Aeon News updates
What’s new, clearly explained.
Follow new capabilities, refinements and resolved issues across the Aeon News platform and add-ons. Each note explains the practical impact, availability and any next step for an existing newsroom.
These are customer-facing release notes. Sensitive implementation details are intentionally kept out; relevant operating guidance links directly to the public documentation.
Highlights
A guide and a kit for building high impact adsAgencies and their coding agents get a guide to every format, a starter kit with a simulator, a role of their own and preview links, so a campaign can be built and delivered without a single test ad on the live site.
Statistics the advertiser can open, and reports by e-mailEvery advertiser gets one page with all of its ads, charts and figures, and a report by e-mail every week or month. A group can also show several ads side by side.
Aeon Ad Manager: the platform's own ad systemAds, groups, placements, bookings and statistics now run in the platform itself. No third-party ad plugin is needed, and the figures belong to the newspaper.Product
Type
October 2026
A guide and a kit for building high impact adsAgencies and their coding agents get a guide to every format, a starter kit with a simulator, a role of their own and preview links, so a campaign can be built and delivered without a single test ad on the live site.
- NewA guide to every format. How the topscroll, midscroll, skin, reel and display look and behave, what to deliver for each, and how an HTML5 creative talks to the page. Two files hold it all, written to be handed to a coding agent.
- NewA starter kit. Templates for the five formats, a simulator that runs the sites' own ad script and logs every message, and a checker with the same rules and error messages as the site.
- NewPreview links. A link shows an ad on a real page of the site for seven days, even as a draft. Nothing is counted, and a click only shows where it would have gone.
- NewA role for agencies. An agency account reaches the ads and nothing else in WordPress: it can upload, preview, book and follow up, but not change the site's settings or add ads with their own code.
- NewAnimated skins and reels. A skin can now be HTML5, with the sides fixed and a band that scrolls away, and a reel can play as one animated story.
- FixedPhone images and interstitials. The phone image of a topscroll is now shown, a midscroll can have one too, and an interstitial is drawn over the page as it should be.
- Why it matters
- High impact formats sell when they are easy to produce. With the guide and the kit, any agency, or its coding agent, can build them right the first time and deliver straight into the newspaper's own system.
- For existing customers
- Ad Manager 0.9.0 is live on Nya Dagbladet and the demo site. Agency users are added under Users with the role Ad agency.
- Recommended action
- Nothing to do. Give an agency an account when you want it to deliver directly.
Read more in the documentationBuilding high impact formatsAd Manager REST APIStatistics the advertiser can open, and reports by e-mailEvery advertiser gets one page with all of its ads, charts and figures, and a report by e-mail every week or month. A group can also show several ads side by side.
- NewA page per advertiser. All of the advertiser's ads on one page: impressions, clicks, click rate and the share seen on screen against the previous period, charts per day and each ad's share, with a page of its own for every ad. No login, and a link can be replaced at any time.
- ImprovedThe page per ad, rebuilt. The same address as before, now with the ad itself, its period, the key figures, charts, where it was shown and figures to download as CSV. 7, 30 or 90 days, 12 months or the whole period, on a phone too.
- NewReports by e-mail. Weekly on Monday mornings or monthly on the 1st, to up to ten addresses, with a link to the statistics page. A period without impressions sends nothing.
- NewSeveral ads side by side. A group can show a grid of ads, such as a row of partners, with different ads on every page view and each one counted on its own.
- NewThe next ad after a while. When switched on for a placement, another ad from the group takes over after 30 seconds or more in view. Formats and Google ads are never changed this way.
- Why it matters
- An advertiser who can see what the ad delivered, without asking, renews more easily. The figures come straight from the newspaper's own system.
- For existing customers
- Live on Nya Dagbladet and the demo site with Ad Manager 0.8.0. Links and reports are set up per advertiser under Ads → Advertisers.
- Recommended action
- Nothing to do. Reports are only sent once you add recipients.
Read more in the documentationAeon Ad ManagerAeon Ad Manager: the platform's own ad systemAds, groups, placements, bookings and statistics now run in the platform itself. No third-party ad plugin is needed, and the figures belong to the newspaper.
- NewEvery kind of ad. Images, HTML, HTML5 packages, Google Ad Manager and AdSense tags, and the platform's formats: topscroll, midscroll, skin, reel, sticky and interstitial. Each ad can have a period and be limited to computers, tablets or phones.
