Every WordPress release celebrates an artist who has made an indelible mark on the world of music. Say Hello to WordPress 7.0 “Armstrong”, named in honor of “Satchmo” himself, jazz musician Louis Armstrong.

Known as the “first great jazz soloist”, Louis Armstrong created ensembles that highlighted his own profound trumpeting skills, and in the process, transformed jazz from an orchestral art form into a solo art form. The master trumpeter also impressed the world with his signature vocals, introducing improvisation into Jazz, influencing every artist he worked with, and permanently changing the landscape of music.

Louis Armstrong wove his personal touch into the world of Jazz. With WordPress 7.0 “Armstrong”, you can build with yours.

Welcome to WordPress 7.0!

WordPress 7.0 marks the start of a new era, laying the foundation for AI across the WordPress experience. Greeting you with a modern, more intuitive dashboard, 7.0 introduces enhanced customization and development tools that inspire creativity and tap into endless potential.

Whether you’re a creator, business owner or developer – WordPress 7.0 let’s you create in a way that is uniquely your own.

What’s inside

Explore AI abilities directly in your website, all managed from a central hub. Slide seamlessly through the sleek, new admin theme implemented across the dashboard. Ignite creative flow with new blocks and design tools, and tap into an expansive developer toolbox that gives you more control than ever, letting you create your way.

AI-Integrated WordPress

Possibilities right in your hands.

With AI integrated throughout WordPress the potential is endless. A new AI Client in Core lets WordPress communicate with generative AI models, while connections are easily managed from a single hub in the dashboard. The AI Client combined with the Abilities API makes a fiery duo that introduces new functionality, workflow automation, and creation tools to your website. Install the new AI plugin to expand your options even more: generate and edit images, create titles or excerpts, or even suggest alt text.

7.0 also includes a new Client-Side Abilities package: a Javascript counterpart to the Abilities API, with a built in UI and command palette that delivers extensive new and hybrid AI abilities.

Manage all your external connections in a central hub on the Connector’s screen. Easily dive in with 3 presets, or add your own connections. Authenticate and get started with AI abilities in just a few clicks.

An AI-integrated WordPress promises infinite potential, ready to be discovered.

Modernized Dashboard

Elevate your admin experience.

7.0 introduces a fully revitalized dashboard with a chic, modern new color scheme, and clean finishes throughout.

Polished with smooth transitions that seamlessly shift as you move between screens, you’ll feel like you’re effortlessly gliding through the dashboard.

Just one click of the new Command Palette shortcut, a ⌘K or Ctrl+K icon in the upper admin bar, lets you access your favorite tools from anywhere in the dashboard.

Explore typography from one place, regardless of theme. Install, upload and manage your font collection from the new dedicated font management page, with support for block, hybrid and classic themes.

Visually scrub through revision versions to see what changed at a glance, with markers that make editorial choices more intuitive. Easily pick the revision you want and restore instantly.

Design, Create, Customize

A simpler way to build.

Let WordPress be your muse with new blocks, block supports, and design tools that add visual agility, granular control, and keep every element of your website on brand, with fresh new touches.

Showcase your ideas in a lightbox slideshow with the new gallery block, and finesse your markup with the new Heading block. Deliver clear site navigation with the new Breadcrumbs block, and add more detail to your designs with the new Icons block.

Enhanced responsiveness controls in 7.0 make your site more user friendly. Hide and reveal blocks based on device, without affecting other viewports.

Design and build your menu overlay with blocks and patterns, fully customizable with the styles you want visitors to see. Add columns, stylize typography, or embed your own close button in the overlay. Start with a template or create your own menu from scratch.

Fine tune page design and layout with Patterns that act as a single unit, detachable for more isolated control. Insert your pattern, swap elements and customize with ease.

Style every detail of content with custom CSS at the block level, right in your post or page.

Developer’s toolbox

Advanced tools for building your way.

WordPress 7.0 lets you build faster, better, stronger, and easier with an extensive set of  expanded APIs and enhanced functionality.

Create blocks and patterns on the server level using only PHP, auto-registered with the block API.

Explore a more extensible Site Editor, with routing, route validation, and a new wordpress/boot package that allows plugins to build custom site-editor pages.

And much more

For a comprehensive overview of all the new features and enhancements in WordPress 7.0, please visit the feature-showcase website.

Check out whats new in 7.0

Learn more about WordPress 7.0

Learn WordPress is a free resource for new and experienced WordPress users. Learn is stocked with how-to videos on using various features in WordPress, interactive workshops for exploring topics in-depth, and lesson plans for diving deep into specific areas of WordPress.

Read the WordPress 7.0 Release Notes for information on installation, enhancements, fixed issues, release contributors, learning resources, and the list of file changes.

Explore the WordPress 7.0 Field Guide and learn about the changes in this release with detailed developer notes to help you build with WordPress.

The 7.0 release squad

Every release comes to you from a dedicated team of enthusiastic contributors who help keep things on track and moving smoothly. The team that has led 7.0 is a global, cross-functional group of contributors who are always ready to champion ideas, remove blockers, and resolve issues.

