Mary Hubbard 3:41 pm on February 18, 2026

WordPress 7.0 Product Review Meeting with @matt

We’re holding an open WordPress 7.0 product review Thursday, February 19th, and would love input from contributors across teams.

This will be a 90-minute working session to review where 7.0 stands and align on the story we’re telling as we head toward release. @matveb will lead the call as the 7.0 Release LeadRelease Lead The community member ultimately responsible for the Release..

Planned topics:

Adminadmin (and super admin) refresh designs
AI integrations and connectors
Key product highlights and overall direction

The goal is to leave with clear bullet points that can feed directly into the 7.0 release post and WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. presentations.

Time: DotOrg WP 7.0 Product Review
Timezones: 12:00 PM PT | 3:00 PM ET | 20:00 UTC

Zoom:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88011010012?pwd=5eOGXBl0Ntg8tWzMJ0eNMSabZrYbgZ.1

Meeting ID: 880 1101 0012
Passcode: 811823

Dave Loodts 4:10 pm on February 18, 2026

Hi, is there a recording and will it be shared later?
Courtney Robertson 6:19 pm on February 18, 2026

Could we put the information on https://make.wordpress.org/meetings? I’d love an easy way to add this to my digital calendar.
David Levine 2:29 pm on February 19, 2026

Have we gotten confirmation as to whether this is still scheduled for _after_ the beta1 merge?
- Jeffrey Paul 3:42 pm on February 19, 2026
  
  @justlevine there are some immediate issues being triaged via the #7-0-release-leads channel which is at least causing a slight delay to betaBeta 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. Whether that extends past this 7.0 product call is best tracked in the SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. channel.
annezazu 1:25 am on February 20, 2026

Recording

Here’s the recording:

Of note, the file was too big for Make CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. and I tried compressing it but couldn’t get it small enough so I decided to share this unlisted on my personal YouTube account for the sake of expediency. When/if there’s a better spot, please let me know and I can share the file so folks can get it to the best place. I just didn’t want to sit on this recording for longer than I have.

Product Review Meeting Notes (WordPress 7.0)

Here are some AI powered notes as I was screensharing and couldn’t take any. This was generated from the transcript itself and reviewed by me. Note: my brain is pretty fried so please comment to clarify anything I have wrong.

Review the WordPress 7.0 target list (what’s done / in progress / dropped).
Align on priorities that make 7.0 feel meaningfully “different” and modern to users (the “WordPress 7” moment).
Resolve key open questions around AI (client + connectors) and what users can actually do after upgrading.
Repeated theme: features must be discoverable and shipped with a clear user journey (not “invisible” improvements only).

Key Discussion Areas

1) Real-time Collaboration (editor co-editing)
User experience

Collaboration automatically starts when two users open the same post at the same time.
Replaces the old “post locked / take over” flow (kicking someone out).

Transport / hosting

Core ships a lowest-common-denominator transport: HTTPHTTP HTTP is an acronym for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. HTTP is the underlying protocol used by the World Wide Web and this protocol defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions Web servers and browsers should take in response to various commands. polling designed to work on essentially any host.
Polling interval speeds up once a second collaborator joins.
VIP has a WebSockets transport that supports more collaborators and faster updates.
Transport is pluggable (hosts/providers can swap in WebSockets or other transports).
Default concurrency is planned to be conservative (e.g., 2) due to PHPPHP The web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 7.4 or higher worker constraints on low-cost hosting; make it configurable.

Storage / security

YJS document stored in the database alongside post content.
Core transport aims to match existing WordPress capabilitycapability A capability is permission to perform one or more types of task. Checking if a user has a capability is performed by the current_user_can function. Each user of a WordPress site might have some permissions but not others, depending on their role. For example, users who have the Author role usually have permission to edit their own posts (the “edit_posts” capability), but not permission to edit other users’ posts (the “edit_others_posts” capability)./security assumptions.
Concerns raised about mixed-privilege sessions:

“Trust” issue: higher-privilege user saving changes from lower-privilege collaborator.
Unfiltered HTMLHTML HyperText Markup Language. The semantic scripting language primarily used for outputting content in web browsers. edge case (adminadmin (and super admin) collaborating with author, etc.).
Possible mitigations: restrict to same role/capabilitiescapability A capability is permission to perform one or more types of task. Checking if a user has a capability is performed by the current_user_can function. Each user of a WordPress site might have some permissions but not others, depending on their role. For example, users who have the Author role usually have permission to edit their own posts (the “edit_posts” capability), but not permission to edit other users’ posts (the “edit_others_posts” capability)., enforce lowest-privilege rules for sessions, or make configurable policy options.

