A major release changed course

On April 22, the WordPress Core team announced a new general-release date of May 20, 2026 for WordPress 7.0. The schedule had been extended while contributors worked on architectural improvements and additional testing.

Delay is not automatically a warning sign

For software used by millions of sites, refusing to rush can be the healthier decision. Release dates matter, but compatibility, performance and predictable upgrades matter more to site owners.

What website owners should do

There is rarely a prize for installing a major version in the first minutes. Keep themes and plugins maintained, make a current backup and, for important sites, test the new version on staging. A deliberate update is usually more valuable than a fast one.