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Yoast SEO changelog

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5.9.2

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where older browsers couldn't load the content analysis. This applies to Internet Explorer (10 and lower) and Safari (9.1 and lower).
  • Fixes a bug where the Yoast Metabox wouldn't be shown for posts set to noindex, therefore making it impossible to change it back to index, view Readability scores and not being able to optimize a post, before allowing it to be indexed.
  • Fixes a bug where translations wouldn't be applied in the Yoast SEO Metabox for SEO and Readability scores.

5.9.1

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where the configuration wizard could not be loaded, caused by a missing JavaScript dependency.

5.7.1

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where the message "You are not receiving updates or support!" is shown incorrectly.
  • Changes the reference to the correct ACF Content Analysis for Yoast SEO plugin.

Enhancements

  • Adds a plugin suggestion for WooCommerce SEO when WooCommerce is installed.

5.7

Enhancements

  • Adds notifications when we detect certain plugins are installed to suggest our AMP and ACF glue plugins.
  • Adds the ability to start the configuration wizard from the admin bar menu.
  • Adds better responsive styling for the video tabs in the Help Center.
  • Replaces the link to Google AdWords with the https variant, props Shane Gray.
  • Changes to the desired spelling of plugin and setup, props Pedro Mendonça.

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where the text link counter doesn't count links for scheduled posts when they get published.
  • Fixes a bug where the internal link count is not updated when a post is removed permanently.

5.6.1

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where the SEO Manager role was not being able to save SEO settings.

5.6

Enhancements

  • Removes legacy license page and shows the new license page by default.
  • Changes references from licenses to subscriptions and sites on the premium submenu page.
  • Changes the appearance of the Help Center in line with our design approach.
  • Introduces an explanation bar when the Cornerstone content filter is active.

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where Hebrew slugs aren't decoded on display in the bulk editor.
  • Fixes a bug where the internal link count is not updated when there are no links to that page or post anymore.
  • Fixes the Cornerstone content filter to behave consistently with existing WordPress filters.

5.5.1

Bugfixes

  • Fixes Snippet preview error when Yoast metabox has been removed.
  • Changes
  • Change Yoast Blog feed to new endpoint.

5.5

Enhancements

  • Updated the Dashboard Widget with a new design.
  • Added additional explanations to the Configuration wizard.
  • Added contentinfo landmark for assistive technologies to the Configuration wizard page.
  • Introduces wpseo_manager and wpseo_editor roles.
  • Introduces wpseo_manage_options capability to control which users have access to all SEO settings.
  • Introduces wpseo_edit_advanced_metadata capability to control which users have access to the advanced SEO settings.

Bugfixes

  • Fixed a bug where certain options (site_type, environment_type and has_multiple_authors) would be reset to their default value whenever one of the feature toggles were changed.
  • Ensured that has_multiple_authors gets validated.

5.4.2

Bugfixes

  • Replace unsupported query prepare placeholder %1$d with %d to fix broken queries. Fixes compatibility issue with WordPress 4.8.2.

5.4.1

Bugfixes

  • Replace unsupported query prepare placeholder %1$s with %d to fix broken queries. Fixes compatibility issue with WordPress 4.8.2.

5.4

Enhancements

  • Added a hook to disabled the twitter card. (Props: @petenelson)
  • Performance
  • Replaced the use of get_posts and get_children by WP_Query.

Bugfixes

  • Archive pages are excluded from the sitemap based on the noindex setting. (Props: @stodorovic)
  • Prevent the throwing of an error when wpseoPostScraperL10n is not defined.
  • Escapes all input when generating links for the RSS feed.
  • Apply the wp_get_attachment_url filter to Sitemap images.

5.3.3

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where table listings were not giving expected content, props Kyle B. Johnson.

5.3.2

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where an invalid license notification could be shown in certain situations.

5.3.1

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where "mark as fixed" on the search console page didn't work.
  • Fixes a bug where the configuration wizard JavaScript file was too large.

5.3

Enhancements

  • Adds missing I18n function call to make a string translatable
  • Adds XML schema for image sitemap, props: stodorovic
  • Adds schema.org meta-data on every page, instead of only on the homepage
  • Adds the possibility to filter posts by readability score.
  • Exposes tinyMCEHelper as window.YoastSEO.wp._tinyMCEHelper in JavaScript
  • Exposes the ReplaceVar class in YoastReplaceVarPlugin as window.YoastReplaceVarPlugin.ReplaceVar in JavaScript

Bugfixes

  • Adds sanitization for the Twitter Image meta field
  • Fixes use of register_meta for usage in WordPress 4.6 and higher
  • Initialize the providers on hook after_theme_setup to make sure custom providers are added properly, props: stodorovic
  • Changes the label of the "Bad" score to "Needs improvement" while filtering on SEO or readability scores.

