{"id":224242,"date":"2026-01-27T08:54:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T08:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/?p=224242"},"modified":"2026-01-25T07:50:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T07:50:34","slug":"dev-block-to-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/dev-block-to-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"DEV: Block To The Future"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Welcome to DEV, your fortnightly look at the past, present and future of WordPress.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll meet you at Twin Pines Mall at 1:15am to give you the latest developments, smart projects and community updates, to help you speed into your next project with confidence, no flux capacitor required.<\/p>\n<p>Stick around to the end to see a grandpa who insists he doesn\u2019t want a kitty hat. <\/p>\n<p><strong>In today\u2019s edition:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In Patchstack\u2019s first test, 88% of threats bypassed \u201csecure\u201d hosting defenses. They tried again. Did things improve?<\/li>\n<li>The Future is Female: The Community Team brings back a super-successful women-led WordPress event initiative.<\/li>\n<li>Plus, handy tools for bug squashing, 404-dodging, code highlighting and block pattern wrangling.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Hot Off The Presses: What\u2019s New?<\/h2>\n<div class=\"image-grid cgrid-row\">\n<div class=\"cgrid-col cgrid-col-span-full\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/bug-fixes-vs-random-new-feature-meme.png\" alt=\"Meme showing a driver swerving toward \u201cRandom new feature I just thought of\u201d instead of \u201cLong to-do list of bug fixes and improvements.\" width=\"524\" height=\"499\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-224243\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Get in, Marty! Where we\u2019re going, we don\u2019t need roadmaps. \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n<p>Maybe if you could go back in time and warn your younger self, you wouldn\u2019t have taken that detour to abandon all of your current projects and work on the shiny new thing that caught your attention. After all, there are only so many hours in the day. <\/p>\n<p>But at the same time, sometimes it\u2019s the moments of spontaneous inspiration that lead you to something really great.<\/p>\n<p>So whether you\u2019re working on what you\u2019re \u201csupposed\u201d to be working on, or you\u2019ve branched out into an alternate timeline, you\u2019ve earned yourself a break to catch up on what\u2019s new in WordPress.<\/p>\n<p>P.S. By the way, I\u2019m looking to sell a used Delorean, so let me know if you\u2019re interested. It\u2019s in good shape and has low mileage\u2026 it\u2019s only been driven from time to time. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n<h2>Community Team Brings Back Women-Centric Events For International Women\u2019s Day<\/h2>\n<p>Remember last year, when the WordPress Community celebrated International Women\u2019s Day with a push towards hosting more women-centric events around the world?<\/p>\n<p>Well, turns out <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/community\/2025\/05\/14\/women-in-wordpress-a-recap-of-our-international-womens-day-wordpress-events\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">it was a great success<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Over 25 events were planned as a result, in locations all over the world from Delhi to Madrid to New York City. Women and people of marginalized genders who attended said they felt \u201cwelcomed, valued, and encouraged to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many of these events took place in communities where women-led formats had not previously existed, and several of the organizers, speakers and volunteers were taking on those roles for the first time. In other words, a <em>huge win for inclusion<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/community\/2025\/12\/24\/bringing-back-women-centric-wordpress-events-for-international-womens-day\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">post on the Make WordPress Community blog<\/a>, Junko Nukaga shared that the team is bringing back the initiative again this year, with the aim of creating even <em>more<\/em> women-focused events in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>This is such a great illustration of the \u201clead by example\u201d point <em>WP Includes<\/em> made in their <a href=\"https:\/\/wpincludes.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Gender-Equality-in-WordPress-Businesses.pdf\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Gender Equality in WordPress Business<\/a> whitepaper in 2024. Don\u2019t just talk about making WordPress more inclusive &#8211; get out there and make it happen!<\/p>\n<p>Can\u2019t wait to see the empowering events this year brings! \ud83c\udf89<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udc49 Wanna get the gals together for an event? <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/community\/handbook\/community-deputy\/other-event-formats\/women-wordpress-day\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Here\u2019s how to apply<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Vulnerability Tests Part 2: Patchstack Finds Hosting Still Not So Secure<\/h2>\n<p>Last year, Patchstack conducted a limited experiment where they tested 11 vulnerabilities across five different hosting environments, to see if those hosts were really as \u201csecure\u201d as they claimed to be.<\/p>\n<p>The results were, well, worrying to say the least.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/patchstack.com\/articles\/hosting-security-tested-87-percent-of-vulnerability-exploits-bypassed-hosting-defenses\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">88% of attacks resulted in a successful site takeover.<\/a> \ud83d\ude2c<\/p>\n<p>Patchstack wanted to see what would happen if they expanded the scope of the experiment and tried again. Surely everyone has since doubled down on their security, right? Right???<\/p>\n<p>Well, not as much as you\u2019d think. Although the number of exploit attempts blocked increased from 12.8% to 25.89%, version 2 of the experiment still saw <strong>roughly 74% of attacks succeed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>WordPress vulnerabilities are, indeed, still a major problem. But, as the report points out, it\u2019s not that hosts don\u2019t care! It\u2019s that the security tools they\u2019re relying on may not be covering them as well as they think they are.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udc49 <a href=\"https:\/\/patchstack.com\/articles\/myth-of-secure-hosting-only-24-percent-of-vulnerability-exploits-blocked-by-hosts\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read the full breakdown here.<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>A Few Crazy Wild-Eyed Inventions From The Lab<\/h2>\n<p>What time is it? Time for another round-up of useful plugins, cool tools and clever projects that just might make your life a little easier.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A smart little tool with a lot of great uses.<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/wpbettercodehighlighting\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">WPBetterCodeHighlighting<\/a> is completely free and makes it easy to showcase code snippets on your site.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Wrangle your patterns.<\/strong><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/pattern-wrangler\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pattern Wrangler<\/a> helps you manage WordPress block patterns and curate what your client sees in the block editor.