fidzu : WordPress

We're celebrating a fun anniversary at Automattic today, our 20th, with a fun look-back. Gosh, it's been quite a journey, and it still feels like we're just getting started in so many areas.

In 2005, being a remote-first company was anathema to investors and business leaders* at the time; it was a scarlet letter that combined with our embrace of Open Source and the relative inexperience got us some funny looks and a lot of skepticism. I will be forever grateful to the true contrarians who bet on Automattic in our earliest days.

Even when it was clearly working the first few years, there was always the dismissal of "that won't scale" that loomed like a remote startup Great Filter. These days I hear from friends who run incubators or do seed investing that almost every company they look at taps into remote talent.

It makes me think about what uncommon things Automattic does today that will be standard in the coming decades. We do our best to balance idealism with pragmatism, because even if you are on the right side of history, being too early can be as bad as being wrong.

I can't predict everything that will change over the coming decades, especially with AI making the next few years particularly hard to predict. Still, I do know a few things that won't change: everything flows from our people, open source is still the most powerful idea of our generation, growth is the best feedback loop, and no matter how far away the goal is, the only way to get there is by putting one foot in front of another every day. People will always want fast, bug-free software; instant, omniscient customer service when they need it; and experiences so intuitive that they usually don't. And once they've had a taste of freedom, it's hard to return to their previous state. (For more, see our creed.)

Our industry is highly cyclical, and I feel fortunate to have gained the perspective of a few bubbles and crashes, along with all the emotions that go with them. It's undeniable we're in the very early days - the command-line times - of an AI era, and though it will probably have its own bubble and crash cycles, it feels as significant to me as anything since we started. It's more important than ever that we fight for open source and the freedom-enhancing side of technology. I'm committed to doing whatever I can to democratize publishing, commerce, and messaging, but there are many other areas of the human experience to cover… pick one to work on! It's hard and rewarding work.

When I was working on an early version of one of our internal stats systems, it was really important to me that it showed rolling windows of the last 24 hours (daily), 168 hours, 4 weeks, and of course yearly. The rolling was important so you could see the impact of your changes as soon as possible. Then I felt called to add another: decade.

Some thought it was silly at the time, and it's true that it initially served mainly as a way to display the cumulative number. But I wanted every time someone looked at one of these stats pages that they were reminded that we're building for the long term. Our users and customers deserve nothing less. And now we have some statistics with 20 years of history, it has some useful comparisons as well!

In Ten Years of Automattic, I wrote:

There's a lot more to do, and I can't wait to see what a "20 Years of Automattic" post says. I'm a lucky guy.

Now we know! I'm still a very lucky guy, and can't wait to build, learn, and share alongside a talented crew of like-minded hackers, dreamers, and doers.

* I'll note that pioneers like Bob Young (Red Hat), Stephen Wolfram (Wolfram Research), Jason Fried (37Signals), and Mårten Mickos (MySQL) were big inspirations. Also, the entire Open Source community and most projects operated at least partially this way, which is why it seemed so natural to us as a second-generation Open Source company.

21 Jun 2025 2:59am GMT

Hi there,

Are you ready for a summer break of the Gutenberg Times? I am definitely ready for a vacation. It's been a fabulous first half of the year with plenty of new experiences, and reconnecting with friends in the WordPress community. There is soo much inspiring creativity in the community around block editor, Playground and AI. I am curious what the second half of year will bring.

As for WordCamps, I am considering going to WordCamps, Gyndia, Verona, and Pisa. Once the decisions are made, I, of course, will let you know. Do you have any WordCamp plans?

Enjoy the summer and I'll be back.

Yours,
Birgit

In their post, Share your Pride Photo Drive is back for 2025, Anne McCarthy invites you to an open photo submission event to boost LGBTQ+ representation in the WordPress Photo Directory. The initiative encourages everyone (not just the LGBTQ+ community) to contribute, with fun incentives and cash prizes, emphasizing the importance of diverse, high-quality imagery for web creators. The deadline is July 1st 2025.

Developing Gutenberg and WordPress

Jean-Baptiste Audras just dropped the schedule for WordPress 6.8.2 Release Schedule. There are a few bug scrub sessions coming up, with the first release candidate (RC1) out on July 8, 2025, and the final version landing a week later on July 15. He also shared some handy links to the list of fixes they're hoping to squeeze into this update.

The latest episode Gutenberg Changelog 118 - WordCamp Europe, WordPress New AI Team, the Pride Photo Drive, Gutenberg 20.9 and 21.0 Anne McCarthy is back from sabbatical and we talked about WordCamp Europe, the new WordPress AI team, the Pride Photo Drive, and Gutenberg 20.9 and 21.0 .

If you are listing via Spotify, please leave a comment. If you listen via other podcast apps, please leave a review. It'll help with the distribution.

Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners

In his post Introducing the View Transitions Plugin for WordPress, Felix Arntz
announced a new plugin that brings smooth, animated transitions between pages to WordPress sites. He explains that the plugin uses the View Transitions API to create seamless visual effects, making navigation feel more modern and app-like without the complexity of single-page applications. Arntz described how the plugin works out of the box, offers customization through both the WordPress admin and theme code, and supports various animation styles. The goal is to improve user experience and perceived performance with minimal setup.

In his latest video, The Secret to Client-Proof WordPress Sites, Wes Theron shows how to let clients safely update content while keeping a consistent design. He demonstrates using synced patterns with editable overrides. Global design changes to a pattern update all instances on the site. He explains how clients can modify specific elements without disrupting the layout. This method simplifies site management and maintains design integrity, making WordPress sites easier to manage and grow.

Claire Brotherton reviewed the Twenty Twenty-Five WordPress theme, highlighting its flexibility and modern design. Brotherton details its customizable templates, diverse style variations, and extensive block patterns, making it easy to create unique layouts. She notes the theme's accessibility features, international typography options, and compatibility with the latest WordPress tools. The guide also covers practical tips for editing menus, headers, and footers, and encourages users to experiment with the theme's many design possibilities. The post Twenty Twenty-Five Theme: the Ultimate Guide definitely lives up to its promise.

Johanne Courtright introduced the Groundworx Navigation plugin, a flexible, block-based navigation tool for WordPress. After years of building custom menus, she created this plugin to streamline features like accordions, slide-ins, sticky headers, and responsive toggles. Designed for Full Site Editing, it fits modern WordPress workflows and eliminates the need to rebuild navigation logic for each project, making advanced menu patterns easier for both developers and site owners. Check it out from GitHub. Once it goes through the approval process, it will also be available for download from the WordPress repository.

In his post What's the plan for PublishPress Blocks? Steve Burge mentions the new Block Usage Screen. It shows you any usage of blocks on your site or search for blocks. For example, it will show how many paragraph blocks you used throughout all blog posts. He also shows the new menu from within the plugin and lists six more features: control on who can use each block, additional blocks like accordion, galleries, tabs etc. I am excited about the feature to create my own Block Styles right from the interface without code. In the video on YouTube, Burge shows off how to find your WordPress Blocks with the PublishPress Blocks Plugin.

Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks

A common solution to make a sticky header is to wrap the template part in a group block and set the Position to "sticky". Mike McAlister has more elegant solutions to Fixing the sticky header bug in the WordPress site editor.

Hans-Gerd Gerhards has also tackled this problem with his plugin Dynamic Header & Navigation for Block Themes, that also, among a few other things, it gives you settings to shrink the header on scroll, so it doesn't take up too much real-estate.

In her post, Layout and Design with the Grid Block, Anne Katzeff explains how the grid block can help make web pages look cleaner and more organized. She gives simple advice for setting up columns, spacing, and alignment, and encourages people to play around with different layouts to find what looks and works best. It might just be the manual you have been looking for.

Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor

In this high-level post, 15 WordPress Interactivity API examples - WP Gallery
Diane Collet, co-founder of Twentig and WP Gallery, explains how the new WordPress Interactivity API empowers developers to create dynamic, interactive front-end experiences without relying on heavy JavaScript frameworks. She highlights how the API enables seamless, reactive user interfaces directly within WordPress blocks, making it easier to build features like live search, filters, and instant feedback. Collet emphasizes the API's simplicity, performance benefits, and its alignment with WordPress's vision for a more interactive and modern web, encouraging developers to explore its capabilities for enhancing user engagement.

To get started with the Interactivity API, you can work through this list of resources:

• WordPress Gems around the Interactivity API (Workshop recording)
• A first look at the Interactivity API
• An introduction to block-based mega menus
• Interactivity API Reference
• Interactivity API showcase
• Developer Hours: Building custom blocks in WordPress with the Interactivity API
• Developer Hours: Exploring the Interactivity API in WordPress 6.5

JuanMa Garrido was inspired by Igor Benić's list of WordPress challenges. In his live stream he ventured to solve some of them. The recording is on YouTube. The first challenge was: Create a block that fetches and displays posts from a specific category dynamically (using ServerSideRender component).

In his live stream, WCEU workshop code along, Ryan Welcher followed Bero's WCEU workshop on setting up automatic testing with Playwright and Playground.

This week, Jonathan Bossenger updates us about WordPress MCP & Feature API on his live stream.

Questions? Suggestions? Ideas?
Don't hesitate to send them via email or
send me a message on WordPress Slack or Twitter @bph.

For questions to be answered on the Gutenberg Changelog,
send them to changelog@gutenbergtimes.com

21 Jun 2025 12:40am GMT

Here's the deal: Every time you pop up online with a different headshot, a tweaked job title, or a bio that sounds like it was written by three different people on three different days, you're not just being quirky. You're quietly chipping away at your credibility.

Those little inconsistencies create one big problem: Cognitive friction. And cognitive friction = second-guessing. Not ideal when you're trying to win hearts, minds, or contracts.

Unlike the good old days of handshakes and conference rooms, building trust online isn't natural or automatic. It's something you have to design carefully, deliberately, across every touchpoint where your name shows up.

And if you're new to the game without a reputation to fall back on? The stakes are even higher.

