After what feels like years of work, the UUPD 2.0 stable release was released today. On top of this, every plugin I have written that uses UUPD has also been pushed with the stable release baked in. This has been a lot of work.
The new provider-first setup allows UUPD to be more than an updater; it allows companies to deploy using a modified version from day one, fully scoped to them and their companies. I do this for Reallyusefulplugins.com, a single-scoped updater ready for me to use on any project.
Development:
As I have continued to develop UUPD, I have pushed what I do with it and what can be done with it for Version 2.0 i have pushed a new companion class called UUPD-License-UI, this allows me to use it for licensed plugins as well as updates and downloads. Again, class-first so reusable and scopable.
I upgraded UUPD-Server to include licensing by default, a simple WordPress-first plugin for issuing licences and orders, a full REST API, and helper functions for key operations.
I built a whole suite of compatibility plugins so I can continue to use EDD or Hoster on the backend but serve the updates and licence check with UUPD / License-UI. You can see the initial range below; I even got get-paid to work just like EDD.
But this still wasn’t enough for me; ecommerce in WordPress has been disrupted, and FluentCart continues to make waves. I wanted to offer more; I wanted it to be free or insanely cheap for a developer to supply keys to sell them. Licensing is a premium feature in FluentCart, so I built a sales interface that allows you to sell your WP Hoster and UUPD Server licences for free using FluentCart, FluentCart Gateway, and UUPD Server with UUPD and the licence class all FREE, all available and allowing the sale and distribution of plugin updates.
Ambitious
I knew this was ambitious from the start. UUPD was unique; it fixed an itch I thought I was the only one to have: how to use community resources to deploy updates to my users. V1.0 solved this with its unique GitHub CDN updates and simple JSON files, but this moved quickly, and through 1.x, additional support was added, including beta releases.
2.0 was different. I wanted to set everyone free. You can now start selling with almost anything because why not?
I have a working site running FluentForms selling licences using the UUPD server, which I adapted to work for WP Hoster too. You can see this here, and this shows the power of the work I have carried out on UUPD and the investigation into freeing people to sell how they want, when they want, where they want.
With the advent of 2.0, I have UUPD where I wanted it. I’ve taken all feedback and requests and given back whatever I can to the WordPress Community. I hope the community likes it, and I look forward to seeing what people build with it.
