- Loop WP
- Posts
- Issue #118 Loop WP
Hi, friend. 👋
Welcome to Issue #118 of Loop WP!
Last time, we looked at a use case for the Block Bindings API (introduced in WordPress 6.5).
This week, my newsletter is arriving later than planned. It’s been one of those days…🥱 😴
I’ve buried my head in Shopify all day, making me miss WordPress and WooCommerce, but I wanted to get this newsletter out, so let’s talk about WordPress 6.6.
Let’s go! 👇
The WordPress UX and UI Debate
Has WordPress 6.6 made the UI and UX worse?
When WordPress 6.6 dropped last week, it caused an initial wave of issues about broken CSS. This wasn’t just limited to page builder conflicts.
🧠 Felix Arnst has started a conversation on Twitter/X about this, and I look forward to seeing it unfold. Felix is smart and knows WordPress deeply, so he knows what he is talking about.
What are your thoughts, friend? Reply to this email and let me know.
A Can of Worms
Paul Charlton made this video last week about the WordPress UI and UX (and I think it’s a mess, as my clients are not fans of the new panels at all).
Paul has followed this up with a couple more videos that add more context, clarification and counterpoints:
Should we be open about discussing WordPress (Paul Charlton, Mark Crowell, Jeffrey Dalrymple and Imran Siddiq)
The Gutenberg Experience
⚡️ Brian Coords, who was responsible for last week’s newsletter due to his:
Incredible developer knowledge
His willingness to help the community and his openness
For those reasons, I encourage you to read his newsletter this week.
🤓 It’s a brilliant, thoughtful and provoking read. This is one of my favourite bits, but you must read his full newsletter for the context.
My armchair theory: Gutenberg is being led by it’s engineers. What I mean is: feature requests are chosen primarily by developers, who have very little central prioritization or shared incentives. Then at the end of the release cycle, a few user experience people test it out, pick what’s “good enough” to include in core, and spin it into a cohesive narrative for the broader community. And I think that’s backwards.
I’d love to see more power given to product managers, like user experience experts, to isolate key areas of improvement, define a short-term roadmap and then enlist developer support. To be empowered to set the clear expectation that only bug fixes and priorities from the roadmap are being merged into Gutenberg right now.
Not Specifically 6.6
Jamie Marsland made this video about a month ago with some of his suggestions (It appears on the WordPress YouTube channel, so commenting will get your feedback noticed).
So what do we do now friend?
How can we help move WordPress towards a more friendly and usable UX?
If commenting on official WordPress YouTube videos isn’t for you, you can start by committing. 👇
Committing
Sometimes, people in the WordPress Community don’t feel like they can contribute, or if they do, there isn’t much point, as we have tickets that are years old (and this isn’t even the oldest) without an update.
So, hats off to Paul for making this great video and sparking a conversation about how to commit to WordPress.
Summing Up
There have been calls from many developers, builders, designers and influencers in the WordPress community to feature freeze WordPress for some time (say a year) and focus on fixing:
Fixing existing UX and UI bugs
Improving UX and UI (not just fixing bugs)
Continuing to improve accessibility
Develop an “onboarding” method (even if that’s a plugin) **
Improving education and resources for WordPress beginners
📢 I would echo these calls. What are your thoughts, friend? Reply to this email and let me know.
** Based on what WooCommerce has done and the pains Mike McAlister has discovered with Ollie. His latest blog post on the subject of onboarding is a must-read.
That’s it for this week 👋
Normally, friend, this is the bit I tell you about next week’s topic, but like last week, I’m still flying by the seat of my pants.
Gif by slimjimstudios on Giphy
🎁 So, like this week, next week will be a surprise!
** This is your last chance to read about this if you’re new to this newsletter or can’t remember what I’m talking about.
Wordweek'sNews & Tips
This week's excellent and insightful WordPress News & Tips:
There is nothat'sthis week; well, that’s not true.
I could tell you about this or that, but despiweek'sing curit's this week’s news, it’s bedtime in the UK, and I wanted to get this newsletter out.
📰 Normal news service resumes next week.
If you have a question about this email or WordPress, reply, and I will answer you as soon as possible.
👋 Until next time,
Simon