Web Design Solutions Digest for June 17, 2025

by Foster D. Coburn III | Jun 17, 2025 | Web Design Solutions Digest

FAIR project, WCEU, FluentCart, Divi 5 sneak peeks, domain migration, future of search, underwater photos, Instagram grid and food scenes. All this news about WCEU got me excited about going to another WordCamp so I’ve made my plans to go to WordCamp US in late August. In doing so, I’ve found some serious flaws in the way travel providers handle data. They didn’t properly transmit my name as typed to the airlines so it does not match my passport. Getting this fix has already taken a lot more time than booking the travel and it still isn’t fixed. Good thing I’ve got a couple of more months to work on it. Check out all of the news from this week in the stories listed below.

• How To Future-Proof Your WordPress Website
• 33,000 WordPress Sites Affected by Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in RealHomes WordPress Theme
• FAIR Project: Supported by Linux Foundation, Opens Path To Decentralized WordPress.org Services
• Why I’m Not Jazzed About FAIR
• WCEU 2025: A Community Celebration in the Swiss Sun
• “Everest” (1.0 is not just a number.)
• Goodbye WordPress: A Eulogy
• The road to WordCamp Europe: reflections and anticipation
• Is WordPress losing its way?
• FluentCart: Cutting Through Complexity with Self-Hosted E-Commerce by WordPress Ninjas
• Website designs are getting too complicated
• Who’s Behind FAIR? Inside the Coalition Seeking to Redefine WordPress Software Distribution
• The Community Responds to FAIR: Hope, Skepticism, and Support for Decentralizing WordPress
• Dissecting Matt Mullenweg’s comments at WordCamp Europe, part 1
• WordCamp Europe 2025 Wraps in Basel as Organizers Look to Kraków for 2026
• WordPress Leadership Says ‘No’ to Bringing Back Sustainability Team Despite Public Plea and Community Petition
• Top 8 Active, English Podcasts to Sponsor in WordPress
• Building a market leader: Boost Oxygen’s ecommerce journey with Woo

• Five ways to influence your brand message when consumers are in control
• Shopify partners with Coinbase and Stripe in landmark stablecoin deal

• Google Responds To Site That Lost Ranks After Googlebot DDoS Crawl
• Google Shows Why Rankings Collapsed After Domain Migration
• Google Retires 7 Structured Data Features To Streamline Search Results
• Google Search Team Explains The “It Depends” Response
• The Future of Search: SEO in the Age of AI
• Recipe Intent Keywords Are Triggering Google AI Overviews

• Draw what you see: 9 observation exercises to train your artist’s eye
• 3D artist reveals the best new features coming in Blender 4.5
• Do graphic designers need new skills to beat AI? Professionals weigh in
• 15 Stunning Underwater Photos from the United Nations World Oceans Day Contest
• “It’s a distinctly human craving”: What is experiential design, the need-to-know trend of the moment?
• I tried the world’s first home UV texture printer and now I can print on anything!
• It’s not perfect, but FreeCAD is one of the best free CAD programs I’ve ever used
• Ford is stoked about Charli XCX fans flipping its logo backwards
• Are these really the hottest colours of the year?

• I Paid for Twitter So You Don’t Have To: Here’s What You Get With X Premium
• Instagram will finally let you rearrange your grid

Each week we’ll share a meme that we find thought provoking or just plain funny.

• The 10 U.S. Cities With the Most Diverse Food Scenes

If you see some important news that you feel we should share with our readers, please let us know and we’ll consider including it in our next post.

Web Design Solutions Digest for June 10, 2025

by Foster D. Coburn III | Jun 10, 2025 | Web Design Solutions Digest

FAIR Project, sizing and spacing system, extend attributes, website launch checklist, recipe update, Android Photoshop and root beer. WordCamp EU was held last week and the big announcement was the FAIR Project, a distributed system for WordPress updates. I encouraged you to read the stories about it below to get all the details as this is a really big deal. Of course there was plenty of other news so check out all the stories to learn more.

• Malware Masquerades as Legitimate, Hidden WordPress Plugin with Remote Code Execution Capabilities
• Automattic Restarts WordPress Contributions Following a Hiatus
• Building Your One-Page Website from Scratch Using Elementor
• WordPress Unpauses Development But Has It Run Out Of Time?
• New AI-Assisted Managed WordPress Hosting For Ecommerce
• WordPress Finally Takes Steps To Integrate AI
• 9,000 WordPress Sites Affected by Arbitrary File Upload and Deletion Vulnerabilities in WP User Frontend Pro WordPress Plugin
• Bluehost WonderSuite Website Builder: WordPress Made Even Easier
• WordPress Performance Team Releases New Plugin
• WordPress Plugin Platform Offers Proactive Security Scanning
• WordPress Shares How AI May Play Stronger Role In Web Publishing
• New FAIR Project Aims to Decentralize WordPress.org Services, Backed by Linux Foundation and Hundreds of Contributors
• A new path forward for WordPress, and for the open web
• Introducing FAIR: A Stronger, More Resilient WordPress Ecosystem

• Website Launch Checklist: Things To Double-Check Before Going Live
• The unexpected moment when AI became a friend
• Custom Vs. Template Website Design: Making The Right Choice
• Event Risk Management: A Straight-Forward Guide
• am i supposed to meet no one?

