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#255 – WP-Bench Released, Guildenberg Closure, Divi 5 Release, Web Agency Summit 2026

Issue #255   |   January 20, 2026   |   Reading time: 20 mins

Hello!

This week on The WP Week Newsletter, we cover WP-Bench, the AI benchmark tool released by the Core AI team, Core Team Rep nominations, WooCommerce 10.5, closure of Guildenberg, Divi 5, and Oxygen Builder version 6 nearing release, 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.

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See you next week!

Team WP-CONTENT.CO

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🗣️TALK OF THE TOWN

The WordPress Core AI Team has introduced WP-Bench, the official WordPress AI benchmark, which evaluates how well language models understand WordPress development, from core APIs and coding standards to plugin architecture and security best practices.

📰  WORDPRESS & AROUND

All the updates around WordPress and its closely related technologies

The new Core Team Representatives will succeed the current reps, Francesca Marano, Jb Audras, and Benjamin Zekavica. The deadline for nominations is February 1, 2026.

🔧 TIP OF THE WEEK
WP Performance Tip: Optimize Your Database Queries

Unoptimized queries can slow down your entire site. Keep things fast and efficient with these simple practices:

  • Avoid running heavy or unnecessary queries across multiple templates.
    Only query what you actually need.
  • Never run new queries inside loops.
    This creates nested queries and hurts performance.
  • Always clean up after custom loops using

wp_reset_postdata();

This restores the global $post object and prevents unexpected behavior.

✅ Pro Tip: Combine queries when possible and use WP_Query carefully to avoid over-fetching data.
A little optimization goes a long way toward keeping your site smooth, stable, and scalable.

👥 COMMUNITY NEWS

Updates and News from the WordPress Community

After nearly four years, co-founders Tammie Lister and Jonathan Wold are joining Convesio as Chief Product Officer and Chief Business Development Officer, respectively, while Luke Carbis will continue contributing to WordPress.


