Articles - Page 111

Agentic AI for Agencies in 2026

bmckeiver

Branded as their “biggest release in over a decade,” <a href="http://ez.no/" target="_blank">eZ Systems</a> has just unveiled new versions of both eZ Platform, their open-source product, and eZ Studio, their commercial product based on eZ Platform.
eZ software is trusted by the like of; The Financial Times, Harvard University, Elle, Hootsuite, and Orange.
<a href="http://ez.no/" target="_blank"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ez-logo-no-tagline_max600height250.png" /></a>
Back in September, eZ Systems’ Director of Product Marketing, <a href="/ez-systems-set-to-launch-ez-platform-and-ez-studio/" target="_blank">guest posted here on CMS Critic to give us a sneak peek at both of these updates</a>. He stated that they, “[signified] a leap forward” for eZ Systems as a company.
We also recently enjoyed a featured week with eZ Systems, where I personally got to <a href="/search/?q=ez+publish&amp;sort=-date" target="_blank">explore some of the core features of the company's flagship CMS, eZ Platform</a>, including <a href="/managing-multiple-sites-channels-languages-with-ez-publish/" target="_blank">multi-site management</a> and <a href="/ez-publish-platform-content-management-marketing-ecommerce-under-the-same-roof/" target="_blank">eCommerce</a>.
Here's an overview of what's new.
<h2>Right Content, Right Channel, Right Time</h2>
<a href="http://ezplatform.com/" target="_blank">eZ Platform</a> is the open-source core for developers, while <a href="http://ezstudio.com/" target="_blank">eZ Studio</a> is the fully integrated set of tools for editors and marketers.
According to the eZ team, their aim with this broad update is to ensure that brands get the right content flows into the right channels at the right times, whether on desktops, tablets, phones or the Internet of Things (IoT).
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ez_studio-schedulingcontent665x0-is.png" /> 
eZ’s software also allows organizations to manage multiple sites or apps from a single, secure platform, and deliver their content in different languages to engage local audiences.
<h2>eZ Platform: Content-centric Websites &amp; Applications</h2>
The core of eZ’s new solutions, eZ Platform is an open source software that provides developers a Web framework, rich APIs and a structured content repository for building websites and apps.
This update brings about a fully redesigned user interface to manage the repository. Like its predecessor eZ Platform 5.x, eZ Platform is based on the <a href="http://ez.no/Blog/Exploring-the-Symfony2-Full-Stack-Approach-of-eZ-Platform">Symfony full-stack framework</a>, the leading PHP framework today.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ez-online_editor.png" /> 
Roland Benedetti, Chief Product and Marketing Officer at eZ, had this to say upon the announcement:
<blockquote>
“With our fully featured REST API and content repository, eZ Platform allows developers to build, extend and scale sites and apps with more ease than ever before. We welcome developers to <a href="http://ezplatform.com/">download the software</a> today and start experimenting.”
</blockquote>
<h2>eZ Studio: Content Management Simplified</h2>
eZ Studio is the commercial solution based on eZ Platform.
This premium offering now serves up additional, fully integrated features that allow editors and marketers to better manage a website or app built with eZ Platform. Those features include; in-page preview and editing, easy-to-use tools for managing complex landing pages (such as drag-and-drop blocks), automated content scheduling and customizable workflows.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ez_studio_-_landing_page_creator614x0-is.png" /> 
According to Aleksander Farstad, eZ Systems' CEO and Co-Founder, brands making use of eZ Studio are about to experience vast improvements:
<blockquote>
“In eZ Studio, editors and marketers will see vast improvements in the user interface design and editorial tool.
This will lead to increased productivity, faster time-to-publish and a smoother editorial experience.”
</blockquote>
Both eZ Platform and eZ Studio are available as a fully integrated product through the eZ Enterprise subscription, which also provides support and maintenance services.
eZ Systems also offers <a href="http://ez.no/Products/Digital-Marketing">Cloud Services</a>, including eZ Personalization, eZ Smart Analytics and eZ Marketing Automation, which complement eZ Platform and eZ Studio.
To find out more about eZ’s content management systems, <a href="http://ez.no/Products/The-eZ-Publish-Platform" target="_blank">check out eZ Systems’ website</a>, or explore their offering <a href="/products/ibexa/" target="_blank">through our CMS Directory</a>.

eZ Launches New Content Management Solutions, eZ Platform & eZ Studio

mike-johnston

Umbraco has a new release out with version 7.1.1. Most of the changes involve a slew of bug fixes but there are also some improvements made in this release such as:
<ul>
<li>The ability to see where compositions are used.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/compositions1_yjr7fw.png" /></li>
<li>The dictionary tree has been revamped and its functionality has now been converted to Angular.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/dictionary-tree_rsifuu.png" /></li>
<li>Administrators can now create multilingual tours for users.</li>
</ul>
Some of the bugfixes taken care of in this release include:
<ul>
<li>Checkboxes on content items are now nice looking toggle buttons</li>
<li>Hovering over the document type name in the Info tab shows the alias of the document type</li>
<li>The saving animation on the Save &amp; Publish button now works every time</li>
<li>When you can’t upload a media item, the upload button is disabled</li>
<li>When you have an event handler cancelling an Unpublish event, the notification now gets shown to the editor</li>
<li>The menu items for content in the recycle bin now don’t show unnecessary buttons any more</li>
</ul>
To get a full breakdown of the release, visit <a href="https://our.umbraco.org/download/releases/7110/">https://our.umbraco.org/download/releases/7110/</a>

Umbraco version 7.11 released

<a href="http://redaxscript.com" target="_blank">Redaxscript</a> have announcd the release of version 2.1.0 of their powerful platform.
Initially started in 2008 as a fork of sNews CMS, Redaxscript is a free and open-source content management system based on PHP scripting language and MySQL database engine. It is almost entirely written using functional programming.
The last release of Redaxscript, <a href="/redaxscript-2.0.0-released/" target="_blank"> back in November 2013</a>, saw a number of enhancements to things like the admin panel, templates and more. With version 2.1.0 though, Redaxscript have taken those enhancements a step further.
<h2>Flat Template Style &amp; Vendor Prefixes</h2>
Redaxscript have followed up on their work with version 2.0.0 of their platform by continuing to flatten the admin and default templates.
For example, a couple of user interface elements like accordion, dialog and tab have experienced a colour revision. Most partials have also been extended with inline comments and divided into more files to improve readability and speed up workflow.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/redaxscript_flat_template700x0.jpg" alt="Redaxscript 2.1.0" />
Furthermore, Redaxscript have endeavoured to get rid of outdated vendor prefixes by parsing CSS files with the Postprocessor named  <a href="https://github.com/ai/autoprefixer"> Autoprefixer </a> , a mind blowing tool based on the popular  <a href="http://caniuse.com/"> caniuse.com </a>  database to determine needed browser support.
As a result, Redaxscript have reported that they have managed to saved around 500 CSS rules in their templates.
<h2>Fresh Modules &amp; Native Form Validation</h2>
New modules, such as Disqus comments have also been introduced. Once you have installed the new Disqus module, all native comments are automatically replaced where they were enabled.
So, you can now enjoy some enhanced social engagement and traffic to your website as well as improving your SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/redaxscript_disqus_service700x0.jpg" alt="Redaxscript 2.1.0" />
Additionally, a new Github module was written to display project milestones and issues on the Redaxscript website. Due to the limited time window for refactoring, the Redaxscript team have made the decision to discontinue their SEO tube module, removing the related download as a result.
Finally, the Redaxscript form validation system now uses the native “checkValidity()” method, which gives specific error messages to highlight required fields. Third party libraries like jQuery, QUnit and Zepto were also updates to their latest versions.
To dig deeper into what Redaxscript 2.1.0 brings, check out their <a href="http://redaxscript.com/blog/news-redaxscript-2-1-0" target="_blank"> official announcement</a>. You can also <a href="http://redaxscript.com/develop/changelog/changes-for-2-1-0" target="_blank"> read the full changelog here</a>.
Also, be sure to check out <a href="/products/redaxscript/" target="_blank"> Redaxscript via our CMS Directory</a>.

