In this Issue:

• WordPress 7.0: Real-Time Collaboration and Responsive Editing on the Roadmap

• WordCamp Bhopal Brings WordPress to Central India This Weekend

• Jonathan Desrosiers Marks Seven Years as a WordPress Committer

• WordPress Education Programs Expand Globally

• State of the Word 2025: AI, Education, and a Year of Highs and Lows

WordPress 7.0: Real-Time Collaboration and Responsive Editing on the Roadmap

Planning is officially underway for WordPress 7.0, expected in March or April 2026. Core contributors recently shared their priorities, and the list is extensive. The biggest ticket items include real-time collaboration (think Google Docs-style editing with live cursors and conflict resolution), major upgrades to the Notes feature introduced in 6.9, and a responsive editing mode that lets you customize designs for different screen sizes.

New blocks are also in the pipeline: tabs, breadcrumbs, playlist, slider, dialog, and icon blocks are all in progress. The navigation block is getting a simpler editing flow, and the DataViews system (used for managing posts and pages) will become more extensible. Behind the scenes, work continues on the Abilities API, block bindings, and a new design system built on WordPress UI components.

• Real-time collaboration depends on server infrastructure; WordPress will ship a baseline peer-to-peer version, with hosts and plugins able to extend it.

• Responsive editing will let you hide blocks and adjust styles based on screen size, with customizable breakpoints.

• Many items are still experimental; not everything listed will make the final release.

Read the full post here.

With 6.9 delivering only two major releases this year due to disruptions, the 7.0 roadmap signals renewed energy heading into 2026.

WordCamp Bhopal Brings WordPress to Central India This Weekend

WordCamp Bhopal is happening December 20–21, marking Central India’s first major WordPress conference. Over 400 developers, designers, and community members are expected to attend. The event kicks off with Contributor Day on December 20 at SFA Technologies, where attendees can work directly on the WordPress open-source project. The main conference follows on December 21 at the Courtyard by Marriott.

Sessions cover AI automation, remote work strategies, and SEO updates, with networking events including a “404: Adulting Not Found” games evening and an after-party. Platinum sponsors include Bluehost, WooCommerce, and Jetpack. Student discounts are available, and organizers are teasing a “Wapuu” mascot reveal. It’s a strong showing for the local tech community and a sign of WordPress’s continued reach across India.

This event adds to the 97 WordCamps held globally this year, attended by over 100,000 people.

Jonathan Desrosiers Marks Seven Years as a WordPress Committer

Jonathan Desrosiers recently celebrated his seventh anniversary as a WordPress Core Committer, a contributor with the ability to commit code to the main repository. Since 2018, he’s made 2,552 commits across all branches, placing him fifth on the all-time list behind Ryan Boren, Sergey Biryukov, Andrew Nacin, and Andrew Ozz.

In the past year, Desrosiers made 365 commits (up 42% from the previous year), gave props to 66 unique contributors, and worked across build tools, bundled themes, security, and external libraries. He’s also been traveling to conferences, mentoring contributors, and thinking deeply about decision-making in large open-source projects. His anniversary post reflects on what being a “great contributor” means to him, shaped by a year he describes as both productive and challenging for the WordPress community.

• WordPress has had roughly 117 people with commit access since 2004; 111 have made at least one commit.

• Desrosiers’ first commit happened on November 30, 2018—also Blue Beanie Day.

Read his full blog here.

His work is a reminder of the steady, often invisible effort that keeps WordPress running.

WordPress Education Programs Expand Globally

WordPress’s education initiatives are growing fast. Campus Connect, which started as a grassroots program in India, has now held 14 events across 28 institutions, reaching 2,690 students. Recent events in Spain, Bangladesh, and the Philippines included hands-on workshops where students built their first WordPress sites. Five more events are scheduled, and 11 are in the planning stages.

The WordPress Credits internship program, launched this year with the University of Pisa, has expanded to universities in Costa Rica, Bolivia, Bangladesh, and Poland. Eighty-eight students are actively working on contribution projects, completing structured training and working with mentors. At WordCamp Pisa, students attended Contributor Day and presented their progress, with one student opening the event to discuss her project.

Learn WordPress served over 1.5 million users this year, with a 32% jump in engagement after WordCamp US. A new wordpress.org/education page and handbook have also launched to help organizers and mentors get involved.

• Campus Connect focuses on meeting students where they are, with local leadership and mentorship.

• Credits gives students a supported pathway into open source, lowering barriers to entry.

Read the full report on Make WordPress here.

These programs are building the next generation of WordPress contributors, not just users.

State of the Word 2025: AI, Education, and a Year of Highs and Lows

Matt Mullenweg delivered his annual State of the Word address from San Francisco, marking the release of WordPress 6.9 live during the keynote, a first for the event. He described 2025 as a “rollercoaster” year shaped by legal disputes, governance tensions, and internal challenges, but also by progress in AI and education.

WordPress still powers 43% of the web, with 56% of sites now non-English. Japan remains a standout market, with 58.5% of all Japanese websites using WordPress. The plugin directory surpassed 60,000 plugins, up 68% from 2024, and block theme adoption increased 40%. WordPress 6.8 was downloaded 79.5 million times by the time 6.9 shipped.

AI was a major focus. The WordPress AI Team, formed in May, delivered all four of its planned “Building Blocks” with 6.9, including the Abilities API. The team’s roadmap for 7.0 includes a Workflows API for chaining AI actions and deeper integration with collaborative editing. Mullenweg emphasized that WordPress isn’t adding “sparkle buttons everywhere” but building infrastructure the ecosystem can extend.

• Automated AI checks now support plugin reviews, translation, theme validation, and security scanning.

• A new 24-hour delay for auto-updates gives developers time to catch issues before they roll out to millions of sites.

Executive Director Mary Hubbard highlighted the education initiatives detailed above, framing them as a shift toward actively nurturing the next generation rather than waiting for them to arrive. The keynote also featured a livestream crossover with the TBPN podcast, bringing WordPress to a wider tech audience.

Read the full report on The Repository here.

Other reports from The Repository you might like to read:

• Proposed 2026 Release Schedule Ties Major WordPress Versions to Flagship Events

• Court Dismisses WP Engine Customer Class Action Against Automattic, Allows Amended Complaint

• The SEO Framework Creator Launches Troy as Alternative to WordPress.org Plugin Distribution

• State of Enterprise 2025: WordPress Usage Deepens as Long-Term Commitment Jumps to 95%

• Real-Time Collaboration Shows Promise in Early WordPress VIP Testing

Don’t forget to subscribe & support them, they do some amazing, hard-hitting WordPress journalism.

