


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key features:</h4>



<ul><li>Spam filters with 99.99 percent&nbsp;accuracy</li>

<li>Form, text, and <a href="https://akismet.com/blog/best-wordpress-comment-plugins-compared/">comment spam</a>&nbsp;protection</li>

<li>The ability to save 20 hours per month managing&nbsp;spam</li>


<li>Real-time analysis</li>


<li>An open API&nbsp;key</li>

<li>Customizable enterprise&nbsp;solutions</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use:</h4>


<p>You can install and activate the Akismet plugin directly through your WordPress dashboard. Then, simply access the dedicated interface to find out how many pieces of spam have been blocked. You can also configure your privacy, filtering, and comments settings using simple checkboxes.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing:</h4>



<p><a href="https://akismet.com/pricing/">Akismet plans</a> for businesses start at $4.95 per month.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="1600" height="627" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/image-23.png" alt="HubSpot homepage, with details about the tool" class="wp-image-283373" />


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. <a href="https://www.hubspot.com/products/marketing/marketing-automation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">HubSpot Marketing&nbsp;Automation</a></h3>

<p>HubSpot provides one of the easiest ways to automate your marketing campaigns. The software uses intuitive workflows to help you launch campaigns quickly — across mediums like email, websites, SMS, and&nbsp;more.</p>

<p>For instance, you can build beautiful email templates with no code. Then, configure triggers and actions to send the right emails to the right people at the right time. This way, you’re able to create more email campaigns, generate more leads, and conduct regular&nbsp;follow&#8209;ups.</p>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key features:</h4>



<ul><li>Email drip campaigns (with triggers, conditions, and&nbsp;actions)</li>

<li>Targeted workflows with a visual&nbsp;editor</li>


<li>Advanced segmentation</li>


<li>The ability to personalize campaigns with CRM&nbsp;data</li>

<li>Internal notification triggers following key&nbsp;actions</li>


<li>Automated task reminders&nbsp;</li>


<li>Logs of important campaign&nbsp;metrics</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use:</h4>

<p>Some of HubSpot’s tools can be complex and difficult to work with. But the marketing automation platform makes nearly every function accessible from the primary&nbsp;dashboard.</p>


<p>It doesn’t require any coding experience, though coding is still an option for users who want to refine their marketing assets. Better yet, you’ll get access to a growing library of templates, reusable layouts, and resources to help you get started.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing:</h4>



<p>You can try HubSpot’s marketing tools for free after creating an account. Or upgrade to the <a href="https://www.hubspot.com/pricing/marketing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Starter plan</a> for $18 per month.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="1600" height="630" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/image-24.png" alt="Grammarly homepage with screenshots" class="wp-image-283375" />



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. <a href="https://www.grammarly.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Grammarly</a></h3>


<p>Grammarly is a popular AI marketing tool that instantly generates clear, concise content. While Grammarly is well known for its spelling and grammar checking abilities, you can also use the software to improve your writing style and brand voice throughout your content&nbsp;creation.</p>


<p>One of the best parts about Grammarly is that you can use it directly within your desktop applications and across the web. So you can easily improve all content from emails and social media posts, to documents.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key features:</h4>



<ul><li>GrammarlyGo, which enables you to write full content pieces with just a&nbsp;prompt</li>

<li>Summarized emails, and the ability to respond using context&#8209;specific&nbsp;prompts</li>

<li>Integration on desktop and&nbsp;mobile</li>

<li>Guidance to adjust the tone and attitude of your&nbsp;writing</li>

<li>The ability to create shared guidelines across your&nbsp;team</li>

<li>Integrations with over 500,000 applications, like Gmail, Google Docs, Microsoft, and&nbsp;Slack</li>

<li>Enterprise&#8209;grade privacy and&nbsp;security</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use:</h4>


<p>Once you install Grammarly, you can select your preferred English dialect and writing style in your account settings. Then, the tool works automatically to elevate your writing.&nbsp;</p>



<p>You’ll receive various types of suggestions, highlighted in different colors. Then, you’re able to click on each suggestion to find more information about it. Plus, it’s easy to accept or reject the suggestions.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing:</h4>



<p>It’s completely free to create a Grammarly account. Or, opt for the <a href="https://www.grammarly.com/plans" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Premium plan</a> to access full-sentence rewrites, tone suggestions, and vocabulary ideas. This costs $12 per month with an annual subscription.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="1600" height="673" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/image-25.png" alt="Synthesia homepage with a video" class="wp-image-283378" />



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. <a href="https://www.synthesia.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Synthesia</a>&nbsp;</h3>


<p>Synthesia is a neat AI marketing tool that instantly converts your written content into high&#8209;quality videos. You can choose from a bunch of natural&#8209;sounding AI voices in over 120 languages. Meanwhile, you’re able to make your videos more engaging with over 140&nbsp;avatars.</p>


<p>Synthesia is a great choice for agencies that produce training videos at scale. You can create, share, and edit videos all in one place. And, there are plenty of e-learning courses in sales, customer service, and marketing to help get your team up to speed.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key features:</h4>



<ul><li>Consistent voices in over 120&nbsp;languages</li>

<li>Automatic closed&nbsp;captions</li>

<li>The ability to clone your own&nbsp;voice</li>

<li>Over 140 avatars (or create your&nbsp;own)</li>

<li>Video prototypes that you can share with your&nbsp;team</li>


<li>One-click video updates&nbsp;</li>



<li>SOC 2 and GDPR compliance&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>



<li>Over 200 free templates&nbsp;</li>


<li>Integrations with WordPress and&nbsp;YouTube</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use:</h4>


<p>This AI video generator is very easy to use thanks to Synthesia’s clean, simple interface. To start making videos, you’ll enter your audience and topic before generating a script.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Next, you’re able to choose a layout for all the different scenes. Then, you can replace avatars, edit your script directly, and overlay text, images, or your business logo. When you’re done, you can download the video to share as part of your social media marketing or generate a handy link to embed it on your website.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing:</h4>



<p>Synthesia provides custom enterprise packages for large companies following a demo. But, you can get started with the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.synthesia.io/pricing" target="_blank">Synthesia Personal plan</a> for $22.50 per month.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="1999" height="912" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/image14-1.png" alt="Albert homepage with a dark background" class="wp-image-283379" />



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">5. <a href="https://albert.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Albert.ai</a></h3>


<p>Albert is one of the best AI&#8209;powered tools for business because it can help you improve the effectiveness of your digital advertising. For instance, Albert can group keywords, build campaigns and audiences, manage budget allowance, optimize media, and provide reports with key&nbsp;insights.</p>

<p>It’s a fully autonomous solution that can pretty much run the bulk tasks for certain marketing campaigns. This makes it one of the most valuable options on the list. All&#8209;in&#8209;all, it can save you tons of time, and improve the success of your&nbsp;campaigns.</p>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key features:</h4>



<ul><li>Analytics with data&nbsp;visualization</li>

<li>A dedicated dashboard to manage&nbsp;campaigns</li>


<li>Calendar management</li>


<li>A/B split&nbsp;testing</li>


<li>Ad variations</li>


<li>Budget allocation and&nbsp;scheduling</li>


<li>Bid optimization&nbsp;</li>
</ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use:</h4>


<p>Albert gives you access to an intuitive dashboard where it’s easy to track your budget allowance and oversee your advertising tasks. Additionally, Albert can handle super complex tasks with ease, which saves your business time and resources. It’s constantly learning and adapting, so your campaigns will be continually improving.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing:</h4>


<p>Albert offers customized pricing plans. That means you’ll need to <a href="https://albert.ai/pricing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">request an estimate</a> to get an idea of what you can expect to&nbsp;pay.</p>


<img width="1600" height="685" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/image-26.png" alt="Phrasee homepage with examples of the tool in use" class="wp-image-283381" />



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">6. <a href="https://phrasee.co/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Phrasee</a></h3>


<p>Phrasee provides one of the easiest ways to elevate your online marketing messaging. You can use the software to predict what content will resonate most with your audience. Plus, you can optimize all of your content, and gain insight into what’s working and what’s&nbsp;not.</p>

<p>What’s more, Phrasee is a great option for agencies, since each team member will get access to a stylish dashboard where they’ll find performance data and language insights. Here, you can also automate A/B split tests, and create high&#8209;performing marketing content for every stage of your customer journey to more effectively implement your marketing&nbsp;strategy.</p>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key features:</h4>



