Tag: news

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Automattic Launches Malware and Vulnerability Scanning Service for Jetpack

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Decorative image of a mobile and desktop view for the Jetpack Scan feature.

On Tuesday, Automattic launched Jetpack Scan, an automated malware and vulnerability scanning service. It is a premium service offered to sites connected to a WordPress.com account and the third major add-on launched on top of the plugin in recent months.

Jetpack Scan is available for $7 per month or $70 for an annual subscription. Both options are 30% off the regular price of $10 and $100, respectively. Currently, the feature runs daily scans for security threats. However, the plan is to add a real-time scanning option, presumably at a higher price point.

“It’s like having a security guard monitoring your site,” said Paolo Belcastro, Head of Product for Jetpack. “You can rest easy knowing that someone’s watching out for you 24/7. And if we find any threats, you’ll receive an instant email alert so you can fix it right away and get back to running your business. We can even repair the majority of security threats for you with just one click.”

The service comes on the heels of two other big Jetpack launches in the last couple of months. In April, the Jetpack team re-launched Jetpack Search as a standalone service. The team then opened the Jetpack Backup service in May, which was the first step in selling what is essentially a two-part security solution for site owners — backups and security scanning go hand in hand. The backup service is $30 per year for daily backups and $200 per year for real-time backups. For a complete security solution, end-users will probably combine the Jetpack Scan service with Jetpack Backup, which will run at a minimum of $100 every year. These numbers are based on introductory rates, which are expected to increase in the future.

Backup and security scanning services are major moves. Jetpack is likely to gobble up a huge slice of the security pie in the coming months and years, which is a sector that is currently represented by several other big businesses in the industry. With over five million self-installed WordPress users and millions more at WordPress.com, it will be an easy choice for many to opt into Jetpack’s solution rather than look elsewhere.

Jetpack Scan Features and Interface

  • Desktop View
  • Mobile View

Jetpack Scan automatically scans connected websites each day. Once a user sets up the feature, they no longer need to perform any actions for routine security maintenance. The feature offloads the actual scanning to Automattic’s servers instead of running checks directly on the user’s site. This also has the benefit of making scan results accessible even if the user’s site is down for some reason.

If the scanning system finds an issue, it sends an email directly to the user. The system comes with a one-click fix feature. “Just press a button and Jetpack will fix the majority of known malware problems so you can get your site back up and running,” wrote Rob Pugh, Director of Product Marketing at Automattic, in the announcement post.

Jetpack Scan also integrates with the Jetpack Backup service, which will allow end-users to completely restore their site to a previous point in time in the case of site hacks.

For new Scan and Backup customers, they will be able to enjoy a new all-in-one interface on the Jetpack website. The team will bring the upgraded experience to existing customers soon.

“Even the best security tools can become useless if they require advanced skills to configure complicated settings,” said Filipe Varela, of Jetpack Design. “That’s why it was so important for us to build an accessible and streamlined service. We’re proud to announce a fresh, dedicated interface for Jetpack Scan on Jetpack.com. It will be the central hub for managing all your Jetpack Security products. You can scan your website, check the results, respond to issues, and, when combined with Jetpack Backup, quickly restore your site to working order all in one place.”

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WordPress Names 5.5 Release Leads, Plans All-Women Release Squad for 5.6

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WordPress’ Executive Director, Josepha Haden, announced the names of the leaders who will be coordinating releases for the remainder of 2020. Version 5.5, expected to be released in August, will be led by Matt Mullenweg, with Jake Spurlock as the coordinator and David Baumwald on Triage. Haden also named tech and design leads for the editor, media, accessibility, and documentation. This release is set to introduce automatic updates for plugins and themes in core. It will also add the Navigation block and block directory to core.

In November 2019, Haden tweeted that one of her goals was to put together an all-women release squad by the end of 2020, an idea that was well-received by the community. Although WordPress has already had women lead releases, the realization of this idea would be the first time in the project’s 17-year history that the entire squad is composed of women leaders. Haden began recruiting for the team in March.

“My hope is that with a release squad comprised entirely of people who identify as women, we’ll be able to increase the number women who have that experience and (hopefully) become returning contributors to Core and elsewhere,” Haden said in her initial proposal. “This doesn’t mean the release will only contain contributions from women. And if our current squad training process is any indication, it also doesn’t mean that we’re asking a squad to show up and do this without support.”