- NewGroups that show their shares. Each placement shows a group of ads that take turns by weight, shown as a share of the impressions. Bookings with their own priority go on top in the planner: sponsorship, standard, house ad or backfill.
- NewA page per ad. Impressions and clicks per day against the previous period, where the ad was shown, its groups and every version with its own figures. Advertiser and dates can be changed in the same place.
- NewReports and a link for the advertiser. Impressions, viewability and clicks per ad, advertiser and placement for up to twelve months, with CSV export. Each ad has a public statistics page to send to the advertiser. A dashboard box shows the last seven days.
- NewRules for where ads are never shown. Turn ads off by page type, category, topic, article age or the reader's role, or in a single article from the editor. Pages without ads leave no empty space.
- ImprovedClicks on HTML ads. Ads that link out from their own frame are counted too, once per page view.
- Why it matters
- Advertising is a large part of a newspaper's income. With the ad system in the platform, delivery, consent, caching and statistics work together, and nothing depends on an outside licence.
- For existing customers
- Live on Nya Dagbladet since 30 October 2026, with the history of the current ads brought over from Advanced Ads. Other sites move one at a time, planned with each publisher.
- Recommended action
- Nothing to do. We contact each publisher before their site moves.
Read more in the documentationAeon Ad ManagerAdvertising and nativeHeader and footer code in the theme, and widget areas that say where they areTracking and verification code now has a home in Theme Settings. Widget areas have clear names in every site language, and boxes in articles look like the rest of the article.
- NewHeader and footer code. Theme Settings has three code fields: in the page head, at the top of the page and at the end of the page. The code is printed only on the public site, and only administrators can change it. It replaces a separate code plugin.
- ImprovedWidget areas with clear names. Every area follows Page · Zone · Position, for example Article · Right column · Ads, with a note on where it shows and the ad size. The names follow the site language, including Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish.
- FixedBoxes in articles. A box with its own background colour, and the Box style, now has even spacing, rounded corners, a compact heading and bullets in the accent colour, in light and dark mode.
- FixedLines around in-article ads. An ad in the article text has a thin line above and below and room around it, in light and dark mode.
- NewTicker on sponsored articles. The news ticker can be hidden on sponsored articles only. Nothing changes until a site turns it off.
- FixedTopic arrows. The arrow after an article topic lines up with the text, whatever the typeface.
- Why it matters
- Fewer plugins and clearer names make each site easier to run. The same goes for articles: when every box follows one design, the page reads as one piece.
- For existing customers
- Live on all sites with Theme 4.26.1. Header and footer code from the earlier plugin has been moved into the theme where it was used.
- Recommended action
- Nothing to do.
Read more in the documentationGlobal theme optionsAeon Ad ManagerDark mode that reaches every corner of the articleEmbedded X posts can follow dark mode, boxes with their own colour stay readable, and a new Box style goes dark with the page.
- NewDark X posts. Switch on Embedded posts from X under Dark Mode, and embedded tweets turn dark when the site does, and back again when the reader switches.
- NewThe Box block style. A Group block style that is light grey in light mode and dark grey in dark mode, for fact boxes that should follow the page.
- FixedColoured blocks stay readable. A block with its own background keeps its light look in dark mode instead of white text on a light colour. Stackable cards, tabs and block buttons are fixed too.
- FixedA proper comment form. Labels above the fields, full-width fields and a readable button, in light and dark mode.
- FixedAir above Most read. In the article view, the right-hand column no longer touches the header.
- Why it matters
- Many readers choose dark mode in the evening. Embeds and boxes were where it broke; now the whole article holds together.
- For existing customers
- Live on all sites with Theme 4.25.4. Dark X posts are off by default and switched on per site.
Read more in the documentationTypography, colour and dark modePrivacy and web analyticsUndo a republish, and give guest writers a proper signatureA republished article can be taken back to its first publication, and guest writers and texts from other publications are credited cleanly.
- NewUndo republishing. One link in the Republish box gives the article back its original date and removes the archive label and the Updated line.
- NewSignature box for guest writers. Regular guests can sign with photo, name and title, without an e-mail address, and their biography follows as a short footnote.
- NewCreative Commons licences. Choose CC BY, CC BY-SA or CC BY-ND for a text first published elsewhere, and the credit line links to both the original and the licence.
- Why it matters
- Republishing should be easy to reverse, and borrowed texts must never look exclusive. Both are now part of the editor's normal tools.
- For existing customers
- Live on all sites with Theme 4.25.1. Existing writers keep their signature until you change it.