5.2

Enhancements

  • Added wpseo_pre_adjacent_rel_links filter to bypass built-in rel prev/next functionality.
  • Introduces classes to allow collecting data in the Premium plugin.
  • Renamed OnPage.org to Ryte.
  • Allow WordPress WHIP messages to be dismissed for a period of 4 weeks.
  • Adds a filter for word combinations that consist of a single one-character word.
  • Adds aria-current to the onboarding wizard active step.

Bugfixes

  • Removes JQMIGRATE JavaScript warnings.

5.0.2

  • Only load babel polyfill if it hasn't been loaded by another plugin yet.
  • Adds a feature toggle to disable the link counter tool & link columns.
  • Fixes a compatibility issue with WordPress 4.6.
  • Fixes an issue where the link columns would disappear after quick-editing a post.

5.0.1

  • Fixes a fatal error that could occur when trying to save a post that has ``-tags with invalid URLs in it.

5.0

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where images via https were not working, props Jannik Zschiesche.
  • Fixes a bug where the whip notification can be shown multiple times.

Enhancements

  • Introduces a module that counts links in the content.
  • Adds Flesch Reading for Italian.
  • Changes 'page title' to 'seo title' in the snippet preview.
  • Changes recommended maximum sentence length for Italian from 20 to 25 words, based on more in-depth research.
  • Implements the extracted version of the Algolia Search which is now present in yoast-components.
  • Adds a banner for the structured data course.

Under the hood

  • Introduces a database table to keep track of the linking structure. If the table cannot be created, a notification will be shown.
  • When there are posts or pages to reindex, a notice will be shown.

4.9

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where there were certain assessments missing when switching to cornerstone content.
  • Fixes a bug where the configuration wizard button was visible for users who didn't have enough rights to access the configuration wizard.
  • Fixes a bug where the column ID was ambiguous, causing an SQL error.
  • Fixes a bug where the category URL in the sitemap was encoded twice.
  • Fixes a bug where an old upgrade notice is not removed.

Enhancements

  • Removes the noodp advanced robots meta value as it is no longer used.
  • Loads the translations only when the configuration wizard endpoint is called, instead of every time rest_api_init is called.

4.8

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where the tabs in the social and advanced metabox section are gone when keyword analysis has been disabled.

Enhancements

  • Optimizes the way the cornerstone flag is saved.
  • Analyzes the content using cornerstone assessors when a post or page is cornerstone content.

4.7.1

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where the analysis wouldn't work on Internet Explorer.

4.7

Enhancements

  • Adds transition words for Italian.
  • Adds a new check in the analysis for the presence of at least one internal link.

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where the _yst_is_cornerstone meta value was not prefixed, causing some themes/plugins to output this meta value.
  • Fixes a bug where style and script elements were parsed for the prominent words.
  • Fixes a bug where the cursor pointer was in front of the metabox.

4.6

Enhancements

  • Improves a language string, props Sören Wrede.
  • Improves the configuration wizard with clear information about the configuration.
  • Adds the ability to mark posts as cornerstone content.

Bugfixes

  • Fixes an issue in combination with WooCommerce 3.0 where the plugins would load incompatible select2 versions.

4.5

Bugfixes

  • Adds a check for the breadcrumbs-home option to prevent a blank entry being added to the crumbs array, props codemonkeynorth

Enhancements

  • Throws a warning in the admin for the RS Head Cleaner plugin, because the plugin cloaks.
  • Improves copy about Yoast SEO Premium benefits.
  • Adds link to our knowledge base article about connecting your website to Google Search Console.

4.4

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where a span tag wasn't closed correctly, props lubobill1990.
  • Fixes a bug where there were deprecation warnings shown when an existing author was being updated.
  • Fixes a bug where the user received an 'insufficient rights' error when the advanced settings are disabled, but an advanced page is visited.

Enhancements

  • Moves the options to disable keyword and content analysis from the general tab to the features tab.
  • Improves styling of tables so they are viewable on mobile.
  • Changes the links into shortlinks for the extensions page, helpcenter, facebook settings and premium popup.

4.3

Bugfixes

  • Fixes the width of the readability column on post overview, props rikayla.

Enhancements

  • Improves feedback text for subheading too long assessment.

4.2.1

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a fatal error "Call to undefined method yoast_i18nset_api_url()". This error occurred with certain other plugins that also include the i18n-module.
  • Fixes a bug where some strings wouldn't be translated.
  • Makes the Yoast SEO menu top and first item visible in the responsive view.
  • Fixes a bug where the yoast icon on the credits page wasn't displayed properly in some views.

