WordPress 7.0 “Armstrong”

June 3, 2026

WordPress 7.0 “Armstrong,” adds new blocks, including Breadcrumbs and Icon, along with enhancements to the Block Editor. These include custom CSS for individual blocks and viewport-based visibility controls. The release also brings improvements to block management, administration and workflows, as well as several developer-focused updates.

The new release introduces the foundation for AI across the platform, allowing you to connect your preferred provider and use AI throughout your site. The update also simplifies editing with easier layout insertion and content replacement, while the navigation overlay now makes fuller use of blocks. Reviewing historical changes is also easier with a visual comparison feature.

Key Features for Theme Developers

PHP-only block and pattern registration: Developers can create and register blocks and patterns directly from the server using PHP, with automatic registration through the Block API. This can simplify theme development and reduce the need for JavaScript-based registration in some cases.
Expanded block and design controls: WordPress 7.0 adds new blocks, block supports, and design tools that give themes more control over layouts and styling. New Breadcrumbs and Icons blocks are particularly useful for building richer navigation and design systems.
Viewport-based block visibility: Themes can take advantage of responsive controls that allow blocks to be shown or hidden depending on the device or viewport. This provides more flexibility when creating responsive layouts without affecting other viewport sizes.
Per-block custom CSS: Users can apply custom CSS directly to individual blocks. For theme developers, this expands the level of block-level customization available within the editor.
Block-based navigation overlay: The navigation overlay can now be built and customized with blocks and patterns. Theme developers can provide more flexible mobile navigation experiences, including custom layouts, typography, columns, and controls.
More flexible patterns: Patterns can function as a single unit and can be detached for more granular editing. This gives block themes greater flexibility when creating reusable page sections and layouts.
Improved Site Editor extensibility: The Site Editor has been expanded with routing and route validation, while the new wordpress/boot package allows plugins to create custom Site Editor pages. This is particularly relevant for developers building advanced theme/plugin integrations.
Font management for themes: WordPress 7.0 introduces a dedicated font management screen that works with block, hybrid, and classic themes, making it easier to manage and use custom font collections.
AI and the Abilities API: The new AI Client and Abilities API provide a foundation for AI-powered functionality. While this is more directly relevant to plugins, theme developers can potentially use these APIs to build AI-assisted site-building or content experiences.

Wrapping Up

For theme developers, the most significant WordPress 7.0 changes are the expanded block and pattern APIs, PHP-based block registration, responsive visibility controls, per-block CSS, improved navigation overlays, font management, and greater Site Editor extensibility. Together, these changes give developers more control over how themes structure, style, and customize the editing experience.

WordPress 7.1 “Mary Lou”