• Release Lead: Matias Ventura
• Release Coordination: Ahmed Kabir Chaion, Amy Kamala, Mary Hubbard
• Tech Leads: Ella van Durpe, Mukesh Panchal, Sergey Biryukov
• Triage Leads: Jb Audras, JuanMa Garrido
• Test Leads: Ankit K Gupta, Mary Baum

Thank you, contributors

The mission of WordPress is to democratize publishing and embody the freedoms that come with open source. A global and diverse community of people collaborating to strengthen the software supports this effort.

WordPress 7.0 reflects the tireless efforts and passion of more than 875+ contributors in countries all over the world. This release also welcomed over 200+ first-time contributors!

Their collaboration delivered more than 420 enhancements and fixes, ensuring a stable release for all – a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress open source community.

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Gupta · Ankit Kumar Shah · Ankit Panchal · Anne McCarthy · Anne-Mieke Bovelett · Anthony Burchell · Anthony Hortin · Antoine · Anton Vlasenko · anton7249 · Antonio Sejas · antonrinas · Anukasha Singh · Anup Kankale · Anveshika Srivastava · apedog · arcwp · Ari Stathopoulos · Arkaprabha Chowdhury · Armand MD · Artemio Morales · Arthur Chu · Artur Piszek · ArtZ91 · Arun · Arun Sathiya · Asad Polash · asadowski10 · atharvasagane · Audrey Soler · audunmb · awardpress · Azhar Deraiya · Azragh · BackuPs · badasswp · Ben Dwyer · Benedikt Ledl · Benjamin Gosset · Benjamin Zekavica · Benoit Chantre · benpinales · Bernie Reiter · Bero · Bhavik Panchal · Bigul Malayi · Billy Wilcosky · Birgir Erlendsson (birgire) · Birgit Pauli-Haack · BlackStar · bluefuton · bobbingwide · Boris Gherman · Boro Sitnikovski · brad hogan · Brad Jorsch · bradshawtm · brajdas0022 · Brandon Hubbard · Brandon Kraft · Brandon Payton · brbrr · Brian Coords · Brian Gardner · Brian Haas · Brian Hogg · Bridget Willard · brumack · Bruno Freiberger Garcia · buutqn · Béryl de La Grandière · Calin Don · Carlo Cannas · Carlos Bravo · Carolina Nymark · cbirdsong · cgastrell · Chelsea Otakan · Chi-Hsuan Huang · Chris Lilitsas · Chris McElroy SEO · Chris Zarate · chrisdotdotdot · chrispecoraro · Christelle Stasse · Christoph Daum · Christy Nyiri · Chuck Grimmett · Ciprian Popescu · clayray · Clément Polito · Colin Stewart · Copons · Corey Worrell · Cory Hughart · Courtney Robertson · crstauf · Cuong Le · czarflix · Dale du Preez · Damon Cook · Dan Knauss · Dan Luu · Dan Zakirov · Daniel Bachhuber · Daniel Jalkut (Red Sweater) · Daniel Richards · Daniele Scasciafratte · danieltj · dannyreaktiv · Darin Kotter · Darren Ethier (nerrad) · Darshit Rajyaguru · Dave Ryan · Dave Whitley · David Arenas · David Baumwald · David Bowman · David Herrera · David Levine · David Smith · David Stone · Dean Sas · DEBARGHYA BANERJEE · Deepak Gupta · Deepak Lalwani · Deepak Prajapati · Deepak Rohilla · Denis Žoljom · Dennis Ploetner · Dennis Snell · deoladev · Derek Hanson · Devang Vachheta · Dhiraj Joshi · Dhrumil Kumbhani · Dhruval Shah · Dhruvang21 · Dhruvik Malaviya · Diane Co · digamberpradhan · digitalblanket · Dilip Bheda · Dilip Modhavadiya · Dimitris Mitropoulos · Dion Hulse · divyeshpatel01 · Dominik Schilling · Douglas Henri · Dreb Bitanghol · Drew Jaynes · Drivingralle · drysand · Earle Davies · eclev91 · Eddy · Egill R. 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More than 70 locales have fully translated WordPress 7.0 into their language. Community translators are working hard to ensure more translations are on their way. Thank you to everyone who helps make WordPress available in 200+ languages.

Thank you to the more than 21 web hosts that have tested pre-release versions for WordPress 7.0, helping ensure that WordPress and hosting platforms are fully compatible, free of errors, and optimized for the best possible user experience.

Last but not least, thanks to the volunteers who contribute to the support forums by answering questions from WordPress users worldwide.

Get involved

Participation in WordPress goes far beyond coding. And learning more and getting involved is easy. Discover the teams that come together to Make WordPress and use this interactive tool to help you decide which is right for you.

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it’s recommended that you evaluate RC4 on a test server and site.

