WordPress 5.6 Release Candidate
November 17th, 2020
The first release candidate for WordPress 5.6 is now available! This is an important milestone in the community’s progress toward the final release of WordPress 5.6. “Release Candidate” means that the new version is ready for release, but with millions of users and thousands of plugins and themes, it’s possible something was missed. WordPress 5.6…
WordPress 5.6 Beta 4
November 12th, 2020
WordPress 5.6 Beta 4 is now available for testing! This software is still in development, so we recommend that you run this version on a test site. You can test the WordPress 5.6 beta in two ways: Try the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (choose the “bleeding edge nightlies” option). Or download the beta here (zip). The current target for the…
My WordPress Comments Wishlist
November 11th, 2020
A built-in commenting system is one of the reasons people reach for WordPress (and often stay there long-term). While I do think having a comment system is compelling (and as big of a fan of building on WordPress as I am), I find the comments system on WordPress quite crusty. It needs some love! There…
Getting the WordPress Block Editor to Look Like the Front End Design
November 4th, 2020
I’m a WordPress user and, if you’re anything like me, you always have two tabs open when you edit a post: one with the new fancy pants block editor, aka Gutenberg, and another with a preview of the post so you know it won’t look wonky on the front end. It’s no surprise that a…
WordPress 5.6 Beta 3
November 2nd, 2020
WordPress 5.6 Beta 3 is now available for testing! This software is still in development, so we recommend that you run this version on a test site. You can test the WordPress 5.6 beta in two ways: Try the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (choose the “bleeding edge nightlies” option). Or download the beta here (zip). The current target for the…
The Month in WordPress: October 2020
November 2nd, 2020
October 2020 was a notable month for WordPress lovers, thanks to the release of several products and updates. Read on to keep up with all the latest news! The 2020 WordPress Annual Survey is out The team published the 2020 WordPress Annual survey — to help those who build WordPress to understand more about our…
WordPress 5.5.3 Maintenance Release
October 30th, 2020
WordPress 5.5.3 is now available. This maintenance release fixes an issue introduced in WordPress 5.5.2 which makes it impossible to install WordPress on a brand new website that does not have a database connection configured. This release does not affect sites where a database connection is already configured, for example, via one-click installers or an…
Take the 2020 WordPress Annual Survey (and view the 2019 results)!
October 27th, 2020
For many years, WordPress enthusiasts have filled out an annual survey to share their experiences and feelings about WordPress. Interesting results from this survey have been shared in the annual State of the Word address and/or here on WordPress News. This survey helps those who build WordPress understand more about how the software is used,…
WordPress 5.6 Beta 2
October 27th, 2020
WordPress 5.6 Beta 2 is now available for testing! This software is still in development, so we recommend that you run this version on a test site. You can test the WordPress 5.6 beta in two ways: Try the WordPress Beta Tester plugin (choose the “bleeding edge nightlies” option). Or download the beta here (zip). WordPress 5.6 is slated for…
WordPress and Jamstack
October 26th, 2020
I recently moderated a panel at Netlify’s virtual Jamstack Conf that included Netlify CEO Matt Biilman and Automattic founder Matt Mullenweg. The whole thing was built up — at least to some — as a “Jamstack vs. WordPress” showdown. I have lots of thoughts of my own on this and think I’m more useful as…