MAY 21, 2019

The New OptimizePress 3.0: Updates & What to Expect

In this post, we'll give you an update on the release of the brand new OptimizePress.

Please share in the comments below any feedback or questions you have, and we'll make sure we answer them.

Let's get started...

UPDATE: Your questions answered here.

UPDATE #1

OptimizeBuilder: The New OptimizePress Website Editor

OptimizePress 3.0 has been in development for two years, and it's just about ready to make its worldwide debut

The new OptimizePress is a suite of marketing focussed tools that will help you transform your website pages into ones that engage, convert, and WOW your customers.

The first part of the new OptimizePress to be released is the new dashboard and editor plugins, OptimizeDashboard and OptimizeBuilder.

Take a look:

OptimizePress Dashboard and OptimizeBuilder.

The new dashboard and editor plugins are the first to be released.

The new editor is an entirely new way to build any type of web page you might want to create for your business.

Some of the key features of OptimizeBuilder are:

New Templates Cloud System - With our full range of templates and collections, you can quickly launch any website.
Total Visual Drag & Drop Editing - The best way to create and edit a website is with our visual editing system. Don't waste time looking for hidden settings or clicking through endless menus. All the options you need are right there in the editing window.
Lightning Fast Page Load Speeds - We have optimised OptimizePress for conversion. Our core focus is on the speed of editing and page load speed.
Full Section Library - With one click you can add pre-built conversion focused sections to any page.
Full Elements Library - The wide range of elements and optimised element designs are the best in the business.
New Central Management Dashboard - Control your OptimizePress products and customise your website settings from this dedicated plugin.

The new editor is a huge step forward. It has a clean and simple interface, with inline visual controls that make editing a breeze.

The new OptimizePress Builder includes a vast range of features and editing options. However, there are still many amazing things that we are adding for you:

Additional conversion focused elements. 
New niche and industry templates.
More partner integrations.
Extra marketing focused sections.

Beautiful templates available now (with more being added regularly)

We've already started loading a range of beautiful templates, loaded with conversion boosting features.  We're adding to this all the time, and with our Cloud based library, this means as soon as we add a new template, it's available instantly for you to use in your dashboard (no update required).

How can you help us to build a better editor?

With the new editor, we focused on the core controls you need to build high converting websites. While at the same time ensuring you are not overwhelmed with a minefield of options and settings.

Please comment below with the settings, integrations and features you want to see. We want to make sure that the editor has everything you want included, and we'll be keeping this page updated for releases and features!

UPDATE #2

What Else Is In Development For The New OptimizePress?

The first tools to be released from the new OptimizePress are the OptimizePress Dashboard and OptimizeBuilder plugins. Yet, the new OptimizePress is so much more than the new dashboard and builder plugins.

To help give you a clear outline of what is in the pipeline, let me share with you two new products.

OptimizeFunnels

Using our new OptimizeFunnels plugin, you will easily be able to create marketing funnels. Funnels for all types of goals, such as:

List building funnels.
Webinar registration funnels.
Product launch funnels.
Event funnels.
Sales funnels.

OptimizeFunnels is in the final stages of development and beta testing.

STATUS: In Beta Testing

OptimizeCart

To further unlock the power of the new OptimizeFunnels plugin it had to have a sales cart!

So our team is working on features which will allow one time payments and upsells of products. Development is underway and making significant progress.

STATUS: In Development

We will be posting frequent updates on the development of OptimizeFunnels and OptimizeCart.

Alongside these two new products, we will continue to update the OptimizeBuilder editor.

In a future blog post, we'll share a more detailed timeline. This timeline will cover new features and integrations with projected deliverables for their release.

UPDATE #3

How Will We Help You To Master The New OptimizePress?

The new OptimizeBuilder plugin is a new way of building conversion pages for your business. To help you through the learning curve from OP2 to OP3 we will be hosting a series of weekly webinars. These webinars will help guide you through the adoption of the new platform.  We will also take time to answer any questions you might want to ask.

To complement these webinars, we have a range of tutorials and help articles. You will find these in the new Members Hub:

Please keep an eye on your inbox and our social media channels for information on the dates for these webinars.

