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When’s 2.0 Coming?

This site has been live for about a week and I think it’s time I addressed the whole “OMG where’s EE 2.0?” conversation that intermittently surfaces in the EE forums and other places, like Twitter. I want to walk through the facts of the situation and put to bed any misunderstandings. All of the information I’ll be talking about is publicly available and I’ll link up the sources.

Element of Surprise

I’ve heard some conjecture that EE 2.0 will be released any day now, like there will be some element of surprise to the release. This just isn’t true. The official ExpressionEngine 2.0 Preview page has a series of FAQs and the first one puts this misconception to rest. I’m going to quote the whole answer, just to make it clear:

ExpressionEngine 2.0 will be released when its done! However, the release will not be a surprise. Currently we plan to release 2.0 in three phases. First, there will be a Developer Preview for EE Add-on Developers. The primary purpose of this release is to give EE add-on developers the time they need to update their add-ons for 2.0. Second, there will be a invitation beta. The purpose of the beta will be to stress test 2.0 in a wide variety of situations. And third will be the official public release.

The Developer Preview and Beta are not available yet. We’ll announce their availability on the EE Blog along with instructions on how to apply for the Preview and Beta programs. The actual release date of 2.0 will depend on the length of the Preview and Beta programs. [emphasis mine]

Pretty clear, I think.

Should I wait until EE 2.0 to build my site?

This question has been asked numerous times in the forums and the answer is always the same: if you need to build your website now, build it with the tools that are available now.

This is also the case if you’re waiting (or hoping) for a certain feature to be in EE 2.0 that you can use. The 2.0 FAQs addressed the question of 2.0 features and that’s all that has been announced. Don’t plan your website (or business) on unknown features of unreleased software.

Should I wait until EE 2.0 to learn ExpressionEngine?

A variant on the previous question, this one is also frequently asked. I’m asked it occasionally when someone is looking to purchase my EE Screencasts series of training videos.

It’s a genuine and well-founded concern; no one wants to invest time and money into resources that won’t benefit them with the next software release. The fact is, however, that the concepts you’ll learn in my ExpressionEngine training videos, as well as many other EE tutorials, will still be valid in EE 2.0—most especially template development. EllisLab has stated more than once that they see EE 2.0 as an upgrade, not a migration. While there will be a redesigned control panel, you shouldn’t expect to have to re-learn how to build EE sites.

So, if you need to learn EE now, learn it now.

Why is 2.0 taking so long?

It’s taking longer than expected. No one wants a half-finished release, just to have it. I certainly don’t want to build client sites on an incomplete version of EE. So, we need to wait until they’re done and satisfied with the product. As Rick Ellis says:

This has been a huge project for us, so we need to get it right. Rushing it to market before it’s ready would be irresponsible, so we ask that you give us a bit more time. We promise the wait will be worth it.

What do you think, Ryan?

I’m just as excited about EE 2.0 as everyone else. I await its release with anticipation and look forward to working with CodeIgniter while working with EE. It will be good for client work and it will, of course, give me a lot to write about in this space.

With that said, we should also keep some perspective. We already have a great CMS in the EE 1.6 branch. Along with it we already have a vast resource of EE add-ons that can solve many of the challenges you may face while building a site on ExpressionEngine. So, it’s not like we’re all unable to do our work without EE 2.0.

It’s just that EE 2.0 will make it all that much sweeter.