• Google Search Console Fails To Report Half Of All Search Queries
• I Loathe AI Overviews So I Use This Hack to Make Google Give Me Just Blue Links
• Google Publishes Guidance For Sites Incorrectly Caught By SafeSearch Filter
• Almost Half of Google Searches Are Branded. Here’s Why That Matters
• Google Is Stealing Your International Search Traffic With Automated Translations
• Good SEO Plus Lazy Marketing Won’t Cut It Anymore
• Google is Using AI to Censor Thousands of Independent Websites Like Mine (And to Control the Flow of Information Online)
• Respected SEO Rockstar Deconstructs SEO For Google’s AI Search
• Google’s nightmare: How a search spinoff could remake the web
• Google’s Update To Recipe Structured Data Confirms A Ranking Criteria

• Why the new Android Photoshop app could be huge for Adobe
• Photoshop Is Now on Android, All Features Are Free For a Limited Time
• Here’s how to model a cute cat (or anything else) in Blender in under 4 minutes
• Unreal Engine 5.6 is out – here’s what impressed me
• Meta Wants AI to Handle Every Part of Ad Creation. Here’s What That Means
• This viral 3D drawing app just won an Apple Design Award

• X tests… centrism

Each week we’ll share a meme that we find thought provoking or just plain funny.

• The Real Reason Why You Shouldn’t Keep Open Cans in the Fridge
• How Did Root Beer Get Its Name?

If you see some important news that you feel we should share with our readers, please let us know and we’ll consider including it in our next post.

Web Design Solutions Digest for June 3, 2025

by Foster D. Coburn III | Jun 3, 2025 | Web Design Solutions Digest

Ecommerce best practices, Divi 5 beginner’s guide, image optimization, SEO roadmap, AI skills, Bluesky finances and mindful eating. In the past month, I’ve seen a large uptick in spam on various Web sites. Some came from contact forms, others were comments and the most recent was a rash of fraudulent order attempts. For each of these scenarios, I’ve implemented Cloudflare Turnstile on the site and the issue was resolved. As the fraudulent orders were the most recent, I can’t say for sure if they have been stopped yet but I should know within the next couple of days. Just one more reason it is good to allow Cloudflare to handle your DNS and much of it is free. Check out all of this week’s news in the headlines below.

• 7 WordPress Best Practices For Ecommerce
• Restoring Trust while Preserving Safety
• Second Plaintiff to Join Class Action Against Automattic, Mullenweg Over WP Engine Dispute
• Another Fake Cloudflare Verification Targets WordPress Sites
• Matt Mullenweg Settles Caregiver Lawsuits Days Before Trial
• 7 smart ways to use AI in WordPress development
• 15,000 WordPress Sites Affected by Arbitrary File Upload Vulnerability in MasterStudy LMS Pro WordPress Plugin

• The sure sign that I am failing in the AI world
• Stop Obsessing Over Image Optimization
• Should We Stop Creating Informational Content?

• Google’s Sergey Brin Says AI Can Synthesize Top 1,000 Search Results
• 10 Off-Page SEO Strategies That (Still) Work
• Diagnosing and Fixing a Sudden Drop in Website Traffic: A Practical Guide
• Google’s CEO Says AI Overviews Website Referrals Are Increasing
• Future-Proofing WordPress SEO: How To Optimize For AI-Driven Search Features
• Generative Engines Are Breaking Web Analytics and Hurting Their Future
• How AI Mode Works and How SEO Can Prepare for the Future of Search
• Google’s Gary Illyes Warns AI Agents Will Create Web Congestion
• How To Use LLMs For 301 Redirects At Scale
• How To Create An SEO Roadmap That Actually Drives Results

• 8 AI skills you need to land your dream design job, according to the pros
• Coca-Cola’s bold new Vitaminwater logo hides a subtle design secret
• Perfect your panels and pacing with these comic art tips from an expert
• “The feedback from millions of users is that it really works” Krita’s project lead on the success of the free Photoshop alternative
• The history of the Audi logo: from script font to mergers and rings
• I tested the AlgoLaser Pixi, and while its diminutive size made me question its abilities, it won me over
• BrewDog gets its bite back with a vibrant design refresh
• Upside down and backwards: 9 must-try art exercises to break your drawing habits