<\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cWait a minute Doc. Are you telling me you built a Wayback Machine\u2026 out of a Chrome extension?!\u201d<\/strong><br \/>\nYou\u2019ll never see another 404 with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.makeuseof.com\/never-see-page-not-found-anymore-wayback-machine-extension\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">this baby in your browser.<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t let errors in your WordPress code come back to haunt you in the future.<\/strong><br \/>\nWith <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpsolver.com\/debug-log-manager\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Debug Log Manager<\/a>, you can keep track of them and fix them before they cause you serious headaches.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Mind Bloggling Facts &#038; Stats<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>12,713. That\u2019s how many plugins were reviewed by WordPress Plugins Team last year. That\u2019s a 40.6% increase from the year before. The jump in pace was necessary: the number of submissions sent for review doubled compared to 2024. (<a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/plugins\/2026\/01\/07\/a-year-in-the-plugins-team-2025\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Speaking of plugins\u2026 sales ain\u2019t looking good. A survey by WP Product Talk\u2019s Katie Keith revealed that 80% of plugin companies said their sales were the same or declining in 2025. (<a href=\"https:\/\/wpproducttalk.com\/blog\/wordpress-plugin-sales-survey-2025\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>According to Yoast\u2019s 2025 SEO Wrap-Up, AI Mode and good ol\u2019fashioned organic search results are not too different. 97% of URLs referenced in AI search were also in the top 10 organic results, showing strong traditional SEO still matters. (<a href=\"https:\/\/yoast.com\/seo-in-2025-wrap-up\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Source<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Blogs &#038; Resources You Shouldn\u2019t Miss<\/h2>\n<p>Release squad, assemble! This <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/01\/22\/announcing-the-wordpress-7-0-release-squad\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">tight, focused team<\/a>, lead by Mat\u00edas Ventura, is ready to get crackin\u2019 on WordPress 7.0.<\/p>\n<p>It might not be Grays Sports Almanac, but you can bet the <a href=\"https:\/\/almanac.httparchive.org\/en\/2025\/cms\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CMS chapter of the Web Almanac<\/a> will set you up for success.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udfb6When you wish upon a plugin\u2026 \ud83c\udfb6Sabrina Zeidan <a href=\"https:\/\/sabrinazeidan.com\/i-tested-performance-of-6-wordpress-wishlist-plugins-so-that-you-dont-have-to\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">tested 6 WordPress wishlist plugins<\/a>, so you don\u2019t have to.<\/p>\n<p>Damnnn\u2026 that <a href=\"https:\/\/developer.wordpress.org\/news\/2026\/01\/whats-new-for-developers-january-2026\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">responsive grid block with set columns<\/a> is looking \ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25\ud83d\udd25. What\u2019s her secret?!<\/p>\n<p>Open Channels FM: <a href=\"https:\/\/openchannels.fm\/making-accessibility-fun-and-brain-friendly-for-web-developers-and-designers\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">How to make accessibility fun and \u201cbrain friendly.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI can\u2019t wait to check out the <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/playground\/2025\/12\/29\/three-new-ui-updates-to-wordpress-playground-from-december-2025\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">new Playground.<\/a>\u201d &#8211; Things you said when you were 10 that you still say now.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHumans are just attracted to bad news.\u201d &#8211; The Repository\u2019s Rae Morey on <a href=\"https:\/\/crossword.fm\/s10\/e12\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">why the big stories of 2025 were kind of a bummer<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Coffee Break Distractions<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cYou mean you have to use your hands? That\u2019s like a baby\u2019s toy!\u201d &#8211; The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inverse.com\/gaming\/wild-gunman-nintendo-back-to-the-future-sega\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">straight-shootin\u2019 history of <em>Wild Gunman<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Happy 25th Birthday, Drupal! Jonathan Desrosiers writes about <a href=\"https:\/\/jonathandesrosiers.com\/2026\/01\/happy-birthday-drupal\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">what WordPress could learn from it.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday I was <a href=\"https:\/\/fluffyandflakey.blog\/2026\/01\/15\/today-i-was-slopped-in-the-face\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">slopped in the face<\/a>\u201d: Dennis Snell coins a new term.<\/p>\n<p>LOVE the idea of getting builders together to \u201cKeep WordPress Weird\u201d via a <a href=\"https:\/\/pluginjam.com\/details\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">hands-on plugin build-a-thon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Some interesting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/BacktotheFuture\/comments\/1op3fb9\/my_theory_for_why_biff_became_an_auto_detailer_in\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Biff Tannen head canon<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MarkovMagnifico\/status\/2012930198354764058\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">How my codebase written entirely with Claude code runs<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s an alternate timeline where I\u2019m a YouTube millionaire <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DanManCarney\/status\/2007306996228469037\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">because I went back and told myself this.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>And finally\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/BeAmazed\/comments\/1qi4yja\/this_grandpa_was_biased_against_cats_he_agreed_to\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">He did, in fact, want a kitty hat.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Love this mix of nerdery and nonsense? Forward it to your favorite WordPress weirdo.<\/strong> \ud83d\udc97<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to DEV, your fortnightly look at the past, present and future of WordPress. We\u2019ll meet you at Twin Pines Mall at 1:15am to give you the latest developments, smart projects and community updates, to help you speed into your next project with confidence, no flux capacitor required. Stick around to the end to see [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1204260,"featured_media":223199,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"blog_reading_time":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_tutorials_categories":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11265],"tags":[],"tutorials_categories":[],"class_list":["post-224242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dev"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1204260"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=224242"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":224244,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224242\/revisions\/224244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224242"},{"taxonomy":"tutorials_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tutorials_categories?post=224242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}