Posted on Jan 13, 2009 by Ryan Irelan

Filed Under: ExpressionEngine 2

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I think the excitement of the community is what snow-balled this into a hyped product release. I know I did my part. The more attention EE get's from a developers standpoint the better. I guess I considered, that possibly since it was announced at SXSW that now that could wind up being the place where the release for EE.v.2 is finally launched. I'm not sure that would be a good situation, as is mentioned it's where the hype began. Hype ON, Brothers... !!! :)
Posted by Crssp-ee-ty on 2009-01-15 08:31:29 I think EllisLab was right to disclose 2.0 long before release. And they have always been clear that these are not sales messages but forward-looking info about software that is still in development. In the gossipy CMS world, if developers don't open the coat from time to time to show future direction, the peanut gallery charges that the product is "stalled". Bottom line is that EE is a tremendous value for money and the responsible communications from EllisLab underscore that.
Posted by OFDM on 2009-01-15 07:46:43 Great response, Leslie, and absolutely reinforces EllisLab's goals of genuineness.
Posted by Mark on 2009-01-15 06:48:01 When we can get EE 2.0? And now is 1.5,how long we would wait for it? ?????????????????EE2.0??
Posted by HelloKing on 2009-01-14 15:36:01 Thanks Ryan for this post! It was never our intention to hype 2.0, we just wanted to talk about it at SXSW and it spiraled into a bit of madness from there. Traditionally we've stayed away from hype. So, the obvious question is, what happened? We are, by nature, very geniune but also very private. This is something that we were criticised for, sometimes fairly heavily, in 2006-07. Based on that, a goal we had in 2008 was to be less private and engage our community more. That was the primary reason for basically buying our own panel at SXSW 2008. We wanted to put names to faces because it helps us make the physical connection we need to communicate more. The benefit was huge in terms of meeting people. Between the panel and the party we met 100s of people, shared development war stories, and really made some great friends. We walked away from SXSW 2008 a lot more comfortable with the idea of being more open. The downside was the hype deluge. I will be the first to admit we were naive in this regard. We've never marketed EE, we don't run ads, everything we've ever done to promote EE for years was simply word of mouth. Then we invested thousands to rent a large room and hold a party because we wanted to meet these people talking about us and talk back and have a good time. We expected some press and hype, but not to the extent that it reached. We were blown away by just how well known EE was and the anticipation for 2.0 took us completely by surprise. We knew our the loyal forum crew would want it, but immediate pressure from complete strangers took us by surprise. From that moment we tried to rein it in but that was a lost cause. This isn't a complaint by the way, its the type of problem you want, even if unexpected. When we realised that we were going to miss our initial deadline we also realized we needed to return to our previous mode of development, but not our previous communication habits. So ever since September our goal has been to communicate 2.0 progress every 2-3 weeks, not hype it. As to losing the hype at release, we actually want that. Our goal with EE has always been security, stability, and performance. That's why our growth strategy as a company has always been "grow slow, grow consistently, aim for longevity." Its why we decided to move EE to a CI application, its why we're intent on steadily building up the business-to-business relationships we have with developers. People on our forums know all of us go out of our way to really engage people and invest in their success. Hype hinders that relationship process because it forces us to think in terms of markets and not individuals. Instead of a big, splashy release we'd prefer something more quiet, where 2.0 proves itself in the wild and becomes a solid platform for the next 10 years. That's why the release isn't going to be a surprise, the reason the initial previews will be geared toward add-on developers, etc.... We are very thankful for the feedback, support, and constructive criticism from the community provides, it is very much appreciated, even if it makes us pull our hair out every now and again (hey, we're human). Hopefully we'll see a lot of you at SXSW 2009! We'll be throwing our usual shin-dig at the Moonshine Grill, but no panel this year. Instead a couple of us will be staying for all of SXSW Interactive (all full-time EllisLab people will be there for the weekend) and make ourselves available to meet people, hang out, and meet as many people as we possibly can, see who we can help.
Posted by Leslie on 2009-01-14 06:01:00