• Erm… just checking, but social media’s dead now, right? Even Mark Zuckerberg knows it
• Texas is getting ready to ban social media for anyone under 18
• “Microsoft has simply given us no other option,” Signal says as it blocks Windows Recall
• Bluesky Still Figuring Out How to Make Money Without Spamming You With Ads
• Instagram Finally Adds Support for 3:4 Aspect Ratio Photos
• Bad Android Battery Life Recently? Blame Instagram
• WhatsApp Finally Launches an iPad App
• If You Get Your News on Social Media, It’s Probably a Political Echo Chamber

Each week we’ll share a meme that we find thought provoking or just plain funny.

• Mindful Eating: What It Is and Expert Tips to Get Started
• Is the closure of McDonald’s CosMc’s restaurants really a branding fail?
• You’ve Heard of the Mediterranean Diet. Meet Its Climate-Conscious Cousin

If you see some important news that you feel we should share with our readers, please let us know and we’ll consider including it in our next post.

Web Design Solutions Digest for May 27, 2025

by Foster D. Coburn III | May 27, 2025 | Web Design Solutions Digest

Page Builders, Divi 5, NLWeb, AI content, State of SEO, IndexNow, AI Overviews, Creative Cloud pricing, Veo 3 and Stanley Tucci. There are a handful of projects I’ve been doing for my own projects and four big ones have completed in the last week. One of them took over two years, while the others were only a few months. It feels good to have them finished and now I’ll have to find new projects for clients to fill the time I now have available. You’ll find all the news of the week covered in the many headlines below.

• 9 Things To Look For In A WordPress Page Builder
• 22,000 WordPress Sites Affected by Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in Motors WordPress Theme
• Developer Advisory: Stripe API Issues in WooCommerce Stripe Payment Gateway 9.5.0
• Critical Privilege Escalation Vulnerability Patched in Eventin Plugin
• WooCommerce 9.9 will deliver massive admin performance gains
• Security and WordPress: It’s time to fix the image
• Is WordPress still a good choice for building websites in 2025?
• WordCamp US 2025 Moves Ahead With New Leads After Automattic Layoffs Disrupt Planning
• Sophisticated & Stealthy Formjacking Malware Targets E-Commerce Checkout Pages

• Who is the most influential creative of the last 25 years? Help us settle the debate
• NLWeb is Microsoft’s project to bring more chatbots to web pages
• A Human Renaissance in the Age of AI
• CMS Market Share Trends: Top Content Management Systems (May 2025)
• 74% of New Webpages Include AI Content (Study of 900k Pages)
• How To Successfully Weave Your Brand Messaging Into Sales Copy
• Build a Profitable Hybrid Event Marketing Plan

• The State of SEO in 2025
• Zero-click searches: Google’s AI tools are the culmination of its hubris
• Your Google Search experience will never be the same, thanks to 8 new AI features
• Google Expands AI Features in Search: What You Need to Know
• Ask An SEO: Why Didn’t My Keywords Come Back After I Changed My Page Content?
• Use IndexNow For AI Search And Shopping SEO
• 30-Year SEO Pro Shows How To Adapt To Google’s Zero-Click Search
• Stop Focusing On Google, It’s Time to Focus On Being Visible
• Google’s Official Advice On Optimizing For AI Overviews & AI Mode
• How Long Does It Take to Rank in Google? And How Old Are Top Ranking Pages?
• Google Claims AI Search Delivers ‘Quality Clicks’ Despite Traffic Loss
• Search That Sells: Connecting The Dots Between Rankings And Results

• Adobe Creative Cloud Price Increase: Up $10 a Month, More AI Features Included
• Adobe’s shock pricing move is controversial, but it’s also pretty clever
• ChatGPT’s Image Generator Is Now in Microsoft Copilot. Here’s What You Can Do With It
• Google’s Veo 3 and Imagen 4 Generative AI Models Crank the Realism Dial to 11
• How to draw charming story characters using pencils and watercolours
• “Before AI, I was living a life full of discipline and rules”: inside the surreal AI art of Niceaunties
• How to use Adobe Illustrator’s Text-to-Vector tool: A step-by-step guide
• I’ve been using AutoCAD for 20 years – my testing shows the latest version is the best it’s been
• I’ve been watching Google Veo 3 videos, and they’re genuinely terrifying
• Turn mistakes into art: 7 exercises that start with a scribble
• These concept art fundamentals may be the key to advancing your work

Each week we’ll share a meme that we find thought provoking or just plain funny.

