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A Time-Saving Feature in Version 1.2

Posted on August 6, 2011 by in News

It’s been only a month from our version 1.1 release and the responses we received about image link and caption features had been extremely positive.

Today, we are releasing version 1.2 which contains one very useful feature that solves a time-consuming problem. It is the edit shortcut feature.

Imagine you are in an emergency to edit an error in your post, there are currently two ways to do it:

  1. Type in the URL of admin dashboard => Click Pages => Click Edit on that particular post.
  2. Type in the URL of that particular post page => Click Edit Post at the bottom of the page.

Depending on how fast your blog is, it will take anywhere from 6 to 15 seconds to complete the process (not including editing, just opening the edit page) from start to finish, except if you can remember the direct editing screen URL which contains an arbitrary number.

After few iterations, here was the solution I came up with:

Step 1:

Step 2:

It is very simple. If you add ?edit at the end of any post/page URL, Artsy Editor will redirect you to the corresponding editing screen right away.

This is powerful because now you can access the editing screen faster than ever before. For example, you don’t have to click through the cluttered WordPress admin panel three times nor need to remember the arbitrary number to access the editing screen. Just append ?edit and you should be able to start working on your post in 1-2 second.

Hope you are enjoying this feature we highlighted! For more information about this version or past versions, visit our changelog.

What’s New in Version 1.1?

Posted on July 12, 2011 by in News

Maybe not many of you noticed, but we are rolling out bug fixes and feature additions at a race car pace. Take a look at our full changelog – we’ve released eight new versions since our launch two weeks ago. That’s pretty incredible progress.

In the latest version 1.1 release, we added couple very useful features into the image category. These are commonly requested features from our early customers. We not only want to make them happy, we also want our future customers to enjoy them as soon as possible too.

First up, image caption support. You can add, change and clear any image captions by clicking the image and edit the caption field. The output generated will be the exact the same as WordPress’s original:

[caption id="4314" align="alignnone" width="80" caption="Who is this?"]
<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4314" title="me" 
src="http://demo.artsyeditor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/me.png"
alt="" width="80" height="80" />
[/caption]

Second is image link support. If your image is already hyperlinked, you can now create, edit, and delete image links by clicking on the image and edit the link field. Artsy Editor will generate the image link HTML automatically.

Last one is image ratio support. When you resize images from now on, you will notice the ratio will not change any more (which might cause disproportion images). The image, whether made larger or smaller, will have the same width/height ratio. Therefore they will look perfect regardless of size.

You can update Artsy Editor by going to Plugins > Artsy Editor. Simply the Update button on the right sidebar and everything should be taken care of.

What Does WordPress 3.2 Mean for Artsy Editor?

Posted on July 4, 2011 by in News

An hour ago, WordPress 3.2 was released (coincidentally on the same day that WordPress 3.1 received 15 millions downloads). It includes an admin design change, a new Twenty Eleven theme, and most importantly, they revamped the their original full-screen mode in a distraction-free editor.

What does it mean for Artsy Editor?

For those who just came here, Artsy Editor is a premium WYSIWYG editor for WordPress. Take a look:

We indeed have a distraction-free environment, but we are much more than that.

For example, you can drag-and-drop images anywhere into the editor, they will be automatically uploaded and inserted to the post. We also have a Photoshop-style image scaling feature. You can simply drag the handle to resize to whatever dimension you want. Few more things you can do include change the color and font, add links without the overlay, etc.

You can try out Artsy Editor to get a feel of what I am talking about. For more information, we have a dedicated page about Artsy Editor vs. WordPress distraction-free editor.

If you prefer WordPress’ basic implementation, that’s great. But if you feel like you need the additional features (image & link manipulation) or you enjoy our UI more than WP’s, you can purchase a copy.

For any questions, feel free to email stephen@artsyeditor.com

(This post is written in Artsy Editor)

You Can Now Pay Without a PayPal Account

Posted on July 2, 2011 by in News

Just want to write a quick note to inform everyone that you can now pay with your credit card even you don’t a PayPal account.

The payment processing system we originally used was PayPal Express Checkout. Although it took less time to implement, it didn’t allow any payment from people without a PayPal account. We’ve lost few sales just because of it.

I spent couple hours yesterday working on a new integration with PayPal Website Payment Standard, which lets you pay with your credit card even if you don’t own an existing PayPal account.

A little screenshot to show where you can pay without credit card instead of PayPal balance:

Then you just enter your credit card information.

That’s it!

A thank-you goes to everyone that expressed their needs about this via email on the last couple days. I truly appreciate it. Without you, I wouldn’t even know that I lost sales because of the payment limitation.

We Are Proudly Launched!

Posted on June 27, 2011 by in News

If you just want to try us out, here you go!

The Backstory

Back in March, I wanted to build a better WordPress editor. I interviewed 100+ people, and had 38 willing-to-pay customers before writing a line of code. The feedback has been astounding. So I decided to built it!

After 2 months of solid design and programming work, we are ready for you!

The Benefits

In version 1.0, we focused on the four main problems that our customers asked us to solve.

