PMPro v3.4 Released: Major Code Improvements and Refactors for Future Growth

The official release of Paid Memberships Pro v3.4 is here.

This update builds on the foundation of previous versions by introducing enhanced localization, advanced reporting tools, membership management improvements, and important refactors that pave the way for v3.5 and and beyond.

Keep reading to learn the new features and specific improvements in PMPro v3.4, how to update safely, and what’s coming next for the PMPro platform.

What’s New in PMPro v3.4?

Improved Localization Support

Paid Memberships Pro and our Add Ons will now pull translations from translate.strangerstudios.com.

Leaving WordPress.org meant we had to find a replacement for the former .org-based approach to translations. We launched our own GlotPress server, allowing for easier updates and community contributions.

Over the next few weeks, we will begin an outreach campaign to our community members and email list subscribers to onboard translators. If you would like to contribute translations through this platform, please join the #translate channel in the PMPro Slack Community.

We have already incorporated AI-powered translation tools to automatically fill in untranslated strings across core PMPro and our Add Ons. While AI-generated translations may not always be perfect, they significantly improve accessibility for our global users by providing an initial translation. This also reduces the workload for our translation contributors, giving them a solid starting point to refine and improve accuracy.

Membership Account Enhancements

PMPro v3.4 introduces a new Membership Account Message setting, allowing site owners to display level-specific messages to members. This is a huge step forward in helping you share member benefits or link to content specific to each level.

The Membership Account page also supports additional custom content through a new filter: pmpro_membership_account_after_level_card_content.

We plan to use this hook to give specific Add Ons a way to plug additional content into each level card on the account page.

Advanced Reporting and Data Tables

The Sales and Revenue reports now support filtering by multiple membership levels and discount codes. We’ve also added support to set a custom date range selection to this report.

For both the Membership Stats and the Sales and Revenue reports, we are now showing the raw data tables under the chart view. While this data was always available to download as a CSV report, this table view makes the data easier to analyze directly in your membership site.

Subscription and Payment Gateway Improvements

PMPro now sets the profile start date at checkout. Previously, you could only modify the profile start date after creating the first order.

We are actively updating our Add Ons to use the new v3.4+ compatible method, with a safe fallback for sites running a prior release.

PMPro v3.4 also increases the subscription transaction ID database column to support 64 characters—a necessary update for a new gateway integration in the works.

Code Refactors and Developer Improvements

Refactoring is an important part of ensuring PMPro remains stable, scalable, and easy to extend. In v3.4, we have restructured several internal functions, improving performance and laying the groundwork for future updates.

Key Refactors:

• More Structured Email Template System: Email template variables now display only the relevant variables for each template, reducing confusion and improving customization.
• Better User Field Management: To make fields easier to manage and format, we improved how the admin and frontend handle this user data. This is a step toward more robust custom fields and improvements coming to our Member Directory and Profiles Add On soon.
• Codebase Cleanup: Rewrote several internal functions for better maintainability, performance, and reduced technical debt.

These updates directly support our vision for v3.5 and v4.0, enabling us to introduce even more powerful features in the near future.

Deprecated Payment Gateways

We have deprecated PayFlow, PayPal Standard, and Braintree.

If you were already using one of these gateways, you may continue to do so. However, we are no longer maintaining the integration and expect things to break eventually. Refer to our documentation on deprecating payment gateways for more information about this decision.

Database Upgrade in PMPro v3.4

When you update to v3.4, a single database update will run. This does not modify any data in your membership site.

Rather, the database update will run the pmpro_db_delta() function to ensure the subscription_transaction_id column of the pmpro_subscriptions table supports up to 64 characters.

How to Update to PMPro v3.4

You can update to PMPro v3.4 directly from the Dashboard > Updates screen in the WordPress admin or download the latest version here.

Before Updating:

1. Backup Your Site: Always create a full backup before making major updates.
2. Check Custom Code and Add Ons: If you have customizations or third-party integrations, test on a staging site first.
3. Review the Full Changelog: See the detailed list of changes below.

