Affino 5.5.16 Release

This is another milestone release of Affino which sees improvements across the board. Most users managing Affino sites will find thing are greatly improved including: SEO professionals, site designers, site builders, site editors, store managers, general managers and community managers. End users will also enjoy the improved experience offered by the greatly enhanced video experience, smoother checkouts, improved registration and updated WYSIWYG editor.

 

It’s fair to say that this release is heavily focused on making the job of designing, building, running and analysing Affino sites that much more effective. SEO and PPC professionals will see the biggest improvements through the Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer integration, as well as improved search tracking, Canonical Links for improved Google Rankings and optimisations in Sitemap generation.

 

Designers will have greatly improved styling capabilities with the roll out of Custom Style Sheets and a number of new Design Elements; whilst Site Builders will be able to reduce the Microsite rollout times dramatically by being able to copy entire site structures over to new sites. Site Editors and Commercial Managers will find Smart Messaging to be a great way of engaging with users, whilst Commercial Managers will like the improved checkout process, renewable payments.

 

General Managers and all team members will find Team Time to be a great tool for seeing what everyone is up to, and for tracking performance. Community Managers will benefit from the registration and subscription purchase improvements.

And if there is just one or two of you running the sites then you’ll find your experience is dramatically improved all round.

 

Upgrade Guidance

 

We’re not expecting any major issues with this release, but the scale of this release means that issues may arise. We have greatly improved our Quality Assurance process for this release, especially on the eCommerce side so anticipate a significant improvement in the number of eCommerce related issues in this and future releases.

 

The most significant under-the-hood change in this release is the support for Custom Cascading Style Sheets and the tight integration with Google Analytics and Google Website Optimizer. These changes should not have any impact with custom code or existing designs.

 

It is recommended that you run through the complete update process starting with the Affino Updater, followed by the System Update, Re-Initialise Site, Design Element Update and Skin Update.

 

Key Enhancements

 

Google Analytics Integration

 

Affino is now fully integrated with Google Analytics. Previously it was possible to include the Google Analytics code on each Skin so that all page views could be tracked, in this release it is now possible to integrate directly into Google Analytics using the Google Analytics API. It means you can start full ecommerce analytics via Google Analytics as well as through the Affino Dashboard.

 

Key indicators you can track are conversion rates, average order values, visits to purchases, product performance revenue tracking.

 

It is also possible to do a funnel analysis on purchases, e.g. V visitors W added products to baskets X went to the checkout Y went to pay Z completed the transaction.

 

The single most important aspect of the integration is that you can track keyword conversion rates, i.e. how much you spend on specific keywords, and how much revenue they drive for which products. It allows highly targeted Pay Per Click campaigns where you can immediately see which keywords are working for your business model and tune your campaigns accordingly.

 

We’ve also rolled out the Q URL variable for all key internal searches so these can be tracked within Google Analytics as well.

 

Google Website Optimizer Integration

 

Affino now lets Google Website Optimizer live up to its potential by allowing anyone to easily create very powerful experiments without any code. Google Website Optimizer (GWO) lets you see which layouts and content provide the best conversion rates. You can try out multiple titles, images, videos, buttons, layouts simultaneously, define the Goal and Google Website Optimizer will tell you which the most successful combination is.

 

The problem is that it is virtually impossible to set up Experiments on GWO by the average end-user. Fortunately Google has made available the GWO API which allows Affino to create Experiments for you.

 

A simple form allows users to set up the Experiment within Affino. Most significantly you can define any of number of actions as the end goal including: filling out a form, a purchase, registration, search, newsletter sign-up or specific content viewed.

 

Affino lets you create variations using Design Objects. This is far more powerful than the traditional way Experiments are created, e.g. simply with text and images or whole pages. Affino will let you try out different elements of your page layout, and can include everything from text through to videos and navigation elements.

 

Once the Experiment is running GWO will let you know the best combination of page elements for the most effective targeting based on your goals.

 

Structure Copy

 

Structure Copy lets you copy whole / parts of site structures from one site to another (running on the same Affino instance). This is extremely useful for setting up new sites and microsites. It is also very useful for copying successful elements between your sites. Structure Copy lets you do in seconds what would otherwise take minutes / hours of complex effort. It can be used at any stage, so that sites can easily be extended as required.

