In an extraordinary gathering, the WordPress community came together in Portland, Oregon, for WordCamp US 2025, a flagship event that brought together enthusiasts, developers, and contributors from around the globe. The event was attended by a full house, with thousands more joining online, highlighting the widespread interest and involvement in the open-source platform. Over the course of four days, participants engaged in a variety of activities designed to foster collaboration, ignite inspiration, and encourage discovery in the ever-evolving world of WordPress.
A Unique Movement
WordPress stands out not just as a product, but as a movement, a sentiment echoed by Matt Mullenweg, WordPress’s co-founder. This aspect of community-driven development and innovation was at the heart of WordCamp US 2025. The event kicked off with a Contributor Day, followed by a Showcase Day and two days filled with sessions, including talks, panels, workshops, and even community celebrations. Mullenweg, along with a diverse group of speakers and panelists, brought fresh insights to the open web from all corners of the world.
The Vibrant Setting of Portland
Portland, known for its iconic bridges, rich coffee culture, and creative energy, provided a dynamic backdrop for the event. The Sponsor Hall, buzzing with excitement, saw companies from across the WordPress ecosystem showcasing new products, sharing insights, and networking with attendees. Mealtimes turned into opportunities for networking and idea-sharing, as attendees enjoyed both local and international flavors.
A Global Gathering
WordCamp US serves as an annual meeting point for the WordPress community, where creativity, collaboration, and innovation intertwine. This year, the program was more expansive than ever, encompassing every aspect of the WordPress ecosystem.
Key Highlights:
- Engaging Sessions Across Tracks: Keynotes, presentations, and discussions explored the evolving web and open source’s role in shaping it.
- A Global Speaker Lineup: Speakers from different continents shared local stories and global visions, enriching the event’s diversity.
- Wide-Ranging Topics: Discussions covered everything from AI in WordPress development to accessibility, design systems, content strategy, education, and large-scale WordPress case studies.
- Hands-On Learning Opportunities: Workshops provided attendees with practical takeaways, empowering them to apply new skills immediately.
- A Community Built on Collaboration: Attendees contributed code, explored business strategies, and shared creative projects, learning and growing together in celebration of open source.
Contributor Day: The Heart of Collaboration
The event opened with Contributor Day, where nearly 300 contributors, including over 120 first-timers, worked across 19 teams. Developers, designers, translators, marketers, and community organizers collaborated on tasks ranging from accessibility improvements to performance enhancements and documentation refinement. The inclusive nature of WordPress’s global community was evident as remote participants joined through dedicated channels, reinforcing the platform’s commitment to accessibility and inclusivity.
The day was a testament to the power of collaboration, with teams achieving significant milestones:
- Polyglots: Translated over 12,000 strings, expanding WordPress’s global accessibility.
- Community Team: Celebrated the approval of two new local meetups.
- Training Team: Updated outdated course thumbnails, enhancing the learning experience.
- Core Team: Conducted a live bug scrub with 9 committers and 16 contributors collaborating on improvements.
- Documentation Team: Completed numerous content updates to ensure resources remain fresh and reliable.
Showcase Day: WordPress in Action
Following Contributor Day, Showcase Day spotlighted real-world innovation in WordPress. Initially expected to draw about 250 participants, the event exceeded expectations with over 800 attendees. Sessions demonstrated how WordPress powers meaningful work across various industries, from nonprofits to newsrooms and global enterprises, all while adhering to open-source values.
Amy Sample Ward opened the day with a keynote titled "The Tech That Comes Next," drawing from their co-authored book with Afua Bruce. The talk highlighted the inequities in today’s technologies, challenging attendees to rethink how tools are funded, built, and deployed. This was a call to imagine a more equitable digital future rooted in collaboration and shared responsibility.
Joeleen Kennedy of Human Made discussed how Full Site Editing (FSE) is transforming Wikimedia’s user experience, simplifying workflows, improving accessibility, and making the platform more sustainable. Attendees gained insights into how one of the world’s largest open knowledge platforms leverages WordPress innovation.
