WP Review

The hosted versus self-hosted being renting an apartment vs. owning a home analogy has been done to death. But it’s the perfect framing for creators. And that’s what we’re going to talk about today. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all show notes and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/55

Today's episode is a little bit different: I have a guest, Kim Coleman, and we're going to build a WordPress Membership site. But instead of just picking plugins, we're doing to do it as a draft. That means we each take turns selecting a plugin or tool, and we cannot choose anything previously selected. It should be a lot of fun! You can see all of the selections and get links at https://wpreview.io/membership-draft Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro

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Are creators (and anyone who doesn't contribute to WordPress) free riders? I look at that question and wonder why there's such hostility towards non-contributors, even though they are essential in the march towards that mother of all vanity metrics: 50% market share. Plus, A bit of news about an upcoming series on this show, and a deep cut from an old podcast I used to host about why you need to build your mailing list. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/

I've been a developer for 20 years. I've been a content creator for almost as long...but it wasn't until a few years ago that I started making more money from my content than from my development work. Both are crucial for a growing, vibrant WordPress community. But to some, it seems the job of development is more important than the job of content creation. Here's why those people are wrong. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to-be-read article over at https://wpreview.io/53

The last conference I went to before the pandemic was WordCamp US 2019. After that, the pandemic struck and there was no travel for me for nearly 2 years. During that time, I also made the decision to pivot, and focus less on WordPress and more on Podcasters and Creators. So in my first Creator-focused, non-WordPress event, I noticed a stark difference between the keynotes: one asked us repeatedly to give our time. One reinforced a different idea: that it's OK to make money. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/52

The Creator Economy is in full swing thanks to a number of tools and platforms that have made it incredibly easy to get paid by creating content. It almost feels like table stakes at this point. Sign up for a platform, and in a few clicks you're ready to make money And while WordPress has enabled developers to implement payment options for websites easily, the ease of use for creators is a different story. So it’s time to explore the question: where does WordPress fit into the Creator Economy? Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to-be-read article over at https://wpreview.io/51

This episode marks the start of an important shift in the content here at WP Review — something I’ll dive more into after ConvertKit’s Craft + Commerce conference at the end of June. But suffice to say, creators, are growing wary of WordPress. I personally think that WordPress is the perfect tool for the growing creator economy, so here at WP Review, we’re going to spend many of the next episodes talking to creators about how WordPress can help them more than any other platform. And we’re going to start with a type of creator near and dear to my heart: the podcaster. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/50 Show Notes Hosting: Nexcess Audio Host / Plugin: Castos | Seriously Simple Podcasting Plugin Theme: Kadence Pro or Second Line Themes Builder: Kadence Blocks Pro Forms: Gravity Forms Subscribe Buttons: Podcast Subscribe Buttons Redirects: Redirection ESP: ConvertKit Social Sharing: Scriptless Social Sharing

Apple has discontinued the iPod. When the iPod came out in 2001, it literally changed the world. And I don't mean literally like figuratively. I mean, it shifted how people consumed music on the go. Another thing that happened recently was WordPress lost a market share for the first time. How are these two events related? They both happened this week, of course, but what does one have to do with the other? What does this mean for freelancers? There are a lot of similarities between the iPod and WordPress. And that's what we're going to talk about. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/49

I've had a love-hate relationship with Jetpack. Actually, it has been more hate than love. Actually, it has been just pretty much hate. But today I set out to answer the question: Is my disdain for Jetpack unfounded? Today, I set out to answer that question. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/48

MemberPress made some waves this week when it was discovered that they were completely locking out users who had expired license keys. The WordPress way is you get access to the plugin, which you get to keep because it's open source, whether or not you keep paying for the license. Generally, support and updates are the things that you keep paying for. But why is this the case when virtually every other piece of software we use today is based on, "a keep paying for access" model? Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/47

