YAK 2.1.1 has just been released. Some fairly comprehensive changes have gone into this version. On the stability/security side of things, YAK now uses WP’s SQL “prepare” facility (this is to stop things like SQL injection attacks). From a bug fix perspective, you’ll notice the product edit form (when editing a post) is now draggable (thanks to a contributor), and promo price calculation had a bug in some environments which should now be resolved.

In terms of new features, I’ve added public key encryption for storage of CC details. With the recent news about WordPress blogs hacked on a shared host (http://blogcastfm.com/announcements/warning-massive-number-of-godaddy-wordpress-blogs-hacked-this-weekend/), and various comments about many people on shared web hosts who don’t secure their WP config files properly, it seems prudent to provide the facility for more security for users of the manual CC payment feature. YAK settings are now split into 4 separate screens (General, Shipping, Sales Tax, Advanced) — on the Advanced tab you’ll find a button for generating a public/private key. The public key can be used for encrypting CC numbers, and the private key for decrypting. I’ll be adding some more detail to the FAQ at some point soon.

I’ve also added the facility to require a login for certain products, added more values to the third-party-integration event, and also incrementing item quantity (rather than displaying an error message) when the customer clicks on the buy button for an item which is already in the cart (configurable, of course). The biggest feature addition is the first version of sales tax calculations. This works in a vaguely similar way to shipping (except without the zones), but also provides for federal and state based taxes for the US. If your country has a similar requirement (state versus federal taxes), let me know, and hopefully I can fit that into a subsequent release.

Just a minor bug fix release this time. Sorting the following issues:

• fix an incompatibility problem with Contact Form 7.
• fix a problem with Google Analytics tag ()

YAK 1.7.4 includes a fairly major change, to do with the storage of options. This is significant enough to post a health warning on the box (so to speak): Before upgrading, make sure you backup your database. At the very least, note down any major settings (PayPal, Authorize.net config, etc), just in case.

This release fixes a major problem in WordPress MU, and also a minor issue with the sidebar widget. Which reminds me, I really must update the Handbook to include details on using the Widget. If you’ve purchased the handbook in the past, expect a copy in the (e)mail in the next day or 3…

…try, try again.

Release 1.7.1 managed to introduce a couple of bugs — my automated tests didn’t quite provide the safety net I was hoping for, in this case. Hence, versions 1.7.2 and 1.7.3 include the following fixes:

* fix a problem with PayPal IPN
* fix a problem with Accounts Receivable payment
* fix a problem with (manual) Credit Card payment
* reduce memory usage
* add instant update of pricing promotions in the first page of the cart (after hitting update)

Note: I’ve had one report of weird issues when upgrading. It doesn’t seem to break anything, but please let me know if you do have problems, because I’m yet to identify exactly what the cause might be.

YAK version 1.7.1 has just been released. This release (and the previous 1.7.0) includes the following changes:

• Fixing a problem with Authorize.net url
• Add checkbox for Authorize.net test mode
• Separate PayPal Pro return url (from Standard)
• Refactor payment types into separate classes to allow for easier extensibility
• Minor change to ipaddress sent to PayPal (only affects internal testing)
• Add ‘demo’ payment gateway
• Fix promo date saving problem
• Fix promo price calculation (causing problems in PayPal)
• Automatically create the Checkout page on activation
• Automatically create the “products” and “default” categories on activation
• Fix (hopefully) an odd error_log problem in certain environments

Enjoy!

YAK version 1.6 has just been released. There are mainly minor changes (a custom out-of-stock message, removing the link back to the project page, and minor restructure), apart from one fairly major enhancement — to support WordPress MU.

At the moment, I’d say this feature is “beta” quality. The full YAK test suite runs without problem, but I haven’t really spent a huge amount of time checking that there are no issues between multiple blogs. More testing is definitely recommended for anyone who decides to enable this on an MU install…

Is there a market for a hosted version of YAK? Configured for you, with PayPal standard as a base, products loaded (perhaps from Excel or something else) out of the box?

A few years ago, back when the project was a lot less mature, I had one tentative query along those lines. But I wasn’t in a position back then to do anything about it. I am now, but I wonder is there a market for it? After all, every “man-and-his-dog” has a hosted shopping cart solution — and some are a lot more comprehensive than YAK is, even now.

Gut feeling says, probably no, but perhaps worth asking the question…?

Double-posting here and on the WP site.

I’m finding I have little time to work on YAK lately, for anything other than for bug fixes. There are a bunch of features I’d like to add, but unfortunately no time to work on them.

If you’re interested in helping out, and/or have features you want to add yourself — get in touch.

Version 1.3.3 of YAK-for-WordPress has been released. See the changelog for more information, but changes since version 1.2.4 include:

• fix table charset/collation so table creation is consistent with WordPress
• add Swedish translation provided by Marco
• add Polish translation provided by Marciej
• fix more PayPal shipping issues
• new facility to add product types from the Products screen and when editing a post
• fix a problem with zero-total orders still being submitted to the payments gateway
• if the customer is logged into WordPress, record the user_id against the order (for future changes)
• add the facility to choose the type of order number: either generated (randomised) or plain sequence (linked to the order record).
• change [yak_quantity] and [yak_price] tags so that they also take params (product type and product id), for example: [yak_quantity large 25]
• fix a problem with single-quotes (‘) in addresses

I’ve also added a bunch of Selenium tests to automate the testing process, and hopefully eliminate any bugs that creep in when relying on manual tests.

Trackback pointed out a somewhat less than complementary review of YAK.

I think the reviewer probably has a valid point in regard to user-friendliness, but otherwise hasn’t appeared to put a huge amount of thought into his review. In fact, it was negative enough that I feel the need to post a rebuttal both here and in a comment on his post. I don’t mind constructive criticism (as I said, I tend to agree on the user-friendliness front), but I’m less than impressed with criticism that’s based on a fundamental lack of research.

Here’s my comment (hopefully it doesn’t come across as too defensive…):

A question for you: did you happen to scroll down the YAK project page (here: http://www.briggs.net.nz/log/projects/yak-for-wordpress/)?

In the distant past, I was one of the editors of a (printed) technical journal in the US. Generally if we were reviewing a product, we’d contact the company in advance for review copies (giving them the opportunity to provide additional information if they wanted). In this case, and for any future reviews you decide to write, I believe you’d be better served contacting the developer (or developers) and give them that same opportunity. It is perhaps a better form of journalism not to rubbish a project or product without actually doing a little research in advance…