Reaching this phase of the release cycle is an important milestone. While release candidates are considered ready for release, testing remains crucial to ensure that everything in WordPress 7.0 is the best it can be.

You can test WordPress 7.0 RC4 in four ways:

The scheduled final release date for WordPress 7.0 is May 20, 2026. The full release schedule can be found here. Your help testing Beta and RC versions is vital to making this release as stable and powerful as possible. Thank you to everyone who helps with testing!

Please continue checking the Make WordPress Core blog for 7.0-related posts in the coming weeks for more information.

What’s in WordPress 7.0 RC4?

Want to look deeper into the details and technical notes for this release? Take a look at the WordPress 7.0 Field Guide. For technical information related to the issues addressed since RC3, you can browse the following links:

• Closed 7.0 WordPress Core Trac tickets since May 8, 2026
• 7.0 Gutenberg commits since May 8, 2026

How you can contribute

WordPress is open source software made possible by a passionate community of people collaborating on and contributing to its development. The resources below outline various ways you can get involved with the world’s most popular open source web platform, regardless of your technical expertise.

Get involved in testing

Testing for issues is crucial to the development of any software. It’s also a meaningful way for anyone to contribute. Your help testing the WordPress 7.0 RC4 version is key to ensuring that the final release is the best it can be.

This detailed guide will walk you through testing features in WordPress 7.0. 

For those new to testing, follow this general testing guide for more details on getting set up.

If you encounter a potential bug or issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums or directly to WordPress Trac if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs. 

Curious about testing releases in general?  Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.

Help translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? ¿Español? Français? Русский? 日本語? हिन्दी? বাংলা? मराठी? ಕನ್ನಡ?  You can help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages. This release milestone (RC4) marks the hard string freeze point of the 7.0 release cycle.

An RC4 haiku

Step into the next,

bold, new era of WordPress.

Seven-oh is blessed.

Props to @chaion07 for proofreading and review.

August 16–19, 2026, Phoenix Convention Center – Phoenix, Arizona

Tickets are now available for WordCamp US 2026, taking place August 16–19, 2026, at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The flagship event brings together people from across the WordPress community to learn, contribute, share ideas, connect with contributor teams, and help shape the future of an open source project that powers over 40% of the web.

WordCamp US is designed for people at many points in their WordPress journey, including contributors, developers, designers, marketers, publishers, business owners, educators, students, and anyone who wants to learn more about WordPress. This year’s event will include Contributor Day, where attendees can work alongside contributor teams and learn how to take part in the project; Showcase Day, which highlights real-world uses of WordPress; and two full days of sessions and workshops. The programming will also explore how artificial intelligence is changing the way people create, publish, build, and maintain digital experiences, with WordPress as an important part of that broader conversation.

Gather in Phoenix

This year also brings WordCamp US to downtown Phoenix, where the Phoenix Convention Center is close to restaurants, museums, theaters, galleries, live music, and the Roosevelt Row Arts District. Attendees can stay near the venue, meet with other community members between sessions, and explore a downtown area served by Valley Metro Rail. For those extending their trip, Phoenix also offers access to the wider Sonoran Desert region, including parks, gardens, and outdoor spaces that make the city a distinct setting for this year’s event.

Choose the Ticket That Fits

Several ticket options are available, giving attendees different ways to join or support the event:

• General Admission: A $100 ticket that includes access to all four days of WordCamp US programming, including Contributor Day, Showcase Day, sessions, workshops, lunch and snacks, sponsor booths, and the community social.
• Student: A $25 ticket for students who want to learn more about WordPress, connect with mentors and community members, explore open source contribution, and build practical experience.
• Micro-Sponsor: A $750 ticket that includes the same access and attendee benefits as General Admission while helping support the true cost of the event. Micro-Sponsors will also be listed on the official WordCamp US Sponsors page.

Full ticket details, including refund information, visa support, dietary accommodations, registration requirements, and other attendee information, are available on the ticket page. You can also follow the WordCamp US 2026 website for updates on the schedule, speakers, travel information, and more as the event gets closer.

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it’s recommended that you evaluate RC3 on a test server and site.

Reaching this phase of the release cycle is an important milestone. As always, testing remains crucial to ensure that everything in WordPress 7.0 is the best it can be.

You can test WordPress 7.0 RC3 in four ways:

The scheduled final release date for WordPress 7.0 is May 20, 2026. The full release schedule can be found here. Your help testing Beta and RC versions is vital to making this release as stable and powerful as possible. Thank you to everyone who helps with testing!

Please continue checking the Make WordPress Core blog for 7.0-related posts in the coming weeks for more information.

What’s in WordPress 7.0 RC3?

Want to look deeper into the details and technical notes for this release? Take a look at the WordPress 7.0 Developer Notes. For technical information related to the 143+ issues addressed since RC2, you can browse the following links:

• Closed 7.0 WordPress Core Trac tickets since March 26, 2026
• 7.0 Gutenberg commits since March 26, 2026

Note: Real Time Collaboration will not be included in the 7.0 release and will be re-evaluated during the 7.1 release cycle. Because of this, this RC3 version is no longer considered a “new Beta 1”.