Redaxscript 2.1.0 Released

If you are looking to start a food blog and have no clue how to go about making that happen, this article may be for you. Today, I'm going to share with you the process I used to kick start my wife's successful food blog, The Kitchen Magpie. So, want to learn how to start a food blog? Let's begin.
It doesn't matter if you are looking to share recipes, restaurant reviews, or generally just want to spread your passion (and pictures) of the wonderful food you've eaten or enjoy.. you can do so with a food blog. You can even, with the right amount of effort and patience, make a living doing it if you so choose. I know because my wife does and we made that happen by applying the process below.
To start your food blog, you need to decide which method suits you best. You can either:
 Hire a Designer and Developer. There's nothing wrong with going this route, just be prepared to spend a few thousand dollars for a quality design and to hire the developer to take that design and convert it into a well-coded food blog. A great place to find inexpensive designers and developers is <a href="https://www.fiverr.com/" target="_blank">Fiverr</a>.
 Build it yourself.  My personal preference. I am a coder at heart so I prefer to learn by doing. When we first kicked off Karlynn's blog, I built it on WordPress using the method below and got it up and running. Once it became successful and she started getting crazy amounts of traffic and earning money from it, we then hired a designer and a WordPress development team to create a unique look for her site. Feel free to go check it out:  <a href="https://www.thekitchenmagpie.com/" target="_blank"> The Kitchen Magpie </a> .
<h2>How to Start a Food Blog: The Steps Involved</h2>
These are the steps I'm going to cover in detail, for those of you who can't wait to find out the process. I'll cover them in more detail as you read on.
<ol>
<li> Come up with a name for your food blog and register it as a domain name. 
Before you can start a food blog, you need to consider what your blog will be about. Will you be sharing recipes, posting pictures of food you've eaten, writing restaurant reviews? Once you know the general concept, you can start thinking of what name you want to use for your food blog. Then you'll need to register this name as a domain.</li>
<li> Find a website hosting company that offers a well-priced, affordable hosting package with excellent support. 
I've written before about who I think are the best web hosts out there but I'll outline which ones are the best ones to use to get started with and then, once you have some decent numbers under your belt (visitors to your website that is), which option you should switch to.</li>
<li> Install WordPress 
Yes, there are other options but realistically, WordPress is the best choice if you are looking for a food blog. There's no better option when it comes to building up solid SEO and getting ranking well in the search engines; both of which are critical to being successful.</li>
<li> Configure WordPress 
I'll touch on a few minor settings changes you should make once you have it up and running.</li>
<li> Find and Install a WordPress Theme 
While there are some decent free themes for WordPress out there, I'd recommend choosing a well-known WordPress theme developer and purchasing a premium theme. This way, you get support as well as regular updates.</li>
<li> Install and Configure WordPress Plugins 
There are a few plugins that are absolute must haves when it comes to WordPress, I'll explain which ones you should be using as well as point you to a few food blog specific plugins you should be installing.</li>
<li> Other Services and Tools 
Once you have WordPress running and configured, there are a few other tools you may wish to consider setting up and signing up for.  I'll break them down for you and offer both free options and premium ones. You can then choose which suit your needs the most.</li>
</ol>
<h2>Step 1 – Decide on a Name an Register the Domain </h2>
This is perhaps the toughest part, coming up with a name. You want to make sure that the name you come up with fits what the food blog is about, so think carefully about what you plan to write about before you decide on a name.
You want something that is:
<ul>
<li>Easy to remember.</li>
<li>Catchy and fun.</li>
<li>Won't be confused with another business or brand.</li>
<li>Isn't too long.</li>
<li>Describes your food blog.</li>
</ul>
If you've ever had a nick name or somebody has said something to you that sounded like a good idea, this might be a good place to start. Perhaps you are writing about desserts? Then maybe you should try to incorporate that into the name. Good food blogs have names that describe the personality of the author and the topic of the blog (or a blend of both). The Kitchen Magpie monicker that my wife goes by was a combination of her love to be in the kitchen and her desire to collect pretty, shiny things. We combined two things into the name and now it's a catchy name people remember.
Coming up with a name can be tough but once you've done so, you'll need to register it as a domain name. Contrary to what people say, and the opinions vary heavily on this, a .COM is the best domain name you can get and it's always the best option.
Once you have a list of potential ideas, you'll need to see if any of them are available for you to use.
Most of the time, a domain name will cost you between $10 to $15 per year but when you purchase a hosting package together with it, it's usually cheaper or free. I recommend somewhere inexpensive like <a href="https://www.godaddy.com/" target="_blank">GoDaddy</a> for cheap hosting to get you started.
To do so, enter the potential domain name (complete with the .COM part) into the box below and check its availability. If it's available, it will let you register it immediately. If not, it'll tell you it's taken. Nice and simple.
If you prefer to register your domain separately, you can do so at <a href="https://www.namecheap.com/" target="_blank">Namecheap</a>. They are one of the least expensive registrars and they offer easy to use domain management tools. Believe me, domains registered through other services tend to be difficult to configure and set up.
<h2>Step 2 – Find a web host for your food blog</h2>
If you've already registered your domain above, then this step is already complete and you've got this hosting package already. If you haven't, it's very important to make sure you select an affordable hosting package from a reputable hosting provider that offers excellent support. We've had plenty of experience with the good ones and the bad ones and when it comes to reliability and cost, I think GoDaddy likely is the better option.
GoDaddy is one of the largest and most popular web hosts out there. They offer a very reasonably priced hosting package and have a great support team that can help you resolve any issues you might have down the road. GoDaddy has a slick managed WordPress offering (which basically means the site is built quickly for you without having to install WordPress yourself.
I've had poor experiences with Hostgator and others in the past, so I'd personally recommend avoiding them at all costs.
<h2>Step 3 – Install WordPress</h2>
This is one of the reasons I recommended hosting through GoDaddy, to begin with. For those new to food blogs or blogging in general, installing an application (even one as simple as WordPress) can be a bit daunting. GoDaddy does this automatically if you buy their managed WordPress offering which is priced between $2 and $15 per month (which is crazy cheap).
If you are not on GoDaddy, installing WordPress is still pretty simple. Here's the official installation guide: <a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress"> Installing WordPress. </a>
<h2>Step 4 – Configure WordPress</h2>
WordPress comes pre-configured to be pretty much ready to go minus a few simple things. The only real setting change you need to make is to change the permalinks. These determine how your posts will look on the web.
Follow these steps to change them from the default setting:
<ul>
<li>Log into the WordPress Dashboard.</li>
<li>Go to Settings -&gt; Permalinks and select Post name.</li>
<li>Click save</li>
</ul>
Once this is done, you are good to go.
<h2>Step 5 – Find and Install a WordPress Theme</h2>
The ideal WordPress theme should be:
<ul>
<li> Responsive 
 Responsive themes are simply designed to work on every type of screen from your laptop or desktop all the way down to your smartphone. A proper responsive theme will make it easy for the reader to still read the content (without squinting) and access menus, etc no matter what device they are using. This is very important nowadays. You’d be surprised how many people will read your website on their phone or tablet!</li>
<li> Well Supported 
Finding a WordPress theme is easy. Finding a WordPress theme with great support can be a challenge. There are all kinds of free ones out there but you will be out of luck if you need help unless you are willing to pay for it. I personally recommend going with one of the options I’m going to list below. This way, you’ll get an amazing theme that also offers great support and fits all of these requirements.</li>
<li> Beautifully Designed 
 It goes without saying that you want a theme for your food blog that not only matches the look and feel you want to achieve but that is also good looking, easy on the eyes and designed by a professional that knows their stuff.</li>
<li> Search Engine Optimized 
 It’s a bit of a daunting term but in a nutshell it means that the theme you are using has been coded so that search engines understand it and will rank your site well. You don’t want a theme with sloppy code because it will prevent you from achieving a good ranking on Google in comparison to one that is well coded. A cleanly designed theme can do wonders for your visibility on the web.</li>
<li> Easy to use 
 You are going to be the one using your theme the most so you might as well make sure its going to be easy for you to use and offers the features you want. Unless you understand code, you won’t want to have to mess around with it in order to achieve simple tasks. Choose a theme that comes with easy to configure options (changing colors, adding a logo, etc) in order to save yourself some headaches early on.</li>
<li> Updated regularly 
 With WordPress, there are regular security updates released. As a result, you’ll want to make sure the theme you choose is updated regularly (easiest way to do this is to go with a reputable theme firm like the ones I’ll outline below) in order to make sure it remains compatible with future updates of WordPress.</li>
</ul>
With Karlynn's website we use the amazing Genesis Framework and built a custom design on top of it. When we first started out, however, we used one of their many <a href="https://www.studiopress.com/">beautiful themes</a> as a starting point. The thing with themes based on Genesis is that they are fast, well coded and Google loves them. All of these things are critical to a well performing food blog.
Any of their themes would be a great choice but if you want a really solid head start, try out one of these ones:
<h3>Foodie Pro</h3>
<a href="https://www.studiopress.com/themes/foodie/" target="_blank">Foodie Pro</a> is pretty much THE go-to for someone starting a food blog. It's very well designed and developed and contains everything you need to perform well on Google (while also being nice to look at). It showcases photography nicely which is also the key to a successful food blog.
<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/foodie-pro_vnsjiq.jpg" alt="start a food blog with foodie pro" /><figcaption>start a food blog with foodie pro</figcaption></figure>
 
