=== BuddyX ===
Contributors: wbcomdesigns
Tags: blog, e-commerce, one-column, block-patterns, block-styles, style-variations, editor-style, custom-colors, custom-logo, featured-images, footer-widgets, theme-options
Requires at least: 5.4
Tested up to: 6.9
Requires PHP: 8.0
Stable tag: 5.1.1
License: GNU General Public License v3.0 (or later)
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html
== Description ==
BuddyX is a free WordPress theme that helps you build beautiful, professional websites without writing code or buying a page builder.
Drop in ready-made layouts for your home page, about page, services, pricing, testimonials, FAQs and more - 27 designer-made sections you can mix and match. Edit the words and images in the regular WordPress editor. That's it. No Elementor licence, no Divi subscription, nothing extra to buy.
= What you can build =
* **Business and agency websites** - hero sections, services pages, pricing tables, contact pages, team grids
* **Online communities** - works seamlessly with BuddyPress and BuddyBoss for member profiles, groups, messaging and forums
* **Online stores** - works with WooCommerce out of the box for products, cart, checkout and account pages
* **Online courses** - works with LearnDash, LearnPress, LifterLMS and TutorLMS for course catalogues and lesson pages
* **Blogs and magazines** - five different post layouts for editorial sites
* **Portfolios and one-page sites** - clean typography that puts your work first
= What's included =
* **27 ready-to-use page sections** covering hero, about, services, pricing, testimonials, FAQ, calls-to-action, footers and blog post grids
* **Two beautiful fonts** included with the theme so your site loads fast and stays GDPR-friendly (no Google Fonts cookies)
* **Light and dark colour schemes** - one click to switch the whole site
* **Fully responsive** - looks great on desktop, tablet and mobile
* **Translation-ready** - use it in any language
* **Right-to-left support** - works for Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu and other RTL languages
* **Accessibility-tested** to WCAG 2.1 AA - keyboard friendly, screen-reader friendly, visible focus styles
* **Lightweight** - no bloat, no jQuery dependencies in core, fast page loads
* **Compatible with the WordPress Site Editor** - edit colours, fonts and spacing visually
= Plays nicely with =
WooCommerce, BuddyPress, BuddyBoss Platform, LearnDash, LearnPress, LifterLMS, TutorLMS, bbPress, The Events Calendar, Easy Digital Downloads, SureCart, FluentCart, Dokan, WC Vendors, Yoast SEO, Rank Math, Elementor, Gutenberg, and most other popular WordPress plugins.
= Want even more? =
[BuddyX Pro](https://wbcomdesigns.com/downloads/buddyx-pro/) adds premium starter websites you can import in one click, a drag-and-drop header and footer builder, hundreds of additional customizer options, and dedicated email support.
= Need help? =
* [Documentation](https://docs.wbcomdesigns.com/doc_category/buddyx/) - step-by-step guides
* [Community support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/theme/buddyx/) - free help from the community and our team
* [GitHub](https://github.com/vapvarun/buddyx) - report issues or contribute
== BuddyX Child Theme ==
There are multiple ways you can use a child theme with the BuddyX Theme. Use any of the methods mentioned below to create a child theme or use one of the child themes we have created.
1. Download the child theme from Github - https://github.com/vapvarun/buddyx-child-theme
2. More information on creating a child theme - https://codex.wordpress.org/Child_Themes
== BuddyX License ==
BuddyX is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (or later)
More details here: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html
BuddyX is based on WP Rig https://github.com/wprig/wprig; WP Rig is released under GNU General Public License v3.0 (or later).
== Copyright ==
BuddyX is distributed under the terms of the GNU GPL.
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3.0 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
== Customizations ==
Navigate to Appearance > Customize in your admin panel and customize to taste.
