Issue #164 Loop WP

Your Top 10 Emails

Author

Simon Harper
July 02, 2025

In partnership with

Hi, friend. 👋

Welcome to Issue #164 of Loop WP!

Last week, I had a quick update on the new format for this newsletter over the summer, and we will discuss Five For The Future reform.

This week is one of my favourite newsletters of the year, and it only happens twice per year. I also share some exciting news from Cloudflare.

Let’s go! 👇

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Your Top Ten Emails

The last time we did this was back in Issue 138 (just over six months ago).

💡 If you’re new, friend, every six months, I look back at the “Top 10” newsletters based on engagement from you and the rest of my lovely readers.

The criteria used are as follows:

  • Open Rate

  • Verified Click-Through Rate

  • Web Views

  • Web Click Rate

(There were no tie-breakers needed.)

🎉 So, let’s look at your “Top Ten” from January to June 2025 in order of the most engaged across the above metrics. 👇

A vibrant cyberpunk-style illustration of a futuristic city at night, featuring glowing skyscrapers and a neon sign that reads "Top 10 Newsletters of LOOP WP." Surrounding the sign are illuminated icons representing email, analytics, communication, and task completion, all rendered in bright purples, blues, and pinks.

** I couldn’t be happier that your “Number 1” newsletter of the last six months was celebrating others in the WordPress community.

Did one of your favourite newsletters make the list, friend?

Another Top 10?

Speaking of Top 10 newsletters, The WP Minute published an article yesterday called:

“Top 10 WordPress Newsletters For Companies To Sponsor” - and I’m proud to say it features Loop WP (this newsletter), thanks so much to Bridget Willard and The WP Minute for featuring me.

Before You Go

🚨 I don’t think this huge announcement is getting enough coverage (although media outlets in the UK eventually picked it up), but yesterday, Cloudflare announced a plan to protect content creators. 🎉

Cloudflare is calling it “Content Independence Day: no AI crawl without compensation!”

❝

Cloudflare, along with a majority of the world's leading publishers and AI companies, is changing the default to block AI crawlers unless they pay creators for content.

Cloudflare

I encourage you, friend, to read the announcement and the impact this will hopefully have for content creators (like this newsletter).

Tom Critchlow also has some interesting data to accompany this announcement, and Orit Mutznik summarises and explains the announcement if you don’t have time to read the full post.

Sponsorship Opportunities

🚨 The Google Doc contains all the details if you’re interested in sponsoring the Loop WP Newsletter.

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That’s It For This Week 👋

Next, we will start our new format for this newsletter, which will be keeping its weekly format, but we won’t be going as deep into a “single” weekly topic.

💡 I wanted to maintain my weekly sending frequency instead of switching to an email every other week, but with my kids being out of school, I can’t go into as much detail as usual.

However, you may still encounter the occasional detailed topic that you're accustomed to, friend 😉.

See you next week! 😀

Weekly WordPress News & Tips

This week's excellent and insightful WordPress News & Tips:

  • 😱 This is Wild! - WordCamp Asia 2026 Handover Sparks Tensions Between Organisers and WordCamp Central (The Repository)

  • SEO Testing - Stop testing. Start shipping. (Jono Alderson)

  • Custom Dashboards - I've been running this 'Gutenberg-ified' skin of the classic WordPress dashboard screens for a few days now, and it's amazing. (Brian Coords)

  • How To - How to make your WooCommerce additional checkout fields conditionally visible in the Checkout Block. (Tom Cafferkey)

  • Profit Boosters - 46 Tactics to Boost Your Profits with Independent Analytics Pro (shared with permission). (Independent Analytics)

  • Make WordPress Fast - A full-stack WordPress performance and optimisation course for WordPress professionals and agencies who want faster sites, better scores, and fewer headaches. (Remkus de Vries)

  • Board Meeting - Board of Directors Meeting Notice – Q2 2025. (The WP Community Collective)

  • 🧠 I Would Agree - Why Independent Analytics could be the WordPress alternative to Google Analytics you’ve been waiting for. (WP Builds)

  • I’m Worth It! - Understanding Your Value as a WordPress Freelancer. (The WP Minute)

  • A Changing Ecosystem - Automattic Marks 20 Years, Looks Ahead to AI Era and Next 20 Years. (The Repository)

  • 100th Episode - AI + WP – The Future of WordPress. (WP Product Talk)

  • Cursor - Adding custom checkout fields in Woo has gotten pretty easy with checkout blocks. (Brian Coords)

  • The Results Are In! - “Which WP accessibility documentation do you need?”(Rian Rietveld)

  • New Plugin Alert! - Well-Known File Manager. (Jono Alderson)

  • 😎 The Woo Block Theme - What we’re doing to get the Woo Block Theme ready for you. (WooCommerce)

  • WordPress Tips - 9 time-saving CSS tips for WordPress users. (Kinsta)

  • What Developer Will You Be? - What Nobody Tells You About AI Coding. (Rich Tabor)

  • 🥺 Will There Ever Be Change? - Patricia Brun Torre Shares Grievances of 100+ Contributors with WordPress Leadership. (The Repository)

If you have a question about this email or WordPress, please reply, and I will respond as soon as possible.

👋 Until next time,

Simon Harper's handwritten signature