It is time to update WordPress websites again with the WordPress 7.0.4 security update. Also, new AI Things like faster Hyve, Agentric AI, Altus AI, Frontman, and more. Plus, the big WordCamp US 2026 is this week, and tickets are now available for other upcoming WordCamps.
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What’s Buzzing in WordPress 💖
- CheckView + Elementor Forms… Matt Schwartz shared that CheckView, the automated WordPress form and WooCommerce checkout testing platform, has added full support for Elementor Pro forms. With the help of the Elementor team, CheckView is now able to detect Elementor Pro forms and automatically tests nearly every classic form configuration, including forms using Elementor’s native CAPTCHA options. This release also brings AI-built test flows in beta.
- Infinite Uploads + AVIF & WebP… Blake Whittle has introduced automatic image conversion to AVIF and WebP formats. “Most image plugins convert your files when you upload them, then keep a pile of extra copies on your server. We don’t. Optimization happens at delivery, the moment a visitor loads the page, and the result gets cached on the CDN”.
- New BeyondSEO… the team at RankingCoach has released a free BeyondSEO plugin in the repository. It gives SMBs live SEO scoring inside the WordPress editor, listings management across 30+ directories, review monitoring with AI-assisted responses, social media scheduling, and Google Ads, all in one place.
New AI Things: Hyve, Agentric, Altus, & Frontman
Hyve + Faster Answers… 2.0v update brings faster answers because responses now stream as they’re generated, so visitors don’t have to wait for the whole answer to appear. Also, page-aware answers feature, when the knowledge base doesn’t have the answer, Hyve can use the page the visitor is currently viewing.
Agentric AI… Vikas Singhal from InstaWP, shared (Links X) about his new Agentric project (GitHub) that promises you to build and run autonomous AI agents with guardrails, collaboratively with humans. He added, “I have now implemented this for all my projects, and it has been amazing!”.
Altus AI for WP Travel Engine… the team at WP Travel Engine, has launched Altus AI, an AI integration plugin for WP Travel Engine websites. It lets site owners connect Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or any of 350+ AI models (via OpenRouter) to their site through an MCP Connector, so they can update trip prices, create coupons, and check bookings using plain-language prompts, all without opening the WordPress dashboard.
Frontman for WordPress… Danni Friedland shared the Frontman for WordPress that implements changes on your WordPress website, as you describe, with AI powers. Be it changes to post, block, menu, template, setting, or WooCommerce update, you can watch the live page change in context.
New Plugins: Content, API Accelerator, Ads, & Security
Migro Content Migration… Al Auad brought to notice Migro Content Migration & Deployment plugin, available in the plugins repository. It pushes individual posts and pages from staging to production without cloning the whole database. Unlike most deployment tooling, it runs on the Editor role rather than requiring admin access, so clients and content teams can deploy their own approved pages instead of waiting on a developer to run a script.
Smooth API Accelerator… Mirosław shared the new Smooth API Accelerator plugin in the repository, designed for headless WordPress projects and applications using the WordPress REST API. It turns selected WordPress REST API endpoints into static JSON snapshots and syncs them to Smooth Bundle, where they can be delivered through CDN URLs.
Hafenstudios Ads Manager… Horst Wenzel from Hafenstudios shared Hafenstudios Ads plugin, now available in the repository. It is an ad manager for WordPress, enabling to you to place banner ads, AdSense units and any ad code exactly where you want them, rotate them, target who sees them, and keep an eye on impressions, clicks and CTR – without sending any analytics to an external server.
Exan Security… the team at Exan Technologies brought to notice Exan Security, a free WordPress security plugin. It helps WordPress administrators detect and analyze suspicious login, registration, and XML-RPC activity, including automated attacks that occur without a previous website visit.
Extended WordPress Buzz 🔥
- WordPress Browser Extension… the official WordPress Browser Extension has been released for Google Chrome and Chromium-based browser users in the Chrome Web Store and for Safari on macOS in the Mac App Store. This enables logged-in site users to easily hide the admin bar while keeping its most helpful shortcuts in the browser toolbar, and adds helpful tools for developers and content creators. Check video walkthrough by David McCan.
- WordPress Credits Evolution… Destiny Kanno shared about the proposal that transform WordPress Credits from a one-time experience to the first step in a longer contribution and career pathway. Also, the all new WordPress Credits dashboard (GitHub) is now live, clearly showcasing the growth and impact of the program.
