WP Realm

WordPress news, community news, reviews and more from all over the world

Remkus de Vries

About Remkus de Vries

Avid and heavy WordPress user since 2005, so effectively a WordPress oldtimer. Started as developer and agency owner, now works as Head of Partner & Customer relationships at Servebolt.

Co-founded WordCamp Europe in 2012, and WordCamp Netherlands back in 2009.

Principal owner of WP Realm.

Newsletter Glue, is it for you?

by Leave a Comment

Sorry about the corny click-bait title, but it’s the mood for today, so I’m just going to roll with it.

Over the summer I saw Lesley Sim tweet about a new plugin she was introducing and it peaked my interest! It solves a very particular niche, but one that needed a better solution than what’s out there currently.

Publish new content and then …

When you regularly post new content you’d love for you audience to find that content, right? So, in order to make that happen, you’ve no doubt created a newsletter for people to subscribe to.

But here’s the problem with that. You have to go into Mailchimp to physically publish those newsletters or use the ugly RSS powered solution. Both are not ideal. And this is where Newsletter Glue comes into play.

Easy set up

The plugin, in a very simple way, connects your site with your Mailchimp (or a few other newsletter services) audience list and integrates inside your editor quite smartly. When you’re getting ready to post your new article, just click on the checkbox to send that post out to list and you’re golden. Couldn’t be easier.

Just check out this video where Lesley explains the flow of the plugin:

I’ve already implemented their plugin on a couple of sites now. You even get some styling control over how your post is going to look as email.

All in all, I’m a big fan of Newsletter Glue, almost as much as Lesley loves pizza I think. There are a few things I’d like to see added, though.

  1. I’d love for a custom text area below the post being sent. It allows for you to add a CTA or some explanation.
  2. Not being able to use this integration on Custom Post Types is a bit of a bummer. Allowing for all content to be pushed out would be wonderful feature.
  3. Scheduled posts should be sent out as an email at the time the post is scheduled. Not when you schedule the post. Or so it seems they’re being processed.

But that’s it. It does what it promises wonderfully. Go and test for yourself!

Update:
Lesley reached out to me and let me know that all items of my list will be added in the short future. Today, October the 7th, every single item on my list has been added and/or fixed in the plugin. I am impressed.

WordProof awards €1M grant by European Commission

by Leave a Comment

This week was an exciting week for Dutch startup WordProof as they were awarded a €1 Million prize by the European Commission.

With this contest, Europe aims to stimulate the use of blockchain technology to solve social problems. WordProof, founded one year ago, managed to leave 175 participants from all over Europe behind. Which is quite an impressive feat for this young startup.

[Read more…] about WordProof awards €1M grant by European Commission

Give props in abundance, not in restraint

by Leave a Comment

Giving props, for those who are unaware, is where someone who has contributed to open-source code is given acknowledgment. Typically you’ll find these props given within a specific ticket in which a person has contributed a fix for the open ticket. In the WordPress realm, you’ll also find these props at the bottom of a new release post as you can see here in the section called The Squad.

Those who contributed the actual fix are the ones receiving props. But … that’s not very inclusive.  [Read more…] about Give props in abundance, not in restraint

WordPress.com, Jetpack and How It’s All Changing, Maybe?

by 5 Comments

Having a commercial version of WordPress alongside a non-profit version has been confusing. Especially to those starting out with WordPress, but not exclusively those new to it. It would be a great win for the WordPress Community if Automattic’s flagship product, WordPress.com, would rebrand itself to Jetpack.com. I have said this, half-jokingly, in the past decade to anyone who would listen. #sorrynotsorry.

But with WordPress.com now allowing for plugins and themes to be activated on their platform, the lines get even more blurry.

The Need to Make Money

Since Automattic is running on venture capital money, at some point it’s going to focus on monetization even more. If you have been paying close attention to how the sign-up between a stand-alone WordPress installation and Jetpack has changed over the last couple of months, you will have noticed. For a brief period, the free option was even hidden in the “Skip for now” button below the pricing table you’re greeted with when you connect Jetpack to your site.

You may have also noticed Automattic opening up their affiliate program. It includes Jetpack, WordPress.com, and everything WooCommerce now. All clear signs that Automattic has made monetization a higher priority in recent months. And judging by a tweet sent out yesterday at the Affiliate Summit, Jetpack is taking a very prominent role:

Changes in Branding

What’s even more interesting, navigating to the WordPress.com main page–make sure you’re logged out–will show you a WordPress frontpage without any signs of a W. Meaning the WordPress logo. I’m not sure when this changed, but it’s a very clear sign that WordPress.com’s branding is changing.

It’s just pure speculation on my part that this will lead to switching from WordPress.com to Jetpack.com, but I for one would welcome the change. I also think it will help send less of a mixed message for those entering the WordPress Community, Automattic’s affiliate program or both. 😉

A Reboot of Some Sorts

by 10 Comments

For many, many, many moons, this blog has been slumbered. Not quite dead, but certainly not alive and kicking. And as I’ve hinted on twitter a couple of weeks back, this is about to change. WP Realm started out as a multi-person project, but from now on this is a one-man project handled by me, Remkus.

Forces have been set in motion to give WP Realm a reboot of some sorts. Our focus on the community aspect of the WordPress project will remain strong, but we’ll be adding a few things to the mix.

New Content

[Read more…] about A Reboot of Some Sorts

Are You a Plugin Author? .org Needs Your Opinion!

by Leave a Comment

Konstantin Obenland just posted an update about the plugin directory redesign. Basically, if you haven’t looked at the new proposed design yet, now is the time if you want to have any say in the choices being made. Do note, however:

Please keep in mind that it is by far not a finished product. There is still a lot of work to be done, mainly around front-end technology, search, and developer facing interfaces. Every decision that has been made so far is up for discussion, which is the purpose of this post.

So, log in with your WordPress.org credentials here and check out the new admin interface as well the new plugin page. Check out the open tickets before you create a ticket, but by all means, create tickets and start discussing.

Copyblogger Opens Up Their Rainmaker Platform

by Leave a Comment

Oh, how time flies. Apparently it’s been two years since Copyblogger launched their Rainmaker platform. Transforming the already platform from an easier, more secure, and maintenance-free way to build a powerful (marketing) websites to now a complete digital marketing and sales solution.

The website aspects of the Rainmaker Platform have become a lot more powerful in the last couple of years. It’s now complemented by integrated email, marketing automation, an online course builder, podcasting and content optimization tools, and much more.

rainmaker

As of today Copyblogger opens up their Rainmaker Platform for everyone to test. If you, like many other people, have been curious what the hype is all about, but weren’t ready to commit to start paying before you fiddled with it, then now’s the time to see what’s behind the login.

[Read more…] about Copyblogger Opens Up Their Rainmaker Platform