A Year In Review for 2011 - Post ID...

User 103173 Photo


VP of Software Development
0 posts

It's hard to believe that another year is coming to an end. Just a few more days and the end of the world is upon us! Well, according to my wife (and Hollywood), the world is supposed to come to an end in 2012. To me it just feels like 1999 when everyone thought all computers would crash at midnight. ;)

December is also one of my most favorite times of the year. We’re decorating trees, baking cookies, friends and family get to come over for a visit, and we finally have colder weather here in Atlanta.

Life has also been extremely busy here in CoffeeCup Land as well. Looking back over the year, we have really been able to create some amazing new programs and provide some awesome upgrades.

S-Drive:

We launched S-Drive, our own take on web hosting (though we try not to use that phrase as it really is so much more). We know you’ve read about it in our newsletters and forum posts, but many of you may not fully know what S-Drive is. We’ve incorporated our own hosting platform directly within our software to bypass all that complicated FTP stuff that is typically required when you publish your website. Using S-Drive, you just enter your CoffeeCup account information (the same user name and password you used when purchasing the software) into the program you are using. That’s it! The software takes care of the rest.

Here’s some examples to give you an idea of some of the services that S-Drive provides:

* Streams: Instant updates to your website from anywhere, including your mobile phone. Use it as a news ticker, a guestbook, or just as a personal blog.
* Storage: Your website’s files in the cloud. Use any browser—even at a friend’s house—to access the administrative side of your website and all of its content.
* Stats: Whether you’re looking for visitor stats for your Stream, Shop, or Forms, S-Drive’s got the info you need. Easy-to-understand statistics are complimentary.

Another big item we were able to release is our domains service. You can now purchase a domain name (your own .com, .net, or .org) straight from our website! One of the best reasons to use CoffeeCup for your full website needs is because we are your single point of contact. If you have any software or website issues, we’re your one-stop shop to help you out. No more tag-team between technical support and your hosting company. (We all know how frustrating that is!)

New Program releases:

Software releases were also a big part of our mission statement for the year. Early in the year we launched Web Image Studio (our own graphics editing program). We put a lot of work into this application to make graphic editing simple. Our goal was not to replace Photoshop but to make traditionally difficult tasks easy. This program was also created to to offer the ability to customize graphics found in our themes for Shopping Cart Creator, Visual Site Designer, and The HTML Editor.

Another little sleeper program we released was Power Post. This is a handy little program for managing and posting content to your Stream right from your desktop. It handles all your Streams simultaneously, and can even be used by a whole staff of people to manage one or more Streams. It’s got a pretty spiffy built-in image editor so you can tweak photos right before they go on the web, or refine previously posted ones.

This then leads us to the biggest release of the year: Web Form Builder! This release was probably one of our most successful releases of any program we have made—and for good reasons! We changed our approach to web form creation to develop a drag-n’-drop interface that couldn’t possibly be easier to use. It’s got 20 form elements (and counting) thanks to the awesome power of HTML5.

OS X has arrived!

OS X applications are here. Yes, we know this took a bit longer then we expected, but we think the wait is well worth it. In November, we released 3 beta programs for OS X: Web Image Studio, Web Form Builder, and the Web Editor.

You can now enjoy the same Web Image Studio and Web Form Builder found in Windows, but in a Mac interface. We created the Web Editor, a brand new code editing application, exclusively for OS X—and trust us, it’s good. These apps are just a taste of what’s to come as we are aiming to devote a lot more time to OS X app development.

Updates:

Now let’s not forget the updates. Direct FTP, Shopping Cart Creator, and Visual Site Designer all had many releases throughout 2011 adding many new features and functionality. One of the biggest new features was the integration with S-Drive. We also had upgrades to Sitemapper, Shopping Cart Designer, and our HTML Editor. And hey, the just-around-the-corner update to the HTML Editor features S-Drive integration, too. Just when you think these program can’t get any better, we make it happen.

Fun Activities

The annual Easter Egg hunt was a huge hit this year. I think some of you might still be seeing eggs in your sleep! So many people went egg hunting through our website that it almost brought our servers to its knees! We also had a record $50,000 of cash and prizes tucked away in every corner of our website. There were so may eggs on our website that we think we may have forgotten a few (or maybe that’s just the smell of a sandwich one of our technicians left in there while repairing the Egg Hunt damage).

