What's new.
Every improvement we ship to StoutStack: the big features, the small polish, and the occasional gremlin shown the door.
Your word count now covers your content types
A live word count and reading estimate sits in the sidebar while you write an item, counting everything across the fields you set up yourself. Nothing to switch on.
Your sign-in and password resets are better guarded
Repeated sign-in attempts from one place are now slowed automatically, and nobody can flood your inbox with password reset emails. A real sign-in is untouched; someone trying to guess their way in is not.
Signing up takes one less step
You no longer pick a password when you sign up. Start your trial and go straight into setting up your site, with a homepage, contact form and privacy policy already in place. Pick a password on the way through, or from your welcome email.
Every new account is checked end to end
Signup now passes a bot check before an account is created, and each completed signup is verified automatically afterward, so a new site is always fully built and ready to edit. Billing and plan changes apply more reliably too.
Put your badges and awards in the footer
Your BBB seal, trade association logos, license badges and awards can now sit in a row at the bottom of every page. Upload them under Branding → Layout → Footer and pick a size. Nothing shows until you add one.
Your contact page now fits the screen
On a phone, your address, hours, email and the form all sit fully inside the contact card, with long email addresses wrapping at a readable point. Your email and phone number there are now tappable to write or call.
Every page gets a share image
When a page has no image of its own, we now build one from your logo, brand color and the page title, so a shared link never shows up blank. Pages with their own image are untouched. Switch it off in Site settings, SEO.
Newsletter signups can go straight to your mailing tool
A newsletter or lead magnet signup is saved to your list, and now it can be passed on the moment it arrives. Add a webhook address in Site settings, point it at your mailing tool or at Zapier, and each new signup lands there.
A status indicator you can trust
The live status in our footer and at status.stoutstack.com now holds steady under heavy traffic, so when you check whether something is up you get a real answer instead of "Checking status".
Your contact form keeps taking leads
Form submissions and signups now go through even while a service behind the scenes is briefly unreachable, so a passing hiccup on our side cannot cost you an inquiry.
New sites arrive complete
Your contact form is set to email you from the moment a site is created, and the starter pages, menus and privacy policy now arrive together every time.
Newsletter signups confirm only when they save
A newsletter or lead magnet signup now confirms to your visitor once their address is safely stored, so anyone who needs to try again knows to.
Your pages do less work to load
Pages, posts, blog listings and your menus now pull only the content they actually display, so they build faster. Menus and blog listings gained the most. Nothing changes about how your site looks.
Your word count now counts only what you wrote
The live count under the post editor, and in the sidebar while you build a page, reflects your writing alone rather than the section settings behind it.
Your own video, beside your words
The Video + Text section takes a file you upload now, not just a YouTube or Vimeo link, and a new layout sets it left, right, or below your copy with buttons alongside. Longer videos are still best on YouTube or Vimeo.
See how long a post runs as you write it
A live word count and reading estimate now sits under the post editor, and in the sidebar while you build a page. Nothing to switch on.
Search engines get a clearer picture of your business
Google and the AI assistants now receive your address, phone and map location in exactly the form they look for, built from the details already in your settings. Nothing to fill in.
A small tag above your listing page heading
Add a short uppercase tag above the heading on a listing page, the same one your other sections use. It picks up the color and marker from your Branding. Find it under Archive Design.
Google can see every link in your dropdown menus
Every link inside a dropdown menu is now visible to search engines, not only to visitors who hover. Your menu looks and behaves exactly as it did.
Your phone number and email read properly everywhere
Your phone number is now tappable to call on any phone, whatever format you type it in, and long email addresses wrap neatly in a narrow footer column.
Bullet points that start with a question
A bullet whose bold opening is a question keeps its question mark, rather than picking up a period after it.
Your redirects are yours alone
Any address on your own site is yours to point wherever you like. Redirects you already set up keep working unchanged.
Your dashboard has had a refresh
The screens you edit your site in now match the rest of StoutStack: the same typeface, the same buttons and the same rounded corners throughout, with an easier menu down the left. Nothing was moved or renamed.
Switches show whether they are on
Every on and off switch in your settings now clearly shows its state, and one you have switched on is filled in. Nothing about your site changed.
