WP Builds Newsletter #14 – WordPress is 15, WP 4.9.6 updates anyone and Google is now “evil”

This weeks WordPress news – Covering The Week Commencing 21st May 2018:

Happy 15th Birthday WordPress
What more is there to say… Go find a meetup and have a fun time!

WP Time Machine
A nice way to look back over the last 15 years and what WordPress looked like. Most if these UI’s are new to me, but perhaps you’re more of an ‘old hand’ than I am and they might spark some memories and shudders!

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Why Sites Didn’t Automatically Update to WordPress 4.9.6
“It turns out that the WordPress Development team disabled the auto update system after discovering that a few plugins were incorrectly loading the new privacy features and triggering fatal 500 errors on the frontend of user’s sites…”

What’s new in Gutenberg?
“This update is packed with improvements and fixes. It introduces the Plugin API that allows pinning items for quick access in the editor header. There are many refinements to the UI and consistency of various block tools. Toolbars now expose the keyboard shortcuts used to access most features. It also includes significant improvements around API support — lifting limits to various endpoints, capabilities, conditional UI, etc. Dive into the changes below to find all the details…”

BuddyPress 3.0.0 “Apollo”
“BuddyPress 3.0.0 “Apollo” is now available for immediate download from the WordPress.org plugin repository, or right from your WordPress Dashboard. “Apollo” focuses on various improvement for developers, site builders and site managers…”

Blox Page Builder Review: A Brand New WordPress Page Builder
You need another Page Builder in your life right?!? Well, here’s another one whether you need it or not! It’s called Blox and this page gives a nice review of what it’s about and what it does well / not so well!

What’s new in WooCommerce 3.4: GDPR features and GeoLite2 integration
Since our last minor release in January, we’ve been working on a variety of improvements to WooCommerce… 1. GDPR compliance tools and settings 2. GeoLite2 integration. WooCommerce 3.4 is a minor release, meaning it should be fully backwards compatible with all WooCommerce releases since 3.0. However, it’s still considered best practice, and recommended, to backup before updating.

Marcel Schmitz Releases Unofficial WordCamp for iOS App
“Marcel Schmitz, founder of hellodev, has released WordCamp for iOS for free on the App Store. The app utilizes the WordPress REST API endpoints from WordCamp Central and hellodev to display sessions, speakers, and news from an event’s official site…”

Meta Descriptions are going to be shorter again
Your meta descriptions need to be shorter. I know, just a few months ago, we told you that your meta descriptions could be longer. Now we’re saying that they should be shorter. I understand the confusion. But Google changed its mind. And whenever Google changes its mind about something, we need to adjust accordingly. It’s almost like if Google says jump; we reply with ‘how high?’. But, for better or worse, that’s the way this SEO game works. Here, I’ll explain what Google has changed concerning the meta descriptions and what the consequences will be.

Non WordPress, but useful anyway…

The Smart Way to Make Your Opt-In Forms & Email Marketing GDPR Compliant
A nice article which does a good job of calming us all down and tells us how we can make a few quick changes and move on.
“In this post, we’ll take a look at what GDPR actually means for small business entrepreneurs and email marketers. And you’ll discover ways in which you can make your website compliant without sacrificing your visitors’ user experience or your conversion rates…”

Google’s “Don’t Be Evil” No Longer Prefaces Code of Conduct
“ “Don’t be evil” has been a part of Google’s Code of Conduct since 2000. However, that phrase, “Don’t be evil” has been removed from the top of Google’s Code of Conduct. The encouragement to not be evil is not gone. It’s simply not the major focus of Google’s Code of Conduct anymore…”

GoCardless goes down under – collect payments in Australia
“We’re really excited to announce that you can now collect payments from Australia with GoCardless. The launch means our customers can now take payments from 24 countries and it brings us one step closer to delivering a global bank to bank payments network…”