If these don't work, you can always look through their other themes to see if one of their others fit your needs.
I'm also a big fan of <a href="https://envato.com/">Envato</a>. It's one of the largest marketplaces for themes and plugins for WordPress so if you can't find something here, you aren't looking hard enough ;).
<h2>Step 6 – Recommended plugins for your Food Blog</h2>
There are four plugins that I recommend installing right away on your blog in order to maximize the value of your blog for your future readers. They are:
<ul>
<li> AddThis. AddThis gives you buttons on your posts so people can share them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other social networks. It’s critical to have this capability and definitely a top notch plugin that you should install on any blog you have.</li>
<li> Akismet. This is an important plugin to install. It helps prevent spam comments from appearing on your blog by blocking them entirely.</li>
<li> WP Recipe Maker. WP Recipe Maker makes recipe entry a breeze. It’s quick. It’s easy. The recipes look great. Your recipes will have ratings and print features and most importantly you have a much better chance for your recipes showing up in Google’s Recipe View search results. It's also pretty much mandatory if you want to start a food blog. Without it, don't expect your site to do well.</li>
<li> Yoast SEO. This is probably the most important plugin you can install. It automatically does all of the things you need in order to make your website show up in Google and other search engines in the best possible way. Take your time and go through the wizard to learn how to set it up and you’ll be well-positioned to succeed!</li>
</ul>
To install a plugin:
<ul>
<li>Log into your WordPress dashboard</li>
<li>Go to Plugins -&gt; Add new</li>
<li>Type the name of the plugin in the search box and hit enter</li>
<li>Find the plugin and click Install now</li>
<li>Once the plugin is installed, click Activate</li>
</ul>
( <a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Managing_Plugins"> Read this how to article on installing plugins</a> if you need help. Each of these plugins has a configuration setting that it will add to your dashboard. Some will show up under Settings and some may create new menu entries. Be sure to visit their settings and configure them to your needs. If you need help, use Google to find recommended settings or leave your questions in the comments here and I'll do my best to assist.
<h2>Step 7 – Other Services and Tools</h2>
To use most of the free services that Google has available, you’ll need a Google account and potentially, a Gmail account for your food blog. If you don’t have one, set one up here first: <a href="https://accounts.google.com/SignUp?service=mail&amp;continue=https%3A%2F%2Fmail.google.com%2Fmail%2F&amp;ltmpl=default&amp;hl=en"> Set up a Gmail account. </a>
 Once you have done this, head to these places to log in and set up these free tools: 
<ul>
<li> Google Webmaster Tools: This free service will make sure your food blog isn’t down and alert you of any issues Google finds with it. This is critical for any blog or website. You can install the code it provides you within the settings for the WordPress SEO plugin I recommended above.</li>
<li> Google Analytics: Google Analytics will provide you with statistics on who is visiting your blog, how many visitors you are getting and where they are coming from. It’s a free service and most websites use it for this reason so be sure to set it up.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Get Blogging!</h2>
Once you've followed all of these steps, you'll be ready to start blogging so get going and please let me know if you found this article helpful. If you did, please share it so others can find it too and leave a comment with any questions you may have. If you've used this article to help create a blog, let me know, I'd love to hear about it.

How to Start a Food Blog

<a href="https://jetpack.com/" target="_blank">Jetpack for WordPress</a>, a plugin by Automattic – the company behind WordPress itself – has just undergone a user interface makeover.
The total visual redesign of the Jetpack user interface and a front-end has been built entirely in React, which is the same JavaScript library currently powering WordPress.com.
Automattic has said that:
<blockquote>
“This [Jetpack] version has been a year in the making and is based on feedback from more than 8,000 active Jetpack users around the globe.”
</blockquote>
Here's a breakdown of what's new.
<h3>A Sexy New Interface</h3>
<h3> </h3>
<h3><img alt="featured-img-4-3-release-tall" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/featured-img-4-3-release-tall.png" /></h3>
Jetpack's new ‘At a Glance' dashboard view is nothing short of sexy.
It's a page that gives you a neat bird’s-eye view of how your site is doing. It shows you things like:
<ul>
<li>Traffic (including a link to the old stats view),</li>
<li>security information,</li>
<li>CDN status.</li>
<li>Spam comments blocked</li>
<li>Pending plugin updates</li>
</ul>
It will also flag up any security threats and prompt you to update plugins when necessary.
<h3>Faster Feature Management &amp; Better Integration</h3>
Automattic has claimed that Jetpack's speed will have been improved along with this new release.
Turning features on and off is now instant, and doesn't require the page to refresh. Plus, you can also make use of a new search bar to quickly find the feature you’re looking for.
Also, many features can now be configured by simply expanding the feature card, which means you don't have to load a new page.
You will also notice two new pages called ‘Apps' and ‘Plans‘. These newly introdced pages make it easier for you to manage your site using the <a href="https://jetpack.com/features/">advanced features</a> on WordPress.com by directly linking you to the pages you need to manage plugin updates, manage paid plans, and so forth.
I've always been a fan of the Jetpack plugin. It adds a tonne of features to any WordPress site, and beefs up security and speed at the same time. It's usually the first plugin I install when I set up a WordPress site, and as far as I can see, Automattic have only improved it with this update.
If you’d like to learn more about these releases and the other changes brought to Jetpack, you can check the full <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack/changelog/">changelog here</a>.
To try Jetpack out, <a href="https://wordpress.com/jetpack/connect/install">install it on your site</a> or upgrade your current version today from your WordPress backend.

