Speculative loading of links is coming in WordPress 6.8. This was first a feature plugin and now is being integrated into core.

WooCommerce 9.7 released with a number of performance improvements and other enhancements.

Bricks 1.12.2 was released with some enhancements and fixes. There is a new query results summary element and results per page filter action, honeypot spam protection for forms, and component fixes, among the list. It was mentioned that early testing versions of Bricks 2.0 will start to be available next month.

The Oxygen team released a full rewrite of the popular Oxygen page builder. Is shares a lot of code with Breakdance but has a UI for web professionals interested in a class first workflow. The upgrade is not backwards compatible with previous versions, though the “classic” version will continue to be supported. It is free for current Oxygen license holds as well as for Breakdance users with an active license.

WindPress 3.0 has been released. It simplifies Tailwind integration for WordPress. There is a free version that works with Gutenberg, Kadence, and Greenshift and a pro version that has integrations with a number of page builders.

Speaking of Beaver Builder, they just launched Beaver Builder Services where they now offer web design and web development services.

Astra Starter Templates used to support Elementor, Beaver Builder, Brizy, and Gutenberg. They are moving now to just support Elementor and Spectra.

Brian Gardner has launched a new premium theme named Open Letter. It is a minimalist block theme.

Every year WPFusion does a retrospective on the business for the year. There are a lot of insights shared in the report about running a business, sales, and the WordPress ecosystem.