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Say hello to WordPress 6.5 “Regina,” inspired by the dynamic versatility of renowned jazz violinist Regina Carter. An award-winning artist and storied jazz educator known for transcending genre, Regina’s technical foundations in classical music and deep understanding of jazz have earned her the reputation of boldly going beyond what’s possible with the violin. 

Let the stunning twists and subtle turns of Regina’s genre-bending sound surprise you as you explore everything 6.5 offers.

This latest version of WordPress puts more power into the details. It offers new and improved ways to fine-tune and enhance your site-building experience, letting you take control in ways that make it your own. You’ll find new ways to manage your site’s typography, more comprehensive revisions available in more places, and a collection of Site Editor updates paired with impressive performance gains to help you get things done smoother and faster.

“Regina” also marks the introduction of some breakthrough developer tools that will start transforming how you use and extend blocks to craft engaging experiences. The Interactivity API opens up a world of creative front-end possibilities, while the Block Bindings API makes dynamic connections between blocks and data seamless. These, among other developer-focused improvements and updates, are ready to help you evolve how you build with WordPress.

What’s inside 6.5

Add and manage fonts across your site

The new Font Library puts you in control of an essential piece of your site’s design—typography—without coding or extra steps. Effortlessly install, remove, and activate local and Google Fonts across your site for any Block theme. The ability to include custom typography collections gives site creators and publishers more options when it comes to styling content.

Get more from your revisions—including revisions for templates and template parts

Work through creative projects with a more comprehensive picture of what’s been done—and what you can fall back on. Get details like time stamps, quick summaries, and a paginated list of all revisions. View revisions from the Style Book to see how changes impact every block. Revisions are also now available for templates and template parts.

Play with enhanced background and shadow tools

• Control the size, repeat, and focal point options for background images in Group blocks so you can explore subtle or splashy ways to add visual interest to layouts. 
• Set aspect ratios for Cover block images and easily add color overlays that automatically source color from your chosen image. 
• Add box shadow support to more block types and create layouts with visual depth, or throw a little personality into your design.

Discover new Data Views

Every piece of your site comes with a library of information and data—now, you can find what you need quickly and organize it however you like. Data views for pages, templates, patterns, and template parts let you see data in a table or grid view, with the option to toggle fields and make bulk changes.

Smoother drag-and-drop

Feel the difference when you move things around, with helpful visual cues like displaced items in List View or frictionless dragging to anywhere in your workspace—from beginning to end.

Improved link controls

Create and manage links easily with a more intuitive link-building experience, like a streamlined UI and a shortcut for copying links.

What’s fresh for developers in 6.5

Bring interactions to blocks with the Interactivity API

The Interactivity API offers developers a standardized method for building interactive front-end experiences with blocks. It simplifies the process, with fewer dependencies on external tooling, while maintaining optimal performance. Use it to create memorable user experiences, like fetching search results instantly or letting visitors interact with content in real time.

Connect blocks to custom fields or other dynamic content

Link core block attributes to custom fields and use the value of custom fields without creating custom blocks. Powered by the Block Bindings API, developers can extend this capability further to connect blocks to any dynamic content—even beyond custom fields. If there’s data stored elsewhere, easily point blocks to that new source with only a few lines of code.

Add appearance tools to Classic themes

Give designers and creators using Classic themes access to an upgraded design experience. Opt in to support for spacing, border, typography, and color options, even without using theme.json. Once support is enabled, more tools will be automatically added as they become available.

Explore improvements to the plugin experience

There’s now an easier way to manage plugin dependencies. Plugin authors can supply a new Requires Plugins header with a comma-separated list of required plugin slugs, presenting users with links to install and activate those plugins first.

From fast to faster: Performance updates

This release includes 110+ performance updates, resulting in an impressive increase in speed and efficiency across the Post Editor and Site Editor. Loading is over two times faster than in 6.4, with input processing speed up to five times faster than the previous release.

 Translated sites see up to 25% improvement in load time for this release courtesy of Performant Translations. Additional performance highlights include AVIF image support and improvements for registering block variations with callbacks.

A tradition of inclusion

This release includes more than 65 accessibility improvements across the platform, making it more accessible than ever. It contains an important fix that unblocks access to the admin submenus for screen reader users and others who navigate by keyboard. This release also adds fixes to color contrast in admin focus states, positioning of elements, and cursor focus, among many others, that help improve the WordPress experience for everyone.

Learn more about WordPress 6.5

Check out the new WordPress 6.5 page to learn more about the numerous enhancements and features of this release—including short demos of some of the highlighted features.

Explore Learn WordPress for quick how-to videos, online workshops, and other free resources to level up your WordPress knowledge and skills.

Check out the WordPress 6.5 Field Guide for detailed technical information and developer notes to help you build with WordPress and get the most out of this release. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Developer Blog for developer updates, feature tutorials, and other helpful WordPress content from a developer perspective.

For more information about installation, file changes, fixes, and other updates, read the 6.5 release notes.

The 6.5 release squad

Every release has many moving parts with its own triumphs and challenges. It takes a dedicated team of enthusiastic contributors to help keep things on track and moving smoothly. 6.5 is made possible by a cross-functional group of contributors, always ready to champion ideas, remove blockers, and resolve issues.

• Release Lead: Matt Mullenweg
• Release Coordinators: Akshaya Rane, Héctor Prieto, Mary Baum
• Core Tech Leads: David Baumwald, Pascal Birchler
• Editor Tech Leads: David Smith, Riad Benguella
• Core Triage Leads: Ahmed Kabir Chaion, Jb Audras, Rajin Sharwar
• Editor Triage Leads: Anne McCarthy, Fabian Kägy
• Design Leads: Benjamin Zekavica, Rich Tabor
• Marketing and Communication Leads: Dan Soschin, Lauren Stein
• Documentation Leads: Estela Rueda, Leonardus Nugraha, Steven Lin
• Performance Leads: Joe McGill, Mukesh Panchal
• Test Leads: Olga Gleckler, Patrick Lumumba, Vipul Ghori
• Default Themes Leads: Carolina Nymark

Thank you, contributors

WordPress believes in democratizing publishing and the freedoms that come with open source. Supporting this idea is a global and diverse community of people collaborating to strengthen the software. 

