After months of development, extensive private and semi-open beta testing, we are finally releasing the completely-reworked XtGem building tool to public!

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To make the transition easier for users, existing WEB tool will remain available for now - to access the updated version, either click a corresponding link on xtgem.com or head straight to http://xtgem.com/v2

Here are some highlights of what's new:
Much faster and smooth user experience. We called this updated tool a 'WEB application' for a reason - it acts and feels like a proper desktop application - except you won't need to install anything and it's always accessible, wherever you are!
(1) Easier file management. Navigate through your files with ease, create and upload new ones or manage existing content without having to worry about opening new browser windows.
(2) Building tool has been updated to be more intuitive to use as well as speed up content management.
(3) Preview changes right away. See how your site looks on a smaller resolution screen - and if something doesn't seem right, all the tools you will need to make the changes are readily available.
(4) Easily switch back and forth between different content editing modes. Add or modify content, tweak looks with an updated WYSIWYG CSS tool or switch to a text-mode for the nitty-gritty.
(5) After you're happy with your site, we have made it much easier for you to let others know about it.
(6) All the tools, settings and other details are neatly placed for easy access.

That's just a quick overview of main changes - many more things have been improved and we did put in a lot of attention to detail - we really hope you will appreciate the redesign. Let us know!

We are very excited to announce that XtGem has turned 5 recently. The service has indeed came a long way since the very first public release - back then it was a single-man hobby project, built out of passion for mobile web and without a clear vision for the future. Nevertheless, it grew at an unprecedented pace, quickly gaining momentum and traction. Fast-forward to current day, it is an amazing feeling to reflect on all those years, full of 7-day work-weeks, sleepless nights, caffeine-fueled coding sessions and maintenance headaches, and realize how influential this little service of ours has become to thousands, if not millions, of people. We are loving every minute of this experience - and we are doing our best to make sure that you are too!

Although we are celebrating half a decade's worth of progress today, there still is a long way to go until perfection. And we aren't planning on slowing down any time soon! There is a long list of features and improvements that we are planning to implement and we really hope that you will stick with us for the foreseeable future!

To commemorate this event, we are running a competition and giving away domain names, premium subscription upgrades and XtGem-branded merchandise - make sure head on over to our Facebook page and check it out!

As some of you might recall, we have been working on a completely fresh look and user experience for WEB users. As we near the public release, we would like to receive some feedback from existing users, work out any of the remaining kinks and polish the leftover specks. To do that, we have decided to make an open call for beta testers.

Basically, here is how it works:
1. Head to http://xtgem.com using a web browser (make sure you are using the WEB template) and log in.
2. Click here: http://xtgem.com/poll/web2
3. Fill out the application form - it's very brief and straightforward, just 3 fields.
4. All done - we will select a limited number of beta testers and get in touch with them.

It has been quite a year since we incorporated last October - we have completely re-written the backend (the inner workings) of XtGem, introduced paid options, opened the widget marketplace, launched a rich mobile version, re-worked the standard mobile interface and as a result of all the hard work we put in, XtGem's traffic more than quadrupled!
We have now spent the past month working on the next iteration of the WEB interface and we cannot be more excited about things to come.

We are ditching the dated web-service feel and are going for a fully-featured web-app. It will allow for a more streamlined site building experience, as well as contain many significant user interface tweaks.

It is not live yet, although we plan to do a closed beta test in October. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to be notified!

Since we have launched a touch-friendly XtGem webapp we have received plenty of positive feedback from our users claiming that they love the look of it, so we have taken upon ourselves to update standard mobile version of XtGem accordingly.

I am happy to announce, that today updated mobile version goes live. If something doesn't work or shows up weird on your browser, let us know!

We are glad to announce that we have just pushed a couple of new features into production. One of them allows for developers to publish content more easily and collect feedback from their users about their work.

Although the current implementation of the blog is pretty basic and as bare-bones as it gets, it is still perfectly functional. We will be improving and fleshing out the system in the future - feel free to send us your suggestions and requests.

Another feature we have recently introduced will help newcomers to set up their sites a lot easier.

When user logs in into XtGem for the first time, he or she will be prompted to select a default look... [Continue reading]

XtGem is a free service (we only charge for premium features that cost significantly more to maintain) and all of our revenue comes from ads published on user sites. We spend a lot of time tweaking our ad delivery system and while most of the tweaks that happen are invisible to the end-user, we are currently rolling out an updated ad display.

Instead of a plain text link we have been displaying previously, an updated ad look has begun rolling out into the production environment. Let us know how you like it!

I would like to announce the next significant improvement of XtGem - a touchscreen-friendly mobile version of the service.

As iOS (iPhone, iPod, iPad) and Android devices continue to gain traction globally, it becomes apparent, that there is a need for a mobile web experience that is more rich than ordinary mobile sites, yet not as complicated as a full web experience.

For the past couple of months we have been working on XtGem experience targeted at touchscreen-centric devices to address this niche. While it is not yet ready for prime-time, we are hoping to release it in May.

This template will sport completely... [Continue reading]

The dust has finally settled after v2 launch and I'd like to take a moment and share our future plans.

First and foremost, we are still working on fixing bugs - we realize that XtGem is a huge project with a very complicated code base and there will be issues popping up occasionally. Please report them via XtGem contact form and we will get on it as soon as possible.

We will be moving into a bigger, more spacious office this march that will give us more room for expansion.

Speaking of expansion, we will be hiring additional talent to help out with the rapid development pace... [Continue reading]

It has been a crazy week since we have launched XtGem2 a couple of days ago. Despite over 500 people test-driving XtGem2 before we went live, we did manage to leave some pretty serious bugs in.

No worries, though - the team has been working extremely hard this whole week and we managed to resolve most of them. We hope to squash the remaining bugs during the following week.

Sorry about the inconvenience this might have caused you - once the system is stable, we will be constantly adding in new and exciting features. No pain, no gain, right?

P.S. Please report any bugs you can find using our... [Continue reading]