Crisp, Colourful,  Fall WordPress Plugins

John's Intro:

It's Episode 577 and we have plugins for Woo Colour, Searching Fields, Suicide Squirrels, Font Sizing, Cube Plugins, Designing by Clicks… and ClassicPress Options. It's all coming up on WordPress Plugins A-Z!

– ‘good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you happen to be hiding out there on the globe today! Coming to you LIVE from …'

Amber's Rant:

Welcome to Episode 577 – Crisp, Colourful,  Fall WordPress Plugins  – This is episode 37 for 2022, and we are working through the new layout of the show! Would love to hear some feedback from our Producers out there on what you think – good? bad? AWESOME?!?!? Let us know!

A Message from your AtoZ Plugin Worker Bee's – This is a Value for Value show, meaning any value you find here, offer that same value back – this can be telling someone about us, offering up 5 bucks or more (we will never turn down shiny, shiny treasure…) for a sugar boost, or spending some time helping out the show!

And don't skip the end of the show Dear Producers – This is where I throw oddball questions at my dad and see if any stump him; haven't managed yet, but one day… perhaps our listeners could help us out…

A special note to our New Listeners: There is no such thing as a stupid question! You see, there is always someone out there with the same questions, and stepping up to ask them will help both you and them! There's no judgement here, or in this community, so ask away!

…When you see this in the notes, this means we didn't read this onto the show, and that the only way to find this information out is to read our Show Notes!

…You can send any questions/suggestions or notes saying hi over to me at amber@wppro.ca, or hit up our site wpppluginsatoz.com/contact – Be creative with the title so that the spammer eater doesn't eat your note though!

Let's start the show with this weeks Featured Artist:

Greg's Graphics (Greg Holdsworth)  — https://gregsgraphics.com

Feeling Inspired? Hit up our site at https://wppluginsatoz.com/artwork/ and submit some artwork of your own!
…We can NEVER have too much art!

Or check out allll the artwork at: https://wppluginsatoz.com/artwork/

Breaking News in the WordPress World at large!! 

…If I missed something, shoot me a link at amber@wppro.ca – it may show up on the next show!

News this week:

– WordPress Vulnerability Report – October 19 – 2022 (https://ithemes.com/blog/wordpress-vulnerability-report-october-19-2022/) – There is one WordPress Core Vulnerability this week: WP – it has been patched in version 6.0.3, so be sure to update!

There are a few Plugins to be aware of: WP Hide, Highlight Focus, WPB Show Core, and AB Press Optimizer.

– Discussion on replacing Plugin Active Install Growth Data continues behind closed doors (https://wptavern.com/discussion-on-replacing-plugin-active-install-growth-data-continues-behind-closed-doors) – The reason cited for this initially was ‘insufficient data obfuscation' – though now the reason has been expanded upon by Samual Otto Wood who says ‘the reason is really quite simple… it was removed because by and large, nobody was using them. Nobody was using the chart itself. By and large, the chart was not useful to the majority, and it didn't really fit the purpose we had for it, that we had in mind when we implemented it'. This has, understandably, caused a bit more of a brush fire to start… If you are interested you can go and check out the article – you will find the link in our show notes.

– Jetpack Social Plugin adds paid plan, free users now limited to 30 shares per month (https://wptavern.com/jetpack-social-plugin-adds-paid-plan-free-users-now-limited-to-30-shares-per-month) – This is causing a bit of an issue, as previously free users could share an unlimited number of posts automatically through their social media accounts. The new paid plan started out with a cap of 1000 shares at $10, though they have since changed it to unlimited shares at $1 for the first month, and $10 every month thereafter.

– 10up publishes Gutenberg best practices website (https://wptavern.com/10up-publishes-gutenberg-best-practices-website) – This is a public resource with tutorials, documentation, and example code for Gutenberg. Glancing through it, it's actually quite helpful and I think it's a great idea! I know I will be checking it out a bit more.

– WordPress documentation team to host its first online contributor day, October 25, 2022 (https://wptavern.com/wordpress-documentation-team-to-host-its-first-online-contributor-day-october-25-2022) – This is a good thing to know for those out there who like to check these out! Should be more interesting since as it is online, perhaps more people will be able to attend!

