Blog

Distributor 1.6 Introduces New Setup Wizard, Improved Tooling, and Official Hook Documentation

Jeff Paul on September 17, 2020 • 8 Comments

Distributor is our free WordPress plugin that empowers content managers to safely reuse and syndicate content across websites within a WordPress multisite network or across the web using the REST API. Designed with an intuitive user experience, Distributor integrates both “push” and “pull” use cases for sharing content and media between sites.

The release of Distributor 1.6 — with a new setup wizard, improved push/pull management, clearer warnings to facilitate swift troubleshooting when issues arise, and Site Health Info integration, as well as added developer hooks — exemplifies our continued investment in making the plugin easier to use and empowering developers to tailor it to fit even the most complicated workflows.

The Role Of Open Source: A New make|Shift Documentary Short Film

Phil Crumm on September 3, 2020

Ben Ilfeld, Jake Goldman, Phil Crumm

Earlier this year, the feature length make|SHIFT documentary explored the history of modern advertising and the role open-source technology played in its evolution. The film highlights the brands, makers, and agencies — including 10up — who harness new technology, test new business models, and question the status quo in an age that gives consumers the power to determine how, when, and where they connect with brands.

A new make|SHIFT short film, clocking in at just under four minutes, highlights the critical role open source plays in creating the complex experiences consumers demand and features insights from myself, 10up’s President and founder Jake Goldman, and our CEO John Eckman.

Helen Hou-Sandi Announced as Core Tech Lead for WordPress 5.6 All-Women Release Squad

Jeff Paul on August 31, 2020 • 1 Comment

Helen Hou-Sandi speaking at WordCamp Europe

Aiming to increase the number of women involved in leading and regularly contributing to WordPress releases, earlier this year WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden shared an official stretch goal of an all-women release squad. A May update on the 2020 release squads confirmed the realization of that goal for the WordPress 5.6 release.

With WordPress 5.5 released, the WordPress 5.6 planning announcement officially introduced the women leading the release, including 10up’s own Director of Open Source Initiatives Helen Hou-Sandì who will serve as Core Tech Lead.

John Eckman on August 25, 2020 • 2 Comments

This Thursday I’m participating in the CoRise Summit — a free global startup summit to CoLearn, Collaborate, and CoRise with the community. As a panelist in a session on Building Remote Teams and Company Culture (August 27 at 12:30 PM ET), I’m looking forward to sharing some of our insights on building and managing a distributed team.

I’m also happy to be a contributor to Remote Teams Work. It’s a new book out this month that provides strategic and practical guidance on establishing and running a successful remote team, including tools and methodologies, hiring and salaries, and creating a remote culture.

As more and more companies adjust to remote work and the value of distributed teams, hopefully they can benefit from the best practices we’ve seen and experienced.

WordPress 5.5 Released, Block For Apple Maps Included In Block Library

Jeff Paul on August 18, 2020 • 1 Comment

Block for Apple Maps in the Block Directory

WordPress 5.5 was released last week, featuring automatic updates for plugins and themes, lazy-loading images, extensible XML sitemaps, improvements to the block editor, and as always, supplemental under the hood security, performance, and developer improvements. As always, many 10uppers contributed to this release.

This latest release introduces a number of improvements to the block content editor. Highlights include inline image editing that lets you crop, rotate, and zoom photos within image blocks; device previews that show how content will appear to visitors with different screen sizes; and a Block Directory that lets you find, install, and insert third-party blocks in the editor, without ever leaving the page.

GNI Ad Revenue Lab Presents Free Workshop Series For Local News Publishers

Mike Bal on August 12, 2020

Tomorrow, August 13, 2020, 10up kicks off a free, four-part workshop series covering lessons and tactics used in the GNI Ad Revenue Lab to accelerate participating publishers’ advertising revenue.

The GNI Ad Revenue Lab, which kicked off in September 2019, is a Google News Initiative project conducted in partnership with LION Publishers and 10up to establish a web-based revenue optimization blueprint local news publishers can use as a reference point for website improvements.

