Exodus Begins? BuddyPress Lead Developer Quits WordPress Altogether
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Mathieu Viet, the driving force behind BuddyPress, has made a heartfelt announcement: he's stepping away from the WordPress ecosystem…entirely.
(read more)I Wanted to Follow the First Hearing in the WP Engine v Automattic Lawsuit So That You Didn’t Have To
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If you’ve been following the WordPress world lately, you might have heard about the small little lawsuit between WP Engine and Automattic. Jokes aside, it’s the kind of case that could have far-reaching effects for developers, other hosting companies, and anyone whose business depends on WordPress for that matter.
(read more)Mary Hubbard, New Executive Director of WordPress.org Engages in Open Q&A With the Community (and Matt Mullenweg)
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Last Monday, Mary Hubbard wrote her first P2 message announcing her one-hour Q&A call on Friday. The Zoom event was announced on the Make WordPress Slack channel, and 82 people showed up, including Matt Mullenweg.
(read more)Did WordPress.org Just Release the “Forked” PRO Version of ACF for Free?
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Something truly unexpected happened in the WordPress community just before the weekend - a "product release," sort of. You've probably already guessed what I'm talking about from the headline, so let's skip the suspense.
(read more)WordPress 6.7 “Rollins” Released, Including a New Default Theme
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On November 12, WordPress 6.7 was released for WordPress users everywhere to enjoy. Keeping with the jazz theme, WordPress 6.7 goes by the name "Rollins," named after Sonny Rollins. In total, 750 different contributors worked on WordPress 6.7. In this post, I want to take you through some of the highlights of the release, including features that regular users will care about and features that developers might care about.
(read more)WordPress Brand Tone and Voice Survey Results Are In: “It’s Not a Unified Brand”
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Over the past month, we ran a survey here on WPShout to explore how users perceive the voice and tone of the WordPress brand. We received 222 responses from engaged members of the WordPress community. First off, I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to participate and share their thoughts!
(read more)How to Add a Background Image Cover in WordPress – in 1 Minute
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While overall opinions on the Gutenberg editor vary, even the naysayers can't deny that there are so many elements you can add now with just the core WordPress blocks that you couldn't before. One of those elements is a background cover image. Not only is there a dedicated "cover block" solely made for this purpose, but it only takes a minute to add it to your posts. In this guide I'll show you how to do it and also how to customize it.
(read more)How to Find and Remove Large Files on cPanel Hosting
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One of the most popular control panels that many hosting companies rely on is cPanel. If you have cPanel hosting and you're starting to hit your storage limits then you need to learn how to remove large files from your database. This quick 3-minute guide will explain it to you.
(read more)How to Change Your Default Category From “Uncategorized” in WordPress
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So you launched a new WordPress site, wrote your first post, and published it. Then shortly afterwards you realized that it was automatically tagged as "uncategorized." We've all been there before - myself included. There's a way to change this though and in this quick tutorial I am going to show you how to do it.
(read more)Add HTML to WordPress With the Custom HTML Block (and Claude?)
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The Gutenberg block editor has close to 100 default blocks available for use. However, there are still situations where you might want to add a feature to your post that's simply not available via the default blocks. That's where custom HTML comes to the rescue! In this quick guide, I'm going to show you how you can use the HTML block along with Claude (a freemium AI tool) to customize your own posts.
(read more)Mullenweg and Co. Take Over the Advanced Custom Fields Plugin
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A couple of weeks ago, I talked about the new and growing fight between Automattic/Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine. Back then, the two were mainly trading words, and dueling cease and desist letters. However, the scope seems to be continuing to expand, including WP Engine filing an actual lawsuit against Matt Mullenweg and Automattic.
(read more)WordPress Profile Picture Without Gravatar (And How to Add It to Posts)
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As much as I love using WordPress, there are certain quirks about it that annoy me. One of those in particular is that the only default way to change your user profile photo is by linking it to a Gravatar profile. It’s not only annoying because it forces you to create an account with a service that you probably wouldn’t use otherwise, but then it also populates that same photo on any WordPress site you log into (if you use the same email address).
(read more)How Does WordPress Sound to You? Join Our Survey About WordPress Brand Tone and Voice
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Over the past few years, we have seen increased efforts to better position and market the WordPress brand. Along with these efforts, we now have a Brand Writing Style Guide that defines how the WordPress voice should sound and what tone it should convey. The brand book was first created in August 2018 and has undergone several updates since then. It serves as a manual for all marketing messages, campaigns, and communication from WordPress.
(read more)WP Engine and Automattic Trade Cease-and-Desist Letters After Matt Mullenweg Jabs
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If you follow WordPress at any level, it’s hard not to have heard about the drama surrounding Matt Mullenweg’s attack on WP Engine at the tail end of WordCamp US, something that marred what otherwise seemed like a very lovely event.
(read more)I Spent 20 Hours Testing 60+ Niche WordPress Themes, and There Are Some Elephants in the Repo
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Recently, I was working on a rewrite of one of our theme list posts and in the process I tested over 30 themes. By the end, I came to the unfortunate conclusion that the majority were junk. My gut feeling was that the "shiny cover, empty box" syndrome I encountered was more widespread than only the niche I worked on. So I decided to fire up a test instance of WordPress and went through 31 additional themes in a separate niche. These are the results of my research.