But here's the good news: Trust is buildable - and way more under your control than you think.

In this guide, you'll learn how to:

• centralize your online identity so you look polished and cohesive everywhere.
• use social proof like a pro to boost instant credibility.
• communicate authentically without feeling like you're "branding" yourself to death.

By the time we're done, you'll know exactly how to build a digital presence that feels genuine, trustworthy, and ready to convert curious visitors into loyal fans, wherever they find you.

Why professional credibility isn't just "nice to have" anymore

Thinking professional credibility online is just about having a typo-free website and a decent logo is like saying a handshake is only about touching another person's hand. Important, yes - but nowhere near the full story.

Today, trust online demands way more than surface polish. It's about creating a coherent, recognizable presence that follows you everywhere your audience might stumble across you.

A January 2024 study from the Digital Identity Institute nailed it down to four essentials:

• Your identifiers (name, handle, URL).
• Your content (what you post and share).
• Your profile photos (how you visually show up).
• Your personal images (those behind-the-scenes moments that humanize you).

Get these aligned? You're golden. Mix them up? You undermine the very trust and credibility you're aiming for.

Every time someone jumps from your Twitter to your LinkedIn to your personal blog and spots a disconnect, a little voice whispers: "Wait, is this even the same person?"

Cue doubt. Cue hesitation. Cue lost opportunity.

And just a heads-up: Your digital reputation isn't just about what you put out there. It's also:

• What people say about you on review sites.
• How (and whether) you respond to comments.
• Where your name pops up in industry chatter.
• Those forgotten forum posts from 2018 (yes, even the cringey ones).

For newcomers, this can feel wildly overwhelming. But don't panic - there's a system for building trust that works whether you're a total newbie or a seasoned pro.

And it all starts with something deceptively simple: Making it crystal clear that it's actually you, wherever you show up.

Let's dig into how to make that happen.

Establishing your verified identity online

Let's talk about the sneaky tax no one warns you about: Digital fragmentation.

Every time you spin up a new GitHub profile, tweak your WordPress.com bio, or casually update your Slack status, you're basically creating another branch of your professional identity.

Each one demands attention; otherwise, it leaves behind tiny cracks in your credibility that clients will notice (even if they don't realize it).

Trust is built silently through strategic verification signals. Things like:

• Verified email domains: Yourname@yourcompany.com trumps hotmaillegend1995@gmail.com (every time).
• Consistent usernames: When "jane-smith-designer" shows up everywhere, recognition is effortless.
• Linked professional accounts: Connecting your LinkedIn, Twitter, and portfolio into a neat trust web.
• Visual continuity: That profile photo is important, it's a visual anchor that screams "yep, this is me".

But the brutal truth is that keeping it all polished and synced can feel like a part-time job. And the longer you're online, the more ancient breadcrumbs (and outdated bios) you scatter across the internet like digital confetti.

Enter Gravatar.

Instead of another profile to manage, Gravatar is the solution to profile management by connecting your professional identity to something you already use everywhere: Your email address.

Gravatar becomes your single source of truth, rippling updated credibility across the web with zero extra work.

How Gravatar keeps your digital identity (and sanity) intact

Gravatar's magic trick is simple but game-changing: Update once. Sync everywhere

Here's how it works:

1. You sign up once using your email address.
2. Gravatar then pushes your profile info - your headshot, your bio, your portfolio links - across any platform that has Gravatar integrated.
3. Instantly recognizable. No manual updates. No weird gaps.

Gravatar plugs into heavy-hitters like:

• WordPress (hello, 43% of the internet)
• GitHub (where devs prove their chops)
• Slack (where teams live)
• OpenAI (yep, even the AI world knows your face)
• Atlassian, Figma, Mailchimp, Stack Overflow, Coinbase - and the list keeps growing

It's like a digital business card, but one that updates itself, multiplies itself, and hands itself out for you.

When you update your Gravatar, you're refreshing your professional image across a whole ecosystem without lifting another finger.

And even on platforms that don't plug directly into Gravatar (looking at you, X and Instagram), your Gravatar profile still works as a rock-solid bio link destination. A central hub that confirms, "Yes, I'm legit."

Let's get into how to set it up.

How to showcase expertise that actually converts (not just impresses)

Having a verified, consistent digital identity is a great first step. But if you want to turn casual visitors into paying clients, you need more than legitimacy. You need to flex your expertise in ways that actually move people to act.

Here's the difference between professionals who quietly exist online and those who consistently rack up conversions: They don't just say they're good. They prove it - strategically.

Here's how to build serious trust and trigger buying decisions at the same time:

Content that builds (and measures) trust

Not all content earns trust equally. Here are the formats that drive the biggest trust-to-conversion ROI:

• Case studies with real results: Proving you've solved this exact problem before removes the risk for new clients.
• Original research with downloadable assets: Publishing fresh findings no one else has? Authority unlocked (not to mention backlinks).
• Video demonstrations: Watching you in action builds confidence fast.
• Step-by-step tutorials: Breaking down complex processes shows mastery and your ability to guide others.

Credentials that appear exactly where they matter

Having credentials is great, but placing them where they crush doubt is the difference.

• Certification logos near pricing tables instantly calm "Is this worth it?" nerves.
• Industry awards on service pages make your premium offer feel like a no-brainer.
• Testimonials right beside CTA buttons? Ideal for that final, reassuring nudge.

Thought leadership that stands out (not blends in)

Vanilla expertise doesn't convert. You need a clear, memorable POV that plants your flag.

• Challenge industry norms (backed by real evidence, not just hot takes).
• Create your own frameworks that only you offer.
• Take thoughtful stands on key industry debates (without turning your audience into enemies).

Trusted platforms that amplify your expertise

Sometimes it's not just what you say - it's where you say it. That's why Gravatar's integrations create trust-by-proxy opportunities you can't buy:

• WordPress comments: Your verified Gravatar shows up and instantly builds recognition.
• GitHub contributions: Your Gravatar profile signals serious technical chops.
• Slack communities: Your Gravatar credentials put you right inside trusted expert circles.

Stack these strategies, and not only are you building a reputation, you're removing every obstacle between curiosity and conversion. When prospects can instantly answer both "Can they help me?" and "Can I trust them?", signing on becomes the obvious next step.

Let's move on to putting all of this into action.

Building trust through authentic communication

A fascinating 2020 University of Missouri study found that sharing the story behind why you do what you do skyrockets your perceived authenticity.

Turns out, people don't just trust the expert with the most credentials. They trust the expert who lets them in on why it matters to them personally.

In other words, explaining why you care can be just as powerful as proving you're qualified.

This research shatters the old-school myth that professional communication should stay cold, detached, and full of corporate buzzwords. Storytelling - real, personal, first-person storytelling - builds deeper trust than any third-person "Our team is passionate about solutions" fluff ever could.

Here's what that looks like in action:

• "I built this workflow after nearly burning out during my first agency job." is more effective than "Our optimized workflow increases efficiency by 27%."
  
• "The software crashed on me three times before I figured out this workaround." will win people over above "Our team has extensive troubleshooting experience."

See the difference? One makes you nod and feel something. The other makes you… skim.

How Gravatar supercharges your authenticity

Gravatar is your secret weapon for broadcasting authenticity everywhere you show up.

Inside your Gravatar profile, you've got space to tell the story:

• The hurdles you've faced.
• The experiences that shaped your expertise.
• The real reasons behind what you do.

And the beauty of this is you only have to do it once. Gravatar pushes that authentic narrative across every platform where your profile appears - so you're building trust automatically without tailoring a new story for every single site.

When you combine that authenticity signal with your hard-earned credentials, you create a full, irresistible trust picture: Qualified. Relatable. Human.

Exactly what today's clients are looking for.

Create your Gravatar profile today and start boosting your professional credibility

If there's one thing this guide has made crystal clear, it's that consistency = credibility.

When potential clients see the same professional presence across every platform, their trust barriers don't just lower; they practically melt away.

And that trust is what turns casual browsers into paying customers.

Gravatar solves the messy fragmentation that trips up even the savviest digital pros. Instead of chasing down a dozen outdated bios and rogue headshots, Gravatar syncs your professional image, links, and story across hundreds of platforms automatically.

One update. Endless consistency. Zero stress.

And it's not just a time-saver. It's a trust amplifier that strengthens everything you've worked to build. As we've seen, Gravatar:

• Anchors your visual identity wherever you show up
• Connects people directly to your best case studies, thought leadership, and portfolio
• Tells your authentic professional story, not just your title
• Reinforces every layer of social proof you've earned

And the best part? Setting up your Gravatar profile takes five minutes, so create your free Gravatar profile today and start turning trust into conversions.

20 Jun 2025 5:38pm GMT

In this episode of "Woo Product Chat," co-hosts James and Katie chat with Miriam Schwab from Elementor about transparency in software, community engagement, and the balance of openness while navigating business strategies.

20 Jun 2025 9:56am GMT

A journey shows that success isn't a straight path. Embrace resilience, self-reflection, and the courage to reinvent yourself in a changing tech world.

20 Jun 2025 8:28am GMT

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 you are running an up-to-date version of WordPress, please log in to your site's dashboard. Out of date versions will display a notice that looks like this:

The version you are running is displayed in the bottom of the "At a Glance" section of the dashboard.

As a reminder, the only actively supported version of WordPress is the most recent one. Security updates are only backported to older branches as a courtesy.

The Make WordPress Security blog has further details about the process to end support.

19 Jun 2025 3:26pm GMT

I recently undertook a significant project: migrating the entire JavaScript codebase of my AI Services plugin for WordPress (GitHub repository) to TypeScript.

Why is that significant?

• We're talking about over 80 JavaScript files, so it's by no means a small project. Not gigantic like e.g. Gutenberg, but certainly a substantial amount of code.
• Additionally, that JavaScript code is powering a plugin with a fairly unique feature set. This uniqueness often makes it harder for Large Language Models (LLMs) to assist, as there's likely less similar code in their training data.