Last week I told you about my must-use tools for my WordPress freelance toolkit. But that's not the end of the WordPress toolkit story. There are thousands, maybe millions, of plugins and features out there. And today I want to give you the rest of the best, as well as some honorable mentions for tools to add to your WordPress freelance toolkit. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/46

Niching down doesn’t just need to be about the customers you serve. It can also be about the tools you use. Deeply understanding the tools you use allows you to work more quickly and efficiently because there’s not a constant learning curve. Putting together the perfect WordPress toolkit is important for any freelancer. In Part 1 of this series, we'll cover my must-have tools. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/45

The WordPress space is cheap! But that shouldn't let you keep your prices down. Is that a fair assessment? Maybe I'm being too harsh, but anecdotally it's true. I suffer from not charging enough, in part due to being in the WordPress space too long. And I know other freelancers who have the same feelings. But that's why I'm grateful that I have good mentors in my life. And pricing what you're worth – that's what we're going to talk about today. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/44

For many in the WordPress space, when an idea strikes it's easy to drop what you're doing and spend a couple of days building a prototype or MVP. But if you’re actually going to try to build a business off of this idea, should you whimsically work on it and release it to the world? I would argue no. In fact, crafting a story is more important than crafting a product at first. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/43. Get free tips for making site creation easier at https://creatorcourses.com/toolkits

In part one of this series, I talked about the importance of understanding your customer through a somewhat drawn-out example using baby clothes. But the point remains! Today I want to tell you two other stories about my experience with prepared vs. unprepared people in different industries. You see, being prepared is the next step in understanding your customers. Knowing, and anticipating, their needs will help you get more clients. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/42 Get free tips for making site creation easier at https://creatorcourses.com/toolkits

In a bit of serendipity, the same week I finished recording my next LinkedIn Learning course, Troubleshooting and Repairing Your WordPress Website, Patchstack has published its State of WordPress Security in 2021 white paper. I’ll go through some of the highlights from the white paper, and give you my analysis. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/41 Show Notes State Of WordPress Security In 2021 - Patchstack | Download PDF Plesk Podcast: Next Level Ops GoWP Nexcess

Welcome to Building a Better Business: Part One. This series will be 3 parts, all designed to help you build and launch a better product, service or business. Part One is all about understanding your customers. I'm excited to share it with you, so let's get into it! Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/40 Want an easier way to build websites? Check out the Creator Toolkits over at https://creatorcourses.com/toolkits

In 2022, we’re at an inflection point for WordPress — one even bigger than Gutenberg and 5.0. WordPress has been marching steadily on, to become a good no-code solution for people who have some technical proficiency. And Full Site Editing is likely going to speed that along…once it matures a little. So you might be wondering…how can you be a WordPress freelancer in 2022? That’s the question I intend to answer today. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/39 Show Notes The Modern Challenges of Starting a Freelance Web Design Business If You’re Afraid of Automattic Making $5K Websites, You Need to Change Your Approach - Joe Casabona Why You Need to Publish Content to Have an Expertise with Rochelle Moulton Leveraging YouTube to Build Trust and get Leads with Jessica Freeman

A topic that’s come up for me multiple times over the last six months iswhether or not speakers should be paid. I had a debate with Nathan Wrigley about it at the end of last year. That debate was based on an article I wrote back in October called, “We need to talk about speakers and virtual events.” But beyond paying speakers, we need to treat them with decency. We need to value their time and not treat them like they are just here to serve us and our cause. And that’s what we’re talking about today. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/38 Show Notes We Need to Talk About Speakers and Virtual Events Faceoff: Should Speakers be Paid for Virtual Events with Nathan Wrigley Creator Toolkits

After 2021 ended with a call from Matt Mullenweg to contribute more to open source (specifically WordPress), 2022 began with a less rosy picture of the open source space. Some of the biggest names in tech met at the White House to discuss how to identify critical open source projects. surreptitiously missing from this meeting was representation for WordPress. But that's because we need to answer an important question: Who? Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/37 Show Notes Log4j: Google and IBM Call for List of Critical Open Source Projects What is the WordPress Foundation and Why Does it Exist? The WordPress Foundation Rebuilding a WordPress Site Using ONLY Full Site Editing!?

