Genesis 3.1 is Out Now

Upgrade to Genesis 3.1 or start using Genesis today to give your WordPress site new superpowers!

Genesis 3.1 requires WordPress 5.0+, PHP 5.6+, and an HTML5 Genesis child theme.

This latest update is jam-packed with long-requested features: from footer credits settings and new editor options to a new way to set up demo content with Starter Packs. In addition to Genesis 3.1, we’ve also updated the Revolution Pro and Sample themes to leverage all this great functionality.

Some of the 3.1 highlights:

• Edit Footer credits via the Customizer.
• New Genesis sidebar for the block editor. The sidebar gives you new options to hide titles, breadcrumbs, and featured images for an individual post or page, as well as easier access to the page layout and custom class options.
• Genesis Starter Packs offer a choice of theme variation during one-click theme setup.
• Automatically disable schema markup output if the Yoast SEO plugin is active and outputting similar markup.
• Enable featured image output on posts and pages (requires theme support — try it today in the updated Genesis Sample or Revolution Pro themes).
• Output custom logos (requires theme support).
• Genesis endpoints for the WordPress REST API.
• Additional fixes and improvements, such as removing the unused noodp and noydir SEO settings, better SEO options for site titles on static homepages, refinement of one-click theme setup, and more.
  

Important notes for existing Genesis users

1. The Genesis layout and custom class post settings have moved to the new Genesis sidebar for block editor users. Click the Genesis icon at the top of the block editor to set your page layout and more. If you use the classic editor, the layout and custom class options are in their original location below the post editor.
2. You can now edit your footer text from the Customizer. Find the new setting at Theme Settings → Footer. From Genesis 3.1, this is the intended way to customize footer credits text instead of using plugins and filters. The genesis_footer_creds_text filter is now deprecated, has no effect, and should be removed from child themes. The Genesis 3.1 upgrade process will copy text from that filter to the new footer setting in the Customizer so that your custom footer credits continue to display.

How to upgrade to Genesis 3.1

Existing Genesis users will see an update prompt in the WordPress admin area.

If the update prompt is missing, check that you are running WordPress 5.0+, PHP 5.6+, are using a Genesis HTML5 child theme, and have enabled update notifications at Genesis → Theme Settings → Updates.

New to Genesis? Learn about the Genesis Framework for WordPress and discover how to get Genesis.

New features enabled on all sites by default

All sites running Genesis 3.1 benefit from:

Footer credits editing

You can now edit your footer credits in the Customizer at Theme Settings → Footer.

If you do not see the new footer setting after upgrading to Genesis 3.1, an active plugin or child theme or may be overriding footer output. Try disabling plugins, checking for the genesis_footer_output filter in your child theme code, or contacting your theme developer.

New Genesis sidebar for the block editor

Genesis 3.1 introduces a new sidebar for block editor users.

Click the Genesis icon at the top of the page to get quick access to Genesis page settings:

The Genesis sidebar offers new hide breadcrumbs, hide title, and hide featured image options. You can also toggle breadcrumbs and featured images for all posts or pages site-wide from these areas, saving you a trip to the Customizer.

The hide title checkbox appears on pages only by default. The hide featured image box appears if your theme supports the new Genesis 3.1 featured image output feature outlined below.

The layout and custom class settings have moved to the Genesis sidebar from the Layout Settings meta box that used to appear below your post content.

If you use the classic editor, you won’t see the new Genesis sidebar or the hide title, breadcrumbs, or featured image options, and the layout and custom class settings will appear below the post editor.

Improvements for Yoast SEO users

Genesis 3.1 removes Genesis microdata if you are using Yoast SEO. You can deactivate any Genesis microdata removal plugins after upgrading to Genesis 3.1.

New features that require support from your Genesis child theme

Some features from Genesis 3.1 won’t take effect unless they are enabled in your child theme code. You can try these features today in the newly updated Genesis Sample 3.1.0 and Revolution Pro 1.2.0 themes.

To learn more about implementing these features in your child theme, see the Genesis 3.1 beta notes or the Genesis developer documentation.

Featured image output options

You can now enable featured images on any post types your theme chooses to support image output for:

Developers can add support in their themes to named post types:

add_post_type_support( 'post', 'genesis-singular-images' );
add_post_type_support( 'page', 'genesis-singular-images' );

Custom logo support

Theme developers can now benefit from custom logo handling and output by Genesis using the new genesis-custom-logo theme support.

Genesis will add a logo picker to the Site Identity section in the Customizer, output the logo if active, remove the unneeded Header Customizer panel and remove the link from the hidden text-based site title to improve accessibility.

This is a Genesis-specific alternative to WordPress’s native custom-logo theme support, saving Genesis child theme developers from some common traps and from having to output the logo manually.

Genesis Starter Packs

A Genesis starter pack is a bundle of content, plugins, menus, and widgets that will be automatically imported and set up when someone clicks the “Install Pack” button.

Theme developers can now give site owners a choice of site variation during one-click theme setup by presenting them with a starter pack selection after the theme is activated.

Genesis starter packs extend the original Genesis one-click theme setup experience where users had a single choice of content. Theme developers can give site owners a single choice of content, or use starter packs to present multiple variations and suggested uses for your theme.

Changelog and developer docs

Read the full changelog for Genesis 3.1. Developers can find details of new features in the Genesis developer documentation or see a summary in the Genesis 3.1 beta feature overview.

Would you like to help shape Genesis in future releases? Learn how to contribute to Genesis. Thank you to all beta testers who gave feedback for the Genesis 3.1 release.

New to Genesis?

Learn about the Genesis Framework for WordPress and discover how to get Genesis today.