ClassiPress v3.0.5.3 is Now Available
The latest version of ClassiPress was made available yesterday which is a maintenance release for v3.0.5. v3.0.5 was released last month and included a bunch of new features – many of which were scheduled to be in v3.1. In all, there were 158 tickets closed out.
We made the decision to break apart v3.1 into two different releases mainly so we could first take advantage of a important WordPress 3.0 feature.
- Custom Post Types and Taxonomies
This was the biggest change and required us to move the entire theme over to custom post types and taxonomies. It was a huge undertaking from a development standpoint and took the majority of our time to complete.
It made more sense for us and our customers to release this huge change in a pre 3.1 release instead of lumping everything into one gigantic release. This will essentially ease everyone into the new UI and feature-set.
What Are Custom Post Types Anyhow?
Before we talk about custom post types, let’s address what content types are. Basically they are different types of content that exist within WordPress and you may not know it, but you use them all the time. There are five major content types that WordPress uses by default. They are posts, pages, attachments, revisions, and nav menus.
Before WordPress 3.0, we were limited to using just those default post types. WordPress 3.0 now gives us the capability to add our own custom post types (and taxonomies) and to use them in different ways. For example, with ClassiPress v3.0.5, we started using custom post types for ad listings instead of stuffing them all into posts.
What About Custom Taxonomies?
A taxonomy is basically a way to group things together. WordPress has three built in taxonomies that you are already familiar with. They are, categories, tags, and link categories. Since WordPress 2.3 we’ve been able to create our own custom taxonomies but this feature was rarely used up until v3.0.
In ClassiPress v3.0.5 we started using two new custom taxonomies which are ad categories and ad tags. These are kept completely separate from your blog post categories and tags which makes it much easier to manage (and code).
There are many benefits of using custom post types and taxonomies which go beyond the scope of this article. For ClassiPress and the rest of our themes, the primary benefit is being able to separate and manage these content types and taxonomies so they aren’t mixed in with blog posts.
This is how WordPress should have been built from the beginning but it was initially developed as a blogging platform and not a content management system (CMS). It’s evolved like crazy over the past several years and theme development companies like ours, help to push the limits. This, in turn has helped open up new doors such as custom post types. Hats off to WordPress for enabling this.
What’s New in v3.0.5
Almost all features that were targeted in v3.1 have been released in v3.0.5. Here’s a list of highlights of what’s been included:
- Ad listings now use custom post types and taxonomies
- Check box and radio button custom field types
- jQuery tabs on admin option pages for better organization
- New users can create a password on account sign-up
- Tool tip icon added to custom fields on form
- Coupon code module
- Moved and enhanced search box under main nav
- Real-time auto-complete search suggestion
- Incorrect spelling auto-suggest engine on search results
- New admin email option page with new reg email template
- Ability to mark ads as “sold” and keep them live
- Large image preview on ad thumbnail hovering
- Added an AJAX real-time updating Twitter sidebar widget
- Added a Facebook like box sidebar widget
- Last 30 days income and new ads dashboard chart widget (Small Biz, Pro & Ult Editions)
- Enhanced user dashboard sidebar
- Ad images now allow editing of alt text field for SEO benefits
- Updated design to use modern rounded corners
- Rebuilt stats module so it’s included on all ads and user dashboard
- Option to use gravatar hovercards on ad author and comment photos
- Option to use Google CDN hosted jQuery
- Menu caching to speed up page load
- Added general.js to allow custom added javascript
- Cufon font replacement system
- Recaptcha anti-spam system for new sign-ups
- Changed ad, post, and page title tags from h2 to h1 for SEO benefits
- Added debugging option to print out WordPress queries
- Added pagination on the user dashboard for all ad listings
- Option to turn off WordPress version meta tag
- Full support for WordPress 3.1 (once it’s been released)
- Option to disable menu bar on front-end for logged in users (coming in WordPress 3.1)
- Added support for custom hierarchical taxonomy permalinks for ad categories (coming in WordPress 3.1)
For a complete list of new features, see the changelog.txt included in the theme download file. You can also see the changes on the demo site.
Read This Before Upgrading
As mentioned earlier, the biggest change is moving to custom post types and taxonomies.
It’s very important you understand how this affects your site & plugins before doing the upgrade.
Using custom post types and taxonomies is relatively new and many plugin developers have yet to upgrade their plugins to work with WordPress 3.0. You should check with each plugin to make sure it supports WordPress 3.0 otherwise it will no longer work correctly.
Permalink Structure Changes
Another important issue to mention is how this will change your permalink structure.
