Weekly WordPress News: WordPress 5.9 Second Release Candidate

Hey, WordPress friends!

We’re getting closer to WordPress 5.9’s monumental launch scheduled on January 25.  But there’s still time to help test out the new features.

There’s also a short-cycle security release this week that includes four security fixes. We recommend that you update your sites immediately.

Beyond that, Microsoft released a plugin for WordPress that lets you easily integrate the IndexNow protocol on your site. We also have a lot of other news, tutorials, and resources for you as usual.

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

WORDPRESS NEWS AND ARTICLES

• WordPress 5.9 RC 2 – now available and ready for testing.
• Microsoft releases IndexNow plugin for WordPress – easily integrate the IndexNow protocol on your WordPress site.
• WordPress 5.8.3 Security Release – featuring four security fixes.
• Jetpack 10.5: New features and under-the-hood improvements – including new features for VideoPress.
• Extendify Launches New Pattern Library Plugin – its flagship free plugin.
• Automattic’s Livro Is a Minimal Block Theme for Writers – a new free simple and clean theme to try.
• WordPress Vulnerability Report: January 2022, Part 2 – the regular iThemes vulnerability roundup.

TUTORIALS AND HOW-TOS

• How to Check and Update Your WordPress Site’s PHP Version – how to safely check, update, and upgrade your PHP version.
• How to Stop Comment Spam in WordPress – as the title says.
• An Easy and Free Way to Sell Premium Content with WordPress – with the new, improved, and free Restrict Content plugin.
• How to Rebrand a WordPress Website & The Way We Did It Seamlessly – a guide from WPBuffs. 
• WordPress Domain Mapping Explained [Step-By-Step Guide] – how to get started with domain mapping.
• How to Use Conditional Logic with Forms in WordPress – using Tripetto.
• How to Build an Online Community Website – Best Method in 2022 – a detailed guide.
• Using Custom Taxonomies and Custom Fields in WordPress Development – as the title says.

RESOURCES

• WPForms vs. Gravity Forms (2022): Two Popular Form Builders Go Head-to-Head – check out which form builder performs better. 
• 20 Best Wedding WordPress Themes in 2022 – our updated list of the best wedding themes.
• WPSmartPay AppSummo Deal –  $69 lifetime deal on this payment and donations plugin.
• Namecheap New Year Sale – up to 96% off on domains, hosting, and security products until Jan 17.
• What’s in WordPress 5.9, and What Is Openverse? – the latest at WPTavern’s podcast.
• Business of WordPress news w/ Rae Morey – the latest from Matt Report.
• Gutenberg 12.2 and 12.3, WordPress 5.9 RC and DevNotes for Full-Site Editing and Block Themes – what’s new from Gutenberg Times.