Thank you for your response. Unfortunately, it does not address the main concerns I raised and reads primarily as a general disclaimer regarding third-party compatibility.
I fully understand that SP Page Builder is a standalone product and that JoomShaper must be able to change internal implementation details. However, this is not simply a case of an undocumented internal API changing. A capability that previously worked for third-party integrations was deliberately restricted in the editor interface: local fonts are reduced to a single 400 / Normal option and the weight field is disabled.
To make the timeline and the original context clear, I am attaching an image from my original forum post from one year ago. It explicitly described the planned variable-font support and the possible SP Page Builder integration. I also stated that I wanted to receive JoomShaper’s feedback first, adjust the project accordingly, and only then share it with the community.
The original post included the following statement:
“I’d love to hear JoomShaper’s feedback first. I’ll polish based on that and then share it with the community.”
https://prnt.sc/eeSNMUztuufP https://prnt.sc/zdKYfZdg0TeG https://prnt.sc/MJBs-yoh8dr3
https://www.joomshaper.com/forum/question/41002
This was therefore not an undisclosed or unexpected third-party project. The intended direction was publicly visible from the beginning, and there was an opportunity to raise concerns before the integration was developed, released and used by customers. If this type of integration was considered problematic or unsupported in principle, this would have been the appropriate time to communicate that.
Several important points remain unanswered:
- The purpose of ODLF was disclosed from the beginning.
My original forum post clearly explained what I was developing and how it was intended to integrate with Helix Ultimate, Helix 3 and SP Page Builder. I also kept Paul Frankowski informed about the project, its purpose and its development.
If this type of integration was considered unacceptable or unsupported in principle, that could and should have been communicated at that time - before users relied on the functionality and before I invested substantial development effort into it.
- The implementation was working before it was restricted.
In SP Page Builder 6.3.2, multiple weights could still be selected for locally hosted fonts. My integration worked correctly in that environment. In current versions, the JavaScript explicitly treats fonts classified as local differently by limiting them to 400 / Normal and disabling the weight selector.
This is not merely an accidental incompatibility caused by an internal refactoring. It is an explicit product decision affecting the editor UI.
- The security and compatibility explanation does not match the actual implementation.
JoomShaper’s own products and templates use variable fonts internally, and the community has repeatedly asked for broader variable-font support.
At the same time, SP Page Builder permits locally hosted Google-font files with multiple weights, while restricting user- or third-party-provided local fonts through a simple local type check and a disabled form field.
If the concern were genuinely security, performance or technical compatibility, it would be important to explain why one category of locally served font files is allowed to expose multiple weights while another category is explicitly blocked.
A CSS file served locally is not inherently less secure because it was provided by a third-party extension rather than shipped by JoomShaper. Likewise, allowing Google Fonts while disabling local third-party fonts does not, by itself, constitute a meaningful security boundary.
- The third-party ecosystem is part of the SP Page Builder model.
JoomShaper documents custom addons, integrations and extension mechanisms for SP Page Builder. Third-party developers are encouraged to extend the product for specialised use cases rather than forcing every feature into the core.
It is therefore contradictory to promote extensibility while simultaneously stating that third-party extensions must expect to be blocked whenever their functionality does not match an internal product decision.
I am not asking JoomShaper to officially implement or support every third-party extension. I am asking why a previously possible integration was intentionally restricted without a transparent warning or a documented technical reason.
The issue is not that JoomShaper refuses to guarantee compatibility forever. No developer can reasonably demand that. The issue is that SP Page Builder previously allowed this use case, the use case was publicly disclosed, users relied on it, and the capability was later disabled in a targeted way without any clear communication to affected developers or users.
This has had real consequences. I developed ODLF on the basis of functionality that was available and working, corrected my documentation when necessary, received customer complaints and had to deal with refund requests after the restriction was introduced.
Telling affected third-party developers simply to “adapt” is not an adequate response when the product intentionally removes the capability they relied on without explaining the reason or offering an alternative integration path.
It is particularly difficult to reconcile the statement that third-party extensions are supported with the suggestion that developers must simply accept being blocked whenever JoomShaper decides that a particular extension use case is no longer desirable.
**I would therefore still appreciate a specific statement from JoomShaper:
- Was the restriction of multiple weights for
local fonts intentional?
- What concrete security, performance or compatibility problem does it address?
- Why are locally hosted Google-font files treated differently from user- or third-party-provided local fonts?
- Was the intention to prevent third-party extensions from extending this part of SP Page Builder?
- Is there any supported extension point through which a third-party integration can provide local and variable-font weights without modifying or bypassing SP Page Builder?**
A generic statement that internal behaviour may change does not answer these questions. It only explains why JoomShaper does not want to guarantee permanent compatibility. That is a different matter from explaining why a previously working and publicly disclosed integration was deliberately restricted.
For reference, I have attached screenshots and links documenting:
- the original public announcement of the project and its planned SP Page Builder integration;
- the previous SP Page Builder behaviour;
- the current restriction of local-font weights;
- JoomShaper’s own use of variable fonts.
I would appreciate a transparent technical and conceptual explanation of this decision, as well as a clear statement regarding the intended role of third-party integrations within the SP Page Builder ecosystem.