{"id":5038,"date":"2026-05-08T18:18:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T18:18:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/?p=5038"},"modified":"2026-05-08T18:18:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T18:18:48","slug":"wordpress-org-blog-wordpress-7-0-release-candidate-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/?p=5038","title":{"rendered":"WordPress.org blog: WordPress 7.0 Release Candidate 3"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The third Release Candidate (\u201cRC3\u201d) for WordPress 7.0 is ready for download and testing!<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>This version of the WordPress software is under development<\/strong>.<strong> Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites.<\/strong> Instead, it\u2019s recommended that you evaluate RC3 on a test server and site.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reaching this phase of the release cycle is an important milestone. As always, testing remains crucial to ensure that everything in WordPress 7.0 is the best it can be.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can test WordPress 7.0 RC3 in four ways:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\">\n<table class=\"has-fixed-layout\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Plugin<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Install and activate the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/wordpress-beta-tester\/\">WordPress Beta Tester<\/a> plugin on a WordPress install. (Select the \u201cBleeding edge\u201d channel and \u201cBeta\/RC Only\u201d stream.)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Direct Download<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Download the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/wordpress-7.0-RC3.zip\">RC3 version (zip)<\/a> and install it on a WordPress website.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Command Line<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Use this <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/cli\/\">WP-CLI<\/a> command: <br \/><code>wp core update --version=7.0-RC<\/code>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>WordPress Playground<\/strong><\/td>\n<td>Use the <a href=\"https:\/\/playground.wordpress.net\/?php=8.0&amp;wp=beta&amp;networking=no&amp;language=&amp;multisite=no&amp;random=y4q1rn88xn\">WordPress Playground instance<\/a> to test the software directly in your browser.  No setup is required \u2013 just click and go! <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The scheduled final release date for WordPress 7.0 is <strong>May 20, 2026<\/strong>. The full <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/04\/22\/wordpress-7-0-release-party-updated-schedule\/\">release schedule can be found here<\/a>. Your help testing Beta and RC versions is vital to making this release as stable and powerful as possible. Thank you to everyone who helps with testing!<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Please continue checking the <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/\">Make WordPress Core blog<\/a> for <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/tag\/7-0\">7.0-related posts<\/a> in the coming weeks for more information.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What\u2019s in WordPress 7.0 RC3?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Want to look deeper into the details and technical notes for this release? Take a look at the <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/tag\/dev-notes+7-0\/\">WordPress 7.0 Developer Notes<\/a>. For technical information related to the 143+ issues addressed since <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/news\/2026\/03\/wordpress-7-0-release-candidate-2\/\">RC2<\/a>, you can browse the following links:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/query?status=closed&amp;changetime=03%2F26%2F2026..05%2F08%2F2026&amp;milestone=7.0&amp;group=component&amp;col=id&amp;col=summary&amp;col=milestone&amp;col=changetime&amp;col=type&amp;order=id\">Closed 7.0 WordPress Core Trac tickets<\/a> since March 26, 2026<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/commits\/wp\/7.0?since=2026-03-26&amp;until=2026-05-08\">7.0 Gutenberg commits<\/a> since March 26, 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Note<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/05\/08\/rtc-removed-from-7-0\/\">Real Time Collaboration will not be included<\/a> in the 7.0 release and will be re-evaluated during the 7.1 release cycle. Because of this, this RC3 version is no longer considered a \u201cnew Beta 1\u201d.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How you can contribute<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WordPress is open source software made possible by a passionate community of people collaborating on and contributing to its development. The resources below outline various ways you can get involved with the world\u2019s most popular open source web platform, regardless of your technical expertise.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Get involved in testing<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Testing for issues is crucial to the development of any software. It\u2019s also a meaningful way for anyone to contribute. Your help testing the WordPress 7.0 RC3 version is key to ensuring that the final release is the best it can be.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/test\/2026\/02\/20\/help-test-wordpress-7-0\/\">detailed guide<\/a> will walk you through testing features in WordPress 7.0. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For those new to testing, follow <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/test\/handbook\/get-setup-for-testing\/\">this general testing guide<\/a> for more details on getting set up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you encounter a potential bug or issue, please report it to the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/support\/forum\/alphabeta\/\">Alpha\/Beta area<\/a> of the support forums or directly to <a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/newticket\">WordPress Trac<\/a> if you are comfortable writing a reproducible bug report. You can also check your issue against a list of <a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/tickets\/major\">known bugs<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Curious about testing releases in general?\u00a0 Follow along with the <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/test\/\">testing initiatives in Make Core<\/a> and join the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.slack.com\/messages\/core-test\/\">#core-test channel<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.slack.com\/\">Making WordPress Slack<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Update your theme or plugin<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For plugin and theme authors, your products play an integral role in extending the functionality and value of WordPress for all users.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thanks for continuing to test your themes and plugins with the WordPress 7.0 beta releases. If you haven\u2019t yet, make sure to conclude your testing and update the <em>\u201cTested up to\u201d<\/em> version in your <a href=\"https:\/\/developer.wordpress.org\/plugins\/wordpress-org\/how-your-readme-txt-works\/\">plugin\u2019s readme file<\/a> to 7.0.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you find compatibility issues, please post detailed information to the <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/support\/forum\/alphabeta\/\">support forum<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Test on your hosting platforms<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Web hosts provide vital infrastructure for supporting WordPress and its users. Testing on hosting systems helps inform the development process while ensuring that WordPress and hosting platforms are fully compatible, free of errors, optimized for the best possible user experience, and that updates roll out to customer sites without issue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thank you to the Hosts who helped test variations of new RTC architecture: Kinsta, Bluehost, GoDaddy, WordPress.com, XServer, and Ionos, and to <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/hosting\/test-results\/\">the hosts who participate in distributed testing<\/a> regularly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Want to test WordPress on your hosting system? <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/hosting\/test-results-getting-started\/\">Get started with configuring distributed hosting tests here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Help translate WordPress<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Do you speak a language other than English? \u00bfEspa\u00f1ol? Fran\u00e7ais? \u0420\u0443\u0441\u0441\u043a\u0438\u0439? \u65e5\u672c\u8a9e? \u0939\u093f\u0928\u094d\u0926\u0940? \u09ac\u09be\u0982\u09b2\u09be? \u092e\u0930\u093e\u0920\u0940? \u0c95\u0ca8\u0ccd\u0ca8\u0ca1?  You can <a href=\"https:\/\/translate.wordpress.org\/projects\/wp\/dev\/\">help translate WordPress into more than 100 languages<\/a>. This release milestone (RC3) marks the <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/polyglots\/handbook\/glossary\/#hard-freeze\">hard string freeze<\/a> point of the <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/03\/25\/wordpress-7-0-release-candidate-phase\/\">7.0 release cycle<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">An RC3 haiku<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>By the tides of sea<\/em>,<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>where wind moves gently through trees<\/em>,<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>sprouts up RC3<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Props to <a class=\"mention\" href=\"https:\/\/profiles.wordpress.org\/desrosj\/\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@<\/span>desrosj<\/a>, <a class=\"mention\" href=\"https:\/\/profiles.wordpress.org\/peterwilsoncc\/\"><span class=\"mentions-prefix\">@<\/span>peterwilsoncc<\/a> for proofreading and review.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The third Release Candidate (\u201cRC3\u201d) for WordPress 7.0 is ready for download and testing! This version of the WordPress software is under development. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, it\u2019s recommended that you evaluate RC3 on a test server and site. Reaching this phase [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5038","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5038"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5038\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5038"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5038"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/frontlinenewsng.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5038"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}