We’ve been busy little devs, hunched over our computers typing furiously until our eyes burn and our wrists ache, to bring you new features and functionalities on all our products.
But then we asked ourselves, “If a plugin update falls in the forest and there’s no one around to hear it, does it really make a sound?”
AND, we also realized that our members (like Justin, see below) get a geeky lil’ hit of dopamine whenever we release something cool.
So… what you’re about to read is the sound of a bunch of umm… update trees… falling? Or something? Idk.
We made a bunch of neat new things that you’ll probably find dopamine-inducing and we wanna tell you about them. 
TIMBER and let’s go!!!
TL;DR – Quick Highlights
- Hosting: PHP 8.4, AntiBot Global Firewall, lightning-fast staging, NGINX upgrades, mobile caching, and yeah, something HUGE is coming (but we’re still being mysterious about it.
). - The Hub: Proactive Monitoring now works on any site, subscription-based speed/security services, bulk broken link fixes, tighter account security, and oh yes, a full-blown CRM feature is on the way.
- Smush: Now optimized with AVIF for max image glam + next-gen LCP preloading on deck. She’s not just compressed, she’s red carpet ready.
- Hummingbird: More Google audits, better JS/CSS handling, and coming soon: one-click “Performance Modes” and concurrent caching to make your site fly.
- Broken Link Checker: Finally, a way to break up with bad links en masse, no awkward goodbyes required (they never sparked joy anyway).
- Forminator: Security buffs, spam zappers, and Cloud templates, plus upcoming conversational forms and a slick new styling interface. Bow down to the form king.
- Defender: Global Firewall, session locks, iron-clad password enforcement, and soon, JavaScript malware sniff-outs + fake bot bouncers. No weaklings allowed.
- Snapshot: Faster, smoother restores, backup support for chunky sites, and new integration with Linode, because even your site deserves a glow-up snapshot moment.
Seriously? Tell Me More!
Oh, yeah? You want the full scoop, huh? Let’s get into it…
We’ve Made Premium Hosting Oh So Much More Premium
We’ve been rolling out updates faster than you can say “drop it like it’s hot” and Premium Hosting now really turns heads in the club, if you know what I mean.
What’s New:
PHP 8.4? Oh yeah baby. Your sites are now running on the latest and greatest PHP version, bringing sharper performance, tighter security, and even better compatibility. If you thought things felt more buttery smooth than usual, you weren’t imagining it.
Firewall level: Global Domination. We’ve enabled our AntiBot Global Firewall across all hosted sites. No, nasty bot traffic, you can’t sit with us. 
Staging, but make it speedy. We’ve tuned up our Staging setup so that it’s faster than Michael Flatley’s feet.
NGINX, leaner and meaner. Simpler configs. Lower memory usage. Snappier SSL verification. It’s the kind of upgrade that makes your whole stack purr.
Mobile cache? Served. Static Site Cache now supports separate mobile caching. That means mobile visitors get a version of your site that’s actually made for their screen. Because if there’s one thing people are these days, it’s on their phones.
What’s Next:
Redirects, reimagined. We’re cooking up a native server-layer redirect system that’s clean, powerful, and SEO-friendly. Expect cleaner redirects and tell your 404 page that it’ll be getting a lot less traffic.
The pool party you don’t want to be invited to. Our upcoming Auto Bot Pool will automatically separate human visitors from bots, giving your server more bandwidth to serve real visitors, and shaving precious milliseconds off load times.
And something BIG is brewing…
We’ve been quietly working on a major update that’s going to totally change the game for Hosting. Can’t spill the beans just yet, but trust us, it’s worth the wait. 
The HUB is Looking Hotter Than Ever
What’s New:
We’ve been on a serious productivity streak in The HUB, adding everything from smarter services to slicker security. Here’s eeeeeeverything we’ve been working on… *deep breath*
Expert Services, now with even more expertise.
Proactive Monitoring isn’t just for WPMU DEV-hosted sites anymore. Now you can get 24/7 expert eyes on any WordPress site you manage, no matter where it’s hosted.
Speed & Security, now on subscription.
Love a good optimization or malware cleanup but want it on the regular? We’ve made our Site Speed Optimization and Malware Removal services available as subscriptions. Set it, forget it, and stay squeaky clean.
Stronger security, served daily.
We’ve got your website security locked down, so you can sleep as peacefully as a tiny puppy curled up on a soft pillow. You’ll find your Antibot Global Firewall configurations (updated twice a day!) and IP blocklists in our brand-new Security Center, so you can see and manage everything at a glance in one central dashboard.
