Yoast Local SEO changelog

Enhancements​

• Avoids a deprecation message on pages with maps regarding asynchronous loading of Google Map API.
• Improves load times on pages with maps, by deferring the load of map-related libraries to not block page rendering.

Other​

• Bumps the minimum required version of Yoast SEO to 23.8.
• Sets the WordPress tested up to version to 6.7.

Enhancements​

• Converts the Yoast Address block to use the Blocks V3 API.
• Converts the Yoast Map block to use the Blocks V3 API.
• Converts the Yoast Opening hours block to use the Blocks V3 API.
• Converts the Yoast Store locator block to use the Blocks V3 API.
• Improves the performance of sites with multiple locations, decreasing page load times significantly.

Bugfixes​

• Fixes a bug where a fatal would occur in the settings when a legacy Google Maps API was used.

Other​

• Bumps the minimum required version of Yoast SEO to 23.6.
• Deprecates the WooCommerce Local Pickup functionality.
• Sets the minimum supported WordPress version to 6.5.
• Sets the WordPress tested up to version to 6.6.

Enhancements​

• Adds contact phone number and email to the organization schema settings.

Bugfixes​

• Fixes a bug where primary location data would be used in the schema when the location status was not publish.

Other​

• Sets the minimum required Yoast SEO version to 22.0.

Enhancements​

• Ensure compatibility with Yoast SEO 21.9 by flushing the the rewrite rules when the Location type is registered.

Bugfixes​

• Fixes a bug where a PHP notice about the use of an outdated WooCommerce version would appear.
• Fixes a bug where calling a deprecated function would lead to a fatal error.

Other​

• Improves discoverability of the security policy.
• Makes the plugin compatible with PHP 8.3.
• Sets the minimum supported WordPress version to 6.3.

Enhancements​

• Introduces a new way of retrieving translations by utilizing the TranslationPress service. Instead of shipping all translations with every release, translations will now be loaded on a per-install basis, tailored to the user's setup. This leads to smaller plugin releases and less bloat on the user's server.

Bugfixes​

• Fixes a bug where address shortcode would not be recognized by Local schema assessment when the shortcode was added in Classic editor.
• Fixes a bug where the organization logo would be used as the default location logo when all locations are part of the same business.

Other​

• Bumps the minimum required Free version to 21.5.
• Introduces the option to use the composer/installers v2 when this package would be required via [WP]Packagist.
• Sets the minimum supported WordPress version to 6.2.
• Sets the WordPress tested up to version to 6.4.

Other​

• Security: Adds sanitization to wpseo_local_show_map method.
• Sets the minimum required Yoast SEO version to 20.8.
• Sets the minimum supported WordPress version to 6.1.

Bugfixes​

• Fixes a bug where location name and URL would not be correctly escaped when displaying a map block in the frontend.
• Fixes a bug where the settings would be displayed with the wrong style when using Yoast SEO 20.3+.

Other​

• Drops compatibility with PHP 5.6, 7.0 and 7.1.
• Removes the Transport page from the deprecated WooCommerce integration.
• Sets the minimum required Yoast SEO version to 20.5
• Sets the WordPress "tested up to" version to 6.2.
• Fixes security issues.

Bugfixes​

• Fixes a bug where a deprecation warning would be thrown when clustering locations in Google Maps.
• Fixes a bug where a console error would be thrown because of the Google Maps API requiring a callback.

Other​

• Adds a deprecation notice for "Local store pickup" in all pages and a warning before enabling it, because WooCommerce will offer a Local Pickup option natively since version 7.4.
• Fixes some links and their copy following the release of the new settings UI in Yoast SEO.
• Sets the minimum required version of Yoast SEO to 20.1.
• Sets the minimum supported WordPress version to 6.0.

Bugfixes​

Fixes a bug where location-specific assessments would also appear under the Readability analysis tab when the Cornerstone content toggle would be switched on.

Other​

• Bumps the Yoast SEO minimum required version to 19.10.
• Ensures compatibility with the High Performance Order Storage feature in WooCommerce 7.1+.
• Sets the WordPress “tested up to” version to 6.1.