You can, of course, reach out to our support team for specific help that you might need with the new platform. During this transition, we expect an increase in support so please bear with us.

UPDATE #4

How Will We Keep You in The Loop?

We started development on the new OptimizePress to create something amazing for you. As a result, our entire team got to work.

This has meant that during the last 12-18 months our communication with you has not been as frequent as it should have been. It's important to us that you have an active role in shaping future versions of OptimizePress. We also want to grow a vibrant community of people that share strategies and progress together.

Moving forward, we will host webinars to help you optimize the new platform. We will also be releasing guides and tutorials on marketing strategies.

UPDATE #5

How Will OP2 and OP3 Work Together?

We know many of you are members of our community with sites built using OptimizePress 2.0.  You're probably wondering about what happens with these sites with the launch of OP3.

The good news is, all your sites will continue to run as normal (as long as you have an active license and maintain an updated version of OP2).  We've also built OP3 so that it can run on the same WordPress installation as OP2. This means you can leave your existing pages if you wish and create new pages with the new editor.

While OP2 and OP3 will work together on the same site, you can NOT edit OP2 pages with the OP3 editor.  It's essential to understand the reasons behind this, as it means a benefit to you in the long-run.

When we started building OptimizePress 3.0 (in particular the new builder), our focus was on optimising speed and performance.  We simplified building pages in WordPress.  To do this, we had to take the hard decision to forgo backwards compatibility.

This decision meant our new platform could be as lightweight as possible, as it would not have the bloat of old code.

Avoiding code bloat also meant we could utilize new web technologies for page building which were not available when we created OP2 five years ago.

We appreciate this compromise may be disappointing to some of you. As you start to use OP3, you'll recognize that the ease of use and editing improvements are worth it.

Lightweight code means you get a better editing experience and faster loading pages.

The new editor is an excellent opportunity to rebuild old pages and make use of the fast performance and better conversion potential.

UPDATE #6

What's The Plan For Releasing The New OptimizePress?

We all love to play with new tools. Rest assured, we are as excited to get the new OptimizePress into your hands as you are to receive it.

Let me lay out our proposed rollout plans.

Last week we began the release of the OptimizeDashboard and OptimizeBuilder plugins. These were released only to OptimizePress Club members.

There are a few reasons why the initial rollout was to OptimizePress Club members:

Sending invites has manual processes our team has to run.
To allow our support team to help customers transition to the new platform.
To give users time to complete the activation process.
To allow our development team to fix any initial conflicts and make final improvements.

These processes will be complete when all Club members are active in the new system. We will then start on the next phase of activations for OptimizePress 3.0. The next step will be for customers with an active support and updates license to receive their activation emails.

We aim to rollout to active license customers within 2 to 3 weeks. The rollout process will last for a few weeks itself as we have to activate invitations manually.

We will update you when this process starts.

YOUR Questions Answered

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the official release date?

We currently do not have an official public release date. However, we plan on a full release starting June of this year to our existing customer base.

Does OP3 require a separate purchase?

All Club members and customers with an active license will be upgraded to the new version automatically and will not be required to purchase. 

You may be asked to confirm your billing information as part of the OP3 setup process, as we are migrating to a new billing system. 

Can you add FB comments to OP3 pages?

We plan on adding FB comment widgets and other Social Media integrations to our platform and are all on our roadmap.

Right now, you can add Facebook Comments by using the HTML element and dropping in the code provided by Facebook on their Comments integration page

Please stay tuned for further updates.

What’s a good theme to use with OP3?

The OptimizeBuilder should work with most well coded themes available for WordPress.  As there are many thousands of themes available, it isn't possible for us to test and guarantee compatbility with all themes.

As an OptimizePress customer, you have access to our in-house theme called the SmartTheme.  If you're not sure which theme to use, we recommend you use the SmartTheme and can assure you that it that works perfectly with our OptimizePress tools.

What’s the difference between SmartTheme and SmartTheme V3?

The original SmartTheme was released over a year ago at the time this article was written. In order to provide a seamless way to use OptimizePress email marketing integrations as well as providing updates for this theme, we tied the updates license and integrations into the OptimizePress 2 plugin. 

