Today marks the start of our Feature Spotlight series in which we will be detailing some of the Module Shop Module features in more depth.

The series aims to help provide additional module information, ideas and ways to use the module features that may not be obvious at first.

We hope this series is useful either in using your existing subscription, or helps to inform you if deciding on signing up for the Module Club. Feedback is always welcome so head to the comments area towards the end of the article and let us know if you have a request or feedback on the series.

To start the series off we are going to take a look at a core module feature:

Automatic Module Updates

WHMCS Module Shop Automatic Updates

Automatic updates allow you to upgrade the WHMCS Module Shop Modules direct from your admin area!

The aim of this feature is to remove the hassle of visiting the client area, downloading the latest update, uploading it to your site and then triggering the update by visiting the modules page.

The WHMCS Module Shop Module is updated frequently, this can be for new features or to address any reported bugs, we want to ensure you get the updates fast without the need for it to be a burden.

Let's first explain how the update is made available, and how your site will process the updates.

We have bundled the update logic into the modules licensing system. So when your site calls back to the Module Shop with its license to validate its usage, we not only send back the valid license information, but also what the latest version of the module is.

The latest version information is stored as part of your license data, so should you choose not to perform the update right away, the module will still know its available and remind you when your on the modules admin homepage.

When an update is available, two things will happen:

  1. An UPDATES AVAILABLE label will be placed in the license information panel to inform you
  2. A modal will appear asking you to upgrade after a few seconds

WHMCS Module Shop - Automatic Updates Modal

You can choose to postpone if your busy, or click the update button to perform the update.

When your perform the update the module will take a backup of the existing module files, download the new version, extract it and remove the old version. If at any stage this fails the existing backup will be restored.

The modules help guide details these steps in more detail, and should this process change the help will also be updated, which is the subject of a future Feature Spotlight.

Once the update is complete the page will reload and you will now have access to any new features, and any bug fixes addressed in the latest release.

When reloaded you get to see the latest changelog which you can use to review any of the changes made:

WHMCS Module Shop - Automatic Updates Changelog

This is just 1 source for the changelog information, you can also view it by hitting the modules help button:

WHMCS Module Shop - Help Changelog

Or alternatively we also make a copy of the changelog available on the site here: https://whmcsmoduleshop.com/changelog

And thats it! You now have the latest module installed, all with the click of button.

Update Frequency

The module will perform its license check (and in turn its version check) every 10 days. However for ultimate flexibility you can choose to change this to any value between 1 and 30.

All you need to do is open the module settings and choose a setting which best reflects how often you want to perform updates (if available).

WHMCS Module Shop - Automatic Updates Frequency

Why Are Updates Important

Module updates and in general software updates are important for various reasons.

There are two technical reasons you should aim to keep your site and its modules up to date.

Firstly for security updates, security is of paramount importance, should an update contain vulnerability preventions its advisable these get implemented quickly to protect your site.

Secondly the updates may contain bug fixes, it might not be obvious there are bugs present (or it could be very obvious). Making sure your using the latest update gives you the confidence to submit a bug report or ticket in the knowledge this hasn't yet been addressed.

And then less important but still a really good reason to stay up to date is new features and additional help content.

There may be a feature you feel isn't documented well enough for you to have the confidence to use, a module update may contain this vital information and give you everything you need to start using that feature with confidence.

We aim to provide new features and modules on an ongoing basis. Staying up to date means you can gain access to those new modules quickly. This may be a new module, or a new feature you've been missing in an existing module.

All new features along with bug fixes are detailed in the changelog. We try to keep this brief so its not a chore finding out whats changed and whats now available, but it is an important document to gain the knowledge of whats now possible.

Forcing An Update Check

You may follow us on Twitter, Facebook or be subscribed to our Newsletter. We post our updates on these channels too. You may see we have released an update, but its not yet appeared in your admin area (because your between checks in your check frequency).

If you don't want to wait for the update check to happen you can force an update check to take place.

Simply click to manage the license, hit the update update button and go back to the module admin homepage. Now you have forced a license/update check the new version will be made available to you, and after a few seconds the normal update modal will appear.

In Review

Automatic updates are a vital, and sometimes exciting part of using the WHMCS Module Shop Modules. We hope the information above gives you everything you need to know about updates. And as always if you feel anything is missing or need more information just let us know, either using our social channels, the comments section below, or by getting in touch.

See you soon.

Created At: 20/11/2019