General – WordPress News https://wordpress.org/news The latest news about WordPress and the WordPress community Sun, 14 Apr 2024 15:49:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7-alpha-58709 https://s.w.org/favicon.ico?2 General – WordPress News https://wordpress.org/news 32 32 14607090 How WordPress Is Creating a Faster Web https://wordpress.org/news/2024/04/how-wordpress-is-creating-a-faster-web/ Mon, 15 Apr 2024 14:00:00 +0000 https://wordpress.org/news/?p=17208 Today, WordPress powers more than 40% of the web. That’s a massive reach—one that comes with a similarly large responsibility. With so many people using the CMS, the WordPress community should always consider strategies for improving the visitor experience. This is where website performance plays a crucial role.

How fast a web page loads, how quickly a page reacts when you click a button, or how smoothly it scrolls can all significantly impact the end-user experience. A more performant site can lead to higher reader engagement and more conversions. Thankfully, over the past few years, the WordPress project has made major performance improvements across the board for the core platform, plugins, and themes.

Many enhancements are available out of the box, with no configuration required. They improve the website frontend’s performance—the part visitors see—and various parts of the administrative experience, such as the editor.

Here’s a partial list of performance upgrades from the past year:

In addition to the Core enhancements listed above, the WordPress project continues to work on several efforts that indirectly benefit the ecosystem’s performance.

For instance, WordPress Core leverages automated tooling for continuously monitoring its performance, covering every product update. This helps measure new features’ performance improvements and enables contributors to detect potential performance problems during the development of a new feature or release so any issues can be proactively addressed long before end users are affected. A project is currently underway to make the same tooling used by WordPress Core developers available to plugin and theme authors as well.

Additionally, the new WordPress plugin checker allows checking any plugin for performance best practices, among other requirements and recommendations. The plugin checker should lead to more performance awareness in plugin authors and, eventually, faster plugins. If you develop plugins, consider integrating this tool into your development and testing workflow.

Last but not least, WordPress 6.5 introduced the Interactivity API, which is a technical foundation that facilitates more performant user interactions. This new infrastructure drastically simplifies the implementation of interactive website features and can even centrally control certain aspects of performance, keeping multiple independent plugins operating efficiently.

These performance updates result from a collaborative effort from all corners of the community, including the WordPress Performance Team. This team, founded in 2021, underscores the WordPress project’s commitment to performance. And the results are substantial: Compared to a year ago, 8% more WordPress sites deliver good load time performance at scale—significantly better than the overall web’s 5.5% load time improvement. The web is getting more performant, and WordPress is leading the way.

WordPress contributors are determined to continue this trend by working on further performance iterations. Whether you’re a WordPress end user, administrator, site builder, or developer, you can contribute to this effort. Anyone can test the performance features before being released in Core through individual feature plugins. Each feature can be tested via the Performance Lab plugin, so please try them! Testing features early helps the team assess their impact and collect valuable feedback.

Are you eager for more WordPress performance news and updates? Then check out the 2024 performance roadmap. Thanks to the entire community for your hard work. Not only does it ensure WordPress’ continued improvement and growth, but it benefits the entire open web.

Thank you to @annezazu @clarkeemily @tweetythierry @swissspidy @westonruter @adamsilverstein @joemcgill for content review and @provenself @dansoschin for editorial review.

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WordPress 6.5 “Regina” https://wordpress.org/news/2024/04/regina/ Tue, 02 Apr 2024 18:42:28 +0000 https://wordpress.org/news/?p=17132 WordPress 6.5 "Regina"

Say hello to WordPress 6.5 “Regina,” inspired by the dynamic versatility of renowned jazz violinist Regina Carter. An award-winning artist and storied jazz educator known for transcending genre, Regina’s technical foundations in classical music and deep understanding of jazz have earned her the reputation of boldly going beyond what’s possible with the violin. 

Let the stunning twists and subtle turns of Regina’s genre-bending sound surprise you as you explore everything 6.5 offers.

This latest version of WordPress puts more power into the details. It offers new and improved ways to fine-tune and enhance your site-building experience, letting you take control in ways that make it your own. You’ll find new ways to manage your site’s typography, more comprehensive revisions available in more places, and a collection of Site Editor updates paired with impressive performance gains to help you get things done smoother and faster.

“Regina” also marks the introduction of some breakthrough developer tools that will start transforming how you use and extend blocks to craft engaging experiences. The Interactivity API opens up a world of creative front-end possibilities, while the Block Bindings API makes dynamic connections between blocks and data seamless. These, among other developer-focused improvements and updates, are ready to help you evolve how you build with WordPress.

What’s inside 6.5

Add and manage fonts across your site

The new Font Library puts you in control of an essential piece of your site’s design—typography—without coding or extra steps. Effortlessly install, remove, and activate local and Google Fonts across your site for any Block theme. The ability to include custom typography collections gives site creators and publishers more options when it comes to styling content.

Get more from your revisions—including revisions for templates and template parts

Work through creative projects with a more comprehensive picture of what’s been done—and what you can fall back on. Get details like time stamps, quick summaries, and a paginated list of all revisions. View revisions from the Style Book to see how changes impact every block. Revisions are also now available for templates and template parts.

Play with enhanced background and shadow tools

  • Control the size, repeat, and focal point options for background images in Group blocks so you can explore subtle or splashy ways to add visual interest to layouts. 
  • Set aspect ratios for Cover block images and easily add color overlays that automatically source color from your chosen image. 
  • Add box shadow support to more block types and create layouts with visual depth, or throw a little personality into your design.

Discover new Data Views

Every piece of your site comes with a library of information and data—now, you can find what you need quickly and organize it however you like. Data views for pages, templates, patterns, and template parts let you see data in a table or grid view, with the option to toggle fields and make bulk changes.

Smoother drag-and-drop

Feel the difference when you move things around, with helpful visual cues like displaced items in List View or frictionless dragging to anywhere in your workspace—from beginning to end.

Improved link controls

Create and manage links easily with a more intuitive link-building experience, like a streamlined UI and a shortcut for copying links.

What’s fresh for developers in 6.5

Bring interactions to blocks with the Interactivity API

The Interactivity API offers developers a standardized method for building interactive front-end experiences with blocks. It simplifies the process, with fewer dependencies on external tooling, while maintaining optimal performance. Use it to create memorable user experiences, like fetching search results instantly or letting visitors interact with content in real time.

Connect blocks to custom fields or other dynamic content

Link core block attributes to custom fields and use the value of custom fields without creating custom blocks. Powered by the Block Bindings API, developers can extend this capability further to connect blocks to any dynamic content—even beyond custom fields. If there’s data stored elsewhere, easily point blocks to that new source with only a few lines of code.

Add appearance tools to Classic themes

Give designers and creators using Classic themes access to an upgraded design experience. Opt in to support for spacing, border, typography, and color options, even without using theme.json. Once support is enabled, more tools will be automatically added as they become available.

Explore improvements to the plugin experience

There’s now an easier way to manage plugin dependencies. Plugin authors can supply a new Requires Plugins header with a comma-separated list of required plugin slugs, presenting users with links to install and activate those plugins first.

From fast to faster: Performance updates

This release includes 110+ performance updates, resulting in an impressive increase in speed and efficiency across the Post Editor and Site Editor. Loading is over two times faster than in 6.4, with input processing speed up to five times faster than the previous release.

 Translated sites see up to 25% improvement in load time for this release courtesy of Performant Translations. Additional performance highlights include AVIF image support and improvements for registering block variations with callbacks.

