S2 is what we call the new version of our campaign server. If you've been using ShortStack to build contests, you've actually worked with the campaign server; it's what interacts with our Builder to show you a preview of your landing pages as you build them and is responsible for displaying your published landing pages. Upgrading the campaign server has allowed our team to make major performance and functionality upgrades, as well as improve processes for adding new features in the future.
Campaigns built on S2 have a shiny new blue S2 indicator attached to the name of the campaign, as shown in the top left of the Campaign Builder.
Our original campaign server, which we affectionately call S1, was designed a decade ago in 2010. It uses an older architecture that has limited our ability to introduce new features.
Note: Going forward, new features will be introduced solely on S2; however, S1 will continue functioning as-is for an indefinite period of time.
How To Access S2
You can access S2 and the new features via the Template Gallery when you create a new landing page campaign. Just toggle to S2 in the lower right corner of the gallery when browsing our templates.
New Features
The upgrade to S2 means that there will be some new features rolling out to the platform. These include:
Form Widget: Upload Field
Starting in S2, the upload field in your Form Widget has gotten a supercharge. In S2 campaigns, the upload field will be able to accept multiple images, direct video uploads, and links to social media posts. This will expand the types of campaigns you're able to build pretty significantly.
Note: Uploads are subject to plan limitations.
Entry Display Widget
The Voting Widget has been given some tweaks, and is now known as the Entry Display Widget. The main change to this widget is that your entries (especially ones with multiple forms of media) will have a much cleaner display with columns that are controllable via the Style Panel.
Navbar Widget
Our new Navbar Widget allows you to add a responsive navigation bar to your landing page. Navigation bar elements can link to different sections within your landing page, trigger actions on your landing page and send users to external URLs.
Invite-Only Landing Pages
When building a campaign, sometimes you only want specific people to be able to view the finished product; for instance, when passing the campaign along for review before going live, or hosting a contest for a specific group of people. In S2, we've added the ability to create invite-only landing pages, which are only accessible via an invitation link you'd send out to a list in your ShortStack account.
Tracking Widget
Taking all of the headache out of embedding a tracker or pixel into your campaign, our new Tracking Widget allows you to add Google Analytics or a Facebook Pixel to a campaign with just a few clicks.
Other Improvements
S2 also boasts the following general improvements to your ShortStack experience:
- Faster load times: The Builder will respond faster when working on campaigns using S2.
- Original file exports: You’ll receive the original image and video files uploaded with the entry (with the exception of social media posts).
- More complex actions: Action Widgets placed inside hidden Container Widgets are disabled until the Container Widget is visible, permitting more complex actions to be achieved.
