What's New in Starter Templates?

Fix

• Compatibility to WordPress 6.1.

Improvement

• Responsive welcome banner notice on WP dashboard for fresh installation.

New

• Added welcome banner notice on WP dashboard for fresh installation.

Improvement

• Added compatibility for Spectra.

Fix

• White screen is appearing on latest safari 15+ browser when select any template.
• Install Spectra only when light category Patterns importing.

Improvement

• Install Spectra while importing Block Patterns and Wireframe Patterns.

Fix

• Fix: Block editor templates are not imported correctly.

Fix

• Prevent invalid redirection after template import.

Improvement

• Disable promotes Essential & Growth bundle when white label is enabled.

Fix

• Templates are not displayed when we install plugin from Astra notice.
• Display “Install Required Plugins” checkbox option if required plugins are not installed.

Improvement

• Activate plugins using WP-CLI when importing demo using cli command.

Improvement

• Renamed button text from Starter Templates to Template Kits.

Improvement

• Enhanced test environments.

Fix

• Fixed redirection of few required plugins during import.
• Missing support for wp_block post type in Gutenberg templates.

Fix

• Fixed an issue with the click action for category mega menu titles.
• Fixed an issue with the Popular and Latest filters.
• Improved import error messages.
• UI improvement on the last screen for Starter Template import.

Fix

• Fixed an issue with multiple import processes being invoked when the theme is not activated.

Improvement:

• Better error reporting for the import process.

Fix:

• Fixed an issue where the Starter Templates library won’t refresh after the sync process.

Improvement:

• Better logging for the import process.

Improvement:

• Added compatibility to Starter Templates with Easy Digital Downloads plugin.

Fix:

• Fixed an issue with retina logo image download during import.
• Fixed an issue with WP Forms not being imported when used in the footer of the website.
• Fixed a console error in some cases where the template took longer to fetch its contents.

Fix:

• Fixed a blank page error on the main Starter Template screen due to the last update (v3.1.1).

Fix:

• Import error for Elementor Blocks with PHP 8.x.

New:

• Added new mega menu-based categories for better segregation of templates.
• Improved search functionality for better results.

Improvement:

• Improved error handling when plugin installation/activation fails for slow hosting providers.
• Added a pre-import screen to notify about file permissions on the website to avoid errors.

Fix:

• Fixed an issue with redirection while installing the WP Forms plugin.
• Fixed an issue with the sync functionality.

Fix:

• Fixed an issue where WooCommerce pages won’t get created when the Starter Templates plugin is active.
• Fixed an error with XML importer.

Fix:

• Fixed an issue with WXR Import versioning.

Fix:

• Better error and exception handling while importing.
• Fixed an issue with redirection while installing Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder – Lite plugin.
• Fixed an issue where the templates library won’t refresh in real-time after the sync process.
• Presto Player installation showing PHP incompatibility notice while importing a template.

Fix:

• Improved customizer import process.
• Improved import process for Elementor based sites.

Fix:

• Avoided redirection for Beaver Builder plugin when activated from import screen.
• Resolved a few errors with the pre-import PHP compatibility screen.

Fix:

• Faster import process by deferring image meta processing.
• Minor UI fixes.

Fix:

• Import error due to timeout error for sites where loopback requests are not working.
• Styling for default fonts was not working on first load.

Improvement:

• Added a pre-import screen to notify about incompatible PHP versions for a few plugins.
• Better Color Palettes.

Fix:

• Reset for Color Palette and Typography not working in some cases.

Improvement

• More and better color palettes and typography while customizing the demo.

Improvement

• Optimised the CartFlows flows import process.
• Added a Required screen prior to import if any system requirements are not met on the user’s website.

Fix:

• Fixed an issue with colors not applying to a few Gutenberg-based blocks in WooCommerce demos.
• Fixed an issue with White Labeling the import process.
• Better import process to avoid errors in import.

Fix:

• Plugin activation errors for starter template using Spectra by disabling default redirect from UAG on the activation
• Rectified typography for template preview.

