Thoughts on EmDash – Techbros Latest Attempt to Stop Me Making Mortgage Payments

In his April 2026 blog post, Rhys Wynne reviews EmDash, a new CMS touted as a potential WordPress replacement, highlighting its familiar interface and built-in SEO features but expressing concerns about limited plugin expansion, potential Cloudflare lock-in, lack of export functionality, and complex developer documentation. Wynne argues that many issues attributed to WordPress, such as plugin bloat and security, can be addressed within WordPress itself and remains skeptical that EmDash can match WordPress’s extensibility and portability, advising caution before migrating clients to it.

https://www.rhyswynne.co.uk/thoughts-on-emdash-techbros-latest-attempt-to-stop-me-making-mortgage-payments/

The CMS Is Dead. Long Live the CMS.

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The article discusses the ongoing debate about the future of content management systems (CMS), especially WordPress, in the age of AI-driven web development. While some advocate abandoning traditional CMS platforms in favor of AI-generated, modern JavaScript frameworks, the author argues that CMSs remain essential, highlighting the challenges of dependency management, vendor lock-in, and preserving long-term site architecture; instead of discarding CMSs, AI should be integrated to enhance them, maintaining their value and adaptability.

https://next.jazzsequence.com/posts/the-cms-is-dead-long-live-the-cms

ProcessWire: An Open Source CMS with a Powerful API

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ProcessWire is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) and framework designed for ease of use, flexibility, and scalability. It features a customizable, hierarchical page structure, a powerful API for content management, strong multi-language support, and a secure, modular architecture that allows developers full control over content and design. Trusted for both small and large sites, ProcessWire offers a user-friendly editing experience and an expanding ecosystem of modules and tools.

https://processwire.com/

EmDash Feedback

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Matt Mullenweg provides critical feedback on EmDash, a new CMS from Cloudflare presented as a “spiritual successor” to WordPress. He argues EmDash lacks the true spirit of WordPress’s open, democratized publishing and notes its plugin security claims fall short, while recognizing EmDash’s solid engineering and strong Cloudflare integration. Mullenweg emphasizes WordPress’s unique community and open-source ethos, suggesting that true innovation should build on first principles rather than mimic existing approaches.

https://ma.tt/2026/04/emdash-feedback/

Rest Pro Tools

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REST Pro Tools is a powerful WordPress plugin designed to give users comprehensive control over the WordPress REST API. Developed by Jeff Starr, it allows one-click disabling of API routes, granular access management based on user roles, customization of REST error messages and headers, addition of custom fields, and IP/user whitelisting, with both a free and an enhanced Pro version offering extensive features for secure and flexible API management.

https://plugin-planet.com/rest-pro-tools/

Scaling the REST API: Defensive Architecture for Custom Endpoints

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The article explains how to create high-performance custom WordPress REST API endpoints by designing lean responses using the _fields parameter, avoiding heavy queries like WP_Query when unnecessary, and implementing efficient caching with object caches such as Redis or Memcached. It also emphasizes securing endpoints with proper permission and input validation, plus protecting server resources via network-level defenses like Web Application Firewalls, DDoS protection, and rate limiting at the edge to prevent denial-of-service through excessive API requests.

https://deliciousbrains.com/scaling-the-rest-api/

WordPress Gutenberg 22.7 Lays Groundwork For AI Publishing

WordPress Gutenberg 22.7 improves editing workflow and prepares for AI publishing, introducing features like custom CSS selectors for block developers, live style previews, an admin page for managing AI connectors, and new content guidelines for consistent AI interaction. Additionally, real-time collaboration is now enabled by default.

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/wordpress-gutenberg-22-7-lays-groundwork-for-ai-publishing/569543/

Database Indexing: The Missing Manual for WordPress

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The article explains that while WordPress’s default database indexes are adequate for most sites, large sites with millions of rows in tables like wp_postmeta and wp_options suffer from slow queries due to full table scans. It emphasizes understanding MySQL indexing basics, managing the wp_options table size to stay within a 1MB cache buffer, and using partial indexes on large text fields to improve query performance, while recommending tools like Query Monitor and the MySQL Slow Query Log to identify bottlenecks.

https://deliciousbrains.com/database-indexing-for-wordpress/

How to Add a Markdown Version of Your WordPress Site (The Easy Way)

