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WordPress 5.0.3 Maintenance Release Available

WordPress 5.0.3 fixes 36 bugs and 7 performance updates.

Things to note

Most of the updates/fixes were related to the block editor and Customizer.

You can read more by looking at the release notes: https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_5.0.3

If you have not done so already – download the update or simply use your existing installation of WordPress to update your site. Either way – this is an excellent time to make a backup copy of your site(s) before upgrading.

WordPress 5.0.2 Maintenance Release Available

WordPress 5.0.2 is a maintenance release which fixes 73 bugs.

Things to note

  • Improved performance with blocks – 14 bugs were addressed which enhance performance. An additional 31 other block editor bugs were addressed too.
  • Bundled theme bug fixes  – 17 bugs were addressed in the bundled themes.
  • Internationalization (i8n) script loading issues were also fixed.

You can read more by looking at the release notes: https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_5.0.2

If you have not done so already – download the update or simply use your existing installation of WordPress to update your site. Either way – this is an excellent time to make a backup copy of your site(s) before upgrading.

WordPress 5.0.1 Security Release Available

WordPress 5.0.1 is a security release available now and should be applied immediately.

This update addresses a security issue that affects all WordPress versions since 3.7 and fixes a number of vulnerabilities.

You can read more by looking at the release notes: https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_5.0.1

If you have not done so already – download the update or simply use your existing installation of WordPress to update your site. Either way – this is an excellent time to make a backup copy of your site(s) before upgrading.

WordPress 5.0 Available

WordPress 5.0 is a major release with a new editor focused on making publishing content easier than ever.

Say hello to Gutenberg.  Gutenberg allows you to build content using blocks for text, media, code, quotes, etc.  If you prefer – you can also go with the Classic Editor (which will be supported for at least 2 years. (See screenshot below as an example). 

WordPress 5.0 also comes with a beautiful new theme (Twenty Nineteen) which fully utilizes the new block structure introduced in WordPress 5.0.  There are a number of other gems in this release and I encourage you to download the latest release so you can start managing your content more efficiently.

You can read more by looking at the release notes: https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_5.0

If you have not done so already – download the update or simply use your existing installation of WordPress to update your site. Either way – this is an excellent time to make a backup copy of your site(s) before upgrading.

WordPress 4.9.8 Maintenance Release Available

WordPress 4.9.8 is a maintenance release which addresses 46 bug fixes.

With this update – you will also see the option to “try” the new block editor Gutenberg before it gets released with WordPress 5.0.

You can read more by looking at the release notes: https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.9.8

If you have not done so already – download the update or simply use your existing installation of WordPress to update your site. Either way – this is an excellent time to make a backup copy of your site(s) before upgrading.

WordPress 4.9.7 Security and Maintenance Release Available

WordPress 4.9.7 is a security and maintenance release available now and should be applied immediately.

This update addresses a security issue that affects all WordPress versions since 3.7 which potentially allows users (with certain capabilities defined) to delete files outside of the uploads directory. This update also fixes 17 other known bugs.

You can read more by looking at the release notes: https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.9.7

If you have not done so already – download the update or simply use your existing installation of WordPress to update your site. Either way – this is an excellent time to make a backup copy of your site(s) before upgrading.

HOWTO: Easily Disable Comments on Posts in WordPress

After a recent WordPress blog import – I needed to make sure comments were not allowed on any previous or future posts. You can easily disable any future posts from having comments by changing the setting in “Settings > Discussion > “Allow people to post comments on new articles” (see screenshot) – but you can override that setting on a post by post basis when editing older posts.

Now the I had all comments set to off for future posts – it was time to address the older/existing posts which all had “Allow comments” set to yes. In order to quickly change all existing posts I used the “Bulk Actions” option when listing all posts. From there I selected “Edit” and then made sure all of the posts were highlighted (50 at a time).

That then brought up the option to set Comments to “Do not allow” for the selected posts. After going through this process a few times – all my posts now had comments turned off and I was done.

You could also update all your posts with a database query – but this way allows you to quickly and easily take care of changing your comment status, post format type, author, status, categories, and tags.

Lesson learned: do not underestimate the power of the “Bulk Actions” for making quick/easy changes to your posts.

WordPress 4.9.6 Privacy and Maintenance Release Available

WordPress 4.9.6 is a privacy and maintenance release in order to help with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR)

Things to note

  • Privacy Policy – Create/specify a privacy policy page now in Admin > Settings > Privacy. Once you designate a page as your privacy policy page – it will show up as a link on your user registration and login pages.
  • Right to Remove – WordPress now has the ability for site owners to export all user data as well as erase user data per GDPR.

You can read more by looking at the release notes: https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.9.6

If you have not done so already – download the update or simply use your existing installation of WordPress to update your site. Either way – this is an excellent time to make a backup copy of your site(s) before upgrading.

HOWTO: Simple Bootstrap 4 WordPress Gallery

If you are looking for a simple way to have your WordPress inserted galleries use the Bootstrap 4 layout – look no further. Just drop this code into your theme’s functions.php file and any WordPress gallery you insert when selecting media ([ gallery ids=”” ]) will then use the Bootstrap layout.

Code Needed for the WordPress Gallery

/**
 * Bootstrap 4 gallery
 */
add_filter( 'post_gallery', 'lucidity_bootstrap_gallery', 10, 2);
function lucidity_bootstrap_gallery( $output = '', $atts, $instance ) {
    if (strlen($atts['columns']) < 1) $columns = 3;
    else $columns = $atts['columns'];
    $images = explode(',', $atts['ids']);
    
    // Set the # of columns you would like
    if ( $columns < 1 || $columns > 12 ) $columns == 3;
    
    $col_class = 'col-lg-' . 12/$columns;
    
    $output = '<div class="row text-center text-lg-left gallery">';
    $i = 0;
    
    foreach ( $images as $key => $value ) {
       
        $image_attributes = wp_get_attachment_image_src( $value, 'thumbnail');
        $output .= '
            <div class="'.$col_class.'">
              <a data-gallery="gallery" href="'.esc_url($image_attributes[0]).'" class="d-block mb-4 h-100">
                    <img src="'.esc_url($image_attributes[0]).'" alt="" class="img-fluid img-thumbnail">
                </a>
            </div>';
        $i++;
    }
    
    $output .= '</div>';
    
    return $output;
} 

A few things to note:

  1. This example uses the image size “thumbnail”. If you want to use something different – you can change that here on this line: $image_attributes = wp_get_attachment_image_src( $value, ‘thumbnail’);
  2. This example uses 3 columns. Depending on the size of your images – you may also what to change that. You can make the change by changing the two references to “3” in the code above ($columns == 3, $columns = 3)

You can see the gallery in action here: http://www.jappler.com/2014/07/25/recent-visit-911-memorial/

WordPress 4.9.5 Security and Maintenance Release Available

WordPress 4.9.5 is a security release for all previous versions since WordPress 3.7

Things to note

It is highly recommended you update your sites immediately in order to apply important security and the additional 25 bug fixes. You can read more by looking at the release notes: https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.9.5

If you have not done so already – download the update or simply use your existing installation of WordPress to update your site. Either way – this is an excellent time to make a backup copy of your site(s) before upgrading.