WordPress 6.5 reflects the countless efforts and passion of around 700 contributors in at least 57 countries. This release also welcomed over 150 first-time contributors!

Their collaboration delivered more than 2,500 enhancements and fixes, ensuring a stable release for all—a testament to the power and capability of the WordPress open source community.

!Benni · _ck_ · Aaron Jorbin · Aaron Robertshaw · Abha Thakor · abletec · acosmin · Adam Silverstein · Adarsh Akshat · admcfajn · Ahmed Chaion · Ahmed Saeed · Akash Muchandikar · Aki Hamano · Akira Tachibana · akmelias · Akramul Hasan · Akshaya Rane · Alain Schlesser · Alan Fuller · Alex · Alex Concha · Alex King · Alex Kirk · Alex Lende · Alex Mills · Alex Stine · Alexander · Alexandre Buffet · Amber Hinds · Amy Hendrix (sabreuse) · Amy Kamala · Anand Upadhyay · Anders Norén · Andrea Fercia · Andrei Draganescu · Andrei Lupu · Andrew Hayward · Andrew Hutchings · Andrew Nacin · Andrew Norcross · Andrew Ozz · Andrew Serong · andrewleap · Andrii Balashov · André Maneiro · Andy Fragen · Andy Peatling · Aneesh Devasthale · Ankit K Gupta · Ankit Panchal · Anne McCarthy · Anthony Burchell · Antoine · Anton Lukin · Anton Timmermans · Anton Vlasenko · Antonella · Antonio D. · Antonis Lilis · arena94 · Ari Stathopoulos · Arslan Kalwar · Artemio Morales · Arthur Chu · Arun Chaitanya Jami · Arun Sharma · Arunas Liuiza · Asad Polash · Ashish Kumar (Ashfame) · Asish Chandra Mohon · audunmb · Aurooba Ahmed · Austin Matzko · axwax · Ayesh Karunaratne · Béryl de La Grandière · bahia0019 · Balu B · bangank36 · Barry · Barry · Bart Kalisz · bartkleinreesink · Beatriz Fialho · Beau Lebens · Beda · ben · Ben Dwyer · Ben Hansen · Ben Huson · Ben Lobaugh (blobaugh) · Ben Ritner - Kadence WP · Ben Word · Benjamin Zekavica · benjaminknox · Benoit Chantre · Bernhard Reiter · bernhard-reiter · billseymour · Biplav · Birgit Pauli-Haack · bobbingwide · Boone Gorges · born2webdesign · Brad Jorsch · Brad Parbs · Brad Williams · Brandon Kraft · Brandon Lavigne · Brian Coords · Brian Fischer · Brian Gardner · Brian Haas · Brian Henry · Brooke · burnuser · camya · Carlo Cannas · Carlos Bravo · Carlos G. P. · Carolina Nymark · cenkdemir · cfinnberg · Chad Chadbourne · chased@si.edu · chiilog (Chiaki Okamoto) · Chouby · Chris David Miles · Chris Reynolds · chriscct7 · christian-dale · Christopher · Chrystl · codepo8 · Colin Devroe · Colin Stewart · Corey Worrell · Cory Birdsong · Courtney Robertson · Creative Slice · crstauf · Cullen Whitmore · Cupid Chakma · cvorko · cybeardjm · Cyberchicken · Damon Cook · Dan Soschin · Daniel Bachhuber · Daniel Dvorkin · Daniel Käfer · Daniel Richards · Daniel Schutzsmith · danieldudzic · Daniele Scasciafratte · danieltj · darerodz · Darren Ethier (nerrad) · Darshit Rajyaguru · darssen · David Artiss · David Baumwald · David Biňovec · David Calhoun · David Herrera · David Levine · David Lingren · David Perez · David Smith · Dean Sas · Denis de Bernardy · Denis Žoljom · Dennis Hipp · Dennis Snell · Dennys Dionigi · Derek Blank · Derek Herman · Derek Springer · designsimply · Desrosj Bot · Devin Curtis · Devin Walker · Dharmesh Patel · Dhrumil Kumbhani · Dhruvi Shah · Dilip Bheda · Dion Hulse · Dominik Schilling · Dougal Campbell · Drew Jaynes · Dustin Falgout · Earle Davies · Ehtisham Siddiqui · Ella van Durpe · Emerson Maningo · emirpprime · Emmanuel Hesry · Endymion00 · Eric Andrew Lewis · Erick Hitter · Erik · Estela Rueda · Fabian Kägy · Fabian Todt · Fabio Rubioglio · Faisal Ahammad · Faisal Ahmed · Faisal Alvi · Fanly · Feast Design Co. · Felipe Elia · Felix Arntz · fgiannar · Florent Hernandez · Francesca Marano · FrancescoCarlucci · Frank Jäger · Frank Laszlo · Frank Wazeter · fushar · Gajendra Singh · Gan Eng Chin · Garbiñe · Gary Pendergast · gavande1 · Gennady Kovshenin · George Mamadashvili · George Stephanis · Gerard Reches · Gerardo Pacheco · Girish Panchal · Giuseppe Mazzapica · Glen Davies · goldenapples · Grant M. 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Adam White · KafleG · Kai Hao · Kamrul Hasan · Kari Anderson · Karlijn Bok · Karol Manijak · Karthik Thayyil · Katka · kawsaralameven · Kelly Choyce-Dwan · Kevin Batdorf · Kevin Coleman · Kevin Taron · Kharis Sulistiyono · Kira Schroder · Kishan Jasani · kitchin · Kjell Reigstad · kkmuffme · Knut Sparhell · Koen Reus · Koesper · Konstantin Obenland · Krupa Nanda · Krupal Panchal · Kurt Payne · Kushang Tailor · Kylen Downs · lau@mindproducts.com.au · Laura Adamonis · Lauren Stein · Laurent MILLET · Lax Mariappan · Lena Morita · Leo Muniz · Leonardus Nugraha · Liam Gladdy · LiamMcArthur · Linkon Miyan · liviopv · lkraav · logikal16 · Lovekesh Kumar · luboslives · lucasbustamante · Luis Felipe Zaguini · Luis Herranz · Lukas Pawlik · Lukasz · Luke Cavanagh · Maarten · Madhu Dollu · Madhu Dollu · Maggie Cabrera · Mahbub Hasan Imon · mahnewr · Mahrokh · Malae · manfcarlo · manyourisms · Marc_J · Marcelo de Moraes Serpa · Marco Ciampini · Marcoevich · margolisj · Marie Comet · Marin Atanasov · Mario Santos · Marius L. J. · Mark Howells-Mead · Mark Jaquith · Marko Heijnen · Markus · martin.krcho · Mary Baum · mathewemoore · Matias Benedetto · Matias Ventura · matiasrecondo77 · Matt Mullenweg · Matteo Enna · Max Lyuchin · Maxime Pertici · Mayur Prajapati · Md Hossain Shohel · Md HR Shahin · Meg Phillips · megane9988 · Mel Choyce-Dwan · melcarthus · meta4 · metropolis_john · mevolkan · Micah Wood · Michael Showes · Michal Czaplinski · Michalooki · Miguel Fonseca · miguelsansegundo · Miikka · Mike Bijon · Mike Jolley (a11n) · Mike Schinkel · Mike Schroder · Mikin Chauhan · Milen Petrinski - Gonzo · mimi · mkismy · mnydigital · Mohammad Jangda · Monique Dubbelman · Monzur Alam · Morteza Geransayeh · mreishus · mrwweb · Muhammad Usman Iqbal · Muhibul Haque · mujuonly · Mukesh Panchal · Mumtahina Faguni · Musarrat Anjum Chowdhury · Naoki Ohashi · Naresh Bheda · Nate Allen · Navjot Singh · neffff · Neil Hainsworth · nendeb · NerdPress · Nick Diego · Nick Halsey · Nick Martianov · nickpagz · Nico · Nicole Furlan · Nicole Paschen Caylor · nidhidhandhukiya · Niels Lange · Nihar Ranjan Das · Nik Tsekouras · Nikita · nikmeyer · Nilambar Sharma · Nilo Velez · Niluthpal Purkayastha · niravsherasiya7707 · Nithin John · Nithin SreeRaj · Noah Allen · nosilver4u · Nowell VanHoesen · Nudge Themes · nwjames · obliviousharmony · ockham · oguzkocer · okat · Old account · olegfuture · Olga Gleckler · Paal Joachim Romdahl · Pacicio · pannelars · partyfrikadelle · Pascal Birchler · Patricia BT · Patrick Lumumba · Paul Bearne · Paul Biron · Paul de Wouters · Paul Kevan · Paul Wong-Gibbs · pavelevap · Peter Baylies · Peter Rubin · Peter Westwood · Peter Wilson · petitphp · Philipp Bammes · Philipp15b · Phill · Pieterjan Deneys · Pippin Williamson · Pitam Dey · pmeenan · Pooja Derashri · Pooja N Muchandikar · pooja9712 · pouicpouic · Prashant Baldha · Pratik Kumar · Prem Tiwari · Presskopp · presstoke · prionkor · Rafiq · Rajin Sharwar · Ramon Ahnert · Ramon Corrales · Ramon James · Rashi Gupta · rawrly · rcain · rebasaurus · Remy Perona · Renatho (a11n) · Rene Hermenau · retrofox · Riad Benguella · Rich Collier · Rich Tabor · Rishi Mehta · Rishi Shah · Robert Anderson · Rolf Allard van Hagen · room34 · Ryan Boren · Ryan McCue · Ryan Welcher · Ryann Micua · Ryo · Sé Reed · Sébastien SERRE · Sabbir Hasan · Sachyya · Sadi Mohammad Zaman · sadpencil · Sahil · Saiduzzaman Tohin · Sakib MD Nazmush · Sal Ferrarello · samba45 · Sampat Viral · Samuel Rüegger · Samuel Sidler · Samuel Wood (Otto) · Santiago Cerro López · Sarah Norris · Sarath AR · Satyam Vishwakarma (Satya) · Saxon Fletcher · Sayful Islam · Scott Kingsley Clark · Scott Taylor · scribu · Sergey Biryukov · Sergio de Falco · Seth Rubenstein · Shaharia Azam · Shail Mehta · ShaneF · Shannon Smith · shaunandrews · Shawn Hooper · shidouhikari · Shipon Karmakar · Shreyash Srivastava · Shubham Sedani · siddharth ravikumar · Siobhan · Sirajum Mahdi · sjregan · Soren Wrede · SourceView · sruthi89 · stacimc · Stefano Minoia · Stephen Bernhardt · Stephen Cronin · Stephen Edgar · Stephen Harris · Steven Lin · strarsis · Subrata Sarkar · Sumi Subedi · Sumit Bagthariya · Sumit Singh · SunilPrajapati · Svitlana Sukhoveiko · syamraj24 · Sybre Waaijer · Syed Balkhi · Syed Nuhel · Synchro · Takashi Irie · Takashi Kitajima · Tammie Lister · Tapan Kumer Das · Tara King · Taylor · Taylor Dewey · Taylor Gorman · tazotodua · Teddy Patriarca · Tellyworth · Thakor Darshil · them.es · thinkluke · Thomas Griffin · Thomas Kräftner · threadi · Tim Nolte · timbroddin · Timothée Brosille · Timothy Jacobs · tmatsuur · TobiasBg · tobifjellner (Tor-Bjorn Fjellner) · Tom · Tom Cafferkey · Tom Finley · Tom J Nowell · tomluckies · Tomoki Shimomura · tomsommer · tomxygen · Toni Viemerö · Tonya Mork · Toro_Unit (Hiroshi Urabe) · torres126 · Torsten Landsiedel · Toru Miki · toscho · Travis Smith · tropicalista · Trupti Kanzariya · Ugyen Dorji · upadalavipul · Utsav Patel · Utsav tilava · Uttam Kumar Dash · valerogarte · Vicente Canales · vikram6 · viliamkopecky · Vipul Ghori · vivekawsm · vladimiraus · vortfu · Vraja Das · Wasiur Rahman · welaunchio · Weston Ruter · WHSajid · WP Corner · xlthlx · Yan Sern · Yannis Guyon · Yui · Yuliyan Slavchev · Yuvrajsinh Sisodiya · Zack Tollman · Zane Matthew · zieladam · Zunaid Amin · Česlav Przywara