Jetpack for WordPress Gets User Interface Update

A common question that often gets asked by those who've installed WordPress for the first time or been given a brand new WordPress website from their developer is “How do I log in to my WordPress site?” In this gude, I'm not only going to tell you how to do it but I'm also going to show you how to customize and protect your WordPress Login. Scroll down for a quick video showing the process as well if you find that easier.  <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/wordpress-login_ixy7xu.jpg" alt="wordpress login" /><h2>So What Is My WordPress Login?</h2>WordPress, by default, has several ways you can log in to the back-end or dashboard where you administer your WordPress website. To access it, you'll want to go to one of the following addresses. Keep in mind, you need to replace the words YourDomain with your website URL (for instance, www.cmscritic.com).Now keep in mind that, aside from #1 and #2 in the list below, some of the others may be disabled for security purposes and may not work.<h3>The WordPress Login URLs:</h3><ol><li>www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin</li><li>www.yourdomain.com/wp-login.php</li></ol>These are the most commonly used URL's used to access the dashboard and you will find them most often referenced in guides, installation manuals and other articles that ask you to log in to WordPress.<h3>Quick Shortcuts to the WordPress Login URL:</h3><ol><li>www.yourdomain.com/dashboard</li><li>www.yourdomain.com/admin</li><li>www.yourdomain.com/login</li></ol>These are basically just quick shortcuts that literally redirect to the default URLs. They are in place to make it easier to remember how to get to the dashboard but do be aware that they could be disabled and may not work so test them first before bookmarking them.In the case of this website, the URL would be https://www.cmscritic.com/wp-admin for instance, since I have disabled the shortcut options.Quick Note:If your website URL is something like this: www.yourdomain.com/blog or similar, make sure you prepend the URL with that full path. In other words, to log in, you should use the following: www.yourdomain.com/blog/wp-admin or one of the other shortcuts listed above. The same applies if your URL is blog.yourdomain.com. In this case, you'd login with blog.yourdomain.com/wp-admin.<h2>A Brief Video Showing You How to Login to WordPress:</h2>Here's a brief video I put together showing you how to login since some people (myself included) prefer them over reading. I hope it helps!Now that you know how to login, we'll move to the next step of this guide.<h2>How Do You Customize Your WordPress Login?</h2>There are lots of different methods of customizing your WordPress login screen. As mentioned in the video above, you can swap out the WordPress logo on the login screen to your own and lots of other enhancements. Here are some of the most common ways to make these changes.<h3>Using a Plugin</h3>There are tons of plugins you can install that will let you customize the login. Some of my favorites include:<ul><li>White Label Login for WordPress (affiliate link) I personally like this one as it includes some great features like ReCaptcha and you can literally change the URL for your WordPress Login. It costs a couple of dollars but I personally think it's one of the easiest to use and well worth the price (I'm not just saying that because I am using an affiliate link, I truly do believe this is a great choice). If you prefer free, there are two below that work as well. <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/02-white-label-branding-options-advanced_ftarip.jpg" alt="white label wordpress login" /></li><li><a target="_blank" href="http://wordpress.org/plugins/bm-custom-login/">Custom Login</a> Lets you fully customize your Login screen allowing for lots of changes including logo, background, etc.</li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/admin-custom-login/">Admin Custom Login </a> This plugin lets you make lots of customizations such as changing the logo and the background and literally restyling the whole login screen to look completely different.</li></ul><h3>Editing the Code</h3>You can also customize the WordPress login by directly editing the code. The documentation on WordPress,org explains how to make the necessary modifications.You can read about the process here: <a target="_blank" href="https://codex.wordpress.org/Customizing_the_Login_Form">https://codex.wordpress.org/Customizing_the_Login_Form</a>Only do this if you are experienced when it comes to editing code. Making changes without experience can often lead to all sorts of errors and can cause you quite the headache.<h2>Securing your WordPress Login</h2>It's one thing to know how to get to your dashboard but it's also important to consider the fact that other people know how to get to it as well. For this reason, securing it is an important thing to consider and there are multiple ways you can do this.<h4><a target="_blank" href="http://cleantalk.org/?pid=130404">CleanTalk</a></h4>One of the best methods to secure your WordPress website both against spam and hacking attempts is to use an anti-spam and security plugin like CleanTalk.This is the very same plugin I use on CMS Critic to keep the site secure and prevent spam. It's an excellent plugin and I install it on all of my client's websites. It's also super cheap as well, which helps.Here are some of the features of the CleanTalk Security service:<ul><li>Brute Force Protection</li><li>User Actions Log (Audit)</li><li>Blocking access to your website by countries</li><li>Security FireWall with the database of the most active IP addresses</li><li>Malware Scanner</li><li>Technical Support 24/7</li><li>Login Attempts and Password Searching Log</li><li>Blocking access to your website by IP, e-mail (Black &amp; White Lists)</li><li>Email Notifications when admin is logged</li><li>Security Traffic Control</li></ul>CleanTalk Anti-Spam is another of their products and it is exceptional at blocking spam attacks and works wonderfully in conjunction with Akismet if you use this as well.Here are some of the features of the CleanTalk Anti-Spam service:<ul><li>100% protection against spam bots</li><li>No Captcha, no questions, no puzzles, etc.</li><li>Regular updates</li><li>Detailed statistics</li></ul><h4><a target="_blank" href="https://www.wordfence.com/">WordFence</a></h4>WordFence is another popular option. They offer both free and premium options with similar features to CleanTalk. Here's a breakdown of what you get in the free version:<ul><li>Web Application Firewall</li><li>Block Brute Force Attacks</li><li>Advanced Manual Blocking</li><li>Malware Scanner</li></ul>The premium version, approximately $99 yearly offers the following:<ul><li>Real-Time Threat Defense Feed</li><li>Country Blocking</li><li>Check if Site IP is Generating Spam</li><li>Check if Site is Spamvertized</li><li>Cell Phone Sign In</li><li>Advanced Comment Spam Filter</li><li>Web Application Firewall</li><li>Block Brute Force Attacks</li><li>Advanced Manual Blocking</li><li>Malware Scanner</li></ul><h2>Thanks for reading!</h2>I hope you find this article useful. If you do, please share it on social media to help us spread the word.

Your WordPress Login - A Guide on Finding It, Customizing it and Keeping it Protected