Saving a section asks for the name first
When you save a group of blocks as a reusable section, the name box is now the first thing you see, and the button tells you if you have not filled it in yet.
The Sidebar tab no longer opens onto nothing
On pages and blog posts, the Sidebar tab appears once you turn a sidebar on. Switch it back off while you are in there and you land back on your content.
Drop your details into a sentence
Type {site.phone} into any heading, paragraph or button and it fills in from your business details, changing everywhere the day you switch numbers. Email, address and business name work the same, and {custom.field.city} pulls from the item shown.
Cards in a row are all the same height
Cards in a grid or a carousel now match the tallest one in the row, with the read more link on the same line across all of them. The picture keeps its shape and the extra space goes to the text.
See your listing page as you set it up
The Archive Design tab now shows a small picture of your listing at the top, and it redraws as you switch between grid and list, change columns, card style or image shape. The wording in it is stand-in text.
Sidebar settings moved to the side panel
On pages and blog posts, the sidebar settings now sit in the panel on the right beside your other page settings, so you can switch one on without opening a tab. What goes in it stays on the Sidebar tab.
Choose what shows on your listing cards
Pick which of your own fields fill the picture, tag, name and summary on a listing card, and add a line of up to three more underneath. Set it once on the content type. Everything defaults to what it showed before.
Archive settings, sorted into sections
The Archive Design tab is now four sections you can click between, the same way the tabs across the top of the page work: the page, how cards look, filtering, and what cards show.
Bullet points under your text
Sections with text beside a photo, alternating sections and your opening banner can each carry a short list of points under the paragraph, with a bold lead-in, your choice of mark, and two columns for short points.
Clearer markers on your timeline
Each step on a timeline is now a solid dot in your brand color inside a soft ring, filling in as you scroll so it is clear how far down the story you are. The line behind them stays unbroken.
Play a video behind your opening banner
Your main banner can hold a short silent video instead of a still photo: upload a file or paste a Vimeo link. Your banner photo stays on as the still frame, and is what shows on phones. Look for "Use a background video" on the banner section.
A round of layout fixes across your sections
Columns sections stay within the page width when you set the widths yourself, tabs with long labels fit on a small phone, and boxed text, side-by-side FAQ buttons and photo-less featured reviews all sit right.
Plain English for the branding controls
Every shape, weight and button setting under Branding now explains what it changes in plain terms: cards are the boxes holding your reviews and services, inputs are the fields people type into.
Site verification codes now pass
Verification codes from Google, Bing or Meta now land where the provider looks for them. Whatever you pasted already works, so go back and press verify. The two boxes are renamed Top of page code and Bottom of page code.
Choose where your sidebar starts and stops
Pick the stretch of a page your sidebar covers: how many sections stay full width at the top, and which section it stops after. Leave the stopping point empty and it runs to the bottom. Blog posts keep the full-length sidebar.
Everything on your page lines up again
Your header, sections and footer all measure from one shared edge on wider monitors, so everything begins the same distance in. Text beside a photo now has even space on both sides.
Housekeeping behind your forms
A stray warning was turning up in our server records whenever a form was submitted. It never touched your forms or your submissions, and it is cleared up now.
Adding photos to your library
Photos save first time, JPGs and PNGs off a phone or camera included. If one of yours refused to upload in the last few days, just add it again and it will go straight through.
Design your blog posts, not just your blog
Style the posts themselves, not just the listing cards: how the top is arranged, the photo shape, the writing width, the text size, which details show, plus reading time and a progress bar. In Branding, under Post Design. Nothing moves until you do.
Keep readers reading after the post ends
Three things can now sit at the bottom of every post: a short author card, suggested posts pulled from the same category, and a saved section of your own, such as a call to action. All off until you switch them on.
A faster, more current foundation
Your site now runs on the latest version of its core framework, with a batch of security patches folded in. Your pages pick up the newest speed improvements, and nothing changes in how you build or manage your site.
Every site, kept firmly to itself
Your photos and files are only ever visible through your own site, and a saved section or content type from one site cannot be pulled onto another. Nothing to switch on, and nothing changes day to day.
