The Month in WordPress – December 2023

As 2023 came to a close, WordPress bid farewell with the much-anticipated annual State of the Word and the 6.5 roadmap, among other exciting updates.

Read on to learn more about the community’s end-of-year celebrations and catch a sneak peek of what’s in store for the year ahead.

Highlights from State of the Word

On December 11, WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg delivered his annual State of the Word keynote in Madrid, Spain, marking the first international edition of the event. Nearly 200 WordPress enthusiasts and tech industry leaders gathered in person to hear what’s next for WordPress—with a large audience joining online or from one of the 47 watch parties held across 18 countries.

The keynote highlighted last year’s milestones and showcased compelling demos, providing a glimpse into the upcoming developments for the Site Editor, Collaboration phase, and Admin redesign. Matt also introduced 2024’s focus on Data Liberation, aiming to unlock digital barriers and frictionless migrations into WordPress for a more open web.

The event concluded with a Q&A session and this follow-up post.

Roadmap to WordPress 6.5

WordPress 6.5 is scheduled for release on March 26, 2024. This major release is set to introduce a new Font Library for easy global font management, support for Appearance Tools in Classic Themes, Data Views for templates and patterns, and more robust revisions across the editing experience, among other highlights.

6.5 will also include new APIs like Interactivity, Custom Fields, and Block Binding that expand block capabilities and underpin features like Synced Pattern Overrides.

Learn more about the features planned for WordPress 6.5 in this roadmap post.

Don’t wait for the next release to optimize your creative workflows with these powerful Site Editor tools.

New in the Gutenberg plugin

Two new versions of Gutenberg shipped in December:

  • Gutenberg 17.2 introduced improvements to the site editing experience, including the ability to drag and drop blocks to the top and bottom of documents and sticky table headers. The update also enhanced the Interactivity API docs and addressed numerous bug fixes.
  • Gutenberg 17.3 featured a summary of changes in the global styles revision history, an updated preferences panel, and a new social icon for the Gravatar service, along with the ongoing development of Phase 3 features.
https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/

Team updates

https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/

Requests for feedback & testing

WordPress events


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Thank you to Bernard Meyer, Nicholas Garofalo, and Lauren Stein for contributing to this edition of The Month in WordPress.

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The Month in WordPress – November 2023

November is usually a busy month for the WordPress project, and this year is no different. Following the empowering release of WordPress 6.4, the energy continues to build, setting the stage for the anticipated State of the Word and upcoming projects. 

Read on for all the exciting updates that marked the past month.

Get ready for State of the Word

State of the Word 2023

Mark your calendars—State of the Word 2023 is approaching fast. In this annual keynote, WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg celebrates the progress of the open source project and offers a glimpse into its future.

For the first time in WordPress history, the event will be held outside North America, in the vibrant city of Madrid, Spain, on December 11, 2023.

If you’re unable to attend the State of the Word in person, you can watch it live on the WordPress YouTube channel or join one of the many community-led watch parties. Find one near you or organize one.

Meet Twenty Twenty-Four

Along with the release of WordPress 6.4 “Shirley,” the new default Twenty Twenty-Four theme was introduced.

This theme breaks away from the tradition of previous default themes that focused on a specific topic or style. Instead, Twenty Twenty-Four was created to fit any website and explore different use cases for entrepreneurs, artists, and writers.

You’ll find more than 35 beautiful patterns, including full-page patterns for templates like homepage, search, and more. Twenty Twenty-Four boasts the latest site editing capabilities and a sophisticated aesthetic inspired by contemporary design trends.

New in the Gutenberg plugin

  • Gutenberg 17.0 was released on November 9, 2023. It introduced improvements to the Command Palette, an alternative implementation of the DropdownMenu component, additional visual cues for LinkControl, and various accessibility and performance iterations.
  • Gutenberg 17.1 shipped on November 22, 2023. In addition to several accessibility and writing flow enhancements, this version brought a new block spacing control in the Quote block.
https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/

Team updates

https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/

Requests for feedback & testing

  • The Community team announced the 2023 Annual Meetup Survey. Both event attendees and organizers are encouraged to provide feedback in this 5-minute survey to help strengthen WordPress meetups in the future.
  • Version 23.7 of the WordPress mobile app for iOS and Android is ready for testing.

