I was scared to be the CEO of Yoast. I am scared to speak my mind on Twitter. I am terrified at the launch of any new product. I am still scared to present on stage. I am even scared to ask a question at a conference.  I am always scared to step out of my comfort zone. And I often feel like a fraud. I was convinced I failed the theoretic part of my driver’s exam, while, as it turned out, I made 0 mistakes. During the public defense of my Ph.D., I was sure that one of the professors would laugh and point out that I was not qualified and that my dissertation was not good enough. Even though ..read more

Speaking at WordPress Events I know some of you may find this difficult to believe – but I was a painfully shy child. I would feign illness and injury to get out of swimming classes, accept being the worst Girl Scout because I didn’t want to talk to people to sell cookies, and almost vomited in 5th grade because I had to do an oral report on a book I’d read. Fast forward and now I love it. I love sharing. I love that there might be things that I know that others can learn and use to make their businesses better. And you can, too. There are so many opportunities to submit talks and share your e ..read more

Derek Ashauer is the lead developer of Conversion Bridge, his latest WordPress product that represents the culmination of his extensive experience in web design, development, and digital marketing. His journey in this field began in 2000 with the founding of AshWebStudio, a side gig that became his full time freelance, 1-man agency business in 2007. He quickly adopted WordPress as a great solution to help build client projects and has custom built hundreds since. In 2013, he wanted to diversify his income streams with a product and started with Sunshine Photo Cart, a WordPress e-commerce plugi ..read more

ChatGPT Gets Smarter Again OpenAI has released GPT-4 Turbo, an upgraded version of its AI model, for premium ChatGPT users. The new model improves ChatGPT’s capabilities in writing, math, logical reasoning, and coding. It has a more up-to-date knowledge base, with training data extending to December 2023. ChatGPT responses will now be more direct, less verbose, and use more conversational language. The update follows the launch of GPT-4 Turbo with Vision in OpenAI’s API, which adds image understanding capabilities. Get all the details in this article from TechCrunch. US DOJ Publishes Standar ..read more

Transcript ↓ In this podcast episode, Michelle Frechette and Corey Maass dive into the intricacies of optimizing their website’s homepage and refining their pricing strategy for their product, OMGIMG. They discuss the importance of incorporating captivating images above the fold to enhance user engagement and consider the visibility of pricing information in the website navigation menu. The conversation also delves into the value of lifetime deals and the potential for a secondary market. Throughout the discussion, they emphasize the iterative nature of website development and the collaborat ..read more

This Week at WordPress.org (April 14, 2024) News How WordPress Is Creating a Faster Web WP Briefing: Episode 77: Let’s Talk About Data Liberation WordPress.org Website Redesign The Pattern Directory gets a refresh and is now powered by blocks Demo site Log issues in the WordPress/pattern-directory repository on GitHub Patterns Figma The Forums get a refresh Accessibility: Remove Non-Block Editor in Forums Figma Forums Homepage updates Plugin Directory Demo site Log issues in the WordPress.org issues queue on GitHub or in Meta Trac HelpHub Figma Acce ..read more

I became a founder when I started Yoast. However, I did not feel like a founder until I left Yoast. If you work in the company you founded, then your job is the role you have. I was CEO and, later on, CPO, in charge of product. The last role I fulfilled at Yoast was the role of interim CTO. And then, my work at Yoast stopped, and I truly became “the founder”. But being a founder means nothing. It’s just something that you did in the past. You’ll always be the founder, just like you’ll always be from the town you were born in. Being a founder is proof of what you’ve done in the past. Interestin ..read more

WordCamp Europe Will you be in Torino this June for WordCamp Europe? I’ll be there with StellarWP as a sponsor, and with Post Status as a media partner. And I’m excited! This will be my first visit to Italy and only my second time in Europe, so I’m ready to take it all in! A few things to know about WCEU: The schedule is out! Contributor Day info Speaker Lineup WordCamp Europe Leaders’ Pledge If you’ll be there, make sure to join the WCEU-24 channel in Post Status Slack. And let me know! I love meeting up with folks at any WordCamp! (And yes, my selfie challenge will be happening again!) In ..read more

Ivailo is a co-founder and CTO of NitroPack. As a seasoned developer with more than 10 years of experience, he’s a key player in the web performance space. His approach to site speed optimization led to building breakthrough solutions like font subsetting, adaptive image sizing, and unique JavaScript execution. He also contributes to the NitroPack WordPress plugin and gives back to the community by spreading his hands-on knowledge. What do you enjoy most about working in WordPress? We all know and like to brag about the fact that WordPress powers over 40% of the Internet. Thanks to this we’re ..read more

Transcript ↓ In this podcast episode, Michelle Frechette and Corey Maass explore the intricacies of managing online communities within the WordPress ecosystem. MIchelle shares insights from their involvement with a Mastermind group and moderating a Facebook group for LearnDash, emphasizing the importance of nurturing community connections. Corey discusses their experiences with various online platforms, including email groups, and the pursuit of the most effective platforms for WordPress community engagement, such as Twitter and Reddit. Together, they delve into the challenges of maintaining ..read more