Before I even get started with this post, I just wanted to thank all of you again for being so patient with all of the site changes. Freebies2Deals has been running and working fine for so long. But with more and more of you, I knew that some things needed to be tweaked and still need to be tweaked to make Freebies2Deals the best it can be and give all of you the best experience too.
To be straight up with all of you, what holds me back from adding even more amazing features is the cost. The things I want to do and have done on my website have to actually be coded. And that kind of stuff costs a lot more than just a template download for a blog/website.
So here are a few updates as to where we are now and I also need your help/thoughts on a new idea of mine:
1- Freebies2Deals.com is almost done. The posts should be working correctly now:
- Pictures shouldn’t be cut off.
- When you click the READ MORE button, the entire post will pop up for you in a new tab.
- All posts should be truncated so you can easily scroll/skip over the ones you aren’t interested in- including the Grocery Posts. **This change was imperative, especially when we move into Holiday Season. I can have more posts up on one page soyou can see and get each deal faster.
- You should see a “Comment” link now on the Truncated Version of the post so you can comment or see how many people have commented.
- You’ll see NEW Drop Down Menus at the top of the page. I created these to help you guys get to where you needed to go FASTER. So please take a second and go through them so you can see what is available for you. For example, need to see what other Amazon Deals are available that can help you hit you 5 Subscribe and Save discount? Click on Deals in the Menu Bar and scroll down to Amazon Deals. Any deals from Amazon will be in that list!
- For all of you who asked, you will see “OurFashionMAP”, my new second blog with my sister in the menu bar as well for easy access.
- The blue Freebies2Deals Header at the top of the website is now clickable. YAY! It was before we changed things, but didn’t get fixed when we updated. I’m happy to say it is now. So you can click on that at any time to head back to the Freebies2Deals Home Page. :
Things We Are Still Working On:
- The mobile version of Freebies2Deals.com. With Google’s required changes, every single website/blog had to have a mobile version implemented in order to show up on google’s search engines. So although it was a lot easier for everyone to either use the FREE Freebies2Deals App or just use the regular website on their mobile, now that isn’t a possibility. It’s useable right now! So that is a good sign and good update for all of you. We are still trying to tweak coding to make it visibly appealing and have all of the info you need in an easy-to-use manner. I’m hoping this should be 100% complete in a few days!
- Making Grocery Deals Printable. This is high on my priority list. But since we are still tweaking code, I’ve wanted to wait until all of that was finished before I added in another item to make the website do. But please know that within the next 2 weeks, I will have a way for you all to PRINT different deals/items off of the Freebies2Deals Grocery Lists! So do a little Happy Dance and give me two weeks!
- We will also be tweaking the side bar and the header of Freebies2Deals over the next two weeks. It needs to be updated and easier for your guys to access. However, this shouldn’t impact your deal hunting experience at all since that has all been fixed.
Now I Need Your Input:
ITEM #1: If you have noticed, Freebies2Deals can load slowly. And when we hit Holiday Season, things can load even slower. One of the main reasons for this is because of the Ads on my sidebar. They have to get “called up” so to speak each time you load the page. And it takes a lot of power, time and juice to do that each and every time.
So why don’t I just take the ads off my sidebar? Because they generate revenue for Freebies2Deals. And I need that revenue to keep Freebies2Deals ALIVE! Now to the transparent part ;)……
When I first started Freebies2Deals, I didn’t have any costs because I was running off of Blogspot, I didn’t own my own URL, I didn’t have to pay for website hosting, I didn’t have to pay for an email newsletter, I didn’t have to pay for upgraded plug-ins to make the website work better, I didn’t have to pay for tech support, I didn’t have to pay for designers or developers…… BUT- now I do. :( If I didn’t have those costs, it would be heaven. But at the same time, if I didn’t have those costs, Freebies2Deals wouldn’t be what it is today and it wouldn’t be helping as many families as it is.
I’ve run across a possible solution. So I wanted to run it by you guys and see if it was something you are even interested in: What if you could have an AD-FREE Experience on Freebies2Deals.com? And you just had to pay $2 a month?
AD-FREE would mean that none of the ads would show up on the side bar. (The things from Freebies2Deals would still show up, however–like the Categories List, Grocery Deals Section, Coupon Binder Download… all of that stuff.) But actual ads or video ads wouldn’t.
