Happy New Year! We're kicking 2019 off with a bang, friends. There's so much fun stuff coming down the pipeline here at <em>press themes, and we can't wait to share with you! Today, we wanted to loop you in on two big projects we've been working on: upgrades to our site, as well as changes to our plugin product licensing, which will launch next week.
First, the website!
One of the biggest things we worked on over the holiday break was making a few big updates (or really, upgrades!) to our website. First, we've added an FAQ page, a great new resource for customers looking to learn more about us and how we work. We've also done a light re-design and reorganization to our Help Desk! Our goal was to make the (many!) help articles we've written easier to read and browse through. As our Help Desk grows, we hope it remains a useful resource for all new and current customers. And on that note, if you are a current customer, be sure to pop through and browse articles related to your purchases—you might learn a few new Code Hacks!
Finally, we've made a HUGE update to our customer My Account area. The screenshots below tell the full story, but bottom line: we wanted this area to be usable and helpful for our customers! Your My Account area now features tabs for navigating your purchases, links to your active downloads, and even a spot for you to activate your licenses (key if you want to receive updates and new feature releases from us!). We've also created an environment to manage your contact and billing info.
The biggest and most important change is the new Support tab. Here, current customers can submit a support ticket, and it'll land straight in our Help Desk inbox. While you're still welcome to email us directly at hello@empressthemes.com with any questions, our system will automatically flag requests coming from the My Account Support tab, and we'll prioritize those first. So, when in doubt, head to your My Account area for assistance!
Where exactly is the My Account area? You can find yours by clicking on the “My Account” link in the top right of our website, or by going to empressthemes.com/account.
New: Plugin Licensing
Eagle eyed readers might've noticed two things in the site changes mentioned above: sections in our FAQ page about product licensing, and a new tab in the My Account area that reads “Renewals.” These pieces each pertain to a change in how we're licensing our plugin products.
Here's the scoop:
Since our launch in October of 2017, we are so proud of the community that’s been built here at <em>press. Not only do we love the feedback we get from you via email, but we pride ourselves on great customer service. From day one, we've been committed to listening carefully to customer feedback, and integrating ideas and upgrades into existing products, so that they could grow with and adapt to your sites. In short, we want our products to be usable and flexible, for the life of your blog.
Over time, we've realized that in order to maintain a quality level of service, and invest time and money in improving products for you guys, we need to move our plugins to an annual license fee structure, beginning January 16, 2019.
What does that mean, in layman's terms? Essentially, for all plugins purchased from January 16th onward, your purchase includes a license which is good for one year from the date of purchase. Having an active license gives you access to all product updates, new feature releases, as well as customer support for any questions you have about the product! After your year is up, your license will automatically renew (at 20% off!), so that you can keep receiving updates and support. If you don't want to renew, that's okay—you can keep using the last version you downloaded for as long as you want. You just wouldn't receive any new product updates or access to our email Help Desk moving forward (though, you could always renew your license in the future, if you wanted!).
Our goal in moving to this type of payment system for plugins is to provide you guys with the highest quality products that are compatible with WordPress, always. We also want to continue providing the high level of customer support we already do through our Code Hacks program, which offers free, small customization code snippets for our products to any customer who asks.
The really good news? If you've already purchased a plugin from us in the past, nothing's going to change for you! That's right—if you were an early adopter of <em>press, any plugin purchase you made before January 16 is exempt from these new licensing rules. You're set for life, and will receive complimentary upgrades and support for all purchases you've already made! Any plugin purchases you make after January 16 will be subject to the new annual licensing renewals program. But, don't forget, all plugins will renew at a 20% discount, which is our way of saying thanks for being a part of the community!
With that in mind—if you've been thinking about buying a plugin from us, this week is the time to grab it! From January 16th onward, all plugins will renew annually. So buy your plugin now if you'd like to be grandfathered in with our current purchase terms! 🙂
We know change can be hard. But our hope is that with these changes (and SO many great products to come in this year!), we can continue growing <em>press to make it a super valuable resource for you, as you continue your blog journey. If you have any questions or feedback, please don't hesitate to let us know!
This is just the tip of the iceberg, you guys—we have even more website upgrades and new products all comin' atcha in the next two months. Stay tuned!
xo,