A tradition of inclusion

This release includes more than 65 accessibility improvements across the platform, making it more accessible than ever. It contains an important fix that unblocks access to the admin submenus for screen reader users and others who navigate by keyboard. This release also adds fixes to color contrast in admin focus states, positioning of elements, and cursor focus, among many others, that help improve the WordPress experience for everyone.

Learn more about WordPress 6.5

Check out the new WordPress 6.5 page to learn more about the numerous enhancements and features of this release—including short demos of some of the highlighted features.

Explore Learn WordPress for quick how-to videos, online workshops, and other free resources to level up your WordPress knowledge and skills.

Check out the WordPress 6.5 Field Guide for detailed technical information and developer notes to help you build with WordPress and get the most out of this release. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Developer Blog for developer updates, feature tutorials, and other helpful WordPress content from a developer perspective.

For more information about installation, file changes, fixes, and other updates, read the 6.5 release notes.

The 6.5 release squad

Every release has many moving parts with its own triumphs and challenges. It takes a dedicated team of enthusiastic contributors to help keep things on track and moving smoothly. 6.5 is made possible by a cross-functional group of contributors, always ready to champion ideas, remove blockers, and resolve issues.

Thank you, contributors

WordPress believes in democratizing publishing and the freedoms that come with open source. Supporting this idea is a global and diverse community of people collaborating to strengthen the software. 

WordPress 6.5 reflects the countless efforts and passion of around 700 contributors in at least 57 countries. This release also welcomed over 150 first-time contributors!

Their collaboration delivered more than 2,500 enhancements and fixes, ensuring a stable release for all—a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress open source community.

!Benni · _ck_ · Aaron Jorbin · Aaron Robertshaw · Abdullah Mamun · Abha Thakor · Abhishek Deshpande · abletec · acosmin · Adam Pickering · Adam Silverstein · Adarsh Akshat · admcfajn · adrianduffell · Ahmed Chaion · Ahmed Saeed · Ajith R N · Akash Muchandikar · Aki Hamano · Akira Tachibana · akmelias · Akramul Hasan · Akshaya Rane · Alain Schlesser · Alan Fuller · Alex · Alex Concha · Alex King · Alex Kirk · Alex Lende · Alex Mills · Alex Stine · Alexandre Buffet · AlexKole · Amber Hinds · Amy Hendrix (sabreuse) · Amy Kamala · Anand Upadhyay · Anders Norén · Andrea Fercia · Andrei Draganescu · Andrei Lupu · Andrew Hayward · Andrew Hutchings · Andrew Nacin · Andrew Norcross · Andrew Ozz · Andrew Serong · andrewleap · Andrii Balashov · André Maneiro · Andy Fragen · Andy Peatling · Aneesh Devasthale · Ankit K Gupta · Ankit Panchal · Anne McCarthy · Anthony Burchell · Antoine · Anton Lukin · Anton Timmermans · Anton Vlasenko · Antonella · Antonio D. · Antonis Lilis · arena94 · Ari Stathopoulos · Arslan Kalwar · Artemio Morales · Arthur Chu · Arun Chaitanya Jami · Arun Sharma · Arunas Liuiza · Asad Polash · Ashish Kumar (Ashfame) · Asish Chandra Mohon · Aslam Doctor · audunmb · Aurooba Ahmed · Austin Matzko · axwax · Ayesh Karunaratne · Béryl de La Grandière · bahia0019 · Balu B · bangank36 · Barry · Barry · Bart Kalisz · bartkleinreesink · Beatriz Fialho · Beau Lebens · Beda · ben · Ben Dwyer · Ben Hansen · Ben Huson · Ben Keith · Ben Lobaugh (blobaugh) · Ben Ritner - Kadence WP · Ben Word · Benjamin Gosset · Benjamin Zekavica · benjaminknox · Benoit Chantre · benoitfouc · Bernhard Reiter · bernhard-reiter · billseymour · Biplav · Birgit Pauli-Haack · bobbingwide · Boone Gorges · born2webdesign · Brad Jorsch · Brad Parbs · Brad Williams · Brandon Kraft · Brandon Lavigne · Brian Alexander · Brian Coords · Brian Fischer · Brian Gardner · Brian Haas · Brian Henry · Brooke · burnuser · Caleb Burks · camya · Carlo Cannas · Carlos Bravo · Carlos G. 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Adam White · KafleG · Kai Hao · Kamrul Hasan · Kari Anderson · Karlijn Bok · Karol Manijak · Karthik Thayyil · Katka · kawsaralameven · Kelly Choyce-Dwan · Kevin Batdorf · Kevin Coleman · Kevin Hoffman · Kevin Taron · Kharis Sulistiyono · Khokan Sardar · Kira Schroder · Kishan Jasani · kitchin · Kjell Reigstad · kkmuffme · Knut Sparhell · Koen Reus · Koesper · Konstantin Obenland · Krupa Nanda · Krupal Panchal · Kurt Payne · Kushang Tailor · Kylen Downs · lau@mindproducts.com.au · Laura Adamonis · Lauren Stein · Laurent MILLET · Lax Mariappan · Lena Morita · Leo Muniz · Leonardus Nugraha · Liam Gladdy · LiamMcArthur · Linkon Miyan · liviopv · lkraav · logikal16 · Louis Wolmarans · Lovekesh Kumar · luboslives · lucasbustamante · Luis Felipe Zaguini · Luis Herranz · Lukas Pawlik · Lukasz · Luke Cavanagh · Maarten · Madhu Dollu · Madhu Dollu · Maggie Cabrera · Mahbub Hasan Imon · mahnewr · Mahrokh · Malae · manfcarlo · manyourisms · Marc_J · Marcelo de Moraes Serpa · Marco Ciampini · Marcoevich · margolisj · Marie Comet · Marin Atanasov · Mario Santos · Marius L. J. · Mark Howells-Mead · Mark Jaquith · Marko Heijnen · Marko Ivanovic · Markus · martin.krcho · Mary Baum · mathewemoore · Matias Benedetto · Matias Ventura · matiasrecondo77 · Matt Cromwell · Matt Mullenweg · Matteo Enna · Max Lyuchin · Maxime Pertici · Mayur Prajapati · Md Abul Bashar · Md Hossain Shohel · Md HR Shahin · Md Sahadat Husain · Meg Phillips · megane9988 · Meher Bala · Mel Choyce-Dwan · melcarthus · meta4 · metropolis_john · mevolkan · Micah Wood · Michael Showes · Michal Czaplinski · Michalooki · Miguel Fonseca · miguelsansegundo · Miikka · Mike Bijon · Mike Jolley (a11n) · Mike Schinkel · Mike Schroder · Mikin Chauhan · Milen Petrinski - Gonzo · mimi · Miriam Schwab · mkismy · mnydigital · Mohammad Jangda · Monique Dubbelman · Monzur Alam · Morteza Geransayeh · mreishus · mrwweb · Muhammad Usman Iqbal · Muhibul Haque · mujuonly · Mukesh Panchal · Mumtahina Faguni · Musarrat Anjum Chowdhury · Nahid Khan · Naoki Ohashi · Narendra Sishodiya · Naresh Bheda · Nate Allen · Navjot Singh · Nazmul Hasan Robin · neffff · Neil Hainsworth · nendeb · NerdPress · Nick Diego · Nick Halsey · Nick Martianov · nickpagz · Nico · Nicole Furlan · Nicole Paschen Caylor · nidhidhandhukiya · Niels Lange · Nihar Ranjan Das · Nik Tsekouras · Nikita · nikmeyer · Nilambar Sharma · Nilo Vélez · Niluthpal Purkayastha · Nirav Sherasiya · Nithin John · Nithin SreeRaj · Noah Allen · nosilver4u · Nowell VanHoesen · Nudge Themes · nwjames · obliviousharmony · ockham · oguzkocer · okat · Old account · olegfuture · Olga Gleckler · Paal Joachim Romdahl · Pablo Honey · Pacicio · pannelars · partyfrikadelle · Pascal Birchler · Patricia BT · Patrick Lumumba · Paul Bearne · Paul Biron · Paul de Wouters · Paul Kevan · Paul Wong-Gibbs · pavelevap · Peter Baylies · Peter Rubin · Peter Westwood · Peter Wilson · petitphp · Philipp Bammes · Philipp15b · Phill · Pieterjan Deneys · Pippin Williamson · Pitam Dey · pmeenan · Pooja Derashri · Pooja N Muchandikar · pooja9712 · pouicpouic · Prashant Baldha · Pratik Kumar · Pratik Londhe · Prem Tiwari · Presskopp · presstoke · prionkor · Rafiq · Rajin Sharwar · Ramon Ahnert · Ramon Corrales · Ramon James · Rashi Gupta · Ratnesh Sonar · rawrly · rcain · rebasaurus · Remy Perona · Renatho (a11n) · Rene Hermenau · retrofox · Riad Benguella · Rich Collier · Rich Tabor · Rishi Mehta · Rishi Shah · Robert Anderson · Rolf Allard van Hagen · room34 · Roy Tanck · Ryan Boren · Ryan McCue · Ryan Welcher · Ryann Micua · Ryo · Sé Reed · Sébastien SERRE · Sören Wünsch · Sabbir Hasan · Sachyya · Sadi Mohammad Zaman · sadpencil · Sahil · Saiduzzaman Tohin · Sakib MD Nazmush · Sal Ferrarello · Sam Berry · samba45 · Sampat Viral · Samuel Rüegger · Samuel Sidler · Samuel Wood (Otto) · Santiago Cerro López · Sarah Norris · Sarath AR · Satish Prajapati · Satyam Vishwakarma (Satya) · Saxon Fletcher · Saxon Fletcher · Sayful Islam · Scott Kingsley Clark · Scott Reilly · Scott Taylor · scribu · Sean Fisher · Sergey Biryukov · Sergio De Falco · Seth Rubenstein · Shaharia Azam · Shail Mehta · ShaneF · Shannon Smith · shaunandrews · Shawn Hooper · shidouhikari · Shipon Karmakar · Shreyash Srivastava · Shubham Sedani · siddharth ravikumar · Siobhan · Sirajum Mahdi · sjregan · SourceView · sruthi89 · stacimc · Stefano Minoia · Stephen Bernhardt · Stephen Cronin · Stephen Edgar · Stephen Harris · Steve Jones · Steven Lin · strarsis · Subrata Sarkar · Sumi Subedi · Sumit Bagthariya · Sumit Singh · SunilPrajapati · Svitlana Sukhoveiko · syamraj24 · Sybre Waaijer · Syed Balkhi · Syed Nuhel · Synchro · Takashi Irie · Takashi Kitajima · Tammie Lister · Tapan Kumer Das · Tara King · Taylor · Taylor Dewey · Taylor Gorman · tazotodua · Teddy Patriarca · Tellyworth · Thakor Darshil · them.es · thinkluke · Thomas Griffin · Thomas Kräftner · threadi · Tim Nolte · timbroddin · Timothée Brosille · Timothy Jacobs · tmatsuur · TobiasBg · tobifjellner (Tor-Bjorn Fjellner) · Tom · Tom Cafferkey · Tom Finley · Tom J Nowell · tomluckies · Tomoki Shimomura · tomsommer · tomxygen · Toni Viemerö · Tony G · Tonya Mork · Toro_Unit (Hiroshi Urabe) · torres126 · Torsten Landsiedel · Toru Miki · toscho · Travis Smith · tropicalista · Trupti Kanzariya · Ugyen Dorji · up1512001 · upadalavipul · Utsav tilava · Uttam Kumar Dash · Vagelis · valerogarte · Vicente Canales · Vijayan · vikram6 · viliamkopecky · Vipul Ghori · vivekawsm · vladimiraus · vortfu · Vraja Das · Wasiur Rahman · welaunchio · Weston Ruter · WHSajid · WilliamG · WP Corner · xlthlx · Yan Sern · Yannis Guyon · Yui · Yuliyan Slavchev · Yuvrajsinh Sisodiya · Zack Tollman · Zane Matthew · Zeba Afia Shama · zieladam · Zunaid Amin · Česlav Przywara

