Updates

Show customers what's new, right where they ask for help.

Write release notes in Cove and publish them to the What's new tab of your website widget, now or on a schedule. Subscribers get each one by email, so news reaches them even when they're not on your site.

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What your customers see

A changelog inside your widget.

Updates sit in the same widget as your help articles and conversations. Customers see each update's title, version, date and tags, tap to read it in full, and can sign up to get the next one by email.

The tab shows your 10 most recent published updates, pinned ones first. “What's new” is the default label; you can rename it.

Why it matters

Make the work you ship visible.

Customers see progress

Fixes and new features are easy to miss. A What’s new tab on your own site shows customers that the product keeps getting better.

Seen where customers already look

Updates appear in the widget customers open for help, so news reaches them on your site, not in a separate tool they never visit.

And in their inbox

Customers who subscribe get each public update by email, so the people who care most hear about it first, even between visits.

Plans and releases stay connected

Link an update to the roadmap items it delivers, and your team can go from a shipped item straight to the update that announced it.

Writing an update

Release notes in a few minutes.

Give the update a title and write it with formatting, links and images. Then choose how it's shown.

  • Pin an important update to keep it at the top of the feed.
  • Add an optional version, such as 2.4.0, and tags such as new, improvement or fix.
  • Keep an update Private for your team, or leave it as a Draft until it’s ready.
  • Running several brands? Show an update on one property, or on all of them.

Subscriber emails

Every update, delivered by email.

Turn on email notifications and publishing a public update emails it to everyone subscribed. Customers sign up from the Get notified box in your widget, or your team adds them.

  • The editor shows sending progress, so you know when everyone has it.
  • Every email has a one-click unsubscribe link, and unsubscribed people stay on your list, marked with the date.
  • Private updates are never emailed, and emails are off until you turn them on.

Public page

A What's new page on your help center.

Turn on the public page and your updates get their own page on your hosted help center, with an Updates link in the site header. Anyone can read them, and search engines can find them.

  • It lives at /updates on your own domain, or under your brand on the Cove address, with pinned updates first, then newest first.
  • Every update gets its own page to link to from emails, social posts or your app.
  • Set the page title and intro, or turn the page off to hide it everywhere.
  • See it live: Cove’s own What’s new page.

Scheduling

Write it now. Publish it on time.

Set an update to Scheduled, pick a date and time, and Cove publishes it within a minute of that time, then emails your subscribers.

  • Line up holiday hours, launch notes or policy changes ahead of time.
  • Scheduled updates stay out of the widget until they publish.
  • Change the time, or switch back to Draft, any time before it goes out.

Roadmap

Close the loop on your roadmap.

Customers vote for and follow ideas on your roadmap in the same widget. When you ship one, link it to the update that announces it.

  • Each linked roadmap item shows the update under Linked update, one click from the release notes.
  • See how many votes and followers an item had before it shipped.
  • Links between updates and roadmap items are shown to your team only.

Included on every plan

Updates, the roadmap and the widget come with every Cove plan, starting with Starter. Turn on the Updates panel in any widget's settings and your published updates appear there.

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FAQ

Questions about Updates

Where do customers see updates?

In three places: the What’s new tab of your website widget, which shows your 10 most recent public updates, pinned ones first; a public What’s new page on your hosted help center, if you turn it on; and their inbox, if they subscribe.

Can I keep some updates internal?

Yes. Set an update to Private to keep it in the dashboard only, or leave it as a Draft until it’s ready. Only published, public updates appear in the widget.

Can different brands show different updates?

Yes. Each update can be shown on one property or shared across all of them. An update set to one property appears only in that property’s widgets.

Can customers get updates by email?

Yes. Turn on email notifications in Updates settings and every public update is emailed to your subscribers when it publishes. Customers subscribe from the Get notified box in the widget, or you add them yourself. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe link.

Can I schedule an update?

Yes. Set its status to Scheduled and choose a future date and time. Cove publishes it within a minute of that time and emails your subscribers then.

Can I see whether customers read an update?

Each update has a view count that goes up whenever a customer opens it in the widget.

Who can publish updates?

Owners and admins can create, edit, publish and delete updates.

Show customers what you've shipped.

Publish your first update to your widget today. Start your 14-day free trial, no credit card needed.

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