Murphy Levesque is a high school senior in Connecticut. She co-founded Hidden Gem Animal Rescue in 2020, when she was 11 years old. |
It started with a one-eyed cat named One-Eye at the barn where Murphy took horseback riding lessons. One-Eye was two years old, missing an eye, and on her third litter of kittens. |
Murphy and her riding trainer Logan trapped the kittens, got them veterinary care, and found them all homes. |
That was the spark. They kept going. |
Today, Hidden Gem Animal Rescue is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit operating across Connecticut and the Northeast, rescuing dogs and cats, running on a network of foster families, and taking cases from as far as Texas and North Carolina. |
Since Murphy started working with WordPress.com around three years ago, the rescue has helped over 100 animals, roughly doubling their previous pace. |
I honestly don’t know what my website would look like without you guys. It just looks so incredible. |
|
Anyone who sees a post and wants to learn more can follow the link, understand how the rescue works, and take action right there. Whether that means applying to foster, filling out an adoption application, or making a donation. |
It really just became easier for people. And it’s always better when it’s easier for people because they’re more likely to actually take their time to look at it. |
|
Donations in particular became more seamless. The website added a proper donation platform alongside Venmo, giving supporters more ways to give and making the rescue look more like the legitimate organization it had become. |
The website makes it look more professional. And people can look at all the cute animals and think, oh, this is something I want to donate to. |
|
It’s been really seamless. I’ve really been able to figure it out and make the updates I want to make. |
|
Murphy also used Blaze Ads to run advertisements for their available animals, bringing in a new wave of traffic and visibility for the rescue. |
What’s next for Hidden Gem Animal Rescue |
Murphy is already thinking about what comes next for the rescue. |
The goal is to find a physical location, keep building the rescue’s profile and systems, and make the whole experience easier for everyone involved — volunteers, fosters, and adopters. |
The website will be central to all of it. |
It gains traction and lets people interact with us. It really helps us build our image. |
|
Your story deserves a home, too |
Murphy runs a nonprofit, manages social media, and updates a website while finishing high school. |
WordPress.com gave her a professional platform she could grow into, with the tools to manage it as the project evolved. |
Whether you’re just getting started or ready to take things to the next level, WordPress.com gives you everything you need to build a site that works as hard as you do. |
|
WordCamp Asia 2026 just wrapped in Mumbai, and it was one of the largest WordPress events ever. WordPress users, developers, and creators gathered at the Jio World Convention Centre for three days of building and learning together. |
Before we get into the highlights, a massive thank you to the organizers, volunteers, and speakers who made this happen. Attendees came from right here in Mumbai, across India, and around the globe. |
Contributor Day kicked things off |
If you’ve never heard of Contributor Day, it’s exactly what it sounds like — people sit down together and contribute to the open-source WordPress project. Code, documentation, translations, community planning, and more. |
The magic isn’t just the work that gets done. It’s the connections. New contributors sat alongside people who’ve worked on WordPress core for over a decade. Ideas got shared. Friendships started and renewed. This is where WordPress’s “extended family” energy comes from. Find the full official recap post here. |
After contributor day, we held two full days of talks that covered everything from enterprise scaling to cross-border payments. You can watch every session on YouTube. Here are a few we attended and want to spotlight. |
Education initiatives in the WordPress ecosystem |
A dedicated panel covered WordPress Education — the growing effort to bring WordPress directly to students through campus events, student clubs, and a credits program that partners with universities to integrate WordPress into their curriculum. Real-world, hands-on open source experience for the next generation of web creators. |
The Speed Build Challenge |
Moderated by our own Jamie Marsland, this one packed the room. Ajay Maurya and Craig Gomes went head-to-head — one using AI, one going fully old-school — with 30 minutes to rebuild a complete site using only the Full Site Editor. No page builders, no custom code. There was no clear winner, which made it even more fun. |
Danny Sullivan at the Google booth |
Danny Sullivan is a Google Search Director and one of the most well-known voices in SEO. He was right there live at the Google booth, giving 1:1 advice to WordPress folks in person. While this wasn’t an official session on the schedule, it is the kind of thing that only happens at a WordCamp. |
We heard him share that the same long-standing principles of quality content for good SEO still apply in today’s AI world. But it’s even more important now to have a strong point of view, a distinct voice, or a unique position. Without that, you’re just creating commodity content, which is less likely to be cited or used by LLMs. Content remains king. |
Mary Hubbard’s magic wand |
Mary Hubbard, Executive Director of WordPress, was asked what one surprising thing she’d change about WordPress if she had a magic wand. Her answer was to improve the WordPress.org plugin directory by treating it as a product and less like infrastructure. A lot of heads nodded at that one, and we look forward to helping make that vision a reality. |
No surprise, but AI came up often throughout the conference. Including a talk from Nirav Mehta, a Mumbai-based entrepreneur. His Lost & Found in AI Wonderland session was a walkthrough of what actually worked (and what didn’t) when his team tried to apply AI across development, marketing, and operations. |
Nirav reminded us that like a hammer, AI is only a tool. When you hold a hammer, everything begins to look like a nail. AI may not always be the right tool for the job. In a time full of AI excitement, that kind of honesty was refreshing. |
What WordPress.com brought to Mumbai |
The WordPress.com team showed up strong with a few things to share, and the conversations at our booth didn’t stop all week. |
A new WordPress agent on Telegram. We showed off a brand new Open-Claw-inspired WordPress agent you can chat with directly from Telegram — with WhatsApp and more platforms coming soon. The idea of managing every aspect of your WordPress site through a conversation on your phone sparked a lot of “wait, what if…” moments at the booth. More on this soon! |
Your feedback is heard. Beyond the demos, we spent a lot of time talking to users, agencies, and developers who gave us direct, honest feedback about what’s working and what isn’t on WordPress.com. We’re already bringing all that learning into our roadmap and future plans. A huge thank you to everyone we chatted with. |
The WordPress community is as strong as ever |
It is clear after a week in Mumbai that this community is growing, and the momentum is real. |
The hallway conversations, the contributor sprints, the after-parties, the people who traveled halfway around the world to be in the same room — that energy isn’t slowing down. |
If you’ve never been to a WordCamp, make this your year. And if a full conference feels like a big step, start with a local meetup. Find one near you at events.wordpress.org. |
Now with four flagship WordCamps a year: |
- WordCamp Europe — Kraków, Poland, June 4–6, 2026.