– WordPress Themes Directory adds style variation previews (https://wptavern.com/wordpress-themes-directory-adds-style-variation-previews) – The .org WordPress theme previews just got a major improvement with the addition of style variation previews. Now, you can see what the block themes look like for the ones that include style variations! Will make it much easier to pick and choose what looks right for you!

– A new ‘common sense' test for AI could lead to smarter machines (https://thenextweb.com/news/common-sense-test-for-ai-smarter-machines) – Pencils ready! – So, no, Ai can't use common sense yet… although common sense seems to be running away screaming in general these days; the reason they are working on teaching the AI common sense, is because it really comes down to the fact that common sense will make AI better at helping us to solve real-world issues. If they manage to do this, we are certainly going to be dealing with the uprising of the AI in my opinion… After all, if they develop common sense, they will be like cats with opposable thumbs – and we all know cats would rule the world if they had opposable thumbs…

ClassicPress News:

…Our News Section really isn't complete without ClassicPress News…

There is no new news or fundraising goal update directly from ClassicPress this week.

ClassicPress has projects they are looking to have some support with.  They have a page with these projects listed and who the contact is for the project.  Check out the following page if you are using ClassicPress and are interested in helping them move forward!    https://forums.classicpress.net/t/currently-active-projects/3630

They also have some petitions posted check them out!

…For some up to date news on ClassicPress check out the ClassicPress Blog.

The Extras – check out our Facebook, or Twitter page for even more!

…Here you will find news on tech in general, and some random things I think are pretty nifty! If you come across something you think should be added, send me a link at amber@wppro.ca

– Openverse Audio Catalog passes 800,000 files, audio support now out of beta (https://wptavern.com/openverse-audio-catalog-passes-800000-files-audio-support-now-out-of-beta) – This is exciting news! Openverse, formerly known as Creative Commons Search before joining up with WordPress Project, has passed an important milestone! They have now indexed more than 800,000 audio files, and the dev team has taken audio support out of the beta! Worth checking out!

– A dummy's guide to infecting your Mac with malware (https://thenextweb.com/news/dummy-guide-to-infecting-apple-mac-with-malware) – This is something I have brought before, but really, it bears repeating! I mean, there is some seriously good recommendations in here!

– Pendragon car dealer refuses $60 million LockBit ransomware demand (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/pendragon-car-dealer-refuses-60-million-lockbit-ransomware-demand/)

– Thousands of GitHub repositories deliver fake PoC exploits with malware (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/thousands-of-github-repositories-deliver-fake-poc-exploits-with-malware/)

– Typosquat campaign mimics 27 brands to push Windows, Android malware (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/typosquat-campaign-mimics-27-brands-to-push-windows-android-malware/)

– The European automobile industry is going quantum (https://thenextweb.com/news/european-automobile-industry-is-going-quantum)

– Android adware apps in Google Play downloaded over 20 million times (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/android-adware-apps-in-google-play-downloaded-over-20-million-times/)

– TommyLeaks and SchoolBoys: Two sides of the same ransomware gang (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/tommyleaks-and-schoolboys-two-sides-of-the-same-ransomware-gang/)

– Exploited Windows zero-day lets JabaScript files bypass security warnings (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/exploited-windows-zero-day-lets-javascript-files-bypass-security-warnings/)

– US govt warns of Daixin Team targeting health orgs with ransomware (https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/us-govt-warns-of-daixin-team-targeting-health-orgs-with-ransomware/)

…Some random entertainment in the World of WordPress!

…Matt's Famous Quotes
https://www.idrlabs.com/quotes/matt-mullenweg.php

…The hall of shame via Automattic:
transparency.automattic.com/tag/hall-of-shame/

Let's have a peek at our Contests for this week…

Firstly we want to thank Simple Giveaways for being totally awesome and providing us with their Premium Version for our contests!

Secondly we want to thank Steve Goodtime & Brant Matthews for creating our amazing jingle we still use!!

We have some AMAZING news!! CHARLIE IS BACK!! And he brought with him from the great wilds out there a contest!!

We are SO happy to have Charlie back, honestly I think he's the only one who can really fill his old shoes he had left behind – and the contest we have for you is:

 Enter for your chance to win one of THREE Breakdance Page Builder One-Year Licences valued at $149 each

Breakdance Page Builder

 

With 120 built-in elements, a modern UI and workflow, and deep WooCommerce integration, Breakdance is the ultimate website builder plugin for WordPress.