 

When copying over the structure it is possible to change key elements such as the Skins and Security, and to universally define default profiles to be used by the new channels. It will also ensure that no duplicate structural channels will be created, i.e. it will not copy over a Login channel where there already exists one in the destination Zone (site).

 

When used in conjunction with Smart Copy on the Designs, it can reduce the effort to roll out new microsites by 90% and opens up new business opportunities.

 

Custom Cascading Style Sheets

 

Affino’s support for Custom CSS has been transformed in this release with the introduction of a number of key CSS styling enhancements:

 

New Custom Cascading Style Sheets in the Design Centre which can be re-used across multiple Skins. Design Styles can now also have Custom CSS applied; these are generated into a CSS file for each Skin.

 

It means that there is a 3 level hierarchy for CSS applied to Skins: At the base is the CSS automatically generated by Affino for all the Affino Design Elements, on top of this is the CSS applied to the Design Styles and then at the top level is the Custom CSS applied to the Skin. This provides the maximum granularity of design possible.

 

Each Design Cell now has a unique ID, e.g. id="dc_15877", which can be styled to, and which works across Skins, this allows for more targeted CSS. A number of key Affino elements have been updated to improve the ability to style them.

 

Most significantly the Application Bar has been updated so designers and editors can turn on or off the Custom CSS when viewing a page. This will allow both the users running a site, and those who support them to immediately identify if something is a custom styling issue or a core Affino issue. It also provides the ability to try designs with or without the custom styling.

 

Smart Messaging

 

Smart Messaging takes Affino Newsletters and email communication to an entirely new level. In what is a significant milestone for Affino, this release sees the introduction of Event Triggers and Group Filters for targeted messaging.

 

Smart Messaging is an extension of Affino Newsletters, which means you get all the great personalisation, design and automation capabilities which already exist and can now extend them to send out much more targeted and timely messages.

 

The new Filters mean that Newsletters are no longer used for simply sending to subscriber lists. Instead they can be used as a smart messaging platform for targeting specific subscriber groups, all users, active / inactive members and customers.

 

Event Triggers are used to provide timely messages which improve customer service, sales conversion and engagement. Key event triggers include registration, login, aborted shopping basket, purchase and birthdays. It means targeted messages can be sent out automatically based on user behaviour, e.g. birthday greetings; vouchers to encourage shoppers or subscription renewals; introduction messages for new users; re-engagement emails for inactive users.

 

Team Time v3

 

The Comrz Team has been using ’Team Time’ for a while now as our In / Out Team Status Board. This release sees the first public release of Team Time as a key component of the eCommunity Solution. Team Time lets members of a team check In and Out so that other members can always see what their status is. It also provides extensive time tracking and reporting capabilities for managers. Although Team Time was initially intended as a purely internal solution, there has been a great deal of demand for Comrz to make this core Affino, so now it is.

 

The main screen is the Status Board, here users can see the status of their team members and can log In (meetings, lunch or travel) and Out (holiday or sick leave). Logging in or changing the In status is simply a one-click action. When logging Out users must enter in an activity report which covers their actions since logging in. The simplicity of this approach is what makes it so effective. Below the logging area users can see who is in or out and view their latest report.

 

There are a number of report screens which provide great insight into the team performance. It is possible to review the whole team’s performance in terms of their latest reports and their time tracking. It is possible to filter that by days, months and years. Very useful for tracking working hours, time spent, and days worked in a month.

 

It is also possible to do much more detailed drill-downs on each team member, both within the Team Time reports, but also directly through to the Community Manger which provides insight into the team member’s activity throughout the site.

 

Video Player v2

 

Greatly improved video player. We’ve implemented dozens of new concepts to make the experience smoother, faster and more intuitive. The biggest change is the native YouTube and DailyMotion support. This means that you can create YouTube video walls, carousels, video walls and much more. It also means that you can use YouTube / DailyMotion videos seamlessly within your site without losing your customers to 3rd party sites.

