We've been working extremely hard behind the scenes here at Moonfruit HQ, and we're pleased to tell you the blog is now available in private beta. We've been private beta testing the new blogging tool for the past 2 weeks and would now like to open it to a few more of our customers to try out.

NB. We do have a number of known bugs that we're working on, all the details can be found on our Beta Blog. Please remember this is very much a work in progress and with your feedback, we can make the necessary improvements to get the full release out as soon as possible. Currently large blog posts will load and layout slowly in your site. We are working on fixing this performance issue along with the other bugs.

To take part in the beta testing, you must register at www.blogbeta.moonfruit.com. Once you have done so, you will then have the option to add a blog. You can add a blog to your site by adding a new page and selecting 'Blog'.

The key features of the new blog include:

  • Style your blog like any other Moonfruit page
  • Easy to use admin tool for adding and editing posts
  • Save drafts, publish now or schedule posts for a later date
  • Allow users to comment and easily manage replies through the Comment list
  • Change the meta data per post like any other Moonfruit page
  • Facebook share functionality on all posts (other sharing options are being worked on currently)
  • Tag your posts to make them easier to find

'Dashboard' view

'Add a Post' view

Many of you will be keen to know how it looks on a site, and how it renders on mobile. Within your site you can style the blog elements by selecting them and using the Editor as with any other page content. We're also pleased to say that the HTML view is also in place and renders nicely on an iPhone and other mobile devices. 

'Site and HTML' view

The blog authors name will default automatically to your username if you haven't filled out your details in the admin section. To change this, follow these steps:

  • Go to edit mode and select 'Admin' in the top navigation bar.
  • Under 'Account' in the navigation on the left hand side, click on 'Your Details'
  • Select the 'Your Details' tab in the pop up and click on 'view or edit your details'
  • Run through the questions and you will be asked for a forename and surname this is what will then be shown as your blog author. It defaults to the username if these aren't filled out.

A few simple requests when using the beta blog. It is in beta, so please read the bugs list first and if you spot anything, then please feel free to let us know. Please do not contact support about beta blog issues as these will need to go through our submission processes on the blog beta site so we can collate and new feedback. Play with it, use it and have fun!