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Updating the Core of the tagDiv Themes for Envato WordPress Requirements

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Notice: You need to Manually Activate the tagDiv Composer Page Builder after Updating to Newspaper Theme v. 9.7.3 and Newsmag Theme v. 4.9 – Scroll down for instructions

This is it! The change we’re working on for months is ready. The tagDiv themes are updated to meet the new Envato WP Requirements. It’s an exciting moment as we dove into the core of themes and redesign them to open new possibilities for future implementations. Read below to see the tagDiv themes changes and how they affect you.

They say “it’s only after you’ve stepped outside your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow, and transform.” Well, the new quality standards of the Envato Market forced us to stop what we were doing and rethink the way Newspaper and Newsmag Theme work.

Why we are updating the core of the themes

In summary, the Envato market required us – the theme and plugin authors – to restructure the products to provide only WordPress basic functionality by May 31, 2019. Just like the other authors that have products created a few years ago, we faced two significant challenges.

First, we had to make the themes compliant and still provide our customers with all the tools they need to build amazing websites. Our products have hundreds of features, blocks, sorting options, custom widgets, and a myriad of custom settings.

Secondly, we have over 90,000 clients that love our products. All the changes had to be implemented without disrupting the customer experience and their websites.

So, what’s going to change?

As the first step to a lighter template, we’ve decided the best course of action for a smooth transition is to move all the functionality previously part of the theme into the tagDiv Composer page builder. What happens when you are updating your Newspaper Theme to version 9.7.3 and Newsmag Theme to version 4.9? The entire code that brings you the features that you love, other than basic WordPress functionality, will be moved in the page builder.

The tagDiv Composer page builder now includes all the functionality. As a result, your website maintains its design and flexibility you are used to. The change will be a different code structure.

! The new code structure may interfere with your child theme customizations. If you’ve made changes only in the functions.php and style.css files, your modifications are safe. In case you’ve altered other files, before updating your theme, please create a test environment and check out the changes there, not on your live website.

If you don’t use a Child Theme, read the update instructions below:

What do you need to do?

To get all the benefits of your theme, you first need to update it. We’ve included a new section in the Welcome screen to facilitate the plugins’ install and/or upgrade.

Step 1. Backup your website
Step 2. Update your theme – How to update the Newspaper Theme and Newsmag Theme.
Step 3. Activate the theme
Step 4. We’ve identified three possible situations for you, and below you’ll find instructions for each case:

4.1 Customer previously using the tagDiv Composer Page Builder

[Action required] Manually Activate/Update tagDiv Composer page builder

Did you use the tagDiv Composer page builder plugin to create your website? Up until now, in the Newspaper Theme and Newsmag Theme, the plugins were automatically updated. According to the new Envato WordPress requirements, starting with this version, you need to activate the tagDiv Composer page builder manually. If you do not enable the page builder, your website will be affected by the missing code (now moved into the plugin).

Update the page builder plugin as seen below:

Go to your WordPress admin area > Newspaper/Newsmag > Welcome. Click the “Install/Activate Plugins” button. All the plugins in the list will be activated, and you are ready to create amazing content.

You can also update the plugins manually from the WordPress admin area > Newspaper/Newsmag > Plugins tab. However, for this update, we highly recommend you use the previously described method.

4.2 Existing customer previously using the WPBakery Page Builder

This update will bring a small change in the way you work with Newspaper Theme and Newsmag Theme as you will need to activate the tagDiv Composer plugin and keep it enabled.

Go to your WordPress admin area > Newspaper/Newsmag> Plugins and click the tagDiv Composer “Install/Activate” button.

4.3 I’m a new client

Install the Newspaper Theme or Newsmag Theme, and go to your WordPress admin area > Newspaper/Newsmag > Welcome. Click the “Install/Activate Plugins” button just as described above. All the plugins in the list will be installed and activated. Once this process is completed, you are ready to use your Newspaper theme or Newsmag Theme.

Wrapping up

We’ve tested these changes over and over to make sure everything works smoothly for you when updating. Still, if you are facing issues while updating, don’t worry. We are here to help you. Open a new topic on the Customer Support forum and we’ll be happy to assist you. We’re doing our best to reply with a solution within 24 hours, however, in the period with a high volume of requests, it may take up to 48 hours to address your issue.

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Alina S.
Alina S.
I am a WordPress enthusiast, digital and content marketer, copywriter, and sometimes storyteller. Originally trained as a journalist, I have a curious mind. I enjoy testing new technologies, discovering new ways to make things easier, and, especially, telling everybody stories about my discoveries. At tagDiv, my work focuses on designing great experiences for our visitors and customers.

