Issue #63 - WP Wednesdays
Welcome to Issue #63 of WP Wednesdays!
Last week there was just a WordPress News update and no main message due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
I didn't push or promote my services/newsletters last week as it was a time of reflection. It was also a bit hectic as well with client work.
This week, regular services resume as we look at a new wave of WooCommerce Managed Hosting and two special mentions.
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A Week in WordPress
What a week in WordPress it has been!
So much has happened (it usually does), but if you use WooCommerce, you will find this week's newsletter very interesting.
If you use WooCommerce, Elementor or any hosting companies below, "hit reply" I would love to hear your thoughts.
Elementor and Fiverr
Elementor recently updated to add an advertisement within the "Site Settings" for Fiverr.
They then quickly updated the plugin again with the following single line in their changelog:
"Fix: Replaced link for better clarity in Site Settings."
This introduction hasn't gone down well within the community.
You can read my thoughts on this and why it's not good in my tweet and my replies to Paul's tweet.
(The replies in each tweet conversation above are also worth reading.)
I do understand why Elementor has done this, but I still don't think it's a good thing.
WooCommerce Managed Hosting
Last week was a big week for WooCommerce, with several hosts announcing new Managed WooCommerce hosting plans.
Interestingly though, WP Tavern (owned by Automattic) did not feel the need to cover this.
But they did cover the SiteGround story at the bottom of this email, and I have a theory.
Liquid Web was perhaps the first to market with its offering a couple of years ago, but it has "seemingly" never gained traction/fame.
(Liquid Web have iterated their Managed WooCommerce Hosting since launch)
WP Engine
For now, this announcement has caught my attention the most.
WP Engine is going all in at the moment with FSE and Blocks, and why not? They have some incredible people working for them.
This Managed WooCommerce Hosting plan is a true offering like GoDaddy and Pagely below, but WP Engine differentiates on:
- Product Search (a big weakness in WooCommerce)
- Live Cart (cart caching, another big weakness in WooCommerce)
- Custom eCommerce Blocks
The Elastic Search integration and the cart fragment caching have piqued my interest.
Managed WooCommerce Hosts will all need differentiation, and the focus on blocks, too (custom blocks), is fascinating.
Pagely and GoDaddy Pro
Powered by Pagely (excellent) and delivered by GoDaddy Pro, this offering looks very interesting:
- In a preview for US customers
- 30-day free trial
- Access to Sky Verge plugins
- Rivals Shopify features
- Combined selling marketplace (e.g. Amazon, eBay, Etsy)
BlueHost
I think this is a faux managed service (at least initially), and it will not have the performance infrastructure of Pagely.
In reality, this service is more about free access to premium plugins acquired by Newfold:
- Yoast
- Yith plugin suite (colossal value)
- Combined selling marketplace (e.g. Amazon, eBay, Etsy)
Bluehost's offering makes sense because Newfold acquired it, but at the same time (my limited experience with them for clients has been awful, and I regularly see complaints).
Before You Go...SiteGround
Don't worry. I'm not here to talk about SiteGround again.
They have launched a new Managed EDD Hosting plan.
WP Tavern covers this in more detail, but in short, I think it's a smart move, but equally (at least for now), it's nothing unique (...yet).
It's an interesting announcement from SiteGround. Particularly with all other hosts announcing WooCommerce Managed Hosting.
I think SiteGround knows they can't compete with the others (at least at the moment), so they will try and carve out their niche.
Looking at the details, though, apart from pre-installing some (Awesome Motive) plugins, there is nothing different to their current hosting stack.
(This is closer to what Bluehost is doing with WooCommerce, Yith and Yoast and nothing compared to what Pagely/GoDaddy Pro and WP Engine are doing.)
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Feedback
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This Week in WordPress
Dig in and enjoy this week's resources. If you run a blog about WordPress and want a link featured, reply to this email.
- WooCommerce 6.9 - Released, High-Performance Order Storage Targeted for 7.1. (WP Tavern)
- WP Cloud - Launched by Automattic. WP Cloud is an opportunity for hosting companies to leverage a WordPress-first cloud platform. (Automattic)
- iThemes Security Pro v7.2 - New! Passkeys with Biometric Logins for WordPress are Here in iThemes Security Pro. (iThemes)
- BuddyPress - Plugin Usage Declining, Remaining Contributors Discuss Path Forward. (WP Tavern)
- Matt Mullenweg's - WordCamp US Q&A session (The WP Minute)
- Doofinder - Launches brand new Product Recommendations for WooCommerce. Cross-sell, Up-sell and Product Carousel. (Doofinder)
- Gutenberg 14.1 -Improves Navigation Block, Adds Experimental Zoomed-Out View. (WP Tavern)
If you have a question about this week's email, WordPress, WooCommerce or a related topic you would like me to cover, hit that reply link, and I will answer you as soon as possible.
Until next time,
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