Enhancements​

• Adds support for all the CivicStructure Schema types. You can now set a location to be, for example, a museum, city hall, church, or any other place of worship and benefit from all Yoast Local SEO has to offer!
• Ensures compatibility with the front-end SEO inspector introduced in Yoast SEO Premium 19.1.

Other​

• Sets the minimum required Yoast SEO version to 19.5.
• Sets the minimum supported WordPress version to 5.9.

Enhancements​

• Updates the Schema manipulation to follow the new best-practice for the @id of the WebPage piece introduced by Yoast SEO 19.3.

Other​

• Sets tested up WordPress version to 6.0.
• Sets the minimum required Yoast SEO version to 19.3

Bugfixes​

• Fixes a bug where a database error would be thrown when using the "enhanced search" functionality of the plugin.
• Fixes a bug where 24 hour notation would not work on the frontend for single locations.
• Fixes a bug where "Open 24 hours" would not display on the frontend for single locations.

Other​

• Sets the minimum required Yoast SEO version to 18.6
• Sets the minimum required WordPress version to 5.8.

Other​

• Disables URL assessments for locations for Japanese because slugs are frequently written in Latin characters, rather than in Japanese characters.
• Sets the minimum required Yoast SEO version to 18.0.
• Sets the WordPress tested up to version to 5.9.

Other​

• The plugin will no longer block installation on PHP 8.0+ when installed via Composer.

Bugfixes​

• Fixes a bug where the Article type and Page type dropdowns in the Schema tab of the Yoast SEO sidebar in the Elementor editor would show the post type as None when editing a Location, instead of the plural label as set in the Local SEO settings.

Enhancements​

• Adds key/value pairs of all Local SEO meta tags to our REST API.
• Introduces a fallback when a primary location was set and is removed: it now falls back to a single location when only one location is left.

Bugfixes​

• Fixes a bug where the current location could be selected in the "Copy data from another location" dropdown.
• Fixes a bug where Local SEO would show non-functioning buttons in the text editor in Elementor.

Other​

• Replaces all references to the Yoast Knowledge Base by references to the Yoast help center.
• Sets the minimum required WordPress SEO version to 16.7.

Other​

• Disables Local SEO in the Elementor editor as compatibility for Local SEO has not been implemented yet.

Other​

• Improves security by improving input validation and output escaping in the opening hours widget.

Enhancements​

• Added the address to the output of the local pickup option in WooCommerce.
• Move Local Blocks to their own category.
• Remove redundant version parameters from the asset URLs.
• Improved the preview with real address data when available.

Bugfixes​

• Show correct permalink structure when there is a prefix to the %post_name%.
• Fixes a bug where "google is not defined" error was thrown in the console when not using a map in the Store Locator.
• Fixes a bug where no plugin icon and compatibility data would be displayed on the plugins update screen.

Enhancements​

• Added block previews for WordPress 5.5.

Bugfixes​

• Changed ambiguous toggle values.
• Fixed wrongfully aligned input fields for the map block.
• Fixes a bug where a PHP notice would be thrown on the post edit screen when the single location setting was enabled
• Fixes a bug where a nested array would be output as the organization schema’s type when the wpseo_schema_organization filter was used to return an array of types.

Other​

• Several changes and updates to the code base to make it more secure.
• Enables tracking when activating Yoast SEO: Local. Previously tracking was always on. It can now be disabled in the configuration wizard.
• Removed an old reference to Yoast SEO: Local for WooCommerce

Bugfixes​

• Fixed an issue that caused the "Hide opening hours option" toggle in "Opening hours" settings tab to sometimes show incorrect forms.
• Fixed an issue where the default organization logo would not be used in local business schema when a specific location logo is not defined.
• The checkout text set in WooCommerce settings now shows when expected.
• The Store Locator now accurately limits the maximum number of results based on the parameters set.
• Fixed a bug where SEO analysis would incorrectly display a warning for the URL when a location's business information contains a city of which the name contains special characters.
• Fixed a bug that could cause browser freezes when clicking opening hour time format toggles.