Over 70 locales have translated 90 percent or more of WordPress 6.5 into their language. Community translators are working hard to ensure more translations are on their way. Thank you to everyone who helps make WordPress available in 200 languages.

Last but not least, thanks to the volunteers who contribute to the support forums by answering questions from WordPress users worldwide.

Get involved and contribute

Participation in WordPress is not limited to coding. If contributing appeals to you, learning more and getting involved is easy. Discover the teams that come together to Make WordPress, and use this interactive tool to help you decide which is right for you.

One more haiku

6.5 is here!
Play, interact, build better,
Stronger and faster.

Hi there! I’m Zander Rose and I’ve recently started at Automattic to work on long-term data preservation and the evolution of our 100-Year Plan. Previously, I directed The Long Now Foundation and have worked on long-term archival projects like The Rosetta Project, as well as advised/partnered with organizations such as The Internet Archive, Archmission Foundation, GitHub Archive, Permanent, and Stanford Digital Repository. More broadly, I see the content of the Internet, and the open web in particular, as an irreplaceable cultural resource that should be able to last into the deep future—and my main task is to make sure that happens. 

I recently took a trip to one of Automattic’s data centers to get a peek at what “the cloud” really looks like. As I was telling my family about what I was doing, it was interesting to note their perception of “the cloud” as a completely ephemeral thing. In reality, the cloud has a massive physical and energy presence, even if most people don’t see it on a day-to-day basis. 

A trip to the cloud

Given the millions of sites hosted by Automattic, figuring out how all that data is currently served and stored was one of the first elements I wanted to understand. I believe that the preservation of as many of these websites as possible will someday be seen as a massive historic and cultural benefit. For this reason, I was thankful to be included on a recent meetup for WordPres.com’s Explorers engineering team, which included a tour of one of Automattic’s data centers. 

The tour began with a taco lunch where we met amazing Automatticians and data center hosts Barry and Eugene, from our world-class systems and operations team. These guys are data center ninjas and are deeply knowledgeable, humble, and clearly exactly who you would want caring about your data.

The data center we visited was built out in 2013 and was the first one in which Automattic owned and operated its servers and equipment, rather than farming it out. By building out our own infrastructure, it gives us full control over every bit of data that comes in and out, as well as reduces costs given the large amount of data stored and served. Automattic now has a worldwide network of 27 data centers that provide both proximity and redundancy of content to the users and the company itself. 

The physical building we visited is run by a contracted provider, and after passing through many layers of security both inside and outside, we began the tour with the facility manager showing us the physical infrastructure. This building has multiple customers paying for server space, with Automattic being just one of them. They keep technical staff on site that can help with maintenance or updates to the equipment, but, in general, the preference is for Automattic’s staff to be the only ones who touch the equipment, both for cost and security purposes.

The four primary things any data center provider needs to guarantee are uninterruptible power, cooling, data connectivity, and physical security/fire protection. The customer, such as Automattic, sets up racks of servers in the building and is responsible for that equipment, including how it ties into the power, cooling, and internet. This report is thus organized in that order.

Power

On our drive in, we saw the large power substation positioned right on campus (which includes many data center buildings, not just Automattic’s). Barry pointed out this not only means there is a massive amount of power available to the campus, but it also gets electrical feeds from both the east and west power grids, making for redundant power even at the utility level coming into the buildings.

One of the more unique things about this facility is that instead of battery-based instant backup power, it uses flywheel storage by Active Power. This is basically a series of refrigerator-sized boxes with 600-pound flywheels spinning at 10,000 RPM in a vacuum chamber on precision ceramic bearings. The flywheel acts as a motor most of the time, getting fed power from the network to keep it spinning. Then if the power fails, it switches to generator mode, pulling energy out of the flywheel to keep the power on for the 5-30 seconds it takes for the giant diesel generators outside to kick in.

Those generators are the size of semi-truck trailers and supply four megawatts each, fueled by 4,500-gallon diesel tanks. That may sound like a lot, but that basically gives them 48 hours of run time before needing more fuel. In the midst of a large disaster, there could be issues with road access and fuel shortages limiting the ability to refuel the generators, but in cases like that, our network of multiple data centers with redundant capabilities will still keep the data flowing.

Cooling

Depending on outside ambient temperatures, cooling is typically around 30% of the power consumption of a data center. The air chilling is done through a series of cooling units supplied by a system of saline water tanks out by the generators. 

