If you use WordPress in any capacity, it’s a good idea to stay informed about the platform and it’s community. Three types of news in particular should be paid special attention to: official WordPress announcements and development updates, prominent third party development updates (specifically, those of the tools in your “WordPress Tool Kit”), and finally, broader WordPress Community conversations including users and thought leaders. If all of these news “types” are in your feed (or inbox) then you’ll be empowered to better understand and use WordPress as well as plan long term decisions based on current conversations and development.
In this post, we’ll run down the very best WordPress news sources to follow for 2021 and beyond.
Let’s dive in!
The Best WordPress News Sources for 2021
The list below isn’t exhaustive, but is a great start to populate your favorite RSS reader. What’s more, these sources aren’t listed in any particular order, so feel free to run the rule over the ones that pique your interest. Without further ado, let’s get started!
1. WPTavern
No list of the best WordPress news sources would be complete without WPTavern. It’s been running for over a decade, and while it’s seen some personnel changes over the years, its core offering of up-to-date WordPress news is still strong.
The types of articles you’ll find on WPTavern are focused on what’s happening “under the hood” of WordPress. Given this, posts are generally developer-focused, and you can get a feel for the reader base from the comments section.
Speaking of which, most articles have a healthy discussion within the comments section. We’d argue this is a great way of getting to know how the “back end” community feels about certain topics:
Finally, it’s worth pointing out that WPTavern has been owned by Automattic – the developers of WordPress – since 2011. However, this hasn’t affected the quality of the output in our opinion, nor has it introduced any explicit bias in which stories are covered.
2. Post Status
Next up, Post Status takes the focus of WPTavern and ramps it up a notch. It’s billed as a community for WordPress professionals, and as such, is the first place many budding theme and plugin creators go for their daily news fixes.
The site is run by Brian Krogsgard, and iThemes’ Cory Miller joined as a partner in 2020. Both are experienced WordPress professionals, backed up by an equally impressive team. Between them, Post Status offers a number of channels to receive the latest WordPress news. While the site was initially known as a straightforward news site, it’s now grown to include a newsletter and podcast (which we’d recommend subscribing to).
However, if you need more from Post Status, you could also purchase a membership. This offers well-researched industry insights, a private Slack channel, and much more. While there is value in its free offerings, Post Status’ subscription tier is likely a valuable investment for many WordPress developers.
3. Twitter
Among the primordial soup of Tweets, you can find some of the earliest-breaking WordPress news. Of course, you have to know where to look. The beauty of the platform is that there are plenty of ways to source quality industry updates.
For example, you could simply follow all of the news sources on this list, and wait for them to Tweet content. Alternatively, you could also follow the developers of WordPress products, and get firsthand insight into what’s happening with various companies.
Of course, you’re also going to want to follow topics using hashtags and other trending search terms to find the news you want. Some popular options related to WordPress include:
- #wordpress
- #wp
- #webdevelopment
- #webdesign
- #seo
- #plugins
You might also look into hashtags related to specific plugins or themes you’re interested in. For instance, #divi features some updates and content related to our flagship theme and page builder.
To find the latest content using the hashtags you’re interested in, just type them into the search bar on the Explore page:
Overall, using Twitter to get your WordPress news is a double-edged sword. It can provide lots of valuable information, but you’ll need to have a strategy for sorting through its ocean of content.
4. Ma.tt
Including the site of Matt Mullenweg – the co-creator of WordPress – is, on one hand, a no-brainer when it comes to finding WordPress news. However, we’ll admit that Matt doesn’t only publish platform-centric posts. In the spirit of WordPress itself, Ma.tt is a blog, and topics are discussed somewhat at random.
For example, you’ll find posts about the acquisition of Tumblr there. However, you’ll also get a yearly “What’s in my bag?” post, discussions on live streaming equipment, and much more.
On the surface, Ma.tt isn’t going to be a place you’ll get early breaking WordPress news. However, when it comes to getting inside the mind of a leading entrepreneur, you can’t beat it. At the very least, reading the content here is going to help you understand why you read the stories you do, and why those decisions have ultimately been made.
5. Make WordPress
When it comes to WordPress news, you could consider Make WordPress an almost perfect blend between Ma.tt, Post Status, and direct developer updates. It’s not a bonafide news source per se, although when it comes to official WordPress updates, it’s the place to be.
For the uninitiated, the Make WordPress website is essentially a microsite for contributors to the platform. As such, you’ll find dedicated areas for Themes, Plugins, Marketing, Core code, and much more. The primary purpose of these different teams is to provide a central repository for updates and resources. However, given that the channels are public, it’s also a great way to get WordPress news on any aspect of the platform.