Read more in the documentationRepublishingWriters and bylinesA wide page template for guides, reviews and campaignsPages built from blocks, such as comparisons, guides and campaign pages with tables, cards and tabs, can now use the full width of the site instead of the narrow text column.
- NewWide page. Choose the template under Page attributes. Content uses the container width, up to 1,170 pixels, with the same typography as other pages.
- NewTables that read well. Tables get row rules, a header row in the publication's colour, light striping and a dark-mode version.
- FixedNothing cut off, no broken words. Blocks with a negative top margin from earlier themes are no longer clipped, and tables on phones no longer split words mid-letter.
- Why it matters
- Service journalism and commercial pages often need more room than an article. They can now be built in the editor without a custom template.
- For existing customers
- Available now in Theme 4.21 on all sites. Existing pages are unchanged until you choose the new template.
Read more in the documentationPages and templatesReady for new newspapers and new languagesA new Aeon News site now works from the first day without manual setup, and the reader-facing texts are available in Norwegian alongside Swedish, Finnish and English.
- NewNorwegian Bokmål. Bylines, dates, sharing, search, comments and the news cycle are translated, and add-ons follow. Short dates use the local form, such as 12.10. in Norwegian.
- NewA complete start. Article topics, front-page placements and the search page are set up automatically on a new site, in the site's language.
- FixedSafe defaults. A site whose settings have never been saved shows articles and the consent banner correctly, with translated default texts.
- Why it matters
- Launching a newspaper on the platform is faster and less dependent on technical setup, and the frontend speaks the readers' language.
- For existing customers
- Included in Theme 4.20 and 4.21. Existing sites are not changed by the setup steps, which only run where something is missing.
Read more in the documentationLanguages and new sitesAeon News Poster: social sharing built into the platformOur own sharing tool publishes articles to X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, Telegram and Bluesky, and replaces paid third-party posters.
- NewSeven networks, one queue. Share automatically on publication or per article, with your own text, delay and schedule. Every share leaves a receipt with a link to the live post.
- NewBuilt not to double-post. Each share is claimed once. If a network does not answer clearly, the share waits for an editor's decision instead of being sent again.
- NewSafe outside production. Copies of a site, such as staging or a local test, never send anything. Shares there end as dry runs.
- Why it matters
- Social distribution stays inside the newsroom's own system, with no subscription per site and no tokens owned by a third party.
- For existing customers
- Installed on the first newspaper in October 2026, where channels are now being connected. Facebook, Instagram and Threads connect through Aeon Media's own app; X, Telegram and Bluesky can be connected directly.
- Recommended action
- Contact us before switching from another sharing plugin. We plan the move per network so no article is shared twice.
Read more in the documentationAeon News PosterWide galleries in the text and a signature box after the articlePhoto galleries inside an article can be shown wider than the text on desktop, and a new byline choice places the signature box only after the text.
- NewLarge galleries. Galleries in the text use the same wide canvas as large images, but never more than they were designed for. Choose per site, per article or per gallery.
- NewSignature after the text. A drop cap and a clean opening, with the familiar signature box, e-mail and arrow at the end of the article.
- Why it matters
- Reportage and travel pieces get room for their pictures, and editors no longer need the column template to get a drop cap.
- For existing customers
- Available in Theme 4.20. The wide gallery is the default; the text width can be chosen per article.
Read more in the documentationVideo and galleriesWriters and bylinesSharper dark mode and calmer phone layoutsA round of fixes from a review of every new view in light and dark mode, on phones, tablets and desktop.
- FixedDark mode contrast. Category labels, genre colours, metadata and light surfaces now have readable dark versions on every site.
- FixedPhone spacing. Section headings, page titles, block quotes and the space below the lead image no longer sit tight against their neighbours.
- FixedPagination and tables. Page 1 and the last page number stay visible on phones, and table words are no longer split.
- Why it matters
- Most readers arrive on a phone, many in dark mode. Small layout faults there are what readers notice first.
- For existing customers
- Applied on all sites with Theme 4.18.3 to 4.21.2. No action needed.
Read more in the documentationAppearance and Dark ModeAeon Cache: a complete performance suite in the platformThe theme now includes what newspapers used to buy a cache plugin for: page cache, preloading, browser caching, compression, database cleanup and delayed scripts.
- NewPage cache where the host has none. On hosting without its own page cache, the theme stores finished pages for anonymous readers and refreshes them automatically when articles, menus or settings change. On Kinsta, Kinsta's cache is used as before.
