Themes team meeting agenda for November 08, 2022

The themes team conducts a meeting on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. This month’s second meeting is on the 25th of October.

The meeting takes place in the #themereview channel on WordPress SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. and you need an account to participate.

Channel: #themereview | Time: Tuesday, November 08 2022, 15:00 UTC

Along with the fixed agendas, we have an open floor at the end where you can ask or share anything related to themes.

We encourage all members, and anyone interested to attend. You can also add your agenda in the comment section below.

Meeting agenda

  1. Weekly updates
  2. Help on fixing issues on the Theme Handbook.
  3. Open floor

#agenda, #meeting, #themes-team

Meeting notes from the 9th of July 2019

The meeting started with a quick round of updates. There is still no resolution about the trusted authors (TA) issues.
After that we started discussing the proposed meeting agendas.

The following is the recap of the meeting, you can read the meeting transcript in the slack archives (a Slack account is required).

Docs team discussion about the theme developer handbook

There was a discussion on the #docs slackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. channel about handover of the theme developer handbook to the TRT.
The idea is to have a single responsible person from the TRT team that will take care of the developer handbook for the themes. This means updating it with new requirements and keeping it up to date in general.

It was agreed that the person in charge of the theme developer handbook will be @acalfieri, who is an experienced reviewer and has been an active member of TRT for a long time.
Of course, if there will be interested volunteers to help you can always ask in the slack channel.

AccessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) (a11yAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility)) requirements

In the accessibility team meeting it was proposed to add some of the requirements from the themes which use accessibility-ready tag to standard themes in the repository.

The emphasis is on making the themes easier to use, especially for the people with certain types of disabilities.
The proposal included incorporating the keyboard navigation, control, skip link, and form labelling requirements from the existing accessibility-ready requirements.

This is the first step in making all themes in wordpress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ repository accessible.

The changed requirement wouldn’t encompass all the accessibility-ready requirements to be present on the standard themes, nor would it automatically make them accessibility-ready, but by incorporating one by one requirements, through longer time period, the idea is to encourage theme authors to write accessible themes out of the box.

It was agreed that the skip links requirement from the accessibility part will be moved to the required section of the review handbook, and that the team will implement new a11y requirement every two months. This will give theme authors enough time to make their themes more accessible.

Removing Demo Content from the theme

It was already agreed with removing demo content files (xml, json or some other format) from the themes. But there needs to be alternative to that.

It was agreed that the requirement should be updated with following to make it more clear:

Importing or Downloading:


Themes are not allowed to import content to a user’s site.
Themes are not allowed to link directly to an XML, JSONJSON JSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, is a minimal, readable format for structuring data. It is used primarily to transmit data between a server and web application, as an alternative to XML., ZIP, or other file for direct download or import.
Themes are not allowed to bundle demo content via an XML, JSON, ZIP, or other file.

Also, a meeting will be held in the #design slack channel about updating the wordpress.org previewer content which can then be used as a starting content for the developers to develop their themes.

Theme generated notices

All the notifications generated by a theme should use the admin_notices APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. and follow the CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. design pattern. They must be dismissible. Everything wrapped in the admin notice needs to follow Core UIUI UI is an acronym for User Interface - the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing. design for the notices.

This will be a requirement on all the themes.

Open floor discussions

There was a mention of the tool that can help reviewers review a theme – WPTRT-Cloud-Launcher. It’s a Chrome extension that launches a cloud instance that comes pre-configured with the theme and theme snifferTheme Sniffer Theme Sniffer is a plugin utilizing custom sniffs for PHP_CodeSniffer that statically analyzes your theme and ensures that it adheres to WordPress coding conventions, as well as checking your code against PHP version compatibility. The plugin is available from GitHub. Themes are not required to pass the Theme Sniffer scan without warnings or errors to be included in the theme directory./check plugins installed.