Last Friday, Haden named 50 women to the upcoming 5.6 all-women release squad, set to land in December 2020. This group includes women who have volunteered to participate, first by joining a “ride along” process for the 5.5 release cycle. Participants will join triage sessions and meetings, as well as collaborate on a 5.5.x point release in preparation for steering 5.6.

The proposed scope for WordPress 5.6 includes opt-in automatic updates for major core releases, full-site editing in core, a new default theme, and more. Squad leaders will be named in a separate kickoff post.

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WordCamp Europe 2020 Announces Schedule, Plans to Debut Networking Rooms and Virtual Sponsor Booths

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The 8th annual WordCamp Europe is only 9 days away and organizers have just announced the schedule. Friday and Saturday sessions are split into two tracks that will run 30-minute talks simultaneously. Each talk is followed by a 10-minute Q&A. The schedule also mixes in a few 10-minute lightning talks, with 15-minute breaks every hour.

The WordCamp will feature a variety of topics of interest to WordPress professionals and enthusiasts, including freelancing, code review, art direction with Gutenberg, website security, growing communities, and the challenges of headless WordPress. The online schedule allows users to save their favorite sessions and then email them, share a link, or print the customized schedule.

In converting the event to be fully online, WCEU PR Team co-organizer Evangelia Pappa said they had to re-work some of their original plans for speakers. Not all previously scheduled speakers were available for an online session. The organizers also had to start from scratch in planning the event, determining the platforms and tools to use, as well as figuring out a new routine for working together from home.

For the first time in WCEU history, both the networking activities and sponsor booths are going virtual using Zoom. Organizers are planning to have two networking rooms, which can also be used for speakers who want to continue Q&A times with attendees following their sessions. Sponsors will have their own schedule of activities and webinars, expanding the event to 3-4 total tracks.

Pappa said the organizing team was inspired by WordCamp Spain, which has so far been the largest online WordPress event. The camp used Zoom to support 5,515 online attendees.

More than 5,650 people have already registered for WCEU 2020. Tickets continue to be released in batches, and organizers say they have an unlimited number available. Tickets for the virtual Contributor Day, which precedes the camp on June 4, are also still available. Attendees can indicate interest by checking the box for Contributor Day during the regular ticket signup process.

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Molly Burke on the Power of Universal Design

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In a 2017 speech titled “Stop trying to fix disability,” YouTube and motivational speaker Molly Burke says, “I live in a world that wasn’t built for me, but what if it was?” Burke was born with a rare, genetic eye disease that caused her to go blind. In this short but moving 8 minute video, she contends that making the world accessible helps everyone. She introduces the concept of universal design to her audience in simple terms:

“Universal design [is] designing and building everything to be accessed, enjoyed, and understood to its fullest extent by everyone, regardless of their size, their age, their ability, or their perceived disability.”

Burke identified Apple as one company that exemplifies universal design.

“Every product they release, I could buy at a store, open up, and use on my own independently, with no extra cost and no assistance needed,” she said. “I ask you to imagine how liberating, how empowering it is to be shown by a company that they view you as belonging to their customers, when so many others tell you the exact opposite.”

In honor of Global Accessibility Awareness Day, I wanted to highlight this video that tells just one person’s story on the powerful impact of technology that is built with everyone in mind. Burke’s speech is a poignant reminder of how designers and builders can extend a sense of belonging to their customers by making their products accessible.

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PHP and WordPress Version Checks Coming to Themes

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PHP and WordPress version checks are coming to the WordPress theme system — finally. The feature was pulled into core WordPress three days ago. It will prevent end-users from installing or activating a theme that is incompatible with their current version of PHP or WordPress. The change is slated to land in WordPress 5.5.

This feature has long been on many theme authors’ wish lists, particularly PHP version checking. Plugins authors gained the ability to support specific PHP versions starting with WordPress 5.2. However, theme authors were left feeling like the second-class citizens they usually are when it comes to the addition of core features, waiting patiently as plugin authors received the new and shiny tools they were looking forward to.

Previously, the code for manually handling version checking within individual themes was more complex than in plugins. Theme authors needed to run compatibility checks after theme switch and block theme previews in the customizer using two different methods, depending on the user’s WordPress version. That is assuming theme authors were covering all their bases.

Users had no real way of knowing whether a theme would work on their site before installing and attempting to activate it. It was a poor user experience, even when a theme gracefully failed for the end-user.

This user experience has also held back some theme authors from transitioning to newer versions of PHP. For years, many were supporting PHP 5.2. Slowly, some of these same authors are now making the move toward newer features up to PHP 5.6, which is now the minimum that WordPress supports. However, not many have made the jump to PHP 7 and newer.

