The WordPress Foundation is proud to launch WordPress Credits, a contribution-focused internship program that brings university students into the heart of the WordPress open source project. While WordPress thrives on contributions from a global volunteer community, many students and newcomers face barriers to entry, such as a lack of structured guidance or real-world experience in open source projects. […]
New Proposal Aims to Bring Phased Updates to WordPress.org Plugins
A new proposal to introduce phased plugin rollouts to the WordPress.org plugin directory has sparked active technical discussion on Trac. The feature, proposed by WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg, would allow plugin authors to gradually release updates to a subset of users before rolling them out to everyone, mirroring practices used in Apple’s App Store and Google Play. “This […]
Matt Mullenweg says WP Engine fight came after “a lot of community feedback”
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg says the decision to take action against WP Engine last September was based on “a lot of community feedback,” pushing back against the idea that it was a “Matt decision,” in a new episode of The Verge’s Decoder podcast. Automattic and WP Engine have been locked in a tense legal battle since last October […]
Performance Chat Summary: 1 July 2025
The full chat log is available beginning here on Slack. WordPress Performance Trac tickets @westonruter mentioned that the PR adding fetchpriority support for scripts (PR #8815) needs additional reviews if it is to land in the next minor release. But if WordPress 6.9 really is coming later this year then, the feature may be better suited as a […]
WordCamp Asia 2026 Handover Sparks Tensions Between Organizers and WordCamp Central
WordCamp Asia is set to return in 2026 — but not without behind-the-scenes tension. Organizers of the 2025 event say they were sidelined in choosing the next host city, shut out before a proper handover was complete, and “flushed out.” WordCamp Central, meanwhile, says it stepped in to keep the flagship event from losing momentum after the 2025 […]
Automattic Marks 20 Years, Looks Ahead to AI Era and Next 20 Years
Automattic is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month, marking two decades since Matt Mullenweg hired Donncha Ó Caoimh to help build WordPress.com. What began as a small, remote-first team has grown into a global company of nearly 1,500 people across 82 countries, powering platforms including WooCommerce, Tumblr, Jetpack, and Beeper. In a pair of blog posts last week, […]
Patricia Brun Torre Shares Grievances of 100+ Contributors with WordPress Leadership
At WordCamp Europe 2025, contributor Patricia Brun Torre presented WordPress Executive Director Mary Hubbard with a document capturing the concerns of more than 100 contributors. It outlines fear of retaliation, contributor burnout, and a growing sense of lost trust, and calls for change in how leadership and decision-making work across the WordPress project. “It’s not about blaming anyone,” […]
Can WordPress Finally Fix Five for the Future? Contributors See Rare Chance for Reform
After years of stalled conversations, a packed roundtable at WordCamp Europe 2025 has sparked fresh momentum to reform Five for the Future (5ftF), the initiative encouraging individuals and companies to give back 5% of their resources to the WordPress project. With WordPress Executive Director Mary Hubbard publicly supporting a reset and contributors rallying around clear proposals, many feel […]
WordCamp US Faces Scrutiny Over Automattic’s Role as Ticket Sales Lag
A post from the official WordCamp US X account on Wednesday stirred confusion about Automattic’s involvement in this year’s flagship WordPress event — and reignited long-standing questions about how much control the company has over the conference’s programming. “It is an Automattic event. Currently the programming team is curating all the programming and everything will be finalized through […]
Dropping security updates for WordPress versions 4.1 through 4.6
As of July 2025, the WordPress Security Team will no longer provide security updates for WordPress versions 4.1 through 4.6. These versions were first released nine or more years ago and over 99% of WordPress installations run a more recent version. The chances this will affect your site, or sites, is very small. If you are unsure if […]
