Weekly WordPress News: Betas, Bigger Giveaways, and WordCamp Europe Talks

Plenty of WordPress changes are brewing with the release of WordPress for Android Version 5.5, WordPress 4.6 Beta 1, and an open beta for the new plugin repository design.

Brian Krogsgard of Poststatus pops up in two interviews with two different Matts.

And if you thought the $40,000 Advanced WordPress Facebook Group giveaway was crazy…well, you’re in for a surprise thanks to Automattic.

Let’s get to all of this week’s news:

WORDPRESS NEWS AND ARTICLES

• WordPress for Android: Version 5.5 – WordPress for Android 5.5 includes a new, streamlined editor, people management tools, and more.
• WordPress 4.6 Beta 1 – it’s not ready for production, but you can test out the beta of WordPress 4.6.
• New WordPress Plugin Directory Now in Open Beta – check out the new plugin repository design before it goes to production.
• Highlights of Matt Mullenweg’s Q&A at WordCamp Europe 2016 – get the highlights of Matt’s talks from WordCamp Europe.
• Brian Krogsgard on Running a Membership Website – Matt and Brian discuss Post Status on Matt Report
• Growing & Developing your WordPress Meetup – Dee Teal publishes a transcript from her WordCamp Europe talk

TUTORIALS AND HOW-TOS

• Privacy Checklist: 10 Tips for Protecting Visitors to Your WordPress Site – respect your visitors by protecting their privacy
• WordPress Plugin Development for Beginners – interested in getting into WordPress dev? Check this out
• Ultimate guide to marketing automation – not specific to WordPress, but website owners should know about marketing automation and WpCurve put together a good guide.
• How To Set Up Heat Maps To Boost Conversions In WordPress – improve your site’s performance by implementing heat maps
• Unit Testing Your Plugins with Dockunit – for the devs

RESOURCES & FREEBIES

• Automattic Pushes the Advanced WordPress Facebook Group Giveaway to More Than $70K in Prizes
• GOCHA Video Plugin Review – Add Timestamped Video Comments to WordPress
• Baton free WordPress theme preview – Matt from PluginTut reviews his own Baton theme
• 9 Free & Premium Recipe Card Plugins for Food Bloggers – food bloggers should check out these plugins
• [WordPress Courses for Beginners] Udemy vs Lynda vs Treehouse vs Skillshare – interested in a WordPress course? Check out these comparisons