 

Other Enhancements

 

Addresses – address handling has been made consistent across all community, registration and ecommerce elements

 

Blogs – now display videos intelligently: if there is a main image and a video then the main image is displayed on top and in the listings; if there is no main image then the video is displayed

 

Blog Archive DE – now displays the blogger’s details and RSS link

 

Canonical Links – Affino now supports Canonical Links for all Channels, Sections, Standard and Media items; These are essential for improved SEO and Google Search rankings; fully automated

 

Carousel DE – new refinements and options for improving layouts

 

Comments and Ratings – can now be hidden on a page design (in the Prime Content settings) allowing for them to be designed into templates; no longer deleted when deleting users, instead set to ’Created by Former Member’

 

Content Subscriptions – Affino no longer sends out content subscriptions to members who have not logged in for six months, reduces the possibility of Spam blocking

 

Documents – Improved the flow of the Tender Documents process so that it is clear to users which items are available for download; improved overall usability

 

Dynamic Forms – new Dynamic Routing Field allows forms to be directed to specific email addresses based on the options selected

 

eCommerce – there is a new option to not sell Zero Value products, this is essential where content is being imported via webservices and something potentially goes wrong. The products are presented but there is no price and it is not possible to purchase them. Payment Gateways can now be made country specific; new Order Statuses: On Hold, Released for Delivery, Back Ordered, Pending Return, Returned; new Shipping information box which can be managed on each order and is available through the My Account screen; new PayPal renewable payment support for PayPal Pro; billing email address now auto-populated on the checkout; users who enter an existing email address are prompted to log in at the start of the checkout process; delivery address can now be hidden on the checkout if only digital goods are being purchased; improved the flow of subscription purchases; fixed buy button on Media Library; introduced unique URLs for each checkout step

 

Form Handler (Control-side Forms) – reworked the forms so that they are faster and work well with the newest generation of browsers

 

Forum – simplified search presentation with easy access to the advanced search options; improved Today screen allows users to peek at the last post made to each forum plus improved layout and information

 

Groups – personal media items can now be easily displayed in groups

 

Login DE – new Horizontal layout option with ’forgotten your password’ link

 

Media Library – it is now possible list secured media items, users can see the item information but when they click on the link they’re taken to the login / sales page; new Documents listing option for presenting detailed information on media items; new option to user the Affino Video Player instead of the native YouTube and DailyMotion video players; Affino Media Library now supports Zip Files

 

Media Uploader – new simpler method for adding streaming video and audio items to the media library; improved compatibility with embedded videos and SlideShare

 

Media Workflows – a number of new Lock Down options make it possible to streamline media uploads considerably; new button options mean that it is now possible to make more obvious control interfaces for new communities

 

Member Search and Listing – improved layout, numerous new options for refining what information is displayed; new default message for member invites

 

My Account – numerous new issues for hiding inactive elements of the personal account screens

 

New Member Alerts Beta – new ’premium member’ option, alerts members of new members or groups they might be interested in, i.e. those which match their interest topics

 

Newsletter Sign-up DE v1 – new Newsletter Sign-up design element makes it easy to include straight forward newsletter sign-ups on Gateway pages

 

Optimisation – optimised many of the most frequently run queries so that they are either cached or more efficient, improved scalability and performance

 

Pending Users – Member Type column added to listing to simplify the approval process

 

Profile – new Documents tab added to the public profile to showcase members documents; incompatible image alert when users are trying to upload CMYK based JPGs

 

Recommendations – Events added to recommendations

 

Registration – the Member Type can now be made into a drop-down; when purchasing a subscription new users are taken directly through to the checkout; if only one membership option is available then it should simply just be presented; Topics can now be assigned to Member Types and in turn to members, improves targeting; new Description of Responsibilities option in Registration; it is now possible to Fix the country that users register from, i.e. only UK or France for country specific sites; it is now possible to have a shorter registration page; it is now possible to make newsletters opt-out on registration, i.e. users will default register to some newsletters

 

Related Content – new filters on the Related Article selector allow you to find articles much better by being able to filter by the Section and Presentation Styles

 

Search – site and member searches can now be easily tracked using 3rd party analytics tools as a Q variable is always appended to the URL when a search has been done; It is now possible to have drop-down Channel filters on the site search, this will let you filter searches by their product categories

 

Standard Sections – new Quote listing template allows Quotes to be listed effectively

 

Tips DE – improved layout; introduced new option to hide the image, useful for Quotes

 

URLs – rolled out ’No Follow’ on a number of links which should not be indexed through to, including: Page Tools, Article Tools, Social Bookmarkers, Email This, Subscribe by Email, Login

 

Users – changed way in which security is assigned to users, now done directly on the User Edit screen.

