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#226- WP Accessibility Documentation Survey Results, Enqueue 2025, Archiving Updates

Issue #226   |   July 1, 2025   |   Reading time: 18 mins

Hello!

This week on The WP Week Newsletter, we cover the archiving of old repositories, plugins, and Slack channels, the survey results for improving the WP accessibility documentation, the recent update to WordPress Playground, exciting 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.

See you next week!

Team WP-CONTENT.CO

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🗣️TALK OF THE TOWN

Jonathan Desrosiers conducted a comprehensive audit, resulting in the archival of 20 inactive repositories, 11 outdated plugins, and 30 dormant Slack channels.

📰  WORDPRESS & AROUND

All the updates around WordPress and its closely related technologies

A recent survey on WordPress accessibility documentation gathered insights from 57 participants worldwide, highlighting a strong demand for clearer, more centralized resources. Respondents ranging from developers to content managers stressed the need for guidance on testing accessibility, using Full Site Editing, and creating accessible themes and content.

👥 COMMUNITY NEWS

Updates and News from the WordPress Community

This one-day event, scheduled to take place in Sydney on November 28, will focus on topics ranging from infrastructure and DevOps to editorial workflows, block development, and performance at scale. It is organized by Web Directions and The Code Company. The call for speakers is now open.

🚀 NEW PROJECTS

🔖 INTERESTING READS & PODCASTS

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

  • Patricia BT on the document she shared with Mary and Matt: Patricia shared a document with Mary and Matt at WCEU 2025, highlighting concerns from over 100 WordPress contributors about governance, leadership, and trust. The document calls for more transparent, community-driven decision-making to ensure WordPress remains open, inclusive, and sustainable.
  • In conversation with Marieke van de Rakt: Marieke van de Rakt reflects on her journey from a curious child in the Netherlands to earning a PhD in criminology and becoming a key figure in online marketing and local politics. She shares personal insights about her ADHD diagnosis, family life with husband Joost and their four children, and her passion for education, community, and sustainability. From Seriously, Bud?
  • Planes & determination: A disabled traveler’s journey through chaos: In this episode, Michelle shares her whirlwind experience traveling to and from WordCamp Europe. From radar-key-accessible toilets in Switzerland to flight delays, scooter battery regulations, and missed connections, she shares what it means to travel as a disabled person.  From Underrepresented in Tech.
  • The evolving landscape of core contribution and company sponsorship: In this Open Talk on Open Source, Adam Weeks, Tammy Lister, and Zach Stepek chat with Tim Monner of BigScoots about WordPress core contribution, what it is, why it matters, and how both individuals and companies can get involved. From OpenChannels.fm.
  • How can AI transform your WordPress agency? Interview with Matt Medeiros: The podcast explored how generative AI is reshaping agency workflows, client expectations, design challenges, and leadership strategies. From Osom to Know.
  • WordPress in 2025 (& How it affects product builders): In this episode of WP Product Talk, the discussion covers opportunities in enterprise, AI, and no-code, what enterprise clients expect from WordPress products, and the key opportunities and risks facing plugin and SaaS businesses in the current ecosystem. From WP Product Talk.
  • Perspectives with Zach Stepek: Zach Stepek welcomes Luke and Jonathan as guests to do a deep dive into the world of Woo. They discuss the history of WooCommerce and the tension between open-source ideals and monetization, and more. From Crossword.
  • The FAIR Package Manager for WordPress: Matt Medeiros conversed with Carrie Dils and Karim Marucchi to talk through FAIR—short for Federated and Independent Repositories—a new package management project launched under the Linux Foundation. From The WP Minute.
  • Joe Dolson and Jonathan Desrosiers on WordPress accessibility: Core commitment or canonical plugin: In this episode, Joe Dolson and Jonathan Desrosiers discuss the future of accessibility in WordPress, should it remain a Core focus or shift to canonical plugins? They explore the pros and cons of each approach, touching on technical, ethical, and legal factors. From The WP Tavern Jukebox.
  • Essential soft skills for WordPress developers: This article explores the essential soft skills WordPress developers need beyond coding, like communication, active listening, empathy, adaptability, and time management. From Delicious Brains.
  • Making WooCommerce accessible: How we achieved full compliance:  After an audit in early 2024 revealed major accessibility gaps, WooCommerce launched a major initiative to meet WCAG 2.2 Level AA standards ahead of the European Accessibility Act deadline (June 28, 2025). Partnering with Equalize Digital and 10up, they overhauled the platform to ensure a fully accessible shopping experience for all users. From James Kemp.