How you can contribute

WordPress is open source software made possible by a passionate community of people collaborating on and contributing to its development. The resources below outline various ways you can get involved with the world’s most popular open source web platform, regardless of your technical expertise.

Get involved in testing

Testing for issues is crucial to the development of any software. It’s also a meaningful way for anyone to contribute. Your help testing the WordPress 7.0 RC3 version is key to ensuring that the final release is the best it can be.

This detailed guide will walk you through testing features in WordPress 7.0. 

For those new to testing, follow this general testing guide for more details on getting set up.

If you encounter a potential bug or issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums or directly to WordPress Trac if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs. 

Curious about testing releases in general?  Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.

Update your theme or plugin

For plugin and theme authors, your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for all users.

Thanks for continuing to test your themes and plugins with the WordPress 7.0 beta releases. If you haven’t yet, make sure to conclude your testing and update the “Tested up to” version in your plugin’s readme file to 7.0.

If you find compatibility issues, please post detailed information to the support forum.

Test on your hosting platforms

Web hosts provide vital infrastructure for supporting WordPress and its users. Testing on hosting systems helps inform the development process while ensuring that WordPress and hosting platforms are fully compatible, free of errors, optimized for the best possible user experience, and that updates roll out to customer sites without issue.

Thank you to the Hosts who helped test variations of new RTC architecture: Kinsta, Bluehost, GoDaddy, WordPress.com, XServer, and Ionos, and to the hosts who participate in distributed testing regularly.

Want to test WordPress on your hosting system? Get started with configuring distributed hosting tests here.

Help translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? ¿Español? Français? Русский? 日本語? हिन्दी? বাংলা? मराठी? ಕನ್ನಡ?  You can help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages. This release milestone (RC3) marks the hard string freeze point of the 7.0 release cycle.

An RC3 haiku

By the tides of sea,
where wind moves gently through trees,
sprouts up RC3.

Props to @desrosj, @peterwilsoncc for proofreading and review.

WordCamp US 2026 will take place August 16–19 in Phoenix, Arizona, and applications are now open for sponsors, speakers, and volunteers. WordCamp US is the flagship gathering for the WordPress community in North America, where contributors, builders, and users come together to share ideas and help shape what comes next for the open web. Full details are available on the WordCamp US 2026 site.

Sponsor

Sponsorships keep WordCamp US accessible. They fund the production and programming that make a flagship WordCamp possible while keeping ticket prices low for attendees, and, in return, sponsors gain direct visibility within one of the most engaged technology ecosystems. Packages support both in-person and digital participation, with opportunities to connect with agencies, developers, and enterprise teams that build on WordPress every day.

Speak

The organizing team is looking for strong ideas with practical takeaways from across the community, whether that means a personal story, a lesson learned in production, or a perspective on where publishing, AI, and the open web are heading. Sessions can take the form of traditional talks, workshops, or more interactive formats, and new or underrepresented voices are especially encouraged to apply. Prior speaking experience is not required.

Speaker applications due by May 29, 2026.

Volunteer

Volunteers are essential to the experience of the event. They welcome attendees and support sessions throughout the week, helping create the inclusive environment that defines a flagship WordCamp. Volunteering is also one of the best ways to meet people from across the global community and see firsthand how an event of this scale comes together. No prior experience is needed, and volunteers receive a free ticket.

Volunteer applications due by June 15, 2026.

Attend

It’s the people. It’s the friendships and the stories.

Matt Mullenweg, WordPress Cofounder

WordCamp US continues a long tradition of in-person gatherings where contributors meet face-to-face to openly discuss the project’s direction. Whether you participate as a sponsor, take the stage, join the volunteer team, or help organize the event, your involvement shapes what the event becomes.

To stay informed as ticket sales open and the schedule takes shape, subscribe to WordCamp US 2026 updates.

When WordPress Campus Connect workshops first began reaching universities, the goal was straightforward: help students discover WordPress, understand the value of open source, and see that contribution can be part of their learning journey. In many cases, that first introduction created immediate interest. Students who had never worked with WordPress before started asking questions, exploring what the software could do, and showing curiosity about the wider community.

That early response also revealed a gap. A workshop could spark interest, but it could not always sustain it on its own. Encouraging students to attend local WordPress meetups helped extend that first connection and, in some cases, brought new energy to existing local communities. Even so, it became clear that campuses needed something more consistent and closer to students’ everyday environment.

WordPress Student Clubs emerged from that need. Instead of limiting engagement to a single event, these clubs create an ongoing, student-led presence on campus where students can keep learning, share knowledge with peers, and grow more confident over time. They also offer a practical bridge between first exposure and deeper participation, helping students move from curiosity to contribution through regular activity and community support.