WordPress events


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The Month in WordPress – October 2023

September-October 2023 was yet another fun and eventful chapter in WordPress, with more WordCamps hosting exciting discussions, knowledge sharing, and learning. This month also welcomed the release of WordPress 6.4 and the Twenty Twenty-Four theme. Let’s check it out.

Shirley WordPress 6.4

Meet WordPress 6.4 “Shirley”

WordPress 6.4 “Shirley” was released on November 7, 2023, and named after the iconic jazz artist Shirley Horn. With the release of WordPress 6.4 comes the new Twenty Twenty-Four theme, a multi-faceted, highly flexible default theme pre-loaded with more than 35 templates and patterns. 

This release includes more than 100 performance-related updates for a faster and more efficient experience. There’s also a host of new features and enhancements that help improve the content creation process and streamline site editing. 

WordPress 6.4 was made possible by more than 600 contributors in at least 56 countries. 

State of the Word 2023 in Madrid Spain on December 11, 2023 at 15:00 UTC

State of the Word 2023

Mark your calendars for State of the Word! The annual keynote address delivered by the WordPress project’s co-founder, Matt Mullenweg, will be held on December 11, 2023. For the first time, the event will take place outside North America—this time with the Spanish community in Madrid, Spain.

A live stream will be available for WordPress enthusiasts who will not be able to attend in person. Stay tuned for more information, including how to reserve a ticket, soon!

New in the Gutenberg plugin

Two new versions of Gutenberg shipped in October:

  • Gutenberg 16.8 was released on October 11, 2023. It introduced enhancements to the Cover block and Font Library, and added the option to view the active template when editing pages.
  • Gutenberg 16.9 was released on October 25, 2023. This update lets you rename nearly every block from within the editor, as well as duplicate or rename individual patterns. 

October’s Core Editor Improvement post dives into all the writing enhancements expected in the latest WordPress 6.4 release.

https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/

Team updates

Requests for feedback & testing

  • Version 23.6 of the WordPress mobile app for iOS and Android is ready for testing.
https://wordpress.org/news/2023/10/episode-64-patterns-in-wordpress/

WordPress events updates


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Thank you to Bernard Meyer and Reyes Martínez for their contributions to this edition of The Month in WordPress.

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The Month in WordPress – August 2023

August 2023 marked another exciting chapter in WordPress, with the Community Summit and WordCamp US bringing the community together for meaningful discussions, knowledge sharing, and learning. This month also welcomed the long-awaited WordPress 6.3 release and offered a glimpse of what’s to come. Let’s dive into it.

Meet WordPress 6.3 “Lionel”

WordPress 6.3 “Lionel” was released on August 8, 2023, and named after the acclaimed vibraphonist, pianist, and jazz percussionist Lionel Hampton.

This major update makes bringing your vision to life with blocks more intuitive and efficient. Your content, templates, and patterns are now seamlessly integrated into the Site Editor, enabling you to craft every aspect of your online presence within a single location. You can sharpen your designs with new tools, enjoy fine-tuned control over navigation menus, and work faster with the Command Palette. Explore what’s new.

WordPress 6.3 features over 500 features and enhancements with a continued emphasis on performance and accessibility. This release was made possible by more than 650 contributors from 52 countries.

While the Site Editor will continue to be enhanced, this release means a significant milestone as it marks the conclusion of Gutenberg Phase 2. Take a moment to watch “Designed with WordPress”—an ode to this remarkable journey worth celebrating.

Download WordPress 6.3.1.

Roadmap to 6.4

Contributors are already working on WordPress 6.4, expected to be released on November 7, 2023. This release, led by an underrepresented gender release squad, will focus on enhancing different aspects of the WordPress experience while continuing the foundational work for Gutenberg Phase 3. Users can anticipate features like font management and a new default theme, Twenty Twenty-Four.

