WordPress Weekly News and Tips: April 20th to April 26th

Welcome to the thirtieth WordPress Weekly blog post. In these weekly posts, we gather news articles from WordPress-related resources so that you can be up-to-date.

XSS Vulnerability Affects More Than a Dozen Popular WordPress Plugins

Author:  Jeff Chandler

URL: http://wptavern.com/xss-vulnerability-affects-more-than-a-dozen-popular-wordpress-plugins

Another XSS vulnerability has been found, this time, affecting more than a dozen plugins. If you use one of the plugins metioned on this article, make sure to update your site immediately!

Why You Shouldn’t Code URL’s in Themes or Plugins – and the WordPress Functions to Use Instead

Author:  Rachel McCollin

URL: http://code.tutsplus.com/tutorials/why-you-shouldnt-code-urls-in-themes-or-plugins-and-the-wordpress-functions-to-use-instead–cms-23262

An article by Rachel McCollin on why you shouldn’t hard-code URL’s in your theme / plugin files. Instead, you should use some of the WordPress functions given.

Create a Simple CRM in WordPress: Restricting / Hiding Unused Admin Menu Items

Author:  Tim Carr

URL: http://code.tutsplus.com/tutorials/create-a-simple-crm-in-wordpress-restricting-hiding-unused-admin-menu-items–cms-22983

Tim Carr wrote a new tutorial on how you can remove and / or hide admin menu items that you are not going to use.

WordPress 4.1.2 is a Critical Security Release, Immediate Update Recommended

Author:  Jeff Chandler

URL: http://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-1-2-is-a-critical-security-release-immediate-update-recommended

Remember to update WordPress to 4.1.2 as soon as possible!

Facebook Has Abandoned Its Official WordPress Plugin

Author:  Sarah Gooding

URL: http://wptavern.com/facebook-has-abandoned-its-official-wordpress-plugin

The Facebook plugin, initially released in 2012, has been official abandoned by Facebook; instead, the plugin will now be supported by the community.

XSS Vulnerability: What to do if You Buy or Sell Items on Themeforest and CodeCanyon

Author:  Jeff Chandler

URL: http://wptavern.com/xss-vulnerability-what-to-do-if-you-buy-or-sell-items-on-themeforest-and-codecanyon

A guide on what to do when a theme or plugin purchased on Themeforest and CodeCanyon when they have are exposed to the XSS vulnerability.

WordPress.org Now Requires Theme Authors to Use the Customizer to Build Theme Options

Author:  Sarah Gooding

URL: http://wptavern.com/wordpress-org-now-requires-theme-authors-to-use-the-customizer-to-build-theme-options

If you are a developer, you should know that WordPress.org will now require theme authors to use the Customizer API to build the theme options.

Why You Should Have the Latest Version of WordPress

Author:  Rachel McCollin

URL: http://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/update-wordpress

Having the latest version of WordPress is extremely important and Rachel McCollin explains why in this article.

How to Clean Up Your WordPress Database for Improved Performance

Author: Editorial Staff

URL: http://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-clean-up-your-wordpress-database-for-improved-performance

A simple and quick guide on how to clean up your WordPress database.

WordPress 4.2 “Powell” is Now Available for Download

Author: Sarah Gooding

URL: http://wptavern.com/wordpress-4-2-powell-is-now-available-for-download

WordPress 4.2 has been released! Make sure to update your site as soon as possible.