Tim McGiven's Blog, page 16

5 Time-Saving WordPress Block Editor Tips and Tricks

From List View to keyboard shortcuts to the powerful Command Palette, the WordPress Block Editor is loaded with time-saving tricks that will streamline your workflows and ensure that you’re operating at peak efficiency. In this Build and Beyond video, Jamie Marsland shows us his five favorite WordPress Block Editor time savers.

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How to Add Smooth Scrolling Anchor Links to Your Website

An “anchor” link is a link that takes readers to a specific spot on the same page (rather than taking them to a new page altogether). It’s like a shortcut. In most cases, clicking that link brings readers to the desired place with an abrupt jump. In today’s Build and Beyond video, Jamie Marsland shows you how to make that transition a smooth scroll instead of a jump, making for a more pleasant reading and browsing experience.

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Introducing Scheduled Updates: Tailored Plugin Management for Your Website

In recent weeks, we’ve announced a few new tools for developers that make WordPress.com the best place to build any WordPress site: Studio local dev app, GitHub Deployments, improved navigation and user interface, and more. 

Today, we’re continuing the streak with our latest feature: scheduled updates for plugins. 

Say goodbye to the hassle of manual updates because streamlined plugin management tools are here and designed to elevate your site’s reliability and performance.

Plugin updates on your terms 

With our newly launched scheduled updates, you can set the exact time and day for updates to occur, ensuring they happen when it’s most convenient for you and your clients. Best of all, this feature is free to use on our Creator and Entrepreneur plans. We won’t name names, but update scheduling is often a paid add-on at other hosts. 

At the selected time, our system automatically checks for available updates for the plugins included in your schedule. If updates are available, the system initiates the process, starting with a health check to ensure your site’s stability. Each plugin is updated individually, with another health check performed after each update to verify everything is functioning as expected.

Should a health check fail, our system will automatically roll back the update and restore the previous version. In the rare event that a rollback is unsuccessful, our dedicated Happiness Engineers are standing by to manually restore your site and assist you further.

To stay on top of what’s running in the background, you can opt to receive an email notification after each scheduled update summarizing the plugins that were updated as well as any update or health check failures. (These emails aren’t sent if no updates are found.) Additionally, you can easily monitor the results of the most recent schedule run on the Scheduled Updates screen under Plugins → Scheduled Updates.

Create your first scheduleWhy does it matter?

Let’s say you run an ecommerce store on WordPress.com. Your site relies on key plugins for inventory management and payment processing. In the past, updating plugins during business hours led to downtime and lost sales. With scheduled updates, you can now plan updates for off-peak hours, when you’re at home restfully sleeping, ensuring essential functionality remains intact during busy periods while keeping your site secure and up-to-date. Scheduling updates for your payment processing plugin to occur every Sunday at 2:00 AM will greatly minimize shoppers’ disruptions.

Why our scheduled updates are betterNo additional charge: Scheduled updates are included with our Creator and Entrepreneur plans at no extra cost. Multiple schedules: Create separate schedules for different plugins, offering greater flexibility and control compared to competitors.Specific scheduling: Schedule updates at a specific hour for precise timing control.Customizable health check paths: Specify custom paths for health checks and testing on a per-site basis, providing unparalleled flexibility. Granular schedule pausing: Pause individual update schedules for targeted control, a feature not offered by other hosts.Detailed logging: Comprehensive logging of update activities, including successes, failures, and rollbacks, ensures transparency and accountability.Faster setup: Our setup process is lightning-fast, with no need for extra information collection or onboarding.How to get started

Creating a schedule for plugin updates is fast and convenient:

Install your desired plugins on a Creator or Entrepreneur site. (Plugins included in our plan offerings or purchased through the WordPress.com Marketplace are kept up-to-date by WordPress.com and do not need to be scheduled.)Navigate to the Updates Manager: Plugins → Scheduled Updates. (Click here to visit the multisite update manager.)Click “Add new schedule” and select your desired update frequency.Choose the plugins you’d like to include in the schedule.Click “Create” to activate your schedule.

For more details, visit our Update a Plugin or Theme support page.

Take control of your plugin updates 

Click here to get started with a free hosting trial and experience the peace of mind that comes with scheduled updates.

Stay tuned for more enhancements coming soon, including the ability to create update schedules for multiple sites at once and many more features.