I
Posted by Deron Sizemore on 2009-01-13 14:53:33

I've never understood why people keep whining about 2.0 - it'll be here when it's here, until then just work with 1.6.x Great post.
Posted by Sean on 2009-01-13 13:29:16 It's just something to look forward to. 1.6 is solid and works really well as is. When 2.0 is officially released, anyone who is already familiar with EE will just have an easier time getting up to speed with the updated version! Looking forward to more excellent screencasts Ryan.
Posted by Ira Siegel on 2009-01-13 11:33:31 I agree with Jason & Eddy - I think Ellis Labs may have got ahead of themselves a bit by promoting v2.0 too hard too early which then leads to frustration and disappointment from people who were expecting something to arrive at a certain time. I'm not one of those people as I've been using 1.6.x for a while now, but I wonder how many people will have been put off taking up EE due to the drawn out EE release process?
Posted by John Faulds on 2009-01-13 10:49:03 The more we forget about 2.0 until it arrives, the better off we are.
Posted by Adam Khan on 2009-01-13 10:46:49 It's funny how human psychology works, I totally get what you are saying and think Ellis Labs are to be commended for their approach on information to the community. But... I signed up for Expression Engine and hosting 3 months ago with a view to trying it out, playing around with a demo site etc and I find myself subconsciously setting it to one side because "2.0 will be around soon". With all the points you have made that attitude doesn't make any sense but it's there all the same. I think from Ellis Labs point of view it would be much better not tease us with any more 2.0 goodness on the way, I think it's having a detrimental effect on EE as it is currently constituted.
Posted by Eddie Truman on 2009-01-13 09:01:47 Thanks for this article
Posted by head.zoo.keeper on 2009-01-13 07:34:08 Thanks, Mark. All fixed. :)
Posted by Ryan Irelan on 2009-01-13 06:02:51 Just noticed something. You need to update your preferences setting for where your smileys are saved. It's pointing to your localhost set-up at the moment so smileys aren't coming out in the comments here ;-) Best wishes, Mark
Posted by Mark Bowen on 2009-01-13 05:55:31 Totally agree with all of this. If you look at what's new in 2.0 it does look really really juicy but a lot of it from what we have heard is going to be back-end productivity enhancements. Things on the template side of it will stay pretty much the same all except for the weblog tag getting a new name ;-) People really do need to get to work with what is there now and the upgrade fee won't be ridiculous so if they want to upgrade they can. If they wait and wait then they'll probably never get anything off the ground. It's a bit akin to saying I need a new computer but I'm going to wait to see what comes out next month. If you need one then buy it and just make sure that it is going to last a while. You have to get on in the meantime or you just won't ever get anywhere!! That's the way I see it anyway! Best wishes, Mark P.S. By the way congrats on the site. Very nice looking and great content.
Posted by Mark Bowen on 2009-01-13 05:54:21 This summer I briefly considered holding off on a site in the hopes that 2.0 would be released. I decided to go ahead and build it on 1.6 and it was a great decision. Now the site has been up for a few months and I can always upgrade later. That said, I think Ellis Labs has done a poor job from a PR perspective in setting expectations for 2.0. They started building hype around 2.0, giving us teasers, etc. almost a year ago. It would have been better if they had waited until a beta was available to start building the buzz. I'm going to pretend that I've never heard of 2.0 until I see a release I can download. :)
Posted by Jason on 2009-01-13 05:47:36 I agree, we've already got a great product in EE 1.6. I'm not sure why so much fuss is around about when EE 2.0 will be released. It'll be released when it's released, plain and simple. Really, the EE crew is darned if they do and darned if they don't in this situation. People want their cake and eat it too in most situations like this. EllisLab trys to keep their cards close, not letting to much information slip out about the product so that in turn has everyone wanting to know why they just don't come out and say what they're working on and when it will be out. Well, if EllisLab were to just lay it all out there and say we're currently working on X,Y and Z and it will be done in six months, then you've got a bunch of crazy EE fans holding them to every last word. If for whatever reason they decide to not include "X" in the final release, then someone is mad about that, or if development is pushed back longer than six months, then you've got people mad about that because they'd be waiting on it. Really, EllisLab is fighting a losing battle but I think they're handling it correctly. It will be ready when it's ready, no more needs to be said. I expect that EE 2.0 won't change much except for an improved user interface in the control panel. I mean, EE works as it is, so EllisLab isn't going to be re-writing EE. You'll still use weblog:entries tags and everything else you've already been using. So, go ahead and start using 1.6 and you'll be that far ahead of the curve when 2.0 is released. My .02
Posted by Deron Sizemore on 2009-01-13 05:21:42

Deron Sizemore — 05:21 on 01.13.2009

I agree, we’ve already got a great product in EE 1.6. I’m not sure why so much fuss is around about when EE 2.0 will be released. It’ll be released when it’s released, plain and simple. Really, the EE crew is darned if they do and darned if they don’t in this situation. People want their cake and eat it too in most situations like this. EllisLab trys to keep their cards close, not letting to much information slip out about the product so that in turn has everyone wanting to know why they just don’t come out and say what they’re working on and when it will be out. Well, if EllisLab were to just lay it all out there and say we’re currently working on X,Y and Z and it will be done in six months, then you’ve got a bunch of crazy EE fans holding them to every last word. If for whatever reason they decide to not include “X” in the final release, then someone is mad about that, or if development is pushed back longer than six months, then you’ve got people mad about that because they’d be waiting on it. Really, EllisLab is fighting a losing battle but I think they’re handling it correctly. It will be ready when it’s ready, no more needs to be said.

