We’re constantly improving the platform with tweaks and new features based on your suggestions, the latest trends, and industry needs.
18 December 2023
Platform update: The option to add entries and change categories from the Applicant portal, new application statuses, and refunds.
New feature: Option to add entries from the Applicant portal. You can now choose whether to give your applicants the option to add entries directly from the Applicant portal.
New feature: Option to change the category of an entry from the Applicant portal. You can now opt to enable your applicants to change the category of one or more entries directly from the Applicant portal.
Change: New application status. You can now Request changes to an entry from your applicants within the submission deadline. Request changes replaces the setting previously available with the Reject option to allow applicants to resubmit the application. Now the Reject option will no longer allow resubmission.
New feature: Refunds. You can now record and add refunds as a negative value in the case of an overpayment.
Improvement: Cancelation fees. The default cancelation fee now stands at zero, if an entry is canceled before payment, and at the full price if cancelation occurs after payment.
Change: Option to cancel applications. You can now cancel applications from Applications on the Program menu.
Improvement: Application form fields tooltip. You can now add a closed tooltip to every application form field with additional information which will be visible to your applicants when they hover over or click on the field name.
02 November 2023
Platform update: Use of fields across multiple application forms, better data handling, and improved user experience for your team and your program applicants, more options for waiver fields.
New feature: Option to add existing fields to application forms. You can now copy existing fields and their settings to another application form, in addition to the option of creating brand new fields in Settings > Forms.
Change: Any changes to an application form field are automatically implemented in the respective field across all forms where it has been added.
Change: The field used for the application name can be changed at any time, even after program submissions have ended.
Improvement: Data handling. Removing a field from a form keeps all data unless you delete the field from the program while changing forms of categories keeps existing data to existing submissions.
Improvement: Visibility. Each application form field now features information on how many forms it is used in and in how many applications it has been completed, while in Settings > Forms, you can now keep track of both how many categories and applications have used a specific application form.
Improvement: Export. All data in the export for the same fields is now in the same column in the exported file.
Improvement: Applicant experience. Applicants can now copy application data across forms in their entries on the applicant portal, saving time and effort.
Improvement: Waiver fields in registration and application forms. You can now choose whether to have waiver text expanded by default for registrants and applicants to view or have them open it for viewing with a click.
22 May 2023
Update: Unlimited file upload, HD video hosting and streaming
New feature: Unlimited file upload. Your program applicants are now able to upload an unlimited number of files in a range of formats, with no file size limit for Premium users and above.
New feature: HD video hosting and streaming. Your program applicants can now upload videos in any of a range of formats. Videos are transcoded and hosted privately and securely, and are available for streaming. Your program judges can play them directly in their browser, with no download required.
22 March 2023
Major update: New voting types, better evaluation results and votes visibility, new filters for sorting votes and evaluation results.
New feature: Positional voting. You can now choose this type of voting when setting up a voting round in Evaluation > Rounds > Add round. This is a rank-based type of voting system where each voter preference is allotted a specific fixed weighting.
New feature: Single transferable vote. You can now choose this type of voting when setting up a voting round in Evaluation > Rounds > Add round. This is a rank-based type of voting system where votes may be transferred according to alternate preferences.
Change: The Evaluation > Votes section now has new category and judge filters, as well as better visibility when changing the voting round.
Change: The Evaluation > Results section features new columns — Rank, for easier position viewing in the Applications table, and Judge average score in the Judges table for better visibility of all votes given by a specific judge in a score voting round.
Improvement: The Evaluation > Results section now has improved visibility when changing the voting round and category.
17 Feb 2023
Major update: Program templates for different use cases
New feature: Program templates. You can now use preconfigured customizable templates when setting up your program. To use one of the templates, click the Create program button on the Main menu, select the template that best matches your use case, and customize it.
05 Sep 2022
Major update: Custom domain and email, score normalization, ecommerce tracking, chat widgets, and more
New feature: Custom domain. Option in Website > Branding > Domain to use your own custom domain with Evalato, e.g. awards.yourdomain.com! Once you add and verify it, all of your program links, including the judging and applicant portal will use that instead of the default URL.
New feature: Vanity domain. Allows you to change the program’s URL from Website > Branding > Domain. You get to put your own brand or program name at the beginning – e.g. yourbrand.evalato.com.
New feature: Custom email. You can use your own email addresses for automated communication through Evalato, as set from Emails > Send options. Initial email address validation required from Organization menu > Email addresses.
New feature: Score normalization. When creating an evaluation round in Evaluation > Rounds, you can now enable score normalization for it – a mathematical formula which ensures that every entry is scored based on the same set of standards, regardless of how many judges are evaluating the program submissions.
