Digest 110: 👋 Goodbye RocketTheme: End of a 20-Year Era

Stay in the loop with this week’s biggest WordPress stories — from product launches and security fixes to community moves and major milestones.

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💡 WordPress Spotlight

WordPress Launches AI Team to Drive Open Innovation

WordPress has announced the formation of a dedicated AI Team to coordinate and accelerate artificial intelligence initiatives across the platform. This team aims to ensure that AI developments align with WordPress’s core values of openness and community collaboration. By adopting a plugin-first approach, the team plans to iterate rapidly and integrate AI features responsibly. (Source)

Automattic Recommits to WordPress Core Development

After a strategic pause, Automattic has announced its renewed commitment to contributing to the WordPress project. The company plans to focus on key areas including WordPress Core, Gutenberg, Playground, Openverse, and WordPress.org. (Source)

WordPress Plugin Submissions Surge by 87% in 2025

The WordPress ecosystem is experiencing significant growth, with new plugin submissions increasing by 87% compared to the previous year. This surge is attributed to advancements in AI integration and improvements in the plugin review process, including automated tools and internal scanners. (Source)

Fueled & Google: Powering Site Kit for 5M+ WordPress Sites

Fueled, in collaboration with Google, has been instrumental in developing and scaling Site Kit—a plugin that integrates Google’s tools like Analytics and AdSense directly into the WordPress dashboard. Starting with a small team, Fueled now maintains over 25 experts dedicated to Site Kit, supporting its growth to over 5 million active installations. (Source)

EDD EU VAT Plugin Listed for Acquisition

Katie Keith of Barn2 is seeking a new owner for the Easy Digital Downloads EU VAT plugin. With $14,712 in annual revenue (up 61% YoY), low refund rates, and loyal customers, it’s a turnkey opportunity for plugin buyers. Asking price: $44,136. (Source)

RocketTheme Bids Farewell After 20 Years

RocketTheme, a pioneer in Joomla and WordPress theming, has announced its closure effective June 30, 2025. Over two decades, RocketTheme introduced innovations like the Gantry Framework, influencing modern web design practices. As a token of appreciation, they’re offering a 50% discount on all themes with the promo code THANKYOU before shutting down. (Source)

MasterStudy LMS Pro Vulnerability Affects 15,000+ Sites

A critical security flaw has been identified in the MasterStudy LMS Pro WordPress plugin, affecting over 15,000 active installations. The vulnerability allows authenticated users, such as subscribers, to upload arbitrary files, potentially leading to full site compromise. This issue also impacts the MasterStudy Education theme from ThemeForest, which includes the Pro plugin. (Source)

Automattic Launches Open Horizons Scholarship

Automattic has introduced the Open Horizons Scholarship with a $30,000 donation to the WordPress Foundation. This initiative aims to support WordPress contributors from underrepresented, underserved, and economically disadvantaged backgrounds by facilitating their attendance at flagship events like WordCamp Asia, Europe, and the US. (Source)

WordCamp Europe 2025 Receives European Parliament Patronage

WordCamp Europe 2025, scheduled for June 5–7 in Basel, Switzerland, has been honored with the official Patronage of the European Parliament for the second consecutive year. This recognition underscores the event’s significance in promoting the open web, innovation, and cross-border collaboration within the European community. (Source)

WP Rocket Partners with Hosting.com for Global Performance Boost

WP Rocket has announced a strategic partnership with Hosting.com, integrating its caching plugin directly into Hosting.com’s services. The collaboration aims to deliver enhanced WordPress performance, starting with Webcentral in Australia and expanding to North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. (Source)

Join the WordPress Core Team at WCEU 2025 Contributor Day

The WordPress Core Team invites contributors to participate in Contributor Day on June 5, 2025, in Basel, Switzerland, as part of WordCamp Europe 2025. This event offers opportunities for both new and experienced contributors to engage in activities such as bug fixing, testing, documentation, and onboarding. It’s a chance to collaborate, learn, and make a meaningful impact on the WordPress project. (Source) 

