WordPress 7.1: Responsive design without CSS, teamwork features & the U-turn on the Classic block

Following the landmark release of WordPress 7.0 in May 2026, the Core Team is following up straight away. WordPress 7.1 will be officially released on 19 August 2026.

Whilst version 7.0 focused primarily on advancing technological foundations such as the native WP AI Client, WordPress 7.1 is now dedicated to refining the workflow and addressing long-standing pain points within the community. The focus is on native responsive styling, asynchronous teamwork and major upgrades to client-side media handling.

However, it is a surprising last-minute U-turn that has caused the biggest stir in the developer community: the planned phasing out of the Classic block was officially called off on 7 July 2026.

In this guide, we’ll show you all the new features in detail, take a look under the bonnet and let you know where you need to be particularly careful with the upcoming update.

The release schedule for WordPress 7.1

Like all major WordPress releases, version 7.1 is undergoing a multi-stage, strictly timed development process to ensure maximum stability and security for millions of websites worldwide. The release is scheduled for 19 August 2026.

An overview of the WordPress 7.1 roadmap:

• Beta phase (15 July to 29 July 2026): Following the official announcement of the roadmap in June, the testing phase began on 15 July with Beta 1. Beta 2 will follow on 22 July, and Beta 3 on 29 July. The main focus is on extensive testing of the new asynchronous ‘Notes’ via the new collaboration test programme, as well as trialling the first core compatibilities with the upcoming React 19 upgrade.
• Release Candidate phase (5 August to 18 August 2026): In August, the core developers mark the start of the official feature freeze with the first Release Candidate (RC1). From this point onwards, no new features will be added to WordPress 7.1. The weeks leading up to the launch will be devoted exclusively to fine-tuning, fixing critical bugs and ensuring the new, enforced iframe mode for block themes is fully tested.
• Final Release (19 August 2026): Following the successful completion of all remaining core tests, the final version of WordPress 7.1 will be officially released. From that date, the update will be available worldwide directly via the WordPress dashboard.

The WordPress Core Team regularly publishes the latest information on the exact stage of development, the weekly testing schedules and detailed discussions about the core code on the official WordPress Development Blog.

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The highlights of WordPress 7.1 in detail

1. Customisation: Finally, truly responsive styling and interactive states

It is probably the community’s long-standing wish: to customise layouts in fine detail for mobile devices, tablets and desktops without writing a single line of CSS. WordPress 7.1 makes this possible:

• Responsive styling for blocks: You can visually define how a block behaves at specific screen widths (viewports). As soon as you click on ‘Responsive editing’, a ‘Tablet’ or ‘Mobile’ button will appear in the right-hand sidebar. You can now choose, for example, a different font size or spacing for this specific view – both globally and for individual block instances.
• Viewport Breakpoint Customisation: Developers can now use ` theme.json ` to define their own breakpoints, allowing them to tailor the responsive behaviour perfectly to the theme.
• Interactive states (pseudo-classes): The editor now supports native styling of states such as :hover (mouse pointer hovers over), :focus (keyboard focus for accessibility) and :active (when clicked). Buttons or links thus change their design when interacted with, without the need for custom CSS. The block preview is updated in real time.
• The future of state styling: the button block is the starting point. The architecture is designed so that, in future versions, it will be extended to include navigation links, form fields, image links and post templates. The highlighting of the active/current navigation menu item can now also be controlled directly via theme.json.
• Making inheritance visible (Inherited Styles): When styling a block, the sidebar now shows you where a style comes from – whether it’s hard-coded in the theme, set globally for the whole website, or inherited from a parent block (e.g. a group). Tooltips and reset buttons help you tidy things up.

Our view: Not suitable for everyone. There are thousands of older or free themes in the WordPress directory that do not have fluid (automatically scaling) fonts built in. For these themes, this feature is a real lifesaver.

For anyone using a professional theme with neatly pre-calibrated, mathematically fluid fonts (which scale continuously via `clamp() `), this feature is superfluous in day-to-day editorial work. Editors can inadvertently ‘break’ the automatic scaling in the editor by forcing fixed values. For absolute beginners, it’s a godsend; for professionals, it’s a feature that should be introduced to clients and editors with caution.

