Issue #257 | February 3, 2026 | Reading time: 20 mins
Hello!
This week on The WP Week Newsletter, we cover the new AI Guidelines for WordPress, the opening of WordCamp Asia 2026 WP Campus Connect Scholarship sponsor applications, Community Team goals for 2026, 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
🙌 This weekly newsletter is kindly sponsored by Kinsta, ProfilePress and WP Job Openings
🗣️TALK OF THE TOWN
The Core AI Team has published its first AI Guidelines in the Make WordPress Core AI handbook to help contributors use AI responsibly. The guidelines emphasize accountability, disclosure of AI assistance, GPL-compatible licensing, quality over quantity, and coverage of both code and non-code contributions. The team is also looking for feedback from the community.
📰 WORDPRESS & AROUND
All the updates around WordPress and its closely related technologies
The team is prioritizing meetups in 2026 as the key entry point for new contributors. The focus is on expanding hands-on, issue-focused sessions, connecting attendees to Make teams, and exploring emerging topics like AI tools. Immediate actions include updating resources, auditing organizers’ handbooks, and engaging with meetup groups.
- New proposal for the monthly Office Hour Meeting for Make WordPress Training: This proposal recommends adding a monthly Office Hour video meeting to support Tuesday Slack chats, creating a more action-focused space for sharing ideas, assigning tasks, and supporting new contributors.
- New concept: National Championships at WordCamps: At WordCamp Netherlands, Dave Loodts introduced the “National Championships,” a hands-on performance challenge where participants optimized identical, intentionally slow WordPress sites.
- WordCamp Asia 2026 WP Campus Connect Scholarship sponsor applications now open: Anand Upadhyay (co-founder of WP Campus Connect) has announced a pilot WordPress Campus Connect Scholarship for WordCamp Asia 2026 to support student participation at WordCamp Asia 2026. The program focuses on students who began their WordPress journey through Campus Connect and remained engaged within the WordPress community.
- Call for testing Customizable Navigation Overlays in WordPress 7.0: The upcoming release will introduce Customizable Navigation Overlays, giving users full control over mobile navigation menus with blocks and patterns. The Test Team invites the community to test the feature and provide feedback by February 9, 2026.
- Call for testing: Experimental REST API Caching in WooCommerce 10.5: The upcoming version will add experimental REST API caching to speed up product endpoints for headless stores and integrations. Developers can enable caching with the RestApiCache trait and are invited to test performance and provide feedback.
- New AI Agent Skill for WordPress: Brandon Payton has released wp-playground, a new AI agent skill that allows AI tools to quickly run and test WordPress plugins and themes via the Playground CLI.
- WordPress Themes Team approves use of AI-generated images with disclosure: Ganga Kafle on X shared that the WordPress Themes Team has agreed to allow AI-generated images in themes, as long as their use is clearly and properly disclosed in the README file.
- WP Go Maps Plugin vulnerability affects up to 300K WordPress sites: The vulnerability allowed authenticated users with subscriber-level access to change global map engine settings. The issue affects versions up to 10.0.04, and users are to update to version 10.0.05.
- SQL injection vulnerability in Quiz and Survey Master (QSM) plugin affecting 40k+ sites: The vulnerability allowed any logged-in user, subscriber, or higher to execute database commands. This was fixed in version 10.3.2, and users are to update immediately.
- Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report (January 19, 2026 to January 25, 2026): Last week, there were 216 vulnerabilities disclosed in 181 plugins and 17 themes.
🔧 TIP OF THE WEEK
Secure Your Theme
A secure theme protects both your site and your users. Start with these essential best practices:
Block Direct File Access
Prevent users from accessing PHP files directly by adding this to your theme files:
if ( ! defined( ‘ABSPATH’ ) ) exit; // Stop direct access
Sanitize All Inputs
Never trust user input. Always sanitize data before saving it:
sanitize_text_field();
esc_url();
Escape All Outputs
Protect your site from XSS attacks by escaping data before displaying it:
esc_html();
Pro Tip:
Sanitize on input, escape on output—following this rule alone prevents most common theme security vulnerabilities. Security doesn’t have to be complex. These small steps go a long way in building safer WordPress themes.
