Contributing to Open-Source: Insights On the Latest Major WordPress Release

What is the most exciting new feature in version 5.3?

Francesca: Last year, WordPress switched from a classic editor, that looked very much like a Word page with some formatting options, to a block editor that allows users to organize and format their content in a rich, visual, and compelling way. The development of this feature continues, and in 5.3, the block editor is even more feature-rich, stable, and fast.

A lot of work has also gone into preparing the WordPress core codebase for PHP 7.4, which will be released later this month – another move forward to a faster and more secure web for everyone, which is a huge part of our mission at SiteGround as a premium managed WordPress hosting provider. 

WordPress 5.3 also comes with a brand new Twenty Twenty default theme. How is this theme different from its predecessor Twenty Nineteen, and what is the most useful new functionality in it?

Francesca: Unlike default themes from previous years, Twenty Twenty is based on an existing theme, which means it is mature enough and well-supported already. It includes a rich and flexible visual design with full support for the many different blocks that are now available in the block editor. 

The theme is visually impactful and provides excellent typography and legibility. It also includes editor styles, which means while you’re editing the content you’ll see something which much more closely represents how the final result will look like once you preview or publish your content.

In your personal look back on the then 8, and now 12 weeks working as a release coordinator, you shared that it was quite rewarding and a great learning opportunity. What is the most valuable thing that you’ve learned?

Francesca: How to work in a team, spread over many time zones and with a lot of different skills. All the communication is done via Slack. It’s crucial to communicate as much as possible to make sure everyone is aligned.

And all the communication is in written form, so you lose the non-verbal communication that is very important for us humans. You make up with lots of emojis and with carefully selecting your words to make sure that what you want to communicate is clear to everyone. That’s also something I learned at SiteGround.

And of course, I also learned how WordPress actually gets made. I am a power user, and I have been involved with the projects for a few years, but seeing the whole process happen in front of me and the number of people and energies involved, was a true privilege. 

What do you think makes thousands of people and companies contribute time and skills to help build WordPress?

Francesca: I think there is more than one reason why people contribute to WordPress: but one is gratitude for sure. WordPress is free and priceless at the same time, and it allows millions of people to build a business and livelihood on top of it. 

Belonging is one of the reasons, too. As Matt Mullenweg, the co-creator of WordPress.org said during the latest State of The Word (the end of year recap he does): “The software is pretty good, but the people are amazing.” I think a lot of people found a community, and this is what pushes them to continue contributing.

And finally, a good dose of idealism I would say. WordPress powers 34% of the web. Every time we do something for it, from the smallest thing, like translating one word in our language, to the very large contribution, we make the web a little better for millions for people. The feeling is amazing!

To try the newly-released WordPress 5.3 version, go to your WordPress admin dashboard and click on the WordPress 5.3 link at the top of the page. If you’re a SiteGround client, you don’t need to do anything as we’re managing all WordPress updates for you. If you haven’t turned off WordPress Autoupdates on your SiteGround account, you can expect your site to be updated very soon, if not already. To ensure everything goes smoothly, with every update we automatically test your website for errors and create a backup just in case, so that you can easily go back to your previous version. If you want to check your current WordPress version or if you’d like to manage your WordPress Autoupdates, you can easily do so from the WordPress Autoupdate tool.