(This feature is brought to you by Defender, and you can learn more about how Antibot Global Firewall works here.)
Broken links, bulk smashed.
Cleaning up broken links just got way less tedious. With new bulk actions, you can unlink, ignore, or un-ignore en masse.
And yes, we had some ridiculously good promos.
$1 Proactive Monitoring? 90% off ODD for newbies? 67% off Hosting plans? You’d think we were running a clearance sale, but really, we just love a good bargain. 
What’s Next:
We’re not slowing down anytime soon. Here’s what’s in the lab:
Notes, notes everywhere. Soon you’ll be able to add notes to sites, clients, domains, even webmail. Like those little neon sticky notes, but virtual.
Email-powered tickets. Let your clients create and reply to tickets straight from their inbox. No portal login, no fuss, just support that works.
White-labeled Support. That’s right, we’re working on ways to make your client experience 100% you-branded.
Client Billing, leveled up. From scheduling invoices and auto-charging cards to better subscription editing and client credits, we’re exploring all kinds of billing goodness. Not everything’s guaranteed, but if it helps you run your business smoother, it’s on our radar.
And one more thing…
We’re hard at work on a big upgrade to the HUB’s Client system, turning it into a full standalone CRM-style feature, completely decoupled from billing. That means more freedom, more flexibility, and fewer hoops to jump through. 
Plugin Glow-Ups
That’s not all! We have also made improvements to our adventurous little squad of ready-for-action plugins. Keep reading to learn how these superheroes have leveled up their powers.
Smush? More Like Plush 
What’s New:
Everyone’s favourite image optimization plugin is looking so luxe these days, you may not even recognize it.
That’s because she’s had a full AVIF makeover, honey! This next-gen image format outperforms WebP and JPEG in compression and quality, which means faster page loads, smaller file sizes and visuals that are absolutely on fleek.
Check it out on v3.18 and see the difference.
What’s Next:
Smush gets smarter and faster every day, with automatic detection and preloading for your Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) images. That’s just one more way this fab plugin helps you get the highest Google PageSpeed Insights scores.
– without costing you various limbs in the process.Hummingbird Takes Flight
What’s New:
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s your website flying at the speed of light now that Hummingbird lets you fine-tune your asset optimization to exclude inline JS from the Delay JS feature. Plus, we’ve also automatically excluded Elementor dynamic CSS from Asset Optimization for better compatibility.
We’ve also added 15, count em, 15 new audits from Google PageSpeed Insights into Hummingbird’s Performance Test! That means you can get a much more comprehensive answer to “how fast is my site?” beyond just, “really freakin’ fast.”
What’s Next:
Site optimization in Hummingbird is pretty cool, but we asked ourselves… “What if it was even more accessible?”
So we’re working on an update that will let you choose different “Performance Modes”, based on the level of optimization you want for your site – with one click.
Plus, we’re implementing Concurrent Page Caching during Asset Optimization, which will rev up your initial speed scores, instantly. That’s just the beginning of many caching improvements, so we’ll cache you later with more!
This Isn’t Even My Final Forminator
Beefed-up security. Smarter spam blocking. A fresh styling experience. Forminator is shining so much these days, it’s been crowned “King of Form Creation.”
What’s New:
We’ve rolled out four security updates (v1.38.3, 1.39.2, 1.39.3, 1.42.1) to keep your forms safer than ever. These include vital improvements under the hood to strengthen stability and protect your data, because your forms shouldn’t be anyone’s backdoor.
Templates in the Cloud, for everyone.
Starting with v1.40.0, Free members can now save custom form templates to the Cloud, just like our Pro users. That means you can build your masterpiece once and reuse it across all your sites. Work smarter, not harder.
Spam? No thanks. I’m a vegetarian.
v1.42 brought some serious antispam upgrades to help you keep your forms squeaky clean:
- Cloudflare Turnstile CAPTCHA adds an elegant bot-thwarting layer.
- Email Input Filtering lets you allow or block specific domains.
- Email Confirmation makes sure users are really who they say they are before hitting submit.
What’s Next:
Coming soon in v1.43 and beyond: a series of accessibility and interface improvements that make Forminator even more intuitive and inclusive. Think cleaner spacing, clearer labels, and smoother form management for everyone, because good UX should be universal.
Hello, conversational forms!
Yep, it’s happening. Later this year, we’re planning to launch conversational forms, interactive, friendly forms that feel like a laid-back chat instead of a chore. Better engagement, better data, and a whole new way to connect.
Redesigned styling experience.
