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#253 – Test Team’s Plan for 2026, Community Scholarship for WC Kolhapur 2026

Issue #253   |   January 6, 2026   |   Reading time: 16 mins

Hello!

Happy 2026! 🎉 Thank you for starting the new year with us and for being a part of our newsletter journey. We’d love your feedback—let us know what you’re enjoying, what we can improve, or if there’s anything new you’d like to see this year.

This week on The WP Week Newsletter, we cover the Test Team training program & restructuring plans for 2026, community scholarship for WordCamp Kolhapur, new projects, and more.

Don’t forget to subscribe and listen to the podcast version of this newsletter, where you can hear more details and discussions about these topics and more.

New around here? Don’t miss the next issue, sign up now. Got something to share – connect with us.

See you next week!

Team WP-CONTENT.CO

🙌 This weekly newsletter is kindly sponsored by Kinsta, ProfilePress and WP Job Openings

Kinsta – Highest-rated managed WordPress hosting provider on G2 Check it out  →

ProfilePress – Create membership sites & sell subscriptions on WordPress Check it out  →

Create a career page and start recruiting talents in a few minutes Check it out  →

📰  WORDPRESS & AROUND

All the updates around WordPress and its closely related technologies

Manuel Camargo from the Test Team has outlined plans to restructure the WordPress Test Team in 2026, responding to limited active resources, workload bottlenecks, and the risk of fatigue among consistently involved contributors. It introduces clearer participation guidelines and a new Test Team Training Program to support sustained, meaningful contributions.

  • WordPress Vulnerability Report — December 31, 2025: Since last week, 139 new vulnerabilities have emerged in the WordPress ecosystem, including 130 plugins and 9 themes.
  • WP Hosting is now Network Dynamics: Network Dynamics has been the parent company of WP Hosting for some time. This merger formally unites both brands under a single structure, streamlining operations, billing, and communications. The merger commenced on 1st December 2025 and is expected to be fully completed by 31st January 2026.
  • Google Ads upgrades Creator Partnerships with search and management tools: Google introduced Creator Search, which allows advertisers to discover YouTube creators using keywords or channel handles, then narrow results by subscriber count, average views, location, and contact availability. The update significantly reduces the manual work involved in creator research and outreach.

🔧 TIP OF THE WEEK
Use Custom Post Types the Right Way

If you have listings, portfolios, doctors, services, etc., create a CPT:

register_post_type(‘services’, [
   ‘label’ => ‘Services’,
   ‘public’ => true,
   ‘menu_icon’ => ‘dashicons-hammer’,
   ‘supports’ => [‘title’, ‘editor’, ‘thumbnail’],
]);

If you’re using ACF plugin, you can even add post types using it.

👥 COMMUNITY NEWS

Updates and News from the WordPress Community

To honor Zeel Thakkar’s legacy and the values she stood for, WordCamp Kolhapur 2026 is offering 10 complimentary event tickets to girls and women who are unable to attend due to financial constraints. Last date to apply is 15 January 2026.

