Gone with the wind
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This plugin was earlier called WP-SMTP and was a simple but perfect working SMTP client in the style of WordPress GPL. Now, it is a non WordPress design conform plugin with an angry fruit salad UI that collects data: “We may collect your name, email address, physical address, and phone number if you provide it to us”. It is now not longer hold by a community member but a company called CloudOne Digital. Say goodbye to freedom of the software and count the days until there is a “pro” or “premium” version.
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Hey @senjoralfonso!
A lot of things to respond to here, so pardon the novel of a reply. Perhaps grab a coffee to help get you through it!
I’ll list out my interpretation of what you’re saying here with some comments:
Before it was simple, now it is not.This one is hard to stomach, to be honest. The old user interface had about 4 times as many “options” in the settings in order to get connected to a mail provider. A top priority of ours since taking ownership is to make it simpler to get connected to a mail provider. Some of the settings in the old UI were no longer best practice for connecting to an SMTP provider, and therefore removed. Other settings were not as useful and have been removed. It’s wildly simpler now. Also, it has documentation now.
Before it was styled like “WordPress GPL” and now it is not.
If you open WordPress to a block-editor page, you see a markedly different design than the traditional back end UI. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb to say that the admin UI for WordPress is dated at this point. In the wider WordPress ecosystem there is ongoing debate about how list tables need to be replaced, and what that design will look like. Here’s a discussion about “Data Views” that we are following closely from back in June: https://make.wordpress.org/core/2024/06/13/data-views-update-june-2024/
We’re certainly not the only ones to start the trend toward making the admin screens look more modern, and will gladly follow the wider WP ecosystem if a consensus appears around what direction things are going. For now, we just decided “make it look better” was a priority.
Before it worked, now it… doesn’t?
You don’t come right out and say that the product doesn’t work now, but I felt an implication that maybe you thought that, so I wanted to address that particular elephant. Easily the biggest change that this plugin is going to get is *attention* going forward. An entire team of Quality Assurance folks took turns testing the plugin as a part of this 2.0 release, which is something that was simply never true of a previous release.
More fundamentally, before if it didn’t work you had no option for help, now you have documentation and a support team who want to make sure you are connected.
Angry fruit salad
This is a dig at the (rather wordy) telemetry opt-in that greets you upon installation. I’ll be honest, I’m with you on this one. I pushed internally that we shouldn’t have the first impression be corporate-speak via this opt-in, but lost that battle.
In it’s defense, you opting into our telemetry is another sign that now this plugin is getting attention. We monitor data to see how we can make the product better and more integral to your site. And per WordPress rules, we don’t do anything without your permission, hence tossing a bowl of “fruit salad” at you. I’m a little offended that you didn’t appreciate my careful wording. 😆
Owned by CloudOne Digital
Yes, SolidWP is part of StellarWP, in the Liquid Web family of brands, and CloudOne digital is an investor. Also, ask around in the WP ecosystem and you’ll see that there are many “old school WordPressers” like myself who work here and love all of the things that have made WP great over the years.
I know it’s just empty words from the outside, but here on the inside I’ve seen StellarWP doing everything right when it comes to acquisitions. The products (and teams) get better (and happier) after acquisition.
There’s going to be a premium version soon.
If there is a premium version, that I have any part in planning (I would definitely have a part), it won’t take away features, or lock them behind a paywall. We’re more concerned with people using the products as a part of our overall suite in SolidWP.
You’ll start seeing this kind of language around our sites and plugins, but we aim to be a brand and set of products that “every WordPress site needs.”Doesn’t matter what kind of site you run, you need Security, Backups, Performance (caching and optimization), and now: Mail.
So the value in the acquisition here was trust, not “quick, make a premium product!” We are going to be adding features and stability to the products, with the entire goal being that you trust us. There’s no shortcut: trust is earned over time, and we’re just getting started.Here’s hoping this big ol’ wall of words was helpful for you. Let us know if you have any trouble with this or any of our products!
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