This week in WordPress news, GeneratePress launched new education-focused starter site templates, while Crocoblock unveiled a digest with tutorials for building dynamic websites. WordPress announced it will move to one major release per year for improved stability. WPBeginner acquired aThemes, expanding its WordPress offerings, and WordPress now powers 43% of the web. New features, plugin updates, and upcoming WordPress events were also highlighted, making it an exciting week for the community.
⚡ What’s Buzzing in WordPress?
Stay informed with the most important updates, trends, and alerts across the WordPress world:
Massive Ad Fraud Operation Exploits WordPress Sites
A massive online ad fraud scheme named Scallywag hijacked thousands of WordPress sites to serve 1.4 billion fake ad requests daily. Discovered by cybersecurity firm HUMAN, the operation used four malicious WordPress plugins—Soralink, Yu Idea, WPSafeLink, and Droplink—to redirect visitors and force ad rendering on pirated content sites.
Since pirated sites can’t display ads due to ad policy violations, scammers partnered with shady site owners to monetize traffic using deceptive tactics like fake CAPTCHAs and “please wait” buttons. They even posted YouTube tutorials to help others replicate the scam.
Though HUMAN successfully blocked most of the activity (reducing traffic by 95%), the scheme isn’t completely dead as attackers have shifted to new domains and monetization methods. Users are advised to remain cautious.
GeneratePress Launches New Starter Sites for Education
GeneratePress has released a new collection of starter site templates designed specifically for the education space. These templates are ideal for teachers, online course creators, and academic institutions who want to quickly launch a professional-looking site without hiring a developer. Each layout is fast, clean, and easy to customize—great for learning-focused websites.
Crocoblock’s March Digest: Tutorials & Creative Use Cases
Crocoblock—creators of JetPlugins—has released their March 2025 “Croco Educates” digest. It includes new step-by-step tutorials, real-world examples, and tips for building more dynamic WordPress websites. Whether you’re a beginner or pro, there’s something to learn from their latest roundup.
WordPress to Move to One Major Release Per Year
A big change is coming: WordPress is shifting to a single major core release every year. This means fewer rushed updates, more time for testing, and a stronger focus on quality. The move is aimed at improving stability, especially as contributor participation has declined recently.
WPBeginner Acquires aThemes
WPBeginner has announced the acquisition of aThemes, the creators of popular WordPress themes like Sydney. This acquisition aims to expand WPBeginner’s portfolio of WordPress resources, providing users with more theme options and enhancing the overall user experience.
Matt Mullenweg Attempts to Unblock All Accounts
Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress, recently attempted to unblock all accounts on his X (formerly Twitter) profile. However, he encountered issues with the platform’s interface, stating, “I tried to unblock all accounts today, but the X interface is broken. I’ll figure out how to unblock everyone.”
WordPress Powers Over 43% of the Web
As of April 2025, WordPress powers approximately 43.4% of all websites, maintaining its position as the most widely used content management system (CMS). This dominance is attributed to its open-source nature, extensive plugin ecosystem, and active community support. Despite a slight fluctuation in market share, WordPress continues to be the preferred choice for website creation.
SureCart Surpasses 100,000 Stores
Adam Preiser, co-founder of SureCart, shared that the e-commerce platform has reached a significant milestone: over 100,000 active stores. This growth reflects the platform’s rising popularity among online retailers seeking a WordPress-integrated shopping solution.
WordPress 6.8 “Cecil” Released
WordPress has released version 6.8, codenamed “Cecil” in honor of jazz pianist Cecil Taylor. This update introduces several key improvements, including a revamped Style Book with clearer labels and compatibility with Classic themes for easier global style management. It also features speculative loading to speed up page load times by preloading links before they are clicked. Security has been strengthened with bcrypt password hashing, offering better protection for user credentials. Additionally, over 100 accessibility fixes have been made to enhance the overall user experience across the platform.
WordPress.com Introduces AI Website Builder
WordPress.com has launched an AI-powered website builder designed to simplify the site creation process. Users can now generate fully designed websites by simply describing their ideas through a chatbot-style interface. This tool is particularly beneficial for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and bloggers seeking a quick and hassle-free way to establish an online presence. While advanced features like e-commerce are not yet supported, future updates are anticipated.
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✨ Fresh Features Rollout
- PushEngage Unleashes AI Power
Craft high-converting push notifications in seconds with AI Text Generation—just describe it and let the AI do the rest. Plus, send campaigns in any language with powerful built-in multilingual support.
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- Recover Lost Revenue with MonsterInsights Cart Abandonment Reports
Track exactly which products are being abandoned, when, and how much potential revenue you’re losing. With real-time cart abandonment insights, you can optimize your checkout flow, reduce losses, and recover more sales.
Get Started with Cart Abandonment Reports - Modern Cart for WooCommerce Is Here!
Say goodbye to clunky checkouts! Modern Cart transforms your WooCommerce cart into a sleek, fast, and sales-optimized experience—complete with smart upsells, free shipping progress bars, and mobile-friendly design. Customize everything to match your brand, no coding needed.
Explore Modern Cart Now - Nested Rows for Divi 5: Build Complex Layouts with Ease
Say hello to infinite nesting with Divi 5! Add rows inside rows, unlock new column sizing options, and create advanced, flexible layouts with ease. This is just the start—stay tuned for more features like flexbox controls and new row templates.
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🚨Spotlight Pick
n8n – Flexible AI Workflow Automation for Technical Teams
n8n offers unparalleled flexibility in workflow automation, allowing you to build with the precision of code or the simplicity of drag-and-drop. Whether you prefer on-prem control or cloud convenience, n8n lets you create multi-step AI agents and integrate apps like never before. Perfect for technical teams looking for freedom and power in their automation solutions.
🆕 Fresh Releases
- Inspiro AI – Craft Professional Layouts with AI-Powered Design
Inspiro AI empowers you to create custom layouts tailored to your industry with zero coding. Generate engaging content, add visuals, and design complete pages with a few clicks—just type your ideas, and AI does the rest!
Get Started - Seattle News – A Versatile WordPress Theme for Publishers
Seattle News is a clean, fast, and SEO-optimized theme for blogs, magazines, and news websites. It offers a visually stunning, responsive design with flexible layouts, unlimited color options, and support for RTL languages. Perfect for news portals, personal blogs, lifestyle content, travel, fashion, and more. Easy to use with popular plugins like Elementor and Yoast SEO.
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🗓️ Mark Your Calendar
If you’re looking for opportunities to network and learn, check out these upcoming WordPress events and meetups:
- Clean Architecture Masterclass (May 12-15, 2025)
- WordCamp Lisboa (May 16-17, 2025)
- WordCamp Leipzig (May 16,-17, 2025)
- WordCamp Johor Bahru (May 17, 2025)
- The Principal Dev – Masterclass for Tech Leads (May 22-23, 2025)
- Clean Code: The Next Level (Jun 5-6, 2025)
- WordCamp Europe (June 5-7, 2025)
- WordCamp Pokhara (June 13-14, 2025)
- WordCamp US (August 26-29th, 2025)
- WordCamp Asia (Mumbai, 2026)
That’s a wrap for this week’s WPDigest! Stay tuned for more exciting WordPress updates next week.
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