- NewDatabase cleanup. Shows what would be removed before anything is removed: old revisions, auto-drafts, expired temporary data and spam comments. Weekly cleanup can be switched on per site.
- NewEvery feature visible. An overview shows each optimisation and whether the theme, the host or another plugin handles it, so nothing is done twice.
- Why it matters
- One licence fewer per site, and caching that understands newspaper pages: logged-in readers, paywalls and polls are never served a page meant for someone else.
- For existing customers
- Included in Theme 4.19. On Kinsta the page cache stays with Kinsta; everything new is off until you switch it on.
Read more in the documentationPerformance and cacheThe everyday plugins are now part of the platformFunctions newspapers used separate plugins for are built into the theme, with the same behaviour on every site.
- NewMissed schedules. A scheduled article that WordPress failed to publish is published automatically if it is at most 24 hours late. Older ones are listed for an editor instead.
- NewE-mail protection. Addresses in articles, fact boxes, widgets and menus are encoded against harvesting, while readers see them as usual.
- ImprovedTrash kept for 90 days. Deleted articles stay in the trash for 90 days by default, and the period can be changed per site.
- Why it matters
- Fewer plugins means fewer updates, fewer conflicts and fewer places where something can stop working.
- For existing customers
- Included in Theme 4.18. Each function steps aside while the old plugin is still active, so the switch can be made at any time.
Read more in the documentationPlatform housekeepingTranslation and publishing workflows understand the new platformOur automated workflows, which translate articles between newspapers and prepare articles for publication, now set writers, genres and primary topics exactly as an editor would.
- ImprovedWriters and genres. Translated articles are credited to the right writer in the register, or a guest writer is created, and get the correct genre.
- ImprovedDraft first, then verify. Every article is created as a draft and read back. Only a verified draft is published; anything uncertain stays a draft for an editor.
- Why it matters
- A newspaper can publish a second language edition or a steady flow of prepared articles without manual copying, and with the same quality checks as its own work.
- For existing customers
- Running for two newspapers today. Available as a service on request.
Read more in the documentationTranslation and publishing workflowsGalleries and lead images load fasterPhoto galleries load only the pictures a reader is about to see, and the most important image on each page is fetched first.
- ImprovedLazy galleries. The first two pictures of a gallery load at once; the rest load as the reader browses. A heavy gallery article went from 6.2 MB to 1.6 MB.
- ImprovedThe right image first. Front pages and lists give the lead image priority and correct sizes, and the logo is never delayed.
- NewGalleries for agents. Galleries can be read and adjusted through the editorial API, including thumbnails, navigation and visibility per device.
- Why it matters
- Faster pages keep readers and improve how search engines rate the site.
- For existing customers
- Applied on all sites. Existing galleries were updated with an undo option.
Read more in the documentationVideo and galleriesEditorial API for agentsA writer register for staff, columnists and guestsEvery person who writes for the newspaper, with or without a WordPress account, now has one profile: name, title, roles, portrait, biography and a public writer page.
- NewSearch, don't scroll. Pick writers from a searchable list in the article, staff first, and add a guest writer without leaving the editor. Several writers keep their order.
- NewWriter pages. Each writer gets a page with portrait, roles and articles, split into news and opinion. Writers who have left can be marked inactive and keep their archive without being promoted.
- NewOld bylines connected. Hand-written signatures in older articles were matched to the register and hidden where the platform now prints the byline, with an undo log.
- Why it matters
- Readers see who stands behind each text, and editors no longer create user accounts for guest writers.
- For existing customers
- In use on all sites since Theme 4.17. Each site's register was built from its own archive and reviewed before import.
Read more in the documentationWriters and bylinesGenres and a dedicated opinion sectionWhat kind of text an article is, from news and analysis to editorial, column, debate, reply, letter and review, is now a choice of its own, separate from the section it belongs to.
- NewGenre on every article. Readers see the genre as a label, and guest columns and guest analyses are marked automatically from the writer register.
- NewOne opinion page. Editorials, columnists, debate, letters, comment and analysis are gathered on one page, with genre pages in the same style.
- ImprovedPresentation follows genre. Each genre suggests a byline presentation and drop cap, which editors can change per article.
- Why it matters
- A clear line between news and opinion is a core part of trust, and the archive was given genres retroactively.
- For existing customers
- In use on all sites. The archive was assigned genres from earlier categories and markings.
Read more in the documentationOpinion formatsA search page built for a newspaper archiveOne search page replaces WordPress's default search, with relevance ranking, filters and results that show section, date and writer.
