This summer (2024), we’ve been working hard to roll out new developments and features for our platform. In this article, we’ll share the updates that have recently been implemented or will soon be available. You’ll find a detailed list of changes at the end of the article, but first, let’s take a look at the bigger picture to give you some context around these updates.
Following Areas: A New Way to Communicate
SitePodium and its Dutch counterpart ‘de BouwApp’ experienced significant growth over the past few years, and we recently celebrated reaching the milestone of 1 million downloads. This growth brings new opportunities, enabling communication not just at the project level but also at the area level. Users can now follow specific areas to receive updates about projects and events in their vicinity, even if they aren’t following the project itself. Administrators retain full control over their projects and the communication surrounding them.
The following enhancements are part of the Area Following feature:
- Following Areas: Users can now follow specific areas, which they can set up during onboarding after downloading the app or through the settings menu.
- Adding GPS Location to Updates: Each update will now be linked to a GPS location, ensuring that area followers stay informed about important information in their neighbourhood, even if they aren’t following the specific project.
- Updates Beyond Projects: Administrators can now post updates that aren’t directly tied to a project, provided this module is activated for their organisation.
- Organisation Page: A new page that displays all projects and updates from an organisation in one central location.
Other App Improvements
- Events: Administrators can now add events with countdown timers to updates, perfect for announcing road closures or openings. This timer is pinned to the top of the feed.
- Images in Push Notifications (Android): Android users can now see a preview of images in notifications. iOS users will receive this functionality in a future release.
- Planning Map on the Overview Page: It’s now easier to see which phase a project is in directly from the project overview.
- Parent and Child-Projects in Search Results: Parent and Child-projects are now more clearly distinguished in search results.
- Improved Responses to Updates: Where users previously needed two clicks to respond, this can now be done with a single tap.
- Enhanced Project Navigation: The tabs in the Project Details section have been reorganised, and empty tabs will no longer be displayed, making it easier to navigate.
- Expanded Contact Form: The maximum character limit for messages in the contact form has been increased from 1,000 to 10,000, giving users more space to share their questions or comments.
Other Improvements to the Admin Portal*
- New Menu Structure: The Admin Portal’s menu structure has been updated. The buttons at the top have been moved to the left side, creating a more logical and user-friendly layout.
- AI Support: With the help of AI, administrators can now create events more quickly based on the content of their updates.
- Expanded Categories: More categories are available when posting an update, with clear descriptions to help choose the right one.
- Consistent Look & Feel: All pages within the Admin Portal now have a uniform and consistent appearance.
- Easily Draw Shape Files: Administrators can now easily draw project boundaries on the map without needing a GeoJSON file / Shape File (though this option remains available).
- Event Scheduling: It’s now possible to schedule events up to 365 days in advance. The countdown timer will be pinned to the top of the feed from 7 days before the event.
*These improvements to the Admin Portal will be fully implemented from Monday, 2nd September 2024.
Beta Version
Some of these improvements are currently only visible in the Beta version of SitePodium. This allows us to identify and fix any bugs early before the updates are made available to everyone. Want to become a Beta user? Contact us for more information.
We hope you’re as excited about these updates as we are. Thank you for your continued support!