This release continues our commitment to building the most flexible and powerful open source membership platform. Thanks for being part of the PMPro community—we can’t wait to see what you build next.

PMPro v3.4 Full Changelog

• FEATURE: Now pulling localization files from https://translate.strangerstudios.com.
• FEATURE: Added a new Membership Account Message level setting to show a level-specific message to members on the Membership Account page.
• ENHANCEMENT: Email template variables shown when editing an email template will now be specific to the email template being edited.
• ENHANCEMENT: Now allowing filtering the Sales and Revenue report by multiple levels and discount codes.
• ENHANCEMENT: Now allowing custom date ranges for the Sales and Revenue report.
• ENHANCEMENT: Now showing the raw Sales and Revenue report data in a table under the chart.
• ENHANCEMENT: Now showing the raw Membership Stats report data in a table under the chart.
• ENHANCEMENT: Improved the display of user field values.
• ENHANCEMENT: Improved the accessibility of the Memberships > Add Ons page.
• ENHANCEMENT: Now localizing formatted dates in the PMPro_Subscription class.
• ENHANCEMENT: Now supporting setting a profile_start_date directly on a checkout level.
• ENHANCEMENT: Added a new function pmpro_get_membership_levels_for_user_in_group().
• ENHANCEMENT: Now supporting subscription transaction IDs up to 64 characters.
• ENHANCEMENT: Added a new filter pmpro_membership_account_after_level_card_content to allow additional content to be added to level cards on the Membership Account page.
• BUG FIX/ENHANCEMENT: Now pulling the discount code from the checkout level object at checkout instead of the globals which may not be set.
• BUG FIX: Fixed an issue where the system failed to highlight required user fields when submitted empty.
• BUG FIX: Fixed an issue where the “Signups vs. Cancellations” and “Signups vs. Expirations” reports would not display.
• BUG FIX: Fixed an issue where the last day of each month for daily Memberships reports would show 0 signups.
• BUG FIX: Fixed an issue where reset password errors would not be handled correctly.
• BUG FIX: Fixed an issue where the “Activate” button may not show immediately after installing an Add On on the Memberships > Add Ons page.
• BUG FIX: Fixed an issue where courses would not be assigned correctly when users have multiple membership levels while using the LifterLMS streamline option.
• BUG FIX: Fixed a PHP fatal error if pmpro_getAddons() fails to retrieve the list of Add Ons.
• BUG FIX: Fixed an issue where notifications may be incorrectly shown when a callback does not exist.
• BUG FIX: Fixed a PHP 5.6 fatal error in the admin activity email class.
• BUG FIX: Fixed a styling issue when there are multiple paragraphs in a contextual message.
• BUG FIX: Fixed a styling issue where there may be a gap when Turnstile is enabled but not visible.
• BUG FIX: Fixed an incorrect path when loading the paid-memberships-pro text domain.
• BUG FIX: Fixed a PHP warning when loading the checkout page template without the preheader (e.g., when loading the checkout block in the editor).
• BUG FIX: Fixed a potential PHP warning when building plugin action links.
• BUG FIX: Fixed a potential PHP error when attempting to display a subscription that does not exist in the Subscriptions table.
• BUG FIX: Corrected the refund policy on the license page to reflect recent changes.
• REFACTOR: Created an abstract PMPro_Email_Template class and child classes for each email template.
• REFACTOR: Cleaned up user fields code throughout the plugin.
• REFACTOR: Removed potentially problematic caching from the pmpro_getLevelAtCheckout() function and began passing the checkout level to all relevant hooks instead.
• DEPRECATED: Marking PayFlow, PayPal Standard, and Braintree as deprecated. Websites that are already using these gateways can continue using them, but they will not be shown as an option on new websites.
• DEPRECATED: Removed references to PayPal from the Membership Billing page which has not been supported for some time.