fidzu : wordpress

Elementor launched its Hello theme on WordPress.org this week. After just a few days in the directory, the theme already has more than 10,000 active installations. It is essentially a blank starter theme that offers 100% compatibility with Elementor.

Page builders with a large user base are in a unique position to influence the WordPress theme market. Loyal users will often select a page builder before choosing a theme from a limited pool of those that boast compatibility with their preferred plugin. Elementor is no exception, with more than 2 million installations and a 4.8-star average rating on WordPress.org.

Lately the trend with some of the most popular and intuitive WordPress themes is to offer a strong, niche design out of the box, where users don't have to make too many choices or fiddle with settings. Hello takes a different path, opeorating as more of a conduit to the Elementor page template library.

The theme's screenshot shows a home page designed in Elementor but the actual theme has very few styles and doesn't look like anything out of the box.

Once installed, the first step is to create a page and select "Edit in Elementor." From there users can select from a library of different landing page templates or start building their own layouts from scratch.

Hello is not a new theme. Elementor first released it on GitHub in March 2018. Hosting it on WordPress.org allows users to more easily install it and get automatic updates for improvements and security fixes.

"The plugin repository played a huge role in Elementor's exceptional growth, and we hold similar high hopes for the Hello theme," Elementor CMO Ben Pines said.

There are a few major drawbacks to using the Hello theme that may hinder its potential growth. Access to headers, footers, and widgets is restricted to Elementor Pro users. This seems like a confusing way to build a WordPress site and might be a useful detail to include in the theme's description on WordPress.org. If there's another way to access headers and footers without purchasing Elementor Pro, I wasn't able to find it.

WooCommerce store owners should be aware that the Hello theme does not yet offer comprehensive support for WooCommerce page styles. Although the release post advertises the theme as having "out-of-the-box" compatibility with WooCommerce, the store pages are bare bones and not very attractive. One user commented that the checkout and cart pages do not look very inviting and asked if it will be possible to edit fonts and colors with Elementor.

Elementor representative Matan Naveh responded to multiple concerns about WooCommerce support and said that full compatibility is still in development:

WooCommerce is a highly complex plugin and any pages that rely on its basic elements (e.g. Cart, My Account, Checkout, etc.) are even more so. The level of complexity is such that changes in something as routine as a WooCommerce update could cause havoc on a layout, resulting in a devastating effect on the webpage's functionality.

Currently, Elementor enables you to customize the areas surrounding the WooCommerce elements. Take the cart page, for example - You may not be able to customize the table itself, but you can customize the title or the area where the table is located. You can also insert your own images, backgrounds, and content according to your needs (e.g. adding an FAQ).

We are considering several options for achieving full compatibility with WooCommerce. But this is still in its development stages.

Some users who switched from the Astra theme, another one commonly used by Elementor users, have reported significant (50%) decreases in loading time on real world sites after switching to the Hello theme. Elementor claims that it is "the fastest WordPress theme ever created," but the comparison benchmarks posted don't include any themes that are known for high performance.

Elementor is working on creating a child theme for Hello. It is currently in development on GitHub and the team is working on getting it approved for WordPress.org.

The primary purpose of the Hello theme is to offer compatibility with the page builder, but it is not recommended for users who are not using Elementor.

23 May 2019 2:10am GMT

In this episode, John James Jacoby and I discuss an article published by Vox on how Slack is not improving productivity, especially in large team environments. We highlight what's new in WordPress 5.2.1, why libraries are important to the communities they serve, and new security features in WordPress 5.2. At the end of the show, we send a shoutout and good wishes to Marcel Bootsman who has begun his walk to WordCamp EU.

Stories Discussed:

WordPress 5.2.1 Released

The Productivity Pit: How Slack Is Ruining Work

Marcel Bootsman begins his walk to WCEU

WordPress 5.2 Improves the Security of Automatic Updates

Loveland Public Library to Host Free Beginners WordPress Class Online May 22, 2019

Transcript:

EPISODE 353 - Slack of Boundaries and A Walk to WCEU Transcript

WPWeekly Meta:

Next Episode: Wednesday, May 29th 3:00 P.M. Eastern

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Listen To Episode #353:

22 May 2019 10:47pm GMT

このエッセーは日本語でも読めます。

I have spent most of my adult life knowing WordPress. In November 2003, a few months after I discovered WordPress, I gave it a spin on my personal blog. A few months later, I started contributing in the form of translating WordPress core and documentation into Japanese.

