Consistency in digital branding through design systems fosters user trust, ensures quality, and supports scalable growth and clear communication.
Open Channels FM: Why Design Systems Matter for Brand Consistency Lire la suite »
Zach Stepek and Carl Alexander discuss the changing landscape of partnerships and web development communities, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, genuine support, and the impact of AI on sustainable business relationships.
Open Channels FM: Navigating the Future of Partnerships and AI in the Open Web Lire la suite »
Transcript [00:00:19] Nathan Wrigley: Welcome to the Jukebox Podcast from WP Tavern. My name is Nathan Wrigley. Jukebox is a podcast which is dedicated to all things WordPress. The people, the events, the plugins, the blocks, the themes, and in this case the future of theme development. If you’d like to subscribe to the podcast, you can do that by searching for WP Tavern in your podcast player of choice, or by going to wptavern.com/feed/podcast, and you can copy that URL into most podcast players. If you have a topic that you’d like us to feature on the podcast, I’m keen to hear from you and hopefully get you, or your idea, featured on the show. Head to wptavern.com/contact/jukebox, and use the form there. So on the podcast today, we have Rob Ruiz. Rob has been involved in the WordPress ecosystem since around 2010. He began as a designer, but over the years WordPress has helped him transition into a developer, software engineer, and now an architect. Currently, he’s working full-time at an agency whilst taking on side projects independently. The main topic for today’s conversation, centers around themes, a subject that hasn’t been covered in depth on the podcast for quite some time. You see, Rob is the current custodian of WP Rig, a free and open source toolkit for WordPress theme development. WP Rig offers a modern, minimal, and best practice driven starting point for developers who want to build custom themes. Providing tools like Composer and Node integration to streamline workflows, enforce coding standards, and enable the use of future facing CSS features, right now. We start the episode with Rob sharing what attracted him to WP Rig, and his journey from user to Project Maintainer. We talk about who WP Rig is for, from experienced developers, to those just starting to dip their toes into theme building and code customization. The discussion moves on to talking about what a theme development framework actually is, and why this approach might suit people wanting more control, and education, in their WordPress journey. Rob describes the learning curve, the workflow, and the satisfaction of creating your own theme from scratch, while highlighting tools and guardrails built into WP RIG that make professional standards and best practices accessible to all. We also get into how WP Rig fits into the changing WordPress ecosystem. With the advent of full site editing and block-based themes, Rob explains how WP Rig has evolved to stay relevant, supporting classic, hybrid, and block-based paradigms, even enabling block development at the theme level. Towards the end, we discuss the community behind WP Rig, how you can get involved, and the many educational resources available for those who want to learn theme development, or even become contributors themselves. If you’re interested in building custom WordPress themes, want to understand the nuts and bolts of theme frameworks, or are simply looking for a modern and educational starting point for WordPress tinkering, this episode is for you. If you’re interested in finding out more, you can find all of the links in the show notes by heading to wptavern.com/podcast, where you’ll find all the other episodes as well. And so without further delay, I bring you, Rob Ruiz. I am joined on the podcast by Rob Ruiz. Hello, Rob. [00:03:56] Rob Ruiz: Hi. How are you, Nathan? [00:03:57] Nathan Wrigley: Rob’s joining me today to talk primarily about themes, which I confess is a subject that we haven’t touched in a good long while. So before we get into that, Rob, would you just mind spending a minute just letting the listeners know who you are? If we are on a WordPress podcast, probably better to align that with what your journey is in the WordPress space, if that’s okay. [00:04:17] Rob Ruiz: Certainly. Yeah. So my name is Rob Ruiz. I’ve been leveraging WordPress since about 2010 ish, although my web development experience goes prior to that. And so I’ve been tinkering and getting more and more into it as I go along. I started off as mostly a designer back in the early two thousands, I guess. And WordPress has facilitated my journey from being a designer to more of a developer, software engineer, today, architect. And so yeah, it’s been a very fun journey. I’ve learned so much