New Design: what changed?

We really liked the way Flabell looked before, but we wanted to make it even better, so we decided it’s time to add some additional features, but also keep things as simple as possible.

So here’s what we did. We’d love to hear from you on things that we either missed or broke! :-)

1. Newsletter design.

Before, we were sending an email to our subscribed users every time we released a new product. That felt kind of spamy to us, so we decided to only send the email on a monthly basis. With that comes great responsibility from you, because if you want to take advantage of the featured product, you will have to check back on Flabell every week, to see the product we release, and if you like it, purchase it at the sale price.

We also wanted to add a little bit of info now and then, to what has been changed on Flabell on that month, so with this little bit of information, we knew the design of the newsletter must be changed. So here’s how it looks now (in order to receive it, make sure you add [email protected] in your address book, and that you subscribe in your account page):

2. Forum

This is an important addition to our little start-up. We thought it’s time to open up the conversation, as our library gets bigger and bigger, our users get more and more, and we’re sure there will be some very interesting topics there. :-)

Here’s some that we want to start with:

1. Flabell News (find out what we’re doing)
2. Flabell Flash Components (discover our flash components)
3. Flabell FAQ (frequently asked questions, answered)
4. Recommend (let us know what Flash Components you want us to create next)
5. Site Feedback (report a bug or suggest a feature)
6. Tutorials (flash tips and tricks from our development team)
7. Off Topic (unrelated stuff)

3. How to buy?

Another important addition is this new page. There you can see what options you have for payment (including what’s coming), but also what options you have for downloading out Flash Components.

1. 10 gold tickets pack (download for free our most expensive components, at only $8.9 each)
2. Premium Membership (you have access to all our Flash Components, including any components released for an entire year from the date of purchase, for just $10 per month – this might change)
3. Buy Flash Components (you can purchase only the components you need, when you need them, and receive silver and gold tickets when meeting the rules)

4. Public profile

Yep! We’ve been listening! :-)
Here’s mine: bobocel

To view yours, just add your Flabell ID there. Or click on any avatar on the comments page of any Flash Component.

5. Search on all pages

This is big! As our library is growing, we’ll be adding categories as well. But at the moment, the best way to find FAST what you are looking for is do a search. Like this: mp3, or video player, or templates. You get the idea! We’ll try to review all our Flash Components and add the right tags to them, tags you might be looking for. Wherever you are on our website, you are now able to find what you need very fast.

6. New Menu

Products is now Flash Components
Tutorials and FAQ are moved to the FORUM. Now we can add more stuff without the need to change the menu, right in the forum. :-)
Contact is moved in the footer.
How to buy is added to the menu.

So the new menu is:
Home, Flash Components, Blog, Forum, How to buy

7. New Blog Design + improvements all over the place

You will definitely see new stuff all over the place. There’s no page that hasn’t been modified. There are several known bugs, but we’ll squash those asap. :)

Here are some of the top of my head:

1. Pagination
2. Login moved up
3. My Account Redesign
4. Bread crumbs for easier navigation
5. Improved Browse All
6. Comments pages replies
7. Improved INFO display for products (right under them)
8. Improved payment processing
9. And MANY more! :-)

What’s next?

1. 2010 will be a busy year! We’ll start early, and get onto building the video tutorials and help descriptions to all our products, which we know you’re all waiting for! (sorry!!!)
2. We have some long ToDo’s, and most of our components will be updated. This updating will never end, because we keep getting feature requests, and what doesn’t go in an update, goes in a new Flash Component.
3. We’ll roll out the support tickets and support ticketing system, which I’ve been writing about in the past posts.
4. As you already know if you read thus far, we’re working on the other payment options.
5. We have some exciting new files in progress!

That’s it! I hope you enjoy every new feature we’ve been working on. This has been done with you in mind, so if there’s anything at all that bothers you, do let us know at [email protected] or in the comments below. Thanks! :)