Until now, there has been no mechanism for letting the user know they need to upgrade their PHP to use a particular theme.

Some theme authors may choose to continue supporting older versions of PHP, such as 5.6, for a potentially wider user base. However, developers who want to switch to newer features can now do so with the support of the core platform.

Changes for Users

Twenty Twenty theme page from WordPress.org theme repository.
New WordPress and PHP versions added to Twenty Twenty theme.

Users who are browsing the WordPress theme directory may begin to notice new information available for some themes. Similar to plugins, visitors should see a WordPress Version and PHP Version listed for some themes. For example, the Twenty Twenty theme now lists the following minimum requirements:

  • WordPress Version: 4.7 or higher
  • PHP Version: 5.2.4 or higher

Not all themes will have these numbers listed yet. It will take some time before older themes are updated with the data required to populate these fields.

In WordPress 5.5, the admin interface for themes will change. When attempting to install or activate a theme, WordPress will prevent such actions. If a user searches for a theme that has an incompatible WordPress or PHP version, the normal installation button will be replaced with a disabled button that reads “Cannot Install.” If a theme is installed but not activated, the activation link will similarly be replaced with a disabled “Cannot Activate” button. Users will also not be allowed to live preview incompatible themes.

Attempting to activate Twenty Twenty theme without PHP support.
Cannot activate Twenty Twenty theme with incompatible PHP version.

The feature works the same from within the customizer interface as it does via the themes screen in the WordPress admin.

Changes for Theme Authors

The WordPress Themes Team recently announced two new required headers for theme authors to place in their style.css files. The first required field is Tested up to, which is the latest version of WordPress the theme has been tested against. The second is a Requires PHP field, which is the minimum PHP version the theme supports.

It is unclear is why the team decided to require those two fields but not the Requires at least field, which represents the minimum WordPress version needed. Most likely, theme authors will want to place all three headers in their themes.

Theme authors who will still support versions of WordPress earlier than 5.5 will want to continue using their old compatibility checks. However, this is the first step in phasing such code out.

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WordCamp Kent Online Features Business and Marketing Tracks, May 30-31

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One of the exciting things about WordCamps going virtual is the community gaining access to more events and presentations than ever before, from anywhere in the world. Even in this new online-only format, local camps still retain their unique character as they feature speakers from their respective communities.

WordCamp Kent (Ohio) is one of these upcoming events that has been forced online by the pandemic. Organizers will be broadcasting all sessions on the weekend of May 30-31, and tickets are free for anyone who wants to attend.

The schedule for this particular event runs heavy on the business and marketing side of working with WordPress, with very few talks geared towards developers. If you are a freelancer, run an agency, or have a WordPress product business, you will find WordCamp Kent’s program more tailored to topics that help you improve client services.

The schedule on the first day of the event is divided into two tracks: Freelance/Business and User/Marketing. These sessions will run alongside live Q&A and a Help Desk managed by volunteers in the #wp-help-desk channel in the NEO WordPress Slack workspace. The second day of the event will be also be split into two tracks: Freelance/Business/Developer and WordPress 101/User.

Topics include designing websites for generating leads, improving your business model for freelancers and small businesses, client consultations, content marketing, and customer support.

This Kent, Ohio, WordCamp may not have made it on your radar in the past, but the pandemic has opened up events in some ways. It forces a greater number of camps online and allows attendees to join any event without the travel expenses that would ordinarily be prohibitive. In the past, many people who were not local would simply opt to save their money for the bigger camps. The WordPress community has a greater potential to accelerate their learning opportunities, as more smaller camps gain a global audience online.

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Google Patches Critical Vulnerability in Site Kit Plugin

Wp Plugins

In late April Wordfence discovered a critical vulnerability in Google’s Site Kit plugin for WordPress that would make it possible for any user on the site to gain full access to the Google Search Console without verifying ownership. Google patched the vulnerability and released the fix in version 1.8.0 on May 7, 2020.

Wordfence published a timeline of the vulnerability, describing it as a proxySetupURL disclosure:

In order to establish the first connection with Site Kit and Google Search Console, the plugin generates a proxySetupURL that is used to redirect a site’s administrator to Google OAuth and run the site owner verification process through a proxy. Due to the lack of capability checks on the admin_enqueue_scripts action, the proxySetupURL was displayed as part of the HTML source code of admin pages to any authenticated user accessing the /wp-admin dashboard.

