EllisLab
Back to ExpressionEngine.com

ExpressionEngine 2.0 Public Beta: Frequently Asked Questions

ExpressionEngine 2.0 Public Beta (PB) will be soft launched on December 1st, 2009! We built ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB to be more intuitive, elegant, flexible, and powerful while retaining the beloved "engine" that web professionals rely on everyday. We're pleased to introduce you to ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB with this Control Panel tour video prepared by EEinsider.com's Ryan Irelan.

Click to watch preview video

Frequently Asked Questions

When will ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB be released? (*)

On December 1st, 2009 we'll soft launch the ExpressionEngine 2.0 Public Beta (PB) for purchase. ExpressionEngine 2.0 is currently in Phase 2 of a private beta program, with over 500 participants.

What do "Public Beta" and "soft launch" mean? (*)

EllisLab considers a Public Beta to be a the most important step prior to a X.0.0 product release. The Public Beta stage means that we've done all we can to test internally with a private beta program and now its time to open the beta to the public for real world use.

This means that EllisLab considers ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB ready for the rigors of the real world but there are still bugs and issues that are commonly associated with a Public Beta program. This means you'll need to work closely with our support staff and dev team and likely update the ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB installation with a new build on a fairly regularly basis.

If your project allows for such a scenario, we welcome your participation in the Public Beta. If you have a mission critical project on a tight release schedule, please use ExpressionEngine 1.6.8.

Bottom line, use ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB responsibly. This is the same release method we employed with ExpressionEngine 1.0 which set the foundation for one of the most stable and secure publishing platforms on the internet. Our goal with the ExpressionEngine 2.0 Public Beta program is the same and we thank you in advance for your help.

ExpressionEngine 2.1 will be considered the full release and be a free upgrade from ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB.

A "soft launch" means that we will not be heavily promoting ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB. Our focus will be on providing the ExpressionEngine community with ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB and let them put it to work in the real world. We think it's the most responsible way to launch such a significant update as it allows us to address issues quickly and scale ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB's growth organically, like we did with ExpressionEngine 1.0 Beta. Its part of EllisLab's commitment to ExpressionEngine's stability, security, and performance.

What are the new features of ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB? (*)

The ExpressionEngine Control Panel has been redesigned with a strong focus on improved usability, greater productivity, more logical controls, and easier theming and customization. The movie at the top of the page showcases one of the new included Control Panel themes and gives you an idea of the great changes taking place.  There is also a new File Manager, Image Editor, more powerful ways to work with flat template files, along with hundreds of improvements throughout ExpressionEngine.

We will not be releasing a full feature set/changelog for ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB prior to December 1st, but you can find a lot more information in the Tuning the Engine: ExpressionEngine 2.0 Week on ExpressionEngine Insider post. This includes interviews with EllisLab staff and articles exploring the benefits of ExpressionEngine 2.x on CodeIgniter.

ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB is built on CodeIgniter, our Open Source framework. We took the time to transition to CodeIgniter because it gives us and the community the best tools to build with. We are excited about creating great things in ExpressionEngine 2.x thanks its new underlying CodeIgniter architecture. Moving ExpressionEngine onto CodeIgniter also brings a wealth of experienced and talented php developers to the ExpressionEngine Community.

You can also watch EllisLab President Leslie Camacho explain the new foundation that ExpressionEngine 2.x represents in the keynote given at the recent ExpressionEngine CodeIgniter European Conference.

How much will ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB cost? (*)
Freelancer (*)$99.95
Non-commercial License$149.95
Commercial License$299.95

If you purchase ExpressionEngine 1.6.8 now, you'll be able to upgrade for the price difference ($50). In other words, there is no penalty for purchasing now and upgrading to ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB in a few short weeks.

What is the ExpressionEngine 1.x to 2.0 PB upgrade policy? (*)

If you have an active Download Account for your ExpressionEngine license you may upgrade from ExpressionEngine 1.x to ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB for the retail price difference, $50. If your license's Download Account has expired, simply renew it and you'll see the option to upgrade the license to EE 2.0 PB in our store.

Back at SXSW 2008 we promised that purchases of ExpressionEngine 1.6.3 and later could upgrade for the price difference. Though this is not the official upgrade policy, we are honoring that promise regardless of whether or not the the Download Account is active for those license purchases. Our store will automatically take this into consideration.

What is the Discussion Forum upgrade policy? (*)

If you have an active Download Account for your Discussion Forum license you may upgrade the Discussion Forums to the ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB compatible version for free.