Improvement:

• Show complete error message on screen if plugin installation fails.

Fix:

• Browser back button does not work in Starter Templates UI.

Improvement:

• Better error handling for Fatal errors.
• Added a pre-requisite screen before the import process.

Fix:

• Fixed a few RTL support issues for the entire import process.

Improvement

• Added shareable URLs with the added search text.

Fix

• Fixed an issue with the browser back button.
• Fixed an issue while importing CartFlows content.
• Fixed an issue with WooCommerce dependency during the plugin activation step.
• Removed the unwanted reset functionality when a user with a new website tries to import any demo.

Fix:

• Fixed an issue where synchronization of the library was not working on sites where CRON was disabled.

Fix:

• Fix: Timeout errors when activating required plugins.
• Fix: folder_exists error when installing required plugins.

Fix:

• Fixed an issue with resetting posts requests.
• Fixed an undefined variable console error with plugin activation request.

Improvement

• Added backward screen navigation for welcome and page builders screen.
• Better handling of errors of final import step.

Fix

• Retry import restricted to a maximum 3 times.

Fix:

• Fixed an issue with import failure when the user activates the license for the first time.
• Fixed the errors on the final import step.

Fix:

• Plugin installation failed error fixed after retry action.
• Removed unused SVG images.

Improvement:

• Fix: Import process stopping after the posts are deleted.

Improvement:

• Fix: Import failing when “Delete Previously imported sites” checkbox is checked.

Improvement:

• Fix: Import failing when “Delete Previously imported sites” checkbox is checked.

Improvement:

• Fix: Improvised errors for the Site Reset step while importing.

Improvement:

• Better handling of errors.

Fix:

• Removed extra sub directory from v3.0.0 update.

New:

• All new user interface to make it easier to select and customize the templates when you are building your website.
• Amazing search to find the template suitable for your needs.
• Ability to try the logo, colors and typography before importing.
• Improved stability. We have improved our importer, which already was very stable. Now after this release, imports will rarely fail.
• Brizy starter templates are deprecated in this release, you will still be able to import Brizy starter templates after you enable option in Settings -> General -> Starter Templates

Fix:

• Elementor blocks not being imported due to missing required plugins.

Fix:

• Fixed the issue with Elementor blocks contact form not being imported due to invalid form JSON file URL.

Improvement:

• Validate the whitelisted host’s URLs from the import process.

Fix:

• No route was found matching the URL and request method.

Security Improvement:

• Validate the site URL before processing the import request.
• Updated right file upload permission before importing images.

New:

• Wireframe blocks for Gutenberg – Doc

Fix:

• Contact Forms not appearing after the import process is complete.

Improvement:

• Rectified the condition to load the scripts in other screens.

Fix:

• Starter Template button not visible when Gutenberg plugin is activated.

Improvement:

• Better handling of 500 errors on the import screen.

Fixes:

• Fixed the “Customizer data is empty!” AJAX failed request while importing.
• The Pixabay image library is not visible for the multiple image instances.

Improvement:

• Avoided loading a few scripts in the customizer screen.
• Free Images from Pixabay can be downloaded from the main grid too with the use of a download icon.

Fix:

• Updated the Quick Links to Upgrade the plugin, page builder wise.

Improvement:

• Avoided loading the Gutenberg Blocks scripts in the customizer screen.

Fix:

• Fixed the missing ‘Create Gallery’ button in Media Popup for Elementor editor.

Fix:

• Fixed the issue where Free Images by Pixabay were not available on Elementor Editor.

Fix:

• Rectified the failing import process on multisite due to an issue introduced in v2.6.14
• Fixed the broken invalid license document links.

Improvements:

• Compatibility to WordPress 5.8.
• Improved the import process by reducing the body size of the AJAX calls for better performance.
• Added support for dark and light support for block patterns with improved sidebar UI.

Fix:

• Handle the white label support.