The other Aspect of the vulnerability is related to the site ownership verification request, which used a registered admin action that was missing capability checks. As a result, any authenticated WordPress user was capable of initiating the request.

Wordfence identified several ways a malicious attacker might use this vulnerability to the detriment of the site’s ranking and reputation, including manipulating search engine results, requesting removal of a competitor’s URLs from the search engine, modifying sitemaps, viewing performance data, and more.

The security fixes are not detailed in the plugin’s changelog on GitHub. It does, however, include a note at the top that states, “This release includes security fixes. An update is strongly recommended.” Google has not published a post to notify users on the news section of the plugin’s official website. Without Wordfence’s public disclosure, users may not know about the importance of the update.

Google’s Site Kit plugin has more than 400,000 active installs, according to WordPress.org. Details of the 1.8.0 update are not available to users in the admin, since the plugin’s changelog is hosted on GitHub. There is no way for users to know that the update includes security fixes without clicking through to research. Due to the great deal of sensitive information to which attackers could gain access, users are advised to update the plugin as soon as possible.

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Highlight, Underline, and Control Font Size with RichText Extension

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Last week, Tetsuaki Hamano contributed his first plugin to the official WordPress plugin repository. RichText Extension grants additional options for inline text in the block editor.

RichText is a component in the editor that allows end-users to add and edit text. Typically, users may think of this component when dealing with paragraphs. However, it also applies to headings, lists, quotes, image captions, and any other area where textual content can be added.

Many plugins add settings on the block level. This means when you apply a particular style, it applies to the entire block. Inline text refers to the individual characters and words within the block. By default, WordPress allows end-users to control inline text by adding links, creating italic or bold characters, changing the text color, and more. Superscript and subscript inline options have already landed in the Gutenberg plugin, which should ship with WordPress 5.5.

RichText Extension extends the editor toolbar to add new options for highlighting, underlining, and changing the font size of inline text. It also adds an option to clear all formatting.

Overall, the plugin is a solid outing for a first-time contributor to the plugin directory. With luck, we will get to see more of Hamano’s work in the future.

Plugin Features

The primary feature of RichText Extension is its highlighter option, which allows users to highlight text. The plugin adds a paintbrush icon to the toolbar. Once clicked, it opens four highlighting options. By default, users can add a red or yellow marker effect or background directly behind a piece of text. This feature can be useful for adding a bit of flair to make specific words or characters to stand out.

Screenshot of the RichText Extension plugin's highlighter feature in the editor.
Using the marker highlight in a pullquote.

The plugin also adds a font size option to the toolbar. I am unsure how useful changing the font size for inline text is for the average end-user. Typically, this is best left to the block level. However, there may be some edge cases that others will want to use it for.

Along with the core editor’s inline options in the toolbar’s dropdown menu, RichText extension adds Clear Format and Underline options. The former allows users to clear all inline formatting. The latter underlines text.

Each of the plugin’s features can be configured via the plugin’s settings screen. Users can change the highlight colors, their thickness, and transparency. The four available font sizes can be adjusted. It also allows users to enable or disable each feature.

Screenshot of the RichText Extension WordPress plugin's options page.
RichText Extension’s settings screen.

It would be nice to see the plugin’s highlighting and font-size features use the theme-defined color palette and font sizes, respectively. The plugin could further allow users to define custom colors and sizes outside of those added by the theme.

More than anything, I would like to see a fully-featured plugin tackle every conceivable inline text option with the ability to enable or disable each. This would give end-users ultimate flexibility over how they write their content. Perhaps RichText Extension can be that plugin in the future. Otherwise, another developer may step in and do the job.

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Need to Smile Today? Stay WordPress Strong

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Lyrics: Zack Katz, Jonathan Mann | Music: Jonathan Mann
Video licensed under Creative Commons – Attribution

For the first time, at least 19 people from the WordPress community can literally call themselves WordPress rock stars without it sounding like an outdated marketing gimmick.

GravityView dropped a community music video and website named WordPress Strong earlier today. It is fun. It is inspirational. It will leave a smile on your face. The video features a wide range of faces, voices, and musical talent from around the planet.

Much of the world is looking for small ways to cope with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Each day is about finding the things we should be thankful for while waiting for life to feel like normal. The WordPress community has been a beacon of hope for many. It has continued providing purpose to people despite their daily lives being upended. This project is one more way to show the strength of our community.