- NewBetter ranking. Headlines and whole words weigh more than a passing mention, and exact phrases can be searched with quotation marks.
- NewFilters. Narrow by section, writer and date, and sort by relevance, newest or oldest. Each search has its own address that can be shared.
- ImprovedOnly public writers. The writer filter lists writers from the register, never internal accounts.
- Why it matters
- Readers find older journalism again, which keeps the archive working for the newspaper.
- For existing customers
- Live on all sites. Old search links are redirected to the new page.
Read more in the documentationSearch and archivesRepublish archive articles, with their history intactAn older article can be lifted back onto the front page, now or at a scheduled time, while the reader and search engines still see when it was first published.
- NewOne box, every channel. Choose front page, Latest news, social media, push and a new short video in one step, now or later.
- NewOriginal sources. Texts first published elsewhere can name the source and date, and decide which address search engines treat as the original.
- Why it matters
- Strong journalism gets a second life without misleading dates, and syndicated texts are credited correctly.
- For existing customers
- Available on all sites. Agents can schedule and cancel republishing through the API.
Read more in the documentationRepublishing and original sourcesEverything an editor sets can now be set by an agent, safelyThe editorial API covers the fields of the article editor, so AI agents and automation can publish exactly as editors do, while private data is better protected.
- NewFull editorial fields. Primary topics, SEO texts, headline style, image layout, fact box, summaries, genre and writers can be read and written with the same checks as in the editor.
- FixedPrivate stays private. Internal notes, user lists and account names are no longer exposed to anonymous visitors.
- Why it matters
- Automation can do more of the routine work without shortcuts that bypass editorial rules.
- For existing customers
- Live on all sites. Authorised integrations keep working unchanged.
Read more in the documentationEditorial API for agentsFront-end performance handled by the themeThe theme now does the front-end optimisation a cache plugin used to do, tuned for newspaper pages.
- NewClick-to-play YouTube. A light preview replaces the player until the reader clicks, and respects the reader's consent choices.
- ImprovedLighter pages. Lazy images and embeds, prefetching of likely next pages, a smaller icon font and self-hosted fonts.
- ImprovedSEO data in one place. Older SEO descriptions were copied into Rank Math where it had none, so articles keep their search snippets.
- Why it matters
- Pages are as fast as before with one paid plugin fewer, and each optimisation can be switched off on its own.
- For existing customers
- Live on all sites. If another optimisation plugin is active, the theme leaves its features to it.
Read more in the documentationPerformance and cacheA tidier article editor and database updates you can reviewThe article editor is reorganised around two boxes, and changes to stored data are shown, backed up and reversible before they run.
- NewArticle and Front page & layout. Text-related fields sit under the article; placement, headline style and image layout sit together in the sidebar. Topics and categories are searchable.
- NewPreview, run, undo. Every data change shows exactly what will change, logs the old values and can be undone, from the admin screen or the command line.
- ImprovedFields in code. The editor's fields are part of the platform instead of settings in each database, so every site has the same editor.
- Why it matters
- Editors work faster in a calmer screen, and platform upgrades no longer depend on trust that nothing goes wrong.
- For existing customers
- In use on all sites. Database updates were reviewed and run site by site.
Read more in the documentationArticle editorDatabase updatesMost read now means the last 7 and 30 daysPopular Posts ranks articles over rolling periods instead of calendar weeks and months, so the list is never empty on a Monday or the first of the month.
- ImprovedRolling periods. Views are kept per day, and the list sums the last 7 or 30 days in the site's time zone. Lifetime totals were kept.
- NewOlder articles, your call. Choose whether an older article that suddenly gains readers may appear, and set a maximum age if you prefer.
- FixedNo empty box. On a new or quiet site with nothing ranked yet, the widget is hidden instead of showing an empty heading.
- Why it matters
- The list reflects what readers actually follow right now.
- For existing customers
- Available in Popular Posts 1.1 and later. The update converts existing data on first load; a backup beforehand is recommended.
Read more in the documentationPopular PostsPolls and quizzes keep working on cached pagesVotes and quiz answers no longer fail on pages that have been cached for a long time, and the add-ons load nothing on pages that don't use them.
- FixedVotes always count. A poll or quiz on a long-cached page fetches a fresh security token before sending and retries once if it has expired.
- ImprovedLighter pages. Empty sitewide styles and scripts are no longer loaded.
- NewNorwegian. The add-ons' interface is available in Norwegian Bokmål.
