Migration Update #3: We're Going Live August 14!

Dear Market Managers,

I hope this finds you in the midst of another successful market week! When I first wrote to you in June about our platform migration, and then followed up last week with progress updates, I promised to give you a full month's notice before the actual switchover. That time has come!

The Big Day: August 14th

After months of development, testing, and refinement based on your feedback, we're nearly ready to make the switch! The new LocallyGrown.net platform will go live in the early morning hours of Thursday, August 14th.

If this is terrible timing for you, please let me know! Wednesday nights are generally low-usage times, and I'm working hard to minimize any disruption, but still I'm happy to reschedule if it's a problem for you.

Migration Details

• Date & Time: Early morning hours of August 14th (likely around 2-3 AM Eastern)
• Expected Downtime: Less than 30 minutes
• What to Expect: The site will be briefly unavailable during the migration. After that, some users may experience a slight delay before seeing the new system due to DNS propagation (as I explained in my first letter back in June). All of your existing data will be copied over during the downtime window, and there will not be any data loss or chance of both systems being live at once.

Important Notes

• If anything goes unexpectedly, I will keep the existing site live and reschedule the migration
• My goal has been to minimize visible changes for your market shoppers, but there will be some changes here and there.
• The core shopping and ordering experience remains the same, so unless you switch your market over to use the new mobile-first layout, some of them may not even notice anything different.

What's New

I've prepared documentation about the changes that you will be able to share with your customers. You can preview that as well here:
https://locallygrown.us/docs/support/whats-new

You'll also notice this is part of an expansive new documentation system I've been building alongside the new platform. While not every detail is finalized yet, it will all be accurate by launch time. There will be documentation and general tips and tricks for market managers, growers, and customers, as well as technical details for future developers.

Preview Access Updates

• The preview sites at locallygrown.us will continue receiving frequent updates throughout the coming month
• I've taken off password protection for all system documentation and marketing pages
• Market pages remain behind the "preview/heirloom" login to prevent confusion until the official launch
• I will be practicing data transfer and migration several more times before the actual launch, so you can expect changes you make or test orders placed on the preview site to be lost.
• I plan on giving you a window of a week or so where you can make layout changes to your market without fear of getting your changes lost, so you can take full advantage of the new customization features I've been building on day one.

Interface Style Preferences

As I mentioned last week, you now have the ability to choose which interface style different user groups see. This gives you complete control over the rollout pace - you can keep customers on the familiar legacy interface while testing the modern interface with your staff, or switch everyone over when you're ready.

I've also added the start of a full theme builder, where you can create your own custom themes for your market. This is a work in progress, but you can already make the new layout look more like something all your own.

Testing Feedback

Thank you to those who have already explored the preview site and provided valuable feedback! Your insights have been instrumental in fine-tuning the final details. If you haven't had a chance to test your market's preview yet, now is a perfect time - the data is fresh, and all features are fully functional. I'm still tweaking layout here and there, especially on the market pages, but it's getting so close to being complete!

https://[your-market-subdomain].locallygrown.us

(Don't worry - "locallygrown.us" is just my testing domain. After migration, your market will remain at your familiar .net address!)

Remember to log in first with:

• Username: preview
• Password: heirloom

Then use your regular Locally Grown credentials (the same ones you use on your live site).

What You Need to Do

• No immediate action is required on your part
• Consider informing your customers about the brief maintenance window if you have activity scheduled for early August 14th
• After the migration, please test your market's functionality and report any issues
• Take advantage of the preview site to familiarize yourself with any interface changes

I'm excited about this upgrade and confident it will provide a more robust platform for your markets to thrive. The new system will ensure LocallyGrown continues connecting communities with local food for many years to come.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out:

• Email: eric@locallygrown.net
• Support: help.locallygrown.net

Thank you for your patience and continued partnership with LocallyGrown.net!

Best regards,

Eric Wagoner
Founder & Developer, LocallyGrown.net

Key Points Summary

1. Migration Date: August 14, 2025 (early morning hours)
   
2. Expected Downtime: Under 30 minutes
   
3. Fallback Plan: Keep existing site live if issues arise
   
4. Documentation: Available at https://locallygrown.us/docs/support/whats-new
   
5. Preview Sites: Continue to receive updates at locallygrown.us
   
6. Interface Control: Choose which user groups see legacy vs. modern interface
   
7. Testing: Encouraged to test preview site with fresh data
   
8. Access: Public docs/marketing pages, protected market pages until launch