to our team!

Behind the scenes, an incredibly dedicated team worked tirelessly to bring this vision to life. From our designers and developers to our course and webinar coordinators, we’re grateful for every single effort.

Here’s what Vini M., the lead designer on this project, had to say about his vision for this new learning hub:

“Design was the heartbeat of this project. Our revamp aimed to weave together functionality and visual appeal, creating a learning experience that’s both intuitive and captivating.

While crafting this new learning experience, we envisioned a space where interactivity meets accessibility; a place where every learner feels right at home. With resources for diverse users and specific tools to guide beginners, we’ve met diverse needs.

Take a moment to explore, feel the depth, and share our vision. This project is the culmination of passion, dedication, and the combined brilliance of many. We’re immensely proud of our accomplishments, and I hope you feel the same exhilaration. Here’s to the beginning of a renewed journey of learning and growth with WordPress.com!”

Join the adventure!

The journey doesn’t stop here. Our eyes are set on the future as we continue to evolve based on your feedback and needs. Dive in, explore the new WordPress.com/learn hub, and let us know your thoughts. This upgrade will redefine your WordPress.com learning experience!

You deserve only the best for your website. World-class performance. Air-tight security. Top-tier support. So we decided it was time to give you a couple of quick and easy ways to move your site to WordPress.com. 

We’ve made the migration process a seamless and refreshing experience with two new tools we’re excited to share with you.

Move from another WordPress host to WordPress.com  

We understand the hassle of moving your website from one host to another. That’s why we’ve developed a new, free migration plugin that takes the stress out of the process. Simply install, activate, and run the plugin on your WordPress site, and let it handle the entire migration for you. You’ll be up and running on WordPress.com in no time. 

Move from another platform to WordPress.com 

We believe in providing a first-class experience for anyone who wants to move their content to WordPress.com, regardless of platform. That’s why we’ve unified the migration process for users coming from Blogger, Medium, Squarespace, Substack, Wix, and others. No matter where you’re coming from, you’ll receive the same exceptional service and modern import interface. 

Say goodbye to complexities and embrace the simplicity and convenience of migrating your content to WordPress.com.

Make the switch 

With our new migration plugin and content importer, transitioning to WordPress.com has never been easier. Let us take care of the technicalities while you focus on what matters most—creating and managing an outstanding website. 

At WordPress.com, we empower you with the tools and features needed to give your website a competitive edge. With our managed hosting service, you can enjoy world-class performance, robust security measures, and a dedicated support team that’s always ready to assist you. We are committed to providing you with everything you need to thrive in the online world.

Embrace the simplicity, convenience, and seamlessness of migrating your website to WordPress.com.

Join WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy as she discusses the latest from the Community Summit and her takeaways from the 2023 event in Washington, D.C.

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 Arc
Production: Brett McSherry
Song: Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod

Show Notes

• The 2023 Community Summit in Washington, DC
• WP Briefing Episode 49: Everything You Need to Know About the Community Summit!
• The Next Generation of WordCamps
• Idea generation: Next Gen WordCamps!
• PressNomics
• LoopConf
• WordPress Community Summit
• A small list of big things
  • Call for ideas: new features for our NexGen WP events central page – Open call for ideas to find the most desirable features for a future homepage that would host a list of all NextGen WordPress events.
  • Introducing Twenty Twenty-Four – Announced at Contributor Day, this new theme will be part of the 6.4 release.
  • With the release of 6.3 behind us, we are working hard on bringing 6.4 to the community. You can get involved with the development of this important release.
  • A successful WCUS is behind us, and if you missed the event, we have you covered. Here is a recap of the event.

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) 

[00:00:39] Josepha: We are back and catching up from our midyear break. And in true WordPress fashion, we’re just going to start off running. The WordPress Community Summit happened a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been talking about it on this podcast for a few months now, but if you’ve missed it and you want a refresher, go ahead and give episode 49 a listen.

At the Community Summit, there were 125 people, if I remember correctly. And we covered a wide array of topics that were brought to us directly from the community itself. While the event is small, it is specifically designed for gathering and sharing information. So, I’ve got some top-level trends that I noticed that I’m going to share with you all today, as well as just like a reminder of what happens after a Community Summit.

[00:01:27] Josepha: So there are three, maybe four, big trends that I noticed. The first one that I noticed is that we have a lot of discussions right now about contributor acknowledgment. That also, for what it’s worth, came with an unresolved question around whether acknowledgment and recognition are the same. I don’t think they are the same.

But it also was part of a conversation around whether we treat those two things the same. And if they are not the same, should we treat them differently? And et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. For folks who’ve been around for a bit, you know, that we spent a lot of time working on our contributor recognition a few years back and had really made quite a bit of difference in just reported feelings about how the community felt they were being recognized for their contributions.

And so a lot of the conversations that we ended up having were around whether or not the project as a whole has changed the way that we provide that recognition or acknowledgment. Or, as an alternative, if the community that is supporting WordPress has changed how they would like to be recognized.

