This conference ended with two exciting announcements, but the real story is everything that had to happen first for those announcements to land the way they did. Months of planning turned into four days when strangers and friends built real websites, shipped real code, asked hard questions out loud, and found each other in hallways they’ll probably talk about for the rest of the year. WCUS 2026 wasn’t a conference that happened to a room of people. They built it, session by session, table by table, from Contributor Day straight through to the closing keynote. Here’s everything that made the final day feel like the payoff for it all.
Matt’s Keynote
Matt’s session was kicked off with Michael Hammett, Chief Innovation Officer of the City of Phoenix, who announced that August 19th has been proclaimed Phoenix WordPress Day by Phoenix Mayor, Kate Gallego.
Then we got into the meat of Matt’s keynote. He was joined on stage by Robert Jacobi. Together, they had a conversation about some “Thoughts & Ideas” Matt has for the project – w.org profile names, Piplets, and rewarding impact for contributions to WordPress.
WordPress 7.1 was released during this session with a big red button.
What the Room Was Actually Doing
Recordings will show you the sessions. They won’t show you what the hallways, the sponsor floor, and the community booth felt like on the ground, so here’s the part you had to be there for.
Merchant Corner. Tucked into the venue this year was a lineup of Phoenix-area businesses, all running on WordPress, all proof that the platform shows up far outside the tech world. If you didn’t get a chance to stop by their tables, their sites are worth a visit:
Salsa Morita Rica | OMG PetArt | SMILE Biscotti | Cultivate Coffee | The Merchantile | Bookmans Entertainment Exchange | The Toasted Mallow | The Poisoned Pen Bookstore | Dr. Ginger’s | Desert Towel | Sonoran Sanctuary Candle Studio | Craft Nights | Cheri’s Desert Harvest | Arizona Art Supply | Stoneman Climbing Co
The Wapuu Scavenger Hunt. All week, attendees have been on the hunt for Wapuus hidden out in the wild, meaning somewhere in the convention center. We hid 48 Wapuus for Arizona, being the 48th state.
LEGO WP Logo Build. Piece by piece, attendees at the community booth built the WordPress logo out of LEGO over the course of the week — the kind of thing that only works because a conference full of builders can’t resist finishing something once they see it started.
Closing Out a Great Week
The week wrapped up with a closing party at On Jackson. Attendees enjoyed food, drinks, games, and live music. We spent the evening catching up on all we learned and experienced this week.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
None of this week happens without the sponsors who made it possible, from the hosting discounts on the ticket itself, annual hosting for every WP 101 attendee who went home with a live site, to the ever-popular sponsor hall, the coffee, the golf carts, and too much more to name.
We are so grateful for the partnership!
That’s a Wrap
Thank you to everyone who showed up this year: attendees, speakers, volunteers, sponsors, and everyone who’s been part of WordPress long before this week and will be long after it. See you at WordCamp US 2027.
