September 2019 was a steady month for WordPress, with a focus on stability, preparation, and small but meaningful improvements across the ecosystem. Core work continued toward the next major release, while plugins, themes, and community efforts showed how WordPress keeps moving forward through consistent effort.
This edition covers the key updates from September, including core progress, security notes, community initiatives, and notable highlights from themes, plugins, hosting, and people shaping the WordPress space.
Mergers, Acquisitions, and Investments
September stayed fairly quiet, but a few changes still stood out. Instead of big announcements, companies focused on improving their products and building stronger tools for existing users. The updates during the month showed a steady and practical approach to growth.
Most of the activity leaned toward better integrations and smoother ecommerce experiences rather than rapid expansion.
Salesforce Acquired Automattic Assets
Salesforce acquired parts of Automattic to strengthen how its products connect with content and customer data. The goal was to improve workflows and support larger websites and digital platforms.
This acquisition reflected ongoing interest in WordPress-related technology and how it supports business operations.
WP Desk Acquired ShopMagic
WP Desk acquired ShopMagic to expand its WooCommerce tools. ShopMagic helps store owners automate emails and customer actions based on how customers interact with a store.
By bringing ShopMagic into its lineup, WP Desk made it easier for store owners to manage marketing and customer communication inside WordPress.
WordPress Core Updates
September focused on keeping WordPress stable while getting ready for the next big release. The core team spent time fixing issues, cleaning up code, and improving how WordPress works behind the scenes.
The work during the month helped make WordPress safer, smoother, and easier to use.
- WordPress 5.2.3 Security Release: WordPress released version 5.2.3 early in the month. This update fixed security issues and small bugs. It helped protect sites and keep everything running smoothly.
- Progress on WordPress 5.3: Developers ran several bug scrubs throughout September. These sessions helped find and fix errors before moving forward. By the end of the month, WordPress 5.3 entered beta, indicating the release was taking shape.
- Gutenberg Editor Updates: Gutenberg continued to improve during September. The last editor updates of the month were added into WordPress 5.3. These changes made the editor feel more stable and easier to work with for everyday content.
Other WordPress News
In September 2019, Yoast launched the Yoast Care fund to support volunteer contributors in the WordPress community. The program recognized people who give their time to WordPress without getting paid for their work.
Selected contributors received a €500 grant along with public recognition through interviews. Yoast committed to funding the program every year and continued to promote open-source contribution by improving its development tools and documentation.
Security Alerts & Plugin Vulnerabilities
September 2019 brought a few security reminders for WordPress site owners. Most issues were manageable, but they showed why updates and regular checks matter.
- Rich Reviews Plugin Vulnerability: A serious zero-day issue affected the Rich Reviews plugin. Attackers could exploit it without logging in, leading to harmful redirects and stored XSS. Updating or removing the plugin was strongly advised.
- SlickQuiz Plugin SQL Injection Issue: Older versions of the SlickQuiz plugin contained a flaw that allowed logged-in users to run SQL injection attacks. Updating to the latest version fixed the issue.
- WordPress Core 5.2.3 Security Fixes: Security reports during the month stressed the importance of updating to WordPress 5.2.3. This release patched newly discovered vulnerabilities and improved overall safety.
- WP-VCD Malware Threat: WP-VCD malware continued to affect many WordPress sites. Regular scans, clean plugins, and trusted themes helped reduce the risk.
Industry Trends & Insights
September 2019 showed steady changes in how WordPress continued to evolve, both in core development and in how the community worked together. The focus stayed on stability, modern workflows, and better collaboration.
- Improved Date and Time Handling: Core developers improved the
wp_datefunction to make time handling more stable and reliable. This helped reduce issues related to time zones and date formatting across WordPress sites.
- Growing Gutenberg Adoption: The move toward block-based editing continued to gain traction. More users adjusted to a block-first approach for building pages and content, making Gutenberg a central part of everyday WordPress use.
- Theme Review Team Structure Update: The WordPress theme review team shifted to a flatter structure with representatives instead of traditional leads. This change aimed to improve communication and speed up the theme review process.
- BuddyPress 5.0 Release: BuddyPress 5.0 launched late in the month with better REST API support and improved group management. The update helped developers build stronger community and social features on WordPress sites.
Theme of the Month: KadenceWP
KadenceWP stood out for its balance of speed and design flexibility. This theme worked smoothly with the block editor, making it easier to build clean layouts without relying on heavy page builders.
Its lightweight structure helped improve site performance, while built-in customization options gave users control over headers, layouts, and typography. This made KadenceWP a strong choice for both beginners and developers.
Plugin of the Month: Iconic
Iconic gained attention for its WooCommerce plugins that focused on improving store usability. The tools helped simplify product variations, add-ons, and filtering, which made shopping experiences smoother for customers.
Store owners valued Iconic for solving practical e-commerce problems without bloating sites. The plugins focused on function and clarity rather than unnecessary features.
Agency of the Month: Seahawk Media
Seahawk Media continued to strengthen its role in the WordPress services space. The agency supported businesses with development, maintenance, migrations, security, and performance work.
Its WordPress-only focus and global delivery model helped clients manage websites at scale. Seahawk’s consistent service approach made it a reliable partner for growing brands.
Host of the Month: Hosting.com
Hosting.com earned recognition for its managed WordPress hosting focused on performance and reliability. The platform offered tools that simplified site management while maintaining strong security and speed.
Its infrastructure and support made it easier for site owners to run WordPress without dealing with server-level complexity, especially for business and content-driven sites.
Founder of the Month: Nick Roach
Nick Roach stood out as an important figure in the WordPress theme space. As the founder of Elegant Themes, he helped shape how many users build and design WordPress websites.
Through popular themes and tools, his work focused on making site design easier without heavy coding. Elegant Themes played a key role in helping users create professional-looking WordPress sites with less effort.
Looking Ahead to October 2019
October will focus on getting WordPress 5.3 ready for release. Developers and site owners will test updates, fix bugs, and make sure themes and plugins work smoothly.
The attention will stay on improving the editor, handling security updates, and keeping sites stable. The month will be about polishing existing features and preparing WordPress for what comes next.