{"id":224499,"date":"2026-03-10T09:15:42","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T09:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/?p=224499"},"modified":"2026-03-08T09:10:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T09:10:03","slug":"dev-you-had-me-at-hello-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/dev-you-had-me-at-hello-world\/","title":{"rendered":"DEV: You Had Me At \u201cHello World\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Welcome to DEV, your fortnightly roundup of WordPress news, clever builds, and contributors who keep the project humming along.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re here to share the highlights that make developers fall in love with the craft all over again. <\/p>\n<p>Oh and if you want to see some proper panda-monium, stick around to the end.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In today\u2019s edition: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>WordPress 7.0 Beta 3 is live: AI experiments and editor twists await brave testers.<\/li>\n<li>WordPress gets a Contributor Dashboard: finally, stats for the people powering the project.<\/li>\n<li>PHP 8.5 lands on WPMU DEV hosting: speed gains ahead.<\/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\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/funny-project-idea-cycle-flowchart.png\" alt=\"Humorous flowchart showing a project cycle that loops back to &quot;Get new idea&quot; via &quot;Tell everyone,&quot; conveniently bypassing &quot;Finish project.&quot;\" width=\"768\" height=\"525\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-224505\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>I\u2019m in this photo and I don\u2019t like it. \ud83d\ude48<\/p>\n<p>Why is finishing a project so much harder than talking about it?<\/p>\n<p>If my \u201cFinish Project\u201d box had a dollar for every time I bought a $12 domain and told my spouse \u201c<em>this is the big one,<\/em>\u201d I\u2019d finally be able to afford that sleek ergonomic office chair.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe it\u2019s because telling everyone gives you 100% of the social glory and 0% of the CSS debugging.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re currently ignoring a half-finished block theme to read this\u2026 we got you.<\/p>\n<h2>Contributor Dashboard: Counting the Steps That Power WordPress<\/h2>\n<p>Every fitness bro tracking cardio duration, heart rate, and \u201cactive zone minutes\u201d on a smartwatch will tell you one thing:<\/p>\n<p><em>You can\u2019t improve what you don\u2019t measure<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>And if we want the WordPress project to stay fit and healthy, we need to track the lifeblood that keeps it going: <strong>Contributors. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what the <a href=\"https:\/\/wpcontributordashboard.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Contributor Dashboard<\/a> is all about.<\/p>\n<p>This newly-launched all-in-one \u201ccontribution health\u201d dashboard shows key data at a glance, including stats like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Number of contributors<\/li>\n<li>Total contributions<\/li>\n<li>Average contributions per contributor<\/li>\n<li>Amount of time from account creation to first contribution<\/li>\n<li>And even the \u201cdrop-off risk\u201d of one-time contributors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In other words, it\u2019s the WordPress equivalent of checking your step count\u2026 except instead of steps, it\u2019s forum replies, translation suggestions, and WordCamp participation.<\/p>\n<p>The dashboard is essentially a custom plugin that pulls contribution data from WordPress.org, giving the community a clearer picture of how people join the project, what they\u2019re working on, and how their participation evolves over time.<\/p>\n<p>The next step? That\u2019s up to you.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Team-managed personas: <\/strong>What if each Make team could create their own contributor \u201cpersonas\u201d &#8211; such as language-specific ladders for translation contributors, or community-specific personas for WordCamp or meetup organizers?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Built-in automated engagement<\/strong>. Imagine getting a little reward for leveling up your contributions. Not that anyone contributes for the glory\u2026 but let\u2019s be honest, nobody has ever been sad about receiving a free sticker.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\ud83d\udc49<a href=\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/docs\/getting-started\/wpmu-dev-minimum-requirements\/#checking-and-updating-the-php-version-for-wpmu-dev-hosted-sites\" target=\"_blank\"> <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/project\/2026\/03\/04\/the-contributor-dashboard-pilot-is-live-whats-next\/\" target=\"_blank\">Share your feedback on which feature should come next<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>PHP 8.5 Lands on WPMU DEV Hosting<\/h2>\n<p>Speaking of updates: PHP 8.5 is now on all WPMU DEV hosted sites! \ud83c\udf89<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re ready to make the switch, you can update the PHP version your sites use with a couple of clicks in The Hub.