<a href="https://www.progress.com/" target="_blank">Progress</a>, the company behind the enterprise-grade CMS Sitefinity, has been working away at their award-winning software ever since they <a href="http://www.telerik.com/about/press-releases/2014/12/02/progress-completes-acquisition-of-telerik-and-expands-executive-management-team" target="_blank">purchased it as part of Telerik</a> for over $260M back in 2014.
They <a href="/progress-unites-telerik-sitefinity-cms-telerik-sitefinity-digital-experience-cloud/" target="_blank">united Sitefinity CMS and the Telerk Digital Experience Cloud</a>, helped churn out a <a href="/telerik-sitefinity-gets-enhanced-multi-site-synchronization-translation-analytics-features/" target="_blank">range of new features</a> over the last year or so, and have of course injected extra funds into the operation.
Recently, I got a chance to chat with Tom Berger, Progress' VP of Digital Marketing.
<h2>Who is Tom Berger?</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/aaeaaqaaaaaaaansaaaajdfmm2e0zme0ltgyngetngrjoc1imwfllthmotdlzjrlm2vlyq300x0-is.jpg" />Tom’s primary goal as a senior level digital marketing professional is to develop core inbound digital marketing strategies which drive a high volume of qualified sales leads by increasing engagement and optimizing conversion opportunities.
Tom has proven experience in building the teams, infrastructure and methodologies that are needed to lead a successful digital marketing organization while at the same time ensuring all activities are rooted in one core principle – a positive brand experience for customers.
You can learn more about Tom Berger on his <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tberger?authType=NAME_SEARCH&amp;authToken=cVU2&amp;locale=en_US&amp;trk=tyah&amp;trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Amynetwork%2CclickedEntityId%3A7775631%2CauthType%3ANAME_SEARCH%2Cidx%3A1-2-2%2CtarId%3A1476786191402%2Ctas%3Atom%20berger" target="_blank">LinkedIn page</a>.
<h2>The Interview</h2>
KI: What do you deem to be the biggest obstacle facing enterprise-level marketers at the moment?
TB: Marketers are faced with a landscape that is changing more rapidly then it ever has before. New devices, new channels and new tactics are emerging almost daily. Figuring out how to compete for a user's attention when it's so fragmented is extremely challenging.
Given this, marketers need to transition from the notion of developing single experiences—such as a website or campaign—to thinking about creating holistic experiences. These holistic experiences include websites, web apps and mobile apps across many synchronized touchpoints or channels.
Additionally, marketers need access to actionable customer insights so they are not paralyzed by disparate data. Investing in a platform with a clear path to achieve this will be a priority for many marketers.
KI: Many software vendors are – for better or worse – blurring the lines between CMS. CRM, analytics, and marketing by attempting to combine the best bits of all four into one platform. As time goes on, do you think we'll see more vendors trying to build this all-in-one super software?
TB: Combining complimentary technologies into a single platform will continue to be a trend. Obviously this works best when the technologies share common objectives. The Swiss Army Knife is a great invention, but it's not a useful tool for a carpenter building a fine piece of furniture. Putting these tools together actually diminishes their individual functionality rather than strengthening it. Seriously, what could that tiny saw be used for?
Contrary to the Swiss Army Knife, DigitalFactory is a platform comprised of multiple products that all fundamentally share the same common objective of building and delivering engaging customer experiences. Each solution individually is best-in-class, but when integrated as a platform, they become more powerful because the purpose and functionality of each is enhanced.
For marketers considering “all-in-one” software, it shouldn't be about checking off functionality boxes. It's more about understanding if the benefits of the combined products in a single platform are strengthened or compromised.
KI: How “big” should a company be before it considers adopting marketing software? Should smaller companies stick to free solutions, or is the investment always worth it?
TB: Investment in marketing software is always worth it if it meets the following conditions:
<ul>
<li>
Clearly defined the business need,
</li>
<li>
Ensure the software will grow with your business
</li>
<li>
Engage and educate the proper team to maximize the software’s return on the investment
</li>
</ul>
Whether you are a small business or a large enterprise, the software is only as good as the team using it. For example, your sales numbers will not magically go up just because you purchased a CRM.
The nice thing is that, today, many marketing solutions are SaaS-based, do not require huge investments and can grow with you. A business may just need a website today, yet realize they will need mobile and web apps in the future to stay competitive. So it's best to ensure the software chosen can support you both now and in the future.
KI: Can you tell us a little more about DigitalFactory? How will Sitefinity customers benefit?
TB: Developing a few websites or mobile apps is not a tremendous burden for most companies today, especially when using our developer tools or Sitefinity. The challenge comes when enterprises need to do this at scale with the same efficiency, speed, governance and security without neglecting the customer experience. DigitalFactory is a cloud-based platform that provides management of content, code, websites and mobile apps combined with advanced customer analytics for delivering optimal experience at scale.
Sitefinity customers are already successful in creating engaging and personalized websites. DigitalFactory extends this to the creation, management and governance of all digital properties. What were traditionally web content marketing efforts can now include content driven mobile app experiences as well. Teams can now easily reuse code, components and content across multiple sites.
KI: Other than DigitalFactory, what else can Sitefinity customers expect in the months and years to come?
TB: Progress is very committed to Sitefinity CMS. The technology itself today allows us to innovate quicker than ever, and we can’t wait to show what we are currently working on behind the scenes. For example, we are continually making improvements to our already award-winning User Interface. With it, we are not just allowing users to learn the system well quickly, but also speed up their day-to-day operations. Productivity and speed are deeply involved in the design thinking for out new user interface and backend that we are going to show soon.
Also, it’s important that, as the software and ecosystem mature, the number of all third party applications to which the WCMs must connect today constantly increases. The information required by users to get their jobs done is in almost always disperse and living in multiple systems. With Sitefinity, we want to contextualize the most important information and only the one that makes sense. Users should not waste time digging into multiple systems to get critical business insights. With the Sitefinity Digital Experience Cloud business will have real-time access to the right data and analytics.
Last but not least, as the WCM is always strategic choice of every company (believe it or not), Sitefinity and DEC will even be more adaptable to changing business requirements and teams, operating the web sites. Users can expect much more agile workflow systems. For system administrators and technical decision makers, Sitefinity will offer some great and new hosting and storage options, all made possible with the most recent technology advancements.
To find out more about Sitefinity, check out their website.

CMS Critic Interviews Tom Berger, VP of Digital Marketing at Progress

<a href="http://www.websitebuilderscritic.com/out/strikingly" target="_blank">Strikingly</a>, the website builder that specializes in one-pager style websites, has released its latest version in the form of <a href="/strikingly-websitebuilder">Strikingly</a> 4.
<a href="http://www.websitebuilderscritic.com/out/strikingly" target="_blank"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/strikingly-1-1.png" /></a> 
Chosen as one of the few website builders to be covered by <a href="http://www.websitebuilderscritic.com/" target="_blank">Website Builders Critic</a>, <a href="/strikingly-websitebuilder">Strikingly</a> has grown to be one of the leading products for the one-pager website space.
Here's a closer look at what Strikingly 4 brings about.
<h2>Template Switching, Improved Layouts &amp; Social Feeds</h2>
One of the gripes I (and many other users) had with Strikingly, was the rigid templating system. If you worked your content into one template, you were unable to switch to another one. To change templates, you had to say goodbye to all your content.
Now though, Strikingly has made it possible to switch templates at any time, without the need to start from scratch. A feature that is most welcome indeed.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2015-09-17-at-12-compressed789x0-is.jpg" />
Speaking of content, Strikingly 4 also makes it easier to maneuver text and media within page sections. Simply clicking the “Layout” button wil prompt Strikingly to automatically “spice up” the placement of the content.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/change-section-layout759x0-is.gif" />
I'm sure users would prefer to simply drag-and-drop more freely, but this feature will help switch things up a little nonetheless.
Finally, Strkingly users can now incorporate their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter feeds into their website.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/social-feed.gif" />
A tidy update for a quirky website builder. To find out more about how to upgrade to Strikingly 4, <a href="http://www.strikingly.com/blog/updating-to-strikingly-4/" target="_blank">read their official blog announcement</a>. To get yourself a Strikingly website, <a href="http://www.websitebuilderscritic.com/out/strikingly" target="_blank">check out their website</a>.
You can also check out our <a href="https://www.websitebuilderscritic.com/search/?q=strikingly" target="_blank">Strikingly video tutorials on Website Builders Critic</a>.

Introducing Strikingly 4

Shopify - The global commerce platform

Build your business with Shopify to sell online, offline, and everywhere in between.