Our advice is to subscribe for updates through an RSS reader. It could be noisy at times, as some of the posts aren’t designed as reading material for end-users. However, for upcoming updates and changes to WordPress’ offerings – the Block Editor being a perfect example – it’s a goldmine of information.
6. Developer Blogs
We mentioned direct developer updates in the last entry, and following specific theme and plugin blogs will also net you plenty of WordPress news. While the blogs on product sites are often centered around content marketing, you’ll also find changelogs, updates, and other news-worthy tidbits.
There are a few tips we recommend for filtering out the noise here. First, see if your RSS reader can filter based on taxonomies. If so, check out the blog of your chosen WordPress product for any categories or tags that relate to news.
Also, we don’t recommend following all of the developers you can find. Some of the more important ones – such as Automattic, Yoast, and of course, Elegant Themes – will likely be all you need.
Second, see if the product developers run personal blogs. It could be that these sites don’t contain anything WordPress-related. However, in some instances, you’ll find greater insight into the decisions by the company as a whole, which ultimately gives you more information.
7. WP Content
Next on our list is a modern throwback to the old ManageWP.org aggregator. That site sadly doesn’t exist anymore, although WP Content looks to take its place. So far, the fledgling site succeeds.
It’s a community-driven website that aggregates WordPress news and ranks it accordingly. Since the lists are user-driven, it means these articles are genuinely the most engaging for other WordPress users. As such, you can see at a glance what the WordPress community is currently taking notice of.
What’s more, there are dedicated comments sections for all posts, so users can discuss the relative merits of each inclusion. This is going to give you greater insight into how the WordPress community enjoys (or doesn’t enjoy) the information it receives.
8. Torque
Our next entry is a site that’s been around for a similar timeframe as WPTavern. However, Torque is more of a classic content site. In other words, it offers how-to’s and tutorials, alongside hot takes and editorials on current WordPress events.
Therefore, we’d argue that while its content is valuable, Torque is going to be more of a secondary source of WordPress news. Given that it offers content that expands on the latest WordPress happenings, you’ll want to consider Torque articles alongside previous breaking news, rather than as a go-to source for the latest. However, Doc Pop’s News Drop and Torque’s Social Hour are great listens that stand on their own.
Also, it’s worth noting that Torque is part of the WP Engine group. This is, of course, similar to WPTavern and Automattic. In our experience, we’ve also seen no bias or control exercised by WP Engine. As such, it’s a fine source of WordPress news that you’ll want to add to your list.
9. Wordfence
Finally, we have a WordPress plugin developer we’d like to single out. While the Wordfence blog doesn’t contain current WordPress news reporting, it does offer something just as interesting.
Wordfence is often a leading source when it comes to security issues surrounding WordPress products. You’ll often find very detailed breakdowns of recent vulnerability fixes in various WordPress themes and plugins. In addition, the Wordfence blog has also investigated Direct Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and their actors, and much more.
When it comes to security – and more importantly the work the Threat Intelligence Team does to uncover WordPress vulnerabilities – this blog is worth its weight in platinum. We recommend subscribing for daily updates in order to help keep your sites safer.
Conclusion
Rather than a need for gossip, keeping tabs on the latest WordPress news is vital to understanding how the community as a whole operates. What’s more, key updates and developments can only be found “straight from the horse’s mouth.” As such, subscribing to one or more news sources will help you keep a finger on the pulse of the WordPress community across a broad range of roles.
For general purpose news, a site such as WPTavern is going to fit the bill. However, to find out what other WordPress users are reading, WP Content is worth investigating. Finally, running the rule over the Make WordPress website will give you insight into how the platform is being developed, while Wordfence offers an in-depth look at how to keep your WordPress users safe.
Have we missed a vital source of WordPress news? Let us know in the comments section below!
Article image by Sammby / shutterstock.com
Thank you for this post! WpTavern is great! Never heard about Torque, but it seems like a usefull website.
I also love Kinsta blog, they have some really good articles and tutorials.
Thanks for the recommendation, Syd!
You just missed my blog on this list, haha joking! Anyway, Great list of websites that really add value to the WordPress knowledge of beginners. Thanks for the content!
Thanks for your comment, Hari!
Oooo, two new ones to check out. WP Content and Torque look very interesting. I’m adding them to my weekly “check it out” list – alongside Elegant Themes, of course! Thanks for the great list of resources.
Glad you found it interesting, Amanda! Happy reading 🙂
Great content will! I will definitely follow some of these websites for updated news! Thanks.
Thank you, Rohan!