UIUI User interface feedback

Show the current user’s own avatarAvatar An avatar is an image or illustration that specifically refers to a character that represents an online user. It’s usually a square box that appears next to the user’s name./icon by their cursor when collaboration is active (not only other users).
Consider showing all participant avatars in the top toolbar; define what clicking a participant does (currently scroll-to-position is okay).
PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. compatibility risk with classic metaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. boxes:

Likely approach: detect meta boxes and disable collaboration by default.
Provide docs + a compatibility declaration mechanism/filterFilter Filters are one of the two types of Hooks https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks. They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output. for plugin authors.

Future direction

Interest in expanding “presence” beyond the editor (who’s in wp-admin and where they are), potentially via heartbeat-like lightweight tracking rather than fully synchronized admin UI state.

2) RevisionsRevisions The WordPress revisions system stores a record of each saved draft or published update. The revision system allows you to see what changes were made in each revision by dragging a slider (or using the Next/Previous buttons). The display indicates what has changed in each revision. (visual + in-editor)

Revisions UI now appears inline and visually inside the editor.
Enhancementenhancement Enhancements are simple improvements to WordPress, such as the addition of a hook, a new feature, or an improvement to an existing feature. ideas:

Better author attribution for multi-collaborator scenarios.
Signal “big change” revisions (sparkline-like idea behind the revision slider).
Compare arbitrary revisions (not only linear stepping), using familiar GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged by the repository owner. https://github.com/-style compare conventions.
Add a “code view” as a toggle on the visual diff rather than a separate classic screen.

3) wp-admin modernization (CSSCSS Cascading Style Sheets.-level)

Progress exists (color scheme changes, spacing improvements, view transitions), but admin still doesn’t yet feel like a “WordPress 7” visual refresh.
Desired CSS-only interventions:

Button styling refresh, more polished interactions.
More rounded corners (current UI feels overly blocky; avatars already circular).
Shadows/elevation and improved hover/interaction states.
Modernize loading spinners/indicators.
Improve “Screen Options” / “Help” UI (currently clunky).

4) Dashboard / widgets as a “home screen”

Desire to make Dashboard a more customizable “homepage” with remixable widgets (resizable/reorderable widgets prototype mentioned, but likely larger than 7.0 scope).
“On this day / previous years” widgetWidget A WordPress Widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these widgets in sidebars also known as widget-ready areas on your web page. WordPress widgets were originally created to provide a simple and easy-to-use way of giving design and structure control of the WordPress theme to the user. discussed as a simple, useful candidate to bring in.
Longer-term: “site activity” widget and better visibility of notes/tasks.
Idea: create a WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ plugin directory designation/categoryCategory The 'category' taxonomy lets you group posts / content together that share a common bond. Categories are pre-defined and broad ranging. for “dashboard widget” plugins, similar to how “blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience.” plugins are labeled.

5) Developer platform items
PHP-only block registration

Enables blocks to be built in PHP with controls/canvas generated (helps PHP-first devs create richer blocks without deep JSJS JavaScript, a web scripting language typically executed in the browser. Often used for advanced user interfaces and behaviors.).
Seen as a bridge that can pair well with patterns/bindings and AI-assisted workflows.

Abilities APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. + Command Palette

Abilities API continues to be foundational (also tied to future agent/automation ideas).
Command palette (Command+K) now works across wp-admin but is too hidden.
Strong request: add a visible command entry point in the admin bar for discoverability. TracTrac An open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress. ticketticket Created for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. here: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/64672

6) AI in 7.0 (AI Client + connectors + user journey)
What the AI Client is

A foundational API enabling core/plugins to use AI providers without lock-in (OpenAI/Anthropic/Google/local models), reducing ecosystem fragmentation.

Main concern

Shipping the AI client alone risks a “cool but invisible” outcome if users don’t see where to configure it or what it enables.
Request: make AI visible and discoverable for users upgrading to 7.0.

UI / onboarding approach

Even if providers remain plugins under the hood, the AI settings UI should be visible by default and guide users to install/enable connectors (similar to “Tools → Import” style flows).
Suggested timeline: merge the AI client early (even BetaBeta 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), but land the visible UI + user journey by Beta 2.

“What can users do after connecting?”

Need at least one “wow” workflow after connecting a provider.
Proposal: promote/rebrand “AI Experiments” into a canonical “AI” plugin (like GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/: stable + experimental sections).
Image editing/manipulation highlighted as the best “wow” category; also mention summaries/synopses and focus-aware cropping.