For example, ClassiPress v3.0.4 or earlier lists ads at the root. This actually depends on how you setup your permalink structure but this is how we recommended it:
- www.yoursite.com/your-ad-name/
Once you make the switch to custom post types, it uses a different permalink structure. Here’s what it will look like in 3.0.5.3:
- www.yoursite.com/ads/your-ad-name/
Now you have the ability to change the “ads” directory to a different name but it’s still not root-level. That’s just how custom post types work (and technically the correct way).
Sub-Category Hierarchy Structure
Another short-coming (which will be fixed in WordPress 3.1 due out early Jan 2011) is sub-category hierarchy for custom taxonomies. Right now all custom taxonomy categories are flat unlike ClassiPress v3.0.4 or earlier.
Here’s an example of a sub-sub-category structure in ClassiPress 3.0.4:
- www.yoursite.com/category/sub-category/sub-sub-category/your-ad-name/
Now with custom taxonomies in WordPress 3.0 and ClassiPress 3.0.5, here’s what it’ll look like:
- www.yoursite.com/ad-category/sub-sub-category/your-ad-name/
Again, this is a short-coming in WordPress 3.0 which will be fixed in WordPress 3.1. The good news is we’ve anticipated this problem and already baked in the fix so once WordPress 3.1 goes GA, it will just work.
Inbound Links
Something else worth mentioning has to do with inbound to your ads. This new url structure means any existing inbound links will be broken and not pass along their “link juice” for SEO benefits.
The best way to handle this is by setting up what’s called, 301 redirects. These are basically mappings that tell Google that your old urls should now point to your new ones. It also prevents visitors who click on your old links from getting a “404 page not found” error.
This can be done a number of ways but the easiest is by using a WordPress plugin. Some of the ones we recommend are Simple 301 Redirects and Redirection.
Upgrade to WordPress 3.1 RC
If you’re already using ClassiPress 3.0.5.3 and you want this functionality now, we recommend upgrading your WordPress to 3.1 RC. It’s currently available for download here and it’s pretty much the finished version. RC stands for “Release Candidate” which means it’s basically ready for release – pending any last minute fixes.
Final Note
Also, once you upgrade to v3.0.5.x there’s no going back. It’s not a bad thing nor is the upgrade risky, it’s just a warning. You’ll be prompted with an upgrade and migration message once you activate ClassiPress v3.0.5. We automatically take care of everything for you with our migration script.
What Does the Migration Script Do?
The changes technically are rather simple for moving posts over. Since all but one content types (i.e. posts, pages, attachments, revisions) are stored in the wp_posts table, we just have to change the post type from “post” to “ad_listing”.
Same goes for ad categories and ad tags. They are stored in the wp_term_taxonomy table so we just change the taxonomy column values from “category” to “ad_cat” and “post_tag” to “ad_tag”.
We’ve also built a new drop-down menu located on each post where you can manually change the post type.
How Do I Get the Latest Version?
Existing customers can login to their account and download either the patch or full upgrade from their dashboard. Not yet a customer and want to purchase this theme? Visit our ClassiPress product page to read all about the unique features included with this theme.
What Files Have Changed?
Many of our customers have done customizations to ClassiPress and want to know exactly which files have been added, modified, and removed. The change from v3.0.4 to v3.0.5 is so massive since it affects the entire infrastructure that pretty much every file has been altered. In this case it’s best to start from v3.0.5.3 and bring over any changes you have made.
The good news is we’ve made this process going forward much easier. In addition to providing the latest full version download, we’ll also be including a patch release. This will be a much smaller download and only include the files that have changed since the previous release.
So instead of having to read through the change log and figure out what files have been modified, you can just download the patch and ftp the files directly into your existing ClassiPress theme folder. You’ll still want to deactivate and then reactivate your theme so everything gets updated correctly but this will improve your upgrading experience.
In fact we’ve included a patch for v3.0.5.3 so if you’re already running v3.0.5.2 then just download the patch instead of the full version. That’s one of the benefits of using svn as our theme version control system. It’s easy to create a diff and export all the files modified.
Here’s the list of all files affected in the 3.0.5.3 release (from v3.0.5.2).
includes/admin/admin-style.css Modified
changelog.txt Modified
style.css Modified
tpl-edit-item.php Modified
includes/appthemes-functions.php Modified
includes/theme-stats.php Modified
includes/forms/step3.php Modified
includes/forms/step-functions.php Modified
includes/forms/login/login-form.php Modified
includes/sidebar-blog-posts.php Modified
includes/admin/admin-notices.php Modified
includes/admin/admin-updates.php Modified
includes/admin/admin-enqueue.php Modified
includes/admin/admin-post-types.php Modified
includes/admin/admin-options.php Modified
includes/admin/admin-scripts.js Modified
includes/admin/admin-values.php Modified
tpl-dashboard.php Modified
includes/admin/install-script.php Modified
includes/theme-widgets.php Modified
includes/theme-enqueue.php Modified
includes/theme-security.php Modified
includes/theme-functions.php Modified
footer.php Modified
includes/js/theme-scripts.js Modified
includes/theme-header.php Modified
classipress.po Modified
classipress-no-admin.po Modified
loop-ad.php Modified
classipress.pot Modified
classipress-no-admin.pot Modified
index.php Modified
tpl-add-new.php Modified
includes/js/jquery.flot.min.js Added
images/pe-chart-teaser.png Added
So there you have it. Hope you enjoy all the new features and if you have any problems with the upgrade, please post your questions in our support forum. Our dedicated support team will be happy to help!