As part of the Ad Revenue Lab, we have been working with seven hyperlocal U.S. publishers, like Long Beach Post, to provide and measure reader revenue-focused digital strategies, often testing new tactics. From ad viewability and fill rate optimization to article markup and sitemaps to Google AMP and the optimization of ads, images, and page speed, we’ve documented our findings and are now sharing them more widely.

ClassifAI Named A WordPress VIP Technology Partner

Jeff Paul on August 10, 2020

ClassifAI WordPress VIP Technology Partner

As a leading contributor to WordPress and one of WordPress VIP’s longest-tenured Gold Agency Partners, 10up understands the carefully-crafted architectures and strategies that drive success on the VIP platform.

Today we are delighted to share that ClassifAI has been named a WordPress VIP technology partner. ClassifAI is our free plugin that leverages leading cloud-based services, like IBM Watson and Microsoft Azure AI, to augment WordPress-powered websites with artificial intelligence and machine learning technology.

WordPress VIP technology partners support enterprise customers using WordPress at scale by forging significant technology integrations for personalization, business intelligence, digital asset management, and, with the addition of ClassifAI, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Bolstering Higher Education and WordPress at WPCampus 2020

John Eckman on July 29, 2020

WPCampus 2020

With a growing portfolio of clients and partnerships in higher education, we are once again thrilled to sponsor and participate in WPCampus, furthering the confluence of WordPress in academia. This year’s two-day remote conference kicks-off today, July 29, 2020; registration is free.

Presentations

On the schedule, you’ll find two 10uppers delivering presentations:

End to End Accessibility Testing

Traditionally, testing interaction has been a largely manual process because out-of-the-box automation testing tools can’t open menus, check ARIA states, click around, or test general UI and movement. Because of this, as sites age, they can quickly fall out of compliance and become slowly inaccessible.

In this session, Tim Wright, Director of Front End Engineering will discuss end to end accessibility testing. Learn how to create a long term accessibility roadmap and turn manual testing processes into lightweight automated scripts that can keep an eye on your project for years to come.

AI 101: How Artificial Intelligence Can Help Educators Publish More, Faster, And Better

Artificial intelligence isn’t just for self-driving cars and science fiction. Learn how easy-to-integrate solutions can help educators publish more effective content, promote accessibility, and keep visitors engaged. In this special sponsor presentation, Phil Crumm, Vice President, New Client Strategy, will help educators, technical leaders, content creators, and marketers understand how machine learning and artificial intelligence can simplify content creation, accelerate authorship, and eliminate painful manual tasks.

Block for Apple Maps: Our Latest Free, Open-Source WordPress Plugin

Jeff Paul on June 26, 2020

Apple Maps Gutenberg Block

Block for Apple Maps is our latest free WordPress plugin that enables site owners to easily create, configure, and display embedded Apple Maps on web pages and posts. The plugin adds a new Apple Maps block to the WordPress block editor, also known as Gutenberg.

We’ve been tinkering with embedded Apple Maps since Apple announced the MapKit JS API in 2018. Following some major improvements to their Maps service, and with some clients interested in evaluating alternatives to other popular solutions (for reasons ranging from API pricing to privacy policies), we thought we’d use Apple’s annual WWDC conference this week as an excuse to finish up our work and bring our Block for Apple Maps plugin to life.

With Block for Apple Maps, site owners can embed a responsive Apple Maps component on any page or post that uses the WordPress block editor.

The block offers several customization options, including:

Changing the map’s center point by looking up a location
Adding markers to annotate specific point of interests
Selecting the satellite, hybrid, standard, or muted standard map type
Showing or hiding controls, including the compass, zoom, and rotation
Setting the map height

Tim Hoang on June 23, 2020

Recently, Director of Client Delivery for 10up Europe, Lily Bonney, and I co-hosted a webinar on recruiting, onboarding, and maintaining company culture at a distance with Onezeero, a UK-based tech recruitment partner. As organizations increasingly recognize the benefits of working from home, many are asking, “How do we still maintain our ‘essence’ at a distance?” From transparency during hiring to clear systems, processes, and company values, we’ve learned how to attract, onboard, and grow remote talent. Lily and I shared how 10up fosters meaningful connections and cultivates a vibrant team culture.