So! JUST realized this morning, that this entire time, I've been building our site with an alpha version instead of the stable release.
I installed the software via Softaculous, got to studio/dashboard, it told me there was a new version available, and being used to the Wordpress dashboard, I thought that meant I was supposed to install it right away! (Completely didn't occur to me that the "A3" meant alpha!) Since I did this RIGHT at the beginning of setting up the site from scratch, there is no backup of a previous version.
😱😂
Our site is about 99% complete, looks GORGEOUS, and is working perfectly. People have already joined and are filling out their profiles. The only weirdness seems to be with emojis - which work in comments, and when creating posts, but display as ? when looking at the site while not logged in, and also reactions don't load, I'm assuming because of the emoji issue, they look like this:
First, I want to say how incredibly impressed I am with how stable UNA is when in frigging Alpha - like, I'm used to the various patchwork of Wordpress plugins (always fully released) that I use to achieve things on the internet being MUCH more buggy than this.
Second, uh, are we okay just continuing to use the alpha version? Like, if it works, it works, and it will only work better in the future, as alpha turns into beta, etc? Right?
Yes, you are right. Out of my own experiences I can strongly recommend to build your site with a stable release, right now the 13.1.0, in case you want to launch it soon
Yes if only I could turn back time I would do exactly that! I updated to A3 two weeks ago right after installation, and it's what I've been building the site with ever since. This morning was when I realized that it was the alpha version instead of the stable version!
The thing is, it's working basically perfectly, even after multiple people have joined and are using it. Since we don't have a backup, I believe the only way to get it running on the stable version is to start over again. Which would suck!
We are pushing hard towards the stable release. Hang in there and tell us more about any specific issues you encounter. We are down to 2 major features approval before release a Beta update (feature-final).
Thank you so much, we will do that! :D