Learning What Sustains Participation

As WordPress Student Clubs started forming across campuses, the early enthusiasm was encouraging, but sustaining that momentum proved to be one of the first real challenges. Student Club Organizers shared that interest was often strongest at the beginning, especially after a workshop or an introductory session, but turning that interest into regular participation required patience and experimentation. Like many community efforts, the clubs needed time to find a rhythm that worked for the students involved.

One of the most common challenges was consistency. Many students were interested in learning WordPress, but regular engagement depended on more than initial curiosity. Organizers found that participation grew more steadily when activities felt approachable and useful, especially when students could learn by doing rather than only listening. Small learning sessions, collaborative exercises, and hands-on activities often made it easier for students to return and take part again.

Organizers also noticed that some students were initially hesitant to engage actively. Asking questions, speaking up in a group, or volunteering to help lead a session did not always happen naturally. Building a club meant creating an environment where students felt comfortable enough to participate, try something new, and gradually take ownership of their own learning.

Academic schedules added another layer of complexity. Because the clubs are student-led, planning around classes, assignments, and exams required flexibility. Keeping activities regular without overwhelming organizers or participants meant working within the rhythms of campus life. Those early difficulties became part of the learning process and helped shape how the clubs began to operate more effectively.

Building Through Small, Consistent Activities

As organizers worked through those challenges, certain approaches began to show results. Instead of focusing on large events, many clubs found momentum through simple, repeatable activities that students could join without feeling intimidated. Regular learning sessions, small hands-on workshops, and peer-to-peer discussions helped create an environment that felt both welcoming and practical.

That steady approach mattered. When students could return to familiar formats and see progress from one session to the next, clubs became easier to sustain. Organizers were able to build routines, and participants could join at their own pace. Over time, those small efforts started to strengthen participation more effectively than occasional large events.

Student ownership also played an important role. As students began sharing what they had learned, helping their peers, and taking part in running sessions, engagement started to grow more organically. These moments helped shift the clubs from being simply learning spaces to becoming communities in their own right. Students were not only using WordPress in a classroom context. They were also beginning to understand it as part of a collaborative open source project shaped by people who learn together, build together, and support one another.

Guidance from the local WordPress community helped reinforce that progress. Although the clubs are student-led, organizers benefited from having experienced community members available as mentors. Mentors helped them think through session structure, activity planning, and the practical challenge of staying motivated while balancing academic responsibilities. That kind of support gave organizers more confidence to experiment and keep building.

Mentorship also connected campus activity to the broader WordPress ecosystem. Students were not learning in isolation. Through local community guidance, they were able to see how meetups, contributions, and collaboration all fit into a larger network of people who have been participating in WordPress for years. That connection gave the work happening on campus greater meaning and helped students see a clearer path forward.

Early Impact Across Campuses

Although WordPress Student Clubs are still in an early stage, signs of impact are already visible. Organizers have shared that more students are showing interest in learning WordPress and in exploring what open source participation can look like in practice. In several cases, students who first joined as learners are now contributing to discussions, helping peers during sessions, and organizing club activities themselves.

That shift from passive participation to active involvement is one of the clearest signs of growth. It suggests that the clubs are beginning to create more than awareness. They are creating opportunities for students to build confidence, practice leadership, and develop a stronger sense of connection to the WordPress community. Even at this stage, that kind of change points to the long-term value of sustaining engagement on campus.

One encouraging example came during the International Women’s Day celebration in Ajmer, India, where students participated alongside members of the local WordPress community. Organizers noted that the event included 100 female attendees, with around 50% of participants coming from student clubs. For many of those students, it was a first opportunity to take part in a broader community event, meet other contributors, and see how open source communities collaborate in practice.

Experiences like that show how student-led initiatives can extend beyond campus and begin contributing to the wider community. They also create space for new voices to participate. As students move from club sessions into local events, they gain experience not only as learners but also as community members who can help shape what comes next.

The clubs are also creating leadership opportunities on campus. Organizers have stepped into new roles by coordinating activities, encouraging participation, and maintaining momentum over time. Those experiences help students build skills that matter both within the WordPress community and beyond it, including communication, organization, and problem-solving.

“Being a Student Club Organizer helped me improve my leadership and communication skills.”
— Sanjeevni Kumari, WordPress Student Club Organizer, Mahila Engineering College, Ajmer

Looking Ahead

WordPress Student Clubs are still developing, but the journey so far points to a promising direction. What began as an effort to sustain interest after WordPress Campus Connect is gradually becoming a more durable model for ongoing learning and collaboration on campus. The clubs are helping students stay connected to WordPress beyond a first introduction, while also creating stronger links between educational spaces and local communities.

That longer-term potential is one reason this work matters. With regular campus activity and continued mentorship, Student Clubs can help create a stronger foundation for future contributors. They can also help students build confidence before attending local meetups, contributing to community efforts, or participating in events beyond their campuses.

