Per our roadmap, updates are coming soon to AffiliateWP core and all official add-ons to bump minimum versions of WordPress and PHP. Add-ons will also begin enforcing AffiliateWP minimum versions.
As we announced in a previous post, our Minimum Requirements Roadmap directs us to begin bumping minimum versions as soon as May 2021. We’ve outlined below what these changes will mean for our customers and extension community alike.
New minimum versions
- AffiliateWP 2.7+ will require PHP 5.6 and WordPress 5.0 minimum
- Add-ons will require PHP 5.6+, WordPress 5.0+, and AffiliateWP 2.6+
What this means for customers
We believe the new minimum requirements will affect very few active customers. That said, we have put some safeguards in place to ensure the best possible experience:
- Update notifications will only be sent if minimum requirements are met for core or pro add-ons
- Free add-on updates will leverage built-in WordPress compatibility safeguards to warn customers about updating
If AffiliateWP or any add-ons still get updated with requirements unmet, we’ve got that covered too. All product updates will contain a new “partial activation” mode built to minimize potential breakage.
What this means for third-party developers
Nothing much will change at this time for third-party developers who are extending AffiliateWP. All we can say is you can be reassured we’re actively embracing more modern standards in some key ways moving forward.
For instance we fully expect to begin using traits in some key areas of the internals. Additionally, newly-introduced APIs from AffiliateWP 2.7 onward will use an autoloader. Exciting stuff ahead!
What’s next
Speaking of AffiliateWP 2.7, we’re just wrapping up work on this development-focused release. We can’t wait to share all the details with you. If you haven’t yet, make sure to subscribe in the sidebar to stay up to date on all of our content here.
Coming soon: Developer notes for the upcoming AffiliateWP 2.7 release!