2. Collaboration: Suggestion mode and the RTC background

Phase 3’s vision for collaboration continues to gain momentum. Originally, the plan was to finally roll out true real-time collaboration (RTC) – that is, working simultaneously and synchronously on the same document, as in Google Docs – across the board as early as version 7.0.

However, there are technical reasons why this feature in WordPress 7.1 remains behind feature flags and is only accessible via special outreach testing programmes:

• Excessive server load: Initial tests showed that the WebSocket-based approach to continuous data transmission whilst typing simultaneously completely overloaded and crashed low-cost hosting servers (particularly in the shared hosting sector).
• Incorrect data model: The developers initially intended to store the data in the wrong place. To ensure the system remains stable and performs well, a completely new database structure must first be set up in the background.
• Race conditions & errors: Blocks processed simultaneously led to data loss, inconsistent code and synchronisation errors when the lines were unstable.

It is not yet clear exactly what the future of RTC in Core will look like. It is quite possible that the feature will be offered as an optional ‘opt-in’, meaning it can be switched on or off – depending on the server infrastructure. It is also possible that administrators will be able to specify which user roles are permitted to work on a document at the same time.

Our view: As this feature is likely only of real interest to large editorial teams, the option to enable it would be a sensible solution. The vast majority of websites are maintained by just one or a few people anyway, for whom the feature is completely unnecessary.

For day-to-day editorial work, WordPress 7.1 instead offers the asynchronous collaboration package ‘Notes’:

• Suggestion mode: Team members can suggest changes to the text directly in the editor. Authors or admins can then accept or reject these suggestions with a single click.
• Rich text in comments: Comments on specific content within a single block or across multiple blocks now support rich text formatting.
• Notifications & Emojis: A new notification system keeps you up to date with replies, whilst emoji reactions allow for quick, straightforward feedback directly within the editor.
• UX integration: A new dedicated button in the top toolbar allows you to show and hide the annotation list in the sidebar.

3. Last-minute U-turn: the Classic block is staying!

As recently as June 2026, the Core developers proudly announced that, from WordPress 7.1 onwards, the Classic block (core/freeform) would be removed from the Block Insertor by default, in order to force the transition to the Gutenberg editor alone. However, on 7 July 2026, this decision was officially reversed.

• The reasoning: the feedback from the community was clear. Forcibly removing the Classic block from the inserter makes the user experience worse for many, without really bringing us any closer to the actual goal – transparently opting out of loading the old TinyMCE library. Marin Atanasov made it clear on the Core blog that the block was intended to become obsolete through free choice and improved conversion methods, not through artificial coercion.
• The result for WordPress 7.1: The Classic block remains available as normal in the block inserter, in the block list and for slash commands.
• If the block had been removed, developers would have had to reactivate it manually using the filter `add_filter( 'wp_classic_block_supports_inserter', '__return_true' ); ` or the Enable Classic Block plugin. That is no longer necessary! Existing content remains unaffected anyway, and the ‘Convert to blocks’ function is still available without restriction.

4. New core blocks & block upgrades

With WordPress 7.1, the list of native blocks is growing, further reducing the reliance on third-party plugins:

• Tabs block: The highlight of this release. It organises complex content efficiently into clear, interactive tabs.
• Table of Contents: Automatically generates a navigable table of contents based on the post’s headings. You can flexibly choose which levels (H1 to H4) to include, set background colours or, if required, convert the whole thing into a details block. In its first version, however, the block is still quite rudimentary and does not feature any predefined headings or highly complex formatting options.
• Playlist block: Allows you to add audio playlists natively, complete with a stylish, interactive waveform visualisation of the audio track.

Key block optimisations:

• The HTML block is becoming hybrid: it is now possible to place editable core blocks within a custom HTML block. This is a major advantage for AI-generated websites, as LLMs often output layouts in raw HTML.
• Smart shortcode conversion: When you insert a registered shortcode into the editor, it is automatically converted into the appropriate, comparable Core block or the correct Embed block.
• Focus on accessibility: The image block now features a ‘Mark as decorative’ toggle. This makes purely decorative images invisible to screen readers.
• Gallery Lightbox refinements: The native image gallery now features an improved lightbox with support for swipe gestures on mobile devices, as well as optional captions in the mobile layout.
• Gradients in the Group block: Background gradients and background images can now be combined in the Group block without any conflicts (via the new background.gradient block support).