Over 70 locales have translated 90 percent or more of WordPress 6.5 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.

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

Get involved and contribute

Participation in WordPress is not limited to coding. If contributing appeals to you, 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.

One more haiku

6.5 is here!
Play, interact, build better,
Stronger and faster.

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17132
2023 Annual Survey Results and Next Steps https://wordpress.org/news/2024/02/2023-annual-survey-results-and-next-steps/ Wed, 14 Feb 2024 19:46:04 +0000 https://wordpress.org/news/?p=16915 Each year, WordPress seeks to collect high-level data about trends and themes across the vast ecosystem of users, site builders, extenders, and contributors to help inform decision-making and provide valuable feedback on the project’s status. 

For 2023, the survey process was updated to enhance accessibility, usability, analysis, and multilingual support. Additionally, a few questions were replaced or updated to ensure the survey captures relevant data on current and future WordPress topics.

The data collected is used as one of many signals that inform the project’s road map and areas of focus, both near and long-term.

Highlights from 2023

Overall, awareness and/or use of block-based features is up year over year, as well as resources such as Learn.WordPress.org. This reflects project-wide efforts to increase utilization of these respectively. However, positive sentiment about WordPress is down modestly, and more so among contributors. The analysis of the annual survey highlights certain areas that could benefit from increased attention in 2024.

Here are the highlights split into three parts: logistics, general trends, and contributor sentiment.

Logistics

  • Completions were up 17% in 2023, though short of a goal to double them, despite increased promotion and partnership with some hosting partners.
  • The Polyglots team translated the survey from English into 9 different languages, the most ever for the survey.
  • Debuted a new platform, Alchemer, for improved accessibility, usability, data collection, administration, and analysis. 
  • The completion rate increased again from last year’s high of 63% to 79% in 2023, proving that investing some time in the new platform and clarifying wording was well worth it.

General trends

  • NPS* was 30.1 overall, with contributors at 27.9 and non-contributors at 32. The NPS has trended downward since 2021, when it was 45. 
  • 60% of respondents indicate usage of Gutenberg, 8% are unsure, and 12% use something other than Gutenberg and/or the Classic Editor. This is up from 2022 (54%).
  • 45% of respondents indicate that the WordPress Site Editor meets their site-building needs, 26% are indifferent, and 29% disagree.
  • 61% of respondents indicate familiarity with block themes and plugins. While this question was not asked previously, in 2022, 53% said they had used blocks
    “In the new site editor.”
  • Security, performance, and stability were the top three critical areas respondents considered when building their website, plugin, theme, or style variation.
  • 63% agree that WordPress is as good or better than other CMSs, down from 68% in 2022
  • Respondents indicated that the best things about WordPress are that it is open source, has ample plugin options, incorporates good customization, is easy to use, and offers flexibility. This is similar to 2022.
  • Limitless configurations, performance, scalability, accessibility, integration, hosting, and support all saw 100% or more increases compared to 2022 regarding favorite things about WordPress.
  • Respondents cited “too many plugins,” “the site editing experience,” “security,” and “performance” as the top four worst things about WordPress. Most interestingly, though, 16% indicated that none of the 20 topics were terrible, and there was a 43% decrease in the number of people indicating that “site editing is difficult to learn.”
  • Search engines and YouTube continue to be the two most common resources for finding information about WordPress, while those writing about WordPress, in general, saw a sharp decline year over year.

