The first quarter of 2026 was a hot one. Google released an update that shook up Discover and affected organic search results. WordPress is preparing version 7.0 with built-in AI. In design, everyone suddenly remembered 3D and “liquid glass.” And the SEO community is once again debating whether it is possible to publish AI content at all, or whether Google has already learned to recognize and penalize it.
At Estetic Web Design, we have compiled the most important events of January-March 2026. No fluff, no “expert predictions” — just what has already happened and what you should consider if you have or are planning to develop website in Kyiv.
Google: Discover Core Update and a Wave of Volatility
On February 5, Google launched the February 2026 Discover Core Update — the first core update in history specifically targeting the Discover feed (a personalized news stream in the Google mobile app). The rollout continued until February 27. Officially, it was “an update for Discover only, not for search.” Unofficially, trackers recorded ranking volatility at 9.3 out of 10. In other words, search results were shaken up big time, even if Google denies it.
What exactly has changed? Google has started showing more local content from websites in the user’s country in Discover. Clickbait and sensational headlines have been cut back — fewer “You won’t believe it!” and “Shocking!” headlines. Instead, there is more in-depth, original content from websites with real expertise on the subject. For Ukrainian media and blogs, this means one thing: if your content is superficial, Discover will no longer show it.
In addition to the Discover update, volatility continued throughout the first quarter, which began with the December 2025 Core Update. Sites in dozens of niches recorded jumps in positions — up, down, up. Google continues to tighten its requirements for intent alignment (matching content to the user’s actual intent) and E-E-A-T signals. Pages that rank for a keyword but do not solve the user’s problem lose positions.
For those who work with SEO optimization, the conclusion is simple: no “optimization for optimization’s sake.” In 2026, Google will reward content that really helps. Authorship, sources, local relevance — these are the new filters that your website will go through.
WordPress 7.0: AI at the core and farewell to the old era
The big news for developers is that WordPress 7.0 Beta 1 was released on February 20. The release is scheduled for April 9, 2026. And this isn’t just another update — it’s the first major version with the number “7” in the history of the platform.
The most notable feature is the built-in AI Connectors UI. A new page, Settings → Connectors, has appeared in the admin panel settings, where you can connect external AI services: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, and others. Plugins and themes will be able to use these connections to generate content, translate, and automatically fill in fields. In essence, WordPress becomes AI-ready out of the box — no longer is it necessary to install a separate plugin for each AI service.
Earlier, on February 3, WordPress 6.9.1 was released with 49 bug fixes. If your website is on WordPress and you are still on version 6.8 or older, now is the time to update. Every missed version is a potential security vulnerability. And it’s better to plan ahead for the transition to 7.0, because a major update always carries the risk of conflicts with plugins and themes.
This is where technical support for the site comes in handy: updates are first tested on a staging environment, then rolled out to the live site. No surprises, no “oh no, everything broke on Friday night.”
UI/UX: “liquid glass,” bento, and design for robots
Do you know what all designers are doing right now? They’re creating semi-transparent panels with blurred backgrounds. Apple showed this last year, and now the trend has spread across the internet like a viral video. It’s called Liquid Glass. It’s everywhere on Behance and Dribbble. It looks like something out of a science fiction movie. In practice, half of the implementations slow down on budget Android phones so much that users close the tab before they can appreciate its beauty. So if you’re implementing it, don’t test it on a MacBook Pro, test it on a Xiaomi Redmi. That’s where the real world is.
Another thing that can no longer be called a trend—it has become the norm. Bento Grid. Instead of “three equal columns + slider at the top”—a modular grid of blocks of different sizes. Like in a Japanese bento lunch box, where rice is separate, fish is separate, and each section is its own size. Apple does this. Figma does it. If your homepage design is still stuck on a carousel from 2019 — well, it works. But it looks like it was made in 2019. Decide for yourself.
But what really changes the rules is agency UX. ChatGPT launched its Atlas browser. Perplexity launched Comet. Both allow AI bots to navigate websites instead of humans: searching, comparing, and buying. We used to make websites for people. Now we also need to make them for robots that “read” these sites for people. Clear markup, understandable structure, Schema.org — these used to be “bonuses for SEO nerds.” Now they are a prerequisite, without which an AI agent will simply pass by your site.
Tools: what’s new and interesting
Figma has quietly launched Figma Sites, allowing users to publish websites directly from their mockups. It comes with its own CMS, responsiveness, and animations out of the box. For promotional pages and landing pages, it looks like a competitor to Webflow. For something more serious, it’s still a bit raw, but it could mature over the course of a year. We’ll keep an eye on it.
Rive is a tool for interactive animations without code. Hover effects, micro-interactivity, animated illustrations. It integrates with Webflow, Framer, and React. LottieLabs has created the Figma plugin Magic Animator, which uses AI to convert static UI elements into Lottie animations. This means that motion designers are no longer needed for simple tasks. They are still needed for complex tasks, but a simple hover or loader can be done by AI in a minute.
Adding all this to an existing website is a routine task. Update the home page, replace the static banner with a Bento grid, add a couple of microanimations, and the site looks fresh, even if nothing has changed under the hood.
SEO: Google становится умнее, AI-контент — нет
Вот что происходит. Google не банит AI-контент. Но он научился отличать статью, которую человек написал из собственного опыта, от текста, который ChatGPT сгенерировал за тридцать секунд. И первый тип стабильно сидит на позициях 1-3, а второй — где-то на второй странице. Кто туда вообще заходит? Правильно, никто.
Тактика «забросим 500 AI-статей и что-то да проиндексируется» еще жива в низкоконкурентных нишах. Но если вы продаете услуги в Киеве, где конкурентов двести — забудьте. Здесь выигрывает тот, у кого на сайте стоит имя реального автора, есть конкретные кейсы и контент привязан к локации. Продвижение сайта с локальным фокусом сейчас дает больше результата, чем любая массовая публикация.
Another point is contextual advertising in Google Ads. Performance Max campaigns have become smarter, that’s a fact. But they are also less controllable — that’s also a fact. Google wants you to give it your budget and not mess with the settings. Our advice is not to fall for it. Keep manual campaigns for your main conversion queries and leave PMax for reach and remarketing. It’s safer that way.
What to do on your website right now
If you are using WordPress, update to 6.9.1 (if you haven’t already). There is one month left until the release of 7.0 — prepare staging, check plugins for compatibility, and make a full backup. Installing additional modules for AI is currently done with separate plugins, but after the release of 7.0, built-in AI Connectors will appear, and the architecture will need to be revised.
Conduct an honest content audit. Open Google Search Console and look at pages with declining traffic. Ask yourself: does this page really answer the user’s query, or is it just stuffed with keywords? Is there an author? Are there sources? Is there anything unique that your competitors don’t have? If not, rewrite or remove it. It’s better to have 30 strong pages than 300 empty ones.
And finally, look at your website through the eyes of a customer who has just visited a competitor’s website with Bento Grid, micro-animations, and modern typography. You don’t have to do a complete redesign — sometimes it’s enough to refresh the home page and a couple of key pages. And if you’re planning a new project, order a turnkey development while the trends are still fresh. In a year, the same solutions will cost more and look less relevant.