WordPress Must Read

→ WordPress Gives A Hand: Connecting, collaborating and creating for good (wpbakery.com)

→ The Cloudflare Radar 2025 Year in Review (radar.cloudflare.com)

→ We All Lose With Ad Hominem Arguments (remkusdevries.com)

→ Once A Year, I Get To Be Scrooge (pootlepress.com)

→ Don’t Let WordPress Ruin Your Christmas (davidallsop.com)

→ Product Shops: Want to Win in 2026? Learn How to Go to Market (wpproducttalk.com)

On other WordPress News

→ Call for Volunteers: Support Our Education Programs (make.wordpress.org)

→ WordPress Credits Mentor Huddles – Notes and Next Steps (make.wordpress.org)

→ Stephen Wolfram has joined as a special advisor to Automattic (ma.tt)

→ Ability to Hide Blocks in WordPress 6.9 (make.wordpress.org)

→ State of the Word 2025: Innovation Shaped by Community (wordpress.org)

→ WordPress 6.9 Hotfixes (make.wordpress.org)

→ What’s new for developers? (December 2025) (developer.wordpress.org)

→ Training Team Meeting Recap – 25th November 2025 (make.wordpress.org)

→ Proposal to change the user documentation workflow (make.wordpress.org)

→ Community Team Rep Nominations for 2026 (make.wordpress.org)

→ 2026 Global Partner Program Announcement (wordpress.org)

→ When Typepad Shut Down, WordPress.com Helped 3,684 Blogs Find a New Home (wordpress.com)

From WordPress Community

→ Remembering Harshad Mane (bombaypirate.com)

→ SOTW 2025:The Year WordPress Became AI-Native (j.cv)

→ ClassicPress Version 2.6.0 is Out! (classicpress.net)

→ Top 10 WordPress Products Bought During Black Friday 2025 (webtng.com)

→ Enqueue Shows Why Australia Needed a Developer-Focused WordPress Event (therepository.email)

→ DHH & Open Source (ma.tt)

→ ‘Source available’ is not open source (and that’s okay) (dri.es)

Conclusion

2025 wasn’t easy for WordPress, but the project kept moving. Version 7.0 is coming soon with features that could reshape how people build and collaborate on sites. Education programs are spreading, AI infrastructure is maturing, and contributors are staying committed. If you’re building with WordPress, now’s a good time to pay attention.

What are you most excited about for 7.0? Hit reply and let me know. And if you found this useful, forward it to someone who’d appreciate the update.

— Nishat, WPMore

Follow Us → X.com | LinkedIn | BlueSky | Facebook

Join the Community → Sub-Reddit | X Community

In this Issue:

• WordPress 6.9 Beta 2 Is Ready for Your Feedback

• Automattic Sends Trademark Notice to AutomaticCSS Creator

• WordPress Foundation and WooCommerce Join WP Engine Countersuit

• The Hidden Costs of Your WordCamp Ticket

• Matt Mullenweg on AI, Playground, and the WordPress Roadmap

WordPress 6.9 Beta 2 Is Ready for Your Feedback

WordPress 6.9 Beta 2 arrived this week, bringing the December 2 release one step closer. This update includes over 33 editor improvements and bug fixes since Beta 1, with 28 core tickets closed. Testing betas is how they catch bugs before millions of sites upgrade, so your participation matters.

The 6.9 release brings meaningful updates: multiple templates per slug, Notes for block-level collaboration, new Accordion and Math blocks, an expanded Command Palette across the dashboard, and the new Abilities API for AI integrations. Performance improvements include reduced CSS in classic themes, better caching, and optimized script loading.

Key features to test:

• Draft and activate/deactivate templates without publishing immediately

• Hide blocks on the frontend while keeping them editable

• New drag-and-drop behavior (blocks move instead of copy)

You can test via the WordPress Beta Tester plugin, direct download, WP-CLI, or WordPress Playground (no setup required). Report issues to the Alpha/Beta support forums or WordPress Trac if you’re comfortable writing bug reports.

The admin redesign originally planned for this release has been postponed, and for the first time in seven years, WordPress 6.9 won’t ship with a new default theme.

Read the full report on The Repository Here.

This sets the stage for the legal and community challenges that have complicated development this year.

Automattic Sends Trademark Notice to AutomaticCSS Creator

Automattic has sent a legal notice to Kevin Geary, creator of Automatic.css, over name similarity. The letter from law firm Morgan Lewis claims that “Automatic” is “nearly identical” to “Automattic” and could confuse users, especially since both target WordPress developers. Automattic became a registered trademark in 2016.

Kevin shared the letter publicly on X (formerly Twitter), sparking debate. Matt Mullenweg responded that Automattic also owns automatic.com, making this “a fraught naming area.” Kevin countered that “AutomaticCSS” is called “automatic” because the framework automates many tasks, and owning a domain for a generic term doesn’t make it off-limits.

The twist? Back in July 2024, Matt had asked Kevin to add a disclaimer clarifying that AutomaticCSS wasn’t affiliated with Automattic. Kevin agreed, and the site’s footer still carries that note. Despite this, Automattic escalated with a formal legal notice requesting a rebrand.

Community reactions are split:

• Some see it as overreach—”Nobody’s confusing Automattic with a CSS framework”

• Others argue Kevin should have chosen a different name from the start

• A trademark lawyer called Automattic’s claim “baseless” and unlikely to hold up in court

Whether you see this as trademark protection or unnecessary drama, it’s a reminder that naming WordPress products requires careful consideration of the ecosystem’s major players.

Read the full report on wp-content.co Here.

Speaking of legal battles, Automattic isn’t done yet.

WordPress Foundation and WooCommerce Join WP Engine Countersuit

The WordPress Foundation and WooCommerce have officially joined Automattic and Matt Mullenweg in countersuing WP Engine for trademark infringement, false advertising, and unfair competition. Filed October 23, the counterclaims accuse WP Engine of calling itself “The WordPress Technology Company” and allowing others to call it “WordPress Engine” to mislead consumers.

The filing alleges WP Engine’s trademark use increased after Silver Lake acquired a controlling stake in 2018 as part of a “coordinated scheme” to inflate valuation ahead of an anticipated sale. It also claims WP Engine engaged in bad-faith licensing negotiations, knowing that paying fees would hurt earnings and Silver Lake’s expected return.

The counterclaims reveal:

• Automattic was approached to acquire WP Engine but declined

• A 2010 agreement gave Automattic an exclusive, royalty-free license to use and enforce WordPress trademarks commercially

• “Direct, real-world examples” of consumer confusion, including redacted support tickets from WP Engine customers who mistakenly contacted Automattic

• Graphs showing WP Engine’s trademark usage “dramatically increased” between 2021 and 2023

The collective is asking the court to bar WP Engine from using WordPress and WooCommerce trademarks in marketing and to recover profits earned through alleged trademark misuse, with potential triple damages if infringement is found willful.

WP Engine responded that its use of the WordPress trademark “is consistent with longstanding industry practice and fair use under settled trademark law.”

Read the full report on The Repository Here.