The process taught me a lot about the synergy between a well-structured codebase and LLMs. It also strengthened my belief that, while an LLM isn't magically going to solve complex development tasks for you, it can be a massive productivity booster when you prepare your project and guide it effectively.

This post will walk you through how I used Cline in VS Code together with Google's Gemini models to get it done efficiently and why I think this migration was worthwhile.

Why Bother with TypeScript? (Hint: LLMs Love Structure)

If you're a developer who hasn't yet embraced TypeScript, I get the hesitation. You might be annoyed by the seemingly verbose syntax, or perhaps you've heard that it slows down development. Let's address those points.

The idea that TypeScript slows you down couldn't be further from the truth in the long run. Using TypeScript allows you to ship safer code by preventing many potential bugs during development that plain JavaScript would miss. This makes complex projects easier to understand and ultimately faster to iterate on. The only scenario where TypeScript might genuinely get in the way is with quick prototypes, especially when dealing with dependencies that aren't typed. I'd argue this is the only case where sticking with plain JavaScript is more reasonable today.

And if you're turned away by the syntax? Don't worry, I definitely was in the same boat myself. But after writing about five TypeScript files, I found it started to feel very natural.

Beyond the general benefits, there's a modern, compelling reason to adopt it: TypeScript provides structure, and LLMs thrive on structure. By providing the clear, explicit types of TypeScript, you give the LLM a much more detailed and unambiguous map of your codebase. This helps it understand context and your intent, leading to far more accurate and helpful suggestions.

A few weeks ago, I posted on social media: "Learn TypeScript deeply." And I truly think you should.

My Migration Strategy: A Human-in-the-Loop Approach

My goal wasn't to have an LLM do all the work, but to have it act as a super-powered assistant. I used Cline in VS Code, primarily with the Gemini 2.5 Pro model via the Gemini API. I'm a fan of Cline because of its customizability and its "Plan" vs. "Act" modes, through which you can force the model to collaborate with you on defining the approach before writing any code.

Here's the step-by-step process I followed.

Step 1: Laying the Groundwork

Before letting the LLM loose, some manual preparation is essential.

1. Start with the Most Foundational Package: My plugin consists of several JavaScript packages. I began with the package that had no dependencies on the others. It's crucial to migrate packages in order of their dependency graph.
2. Define Core Types Manually: This is the most critical manual step. I went through the foundational package and defined the core TypeScript types myself, e.g., in a types.ts file at the root of the package. While an LLM can sometimes help, doing this manually ensures accuracy and aligns the data structures perfectly with my intent.
3. Migrate a Few Files Yourself: I manually migrated 3-5 files to TypeScript. This served two purposes. First, it created "perfect" examples of my desired coding patterns-including code style, JSDoc comments, and variable naming. Second, it helped me get reacquainted with TypeScript within the specific context of this project.

Step 2: Defining the Workflow (and Relevant Rules)

To ensure consistency, I leveraged two key features: custom rules and reusable workflows.

First, I established custom rules that define the TypeScript coding standards for the project. This helps the LLM generate code that is consistent with my best practices. This concept is supported by many AI code assistants, including Cline. As an example, you can see the coding standards I defined for the AI Services plugin here.

Next, I created a reusable prompt, which Cline calls a "workflow." This saves me from re-typing a complex prompt for every single file. Here is the workflow I created, saved as migrate-typescript.md:

You need to migrate specific JavaScript files to be valid TypeScript.

Concretely, you need to migrate the JavaScript code in <file> to TypeScript. There are three possible scenarios:

- If the file is already using the extension `.ts` or `.tsx`, it may have already been renamed from `.js`. You MUST make the changes to migrate the code to TypeScript directly within the file.
- Otherwise, if the file is using the extension `.js` and it contains React components (JSX), you must create a new file of the same name but with the `.tsx` extension and write the code migrated to TypeScript in there.
- Otherwise, if the file is using the extension `.js` and it does not contain any JSX, you must create a new file of the same name but with the `.ts` extension and write the code migrated to TypeScript in there.

First, use the `read_file` tool to collect sufficient relevant context. Some of the files the user may have already provided to you. In that case, DO NOT READ THEM AGAIN.

- Search for `tsconfig.json`, `.eslintrc.json`, and `.eslintrc.js` files in the project root directory. Read all of them that you find, to know which TypeScript and TSDoc configuration requirements the migrated TypeScript code must follow.
- Search the current directory and any parent directories _within_ the project for `types.ts` files. You MUST read all of these files to understand the project-specific types.
- Look for other TypeScript files in the same directory or a sibling directory. Read 1-3 files to learn about the project-specific TypeScript conventions and best practices, e.g. regarding specific type imports, code style, documentation, or file structure.
    - If you are writing a `.ts` file, you must ONLY consider existing `.ts` files for this contextual research.
    - If you are writing a `.tsx` file, you must ONLY consider existing `.tsx` files for this contextual research.

With that context in mind, you MUST follow the following steps in order to migrate the <file> to TypeScript:

1. Migrate the JavaScript code from <file> to TypeScript, following the patterns learned from ALL previous context.
    - NEVER change any names, e.g. of variables or functions.
    - NEVER change any logic.
    - In addition to the TypeScript code itself, you MUST also ensure to update any JavaScript doc blocks to follow TSDoc syntax, according to project configuration.
    - If any usage of the obsolete `PropTypes` (`prop-types`) is present, you MUST remove it. Using TypeScript itself is a sufficient replacement.
2. Read the `package.json` file in the root directory to check which `"scripts"` are available. Identify any relevant lint, build, and format scripts, which you can use to verify whether the TypeScript code you wrote is accurate.
    - To find the relevant lint script, look for names like "lint-js", "lint-ts", or "lint" for example.
    - To find the relevant build script, look for names like "build:dev", or "build" for example.
    - To find the relevant format script, look for names like "format-js", "format-ts", or "format" for example.
    - Remember the exact names of these scripts that you found.
3. If you found a relevant build script, RUN IT in the command line via NPM and check the output. Here is an example how to run it:
    - If the script name is "build", execute `npm run build` in the command line.
4. If the build script you ran reported TypeScript errors, inspect them carefully. Then review the TypeScript you wrote to see how you can fix the errors. Update the previously generated TypeScript code to fix the reported errors.
5. If you found a relevant lint script, RUN IT in the command line via NPM and check the output. Here is an example how to run it:
    - If the script name is "lint-js", execute `npm run lint-js` in the command line.
6. If the lint script you ran reported errors, inspect them carefully.
    - For any Prettier errors, DO NOT try to fix them manually. Instead, run the format script you previously found if one exists.
    - For any errors other than Prettier, review the TypeScript you wrote to see how you can fix the errors. Update the previously generated TypeScript code to fix the reported errors.
7. If you found a relevant build script before, RUN IT again and check the output. Afterwards, YOU MUST STOP.
    - If the scripts no longer report TypeScript errors, all is well.
    - If the scripts still report TypeScript errors, please share the feedback with the user, to let them decide on the next steps.

Note: You may wonder about common prompting best practices like "You are a senior web engineer" etc. being missing from this workflow. This is because Cline already has its own built-in system instruction, so adding something like that here would likely be unnecessary or even confusing. Keep in mind that this workflow runs in combination with any built-in system instructions from your tooling as well as any custom rules you defined.

Step 3: Executing the Migration, File by File

With the groundwork laid, I began the migration. I preferred to first manually rename a file from .js to .ts or .tsx. Then, I'd invoke my workflow in Cline like this:

/migrate-typescript.md @src/ai/classes/browser-generative-ai-model.ts

By renaming the file first, Cline provides a convenient diff view against the original JavaScript code, making it much easier to spot changes. If I let the workflow create the new file, it would be treated as a brand-new file with no history to compare against.

I started with the most capable model, Gemini 2.5 Pro. After confirming its quality, I experimented with the faster and cheaper Gemini 2.5 Flash. However, the results were notably worse, so I switched back to Pro. This highlights a key lesson: always start with the most powerful model available, and only downgrade if you can confirm it meets your quality bar for the specific task.

While I'm using Cline, this approach should be adaptable to other tools like Cursor with only minor adjustments. As long as you can define custom rules and use reusable prompts (even if it's just by copy-pasting), you can achieve similar results.

The Results: Time, Cost, and Effort

So, was it worth it? Absolutely.

My experience was that for some simpler files, Gemini got the migration 100% correct on the first try. For more complex files, I typically needed to spend 5-10 minutes on review and corrections. However, migrating those same files manually would have likely taken around 25-30 minutes each.

Let's talk numbers:

• Total Cost: The entire migration of over 80 files cost me about $20 in Gemini API credits.
• Time Spent: I spent approximately 3 hours on the migration, including setup, execution, and review.
• Estimated Time Saved: I estimate that doing this manually would have taken at least 8 hours.

Spending $20 to save 5 hours of focused development work is a trade I will happily make any day. And beyond that, now I have a reusable workflow that I can use to do the same for my other existing projects in the future.

Last but not least, LLMs will only get better with time. If you notice that the results you get for your use-case are rather poor even though you've set up the project and prompts in an ideal way, don't give up for good. It can certainly be frustrating, but there's a good chance that in a few months, or even a few weeks, the latest LLM will do better. And always keep in mind that the LLM is there to help you, not to replace you.

Questions & Feedback

This project was a powerful demonstration of how to partner with an LLM effectively. It underscores that the role of the developer is shifting-we are not just writers of code, but also architects of systems and directors of our LLM assistants.

That said, I'm always learning.

• I am by no means a TypeScript expert. If you are, you may find code patterns in the AI Services codebase that you consider suboptimal. Please let me know in the repository!
• Obviously, when it comes to using LLMs for code assistance, the field is changing daily. If you've found success with other approaches or if your efforts have mostly led to disappointment, I'd love to hear from you and learn from your experiences in the comments below.

The post Migrating Your JavaScript Codebase to TypeScript with Cline & Gemini appeared first on felix-arntz.me.

