Weekly WordPress News: WordPress 5.9 Beta 2 Release

Hey, WordPress fans.

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

This week, WordPress 5.9 Beta 2 is released and ready for testing, on track for January 2022 official release. Since Beta 1, 24 bugs have been fixed. If you’re interested in trying out the new features, check out this detailed guide from the contributors.

Beyond that, Gutenberg 12.1 is now available with some bug fixes and improvements including enhanced global styles, navigation block, template list views, and more.

Astra also released a significant update on their starter templates that improves the user experience of building websites.

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

WORDPRESS NEWS AND ARTICLES

• WordPress 5.9 Beta 2 – available for testing.
• What’s new in Gutenberg 12.1 ( 8 December) – update if you haven’t yet.
• WP Tavern Is Sporting a New Website Design – check out this refreshing new look. 
• Take the 2021 WordPress Annual Survey (and view the 2020 results) – survey is open through the end of 2021.
• Videomaker Block Theme Targets Film Directors and Video Creators – a new Blockbase child theme.  
• Surge: A Simple Page Caching Plugin For WordPress – a new page caching plugin called Surge.
• Introducing Starter Templates 3.0: Hundreds of Templates, Millions of Possibilities – a significant update to the plugin.
• More of Elementor Pro 3.5: Improve User Experience With Scroll Snap and Progress Tracker – a neat update. 
• Jetpack 10.4 – Re-publish Social Posts from the Block Editor – a handy functionality. 
• WordPress Vulnerability Report: December 2021, Part 2 – check in with potential security issues.
• Transfer Sites to Another Company with Kinsta’s Enhanced Site Transfer Tool – great update for Kinsta users.

TUTORIALS AND HOW-TOS

• How to set roles in WordPress to password protect content using a role editor – from Barn2 Plugins.
• You Don’t Need a Plugin for WebP Images on WordPress in 2021 – as the title says. 
• How To Set up WordPress Two Factor Authentication – step by step tutorial. 
• What is a Firewall? Understanding What They Are and Which Type is Right For You – boost your site security.  
• How to Map Domain to WordPress Website (Easy Guide) – what domain mapping means and why you may want to use it on your website.
• Display The Latest Products Section – Using Meta Box and Gutenberg – a detailed guide. 
• How to Hide Products by User Roles in WooCommerce? – using Profile Builder.

RESOURCES

• WP Adminify Review (2021): Customize Your WordPress Dashboard for a More Streamlined Backend Experience – our review of this admin plugin.
• 7 Best WordPress Survey Plugins in 2021 – we updated our list of the best survey plugins. 
• WP Engine Offer – get 4 months free on any annual shared plan with code WEBWEEK2021 until December 9. 
• WP 301 Redirects AppSumo Deal – a $49 lifetime deal for this SEO plugin. 
• Exclusive Addons AppSumo Deal – lifetime deals starting at $49.
• What’s in WordPress 5.9, and What Is Openverse? – the latest WP Tavern Jukebox podcast. 
• Lemon Squeezy: Taking on ecommerce & WordPress – newest episode of Matt Report. 
• Syed Balkhi Explains How Awesome Motive Acquires Companies (& shows you how to sell yours in 2022) – from Freemius’ video series, The Gamechangers.