Do you need any help with the Newspaper or Newsmag WordPress Themes? Please send us all the necessary details via email or create a new topic on our online forum. We're always happy to assist you.

212 COMMENTS

    • Hi Michael,

      The Newsmag theme will also be updated to meet the Envato WP Requirments in the following days – https://www.screencast.com/t/svp7hgoD. The updating procedure will be the same as for the Newspaper, and you’ll have to follow the same steps. We’ll send you an email just before the update. Please don’t hesitate to ask for our help if you encounter any inconveniences.

      Thank you for understanding!

  3. What did you mean when you said basic WordPress functionality?

    What’s included in basic WordPress functionality?

    Are the features that we have now going to be terminated?

    Or you’re just going to change the back end process of these functionalities and not the way they behave.

    This term is vague, as such. I’d appreciate if you elaborate on this.

    • Hi Pratiek,

      Thank you for your message. I will briefly answer your questions:
      -The basic WordPress functionality refers to that functionality which comes when you install WordPress before you upload a theme.
      -The features Newspaper has are still there and are not going to be terminated! All of the Newspaper theme functionality, tools, and features you love will move in the tagDiv Composer, as Envato required us to do – https://help.author.envato.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000472383-WordPress-Theme-Requirements. If until now, whenever we released new theme versions the tagDiv Composer was automatically updated/activated, starting with Newspaper 9.7 you have to manually activate it. Once you activate the tagDiv Composer, you’ll get everything back, and you can use them just like you’ve previously used to.
      -If you do not enable the page builder in the Newspaper 9.7 version, your website will be affected by the missing code (now moved into the plugin).

  4. Hi. I am using the Newsmag theme.

    What about the Newsmag theme?

    Should I switch to the newspaper theme?

    Is a transition from the Newsmag theme to the newspaper theme possible?

    thanks.

    kind regards.

    • Hi Achim,

      Thank you for using our theme on your website!
      1. The Newsmag theme will also be updated to meet the Envato WP Requirments in the following days – https://www.screencast.com/t/svp7hgoD. The updating procedure will be the same as for the Newspaper, and you’ll have to follow the same steps.

      2. You cannot switch from Newsmag to Newspaper, as they are two different products, using two distinct licenses. If you want to try out the Newspaper theme, you’ll need a Newspaper license.

      3. Unfortunately, it is not possible any transition between our themes. I’m sorry!

    • Hi Ben,

      Thank you for reaching us! If you are using the WPBackery Page Builder on your website, you do not have to delete it. You need simply update the theme and install/activate all of the required plugins. You can use both page builders simultaneously but not on the same page. In the future, we recommend using only TD Composer if you want to achieve better theme results. For that, you can take a look at our documentation from here -> https://forum.tagdiv.com/visual-composer-tagdiv-composer-transition/ where you can see how the transition can be done.

      Thank you!

      • I had modules folder on old api plugin, how can i add my module page to new plugin ( creative plugin ) and how to integrate my old files with new plugin ?

        • Hi,

          In this case, you need to re-create them with the Creative plugin or also, you have a chance to use our beautiful Flex Blocks which allows you to customize them as you wish. Also, if you have any questions about our theme, please open a new topic at our support forum from here -> https://forum.tagdiv.com/forum/newspaper/

          Thank you!

          • Can you give me some more details? (Better by example.)

            Everything was working normally and I need to re-edit all of my custom pages with the update you made. I think you should help us with this.

            Thanks

          • Hi,

            Please notice that here is talking about API implementation and this service is not covered by our support, sorry -> https://forum.tagdiv.com/newspaper-theme-support/! For more details about this implementation, please check our useful guide from here -> https://forum.tagdiv.com/developer-info/ Also, if you have any questions about our theme, please open a new topic at our support forum from here -> https://forum.tagdiv.com/newspaper-theme-support/

            Thank you!

          • I know you don’t support the API, but have you changed the current system?

            Everything was working properly. But you say that the API System will no longer be used.

            If the API Plugin is not used, you say that the Creative plugin will be used. But the files are different. I have edited our files according to the API Plugin. Now I need to edit it again according to the creative plug.

          • Hi Ahmet,

            Yes, this is a better way for API implementation! Please notice that our theme has a lot of blocks and also, Flex Blocks which can be customized as you wish and also, you will not need to create another block through API. Do you have tried to use our Flex Blocks? For more information about these, please check here -> https://tagdiv.com/discover-flex-blocks-customization/

            Thank you!

  9. So I don’t have to change any of my pages build with WP Bakery? Apart from the fact that the tagdiv composer needs to be enabled nothing changes?

