This round of updates makes theme and plugin activation/deactivation and updates more reliable and secure.
Your site connects to our server when activating a license or updating a theme. We run two firewalls on our end that block requests from known malicious IP’s. If your host is running a shared server and one site on it is abusive, the IP might become blacklisted, affecting all other sites on the same server. This makes theme and plugin activation and updates fail. With these updates, connections from your site are now bounced off of our proxy server with a clean, whitelisted IP.
Not only this, but as the NGINX web server has gained in popularity, we’ve seen increased difficulty with license activation. This issue has been addressed by adjusting the way license actions are sent to our server from the themes and Pro plugin. Lastly, we’re now ensuring that SSL certificates are verified when connecting to our licensing server as an extra precaution for security.
Related, Wordfence has recently been erroneously reporting our Church Content Pro plugin as abandoned, which it is not. This update will make that message disappear if you are using Wordfence.
How to Update
Go to Dashboard > Updates in your WordPress admin area. You should see an update for your theme and for the Church Content Pro plugin (if you are using it). There is also an update for the base Church Content plugin that works together with the improvements in the Church Content Pro plugin.
If the theme and Pro plugin updates do not show as available, make sure your license is activated in Appearance > Theme License and Settings > Church Content. The base Church Content plugin does not require a license key as it is hosted in WordPress.org’s directory. If you are having trouble activating your license because of the issues that these updates resolve, you should update manually this time.
Updating Manually
- Themes – Go to your Account then Downloads and download the theme’s zip file. Now in WordPress go to Themes > Add Theme > Upload Theme. Upon uploading you will be asked if you want to override the currently installed version. Approve the install.
- Church Content Pro – Go to your Account then Downloads and download the plugin’s zip file. Now in WordPress go to Plugins > Add Plugin > Upload Plugin. Upon uploading you will be asked if you want to override the currently installed version. Approve the install.
After updating manually, license activation and future automatic updates should arrive without issue because of the improvements we’ve made in these latest versions.
Changelogs
Plugins
Themes
- Jubilee 1.8 Changelog
- Saved 2.3 Changelog
- Maranatha 2.7 Changelog
- Exodus 3.4 Changelog – Also updated German translation by Thomas Klein
- Resurrect 3.5 Changelog – Also removed legacy Internet Explorer code
Need Help?
If you need help updating or have any questions, please get in touch. We love to help!
Bonus: What’s Next for ChurchThemes
Here’s a bonus for those who have read this far.
ChurchHost.com
We’re launching an in-house hosting service using a thoroughly modern control panel (not an ancient cPanel setup) very soon. We will be able to provide faster and easier hands-on support to those hosting with us. No more having to go through the sometimes tricky process of providing WordPress and FTP or hosting control panel access in order for us to troubleshoot a theme or plugin issue for you.
One Theme to Rule Them All
We are also working on a flexible new “all in one” theme with a starter sites library. You’ll be able to mix and match header and footer designs, homepage layouts, site styles, font combos and colors to create very unique sites. This will also make redesigns very easy.
Also expect another round of updates for our existing themes. We have a list to go down in order to improve your experience with our current products (this update was on that list).
ChurchThemes is nearly 15 years old now and we’re about to take thing to the next level!