When WordPress 5.0 and the block editor came out, though it was off to a rocky start, the value proposition was clear: THIS is a better experience for content creation than the Classic Editor. After all, that experience was largely unchanged for 15 years. But now that 5.9 is out, we need to ask: is the value proposition for Full Site Editing as clear? Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/36 Show Notes The Complicated Futility of WordPress GoWP Digital Agency Owners Facebook Group Creator Toolkits Join Creator Crew

After being delayed for more than a month, WordPress 5.9 is here as the first major release of 2022, and it’s a big one that ushers in the era of Full Site Editing. There’s also a new theme, a Block Patterns directory, and lots of features, so let’s dive in! Of-course, you'll also get lots of opinion from me about the direction of WordPress, and a first look at what 6.0 has in store! Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro Get all of the show notes, and a written to be read article over at https://wpreview.io/35 Show Notes What's New with WordPress 5.9 (Full Site Editing!) What you need to know about WordPress 5.9 - Kadence WP What's New in WordPress 5.9 — Full Site Editing, Global Styles, Blocks, Patterns, APIs, UI Enhancements, and Much More WordPress 5.9 Field Guide Customizer Will Disappear for Some Block Theme Users With WordPress 5.9 State of the Customizer with block themes in WordPress 5.9 Preliminary Roadmap for 6.0 (Gutenberg Phase 2)

Talk to any business owner worth their salt and they'll likely tell you that you need to pick a niche. This can be a niche in a product, like ConvertKit. It could be a niche in a market, like serving single parents who work from home. But lately I've been wondering if a niche near and dear to my heart is a actually a good one, and that's WordPress. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro Get all of the show notes and a transcript at https://wpreview.io/34. Subscribe at https://wpreview.io/subscribe Show Notes Owning Our Own Platform and Responding to WordPress Hit Pieces - WP Review About WP101 - the premier WordPress tutorial series for beginners. Educational WordPress Episode 2: Justin Ferriman & LearnDash How to Do Market Research: A Guide and Template A Comprehensive Guide to Market Research: 4 Proven Methods | Hotjar Blog NoFilter.fm

They say no good deed goes unpunished. Recently in the WordPress space, perhaps even the wider open source space, there's been a lot of discussion about that. Is contributing to WordPress worth it? In December Matt Mullenweg asked us to give Five for the Future. He talked about the Tragedy of the Commons. But who is really contributing to open source? And how do we make sure people who do contribute don't feel like their good deed results in punishment? Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro. Read the blog post and get all the show notes at https://wpreview.io/33/ Show Notes Open Source Considered Harmful - MOR10 Post Status Daniel Schutzsmith (he/him) on Twitter Dev corrupts NPM libs 'colors' and 'faker' breaking thousands of apps Yoast Moves Outside of Open Source Platforms to Launch SEO App for Shopify Five for the Future

Last week I asked you how you will use WordPress in 2022…as in, how will WordPress serve you? This week I want to talk about what you can do to grow your WordPress business. If you’ve read the title of this episode, you already know what I’m going to say: don’t target WordPress people…or put differently, don’t target people just like you. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro Show Notes The WP Minute 5.9 RC 1 Out WordPress 5.9 to Fix Lazy Loading Performance Regression, Resulting in 30% Faster Page Loads in Some Cases Join the Mailing List Get Full Transcript and Notes at https://wpreview.io/32

As we reflect on 2021 and prepare for 2022, I want to pose a question to you: What will you use WordPress for in 2022? The mission of this show in 2022 is helping small business owners in the WordPress space grow beyond the WordPress space. And as much as we should serve our WordPress community, WordPress needs to serve us. So I'm posing the question again: what will you use WordPress for in 2022? Plus, my picks of the year. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro Links Theme: Kadence / Kadence Blocks Plugin: Automator Service: RSS (Feedbin, specifically) App (as related to WordPress): Ulysses Newsletter: Post Status Podcast: WP Builds Note: A previous version of this episode refers to Uncanny Automator as a competitor. The audio has been updated with the correct references.

