BuxHost Blog

Dear (potentially new) customer,

Today NextGen v4.30 will be officially released. Many thanks to all beta-testers who were actively involved in testing the latest beta-release and providing valuable feedback! Updating all scripts in a coordinated manner requires some time, so I expect your website to be updated to v4.30 in less than 24 hours from now. You'll receive a notification email once updated.

The new features of v4.30 can be found in the blog post below.

Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

Dear customer,

Today we'll start upgrading those who have enrolled in our beta-testing program to NextGen v4.30. The key feature that has been added to this version is a build-in forum (see the blog post below). Find below the preliminary release notes.


Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

With this blog post I'd like to update you about the upcoming new changes for NextGen concerning the forum. Since March 2009, we have been offering a free phpBB forum along with the NextGen script. The number one reason to use a third party forum is the incredible amount of work involved in building such a forum. phpBB is a non-profit organization, who built the phpBB forum in more than 10 years. Since we like to focus on improving NextGen - a PTC script, not a forum - most of our efforts have been put in optimizing the script itself rather than the forum.


Over the last year, we've received an increasing amount of support ticket about the phpBB forum. Here's the top three:

1. Spam. Since phpBB is a worldwide commonly used forum, spammers have created spambots that will flood phpBB forums with thousands of spam posts in a short period of time. Deleting these posts is a waste of time. Forum addons as well as some suggestions to fine-tune the forum settings are availeble to minimize usage of spambots, although this is not a 100% foolproof solution.

2. Too difficult. The phpBB forum is an incredible forum, with many features and settings. However, most of them are not needed, which makes it more difficult to go through all settings in order to find the one you're looking for. Especially the permissions for the various groups seem to be an ongoing difficulty.

3. Double accounts. Members need to create an additional forum account in order to use it. Not only this requires an extra step for your members, it also poses an security risk when it comes to identity theft.


For the reasons above we've decided to build a forum from scratch, integrated in NextGen. It took us more than 4 months to design, implement and test, but I'm sure it's well worth it. The forum has been built to be managed intuitively, so even those who are not technically experienced can manage the forum. We're currently alpha-testing NextGen v4.30 with build-in forum support with customers on private servers. If things go well, beta-testing will start in a few weeks from now.


A few answers to commonly asked questions:

- For new customers/websites: The phpBB forum will be offered for the time being along with the build-in forum. You can choose which forum you'd like to use.

- For existing customers/websites: If you're on a phpBB forum, it will be hosted for you free of charge for as long as you're using it. If you decide to switch in the future to the build-in forum, it would be great if you could notify us so your phpBB forum can be removed to free up server resources.

- You can't transfer posts from a phpBB forum to the new build-in forum. This means that if you switch from phpBB to the build-in forum, you start with an empty forum again. Therefore, in some cases it may be worth to continue using the phpBB forum when you have a large forum and no difficulties managing it.

- In v4.30, you'll have three options: you can disable the forum completely, link to an external forum or use the build-in forum.


If you have more questions, feel free to ask :)

Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

Hello,

To start off 2012 right, we'll start upgrading all scripts to v4.20 today. This latest NextGen release has a few major improvements, as can be found below. Once your script has been upgraded, you'll automatically receive an email.

For questions - don't hesitate to ask :)

Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

Hello,

Find below the preliminary release notes of the latest version.



Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

Hello,

I'd like to keep you updated about the latest new features that are going to be offered in the next version of NextGen. There seems to be an endless stream of suggestions that our customers provide, which is obviously a good thing :) We're working routinely on new updates and are committed to make NextGen the best PTC script in the industry. I can truly appreciate our customer's effort to come up with new ideas that improves the script even more - many thanks for that.

Below I will briefly discuss some new features in NextGen v4.20. We're currently alpha-testing this script with customers on a private server (hint ;)).


Up to 12 membership types
This is quite a highly requested feature. You'll be able to configure up to 12 membership types instead of 4 in the new version of the script. If you add more than 4 membership types, the upgrade page will show an additional block of membership privileges along with the price rates. The same holds true if you add more than 8 membership types.

Banner rotator on Advertisements page
Adding the banner rotator to the advertisements page was not possible in earlier versions of the script due to database constraints. The script has now been adjusted internally to allow the banner rotator to be displayed on the Advertisements page if the member's screen size is wide enough.

