{"id":1888,"date":"2026-04-07T11:53:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T09:53:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unleash-wp.com\/blog\/?p=1888"},"modified":"2026-04-07T11:53:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T09:53:22","slug":"prepare-plugins-sites-wordpress-7-0","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unleash-wp.com\/blog\/prepare-plugins-sites-wordpress-7-0\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prepare Your Plugins and Sites for WordPress 7.0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WordPress 7.0 was supposed to ship on April 9. The team <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/04\/02\/the-path-forward-for-wordpress-7-0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">paused the release<\/a> to redesign how real-time collaboration stores its data, and a new schedule is expected by April 22. But 7.0 is still coming, and some of the changes will affect your day-to-day work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I&#8217;ve been going through my own client projects this week to see what needs work before it drops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-metaboxes-and-real-time-collaboration\"><span id=\"metaboxes-and-real-time-collaboration\">Metaboxes and real-time collaboration<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">7.0 introduces real-time collaboration in the block editor. Two people, one post, same time. It&#8217;s opt-in, <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/03\/10\/real-time-collaboration-in-the-block-editor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">powered by Yjs<\/a> with HTTP polling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If your plugin uses metaboxes, RTC gets disabled for that post. Metaboxes run through Gutenberg&#8217;s compatibility mode and bypass <code>wordpress\/data<\/code>, which RTC needs for change detection. The <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/03\/10\/real-time-collaboration-in-the-block-editor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">RTC dev note<\/a> explains the mechanics, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/developer.wordpress.org\/block-editor\/how-to-guides\/metabox\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Meta Boxes guide<\/a> covers migration paths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I found two client plugins that still rely on metaboxes. I&#8217;m migrating them now, because once 7.0 ships and users try to enable collaboration, those plugins will be the reason it doesn&#8217;t work. That&#8217;s a support conversation I&#8217;d rather skip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-php-7-2-and-7-3\"><span id=\"php-7-2-and-7-3\">PHP 7.2 and 7.3<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gone. WordPress 7.0 <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/01\/09\/dropping-support-for-php-7-2-and-7-3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">drops both<\/a>. Minimum is 7.4, recommended is 8.3+. MySQL minimum goes to 8.0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most of us run 8.x already. But I still see agency setups where staging runs a different PHP version than production. One of my legacy clients is on 7.4 and I had to double-check that nothing would break on the jump. The update from 7.3 to 7.4 is usually smooth, but old dependencies can surface things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-block-api-versions-and-the-iframe\"><span id=\"block-api-versions-and-the-iframe\">Block API versions and the iframe<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This one gets misunderstood a lot. The iframed post editor is <strong>not<\/strong> being enforced in 7.0. <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/02\/24\/iframed-editor-changes-in-wordpress-7-0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ella Van Durpe&#8217;s dev note<\/a> describes what actually changes: instead of checking all registered blocks for v3+, the editor now only checks the blocks inserted in the post. If they&#8217;re all v3+, the editor loads iframed. If one isn&#8217;t, it switches out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Gutenberg plugin (from 22.6) does enforce the iframe, for feedback collection. If you have blocks on v2, test them there now. You&#8217;ll want to know what breaks before enforcement hits Core in a later release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-api-keys-in-the-connectors-screen\"><span id=\"api-keys-in-the-connectors-screen\">API keys in the Connectors screen<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">7.0 ships a <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/03\/18\/introducing-the-connectors-api-in-wordpress-7-0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Connectors API<\/a> with a centralized admin screen for managing API keys. Three AI providers out of the box (OpenAI, Google, Anthropic), but any plugin that needs an external API key can use the framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keys stored through the screen currently sit unencrypted in <code>wp_options<\/code>. <a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/64789\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trac #64789<\/a> tracks the encryption work. Set your keys via environment variables or PHP constants. They take priority over the database value automatically. The <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/03\/18\/introducing-the-connectors-api-in-wordpress-7-0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dev note<\/a> documents the priority order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I wrote about <a href=\"\/forget-wordpress-ai-novamira-is-built-for-actual-dev-pros\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Novamira<\/a> recently. That takes the opposite approach: raw PHP access for AI agents via MCP, built for staging. The Connectors API is the production-safe counterpart. The <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/03\/24\/introducing-the-ai-client-in-wordpress-7-0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AI Client dev note<\/a> covers <code>wp_ai_client_prompt()<\/code> and the provider-agnostic architecture if you want to build on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-hosting-and-polling\"><span id=\"hosting-and-polling\">Hosting and polling<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every open RTC session generates HTTP requests. Peter Wilson <a href=\"https:\/\/core.trac.wordpress.org\/ticket\/64696\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">measured<\/a> ~60 requests\/min for one author, ~480\/min with two collaborators. The polling intervals since Beta 6 (<a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/76704\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PR #76704<\/a>) are conservative: 4s solo, 1s with a collaborator, 25s in background tabs. WordPress.com <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/03\/31\/extending-the-7-0-cycle\/#comment-46798\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">runs RTC at 100%<\/a> of their shared infrastructure with those defaults and says the load is fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can adjust intervals via <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/WordPress\/gutenberg\/pull\/76518\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">JS filters<\/a> or swap out HTTP polling entirely. The <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/04\/01\/building-a-custom-sync-provider-for-real-time-collaboration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">custom sync provider dev note<\/a> has a full example