Hello, fellow WordPresser! As we embark on a new year and set our sights on achieving fresh goals, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past 12 months. Specifically, we wanted to highlight some of the standout WordPress articles that our community published throughout the year. As you gear up for the exciting possibilities that 2023 has in store, we hope that these best WordPress articles will provide some inspiration and guidance along the way.
In order to gather the most resonant headlines, we reached out to some of the best WordPress blogs and also used our own monthly roundup of news and stories, carefully curated in-house, as a guide.
Hello, fellow WordPresser! As we embark on a new year and set our sights on achieving fresh goals, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the past 12 months. Specifically, we wanted to highlight some of the standout WordPress articles that our community published throughout the year. As you gear up for the exciting possibilities that 2023 has in store, we hope that these best WordPress articles will provide some inspiration and guidance along the way.
In order to gather the most resonant headlines, we reached out to some of the best WordPress blogs and also used our own monthly roundup of news and stories, carefully curated in-house, as a guide.
January
January
The Convesio team had big plans for 2022. After a successful funding campaign, the company worked on innovating its enterprise-grade WordPress hosting. Did they succeed? It seems so.
The Convesio team had big plans for 2022. After a successful funding campaign, the company worked on innovating its enterprise-grade WordPress hosting. Did they succeed? It seems so.
February
February
Smashing Magazine wrote about Matt Mullenweg’s plans to integrate the Block Protocol into the WordPress editor. This specification allows for the use of blocks that can be easily transferred between different applications, which could mark a major shift in the way we interact with WordPress.
Smashing Magazine wrote about Matt Mullenweg’s plans to integrate the Block Protocol into the WordPress editor. This specification allows for the use of blocks that can be easily transferred between different applications, which could mark a major shift in the way we interact with WordPress.
There’s this thing called the GDPR. It’s a ruling in the EU that requires websites to be transparent about how they collect user data and what they do with it. If your site doesn’t comply, you risk some serious fines, even up to €20 million. Granted, in this case, the fine is not as dramatic, but still.
There’s this thing called the GDPR. It’s a ruling in the EU that requires websites to be transparent about how they collect user data and what they do with it. If your site doesn’t comply, you risk some serious fines, even up to €20 million. Granted, in this case, the fine is not as dramatic, but still.
March
March
WordPress.com is experimenting with selling products right from the dashboard. It’s a new feature that will allow you to instantly purchase plugins, themes, and even services directly from your dashboard. Under development, stay tuned!
WordPress.com is experimenting with selling products right from the dashboard. It’s a new feature that will allow you to instantly purchase plugins, themes, and even services directly from your dashboard. Under development, stay tuned!
CSS-Ticks, one of the most loved front-end development websites, started a new chapter last year by joining DigitalOcean – the hosting giant. But don’t worry, this won’t affect the site’s quality content. Their words.
CSS-Ticks, one of the most loved front-end development websites, started a new chapter last year by joining DigitalOcean – the hosting giant. But don’t worry, this won’t affect the site’s quality content. Their words.
Newfold Digital, a top provider of web and commerce technology, has acquired YITH, one of the biggest sellers and developers of WooCommerce themes and plugins. This acquisition was made possible with the support of Clearlake and Siris Capital Groups.
Newfold Digital, a top provider of web and commerce technology, has acquired YITH, one of the biggest sellers and developers of WooCommerce themes and plugins. This acquisition was made possible with the support of Clearlake and Siris Capital Groups.
April
April
Concerns emerged in the community when WordPress.com changed their pricing plans and storage limits. The previous five plans available had been consolidated into two, while the storage offered on the free tier had been reduced from 3GB to 500MB. Fast-forward; it’s back to normal now. Pheew!
Concerns emerged in the community when WordPress.com changed their pricing plans and storage limits. The previous five plans available had been consolidated into two, while the storage offered on the free tier had been reduced from 3GB to 500MB. Fast-forward; it’s back to normal now. Pheew!
May
May
According to W3Techs, the market share for WordPress has been steadily decreasing, with a 0.4% drop in popularity since February 2022. This is a significant shift in the CMS landscape, and it will be interesting to see what the future holds for our platform.
According to W3Techs, the market share for WordPress has been steadily decreasing, with a 0.4% drop in popularity since February 2022. This is a significant shift in the CMS landscape, and it will be interesting to see what the future holds for our platform.
