Read through to the conclusion to meet a cat who is certainly sound asleep and not engaged in ANY suspicious activities…
In this edition:
- Kudos to the WordPress Plugin Review Team for managing to navigate a significant backlog.
- HeroPress honors individuals who have utilized WordPress to improve the world, and we fully support this initiative.
- Is your site’s CPU usage soaring? We have some useful hints to help tone it down.
Breaking News: What’s Happening?
Well…
That was quite an event that occurred, wasn’t it?
ANYWAAAAAAAAY…
Plugin Review Team Attains Inbox Zero
To refresh your mind from all the chaos and turmoil, how about an uplifting success story?
A year ago, the WordPress Plugin Review Team was facing a backlog of 1,260 plugins waiting for review, following the exit of their long-time representative Mika Epstein in July of 2023.
The situation had become quite dire. Developers were literally abandoning their submissions as they looked at the 91-day wait and thought, “No way.”
But in an incredible turnaround reminiscent of #productivityporn, the team has recently achieved zero backlog, with a processing time of only seven days.
How did they manage this?
Well, they recruited new team members and implemented systems to expedite plugin reviews, of course. But one of the smartest modifications was sending an email to plugin authors in line, instructing them on how to self-audit their plugins to conform to fundamental security criteria, which reduced the recurrence of the same few basic errors in the queue.
They also created PluginCheck, enabling authors to self-assess for common mistakes prior to submitting their plugin.
However, the volunteer team cannot rest on their virtual achievements now. After all, as SiteGround-sponsored reviewer Francisco Torres mentions, hundreds more submissions will keep coming in, so they need to maintain their pace.
Still, we concur with Alex Standiford who remarked, “Wow Francisco. That’s impressive.”
Let’s Celebrate HeroPress on Their 10-Year Journey
You know what? Let’s continue with the theme of acknowledging the achievements of those nurturing the WordPress community.
HeroPress, which highlights stories from individuals utilizing WordPress to create positive changes in the world, is marking its 10-year milestone – so let’s raise a glass to that! 
Founded in 2014 by Topher DeRosia, the site has since published 278 essays in 29 languages, from 66 different countries.
It’s worth browsing through the story archive if you seek inspiration, motivation, and perhaps a *sniff* emotional reaction regarding the impact WordPress can have on lives.
Syed Laden expresses in his essay, “the WordPress community taught me the significance of respect and the beauty of cooperation,” and indeed, we couldn’t agree more.
(If you can spare a few dollars, DeRosia is looking for donations to sustain the site.)
6.7 Beta 3 Is Available for Testing, Everyone!
Feeling inclined to explore a beta version and search for bugs? 
The anticipated release date for WordPress 6.7 is November 12, 2024. (OMG… that’s less than a month away!)
Beta versions have been available for testing for the last few weeks, and we’re currently at Beta 3, which was released on October 15th.
If you’re interested in trying it out, you can test it by using the WordPress Beta Tester plugin, direct download, or via WordPress Playground.
Check out the new default theme, Twenty Twenty-Five, experiment with the Zoom Out view for composition using patterns, and examine the upgraded Styles interface that lets you edit and manage font size presets.
And if you happen to succeed in your bug hunt, there’s some good news. Until the final Release Candidate is released on November 5th, 2024, the financial reward for uncovering new security vulnerabilities is doubled, with the average reward at approximately $300. Cha-ching, baby!
Mind-Blowing Facts & Stats
- According to the 2022 Global Server Hardware and Server OS Reliability Survey, downtime costs businesses nearly $301,000 per hour. (Source)
- Based on findings from the State of Headless 2024 research report, 73% of CTOs, CMOs, and IT decision-makers are currently utilizing headless web architecture. Quite Sleepy Hollow of them. (Source)
- WordPress Developer Ciprian Popescu discovered that adding a feature displaying the “estimated reading time” of his content led to a 13.8% increase in the time visitors spent on his site. Visitors also engaged more by following and subscribing, and retweeting articles 66.7% more frequently. (Source)
- The largest individual bug bounty ever awarded in WordPress history (to date) was $14,400. John Blackbourn received it for reporting a critical inauthentic privilege escalation vulnerability in the LiteSpeed Cache Plugin. Great job, John! (Source)
Deep Dive: CPU Later, Alligator! 
How to Reduce High CPU Usage and Enhance WordPress Speed
Let’s face it—there’s nothing more frustrating than a sluggish WordPress site. When your CPU utilization skyrockets, it brings your site’s performance down with it, leading to slow loading times, frustrated users, and a drop in SEO ranking.
High CPU usage indicates that your server is overworking to keep up, frequently due to bloated plugins, inefficient queries, or an excessive number of background tasks. Fortunately, you can address this before it spirals out of control.
Here’s how to prevent your site from consuming excessive CPU:
- Monitor Resource Hogs: Employ tools like Query Monitor or New Relic to identify what’s straining your server—whether it’s a troublesome query, plugin, or cron job.
- Eliminate Greedy Plugins: Numerous plugins consume an excessive amount of power and run background tasks that spike your CPU usage. Remove any unnecessary plugins, especially those that gather data, as they’ll likely be the main offenders.
- Caching Is Essential: Dynamic content generation can drain CPU resources. Instead, utilize caching plugins like WP Rocket, WP Super Cache, or W3 Total Cache to deliver pre-rendered pages to users. This will significantly decrease server strain and improve speed immediately.
- Reduce Heartbeat Frequency: WordPress’ Heartbeat API syncs data between your browser and the server, yet it’s a known resource drain. Implement a plugin like Heartbeat Control to manage it effectively.
- Limit External Requests: External API calls (such as pulling data from social media feeds) can elevate CPU usage. Minimize or cache these requests wherever feasible.
- Evaluate Your Hosting Plan: Sometimes the issue lies with your hosting platform. If you’ve surpassed shared hosting capabilities, it might be time to upgrade to VPS or managed hosting for enhanced resource management.
Maintaining low CPU consumption is akin to changing the oil in your vehicle—regular upkeep will save you from expensive mishaps. Stay proactive, keep tabs on your processes, and continuously optimize. Your users (and Google) will show their appreciation.
Blogs & Resources You Should Not Overlook
If you’re in charge of marketing a WordPress product and find yourself thinking, “Oh no, what’s our Black Friday strategy?!” – this episode of the Post Status Happiness Hour could be beneficial.
The latest Developer Hours session focuses on simplifying client editing – and you can watch it on YouTube here.
Donata Stroink-Skillrud from Termageddon discusses “Privacy by Design” on the WP Tavern podcast. Essentially, it’s about integrating privacy considerations from the outset of every project. (a wise approach.)
“Hello World!” WP Shout is eager to hear your thoughts on the WordPress brand’s tone of voice. You can take the quick 5-minute survey here.
And in some pawsitive news, PupPress.org (“a WordPress fork run by dogs”) is gaining much attention while raising funds for abandoned pets in Ukraine.
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