We at Grandstand are fans of Top 10 lists, and even though 2020 had countless struggles, we are counting the positives in the form of an end-of-year list. Grandstand managed to focus some of our new-found time on major new products and enhancements to our existing suite of products. In no particular order, here are the top-10 features and products added to Grandstand in 2020.
In the last quarter of 2020, Grandstand released a suite of E-Commerce products. Our partners now have the ability to sell merchandise, digital goods, app subscriptions, and even handle full event registrations. With additional features like coupon codes, automatic tax-handling, and full shipping controls, Grandstand now has the ability to handle nearly any type of sale, all in a safe-and-secure environment, with the credit card processed through industry-leading credit-card processor Stripe. Learn more at grandstandapps.com/blog/introducing-grandstand-ecommerce
Since launching our apps platform, partners have been asking Grandstand if they can use our easy-to-use Content Management Tool to manage a website as well. Grandstand Sites rolled out in the second half of 2020, to meet the demand for web management. Partners can now manage both a fully-featured website alongside their mobile app, all from a shared set of content. When mixed with the new E-Commerce platform, Grandstand Sites enable businesses of any size to manage registrations, sales, and create a unified and unique web and app presence. Learn more at grandstandapps.com/blog/grandstand-sites-released
In late Summer, Grandstand released a new landing page in our Container Apps, including "Grandstand - Events & Guides" and "4-H Now." The new layout featured a bigger emphasis on current events and adds a section for guides, or apps that run year-round and are not tied to a single app. We also used the container to help push our partners' full apps, with one-click access to download the full app.
Tying the event experience to actionable items once the user gets home is the reason Grandstand built and launched a new In-App Notes feature in 2020. Users can now add their own notes to individual List Items, Events, and even Custom Pages. This means, for example, your user can view a list of wines and write notes about the ones they really liked (or didn't like). Users can even share the note to social media, a text message, or email to take their notes outside of the app. This powerful tool added a new level of interactivity and encourages users to follow up with vendors, check out a video from a presenter, or remember which lesson was their favorite. Learn more at grandstandapps.com/blog/allow-users-to-create-notes
Grandstand has always focused on being a no-code environment for our partners, where existing knowledge of HTML is never necessary to launch an app. But we also found some of our partners were wanting to add some additional HTML tags to customize the look of certain pages in the app. In 2020, Grandstand gave those users the option to add custom HTML code and basic CSS styling to their Custom Pages and Individual Event Listings.
Sometimes the Word Document or Powerpoint you've created is the best and easiest way to pass on information to your app user. Grandstand added the ability to add multiple documents and PowerPoints to your List and Custom Pages in 2020, supplementing the existing ability to add PDFs. This was used to add PowerPoint presentations by individual speakers, a fillable word document of new regulations for group hotel sales, and was frequently used to help pass along regional health order documents during the pandemic.
Prior to 2020, push notification alert groups could be added to most apps, but it was a request-only feature, that couldn't be added on demand. In the summer of 2020, Alert Group management was added to Grandstand Build to give partners the ability to segment groups of users. We saw partners create a special group for app users interested in concerts who want to make sure they don't miss an announcement about new concerts or ticket specials. We also saw partners add password-protected opt-ins for vendors that gave our partners a new and secure way to immediately communicate with vendors in a secure way.
We've always known that apps are the perfect learning tool and introduced Grandstand Lessons in the spring, giving partners the ability to create short lessons and trainings. This E-Learning module focused on making the content extremely easy to read, serving up only a paragraph (or two) at a time. To add visual impact add a photo or video to the top of the page, with a NEXT button at the bottom to swipe over to the next page. You can even mix in quiz questions throughout your lesson, allowing you to check your users understanding. Learn more at grandstandapps.com/blog/new-lessons-module
We weren't just developing new products and enhancements in 2020, we tried to take the time to really document how to use some of these new tools, and even launched a new area on our public website to showcase these training articles. All articles are now completely searchable as well, giving you an easy way to learn about Grandstand's new enhancements or brush up on an old one. Available now at grandstandapps.com/learn
The Pandemic led many groups to focus on virtual additions in 2020, and Grandstand was no exception. We noticed many of our partners using Matterport, an interactive, virtual walk-through tool that allows you to visit any venue, building, or outdoor area as if was part of a video game. In late Spring we added integration with Matterport into our list detail pages, giving our partners the ability to show full-screen walk-through of any physical space. Learn more at grandstandapps.com/blog/matterport-virtual-tour-integration
There were lots of other enhancements in 2020, many of which are documented in Grandstand Build on the "New App Features" and "New Admin Features" pages or on our public website in the Grandstand Learn or Grandstand Blog pages.
We couldn't be more excited for what 2021 will bring as we have lots of ideas and upgrades in the pipeline. Here's wishing you the best this Holiday Season!
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