I expect that EE 2.0 won’t change much except for an improved user interface in the control panel. I mean, EE works as it is, so EllisLab isn’t going to be re-writing EE. You’ll still use weblog:entries tags and everything else you’ve already been using. So, go ahead and start using 1.6 and you’ll be that far ahead of the curve when 2.0 is released.

My .02

Jason — 05:47 on 01.13.2009

This summer I briefly considered holding off on a site in the hopes that 2.0 would be released. I decided to go ahead and build it on 1.6 and it was a great decision. Now the site has been up for a few months and I can always upgrade later.

That said, I think Ellis Labs has done a poor job from a PR perspective in setting expectations for 2.0. They started building hype around 2.0, giving us teasers, etc. almost a year ago. It would have been better if they had waited until a beta was available to start building the buzz.

I’m going to pretend that I’ve never heard of 2.0 until I see a release I can download.

Mark Bowen — 05:54 on 01.13.2009

Totally agree with all of this. If you look at what’s new in 2.0 it does look really really juicy but a lot of it from what we have heard is going to be back-end productivity enhancements. Things on the template side of it will stay pretty much the same all except for the weblog tag getting a new name

People really do need to get to work with what is there now and the upgrade fee won’t be ridiculous so if they want to upgrade they can.

If they wait and wait then they’ll probably never get anything off the ground.

It’s a bit akin to saying I need a new computer but I’m going to wait to see what comes out next month. If you need one then buy it and just make sure that it is going to last a while. You have to get on in the meantime or you just won’t ever get anywhere!!

That’s the way I see it anyway!

Best wishes,

Mark

P.S. By the way congrats on the site. Very nice looking and great content.

Mark Bowen — 05:55 on 01.13.2009

Just noticed something. You need to update your preferences setting for where your smileys are saved. It’s pointing to your localhost set-up at the moment so smileys aren’t coming out in the comments here

Best wishes,

Mark

Ryan Irelan — 06:02 on 01.13.2009

Thanks, Mark. All fixed.

head.zoo.keeper — 07:34 on 01.13.2009

Thanks for this article

Eddie Truman — 09:01 on 01.13.2009

It’s funny how human psychology works, I totally get what you are saying and think Ellis Labs are to be commended for their approach on information to the community.
But… I signed up for Expression Engine and hosting 3 months ago with a view to trying it out, playing around with a demo site etc and I find myself subconsciously setting it to one side because “2.0 will be around soon”.
With all the points you have made that attitude doesn’t make any sense but it’s there all the same.
I think from Ellis Labs point of view it would be much better not tease us with any more 2.0 goodness on the way, I think it’s having a detrimental effect on EE as it is currently constituted.

Adam Khan — 10:46 on 01.13.2009

The more we forget about 2.0 until it arrives, the better off we are.

John Faulds — 10:49 on 01.13.2009

I agree with Jason & Eddy - I think Ellis Labs may have got ahead of themselves a bit by promoting v2.0 too hard too early which then leads to frustration and disappointment from people who were expecting something to arrive at a certain time.

I’m not one of those people as I’ve been using 1.6.x for a while now, but I wonder how many people will have been put off taking up EE due to the drawn out EE release process?

Ira Siegel — 11:33 on 01.13.2009

It’s just something to look forward to. 1.6 is solid and works really well as is. When 2.0 is officially released, anyone who is already familiar with EE will just have an easier time getting up to speed with the updated version!

Looking forward to more excellent screencasts Ryan.

