WordCamp US 2026: The Artist and the Set of rules

Two months after my first WordCamp, I landed in Phoenix, AZ, for WordCamp US to enjoy it once more, this time in every other a part of the arena however with a identical team of folks similarly captivated with open supply. 

In the beginning look, the Arizona wilderness turns out easy, barren. However glance nearer, and there’s an class in that simplicity this is artwork in and of itself. 

Like just right generation, the whole lot has a function, not anything is wasted, and there’s attractiveness in that. At WCUS this yr that I noticed artwork and generation converge.

A four-day circle of relatives reunion 

WordCamp US 2026 ran August 16–19 on the Phoenix Conference Heart. Over 1,100 folks registered, with 1000’s extra looking at the livestreams. There have been over fifty classes throughout 4 tracks. Contributor Day drew 425 contributors — 29 of them contributing for the primary time — who arranged into 26 groups round targets they may succeed in in an afternoon.

So why make the commute when the talks are livestreamed, recorded, and recapped?

At the stroll to the development corridor, I requested Anne McCarthy the similar query (sure, we braved the warmth!). She nailed it: it’s a circle of relatives reunion. Within the age of displays, AI, and video-meeting tradition, folks don’t seem to be best yearning human connection but additionally their selected circle of relatives. 

Others who imagine in WordPress and what open supply represents. Like-minded creators and developers making issues that topic now, and optimistically for future years.

WordPress 101 Workshop: Construct a Website online

I sat in on Jamie Marsland’s amateur consultation to construct aspect by way of aspect with different WordPress customers and notice the buyer enjoy with recent eyes. 

We began from a clean web page. And there’s one thing in truth thrilling about stripping the whole lot away and going again to the fundamentals.

Once we’d constructed a couple of pages and posts, Jamie confirmed us the Duvet block (his favourite). Observing him use it felt extra like designing than development.

At the matter of educating and finding out, the WordPress 101 consultation felt complimentary to the WordPress.com Pupil Plan we introduced at WCUS. Scholars get to be informed on an actual WordPress website online, no longer a brief lecture room challenge, and the paintings they invent can stick with them after the direction ends. Be told by way of making one thing actual, then stay development on it.

Jamie’s enthusiasm for WordPress is contagious; actually, midway via his consultation, a pigeon flew into the room and settled in. It got here for the air con, stayed for the demo.

Periods aimed toward creativity, simplicity, and buyer centricity

Consistent with the artwork and generation theme, WordPress 7.1 “Mary Lou” shipped right through WordCamp – a unencumber named after the pioneering jazz artist, full of new styling equipment, up to date media flows, added notes capability, and extra. 

The outlet keynote, Dreaming with AI: Innovation Courses from the Entrance Traces of Disney & Meta, used to be delivered by way of Unswerving Pyczynski. His standpoint: AI can assist groups construct merchandise which are extra helpful and extra distinctly human, however provided that you deliver creators, builders, researchers, and communities in early, let actual experimentation power choices as an alternative of assumptions, and stay human judgment on the middle.

And his take a look at for whether or not you’ve executed your process? Consumer consideration. If the object you’ve made is just right sufficient, folks received’t get distracted — they’ll glance up and notice time has long past by way of and so they wish to stay going.

Just about part of the classes had been AI-focused or AI-adjacent, the largest appearing at a flagship WordCamp thus far. This system lined agentic construction, AI-powered plugin pipelines, vibe coding for non-technical customers, block topics and AI in company workflows, WordPress readiness for the agentic internet, and extra.  

The final consultation with Matt Mullenweg and Robert Jacobi introduced it again to simplicity. WordPress co-founder and CEO of Automattic, Matt Mullenweg, pulled out his digicam and snapped photos of the target audience, pronouncing he’s bringing again @photomatt – a playful nod to the care for he makes use of on Tumblr and X. Throughout the fireplace, he additionally spoke to the desire for generation to get more practical. Over the years we generally tend to make issues extra sophisticated, however knowledge brings us again to simplicity. Matt’s tales and tech references are laced with poetic references that tie again to generation.

Which introduced me again to the wilderness. Not anything wasted, the whole lot with a function — possibly the toughest factor to construct and the very last thing you arrive at.

WordPress Studio shines

On the WordPress.com sales space, our agentic native construction software, WordPress Studio, drew folks into longer-than-planned demos, with attendees accumulating across the displays to observe websites being constructed and altered in actual time.

Proper along it, WordPress Agent confirmed every other aspect of the similar concept: AI that doesn’t simply advise you, however can in reality make adjustments for your website online for you. We additionally demoed Tips, which provides the Agent a shared reminiscence of your website online’s voice, targets, and visible course.

What me used to be how briefly the dialog moved previous the demo itself. Other people had been already imagining those equipment inside of the way in which they in reality construct, set up, and replace WordPress websites.

WCUS performed to our humanity

The tactical reports, the emphasis on play, the prioritization of creators, and the unending photograph alternatives are all a part of what made this convention uniquely human.

It’s a tech convention, in the end, however I used to be completely extremely joyful by way of how it transcended virtual sameness and AI-driven standardization to face out and contact our humanity.

Listed below are examples in motion:

• Code for the Other people non-public screening with stickers and swag
• Paint your individual Wapuu – tactile, emotional, sensible 
• Sales space giveaways that had been Arizona-centric: water bottles, lovers, sunscreen, at the side of luggage and bandanas designed by way of native artists 
• The WordPress Mercantile featured native companies constructed on WordPress
• A focal point on play, together with a seating space with cornhole, an in-booth air hockey desk, and a couple of photograph ops with delightfully ingenious backgrounds
• A writer studio staged with couches, crops, best lighting fixtures, and prime finish recording apparatus designed particularly for producing nice video. Unfastened SD playing cards for individuals who applied it 

Even the Wi-Fi password used to be a nod to the convergence of generation and artwork…IYKYK.

As I climbed into my Waymo and headed to the airport, I mirrored on how artwork connects folks. It evokes folks. It could actually additionally polarize — and that’s no longer a nasty factor. 

As companies and as people, we don’t should be the whole lot to everybody. We simply have to search out our folks (like our WordPress group). Be uniquely you. 

In finding your consumers, center of attention on them, and use generation that can assist you gasoline that connection.