Google Says They Updated Their Site Reputation Abuse Policy…Nothing Actually Changed

This morning, I came across some interesting news about Google’s updated site reputation abuse policies. Apparently, they’ve revised their main guidelines with some fresh updates.

The Real AI Threat Isn’t Coming – It’s Already Here: 3 Cases of Algorithms Destroying Lives

While the web buzzes with anxiety about AI taking our jobs or achieving consciousness, real artificial intelligence systems have already been making life-altering decisions about healthcare, housing, and basic human rights – often with devastating consequences.In this article I’m going to examine three real-life cases where AI systems destroyed thousands of lives. Then I’ll share […]

Google Now Requires JavaScript Because “Security”…They’re Not Telling the Entire Truth

Google has made a significant change: you now need to enable JavaScript to use Google Search. According to them, this move is about security and improving the experience for users like you and me. By requiring JavaScript, Google says it can better protect its platform against spam, bots, and other types of abuse. It also […]

Automattic Cuts Weekly Contributor Hours to WordPress.org by 99% – Community Members Fear ‘Beginning of the End’

Last week, Automattic announced that they’d be cutting their weekly contributor hours to WordPress.org from roughly 4,000 to a mere 45. This is a massive shift in how open-source WordPress has functioned for over a decade. Let’s explore four possible implications of this major change.

The Rise of “GEO” – or How AI is Transforming Search Engine Optimization

If you’ve used Google lately, you’ve probably noticed a change: instead of just getting a mix of links and snippets, you’re now seeing AI-generated responses that synthesize information from multiple sources right there in your results. This is what’s known as generative search and it’s changing how we optimize content for search engines. In this […]

How the Holidays Are Shaping Web Traffic Trends (and Why You Should Care)

Happy almost-2025, everyone! While you’re finishing up your year-end to-do’s (or wishing you had started them earlier), I’ve been diving into some fresh data published by Cloudflare. This time, they’ve looked at how people around the globe have been spending their time online during the holiday season – between Christmas and the New Year. As […]

Best Donation Plugins for WordPress Compared and Tested (2025-Ready)

Fundraising is hard. Accepting payments shouldn’t be. I tested popular WordPress donation plugins to determine how well they can help you meet your online fundraising goals.

I Tried OpenAI’s Sora Video Generator…It’s Mostly Unusable

If you haven’t tried Sora yet (or are in a region where it’s not currently available) and you’re curious about it, then keep reading. I will begin with an overview of Sora’s usage limits, its UI / UX, and the different ways you can make a video with it. Then I’ll share samples of the […]

I Read Through Cloudflare’s “2024 Year in Review.” Here’s What You Should Know

Cloudflare just released their “2024 Year in Review” report – a detailed document that dives into the key trends and patterns shaping the web over the past year. I’ll be honest with you, it’s my first time paying attention to this report, but I’m really fascinated by the insights that they’ve been able to deliver. […]

What’s Next for Gutenberg? A Community Chat With WordPress Developer Riad Benguella

Last week, Riad Benguella, a key WordPress developer, asked the community about their “quick win” wishlist for the block editor / Gutenberg. He posed it as simple question on the social media platform Bluesky. In this article, I’m going to recap of all the suggestions that were made, starting with the those that have GitHub […]

WP Engine Gets Its Preliminary Injunction Against Automattic/Mullenweg

Matt Mullenweg’s crusade against WP Engine seems to have hit a roadblock as the case moved from the court of public opinion to the court of…well, the actual court. On Tuesday December 10, WP Engine won a preliminary injunction against Mullenweg and Automattic that seems to be aimed at preserving the status quo from before […]

The Dark Side of Reddit’s Search Dominance: Inside the Parasite SEO Game

Have you noticed in the past few months that Reddit seems to pop up in almost every single one of your Google search results? Whether you’re looking for product reviews, travel tips, or life advice, those distinctive Reddit threads are almost always there on either page one or two – though it’s usually the former. […]

X Just Quietly Rolled Out Two Big Changes to Grok: Here’s What You Need to Know

Despite the lack of official announcement (as of the time of this writing), X’s signature AI tool – Grok – is quite different from what it was less than a week ago. Let’s take a closer look at the new free version of Grok and also the premium Aurora feature.

Google’s Grip Loosens in Europe: What It Means for Your Website

Something you might not know about – at least I didn’t – is that Google, the search behemoth we’ve all come to know (and sometimes love), is quietly losing its search market share in several European countries.

Court Grants WP Engine’s Injunction Against Automattic

In the latest twist of the WordPress world’s legal disputes, the court has granted WP Engine’s motion for a preliminary injunction against Automattic. In summary, the court found that WP Engine is likely to succeed on the merits of its claims, is likely to suffer irreparable harm without the injunction, the “balance of equities” favors […]

Exodus Begins? BuddyPress Lead Developer Quits WordPress Altogether

Mathieu Viet, the driving force behind BuddyPress, has made a heartfelt announcement: he’s stepping away from the WordPress ecosystem…entirely.

