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Round Up of all the Changes to EllisLab

This post will list the changes that have occurred at EllisLab today. I’ll write separate posts for things I think deserve more detail. But for a quick “first look”, this is for you.

  • New EllisLab site. ExpressionEngine, CodeIgniter, MojoMotor, and EllisLab all had separate sites. Now, they are combined, and have been completely redesigned.
  • EllisLab has switched to a paid support model with support plans starting at $49 per month. This is a private support service. (I think this is great personally, and the Stack Exchange site couldn’t have come at a better time.)
  • ExpressionEngine comes in one license flavor at $299.
  • There is a brand new store. One you would actually want to use.
  • Derek Jones has been named CEO.
  • Volume discounts have been discontinued in its current form.
  • Three months of EllisLab Support is included with your first license purchase. (Source).

And that’s what stands out to me. Stay tuned for more.

Posted on Nov 25, 2012 by Kyle Cotter

Filed Under: News

Simon01:08 on 11.26.2012

I understand the need for a paid support model, but the model does not consider those of use using EE for personal sites. I run sites for maths teachers and a church, both funded out of my own pocket.
My use of support in recent times has been for issues that have related to bugs.

I would pay for a limited support service. For example, $49/half-year
  2 urgent tickets per 6 months
  5 support tickets per 6 months
  Limited number of sites with option to add.

Ana02:25 on 11.26.2012

That is the time to start looking for an EE alternative ...

Simon Cox03:22 on 11.26.2012

The CMS environment has changed again. EE grew up from a blogging platform to a very good CMS but if it does not evolve again then the new competition is going to overtake it. This might mean that EE moves out of reach for a lot of non profit projects and because of this there will be a lot of criticism. MojoMotor needs to grow enough to fill that gap.

ElisLabs have never been wonderful at communications with the wonderful EE community so the way this was announced/rolled out was no real surprise but at least they are still here! I for one welcome the changes though will have to make some difficult decisions for some upcoming projects now.

Stan05:22 on 11.26.2012

Interestingly, the new EE iste has not a signle screenshot of the CP or does not list a single feature pf the CMS. Not sure if that will explain the product to any new customers. Most of the product description are vague.

I miss the old site as far as content rich.

Caterina05:47 on 11.26.2012

As a EE user who owns several licenses honestly I would have appreciated an email from Ellis Lab announcing the change.

Like many others I have several clients who runs no-profit business and cannot afford the new license fee, while developer licenses were just great for freelancers who needed to show prospect clients how amazing EE is - more clients for us and more clients for Ellis Lab.

I just think that such a model - paid support, higher license fee - may be reasonable for larger business that already use and appreciate EE, but in the long term will just discourage new users and make the community smaller at least IMHO.

Seb10:44 on 11.26.2012

They’ve put a stop to cumulative knowledge. Time to find another community.

Andrea15:46 on 11.26.2012

Since “volume discounts have been discontinued in its current form,” what’s the new volume discount model?

Tom H.05:05 on 11.27.2012

The thing is that ExpressionEngine now suddenly is aiming for “enterprises”, and suddenly is too fancy for small business owners. It was always nice “in-between”.

The non-profit licences gone, is definitely a major loss here. Maybe there was some abuse? And they should regulate it better, or something.

Also notice that out of the box, ExpressionEngine is pretty weak. It’s the addons that make it amazing. And the demise of that development, folks, has just set in.

Daryl08:14 on 11.27.2012

No non-profit licensing, this is a big mistake…budgets are tightening and clients are becoming more difficult to convince. This will put a nail in the coffin for a lot of potential customers.

Taz Sibley09:53 on 11.27.2012

Wow. I’ve been a loyal EllisLab customer since the days of PMachine…and have just devoted a year to developing an elaborate template set and business model (focusing on portfolio sites for artists) based entirely on the $150 license

Calan21:07 on 11.27.2012

I have 3 proposals with clients at the moment for non-profit licenses. Very nice of EllisLab to pull the rug out and make me look like a fool.