This Month in WordPress—April 2015 Edition

I know it’s almost May of 2015, but does anyone else find themselves still writing 2014? I catch myself doing it all the time! Guess my brain still needs time to register the new year…

It’s the end of the month again, which means that it’s time for yet another round-up post here on the blog. So without further ado, here is the April Edition of This Month in WordPress!

This Month in WordPress

WordPress 4.2 “Powell” Update

Source of Image Here

April was full of a lot of updates, but one of the more exciting ones to hit the WordPress community was the latest WP Core update, affectionately named Powell.

The Powell update (WordPress 4.2) brings quite a few additions and tweaks to our beloved platform including a whole new look to the Press This feature, the ability to change themes using the WP Customizer, and tweaks to the Emoji options as well as other smaller tweaks under the hood to help keep things running smoothly.

This isn’t an update that makes the platform perform leaps and bounds better than its predecessor, but some of the changes are going to help get it there.

Vulnerabilities and Security Updates

As mentioned before, this month saw a lot of updates to many WordPress products. Not only did WordPress see a core software update, but it also saw a critical Security Update, and it wasn’t the only one.

The reason behind many of the updates (including the ones for bbPress and BuddyPress) is due to a recent XSS (Cross- site Scripting) Vulnerability which proved to be a major security threat to many WordPress powered sites. The 4.2.1 update for WP Core fixed the issue there, but many themes and plugins still suffer from the vulnerability.

WP Tavern reported that there are well over 400 plugins that suffer from the security threat, and even though it’s not the first time this sort of thing has come up, it does tend to put people on edge. The best thing to do is to backup your website and then implement the updates on your site if you haven’t done so already.

WordPress Sells T-Shirts? Yup, and They’re Awesome!

Wapuunk Tee for WordPress Lovers

On a more positive note, did you know that WordPress has its own swag store? (Yes… swag). They do, and it’s totally awesome!

The store is found on Hello Merch’s site under WordPress. The most recent addition to the store this month is the Wapuunk Tee (pictured above). There are plenty of other shirts and sweatshirts to choose from in the store, so if you want a way to sport your WordPress love, this is an awesome place to pick up a few things.

I bought a few shirts and I’m beyond excited to get them! (I’m a geek like that… don’t judge me.)

Divi 2.4 Is About to Strut Its Stuff

Sneak Peek at Divi 2.4

April also brought some exciting news about the upcoming update to our beloved Divi theme.

Nick’s blog post gave a sneak peek at what the development team has been up to. Some of the things that will see some changes are a new Fluid Grid to allow users to create section on a page using percentages instead of fixed widths, and a set of new Global settings to help make things a bit easier for customizing in the front-end.

Highlights from the Elegant Themes Blog

• The 3 Keys to Creating Viral Content | Viral Content is all the rave these days because of how much traffic (and sales) it can generate for a site. Nathan touches on 3 key components to creating this type of content for your website.
• The Importance And Benefit of Double Opt-in Email Marketing | To Double Opt-in or not to Double Opt-in, that is the question. If you’ve been scratching your head as to whether or not you should switch over to the double opt-in feature with your current email marketing provider, then here’s a post that may help you make that choice.
• Putting the Famous WordPress 5 Minute Install To the Test | Install WordPress in 5 minutes? Is it really that fast? Brenda wanted to know and puts the claim to the test.
• Where To Find Quality Leads As A Web Designer | It can be really hard to find web design clients who will pay you what you’re worth, but you don’t have to turn to Elance to try and make ends meet. There are quite a few places where your next best client may be hiding and this post covers a few of them.
• What Is A Squeeze Page and How to Create One With WordPress | Want to know a little bit more about Squeeze Pages, or want to implement one on your site to up your marketing strategy? Then take a look at Brenda’s post to find the answer and solution to both.
• How LinkedIn Marketing Can Get You More Customers | Many people have LinkedIn accounts, but few have taken the time to maximize their marketing on this platform as a way to land more clients and customers. Nathan explores some ways to help you get the most out of LinkedIn.
• How To Improve Your Website’s Yahoo Yslow Score | Having a faster website is critical in this day and age, and having a good Yslow score is all part of the big picture. In this post, you will learn ways to improve that part of your site speed score.
• What It Takes To Build A Twitter Following: A Case Study | Twitter is one of those platforms that everyone wants to master, but few know where to start. This post dives into the basics of getting started on Twitter and tactics to use in order to get a following.

