Weekly WordPress News: Awesome Motive Acquires Sandhills Development

Hey, WordPress fans. We are checking in with your latest dose of weekly WordPress news.

This week, there were a number of acquisitions in the WordPress space. Awesome Motive acquired Sandhills Development, the company behind Easy Digital Downloads, AffiliateWP, WP Simple Pay, Sugar Calendar, WP Simple Pay, and the Payouts Service. Meanwhile, LearnDash joined StellarWP and Liquid Web’s growing family of brands.

Beyond that, the new update on the WordPress core editor makes it easier to add a title to a group of blocks and allows you to group any block.

We also have a lot of news, tutorials, and roundup posts for you as usual.

Let’s get to all of this week’s WordPress news…

WORDPRESS NEWS AND ARTICLES

•  Awesome Motive Acquires Sandhills Development – including all of the company’s WordPress products and services. 
• StellarWP Welcomes LearnDash to the Family – further expanding Liquid Web’s umbrella brand’s portfolio. 
• Keanan Koppenhaver Acquires WP Pusher and Branch – WP Tavern’s post on the acquisition.
• Core Editor Improvement: Introducing the Widget Group Block –  helping with compatibility for older themes when migrating over to the new editor.
• Join us for WordPress Translation Day Global Events in September 2021 – check out the remaining global events for this month. 
• WordPress Vulnerability Report: September 2021, Part 4 – the regular iThemes vulnerability report. 
• Tove: A Block-Based WordPress Theme by Anders Norén – a new WordPress block theme.

TUTORIALS AND HOW-TOS

• How to use an Add to Favorites plugin with WooCommerce – and display them in different parts of your online store.
• How to Use the WordPress RSS Block – some tips and best practices for using it effectively.
• Wix vs WordPress: 5 Differences to Help You Choose Best – as the title says.
• How to Use Grammarly for WordPress to Level up Content – check spelling and grammar mistakes in WordPress.
• How to Create Grouped Products in WooCommerce – using 3 different methods. 
• The Ultimate Beginners Guide to Brand Monitoring (Tips+Tools) – an interesting read.
• How to Find Your WordPress Website’s System Information – as the title says.

RESOURCES

• Solid Affiliate Review: Is This the Best Affiliate Plugin for WooCommerce? – check out our hands-on look at this plugin.
• Consulting WP Business WordPress Theme Review and Setup (2021) – a comprehensive review.
• 10 Best WooCommerce Recover Abandoned Cart Plugins in 2021 – to help convert some of those abandonments into actual sales.
• 11 Best WooCommerce Affiliate Plugins in 2021 – the best affiliate plugins in the market.
• A Sneak Peek at WordPress 5.9 – from the WP Briefing podcast.
• Pippin Williamson on selling his plugins to Awesome Motive – a new episode of Matt Report.
• Planning, Scope, and Team for WordPress 5.9, Roadmap for WooCommerce Blocks and Gutenberg 11.5 – from the Gutenberg Times podcast.