Barry and Eugene pointed out that without cooling, the equipment will very quickly (in less than an hour) try to lower their power consumption in response to the heat, causing a loss of performance. Barry also said that when they start dropping performance radically, it makes it more difficult to manage than if the equipment simply shut off. But if the cooling comes back soon enough, it allows for faster recovery than if hardware was fully shut off. 

Handling the cooling in a data center is a complicated task, but this is one of the core responsibilities of the facility, which they handle very well and with a fair amount of redundancy.

Data connectivity

Data centers can vary in terms of how they connect to the internet. This center allows for multiple providers to come into a main point of entry for the building.

Automattic brings in at least two providers to create redundancy, so every piece of equipment should be able to get power and internet from two or more sources at all times. This connectivity comes into Automattic’s equipment over fiber via overhead raceways that are separate from the power and cooling in the floor. From there it goes into two routers, each connected to all the cabinets in that row.

Server area

As mentioned earlier, this data center is shared among several tenants. This means that each one sets up their own last line of physical security. Some lease an entire data hall to themselves, or use a cage around their equipment; some take it even further by obscuring the equipment so you cannot see it, as well as extending the cage through the subfloor another three feet down so that no one could get in by crawling through that space.

Automattic’s machines took up the central portion of the data hall we were in, with some room to grow. We started this portion of the tour in the “office” that Automattic also rents to both store spare parts and equipment, as well as provide a quiet place to work. On this tour it became apparent that working in the actual server rooms is far from ideal. With all the fans and cooling, the rooms are both loud and cold, so in general you want to do as much work outside of there as possible.

What was also interesting about this space is that it showed all the generations of equipment and hard drives that have to be kept up simultaneously. It is not practical to assume that a given generation of hard drives or even connection cables will be available for more than a few years. In general, the plan is to keep all hardware using identical memory, drives, and cables, but that is not always possible. As we saw in the server racks, there is equipment still running from 2013, but these will likely have to be completely swapped in the near future.

Barry also pointed out that different drive tech is used for different types of data. Images are stored on spinning hard drives (which are the cheapest by size, but have moving parts so need more replacement), and the longer lasting solid state disk (SSD) and non-volatile memory (NVMe) technology are used for other roles like caching and databases, where speed and performance are most important.

Barry explained that data at Automattic is stored in multiple places in the same data center, and redundantly again at several other data centers. Even with that much redundancy, a further copy is stored on an outside backup. Each one of the centers Automattic uses has a method of separation, so it is difficult for a single bug to propagate between different facilities. In the last decade, there’s only been one instance where the outside backup had to come into play, and it was for six images. Still, Barry noted that there can never be too many backups.

An infrastructure for the future 

And with that, we concluded the tour and I would soon head off to the airport to fly home. The last question Barry asked me was if I thought this would all be around in 100 years. My answer was that something like it most certainly will, but that it would look radically different, and may be situated in parts of the world with more sustainable cooling and energy, as more of the world gets large bandwidth connections.

As I thought about the project of getting all this data to last into the deep future, I was very impressed by what Automattic has built, and believe that as long as business continues as normal, the data is incredibly safe. However, on the chance that things do change, I think developing partnerships with organizations like The Internet Archive, Permanent.org, and perhaps national libraries or large universities will be critically important to help make sure the content of the open web survives well into the future. We could also look at some of the long-term storage systems that store data without the need for power, as well as systems that cannot be changed in the future (as we wonder if AI and censorship may alter what we know to be “facts”). For this, we could look at stable optical systems like Piql, Project Silica, and Stampertech. It breaks my heart to think the world would have created all this, only for it to be lost. I think we owe it to the future to make sure as much of it as possible has a path to survive.

Isn’t it amazing how you can learn new things about someone, even after years of knowing them? That’s how Jamie Marsland has felt in the last few weeks while diving deeper into WordPress.com’s capabilities. In today’s Build and Beyond video, he shares five incredible features built right into the platform that aren’t as well known as they should be. Whether you’re a blogger, a developer, or fall somewhere between, you’re likely to discover something new and useful. 

Ready to build on WordPress.com? Start a free trial today:

The latest release candidate (RC4) for WordPress 6.5 is ready! 

This release candidate is an addition to the existing WordPress 6.5 release cycle. It allows more time for testing to ensure every feature and improvement is in the best shape possible. 

The updated target for the WordPress 6.5 release is April 2, 2024. Get an overview of the 6.5 release cycle, and check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.5-related posts for further details. If you’re looking for more detailed technical notes on new features and improvements, the WordPress 6.5 Field Guide is for you.

What to expect in WordPress 6.5 RC4

There’s been a lot of helpful feedback regarding one of this release’s highlighted features: the Font Library. This has resulted in some additional improvements needed to make sure the greatest number of sites possible can benefit from this anticipated new feature. 

This release also includes six bug fixes for the Editor and 10+ tickets for WordPress Core. For more technical information related to issues addressed since RC3, you can browse the following links: 

• GitHub commits for 6.5 
• Closed Trac tickets

How to test

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it’s recommended that you evaluate RC4 on a test server and site.

While release candidates are considered ready for release, testing remains crucial to ensure that everything in WordPress 6.5 is the best it can be.

You can test WordPress 6.5 RC4 in four ways:

Plugin	Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install. (Select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).
Direct Download	Download the RC4 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress website.
Command Line	Use the following WP-CLI command: wp core update --version=6.5-RC4
WordPress Playground	Use the 6.5 RC4 WordPress Playground instance (available within 35 minutes after the release is ready) to test the software directly in your browser without the need for a separate site or setup.

Here comes the haiku

With some extra time
Test, rinse, repeat, and refresh
WordPress will really shine

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @dansoschin.

