diff --git a/.distignore b/.distignore
index 3b1706d..a497989 100644
--- a/.distignore
+++ b/.distignore
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@
 .npmrc
 .nvmrc
 .stylelintignore
+.wp-env.json
+.wp-env.override.json
 babel.config.js
 commitlint.config.js
 jest.config.js
@@ -31,6 +33,7 @@ tests/
 # Documentation
 docs/
 DEVELOPMENT.md
+README.md
 
 # WordPress.org assets (separate from plugin)
 wp-assets/
@@ -70,6 +73,7 @@ blueprint.json
 *.log
 *.map
 *.zip
+coverage/
 .distignore
 .DS_Store
 Thumbs.db
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index 36a5b17..649423a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -1,47 +1,114 @@
-name: Release Plugin
+name: Deploy to WordPress.org
 
 on:
   push:
     branches:
       - main
+    tags:
+      - '*'
+
+permissions:
+  contents: read
 
 jobs:
-  build-and-release:
-    name: Build and Release
+  deploy:
+    name: Build and Deploy Plugin
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     permissions:
-      contents: write # Required to create releases and tags
+      contents: read
 
     steps:
+      # actions/checkout v4 is intentionally used here instead of a newer major version.
+      # 10up/action-wordpress-plugin-deploy requires v4 for compatibility.
+      # See: https://github.com/marketplace/actions/wordpress-plugin-deploy#example-workflow-files
       - name: Checkout Code
-        uses: actions/checkout@v4
+        uses: actions/checkout@34e114876b0b11c390a56381ad16ebd13914f8d5 # v4.3.1
+        with:
+          fetch-depth: 0
+
+      - name: Ensure tag is on main
+        if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/')
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          git fetch origin main:refs/remotes/origin/main
+          TAG_COMMIT="$(git rev-list -n 1 "${GITHUB_REF_NAME}")"
+
+          if ! git merge-base --is-ancestor "${TAG_COMMIT}" origin/main; then
+            echo "::error::Release tags must point to commits that exist on main."
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+      - name: Validate release tag format
+        if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/')
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          if [[ ! "${GITHUB_REF_NAME}" =~ ^[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+$ ]]; then
+            echo "::error::Release tags must use numeric format like 1.0.0, not v1.0.0."
+            exit 1
+          fi
 
       - name: Setup PHP
-        uses: shivammathur/setup-php@v2
+        uses: shivammathur/setup-php@7c071dfe9dc99bdf297fa79cb49ea005b9fcadbc # 2.37.1
         with:
           php-version: '8.2'
-          tools: composer
+          tools: composer:v2
+          coverage: none
 
-      - name: Setup Node.js
-        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+      - name: Install PHP dependencies
+        uses: ramsey/composer-install@65e4f84970763564f46a70b8a54b90d033b3bdda # 4.0.0
         with:
-          node-version: '20'
+          composer-options: '--no-dev --optimize-autoloader'
 
-      - name: Get Version
-        id: get_version
-        run: echo "VERSION=$(jq -r .version package.json)" >> $GITHUB_OUTPUT
+      - name: Setup Node.js
+        uses: actions/setup-node@48b55a011bda9f5d6aeb4c2d9c7362e8dae4041e # 6.4.0
+        with:
+          node-version-file: '.nvmrc'
+          cache: 'npm'
 
-      - name: Build Plugin ZIP
-        run: make zip
+      - name: Install npm dependencies & build assets
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          npm ci
+          npm run build
 
-      - name: Create Release and Upload Asset
-        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@v1
+      - name: WordPress Plugin Deploy
+        id: deploy
+        uses: 10up/action-wordpress-plugin-deploy@54bd289b8525fd23a5c365ec369185f2966529c2 # 2.3.0
         with:
-          tag_name: v${{ steps.get_version.outputs.VERSION }}
-          name: v${{ steps.get_version.outputs.VERSION }}
-          generate_release_notes: true
-          files: rt-carousel.zip
+          generate-zip: 'true'
+          dry-run: ${{ github.ref == 'refs/heads/main' }}
         env:
-          GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
+          SLUG: 'rt-carousel'
+          ASSETS_DIR: 'wp-assets'
+          SVN_USERNAME: ${{ secrets.SVN_USERNAME }}
+          SVN_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.SVN_PASSWORD }}
+          VERSION: '${{ github.ref_name }}'
 
-      
\ No newline at end of file
+      - name: Upload Package Artifact
+        uses: actions/upload-artifact@043fb46d1a93c77aae656e7c1c64a875d1fc6a0a # v7.0.1
+        with:
+          name: rt-carousel-${{ github.ref_name }}
+          path: ${{ steps.deploy.outputs.zip-path }}
+
+  github-release:
+    name: Upload GitHub Release Artifact
+    needs: deploy
+    if: startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/')
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    permissions:
+      contents: write
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Download Package Artifact
+        uses: actions/download-artifact@3e5f45b2cfb9172054b4087a40e8e0b5a5461e7c # v8.0.1
+        with:
+          name: rt-carousel-${{ github.ref_name }}
+          path: release-artifact
+
+      - name: Upload Release Artifact
+        uses: softprops/action-gh-release@b4309332981a82ec1c5618f44dd2e27cc8bfbfda # v3.0.0
+        with:
+          tag_name: ${{ github.ref_name }}
+          name: ${{ github.ref_name }}
+          generate_release_notes: true
+          files: release-artifact/rt-carousel.zip
diff --git a/wp-assets/banner-1544x500.png b/wp-assets/banner-1544x500.png
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diff --git a/wp-assets/icon-128x128.png b/wp-assets/icon-128x128.png
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diff --git a/wp-assets/icon-256x256.png b/wp-assets/icon-256x256.png
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