B
Brett McSherry
Guest
Photo by Nilo Velez
Over 1,723 attendees from 84 countries gathered at the Messe and Congress Center Basel in Switzerland, and 20,353 more joined online for WordCamp Europe 2025.
The flagship WordPress event kicked off in Basel, Switzerland, with a dedicated Contributor Day. It was followed by two days of engaging talks, panels, hands-on workshops, and vibrant community connections. WordPress Cofounder Matt Mullenweg and Executive Director Mary Hubbard joined a diverse lineup of speakers and panelists, sharing insights in the heart of one of Europe’s most charming cities.
Set against the backdrop of Basel’s historic streets and Rhine-side views, the sponsor hall buzzed with activity as companies from across the WordPress ecosystem showcased their latest innovations, offered live demos, and connected with attendees. Each day, participants refueled with a range of local and international cuisine — from Swiss specialties to global favorites — making mealtime a lively space for networking, collaboration, and sparking new ideas.
A Global Gathering in Basel
WordCamp Europe has long been one of the most anticipated WordPress events of the year — a space where community, creativity, and collaboration thrive. This year in Basel, the conference delivered an exciting and diverse program that reached every corner of the WordPress ecosystem.
Here’s what attendees experienced:
- Engaging Sessions Across Tracks – Across two full days, the conference featured informative talks, captivating keynotes, and dynamic discussions exploring WordPress and the broader web.
- A Global Speaker Lineup – The stage welcomed 52 speakers from 23 countries across five continents, each bringing unique insights and global perspectives.
- Wide-Ranging Topics – The schedule included 45 sessions and four hands-on workshops across three tracks, covering:
- Accessibility and key policy updates like the European Accessibility Act and the Cyber Resilience Act
- The evolving role of Artificial Intelligence in the open web
- Cutting-edge web design, development best practices, SEO, and content strategy
- Real-world case studies and showcases from across the community
- Hands-On Learning Opportunities – Interactive workshops allowed attendees to roll up their sleeves and develop practical skills in a collaborative setting.
- A Community Built on Collaboration – Whether developer, designer, content creator, or entrepreneur, every attendee found space to connect, learn, and grow within a vibrant and welcoming community.
Contributor Day
WordCamp Europe began with a vibrant Contributor Day that brought together 640 contributors—including many first-timers—to collaborate, share knowledge, and support the WordPress project. Guided by 33 dedicated table leads, with 21 teams, attendees of all experience levels came together to exchange ideas, solve real challenges, and make meaningful contributions to open source. From accessibility improvements to theme development and translation efforts, every table played a part in moving WordPress forward.
Thanh Nguyen
Jeroen Rotty
Thanh Nguyen
Roan de Vries
Thanh Nguyen
Nilo Velez
Thanh Nguyen
Levente András Tóth
Jeroen Rotty
Levente András Tóth
Sebastián Echeverri Jaramillo
Thanh Nguyen
Nilo Velez
Contributor Day at WordCamp Europe 2025 brought together a mix of first-time and returning contributors across a wide range of teams, from Core and Accessibility to Polyglots, Training, and Community. Attendees tackled everything from onboarding and ticket triage to translating strings, improving documentation, and enhancing tools and workflows. Development-focused teams explored performance and testing improvements and worked through live coding exercises. Meanwhile, accessibility testers, support volunteers, and photo moderators contributed to efforts that directly impact users around the world.
In parallel, teams like Marketing, Meta, Hosting, and Sustainability focused on future-facing initiatives—from promoting WordPress through the Showcase and social media campaigns to refining infrastructure, increasing accessibility, and preparing for long-term project growth. Whether contributing to plugins, themes, documentation, or new contributor experiences, participants reinforced the values that power the WordPress project: collaboration, inclusivity, and openness. The day served as a reminder that WordPress is not just software—it’s a community built by and for everyone.
