Issue #79 - Step Up - Block Templates, Free Membership Site, WP Events

With everyone coming out of the holiday mood, things are in step-up mode with a lot of new features, changes, and releases. Be it free blocks goodness with templates and plugins, making sense of the upcoming WordPress 5.9 version core changes, and yes – more Gutenberg chatter (why not!).

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1st Contest of 2022: Win FooGallery PRO plugin licenses.

• Free Blocks Goodness… check this new plugin giving access to free reusable website block patterns, templates, and full page layouts from the Extendify team. Also, Kadence Blocks has added advanced image block feature in the version 2.2.0 of their free plugin for more control over images in your block templates.
  
  
• Product Updates… Restrict Content Pro has launched version 3.0 making their free version more feature-rich along with the ability to accept payments via Stripe for an additional charge. Also, an audio player functionality has been added to the Presto Player plugin making audio content implementation easy on WordPress websites.
  
  
• New Launches… MainWP has released a new extension for Google Lighthouse allowing you to audit search optimization, accessibility, and performance of your websites. Daniel Schutzsmith at WP Live Streams Directory has launched a podcast showcasing upcoming events in the WordPress community.

1. Core Changes… check the WordPress 5.8.3 security release for an immediate update on your websites. The second release candidate (RC2) for WordPress 5.9 is now available for your testing. Also, take note of WordPress not being fully compatible with PHP 8.0 or 8.1 – more details by Tonya Mork.
   
   
2. Blocks Life… is Gutenberg yes or no for you? Well, here are a few popular WordPress folks sharing their take in a video by Jamie Marsland. And that’s not all, Jamie made another useful video showcasing full site editing in action for WooCommerce websites.
   
   
3. Acquisition Train… two relatively smaller plugins, Twitch for WordPress and Udemy for WordPress are available for acquisition as the current owner wants to focus on other products. While Rich Tabor’s login designer plugin used for customizing the login page has been acquired by the folks at WP Experts.
   
   
4. Being Resourceful… two new expert online masterclasses for crafting your course and promoting your course to be delivered by Chris Lema are coming soon, these will be available free to all new LearnDash buyers. Also, can you build a web app using a WordPress membership plugin? Well, check this case study from the Paid Memberships Pro team.

• Why & How ‘The WP Awards’, a few behind the scene details.
• New: Coffee shop eCommerce starter template for Kadence.
• Woostify theme added feature to display login form in a popup.
• Watch & Try: Run SQL Queries in WordPress using WPCodeBox.
• Jetpack’s Videopress now with an option to download videos.
• Rich Tabor teased ‘Alana’, a tool for WordPress professionals.
• Note: WordPress vulnerabilities more than doubled in 2021.

Due to rising infection numbers, WordCamp Birmingham 2022 team has decided to postpone the event. A date around April or May month seems to be on their radar for now. While the WordCamp Europe 2022 event preparations are going ahead, tickets are now available for the 10th WordCamp Europe 2022 event.

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Upcoming Events...

Mar 04, 2022: WordFest Live, an online festival of WordPress.

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By
Davinder Singh Kainth
A creative who Loves to Create Online Spaces powered by WordPress.

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