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Extreme TLDR: Add Markdown for WordPress to improve AI visibility. AIOSEO plugin automates Markdown version creation. Benefits: cleaner for AI, reduces token usage, easy setup without coding. Follow steps to configure AIOSEO. Verify by appending .md to URLs. Boost discoverability with proper headings and llms.txt. FAQ covers Markdown's impact on AI, SEO, and checking accuracy.

https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-add-a-markdown-version-of-your-wordpress-site/

Internet Archive Wayback Machine Link Fixer

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The Internet Archive Wayback Machine Link Fixer is a WordPress plugin that addresses link rot by automatically scanning post content for outbound links, checking for archived versions on the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, and creating snapshots if none exist. It redirects broken links to archived versions and archives your own posts upon updates, helping maintain content reliability and user experience with minimal overhead. The plugin works in the background using the Internet Archive’s APIs and supports managing large numbers of links, though it may have some compatibility and performance considerations.

https://wordpress.org/plugins/internet-archive-wayback-machine-link-fixer/

BlogBook — WordPress, Micro.blog, or Ghost – Markdown Book

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BlogBook is an app that allows users to export their WordPress, Micro.blog, or Ghost blogs into a single Markdown file, with options to filter by categories, authors, tags, and dates. The exported file can then be opened in Marked 3 to generate PDFs, EPUBs, and other formats, facilitating easy backup and content sharing. Developed by Brett Terpstra, BlogBook is available on the Mac App Store.

https://blogbook.my/

Why WordPress Needs to Plug Into the Agentic Web

WordPress must evolve from a static CMS to an agentic platform, enabling AI agents to interact with its content through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). MCP transforms WordPress by structuring data for AI queries rather than traditional human interfaces. Utilizing tools like the WP Engine AI Toolkit, developers can enhance content query capabilities, ensuring data remains accurate and discoverable. This shift towards an AI-friendly architecture allows WordPress sites to actively engage in the AI ecosystem, making previously unstructured data accessible and agent-operable, thus future-proofing digital strategies.

https://wpengine.com/builders/why-wordpress-needs-to-plug-into-the-agentic-web/?_gl=1*c4klbk*_gcl_au*MjEyNTYzODU3NS4xNzY4OTI3OTcz*_ga*MTAzNDQyNzc3OC4xNzY4OTI3OTcy*_ga_QQ5FN8NX8W*czE3Njg5Mjc5NzMkbzEkZzAkdDE3Njg5MjgwMDIkajMxJGwwJGgxNjM4MzY5MTc0

A Big List of Things I Disable in WordPress

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Terence Eden shares a comprehensive list of WordPress features and default behaviors he disables to reduce bloat and improve site performance, accompanied by a detailed PHP script to remove unwanted styles, scripts, and automatic formatting. Despite WordPress’s philosophy of “decisions, not options,” Eden provides developer-friendly solutions to override enforced defaults like emoji scripts, Gutenberg styles, automatic formatting, and various metadata injections, aiming to create a cleaner, faster WordPress experience.

https://shkspr.mobi/blog/2025/11/a-big-list-of-things-i-disable-in-wordpress/

Personal Blogs Are Back, Should Niche Blogs Be Next?

The article discusses the revival of personal blogs and suggests that niche blogs—focused, high-quality topic-specific resources—should also make a comeback to provide reliable information amidst the rise of social media and AI-generated content. It highlights the historic value of niche blogging for expertise and income, advocating for independent writers to produce such content with improved monetization approaches, helping to restore a vibrant, trustworthy web environment.

https://disassociated.com/personal-blogs-back-niche-blogs-next/

Delicious Brain Bytes: WordPress 6.9 RC1, FAIR’s Security MVP, and Finding Hidden Gems

The article highlights key developments in the WordPress ecosystem including the release candidate for WordPress 6.9, which introduces the new Abilities API that standardizes plugin functionality for better AI integration. It also covers innovations like the Hidden Gems plugin for discovering quality lesser-known plugins, and a collaborative security MVP by FAIR and Patchstack to enhance WordPress security through vulnerability labeling. Additionally, it previews advanced custom block features in ACF and offers significant discounts on popular developer tools for WordPress.

https://deliciousbrains.com/delicious-brain-bytes-wordpress-6-9-rc1-fairs-security-mvp-and-finding-hidden-gems/

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