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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Team updates: WP Translation Playground, WordPress.org redesign next steps, and more
Feedback & testing requests
WordPress events updates
- WordCamp Europe 2023 is fast approaching! The organizing team introduced the first confirmed speakers.
- WordCamp US 2023 announced updates on the programming for the upcoming event, for which tickets are now on sale. Organizers are also calling for sponsors.
- The 2023 Community Summit will provide a valuable opportunity for in-person discussions across contributor teams. Submit your topics if you haven’t yet.
- Don’t miss these upcoming WordCamps:
- 🇪🇸 WordCamp Barcelona, Spain on May 5-6, 2023
- 🇺🇸 WordCamp Buffalo, NY, USA on May 6, 2023
- 🇵🇱 WordCamp Gliwice, Poland on May 12-14, 2023
- 🇧🇩 WordCamp Sylhet, Bangladesh on May 19-20, 2023
- 🇵🇹 WordCamp Lisboa, Portugal on May 19-20, 2023
- 🇷🇸 WordCamp Apatin, Serbia on May 27-28, 2023
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The following folks contributed to this Month in WordPress: @sereedmedia, @ninianepress, @rmartinezduque.
