by
Alex
Marketers Delight 5.2.1 Starts the Year With New Dropins, Simplified Admin Tools, and a Fresh Outlook for 2021
Marketers Delight 5.2.1 is the first new release to kick start 2021 and brings some exciting new features, streamlined admin editing, and a new slate of goals to delight in the new year.
A lot has been going on behind the scenes at the MD Labs and a lot of growth has been happening through some new marketing efforts and new collaborations with exciting site authors.
To welcome all of the new users into what we’ve been doing here for years at Marketers Delight, I am going to guide you through the new changes and features you can expect after upgrading to Marketers Delight 5.2.1.
With your license key active, you can easily get the new version from the WordPress admin Appearance > Themes > Update Marketers Delight.
Introducing a Simpler Admin Dashboard and New Dropins Manager
Coming soon this year the entire way you interact with Marketers Delight is going to change through the new Dropins Manager. MD5.2.1 introduces the start of what will soon be a way to seamlessly upload dropins, page templates, popup designs, and other site data from the admin dashboard.
When you first visit the MD settings panel you will notice a far simpler interface with a slightly reorganized menu and a new “Dropins” tab.
Beneath the main menu you will now see a new submenu that now holds general settings like the Pro Share, WooCommerce, Admin bar, and other moderately used settings screens.
MD Custom Sidebars has been moved out of the Widgets screen and into its new location in MD > Site Design > Sidebars. With more space for these controls you will be able to create and assign custom sidebars far easier:
The keen of you will notice the “Features Manager” is no longer there and that’s because we moved it to the new Dropins page which is your new control center for extending features of your MD websites.
A Look into the New Dropins Manager
The new Dropins Manager page is a new page that will give you an overlook of the extended features your website is running. Marketers Delight comes with a handful of Dropins built-in and can also be extended through child themes.
The new admin page will show you which Dropins you currently have installed and which ones you can install from the Dropins library. You will also see the Features Manager here to toggle built-in MD features and Dropins.
Note: In the future, you will be able to one-click install and update Dropins from this page.
From here you will notice alongside the release of MD5.2.1 there are three new Dropins ready for use on your site. Let’s explore them briefly here as you can learn more about each in the Dropins Library.
Dropin #1: Docs Library
The Docs Library is a premium Dropin that allows you to create and manage a documentation section on your website. Packed with simple admin controls and an easy to navigate content hierarchy you will be able to quickly build a content-rich docs library for your products as fast as you can write.
Get DropinDropin #2: Accordion Widget
The Accordion Widget allows you to easily insert an accordion style link tree into any widget area in WordPress. This widget will render a list of your chosen category and show the latest posts as a way to encourage readers to go deeper into your website and find your blog category pages easier.
The Accordion Widget is built-in and ready in MD5.2.1 in the Appearance > Widgets section.
Learn moreDropin #3: MD Admin Bar
This is a bonus feature and mini passion project I wanted to include in MD as it stands to be an incredibly useful tool for those who see the potential. Rather than rely on the slow WP admin bar you can now swap it out with a much more lightweight and customizable admin bar to make site editing a breeze without penalizing your performance.
Learn more2021 is the Year to Delight
After a great year we are already looking ahead with excitement at what 2021 brings to Marketers Delight and what amazing results you are able to achieve with each breakthrough release here from the MD Labs.
We are always looking forward to hearing from you and how we can make Marketers Delight better, so keep an eye out your email for new updates and please join us at the MD Forums to post your suggestions and get help from the MD staff and other members of the community.
How do you like MD5.2.1? Try out the new features? Leave a quick reply here and show us what you’ve been working on. More from us soon.
Alex
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It must be a new year because Mr. MD just put himself out there, in HD!..is it HD? Are you using the old video page lead? I don’t know, but it’s good to see the man behind the curtain.
Docs library is great and the Admin bar is cool, but I love the accordion widget.
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Thanks, expect to see my mug up there even more. I had a lot of fun making that video and thanks to everything MD has to offer, an endless amount of things to talk about too.
As you know it took some effort to think about how to release the Docs and accordion widget as they really go hand in hand. However the accordion widget is too useful on its own to limit to use in documentation only, so I am very glad it is now in everyone’s hand as a built-in widget.
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Awesome additions 🙂