BuddyX bundles the following third-party resources:
Font Awesome Fonts, Copyright Dave Gandy
License: SIL OFL 1.1 License - https://scripts.sil.org/OFL
Source: https://fontawesome.com/
Font Awesome Icons, Copyright Dave Gandy
License: CC BY 4.0 License - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: https://fontawesome.com/
scrollup v2.4.1
Url: http://markgoodyear.com/labs/scrollup/
Copyright (c) Mark Goodyear - @markgdyr - http://markgoodyear.com
License: MIT
jQuery Superfish Menu Plugin - v1.7.10
Copyright (c) 2018 Joel Birch
License: MIT/GPL - https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT
Source: https://github.com/joeldbirch/superfish
Sticky-kit v1.1.3 | MIT | Leaf Corcoran 2015 | http://leafo.net
FitVids 1.1
Copyright 2013, Chris Coyier - http://css-tricks.com + Dave Rupert - http://daverupert.com
Credit to Thierry Koblentz - http://www.alistapart.com/articles/creating-intrinsic-ratios-for-video/
Released under the WTFPL license - http://sam.zoy.org/wtfpl/
Isotope PACKAGED v3.0.6
Licensed GPLv3 for open source use
or Isotope Commercial License for commercial use
https://isotope.metafizzy.co
Copyright 2010-2018 Metafizzy
TGM-Plugin-Activation 2.6.1
Url: http://tgmpluginactivation.com/
Thomas Griffin, Gary Jones, Juliette Reinders Folmer
Copyright (c) 2011, Thomas Griffin
License: GPL-2.0+
Kirki Customizer Framework
License URI: https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT
jQuery Cookie Plugin v1.4.1
https://github.com/carhartl/jquery-cookie
Copyright 2013 Klaus Hartl
Released under the MIT license
== Changelog ==
= 5.1.1 - June 2026 =
* New - WordPress Playground support for instant in-browser demos.
* Improve - Bare buttons use zero-specificity :where() focus and active styles so child themes can override them cleanly.
* Fix - Site Color Mode in the Customizer now updates the live preview instantly when switching Light, Dark, or Auto.
* Fix - Saving Customizer settings no longer auto-imports demo content; demo pages are created only via the "Set up demo site" button.
* Fix - Cart toggle Customizer control now targets a registered section so it renders.
* Fix - Local Google Fonts now apply on the front end after a typography change.
* Fix - Button-styled links in content no longer pick up the prose underline.
* Fix - The active navigation "you are here" cue uses a bottom border instead of a text underline.
* Fix - Removed an unwanted border from block buttons and stray text-decoration from anchors.
* Fix - Refreshed bundled WooCommerce template files that had fallen behind core.
* Fix - Prevented a PHP 8 fatal by making the activity argument optional in buddyx_bp_blogs_activity_content_with_read_more.
* Compat - Dark-mode styling for Better Messages, GamiPress, rtMedia, and BP Verified Member, each loaded only when the plugin is active.
= 5.1.0 - June 2026 =
Customizer framework overhaul, Site Skin design tokens, and native dark mode. All existing customizer settings carry over unchanged - no database migration.
* New - Self-contained Customizer Framework replaces the bundled Kirki dependency: 12 custom controls plus 8 core-dispatched types, extensible via the `buddyx_customizer_field_type_map` filter.
* New - Site Skin design-token system: `--bx-color-*` tokens cover surfaces, brand, links, headings, header, menu, buttons, footer, and copyright, fed by your saved customizer values.
* New - Color mode setting with light, dark, and auto options; auto follows the visitor's OS preference and a head script applies the saved choice before any CSS loads to prevent flashes.
* New - Dark color token set with framework defaults that pass WCAG AA contrast against dark surfaces.
* New - Site Skin section reorganized into 9 visual clusters (Mode & Master, Brand, Header, Surfaces, Text & Links, Headings, Buttons, Footer, Copyright); all setting IDs unchanged.
* New - Site Loader with 5 animation styles and full reduced-motion support; ships off by default and can be enabled under General - Site Loader.
* New - Typography controls expose font-style, text-align, and text-decoration in a redesigned paired layout.
* New - Searchable Google Fonts library picker returns to the typography controls.
* New - `buddyx_customizer_field_args` filter replaces `kirki_field_add_setting_args` for developers customizing field registration.
* Improve - Modernized typography defaults for new installs (Inter body, Newsreader headings); existing customers see no change.
* Improve - Legacy CSS variable aliases (`--color-*`, `--global-*`, `--button-*`) preserved for theme.json and third-party CSS; removal planned for 5.3.0.
* Improve - Dark mode coherence pass across 27 plugin-compat stylesheets including BuddyPress, WooCommerce, LearnDash, LifterLMS, bbPress, Dokan, and The Events Calendar.
* Improve - Sub Header background now ships neutral so it adapts to light and dark mode; set a fixed background via "Customize Background?" in the Sub Header section.
* Fix - Picking the Dark Style preset now renders the site dark by default; the visitor color-mode toggle still flips light when used.
* Fix - Saved typography and background values render in customizer controls again instead of blank inputs.
* Fix - WP color picker restored on customize.php color and background controls.
* Fix - Repeater and sortable controls round-trip JSON array values correctly.
* Fix - Typography saves no longer drop valid sub-values when unrecognized keys are present.
* Fix - Custom Google Font selections from older versions load again, self-hosted when "Load Google Fonts Locally" is enabled.
