Your next WordPress contribution starts here. WordPress Contributor Toolkit 2.0 is now available, with a redesigned interface built on the WordPress Design System, a dark theme, new settings, and support for 10 languages. Set up a development environment for WordPress Core or Gutenberg and focus on your contribution. See what’s new and get started: make.wordpress.org/core/2026…

NYC, have plans for tomorrow? Join WordPress NYC and Mike Auteri to hear the story behind GatherPress and what’s next as the WordPress Foundation builds its events platform on GatherPress. Meet others in the local WordPress community, with pizza and drinks provided. October 27, 6 p.m. EDT 166 Crosby Street, NYC RSVP: meetup.com/wordpressnyc/even…

WordPress Campus Connect had its busiest month yet, with 13 student events across 7 countries in September. WordPress Credits also welcomed its largest group of new students so far. Read about both, plus Student Clubs and facilitator training, in the September Education Buzz Report. wp.me/p2U65r-qfK

Bird Buddy turns backyard birdwatching into a connected experience. Its smart feeders take close-up photos, identify visiting species, and pair with a mobile app. See how its commerce site brings the product and story together in the WordPress Showcase. wp.me/pmwwI-3Jp

SQLite Database Integration 3.1.1 is now available. If you run WordPress on SQLite, you can now use INTERVAL operators for date arithmetic, and this release fixes issues with transactions, foreign keys, and temporary tables. wordpress.org/plugins/sqlite…

A first WordCamp can spark a connection. What helps that connection grow? There’s still time to share your thoughts on a proposed framework for student participation at flagship and other major WordCamps in 2027. What would make a difference in your community? Read the proposal and add your thoughts in the comments by October 30: wp.me/p2U65r-pA9

Have you learned something from contributing to WordPress? WordCamp Asia 2027 is collecting Contributor Stories, and you don't need a polished piece to participate. A few paragraphs about what happened and what you learned are enough. You can also recommend another contributor whose experience others could learn from. wp.me/phbdcX-1SW

The PHP project has released fixes for 2 critical vulnerabilities affecting servers that host PHP applications. Site owners and technical teams should confirm their hosting provider’s update plan and update PHP immediately. Versions before PHP 8.2 no longer receive security updates. These issues are not specific to WordPress, and no WordPress update is required. wp.me/pZhYe-5Gb

WordPress 7.2 Beta 1 is ready for testing. It will bring responsive design controls, Notes improvements, faster media uploads, and a new Secrets API. Use a test site, not a production site, and report any issues. wp.me/pZhYe-5FP

One week to go! If you’ve been thinking about joining us in NYC on October 27, now’s the time to plan. Whether you’re local or making the trip, join WordPress NYC and Mike Auteri to hear the story behind GatherPress and what’s ahead for open source community events. Meet fellow WordPress community members, enjoy pizza and drinks, and join the conversation. October 27, 6 p.m. EDT 166 Crosby Street, NYC RSVP: meetup.com/wordpressnyc/even…

Students at Ahmad Education in Dhaka joined a WordPress Campus Connect event on October 1. The school had run 2 earlier groups with the program, so the organizers were familiar with it, while the students were on new ground. You can read the recap here. wp.me/p1q228-17e8a

Gutenberg 24.2 is here. You can now keep notes open in a margin next to your content while the Settings sidebar stays in view. Navigation menus accept any link from a single search, and galleries can be sorted and tinted with a single duotone filter. wordpress.org/plugins/gutenb…

The Sandra Day O’Connor Institute website brings free civics education, community tools, and a searchable archive of Justice O’Connor’s work into one clear resource. See it in the WordPress Showcase. wp.me/pmwwI-3Je

A new look. More settings. More languages. WordPress Contributor Toolkit 2.0 Beta 1 is ready for testing, featuring a redesigned interface built with the WordPress Design System, a dark theme, and new settings to support your development workflow. The entire interface is now translatable, with seven languages already included. Take a quick look at what’s new in the demo, then help improve the next release by testing the beta, reporting issues, or contributing a translation. Explore and test the beta: github.com/WordPress/contrib… Help translate: translate.wordpress.org/proj…

The fifth edition of WordCamp Jinja drew more than 300 participants over 2 days and featured 3 parallel session tracks. Nearly half were students, from primary school through university. wp.me/p1q228-16kOk

If you build with WordPress, the October developer roundup is worth a read. WordPress 7.2 Beta 1 lands on October 20, and you can already test the new default theme, Ipsum, plus the design tools now enabled across nearly every Core block. wp.me/pe6QtA-1Ft

What would help your event welcome more student builders? A proposed education framework for 2027 explores practical ways to support student participation at flagship and other major WordCamps, starting with WordCamp Asia. Read the proposal and join the discussion by October 30: wp.me/p2U65r-pA9

WordCamp Asia 2027 has opened its call for emcees. Emcees welcome attendees, introduce speakers, and keep sessions running to schedule across the event. It is a visible way to contribute to one of the largest WordPress community gatherings in the region, and a good fit for anyone confident presenting to a live audience. Applications close November 27. wp.me/phbdcX-1OE

WordCamps are community-organized events where people who use, build, and write for WordPress learn from each other. Best of all, you do not need to be an expert to attend. WordCamp Asia 2027 takes place April 9 to 11 in Penang, Malaysia. wp.me/phbdcX-1QT

You don't need to write code to contribute to WordPress. First-timers at Contributor Day have answered 2 forum questions, suggested 6 translated strings, or fixed an outdated paragraph in the documentation. If you use WordPress, you already know more about it than most people. Here's where to start. wp.me/phbdcX-1NL