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Introducing new Page Builder tools in Invision Community 5 Widgets are an incredibly powerful tool for displaying curated content of your choice on any page of your community - and despite the extensive array of settings for customizing their data, they've often been limited in terms of their design options. But this changes thanks to the new Page Builder tools in Invision Community 5! Widget Designs Previously in version 4, widgets would often have 2 designs: one for the main content area and a more minimal version for the sidebar. This worked well, but it meant your page was very limited in terms of design as you'd typically need to use the same table-like layout for most widgets. Anything beyond that would typically require a custom block to be coded, often with additional HTML or CSS. Version 5 offers much more customization by allowing you to change the design of each widget with the click of your mouse - no coding necessary! When dragging a widget onto your page, a new toolbar at the bottom of the page appears, holding all of the widget design options. Lets take a look at some below! Grid A familiar a very layout used elsewhere in the suite, the Grid design neatly aligns entries in a grid with a large cover photo sitting up top. A great combination of visual imagery alongside meta data such as entry descriptions. Featured A spacious list and a great way to feature content, pardon the pun. Wallpaper Perfect for content which includes uploaded cover photos or thumbnails! The Wallpaper design stretches each image to make it occupy the entire background, overlaid by a minimal amount of content. A subtle gradient sits behind the text to ensure it's easy to read, even on detailed images. Rows (table) The Rows design is a very familiar one, used very often throughout other areas of the suite. Content is displayed in a neat table, that collapses into a more compact design on small screens. Minimal Great for displaying a lot of content in a compact area! Minimal only shows primary information and hides meta data such as entry descriptions and stats. Great for sidebars, or areas with limited width. Minimal Grid The Minimal Grid design removes large meta information and displays content in a nice, compact grid. A nice option for displaying a lot of content while being cautious of vertical space. Carousel The Carousel option is quite unique because it can be applied in tandem with other widget designs, and is a perfect way to make the existing layouts even more compact. For example, by default, the Wallpaper design is aligned as a grid, but with the Carousel option enabled, the layout is converted into a carousel instead: Carousel-widget.mp4 Here's another example, using the Featured and Carousel options: Blog - featured carousel.mp4 Fun fact for developers: All of these designs use the exact same HTML structure; the only thing that differs is the class name on the parent element. This makes it incredibly easy to adjust the design of your own widgets without needing to manually code multiple layouts. Widget Areas Version 4 was often quite limiting when it came to aligning widgets in pages. Widgets could be dragged into a stacked, vertical list but that was typically as far as you could go in terms of design. Version 5 introduces a new concept called Widget Areas, which allow you to align multiple widgets in a variety of ways. Lets take a look! To create an area, you simply need to drag one widget on top of another. Blog - areas.mp4 By default, they'll align themselves into a grid, but can be realigned with ease by using the toolbar at the bottom of the page. The toolbar also holds controls for adjusting the width of widgets, and the gap between them: Blog - alignments.mp4 Widget Designs and Widget Areas in Version 5 make it incredibly easy to create a completely custom page in a matter of seconds. We're really excited for you to get your hands on these new tools in Invision Community 5, and are looking forward to seeing all of these new page designs in the wild, in the very near future! View full blog entry

Who is ready for an alpha site to play with?

Well, it appears that after 4 minutes, it's entirely flawless so we may as well just release final?

