In WordPress 7.0, the post editor canvas will always run inside an iframe, even if older blocks registered with Block API version 1 or 2 are present.
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Program transcript
Hello, I’m Alicia Ireland, and you’re listening to WPpodcast, bringing the weekly news from the WordPress Community.
In this episode, you’ll find the information from February 9 to 15, 2026.
In WordPress 7.0, the post editor canvas will always be inside an iframe, even if there are older blocks registered with Block API version 1 or 2.
Until now, the editor was already an iframe in the Site Editor and the Template Editor, but in the post editor there was an inconsistency. The presence of blocks using API v2 could “force” the legacy non iframe mode, resulting in two different behaviors depending on context and therefore two separate compatibility surfaces for users, plugins, and extensions.
WordPress has been preparing this change for years, first by using the Template Editor as a testing ground, then adding transitional measures and notices in 6.9, and finally closing the inconsistency in 7.0 with a single operating mode.
It matters for three practical reasons.
First, style isolation. The iframe separates theme and block styles from admin styles, reducing collisions and broken interfaces caused by third party global CSS, and making the editor more predictable.
Second, JavaScript and DOM isolation. Inside the iframe there is a different document and a different window, and any block or plugin that assumes it can manipulate the global admin DOM, or query nodes outside the canvas, may fail or behave unexpectedly.
Third, a single platform for extension. When the editor always works the same way, it is easier to maintain compatibility, document patterns, and evolve the editor without carrying historical exceptions.
WordPress 7.0 includes many changes, and this is one of the most relevant for those using blocks and plugins that are not yet adapted to this new major version.
We now have confirmed dates for the WordPress 7.0 release, which begins in just a few days.
The process will start on Tuesday, February 19, with Beta 1, move to the first Release Candidate on March 19, and culminate around the dates of WordCamp Asia. In this case, code freeze will take place on Wednesday, April 8, and the final release will happen on Thursday, April 9, during Contributor Day.
The AI team has introduced the plugin AI Experiments 0.3, which debuts three new experiments integrated into the editor, expanding how artificial intelligence can directly support the content creation workflow in WordPress.
The Content Summarization experiment allows generating concise summaries of long posts directly from the editor and displaying them with a dedicated block, exploring editorial assistance without replacing the author’s voice.
The Featured Image Generation experiment makes it possible to create featured images based on post content from the editor sidebar, including alt text generation when enabled, helping sites without design resources automatically generate useful images.
The Alt Text Generation experiment focuses on improving accessibility by helping authors generate contextual descriptions for images.
In addition to these tools, version 0.3 refines the plugin’s user experience and settings, with clearer controls for enabling or disabling experiments and shortcuts from the plugins screen to make navigation easier.
Regarding the possible integration of the WP AI Client into WordPress 7.0, the need for a broad and visible code review has been emphasized to build trust beyond the AI working group, reinforcing perceptions of technical maturity and consensus.
Concerns have been raised about including third party dependencies in WordPress core, both in terms of precedent and maintenance impact, although adjustments have already been made to reduce their footprint. The long standing debate of merging into Core versus keeping it as a plugin has also resurfaced, with arguments that integration would improve accessibility, establish clearer standards, and avoid additional maintenance layers in the long term.
The timeline adds pressure, as WordPress 7.0 Beta 1 is scheduled for February 19, leaving a limited review window. While there is no explicit rejection of the proposal, discussion continues and further debate is expected.
In parallel, additional provider plugins have been released, such as Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, and OpenAI ChatGPT, and contributors are encouraged to provide concrete feedback based on real testing, as well as use cases that demonstrate stability and practical usefulness.
The Documentation team has proposed gamifying contributions. It has been noted that a traditional competitive system could discourage new participants if they feel they have little chance of “winning”, but since the real objective is to lower the barrier to entry and encourage trying different types of tasks within the team, the proposal will be adjusted to prioritize initial participation and exploration.
The new approach will award more points to getting started tasks, including bonuses for completing a type of task for the first time, and will reflect progress both in accumulated points and through a pathway of titles or levels. In addition, when someone becomes an official team member, they will be considered to have reached the goal of the game and will stop competing.
Within the Community team, an interesting discussion has opened. Matt Mullenweg, co founder of WordPress, is the one initiating the conversation and shares that at the moment, talks at Meetups or WordCamps that focus exclusively on specific products are discouraged, even if most users interact with WordPress through popular products.
The reasoning is that community events should focus on educational and practical content, not on sales demonstrations of a specific product or service, in order to preserve the open and learning oriented nature of the community.
Matt points to a possible exception. If a company is a Global Sponsor of the community, meaning it has invested at a high sponsorship level, its product could be considered for talks, as that investment and commitment reflect relevance to the user base.
In response, prominent community members add nuance based on existing guidelines in the Meetup and WordCamp handbooks, which already ask organizers to avoid commercially driven events and to approach talks from an educational rather than promotional perspective.
While there is agreement that not all product mentions are negative if they are contextualized within real solutions or workflows, there is also a proposal to explore a middle ground where sponsors gain visibility through workshops, demos, or dedicated spaces outside the main talk tracks.
And finally, this podcast is distributed under a Creative Commons license as a derivative version of the podcast in Spanish; you can find all the links for more information, and the podcast in other languages, at WPpodcast .org.
Thanks for listening, and until the next episode!
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