💵 INVESTMENTS, ACQUISITIONS & PARTNERSHIPS
- Robin Image Optimizer and Woody Code Snippets have been acquired by Themeisle: Robin Image Optimizer is an image optimization plugin that can reduce image file size by up to 80% without visible quality loss, and Woody Code Snippets is a WordPress plugin that helps you insert code into your site without editing theme files.
- JetHost acquires Omnis Network: Omnis Network is a US web hosting provider and current Omnis customers will see no immediate disruption, while future upgrades will include faster infrastructure, optimized WordPress tools, AI-powered site building, simplified management, and enhanced security.
👥 COMMUNITY NEWS
Updates and News from the WordPress Community
The Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship and the Diversity Fund Scholarship are open until February 15, 2026. All applicants will be notified by February 28, 2026. The third round of speakers has also been announced. They have also opened a call for participants for the Speed Build Challenge, with the deadline to apply being February 28.
- WP Business & Agency Summit 2026: The event is scheduled for March 23 at Europa-Park, Germany, bringing together 800+ attendees from web agencies, hosters, CSPs, and the WordPress ecosystem.
- Hostinger Kodee awarded Gold Stevie Award: They won first place in the Best Use of Chatbots or AI Assistants in Customer Service category.
- Hosting.com enables Monarx AI-first server security across entire server fleet: Hosting.com has partnered with Monarx to provide AI-powered, real-time server security across its global infrastructure, protecting over 3 million websites.
- 20i announced the launch of Twentie: It is a new built-in personal assistant designed to troubleshoot issues, analyse data, track performance, debug code, and create content directly inside My20i. They have also launched a new data centre in Singapore.
- Plugin Jam hackathon first winner announced: Plugin Jam announced Troy Chaplin as the winner of its first Blockathon for his ReadEase Text Resizer block plugin. As part of the prize, Troy will receive a copy of Unleash the Wapuu, a card game created by Marcus Burnette.
- wp-env now supports WordPress Playground as an experimental runtime: Riad Benguella on X highlighted an easier way to run WordPress locally with the new Playground runtime in wp-env. With a single command, developers can spin up a fully functional WordPress environment in seconds, no Docker or containers needed.
- New milestone for WP Activity Log: The plugin now has over 300,000 active installations.
- The WP Minute unveiled its new logo: The WP Minute starts 2026 with a fresh logo while keeping the same team and continuing its WordPress coverage.
- Sneak peek at Automattic CSS’s new effects library: Kevin Geary shared a preview of Automattic CSS’s new dependency-free effects library.
- Draft Mode coming in DesignSetGo’s next release: Justin Nealey previewed the new Draft Mode, letting users safely edit pages without affecting the live version until ready to publish.
- SureCart v3.18 is now available: This introduces Dynamic Pricing, letting stores apply real-time discounts or fees at checkout based on conditions like user role, cart contents, or customer type. The update also improves checkout test mode visibility, adds affiliate profile management, and includes several other improvements and bug fixes.
- Etch v1.0 released: Etch is officially production-ready, and upcoming updates include a Components API for developers, full AI-assisted development, WooCommerce components and templates, and a top-secret feature which will be revealed later.
- North Commerce v 1.0.14 is here: The updates include new collections with previews and templates, a TinyMCE editor for descriptions, a 404 page for invalid product URLs, styling improvements for virtual products and billing fields, and an auto-selection payment provider.
- WordPress Studio 1.7.0 released: This release introduces Studio CLI v2, a major upgrade that brings full command-line control to local WordPress development. Developers can now create and manage sites, run WP-CLI, handle authentication, and deploy preview sites directly from the terminal.
- Eventin 4.1.0 released: This version introduces a new UI/UX for event creation, improvements to the basic form, a new event scheduling system, and so on.
- WP Umbrella is releasing a new security dashboard: The bulk security dashboard lets agencies monitor vulnerabilities, PHP versions, and protection status across all WordPress sites in one place.
- Contact Form X version 3.0 released: This update refactors validated CSS and JavaScript jQuery, improves cookie functionality and the display of extra email information, adds support for up to three customizable fields, and much more.
- MaxiBlocks adds 68 new footer patterns: They have expanded their library with 68 new footer patterns (bringing the total to 204), all available in light and dark variants. The update also introduces 2 pagination templates and 2 comment templates.
- Transformer Lab has launched the public beta of Transformer Lab for Teams: This is an open-source OS for AI research labs. It unifies the machine learning workflow, simplifies scaling, supports custom extensions, and keeps data private.