Twenty Twenty-Four aims to be a versatile theme, featuring a range of templates and patterns specifically designed for three use cases: entrepreneurs and small businesses, photographers and artists, and writers and bloggers.

Check out the 6.4 roadmap post for a tentative preview of expected features.

New in the Gutenberg plugin

Two new versions of Gutenberg shipped in the last month:

  • Gutenberg 16.4 was released on August 9, 2023. It introduced a new “auto-inserting blocks” experimental feature, a progress bar component that can be used throughout the interface, and block supports for the Footnotes block.
  • Gutenberg 16.5 shipped on August 23, 2023, and focused on enhancements to the Command Palette and enabling further customization of blocks.

Follow the “What’s new in Gutenberg” posts to stay on top of the latest enhancements.

Team updates: Next generation of WordPress events, WP Admin redesign, and more

Keen to see new WordPress event formats happening in your local community? Get inspired by these creative concepts and share your ideas!

Feedback & testing requests

The Training team seeks feedback on the first learning pathways outlined to improve the Learn WordPress educational experience. Share your thoughts by September 15, 2023.

WordPress events updates

Join Josepha Haden Chomphosy in Episode 61 of WP Briefing as she discusses her takeaways from the Community Summit.


Have a story we should include in the next issue of The Month in WordPress? Fill out this quick form to let us know.

The following folks contributed to this Month in WordPress: @rmartinezduque, @laurlittle.

The Month in WordPress – May 2023

May has been a month of celebrating WordPress and the open source community that makes it possible. In honor of the project’s 20th anniversary, WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy reflected on this journey and the opportunity to build a better future for those who come after:

The more our community invests in itself and supports one another, the stronger WordPress and the open source software movement become.

Josepha Haden Chomphosy in Celebrating 20 Years of WordPress.

Read on for highlights of this milestone and the latest updates in the WordPress space.

WordPress at 20

May 27, 2023, marked the 20th anniversary of WordPress’ first release. Since its inception by Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little in 2003, the project has transformed the digital publishing landscape and enabled millions of people to craft their stories.

WordPress enthusiasts from all over the world gathered at more than 130 events to celebrate this important milestone. WP20’s commemorative book, Building Blocks: The Evolution of WordPress, was published in tandem and documents some of the most significant moments and changes of the last decade of the project.

3D wallpaper of a number 20 formed by words in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of WordPress.
Download the new WP20 wallpapers made in 3D.

The anniversary date may have passed, but the festivities and fun aren’t over. You can still join a meetup, sign the #WP20 From Blogs to Blocks campaign birthday card, or participate in #WP20 social celebrations.

Join Josepha Haden Chomphosy in Episode 55 of WP Briefing as she looks back at the 20 years of WordPress and how the community made WordPress what it is today.

WordPress 6.3 is expected on August 8

Work on WordPress 6.3 officially kicked off with the announcement of its development cycle and release squad. Set for release on August 8, 2023, this version will be the second major update of WordPress in 2023 and will mark the end of Phase 2 of the project’s development roadmap.

WordPress 6.3 aims to bring a cohesive site editing experience by introducing expanded functionality, richer interfaces, and a dedicated focus on refinement.

Check out the 6.3 roadmap post for a tentative preview of anticipated features.

WordPress 6.2.2 security release

WordPress 6.2.2 became available for download on May 20, 2023. This release was a quick response to resolve a regression introduced in 6.2.1, specifically with shortcode support in block templates, and to further patch a vulnerability already addressed in the previous version.

Update your site if you haven’t yet.

