Learn to the top to peer a masterpiece through a medieval artist who has no doubt observed an elephant ahead of.
In nowadays’s version:
- WordPress 6.8 is like avant-garde jazz piano: most commonly improvisation with simply sufficient shape to stay you from panicking.
- What occurs while you ask AI to make your plumbing industry site funnier.
- Some head-scratching WordPress questions that may ignite heated Slack debates and existential crises.
Sizzling Off The Presses: What’s New?

As soon as upon a time, connecting to the web appeared like a robotic having a panic assault in a blender. And we, courageous fools, took it as an indication of growth.
And now we are living in an international the place AI builds web pages with the persona of a rainy sock, plugin pricing debates change into mini TED Talks on financial justice and accessibility remains to be handled like a function, now not a fundamental requirement.
If handiest we’d listened to the screams.
ANYWAY… Right here’s what’s new in WordPress this fortnight.
Hellooooooo 6.8! “Cecil” Is In a position To Rock
Cue the freeform jazz piano. WordPress 6.8, lovingly nicknamed after avant-garde piano legend Cecil Taylor, has formally dropped. Because it’s most likely the one main unlock of WordPress we’ll be seeing this 12 months, we would possibly as neatly take a just right take a look at what Cecil has to provide.
In the event you’re development with WordPress as a major dev platform, 6.8 provides you with extra energy, extra construction, and higher UX for shoppers. It’s now not flashy, however it’s forged. Listed below are a couple of intriguing little tweaks that would possibly strengthen your workflow:
Design Gear Prolonged to Extra Blocks
A number of Core blocks won sorely-needed design device updates, providing you with extra consistency to your block styling choices. Take a look at the roster of design gear in keeping with block to be told extra.
Arrange your Customized Patterns in Subfolders
Untangle the spaghetti this is your patterns information and get them organized into sub-folders. Stay header patterns with header patterns, footer patterns with footer patterns and so forth. Ahhh… so blank and tidy!
Taste Ebook Give a boost to for Vintage Issues
In spite of everything. Now you’ll use the Taste Ebook when a vintage theme is enabled, because of this extra websites can have the benefit of this visible enhancing device.
Higher Buttons Block, Child!
The Buttons block has been zhuzhed up with box-sizing: border field carried out, in order that its measurement will fit different blocks when padding and background colour are carried out. It’s a tiny tweak that makes a large distinction.
This replace is the quiet game-changer we’ve been looking forward to. Extra energy, extra keep watch over, and no more headache for builders. You’ll discover extra juicy main points right here: The Developer’s Information to WordPress 6.8
So, what’s your verdict? Are you diving into those updates like a child in a sweet retailer, or are you left short of extra?
The New WordPress AI Web site Builder: Kinda Cool or a Waste of Time?
Alright, alright… we’ve gotta discuss it. It’s the uncanny medieval elephant within the room: The brand new WordPress AI Web site Builder.
If you overlooked it, WordPress.com has introduced an AI-powered website online builder geared toward customers who desire a fast, simple option to construct a website online with no need to understand a unmarried line of code.
Consistent with their advertising and marketing, it’s the “best possible option to get started a site,” which is correct in case your function is a vaguely professional-looking homepage constructed on vibes, Lorem Ipsum and 30 loose AI activates.
Matt Medeiros from WPMinute gave it a spin and appeared in actuality inspired, although even he side-eyed the AI-generated colour alternatives, that have been, let’s say competitive.
The AI may even can help you write your content material, which is incredible in case your mind is burnt out and also you black out each time you take a look at an empty textual content field, I assume. Desire a humorous tagline? “We make your leaks our laughs” is what it got here up with for Matt’s faux plumbing industry, “Unstuck Plumbing.” Actually top-tier comedy genius stuff.

No longer everybody, then again, is a big fan of the AI website online builder:
- When Amanda Smith from Cnet attempted it, she deemed it a “waste of time” and a “large fats no.”
- Virtual Marketing consultant Warren Laine-Naida gave it a powerful “no thanks,” and needs a greater Media Library as an alternative.
- Webmaster Andrew Hoyer thinks it’s “actually the very last thing we want,” particularly when different enhancements may well be made.
