2025 brought a busy year in the digital world, spanning AI, SEO, sustainability and the WordPress project. In this post, I look back at what happened in 2025, share what I worked on, and hope for a more humane 2026.
Volunteering at WordCamp Europe in Basel, Switzerland
In June, I attended WordCamp Europe in Basel. I try to go every year and hope to attend again in 2026. In 2025, I stepped out of my comfort zone and volunteered at the conference that has given me so much over the years. Volunteering at a WordCamp is an amazing experience, and I highly recommend it to anyone in the WordPress community. It let me meet incredible people, some I had met before and others for the first time. If you are thinking about volunteering, please join us in 2026 in Poland.
There were many great talks, too many to list, however, I strongly suggest checking out “WordPress without Borders – The Fight for Digital Freedom” and “How to make your website more sustainable” as a starting point. The first talk went into detail about how WordPress is being utilised in Ukraine and around the world by on the ground charities. The second talk is exactly what the title suggests, how to make your website more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Sustainability is a passionate subject
The importance of sustainability within the WordPress project was a huge talking point. There were a lot of passionate discussions about what exactly is Sustainability – interestingly, Sustainability still seemed to mean different things, to different people, across different parts of the globe. A great Podcast about this exact topic can be found at WP Sustain and Nahuai also explains in a 2023 blog post at the Green Web Foundation.
AI traffic is exploding, and we need to work with it
2025 saw the rise of AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Gemini. These tools already change how people discover websites. LLM-driven traffic is growing rapidly over a short period. Users ask AI detailed, context-heavy questions, driving meaningful visits in sectors such as legal, finance and health. This shift matters because visibility no longer depends only on traditional search rankings. AI systems surface useful content directly, so brands need clear, well-structured, authoritative pages that models can read and reference. Tracking AI-driven traffic and updating SEO strategies now helps businesses stay visible as discovery moves towards conversational interfaces. There is a great post with more information here.
However, there also has to be trade offs. Last year I wrote a post about How to Stop AI Bots Slowing a WordPress Website, with Cloudflare as I saw an increase in friendly DDoS attacks causing uptime issues.
AI bots are important, but let’s continue to put people first
2026 looks set to be another year of AI dominance, shaping how we work and how people search the web. We also need to stay mindful of environmental impact and the risks AI can create for projects, as seen with Tailwind CSS. Used well, AI can be a force for good. But we should never compromise on being humane first.
WordPress Support is more important than ever in 2026
With changes in search, AI, security and sustainability, businesses and charities must prioritise on-going WordPress support. Things move lightning fast, so having a WordPress support developer on hand helps you stay on top. It’s easy to get carried away with AI bots, but we must keep people at the front. After all, people are the target audience. Let’s work together to build a more humane web.