New feature: Ecommerce tracking. Added option to enable Ecommerce tracking for Google Analytics. Use data-driven insights to find opportunities for improvement and grow your business.
New feature: HubSpot / Intercom integration. Link Evalato to your HubSpot or Intercom account and enjoy goodies like chat functionality for your program pages and a support widget for a more efficient, personalized service, as well as visitors tracking.
Improvement: Website > Branding section was improved and has better navigation.
Change: Data > Tracking section is now Data > Integrations.
Change: Removed Apps section and Zapier integrations moved to Data > Integrations (previously Apps on the main menu).
Change: PayUbiz payment method removed.
Improvement: Various fixes and tweaks under the hood, as always.
04 Mar 2022
Minor update: Email use limit, visible tags in exported data, event section and settings removed.
New feature: Email use limit. Choose whether people can use the same email to register more than once for your program. Set the Email use limit in Settings > Registration > Registration limit.
Improvement: Application tags are now visible in the exported files as well, to increase data productivity.
Improvement: Removed the event section and event settings for the time being.
11 Feb 2022
Platform update: Application tags, improved filters, and major emailing QoL changes.
New feature: Application tags. Now you can organize your program applications better with tags in the Applications section. Tags help you categorize and label program submissions for an even better application management experience.
New feature: Completely reworked the sorting functionality in the Applications section and added a new filter to use - tags.
Improvement: Added "Application tagged" email type in the Emails section, so you can email specific people based on application tags.
Improvement: Added delayed sending for condition-based emails. Now the system does not send such emails immediately after you perform an action that triggers them, but instead waits a set time of 45 seconds.
Improvement: Added the ability to select a specific evaluation round for the “Application shortlisted” automatic emails.
Change: Removed the ever-confusing Shortlist button in the Applications section.
Change: Removed the Pending submission reminder email as “Custom" emails provide better functionality.
02 Dec 2021
Platform update: Multi-stage submissions, magic login link, and various improvements update
New feature: Handle multi-stage submissions with ease. Set an application to “require resubmission” status in the Applications section and the person who submitted it would have to make any necessary changes and send it again.
New feature: People have the option to request their login link directly from the program’s registration form. That’s particularly useful when they can’t find the original confirmation email for some reason.
Improvement: Added new email type for “Application resubmission required” in the Emails section, you can add it if you wish to send a notification each time you mark an application for resubmission.
Improvement: Added new default email type for “Registration login” in the Emails section, where you can edit the email that people receive when they request their login details via the new "Already registered? Log in" option on the registration form.
Improvement: People can’t register more than once for your program using the same email address anymore. When someone tries to do so, the system will let them know that the email is already registered.
Improvement: You get a new option in Settings > General > Application process to choose whether people are allowed to cancel their own applications from the applicant portal. With the option turned on, they can log into their personal program profile and withdraw an application by cancelling it.
Change: Renamed the buttons in the Applications section, to make things more intuitive
-
Shortlist (previously Move to) – approve and assign applications to an evaluation round;
-
Set status (previously Status) – change the status of applications between Approved, Rejected, Submitted, Draft, and the new Require resubmission status;
-
Set rounds (previously Rounds) – easily distribute applications into one or multiple rounds.
Improvement: Additional improvements and tweaks under the hood.
30 Sep 2021
Platform update: Intelligent registration link and various platform improvements
New feature: The personal registration link is now intelligent. When accessing their profile via the link, a person is taken directly to:
-
their first Draft application in My entries, in Edit mode;
-
if all of their applications are already submitted or they are only registered in a participant category and don’t have any applications, they go to their Draft status My profile in edit mode;
-
if everything in My entries and My profile is already submitted, they are taken to the Home section;
-
if there’s no home section it takes them to the first submitted application in My entries, in View mode;
-
if there’s no home section and the person has no entries they go straight to My profile, in View mode;
-
and if a person has applications that they cannot edit for some reason (for example, when the registration is still pending payment), they are taken to the first submission in View mode (so they can see the pending payment notification).
Improvement: Easier application searching and ability to access an application directly from the search results
Improvement: Added new buttons when viewing an application, you can now use the Move to, Status, and Rounds buttons with a specific application opened.
Improvement: When adding a new session to the event schedule (Event > Schedule), the Stream URL is not a mandatory field anymore, so you can add it a later date
Improvement: Event home page improvements and minor fixes
Change: My applications was renamed to My entries
Improvement: Another batch of improvements with better visuals, icon size adjustments to the My entries section on the applicant portal
10 Aug 2021
Major platform update: New virtual event features for your programs
Create a custom event schedule with engaging webinars, live-streams, videos via Zoom, Youtube, Vimeo or any other 3rd party app. Participants will appreciate the option to build and oversee their own agenda Advanced matchmaking and 1:1 meetings for networking, community building, matchmaking as part of your programs.