“People were scrambling to adjust to the new reality of living in a pandemic, and there was a rush of uncertainty,” said Zack Katz, the creator of GravityView, on starting the project. “In the middle of all that uncertainty, I felt lucky to be part of the WordPress community: doing what we do, working on an open and thriving platform, with a culture of people who are kind to each other and support each other.”

Many GravityView customers began using the plugin to enable COVID-19 responses, such as sites like Support Redditch, which coordinates relief efforts. “I sensed a movement of coming together to help each other, and I wanted to get the word out: if you need help, ask the community,” said Katz. “We’re here for you. We’ll get through this together.”

A total of 19 volunteers contributed to the music video, including WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg. However, the true star of the group was Tracy Apps, the owner of tracy apps design, who laid down the beat on the drums.

“It involved asking a lot of people!” said Katz of finding willing subjects. “I get why people are reluctant. I even waited until the last minute to record my video! Something special happens when people are invited to go beyond their comfort zone, especially when it comes to creative endeavors. It was moving to have the emails come in with their videos. People were willing to share a different part of themselves.”

The #WordPressStrong hashtag is open for anyone to contribute to on Twitter. The project is calling for volunteers to join in on the fun. If you can sing, play an instrument, or dance — or if you can’t — you can be a part of this movement for our community to become stronger. If nothing else, it will give you something to do to pass the time. Tag yourself doing something and share it. I am certain it will brighten at least one person’s day.

The WordPress Strong Project

Katz began the project in March. He shared some initial lyric ideas with Jonathan Mann who then wrote and recorded WordPress Strong. The GravityView team reached out to members of the WordPress community and asked them to lend their voices.

“I deeply respect [Mann] as a musician and how he exposes himself through his music,” said Katz. “His album I Used to Love My Body was my soundtrack for last year.”

Mann is the voice of the GravityView brand and has previously created a song for the product. Katz and Mann also worked on the WordPress Wiggle song in 2017.

“When creating WordPress Strong, I shared a poem with [Mann] and expressed the tone that I wanted to convey,” said Katz. “The email had the subject line ‘WordPress Hope Song.’ He wrote and recorded WordPress Strong, and I think you agree, it’s a great WordPress Hope Song.”

The plan for the WordPress Strong website goes beyond releasing a song. Katz wants to expand the site to be a place where people from the community can ask and receive help during the pandemic. The team is currently working on a part of the site where community members can request assistance or offer help anonymously.

“I was hoping artists of all stripes would be interested in sharing their work on the WordPress Strong website,” said Katz. “Sharing creativity together empowers us to be vulnerable in our despair as well as our hope. I would like to help foster that.”

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`lh` and `rlh` units

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There’s some new units I was totally unaware of from the Level 4 spec for CSS values! The lh unit is “equal to the computed value of line-height” and rlh is the same only of the root element (probably the <html> element) rather than the current element.

Why would that be useful? Šime Vidas’ has a strong point:

“Vertical Inline Centering” of an icon
.inline-icon {
  display: inline-block;
  width: 1lh;
  height: 1lh;
}

The post `lh` and `rlh` units appeared first on CSS-Tricks.

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Find the Date When a Web Page was First Published on the Internet

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There are three dates associated with any web page that is public on the Internet:

#1. The publication date - this is the date when an article or web page is first uploaded on to a public website where humans and search engines can find and access that page.

#2. The indexed date - this is the date when search engine spiders, like the Googlebot or the Bing Bot, first discover that web page on the Internet. Given the fact that Google has become so good at crawling fresh content, the date of first-crawl is often the same as the actual publication date (#1).

#3. The cache date - this is the date when a web page was last crawled by the Googlebot. Search engines often re-crawl web pages every few days or weeks, sometimes multiple times in a day in the case of news websites, to check if the content has been updated or changed.

Find the Publishing Date of Web Pages

Most news articles include the original publishing date in the article itself. However, in situations where the publishing date is not available, or if you think that the printed date is incorrect, you can use a simple Google trick to know when that web page was last published on the Internet.

Web Page Publishing Date Google can tell the date when a web page was first published on the Web.

Step 1. Go to google.com and copy-paste the full URL of any web page in the search box  and prefix it with the inurl: operator.

For instance, if the URL of the page is page is:

https://www.example.com

You should write the URL in the Google Search box as:

inurl:https://www.example.com

Press the Search button and the URL in your browser address bar would read something like this:

https://www.google.com/search?q=inurl:https://www.example.com

Step 2. Now go your browser’s address bar - press Ctrl+L on a Windows machine or Cmd+L on Mac - and append &as_qdr=y25 to the end of the Google search URL. Press enter again.

