We’re so excited to share our new website with you guys! I know what you’re thinking – it doesn’t look all that different! However, we hope that you’ll check out the short video below to see some of the new features we’ve been implementing, as well as what we have in store for the DC community for the rest of this year.
A look at what’s new at Design Cuts:
The site is running much faster
After upgrading our main website platform, tweaking various backend/front features, and many more technical aspects that are firmly in the realm of Matt/Darren (and well over my head!), you’ll notice that our website is now running considerably faster. This is great news, as your bundle pages, tutorials and everything else should be much quicker to access now.
The checkout page is more reliable
A major perk of our new platform is that the checkout process appears to be more reliable. It always frustrated us to know that checkout issues were often outside of our control, but the new system looks considerably better, and we’ve noticed an instant drop in Design Cutters experiencing issues at checkout.
Your account area has been improved – with proper invoices!
We’ve long realised that our old invoicing system wasn’t up to scratch. Not only does your new account area offer you a proper list of orders, order dates and other useful details, but you can download comprehensive pdf invoices for your records, with all of your relevant details on them.
These invoices should also reach you in an improved order confirmation email, which lists all of your order details, and includes the pdf guide as an attachment, to save you time.
If you ever need to update your personal or company details, you can also do this within the new account page tabs, and these changes will be automatically updated within your invoice documents. Handy right?
We’ve introduced a shopping cart
If you’re ever looking to purchase more than one item easily, we’ve now introduced a shopping cart area, which you’ll see a link to in the top menu. Whether you want to grab a deal that’s being re-run, alongside your main bundle, or you perhaps want to add an item from our store, you can now do all this in a single order, and easily manage your cart items in the process!
Browsing your bundle items just got a WHOLE lot easier!
This is a big one folks! It’s probably the single biggest question that we get asked:
“How can I browse and navigate my Design Cuts bundle items more easily?”
We’ve been listening hard, and teamed up with community members Janeen and Julie to undertake a HUGE project to help you guys. We asked for your feedback on Facebook, refined our browsing guides, and then worked together to provide both an improved PDF browsing guide, and an invaluable image gallery option.
In short, these browsing guides will let you:
- See a complete overview of what’s included in your bundle
- Jump to specific sections of your bundle, using a handy, hyperlinked table of contents
- See a full product description/preview images of each item within your bundle
- Allow you to use search functionality to search for specific items, designers etc…
- See every single individual item within each of the wider packs in your bundle, and browse/search for these
We’ve added the updated PDF guide and image gallery to our latest bundle. We’re also working to add these guides to every single past bundle, and anticipate this process to be completed within the next 2 weeks. Of course we’ll also be including these improved guides for all future bundles too.
If you’re wanting a sample of how awesome these new guides are, please click the link or image below to download a sample:
Download your sample updated browsing guides
We’ve incorporated VAT into our checkout process for EU customers
This has been a tough one for us, as whilst we hate having to pass any tax onto our customers, earlier this year, it became a legal requirement for all online businesses to do so. If you’re based in the EU, you will see the addition of VAT onto your order.
We do realise that many of our community weren’t anticipating this change, and to be honest, neither were we. However, in line with regulations, we’ve had to fall in line, and can only promise to be as transparent and honest about why this is with you guys.
If you click here, you can see a useful article, with more details about this VAT regulation, and how it’s effecting online businesses all over the world.
The good news is that these tax details are automatically included within your invoice documents and order receipts, which should make your personal and company records a little easier to keep. Also, if you do have an EU VAT number, inputting this at checkout will remove the VAT from your order.
Finally, we have a new blog
We’re really excited because this site update brings with it a brand new, redesigned blog area. This year we’ll be focusing much more on bringing you guys the latest site updates, news and other fun content via our blog, and we hope that it’ll be a fantastic hub for the DC community.
This is only the beginning!
What’s really exciting for us is that this site relaunch is only the beginning. We have literally hundreds of awesome new features and improvements lined up for you guys, and until we’d updated our main site platform, we just weren’t able to push forwards with these.
Now that we’ve reached Design Cuts V2.0, you’ll see regular improvements happening around the site, all of which will be done to benefit the amazing community here. We’ll be documenting all of them right here on the new blog, so you won’t miss a trick.
We’d absolutely love to know what you think about these new features, and the future direction of Design Cuts. We can’t wait to share what we have planned for you guys, and thank you as ever for your amazing feedback, loyalty and support!
– Tom, Matt, Darren, Tina, Carol and Edita (The Design Cuts Team, a.k.a the Creative Geeks).
I’ve bought a few great bundles from you guys with the old system and occasionally had some checkout issues, but they were quickly, pleasantly, and vigorously resolved (hi Carol!). If your customer service continues at this exemplary level, in combo with all these UI improvements, Design Cuts is primed to be v2.WOW!
Hey Diana,
Wow- thank you for such amazing feedback and thanks for your continued support! We are so pleased we have been able to resolve any issue you had :).
We are definitely aiming for v2.WOW :)
Cute, love the outakes at the end and love all the great resources I’ve gotten from Design Cuts. Also looking forward to the updated guides!! Thanks for your work to improve what you offer!!
Hey Jennifer,
Thanks so much for the comment! I love the outtakes too- I think Tina and Darren have the most infectious laugh. It cracks me up when i hear them :).
You are very welcome for the guides- I cant wait to hear how you find using them!
Awesome improvement on the buying guide…guess I might have to add to my stash!
Thanks for the hard work.
Hey Lynda,
Thanks for the comment. You are more than welcome :).
we are so pleased you like the improvements we’ve made- we really hope they will make your DC experience way more enjoyable!
This looks great. Just curious about the shopping cart though… since you usually only have one bundle at a time, a cart does imply that at some time(s) there will be more than one bundle available. Because I’m made of money. ; )
Hey Lorraine,
Ah the shopping cart…I was wondering when someone would notice this :). I can neither confirm nor deny at the moment about multiple bundles but to be suitably vague, we have some plans in the pipeline- some awesome plans:)
Woah!! This update is outstanding! I have scrolled through and seen an overview and love the new revisions!! I can’t wait to get my hands and ACTIONS in gear to test drive the new car! Your products have helped me out and I look forward to greater days ahead. Great job!
Hey Tish,
Thanks so much for your feedback. I cant wait to hear how the test drive goes- hopefully open roads and no roundabouts lol!
We are so pleased that you are enjoying your resources- please do feel free to share anything you create with your resources :).