IndependentOwners.com is about to get even better! Over the past few months our development team have been working tirelessly to improve the solution we provide and we are now very proud and excited to announce the imminent launch of IndependentOwners.com 3.0!
Taking the Rental Administration Solution out of Beta testing is just the start. Those of you that have been with us from 2006 will remember that IndependentOwners.com launched offering a basic website building solution for holiday home owners worldwide. In late 2007, with the creation of our advanced Central Management Area (CMA), we launched IndependentOwners.com 2.0 and introduced Optimization tools, language options and statistics packages which enabled members to better manage and market their websites.
What’s New?
Excitingly, September 2009 will see the launch of IndependentOwners.com 3.0 with radically improved templates, the ability to make use of online widgets, a choice of photograph galleries, a wider range of weather and map options, the use of video and much, much more!
Draft design of new template
It may all sound a little daunting, but in reality it isn’t. The way in which you manage your site will, on the whole, remain the same. And everything we introduce will be laid out as simply as possible and in easy-to-understand lingo.
Your Own Personalised Webpage
In addition to all of this, an IO Desktop solution similar to iGoogle will be made available so that members can create a bespoke personalised webpage which will include at-a-glance information about their IO website, a Google search facility, a wide range of widgets that offer live, online news and feeds, links to favourite websites and more.
Easier Login Options
Finally, and probably the most requested, will be a Login link from your computer’s desktop. A simple and easy to download IO Logo will appear in the system tray of your computer screen (Mac users will see a logo on their desktop) that will not only provide a one click link to your Central Management Area, but will also alert you of any enquiries and/or tasks. This login link can replace or work alongside your IO Toolbar and/or the new IO Desktop. The choice is yours!
We’re very excited about the 3.0 version of our rental solution and we hope it further enhances your ability of turning website visitors into enquirers and customers.
We’ll be in touch very soon to let you know more.
Good luck with your rentals.
Kudos! The template looks wonderful. How many new ones can we expect? Regarding the new “Desktop solution” I love my iGoogle so can I use the features of your new desktop solution on my iGoogle?
Thanks IO!
Cara
This is great news I am very proud of the website we have created already and alot of our guests already comment on it so new tweaks and toys to utilise is good in my book.
Keep up the good work
Tony
TradeMark Holidays
Looking forward to seeing all of these improvements. We have had problems with the toolbar for a while now, so the new desktop access sounds great.
Incidentally, is there any news of a ‘credit card taking’ facility that we discussed in the past? It would be very useful, providing I was able to control its access to avoid the possibility of double bookings.
Thanks.
Ginny
Villa Klarici
The new template looks fantasatic, can’t wait to use it, I too like the sound of the desktop login facility, I don’t really like the toolbar system. Do you have any images of the proposed IO Desktop web page?
Hi everyone,
Thank you for your compliments about the new templates and features of IndependentOwners.com 3.0. We too are very excited about them.
Ginny, we are still investigating a safe and secure method of accepting credit card payments to integrate into our system.
Stevie G, watch this space! We will be circulating images of the new IO Desktop in the next few days.
Thanks again all for getting involved in the blog and for your comments.
Yours,
Team IO
When will the launch of IO.com 3.0 be exactly?
I am excited and awaiting it !
Hope it will be very soon now!
Hi Johan & Fatiha,
Thanks for writing. IO 3.0 is in internal testing right now and should be to you very soon. Please read CaMIO coming out later this week for more news and we’ll also be notifying you through email.
Many thanks and we are very excited too!
Warm Regards,
Team IO
For some reason the IO 3.0 launch in August was delayed (pitiful enough without even a slight communication about the delay)
Can you please communicate now the estimated date of launch of IO 3.0??
Hi Johan, Hi Fatiha et al
Yep, hands up we have been so engrossed on working to make IO 3.0 live that we have been a little remiss in our communication with Members. We had hoped that the first stage was to be with you last week, but in final testing we came across a couple of issues that needed resolving. These ‘bugs’, as we call them, are still being worked on and we hope to launch IO 3.0 very soon.
Even though we are a free service we still want to make sure that anything and everything we do is for the benefit of our Members. Rigorous testing has to take place before any launch and sometimes that throws up unexpected complications, processes that could be simplified or tweaks required of navigation links.
We are delighted that you are looking forward to IO 3.0 – we really do think that you will be impressed – and apologise, but you will have to be patient for a few more days yet.
A communication will be circulated to all Members soon.
Bob
IndependentOwners.com Support Team
Good news!, I´m very excited too!
Hey Johan and Fatiha,
Well you two sound like barrel of laughs.
I think you should reel in your attitude a bit; this is a free service and a very good one at that! The IO team are extremely helpful and give excellent customer service. To call a delay in the launch of their 3.0 version “pitiful” is abhorrent and contemptuous.
If IO are so ‘pitiful’ then maybe you should try building your own website from scratch and leave your comments to yourself!
Hi Stevie G,
Sorry to get this kind of comments….
I am a PAYING member of IO, so maybe I can have some questions every now and then?
Besides that I have sent IO a lot of good idea’s (that are going to be implemented into IO 3.0, so I only have good feelings for them.
Next to that, my comments where purely meant for them to keep them thinking about there customers (making use of free OR payed services)
I think it is important to keep your customers informed any time, anyhow…..
I am an entrepreneur myself, so I should know…..
So, abhorrent and contemptuous are hard words, hope this was more than enough explanation from my side of the story.
Johan
I hear where you’re coming from Johan and thanks for the response. I think the original ‘hard word’ was “pitiful”, which was your choice of word to express your disappointment at not being kept properly informed as to the launch date of 3.0.
I think, as I am sure many loyal members do, that you were a bit harsh on the IO team who rarely make mistakes and do offer great support and communication 99% of the time. If you feel that being let down 1% of the time is “pitiful”, then I have to stand-by what I said.
In response to your input in the building of 3.0, I thank you and any of the members who have contributed and I applaud IO for listening to what we have to say. I can’t wait to see it!!
Hi Bob and IO,
I am looking forward to the improvements (whenever they are ready) and I’ld like to thank you in advance for fixing all of the bugs so they did not get passed along to us and for always being at the end of an email to help me out.
I think this is a great service and will continue to post positives!
Cara
Superb! Received the e-mail about the Toolbar and the imminent launch Wednesday next week yesterday! It instantly made my day!
Only 2 questions:
- As I (and I hope of a lot of others with me) am a Apple user I have seen there is no toolbar for Apple users yet. Is it “under construction” or discontinued?
- Can I log in on the new IO 3.0 without the toolbar (get the slightest feeling I can’t from the mail, is this right? I surely hope it aint….)
Hope to hear from you soon,
Greetings,
Johan & Fatiha
btw: keep up the good work!
Hi guys
The IO Toolbar is available for Apple Mac users with Mozilla Firefox. Opera and Safari do not support toolbars.
To access the IO Toolbar download for Macs please go to http://www.independentowners.com/download-toolbar-mac.html
You can also read about the launch of the IO Login Manager and IO Toolbar upgrade on the blog – http://www.independentownersblog.com
Bob
IndependentOwners.com Support Team