Force uploading payout proofs
A prominent method to improve faith is to show that you're paying out your members. However, it's not uncommon that you're sending 40 payouts, after which only 10 screenshots are uploaded by your members. Using the Payment Proof section, members can upload screenshots of their paid payout request. To "force" members to upload this screenshot, you can now configure the script to restrict access to the member area unless a screenshot is uploaded. For example, if you configure the script to force uploading after 48 hours, members must upload their screenshot within 48 hours after getting paid. If not, the member area is restricted and allows access to the Request Payout page only.

Rent out members infinitely
Instead of renting out referrals for a certain period of time, you can now rent out referrals infinitely (forever), which is akin to selling direct referrals. Some customers already offered conversion of rented referrals into direct referrals. With the new version of the script, referrals rented for an infinite amount of time will still be listed as a rented referral. The advantage of this is that it's automated and the rented referral limit set in your Membership Settings is applied.

Welcome message
You will be able to set a welcome message when a member logs in. This welcome message can contain news about your website, keeping your members up to date with the latest changes. Also, it can be used to make some important remarks to members who just signed up.

New theme
The latest version contains an additional free theme to choose from.


Beta-testing will start as soon as alpha testing has been completed. Although I have no exact time frame, I don't expect this to take too long. Thanks.

Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

Hello,

As beta-testing went great, all customers have been upgraded to NextGen v4.10 by now free of charge. More updates to come!

Thanks.
BuxHost Development Team

Hi everyone,

It's been more than a month already since v4.00 was released. To keep a continuous stream of updates, we'll be offering a NextGen v4.10 beta release today for those who have enrolled in our beta-testing program. You will receive an email when your script has been updated to v4.10 beta. Thanks for the wonderful suggestions in the last few weeks that you all have sent!

Find below the release notes.



Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

Hello,

For those interested - SolidTrustPay has been added as a payment processor. We'll be upgrading all scripts today, after which you will get the notification by email (as usual).

Ps: More updates coming up in the next few weeks.

Find below the release notes.



Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

Hello,

As AlertPay is having issues accepting credit cards since the beginning of October already, Google Checkout will be added to the script as an alternative route to accept credit card payments from your members. We're currently testing Google Checkout integration with a few of our customers. If all goes well (and it seems to be working fine), NextGen v4.01 including support Google Checkout will be released in the next few days.

A few important remarks:

• Google Checkout can only be used to accept credit card payments.


• Google Checkout cannot be used to send payments to your members (it's a unidirectional payment processor).


• According to their Terms, Google Checkout is only available for merchants (admins) who live in the USA or the UK.


• Google Checkouts accept payments from buyers (members) from more than 140 countries.

I'll update this blog post as soon as I have more information to share. Thanks.

----------------------------------------------------

UPDATE (2011-10-28)
We'll start to upgrade all scripts to v4.01 with Google Checkout support today. Once your script has been upgraded, you'll be notified by email. The steps to take to set up Google Checkout on your website is outlined in your admin manual. Again, note that Google Checkout only allows merchants (admins) from the USA or the UK.

Find below the release notes.

Hello,

Many thanks to those you've beta-tested NextGen v4.00 in the last two weeks! Since only a few minor glitches have been reported (and fixed meanwhile), we'll proceed upgrading all scripts to NextGen v4.00 today...free of charge as usual. You'll receive an email notification once your script has been upgraded.

For questions, don't hesitate to send in a ticket. Thanks.

Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

Hello,

Today we'll be starting to upgrade the script to v4.00 beta for those who have enrolled in our beta testing program. You will receive an email once your script has been upgraded.

Find below the release notes.


Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

Ps: for those who are not participating in beta-testing - you can enroll in our beta testing program via your BuxHost customer account in case you have a license for at least 3 years.

Hello,

NextGen v4.00 is almost ready for a beta-release. In the last few weeks, we've been working behind the scenes to implement some of the latest suggestions and ideas passed through. One of the most requested feature is the ability to run an advertisement campaigns for a fixed amount of days, instead of a number of clicks. This will be available as of v4.00, along with the option to run a campaign infinitely (handy for self-sponsored ads).

