Current theme: 1.8.92. Matched companions: Core 1.6.20, Bible 1.2.3, and Sermon AI Tools 1.0.19. Updating the theme alone does not update active plugins.

Version 1.8.92

  • Add a searchable public help center with focused how-to articles, an optional Start Here checklist, symptom-based troubleshooting, and a manual pre-launch checklist.
  • Add numbered screenshot callouts and an accessible zoom viewer with keyboard close, focus restoration, and local-only search/checklist progress.
  • Link relevant WordPress Help tabs, Theme Setup, Theme Options, and authorized Ask Grace answers to fixed public documentation. No site state or questions are sent to the help center.
  • Preserve previous documentation bookmarks and the update-guide address; document optional providers, costs, save behavior, support scope, privacy, and matched component versions.

Version 1.8.91

  • Add a live dark-background logo preview, transparent-cutout recoloring with a color picker, and an optional alternate logo. Preserve original uploads and light-mode branding.
  • Apply the selected treatment to the dark-mode desktop/mobile header and dark footer; safely retain the original when an alternate is missing.

Version 1.8.90

  • Replace uncleared default artwork with neutral text/gradient treatments while preserving uploaded branding and covers.
  • Exclude historical artwork and recordings from customer packages; validate actual staged media hashes, including companion ZIP contents.
  • Tighten card-image escaping without losing responsive loading attributes; scope pagination filtering to marked Recent Sermons queries.
  • Refresh installation/upgrade guidance, font/icon notices and the translation catalog; remove unused admin-bar mutation code.

Version 1.8.89

  • Bundle Sermon AI Tools 1.0.19: safely normalize whole-number Scripture fields and explain exactly which response fields failed validation.
  • Add an explicit Retry failed fields action in the Content Assistant. Valid draft portions are held privately for up to ten minutes; no partial result is applied. At most two manual repair attempts request only the failed fields.
  • Protect repair requests against duplicate clicks, expired or reused tokens, changed providers, unauthorized access, and concurrent saved or unsaved edits. Another provider charge may apply only when a user requests a repair.

Version 1.8.88

  • Speed: preserve responsive image sizes, srcset, decoding and priority attributes in sermon and series cards; load-more cards now use the same responsive helper.
  • Speed: inline the small pre-paint preferences script, right-size the header logo, and reserve high download priority for the first sermon image.
  • Speed: load recommendations only as their row approaches the viewport; avoid fetching another sermon batch before a full row is scrolled.
  • Speed: reduce Inter Latin font downloads by approximately 35%, preserving all weights and glyph coverage at the default text optical size. Full non-Latin fallbacks remain available.

Version 1.8.87

  • Keep Featured for You distinct from the Recent Sermons cards for new and returning visitors. Exclude the first recent batch, cards visible in the browser, and other posts using those YouTube videos before choosing recommendations.
  • Fill personalized rows with other sermons when matches are scarce; hide the row if no distinct sermons remain.

Version 1.8.86

  • Bundle Core 1.6.20: use a crisp, vertically centered refresh icon beside the featured-image button label in Classic and Block sermon editors.

Version 1.8.85

  • Bundle Core 1.6.19: add Refresh from YouTube directly to a sermon's Featured image panel in Classic and Block editors. Checks only the saved video, without an AI/API key or full-library scan.
  • Save only a changed featured image, keep the previous attachment, and report when YouTube still serves the same thumbnail. Confirm replacement of unrecognized/custom images; preserve automatic tracking for already-managed imports.
  • Protect permissions, unsaved editor selections, changed videos/images, duplicate requests and ambiguous timeouts. Refresh the native image preview without submitting other sermon edits.
Earlier release notes

Version 1.8.84

  • Redesign Classic Top Bar on desktop with a full-width masthead, balanced branding, consistent navigation spacing, an active-page indicator, and 44px settings/search controls.
  • Fit navigation using the actual logo, menu and action widths. Keep one row when space allows and a deliberate separate navigation row otherwise; retain every menu link without squeezing the church name.
  • Improve dropdown spacing, dark-mode hover contrast and nested flyout positioning. Preserve mobile navigation, sidebar layout, keyboard access and the no-JavaScript fallback.

Version 1.8.83

  • Bundle Core 1.6.18: new JPEG/still-PNG uploads use WebP when smaller and supported. The original is retained; conversion failures do not interrupt uploads. Configure under Settings > Media.
  • Add Create WebP copy to attachment details for existing images, with a select action, preserved alt text/captions, and no changes to existing uses. Animations, other formats and importer sideloads are unchanged.

Version 1.8.82

  • Bundle Core 1.6.17 with an Exclude title pattern action in Automatic Imports. Review a reusable phrase, confirm it, and save it to the existing editable title-exclusion list.
  • Skip matching YouTube titles before private/live/embedding errors, during discovery and before queued video requests; preserve finished sermons, Shorts and all saved drafts.
  • Keep matching case-insensitive and literal, scope queue changes to the connected channel, and protect actions with capabilities, a nonce, stale-title detection and the worker lock.

Version 1.8.81

  • Bundle AI Tools 1.0.18: series covers use a generic Generate cover action and either saved Gemini/OpenAI key, even when only the non-preferred provider is configured.
  • Try the other configured cover provider once after a clear request rejection; never switch after timeouts, uncertain completion, safety blocks, malformed images or local upload errors.
  • Hide Generate when neither key is configured, show direct setup/help links, disclose fallback content sharing and charges, and identify the provider that actually generated the cover.

Version 1.8.80

  • Render all three optional footer widget areas with responsive layouts, readable hover colours and keyboard focus states; keep existing church footer details.
  • Resolve Plan a Visit links to the visit page instead of the giving page, support custom visit-page slugs, and hide unconfigured links.
  • Remove the built-in newsletter section and its theme/Core setting. Use a newsletter plugin's block, shortcode or footer widget instead; existing saved option values are not deleted.
  • Remove fictitious address defaults and visitor-facing admin instructions from the visit page; hide its location/map when no address is set.
  • Bundle Core 1.6.16 and AI Tools 1.0.17, refresh translation catalogues, and retire obsolete tour checks from release tooling. Keep unused cover-template images out of the AI plugin download.

Version 1.8.79

  • Add optional multiline details beneath each service time for monthly schedules, alternate locations, and contact instructions; retain notes when adding, reordering, and saving services.
  • Show public service details consistently in all homepage schedules, the navigation card, footer, Plan a Visit page, and church dashboard. Existing schedules remain compatible.
  • Bundle Core 1.6.15 to safely save portable service notes; update Ask Grace instructions and explain that notes must not contain private addresses.

Version 1.8.78

  • Fix saved Shorts column settings 9–12, including the nine-column default, so cards divide the available row width instead of falling back to small fixed-width thumbnails.
  • Keep extra Shorts inside the horizontal carousel, allow desktop scrollbars when needed, and preserve phone swipe behavior and portrait artwork.

Version 1.8.77

  • Bundle Core 1.6.14 with clearer Ask Grace workflows, direct settings links, contextual sermon-media checks, import-status checks, and short follow-up questions.
  • Ask for clarification when help topics are ambiguous; recognize SermonAudio, automatic imports, thumbnails, series covers, and provider setup more reliably.
  • Add optional administrator-only Gemini/OpenAI wording assistance using the selected provider. Local help needs no key; AI cannot invent destinations or execute changes.
  • Improve mobile reading, bring action links ahead of diagnostics, preserve unsaved sermon edits, and collect useful feedback reasons without storing question text in feedback.
  • Clarify branding, homepage-row, service-time, and menu instructions; preserve confirmation and undo for supported setting changes.

Version 1.8.76

  • Add purpose-specific icons to every Theme Setup action, including homepage controls, church details, sermon connections, and optional setup tools.
  • Keep action labels accessible and preserve import button icons during loading and errors, with responsive spacing on desktop and mobile.

Version 1.8.75

  • Simplify Theme Setup to homepage, church details, and sermon connections. Keep sample content and Bible books under Optional setup tools; preserve migration previews and import confirmations.
  • Retire both guided tours and completion nags. Link directly to Sermon Tools, remove its duplicated Automatic Imports card, and collapse secondary tools.
  • Bundle Core 1.6.13 with updated dashboard shortcuts and assistant setup guidance.

Version 1.8.74

  • Show every saved service time in the sidebar invitation card, in the chosen order, instead of only the first two.

Version 1.8.73

  • Restore readable Service Name and Time fields in Theme Options and add accessible up/down controls to reorder gatherings. The saved order is reflected wherever service times appear.