1. A clutter-free environment to write.

I used the show-up-where-you-need-it-when-you-need-it technique. The editor shows up right below your mouse cursor. So when you format a blog post, you can save the time on moving from selected word to the top of editor. Also, when nothing is selected, the editor fades away. It gives you more space to write and less distractions to worry about.

2. Ability to drag-and-drop image.

Gmail had added drag and drop attachments feature for a year, and people had been asking me if it is possible in Artsy Editor. The answer is yes. You can drag in any images from anywhere in your computer, Artsy Editor will handle the rest (uploading and inserting). So you don’t have to waste the time navigating through the file system.

3. Simplify image resizing process.

I personally think this is a feature many people will fall in love to. The screenshot on the left is how WordPress handles image resizing, the right is how we do it. There is no overlay to open, no number to enter and no percentage to choose. Just drag the little handle to the size you want.

4. A better way to add link

Do you remember yourself waiting for the link overlay to load and wish it comes on faster? In Artsy Editor, that problem is solved intelligently. Instead of an overlay (which is what standard WYSIWYG uses), we have a link field inside of the formatting box. So just highlight the text and add your link. Tick the checkbox if you want to open in new window.

It Works!

Check out what our beta testers have to say and the results of our pre-launched sales to mailing list subscribers.

The Pricing

There are three tiers.

  1. Hobbyist. You can use the Hobbyist license in 1 blog. This is great if you are a hobbyist blogger who spend nights and weekends writing about what you love. It will cost $19.99.
  2. Professional. You can use the Professional license in up to 5 blogs. This is great if you are a professional blogger who write/manage more than 1 blog. It will cost $59.99.
  3. Developer. You can use the Developer license in unlimited blogs. This is great if you are a developer that build WordPress websites for clients. It will cost $199.99.

You can buy them right here.

Artsy Editor vs. WordPress distraction-free editor

A lot of people had been reminding me that WordPress 3.2 revamps its full-screen mode into a distraction free editor. Yes, I’ve been completely aware of it since I started building Artsy Editor. I think Artsy Editor offers more functionality than what WordPress editor allows you to do (image uploading & resizing, customization, etc.). Plus I think the way our formatting box works is better than WordPress. It disappears when you don’t need it. And it appears right at the place you need it. More on this page >

Can’t wait to try it out?!

We’ve set up a full-fledge demo for you to try out (no limitation, no signup required). Otherwise, you can take a look at our homepage with more feature information.

Oh, don’t forget to email or tweet to your friends if you think they deserve to know!

Development Update

Posted on April 25, 2011 by in News

I’ve signed up for countless services’ pre-launch email subscriptions before. Most tended to be the same:

  1. You give them your email because it looks interested.
  2. You wait… kind of lose interests gradually.
  3. They send you a promotional email at the launch day, but you feel like you aren’t interested any more.

My philosophy is to be as transparent as possible. I don’t want people to just give me their emails and expect them to pay me money for a WordPress plugin. I don’t think that’s how it should work. I want to keep every interested prospects up-to-date with my progress. So they know what’s going on and what to expect.

Design

On the week of April 10th-17th, I put myself in Photoshop to make sure Artsy Editor will have the best user interface possible. It doesn’t mean the most beautiful look, but the most appropriate user experience. I had to decide carefully how big a button is and where it should be placed. Take a look at the mockups I came up with:

Coding

I am collaborating with a WordPress plugin developer to bring my design into reality. You might be asking why I want to work with someone instead of doing it all myself? The answer is simple: there are people that are better than me at this. I don’t consider myself a bad developer. I’ve been doing PHP development (mainly CodeIgniter) and JavaScript development for a while. But I think in order to provide the quality it deserves, I need to work with people that are real good at this.

The progress had been fantastic. We’ve got the basic WYSIWYG working, including formatting, adding links, as well as the code that integrates it as a WordPress plugin.

There are still a lot more to be done – things like image uploading, image resizing, different settings, and small bits and pieces here and there. But you can definitely expect what you receive from me will be top-notch.

Marketing

After the successful first round of idea validation, I’ve put less time into talking to people about Artsy Editor and more time into design & development. This week, I am back to focus on marketing.

I am going to slowly and gradually get in touch with power bloggers so I can see what problems they are having with WP’s editor. They are going to be a huge percentage of my target customers. So I want to make sure Artsy Editor is going to fit their needs and worth what they are paying for.

I Know You Will Have Questions

How is it going to be out?

I don’t do ETA, anything unpredictable can happen anytime. I keep telling myself June. But It can be earlier or later than that, depends on how things go. But the thing I can promise is I will not rush and deliver the best editor I can.

Will it be a generic version of Artsy Editor (not WordPress only)?

My current focus is WordPress. It’s a strong & huge community to be in. And it will be easier for normal, non-technical folks to use it (just purchase, upload, and activate it). But if enough people have that request, I will consider it in the (not-nearish) future.

Will Keep You In Touch

Lastly, I want to let you know I am open for any suggestions or questions – just email me at stephen@artsyeditor.com. I will get back to everyone of you. Also, I will continue to keep you guys updated as I move on!