Support for Older Versions of WordPress

Currently, Subscribe2 HTML supports WordPress from version 3.3.x and forward. WordPress 3.3 was release in December 2011.

Writing plugins for WordPress and maintaining backwards compatibility is something I take great care to maintain as far as is possible. However supporting what is currently 21 major release versions of WordPress is a huge task. The next release of Subscribe2 HTML is going to end support for some older versions.

Why?

There are a few reasons behind this decision, as explained above, Subscribe2 HTML currently supports 21 major releases of WordPress and maintaining this is a huge task, but there are other reasons.

WordPress and its plugins are written mainly in a language called PHP. Officially, PHP support now extends to version 7.4 and 7.3 only. Version 5.6 was widely used but is now no longer maintained and is not getting security fixes. Older versions of WordPress are very difficult to get working at all on current releases of PHP.

Additionally, Subscribe2 HTML contains a good amount of code that exists only for older versions of WordPress, bumping the supported version will allow for a reduced code base and smaller downloads and space on your servers.

Even the core WordPress development team are in discussion to cease support, or automatically update, older versions of WordPress. If the core team cease support, why should plugins continue to support these versions?

What about ClassicPress?

ClassicPress is a fork of WordPress 4.9 so support for ClassicPress is assured.

What next?

Subscribe2 HTML 12.0 is likely to bump the minimum required version of WordPress to 4.4. That will support (currently) the last 10 major releases and allow account for 97.6% of WordPress sites based on WordPress stats.

WordPress 4.4 has been chosen as it’s the version of WordPress that I can run locally for testing easily while also accounting for over 95% of installed WordPress sites. This version was released in December 2015. I would also look to maintain this support for as long as the core WordPress team support this version.

OMG!

How does this decision affect you? Well, I suspect in one of three ways:

1. Brilliant, less bloat on my server!
2. So what – this doesn’t affect me!
3. I can’t believe you are doing this to me!

If you are in one of the first two groups then thank you for even reading this far but this change really has no impact on you, feel free to update with the next release. (It should be out in the next 6 weeks).

If you are in the latter group then comments are open below where you can put your case to support older versions. Bear in mind the current code will continue to work just fine and I’ll continue to offer assistance as best I can to anyone with an active support plan.

If there are good reasons to support older versions and I can find a way to run older versions reliably on my local development server I may be able to revise the minimum supported version.

Subscribe2 HTML v11.9

Version 11.9 of the Subscribe2 HTML has been released and is available now. This version has been tested on WordPress 5.2.3 and 5.3 and ClassicPress 1.1.1. It requires at least WordPress 3.3.

Current users of Subscribe2 HTML with an active support and upgrade subscription can upgrade using the WordPress plugin admin page.

Version 11.9 contains the following enhancement and bug fixes:

• Added new option to enable email notifications for all Custom Post Types (this can still be done or amended via API filters)
• Hide digest ordering setting unless digest emails are in use
• Apply fix for poor list layout in plaintext emails when using Block Editor – thanks to @eightize
• Introduce ‘s2_plaintext’ filter to allow plaintext to be filtered before tags are stripped to correct for layout needs
• Show join date for Registered Subscribers with data from WordPress table

Subscribe2 HTML v11.8

Version 11.8 of the Subscribe2 HTML has been released and is available now. This version has been tested on WordPress 5.2.1 to 5.2.3 and ClassicPress 1.0.1 and 1.0.2. It requires at least WordPress 3.3.

Current users of Subscribe2 HTML with an active support and upgrade subscription can upgrade using the WordPress plugin admin page.

Version 11.8 contains the bug fixes listed below.

• Avoid duplication of preview and resend emails due to cron spawning of browser requests
• Enhance DNS check when validating email addresses
• Validate emails fully when making database changes, but simpler and faster checks when sending notifications
• Pass full email as second parameter to ‘s2_sanitize_email’ filter
• Better escaping of subscriber email data when reporting errors to Subscribers page
• Correct maximum execution time limit to 5 minutes
• Fix some new Coding Standards errors and warnings
• Implemented compatibility with Fusion Builder
• Fix error caused by menu registration in WordPress 5.3

Subscribe2 HTML v11.7

Version 11.7 of the Subscribe2 HTML has been released and is available now. This version has been tested on WordPress 4.9.x and 5.1.x and 5.2 and ClassicPress 1.0.1. It requires at least WordPress 3.3.

Current users of Subscribe2 HTML with an active support and upgrade subscription can upgrade using the WordPress plugin admin page.

Version 11.7 contains an important bug fixes listed below.

• Important fix to screen message display when completing subscribe requests

Subscribe2 HTML v11.6

Version 11.6 of the Subscribe2 HTML has been released and is available now. This version has been tested on WordPress 4.9.x and 5.1.x and 5.2 and ClassicPress 1.0.1. It requires at least WordPress 3.3.

Current users of Subscribe2 HTML with an active support and upgrade subscription can upgrade using the WordPress plugin admin page.

Version 11.6 contains the enhancements and bug fixes listed below.

• Allow definition of S2GDPR constant anywhere
• Mark old meta boxes as existing for backwards compatibility
• Add meta box to authoring page to enable easy resending of notifications for published posts
• Tidied grammar in users front end messages for registered users
• Fixed issue in Subscriber dropdown filter that displayed category names in the Public Subscriber dropdown
• Textareas in the Settings page are now more responsive to screen displays
• Fix for bug that stopped confirmation email links working
• Fix for missing posts in Digest email
• Apply default override setting to Block Editor sidebar panel
• Implement conditional rendering of Meta Boxes in Classic Editor
• Enable translation files from more locations
• Enable iOS unsubscribe links in emails
• Code efficiency enhancement

Subscribe2 HTML v11.5

Version 11.5 of the Subscribe2 HTML has been released and is available now. This version has been tested on WordPress 4.9.x and 5.0.x and 5.1. It requires at least WordPress 3.3.

