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Ideas Tool Refresh: FAQs

The Ideas tool refresh features a new modern and mobile-friendly design to increase engagement.

K
Written by Kira Hartley
Updated over a week ago

Here's everything you need to know about the new Ideas tool refresh:

What are the key features of the new Ideas tool?

  • When this feature goes live, there are 3 key updates that you will see.

    • Updated Ideas Tool user interface

    • Updated Engagement Banner (the tool tab preview)

    • Ability to Embed the Engagement Banner in another CMS (e.g., OpenCities). This can be accessed from the Ideas tool share page in the tool settings.

What will happen to live and archived Ideas tools when the feature update is released?

  • All ideas tools, whether archived or live, will inherit the new UI for both the standalone Ideas tool and the new engagement banner (the preview in the tool tab on the project page).

  • There is no impact on reporting, and the tool has been tested to ensure it works seamlessly with the current settings for each Ideas activity.

What if I was planning on launching an Ideas activity before the release?

  • If you have an Ideas tool ready to launch this week, you can do so as planned or decide to wait and publish after the new tool UI is released. We highly recommend that you get a feel for the new UI and the mobile UI before you publish. This might spark new ideas or considerations for how to set up your activity.

Can I opt out of the update?

  • No, you cannot opt out of the update since this is an application-wide feature enhancement that is a foundation for our 2025 roadmap, which focuses on further tool evolution.

  • It is a significant upgrade to participant experience, accessibility, and mobile optimization designed to drive engagement.

What should I be aware of with the new UI?

  • The new UI has a far more prominent ‘About’ panel, and you might want to review the title and description of your activities once the new UI is in place.

  • The ‘About’ panel gives expanded scope for explaining the activity, and the new engagement banner has a new smart design that will ensure longer Ideas descriptions are neatly truncated on the project page.

  • You may want to adjust your Ideas description to have a clear call-to-action as the first sentence (which will reflect neatly on the engagement banner).

  • Some icons and buttons have changed, including changing the heart icon to a thumbs up and the Add an idea button to New Post. If you included instructions in your Ideas tool description, you may need to adjust them to reflect these changes so your participants know how to interact with the tool.

  • The new UI has a more modern and mobile-friendly design. We recommend always testing your Ideas tool on a mobile device to see how most participants will interact with it.

  • The Engagement Banner (the tool tab preview) now has a more engaging design and will include the Idea title and image. If the participant doesn’t include an image, they will be able to select from four accessible colors.

  • The Ideas board will now default to display the newest posts first for a better user experience.

What should I do if I experience issues with the release and ideas aren’t showing properly?

  • We have completed significant testing on the new UI with historic and currently published tools. We have taken steps to ensure that large Ideas activities are optimized and load with images properly.

  • However, there may be some edge cases. As with all issues, please submit a support ticket. We are on standby to resolve any issues.

Will the new ideas tool have any impact on already advertised URLs?

  • We have accounted for the fact some customers have live activities and have advertised links to those Ideas boards. All previously published links to Ideas tools will automatically redirect to the new user interface.

The new tool cards include colors, can these be changed?

  • As part of this release, we have chosen a palette of accessible colors to help bring life to your ideation activity. Participants can select these colors as they create a new post or choose to use an image.

  • These colors are set at this stage; however, based on customer feedback, we will consider additional enhancements in the future.

My EngagementHQ site has a custom rebrand. Will there be any impacts to my rebrand with the new Ideas release?

  • You may have applied custom code to change the design and other elements of your EngagementHQ site.

  • We have done significant testing on this to ensure compatibility, however due to the expansive nature of customers' implementation of custom elements, there may be some small impacts to some customers.

  • We encourage all customers to check their rebranded sites and custom code for compatibility. If there appear to be impacts, please get in touch, and we are on standby to support.

How can I learn more about using the new Ideas tool?

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