**Each person would be able to decide whether they wanted the regular site or pay for the ad-free version. So it would be individual to everyone. We wouldn’t be changing the site to ad-free for everyone and making them pay to visit Freebies2Deals.com. That’s not my intention at all. Just an added extra for those who don’t want ads.
How Would AD-FREE Benefit You?
- If you opted to go AD-FREE, the website would load a LOT faster for you. That would mean faster access to deals, free samples and everything else.
- All ads on the Freebies2Deals side bar should be 100% family-friendly–as I have worked with the ad provider to block inappropriate content. If you still see content you would rather not, going AD-FREE would fix that. (FYI- Ads are also based around your browser history. So ads you might see could be totally different than what others are seeing—based off of who has been using your computer and what they have been looking at. )
If you would be interested in possibly going AD-FREE, will you comment below and give me your thoughts on it?? I have NO clue if this is something a majority of you would be interested in, but if we have enough interest that is something I would start working on for you guys. And if it isn’t, it’s no big deal! 🙂
ITEM #2: If there is anything else that isn’t working correctly on the Freebies2Deals.com website (when looking at it on your computer- NOT the mobile version), please let me know in the comments below! I don’t want to miss anything.
I realize I will never be able to make everyone happy. So this is the quote I’ve had on my mind:
But please know that I will always try to make as many of you as happy as humanly possible!! Without you, Freebies2Deals wouldn’t exist. So I hope by the time we are done with all of these changes, you guys will see my vision and why things needed to be “tweaked”. Love you all! 🙂
Janae
I would NOT pay for ad free.
Karen
LOVE your site, but I wouldn’t pay. $2 is cheap, it’s just the hassle… signing up, commitment, keeping credit cards up to date/current, credit card # out there for just one more thing I’d rather not. I haven’t had a problem with it loading slowly either. Ads don’t bother me.
Amee
I haven’t notice the site being slow. The ads don’t bother me.
Tara Brooks
Melea, I’m loving all the changes. Thank you for everything you do to help everyone save money! I’ve saved so much on Amazon these last few months it’s insane!! Thank you so much!!
brianna
Haven’t noticed the site is slow. Wouldn’t be interested in paying monthly.
Amber
I have had no issues with loading and would definitely prefer keeping it as-is instead of switching to ad-free.
Ana
Ad free is not something I would be interested in. Love your site though and will continue to use! 🙂
Ashley J
Not interested in ad free.
Ashley B
I’ve loved all of the changes so far. Have you considered crowd funding? I’ve saved so much money from your deals that I’d be happy to contribute a bit to help with site upkeep. I’d be much more willing to do that than pay for ad-free monthly.
Leigh
1st of all, THANK YOU for tweaking this!! I can see; I can see!! *hee* &, I LOVE that it’s not in italics anymore!!
2ndly, once again, I must commend you on asking us our opinions!!! I go to another site & never get asked a thing. Things change & that’s it. For that matter, I also rarely get replies. That’s what separates you from so many others!!!
3rdly, while you certainly do care about us, we do not know all the ins & outs of the Internet business. While you definitely go above & beyond, you do have to consider all of the financial costs & clearly, your quote above is very relevant. I must agree w/ others tho that I would not pay $2 for AD FREE. I don’t mind the ads & the fact that loading is a little slow doesn’t bother me. In the end tho, you have to do what’s right for you.
I do have a question:
Could you offer AD FREE on other social media sights to save money & leave Freebies2Deals.com as is? If so, perhaps you could end up pleasing more people then originally. I have to agree w/ Karen’s comments above.
Also, when you win money for your hard work, instead of offering it up as a prize, you need to keep it. I know that’s not within your nature but, as you said, it’s now costing you to operate this vision. Believe me, we’ll be OK & totally understand. In fact, we’d never even know if you didn’t tell us.
Erica
I love the things you have done to the new site. I love how quickly I can scroll through the posts, and how when I find one I’m interested in, it opens in a new tab… I love that feature! 🙂 I don’t have any problems with your site running slow, so I wouldn’t be interested in paying $2/month. But thanks for all you do! Keep up the good work!
