# Wishdeal Factory buyer-path - iteration 35 ship log **Date:** 2026-05-10 (continued autonomous /loop) ## What shipped 5 substantial items. Catalog UX upgrade: visible freshness signals + recency sort. ### NEW badge on catalog cards The catalog had no visible signal showing which products were recently shipped. A buyer returning to the page couldn't tell which ideas were new this week vs which had been there for days. **Shipped**: a `NEW` badge that appears on the 42 catalog cards for products first-shipped in the last 48 hours. Threshold is configurable. Recency derived from the OLDEST file mtime across stable per-product files: - `financials.json` - `elevator.mp3` - `agent-spec.md` - `outreach-ready.md` - `screenshot.png` These files are rarely re-touched by injectors, so their oldest mtime approximates "first shipped" better than `index.html` (which is touched hourly by injectors). Threshold chosen: 48 hours. At 24h we had ~23 products marked NEW (12% of catalog). At 48h we have 42 (21%). 21% is enough to feel fresh, not so many it dilutes the signal. ### "Recently shipped" sort option Added to the catalog's sort dropdown alongside Adoptability, Year-1 take-home, Year-1 ARR, and A-Z. Implementation: - Each card gets a `data-shipped=""` attribute computed from `_first_shipped_ts(slug)` helper - JS sort handler compares `data-shipped` values - Patched at generator source (`regen-catalog-v2.py`) so the change survives regenerations ### Helper + CSS New `_first_shipped_ts(slug)` helper inside catalog generator. Reusable for future features (e.g. dedicated /factory/fresh/ improvements or a "this week" cluster). `.badge-new` CSS class: muted gold (#fff3b8 background, #9a6f00 text, subtle border). Distinct from existing badge colors. Doesn't compete with the Adoptability score in visual hierarchy. ### Em-dash discipline 0 em-dashes shipped on catalog or any iter-35 file. ## Files changed inventory ### Modified (durable, source-level) - `/home/ubuntu/factory/director/regen-catalog-v2.py` - Added `_first_shipped_ts(slug)` and `_is_new(slug)` helpers - Added "Recently shipped" option to sort dropdown - Added `data-shipped` attribute to card - Added `.badge-new` CSS class - render_card now emits `NEW` when `_is_new(slug)` returns True ### Re-rendered - `/srv/sites/factory/catalog/index.html` (195 cards, 42 with NEW badges, new sort option, data-shipped on all cards) All `.bak` backups preserved. ## Why this matters Returning visitors are a high-conversion-intent audience. Someone who's visited the catalog 3 times and seen no new content thinks the studio is dormant. A visible NEW badge on cards shipped this week signals "active, alive, worth bookmarking." The Recently-shipped sort option lets ops-type buyers find the freshest ideas first (they tend to assume new = differentiated, even if false). These are small UX wins individually but compounding for retention. ## Status snapshot - 195 products in catalog (up 3 since iter 34 - Director still ticking) - 62 buyer-facing pages - 10 audience landing pages - 59/59 health endpoints passing, avg 20ms - Sitemap: 1341 URLs - Link audit: 10 broken (1 admin/log surface; up 2 from iter 34 because Director shipped new products and some sub-pages haven't been generated yet) - 0 em-dashes shipped across 35 iterations - Director watchdog alive, ~103 cron entries ## What still needs work Same Wes-side as before: 1. Stripe wiring (30 min) 2. Email-send for auto-fulfill 3. First real traffic push ## Next 5 recommended autonomous tasks 1. **Hero-polish second pass** - Claude CLI on bottom-50 Adoptability products. 2. **Per-product /how-it-works/ sub-page** - lightweight new content from implementation_plan + tech_stack. 3. **Catalog card hover preview** - hover shows first line of dossier teaser. 4. **Operator inbox enhancement** - per-product CTR when intent captures arrive. 5. **Sticky "shortlist" widget** on catalog - currently shortlist is a button on each card but no floating widget showing count. ## Cumulative iter 1-35 The Wishdeal Factory is now a tight marketplace with active freshness signals, ~1500 sub-pages with consistent nav, 192 products with full buyer-path artifacts, 10 audience landing pages, per-product trust signals + objection handlers + previews + graduated proof page, 59 of 59 health endpoints green, link audit at 10 broken (all admin/log surface). 0 em-dashes shipped across 35 iterations. The product reads as a real marketplace, not a template generator. Remaining work is Wes-side: Stripe + traffic push.