Click here to visit breakdance.com

https://wppluginsatoz.com/giveaway/breakdance-page-builder-one-year-licences-giveaway

Remember, this is YOUR show! We are just the Worker Bee's here – Don't be afraid to jump up and down and demand a turn at the wheel to help guide the show to where YOU want it to go!

That goes for all the Developers out there too – this is YOUR show! by supporting us with your Plugin donations you are helping to guide the show to where you want to see it go! A GIANT Thank You is owed to the Developers who have been supporting us this whole time, we honestly could not have even gotten this show started without you!

If any Developers out there listening right now are interested in adding to the show by donating a Premium License for our Contests, you can do so by going to WPPluginsAtoZ.com/PluginContest!

Time for the Good Stuff! …

Off we go into the meat and potatoes of plugin depravity…..

WordPress Plugins

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John's Plugin

WooComerce Colored Order Notes

https://wordpress.org/plugins/colored-order-notes-for-woocommerce/

The Lowdown:

WooCommerce Colored Order Notes plugin allows you to to customize order note color for each order status. The plugin is made to work with WooCommerce version 2.5 or higher. Upon activating the plugin you will see the “Order Note Colors” tab under “WooCommerce > Settings”.

Rating 4 Dragons

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Amber's Plugin

Simple Font Resizer

https://wordpress.org/plugins/simple-font-resizer/

The Lowdown:

This is a pretty awesome plugin – with this plugin you are able to create a button for your readers so that they can enlarge the font or make the font smaller.

I think this is a great idea – some sites just have too tiny writing, and others have way to large writing! This is a great way to let your users set it to their own preference.

Totally free, and works really well – no need for shortcodes, although they have shortcodes available for special pages.

Rating: 5 Dragons

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John's Plugin

WP Custom Fields Search

https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-custom-fields-search/

The Lowdown:

With this you can give your readers the ability to search and filter your posts/catalogue to quickly find the information they need. Any custom fields you have added to your posts can be made searchable as well as the core post fields like title, author, categories etc. Configurable input widgets allow you to customize the form further to build exactly the search you need for your site.

You can configure a number of inputs of different types, to search different fields of your posts in different ways. These will then be presented to your users as a simple form interface allowing them to find the content they need.

Rating 5 Dragons

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Amber's Plugin

Cubecolour New Plugins

https://wordpress.org/plugins/cubecolour-new-plugins/

The Lowdown:

This is a plugin I have reviewed before, but I wanted to bring it back and give it a shout out!

I really love this plugin, it's because of this plugin that I am able to bring you new and exciting plugins each week.

Once installed, you go to ‘add new' plugin, and you will see menu options for:
‘New, Featured, Popular, Recommended, Favourites, Beta Testing'

This is apparently how WordPress used to have it, though I wouldn't know since that feature was gone by the time I joined up. Personally, I think they should have left it – this is the best set up possible!

Totally awesome plugin, worth checking out!

Rating: 5 Dragons

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We Interrupt this Meat and Potatoes of Plugin Depravity Edition to bring you our Donations Segment and to thank our Producers!

Remember, this is YOUR show! We're just the Worker Bee's here. Don't forget to restock the show's larders with some Time, Treasure, or Talent Donations! Need more info on how to do that? Check out our site wppluginsatoz.com – right up in the menu you will see each one under ‘Donations'!

Special thanks goes to:

Free-Lance Producers popping in and out:

Though always showing up at unexpected times, these Producers are surely part of the reason our name is getting out there! Thank you!

…If you have listened to even 10 minutes of this show, or shown up a single time to one of our live shows on YouTube, you are one of our many Free-Lance Producers! Although you guys are always popping in and out at unexpected times, we appreciate your support and periodic help with one thing or another – thank you!

Back Room Producers hanging-out in the Lounge:

Always about the place consuming all the coffee and donuts, these Producers earn it by helping out with our contests, artwork, site organization, notes, questions, suggestions, licenses, and by hiring us! Your Time and Talent Donations are equal to your Treasure Donations of under $50, and we would not be here without you – thank you!