<ul><li>Copy generation in real&nbsp;time</li>

<li>Content Engine, which crafts material that’s backed by&nbsp;data</li>

<li>Brand compliance&nbsp;support</li>

<li>Support for all major digital channels, from emails to blog&nbsp;posts</li>

<li>The ability to adjust the distribution of your message variants on the&nbsp;fly</li>

<li>Integration with leading ESPs, CDPs, and digital engagement&nbsp;platforms</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use:</h4>


<p>Phrasee is a complex tool, but it’s easy to learn how to use. You can access all of Phrasee’s AI features from one intuitive dashboard.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Plus, the platform offers planning, creation, optimization, and analytics, so you won’t need separate solutions for each of these tasks. Better yet, it’s a great option for enterprise marketing teams, since the package includes unlimited seats.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing:</h4>


<p><a href="https://phrasee.co/pricing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Starter plan</a> costs $500 a month, but includes unlimited content writing and unlimited seats. Phrasee also offers flexible enterprise solutions which might be best for larger&nbsp;businesses.</p>


<img width="1600" height="736" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/image-27.png" alt="FullStory homepage with stats about their success" class="wp-image-283384" />



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">7. <a href="https://www.fullstory.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FullStory</a></h3>



<p>FullStory uses proprietary autocapture technology to monitor the quality of your digital experience. For instance, you can see where (and why) visitors are struggling with your website or mobile app.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Better yet, the software flags opportunities for improvement, and prioritizes these changes by quantifying impact. This way, you can reduce friction on your site and increase sales and conversions. And, with tons of integrations, FullStory can work seamlessly with tools that your team is already using.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key features:</h4>



<ul><li>Tagless web&nbsp;autocapture</li>

<li>Core product&nbsp;analytics</li>


<li>Conversion analysis</li>



<li>Retention analysis</li>



<li>Session replays</li>


<li>Robust privacy&nbsp;settings</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use:</h4>


<p>FullStory is a highly user-friendly tool, especially when it comes to developing analytics. All you need to do is create a metric and add it to your dashboard.&nbsp;</p>



<p>You can also set up different dashboards with different metrics. Better yet, FullStory adapts a “set it and forget it” model, so you can simply return to the dashboard to check on your website’s performance.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing:</h4>


<p>FullStory offers <a href="https://www.fullstory.com/plans/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">three plans</a>: Business, Advanced, and Enterprise. But, you won’t find prices on the website. The good news is that you can test the product for 14 days. Plus, you can speak with a professional to choose the right plan for your&nbsp;business.</p>


<img width="1600" height="793" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/image-28.png" alt="Zapier homepage with icons of tools it integrates with" class="wp-image-283385" />



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">8. <a href="https://zapier.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zapier</a></h3>


<p>Zapier is a handy AI marketing tool that enables you to build custom workflows and automate many routine tasks. Better yet, it can connect tons of apps that you’re currently using to help save time and&nbsp;energy.</p>

<p>All you need to do is describe what you want to automate and Zapier will write the code and build the Zaps for you. Additionally, many tasks can be automated directly within the ChatGPT interface where you can execute over 30,000 Zapier&nbsp;actions.</p>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key features:</h4>



<ul><li>More than 30 AI app&nbsp;partners</li>


<li>Multistep Zaps</li>


<li>The ability to save multiple versions of your&nbsp;Zaps</li>

<li>Retries for any task&nbsp;failures</li>

<li>Custom logic based on certain&nbsp;conditions</li>


<li>Advanced workflows</li>


<li>Shared app connections (Team&nbsp;plan)</li>

<li>Live chat (Team&nbsp;plan)</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use:</h4>


<p>Zapier easily makes connections between various apps, so you don’t need to manage them all separately. Better yet, since Zapier automates actions between apps, you don&#8217;t need to monitor tasks yourself. In Zapier’s well-organized interface, you’ll lay out the triggers and steps that you want to occur, and the tool takes care of all the behind-the-scenes coding.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing:</h4>



<p>You can start with Zapier for free, but this will only give you access to 100 tasks per month and single-step Zaps. <a href="https://zapier.com/pricing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Premium Zapier plans</a> are highly customizable. You can choose from four tiers, then select the number of tasks you can use per month, paying accordingly. Plans start at $19.99 per month for 750 tasks per month.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="1600" height="853" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/image-29.png" alt="Chatfuel homepage with a bright green background" class="wp-image-283386" />



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">9. <a href="https://chatfuel.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ChatFuel</a></h3>


<p>ChatFuel is one of the best AI tools for ecommerce businesses and marketers. It can help boost your lead generation and increase revenue on WhatsApp. It enables you to improve your customer service and response times by adding unlimited agents to just one business&nbsp;number.</p>


<p>You’ll also get the verified green badge, so customers know you’re trustworthy. Then, you can display personalized messages, collect customer feedback, and activate drip campaigns with an automated triggering system.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key features:</h4>



<ul><li>99.99 percent uptime&nbsp;guarantee</li>


<li>GDPR compliance</li>



<li>A/B testing</li>


<li>Audience segmentation based on behavior and&nbsp;preferences</li>

<li>Auto&#8209;replies to Instagram messages or&nbsp;mentions</li>

<li>The ability to chat with visitors via the Messenger&nbsp;button</li>

<li>Integration with&nbsp;ChatGPT</li>

<li>The ability to sell products on&nbsp;WhatsApp</li>

<li>Personalized messages to recover abandoned&nbsp;carts</li></ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use:</h4>


<p>ChatFuel provides one of the easiest and most intuitive chatbots on the market. It gives you access to a straightforward platform that’s simple and scalable. Plus, there’s a wide range of features to configure more complex chatbots if you need them.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing:</h4>


<p>You can try out ChatFuel at no cost. The free plan supports 50 conversions per month. You can upgrade, with <a href="https://chatfuel.com/pricing-main" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">premium ChatFuel plans</a> starting at $14.99 per&nbsp;month.</p>


<img width="1600" height="698" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/image-30.png" alt="Keyword Insights AI homepage" class="wp-image-283388" />


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">10. <a href="https://www.keywordinsights.ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Keyword Insights&nbsp;AI</a></h3>

<p>With Keyword Insights AI, you’re able to generate thousands of keyword ideas and group them into topic clusters. Then, it’s easy to create and optimize content without spending lots of time implementing key search engine optimization&nbsp;techniques.</p>

<p>Better yet, you can quickly identify the search intent behind your chosen keywords, whether it’s transactional, informational, or something else. Then, when you’re happy with your keyword choice, you can send the cluster for brief creation in just a click. All of this contributes to a smoother, faster content creation&nbsp;process.</p>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Key features:</h4>



<ul><li>Clusters for up to 45,000&nbsp;keywords</li>

<li>The ability to create content&nbsp;briefs</li>

<li>Up to 20 keyword searches per&nbsp;month</li>

<li>Live Chat&nbsp;support</li>

<li>SERP Similarity&nbsp;Pro</li>

<li>SERP Explorer&nbsp;Pro</li>

<li>Team sharing and reporting (with paid&nbsp;plans)</li>


<li>Cluster analysis</li>
</ul>


<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use:</h4>


<p>Keyword Insights AI gives you access to a user-friendly interface where you can generate a large list of keywords around a certain topic quickly and easily. Then, you can group keywords and uncover topical clusters that are missing from your content.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Next, with the AI-driven content brief generator, you’re able to create an outline for a piece of content. And in just one click, you can send off the outline to your team for review, or direct the brief straight to your content writer.&nbsp;</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Pricing:</h4>


<p>You can try Keyword Insights AI for $1 for four days. Then, upgrade to one of its <a href="https://www.keywordinsights.ai/pricing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">paid plans</a> from $58 per month. This includes 6000 keyword clusters, ten content briefs, and five keyword searches per&nbsp;month.</p>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Factors to consider when choosing an AI marketing tool&nbsp;</h2>


<p>While there are many useful AI marketing tools available, it’s important to find the right option for your unique business needs. Here are some key factors to consider when choosing artificial intelligence platforms to&nbsp;implement.</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Algorithm type</h3>


<p>There are four main types of machine learning algorithms to choose from. Since each algorithm can result in a different level of accuracy and performance, this is an important factor to consider before opting for a particular AI&nbsp;tool.</p>

<p>For instance, supervised learning algorithms can draw conclusions, make estimations, and develop an understanding between different algorithms. Typically, this type of learning is used to analyze trends or make predictions about your&nbsp;content.</p>