Last, but not least, we sent off the year with another CoffeeCup tradition: The holiday gift giveaway. This year, everyone with an S-Drive account found a present in the Storage tab of their control panel on the morning of the 25th. A few lucky individuals were also given some pretty big gifts. We handed out a MacBook Air filled with all of our software, a red-hot Kindle Fire loaded with helpful handbooks, a couple high-res digital cameras, and of course, CoffeeCup SWAG. Real-life items or not, everyone got some great software and graphics to add some pizzazz to their websites—just for being part of the family!

Looking forward to 2012, we have many great things on the way: More OS X applications, updates to Shopping Cart Creator (we all know what you have been asking for), the HTML Editor will have a big face lift and connect to S-Drive, Web Form Builder will get loads of new features, and we have a multitude of enhancements coming for S-Drive. These are just a few of the many great things in store for all of you next year.

Well, that’s about it, or at least most of what I can remember. Don't forget to spread the good word about CoffeeCup on Facebook and Twitter! ;)

From all of us here at CoffeeCup, have a Happy New Year!
Learn the essentials with these quick tips for Responsive Site Designer, Responsive Email Designer, Foundation Framer, and the new Bootstrap Builder. You'll be making awesome, code-free responsive websites and newsletters like a boss.
User 187934 Photo


Senior Advisor
20,181 posts

Happy New Year to everyone at CoffeeCup. Thanks for your continued dedication to easy website design.:)
I can't hear what I'm looking at.
It's easy to overlook something you're not looking for.

This is a site I built for my work.(RSD)
http://esmansgreenhouse.com
This is a site I built for use in my job.(HTML Editor)
https://pestlogbook.com
This is my personal site used for testing and as an easy way to share photos.(RLM imported to RSD)
https://ericrohloff.com
User 38401 Photo


Senior Advisor
10,951 posts

It's amazing to see how much has happened in one short year. So many new things, so many great updates. It's why we come to CoffeeCup for our software fixes :P

Have a great Happy New Year CoffeeCup staff and all the users here too! :)
User 122279 Photo


Senior Advisor
14,444 posts

From Norway I send my very best wishes for the New Year to all CoffeeCuppers around the world. Some of you already have 2012.
Ha en riktig god dag!
Inger, Norway

My work in progress:
Components for Site Designer and the HTML Editor: https://mock-up.coffeecup.com


User 271657 Photo


Ambassador
3,816 posts

Happy Happy New Year to Coffee Cup! :D
Hope everyone finds some time to relax before Easter rolls around again :lol:

Thanks so much for producing quality software at affordable prices (and giving so much of it away!).
The SDrive Christmas gift made this holiday really special; I'll be reading more in 2012 :D

Looking forward to seeing what you all come up with next!
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. (Douglas Adams)
https://www.callendales.com
User 282670 Photo


Registered User
3,940 posts

Happy New Year All ! :D




User 539803 Photo


Registered User
2,156 posts

Happy new year one and all from the UK

I have a feeling in these old bones its gonna be a better one :)
Started using CC VSD in January 2009, I don't do HTML code, Sales from CC site exceeding expectations taken me out of semi-retirement
Hosted FREE on CC S DRIVE www.chauffeurdrivenluxurycars.co.uk
My new VSD & SCCP site Oct 2011 www.deloreanjewellery.co.uk
My friendly window cleaner www.mwcwindowcleaner.co.uk

User 6573 Photo


Ambassador
2,649 posts

Happy New Year to everyone.

User 184085 Photo


Ambassador
1,707 posts

Lots of companies bandy about the term awesome but rarely live up to the hype, CC on the other hand keeps hitting the awesome mark. Congrats to everyone on the team :)
Volunteering to help :)
http://www.tbaygeek.ca
My HTML play area
http://www.tbaygeek.ca/test/
User 2271387 Photo


Registered User
99 posts

May Coffeecup and its members have a safe, peaceful and enriched New Year ....

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