The modified Google search URL would become:

https://www.google.com/search?q=inurl:https://www.example.com&as_qdr=y25

The as_qdr=y25 parameter instructs Google to do a date-based search and retrieve pages that have been indexed by the Googlebot in the past 25 years (in other words, everything).

Also see: Search Emails by Date in Gmail

Step 3. Google will load the search results again but this time, you’ll see the actual publication date of the web page next to the title in Google search results as in the above screenshot.

This trick should help if you citing tweets (MLA or APA style) or citing web pages (MLA style) in your papers.

How old is a web page

Because Google can crawl any page the moment it is published on the Internet, the indexed date appearing in search results is often accurate.

However, if the content of a web page was updated after the first Google crawl, the publishing date may indicate the date when it was most recently edited by the website and not the date when it was first indexed or published on the Internet.

Also see: Know everything about a website

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WordCamp Europe 2020 Online Registration Now Open: Tickets are Free

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WordCamp Europe 2020 is just 37 days away. Organizers announced in April that the event, which was supposed to be hosted in Porto, is moving to be 100% online this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WCEU will kick off with a virtual Contributor Day on June 4, followed by two half days of talks and workshops broadcasted via livestream.

WordCamp Europe is one of the largest regional WordCamps on the planet and has been hosted in many magnificent venues and inspiring cities over the years. The event routinely sells out of tickets and sponsor packages, as companies and attendees rally around this unique opportunity to connect across boundaries, uniting Europe through a shared love of WordPress.

For the first time in the event’s eight-year history, the European WordPress community will have to forego the in-person networking time that many have come to value as both a personal and professional highlight of the year. WCEU Organizers have worked for the better part of a decade to make it one of the most polished and efficient WordCamps. Now the team is forced to pivot and use their expertise to host a top-notch virtual event.

Past local organizing teams have been successful at creating an intimate atmosphere that facilitates rewarding connections with a focus on hospitality. These in-person connections add context to remote interactions and conversations long after the event concludes. Reaching this same high level of interpersonal connectivity between attendees is going to be a challenge for this online edition, but WCEU organizers have a long track record of adapting to different environments. Dozens of other WordPress meetups, WordCamps, and educational events are currently facing the same challenges and are moving online.

Registering for a ticket to WCEU is optional but attendees who want to participate in the virtual networking, Q&A sessions, and contributor day will have be registered. Organizers were expecting approximately 3,000 attendees but hosting the event online may affect those numbers in either direction. Tickets are available for free on the WCEU website, thanks to the event’s sponsors. After eight hours of open registration, there are 4,257 tickets remaining. The event will return to Porto, Portugal, on June 3-5, 2021.

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Chatterbox Plugin Uses WordPress Blocks to Show Conversations

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Chatterbox is a new plugin with a fun and creative use for the block editor. It displays chat or text threads using blocks that are styled as conversations. Users can type in a record of a chat, including timestamps, with a live preview in the editor.

Since written conversations are essentially little blocks of text and media, the block editor lends itself nicely to composing and displaying this type of content. The Chatterbox block can be found under Layout Elements in the block inserter. It includes the option to select a style (Inbound, Outbound, or Event) and add a timestamp.

Dave Ryan, a WordPress developer at Bluehost, said he created the plugin in order to test Gutenberg’s Block Context API and borrowed the chat component from Salesforce’s Lightning Design System. He suggested that Chatterbox could be useful for showing demos of chat bots, publishing chat records in news stories, or simply adding an engaging visual display to conversations.

Once the Block Context API matures, Ryan plans to add message background and text colors, message sender with name and avatar, and the ability to override the message sender on a per-message basis for group chats. The next steps beyond that on the roadmap include the following:

  •  Implement Bookends and other SFDS Chat options
  •  Animated chat sequences
  •  Automated animated sequences, using character lengths for timing
  •  Automate hiding of message meta based on adjacent blocks
  •  Message Images
  •  Message Files

Ryan said some of the planned features will rely on new features in the Gutenberg project. Once those have been released he will update Chatterbox to include more customization options. The plugin is available for free on WordPress.org and contributors can find the code on GitHub.

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Gutenberg Hub Launches Online Block Template Builder

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Gutenberg Hub launched the first version of its block template builder last week. The template builder allows users to select from the team’s existing library of nearly 200 templates. It is essentially an online builder that allows users to craft a full page layout by mixing and matching various sections. They can then copy the resulting output at the click of a button and paste it into the editor on their sites.

