5.4.1 2026-05-30

Changed — Quickstart bundle (axxen-quickstart-J5.4.6-30.05.2026.zip)

• Joomla: 5.4.6 (current stable release as of 26 May 2026).
• VirtueMart: 4.6.8 Pro (Revision 11258, March 12 2026).
• Axxen template: 5.4.1 (this release).
• Bundle ships with all 5.4.0 J5-native modernization in place — Bootstrap 5.3.8, Swiper 11 slideshow, vanilla-JS menu, modern social-network set, security helpers.

Changed — standalone template package (pkg_axxen-5.4.1.zip)

• Axxen template: 5.4.1.
• No code changes vs 5.4.0 inside the template tree itself — all 5.4.0 J5-native modernization work (Bootstrap 5.3.8, Swiper 11 slideshow, vanilla-JS menu, modern social-network set, security helpers) remains in place. This release is a rebuild against current VirtueMart + a version bump so the released package reflects ongoing maintenance activity.
• The standalone template installs cleanly on top of any Joomla 5 + VirtueMart 4.x site; for the cleanest maxdebug experience, run against VirtueMart 4.6.8 Pro (or newer).

Notes

• Server PHP version when this release was prepared: PHP 8.3.31 on green's ea-php83 handler.

5.4.0 2026-05-28

Added

Joomla 5 native API

• Full Joomla 5 namespace compliance across template files, overrides, and helper utilities — every Joomla\CMS\* class accessed through its namespaced form (Factory, Text, HTMLHelper, Uri, Route, ComponentHelper).
• templateDetails.xml updated to declare J5 compatibility (<extension version="5.0" ...> with method="upgrade") so existing Axxen customers can update in place without uninstall-first.

Bootstrap 5.3.8 native rendering

• Template now loads Joomla 5’s bundled /media/vendor/bootstrap/css/bootstrap.min.css directly. The three legacy BS2 stylesheets that previously loaded from templates/axxen/css/ (bootstrap.min.css v2.3.2, bootstrap-responsive.min.css, bootstrap-extended.css) are no longer enqueued.
• css/axxen-fixups.css ships as the final cascade layer to harden VirtueMart 4 + Joomla 5 admin classes that have no BS2 equivalent (VM product-grid <ul> bullet resets, VM tab-module BS3-markup bridge, .vmdebug suppression, menu-vanilla parent-arrow indicators, native currency-selector chrome).

Modern slideshow — Swiper 11

• Custom legacy Camera.js plugin replaced with Swiper 11.
• templateDetails.xml keeps the existing cam_* template-parameter set (pagination, navigation, autoplay timings) so site-builder muscle memory is preserved; Swiper is configured from those same params at render time.
• Slide markup migrated from .camera_wrap / .camerasrc / .camera_caption to .swiper / .swiper-wrapper / .swiper-slide.
• Slideshow container id="ph-camera-slideshow" preserved so any external CSS targeting that ID continues to work; new classes .swiper.ph-swiper-slideshow are what the new Swiper config targets.

Vanilla JavaScript menu

• New js/menu-vanilla.js — self-contained IIFE replacement for the legacy superfish.js + supersubs.js + inline jQuery menu handlers.
• WeakMap-backed 500 ms mouse-out delay preserves the original menu-hover feel without any jQuery dependency.
• Parent-arrow indicators and submenu width handling moved to pure CSS in axxen-fixups.css (replaces what supersubs.js calculated dynamically).

CSS-driven background images

• jquery.backstretch removed. Section backgrounds (.panel1 side-panel, hero areas) now use CSS background-image + background-size: cover + background-position: center — the standard modern technique that ships with no JS payload at all.

Native currency selector

• jquery.dropkick removed. The VirtueMart currency selector now renders as a styled native <select> element. Custom chrome (border, padding, custom SVG dropdown arrow, Axxen teal focus ring #29becc) lives in axxen-fixups.css so the visual integration with the rest of the template is preserved.

Modern social network support

• Seven new social services added to the Community Links section: Bluesky, Threads, Mastodon, TikTok, Pinterest, Discord, Instagram.
• X (the Twitter rebrand) replaces the legacy Twitter icon; per-link icon file x.png ships with the template.
• All new fields are surfaced in the template-options panel with show/hide toggles and URL entry, defaulting to #TYPE-URL-HERE so site builders see a clear placeholder rather than a broken link.
• Three locations in index.php updated in lockstep (outer multi-line OR chain that gates the entire Community Links container, inner single-line OR chain that sets the $socials flag, and the <ul id="social-links"> rendered list) so a single missing show-toggle can no longer leave an orphan <li> in the rendered markup.

Security helpers

• New escape and validation helpers added to index.php:
  • phEsc() — HTML attribute escaping for href, src, alt, title, and Swiper caption output.
  • phHexColor() — color parameter validation (^#?[0-9a-fA-F]{3}([0-9a-fA-F]{3})?$) with fallback to #000000 on bad input.
  • phCssDim() — dimension parameter validation accepting px / em / rem / % / vh / vw / pt / ex / ch / cm / mm / in.
• Active .htaccess at the template root replacing the historical htaccess.txt placeholder, with a <FilesMatch> 403 rule for backup-extension patterns (.bak, .bak-*, pre-*, .orig, .old, .swp, .swo, .tmp, ~).