Contributor sentiment

  • 58% of self-identified contributors to WordPress said they agree with the project’s roadmap plans for “Phase 3” and “Phase 4” as a good plan to enhance the WordPress experience for developers, creators, and publishers alike.
  • While about one-third of respondents indicated they contribute to the WordPress project, only about half knew how to get involved, knew about WordCamps and meetups, understood the difference between WordPress.org and WordPress.com, and knew the benefits of open source. 
  • Of 22 topics, the distribution of the top three things that WordPress needs to focus on from the perspective of contributors was broad, with only a 13.5% raw percentage point (1350 basis points) difference between performance (18.6%) in first position and collaborative editing (5.1%) in 22nd position. This shows a need for more consensus among contributors regarding where to focus resources and/or illustrates that the project has many essential elements with passionate supporters.
  • Fewer contributors had a positive experience in 2023 (55%) versus 2022 (64%).
  • Similarly, the feeling of being welcome in the WordPress community among contributors decreased to 57% versus 64% in 2022.
  • Furthermore, contributors feel appropriately recognized less in 2023 (46%) than in 2022 (51%).

Bringing it all together

The 2023 annual WordPress survey participation and results highlight the possibility of survey burnout within the WordPress community and some declining overall satisfaction among contributors. There is an opportunity to increase awareness regarding critical initiatives such as WordCamps and other resources for WordPress users and contributors alike and to increase messaging on improvements made within the project to the CMS.

What’s planned for 2024

In the next iteration of the survey, the plan is to improve the survey’s questions further to ensure they continue to provide valuable insight into the project’s trends. This means some questions will be replaced while others might be refined.

Additionally, plans are being explored to distribute and promote the survey at each of the three annual flagship WordCamps (Europe, U.S., and Asia). This would be in contrast to a single yearly survey. More exploration on this topic will take place in the months to come.

View the 2023 Slide Deck

View a web-based version of the results. Note that this link may expire in the future.


*What is NPS? Simply put, NPS is a KPI organizations can use to measure how likely it’s [users, clients, members] are to recommend a product or service. It can serve as a general indicator of brand strength and affinity. Most organizations use NPS, which can be used to benchmark an organization in an industry against a set of peers. 


Thank you to @dansoschin for the analysis and editorial support. Thanks also to @angelasjin, @eidolonnight, and @cbringmann for their reviews and final edits.

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16915
Data Liberation in 2024 https://wordpress.org/news/2024/01/data-liberation-in-2024/ Fri, 12 Jan 2024 16:58:53 +0000 https://wordpress.org/news/?p=16736 Imagine a more open web where people can switch between any platform of their choosing. A web where being locked into a system is a thing of the past. This is the web I’ve always wanted to see. That’s why I announced a new initiative called Data Liberation for 2024. Migrating your site to WordPress, or exporting all your content from WordPress, should be possible in one click. I want WordPress’ export format to become the lingua franca of CMSes, whether coming to WordPress or moving within WordPress. 

I often hear about folks across the WordPress community duplicating efforts when creating scripts and workflows to move users to WordPress. Imagine if we shared those resources instead and built community-owned plugins that anyone could use!

But it should be more than plugins; workflows, tutorials, and helper scripts should be shared, too. I want this resource to have space to include moving from social networks, moving from a page builder to core blocks, switching from classic to blocks, and improving WordPress current canonical plugins for importing.

You can help!

Of course, the heart of any open source project is the community that shows up to build it. My hope is that this marks the start of a new contribution pathway, separate from core teams, that allows folks to contribute what they’ve learned and what they’ve created to help others move to WordPress. I expect this emphasis on migration will also influence future development, both in core and with recommended community or canonical plugins.

There are a few things that I think will be key to making this project a success:

  • A dedicated landing page on WordPress.org following a WordPress.org/and/[platform-name] format.
  • A forum used for non-review user feedback and general discussion.
  • A dedicated Slack channel.
  • Moderation within hours rather than days.
  • Listed on WordPress GitHub with syncing for individual commits to SVN for history in both places.

By complementing the community’s existing efforts—the Five for the Future program, the Learn WordPress initiative, a focus on internationalization, etc.—my hope is that this will help even more people see themselves in the WordPress project, providing fresh momentum for WordCamps and meetups

It’s never been more crucial to champion openness on the web. Bringing focused attention to improved portability will untether users and increase their freedom like never before.

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Introducing Twenty Twenty-Four https://wordpress.org/news/2023/11/introducing-twenty-twenty-four/ Mon, 13 Nov 2023 18:29:08 +0000 https://wordpress.org/news/?p=16394 When it comes to designing a website, one size doesn’t fit all. We understand that every WordPress user has unique needs and goals, whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, a passionate photographer, a prolific writer, or a bit of them all. That’s why we are thrilled to introduce Twenty Twenty-Four, the most versatile default theme yet—bundled with WordPress 6.4 and ready to make it uniquely yours.

A theme for every style

Unlike past default themes, Twenty Twenty-Four breaks away from the tradition of focusing on a specific topic or style. Instead, this theme has been thoughtfully crafted to cater to any type of website, regardless of its focus. The theme explores three different use cases: one designed for entrepreneurs and small businesses, another for photographers and artists, and a third tailored for writers and bloggers. Thanks to its multi-faceted nature and adaptability, Twenty Twenty-Four emerges as the perfect fit for any of your projects.

As you dive into its templates and patterns, you will notice how the new Site Editor functionality opens up different pathways for building your site seamlessly.

Patterns at every step

Whether you’re looking to craft an About page, showcase your work, handle RSVPs, or design captivating landing pages, Twenty Twenty-Four has got you covered. Choose from an extensive collection of over 35 beautiful patterns to customize and suit your needs.

For the first time, this theme features full-page patterns for templates like homepage, archive, search, single pages, and posts. Some are exclusively available during the template-switching and creation process, ensuring you have the right options when you need them.

Moreover, you can take advantage of a variety of patterns for page sections, such as FAQs, testimonials, or pricing, to meet your site’s most specific requirements.

With this diverse pattern library, Twenty Twenty-Four offers a flexible canvas to quickly assemble pages without having to start from scratch—saving you time and energy in the creation process. Just let your creativity flow and explore the possibilities!

Screenshots of Twenty Twenty-Four patterns.

Site editing in its finest form

Twenty Twenty-Four ushers in a new era of block themes by bringing together the latest WordPress site editing capabilities. Discover newer design tools such as background image support in Group blocks and vertical text, providing an intuitive and efficient way to create compelling, interactive content.

Find image placeholders with predefined aspect ratio settings within patterns, allowing you to drop images that perfectly fill the space. To go one step further, make your visuals interactive by enabling lightboxes. Ideal for showcasing galleries or portfolio images, this feature allows your visitors to expand and engage with them in full-screen mode. Activate it globally for all images throughout your site or for specific ones.

For a smoother browsing experience on your site, you can disable the “Force page reload” setting in the Query Loop block. This allows the necessary content to be loaded dynamically when switching between different pages without needing a full-page refresh.

Elegance with purpose

Twenty Twenty-Four goes beyond versatility with a beautiful aesthetic inspired by contemporary design trends, giving your website a sleek and modern look. Key design elements include:

  • Cardo font for headlines: The Cardo font adds a touch of elegance to your site, creating a sophisticated visual experience.
  • Sans-serif system font for paragraphs: The sans-serif font ensures that your texts are cleaner and easier to read, enhancing overall readability.
  • Eight style variations: Twenty Twenty-Four presents a light color palette for a fresh and inviting appearance out-of-the-box, but you can customize it with seven additional style variations. Each includes fonts and colors carefully curated to work beautifully alongside the patterns and templates.
  • Sans-serif variations: Besides the default styles, the theme offers two additional sans-serif variations, providing more choices for your site’s typography.