using y-websocket. <a href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/Automattic\/vip-go-mu-plugins\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WordPress VIP<\/a> already ships a WebSocket-based provider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-everything-else\"><span id=\"everything-else\">Everything else<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There&#8217;s a lot more. <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/03\/03\/php-only-block-registration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PHP-only block registration<\/a> without JavaScript or a build step, with sidebar controls generated automatically. <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/03\/16\/pattern-overrides-in-wp-7-0-support-for-custom-blocks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pattern overrides for custom blocks<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/03\/15\/custom-css-for-individual-block-instances-in-wordpress-7-0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Custom CSS per block instance<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/03\/15\/block-visibility-in-wordpress-7-0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Viewport-based block visibility<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/03\/09\/pseudo-element-support-for-blocks-and-their-variations-in-theme-json\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pseudo-styles in theme.json<\/a>. A completely reworked visual revisions system. A <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/2026\/03\/24\/client-side-abilities-api-in-wordpress-7-0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Client-Side Abilities API<\/a> that bridges WordPress to external AI tools via MCP. The full list of <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/tag\/dev-notes-7-0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dev notes lives here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the security side: 6.9.2 through 6.9.4 shipped mid-March in rapid succession, patching <a href=\"https:\/\/make.wordpress.org\/core\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">10 vulnerabilities<\/a> including a blind SSRF and stored XSS. 7.0 includes all those fixes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-i-m-doing\"><span id=\"what-im-doing\">What I&#8217;m doing<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Testing against the 7.0 nightlies. Migrating two plugins off metaboxes. Checking block API versions in the Gutenberg plugin. My clients are on PHP 8.2+, so that&#8217;s sorted. If you still have sites on 7.3, that&#8217;s your most urgent item.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>New schedule comes April 22.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WordPress 7.0 is paused but still coming. Here&#8217;s what I&#8217;m checking across my client projects before it drops.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"csco_display_header_overlay":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","csco_page_load_nextpost":"","csco_post_video_location":[],"csco_post_video_location_hash":"","csco_post_video_url":"","csco_post_video_bg_start_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_end_time":0,"csco_post_video_bg_volume":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[66,189],"tags":[263,261,269,257,255,265,271,259,267],"class_list":["post-1888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-development","category-gutenberg","tag-connectors-api","tag-metaboxes","tag-plugin-development-2","tag-real-time-collaboration","tag-wordpress-7-0-2","tag-wordpress-ai-client","tag-wordpress-hosting","tag-wordpress-rtc","tag-wordpress-security-2","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.5 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Prepare Your Plugins and Sites for WordPress 7.0<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"WordPress 7.0 is delayed but still coming. Metaboxes disable RTC, PHP 7.3 is dropped, API keys are unencrypted. What developers should do right now.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unleash-wp.com\/blog\/prepare-plugins-sites-wordpress-7-0\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Prepare Your Plugins and Sites for WordPress 7.0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WordPress 7.0 drops PHP 7.3, disables RTC when metaboxes are present, and ships unencrypted API keys. Here&#039;s what I&#039;m preparing across my client projects.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.unleash-wp.com\/blog\/prepare-plugins-sites-wordpress-7-0\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UnleashWP Dev Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-07T09:53:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.unleash-wp.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/wordpress-7-0-developer-info.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1536\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Benjamin Zekavica\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"How to Prepare Your Plugins and Sites for WordPress 7.0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@unleash_wp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@unleash_wp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Benjamin Zekavica\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unleash-wp.com\\\/blog\\\/prepare-plugins-sites-wordpress-7-0\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unleash-wp.com\\\/blog\\\/prepare-plugins-sites-wordpress-7-0\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Benjamin Zekavica\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unleash-wp.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c56e609b726e8914db2466c341363f17\"},\"headline\":\"How to Prepare Your Plugins and Sites for WordPress 7.0\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-07T09:53:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unleash-wp.com\\\/blog\\\/prepare-plugins-sites-wordpress-7-0\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":698,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unleash-wp.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unleash-wp.com\\\/blog\\\/prepare-plugins-sites-wordpress-7-0\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unleash-wp.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/wordpress-7-0-developer-info.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Connectors API\",\"Metaboxes\",\"Plugin Development\",\"Real-Time Collaboration\",\"WordPress 7.0\",\"WordPress AI Client\",\"WordPress Hosting\",\"WordPress RTC\",\"WordPress Security\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Development\",\"Gutenberg\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unleash-wp.com\\\/blog\\\/prepare-plugins-sites-wordpress-7-0\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unleash-wp.com\\\/blog\\\/prepare-plugins-sites-wordpress-7-0\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unleash-wp.com\\\/blog\\\/prepare-plugins-sites-wordpress-7-0\\\/\",\"name\":\"How to Prepare Your Plugins and Sites for WordPress 7.0\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unleash-wp.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unleash-wp.com\\\/blog\\\/prepare-plugins-sites-wordpress-7-0\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unleash-wp.com\\\/blog\\\/prepare-plugins-sites-wordpress-7-0\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.unleash-wp.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/wordpress-7-0-developer-info.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-07T09:53:22+00:00\",\"description\":\"WordPress 7.0 is delayed but still coming. 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