WordPress

WordPress 7.1 Beta 3 shipped July 22, followed by Beta 4 on July 29; the final release remains set for August 19 at WordCamp US. The 7.0.2 security release (July 17) addressed a critical SQL injection and high-severity REST API issue — forced updates were enabled. A 7.0.1 maintenance release (July 9) fixed 31 bugs.

The persistent toolbar overhaul in 7.1 unifies admin navigation. The “W” logo is replaced by a chevron back button in the editor, the site icon appears in the toolbar, and the toolbar now mirrors the rest of the admin. Media Library infinite scrolling is now enabled by default, with a per-user opt-out via Screen Options. Client-side media processing uses WebAssembly in the browser for image compression, resizing, format conversion, rotation, and thumbnail generation — no server-side PHP memory limits. New block supports arrived: background.gradient allows a gradient and background image to render together; minWidth dimension support lets blocks set a minimum width. The Custom HTML block supports interleaving static HTML with editable, locked inner blocks — useful for AI-generated markup with editable slots. Text-shadow values can now be set in Global Styles via theme.json (first step, no UI yet). A new SVG icon registration API enables adding and removing icon collections and individual icons. React 19 was punted beyond 7.1; an experimental toggle in Gutenberg (since 23.4) lets plugin authors test compatibility. Gutenberg 23.6 shipped: the admin bar appears in the Post and Site Editor by default, @mention autocomplete and inline partial-text notes arrived, theme.json now supports viewport tablet and mobile values, and the Media editor gained cropping controls for the Cover block.