Over 100,000 WordPress Sites at Risk from Critical Wishlist Plugin Vulnerability

A critical unpatched vulnerability (CVE-2025-47577) has been discovered in the TI WooCommerce Wishlist plugin, affecting over 100,000 WordPress sites. The flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to upload arbitrary files, potentially leading to remote code execution. The issue stems from improper file validation in the tinvwl_upload_file_wc_fields_factory function. Users are advised to deactivate and remove the plugin until a patch is released. (Source)

WordPress 6.8.1 Maintenance Release Now Available

WordPress 6.8.1 has been released, addressing 15 bugs across Core and the Block Editor. This short-cycle maintenance update improves stability in areas such as the block editor, multisite functionality, and the REST API. Sites supporting automatic updates will receive this update automatically. (Source)

Mini Plugins Launches ‘Anniversary for WooCommerce’ Plugin

Mini Plugins has introduced the ‘Anniversary for WooCommerce’ plugin, designed to enhance customer loyalty by automatically sending personalized emails on the anniversary of a customer’s registration. The emails include the customer’s name, registration date, and the number of years since they joined, fostering engagement and appreciation. (Source)

TMS Rebrands to Melograno Venture Studio

TMS has officially rebranded as Melograno Venture Studio, marking a bold shift in its identity and future vision. The new brand signals a broader focus on innovation, product incubation, and strategic growth across digital ventures. (Source)

✨ Fresh Features Rollout

1. WooCommerce 9.9 Preview
   WooCommerce 9.9 is set to launch on June 2, bringing big performance improvements and time-saving tools for store owners and developers. Highlights include Blueprints for exporting store settings, faster dashboards, selective product exports, and a new native option to hide shipping rates when free shipping is available. (Source)
2. Elementor Launches Editor V4 Alpha: A Major Leap in Web Design
   Elementor has introduced Editor V4 Alpha, a powerful new CSS-first framework aimed at solving long-standing pain points in web design. It brings reusable Classes and interactive States, a unified Style Tab, full responsive control, and performance gains through a simplified DOM. (Source)
3. Divi 5 Gets Settings Search & Filtering for a Faster Workflow
   Divi 5 just got a whole lot easier to use! The new Settings Search and Filtering feature lets you quickly find design options by keyword and filter settings by type or state—like font, size, or even just the ones you’ve modified. (Source)
4. WPCode 2.2.8 Makes Schema Markup Easy for Everyone!
   The latest WPCode update (v2.2.8) brings 20 new schema markup generators that make SEO easier than ever! Now, you can generate schema for articles, FAQs, recipes, product reviews, and more—without writing a single line of code. Just fill out a form and insert the snippet with a click. (Source)
5. Say Goodbye to Spam with Formidable Forms’ Enhanced Anti-Spam Tools!
   Tired of spam cluttering your inbox? Formidable Forms’ latest anti-spam update brings powerful, multi-layer protection—including Honeypot tech, StopForumSpam API, custom word filters, and intelligent content checks. (Source)
   

🆕 Fresh Releases

• SureRank (Beta)
  An SEO plugin and RankMath alternative – is now available for download in beta. This simple, lightweight SEO plugin helps your site improve its rankings effortlessly. Get exclusive early access. (Source)
• ACME.BOT – AI SEO Writer & Content Generator
  ACME.BOT is a fully automated AI SEO writer that seamlessly integrates with WordPress to run your blog on autopilot. (Source)
• BlogKit – Advanced Blog Elements for Elementor
  BlogKit enhances Elementor with advanced blog widgets and styling options, allowing you to create stunning, responsive blog layouts with customizable post grids and support for various post formats. (Source)
• DB Reset Pro
  DB Reset Pro lets you quickly reset your WordPress database to a clean state without affecting your files or media. (Source)

🗓️ Mark Your Calendar 

• Clean Code: The Next Level (Jun 5-6, 2025)
• WordCamp Europe (June 5-7, 2025)
• WordCamp Pokhara (June 13-14, 2025)
• WordCamp Montclair (June 28, 2025)
• WordCamp US (August 26-29th, 2025)
• WordCamp Canada (October 16-17, 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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