After months of dedicated development, we're thrilled to announce the release of RAXO Related Articles 3.0. This isn't just an update; it's a complete, ground-up rebuild of our popular module, redesigned to be the fastest, most reliable, and most compatible tool for boosting reader engagement on your Joomla site.
Here’s a look at what makes this major upgrade so special.
Our primary goal with RAXO modules has always been rock-solid stability, ensuring they perform flawlessly on thousands of websites and hundreds of thousands of pages. With v3.00, you might only notice cosmetic changes at first glance, as the module's powerful feature set is already mature.
But don't let that fool you. "Under the hood," this is a complete architectural rebuild. We've poured months of work into a massive refactoring focused on four key pillars: modernization, security, performance, and long-term compatibility. This massive undertaking ensures the module is ready for the future of Joomla.
Here is the list of the most significant changes:
1. Future-Proof Compatibility: Native Joomla 6/5 & PHP 8.4 Ready
This is the cornerstone of the 3.0 release. The module has been completely rewritten to be fully native to Joomla 5, and the brand-new Joomla 6. It leverages the very latest Joomla APIs, ensuring perfect performance, stability, and deep integration with the modern Joomla core.
Alongside this, the entire codebase is modernized for the latest PHP standards. The module is fully compatible with PHP 8.2 and 8.3, and we've already tested it successfully on the modern PHP 8.4. This guarantees rock-solid security, top performance, and long-term compatibility for years to come.
2. Modern Image Handling with NEW powerful Image library
We’ve switched to the powerful, industry-leading Spatie Image library to handle all image processing. This is a massive leap forward. It means better and faster image optimization, seamless resizing and manipulation (like cropping or fitting), and reliable support for all modern image formats, including AVIF and WebP. Your related article thumbnails will load faster and look sharper than ever.
3. A Faster, More Efficient Content Engine
We've completely overhauled the core logic responsible for finding related articles. The database queries are now significantly more efficient and optimized. We've paired this with full support for the advanced caching mechanisms built into modern Joomla.
The result is a powerful one-two punch: related articles are found smarter and faster, and the results are then intelligently cached. For your visitors, this means relevant articles appear almost instantly. For your server, it means a dramatically reduced load, even on high-traffic sites.
4. Revamped Layouts & Modern Design
We've completely redesigned all built-in module layouts. They now feature a more consistent, professional look and feel with improved spacing and typography. We also paid special attention to their responsive behavior, ensuring your related articles look perfect on any device, from a wide desktop to a small smartphone.
We've also updated and expanded our universal color schemes. All layouts now use consistent color palettes and are fully compatible with Dark Mode, offering a seamless user experience on both light and dark-themed websites. To complete the modern look, we've also switched to using crisp, scalable SVG icons throughout the layouts.
5. A Smarter, Safer Installer & New Requirements
We know that upgrading can be stressful. That's why we've built a new, intelligent installer. The upgrade process is now safer and more reliable than ever. It automatically detects old module versions (even from the Joomla 3 era!), correctly migrates all your settings to the new format, and cleans up obsolete files.
To make all these improvements possible—from the powerful image library to modern PHP 8.x support—the new module version requires Joomla 4.3+ and PHP 8.2+. This new baseline allows us to use modern coding practices and abandon outdated code. We've added robust checks to ensure these minimum requirements are met, eliminating potential errors after installation and guaranteeing a faster, more secure module. Our goal is to make your transition to v3.00 as smooth and painless as possible.
Quick Fix Releases:
RAXO Related Articles v3.03 Changelog:
Date: 11 November 2025
- New localization's of the module for Spanish, French, and Polish have been added;
- Duplicate requests for author data have been removed if they are already known;
- Small database query optimization: retrieve article fulltext only when necessary;
- Fixed: module now shows the correct list of articles related by author.
RAXO Related Articles v3.02 Changelog:
Date: 31 October 2025
- Fixed: Tags specified in the 'Ignore Tags' list are now processed correctly;
RAXO Related Articles v3.01 Changelog:
Date: 30 October 2025
- Fixed: Unified and strict casting for parameters and data, with stricter type checking;
- Skips module rendering when the current article or category is not identified;
- Сombining per-article data loading (tags, keywords, authors and category) into a single, lazy caching method;
- Refactoring database queries when getting data and searching for similar articles by tags.
