TD;DR Version: We are releasing WP Ultimo 1.2.0. This is a huge release, and it contains a Gateway to handle Manual Payments (beta), PDF invoicing, fixes and added consistency to Domain Mapping handling, the ability to add Subscriptions from the panel, support to Multiple Sites per user, Template Categorization and Filtering on the Signup Flow, Payment Integration as a Signup Step, and more! The full changelog can be found on the bottom of the post.
Hi, everyone. Due to the size and enormous technical challenges we faced with 1.2.0, it took a bit longer than expected to release this version, but here it is. It solves issues some of you were having with Domain Mapping and implements a list of long-requested features. Without further ado, let’s see what 1.2.0 has to offer.
Domain Mapping and SSL (HTTPS)
As we promise in our last release, we focused this last batch of improvements on getting Domain Mapping to consistently work across different configurations and setups. It solves CORS issues users were experiencing among others. That involved woking on our own redirector and adding a few options to our Settings panel. Here’s a complete overview of the options new and old:
Enable Domain Mapping & Enable Custom Domains:
We decoupled the domain mapping from custom domains. Now the admin can enable domain mapping but disable custom domain from their clients if he or she want to map domains manually on the Network Admin Panel.
Force Admin Redirect
This option gives the admin 3 options for handling redirects to the admin panel when a site has a mapped domain active. It can behave normally, allowing the panel to be accessed both via the mapped domain or the network domain; it can be set to force access through the mapped domain (which can cause issues if a custom domain has a misconfigured DNS and should be used with caution), and it can be set to force access through the network domain instead, redirecting calls to mapped-domain.com/wp-admin to your-network/your-clients-site/wp-admin (or the equivalent if you have a subdomain network.
Force HTTPs for the Admin Panel
This option sets the FORCE_ADMIN_SSL constant to true, which is used by WordPress to force access using https. We choose to keep WP Ultimo’s footprint in SSL handling as small as possible, to give network admins the ability to use third-party plugins they already know and love. In our tests, we used Really Simple SSL on the main site, combined with this option enabled and the network behaved as expected, redirecting access to the admin with https, keeping subsites on http.
Allow Page Unmapping & Force HTTPs on Unmapped Pages
This option was also a feature requested by many users. It allows your clients to unmap certain pages, so they can use the original network URL for those pages. This is particularly useful if a subsite has a store or a generic checkout page that requires SSL. If that user unmaps that page, and the option Force HTTPs on Unmapped Pages is also enabled, that page will be redirected to the network domain version (ignoring the mapping), using the SSL certificate for the network (useful on subdirectory installs where the network certificate covers the whole network, or with subdomain installs with wildcard certificates).
PS.: By default, only posts and pages have the unmap meta-box, but that can be changed using the filter wu_post_types_unmap.
Site Options: Force HTTPs
If for some reason you have one particular site on your network that needs to be accessed using https, you can go to that site’s settings page and enable that option under the WP Ultimo Settings, as displayed on the image below.
PS.: We tried our best to test it in a vast majority of environments, including servers running Apache and Nginx. Please contact us if you run into any issue. Make sure your server engine does not have a wildcard 302 redirect to your main domain.
Invoices
WP Ultimo 1.2.0 also allows admins to send PDF invoices with payment receipt emails. The invoice is sent marked as paid when an automatic gateway sends a webhook telling the system a payment was received (like Stripe and PayPal). This feature can be enabled and disabled on the Settings Panel.
Manual Payments Gateway (beta)
Our new version also implements the long waited Manual Payments gateway, building off the invoices system. The flow is fairly simple and requires minimal effort from the admin. Here’s how it works.
This is a beta feature and we would love to hear what you have to say about the flow. Feel free to send suggestions for improvements.
Templates Categories and Filtering
Some networks can have dozens of pre-built templates for their clients do choose. Navigating that ton of options can lead to a bad experience for the user during the signup flow. To address that issue, version 1.2.0 includes Template Categories and Filtering on the signup flow, with a super easy to use UI. Changing a template’s thumbnail is now much more intuitive as well, with all those options compacted in a single form.
Multiple Sites per Client
Our latest version also allows you to give your clients the ability to create new sites under the same account. The new site creation already lets them choose from templates if that option is enabled. You can limit the number of sites on each plan as well.
PS.: This does not support multiple accounts creation, neither does it allow for users registered on subsites (like someone that created an account on a subsite WooCommerce store, for example) to register sites on the network. We are working on a free add-on that addresses that issue, allowing multiple accounts to be created with a single email address. We believe this solution is more elegant since the client won’t even notice that that subsite was part of the network in the first place.
Hiding Plans from the Pricing Tables
Plans can now be hidden from the pricing tables. Useful if you want to create exclusive plans for a small subset of your clients.
Subscriptions: Add and Remove with ease!
Network admins now can add and remove subscriptions from the panel. This is useful for moving pre-existing users to WP Ultimo.
Signup Flow
Now, when no trial is available, the payment screen is added as a Signup step; Network Admins can also select a different role for the users created (the default continues to be administrator).
Next Steps: More Add-ons, Payment Gateways and building a Community
We’ve been centralizing our communications and reports on our roadmap board on Trello, but that’s not optimal. With that in mind, we are building a community forum to be released in the next weeks to allow users to interact, help each other, and report issues more efficiently. We are also aware that our Documentation site is very lacking, so that is getting rebuilt as well.
Complete Changelog – Version 1.2.0 – 12/05/2017
– Fixed: Small typos on the settings page and other places;
– Fixed: Some string were missing i18n on the subscription management screen;
– Improved: Add-ons page now supports filtering as well;
– Improved: Security on issuing refunds;
– Added: Support for zero decimal currencies in Stripe;
– Added: Site Template Categories with filtering on the Signup, and a more consistent UI for editing site templates on the backend;
– Added: Option to hide plans from the pricing tables;
– Added: 100% OFF coupon codes with unlimited cycles don’t ask for payment integration any longer;
– Added: Users can now add new sites from their panels, and admins can limit the number of sites on each plan.
– Added: Sites list added to the Subscription Management (admin) and My Account (user) Pages;
– Added: Custom capability ‘manage_wu_account’ created to control access to the Account page;
– Added: Network Admins can now set a different role for the users created via the signup process (defaults to admin);
– Added: Network Admins can now create subscriptions for users created outside of the signup flow (useful for migrating existing users);
– Added: Network Admins can now remove subscriptions from the Subscriptions list;
– Added: Payment is now a Signup Step when there is no trial;
– Added: Subscription is no longer deleted when a site is;
– Added: Option to send invoices when a payment is received from the gateways;
– Added: Manual Payments Gateway (beta);
– Removed: Old UI on site settings to add thumbnail;
