Journal
What I’m building, what’s new in WordPress, and practical tips for running your own website. New here? Start with a reading path below, or search every post.
Start here
Pick the path that sounds most like you. Each one is three posts, read in order.
Running a business and want to understand your site, or just starting to learn.
For developers keeping up with core changes and the newer APIs.
How I use Claude Code and Cursor, and where I still check every line.
What to expect from a site, a theme, or outside help.
Ready-made themes built for real kinds of businesses, and the stories behind them.
Featured
The post I’d hand you if you only read one this month.
I now sell WordPress themes on matthummel.com. Cobble & Candle, my theme for restaurants, taverns and inns, went from version 1.0 to 1.5.1 in a month. Here is what changed, what it costs, and what…
Newest first. Search by keyword, filter by topic, or press / to jump to search.
WordPress 7.2 Beta 3 came out October 28, 2026, inside the WordPress 7.1.4 security release. Here’s what 7.1.4 fixed, what to test, and the updated 7.2 schedule.
WordPress 7.2 Beta 2 came out October 27, 2026. It’s a testing release, not an update for live sites. Here’s what changed in the Abilities API, DataViews and the admin, and what to test before December 8.
October was the month matthummel.com became a shop. My first theme went on sale, I kept updating the site, eight posts went out, and more than 300 commits landed across four public repos. Here is the list, with links.
I now sell WordPress themes on matthummel.com. Cobble & Candle, my theme for restaurants, taverns and inns, went from version 1.0 to 1.5.1 in a month. Here is what changed, what it costs, and what it does not do yet.
Yes, you should still learn to code in 2026. But the reason changed: AI writes the code, and it doesn’t know when it’s wrong. Here’s what the research says to focus on.
WordPress 7.2 Beta 1 landed October 20, 2026. It’s a testing release, not an update for live sites. Here’s what’s new and what developers should check before the December 8 final release.
WordPress 7.2 is set for December 8, 2026. See the beta schedule, the new Ipsum theme, Notes suggestion mode, the Secrets API, and how to test it.
How one public repo of rules, skills and commands keeps Claude Code consistent across every WordPress project I work on, and syncs to every machine on merge.
The website basics every new developer should learn and every business owner should understand: how a site works, who owns what, backups, and staging.
Page 1 of 3
WordPress first, but not only WordPress. Each topic links to its full archive.
Custom themes, blocks, plugins, and release notes, including the updates that break things. The biggest topic here.
PHP, JavaScript, CSS, accessibility, and the basics every site owner should know.
How I use AI on the repeatable parts of a build, then review every line before it ships.
How white-label and overflow work runs when you keep the client and I do the building.
Quick answers about who writes it, what it covers, and how to keep up.
I do. I’m Matt Hummel, a full-stack WordPress developer in Gettysburg, PA. I build custom themes, plugins and web apps for small shops, inns, tour companies, real estate agents and agencies, and every post comes out of that work. No guest posts, no rewritten press releases.
WordPress is the core: custom themes, Gutenberg blocks, plugins and the updates that break them. Around that you’ll find general web development too, like PHP, JavaScript and CSS, accessibility, deployment with GitHub Actions, and how I use AI tools on real builds. The topic list has the full spread.
Two groups. Business owners, marketers, and agencies who want to understand their website and know what good work looks like before they pay for it, and developers who want a fix that works on a real site.
Use the search box in the post list, or filter by topic. You can switch between grid and list view if you’re scanning for one title.
The easiest way is email: drop your address in the signup form and new posts come to you. If you’d rather use a feed reader, paste matthummel.com/feed/ into Feedly, NetNewsWire or whatever you already use. New posts also go out on Bluesky and LinkedIn, linked in the footer.
Yes. Send a note on the contact page with a link to the post or a few lines about the project. I usually reply within one business day (Eastern Time).
