If you’ve logged into your WordPress dashboard recently and thought “hmm, this looks a bit different” — you’re not imagining things. WordPress 7.0, nicknamed “Armstrong,” landed on 20th May 2026, and it’s one of the most significant updates the platform has seen in years.
Whether you manage your own website content or leave it all to us, it’s worth knowing what’s changed, what it means for your site, and — importantly — what you need to do (if anything).
So, What Is WordPress 7.0?
WordPress powers over 40% of all websites on the internet, including the majority of sites we build here at Chell Web Design. Like any piece of software, it gets updated regularly — sometimes with small behind-the-scenes fixes, and sometimes with bigger, more visible changes.
Version 7.0 is one of the bigger ones. It marks the beginning of Phase 3 of WordPress’s long-term development roadmap, which focuses on making the platform smarter, faster, and easier to use. Here’s what’s new.
What’s Actually Changed?
A Fresher, More Modern Dashboard
The WordPress admin area — that’s the back end where you log in to write posts, update pages, and manage your site — hasn’t had a significant visual refresh since 2013. Until now.
WordPress 7.0 brings a cleaner, more modern look to the dashboard: updated typography, a refined colour scheme, and smoother transitions as you move between screens. It now feels much more like a contemporary web app and less like a legacy system.
If you log in and notice things look a little different, don’t worry — everything still works the same way, it’s just had a facelift.
Easier Content Management with DataViews
Managing your posts, pages, and media has been given a significant upgrade. The old-style list tables have been replaced with a smarter system called DataViews, which loads instantly, lets you filter and sort your content without the page refreshing, and generally makes it much quicker to find what you’re looking for.
For clients who regularly update their own content, this is a welcome improvement — especially if you have a lot of pages or blog posts to sift through.
Built-in AI Tools (Optional)
One of the headline features of WordPress 7.0 is the introduction of a built-in AI layer. There’s a new Connectors screen in the dashboard where you can link your WordPress site to an AI provider (such as OpenAI or Google), which then powers optional tools like:
- Generating post titles and excerpts
- Suggesting image alt text
- Helping create and edit images within the editor
It’s worth stressing that this is entirely optional — you don’t need to set it up, and it won’t affect your site if you don’t. But for those who want to explore AI-assisted content creation, it’s now built directly into WordPress rather than relying on separate third-party plugins.
Better Revision History
WordPress 7.0 introduces a much-improved visual revision history, showing you exactly what changed between versions of a page or post — highlighted in colour, displayed as it actually looks on screen, rather than a wall of confusing code.
It’s worth noting that this feature applies to sites using the native WordPress block editor (Gutenberg). If your site is built with Avada, you won’t see this change — Avada uses its own Fusion Builder, which operates separately from the block editor.
Quick Navigation with the Command Palette
A new keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+K on Windows, Cmd+K on Mac) opens a quick-search palette from anywhere in the dashboard, letting you jump straight to any page, post, setting, or action without having to navigate through menus. A small but genuinely useful time-saver.
What Does This Mean for Avada Sites?
The majority of websites we build at Chell Web Design use Avada Theme — one of the most popular and powerful WordPress themes available. And like any major WordPress update, version 7.0 required Avada and its associated plugins to be updated in turn to ensure full compatibility.
Shortly after WordPress 7.0 launched, we noticed some visual glitches appearing on Avada-built sites — specifically, unexpected black borders appearing around page elements and columns. This is a known compatibility issue that occurs when WordPress updates but the theme and plugins haven’t yet been updated to match.
The good news? It’s easily fixed by running the available updates for Avada and its plugins. No complicated code changes or settings edits required — just keeping everything up to date.
This is a great example of why regular updates matter. It’s not just about getting new features — it’s about making sure all the moving parts of your website continue to work together seamlessly.
Do You Need to Do Anything?
If you’re on one of our maintenance packages:
You don’t need to do a thing. We’ve already taken care of updates across all our managed sites, and we’ll continue to monitor for any further compatibility issues. That’s exactly what our maintenance package is here for.
If you manage your own site:
We’d recommend taking a moment to:
- Visit your website and check it looks and functions as it should
- Log into your WordPress dashboard and run any available updates — this includes WordPress itself, your theme, and all plugins
- Always take a backup first — before running any updates, make sure you have a recent backup of your site. Even a straightforward update can occasionally cause unexpected issues, and having a backup means you can restore your site quickly if needed
Not sure how to back up your site, or feeling unsure about running updates yourself? That’s completely understandable — and it’s exactly what we’re here for.
Why Keeping Your Website Updated Matters
We know “run your updates” can feel like a bit of a nagging reminder, but it genuinely is one of the most important things you can do for your website. Here’s why:
- Security — outdated software is one of the most common ways websites get hacked
- Performance — updates often include speed improvements that benefit your visitors
- Compatibility — as WordPress evolves, themes and plugins need to keep pace to avoid the kind of display issues we saw with 7.0
- Stability — keeping everything current reduces the risk of things breaking unexpectedly
Let Us Take Care of It for You
Keeping on top of WordPress updates, plugin compatibility, and site health takes time — and it’s time most business owners simply don’t have.
Our website maintenance packages take all of this off your plate. For a simple monthly fee, we handle:
- Regular backups of your website
- Plugin and theme updates
- Site health checks to catch any issues early
- Peace of mind that your site is always running smoothly
If the WordPress 7.0 update has highlighted that your site could do with a bit more TLC, we’d love to chat. Get in touch with us today to find out more about our maintenance packages and how we can keep your website in great shape — so you can focus on running your business.
Have questions about the WordPress 7.0 update or how it affects your site? Drop us a message or book a call — we’re always happy to help.
Chell Web Design keep your website working as hard as you do.