19 Jun 2025 1:48pm GMT

I've been testing the developer previews of all the new Apple 26 operating systems, which I don't recommend this early in the cycle, but I like to live dangerously. I've quickly become accustomed to Liquid Glass. The iPad windowing enhancements do make it feel more like a real computer, but I usually run things in full-screen mode. My favorite thing to play with so far has been the new Spotlight (what pops up when you press Command + Space) and related shortcuts.

I loved Alfred, I tried Raycast, but a general life goal this year is to simplify wherever I can, so I've been exploring the enhancements in the new Spotlight.

What I've found the most useful in the past is Alfred's Open URL Action, which basically lets you type something like "gm united reservation" and it translates that into opening a Gmail search in your browser, with "united reservation" put in the URL in the right place to run a search.

The Shortcuts app in MacOS and iOS is amazing, which I've always known, but I haven't played with it much. This was my chance! After a bit of tinkering, I got it to pop up an input form and then run the search. I Googled a lot to see if it could take input from the Spotlight search bar and every place said no, I'm not sure if this is new in MacOS 26 or not but I found the button that makes it work. It's not as smooth as Alfred, but it's pretty decent. I'm going to share a screenshot that shows my Gmail search shortcut that takes input from Spotlight - the key breakthrough was clicking the (i) menu on the right and finding the checkbox for "Receive Input from Search."

I gave it a "gm" hotkey, pressed enter, and you get this in Spotlight.

Tada! Not as nice as Alfred but it gets the job done. My other shortcuts that people might find useful are LI for LinkedIn search, PY is Perplexity, YT for searching the history of YouTube videos I've watched, and AM for searching my Amazon order history. (Because I'm usually trying to find a link for something I'm recommending, or re-order an item.) Here are the search URLs for everything I've mentioned:

• https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#search/ (If you have multiple Google accounts, change the number in the URL to go to the one you want, and then login in that same order every time.)
• https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/index/?keywords=
• https://www.perplexity.ai/search/
• https://www.youtube.com/feed/history?query=
• https://www.amazon.com/your-orders/search/?search=

If you dug this, did you know WordPress also has a cool popup shortcut feature? In 2023, we introduced the Command Palette in the Gutenberg block editor and site editor. To access it on Mac, you press Command + k. I'd like to bring it to every admin page so it can function more like Spotlight or Raycast for WordPress.

18 Jun 2025 4:55pm GMT

On the podcast today we have Tom Willmot and Jon Ang.

Tom is the co-founder of Human Made, an enterprise WordPress agency that's been pushing the boundaries of what WordPress can do since its inception. Jon is also with Human Made, and together they bring a huge amount of experience working with major clients on large-scale projects. At this year's WordCamp Europe in Basel, they presented a case study: their long-term, continually evolving work with the global banking giant Standard Chartered.

Most listeners might not be working at the scale of 85,000 employees, 70 countries, and hundreds of millions of page views a month, but Tom and Jon are here to share insights from the top end of WordPress implementation.

They explain how Human Made helped Standard Chartered shift from proprietary CMS lock-in to a flexible, open-source, Gutenberg-powered WordPress solution that serves as the main web platform for the bank across all its markets.

We talk about the unique compliance and security challenges of working in the banking sector, what it takes to persuade giant enterprises that WordPress is 'not a toy', and how to support hundreds of CMS users with custom workflows and integrations.

Tom and Jon discuss the specifics of scaling WordPress for the enterprise, from accessibility and multilingual setups to custom block development and real-time collaborative editing.

We also hear how Human Made works with clients to contribute innovations and security improvements back to the WordPress community, ensuring that lessons learned at the enterprise level benefit everyone.

If you're curious about how WordPress powers mission-critical web infrastructure for some of the world's biggest organisations, or how you might pitch WordPress for enterprise use, this episode is for you.

Useful links

Human Made

Standard Chartered

Tom and Jon's WordCamp Europe presentation: Banking on WordPress: Inside a FTSE 50 Bank's Global Platform

Standard Chartered: banking on the future

18 Jun 2025 2:00pm GMT

In this episode of Emerging Tech, host Dave talks to Tole, an innovative developer who shares his journey from mobile to WordPress. He discusses his MCP integration in ConvoWorks for AI workflows.

18 Jun 2025 1:41pm GMT

Have you enabled reCAPTCHA thinking it would shield you against spam, only to find bots slipping through? You're not alone. Those little puzzles prove that some visitors are human, but they don't always stop the spam messages.

It may be disappointing to hear, but reCAPTCHA seriously annoys site visitors while only doing a moderate job of preventing spam. You (and your visitors) deserve something much better.

Common issues with reCAPTCHA

Though a popular option, reCAPTCHA doesn't always deliver the spam protection you need. Let's look at just a few key reasons why this is the case, from user frustration and accessibility concerns to bots getting through.

1. User friction and poor accessibility

For those caught in an endless loop of trying to find all the squares that include a bicycle, it's no surprise that user frustration tops the list of reasons that reCAPTCHA isn't a great option.

In fact, a study by Stanford showed that humans need an average of ten seconds to solve Google reCAPTCHAs and up to 30 seconds for audio. This study showed that users abandon the page 29% of the time without even trying to solve it. Imagine losing a sale because your customer couldn't pass the test!

2. Low effectiveness against advanced bots and CAPTCHA farms

While effective when it was first released, AI bots can now bypass reCAPTCHA with 99.8% accuracy, according to the Merchant Risk Council.

Where bots aren't effective, there are even entire "CAPTCHA farms" that use human labor to bypass CAPTCHAs at astonishing rates.

Either way, you'll likely be bogged down with tons of annoying, dangerous spam - even with reCAPTCHA.

3. A negative impact on site performance and load times

On the internet, every second counts. Visitors won't wait more than a couple of seconds for your site to load before moving on.

That's why site owners put so much effort into optimizing images, finding a high-performing host, installing the right speed plugins, and more.

Unfortunately, using reCAPTCHA can undo a lot of that hard work. PagePipe's testing found that reCAPTCHA adds a full half‑second lag to a site's load time, costing you visitors and likely customers. After all, 53% of mobile users abandon sites that take over three seconds to load.

Plus, this likely has a serious (negative) impact on Core Web Vitals. This can drop your rankings so fewer visitors find your slow‑loading site to begin with.

4. False positives galore

When reCAPTCHA flags a submission as a false positive, you're inadvertently telling your visitors that they aren't even human.

For example, some reCAPTCHAs flag super fast form submissions under the assumption that, when someone fills out a form too quickly, it must be a bot. But there are some people who are simply fast typers - they could be blocked from your site because of their typing prowess!

The inconvenience and potential lost sales that result from false positives simply aren't worth the risk.

Akismet is your superior spam protection solution

With the drawbacks of reCAPTCHA well understood, let's now think about a scenario where you don't have to worry about losing clients or driving away new subscribers by confronting them with accusations of being bots.

The solution does exist, and it's called Akismet.

Akismet is an anti-spam tool that works behind the scenes on nearly any type of site (WordPress, Drupal, etc.) to detect and block spam in real time.

Its advanced AI algorithm is constantly learning from the network of over 100 million protected sites to maintain an incredible 99.999% accuracy rate.

It doesn't slow down your site, doesn't challenge your visitors with annoying tests (it's in the background, remember?), and can be customized for your individual site with the opportunity for you to manually review submissions and provide feedback.

To date, it's blocked over 550 billion spam messages, with 76 million pieces of additional spam annihilated each day. Let's look at how Akismet accomplishes this:

Next-generation AI and machine learning technology

Akismet's AI uses the content within a form submission to identify automated spam attempts and bots. In fact, their advanced machine learning technology analyzes real spam data from more than 100 million users and is always improving.

Real-time analysis of user submissions

Akismet analyzes form submissions in real time, making split-second decisions about whether a comment or form entry is legitimate or spam. This keeps your site free of spam without any work required on your end.

99.99% spam detection accuracy

Akismet has a 99% spam detection accuracy rate with the track record to back up the claim. Notably, Kit switched to Akismet and saved 20 hours per customer every month without losing any leads. That kind of performance shows how effective spam protection doesn't have to come at the cost of user experience.

The largest spam database in the world

Akismet is powered by the largest spam database on the internet. Every time it catches a new spam pattern, it feeds that data back into its systems, improving accuracy across all the sites it protects.

Core advantages of Akismet over reCAPTCHA

Now that you've seen how Akismet works, let's zoom in on the key differences between it and reCAPTCHA.

1. Content‑based analysis, which targets spam (instead of users)

Akismet analyzes content directly rather than relying on click-based tests or suspicious IP lists. It looks at the substance of the message and compares it against patterns of known spam behavior, which makes it far more effective at catching the source.

This also means that it doesn't get in the way of real users because it's not constantly passing judgment on their behavior (which slows down sites) or asking them to complete tests.

2. Zero friction for site visitors

Friction slows down conversions and that's precisely what reCAPTCHA causes. It introduces friction and interrupts your visitors with tedious tasks before they can even submit a form. If they get it wrong once, many won't bother trying again.

Akismet removes that friction. It doesn't bother users with puzzles, challenges, or visual tests. It runs quietly in the background, allowing visitors to stay focused and engaged without even noticing it.

3. Ongoing adaptation to new spam patterns

One of the most impressive benefits of Akismet often goes unnoticed, and that's its ability to adapt to new spam methods and bots in real time. Its machine learning engine takes notes from every spam attempt it blocks - across all the websites it protects.

That means it's not just reacting to spam. It's predicting and adapting in real time, keeping your forms clean no matter how spam trends shift.

4. Zero impact on performance and site speed

Unlike reCAPTCHA, which can add lag to your forms and frustrate visitors with slow load times, Akismet promises zero impact on performance. Since it uses the cloud to store data, Akismet won't affect your site speed, bounce rates, or conversion rates. Compare that to the half‑second load‑time drag reCAPTCHA brings to the table and the choice becomes clear.

reCAPTCHA not stopping spam? Switch to Akismet in minutes

Why settle for a tool that slows down your site, frustrates visitors, and still lets spam slip through? Thankfully, with Akismet, you don't have to.

