State of the Word 2023 Recap
On December 11th, 2023, the WordPress community eagerly tuned in as Matt Mullenweg, the co-founder of WordPress, took the stage for the highly anticipated ‘State of the Word’ keynote. This event isn’t just a mere address; it’s a celebration of the milestones achieved by the open-source giant and a tantalizing preview of the path ahead. Let’s dive into our detailed roundup of Mullenweg’s speech, where we unpack the pivotal moments and breakthroughs unveiled during this significant event.
The event ventured beyond North America for the first time, choosing Madrid, Spain, as the host city. This decision reflects the vital role that Madrid plays in the WordPress project. The event was live-streamed on the WordPress YouTube channel, allowing WordPress enthusiasts and newcomers worldwide to participate.
The event began with a warm, bilingual welcome from Rocío Valdivia, a respected WordPress Community Steward, followed by the dynamic Executive Director of the WordPress Project, Josepha Haden Chomphosy.
2023 Retrospective
Mullenweg kicked off his keynote with a reflective journey of WordPress’s triumphs in 2023. He highlighted the year’s most significant milestones, including the remarkable surge in WordCamps and the relaunch of the WordPress Showcase. The WordPress community welcomed 1,339 new contributors to the project, highlighting the expanding reach and appeal of the WordPress ecosystem.
Reintroducing Playground
Mullenweg reacquainted the audience with ‘Playground,’ an innovative tool designed to empower users, learners, extenders, and contributors by enabling the instant creation of a WordPress environment directly within a browser.
The New Default Theme
Mullenweg unveiled the 2024 WordPress theme, which incorporates over 35 built-in patterns and fully utilizes the capabilities of Gutenberg.
Looking Forward to 2024
Mullenweg discussed the dynamic evolution of Gutenberg and the upcoming transition to Phase 4, an ambitious leap toward multilingual development, breaking language barriers, offering unparalleled flexibility and functionality.
Matias Ventura, the lead architect of the Gutenberg project, described enhancements in writing flow and design, including footnotes and improved distraction-free writing modes. The WordPress team worked on a new user interface that allows for easy connection between blogs and custom fields.
The WordPress editor will soon be twice as fast, with the team aiming to make it even faster in the upcoming WordPress 6.5 release.
Mullenweg introduced the Interactivity API, which allows WordPress users to create engaging and interactive experiences on their websites.
The Q&A Session
The question and answer session offered insights into key WordPress topics, including monetization strategies for blogs, integration with ActivityPub, and the role of AI in an open and inclusive community.
The State of the Word 2023 was a thrilling window into the dynamic world of WordPress, celebrating the past year’s triumphs and unveiling groundbreaking developments on the horizon. From the transformative enhancements in Gutenberg to the pioneering strides in data liberation and AI integration, WordPress is poised for an exciting future.
