Mid-term Goals for WordPress with Josepha Haden Chomphosy

In this episode, Josepha Haden Chomphosy, Executive Director of the WordPress project, provides an update on WordPress’s midterm goals and future direction. She discusses the alignment between Matt Mullenweg’s 11 points presented at WordCamp Europe and the project’s big picture goals, highlighting key developments and shifts in focus.

Josepha begins by addressing the most significant change in WordPress’s direction this year: the focus on modernizing the admin interface. She explains that while work on Phase 3 of Gutenberg was paused, efforts were redirected towards creating a more consistent and modern admin experience. This shift aligns with Matt’s point about making simple things intuitive and complex things possible in WordPress.

Throughout the discussion, Josepha touches on several key areas of development:

1. The CMS and admin interface improvements
2. Community support and user engagement
3. The ecosystem and data liberation project
4. User feedback and testing initiatives

She emphasizes the importance of user feedback, improved documentation, and the ongoing development of the WordPress Playground. Josepha also mentions the shift in focus from recruiting new contributors to engaging new users, believing that existing contribution pathways will continue to function effectively.

Key Takeaways for WordPress Professionals:

1. WordPress is prioritizing a more modern and consistent admin interface
2. There’s a renewed focus on user feedback and testing, including changes to event surveys
3. The data liberation project is progressing, with potential for easier migrations between platforms
4. WordPress Playground is becoming central to various initiatives, including documentation and theme previews
5. There’s a push for better integration of plugins and themes with the WordPress Playground
6. Community events are shifting focus towards engaging new users rather than just new contributors
7. WordPress is working on improving its documentation system, potentially using a Playground-driven wiki experience

Chapter Titles with Timestamps:
1 [00:03:53] Introduction and Overview of Midterm Goals
2 [00:04:45] Shift in Focus: Modernizing the Admin Interface
3 [00:08:06] Community Support and User Engagement Strategies
4 [00:11:25] Data Liberation Project and Ecosystem Developments
5 [00:13:25] WordPress Playground and User Experience Improvements
6 [00:15:32] Aligning Matt’s 11 Points with Project Goals
7 [00:16:39] Upcoming Project Updates and Documentation