Other Great WordPress Related Articles from Around the Web

• CloudFlare vs MaxCDN – What They Offer And How They Differ… | Content Delivery Networks are a great way to boost site speed and there are plenty of options when choosing a CDN. In this post, Kevin takes a look at the CloudFlare CDN and MaxCDN to see which is best suited for you and your site.
• How to Cloak Your Links to Protect Your WordPress Site’s Revenue | Did you know that not cloaking/protecting your product or affiliate links can mean that you lose money? Me either! Jenni over at WPMU DEV touches on this and how to protect you links and income.
• How To Scan Your WordPress Site For Malware And Threats | With the latest XSS Vulnerability this month, WordPressers want to know how to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to detecting Malware and other threats on their sites. Ragnar takes an in-depth look and gives a walkthrough of this.
• How To Take Control Of Your WordPress Permalinks | New to WordPress? Then you’re probably new to the idea of Permalinks structure too. Here is a nice and easy to understand post on the subject to help you get on the right path.
• Learn What’s Causing Customers to Leave Your Store with Google Analytics | Run an online store? Then you know how important is it to keep your online users around so that they buy and share your stuff. Learn how to use Google Analytics to get insights on what may be keeping them from sticking around.
• 5 To-Dos Before Going Live With Your WordPress Site | About to launch a new site? Hold up a second and out this quick read on what to do before you press the launch button.
• Tools for Testing the Mobile Responsiveness of Your Site | With the new Google update placing emphasis on mobile ready sites, now is the time get up to date with stuff. Joe covers a few tools to help you see if your site is up to par with Google’s new rules.
• Build Awesome Online Communities With Ultimate Member For WordPress | Been looking for a way to build an online community other than using bbPress and/or BuddyPress? Then you may want to take a look at this post over at WPExplorer.

Articles about SEO, Social Media, and Online Marketing

• Strategic Blogging: The Best Time to Publish and Share Content | If you’re new to blogging or looking to step things up a notch, then you should take a closer look at the idea of strategic blogging in order to maximize your blogging efforts. Josh Pollock takes a closer look at the idea and the concept of publishing posts at the right time.
• 32 Smart Ways To Drive More Traffic To Your Blog | We all want more traffic to our websites, but it’s not as easy as everyone makes us think. However, it’s not as hard as we may thing either. Adam touches on over 30 ways that you help boost traffic on your site.
• 17 SEO Myths That You Should Never Follow | Seriously… Neil Patel is amazing. Everything he writes somehow manages to be digital gold and this post if the mother of all jackpots. If there is anything about SEO that you need to read this month, this post is it, baby.
• How to Turn Pinterest into a Revenue Generating Channel | And, of course, Neil managed to pull off yet another great post about Pinterest over at Quick Sprout. Looking to up your game on this growing platform? Then bookmark this post for reference and read up on it today.
• The Nifty Guide to Local Content Strategy and Marketing | Local SEO is quite a bit different than Organic SEO. If you’re trying to establish yourself and your business in your local area, then this post by Mike Ramsey could be extremely helpful.
• Top 9 Facebook Marketing Questions Answered | Facebook is a HUGE platform with a large audience and a ton of features that aren’t so readily evident to the average user. This leads to quite a few questions and 9 of them are answered over at Social Media Examiner.
• 68 SEO Content Tools, Trends, and Tips for B2B and B2C Brands | Here is a kick-butt list of close to 70 tools, tips and trends to explore in your SEO adventures.

Wrapping it Up

That about does it for this month’s post, but now we want to hear from you. Want type of posts do you guys want to see up on the blog? Let us know in your comments below, and may the odds be ever in your favor. (Sorry, but I had to throw that in there.)

Article thumbnail image by ankudi / shuterstock.com