GeneratePress 3.0 - Theme Update Required
Happy Wednesday All :-)
I noticed that mine and my clients sites updated overnight, as we utilise an automated updating system that also checks for visual changes after any updates, and I am happy to report that there were zero visual changes to all sites :-)
What Updated?
So what was updated overnight? Well, the headline of this post kind of gives it away!
That's right, our famous and much loved GeneratePress theme has been updated to Version 3
So I went on the hunt to find what was included, and apparently, it is their biggest update yet.
With it comes a fresh theme design, modernized flexbox grids, new theme functionality, and overall it’s lighter, faster, and more flexible than ever before.
The above is quoted from their website (https://generatepress.com/generatepress-3-0-a-new-era/)
GeneratePress was already one of the fastest, lightest and most flexible themes out there, but now, according to Tom from GeneratePress, it is even "lighter, faster, and more flexible than ever before". So you can't complain at that ;-)
Out Of The Box
GeneratePress has been around for over 6 years, and has seen many changes, with every change making their theme better and better for everyone who uses it.
With Version 3.0 it comes with an out-of-the-box facelift and will now look like the following:
It is looking very sleek and modern indeed :-)
New Grid System
GeneratePress 3.0 has been designed to use a Flexbox Grid system, instead of the previous Floats, but is 100% backwards compatible. A newly installed copy of GeneratePress will now default to the Flexbox stylesheet, whereas existing websites will remain on the Floats stylesheet.
There is an option to convert from Floats to Flexbox, but GeneratePress themselves suggest doing this on a Staging* Website, to ensure that there are no issues, while also allowing you to make minor tweaks before making your website live with this new change.
*SiteSupport can create Staging Websites for us very easily and quickly, you just have to submit a ticket to them. Then make your changes on the staged version, followed by telling SiteSupport that you are ready for the changes to be applied back to your main website.
Is It Worth It?
You might be wondering, is it worth it???
Yes, is the answer to that, as Flexbox comes with a significant reduction in CSS, cleaner and lighter HTML by removing helper classes such as grid-50, and is easier to customise with simple CSS.
With these changes, Tom and his team have manged to reduce their theme's file sizes by over 55%, bearing in mind it was already the lightest and fastest theme out there!
For the exact numbers and to see what's changed, you can head on over to their website here:
https://generatepress.com/generatepress-3-0-a-new-era/
New Features
As for features, wow is all I can say! One of the new features is a new hook that works with menus, allowing for non-menu items to be added to your menu, such as buttons etc. Doesn't sound like much, but this is a really big deal for designing websites.
Another new feature that may not mean much to many, but will have a huge impact when used, is another hook that allows for filtering loops that will enable you to dynamically display Block Elements, by replacing the default template.
I've got a lot of playing to do this weekend to really put this through its paces!
Caution
Just to clarify, upgrading to GeneratePress 3.0 from any 2.x version is safe!
The only requirement for a staging website, is if you want to convert from Floats to Flexbox.
There will be an impact, however, if you update from a 1.x version, as some of the default settings have changed.
For example, Font Awesome will no longer be active, dynamic CSS cache will be turned on, the default font family will be set to System Stack, and blog post content will be set to excerpt.
If you have used a Child Theme with GeneratePress, which isn't actually required due to the customisation options, you might need to update your custom template files to allow for these new changes to be available.
Always Backup Your Website Before Making A Change!
For the Full Changelog of GeneratePress 3.0, please visit:
https://generatepress.com/generatepress-3-0-a-new-era/
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If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below, and I will get back to you as soon as I can :-)
Recent Comments
73
I'm only learning from the best from now on I would like to know how'd you find out about this change so quickly
My webwsites are set to check for updates every 3 hours, when it finds one it performs a backup, then applies the update, then checks for any visual issues, followed by alerting me of what it's done. I then found the changelog directly at GeneratePress. For other updates, I'm subscribed to a lot of newsletters and mailing lists ;-)
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Thank you for the share Chrystopher. I recently switched to a Generate Press theme.
Michael
You’re welcome Michael :-)