????What's On the Mind of WP Agencies ???? Newsletter Glue Going Upmarket instead of Deals

• Updated on: 2023-07-12
• Read original article here

BUSINESS
To Heck with Black Friday, I’m Raising My Prices!
This week in Post Status Slack , Lesley Sim, the founder of Newsletter Glue, dropped this announcement: “While everybody is offering discounts for Black Friday, we’re planning to significantly raise prices. We’ll be narrowing our target audience and focusing mainly on medium-large publishers and online businesses; working with them more closely and providing a high level of customization and support.” What motivated Lesley's decision? Where does she expect it to take her company? How can plugin owners find enterprise customers and agency partners? Find out on Post Status Draft. LISTEN→
Can We Get to "Yes" on Better UX?
This week in an article shared in Post Status Slack, Eric Karkovack suggested some ways to improve the WordPress user experience, especially for DIY users setting up a website for the first time. Some of the things Eric wants to see happen, like a standard interface for plugins and a curated view of the plugin ecosystem, are also commonly expressed by designers, developers, and people in other roles at WordPress agencies serving enterprise clients. Can we get everyone to “yes” on a better UX? Tell us what you think. LISTEN→
A curated plugin ecosystem you say? How?
I've elaborated on some of the ideas discussed on the podcasts this week with Eric and Lesley that can help both plugin businesses, WordPress agencies, and WordPress users in general. It mostly comes down to:
Don't Play Favorites — Recognize Excellence. What if there was a quality score based on neutral data from WP.org. It might create incentives that make "gaming" the system a win for everyone.
Open Up "Open Secrets" — Spread Standards and Expert Knowledge. What if it was incredibly easy for developers (or anyone) to find and learn best practices and standards? It might create ladders up that are a win for everyone. READ→  
Quick Links
Ellipsis Weather Report : WP -0.01 (+0) Woo +0.04 (+0)
DAN KNAUSS. Have business news to share? Get in touch .
TECH
Halloween edition! Here’s a glimpse of what’s going on in the world of design and development in the WordPress space this past week.
Blocks Made of Humans
Well, not really, but here is  a great overview of all the ways you can make a custom block  with code examples from the lovely gremlins at Human Made. It’s nice to have so many examples in one place with links to a few resources I hadn’t seen before.
Mirror Mirror On The Wall, What Image Will Devour Them All?!
The folks at Bertha AI  have announced  that their plugin now features an image creation module. This is another major step towards seeing artificial intelligence integrated into the WordPress stack. I have not taken it for a spin yet but intend to kick the tires around this weekend to conjure up some spooky hellscapes.
Your Blocks Are Scaring The Children
Post Status members Roy Sivan and James Tryon have been working on their own suite of design tools for the Block Editor lovingly called  Block Styles . Recently they’ve been on fire with so many updates and new features that it’s hard not to be excited. For me, the responsive tools alone are the killer feature that I needed. I’ve tried so many plugins for better responsive control, and this one feels the closest to what I would expect.  Follow them on Twitter  as they share how they’re evolving these tools.
Cool Tools for Ghouls
Each week we feature one cool tool that can help make your life easier as a WordPress builder. This week it's a classic — so lean and bloat-free it's positively skeletal. ????
Just Add Some Balsamiq with an Eye of Newt
Balsamiq  does one thing and does it well — it’s an application for creating wireframes. I’ve tried using Figma, Adobe XD, Illustrator, OmniGraffle, Visio, Sketch, real sketches, and more. Every time I end up coming back to Balsamiq because it’s so easy to get the vision out of my head and onto the screen. I know it’s been around a long time and its roots actually came from a Flash-built web app, but it has evolved to be a no-bloat application that lets you get in, do what you need, and get out.
 
DANIEL SCHUTZSMITH. Have tech news to share? Get in touch .
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COMMUNITY
What AI and Automation Are — and Aren’t — Good For
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about AI, automation, and how that fits into community. I applaud so much of how all of these things have simplified my life, and make my life so much easier as a disabled person. I use Ring doorbell to talk to anyone who rings my doorbell to let them know I’m on my way (but slow). I use Alexa to automate lights when I’m not home and voice commands to turn on/off lights, check the weather and news, and set my thermostat. This week I installed a Stream Deck to automate things at my desk like key lights, opening websites, and I even added a sound for podcasting fun. AI can generate copy for titles, tweets, and even site content.
But nothing surpasses human interaction. Being on a Zoom call for our Post Status weekly huddles, creative brainstorming with my Stellar team, one-on-ones with friends and family, and recording podcasts with my podcasting partners and guests all enhance my life greatly. And I appreciate interacting with so many of you on Twitter about WordPress, tech, and life in general.
Changes are coming to Twitter with the new leadership there . Our community has thrived on Twitter, so keep an eye out for each other there, and if you find a better solution that we can adopt as a community, let us know!
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