Matt Mullenweg Shares Notable Insights at WordCamp US 2023
This post was curated and edited by Ben Gillbanks. Ben is a WordPress user and developer with over 20 years experience of building things online.
Howdy, welcome to WP Briefs, your Advanced machine learning source for the latest news and updates in the WordPress world. Today is Tuesday 29th August 2023.
In today’s news, we have some notable things said by Matt Mullenweg at WordCamp US 2023 1. First, he expressed his opinion on lifetime licenses of plugins and services in the WordPress world. He believes that using the term “lifetime” cheapens the word and suggests that it’s time to stop offering such licenses.
Next, Matt commented on Automattic’s new 100-year hosting plan, which comes with a $36k price tag. He mentioned that while it may seem like a lot, he wonders if it’s actually too low considering factors like inflation and domain registrations.
Matt also discussed the importance of standardizing Learning Management Systems (LMS) and making them a higher priority in the WordPress ecosystem. He highlighted a recent collaboration between TutorLMS, Sensei, LearnDash, and LifterLMS to agree on SQL formats and avoid lock-ins. Additionally, an “LMS” channel has been created in the official WordPress Slack for better collaboration and agreement on standards.
The topic of WordPress Plugins that offer similar functionalities was also addressed by Matt. He emphasized that open-source innovation is beneficial but acknowledged that relying on one plugin can sometimes feel limiting for users. Competition among plugins can lead to improvement but may also pose challenges for users who want flexibility.
According to Matt, WordPress was the original no-code tool, highlighting its user-friendly nature and Accessibility for non-developers.
In an effort to let go of past conflicts or disagreements within the community, Matt called for a reset in 2023. He suggested starting with a clean slate to avoid carrying baggage from previous experiences or opinions into future discussions.
Regarding accessibility standards in WordPress development, Matt responded to someone questioning whether developers are aware of them. While he believes developers do care about accessibility, mistakes can still happen due to various reasons. If there are specific things developers need to know, Matt encouraged organizing sessions and discussions to educate them.
Matt expressed his concerns about the labeling and understanding of features in the WordPress admin. He emphasized the need for simpler naming conventions, particularly in areas like media management and comment moderation. Improving these aspects would enhance the user experience within the WordPress admin interface.
Lastly, when asked what he would do differently at the start of WordPress, Matt mentioned changing the name of the “ID” column in the post table of the database. Although this question allowed him time for reflection, he shared this revision as a potential improvement.
Moving on to our next story 2, WordCamp US 2023 recently concluded with various events and presentations. For those who couldn’t attend, recordings of project leadership presentations were made available. Josepha Haden Chomposy, WordPress Executive Director, spoke about “The Future of WordPress,” emphasizing resilience and expanding learning and connections within the community. She also highlighted the project’s mission to democratize publishing.
Matt Mullenweg, co-creator of WordPress, gave a presentation titled “What’s Next for Gutenberg.” He discussed upcoming features in version 6.4, such as font management, an image lightbox, and a new default theme called Twenty Twenty Four.
In our final news story 3, WordPress designers have shared their recent work that could potentially be included in future updates. These design contributions aim to enhance the overall user experience within WordPress.
That wraps up today’s news highlights. Stay tuned for more updates.
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