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udc49<a href=\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/docs\/getting-started\/wpmu-dev-minimum-requirements\/#checking-and-updating-the-php-version-for-wpmu-dev-hosted-sites\" target=\"_blank\"> Guide to updating your PHP version on WPMU DEV<\/a><\/p>\n<p>A few words of dev wisdom:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Test before switching production sites.<\/li>\n<li>Keep an eye on plugin compatibility.<\/li>\n<li>Make sure everything works on your staging environment first.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Most modern plugins and themes should play nicely with PHP 8.x by now, but there\u2019s always that one rogue plugin still living in 2017.<\/p>\n<h2>WordPress 7.0 Beta 3 Arrives: Testers, Assemble!<\/h2>\n<p>Oh, and if you\u2019re in testing mode, why not play around with 7.0 Beta 3?<\/p>\n<p>It just dropped and it\u2019s packed with AI experiments, block theme CSS tweaks, and editor upgrades waiting for brave testers to poke, prod, and report back. Use it to do the things you\u2019d normally do with a WordPress site &#8211; and see what happens!<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s new?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/75833\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Connectors<\/a><\/strong>: A central UI in your wp-admin where you can hook in 3 main AI providers: OpenAI, Anthropic &amp; Google. (Mark McNeece <a href=\"https:\/\/www.365i.co.uk\/news\/2026\/03\/05\/wordpress-7-beta-2-hands-on-ai-connectors\/\" target=\"_blank\">called this<\/a> \u201cboth less exciting and more important\u201d than he expected.)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/02\/24\/iframed-editor-changes-in-wordpress-7-0\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Iframed editor improvements<\/a><\/strong>: Instead of checking all registered blocks across your plugins, WordPress only looks at blocks actually inserted into the post. If there\u2019s not all version 3 or higher, the iframe won\u2019t be auto-inserted, to make sure the lower-versioned blocks will still work.<\/li>\n<li>WordPress core now runs <a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/changeset\/61699\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>PHPStan static analysis<\/a><\/strong> as part of development. Which means WordPress officially stans<strong> <\/strong>PHPStan now.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Meanwhile:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/nomad.blog\/2026\/02\/28\/iterating-on-notes-in-wordpress\/\" target=\"_blank\">Anne McCarthy shares some Notes features<\/a> that didn\u2019t make the cut, and welcomes your feedback on the PRs.<\/p>\n<p>The Core team wants testers of all skill levels, from seasoned plugin devs to curious clickers who will break things and then report what happened. Spin up a staging site, poke around, and submit your feedback.<\/p>\n<p>The more eyes on Beta 3, the fewer surprises when 7.0 goes live on April 9th.<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udc49<a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/news\/2026\/03\/wordpress-7-0-beta-3\/\" target=\"_blank\"> Beta 3 download and testing instructions<\/a><br \/>\n\ud83d\udc49<a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/test\/2026\/02\/20\/help-test-wordpress-7-0\/\" target=\"_blank\">Core call for testers<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Mind Bloggling Facts &#038; Stats<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Patchstack found 91% of new WordPress vulnerabilities come from plugins. The call is coming from inside the \/wp-content\/plugins folder. (<a href=\"https:\/\/patchstack.com\/whitepaper\/state-of-wordpress-security-in-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Another example of a naughty plugin: a calendar booking tool leaves 100k sites wide open for privilege escalation. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.searchenginejournal.com\/wordpress-calendar-plugin-vulnerability-affects-up-to-100k-sites\/568728\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Even though WooCommerce data shows a 27% boost in conversions with the Checkout Block, many sites still use the classic shortcode checkout. Rodolfo Melogli reckons that\u2019s because switching checkouts is messy, and no one wants to potentially break what\u2019s kinda working. