It has been almost 3 months since our last product updates blog. However, it did feel like an eternity due the Covid-19 lockdown situation! We hope everyone is keeping safe. Situations like these test our spirit, but getting through them makes us stronger.
Without further ado let's dive into the updates.
The Business
So far the year 2020 has been a hell of a ride for all of us. But for Gumlet, it has been a fun ride. Due to our Appsumo launch, total users have more than doubled. More than 3000 sites are now optimized using Gumlet. We served 2.5 Billion optimized images in last 3 months. That is equal to total images served in 2019!
However, with great growth comes great responsibilities. We had to push a lot of updates in image optimization pipeline and plugins to make sure the users get best possible experience. We have reached a point of stability with the systems and hence we thought it is a good time to give an update.
WordPress Plugin
Most of new users for the service integrated using our WordPress plugins. The plugin has been updated very frequently to improve compatibility, reliability and performance. Here is a list of the most important updates:
- Background images mentioned with in-line CSS are now optimized.
- JS and CSS files delivery via CDN has been added. (Guide)
- Improved Responsive Resize ensures that images are not shrinked.
- Compatibility with popular WordPress themes (Elementor etc) and plugins (WP Rocket etc) has been improved. Now we rarely see any issues around this.
- Exclude URL list makes the plugin more user friendly.
- Dedicated Integration Guide to ensure smooth and quick onboarding.
Our Appsumo deal ends on 1st May 2020. Stack up before it is too late!!
JavaScript Plugin
Gumlet.js is the cornerstone of our product design. It works under the hood to ensure Gumlet delivers the best possible image optimization. We are keep refining this piece of tech.
- We have improved robustness by handling more edge cases like, better size detection when image and its parents does not have CSS size and some very edge case issue around localStorage error.
- Support for native lazy load on Google Chrome has also been introduced.
Platform Updates
Apart from the plugins, Gumlet also has a huge backend platform that does all the heavy lifting. Improvements related to caching infrastructure and load balancing were deployed for smooth auto-scaling. Other significant improvements include:
- Added support for Wasabi storage as a source type.
- We now add "Canonical link" header to every image delivered to improve image SEO. (Read more)
- An important bug fixed related to image URLs with international characters.
- Magento integration guide.
- There is a monitoring and alerts system available for all clients. Here is a guide about all the metrics that can be tracked.
- Better account management with role based access control.
- Added URL signing for secure image delivery (Only compatible with JS plugin for now).
- Support ticketing and issue tracking system for better support.
- Support for next generation AVIF and HEIF image formats.
Roadmap
This is the most exciting segment of the blog. We are planning some big updates in next 2 -3 months. You can expect the following:
- Source specific user control features.
- Easy export feature for error logs.
- All new website design.
- Easy and affordable Custom domain / CNAME for all. 🎉
2020 is going to be a tough year for everyone. But we, the Gumlet team are an optimistic bunch. We will continue working toward making Gumlet into a great media optimization and delivery product.
We are very grateful for your love and support so far 🙏. Please keep it coming, it will help us scale the mountains.