- Why it matters
- Reader engagement works even when the page is served from a cache, which is most of the time.
- For existing customers
- Included in Add-ons 1.13.5 and later. Uninstalling now keeps your polls and quizzes unless you choose to delete them.
Read more in the documentationArticle and weekly polls
September 2026
Fundraising campaigns with honest progressNewspapers that rely on reader support can run campaigns with goals, milestones and a call to action in articles.
- NewCampaigns. Set a goal and milestones, and show progress in four styles as a widget, block, shortcode or in chosen articles.
- NewOnly verified amounts. An amount that has not been confirmed is shown neutrally and never as zero.
- ImprovedFits the newspaper. Campaign cards use the publication's colours, respect reduced motion and never sit beside the lead image.
- Why it matters
- Reader revenue campaigns can run on the site itself, with figures readers can trust.
- For existing customers
- Available in Add-ons 1.13 and later.
News threads follow the news instead of fixed slotsFront-page news threads now move with their newest article and are ranked by how much, how widely and how recently a story is covered.
- ImprovedIn the flow. A thread sits where its newest article would be, rather than in a reserved position.
- NewEditor control. Pin a thread to a topic, force an article into a thread or make it the lead, and see why an article was left out.
- Why it matters
- Developing stories stay together on the front page without pushing out the rest of the news.
- For existing customers
- Live on all sites that use news threads.
Read more in the documentationFront-page news threadsProofreading handles long articles and tells you what happenedLong articles are checked in steps that can resume, and each run says clearly whether it was complete, partial or failed.
- ImprovedLong texts in steps. A long feature is split into parts and checked piece by piece, without losing the work already done.
- ImprovedSuggestions land in the right place. Each suggestion is applied only to the paragraph or field it belongs to, keeps formatting and can be undone.
- FixedSafer credentials. The AI service's key is sent in a protected header and never stored where every page loads it.
- Why it matters
- Editors can rely on the result, also for the longest texts.
- For existing customers
- Available in Proofreading 1.0.49 and later.
Read more in the documentationProofreadingInteractive embeds now behave more reliably in articlesThe latest platform refinement improves responsive interactive embeds and keeps polls and quizzes separate from the article image viewer.
- ImprovedResponsive interactive content. Supported embedded experiences adapt more consistently to the reading column and their own content height across screen sizes.
- FixedPolls and quizzes stay interactive. Interactive cards are no longer treated as ordinary article images when readers use the image lightbox.
- FixedSafer editing. The Classic Editor preserves supported self-contained embeds when an article is opened and saved again.
- Why it matters
- Newsrooms can use richer article formats with fewer layout surprises for readers and less corrective work after publication.
- For existing customers
- Available in Theme 4.14 and later.
Read more in the documentationVideo and interactive mediaQuiz guideFront-page news threads give developing stories a living structureAeon News can group related front-page articles into a compact news package based on their primary topic while preserving the publication's editorial hierarchy.
- NewAutomatic story packages. A lead article and compact follow-ups bring continuing coverage together under a clear topic heading.
- NewCoverage returns when news develops. Publishing a new related article can move an active thread back into a prominent position.
- ImprovedEditorial overrides. Newsrooms can choose automatic, always-on or disabled behaviour per topic and exclude individual articles when needed.
- Why it matters
- Readers see the latest development together with its context, while editors avoid repeating several near-identical cards across the front page.
- For existing customers
- Available in Theme 4.13 for publishers using primary topics and the main front-page news column.
- Recommended action
- Review topic naming and ownership before enabling automatic grouping on a production front page.
Read more in the documentationFront-page news threadsTopics and story threadsMore dependable quiz editing and result settingsA focused Add-ons correction makes quiz questions and result configurations save more reliably during editorial work.
- FixedReliable question updates. Changes to quiz questions are retained consistently when editors revise an existing quiz.
- FixedStable result configuration. Result texts and related presentation settings can be updated without losing the intended structure.
- Why it matters
- Interactive publishing should be predictable for the editor before it becomes engaging for the reader.
- For existing customers
- The correction is verified in the active Add-ons line. The final public version label is being reconciled across the release documentation.
- Recommended action
- Ask Aeon Media Group to confirm the correct package before updating an existing installation.
Read more in the documentationQuiz guide
August 2026
Reader Polls gain a safer assisted editorial workflowThe Reader Poll workflow now supports controlled creation, preview, activation and expiry while filtering out malformed AI-generated answer suggestions.
