I had a client call me last night—panicked. They’d just hit “Update” on their production site the second they saw WordPress 6.9 was live. Five minutes later, their main landing page, which relies on some fairly heavy custom block filters, looked like a CSS explosion in a Lego factory. They wanted an immediate fix, but as any senior dev knows, “immediate” usually means we’re about to make it worse before we make it better.
My first instinct, and the client’s demand, was a full rollback. Simple, right? Except the database migrations for three of their critical plugins had already executed. Reverting the core files without a granular database restoration would have nuked six hours of holiday sales data. Total nightmare. We had to patch the block compatibility on the fly while the site stayed live. It wasn’t pretty, and it was entirely avoidable if we had just stuck to a proper WordPress Core Updates strategy.
The 6.9.1 Planning and Why It Matters
According to the recent Dev Chat Agenda from December 10, the core team is already moving at light speed. WordPress 6.9 is barely out of the gate, and the Gutenberg 22.2 release is already being integrated. But here’s the kicker: @jorbin is already flagging the need for 6.9.1 planning. They’re debating whether to push a maintenance release immediately or wait until after the New Year.
When the core contributors are discussing a maintenance release before the “New” smell has even worn off the major version, that’s your signal to breathe. Major releases introduce big architectural shifts. For 6.9, we’re seeing deep changes that affect how Gutenberg interacts with the rest of the site. If you’re running a complex WooCommerce store or a site with heavy custom block development, you are the “edge case” they haven’t fully tested yet. Trust me on this.
Managing Updates Without the Heartburn
The smartest thing you can do for a production environment is to decouple your update schedule from the public release date. You want the security patches? Absolutely. You want the minor bug fixes? Yes. But the major version bumps? You wait for the point-one release. Here is a small snippet I use to ensure my clients don’t accidentally pull the trigger on a major core update before I’ve had a chance to vet it in staging.
/**
* Control core updates to avoid major version jumps on production.
* This allows minor updates (e.g., 6.8.1 to 6.8.2) but prevents 6.8 to 6.9.
*/
add_filter( 'allow_major_auto_core_updates', 'bbioon_limit_major_updates', 10, 1 );
function bbioon_limit_major_updates( $allow ) {
// Only allow major updates in staging environments
if ( defined( 'WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE' ) && 'staging' === WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE ) {
return true;
}
return false;
}
/**
* Filter to specifically target the update nag for non-admins
*/
add_action( 'admin_head', function() {
if ( ! current_user_can( 'update_core' ) ) {
remove_action( 'admin_notices', 'update_nag', 3 );
}
}, 1 );By forcing major updates to stay in staging, you give the community—and the core team—time to find the edge cases. As mentioned in the dev chat, the discussion around 6.9.1 is exactly where those “imminent” tickets get resolved. You don’t want your site to be the reason a ticket gets opened.
Summary: Don’t Be the Guinea Pig
Look, I love new features as much as the next guy, but I love my sleep more. WordPress 6.9 is a fantastic release, but the fact that 6.9.1 planning is already a priority topic proves that the first iteration is never the final word. Here is the pragmatic dev’s checklist for the next month:
- Wait for 6.9.1: Unless you need a specific feature to survive, wait for the first maintenance patch.
- Monitor the Dev Chat: Keep an eye on those Slack meetings; they reveal which components are currently “fragile.”
- Test the Gutenberg Gap: Since Gutenberg 22.2 is out, test your custom blocks against the plugin version before the core update hits.
Look, this stuff gets complicated fast. If you’re tired of debugging someone else’s mess and just want your site to work, drop my team a line. We’ve probably seen it before.
Are you seeing issues with the 6.9 rollout yet, or are you holding off until January? Let’s talk about it in the comments.
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