MyPunchblog

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

It’s a request we heard many times: “My event spans multiple days, how can I show that on my invitation?”

Well we finally have an answer. Simply click “Add end date” when you’re choosing a date for your event and we’ll display the start and end date on your invitation.

Enjoy!

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

As i mentioned in a previous post, we’ve made some great enhancements to the Dashboard page in your account. I’d like to highlight another change we made to the way your events are presented and sorted.

In the old Dashboard we had 4 separate areas where we listed events: My Current events, My Past events, Events I’m Invited to, and Past Events I’m invited to.

The system made sense but it seemed like too many ‘buckets’. When we designed the new dashboard we took a more simple approach. Now there are just two areas where your events are listed: My Events and Archived events.

My Events lists all events that you are planning or invited to in chronological order. You can delete or archive an event using the Event Options dropdown. To view your archived events, click Archived Events (you can even un-archive them if you want).

We think it’s an improvement. What do you think?

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

Last week I wrote about the new and improved Dashboard that was introduced with our last release. This week I’m happy to highlight another totally revamped feature on MyPunchbowl: the Potluck list.

Again we incorporated user feedback as well as some exciting new design ideas of our own to make a flexible, powerful and useful Potluck system. We spent many hours going over use-case scenarios, debating architecture, and pounding out all the details. In the end we think that work payed off.

The Potluck feature is too big to fit on this page, but I’ll give you a teaser image below. To get the full effect, sign in to your account, click into an event and go to the Potluck page.

Here are some highlights:

• “Open” items: Instead of requiring the host to specify items and quantities, they can simply indicate that they need 4 side dishes and allow the guests to fill in the specifics of what they’re bringing. (see above)
• Host control: One thing we heard form our hosts is that they wanted more control to manage who’s bringing what, make changes if needed, or choose an item on behalf of a guest. You spoke, we listened. The host has full control over their Potluck list
• Flexibility: Hosts can enter their own categories, enter items with unlimited quantity, allow guests to add their own items, add a note to each item, and more. Even with this flexibility, the interface is quite easy to use.
• Prettiness: I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the new Potluck page just looks great! Props to Devin on fun icons and cool colors.

Sign in to your account and check it out!

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

In the latest update to the site we’ve given the Dashboard page a significant upgrade. The new design incorporates a lot of user feedback as well as some new ideas that we had. One of the areas that we’re particularly excited about is how we display events in your dashboard. Here’s an example of what an active event that you’re hosting might look like:

Here are some highlights:

• Quick Links: A dynamic list of links to the most common things you might want to do in the planning process. Just click a quick link and go right to the page you want
• Event Status: At-a-glance status of where you are in the planning process, including a link to the next thing you want to do
• RSVP Status: A quick summary of your RSVPs. This was a top user request!
• Event Options: Click this dropdown to perform tasks like adding a co-host or copying your event.
• Archiving (in event options): Take control of the events that are displayed in your dashboard by archiving events you hosted or were invited to that you no longer want to see. Don’t worry, they’ll always be accessible in the “Archived events” section.

Sign in to your account and check it out!

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

A little while ago, a fellow skier turned me on to a website called “Steep and Cheap”(www.steepandcheap.com). Steep and Cheap is an example of a new breed of eCommerce sites with a unique format: At any given moment there is only one nicely priced item for sale on their site. When that item sells out, they put up another one.

If you’ve never heard of sites like this let me tell you, it’s a fantastic idea. Not only do they usually have great deals, but they bring the term “sticky” to a new level. If you have a “sticky” site, it means people come back to your site often. Everyone wants a sticky site but it can be a challenge depending on your business or service. Steep and Cheap and other “one-at-a-time” websites have really nailed it in my opinion

Steep and Cheap is great for skiers like me, but you can find “one-at-a-time” sites for many other markets. Another example is Woot (www.woot.com). They have a general focus in electronics and also have sibling sites for wine and T-shirts. Woot is slightly different, they only have one item a day, but it’s an equally sticky site.

Here’s a few more to check out. A word of warning though - you may become addicted. Oh and be prepared to buy stuff…

shirt.woot.com

wine.woot.com

www.tramdock.com

www.dillyeo.com

Know of any more? Add them in the comments below.

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

We released an update to the site last week and one of the new features that has the team excited is the introduction of a site-wide global navigation bar at the top of the page:

You may have noticed that over the past few months we’ve greatly expanded the services that MyPunchbowl offers. We now have eCards, Birthday Reminders, Engagement Announcements, plus others.

