So what’s next? With the v1.5 release we will focus on usability in the admin area. Production is well underway already so I thought I would tell you a little more to expand on the video.
Layout & Design
We’ve had a lot of feedback concerning the color scheme used in the admin area. The one common issue reported by various people is that the colors are sometimes too faint or too similar. This reduces readability on some LCD screens.
Another issue addressed with the upcoming release is the separation of “day to day” tasks from the “set it and forget it” tasks in the admin area. To pull this one off we had to rethink our menu structure and navigation. These changes have resulted in a less cluttered admin area user interface which is easier to navigate and gives us more room to grow.
Here’s an early sneak peak at the new layout & design:
Simplicity – Less is More
Choices, choices, choices. SPBAS has a lot to offer, a ton of features which has resulted in a ton of configurable options. With the upcoming v1.5 release we’ve taken a step back, we are in the process of going through each & every screen and asking – what can we take away here without losing functionality? The results so far are simply amazing.
To give you an example of this, take a look at the screenshot below. It’s the new UI for the menu editor (a tool really only SPBAS developers will ever use, but a good example none the less). Notice that it requires only one (1) tab now whereas in v1.4 (the current version) the menu editor required five (5) tabs with a big learning curve.
Also note the inline documentation in the screenshot above. Documentation has been a major issue for some of you so far – or should I say the LACK of documentation? We feel that the usability changes for v1.5 will greatly reduce the learning curve and the need for exhaustive documentation.
So when will v1.5 be available?
Sometime in March if all goes well. We won’t rush it and at the same time won’t hold it back either. This is true for every release. Only when it’s ready will we release it.
So in closing, I just wanted to keep you guys posted on what we are working on. Something I hope to do on a regular basis. What do you think about the changes for v1.5 so far?
Hello Andy,
Ik looks nice to me
Can’t wait to see the new 1.5 version.
Also nice to see who I e-mail about things
Kind Regards,
Ruud Jonk
Very nice changes – Andy, please, don’t forget the mass mail customers that exist on phpaudit
Mass mail is high on the priority list. You guys are asking for it and we need it too here at SolidPHP.
We’ve been developing full speed for 6 months now. v1.5 will focus on usability so there won’t be much in the way of major new features like mass mail. Expect it in the v1.6 release.
Andy,
this looks fantastic man! So very much looking for this update as more so the mass mail to customers… Quick question regarding the system as of the most current 1.4; How would I go about fixing the issue of when a customer uses a promo code that it doesnt show up as the customer paying full price?
This can be really confusing for new staff that we bring into management of the system and they see that a customers paid (for example) $1295.00 but they actually only paid $695.00…
Thanks much for your insight on this as well as the great new features that are coming soon for SPBAS!
God Bless
Aaron
Take a look at the credit tab of the invoice. You should see the coupon discount applied as a credit. If that isn’t the case, start a ticket and I can take a closer look.
Looking very good and looks like a major improvement. The two column layout looks much easier.
Hey Andy, please post a new entry with the new screens and ETA
Thank you!
Hi,how is it going for new version? I am waiting new version to buy your product.
When it can be ready? I am visiting this web site everydays for new version.
and please do sometings for page load speed.I test free version and it is so slow.it call licence from your server at every page loads?
The new version is coming together really well. We are in the final stages of development before release. It really won’t be long now
We’ll send out an e-mail newsletter when it’s been released, plus update this blog, forum, customer area news, etc.
Just to note, v1.5 is fully backwards compatible with v1.4 and will require only a simple upgrade so don’t let that hold you back from purchase.
SPBAS uses a cached local license key for the majority of the license validations so that shouldn’t be slow at all. There was a bug with the reports on the license dashboard for v1.4 that caused the page to load slow for some. If you start a ticket I can send you a quick patch for this.
Sorry, but where do we sign up for your newsletter?
@Mir if you can login at https://www.spbas.com/customers then you are already signed up.
Also, v1.5 has been released! It’s available for download from the customer area.
I’m working on a blog post to highlight the new features and a few other things that go along with the release now. Expect the official announcement/newsletter sometime tomorrow if all goes well.
Thanks for the nice post…
Hi,
How about doing some kind of manual on whole API? And how about working on extending API to simplify integration of your system into real-world applications?
I definitely like the licensing system your provide but I believe your interfaces are overcomplicated.
I would really prefer to include the small snippets in my code for interacting with SPBAS database rather than working over all of your templates.
Not mentioning currencies and the localization issues.
I feel far more folks need to read this, really great info.