# This Month in WordPress: July 2016 Another month has passed and here we are, at the new "This Month of WordPress" issue. It was a good month with lots of new steps towards WordPress 4.6 and some more exciting news, and a set of great tutorials. Let's begin, shall we? ## WordPress News WordPress 4.6 versions [Beta 2](https://wordpress.org/news/2016/07/wordpress-4-6-beta-2/), [Beta 3](https://wordpress.org/news/2016/07/wordpress-4-6-beta-3/), [Beta 4](https://wordpress.org/news/2016/07/wordpress-4-6-beta-4/) and [Release Candidate](https://wordpress.org/news/2016/07/wordpress-4-6-release-candidate/) were released. Don't know what to expect from WordPress 4.6? [Torque's got you covered](http://torquemag.io/2016/07/expect-wordpress-4-6/). [WPBeginner has even screenshots](http://www.wpbeginner.com/news/whats-coming-in-wordpress-4-6-features-and-screenshots/). Last month (June '16), WordCamp Europe 2016 were held, and it was a hit. [Torque has the highlights](https://wpengine.com/blog/wordcamp-europe-2016-recap/), and [WP Tavern says videos were uploaded to WordPress.tv](https://wptavern.com/wordcamp-europe-2016-videos-uploaded-to-wordpress-tv-coloring-book-now-available-for-download). ([Check them out!](http://wordpress.tv/event/wordcamp-europe-2016/)) And "[A Week of REST](https://aweekofrest.hm/)" by Human Made is on its way (5-9 September). Want to go, but short on funds? [You can apply for a scholarship](http://www.wpmayor.com/week-rest-announces-detailed-program-two-full-scholarships/). The last news story is about Android users: [WordPress for Android 5.6 is out](https://wptavern.com/wordpress-for-android-5-6-adds-screen-to-invite-new-users-expands-reader-to-include-related-posts) with a new screen to invite users, and expands the "Reader" screen with related posts. ## Opinion Pieces We've read just a few opinion posts from the community this July: - "[5 Challenges Plaguing The WordPress Security Ecosystem](http://torquemag.io/2016/07/5-challenges-plaguing-wordpress-security-ecosystem/)" by Tony Perez, - "[WordPress Plugin Directory Cracks Down on Incentivized Reviews](https://wptavern.com/wordpress-plugin-directory-cracks-down-on-incentivized-reviews-despite-lack-of-official-guideline)" by Sarah Gooding, - "[New WordPress Plugin Repository & The Community Feedback](http://wplift.com/new-wp-plugin-repository-community-feedback)" by Ahmad Awais, - And "[WordPress crusade against technical responsibility](https://www.rarst.net/wordpress/technical-responsibility/?utm_source=TheWhiPbyWPMUDEV)" by Andrey Savchenko. PS: I'm not sure if this can be considered an "opinion piece", but Tom Ewer also has a *listicle* called "[5 Core WordPress Features That You Should Use More Often](http://themeisle.com/blog/core-wordpress-features/)". ## WordPress Plugins, Themes & Tools We've got more of those listicles here, as plugin round ups: - Sufyan bin Uzayr lists [10 free WordPress plugins for developers](http://themeisle.com/blog/free-wordpress-plugins-for-developers/). - Jenni McKinnon lists [25 awesome WordPress plugins to combat spam](https://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/wordpress-spam-plugins/). - Vishnu Supreet lists [12 cool Chrome apps and extensions for WordPress](http://www.wpexplorer.com/chrome-apps-extensions-wordpress/). - And Christopher Jan Benitez lists [5 WordPress plugins to speed up WordPress](http://www.wpmayor.com/5-blazing-wordpress-plugins-fast-website/). And in other "tools", we have: - [WP Safe Updates](https://wptavern.com/wp-safe-updates-plugin-test-wordpress-plugin-updates-in-a-sandbox-before-applying) plugin to test plugin updates in a "sandbox". - [WP-CLI GUI](https://wptavern.com/wp-cli-gui-an-interface-to-speed-up-wordpress-installation) to work on WP-CLI with a graphical user interface. - And the [Disable Blogging](https://wptavern.com/easily-hide-wordpress-blogging-features-with-the-disable-blogging-plugin) plugin to disable everything related to blogging in WordPress. ## WordPress Tutorials Let's start with an interesting one: [WPMU DEV has a guide for introverts to *survive* WordCamps](https://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/introverts-guide-wordcamps/). Neat! Maintaining your WordPress website isn't that hard, but it requires discipline. [WP Lift has a "101" lesson about it](http://wplift.com/wordpress-maintenance). Locked out of wp-admin? [WP Kube explains how to get your admin panel back](https://www.wpkube.com/fix-locked-wp-admin-issue/). Changing your whole URL structure may hurt your website's SEO... or not. Here's a tutorial on [changing your permalinks without killing your SERP ranks](https://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/change-wordpress-site-permalink-structure/). WordPress developers *have to* know about WP\_Query. If you're new to WordPress development, you should [check out this guide to learn about WP\_Query](http://torquemag.io/2016/07/a-guide-to-wp_query/). Speaking of things to learn about in WordPress development, WP Shout has a [tutorial about the "template hierarchy" in WordPress](https://wpshout.com/spelunking-template-hierarchy/). WPMU DEV shared [a huge guide about securing your WordPress website](https://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/ultimate-wordpress-security-checklist/). It even has a downloadable PDF checklist. ## Conclusion Which one is your favorite in this month's issue? Do you think I missed to mention something important? The "Comments" section below is at your disposal. And thanks for reading! Don't forget to share this post if you liked it.