  • The partially autonomous CMS: Tom Willmot advocates for a “partially autonomous” future for WordPress where AI assists users, not replaces them. Inspired by Andrej Karpathy’s concept of an “autonomy dial,” he suggests WordPress should evolve to help with tasks like writing alt text, generating headlines, or building layouts, allowing users to guide and refine AI output rather than do everything manually. From Tom Willmot.
  • Alt Ctrl Org team has provided a recap of their recently concluded event at Basel on June 6: The event featured talks, panels, and discussions on decentralization, inclusivity, and the need for better leadership models. From Alt Ctrl Org.
  • Felix Arntz shared 10 lessons from 10 years of contributing to WordPress core: Felix Arntz marks 10 years since his first contribution to WordPress Core by reflecting on the journey that took him from a small bug fix at WordCamp Europe 2015 to becoming a core committer. In this milestone post, he shares 10 valuable lessons he’s learned, ranging from the importance of clear communication and persistence to thinking at scale, being helpful, and so on.
  • WordCamp Asia 2026 handover sparks tensions between organizers and WordCamp Central: Behind the scenes of the WordCamp Asia 2026 handover, organizers, contributors and program managers offer clashing views on transparency, control, and community autonomy for the flagship event. From The Repository.
  • Patricia Brun Torre shares grievances of 100+ contributors with WordPress leadership: Contributor Patricia Brun Torre’s document, shared with Executive Director Mary Hubbard, details fear, burnout, and calls for shared leadership. From The Repository.
  • Automattic marks 20 years, looks ahead to AI era and next 20 years: Two decades after it was founded to support WordPress.com, Automattic marks its 20th year with reflections on growth, AI, and what comes next in a changing ecosystem. From The Repository.
  • Rebuilding Trust: A FAIR way forward for WordPress and open source: In this joint keynote, Joost de Valk and Karim Marucchi introduce the FAIR Package Manager, a community-driven initiative redefining how to distribute and secure WordPress plugins and themes.
  • Mark Zahra introduces Charles: Charles is a custom GPT writing assistant that he built to support but not replace his voice in writing. Inspired by his late father’s lessons on clarity and care in communication, Charles helps with structure, tone, and editing, while Mark retains full authorship and intention. From WP Mayor.
  • Inside the WordPress block that powers Fueled.com’s 3D motion effects: Jon Christensen from Fueled shares how their team built a performant 3D animation feature for Fueled.com using WordPress. After testing videos, GIFs, and sprite sheets, they landed on using WebP image sequences controlled with JavaScript and optimized with Intersection Observers. From Jon Christensen.
  • The $8.8 Trillion wake-up call: Notes from Open Source Summit NA 2025: The 2025 Open Source Summit NA revealed that open source software drives an estimated $8.8 trillion in economic value yet relies on aging, often unpaid maintainers. Key themes included a call for better governance in WordPress (via the FAIR Project), an urgent need for younger contributors, stricter license compliance, and more. From Roger William Media.
  • Patricia BT shared her experience as a co-organizer of WordCamp Europe 2025: Patricia BT reflects on her experience as a Local Team Lead for WordCamp Europe 2025 in Basel, highlighting the intense planning, community support, and behind-the-scenes coordination. Despite challenges like organizer dropouts, sponsorship issues, and community tensions, the event succeeded through teamwork and dedication.

🛠 GUIDE ZONE – HOWTO’S and MORE

Handpicked fresh guides from WordPress circle

📆 SAVE THE DATES

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

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

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

Boost your sales with email & SMS—without breaking the bank Check it out  →

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

WordPress Accessibility Documentation Improvement Project Kicks Off at WordCamp Europe 2025

An effort to improve accessibility documentation for WordPress officially kicked off during Contributor Day at WordCamp Europe 2025…

Read more

AFL UTM Tracker Review: Smarter Marketing Insights for Your WooCommerce Campaigns

A successful digital marketing strategy isn’t just about the conversions, but also about knowing which campaigns drove those…

Read more

FAIR Project: Supported by Linux Foundation, Opens Path To Decentralized WordPress.org Services

A new initiative called FAIR, short for Federated and Independent Repositories, aims to reduce reliance on the centralized…

Read more

Do the Woo Rebrands as OpenChannels.fm

After years of growing and evolving, Do the Woo, originally launched by Bob Dunn in 2016 as a…

Read more

Team WP-CONTENT.CO

Issue #226   |   July 1, 2025   |   Reading time: 18 mins

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