Rolly G. Bueno Jr.

Category: WordPress Contribution

  • I Break Things (So You Don’t Have To) – Test Contributor Unlocked!

    I’m thrilled to share that I’ve officially earned the WordPress Test Contributor badge! 🎉

    You can find my name mentioned in the post on the Make/Test blog — a weekly recap that highlights testing contributions across the WordPress project. It’s a small but meaningful milestone in my ongoing journey as a contributor.

    Week in Test: June 30, 2025

    What Did I Test?

    Recently, I contributed by testing Trac ticket #63254: “Introduce development mode for block editor styles”.

    This ticket addresses a common frustration among plugin and theme developers, having to manually clear browser cache to see style changes in the block editor.

    The update introduces a development mode where, when SCRIPT_DEBUG is set to true, CSS and JS assets for the block editor automatically use their file modification timestamps (filemtime()) as version parameters. This ensures that every change is instantly reflected in the editor without manual cache-busting.

    Here’s what I did as a tester:

    • Confirmed the issue by switching SCRIPT_DEBUG on and noticing that asset URLs didn’t update as expected.
    • Applied the patch and revisited the editor to check that each file change triggered a unique ?ver=… timestamp.
    • Tested both CSS and JS changes, ensuring updates were reflected immediately.
    • Verified that this behavior only applies in development mode, preserving production performance.
    • Submitted a thorough test report, detailing the improved workflow and confirming that no new issues were introduced.

    This feature was then marked “ready to ship” and will be included in WordPress 6.8.2, a direct boost to developer experience.

    Why Testing Matters

    WordPress powers more than 40% of the web. Every update to the platform introduces enhancements, bug fixes, and new features. Behind all of those improvements is a vital layer of protection: real-world testing.

    Here’s why testing is essential:

    • Quality assurance: Testing helps catch bugs before they reach end users, reducing the chance of regressions in future releases.
    • User empathy: Testers evaluate features from the user’s perspective, ensuring updates are intuitive, functional, and consistent across environments.
    • Stronger releases: Well-tested patches reduce the need for last-minute hotfixes and allow developers to ship with more confidence.
    • Inclusive contribution: You do not need to be a developer to make a difference. Clear feedback, step-by-step reproduction, or simply confirming an issue still exists are all valuable.

    Testing opened the door for me to start contributing without needing to write core patches. It is a powerful and accessible way to strengthen WordPress from the inside out.

    What’s Next?

    This is only the beginning. I plan to:

    • Help test upcoming betas and release candidates
    • Explore writing unit tests to improve coverage
    • Join testing efforts for major releases
    • Encourage others to start their own contributor journey through testing

    If you have ever thought about contributing to WordPress, testing is an excellent place to begin. It is inclusive, impactful, and essential to the health of the project.

  • How I Earned My First Core Contributor Badge with WordPress 6.1 “Misha”

    Back in 2021, Ticket #54483 was opened to address an accessibility concern on the WordPress login screen. The issue? After logging out (with ?loggedout=true in the URL), the form’s input fields were still using aria-describedby="login_error", even though no actual error was present. For screen reader users, that’s misleading.

    I didn’t open the ticket, but when I came across it, I realized the patch hadn’t been written yet, and I decided to help.

    The fix was straightforward: update the condition to exclude the logged-out state from triggering the aria-describedby reference. Here’s the relevant tweak:

    if ( $errors->has_errors() && empty( $_GET['loggedout'] ) ) {
    $aria_describedby_error = ' aria-describedby="login_error"';
} else {
    $aria_describedby_error = '';
}

    Simple. Clear. And enough to improve accessibility for thousands of users.

    That patch sat quietly for a while, like many Trac tickets do. But in the lead-up to WordPress 6.1 “Misha,” it was reviewed, refined, and finally merged.

    And with it, I earned my first Core Contributor badge.

    Recognition with “Misha”

    That patch merged into WordPress core during the release of version 6.1 “Misha”, officially announced on November 1, 2022. The release included nearly 60 accessibility improvements, emphasizing the project’s ongoing commitment to inclusivity..

    When that PR landed, I received my first Core Contributor badge. A one-line patch, validated by a major, widely celebrated release.

    Why this matters

    • Proof of impact. The official “Misha” release announcement confirms the focus on accessibility, and my patch was part of it.
    • Open source works. A 2021 ticket made inroads and was included in a 2022 release.
    • Small changes, big difference. Accessibility tweaks like this enrich the user experience for all.

    What I took from the experience

    • Start where you can contribute. I didn’t start this ticket, but I helped finish it.
    • Even small changes matter. This wasn’t a flashy feature, just a logic tweak that helped accessibility.
    • Be patient. WordPress core moves with care. Your patch might take time, but it’s never wasted.
    • You don’t need to do it all. Contributing to someone else’s ticket is just as valid as opening your own.