over the years, so I’m very grateful to WordPress for helping me do that at my own pace. [00:04:58] Nathan Wrigley: Do you work for yourself? Are you perhaps engaged in an agency or something like that? [00:05:02] Rob Ruiz: So currently, right now I work full-time at an agency, but I do also do work for myself as well. So it’s kind of a hybrid situation. [00:05:09] Nathan Wrigley: Okay, so the reason that Rob is on the podcast today, well, there’s a variety of reasons. Most of it will bind itself to the subject of themes, as I said right at the start. But we’re also going to be talking, maybe towards the end a little bit about AI and things like that. However, Rob is now the custodian. I didn’t realise he was now the custodian. We’ll get into that in a minute. But Rob is the custodian at the moment of a project called WP Rig. And you can find this, it’s a really quick URL to type in, it’s WP Rig, so WPRIG .io. Completely free to download, completely unencumbered by a pricing page or anything like that. There’s a GitHub repo I think. Yes, that’s right. So do you just want to give us the elevator pitch for what WP Rig is. And just because it makes me happy, can you tell us how you got involved? Because that’s lovely too. [00:06:00] Rob Ruiz: Yeah. Yeah, for sure. So WP Rig is a theme development toolkit or framework, but it’s also a starter theme as well. So you could think of it as kind of like underscores but with a whole
WPTavern: #207 – Rob Ruiz on WP Rig and the Future of Theme Development Lire la suite »
In this episode, James Kemp, Katie Keith, and Rodolfo Melogli discuss the revival of in-person WooCommerce events like Checkout Summit, the influence of AI on businesses, and community value.
Most WordPress donation pages don’t show how many people are already giving. And when supporters feel like they are the only ones donating, they are less likely to follow through. Donor leaderboards solve this by showing real support in action. When people see others donating, then they feel more comfortable supporting your mission, too. Plus, it’s easy to set this up on your website with the right donation plugin. In this guide, I will show you how to create a donor leaderboard in WordPress to recognize your supporters and grow your nonprofit. Why Create a Donor Leaderboard in WordPress? A donor leaderboard builds social proof and encourages people to give by showing real-time community support. Seeing others donate makes new visitors feel more comfortable and motivated to join your mission. In fact, research shows that 74% of donors can be motivated to give more or donate outside their usual schedule when they feel compelled by a strong reason. Seeing real people give — especially when their generosity is acknowledged — can be that extra push. Plus, highlighting top donors on nonprofit websites doesn’t just celebrate their generosity. It also builds momentum for fundraising campaigns. You can explore more insights in our nonprofit research guide. Here are some key benefits of adding a donor leaderboard to your WordPress site: Benefit Why It Matters Strengthens community engagement Turns individual donations into a shared experience, helping supporters feel part of something bigger. Recognizes top supporters Publicly thanking donors on your nonprofit site strengthens their connection to your cause and makes them feel valued. Creates friendly competition Seeing others on the leaderboard can inspire donors to give more or encourage others to donate. Builds transparency and trust Showing donor activity reassures new supporters that others believe in your mission. Encourages recurring donations Donors may be motivated to set up monthly gifts to maintain or improve their position. Now, I’ll walk you through how to set up a donor leaderboard in WordPress. Here’s everything I’ll cover in this guide: Step 1: Install and Activate the Charitable Plugin Step 2: Create a Campaign with a Donor Leaderboard Step 3: Embed Your Campaign on Your Site Alternative: Show a Donor Leaderboard Across All Campaigns Option 1: Add a Donor Leaderboard Using the Block Editor Option 2: Add a Donor Leaderboard Using a Shortcode Bonus Tip: Create a Donor Portal in WordPress FAQs About Creating a Donor Leaderboard in WordPress Next Steps to Grow Your Nonprofit WordPress Website Step 1: Install and Activate the Charitable Plugin WP Charitable is the best WordPress donation and fundraising plugin. It lets you set up campaigns and show donor information professionally without charging platform fees. We use Charitable to manage donations on the Balkhi Foundation website. To read more about our experience, see our complete Charitable review. Charitable makes it easy to set up campaigns, track donations, and display donor information in a professional way. The Donor Leaderboard feature is included in Charitable Pro and becomes available automatically once you activate the plugin. First, you’ll need to sign up for a Charitable account. On the Charitable website, click the ‘Get Charitable Now’ button, pick a plan, and follow the on-screen instructions to complete checkout. 