Along with its design, Twenty Twenty-Four has been meticulously optimized for performance. This ensures that your website not only looks great but also delivers a fast and efficient user experience.

More information can be found in the following links:

The Twenty Twenty-Four theme was designed by Beatriz Fialho and made possible thanks to the passion and tireless work of more than 120 contributors.

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WordPress 6.4.1 Maintenance Release https://wordpress.org/news/2023/11/wordpress-6-4-1-maintenance-release/ Thu, 09 Nov 2023 01:45:01 +0000 https://wordpress.org/news/?p=16332 WordPress 6.4.1 is now available!

This minor release features four bug fixes. You can review a summary of the maintenance updates in this release by reading the Release Candidate announcement or view the list of tickets on Trac.

WordPress 6.4.1 is a short-cycle release. If you have sites that support automatic background updates, the update process will begin automatically. If your site does not update automatically, you can also update from your Dashboard.

You can download WordPress 6.4.1 from WordPress.org, or visit your WordPress Dashboard, click “Updates”, and then click “Update Now”.

For more information on this release, please visit the HelpHub site.

Thank you to these WordPress contributors

This release was led by Aaron Jorbin and Tonya Mork. Thank you to everyone who tested the RC and 6.4.1, and raised reports.

WordPress 6.4.1 would not have been possible without the contributions of the following people. Their quick and concerted coordination to deliver maintenance fixes into a stable release is a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress community.

@afragen @clorith @desrosj @pbiron @schlessera @azaozz @davidbaumwald @tomsommer @nexflaszlo @howdy_mcgee @baxbridge @earnjam @timothyblynjacobs @johnbillion @flixos90 @joedolson @jeffpaul @zunaid321 @courane01 @audrasjb @tacoverdo @ironprogrammer @webcommsat @otto42 @barry @chanthaboune @rajinsharwar @aaroncampbell @peterwilsoncc @anandau14 @iandunn @matthewjho @coffee2code @boogah @jason_the_adams @joemcgill @johnjamesjacoby @jrf @renehermi @dlh @mukesh27 @sumitbagthariya16 @starbuck @sergeybiryukov @ravipatel

How to contribute

To get involved in WordPress core development, head over to Trac, pick a ticket, and join the conversation in the #core channel. Need help? Check out the Core Contributor Handbook.

Thanks to @jeffpaul and @webcommsat for proofreading.

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WordPress 6.4 “Shirley” https://wordpress.org/news/2023/11/shirley/ Tue, 07 Nov 2023 19:59:02 +0000 https://wordpress.org/news/?p=16299 Record cover with an image of Shirley Horn, a record sliding down the right side, and the words Shirley WordPress 6.4.

Say hello to WordPress 6.4 “Shirley,” named after the iconic jazz artist Shirley Horn. Her distinctive voice and extraordinary connection to the piano established her as one of the leading jazz musicians of her generation. Horn’s journey from the Washington D.C. jazz scene to the international stage is a testament to her dedication and perseverance. Her influence reached far beyond the confines of traditional jazz, breaking boundaries and inspiring audiences worldwide.

Enjoy the easy pace of Shirley Horn’s music as you take in all that 6.4 offers.

This latest version of WordPress introduces a new, versatile default theme and a suite of upgrades to empower every step of your creative journey. Craft your content seamlessly with further writing improvements. Explore more ways to bring your vision to life and streamline site editing with enhanced tools. Whether you’re new to WordPress or an experienced creator, “Shirley” has something for you. Discover the unmatched flexibility of building with blocks and let your ideas take flight.

Many of the features and enhancements in WordPress 6.4 fall in the “small but mighty” category. Along with the adaptable beauty of the Twenty Twenty-Four theme, these updates help content creators and site developers alike save time and effort while delivering the high value, low hassle WordPress experience the world has grown to expect.

Josepha Haden Chomphosy, Executive Director of WordPress

What’s inside 6.4

Meet Twenty Twenty-Four

Experience site editing at its finest with Twenty Twenty-Four. This new multi-faceted default theme has been thoughtfully crafted with three distinct use cases in mind, from writers and artists to entrepreneurs. Save time and effort with its extensive collection of over 35 templates and patterns—and unlock a world of creative possibilities with a few tweaks. Twenty Twenty-Four’s remarkable flexibility ensures an ideal fit for almost any type of site. Check it out in this demo.

Cropped screenshots of the Twenty Twenty-Four theme, showing its diverse use cases for photographers, bloggers, and small businesses.

Let your writing flow

New enhancements ensure your content creation journey is smooth. Find new keyboard shortcuts in List View, smarter list merging, and enhanced control over link settings. A cohesive toolbar experience for the Navigation, List, and Quote blocks lets you work efficiently with the tooling options you need.

Screenshot of a Quote block showing its improved toolbar and the text "Études has saved us thousands of hours of work and has unlock insights we never thought possible."

The Command Palette just got better

First introduced in WordPress 6.3, the Command Palette is a powerful tool to quickly find what you need, perform tasks efficiently, and speed up your building workflow. Enjoy a refreshed design and new commands to perform block-specific actions in this release.

Screenshot of the refreshed UI of the Command Palette. It displays a search bar with the words "Search for commands" and a variety of shortcuts listed below, including "Add new page," "Preview in a new tab," and "Patterns."

Categorize and filter patterns

Patterns are an excellent way to leverage the potential of blocks and simplify your site-building process. WordPress 6.4 allows you to organize them with custom categories. Plus, new advanced filtering in the Patterns section of the inserter makes finding all your patterns more intuitive.

Screenshot of the Site Editor's patterns view which shows a list of patterns with custom categories, such as "About," "Banners," and "Call to Action," patterns.

Get creative with more design tools

Build beautiful and functional layouts with an expanded set of design tools. Play with background images in Group blocks for unique designs and maintain image dimensions consistent with placeholder aspect ratios. Do you want to add buttons to your Navigation block? Now you can do it conveniently without a line of code.

Decorative image with text "Background images in Group blocks."

Make your images stand out

Enable lightbox functionality to let your site visitors enjoy full-screen, interactive images on click. Apply it globally or to specific images to customize the viewing experience.

Decorative photo of a triangular building structure with a "click to expand" icon on the right top corner.

Rename Group blocks

Set custom names for Group blocks to organize and distinguish areas of your content easily. These names will be visible in List View.

Screenshot of the List View tool. It shows a Group block renamed as "Hero Area" with inner Group blocks also with custom names, such as "Content," "Images," and "Call to action."

Preview images in List View

New previews for Gallery and Image blocks in List View let you visualize and locate where images on your content are at a glance.

Screenshot of the List View tool, showing the new image previews for the Image and Gallery blocks.

Share patterns across sites

Need to use your custom patterns on another site? Import and export them as JSON files from the Site Editor’s patterns view.

Screenshot showing the "Import pattern from JSON files" option from the Site Editor's patterns view.

Introducing Block Hooks

Block Hooks enables developers to automatically insert dynamic blocks at specific content locations, enriching the extensibility of block themes through plugins. While considered a developer tool, this feature is geared to respect your preferences and gives you complete control to add, dismiss, and customize auto-inserted blocks to your needs.

Cropped screenshot showing a mini shopping cart (in a red dotted circle) inserted into a navigation menu by Block Hooks.