Today, I make a living as a project and community manager in the field of translation & localization. I get to help people all over the world publish their voice online using their own language, while raising two kids in Tokyo, Japan. This is all thanks to WordPress, which showed me the brand new world of open source I never knew existed, and those who had given me the opportunity to participate in it.

Let me share my story about how WordPress has changed my life.

WordCamp Tokyo 2018 organizing team & volunteer staff

Discovering WordPress

I first found WordPress in the summer of 2003. At that time, with a degree in graphic design at a state university in the Midwest, I was working in a field that had nothing to do with design or web. The small web marketing company I joined after graduation couldn't make it through the dot com bubble. When I moved back to the U.S. with my then-husband for him to go back to graduate school in Detroit, I couldn't re-enter the field because of my lack of experience. I settled with a temp in-house translator/admin assistant position at an automotive company to financially support the household. You could say it was a practical choice. Or, to put it frankly, I just gave up and went with the demand for the clerical job with Japanese skill.

The good thing that came out of it was that I had plenty of time after work. My ex-husband had to study all day, and my temp job was precisely 9-5. Every night, we rarely watched T.V. or went out but headed for our computers. I worked on my own website and sometimes friend's site for a fee, using just HTML and a little bit of CSS. Back then, reading blogs written by web designers was the best way to follow up-to-date news and techniques of frontend development.

Inspired by those blogs in both English and Japanese, I decided to start mine. I published my first post on a Movable Type blog in April 2003. I wrote almost every day for a few months. Then as I was getting frustrated with some aspects of Movable Type, I tried several blog engines including WordPress.

With WordPress, the process of customizing blog design through edits to PHP files was straightforward and enjoyable, so I got addicted to working with WordPress right away. I almost had no experience beyond HTML and CSS before then, but I was surprised that I was able to create a dynamic site myself.

My blog design between 2003-2019

Translating WordPress

In November 2003, I re-launched my blog using WordPress. In December, I learned that there was a person named Otsukare who made a Japanese version of WordPress. This fork of WordPress, called "WordPress ME (Multilingual Edition)", had the first comprehensive WordPress resource site in Japanese, with documentation Wiki and phpBB forums. Through the forum, I started helping him with translating documentation from English to Japanese.

WordPress stayed as a relatively minor blog tool/CMS in Japan for years, but that didn't change the fact that it was a piece of software that I really enjoyed using. I kept translating Codex, participated in theme competitions, and helping others on the forums. It was the first time for me to experience being part of an open source community and working together with people I've never met in person (and without being paid!).

What kept me going was the feeling that I'm part of something bigger. I loved using WordPress, and it was exciting that I could help spread the word. WordPress community gave me a chance to work with people around the world - years before "remote work" was a universally recognized word. There were no free voice/video chat applications, no Slack, but the interpersonal connections have grown deeper because everyone in the community was centered around a tool to deliver your voices to others far from reach.

WordPress Polyglots at #WCEU contributor day, translating to so many languages! Thank you for coming! pic.twitter.com/bGvnfTIBYI

- WordCamp Europe (@WCEurope) June 26, 2016

Organizing WordCamp Tokyo

In 2007, I went to WordCamp San Francisco and had a short conversation with Matt Mullenweg. I vaguely remember my question - something like "I love WordPress, and I want to help spread it more in Japan. What should I do?" But I still clearly remember his answer.

"You should do a WordCamp."

Although it probably was just a casual suggestion since we happened to be at a WordCamp, that idea stayed with me. That short interaction was no doubt the initial trigger of our first WordCamp in Japan, a year later. I was living in the U.S., but that really didn't matter. Japanese WordPress translators, developers, and users who knew each other through the forums and blogs all worked together to run WordCamp Tokyo 2008.

WordCamp Tokyo 2008. Photo credit: Odyssey

Career and Leadership

My career also changed dramatically between 2006 and 2009.

Because I gained general blog template customization skills through working with WordPress, freelance work started to come in. I also had the opportunity to write WordPress books in Japanese. Thanks to WordPress, I was able to learn and practice the idea of ​​Web Standards. My ability to write solid markups was valued, and I got my first full-time technical job as a frontend engineer at an ad agency in a suburb of Detroit.

