Sept. 27th, 2023 – Release Note: Q3 launch
This release note gives a high-level overview of all the updates launched as part of the Q3 launch on September 27th.
Our vision for the Q3 launch is to upgrade our solutions to enable faster time to value. The features being launched will enable you to:
- Eliminate guesswork and enable to focus on what matters the most.
- Deliver more impact in less time.
If you would like more information on each feature, you can explore the links provided in each section.
Content in this release note
New features in the 2023 Q3 launch
In the following sections, you can read more about which areas of the platform have been updated, as well as highlights of the actual features.
Analytics
- New feature: Cookieless tracking in Analytics
- Collect visitor data in Analytics without placing any cookies on your visitors' devices.
General platform update
- New feature: Core Wins
- An insight-driven feature that helps users identify and prioritize issues based on relevant business metrics.
- New feature: Site crawl authentication
- Our new site crawl authentication capability allows users to enter their credentials to crawl non-public sites (such as intranets) easily and securely with Siteimprove.
- Design update: Simpler and inviting user experience (Version 2023, Q3)
- To match current design and UX expectations, we have made updates to the Siteimprove platform to deliver a fresh and intuitive user experience.
- Design update: ‘Site Content Settings’ instead of ‘Alias and Exclusions’.
- A remake and futureproofing of the ‘Alias and Exclusions’ functionality. The same functionality is now called ‘Site Content Settings’ and features an improved user experience.
In-platform Resource Center
Read more about these releases in the new Resource center directly in the Siteimprove platform! Simply click on the small question mark (?) icon in the bottom right, then navigate to the “What’s new” section.
Picture 1: Screenshot of the in-platform Resource Center.
Deep-dive into the updates
Analytics
New feature: Cookieless tracking in Analytics.
Why update Analytics with cookieless tracking?
Cookie consent popups on websites are estimated to reduce the amount of traffic by 30-90%. With cookieless tracking, you can in many cases enhance traffic by eliminating the need to ask for consent.
Whether consent is legally required is always the assessment of your organization and can vary depending on local legislation
What did we do when we updated Analytics with cookieless tracking?
When Cookieless tracking is enabled, it replaces the traditional use of cookies with a "Visitor Hash" made of non-personal information only such as browser type, browser version, a hashed IP, and similar data. The "Visitor Hash" will enable us to identify new and returning visitors without the need to set up a cookie.
Where can you find the cookieless tracking functionality?
All users with any Siteimprove Analytics module will have access to the feature, but only Account Owners can enable cookieless tracking. If no actions are taken, the functionality is turned off.
How to activate cookieless tracking
- If you have a subscription to Marketing Analytics or Content Analytics
- Go to your ‘Analytics module’ in the main menu in the platform.
- Find the ‘Cookieless Tracking’ menu.
- Activate the functionality to the right in the page.
- If you have a subscription to Traffic Analytics (as part of Inclusivity)
- To activate cookieless tracking, please reach out to our Support Team who will help you to set it up.
If you are unsure about your analytics subscription, please reach out to your Customer Success Executive.
Picture 2: Screenshot of the Cookieless tracking activation page in the Siteimprove platform.
Additional information
General platform updates
New feature: Core Wins
Why create the Core Wins feature?
Put simply, to help users better prioritize key initiatives. Our users spend a lot of time figuring out what to work on in the Siteimprove platform. This time could be spent fixing problems instead. Additionally, many users would benefit from high-impact suggestions based on their current business metrics and needs.
What is the new feature about?
The new Core Wins feature will give you an entry point by providing relevant insights on how to prioritize your work based on your key business metrics.
The feature will present you with a list of insights that change based on your setup and package. These insights will provide cross-product recommendations for issues that need attention, within the scope of that insight.
The number of insights provided depends on the solution that you have. If you have access to all insights, these are the insights that the functionality will provide:
- Issues on newly published pages (pages found by Siteimprove in the last 30 days)
- Issues on most visited pages
- Issues on high-ranking pages
- Accessibility issues in the template
- Issues on pages in funnels
Where can you find the Core Wins functionality?
At the end of October all users will have access to a minimum of functionalities within the Core Wins feature, but if you have ‘Marketing Analytics’, more functionalities will be available.
You can access Core WIns through these steps:
- In the main menu open ‘Core Wins’.
- In the submenu click ‘Core Wins’
- The ‘Core Wins’ page opens.
- Here you can choose between insights that either:
- Improve website health or
- Drive conversions (only available for accounts with Marketing Analytics).
- A list of insights will be provided when choosing one of the above priorities.
- Click the insight that you would like to work with.
