Following the unexpected events of 2020, the Ucraft team made the collective decision to make 2021 a year to remember. We grabbed our masks, vaccine passports, and - most importantly - motivation and got to work. And guess what? We did it!
2021 has been full of ups and downs and everything in between. We’ve participated in some of the biggest tech events in the world, rolled out some game-changing features, started new online ventures, and much more. The Ucraft team has grown tremendously over the past year, and our user base continues to grow alongside our organization. It’s safe to say that the only way is up.
That being said, let’s dive into all of the different facets that made this year so special for us. As Ucraft’s content writer, I can only say that it’s going to be a wild ride starting from...right about now. Let’s begin!
This year, we…
Welcomed 85k+ New Users
Let’s get this recap started by thanking all 85,340 of you who decided to sign up for Ucraft this year! And looking at the stats, this number is only likely to go up by the time we publish this article on our blog, which is incredibly motivating for the whole team.
We know it’s been a tough couple of years, but we also acknowledge that it has been a period of change. More and more people are deciding to swap their 9-5 jobs for their passions or establish side ventures, which often require an online presence. This year especially, we’ve seen a considerable rise in demand for online store templates, as well as blogs, personal websites, etc.
It’s very rewarding for us to know that we are helping many people out, regardless of their skill level and experience. The Ucraft team has put a lot of time and effort into creating a simple, intuitive website builder for everyone, so now is an excellent time if you need an online presence!
Said “Hello” to 76 New Ucrafters
Our user base isn’t the only number that’s been growing. In fact, we’ve witnessed a major expansion in our company this year as we welcomed a total of 76 new employees to the team. Our HR department has been working overtime to conduct interviews with new candidates, get them on board and make them feel welcomed as soon as they step into the office.
For those of you who checked out last year’s recap, you probably know that we moved to a new office space in 2020, which was significantly larger than our previous building. Needless to say, that space filled up pretty quickly as our family continued to grow bigger and bigger. We’re welcoming employees from all over the world, which has been both rewarding and exciting.
And judging by our future plans, it looks like the team will only continue to grow.
Attended 8 Events and Conferences - Local and Worldwide!
In spite of Covid still rearing its sneaky head around the corner every so often, we actually managed to attend a good number of tech events and conferences this year - with the appropriate precautions, of course.
The main event of the year has got to be Web Summit; after all, it would be a shame not to start off with one of the largest tech conferences in the world. Last month, we traveled to Lisbon to participate in this year’s event and promote the launch of our new builder - Ucraft Next. Web Summit was an interesting experience, full of networking, discovering other innovative solutions, and establishing new connections.
Other events included the most-memorable SSSHolidays organized by Seaside Startup Summit, which some of our team members only recently arrived back from. It was a great chance to network with various startups and present our upcoming launch to new audiences. It was also hosted on the beautiful Al Marjan Island, Ras al-Khaimah, so the beautiful location certainly helped get the discussions flowing.
Likewise, we also participated in East and West Virtual Expo, DigiTech, HyeTech, Barcamp - to name a few. Unfortunately, if we would be here all day if we were to give a recap of every single event, but make sure to follow us on our socials (linked in the footer) to stay up-to-date on the different events we attend.
We definitely have plans for 2022, so stay tuned!
Published 137 New Blog Articles
2021 might have been the Year of the Ox, but for Ucraft, it has also been the Year of the Blog. This year, we published 74 articles on our English blog, 51 on our Russian blog, and 12 on our Armenian blog. That rounds up to a total of nearly 140 articles on a wide variety of helpful web-related topics.
Our blog sections are special to us since it’s where we can share our knowledge and experience with you and help you out on your journey to becoming successful online - regardless of the goal you are pursuing. This year we really jumped over our heads in terms of content diversity, so we urge you to check out the Ucraft Blogs linked above (depending on the language you prefer) and skim through some of the articles - you are 99.99% guaranteed to find the information you are looking for!
Translated Ucraft Into 3 New Languages
Speaking of different languages, Ucraft is officially fluent in French, Arabic, and Chinese. What can we say? Our website builder is a quick learner! That and our translation team, which has helped us tremendously this year, so we want to put in a quick “thank you” to all of you - you know who you are!
That being said, if you would like to use the builder in a language other than English, don’t hesitate to switch. Simply go to your Dashboard, and switch the language from <Site Settings>. Ucraft is now available in English, Russian, Armenian, Japanese, French, Arabic, and Chinese, and we’ll be working on more translations in the near future. The languages mentioned above are also available for our website, ucraft.com, which you can switch by going to the website’s footer.
Designed a Dozen Stunning New Templates
As you may already know, our templates are our pride and joy. Our design team puts a lot of time, effort, and enthusiasm into creating the most aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly designs for all types of businesses and projects. Sometimes, it may seem like we already have all of the templates we need, but our creative designers never fail to come up with something new.
Unsurprisingly, we decided to focus on eCommerce designs since many of you have decided to open online stores with Ucraft this year (which seem to be doing incredibly well, might we add). However, our team has also crafted beautiful layouts for event websites, online portfolios, and agencies. Check out some of our favorite templates below.
