Behind the scenes: redesigning the Home Management template
A look at what changed in v2 of the home template, why I removed two databases, and what I learned from 400 customer emails.
When I first launched the Home Management template, it had seven databases. Maintenance schedules, inventory, warranties, meal plans, cleaning rotations, contacts, and a 'misc' catch-all. It looked impressive. It was also too much.
After about 400 support emails, a pattern emerged. People loved the cleaning rotation and the meal plan. Almost nobody touched warranties or inventory. The misc database was where good intentions went to die.
So v2 removes both. Instead, there's a single 'Home' page with a weekly reset checklist, a simple meal planner, and a maintenance log that only shows what's due in the next 30 days. Everything else is gone. The template got quieter and, based on early feedback, more useful.
I also changed how the setup guide works. Instead of a wall of text, it's now five steps with screenshots, each under a minute. The whole thing takes about twelve minutes to set up, down from the forty-five it used to take.
If you bought v1, check your email — the update link went out yesterday and your existing data won't be touched. You can pull in the new pages alongside your old ones and migrate at your own pace.