The global commerce platform

#ffffff

If you are running XFCE, LXDE, MATE or other desktop environments that are not running a compositor such as Compton and you have a reasonably new NVIDIA card, you are likely pulling your hair out trying to get rid of the awful screen tearing you are experiencing. This screen tearing typically occurs when you are running a proprietary NVIDIA driver under Linux and have one of the aforementioned (or any non-composited) desktop environments. Fortunately for all of us, there is a fix and I'm going to walk you through how to make that nasty NVIDIA screen tearing go away.
I'm not going to get into the specifics as to why this happens because frankly, I have no idea and I'm more interested in how to make it go away (although if someone DOES know why, please let us know in the comments because I'm always eager to learn).
For me, the tearing is very obvious when moving windows back and forth or scrolling in Firefox.. to the point that it drives me (and I'm sure you as well or you wouldn't be here) absolutely nuts. So why suffer any longer? Let's get rid of it shall we?
To test out and see if the fix works properly for you, open up a terminal and execute the following command (just copy it from here and paste it in):
<pre><code>nvidia-settings --assign CurrentMetaMode="nvidia-auto-select +0+0 { ForceCompositionPipeline = On }"</code></pre>
Your screen may flicker for a second and you should then see a drastic improvement. Test out Firefox and moving windows. Did the fix work for you? If so, we'll need to make it permanent as this is just a temporary fix for now but don't worry, I'll show you how. If it didn't work for you, you can try changing the line slightly to this:
<pre><code>nvidia-settings --assign CurrentMetaMode="nvidia-auto-select +0+0 { ForceFullCompositionPipeline = On }"</code></pre>
Note that in the line above, we just changed the ForceCompositionPipeline to ForeFullCompositionPipeline.
Once you've determined that this does indeed fix your issue, we'll need to make sure it's permanent. If it didn't work or caused an issue, simply reboot and you'll be back to your normal desktop.
Now that we've determined that our fix works, to resolve screen tearing once and for all, it's time to make the changes stick. First, we need to make sure you have an xorg.conf present in the /etc/X11 directory. To find out, type the following command into a terminal and hit enter:
<pre><code>ls /etc/X11</code></pre>
If you see an xorg.conf file listed like below, proceed.
<img alt="screen tearing nvidia" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/nvidia_screen_tearing_fix.png" />
If not, skip this next part but keep reading, I've got you covered further down under “What to do if you can't find an /etc/X11/xorg.conf“
For those with an xorg.conf listed, in the same terminal window, make a back-up of the file by typing the following command and hitting enter:
<pre><code>cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.backup</code></pre>
Now open the file with your favorite text editor (I'm a fan of nano myself) as root and enter the following command:
<pre><code>sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf</code></pre>
This will open up your editor, you will then want to add a line below based on which one worked for you under <code>Section "Screen" </code>so it ends up looking similar to this:
<pre><code>Section "Screen" Identifier "Screen1" Device "Device1" Monitor "Monitor1" DefaultDepth 24 Option "Stereo" "0" Option "metamodes" "nvidia-auto-select +0+0 { ForceFullCompositionPipeline = On }" SubSection "Display" Depth 24 EndSubSectionEndSection</code></pre>
So, if of the two nvidia-settings lines above we tested, the one with <code>ForceFullCompositionPipeline</code> worked, use the example above, if <code>ForceCompositionPipeline</code> worked, simply use that instead in the example above.
Some of you may already have an <code>Option "metamodes" </code>in your /etc/X11/xorg.conf, like in the example below for dual monitor setup:
<pre><code>Option "metamodes" "VGA-0: 1152x864_60 +0+0, DVI-D-0: 1680x1050_60 +0+864"</code></pre>
If this is the case, simply change the line so that it look like this:
<pre><code>Option "metamodes" "VGA-0: 1152x864_60 +0+0, DVI-D-0: 1680x1050_60 +0+864 { ForceCompositionPipeline = On }"</code></pre>
Reboot and your tearing should be gone!
<h2>What do do if you can't find an /etc/X11/xorg.conf</h2>
Now, for those of you who, like me, did not have an /etc/X11/xorg.conf (most people running Ubuntu, for instance), you may be panicking thinking that you won't be able to apply this fix. Not to worry, I had the same issue and I won't leave you hanging.
On my main machine, I'm running Linux Mint 18 but this should work with any distribution, I suspect. I did not have an xorg.conf so what I did was launch the nvidia-settings tool and generated a new one by going to the <code>X Server Display Configuration </code>section and under file name enter /etc/X11/xorg.conf (uncheck merge with existing if it's checked as this is only useful in the instance of where you have one) and then click Save to X Configuration File.
<img alt="screen tearing nvidia" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen_tearing_nvidia_fix.png" />
This should generate one for you which you can then modify using the steps above.
If this doesn't work or you have other tips that may help users, please leave them in the comments below. There are also plenty of other fixes that can be used such as switching to compton for window management, etc but I personally have found this one to be the most efficient and consistent.
Best of luck, I hope this helps!

How to Fix NVIDIA Screen Tearing in XFCE, MATE, KDE, LXDE and others

Shipping to US-based customers is now faster and cheaper with <a href="https://www.shopify.com/" target="_blank">Shopify</a>, thanks to the platform's newly launched USPS postage label printing feature.
Shopify is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms in the world, serving merchants across the globe.
<a href="/shopify" target="_blank"><img style="max-width:256px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2010_6_23_shopify-green_256x256-1.jpg" /></a>
This new feature, dubbed “Shopify Shipping”, enables merchants to buy and print discounted USPS postage labels originating from their Shopify dashboard. Only a regular printer is needed to get the job done, while the fee for each label simply gets added to Shopify's monthly bill.
<h2>Discounts &amp; Queue Skipping</h2>
The discounts applied to each USPS postage label depend on the Shopify package being used. The Basic Plan entitles you to a 30% discount, and the Pro and Unlimited plans give you a 35% and 40% discount respectively.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/image00_eab3b751-d357-4bae-9349-e03d816f8c3d_1.png" />
After printing, you can simply stick the label on a parcel and head off to any USPS location. Because you’ve prepaid the shipping costs, you’ll be able to skip the queue totally. You can even have USPS collect packages directly from your home or office.
It's also worth noting that Shopify users worldwide can buy and use these shipping labels, but only for items to be delivered within the United States.
<h2>Free Webinar</h2>
Shopify is holding a webinar to help their users make the most of Shopify Shipping.
<blockquote>“We’ll walk you through how you can save time and money by printing USPS labels in Shopify. We’ll also provide you with some additional education and free resources to help you successfully ship your products to your customers. It's happening on September 30, 2015, at 3pm Eastern /12pm Pacific.”</blockquote>
To find out more about Shopify Shipping, <a href="https://www.shopify.com/blog/54177669-now-you-can-print-usps-shipping-labels-in-shopify-saving-you-time-and-money" target="_blank">check out Shopify's blog announcement</a>.
Also, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/shopify/" target="_blank">Shopify via our CMS Directory</a>.

Shopify Shipping Launched: US Shipping Now Faster & Cheaper

<a href="https://www.yammer.com" target="_blank">Yammer</a> is a private enterprise social network that makes collaboration easy for employees across departments, locations, apps and devices.
Over 200,000 companies around the world use Yammer as their internal networking platform, including the likes of Shell, DHL, eBay and many more. In fact, over 85% of Fortune 500 companies make use of the platform.  
 With Yammer, you can engage with colleagues by; posting on the company-wide social networking feed, sending instant messages, participating in groups, and so forth. All of which are private and cloud-based, away from public eyes. 
Since Yammer is one of the world's most trusted enterprise social networks, I decided to give it a whirl for myself.
<h2>The Yammer Homepage</h2>
After signing up with Yammer (which was in all honesty, a slightly drawn-out process), I was presented with my clean and simple Yammer homepage. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/y6700x0.png" alt="Yammer Homepage" />
 On it can be found the groups you currently are a part of, links to download Yammer for desktop and mobile, suggested groups, and more. The most important feature however, if the activity feed – which dominates the interface.
The activity feed works in a way which social networkers will be familiar with, Yammer lets you post text updates and links, whilst business-themed extras include colleague praising, polls and events. You can even upload files and attach them to your post for all to see and download. You can also tag users in your updates, which alerts them to the post.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/y7.png" alt="Yammer Updates" />
 Activity is presented in a neat list, and users can freely like, comment and share status updates with their selected groups. Also, you can bookmark updates, subscribe to them, email them to yourself, and so forth.
<h2>Personal User Profile</h2>
Yammer isn't just a digital chalk board for discussing tasks. It's a platform that gives you an identity to voice opinions and show some personality – both of which are vital to building relationships with colleagues.  
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/mj700x0.png" alt="Yammer Profiles" />
 Your profile can be modified easily to display a profile picture, job titles, short bios, interests, websites, social networks and more. 
Visitors to your profile can also see your recent activity, groups you are a part of, and any bookmarked items you have. They can also send you a message and follow you for further updates.
 It's great to see Yammer offer this personal dimension, but I definitely think it can be improved. User profile pages look a little bland in the header section, and although this fits in well enough with the rest of the platform, it would be great to see users get more flexibility when it comes to the look and feel of their profile page. Optional header images for example, would be a simple yet effective way for users to show a little more personality.
<h2>Get Together in Groups</h2>
Yammer allows you to create and join groups within your company's internal network. So, the marketing team for example, can form a group specifically for collaborating on marketing projects and tasks.  
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/y9700x0.png" alt="Yammer Groups" />
 Groups work in a similar way to how the broader network functions, with the only exception being that group members alone are notified of updates and conversations. 
Yammer groups can be public or private, and can serve as a great solution to long, unproductive office meetings, as well as never-ending email chains. It's a great way for larger companies to segment workflows in ways that are helpful to different teams and departments.
<h2>Constant Collaboration</h2>
With Yammer, you can stay connected with all of your colleagues in a number of ways.
Groups, as previously mentioned, help split workforces into relevant sections, while the Yammer homepage acts as a meeting point for all workers to come together both socially and professionally.
And yet, Yammer still has room for more collaboration.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/message.png" alt="Yammer Instant Messaging" /> Instant messaging for example, is built right into the Yammer interface. It's private, quick, casual and perfect for a quiet word between co-workers. You can even see who's currently online and ready to chat.
For more information on how Yammer can keep you and the rest of your team connected, check out all the platform's key features in detail.
On another note, you can <a href="https://yammer.com" target="_blank">start your free Yammer network today</a>.