“With regular on-campus activities through WordPress Student Clubs, the real impact may become visible over the next couple of years, as a stronger WordPress ecosystem begins to take shape within campuses.”
— Anand Upadhyay, Student Club Mentor

As more students get involved and take ownership of these spaces, WordPress Student Clubs can continue to open pathways to learning, leadership, and community participation. For campuses, they offer a way to keep the momentum going after Campus Connect. For the broader project, they represent another step toward welcoming more students into the WordPress open source ecosystem. To follow this work and explore how it connects with the wider community, readers can look to WordPress Campus Connect, WordPress Meetups, and other education and community initiatives across WordPress.org.

Note: Much of the credit belongs to @webtechpooja (Pooja Derashri) for help in writing this piece.

The event unfolded across Contributor Day and two conference days, with a program that moved from technical sessions and workshops to hallway conversations, shared meals, and joyful moments of connection across the venue. From first-time attendees to longtime contributors, WordCamp Asia 2026 reflected the breadth of the WordPress ecosystem and the many ways people shaped and sustained it.

Throughout the event, WordCamp Asia 2026 balanced formal programming with the conversations happening around it. Sessions and workshops set the pace, while morning networking, tea breaks, lunch, the family photo, the sponsor’s raffle, and the after party in Jasmine Hall helped make the event feel welcoming, social, and connected.

How WordCamp Asia 2026 Took Shape

Bringing together contribution, practical learning, and forward-looking conversation in one shared program. Across Contributor Day and the conference sessions that followed, attendees moved between hands-on work, technical talks, workshops, and broader discussions about AI, education, enterprise, community growth, and the open web.

The result was a WordCamp that felt expansive without losing its sense of connection. Different rooms with topics as themes, helping different audiences, and different forms of participation all fed into the same larger picture: a community actively building what comes next for WordPress as a feeling that something bigger was happening: not just a schedule being delivered, but a community showing up for one another and for the future of WordPress.

Contributor Day: Building WordPress Together

Contributor Day opened WordCamp Asia 2026 with one of the clearest expressions of what makes the project special: people coming together to move WordPress forward by working on it. More than 1,500 participants joined 38 table leads across more than 20 contribution tables, creating a day that was expansive in scale and grounded in real work. For some, it was a return to familiar teams and longtime collaborators. For others, it was the beginning of their contributor journey.

The day moved between structured learning and hands-on participation. Alongside contributor sessions, attendees joined workshops, visited the Open Source Library, took part in YouthCamp, and attended The Making of a WordPress Release: Conversations with Past Release Squad Members, a featured panel that added depth and perspective to the work of building and sustaining WordPress.

What made Contributor Day stand out was not only the number of people in the room, but the range of ways they could take part. Workshops created space for skill-building. YouthCamp brought younger participants into the experience and widened the event’s reach in a meaningful way. The day felt welcoming, energetic, and full of possibility.

By the end, the impact was already visible across teams. Polyglots contributors suggested more than 7,000 strings and reviewed 3,200 of them. Photo contributors uploaded 76 images. The Test team worked on more than 20 tickets, and 55 contributors joined Training. Those numbers told only part of the story, but they pointed to what Contributor Day continued to do so well: turn a large gathering into shared work that strengthened the project in real time.

Conference Sessions Take Shape

Across the conference days, WordCamp Asia 2026 covered a wide range of topics, from technical development and hands-on workshops to business strategy and the open web. Sessions took place across the Foundation, Growth, and Enterprise tracks, with workshops running alongside the main program.

One of the opening sessions was James LePage’s WordPress and AI, which introduced a theme that appeared throughout the conference: how WordPress is responding to changes in AI, publishing, and developer workflows. That topic continued in later sessions focused on AI-driven development, autonomous testing, plugin maintenance, and automation.

Later that morning, a fireside chat with Mary Hubbard and Shilpa Shah shifted the focus toward trust, security, and the longer-term questions shaping open source publishing. Coming early in the program, the conversation gave the conference an important center of gravity, pairing technical change with questions of stewardship, resilience, and what people needed from WordPress as the web continued to evolve. Rather than pulling away from the event’s technical momentum, it deepened it, bringing a human perspective to the pace of change and reminding the audience that progress in open source is not only about what gets built, but about how communities guide, challenge, and sustain that work over time.

From there, the conference widened into a program that balanced developer-focused talks with sessions on the Interactivity API, the HTML API, AI-driven development workflows, education initiatives, observability, automation, and startup strategy. On the final day, those threads continued through talks on WP translation, community building, WordPress Playground, data engineering, enterprise WordPress, and journalism on the open web.

Together, the two conference days made clear that WordCamp Asia 2026 was designed not for one kind of attendee, but for many. Developers, founders, marketers, contributors, organizers, and people finding their place in WordPress for the first time all found something that spoke directly to their work and interests. The breadth of the program was striking, but so was the feeling that these conversations mattered now.

Building What Comes Next

WordCamp Asia 2026 closed with reflections from Mary Hubbard, following an opening announcement from Chenda Ngak that WordCamp India will join the calendar in 2027 as the fourth flagship WordPress event.

