In today’s episode it’s time to take a look into the world of ethical hosting and the ever-evolving challenges of internet infrastructure. Joining co-hosts Dave Lockie and Robert Jacobi is David Snead, director of the Secure Hosting Alliance (SHA) and a longstanding advocate for better standards in web hosting. In this conversation, they explores what
As we announced and TechCrunch covered, my.wordpress.net has soft-launched.
What this means is you need to fundamentally shift how you think about WordPress.
From the beginning, WordPress has always been open source, giving you freedom, liberty, autonomy, and digital sovereignty. Open source is the most powerful idea of our generation.
For the past few decades, WordPress was software you got from a cloud provider or web host, such as WordPress.com, Bluehost, Hostinger, or Pressable (the currently recommended WordPress hosts). You could self-host it on a Raspberry Pi or home server, but few people did.
The experience of downloading WordPress, as my Mom did, is that it unzips a bunch of PHP and various code files onto your desktop. Very confusing!
But now, thanks to incredible advances in WebAssembly (WASM), we can spin up a web server, a database (SQLite or MariaDB), and a full WordPress installation inside your browser in about 30 seconds. Instantly. No server needed. I introduced Playground at State of the Word in 2022.
You can even use it to cross-publish apps to the web, desktop, and iOS, like Blocknotes did in 2023. You can get the latest Blocknotes at Blocknotes.org. One codebase, multiple platforms.
These WordPress Playground containers are fully composable and atomic. You can track and roll back any change. Undo for everything. Stop thinking of WordPress as just on a web host and worrying about maintenance and management, and more as a self-contained unit of open source goodness, a fun little package where you own and control the code and data and can run it however you like.
How perfect is that for AI to work with? Playground makes WordPress local, fast, and trivial to spin up multiple instances, test code changes, and save them.
Next up, we’re going to add peer-to-peer sync, version control integration, and cloud publishing so other people can access it.
I believe this will take us from millions of WordPresses in the world to billions. Hosting isn’t going away; in fact, I think demand for cloud syncing will increase drastically as we radically open up what people can build on top of WordPress.
In an AI age where it’s trivial to spin up software from scratch, consumers will have to give much more thought to brands they trust to be in it for the long term. We’ve been relentlessly iterating on WordPress since 2003. I plan to work on it the rest of my life, and there’s a broad community of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people who make their living on top of WordPress.
On WordPress.com we offer 100-year plans and 100-year domains, and I believe we’re one of the few companies where that’s credible. It’s led by Zander Rose, who ran the Long Now Foundation (one of my favorite non-profits) from 1997 to 2023, a quarter century.
In core WordPress, we are obsessed with backwards compatibility. You can run plugins and themes written 20 years ago on today’s WordPress. I’ve stumbled on decade-old installs, and the built-in auto-upgrade took everything to the newest version.
At Automattic, for better and worse, unlike Google, we almost never shut things down. We obsess about maintaining or redirecting permalinks. We make it easy not just to get your data in, but take it out too. We build businesses that lower churn not by locking you in (Wix famously has no export) but by making it easy for you to leave. If you love somebody, set them free.
In the next few years, there will be a Cambrian explosion of software and services. You’re going to have a lot of choices about where to put your most precious data and software. You should demand open source and bet on those who are clearly in it for the long-term.
Today, everyone gets a phone number and email when they grow up. That will expand in the future, everyone will have a domain and a WordPress. A part of the internet that you own.
Technology is best when it brings people together. Technology is best when it puts you in control, gives you ownership, digital autonomy, freedom, and liberty. That’s open source. It’s so exciting to see how AI is supercharging open source.
Join the WordPress community. It’s fun! We have cookies that don’t track you.
Matt: WordPress Everywhere Leer entrada »
WordPress 7.0 Beta 5 is ready for download and testing!
This version of the WordPress software is still under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it’s recommended to test Beta 5 on a test server and site.WordPress 7.0 Beta 5 can be tested using any of the following methods:
PluginInstall and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install. (Select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream.)Direct DownloadDownload the Beta 5 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress website.Command LineUse this WP-CLI command:wp core update –version=7.0-beta5WordPress PlaygroundUse the WordPress Playground instance to test the software directly in your browser. No setup is required – just click and go!
The scheduled final release date for WordPress 7.0 is still April 9, 2026. The full release schedule can be found here. Your help testing Beta and RC versions is vital to making this release as stable and powerful as possible. Thank you to everyone who helps with testing!