Although we've received many great suggestions to improve the script further, not all of them can be implemented at once. Generally, suggestions are prioritized based on the number of requests, implementation feasibility and impact. No worries if your suggestion has not been added yet - there's a long way ahead and the gas tank is far from empty :)

Alpha testing v4.00 already started. Beta-testing will start in less than two weeks. I'll keep you updated via this blog as soon as I have more to share.

Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

Hello everyone,

Just a quick note about two new BBCode tags which are available in v3.90.

Embed YouTube video
---------------------
To embed a YouTube video on the URL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zYaWCen4u1 use the BBCode: [youtube]6zYaWCen4u1[/youtube]

Center text
-----------
To center text, use the BBCode: [center]This is centered[/center]

Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

Dear potential new customer,

As of today you'll receive the latest NextGen script version (v3.90), containing major improvements and a bunch of new features, when placing a new order. See the blog post below for the release notes. Feel free to have a look at the demo version to explore the new possibilities NextGen has for you.

Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

Hello,

Since alpha testing went great, we'll be gradually starting beta testing in the upcoming days. If you have enrolled in our beta-testing program, your script will be upgraded to v3.90 soon these days. Please mind there is no need to send in a support ticket about this.

Find below the release notes.


I'm sure beta testing the new script will go as fine as alpha testing did. With a bit of luck all customers will be upgraded to v3.90 within 2 weeks from now. Free of charge, as usual ;)


Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

Hello,

NextGen version 3.90 is coming up in the next few weeks. Even during the holidays, we're continuously striving to improve the script based on the many suggestions that we have received from our customers. Many thanks for that. I will discuss a few new features that will be available as of v3.90.


New theme
Let's start with an obvious feature that was requested already a year ago: themes. Although customized headers/footers are not yet supported in v3.90, this upcoming version will have a new theme. This will be the very first time that you'll see NextGen with a new look :) Both the old (classic) theme and the new theme will be available for selection in your admin panel.

Customizable referral rental period
Members can rent referrals for a period of 30 days. The amount of 30 days was chosen a long time ago when the script had just been developed. It's getting time to have this duration customizable. In v3.90 you'll be able to change the 30 days into any length of days. If you're currently converting rented referrals into direct referrals, it may well be an idea to set this rental period to 5 years: that would effectively make them "life-time" referrals.

Referral click values for timers
Especially for mini advertisements, you may want to credit the clicker, but not offer referral earnings to the upline. You'll be able to set the click values for the "pay per click" and "pay per referral click" separately as of v3.90. To disable referral earnings for a certain timer, you can set the referral click value to 0%.

Blog
The news section is a quick way to let your members know about the latest news on your website. The forum can be used to communicate larger news letters to your member, although it can be a bit of a hassle to organize your forum categories and topics in such a way that both members and visitors can see your latest posts at a glance. In this new version of the script a blog module has been implemented. Don't expect a lot from it though, as the module is in beta and has only the most basic features. The blog section will be enhanced in future releases of the script.

Auto-clicker protection
Especially for those who are NOT using the random captcha method on the advertisements page, we've added a configuration option to disable clicking the same advertisement again if the captcha was clicked/entered incorrectly. The reason behind this is to minimize the use of auto-clicker software. Such software can simply try to "guess" the correct captcha by picking a random answer and try it over and over again until the right answer has been picked. For example, if you're using the click-the-correct-picture captcha, one has a 25% chance the correct captcha is chosen. Enabling auto-clicker protection will reduce this risk. A far better approach in addition to this is to use random captchas for your advertisements (see Captcha & OSK Settings).

Adding/removing referrals
The old fashioned method of adding a referral to a member's account was quite a hassle: find an unreferred member, view member details and change the upline of that member to the one you want to assign a referral to. In v3.90 you can simple add or remove referrals via a simple form. Type the username, change the number of rented/direct referrals, click Save and you're done.

Force members to read messages
In v3.90 you can force members to read unread messages in order to continue browsing the member area.

New anti-cheat payout policy
Provide manual payouts for the first payout request, while offering payouts instantly for all subsequent requests. This allows you to review a member's account for cheating/fraudulent activity, avoiding a loss of income to cheaters via instant payouts. Thanks for this suggestion Marek.

