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[SITUATION] · [ACTIVE] · [TECHNOLOGY]

3 clusters · 10 sources · 13 days · First seen · Last updated

WordPress 7.1 ‘Mary Lou’ release

Overview

WordPress 7.1, code-named ‘Mary Lou’ in honor of jazz musician Mary Lou Williams, was officially released on 19 August 2026 to coincide with the final day of WordCamp US.

The update introduces significant design and workflow enhancements, including built-in responsive styling for blocks to ensure compatibility across devices without custom CSS, and a persistent admin bar. New functional blocks include Tabs and Audio Playlists, while the Icon block now features a new API for registering custom icons. The media editor has been rebuilt with a full modal, supporting freeform and aspect-ratio cropping, flipping, and rotation.

Collaboration tools have been expanded through an upgraded Notes system that supports rich text, @mentions, and threaded comments. Technical shifts include the block editor moving to an iframe, necessitating the use of Block API v3. Media support has also been broadened to include HEIC, AVIF, WebP, and UltraHDR formats. While real-time collaboration was anticipated, it has been postponed for this release. To ensure a smooth transition, WPML released version 4.9.7, which addresses security hardening and fixes a specific issue where taxonomy panel labels in the Gutenberg editor displayed in the admin language rather than the active editing language.

Entities

WordPress · Gutenberg · WordPress Beta Tester plugin · Mary Lou Williams · WPML

Timeline

  1. 5 days ago

    [TECHNOLOGY] 8 sources
    WordPress 7.1 ‘Mary Lou’ release introduces major editor and collaboration updates

    WordPress 7.1, code-named ‘Mary Lou’, has launched with an iframe-based editor, enhanced responsive styling, improved media tools, and upgraded collaboration features like @mentions in Notes.

  2. 8 days ago

    [TECHNOLOGY] 2 sources
    WordPress 7.1 scheduled for release on 19 August 2026

    WordPress 7.1 is set for release on 19 August 2026, introducing code-free styling, new blocks, and enhanced media editing tools.

  3. 18 days ago

    [TECHNOLOGY] 5 sources
    WordPress 7.1 Release Candidate 1 Available for Testing

    WordPress 7.1 RC1 released for testing with over 145 updates and new features; final version slated for Aug 19 2026.

Sources

developpez.net · es.wordpress.org · kulturegeek.fr · mycred.me · obrienmedia.co.uk · publishingblog.ch · rolair.com · sadio.org.ar · themify.me · wpml.org

This summary has been updated 2 times: see revision history