Credentials model

Today: provider keys are site-level, not per-user.
Future consideration: per-user preferences/keys (like per-user language settings), plus whitelisting/controls for compliance/security.

Local models + agent direction

Longer-term interest in local model support to reduce reliance on paid API keys and improve privacy.
Agent compatibility vision: make WordPress legible/controllable via multiple interfaces (UI/command palette/CLICLI Command Line Interface. Terminal (Bash) in Mac, Command Prompt in Windows, or WP-CLI for WordPress./APIs).

7) Markdown

Markdown output/feed was discussed but is not expected for 7.0.
Suggestion: use WordPress.org (running trunktrunk A directory in Subversion containing the latest development code in preparation for the next major release cycle. If you are running "trunk", then you are on the latest revision.) as a sandbox; aim for 7.1+.

8) Navigation block improvements

Multiple QoL improvements from user feedback:

Create page from nav can now publish directly (not only draft).
View page option added to reduce confusion.
Better signaling for linked nav items.

Mobile overlay for navigation is now a customizable template part (previously hard-coded).
A trunk test bugbug A bug is an error or unexpected result. Performance improvements, code optimization, and are considered enhancements, not defects. After feature freeze, only bugs are dealt with, with regressions (adverse changes from the previous version) being the highest priority. was seen in the “view page” flow (needs follow-up/issue).

9) Editor customization / blocks / media highlights

Viewport-aware block visibility added (next: customizable breakpoints).
Pattern editing improvements noted as significant; needs a proper demo for release comms.
Typography improvements (line-height, indentation behavior, language-aware handling).
Gallery lightbox improvements (Interactivity API, accessibilityAccessibility 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) + performance).
New blocks: Icon block (highly requested) and Breadcrumb block (extensibleExtensible This is the ability to add additional functionality to the code. Plugins extend the WordPress core software. and integrates with plugins like WooCommerce).
Client-side media/upload improvements reduce long-standing friction (HEIC called out as an example pain point).

Next steps / Action items

Collaboration UI: show self avatar near cursor when collaboration is active; review participant toolbar UI behavior.
Collaboration policy: define mitigation for mixed-privilege sessions (same-role restriction and/or lowest-privilege enforcement; make configurable).
Collaboration compatibility: detect classic meta boxes and disable collaboration by default; publish plugin dev docs + compatibility declaration/filter.
Admin polish: identify high-impact CSS-only updates (buttons, corners, shadows, hover states, screen options/help, spinners/loaders) to make wp-admin feel modern in 7.0.
Dashboard: pursue “On this day / previous years” widget; explore a WP.org plugin designation/category for dashboard-widget plugins.
Command palette discoverability: add entry in admin bar; finalize design proposal that fits crowded admin bar. Trac ticket here: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/64672
AI onboarding: make AI settings UI visible by default; guide users to install/enable provider connectors; target this for Beta 2.
AI “wow”: audit the AI plugin/experiments and pick 1–3 impressive stable features (image editing a leading candidate); position as canonical “AI” plugin with stable/experimental split.
Markdown: treat as 7.1+; test on WP.org/trunk.
Navigation: file/follow up on the trunk “view page” bug encountered during nav editing.
- annezazu 6:04 pm on February 20, 2026
  
  New recording on the official wordpress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ youtube account here:
  
  Going to leave mine up for now in case it was shared but remove it in 2 weeks.
- Jacob Smith 11:15 pm on February 23, 2026
  I’ve created GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged by the repository owner. https://github.com/ issues to discuss/work on the three Collaboration issues that were identified:
  - [Interface] Show local user’s avatarAvatar An avatar is an image or illustration that specifically refers to a character that represents an online user. It’s usually a square box that appears next to the user’s name. by cursor during collaborative sessions #75838
  - Auto-disable collaboration when classical metaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. boxes are detected; provide compatibility filterFilter Filters are one of the two types of Hooks https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks. They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output. and documentation #75839
  - Optional role-based restrictions for collaborative editing sessions #75840
Dave Loodts 5:49 am on February 20, 2026

Thanks for the recording.
You can’t believe how happy i am that FINALLY WordPress is going to improve the adminadmin (and super admin) experience. I heard stuff that the community is longing for over a decade now.
My own vision on that goes way further, which i’m going to present on a talk om 21 april with Business Bloomer Masterclasses. Still preparing and visualizing the ideas. The idea of command pallet in top bar was already in my slides, but way more ideas then that.
- Dave Loodts 5:50 am on February 20, 2026
  
  wrong date: it will be on march 19

Welcome!

Communication

WordPress 7.0 Product Review Meeting with @matt

Welcome!

Communication

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