Improvement: New applicant portal navigation and improved visibility across the board, home section added where you can create a page for applicants and upload a cover image for improved branding.
Improvement: Drag & drop elements now have a different icon to be more visible and intuitive to use.
Improvement: Reworked how the names of exported files are generated to fix some issues with certain operating systems and/or file archivers.
Improvement: Some minor bugs got squashed thanks to your reports!
12 May 2021
Major platform update: Revamped the applicant portal
Complete overhaul of the applicant portal with improved visibility and more responsive interface. It’s modern, fast, and sleek.
Improvement: Additional UI improvements and menu structure changes to the Program menu to make things more intuitive and easy.
Improvement: New options in Settings > General > Application process – auto-approval of submitted applications, application resubmission settings, and application status updates.
Improvement: Improvements and new settings for the Question field – sorting answer options in alphabetical order, option to use an existing Question field on a different application form (the Country field also has this option), and a multiple select option with auto-complete.
05 April 2021
Major platform update: Evalato now with a platform for virtual events and community management
Now you can create and manage your virtual events and communities with Evalato. Streamline your work and provide a next-gen experience for your event participants and community members.
Improvement: Numerous UI improvements and menu structure changes to make things more intuitive and easy.
04 Nov 2020
New feature: Send emails based on application status and/or category
Now you can send emails to specific categories and statuses (Draft / Submitted / Approved / Rejected) when creating your Custom emails (for Applicants) in Settings > Emails.
09 July 2020
New feature: Pre-fill fields from registration data
Now you can choose to fill out application form fields with data from the corresponding fields on the registration form (Name, Company, Job title, Email, Phone number, Country, Address).
Improvement: Applicant portal and re-submitting options added in Settings > Program > Re-submission & status visibility
Improvement: Application form field Name, Company, or Text field can be set to be used as the identifying name for the entire application and appear under this name in the applicant portal, judging portal, as well as the application list if you set it up for public viewing.
20 May 2020
New feature: Payment requirement options
Now you can choose when to require program entry payment from Settings > Program > Require payment. You can choose either “At registration”, “At submission”, or at any time “After submission”.
Improvement: Added a Pay now button on the applicant portal in the Registration info section, so people can easily pay directly from their profiles.
06 April 2020
New feature: Option to set default crossed-out price
Added ability to set a default crossed-out price in Settings > Categories > Default price for all program categories.
30 March 2020
New feature: Multi-level grouping of categories
Added ability to create groups and subgroups to put program categories in. Great for programs that cover different regions, chapters, departments, etc.
10 March 2020
New feature: Application portal options
Now you can adjust and set up various elements for your application portal from Settings > Program > Applicant portal.
New feature: Limit the number of applications per registration and/or per category
Ability to limit the number of applications per registration across all program categories and/or per category.
Improvement: Enhanced program menu structure to make the user experience more intuitive. Improved program creation process, which is now simpler and faster.
Change: Moved all registration form settings to Settings > Program > Registration form.
Change: Application forms settings renamed to Forms (Settings > Forms).
Change: Moved all payments & billing options to Settings > Program > Payments & billing.
Change: Automatic emails settings section renamed to Emails (Settings > Emails).
Change: Moved all wording settings to Settings > Program.
Change: Moved the Judging portal and the Public voting portal settings from Evaluation to to Settings > Program.
Change: Moved the Conversion triggers settings to Settings > Program.Change: Marketing section renamed to Discounts.
Change: Tracking section moved to Settings > Program > Tracking.
18 February 2020
New feature: Bulk export options added
28 November 2019
New feature: Copy data from one application into another
The word “application” replaces “submission” within the app, due to popular demand. For example, the Submissions section is now called Applications.
New button: Move to in the Applications (was Submissions) section, which allows you to both Approve and Shortlist applications at the same time.
New button: Status (again in Applications), allows you to Approve or Reject all selected applications, as well as change their status to submitted or draft.
New button: Rounds (replaces the Shortlist button in Applications), allows you to easily add and remove evaluation rounds for the selected applications.
Improvement: You can now track submitted applications with Facebook Pixel. The new Standard Event is: SubmitApplication, on top of the other 3 – AddToCart, InitiateCheckout and Purchase. Additionally, entering your Pixel Tracking ID (in Analytics & export > Tracking) now also allows you to track page views for your applications webpage.
Change: Submission categories is now Categories (Settings > Categories).
Change: Moved the Currency button to Settings > Payments & billing (was in Settings > Submission categories), as it made more sense to have it there.
Improvement: Added 3D secure payments during checkout.
09 August 2019
New feature: Public voting
With Evalato you now have the perfect platform where people can have their say. Create a public voting round from Evaluation > Rounds by choosing “Public” in the Evaluators setting and anyone can simply log in using their Google, Facebook, or LinkedIn profile to quickly cast their vote without going through any extra hassles.
