DEV: Git Push it Real Good

Welcome to DEV, your monthly WordPress deep dive.

The client just asked you to “make it pop more” for the 5th time. Take a deep breath and read this instead.

Stick around to the end for a very catchy delivery.

In today’s edition:

• WordPress 7.2 is mapping out its next moves, from safer secrets to a fresh default theme.
• Spacefast: local files become live links at warp speed.
• WordCamp Manchester is back after 8 years, and attendees get to set the agenda.

Hot Off The Presses: What’s New?

A GitHub profile is actually something that can reveal a lot about a person: how they solve problems, how they communicate with others, what they’re interested in.

Believe it or not, I actually met my partner in a GitHub issue thread.

It was great to finally find someone who could commit. 🥰

Anyway, let’s see what’s been happening in the world of WordPress!

WordPress 7.2 Roadmap? Let’s Gooooooo! 🗺️

Pack some snacks and queue up the playlist, because we’re already on the road to WordPress 7.2.

The roadmap is here, laying out the route to the release planned for December 2026. The release squad was already announced back in September, and it’s a more streamlined team than assembled for previous releases – with the goal of reducing overhead and covering ground with more speed.

What are some of the pit stops planned?

• Emoji reactions will be added within Notes, because sometimes a 🤔 is worth a thousand words.
• Super-secure “Sudo Mode,” which is designed to lock sensitive actions behind re-authentication.
• A Secrets API that’ll store sensitive data like API keys, OAuth tokens and license credentials more safely.
• The new default theme, Ipsum, gives “fresh blank notebook” energy that might finally inspire you to update your blog.
• Also on the table: the long-awaited stabilization of the Table of Contents block.

Buckle up, there’s a lot to look forward to!

Of course, as always, what’s outlined in the roadmap won’t necessarily make it into the final release. There’s always the possibility of some detours and side trips along the way. It’s all part of the journey!

P.S. Some other cool news: WordPress will switch from launching the newest version on WordCamp event stages to hosting livestreamed Zoom releases instead. This means release dates can be more flexible, and anyone can take part regardless of location or budget.

Spacefast is Ready to Blast Off 🚀

Automattic recently launched Spacefast, a zero-setup “publishing layer for your agent” that lets you turn your local files, folders or AI agent chats into live web links instantly.

As Matt Mullenweg explains, you “don’t have to know or think WordPress” – you can just tell your agent to publish. It’ll whip up a live address and whoooshh, it’s there on the web.

What are people saying about this?

• Matt Medeiros made a WP Minute Tutorial. He thought it was simply a static site builder at first, but after poking around he called it a simpler, easier-to-use alternative to the other static hosting options out there, such as Cloudflare Pages or Vercel.
• Brian Coords can see it becoming an “essential part of an agency workflow for content that doesn’t need to live in WordPress.”
• “Excited to see this direction from WordPress itself,” says Sagar Patel, Founder of POSIMYTH. “Every week we get people who vibe-coded a site elsewhere and now need it pixel-perfect and truly editable in WordPress.”

Curious about what folks are using this for? There’s already a gallery of projects built on Spacefast. (And before you ask, yes, it runs Doom.)

A Manc-nificent Upcoming WordPress Event

Pack your rain jacket and bucket hat for an event that hasn’t happened since ancient times (aka 2018): WordCamp Manchester!

The “barcamp-style” get-together on November 6th at Whitworth Locke will kick off with a very mysterious-sounding “Super Secret Keynote Event.” Then, the rest of the event will consist of casual WordPress discussion sessions planned by attendees themselves.

It’ll be the first WordCamp in the UK since the event was held in Glasgow in February 2020. As organizer Rhys Wynne writes, “Like Oasis, we’ve been apart for too long.”

(The team asked me to refrain from making an Oasis pun here. I said “maybeeee…”)

👉 Get yer tickets here!

P.S. If you’re making the trip, be sure to plan in extra time for vintage shopping in the funky Northern Quarter, ordering a pint at the smallest bar in Europe, sipping hot chocolate at the Christmas Market and taking a behind-the-scenes tour of Old Trafford.

Mind Bloggling Facts & Stats

• Gutenberg 24.1 just shipped with around 140 PRs, focused around bringing more block design tools to nearly every core block. Plus, the last 238 icons were given a glow-up and converted from a mix of filled and outlined shapes to an elegant stroke-based look. (Source)
• Of the 84 adventurous souls who helped with testing WordPress 7.1 across 337 Trac tickets, 50 were first-time contributors. That’s 60%, which is a great sign of a growing community! (Source)
• Yoast boasts one billion downloads, a milestone more than a decade and a half in the making. (Source)

Blogs & Resources You Shouldn’t Miss

The top way to stay ahead in the age of AI? Build the unsexy stuff that no one wants to build.

Tune in: 24 hours of interesting and informative talks are happening live for WP Accessibility Day, October 7-8. 🎧

Remkus de Vries argues that although WordPress ain’t dead yet, your old job description might be. 💀

Pencilino by Rino is cool. If you trust your clients enough to let them edit words and images directly on the website, that is.

Is deadline-driven, structured work for a for-profit company really “volunteering”? Sé Reed on open source labor law problems.

A tool that lets you translate your entire website in minutes? Now you’re speaking my language!

Desktop Mode is now OpenStation, and it’s easier to update your site from your phone when you’re in Couch Potato Mode.

Coffee Break Distractions

Client website was a nightmare to build? Release the stress by smashing it to smithereens.

A logic question for seasoned problem solvers. 🧂

Turns out Meta’s new Muse AI assistant was actually real humans in a call center all along. You can’t make this stuff up. 🤦‍♀️

Better late than never: Andy Fragen’s pics from WCUS just dropped, and there are some great candid shots in there.

AI is still in its “Terminal Era”, says Amelia Wattenberger. “Sometimes I just want to reach in and move something.”

Anne McCarthy is auctioning WP release albums. 100% goes to Stimpunks to help neurodiverse and disabled folks.

A delightful dad joke that I did knot see coming: I’m doing this at every formal occasion from now on. 🤣

And finally…

There’s no way this baby isn’t gonna come out dancing.🕺💃

Love this mix of nerdery and nonsense? Share it with your favorite WordPress weirdo. 💗