Maintenance mode
Most of you may have developed a build-in aversion against the word "maintenance". However, in some cases you may want to put your website under maintenance while you're changing configuration settings and don't want members to interfere. Maintenance mode therefore can be useful if your website is in pre-launch mode. This module can be configured to always allow access to the website in case you're logged in as admin - this way you would be the only one being able to access your website. Along with maintenance mode, you'll also be able to throttle or completely block registrations for a while.

Admin notes
Do you keep track records of management notes in Notepad or Excel? In v3.90 you'll have a notepad right in your admin dashboard, so you can access your notes regardless the computer you're working on.

Campaign Trackers
My favorite! If you're taking your business serious, you may advertise your website on other websites via large campaigns. Did you ever wonder if those costly campaigns actually bring you members who add funds or upgrade their memberships? Using a campaign tracker you can see how many members signed up due to your campaign on a third party website. In addition to that, the tracker will also show if those members have invested in your website and plots it against the costs you've made for this campaign. You'll now have a direct overview if your campaign was worth the effort and money!


The new features discussed above might be subject to change. Official release notes will be added to this blog as soon as v3.90 has been released.

ALPHA TESTING
===========
Alpha testing has already been started with customers on a private server. Contact us if you're interested in switching to a private server (you'll receive v3.90 right now). More private server privileges can be found in your BuxHost Customer Account.

BETA TESTING
==========
We'll be starting beta-testing the new version within 2 weeks from now. You can enroll in our beta-testing program by checking the box in your BuxHost customer account on buxhost.com if you have a 3 years subscription or more.

Although suggestions are always more than welcome, please note that our todo-list seems to be ever growing. I'll keep you updated via this blog while we're finishing up the script and preparing it for beta-testing.


Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

Dear customer,

As of today we'll be offering private servers for those who're taking their business seriously. Using a private server, your website will get dedicated RAM and CPU cores which will not be shared by anyone else. This results in a major performance boost and fully eliminates the risk of slow loading pages due to someone else's advertisement campaign.

Find below the advantages of a private server:

- Huge performance improvement: depending on your internet connection pages load in less than a second
- 100GB free monthly bandwidth (instead of 25GB/month)
- Hourly backups (instead of 24h backups)
- 1000 active advertising campaigns limit (instead of 100)
- Private IP address
- Dedicated CPU, RAM and disk usage

A private server can be purchased via your BuxHost customer account. Please send in a support ticket afterwards to get your website migrated as soon as possible.

Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

Hello,

After 2 weeks of beta-testing NextGen version 3.80 has been officially released today. The release notes can be found in the blog post below. The biggest improvement is support for multiple timers, allowing you to run for example Micro, Mini, Standard and Extended advertisements. All websites have been upgraded to v3.80 free of charge.

For questions, please don't hesitate to contact us :)

Best regards,
BuxHost Development Team

Hello,

Find below the release notes of NextGen v3.80 of the script. Beta-testing the new script with a few of our clients has started meanwhile. I'll keep you updated on this blog as soon as v3.80 will be officially released.

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A peak behind the scenes Posted on 2011/05/26

May 9 months ago

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NextGen v3.70 to be released today Posted on 2011/05/16

May 9 months ago

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Beta-testing v3.70 starts today Posted on 2011/05/08

May 10 months ago

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Heads up - sending out payouts directly from your admin panel Posted on 2011/05/03

May 10 months ago

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New version coming up! - v3.70 Posted on 2011/04/30

April 10 months ago

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NextGen v3.60 will be released today Posted on 2011/03/20

March 11 months ago

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Preliminary release v3.60 Posted on 2011/03/15

March 11 months ago

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NextGen v3.50 released Posted on 2011/02/16

February 12 months ago

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NextGen v3.40 released Posted on 2011/01/25

January 13 months ago

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NextGen v3.30 released Posted on 2010/11/18

November 15 months ago

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Coming up: Performance improvements and bandwidth reduction Posted on 2010/11/17

November 15 months ago

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NextGen v3.20 released Posted on 2010/11/10

November 16 months ago

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NextGen v3.10 released Posted on 2010/10/25

October 16 months ago

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Instant Payout for PayPal and Liberty Reserve on its way Posted on 2010/10/20

October 16 months ago

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BuxHost releases NextGen v3.00 Posted on 2010/09/27

September 17 months ago

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