The free version of Yoast SEO updated to version 19.10 and the premium version to 19.5, introducing numerous important changes.
This is what you should know about these releases if you’re considering whether or not to update.
WooCommerce 7.1 Compatibility
Both the free and premium version releases benefit users who run the recently released WooCommerce version 7.1.
WooCommerce 7.1 is a huge release and among the enhancements is a change to the database called, High Performance Order Storage (HPOS).
High Performance Order Storage makes changes to the database so the activation of this new feature is an optional for the time being to allow time for plugin developers to catch up with the new feature.
A WooCommerce explainer noted:
“After the first production release, the HPOS feature will continue to be opt-in and we will assist developers in making their plugins compatible with HPOS, closely monitor how many extensions are compatible and how many stores are actively testing the feature.”
Yoast 19.10/19.5 Premium both feature compatibility with the new WooCommerce HPOS feature. That means if activation of HPOS results in a website crash it’s safe to rule out Yoast SEO as a culprit.
Users of the WooCommerce SEO add-on for Yoast will also benefit from an update to structured data that makes it eligible for new enhancements in search in Google.
Yoast 19.10 Fixes a Fatal Error Bug
The updated Yoast SEO plugin offers a patch for a bug that can result in website crashes.
The Yoast SEO changelog blames the problem on other (unnamed) plugins:
“Fixes a bug where a fatal error would be thrown in the classic editor in combination with certain plugins that misuse metabox hooks.”
An example of a metabox is a custom field that allows users to add additional content that isn’t in the main content.
Fixes Two Elementor-related Bugs
The first Elementor-related bugfix repairs an issue that affected the ability to save Yoast SEO meta data (under certain circumstances), which is a big deal.
The changelog states:
“Fixes a bug where Yoast SEO-related post meta data would not be saved if a user without the manage_options capability would save a post in Elementor.”
Yoast’s second bugfix is related to the previous one in that it arises from the same “manage_options capability” problem.
The changelog explains:
“Fixes a bug where users with site-wide basic access authentication would be prompted to insert their credentials when saving a post in Elementor if they didn’t have the manage_options capability.”
WordPress 6.1 Compatibility and Miscellaneous
Version 19.10 deprecated over a dozen hooks that are used for adding custom content to Yoast SEO settings pages.
Lastly, Yoast SEO offers full compatibility with the just released WordPress 6.1 code-named Misha.
Should You Update to the Latest Version of Yoast SEO?
Some people understandably prefer to wait before updating a plugin in case there’s a major error and that’s not a bad strategy.
Yoast SEO is used by over five million website publishers. The updated plugin was released yesterday and there are no reports in the Yoast SEO support forum that indicates that there are any widespread problems with this update.
In fact, there are currently only random issues that sometimes have more to do with other plugins and themes.
There are no problems that indicate a pattern of issues related to this update.
Considering updating to the latest version of Yoast SEO is a good idea, particularly to those who use WooCommerce or Elementor but not limited to those users.
Yoast SEO 19.10/19.5 Premium are both compatible with the latest version of WordPress so that in itself makes updating a desirable option as well as being a good practice to using the latest version of all plugins and themes since this helps prevent incompatibility issues.
Featured image by Shutterstock/Luis Molinero