Ollie Theme Faces Pushback from WordPress Theme Review Team – WP Tavern
Mike McAlister, creator of the free Ollie theme, has been working in the direction of getting his theme accredited for internet hosting on WordPress.org. Ollie went into public beta in April 2023 and gained momentum over the following few months when McAlister previewed the theme’s new onboarding wizard.
WordPress customers have been sluggish to undertake the block editor and block themes by extension. In 2022, solely 54% of respondents to WordPress’ annual survey have used the block editor, 4 years after it was launched. Block themes have trickled into the official listing, far behind the lofty objectives set for his or her growth. The sluggish motion in the direction of block-based websites has led some to take a position on whether there will ever be a market for commercial block themes.
Ollie was designed to make onboarding to a block theme simpler and the Website Editor extra approachable, in order that customers don’t have to start out from a clean canvas. The theme’s demo boasts “a 40-hr head begin” on organising a brand new WordPress web site, thanks partially to dozens of patterns for quick web page constructing. Ollie’s built-in onboarding expertise goals to drastically cut back the period of time customers spend getting began.
After receiving vital pushback from the Theme Evaluate staff throughout Ollie’s three weeks within the queue, McAlister has put up a ballot requesting suggestions on how he ought to proceed.
Though provisionally accredited by veteran theme reviewer Justin Tadlock, who stated the onboarding performance ought to be allowed till WordPress core affords a normal answer, Ollie was met with heavy criticism from different members of the staff.
“The setup wizard is plugin territory,” UXL Themes founder and theme reviewer Andrew Starr stated. “Why not make this as a plugin that will work with any block theme? A plugin could possibly be inspiration or a nudge to enhance the core expertise.”
McAlister responded to this query within the Trac ticket for the review and in posts on X. He maintains {that a} plugin is a “far worse expertise for the tip consumer” and for his staff because the maintainers of the product. Additionally, for the reason that plugin assessment queue has 1,249 plugins awaiting assessment with builders ready a median of 98 days for an preliminary assessment, a plugin for Ollie’s onboarding expertise would possible not be dwell till subsequent yr.
“As a compromise and present of fine religion, I’ve chopped down the onboarding wizard to a fraction of what it was,” he stated. “No cube. Nonetheless, it continues to be a extremely contentious concern that’s inflicting of us to publicly query my intentions and integrity. Disheartening to say the least.”
Automattic-sponsored contributor Justin Tadlock, who helped writer the rules in query a few years in the past and who has historically been extensively esteemed for his impeccable judgment regarding the grey areas of content creation in themes and the necessity of preserving data portability, weighed in on the ticket after performing the preliminary assessment:
As somebody who co-wrote the unique guideline for settings to make use of the customizer, I can say with 100% certainty that we by no means meant that to be a tough line drawn within the sand. The staff reps can and have at all times had the aptitude to mark a theme as a “particular case” (there’s even a tag for this within the backend, or there was once I was a rep). And there are themes the place we felt just like the performance was distinctive sufficient to present it a little bit of wiggle room. That was a place that we took after we wrote the “settings have to be within the customizer” guideline. Whereas I’m now not one of many staff reps, I really feel like this settings web page function is exclusive sufficient to mark as a “particular case.”
With block themes, some issues have to be reevaluated as a result of the customizer just isn’t obtainable by default and isn’t an anticipated a part of the block theme expertise. In reality, this guideline could be very particular to traditional themes. Nothing has been written but for block themes. Whether or not that’s factor, I don’t know. This could possibly be second for experimentation.
I disagree that the settings web page ought to be packaged as a companion plugin. That defeats the aim of its inclusion within the theme, and it could create an extra hurdle for the customers who would profit probably the most from this function.
Yoast-sponsored contributor Carolina Nymark contends that permitting this onboarding expertise will set a precedent that erodes the usual the staff is attempting to uphold for the ecosystem of themes hosted on WordPress.org and provides Ollie an unfair business benefit:
“That settings pages are usually not allowed is in some ways unrelated to the customizer. And if we actually wish to angle it that means, it could be means simpler to re-enable the customizer hyperlink within the theme.
It’s about having a customary that’s simple for all theme authors to make use of and straightforward to assessment.
It’s about not opening up the evaluations to a different scenario with extremely troublesome and time consuming evaluations of code that the theme builders themselves don’t perceive as a result of they copy-pasted it and managed to trigger all kinds of errors and safety points.
