WordCamp US 2025 – Portland, OR
WordCamp US 2025 kicked off today in Portland not just with cool swag, but with something even more meaningful: hundreds of WordPress fanatics gathering to contribute their time, talent, and care to the open-source project that powers nearly 44% of the web.
Contributor Day is a WordCamp tradition, welcoming everyone from first-time participants to seasoned veterans to work together on everything from code to community. Whether you’re a developer, designer, translator, teacher, or just WordPress-curious, there’s a place for you to plug in.
Welcome to Contributor Day
The day kicked off with mentor tables, guided team intros, and plenty of coffee as attendees picked from more than a dozen teams to collaborate with:
Community, Core, Core AI, Core Performance, Photos, Playground, Polyglots, Test, Core Multisite, Hosting, Openverse, Training, WordPress Coding Standards, and WP-CLI all had dedicated tables where attendees could learn, contribute, and connect.
Newcomers found support and direction, while returning contributors picked up where they left off: fixing bugs, improving documentation, and more.
Contributor Day Spotlights
The Core and Core AI tables were buzzing early. Mark Szymanski, founder of FindIT Tech, stopped by to see what the Core teams were working on:
“I wasn’t at Contributor Day last year, so I just wanted to see what’s going on in this room, and what I could find,” he said. “It’s been an interesting and awesome experience seeing what’s getting done.” He spent much of the day diving into the Core AI initiatives.
Meanwhile, over at the Photos team, a conversation sparked one of those small-world moments that only seem to happen at Contributor Day. While talking with Thomas, a WordPress contributor, he mentioned he helped this co-op preschool his daughter attended switch hosting companies.
“Over five years ago, my daughter’s co-op preschool, Portland Kinderschule, switched their hosting to DreamHost,” Thomas said. “Using WordPress and building the website, we’ve had no issues; we’ve been really happy with it.”
This sparked a conversation with another contributor seated nearby, Han. As it turned out, Han, a photographer/videographer and web designer for Bullseye Glass Co., hosted a preschool field trip from that very same school. One conversation, three unexpected connections, and a perfect example of how open source brings people together.
For Danielle, a junior web developer at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, this was her first Contributor Day, and her first time back in deep WordPress work in a while.
“My boss and I came to WordCamp to learn more about WordPress and its new features,” she said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve used it in depth. So far, it’s a lot, but I’m really interested in the theming and design side of things, and excited to dive deeper in the next few days.”
And Roger Williams from Kinsta appreciated the face-to-face collaboration that’s hard to replicate online:
“What’s really cool about Contributor Day is you get to experience the open source project in person. All the communication you can’t quite get through Slack—it happens here so much more easily.”
From unexpected connections to cross-team collaborations, the standout moments today weren’t just about code, they were about community. Contributors shared laughs, knowledge, and even lunch.
What’s Coming Tomorrow!
WordCamp US officially opens tomorrow with keynotes, sessions, and social events, so be sure to check back with us for more exciting insider content. For those in the room today, the heart of the event was already apparent: collaboration, mentorship, and the shared passion for contributing to something bigger than us.