In April 2009, I started as a part-time Happiness Engineer (customer support for WordPress.com) at Automattic, then in 2010 offered a full-time position. Since then, my role had evolved into the field of localization, and I'm happy to tell you that my 10th anniversary is coming up soon.

In the past few years, I've taken up some more global responsibilities within the WordPress community, such as one of the Global Mentors for the Polyglots Team, and lead organizer of WordPress Translation Day 4. Most recently, I was selected as the global leader of the first WordCamp Asia (planned for 2020 in Bangkok, Thailand).

Growing and Giving Back

The WordPress community taught me so much.

• Keep making efforts in good faith and results will follow.
• It takes time to build trust.
• Everyone has the potential to grow.
• You can't ignore diversity so might as well embrace it.

Sometimes the process of gaining such new insights was painful, but I still feel I'm lucky to have been given challenges that made me grow.

To give back, I want to continue helping communities outside of the English speaking world. I believe that's the most powerful thing I can do to remove the barriers on the web and the vast world that it touches.

Tokyo WordPress Meetup / WordPress Translation Day 4

WordPress を通して成長できたという話

高野直子

WordPress のことを知ったのは、約16年前でした。

その数カ月後には元持っていたブログを WordPress に切り替え、さらにまた数カ月後には現在も続いている WordPress への翻訳という形での貢献を始めることになりました。振り返ると、社会人になってからほとんどの年数を、WordPress とともに過ごしてきたわけです。

私が現在東京で子育てをしながらグローバルかつ柔軟な環境で働くことができるのは、新しい世界を見せてくれ、機会を与えてくれた WordPress の存在のおかげです。

今こうやって、「WordPress との関わりが自分と周りの『バリア』を破ったこと」というテーマで記事を書かせてもらうにあたって思いを巡らせてみると、本当にこのソフトウェアと出会わなければまったく違う人生を歩んでいただろうなと思います。多くの人たちにもめぐりあうことはなかっただろうし、仕事はもちろん、住んでもいる場所も違っていたかもしれない。

そんな、私にとってとても大きな存在の WordPress が、迷える20代を過ごしていた自分をどんなふうに変えてくれたかのお話をしようと思います。

WordPress との出会い

私が WordPress を知ったのは、2003年の春か夏頃でした。その頃の私はというと、高校留学後にアメリカ中西部の地方大学でグラフィックデザインの学位を取ったものの、新卒で入った小さな会社がドットコムバブルで立ち行かなくなったり、当時の夫の大学院入学のためにアメリカに戻ってきても経験不足で Web 関係の仕事には就けなかったり。とは言え家計を支える立場を選んだわけで、一旦やりたかった仕事はあきらめて、日系自動車会社で派遣をやっていた日々でした。インハウス翻訳者兼事務補助職のような感じで、お給料と需要を優先して良く言えばがむしゃらにがんばっていたし、悪くいうと目の前のことでいっぱいいっぱいという状況。

ただ、そのころ時間だけはたっぷりあったんです。夫は暇さえあれば勉強していたし、派遣の仕事もそんなに忙しいものではなかったので、定時に帰って夕食後はテレビを見たり出かけたりはせず、それぞれパソコンに向かっていました。

趣味やフリーランスの制作者として細々と HTML 手打ちのサイトなんかも作っていたのですが、Web デザイナーが個人で発信する情報はその当時ブログを読むのが何より最新で、ワクワクするものでした。

そこからいきなり WordPress をインストールしたわけではなくて、まずは一番簡単そうだった Blogger.com を触ってみて制限がちょっと多すぎると感じ、Movable Type をしばらく運用してあまり相性がよくないかもと感じた、というのが私のブログ作りのスタートでした。その後ぴったりなタイミングで b2 からフォークしたリリース版を出したばかりだった WordPress に出会いました。

PHP のファイルを触りながら自分のブログを作っていく過程が本当に楽しくて、いつのまにか WordPress にハマっていました。そのころはシンプルな構成だったからというのはもちろんあるんですが、それまでほぼ HTML と CSS しか書いたことがなかった自分がいつのまにかそんなふうにいわゆる「動的」サイトを作れるようになっていくことに自分でも驚きました。

WordPress 翻訳を始める

2003年11月にブログエンジンの変更を完了したサイトを公開し、12月に日本語版の WordPress フォーク "WordPress ME (Multilingual Edition)" を公開しているサイトがあることを知りました。Otsukare さんというエンジニアが行なっていた日本語情報の発信や日本語フォーラムでの回答をお手伝いしているうち、1ユーザーからファンへ、そしてローカリゼーションという分野でのコントリビュートをするようになっていきました。