The WordPress.com team is always working on new design ideas to bring your website to life. Check out the latest themes in our library, including great options for small businesses, sports fan, nostalgic bloggers, and more.

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Feelin’ Good

Feelin’ Good is a vibrant (to say the least!) blog theme with a bold vaporwave aesthetic. Its nostalgic atmosphere pays homage to the daring, over-the-top visual art and advertisements of the ’80s and early ’90s. We’ve combined a lot of elements that shouldn’t work together, but do. If you’re looking for a dynamic, attention-grabbing, eye-popping visual feast of a theme, try Feelin’ Good.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

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Low Fi

Low Fi is a simple blog theme featuring a narrow column layout that’s optimized for seamless browsing on mobile devices. With six style variations, you’re sure to find a palette you’re drawn to. Taking inspiration from the lo-fi beats music scene, the theme’s design cues, such as the square header image, offer a nod to album artwork.

The overall aesthetic is deliberately understated, with each element—from the muted color schemes to the textured background—crafted to evoke a sense of nostalgia and warmth.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

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Cakely

Cakely is the ultimate WordPress theme designed specifically for passionate bakers, cake enthusiasts, and dessert lovers. Tailored for small businesses aiming to shine in the world of sweets, Cakely effortlessly combines style and functionality to showcase mouthwatering creations. Its vibrant pink color scheme exudes joy while maintaining a classy, clean layout with easy navigation. This theme ultimately strikes the perfect balance between professionalism and playfulness, making it an ideal choice for showcasing your delicious masterpieces.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

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Treehouse

Treehouse is a carefree, fun, and friendly theme ideal for Woo stores selling children’s products. With its unlimited customization options, Treehouse enables you to set up an online shop with just a few clicks. Utilizing a soft color palette, playful design details, and simplified layouts, your site will attract a wide range of customers, from young parents to over-the-moon grandparents. This theme is fully responsive and cross-browser compatible.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

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Infield

Major League Baseball’s 2024 season kicks off on Thursday, March 28. What better way to show your home team the love it deserves than with a baseball-themed fan site! With a somewhat old-school layout, this theme evokes some of the classic sports sites of the ’90s, back before fantasy leagues took over. The header and accent colors are customizable, ensuring that your favorite crew is properly saluted.

Click here to view a demo of this theme.

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To install any of the above themes, click the name of the theme you like, which brings you right to the installation page. Then click the “Activate this design” button. You can also click “Open live demo,” which brings up a clickable, scrollable version of the theme for you to preview.

Premium themes are available to use at no extra charge for customers on the Explorer plan or above. Partner themes are third-party products that can be purchased for $79/year each.

You can explore all of our themes by navigating to the “Themes” page, which is found under “Appearance” in the left-side menu of your WordPress.com dashboard. Or you can click below:

WordPress is so powerful and versatile that the WP community can sometimes seem like a vast ocean of people, information, and resources. In today’s Build and Beyond video, Jamie Marsland shares 15 of the most influential developers he follows to keep on top of new features, learn cool new tips, and, ultimately, get the most out of WordPress. 

Of course, we couldn’t feature all the great people in this space, so be sure to comment below with your favorite WordPress-related follows.  

Ready to build on WordPress.com? Start a free trial today:

Here are the folks mentioned, as well as where to find them on the web: 

Nick Diego

nickdiego.com
twitter.com/nickmdiego

Sarah Norris

twitter.com/mikachan_

Brian Coords

youtube.com/@BrianCoords
twitter.com/briancoords

Carolina Nymark

fullsiteediting.com
twitter.com/carolinapoena

James Kemp

jameskemp.blog
twitter.com/jamesckemp

Anne Bovelett

annebovelett.de/en
twitter.com/bovelett

Justin Tadlock

justintadlock.com
twitter.com/justintadlock

Ryan Welcher

ryanwelcher.com
youtube.com/@ryanwelchercodes

Aki Hamano

twitter.com/tetsuaki_hamano

Aurooba Ahmed

twitter.com/aurooba
youtube.com/@AuroobaMakes

Eric Karkovack

twitter.com/karks88
twitter.com/speckyboy

Keith Devon  and Mark Wilkinson

youtube.com/@HighriseDigital

Joost de Valk

joost.blog
twitter.com/jdevalk

Elliot Richmond

youtube.com/@elliottrichmondwp

Rich Tabor

rich.blog
twitter.com/richard_tabor

Jessica Lyschik

twitter.com/jessicalyschik
youtube.com/@jessicalyschik

WordPress block-based themes allow you to build and customize your website visually, removing the need for code-based tailoring. Fully integrated with the Site Editor, block themes give an unprecedented level of visual control over the layout and style of your site.  

In this “Build and Beyond” video, Jamie Marsland walks you through everything you need to know about editing, customizing, and designing every element of your WordPress site using blocks in just 250 seconds. You’ll also get a few sneak peeks of some theme-related features coming in WordPress 6.5 (which will be released March 26, 2024!).

Ready to build on WordPress.com? Start a free trial today:

The third release candidate (RC3) for WordPress 6.5 is ready! 

This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it’s recommended that you evaluate RC3 on a test server and site.

While release candidates are considered ready for release, testing remains crucial to ensure that everything in WordPress 6.5 is the best it can be.

You can test WordPress 6.5 RC3 in four ways:

Plugin	Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install. (Select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream).
Direct Download	Download the RC3 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress website.
Command Line	Use the following WP-CLI command: wp core update --version=6.5-RC3
WordPress Playground	Use the 6.5 RC3 WordPress Playground instance (available within 35 minutes after the release is ready) to test the software directly in your browser without the need for a separate site or setup.

The current target for the WordPress 6.5 release is March 26, 2024. Get an overview of the 6.5 release cycle, and check the Make WordPress Core blog for 6.5-related posts in the coming weeks for further details.

