Announcing Versioning 2.0

We’ve had a big re-vamp of one of our most-loved products, and we’re very excited about the result – here’s an explanation of what’s going on, and why it’s exciting!

Versioning was something we started waaaay back in 2014. The idea was, the internet is exhausting, particularly for devs, designers and web folk like you. Why not get someone (me) to keep up with all of that stuff for you, and share the best content on a daily basis? It turns out, people (you) wanted that, so I’ve written the daily newsletter ever since.

BUT I also had another, full-time role at SitePoint, so Versioning was squeezed in where it fit.

Now, I’ve stopped squeezing. Versioning is my entire job, and I’m entirely focused on making the newsletter as useful and amazing as possible, so that it’s worthwhile subscribing to. I have a whole day to produce every edition of Versioning, so I can do things like widen the range of sources, widen the range of topics covered based on feedback, fully explore each link, and produce more and more varied content for y’all. The core newsletter will always be there, but additional updates on specific subjects or areas, canonical, updated posts and interviews can happen too. Down the line, the sky’s the limit.

We could’ve financed this move by adding more, and maybe more disruptive, advertising and sponsorships, but this lets the content be the focus. You’ll get stuff that’ll make your day (or your week, or your life) better, and nothing else.

Instead, we’re relaunching the newsletter as a paid subscription product. For a small monthly or annual fee, you can become a Versioning Member and get the new, improved daily Versioning. This will come to your inbox and will also be viewable online. No ads, better links, better commentary and additional content and products (forums, for example, are on the horizon) where they make sense.

You can also sign up to receive a weekly update – that I’m planning on making very awesome in itself – plus periodic free updates. You can see some of those here.

To do this we have partnered with a company called Substack [substack]. They’re a start-up entirely dedicated to making subscription publishing work for content producers. (Btw, they’re co-founded by a New Zealander, like me, because Kiwis are amazing.)

Sign up here for the special special launch price of US $5 per month, or you can get an annual subscription for $50. Once you purchase a subscription under these special prices, they’ll renew at that rate as long as you’re still subscribed. This deal runs until March 5 and the price returns to the standard rate of $7/month or $70/year.

This is a new thing for us, and for the content industry in general, so we’re pumped! I hope you join us!