Yesterday, Matt Mullenweg gave his annual State of the Word speech, where he covered everything that has happened in WordPress this year, and what we can expect moving forward. As always, he extolled the virtues of open source and the importance of contributing. He spent several minutes on Five for the Future, a program encouraging companies who make money with WordPress to give 5% of their time to the open source project. And while I strongly recommend contributing, I don't think it's the path someone should take when they first learn. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro Show Notes Read the article on Casabona.org WP Learning Paths State of the Word 2021 - The WP Minute GoDaddy's State of the Word 2021 Recap Five for the Future

I often find myself wondering how many people expect jeans to last a lifetime. There's no disclaimer on jeans saying you need to buy more...but it's understood that every year we need to continue to pay for the privilege of wearing pants in public. In today's episode, I ask why it's so hard for people in the WordPress space to think the same thing of software. See, Delicious Brains caused quite an incident when they asked their lifetime subscriptions to consider switching to annual to continue supporting development. Then a certain YouTuber found this to be so offensive that he had to fuel the fire...a missed opportunity in helping WordPress users see what good value to dollar ratios look like. Well, I'm not going to miss that opportunity. Show Notes WordPress 5.9 Revised Release Date Confirmed for January 25, 2022 State of the Word 2021 Will Be Broadcast Live from New York City on December 14 ACF Solicits Lifetime License Holders for Contributions, Urging Them to Purchase Annual Subscriptions On Buying Jeans and App Subscriptions - Joe Casabona Why Not Wanting to Pay for Software is Holding Your Business Back – How I Built It WordPress, the multi-billion dollar software industry that has us begging for money - The WP Minute Sitewide Sales: WordPress Sale Design and Reporting Tool Create Consistent Content, Make Money, and Get Sales | Creator Crew A Podcast to Help You Leverage Tech - How I Built It

What's up with all of the acquisitions? What are we even doing in the WordPress community? How much of a say do we really have on the open source project? These are big questions, but as my friend William of Occam said, ""entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity." Or as it's often (but maybe incorrectly?) paraphrased, "The simplest solution is often the best solution." But whether or not that's actually the principle behind Occam's Razor, it's still a good one. And that helps us answer the above questions, on this week's WP Review. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro Get all of the show notes at https://wpreview.io/028 Get even more great content by joining the Build Something Club

There's been a lot of news around Gutenberg and the block editor as we barrel towards the November 9th feature freeze. Plus, are we getting the whole story of why the block editor exists and what it's supposed to do? Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro Get all of the show notes at https://wpreview.io/027 Get even more great content by joining the Build Something Club

Last week’s Facebook outage brought an onslaught of platitudes from people talking about how terrible Facebook is, and how you should own your own platform. But even as a developer myself, my thoughts are a little different. Plus, how we should react to WordPress "hit pieces." Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro Links The Next Web Publishes Storyblok-Sponsored Hit Piece on WordPress (WP Tavern) Introducing Twenty Twenty-Two (Make.WordPress) Notion getting a "Page Builder?" (David Bisset) Do we REALLY Need to Own Our Platform? BlockMeister Page Builder Summit Join the Build Something Club