<p>You can also find tools that rely on semi-supervised learning. This works similarly to supervised learning, but it uses labeled (contains tags to help sort information) and unlabeled data.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Meanwhile, unsupervised learning is a great way to identify patterns and correlations. It’s often used to cluster similar data sets for tasks like customer&nbsp;segmentation.</p>


<p>Lastly, reinforced algorithms provide a set of parameters to teach the software using trial and error. These tools learn through experience and can adapt their approach according to different situations.&nbsp;</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Integration with other&nbsp;systems</h3>

<p>While there are plenty of excellent AI tools, it’s important to assess whether the platform will fit nicely within your current workflow. So, it’s a good idea to take a look at the possible integrations, and how easy it is to connect the&nbsp;platforms.</p>


<img width="1600" height="916" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/image-31.png" alt="list of available Akismet integrations" class="wp-image-283390" />


<p>What’s more, it’s best to plan ahead when possible. For example, if you plan on expanding your business, you might be looking to upgrade certain systems. Keep this in mind when selecting your AI marketing tools. This way, you can prevent any future disruptions to your usual&nbsp;procedures.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Ease of&nbsp;use</h3>


<p>Most platforms that feature AI boast about speed and automation. It’s these qualities that enable you to increase productivity and manage (or monitor) your business more efficiently.&nbsp;</p>



<p>But some AI tools for businesses can be tricky to set up. For instance, some complex platforms can require access to your CRM or other types of data, which can be difficult to establish.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Additionally, while most AI tools don’t require any coding skills, they might not be suitable for beginners. That’s why it’s a good idea to thoroughly read the customer reviews to get a sense of a tool’s&nbsp;usability.</p>

<p>Sometimes, you can even try a demo or access a free trial first. That way, you can determine whether the tool will be accessible and manageable for everybody on your team. Plus, you can sometimes find free resources and forums where you can gain support and solutions to your&nbsp;problems.</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Updates</h3>



<p>No matter what kind of tool you add to your business (whether AI or not), it’s important to make sure that it’s updated regularly. This way, you know that the development team is still active, and the tool isn’t running outdated technology. You should expect new features to be released, which can give your business a competitive edge.&nbsp;</p>


<p>But updates are also important for security. That’s because the longer a piece of software has been available, the more likely hackers can find a way around its security barriers. Meaning, outdated software can be used as a backdoor to your site. Plus, most updates come with fixes for common bugs and&nbsp;errors.</p>


<p>When you’re dealing with an AI-powered tool specifically, updates are even more vital to the success of your business. This is because AI content creation tools are trained on resources until a certain point.&nbsp;</p>


<p>For instance, <a href="https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ChatGPT</a> is only trained on data until late 2021. Essentially, if your chosen AI tool isn’t being updated frequently, you risk publishing outdated content, which can affect your search ranking and&nbsp;trustworthiness.</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Scalability</h3>


<p>Typically, when business owners and marketers start looking for new tools, they consider their current situation. But it’s important to consider future plans as well. Are you expecting any significant growth? Does your business fluctuate at certain times of the&nbsp;year?</p>

<p>If this is the case, you can outgrow your new tool and require an upgrade, or, an entirely new solution. Therefore, it’s best to factor this into your decision&#8209;making process. You can even find specific AI marketing tools that offer plans that make it easy to scale resources up and&nbsp;down.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Security and&nbsp;privacy</h3>

<p>One of the most important factors when choosing the best AI tool is security and privacy. You’ll want to make sure that your business is protected, and that any sensitive data like customer information and payment details are kept&nbsp;confidential.</p>


<p>With this in mind, pay attention to the tool’s data handling practices, encryption methods, and compliance with regulations like GDPR. That way, you can assess whether there are any risks associated with implementing the tool on your website.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Frequently asked questions&nbsp;</h2>


<p>Up to now, we’ve tried to cover everything you need to know about AI marketing tools, but you still may have a few doubts. So, in this section, we’ll answer some of the most common questions on the&nbsp;subject.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">How do I know which AI marketing tool to&nbsp;choose?</h3>


<p>Since there are so many diverse AI marketing tools, it can be difficult to choose the right solution for your business. Typically, this will depend on your own unique needs.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In any case, Akismet is a great tool for practically every business, since spam will always be an issue for any website. With Akismet, you can block all comment, form, and text spam without the need to manually analyze every submission.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Better yet, Akismet boasts a 99.99% detection accuracy rate. Unlike other anti&#8209;spam solutions such as CAPTCHAs, Akismet performs these tasks without disrupting the user&nbsp;experience.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">How can AI tools help businesses improve their marketing&nbsp;strategies?</h3>

<p>There are tons of artificial intelligence tools that can help businesses improve their marketing strategies. Most of these platforms make it easier and quicker to perform certain functions, enabling you to increase your content output and make your campaigns more&nbsp;effective.</p>


<p>For instance, you can identify thousands of keywords and topical clusters using a content strategy tool like AI Keyword Insights. Meanwhile, ChatFuel enables you to boost lead generation and revenue across social media marketing apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. Synthesia transforms simple text prompts into engaging videos in just a few minutes.&nbsp;</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">How does AI help businesses with lead&nbsp;generation?</h3>


<p>By implementing the best AI marketing tools, you can improve many aspects of your business, including lead generation.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In particular, Akismet is a great way to get more leads on your website. That’s because the tool <a href="https://akismet.com/blog/best-anti-spam-wordpress-plugins-compared/">protects your site against spam</a> (and the associated risks), without adding friction to the user experience.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Many websites ask visitors to prove that they’re not a robot using protocols like CAPTCHA, this can be frustrating for visitors who might decide to exit your page.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Akismet is more user&#8209;friendly, so it can help you increase conversions and sales on your&nbsp;site.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What are the technical requirements for implementing AI tools in&nbsp;marketing?</h3>


<p>The requirements for integrating and using AI tools will vary depending on your choice. Adding them to your workflows and practices may take a while, though the efficiency gained will quickly make it a worthwhile effort.&nbsp;</p>


<p>But, if your site is on WordPress, implementing Akismet is as easy as installing the plugin directly from your WordPress&nbsp;dashboard.</p>


<p>To do this, go to <strong>Plugins </strong>→ <strong>Add New </strong>within your WordPress dashboard. Here, search for “Akismet” and it will be the top option that’s presented.&nbsp;</p>



<img width="1280" height="636" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/image-32.png" alt="Akismet plugin in the WordPress dashboard" class="wp-image-283393" />



<p>Then, select <strong>Install Now </strong>→ <strong>Activate. </strong>After that, navigate to <strong>Settings </strong>→ <strong>Akismet Anti-Spam.&nbsp;</strong></p>



<img width="316" height="548" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/image-33.png" alt="Aksimet Anti-Spam settings in the dashboard" class="wp-image-283394" />


<p>If you already have an API key, click on <strong>Manually enter an API key. </strong>Or, choose <strong>Set up your Akismet&nbsp;account</strong>.</p>


<img width="1600" height="760" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/image-34.png" alt="Akismet setup wizard" class="wp-image-283395" />



<p>Since the tool starts working automatically, you can start enjoying robust anti-spam protection without lifting a finger.&nbsp;</p>


<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What is an example of an AI tool that addresses a significant marketing&nbsp;challenge?</h3>

<p>One of the biggest challenges in marketing is finding a way to block spam without ruining the user experience. Traditionally, website owners and marketers use methods like CAPTCHA to reduce spam, since this entails the visitor proving that they aren’t a&nbsp;robot.</p>


<img width="770" height="925" src="https://akismet455732288.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/image-35.png" alt="CAPTCHA example with red spheres" class="wp-image-283396" />


<p>The problem with CAPTCHA is that it can lead to fewer conversions since it adds friction to the user experience. This can be frustrating for visitors who might choose to leave your website, ditch your form, or abandon their&nbsp;cart.</p>

<p>But, Akismet is a clever AI tool that filters your comment, text, and form spam automatically. It eliminates the need for CAPTCHA by analyzing submissions in real&#8209;time with 99.99%&nbsp;accuracy.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What are the benefits of using Akismet’s AI&#8209;powered spam&nbsp;protection?</h3>

<p>There are tons of benefits to using Akismet’s AI&#8209;powered spam protection. First off, it enables you to filter spam from your site without implementing intrusive alternatives like CAPTCHA. This way, you can keep visitors on your website and increase your conversion&nbsp;rate.</p>

<p>Akismet blocks form and comment spam with incredible accuracy. By analyzing any piece of user&#8209;submitted text, you can keep your website better protected against common security&nbsp;threats.</p>