- A pane opens where you can work with the specific issues related to that insight.
Picture 3: Screenshot of where to find the Core Wins functionality.
Additional information
New feature: Site Crawl Authentication
Why create Site Crawl Authentication?
We have built this feature to reduce the risk of having clear text credentials to users’ intranets, with potentially confidential or personally identifiable information, stored in our databases. The Site Crawl Authentication capability allows users to submit and replace the credentials to their non-public sites (intranets and similar) to Siteimprove – easily and securely.
What is the new feature about?
The feature is partly a backend enhancement of the security level and partly a visible feature for Account Owners and Administrators.
Now Account Owners and Administrators can submit credentials, as well as replace existing ones for the Site Crawl Authentication via the Siteimprove Platform
Where can you find the Site Crawl Authentication functionality?
All users of the Siteimprove Platform will have the functionality in the platform, but only Account Owners and Administrators can configure it.
- Click ‘Settings’ in the main menu
- Click ‘Sites’
- Click the site where you would like to add the information or credentials
- In the ‘Site summary’ that opens up to the right, click the plus icon where it says ‘Site Crawl Authentication’
- Add the credentials
Picture 4: Screenshot of where to add the credentials.
Additional information
Design update: Simpler and inviting user experience (Version 2023, Q3)
Why create a simpler and more inviting user experience?
The standards for design and user experience change over time. To match current user experience trends and expectations in the market, we have made updates to the Siteimprove platform for a fresh and intuitive user experience.
What user experience improvements are we focusing on?
We have identified six user experience investment areas for our near-term roadmap. These touch upon visual design such as brand product unity and consistent language, and interaction design, where we look at navigation and workflows.
- Brand-product unity
Our product UI reflects and supports our brand identity. - Persona-aligned navigation
Important flows are easy to find, and the navigation helps users understand how our product works. - Clear and consistent language
The experience feels relevant, language provides guidance, and best practices are followed consistently. - Consistent interactions
Our product is easy to learn because common tasks are completed in the same way across products. - Simplified workflows
Short workflows that help users complete their tasks as quickly as possible. - Inclusive components
A more accessible experience for all customers, including those with disabilities.
As a user, you will see these changes throughout almost all sections of the Siteimprove platform. The user experience refresh is a task that we will continue to improve throughout the entire year.
Where can you find the improved user experience?
Over time, all users of the Siteimprove will see these improvements throughout the platform. Hereunder are some examples:
- Updated login page
- The default page, when you click a product in the Siteimprove platform, will be an overview page. The default page can be changed in 'Settings'
- New 'Help' menu (contains Help Center + Frontier)
- Integrations and Key Pages are now found in 'Settings'
- Product without subscription can be found in 'Explore more modules'
Design update: Site Content Settings instead of ‘Alias and Exclusions’.
Why remake the Alias and Exclusions functionality?
The functionality was located on one of the last remaining pages in our old part of the platform and it needed to be moved to the new part of the platform for futureproofing of the functionality, but also the enhance the workflow when working with the functionality.
What did we do when we updated the functionality?
The functionality can do the same as before, but we have moved it to the new part of the Siteimprove platform where the rest of our products live. In the process, we have renamed the actions so users can better understand what the rules in the site content settings feature do to their crawl.
Site Content Settings contains 3 functionalities:
- Site Content Settings enable you to define which URLs should be regarded as internal to the site (“include content” - formerly known as “internal alias”). This is used to define which pages should be crawled in the site.
- Site Content Settings also enables you to define which URLs should be regarded as external to the site (“exclude content” - formerly known as “external alias”). This is used to exclude pages from a site that the customer does not want to crawl.
- Finally, Site Content Settings enables you to remove links from Siteimprove’s link index (“remove links” - formerly known as “exclusion”). This is used to remove unnecessary link check processing time from their crawls and allow for more efficient scans.
Where can you find the Site Content Settings?
All accounts have the functionality but only Account Owners and Administrators can administrate it.
The functionality is found via these steps:
- In the main menu click ‘Settings’
- Click ‘Crawler management’
- Click ‘Site content settings’
- Now click the site that you would like to administrate
- In the new page that opens for that particular site, you can choose whether to
- Include content
- Exclude content
- Remove links
Picture 6: Screenshot of the options to either include, exclude, or remove links in the new Site Content Settings functionality.
This was the high-level summary of the 2023 Q3 launch. You are more than welcome to provide feedback regarding the features being released. You can do that by reaching out to your Customer Success Executive, or by providing feedback via the Siteimprove Community (found in the Resource Center within the Siteimprove Platform).
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