- WordCamp US — Phoenix, Arizona, August 16–19, 2026.
- WordCamp Asia 2027 — Penang, Malaysia, April 9–11, 2027.
- WordCamp India (TBD) — A brand new flagship event joining the lineup in 2027.
We can’t wait to see you there. |
And with that, namaste, Mumbai! |
|
Headless WordPress allows you to use an alternative stack on the frontend — but it usually requires hosting for two separate environments instead of one. |
Most projects need managed WordPress hosting for the backend and dedicated frontend hosting that matches how your app renders. |
It’s important to understand the tradeoffs of choosing headless WordPress as it can add more complexity to the equation. |
Here’s how to make both decisions without overcomplicating it: |
Step 1: Confirm you need headless WordPress |
Headless makes sense when you need frontend flexibility, performance, or multisystem integration that goes beyond what a traditional WordPress setup supports. |
In a traditional setup, the frontend and backend live on the same platform. In a headless setup, they’re separate — connected only through an API. |
- You’re building with a JavaScript framework rather than WordPress themes.
- WordPress is powering multiple surfaces: a website and a mobile app, for example.
- You need to connect WordPress to other platforms or external SaaS tools.
If none of that applies, a well-optimized traditional WordPress setup is usually faster to ship, less expensive to run, and easier to maintain. |
Step 2: Decide how your frontend will render |
Your rendering strategy determines which frontend host you need, so define it before you start comparing plans. Rendering is simply how your frontend turns WordPress content into the pages visitors see. |
Here are the key options to choose from: |
- Static (SSG) works best for sites where content doesn’t change frequently. When you publish your site, pages are built once at deploy time and served as static HTML from a CDN. It’s the fastest and cheapest option and works well for marketing sites, blogs, landing pages, and documentation where a short delay after publishing is acceptable.
- Server-side rendering (SSR) is for when you need to personalize pages per user or reflect real-time data. Pages render on each request, which requires Node.js infrastructure and is more expensive to run.
- Hybrid (ISR) sits in between. Pages are static, but you can update them on a schedule or when content changes, without a full rebuild. It works well for sites that publish frequently but don’t need true real-time rendering.
The simplest way to choose: If every visitor sees the same page, SSG or ISR is almost always a good choice. If the page needs to vary per user, you need SSR. |
Step 3: Pick a host for the WordPress backend |
Choose a backend host that can manage API traffic, editor activity, and traffic spikes reliably. You also want a host that scales when needed and ensures your WordPress environment is secure and up to date. |
Since your frontend depends on WordPress to deliver content, backend performance directly affects what visitors experience. |
In server-rendered and hybrid setups, that means handling continuous API requests. Even for static builds, the backend needs to perform well at build time and whenever content updates trigger a rebuild. |
Here’s what matters most: |
- Performance: Fast API response without relying on third-party caching plug-ins.
- Scalability: Traffic spikes shouldn’t require emergency upgrades or come with surprise charges.
- Security: The host should provide SSL, firewall protection, and backups.
- Developer tools: These include SSH/SFTP, WP-CLI, and staging environments.
Selecting the right provider |
WordPress.com is the right backend host for most headless projects. The Business and Commerce plans come with everything a headless build needs from the beginning: built-in object and edge caching, automatic updates and security patches, and a CDN for media and static assets. |
On the developer side, you get SSH access, WP-CLI, and staging environments, plus predictable pricing with unmetered bandwidth so traffic spikes don’t come with unexpected costs. |
If you need the WordPress backend and a Node-based frontend managed on a single platform, WordPress VIP is worth exploring. It’s built for enterprise-scale sites with millions of monthly visitors and comes with dedicated support and SLAs. The prices for this platform match that level of scale, so if budget is a consideration, WordPress.com with a separate frontend host will effectively cover most projects. |
Step 4: Find a host for the frontend |
From here, match your frontend host to your rendering strategy. Here’s how: |
- Static sites work best with CDN-based hosting that serves prebuilt HTML.
- Server-rendered apps rely on Node-compatible hosting to render pages on request. Verify that this supports your framework and Node version.
- Hybrid setups require a Node runtime with revalidation support so pages can refresh on publish without a full rebuild. Factors such as build minutes, bandwidth, or requests typically determine the cost, so check the pricing model before committing.
Beyond rendering, check that the host supports git-based deploys compatible with your branching workflow and preview URLs for pull requests and draft reviews. |
You should also confirm there is a clear publishing flow so you know how a WordPress content update reaches the live frontend, whether that’s a full rebuild, a webhook, or revalidation. |
How to choose your headless WordPress hosting |
The bottom line: When choosing headless WordPress hosting, the backend and frontend decisions are separate but connected. |
Here’s what the right setup looks like for most projects: |
- Use WordPress.com for a managed, scalable WordPress backend that handles API traffic without requiring you to manage the infrastructure.
- Choose your frontend host based on your rendering strategy (SSG, SSR, or ISR).
- Opt for WordPress VIP when you need both environments managed together on a single enterprise platform.
WordPress.com gives you a managed, secure, and scalable WordPress environment so your team can focus on building the frontend instead of maintaining servers. |
|
|
|
