? This is the June 2020 edition of “This Month in WordPress with CodeinWP.”
Hi everyone! The past weeks freed us from our houses and apartments a little bit. We could go out for long walks and some fresh air, respecting the social distancing rules, of course. I think it makes a difference, being able to change scenery even slightly. With a more optimistic view for the rest of the year, let’s review the latest happenings in WordPress!
It’s been a tradition to refer to May as the anniversary month because that was when WordPress was officially introduced to the world. So happy birthday, WordPress!
In other news, it was a sweet and sour time for Elementor, going through security attacks but reaching a new milestone in popularity. Even Envato Elements released a kit of templates built entirely for Elementor.
On a different note, automatic tests will let you know whether a theme is compatible with your WordPress version in order to prevent you from installing it on your site.
But that was just an overview. Let’s talk about all the important news of June 2020!
June 2020 WordPress News with CodeinWP
Another year has passed and WordPress is still here, alive and kicking. The most notable change since the last birthday is, without a doubt, the growth of the block editor, which has marked the beginning of a new era for our CMS.
At this very moment, WordPress hosts 35% of all the websites in the world, an impressive number. The great news is that the number keeps increasing every year, which has me wondering how far this is gonna go.
I guess the best way to celebrate WordPress’s anniversary is to keep contributing, creating content, building beautiful websites, and putting in a good word for the platform so more people can try it.
Combined Attack on Elementor Pro and Ultimate Addons for Elementor Puts 1 Million Sites at Risk
If you’re using Elementor Pro and didn’t update to the latest version yet, you should do it because the tool went through some serious vulnerability issues, which led to security attacks that put at risk over one million websites. Ultimate Addons for Elementor plugin had the same fate, being targeted by the attackers too.
Both teams released new safe versions of their plugins as soon as they found out about the problem. To reduce any threat, make sure you upgrade to Ultimate Addons for Elementor 1.24.2 or greater and to Elementor Pro 2.9.4 or greater, respectively.
If you want to learn more about the methods the hackers used to get access to the Elementor websites, check out this report by Wordfence. Anyway, it seems that not only the Elementor users had to suffer due to security breaches lately; another million WordPress sites were targeted in large-scale attacks in the past weeks.
We Just Reached the Peak of WordPress: 5 Million Active Installs!
And now, the happy news about Elementor. After overcoming the aforementioned issues, the guys at Elementor celebrated reaching a dream milestone of over five million active installs of their free plugin. Only six plugins have reached this threshold before, which makes Elementor the seventh member of this privileged group.
Following the statistics the team shared in their post, Elementor is now used by 7% of all WordPress websites, four years after it came to the market. The plugin seems to see rapid growth, reaching five million in only four months after its previous milestone of four million.
A big part of this growth likely comes from theme developers who have embraced demo content built with Elementor. For example, our lightweight, multipurpose Neve theme includes lots of demos that are built with Elementor.
PHP and WordPress Version Checks Coming to Themes
An improvement in the security sector! From now on (more precisely starting with WordPress 5.5), you won’t be able to install a theme that is not compatible with your current WordPress and PHP versions. This is good news because it prevents you from using outdated tools or an old WordPress on your site.
Before the implementation of this automatic procedure, theme authors had to run tests regularly to check the compatibility, while the users were kind of left out. There wasn’t a way to notify a user that the theme they’ve chosen won’t work with their WordPress version, so they would find out only after installing and activating it.
Finally, everyone will have a little bit of transparency and background when it comes to compatibility issues.
Introducing Template Kits for Elementor
Envato Elements launched a library of Elementor templates that you can use to add more pages to your site or to build one from scratch via the page builder. The templates cover many niches and offer a variety of modern designs for all tastes.
Right now, the collection has 241 templates for business, real estate, doctors, education, restaurants, travel, sports, and many more, ranging from $6 to $39.
Great Articles From Around The Web
Spain hosted the biggest online WordCamp of this year so far. The bad: it’s all in Spanish. The good: they came with a nice surprise and invited Matt Mullenweg as a special guest. The Q&A starts at 4:31:00 and… they speak English.
The first days of June will bring the famous WordCamp Europe to your home. We were all sad when the event was canceled, but we can still attend online. The schedule is up, so check it out and mark your favorite talks.
The WordPress Theme Review Team will be referred to as simply the Themes Team as of now. The reason was that the name should clarify the team’s all responsibilities which include a broader spectrum than only theme reviews.
Searches for WordPress are up 52% in the last month: understanding the surge
WordPress had an increase in searches recently, a consequence of the many offline businesses moving online. Only last month, the increase was substantial – 52.29% across a bundle of WordPress-related keywords. Read on to find more stats on this matter.
Another interesting online event will be the one hosted by the Accessibility Team. The Accessibility Day will be a premiere for the WordPress community and will take place this autumn, lasting for 24 hours. Keep an eye on it, the call for speakers will open soon.
Announcing Genesis Pro and the Future of Genesis
To refresh your memory, WP Engine acquired StudioPress (the makers of Genesis theme) two years ago. Now, they’re releasing the Genesis Pro add-on that comes with new block-related features for the users of the Genesis theme. Also in WP Engine news, the company joined forces with Block Lab in order to develop exciting block editor projects together.
Manage Payments Directly in the WooCommerce Dashboard
The WooCommerce team launched the WooCommerce Payments feature, with the goal of simplifying the payment processes. The feature allows WordPress users to handle all their financial actions via their admin page, without being redirected to third-party services. The service is powered by Stripe.
The JavaScript for WordPress Conference
Yet another conference where you can apply as a speaker! If you’re a JavaScript expert, you can share your knowledge with the attendees of the virtual event that will happen this July. It will be three days of online talks and workshops.
Write beautifully in WordPress
If you’re looking for a more inviting WordPress editor, have a look at Iceberg, a plugin that offers a distraction-free writing experience, with multiple design and styling choices, as well as full Markdown support. Maybe it will help you feel more inspired.
Affiliate program: how we started and what we learned
Here’s an insightful write-up about joining the affiliate world and doing it wisely. Being part of an affiliate program doesn’t mean you just sign up and add links on your site to make money. The best results usually come from partnering with companies and understanding each other’s needs to get long-term benefits.
Where Gutenberg Went Wrong: Theme Developer Edition
When the block editor came out, the community was largely piqued by the change it was about to bring to WordPress. But the most irritated were the developers, and this article explains why. The comments also prove that the frustration never left.
An interesting report of the goals, achievements, and struggles the WordPress contributing teams went through in the first part of 2020. Check out the summary from each team on what went good and bad so far.
That sums up our June 2020 WordPress news roundup. Anything we missed?
…
Don’t forget to join our crash course on speeding up your WordPress site. With some simple fixes, you can reduce your loading time by even 50-80%:
Layout and presentation by Karol K.
Or start the conversation in our Facebook group for WordPress professionals. Find answers, share tips, and get help from other WordPress experts. Join now (it’s free)!