Comments (81)
David could you please point out .. where are the index-directory.php and the index-standard.php files now ? I want to edit them but cant find them in 3.0.5.3
Thanks H
@hemi, they have been consolidated into the index.php file. This makes it easier to update and make child-themes.
what happen if I want to upgrade from 3.0.5.1 to 3.0.5.3? not mention anywhere.
@xenogeek, it’s the same as the other upgrades. You’ll be prompted with a migration message once you activate 3.0.5.3 so just follow those steps.
A warning to anyone upgrading to this release or any other v3.0.x or 3.1.x release…
I found out today that neither the All in One SEO plugin or the WPSEO plugin work now with this ClassiPress upgrade. The reason is because of the token values within either of these plugins – especially the “category” tokens. Because this version of the theme uses custom ad categories, the WPSEO or All in One SEO plugin do not know where to find the new ad category tokens, so it gets removed.
Back to the drawing board and trying to find out a way to get this working again without a hack I suppose. Any ideas on olving this would be appreciated.
@Brian, The latest version of the All in One SEO plugin supports custom post types. Just make sure to enable the “SEO for Custom Post Types” option and select the “ad_listings” custom post type on the plugins option page. This will transfer all your existing SEO settings to the ads.
As far as the categories go, I’m not sure. Since custom post types are relatively new, many plugins haven’t been updated completely to support these new features. I suspect it’s only a matter of time before they catch up.
I have the same problem with all the plugins installed on ClassiPress. None of them work now for the different category tokens.
In my opinion you shoud find a solution to this problem because the old version was far way better than this new one.
For example, there were a lot of plugins that I could use to add promo banners in each category ( an feature that is listed in the IDEA EXCHANGE ) but now, with this new version none of them work.
I think was a bed thing to separate the categories and posts in this new version.
Like I said, the old one was far way better than this one right now.
Please find a solution to it.
@Andy, the latest version of ClassiPress uses custom post types and taxonomies which is the correct way to use WordPress.
It was also clearly stated in this blog post that not all plugins will work b/c they haven’t been updated to support custom post types so it’s important to check them all before upgrading.
If you need help with your website and recommendations on plugins, please post your questions in the support forum. We’ll be happy to assist you there.
It is one way to use WordPress – post categories still exist, and unfortuntaely a lot of plugins (even though updated for 3.0+) dont take custom post-types into account. I dont think custom post-types adds that much value at present – but may do in future. I think this is indicative of backwards compatibility issues – the rush to use the latest features can scupper existing users with classipress, and plugins they are using.
Geo-mashup is the plugin that I had problems with, and they have updated in recent version to support custom post-types. BUT for some reason even though it recognises post type I create, it doesnt recognise the classipress ones. I have got round it with some custom javascript. But I would suggest to all anyway, that selling up to products like classipress doesnt mean you wont have to get your hands dirty! You cant please everyone – but the improvements in latest version have made me a little less grumpy 😉
I don’t have any clue about Wed Designing or Development but, my question is can I include ClassiPress, JobRoller & Vantage in one website.
Dave and Team Great work, All I can tell u is.
All the best to get it soon (Vantage).
@Siva, yes but each theme can only be run on one WordPress instance at a time. So if you wanted to have all three running on your website, you’d install three different instances of WordPress in different directories.
Great improvement. I will think about my reviews on this soon.
Hi there, wanted to tell you that I see that the menu dropdown in this version is tapped by the Titles of the right column ( Subcategories, Popular Ads Today, etc… )
These appear on top of the dropping subcategory menu.
@Andy, not sure what you mean. If you need support with ClassiPress, please post your inquiry in our forums where our dedicated support team can assist you faster.
Hi David,
Are we going to have the same plugin problems with job roller?
@Michael, JobRoller has always used custom post types and taxonomies so there will not be any migration issues with plugins. With that being said, you’ll need to check with each plugin and make sure it supports custom post types.
You can always install the plugin to see if it works too. If not, just uninstall it.