We recently announced the new Invision Community 5 editor which adds many new exciting features such as semantically correct header tags, custom boxes and more. As the new editor is a leap forward in technology, some legacy features had to be left behind. We received a lot of messages about these changes, and have created new tools based on that feedback to ensure you still have the tools you need. The new features are based around restricting some high level editor functionality for specific member groups and enabling an easy way to add custom embeds. Permission Levels Invision Community 5 puts a lot of new tools in the editor, including header tags, boxes and positioning tools. These are useful features, but perhaps you do not want your members changing the semantic structure of the page by adding H1 tags. Or maybe you don't want them being able to add custom boxes with colors. Based on this feedback, we have introduced a permission levels system. At the heart of the system lies three editor permission levels: Minimal, Standard and Advanced. Specific editor features are assigned to one or more levels. For example, you may only want header tags and content boxes to be for the 'advanced' permission level which only administrators can use. These permission levels are configurable via the Admin Control Panel. When is Each Restriction Level Used? Now that we have set up the permission levels, we need to apply them to member groups. We do this by simplying heading over to the Member Groups section of the Admin Control Panel. In the "Content" section of that form, there are two new options: Default Editor Restriction Level: This is the restriction level the group uses by default, for example in Forum Topics and Blog Posts. Editor Restriction Level for Comments: This is the level used for Comments (including Topic Replies) throughout the Community. When a member has multiple groups, they will use the most permissible editor setting out of all groups. Custom Embeds In response to news that the ability to toggle into 'source mode' and directly edit the underlying structure of the editor document was not implemented because editor technology has moved on, many people told us they used that feature to add custom iframes from specific services they use. We understood the need for custom embeds, and we've added the option to create iframe elements with any whitelisted URL from a link. CleanShot 2024-06-20 at 15.49.43.mp4 Additionally, iframes created this way have configurable height and width so you can resize to your liking This feature has two editor permissions: "Can Embed External Content," and "Can Convert Links to iframes". Adding iframes into a post can potentially be a security issue, so strong controls are needed to ensure there isn't abuse of this system. The editor will only allow links to be converted to iframes if the domain has been whitelisted. The whitelist exists in the new tab, Admin Control Panel > System > Posting & Editor > Embeds. The feature can also be entirely disabled from here. That wraps up this round of changes based on your comments. We hope that you enjoy this update to our Invision Community 5 editor and we always appreciate your feedback. View full blog entry

Little update: bugs are being squashed slightly faster than they are being reported, which is a good sign. We've got two blogs queued up, one for tomorrow and one for next week. I've just seen the video Ehren has put together and it's his best yet. It's fitting that he opened the v5 video blogs, and has created the last. That should be out next week. We will have a bunch of other blogs after, but this is the last major feature reveal. As for alpha testing v5, don't worry because... (After we've got things a little more stable or the bug report forum will be like Harry Potter's living room but instead of trying to stop Harry opening an invitation to Hogwarts, I'll be trying to stop our devs from having a breakdown).

Around 45 bugs fixed so far, with another 39 in the queue.

I mean, that's a work of beauty. I recently did something similar by collecting all the cables, small electronics (USB hubs, etc) and put them in a single plastic crate. Now I know where to go when I need something, and if it's not there, I can buy a new one. 😆 @Esther E. has been busy listening to your feedback, and she's implemented two changes (I'll update the blog shortly). The first, is that we're going to convert all your open tags over on upgrade, be that 10 or 10,000. You can then decide if you want to delete any from the AdminCP post conversion. The second is a bulk tag add/remove tool via multi-moderation.

Update: The alpha system has been built, and all the initial teething problems using Invision Community v5 without IN_DEV have been fixed. As mentioned above, currently all JS/themes and CSS is built on demand, and rebuilt on demand (often quite a lot). In v5 it's built once per version and stored in a new location, so there were some teething issues with that. We'll test this new system internally today and if all goes well, we can start getting people in tomorrow.

How's your Thursday going?

Exciting news! Alpha 2 has now been released, and it's now using our build system which means these installations are upgradable (hopefully 😬) and these are 'real' Invision Community 5 installations. I've sent out a bunch more alpha invites now that the initial round of testing has completed. 🎉

These are on our list but will likely not make it in the initial Community 5 release. Tables sound simple enough, but when you factor everything that goes into delivering a powerful table system - background color, border color, border width, what type of content can go in a cell, what to do about overflow, actions applying to the entire row/column etc - and make it not only powerful but easy to use and reliable, the dev time really adds up. 🤔 😉

The TL;DR version: We actually provide the service you pay for through constant updates and communication. You don’t see people on our community wondering why we do not communicate or release an update in years. While there are countless differences in goals and vision, we cost more because we do more. Ask yourself: do you want ye olde forum script that you see people begging for updates on or a living company behind an evolving product?