New in the Gutenberg plugin

Three new versions of Gutenberg have shipped in the last month:

  • Gutenberg 15.7, released on May 3, 2023, brings a new direct option to upload and replace a site’s logo from the block settings sidebar. Other enhancements include easier access to duotone filter controls via the style settings sidebar and an update to fluid typography to refine responsiveness.
  • Gutenberg 15.8 shipped on May 17, 2023, and includes a new “Pages” item in the Site Editor sidebar to edit pages without leaving the interface. Moreover, this version brings the ability to navigate through revisions in the global styles interface and to preview block themes inside the Site Editor.
  • Gutenberg 15.9 is ready for download as of May 31, 2023. The latest Gutenberg release comes with a new command tool and several enhancements to the Site Editor experience, including a more intuitive drag-and-drop function for moving blocks.

The latest Core Editor Improvement post highlights features such as revisions and the ability to preview block themes, and how they enable a smoother site editing experience.

Team updates: Next-generation WordCamps, proposal for a Sustainability Team, and more

What is WordPress Playground, and why it matters? WP Briefing Episode 56 discusses the benefits and potential of this tool with special guests Rich Tabor and Adam Zielinski.

Feedback & testing requests

Which next generation of WordPress events would you like to see? Share your ideas and start exploring new event formats this year.

WordPress events updates

Join WordPress project leadership on June 10 at WordCamp Europe 2023 to hear about the latest developments and what’s next for WordPress. Check out the schedule for details.


Have a story we should include in the next issue of The Month in WordPress? Fill out this quick form to let us know.

The following folks contributed to this Month in WordPress: @rmartinezduque, @nahidsharifkomol, @chaion07, @devinmaeztri, @bsanevans, @ninianepress.

The Month in WordPress – April 2023

With preparations for the next major releases already underway, the community is gearing up to celebrate WordPress’ 20th anniversary, which is just around the corner. This month has also seen some major highlights, such as WordPress 6.2’s performance wins and the launch of WP Translation Playground. Read on to find out what’s new.

Forthcoming WordPress releases

Following the successful release of WordPress 6.2 “Dolphy,” which has garnered over 31 million downloads (and counting), contributors across all teams are already planning future major releases, including versions 6.3 and 6.4.

While WordPress 6.3 will focus on refinements to the site editing experience, 6.4 will reprise the underrepresented gender release initiative introduced in WordPress 5.6 “Simone.” If you’re interested in contributing, now is the perfect time to get involved.

Check out the WordPress 6.3 proposed schedule and call for volunteers.

WP20 is just around the corner

Mark your calendars for May 27 and join the community for a day filled with exciting parties and activities!

With a refreshed look, the WP20 website offers a list of events to join, swag to show your WordPress pride, and downloadable “selfie props” to add fun to your celebrations.

Cake decorated with WordPress anniversary-themed motifs shared at a recent meetup in Tokyo, Japan.
Cake decorated with WordPress anniversary-themed motifs shared at a recent meetup in Japan.

The Marketing Team has also launched #WP20 From Blogs to Blocks, a community-focused initiative that encourages you to take a small daily WordPress-focused action for 20 days leading up to the anniversary date.

On the other hand, details are being finalized for the 20th anniversary commemorative book, Building Blocks: The Evolution of WordPress 2013-2023. This volume will span the history and most meaningful moments of the last decade of WordPress.

What’s your favorite WordPress swag? Do you have a special memory from a WordCamp or meetup? Share them with the community and join the #WP20 fun on social media.

WordPress 6.2 performance

WordPress 6.2 reiterates the platform’s commitment to optimizing website performance with significant improvements. Load times are 14 to 18% faster for block themes and 2 to 5% for classic themes. Server-side performance is also seeing a big boost, with an increase of 17 to 23% for block themes and 3 to 5% for classic themes.

Learn more about the performance wins in 6.2, including a retrospective from the Performance Core Team on the efforts that made it happen.

New in the Gutenberg plugin

Two new versions of the Gutenberg plugin have shipped in the last month:

  • Gutenberg 15.5 shipped on April 5, 2023, with many user-facing features to improve the creation experience. Enhancements include caption style customization, theme-defined template patterns when adding a new template, and experimental support for grid layouts in the Group block.
  • Gutenberg 15.6 is available for download as of April 19, 2023. This version introduces an experimental Details block to expand and toggle the visibility of hidden content, and more presets for core block spacing and border controls, among other highlights.

