Title: March 2026 – WordPress.org Project

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#  Monthly Archives: March 2026

 [  ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/kel-dc/) [Kel Santiago-Pilarski](https://profiles.wordpress.org/kel-dc/)
9:08 am _on_ March 4, 2026      

# 󠀁[The Contributor Dashboard Pilot is Live: What’s Next?](https://make.wordpress.org/project/2026/03/04/the-contributor-dashboard-pilot-is-live-whats-next/)󠁿

Building on the [initial project thread](https://make.wordpress.org/project/2025/12/20/project-thread-contributor-dashboard-pilot-project/),
the Contributor Dashboard pilot is now live, marking an important step toward creating
a clearer view of how contributors join, participate, and grow across the WordPress
project.

This post outlines proposed features for the next phase of the Contributor Dashboard
pilot. We’re sharing these ideas early to gather feedback from the community before
implementation begins.

## **Current Status**

**The pilot dashboard is finally ready: [https://wpcontributordashboard.org/](https://wpcontributordashboard.org/)**

The coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development
Team builds WordPress. functionality is in place:

 * Three-tier data architecture (Events → Profiles → Dashboard)
 * Contributor Ladder framework
 * Activity status tracking (active/warning/inactive)
 * CSV import system for contributor activity data

Development is happening in the [public GitHub repository](https://github.com/WordPress/wporg-contributor-dashboard).

[View the dashboard demo video here.](https://cleanshot.com/share/hkpxHJjc)

Contributors from multiple Make teams are developing the Contributor Dashboard pilot.
Project collaborators include [@felipevelzani](https://profiles.wordpress.org/felipevelzani/),
[@unintended8](https://profiles.wordpress.org/unintended8/), [@francescodicandia](https://profiles.wordpress.org/francescodicandia/),
[@dd32](https://profiles.wordpress.org/dd32/) and [@kel-dc](https://profiles.wordpress.org/kel-dc/)

## **Proposed Features**

We’re proposing two features for the next phase. Feedback is welcome on both.

### **1. Team-Managed Personas**

**Each Make team can create its own contributor personas, with custom ladders and
requirements that reflect how that team actually works.**

Different teams contribute in different ways, one ladder doesn’t fit all. Team reps
can define and manage these personas, and contributors can appear on multiple ladders
based on their activity across teams.

**Example use cases:**

 * Polyglots can create language-specific personas for translation contributors.
 * Community can create personas for 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](https://central.wordcamp.org/about/).
   or MeetupMeetup All local/regional gatherings that are officially a part of the
   WordPress world but are not WordCamps are organized through [https://www.meetup.com/](https://www.meetup.com/).
   A meetup is typically a chance for local WordPress users to get together and 
   share new ideas and seek help from one another. Searching for ‘WordPress’ on 
   meetup.com will help you find options in your area. organizers.
 * Support can separate forum contributors from those seeking help.

### **2. Automated Engagement**

**Automatically recognize contributors when they reach key milestones.**

Timely recognition improves retention and reinforces meaningful participation. When
someone makes their first contribution, reaches a new ladder step, or stays consistently
active, the system can trigger messages, props, or even swag (stickers, etc) from
[The Mercantile](https://mercantile.wordpress.org/).

Recognition becomes built-in, not manual.

## **Feedback Requested**

We’d love to hear your thoughts on these proposals. If we had to start with one 
of these two, which would provide the most value? Are any other things not considered
that you think should be implemented and/or could bring a lot of value?

The overall goal is to create an engine focused on improving the contributor experience
overall.

Please share any feedback by **March 17, 2026. **We plan to start implementing the
new phase by this date.

## **Get Involved**

If you’re interested in contributing to these features:

 * Comment on this post with feedback or questions
 * Join the discussion in the [#contributor-dashboard](https://wordpress.slack.com/archives/C0AHJA81PDE)
   SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform [https://slack.com/](https://slack.com/).
   The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at [https://make.wordpress.org/chat/](https://make.wordpress.org/chat/)
   channel
 * Check out the [ Contributor Dashboard Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/handbook/contributor-dashboard/)
   and the [GitHub repository](https://github.com/WordPress/wporg-contributor-dashboard)
   for technical details and contribute with the working group

 * [Login to Reply](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmake.wordpress.org%2Fproject%2F2026%2F03%2F04%2Fthe-contributor-dashboard-pilot-is-live-whats-next%2F%23respond&locale=en_US)