v5.1.0-beta.3 Latest
May 28, 2026
New 10 Improve 5 Fix 12 Security 4 Compat 5 Note 1
New
- Page Settings meta box: unified per-entry display controls (sub-header, sub-header title, sidebar, content width, site header, site footer, header style, side panel, color mode, site loader) for pages, posts, and any public post type. Renders as a modern panel in both block and classic editors.
- Header Style picker with 5 variants: Default, Solid (brand-color underline), Transparent (over hero), Minimal (compact bar), Glass (backdrop-blur). Per-entry override available in Page Settings.
- Site Blog panel split into Blog Archive and Single Post sections with modernized controls. New magazine layout, unified 1-4 columns control, card styles (plain / bordered / shadow / elevated), hover effects (lift / zoom / tint), excerpt length slider, and an author bio toggle on single posts.
- Blog Archive sidebar override that applies on the homepage when it acts as the blog feed and on category / tag / author / date archives. Inherits the global sidebar setting by default so existing sites render unchanged.
- Color presets: 12 Brndle enterprise palettes plus 2 legacy schemes; swatch grid picker with dynamic per-control defaults that track the active preset.
- Typography presets: 7 curated font pairs with size, weight, and line-height per field. Two sliders drive a modular type scale across every heading and body field.
- Visitor color mode toggle (light / dark / auto) ported from BuddyX free, with header, mobile menu, or floating placement.
- WP Login branding revamp: 4 layout presets (Minimal, Brand left, Brand right, Hero image). Replaces the previous 81-field configuration.
- 9 preset Google Fonts bundled and self-hosted; no Google CDN dependency at admin load when a preset is active.
- 1,358-font Google Fonts library restored in the typography picker (free-parity); searchable, grouped, with custom selections from earlier versions preserved.
Improve
- Customizer architecture: dropped the Kirki dependency in favour of an in-house Customizer Framework with 20 control types and live preview parity.
- Single React UI bundle for the Page Settings panel mounts in both editor surfaces.
- Code quality pass: coding standards, static analysis, and output escaping across theme core and integrations (BuddyPress, bbPress, BuddyBoss platform, LearnDash, WooCommerce, WC Vendors, Events Calendar).
- Translation readiness: every theme string is now translatable under a single, consistent text domain.
- Confirm dialogs across the admin now use a styled modal instead of the browser native confirm popup.
Fix
- More menu dropdown renders cleanly at tablet widths (768-1023 px). Parent items show a chevron; nested items open on hover.
- Minimal blog layout hides the sidebar on the archive page as the design intends; no orphan widget area at the foot.
- Customizer Publish button appears on the first keystroke when typing values into number fields (sidebar widths, content padding, and other dimension controls).
- Site Loader respects the Background colour (Dark Mode) setting; the loader matches dark mode pages.
- WP Login Brand Left and Brand Right presets render cleanly on the BuddyPress register page; no white-space rail on the side.
- WP Login Hero Image preset on the register page: form fields are clickable, section headings remain readable, and the page keeps its theme chrome.
- WP Login Hero Image preset on the login form: the language switcher is now clickable.
- Hero Image overlay no longer blocks clicks on form inputs or visitor controls.
- Color-mode toggle now appears reliably when enabled.
- WP login upgraders with a saved background image land on the Hero preset instead of Minimal, so their branding stays visible.
- Header Style picker variants now apply cleanly; each variant has a unique visible signature on any page.
- Site loader visual parity preserved on upgrade (5-dot animation with the saved background color).
Security
- Updated build-time development dependencies to clear advisory alerts; no customer-facing impact.
- Output escaping hardened in cart, single-product rating, post-format video / audio, Dokan store reviews, SureCart blocks, and entry-meta time strings.
- Prepared SQL across LearnDash and helper queries.
- LearnDash auto-enroll display now checks proper capabilities instead of the administrator role name.
Compat
- Verified across the Customizer, Site Skin presets, BuddyPress register flow, and the Site Loader light / dark cascade.
- Verified on PHP 7.4 through 8.4.
- Page Settings reads and writes the same legacy meta keys the pre-5.1.0 meta boxes used; existing customer data preserved without migration.
- Legacy color-preset slugs still resolve after the slug rename; saved customizer values keep working.
- Blog Archive read-side shim translates legacy column / masonry settings to the new unified controls; customers keep their saved layout choices with no database rewrite.
Note
- Pre-release polish before 5.1.0 final. Beta 3 fixes the regressions QA surfaced on top of beta 2. The full 5.1.0 notes follow below.