At WebDevStudios, our passion for WordPress is matched only by our commitment to fostering the growth and development of open-source software. We believe in giving back to WordPress, which we do in different ways: plugin development, WordPress Core contribution, WordCamp participation, and Five for the Future.
Since 2014, we’ve proudly participated in the Five for the Future (5FTF) movement, dedicating 5% of our WordPress agency’s time to contributing to the WordPress project. We continue that tradition tomorrow, April 26, 2024, by devoting our entire workday to 5FTF.
Our involvement in 5FTF is more than a mere obligation. It’s a fundamental part of our company culture. In fact, team member after team member will tell you that one of the reasons they joined WebDevStudios was our dedication to 5FTF.
Five for the Future Friday at WebDevStudios
The last Friday of every month is devoted to Five for the Future, so our team takes a break from client projects to work on their WordPress projects. This could be plugin development, taking tickets at the WordPress Support Forum, or working on a WordCamp talk. In whatever manner our staff members choose to spend their day giving back to WordPress and open-source technology, we support it.
By dedicating an entire workday each month to 5FTF, we prioritize giving back to the WordPress community and ensuring that our contributions are meaningful and impactful. From bug fixes and feature enhancements to code reviews and documentation updates, our team actively engages in various areas of WordPress development, leveraging their expertise to make positive contributions.
Benefits of Participation
One of the key benefits of our commitment to 5FTF is the opportunity to contribute to the continuous improvement of WordPress itself. In fact, Matt Mullenweg, one of the founding developers of WordPress, reported that it took around 700 contributors in 57 countries to build WordPress 6.5, which was released on April 2, 2204. The progress of WordPress is credited to all those who give back to it.
Here’s a fun fact: two of those who received contributor credit for WordPress 6.5 came from our team—CEO Brad Williams and Principal Engineer Sal Ferrarello. By actively participating in WordPress’ development process and progress, we gain valuable insights into the platform’s inner workings and shape its future direction. Additionally, our involvement allows us to stay abreast of the latest developments in WordPress, ensuring that our team remains at the forefront of industry trends and best practices.
Moreover, our dedication to 5FTF enables us to give back to the broader WordPress community, sharing our knowledge, expertise, and resources for the benefit of all users. By investing in the future of WordPress today, we ensure that it remains a powerful and accessible tool for years to come.
March 2024 Five for the Future Friday
Our last 5FTF Friday was held on March 29, 2024. Some team members spent 5FTF Friday testing their self-developed plugins’ compatibilities with WordPress 6.5. Here are some other ways our team members contributed.
Actually getting to write code today for our WordPress #5FTF. Today’s task? Accessing patterns from the front end to recreate the official pattern library functionality. pic.twitter.com/mzTFdl66tN
— CMDR Mitchcraft ➡️ St. Jude Creator Summit (@thatmitchcanter) March 29, 2024
Tested and confirmed my Blogroll Block is working well with the upcoming WordPress 6.5 https://t.co/RjAlEzlMPG #fiveforthefuture #5ftf
— Captain Macho Pirate Mick Rackham.yarr🏴☠️ (@tw2113) March 29, 2024
This Good Friday, we are celebrating #5FTF at @webdevstudios. I did some research on faust.js blocks rendering ✅ & also submitted a patch to #WordPress core for a bug found by my buddy @salcode ✅
— Aslam Doctor (@aslammdoctor) March 29, 2024