“I intend to speed up the workflow for WordPress users to spin up beautiful Gutenberg pages, even full websites, faster,” said Munir Kamal, founder of Gutenberg Hub. “So all I am trying to do is headed in that direction.”

Kamal has also released a Chrome browser extension that allows end-users to add templates from the growing library of options.

“The idea is to help DIYers, freelancers, or anyone with creating new website pages faster,” he said. “I have many feature ideas to make this builder great, but I want to hear out the feedback and suggestions from the community about it.”

Currently, Kamal is calling this version of the builder a “prototype” because he wants to validate the idea with the community before moving forward with new features.

Using the Template Builder

Building a template or full page is simple. Users merely need to visit the template builder page. On the page, the builder has an “Add Section” button, which will slide the template library panel open. From that point, users can choose from an extensive list of templates that includes designs for hero sections, testimonials, sliders, and more.

Screenshot of Gutenberg Hub's template builder library.
Gutenberg Hub’s templates library.

The idea is to build a full page by combining multiple sections. Users will want to add new sections and organize them for their needs. Each section can be trashed, duplicated, or moved up/down using the available buttons.

Trying my hand at building a simple product page, I was able to pick and choose the sections I wanted to add in just a few minutes.

Screenshot of a custom combination of templates in Gutenberg Hub's template builder.
Custom combination of templates with the builder.

Once everything is in place, users can copy the full template code and paste it their block editor. From that point, they can edit it on their own site.

Sometimes, it may be necessary to copy additional CSS and insert it via the WordPress customizer or through a plugin like Blocks CSS. Some options also require users to install a plugin to use specific blocks.

This is the type of power I want in the hands of WordPress users. Plug-and-play template systems like this will push the platform into the future. However, such systems need to be integrated directly into WordPress. Copying and pasting from a third-party website is merely a stepping stone toward that future, catering to user needs in the here and now.

The Future of the Builder and More

Long term, Gutenberg Hub’s work may be a better fit into the upcoming pattern system. The team could release a plugin that would integrate seamlessly into the block editor. That way, end-users could build their templates without ever leaving the comfort of the post-editing screen, or at least avoid switching between browser tabs. However, patterns are still months away from inclusion in core WordPress. In the meantime, this feels like a solid stop-gap. Plus, the team can build a nice library and garner feedback and data from users on the most popular templates/patterns.

While Kamal wants to hear feedback before moving forward, he does have some big ideas of his own for the builder. “For example, this builder may let you create projects, and under projects, you may create multiple pages,” he said. “For each project, you may define custom branding (typography, color scheme, etc.), and all the templates from the library will adapt to that branding when you create pages under a specific project.”

The most important thing he wants to accomplish is to build tools that speed up workflows for everyone.

He will also open the template library to third-party developers and designers soon. There will be a public submission process. If enough people contribute, the library could balloon to an untold number of options that would be directly available as part of the builder.

“Besides the templates and builder, I am planning something around the Gutenberg Templates API,” said Kamal. He stresses that it is still in the planning phase. If the previous work that he has put out is any indication, this could be an interesting project. He is also working on a form builder plugin for the block editor, which is currently seeing regular updates.

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Google Shopping Is Now Open to Free Product Listings

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Google announced today that it is bringing free listings to the Shopping tab in the United States before the end of April and will expand globally by the end of the year. Previously, merchants were required to pay for ad placement and product listings, which led to major online retailers dominating the Shopping tab.

“Beginning next week, search results on the Google Shopping tab will consist primarily of free listings, helping merchants better connect with consumers, regardless of whether they advertise on Google,” Bill Ready, Google’s president of commerce, said. “With hundreds of millions of shopping searches on Google each day, we know that many retailers have the items people need in stock and ready to ship, but are less discoverable online.”

This change comes at a critical time when the retail industry has taken a significant hit due to shelter-in-place orders aimed at mitigating the spread of the coronavirus. Free listings make showing up in the Google Shopping tab more accessible for independent stores.

“For retailers, this change means free exposure to millions of people who come to Google every day for their shopping needs,” Ready said. “For shoppers, it means more products from more stores, discoverable through the Google Shopping tab.”  Existing Merchant Center users will retain their ads for specific products as promoted listings but will also now be able to list their full inventories for free.

Google also announced a new partnership with PayPal that will streamline the onboarding process for merchants who want to link their accounts. The announcement identified WooCommerce, Shopify, and BigCommerce as existing partners that offer platforms to help businesses sell online. In light of the current crisis, WooCommerce has ramped up its efforts to make e-commerce more approachable. The team recently hosted a free webinar on how to start selling online and produced a guide to adding a store to an existing WordPress website.