Yammer: Social Networking for the World of Enterprise

<a href="https://mobirise.com/" target="_blank">Mobirise</a> is an offline website builder for Windows and Mac, meaning that it needs to be downloaded to your desktop.
The drag-and-drop based website builder was born out of the Netherlands, and is designed to construct small-medium sized websites, landing pages, portfolios, and other such low-functionality websites.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/1tawul94409x0-is.png" />
It's marketed as user friendly for non-techies, minimalist, and totally free (even for commercial use).
Website builders don't need to much of an introduction. Startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses use them to kickstart their online presence, and they usually want to achieve that as quickly and as easily as possible. Oh, and without touching a line of code, too.
Let's see if Mobirise can rise to the challenge. Here's a video to get us started.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vvwnQ7NUWNY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h2>Initial Thoughts</h2>
The Mobirise website is clean and simple, for the most part.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-1776x0-is.png" /> Download buttons dominate the homepage, and it looks like a very inviting piece of software right off the bat. Minimalist indeed.
Yet, further down the homepage, lies an array of review quotes and testimonials. And when I say there is an array, I mean there is an array.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-2752x0-is.png" /> It's a little overkill to say the least. Not a massive deal, but clutter on the homepage of a website builder that touts simplicity isn't a convincing quality.
<h2>Getting Started</h2>
What's that? A website builder that I can't use through my web browser? Perish the thought.
But hold on just one second.
You may have to download and install Mobirise before you can use it – but believe me when I tell you that it's quicker to set up than most hosted website builders that require no downloads.
With Mobirise, you don't need to sign up or divulge any information whatsoever to begin downloading. The downloadable file is relatively small, installation is lightning fast, and there's no forms to fill out at any stage.
It went from a .zip file on my desktop to a ready-to-roll website builder in a matter of seconds. Impressive.
<h2>Page Creation</h2>
The page creation capabilities of a website builder help to define it as a platform. Unsurprisingly, Mobirise stays true to its focus on minimalism when it comes to page building.
The platform starts you off with a generic homepage, with a customization menu that can activated via an orange button at the bottom-right of the interface.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-3794x0-is.png" /> There are no standalone templates as such. Instead, you can choose from a number of different page blocks, piecing them together in a mix-and-match fashion to build a one-pager style website.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-4169x0-is.png" /> This method ensures that users stays within a pre-defined boundary when it comes to design, with just enough wiggle room to make some customizations. Such customizations include; images, videos, text, background images, background colours, show/hide elements, content aligning, and more.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-5234x0-is.png" /> I think there's a healthy balance struck here. The customization options aren't going to allow you to build anything drastically unique, but there's just enough there to help put your own stamp on your website.
As previously mentioned, this pre-defined design boundary will, in a way, push users towards creating a website that looks good, rather than leaving them to their own, (often inexperienced) devices.
In other words, if you suck as web design, you'll love Mobirise's method of website building.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-9863x0-is.png" /> I say that particularly because Mobirise's page blocks are so well put together. They include a selection of full-page sliders, information blocks, maps, forms, a pricing table, and more.
Upon hovering, each block presents three buttons in the top-right; Drag Block, Block Parameters and Delete Block.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-15.png" /> The first option allows you to drag-and-drop the block above and below other blocks, essentially rearranging your website like Lego. The Delete Block button is pretty self explanatory.
As for the Block Parameters button, this brings up those customizations I mentioned earlier, allowing you to edit the block in question. Different block types comes with different parameters, too.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-10.png" /> For example, a navigation menu block will give you the option to make the menu sticky, meaning that it will scroll down the page with the visitor; remaining visible at all times.
Further customization can be done by simply pointing and clicking on page elements. Otherwise known as inline editing. For example, clicking on a “Download” button brings up options to change the buttons color, and edit the text right there and then.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-6.png" /> To add a new page to the existing homepage, you can go to the menu on the left, “Pages”, and then “Create New Page”. further page options enable you to clone pages, edit file names, set page titles, and add meta descriptions.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-11.png" />
I feel that now is a good time to highlight the speed of Mobirise. I tinkered with all of the above settings, re-arranged page blocks and edited page elements – and it was a piece of cake. Mobirise is supremely speedy and responsive, just as a website builder should be.
<h2>Multi-Site Management &amp; Publishing</h2>
Similarly, you can add a brand new website from the same side menu, by clicking “Sites” and “Create New Site”.
Mobirise presents a grid-list of your existing sites on that same menu, allowing you to quickly switch between projects. Ideal for a developer with multple clients, one might say.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-8.png" />
The site manager section also allows you to export a website, assign a favicon, and add a Google Analytics tracking code.
When it comes to actually publishing your website, Mobirise gives you a few options.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-12.png" /> You can publish it to a local drive, upload it via FTP or use Google Drive. All three options seem to work fine, and they're solid options to make use of, too.
<h2>Apps &amp; Extras</h2>
Mobirise has a couple of extra features which help round it off.
Firstly, there's the ability to preview your website in desktop view, tablet view and smartphone view. Just to ensure all those responsive pages are looking spcik and spam.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-13195x0-is.png" /> Plus, you can preview the website in your web browser.
You can also import and export Mobirise websites, which is cool if you're looking to share your work with somebody else, or move one website between two different accounts or devices.
There are only four extensions bundled. These are; Facebook Comments, Soundcloud, Code Editor &amp; Google Analytics. However, the Code Editor is very highly priced, at $69.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-14467x0-is.png" /> Mobirise is showing its youth here I think. Four extensions is certainly nothing to write home about, and I think this should be an area of focus for the Mobirise team. I also think that charging $69 for a website builder's Code Editor is a little bit too bold. The price needs adjusting, if you ask me.
Extensions like Google Maps, Instagram photos, Disqus comments, a form builder and other standard extensions would all be welcome.
<h2>Getting Help</h2>
As far as help and support is concerned, there's not much to go on.
In fact, apart from some social media handles and an email address, there's no other way to reach out for support from official channels. There isn't even any documentation, which isn't really acceptable.
I would have expected a simple “Help” option somewhere on the website builder, or perhaps a document that comes bundled with the download. But surprisingly, there's nothing to help guide website building newbies at all.
The only saving grace is that Mobirise truly is easy to use out of the box. But still, that's no excuse.
<h2>The Verdict</h2>
Mobirise is an extremely simple website builder, and because that's exactly what it aims to be, I'm a big fan.
The level of customization that a newbie can implement is of a good level. There's limits on what can be created, which means they won't get lost in any complex menus. More experienced users can delve further into customization via the Code Editor extension (if they want to cough up the cash).
I'm also impressed with the quality of the blocks which can be dragged-and-dropped into place. They're the foundations of Mobirise, and they're brilliantly designed, with each one looking highly professional out of the box.
I have a few gripes, though. There aren't enough extensions to play with, and I feel that the page blocks could be a little more diverse. A few more different styles will provide just enough choice to ensure that users aren't constantly building similar looking websites.
Also, documentation and support need to be worked on. A user manual would be nice, and so would some FAQs on the Mobirise website.
Other than that though, Mobirise has won me over with its simplicity and speed.
<h3>Pros</h3>
<ul>
<li>Mobirise is extremely quick and easy to download and install.</li>
<li>Lego-like page blocks can be dragged-and-dropped into place, helping users construct websites that already look great.</li>
<li>All the pre-designed blocks are sleek and professional looking.</li>
<li>Customization options are pretty good, allowing for some useful modifications. An optional (yet expensive) Code Editor extension also gives experienced users complete control.</li>
<li>In-line editing plays right into the hands of inexperienced web designers. Point, Click, Edit.</li>
<li>You can upload the finished website via FTP, Google Drive or to a local server.</li>
<li>Easy to manage multiple sites.</li>
<li>Browser, Tablet and smartphone previews are easily accessible.</li>
<li>Everything is quick, responsive and bug-free. Mobirise is genuinely pleasant to use.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Cons</h3>
<ul>
<li>Not a hosted solution.</li>
<li>Not many extensions at all.</li>
<li>Documentation &amp; support options are lousy.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Final Remarks</h2>
If a website building novice asks me to point them in the direction of a totally free website builder, Mobirise will now be high on my list of recommendations. I'm that impressed.
I expected to find some bugs somewhere along the line. Perhaps an unresponsive button or a slowly reacting page element. But I found nothing of the sort. Mobirise is a dream to use.
Aside from the aforementioned documentation and support issues, the only problem I can see is that a newbie website builder will flinch at the idea of having to find a web hosting environment for his or her Mobirise website. They would much prefer a hosted solution to take care of those technicalities.
Maybe I'm being pedantic, but it seems to me that Mobirise has been built for the same people who wouldn't even know how to “Publish” their site using FTP or Google Drive.
However, if the idea of uploading and hosting your own website doesn't bother you, I'd strongly recommend giving Mobirise a whirl.
Besides, it's a free platform that takes under a minute to set up, can be used by anybody, and can be hosted anywhere. What more could you want?