• The tinkerers who opened up a fancy coffee maker to AI brewing
• Temple University Welcomes Tree Bred to Grow 40 Different Fruits
• How the New TV Series ‘Tucci In Italy’ Captures the Essence of Italy

If you see some important news that you feel we should share with our readers, please let us know and we’ll consider including it in our next post.

Web Design Solutions Digest for May 20, 2025

by Foster D. Coburn III | May 20, 2025 | Web Design Solutions Digest

Page load speed, PressConf, module groups, AI identity, local SEO checklist, ACDSee, AI certification, Pinterest alternative and Pope-erroni pizza. Loyal readers know that I have shared videos about the process of using a custom post type to build a Web design portfolio. At the time of the videos, I still needed to add more Web design projects for the new portfolio to go live. It is now live so I encourage you to check out the new portfolio! There was plenty of other news this week so check out all the stories below.

• Improve Page Load Speed: Key Steps for Faster Sites (2025)
• How To Pick A Website Builder In 2025
• 82,000 WordPress Sites Affected by Arbitrary File Upload Vulnerability in TheGem WordPress Theme
• Critical RomethemeKit For Elementor Plugin Vulnerability Patched
• Automattic Asks Court to Dismiss Class Action Filed by WP Engine Customer
• PressConf 2025: Real Conversations, Real People, Real Impact
• Top WordPress technologies to learn in 2025: Trends and expert opinions
• How to Use AI to Enhance Your WordPress Blog
• 50,000 WordPress Sites Affected by PHP Object Injection Vulnerability in Uncanny Automator WordPress Plugin
• 10,000 WordPress Sites Affected by Remote Code Execution Vulnerability in UiPress lite WordPress Plugin
• WordPress Scraper Plugin Compromised By Security Vulnerability

• The Zero Click Internet
• Build Your AI Identity with Gravatar’s New Tool
• Business is personal
• 300 Experts agree: AI will change your customers
• The B.R.E.W. Framework: How We Decide Which Marketing Ideas to Pursue
• Website Builder Wix Unveils Wixel, an AI-Powered Visual Design Platform

• The Triple-P Framework: AI & Search Brand Presence, Perception & Performance
• Google Links To Itself: 43% Of AI Overviews Point Back To Google
• Ask An SEO: How Do I Rebuild My Website After A Dispute With The Hosting Company?
• Google Updates Image SEO Best Practices: Use Consistent URLs
• How Can My Brand Appear in Answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Other AI/LLM Tools?
• An On-Page Local SEO Checklist 🗺️
• Google AI Overviews leads to dramatic reduction in clickthroughs for Mail Online
• Create Your Own ChatGPT Agent For On-Page SEO Audits
• The First-Ever UX Study Of Google’s AI Overviews: The Data We’ve All Been Waiting For
• How Referral Traffic Undermines Long-Term Brand Growth
• AI Overviews Have Doubled (25M AIOs Analyzed)
• Is Google really getting worse? (Actually, it’s complicated)
• The first-ever UX Study of Google’s AI Overviews: The Data We’ve All Been Waiting For
• The Rise, Fall, and Recovery of Forbes Advisor (Study)
• Googler’s Deposition Offers View Of Google’s Ranking Systems
• The Intersection Of Video SEO And Social Media: Tactics To Win
• HTTP Status Codes Google Cares About (And Those It Ignores)
• From Search To Discovery: Why SEO Must Evolve Beyond The SERP
• Does Google’s AI Overviews Violate Its Own Spam Policies?

• ACD Systems’s Refreshing Stance on Artificial Intelligence in Photo Editing
• The new Google logo is already proving popular
• The design of Pope Leo XIV’s coat of arms is proving to be surprisingly controversial
• Maxon just launched its first new software in years – and it’s bringing Oscar-winning cinematic 3D to designers
• How One Biologist Drew a Hyper-Accurate, Ranger-Approved Map of Congaree National Park
• Google Launches Generative AI Certification With Free Training
• Cricut experts just taught me how to make beautiful flowers – and you can, too
• Learn to use visual language to convey mood with bestselling children’s book artist Tony DiTerlizzi
• Tesla’s Robotaxi trademark rejection shows it needs to get more creative with its branding
• Tesla’s ‘Robotaxi’ brand might be too generic to trademark
• Stupid or Strategic? Warner Bros. to Rebrand Max as HBO Max Again
• Wix takes on Canva and Adobe with new free visual design platform

• Google is reportedly planning to unveil a Pinterest alternative at I/O 2025

Each week we’ll share a meme that we find thought provoking or just plain funny.

• What Exactly Is Cool Whip?
• Chicago Pizzeria Honors Former Customer Pope Leo XIV With New “Pope-erroni” Pie

If you see some important news that you feel we should share with our readers, please let us know and we’ll consider including it in our next post.

Photo by Hal Gatewood on Unsplash