WordPress News and Links
We're here to help you stay up-to-date on the latest WordPress news and resources. We write our thoughts on the news in WordPress a few times a week, so check back here often for a curated and thoughtful WordPress news feed.
And if you want our updates direct in your inbox, now's the time to join our free weekly newsletter:
Latest WordPress News and Resources
WordPress Learning Curve in 2021

There's been some worthwhile discussion of the WordPress learning curve lately. My "main link" here is the article from Courtney Robertson. Though I'd also point to the one of the topic from Justin Tadlock at WP Tavern. I thought Courtney's… [Keep reading]
Understanding theme.json

One of the more consequential features of WordPress 5.8 I didn't pay much attention to before it was released was theme.json. Which is "just another file in your WordPress theme" but also a whole lot more. I'll just quote Jeff… [Keep reading]
Justin Tadlock’s Take on WP Theming Today
Those of you who are newer to the WordPress space, just let me tell you that Justin Tadlock is a real WordPress OG (in my ~15 years experience #OfficiallyOld), so I take his opinions pretty seriously. So I thought his… [Keep reading]
Some Emoji-Accessibility Guidance

I'm not an accessibility expert, but I am a big emoji fan (as frequent readers may be aware 🤪). So I took a pretty keen interest in a story from Ryan Kan purporting to make me better at accessibility with… [Keep reading]
Guide to the new Query Loop Block

I was talking with the current students in the Up and Running Bootcamp last week about the new Query Block in WordPress 5.8. I had to admit I'd not really played with it much myself. For that reason, I was… [Keep reading]
Understanding Block Plugins

I loved reading this write-up from Rich Tabor about the what and why of Block Plugins. For those new to this whole thing, I'll pull his opening summary: What are Block Plugins? If you’ve built blocks before, you may be… [Keep reading]
What’s Coming in PHP 8.1

PHP 8.1 is very much in progress, and is slated to come out in November. While WordPress developers often (and reasonably) don't use many of the features of PHP 7, nevermind PHP-8-only features, some of these things are at least… [Keep reading]
What’s New in WordPress 5.8

Another version of WordPress, 5.8 is about to drop. Like literally it is scheduled to come out tomorrow. You've probably seen at least a few headlines about it if you follow WordPress news. And it's a big one! What particular… [Keep reading]
Introduction to WordPress (Gutenberg) Block Filters

Like many, I'm still very much getting my sea legs when it comes to doing web-development tasks that affect aspects of the (Gutenberg) Block Editor. While its no longer new, it's never really overlapped very clearly with work either I… [Keep reading]
Dynamic Favicons for WordPress

I can't be the only one who sometimes has dozens of tab open, all from my own WordPress site. And then I lose track of which I was seeing the public side of my site, vs the admin side where… [Keep reading]
Good Interview with Matt Mullenweg & Josepha Haden Chomposy

I really enjoyed watching this little interview with between Mark & Keith from Highrise Digital and Matt Mullenweg and Josepha Haden Chomposy (who are probably the two most influential people shaping WordPress today). Nothing that anyone said was really a… [Keep reading]
CSS Neon Lights

Longtime readers may have caught on to the fact that I'm a big sucker for cool CSS techniques I would have never come up with or figured out. And this is one more example on that. Over at CSS-Tricks, Silvia… [Keep reading]
WordSesh 2021 is Approaching

Next week(!) is WordSesh. For those who aren't familiar, WordSesh is a free online-first (has been doing it since before it became how all events are ;p) WordPress conference. It is totally free for live (and nearly-live attendance). (If you're… [Keep reading]
You Can Label an `if` in JavaScript

Interesting little article over at CSS Tricks from Alex Riviere. In it, he explains that it's possible to label "if" (and other "block type") statements in JavaScript. I've never heard (or thought about) such a feature. As Alex says, it's… [Keep reading]
Updating a Publishing Plugin to the Block Editor

Helen Hou-Sandí is certainly one of the most important people making (core) WordPress better, and she's been doing it for years. So I take a pretty keen interest in what she's working on. So when this post about updating a… [Keep reading]
Accessible-Colors.com

At a recent (virtual) Fort Collins WordPress meetup, someone shared this little site which I've never encountered before: Accessible-Colors.com. As you might guess from the name, it's a simple little site/tool to tell you if the contrast between two colors… [Keep reading]
Dashboard Summary Plugin

I stumbled across this little plugin from Greg Sweet a few weeks ago. I've run it on a few sites, and I think it's just a great little free upgrade to the "At a Glance" widget on the WordPress Dashboard.… [Keep reading]
The End of AMP?

I'm more than a little linking this story just because I hope it comes to pass, rather than because Dwayne Lefluer convinced me that he's bringing real news that AMP's end is nigh. We've never really dealt with AMP here… [Keep reading]
Mac User? Try HazeOver

I was just thinking the other day that I should send some love to some my favorite "not really WordPress" computer tools. And the first one I want to share is this missing-feature app I love on the Mac called… [Keep reading]
Re-licensing Gutenberg for Mobile Apps?
If you're not into the legal complexities of "open source software" you can safely skip this. 🤓 But if you're also kind of interested in the legal complexities of choosing different open source licenses, your interest may also be piqued… [Keep reading]
WordPress 5.7 Field Guide

If there's one post I *always* read about the latest/upcoming WordPress release, it's these "field guide" posts on make.wordpress.org. They're a concise summary of the major highlights to keep an eye on. You should take a look yourself, because different… [Keep reading]
A Summary of Next-Gen Image Formats

Most everyone in the WordPress world knows the basic image formats: use JPEGs for photos, PNGs for screenshots, and maybe WebP if you're a Google-loving-hipster. Or at least, that's my summary of the situation. (Some other playful/controversial opinions: .bmp is… [Keep reading]
Dealing with Client Conflicts

I'm quite confident a lot of WPShout readers are doing at least a little bit of "client work." Whatever way you do that---even if you don't do it using WordPress---problems can crop up. Which is why I really appreciate this… [Keep reading]
Is CSS float deprecated?

As a perennial CSS newbie (who kind of had skills a decade ago) I appreciated this short article from Robin Rendle about when (translation: how little) you should use the float: left that was so common when I last really… [Keep reading]
Google Tricks Cheatsheet

I use Google a lot. You probably do too. But have you ever thought about tricks that'd make you better at Googling? I honestly don't much of the time. And that's partly down to just how good "normal Googling" is,… [Keep reading]