Getting started only takes a few minutes. Simply:

1. Remove the CAPTCHAs that turn visitors away.
2. Activate Akismet on your WordPress site.
3. Let Akismet handle the spam while you focus on growing your site and improving conversions.

Ready to stop making your visitors prove they're human? Add Akismet to your site and see how convenient set‑it‑and‑forget‑it spam protection can be.

18 Jun 2025 12:00pm GMT

When it comes to building successful plugins and products for WordPress or WooCommerce, everyone talks about the importance of "community." But what does that really mean-and who should you be building community with? In a recent episode of Woo Product Chat, hosts Katie Keith, James Kemp, and special guest Jonathan Wold dove deep into the […]

18 Jun 2025 11:47am GMT

In the first of the series, Media Playbook, Rae and Adam discuss how to connect WordPress businesses with the media. They share tips on crafting newsworthy stories and building relationships for better visibility.

17 Jun 2025 9:51am GMT

Since 2018, WooCommerce has been a vital partner for Do the Woo, promoting the brand and providing resources. They will now sponsor Open Channels FM to strengthen community engagement and support.

16 Jun 2025 8:31am GMT

Hosted by Birgit Pauli-Haack, with special guest Anne McCarthy, this episode dives into recent happenings in the WordPress ecosystem, including updates from WordCamp Europe, the launch of the new WordPress AI Team, the Pride Photo Drive initiative, and the latest Gutenberg releases (20.9 and 21.0).

WordCamp Europe Recap

The community celebrated new milestones, including all workshops being recorded and promptly published to WordPress TV, making it easier for everyone to catch up. Notable sessions covered digital freedom, block development, and innovative ways to extend WordPress without custom blocks. There was also a special mention of the WordPress Campus Connect pilot at the University of Pisa, enabling students to earn credits through WordPress contributions.

WordPress AI Team Launch

WordPress has officially formed a core AI Team, supported by both Automattic and Google contributors, focusing on foundational tools and integrations to bring AI capabilities to the platform. The team is working on projects like the AI Services plugin, the Model Context Protocol (MCP), and the WP Feature API, each designed to provide standardized and extensible AI solutions for the WordPress ecosystem.

Pride Photo Drive

Anne McCarthy introduced the Pride Photo Drive: an open photo submission event to boost LGBTQ+ representation in the WordPress Photo Directory. The initiative encourages everyone (not just the LGBTQ+ community) to contribute, with fun incentives and cash prizes, emphasizing the importance of diverse, high-quality imagery for web creators.

Gutenberg 20.9 & 21.0 Releases

The latest Gutenberg plugin releases bring a host of improvements and enhancements:

• A shift towards more modern and maintainable codebase (SASS modules),
• Usability changes to block settings and tool panels,
• Continued iteration on "content-only" editing for simpler, safer user experiences,
• Accessibility improvements and bug fixes suggested by new and long-time contributors,
• Ongoing expansion of the Interactivity API for richer client-side experiences.

Community & Contribution

Anne and Birgit emphasize the power of direct community feedback-how user suggestions shape features and workflows. There's an open call for more engagement, hallway hangouts, and broad collaboration beyond just in-person events.

This episode is packed with optimism and opportunities for WordPress users and contributors of all backgrounds to get involved-whether that's through new tech like AI, creative community projects, or by shaping the future of Gutenberg.

Show Notes / Transcript

• Editor: Sandy Reed
• Logo: Mark Uraine
• Production: Birgit Pauli-Haack

Show Notes

Special Guest: Anne McCarthy

• WordPress profile
• LinkedIn
• Personal Blog: Nomad.blog
• Gutenberg Changelog #111 - Gutenberg 19.6 and 19.7, Developer Hours, Playground, and Collaborative Editing
• Gutenberg Changelog #87 - Patterns, Gutenberg 16.3 and WordPress 6.3.

Celebrating Pride Month

• Share your Pride Photo Drive is back for 2025
• WordPress photo directory ShareYourPride 2024

WordPress AI Team

• Announcing the Formation of the WordPress AI Team
• Welcome to the Core AI Team Blog
• Introducing the AI Team - Hallway Hangout Recap
• AI Services
• MCP for WordPress
• Enabling AI-Powered WordPress Development with WP-CLI and the Model Context Protocol (MCP)
• WP Feature API
• The WordPress AI fightback begins!

WordCamp Europe Recordings

• During Fire side Chat with Mary Hubbard and Matt Mullenweg
• WordPress without Borders - The Fight for Digital Freedom
• The Block Developer Cookbook: WCEU 2025 Edition
• WordPress Gems around the Interactivity API.
• Why Block Themes Make WooCommerce Stores Better
• Do you really need a custom block
• All recordings from WordCamp Europe on WordPressTV

Gutenberg Releases

• What's New for Developers (June 2025)
• What's new in Gutenberg 20.8 and 20.9?
• What's new in Gutenberg 21.0?
• Interactivity API: Backport of WooCommerce's Interactivity API improvements #70372
  

Stay in Touch

Transcript

Birgit Pauli-Haack: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to our 118th episode of the Gutenberg Changelog podcast. In today's episode, we will talk about WordCamp Europe and the WordPress new AI team, and Pride Photo Drive and the Gutenberg 20.9 and 21.0 releases. I'm your host, Birgit Pauli-Haack, curator at the Gutenberg Times, a developer advocate at Automattic, and core contributor to the WordPress open source project. With me today, relatively fresh back from the sabbatical, is Anne McCarthy. Thank you, Anne. Welcome back and I'm thrilled you're on the show. How are you today?

Anne McCarthy: Thank you for having me. It is incredible to be back from sabbatical and also to be back to contributing with sponsorship, which is amazing. I was trying to do it coming back without it and to have to have that change so quickly. Coming back from sabbatical has been so energizing combined with Pride Month, so I can't complain. I'm just excited to get into stuff and excited to be back in this space talking about this important work.

Birgit Pauli-Haack: Wonderful. Yeah, no, we're all back contributing. It will be. We still have to kind of figure that out. I know that every team is kind of trying to get unplugged from what they were doing as part so they can contribute back. So the last time you were on the show, it was in November last year. Episode 111. So, so much has changed for the project and for you. What are you now working on at Automattic and respectively for WordPress? Yeah.

Anne McCarthy: So my job title has shifted a bit as well, to align with some of the changes that have happened. So we. I am now an architecture wrangler is the title I'm rolling with right now. And essentially the core of my job is the same. I'm looking across Automattic the community to find shared patterns, to accelerate work, to do work and to connect work. And so trying to make sure we're moving in the same direction in the project. So working on things like roadmaps, breaking down work, helping for the future, teams get into contributing and figuring out important projects they can work on and providing support there, as well as collecting user feedback across different places and how it impacts things. So if we hear something, for example, from like an enterprise client, I recently did this. A couple weeks ago, there was a bug that came out from an enterprise client. I said, hey, who else has dealt with this? Aaron Jordan used to in publishing. What do you think? Hey, can we get someone to work on this? What are you all seeing? What feedback are you seeing? Here's the feedback I'm seeing. So I'm still doing the same kind of work. Cool thing is now instead of working with about 100 engineers, I'm working with about 300, about 50 different teams. So internally there's a lot more spread. But I'm really excited because it can really help influence and move faster on some of the stuff we do in the core project. So instead of things being a bit divorced and separated, especially from customer feedback and customer needs, we can now, you know, using Automattic spread of customers, use that to bring things that are foundational for all WordPress, because we cover so many different use cases between themes and plugins and hosting and enterprise and bloggers and all sorts of stuff. So I'm really excited to see increased collaboration there, including with the broader Five for the future groups, and encourage everyone to get involved, to share that feedback and join in the fun.

Birgit Pauli-Haack: That's wonderful. Yeah, it sounds exciting. It also sounds like a lot of work, but, yeah.

Anne McCarthy: It'S good work. It's good work because you get to kind of see things at the root, which is fine.

Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, yeah. And you can also kind of see it happening when it's fixed or something like that, or come together in a. In a very creative way. Yeah.

Announcements

So you also are the instigator of the Pride Photo Drive. Tell us about it.

Pride Photo Drive

Anne McCarthy: Yeah, so it's inspired by what I've seen with other photo directories. And something that I think is really near and dear to me is representation really matters. And so if you can find things that actually resonate, whether with your culture, part of your identity, or where you live, it makes it easier when you're creating websites. Like, websites are inherently quite visual. And so having really good photos that represent queer people is really awesome. And so, of course, you can't have faces in this. But the whole point of the photo drive is to inspire some folks to contribute photos, increase representation in the photo directory, and honestly, just have some fun. Like, I think there is something fun about going out and having a reason to take a photo that I think, at least I enjoy someone who takes a lot of photos. There are some cash prizes for winners, both in terms of most submitted photos, and we'll have some folks select the top photos. But honestly, like, you don't need to be a part of the LGBTQ community to participate. It's for everyone. And it's just mainly to ensure when folks go and look for something that represents them, there's a higher chance of finding high quality work for that. So I hope to see more kind of initiatives like that. And so if anyone wants to talk about doing more drives, I'm happy to share what I've done. It's been very. It's been pretty simple. So more people can do this for sure.

Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. And we have a link to the call for photos on the LGBTDPress.com and there are also the rules and how you actually can upload it to WordPress photo directory. And I'm really excited about that. I, yeah. Was last year, not this year I missed it, but last year was at the Christopher Street Day here in Munich and that was kind of. Wow. I didn't realize how big that was. Yeah. And it was about 600,000 people on the road and 60,000 people in the parade and yeah, totally took over the. The downtown. But I probably have a few pictures made there that I can upload there. Yeah. So yeah, but it was a good point for you to say no photos or no faces or people out there. People, yes, but no faces. Yeah. So that's cool. Yeah. So, yeah.

WordPress New AI Team

And the second piece of announcement that we have is that WordPress has now an AI team. AI stands for artificial intelligence. There are two, three links actually that I can share with you. One is the welcome to the core AI team blog post, then the announcement and the hallway hangout and recap for the first hangout.