Josh Bryant’s session explored advanced techniques for scaling editorial tools while maintaining WordPress’s flexibility. His talk, "Reimagining WordPress Editing," delved into embedding the block editor into a standalone React application to support Dow Jones’s newsroom workflows.
Hands-on learning was a hallmark of Showcase Day, exemplified by Jamie Marsland’s workshop, which guided participants through building and launching their professional portfolio sites without coding. This demonstrated WordPress’s capacity to empower anyone to publish online.
Jeffrey Paul’s session, "Scalable, Ethical AI," addressed the integration of AI without compromising ownership, privacy, or open standards. Using practical use cases with ClassifAI and local LLMs, Paul highlighted how WordPress can help content creators harness AI while maintaining data autonomy.
The day concluded with WordPress Campus Connect, an initiative bringing WordPress into classrooms and universities worldwide. The panel discussion emphasized the potential of connecting students and educators with the open web, building the next generation of contributors and innovators.
Presentation Days: A Space for Learning and Inspiration
The first full day of sessions at WordCamp US 2025 opened with gratitude from the organizing team, thanking attendees for their energy and participation. The Sponsor Hall became a hub of activity, featuring raffles, Career Corner, and even a Voodoo Donut Truck. Attendees engaged in the "hallway track," where spontaneous conversations often became the most memorable parts of the event.
Danny Sullivan’s keynote shed light on the evolution of search, from 24/7 demand and mobile expectations to short-form video and AI. His session offered insights into how search intersects with publishing today and sparked conversations about WordPress’s adaptability in an AI-driven era.
The schedule included multiple tracks, with the Core AI panel exploring how AI tools integrate into WordPress core. Emphasizing ethics, transparency, and user empowerment, the panel outlined a roadmap for adopting new technologies without compromising open-source values.
Interactive sessions like Ryan Welcher’s Block Developer Cookbook allowed attendees to explore community-selected code recipes built on the latest WordPress APIs. Participants left with practical strategies and working examples to implement in their projects.
The program also showcased diverse technical perspectives. Jemima Abu’s session bridged the gap between classic and modern web development, while Adam Gazzaley’s keynote explored the intersection of AI and health, inviting attendees to consider the human side of technology.
The second day of presentations opened with John Maeda’s keynote, "Cozy AI Cooking: WordCamp Edition," demystifying AI with storytelling and technical insights. Tammie Lister’s session, "The System is the Strategy," illustrated how design systems provide structure and scalability for growing WordPress projects.
Community stories were also highlighted, with Anne McCarthy, Jamie Marsland, Christian Taylor, Mark Szymanski, and Michael Cunningham reflecting on how YouTubers and content creators shape the WordPress ecosystem. Their session emphasized the role of storytelling and education in expanding WordPress’s reach.
A Vision for the Future
As the event concluded, Matt Mullenweg shared the current state of WordPress and a vision for its future. He highlighted growth in social media and the WordPress.org website, emphasizing community initiatives like WordPress Campus Connect, which has reached 570 students across 11 events.
Mullenweg’s live Q&A session addressed questions on WordPress’s direction, its role in an AI-driven web, and the importance of keeping the project open, inclusive, and adaptable. The event closed with a party in downtown Portland, celebrating the community’s achievements and connections.
Closing
WordCamp US 2025 once again showcased the extraordinary nature of the WordPress ecosystem, driven by a community committed to building tools and opportunities that empower people worldwide. The debut of the Open Horizons Scholarship, supporting participation in flagship events, highlighted efforts to make WordCamp more accessible to contributors globally.
As attendees left with new ideas, meaningful connections, and renewed energy, the spirit of collaboration and innovation continued to resonate. The next global gatherings, including WordCamp Asia 2026 in Mumbai, WordCamp Europe 2026 in Kraków, and WordCamp US 2026 in Phoenix, promise to be exciting chapters in the WordPress story. We look forward to seeing you there!
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