The place that function “lives”, within the customizer or on one other web page, just isn’t the difficulty.I would really like everybody to additionally contemplate that the Website Editor is in no way far-off from fixing the issue with the preliminary template choice. It doesn’t remedy all onboarding steps, like attending to the Website Editor, however it’s bettering.
Examine it with the usage of TGMPA. There’s a downside that wants fixing and an answer has been agreed upon the place the theme writer and reviewers solely want to regulate a number of variables and textual content strings.
If one thing comparable could possibly be reached right here I’d help it.
This isn’t a few particular case, as a result of it’s an unfair business benefit over different theme builders.
Ollie is a beautifully-designed multipurpose theme of the very best caliber, the likes of which WordPress.org doesn’t see fairly often. If increasing block theme adoption is a crucial aim, these are the sorts of experiences you need folks constructing for WordPress customers. It might be time to redefine theme pointers primarily based on the chances that the block editor permits, as an alternative of saddling block themes with antiquated constraints for the sake of maintaining a more expedient review process.
“Simply because there are issues with onboarding it doesn’t imply {that a} theme, any theme, is the best instrument simply because one can put code in it,” Nymark stated. “Plugins prolong options, themes show content material.”
Given the quantity of pushback from the Theme Evaluate staff, McAlister is now torn about eradicating all the pieces “additional” to get Ollie within the listing for higher distribution, or to maintain the improvements in place and forego the listing in favor of impartial distribution. To this point, the outcomes of his ballot are overwhelmingly in favor of McAlister distributing the theme himself.
“I’m obsessed with innovation and getting probably the most out of all the chances that fashionable WordPress affords us,” McAlister advised the Tavern. “We had been tasked to ‘Study JavaScript Deeply’ to not stay the place we’ve been for thus lengthy, however to push the boundaries and scope out the way forward for WordPress and what’s doable.
“So we designed and developed Ollie’s instructional dashboard and onboarding wizard to assist customers recover from among the hurdles they’ve been plagued with for thus lengthy when organising a brand new website or switching to a brand new theme. We even designed it in a really core-inspired strategy to match the positioning editor to create a really cohesive expertise. The suggestions has been inspiring!”
After posting about his expertise with the Theme Evaluate staff, which McAlister characterised as “rocky (and downright combative),” the neighborhood following his work on Ollie over the past year has rallied round him with recommendation and help.
“I’m torn about this,” Joost de Valk commented on McAlister’s ballot on X. “I really feel WordPress wants these onboarding experiences. Very very a lot. Ought to or not it’s in themes? Undecided. Ought to the theme repository block these things? I don’t suppose so… we ought to be open to experimenting with this a bit extra.”
McAlister stated that even because the theme’s creator, he’s torn concerning the determination as effectively.
“I constructed this as religion try to assist folks onboard into block themes and hopefully even assist drive adoption,” he stated. “My intentions are pure and steeped in 15 years of doing it ‘the WP means.’ It’s an try to maneuver the needle, value a shot anyway.”
“I at all times felt that onboarding like this ought to be a part of Core,” Yoast-sponsored contributor Ari Stathopoulos commented. “The present expertise for a newcomer to WP just isn’t one. Now we have to start out someplace… if it’s in themes, then so be it.”
WordPress’ Theme Evaluate staff has a important selection right here, whether or not to stifle innovation and throw the ebook at probably the most extremely anticipated block themes, or determine this as a particular case the place the writer has the customers’ greatest pursuits at coronary heart.
Many contributors within the dialogue on X inspired McAlister to distribute his work independently, citing examples of different WordPress merchandise which have discovered success in doing so. This could be an unlucky loss for WordPress.org the place the undertaking is actually capturing itself within the foot by clinging to outmoded pointers with a purpose to deny prime quality block themes which are innovating to create a greater consumer expertise. In pursuit of a extra strong providing of block themes, the very last thing WordPress must do is push back its trailblazers.
“Since this morning, there was an amazing quantity of suggestions telling me to keep away from the WordPress.org listing,” McAlister stated. “I’m form of bummed by this as a result of I feel it says one thing concerning the listing that a number of of us suppose however few wish to say out loud.
“Personally, I would like the listing to succeed and be an inspiring and resourceful jump-off level for brand spanking new WordPress customers! It’s the entrance web page of our open supply undertaking, of our neighborhood. It ought to be a showcase of the best our neighborhood has to supply. However at this time, I’m disheartened and undecided if it’s the place the place I wish to put a few of my greatest work up to now.”