If you’re looking for more detailed technical notes on new features and improvements, the WordPress 6.5 Field Guide is for you.

What to expect in WordPress 6.5 RC3

Thanks to the many contributors testing up to this point, this release includes 10+ bug fixes for the Editor and around 15 tickets for WordPress Core. For more technical information related to issues addressed since RC2, you can browse the following links: 

• GitHub commits for 6.5
• Closed Trac tickets

How to contribute to this release

WordPress is open source software made possible by a passionate community of people collaborating on and contributing to its development. The resources below outline various ways you can help the world’s most popular open source web platform, regardless of your technical expertise.

Get involved in testing

Testing for issues is critical to ensuring WordPress is performant and stable. It’s also a meaningful way for anyone to contribute. This detailed guide will walk you through testing features in WordPress 6.5. For those new to testing, follow this general testing guide for more details on getting set up.

If you encounter an issue, please report it to the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums or directly to WordPress Trac if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report. You can also check your issue against a list of known bugs.

Curious about testing releases in general? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.

Search for vulnerabilities

During the release candidate phase of WordPress 6.5, the monetary reward for reporting new, unreleased security vulnerabilities is doubled. Please follow responsible disclosure practices as detailed in the project’s security practices and policies outlined on the HackerOne page and in the security white paper.

Update your theme or plugin

For plugin and theme authors, your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for all users. 

Thanks for continuing to test your themes and plugins with the WordPress 6.5 beta releases. With RC3, you’ll want to conclude your testing and update the “Tested up to” version in your plugin’s readme file to 6.5.

If you find compatibility issues, please post detailed information to the support forum. 

Help translate WordPress

Do you speak a language other than English? ¿Español? Français? Русский? 日本? हिन्दी? বাংলা? You can help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages.

Release the haiku

Another RC
We are getting really close
Have you tested yet?

Thank you to the following contributors for collaborating on this post: @dansoschin, @audrasjb.

Bob Dunn loved designing, but didn’t fancy himself a coder. In the early 2000s, while struggling to create a website for his business, he thought to himself, “There’s got to be something better.” When Bob discovered WordPress in 2006, he realized he had discovered that better solution. With WordPress, he could build great-looking sites from scratch without needing to hand-code the entire thing.

In 2010, Bob dove headfirst into the world of WordPress, officially putting his print design business on the backburner and branding himself as “BobWP.” What started as site designing, consulting, and community building would eventually turn into podcasting. But it wasn’t until he discovered WooCommerce that he felt he’d really found his niche. 

Bob had used WooCommerce as a product since its launch and saw a need within the larger WordPress community for a Woo-dedicated space to bring developers, builders, and agencies together. Do the Woo was born, and Bob began his journey to create a podcast voiced by and for the vibrant WooCommerce and WordPress communities. 

As Do the Woo has grown to fourteen unique shows with dozens of co-hosts and countless guests over the years, Bob has been looking for the right online space to call home. He needed a website host that would allow him to easily maintain and market his podcast, allowing him to focus on the community-centered content that makes his podcast so valuable. He found that home at WordPress.com, where he’s been able to utilize a variety of back-end tools to help create a simple and welcoming front-end user experience. 

The teams here at WordPress.com, Woo, and Jetpack are proud to partner with Bob. Do the Woo is providing an essential resource to the Woo and WordPress communities. Not only is he creating a unique space for these conversations to happen, but he’s amplifying the voices of those who want to give podcasting a shot. And take heed, velvet-voiced folks out there: he’s always looking for co-hosts!

Are you ready for your own entrepreneurial journey to begin? Use coupon code dothewoo15 at checkout for 15% off any WordPress.com plan. Click below to take advantage of this special offer:

WordCamp Asia 2024 was a dynamic three-day celebration of collaboration, diversity, and innovation in the WordPress project. This week, Executive Director Josepha Haden Chomphosy shares her insights and experiences from the event, which featured one of the largest Contributor Days in the region, a variety of speakers, engaging panel discussions, and workshops. Josepha offers her thoughts on the latest topics being discussed within the community and forming the future of WordPress.

Credits

Host: Josepha Haden Chomphosy
Editor: Dustin Hartzler
Logo: Javier Arce
Production: Brett McSherry
Song: Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod

Show Notes

• WordCamp Asia 2024
  • Contributor Day
  • WordCamp Asia Playlist
• Small List of Big Things
  • WordPress 6.5 is on target for release on March 26, 2024.
  • Get involved with WordPress events:
    • Find events near you on events.WordPress.org and WordCamp Central
    • Learn more about organizing your own local event
  • Proposal: Non-editable Footer for all Event Website Pages
• Have a question you’d like answered? Submit them to WPBriefing@WordPress.org.

Transcript

[00:00:00] Josepha: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the WordPress Briefing, the podcast where you can catch quick explanations of the ideas behind the WordPress open source project, some insight into the community that supports it, and get a small list of big things coming up in the next two weeks. I’m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Here we go. 

[00:00:29] (Intro music) 

[00:00:40] Josepha: I have returned from WordCamp Asia and struggled my way through some truly aggressive jet lag, so that means it’s time for a little WordCamp wrap-up. I spoke with a couple hundred people at the event, and I came away with a few topics that seemed to be on everyone’s minds. Those topics are: making business in WordPress, the business of making WordPress, and how to communicate both sides a little better.

[00:01:04] Josepha: So first, let’s start with making business in WordPress. This comes up at every event, and that honestly just makes sense. WordPress is a tool that people use to power their businesses across our global economy, and sometimes the businesses are closely related to WordPress itself. They are creating custom themes or plugins, building WordPress powered commerce sites for clients, or offering any number of agency services. But there are also businesses that are a little less close: restaurants, museums, local governments, schools. But it was clear that they all rely on the software just as much as the other.