[00:02:32] Josepha: There were also some questions about whether or not making sure that contributors can see their impact. Like they can say, I contributed 10 hours last month, and these are the two things that I got accomplished over there, and that everyone else can see those things too. So, how we can do that more easily while also not having so many metrics and making the metrics so prevalent that we start to close out the people who are truly just doing this for fun.

Like many of the problems that we have at the Community Summit, this is a bunch of pretty much unsolved mysteries at the moment. But it did; it came up across probably five or six different sessions that I heard about, quite a few that I went to myself, and so contributor acknowledgment and recognition is on our minds again.

A second thing that I noticed across multiple sessions, and this one honestly is not a surprise at all, is that there were a lot of questions about what the next big thing is after Gutenberg. I always love when people are asking big questions about what comes next because it means that we all still believe that there will be a next.

[00:03:43] Josepha: And so I never hesitate when I hear these questions to give some ideas about what I think might be coming. But a lot of the discussions that we were having were around, we think this is coming, but now that we think this is coming, what should we do now to make sure that we are ready for it? One of the biggest assumptions that we all had is that for the CMS, for the software itself, probably our next big area after Gutenberg is going to be something about artificial intelligence.

Matt pointed out in his presentation that he has told us twice to learn something deeply. One was in 2016 when he said, learn JavaScript Deeply. And then one was in 2022 when he said to learn AI deeply. And so we all kind of are guessing that that is our future area. And so that’s an area for everyone to spend some time in. Make sure you understand it. Make sure you know it a bit. 

The second thing that came up as like a future, where are we going here? It was kind of on the business-y side. It was on a lot of questions about enterprise and are we selling properly to enterprise. Can we sell, can we appeal to enterprise? Whose job is it to sell any of these things? Questions like that. So, lots of business questions again. This is not something that I have any concerns about. I’m very excited to see that people are talking about it. That’s been a topic of conversation since, I want to say, February of this year. And so it also wasn’t a surprise inclusion today. And, and I was excited to see, am excited to see what we get out of those conversations over time. 

[00:05:17] Josepha: As far as like questions around what’s next for the community, I’m going to address that separately because it was a huge question for everyone. So I’m going to discuss that as soon as we get finished with this chunk about like the big thing that, that is coming after Gutenberg.

But, from an ecosystem perspective. Like a WordPress project operations perspective, this came up a couple of times. Never in as clear a word, a set of words as that, but the question about, like, what are we doing with our tools? Are we making sure that we are keeping the tools that our contributors use maintained and still in an excellent space with features that are useful and, necessary, and requested?

And so that is a big question. I do have a lot of questions about that. Also, there are so many tools that I have wanted in order to make organizing the WordPress community better and easier, but also making contributing better and easier. And hopefully, here soon, we have an opportunity to get to some of those.

[00:06:16] Josepha: So, the third big trend that I kept seeing at the Community Summit is actually about the community itself, specifically about events. So I was part of or listened to many, many, many conversations over the course of the week that were specifically focused on what we’re going to do with the future of our events. Like are meetups still sustainable? Are WordCamps still sustainable? And that’s from not only the idea of sustainability that we all tend to know from like an ecological standpoint but also, you know, checking in on the resources. So the kinds of questions that folks had were, is it time to continue having many small events, or is it time to move to a few giant events?

Should we bring back midsized, WP-adjacent events like PressNomics or LoopConf? And if we are bringing those back, do we want to have them be part of a semi-official thing along with a clearly WordPress event and like do joint sales in there? Try to figure out how to get people from one to the other, so that it’s not just WordPress people that we’re talking to, but also business people and advanced developers, things like that.

There was also a lot of discussion about whether or not we have gotten too big, should we double down on our grassroots efforts? Just go all the way back to, like, BarCamp style, WordPress in a forest kind of thing. 

[00:07:46] Josepha: And yeah, and among all of these conversations, there were questions about the resources that we need. Do we have what we need now? Do we have plans for how to maintain those resources in the future? Do we have enough time? Do we have enough money? Do we have an expertise? The people? So many questions, so many questions. And on the community side of things, we also had a lot of questions that are routine in open source. Like, do we have a pipeline for future maintainers, for future team reps, for future leaders in the project? All of the questions. 

So, those are the three slash four, depending on how you break it out, really big trends that I saw across the conversation at the Community Summit. And I don’t necessarily know the answers to all of these things. Like, I know what my gut tells me, I know what I believe the answer to be. From my own perspective, but as you’ve been told many times with many eyes, all bugs are shallow. And so here is what happens next with a Community Summit. So we’ve gathered all of these things together. We’ve had these conversations, and now all of the notes from every conversation that we had will be put on make.wordpress.org/summit. 

[00:09:10] Josepha: There, you can do any of the following three things, but at least do one before we get any further. I think it’s important to remind everyone that no decisions were made at the Community Summit. There are a few things that will come out of the Community Summit where the answer the way forward is really obvious. And so those probably will get done quickly thereafter because it’s just an obvious thing to do. It makes sense for everyone in the project. It makes sense for everyone who’s using WordPress. Whatever reason. 

So those things will probably move quickly, but mostly not even mostly there were no decisions made. And so if it looks like something is moving quickly there, it is because it makes sense after the fact. So there’s that. But the three things that you can do in order to take part in this information gathering and sharing that happened at the Community Summit. 

