Features You Can Expect From Woocommerce 3.4
Any web design company Manchester knows that the release of WooCommerce 3.4 can change the game. In May 2018, it has been announced that the latest version of the eCommerce plugin for WordPress is finally available for use. What can you expect from this new version?
Officially, WooCommerce 3.4 has been called a minor release. However, over 80 contributors have worked on it, and it has gathered more than 2,000 commits.
Improvements Done to WooCommerce
WooCommerce 3.4 is mainly focused on improving two things: GeoLite2 integration and GDPR compliance tools and settings. However, there are also minor non-GDPR updates and new features of developers, independent or working for web design company Manchester.
GeoLite2 Integration
WooCommerce GeoLite geolocation database is used to automatically populate the country when a checkout is discontinued or denied. With GeoLite2, however, you will be automatically switched to a new geolocation database. This makes the process move more smoothly.
GeoLite2 integration only needs the minimum 5.4 PHP version. It will not support PHP versions less that that as WooCommerce has to consider compatibility. But if you are using an older PHP version, you can use APIs to access GeoLite2. However, using the API-based geolocation is slower. It is still better if you update your PHP version.
GDPR Compliance Tools
WooCommerce 3.4 has introduced several tools, settings, and tweaks to help with GDPR compliance. This includes the following:
- Settings to enable automatic cleanup and removal of data
- Export and erase user data
- Anonymization tools
- New customizer settings on the Checkout page
- Changes to logging to secure personal data
WooCommerce has released a detailed breakdown of all GDPR updates of 3.4 version.
Non-GDPR Updates
Aside from the new GeoLite2 and improvement of the GDPR compliance tools and settings, here are other updates you can enjoy with WooCommerce 3.4:
- Improvements on the admin product search, e.g. searching for multiple products using the same query
- Setting a display name on the user’s My Account page
- Wildcard email support, which you can use to set up coupon restrictions
- Multisite dashboard widget to display information from all sites
Updates for Developers
For web design company Manchester or those who work with WooCommerce to develop websites, here are some updates that you can explore:
- New filters and actions that can increase WooCommerce customisability
- Support for more HTML5 input types for checkout forms and settings
- Ability to declare a custom data sanitization callback in your API settings
- Easy dequeueing with more organized photoswipe styles
If you have missed the beta for WooCommerce 3.4, there might be some valuable information that you can use. This includes the decrecations of WC_Geo_IP and some template file changes.
Final Thoughts
Since WooCommerce 3.4 is a minor update, it should be able to run with any WooCommerce versions that is not less than 3.0. However, if you want to be on the safe side, you can test and backup your date before you upgrade.
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