Other reports from The Repository you might like to read:

• WordPress Plugins Team Rolls Out Automatic Security Scans for All Plugin Updates

• Automattic Again Pushes to Dismiss WP Engine’s Antitrust Claims Amid Dispute Over Redacted Excerpts

• WP Engine Accuses Automattic and Matt Mullenweg of Concealing Control of WordPress.org and the WordPress Trademarks

Don’t forget to subscribe & support them, they do some amazing hard-hitting WordPress journalism.

While these legal battles play out, community members are raising important questions about sustainability.

The Hidden Costs of Your WordCamp Ticket

WordCamp tickets are remarkably affordable—often around 25 euros per day. But who’s really paying for these events? According to Taco Verdonschot’s analysis, the answer goes far beyond sponsors and ticket sales. There are massive hidden costs, and they’re carried almost entirely by volunteers.

The breakdown:

• Organizers spend 100–300 hours per event, often unpaid. At a 65 euro/hour freelance rate, that’s 6,500–19,500 euros in donated time per organizer—often exceeding top-tier sponsorships

• Volunteers typically work 4-hour shifts during the event, contributing around 260 euros per day in time (minus their free ticket)

• Speakers spend hundreds of hours preparing talks, receive no speaking fees or travel reimbursement, and get only a free ticket in return

For flagship WordCamps (the larger, international events), Verdonschot suggests it might make sense to pay for travel and accommodation for outside speakers—people who aren’t giving back to their own community but simply giving. He argues that inviting speakers from outside WordPress could bring valuable cross-pollination of ideas.

His proposals:

• Keep local WordCamps volunteer-driven to support community thriving

• Allow flagship events to compensate non-WordPress speakers for travel and accommodation

• Expand the WordPress Foundation’s role in advancing diversity through programs like the Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship

The post sparked important conversations about sustainability. As Verdonschot notes, WordCamp budgets only show financial income and costs—they don’t capture the thousands of donated hours that make these events possible.

Read the full report on progressplanner.com Here.

This analysis ties back to the broader challenges facing WordPress development and community events this year.

Matt Mullenweg on AI, Playground, and the WordPress Roadmap

At WordCamp Canada, Matt Mullenweg delivered an unscripted talk covering everything from his personal projects to WordPress’s future. He discussed Day One (his encrypted journaling app), WordPress Playground (which spins up WordPress in your browser in 30 seconds using WebAssembly), and his vision for WordPress as a full development platform capable of powering entire mobile apps.

On the commerce side, WooCommerce now processes over $30 billion in gross merchant volume annually and runs on 8% of all websites worldwide. Mullenweg also highlighted Beeper, a messaging app that unifies WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram DMs, LinkedIn messages, and more into one interface.

On AI and the photo directory:

Mullenweg suggested WordPress could evolve its photo directory rules to allow AI-generated faces (since they don’t require model releases) and use AI for better semantic search across the 30,000+ Creative Commons Zero-licensed photos. He noted that WordPress.org already uses AI models like Gemini to handle plugin submissions more efficiently, reducing the review queue from six months to under a week.

On legal challenges:

Mullenweg acknowledged that “the main distractions and things holding back WordPress right now are the legal attacks from WP Engine and Silver Lake,” but said he couldn’t comment further, promising “major updates soon.” The legal situation contributed to the earlier decision to skip a second major release in 2025, though that was later reversed.

On WordPress philosophy:

When questioned about Hello Dolly (the plugin that ships with WordPress core), Mullenweg defended keeping it simple rather than over-engineering it: “The whole idea is to show how easy it is to use the actions and filter system inside of WordPress.” He emphasized that WordPress has “soul” and honors jazz musicians in every release name.

Mullenweg closed by encouraging attendees to check out his blog at ma.tt, where he’s been posting daily for 29 consecutive days (with one missed day).

Read the full blog on ma.tt Here.

WordPress Must Read

→ Every website needs a brand assets page (progressplanner.com)

→ Do Lifetime Licenses Really Cost More to Support? We Finally Have the Data (wpproducttalk.com)

On other WordPress News

→ Automattic 20 & Counter-claims (ma.tt)

→ State of the Word 2025 San Francisco | December 2, 2025 (wordpress.org)

→ What’s New for WordPress Developers – October 2025 (youtube.com)

→ Judge Reins In Discovery Fight as WP Engine Ordered to Produce Customer Data (therepository.email)

→ Devin Walker Joins Automattic as Artistic Director for Jetpack (therepository.email)

→ Gutenberg 21.9 (October 22) (make.wordpress.org)

→ FAIR and Patchstack Joining Forces at CloudFest USA Hackathon to Build New Security Integration (therepository.email)

→ WordCamp Canada 2026: Looking for New Co-Leaders (canada.wordcamp.org)

From WordPress Community

→ 2025 WordPress Youth Day, Nicaragua. Mission accomplished! (make.wordpress.org)

→ WordPress Community Team Calls for Contributors to Rebuild WordCamp Tooling (therepository.email)

→ Core-AI Contributor Check-in – Oct 22nd, 2025 (make.wordpress.org)

→ Recognising contributors work: discussion notes and potential opportunities (make.wordpress.org)

→ WordPress Campus Connect Cartago COVAO 2025 (make.wordpress.org)

→ 10 Years of Reviewing WordPress Themes: A Journey Through Code, Community, and Contribution (kafleg.com.np)

→ The PressConf Story: How Raquel Manriquez Launched the Best WordPress Business Conference (publishpress.com)

→ Shape Contributor Day at WordCamp Asia 2026 — Share Your Ideas! (asia.wordcamp.org)

→ From Steering Wheel to Stage: My Drive to WordCamp Bengaluru 2025 with Tata Punch 🚗 (makarandmane.com)

→ Blocktober Wraps Up as Telex Inspires a Wave of WordPress Experimentation (therepository.email)

Conclusion

WordPress 6.9 is coming December 2, legal battles are intensifying, and important conversations about community sustainability are happening right now.

Testing the beta, understanding the trademark landscape, and supporting WordCamp organizers are all ways to strengthen the ecosystem.

Got thoughts on any of these stories? Hit reply, I’d love to hear from you.

Nishat, WPMore

Follow → X.com | LinkedIn | BlueSky | Facebook

Join Our Community → Sub-Reddit | X Community

P.S. — If these stories resonated with you, forward this to someone who needs to hear them. And if you have a story about why you’re still here, hit reply and tell us. We read every one.

In this Issue:

• WordPress 6.9 brings hidden blocks, simplified editing, and expanded command palette features

• Drupal founder argues governments should fund open source projects like public infrastructure

• WordCamp 2026 schedule creates a coordination nightmare with three flagship events in 4.5 months

• Nick Hamze’s post reignites the debate about WordPress losing its “cool factor” to newer platforms

• WordPress Foundation seeks mentors for university student contribution program

WordPress 6.9 Brings Hidden Blocks and Simplified Editing

WordPress 6.9 is shaping up to be a significant release, with several features designed to make your editing experience smoother. The ability to hide blocks is nearly ready, giving you better control over what appears in your content. The command palette is expanding beyond the editor to work across your entire dashboard, making it faster to navigate your site’s admin area.

