WordPress 7.1 'Mary Lou' is out, and PHP 7.4 is still the minimum

WordPress 7.1, code-named “Mary Lou”, was released on August 19, 2026. More than 800 people contributed over 1,500 enhancements and fixes, according to the announcement. Server requirements did not change, but the Hosting Team’s advice on PHP versions matters more now that PHP 8.2 is close to end of life.

What’s new

• Responsive styles: you can set how blocks look at different screen sizes from Global Styles or block settings, and themes can define their own breakpoints in theme.json.
• Image processing in the browser: compression, resizing and thumbnails now run in the browser through a WebAssembly build of libvips, instead of on the server. AVIF, HEIC and HDR gain maps are supported.
• Editor: the post editor is now fully iframed for every theme, and the admin bar shows in all editors.
• New blocks: Tabs and Playlist.
• Notes: comments can be attached to specific text, with rich text and @mentions.

What it needs from your host

The Hosting Team’s server page says WordPress 7.1 requires PHP 7.4 or later, unchanged from 7.0. That is the floor, not the advice:

PHP version	Status on the Hosting Handbook page
7.4, 8.0, 8.1	End of life, kept for backward compatibility
8.2	Security support only, ends December 31, 2026
8.3	Security support only, ends December 31, 2027
8.4, 8.5	Active support

The handbook recommends PHP 8.4 or later for production sites. It lists json, hash and mysqli as the required PHP extensions.

Updates since launch

On October 6, 2026, WordPress released 7.1.3. It fixes seven security issues, including a stored XSS on the Comments screen, and four bugs. Sites that allow automatic background updates receive it on their own.

What to do

Check the PHP version in your hosting panel. If it says 8.2 or older, plan a move to 8.4 before December 31, 2026, and test your plugins and theme on a staging copy first. Then confirm the site runs WordPress 7.1.3 or later.