Please continue checking the Make WordPress Core blog for 7.0-related posts in the coming weeks for more information. What’s new in WordPress 7.0? Check out the Beta 1, Beta 2, Beta 3 and Beta 4 announcements for details and highlights.
How to test this release
Your help testing the WordPress 7.0 Beta 5 version is key to ensuring everything in the release is the best it can be. While testing the upgrade process is essential, trying out new features is equally important. This detailed guide will walk you through testing features in WordPress 7.0.
If you encounter an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums or directly to WordPress Trac if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.Curious about testing releases in general? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.
Beta 5 updates and highlights
WordPress 7.0 Beta 5 contains more than 101 updates and fixes since the Beta 3 release.
Each beta cycle focuses on bug fixes, and more are on the way with your help through testing. You can browse the technical details for all issues addressed since Beta 3 using these links:
GitHub commits since March 5, 2026
Closed Trac tickets since March 5, 2026
Issues addressed since Beta 4:
GitHub commits since March 10, 2026
Closed Trac tickets since March 10, 2026
WordPress 7.0 Beta 5 contains a new feature!
Instantly access all the tools you need with a single click using the new Command Palette shortcut in the Omnibar! In 7.0 Beta 5, logged-in editors will see a field with a ⌘K or Ctrl+K symbol in the upper admin bar that unfurls the command palette when clicked. The new command palette entry point streamlines navigation and customization, giving you full control from anywhere on your site – whether you’re editing, designing or just browsing plugins.
A Beta 5 haiku
A smooth melody
Beta 5 plays on its strings.
Seven brings good things.
Props to @amykamala, @annezazu and @4thhubbard for proofreading and review.
WordPress.org blog: WordPress 7.0 Beta 5 Leer entrada »
For nearly two decades, WordPress has been known for a simple, powerful idea: that anyone should be able to get online and start creating with minimal friction. The famous five-minute install captured that spirit for an earlier era of the web. Today, we’re introducing my.WordPress.net, a new take on that idea designed for a new generation of creators.
With my.WordPress.net, WordPress runs entirely and persistently in your browser. There’s no sign-up, no hosting plan, and no domain decision standing between you and getting started. Built on WordPress Playground, my.WordPress.net takes the same technology that powers instant WordPress demos and turns it into something permanent and personal. This isn’t a temporary environment meant to be discarded. It’s a WordPress that stays with you.
New Ways to WordPress
When you open my.WordPress.net, you’re placed directly into a complete WordPress environment that runs entirely in your browser. What makes this approach meaningful is not just where WordPress runs, but how it changes the relationship between people and the software itself. By removing the need to sign up or make early decisions about hosting and visibility, my.WordPress.net reframes WordPress as a space you can enter and work within, rather than a service you have to configure before you begin.
“This takes WordPress from being framed as something that is democratizing publishing to democratizing digital sovereignty.” – Alex Kirk
Seen through that lens, my.WordPress.net is not just about convenience. As you don’t need to choose a hosting provider, your WordPress belongs entirely to you. In a publishing environment, you’d briefly interact with WordPress as you prepare your next post. In a personal setting, it becomes a place you shape and return to. That change unlocks new ways of thinking about what WordPress can be.
Permanently and Privately Yours
Because sites on my.WordPress.net are private by default and not accessible from the public internet, they don’t behave like traditional websites. They aren’t optimized for traffic, discovery, or presentation, and they don’t need to be. Instead, WordPress becomes a personal environment where ideas can exist before they are ready to be shared, or where they may never be shared at all.
This changes how WordPress can be used day to day. It becomes a place to think, to draft, to organize, and to experiment without pressure, whether that means writing privately, collecting research, or building small tools for personal use. Learning also fits naturally into this model, since people can explore plugins, themes, and features inside a real WordPress environment where mistakes are expected and recoverable.
This turns WordPress into a personal workspace. It becomes a place for thinking, learning, prototyping, and tinkering, where exploration matters more than outcomes. In that role, WordPress shifts from being something you prepare for others to visit into something you actively work inside, adapting to how you want to create and learn over time.
Sparking Creativity with Apps
To make these ideas concrete, my.WordPress.net includes an App Catalog with pre-configured experiences designed specifically for personal use, built with WordPress plugins. These examples highlight how WordPress can function when it’s private, persistent, and easy to experiment with. Each app installs with a single click and configures itself automatically.