Bugfixes​

• Fixes a bug that caused WooCommerce templates to be loaded even if local pickup was disabled triggering a JavaScript console error.

Bugfixes​

• Fixes a bug where a WooCommerce checkout script would unnecessarily load on pages other than cart and checkout.
• Fixes a typo in Business Info settings.
• When searching with the store locator the category filter now works as expected.
• Remove code elements from tooltips to make them like the default WooCommerce tooltips.

Enhancements​

• The location post type is now filterable using wpseo_local_post_type.

• Schema:

• Removed the name property from organization list.

Other​

• Several code quality improvements.

Bugfixes​

• Fixed a bug that caused selected shipping methods to disappear when selecting 'ship to other address'.

Bugfixes​

• Fixed a bug that caused the .csv importer to get stuck in an infinite loop.

Other​

• Updated the minimum required version of Yoast SEO to 14.0.
• Use the new Indexables architecture for geo presenters and schema output.

Bugfixes​

• Fixed a bug that caused a single location not to show up in the local store pickup at a WooCommerce shopping basket or checkout page.
• Fixed a bug that caused a map not to show up when centering on all locations.
• Fixed a bug that caused a stand alone store locator widget not to return any results.
• Fixed a bug that caused the 'open now' functionality to not work when using multiple opening hours.

Bugfixes​

• Fixes a bug where all JavaScript and CSS files were missing.

Bugfixes​

• Fixed a bug that caused the enhanced search to always be on, disregarding the actual setting.
• Removed the table sorter script that threw a console error on the sitemap.xml pages.
• Fixed a bug that caused possible undefined index on widget titles.

Enhancements​

• The UI and UX for entering an API key and calculating location's lat/lng is improved.
• Disabled the person/company select box in Yoast SEO when Yoast SEO: Local is active.

Bugfixes​

• Fixed a bug that caused possible locations not to be found in the store locator even when the default country was set.
• Fixed a bug that caused the store locator to not always give a reliable result.

Other​

• Updated the address assessment notification.

Bugfixes​

• Fixes a bug where a fatal error would be thrown on activation.

Bugfixes​

• Fixes a bug where incorrect locations metadata would be saved on multisite environments in combination with MultilingualPress.
• Fixed a bug that caused store locator scripts to be included on every single page.

Other​

• Removed duplicate tab and content title for the API key and WooCommerce settings tabs.
• Replaced deprecated namespaced objects for block editor components.
• Dropped IE11 support and therefore removed WP polyfills.

Bugfixes​

• Fixed a bug that caused business types for a single location to not be saved correctly.
• Fixed a bug that caused shortcodes with no ID set to show the most recent location.

Other​

• Changed descriptive text on the "Opening hours"-tab to make its meaning more clear.

Enhancements​

• Use the WPSEO_Options class to save and sanitize options.

• Bugs:

• Removed checking of default value for options on every page load.

• Removed checking of Yoast SEO company settings on each page load.

• UI:

• Set select boxes in widgets to 100% (max)width.

Other​

• Replaced the HelpScout beacon on the Local SEO admin page.
• Bumped minimum Yoast SEO version to 12.6.

• Schema:

• Removed subOrganisation from schema output since it's no longer valid.

Bugfixes​

• Fixed a bug where an empty geo.position could be output when lat/long isn't set in the settings.

• Fixed a bug that caused scheduled posts to not show location meta data in the admin area.

• Fixed a bug that caused location selects in widget to display no locations.

• Fixed a bug that caused select2 to no longer work if the Yoast Meta Box was hidden on a single location page.

• Fixed a bug that caused the Yoast SEO image to be shown in the meta box when no image was chosen.

• UI:

• Fixed issues that caused misalignment of some elements in the Yoast SEO: Local plugin when updating to WordPress 5.3.

Bugfixes​

• Fixed a fatal error that occurred on wp-activate.php.

Enhancements​

• Make all custom marker functionality look and work the same throughout the plugin.

Bugfixes​

• Fixed a bug that made it impossible to set a custom marker on the settings page.

