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Admin Block Directory Prototype, Pods Framework, Block Theme Experiments, User Donations 🗞️ February 2020 WordPress News w/ CodeinWP

 This is the February 2020 edition of “This Month in WordPress with CodeinWP.” 

Hi everybody, welcome to our latest edition of WordPress news! We hope you started off the year with the batteries charged and you’re ready to embrace all the next challenges that are waiting for you around the corner. 😃

On this month’s agenda, we’ll be talking about the admin block directory prototype, the Pods framework, experiments with block-based themes, plugin donations, conferences to add to your 2020 calendar, and a lot more interesting stories and trends from the WordPress realm.

So stay with us for a few minutes to find out the most important happenings of the last four weeks in WordPress. Let’s dive in!

February 2020 WordPress News with CodeinWP

Block Directory in WP-Admin: V1

The design team is planning to include a block directory in the admin page in WordPress 5.5, which will be out by August 2020. But until then, they launched a sample of how it’s supposed to look and work, so feel free to test it out if you’re a curious one.

Figma Prototype contains the first concepts and mockups of the block directory, but it’s important to mention that there might be big changes before it’s ready for prime time. Some of the components are page headers, list tables, empty states, and also reusable blocks that you can use in other areas of your admin dashboard.

At the time that we’re writing this, there are ten blocks in the blocks category on WordPress.org but more will be added soon.

WP Admin Block Directory Prototype

Pods Framework Plugin Needs Donations in February 2020 WordPress news

Pods needs your help in 2020

If you’re using the Pods framework, you might want to give a helping hand to make it last. Automattic, its main sponsor since 2012, gave up supporting the project and Pods’ lead developer is now addressing his worries to the community of users.

Since Automattic was covering 90% of the costs, the team behind this project is now asking for funds from anyone who can jump in and donate. So if you’ve been a long-time user of the plugin, you can contribute yourself by becoming a donor here.

Currently, there are 58 donors out of 200, the initial goal of the Pods’ developing team.

You may also be interested in:

Get Involved With Block-Based WordPress Theme Experiments

Early in December, the WordPress theme review team proposed the initial documentation for block-based themes, the guidelines that every developer should follow in order to build templates that are fully functional with the block editor.

Since then, more contributors joined the challenge and created several examples of themes based on the structure above. As the themes built with blocks will be the priority in the future of WordPress, you might want to test your work too. The repository is open to anyone, so you can send your theme experiments here.

Block Theme Experiments in WordPress 2020

GiveWP user fundraising campaign - February 2020 WordPress news

GiveWP Plugin Users Raised Over $100 Million in Donations in 2019

We have a first in the history of donation plugins: GiveWP users managed to collectively raise $106 million in 2019. It’s the first time that donation amounts surpassed $100 million in a year according to an announcement from Matt Cromwell, GiveWP’s COO, on Facebook.

The increase is notable if you were to compare it with 2018 and 2017, when the funds reached $88 million and $41 million, respectively. Additionally, the $106 million only counts payments made by users via PayPal and Stripe, so the actual amount is probably higher.

Landing Kit for WordPress Maps Any Post or Page to a Custom Domain

New WordPress product in the house! Phil Kurth and Jason Schuller launched Landing Kit plugin, which allows you to map domains to any posts, pages, and custom post type entries.

So if you want to create individual marketing or landing pages using singular templates, Landing Kit will be of help to you. It is meant to map domains to single pages or posts on single-site installations without the need for a multisite or a separate WordPress installation.

Moreover, the plugin is compatible with any theme and comes with SSL support and post redirect options.

Landing Kit Plugin Sketch

Great Articles From Around The Web

WordCamp Houston Returning After 10 Years

People in Houston are trying to rebuild their “dismantled” community and start again from scratch organizing WordCamp Houston. They were absent for 10 years but everything seems to get back in place for them. We wish them the best of luck!

WordPress, JavaScript and PHP Conferences to Add to Your Calendar in 2020

If you want to travel and also be present at conferences at the same time, the guys at Delicious Brains put together this list of a few interesting events that you can attend in 2020. It’s mostly for developers.

Introducing a new chapter, with Cory Miller as Post Status partner

Cory Miller, who we recently interviewed on this very blog, is the new co-owner and partner of Post Status. He will further share the activities with Brian Krogsgard on business management, writing, and community engagement.

WordPress Plugin Roundup – January 2020

What’s new in the plugin territory? Here’s a roundup of the best plugins that were launched or updated lately on WordPress.org. You never know when you find a gem that will make your life easier.

10 Best WordPress Plugins for Blogs

If you’re a blogger, you might want to go through this list of plugins that will help your blog grow. We’re proud to note that our own Revive Old Posts is there, among other big players.

BobWP is Now Do the Woo – WooCommerce News and Community

Bob Dunn, known in the community as BobWP, is narrowing down the topics of discussion in his podcast and on the blog by transitioning from generalized content to WooCommerce-based content. From now on, you’ll hear of him as ‘Do the Woo at BobWP’.

How Many Websites Use WooCommerce? Usage Stats + Infographic 2020

Speaking of WooCommerce, here’s how the plugin performed last year in numbers. The folks at Barn2 put these stats together into an infographic that shows the evolution of our CMS’ eCommerce system.

10 Important 2020 Social Media Trends You Need to Know

Every single year, there’s a big social platform or invention that gets all the hype from people until another one quickly takes over. And so on. What will 2020 bring us? Here are the predictions from Search Engine Journal.

WordPress and Ajax

Learning how to use Ajax with WordPress? This is a blog that’s covering this topic entirely for you. Ronald Huereca divided all the lessons into chapters, which are very easy to follow if you’re keen to consolidate your Ajax skills.

The Secret Art of Delegation

A nice topic that I’ve rarely seen tackled. If you are overcrowded with too much managerial work coming your way, it’s important to know how to transfer the responsibility to someone else. Here’s how to do it professionally.

Choosing The Best WordPress Table Plugin

If you want to present your content visually in a clean way, you can browse through these great WordPress table plugins to cross this need off your list. Happy to see our Visualizer recommended there as one of the best.

Google PageSpeed Insights: The Truth About Scoring 100/100

Is it even possible to score the maximum in a site speed check tool? Maybe it’s not, but at least you can try to score as high as possible. Here are the details you’re not paying enough attention to in order to improve your page loading times.

That sums up the February 2020 WordPress news. Anything we missed?

Don’t forget to join our crash course on speeding up your WordPress site. Learn more below:

 

Layout and presentation by Karol K.

Adelina Tuca

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