Version 1.5.0 was the longest release cycle we have ever had for a minor version of a plugin. Many architectural changes went into the new feature set and we wanted to make sure we got it right. During this process we not only greatly modernized the plugin’s code base, but we also developed 3 new tools for building/maintaining/translating Gutenberg blocks simultaneously.
I hope you are as excited about this release as we are!
Gutenberg block support
The main feature we focused on with this version was adding a new “Simple Links” block to Gutenberg. We made sure the block would be both intuitive and fully featured. We also made sure to translate it into all supported languages.
Any post, page, or custom post type which supports blocks will have access to the Gutenberg Block named “Simple Links.” It may be found under the “Widgets” section or by searching for “Simple Links.”
Once you have added the block to your content, you will be provided with a preview of your link list as well as list options in the block sidebar. Changing options will give you a real-time preview of how the links will look on your site.
Options are organized into intuitive sections which automatically open or close based on which options you are using. All widget options are available in the block and work the same way the Simple Links widget does.
Cleanup widget options
This release includes the first phase of our widget options restructure. The widget options are now organized better and have consistent styles.
Updated translations
All translations in all languages were updated.
Help screens
Some of the help screens for various parts of the WordPress admin were a bit out of date and/or no longer accessible with the latest versions of WordPress. These obsolete screens have been removed in favor of links to the official plugin documentation.
Notable upcoming
With the release of the Gutenberg block, the shortcode generator for the classic editor has become obsolete. Maintaining both a block and a classic editor extension is time consuming and slows down progress.
After much thought and many discussions, we have decided to officially deprecate the shortcode generator for the classic editor. We don’t have a hard deadline yet to remove it, but it’s time to start getting used to the block. In an upcoming (possibly soon) release, it will be removed.