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WordPress 7.1 enters beta

This is the week WordPress 7.1 stops being a roadmap and starts being software. Beta 1 lands July 15, weekly betas follow through the month, and the final release is timed to WordCamp US on August 19.

The other current running through the week is MCP, the protocol that lets AI agents actually operate a WordPress site rather than just describe one. Tutorials, plugins, and hosts are all wiring it in at once. Here is what mattered, wherever you sit.

Beginner

WordCamp US heads to Phoenix in August

This year's flagship US gathering runs August 16 to 19 in Phoenix, and it doubles as the launch moment for WordPress 7.1. Expect the release itself, the roadmap talks, and the hallway conversations that usually make the trip worth it.

Connect AI agents to WordPress with MCP

WPBeginner walks through wiring an assistant like Claude or ChatGPT into a live site with an MCP plugin, so the AI can actually manage WordPress instead of just advising. A solid first hands-on if you have wondered what MCP means in practice.

Divi 5 is finally out of beta

After a long beta run, Divi 5 has shipped as version 5.9, and existing users get the update prompt now. If you build on Divi, this is the release that moves the ground-up rewrite from preview into production.

Developer

WordPress 7.1 hits Beta 1 on July 15

The 7.1 cycle gets real this month: Beta 1 on July 15, weekly betas after, and a final release August 19 alongside WordCamp US. This is the window to test plugins and themes against beta before the API surface settles.

WordPress 7.0.1 fixes 31 bugs

The first maintenance release of the 7.0 cycle patches 31 bugs across core and the block editor, including admin UI and media regressions. A safe, recommended update for any site already running 7.0.

What WooCommerce 11.0 means for developers

The 11.0 preview lays out performance work for large stores, more flexible customer and email flows, and a set of compatibility changes extension authors need to plan for. Read it early if you maintain anything that touches WooCommerce.

This week's WordPress vulnerabilities

Wordfence's weekly roundup of newly disclosed plugin and theme vulnerabilities. Skim it every week; it is the cheapest security habit you can keep.

Business

Hosting is becoming something you talk to

Pressable argues the managed-hosting interface is shifting from dashboards to conversation, as MCP lets you operate infrastructure by asking for what you want. A short read on where the relationship with your host is heading.

What "Stripe as merchant of record" actually covers

Freemius unpacks Stripe's Managed Payments and where its merchant-of-record coverage begins and ends, because the eligibility rules leave a lot out. Important reading if you sell software and assumed Stripe was handling your tax liability.

The state of the WordPress business in 2026

The WP Minute's member meetup takes stock of what is working, what is not, and what has changed for WordPress professionals this year. A useful pulse-check if you run an agency or a freelance practice.

Non-WordPress

A contractor leaked CISA's cloud keys on GitHub

Krebs breaks down how a contractor left dozens of internal CISA credentials, including AWS GovCloud keys, sitting in a public GitHub repo for six months. A stark nudge to scan your own repositories for secrets before someone else finds them.

CSS is getting a border-shape property

Hot on the heels of shape() and corner-shape, the incoming border-shape property opens up decorative borders that used to require images or hacks. An early look for front-end folks who like to see what is coming.

Cloudflare Workers get their own cache

Cloudflare launched Workers Cache, a tiered cache that sits directly in front of Worker entrypoints and is configured with plain HTTP headers. Relevant if you run anything on Workers, including WordPress front ends and edge APIs.