We are thrilled to announce the brand new Genesis 2.7 beta!
In addition to the typical bug fixes and performance enhancements, Genesis 2.7 is focused on updating some key architectural components and is aimed at modernizing the codebase to prepare for some exciting future updates.
Changes in Genesis 2.7
1. Preparing for WordPress 5.0 and Gutenberg
WordPress 5.0 is just around the corner, and we want to make sure your site is prepared!
Although Genesis 2.7 does not include any features that directly rely on WordPress 5.0 or the Gutenberg editor, we have spent a great deal of time preparing the Genesis code structure for new features that definitely will integrate with WordPress 5.0.
2. PHP 5.3
Genesis 2.7 requires PHP version 5.3 or greater in order to function properly.
Why?
Because we’re trying to be good internet citizens! And though we can’t jump immediately to requiring PHP 7.2, we are beginning to slowly increase our minimum requirements in Genesis, to encourage users to upgrade outdated PHP versions, as well as give ourselves the ability to create cool new features that rely on the more modern tools available only in more modern versions of PHP.
3. More Modern Architecture
Genesis is nearly a decade old! Which means that it uses some coding methods that could use a modern refresh.
We may not be able to modernize the entire codebase in one release, but we can make it better and better each time we release an update. And that’s exactly what we did in Genesis 2.7.
We began moving code to classes where appropriate, and are moving more and more of the default Genesis behavior toward easy to read configuration files.
We think this is a worthy investment in the long-term quality and maintainability of the Genesis Framework, clearing the way for newer experiences and better products in the Genesis ecosystem.
Get All the Details
We keep a detailed changelog for each release. The changelog for Genesis 2.7 can be found here.
Try it out!
We hope you’ll download the Genesis Beta Tester plugin and help out the Genesis community by testing Genesis 2.7 Beta, then reporting any issues you might come across.