<p>What’s more, using Akismet saves site administrators an average of 20 hours per month when it replaces a manual spam filtering process.&nbsp;</p>


<p>Akismet provides a flexible API, so it’s easy to build it into any enterprise application your organization may&nbsp;use.</p>

<h3 class="wp-block-heading">What types of companies generally use&nbsp;Akismet?</h3>

<p>Akismet is a powerful anti&#8209;spam solution that can be used by complete beginners. But, it’s also a great option for small businesses and <a href="https://akismet.com/enterprise/">large&nbsp;enterprises</a>.</p>


<p>For instance, there are currently over 100 million websites using the AI-powered Akismet tool. Some of these brands include Microsoft, WordPress.com, Bluehost, and ConvertKit. And across these websites, Akismet has blocked over 545,000,000,000 pieces of spam.&nbsp;</p>


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Akismet: AI&#8209;powered spam protection that boosts conversion&nbsp;rates</h2>

<p>AI marketing tools can simplify many aspects of running your business. This way, you can complete tons of tasks in a much shorter time frame. Plus, you can offload routine procedures and free up time to invest into other areas of your business, like&nbsp;growth.</p>

<p>With this in mind, you might want to implement a tool like <a href="https://www.grammarly.com/">Grammarly</a> to enhance your copy. <a href="https://zapier.com/">Zapier</a> can enable you to build custom workflows by connecting tons of apps. Or you could use a tool like <a href="https://www.synthesia.io/">Synthesia</a> to create high&#8209;quality videos with no&nbsp;equipment.</p>

<p>Additionally, Akismet provides robust anti&#8209;spam protection. Using advanced AI, Akismet filters out comment and form spam with 99.99% accuracy. Better yet, user submissions are analyzed in real time, and Akismet works without disrupting the user experience. <a href="https://akismet.com/pricing/">Get started with Akismet&nbsp;today</a>!</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 18 Oct 2023 13:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11:"Jen Swisher";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:44;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:18:"Matt: Cost of Spam";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:23:"https://ma.tt/?p=101397";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://ma.tt/2023/10/cost-of-spam/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:1551:"<p><a href="https://fortune.com/2023/10/17/twitter-x-charging-new-users-1-dollar-year-to-tweet/">Twitter/X is testing charging users $1/year</a> with the idea that will keep out bots and spam. It&#8217;s an appealing idea, and charging definitely does introduce a &#8220;proof of work&#8221; that wasn&#8217;t there before, but the history of the web shows this is not really a big deterrent. Domains cost money, usually a lot more than a dollar a year, and millions are used for spam or nefarious purposes. The spammers obviously thought their benefit would be more than the cost of the domain, or they use stolen credit cards and identities. Charging may cause a short-term drop in bots while the bad guys update their scripts, but the value of manipulating X/Twitter is so high I imagine there is already millions of dollars being spent on it.</p>



<p>Long term to keep a platform healthy you really have to take a nuanced look at behavior and content, like Automattic does with <a href="https://akismet.com/">Akismet</a>, and have a fairly sophisticated trust and safety operation with great engineers. T&amp;S is really important, not an enemy of progress, which would have been my chief edit to the otherwise exciting <a href="https://a16z.com/the-techno-optimist-manifesto/">The Techno-Optimist Manifesto by Marc Andreessen</a>. (If you missed Marc&#8217;s <a href="https://a16z.com/ai-will-save-the-world/">Why AI Will Save the World</a>, that&#8217;s also an excellent read with dozens of references you can go down a rabbit hole with.)</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 18 Oct 2023 09:18:40 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:4:"Matt";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:45;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:104:"HeroPress: The Fuel Of Everything That’s Great In The World – Rotițele care fac lumea să se miște";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:56:"https://heropress.com/?post_type=heropress-essays&p=5952";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:168:"https://heropress.com/essays/the-fuel-of-everything-thats-great-in-the-world/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-fuel-of-everything-thats-great-in-the-world";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:24674:"<img width="1024" height="512" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/101723-min.jpg" class="attachment-large size-large wp-post-image" alt="Pull Quote: I think people are the fuel of everything that’s great in this world. — Cred că oamenii sunt catalizatorul a ceea ce este mai bun în lume." /><p><a href="https://heropress.com/feed/#romanian">Eseul este disponibil și în română.</a></p>



<p>It&#8217;s a beautiful coincidence how, at the time of writing this story, I&#8217;m a few weeks shy of celebrating nine years of working at Themeisle. I think it&#8217;s a big deal to have this continuity and consistency in something.&nbsp;</p>



<p>This anniversary also marks nine years of being part of the WordPress community. But let&#8217;s start from the beginning.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-from-journalism-to-content-writing">From journalism to content writing</h2>



<p>When I started working at Themeisle, I barely knew anything about WordPress. My only links to it were a personal blog on WordPress.com that I had created in college and writing for a few press websites in Romania that were built on WordPress.&nbsp;</p>



<p>That was all I knew about WordPress, which was not zero (I just knew how to write a post and publish it) but still far from what I should have known for the job. I was willing to learn, though, and here I am nine years later. Actually, I would say that I got here, in the WordPress community, rather accidentally than intentionally.</p>



<p>Having a degree in Journalism and Communication Studies, my initial plans were revolving around being a sports reporter or press journalist. Funny enough, I ended up doing a different kind of press… WordPress. Haha!</p>



<p>But before getting into the WordPress world, I was an aspiring journalist for a short time. Or a wanna-be journalist, if you will. I was adding brick by brick to the career in journalism that I had envisioned for myself.&nbsp;</p>



<p>One of these bricks was an <a href="https://www.sportrevolution.ro/catalina-ponor-mi-am-dorit-sa-fiu-printre-putinele-gimnaste-din-tara-care-au-mers-la-doua-olimpiade/">interview with Cătălina Ponor</a> &#8211; a three-time Olympic champion in artistic gymnastics and one of the best Romanian gymnasts. She used to be one of my sports idols growing up.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Another brick to the journalism career was a feature article about how corruption in Romania was slowly killing performance in sports. This article, initially published on a website called Semnal Plus, received a lot of engagement and appreciation from Romanian sports fans. It eventually <a href="https://treizecizero.ro/burse/2015/12/08/sportul-comoara-nationala-care-ne-scapa-printre-degete/">ended up on a popular tennis publication</a> in Romania &#8211; Treizecizero &#8211; as part of a writing contest, which brought me an internship with their editorial team.</p>



<p>I did write more similar content during college about sports for a popular sports newspaper in Romania and about rock/metal music for a niche news website. I remember being particularly proud of a bunch of them. They gave me the confidence that I had it in me for this career.&nbsp;</p>



<p>But the future had different plans for me.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Soon after, I began to realize that being a reporter or press writer would bring too much stress, lack of free time, and little money. Let alone giving away a little bit of your dignity every day. At least, this is how I would describe most of the journalism work in Romania.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For me, these factors played a big role in thinking that maybe, just maybe, I could explore some other options to see if there was something there for me that wasn’t a direct affront to these values that were paramount to me.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-working-at-themeisle">Working at Themeisle</h2>



<p>I’m not exaggerating for the sake of the story when I tell you that I got lucky finding Themeisle’s job announcement on a Facebook group. They were looking for a WordPress content writer. I didn’t even know what that meant, really. I just knew that yes, I did publish some articles on WordPress, so what could go wrong? I mean, I’ve used the platform before.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Well, it turned out to be different from what I expected because the job didn’t imply writing on WordPress but writing <em>about</em> WordPress. Which got me confused. So I had to learn the inside-outs of WordPress <em>while</em> I was trying to do my job.</p>



<p>Even more, the job implied writing in English, which I had never done before. All my writing up until that point used to be in Romanian. This was also a struggle, to completely switch the language and make it sound okay and readable.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It was not easy to start from almost zero experience and knowledge. And not once did I feel like an impostor seeing other people excelling at their jobs. I used to be so hard on myself, beating myself up for every little mistake and feedback that was not meeting my expectations.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In a way, that’s a good thing because this is how you evolve. But now, as I’m getting wiser, I understand that this was a sign of perfectionism, which I will never achieve and I don’t even want to anymore. Simply because it doesn’t exist.&nbsp;</p>



<p>As I was saying, I started my journey at Vertigo Studio (the company behind <a href="https://themeisle.com/">Themeisle</a> and <a href="https://www.codeinwp.com/">CodeinWP</a>) at the age of 22. At that time, the company had around six or seven employees. This picture was taken a few years after when new people got on board:</p>



<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image1.jpg"><img width="1024" height="685" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image1-1024x685.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-5958" /></a>