#meeting, #meeting-notes, #trt

Testing and Feedback for using block based template parts in classic themes

This post was a collaboration between @greenshady @mamaduka @fabiankaegy @annezazu

GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ 14.1, coming September 15th, enables the ability to use blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. template parts without adopting everything that comes with block templates. Using this functionality, you can do things like allow a user to edit and build a headerHeader The header of your site is typically the first thing people will experience. The masthead or header art located across the top of your page is part of the look and feel of your website. It can influence a visitor’s opinion about your content and you/ your organization’s brand. It may also look different on different screen sizes. with blocks without exposing them to the entire block template system. This offers a new gradual adoption pathway for folks with classic or hybrid themes and new ways to explore full site editing features for agencies that need testing and feedback ahead of WordPress 6.1’s release on November 1st.

For more information around larger gradual adoption pathways, please review the converting a classic theme to a block theme handbook page. For information around how to curate the experience further while still allowing new abilities to edit template parts, please review the curating the editor experience handbook page.

Overview

Gradual adoption options remains a focus for the project and, increasingly, there are more ways to adopt parts rather than the whole of a feature coming to the latest version of WordPress. The aim is to allow folks to adopt what they need as they are ready in a way that is still future forward. In this case, once the feature is enabled, users will see a new “Template Parts” menu visible under “Appearance,” which displays a list of template parts. From there, all theme blocks are available, but the environment is inherently limited compared to block themes. For example, users can edit existing template parts but not delete them or create new ones.

WP Admin interface with the Appearance menu open highlighting the new template parts section.

For a sense of how one could adopt this feature, here are a few examples to get creativity flowing:

  • Offering a header template part that allows a user to set a video or image background, set duotone colors, change the focal point, and more without altering the positioning of the blocks within (navigation, site title, etc).
  • Providing the ability to edit parts of a footer directly, like location and hours of operations, while keeping the structural blocks locked down to preserve the design.
  • Adding a more open ended header template part that allows for any and all block movement/removal/etc but curates the experience with certain design tools disabled for certain blocks and offering default colors that match the broader theme style.

How to test

In order to enable this feature a theme first needs to specify block-template-parts theme support and to use Gutenberg trunk or Gutenberg 14.1 when it’s released on September 15th, 2022. You can also follow these instructions to use the specific PR that implemented this feature.

With that theme support added a theme can now add block-based template parts by placing htmlHTML HTML is an acronym for Hyper Text Markup Language. It is a markup language that is used in the development of web pages and websites. files containing the block template into the parts directory inside the root of the theme.

function add_block_template_part_support() {
    add_theme_support( 'block-template-parts' );
}

add_action( 'after_setup_theme', 'add_block_template_part_support' );

These block-based template parts can now be used in the traditional PHPPHP PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. http://php.net/manual/en/intro-whatis.php. templates by using the block_template_part function. This function returns the markup of the template part which then needs to get output.

If a theme author wanted to make the site footer available to edit as a template part, they would create a footer.html file and place it within their theme’s /parts folder.  The following code snippet is an example of what the template part would look like:

<!-- wp:group {"layout":{"inherit":true}} -->
<div class="wp-block-group">
	<!-- wp:group {"style":{"spacing":{"padding":{"top":"80px","bottom":"30px"}}}} -->
	<div class="wp-block-group" style="padding-top:80px;padding-bottom:30px">
		<!-- wp:paragraph {"align":"center"} -->
		<p class="has-text-align-center">Proudly Powered by <a href="https://wordpress.org" rel="nofollow">WordPress</a></p>
		<!-- /wp:paragraph -->
	</div>
	<!-- /wp:group -->
</div>
<!-- /wp:group -->

To display the part on the front end, the theme would include it in its top-level templates, such as index.php, single.php, and others via the block_template_part() function with a reference to the part name.  In the case of a site footer, this code would replace the call to get_footer() in most themes.

<?php block_template_part( 'footer' ); ?>

Advanced testing

While this feature is currently aimed at providing options for themes, plugins can also explore extending this functionality to enable the same UIUI UI is an acronym for User Interface - the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing. for users. If you explore extending this feature via a pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party, please share what blockers, bugs, and enhancements you’d like to see to help shape future work in this area.

Leave your feedback in the comments 

The following are some questions to keep in mind and answer:

  • Did the Template Parts menu appear under Appearance? 
  • Were you able to properly define a template part and see it appear under Appearance > Template Parts?
  • When you edited a template part, did the changes properly reflect on the front end of the site? 
  • Are there missing features or options that would improve this experience as a developer?
  • What did you find frustrating or confusing about the feature?
  • Are there things you particularly appreciated about it?

