Building the Store
Sharing photos online is a great perk of the digital world, but there is still something special about having a printed photograph you can hold and enjoy even when the internet is out. We always knew we wanted to build a store into Afterify, but it would be a challenging process with so much to learn before we could launch. So here is a little look into our journey planning, designing and developing our new fully-integrated store.
Planning the Store
Throughout 2020, we were working hard on the photo studio within Afterify, which includes photo organization tools and integrated gallery websites that give you the ability to share photos easily with clients. As that work progressed and we began user testing we found that while users were enjoying Afterify, they knew it would be difficult to leave their current services without the ability to also sell the photos they were storing. With that feedback in mind we realized the store had to come sooner than later, and we began preparing to take it on.
With a rough plan, we dove into the first step -- find a vendor to work with. It was important to us to find someone who was well-known in the industry for high-quality products and service. We compared different professional photo labs, and chose to partner with WHCC because they offer a great line of products that are made with sustainability in mind. The straightforward integration process they offered made our decision easy; we wanted to get it set up and ready for our users as quickly as possible. Once we were connected, we could begin working through our ideas to shape the store experience.
Design Begins…Almost
Print partner secured and first drafts of designs done, we were ready to develop the foundation of the store. It was just starting to take shape, when we suddenly had an epiphany on how we could add a ton of awesome customization to the website builder... totally unrelated to the store. But the changes we wanted to make in the website builder would ultimately cascade into a greater experience for the store as well. So in early 2022, we did a full shift and temporarily put the store on the back-burner.
For a solid six months, we worked on reimagining how the website builder functioned. Another three months of refinements were needed, and then we were finally done with the new website builder and ready to release Afterify to the public for the first time in a beta format. We launched the beta, we found our footing in the marketing world, and then we moved into the second half of 2022 and began discussing what we would need to do to be able to move out of beta. The store was the first thing that came to mind, and we knew it had to become a priority to finish.
Around the World and Back Again
Nine months after we put the store on hold, we dusted it off and began to review the designs and code that we'd started. We updated the store to work with the changes to the website builder, refreshed the UI, and streamlined the purchasing experience. It only took us a few months of work to feel confident that we could plan for a release, all we had left to do was finish the integration to WHCC and complete an order ourselves.
From September to December we scrambled to get things finished and finally on December 28th, Louise placed the first order in an Afterify store. The feeling when the success message came through was incredible.
Launching the Store
Today, we are so excited to announce that the store is now available for all Afterify plans. To start selling prints of your photos, all you have to do is set up your store, choose your product options and pricing, and connect a project gallery in the photo studio. We handle the rest!
We are confident that you'll find Afterify now has a comparable amount of features as many other options on the market, plus more focus on customization and ease-of-use. In the near future, we'll be working hard to refine the tools we offer today, expand design and style options, and plan what our next big launch will be. Follow along with us to find out what that may be -- or better yet, give Afterify a try today with a 7-day free trial!