As Neel Shivdasani, Automattic’s AI Product Lead, defined in the release publish, this device isn’t supposed to switch guide enhancing utterly anytime quickly. It’s supposed to be one thing that is helping other people without a coding talents get on-line, speedy.
However let’s be truthful. This toy may well be kinda amusing to play with, however it’s now not changing the talent of an actual internet clothier anytime quickly.
HOT TAKE TIME
The AI Web site Builder is:
A: Cool & handy
B: Meh, now not for professionals
C: Utter chaos. Ship lend a hand.
Remark together with your opinion!
Some Concept-Upsetting Conversations Price Having
Certain, we adore a just right meme and a amusing new plugin up to the following e-newsletter, however on occasion the WordPress international will get philosophical. We’re speaking large concepts, actual demanding situations, and the occasional existential disaster.
From accessibility to the way forward for the internet, those are the questions that make us pause, squint into the center distance, and say, “Hmmmm…”
- Will have to you fee customers in creating nations much less for plugins? When the price of a plugin equals just about half-a-year’s source of revenue in Pakistan, Buying Energy Parity (PPP) pricing turns into a major attention.
- Are we ignoring the facility of open requirements in prefer of comfort? Certain, fast answers are great, however at what price? If we stay prioritizing shortcuts and proprietary gear, are we sacrificing the long-term well being of the WordPress ecosystem? Concentrate to Aaron D. Campbell’s tackle why open requirements subject for WordPress.
- Are you emotionally ready to delete that code you labored exhausting on? This newsletter through Milana Cap demanding situations you to now not be too treasured about your code and in finding pleasure within the procedure, so you’ll be extra open to finding out from experimentation.
- What’s the actual price of inaccessible eCommerce? In case your website online isn’t obtainable, you’re actively turning away paying consumers. So why is accessibility nonetheless observed as a price heart as an alternative of a conversion booster? This convo with Wager Hannon will turn your standpoint.
- Will web pages even nonetheless exist in a couple of years? This dialog is price a pay attention should you’re within the internet building, WordPress or company house.
Be happy to proportion your spiciest takes on those questions with us – we’d love to listen to what you suppose.
Thoughts Bloggling Details & Stats
- Consistent with the result of The Admin Bar’s 2025 Survey, 57.3% of y’all are like, “I, for one, welcome our new robotic overlords…” (That’s the proportion who responded, “embracing it” when requested, “What’s your dating with AI to your company?”) (Supply)
- Wanna bet what Wordfence found out used to be the commonest get admission to requirement to take advantage of vulnerabilities in 2024? Contributor-level get admission to. It accounted for a staggering 34% of all vulnerabilities disclosed! (Supply)
- Talking of vulnerabilities, a just lately noticed SureTriggers vulnerability has put greater than 100,000 web pages in danger. Replace the plugin to model 1.0.79 or later – even supposing it’s inactive however nonetheless put in. (Supply)
Blogs & Assets You Shouldn’t Pass over
Speaking Heads stan? Abby Picket drops a GIF you’ll love in her killer lead-gen weblog.
Michelle Frechette presentations you find out how to Marie-Kondo your CV and yeet anything else that received’t spark pleasure for attainable employers.
Will have to you turn shape Substack to WordPress? Smartly, WordPress no doubt thinks so. Right here’s their pitch.
Development new stuff is amusing, however upkeep is the place the cash is. Right here’s why.
Git turns 20, and Linus Torvalds remains to be questioning how his “silly content material tracker” by chance become the spine of the web. Oops!
Eduardo Villão simply dropped WP Since, a great tool that assessments in case your WordPress plugin is if truth be told appropriate with the model you assert it’s.
Espresso Spoil Distractions
16th Minute dives deep into the unusually political meme vintage, “Chocolate Rain”
37,594 tabs open? Corey Maass made PauseTab so you’ll freeze and agenda them.
A devastatingly imply one-star evaluation for an app.
Microsoft dropped an AI-made Quake II in-browser. Productiveness: annihilated.
Feeling jazzy? Watch 6.8’s namesake, Cecil Taylor, soften the piano in ’69 Copenhagen
An development to Caller ID we’d luckily pay additional for.
And in any case…
That’s utterly what an elephant seems like, proper?
Discovered this fascinating? Ahead it to any individual who you suppose may additionally adore it!