- Alex Cuadra receives the Yoast Care fund for his contribution to the WordPress community: Alex Cuadra a valuable contributor to the WordPress Community Team, is the latest recipient of the Yoast Care fund.
🚀 NEW PROJECTS
| “With the Gutenberg for Everyone course, I want to cover the basics as well. Honestly, when I was starting, looking at the WordPress infrastructure was very hard for me to understand as a designer. This course should be optimized for designers and developers to find a common language.” Marko Krstić about creating the Gutenberg for Everyone course |
- Gutenberg for Everyone course by Marko Krstic: This is a free course that takes learners from the fundamentals of WordPress and the Block Editor to practical, production-ready workflows. It covers everything from understanding WordPress structure, themes, and blocks, and much more.
- Roots & Fruit launched: A new initiative by Matt Cromwell, this is a fractional Growth agency for product teams.
- WP FAQ Block: A new plugin for creating interactive FAQ pages on WordPress & WooCommerce websites.
- GB Query Enhancements: The plugin created by Ian Svoboda adds additional query types to the GenerateBlocks Query block. As part of the launch, get 33% off all lifetime licenses.
- Search Filter Sort: The plugin adds advanced search, filter, and sorting options to your website.
- ToggleWP: A modular toolkit for freelancers and hosting providers that streamlines site management, secures client sites, and improves workflows with login monitoring, plugin control, media organization, and much more.
- Green Power Store: A modern Full Site Editing (FSE) WooCommerce WordPress theme created by Aleksandr Samokhin, specifically designed for businesses in the solar energy, smart home technology, and green energy sectors.
- Animate My Site: The plugin allows users to apply an animation style to their entire site with minimal setup.
- Noggins: Created by Nick Hamze, the plugin turns your WordPress site into a personal knowledge base.
- Video Teaser: Created by Breon Williams, the plugin allows users to create engaging video teasers with autoplay loop and click-to-play functionality for WordPress. Supports YouTube, Vimeo, Media Library, and external MP4 sources.
- WordPress Interactivity API Helper: A VS Code extension by Ryan Welcher for Intelligent autocomplete and validation for WordPress Interactivity API directives in VSCode.
- WPSmith: Created by JuanMa Garrido, this is a CLI for a Laravel-like WordPress development experience with Playground and SQLite.
🔖 INTERESTING READS & PODCASTS
More posts and podcasts from the WordPress Community you don’t want to miss
- WP Product Talk, hosts Katie Keith and Ian Misner are joined by Devin Walker, Artistic Director of Jetpack, to dig into what UX-led product development really looks like in practice.
- In this episode of Seriously, Bud? Isotta Peira, lead of the WordPress Credits Program, shared her journey, her role in mentoring students in WordPress contributions, and reflections on travel, culture, and inclusive representation in the community.
- Matt Medeiros and Davinder Singh Kainth dive into plugin development, sponsorships, WP Awards insights, plugin marketing dynamics, community engagement, and the future of WordPress with AI in The WP Minute+ podcast.
- On the Melapress Live Show, Robert Abela conversed with Maciej Pilarski, WordPress Credits Admin and Mentor, to unpack the WordPress Credits program, an educational initiative that allows students to complete accredited internships by contributing directly to WordPress.
- Charly Leetham, on WP Tavern Jukebox, shared how she built a WordPress-based business that lets her work remotely from a camper van across Australia.
- Mike Davey provided a breakdown of the theme.json file and how to use it to architect better, more maintainable themes.
- Jamie Marsland shared how he built Tomorrow Times, a fully AI-powered prediction market and satirical news app, in a single weekend without coding.
- In this Excerpt Talks, contributors from WPBakery and Automattic come together to explore how WordPress is entering formal education through the WP Credits program.
- Rodolfo Melogli argues that rejected WordCamp talk proposals waste valuable effort and motivation. He suggests feedback, alternate formats, and online sessions to ensure ideas reach an audience.
- On Crossword, Luke and Jonathan sit down with Jeff Paul, VP of Open Source Solutions at Fueled and a decade-long WordPress contributor. They explore Jeff’s journey in contributing to WordPress, reflect on their experiences in agencies, and discuss the upcoming 7.0 release.
- Bruno Zagorščak recaps the winter 2026 WooCommerce Zagreb meetup, where Automattic’s team shared updates on performance, accessibility, block-first architectures, and AI-driven commerce protocols.
