YOOtheme Pro 2.0 – Dynamic Content and Template Builder
Today we are thrilled to announce the release of YOOtheme Pro 2.0! It comes with the game-changing features many of you have been waiting for: dynamic content and the template builder. They allow you to load dynamic content into your layouts and create site-wide templates for categories and posts using the YOOtheme Pro builder. This changes the scope of YOOtheme Pro fundamentally. Now you can use the power of the YOOtheme Pro builder to create complex dynamic websites. Let's get started!
Now let's see what awaits you in this update in detail. Make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and join our Discord Chat Server for all news and discussions.
Dynamic Content
One of the most awaited features for YOOtheme Pro 2.0 is dynamic content. It allows you to pull content, which is managed in WordPress or Joomla, from the database into your layouts. This can be the post's title, excerpt or featured image, and so much more. Until now, you could only load dynamic content into the builder layouts using widget and module elements. With YOOtheme Pro 2.0 all elements are able to load dynamic content into any of their content fields. For example, you can map the post’s title and featured image to the title and image fields of the Panel element. Whenever that content changes, it will be automatically updated in the element itself and across your entire website.
This is not limited to post fields but also includes fields from related content sources. For example, you'll have access to all fields from the related post author or tags.
Custom Fields
YOOtheme Pro 2.0 does not only support the WordPress and Joomla default fields but also their custom fields. They'll show up together with the default fields and can be mapped to elements in the same easy way. Now think of a layout which is entirely created based on dynamic content and custom fields. Content editors would be able to update the layout by just editing the post without opening the YOOtheme Pro builder at all.
YOOtheme Pro 2.0 also supports custom fields registered by popular plugins like Advanced Custom Fields in WordPress.
Custom Sources
Until now, we just talked about loading content from the current post into its builder layout. But what if you could load content from somewhere else? This is now possible with what we call custom sources. So, instead of mapping the fields of the current view, you can create a custom source and map its fields into an element. For example, you could load the latest posts or all your blog categories into your layout. Custom sources are not limited to Joomla and WordPress. These could also be posts or categories from 3rd party extensions like WooCommerce and ZOO.
Thanks to the modular architecture of YOOtheme Pro, content sources are not coupled with elements. You decide how you want to display the content – in a Slider, Slideshow or any other element. There is really nothing you can't do. With every element and every content source we add to the YOOtheme library, you get tons of new possibilities. We believe this is something which makes YOOtheme Pro really ahead of the curve.
The Template Builder
The YOOtheme Pro builder is already available for single pages, posts, footer as well as the module position above and below the main content. YOOtheme Pro 2.0 introduces the much anticipated Template builder. It brings the power of the YOOtheme Pro builder to category and post templates. For example, instead of creating a layout for each post, you can use the YOOtheme Pro builder to create a site-wide post template which loads the post's content automatically into the layout. Or, if you have a more complex website with different taxonomies and post types, you can assign them specific templates. So if your website does movie reviews, you could create templates for the blog and its posts but also dedicated templates for the movie categories and reviews.
A New Framework
In addition, YOOtheme Pro 2.0 comes with a completely reworked framework which also raises the required PHP version from 5.4 to 5.6. We refactored every part of YOOtheme Pro, leaving no code part untouched. This is the fundamental groundwork that makes YOOtheme Pro fully open for 3rd party developers and allows them to extend any part of YOOtheme Pro with new functionalities.
Theme Packages
So, these are the groundbreaking features of YOOtheme Pro 2.0. Now let's talk about theme packages. We have prepared five new demo websites which will show you the full potential of YOOtheme Pro 2.0. This includes websites for design resources, movie reviews, cooking recipes, product portfolios and creative experts. The first theme package will be released in the next days, and the others will follow shortly one after another.
A New Era of YOOtheme Pro
YOOtheme Pro 2.0 is a start of a new era in website creation. Together, dynamic content, custom fields, custom sources and the Template builder change the scope of YOOtheme Pro fundamentally. Start creating complex dynamic websites today. Download YOOtheme Pro 2.0 and take it for a test drive. We can't wait to see what you are able to create with YOOtheme Pro.
Improvements and Fixes
In addition to the above-mentioned features, YOOtheme Pro 2.0 comes with tons of smaller improvements. For example, there are new link options for the Panel, Grid, Popover, Overlay and Gallery elements as well as a new column width option auto for the Grid and Gallery elements. Speaking of elements, they are now grouped by their functionality in the element library. We added better overrides for com_search and com_finder. File uploads now use the allowed file extensions and MIME types from the Joomla settings. YOOtheme Pro now supports hosting environment with a changed wp-content folder location like Bedrock or WordPress.com. Hex values for the color picker and the WordPress comments reply form also got fixed. Check out the full list in the changelog.
Breaking Changes
Since we completely reworked the YOOtheme Pro framework, there are breaking changes for template files and the module API. This means you have to update your child theme if you override template files or extend YOOtheme Pro with a custom module. Take a look at the original files in the yootheme folder and read our updated modules developer documentation.
What's Next
YOOtheme Pro 2.0 is currently only available for Joomla. The beta version for WordPress will be available shortly, and we are thrilled that it will come with Advanced Custom Fields as well as custom post types support.
We also put a lot of work into creating the dynamic content and templates documentation. Both are really comprehensive and come with in-depth documentation videos. We really recommend checking them out. More videos will follow shortly.
Now take YOOtheme Pro 2.0 for a test drive. We are looking forward to your feedback in the comments below.
Update (19 March)
YOOtheme Pro 2.0 Beta for WordPress is available! The Stable release is coming next week together with the first new theme package 🥳
Update (26 March)
We are still converting the Joomla demo website for the first theme package to WordPress. This turned out to be more complex than expected. Since theme packages are released for both Joomla and WordPress, we have to wait for the WordPress demo website to be finished. But of course we want to make sure you get all five theme packages, so if your subscription is about to expire soon, send us an email.
An update for dynamic content and the template builder documentation is coming soon. WordPress and Joomla will each get over 20 documentation videos explaining all the little details of YOOtheme Pro 2.0 👩🏻🏫.
Update (9 April)
Just in time for Easter 🐰🐣, we've created 19 help videos about dynamic content and the template builder. The videos have a total run time of 30 minutes and will make you a dynamic content expert. WordPress videos coming next. We also completely revised the dynamic content and templates documentation for Joomla and WordPress. All our documentation videos are now hosted on YouTube. Follow our YouTube channel and never miss a new video.
We also released YOOtheme Pro 2.0.7 today with important improvements and bug fixes. Elements now collapse if all their content is empty, and YOOtheme Pro works again with WPML just to name a few. See the full changelog.
The conversion of the Joomla demo website to WordPress is still in the works. We hope to have some news after Easter.
Update (22 April)
Great news, everyone! YOOtheme Pro 2.0 Stable for WordPress is available. Just update your existing site or download YOOtheme Pro and enjoy endless possibilities with dynamic content, custom fields and the template builder. The new theme package Design Bites is also released, and there's tons on new information in the new blog post. So that's the last update for this post, which again has broken the comments record 😅.