Enhancements

  • Improves the styling of the notification center.
  • Improves the styling of the title separators.

4.2

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where the sitemaps were being invalidated too often.
  • Fixes a bug where the 'meta keywords' meta box section stayed visible when switching to the readability tab.

Enhancements

  • Moves translations from translate.yoast.com to translate.wordpress.org.
  • Improves the styling of the featured image warning and sends an audible message for screen readers.
  • Makes the left sidebar of the meta box responsive.
  • Removes unused heading from the meta box.
  • Improves responsiveness for settings pages.

4.1

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a glitch in the notification center where a notification would be shown twice.
  • Fixes a bug where the realtime analysis didn't work on term pages.
  • Fixes a bug where the sitemap invalidation uses an expensive query to clean up old validators.

Enhancements

  • Adds a mobile snippet preview.
  • Adds a function that allows retrieving an option only when it's been autoloaded.
  • Removes review banner from mobile, props abhinavkumar940.
  • Adds labels to redirect checkboxes in the search console to improve accessibility.

4.0.2

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where shortcodes would be kept in the content that would be analyzed, which would result in incorrect results.
  • Fixes a bug where the user language would be used to analyze the content instead of the site language.

3.9

Enhancements

  • Updates the banners on the admin pages.
  • Improves accessibility by moving the Google Search Console reload button from the header.
  • Allow for other plugins and themes to more easily add html namespaces through the new wpseo_html_namespaces filter.
  • Prevent conflicts with other plugins/themes which also add html namespaces.

Bugfixes

  • Adds a check to prevent a "Cannot read property 'body' of undefined" error with tinyMCE that occurred with Visual Composer and some themes.
  • Fixes a bug that prevented bulk actions to work in the Google Search Console.
  • Fixed incorrect timezone for zero offset case (Atlantic/Azores instead of UTC).

3.8

Enhancements

  • Makes tooltips on tabs icons accessible.
  • Adds check to prevent sitemap from having empty image entries.
  • Improves screenreader text for the readability tab.
  • Adds a toggle for author and date archives.
  • Adds several improvements for readability and consistent styling.

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where the category picker would become slow with 1000+ categories, props Ron Willemse
  • Fixes a bug with VoiceOver on the readability and keyword tabs.

3.7.1

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where the configuration wizard couldn't go to the next step if PUT requests were disabled on the server.

3.7

Enhancements

  • Includes a few design improvements in the analysis section of the metabox. Design is now more consistent.
  • Makes sure author archives are disabled when a user confirms his site is single-author.
  • The configuration wizard is now called "configuration wizard" consistently throughout the plugin.
  • Makes sure the help center is now included on all Yoast SEO pages.
  • Added a notification asking users to rate Yoast SEO on WordPress.org.

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where the metabox was taking up too much space on small screens.
  • Fixes a bug where the marking for consecutive sentences beginning with the same word was off by one.
  • Fixes a bug where the Google Search Console integration wasn't working well on multisite.
  • Fixes a bug where the newsletter signup always did a http request, causing mixed content errors on https sites.

3.6.1

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where the admin bar would still show advanced settings when the advanced settings were disabled.

3.4.2

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where apostrophes would be stripped from the focus keyword.

3.4.1

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a stored XSS issue in the Yoast SEO metabox. Thanks Hammad Shamsi for reporting and responsibly disclosing this issue.

3.3.4

  • Fixed a bug in the 3.3.3 release that caused the release folder to not have a fix.

3.3.3

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where the focus keyword is not shown for posts created using WordPress SEO 2.x.
  • Fixes a bug where changing the title in the bulk editor could be used to trigger JavaScript for the current user.

3.3.2

Enhancements

  • Removes non-minified files. This makes the download a lot smaller which will result in less cases of an incomplete or failed download.
  • Add setting and user option to disable the content analysis; The SEO analysis will still be present.
  • Change the overall content analysis bullet to be more lenient in non-English languages. This means it will be easier to get a green bullet for non-English languages.

Bugfixes

  • Fix issue where the settings export zip file could be read from the uploads folder after doing an export.

3.3.1

Enhancements

  • Adds help center to google search console page when not connected to google search console.
  • Adds video to the Yoast SEO dashboard to explain it.
  • Ships the production version of React instead of the development version.

Bugfixes

  • Fixes a bug where the primary category wouldn't be in the permalink if get_permalink was called outside the loop.
  • Fixes a compatibility issue where we set $ to jQuery.
  • Fixes a bug with redirects on a subsite in a multisite installation, props nicholas-eden.
  • Fixes a bug where invalid HTML would throw a warning.
  • Fixes a bug where reading server variables using filter_input returns an empty result.
  • Fixes a bug where the passive voice and transition words would be shown on non-english language