Personal CRM
A private relationship manager designed to help you stay in touch with people who matter to you. Contacts can be grouped, enriched with personal details, and paired with reminders to reconnect. In the demo, this extends to analyzing communication patterns using imported chat data, all stored locally inside WordPress.
Personal RSS Reader
Using the Friends plugin, WordPress becomes a quiet, personal feed reader. Instead of relying on external platforms, you can follow sites and creators inside your own WordPress and read at your own pace, free from algorithms or engagement pressure.
AI Workspace and Knowledge Base
Because my.WordPress.net is powered by WordPress Playground, an AI assistant can safely modify it, empowering you to customize beyond what you’re used to. Ask it to modify a plugin to your liking, or create an entirely new one, featuring your desired block. Ask it about the data you have stored in your WordPress. The assistant remembers what it touches and makes it easy to share your changes with others. Over time, WordPress itself can become your personal knowledge base that the AI understands and works with.
Zero Barriers
my.WordPress.net lowers the barrier to getting started with WordPress to almost nothing. It offers a fast, commitment-free way to explore, learn, and build, whether the result is a long-term personal project or something that eventually moves elsewhere. In that sense, it updates the spirit of the five-minute install for a browser-first web.
What you should know
Storage starts at roughly 100 MB
The first launch takes a little longer while WordPress downloads and initializes
All data stays in your browser and is not uploaded anywhere
Each device has its own separate installation
Backups should be downloaded regularly
Create and explore
WordPress has always grown through experimentation. People trying things, breaking things, and discovering new ways to use the platform have shaped what WordPress is today.
my.WordPress.net continues that tradition by making experimentation easier and more personal. It’s an invitation to create without pressure, to explore ideas that may never be published, and to use WordPress in ways that fit your life.
Start exploring at my.WordPress.net
my.WordPress.net is built on WordPress Playground technology. Learn more at WordPress.org/playground or join the conversation in the #meta-playground channel on WordPress Slack.
WordPress.org blog: Your Browser Becomes Your WordPress Leer entrada »
WordPress is making waves at CloudFest with the WP Business & Agency Summit on March 23 in Germany. It’s all about growth, partnerships, and innovation, connecting agencies and cloud services for great networking.
In this WP Tavern episode, Nathan Wrigley explores the CloudFest Hackathon, an event bringing together open source enthusiasts to collaborate on innovative projects in just three days. Carole Olinger, the Hackathon lead, details the organising process and project selection, talking about cross-CMS collaboration and sustainability. Contributors like Javier Casares, Matthias Pfefferle, Milana Cap, and others share their diverse projects, ranging from AI-enhanced tools to accessibility solutions. The episode covers the energy, teamwork, and lasting impact of the Hackathon on the open web community. Go listen.
#208 – Behind the Scenes at the CloudFest Hackathon Leer entrada »
WordPress 6.9.4 is now available!
WordPress 6.9.2 and WordPress 6.9.3 were released yesterday, addressing 10 security issues and a bug that affected template file loading on a limited number of sites.
The WordPress Security Team has discovered that not all of the security fixes were fully applied, therefore 6.9.4 has been released containing the necessary additional fixes.
Because this is a security release, it is recommended that you update your sites immediately.
You can download WordPress 6.9.4 from WordPress.org, or visit your WordPress Dashboard, click “Updates”, and then click “Update Now”. If you have sites that support automatic background updates, the update process will begin automatically.
For more information on WordPress 6.9.4, please visit the version page on the HelpHub site.
Security updates included in this release
The security team would like to thank the contributors who reported and investigated this issue, in particular Thomas Kräftner for his responsible disclosure. The security issues that are resolved in 6.9.4 are:
A PclZip path traversal issue reported independently by Francesco Carlucci and kaminuma
An authorization bypass on the Notes feature reported by kaminuma
An XXE in the external getID3 library reported by Youssef Achtatal
WordPress.org blog: WordPress 6.9.4 Release Leer entrada »
WordPress 6.9.2 is now available! This is a security release that features several fixes. Because this is a security release,
WordPress.org blog: WordPress 6.9.2 Release Leer entrada »
In this episode Soeren, Myles and Robert discuss CloudFest 2026, highlighting its unique amusement park setting, various networking opportunities, and
This is a little embarrassing to share, but I’d rather someone else be able to spot a dangerous scam before
Matt: Gone (Almost) Phishin’ Leer entrada »
