WooCommerce Releases Version 5.1 of The Popular Open-Source Online Commerce Platform

Popular open-source shopping platform WooCommerce released version 5.1, which is the third minor release of 2021. This release coincides with a major update to the core WordPress platform as well.

1. 279 commits from 37 contributors in WooCommerce core.
2. 109 commits from 22 contributors in the WooCommerce Admin package.
3. 175 commits from 18 contributors in the WooCommerce Gutenberg Products Block package.

What’s New in WooCommerce 5.1?

1. WooCommerce Blocks 4.4: Blocks package has been updated to 4.4.3. Store owners should look at the release post to see what’s new and improved.
2. WooCommerce Admin 2.0.2: WooCommerce Admin package has also been updated to 2.0.2 with this release of WooCommerce. This new package contains lots of bug fixes and stability improvements. Changes can be found here.

Notable Fixes and Improvements in WooCommerce 5.1

1. jQuery 3 deprecated items: The developers of WooCommerce said this is part of an ongoing effort to remove all deprecated jQuery 3 items from the core thoroughly. #28753
2. Updating order tax: Previously, after recalculating totals when the tax setting was changed (i.e., name and/or rate), the tax name did not update in the order meta, and this has been fixed. #28983
3. Notices are not going away: Previously, when trying to close an admin notice such as the “Database has been updated” notice, this notice keeps reappearing, and this has been fixed. #28500

The full list of all changes and fixes is available here.

There are also two new filters in this release.

• woocommerce_exporter_product_types – Filter to allow third-parties to filter the exportable product types. #28950
• woocommerce_cancel_unpaid_orders_interval_minutes – Filter to change the interval minutes for holding stock on cancel/unpaid orders. #28933

Since this is a minor release, everything is backward compatible with previous versions. However, before upgrading to the latest version, store owners should make a full backup.

Also, store owners should check with their theme and plug-in developers to confirm there are no known compatibility issues. WooCommerce has an Upgrade Guide available to help show owners make a smooth and safe transition.

WordPress 5.7 Update

Coincidentally with the WooCommerce update, WordPress released a major update, including many improvements detailed here. For WooCommerce store owners, this WordPress 5.7 update could significantly impact their online stores, especially if using older plug-ins. Store owners should try this update on a staging site before applying it to their live environment.

Richard Meldner

Richard is co-founder of eSeller365. He has over 17 years of experience on eBay which includes tens of thousands of sales to buyers in over 100 countries and even has experience with eBay’s VeRO program enforcing intellectual property rights for a former employer. And for about two years Richard sold products on Amazon using Amazon FBA in the US.

To “relax” from the daily business grind, for a few weekends a year, he also works for IMSA as a professional race official.