Earlier this month, Dave, one of our WordPress Gurus (developers) at Clear ‘attended’ one of this year’s virtual WordCamps, which are informal, community-organized events that are put together by fellow WordPress users. Naturally, we asked him if he could pass on some of the points he found most interesting, and this is what he came back with:
The Release of PHP8
PHP 8 will be released at the end of the year, which looks like it will be a nice speed bump for websites. The developers of PHP 8 use WordPress sites to runs checks on what gets faster.
Website dark modes
Dark mode is a common feature on most phones and computers today, and this is now being expanded to websites. This will work by websites ‘knowing’ if a visitor has dark mode selected, and consequently displaying a dark version of the site instead. It will be a really neat way to switch between light and dark versions of designs.
A shift of new merchants
Many eCommerce sites that are direct to consumers (DTC), using WordPress and WooCommerce are becoming very specialised, selling only a few items. These sites are becoming less about displaying catalogs and carts and more about showing stories.
New block editor provides flexibility and ‘storytelling’
The design of sites within WordPress will be moving towards more flexibility and storytelling with the new block editor. This gives admin users the option of more art direction with their content. The block editor will be something that will be getting more prominence in WordPress over the rest of this year and onwards.
Inclusivity is increasing
The more interesting talks were about accessibility and how being inclusive is something that affects everyone. Accessibility is also something that is never 100% done. You can take a look in more detail on this subject here
- Accessibility: digital transformation or social digital transformation
- Towards universal design through accessibility, usability and inclusion
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