In the latest episode of the WordPress Briefing podcast, host Josepha Haden Chomphosy explored the new Interactivity API for WordPress.

This long-awaited API aims to significantly improve front-end interactivity and user experiences in WordPress.

What is the Interactivity API?

As guest Mario Santos explained, the Interactivity API provides a standard way for developers to create rich, dynamic user interactions in WordPress sites and applications, without needing external JavaScript frameworks.

Some use cases enabled by the API include:

  • Smooth client-side navigation and transitions, like pagination or tabbed interfaces, without full page reloads
  • Complex components like calculators, voting systems, or live filtering
  • Inline editing and favorite/like functionality
  • Popovers, modals, accordions, and other interactive UI elements

The goal is to bring some capabilities previously only seen in modern JavaScript frameworks like React and Vue directly into WordPress core.

Why Does This Matter?

Ryan Welcher pointed out, right now developers solve these problems in different, incompatible ways. This introduces headaches when switching teams or inheriting projects. The Interactivity API aims to provide a standard approach for common interactive patterns in WordPress.

The API also seamlessly integrates with existing WordPress concepts like hooks and filters. As Welcher highlighted, this means developers don’t have to learn new systems or “do weird janky filtering.” The WordPress way of doing things continues to work.

Santos also explained that while Gutenberg has focused on the editor experience so far, the Interactivity API is the first attempt at unifying interactive front-end experiences in WordPress.

Get Involved

Since the Interactivity API is still experimental, the WordPress community needs testers. Developers are encouraged to build examples and provide feedback on what works and what doesn’t.

The team is also looking for folks to improve documentation, write tutorials, and showcase uses of the API. So dive in and let the contributors know what you build! Just be kind if you manage to break things. That’s what experimentation is all about.

The Future Looks Bright

With efforts like the Interactivity API, WordPress continues to push the boundaries of what the CMS software can do. The Interactivity API lays the groundwork for all sorts of innovations.

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