Bugfixes​

• Fixed a bug that caused short code buttons in the classic editor to no longer show up when using a single location setup.
• Fixed a bug that caused users of a version of WordPress before 5.0 to get errors when using the new geocoding functionality.
• Fixed a bug where the options page and location pages don't load correctly when timezone format was saved incorrectly in the database.
• Fixed a bug that caused the geocoding to trigger on the term edit page, which caused console errors.

Enhancements​

• Improve the UX and UI for our meta box on the locations page.

• The design now matches the Yoast SEO style.

• Labels are updated in accordance to the ones on the settings pages.

• Settings are now rearranged under separate tabs for a better overview.

• If no API key is supplied, the map settings now show a notification.

• Removed server side geocoding and timezone determination in favor of client side. A server side key is no longer necessary.

Bugfixes​

• The notification for the new Google Maps API is now only shown when applicable.

• Translations:

• The plugin is now available with Hungarian translation.

Other​

• Deprecated wpseo_geocode_address().

Enhancements​

• Improved latitude / longitude description.
• Improved location detection description.
• Updated warning messages to match the Yoast SEO style.
• Changed labels for metric and unit system to kilometer and miles.
• Changed label from 'Allow scrolling of map' to 'Allow zoom by scroll'.
• Location URL now gets the URL of the site by default.

Bugfixes​

• Prevent a custom marker from breaking out of the settings panel if it exceeds the width of the panel.
• Fixed typo's. Changed e-mail address to email address.

Other​

• Removed all instances of the 'notes' fields from the plugin.

Bugfixes​

• Fixed a bug where the incorrect version would be shown in the plugins overview.

Enhancements​

• If an API key is set from a constant in the wp-config.php don't show the input field for that, but display a notification, telling the user that the API key is set through a constant.

Bugfixes​

• Fixed a bug that caused the map settings tab to show an empty panel when no API key is set. It now shows a notification.

Other​

• Rename the API Settings tab to Api Key.
• The API key tab now shows a new field to use. Google changed the way keys are used. New users will only see this field. Users that have existing keys can still use them the old way, but are encouraged to use the new field.

Bugfixes​

• Added a missing CSS class in the admin area that caused the white panes on the settings page to be missing.

Enhancements​

• The settings page has gotten an overhaul.
• Settings are now categorized under tabs to make it easier to find them.
• The UI has been updated to correspond to the Yoast SEO look and feel.
• Settings only appear when they are available. For instance: Settings under 'advanced settings' only show up when multiple locations are used.

Bugfixes​

• Some fields in the Yoast SEO: Local settings were not sanitized properly which could lead to an XSS vulnerability. This was only the case when logged in as Administrator or SEO Manager.
• Fixed a bug that caused the content analysis not to recognize an address block or short code.
• Add default values for settings that caused possible notices.

Other​

• Cleaned up translatable strings by removing unnecessary capitalization.
• Added some missing words in strings on the settings pages.

UX / UI​

• Relabeled payment accepted to payment methods accepted.
• Add description to define the purpose of AreaServed.
• Changed price range to price indication.

Bugs​

• Fixed a bug that caused the switch between 12h and 24h notation not to work correctly.
• Business type help icon wasn't working. It is now.

Other​

• Removed x-robots-tag from locations.kml to prevent a notification in Google Search Console stating that locations.kml can not be indexed.

Enhancements​

• Added explanation to open and closed labels.
• Changed label from default country to primary country to better explain it's purpose.
• Added help texts to business type.

Other​

• Removed company name and logo from Yoast SEO: Local general settings. These can now be found under the Yoast SEO settings.

Enhancements​

• Add inputs for paymentAccepted and currenciesAccepted and output them for Local Businesses in the json+ld schema.

Bugfixes​

• Fixed a bug that caused the route planner not so show up when using the wpseo_map shortcode.

Other​

• Clarified the explanation for the multiple locations setting on the settings page.

Enhancements​

• Use the first opening and last closing time in the JSON+LD schema output.
• Changed the opening hours time format in the JSON+LD output to 24 hours notation.
• Consistent opening hours are now consolidated in the JSON+LD output.