    • Hello Martin,

      Yes, that’s right! You only need to enable the tagDiv Composer and all of the required plugins which come with the theme.

      Thank you!

  10. My site heavily uses the WPBakery Page Builder. From what I’ve read, the change will only be to activate TagDiv Composer, but will we now be required to use it? and will this collide with WPBakery Page Builder? After activating, will I need to go in and restructure the design of the site using TagDiv Composer in order to match the CSS from when options were in the theme panel or will this happen automatically? Thank you.

    • Hello Amanda,

      Thank you for your message! Please notice that you can further use the WPBakery Page Builder on your website but not on the same page. Also, the TD Composer is our page builder and if you want to achieve good results in the future, we recommend using it. After activating your theme, you need to simply activate all of the required plugins plus WPBackery, if you are using it. If you want to migrate from WPBackery to our page builder, we recommend to check the following useful documentation from here -> https://forum.tagdiv.com/visual-composer-tagdiv-composer-transition/ If you have any questions about this, please open a new topic at our support forum from here -> https://forum.tagdiv.com/forum/newspaper/

      Thank you for your understanding!

  11. I’m using Newsmag. How will the user interface and workflow change? Is the Newsmag Theme Panel being consolidated into the tagDiv Composer? Thanks.

    Backing up your site and creating a test staging area is good advice! Too many people forget to do that 😉 After I create an empty test directory, please outline the steps to set up a test instance. Or do I simply copy the directory that contains my live Web site, re-name the copy to ‘my-test,’ launch wordpress from within that directory and upgrade the plug-ins there? Or, what else? Thanks.

    • Hi,

      Soon, the same thing will be done for the Newsmag theme but please notice that the user will not be affected. This is just changes on the theme core files and also, you only need to enable the TD Composer if you want to have any access to the Theme settings.

      Thank you for understanding!

  12. Is there more documentation available on how exactly these changes will function and appear?

    Will all of my settings in the Newspaper theme panel be preserved? Will the Panel itself be moved or changed in some way?

  13. Hi,

    on one of our websites we’re using an older version of Newsmag (4.5 or 4.6, not sure) in combination with WordPress 4.9.

    Anything we’ll have to consider before updating to the new version? First update WordPress to 5.1.1? Or first theme, then WordPress? Any recommendations to avoid trouble?

    Thanks
    Petra

    • Hi Petra,

      Thank you for reaching to us! The update for the Newsmag Theme will be released in a few days, so I don’t see the point of updating your theme today. Updating WordPress, on the other hand, it’s always a good idea.

      To make sure everything goes nice and easy, please back up your website before updating both WordPress and your theme. This way, if something goes wrong with the server, you use the backup to return to the previous state. Here is a guide to help you update the theme.
      I hope you’ll find this useful!

  14. do we need to use the wp-bakery page builder at all with your template? btw love your product, support and vision…

    • Hi Robert,

      We recommend using our page builder, tagDiv Composer and also, which is powerful and adapted with our theme. This is our built-in page builder which is designed to achieve better theme results if it will be used on the website.

      Thank you!

  16. The update broke my site. HTTP 500 upon the auto-update. I’ve reverted via database to other themes, I’ve deactivated plugins, I’ve deleted and re-uploaded freshly downloaded theme files, plugin files, and it’s still breaking. This is a dumpster fire. :/

    • Hi Lou,

      I have checked your website and it seems working fine. Could you update it? Notice that we recommend the FTP method for theme installing because this is the surest method in this case. The automatic update might cause some problems and that’s why it’s not recommended. If you have any question, please open a new topic at our support forum form here -> https://forum.tagdiv.com/forum/newspaper/

      Thank you!

  17. PHP Warning: require_once(header/ads.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/…./wp-content/plugins/td-composer/legacy/Newspaper/parts/header/header-style-4.php on line 27

    Resolved

  19. Hi team,

    I use both tagdiv Composer and Page Builder (installed from file js_composer.zip in your theme folder)

    I did many ways as you said, deleted cache, but the problem was not solved (on mobile, theme ok; on PC: theme blank).

    What to do now? Or you can help me via Team Viewer?

  20. I don’t use the tagDiv Mobile Theme but see that it’s installed/activated automatically in the screenshot you’ve posted.

    Is there an option to only activate specific Plugins?

    If all plugins must be activated can we then disable unused plugins without causing any issues?

    • Hi!

      Thank you for reaching to us!
      We highly recommend you to update all plugins as shown in the article. After the update, you can deactivate the Mobile Theme plugin if you don’t need it. The only plugin you can not disable is tagDiv Composer page builder, as it will remove all the custom functionality from the Newspaper theme.
      I hope you’ll find this useful!