<p>My role was that of a content writer. But I&#8217;m a person who loves to experiment and try new things, so I have juggled many roles over the years.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I went through social media, recruiting interns, mentoring, copywriting, outreach, email marketing, interviews, and partnerships with WordPress companies. The variety of activities kept me engaged, curious, and motivated. It’s always exciting and challenging when you do something for the first time.&nbsp;</p>



<p>But my favorite would still be writing. My first love.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Even though I was mainly writing content for the Themeisle and CodeinWP blogs, I had the opportunity to collaborate with other WordPress blogs, too. So I contributed a few pieces of content to websites like <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/author/adelina-tuca/">Smashing Magazine</a>, <a href="https://torquemag.io/2018/04/is-that-plugin-reliable-how-to-test-wordpress-plugins/">TorqueMag</a>, <a href="https://www.wpexplorer.com/wordpress-block-patterns/">WPExplorer</a>, <a href="https://oceanwp.org/blog/are-ad-blockers-affecting-your-income-heres-how-to-prevent-them-from-harming-your-wordpress-business/">OceanWP</a>, or <a href="https://www.wpzoom.com/blog/how-to-start-travel-blog-wordpress/">WPZoom</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Even if I&#8217;m doing it in different forms, it all comes down to writing in the end. Interviews, for example, do count as writing plus a little bit of spice to the mix, which is connecting and meeting inspiring people in the community. It&#8217;s always interesting to meet people &#8211; even virtually &#8211; and hear their perspectives. You learn and become more open to different ideas and standpoints.&nbsp;</p>



<p>It&#8217;s also interesting how a socially anxious person like me finds meaning in connecting with other people. It&#8217;s like a paradox, healing my social anxiety through socializing.</p>



<p><a href="https://themeisle.com/blog/category/wordpress-community/interviews/">Here</a>’s the full collection of interviews that I did on the Themeisle blog with the cool people we have in our WordPress ecosystem.&nbsp;</p>



<p>At Themeisle, I grew not only as a professional but also as a person. As a bonus, I had the chance to meet the amazing people that are my colleagues. In our company, we always motivate each other to grow and improve. So I had the opportunity to build meaningful bonds and valuable friendships that I hope will last a long, long time.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contributing-to-wordcamps">Contributing to WordCamps</h2>



<p>As a team, we always strove to engage more with the WordPress community. This means getting involved in the local and international community. I, personally, enjoy WordCamps more when I play a bigger part than just attending.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Almost every year I either volunteered or enrolled in the media partners program which, yet again, meant meeting and interviewing people in person. The latter made me feel that journalist vibe again, bringing back old memories and emotions. It was about conversing with someone live, in real time, and getting into that nice sense of belonging. I wrote about this unique experience from WordCamp Europe <a href="https://www.codeinwp.com/blog/behind-the-scenes-of-wceu-media-partners/">here</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I still remember my first WordCamp Europe in Vienna, which I will never forget. I was all over the place, trying to do many things at once. I remember that I barely slept back then, trying to be on my volunteer duty early in the morning and also not miss any parties that would take place at night. That one was an event when I kind of forgot about my social anxiety and simply went with the flow, socializing and making friends. At that time I was a <a href="https://twitter.com/WCEurope/status/967051319923150849">volunteer in the Communication Team</a>.</p>



<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image2.jpg"><img width="1024" height="673" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image2-1024x673.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-5959" /></a>



<p>I mean, yes, signing up for extra work does put some pressure on your shoulders. But it’s worth it. You feel more fulfilled and useful to the world.&nbsp;</p>



<p>My message is, if you’re up for something, try to step out of your comfort zone a little bit. Know your comfort zone and step out a little bit every time. You’ll enjoy the experience more and most of the time you’ll be surprised by the outcome. This is how you grow.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-next">What’s next</h2>



<p>Honestly, I don’t know what the future has in store for me. I might find myself doing a totally different thing years from now or, who knows, still being part of the WordPress community. But no matter what’s next for me, I wouldn’t change a thing about the past and these awesome experiences that I shared together with amazing, inspiring people.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I think people are the fuel of everything that’s great in this world. And I want to believe that I’m one of these people who always strive to bring their best into the world and do good. At least, I’m trying.</p>



<div class="kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id5952_c190c2-15 alignnone kt-row-has-bg wp-block-kadence-rowlayout"><div class="kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-1-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top">

<div class="wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column5952_1ad0f6-31"><div class="kt-inside-inner-col">
<h2 id="work-environment" class="kt-adv-heading5952_886b34-83 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading">Adelina&#8217;s Work Environment</h2>



<p>We asked Adelina for a view into her development life and this is what she sent! </p>


	<div class="hotspots-image-container">
		<img width="1024" height="768" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/office-workspace-twin-peaks.jpg" alt="Adelina Tuca" class="hotspots-image skip-lazy" />
	</div>




<p class="kt-adv-heading5952_976380-bf wp-block-kadence-advancedheading has-theme-palette-9-background-color has-background">HeroPress would like to thank <a href="https://wpdrawattention.com/">Draw Attention</a> for their donation of the plugin to make this interactive image!</p>
</div></div>

</div></div>





<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />



<h1 id="romanian" class="kt-adv-heading5952_361701-44 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading">Rotițele care fac lumea să se miște</h1>



<p>E o frumoasă coincidență că, în timp ce scriu acest articol, sunt foarte aproape de a celebra nouă ani de când lucrez la Themeisle. Mai lipsesc câteva săptămâni până la aniversare. Cred că este mare lucru să ai o continuitate și consistență în ceva, oricare ar fi acel ceva.</p>



<p>Această aniversare mai înseamnă și nouă ani de când fac parte din comunitatea WordPress. Dar să începem cu începutul.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-de-la-jurnalism-la-content-writing">De la jurnalism la content writing</h2>



<p>Când am început să lucrez la Themeisle, abia dacă știam ceva despre WordPress. Toate cunoștințele mele legate de asta se rezumau la un blog personal avut în facultate și câteva articole scrise pe niște site-uri de presă din România care foloseau platforma WordPress.</p>



<p>Cam asta știam despre WordPress. Nu înseamnă neapărat că nu știam nimic, dar eram totuși departe de ce ar fi trebuit să știu pentru job. Totuși, eram o persoană dornică să învețe, așa că iată-mă tot aici nouă ani mai târziu. De fapt, aș putea spune că am nimerit în comunitatea WordPress mai mult dintr-un accident decât intenționat.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Având studii în Jurnalism și Științele Comunicării, planul meu inițial era să ajung reporter sportiv sau jurnalist de presă sportivă. Ca să fac un joc de cuvinte care are sens mai mult în engleză, am sfârșit prin a face tot un fel de press, doar că WordPress. Sună mai bine în engleză partea asta. Haha!&nbsp;</p>



<p>Dar înainte să pătrund în lumea WordPress, am făcut jurnalism pentru puțin timp. Eram o jurnalistă în devenire, dacă pot să spun așa. Cert e că începusem să construiesc în această direcție, punând cărămidă cu cărămidă.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Una dintre aceste cărămizi a fost <a href="https://www.sportrevolution.ro/catalina-ponor-mi-am-dorit-sa-fiu-printre-putinele-gimnaste-din-tara-care-au-mers-la-doua-olimpiade/">interviul pe care l-am făcut cu Cătălina Ponor</a> &#8211; triplă campioană olimpică la gimnastică artistică și una dintre cele mai bune gimnaste din istoria României. Ea a fost unul dintre idolii mei din sport când eram copil și chiar adolescentă.</p>



<p>O altă cărămidă pe care o puneam la cariera în jurnalism a fost un articol de tip feature despre cum corupția din România ucide performanța sportivă încetul cu încetul. Inițial, articolul fusese publicat pe un website numit Semnal Plus, unde a primit multe reacții și apreciere din partea consumatorilor de sport din România. Acum mai apare online într-o populară publicație despre tenis &#8211; <a href="https://treizecizero.ro/burse/2015/12/08/sportul-comoara-nationala-care-ne-scapa-printre-degete/">Treizecizero</a> &#8211; ca urmare a unui concurs la care am participat cu acest articol și pentru care am primit un internship la ei în redacție.</p>



<p>Tot cam în aceeași perioadă am mai scris conținut similar despre sport pentru o publicație sportivă cunoscută în țară și despre muzica rock/metal pentru un site de știri de nișă. Îmi amintesc că am fost mândră de multe dintre ele. Toate acestea la un loc îmi dăduseră încredere că aveam ce îmi trebuie ca să continui pe drumul ăsta.</p>