Mary’s remarks tied together several threads that had already surfaced throughout the event: India’s long-standing role in the WordPress project, the growth of programs like Campus Connect and WordPress Credits, the energy of YouthCamp, and the significance of WordPress 7.0. One of the clearest ideas in the session was that WordPress is entering a new phase shaped by real-time collaboration, AI infrastructure, and global contributor growth. That framing gave the closing session a strong sense of direction without losing sight of the community work that made it possible.

The session then shifted into a panel discussion about the current state of WordPress and where the project is headed next. Peter Wilson and Sergey Biryukov joined Hubbard on stage, while audience questions brought the conversation back to many of the themes that had shaped the event across all three days. Even from afar, Ma.tt Mullenweg remained part of the discussion, following along remotely and sending written responses during the live Q&A.

Those questions touched on contributor growth, AI, plugins, local communities, product direction, and the long-term health of the open web. What stood out was how often the answers returned to the same core idea: WordPress continues to grow through open discussion, shared responsibility, and the people who keep showing up to build it together.

A Lasting Momentum

Over three days in Mumbai, WordCamp Asia 2026 brought together contribution, learning, and community. From Contributor Day through the closing keynote, the event balanced hands-on work with bigger conversations about publishing, technology, education, and the open web.

The event also created space for many kinds of participation. Some attendees contributed to Core, Training, Polyglots, Photos, and other teams. Others came for the conference program, workshops, or the chance to reconnect with collaborators and meet new people. Across session rooms, tea breaks, shared meals, sponsor hall conversations, and the after party, the community side of the event remained just as important as the formal program.

Thank you to the organizers, volunteers, speakers, sponsors, attendees, and everyone who joined online. WordCamp Asia 2026 was a reminder that WordPress continues to grow through the people who show up to contribute and build together.

There is still more to look forward to this year. The community will gather again at WordCamp Europe 2026 in Kraków, Poland from June 4–6, followed by WordCamp US 2026 in Phoenix, Arizona from August 16–19.

This post gathers each official stream in one place so you can quickly find the right broadcast for each day. Bookmark this page and return throughout the event to watch live.

Day One: The Making of a WordPress Release

Go behind the scenes of a WordPress release in this special Contributor Day live stream from WordCamp Asia 2026. Past release squad members come together to share stories, reflect on their experience, and talk about what it takes to bring a WordPress release to life. The Panel will go live at 4:30 am UTC.

Day Two: Conference Livestreams

Watch the second day of WordCamp Asia 2026 live for a full day of presentations and sessions. beginning at 4:00 am UTC, including a Fireside chat with Mary Hubbard, which will begin at 5:00 am UTC over on the Growth Stream.

Day Three: Conference Livestreams

Watch the third day and final day of WordCamp Asia 2026 live, beginning at 4:00 am UTC for another full day of presentations from across the community. Don’t forget to watch Ma.tt Mullenweg give the final keynote, which will begin on the Growth stream at 10:00 am UTC.

You can also explore the full schedule to see what is coming up across the event and plan your viewing. However you join, we hope you will follow along and be part of WordCamp Asia 2026.

WordCamp Asia 2026 brings the WordPress community to Mumbai, India, from April 9 to 11, with a schedule shaped around artificial intelligence, enterprise WordPress, developer workflows, product strategy, and open source collaboration. For attendees planning their time, the program offers a useful view of the ideas, tools, and practical challenges shaping WordPress today.

Keynotes to Set the Stage

The keynote sessions at WordCamp Asia 2026 help frame some of the biggest conversations at this year’s event.

Together, they offer an early view of the themes and discussions unfolding across WordPress in 2026.

AI, Automation, and the Future of WordPress

Artificial intelligence is one of the clearest threads running through the program. Sessions from Fellyph Cintra, Fumiki Takahashi, and Nirav Mehta examine how AI is already influencing WordPress through Core discussions, testing workflows, plugin development, and day-to-day implementation. That same theme continues in sessions on marketing and content strategy, including Adeline Dahal’s work on structuring WordPress content to make it more machine-readable. 

This cross-section of presentations shows how automation is moving from concept to practice. From autonomous testing with WordPress Playground to AI-supported development workflows, these sessions highlight applicable tools and skills that teams can start using right away, not just concepts. For attendees interested in where WordPress is heading, this is one of the strongest themes across the event.

Enterprise WordPress and Scalability

Enterprise sessions take that discussion further by focusing on scale, architecture, and operational complexity. Rahul Bansal, James Giroux, Anirban Mukherji, and Abid Murshed are among the speakers exploring how WordPress supports larger organizations, more complex commerce systems, and demanding digital environments. Their sessions look at growth, implementation, and the kinds of decisions that matter when WordPress is supporting business-critical work.

Other talks in this track focus on the realities of enterprise operations, including migration risk, observability, and long-term performance. Together, they show how WordPress continues to adapt to larger systems and more complex digital ecosystems without losing the flexibility that makes it widely used in the first place.

