The current release in progress is WordPress 7.1. The release has a proposed date of August 19th, 2026, with beta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. 1 targeted for July 15th. The release is currently in beta status.
About Release Schedules
Releases are broken up into three phases: alpha, beta, and release candidate.
alpha: Development of new features and enhancements, broad tasks, bug fixes.beta: Refinement of new features, but no additional features can be added. Bug fixes can continue.release candidate: Continue refinement of new features, bug fixes can only be merged if they are fixes to new features. Double committer sign off required on all commits.
WordPress 7.0 Work in Progress
Key Goals – Core Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.
During the 7.1 release cycle, we’re focused on issues with list table views, better exposing accessible names, and improving issues in media and theme browsers.
As always, we’re attempting to monitor and address all new features that get added to core. However, we are a small team, and any input you can give is much appreciated.
Key Goals – Editor
As the editor team considers the addition of new blocks, we’re actively testing and consulting on these new features to ensure that anything added to the editor is as accessible as possible.
Some of the blocks recently addressed include:
Additionally, 7.1 is looking at changes to the Command Palette, making the admin toolbar persistent across all views, supporting awareness of inherited styles, and client side media handling.
Blocks are removed from this list when they ship in a release, and added when they are at a stage where they are ready for accessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) testing.