Wordpress Dev Monthly Recap April
Tags: wordpress, webdev, php, javascript
Published: 2019-04-30 20:09:22

---
title: Wordpress Dev Monthly Recap April
published: true
description: A monthly recap of WordPress (and related) articles, tutorials and resources for April 2019.
canonical_url: https://medium.com/@vanaf1979/wordpress-dev-monthly-recap-for-april-cbf10e792a64
cover_image: https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1600/1*Wq9sd0Lhm1oQx8RfakQpyw.jpeg
tags: #wordpress, #Webdev, #php, #javascript
---


[Originally posted on medium.com on April 30th 2019](https://medium.com/@vanaf1979/wordpress-dev-monthly-recap-for-april-cbf10e792a64)

### WordPress April in short:

All of April has been a approach to the WordPress 5.2 release with a [Beta 2,](https://wordpress.org/news/2019/04/wordpress-5-2-beta-2/) [Beta 3](https://wordpress.org/news/2019/04/wordpress-5-2-beta-3/) and a [5.2 Release Candidate](https://wordpress.org/news/2019/04/wordpress-5-2-release-candidate/). Version 5.2 was schedueld for release on April 30th but has been bumped to Tuesday May 7th.

The most notable changes for us developers in 5.2 will be:

*   A minimum requirement of PHP 5.6.20 .
*   There will be some new [Dashicons](https://make.wordpress.org/core/2019/04/11/dashicons-in-wordpress-5-2/).
*   A new plugin headers which, among other things, can set [Minimum PHP Version Requirements](https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2017/08/29/minimum-php-version-requirement/).
*   Site health tests wil be filterable via [_site_status_tests_](https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/5-2+dev-notes/) hook meaning plugins or themes may add their own tests.
*   And a brand-new [_wp_body_open()_](https://make.wordpress.org/themes/2019/03/29/addition-of-new-wp_body_open-hook/) template tag and action will let themes, and plugins, add content right after the _body_ is opened.

### WordPress Updates and releases:

*   April 26th: [WordPress 5.2 Release Candidate](https://wordpress.org/news/2019/04/wordpress-5-2-release-candidate/).
*   April 12th: [WordPress 5.2 Beta 3](https://wordpress.org/news/2019/04/wordpress-5-2-beta-3/).
*   April 9th: [WordPress 5.2 Beta 2](https://wordpress.org/news/2019/04/wordpress-5-2-beta-2/).

### WordPress tutorials and resources:

*   [How to disable WordPress plugins from loading on specific pages and posts](https://kinsta.com/blog/disable-wordpress-plugins-loading/) by [Brian Jackson](https://twitter.com/brianleejackson).
*   [Optimising WordPress beyond cache techniques](https://medium.com/@heygabriel/optimizing-wordpress-beyond-cache-techniques-8ccb57a32a74) by [Gabriel Guerra](https://medium.com/@heygabriel).
*   How to build a blog with Wordpress and Gatsby.js [part 1](https://www.iamtimsmith.com/blog/how-to-build-a-blog-with-wordpress-and-gatsby-part-1/), [part 2](https://www.iamtimsmith.com/blog/how-to-build-a-blog-with-wordpress-and-gatsby-part-2/) and [part 3](https://www.iamtimsmith.com/blog/how-to-build-a-blog-with-wordpress-and-gatsby-part-3/) by [Tim Smith](https://twitter.com/iam_timsmith).
*   [How to properly interact with WordPress databases](https://medium.com/@digitalnoir/how-to-properly-interact-with-wordpress-databases-b6d153c4578f) by [Digital Noir](https://medium.com/@digitalnoir).
*   [Default WordPress image sizes and how to add custom sizes](https://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/wordpress-image-sizes/) by [Felicia Ceballos-Marroquin](https://twitter.com/feliseea).
*   [HTTP to HTTPS and non-www to www redirection simpliest brifiest explanation for WordPress](https://medium.com/musa-tokta%C5%9F/http-to-https-and-non-www-to-www-redirection-simpliest-brifiest-explanation-for-wordpress-bd3963cfca4c) by [Musa Toktaş](https://medium.com/@mtoktas38).
*   [WordPress TTFB (Time To First Byte) from zero to hero part 1](https://medium.com/@alaadiaa/wordpress-ttfb-time-to-first-byte-from-zero-to-hero-part-1-35385ad79f5) by [Alaa Alsalehi](https://medium.com/@alaadiaa).
*   [Simplifying WordPress’s functions.php with OOP](https://dev.to/tylerlwsmith/simplifying-wordpresss-functionsphp-with-oop-2mj8) by [Tyler Smith](https://twitter.com/tylerlwsmith).
*   [Utilising WordPress media library for uploading files](https://dev.to/kelin1003/utilising-wordpress-media-library-for-uploading-files-2b01) by [Kelin Chauhan](https://dev.to/kelin1003).
*   My article: [WordPress: Managing your theme’s footer with widgets](http://bit.ly/use_wp_widgets) by [Vanaf1979](https://twitter.com/Vanaf1979).

### Web development tutorials and resources:

*   The [Front-end Developer Handbook 2019](https://frontendmasters.com/books/front-end-handbook/2019/) by [Cody Lindley](https://twitter.com/codylindley).
*   [HighwayJs](https://highway.js.org/) is a modern library by [Dogstudio](https://twitter.com/Dogstudio) to create AJAX navigations with animations.
*   [PHP the right way](https://phptherightway.com/) by [Josh Lockhart](https://twitter.com/codeguy).
*   [12 JavaScript tricks you won’t find in most tutorials](https://medium.com/@bretcameron/12-javascript-tricks-you-wont-find-in-most-tutorials-a9c9331f169d) by [Bret Cameron](https://medium.com/@bretcameron).
*   [How I added dark mode to my website](https://medium.freecodecamp.org/how-i-added-dark-mode-to-my-website-484bc3cb0318) by [Jonathan Sexton](https://twitter.com/jj_goose).
*   [CSS masonry with flexbox, :nth-child(), and order](http://tobiasahlin.com/blog/masonry-with-css/) by [Tobias Ahlin](https://twitter.com/tobiasahlin).
*   [Follow these steps to become a CSS Superstar](https://medium.freecodecamp.org/follow-these-steps-to-become-a-css-superstar-837cd6cb9b1a) by [Preetish HS](https://medium.freecodecamp.org/@preetishhs24).
*   [The dialog element: The way to create tomorrow’s modal windows](https://blog.logrocket.com/the-dialog-element-the-way-to-create-tomorrows-modal-windows-f1d4ab14380b) by [Abhishek Jakhar](https://blog.logrocket.com/@abhishekjakhar).
*   Learn how to make [Diagonal Containers in CSS](https://codyhouse.co/blog/post/css-diagonal-containers) by [Sebastiano Guerriero](https://twitter.com/guerriero_se).
*   [Stop using so many divs! An intro to semantic HTML](https://dev.to/kenbellows/stop-using-so-many-divs-an-intro-to-semantic-html-3i9i?utm_source=dormosheio&utm_campaign=dormosheio) by [Ken Bellows](https://twitter.com/ken_bellows).

#### Suggestions?:

If you have any suggestions for good article or other resources please do let me know! You can get in touch via Twitter: [Vanaf1979](http://bit.ly/2RCf9eF), [my website Since1979.dev](https://since1979.dev) or comment here on dev.to

[<< Monthly Recap March](https://medium.com/@vanaf1979/wordpress-dev-monthly-recap-for-march-30b0e984de76)

**Have a great May.**