  21. I’ve uploaded all the latest files, but when I activate the mobile plugin, I get the following error showing in red in admin:

    This version of the tagDiv Mobile Theme plugin is not supported by the current activated theme!
    Please update your theme!

    I checked and the version installed is 9.7

  22. I have a highly costumized site, with a lot of costum post types, and was a little afraid of this change. Since it was all on the child themes the update went smooth and zero problems.

    Congrats to the team.

    • Bruno — we’ve found that the latest update totally breaks the child theme. Is that your experience as well?

      • Hi,

        Most of the theme files were moved into the tag div composer plugin as per the requirements of Envato: https://help.author.envato.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000472383-WordPress-Theme-Requirements. Moving forward with such requirements, a child theme will only work with functions.php, and style.css, as there are very few files left in the main theme as Envato, requires all functionality to be added through plugins.

        Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for understanding.

        Thank you for understanding!

        • You wrote that “Envato … requires all functionality to be added through plugins.”

          That’s not true. You are allowed to continue fully supporting child themes. You are allowed to include functionality within the parent theme’s header.php and index.php and single.php and loop-single.php files (for example). To say otherwise is disingenuous.

  23. We do not use tagDiv Composer, and we have multiple Newspaper Theme licenses for multiple WordPress sites. You say a “small change” to active both WPBakery and tagDiv Composer… in the past this created a conflict… so now is it OK and conflict-free to activate both tagDiv Composer and WPBakery. Can we rely 100% on only WPBakery with the new Newspaper releases?

    • Hi paperweight,

      Yes, you can further use the WPBakery with our theme if you like it. Also, if you are using the Single Image element, you will see that not working as expected. The image will be zoomed in.

      Thank you for your understanding!

  25. I had not moved to Page Builder because it required each page to be rebuilt in Page Builder. Is this update porting everything into Page Builder? Is there a video tutorial of how to use it? Thanks.

    • Hi,

      Thank you for reaching us! Please notice that if you are using the WPBackery on your website, is not needed to port all of these elements to tagDiv Composer. You need to enable that plugin if you want to have all of the theme settings to be enabled. Also, if you have any question about this, please open a new topic at our support forum from here -> https://forum.tagdiv.com/forum/newspaper/

      Thank you!

  26. Hello Why I’m getting thie error, need help please. Still new getting this issue many hours of works and…

    Even Tech support from my hosting service had hard time to fix the issue, stated that the only way to fiz was either to conact you or change the theme… Waiting for you support please 🙁

  28. I test it on my localhost work fine.
    It’s feel smooth when i access my site.

    Thanks, hope not found bug in this version.

  29. hi, i have update theme for v9.7 but now i can’t to active tb-mobile theme. i receive this messege:
    “This version of the tagDiv Mobile Theme plugin is not supported by the current activated theme!
    Please update your theme!”

    why?

  31. Bonjour,

    Nous recevons un message d’erreur sur le plugin mobile : This version of the tagDiv Mobile Theme plugin is not supported by the current activated theme!
    Please update your theme!

    Nous avons testé avec différentes manières :
    – Via le template
    – Via le FTP

    sans réponse.
    Bien cordialement,

  33. Hello, thanks for this update, it all went off without a hitch, except that I’ve lost all my custom ad spots I inserted into theme > includes > td_config.php. I see the new theme doesn’t have any custom ad spots listed in this file any longer. Where can I add extra custom ad spots please?

    • Hi Natalie,

      Indeed, the new update comes with some changes in the order of the theme core files. Notice that the td_config.php remained at the same place, as you can see here -> https://www.screencast.com/t/aJoqFUcAUxwd Also, notice that each update will overwrite all of your custom modifications and therefore, all of these will be lost. You need to make a full backup to your database and to all of these to avoid this case, sorry! If you need more assistance to our theme, please open a new topic at our support forum from here -> https://forum.tagdiv.com/forum/newspaper/

      Thank you!

    • Hi,

      We are sorry for the inconvenience. Please update Newspaper to version 9.7.1, as we have just solved this. If you need assistance, please send us an email at contact@tagdiv.com or open a new thread on forum.tagdiv.com. Thank you for understanding!

  35. Hi. After updating, I can’t login to wordpress. I get the message: “Warning: Cannot modify header information – headers already sent by (output)

  36. Hi

    The WP Bakery plugin is not working on my site and now it is also conflicting with yoast plugin along with the normal wordpress editor. I have done the update you suggest but I am still having the issue.