Themes Team Meeting Notes – March 25, 2023

Hello everyone 👋

The meeting notes are from the themes review team discussion on March 25, 2023. The themes team meets second and fourth Tuesday of every month at 15:00 UTC.

  • This week’s meeting agendas can be found here
  • The meeting agenda prepared by – @kafleg
  • Meeting facilitator – @kafleg
  • Notes taker – @kafleg
  • Full transcript – #themereview channel

1. Weekly updates

In the past 7 days,

  • 488 tickets were opened
  • 486 tickets were closed
    • 475 tickets were made live.
      • 23 new Themes were made live.
      • 452 Theme updates were made live.
      • 0 more were approved but are waiting to be made live.
    • 11 tickets were not-approved.
    • 0 tickets were closed-newer-version-uploaded.

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. theme stats,

  • 15 Block themes are currently reviewing
  • We have 285 Block Themes in the themes repository.
  • 5 Block themes live in the past 7 days.

Note: These stats include both the new theme tickets and updated theme tickets as well.

You can also find the weekly updates here.

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.

Number of theme reviewers: 2  (@kafleg@acosmin)

2. Open Floor

During the open floor, @kafleg shared the community theme link which is submitted on WordPress TracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.https://core.trac.wordpress.org/. for review. It is currently under review and you can also check the theme that is developed by the community.

We only have 2 days left to share your feedback or comment on the Theme Handbook Overhaul Proposal. The last date is 28th April. Make sure you’ll check the proposal and give your valuable feedback and suggestions.

@Kuckovic joined the themes team meeting for the first time and we welcomed him.

Except that, there is nothing discussed in the last meeting and it was short and sweet.

Props to the meeting attendees: @Kuckovic, @bgardner, @mhamal, @mikachan, @Fitehal for joining the meeting.

#meeting-notes, #themes-team

Themes team meeting agenda for April 25, 2023

The themes team meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. This month’s second meeting is on the 25th of April.

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, April 25, 2023, 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

  • Weekly updates
  • Open Floor

1. Weekly updates

Theme Tickets and Help Scout updates

Current statistics can be found on: https://themes.trac.wordpress.org/ 

Themes TracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.https://core.trac.wordpress.org/. ticket graph: https://themes.trac.wordpress.org/ticketgraph

Check regular weekly updates here.

2. Open floor

We will discuss everything related to themes. Attendees can ask or share theme-related things.

Please comment in the comment box below if you have anything to bring up during the open floor.

#agenda, #meeting, #themes-team

Themes Team Meeting Notes – April 11, 2023

Hello everyone.

The meeting notes are from the themes review team discussion on April 11, 2023. The themes team meets second and fourth Tuesday of every month at 15:00 UTC.

  • This week’s meeting agendas can be found here
  • The meeting agenda prepared by – @kafleg
  • Meeting facilitator – @kafleg
  • Notes taker – @kafleg
  • Full transcript – #themereview channel

1. Weekly updates

In the past 7 days, (All themes stats)

  • 570 tickets were opened
  • 580 tickets were closed
  • 569 tickets were made live.
    • 534 Theme updates were made live.
    • 35 new Themes were made live.
  • 0 more were approved but are waiting to be made live.
  • 11 tickets were not-approved.
  • 0 tickets were closed-newer-version-uploaded.

In the past 7 days, (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. Theme Stats)

  • 9 Block themes are currently reviewing
  • We have 275 Block Themes in the themes repository.
  • 6 Block themes live in the past 7 days.

Last week theme reviewers: @acosmin, @kafleg, @rabmalin

Thank you @williampatton for saying “I just want to say it really is nice to see numbers like these. Nearly every theme uploaded gets through approval. Every theme uploaded gets looked at and an answer within a week.”

@kafleg mention that he is looking for help reviewing the 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) part of a few themes and @williampatton was interested to help.

And during the meeting, we cheer @acosmin for reviewing 4000+ themes so far. Thank you a lot for your contribution.

2. Theme Handbook Overhaul Proposal

There was not much discussion happened in the meeting. But, we’ll have a dedicated meeting for this proposal on #themereview channel at 13:00 UTC on April 18. I would like to request everyone to participate in the meeting and help us to finalize the outline. Or, if you can’t make it, please leave a comment on the post or in the document.

@greenshady said, “It’d be great to get any feedback (negative or positive) on the direction, things you’d change, or whatever your thoughts are. Or, are there any questions about the proposal?”

He added, the biggest thing now is getting the outline to a stage that we all feel pretty good about. I think that will help us in the content phase. So, I definitely want folks to take some time to really think about how the handbook should flow from teaching someone who hasn’t ever built a theme before to building their first one. 

3. Review Theme Check 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 PRs

The theme check plugin is updated and thanks to everyone who helped to check PRs and also help on fixing the issues.

There are a few PRs left to merge. You can check them as well.

4. Open floor

During the open floor, @poena said, she is looking for someone who can troubleshoot the theme test data update. We want theme authors and users to check the data and post their findings in the comment.

Props to the meeting attendees: @greenshady, @williampatton, @Fitehal, @risager, @shrestharaaz, @bijayyadav

#meeting, #meeting-notes, #themes-team

Themes team meeting agenda for April 11, 2023

The themes team meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month. This month’s second meeting is on the 11th of April.