Improvements:

• Quick Links UI improvements.
• Premium Templates UI improvements.
• Updated the widget reset logic in which the old widget moved to the inactive list.

Fix:

• Rectified the ‘Free Images by Pixabay’ not visible since v2.6.12.

Fix

• Single pages not getting imported when no required plugin is associated with it.

Improvements:

• Gutenberg Template library auto-syncs at regular intervals.
• Updated image download functionality.
• Added common functionality for extracting URLs from content.
• Added filter for debug logs generation.

Fixes:

• Starter Templates popup opens by default on every page load on Gutenberg pages.

Fixes:

• PHP Fatal error on ‘Getting Started’ page.

Improvement:

• Added the dark and light mode support for the Elementor popup.
• Added retry import option for few cases.
• Improved error messages for AJAX requests.

Improvements:

• Agency Bundle is now called Growth Bundle since it is a mega bundle of tools that contribute to the growth of any website.
• Mini Agency Bundle is now the Essential Bundle since it comes with the essential set of add-ons and templates you need to build amazing websites.

We’ve rebranded the Mini Agency and Agency Bundles!

Improvements:

• Improved error message when the requests fail to reach Starter Templates’ servers.

Fixes:

• Avoided the HTML being printed in one of the error message screens.

Improvements:

• Better handling of messages with respect to the failed import process.

Improvements:

• Quick links are visible on the screen.
• Added dynamic category support for the Gutenberg templates.
• Removed color filter from Elementor block.
• Change the Block Editor name with Gutenberg.

Fixes:

• Sync complete notice not closing on click.
• Elementor demo does not import if we try to import multiple times.

Improvements:

• Advanced Options UI improvement.
• Admin UI improvements.
• Added SVG image support.

Fixes:

• Image duplication after site import in few cases.
• Upload directory kept hidden for the white-labeled website.
• Prevented clicking on import buttons while import is already in progress.
• An issue with the localization of the script not being called correctly.

Improvement:

• Used better and optimized way to show the initial sites and pages list on Starter Template dashboard.
• Block Templates – Used version.json instead of package.json to manage the dependency.
• Block Templates – Now users can suggest their required templates via the suggestion link.
• Block Templates – Added filter to disable the Block Templates. – Read More

Fix:

• Block Templates – Retained the selected block pattern category filter after switching between Pages/Patterns tabs.
• Rectified the invisible icon from the ‘View Site’ button.
• Brizy pages initially not showing any content.

New:

• Added the single pages and blocks for the Gutenberg. Know more here

Improvements:

• Improved the admin notice first view logic.
• Improved the experience while subscribing to Starter Templates’ news.

New

• Added an ability to subscribe to Starter Templates’ updates.

Improvement

• Added new API to support asynchronous import for the Starter Templates.

Improvement

• Additional compatibility with WordPress 5.6.

Improvement

• Compatibility with WordPress 5.6.

Fix:

• LearnDash grid CSS not loading after site import.

Fixes:

• Prefixed all Starter Templates Icon classes in order to avoid 3rd party conflicts.

Improvements

• Added the Pixabay images support for new post, pages, and custom post type screen.
• Better handling of notices in the case of sync process.

Improvements:

• Added Safe Search checkbox for Pixabay Image Search.

Fixes:

• Elementor 3.0.0 and above import compatibility.
• Resolved hotlink issue with Single page import.
• Resolved edit permission issue while importing on Elementor page.

Improvements:

• Compatibility with WordPress 5.5.

Improvements:

• Minor code changes.

Improvements:

• Added CartFlows Landing page compatibility to LeadDash courses.
• Handle the LearnDash add-ons links if LearnDash is installed and activated.

Fixes:

• Resolve an invalid response from the site import complete AJAX request.

Fixes:

• Fixed the user role and capability issue for WP CLI demo import.

New:

• Users can now share non-personal usage data to help us test and develop better products. ( Know More )

Improvement:

• Performance enhancements in order to improve the TTFB (time to first byte).
• Now users can see better error messages (if any) while import.
• Handled the multisite plugin install/activate capability issue for standard administrator user.

