WP Builds

The WordPress news from the last week which commenced Monday 4th September 2023.

This is second of four podcast episodes related to WordPress security. For the first time ever (well second time I suppose!) I feel like I need to add some context to the show notes so that you understand the context of what I'm doing here. A little while ago there was some news in the WordPress space about the merits of using plugins for securing your WordPress website. Researchers (see the previous episode for more on this) had discovered ways in which the effectiveness of the plugins might be compromised. There were several posts on social media which amplified the issue, making it harder to gain an understanding of what happened, and when. I decided to reach out to a number of people to get 'their side of the story'. Today you're going to hear from Akshat Choudhary from Blogvault and Malcare putting his case for why WordPress firewalls and scanners are useful.

The WordPress news from the last week which commenced Monday 28th August 2023.

It is the 14th episode of our “Thinking the Unthinkable” series. The idea for today's topic came from our last episode in which we were talking about the pros and cons of no code builders. Here we’re asking "Are web design clients only interested in what they can see?", but it could have been "Are web designers responsible for the growth in DIY sites?". We explore the evolving landscape of web design and the growing trend of clients taking a more active role in designing their own websites. We discuss the challenges of balancing client expectations, user experience, performance, and accessibility. We also touch on the rise of page builders and DIY website building, examining the potential consequences and legal implications for those who lack the necessary knowledge and skills in areas such as accessibility. On a side note, we're looking for sponsors for the upcoming Page Builder Summit in September, so if you're interested, be sure to reach out. Also, please note that there will be a week off next week, but rest assured, we'll be back with episode two of our security mini series then. As always, we invite you to subscribe to the WP Builds podcast and leave your comments on our website.

The WordPress news from the last week which commenced Monday 14th August 2023.

his is first of four podcast episodes related to WordPress security.

For the first time ever, I feel like I need to add some context to the show notes so that you understand the context of what I'm doing here.

A little while ago there was some news in the WordPress space about the merits of using plugins for securing your WordPress website. Researchers (Calvin being one of them) had discovered ways in which the effectiveness of the plugins might be compromised. I'll leave the audio (and transcript) of the podcast to explain the technicalities here, but there were several posts on social media which amplified the issue, making it harder to gain an understanding of what happened, and when.

I decided to reach out to a number of people to get 'their side of the story'.

Also a first for this podcast, I set some ground rules for the interviews to take place:

Each participant (there are four in total, one per episode) was told who the other guests were

Each participant was told that their episode would not be published until all four recordings had taken place

Each participant was told that their episode would be published in a random order

What you're listening to today is the first of that random publishing schedule. The other three episodes will come out in the following weeks.

This was done to ensure that the guests did not have. a chance to listen to the other participants episode, and therefore had. a chance to 'better prepare'.

With hindsight, which was likely overkill as all the guests were very thoughtful and polite. They do in some cases mention rival products and describe areas where they think that errors were made in code and communication. That being said, there was no general sense of mud slinging that I detected.

The guests are (in random order):

Calvin Alkan - Snicco

Akshat Choudhary - Malcare

Dan Knauss - iThemes (now SolidWP)

Thomas J Raef - We Watch Your Website

I'm going to keep my commentary here to a minimum to avoid getting embroiled in the debate, but there's some additional information about what we cover in the show notes of the post.

The WordPress news from the last week which commenced Monday 7th August 2023.

So you've been building websites for a while now and you've got really good at it. You don't really touch the code, but that's okay, because the tool that you're using promised that you would never have to. Erm... how's that working out in reality? I'm guessing that if this question resonates with you, you'll be interested in the podcast today. Is it possible to have tools which really allow you to create good, working websites with none, zero, nada, ziltch, no code at all? We talk about whether true no code is possible, if it's something to be desired and the reliance you develop for a specific tool. Oh, and of course there's AI coming for your job as well! If you're creating WordPress websites with the assistance of tools, this podcast is for you.

The WordPress news from the last week which commenced Monday 24th July 2023.

On the podcast today we have Roman Axelrod, a web developer from Israel. Roman joins us to share his experience running a web development agency, and his journey into the world of WordPress. He discusses the challenges his agency faced when working with third-party freelancers who created inconsistent designs; the frustrations he felt and what he did about it. To tackle this issue, Roman and his team developed a dev tool that allows them to share style guidelines with freelancers and ensure consistency in design elements. The tool includes features for testing and ensuring accurate designs. We talk about what this tool can do, as well as the fact that Roman is open to having discussions with other like-minded people about the direction the tool might take. It's an interesting chat and you can leave a comment on the post as well as finding the links mentioned in the show.