This document summarizes WordPress news and events from March 2016. It discusses updates to WordPress 4.5 including new embed templates and the possibility of old code whitescreening some installations. It also mentions new plugins for AMP pages, stronger password encryption, and removing frameworks from the plugin repository. Various security issues and new products/tools are highlighted as well, and upcoming WordPress events in Sydney are listed.

1. News, Views ‘n’ Stuff
#wpsyd
MAR 2016

2. #wpsyd
March 2016 News
WordPress 4.5 Field Guide – Feature Breaks!!
https://make.wordpress.org/core/2016/03/30/wordpress-4-5-field-guide/
Customizer updates, inline link editing, comments
moderation overhaul, Backbone & Underscore update +
more…
New embed templates:
• embed.php
• embed-404.php
• embed-content.php
• header-embed.php
• footer-embed.php
Due to ship April 2016. Possibility that old code may
whitescreen some WordPress installations.

3. #wpsyd
March 2016 News
WordPress AMP plugins
http://www.cozmoslabs.com/52839-wordpress-amp-plugins/
Google Accelerated Mobile Pages. Bare-bones near
“instant” pages.
Will sites be penalised for not being AMP compatible?
Plugin appends /amp/ to all site URLs

4. #wpsyd
March 2016 News
WP Password BCrypt plugin
https://github.com/roots/wp-password-bcrypt
Requires PHP >=5.5
MD5 (default) is insecure. Use a more secure method of
storing passwords.
Yoast 3.1 rolls back UI and adds “primary” category
https://yoast.com/yoast-seo-3-1/
The new Yoast SEO plugin UI has been slated by end
users recently

5. #wpsyd
March 2016 News
Plugin Repo to no longer approve “frameworks”
https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2016/03/01/please-do-not-submit-frameworks/
“The issue is as follows: Having a framework as a plugin
is a poor experience for the user. Not the developer. The
user. The user understands “I have an add-on for
WooCommerce, I probably need Woo.” They do not
always understand “I have plugin Slider Joe. Why do I
need Advanced Custom Fields?” In addition, by having a
library as a plugin, the onus of version compatibility is
now on the person least likely to understand it: the user.”

6. #wpsyd
March 2016 News
DROWN Attack – check your servers
https://drownattack.com/#check
Vulnerability in SSLv2 (1990 tech) server service
Disable SSL service completely
Backdoor Trojan in Custom Content Type Manager
http://news.softpedia.com/news/popular-wordpress-plugin-comes-with-a-backdoor-steals-site-admin-credentials-501383.shtml
Hackers too control of popular plugin and inserted
backdoor & filters to steal login details

7. #wpsyd
March 2016 News
Jorbin Test for job searching WordPress Developers
https://poststatus.com/the-jorbin-test-wordpress-developer-jobs/
Based on the 12 question Joel test, the Jorbin Test are
questions you should ask a company before you take
that WordPress developer gig
Automattic acquires Pressable
https://poststatus.com/automattic-pressable/
Automattic was initially primary investor and now
majority share holder.
Matt says “..we’ve unfortunately been forced to take a more
active role to protect Pressable’s customers, employees, and our
investment.”

8. #wpsyd
March 2016 News
Jetpack On-Boarding
https://github.com/Automattic/jetpack-onboarding
Changes “Welcome Screen” to step-by-step setup for a
basic site. Designed to be extensible, add, edit, remove.
Only 4 steps just now:
• Title and description
• Homepage layout
• Contact Us page
• Configure Jetpack

9. #wpsyd
March 2016 News
Wallace – WP REST API GPL theme
https://wallacetheme.com/
Uses the WP REST API, Angular 2 javascript-driven
single page theme. Super fast. 1st of many more to
come.
Custom Logo in WP 4.5
https://make.wordpress.org/core/2016/03/10/custom-logo/
Standardises adding a logo to themes using the
customizer using add_theme_support( 'custom-logo' );
Uses supporting functions:
get_custom_logo( $blog_id = 0 );
the_custom_logo( $blog_id = 0 );
has_custom_logo( $blog_id = 0 );

10. #wpsyd
March 2016 News
WPForms Targets Beginners
https://wpforms.com/
Drag and drop interface. Not free – pricing starts at $39
USD.
Has pre built templates; contact form, newsletter sign-
up, get a quote etc..
No developer API.

11. #wpsyd
March 2016 News
Shopify jumps into WordPress territory
https://www.shopify.com/blog/113145925-introducing-shopify-for-wordpress
Announcing three free themes and a plugin that
integrates Shopify shop into WordPress.
New WooCommerce Weekly Podcast – Do the Woo
http://dothewoopodcast.com/
Do the Woo is a weekly podcast by BobWP. If you are a
store owner who uses WooCommerce, this is for you

12. #wpsyd
Upcoming WPSyd Events
April 21 WP Syd North
Security Essentials
No April 25 meetup – Anzac Day holiday
May 2 WP Syd Parramatta
Topic TBC
May 12 WP Syd North
Topic TBC
May 30 WP Syd North
Topic TBC

13. #wpsyd
WordCamp Sunshine Coast
May 7-8 2016
https://2016.sunshinecoast.wordcamp.org/

14. #wpsyd
WordCamp Sydney 2016
Sept 24-25 University of Sydney
http://2016.sydney.wordcamp.org

15. #wpsyd
Give us your feedback – What You Want?
Short survey:
http://goo.gl/forms/wjTF9Ce4JE