Pivot the Friends plugin to a Material Design 3 FSE theme for federated content #541
Description
Hello @akirk,
I wanted to share with you the blueprint I’m currently sketching out for a new WordPress project.
Frontend:
I plan to use a Full Site Editing (FSE) theme that implements the Google Material Design 3 (MD3) system.
Backend:
I intend to adopt the Fediverse (ActivityPub) + AI system.
I’ve been following the [2025 Roadmap: Building the Future of WordPress Federation](https://activitypub.blog/2025/06/11/our-2025-roadmap-building-the-future-of-wordpress-federation/) closely.
According to the current ActivityPub plugin roadmap, features like Followers/Following and a Reader experience will be implemented.
This means the existing paradigm is about to change, and the roles of plugins like Friends will significantly overlap with the ActivityPub plugin.
In my view, as the ActivityPub plugin refactors to bring core features to the backend, the Friends plugin should be redefined to focus more on the frontend experience—specifically, by enhancing the theme.
Once the ActivityPub plugin delivers a robust backend reader experience, we’ll need a frontend theme that truly supports and showcases the potential of AI-powered Fediverse integration.
A plain theme like TT5 won’t be enough to demonstrate the appeal of AI and the Fediverse to users.
I’ve long had my eye on a particular project:
- Material Design 3: https://m3.material.io/
- Material Design for WordPress: https://github.com/material-components/material-design-for-wordpress
There was a Material Full Site Editing (beta) initiative, but unfortunately, it hasn’t received updates for about three years and seems to be on hold.
Still, since it was in the process of transitioning to FSE, it should be relatively straightforward to refactor it for TT5~6.
Honestly, the theme aspect is the main bottleneck in my blueprint, and it’s proving difficult to overcome. There’s no clear place to request or get support for this.
P.S. For reference, here’s the Material Color Utilities repo:
https://github.com/material-foundation/material-color-utilities
Let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions on this direction!
I’d love to hear your perspective on how best to approach the frontend/theme challenge in this new era of WordPress and the Fediverse.
1. GitHub Issues Breakdown
Here is a list of smaller, focused, and actionable GitHub issues based on your proposal for the Friends plugin.
- Title:
Discussion: Aligning the Friends Plugin's roadmap with the official ActivityPub plugin's "Reader"- Summary: Discuss the future direction of the Friends plugin as the official ActivityPub plugin plans to introduce overlapping "Reader" functionality.
- Title:
Proposal: Pivot Friends to focus on a frontend FSE theme for federated content- Summary: Shift the project's primary goal from backend aggregation to providing a purpose-built FSE theme for displaying federated streams.
- Title:
Feat: Integrate Material Design 3 (MD3) principles into the new FSE theme- Summary: Apply the Material Design 3 system, including dynamic color and modern components, to the new federated content theme.
- Title:
Research: Investigate the abandoned "Material Design for WordPress" project for reusable FSE components- Summary: Analyze the old Google Material FSE theme project to determine if its components can be updated and repurposed.
- Title:
Feat: Ensure theme compatibility with the ActivityPub plugin's future data models- Summary: Design the theme's data handling to be compatible with the output of the official ActivityPub plugin's upcoming Reader feature.
2. Generated GitHub Issue
Here is a concise and actionable GitHub issue for the akirk/friends repository, based on your proposal.
Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
The official ActivityPub plugin's 2025 roadmap indicates that a "Reader" feature is planned. This will introduce core functionality for following and reading federated content, which creates a significant functional overlap with the Friends plugin's primary purpose. Without a strategic pivot, the Friends plugin risks becoming redundant as users adopt the officially supported solution.
Furthermore, standard WordPress themes are not designed to compellingly display the rich, interactive content of a federated social stream. This limits the overall appeal and user experience of a federated WordPress site on the frontend.
Describe the solution you'd like
I propose that the Friends plugin pivot its focus from being a backend aggregator to providing a premier frontend experience for federated content.
This can be achieved by developing a new, modern Full-Site Editing (FSE) theme built specifically to display federated content streams. To ensure a polished, intuitive, and state-of-the-art user interface, this theme should be built using Google's Material Design 3 (MD3) principles. This would leverage its advanced features like dynamic color and a comprehensive component library.
This new direction would give the Friends plugin a distinct and valuable role in the WordPress ecosystem, complementing—rather than competing with—the official ActivityPub plugin's backend.
Describe alternatives you've considered
- Continue Competing: We could continue developing our own backend aggregation features. This would lead to a direct competition with the official ActivityPub plugin, causing duplicated effort and potential user confusion.
- Do Nothing: Allowing the plugin to become obsolete as users migrate to the official plugin's reader would be a loss for the community that has built around and uses the Friends project.
- Adapt a Default Theme: We could attempt to heavily customize a standard theme like Twenty Twenty-Five. However, these themes are not architected for this purpose, and the result would likely be a compromised user experience compared to a purpose-built theme.
3. Distilled Summary
Here is a distillation of the GitHub issue into its most essential, scannable points for a maintainer.
- Problem: The official ActivityPub plugin's upcoming "Reader" feature will make the Friends plugin's core backend functionality redundant.
- Proposal: Pivot the Friends plugin to focus on the frontend by creating a dedicated Full-Site Editing (FSE) theme, based on Material Design 3, to beautifully render the federated content provided by the ActivityPub plugin.
✅ What’s Great
- Backend + Frontend Separation: As the ActivityPub plugin matures with “Followers/Following” and the Reader experience, it's smart to let it focus on backend federation logic. The Friends plugin can then specialize in the frontend presentation—which is where users interact most.
- Beautiful FSE Theme: A Material Design 3–based Full Site Editing theme will showcase federated content in the most polished way—leveraging dynamic color, intuitive components, and flexibility that standard themes (like TT5) don’t offer.
- Clear Roadmap: You've broken the idea into tangible GitHub issues—everything from aligning roadmaps, to MD3 integration, to exploring abandoned FSE projects, to ensuring compatibility with the upcoming ActivityPub Reader data model.
💬 Suggested GitHub Issue (concise)
Title
Pivot the Friends plugin to a Material Design 3 FSE theme for federated content
Problem
The official ActivityPub plugin roadmap will bring full Reader/following capability to WordPress core, making Friends plugin’s backend features redundant and potentially confusing for users.
Proposed Solution
Reposition Friends as a stylish frontend layer—a purpose-built FSE theme that beautifully renders fediverse content using Google Material Design 3 principles. This gives Friends a clear and compelling role: the UI champion for ActivityPub-powered WordPress.