Beta Releases for YOOtheme Pro

With YOOtheme Pro becoming more and more complex, the process of testing is becoming more extensive as well. It has always been our priority to ensure safe and stable releases, which is why we thoroughly test our software before sharing it with the public. Still, the past has shown that even with extensive testing this isn't sufficient anymore, and it can be really frustrating especially for production sites. That's why from now on we'll release Beta versions of YOOtheme Pro, so you can choose between Stable and Beta minimum stability for YOOtheme Pro updates on your site.

What's the difference?

A stable release is a version which has been thoroughly tested by both our team and the community. It is as reliable as we can make it. A stable release doesn't include all new features and latest bug fixes of a beta release. Choose this version for production sites.

A beta release is a version which has been thoroughly tested internally by our team and is ready to be tested by the community. It includes new features and bug fixes which are yet to be tested and may have their own bugs. Choose this version if you want to help us with testing and making sure the upcoming stable release will not introduce new bugs. It's a valuable contribution to the community.

Minimum Stability Option

The Minimum Stability option lets you choose whether you receive beta releases through the 1-click updates of YOOtheme Pro or just stable releases. By default, it is set to Stable. To receive beta updates, set the minimum stability from Stable to Beta in the Joomla or WordPress settings.

Joomla

In Joomla the Minimum Stability can be chosen in Extension Installer Options. It is valid for all extension updates.

WordPress

In WordPress there is no such option. This is why we added it to YOOtheme Pro 1.18.15. After the update you will find the Minimum Stability option in YOOtheme Pro under Settings – API Key.

What does it mean for YOOtheme Pro?

The new beta releases will also force us to follow Semantic Versioning more strictly. It's the version numbering scheme you already know from YOOtheme Pro. It uses a sequence of three digits Major.Minor.Patch.

This means that for future releases new features will only be added in Minor releases and not in Patch releases like before. As a result, there will be a higher number of Minor versions, and not every Minor release will necessarily come with bigger features. It also means that if a theme release depends on new features, it will have to wait till we have a stable YOOtheme Pro release which has passed the beta phase.

New YOOtheme Pro 1.19.0 Beta 1

The new release strategy starts today with YOOtheme Pro 1.19.0-beta.1. We have thoroughly tested it, and it's as bug-free as we can make it. It includes all the new features which are needed for our March theme release. The dedicated blog post showing all the new features will be published together with the stable release. The March theme will follow shortly after that. Mind that YOOtheme Pro 1.19 doesn't include the dynamic content feature which is still in the works.

Now we rely on your help to get the stable version ready as soon as possible. Please set the Minimum Stability to Beta in your YOOtheme Pro installation which you use for testing and playing around. You don't have to invest much time. Just continue working and let us know if you experience any issues after the update. This is the most important part of the new strategy and will prevent issues in the stable releases. But of course you can also take the new features for a test drive. The success of this new release strategy depends on your help, which we really appreciate!

Thank you for your support! ❤️ We are looking forward to your feedback in the comments below.