- NewControlled assisted authoring. Approved editorial and agent-supported workflows can prepare a poll as a draft without publishing it immediately.
- ImprovedPreview before activation. Editors can inspect the question and answers, then explicitly activate the poll and set an expiry when appropriate.
- FixedCleaner generated answers. Suggestions written as questions instead of answer choices are rejected and regenerated before editorial review.
- Why it matters
- AI can reduce routine work without taking publication control away from the newsroom or putting an unfinished question in front of readers.
- For existing customers
- Available as optional Add-ons 1.11.5. Agent-supported setup remains a consultation-led service.
- Recommended action
- Agree activation, expiry and review responsibility before connecting an assisted workflow.
Read more in the documentationReader Polls guideComments and engagementProofreading now follows the editor's current draftAeon News Proofreading can analyse the text currently visible in the editor, including unsaved article and selected custom-field changes, before anything is published.
- NewCurrent-draft analysis. The review includes the active Classic or block-editor state and supported editorial fields instead of relying only on the last saved revision.
- ImprovedSafer suggestions. Structured responses and segment validation reject suggestions that cannot be tied safely to the material that was reviewed.
- FixedStable review controls. The progress indicator no longer moves the proofreading button label or its search icon while a review is running.
- Why it matters
- Editors can run a meaningful final check at the moment it matters, with less risk of applying a correction to the wrong field or an outdated version of the story.
- For existing customers
- Available in Proofreading 1.0.47. The add-on remains optional and requires a configured AI provider.
- Recommended action
- Update the add-on, confirm the selected provider and model, and test the fields used by your newsroom on staging.
Read more in the documentationProofreading guideA safer AI moderation queue for reader commentsThe standalone WordPress add-on supports native comments and wpDiscuz, sending a moderation provider only stripped comment text with the article title or a short excerpt — never names, email addresses, IP addresses, or browser identifiers.
- NewAssisted moderation queue. Clearly safe comments can move forward faster while uncertain material remains available for a moderator to decide.
- ImprovedPrivacy and human control. Original comments are preserved, provider failures stay in review and authorised moderators can use a private Swedish translation when needed.
- Why it matters
- Only comments classified as safe with confidence of at least 90% can move forward automatically. Uncertain cases, provider failures, and malformed responses stay in the human review queue; no comment is automatically deleted or discarded, and the original is preserved. Authorised moderators can also use a private Swedish translation when helpful, never shown publicly.
- For existing customers
- Available as an optional standalone WordPress add-on. Implementation is configured around your comment system, moderation policy, provider privacy requirements, and hCaptcha setup.
Steadier continuous reading and revenue surfacesContinuous article reading is more dependable, with ad placements that remain reliable as readers move through loaded articles.
- ImprovedSmoother article sequences. Standard and full-width stories keep their intended presentation as the reader continues into related coverage.
- FixedMore dependable commercial surfaces. Collapsed placements, repeated article modules and responsive sidebars retain more predictable spacing and behaviour.
- Why it matters
- Longer reading sessions should feel more seamless for readers while preserving dependable inventory for the commercial side of the newsroom.
- For existing customers
- Available in the active Theme 4.10.1 release series. Existing publishers can plan the update with their normal release window.
- Recommended action
- Test continuous reading, advertising conditions, dark mode and publication-specific sidebars on staging before rollout.
Read more in the documentationContinuous reading guideMore considered AI reader pollsEditor-led AI reader polls now respect the site language, generate more reliably, offer more balanced response choices and recover results robustly on cached pages.
- ImprovedMore reliable poll suggestions. The generator follows a stricter response shape, honours the publication language and returns clearer errors when a provider is delayed.
- NewFinnish reader interface. Reader-facing poll strings are available for Finnish publications alongside the existing language support.
- FixedStable voting on cached pages. Confirmed votes and results recover more reliably when the surrounding article page is served from cache.
- Why it matters
- Reader questions can stay useful and on-brand without adding avoidable work or uncertainty to the editorial day.
- For existing customers
- Available as optional Add-ons 1.11.3. Existing customers should update to benefit from the stronger generation and result handling.
- Recommended action
- Review the configured language and AI provider on staging, then test one article poll and one standalone poll.
Read more in the documentationPolls and quiz guide
July 2026
More ways to surface the work behind the headlineThe 4.10 series brings advanced archive search, renewed author profiles and archives, a Latest News Wire, a more flexible ticker, design presets, a Draft Previewer role and stronger localisation.
- NewRicher discovery. Archive search, author profiles, the Latest News Wire and News Cycle give readers more routes into the publication's reporting.