I Wanted to Follow the First Hearing in the WP Engine v Automattic Lawsuit So That You Didn’t Have To

If you’ve been following the WordPress world lately, you might have heard about the small little lawsuit between WP Engine and Automattic. Jokes aside, it’s the kind of case that could have far-reaching effects for developers, other hosting companies, and anyone whose business depends on WordPress for that matter.

Mary Hubbard, New Executive Director of WordPress.org Engages in Open Q&A With the Community (and Matt Mullenweg)

Last Monday, Mary Hubbard wrote her first P2 message announcing her one-hour Q&A call on Friday. The Zoom event was announced on the Make WordPress Slack channel, and 82 people showed up, including Matt Mullenweg.

Did WordPress.org Just Release the “Forked” PRO Version of ACF for Free?

Something truly unexpected happened in the WordPress community just before the weekend – a “product release,” sort of. You’ve probably already guessed what I’m talking about from the headline, so let’s skip the suspense.

WordPress 6.7 “Rollins” Released, Including a New Default Theme

On November 12, WordPress 6.7 was released for WordPress users everywhere to enjoy. Keeping with the jazz theme, WordPress 6.7 goes by the name “Rollins,” named after Sonny Rollins. In total, 750 different contributors worked on WordPress 6.7. In this post, I want to take you through some of the highlights of the release, including […]

WordPress Brand Tone and Voice Survey Results Are In: “It’s Not a Unified Brand”

Over the past month, we ran a survey here on WPShout to explore how users perceive the voice and tone of the WordPress brand. We received 222 responses from engaged members of the WordPress community. First off, I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to participate and share their thoughts!

How to Add a Background Image Cover in WordPress – in 1 Minute

While overall opinions on the Gutenberg editor vary, even the naysayers can’t deny that there are so many elements you can add now with just the core WordPress blocks that you couldn’t before. One of those elements is a background cover image. Not only is there a dedicated “cover block” solely made for this purpose, […]

How to Find and Remove Large Files on cPanel Hosting

One of the most popular control panels that many hosting companies rely on is cPanel. If you have cPanel hosting and you’re starting to hit your storage limits then you need to learn how to remove large files from your database. This quick 3-minute guide will explain it to you.

How to Change Your Default Category From “Uncategorized” in WordPress

So you launched a new WordPress site, wrote your first post, and published it. Then shortly afterwards you realized that it was automatically tagged as “uncategorized.” We’ve all been there before – myself included. There’s a way to change this though and in this quick tutorial I am going to show you how to do […]

Add HTML to WordPress With the Custom HTML Block (and Claude?)

The Gutenberg block editor has close to 100 default blocks available for use. However, there are still situations where you might want to add a feature to your post that’s simply not available via the default blocks. That’s where custom HTML comes to the rescue! In this quick guide, I’m going to show you how […]

Mullenweg and Co. Take Over the Advanced Custom Fields Plugin

A couple of weeks ago, I talked about the new and growing fight between Automattic/Matt Mullenweg and WP Engine. Back then, the two were mainly trading words, and dueling cease and desist letters. However, the scope seems to be continuing to expand, including WP Engine filing an actual lawsuit against Matt Mullenweg and Automattic.

WordPress Profile Picture Without Gravatar (And How to Add It to Posts)

As much as I love using WordPress, there are certain quirks about it that annoy me. One of those in particular is that the only default way to change your user profile photo is by linking it to a Gravatar profile. It’s not only annoying because it forces you to create an account with a […]

How Does WordPress Sound to You? Join Our Survey About WordPress Brand Tone and Voice

Over the past few years, we have seen increased efforts to better position and market the WordPress brand. Along with these efforts, we now have a Brand Writing Style Guide that defines how the WordPress voice should sound and what tone it should convey. The brand book was first created in August 2018 and has […]

WP Engine and Automattic Trade Cease-and-Desist Letters After Matt Mullenweg Jabs

If you follow WordPress at any level, it’s hard not to have heard about the drama surrounding Matt Mullenweg’s attack on WP Engine at the tail end of WordCamp US, something that marred what otherwise seemed like a very lovely event.

I Spent 20 Hours Testing 60+ Niche WordPress Themes, and There Are Some Elephants in the Repo

Recently, I was working on a rewrite of one of our theme list posts and in the process I tested over 30 themes. By the end, I came to the unfortunate conclusion that the majority were junk. My gut feeling was that the “shiny cover, empty box” syndrome I encountered was more widespread than only […]

WordCamp US 2024 Kicks Off On September 17!

Hey there, WordPress fans! I am checking in today to let you know that WordCamp US 2024 is about to kick off!

Best Cheap WordPress Hosting: 7 Options That Are Both Cheap and Efficient

I’ve been working with WordPress hosting for years, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about “cheap” WordPress hosting plans, it’s that they’re only cheap for the first year. After that, the renewal rates kick in, and suddenly…well, tough luck, pay up!