A theme MUST be constantly updated to not leave room for security breaches and ensure it is compatible with the latest WordPress version. […] If only there was a guarantee that a free theme [would] not be abandoned anytime soon and will be updated regularly (at least with each new WordPress release). […] Introducing the default themes “by WordPress.org”!CogitActive
This is an excerpt from my article How did I choose my theme? in which I explained why I ended up choosing the Twenty Seventeen theme for my website(s). One of the strong incentives for going for a default theme was indeed the guarantee they would always be updated — a primary concern when it comes to security.
While I was searching for info for my mini-series about the last default themes, I stumbled upon this article:
To summarize, given the burden associated with maintaining a large number of default themes, the author proposed to retire older themes after a minimum of five years of support and when their usage falls below 1% of all WordPress sites. He also suggests an intermediate level — Maintained state — for all themes that have not yet met the requirements for retirement but are no longer included with new WordPress installs.
At the time of this proposal, my beloved Twenty Seventeen theme was listed under the so-called Maintained state category — i.e., not anymore in the actively maintained themes!
The proposal has multiple benefits, in addition to reducing the number of actively supported themes from 13 to 6, but also has the drawback of affecting an estimated 730,000 users who will no longer receive maintenance on their themes.Sarah Gooding
Although the general reception to the proposal has been positive
, according to Sarah Gooding from WP Tavern, I didn’t see any consensus in the comment section below this proposal article. Fortunately, the final word was by Matt Mullenweg:
The intention with the introduction of yearly default themes, the promise we were making, was that they would be maintained forever, just like core.Matt Mullenweg
Probably not. In his follow-up article entitled “Proposal: Default Theme Task Force for 2024”, the author of the original proposal explained…
After some good discussion in the comment section, Matt (@matt) joined in and clarified that the original intention for each default theme was to maintain them forever. He issued a challenge to rethink how the team approaches the maintenance of these default themes to make them easier to maintain, and more future-compatible.