Icecat Release Notes 197: Comprehensive Enhancements and System Optimizations

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Release Notes

In release 197, we are excited to share a series of significant improvements and updates that enhance the functionality, performance, and user experience across various aspects of our platform. Key highlights include enhancements to the channel partner manual assignment process, improvements to gallery batch actions, an upgraded brand registration page, and a transformed asset filter. Additionally, we have made major strides in transitioning Icecat.biz to Server-Side Rendering (SSR) and addressed various technical debts to optimize our systems. For additional details, please refer to the previous Icecat Release Notes.

Improving the Channel Partner Manual Assignment Process with Email Notifications

At Icecat, we continuously strive to enhance our processes to ensure efficiency and seamless communication. One recent improvement focuses on the manual assignment process of channel partners by Icecat vendor managers to specific brands. This enhancement includes the introduction of email notifications for channel partners upon their assignment.

Initially, when a vendor manager received a request to assign a channel partner manually, the process involved several steps:

Step 1. Request Reception: The vendor manager receives the request to manually assign a channel partner to a brand.

Step 2. Navigation to PIM: The vendor manager navigates to the Product Information Management (PIM) system, to the specific Brand page.

Step 3. Manual Assignment: The channel partner is manually assigned to the brand by the vendor manager.

Step 4. Lack of Immediate Notification: Previously, there was no immediate notification mechanism to inform the channel partner about their assignment. This often resulted in delays and confusion regarding their new opportunities.

To address these gaps and enhance the overall experience for channel partners, we have implemented the following improvements:

Step 4. Email Notification: Immediately after the assignment, an automated email notification is sent to the channel partner. This email informs them about their new assignment to the specific brand, providing details about their new opportunities.

Step 5. Authorization Request Closure: The authorization request in the PIM system is automatically closed as resolved once the assignment and email notification are completed.

The introduction of email notifications in the channel partner manual assignment process marks a significant improvement in our workflow at Icecat. This change not only enhances communication and efficiency but also ensures that our channel partners are promptly informed and engaged with their new roles.

Improved Gallery Batch Actions with Hover Effect

In response to valuable feedback from our editors team during the previous sprint review, we have implemented an important enhancement to the gallery batch actions in our platform. This update aims to improve the user experience by addressing concerns about the proximity of batch action icons, which sometimes led to misclicks.

Our editors team reported that the icons for gallery batch actions were positioned too closely together. This resulted in occasional misclicks, which could disrupt workflow and reduce efficiency.

To resolve this issue, we have introduced a hover effect on the gallery batch action icons. This improvement makes it clearer which icon the user is about to click, reducing the likelihood of errors.

We believe this update will significantly improve the usability of gallery batch actions for our editors. We appreciate the team’s feedback and encourage continued input to help us refine and enhance our platform.

Brand Registration Page Improvement

We have implemented significant improvements to the brand registration page based on the feedback and queries we received from our users. The primary concern was the unclear validation of the “Brand website” field. Our recent update aims to enhance the user interface and validation process, ensuring a smoother experience for our users.

Users frequently reported dissatisfaction with the “Brand website” field during brand registration. The validation process was not intuitive, leading to confusion.

Our analytics revealed that users often register websites with `http://` or `https://` protocols. To address this, we have made the following improvements:

  1. Improved Validation: Users can now enter the website URL with or without the protocol. If the protocol is included, it will be automatically removed in the user interface. Anyway, our database will receive the website with https:// protocol. 
  2. User Interface Update: The user interface has been refined to make the validation process clearer and more intuitive.

These changes ensure that our database always receives a valid website link with protocol, enhancing the registration process’s accuracy and ease.

This improvement has also been applied to the “Add new brand” user interface, ensuring consistency and improved user experience across the platform.

We believe these enhancements will eliminate uncertainties and improve the overall experience for our valuable partners. Thank you for your feedback and continuous support, which helps us make our platform better for everyone.