  • WPBakery has been named Best Page Builder for WordPress at the 2025 TemplateMonster Awards: The result was based on votes from the WordPress community, and the recognition highlights WPBakery’s long-term focus on stability, compatibility, and maintainability across millions of WordPress sites.
  • BigScoots launches Logged In User Cache: This first-of-its-kind technology gives each logged-in visitor a private cache container, delivering up to 97 percent faster load times, improved security, and smoother user experiences.
  • Hosting.com launching in Bangladesh: On January 14, 2026, Hosting.com services will be launched in Bangladesh through a partnership with EyHost.
  • Tickets for WordCamp Europe 2026 are available: The event will be held in Kraków, Poland, from 4th to 6th June 2026. Tickets include entry to the two-day event, lunch, coffee, snacks, the opportunity to register for Contributor Day, and an invitation to the After Party on 6th June. 
  • Divi 5 released with Semantic Elements & Custom HTML Wrappers: You can now change the element type of any module and utilize semantic tags like nav, section, header, and button to give inherent meaning to each.
  • Version 1.36.1 of Simple Turnstile is now available: It fixes an issue with the disable submit feature not working in some cases.
  • Gato AI Translations for Polylang v15.3 has been released: This release lets users re-run only failed translations, with visual indicators for failed translations, filters for failed entries, and WP-CLI support, while also improving slug translations, adding support for Claude Opus 4.5 and Sonnet 4.5, Gutenberg blocks, and Bricks component settings.
  • Announcing WPCode 2.3.2: It introduces a Live Preview feature that lets users see CSS and SCSS snippet changes in real time directly inside the editor, eliminating constant saving and page refreshes and significantly speeding up styling workflows.
  • Breakdance 2.6 released: It introduces reusable button presets, a powerful new code editor powered by CodeMirror 6, version control for design presets, and much more.
  • Block Accessibility Checks 3.0 released: This version introduces a major architectural overhaul with a refined Validation API, clearer three-tier validation (block, meta, and editor), improved UX, and new Site Editor–specific controls that give developers and creators more precise, performant, and accessible validation without disrupting workflows.
  • Amelia 9.0 is live: This release rebuilds the user experience around cleaner navigation, a redesigned interface, improved calendar experience, smarter filtering and sorting, a clearer Dashboard, and a fully unified Bookings page.
  • Page Building 101 enters a new era: Kevin Geary announces the launch of Page Building 101 Era 4, a fully rebuilt and free YouTube course on modern professional web development. The original course became a top resource worldwide, and with rapid changes in web development driven by new tools, CSS advancements, and AI, the course has been completely reorganized and re-recorded to reflect the new era.
  • New milestone for SiteSEO: The plugin now has over 500k active WordPress installations.
  • Nat Miletic explains why WordPress is the platform to bet on: He highlighted WordPress’s dominance, powering over 43% of all websites and most CMS-based sites, backed by a massive ecosystem of themes, plugins, and developers. Its open-source flexibility, scalability, and strong economic ecosystem make it resilient against alternatives, offering long-term stability and opportunity for businesses and developers alike.
  • WordPress Security Handbook by Tài Hoàng: This handbook provides a practical, research‑driven guide to WordPress security, explaining core concepts, current threats, and real‑world hardening practices so developers can understand risks and secure sites with confidence.
🚀 NEW PROJECTS
“I had an idea this morning and now it’s all done. It’s called Hey Wapuu, it’s basically a natural language wrapper for the command palette. It turned out so great and my favorite part is it requires no APIs, no cloud, just pure Wapuu magic.”
–Nick Hamze about developing the Hey Wapuu.
  • Nick Hamze released Hey Wapuu: Hey Wapuu is a site assistant that brings local machine learning and a whole lot of personality to your admin experience. No APIs, no cloud, just pure Wapuu magic.
  • Functionalities plugin from Gaurav Tiwari: A modular site-specific plugin to organize common features with simple toggles. It removes bloat, boosts performance, and adds developer tools.
  • Affinite DB Manager: Developed by Vladislav Musílek, this is a comprehensive database administration tool for WordPress that allows administrators to manage database tables, columns, indexes, and foreign key relations directly from the WordPress admin interface.
  • Falcon plugin: Falcon is a free WordPress plugin that brings together 49+ carefully crafted optimization modules in one place. From caching and media optimization to security hardening and admin tweaks, Falcon covers all the essential optimizations you need. From eLightUp, the team behind Meta Box and Slim SEO.
  • Quill CRM plugin: A complete self-hosted CRM and email marketing automation plugin for WordPress. It combines powerful contact management, sales pipeline tracking, email campaigns, and marketing automation—all within your WordPress dashboard.
  • PhantomWP from Ovidiu Maghetiu: A visual editor with real output – Astro + Tailwind components you own. A modern headless frontend system for WordPress. 
  • A plugin for Bricks – BricksMembers: It provides all the tools you need to create customizable Membership & LMS platforms with Bricks Builder.
  • A new task and project management platform – GemBoards: It combines visual boards, automation, and integrations to organize work, streamline workflows, and boost productivity—all in one place. You can get early-bird access now.
  • Archive Order Notes for WooCommerce: The plugin improves store performance by archiving or deleting old WooCommerce order notes stored as WordPress comments. It keeps your comments table optimized, speeds up queries, and ensures archived notes remain accessible on order edit screens.