それから何年も、WordPress は日本では比較的マイナーなブログツール/CMS ではあったんですが、自分の中では本当に大好きなソフトウェアで、地道に Codex の翻訳をしたり、テーマ作成コンテストに応募したり、フォーラムで回答したりしていました。オープンソースという世界も、会ったこともない人たちと（お金にならない！）作業を一緒にするのも初めてでしたが、WordPress を通して会う人たちは本当に様々で、固定観念を覆してくれた気がします。留学や在米で「世界」を分かった気になっていたけど、それよりも私にとって理解を深めてくれたのは、英語を使ってアクセスすることができるようになった、多様な価値観が存在するオンラインのコミュニティでした。

自分がブログを書くことが好きで、そのツールの成長に少しでも関われるという喜びが、飽きずにオープンソース活動を続けられた理由だった気がします。まだ「リモートワーク」なんて言葉も、動画チャットツールや Slack さえもない時期からオンラインで世界中の人達とコラボレーションする文化を持つ WordPress でしたが、遠く離れた人に考えを届られるブログというツールが中心にあったからこそ、コミュニティは深みを持って成長してきたし、人と人のつながりが構築されていったのだと思います。

WordCamp Tokyo の運営

2007年、サンフランシスコで開かれた WordCamp に遠征し、マットに声をかけました。「WordPress が好きで、日本でももっと広めるために何かできないかなと思ってるけど、どうしたらいいかな？」そんな内容だったと思います。質問の記憶はおぼろげですが、彼の答えは今でも覚えています。

「WordCamp やったらいいよ！（You should do a WordCamp.）」

たまたま WordCamp にいたからの思いつきから出た言葉だったのかもしれませんが、そのときの一言が印象的で、約1年後に日本初の WordCamp を実行するきっかけになったのは間違いありません。私自身は日本に住んでいなかったにも関わらず WordCamp Tokyo 2008 が実行できたのは、単なる言い出しっぺの私に「いいね！」と言って一緒に運営をしてくれた他の翻訳者、開発者、日本語版ユーザーの方々とのつながりがあったからでした。

キャリアへの影響

2006年～2009年には、自分のキャリアも大きく変わりました。

WordPress にハマることで身につけたブログテンプレート一般のカスタマイズ能力でフリーランスの仕事が入ってきたり、WordPress の本を日本語で書く機会もいただきました。Web 標準の考え方に触れて実践することができたのも WordPress のおかげで、「普通に、きちんとマークアップが書ける」スキルを評価されて、ずっと前から入社したかったデトロイト郊外の会社でフロントエンドエンジニアとしての経験を積むこともできました。その後、2009年にお声がけをいただき、Automattic でのカスタマーサポート職としてスタートして、2010年からフルタイムでこの会社の「社員」となり、現在はローカリゼーション関連のチームでプロジェクト管理を担当しています。もうすぐ勤務10年を迎えます。

回り回って今は翻訳チームのグローバルメンターや、WordPress Translation Day 4のリードオーガナイザーを任せてもらったり、そして自分でも驚くことに第一回 WordCamp Asia（2020年、バンコクにて開催予定）のグローバルリードにも選んでいただきました。

学びとお返し

• 誠実に努力を積み重ねていくことが実を結ぶ。
• 信頼を築くには時間がかかる。
• 誰にでも大きく成長できる可能性がある。
• 多様性は必然。容認してしまうしかない。

こういうことは当たり前のようでいて、実感できないような環境も少なくないのではないでしょうか。WordPress コミュニティだって常にパーフェクトではもちろんないにしろ、この場所ではそんな「当たり前」が大事されている、と私はよく感じます。みんなが納得できる普遍的な正しさが、長期的な視点での深みのあるコミュニティの維持と成長に欠かせない要素だと理解している人が多いからなのかなと思っています。

自信も経験も少なかった自分にたくさんのことを学ばせてくれた WordPress と、その周りにいる人たちへの恩返しも込めて、これからさらに英語圏以外のコミュニティも手助けしていければと思っています。そうすることで、Web と世界を少しでも良い場所にできると信じているし、関わる多くの人のバリアを取り除くきっかけとなるはずです。

The post Growing Through Translating WordPress appeared first on HeroPress.

21 May 2019 11:00pm GMT