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This week in WordPress
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Performance Team proposes enabling WebP by default
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In July last year, WordPress 5.8 introduced WebP support, allowing users to upload and use WebP images. If the proposal is approved, WordPress 6.0 will generate WebP images by default for new JPEG uploads and will use WebP images by default for website content.
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In his proposal, Google-sponsored core contributor Adam Silverstein says that compared to JPEG images, WebP images generated by WordPress are "almost always smaller, with a ~30% file size reduction on average (with the same visual quality)."
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Despite the significant performance benefits, there's been opposition to the feature proposal by folks who want an "off" switch, including Audrey Capital-sponsored core contributor Samuel "Otto" Wood.
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"Yeah, no. If I upload a JPG, then I want it to be a JPG and to stay a JPG. If this doesn't have an off switch, then I surely will build one," comments Wood.
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"I'm not opposed to the feature. It will benefit many users and inconvenience some. But this feels so heavy handed," adds XWP software architect/engineer Rheinard Korf.
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Folks can test the proposed WebP feature by installing the Performance Lab plugin and activating the "WebP Uploads" module.
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Pattern creator now live at WordPress.org
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The WordPress.org Pattern Creator is now available to the public. At WPTavern, Justin Tadlock says the pattern directory has the potential to be an "onramp" for creators who want to contribute to WordPress but don't know where to start because the barrier to entry is one of the lowest in the community. "I have no idea where this thing (the pattern directory) is going. I hope to see 1,000s of patterns in the directory a year from now," he adds.
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"Here we go! With the new #WordPress pattern creator, I am pleased to announce Service Cards—my first contribution. 😎" tweets designer and WP Engine Principal Developer Advocate Brian Gardner.
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RankMath-sponsored themes contributor Sandilya Kafle tweets "No idea how to make a theme or plugin but still want to contribute to WordPress? Now, you can make a pattern! No coding knowledge is required. 👌."
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Yoast-sponsored core contributor Carolina Nymark highlights that "Less then ten #themes in the #WordPress theme directory includes patterns for #WooCommerce blocks, so there is a big opportunity to create something unique and useful."
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WordPress 6.0 leads doing "first-of-its-kind" livestream next week
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On the Make WordPress Core blog, Automattic-sponsored marketing contributor Dan Soschin says it will be a "first-of-its-kind" event that "could be a fun and simple way to bring more people into the release cycle from the community and help build early awareness of what's to come in the release, further ahead of the release date than previously done."
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WordPress 6.0 is anticipated for release on May 24.
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Business Spotlight: LearnDash
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LearnDash is taking cutting-edge e-learning methodology and infusing it into WordPress. We're trusted to power the learning programs for major universities, small to mid-size companies, startups, entrepreneurs, and bloggers worldwide.
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Crocoblock shares how their Ukrainian team is doing
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"💙 As lots of people ask how Crocoblock team is doing, we've decided to create short video 💛" tweets Lana Miro, Partner Manager at Ukrainian plugin company Crocoblock. She links to How Crocoblock team is doing? on YouTube.
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In the video, team members share how they are continuing to work and deliver plugin updates—from basements, bathrooms, and even after leaving their homes to travel across the country.
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And there's more: In Stay With Ukraine: WordPress Community Support on the Crocoblock blog, Content Manager Tetiana Pryhorovska shares what it means to be Ukrainian, how much the support of the WordPress community means to the team, and ways to support the military and humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.
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Crocoblock has received an outpouring of support from the WordPress community, including customers like web designer Yannis Sintos, who comments in the Crocoblock Community on Facebook: "These guys are amazing. In the middle of war, and they released an update for JetEngine. Respect!"
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Meanwhile, after the Russian Z plugin debacle, WordPress needs to rewrite its rules, says MasterWP Editor Rob Howard. Earlier this month, Howard asked whether the WordPress community should “quit Russia” by participating in corporate blackouts. He says while some readers challenged whether his question was relevant to WordPress, "we got our answer in the form of a troll-ish plugin."
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"This episode shows us that the assumptions we've become accustomed to as open-source software developers—assumptions that were almost entirely crafted during 30 years of relative peace and globalization—no longer work in the new world that we've all been thrust into by Russia's invasion of Ukraine," writes Howard in Open source isn't ready for a world at war.
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And more from Bisset: he explores the weaponisation of open source projects in light of the tech community's reaction to the war in Ukraine. Dan Knauss also muses on what it would take to exploit—and, ultimately, destroy—WordPress.
