This Week in WordPress #268
The WordPress news from the last week which commenced Monday 18th September 2023.
Tag WP Builds
342 – Thomas J Raef on protecting your website. Security mini series 3/4
This is third of four podcast episodes related to WordPress security. It's the third of our four-part security mini series. Prior to that, the other episodes featured Calvin Alkan as well as Akshat Choudhary. This is Thomas from, we watch your website giving his impression of the state of WordPress security. I did the spiel before, but I'm going to do it again in order to not put anybody's noses out of joint and to make it as fair as possible. I recorded four episodes with Calvin, Akshat, Thomas, and in a future episode, Dan Knauss from SolidWP. They all have that chance to explain the malware madness as we'll get into a little bit later. How WordPress security plugins do or don't, depending on your point of view, protect your WordPress website. Thomas is giving his opinion today and we go into loads of ground. We talk about such subjects as security plugin, and cleanup processes, previous attacks, challenges, and vulnerabilities, security features, Thomas' expertise, protecting your WordPress by blocking IPs, the motivations of hackers, and so much more.
341 – Is the WordPress community overrated?
This in the 15th episode of our "Thinking the Unthinkable" series. Today we are asking... is the WordPress community overrated? What have we done? This could be the end of this podcast! Let’s hope nobody thinks we are trying to speak for the community, or that we even have a clue what the community truly is! We explore the diverse perspectives surrounding the WordPress community. From debates on diversity and inclusion to the avoidance of political discussions, we navigate the complexities and challenges faced by this ever-growing community. We also touch on the recent issues surrounding the handling of diversity at the European WordCamp, causing tensions to rise among community members. We begin by examining the difficulties in defining and understanding the WordPress community, recognising its immense user base in America and the UK. We share our personal experiences and observations, shedding light on the ebb and flow of community engagement, facing issues of churn, and questioning whether WordPress will maintain its relevance in the future. We also discuss the impact of online confrontations and the perception of fragmentation within the community, analysing the role of media coverage in amplifying conflicts.
This Week in WordPress #267
The WordPress news from the last week which commenced Monday 4th September 2023.
340 – Akshat Choudhary on the utility of WordPress firewalls and malware scanners. Security mini series 2/4
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.
This Week in WordPress #266
The WordPress news from the last week which commenced Monday 28th August 2023.
339 – Are web design clients only interested in what they can see?
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.
This Week in WordPress #265
The WordPress news from the last week which commenced Monday 14th August 2023.
338 – Calvin Alkan on the state of WordPress security plugins. Security mini series 1/4
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.
Translate your static site – Simply Static Webinar Series, Episode 4
This Week in WordPress #264
The WordPress news from the last week which commenced Monday 7th August 2023.
337 – No code is a lie
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.