Sean — 13:29 on 01.13.2009

I’ve never understood why people keep whining about 2.0 - it’ll be here when it’s here, until then just work with 1.6.x

Great post.

Deron Sizemore — 14:53 on 01.13.2009

<blockquote>I

Leslie — 06:01 on 01.14.2009

Thanks Ryan for this post! It was never our intention to hype 2.0, we just wanted to talk about it at SXSW and it spiraled into a bit of madness from there. Traditionally we’ve stayed away from hype. So, the obvious question is, what happened?

We are, by nature, very geniune but also very private. This is something that we were criticised for, sometimes fairly heavily, in 2006-07. Based on that, a goal we had in 2008 was to be less private and engage our community more. That was the primary reason for basically buying our own panel at SXSW 2008. We wanted to put names to faces because it helps us make the physical connection we need to communicate more.

The benefit was huge in terms of meeting people. Between the panel and the party we met 100s of people, shared development war stories, and really made some great friends. We walked away from SXSW 2008 a lot more comfortable with the idea of being more open.

The downside was the hype deluge. I will be the first to admit we were naive in this regard. We’ve never marketed EE, we don’t run ads, everything we’ve ever done to promote EE for years was simply word of mouth. Then we invested thousands to rent a large room and hold a party because we wanted to meet these people talking about us and talk back and have a good time.

We expected some press and hype, but not to the extent that it reached. We were blown away by just how well known EE was and the anticipation for 2.0 took us completely by surprise. We knew our the loyal forum crew would want it, but immediate pressure from complete strangers took us by surprise. From that moment we tried to rein it in but that was a lost cause. This isn’t a complaint by the way, its the type of problem you want, even if unexpected.

When we realised that we were going to miss our initial deadline we also realized we needed to return to our previous mode of development, but not our previous communication habits.

So ever since September our goal has been to communicate 2.0 progress every 2-3 weeks, not hype it.

As to losing the hype at release, we actually want that. Our goal with EE has always been security, stability, and performance. That’s why our growth strategy as a company has always been “grow slow, grow consistently, aim for longevity.” Its why we decided to move EE to a CI application, its why we’re intent on steadily building up the business-to-business relationships we have with developers.

People on our forums know all of us go out of our way to really engage people and invest in their success. Hype hinders that relationship process because it forces us to think in terms of markets and not individuals.

Instead of a big, splashy release we’d prefer something more quiet, where 2.0 proves itself in the wild and becomes a solid platform for the next 10 years. That’s why the release isn’t going to be a surprise, the reason the initial previews will be geared toward add-on developers, etc….

We are very thankful for the feedback, support, and constructive criticism from the community provides, it is very much appreciated, even if it makes us pull our hair out every now and again (hey, we’re human).

Hopefully we’ll see a lot of you at SXSW 2009! We’ll be throwing our usual shin-dig at the Moonshine Grill, but no panel this year. Instead a couple of us will be staying for all of SXSW Interactive (all full-time EllisLab people will be there for the weekend) and make ourselves available to meet people, hang out, and meet as many people as we possibly can, see who we can help.

HelloKing — 15:36 on 01.14.2009

When we can get EE 2.0?
And now is 1.5,how long we would wait for it?
?????????????????EE2.0??

Mark — 06:48 on 01.15.2009

Great response, Leslie, and absolutely reinforces EllisLab’s goals of genuineness.

OFDM — 07:46 on 01.15.2009

I think EllisLab was right to disclose 2.0 long before release. And they have always been clear that these are not sales messages but forward-looking info about software that is still in development.

In the gossipy CMS world, if developers don’t open the coat from time to time to show future direction, the peanut gallery charges that the product is “stalled”.

Bottom line is that EE is a tremendous value for money and the responsible communications from EllisLab underscore that.

Crssp-ee-ty — 08:31 on 01.15.2009

I think the excitement of the community is what snow-balled this into a hyped product release. I know I did my part.
The more attention EE get’s from a developers standpoint the better.
I guess I considered, that possibly since it was announced at SXSW that now that could wind up being the place where the release for EE.v.2 is finally launched.
I’m not sure that would be a good situation, as is mentioned it’s where the hype began.
Hype ON, Brothers… !!!

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