Alison
I wish in your little teaser (before you click for more info), that you always had a link to the deals there. Sometimes the headline is all we need and want to click once to the deal, instead of opening a new window and then clicking. It’s small, but less clicking is better. Also I wouldn’t pay to be ad-free- we penny-pinchers!
Lisa
The point of your site is to save money, not to spend money. $2 isn’t much, but it is more than I would pay for this. The ads are fine and even if it is a little slower, people who want to save money should realize that it takes time to save money. Thanks for all your hard work to make this the bast it can be. You’re awesome!
Riana
If I signed up for a subscription, I would opt for yearly. Seems like it would save you money on the per transaction credit card fees. But I don’t even see ads because I have adblock installed so the subscription would have to include something. Lastly, is this main body text going to be on the final site? It is very small and the line height is making it hard to read.
Amber T
Riana – what is adblock, where do you get it? Is it free?
*LyndiLou*
The loading speed of your site hasn’t ever been a problem for me, but if I did decide to pay for ad-free (which isn’t really likely) then I would prefer to do it a year at a time, like Riana suggested.
I love Alison’s suggestion about having the deal link in the preview of the post so it can quick and easy to get to.
I feel like I comment a lot, but I can’t keep myself from saying thanks as often as possible. I’m SUCH a fan-girl of yours. I just love how kind and generous you are. Thank you so SOOO much for all your hard work. <3
Kylee
Love your site, but I definitely would not pay $2 to use it.
Penny
I have been following your blog for years now and really appreciate all the hard work you put in for us. My sister runs a blog, so I know a lot about the “behind the scenes” stuff and how time consuming it is. I have not noticed your site being slow and the ads don’t bother me, so I would not be interested in paying a monthly fee.
Michele
Like most everyone else, I”ve never really had a problem with the site loading slowly and I hardly notice the ads, if at all. I’m okay with just keeping the ads. Thanks for all you do and your time and energy to keep the site running.
Michelle
LOVE your site and have for years!!! I would NOT pay the $2
Lisa
I have been with you since the blogspot days! I love all of the new changes and I am so thankful for all of the hard work you do to share great deals with all of us. You are AWESOME!
Stephani Howell
Something I miss is having the link on the front of the article. If I’m interested in the sale I don’t really want to have to click read more before I can click into the sale. Sometimes I do want to read more to see what all is involved, but sometimes I just think “yes, that’s for me, I’ll go right now.”
Melea Johnson
The problem with having the link on the front of the article is that most of the time there are steps, or coupon codes, or exclusions or other things you need to know before purchasing or grabbing a deal. And if the link was just on the front part alone, I would get bombarded with people telling me that the deal wasn’t working, or that it was dead–when in fact it really wasn’t, they just didn’t read the full post. That kind of stuff happens all of the time. And it takes a ton of my time trying to help people who didn’t read the full post and follow directions. 🙁
Margaret
I love your site, but I would not pay $2.00 a month.
Amber T
I don’t think it’s worth your time to make it ad-free. The ads currently on your site don’t slow it down at all, it’s the video ads that do (my Adobe Flash Player is always crashing on other sites). I’m also going to look into adblock that Riana mentioned.
I know others have commented about having a direct link on the preview of the deal, but not all deals are as simple as a link, some of them you have to follow the instructions. If I’m interested in a deal, I don’t mind clicking on the title or Read More, and I like how it opens in a new tab (instead of it opening on the same page, and then having to go back).
I like the posts that are short (header, picture, small paragraph), I saw a post from May 13 that was too long (Walmart Weekly Deals), it listed several products and pictures that I had to scroll through. I don’t mean to be picky, just providing feedback. 🙂 Thank you for making your site even better for us, hopefully it doesn’t make it harder for you!
Jessica
Owning my own website, I understand the cost associated, and seeing all the updates you have done, I know it costs A LOT! However, I won’t pay $2 for ad free. I feel you’ve kept everything clean enough that it’s not a bother. I feel all your changes have been awesome! I have no complaints, just want to offer a Thank You! for all you do for this website. It has changed my life! 🙂
Sophie Langdale
I love your site….but I wouldn’t be willing to pay anything per month…nothing personal…i just wouldn’t.