WordPress.org launched my.WordPress.net as a complete WordPress workspace that runs in the browser. PHP and SQLite execute through WebAssembly, and the site persists in that browser's local storage. The workspace is private by default and requires neither a hosting plan nor an account.
That changes the first hour with WordPress. A student can learn the editor, a designer can test a theme, and a product team can validate a content structure before anyone chooses infrastructure. An AI assistant can also modify plugins and themes in an isolated local site without touching production.
The boundary is equally concrete. Storage starts at roughly 100 MB, data belongs to one browser on one device, and moving elsewhere requires an export. This is suitable for a blog, landing page, lesson, or prototype. It is not a credible home for a large commerce catalog or an application that must be publicly reachable.
The first hour without choosing a plan or a domain
The five-minute install asked for PHP, a database, a server, and a name. my.WordPress.net asks for a browser. A student, a designer testing a theme, and a team validating a content model reach the editor without an infra meeting. The hosting decision leaves the first session.
Playground already offered a demo that died when you closed the tab. Fellyph Cintra, in Playground DevRel, marked the difference: this instance persists by default. Close the laptop, come back the next day, the site is in that browser's storage.
The announcement talks about a personal, private workspace with no traffic. Hosting stays on the table when there is a public URL, managed backup, more than one device, or someone to collaborate with. The first barrier falls; domain, backup, and public collaboration remain separate decisions.
100 MB, one browser, and the habit of exporting
The initial ceiling of about 100 MB fits a blog, a landing page, a class, a personal CRM, and the RSS reader from the app catalog. It does not fit a large catalog or a media library. Data does not upload to a WordPress.org server. It stays on the device. Changing machines requires an export. Clearing the browser profile can delete the site.
The documentation asks for regular backups and warns that the first launch is slower while WordPress downloads and initializes. If the workspace is real work, periodic export and a reimport test need to live outside that browser, the same way any data you cannot lose does.
Each device is a separate install. WordPress in the browser is one computer. Anyone who needs the same content on a laptop and a phone has already hit the current design limit.
AI on a site no visitor can reach
Because the environment is local and private, an assistant can change a plugin and a theme with no visitor in the middle. The WordPress.org post describes WordPress as a base the AI queries and modifies. For prototyping a small block or plugin, the isolation helps.
Isolation also hides damage. An agent that corrupts the local site takes the work with it if there is no export. Treat the AI session as a lab with backups, or use reset and the temporary instances that wipe on refresh. The only draft of a piece of writing should not live only there.
The catalog (CRM, reader, AI workspace) installs in one click and configures itself. It shows what WordPress does when it does not need to be a public site. It is a poor shortcut around plugin review in an environment that will one day be published.
When a prototype needs a URL and when it can stay in storage
The landing page asks if you are ready to go bigger and points to dedicated hosting so you can reach the site from any device, publish, or invite people. That is the operational decision: the browser removes the first hour; a public URL brings back domain, backup, uptime, and who pays the bill.
In the community, part of the reception was to ask whether this was not already Playground. Persistence by default matters to the person using it. For a product team, the useful question is different: at what point the prototype no longer fits in 100 MB and a single browser.
Until larger storage and sync across devices exist in a robust form, my.WordPress.net is learning, drafting, and software made for a few people. Anything another person needs to see without copying a file goes back to hosting, whether WordPress.com or a VPS.
If your company is weighing something similar, reach me on LinkedIn or WhatsApp.