Documentation

• CHANGELOG.md and CHANGELOG.html ship inside the template tree.

Changed

J3 → J5 API migration

• Every deprecated J* static class call migrated to its namespaced equivalent: JFactory → Factory, JText → Text, JHtml → HTMLHelper, JUri → Uri, JRoute → Route, JComponentHelper → ComponentHelper, etc.
• JDocumentHTML::countModules() → $this->countModules() (J3 helper static deprecated in J6).
• JModuleHelper::getModules() → \Joomla\CMS\Helper\ModuleHelper::getModules().
• new JRegistry() → new \Joomla\Registry\Registry().

Template-override architectural updates for Joomla 5 dispatcher

• html/mod_login/default.php — added $type = $type ?? 'login'; fallback at the top of the file. Joomla 5 split mod_login into two separate template files (default.php for login state, default_logout.php for logout state) and the dispatcher no longer passes $type to default.php. The legacy Axxen override carried an if ($type == 'logout') branch from the pre-Joomla-5 era when both states lived in one file; the fallback silences the resulting Undefined variable $type warning while preserving that branch as a safety net.
• html/mod_breadcrumbs/default.php — added $moduleclass_sfx = $moduleclass_sfx ?? ''; fallback after defined('_JEXEC') or die;. Sibling pattern to the mod_login $type fix — Joomla 5’s mod_breadcrumbs dispatcher no longer passes $moduleclass_sfx to override templates that previously relied on it. (This finding has been recorded in Cybersalt’s J5-modernization skill as a reusable check for any future legacy template that overrides mod_breadcrumbs.)

VirtueMart 4 template overrides modernized for BS5

• html/com_virtuemart/cart/default_pricelist.php — legacy <?php defined ('_JEXEC') or die('Restricted access'); ?> opener rewritten to a modern multi-line PHP header with use Joomla\CMS\Router\Route; / use Joomla\CMS\Language\Text; / use Joomla\CMS\HTML\HTMLHelper;, and every JText::_() / JRoute::_() / JHtml::_() call migrated to the corresponding namespaced helper. BS2 hidden-phone utility classes converted to BS5 d-none d-md-table-cell.

Fixed

• PayPal plugin plgVmDisplayLogin() fatal under VM4 + J5 namespace migration: dropped the legacy VmView type hint on plugins/vmpayment/paypal/paypal.php line 285 (argument is passed as \VirtueMart\VmView in the namespaced runtime). Same fix shipped in the Avant 5.4.0 release for the same upstream issue.

Removed

• Bootstrap 2.3.2 stylesheet block from index.php (3 legacy <link> lines).
• jQuery 1.8.1 and the jquery.noConflict.js shim — Joomla 5’s bundled jQuery slim build is loaded on demand by VirtueMart 4; the template itself has no jQuery dependency.
• Camera.js slideshow vendor block — replaced by Swiper 11.
• Superfish + Supersubs menu plugins — replaced by menu-vanilla.js.
• jquery.backstretch — replaced by CSS background-size: cover.
• jquery.dropkick — replaced by native <select> with custom CSS chrome.
• Five retired social services: Google+, StumbleUpon, Digg, Blogger, and the legacy plain-Twitter slot (replaced by X). Associated icon files and language constants removed.

Security

• Active .htaccess at the template root blocks direct HTTP access to common backup-file extensions, protecting against accidental exposure of .bak / .orig / editor-swap-file content created during template customization.

Built against (VirtueMart + Joomla baseline)

• Joomla CMS: 5.4.6 (current as of release date)
• VirtueMart core: 4.6.4
• VirtueMart AIO: 4.6.4
• VirtueMart TcPdf Library: 6.8.2
• Akeeba Backup Core for Joomla: 10.3.3
• Weblinks Extension Package: 5.1.0
• Bootstrap (CSS): 5.3.8 (Joomla 5 bundled)
• PHP: 8.3.x verified (compatible with 8.2 / 8.3 / 8.4)

Package format

• Standalone template: pkg_axxen-5.4.0.zip — Joomla package wrapper that installs the tpl_axxen template extension and registers it under the package manager. <blockChildUninstall>true</blockChildUninstall> prevents customers from removing the template directly via the Extensions Manager (must uninstall the package instead).
• No Quickstart bundle: Axxen 5.4.0 ships standalone only. Customers install over an existing Joomla 5 + VirtueMart 4 site.

Creation of dynamic property VirtueMartControllerCart::$address_type is deprecated
in components/com_virtuemart/controllers/cart.php on line 87

• Upgraded - Now compatible Joomla 5
• Upgraded - Now compatible Virtuemart 4.4.4
• Fixed - Minor bugs

• Fixed - Minor bugs with cart

• Upgraded - Now compatible Joomla 5
• Upgraded - Now compatible VirtueMart 4.2.12
• Fixed - Minor bugs

• Updated - Compatible with PHP 8.2
• Updated - Compatible with Joomla 4.3.4
• Updated - Compatible with VirtueMart 4.2.0
• Fixed - Minor bugs

• Fixed - VirtueMart Products Module bug
• Fixed - Double ReCaptcha on VirtueMart Registration page
• Fixed - Template toggle button not displaying

• Fixed - Menu Params error for adding in image on menu

• Fixed - Template updated to be compatible with Joomla 4.3

• Fixed - Joomla 3.10.11
• Fixed - Template updated for PHP 8.0