Block commenting is getting refined with bug fixes and improved accessibility, while new experimental blocks like accordion, breadcrumbs, and tabs are being tested. Perhaps most interesting is the work on simplified site editing, which aims to reduce the overwhelming nature of the current site editor through either toggle modes or making patterns content-focused by default.

Read Anny Maccarthy’s detailed blog “Exploring work in progress for WordPress 6.9 v2” here to dive deep into the details.

Open Source Needs Government Funding, Drupal Founder Argues

Dries Buytaert, founder of Drupal, is making waves with his call for governments to fund open source projects like public infrastructure. His argument centers on a striking statistic: replacing the most widely used open source software would cost $8.8 trillion, yet 96% of that value depends on just 5% of contributors.

Buytaert points out that governments worldwide rely heavily on open source software but contribute little back. The European Commission runs over 100 Drupal sites, France operates more than 1,000, yet most provide minimal upstream support. He proposes that governments track the health of critical projects, commit to long-term funding, and require vendor contributions in procurement contracts.

• A small group of maintainers supports infrastructure used by millions

• Government agencies use open source extensively but rarely contribute back

• Public funding could stabilize critical projects at relatively low cost

This debate has direct implications for WordPress users, as the platform faces similar sustainability challenges with its vast ecosystem of plugins and themes.

Read Dries Buytaert’s Blog “Funding Open Source like public infrastructure” Here.

WordCamp 2026 Schedule Creates Coordination Nightmare

The WordPress community is grappling with a scheduling problem that could impact everyone who attends conferences or works for companies that sponsor them. All three flagship WordCamps—Asia, Europe, and US—are crammed into just 4.5 months in 2026, creating logistical headaches for organizers, sponsors, and attendees.

Taco Verdonschot breaks down why this matters: organizing a flagship WordCamp takes 9-12 months of work, major venues need to be booked years in advance, and the compressed schedule puts enormous pressure on everyone involved. WordCamp US 2026 in Phoenix during August presents additional challenges with extreme heat and vacation season timing.

The financial impact is significant too. Companies that normally sponsor all three events may have to choose just one or two, potentially leaving organizers scrambling for funding. Individual attendees face the prospect of spending thousands of dollars in a few months if they want to attend multiple events.

• Tight scheduling makes planning exponentially harder for volunteers

• Sponsors may skip events due to budget and logistics constraints

• Summer timing in Phoenix could reduce attendance significantly

This scheduling squeeze highlights the growing pains of WordPress’s global community and the need for better long-term planning.

Read Taco Verdonschot’s “WordPress’ flagship WordCamp strategy is a mess, and 2026 will be hell” blog Here.

WordPress’s “Cool Factor” Problem Gets Fresh Attention

WordPress’s “Cool Factor” Problem Gets Fresh Attention

Nick Hamze has reignited discussion about WordPress’s image problem with a post arguing the platform has “lost the cool kids” to newer tools like Webflow and Framer. His critique focuses on perception rather than technical capability, noting that while WordPress powers much of the web, it’s often seen as “legacy” in design circles.

The post struck a nerve, earning a repost from Matt Mullenweg and drawing responses from across the community. Mike McAlister from Ollie even offered to redesign WordPress.org to give it a more modern, confident feel. Joost de Valk from Yoast agreed with the assessment but argued the project needs an empowered marketing team and better product direction.

Read Nick Hamze’s “Why WordPress Lost the Cool Kids (And How to Win Them Back)” blog Here.

Read Joost de Valk’s “Should WordPress have a product and a marketing team?” blog here.

Read the full report on The Repository Here.

Other reports from The Repository you might like to read:

• WordPress Project Launches New Experimental Core Program Team

• Court Dismisses Antitrust and Extortion Claims in WP Engine v Automattic, Allows Other Counts to Proceed

• WordPress Campus Connect Quickly Growing With Global Events, Student Clubs and Scholarships

• WP Includes Is Helping Women Level Up Their Careers in WordPress — and Applications Are Now Open

Don’t forget to subscribe & support them, they do some amazing hard-hitting WordPress journalism.

WordPress Foundation Seeks Mentors for Student Program

The WordPress Foundation is looking for experienced community members to mentor university students through its WordPress Credits program. This educational initiative connects students with real-world open source contribution opportunities over 13-18 weeks, requiring mentors to commit 2 hours per week.

Mentors will guide up to 5 students each, helping them navigate WordPress contribution processes and develop professional skills. The program aims to bridge the gap between academic learning and practical experience while building the next generation of WordPress contributors.

The foundation is building a global pool of mentors to match with students as more universities join the program. Currently, only a limited number of institutions participate, but expansion is planned.

• Commitment is 2 hours per week for 13-18 weeks

• Mentors guide students through real contribution projects

• Program helps develop the next wave of WordPress contributors

This mentorship opportunity represents a chance to give back to the community while helping shape WordPress’s future through new talent development.

Apply Here.

On other WordPress News

→ The stepping away of a team member (make.wordpress.org)

→ Two-Factor Authentication is Required for All People With the Capabilities to Publish Here, on make/core (make.wordpress.org)

→ Ryan Logan and Derek Ashauer launched changelogwp.com to serve as the #1 resource for changelogs within the WordPress ecosystem. (changelogwp.com)

→ Announcing the Winners of the Summer Photo Contest (events.wordpress.org)

→ Summary, Dev Chat, September 24, 2025 (make.wordpress.org)

→ Core-AI Contributor Check-in September, 24 2025 (make.wordpress.org)

→ The 5 Best Things About WordCamp US 2025 (wordpress.com)

→ Core Committer Meeting notes from WordCamp US 2025

→ WordPress Security Stats 2025 – Melapress Security Survey Results (melapress.com)

→ New FAIR 1.0 Release Brings Decentralized Package Management to WordPress (therepository.email)

→ Enqueue Reveals Speaker Line-Up With Focus on AI, Performance, and the Future of WordPress (therepository.email)

→ Fueled Layoffs Spark Tension After Former Employee Pre-Empts Announcement (therepository.email)

→ WordPress Accessibility Day 2025 will be held on October 15-16, featuring 24 talks over 24 hours. (2025.wpaccessibility.day)

From WordPress Community

→ WordCamp Organizer Guide: Lessons I Learned (The Hard Way) (leokoo.com)

→ Something Has to Change with WordPress. FAIR is a Great Start. (carriedils.com)

→ The $8.8 Trillion Wake-Up Call: Notes from Open Source Summit NA 2025 (rogerwilliamsmedia.com)

→ Planes & Determination: A Disabled Traveler’s Journey Through Chaos (underrepresentedintech.com)

→ Why Sponsoring WordPress Content Creators is a Win for Your Brand (thewpminute.com)

→ The web isn’t URL-shaped anymore (jonoalderson.com)

→ Why Plugin, Theme & Addon Authors Should Join A Vulnerability Disclosure Program (wpbakery.com)

→ HeroPress at WordCamp US 2025! (heropress.com)

→ PODCAST:“Are there WordPress Echo Chambers” with Imran Siddiq (youtube.com)

→ It’s Always About Authenticity (remkusdevries.com)

→ Rich Tabor argues “WordPress doesn’t need a traditional marketing team.” (X.com)

What’s Your Thought?