Fixes:

• Resolved a conflict with Groundhogg plugin.
• Resolved a conflict between 3rd party plugins and Pixabay Images.
• Fixed latest Brizy page builder related issues.
• Fixed the repeated content import issues.

Improvement:

• Demo data is stored Network Wide for Multisite instance.
• Users can opt-out from Elementor Theme Kit if needed while importing the site.

Fix:

• Double slash for REST endpoint removed.
• Changed user permissions for a few actions.

Fix:

• Handled duplicate data being imported due to Imagick image editor.

Improvement:

• Added missing slash to the website preview URL.
• Added Elementor Theme Kit Compatibility.

Improvement:

• Improved the file permissions check functionality.

Improvement:

• Added an Update Button for un-updated plugin list popup.
• Used text-domain astra-sites to make translation ready strings.
• Imported all the hotlink images from Astra theme customizer settings.
• WP 5.4 compatibility issue.

Fix:

• The category not visible in the dropdown list from the Elementor Popup.

New:

• Added starter-templates WP CLI command which is a new alias for WP CLI command astra-sites. We can use either starter-templates or astra-sites.

Improvement:

• WordFence firewall setting breaks the site content import AJAX request.
• Added WordPress version 4.9 compatibility.
• The update needed for plugin notice now shows the list of plugins that needs to be updated.
• Elementor Popup for Page/Block import has a revamped UI.
• Now one can filter Free/Premium pages in Elementor Popup.
• Showing the inconsistent file permissions message.

Fix:

• Fixed issue regarding images not getting imported for Gutenberg sites.
• Starter Template Blocks manual sync for more than 100 blocks not getting synced.

Fix:

• Plugin not activated after importing from the WP CLI command.

Hot Fix:

• Removed wp-editor dependency.

New

• Astra Sites is now Starter Templates.
• Added favorite or unfavorite the demo site.
• Improve the sites and pages loading time speed.
• Added block import support with 200+ blocks in the Elementor editor window.
• Added single page import as Elementor template in the Elementor editor window.
• Added single page import support from any demo site with 1800+ pages.

Improvement

• Showing all Astra sites with more user-friendly and interactive UI.
• Updated the Astra Notices library.

First beta of Starter Templates 2.0 (formerly Astra Starter Sites) brings many exciting features with great flexibility. This update offers revamped UI, single page import, Elementor template popups, free Pixabay images and other cool features.

Below is the link to the full and detailed changelog.

Fix :

• Important Security Update : Update Now!

A security researcher privately reported a bug about a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability. Our team immediately took action, and provided the required patch within 2 hours, releasing the update on the same day after thorough validation.

Users don’t need to panic. We haven’t heard of any exploit attempts using this vulnerability. However, we strongly recommend all our users to update Astra Premium Sites as soon as possible.

We take security very seriously and put in continuous efforts to keep our products safe, secure and reliable.

Astra Premium Sites version 1.4.6 has no known security vulnerabilities. And it is recommended that you update it now!

Improvement

• Added missing font awesome icons support for the Elementor sites.

Improvement:

• Added the old browser compatibility in which Astra Sites not loading.
• Used gmdate() function instead of date() which affected by runtime timezone changes.

Improvement:

• Some Elementor templates broken due to the missing wp_slash() from WP CLI import.

Fix:

• Installing the premium plugin from the WP CLI import.
• WP CLI command wp astra-sites list showing the old result.
• PHP error Astra_Sites_Batch_Processing_Elementor does not exist from WP CLI import.

Fix:

• Correctly added nonce to allow notice to be dismissed.
• Restore the timeout time to be 300 seconds which is the default for download_url()

Fix:

• PHP Error on PHP Versions below 7.0 due to usage of a PHP reserved function name.