…Back Room Producers, if you ever notice something that needs some work feel free to reach out to us and let us know – you can offer to take it up yourself, or just let us know and we will add it to our list.

War Room Producers:

With their donations of $50 or more these Producers receive a few extra perks – an official AtoZ Handle of their choice, a spotlight in that weeks show for a short speech, an official Executive Producership Credit, and seeing the ‘Magic' as it happens up in the War Room before we send the show out into the netherworld of the internets! Thank you for sticking by us and helping to keep the Back Room Producers stocked in coffee and donuts!

…**If you prefer to stay anonymous, please let us know at the beginning of your note to us regarding your donation! We are more than happy to keep you anonymous from the world – nobody is ever forced out of the tender embrace of the shadows on this show!**

…To receive your Official AtoZ Handle, think up an original name, and send it into us! Be sure to note down the show number and title of the show so that we know when to log it!

…Your spotlight can be an elevator pitch for your business, a note, or you can just skip it!

…The Producership Credit we offer is REAL! When you send your donation in to us of $50 or more, please be sure to note down the number and title of the show your donation shows up on, and we will back up your right to claim Producership!

…'Seeing the Magic Happen' refers to being part of the show – if you are interested in taking up a larger part in the show, reach out to us and let us know! We will be happy to discuss the options!

…War Room Producers, same as for the Back Room Producers, reach out to us if you notice something that needs work! Whether you are wanting to take up the job yourself or just inform us and leave it, we will add it to our list!

Thank you, now back to the Meat and Potatoes of Plugin Depravity Edition!

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John's Plugin

Suicide Squirrel Threat Advisory System

https://wordpress.org/plugins/suicide-squirrel-alert-broadcasting-system/

Honorable mention for an old plugin
Just a fun plugin

3 SQUIRREL RATING! – Would be a 5 if it were to be rated

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Amber's Plugin

ClickDesigns

https://wordpress.org/plugins/clickdesigns/

The Lowdown:

I'm not sure about this one – the first thing they do is ask for an API key, which means you have to sign up; although they do offer a free trial, which is cool of them.

Once you click on the ‘free trial' you are taken to a new page.

Here you have to sign up, and I don't like that part.. but I never like it when a ‘free plugin' requires you to sign up on their site.

So… Once I ran through this, I'm really not sure what the free trial offers, you get to create everything on the site itself, and that's it.

I suppose you use the API key to connect your account with them to your site so that you can upload your work from their site to your site.

I think that their tools are pretty awesome, and you can create some pretty cool things with this, although you can create the same kind of things in other programs and upload to your site for free.

Their tools remind me of a free app on my husband's phone, and he didn't have to sign up or pay for the tools…

I'm kind of on the fence about these guys…

Rating: 3 Dragons

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ClassicPress

We have sadly neglected ClassicPress… we are working to remedy this.

…A little about ClassicPress for those who aren't sure: ClassicPress is WordPress frozen at version 4.9. Once WordPress moved to 5, they added in a whole lot of new folders, and the experimental additions to the Core started in earnest. ClassicPress is literally the Classic version of WordPress. A few plugins have been made over the years for just ClassicPress, though all Plugins compatible with WordPress 4.9 should work for ClassicPress.

To any ClassicPress user listening right now: I challenge you – yes YOU – to write a review of your favourite, or least favourite ClassicPress plugin, and send it into us! You can do so by hitting us up at https://wppluginsatoz.com/submit-plugin-review/!

…And feel free to add more to this section by reaching out to me at amber@wppro.ca.

ClassicPress Resource Section:

This information is like Fruit Cake! It doesn't wither away and will still be good years down the road so it's great for learning! Go and check this section out in our Show Notes if you have an interest!

…We have thrown some ClassicPress Resources in here for you – and they appear to have stuck like well cooked pasta! Glad you made it to this part of the notes since we only mention it lightly on the show – If we missed something, let us know!

…Learn more about ClassicPress 1.4.0 RC2:
…https://forums.classicpress.net/t/classicpress-1-4-0-rc2-release-notes/3785?fbclid=IwAR3wGK5IW8ssJ-XC4k7IiZMBtSjUTVN2pexk6ATCRvuMN-Fn-McOy-XJJv8

…ClassicPress Tutorials on their site:
…https://www.classicpress.net/category/tutorials/

…ClassicPress's “Must Have” Plugins List:
…https://forums.classicpress.net/t/must-have-plugins-list/1163

…ClassicPress Repository!!
…https://directory.classicpress.net/plugins They now have 71 plugins (and counting!) available.