Whether it’s technical improvements, funding sustainability, or community coordination, the decisions made now will shape WordPress for years to come. What do you think about these developments?

Hit reply and share your thoughts.

Nishat, WPMore

Follow → X.com | LinkedIn | BlueSky | Facebook

Join Our Community → Sub-Reddit | X Community

P.S. — If these stories resonated with you, forward this to someone who needs to hear them. And if you have a story about why you’re still here, hit reply and tell us. We read every one.

WordCamp Europe 2025: How Basel Became a Symbol of Community Strength

WordCamp Europe is happening June 5-7 in Basel, Switzerland, and honestly, the organizers deserve a medal just for keeping it together this year. Lead organizers Laura Sacco, Steve Mosby, and Uros Tasic managed a 90-person organizing team through one of the most turbulent periods in WordPress history.

The numbers tell part of the story: around 2,000 attendees are expected, which is better than anyone dared hope when planning began. Switzerland’s reputation for high costs initially worried organizers, but they’ve worked hard to make the event accessible. Free tram travel comes with your Basel Card, you can bike in from France or Germany (literally across the border), and there are plenty of budget-friendly food options beyond the tourist traps.

What impressed me most was how the team handled the WP Engine-Automattic dispute. They held three town hall meetings—unrecorded, judgment-free spaces where organizers could voice concerns. “We’re not here to pick sides,” Uros explained. “We’re here to organize a community event.” When team members felt uncomfortable continuing, leaders made it clear they could step back without consequences.

The speaker lineup reflects deliberate choices around inclusion—something that took years of learning from past criticism. “This is the first year I can remember where we haven’t had complaints about inclusion,” Laura noted. They’ve also built in more networking breaks because, as Steve put it, “the most valuable part of WordCamp is the people.”

For those still on the fence about attending: visa issues have been challenging (Switzerland isn’t in the EU), but the team issued over 200 invitation letters to help. And the next location is already being planned with affordability and visa accessibility as top priorities.

Read the full interview with WordCamp Europe organisers here at The Repository

Edit: but actually Switzerland IS in the Schengen area, which is the same for ALL countries in it, same rules, same requirements, and not more difficult than with any other Schengen country (EU + Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland)

The local team received the endorsement of the Swiss Confederation, as shown on the WordCamp Europe website. The number of visa letters sent by the Attendees team is similar to that of previous years.

What It’s Really Like to Be Banned from WordPress.org

Chris Reynolds discovered he was banned from WordPress.org on January 6th. No email, no notification, no explanation—just suddenly locked out of an account he’d held for 17 years. His story offers a rare inside look at what happened to dozens of community members during the height of the WP Engine controversy.

The ban appeared to stem from adding a clown face emoji to one of Matt Mullenweg’s Slack posts. Chris explains the context: during COVID, he and his partner used that emoji to react to wild, unpredictable situations—not as a personal attack, but more like “things are getting out of hand.” Without conversation or context, the reaction was apparently interpreted as hostile.

The practical consequences were serious. When Chris’s Progress Bar plugin received a vulnerability disclosure through Patchstack’s bug bounty program, he couldn’t push the fix to WordPress.org where over 1,000 users had downloaded it. He could only update it on GitHub and Packagist, leaving repository users vulnerable. This highlighted a concerning precedent—earlier, Matt had taken control of WP Engine’s Advanced Custom Fields plugin over a similar security issue.

The personal impact ran deeper. “I’ve never felt less like a valued member of the WordPress community than when my account was blocked with no justification,” Chris wrote in his blog. It led him to DrupalCon Atlanta, where he found a surprisingly welcoming community facing similar challenges but handling them differently.

Chris was among 32 people whose bans were lifted last week—again, without communication or explanation. He’s relieved but still processing the whiplash. His experience raises important questions about due process and communication in our community leadership.

Read Chris’s full blog here.

Read the scope from The Repository: WordPress Leadership Reinstates 32 Banned WordPress.org Accounts, Launches Formal Review — Project leadership is reviewing WordPress.org and WordPress Slack bans following months of tension, with dozens of reinstatements already made and more under evaluation.

Read also — The real impact of a WordPress ban (progressplanner.com)

A different perspective on WordPress ban — Toxic Users: The Unforgiven and the Danger of Unbanning (halfelf.org)

Women in WordPress: A Global Movement Takes Root

Sometimes the best initiatives start with simple conversations. When Aditya Kane shared his sister’s idea for an all-women WordPress meetup in Mumbai, it sparked something bigger. Pooja Derashri took that concept global, and the result was over 25 International Women’s Day events across the WordPress community.

The logistics were challenging. Pooja personally reached out to 30-40 WordPress communities worldwide, many of which had never organized women-led events before. Some struggled to find female speakers or volunteers. But the persistence paid off, creating a powerful network of events from Ajmer to Nicaragua to Madrid.

The impact went beyond single-day celebrations. In Nicaragua, the event “was entirely led and organized by women, most of whom had never led a community event before.” WP LATAM trained four new organizers who can now run events in their local communities. WP Bhopal held sessions in both Hindi and English for better accessibility, drawing everyone from students to entrepreneurs to a fifth-grade schoolgirl.

What struck me most was how these events created lasting change. As WP Pune organizers put it: “Our hope is that this event will inspire even more women to step into the spotlight, whether by organizing sessions, speaking at conferences, or leading teams in the tech industry.”

This wasn’t just about International Women’s Day—it was about reshaping what leadership looks like in WordPress communities. When we create space for new voices to lead, we don’t just run better events; we build stronger communities.

Read Puja Derashri’s full official recap here.

PressConf: Where Showing Up Still Matters

Sometimes the most important conversations happen when the cameras are off. PressConf wrapped up last weekend in Tempe, Arizona, and by all accounts, it was exactly what the WordPress business community needed—a chance to reconnect, be vulnerable, and remember why this all matters.

The numbers tell part of the story: 140 people, no recordings, and an atmosphere more like a retreat than a typical conference. Organizer Raquel Manriquez and her team created something special at the Tempe Mission Palms, the same venue that housed PressNomics for years.

The emotional openness surprised some attendees, especially international visitors not accustomed to American-style vulnerability in business settings. Miriam Schwab from Elementor delivered what many called the most powerful session, sharing deeply personal stories about balancing career, family, and the ongoing impact of war in Israel. Her talk ran 30 minutes over, but nobody left.

