2024 came and went in the blink of an eye — it’s shocking to be preparing for 2025 already, but here we are. Next year already looks like it’s full of opportunities for Rainmaker Digital Services and Rainmaker Platform, and I can’t wait.
In the meantime, the holidays are here, and all of us here at Rainmaker Digital Services wish you and yours happy holidays and a fantastic new year.
As we prepare for 2025, it’s a good time to take stock of how Rainmaker Platform has changed in 2024. This State of the Platform includes an overview of the latest updates to the platform — then a look back at everything else that’s been added to the platform this year. (It might be more than you think.)
Rainmaker Platform Updates 3.4.8 and 3.4.9
Since the last State of the Platform, we’ve rolled out two major updates.
Some of you have been asking for increased functionality from your membership checkouts — and 3.4.8 makes that possible, with added integration between MemberPress and Stripe, including the capability for customers to save payment information for future use with the Stripe service Link.com. If you haven’t already, take a look at the “Stripe Setup” article in the Knowledge Base to learn how you can take advantage of this yourself.
3.4.9’s development goal was to make using the block editor easier — offering new patterns, adjusting the interface and adding an integration with OpenVerse. This supports our ongoing goal to make it easy for you to edit posts and pages however you choose — whether that be the classic editor, code editor, block editor or Beaver Builder. We also included a couple of fixes for memberships and eCommerce.
For more information on updates 3.4.8 and 3.4.9, see the changelog.
Rainmaker Platform’s 2024 in Review
3.4.8 and 3.4.9 are only the latest in a long line of major updates this year. We started off the year on version 3.4.2.2, and each major release since then (seven in all, counting the two from this past month) has added critical new features.
In total, we’ve released over 225 updates and enhancements this year. We’ve delivered major integrations with features like Beaver Builder and MemberPress, back-end code updates for efficiency and functionality, bug fixes, and more. Let’s take a quick look back.
3.4.3: Email Deliverability
Our first major update of the year was targeted at RainMail. In October 2023, Google and Yahoo decided to enhance their email requirements. They mandated that for bulk senders to get their messages delivered to the inbox, they must be using a technology called DMARC (along with a handful of other requirements).
That requirement was set to go live in February 2024. Before it went into effect, we added extra email deliverability options in Rainmaker Platform to make sure your emails get where they need to go. This change included both work on the code base and further integration with WP Mail SMTP.
If you can’t get emails to your clients, you’re sunk — and 3.4.3 solved that issue before it could even become a problem.
3.4.4: New LearnDash Features (including AI)
Though we still support Rainmaker LMS, we’re putting most of our efforts into LearnDash to make course building simple and efficient. We know it’s important to keep bringing those new course features to the platform.
In 3.4.4, we added a brand-new LearnDash course dashboard. We also brought in new automatic course generation features — now you can create courses from a video playlist or generate a course outline via AI. These are both powerful time-saving tools for our clients who create a lot of courses.
3.4.5: Unity Pro Theme
A good theme shows your audience who you are and what you can do for them — and when we added Unity Pro, it became a powerful new option in our stable of supported themes.
This theme is responsive and easy to edit. Best of all, the UX makes it fast and easy for the end user to navigate to the content you want them to see.
3.4.6: Enhanced SEO Tools
For over two decades, search engine optimization (SEO) has been one of the most critical methods for getting discovered online. Rainmaker Platform has integrated with Yoast for client SEO needs for many years, and in 3.4.6 we added even more functionality for this powerful feature.
The changes included new on-page optimizations, information on reading ease and word count. You can now find keyword information from your Dashboard at any time. And last but certainly not least, for clients with Yoast Premium, 3.4.6 added an AI integration to generate titles and descriptions — helpful if you’re feeling creatively challenged.
3.4.7: Unity Pro Fit and Finish, RSS Caching
The 3.4.7 update provided bug fixes, theme updates and more caching options for RSS feeds. A handful of our sites were dealing with odd slowdowns, and we traced the problem back to an overload of bot queries on the RSS feed. With 3.4.7, this is no longer an issue.
3.4.8, 3.4.9 and the Future
Including 3.4.8 and 3.4.9, we’ve delivered seven major updates to Rainmaker Platform in 2024. In total, it is over 225 individual updates, changes and fixes. Every day the development team is working to make this platform the best option for you and your business — and we’re proud to do it.
Take a look at the changelog and you can see our ongoing commitment to make Rainmaker Platform the best it can be. There’s plenty more to come in 2025 as we add new features, streamline sites and take advantage of new tools to meet the digital needs of our client base.
In the meantime, we’d love to hear what you appreciated the most about the last year of Rainmaker Platform. What changes have you been most excited by? Is there anything we’ve added that you’re already using? Anything you’re looking for that we can add? Let us know. We’d love to hear from you.
Thanks for a great year — onward to 2025. And as always, if you need anything, we’re only a quick message away. Just drop us a line, anytime.
Best Regards,
Ed Bardwell
President
Rainmaker Digital Services