stepping outside
the bubble

Kalen Johnson

Web Developer

  • PHP, Front-end, WordPress
  • Freelance Contractor

http://kalenjohnson.com
@kalenjohnson

We're at a WordCamp

Why would we talk about anything other than WordPress?

We're Experts

Experts know the Bubble

What's Outside?

So what's happening outside the Bubble?

Content Management

The Customizer

The Competition

Wordpress

  • WYSIWYG Editor
  • Menus, Widgets, etc. in separate areas

Outside the Bubble

  • Editing on the actual page
  • True "WYSIWYG"
  • All edits made with JavaScript

WordPress is currently improving this with the Customizer.
What can you do to improve it?

Releases and Roadmaps

WordPress

  • Release every 3-4 months
  • Every 1.* release is a "major" release
  • Iterative upgrades
  • Ridiculous backwards compatibility

Outside the Bubble

  • Release "when it's ready"
  • Large, sweeping updates
  • Major releases have little to no backwards compatibility

Should WordPress take more time on releases?

Should updates constantly be pushed out, without major releases?

Modern Web Development

WordPress

  • Sticking with PHP 5.2 support
  • Antiquated PHP
  • PHP Templates (escape all the things)
  • SVN and Trac

Outside The Bubble

  • Minimum PHP versions from 5.3 or 5.4
  • Modern code
  • Templating engines (all the things are escaped)
  • Git and GitHub

Does supporting deprecated versions of PHP hurt WordPress more than it helps?
Could things be made easier for developers, at the expense of some new users?

Resources
and Links

For

Against

Customizer

WordPress

Others

Releases and Roadmaps

WordPress

Others

Modern Web
Development

Remember to take time to get out of your comfort zone.

Step outside the bubble!

Thank You!

Questions?

Stepping Outside the Bubble

By Kalen Johnson

Stepping Outside the Bubble

Let's discuss reasons why you want to be an expert in WordPress, but why you don't want to stick with ONLY WordPress

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