Hello David,
My theme was recently upgraded to 3.0.4. and has the new Ad (and other) features (and overall I think it’s a great piece of work!). Nonetheless, as I am a complete novice and need to hire an assistant to perform these hi-tech background tasks, is it essential to upgrade to 3.0.5.?
Additionally – I call it the “ClassiPress-Combo” – I believe it would be a huge user draw card if advertisers were also provided with a “page” on which to display (e.g., 20 thumbnails of) items for sale, a shopping-cart; checkout point and (e.g., communal) payment gateway.
And as such rather than simply “posting” a classified ad*
(*necessitating an email of inquiry in response)would also be able to “actually sell” whatever they have to offer – from a “ClassiPress-Combo” site – in one go!
PS: of particular use I should imagine to member advertisers who have (a mail-order delivery infrastructure in place but) no website?
Just a thought.
With thanks and best wishes for a wonderful New Year,
Royal Star.
@DCowgill and Brian Gilley,
We have been using ‘All in One SEO’ for our existing blog..
and we love this plugin very-very much.
It seems like we’re going to purchase and use Classipress theme to build a new site,
and we’d like to use that SEO plugin too on it.
Are you sure that Classipress 3.0.5 will get along
with the latest version of the ‘All in One SEO’ plugin?
We know the plugin has already support custom post types
(as DCowgill has already mentioned).
But, we just want to make it sure,
We’re not a ‘wordpress master’
and also ‘custom post type’ issues is ‘very new’ for us.
We don’t really get it yet…
So we’ll need information about ‘All in One SEO’ settings on :
– tag title format.
– category title format.
– archive title format.
– search title format.
If we use Classipress, there won’t be any problem / conflict, right ?
🙂
@Francis, Yep the latest version of AIOSEOP works just fine with ClassiPress 3.0.5. Just make sure after you activate the plugin that you check the “SEO for Custom Post Types” box and select the “ad_listing” custom post type below it.
After that, it works just the same as before. 🙂
I know you guys are flat out on all things appthemes – just curious to see if we will see clipper by months end? been waiting on this for months now and the last 3% is a real killer! 🙂
Just thinking the same!
I heard that users published ads can not delete it themselves, what the hell ? if i advertise to sell my car, people will keep ringing me for next one year lol
Please make a simple delete button ad for user……
admins cant not delete ad one by one it will take whole day a site having 5000 ads
regrads
@hazara, customers have the option to either pause their ads or mark it as “sold” so that isn’t a problem.
Deleting an ad would completely remove it from your system which means you’d have no record of it which is why we didn’t implement that option.
Having a delete option on ads is entirely unnecessary and should be admin task ONLY if it is needed at all. Good practice, especially from legal standpoint (you are providing a service with legal obligations), to keep all ads. A more useful feature would be ability to archive defunct ads, and remove them from view at least.
you guys make something and destroy other thing too, why and what
happened to category icon ? why did you guys remove it ?
@hazara, category icons are still there. Not sure what you mean.
If you have a support question, please post it in the forums instead of in the blog comments. You’ll get faster help there. 🙂
Can you print a copy of the classified ad information off of the site? I don’t see a “print” button on the demo.
Thanks,
Richard
Hi only one question. After I buy this I will have all the rights to change and modify upto my needs right?
All the source code will be provided?
@Akbar, yes you have full access to the source code and can modify it as you wish.
can i add wordpress plugin inside classiPress?
@niceboy, yes most plugins will work fine. Just make sure the plugin supports custom post types which is new in WordPress 3.0.
Hi, will you be able to customize Classipress for us
@Dmitry, sorry but we do not provide any customization services at this time. We do have a dedicated section in our forums that is specifically for posting client projects which you might want to check out.
Hi David,
I am not so clear about custom post types and taxonomies.
If I have say a book directory for a school, will Books be the custom post type and Book Category/Subject, Genre, Author be the taxonomies?
How about ISBN, Book Edition, Title, Cover Image, etc.? What should we call these? Can these fields be indexed by the search tool? Will I be able to find the book say by using the ISBN?
@Mike, yes that’s the correct way to do it. The main object (in this case books) should be the custom post type. Then anything else that “tags” or describes the books will be custom taxonomies.
Justin Tadlock wrote a nice article on doing this for a WordPress movie database example. It’s a little dated but still relevant.
Thank you. Do you have an ETA for the next version of classipress, clipper and vantage?
Your Theme is great, but need some sort of sign that ClassiPress is not dead, about to be forced to abanden your platform due to no news after the pushback on release for the update with Zip Code serach, etc….
@Pirazo, ClassiPress is far from dead. We’ve just rolled out v3.0.5.4 which is a maintenance release. Next up will be v3.1 which contains a bunch of new features.
Discussion is closed.