- ImprovedEditorial presentation controls. Design presets, ticker choices and broader localisation make the platform easier to adapt without losing its newspaper structure.
- Why it matters
- Readers can find more of your reporting and understand who made it, while editors get clearer tools for presenting a living news product.
- For existing customers
- Available in the 4.10 series. Review the new editorial presentation options before enabling them in production.
More control around reading, privacy and editorial contextTheme 4.10 adds optional privacy consent and Matomo opt-in, an editorial image lightbox and built-in sticky widgets.
- NewEditorial image lightbox. Readers can inspect article images with captions, credits, navigation and keyboard support kept in the publishing context.
- NewOptional privacy controls. Publications can choose a consent profile that fits their analytics policy instead of receiving a forced default.
- FixedSticky modules across viewports. Theme-owned sticky widgets handle long stacks, container boundaries and tablet layouts more consistently.
- Why it matters
- Publishers can make consent choices clearer while giving readers richer context and keeping key editorial modules in reach.
- For existing customers
- Available in Theme 4.10. Privacy consent is optional; assess it against your own privacy setup before activation.
A clearer view of what readers are followingPopular Posts 1.0.20 improves trending and ranked presentation, with popularity insights prepared for editorial agent workflows.
- ImprovedClearer ranked presentation. Rank numbers, article indicators, thumbnails and editorial typography form a more readable popular-stories rail.
- FixedLong headlines and dark mode. Multi-line and italic headline variants remain legible without clipping, including on dark publication themes.
- Why it matters
- Editors can present momentum more clearly and bring useful readership signals into future editorial routines.
- For existing customers
- Available now. Update Popular Posts to 1.0.20 to use the improved presentation and insights.
A clearer WordPress workflow for article-to-video publishingAeon Reels connects the article editor to the Reels production service so a newsroom can create a vertical video automatically on publish or trigger one manually from an existing story.
- NewPer-article controls. Editors can choose whether a reel should be created, select configured destinations and override the default voice when a story needs a different treatment.
- ImprovedVisible production status. The editor shows the current job state, recent activity and the completed video link without forcing the newsroom into a separate production interface.
- Why it matters
- Short-form video can become part of the normal publishing routine instead of a separate manual production chain.
- For existing customers
- Aeon Reels is a live product. Destination availability depends on the publisher agreement, connected accounts and current platform APIs.
- Recommended action
- Contact Aeon Media Group before enabling new destinations or changing automation defaults.
Read more in the documentationReels Creator guideMove complete stories between language editionsThe Translate and Migrate add-on transfers the article, featured media, selected editorial metadata and mapped publishing context to another WordPress publication while translating the material.
- NewComplete article transfer. Titles, article copy, excerpts, media and supported editorial fields can move as one controlled publishing task.
- ImprovedContext-aware language workflow. Editors can use an AI-assisted translation route or a traditional translation provider and define publication-specific instructions and mappings.
- Why it matters
- A multilingual publisher can reuse reporting without rebuilding every article, image and taxonomy assignment by hand.
- For existing customers
- Available as an optional integration for publications with a defined source and destination WordPress setup.
- Recommended action
- Category, author, topic and language mappings must be reviewed before production migration.
Read more in the documentationTranslate and migrate guide
March 2026
A curated vertical video and YouTube Shorts sliderEditors can assemble a vertical video slider from manual selections, selected channels or curated sources, with deferred video loading for a lighter page experience.
- NewCurated video sources. Editors can save, reorder and remove selected vertical videos instead of depending only on an automatic channel feed.
- ImprovedLighter playback. Video players load only after a reader chooses to play, while responsive scroll controls keep the carousel usable on touch and desktop.
- Why it matters
- It gives video a deliberate editorial home instead of making the front page depend on an unfiltered feed.
- For existing customers
- Available as an optional add-on. It can be configured around the channels and editorial selection process you already use.
News Cycle: the day’s news in chronological orderNews Cycle gives readers a chronological overview of the publishing day, making fast-moving coverage easier to follow.
- NewChronological news view. A dedicated daily timeline presents published stories in order and gives developing coverage a stable destination.
- ImprovedReturn visits with context. Readers can re-enter the news day without reconstructing the sequence from the front page alone.
- Why it matters
- A clear timeline helps readers return to a developing story without losing the day’s editorial sequence.
- For existing customers
- Available now in Theme 4.6 and later. Existing customers can add News Cycle where a chronological overview suits their coverage.
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