Got 600 New Affiliates Onboard
We’ve mentioned it being the Year of the Blog, but it looks like we have a competing title - Year of the Affiliate.
In 2021, we decided to build up our affiliate program and help people worldwide make a good income online. By working closely with existing affiliates and welcoming new ones to the team, we’ve managed to build a great relationship with those willing to spread the word about Ucraft and help others create stunning websites in just a few clicks. We’ve even interviewed some of our most successful affiliates, including Robert Brandl, the founder of WebsiteToolTester, and Steve Benjamins, the founder of SiteBuildReport.
If you’re interested in becoming a Ucraft Affiliate, visit this page to get started.
Uploaded 13 Employee Success Stories
We have many Ucrafters with interesting backstories, no doubt about it! And starting from the middle of 2021, we decided to share these with you guys. We now have a section on our Community Tab where you can learn all about the faces behind the builder and their journeys to success at Ucraft. We’ve had employees relocate to work with us, content writers becoming product owners, as well as people who have been with us since the very beginning.
Organized 5 Holiday Campaigns
In spite of the ongoing pandemic, we weren’t going to let this dampen our holiday spirits - and our users’ holiday spirits too. The Ucraft team organized special deals for five holidays this year, including Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas. Most of our offers consisted of discounted Lifetime Website packages, and we hope these deals helped some of you out with your online endeavors and cheered you up.
Speaking of campaigns, our Christmas deal isn’t over yet! If you would like a Lifetime Website for just $149, you still have time until the end of the month to claim your discount.
Added 10 Game-Changing Features and Updates
If you’re somewhat familiar with Ucraft, then you’ll probably recall our monthly newsletters, where we send you the most important updates that occurred over the last 30 days. Needless to say, we’ve had many improvements, feature updates, and integrations, yet there have been a few that caught our attention when we were looking back through our newsletters.
Firstly, we added an integration with Zapier - an automated workflow tool that allows you to connect your favorite web apps and services. The integration automatically moves information between apps, eliminating the need for developers to set up this process for you.
We also improved our PopUps App by updating the UI and triggering rules and visibility settings.
Our Customers App was also enhanced with a new updated layout and better mapping with content forms. Notable changes to the eCommerce App included the addition of a bulk product editor, “apply same changes” option, the addition of tax-inclusive prices, and an updated mobile app - allowing you to manage your store on the go.
And finally, we also made some notable improvements to the Articles App by adding a schedule visibility option and improving the text editors.
That being said, we have also been working tirelessly on the new version of our builder, Ucraft Next - an AI-powered intelligent eCommerce platform to be launched next year. Ucraft Next will provide both experienced and beginner online entrepreneurs with everything they need to create stunning, professional online stores and more.
We are very excited to finally launch, but the development process has taken a lot of time, energy, and effort, too, so we are essentially working on two fronts right now.
Published 1 Extensive Dropshipping Guide
As the in-house content writer, I can say that this has been my personal pride and joy. I went into this project guns blazing - no wait, research skills blazing - to create a helpful and relevant guide. And what could be more appropriate than dropshipping?
Many people want to become online business owners but remain unsure of where to start. Sure, opening an online store seems great on paper, but many people simply don’t have the time or resources to produce, stock, and deliver inventory. This is where dropshipping comes in. Dropshipping is an eCommerce solution that allows store owners to purchase goods from third-party sellers and sell them on their website, all while the supplier takes care of manufacturing and shipping.
Although this solution sounds tempting, it’s essential to be informed about all the available options and necessary steps. Check out our Ultimate Dropshipping Guide to learn everything there is to know about this method and how you, too, can become a successful online business owner in a short period of time.
What’s in Store for 2022?
The short answer to that question is - a lot! First of all - our upcoming product launch, which is still in the works. Although we were planning to launch sooner, the eCommerce builder market is developing rapidly as we speak, so we decided to take a step back and see what other features we could add to Ucraft Next to ensure the best possible product for our users. And by best, we really mean it - the best! All we can say is stick around and see for yourself.
But don’t worry; we’ll make sure you are entirely on board before the builder is even launched. Our support team isn’t going anywhere - in fact, it’s growing rapidly alongside our whole Ucraft family. Speaking of which, we are excited to welcome many more Ucrafters in 2022 and turn this into something big.
Other than that, the team is working tirelessly to make sure everything is up to par - our builder, our partnerships, customer support, and even regular informative social media posts. We’re proud to say that we’ve made it through another year. Oh, scratch that, we’ve come out of 2021 with many success stories and memories. “Made it” doesn’t quite cut it when it comes to the Ucraft family.
As we wrap this recap up, we want to wish each and every one of you a Happy New Year and an amazing 2022. Remember to stay on top of your game, work hard doing what you love, and - most importantly - keep learning.
But for now, it’s time to sit back and relax for a couple of days.
Best wishes,
The Ucraft Family