Performance wins

This release includes more than 100 performance-related updates for a faster and more efficient experience. Notable enhancements focus on template loading performance for themes (including Twenty Twenty-Four), usage of the script loading strategies “defer” and “async” in core, blocks, and themes, and optimization of autoloaded options.

Accessibility highlights

Every release is committed to making WordPress accessible to everyone. WordPress 6.4 brings several List View improvements and aria-label support for the Navigation block, among other highlights. The admin user interface includes enhancements to button placements, “Add New” menu items context, and Site Health spoken messages. Learn more about all the updates aimed at improving accessibility.

Other notes of interest

Learn more about WordPress 6.4

Check out the new WordPress 6.4 page to learn more about the numerous enhancements and features of this release.

Explore Learn WordPress for quick how-to videos, online workshops, and other free resources to level up your WordPress knowledge and skills.

If you are looking for detailed technical notes on new changes, the WordPress 6.4 Field Guide is for you. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Developer Blog to stay on top of the latest development updates, tutorials, and more.

For more information on installation, fixes, and file changes, visit the 6.4 release notes.

The 6.4 release squad

​​The WordPress 6.4 release comes to you from an underrepresented gender release squad to welcome and empower diverse voices in the WordPress open source project.

Being part of the 6.4 release coordination team has allowed me to closely observe the intricate release process, where every detail, no matter how minor, is meticulously addressed—taking into account various factors like performance and backward compatibility. There’s still much to learn, but I feel fortunate to have had the chance to contribute to WordPress 6.4.

Akshaya Rane, 6.4 release coordinator team member

Over several weeks, the 6.4 release squad kept the release on track and moving forward by leading collective work, connecting ideas, and removing roadblocks.

Thank you, contributors

WordPress believes in democratizing publishing and the freedoms that come with open source. Supporting this idea is a global and diverse community of people working together to strengthen the software.

WordPress 6.4 reflects the countless efforts and passion of more than 600 contributors in at least 56 countries. This release also welcomed over 170 first-time contributors!

Their collaboration delivered more than 1150 enhancements and fixes, ensuring a stable release for all—a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress open source community.

