I SAID Hello World! World? HELLO?!?

By Editorial staff

November 14, 2024

0

6

Read to the end to see probably the best photo of Mount Fuji, ever.

In today’s edition:

A roundup of helpful walkthroughs & resources for the launch of 6.7.
The verdict is in on what people think of WordPress’s tone of voice.
Author? Editor? Contributor? Who? Some advice to help you better manage user roles.

Hot Off The Presses: What’s New?

The Results Are In: The WordPress Tone of Voice is “All Over The Place”

Remember when WP Shout asked for your thoughts on the WordPress brand tone of voice?

Well, the community had their say and word on the street is that the WordPress brand tone is… well… kinda chaotic.

22.1% of respondents thought the brand came across as “friendly” – but they also commented that it felt “unclear,” “inconsistent,” and even “confusing.” (And as far as we can see, nobody described the brand as “mindful,” “cutesy,” or “demure.”)

In response to, “I find that the WordPress brand speaks with a single, well-defined voice,” 46.51% of respondents answered either “Disagree” or “Strongly Disagree.” That’s compared to 22.09% who said “Agree” or “Strongly Agree.” Ooh boy…

But of course, brand voice is NOT easy.

With so many different entities within the WordPress ecosystem, it’s almost impossible to unify the tone like you could at a small company or individual publication.

As Katie Keith, Co-Founder and CEO of Barn2 Plugins points out, “The main problem is the implementation, as (the brand voice) is not being used consistently by all parties.”

Nicholas Garofalo, Director of Marketing at WordPress.org, states, “The results raise the question of whether WordPress should or even can aim to speak with a single, unified voice… The WordPress brand represents a lot of people and interests.”

You can read the blog post analyzing the survey results here, and check out the full survey findings here.

They See Me Rollins, They Hatin’. WordPress 6.7 Is Finally Here!

Named after legendary jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins, WordPress 6.7 is finally rollin’ into our lives.

The newest release debuts the Twenty Twenty-Five theme, which looks pretty darn snazzy to be honest, alongside plenty of other new features.

Jazzed to jump into 6.7 and start exploring? Here are some helpful resources for you:
.

Here’s a Roadmap to 6.7 so you can see what’s changed, including links to pull requests.
Get every little nitty gritty detail on the new release on the 6.7 Source of Truth at the Gutenberg Times.
Timothy Jacobs of Solid Academy walks through the new changes in this livestream. (Don’t worry, there’s a replay if you don’t catch it live.)
Pascal Claro from WP Roads also gives a comprehensive tour of the new release, showing off everything from mix and match color palettes, typography settings, improved image lightbox effects and more.

Have you started playing with 6.7 already? Whaddya think? Let us know in the comments!

WordPress Theme Repository Hits Major 1k Milestone

WordPress.org reached a big milestone: there are now 1,000 block themes in the repository, up from 536 late last year.

This is good news for anyone tired of cookie-cutter site design, as the block themes let you tinker with layout detail and fully customize your site.

Ganga Kafle from the WordPress Themes Team credits community enthusiasm and contributions from developers like Automattic for this growth.
Sure, adoption has been a bit slow, but industry insiders like Brian Gardner and Mike McAlister have championed them, saying block themes are the future of WordPress customization. WordPress have even added a “Block Themes” filter to the theme directory, to make it easier to users to find them.

Looking to dive into block themes? There are plenty of great resources out there, like Carolina Nymark’s fullsiteediting.com or the handy Create Block Theme plugin.

Mind Bloggling Facts & Stats

Since the first one in San Francisco in 2006, there have been 1275 WordCamps, in 404 cities around the globe. That’s a lot of business cards, lanyards and keynote speakers! (Source)
According to Data USA in 2022, 30.6% of web developers were women and 69.4% were men. The average salary for a male web developer was $86,017, compared to $65,913 for the average woman. (Source)
In their 2024 Developer Survey, Stack Overflow found that 76% of respondents were using or planning to use AI tools, but only 43% said they trusted the accuracy of those tools. Hmm… 🤔 (Source)

Deep Dive: Locking Down Your WordPress Site with Smarter User Roles

Let’s be real: we’ve all seen user roles get wildly out of hand. Sometimes, you’ve got ten people running around with Admin access, and you’re practically inviting trouble.

WordPress’s built-in roles are great, but they can also be a recipe for chaos if you’re not careful. The fix? Smarter user role management.

Giving users only the permissions they need isn’t just sensible— it’ll protect against accidental (or intentional!) mayhem. Here’s how to keep your user roles tidy and your site safe:

Pro Tips for a Secure User Role Setup

Stick to the “Need-to-Know” Rule – Ask yourself, “What does this person really need access to?” If someone’s only posting blogs, they don’t need editing powers. Keep it minimal. Trim permissions regularly and relentlessly.
Custom Roles: Your Secret Weapon – Use plugins like Members or User Role Editor to create custom roles that match your needs. This is especially helpful for clients who might otherwise end up with more access than you’re comfortable with.
Regular Permission Checks – Every few months, do a quick audit of who has what access. People change, roles shift, and permissions should follow suit. Got someone who’s moved on? Time to cut them loose.
Admin Access Should Be VIP, Not An All-Access Party – Keep Admin access to a minimum. It’s tempting to make everyone an Admin to “keep things simple,” but this can turn into a free-for-all. Reserve Admin privileges for trusted users only.
Nix Dormant Accounts – Unused accounts are like uninvited guests who never leave. If someone doesn’t need their account anymore, delete or deactivate it. Dormant accounts = easy hacking targets.
Monitor Activity – A logging plugin (think WP Activity Log, Stream or our own plugin, Defender Pro) is like having a digital bouncer. It tracks what users are doing, so you’ll know if anyone’s getting up to no good. Within Defender Pro, there’s an Audit Logging feature that shows you a log of events, so you can easily spot what triggered any unwanted behavior on your site.
Strong Passwords + 2FA = No-Brainer – Don’t let users skate by with weak passwords. Set a strong password policy and, ideally, add two-factor authentication to really keep things airtight. (Btw, Defender has 2FA and password security features too.)

When your user roles are in check, you’re doing more than tidying up—you’re building a fortress. Keep things locked down, and your WordPress site will be ready for anything.

Blogs & Resources You Shouldn’t Miss

WordPress.com recently released their AI-powered Studio Assistant, a digital chatbot co-pilot for building sites locally. Matt Medeiros from WP Minute Tutorials explores how it works.

Could WordPress shift into something more like a social media network? In this episode of The WordPress Way, Robert Windisch and Matthias Pfefferle discuss.

Are you an accessibility expert in the WordPress space? If so, Tia Wood wants to talk to you for the November issue of What’s the Word.

Warning: Turns out there’s a nasty security flaw in the WPLMS WordPress theme that allows hackers to play hide-and-seek with your files. Don’t forget to update to lock things down!

Seamless workflow, here we come! The design team have unveiled a new WordPress Design System library for Figma.

In a recent blog post, Marieke van de Rakt and Joost de Valk remind us that the real treasure is the WordPress friends we made along the way. 💖