The gist: we have learned a lot by releasing Base3 to Beta, and want to take those learnings and give more clients access to the new tools available in Base3.
This means we will be building back Base3 Beta features onto Base2. Lower costs and a better design on our tried-and-true platform means a better experience for you and your customers.
It is important that all wineries gain access to ecommerce tools that work effectively. We don’t want to force our customers to do costly redesigns to gain access to new features, so Base2 is the platform on which we will be refocusing.
If your site is already on Base3 you will not incur any cost to migrate to the Base2 platform when the time comes. We will continue to introduce improved configurability and front end changes in Base2 that will help drive wine sales.
Base3 has lots of potential for great features -- from a better checkout flow to more flexible developer tools and enhanced allocations design. If we keep these features only in Base3, we’ll be forcing our customers to pursue a costly redesign to gain access to the new tools. Not ideal! So we’ll be taking all of the great Base3 features and building them back to Base2, giving everyone access at no cost. This means if you have a Base3 site today, we will also be converting your site back to Base2.
Absolutely not. We appreciate that you opted to be an early adopter of Base3 Beta and our team will absorb all costs to convert your site back to Base2.
Once migrations begin, it will take our team about 2 weeks to convert your Base3 site back to Base2. During this time you will still be able to use your Base3 site as you do today, and all you will need to do is review your new Base2 site, answer any design questions our developers may have, and make sure you’re happy with it before launch.
The majority of your custom Base3 design will be built back to Base2. Based on the complexity of your design, some elements or content blocks may not be immediately available in Base2 and so the design may appear slightly different. Our team will work with you to review all changes so that when your new Base2 site goes live, you’re completely happy with the result.
Base3 will remain secure and stable as it is today. There are a handful of known bugs in Base3 but we will not be fixing non-critical bugs in Base3 nor continuing any new development on it.
Yes, in time. We want to make sure the features you’re familiar with in Base3 Beta will be even more effective in Base2. We will begin by introducing a more modern checkout to Base2 sites, personalized content blocks, personalized pricing, updated templates and improved allocations flows will follow in the coming months.
Put simply, Modern Checkout will make it easier for your customers to buy more wine. The cart, checkout flow, clubs sign up and receipts will receive a makeover so your site looks slick and professional, and will contribute to higher online sales conversion. Your customers will also be able to log into your winery website with Facebook to give you more and better access to customer data, and also make logging in that much simpler. Learn More >
The designer or project manager you worked with to build your site in Base3 is fully briefed on the plan, but our team is here to help as well. You can reach out to Katie (katie.spires@winedirect.com) with any and all questions.