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessbloomer.com\/my-honest-take-on-woocommerce-checkout-block-adoption\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source<\/a>)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Blogs &#038; Resources You Shouldn\u2019t Miss<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/d_8i8w3wTSg?si=v_r1w0Uj0fCqD48Z\" target=\"_blank\">Nick Hamze experiments<\/a> with a rotating batch of 8 fresh, curated \u201chidden gems\u201d in the Featured Plugins tab.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/airtable.com\/appHuXWNTgC9qhVPb\/pagTGM6NNPdgKZ5Jd\/form\" target=\"_blank\">Have your say<\/a> in the Admin Bar\u2019s 5th WordPress Agency Survey. Last year 1,233 responses revealed <a href=\"https:\/\/theadminbar.com\/2025-survey\/\" target=\"_blank\">how agencies run<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWordCamps are just for developers, right?\u201d <strong>Nope. <\/strong>Here\u2019s why <a href=\"https:\/\/asia.wordcamp.org\/2026\/designers-should-not-miss-wcasia-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\">designers belong in the room too.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>BTW, wanna <a href=\"https:\/\/europe.wordcamp.org\/2026\/call-for-volunteers\/\" target=\"_blank\">volunteer at WCEU in Krak\u00f3w<\/a>? Free tickets, t-shirts and an invite to the After Party sounds pretty sweet.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a new subreddit on the block: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/WordPressBlocks\/comments\/1rb20y1\/welcome_to_rwordpressblocks\/\" target=\"_blank\">\/r\/WordPressBlocks<\/a> was launched recently by WP Engineer <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/groundworxdev\/status\/2025314103682605474\" target=\"_blank\">Johanne Courtright<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>When it comes to Blocks, <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/block-accessibility-checks\/\" target=\"_blank\">this plugin will give yours an accessibility audit<\/a>, with clear guidance on what needs fixing.<\/p>\n<p>On Open Makers, <a href=\"https:\/\/openchannels.fm\/building-better-habits-for-freelancers-and-creators\/\" target=\"_blank\">Cami McNamara<\/a> shares how freelancers can avoid digital distrac\u2026 oh wait one sec I just got a DM\u2026 brb.<\/p>\n<h2>Coffee Break Distractions<\/h2>\n<p>\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/ProgrammerHumor\/comments\/1rjyohd\/burndownburnupburnsidewaysburnout\/\" target=\"_blank\">Just one more Jira Dashboard<\/a>\u201d = Famous last words.<\/p>\n<p>That 5-legged office chair you\u2019re sitting on? There\u2019s a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=kKt46Lch2bo\" target=\"_blank\">weird engineering reason<\/a> it has five legs.<\/p>\n<p>When you\u2019re emoji-reacting on Slack to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/MadeMeSmile\/comments\/1r687bo\/what_a_hard_and_stressful_job_he_made\/\" target=\"_blank\">show how much you\u2019re \u201chelping\u201d<\/a> with the project.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/LoveTrash\/comments\/1r7sbj0\/homemade_7up_ad\/\" target=\"_blank\">This homemade 7-up ad is pure cinema.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/interestingasfuck\/comments\/1r9fwd7\/penn_and_teller_showing_how_they_perform_their\/\" target=\"_blank\">This magic trick<\/a> is still pretty impressive, even when you know the secret of how it works.<\/p>\n<p>If Eminem got his lyrical inspiration from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2oqQp3GtUe8\" target=\"_blank\">cheesy quotes on throw pillows.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>And finally\u2026 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s black and white and goofy all over? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/Awww\/comments\/1prt85r\/assorted_panda_shenanigans\/\" target=\"_blank\">These ridiculous creatures.<\/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 roundup of WordPress news, clever builds, and contributors who keep the project humming along. We\u2019re here to share the highlights that make developers fall in love with the craft all over again. Oh and if you want to see some proper panda-monium, stick around to the end. In today\u2019s edition: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1204260,"featured_media":223007,"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-224499","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\/224499","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=224499"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":224501,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/224499\/revisions\/224501"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=224499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=224499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=224499"},{"taxonomy":"tutorials_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tutorials_categories?post=224499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}