October Roundup: HeroPress, Page Builder Summit, and Acquisitions

We have a lot to digest in the October version of the WordPress roundup. A lot.

We are going to take a look at four conferences coming up, a new project by HeroPress, and a rash of acquisitions in the WordPress space.

Hold on tight.

WordCamp US

Full confession. This slipped on me. I missed it until today (Thursday) while writing the article.

If you want to attend WordCamp US, here’s your chance, and it’s free. And, you don’t have to leave your house!

We’re back. We’re online. And we’re shaking things up a bit! So make a cup of coffee. Pack a few snacks. Order in. (Go ahead and splurge for this event!) Find somewhere comfortable to stream — your couch, your back porch, or out in nature), and something comfortable to wear (we won’t judge you for wearing your PJ’s for this one), and get ready for a day of amazing content.

Word on the street is some might be having watch parties.

Perhaps this makes us one step closer to having these in-person again.

WooSesh

WooSesh is a virtual conference for WooCommerce site builders. The conference is hosted by developer Brian Richards of WP Sessions.

All sessions are recorded and go into the WP Sessions library, but the conference is free to attend. Today, Richards posted pictures of some of the speakers.

The conference is October 12-15.

Brian told me the schedule will be ready next week. So check back to see who will speak and when!

A four-day virtual conference for WooCommerce store builders that will help grow your business. WooSesh.com

Pagebuilder Summit

The second round of the 2021 Page Builder Summit is from October 18-22. The summit was held in May earlier this year, and the hosts, Nathan Wrigley and Anchen le Roux rolled it out again in October.

A new group of speakers has been announced on their page including:

• Erin Flynn
• David McCan
• Mike Oliver
• Laura Kåmark
• Michelle Frechette
• Birgit Pauli-Haack
• Laura Elizabeth
• Candy Phelps
• Anne McCarthy
• Jennifer Bourn
• and many more.

You can see a list of the speakers for this year’s summit here.

The event is free and runs during the week. It’s the only summit that focuses only on page building.

HeroPress’s new project

WP Podcasts

Let me say, I am impressed with this idea from HeroPress. Basically, they have created a database of podcast episodes from the WordPress space.

They have created filters by topics to help you find the resources you need as you learn.

I think it’s a great idea.

I checked with Cate DeRosia and she gave me the scoop.

We saw a need and created a resource to help meet it.

For this stage of the HeroPress expansion, we’re focusing on centralizing information to make it easier for everyone to use the quality resources that already exist.

As the WordPress ecosystem grows, it can be harder to find what you’re looking for. Resources like WP Podcasts simplifies the search helping everyone from busy veterans to new WordPressers trying to get started.

Cate DeRosia, HeroPress

HeroPress launched this database on International Podcast Day, Thursday, September 30, 2021.

Acquisition news

No doubt, the “talk of the town” in WordPress kingdom is the number of acquisitions we have seen over the past few weeks.

Acquisitions have been trickling in over the past couple of years, but it really seemed to pick up in the past few weeks.

I think the big shocker was Sandhills being acquired by Awesome Motive.

We take a look, briefly, at some of the recent ones below. Also, I list a few articles that discuss the acquisitions and maybe a few opinions.

Sandhills and Awesome Motive

Pippin Williams announced the sale of Sandhills to Awesome Motive. He gives some insight into the decision:

“Awesome Motive has been an innovator in WordPress for more than a decade and during that time they have built infrastructures, processes, and a level of polish rarely seen in the WordPress industry. The learnings and strategies that have made Awesome Motive so successful will be applied to the whole suite of Sandhills products, making the products better than ever before and at a pace previously unseen by our customers.” Source

As for the timing, Pippen tells a story about enjoying a yearly ritual with his father and uncle and the brevity of life. It is a stark reminder that we are all finite.

He then explains what he will be doing,

“After finishing a transition period with Awesome Motive, I will retire from WordPress and then put my focus into spending time with my family, nature conservation efforts, and Sandhills Brewing.”

Congratulations Pippen!

If you want to learn more, Matt Medeiros has an interview with Pippen on the Matt Report

Pippin Williamson on selling his plugins to Awesome Motive

Recent Acquisitions

Finding all of these was much easier because I have subscribed to several WordPress news-related newsletters and have them in a tab in my Gmail Account.

Branch & WP Push

“Hi all! Keanan Koppenhaver here. I’m very excited to announce that I’ve acquired Branch and its older brother, WP Pusher.”

Source

AudienceOps
This is not really WordPress-related, but many people in WordPress know and admire Brian Casel, the founder of AudienceOps which was recently sold.

WP Landing Kit
WP Landing Kit Is Joining the Themeisle Family of Products!

LearnDash
StellarWP Welcomes LearnDash to the Family

Opinions

I can imagine there are as many opinions about this as there are people in the WordPress space.

Video – Sandhills Development to AwesomeMotive – Matt Medeiros

Changing Hands: Should You Worry When a WordPress Plugin Has a New Owner? – Speckyboy

Is There a Future for Small WordPress Businesses? – WP Mayor

WordPressopoly: WordPress Acquisitions Are Not a Game Anymore – Business Bloomer

Your WordPress Company Has Been Acquired: Now What? – Post Status

Wrapping it up

That’s a wrap. Were you surprised by any of the acquisitions? Will you be attending any of the upcoming conferences?

Let us know in the MainWP Users Facebook Group.