Follow the “What’s new in Gutenberg” posts to stay on top of the latest enhancements.

Team updates: WP Translation Playground, WordPress.org redesign next steps, and more

Join Josepha Haden Chomphosy in Episode 54 of WP Briefing as she explores the concept of the four freedoms of open source and their likeness to today’s Bill of Rights for the open web.

Feedback & testing requests

This discussion post welcomes ideas and questions about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be integrated into the WordPress experience.

WordPress events updates

Join #WPDiversity with a free online workshop on Organizing Diverse & Inclusive WordPress Events APAC on May 13, 2023.


Have a story we should include in the next issue of The Month in WordPress? Fill out this quick form to let us know.

The following folks contributed to this Month in WordPress: @sereedmedia, @ninianepress, @rmartinezduque.

The Month in WordPress – March 2023

March saw the arrival of the first major release of 2023, WordPress 6.2 “Dolphy.” Planning for the project’s 20th anniversary continues with new celebratory updates and commemorative swag. Read on for the latest happenings in the WordPress space.

Meet WordPress 6.2 “Dolphy”

WordPress 6.2 “Dolphy” was released on March 29, 2023. Named after the acclaimed jazz multi-instrumentalist and composer Eric Allan Dolphy Jr., the latest version of WordPress further enhances the site editing experience with significant updates.

Highlights include a reimagined Site Editor interface, a more intuitive way to manage menus, and a distraction-free writing mode. A new Block Inserter design adds integration with Openverse, allowing you to easily browse and insert free, openly-licensed images and audio files into your content.

Feature highlights in WordPress 6.2: Reimagined Site Editor, more ways to manage menus, a more powerful inserter, faster access to media—yours and Openverse's, the new Style Book, distraction-free writing, and more.

Whether you’re a content creator, designer, or developer, WordPress 6.2 has something for you. Check out the full announcement post for an overview of what’s new and the Field Guide for detailed developer notes.

WordPress 6.2 is one of the last major releases planned for Phase 2 of the project’s development roadmap and was made possible thanks to more than 600 contributors.

Download WordPress 6.2 “Dolphy.”

WP20 swag is here

Show your WordPress excitement with limited edition 20th anniversary merchandise—now available at the official WordPress Mercantile store. If you prefer to create your own swag, you can use these WP20 downloadable assets.

Blue background with confetti and WordPress 20th anniversary commemorative logo.

The 20th anniversary website lists celebrations as organizers announce and schedule them. Check back regularly to see if there’s an event in your area to join or help organize one to celebrate this milestone with your local community.

Enter the Wapuu Coloring Giveaway by April 17, 2023, for a chance to win some commemorative WP20 swag!

New in the Gutenberg plugin

Two new versions of the Gutenberg plugin have shipped in the last month:

  • Gutenberg 15.3 was released on March 13, 2023. This version polishes the Site Editor experience, includes a new “Time to Read” block for displaying estimated read time to posts, and enhances the Duotone design tool.
  • Gutenberg 15.4 is available for download as of March 22, 2023, and focuses primarily on bug fixes and testing improvements. Other additions include color and layout support for the Cover block, improved descriptions to help you understand the purpose of each template in the Site Editor, and the ability to turn paragraph blocks into columns.

Follow the “What’s new in Gutenberg” posts to stay on top of the latest enhancements.

Team updates: Phase 3 planning, WordPress Developer Blog launch, and more

Tune in to Episode 52 of WP Briefing to learn more about the visioning behind Phase 3, Collaboration.

Feedback & testing requests

  • A new Full Site Editing (FSE) Program exploration looks into the Site Editor as a design tool in light of the recent WordPress 6.2 release. Participants are asked to create a block theme without coding using the current editor tools. Share your experience by April 26, 2023.
  • A group of Core contributors is working on a new Interactivity API proposal to provide a better developer experience for building interactive blocks.
  • Version 22.0 of the WordPress mobile app for iOS and Android is ready for testing.

