Issue #168 Loop WP

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Hi, friend. 👋

Welcome to Issue #168 of Loop WP!

Last week, (in a very popular issue), we took a look at what the WordPress AI Team is cooking up and continued our look at themes as we ask the question, “Should we pause the default theme”?

This week, a new Wappu game is unleashed! Imran Siddiq asks if there is a WordPress inner circle, and Jamie Marsland asks if WordPress needs to evolve.

Let’s go! 👇

Unleash the Wappu!^TM

Marcus Burnette has created one of the most incredible things I have seen recently.

The only disappointing thing is that delivery is currently only available in the US and Canada (with hand shipping available at WordCamp US).

Unleash the Wappu^TM is a beautiful website featuring numerous small, engaging micro-interactions.

Fans of card games, Pokémon and WordPress will not be disappointed!

I take my hat off to Marcus for the idea and what he has achieved here with the help of AI. For some words from Marcus about the project and how and why he built it, check out The Repository article.

🪄 And just like magic, the real-life cards arrived just in time for publishing this newsletter. Check them out!

Is there a WordPress inner circle?

In a recent video, Imran Siddiq asked that very question.

🤔 It stopped me in my tracks (as I write a weekly newsletter about WordPress).

I do get where Imran is coming from, and it can apply to any community or creator environment; it’s not limited to WordPress, and it’s important to watch his video before casting judgment. 👇

🙋‍♂️ Sometimes, I feel that way myself and not necessarily about WordPress. However, and I stress this about me (not Imran), I can feel this way due to either my insecurities or envy (if I was being brutally honest).

✅ On the flip side, sharing specific content is intentional, and there are good reasons for it.

• That could be because you are sharing a niche topic within a broader area.

• You want to share voices that think similarly to you.

• You want to intentionally share content that wouldn’t usually get the same coverage as more popular creators.

💡 Remkus de Vries replied to Imran on X and turned his reply into a blog post called “The Fine Line Between Editorial Focus and Echo Chambers in WordPress“.

Remkus elaborates more on some of my points above (Editorial Focus vs. Echo Chambers). It’s a well-thought-out read and a response I would agree with.

🚨 As a side note, this (Loop WP) newsletter about WordPress is:

• Open (it’s not paywalled)

• You don’t even have to subscribe to read it.

• I even have an RSS feed.

I’m Not Sure WordPress Can Be WordPress Anymore

I want to leave you with the article “I’m Not Sure WordPress Can Be WordPress Anymore” by Jamie Marsland.

🤔 I have read the article a few times now (on Jamie’s blog, LinkedIn and X, lol!) and with “Agent Mode” now being the default for new customers, it has me thinking even more.

The recent developments with the WordPress AI Team and the potential AI plan changes coming in WordPress 6.9 are exciting, but I agree with Jamie; will it be enough on its own?

WordPress needs a marketing team, a marketing strategy, and a clear vision for its future.

✨ I encourage you friend to read Jamie’s article in full, but I found the section ”The Black Box Problem (And The WordPress Opportunity)” particularly provoking, and I will leave you with this quote. 👇

That’s It For This Week 👋

Last week, I ran a poll asking whether you would like to see the return of the plugin, theme, or single-topic deep dives after this newsletter’s summer format ends.

I only got four replies, which is not definitive, but 75% of those (you do the math 😂) voters wanted the deep dives to return.

It will be another four weeks or so until this newsletter changes to it’s original format, so you three lovely people will just have to wait a little longer.

See you next week! 😀

Weekly WordPress News & Tips

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

• 🚨 Head Meta Pro - Ultimate Meta Tags for WordPress (new plugin alert and free version also available). (Jeff Starr)

• The Case for ASC - ChatGPT, Perplexity, and others need to build AI Search Console reporting ASAP to provide site owners with much-needed AI Search data. (Glenn Gabe)

• AI Content Writing - I Tested 4 AI Models to Write 5,000-Word Articles - One Cost Just $0.10 Total. (Karol K.)

• WordCamp US 2025 - Google’s Danny Sullivan to Keynote as Speaker Lineup Begins to Take Shape. (The Repository)

• New Affiliate Program - Join the Independent Analytics Affiliate Program

  Signup and earn 30% commissions on all sales. (Independent Analytics)

• Security Vulnerabilities - Most Dangerous Vulnerabilities in WordPress Plugins. (Oliver Sild)

• 😎 So Awesome! - Beautifully crafted animated icons. An open-source (MIT License) collection of smooth animated icons for your projects. (Dmytro)

• WCAG in Plain English - Making accessibility standards easy to understand, one success criterion at a time. (AAArdvark)

• It Takes More Than Cursor - Build a WordPress Plugin with AI. (Matt Cromwell)

• Editor Suite - We've crafted a suite of next-level builder tools to extend the WordPress block editor. Native, lightweight, simple to use. Coming to Ollie Pro. (Mike McAlister)

• When Do I Use Them? - Custom Database Tables in WordPress, and When To Use Them. (Remkus de Vries)

• 🎉 Exciting Times! - The WP Community Collective Lays Foundations for Project Development and Board Expansion. (The Repository)

• Beautiful! - Working on a fun new block for the upcoming WordPress Studio landing page refresh. Still some design tweaks to make, but visual parity between the Editor and the frontend is nearly 1:1. (Nick Diego)

• Native CSS Transitions - It’s time for modern CSS to kill the SPA. (Jono Alderson)

• NYC AI Team - This small, agile group of product managers, designers, and engineers will integrate AI models across our entire product ecosystem. (Automattic)

• Remkus de Vries - In Episode 970, we discuss all things AI and Performance & WordPress. (WP Tonic)

• Putting MCP into Action - Optimising triage with AI starting points. (Tammie Lister)

• Top 10 Accessibility Tools - Every Designer Should Bookmark. Design isn’t inclusive until it’s accessible. (Crystal Scott)

• Community Nominations - Who Will Lead FAIR Next? Nominations Now Open for TSC Co-Chairs. (The Repository)

• Interview - Jeff Starr, Founder of Perishable Press. (WP Founders)

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

👋 Until next time,