Developer Experience and Modern Practices

The developer track stays grounded in both Core tools and everyday engineering practice. Ryan Welcher will cover the Interactivity API, Jonathan Desrosiers will look at automation in open source, and Takayuki Miyoshi will introduce a schema-sharing approach to form management. These sessions point to a broader shift toward building WordPress systems that are more dynamic, maintainable, and easier to scale over time.

These more technical presentations also include sessions on the WordPress HTML API, Content Security Policy, open source data pipelines, and evolving plugin standards. Rather than focusing on a single type of builder, this part of the schedule addresses developers working across infrastructure, security, front-end experiences, and long-term platform health.

Community, Education, and Open Source

The schedule also makes space for the people and ideas that support WordPress beyond engineering alone. A panel featuring Anand Upadhyay and Maciej Pilarski, moderated by Destiny Kanno, looks at education initiatives and student pathways into open source. Kazuko Kaneuchi will reflect on the story of Wapuu and the culture of contribution around WordPress. At the same time, Kotaro Kitamura and Chiharu Nagatomi will share how WordPress and its community shaped their professional journeys.

That wider perspective continues in sessions on product thinking, marketing, career growth, and business strategy. Speakers, including Nabin Jaiswal, Himani Kankaria, Julian Song, Karishma Sundaram, Sandeep Kelvadi, Aviral Mittal, Anh Tran, and Anna Hurko, explore how WordPress works and connects with decision-making, discoverability, professional development, and organizational growth. Taken together, these sessions reflect one of WordPress’s long-standing strengths: its ability to connect software, learning, and community in the same space.

Hands-on Workshops

Hands-on workshops round out the schedule, offering practical sessions for attendees who want to move from ideas to implementation. They include:

• From On-Demand to Cloud: Automate WordPress Installations Like a Pro
• AI + MCP to build, manage, and automate WordPress end-to-end
• Building AI Agents with self-editing memory
• Building Better WordPress Experiences with AI-Driven Development Workflows

Explore the full schedule to plan your sessions, and get your event pass to join WordCamp Asia 2026 in Mumbai.

Mumbai is calling. See you at WordCamp Asia 2026! 

Note: Much of the credit belongs to @webtechpooja (Pooja Derashri) for help in writing this piece.

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it’s recommended that you evaluate RC2 on a test server and site.

Reaching this phase of the release cycle is an important milestone. While release candidates are considered ready for release, testing remains crucial to ensure that everything in WordPress 7.0 is the best it can be.

You can test WordPress 7.0 RC2 in four ways:

The scheduled final release date for WordPress 7.0 is April 9, 2026. The full release schedule can be found here. Your help testing Beta and RC versions is vital to making this release as stable and powerful as possible. Thank you to everyone who helps with testing!

Please continue checking the Make WordPress Core blog for 7.0-related posts in the coming weeks for more information.

What’s in WordPress 7.0 RC2?

What’s new in WordPress 7.0? Check out the Beta 1 announcement and 7.0 Developer Notes for details and highlights. For technical information related to issues addressed since RC1, you can browse the following links:

• GitHub commits since March 24, 2026
• Closed Trac tickets since March 24, 2026

How you can contribute

WordPress is open source software made possible by a passionate community of people collaborating on and contributing to its development. The resources below outline various ways you can help the world’s most popular open source web platform, regardless of your technical expertise.

Get involved in testing

Testing for issues is crucial to the development of any software. It’s also a meaningful way for anyone to contribute. 

Your help testing the WordPress 7.0 RC1 version is key to ensuring that the final release is the best it can be. While testing the upgrade process is essential, trying out new features is equally important. This detailed guide will walk you through testing features in WordPress 7.0. For those new to testing, follow this general testing guide for more details on getting set up.

What else to test:

• Real Time Collaboration
• Pattern Editing and content-only Interactivity

If you encounter an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums or directly to WordPress Trac if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report.  You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs. 

Curious about testing releases in general?  Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.

Test on your hosting platforms

Web hosts provide vital infrastructure for supporting WordPress and its users. Testing on hosting systems helps inform the development process while ensuring that WordPress and hosting platforms are fully compatible, free of errors, optimized for the best possible user experience, and that updates roll out to customer sites without issue.

Want to test WordPress on your hosting system? Get started with configuring distributed hosting tests here.

Update your theme or plugin

For plugin and theme authors, your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for all users.

Thanks for continuing to test your themes and plugins with the WordPress 7.0 beta releases. If you haven’t yet, make sure to conclude your testing and update the “Tested up to” version in your plugin’s readme file to 7.0.

If you find compatibility issues, please post detailed information to the support forum.

Help translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? ¿Español? Français? Русский? 日本語? हिन्दी? বাংলা? मराठी? ಕನ್ನಡ?  You can help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages. This release milestone (RC2) also marks the hard string freeze point of the 7.0 release cycle.

An RC2 haiku

At first just a dream,

RC2 flows like a stream

with seven-oh gleam.

Props to @amykamala @annezazu for proofreading and review.