New:

• Added the WP CLI command `wp astra-sitest list` to list the demo sites.
• Added the WP CLI command `wp astra-sitest import <id>` to import the demo with ID.
• Added the WP CLI command `wp astra-sitest page_builder list` to list all page builders.
• Added the WP CLI command `wp astra-sitest page_builder set <slug>` to set the default page builder by page builder slug.

• Security Fix: XSS vulnerability fixed by adding nonce verification and capability checks.

Fix:

• Updated Astra Notice library to v1.1.4.

Improvement:

• Error handling while getting import data from API request.
• Allow extra query parameters to be added to the API calls for Astra Sites using filters.

Fix:

• Update issue with other products

Improvement:

• Minor changes in Links

Fix:

• WooCommerce on-boarding setup blocked issue fixed.

Fix:

• Importing pages, post twice from the import process.

Improvement:

• Added Support for Learndash WooCommerce integration plugin.

New:

• Added LearnDash plugin support for the LearnDash demo sites.

Improvement:

• Added compatibility for below WordPress 5.1.

Improvement:

• Added LarnDash plugin support for LarnDash demos.

Fix:

• SVG images are not importing in the media library.
• Images not uploaded due to the timeout issue.

Fix:

• Premium plugins did not install while importing premium sites.

Fix:

• Fatal error for below WordPress version 5.1.0.

Improvement:

• Improve logic for importing images.

Fix:

• Implemented better caching technique for Astra Sites.

Fix:

• After Import UAG – Post Grid categories do not retain the issue fixed.
• Premium sites not importing due to invalid URL the error.

• Updated page builder selection screen UI.
• Showing import process on a separate window. In which we can see all the current import process.
• Added one-time welcome notice after plugin install and activate.
• Use fetch() instead of AJAX to load the Astra Sites. Also, Caching the Astra sites response and initially showing 30 sites.

Improvement:

• Added compatibility for WP Forms pro version.

Fix:

• PHP error while importing customizer settings.

Improvement:

• One click install and activate Astra theme on click on admin notice.

Improvement:

• Set the max height for the website image from the website preview window.

New:

• Improve the user experience by removing unnecessary steps required in importing a site. Now an Astra site can be imported with just one click.
• Display page builder selection only once on the first load of Astra Sites.
• Take a backup of customizer options before importing new settings.
• Allow resetting the previously imported site when importing multiple Astra sites.

Improvement:

• Added backward compatibility for filter wp_check_filetype_and_ext which accepts 5 parameter after WordPress version 5.1.

Improvement:

• Added support for the WPForms plugin.

Fix:

• Incorrect images was set after batch process complete.

Improvement:

• Added Elementor version 2.5.0 support.
• Added more description of the Premium sites.

Fix:

• Gutenberg render markup is invalid due to encoded characterless e.g. <, > are decoded into HTML tag.

Improvement:

• Display a maintenance message if the Astra Sites API is unreachable.

Fix:

• EventSource abort the import process if default charset is not UTF-8.

Fix:

• Astra Sites not accessible due to incorrect query parameters.

• Improvement: Added admin notice if XMLReader is not installed. XMLReader is required to import the XML of the website.
• Fix: Astra Sites not importing after breaking changes from WordPress security udpate.

Improvement

• Added page builder and category filter support to show selected page builder with selected categories.
• Added filter astra_sites_show_filters to enable/disable the filter list from admin page.

Fix

• We have added wp_slash to normalize the Elementor post meta. Elementor have also normalize it. So, We have avoided wp_slash while importing sites.

Fix

• Normalize Elementor post meta by using wp_slash to avoid the unslashing data.

Improvement:

• Updated the license form and updater to use the same brainstorm-updater from all the other plugins.
• Set default page builders depends on the packaged purchase.

Improvement

• Added windows EDGE browser support for importing the sites.
• The log file was not created if server does not support the file handling functions.

Fix

• Load WXR importer on init to avoid redirect loop when loading WooCommerce importer.
• Clear the Astra Pro plugin cache after site import.

– Correctly load the elementor pro 2.0 class when the version of elementor pro is higher than 2.0.0-beta1

Improvement

• Clear the Astra Pro plugin cache after site import.