Hide the photo on a testimonial
Testimonials now have a Show author photo switch. Leave it on for the reviewer's photo, or their initials when no photo is set, or turn it off for a clean, text-only review. Everything you have built keeps its photo.
Set the size of a featured review
The Featured testimonial, one big review beside a photo, now lets you choose how large the review text reads: Small, Medium, Large or Extra Large. Find it in the Testimonial block's style settings.
Editing content that has links in it
Content-type items with a link tucked inside a rich-text field now open and edit smoothly, links and all, including content brought over from another site.
Set your social links once
Your social profiles live in one place: Site settings, Social links. Add them there and they flow to your header, footer, contact form and any social-links pop-up. You can still set a custom set on one pop-up or form.
Your menu now works on tablets
The menu button now shows on every screen narrower than a laptop and opens the full menu, tablets included. We also refreshed it to a cleaner two-line mark.
More control over your menu text
Set the letter case for your top navigation (leave it as you typed it, or force UPPERCASE, Capitalized, or lowercase) and dial in the letter spacing. Both live under Branding → Layout, in the header settings.
Fit more logos per row on a phone
Choose how many logos sit across on a phone: one, two, or three per row, so a big logo cloud stays compact. It's in the Logo Grid's style settings, set to two by default.
A couple of small fixes for phones
Two things now sit right on a phone. The floating pill sticky CTA stretches to fit longer text and wraps neatly, and an FAQ that leads with just an eyebrow tag sits close to the list where it belongs.
A sticky CTA for your whole site
Keep a call to action in front of visitors on every page. Turn it on under Branding → Layout, give it a headline and a button, and pick a slim bottom bar, a floating pill, or a slide-in card. Off by default.
A tidier contact block, now with social links
Add your social icons to the map-and-contact form: pick the platforms, paste your links, and float them in the corner of the map or tuck them under your details. Your contact icons now sit in neat rounded badges. Find it under Contact Info.
Two building blocks made for modals
Two small pieces you can drop into a pop-up: a Buttons block, a bare row of buttons that link anywhere or open another modal, and a Social Links block, a tidy row of your social icons. Each can carry a heading above it.
Modals now wear your brand colors
Pop-up modals were quietly showing a default blue-and-gray palette instead of your own brand colors. Now every modal picks up your primary, secondary, accent, and text colors (and your fonts and corner radius) exactly like the rest of your site.
Add any tracking or embed code to your site
Paste in code from the other tools you use: a pixel, a chat widget, a booking or form embed, a site-verification tag. Add it to Header code or Footer code in your site settings for every page, or use the new Custom Code block on a single page.
A hero gallery that moves
The Hero block's gallery style now moves: two columns of photos drift in opposite directions on a computer and glide sideways on a phone, and hovering pauses them. Plus more background colors and a choice of photo shape.
Rows that scroll on their own
Your carousels can drift along by themselves. Switch on Auto-scroll in the Carousel style of your Cards, Testimonials, Gallery, or Collection Listing, and it pauses the instant someone hovers. Off by default.
Pick the mark before your eyebrow tag
Choose the small accent before an eyebrow tag from ten looks: a dot, a short line, an upright bar, brackets, a slash, a plus, a pill, an underline, and more. Set it once in Branding, override it on any section.
Images that show up on a phone
An image-and-text section set to "image left" or "image right" now fills the width on a phone, the same way the other section styles always have.
Style your category filters
Style the category filter above your blog and content listings: rounded pills, text that underlines on hover, or clean text links, with an optional count beside each. Set it on your Blog Design and archive designs. Listings now show every entry.
Menu headings you can actually click
A top-level menu item that opens a dropdown is now clickable in its own right: clicking it goes to its page, while hovering still opens the menu beneath. Before, those parent items only opened the dropdown and couldn't be visited directly.
Switch off the eyebrow dot, per section
Turn off the small colored dot before an eyebrow tag for a single section, leaving just the text, right where you set the eyebrow. Its color and default still come from your Branding.
Neater FAQ headers
The FAQ block's header now has a left or center alignment control, left by default for new blocks, and its spacing sits right when the block has no heading. Existing FAQs keep the alignment they have today.
