WordCamp US 2026 Recap
WordCamp US (WCUS) 2026 wrapped up after four days at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
More than 1,100 attendees registered from around the world, with thousands more joining via livestream.
Contributor Day and Showcase Day opened the week before two main conference days featuring over 50
speaker-led sessions across four tracks.
Temperatures reached 111°F (44°C), but attendees moved comfortably between the convention center,
Sponsor Hall, Happiness Bar, and nearby venues.
“It’s hot, but it’s not Florida hot.”
– Loyal Pyczynski
Sessions explored artificial intelligence (AI), accessibility, publishing, business, site ownership,
and the future of the open web. A recurring theme across many presentations was the importance of
human judgment and trust-building in an AI-driven world.
Real Artists Ship
Contributor Day followed the motto “Real artists ship”. The event brought together
425 participants, including 29 first-time contributors, who formed 26 teams focused on achievable
one-day goals.
Teams closed tickets, shipped pull requests, reviewed accessibility improvements, updated
documentation, and built new tools for the WordPress ecosystem.
Learn more about Contributor Day: Read the full article
Showcase Day
Showcase Day highlighted real-world WordPress implementations across government, publishing,
education, and enterprise platforms.
The Ankler
Migrated 15 newsletters from Substack to WordPress, gaining full control over content,
subscriber data, and revenue systems. View Showcase
Daily Kos
Large-scale migration involving 1.5 million posts, 88 million comments,
and 2.7 million users. View Showcase
Human Judgment in the Loop
“AI doesn’t remove your work. It moves it.”
– Bo English-Wiczling
Speakers emphasized that while AI can accelerate development and content creation,
human oversight remains essential for accessibility, security, design quality,
and user experience.
Trust Becomes a Product Practice
Amanda Ventura of Waymo discussed how trust is earned through transparency,
accessibility improvements, and continuous user feedback.
Learning With Your Laptop Open
Beginner workshops enabled attendees to build and launch WordPress websites,
while advanced workshops covered WP-CLI automation, AI-assisted workflows,
and theme development.
Simplicity Gets the Last Word
During the closing keynote, Matt Mullenweg shared a vision for making WordPress
simpler, more accessible, and easier to build with.
“I want WordPress to be known for simplicity, not just complexity.”
– Matt Mullenweg
The event also celebrated the release of WordPress 7.1 “Mary Lou”.
WordCamp US 2026 reinforced a central message:
AI can accelerate work, but trust, accessibility, human judgment,
and simplicity remain critical to building great digital experiences.