Create your first schedule

3 Ways for WordPress Devs, Agencies, and Freelancers to Prepare for 2025

It may be hard to believe, but we’re nearly halfway through 2024, which means it’s not too early to start thinking ahead to next year. In this Build and Beyond video, Jamie Marsland speaks with Nick Diego, a Developer Relations Advocate and Core Contributor at WordPress.org, about ensuring you’re prepared for the exciting developments in store for WordPress in 2025. 

Ready to get going? Click below to embark on your free trial today:

WordPress.com/Jamie

Hot Off the Press: New WordPress.com Themes for May 2024

The WordPress.com team is always working on new design ideas to bring your website to life. Check out the latest themes in our library, including great options for bloggers, visual designers, and art aficionados.

All WordPress.com ThemesFewer

Fewer is perfect for showcasing portfolios and blogs. With a clean, minimalist design, it offers excellent typography and style variations that make it easy to present your work or business. Fewer is highly versatile, offering a range of customizable options that allow you to tailor your site to your exact needs.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

Ron

Ron is a theme that’s laser-focused on delivering an exceptional reading experience. It’s set apart by its offset post layout and sticky navigation. We’ve also intentionally omitted a header, allowing readers to dive straight into the content without distractions.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

Texty

Texty isn’t just another blog theme, it’s a celebration of pure, unadulterated storytelling. This theme dances to its own beat by relying entirely on post excerpts on the homepage to captivate and intrigue. A remix of the beloved Issue theme, Texty can also bring a burst of color to your blogging with its vibrant variations in blue, maroon, burgundy, and neon green. Whether you’re sharing tales of adventure, pouring out your thoughts, or spinning poetry, this theme provides the perfect backdrop for your journey. Let your creativity run wild and let your words shine, because with Texty, your stories are the stars of the show.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

Fontaine

Fontaine is a dynamic portfolio and personal profile theme that celebrates minimalist design and Brutalist aesthetics. Created especially with visual designers in mind, Fontaine gracefully steps back, allowing your work to shine and captivate your audience. With a strikingly simple yet dynamically elegant design, Fontaine’s dramatic font scale and transparent header (check out the demo to see this in action!) blend seamlessly to create compelling contrasts and modern sophistication. At its heart, Fontaine invites you to showcase your work and share your story with confidence.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

Surrealist

Inspired by the iconic art movement, Surrealist merges clarity with a touch of whimsy, capturing the essence of Surrealism in every pixel. In our font pairing of PT Sans with Kame, we’ve set the tone for an immersive, delight-inducing experience.

As you navigate the front page, you’ll encounter the statement-making site title, inviting you to explore further into the quirky atmosphere of Surrealist. With distinctive design treatments and blocks that spark the imagination, Surrealist invites you to unleash your creativity and embark on a journey of self-expression.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

To install any of the above themes, click the name of the theme you like, which brings you right to the installation page. Then click the “Activate this design” button. You can also click “Open live demo,” which brings up a clickable, scrollable version of the theme for you to preview.

Premium themes are available to use at no extra charge for customers on the Explorer plan or above. Partner themes are third-party products that can be purchased for $99/year each on the Creator plan and above.

You can explore all of our themes by navigating to the “Themes” page, which is found under “Appearance” in the left-side menu of your WordPress.com dashboard. Or you can click below:

All WordPress.com Themes

How to Build Man. United’s Grid Layout Homepage

Manchester United currently stand eighth in the table, but at least they have a beautiful card layout on their website. In today’s Build and Beyond video, Jamie Marsland attempts to build this unique layout using WordPress.com.

Grid functionality is coming to WordPress 6.6, but it’s actually available on WordPress.com right now. Test it out, and let us know what you think.

Ready to get going? Click below to embark on your free trial today:

WordPress.com/Jamie

The Best Way to Quickly Build a Beautiful WordPress Website

There’s no better way to quickly build a WordPress website than with patterns, whether you’re a seasoned pro using patterns to quickly mock up wireframes or a dabbling hobbyist using them for your finished product. In today’s Build and Beyond video, Jamie Marsland shows you how to use patterns to build your site with WordPress blocks.

Ready to get going? Click below to embark on your free trial today:

WordPress.com/Jamie

Font Freedom: Unleash Creative Typography on Your WordPress.com Site

A website speaks to its visitors not only through its content and imagery, but also with its typography. A carefully selected font can set the site’s tone, convey emotion, and leave a lasting impression. 

With the new Font Library on WordPress.com, you can now upload custom typography without the hassle of coding or the limitations of plugins. It’s not just about choosing fonts; it’s about effortlessly crafting an experience for your visitors. 

