What's New with Astra

Introducing Site Builder (formerly known as Custom Layout)

We’re excited to share that Custom Layout is evolving into Site Builder, reflecting our commitment to enhancing your website creation experience.

• Introducing Site Builder: Big news! Say hello to Site Builder, the rebranded and upgraded version of our beloved Custom Layout feature. Dive into a revamped, user-friendly interface tailored to empower your website creation process.
• WooCommerce – Product Catalog – Quick View Background option: Introducing the Quick View Background color option in WooCommerce’s Product Catalog. Customize your product displays effortlessly in any background.

Improvements:

• Custom Layout & Page Header metadata saving code improvements.
• Updated the select2 library to 4.0.13 to harden the security.

More Fixes:

• Mega Menu – Links should not be crawlable when ‘Disable Link’ option is set.
• Date-Box – Date Box stick at the corner of a post instead of the featured image which breaks blog UI.
• Mega Menu – Mega menu heading normal and hover color is not working.
• Top Border color & width not applied when mega menu width set to full width/full width stretched.

Astra Pro 4.5.0 is getting even better with the introduction of Site Builder, a new tool that makes it easier than ever to create stunning websites. To make the switch to Site Builder as seamless as possible, we’ve added compatibility with Astra. Additionally, we’re introducing a fresh set of color presets, to help you add a touch of beauty to your site’s design.

• Introducing Site Builder capability: This will ensure Astra theme compatibility with Astra Pro Site Builder.
• Introducing fresh color presets: Elevate your site design with our latest addition! Unveiling a collection of vibrant color presets to supercharge your creative process. Experiment effortlessly, infuse life into your design, and captivate your audience with stunning visuals.

More Fixes:

• Footer Builder – Above and Below Footer vertical alignment options are not working.
• EDD – Mini cart widget UI broken in the RTL mode.
• Enable Smooth Scroll to ID causes a jerk issue on the comment navigation section.
• External JavaScript script not loading properly on frontend.

We’ve updated to offer enhanced compatibility with the latest WordPress 6.4, ensuring a smooth experience for your website.

Also, we have updated the SelectWoo library to 1.0.10 for better security.

More Fixes:

• Default colors from customizer palette are mismatch with frontend global colors & with block editor’s theme colors.
• Smooth Scroll fails to navigate by keyboard on-focus and eventually breaks Accessibility.
• Search – Live Search – Search results dropdown goes beneath the header menu.
• Search – Live Search results container not visible in offcanvas section.
• Search – Live search is not working on the Safari browser.
• Search – Live search not getting their translated post type label on the frontend.
• WooCommerce – Duplicate ‘No Products in the Cart’ Message in WooCommerce Cart Widget.
• Editor – Content Background not applying correctly in some edge cases.
• Post Title – Behind Featured image position breaks the UI with sidebar layout.
• Block Editor – Slow editor experience after version 4.4.0.

Discover Astra Pro 4.4.0: Blog Filters, Full Screen Search Modal Styles, Page-Level Background Settings, and More!

Elevate Your Blog Archive with Post Filters Using Astra!

Are you looking to enhance your blog archive and make content navigation a breeze for your visitors? Adding post filters is the key!

Why Post Filters Matter:

🚀 Simplify content discovery.
🧹 Organize your blog efficiently.
📈 Help new and returning visitors find what they need.

Exciting New Options in Header Builder – Search Element!

Enhance your website’s search functionality with these fresh options for full-screen searches:

🎨 Choose between Light or Dark search modal styles.
📝 Customize Heading Text to suit your brand.
✏️ Tailor the Description Text to engage your audience effectively.

Upgrade your Header Builder – Search Element with these powerful new features!

Unleash Your Creativity with Astra’s Page-Specific Background Settings!

Exciting news for website customization enthusiasts! Astra’s recent update (version 4.4.0) brings a game-changing feature – Page-Specific Background Settings.

In the past, you could only set one background style for the entire site and one for the content. But now, with Astra 4.4.0, you can give each page its own unique background, making it stand out from the rest.

Page-Specific Settings Overview:

🖌️ Customize backgrounds on a per-page basis.
🌐 Override global settings for site and content backgrounds.
🎨 Achieve a truly unique look for each page.

Why Astra Page-Specific Settings?

– Gain full control over your website’s aesthetics by breaking free from uniform global settings.
– Create distinct looks for different pages with ease.

New:

• Blog Pro – Blog Filter to filter categories and tags. ( https://wpastra.com/docs/post-filter/ )
• Header Builder – Search – Option to switch Light or Dark modal design for Full Screen style.
• WooCommerce – Introducing a new cart shortcode ‘astra_woo_slide_in_cart’, which adds support for a slide-in cart feature.
• Editor – Introducing Page Level Background Settings (Page Background & Content Background). ( https://wpastra.com/docs/page-level-background-settings/ )

Improvement:

• Added a new filter ‘astra_social_rel_attribute‘ to change Social Share’s “rel” attribute inside the post.

Fix:

• Blog – Social sharing icons were incorrectly linking to Twitter for all platforms.
• Header-Footer Builder – Social Icon – Text decoration typography style for labels not working.
• Custom Layout – Embed/YouTube block not working inside nested blocks.
• Sticky Header – Menu color gets overridden by normal header primary menu color.
• WPML conflicting with Profile language for translation.

Discover Astra 4.4.0: Live Search, Sticky Sidebar, Secondary Button Styles, Banner Featured Image options, and Many More!

Introducing Live Search Feature!

Say goodbye to traditional search methods. Astra’s Live Search brings REST API-based optimized live search to your website. Level up your website’s search with Astra’s Live Search feature!