Read Rae Morey’s full PressConf here at The Repository

More PressConf recap blog —

→ Pressconf reflections (binatethoughts.com)

→ Business is personal (progressplanner.com)

Also Read: The WP Community Collective’s field report on PressConf

The WordPress Price Shock: How Soaring Costs Are Squeezing Millions of Website Owners

Your monthly WordPress expenses just doubled—and you’re not alone. Across the globe, millions of website owners are facing a harsh new reality: the tools that power nearly half the internet are becoming increasingly expensive, and fast.

From WP Rocket’s staggering 162% price jump to Bricks Builder’s eye-watering 302% increase, the WordPress ecosystem is experiencing unprecedented price inflation that’s leaving users scrambling for alternatives. But here’s what makes this crisis particularly brutal—while Silicon Valley startups might shrug off these increases, small business owners in developing nations are getting hit with a devastating double punch: massive price hikes combined with weakening local currencies.

If you’ve been wondering why your favorite WordPress plugins suddenly cost more than your monthly rent, or if you’re a developer watching clients abandon projects due to ballooning costs, this deep dive reveals exactly what’s happening—and more importantly, what we can do about it. The numbers don’t lie, and the impact is bigger than you think.

Read Gaurav Tiwari’s full deep dive on WordPress companies price hike

On other WordPress News

→ Post Status Acquires WP Speakers (poststatus.com) — Michelle Frechette’s long standing community driven project with 500+ WP speakers profiles found a new home.

→ Matt Mullenweg Settles Caregiver Lawsuits Days Before Trial (therepository.email) — Claims of wage theft, discrimination, retaliation, and defamation brought by two former caregivers against WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg have quietly settled after a nearly three-year legal battle.

→ WordPress Market Share, Statistics, and More (wordpress.com) — this article explores the platform’s market share in detail, as well as its versatility, reasons for success, and what keeps it ahead of the curve two decades after it launched.

→ WordPress Sites Cost Up to 44% Less Than Proprietary CMS Platforms, WP Engine Report Finds (therepository.email) — WP Engine’s new report puts a price tag on CMS decisions, claiming WordPress cuts website costs by up to 44%, as business leaders face longer buying cycles.

→ Mary Hubbard Moves to Rebuild Trust After WordPress.org Bans (therepository.email) — In a new Make WordPress post, Executive Director Mary Hubbard suggests moderation reforms, such as an appeals process, clearer Slack guidelines, and rotating roles, following months of community uncertainty over WordPress.org bans.

→ Announcing WordCamp Volunteer Badges on WordPress.org Profiles (make.wordpress.org) — Now, Wordcamp volunteers will get Badges for their contribution in WordPress community.

→ Second Plaintiff to Join Class Action Against Automattic, Mullenweg Over WP Engine Dispute (therepository.email) — Ryan Keller, who is suing over WP Engine’s temporary blocked access to WordPress.org, plans to expand his proposed class action and respond to Automattic’s push to dismiss.

From WordPress Community

→ Not everything needs AI. But WordPress needs AI-ready infrastructure (progressplanner.com) — Joost de Valk goes deep talking about why WordPress stand in a good place to build AI-ready infrastructure.

→ Freemius: Growing Beyond WordPress (thewpminute.com) — In this episode of the WP Minute+ Podcast, Matt welcomes Vova Feldman, the founder and CEO of Freemius, to discuss how the company is expanding beyond its roots in the WordPress ecosystem.

→ WordPress.org Plugin Submissions Surge 87% Amid Rise in AI Tools (therepository.email) — With plugin submissions up 87% and AI tools playing a bigger role in development, the WordPress Plugin Review Team is evolving its processes to keep pace — without compromising plugin or review quality.

→ New Social Icons for WordPress (make.wordpress.org) — WordPress.org now covers X, Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, TikTok, YouTube, and Tumblr.

→ How to disable and lock Gutenberg blocks (kinsta.com) — Find different ways to block Gutenberg blocks when working on client site.

→ The 3 C’s of Becoming a WordPress Professional (thewpminute.com) — after years of working with WordPress businesses of all sizes, Matt found that real professionalism comes down to three simple but powerful principles

→ Top WordPress technologies to learn in 2025: Trends and expert opinions (gravitykit.com) — WordPress experts share their tech stacks, and thoghts on what skills you should learn now.

→ Seven Tasks to a Custom Block Theme: Anders Norén’s Weekend Workflow (gutenbergtimes.com) — Over a single weekend, Anders Norén built Pulitzer, a new block theme, from the ground up. In this post, you’ll learn about Anders’ process.

→ WP Perspectives Issue 24: 2025 the Year of the Page Builder (webtng.com) — Page builders are seeing a resurgence in 2025, checkout David McCan’s this post to learn more.

→ The unintended consequences of making SEO “for everyone” (joost.blog) — Joost talks about the unintended consequences of making Yoast.

Here’s What I Keep Coming Back To

I keep thinking about something Uros from the WordCamp Europe team said: “We didn’t have big hopes at the start, but now we believe again.”

That sentence has stuck with me for days. Not because it’s particularly profound, but because it’s so damn honest. Most of us didn’t have big hopes at the start of this year either. How could we? Every week brought new drama, new uncertainty, new reasons to wonder if WordPress was worth our continued investment.

But here we are, still building. Still organizing events. Still writing code. Still showing up for each other in Slack channels and GitHub issues and conference hallways. Not because everything is perfect—it’s not—but because something about this community keeps pulling us back.

Maybe it’s the memory of that first WordCamp where strangers became friends. Maybe it’s the satisfaction of solving a tricky problem with custom post types. Maybe it’s just the stubborn belief that the web should be something we can all contribute to, not just consume.

Whatever it is, it’s stronger than the noise. Stronger than the controversies. Stronger than the disappointments.

Chris Reynolds, after months of being inexplicably banned, wrote: “I’m still here, so that’s a start.” That’s not resignation—it’s resolve. And it’s everywhere in these stories.

We’re still here. We’re still building. We’re still WordPress.

That’s not nothing. That’s everything.

Talk soon,

Nishat, WPMore

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P.S. — If these stories resonated with you, forward this to someone who needs to hear them. And if you have a story about why you’re still here, hit reply and tell us. We read every one.

In this Issue:

• WordPress Security in 2025: CRA Compliance Now Critical for Developers

• WordCamp Asia 2026 Heads to Mumbai, But Visa Issues Create Barriers for Bangladesh & Pakistan

• Matt Mullenweg on Succession: “I Don’t Want to Pass It to a Committee”

• 70% of New WordPress Themes Still Using Classic Architecture

• Lua Salazar Receives WordCamp Europe 2025 Diversity Scholarship

WordPress Security in 2025: CRA Compliance Now Critical for Developers

The European Union’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) is now reshaping WordPress security practices. Having come into force in December 2024, the CRA will begin applying its first requirements in 2026, mandating that plugin and theme developers implement processes to notify authorities and users about vulnerabilities.

