What's New This Week
A lot shipped this week. Here's a full rundown of everything that went live, from bug fixes to brand new features. As always, check the roadmap to upvote the features you want most — your votes directly shape what we build next.
Blog — Now Live
You're reading it! MakerManifest now has a public blog at /blog. We'll use it for platform updates, guides for makers and creators, and SEO content to help new users find us.
Login Reliability Fix
Login was causing occasional CPU spikes and hangs under load. We switched to native bcrypt (off the main thread), which keeps the server responsive. Sign-out was also fixed — it now correctly clears your session on all browsers.
Tier Badge in Dashboard
Your current tier (Free, Basic, Premium, Founder) is now shown as a badge next to your username in the dashboard header and mobile menu, so it's always clear what plan you're on.
Multi-Domain Short Links
MakerManifest now has three platform short domains: mkr.ms, m4ke.us, and m4ke.uk. Paid users can choose their preferred domain in Settings → Short Link Domain. All three domains resolve the same links, so your existing short links continue to work regardless of which domain you prefer.
SEO Improvements
A round of SEO work shipped this week:
● sitemap.xml — all published gear list and profile pages are now included automatically
● robots.txt — search engines are guided to the right pages
● Open Graph / Twitter Card meta tags — rich link previews when you share your gear list on social
● JSON-LD structured data (Premium) — ItemList and Person schema on kit pages for better organic discoverability
13 New Gear Categories
Welding, Automotive, Knife Making, Painting & Finishing, Casting & Molding, Cosplay, Photography & Videography, Electronics & Arduino, Blacksmithing, Ceramics & Pottery, Outdoor & Camping, Plumbing, and Everyday Carry (EDC) — all available when creating or editing a gear list.
QR Codes — Now Free for Everyone
QR codes for gear lists and short links are now available on all plans, including free accounts. Previously this was a paid-only feature.
Vote on What's Next
We ship fast, but we build what matters most to you. Visit the roadmap to see what's planned, upvote features you want, downvote things that aren't priorities for you, and leave comments. The roadmap is public and your votes are counted.