UW Theme release v2.13.0

Accessibility updates

Accessibility scanning identified unintended empty links in the “Cards with images and linked headings” pattern. We removed those links to improve accessibility without changing the visible linked headings.

Fixed apostrophes in footer

Apostrophes entered in footer content in Theme Settings now display correctly on published pages instead of appearing as backslashes.

HTML removed from excerpts on archive pages

The WordPress block editor does not currently support HTML formatting in excerpts. On archive pages, such as category or tag pages, HTML added to an excerpt could appear as visible raw tags, such as <em>Important</em> instead of Important.

UW Theme 2.13.0 now strips HTML from excerpts on archive pages to match the block editor behavior.

WordPress Core has an open issue to support HTML formatting in excerpts. If this functionality is important to you, you can follow or contribute to the discussion on GitHub.

Block updates and fixes

• Fixed an issue where UW Single Link could create empty link tags.
• Fixed images not centering correctly in UW Tabs.
• Fixed uneven spacing below the UW Quote block when using the Block Quote style.
• The hidden block notice now appears only on Group blocks that still use the old visibility setting.

Enable Site Actions dashboard by default

The Site Actions dashboard is now enabled by default for sites not hosted in the WiscWeb WordPress Service so that they receive important notices about theme issues and deprecations that require action.

The Refresh actions button also now appears even when there are no current actions, so you can manually check your site for new issues at any time.

Update HTTP references in theme markup

Several HTTP references in theme markup, including the University of Wisconsin–Madison link in the global header, now use HTTPS where appropriate.

WordPress 7.1 responsive styling

In preparation for WordPress 7.1, we’ve disabled its new responsive styling controls in UW Theme 2.0 for now. These controls allow editors to apply different block styles for tablet and mobile screen sizes.

While this is a useful feature, we’re waiting to enable it until the editing experience is clearer about when responsive styles are active and which screen size you’re editing. We’ll continue to follow improvements in WordPress Core and revisit enabling the feature in a future release.

We’ve also shared UX feedback with WordPress Core to help improve the feature.

Migration plugin updates

• Added support for migrating UW Theme Lite sites to UW Theme 2.0.
• Updated migrated in-page Group of Links to remove the arrow style, making anchor links easier to distinguish from links to other pages.