New entry backup is live! in Site Updates (Josh)

Hey everyone,

I’m super excited to announce the launch of another new feature: New entry backup.

In my last update I called this feature “Auto-saving drafts” but as I worked on the design, it ended up making a lot more sense to simplify things. Drafts work like they always have, this is a brand new thing.

How it works
When you’re writing a new entry, if you stop typing the entry will automatically be backed up and you’ll see a message:

If you hit “Publish”, the backup will go away and the entry will be published like usual.

If you leave your entry in the middle of writing it, no problem. When you come back to the New Entry screen it’ll be there waiting for you with a message:

If you click “Start over” the backup will go away and you’ll get a blank entry. Otherwise, keep writing and your entry will be saved like usual.

And that’s it! Simple!

How is this different than how it’s been working?
Before this update, the New Entry page would sometimes save your work, but that was specific to the browser and computer you’re using when you write.

With this new feature, your entry is being backed up to the database. That means you can now start an entry on one computer (or phone) and then pick up where you left off on a totally different device. I’m really excited about this!!

Does this work on edits?
Nope, this functionality is only enabled on new entries for now. The complexity of making backups work on things that are already saved (this includes drafts) is a bit mind-blowing, so I’m keeping it simple for now.

Future improvements
You’ll notice that the text is subtle… almost a little too subtle. Unfortunately, with how things are currently built I can either put the update message 100% above or 100% below the new entry form without totally rewriting things. That means the message is a bit hidden for mobile users, but the save functionality is still working, I promise. In the new year I’m going to start digging into more mobile-friendly improvements.

As ever, if you see any issues reply here or email me. Mochi is standing by to assist.

<3,
-J

Last updated December 13, 2018