Although Google cites the coronavirus pandemic as a factor in advancing the company’s plans to make it free for merchants to sell on Google, the move is a strategic step towards wooing back the overwhelming amount of traffic it sends to Amazon. If Google’s Shopping tab can become a better source for price comparisons with a diversity of stores, consumers may return to searching Google first when intending to make a purchase.

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Leave at Door: New Free WooCommerce Plugin Enables Contact-free Delivery

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As many countries around the world are currently in some form of lockdown to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, the hospitality industry has been one of the hardest hit by the new restrictions. Restaurants and breweries in particular have had to radically change how they do business and either lay off or furlough the majority of their employees. Many of those that have survived the mandated dine-in closures are jump-starting delivery services in order to stay afloat.

Scott DeLuzio, a WordPress plugin developer and founder of Amplify Plugins, recently noticed a “leave at door” option when ordering food from a local restaurant. He thought it would be a helpful option for WooCommerce store owners to add and created a plugin that makes it easy.

Leave at Door is now available for free from the official WordPress Plugin Directory. It enables customers to maintain social distancing while receiving deliveries. The plugin adds a checkbox before the Place Order button at checkout, which reveals an optional text input for additional delivery instructions. If the customer chooses contact-free delivery, store owners will see it displayed on the admin order edit screen and in the order email. It will also be displayed on the customer’s order invoice.

DeLuzio’s Amplify Plugins shop focuses on plugins that improve the customer experience in WooCommerce. He reported that his products have seen more activity since social distancing recommendations were put in place. With the pandemic slowing down shipments from Amazon and other major retailers, local and independent stores have an opportunity to gain the confidence of new customers.

“I have definitely seen an uptick in plugin sales over the last month or so,” DeLuzio said. “I think, through talking to a few customers, this can probably be attributed to traditional brick and mortar stores and restaurants that are looking to move online to compensate for the lack of foot traffic that they are getting in their stores.”

The availability of contact-free delivery may be the deciding factor for some customers in quarantine, which could make all the difference for small business owners.

“There are probably a good number of local businesses that are struggling these days,” DeLuzio said. “Their customers are probably very concerned with the virus and maintaining social distancing, so if something like this plugin can help them out, even in a small way, I’m happy to have been able to put it together for them.”

Even when some economies begin opening up, there will undoubtedly be customers who will still be keen on having a contact-free delivery option, especially those among the populations most vulnerable to COVID-19. The notion of contact-free delivery may have a longer run beyond this current crisis and perhaps even become a permanent fixture on e-commerce checkout screens.

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Font Awesome Releases New COVID-19 Awareness Icons

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Screenshot of all the new icons included in Font Awesome 5.13 related to COVID-19.
COVID-19 awareness icons added to Font Awesome.

On Monday, the Font Awesome team launched a new set of icons to promote awareness around COVID-19. The solid icons available in the Font Awesome 5.13 update are all available for free and are open-source. The regular, light, and duotone versions of the icons are a part of the pro package.

The goal of the new icons is to help websites and apps boost awareness around the global pandemic. The latest update adds 47 new icons that range from medical use to promoting hygienic practices such as hand washing. Some icons represent viruses and social/physical distancing. There is even a couple of toilet paper icons thrown in for good measure. Apparently, those are necessary in today’s world of mass panic buying.

“Based on recommendations from The World Health Organization and others, you’ll find symbols to communicate good hygiene and social distancing,” wrote Jory Raphael, Icon Design Lead at Font Awesome. “While we can’t be on the front lines like brave medical professionals across the globe, we hope these icons aid in communicating some of the most important things people can do to protect themselves and their communities.”

The icons were originally requested two weeks ago on the Font Awesome GitHub repository. The design team moved quickly to make them available. There are additional icon tickets for liquid soap and a bar of soap open.

Like all Font Awesome icons, the new icons are available as part of the font package or for download as individual SVG files.

The fonts may come in handy for website owners, designers, and developers who are building sites or pages with content related to COVID-19. Icons can add context to content or focus attention where needed.

Users of the Font Awesome WordPress plugin should have immediate access to the new icons if needed. The plugin relies on the external Font Awesome CDN or Font Awesome kits. Users can also choose which version of the library of icons they wish to use, which includes the latest release.

If you know of any other icon sets or resources for designers and developers related to COVID-19, please share them in the comments.