(read more)WordCamp US 2024 Kicks Off On September 17!
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Hey there, WordPress fans! I am checking in today to let you know that WordCamp US 2024 is about to kick off!
(read more)8 Best Cheap WordPress Hosting Providers – Expert Compared in 2025
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Cheap WordPress hosting sounds great until you're hit with hidden fees, slow loading times, and (truly) useless support. I've been burned by this myself…multiple times. So, I decided to find out if it's even possible to get reliable WordPress hosting without emptying your wallet
(read more)14 Best WordPress Hosting Providers of 2025 Compared and Tested
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Ever since we started this site, we’ve been deeply involved in the topic of hosting a WordPress website. Personally, it wasn’t something I deliberately set out to learn that much about; rather, the topic found me. If you’re using WordPress, hosting is just essential, and there’s no way to ignore it. You just can’t run a site without it. So naturally, you’d want the best hosting available and steer clear of the sub-par options.
(read more)Automattic Wants to Migrate 500+ Million Tumblr Blogs to WordPress
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If you like ambitious projects, I think this news tidbit will be right up your alley. In late August, Matt Mullenweg and Automattic announced plans to migrate all of the existing Tumblr websites to WordPress. Given that Tumblr hosts more than half a billion blogs (yes – that’s a “B”), I think this might just be one of the largest migration projects ever undertaken.
(read more)WordCamp US 2024 Schedule Released: Get Ready for the Event!
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If you're attending WordCamp US 2024 in person or online, I have great news! In late August, we got our first look at the full lineup and schedule for this year's event, which will be held in Portland, Oregon from September 17-20.
(read more)8 Mistakes I Made When Building My First WordPress Plugin Using AI (With No Prior Development Experience)
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As the title of this article says, I have no formal development experience. For full transparency though, I also wasn't coming into this with a total lack of understanding about the underlying code that makes WordPress plugins function. That did make things somewhat easier, but nowhere near easy. I was damn enthusiastic about building a WordPress plugin though, so I decided to give it a shot.
(read more)Is Gutenberg Finally Winning Users Over? We Analyzed 340+ Opinions to Find Out
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Over the past few months, I’ve been diving deep into what people really think about WordPress’ block editor – Gutenberg. I thought this was going to be a fun project. I analyzed over 340 opinions from platforms like Reddit, Twitter, YouTube, and WordPress.org. I also spoke with developers, colleagues, and other professionals in the WordPress community to get a well-rounded perspective.
(read more)Our First Look at the Upcoming Twenty Twenty-Five Default WordPress Theme
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If you're a fan of default WordPress themes, I have great news! On August 15, we got our first look at the upcoming Twenty Twenty-Five default theme in this WordPress.org post. The new Twenty Twenty-Five theme will be released as part of WordPress 6.7 (which is currently scheduled for release on November 12, 2024).
(read more)The New “Learn WordPress” Launches. Here’s What I Like About It
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If you haven't checked out Learn WordPress lately, it's probably a good idea to do it today. This free educational hub has just had a serious glow-up, and I'm here to give you the scoop on why it's worth your attention.
(read more)Interview With Anne McCarthy: How the WordPress Testing Process Works
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I sat down with Anne McCarthy, long-time WordPress contributor and Test Lead for WordPress 6.6 (which has just been released), to get a better understanding of how this process works – and how you can get involved.
(read more)WordPress 6.6 Released on July 16, Bringing New Upgrades and Site Editor Features
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WordPress 6.6 “Dorsey” went live a couple of days ago on July 16! As with most of the major releases over the past few years, the new features and changes primarily focus on the Site Editor and Block Editor, with not much being done for people using the “classic” approach to WordPress.
(read more)Awesome Motive Acquires the Popular WordPress BuddyBoss Theme/Plugin
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Lately, I’ve learned that there are three sure things in life – death, taxes, and Awesome Motive acquiring popular WordPress businesses. That third certainty is what prompted me to write this post and let you know about the latest addition to their portfolio.
(read more)WordCamp Europe, Supply Chain Attack, More Acquisitions 🗞️ July 2024 WordPress News w/ WPShout
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Howdy, WordPress friends. In this edition, I’ll cover WordCamp Europe 2024 (and tell you more about its venue in 2025), an ongoing supply chain attack that’s affecting lots of plugins/WordPress sites (make sure your sites are safe), several new WordPress acquisitions, and plenty more news and tidbits.
(read more)A Beginner’s Guide to the WordPress Interactivity API
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Learn how to use the WordPress Interactivity API, why it’s essential, and how it simplifies adding interactive features to your blocks. Discover seamless integration with PHP server-side rendering and real-world examples of dynamic user experiences.
(read more)Plugin Directory Changes, Envato Acquired, Our Hosting Survey 🗞️ June 2024 WordPress News w/ WPShout
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Hey there, WordPress fans! I am back with the latest edition of our monthly WordPress news roundup, which covers everything that happened in WordPress over the past 30 days…or so.
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