Weekly WordPress News: WooCommerce 5.6 Release Candidate 2

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

This week, WooCommerce 5.6 release candidate 2 is out and available for testing. The update is on track for the planned August 17th release date. 

Beyond that, Gutenberg 11.2.0 is released with some new features, and we have some great tutorials and resources for you as always. 

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

WORDPRESS NEWS AND ARTICLES

• WooCommerce 5.6 RC 2 – now available for testing. 
• Gutenberg 11.2 Expands Color Support for Search and Pullquote Blocks, Introduces Experimental Flex Layout for Group Block – new features for Gutenberg.
• 2021 Mid-Year WordPress Security Report – a review on the state of WordPress security from Wordfence and WPScan.
• Widgets in WordPress 5.8 and Beyond – what you can do with your widgets and where things may be heading next.
• Clearlake and Siris-Backed Newfold Digital Acquires Yoast – Yoast is expected to continue operating as usual.
• Automattic Releases Quadrat, a Block-Based Podcasting WordPress Theme – a new block theme for podcasts.
• Introducing the WooCommerce Request a Quote plugin – a new plugin that lets customers request quotes for specific products.
• WordPress Vulnerability Report: August 2021, Part 2 – the regular iThemes vulnerability roundup.

TUTORIALS AND HOW-TOS

• How to Create a WordPress Plugin: 20 Tutorials to Help You Create WordPress Plugins – handy tutorials on creating WordPress plugins.
• How to Split a WordPress Post into Multiple Pages – to improve your website’s UX and SEO.
• Discourage Search Engines from Indexing This Site: What It Means and How to Use It – a few methods to deindex your site.
• How to Enable Gzip Compression for Faster WordPress Sites (2021) – to boost your site page load times. 
• Creating a WordPress child theme: is it really necessary in 2021? – as the title says.
• How to Add a WordPress Favicon to Your Site (2021) – manually and using plugins.
• Web Privacy And WordPress GDPR Compliance – a definitive guide on privacy and GDPR compliance.
• How to Cloak Affiliate Links in WordPress – for affiliate marketers.
• WordPress vs. Drupal: Choosing Between Two Platforms – a head-to-head comparison.
• How to Create a Landing Page on WordPress (2021) – as the title says.

RESOURCES

• 13 of the Best WordPress Booking Plugins to Automate Appointments – for businesses that require customers to book a reservation.
• Wp Social AppSumo Deal – a $39 lifetime deal on this social integration platform.
• Zion Builder AppSumo Deal – a $99 lifetime deal on this page builder.