eCatholic 4.0 Upgrade Announcement

Yes, this is a lot of information, but it's super important, so please take a moment to read it!

After 9 months of development, the dream is born...

In November 2010, the eCatholic team sat down for a thorough evaluation of the CMS (content management system). Born from that meeting was a vision for a revolutionary new approach to creating and updating your website: eCatholic 4.0.

Here were our three main goals for eCatholic 4.0:

• Clean, beautiful designs
  Our first goal was to create an easier approach to provide our users with beautiful websites. In the past, we have offered limited "templates" with sometimes overwhelming options to alter the design of those templates. With eCatholic 4.0, we have simplified the design process by providing you with beautiful new "themes", each with various color schemes from which to choose. So instead of spending time trying to figure out what colors go well together and how to manipulate a template to look the way you want, now you simply choose a theme and a color scheme.
  
  
• Easier, intuitive updating
  Our second goal was to create a new CMS that was so easy and so intuitive that our users 1) would need no instructions, 2) could create a website in 1 hour, and 3) could update their websites significantly faster. With eCatholic 4.0, when you login to your website, it becomes editable "as you see it". Therefore, if you want to edit something, you simply scroll over it and click "Edit". To rearrage the order of pages or elements on your pages, it's as simple as drag-n-drop. Now, you will spend less time updating your website and more time on ministry!
  
  
• Simple, scalable pricing
  Our third goal was to create a pricing structure that was simpler and more scalable for our users. So instead of 4 "editions", each with 3 pricing options (based on length of contract), we have simplified our pricing to 3 packages and no contracts. In addition, the pricing is based primarily on 1) number of pages used and 2) amount of disk space used. We now have a package for parishes, schools, and ministries of all sizes.
  
  

What's new?

The big changes provided with eCatholic 4.0 are listed above, but below are a few more to get excited about:

• Beautiful themes
  We have designed 10 new themes, each with various color schemes. In addition, we will be converting (and improving) several of the old "templates" into themes that work with version 4.0. We will also be releasing 2 new themes each month.
  
  
• Edit your website "as you see it"
  We have completely redeveloped the way you update your website. Instead of logging into a separate back-end interface, you will now login to your website and edit it "as you see it". Very intuitive, quick, easy, and fun!
  
  
• Drag-n-drop
  Instead of "sort order" fields, you simply drag-n-drop. This includes rearranging pages, page features, home page modules, custom form fields, online store products and much more. This alone will drastically improve the effeciency with which you are able to update your website.
  
  
• Simpler WYSIWYG
  We have simplified the WYSIWYG editor to include only the most used tools. But you can still embed your own source code, so that flexibility is still available.
  
  
• Duplicate form groups, fields, and options
  Creating custom forms just got super-easy. You can now drag-n-drop form fields and groups to reorder, as well as duplicate any form groups, fields, or field options.
  
  
• Custom CSS
  You can edit the CSS for any theme. Therefore, if you have a particular theme that you love, but you just want to change a couple small details about it, you will have the freedom to do so. If you do not know CSS (or even what that means), no worries. This is just an added feature for those users with experience in HTML and CSS development.
  
  
• Footer Navigation
  You can now turn on the optional footer navigation menu (similar to the one found at the bottom of this website).
  
  
• Delete all past events
  With a click of a button, you can now delete all past events on a given page (or on the entire website).
  
  

What's changing or going away?

One of our big goals with eCatholic 4.0 was to simplify and scale back rarely used and unnecessary features. So here are a few features that are changing or going away:

• Logo / Site Name
  The site name or logo for your website will be restricted to a specifically sized area and font type/size. This is to help keep the themes clean, uncluttered, and properly proportioned.
  
  
• Built-in forms
  All built-in forms (prayer requests, join our mailing list, etc) have been converted to custom online forms, so those forms are now editable.
  
  
• No events on news
  Your probably thinking, "huh?" Well, in the past you could add events to news articles. This just did not make sense to us, was confusing, and it was rarely, if ever, used. Therefore, we just took out this option.
  
  
• Events Descriptions
  The "Show Events Desciptions" field has been removed from the "Calendar Options for this Page". Event summaries will now always show below the title of an event when events are listed.
  
  
• Terms of Use
  We have removed the "Terms of Use" found by default at the bottom of your website. If you like, you can add your own terms of use in the custom footer area.
  
  

A few IMPORTANT notes BEFORE upgrading to eCatholic 4.0

You are probably wondering, "So how do I upgrade?" Well, before you make the switch, make sure you read over and understand the following:

• Limited Themes
  We have designed 10 beautiful new themes, each with several color schemes. We also plan to convert several of the old "templates" to themes that will work with eCatholic 4.0. However, for the sake of launching August 1st, we have only been able to integrate 5 of the 10 new themes and 1 of the old "templates".
  
  We will be finishing the integration of the other 5 themes, as well as several of the old "templates" over the next couple months. Each time we finish a new theme, we will alert you via Twitter and Facebook, so make sure that you are following us on one or both.
  
  So in short, if you see a theme that you want to use now, go ahead and upgrade. If you want to wait for more themes to become avaiable, hold off on upgrading to eCatholic 4.0 for now and follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be alerted each time a new theme is released.
  
  
• Custom Designs
  If you are currently using a custom design that we created and you are interested in switching to eCatholic 4.0, go ahead and click "Upgrade" below, but in the comments field, enter "We have a custom design that we want to migrate." We will then begin the conversion process in the order in which these requests are received.
  
  

A few last minute questions that you might have

• Which of the new packages will my website be using?
  When you switch to eCatholic 4.0, you will automatically be upgraded to the Premium Package (but your monthly price will remain the same)!
  
  
• Do I have to upgrade to eCatholic 4.0 right now?
  No, you can wait until more themes are available or just whenever you are ready. In fact, if you never want to upgrade, you don't have to (although we think you will be very glad that you did). Keep in mind, however, that we will no longer be updating the previous version of eCatholic (eCatholicChurches.com).
  
  
• If I switch to Version 4.0 and want to go back to the old version, can I?
  Hopefully this question never comes up! But in case it does, no, once you switch to eCatholic 4.0, you cannot go back to a previous version.
  
  

How do I upgrade to eCatholic 4.0?

Well, you have either read this far, or skipped ahead to this part. If it is the latter, we understand your excitement! However, please make sure you read through this entire announcement before clicking the "Upgrade" button below.

If you have read this announcement in it's entirety and you are ready to upgrade to eCatholic 4.0, follow these easy steps

1. Click "Upgrade" below and complete the upgrade request form.
2. You will receive a verification e-mail for us to confirm your identity. Reply to that e-mail with the word "Confirmed".
3. We will convert your website to eCatholic 4.0 and then e-mail you once the process is completed.

We process upgrade requests in the order in which they are received. Each upgrade usually only takes a few minutes, but depending on how backed up we are on the upgrade queue, it might take 1-3 business days before we can process your request, so please be patient.

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