Give a columns section its own heading
Put a small tag, a heading, and a line of intro text above a section you've split into columns, aligned left or center. Leave all three empty and it looks exactly as it does today.
See your gallery photos up close
Visitors can click any photo to open it full-screen, step through the set with the arrows or their keyboard, and close with Escape or a tap outside. Every gallery style does this now, nothing to switch on.
Show a category above your title, and let people filter by it
Show an item's category right above its title, and make it a link: visitors tap it and land on your listing filtered to that category. On your content type's detail-page design, point a section's small tag at your category field.
Frame a colored section as a card
Give a section a background color, switch on "Contained panel," and it becomes a rounded, inset card instead of an edge-to-edge band, with your brand's own corner radius. Off by default.
Line your columns up into a neat grid
Switch on "Match row heights" in the Columns block's style settings and every row lines up evenly, so a two-by-two of cards reads as a clean grid instead of ragged stacks.
Give a Rich Text section a heading
A Rich Text block can now carry a small tag and heading above its copy, so a block of text can wear a title like "Overview" instead of starting cold. Both are optional and empty to begin with.
Modals that fill the frame
Choose "Flush" in a modal's display settings and its content runs right to the edges, perfect for a full-bleed photo or a before-and-after slider. "Comfortable" keeps the roomy padding.
A round of polish across galleries, sliders, and buttons
Galleries and sliders with lots of items show a compact set of position dots that slides along as you move, and respond the instant a visitor interacts. The before-and-after handle and your FAQ icons now match the rest of your site.
Choose the font for your cards
Pick either of your two Branding fonts for card titles and text, everywhere cards appear: your blog, listing pages, and the Cards block. The magazine layout now works on content-type listings too.
Tidier, more even section spacing
We went through your sections and evened out the spacing. A few had more room up top than underneath, and on phones some content sat right against the edge of the screen: both tidied up, so your pages feel balanced from the first section to the last.
Design your blog, portfolios, and card listings
One set of controls for every grid of cards: choose a grid, list, or swipeable carousel, the number of columns, the card style, and what each card shows. In your archive design, in Site Settings → Features → Blog Design, and on the Cards block.
Filter a portfolio by category
Tag items with a Multi-select field, then pick it as your archive's filter and visitors get a row of category buttons at the top of the listing page. The page updates instantly, and each filtered view has its own link.
A proper editor for your content types
Give a content type a rich-text field and you write in a real editor: bold, italics, headings, bullet and numbered lists, and links, right as you type. Anything already written carries over untouched.
More control over your galleries
Add a button or two below your images, "View all projects" or whatever fits, and the link can even open a modal. In the carousel style, choose how many images show at a time on desktop, tablet, and phones.
Modals, opened by any button
Open a form, a video, or a sign-up right over your page: set any button's link to "Open a modal" and pick one. Build it once in your new Modals library and reuse it site-wide, or add a one-off to a single page.
Rich text in tabs and accordions
Write the body of a tab or FAQ answer as full rich text: bold, links, and bullet lists instead of a plain paragraph. Inside your custom content types, these can pull from a rich-text field too.
Lay out a section in columns
Split a section into two or three columns and drop your blocks into each: text beside an image, a few stats next to a call to action. You set each column's width, the gap, and which one leads on a phone.
A sidebar for your longer pages
Give a page or post a sidebar beside the main content: a natural home for a call to action, a signup form, or a short contact card. Switch on the automatic table of contents and it lists the page's headings. Off by default.
A little motion as you scroll
Turn on parallax for any section and its content drifts gently as visitors scroll past. Two strengths to choose from, off by default, and it steps aside on phones and for reduced motion. Under a section's Advanced settings.
A tidier block editor
Adding a section is calmer now. The block picker groups everything into clear categories, and every section's settings sit in simple tabs: Content, Style, and Appearance, with the finer controls under Advanced.
Your header, fine-tuned
Size your logo exactly how you want, and let the whole bar gently shrink as visitors scroll: the logo eases smaller, the bar slims, your content takes the spotlight. It's all under Branding → Layout.
