WooCommerce increasing prices, $162k acquisition, BuddyPress is back!

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Most Impactful

The uncertainty surrounding social media providers like Twitter has sparked interest in alternatives. Mastodon and other Fediverse networks have received a look. But longtime WordPress users may recall a self-hosted option: BuddyPress.

The venerable plugin can turn any WordPress website into a social hub. It still boasts over 100,000 active installs. And even if you haven’t heard much about it lately, it’s still very much in development. Version 11.1 was released back in February.

And as Sarah Gooding of WP Tavern reports, a Virtual Contributor Day will be held on April 20. It coincides with French WordPress Community Contributor Day in Paris.

Taking the current social media climate into account, BuddyPress may have an opportunity to grow. That’s not to say it will overtake Twitter or Facebook anytime soon. But it could become an attractive option for those who want to build smaller, tight-knit communities.

Links You Shouldn’t Miss

If you’ve purchased (or are planning to purchase) any commercial extensions from the WooCommerce Marketplace, you may notice some price increases. The WP Minute has confirmed that emails are being sent to customers announcing higher costs for yearly renewals. In an email exchange, a WooCommerce support representative stated that “Only a subset of extensions had their prices changed.” We’ve reached out to WooCommerce’s official press channels but have not yet received any comments. Have you been impacted by a price hike? Let us know on Twitter @thewpminute.

WordCamp Europe is all about the kids! Sarah Gooding at WP Tavern reports that the event, held from June 8-10 in Athens, Greece, will feature free childcare. This will allow attendees of the conference and Contributor Day to bring their children along. And a special workshop for kids will take place on June 8.

Last week, we told you about Joe Hoyle’s integration of AI within the WordPress block editor. The Human Made co-founder and CTO has posted a follow up that demonstrates some new features. Content streaming and content-aware editing add a new level of convenience to the tool. As Hoyle says, “small incremental improvements make a large difference to productivity and quality of life.” These experiments are worth keeping eye on.

From the Grab Bag

Now it’s time to take a look at some other interesting topics shared by our contributors.

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  In acquisition news, WP Minute member Justin Ferriman reports that plugin developer SnapOrbital has been scooped up by writer and entrepreneur Andrei Tapalaga. SnapOribital is known for their premium add-ons for LearnDash.
• The 4th annual Atarim Web Agency Summit will take place from April 25-28. The virtual event will feature 40+ sessions aimed at helping agencies grow their business. WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy is listed among the presenters this year.
• If you’re a WordPress product maker seeking investment, Emilia Capital is encouraging you to make an in-person pitch at WordCamp Europe. The firm is run by Marieke van de Rakt and Joost de Valk of Yoast SEO.
• Developing WordPress plugins within the browser may soon become a reality. Automattic developer and WordPress Playground creator Adam Zielinski shared three examples of how it could work over on the Make WordPress blog.
• WordPress Playground relies in part on the SQLite database engine. Core contributor Ari Stathopoulos has posted an update on the proposal to add official support within WordPress.
• The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on in-person events - including WordPress Meetups. They’re slowly starting to come back. That now includes Boston, which will reconvene on April 24.

Thanks to all of the members who shared these links today:

• Justin Ferriman

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