6adminit · Aaron D. Campbell · Aaron Jorbin · Aaron Robertshaw · aayusha · Abha Thakor · Abid Omar · Adam Silverstein · Adhun Anand · admcfajn · adrianduffell · aegkr · ahardyjpl · Ahmed Hussein · Ahmed Kabir Chaion · ajakaroth · Aki Hamano · Akihiro Harai · Akira Tachibana · Akshaya Rane · Al-Amin Firdows · Alain Schlesser · Albert Juhé Lluveras · Alex Concha · Alex King · Alex Lende · Alex Stine · Alexandre Buffet · Alisha Bajracharya · Allison Tarr · Alvi Tazwar · amedv · Ana Cirujano · Anand Upadhyay · Anders Norén · André · Andrea Fercia · Andrei Draganescu · Andrew Hayward · Andrew Hutchings · Andrew Nacin · Andrew Ozz · Andrew Serong · Andrew Wilder · Andy Fragen · Andy Peatling · Angela Jin · Anh Tran · Ankit Gade · Ankit K Gupta · Ankit Panchal · Anna · Anne McCarthy · Anne-Mieke Bovelett · anphira · Anthony Burchell · Anton Plauche · Anton Timmermans · Anton Vlasenko · Anveshika Srivastava · archon810 · arena · Ari Stathopoulos · Arnab Mondal · Artemio Morales · Arthur Chu · asafm7 · askdesign · Aslam Doctor · Aurooba Ahmed · Austin Ginder · Ayesh Karunaratne · azharckra · Balu B · bangank36 · barbmiller · Barry · Bart Kalisz · Basilis Kanonidis · Beatriz Fialho · behoney · ben · Ben Dwyer · Ben Greeley · Ben Hansen · Benjamin Intal · Benjamin Zekavica · benjaminknox · Benoit Chantre · Bernhard Reiter · bernhard-reiter · Bhrugesh Bavishi · Bijay Yadav · Bimal Shrestha · Binsaifullah · Biplav · Birendra Dhami · Birgit Olzem · Birgit Pauli-Haack · Block Themes Pro · bobbingwide · bonger · bookwyrm · Boone Gorges · Boro Sitnikovski · Brad Jorsch · Bradley Jacobs · Brandon Kraft · Brandon Vreeman · Brian Alexander · Brian Gardner · Brian Haas · Brooke · Brooke. · Bud Kraus · Caleb Burks · Calvin Alkan · Carlo Cannas · Carlos Bravo · Carlos G. P. · Carolina Nymark · Cathi Bosco · ceer · cenkdemir · Chad Chadbourne · chased@si.edu · Chintan hingrajiya · Chip Bennett · Chloé Bringmann · Chris Runnells · chriscct7 · chrisdesrochers · codersantosh · Colin Stewart · Corey Worrell · Courtney Patubo Kranzke · Courtney Robertson · Crisoforo Gaspar · crstauf · Csaba (LittleBigThings) · Cupid Chakma · cybeardjm · Cyberchicken · Daisuke Takahashi · Dajeema Rai · Damon Cook · Damon Sharp · Dan Tovbein · Daniel Bachhuber · Daniel Käfer · Daniel Richards · danieldudzic · Daniele Scasciafratte · Danielle Zarcaro · danieltj · darerodz · Darin Kotter · darkfate · Darren Ethier (nerrad) · Darshit Rajyaguru · Dave Loodts · Dave Ryan · dave03 · David Baumwald · David Biňovec · David Calhoun · David E. Smith · David Favor · David Herrera · David Smith · Dawid Urbanski · daxelrod · De Belser Arne · Dean Sas · Dee Teal · Deepak Vijayan · Denis Žoljom · Dennis Snell · Derek Blank · Derrick Tennant · Devan Ferguson · Dharmesh Patel · Dhrumil Kumbhani · Dhruvi Shah · Diane Co · Dilip Bheda · Dimitris Mitsis · Dion Hulse · DJ · dj.cowan · Dominik Schilling · doughamlin · Drew Jaynes · Earle Davies · Ebonie Butler · Edi Amin · Edward Caissie · Ehtisham Siddiqui · Ella van Durpe · Ellen Bauer · emailjoey · Emerson Maningo · Emily Clarke · Emily Leffler Schulman · emirpprime · enodekciw · Enrico Battocchi · Erik · Esrat Sultana Popy · Estela Rueda · Fabian Kägy · Fabian Todt · Fabio Rubioglio · Faisal Alvi · Felipe Elia · Felix Arntz · Femy Praseeth · Filippo D'Angelo · floydwilde · Foliovision: Making the web work for you · Francesca Marano · Frank Laszlo · Fredde Battel · fzhantw · Gabriel Koen · Ganesh Dahal · Garrett Hyder · Gary Cao · Gary Pendergast · Gennady Kovshenin · George Hotelling · George Mamadashvili · Gerardo Pacheco · Gio Lodi · Glen Davies · Gnanasekaran Loganathan · Gopal Krishnan · gpotter · Grant M. Kinney · Greg Ross · Greg Ziółkowski · gregfuller · Guss77 · Gustavo Bordoni · Héctor Prieto · H.M. Mushfiqur Rahman · hanneslsm · Hanzala Taifun · Hareesh S · Harsh Gajipara · Hasanuzzaman Shamim · Haz · Helen Hou-Sandi · Hemant Tejwani · Hit Bhalodia · hlunter · Howdy_McGee · Huzaifa Al Mesbah · Ian Dunn · Incursa Designs · Isabel Brison · itecrs · Ivan Zhuck · jaimieolmstead · Jakaria Istauk · Jake Goldman · Jake Spurlock · James Hunt · James Janco · James Koster · James Roberts · james0r · Jamie McHale · Jamie Perrelet · Jamie VanRaalte · jane · Jarda Snajdr · Jari Vuorenmaa · Jarko Piironen · Jason Adams · Jason Cosper · Jason Crist · jastos · Jean-Baptiste Audras · Jeff Bowen · Jeff Chi · Jeff Everhart · Jeff Ong · jeffikus · Jeffrey Paul · jeflopo · Jeremy Felt · Jeremy Herve · Jeremy Yip · jeryj · Jesin A · Jessica Duarte · Jessica Goddard · Jessica Lyschik · Jick · Jip Moors · jivygraphics · Joe Dolson · Joe Hoyle · Joe McGill · Joen A. · John Blackbourn · John Hooks · John James Jacoby · John Regan · Jon Brown · Jon Cave · Jonathan Desrosiers · Jonny Harris · Jono Alderson · Joona · Joost de Valk · joppuyo · JordanPak · jordesign · Jorge Costa · Joseph G. · Josepha Haden · joshcanhelp · joshuatf · JR Tashjian · Juan Aldasoro · JuanMa Garrido · Juliette Reinders Folmer · Justin Tadlock · Jyolsna J E · K M Ashikur Rahman · K. Adam White · KafleG · Kai Hao · Kalmang · Kalpesh · Kamrul Hasan · Karlijn Bok · Karol Manijak · Karthik Thayyil · Katie Ayres · kawsaralameven · Keanan Koppenhaver · Kelly Choyce-Dwan · Kevin Fodness · Kevin Miller · Kevin Taron · Kharis Sulistiyono · khleomix · Khokan Sardar · Kim Coleman · Kira Song · Kishan Jasani · kkmuffme · Koji Kuno · Konstantin Kovshenin · Konstantin Obenland · Kopila Shrestha · Krupal Panchal · Kylen Downs · Labun Chemjong · Lance Willett · LarryWEB · lastsplash (a11n) · lau@mindproducts.com.au · launchinteractive · Laura Adamonis · Laura Byrne · laurelfulford · Lauren · Lax Mariappan · Laxmikant Bhumkar · Lee Willis · Lena Morita · Liam Gladdy · Linkon Miyan · Linnea Huxford · Lloyd Budd · Lovekesh Kumar · Luigi · Luis Felipe Zaguini · Luis Herranz · Luke Cavanagh · lunaluna · lyndauwp · Márcio Duarte · maciejmackowiak · madejackson · Madhu Dollu · Madhu Dollu · Maggie Cabrera · Mahbub Hasan Imon · Mahrokh · Mai · Maja Benke · maltfield · Manesh Timilsina · manfcarlo · Manzoor Wani (a11n) · marcelle42 · Marcelo de Moraes Serpa · Marco Ciampini · Marco Pereirinha · Marcoevich · margolisj · Marin Atanasov · Mario Santos · Marius L. J. · Mark Jaquith · Marko Ivanovic · Marta Torre · Martijn van der Klis · martin.krcho · Mary Baum · mathsgrinds · Matias Benedetto · Matias Ventura · Matt Keys · Matt Watson · Matthaus Klute · Matthew Eppelsheimer · Matthew Farlymn · Matthew Haines-Young · matthewjho · maurodf · Maxwell Morgan · maysi · Md HR Shahin · meagan hanes · Mehedi Hassan · Meher Bala · Mel Choyce-Dwan · mer00x · merel1988 · meta4 · Michael Arestad · Michael Burridge · Michael Showes · Michal Czaplinski · Michalooki · Michelle Blanchette · Michelle Frechette · Michi91 · Miguel Fonseca · Mikael Korpela · Mike Jolley (a11n) · Mike McAlister · Mike Schinkel · Mike Straw · Mikin Chauhan · Milen Petrinski - Gonzo · mimi · mitchellaustin · Monir · Mrinal Haque · mrwweb · Muhammad Arslan · Muhibul Haque · mujuonly · Mukesh Panchal · Mumtahina Faguni · Mushrit Shabnam · Myles Taylor · Nalini Thakor · nandhuraj · Nazgul · Nazmul Sabuz · Neil Hainsworth · nendeb · Nick Diego · Nicolas Juen · Nicole Furlan · nicomollet · nidhidhandhukiya · Niels Lange · Nihar Ranjan Das · Nik Tsekouras · Nilambar Sharma · Nilo Vélez · Nirav Sherasiya · Nitesh Das · Nithin John · Nithin SreeRaj · Noah Allen · Nyasha · ockham · Ohia · okat · Olga Gleckler · Oliver Campion · OllieJones · Paal Joachim Romdahl · pannelars · partyfrikadelle · Pascal Birchler · Paul Biron · Paul Kevan · pavelevap · Pedro Mendonça · pentatonicfunk · Pete Nelson · Peter Wilson · petitphp · Petros P · Petter Walbø Johnsgård · Phill · Pieterjan Deneys · piyushdeshmukh · Plugin Devs · Pooja Bhimani · Pooja Derashri · Pooja N Muchandikar · pranavjoshi · Prashant · Presskopp · r-c · Rajin Sharwar · Ramon Ahnert · Ramon Corrales · Ramon James · rawrly · rebasaurus · Rebekah Markowitz · Remy Perona · ren · Renatho (a11n) · Rene Hermenau · Reyes Martínez · Riad Benguella · Rian Rietveld · Rich Tabor · Robert Anderson · Robert O'Rourke · robinwpdeveloper · robpetrin · Rolf Allard van Hagen · Ryan Duff · Ryan McCue · Ryan Neudorf · Ryan Welcher · Sérgio Gomes · Sören Wünsch · Sagar Tamang · Sajjad Hossain Sagor · Sakib Mohammed · Sal Ferrarello · samba45 · Samir Karmacharya · Sampat Viral · Samuel Wood (Otto) · Sarah Norris · Sarah Williams · Sarath AR · Satish Prajapati · saulirajala · saxonfletcher · Scott Kingsley Clark · Scott Reilly · Scott Taylor · Scout James · scribu · Sergey Biryukov · Sergio Scabuzzo · Seth Rubenstein · Shail Mehta · shawfactor · Shawn Hooper · shilo-ey · Shiva Shanker Bhatta · shresthaaman · Shubham Sedani · Simon Dowdles · Siobhan · Siobhan Bamber · Smit Rathod · sofiashendi · Sonia Gaballa · SourceView · Spenser Hale · Stephanie Walters · Stephen Bernhardt · Stephen Edgar · Steve Erdelyi · Steve Jones · Subodh Sunuwar · Subrata Sarkar · Suji K Chandran · Sumi Subedi · Sumit Bagthariya · Sumit Singh · Sunita Rai · suprsam · syamraj24 · Sybre Waaijer · Synchro · Sé Reed · Taco Verdonschot · Tahmid ul Karim · Tahmina Jahan · Takayuki Miyoshi · Tammie Lister · Tanvirul Haque · Teddy Patriarca · tejadev · thinkluke · Thomas Patrick Levy · tibbsa · Tiffany Bridge · Tim Nolte · timdix · Timothy Jacobs · tmatsuur · TobiasBg · tobifjellner (Tor-Bjorn Fjellner) · Tom · Tom Cafferkey · Tom H · Tom J Nowell · tomluckies · Tomoki Shimomura · tomsommer · Tony G · Tonya Mork · Toro_Unit (Hiroshi Urabe) · Torsten Landsiedel · toscho · Trinisha · Trisha Salas · tristanleboss · TV productions · Ugyen Dorji · Ulrich · Umesh Balayar · upadalavipul · Utsav tilava · valentindu62 · Valerie Blackburn · Vicente Canales · Vijayan · Viktor Szépe · Vipul Ghori · vivekawsm · vortfu · Vraja Das · webashrafians · WebMan Design | Oliver Juhas · Weston Ruter · WHSajid · Will Skora · William Earnhardt · Willington Vega · Winstina · winterstreet · WraithKenny · wyrfel · Yoseph Tamang · Yui · zieladam · Zunaid Amin · Česlav Przywara · Илья · وردپرس ایرانی

Over 60 locales have translated 90 percent or more of WordPress 6.4 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.

