Hey everyone! Welcome to the news, opinions, tools and tutorials round-up of April 2016. This month was far busier than the previous months in 2016, so I’ve got a lot to share today.
Let’s begin!
WordPress News
Another fast month for WordPress releases: We started with 4.5 RC2, then 4.5 has released, and now we’re using version 4.5.1. If you’re interested in a “field guide”, check out this page.
Have you followed the news about the Panama Papers lately? Turns out, the law firm Mossack Fonseca was using an old version of WordPress! But that wasn’t the cause of the leak–an old version of Slider Revolution was! Everyone, seriously, stay up to date.
Another security news, this time good news: Automattic partners with Let’s Encrypt. That means that every single WordPress.com website will run on HTTPS.
Sad news for REST API fans: It won’t be included in WordPress 4.6.
Syed Balkhi just acquired Google Analytics by Yoast, and renamed it to MonsterInsights. It caused a slight panic among the plugin’s users (they thought the plugin has been hacked after the menu icon change to a green monster) but everything seems to be fine now.
Opinion Pieces
Brandon Yanofsky from Torque wrote a fantastic piece about the future of the internet and how everything will change with WordPress, AMP and Instant Articles.
The guys at The WP Steward argues that what PHP version you’re using is kinda important. Couldn’t agree more.
Chris Lema warns WordPress users about plugins: “Learn them before using them.” This applies to everyone, not just beginners.
Two fun & informative articles from Brenda Barron on Torque: How to builld the perfect WordPress developer, and how to build the perfect WordPress client. LOL.
WordPress Plugins, Themes & Tools
Let’s start with a listicle: WPExplorer lists 15 plugins to “supercharge your WordPress comments”.
You like listicles, don’t you? Here’s another one about two-factor authentication plugins on Torque.
OK, last listicle: Here’s a list of beautiful WordPress porfolio themes. Hey, that’s us!
Two caching plugins were released this month, both with the same purpose of being simple and effective: Cache Enabler and Simple Cache. Both look promising.
Creating a child theme is easier than you think. Hey, that’s us again!
WordPress Tutorials
How do you add jQuery scripts into your theme? Here’s the proper way.
Since WordPress 4.4, you can embed WordPress posts with oEmbed. Here’s how to do it with your own style.
WP White Security has published an excellent “glossary” on WordPress security.
Do you know the difference between WordPress actions and filters? If you don’t, Rachel McCollin from Tuts+ Code can help you with that.
Two WooCommerce beginner’s guides from two WordPress blogs: Torque and Speckyboy.
April 24 was the WordPress Translation Day. Here’s “the ultimate guide to WordPress translation and localization” by WPMU DEV.
Want to customize your WordPress dashboard? Here’s how.
Maintaining WordPress is very important–remember the Panama Papers leak above! Check out this detailed guide about WordPress maintenance.
You should also prepare if everything goes wrong. ProBlogger has a great guide on creating a backup & disaster recovery plan.
Our last link is from the Elegant Themes blog: “How to Build a Community Website with WordPress”
Wrapping Up
Wow, that was a lot! And I’m pretty sure I’ve missed a couple of stories here. Do you have anything to share? Tell us what you think in the Comments section below. And, as always, thanks for reading!