Available on WordPress.com sites with the Creator or Entrepreneur plan, the Font Library allows you to manage your site’s typography in one place. Installing, removing, and activating or deactivating fonts across your entire site is a breeze. 

To access the Font Library, head to the Site Editor and open the “Styles” side panel. Once there, select “Typography” and select the settings icon next to the “Fonts” heading.

Once in the Font Library, you will see the list of available fonts for your site: those that come with your theme, as well as any custom fonts you have installed. 

There are two ways to install fonts: 

Manually upload the font files from the “Upload” tabConnect to Google Fonts on the “Install Fonts” tab, then download any selected fonts to your site

In addition to this high-level customization, the Font Library also provides granular control of the font weights that you’d like to enable, minimizing the effects on site speed because it’s only what you need that’s being loaded. 

Level up your site by adding that extra touch of typography personality by using the Font Library, no code or plugins needed. To learn more, check out the support article. 

The Top 5 AI-Powered Tools for WordPress Creatives

While AI tools offer great potential to streamline our creative processes, their proliferation has made it hard to know which specific tools are useful and which are more showy than practical. In today’s Build and Beyond video, Jamie Marsland walks us through his five favorite AI-powered tools, including text-to-speech software, the best image generator on the market, and a great overview of Jetpack’s built-in AI Assistant.

Ready to get going? Click below to embark on your free trial today:

WordPress.com/Jamie

Here are AI-powered tools mentioned in the video:

Fontjoy

Generate font combinations with the click of a button.

Relume

From site description to an optimized sitemap in seconds.

Adobe Firefly

The best, most powerful image generator on the market.

Elevenlabs

Incredible text-to-speech conversion.

Jetpack AI Assistant

Powerful text creation and editing, built right into WordPress.com.

Hot Off the Press: New WordPress.com Themes for April 2024

The WordPress.com team is always working on new design ideas to bring your website to life. Check out the latest themes in our library, including great options for minimalist bloggers, retailers, and creatives of all stripes.

All WordPress.com ThemesAlter

Alter is a lean theme for bloggers that gets directly to the point, showing text-only posts right above the fold ornamented by a single image. The bold default color scheme plays against the minimalist content design for a fun and surprising aesthetic. And, of course, you can always change those default styles if pink and purple aren’t your thing.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

Swag

As you might have gathered from the name of this sharp new theme, Swag is built with product sales in mind from the very start. This theme boasts a minimalist design aesthetic, ensuring your products take center stage. While Swag is perfect for fashion boutiques, its versatility knows no bounds. Whether you’re selling apparel, accessories, or even digital goods, this theme provides the perfect canvas for your unique brand identity.

Built with WooCommerce compatibility at its core, Swag ensures a seamless shopping experience for your customers. From product pages to checkout, every step is optimized for maximum conversion.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

Stage

Stage is where artistic expression meets simplicity and is a new go-to WordPress.com theme for artists and creatives. Its simple yet powerful interface allows for easy content organization, while the elegant two-column grid layout beautifully highlights your work. With seamless mobile responsiveness and a focus on readability, Stage lets your creativity take center stage (sorry, we just had to!).

Powered by the Inter Tight font and a subtle duotone color palette, this theme exudes authenticity and raw creativity. Personalize your site effortlessly with included color variations.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

Roam

Roam invites bloggers, travelers, and creatives to embark on a seamless journey of storytelling. With its captivating full-page cover photo and sleek one-column layout, Roam offers a canvas for your unique voice and vision. Tailor your blog effortlessly with customizable fonts, colors, and layouts and let your best work shine with Roam’s featured article showcase. Built-in SEO optimization ensures global visibility and searchability.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

Boxed Bio

Boxed Bio heralding a new era of dynamic expression in the “link in bio” category of themes. Through an artful arrangement of column blocks adorned in vibrant hues and captivating images, Boxed Bio transforms simple links into enduring and inspiring narratives. With its three column groups, each a canvas for visual storytelling, and jazzy typography choices this invites you to unleash your creativity. These aren’t just links, after all, they are doorways to possibility.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

To install any of the above themes, click the name of the theme you like, which brings you right to the installation page. Then click the “Activate this design” button. You can also click “Open live demo,” which brings up a clickable, scrollable version of the theme for you to preview.

Premium themes are available to use at no extra charge for customers on the Explorer plan or above. Partner themes are third-party products that can be purchased for $79/year each.

You can explore all of our themes by navigating to the “Themes” page, which is found under “Appearance” in the left-side menu of your WordPress.com dashboard. Or you can click below:

All WordPress.com Themes