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 is not limited to coding. If contributing appeals to you, 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.

Looking ahead

Over the past two decades, WordPress has transformed the digital publishing landscape and empowered anyone to create and share, from handcrafted personal stories to world-changing movements.

The present and future of WordPress hold exciting opportunities for everyone, builders and enterprises alike. The foundational work for Phase 3 of the roadmap continues, with efforts focused on fostering real-time collaboration and streamlining publishing flows to improve how creators and teams work together in WordPress.

Stay on top of the latest news and contributing opportunities by subscribing to WordPress News and the WP Briefing podcast.

A release haiku

The smooth feel of jazz
The cutting-edge of the web
Install 6.4

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WordPress 6.4’s PHP Compatibility https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/wordpress-6-4s-php-compatibility/ Thu, 26 Oct 2023 08:40:26 +0000 https://wordpress.org/news/?p=16235

In an effort to keep the WordPress community up to date, this post provides an update on the PHP compatibility of the upcoming WordPress 6.4 release scheduled for November 7, 2023. 

Recommended PHP version for WordPress 6.4

It’s recommended to use PHP 8.1 or 8.2 with this upcoming release. Please refer to the Hosting page for more detailed information, including a few known issues

Reach out to your hosting company to explore PHP upgrade options.

Why does compatibility matter?

PHP is a programming language on which the WordPress code is based. This language runs on the server, and it is critical to keep it updated for security and functionality. Various teams within the WordPress open source project work to both test and fix any issues with new PHP versions so you can update with confidence that the WordPress core software is compatible. 

Happy WordPress-ing! 

Thank you to @annezazu @barry @ironprogrammer @hellofromtonya @chanthaboune @costdev @javiercasares for reviewing and contributing to the effort of this post.

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Help Influence the Future of WordPress by Taking the 2023 Annual Survey Today https://wordpress.org/news/2023/09/help-influence-the-future-of-wordpress-by-taking-the-2023-annual-survey-today/ Wed, 27 Sep 2023 10:52:18 +0000 https://wordpress.org/news/?p=15982 Each year, the WordPress community (users, site builders, extenders, and contributors) provides valuable feedback through an annual survey. The results can influence the direction of the WordPress project by identifying areas that need attention. Annual surveying can also help track trends over time, with data points often finding their way into the yearly State of the Word address.

This survey helps those who build WordPress understand more about how the software is used and by whom. The survey also allows WordPress open source project leaders to learn more about our contributors’ experiences.  

To ensure your WordPress experience gets represented in the 2023 survey results, take the survey now (link).

You may also take the survey in other languages by using the link above and switching to another language, thanks to the efforts of WordPress polyglot contributors. 

The survey will be open for five weeks. Results will be published on the News blog in early December.

This year, like last year, the survey has undergone some improvements to the flow and question set. A new platform is also being piloted, offering an updated interface, enhanced multi-lingual support, expanded analysis and visualization tools for the results, and more. The new platform also has built-in accessibility and privacy controls, ensuring the survey meets the diverse needs of the WordPress community.

Spread the word

Please help spread the word about the survey by sharing it with your network, through Slack, or within your social media accounts. The more people who complete the survey and share their experience with WordPress, the more the project will benefit.

Security and privacy

Data security and privacy are paramount to the WordPress project and community. With this in mind, all data will be anonymized: no email addresses or IP addresses will be associated with published results. To learn more about WordPress.org’s privacy practices, view the privacy policy.

Thank you

Thank you to the following WordPress contributors for assisting with the annual survey project, including question creation, strategy, survey build-out, and translation:

adamsilverstein, audrasjb, alvarogóis, atachibana, bjmcsherry, chanthaboune, dansoschin, eidolonnight, fierevere, fxbénard, hassantafreshi, juliagasparyan, kittmedia, manudavidos, nao, nilovelez, rmartinezduque, and tobifjellner.

Thanks to Hostinger, Jetpack, and WordPress.com, for assisting with promoting the survey to their respective clients.

The survey closes on .

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The Future of WordPress & What’s Next for Gutenberg https://wordpress.org/news/2023/08/the-future-of-wordpress-whats-next-for-gutenberg/ Sun, 27 Aug 2023 04:50:28 +0000 https://wordpress.org/news/?p=15879 Nearly 2,000 attendees gathered for two days of keynotes, sessions, and community-building conversations at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in the largest attended WordCamp US ever. Saturday’s sessions concluded with back-to-back keynotes by WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg and Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy

What’s Next for WordPress

Josepha launched her keynote by celebrating 20 years of WordPress and reflecting on its journey from a blogging tool to the world’s most popular community-driven web platform. On WordPress as a platform for empowerment and change, Josepha shared, “The more people that know about WordPress, the more people can access the incredible opportunities that WordPress can provide.” And that sustaining the platform for future generations ensures these opportunities will persist. She added, “We exist for as long as people want to use our software.”

The community is the key to sustaining WordPress, and Josepha touched on the importance of WordCamps, workshops, and events that create value, promote inclusivity,  and spark inspiration. WordPress can be a catalyst for positive change in the life of a contributor, end user, or site builder.

Concluding her keynote, Josepha asked the audience to think about the story they’d want to tell about themselves and their time in WordPress; and the story they would want WordPress to tell the world.

What’s Next for Gutenberg

Matt began his keynote with a touch of nostalgia, referring to a comment on his personal blog in 2003 by WordPress Co-founder Mike Little, and then looked ahead to the most recent release, WordPress 6.3. As this year’s largest release, it includes new features such as the Command Palette, a quick way (⌘+k on Mac or Ctrl+k on Windows) to search your site and access common commands.

WordPress 6.3 Lionel

Matt continued, “WordPress never rests, so right around the corner is WordPress 6.4 on Nov 7… with some cool new features.” He shared that 6.4, like 5.6, will be an underrepresented gender-led release. A new default theme, Twenty Twenty-Four, is tailored for entrepreneurs and small businesses, photographers and artists, and writers and bloggers. Additionally, 6.4 will feature integrated font management and Image block options to expand single images for optimal viewing.

Looking further into the future, Matt highlighted Phase 3 of the Gutenberg project, which will focus on workflows and collaboration, “moving WordPress from a single-player to a multi-player tool.” In that spirit of collaboration, a new #LMS working group will also bring WordPress learning management systems together to improve the web standards for courses and learning content.

Beyond Phase 3, Matt shared thoughts about what it means to support WordPress many years from now. A new 100-Year Plan from WordPress.com is an exploration into long-term planning for your online presence. He encouraged attendees to be inspired by the region’s history, reflecting on what it would mean to honor the past while anticipating and planning for the future. 

Q&A

A Q&A session followed the keynotes, with questions submitted by the in-person audience and live stream viewers.

Additional questions will be answered in a future post on make.WordPress.org/project/. Join the global community making WordPress and be part of our journey toward a brighter future!

Thank you to @angelasjin, @bmcsherry, @cbringmann, @dansoschin, and @eidolonnight for collaborating on this post.

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