It's been 10 years since WooCommerce was forked from JigoShop and turned into the giant of the ecommerce space that is it today. And while it was maybe a little cutthroat, the problem doesn't necessary lie with the fork. It lies with the way you position your product, and your business. Plus, thoughts on all the aquisitions from last week! Show Notes Acquisitions are at an all time high LearnDash Joins the Liquid Web Family of Brands Awesome Motive has acquired our WordPress products and services WP Landing Kit Is Joining the Themeisle Family of Products! Celebrating 10 years of WooCommerce WooCommerce Marks 10 Year Anniversary of Forking Jigoshop 2021 Holiday Ecommerce Summit WordCamp US 2021 Safari Extensions for iOS and iPadOS 15: A Roundup of Our Favorites ‎Amplosion: Redirect AMP Links

Over the last few months, we’ve seen several outlets report on the seemingly alarming decrease in search terms year-over-year in the WordPress space. But does it matter that the specific search terms are decreasing (sometimes marginally) even as WordPress and WooCommerce usage reach new heights. While well-meaning, I don't think these reports solve the problem they think they're solving. Thanks to GoDaddy Pro for sponsoring Main Segment Starts at [17:41] Plus: WordPress 5.9 Proposed Scope: Major Push Towards Full-Site Editing, Plus a New Default Theme Announcement: Updated guidelines for In-Person WordCamps Big News from Mailchimp Intuit to buy Mailchimp for $12 Billion What will the future of WordPress searches look like after COVID-19? - Ellipsis Marketing Is The Growth Of Active Installs of WordPress Plugins Declining in 2021? The WPMRR Virtual Summit Join Creator Courses

I've been seeing a troubling trend of people trashing the block editor because they didn't like it early on. But even more so, they say it's worse for users, which is patently untrue. We'll unpack that in this week's main segment. Plus: Happy Trails to Andrea Middleton, who's leaving Automattic this month, Automattic aquires Frontify, and the Classic Editor gets another year of support. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro Show Notes Thanks for a great 10 years, WordPress! Automattic Acquires Frontity, Founders to Work Full-Time on Gutenberg WordPress Classic Editor Support Extended for at Least Another Year WPMRR Summit Kadence Sale

With all of the news on plugins, like downloads being down, solo projects being acquired by bigger companies, etc. I'm curious to know: is this signalling the end of the solo WordPress plugin developer? Has the ecosystem gotten too complex for solo devs to support themselves? Here's what I think, plus the news of the week. Brought to you by GoDaddy Pro Show Notes Master Full Site Editing Course Automattic Invests $30M in Titan, a Business Email Startup Is WordPress Development Really All That Hard To Get Into Today? WP Trends Betteridge's law of headlines

WordPress 5.8 is out and I've been playing around with Full Site Editing a lot! In fact, this episode is pretty theme-heavy. News about block patterns, the direction of the theme directory, and more. Sponsored by: GoDaddy Pro Show Notes Join Creator Courses (use WPREVIEW for 20% off) Block Patterns Directory is Live! Theme Creation Will Be Easier, But We Are Not There Yet Next Phase of the WordPress Theme Review Overhaul: Open Meeting and Call for Feedback WordCamp US is Back! FrostWP

A couple of big news items this week, neither of which have to do with acquisitions (mostly). Plus, I respond to a WP Tavern article about college degrees, and get to chat with Dan Maby and Hauwa Abashiya of WordFest! (more…)

This week on the WP Review, 10 Years of Ninja Forms, Shopify vs. WooCommerce Developer Fees, Local Pro is Free, and some recommendations. Thanks to GoDaddy Pro for sponsoring! (more…)

After talking acquisitions 2 weeks ago, things have only sped up here in the WordPress ecosystem. On top of Automattic acquiring the Day One app, a new new marketplace for buying and selling WordPress businesses has emerged. All of that, plus a closer look at 5.8 and the block patterns directory. (more…)

It’s been an action-packed couple of weeks in the WordPress space! Just this week, 2 more acquisitions were announced. One from Delicious Brains, and one from Liquid Web. We’ll get into all the news, as well as answer the big question: what do all of these acquisitions mean for the WordPress ecosystem? (more…)