💡 Note: If you want to try Charitable before purchasing, there’s a free Charitable version available in the WordPress plugin directory. However, the donor leaderboard feature is only included in the Charitable Pro version. Upon signup, you’ll have your own Charitable account area, where you can find your plugin’s zip file and license key. Now you can install and activate the Charitable plugin. Go to Plugins » Add Plugin in the WordPress dashboard. Then, click the ‘Upload Plugin’ button at the top of the page. Next, click ‘Choose File,’ select the Charitable zip file you downloaded, and click ‘Install Now.’ Once the installation is complete, click the ‘Activate’ button to enable the plugin on your site. For details, see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin. After activation, you’ll need to enter your license key to unlock all the Pro features, including the donor leaderboard. Head over to Charitable » Settings and simply paste your key into the respective field. After that, you can click the ‘Verify Key’ button. With that done, you’re all set to create your first campaign. Step 2: Create a Campaign with a Donor Leaderboard Now that Charitable Pro is installed and activated, you can create your first fundraising campaign with a donor leaderboard. This is where you’ll set up the campaign details, whether you want to create a peer-to-peer fundraising or crowdfunding campaign, and add the leaderboard feature. To get started, go to Charitable » Campaigns in your WordPress dashboard and click the ‘Create Campaign’ button. On the next screen, you’ll need to give your campaign a name. Choose something clear and descriptive that reflects your fundraising goal, like “Annual Scholarship Fund,” “Community Center Renovation,” or “Emergency Earthquake Relief Fund.” After that, you can pick a template that fits the style you’re going for. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect right away because you’ll be able to adjust everything in the next steps. To use a template, hover over the box and click the ‘Create Campaign’ button. Once you’ve selected a template, you’ll see the campaign builder interface. This is where you can drag and drop different elements to customize your campaign page. From here, let’s look for the ‘Leaderboard’ field in the left panel and drag it into your campaign preview. You can position it wherever it makes the most sense for your layout – many nonprofits place it near the top to highlight donor support right away. After adding the Leaderboard field, you can customize it to suit your site design. The first thing you might want to set is the ‘View Type’. You can choose between a list view and a card view depending on your preference. Next, you might want to adjust the following settings: Number of Donors – Choose how many donors you want to display on
How I Created a Donor Leaderboard in WordPress & Got More Donations Lire la suite »
AI’s rapid evolution is reshaping web interactions, with automated traffic outpacing human engagement. This shift raises concerns about content value, as creators struggle to balance utility and genuine human experience online.
Open Channels FM: AI’s Impact on Human Interaction with the Open Web Lire la suite »
Hosts Carl Alexander and Zach Stepek discuss the challenging yet empowering transition in careers, emphasizing the need to adapt skillsets, leverage AI tools, and focus on personal branding in a rapidly changing environment.
Open Channels FM: Expanding Your Skills Stack During the Rapid AI Shift Lire la suite »
As WooCommerce continues to evolve in its integration with AI technologies, one theme stands out: the importance of structured and accessible data for store success. Conversations in a recent episode illuminated how a well-managed product catalog is the backbone of leveraging AI features, both now and in the future. Store owners and developers are urged […]
In this episode enjoy a chat about the CloudFest Hackathon 2026’s history, future initiatives, and community engagement, emphasizing inclusivity, mentorship, and project sustainability.
People are doing pretty interesting things with Emacs (now on version 30.2!) these days, if you haven’t checked in recently. The bleeding edge has always been people into Org Mode. Sacha Chua has hooked up Whisper to Emacs to talk to it. Emacs is probably one of the first and best examples of self-modifying software that contours to your brain. With vibe coding, we may get back to that space where everyone’s personal setup is like a crazy specific Emacs config file.