<p>Dar viitorul avea alte planuri pentru mine.&nbsp;</p>



<p>La puțin timp după, începeam să realizez că a fi reporter sau jurnalist de presă venea la pachet cu mult prea mult stres, puțin timp liber și puțini bani în comparație cu efortul depus. Lăsând la o parte faptul că trebuia să îți calci pe demnitate puțin câte puțin, până când aveai să ți-o pierzi pe toată. Cel puțin, așa aș descrie eu jurnalismul din România din acest moment.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Pentru mine, acești factori au jucat un rol foarte important când am început să mă gândesc că poate aș putea să mă reorientez către ceva mai apropiat de valorile mele morale. Valori pe care nu îmi permiteam să mi le încalc.&nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-munca-la-themeisle">Munca la Themeisle</h2>



<p>Nu de dragul poveștii spun că am dat ca printr-un noroc de anunțul celor de la Themeisle pe un grup de Facebook. Căutau un content writer care să scrie despre WordPress. Nici măcar nu știam ce însemna asta. Știam doar că mai folosisem WordPress în trecut, deci ce putea să fie așa de greu?&nbsp;</p>



<p>Ei bine, s-a dovedit a fi diferit față de ce mă așteptam eu pentru că jobul nu presupunea a scrie pe platforma WordPress, ci a scrie <em>despre</em> platforma WordPress. Lucru care m-a bulversat puțin. Așa că am fost nevoită să învăț WordPress de la zero.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Mai mult decât atât, jobul presupunea să scriu în limba engleză, ceea ce nu mai făcusem înainte. Tot ce scrisesem până atunci fusese în română. Asta iarăși a îngreunat puțin lucrurile pentru că trebuia să schimb complet limba și s-o fac într-un mod în care să sune bine, inteligibil.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Nu a fost ușor să o iau aproape de la zero cu experiența și cunoștințele. Și nu de puține ori m-am simțit ca un impostor văzând cum alte persoane erau atât de bune în domeniul lor. Eram foarte dură cu mine, criticându-mă pentru orice greșeală sau feedback care nu îmi îndeplinea așteptările.</p>



<p>Într-un fel, asta poate fi un lucru bun pentru că te ajută să evoluezi. Dar acum, cu cât devin mai înțeleaptă, înțeleg că era perfecționismul din mine care nu-mi dădea pace. Un perfecționism pe care nu-l voi atinge niciodată pentru că el nu există. Acum sunt mai tolerantă cu mine.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Mi-am început călătoria la Vertigo Studio (compania din spatele <a href="https://themeisle.com/">Themeisle</a> și <a href="https://www.codeinwp.com/">CodeinWP</a>) la vârsta de 22 de ani. La acea vreme, compania avea în jur de șase sau șapte angajați. Poza următoare a fost făcută câțiva ani mai târziu, când deja firma angajase colegi noi:</p>



<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image1.jpg"><img width="1024" height="685" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image1-1024x685.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-5958" /></a>



<p>Rolul meu era acela de content writer. Dar, fiind o persoană căreia îi place să experimenteze și să încerce lucruri noi, am explorat mai multe roluri de-a lungul anilor.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Am făcut social media, recrutare de interni, mentorat, copywriting, outreach, email marketing, interviuri și parteneriate cu companii din comunitatea WordPress. Această varietate de activități m-a ținut în priză, curioasă și motivată. E mereu mișto când faci ceva pentru prima oară.</p>



<p>Dar principala și prima dragoste a rămas și va rămâne scrisul.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Chiar dacă am scris exclusiv pe blogurile Themeisle și CodeinWP în toți acești ani, am avut ocazia de a mai colabora și cu alte bloguri din WordPress. Am contribuit cu câteva articole pe site-uri precum <a href="https://www.smashingmagazine.com/author/adelina-tuca/">Smashing Magazine</a>, <a href="https://torquemag.io/2018/04/is-that-plugin-reliable-how-to-test-wordpress-plugins/">TorqueMag</a>, <a href="https://www.wpexplorer.com/wordpress-block-patterns/">WPExplorer</a>, <a href="https://oceanwp.org/blog/are-ad-blockers-affecting-your-income-heres-how-to-prevent-them-from-harming-your-wordpress-business/">OceanWP</a>, sau <a href="https://www.wpzoom.com/blog/how-to-start-travel-blog-wordpress/">WPZoom</a>.</p>



<p>Chiar dacă ia diverse forme, la sfârșitul zilei totul se rezumă la scris. Interviurile, de exemplu, îmbină scrisul cu conectarea. E mereu interesant să întâlnești persoane noi &#8211; chiar și virtual &#8211; și să vezi ce perspective au ele. Înveți din chestia asta și devii mai deschis la noi puncte de vedere și idei.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Totodată, mai e interesant cum o persoană anxioasă ca mine găsește confort în conexiunea cu alți oameni. E ca un paradox în care îți vindeci anxietatea socială prin socializare.</p>



<p><a href="https://themeisle.com/blog/category/wordpress-community/interviews/">Aici</a> găsiți întreaga colecție de interviuri pe care le-am făcut pe blogul Themeisle cu oameni mișto din comunitatea noastră de WordPress.&nbsp;</p>



<p>La Themeisle, nu doar am crescut ca om și ca profesionist. Pe deasupra, am avut șansa să cunosc și să lucrez cu niște oameni minunați cum sunt colegii mei. În compania noastră, ne motivăm unii pe alții să ne îmbunătățim și să evoluăm. Am avut oportunitatea să construiesc legături semnificative și prietenii valoroase care sper că vor rămâne neschimbate.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-contribuția-la-wordcamps">Contribuția la WordCamps</h2>



<p>La nivel de echipă, ne-am dorit mereu să ne implicăm în comunitate și să contribuim cât putem de mult. Atât pe piața locală, cât și internațională. Personal, eu mă bucur mai mult de experiența unui WordCamp când fac ceva în plus decât să particip.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Aproape în fiecare an în care am participat, am ales fie să fiu voluntar, fie să mă implic în echipa de Media Partners, să simt că fac ceva.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Prin programul de Media Partners am intervievat oameni din WordPress, de data asta live, în persoană. Ceea ce m-a făcut să simt din nou vibe-ul jurnalistic, aducând cu sine un soi de nostalgie. Acolo aveai o conversație cu cineva fizic, în timp real, ceea ce îți aducea un sentiment de apartenență. Am scris despre experiența de a fi partener media la WordCamp Europe <a href="https://www.codeinwp.com/blog/behind-the-scenes-of-wceu-media-partners/">aici</a>.</p>



<p>Încă îmi amintesc primul meu WordCamp Europe din Viena, pe care nu o să-l uit niciodată. Eram peste tot atunci, încercând să fac cât mai multe lucruri deodată. Îmi amintesc că abia dacă dormeam, încercând să îmi fac și datoria de voluntar dis de dimineață, dar și să particip la petrecerile care aveau loc seara. Acela a fost un eveniment care m-a făcut să uit de anxietatea mea socială, în care pur și simplu am profitat la maximum de toate ocaziile de a socializa și cunoaște oameni mișto. Atunci am făcut parte din echipa de Comunicare, ca <a href="https://twitter.com/WCEurope/status/967051319923150849">voluntar</a>.</p>



<a href="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image2.jpg"><img width="1024" height="673" src="https://heropress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/image2-1024x673.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-5959" /></a>



<p>Este adevărat că, atunci când te înscrii la muncă extra, vine la pachet cu presiune și cu emoții mai grele. Dar merită. Te face să te simți mai împlinit, mai util celor din jur.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Mesajul meu pentru voi este să ieșiți din zona de confort măcar puțin atunci când vă implicați în ceva. Cunoașteți-vă zona de confort și ieșiți din ea câte puțin de fiecare dată. Vă veți bucura mai mult de experiență și, de cele mai multe ori, veți fi surprinși de rezultate. Așa reușim să creștem.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ce-urmeaza">Ce urmează</h2>



