SolidWP has acquired the WP-SMTP plugin. The plugin has 80,000+ active installs. They have rebranded it as Solid Mail.

For power users – Here is an overview and guide for using WP-CLI, the WordPress command line interface. There are a good number of commands built in and a number of plugins add their own WP-CLI commands also.

This is a free course on how to builder a WooCommerce store website using the free Kadence theme.

The plugin review team has released a plugin that runs a number of checks on plugins to help identify the types of issues found during the plugin review process. This helps plugin authors find and fix issues prior to submitting them for review.

The Query Loop block is one of the most powerful core blocks. I like how they released support for Post lists with a flexible loop block instead of a more monolithic block with just a few set layouts. WordPress 6.7 is due out in November and will include a number of refinements and improvements to the Query Loop block to make it easier and more intuitive.

Kevin Geary suggests that WordPress should have a funding model and vision rather than rely on the principle of a commons supported solely though donations.

A topic from the past for plugin developers – Many plugins leave their database entries behind when they are deleted from the website. WordPress has an uninstall hook and will run an uninstall.php if it exists. These provide a cleanup option.

There has been a growing movement for some WordPress product companies to collaborate on promoting WordPress through some joint, neutral, marketing initiatives. Miriam Schwab from Elementor has been one of the proponents of this idea. A meeting was held at WPUS to discuss this and move it forward.

The post on the Make blog is a great summary of the discussion and there are a number of good suggestions. I like the idea of focusing less on marketshare and more on community engagement. I also like the focus on promoting WordPress in education.

Matt Mullenweg’s Q&A at WordCamp US is available. He called out WP Engine for not contributing back to the project.