 

Video Carousel DE v1 – new Video Carousel Design Element allows you to present videos in a carousel; handles MP4, YouTube and DailyMotion videos, allows purchasing from the carousel

 

What’s New – improved the What’s New listing by adding More links so users can browse to the sections

 

WYSIWYG Editor (TinyMCE) – updated to latest version: 3.3.2 to resolve numerous issues

 

Fixes

 

API – the webservice API has been refined extensively and multiple critical fixes have been applied making this an essential update for anyone using it

 

Articles – now display reliably when using Multi-display

 

Blog DE – improved layout when no image is selected

 

Competitions – Fixed UDF List error; Title no longer squeezed in IE

 

Contacts – fixed layout for Google Chrome

 

eCommerce – numerous Wishlist issues fixed; layout fixed on single-page-checkout; fixed issues with using SecPay payment gateway, products now reliably add to basket when containing special characters

 

Dashboard – extensive query optimisation to speed up the dashboard; fixed iZoneCode error

 

Embedded Links – fixed issue where embedded links were clashing with hard-code links in content

 

ETests – answers no longer pre-selected wrongly

 

Events – resolved layout issue

 

Feature Scroller DE – Sort Order now works consistently

 

Forum – the Forum Monitor now takes the Design Menu style assigned to the Prime Content

 

Groups – numerous key issues resolved making this an essential update for Groups

 

Highlights Scroller DE – multiple fixes making this an essential upgrade if you want to use the Highlights Scroller

 

Incoming Feeds – updated to handle the updated Twitter and YouTube feeds

 

Live Design – the Live Design panel now appears above Carousel content

 

Live Editor – no longer taken to the homepage when editing articles

 

Login – Auto-login function now working reliably when using cross-domain logins, i.e. one user account across multiple sites

 

Main Menu – no longer displays hidden sections; no longer displays Sub-sections when Integrated Navigation is not selected on the Channel; fixed numerous JavaScript / AJAX issues; CSS Main Menu copy function fixed to copy over the bullets

 

Media Editor – numerous fixes for generating assets, grabbing video frames and preventing caching on CDNs make this an essential update for the Media Editor; now opens reliably from media library sections

 

Media Library – DailyMotion videos no longer blow up; fixed issues with editing media items; no longer append a 1 to media file names when uploading new unique media

 

Members – add to Contacts from member listing issues resolved

 

Mobile – mobile channel fixed, no longer erroring out

 

My Information – fixed preview in Design Centre

 

Newsletter – fixed links on the Buy button for catalogue items; newsletter subscriber import issues fixed; fixed newsletter test messages

 

Password Reminder – now users the Sub-site name rather than the Zone name when sending out the reminders

 

Pending Users – group membership no longer removed from non-registration related groups when approving users

 

Personal Dashboard – no longer errors out

 

Photo Stack DE – now shows guidance if no dimensions have been entered, rather than blowing up

 

Public Profile – fixed issue with missing email and password fields when editing User Profile; role and title field content no longer doubles up every time you re-submit the form

 

Publishing Workflows – improved the lock-down; fixed channel selector issue

 

Registration – fixed refresh on the country / county drop-down selectors

 

Screen Names – Section Screen Names can now be reliably set to be unique to the Zone; refined uniqueness of screen names so they consistently point at the same content; Affino now reliably removes deleted screen names

 

Search – fixed issue which was causing the site search to break under certain conditions; fixed special character indexing for the site search

 

Sections – embedded links now working reliably for Sections

 

Seminars – layout improvements

 

Shopping Basket DE – fixed browser compatibility issues with adding products to the basket

 

Slideshow DE – preview image now shows again reliably; multi-displayed images now showing correctly

 

Smart Image DE – no longer ’sticks’ when mousing over; fixed text padding issue; fixed character issues; now shows the correct focus state when on an active channel

 

Standalone Video Player DE – no longer blows up on Design Object Preview; numerous fixes on the preview images

 

Text DE – fixed text size issues; improved special character handling

 

Wishlist DE – any product can be added to a Wishlist, not just ones which are for sale; no longer errors out on new products without pricing

 

Wishlist Profile – Profile Settings now generated reliably

 

YouTube Compatibility – updated most elements integrating with YouTube to match changing YouTube requirements

 

Plus numerous other minor fixes and enhancements. In total there are around 200 enhancements and fixes in this release.