Pick any icon for your button
The call-to-action button in your header and footer can wear any icon from the full library: a forward arrow, a phone, a calendar, a paper plane. Set it beside the button's style and size, or keep the classic arrow.
Footers that fold away on a phone
The multi-column footer can now let each menu collapse into a neat, tappable heading on a phone, so visitors open just the section they want. Desktop shows everything in full. Under Branding → Layout → Footer.
Sections that look their best on a phone
Your image-and-text sections can now lead with the image on a phone, while desktop keeps the side-by-side arrangement you set. The Overlap style stacks cleanly on small screens too.
Bolder logo walls, and headings your way
Logo walls and the scrolling logo cloud now run larger by default, with an Extra Large size when you want your partners' marks to really land. And the Collection Listing heading picked up your hero's alignment controls.
Give your header its own look
Choose a header style: a clean horizontal bar, a centered split with your logo in the middle, or a tall two-row layout with a utility strip up top. Make it stick as visitors scroll, or give it a frosted-glass finish. Under Branding → Layout.
And a footer to match
Pick a footer to match: multi-column with room for links and a newsletter signup, a quiet centered minimal, or a split design with a call to action built right in. Add a pre-footer ribbon and a slim bottom bar for your legal links.
Galleries that show each item's own photos
A gallery on a content type's detail page can show the photos of the item being viewed, so each project renders its own set instead of the whole collection. Point it at your images field and pick "This item."
Adding items, in your own words
Each of your content types gets its own button in the sidebar ("Add Project," "Add Case Study"), and it drops you straight into a fresh item with the type already filled in. The whole screen uses your name for it.
More sections that build themselves from your content
As you lay out how each entry should look, the Video, Tabs, Logo Grid, and Alternating Sections blocks can now draw their content straight from the entry itself. Set the design once and every entry renders its own.
Your admin, smoother on a phone
Run your site from your phone with room to work: the menu opens cleanly, settings screens stay put, and the forms you fill in while building give your fingers more space. Nothing to switch on.
A quieter, safer foundation under every site
The private side of your forms stays firmly out of public view, links you add inside your writing are checked automatically, and your photos, drafts, and content stay strictly your own. Nothing to switch on.
Every layout choice, in plain English
Every layout and style option now shows a short name with a one-line description, and color choices show your real brand colors, labeled main, second, and highlight. Pick a look and know what you're getting.
Your text colors, set the way you like
Color your headings, body copy, and small print from your brand settings: set them once and every page follows along. The tag above a section heading is now a simple on/off switch. Nothing shifts until you tweak it.
Pages built from your content run leaner
Sections that pull straight from your content, a wall of projects, a row of services, a gallery drawn from a collection, do less work to put together and stay quick as your collections grow.
Know which ad brought each lead
When someone fills out one of your contact forms, you can see how they found you: the exact ad, campaign, or link that sent them. If your links carry the usual utm tags, we attach them to every submission. No setup.
Your site feels faster to click through
Hopping from page to page is quicker now. We cleared out a delay that could leave visitors waiting a moment for the next page to show up, most noticeable on sites that hadn't had a visitor in a little while. Same site, lighter on its feet.
A tidier presence on Google
Search results now show only the pages you actually published, and anyone who follows a broken link or mistypes your web address gets a clear "page not found."
Before & after, on a slider
A new block for change you can see. Drop in two photos and visitors drag a handle to slide from one to the other. Run it left-to-right or top-to-bottom, label each side, and both shots crop to match.
FAQs, or accordions for anything
Flip the FAQ layout so your heading sits left or right, or keep it full width, and use it as a dropdown for anything, even rows from one of your content types. Turn on the FAQ option and Google can show your questions in search.
Security, quietly reinforced
Your content, your media, and your settings now sit behind an extra layer of protection. We tightened who on your team can change what, so your account stays in the right hands. Nothing changes in your day-to-day. It's just safer underneath.
Swipe through any slider
Testimonials, cards, galleries, and collection listings now slide on a swipe. Drag on a phone, hover for the arrows on desktop, or tap a dot to jump to a card. Same control, every section.