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New dates for WordCamp Asia after 2020 cancellation
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Asia's inaugural flagship WordCamp was originally scheduled for March 2020 but was the first international WordPress event to be cancelled due to the pandemic, just nine days before it was scheduled to happen. "After five years of planning and so many unavoidable delays, the persistence and resilience of WordCamp Asia's organizers is admirable," says Gooding.
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#WPCommunityFeels: Disha Pegu
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This week, what's inspiring Disha Pegu, Community Manager at Atarim.
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The Repository is a proud media sponsor of Atarim Web Agency Summit 2022. The four-day business-orientated event will kick off on April 26. Get your ticket for free.
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A podcast worth listening to: I am almost addicted to The Joe Rogan podcast! I just love the diversity of topics discussed and the spirit of Joe.
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A concept worth understanding: "Peace of Mind"—I literally have it tattooed on me! It's a concept that if you crack can get your life sorted.
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A Twitter account worth following: Social media is all about fun along with information for me, and by far the most fun Twitter account worth following is @TheTweetOfGod.
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An article worth reading: Well, I have lost count of articles I have read in my life, but to answer this question, I'll go back to academics (yes, I am a nerd): 5 Biting Insults From Literature by Shashi Tharoor is one of my favs!
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A habit worth forming: I am so bad at forming habits! I improvise all my life! But one habit that I really wish to keep sticking to is cutting off caffeine. It's a small one, but the difference it creates is huge!
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Pricing Strategy for Agencies and Freelancers
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If you run your own client services business, you know web design and development pricing can be hard. Should you charge hourly or price your services based on the value you provide? Should all client projects be priced the same? How do you know when to raise your prices?
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These questions—or rather struggling to come up with answers to them—can take you away from what you started your own business to do: design and develop web projects! And there are so many more questions that need to be answered before you can really know how to price your projects, like where it will be hosted, who’s doing the work, will site maintenance be included, and more!
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Join Dave Amirault, Director of Marketing at Pagely, to learn more about how you should be thinking about your pricing strategy. Day in and day out, Dave talks to businesses about how Pagely can best serve them and finds out how other owners are thinking about their prices. In this meetup, he’ll share what he’s learned over the years so you can start to figure out what works best for you and your business!
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This free virtual event is presented by GoDaddy Pro and will take place on Wednesday, April 6, 2022 at 3pm EST.
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In other WordPress news...
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- Gutenberg 12.9 adds block locking UI, automatic pattern registration, and full theme experts. Justin Tadlock at WPTavern says it's a beefy release, packed with a little something for everyone.
- Patchstack co-founder and CEO Oliver Slid joined the WPTavern Jukebox podcast this week. He talks about the security company's State of WordPress Security in 2021 report and how some people have pushed back on its usefulness. Meanwhile, at Post Status, David Bisset explores how security-related messaging could be improved for WordPress.
- Cate deRosia is the latest WordPress contributor to be recognised as part of the Yoast Care Fund. She "steps up every time I ask her to join me in crazy community building," says nominator Michelle Frechette. deRosia volunteers her time for WordCamp US, WordFest, and marketing at Big Orange Heart, in addition to helping curate the HeroPress community and blog.
- Howard Development & Consulting founder and CEO Rob Howard joined the Matt Report podcast this week. He talks about building an agency, hiring, and buying MasterWP.
- WooCommerce's new Store API is now stable after two years in development, reports Sarah Gooding at WPTavern. The API powers the ecommerce plugin's new block-based cart and checkout experience as well as all products blocks.
- Anyone seriously invested in WordPress, from developers to agency owners, has a big stake in the primary language WordPress is built with: PHP. On the Post Status Comments podcast, core contributors Tonya Mork and Carl Alexander offer a CliffsNotes take on the PHP news the WordPress community should be paying attention to now, including big changes to code for developers and the need for a PHP Foundation.
- Myles Lagolago-Craig has joined enterprise agency XWP as CEO. An experienced digital leader, Lagolago-Craig worked at NewsCorp Australia for 20 years and led the development of platforms that enabled some of Australia's most high-traffic websites, including news.com.au, Fox Sports, and The Australian newspaper online.
- Six months after stepping down as CEO of WP Buffs, founder Joe Howard has co-founded a new project. Driftly provides no-code product tours for SaaS platforms.
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