In late 2022, Uscreen started using a new underlying web technology to enhance website speed, performance, functionality, and accessibility. Many features and improvements use this new web upgrade, such as the improved catalog, new collection page, improved video comments, community challenges, new checkout, and more. Full list below.
Summary
This website upgrade enhances website speed, performance, functionality, and accessibility.
This website upgrade may affect your 3rd-party custom code.
There is no action needed, if you do not use custom website code
There is no action needed, if you have already worked with Uscreen to review your custom code.
Uscreen is requiring this website upgrade on October 16, 2023, to ensure you have the latest features and performance improvements.
Your custom code, or any 3rd party customizations, may become disabled, or behave unexpectedly. Please revisit your custom code.
Contact Uscreen for any questions! We are happy to assist before the required upgrade.
We do not make updates like this often, but they are necessary to ensure the performance and improvements.
For the technically-inclined, this web technology is called Hotwire, a new part of Ruby on Rails. It is a proven, stable, and widely adopted technology, used by companies like AirBnB, Shopify, Basecamp, Fiverr, Kickstarter, Hulu, and many more.
Do I have the website upgrade?
Visit your website admin to see your status
Yes! ✅ if you created your Uscreen account after August 2022. No action needed.
Yes! ✅ if you have no custom code. You are already upgraded. No action needed.
Yes! ✅ if you already worked with Uscreen to upgrade. No action needed.
No... if you see update needed 🔶 You are receiving notifications from Uscreen about upgrading, and what you need to do, which is to revisit your custom code.
How do I get the website upgrade?
Option #1: wait until October 16, 2023 to automatically receive the upgrade. Then review your custom code, or any 3rd-party customizations, and address any needed changes to your custom interfaces and functionality. Please refer the Advanced Customizations and remember: Any Uscreen system-wide changes, like this upgrade, may also impact your custom changes, and Uscreen is not responsible for the impact on your customizations. You may need to work with your 3rd party developer if you have large customizations on your website. You may have 3rd party costs, to upgrade and maintain your customizations, as is typical across the custom software services industry.
Option #2: contact Uscreen Support by clicking on the Orange "Website Update Needed" Button in your account to upgrade now and not wait until October 16th. You can also click the button below.
Option #3: contact Uscreen Support by clicking on the Orange "Website Update Needed" Button in your account and request a site review. We are happy to review your custom code. Our review will take a few days. We will provide you a recommendation. This recommendation may include how to prepare your custom code for the upgrade... or a 3rd-party developer to assist you, given your advanced customizations. If everything seems fine with your site and custom coding, we will upgrade your site now, instead of October 16th. You can also click the button below.
Website Upgrade Benefits and Features
Once upgraded, you will have access to these latest and greatest improvements! These provide the best possible experience for your audience and end-users.
Automatically available
Improved catalog page with faster loading and minor interface improvements to element size, spacing, images, and text.
Improved video watch page with YouTube-style layout, where the description and the comments are on the same page. This means more engagement. In the old catalog, the comments were hidden in a separate tab.
Improved video comments experience that enhances engagement and encourages more interaction from audience members, with features similar to the community, liking comments and replies, attaching pictures, mentioning, etc.
New Multi-Author support for videos on the catalog.
New Collection Homepage that explicitly shows the collection description and images, while showing collection videos.
Available with opt-in settings
New "Add to Calendar" feature for end-users to add videos to their personal calendar.
New Gift Cards page with a 2-step email verification process to discourage bot and spam attacks
Single Page create account and payments has been updated to increase conversions and revenue
New Checkout Flow with Stripe subscriptions, taxes, and automatic payments methods
"Get Access" purchase options directly on the video details page for fast and convenient purchases. Access used to be on separate pages. This could improve conversions (since less steps and clear purchase options) and increase revenue.
New Community Notifications Bell for timely reminders to engage and retain audience members
New Community Challenges for community engagement, progress tracking, and fun accountability
Examples of Website Upgrade Improvements
You will notice that many improvements are subtle user in interface enhancements. The underlying technology also makes these web pages faster and more accessible.
Improved Catalog
Improved Video Page
New Collection Homepage with Collection Comments