- Jonathan Bossenger highlighted four practical tools he built with AI, each designed to simplify everyday tasks like debugging, database inspection, email testing, and running PHP snippets. He also shared what to expect from the Automattic Trial process.
- Varun Dubey reflects on attending multiple WordCamps in a row and questions whether Contributor Days are truly impactful or just a series of quick wins. He also covered Gutenberg blocks and WordPress development in the AI era.
- The Shape of the Web in 2026 by Riley Cullen explores how AI and large language models are transforming the web.
- Eric Karkovack explains what MCP is and how it helps WordPress websites.
- Jimmy Tavares has published a Krakow travel guide for participants attending WCEU 2026.
- Jason Nickerson explores how Automattic is approaching WordPress’s global expansion through the work of James Grierson, Head of Global Expansion.
- Nick Diego explains why he chose to leave Automattic after nearly three years, sharing how working with AI renewed his desire to build again.
- Omnisend takes a fun look at email trends in 2025, analyzing over 26 billion messages.
- Lily Ray looks back at 2025 as a really unpredictable year for SEO, with AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude changing how people search for information.
🛠 GUIDE ZONE – HOWTO’S and MORE
Handpicked fresh guides from WordPress circle
- Migrating from WordPress to MDX: From Nick Diego
- Fixing EDD license failures with AWS: From WPChill
- Multi-vector WordPress malware: Protecting your main site, staging, and test environments: From Varun Dubey
📆 SAVE THE DATES
Do not miss a WordPress event ever again
- WordCamp Pune on February 08, 2026: The call for sponsors and facilitators is now open. The tickets are also now available.
- WordPress DevDay on February 21, 2026: The tickets are now available.
- WordCamp Nice on March 06, 2026: The call for sponsors and volunteers is now open.
- WordCamp Madrid on March 06-07, 2026: The call for sponsors, speakers, and volunteers is now open. The tickets are also available now.
- WordCamp Asia 2026 on April 9-11: The call for Wapuu designs and sponsors is now open. The tickets are still available, and visa information details have been published.
- Checkout Summit 2026 on April 23-24, 2026: The call for sponsors is now open. The early bird tickets are now available.
- WordCamp Europe 2026 on June 4-6: The call for speakers, sponsors, and media partners is now open. The tickets are also now available.
- WordCamp US, Phoenix on August 16 -19 2026: The event is in the early planning stages.
🎁 WORDPRESS DEALS OF THE WEEK
Again, these are the best deals of the week, handpicked by yours!
EXCLUSIVE DEALS
- 4 Months free offer on hosting plans of WP Engine (Coupon Code- FREEDOMTOCREATE)
- 10% off on monthly & annual plans at SureTriggers (Coupon Code- WPCONTENT10)
- Up to 84% off at Hostinger (Code NYSALE for an extra 10% off)
- 15% off yearly plans at Videvo (Coupon Code – WPV15)
MORE DEALS
- 30% off for 4 months on Cloudways + 10 Free migrations ( Promo code- TREAT25).
- Up to 50% off on BookingPress plugin
- Up to 50% off on Paid Membership Pro plans.
- Up to $100 OFF Essential Blocks PRO plugin.
- 50% off 3 months on Liquid Web’s Bare Metal server hosting
- 20% off for Constellation plugin
- 28.65% off for the lifetime plan for the Modern Cart for WooCommerce plugin.
- 33% off for the Uncanny Automator plugin.
This weekly newsletter is kindly sponsored by awesome WordPress Companies 🦸♂️🙌
Last but not least, updates from WP-CONTENT.CO 👇
Anand Upadhyay (co-founder of WP Campus Connect) has announced a pilot WordPress Campus Connect Scholarship for WordCamp Asia…
After a long break, we’re excited to welcome readers back to our WP-Professional of the Month series. We’re…
The WordPress #content-creators Slack channel, started by Anne McCarthy in September 2025 to support and connect content creators…
Core contributor and VP of Open Source at Fueled + 10up, Jeffrey Paul, has shared the WordPress 7.0…
Team WP-CONTENT.CO
Issue #257 | February 3, 2026 | Reading time: 20 mins
This weekly newsletter is kindly sponsored by Kinsta, ProfilePress, and WP Job Openings
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