Hi AtomiCAST, I appreciate your question. Value is very subjective, but I can run through a few things in terms of what I think offers a lot of value. The first thing I want to address is that we do not see XenForo as a competitor. They are a legacy forum-only system that is looking very dated with a slow development process that took over three years to bring a new version to the market that largely catches up to where we were years ago. If you purchase a license with XenForo then you will get a forum system and that is that. You do not get a commerce store, a powerful CMS and database system, nor a gallery or community blogging tool. We are different. We do not base all our decisions around code and development, but rather our conversations with professional community management teams running large complex communities. We focus on bringing tools to the platform that people need. You only have to look through our news blogs to see our forward thinking with regards to managing communities. We have: Redefined what a community product should look like with a brand new interface. Built a brand new theme editing experience designed to reduce complexity and enable everyone to theme their community. Added a way to erase frustration and find answers quickly. Added a new way to identify and follow community experts and leaders for a better onboarding experience. Added a simple badge builder to empower all community owners to create custom badges and reactions. Added a way to assign individual topics to moderators and teams to help organise your forum and provide better service for members. A brand new lightweight and fast editor that actually works. Rebuilt tagging to bring content from all over the community into one place. Added a drag and drop WYSIWYG page builder tool with dozens of pre-built widgets and layouts. As you can see, these features are not based around technology, but based around people and community. When you look at XenForo's 2.3 feature list, it's things like OAuth, Stripe integration, developer tools, web hooks, etc. These are all much-needed (and we've had them for years) but how do these help you grow a community and help your community get the best from their time on the forum? I believe their next release is 3.0 and will just be a new theme and unlikely to launch in 2024, so when will you get new features? 2025, 2026, 2027? Or you can have an alpha release of Invision Community 5 right now with a full release later this year. The basic question being asked is "why aren't you as cheap as XenForo" and the question is simply that we do not want to be "cheap", we want to be good. We want to help your community succeed with forward thinking features, regular releases and daily communication. We will not abandon the software for years leaving your communities struggling and stagnating against newer more modern community platforms. We are constantly thinking about how to allow your members to get the most from your forum in the small pockets of time people have. Invision Community 5 being a mobile first product allows your members to check-in (or be pulled back with notifications) while in a line at that the store, or waiting in the car while your kids are at sports clubs. This is how people use your forum now. So in terms of value, and what we offer for the price is simple: We offer you a strong future and will work hard to support your community. If you want a cheap forum, and are happy with the stop-start-stop development of XenForo then that is totally fine too.

We will be inviting another batch of testers in next week. Keep an eye on your notifications for the invite!

There have been a few different conversations on this, especially, last year when we changed our license terms for moving forward. The summary really comes down to: the current license terms were put together in order to make self-hosting viable for the future for both our clients and us. The self-hosting market has shrunk to a very, very small part of our business (and respectively, the internet as a whole) so if we are going to offer a self-hosted option, we want it to be the best of our software suite and if we're going to sell it, we don't want to abandon our self-hosted customers so it has to be something we can continue to provide support to at a renewal which works. It's also worth mentioning that you get what you pay for. Our software is ever evolving (check out our Version 5 Blogs). We offer monthly releases, support, Spam Defense, GEOIP, and a lot of other goodies, all for $499 one time price and $199/year afterwards.

For the love of God and those in need, Grant full access, I humbly plead. With Creator's plan, they'll build and grow, A chance for all to let dreams flow. PLEEEASE bring Page Builder Full Access to the CREATOR plan! 🙏

Thanks for all the thought and innovation put into the new pages functionality. P.S. Dr. Seuss would be proud of that video.