It’s a packed episode this week – I blew past my 20 minute limit! ProfilePress has made a lot of waves by pulling a bait and switch…but I have a different question: what can plugin authors do to financially support their free work? Plus, I get to talk to Robert Jacobi, who is the new Director of WordPress at Cloudways, Brian Krogsgard departs from Post Status, and a plugin recommendation! (more…)

GiveWP, makers of the extremely popular WordPress donation plugin has been acquired by Liquid Web. I got to interview the founders and co-authors, Matt Cromwell and Devin Walker. We cover questions like how the acquisition came about, what this means for current customers and nonprofits, plans for the future, and even some sage advice regarding the acquisition process. (more…)

There’s a lot of concern around full site editing and what that means for themes and theme creators. Are they even worth building anymore? Should all themes just be a blank slate? Will we only need a hand full of themes now? NO! In-fact, good themes will be more important than ever now. Given the amount of flexibility the block editor and full site editing offer users, have well-designed themes with all the right guideposts is imperative. We’ll talk about that, plus top WordPress stories from the past 2 weeks. (more…)

It was a big couple of weeks in the WordPress space! After Full Site Editing getting the green light for 5.8, more information has come out to clarify what that looks like, and how it will affect theme designers. We also answer, “What is FLoC,” and what’s all the hubbub around FloC and WordPress Core? Plus, an update on my Gutenberg course. (more…)

In April 2021, WordPress influencers started to get Bose headphones from “WP.” It turns out Wix started a marketing campaign and the WordPress community was upset by it. Turns out, it was a bad look that could have been avoided by both parties. (more…)

In this official “relaunch” episode, we explore some recent news: the WordPress.com / Spotify deal that allows users to publish a podcast to Anchor, right from their WordPress.com blog. But is this a step forward, or a step backwards? (more…)

The biggest question for many is with Full Site Editing, what does the future of theme development look like? Will there still be a market for premium themes? How will it work? We'll explore all of that in this final episode for WordPress: Year in Review 2020. Thanks to Nexcess and GoDaddy Pro for Sponsoring this series! Show Notes 2020 State of the Word Thoughts Full Site Editing The Genesis Framework in a Full Site Editing World | Carrie Dils The Empty Theme

The global pandemic accelerated a lot of trends, and caused a lot of landscapes to change in 2020. In-person events barely existed. Most people worked from home. Spending and budgets were scrutinized. Processes changed. In this episode we'll take a look at how those changes affected the greater WordPress community. Thanks to Nexcess and GoDaddy Pro for Sponsoring this series! Show Notes 2020 State of the Word Thoughts GoWP's Niche Agency Owners Facebook Group What to Focus on in a Recession with Brad Morrison Using Webinars to Grow Your Audience with Emily Hunkler The Blogsmith WordSesh Mike Demo Paul Lacey Photos of Decreased Air Pollution Tips on Working from Home During a Pandemic

2020 was been a banner year for eCommerce, even if it’s due to an awful global pandemic. In fact, the number of eCommerce sites grew more in the first 8 weeks of the pandemic here in the United States than in the last 10 years. WooCommerce makes up 26% of those sites! So in this episode, we're talking WooCommerce, and what eCommerce is going to look like in 2021 and beyond. Thanks to Nexcess and GoDaddy Pro for Sponsoring this series! Show Notes The 2020 State of the Word eCommerce Usage Stats WooSesh BobWP / Do the Woo Patrick Rauland

Matt Mullenweg gave his annual State of the Word, an update on all things WordPress, . He focused on a few key areas, like how WordPress grew in a pandemic year, an update on each major release of WordPress, and where Gutenberg is going. There was also a big focus in the Q&A on virtual events, multilingual WordPress, and performance. Thanks to Nexcess and GoDaddy Pro for Sponsoring this series! Show Notes The 2020 State of the Word The Reaction Live Stream My State of the Word Live Tweets