This couldn’t be more timely – 2024 saw 7,966 new security vulnerabilities in the WordPress ecosystem, a concerning 34% increase from 2023 reported by PatchStack. Of these, 96% were in plugins and only 4% in themes. Even more alarming, more than half of plugin developers failed to patch reported vulnerabilities before official disclosure.

The current community situation has further complicated matters. The ongoing dispute between Automattic and WP Engine that became public in September 2024 has fractured trust, with some WordPress sites being disconnected from WordPress.org updates. Many see governance and supply chain integrity as pressing security issues for WordPress in 2025.

With AI playing an increasing role in WordPress development, PatchStack is seeing several emerging risks:

• AI-generated code introducing new vulnerabilities

• Easier vulnerability discovery

• Faster exploitation of vulnerabilities

• Previously low-priority vulnerabilities becoming easier to exploit

For developers, implementing vulnerability management and virtual patching will be essential to comply with the CRA and protect their users.

Read the full report “State of WordPress Security In 2025” on PatchStack.com

WordCamp Asia 2026 Heads to Mumbai, But Visa Issues Create Barriers

Mumbai has been selected to host WordCamp Asia 2026, highlighting India’s growing WordPress community that has hosted 12 WordCamps this year alone. However, this exciting announcement has been tempered by concerns over diplomatic tensions between India and Bangladesh.

Since late 2024, India has suspended visas for Bangladeshi nationals, potentially preventing many WordPress contributors from attending. WPManageNinja CMO Faizus Saleheen raised this issue on social media, noting that even if visa processing resumes, clearing the backlog could take 3-4 months, making attendance difficult for many Bangladeshis.

Read the full report on The Repository Here.

Other reports from The Repository you might like to read:

• WordPress Could See Just One Major Release Per Year Under New Proposal

• Newfold Digital Slashes WordPress Contributions to 20 Hours Per Week

• Who Leads WordPress Businesses? The Data Confirms It’s (Still) Not Women

Don’t forget to subscribe & support them, they do some amazing hard-hitting WordPress journalism.

Matt Mullenweg on Succession: “I Don’t Want to Pass It to a Committee”

Amid increasing calls for WordPress co-founder and Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg to step down following his controversial battle with WP Engine, TechCrunch Reports Mullenweg has instead begun thinking about succession planning. In a recent episode of Lenny’s Podcast, he shared that he doesn’t want to pass what he’s built to a “committee,” but rather to another individual CEO who would continue to act as a steward for the WordPress community.

Mullenweg described the role as being “more like a mayor than a CEO,” where the person would ultimately be accountable to users and contributors. He emphasized that checks and balances exist naturally, as “the community could leave, they could fork the software, people could change.”

He also highlighted Automattic’s role in boosting WordPress adoption, noting how the free version of WordPress.com has introduced more than 100 million people to the software. Mullenweg described this collaboration between for-profit Automattic and open source WordPress.org as “a really informed model” that many new startups are now adopting.

70% of New WordPress Themes Still Using Classic Architecture

Despite the push toward Full Site Editing (FSE), classic themes continue to dominate WordPress theme development. According to recent data from WordPress Themes Trac, 70% of themes published in the WordPress directory over the last two years are still using the classic architecture rather than block-based FSE.

The analysis from WPBakery, which looked at 3,486 themes, found only 1,045 block-based FSE themes. However, there’s a clear upward trend in FSE adoption, with the percentage growing steadily. If the trend continues, FSE themes could reach 50% of new submissions by 2026.

Interestingly, the top theme authors are showing resistance to FSE adoption. Among the top 10 independent theme authors, 81% of their submissions are classic themes, with half not submitting any FSE themes at all.

Read the full report here on WP Bakery.

Lua Salazar Receives WordCamp Europe 2025 Diversity Scholarship

WordCamp Europe has announced Lua Salazar as the recipient of this year’s Diversity Scholarship for the 2025 event. Hailing from Nicaragua, Lua is a business administrator with 15 years of experience in business management, consulting, and training, along with a passion for technology and digital marketing.

Lua has been an active WordPress community member since 2019, currently contributing about 10 hours weekly to the Community Team and mentoring local events through the WordPress Latam Community. She works as a Community Manager and Project Manager, roles that align with her passions for technology and community engagement.

On other WordPress News

→ Check WordCamp Asia 2025 in photos – Flickr Album, and Official Google Photos Album Here.

→ Join Alt Ctrl Org WordCamp event Friday Evening from 18:00 till 21:00 on June 6th in Basel to hear alternative talks on WordPress that you probably won’t hear at WordCamp.

→ A Month in Core – February 2025 (Make WordPress)

→ WordPress.org Themes of 2024: Reflections & Stats (ILoveWP) – It’s harder than ever for new WordPress themes to stand out. In this article, Dumitru Brinzan dive into data from over 1,700 themes released on WordPress.org throughout 2024.

From WordPress Community

→ What is a “Website Care Plan” and What’s Included? (TheAdminBar.com)

→ From Founding to Funding, Marieke van de Rakt’s Entrepreneurial Journey (DoTheWoo.io)

→ 16 Years of rtCamp: Expansion, Innovation, and New Frontiers (rtcamp.com)

→ What Kinsta’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday analytics can teach e-commerce websites (Kinsta.com)

→ How we use AI for software development at WP Fusion (drunk.support)

→ Why WordPress is a tough sell for marketing students (progressplanner.com)

→ WordCamp Asia 2025 Talk you don’t want to miss: Boosting Performance with Optimization Detective (weston.ruter.net)

→ WordCamp Asia 2025 Recap: A New Era for Freemius and Uncertain Times for WordPress (Freemius.com) – Vova Feldman shared in-details of their WordCamp Asia 2025 pros and cons, worth reading.

→ WordCamp Asia 2025: It’s All About The People (wpbakery.com) – Another WordCamp Asia 2025 blog I enjoyed reading.

→ From 2017 to Now: How Influencer Marketing Has Transformed in WordPress space (callmelana.com) – Lana Miro shares her observations on influencer marketing; on where we are today and what the future holds.

→ A New Home for All Things Within WordPress (remkusdevries.com) – Remkus de Vries moved his popular newsletter to a new website.

From the Editor’s Desk

That’s all for this issue of WPMore newsletter! What are your thoughts on these developments?

Are you preparing for CRA compliance?

Planning to attend WordCamp Asia 2026?

Still developing classic themes?

Let us know by replying to this newsletter.

Until next month,

Nishat, WPMore

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WordCamp Asia 2025 Wraps Up in Manila, Sets Sights on Mumbai for 2026

WordCamp Asia 2025 concluded last weekend at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila, bringing together over 1,400 attendees from 71 countries, with nearly 15,000 more participating online. This marked the first flagship WordPress event since WordCamp US 2024.