So the mission I understood it is to build foundational building blocks for AI integration in WordPress and the timing is ideal because of the rapid evolution of AI. Some people at WordCamp EU said, okay, are we not a little bit late or something like that? No, you can't. Yeah, it's just the right time because now the emerging standards are there, and WordPress could be an ideal platform for AI driven web apps. There are immediate plans to integrate LMMs directly into WordPress, but there are canonical plugins that are on the roadmap and packages that are abstracting the AI provider like AI Services or. And the core integration would be more like. Yeah, a little. A second step. And we know that everything is kind of in place. It has the full support from WordPress leadership, including Matt and Mary. And because they recognize the importance of the open web and ensure it's central in the evolving landscape.

So what are the current initiatives? One is the AI services plugin from Felix Arntz. He's on the team. But the team are right now James LePage from Automattic, Felix Arntz from Google as well as Pascal Bichler from Google and then Jeff Paul from TenUp. And all four have already some experience with AI in the space. And so there are three plugins that are being worked on. One is the AI services plugin Felix already publish that, and I'll share links in the show Notes so you can look it up. And it's an abstraction layer for multiple AI providers to enable plugin authors to unify the API for AI interactions. So you need your OpenAI API key or your CLAUDE API key or whatever you use, but then it helps you to include those services into whatever you want to do on the website. The other, the second one is the called MCP WP. MCP means Model Context Protocol. Those are servers to enable WordPress advanced AI integration with command line or plugins. So plugins say, okay, my plugin can do that with WordPress and you register those services and the AI can discover those on the site. I know that Jonathan Brassinger as well as Ryan Welcher have done some live streams on that and I can share some of that, the latest ones for on the show notes with the videos, so you can kind of follow along with that.

And the last plugin is the WP feature API. That's a plugin coming from Automattic, and it structures WordPress features for better AI integration. It's kind of pretty much it's a standardized way to register resources for AI. That's pretty much what I can say there. It exposes the server and client side functionality in WordPress so LMMs can tap into it if they have the right credentials. Yes. So that's kind of what I know about it. I read quite a bit about AI agents and MCP and it's all still a little murky, but I think that's with any of the new services and new technologies that are kind of coming out that we all need to figure out the smallest use case to figure it all out. Jamie Marsland has interviewed James LePage about the new AI team. And it's a video, it's called Very Clicky. It's called WordPress AI fights back, fight Back Begins. So but it's really insightful and Jamie asked some great questions in it. Any thoughts from you?

Anne McCarthy: Yeah, that was such a good rundown. One of the big questions I've heard from people and I've been getting pings about is like, how do I join? How do I join? The team is creating a handbook at its early stages. You can join the core AI Slack channel. That's the best place they're holding meetings and they're pulling together that context. So please get involved. The idea is to create a shared group of tooling that then plugin authors can reuse. It's meant to provide a shared base. So for the MCP thing, the way I've been kind of thinking of it is like rather than rewriting every AI integration from scratch, you can reuse this to Talk, to have WordPress talk to LLMs. So like those sorts of things are kind of the current focus to provide tooling for people who want to use AI with WordPress, including with plugin authors and stuff like that. So that's the current perspective. And if that appeals to you, you have ideas there, you have personal experience. Trying to make that work like that definitely is a great place to give feedback. And these are the early stages. So it's a great time to get involved. But yeah, that to me is the biggest takeaway to do a great job covering everything. And I love that each team member has direct experience building stuff in line with that mission and value. I'm really excited about the canonical plugins and what we can do and packages that we can do to move this work forward and iterate following a similar model as the performance team.

Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, Fabian Kagy and I were on a podcast with Nathan Wrigley on the WP Builds podcast and we talked a little bit. We talked about a lot of things, but we also talked a little bit about the 10up plugin classify, especially because the latest release actually included an open source way to have LMMs on your server. So every time you ask the AI something, it doesn't go out to a central server, it stays on your site.

Well, you need of course a server with a little bit more oomph. But yeah, for those that want to use it for their internal communications or documentation, it's definitely a great way to do this. And that's why TenUp is also part of the team, and I share that also in the Show Notes, of course, both the podcast and the plugin.

So other news the what's New for developer edition June 2025 is available now. Justin Tadlock collected lots of information speaking about being back to contributing, lots of information relevant to plugin authors, theme builders and agency freelancers, the freelance developers for Core, Gutenberg and Playground. And it's pretty much the best post to catch up on the last two months of updates on WordPress. So check it out with the link on the show notes or you go to developer.WordPress.org news or blog. Either way, Both of them get you to the developer blog.

Community Contributions - WordCamp Europe

All right, so now that brings us to WordCamp Europe, first time. In contrast to previous WordCamps, all workshops have been recorded and all recordings have been already submitted to WordPress TV. That I only saw. That's so cool. I only saw this on smaller WordCamps like in Karlsruhe or in Leipzig where there's only one track or one or two tracks in only one day. But having two days with three tracks, everything already on WordPress TV, that's a phenomenal achievement.

So I have a few favorites I want to kind of suggest to you. One is of course, the fireside chat with Mary Hubbard and Matt Mullerweg. They discussed, among other things, a lot of other things, but the. The WordPress Campus Connect project that's being rolled out as the official program from the WordPress Foundation. And also Mary announced a pilot project with the University of Pisa in Italy where 5,000 students have 150 mandatory contribution hours and those will equate to six credits for college. So that's going to be a phenomenal place.

Anne McCarthy: I'm so excited for that.

Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, yeah. Getting the young folks involved in WordPress evolved in open source and also bringing them together with mentors in the technical fields. Yeah. So I'm really excited about that. It's also more focused on the translations because that's the humanities department there. But yeah, yeah, everything helps. Anything helps. Yeah.

Anne McCarthy: So I got my start in college so I would have loved. This would have been amazing. I was working on a WordPress multi site in college and if I could have had this as a chance to get to know the WordPress community rather than learning about it four years after. I think it would have been amazing to have this kind of opportunity and access and experience of open source early on. So I'm very, I agree with you. I'm very excited about that program.

Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, yeah. I also had about. Took me about four years to kind of get into the community here. So yeah, it's always something, something. Another great talk was by Noel Tock. The title was WordPress Without Borders, the Fight for Digital Freedom. And he not only shared his about his own charity work in the Ukraine, about rescuing dogs and bringing them back to their owners, but also about other charities who helped with finding kids, providing a roof over the head for people that were bombed out and other hardships. And he made us realize the True Impact of WordPress because all the agencies use WordPress, not all the agencies, but over 50% of them use WordPress for the website to fundraise and to connect with the communities.

So sorry my voice kind of gave out but that has partly to do with something like that. But I also got a gift from WordCamp Europe at home to suffer. There's another cold that I'm fighting. That's why I'm also sound so horsy. So sorry for that. Check it out. The block related talks were Ryan Welch's workshop for the Block Development Cookbook and Milana Cap's workshop around the Interactivity API. And that last one is really I didn't see the first one, but the last one I saw and I learned more about the source and the namespace and how you can interact from one block to the next and exchange data. So that's a really eye opener. Ellen Bauer talked about how block themes speed up stores and sites in WooCommerce and Robert O' Rourke asks and provides answers to do you really need a custom block? And he walks you through how you can extend the block editor own blocks without writing your own custom blocks. But really, all the many great talks about the WordCamp Europe are online and there are many for content creators, developers, entrepreneurs, educators, contributors as well. So check out the WordPress TV space with all the recordings.

What's Released - Gutenberg 20.9

And that brings us to Gutenberg releases. We start out with Gutenberg 20.9. So 20.9 was released on May 28th. We were a little late, but I was traveling and so do you want to start us off?

Enhancements

Anne McCarthy: Yeah, I totally can. In terms of enhancements, the base styles have been updated to a modern Saas module system, and this was basically an obstacle to the Gutenberg project overall, migrating to the dart SaaS format in the future. So I love this kind of proactive unblocking that's happening, kind of moving away from some of the legacy import statements. Great work by Aki per usual, but one of those just kind of foundational pieces to work on and make sure we have up to date just to unblock future things.

This one, I actually was involved in this one previously, but a revert was done for how the edit site link works. When you're viewing your site, you're using a block theme and you see edit site. There's been a debate; does it open the current template you're looking at or does it open just the site editor and the homepage? And this has gone back and forth since the dawn of time. So this is a revert that previously had it update. Basically whenever you hit edit site, it would bring you just to the general homepage of your site editor. Now it brings you to the current template. We got a bunch of feedback and this is where I love the WordPress project and love the feedback that we get straight from folks. Whenever that was implemented in 6.8, people came back and said, hang on, what's going on? This is different. This isn't interrupting my workflow. This now takes three clicks for me to get to the current template I was looking at rather than bringing me there. I see the argument on both sides. There's definitely. I think Rich shared a great video of himself with. If you set a homepage or set a page as your homepage, what the experience of that looks like and how it can be confusing for end users, I have a feeling this is something that will continue to be a conversation and something that hopefully in the overarching issue there was a discussion around having more granularity. So maybe edit site has a little drop down menu, kind of like an ad post thing where you can see it says like edit template, edit homepage, edit, whatever. Like having edit styles, like having something with more granularity. We'll see where that ends up. But this is. As of now, this experience has changed. Thanks to feedback. Do you want to jump into…

Birgit Pauli-Haack: The only thing that I wanted to say about that was that there are actually at least one plugin out there who actually tried to implement a dropdown with and kind of. So you can check it out. I'm going to do some research and share it in the show notes. Yeah, so and with the block library we had a few changes that I wanted to talk about. One is that the search settings. So for the search block there were a lot of settings in the toolbar, and it seems that most end users are kind of now trained to open up the sidebar for the settings. So developers have now moved some of the settings into the inspector to the right hand side in the sidebar so they're all together. I think that's just for. It's also for consistency of the interface. So I like that. And then there were. For the first and the pre-formatted blocks, there were transformers missing and they were added. So people do not have to copy paste things and not delete a block and then add another block and copy paste the content and they just can transform them from paragraph to verse and back and forth. Yeah. And now Anne, we're coming to a topic that you know a lot about. One is developers are enhancing content only editing experience. So what does that mean?

