2.6 now ready for beta testing
We are pleased to announce that Restrict Content Pro version 2.6 is nearly ready. This version has been in active development since version 2.5 was released at the end of March. In version 2.6, we have made some significant improvements that will benefit site owners and members alike.
Planned release date
There is not a set release date yet, but we plan to have 2.6 released to all customers within the next two weeks, based on feedback from beta testers.
Testing the beta
To ensure that the update to version 2.6 goes smoothly, we need as many people as possible to help test the beta. Every bug that we catch between now and the final release is one less problem for live sites.
Please do not test this beta on a live site. Use a staging or development site.
The latest version of the beta may be downloaded from GitHub. Once you have downloaded the .zip file, you may install it on your WordPress site as usual.
Important changes
There are a number of significant improvements in 2.6, as well as several bug fixes, and we would like to go over those now.
Improved UI for “Restrict this content” metabox
The Restrict this content metabox is one of the most commonly used parts of Restrict Content Pro. Most site owners interact with it every time they publish new content to their site. There are several aspects to this metabox that have confused site owners since the very beginning of Restrict Content Pro so we decided to address these by re-imagining what the options presented in the metabox looked like.
Pre 2.6:
2.6
We believe the changes provide a significant improvement that is much more intuitive and will result in less confusion and less improper configuration.
Responsive admin interfaces
Restrict Content Pro has several important administration screens, including Members, Subscription Levels, Payments, and Discounts. In 2.6, we have made all of these screens fully responsive and mobile friendly so that on-the-go admins can more easily access and manage their members’ accounts. In making them responsive, we have also adjusted some of the data that is displayed.
Large screen table:
Mobile table:
Comment restriction added
In previous versions, comments added to content that was restricted to members were not restricted, so non-members could still read the comments on members-only content. In 2.6 we have added support for hiding comments as well, so only members that have access to the main content of the post/page will be able to read the comments.
Better help text and tooltips
To assist admins in configuring Restrict Content Pro, we have updated large amounts of the help text throughout the plugin and also added mouse-over tooltips with verbose explanations for certain features and options.
Alipay support added to Stripe Checkout
Chinese customers can now purchase memberships through Alipay with the Stripe Checkout gateway. This opens up many membership sites to wider audiences and permits more customers to purchase access with familiar payment methods.
Transaction IDs linked to merchant pages
The transaction IDs shown in the Payments page now link directly to the charge details page in your merchant processor account. This makes it easier to handle refunds, cancellation, and to look payment details anytime it is needed.
Update credit / debit card support added to PayPal
Customers that purchase with a PayPal account now have the option of updating the debit / credit card that is used to pay for their membership through the [rcp_update_card] shortcode.
Add-ons page
To make it easier for site owners to find great add-ons for Restrict Content Pro, we have added a new Add-ons page to the Restrict menu that displays a feed of Professional and free add-ons.
Hard-set widths removed from labels in registration form
Since the beginning, Restrict Content Pro has imposed hard-set widths on the label elements of the registration form. This sometimes made styling the form difficult for theme authors and occasionally caused conflicts with the form styling of other themes. In 2.6 we have removed the hard-set widths so that the default styles of the theme for form elements will be used instead. This should create better compatibility with the majority of themes.
Subscription and payment meta APIs
We have introduced two meta data APIs, one for subscription levels and one for payments. These metadata APIs work nearly identical to the core WordPress metadata APIs and will provide extension developers with an easy way to store additional information on subscription levels and payments.
Better payment invoices
For 2.6, we have re-built the payment invoices to use a much simpler and significantly more flexible system that removes the necessity for large PDF processing libraries. Removing the PDF libraries reduced the size of the plugin files by more than 90%.
Invoices in 2.6:
Restrict Content Pro 2.6 also includes a number of bug fixes and other small improvements as well.
If you are able to test the beta and notice any issues or have any feedback on the changes, let us know below, via a support ticket, or on GitHub.