We’re also reimagining Forminator’s Appearance Settings to give you more control and a smoother design experience. Soon you’ll be able to tweak and style your forms with way less friction, and way more precision. We know you have a certain aesthetic and who are we to mess with that?!
If It Ain’t Broke…n Link Checker
Whether your site has thousands of links, or just one link to your great aunt’s Sue’s birding blog, you want to make sure your visitors are actually ending up where you send them – and not in a sad 404 wasteland instead.
Broken Link Checker is the one that’ll make your broken site whole again. 
What’s New:
Good news. You no longer have to play Whac-A-Mole with your broken links one-by-one. Whether you’re tidying up an old blog or reigning in a wayward sitemap, you can unlink or ignore multiple links in one go, like a digital Marie Kondo but for 404s. (You don’t even have to say thank you before letting them go, we know they never sparked joy.)
What’s Next:
We’re not stopping there. Here’s a sneak peek at what’s coming:
Exclude Specific URLs
Got some links that just look broken but are really just misunderstood? (Like me when I was an 18-year-old emo kid listening to too much Death Cab for Cutie.) Soon, you’ll be able to exclude specific URLs from scans. No more false alarms over your staging site or that oddly-behaved redirect that really just needs unconditional love and acceptance.
Support for Robots.txt
Your site’s robots.txt file is about to become BFFs with Broken Link Checker. This update means we’ll respect your crawl boundaries. No more poking around places you’ve marked “do not disturb.”
Your links, your rules. We’re just here to make sure nothing’s quietly falling apart behind the scenes.
Defender? I Hardly Knew Her!
Look, sometimes, you need the bouncer who doesn’t flinch when the sketchy types show up at the door. Defender’s been hitting the gym and definitely not skipping firewall day.
What’s New:
AntiBot Global Firewall
Let us just flex here for a second. The AntiBot Global Firewall taps into threat data from over 500,000+ sites, updating twice a day to block brute-force baddies, spam storms, and suspicious IPs before they even touch your login screen. Bots? Blocked. Server load? Reduced. Real visitors? Welcomed with open arms (and totally unharmed).
Session Protection
Ever walked away from your computer mid-session and come back to find your cat almost deployed a redesign? Oops. Defender’s new Session Protection automatically locks things down when users go idle. Built-in timeouts and session locks means fewer hijack attempts and more peace of mind.
Strong Passwords = Strong Sites
Weak passwords? Not on our watch. Now you can require complex, secure passwords for users with the new Enforce Strong Passwords feature and a beautifully overhauled Password Rules section. No more of this “123456” or “thisismypassword” nonsense.
What’s Next:
Malicious JS files, beware. Defender’s expanding its scanning powers to detect hidden threats like injected redirects, crypto miners, and other shady scripts lurking in your JavaScript files. Ew. Get that stuff outta here!
And coming soon: Defender will spot imposters pretending to be search engine bots (looking at you, fake Googlebot 
). These malicious crawlers will be exposed and denied entry faster than you can say “not today, Satan.”
But First, Lemme Take a Snapshot…
Tell your site to fix it’s hair and pout at the camera, because it’s time to capture this moment. 
We’ve made a bunch of upgrades to your fave backup plugin, so you can rest easy knowing nothing will be missed.
What’s New
Restore Improvements
Let’s be real, when things go sideways, you want your site back fast. Snapshot’s there in an instant with speedier, more reliable restores. Whether you’re rolling back a rogue plugin update or recovering from a full-on catastrophe, restores now work faster and smoother so you can avoid a panic attack.
Baby Got Backup 
Got a thicc site? No problem. Now if it goes down, you can pull up quick to retrieve it. Snapshot now handles heavy database tables and phat files like a pro, letting you back up the big stuff with confidence.
On Cloud 9 with Linux-based Linode
You can now send your backups to Linode, thanks to our new S3-compatible integration. It’s perfect for you if you’re a fan of redundancy, flexibility and sleeping well at night.
What’s Next
New Third-Party Backup Destinations
Snapshot is getting ready to support Cloudflare R2 and iDrive as backup destinations. That means more choice, more control, and even more ways to keep your precious site stuff safe and sound in the cloud.
That’s all folks…. for now!
That’s everything we’ve been tippity-tapping out for you recently. Hope this has given you enough of a geeky dopamine rush, but don’t worry – there’ll be plenty more where that came from.
We’re always cooking up new updates, so stay tuned and if you have feedback and/or feature suggestions, we’d love to hear them!
Until next time, happy coding,
The WPMU DEV Team