Members of the Core Team are looking for user experience (UX) feedback on the Plugin Dependencies feature plugin.

WordPress events updates

Join WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy as she discusses the benefits of routine and what role it plays in the WordPress project.


Have a story we should include in the next issue of The Month in WordPress? Fill out this quick form to let us know.

The following folks contributed to this Month in WordPress: @bsanevans, @cbringmann, @eidolonnight, @rmartinezduque, @sereedmedia.

The Month in WordPress – February 2023

February has been an exciting month for the WordPress community, with the celebration of the first-ever WordCamp Asia bringing friends and contributors back together in person. But that’s not all; read on for the latest project updates.


Get ready for WordPress 6.2

WordPress 6.2 Beta 4 arrived earlier this week and is ready for download and testing. Work continues on track, with the first release candidate (RC1) due next week and the target for the final release on March 28, 2023—less than four weeks away!

WordPress 6.2 is one of the last major releases planned for Phase 2 of Gutenberg, taking the Site Editor out of beta with a more polished user experience and refreshed interface.

On March 2, members of the release squad hosted the 6.2 live product demo. The recording and transcript will be available soon. In the meantime, these resources will give you a taste of what’s to come:

Help test WordPress 6.2. Your feedback is key to ensuring everything in this release is the best it can be.

Join WordPress 20th anniversary celebrations

WordPress is turning 20, and the community is getting ready to celebrate!

As part of the festivities, the project has released a 20th anniversary Wapuu, a set of commemorative logos, and a special playlist with 46 tracks from the jazz artists selected to represent WordPress releases. Official WP20 swag will also be available soon.

In addition, the Museum of Block Art (MOBA) is calling all artists to submit block art themed on “20 years of WordPress.”

Find out how to organize and participate in the WP20 celebrations.

What’s new in Gutenberg

Two new versions of Gutenberg have shipped in the last month:

  • Gutenberg 15.1 was released on February 8, 2023, with access to the Openverse library of openly-licensed media from the Editor. Other highlights include the ability to add custom CSS on a per-block basis and support for shadow presets in Global Styles. This is the last version of Gutenberg that will be included in WordPress 6.2.
  • Gutenberg 15.2 is available for download as of February 22, 2023. Besides continued accessibility improvements, this release adds support for revisions when editing templates and template parts, and refines the navigation experience in the Site Editor.

Follow the “What’s new in Gutenberg” posts to stay on top of the latest enhancements.

Team updates: Global community sponsors for 2023, contributor mentorship program, and more

Following discussions on improving the contributor journey, a new WordPress contributor mentorship program has been proposed to roll out this year.

Feedback & testing requests

Redesign work is well underway on the WordPress Theme Directory. Contributors can follow along on the GitHub repository.

WordPress events updates

Join WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy as she explores three interesting trends from WordCamp Asia.


Have a story we should include in the next issue of The Month in WordPress? Fill out this quick form to let us know.

The following folks contributed to this Month in WordPress: @ninianepress, @jpantani, @rmartinezduque.

The Month in WordPress – January 2023

Welcome to the first 2023 edition of The Month in WordPress! January kicked off with an overview of WordPress’ big goals for 2023 and new projects beginning to take shape. Moreover, work on the next major release, WordPress 6.2, continues with Beta 1 scheduled for next week. Read on for the latest news.


WordPress 6.2 Beta 1 is on its way

The first beta release of WordPress 6.2 is scheduled for next Tuesday, February 7, 2023.

As you may have heard, this version will wrap up work on Gutenberg Phase 2 (Customization), but what does this mean in the larger context of the WordPress project?

Tune in to Episode 48 of WP Briefing to hear Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy discuss what it means to conclude a Gutenberg phase.

What’s new in Gutenberg

Gutenberg 15.0 was released on January 18, 2023. Some highlights include a new “paste styles” feature to easily create multiple blocks with identical styling, and a “sticky” option to keep a block at the top of the page while the rest of the content scrolls.