<p>Sincer, nu știu ce îmi pregătește viitorul, dacă o să mai fiu în comunitatea WordPress peste ani sau dacă o să fac cu totul altceva, în alt domeniu. Cine știe? Dar oricare ar fi viitorul, nu aș schimba nimic din ce s-a întâmplat până acum, din trecut. Nu aș schimba aceste experiențe pe care le-am împărțit cu oameni minunați.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Cred că oamenii sunt catalizatorul a ceea ce este mai bun în lume. Și vreau să cred că și eu sunt unul dintre acești oameni care caută mereu să fie cea mai bună versiune a lor și să facă bine pe oriunde merg. Cel puțin, încerc.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://heropress.com/essays/the-fuel-of-everything-thats-great-in-the-world/">The Fuel Of Everything That’s Great In The World &#8211; Rotițele care fac lumea să se miște</a> appeared first on <a href="https://heropress.com">HeroPress</a>.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 18 Oct 2023 08:00:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:12:"Adelina Tuca";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:46;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:36:"WPTavern: WordPress 6.4 RC1 Released";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=150315";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:47:"https://wptavern.com/wordpress-6-4-rc1-released";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:2332:"<p>WordPress 6.4 is one step closer to prime time with <a href="https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/wordpress-6-4-release-candidate-1/">RC1 available today</a>. The <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/dev-notes-6-4/">dev notes</a> are rolling out with details on technical improvements in the upcoming release &#8211;<a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/10/15/introducing-block-hooks-for-dynamic-blocks/">block hooks for dynamic blocks</a>, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/10/17/improvements-to-template-loading-in-wordpress-6-4/">improvements to template loading</a>, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/10/16/changes-to-attachment-pages/">changes to attachment pages</a>, and many more.</p>



<p>RC1 is ready for another round of testing. There are <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&changetime=10%2F12%2F2023..10%2F17%2F2023&milestone=6.4&col=id&col=milestone&col=owner&col=type&col=priority&order=id">40 additional closed Trac tickets</a> since 6.4 Beta 4, <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/commits/wp/6.4">dozens of GitHub commits</a>, and <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/twentytwentyfour/commits/">commits for Twenty Twenty-Four</a>. </p>



<p>Although the flagship font library feature had to be <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-6-4-font-library-feature-punted-to-6-5-release">punted to 6.5</a> due to gaps in the Font APIs that couldn&#8217;t be resolved in time, the upcoming release is still packed with new features and improvements. A few highlights include a new lightbox functionality, redesigned command palette, block hooks, expanded design tools, and a new default theme.</p>



<p>The release candidate phase marks the hard string freeze where no new strings can be added so that the Polyglots team can ensure WordPress 6.4 gets translated. At this point, only regressions introduced during this development cycle and expansions to the test suite can be addressed in the 6.4 milestone.</p>



<p>Theme and plugin developers are encouraged to test their extensions against the release candidate. Plugin authors are also advised to update the<em>“Tested up to”</em> version in their readme files to 6.4.</p>



<p>A second RC is expected next week. WordPress 6.4 is on track to be released on November 7, 2023.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Wed, 18 Oct 2023 03:35:03 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:47;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:62:"WPTavern: Preview WordPress Core Pull Requests with Playground";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:30:"https://wptavern.com/?p=150295";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:73:"https://wptavern.com/preview-wordpress-core-pull-requests-with-playground";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:3999:"<p>Adam Zieliński, creator of WordPress Playground, <a href="https://twitter.com/adamzielin/status/1714311403849363944">announced</a> today that the WordPress Core PR previewer is now live. Playground is an experimental project that uses WebAssembly (WASM) to <a href="https://wptavern.com/new-prototype-runs-wordpress-in-the-browser-with-no-php-server">run WordPress in the browser</a>. It creates a WordPress instance with admin access without having to install PHP, MySQL, or Apache, making it nearly instantaneous to fire up a test site.</p>



<p>Testing pull requests is one of the most exciting use cases for the Playground project. The newly launched WordPress Core PR previewer can be found at <a href="https://playground.wordpress.net/wordpress.html">playground.wordpress.net/wordpress.html</a>. Users can enter the PR number or the URL.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<img width="2332" height="1298" src="https://149611589.v2.pressablecdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Screen-Shot-2023-10-17-at-4.10.46-PM.png" alt="" class="wp-image-150303" />



<p>The <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-playground/pull/700">PR for for previewing wordpress-develop repository pull pequests</a> adds support for a few query parameters that developers can use to customize how the preview loads:<a href="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/205419/274972437-e30e9ac6-c99e-4e81-b68f-45e14116f6c9.png" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a></p>



<ul>
<li><code>?pr=5481</code>&nbsp;– preview that PR</li>



<li><code>?url=/wp-admin/post-new.php</code>&nbsp;– load that URL in WordPress</li>



<li><code>?mode=seamless</code>&nbsp;– redirect to a full-screen Playground without the browser chrome and any other extra UI elements</li>
</ul>



<p>Zieliński identified a couple of known issues with this first implementation that developers should be aware of when working with the previewer: Existing PRs need a rebase to work but new PRs work just fine. Additionally, if you test it out, you will find that downloading WordPress may take a long time, as the bundle is ~45MB. Contributors are working on finding a way to optimize this so that it&#8217;s quicker and more efficient to preview PRs. Any problems or bugs can be reported to the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-playground/issues">Playground repository&#8217;s issues</a>.</p>



<p>As part of the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-playground/issues/696">Playground roadmap</a>, Zieliński is working on making <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-playground/issues/696">a pull request previewer for all WordPress projects</a>, not just core, as he outlined in a planning issue:</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">
<p>Previewing WordPress Pull Requests requires either a local development setup or a staging setup.</p>



<p>WordPress developers often use either a staging environment that can only run a single branch at a time, or no staging environment at all. This makes testing and team workflows difficult.</p>



<p>Providing an easy way to preview pull requests using Playground would alleviate that burden, catalyze more reviews across the ecosystem, and make calls for testing easier.</p>
</blockquote>



<p>WordPress meta contributors recently implemented a “Live Preview” button for plugins in the official directory but ended up <a href="https://wptavern.com/wordpress-reverts-live-preview-button-on-plugins-after-developer-backlash">reverting it after many plugins were broken</a> due to inadequate support in the Playground environment.  Zieliński and contributors are  still refining the <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-playground/issues/662">live preview experience for plugins</a> hosted on WordPress.org, and are <a href="https://github.com/WordPress/wordpress-playground/issues/664">creating a Blueprints API</a> that will be easy for developers to use for customizing their Playground instances.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 17 Oct 2023 22:07:27 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:13:"Sarah Gooding";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:48;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:53:"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 6.4 Release Candidate 1";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:35:"https://wordpress.org/news/?p=16147";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:69:"https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/wordpress-6-4-release-candidate-1/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:11774:"<p>The first release candidate (RC1) for WordPress 6.4 is now available!</p>



<p><strong>This version of the WordPress software is under development</strong>. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it’s recommended that you evaluate RC1 on a test server and site.</p>



<p>Reaching this phase of the release cycle is an important milestone. While release candidates are considered ready for release, testing remains vital to ensure that everything in WordPress 6.4 is the best it can be.</p>



<p>You can test WordPress 6.4 RC1 in three ways:</p>



<ol>
<li><strong>Plugin</strong>: Install and activate the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/">WordPress Beta Tester</a> plugin on a WordPress install (select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).</li>



<li><strong>Direct download</strong>: Download the <a href="https://wordpress.org/wordpress-6.4-RC1.zip">RC1 version (zip)</a> and install it on a WordPress site.</li>



<li><strong>Command line</strong>: Use the following <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/cli/">WP-CLI</a> command:<br /><code>wp core update --version=6.4-RC1</code></li>
</ol>



<p>The current target for the WordPress 6.4 release is <strong>November 7, 2023</strong>. Get an overview of the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/6-4/">6.4 release cycle</a>, and check the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/">Make WordPress Core blog</a> for <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/6-4/">6.4-related posts</a>.</p>



<p>The WordPress 6.4 release is brought to you by an <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/06/05/wordpress-6-4-development-cycle/"><strong>underrepresented gender release squad</strong></a> to welcome the participation and partnership of those who identify as gender-underrepresented in the WordPress open source project.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What’s in WordPress 6.4 RC1?</h2>



<p>This release contains 420 enhancements and 445 bug fixes for the editor, including more than <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&milestone=6.4&group=component&max=500&col=id&col=summary&col=owner&col=type&col=priority&col=component&col=version&order=priority">260 tickets for WordPress 6.4 core</a>. Browse the technical details for all issues recently addressed using these links:</p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/gutenberg/commits/wp/6.4">GitHub commits for 6.4</a></li>



<li><a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/query?status=closed&changetime=10%2F12%2F2023..10%2F17%2F2023&milestone=6.4&col=id&col=milestone&col=owner&col=type&col=priority&order=id">Closed Trac tickets since Beta 4</a></li>