Number one, head over to make.wordpress.org/summit and just read the notes. There are a lot of them you can pick and choose based on the teams you contribute to or the topics that are specifically interesting. Or if you have been assigned to read one of these things, obviously, go ahead and read that. But find the notes read them. Take a look at the discussion as far as you can tell it happened and get a sense for what the essential question is.

The second thing that you can do while you’re there is that you can join in that discussion right there in the comments if you would like to. You can, if you feel like your perspective is not quite accounted for in that, obviously leave some comments and let folks know. But also, if you feel like your perspective was accounted for, but there’s also a very specific question that was not necessarily answered or not even brought up, share those as well. That’s stuff that we would like to know as we are working through this. 

And then the third thing that you can do is you can take those conversations, and if there’s anything that looks like it’s particularly relevant to your local WordPress community, absolutely take those there and have those conversations with them.

[00:11:23] Josepha: And once you’ve had those conversations, let us know what you thought also in those comments, or take it directly into your weekly teams’ chat, either way. We want to hear what you think about the questions that were brought because you brought them to us. And so you should have an opportunity to tell us what you think.

[00:11:39] (Music Interlude) 

[00:11:48] Josepha: That brings us now to our small list of big things. My friends, there’s nothing but big things left for the rest of the year. And so here we go. Number one, uh, I mentioned it quite a bit. There’s a conversation, an ongoing conversation about the future of events for our community. Right now, there is an open call for ideas, new features for our NextGen WordPress events, especially on the page that exists on WordCamp Central.

So, we want to find the most useful and desirable features for a future homepage on central.wordcamp.org that would host a list of all of our upcoming WordPress events. And so we want your opinion there. Please let us know what would be especially useful to you as you are looking for WordPress events to attend.

The second thing is that we introduced 2024, the default theme that is coming with WordPress 6.4, was announced. We have had, I think, 32 contributors to it at the time of this recording. And yeah, it’s beautiful. It’s got a lot of different implementation options, a lot of default patterns, and curated patterns so that you can get exactly what you want out of that theme. I think it’s going to make a great default theme, a great starter theme for our final release of the year. 

And then, speaking of 6.4, with the release of 6.3 behind us, we are working hard on bringing 6.4 to the community. You can get involved with the development of that. There is a core chat every Wednesday. It happens. I want to say at 21:00 UTC, but I don’t actually know off the top of my head. I just go when my calendar tells me to go, and I live in the central time zone. And so, my UTC conversion is not the best, but we will leave the actual information about that in the show notes so that you can see it. But you can also go over to make.wordpress.org, and then there’s a little card on that homepage that tells you exactly when those core meetings are, including the new contributor meeting, which happens every two weeks. 

And then the fourth thing is that there is a successful WordCamp US behind us. That is our final flagship event of the year, which is always exciting. If you missed it, for one, we missed you. And for two, we have you covered. We’ve got a recap of the event. There is a link to that in the show notes as well. 

[00:14:05] Josepha: And that, my friends, is your small list of big things. Thanks for tuning in today for the WordPress Briefing. I’m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy, and I’ll see you again in a couple of weeks.

[00:14:15] (Music Outro) 

Last week, the WordPress.com team joined nearly 2,000 WordPress creators and users at WordCamp US in National Harbor, Maryland. If you’ve never been, a WordCamp is an informal, volunteer-organized event where everyone who knows, loves, and builds with WordPress is welcome. 

The talks ranged from how whitehouse.gov was relaunched in six weeks (supported by our VIP division) to the work/life tightrope of a woman working in technology leadership. There was plenty of space for hallway conversations and the memorable closing social was held at the beautiful Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Overall, it was an action-packed couple of days!

At WordPress.com, we were especially excited about Matt Mullenweg’s announcement of the 100-Year Plan. One of Matt’s inspirations is the Long Now Foundation, which is designing a clock to keep accurate time for the next 10,000 years. Thinking about a similarly aspirational goal is a worthy exercise. What does it mean to provide web services for 100 years? How do you register a domain for 100 years? Will people buy it at the beginning of their lives or at the end? 

As WordPress hits 20 years, we’re thinking deeply about how it can continue to be a thriving software and community for the decades to come.

Our colleagues from Woo, Jetpack, and the WordPress Project also participated in WordCamp US.

At the Woo booth, attendees experienced what it’s like to be a merchant with the Woo Mobile app. They used magic credit cards to “pay” for swag from the Woo Store. 

Meanwhile, at Jetpack’s booth, attendees explored the Jetpack Pro Dashboard as well as Jetpack AI, and left with a custom-engraved battery pack. 

The WordPress Project helped produce the very first WordCamp art gallery: Open Source, Open Canvas.

When it comes to the talks, one of the clear favorites was sci-fi author Ken Liu’s “Tell the Story You Want To Tell”:

You can view all of the talks over on the WordPress YouTube channel, or via WordCamp.tv (where they’ll be uploaded shortly). 

Keep an eye out for WordCamp US 2024 dates and location — we’d love to see you!  

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