Avada Team Makes Roadmap Announcement

For a long time, I have been critical of the Avada team for not making a public roadmap. While it lacks much detail, the team posted a new roadmap article providing insight into the next major release, Avada version 8, and it is very good news. The primary focus of the next version is code refactoring making Avada more efficient, adopting better CSS standards (BEM), and more.

Adopting the block – No more shortcodes

The most significant change in version 8 is the departure of the shortcode pattern and the adoption of the block. I knew that this would have to take place if they wanted to stay relevant, and they did not disappoint. Like Bricks, but probably better, this means that Gutenberg blocks will work in Avada content, and Avada blocks will work in Gutenberg. This should greatly improve performance.

Version 7.11.3

Also mentioned in the article is a soon-to-be-released 7.11.3. This notice provides no detail, and since it is not 7.12, I suspect the update will fix bugs and possibly enhance a couple of items. Still, given the amount of work that needs to be done moving from shortcodes to blocks, I would not expect any major additions or enhancements.

Back on the map

In a market filled with new builders and themes that, quite frankly, have made builders like Avada, Divi, and others seem like dinosaurs, the version 8 release could put Avada back on the map for many. I have always liked how easy Avada makes it to do complex things for the unskilled website owner, but in recent articles have been critical of its shortcomings for advanced developers. I am unsure if this will remove all the hurdles, but this roadmap gives me hope.