WordPress released 5.1.1
WordPress 5.1.1 is now available; this is a Security Release that does not introduce new particular functions but focuses on solving security problems and improving the current system.
In particular it proposes 14 improvements and bugfixes (available here), including functions to facilitate the transition to the minimum version of PHP that will be requested by WordPress 5.2 (released in late April) and a sanitization of the comments stored in the database in order to prevent Cross-Site Scripting attacks.
Joomla 3.9.4 is available
Joomla has released version 3.9.4 of the popular CMS.
Version 3.9.4 is a security release that does not introduce functional innovations but a system of problems. Among the improvements of this version we report the remediation of 3 Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities, the addition of plugins for Terms of Use and Privacy Consent, functions tracked for User Action Logs, adding subtitles to featured articles.
More details are available in this Joomla blog post.
PrestaShop 1.7.5.0 is now available
PrestaShop is updated and comes to version 1.7.5.0, which is still a minor version of the 1.7 series but introduces important innovations.
The new version is based on an improved release cycle that led to the resolution of 114 bugs, making the product inherently more stable.
The new features include SEO optimization and Google SERP preview, easy management of price modification and physical stock backend and a structured menu for mobile devices and shorter frontend loading times. New modules and 6 localizations complete the release.
PrestaShop 1.7.5.0 is of course compatible with PHP 7.2, indeed the Producer recommends to update the version of PHP used given the now End-of-Life of PHP 5.x.
Magento announces the availability of Progressive Web Apps
Magento announces the introduction of Progressive Web Applications (PWA), a set of tools that allows merchants to improve the app-like experience of online stores: according to the Adobe Analytics Holiday report, more than half of mobile traffic is generated by smartphones , yet the total revenue is 31% of the total. It is clear that it is a priority for merchants to increase mobile conversion rates.
The basic idea is to eliminate the difference in use between a site and a web app, making the first functionally the same as the second; among the advantages offered by PWA there is a better navigation speed (Google Lighthouse benchmarking tool is also offered), push notifications, icon on home screen, full screen view and immediate accessibility: it is not necessary to download an app as you access from the browser.
The aim is therefore to increase the conversion rates without having the user to download an app.
WordPress updates the minimum version of PHP required
WordPress 5.2, which is still in beta phase but will soon be available, will now require a minimum version of PHP equal to 5.6.20 given the recent PHP 5 EOL and to continue to guarantee compatibility while waiting for individual webmasters to update their servers; by the end of the year the minimum required version will be PHP 7. Information on updating PHP is available at this address.