DEV: lIchopbe’chugh ghewmey. (If the bugs don’t bite you.)

Welcome to DEV, your fortnightly battle report from the frontlines of WordPress.

We’ve scouted the newest tools, executed clever dev maneuvers, and flagged the freshest features and community victories. Arm yourself with this intelligence so you can advance your mission with precision and honor. ⚔️

Stick around to the end to see a behind-the-scenes tech get his moment in the spotlight.

In today’s edition:

• Wise mentors wanted: guide the next generation of WordPress contributors.
• Defender 5.7 boasts a privacy-friendly CAPTCHA that keeps the bots out without annoying humans.
• A few jokes that will be an absolute hit at the next Klingon party you attend.

Hot Off The Presses: What’s New?

yapqu’ meq? qatlh tlhIngan wo’ quv HolvaD WordPress mughlu’be’? SeQpIr Daleghpu’be’ net jatlh, tlhIngan Hol mu’mey DalaDpa’. naDev qaS rap.

qaStaHvIS cha’ Hogh WordPress De’ yIlaD ‘ej yIqaw: site DuHIvDI’ jagh bots, tIqIpqu’ ‘ej nom tIqIp! Qapla’!

Translation:
And why not? Why shouldn’t WordPress be translated into the glorious language of the Klingon Empire? They say you haven’t experienced Shakespeare until you’ve read it in the original Klingon. The same applies here.

Keep reading for your bi-weekly WordPress news and remember, if enemy bots attack your site, hit them hard and hit them fast! Success!

P.S. Click here to read some Klingon jokes. Spoiler alert: They don’t translate well.

Mentors Needed: Yes, You With The Opinions

WordPress Campus Connect is expanding its run of student-led events worldwide, and they’re officially on the hunt for new mentors to help guide the next wave of professionals.

This is your chance to impart your hard-won wisdom, and accumulate some serious good karma.

If you’ve got at least two hours a week to spare, the program is looking for experienced contributors who can:

• Support 3–5 student organizers
• Review event plans
• Offer feedback
• Host occasional office hours

In return, mentors get training, a snazzy Campus Connect Mentor badge on their WordPress.org profile, and the satisfaction of knowing that their encouragement has helped turn curious noobs into passionate nerds.

Our very own Hosting Support Lead Aditya Shah was a speaker at Campus Connect Jaipur, where he hosted a workshop at the college and helped students set up WordPress and create their first website.

He also leads the WordPress Bhopal community and co-organized the WP Build Tour where 1700 students from 6 colleges across Madhya Pradesh, India learned how to set up a domain and launched their online portfolios, all in one day.

If you like the idea of shaping future community leaders, without taking on a huge time commitment, applications are open until December 15.

👉 Apply via this form.

👉 Full announcement on Make/Community.

🎁 I Saw Mommy Deploying 6.9

By the time this newsletter hits your inbox, it’ll be December 2, which means WordPress 6.9 is officially here. To make your exploration smoother, here are a few resources worth keeping open in a side window:

• What’s new in 6.9 (and why it matters):
  Codeable’s breakdown of the headline features and the subtle improvements you’ll appreciate once you’re knee-deep in builds.
• The “everything in one place” guide:
  Gutenberg Times has assembled an incredibly comprehensive roundup, demos, screenshots, deep dives… all the good stuff.
• The official field guide:
  Straight from Core, with all the technical details, dev notes, and the finer points you’ll want to know before updating client sites.

Grab your beverage of choice, fire up a staging site, and enjoy that fresh release smell. Ahhhhh…

And for bonus good news: you won’t be waiting an eternity for the next one. WordPress is returning to three major releases per year starting in 2026, with planning for 7.0 already underway and targeted for March or April.

This Will Really CAPTCHA Your Attention…

Defender 5.7 just rolled out, and it comes with a very welcome upgrade: Cloudflare Turnstile support. It’s a privacy-friendly CAPTCHA that keeps bots out without turning your users’ experience into a super-annoying escape room puzzle.

Turnstile is lightweight, invisible, and doesn’t track users across the web. In other words, you get better security, zero extra friction and no creepy data collection.

Once you enable it, Defender will quietly step in to protect:

• Login forms
• Registration forms
• Password resets
• Comment forms

If you’ve been looking for a way to strengthen your human-only gates without driving the humans crazy, this is a solid upgrade to switch on. Oh, and of course you can display the Cloudflare Turnstile widget in any language, including Klingon. 😉

👉 Full usage guide is here if you want a quick walkthrough of setup and options.

Mind Bloggling Facts & Stats

• 77 accessibility improvements. That’s how many wins for inclusivity will be dropping along with 6.9 today, including better colour contrast, helpful auto-complete fields and improved screen-reader notifications. (Source)
• 11,354 WordPress sites. That’s how many WeWatchYourWebsite owner Thomas Raef found malware on in September. 81% of those infections came from stolen admin credentials or hijacked session cookies. 😬 ( Source)
• 20 years. That’s how old WordPress turned on November 21st. Happy Belated Birthday, WP! (Source)

Blogs & Resources You Shouldn’t Miss

Keep your users in the loop: why a killer changelog really matters.

Think publishing regular content equals “doing SEO?” Not quite. Here’s what you may be missing.

DesignSetGo: Justin Nealey’s new plugin helps you craft gorgeous, interactive blocks without sacrificing speed.

What really happened during the Cloudflare outage? Here’s the behind-the-scenes breakdown. 

Here’s one for the gearheads: Open Channels FM Founder BobWP breaks down his tech stack.

Jamie Marsland strongly believes AI is NOT going to kill WordPress.

“What if WordPress had a true “everything-in-one” menu?” Rich Tabor explores.

Coffee Break Distractions

NSFW⚠️ WP Product Talk Blooper: Zack Katz makes an accidental click and drops an f-bomb on a live episode. 😂

Regan Khadgi says he gained 3 kg on a 5-day WordCamp Mumbai venue visit. With all the yummy food, who can blame him?

The ultimate work from home setup. (Except for the dragon attacks.)

Plugin hunting made easy: Just describe what you want the tool to do and Ploogins finds and compares options.

Hey! Leave that alone! That’s my emotional support unfinished project!

Who knew your WordPress site could moonlight as a retro arcade?

When your job is trash but you still know how to make it fun.

And finally…

John gets his name in lights, literally.

Love this mix of nerdery and nonsense? Forward it to your favorite WordPress weirdo. 💗