New research has revealed that an eyebrow-raising number of websites are collecting data while you enter it into online forms. This happens even before you hit the Submit button, since the sites begin collecting data as you type.
New research has revealed that an eyebrow-raising number of websites are collecting data while you enter it into online forms. This happens even before you hit the Submit button, since the sites begin collecting data as you type.
June
June
The WP Engine family has just gotten stronger with the addition of Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), WP Migrate, WP Offload Media, WP Offload SES, and Better Search Replace. This is exciting news for the community, as WP Engine continues to be the go-to destination for WordPress developers.
The WP Engine family has just gotten stronger with the addition of Advanced Custom Fields (ACF), WP Migrate, WP Offload Media, WP Offload SES, and Better Search Replace. This is exciting news for the community, as WP Engine continues to be the go-to destination for WordPress developers.
David Bisset of Post Status shared his thoughts on the most impactful and noteworthy moments from WordCamp Europe 2022, as seen remotely by live stream.
David Bisset of Post Status shared his thoughts on the most impactful and noteworthy moments from WordCamp Europe 2022, as seen remotely by live stream.
It seems that acquisitions went through the roof in 2022 because Strattic also found themselves under new management. Specifically, they’ve joined team Elementor. The goal of the project going forward is to provide more innovation in the static WordPress space.
It seems that acquisitions went through the roof in 2022 because Strattic also found themselves under new management. Specifically, they’ve joined team Elementor. The goal of the project going forward is to provide more innovation in the static WordPress space.
Speaking of Elementor, not everything was great for them in 2022. Elementor has made the difficult decision to lay off 60 employees, which is about 15% of its workforce. This happened due to the current economic climate, with rising inflation and falling unemployment rates.
Speaking of Elementor, not everything was great for them in 2022. Elementor has made the difficult decision to lay off 60 employees, which is about 15% of its workforce. This happened due to the current economic climate, with rising inflation and falling unemployment rates.
Spicing things up a bit with some controversy, here’s one! Matt Mullenweg took to Twitter to express his strong feelings about GoDaddy, calling it a “parasitic company” that poses an “existential threat to WordPress’s future.” Well, GoDaddy responded.
Spicing things up a bit with some controversy, here’s one! Matt Mullenweg took to Twitter to express his strong feelings about GoDaddy, calling it a “parasitic company” that poses an “existential threat to WordPress’s future.” Well, GoDaddy responded.
Is WordPress enough as it is now? In this editorial, Matt Cromwell wonders how much better the product would be if it included a few more features as standard. For example, robust user editing features or post-type generation.
Is WordPress enough as it is now? In this editorial, Matt Cromwell wonders how much better the product would be if it included a few more features as standard. For example, robust user editing features or post-type generation.
July
July
Another one bites the dust. Jokes aside, SiteCare acquired Maintainn – their long-time competitor.
Another one bites the dust. Jokes aside, SiteCare acquired Maintainn – their long-time competitor.
What a fruitful year 2022 was for business! This headline here is not only about the fact that WPLift was sold, but it’s more about the selling price, which was considerably cheaper than what the site was worth a couple of years ago.
What a fruitful year 2022 was for business! This headline here is not only about the fact that WPLift was sold, but it’s more about the selling price, which was considerably cheaper than what the site was worth a couple of years ago.
This is our own roundup of the impact the pandemic has had on the WordPress community. In it, WordPress community leaders share insights on how their businesses changed and what the consequences were.
This is our own roundup of the impact the pandemic has had on the WordPress community. In it, WordPress community leaders share insights on how their businesses changed and what the consequences were.
How does “full site editing” sound to you? Too complicated, maybe too technical, or just too long? The WordPress team initiated this brainstorming to get ideas for friendly names for the term.
How does “full site editing” sound to you? Too complicated, maybe too technical, or just too long? The WordPress team initiated this brainstorming to get ideas for friendly names for the term.
August
August
The headline speaks for itself, so we’ll just reveal the goal of this acquisition: to improve the range of products and services available to small and medium-sized businesses.
The headline speaks for itself, so we’ll just reveal the goal of this acquisition: to improve the range of products and services available to small and medium-sized businesses.
How hard is it now to build a WordPress site from scratch using the full site editor? Are all the official WordPress tutorials, guides, and docs outdated? Geoff Graham address this concern in his editorial on CSS-Tricks.