- Automattic on WP Engine’s Motion… Andy Missan shared, “WP Engine’s motion is a desperate attempt to get sanctions and other extreme remedies because Matt used ephemeral messaging in personal communications with romantic partners having nothing to do with this case”.
- WordCamp Tickets… WordCamp Rajasthan 2026, India, tickets (Links X) will go live on the website on Monday, 17 August, 2026, at 11 AM IST, for 2 days event on Oct 3 – 4, 2026. Also, tickets are live now for WordCamp Bengaluru 2026, scheduled for Nov 21 and 22, 2026.
- WordCamp US & PressConf… If you are attending WordCamp US 2026 this week, check things you need to know before you go for the event. Till now PressConf was held in USA only, but it is expanding to Europe now. The first PressConf Europe edition (Links X) will take place on October 27-30, 2026, in Barcelona, Spain.
- WP Milestones… The Dynamic WordPress Group on Facebook, by David McCan, has crossed 15,000 Members and is an active space for discussions around WordPress. The FluentSnippets plugin has crossed the 50,000 active installs milestone on WordPress Org repository – 10.56v brings the full redesign of every screen to make plugin settings and use easier to access.
WordPress Core Updates & Buzz
WordPress 7.0.4 version was released on August 12, 2026, update your websites immediately, as this includes a security fix. This release fixes: Authenticated Author+ remote code execution via malicious file upload on sites that use Imagick and Ghostscript.
- WordPress 7.1 Release Candidate 3 is now available.
- Infinite scrolling in the Media Library grid view in WP 7.1
- Almost 45 accessibility enhancements & bug fixes in WP 7.1
- Woo 11.0.1 with increased compatibility for upcoming WP 7.1
- Call for Volunteers for WP 7.2, scheduled for Dec 9, 2026.
New Updates: FluentCart & Bricks Builder
FluentCart + Divi Builder… 1.6.1v has added support for Divi Builder through a new FluentCart Divi Blocks addon. This brings 18 native FluentCart modules directly inside the Divi 5 Visual Builder, so no more manual shortcode adding or not seeing actual preview while building.
Bricks + Improvements… 2.3.11v update of Bricks builder brings accessibility improvements for query filters, forms, and default page content, and reduces unnecessary taxonomy indexing on large catalogs. It also addresses regressions in component blocks, forms, and template-backed content.
New Updates: PowerPack & ElementsKit
PowerPack + New Dashboard… PowerPack Addons for Elementor 3.0.0v is a big update introducing all new Dashboard interface. Also, introduced new widgets like Event Calendar Widget and Slide Menu Widget.
ElementsKit + Faster Load Times… 4.0v update brings faster load times as there are changes how plugin loads its assets. Now it supports per-widget asset loading, instead of a one large combined stylesheet, and one shared script bundle.
Quick Bits 👍
- New cPanel AI for AI capabilities in cPanel & WHM hosting users.
- WordPress Contributor Toolkit 1.0 for smoother workflow.
- Hands-on activity kits are now live on Learn WordPress.
- WP Mercantile swag store new theme got mixed feedback (Links X).
- Let’s Learn
- WordPress AI Connectors: A Developer’s Guide to the 7.0 AI Client.
- How to hide WordPress Blocks based on device, by Eric Karkovack.
- What Woo notice-placement test matrix should cover, by Notice27.
- Perspective & Insights
- 3,400 plugin reviews tell you about on, What makes a great plugin!
Flagged: WPVibe / Novamira, Add New Screen, WPForms
Giovanni Cintolo, founder of Novamira, shared (Links X) on comparison between WPVibe and Novamira, “we believe it suffers from fundamental inaccuracies and omissions. The fact that WPVibe stores the WordPress Application Password of every connected site on its servers was perhaps worth mentioning in the comparison table”.
Marcin Dudek scanned every free plugin and theme on WordPress Org, which included 63,619 plugins and 13,000 themes – for code that touches the Add New screen. Well, there were plugins editing the listing on the Add New screen.
Sybre Waaijer pointed (Links X), WPForms Lite plugin 2.0.0v update, “it takes over your browser and opens their app on WPForms’ servers. It hands that app a one-hour login token for your site. Their app can then act on your behalf on your site”.
Novamira is a free, open-source WordPress plugin that connects Claude, Codex, Cursor (or any other AI agents) to your site, with PHP execution, database queries, and file operations. Available now at novamira.ai
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