That’s not a useful question, because there is no general answer. Every potential customer needs to decide for themselves. And based on that calculation you either buy it or not — like with every single product decision in a supermarket, car dealership or whatever. Some communities make hundreds of dollars in ads every month. They don’t worry about investing $15 for a small improvement. Just look at it from the developer’s perspective. A plugin takes X amount of hours to code, test and support in the future. Multiply that with an hourly rate and you have the amount of money the developer wants to get back in earnings through the plugin price times the expected sales. Ending up with $15 for products that aren’t sold thousands of times isn’t surprising. It’s a bare minimum. And here comes the really bad news. Those prices only worked with the Marketplace and its large audience. With Invision Community 5, we can expect these smaller plugins to either go away or get much more expensive, because of fewer sales and the calculation presented above.

back to facebook where they belong 😂

👀 From the first commit (mostly v4 at that point) to the first real alpha: 2059 commits in just over a year.

Yes the new page builder looks very nice. I really want to take a slice. Without rolling the dice. IPS v5 is my first choice. Well done folks. Love the new page builder 😍😍😍😍😍😍.

I have compassion and have just scheduled my next bunch of bugs for Monday. Have a nice weekend!

This is on my todo list, and has been for a while. Consider it fixed for version 5.

We will soon let those on the alpha testing group share their test sites for more feedback. Not much longer now - it's all coming together - which (hopefully) those in the alpha group can confirm 😄

For me, the new prices are very attractive, however, I kindly request that self-hosting continues to be developed despite the low interest. 🙏

We recently changed our pricing from 'pick what you want' to 'everything' for a few reasons. First, a forum-only community will not survive in 2024. Secondly, we want to strengthen the relationship between apps and that is impossible to do when an app may be missing. It sounds like XenForo is a great fit for you, so I wish you all the best!

Widget Designs are still being rolled out and will be available for many widgets once I’m done. They are not finished in Alpha 2.

First order of business: Second: This looks awesome! Can't wait to give this a shot. One clarifying question: I presume these widgets and that functionality will work for building a page showcasing Topics? I'd love to see what the wallpaper version of Topics looks like. In my head, I'm thinking: a user posts a topic, but is required to upload an image, so that when the topic appears on the feed (on the page I've created), it has an image. Like this, but for Topics 😄 Anyway, looks super polished and slick! Nicely done!

Who wants another blog entry today? 😮

The ability to resize the Iframe externally to my liking is a nice touch, thanks 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩. Keep up the great works.

Excellent work Matt and Team, we do greatly appreciate the efforts. 🙏

I woke up to over 100 notifications today.

It is no longer flawless.

We don't talk about the other four.

The AI we use in v5 isn't what many think of. A lot of people think of ChatGPT and that weird formally informal homogenised output it gives. We are using AI in v5, but in terms of algorithms and models (spam analysis, topic summaries, trending content, etc). We'll talk more on that as we move towards release.

This is great news and one that I can't wait to play around with. Thank you for giving us the updated tools for frames and embeds, reason 1432 out of unlimited in how IC continues to innovate and listens to the community.

I will press F5 24/7 now

I get the idea, but I also wouldn’t hold my breath. It’s a niche use that goes against the entire framework revolving around community accounts. Not to mention that no one will agree on what those “essential“ information will be for that toggle. (I speak from experience regarding my Pages templates adding tons of options, which never were enough.) A custom app changing the template output for all user-related information might work though and would probably not be too complicated.

Compassionate indeed. I've been out for the last 2 days, just imagine what my inbox looks like... 😭

Notifications and bugs.

I got back from holiday, realised everything has changed, and only just found out its Thursday

I've invited about 25 people in for the first few days. This is just to control the flow of reports in the early days. We expect there to be a lot, from the new demo system through to the product. Once things are a bit more stable, we'll invite everyone else in that has requested to test. Thanks all!

I've brought this in internally as it does indeed not make much sense.

It really depends on what you want for you community. You can have a free UNSUPPORTED plugin or pay $10 for a support. Even better: you don’t need to pay anything. Just learn how to do your plugins:

The front page of the downloads section looks better. Please try to make the categories view look less like a forum: They do not look good in IPB 4. This is what Apple is doing now. It looks slick: