WooCommerce 9.1: Pre-release updates

Hey folks, on Thursday, June 20, 2024, we kicked-off our Code Freeze ahead of the release of WooCommerce 9.1. As we begin the testing phase, and get the release ready for RC, we wanted to share some spoilers and document any updates to the expected release timeline. 

UPDATE: We are currently finishing our pre-release testing and the final release is now, scheduled for Thursday, July 11, 2024. 

What’s coming in 9.1

Coming soon…to a store launch near you: Everyone loves a little bit of anticipation, whether it is getting excited about a new store launch, or shiny new products page, stores will have an added tool in their arsenal with coming soon mode. In addition to a new onboarding tool to assist during launches, the protective landing page will be available in through a toggle in the Site Visibility settings.

Optimization in Product Lookup: A few years ago, we welcomed product lookup tables for more performant opportunities when dealing with product search and organization. To navigate the complexity of some products, we have improved upon this feature by introducing an optional optimized way of filling/updating the table, as well new CLI tools to manage updates. Checkout @konamiman ‘s post on the improvements.

Variable Product Inline Actions: In 9.1 it will be possible to edit some Product Variation properties directly from the variations table using inline actions. Actions like changing the variation image, stock management, and pricing changes will all be managed through the variations table.

Checkout Blocks Usability Improvements: Checkout blocks are constantly improving, with small changes making a world of difference. In 9.1 we will see the return to cart link staying visible in mobile, even in a zoomed in state, style updates for the checkout input fields, and spacing improvements for usability in both desktop and mobile.

Accessibility Enhancements for Shop Accounts: The entire shop accounts section is receiving an accessibility enhancement, resolving a number of issues submitted by Amber Hinds of Equalize Digital. The updates include alerts and error messages from the login page, registration form, and forget password, address, and account details.

Replacing Products (Beta) with Product Collection: When creating a new store or resetting customizations on product archive templates, the Product Collection block will be available instead of Products (Beta). The change doesn’t influence existing stores with any modifications applied to those templates, however, if you use templates with no customizations, the block will be replaced.

More checkout information in SSR: We are adding detailed information about the type of Cart and Checkout in use on the system status report (SSR) tool in WooCommerce. Currently, SSR doesn’t include a check to see if a store is using Checkout block or Checkout shortcode. This change will help developers and merchants better debug potential checkout issues.

Database updates

This change re-enables the new feature flag and option for woocommerce_show_lys_tour (#48244)

API Changes

• REST API: Update schema for rate_id property (#47779)
• Fix: Permissions check for customer downloads REST API (#47854)
• Do not update the last_access field unnecessarily (#47912)
• REST API: Check if stock adjustments when updating order line items (#47784)
• Conditionally allow stock_quantity to be non-integer in REST API product schema (#48541)

Changelog

View the changelog.

Update timeline