5. Admin UI: Improved organisation and the new Identity Centre

The admin dashboard and the site editor are becoming increasingly similar in appearance:

• Persistent Admin Bar (Omnibar): The classic black admin bar now follows you seamlessly into all editors. The design has been modernised: the old-fashioned ‘Howdy’ has been scrapped, the profile picture is now circular, and outdated Dashicons have been replaced by modern, sleek SVGs.
• Mirrored colour scheme: The Site Editor now uses the WordPress admin colour scheme you have chosen, rather than the standard dark background.
• Dedicated Identity section: Under Design → Identity in the Site Editor, the logo, favicon (including the integrated inline media editor), page title and subtitle are all grouped together in one central location. You no longer need to navigate to the standard WordPress settings to access them.
• Organised Command Palette: The Quick Search (accessible via Ctrl + K or Cmd + K) clearly organises results into sections for recently used, suggested and relevant commands. Your history is saved across sessions in your user preferences.
• ‘On This Day’ widget: A new dashboard widget shows you which posts you published on this specific day in previous years.

6. Media & AI: Guidelines and more robust uploads

• AI Guidelines: You’ll find this new feature under Settings → Guidelines. It acts as a digital handbook for both humans and machines. There, you can permanently store editorial rules, your brand’s tone of voice or content standards within the WordPress core. AI writing tools and guest authors alike can access these guidelines. Handy: The guidelines can be easily exported and re-imported onto other sites.
• New Media Editor modal: A new, darkened full-screen overlay window replaces the old, often fiddly inline cropping tool. If you click on the crop icon in the image block, the modal opens and combines free-form and aspect-ratio-preserving cropping, fine-grained rotation, flipping and metadata editing into a streamlined workflow.
• Client-side resilience: WordPress now processes media more intelligently directly within the browser. It supports new formats such as HEIC and Ultra HDR, converts GIFs into high-performance videos, generates local thumbnails during upload, and allows you to easily resume interrupted uploads following a loss of connection or a crash.
• Performance boost through Query Loop & Speculative Loading: The Query Loop block becomes noticeably faster thanks to lazy loading and improved caching. Furthermore, when page and object caching is enabled, WordPress switches speculative loading (background pre-rendering of pages) from ‘conservative’ to ‘moderate’ by default, which massively speeds up the perceived navigation experience on the front end.
• Native font management: The font library system is fully integrated into theme.json. This gives theme developers full control over fonts without having to rely on third-party plugins.

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Under the bonnet: What developers need to know

For those who write code on and for WordPress, version 7.1 brings with it far-reaching changes to the core interfaces:

Block Bindings API & Custom Fields

The Block Bindings API is growing rapidly. In WordPress 7.1, it supports the native binding oflist items and nested blocks to dynamic data sources. New binding sources for popular custom field plugins such as Advanced Custom Fields and Meta Box are integrated by default. This means fields can be edited directly within the Block Editor without having to switch interfaces.

AI Client & Connectors Iteration

The integrated AI framework is entirely focused on empowering plugin authors. The PHP AI Client API now supports generation streaming (live text generation in the editor without a loading bar) as well as embeddings (vector representation of content for genuine, semantic and meaning-based search on the website). The Connectors interface now allows authentication via username and application password in addition to API keys, which further advances the DataForm API. Furthermore, the AI Connector’s UI has been revamped to manage active permissions and AI requests more clearly.

DataViews and DataForms Upgrades

DataViews will gradually migrate to the new Design System Primitives to ensure a consistent look. In addition, Quick Edit will be structurally consolidated with the Editor Inspector. Plugin developers can now use a new server-side REST endpoint to register their own view and form configurations for the pages, templates and patterns in the Site Editor.

Design System Components

The split component library in wordpress/ui is coming of age: ThemeProvider is evolving from an experimental to a stable, public API. In addition, token names are being finalised (including adjustments to ‘background’, ‘foreground’ and ‘stroke’) and new customisation tokens forcorner radii and element sizes are being introduced.