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, April 11, 2023, 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

  • Weekly updates
  • Theme Handbook Overhaul Proposal
  • Review Theme Check 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 PRs
  • Open Floor

1. Weekly updates

Theme Tickets and Help Scout updates

Current statistics can be found on: https://themes.trac.wordpress.org/ 

Themes TracTrac Trac is the place where contributors create issues for bugs or feature requests much like GitHub.https://core.trac.wordpress.org/. ticket graph: https://themes.trac.wordpress.org/ticketgraph

Check regular weekly updates here.

2. Theme Handbook Overhaul Proposal

Last week @greenshady wrote a post on the make themes blog about the theme handbook overhaul proposal. He wanted to discuss the proposed outline and get feedback from theme authors and users.

Join the themes team meeting and discuss and share your view as well.

3. Review Theme Check plugin PRs

We are looking for help testing the Theme Check plugin PRs. Check those PRs and comment findings. It will help us to maintain the plugin regularly.

3. Open floor

We will discuss everything related to themes. Attendees can ask or share theme-related things.

Please comment in the comment box below if you have anything to bring up during the open floor.

#agenda, #meeting, #themes-team

Theme Handbook Overhaul Proposal

The WordPress Theme Handbook has a lot of great content from numerous contributors over the years. It is filled with wisdom and experience learned from their trial, error, and work. For everyone who has volunteered their time to build this resource: thank you.

The problem with handbooks for ever-changing software is that they need a large re-tuning from time to time. The Theme Handbook has reached that point in its lifespan.

It was created during a time when classic themes were the only method of front-end design for WordPress. Much of its content now exists in a transitory state between classic and modern 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. theming. This has created a scenario where the handbook sometimes reads more like patchwork than if it were built with a single vision. That is often a natural result of adding new documentation over years.

The following is a proposal to give the Theme Handbook the refresh that the theming community deserves.

A New Handbook

Over the past several weeks, I have created an initial outline of what the Theme Handbook could look like. This was based on an analysis of the current content in the handbook and Codex and early feedback from the handbook reps. The outline is also forward-looking with the goal of creating a guide for theme creators in the coming years.

Read the outline document →

I want to stress that this outline is a starting point, a way to get some movement on the proposal. It is not set in stone. The goal is for the theming community to reshape it into something that helps everyone, including both first-time creators and seasoned developers. We may end up with something entirely different from the current outline document.

This proposal is to overhaul the entire Theme Handbook. That means that no idea is  too “crazy” during this stage. So, dream big and share your vision for what the handbook should be in the comments below.

With that in mind, it is important to set some dates and not leave this so open-ended that nothing moves forward. Therefore, the feedback period for the outline ends on April 28, 2023. That provides nearly a four-week period for us to work alongside each other to create an outline for a new theme handbook.

The outline proposal will be on the agenda for discussion during the Themes Team meeting on April 11, 2023 at 15:00 UTC. 

There will also be a dedicated meeting on April 18, 2023 at 13:00 UTC via the #themereview channel on 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/.. Everyone is welcome to join and discuss this proposal in detail.

Questions and (Some) Answers

How do I participate in the outlining process?

There are currently four ways to get involved:

  • Leave a comment on this post with your feedback and ideas.
  • Discuss during the Themes Team meeting on April 11, 2023 at 15:00 UTC via the #themereview Slack channel.
  • Join us for the outline proposal meeting on April 18, 2023 at 13:00 UTC via the #themereview Slack channel.
  • Make suggestions directly in the Google Doc for the outline.

What are the next steps after the outlining process?

In the upcoming meeting, we can start to define the next steps on following through with this proposal. This should include, at least, a new ticket on the Documentation Issue Tracker with an overarching plan.

Who will create the content for the handbook?

We all will. The Theme Handbook is and has always been a community project. The more people involved, the better the resource is for us all.

What will happen to existing content?

There is no reason to remove the content the handbook already has. There is a lot of great material there that we should carry forward. Some of it might need to be updated or reorganized, but that can be tackled during the next step. The goal at the moment is to primarily improve the overall outline and flow of the handbook.

Why are Classic Themes in a single chapter?

The goal of the outline was to explore the handbook from a modern perspective and one that will best serve creators in the coming years. It makes sense that the focus of the handbook should be on block theming, especially now that the Site Editor is out of betaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process.. Block themes are the present and future of WordPress. 

The outline also makes room for all of the existing content to be migrated to appropriate sections, much of it under a dedicated Classic Themes chapter. Classic theming isn’t disappearing, but the current handbook often makes for confusing reading jumping back and forth between classic and block theme examples.

Like the rest of the outline, this is 100% open for discussion.

What happens to permalinks with the current handbook?

I don’t have an answer for that yet. It would certainly be a part of whatever the final proposal becomes. Some ideas that have been thrown around so far have been a redirect solution or to create a “v2” of the handbook with the old version being archived in much the same way as the Codex still exists. I also don’t think that is a major concern until the outline is finished. It may be easier to simply incorporate new sections/pages into the existing handbook. Whatever the case, it’s best not to let this discussion deter us from creating a new vision.

In other words: let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.

Will there be a new design?

The handbook designs are outside the scope of the Themes and Documentation teams. The Design team has been routinely sharing what many of the pages of an upcoming redesign will look like via the #design-share tag. There is a definite need for a full overhaul of the design that works well for documentation-style pages. Anyone interested in that aspect should visit the Get Involved page of the Design Team handbook.

Props to @poena, @kafleg, and @juanmaguitar for their feedback on this proposal.

#theme-documentation