* Fix - Custom HTML control no longer strips `
` and other section-divider markup.
* Fix - Toggle settings accept 'on', 'yes', 'true', and 'enable' values, closing a data-loss path on `site_custom_colors`, `site_breadcrumbs`, and `buddypress_avatar_style`.
* Fix - Members and Groups directory cards no longer output an empty cover image element when no cover photo is set.
* Fix - Removed a duplicate cart switch from the BuddyPress customizer section.
* Fix - Block palette helper classes now reference `var(--wp--preset--color--*)` so dark-mode palette overrides apply to rendered blocks.
* Security - Removed unused @wordpress/* and React development dependencies and updated build-time tooling.
* Dev - Customizer fields now live under `inc/Customizer_Settings/` with the framework under `inc/Customizer_Framework/`; all Kirki includes, guards, and the TGM-PA Kirki Toolkit recommendation removed.
* Compat - Every existing `theme_mod` key is preserved byte-for-byte; templates and all `get_theme_mod()` call sites are unchanged.
= 5.0.3 =
**Major UI refresh and pattern library overhaul.** This release repositions BuddyX as a general-purpose, editorial-grade WordPress theme with a designer pattern library.
**Breaking changes**
* Removed pattern: `buddyx/hero-main` - pages using this pattern will lose the section. Replace with `buddyx/hero-typography-led`, `hero-split-screen`, or `hero-image-led`.
* Removed pattern: `buddyx/hero-two` - replace with `hero-split-screen`.
* Removed pattern: `buddyx/hero-count` - replace with `social-proof-stats`.
* Removed pattern: `buddyx/general-banner` - replace with `cta-fullbleed` or restyled `general-banner-light`.
* Removed pattern: `buddyx/general-features-light` - replaced by `features-alternating`.
* Removed pattern: `buddyx/footer-default` - replaced by restyled `footer-default-mega`.
* Pattern category taxonomy renamed: `buddyx-general` removed; new categories `buddyx-hero`, `buddyx-about`, `buddyx-features`, `buddyx-social-proof`, `buddyx-pricing-faq`, `buddyx-cta`, `buddyx-footer`, `buddyx-query`.
**New - Pattern library (27 plug-and-play patterns, all WCAG AA verified)**
* Hero: `hero-typography-led`, `hero-split-screen`, `hero-image-led`.
* About: `about-story`, `about-founder`, `team-grid`.
* Features: `features-alternating`, `services-grid`, `steps`, `cta-fullbleed`.
* Social proof: `social-proof-stats`, `social-proof-testimonials`, `social-proof-logos`.
* Pricing & FAQ: `general-pricing` (3-tier), `general-faq` (editorial accordion).
* CTA: `general-banner-light` (asymmetric), `cta-newsletter`.
* Footer: `footer-default-mega`, `footer-mega`, `footer-central`, `footer-simple`, `footer-small`.
* Query (posts): `query-cover-featured`, `query-cover-grid`, `query-grid-excerpt`, `query-listbig`, `query-simple-list`.
**New - Design system foundation**
* Self-hosted **Inter** (4 weights) and **Newsreader** (3 weights) via theme.json `fontFamilies`. ~140 KB total, latin subset, woff2-only. No external font API calls.
* Fluid 8-step type scale using `clamp()` (x-small → mega).
* 10-step named spacing scale (`10`–`100`, ~8 px–160 px).
* Semantic color tokens: `base`/`base-2`/`base-3`, `contrast`/`contrast-2`/`contrast-3`, `accent`/`accent-2`/`accent-3`, `surface-1`/`surface-2`/`surface-3`. WCAG AA verified `accent` (#D83734) and `accent-2` (#3A7882) on `base`.
* 5 curated gradients (`subtle-base`, `warm-glow`, `cool-mist`, `accent-bold`, `dark-velvet`) and 2 duotones.
* 7 block style variations: button (`outline-accent`, `link-arrow`), separator (`gradient`, `dotted`), group (`card`, `bordered`), quote (`editorial`).
* Style variations: **Dark** (full palette flip) and **Editorial** (Newsreader-led typography).
**New - Accessibility (P0)**
* Visible keyboard focus rings via universal `:focus-visible` (2 px brand outline, offset 2 px) - WCAG 2.4.7 compliant. Mouse clicks remain ringless.
* Converted 6 `:focus { outline: none }` rules to `:focus:not(:focus-visible)` so keyboard users always see focus.
* Added missing `alt` attributes on 7 images (post-title-position previews, BuddyPress cover images, blog activity thumbnails).
* Added `