The conference unfolded against the backdrop of Matt Mullenweg’s ongoing legal dispute with WP Engine, but in Manila, conversations focused primarily on innovation, WordPress’s role for entrepreneurs across Asia, and bringing fresh faces into the community—including through the new YouthCamp initiative for attendees aged 8-17.

Reflecting on the event, Mullenweg noted on his blog that it presented an “interesting contrast to US and EU WordCamps as well in that the audience is definitely a lot younger, and there’s very little interest in ‘wpdrama’ du jour.”

Contributor Day: The Heart of Community Collaboration

The three-day conference kicked off with Contributor Day, bringing together nearly 800 people—including 126 first-timers—who collaborated across 19 Make WordPress teams.

Key accomplishments included:

• Core Team fixing a critical media bug and progressing on vertical text editing in Gutenberg

• Polyglots Team translating over 4,000 strings with 66 contributors

• Plugins Team onboarding new contributors and handling queue management

• Themes Team clearing all new theme submissions

• Documentation and Marketing Teams enhancing WordPress learning resources

The “Human Library” feature was particularly popular, with 16 experts “books” available to share their experiences across 64 sessions.

Here’s a detailed recap of contributor day →

AI, Open Source, and WordPress’s Future

The main conference opened with a keynote from Matías Ventura, Gutenberg’s lead architect, who explored how the Block Editor and Full Site Editing continue to evolve while maintaining WordPress’s core design principles.

Sessions covered diverse topics including:

• Open source and GPL fundamentals

• Block development and the Interactivity API

• Artificial intelligence integration

• Multisite for enterprise deployment

• Structured content and content modeling

Read Conference Day 1 Recap: A Thrilling Start to WordCamp Asia 2025! →

Mullenweg’s Q&A Addresses Community Concerns

Closing the conference, Matt Mullenweg took the stage for his keynote and Q&A. When asked about the reduced contributions from Automattic to WordPress development, Mullenweg attributed it to the ongoing legal battle with WP Engine:

“Automattic is having to spend millions of dollars—per month, sometimes—to defend against these attacks from WP Engine. And with the court injunction, it’s just hard to stay motivated and to spare the resources to contribute so much. Now, [WP Engine] could end it tomorrow… But we can’t end it. We can only defend… So as soon as they stop that, we’ll get back to it.”

A tense moment came when Taco Verdonschot challenged Mullenweg about how open the project is to change, particularly given recent bans of community members. Mullenweg responded that talking about change “isn’t going to get you banned,” adding that it’s “other behavior” that leads to people being banned from WordPress.

Mumbai to Host WordCamp Asia 2026

As the event concluded, organizers announced that Mumbai, India, will host next year’s flagship event.

India’s selection makes sense given its strong grassroots WordPress community—the country has already hosted three WordCamps this year in Ahmedabad, Kolhapur, and Kolkata. WordPress Meetup events in India lead global engagement, with in-person meetups in Ahmedabad and Mumbai regularly drawing 165+ attendees.

During his Q&A, Mullenweg suggested next year’s event could bring in 3,000–4,000 attendees, potentially making it the largest flagship WordCamp yet.

Automattic Faces Class Action Over WP Engine Dispute

In significant legal news, Automattic is now facing a class action lawsuit related to its ongoing feud with WP Engine. Ryan Keller, who runs Ohio-based cybersecurity business SecureSight, has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of WP Engine customers in the United States.

The complaint alleges that Automattic deliberately sabotaged WP Engine’s business by blocking access to critical WordPress.org services, causing disruption, security risks, and financial harm. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit accuses Automattic of multiple counts of tortious interference and violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law.

Read the full report from The Repository →

Five for the Future Program Under Scrutiny

Adding to the ongoing discussion about WordPress governance, Samuel Sidler recently published an article challenging the Five for the Future initiative and how contributions to WordPress are defined and valued.

In “Challenging Five for the Future,” Sidler argues that the program disproportionately benefits Automattic and creates barriers for independent contributors. The former Audrey Capital employee claims that contributors without Automattic’s backing face significant challenges, while Automattic employees dominate leadership roles.

“In my experience, a perpetual problem within the WordPress core community is the ‘backchannels’ that exist, private spaces where contributors align on next steps. This is particularly acute with Automattic employees, which actively communicate in private spaces that do not include the community,” Sidler writes.

Read the full article from Samuel Sidler’s Blog →

Plugin Directory Updates Author Display

In technical news, the WordPress.org Plugin Directory has implemented a change in how plugin author information is displayed. The directory now pulls author names and links directly from WordPress.org profiles, replacing the manually set “Author” and “Author URI” fields in plugin headers.

The update means that instead of plugin authors being able to display any name and link to any website, the attribution is now directly linked to the plugin owner’s WordPress.org profile, showing their display name as set on their profile.

Companies and teams can still maintain branded profiles, but all plugins owned by the same entity must use the same account. The changes apply retroactively to all existing plugins in the directory.

While only the plugin owner’s display name and profile will be shown under the plugin title, multiple contributors can still be listed in the “Contributors & Developers” section through the plugin’s readme file.

On other WordPress News

→ Introducing Preview Sites: Pushing the Limits of Collaboration with Studio – One of Studio’s most-loved features just got a big upgrade: Demo Sites, now named Preview Sites, are enhanced to better support your local development needs and simplify sharing progress with clients and teammates. (WordPress.com)

→ 🌏 Can’t make it to Manila? Experience the energy of WordCamp Asia 2025 from anywhere in the world! – Check out the recorded live WordPress conference day here.(YouTube/WordPress)

From WordPress Community

→ What is a WordPress Contribution? – A complete guide on WordPress contribution, Bookmark it! (remkusdevries.com)

→ 2024 in Review and Transparency Report – Jack Arturo from WP Fusion shared his ongoing year in review of 2024, must read if you are interested in the WordPress plugin business. (wpfusion.com)

→ The Three Big Existential Threats Facing WordPress – Jamie dives into the threats that might end WordPress (X.com)

From the Editor’s Desk

As we wrap up this issue, it’s clear that the WordPress community continues to evolve in both inspiring and challenging ways. WordCamp Asia 2025 demonstrated the vitality and growth of WordPress across Asia, with youth initiatives and a focus on the future that bodes well for the ecosystem.

At the same time, the ongoing legal tensions between key players in the WordPress space remind us that open source doesn’t necessarily mean freedom from conflict. The discussions around contribution models and project governance are important ones that will shape how WordPress develops in the years to come.

I encourage all of you to stay engaged with these conversations, consider ways to contribute that make sense for your skills and resources, and remember that the strength of WordPress has always been its community.

Until next month, keep building and sharing!

Happy WordPressing,

Nishat

Your WPMore Editor

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