Current users of Subscribe2 HTML with an active support and upgrade subscription can upgrade using the WordPress plugin admin page.

Version 11.5 contains the enhancements and bug fixes listed below.

• Fixed HTML paragraph tag syntax for ReCaptcha insertion
• Tightened checks for Coding Standards
• Fixed bug in category form display caused by tighter coding standards
• Save Editor content before sending preview email for better user experience
• Update Excerpt creation code for languages that don’t use spaces – props Masatoshi Hakoshima
• Update Update Checker library
• Improved layout and efficiency of JavaScript files
• Update to use latest jQuery UI css library
• Fixed issue when `set_time_limit` is disabled on shared hosting
• Fixed issues created by stricter in_array() checks
• Tidied up unused globals

Subscribe2 HTML v11.4

Version 11.4 of the Subscribe2 HTML has been released and is available now. This version has been tested on WordPress 4.9.x and 5.0.x. It requires at least WordPress 3.3.

Current users of Subscribe2 HTML with an active support and upgrade subscription can upgrade using the WordPress plugin admin page.

Version 11.4 contains the enhancements and bug fixes listed below.

• Fixed a bug in barred domain checking
• Fixed bugs in implementation of Invisible ReCaptcha
• Implemented V3 ReCaptcha
• Cache ReCaptcha response to account for multiple forms on a single web page
• Migrate email override meta box to a sidebar for the ‘Gutenberg’ block editor
• Migrate email preview meta box to a sidebar for the ‘Gutenberg’ block editor
• Moved new Block Editor code to separate class
• Eslinted all javascript files
• Fixed an issue with javascript IP updating linked to widget form name
• Fixed issue in transition of wrap parameter in the new Block when changing to and from the shortcode block
• Updated to latest PHP Code sniff standards and cleansed files
• Other minor bug fixes and enhancements

Gutenberg and the Override Checkbox

For a very long time that has been a check box available in the editor that allows the email notification from Subscribe2 HTML to be suppressed on a per post level. WordPress calls this box a `meta box`.

tl:dr; – The Override checkbox needs updating for the new `Gutenberg` editor – where should it go?

With the new editor (code named Gutenberg), these meta boxes are supported but conversion to new code is highly recommended (although not well documented!).

So, I’ve been looking at how to migrate to new code, particularly because if the current checkbox is ticked and the post then immediately published, the email goes out due to the order in which processes are triggered in WordPress and Subscribe2 HTML (a work around for now is to ensure you save the post before clicking the Publish button).

The possible locations for the checkbox are a `Block` or a `Sidebar menu`, and there are drawbacks to both over the current position.

With a Block you have to manually add it to a post and then check the box. Also, blocks are intended more to reflect the content of a post, but it does work this way. It would look like this:

The other option is a sidebar menu, this seems a more sensible place to put the checkbox. The drawback is that design decisions in Gutenberg mean that the sidebar can be ‘unpinned’ which remove the email icon from the top row. You then have to know to restore it using the sidebar more menu. This is how it would look:

And the Plugins section in this menu would be unticked and need clicking to restore the item after being unpinned.

So, the main reasons for this post, were do you think the override should go in the next release of Subscribe2 HTML? And thanks for reading this far 🙂

WordPress 5.0 and Subscribe2 HTML

I’m sure you’ve all noticed in your WordPress admin areas that WordPress 5.0 has been released. As far as I can tell the current version (11.3) of Subscribe2 HTML works just fine in the new version.

You may have also noticed that WordPress 5.0 seems to be one of the most controversial and divisive versions of WordPress in many years, the new Editor seems to be loved or hated with few taking the middle ground. As such a Classic Editor plugin has been made available with WordPress 5.0 to restore the old editor look. Again, Subscribe2 HTML works just fine with this too.

Finally, some are very upset with the direction of WordPress 5.0 and they have forked the code and created ClassicPress. While this code is still reported as being in beta testing it seems to be a clone of WordPress 4.9.8. And yes, you’ve already guessed, Subscribe2 HTML works just fine here as well.

Subscribe2 HTML remains fully supported on WordPress and I’ll aim to keep it working in ClassicPress now too. 👍

Subscribe2 HTML v11.3

Version 11.3 of the Subscribe2 HTML has been released and is available now. This version has been tested on WordPress 4.9.x and 5.0 betas. It requires at least WordPress 3.3.

Current users of Subscribe2 HTML with an active support and upgrade subscription can upgrade using the WordPress plugin admin page.

Version 11.3 contains the enhancements and bug fixes listed below.

• Fixed error message in older version of WordPress where get_user_locale() function is not available
• Add additional Unsubscribe email headers when {UNSUBLINK} keyword is used
• Fixed warning message on Your Subscriptions page
• Added option to hide V2 ReCaptcha box until text box is clicked
• Improve ReCaptcha form insertion when above buttons to ensure valid HTML
• Added noscript tags to ReCaptcha form insertion for browsers that have disabled or have no support for JavaScript
• Fixed issue with transformation of Gutenberg text box size at default value
• Extended ‘s2_form’ filter to include shortcode attributes to allow more accurate filtering
• Extended Widget to pass attribute to indicate Widget use over standard form use
• Extended ReCpatcha ‘s2_captcha_element’ filter to pass shortcode arguments
• Fix some notices generated by undefined variables
• Implement use of WordPress filesystem API
• Ensure Editor buttons loads when Classic Editor plugin in use with WordPress 5.0
• Numerous minor code enhancements and fixes