Star ratings, now in halves
Testimonials with a 4.5-star rating show four full stars and one half: no more rounding up or down. Set whatever number fits the quote and that's exactly what shows.
Pick how your cards frame their images
Cards, Feature Cards, Gallery, and Collection Listings each gained a Card style toggle. Flush keeps the image running to the card edge, the way they used to look. Framed adds breathing room around it. Pick whichever fits the story.
Cards that read the same everywhere
We tidied up the text sizing across every card-based section. Headings, descriptions, and the small detail lines now match from one section to the next, so a grid of projects above a featured story reads consistently, all the way down the page.
The Timeline's contact form, properly proportioned
The contact form in the Timeline block is wider now, and first and last name sit side by side when both are shown. The form looks like a form again, and still stays in view as your visitors scroll through the milestones.
Built for serious uptime
Everything running behind StoutStack now lives on backed-up systems spread across several locations. Your site keeps working even if one of them has a bad day, and the changes you publish reach your visitors faster than before.
Images load fast, everywhere
Your photos, logos, and uploads now load from a worldwide network that keeps a copy close to each visitor. They show up almost instantly, whether someone's across town or across the ocean.
Apple Pay & Google Pay at checkout
New customers can sign up with the wallet they already have. iPhone visitors see Apple Pay; Android visitors see Google Pay. One tap, no card number to type.
Switch plans from the billing portal
Moving from Starter to Pro (or back) is now a click. Hit Manage billing → Update subscription, pick your new plan, and we handle the proration automatically. No support ticket, no card juggling.
Delete your account in one click
Need to step away? Head to Billing & account in your admin and use Delete account. We cancel your subscription, wipe your site and data clean, and you're out the door: no email back-and-forth.
One-click signup from the pricing page
Pick your plan and billing cycle on the pricing page and your selection follows you straight into signup. Fewer clicks between "I'm interested" and "I'm live."
Old links keep working when you switch domains
Move from yourname.stoutstack.com to your own domain and we forward the old address automatically. Customers landing on old links end up in the right place, and Google sees a single, consistent site, so your search rankings stay intact.
Your content types are now SEO-ready
Every custom content type and entry you create now carries full SEO controls: page title, description, and social share image. Everything you build shows up properly on Google and looks sharp when shared.
Faster fonts, snappier pages
We changed how custom fonts load so they never hold up your page. Your pages start appearing sooner and score higher on speed tests, most noticeably on phones.
Bring your own domain
Connect a domain you already own in a couple of minutes. Paste two DNS records at your registrar, and StoutStack handles the SSL certificate and everything else: no support ticket, no waiting around.
Invite your team
Add teammates with the right level of access. Site Admins can run the whole site and manage other users; editors stay focused on content. Everyone gets exactly the keys they need.
An admin that speaks plain English
We went through the entire admin and reworded it for humans. Each of your content types now has its own tidy spot in the sidebar, with quick links straight to its settings and items.
Emails that look like you
Form notifications and account emails now arrive on a clean, branded template, so every message that leaves your site looks the part.
Every form submission lands
We tracked down a gremlin that could quietly drop the occasional real form submission. Messages from your visitors now arrive every single time.
More control over your listings
The Collection Listing block gained per-card buttons with your own label, plus control over image shape, so a wall of projects, products, or properties lands exactly the way you pictured it.
Galleries, the fast way
Drag in a whole folder of photos at once, reorder them with a drag, or pull a gallery straight from one of your content types. Building a photo wall went from a chore to a minute of work.
Schedule it and forget it
Write a post now and pick when it should go live. StoutStack publishes it for you, right on time: pages, posts, and content entries all included.
Save a section, reuse it anywhere
Build a section once (a hero, a pricing table, a call to action), save it, and drop it onto any page. Edit the original later and every page using it follows along.
Fast and findable, by default
A wave of groundwork under the hood to make every StoutStack site quick to load and easy for Google to understand: the quiet machinery that helps your pages open fast for visitors and show up clearly in search.
StoutStack is here
The very first version: a platform for running real websites, with pages, posts, media, and a visual editor. Everything since has been built on this foundation.
Got an idea for what we build next?
We read every note that comes in. Your wishlist genuinely shapes what shows up here next.