On 19 December 2025, WordPress.com released WordPress Studio, a new tool designed to streamline local development workflows for agencies that build, redesign, and maintain WordPress sites for multiple clients. The platform focuses on speed, consistency, and collaboration, offering a range of features that automate routine tasks and reduce the friction that can slow down development teams.
Standardised Environments with Blueprint Templates
WordPress Studio introduces “Blueprints,” reusable site recipes that specify which themes, plugins, PHP version, and content to install. By selecting a Blueprint, developers can spin up a new site that matches a pre‑defined configuration in seconds, eliminating the need to manually install and configure each component. Blueprints can be shared across teams, ensuring that every project starts from a proven, tested foundation rather than a custom set‑up that can vary from developer to developer.
Always‑Online Preview Sites for Rapid Feedback
The platform includes a preview‑site feature that generates a temporary, fully hosted WordPress.com URL for a local build. A preview site is automatically deleted after seven days, making it suitable for short‑term feedback cycles. The feature allows team members and clients to view the latest changes without requiring the developer to remain online, and it can be shared with backend access for a complete review. The preview‑site service is limited to ten concurrent sites per Studio user.
Selective Sync Between Local, Staging, and Production Environments
Studio Sync lets agencies move code and database changes between a local Studio instance and a WordPress.com or Pressable‑hosted staging or production site. The sync process is selective, meaning developers can choose to transfer all files, only specific folders such as plugins or themes, or exclude the database entirely. This granular control prevents accidental overwrites of live data or application code and reduces the risk of breaking a production site during a deployment.
Customised Editor and Terminal Preferences
Within Studio, users can set their preferred code editor and terminal application through a Preferences panel. These settings appear as quick‑access buttons on the site overview screen, allowing developers to open files directly in the tools they use most frequently. The feature is intended to reduce context switching and improve productivity during development tasks.
Local Development for Automattic for Agencies Users
Agencies that participate in the free Automattic for Agencies program receive up to five free development sites hosted on WordPress.com. Studio’s sync feature can pull these sites into a local environment, enabling developers to work on them offline while keeping the live staging site up to date. The workflow supports full alignment between local builds, development sites, and final production releases without manual migrations.
Implications for Agency Operations
The introduction of Studio aims to address common bottlenecks in agency workflows, such as onboarding new developers, maintaining consistent stacks, and managing client feedback loops. By automating environment setup, providing always‑online previews, and offering selective deployment tools, WordPress Studio seeks to reduce the administrative overhead that agencies often face when juggling multiple client projects. The platform’s integration with existing WordPress.com services, including hosting, logging in, and site management, further streamlines the development cycle.
Future Outlook
WordPress.com plans to continue updating Studio with new features and performance improvements, as indicated by the team’s commitment to rapid release cycles. Agencies are encouraged to explore the platform’s capabilities and evaluate how its automation and synchronization tools might fit into their current processes. While no specific release schedule for additional functionality has been announced, the platform’s architecture suggests that future updates could