Asset Filter Transformation

We are excited to announce a significant improvement to the “Asset” filter in the PIM Search page. This enhancement introduces the ability to select multiple assets simultaneously, with additional handling for language-dependent assets.

Users can now select multiple assets within the “Asset” filter, allowing for more comprehensive and flexible searches. For assets that depend on language, the selected language will be applied automatically. For assets that do not depend on language, the selected language will not affect the search results. To understand how language impacts the selected assets, users can review the chain of selected filters. This chain will clearly indicate which assets were influenced by the selected language and which were not.

This improvement to the “Asset” filter in the PIM Search page will help users conduct more precise searches and obtain more narrowed results. We appreciate the feedback that led to this enhancement and believe it will significantly improve the user experience.

Icecat.biz Transition to Server-Side Rendering (SSR)

We are excited to update you on the ongoing transition of Icecat.biz product pages to Server-Side Rendering (SSR). This significant upgrade aims to enhance page performance, SEO parameters, and overall user experience. Here’s a detailed update on our progress and recent achievements.

Progress on Product Pages

We are systematically transitioning our product page to SSR. The majority of the page is already covered with automated tests. Our current focus includes:

  • Page Improvements: Enhancing the backend part of the product pages.
  • Manual Testing: Conducting thorough manual tests to ensure the highest quality and performance.
  • Automated Tests Creation: Developing additional automated tests to cover remaining features.

Progress on Homepage

In this sprint, we have successfully released the Homepage on SSR. This transition brings several notable benefits:

  • Optimized Elements: Many elements and parts of the homepage have been optimized, resulting in improved performance and faster load times.
  • Enhanced SEO: The shift to SSR allows for better search engine optimization (SEO) parameters, helping our pages rank higher in search engine results.
  • Uncovered Aspects: SEMrush identified many aspects that were hidden in the previous version of the page. These insights provide us with actionable data to further enhance our website’s performance and user experience.

The transition to SSR for Icecat.biz is a major step forward in our commitment to providing an optimized and high-performing platform. We are dedicated to continuing this transition, covering more pages, and implementing the insights gained from tools like SEMrush.

Other Improvements in Icecat Release Notes 197:

Reporting Engine Enhancements

  • Development of a LOG System: We have developed a comprehensive LOG system for our Reporting Engine. This system is designed to capture and fix bugs efficiently.
  • Automated Error Reporting: Error reports are now automatically sent via email to our developers, support team, and Product Owner, ensuring quick response and resolution.

Storage Optimization

  • PRF Folder Cleanup: We optimized our storage by removing unnecessary and unused files from the PRF folder, freeing up space and improving system performance.

Editor Journal Improvements

  • Related Product and General Information: We initiated the setup of Editor Journal data for related products and general product information, enhancing the accuracy and completeness of our records for Editor Journal version 2.
  • Table Enhancements: The main Editor Journal table has been extended with new columns for “Locale” and “Country,” allowing for more precise data filtering and retrieval. The “Product” table has been optimized to facilitate easier access to necessary information based on specific filters.

Tasks Queue Processing System 2.0

  • Version 2.0 Completion: We completed the development of our Tasks Queue Processing system version 2.0. This major update improves data processing efficiency and supports longer-duration tasks without disruptions.

Disaster Recovery Testing

  • Live and Data Blocks Testing: We successfully completed testing of Live and data.icecat.biz blocks to ensure resilience and continuity in case of a disaster.

The enhancements in Release Notes 197 represent our continuous efforts to optimize our platform and improve the user experience. From refining the manual assignment process for channel partners and enhancing the usability of gallery batch actions to making the brand registration page more intuitive and transforming the asset filter, these updates are designed to meet the evolving needs of our users. The transition to SSR and various technical optimizations further demonstrate our commitment to delivering a high-performing and reliable platform. We appreciate your ongoing support and feedback, which drive us to innovate and enhance our services.

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