In addition, block settings have been split into two tabs in the sidebar: Styles and Settings. This makes blocks with more controls, such as the Group block, easier to customize, and allows the interface to scale with the growing number of design tools.

The latest “Core Editor Improvement” post highlights the newest style features enhancements. Learn how they can help give your site a unique and cohesive look and feel.

Team updates: Matrix exploration, WordPress.org redesign news, and more

As part of the discussion on improving the contributor journey, Josepha wrote some thoughts on the Eternal September phenomenon in open source and invites you to share yours.

Feedback & testing requests

  • The Community Team is gathering feedback on a proposed move to GitHub for standardizing the project’s management tools.
  • To mark WordPress’ 20th anniversary milestone, Core Team contributors are organizing several bug scrub sessions to tackle long-standing Trac tickets. 
  • Version 21.6 of the WordPress mobile app for iOS is available for testing.

The Training Team calls all WordPress users to complete this short Individual Learner Survey by February 20, 2023. Your feedback will help identify the most high-impact resources for Learn WordPress.

WordPress events updates

WordCamp Asia 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand, is only two weeks away! Check out the livestream schedule if you are attending virtually.


Have a story we should include in the next issue of The Month in WordPress? Fill out this quick form to let us know.

The following folks contributed to this edition of The Month in WordPress: @webcommsat, @rmartinezduque.

The Month in WordPress – December 2022

Last month at State of the Word, WordPress Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy shared some opening thoughts on “Why WordPress” and the Four Freedoms of open source. In this recent letter, she expands on her vision for the WordPress open source project as it prepares for the third phase of Gutenberg:

“We are now, as we ever were, securing the opportunity for those who come after us, because of the opportunity secured by those who came before us.”

Josepha Haden Chomphosy

December brought with it a time for reflection—a time to look back, celebrate, and start planning new projects. Read on to find out what 2023 holds for WordPress so far.


WordPress is turning 20!

2023 marks the 20th anniversary of WordPress’ launch. The project has come a long way since the first release as it continues to advance its mission to democratize publishing. From its beginnings as a blogging platform to a world-leading open source CMS powering over 40% of websites.

Join the WordPress community in celebrating this important milestone. As the anniversary date approaches, there will be events, commemorative swag, and more.

Stay tuned for updates.

WordPress 6.2 is scheduled for March 28, 2023

Work on WordPress 6.2, the first major release of 2023, is already underway. It is expected to launch on March 28, 2023, and will include up to Gutenberg 15.1 for a total of 10 Gutenberg releases.

The proposed schedule includes four Beta releases to accommodate the first WordCamp Asia and avoid having major release milestones very close to this event.

Read more about the 6.2 schedule and release team.

What’s new in Gutenberg

Two new versions of Gutenberg have shipped in the last month:

  • Gutenberg 14.8 was released on December 21, 2022. This version features a reorganized Site Editor interface with a Browse Mode that facilitates navigation through templates and template parts. In addition, it includes the ability to add custom CSS via the Style panel and a Style Book that provides an overview of all block styles in a centralized location.
  • Gutenberg 14.9 became available for download on January 4, 2023. It introduces a new “Push changes to Global Styles” button in the Site Editor, which allows users to apply individual block style changes to all blocks of that type across their site. Other features include typography support for the Page List block, and the ability to import sidebar widgets into a template part when transitioning from a classic theme.

Learn how Gutenberg’s latest releases are advancing the Site Editor experience to be more intuitive and scalable.

Team updates: WordPress big picture goals, new Incident Response Team, and more

Check out the 2022 State of the Word Q&A post, which answers submitted questions that Matt could not address at the live event.

Feedback & testing requests

Have thoughts for improving the Five for the Future contributor experience? This post calls for ideas on how this initiative can better support the project and the people behind it.

WordPress events updates

Would you like to be a speaker at WordCamp Europe 2023? Submit your application by the first week of February.


Have a story we should include in the next issue of The Month in WordPress? Fill out this quick form to let us know.

The following folks contributed to this edition of The Month in WordPress: @cbringmann, @laurlittle, @rmartinezduque.