Improvement: Added a 3rd option for data field visibility when creating your submission forms in Settings > Submissions forms, allowing you to choose between Everyone, Admins, or Admins and Judges.
Change: Voting rounds is now called Rounds
Change: Judging portal is renamed to Portals (to accommodate the newly added public voting portal and its settings)
Change: Manage votes becomes just Votes (for simplicity sake)
Change: Moved the Results section to Evaluation (was previously in Analytics & export)
09 July 2019
New feature: Change registration form and submission portal wording
Now you can change the wording of your registration form and submission portal from Website > Wording.
Improvement: In the “Registration info” section in the submission portal, we have removed the pricing details for free registrations.
Improvement: Pending submission and pending judging reminder emails are now set to be sent on specific dates/times, instead of days prior to deadline.
Change: The sender email address can’t be customized anymore due to stricter spam filters.
24 June 2019
This Evalato update brings a ton of awesome voting features that improve the way submissions for your programs are evaluated
New feature: Popularity voting
With this option each member of the judging panel is allowed to select one or more program submissions. Suitable for “Top Picks” kind of evaluation phases where one or more submissions are picked as the best from a list.
New feature: Simple review
The simple voting option allows voters to vote for or against the assigned submissions. Suitable for easily reviewing applications for the next evaluation phase. Unlike Popularity voting, this gives members of the judging panel the option to explicitly “disapprove” a submission.
New feature: Points voting
This is essentially a points distribution evaluation system. Suitable for evaluation phases where each voter is asked to distribute a set number of points among the shortlisted submissions. The points can be limited per submission, category, and round.
Renamed: Rated voting is now called Score voting
10 May 2019
Improvement: Promo codes and Special offers
Now when you apply a special offer or promo code with a maximum number of submissions or maximum value, it still applies the maximum possible discount for larger orders as well.
21 April 2019
We always pay attention to feedback and our latest update brings an awesome feature that many of you asked for – the ability to export an entire submission as a separate file. Now you can export a program entry as a PDF file for external use.
New feature: PDF export for submissions
Submissions can now be exported from the submissions section. There is also a new column with the PDF file in the submissions export as well.
Improvement: File name
Uploaded files to submissions are now downloaded with the original upload name
30 March 2019
This second update for 2019 brings a few small key features to greatly improve the application, administration and evaluation in Evalato.
New feature: Submission form
New submission form field options added
-
Name
-
Email
-
Phone
-
Address
-
Job title
-
Company
-
Waiver
-
Text field character limit – You can now limit the number of characters allowed for a single-line text field.
New feature: Evaluation instructions and terms in judging portal
Now you can set terms that the judges need to accept before being allowed to vote. You can also add general voting instructions. Manage these settings from Evaluation > Judging portal.
You can also add evaluation round specific instructions. Manage these settings from Evaluation > Judging rounds.
Improvement: Voting flow
Now when judges vote, the submission is closed automatically and a notification is shown. This speeds up the voting process and improves overall usability.
New feature: Submissions last edited
Added a column in the “Submissions” section indicating when was the last edit made to the submission by the applicant.
Improvement: Canceled registration email not mandatory
You can now remove the email for canceled registration if you don’t want to automatically notify your applicants that their registration has been canceled.
29 January 2019
The 1st major update after the re-branding.
-
New feature: Many more automatic emails added (full list below)
-
New feature: Clone submission forms
-
Improvement: You can now hide submission categories
-
Improvement: Judging rounds and all automatic emails are now added to every cloned program
-
Improvement: Submission numbers show above table in the “Submissions” tab
-
Improvement: Detailed evaluation results added to each submission when opened in the administrative panel
-
Improvement: Detailed evaluation results added to the submissions and individual votes exports
-
Improvement: Added missing abstain notifications in the “Manage votes” tab
-
Improvement: You can now reject draft entries
-
Improvement: Full image sizes added in export
-
Improvement: Removed the Program type setting
-
Improvement: New video tutorials added
The new automatic emails include:
-
Submission sent
-
Submission approved
-
Submission rejected
-
Submission shortlisted
-
Pending submission reminder
-
Pending judging reminder
-
Custom email for judges
15 October 2018
Re-branding and major update
-
New feature: Multiple judging rounds
-
New feature: Custom scorecards with different criteria, weights and scales
-
Improved submission approval, rejection and shortlisting
-
Improved analytics with more submission data
-
Improved UX and redesigned applicant portal
-
Improved UX and redesigned judging portal
-
Improved and redesigned program dashboard
-
New video tutorials
-
Removed comment activity stream from organization and dashboard
-
Removed quick links