Notes from the Product Manager, November 2013 Edition

November is a wrap, so that means it’s time for another installment of Notes from the Product Manager.

We undertook some infrastructure work this month in addition to a batch of customer-facing updates. Upgrading underlying systems is work that customers don’t see but often feel. It’s important work that keeps Hover running well. Maybe it’s a psychological effect because we know what we did, but Hover feels quicker to us in this latest build. I hope you agree.

Clearer Transfer In Help

We also improved the Transfer In wizard. It’s much clearer now with easy to understand icons that guide you through the process of getting a domain ready to transfer to Hover. You’ll see this new simpler look and feel extended into a few other places in the control panel over the next little bit.

Easier Google Apps Purchase

In terms of things you will see as a customer, we did some work to improve the Google Apps purchase and setup experience.

You’ll notice that we ask you to connect it with a domain name right from the start instead of waiting until after your purchase is complete. That’s more consistent with how buying Hover email works and makes it clear that Google Apps bought and managed in Hover can only be used with a domain name that is in the same Hover account.

Aussies and Swedes Rejoice

We also added a couple of new country code domain extensions this month:

• Australians can now buy and manage the various .au domain variants at Hover including .com.au, .org.au, .net.au, .id.au and .asn.au. Transfers of .au domains are free and don’t include a renewal unless they are within 60 days of expiry, so you can often bring over your existing .au domains at no cost.
• Swedes also get some Hover love this month with the addition of .se domains. Anyone can register a .se domain.

We’re continuing to add more TLDs all the time, so if we don’t yet support one of your favourites, stay tuned because it may show up soon.

With the holidays coming, we’ll be implementing a code freeze so we can all enjoy some time away from work with our families and friends. We’ve got one more release that we’ll probably be able to squeeze in before the middle of December.