So in my last blog post, I told you about some new code that we have been working on. Most of the time, we release new code without much fanfare, but this time is different.

The reason is that among the changes in this release are new looks for the public-facing pages on every event site - this includes:

  • The Homepage
  • The Ticket-Purchasing (online registration) pages
  • The Donate and Give pages
  • The Catalog

There are also new Sponsorship tools (for Plus and Premium subscribers), an enhanced interface for online and mobile bidding, and a re-working of how cash-donation items are set up and managed. You can read all about the new stuff here, and watch a video about it here. Our public sandbox/demo site also has the new code, and you can go play around with it right now. As mentioned in the last post, we are also implementing recurring donations (this will require a Plus or Premium annual plan); that is part of the next release, and I’ll be posting more about it very soon.

We think you’ll love all of these changes, but we also realize that there are some events that are coming up right away, and changing the look of a site for an imminent auction may unnerve those chairs a bit. So here is the rollout plan:

  • All sites for events in October 2017 will NOT be upgraded until the end of this year (when all past-event sites will be upgraded)
  • All sites for events in December 2017 or later will be upgraded no later than 10/31/17
  • All NEW event sites created after 10/9/17 (or thereabouts; we’re still testing some things about new-site creation) will get the new code
  • All sites for events that have already passed will be upgraded at the end of the year.

Where does that leave sites for November 2017 events, you may be asking. The answer is: we’re going to let the chairs for those events choose whether they want to receive the upgrade. If you’re interested (and we hope you are), please contact meto get your site on the list.

Why should you upgrade?

If you have a November event, we really want to encourage you to move that site to the new code. There are security upgrades and bug fixes that are important, and the online/mobile biding interface upgrades are going to help your guests find the items they want to bid on much more quickly. We also know that many of you will want to implement the new site-wide banner image on your public pages - that’s been a VERY common request for quite a while. So if you have questions, please contact me and we can discuss them until you are comfortable that you can make an informed decision.

Roger