Tomorrow Starts with WordPress
The first full day of WordCamp Europe 2025 brought the community together to celebrate the power of open source collaboration and innovation. Opening remarks from both global and local event leads reflected on the journey of WordCamp Europe—from its beginnings in 2013 in Leiden, Netherlands, to the vibrant event in Basel today. This full-circle moment underscored the growth of the WordPress community, united by a shared commitment to an open web.
The day launched into an inspiring program with the keynote session, WordPress Without Borders – The Fight for Digital Freedom, delivered by Noel Tock. Drawing from his experiences—including time on the frontlines in Ukraine—Tock illustrated how open source supports global resilience and serves as a digital human right. His message called on contributors to see their work as part of something greater, offering a compelling and forward-looking vision to energize and unify the WordPress community.
From there, the program unfolded across multiple tracks—each one sparking new conversations and insights. One standout session highlighted social entrepreneurship in Bulgaria, where WordPress is helping grassroots organizations drive change in education, journalism, and social justice. Petya Raykovska shared how nonprofits like Teenovator and the Bulgarian Fund for Women are using WordPress to amplify their work and strengthen their communities.
Designers and developers explored ways to improve workflows and collaboration. In Bridging Design and Development, attendees learned how Figma Design Systems can connect design and development through shared structures mapped to block themes. Real-world examples, like the Novus Media Newspaper Design System, demonstrated how scalable, consistent design can power multi-brand platforms.
Workshops played a key role throughout the day, including the interactive Block Developer Cookbook: WCEU 2025 Edition, where attendees worked through community-voted code recipes featuring the latest WordPress APIs. Sessions also dove into emerging technologies, such as Automating WordPress Setup with Modern AI Tools, which showcased how WP-CLI, scripting, and AI can accelerate project setup and reduce repetitive tasks.
Photo by Marc Wieland
Day Two of WordCamp Europe 2025 opened with a focus on the evolving role of the WordPress community in a rapidly changing digital world. Sessions explored how contributors—from local meetup organizers to global advocates—play a vital part in shaping WordPress’s future. Talks on inclusivity, such as Over the Rainbow, encouraged attendees to consider how individual actions can help build a more welcoming, representative open source ecosystem. Throughout the morning, the spirit of collaboration and shared purpose remained front and center.
As the day progressed, attention turned to the tools and technologies pushing WordPress forward. From sessions on scaling multilingual sites and managing observability to hands-on workshops, developers explored new ways to streamline workflows and enhance performance. Highlights included WordPress Gems for Devs, which introduced the Interactivity API through live coding, and Client-side Web AI Agents, a look at cutting-edge browser-based AI that unlocks new possibilities for web experiences. These talks reflected the platform’s growing capacity to adapt to emerging trends while staying true to its open foundations.
The afternoon brought a blend of practical guidance and inspiring stories across tracks. A case study on accessibility from Switzerland showed how thoughtful design can benefit all users, while a session on brand-building for women entrepreneurs highlighted the creative and economic opportunities WordPress enables. With topics spanning content strategy, business growth, regulatory readiness, and more, the second day of WCEU 2025 affirmed the strength of the WordPress ecosystem—not only as a technology platform, but as a global movement fueled by people, purpose, and possibility.
Fireside Chat
As the final day drew to a close, Matt and Mary shared some thoughts on EU regulation (Open Web Alliance), AI, and the introduction of the WordPress AI team, and then answered questions from the audience.
Closing
A heartfelt thank you to the dedicated organizers who brought WordCamp Europe 2025 to life in Basel, the speakers who shared their insights, the attendees who joined us in person, and those who followed along from afar. We hope you leave with fresh ideas, meaningful connections, and renewed energy to help shape the future of the open web.
Jeroen Rotty
Chris Clarke
Thanh Nguyen
Thanh Nguyen
Maksym Kaharlytskyi
Chris Clarke
Atsushi Ando
Nilo Velez
Jeroen Rotty
Nilo Velez
Be sure to mark your calendars for the final major WordPress events in 2025: WordCamp US (Portland, Oregon, USA). Then join us in KrakĂłw, Poland for WordCamp Europe 2026! Also, if you want to get involved with WCEU, the call for organisers is already open for 2026.
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