The Future of WordPress: Trends to Watch in 2025

October 21, 2024 / WordPress

WordPress

While WordPress has long worn the crown as the world’s most popular website-building platform, it certainly doesn’t stand still. Advances like the Block Editor and Full Site Editing have totally changed how people work with it in recent years. Now, with new technologies becoming available, it is set to advance even more. Here are the WordPress trends to watch out for in 2025 and beyond.

AI integration

The world seems to be awash with AI-enabled tools and applications, so it is no surprise that everyone is anticipating how this technology will be used in WordPress. One area we are certain to see its influence is with the development of AI-powered plugins, from those that will automatically generate content based on current trends and user interests, to those that automate backend management, such as automating updates and backups. Given the vast range of plugins available for WordPress already, the potential is enormous. Indeed, there is even the potential that AI can eventually create bespoke plugins for websites.

Another area where AI is likely to have an impact is with chatbots. While AI chatbots are already in use, further development and integration could see them becoming personal assistants and personal shoppers for website visitors. For instance, through discussions with the chatbot, it could help your customers choose clothes based on their style or recommend finance deals based on their needs and circumstances. In this sense, not only could AI become incredibly useful for users, but its potential for personalisation is enormous.

For more information about AI, read: The Benefits of AI-Powered Managed WordPress Hosting

Headless WordPress

In case you are not familiar with the term headless, a headless application is one in which the frontend, the bits users see, is separated from the backend, the admin dashboard, enabling them to run independently. In this sense, a headless WordPress site is one where WordPress looks after the content management (backend) while other technology is used to create the frontend and display your content to visitors.

One benefit of using headless WordPress is that by unlinking the front and back ends, developers can use different technologies to create faster and more custom-designed websites. Another advantage is that being headless enables the backend content to be displayed on different technologies and with different designs and layouts, for instance, you can publish it to both your website and your app simultaneously and do this directly from your admin panel.

If you opt for headless WordPress, the way you manage your website won’t change, but unless you are very tech-savvy, the design and layout will need to be handled by developers or some of the third-party solutions providers now offering this as a service. It’s certainly not something that the average, non-coding WordPress user could do by themselves.

Performance improvements

As most people know, website speed is an important search engine ranking criterion and plays a key role in preventing visitor abandonment and keeping users engaged on your site. The downside to using WordPress, unfortunately, is that its combination of core software, theme and various plugins means lots of data needs to be transmitted when users visit websites, and this can slow it down.

While there are various measures WordPress users can take to speed up their websites, these can be time-consuming and at times technically challenging. More recently, however, some web hosting providers, like eukhost, have developed WordPress hosting solutions that implement these measures automatically and provide infrastructure that is customised to boost performance.

Our WP Accelerated suite of technologies, for example, includes performance-enhancing features like static full-page cache, mobile-optimised cache and HTTP/2 Push, all of which help supercharge loading times. Other speed-boosting capabilities include pre-caching, lazy loading, code minification, Google font optimisation, and database cleanup and optimisation. At the same time, users have the benefit of high-performance servers configured for WordPress and fitted with the latest SSD or NVMe drives.

New security measures

The popularity of WordPress has long made it a target for cybercriminals. What’s more, its reliance on multiple plugins means that websites are vulnerable if owners do not update their software promptly when a new version or security patch is released. What compounds this problem today is the increasing sophistication of malware, hacking tools and techniques used by cybercriminals. With AI-enabled tools, ransomware as a service, customised malware development and dark web websites where stolen login credentials and hacking tools are sold at giveaway prices, the capacity to inflict damage is greater than ever.

Implementing robust security is, therefore, essential. One of the biggest hurdles for website owners, however, is that advanced security tools are not cheap. While there are great plugins that can provide some of the measures users need, the free versions offer limited protection.

In 2025 and beyond, the key to security will be your choice of hosting provider and the solutions they put in place for their customers. At eukhost, our WordPress hosting plans are designed to provide WordPress-focused security. For instance, we use the AI-powered Imunify360 application firewall which proactively defends your site from malware, hacking and other threats; our Smart WordPress Updates feature scans for and automatically updates outdated and vulnerable software; and our one-click WordPress hardening tool instantly puts best practice security settings in place.

Keep your site protected, read: Battling Digital Threats – Preventing Malware Infections

Decentralised technologies

The evolution of Web 3 aims to give users more control over their data by moving towards decentralisation. One of the key technologies that will be used to drive this is blockchain. In basic terms, a blockchain is a ledger which records transactions by splitting them up across multiple computers. As they are not stored in one place, they are naturally decentralised and cannot be controlled by a single entity. To work, a blockchain needs a network of trusted participants that will maintain and validate the shared ledger. Aside from decentralisation, this structure ensures transparency and security while guaranteeing that records are both permanent and unchangeable. This is why it has been a pivotal technology for cryptocurrency.

With regards to blockchain’s value for WordPress, there is the potential for services, tools and even plugins to be developed that will secure customer transactions and data using the technology, making it virtually impossible for hackers to tamper with it – for instance, it could store randomised and encrypted customer data across thousands of different computers.

Another potential development is decentralised content delivery. This could see WordPress sites deliver their content using a decentralised network of servers, such as a peer-to-peer network. Here content could be shared by users’ devices in a way that reduces that burden on servers and boosts loading times.

For more information, read: Blockchain and its Potential for Online Businesses

Better user experience (UX)

The implementation of new technologies within WordPress is expected to lead to better user experiences, helping to improve user engagement and boost customer loyalty. One area of importance here is in making websites more accessible for users with disabilities. The integration of tools such as screen readers, for example, can make it easier for those with impaired vision to navigate sites and access textual content. More advanced tools, perhaps using AI, may be able to scan websites and make adjustments for users, such as changing typefaces and text sizes to meet accessibility standards.

Potentially, some of the biggest UX developments will be with personalisation, with AI driving innovation. With access to up-to-the-minute user data and the ability to better predict an individual user’s intention, website owners will have the capability of displaying the content that individuals want to see, whether that be products in an online store or articles on a news site. At the same time, these models would be able to remove content users had already seen or shown no interest in, ensuring that their experience was fresh, relevant and meaningful.

Conclusion

Overall, the next year looks to be an exciting one for WordPress users. While WordPress itself continues to evolve as a platform, it is the integration of other technologies within its ecosystem, particularly AI, that will bring the biggest advancements and benefits. When it comes to improving security, performance and site management, however, the pioneers here are the hosting providers who are implementing the advanced tools, infrastructure and best practices today’s WordPress websites need.

Looking for next-generation WordPress Hosting? See what our managed WordPress Hosting plans can do for you.

Author

  • niraj

    I'm a SEO and SMM Specialist with a passion for sharing insights on website hosting, development, and technology to help businesses thrive online.

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