Improvement

• Added compatibility for Elemetor version 2.0.0. Older versions throw the PHP warning for function process_element_export_import_content().

Fix

• Minor jerk while loading the sites.

Improvements

• Updated processing button animation while installation/activating plugin and importing site.
• Updated suggestion box message.

Fix

• PHP fatal errors for WXR importer classes WXR_Import_Info, WXR_Importer, WP_Importer_Logger_ServerSentEvents and WP_Importer_Logger.

Improvements

• Some users reported confusion in the default option of choosing page builder. We have made UX improvements so users now must select the Page Builder first before selecting any website.

New:

• Added filter astra_sites_xml_import_options to change the XML import options.

Fix:

• Astra Pro plugin ‘Custom Layouts’ & ‘Page Headers’ not setting right display location due to different page, tax, category ids.
• WooCommerce shop, checkout cart page ids not setting issue.
• After site import updated demo url from the nav menus.

New:

• Added SVG file support for importing the SVG images.

Improvement:

• Importing WooCommerce product category images.
• Retain WooCommerce cart, checkout & my account pages when importing the ready WooCommerce sites.

Fix:

Disabled WooCommerce plugin setup wizard after plugin install & activate.

Improvement:

• Retain WooCommerce shop page when importing the ready WooCommerce sites.

Fix:

• Force check bundle plugins.
• Handling plugin installation errors.

Improvement:

• Change the API URL for Astra sites to https://websitedemos.net/ from https://sites.wpastra.com/

New:

• Import the site content using Event Source (SSE) which ensures faithful imports.
• We have divided the site import process into separate AJAX calls to reduce the possibility of timeouts.
• Generated the import log file. It will be displayed in the UI if the import fails.

Improvement:

• Validate all the possible errors.
• Updated Astra sites HTML grid structure for WordPress v4.9 compatibility.
• Updated plugin name from `Astra Sites – Lite` with `Starter Templates`.

New:

All the linked images in a site will now be downloaded on the client server in WordPress media library. No more loading images from external URLs! This is a major improvement since imported sites will no more rely on our servers ?

Next, we have made it easy to preview how a website looks on small devices before importing:

Besides these new changes, we’ve added a box to collect suggestions for new sites. If you have ideas, please feel free to let us know!

Other Improvements:

• Now Search string will not be removed after switching the page builder.
• Loading 15 sites instead of 6 Astra sites in the first load.
• Removed LazyLoad which is not useful in admin back-end for showing Astra Sites.

New:

• Browsing the Astra Sites in the Admin panel is not faster with JS rendering.

 Improvement:

• Don’t display sites from both the page builders in the same view.
• Merge Whitelabel settings with the Astra Pro White label settings so that all the white label related settings can be managed from a single view.

Fix:

• Astra Sites admin area not working in the Firefox.

New

• Added white label support.
• Added filter `astra_sites_menu_item` for adding extra tabs in admin page.
• Added back image import feature for `elementor` page builder. In batch image import we import all images from Astra site into client site.

Improvement

• Updated JS code with object prototype.

Fix

• Screen bounce on retina devices.

Enhancement

• Improvement: Added support for retina logo import.
• Fix: Site logo image not displayed in customizer.

Bug Fix

• Fix: Updated `Astra Growth Bundle` purchase link.

New

• New: Added page builder categories for listing sites as pre page builder.

Enhancement

• Enhancement: Disabled dismiss-able notice visible once for each user.
• Enhancement: Showing error message for for user who have not manage_plugins capability.

Bug Fix

• Fix: Beaver Builder option import.

Bug Fix

•  Fix: Custom Menu widget not setting imported widget.
•  Fix: Improved the animation of the License Activation popup.

Bug Fix

• New: Addd custom menu for Astra Sites.
• Fix: Validate site options before storing in database.

Bug Fix

• Fix: Removed Enabled Extension installation.
• Added link to license form in the license activation notice.

* Initial release