<li><a href="https://github.com/WordPress/twentytwentyfour/commits/">GitHub commits for Twenty Twenty-Four</a></li>
</ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Highlights</h3>



<p>WordPress 6.4 is the third and last major release of 2023. It introduces a multi-purpose default theme, new features, and a keen focus on details to enhance every aspect of your creation journey—from site editing and design to writing flows.</p>



<ul>
<li><strong>A new flexible default theme</strong> brings together the latest and greatest of WordPress. Discover its vast collection of templates and patterns to tweak and match your brand. Built for versatility, <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/08/24/introducing-twenty-twenty-four/"><strong>Twenty Twenty-Four</strong></a> is an ideal fit for nearly any type of website.</li>



<li>Enable <strong>lightbox functionality</strong> in images for immersive viewing experiences.</li>



<li><strong>Organize your patterns with your own custom categories</strong>. Find them all more intuitively with advanced filtering in the Patterns section of the inserter.</li>



<li><strong>Enjoy <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/10/05/core-editor-improvement-ensuring-excellence-in-the-writing-experience/">more writing improvements</a></strong>, including new keyboard shortcuts, smoother list merging, and enhanced control over your link settings. A revamped toolbar experience for Navigation, List, and Quote blocks ensures cohesive and organized access to the tooling options you work with.</li>



<li><strong>A redesigned </strong><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/09/12/core-editor-improvement-commanding-the-command-palette/"><strong>Command Palette</strong></a><strong> with new commands</strong> helps you find what you need, perform tasks efficiently, and speed up your workflow.</li>



<li><strong>Rename Group blocks</strong> to organize and distinguish areas of your content easily.</li>



<li>See and locate your content’s media assets at a glance with new <strong>gallery and image previews in List View</strong>.</li>



<li>Build beautiful yet functional layouts with an <strong>expanded set of design tools</strong>. Play with background images in Group blocks for unique creative designs, keep image dimensions consistent with placeholder aspect ratios, and effortlessly add buttons to your Navigation block without custom CSS—among other new capabilities.</li>



<li><strong>Block Hooks</strong> enable developers to automatically insert blocks at their chosen content locations, enriching the extensibility of block themes through plugins. While developer-centric, this new feature improves your building experience with blocks and gives you complete control to customize Block Hooks to your needs.</li>



<li><strong>Over 60 accessibility updates</strong>, including significant List View enhancements, aria-label support for the Navigation block, and upgrades to the admin user interface.</li>



<li><strong>More than 100 performance updates</strong>, focusing on template loading performance for classic and block themes, usage of the script loading strategies “defer” and “async,” and optimization of autoloaded options.</li>
</ul>



<p>Are you looking for a deeper dive into details and technical notes? <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/dev-notes+6-4/">These recent posts</a> cover a few of the latest updates:</p>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/10/16/changes-to-attachment-pages/">Changes to attachment pages for improved SEO</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/10/17/miscellaneous-editor-changes-in-wordpress-6-4/">Miscellaneous Editor changes in WordPress 6.4</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/10/15/introducing-block-hooks-for-dynamic-blocks/">Introducing Block Hooks for dynamic blocks</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/10/17/script-loading-changes-in-wordpress-6-4/">Script loading changes in WordPress 6.4</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/10/17/improvements-to-template-loading-in-wordpress-6-4/">Improvements to template loading in WordPress 6.4</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/10/16/introducing-admin-notice-functions-in-wordpress-6-4/">Introducing admin notice functions in WordPress 6.4</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/10/16/editor-components-updates-in-wordpress-6-4/">Updates to user-interface components in WordPress 6.4</a></li>



<li><a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2023/10/16/new-registerinsertermediacategory-api/">New `registerInserterMediaCategory` API</a></li>
</ul>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Ways to contribute</h2>



<p>WordPress is open source software made possible by a community of people collaborating on and contributing to its development. The resources below outline various ways you can help, regardless of your technical expertise.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Get involved in testing</h3>



<p>Testing for issues is critical to developing the software and ensuring its quality. It’s also a meaningful way for anyone to contribute—whether you have experience or not. <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/2023/09/26/help-test-wordpress-6-4/">Check out this guide</a> for detailed instructions on testing key features in WordPress 6.4.</p>



<p>If you encounter an issue, please report it to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta/">Alpha/Beta area</a> of the support forums or directly to <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/newticket">WordPress Trac</a> if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report. You can also check your issue against a list of <a href="https://core.trac.wordpress.org/tickets/major">known bugs</a>.</p>



<p>Curious about testing releases in general? Follow along with the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/test/">testing initiatives in Make Core</a> and join the <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/messages/core-test/">#core-test channel</a> on <a href="https://wordpress.slack.com/">Making WordPress Slack</a>.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Search for vulnerabilities</h3>



<p>During the release candidate phase of WordPress 6.4, the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/security/2023/09/26/bug-bounty-for-wordpress-6-4-beta/">monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities</a> is doubled. Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the <a href="https://hackerone.com/wordpress">HackerOne page</a> and in the <a href="https://wordpress.org/about/security/">security white paper</a>.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Update your theme or plugin</h3>



<p>Do you build themes and plugins? Your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for users worldwide.</p>



<p>You most likely have already been testing your latest themes and plugins with the WordPress 6.4 betas. With RC1, you will want to complete your testing and update the <em>&#8220;Tested up to&#8221;</em> version in your <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-org/how-your-readme-txt-works/">plugin&#8217;s readme file</a> to 6.4.</p>



<p>Please post detailed information to the <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/forum/alphabeta/">support forums</a> if you find compatibility issues.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Help translate WordPress</h3>



<p>Do you speak a language other than English? ¿Español? Français? Português? Русский? 日本? <a href="https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp/dev/">Help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages</a>. This release also marks the <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/handbook/glossary/#hard-freeze">hard string freeze</a> point of the 6.4 release cycle.</p>



<div class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">A haiku for RC1</h2>



<p>RC1 in hand<br />WordPress evolves and takes shape<br />Testing, a sneak peek, in place</p>



<p><em>Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/meher/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>meher</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/rmartinezduque/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>rmartinezduque</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/webcommsat/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>webcommsat</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/annezazu/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>annezazu</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/cbringmann/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>cbringmann</a>, <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/priethor/" class="mention"><span class="mentions-prefix">@</span>priethor</a>.</em></p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 17 Oct 2023 17:48:26 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:15:"Reyes Martínez";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}i:49;a:6:{s:4:"data";s:13:"
	
	
	
	
	
	
";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";s:5:"child";a:2:{s:0:"";a:5:{s:5:"title";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:79:"Do The Woo Community: Security, From the Basics to Enterprise with Calvin Alkan";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"guid";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:28:"https://dothewoo.io/?p=77093";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:4:"link";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:77:"https://dothewoo.io/security-from-the-basics-to-enterprise-with-calvin-alkan/";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:11:"description";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:429:"<p>Calvin Alkan joins our hosts to talk security. From malware scanners to firewalls to enterprise sites, with a layered security approach.</p>
<p>&gt;&gt; The post <a href="https://dothewoo.io/security-from-the-basics-to-enterprise-with-calvin-alkan/">Security, From the Basics to Enterprise with Calvin Alkan</a> appeared first on <a href="https://dothewoo.io">Do the Woo - a WooCommerce and WordPress Builder Podcast</a>	.</p>";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}s:7:"pubDate";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:31:"Tue, 17 Oct 2023 09:13:00 +0000";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}s:32:"http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/";a:1:{s:7:"creator";a:1:{i:0;a:5:{s:4:"data";s:5:"BobWP";s:7:"attribs";a:0:{}s:8:"xml_base";s:0:"";s:17:"xml_base_explicit";b:0;s:8:"xml_lang";s:0:"";}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}s:4:"type";i:128;s:7:"headers";O:48:"WpOrg\Requests\Utility\CaseInsensitiveDictionary":1:{s:7:"*data";a:9:{s:6:"server";s:5:"nginx";s:4:"date";s:29:"Tue, 07 Nov 2023 20:23:11 GMT";s:12:"content-type";s:8:"text/xml";s:13:"last-modified";s:29:"Tue, 07 Nov 2023 20:15:52 GMT";s:4:"vary";s:15:"Accept-Encoding";s:15:"x-frame-options";s:10:"SAMEORIGIN";s:16:"content-encoding";s:2:"br";s:7:"alt-svc";s:19:"h3=":443"; ma=86400";s:4:"x-nc";s:9:"HIT ord 1";}}s:5:"build";s:14:"20211221000300";}