In this issue of Delicious Brain Bytes, we look into upcoming WordPress releases, the results of the 2024 WP Awards, and much more!
Upcoming WordPress Releases
WordPress 6.7.2 is scheduled for February 11, 2025. This maintenance release aims to address bugs introduced during the 6.7 cycle, with a Release Candidate available for testing on February 4th. More details about the release planning can be found here.
The design team has outlined their plans for the next major release, WordPress 6.8. Unlike recent major releases, version 6.8 is set to focus more on refinement and bug fixes rather than introducing numerous new features. The design team will concentrate on polishing the existing design system, simplifying the interface, addressing current issues, and supporting features that are close to completion.
The Beta 1 release of WordPress 6.8 is expected on March 4,followed by Release Candidate 1 on March 25. The general release is slated for April 15, 2025. Commprehensive details about the design plans are available here.
WP Awards Announced
The 2024 edition of the WP Awards closed for voting in late December, with the winners announced early this year. Run by The WP Weekly, the WP Awards are determined by user votes.
ACF was voted the most popular in the “Dynamic Data Plugins” category, as well as receiving the most votes overall of any competitor. This is the second year in a row that ACF has achieved this feat. 2024 was a busy year for the ACF team. You can catch up by reading their year in review.
Please see here for more information on the WP Awards and the rest of this year’s winners.
WordPress Ecosystem Map
You know the WordPress ecosystem is both very large and highly interconnected. A new mind map attempts to show just how big and interconnected it really is. It makes for a fascinating overview of the WordPress world.
The image below slows just a small slice of the map. We encourage you to dive in here.
Yoast Founders Acquire Post Status, Transform It Into Nonprofit
Joost de Valk and Marieke van de Rakt, founders of Yoast SEO, have acquired Post Status, a prominent WordPress community platform. The couple plans to transform Post Status into a Dutch nonprofit foundation, marking a new chapter for the established WordPress business community.
Post Status, founded in 2013, has evolved into a vibrant community with over 1,700 members, facilitating partnerships and business deals within the WordPress ecosystem. De Valk and van de Rakt have bought out Cory and Lindsey Miller’s share of the U.S.-based LLC, transferring all assets to the new nonprofit foundation in the Netherlands.
De Valk emphasized the importance of maintaining Post Status as a place with light moderation and freedom of speech. The new nonprofit structure aims to ensure long-term sustainability, with plans to reduce membership fees and seek more sponsors to cover operational costs.
The acquisition comes as de Valk has been vocal about WordPress governance, recently calling for changes in the project’s leadership structure. However, he stressed that Post Status as a foundation will remain neutral in discussions about WordPress and open source politics.
Michelle Frechette will continue as Executive Director, with Juliette Reinders Folmer and Karim Marucchi joining de Valk on the foundation’s board..
WordPress Accessibility Day Seeks Organizers for 2025 Event
WordPress Accessibility Day, a free 24-hour global conference dedicated to web accessibility, is calling for volunteers to help organize its 2025 event. This nonprofit initiative aims to provide education on making WordPress websites more accessible to all users.
The organizers are seeking individuals with various skills, including marketing, design, content creation, and event management. They are particularly interested in volunteers from the Asia-Pacific region to ensure global representation.
Interested parties can learn more about the roles and commitments by attending one of two informational sessions scheduled for January 30th and 31st, 2025. For more information, please see the call for organizers on the WordPress Accessibility Day site.
Brian Gardner Pens Open Letter to WordPress Theme Designers
Brian Gardner has written an open letter addressing a critical issue in WordPress theme design: color contrast and accessibility.
Gardner, who has been designing WordPress themes since 2006, emphasizes the importance of creating themes that are not only visually appealing but also accessible to all users. He points out that poor color contrast can render websites unusable for millions of people with visual impairments.
In his letter, Gardner calls on the WordPress theme design community to prioritize accessibility, particularly in regard to color contrast. He advocates for adhering to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and using tools like the WebAIM Contrast Checker to validate color choices.
Gardner also highlights the WordPress Accessibility Checker plugin as a valuable tool for maintaining accessibility standards and mentions his own theme, Powder, as an example of balancing aesthetics with accessibility.
The letter concludes with a call to action, urging designers to test their themes, educate themselves on accessibility guidelines, encourage others in the community, and empower users to maintain accessibility standards.
Software Folklore
Bugs can make anyone tear their hair out. This is especially true if the bug seems related to something that shouldn’t impact it all, like the phase of the moon or the fact that it’s Tuesday.
Those aren’t just random examples. They’re actual stories we read on Software Folklore, a collection of some of the most outlandish bugs ever encountered. Check it out for those and more, like the emails that wouldn’t go further than 500 miles, or the server that failed whenever it was high tide.
WordPress Accessibility Plugins for Inclusive Web Design
Accessibility is a critical component of creating inclusive and user-friendly digital environments. Ensuring websites you build are accessible is not just a moral and ethical imperative, but often a legal and business necessity.
In this article, we discuss why accessibility matters, some of the key features to look for in an accessibility solution, and look at some of the plugins available to help you make sure the sites you build can serve all parts of their potential audience.
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