Please share any and all feedback in the comments.

#testing

Themes Team Meeting Notes – October 25, 2022

Hello everyone. The meeting notes are from the themes review team discussion on October 25, 2022. The themes team meets second and fourth Tuesday of every month at 15:00 UTC.

This week’s meeting agendas can be found here. As it is a rescheduled meeting, we revisited the same topics from the previous agendas. Thank you, @kafleg, for preparing the agenda. The meeting facilitator & Notetaker @Benachi. You can read the full transcript on our #themereview channel. 

1. Weekly updates

The themes team published weekly updates about tickets and HelpScout emails. Here is the theme statistic for the past 7 days. The most current stats can be found here.

  • 370 tickets were opened
  • 395 tickets were closed:
    • 380 tickets were made live.
      • 38 new Themes were made live.
      • 342 Theme updates were made live.
      • 0 more was approved but is waiting to be made live.
    • 14 tickets were not-approved.
    • 1 ticket was closed-newer-version-uploaded.

Number of reviewers: 2

BlockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. Themes Stats 

  • 15 block themes went live in the past 7 days.
  • Total 164 block themes in the repository. 

2. WordPress 6.1 Release CandidateRelease Candidate A beta version of software with the potential to be a final product, which is ready to release unless significant bugs emerge. 2 (RC2) Now Available

WordPress 6.1 Release Candidate 2 (RC2) is now available for testing. Approximately 65 items have been addressed since RC1. Please help us with testing before the official release scheduled on November 1st, 2022. You can find more detail at this link

3. Theme style variations in the themes repository

The theme directory has been updated with the style variations. Users can see the style variations prior to downloading the theme. You can see it in action here

4. Open Floor

We have 30+ issues on the Theme Handbook. Any help can be greatly appreciated it. Thank you, @nielslange and @poena, for going over the handbook. 

#meeting-notes, #themes-team

Themes Team Meeting Notes – September 27, 2022

Hello everyone. The meeting notes are from the themes team discussion on September 27, 2022. The themes team meets second and fourth Tuesday of every month at 15:00 UTC.

This week’s meeting agendas can be found here. As it is a rescheduled meeting, we revisited the same topics from the previous agendas. Thank you, @kafleg, for preparing the agenda. The meeting facilitator & Notetaker @Benachi. You can read the full transcript on our #themereview channel. 

1. Weekly updates

The themes team published weekly updates about tickets and HelpScout emails. Here is the theme statistic for the past 7 days. The most current stats can be found here.

  • 386 tickets were opened
  • 392 tickets were closed:
    • 376 tickets were made live.
      • 47 new Themes were made live.
      • 329 Theme updates were made live.
      • 0 more was approved but is waiting to be made live.
    • 15 tickets were not-approved.
    • 1 ticket was closed-newer-version-uploaded.

Number of reviewers: 2

BlockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. Themes

  • 12 block themes went live in the past 7 days.
  • Total 150 block themes in the repository. 

2. Celebrating 10,000 themes in the repository 

We now have over 10,000 themes in the WordPress repository. Thank you, all theme authors, reviewers, and current and former theme team members, for your contributions.

3. Testing Full-Width Blocks and Root Padding 

The root padding issue for the Full-width blocks has been fixed and will land in WordPress 6.1. You can find more information at this link.

5. WordCamps contributor dayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/. sharing (WCUS and WCKTM) 

@daisyo shared her experience at the contributor day at WCUS. You can find more about the contributor day in this recap post by @amethystanswers

@kafleg shared his experience at WordCamp Kathmandu. You can find more about it here. 

6. Changing the “Full site editing” theme tag to “Site Editor.”

@poena suggested changing “Full Site Editing” to “Site Editor,” reflecting the WordPress project moving away from the Full Site Editor. As there was no feedback during the meeting, @kafleg suggested moving the conversation by creating a metaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. ticket.

7. Open Floor

No questions or comments related to the theme review were brought up during the open floor. 

Thank you, @anoopd @alberuni-azad @rudlinkon @bijayyadav @daisyO and @greenshady, for participating.