Anne McCarthy: Yeah, this is. The names on this are rough. So right now there's this idea of write mode. We need a new name because basically what it does and this is something to zoom back out. Whenever I ran the outreach program, one of the things we repeatedly found is that dropping people straight into the site editor is pretty overwhelming. There's a lot of options open, there's a lot of tools open and it's like, how do we add a simplified layer on top? That's what write mode is intending to do.

So you can imagine a way to toggle between a simplified site editing version and then like boom, all the tools you want and having a way to switch in between those modes as you you'd like. The underpinning technology used for that is content only. And what that does is it basically allows you to only edit the content. So it's a lot of fancy names. But this is. I'm trying to like set the scene. And so there are some updates I think across both releases we're covering that improves different blocks and how they work with this option because out of the box, not every block works with it and something has to be done manually to basically add support for it. Now there's questions around specific blocks, like how much should be exposed, what should it look like, what should the experience be? I actually did some user testing at work campus last year with random people and recorded them going through this. And so there's a lot to be figured out there. At the core it's making way and taking steps towards a simplified site editing experience that folks can toggle on. You can imagine the first time in the site editor, maybe you have that experience and then if you run into something where you want to do more, you can have a quick way to just switch into like show me all the tools. Kind of like the idea of when you're editing a presentation and like a slide slides for something and you want to go into the overall view of everything, you can do that. Otherwise you can just add text, move things around and have some like simplified experience. So that's the context for that. This covers the details block, the code block, the read more block, the post block. There's a lot of blocks that were changed for this and we'll continue to see this. I think over the future releases we'll see iteration on this area. So stay tuned.

Birgit Pauli-Haack: Awesome, awesome.

Anne McCarthy: Does that help explain it?

Birgit Pauli-Haack: Definitely helped me, yeah. And it also helped me to understand why there all of a sudden were different things in the sidebar. Because the different icons on there, they're just identifying the places where you can edit the content but not, you're not Having anything else in there. There are no display options or settings or something like that. So now I understand that. I also understand why plugin authors or agency for instance, are quite excited about that because they can curate the interface for their clients and kind of keep them out of the design and out of the have some more guardrails for them. And I think that's because you can implement that through a plugin as well. So yeah, you can tap into the block JSON and say put this into content only mode because it's not a default thing. So yeah, I like it.

The two components had some changes. One is that the color. The color picker now has visual cues when you copy value. That's definitely great. The interaction there. So you don't have to wonder, did I copy it or did I not copy it? And then the snack bar, that's the term that developers use for the notifications that are on bottom on your screen that come up when you do something. So if you have to, if you save your post, you get the little note. Click here to view it. And now this is also now available to open the links in new tabs, especially when you are a plugin author for your whatever plugin you do. You can also use the snack arx component. And then now you have the options to open links in a new tab, which is controversial, but yeah, just having the option in the components should be fine. It's controversial because you take over the freedom of the user to decide if they want it into a new tab or new window or just right there because all of a sudden they don't have the choice anymore.

Anne McCarthy: I think that I'm curious how that bland with. With folks. Yeah, that one I was surprised to see a bit.

Birgit Pauli-Haack: But yeah, yeah, I think that was it for Gutenberg 20.9.

Gutenberg 21.0

Gutenberg 21 was just released this week. And do you want to take that next step there?

Enhancements

Anne McCarthy: Yeah, let's dive into it. One of the main enhancements that I love to see is a refactor, the settings panel to use Tools panel. So across a bunch of different blocks to zoom back out, there's different ways in which we display settings. And that can cause those little inconsistencies really add up, especially when you're looking, you're trying to do something in one block and you do something in a different one and it looks slightly different or appears slightly differently. So the more we can have really smart, intuitive defaults where for any block, whenever you want to change something in one block, it's the same in another the better and especially just experience wise and using the latest components. It's a really important thing to continue to iterate on. And so across a number of different blocks the Tools panel was implemented and there's a lot of benefits. I don't know if you want to talk about the benefits of it just because it'd be good to hear your perspective on this too.

Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, I would because I was trying to figure out what is actually that the user gets out of it and. Or the developers that use the blocks or extend those blocks. You get more control for the display. It's every time the same thing. That's what you mentioned. But it's also an easier mechanism for injecting additional settings into an existing group. I'm not quite sure if that's exposed for the third party to. For the extensibility, but that will definitely enable it. And then there is a visual parity between the styles that are already in the Tools panel and those who don't. Yeah. So it's really. It's all the comments block. It's. There's a tracking issue 67813 where you can kind of see all the progress on this project and also the list of the blocks that are handled with that. Yeah.

So another change is that the separator has now. Well, we talked about earlier. Well in the last episode about that. That the separator now has an additional. You can have now a div instead of an HR so you can style it more. And with this release that HTML element option is much more visible. It's now kind of moved up in the advanced section and it's not hidden anymore. So you can just toggle that and can change the options there. I really like that there was another block about that. I think the same thing happens with a button block. They also move the HTML element section up so you can change through between the element of a button or the element of a link, an anchor. So that's why I'm kind of hesitating about moving forward there. In the video Block has now an additional option to set a track as default and the track is actually the caption track. So you can select the default language there. And that's really helpful for anybody who has videos on the website and is not an English speaker or doesn't have the audience of any English speaker. So they could set the default but they had to really specifically do it. And if there's not one uploaded, it was a little janky, so buggy for things. So I think that was it on the enhancements.

Bug Fixes

Anne McCarthy: Yeah. Now we can jump into bug fixes if you want to. I can start with that.

Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, yeah.

Anne McCarthy: One of the first bug fixes which I do want to call out is from, I'm pretty sure a new contributor. Yep, first-time contributor, which is always really cool to see. Super awesome. McCool I think is the name. Apologies if I'm mispronouncing that, but this work basically fixed an issue where the pull quotes site element couldn't be styled or overridden by theme JSON due to basically conflicting CSS specificity. And so this is a nice win for blocking developers because they can now customize citation styles as they'd like. And it was some nice collaboration with Aki again to basically resolve this by reducing the specificity of the class selector so that theme JSON styles can actually work. I love when that actually works out. So yeah, keep the feedback coming, especially block theme authors around limitations you run into like this. It's always really helpful to start to continue to fix these sorts of things. So I was excited to see that bug fix there.

Birgit Pauli-Haack: Definitely. It's also, if you want to read up about it and see how such a collaboration between veteran contributors and new contributors actually happens. It's a great example where a lot of people have some opinions, but then you move forward and you get a nice PR merged that helps a lot of people. So it's definitely a great way to contribute. I don't think I see any other bug fixes that I would want to talk about.

Accessibility

So there's one on the component that's more on accessibility thing, that the toolbar now adjusts the colors for dark mode support. And that's really cool because now you can also have the toolbar on the block in dark mode. For a lot of people that are around in dark mode, it's really cool.

Documentation

And then there is one documentation issue I need to look at that, but it is that the block schema now also has a roll field and the role field is important for.

Anne McCarthy: It looks like it was added before in 6.7. Like the roll field was stabilized but it wasn't exposed in the schema. Which, you know, might be good to follow up on.

Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah, yeah, it happens with 6.7 it was. Yeah. And that's for the content mode.

Anne McCarthy: Yeah, that's right.

Birgit Pauli-Haack: Yeah. So that's it. I think we're through that. We have Gutenberg 20.9 and 21 and we are at the last bit of our show.

What's in Active Development or Released

And that is what's in active development or discussed. And with a few more talks on flagship WordCamps, the interactivity becomes more and more popular, and the team worked in the last few months with the WordPress team together to implement additional features, and those are now with the start of contributing again backported to the Gutenberg repo. There are many issues and you can follow along on the tracking issue. Backport WooCommerce Interactivity API improvements. That's tracking issue 70372. It's like a phone number. Yeah, there are actually quite a few issues in there. I'm really excited about that because there is a new feature that's the interactivity router that lets you organize your pages better or the links between blocks. And also what was the other one?

Anne McCarthy: I know there's some client side navigation work that's been done too, which I'm really excited about. I've been using that in the Block Museum for a while now and it just makes it super quick to switch between pages and to have it be pulled in and hopefully stabilize soon. It'd be really, really neat to have as an option. I have loved having it on the Block Museum.

Birgit Pauli-Haack: So yeah, yeah, that was also something, that was an experiment I think in Gutenberg for the, for the query block. Yeah, yes, yes. So, okay, so now we're kind of moving forward on that and I'm quite excited about that, and I hope you dear listeners are too. All right, is there anything else that you wanted to talk about on the show?

Anne McCarthy: But nothing on my mind. I mean I would love this is a selfish ask, but as I get back into the project, mainly coming back from sabbatical, I would love to know what sort of hallway hangouts or conversations folks want to have. I'm really keen on making sure we continue to have a lot of those community wide conversations, not just at WordCamps because not everyone can join those. And like that's some inspiration I took from the COVID times is to continue the conversation. So if folks have ideas or suggestions, I'm Nzazu and WordPress at org Slack, my site Snowmad Blog, you can contact me there. I'm not on X or any of the social media so you cannot find me. But yeah, I, I just am. I'm very curious to see what's on people's minds, what feels like hot topics to discuss and what feels important to hear more about and how we can facilitate sharing that knowledge and inviting more folks into the work. That's the only other thing I'd love to add.

Birgit Pauli-Haack: Awesome. Awesome. Yes. And as always, the show notes will be published on GutenbergTimes.com/podcast this is episode 118. And if you have questions or suggestions or news you want us to include, send them to changelog@gutenbergtimes.com that's changelog@gutenbergtimes.com and this is the end of this show.

Thank you all for listening, and thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy, busy schedule to be on the show with me. And thank you all for listening. And until the next time, bye.

Anne McCarthy: Bye.