Extension of the Icon API

Following the groundwork laid in version 7.0, the SVG Icon API is being opened up to third-party providers. Using the new functions `register_icon() ` and `unregister_icon()`, agencies and product developers can deliver their own branded icon sets (including SVG sanitisation and namespace validation). In line with this, the core icon set is being visually revamped and converted to consistent, path-based designs (stroke-based).

Unicode support & REST API batch requests

• REST API batch requests: A long-awaited feature is being incorporated into the core. Multiple REST API requests can now be bundled into a single HTTP request, which drastically reduces latency in JavaScript-based front-ends.
• Extended Unicode Support: To cater for its global user base, WordPress now allows Unicode email addresses to be stored. Core functions such as is_email() and sanitize_email() have been extended accordingly to process non-Latin characters correctly.

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A critical look: What you should keep an eye on in WordPress 7.1

WordPress 7.1 brings some fantastic features, but it also poses real risks for agencies and those running complex setups. You should keep a close eye on these three points:

1. Preparations for React 19 in the Gutenberg plugin

WordPress is preparing to switch to React 19. In version 7.1, this upgrade will not yet be enforced by default in the core, but will be included as a toggleable experiment in the Gutenberg plugin. Nevertheless, this sends a clear signal to all plugin and theme developers: the move towards React 19 is imminent (expected with WordPress 7.2 in December). Anyone who does not test their custom blocks and plugins in the Gutenberg plugin now will face a problem this winter.

2. Enforced iframe mode for block themes (Enforced Iframing)

To visually separate the editing area from the admin area, WordPress 7.1 enforces iframe mode for all block-based themes. Previously, WordPress would automatically switch back to an old ‘non-iframe mode’ as soon as a block was loaded that was still using the old Block API version 2 or lower. That is now a thing of the past: blocks must be updated to Block API version 3 in order to function within the enforced iframe. Older custom blocks from client websites may appear broken in the editor as a result.

3. Speculative Loading: Be careful with server load

This performance feature increases the aggressiveness of so-called ‘speculative loading’ from ‘conservative’ to ‘moderate’ as soon as WordPress detects active page and object caching. This means that the browser loads and renders pages in advance (prerendering) much more liberally in the background when a user simply moves the mouse pointer near a link. On less powerful hosting environments, this can lead to a noticeable increase in server load (requests).

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Conclusion: Is the update worth it?

WordPress 7.1 is an extremely mature and stable release. Rather than overloading the system with half-baked experiments, this version focuses on stabilising and expanding the workflows embedded in the core. The native responsive styling can save a lot of time in day-to-day design work, and the new asynchronous collaboration tools finally make WordPress suitable for modern, distributed editorial teams – even if true synchronous typing is still a way off.

With the core team’s U-turn on the Classic block, the developers are showing that they are actively listening to the community’s concerns and wishes, and are not imposing anything that would hinder day-to-day workflows.

However, due to the far-reaching technical changes (React 19 and the mandatory use of iframes for the Block API v3), you should under no circumstances install this update blindly. It’s best to wait a few days, test the update thoroughly in a separate staging environment, and only go live once all your essential plugins and themes have given the green light for WordPress 7.1!

Looking ahead: The road to WordPress 7.2

A glance at the roadmap clearly shows that WordPress 7.1 is an extremely important intermediate step for the upcoming releases. WordPress 7.2 is already expected on 10 December 2026. The following developments are already on the horizon:

• Full RTC integration: The real-time collaboration feature, which has been kept under wraps in version 7.1, is due to be finalised by the end of the year in order to eliminate post-lock delays once and for all.
• Advanced interactive states: Whilst version 7.1 supports hover, focus and active states, work is already underway on more complex custom states (such as the dynamic styling of the currently active menu item).
• Extension of the forced iframe requirement: The forced iframe mode introduced in version 7.1 for block themes is to be extended to all WordPress themes in future versions.
• Native View Transitions & Image Sizes: Two new feature plugins are currently in the pipeline for upcoming releases: the View Transitions plugin for seamless, animated page transitions on the front end, and the Enhanced Responsive Images plugin for even more precise calculation of image size attributes in block themes.

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FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about WordPress 7.1