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The WordPress ecosystem never stands still. Following the release of WordPress 6.9 “Gene” in December 2025-which expanded collaboration features and laid important groundwork for future AI-related integrations-all eyes are now turned toward the first major milestone planned for 2026: WordPress 7.0.
At DeveloPress, we closely monitor Core development to help our clients prepare for what’s coming next. Here’s what is currently known-and what is still evolving-around the next generation of the world’s most popular CMS.
Mark Your Calendars: The 7.0 Release Schedule
The WordPress project has indicated an intention to return to a three-major-release cadence in 2026. While WordPress 7.0 is expected to be the first of these releases, the timeline below reflects a proposed schedule that may still change as development progresses:
- Beta phase: Q1 2026 (date to be confirmed)
- Release Candidates: Spring 2026
- General Availability: Expected in the first half of 2026
The release is anticipated to align with major community events in 2026, such as WordCamp Asia, reinforcing its importance within the global WordPress ecosystem.
Key Features: What’s Coming in WordPress 7.0?
Where 6.9 focused on infrastructure and foundations, WordPress 7.0 is shaping up to be a more visible, experience-driven release-though many features are still under active development and subject to change.
1. Gutenberg Phase 3: Collaboration Improvements
One of the central initiatives for 2026 is Gutenberg Phase 3, which focuses on collaboration. Building on the commenting and notes functionality introduced in 6.9, WordPress 7.0 is expected to further improve multi-user workflows. While full real-time co-editing is being explored, it may arrive incrementally rather than as a complete Google Docs-style experience in the initial 7.0 release.
2. The Abilities API & Emerging AI Support
WordPress is gradually preparing for deeper AI integrations. Version 7.0 is expected to continue development around the Abilities API, which provides a standardized way for plugins and services to expose intelligent features. Rather than a fully “AI-native” core, users should expect early, extensible building blocks such as:
- Context-aware suggestions: Smarter block or pattern recommendations powered by plugins.
- Improved media metadata handling: Foundations for enhanced tagging and organization.
- Editorial assistance hooks: APIs that allow AI-powered writing or summarization tools to integrate cleanly into the editor.
3. A New Default Theme for 2026
As with previous years, WordPress 7.0 is expected to introduce a new default theme. While details and naming have not yet been officially announced, the next theme will likely continue the evolution of block-first design, emphasizing performance, accessibility, and design flexibility.
- Performance-focused architecture: Optimized CSS and minimal front-end overhead.
- Modern typography controls: Improved responsiveness across a wide range of devices.
- Expanded style variations: Making full site editing more approachable for non-developers.
4. Streamlined Site Editor Workflow
The Site Editor continues to mature with each release. In WordPress 7.0, users can expect further usability refinements, including improvements to navigation, template discovery, and the evolving Command Palette, which aims to become a faster way to move across editing, design, and administrative tasks.
Looking Further: The Rest of 2026
WordPress 7.0 is intended as the foundation for the rest of the year. While later releases are still in early planning stages, current discussions point toward:
- WordPress 7.1 (mid-late 2026): Potential improvements to media workflows and more granular user permissions.
- WordPress 7.2 (end of 2026): Further refinement of collaboration features and continued progress toward native multilingual capabilities.
Why This Matters for Your Business
These changes go beyond visual updates. They are about scalability and productivity-helping teams collaborate more effectively, reducing reliance on third-party tools, and preparing WordPress sites for the next generation of intelligent services.
Is your website ready for WordPress 7.0? At Developress, we help businesses prepare for major Core updates by ensuring themes, plugins, and workflows remain stable, secure, and future-proof.
Stay ahead of the competition. Contact us today to plan your upgrade strategy and get ready for what WordPress brings in 2026.
