Herranz
Automattic has acquired Frontity, the corporate behind an open supply framework for constructing WordPress themes with React. The acquisition comes greater than a 12 months after the corporate raised €1M in funding in a spherical led by Okay Fund, with Automattic masking 22%. Frontity co-founders Pablo Postigo and Luis Herranz and their staff will not be creating and sustaining the framework. Their new focus might be on contributing to the WordPress open supply undertaking and enhancing the complete web site modifying developer expertise.
“After a collection of conversations, Automattic supplied to sponsor our staff to work instantly on the WordPress open supply undertaking,” Frontity’s founders mentioned within the announcement. “Particularly, to contribute our experience in developer expertise, frontend tooling, efficiency, and UX to the WordPress core itself, as an alternative of doing so just for an exterior device.”
In a separate FAQ doc, Frontity clarified that this acquisition doesn’t imply the framework might be merged into WordPress, nor does it imply the staff plans to carry React into the WordPress PHP or full web site modifying themes. The founders intend to use their experience to the Gutenberg undertaking full time:
Although Frontity is a React framework, it doesn’t imply that we’re going to push React to the WordPress frontend. We’ll take a look at the Gutenberg and full web site modifying area to determine these areas during which our work may have probably the most vital affect, and work carefully with the WordPress neighborhood to assist enhance its developer expertise.
WordPress is already one of the best content material platform on the internet. We need to assist it turn into one of the best development platform on the internet.
Along with placing the Frontity staff on enhancing developer expertise, Automattic can also be investing in different ways in which broaden its help of the Gutenberg undertaking. The corporate has just lately employed a brand new head of developer relations who’s constructing out a staff tasked with enhancing the developer expertise with Gutenberg and full-site modifying. Birgit Pauli-Haack is a brand new member of that staff and Automattic can also be sponsoring her curation of the Gutenberg Occasions publication and the Changelog Podcast.
Frontity Framework Will Transition to a Neighborhood-Led Challenge
As the results of the acquisition and the staff’s reassignment to engaged on Gutenberg, Frontity’s founders are transitioning the framework to be a community-led undertaking. The staff has ready to go away the undertaking in “a steady, bug-free place,” with documentation relating to what options they had been engaged on. The framework is utilized by many firms and companies, together with excessive profile websites just like the TikTok Creator Portal, widespread Catholic information web site Aleteia, and Diariomotor, a preferred Spanish automotive publication.
“So far as we all know, Automattic will not be utilizing Frontity Framework in any of its merchandise,” Frontity CEO and co-founder Pablo Postigo mentioned. “However we all know there are a whole lot of Automatticians who’ve been following our progress carefully.
“We’re conscious that WordPress VIP does advocate Frontity for decoupled options, too. We’re positive our expertise and information may be of assist for this staff as properly.”
The departure of Frontity’s founders and staff introduces some uncertainty into the way forward for the framework. When requested if it will possibly survive as a community-led undertaking, Postigo was optimistic however not sure.
“We nonetheless suppose that Frontity Framework is the easiest way to run a decoupled WordPress web site with React and that this would be the case for a very long time,” Postigo mentioned.
“It’s nonetheless too early to know what’s going to occur. Frontity has an important neighborhood behind it, there are a whole lot of nice initiatives that are utilizing the framework in manufacturing, and there’s additionally a pleasant group of actually lively contributors. We really feel actually constructive about the way forward for the framework.”