The new global navigation bar may not be the kind of thing that slaps you across the face and says “I’m an awesome new feature!!” but we think it is a really nice way to both navigate through the site and convey all that we have to offer.

I’d also like to announce a contest  to name the little “dot” that indicates where you are in the site (see above … it’s on Birthday Reminders). Current suggestions include “the notch”, “the dot”, and “the nubbit”.

Post your entries in the comments below. The winner will receive a free hug from Devin, our graphic designer.

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

Our latest site update includes many new and exciting enhancements. We’re particularly happy with the new polish that we’ve given to “guest view” (how the invitation is seen by your guests). We processed a ton of feedback from hosts and guests alike to create a better guest experience. Here are the highlights:

• Top header redesigned for a cleaner look

• Tab design updated for a better user experience

• “Continue” and “Previous” buttons at the bottom of each screen for smooth navigation

• Better layout for Save the Dates

Check out a screenshot:

Be sure to ask your guests what they think when you plan your next event!

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

I was reminded of the popular Saturday Night Live Weekend Update segment “Really!?!” when I came across this page the other day.

I was setting up an online account for my pet insurance policy, when I was presented with this screen:

Really VPI!?! You know people don’t want info from your partnership companies so you switched the position of the choice required to decline this… Really!?!

This also makes an awkward double - negative phrasing that requires me to state “Yes, don’t send me information from VIP’s partnership companies.”

Really!?!

If you ever find something like this on MyPunchbowl, run, because we’ve been abducted by aliens.

This post written by Sean Conta, Founder & CXO

We get a lot of feedback on the site and we try to respond to each and every email. This can be a lot of work, but the benefits are clear. Communicating with our users helps us keep a pulse on things that they find confusing or difficult to use on the site. We take that knowledge and use it to improve site design.

I was just recalling a nice and clean example of this “cycle” that involved the Invitation Options page. When you create an invitation on MyPunchbowl, we offer some great options for customizing how your guests view and interact with the invitation. These options are controlled on the host’s Invitation Options page.

Here’s what the page used to look like (click to enlarge):

This design got the job done, but I fielded a lot of questions from users such as “Can I show who’s invited on my invitation?”, or “I don’t want guests to bring other people, is there a way to turn that off?”.

These things were in the interface, but people were missing it.  So we came up with a better design (click to enlarge):

The questions all but stopped. Why is this design better?

• Sections - the settings are broken into major sections (Display, Guests, Reminders, etc). This makes it easier to digest the page as you glance over it.

• Wording - as opposed to a statement with a “true/false” checkbox we phrased the items as questions. This is more natural to read and easier to understand.

• Examples - see those “More Info” links on the right side? Those open a pop-up with an example picture of the setting. It always helps to see a picture, as most people are visual learners!

• Background - Dark text on a light background is easier to read, and I think you’ll agree this page looks nicer.

Hope you enjoyed this - keep the feedback coming!

Last week we launched a new page that’s linked from the MyPunchbowl home page. On this new MyPunchbowl “learn more” page, you can find out more about the key features and functionality of MyPunchbowl. Our team is really happy with how this page turned out for a few reasons:

1. First, we found a great place on our home page to place the “Learn More” link. We designed a “page curl” at the top of the page which reveals the link to the learn more page. Take a look at the MyPunchbowl home page to see the page curl. Note that it doesn’t detract from the overall look and feel of the page.
2. Once you click on the learn more link, the “Learn More” page provides a prospective user with a quick overview of the key features of the site at a quick glance.
3. The learn more page provides the same look and feel as the home page, providing a seamless experience for a visitor
4. Each of the sections on this page provides a screenshot of the feature (click the “View an example” to see a screenshot).
5. This page does a nice job of showing off some nice designs that are easy to create using the unique MyPunchbowl Design Studio. I’m really happy that users can see what’s possible with our site even before signing up for an account.
6. The learn more page includes a section of frequently asked questions. We tried to pick the top FAQ’s that we are typically asked by people who haven’t yet seen the website. We’re able to communicate a lot of information in a small amount of space.
7. At both the top and bottom of the page, there is a “Sign up for a free account” button which not only stands out on the page, but also provides a direct link to the MyPunchbowl Sign Up page.

Designing a page that accomplishes all of the above in only one page takes coordination between our lead designer, our user experience expert, our marketing diva, and our developers. Here’s a quick screenshot to give you an idea of how nice the page looks:

We’re all really proud of how this page turned out, and I hope you’ll take a look at the MyPunchbowl learn more page and let us know what you think. To share your thoughts, simply leave a comment on this blog post. Thanks!