A peek into the future of DPHOTO
Way back in 2012 we embarked on a complete rebuild of DPHOTO. The catalyst for the rebuild was the need to switch from Flash to HTML, but there were many other fundamental changes that were needed as we looked to the future. Essentially, we had to throw away everything we'd built in the previous 8 years, and start again from scratch. We also had to learn Javascript.
It's taken a while (3 years and counting), but we finally have something to show. HTML versions of the Gallery and Director are currently in beta - which means things mostly work, but we still have a lot of work to do. We've made these beta versions public, so you can test them out and help us make them better with your feedback.
Features
- No Flash This is fairly obvious, but a rather important point for many users - you will no longer need Flash installed to use DPHOTO.
- Universal Building the site in HTML will allow us to remove the differentiation we currently have between 'mobile' and 'desktop' versions of DPHOTO. There will just be one version, which will work on any computer or device, and will adapt to every screen size.
- Vertical The Flash site currently feature a combination of horizontal and vertical grid layouts, which has caused confusion for many years. All grid layouts in the new HTML site will scroll vertically, providing a much more consistent and intuitive experience for users.
- Smoother Scrolling This is a huge usability improvement over the Flash interfaces, as we are able to use the device's 'native' scrolling, rather than trying to emulate it ourselves. This means scrolling feels exactly as it should on every computer and device.
- Quicker Actions Many important actions were hard to find in the Flash gallery - minimalism was perhaps taken a bit too far. In the new Gallery, key functionality such as downloading and sharing will have dedicated buttons which are always visible on screen.
- Text Friendly Previously, text areas were very limited. In the new gallery, layout adjusts to fit any amount of text, allowing you to be overly verbose with your descriptions.
Testing
Use the links below to test the latest beta version of DPHOTO. Be sure to replace 'username' with your own username for the gallery address.
- Gallery http://beta.username.dphoto.com/
- Director http://beta.director.dphoto.com/
Feedback
The purpose of this public beta is to gather feedback and find bugs before the official release - so please send any comments, suggestions or bugs to support@dphoto.com. If you're reporting a bug or technical issue, please include which browser, operating system, and device you are using. Screenshots can also be very helpful for visual problems.
Release
The beta release is being continually updated with new features and performance improvements. If you'd like to track the changes, please see the release notes on our new Updates dashboard under the #html tag.
The HTML version will be released in four stages (mobile Gallery, mobile Director, desktop Gallery, desktop Director). There is no set timeline for these releases, although we expect the mobile versions to go live fairly soon, as they are close to feature parity with the existing interfaces.
Can't wait for the official release? If you find the beta Gallery meets your needs and you'd like it to replace your Flash Gallery now, just contact support@dphoto.com with your username and we can switch it over.