Late September: Launching Site Redesign

Hello!

It is finally that time, this day is finally upon us! We are getting a new home! We are excited to announce the new design of 7 Cups! Below you will find all the relevant information for this update. Please review the entire post. There is a lot of helpful information, which we hope will ease your transition to the new designs. As a reminder, you can find an announcement of this update here.

Launch Date: Tuesday or Wednesday next week

What should I expect?

The functionality of our site will remain the same, but we will have a new look! You can think of it like moving into a new house. Also, updated navigation. Our goal was to give you a more organized, cleaned up house with faster loading time, while at the same time making it easier for new folks to get oriented, find the help they need, and become part of the 7 Cups family.

One thing to keep in mind when you first move into a new house is that it takes some time to get used to it. Small things will feel out of place. You have to find you way around and figure out where everything is.

Similarly, the site will be different, functionalities will be in new places and you just need to find your way around. This process will be largely intuitive. But there may be some moments of disorientation as you make your way around. Well all map the new place out together and help each other settle in.

Also, there will inevitably be a few mistakes (cold water coming out of spigot marked H, things like that!).

A rolling release: a release that happens in stages.

Stage 1: Launch redesigning site to to community

Stage 2: Fix post-launch bugs & Prepare updated app software for iOS and Android

Stage 3: Update design of apps

Are there any new features in this redesign?

There is one special item that will be added with this update that we are very excited about. The 7 Cups teacup is our logo and part of our site. As part of this update, you will get your own teacup. Your teacup will have tea in it (yum, I want green tea in mine) and be interactive with you.

The level of tea in your up will rise or fall depending on your site activity for the day. Your cup will have 3 levels of fullness: half full, s full and completely full. Your cup will never fall below half full. (Were optimists!)

To raise the level of tea in your cup, you will need to take a step on your growth path (but as long as you come to the app or site your level will never decrease).

The goal of the cup is to be a fun and lighthearted way to encourage you to take care of yourself on a daily basis. Youll also be congratulated for consistency as we celebrate your teacup streaks.

Your teacup level will be private and only visible to you.

What will be missing from this release?

----> The app will not be updated for another several weeks.

----> Forums will have a new look, but for now their functionality will be about the same. We still plan a series of forum improvements in the weeks ahead.

Any specific problems I can anticipate?

The functionality will be the same. Most bugs that exists in the old website will still exist. There will probably be a few new bugs at first as well! Well known chat bugs (such as messages out of order) are not yet fixed.

Will I need to update my html profile?

Nope, you should be all set! (But let us know if you see any problems)

Will URLs change?

Yes, some URLs will be changing, but any old URLs will redirect correctly if they do.

Can we expect more changes to the design in the upcoming weeks?

Yes, as with any redesign there are inevitably things we would liked to have tackled already that would have delayed the release needlessly, so we expect to continue improving the design, fixing things we know are not just exactly perfect, as well as addressing unanticipated problems that may arise.

In the upcoming weeks, we will ask of your feedback on the design. We will use your feedback to make tweaks to continue to improve the design. It will take time, and will be an ongoing process, and we ask for your patience and love in this process.

What should I do to prepare for the new design?

----> Glad you asked :)! Please point your members & fellow listeners to this thread. It is incredibly important that we get the word out about this update so that people are not surprised. We want everyone to be prepared (and excited) for the new look.

----> Take a look at these more detailed screen shots of the redesigned site. Found here.

----> Additionally, @krinkthemellowunicorn has generously offered to do a guided tour of the new site with you! It will be a video screen share, where he give you all the ins and outs of the update to help you get oriented and give you more perspective on how the design was conceptualized and implemented.

----> On the day of the launch and for the first few days, help each other get oriented (members & guests too). Support one another as we all get used to our new home.

----> On the day of the launch, we will provide more specific ways for you to give feedback and report bugs. Please stay tuned for more information on how to do this! Your help in reporting bugs will be incredibly helpful!

Thank you everyone! We are very veryyyy excited about this update! Thanks for being on the amazing 7 Cups journey with us!