How hard is it now to build a WordPress site from scratch using the full site editor? Are all the official WordPress tutorials, guides, and docs outdated? Geoff Graham address this concern in his editorial on CSS-Tricks.
There were claims that the WP-Optimize plugin was blocking the loading of certain JavaScript files when users ran performance tests on their websites. Not very ethical of them.
There were claims that the WP-Optimize plugin was blocking the loading of certain JavaScript files when users ran performance tests on their websites. Not very ethical of them.
September
September
The Wordfence Threat Intelligence team discovered that a vulnerability in BackupBuddy was being exploited, which could have led to around five million attacks. Had they not blocked the hacking operation, massive damage would have happened to tens of thousands of WordPress sites.
The Wordfence Threat Intelligence team discovered that a vulnerability in BackupBuddy was being exploited, which could have led to around five million attacks. Had they not blocked the hacking operation, massive damage would have happened to tens of thousands of WordPress sites.
In this short post, the PublishPress team briefly announced to their followers that MetaSlider – the lightbox plugin – will be taken under their umbrella for new exciting projects.
In this short post, the PublishPress team briefly announced to their followers that MetaSlider – the lightbox plugin – will be taken under their umbrella for new exciting projects.
It looks like Automattic might be working on creating a new WordPress hosting company! It’s possible that they could even be building a hosting solution specifically for WooCommerce. Matt Medeiros recorded a podcast on this topic.
It looks like Automattic might be working on creating a new WordPress hosting company! It’s possible that they could even be building a hosting solution specifically for WooCommerce. Matt Medeiros recorded a podcast on this topic.
Okay, this doesn’t sound like a WordPress-related story in itself. However! The post has a really cool design, which shows us firsthand how the block editor can be used for practical, user-friendly content presentation that also looks great.
Okay, this doesn’t sound like a WordPress-related story in itself. However! The post has a really cool design, which shows us firsthand how the block editor can be used for practical, user-friendly content presentation that also looks great.
October
October
Another exciting discussion that generated a lot of buzz was the removal of the plugin active installs from the WordPress.org repository. This change did not sit well with many plugin developers.
Another exciting discussion that generated a lot of buzz was the removal of the plugin active installs from the WordPress.org repository. This change did not sit well with many plugin developers.
While using AI is a very high-level form of automation, there are much less intricate levels of automation that can be achieved through intelligent code design. What happens, though, when companies hire programmers to do a job and those programmers figure out how to write scripts that do the job for them – on autopilot?
While using AI is a very high-level form of automation, there are much less intricate levels of automation that can be achieved through intelligent code design. What happens, though, when companies hire programmers to do a job and those programmers figure out how to write scripts that do the job for them – on autopilot?
CEO and Co-Founder of Fixie.ai, Matt Welsh, who’s also held leadership positions at both Google and Apple, thinks that we are on the cusp of a serious programming makeover. Could the same fate be in store for WordPress development?
CEO and Co-Founder of Fixie.ai, Matt Welsh, who’s also held leadership positions at both Google and Apple, thinks that we are on the cusp of a serious programming makeover. Could the same fate be in store for WordPress development?
November
November
Remember the discussion around a friendlier name for the “full site editing” or “full site editor?” Months later, here’s the conclusion. It will be called “Site Editor” – simply.
Remember the discussion around a friendlier name for the “full site editing” or “full site editor?” Months later, here’s the conclusion. It will be called “Site Editor” – simply.
The acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk for a staggering $44 billion has certainly turned heads and sparked discussion. The WordPress community has a strong presence on Twitter, so it will be interesting to see how things play out and how this acquisition might impact the way the community operates on the platform.
The acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk for a staggering $44 billion has certainly turned heads and sparked discussion. The WordPress community has a strong presence on Twitter, so it will be interesting to see how things play out and how this acquisition might impact the way the community operates on the platform.
December
December
That moment when Artificial Intelligence gets scary smart. 🤖
That moment when Artificial Intelligence gets scary smart. 🤖
We’re closing this post with the results of our big survey on WordPress hosting. We believe it provides a better context for choosing your next host beyond reading yet another subjective recommendation on the web. This survey covers responses from more than 3,400 actual users of various WordPress hosting platforms.
We’re closing this post with the results of our big survey on WordPress hosting. We believe it provides a better context for choosing your next host beyond reading yet another subjective recommendation on the web. This survey covers responses from more than 3,400 actual users of various WordPress hosting platforms.