15 Jun 2025 2:52pm GMT

Hi there,

WordCamp Europe is over. I had a blast and also caught a bug.

The next flagship WordCamp is just around the corner: WordCamp US will take place August 26 - 29 with Contributor Day, Showcase Day and a two-day conference. The call for speakers is open, notice the deadline June 20 for your submission. Also open are the call for sponsors and for volunteers.

I am so excited as I will finally connect with my WordPress friends from the US again. It took me three years to get back to WordCamp US after our move to Germany.

With Automattic getting back to contributions, the team caught up on Gutenberg release posts and there is a new Gutenberg version available. I also have a few notes and links collected about the new AI team and their work.

I hope to see you at WordCamp US, too

Yours,
Birgit

Developing Gutenberg and WordPress

In the latest edition of What's New for Developers (June 2025), Justin Tadlock collected lots of information relevant for plugin authors, themes builders and agency freelance developers from Core, Gutenberg, and Playground. It's the best post to catch up on the last to month of updates in WordPress.

Carlos Bravo release Gutenberg 21.0. In his release post What's new in Gutenberg 21.0? he highlighted.

• The HTML Element is now selectable on Button and Separator blocks.
• Extensive ToolsPanel Refactoring
• Accessibility and usability

Jessica Lyschik used the time during Contributor Day at WordCamp Europe to get a head start on catching up with the release posts for earlier Gutenberg releases.

• What's new in Gutenberg 20.4 and 20.5?
• What's new in Gutenberg 20.6 and 20.7?
• What's new in Gutenberg 20.8 and 20.9?

The latest episode Gutenberg Changelog 118 - WordCamp Europe, WordPress New AI Team, the Pride Photo Drive, Gutenberg 20.9 and 21.0 Anne McCarthy is back from sabbatical and we talked about WordCamp Europe, the new WordPress AI team, the Pride Photo Drive, and Gutenberg 20.9 and 21.0 .

If you are listing via Spotify, please leave a comment. If you listen via other podcast apps, please leave a review. It'll help with the distribution.

New WordPress AI Team

Just ahead of WordCamp Europe, Mary Hubbard announce the new AI team, identifying James LePage and Felix Arnzt as team reps. James LePage followed up with his post Welcome to the Core AI Team Blog.

The community came together for the Introducing the AI Team Hallway Hangout and Anne McCarthy published the recap and the recording.

What I learned:

• The AI Team is laying the groundwork to bring AI into WordPress, and the timing couldn't be better. With AI moving at lightning speed, it's important for WordPress to stay in the mix.
• For now, the AI Team isn't adding big AI tools directly into WordPress. Instead, they're working on simple plugins that help connect WordPress to different AI services. Maybe someday AI will be built right into the core, but that's not on the table yet.
• WordPress leaders are fully behind the AI Team, recognizing that AI is the future and wanting to keep WordPress front and center as things evolve.

The current initiatives / plugins have been mentioned in early editions of the newsletter:

• AI Services Plugin by Felix Arnzt provides an abstraction layer for multiple AI providers, enabling plugin authors to use a unified API for AI interactions.
• MCP for WordPress plugin by Pascal Birchler implements Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers in WordPress, enabling advanced AI integrations via command-line or plugins. You can learn more about reading Pascal Bichler's post Enabling AI-Powered WordPress Development with WP-CLI and the Model Context Protocol (MCP)
• WP-Feature-API plugin by Automattic structures WordPress features for better AI interaction, offering a standardized way to register resources for AI use. It's a system for exposing server and client-side functionality in WordPress for use in LLMs and agentic systems

The WordPress AI Team chats in the WPSlack #core-ai channel and holds meetings every other Thursday at 16:00 UTC. You can read the summary of this week's meeting on the Make AI blog.

In his video The WordPress AI fightback begins! Jamie Marsland interviews James LePage about AI in WordPress and the new team.

WordCamp Europe

It was a fantastic WordCamp at a great venue. I enjoyed the many, many conversations with attendees, sponsors, contributors and fellow speakers. The organizing team has done a fabulous job, in all areas, and the volunteers were awesome. The speaker team was first-class in their support. As a first time WCEU speaker, I felt very well cared for. I loved the bright and brilliant designs at the venue as well as on the website and on screens.

The most astonishing work was done by the AV team, who uploaded all videos to WordPress TV by the end of the WordCamp. In contrast to previous WordCamps, all workshops were also recorded, and you can watch them at your own speed.

As always, I share my opinionated list of favorites:

During Fire side Chat with Mary Hubbard and Matt Mullenweg they discussed, among other things, the WordPress Campus Connect project that's being rolled out as an official program. Hubbard also announced the start of a pilot project for student internships with the University of Pisa, encompassing 5000 students to contribute 150 hours and received six college credits.

Another great talk was by Noel Tock WordPress without Borders - The Fight for Digital Freedom. Tock not only shared from his charity work in Ukraine but also about other charities who help with finding kids, providing a roof over the head of people who lost their homes, and trying to alleviate other hardships. Tock made us realize the true impact of WordPress has to all the agencies who use it for their web site to fundraise and connect with communities. The pictures from Ukraine are heart-wrenching.

The Block related talks:

• Ryan Welcher and his block development cookbook workshop and
• Milana Cap conducting the workshop WordPress Gems around the Interactivity API.
• Ellen Bauer talked about how block themes speed up stores and sites and give back control for the layouts to the merchants
• Robert O'Rourke asked Do you really need a custom block.

If you are interested in working with Playground, two workshops might help you get started depending on your needs

• From Zero to Demo: Mastering WordPress Playground Blueprints with yours truly and
• Building Automated Tests with WordPress Playground with Berislav (Bero) Grgicak

This is only a small list, and there are many great talks about all WordPress topics, for content creators, developers, entrepreneurs, and educators. Check them out.

A few attendees published recap posts:

• WCEU 2025: A Community Celebration in the Swiss Sun by Brett McSherry
• WordCamp Europe 2025 | Recap of the event by Benjamin Zekavica
• WCEU 2025 : Test Team Contributor Day Recap by Krupa Nanda
• TechRadar: WordCamp Europe 2025 - here's all the highlights from the event
• WordCamp Europe 2025 - A trip to a beautiful city by Bernhard Kau

Plugins, Themes, and Tools for #nocode site builders and owners

Carlo Daniele, Kinsta, dug deeper in the term WordPress Hybrid Themes. He covered two approaches. The first is how hybrid themes bridge the gap between Classic and Block Themes by supporting modern block features. They maintain compatibility with traditional plugins and templates. The second highlights ways developers can enhance hybrid themes with global styles. They can use block patterns and template parts for flexible site building.

In her post, From Page Builders to Blocks, Johanne Courtright, founder of Groundworx, explains why it's time to move from page builders to Gutenberg, the built-in block editor. She points out its built-in stability, better performance, and easier design control. Courtright tackles common worries, then suggests starting small-like switching your blog first, updating your theme, and helping users learn-showing that Gutenberg's block system is the way forward for WordPress.

In here post Design Once, Build Everywhere:The Lego Principle for Page Builders, Tammie Lister reflects on the fragmented world of page builders, arguing for a "Lego principle" where design components are created once and used everywhere. She suggests that adopting shared foundations and modular systems-much like Lego's approach-would unlock creativity, improve portability, and better meet modern demands. Ultimately, Lister envisions a future where page builders are collaborative, flexible, and empower users to build without barriers.

Theme Development for Full Site Editing and Blocks

Fabian Kägy, director of Editorial Engineering, introduced Fueled's open-source Figma to WordPress plugin, which exports design tokens from Figma directly into a WordPress theme.json file, reducing a 10-15 hour manual process to about an hour and enabling rapid, consistent theme development without extra frameworks or licenses

Jeremy Holcombe at Kinsta, also researched How to convert a Figma project to WordPress and walks you through three methods. He covers using the Figma plugin by Yotako for automation, manually rebuilding designs in WordPress for precision, and hiring professional services, highlighting the pros, cons, and best use cases for each approach..

Mike McAlister introduced the Ollie Theme Academy video course a free and in-depth video course teaching everything from the basics to advanced techniques of WordPress block theme development. The course covers full site editing, global styles, patterns, and aims to help anyone modernize their WordPress workflow for 2025 and beyond.

10 days later, McAlister followed up with the announcement of a Block Development course. This is a new resource to help developers master building custom WordPress blocks. It provides practical, hands-on video lessons focused on modern block development. This approach aims to make it easier for anyone to create powerful, custom blocks for their WordPress sites.

Bernhard Kau explored Implementing a custom block style variation using only JSON files in WordPress block themes. He explains how to make a perfectly round button by defining a new style in a JSON file. This approach bypasses the need for PHP or JavaScript. Despite some limitations, this approach allows for easy customization. There is incomplete support for certain properties. Nevertheless, it enables consistent design without writing traditional code.

Building Blocks and Tools for the Block editor

Alfredo Navas, developer at WebDevStudios, explored the MCP server plugin. He shared his findings and highlighted how it enables external tools or AI agents to interact with WordPress. These interactions are useful for tasks like creating posts or debugging. He notes its usefulness for automating workflows, its extensibility, and that it's still under active development.

Eric Karkovack explains how to add custom style variations to WordPress blocks using a custom plugin. He guides you through creating custom style variations for WordPress blocks. He details building a plugin, using the ‎`register_block_style()` function, and applying unique styles-like a "Unicorn" button-via PHP or JSON. This way you empower your users to personalize block designs and enhance site consistency.

I mentioned DeepWiki before, in WE #329, and now Jonathan Bossenger invites you in you YouTube video to learn more about DeepWiki | AI powered documentation you can talk to.

I asked DeepWiki the following questions, click on the links to get to the answers.

• What are the elements of the WordPress Design system
• How is the spacing fluid?

Questions? Suggestions? Ideas?
Don't hesitate to send them via email or
send me a message on WordPress Slack or Twitter @bph.

For questions to be answered on the Gutenberg Changelog,
send them to changelog@gutenbergtimes.com

14 Jun 2025 9:50am GMT