  • CheckoutWC version 11.0 released: This release introduces post-purchase upsells on the thank you page and A/B testing for order bumps.
  • Divi 5 is scheduled to be released on February 26th: The release will end Divi 5’s beta period. 40% of users are already using it and Divi 4 will continue to be supported for six more months to ease the transition.
  • Oxygen Builder version 6 nearing launch: After five beta releases and a year of development, the upcoming release is a complete rewrite built for speed, precision, and better design control.
  • Winden is now open source for Gutenberg: The Tailwind CSS Compiler for WordPress is now open source, giving everyone the chance to explore its Tailwind-powered workflow.
  • ACF PRO 6.8 Beta 2 released: This release is now available with both Automatic Structured Data with Schema.org and Abilities API support.
  • Groundworx Core v1.3.0 is now available: This adds new carousel and layout blocks that give creators greater control over content display. The release introduces Dynamic Flow (query-driven, filterable carousels), Static Flow (manual carousels with rich media and controls), and Featured Posts (flexible, responsive post grids).
  • Simple CAPTCHA Alternative with Cloudflare Turnstile Version 1.37.0 released: This release improves Elementor integration and adds an alignment option, removes the Elementor “Integration Method” setting, updates the settings page and debug log, and fixes several issues, including WooCommerce checkout, widget labels, and Forminator file upload fields.
  • MailerPress v1.2 is now available: This update adds native Elementor and Bricks Builder integrations, a revamped bounce-handling system, and new custom redirect options for subscriber journeys.
  • Search & Filter 3.2.0 preview: The preview showcased a new admin UI, a new design for options, upgraded block editor and much more.
  • Revive to Sky v1.1 out now: This update adds a new “Bluesky Test Connection” button to confirm the connection is working as expected between Bluesky and WordPress.
  • Conversion Bridge 1.12 released: This adds a UTM Reports Dashboard, new integrations, multiple Meta pixel support, enhanced custom events, and so on.
  • jQuery 4.0.0 released: This is the first major release in almost 10 years, modernizing the library by removing legacy code, deprecated APIs, and support for older browsers like IE 10 and below. It adds ES module support, improves CSP and much more.
  • Dynamic Tags for Elementor are now free in The Plus Addons for Elementor: Dynamic Tags let you connect your design layouts directly to content like titles, images, links, and more, so updates happen automatically without manual editing.
  • Web Agency Summit 2026 announced: The event is returning for its sixth year and this year it is scheduled ot take place from April 27 – 30. The online event helps web agencies win better clients, streamline delivery, and scale their business with expert-led sessions, interactive workshops, and industry insights.
  • WordCamp Asia 2026 announced the second round of speakers: The speakers are Anna Hurko (Crocoblock), Jonathan Desrosiers(Bluehost), Rebecca Markowitz (Elementor), and Ryan Welcher (Automattic).
  • New free course from WordPress.com: The Grow Your Website’s Audience free course covers how to create engaging content, SEO, use social media and email to grow your audience, promote your posts, track performance, and plan for long-term growth.
  • Introducing the Enhanced Code Block with Syntax Highlighting in WordPress.com: The enhanced Code block adds syntax highlighting for 100+ languages, customizable filenames, line numbers, copy buttons, and drag-and-drop support.
  • Market analysis: WordPress in 2026 Report: The report by Human Made explores the key trends shaping the platform’s next phase, including enterprise-ready no-code editing, AI-driven agentic ecosystems, and open, portable data architectures. It’s aimed at digital leaders and product teams who want to understand the future of WordPress beyond the hype.
  • Thomas Zwirner launches a new website for his plugins: Passionate about creating WordPress solutions, he launched a new website to showcase his 16 open-source plugins. The site offers tutorials and guidance, helping users discover his work in an AI-driven search landscape.
  • Nathan Wrigley is looking for guests for his new podcast: He is starting a non-technical podcast to explore a wide range of topics. Interested folks can now apply to be a part of the upcoming podcast.
  • Three new surveys from Jimmy Tavares on freelancing and plugins: He is hosting three anonymous surveys to explore real-world experiences, life as a freelancer, and the perspectives of plugin users and developers. The surveys aim to capture honest insights into mental health, trust, and challenges in the freelance and WordPress plugin worlds and help shape a documentary on the behaviors and experiences of devs and customers.
  • Matt Medeiros on bot traffic on YouTube: Matt questions WP Legends’ “100k monthly listens,” noting high view counts but low engagement, raising concerns about bot traffic and inflated metrics. Gautam Khorana (Co-Founder and COO of Seahawk) rejected claims of bot traffic, and WP Legends’ growth came from hard work and paid promotion via ads.
  • Felix Arntz joins Vercel: Felix is leaving Google after seven years to join Vercel and work on the AI SDK. Notably, he has not been sponsored by Google since April 2025 for his WordPress contributions.
  • Parvez Akther on turning a $0 plugin acquisition into profit in six months: By focusing on solid fundamentals, SEO, clear documentation, user onboarding, and support, he grew installs from 10 to over 500 and generated $80K in revenue, all with zero marketing spend.
  • Brute Force attacks and Credential Stuffing explained by Wordfence: A brute force attack is a common method used to break into WordPress websites by repeatedly guessing login credentials, while credential stuffing involves attackers using previously stolen usernames and passwords to attempt automated logins.
🚀 NEW PROJECTS
“For popups, synced patterns are ideal. They already solve the hardest part of the problem: a single source of truth for content that appears in many places.”
Matt Cromwell about developing Synced Pattern Popups.
  • Synced Pattern Popups: Created by Matt Cromwell, the plugin allows users to create and manage popups using the native Block Editor, without relying on a separate builder.
  • GenerateBlocks Skills: Created by Gaurav Tiwari, this is an open-source collection of AI-optimized skill files that teach Claude, ChatGPT, and other LLMs how to build WordPress layouts with the GenerateBlocks WordPress plugin.
  • LoyaltyX:  The plugin helps WooCommerce stores boost customer retention and sales by rewarding shoppers with points for purchases and interactions.
  • Accessibility Magic: This adds an accessibility widget on your WordPress site’s frontend, letting visitors customize visual and readability options to suit their needs, all without changing your site’s layout, theme, or content.
  • Build Mode: Developed by Harish Chouhan, the plugin allows users to  put their WordPress site into maintenance mode or display a coming‑soon page / under‑construction page with one click.
  • FreshRank: The free version is now available on the repository, whereas the pro version was released earlier. The plugin provides powerful AI-driven content analysis to help you optimize your websites’ content for both traditional search engines and AI platforms.

