June 2018 was an incredibly active period for the WordPress community, highlighted by a massive acquisition in the theme space, major security disclosures, and one of the largest global WordCamps of the year. Let’s dive into what shaped the ecosystem this month.
Mergers, Acquisitions, Investments
On June 27, 2018, the WordPress ecosystem witnessed one of its most significant acquisitions of the year: WP Engine and StudioPress (creators of the Genesis theme framework) engaged in a strategic transaction.
WP Engine officially acquired StudioPress, merging the world’s most popular WordPress design framework with a leading managed WordPress hosting platform.
This acquisition underscored a growing trend among major hosting companies of investing in comprehensive site-building solutions.
WP Engine pledged to invest heavily in the continued development of the open-source Genesis Framework and provide it for free to their existing hosting customers, signaling a massive win for Genesis developers and users.
WordPress Core Updates
Following the release of WordPress 4.9.6 in mid-May, which was dedicated almost entirely to rolling out essential privacy and data export tools for GDPR compliance, Core development in June 2018 largely focused on stability.
Developers spent the month polishing bug fixes and finalizing the upcoming WordPress 4.9.7 maintenance release.
Simultaneously, the Core team was heads-down on the Gutenberg plugin. With WordPress 5.0 looming on the horizon, June saw rapid iterations of the new block-based editor as the community rigorously stress-tested its capabilities and backward compatibility.
Other WordPress News
The highlight of the month for the global community was WordCamp Europe 2018, held from June 14–16 in Belgrade, Serbia. The event brought together over 2,000 attendees from 76 countries.
Discussions at the event were heavily dominated by the impending Gutenberg editor release and the newly implemented GDPR regulations.
WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg took to the stage to answer community questions, emphasizing that Gutenberg would fundamentally revolutionize the publishing experience. Organizers also announced that WordCamp Europe 2019 would take place in Berlin, Germany.
Security Alerts & Plugin Vulnerabilities
Security was a major talking point in June 2018 following a critical disclosure. On June 26, researchers from RIPS Technologies disclosed an unpatched arbitrary file deletion vulnerability affecting WordPress Core versions up to 4.9.6.
The flaw allowed any user with at least “Author” privileges to delete arbitrary files on the server, including the crucial wp-config.php file.
If an attacker successfully deleted this file, it would force the site into the WordPress installation process, potentially allowing the attacker to connect to their own database and achieve remote code execution (RCE).
Because the vulnerability required Author-level access, the immediate threat to most sites was contained, but it served as a stark reminder to rigorously audit user roles and permissions.
Industry Trends & Insights
Two major themes dominated industry conversations in June 2018:
- The Gutenberg Shift: Agency owners, theme developers, and plugin creators spent June heavily auditing their products for Gutenberg compatibility. While there was noticeable apprehension about how the JavaScript-heavy editor would affect existing shortcodes and page builders, forward-thinking developers began to see it as an opportunity to simplify content publishing.
- The GDPR Aftermath: Following the May 25th enforcement date of the General Data Protection Regulation, June was spent dealing with the fallout. Site owners rushed to implement cookie consent banners, update privacy policies, and utilize WordPress 4.9.6’s new personal data export/erasure tools.
Theme of the Month: Blocksy Companion
While the Gutenberg editor is still being refined in 2018, the ecosystem is already preparing for a future built on blocks. The spotlight this month goes to the Blocksy ecosystem and its Blocksy Companion plugin.
Built to be lightning-fast and highly customizable, it embodies the exact kind of forward-thinking, lightweight design architecture that the WordPress community craves as we transition away from heavy, bloated page builders toward native block editing.
Plugin of the Month: BlogVault
With the recent core file-deletion vulnerability making headlines, reliable backups have never been more critical. BlogVault takes our Plugin of the Month spot for June.
Known for its incremental backups, off-site storage, and flawless staging environments, BlogVault provides site owners with the ultimate peace of mind when testing potentially risky updates or dealing with security threats.
Agency of the Month: Seahawk Media
Our Agency of the Month is Seahawk Media. Recognizing the shifting tides of WordPress web design, Seahawk Media has consistently demonstrated an ability to deliver scalable, high-performance WordPress solutions for brands of all sizes.
Their commitment to rapid development and deep expertise in managed WordPress environments makes them a standout agency in an increasingly competitive landscape.
Host of the Month: Bluehost
Bluehost retains its crown as a dominant force in the hosting space this month. As one of the few hosts officially recommended by WordPress.org, Bluehost continues to lower the barrier to entry for millions of new users setting up their first blogs and small business websites.
Founder of the Month: Matt Heaton (Founder of Bluehost)
This month, we highlight Matt Heaton, the original founder of Bluehost. His vision to create an affordable, reliable, and highly scalable hosting environment fundamentally shaped the trajectory of WordPress adoption in the mid-2000s.
By making one-click WordPress installations a standard industry feature, Heaton’s early work laid the foundation for WordPress to eventually power over 30% of the web.
Looking Ahead to July 2018
As we move into July, the WordPress community is eagerly awaiting the release of WordPress 4.9.7, which is expected to patch the critical file-deletion vulnerability disclosed in late June.
Furthermore, expect the debates around Gutenberg to intensify as the core team pushes closer to merging it into WordPress 5.0. Stay vigilant with your updates and keep testing those blocks!