🔖 INTERESTING READS & PODCASTS

More posts and podcasts from the WordPress Community you don’t want to miss

  • James W. LePage published a roundup of Automattic AI in 2025. The AI group at Automattic grew to 50+ engineers, supported by dozens of designers and product wizards last year.
  • In this episode of Seriously, Bud?, Matt Schwartz opens up about growing up in Atlanta, navigating perfectionism, and finding his path in video production and WordPress.
  • On this episode of The WP Minute+ podcast, Eric Karkovack is joined by Steve Deckert from WooCommerce about the new integration with Reddit. They discuss the importance of social media for merchants, the benefits of advertising on Reddit, and the ease of setting up the integration.
  • Patrick’s shared three surprising lessons from migrating Xero Shoes’ sites to Shopify, revealing that Shopify can be slower than expected, its app ecosystem isn’t always reliable, and even unbreakable checkout functionality can fail, highlighting that success requires careful performance and integration management.
  • Barn2, Wombat, Coupon Affiliates, Tutor LMS, WP Umbrella, Freemius, and Charitable shared the details about their 2025 journey.
  • 2025 was a year of growth, travel, and new opportunities for James Giroux. From speaking at WordCamps and Dreamforce to exploring Europe and Asia with family, it was a year of personal milestones, professional achievements, and exciting new beginnings in the WordPress community.
  • As 2025 came to a close, Nathan Wrigley looked back at his year in numbers from steps walked and miles flown to podcasts created and books read.
  • Syed Balkhi’s 2025 was a year of focused building marked by new product launches, major investments, and meaningful personal milestones that defined the year.
  • James Kemp looks back on 2025 as a year of major progress for WooCommerce, from full accessibility updates and core enhancements to the debut of AI-powered store management, while also celebrating personal milestones, travel adventures, and family achievements.
  • Elliot Sowersby reflects on 2025 as a transformative year for his solo WordPress business, RelyWP, shifting fully to plugin development, hitting major milestones with Coupon Affiliates, growing his free plugins like Simple Cloudflare Turnstile, launching a new loyalty plugin, and looking ahead to continued growth and his first WordCamp Europe in 2026.
  • WP Product Talk has the data on whether WordPress plugin sales are really down and what it means for 2026.
  • Joost de Valk explained how making WordPress plugins “agent-ready” lets AI recognize and use existing plugin functionality, creating a machine-readable ecosystem for smarter, more efficient site building.
  • While building a WordPress tutorial for creating a Linktree-style page, Jamie Marsland reflects on how tools like Linktree solve immediate problems but highlight the deeper issues of the closed web.
  • Listen to Kitchen Sink WP’s take on What 2026 is already teaching us.
  • Search Engine Journal shared 16 content writing tips from experts to survive 2026.
  • Search Engine Land shared about the biggest SEO news stories of 2025.

🛠 GUIDE ZONE – HOWTO’S and MORE

Handpicked fresh guides from WordPress circle

📆 SAVE THE DATES

Do not miss a WordPress event ever again

🎁 WORDPRESS DEALS OF THE WEEK

Again, these are the best deals of the week, handpicked by yours!

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  • 4 Months free offer on hosting plans of WP Engine (Coupon Code- FREEDOMTOCREATE)
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  • 15% off yearly plans at Videvo (Coupon Code – WPV15)
MORE DEALS

This weekly newsletter is kindly sponsored by awesome WordPress Companies 🦸‍♂️🙌

Kinsta – Highest-rated managed WordPress hosting provider on G2 Check it out  →

ProfilePress – Create membership sites & sell subscriptions on WordPress Check it out  →

Create a career page and start recruiting talents in a few minutes Check it out  →

Last but not least, updates from WP-CONTENT.CO 👇

Contributor Dashboard Pilot Project Underway: Aims to Improve Visibility Into Contributor Journeys

A Contributor Dashboard Pilot Project is currently underway and seeks to respond to ongoing community feedback around understanding…

Read more

FAIR Software Security Assistant Debuts at CloudFest USA 2025 Hackathon

22 WordPress developers and security specialists gathered at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay on November 4, 2025, for…

Read more

Troy Launched: A New Open-Source Project for WordPress Plugin Distribution

Sybre Waaijer, the founder of The SEO Framework, has launched Troy, an open-source system for distributing WordPress plugins…

Read more

State of the Word 2025 Recap: From Global Reach to Empowering Next-Generation

WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg delivered the annual State of the Word address on December 2, 2025, in San…

Read more

Team WP-CONTENT.CO

Issue #253   |   January 6, 2026   |   Reading time: 16 mins

This weekly newsletter is kindly sponsored by Kinsta, ProfilePress, and WP Job Openings

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