What is the Multiple Site Manager upgrade policy? (*)

It is free to upgrade the Multiple Site Manager to the ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB compatible version.

What are the web server requirements for ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB? (*)

ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB requires PHP 4.3.2+ and MySQL 4.1+.

To take advantage of the image thumb nailing feature your server must support one of the three image manipulation protocols: GD, ImageMagick, NetPBM.

There will be an updated Server Wizard so you can make sure that EE 2.0 PB will run on your web hosting environment.

Will ExpressionEngine 1.6.8 still be available after December 1st? (*)

Yes, ExpressionEngine 1.6.8 will be available as a separate purchase until EE 2.1 is released.

In addition, if you purchase ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB you also receive download access and usage rights for version 1.6.8. The license allows you to use 2.0 PB or 1.6.8, so long as only one installation is "live". This means you can start with 1.6.8 and move to 2.0 PB with no additional purchase.

This means you can choose between the time tested performance of ExpressionEngine 1.6.8 or live on the edge and participate in the ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB, whichever is more appropriate for your project.

After EE 2.1 is released, we will provide technical support and security updates for ExpressionEngine 1.6.8 for a long time. ExpressionEngine 1.x has a large install base and we expect the transition to ExpressionEngine 2.x to take at least a year. We do not want to rush or force a quick transition. Its more important that you have peace of mind in choosing ExpressionEngine and know that you can upgrade at the pace that is right for you.

At some point we will end support for ExpressionEngine 1.6.8 but we will provide sufficient notice before doing so. As a point of reference, we supported our previous publishing tool, pMachine Pro, for 3 years after ExpressionEngine 1.0 was released.

What is the Freelancer license? (*)

The Freelancer is a new type of license aimed at web professionals interested in using ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB for their online presence such as a company website, online portfolio, or professional blog. The license may only be used for the freelancer's online presence. It may not be used for client work.

The Freelancer has a unique feature set that is different from the Non-commercial and Commercial licenses. These differences will be made available on December 1st when Freelancer becomes available for purchase.

ExpressionEngine 1.x licenses may not be converted to ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB Freelancer licenses.

If I’m interested in ExpressionEngine, should I wait for 2.0 PB or purchase now? (*)

The vast majority of what you learn and develop in ExpressionEngine 1.6.8 will apply directly to 2.0 PB, and the upgrade process will be straightforward.  Further, your recent ExpressionEngine purchase will be taken into consideration when upgrading, so there will be no penalty to starting with EE 1.6.8 and moving to EE 2.0 when you are ready.

What can I do to get ready for ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB? (*)

We intend to make upgrading from 1.x to 2.0 PB as smooth and seamless as possible. You can prepare by keeping your existing installation to ExpressionEngine 1.6.8. When ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB is released we will make any additional steps necessary for the upgrade available in the User Guide in our usual thorough fashion.

What's happening with Download Accounts? (*)

Download Accounts will be going away when ExpressionEngine 2.1 is released in favor of a more traditional software upgrade path. This means that some ExpressionEngine 2.x updates will be free and some will be paid upgrades. This gives you full control on deciding if an update is worth paying for or not. Active ExpressionEngine 1.x Download Accounts are applied in full toward the cost of upgrading to ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB or 2.1. This means you get the appropriate value for your active Download Account.

Security updates for 2.x will always be free and will be back ported to all versions of ExpressionEngine 2.x.

You will be able to download the most recent version of ExpressionEngine 2.x purchased, including paid upgrades, for one year after the purchase date. This time resets every time you purchase a ExpressionEngine 2.x upgrade.

Will 3rd Party Add-ons work with ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB? (*)

Third-party add-ons for ExpressionEngine 1.x will not work with ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB. EllisLab has been working closely with add-on developers since March 2009 to make the ExpressionEngine 2.x add-on environment the best it can be. This means that there is a very good chance your favorite add-on developer has had access to the ExpressionEngine 2.0 beta for a long time and is converting add-ons for 2.x already.

We expect the majority of popular add-ons to be converted between ExpressionEngine 2.0 PB and ExpressionEngine 2.2. EllisLab will continue to work with add-on developers to make the transition as smooth as possible. We will provide a list of add-ons that have been updated for 2.0 PB upon release.

The Community run site Devot-ee also maintains a list of ExpressionEngine 2.x ready add-ons. Its an excellent resource for 3rd party add-ons and we recommend subscribing.

I have additional questions. (*)

We've setup a thread in our Community forums where you can ask additional questions or follow up with the information above. You may also .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Please understand that we will not be able to answer all questions prior to release, but there is no harm in asking!