WordPress 7.1 (“Mary Lou“) is now available on WordPress VIP.
Why it matters
Writers and editors get several upgrades. A new media modal adds cropping, rotation, and richer image editing without leaving the editor. Responsive and interactive styles turn years of custom CSS into native editor controls. Block notes now supports @mentions with email notifications and rich-text formatting for a richer collaboration experience.
Developers get an expanded Abilities API: more validation hooks and a unified public exposure flag for registering and exposing capabilities to the WP AI Client and external connectors. A new SVG Icon API standardizes how custom icons get registered and rendered across wp-admin.
Two platform-level changes are worth flagging. WordPress 7.1 moves image processing client-side: resizing and encoding happen in the browser before upload, with native support for phone formats like HEIC and AVIF. And every editor instance is now iframed: If your custom blocks or plugins rely on the editor document boundary, review that code before 7.1 makes it to your production sites.
What’s included
WordPress 7.1 includes 310+ Core Trac tickets and 600+ Gutenberg enhancements. Here are some highlights for enterprise teams:
- Abilities API and developer platform updates: expanded validation hooks and a unified public exposure flag extend how plugins register and expose capabilities, alongside a new SVG Icon API and a fully iframed post editor.
- Client-side media processing and a new media editor: images are resized and encoded in the browser before upload, with expanded format support and a new modal for cropping and rotation.
- Responsive styling and interactive states, without custom CSS: blocks can now be styled per breakpoint (tablet/mobile) and per interaction state (hover, focus, active) directly in Global Styles.
- Block notes updates: rich text formatting, @mentions with email notifications, multiple open threads per block, notes on a specific text selection instead of a whole block, and shareable revision links for review outside the editor.
Get started
WordPress 7.1 can be installed on all environments from the Software Updates screen in the VIP Dashboard or via VIP-CLI. If your environments have Managed Updates turned on, they’re already on the new version.
Here are some resources to get deeper into WordPress 7.1 and plan your upgrade:
- WordPress 7.1 Field Guide: The complete reference for WordPress 7.1.
- Developer Notes: The most important technical changes explained by the core contributors who implemented them.
- A 10-step framework for planning and executing WordPress upgrades.
- Need more help? Learn about our Upgrade Assurance service.