Mobirise Review

When it comes to building a website, it can be confusing trying to distinguish between all of the possible solutions and technologies that are laid out before us. As such, I wanted to write this article to help clear up the mistakes made by others who've written about this topic. I'll be reaching out and referencing a number of sources within this article in the hopes that it helps you, the reader, gain a better understanding of how Static Site Generators vs Flat File CMS.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/static_site_generator_or_flat_file_cms.jpg" alt="Static Site Generators vs Flat File CMS" />
<h2>Static Site Generators</h2>
<h3>How does a static website work?</h3>
Static websites do not generate content on the fly. This means that when a users visits the page, the content that is displayed is pulled directly from a file and does not require compilation or generation prior to showing up in the browser.
A great analogy that I read over on <a href="https://davidwalsh.name/introduction-static-site-generators" target="_blank">David Walsh's blog</a> is to consider a static website like a newspaper. Once it's printed, you simply open it and read it exactly as intended with no need to wait. The newspaper is already on your step, waiting to be read whenever you choose to pick it up.
This is essentially how a static site generator works. The content is usually stored in a flat file format as opposed to a database and uses templates to generate the structure of the page. This means you receive a pure HTML file when visiting the page as opposed to waiting for the database to generate it on the fly.
<h3>So what does a Static Site Generator do?</h3>
Static site generators expand on static websites to make them more appealing to developers and offer several benefits. In a nutshell, most static site generators offer the following features:
<h4>Templates</h4>
Most static site generators offer an easy means of templating a website by allowing it to be built more easily using layouts and templating engines. <a href="http://jekyllrb.com/" target="_blank">Jekyll</a>, for instance, uses the <a href="https://shopify.github.io/liquid/">Liquid</a> templating language to process templates.
<h4>Markdown Languange or reStructuredText (or alternatives)</h4>
Instead of having to write your content in HTML, most static site generators offer the ability to write it using <a href="https://daringfireball.net/projects/markdown/" target="_blank">Markdown</a> or <a href="http://docutils.sourceforge.net/rst.html" target="_blank">reStructuredText</a>. Markdown is incredibly popular and tends to be used by the majority of the top <a href="https://www.staticgen.com/" target="_blank">static site generators</a> due to how easy it is to compose content with and has increasingly grown in popularity over the years.
The obvious advantage to Markdown is explained best in this excerpt from Daring Fireball (linked above):
<blockquote>
Markdown is a text-to-HTML conversion tool for web writers. Markdown allows you to write using an easy-to-read, easy-to-write plain text format, then convert it to structurally valid XHTML (or HTML).
</blockquote>
This basically means you are not changing from the plain text format but rather adding basic formatting which is translated quickly into HTML.
<h4>Other Functions</h4>
Static site generators also perform a host of other functions such as integrating meta data into content and often incorporating minification functionality and other capabilities.
<h3>How do you use a Static Site Generator?</h3>
Most static site generators that I am aware of use a command line user interface. There is always a possibility to add on a Headless CMS to the fray should you wish to use a more traditional style admin interface that you might be accustomed to if you are moving from WordPress or another similar CMS. The important thing to remember here is that a Static Site Generator is NOT a CMS. It offers you a command line interface to edit files and push them to your site.
There are plenty of ways to get started with a Static Site Generator. <a href="https://pages.github.com/" target="_blank">Github Pages</a>; for example; offers a relatively straight forward means to get a website up and running with Jekyll, one of the most popular Static Site Generators.
<h2>Flat File CMS</h2>
<h3>How does a Flat File CMS work?</h3>
<a href="/flat-file-cms/" target="_blank">Flat-File CMS</a>‘ do not require a database but rather, they save their data to a set of text files which are, in turn, organized into folders. You simply create Markdown files in the content folder and those files become your pages. (Note: not all flat file CMS use Markdown, some use other languages but Markdown is the most common).
<h3>So what does a Flat-File CMS do?</h3>
A Flat-File CMS provides you with an administrative interface that allows you to manage your data in a manner similar to what you'd come to expect from products like WordPress or other popular database driven CMS.
For example, here's a quick look at <a href="https://getgrav.org/" target="_blank">Grav's</a> interface, which is a flat file CMS:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/001-dashboard.png" alt="Static Site Generators vs Flat File CMS" />
You'll notice that the interfaces are quite similar to what you'd expect. The difference, however, is that these CMS do not require any connection to a database but rather just a set of folders on a host or on your local machine.
<h4>Admin Dashboards</h4>
Most Flat-File CMS provide a dashboard or administrative interface with which users can manage their websites. This means there is typically a configuration section which provides an interface to modify configuration files, amongst other things.
<h4>Writing and Editing Content</h4>
Another common function of a Flat-File CMS is to provide an interface for users to write and edit content within the CMS. Typically, a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor is provided to work in either Markdown or similar structured content.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/capture1143x0-is.png" alt="Static Site Generators vs Flat File CMS" />
To summarize, I think it's safe to say that they provide a means by which you can work with your flat file structure and content if you prefer not to edit files directly yourself using a text / code editor (whether that makes them better alternatives to editing directly is entirely based upon personal preference).
<h2>How do you use a Flat-File CMS?</h2>
You download them from the website and unzip and upload them to your web host just like you would a standard self hosted CMS (unless of course you are using a cloud based flat file CMS, in which case you would simply sign up on their website).
Here is a <a href="/flat-file-cms/">list of some popular Flat-File CMS</a>.

Static Site Generators vs Flat File CMS - Is there a Difference?

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