🚀 Fast, Dynamic, and Efficient: Witness search results in real-time as you type.
🔍 Optimal Performance: Powered by the REST API, it ensures swift search results.
📈 Interactivity: Engage users with real-time results for an enhanced search experience.

Enhanced Control Over Featured Images!

In Astra’s latest version 4.4.0, we’re all about boosting your single post banner layouts with eye-catching featured image variations. Featured images are vital for engagement and branding, and we’ve listened to your feedback to make them even better.

Now, you have more control over your single post banner layouts. No more simple on/off switches. Here’s what’s new:

🖼️ Customize Image Position
📏 Adjust Image Width
🔲 Choose Image Ratio
📐 Select Image Size

Enhance Your Website with Astra’s Sticky Sidebar Feature!

With Astra, you can effortlessly add sticky sidebars to your site. These sticky sidebars remain in place as visitors scroll, ensuring vital content is always within reach. No more endless scrolling or searching for information.

Benefits of Astra’s Sticky Sidebar:
🚀 Enhanced User Engagement
👁️ Increased Visibility
🧹 Better Organization

Who Can Benefit?
Whether you run a blog, online store, or business website, Astra’s Sticky Sidebar brings numerous advantages. It provides a seamless browsing experience, ensures important information is noticed, and keeps your site organized.

Privilege to Customize Secondary Button Styles

In the previous versions, WordPress core button styles were managed under Customizer > Global > Buttons, covering both primary and secondary buttons.

But here’s the big news!

With Astra v4.4.0, we’ve introduced a major improvement to button styling. For enhanced outline button styling, we now have dedicated options right within the Customizer.

🎨 Dedicated Styling for Secondary (Outline) Buttons.
📐 Customization at Your Fingertips: Easily adjust button presets, font style, size, and paddings.

New:

• Header Builder – Search – Introducing a new feature Live Search. ( https://wpastra.com/docs/live-search/ )
• Header Builder – Search – Post Types selection option to filter Live Search results within.
• Header Builder – Search – Option to adjust search bar width.
• Introducing a feature of Sticky Sidebar functionality for enhanced user experience. ( https://wpastra.com/docs/sticky-sidebar/ )
• Introducing Primary & Secondary Button styles under Global – Buttons. ( https://wpastra.com/docs/secondary-buttons/ )
• Introducing new Twitter-X Icon added for Social Sharing and Social Icons.
• Introducing new featured image options like Image Ratio, Image Size, Image Position, etc for single banner layouts. ( https://wpastra.com/docs/featured-image-options-for-single-banner-layouts/ )
• WooCommerce – Compatibility for a pro cart shortcode ‘astra_woo_slide_in_cart’, which adds support for a slide-in cart feature.

Improvement:

• Added a new filter ‘astra_woo_shop_product_title_link’ to remove the product title link from the product page.
• Header-Footer Builder – Enabled widget design options by default and it is supported for editor blocks as well.
• Updated default colors from color palette on fresh setup for better UI/UX.

Fix:

• Resolved console error which originated from “menu-toggle-close” element click on the frontend.
• Theme’s meta-box modal UI getting extra space after WordPress-6.3.
• After WordPress 6.3 bottom spacing of ‘figure’ tag is missing.
• Header-Footer Builder – Social – Background spacing issue breaking UI in customizer preview.
• Block Editor – After WordPress 6.3 compatibility title visibility SVG icon jerks on page load with slow networks.
• Site Identity – Logo Width sizes not working as expected in the customizer preview.
• Duplicate dotted outlines are visible on focus of the close-menu toggle icon when accessibility is enabled.
• Above Header – Left & Right spacing does not apply on frontend & in the customizer preview.
• Blog Archive – Read More button not working with the excerpt when the Left Sidebar layout is active.
• Customizer – Blog – Design tab section seems blank when Astra Pro is active and all pro addons are disabled.
• Block – Embed/YouTube block not working inside nested blocks from Custom Layouts.
• Breadcrumb – PHP warnings while accessing “name”/”rewrite” properties of the post object.
• WooCommerce – Ultimate Addons for Elementor’s Product widget missing with “View Cart” button.
• Blog/Archive – Banner title font size is not working in responsive mode.
• Header Builder – CLS issue due to appearing desktop and mobile header together on responsive devices.
• Header Builder – Anchor tag link getting submenu background color which creates multiple color layer issues.
• Social Share – Wrong SVG icon (Ravelry) showing on frontend due to incorrect path.
• Comment Form – On active & focus of form fields they look improper.

Fix:

• Custom Layout – Layouts missing on the frontend for logged-out users with update v4.3.2.

Fix:

• Improved codebase for improved security. (Props – Patchstack)
• Blog – Social sharing icons were incorrectly linking to Twitter for all platforms.

New:

• Custom Layout – Option for dynamic content preview in single/archive template editor.
• Header Builder – Account – Introducing new option for Account menu expansion “Hover” or “Click”.

Improvement:

• Introducing filter ‘astra_addon_cl_ast_container_fullwidth’ to make flex based ast-container full-width to resolve edge cases like Custom Template shrinks on archive pages.

Fix:

• Header Builder – Account – PHP warning ‘Undefined variable $css_output_desktop’ while generating dynamic CSS.
• Mailchimp for WooCommerce radio select option is not clickable when Modern Input Fields is enabled.
• Custom Layout – Meta options modal’s UI adding extra space after WordPress-6.3.
• Custom Layout – Archive templates get shrink due to flex-based CSS on the ast-container wrapper.

Fix:

• Block – Lists block style type updated to “disc” after v4.3.0 update.
• Block Editor – Text color not inheriting as per the settings saved in customizer.
• Single – Banner’s custom background not working for Layout 1.