In order for us to provide a version of the SmartTheme to use with OptimizePress 3 in the same way, the only option we had from a development standpoint was to essentially clone the theme and instead, link the licensing and integrations with the new OP3 Dashboard plugin. 

Also, at the time OP3 was first released, the features other than email integrations and the updates license, that are included in the original and the new SmartTheme V3 are identical.

We may eventually add new features specifically for the newer SmartTheme V3 and will update this article at that time.

If you have any other questions please reach out to our team and we'll be happy to help.

Where can I find V3 of the OptimizePress SmartTheme?

If you have the current SmartTheme installed, you should see the new version listed inside the main OP3 dashboard, which you’ll be able to activate and use. Again, you will only see it listed if you have the current version of the SmartTheme installed.

How do I switch to the new SmartTheme from the older version?

You can install and activate SmartTheme V3 from the OP3 dashboard. Note you will need to setup the Opt-in Form integrations again if you were using those before.

Can I use OP3 to edit my existing OP2 Pages?

As OP3 is an entirely new platform built from the ground up, you will not be able to edit any existing pages built with OP2. They are each their own completely separate systems.

All pages built with OP2 can only be edited with that version of the software.

Can I use OP3 and OP2 together?

Yes. If you are currently using OP2 and want to transition to the newer OptimizePress 3.0, we actually built the new OP3 so you can use it alongside OP2 on the same site. They will not cause issues with each other (they are like siblings actually).

Can I copy designed sections from one page to another?

We are still working on this aspect of the template system.

When we release those features you'll be able to save the template in our template cloud and it will automatically show up for use on any sites you are using OP3 on with your license.

Can I use OptimizeMember with OP3?

OptimizeMember is tied in with OP2 which includes the email integrations for OptimizeMember. If you are using OptimizeMember and are utilizing the email integrations in OP2 for that purpose, then you’ll need to keep OP2 activated. 

OptimizeMember will not work without OP2 being active on your site. Make sure you keep the OP2 plugin and OptimizeMember both activated. 

To use OptimizeMember and protect pages created with OP3, make sure OP2, and OptimizeMember are active, and then you can go to “pages > all pages” and select the OptimizeMember Options on the right side of the normal WordPress editor.

Specific features for Membership sites are on the roadmap for OP3, however those will come in the coming weeks/months as we continue adding new features to the platform.

Does OP3 have the Plus Pack and Membership plugins?

Currently (as of May, 2019) the initial release of OptimizePress 3.0, to our loyal (and highly appreciated) club members, does not have plus pack features or a membership plugin. 

Here are some things to consider as this is still an early pre-launch release of OP3:

You can use the membership plugin from OP2 and still protect your pages. 

- We will have new membership features built into OP3 in the coming weeks/months. 

- PlusPack features such as what was included with OP2 are on the roadmap for OP3. These may not come in the form of a new plugin, but will most likely be added directly into the OP3 builder plugin but will be unlocked only with specific package for OP3 (such as the OP3 Suite plan). 

- Features such as OptimizeExperiments, OptimizeUrgency, and other OP2 PlusPack plugins will also make it into OP3. We ask for patience on this. It took us nearly 5 years of development to get all of that into OP2. Since OP3 is a totally new platform, it will take some time to add all of these features (as these are priority, we hope to have all of these features in OP3 in the coming months, and not years). 

- We can not guarantee timescales for when any of these new features are coming, but just know they are planned, and are already in different phases of development.

- We also have a much larger development team now than we did in the early years of OP2. This means we can develop new features faster without sacrificing quality.

Is there an OP3 Marketplace for templates?

We have plans to develop a brand new Marketplace for OptimizePress templates which will be fully cloud based and allow instant access to purchased templates inside your sites. This won’t be ready for a few months yet, but we’ll be sharing more details about this as we get closer to launch.

If you have any further questions about OP2 vs OP3 please contact our support team and we'll be happy to answer those for you.

IT'S YOUR TURN...

Tell Us What You're Looking Forward To Most?

We hope this update has given you a clear understanding and outline of the release of the new OptimizePress. 

As a valued member of our community we thank you for your continued support as we rollout the new OptimizePress. We are very excited to see what you build using the new editor.

Please share any questions or feedback in the comments below.