Last Thursday, June 13, 2024, during the Contributor Day of WordCamp Europe 2024, we had a specific meeting for the WordPress Hosting Directory project, which was attended by various hosting A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their website accessible via the World Wide Web. providers.
In the meeting, which lasted 1 hour, the context behind this proposal was explained, as already announced in the document and in its previous components.
Conclusions
As stated in the proposal, initially the directory will be hosted at //make.wordpress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org//hosting/directory/ and will allow filtering and segmentation by environments (shared, VPS A virtual private server (VPS) is a virtual machine sold as a service by an Internet hosting service. A VPS runs its own copy of an operating system (OS), and customers may have superuser-level access to that operating system instance, so they can install almost any software that runs on that OS., cloud…).
The directory will operate based on an algorithm that rewards elements but does not penalize them. For example, if the provider supports WP-CLI WP CLI is the Command Line Interface for WordPress, used to do administrative and development tasks in a programmatic way., they will earn more points. If they participate in Five for the Future, they will also earn more points.
The information retrieval will be done through a JSON JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) is an open standard file format, and data interchange format, that uses human-readable text to store and transmit data objects consisting of attribute–value pairs and array data types. It is a very common data format, with a diverse range of applications, such as serving as a replacement for XML in AJAX systems. file located in the /.well-known/ folder.
The repository github.com/javiercasares/hosting-handbook has already been requested to be moved to the WordPress organization, so all communication regarding this project will be conducted through the Issues or Discussions of the repository. In any case, it is possible that the initial phase of communication will be done privately, and subsequently, once the feed is approved, everything will be made public. This is to establish communication between the Review Team and the provider and validate details that initially do not need to be public. This system could evolve and change once the project is launched.
The first phase will involve providers that are already using their “bot” in the Host Test Results, so the team will work with providers they already have a relationship with. This will also help validate the functionality of the tests and ensure that communication is bidirectional over time.
Once the first version of the directory is launched, with about 25 providers, it will be opened to the participation of other providers.
Until then, the Review Team will be limited and small to document and iterate on the JSON Schema as needed and request changes from the pilot phase providers. Once the first version is launched, the team will open to the participation and training of new members.
Next Steps
The next steps will be directed in two ways.
The first path is the creation of the plugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. for the Hosting site where the directory will be created. In the coming weeks, the necessary materials will be prepared, and the development team will be assembled. If you are interested in participating, please contact @javiercasares on Slack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/..
The second path will be to release a beta Beta is the software development phase following alpha. A Beta phase generally begins when the software is feature complete but likely to contain a number of known or unknown bugs. Software in the beta phase will generally have many more bugs in it than completed software, speed or performance issues, and may still cause crashes or data loss. The focus of beta testing is reducing impacts to users, often incorporating usability testing. version of the JSON Schema and start contacting various providers who want to participate to prepare an initial version of the file and work through the review process.
The goal is to have a functional version in approximately 3 months (if possible, before WordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. US 2024), so that by October we can launch a first version, finalize the Schema, and begin opening the Review Team processes and directory access in a generalized manner.
Soon
In the coming weeks, we will publish two more posts.
The first one will focus on the plugin, explaining its functionalities, the required features, and how it will be managed. This post will provide a comprehensive overview of the plugin’s architecture and the development steps necessary to ensure its successful implementation.
The second post will be dedicated to the Review Team. It will outline the requirements for joining the team, the initial review process, and how subsequent reviews will be conducted based on available tools. Additionally, we will discuss the preparation of an onboarding process for new members as we make further progress in the project.
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