🔖 INTERESTING READS & PODCASTS

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

  • In this episode of Seriously, Bud?, Julia Golomb shared her path from environmental work and Yale studies to community leadership at Automattic and her current work at E2M Solutions, helping agencies implement AI while staying grounded in nature and community.
  • The launch episode of Do the Woo features Matt Mullenweg, Katie Keith, and James Kemp discussing the future of WooCommerce. They cover key priorities, upcoming changes, and Matt’s long-term vision for the platform and its ecosystem.
  • Brian Coords and Skyverge’s Nik McLaughlin discuss the future of WooCommerce and the impact of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) on the WordPress ecosystem on this episode of Webmasters. Fm.
  • In this episode of The WP Minute+ podcast, Eric Karkovack talks with WordPress engineer Ian Svoboda about his journey into development, lessons learned along the way, and how AI is shaping productivity. The conversation also covers the evolution of WordPress and why freelancers benefit from focusing on business solutions rather than hourly billing.
  • BobWP celebrates eight years of Open Channels FM by reflecting on the podcast’s journey, key milestones, and impressive stats from hundreds of episodes and guests.
  • Matt Cromwell walks through the details about rebuilding his Delayed Admin Notice plugin.
  • Gina Lucia from Iconic breaks down how to launch a product in 2026 with a clear, repeatable framework for ecommerce businesses.
  • Joost de Valk warns that Google’s new AI shopping tools leave WordPress and WooCommerce on the sidelines.
  • Nick Hamze analyzed all 6,162 WordPress plugins added in 2025 and found lots of duplication, safe ideas, and missed opportunities.
  • Amber Hinds explains why Equalize Digital stopped using block libraries, citing past updates that broke custom styles, abandoned plugins, and the need for more control when building enterprise-level websites.
  • Jonathan Desrosiers reflects on the recent challenges faced by Tailwind CSS to highlight how even hugely successful open source projects can be financially fragile. He wrote about Drupal’s 25th birthday by reflecting on his early experiences with the platform and the lessons WordPress and Drupal can learn from each other.
  • Varun Dubey explains a modern workflow combining WordPress, Vite, and AI-assisted writing.
  • Ronni K. Gothard Christiansen (CEO of AesirX) highlights a game-changing German court ruling that assigns €100 for every unlawfully set cookie.
  • Arthur Piszek explains how the AI Agent Framework at Automattic/WordPress.com was designed, and how it’s running in PHP.
  • Pedraum Pardehpoosh reviews a year of progress at Automattic, highlighting achievements across product quality, onboarding, migrations, retention, hosting, and AI-powered site building.
  • Aditya Kane celebrates 11 years of contributing to WordPress and looks forward to co-leading WordCamp Asia 2026.
  • James W. LePage talked about the future of the web and what the Open Web will look like in an AI-driven future, including how websites may change.

🛠 GUIDE ZONE – HOWTO’S and MORE

Handpicked fresh guides from WordPress circle

📆 SAVE THE DATES

Do not miss a WordPress event ever again

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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 👇

Nominations Open for WordPress Core Team Representatives for 2026

Nominations are now open for the 2026 Core Team Representatives, who will succeed the current reps, Francesca Marano,…

Read more

WordPress.org Tweet Controversy Sparks Community-Wide Discussion and Disapproval

A recent post from the official WordPress.org X account has sparked widespread discussion within the WordPress community.  The…

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WordCamp Kolhapur Announces  Zeel Thakkar Community Scholarship

WordCamp Kolhapur 2026 has launched the Zeel Thakkar Community Scholarship, providing 20 free tickets to girls and women…

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Support Inclusion in Tech (SiNC) Opens Applications for 2026 WordPress Contributor Funding Program

Support Inclusion in Tech (SiNC) has opened applications for its Contributor Funding program for 2026, offering direct financial…

Read more

Team WP-CONTENT.CO

Issue #255   |   January 20, 2026   |   Reading time: 20 mins

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

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