The Month in WordPress – January 2022

There are a few significant moments in the history of the WordPress project. January 2022 is one of them, with the release of WordPress 5.9! But that’s not all. Read on to learn more about the latest updates and achievements from the community.

WordPress 5.9 Joséphine is here

Meet WordPress 5.9 Joséphine. Named in honor of the acclaimed jazz singer, Joséphine Baker, this is one of the much-awaited releases. Version 5.9 brings full site editing to WordPress, among other exciting updates! Download WordPress 5.9 and try the new features!

Check out the WordPress 5.9 Field Guide to learn more. Lastly, everyone’s invited to participate in a retrospective of the WordPress 5.9 Joséphine release!

Are you interested in contributing to WordPress core? Join the #core channel, follow the Core Team blog, and check out the team handbook. Also, don’t miss the Core Team’s weekly developer chat on Wednesdays at 8 PM UTC.

Gutenberg releases: Versions 12.3, 12.4, and 12.5 are here

The Core Team launched three new versions of Gutenberg since last month’s edition of the Month in WordPress.

• Gutenberg 12.5 brings global styles variations and Query Loop block enhancements, along with the Code Editor view to the Side Editor. Moreover, inserting new buttons is now easier than ever!
• Gutenberg 12.4 was released on January 19, 2022. This version includes accessibility improvements, suggestions for assigning categories, keyboard shortcuts for the Site Editor, and more. 
• Gutenberg 12.3 was released on January 5, 2022. This release brings new blocks, like the Author Name, Comments Next Page, and Comments Previous Page blocks, and many other cool updates!

Want to get involved in developing Gutenberg? Follow the Core Team blog, contribute to Gutenberg on GitHub, and join the #core-editor channel in the Make WordPress Slack. Follow the #gutenberg-new tag for details on the latest updates.

Team updates: Proposals, announcements, and more for 2022

• Executive Director Josepha Haden shared a proposal on 2022 major release timing. 
• The Core Team made a proposal regarding proper attributions for contributions to WordPress on GitHub, but it has since then been withdrawn. 
• Check out the preliminary roadmap for WordPress 6.0 (Gutenberg Phase Two). 
• Core Team members proposed improvements to the Core Editor chat agenda and format. 
• The Accessibility Team made some major goal proposals for WordPress 6.0.
• The Polyglots Team shared a proposal for a milestone template for polyglots locale teams.
• The January 2022 edition of the Polyglots monthly newsletter is out!
• The Community Team shared an open invitation for the Diverse Speaker Training group Zoom call.
• Although the WordPress Photo Directory hasn’t fully launched yet, you can now submit your images. You can also contribute in other ways, as there’s currently a call for volunteers.
• The Community Team will be hosting open discussion sessions to collaborate on the Community Team goals for 2022. 
• The January 2022 edition of the Meetup Organizer Newsletter was published.
• The Community Team shared a proposal for mandatory safety measures for in-person WordPress events this year. 
• Openverse has now a redesigned user interface and includes support for audio files. Check out this post to learn what’s new.
• The Training Team published its February 2022 Team Sprint.

Take the course on Learn WordPress to learn about the full site editing features in WordPress 5.9!  Also, help spread the word about social learning spaces on Twitter!

Feedback/Testing requests: Share your thoughts on WordPress 5.9 Joséphine

• There’s currently a call for testing WordPress for Android 19.1 and iOS 19.1, along with Android 19.0 and iOS 19.0.

Share your feedback on the release of WordPress 5.9 Joséphine.

WordCamp Europe 2022 wants volunteers, photographers and media partners

• WordCamp Birmingham, Alabama has been postponed until spring. 
• The WordPress Foundation published a post explaining more about the nonprofit’s mission and why it exists.
• Don’t miss the following upcoming WordCamps: 
  • WordCamp Prague, Switzerland on February  26, 2022 (online)
  • WordCamp Genève, Switzerland on April 9, 2022 (in-person)
  • WordCamp Athens, Greece between April 9 and 10, 2022 (in person)
  • WordCamp Vienna, Austria from April 23 to 24, 2022 (in person)
  • WordCamp Europe in Porto, Portugal from June 2 to 4, 2022 (in person)
  • WordCamp US in San Diego, CA USA from September 9-11, 200  (in person)

WordCamp Europe 2022 opened a new call for volunteers, photographers, and media partners!

Have a story that we could include in the next ‘Month in WordPress’ post? Let us know by filling out this form.

The following folks contributed to January 2022’s Month in WordPress: @anjanavasan @harishanker @rmartinezduque @lmurillom