So, it was nice to see some sessions that focused specifically on business matters in WordPress. And I heard so many people tell me about a conversation they had had earlier in the day with someone who helped them figure out their pricing or advised them on early errors they made in their business journey and generally helped them feel a little less lost.

I always love seeing this. Hearing how people are accomplishing their goals because of connections they made at one of our events, it’s enough to keep me coming back for years.

[00:02:10] Josepha: The next thing that came up a lot was the business of making WordPress. I don’t know if that came up a lot because of the sorts of conversations that people are willing to bring to me these days or because there was overwhelming interest in knowing how we keep all these trains on their tracks. But either way, it was refreshing to be able to have so many conversations about the invisible work that goes into a project like this. There was a Contributor Day that hosted over 600 people, if I recall correctly, which makes it the largest Contributor Day in the area to date. 35 percent of those people had never attended a Contributor Day before, so there were a lot of people who were discovering the WordPress community for the first time.

And for folks who’ve been here for a long time, it’s so easy for us to forget how much there is to learn at first. Even if you happen to show up with a skill set that fits a contributor team’s needs exactly, you still have to learn where we collaborate, how distributed contribution works, and all these rules and guidelines about open source freedoms and copyleft.

[00:03:10] Josepha: And then also you have to come to terms with the fact that we define and design all of our spaces and programs with belonging in mind. I mean, for every one question that you get answered, there are going to be six new ones that you didn’t know you had yet. So I came away from a lot of these conversations with the reminder that it’s important in so many ways for us to talk about the work that we do, even when it’s boring, even when we think it doesn’t really matter, because a lot of people have questions about how this works, how it runs, and how they can be part of making sure that it’s around for the long-term.

And the final thing that came up all over the place last week was how to communicate these things better. It’s easy to forget that folks who listen to this podcast don’t actually make up like a hundred percent of the people using WordPress; that’s on me. So just cause I’ve said here that, you know, enterprise is our next big space for biz dev or that, our primary growth markets are APAC, or that events are our best tool for brand expression.

[00:04:08] Josepha: Like, just because I said it doesn’t mean that everyone heard it. And we absolutely have to get those messages to more people, more frequently, and with more certainty. You’ll hear often from WordPress pundits that rising tides lift all boats, and the bigger the pie, the more the slices. We believe fully in the spirit of coopetition here, that we are all better together.

But I can’t shake the feeling that we’re mostly just talking to ourselves about it. It’s hard to get outside our own little bubble, but I believe completely that doing so is the best thing for our project in the long term. Not only so that we can continue to grow and provide access to the opportunities we know we offer but also so that we can do more to dignify our profession.

WordPress developers are not taken seriously, and yet you all are some of the smartest and most compassionate people I’ve ever met in my career. And I’d like to see how we can fix that perception together. And so that’s it. Those are the big, big, giant, old topics that came up a lot in conversation last week.

[00:05:14] Josepha: Don’t forget that you can catch up on all the sessions via the live stream, or if you are feeling inspired to contribute, reach out to the community team and see what sorts of meetup events you can host. 

[00:05:24] (Music interlude) 

[00:05:32] Josepha: Which brings us now to our small list of big things. I have two big things and one slightly less big thing, but they’re all fairly big.

So, the first thing on the list is that the latest version of WordPress, WordPress 6.5, is on target for release on March 26th. That’s, I think, a couple weeks from now. So keep an eye out for that. In the event, I mean, we have auto-updates everywhere, and probably you are on a WordPress-specific host and, so you won’t necessarily need to do anything. But if you have any desire or concerns about seeing the software a little bit ahead of time, you can always go and download the beta, give it a quick test or the release candidate, give that a quick test. See if there’s anything that’s not functioning as you expected it to function, and let us know if it’s not. But yeah, there are auto-updates. You don’t have to go out and proactively do anything if you don’t want to, that’s just in case you do want to. That’s coming up March 26th. 

[00:06:27] Josepha: The next thing is that I want to give everybody a general call-in for event contribution. So, WordPress events is where I entered the community. It is one of the most affirming and life-changing types of contribution I’ve ever done because you get to see a bunch of people succeed in their own goals because of something that you were able to tell them. It’s like teaching, but with people who elected to be there. So we have a lot of opportunities, for contribution by volunteering at events, either as volunteering at the event itself or to volunteer to organize it. We have small-scale, easy-to-do meetups, but we also have slightly larger WordCamps that can be done. If you have any hope for doing that or are just kind of interested. I’ll leave a link for you in the show notes. 

[00:07:19] Josepha: And then the final thing on here is that we actually have a pretty substantial proposal out at the moment. It’s for non-editable footers on all event website pages. This might not sound interesting to you, but it actually is kind of interesting. So, it’s been proposed to add a non-editable footer to all of the event website pages moving forward. So that’s everything that would be displayed on a WordCamp or on any of the new formatted event sites that we have. This proposal intends to meet two goals. One, it fills any legal requirements a site or country might have about displaying the privacy policy and other items. And two, it brings visibility to the new events.WordPress.org website, where a community member can find more events in their area. The last day to respond to that proposal is March 20th, which I think is two days from now. I think it’s on Wednesday and this is airing on Monday. So, I’ll have a link to that in the show notes as well in case you have any thoughts about it.

[00:08:15] Josepha: And that, my friends, is your small list of big things. Don’t forget to follow us on your favorite podcast app or subscribe directly on WordPress.org/news. You’ll get a friendly reminder whenever there’s a new episode. And if you like what you heard today, share it with a fellow WordPresser. Or, if you ended up with questions about what you heard, you can share those with me at WPBriefing@WordPress.org. I’m your host, Josepha Haden Chomphosy. Thanks for tuning in today for the WordPress Briefing, and I’ll see you again in a couple of weeks. 

[00:08:43] (Music outro)