…WordPress Plugin Section compatible with ClassicPress:
…https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/classicpress/

Questions, Notes, and Feedback from our Producers out there:

…Send us your thoughts and opinions, but most of all send us your questions! No such thing as a stupid question people! I was new not too long ago, and I know how overwhelming it can be stepping into this world at this stage – I know for a fact that questions you have are the same questions others out there have!

Nope, nothing today; seems our homing pigeon got lost on the way back with our messages again….

How to be part of your own production!

Interviews – get yourself out there using us as your tool!
…Looking for a way to get your name and work out there? Use us as a stepping stone! Hit us up at https://wppluginsatoz.com/interview

Send in Plugin Reviews, or suggestions for Plugin reviews!
…Have a plugin you love? Or one you really think people should avoid? Reach out to us and get your words and opinion out into the world by hitting us up at https://wppluginsatoz.com/submit-plugin-review/

Send in questions and/or comments!
…Have a thought to share? Send it in! You can stay anonymous or belt your name out in all caps!

Stuff and reminders about Stuff:

Meetups:

Our Meet Up on September 10 was pretty awesome! We didn't have many who showed up, but it was a fun social gathering – and we got the opportunity to watch the smoke as it rolled in over us from the mainland and covered the sky; though not necessarily a good thing to endure, it was kind of fascinating to watch!
Keep an eye here for the next Meet Up!

Random:

Remember you can check out our Show Notes on our site wppluginsatoz.com! There is extra information to grab up there that we don't even speak out loud on the show!

Today's Plugins we covered were:

John’s Plugins: WooComerce Colored Order Notes – 4, WP Custom Fields Search – 5, Suicide Squirrel Threat Advisory System – 3 Squirrel Rating! (Would be 5 if rateable..)

Amber's Plugins: Simple Font Resizer – 5, Cubecolour New Plugins – 5, ClickDesigns – 3

Ways to support the show!

You can support us by Subscribing to our Newsletter, Donating, or reviewing us on Stitcher Radio, Google Play, or the iTunes Store.

Join us on our Facebook, and hit the *Like* button on our YouTube Channel!

…Just showing up to our YouTube Channel and joining us live every Thursday at 11am PDT is a FANTASTIC show of support! So is joining our FaceBook page and hitting *Share* on our posts every once in a while!

…Giving a review of us on any of the platforms listed above would be super helpful too!

Want to get ahold of us???

If you still do Snail Mail, you can send an actual, physical letter or item to this Brick and Mortar address:
…(Pssst! I love receiving things that are not bills! Especially art if you enjoy drawing – no matter what age!)

WP Plugins A to Z
C/O John Overall 
20-754 E Fairview Rd. 
Victoria, BC  V9A 5T9  
Canada

OR, you can email us!

Amber: amber@wppro.ca
John: john@wppro.ca

Q & A Time with Amber – Catch this info on our YouTube Channel

If you have questions you would like to have asked on the show, send them in to me at Amber@WPPro.ca – let's see if we can stump my dad!

• What is the simplest thing you can think of to help fix a computer that a novice doesn't know?

• What is the first thing you do when you get a ‘blue screen of death'?

Remember everyone, we will be coming back to the questions we just read out once we close out the show and the song ends! Stick around until the end to get the answers to these last questions!!!

Questions asked after closing credits:

• What top 3 things should someone new to the scene know about WordPress?

• What advice would you personally give someone entering into the world of WordPress as a newbie this year?

One more time for the ways to contact us!

Our Brick and Mortar Address – just in case you decide to send along a gift!
(Especially art if you enjoy drawing – no matter what age!)

WP Plugins A to Z
C/O John Overall 
20-754 E Fairview Rd. 
Victoria, BC  V9A 5T9  
Canada

Fastest way to contact us:

John:

• My website: http://www.johnoverall.com/  
• WordPress Emergency Support: http://wppro.ca/wpemergency
• email: john@wppro.ca

Amber:

• email: amber@wppro.ca