Articles - Page 117

The Top 10 AI Tools for Small Business: From Automation to a Coordinated Team of AI Agents

matt-garrepy

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

mike-johnston

The <a href="http://hgt14.onehippo.org/" target="_blank">2014 Hippo Get Together</a> was held on May 16th, in the heart of a sunny, serene Amsterdam.
The CMS Critic team were in attendance, in the form of Mike Johnston and myself.
On the morning of the event, Mike and I made our way to the venue – the trendy Amsterdam Trouw Club – before taking up our front row seats. As usual, we were <a href="https://twitter.com/cmscritic" target="_blank"> live-tweeting the event</a> from start to finish using the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23hgt14&amp;src=hash" target="_blank"> #HGT14 hashtag</a>.
For some very quick highlights of the Hippo Get Together 2014, check out Hippo's brilliant, “HGT14 In 64 Seconds” video below. You might even catch a glimpse of the CMS Critic team!
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/95676527?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<h2>Marketing Versus IT &amp; The Future of Hippo</h2>
The event was being presented by Hippo's Community manager, Bas Van Leeuwen. He welcomed everybody formally before handing the stage over to Tobias Jeger – Hippo's Lead Developer – to kick off the first talk.
Tobias wasted no time, jumping right into the Marketing vs IT dilemma which many companies face. A worthy topic to get the audience's juices flowing.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/tobias_jeger2.jpg" alt="Hippo Get Together 2014 Tobias Jeger" />
Tobias Jeger – Hippo Get Together 2014
Being on the IT side of the fence, he put forward some of the key flash points between the two opposing sides, highlighting how marketing teams could improve their approach.
<blockquote>Tobias Jeger, Hippo CMS Lead Developer: “Marketing, if you want us (IT) to be happy, please respect our development best practices.” <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23HGT14&amp;src=hash"> #HGT14 </a>
— CMS Critic (@cmscritic) <a href="https://twitter.com/cmscritic/statuses/467211222937792512"> May 16, 2014 </a></blockquote>
Immediately after Tobias Jeger's presentation, marketers everywhere will be pleased that they got their rebuttal through none other that Sonja Wraith, Hippo's head of Marketing.
She offered up some highly interesting statistics regarding the IT vs Marketing clash, and drove home the lack of support marketers generally get from their friends over in IT.
<blockquote>Sonja Wraith, Hippo CMS Marketing VP: “61% of marketers feel that the IT department does not support them.” <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23HGT14&amp;src=hash"> #HGT14 </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/sonjawraith"> @sonjawraith </a>
— CMS Critic (@cmscritic) <a href="https://twitter.com/cmscritic/statuses/467213368961814528"> May 16, 2014 </a></blockquote>
Sonja Wraith ended the quasi-debate on a positive note though. She underlined the need for both marketing and IT teams to work on improving communication and collaboration in order to bridge the gap between the two sides.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sonja_wraith.png" alt="Sonja Wraith Hippo Get Together 2014" />
Sonja Wraith – Hippo Get Together 2014
Before the Get Together's first Coffee break, Arje Cahn, Hippo CTO, wrapped up the points put forth by Tobias Jeger and Sonja Wraith, and gave a brief insight into how Hippo CMS is working to help bring the two feuding sides together.
He touched on Hippo's aim to introduce A/B Testing features, as well as their brand new user interface, which is currently in the works.
<blockquote>Arjé Cahn, Hippo CTO: “We're working on a new UI that works well on all devices, looks better and is more efficient.” <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23HGT14&amp;src=hash"> #HGT14 </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/arjecahn"> @arjecahn </a>
— CMS Critic (@cmscritic) <a href="https://twitter.com/cmscritic/statuses/467223340835684353"> May 16, 2014 </a></blockquote>
<h2>Hippo Essentials, The New UI &amp; Happy Hippo Customers</h2>
Hippo Product Manager Oscar Scholten also used his time to discuss the upcoming <a href="http://www.onehippo.org/library/essentials/hippo-developer-essentials.html" target="_blank">Hippo Essentials</a>, a frame work offering a range of tools designed to help get Hippo projects up and running faster than ever before.
He mentioned the integration of Hippo certified plugins, video plugins, &amp; other key features like blogs and banners, all of which are needed to start projects quickly and effectively.
<blockquote>Oscar Scholten from Hippo “With Hippo Essentials we wanted people to have better out-of-the-box experiences when they start projects” <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23HGT14&amp;src=hash"> #HGT14 </a>
— CMS Critic (@cmscritic) <a href="https://twitter.com/cmscritic/statuses/467249019514023936"> May 16, 2014 </a></blockquote>
Hippo's Get Together also offered some high profile customers a chance to air their experiences with the platform.
Hugo Valk for example, the lead developer of <a href="http://www.ibridge.nl/ibr/home/index.xml" target="_blank">I-Bridge</a>, a Randstad company, presented some interesting insights into how Hippo CMS helped build their online presence better than ever before. He detailed how Hippo had an immediate impact on things like site speed and general SEO.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/hugo.png" alt="Hugo Valk Hippo Get Together 2014" />
Hugo Valk – Hippo Get Together 2014
Speakers from <a href="http://www.elasticpath.com/" target="_blank">ElasticPath</a>,  <a href="http://www.finalist.nl" target="_blank">Finalist</a> and <a href="http://www.oracle.com/index.html" target="_blank">Oracle</a> also delivered presentations.
Anton Bensdorp from Hippo also expanded on Arje Cahn's earlier mention of Hippo's new user interface. He spoke about the need to revamp Hippo's UI to help support new, less experienced user types, relocate functionality &amp; to also accommodate different screen sizes.
<blockquote>Anton Bensdorp from Hippo: “We're changing the UI to support new user types, relocate functionality &amp; to support diff screen sizes.” <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23HGT14&amp;src=hash"> #HGT14 </a>
— CMS Critic (@cmscritic) <a href="https://twitter.com/cmscritic/statuses/467290676624130050"> May 16, 2014 </a></blockquote>
He also touched upon a handy new feature of the new UI, which allows publishers to view autosaved content edits,which are individually presented in an accessible list. The ideas is to make edits easier to track, and content easier to publish.
<h2>Open Source, Open Friendliness</h2>
Away from the scheduled talks and presentations, Hippo Get Together 2014 offered up an extremely pleasant atmosphere.
The Club setting was about as unique as they come – but it worked. There was plenty of space to move around and converse, meet new people and hear new Hippo-related stories. Everybody seemed to have a blast.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/hippo2700x0.png" alt="Hippo Get Together 2014" />
The Friendly Atmosphere of Hippo Get Together 2014
A number of friendly Hippo representatives were on hand throughout the coffee breaks and lunch times, holding flowers – an indicator that they were there to help out and answer any questions.
Hippo T-Shirt were handed out and quick thrown on by attendees. Many though, were already rocking the Hippo T-Shirt from the 2013 Get Together. That tells you all you need to know about the passionate and loyal Hippo community, which only continues to grow.
All in all, the event was a resounding success. Attendees had fun, heard some juicy insights into the future of Hippo, and got to celebrate the nature of open source software.
To top it all off, attendees were invited to join the Hippo team on a boat trip through Amsterdam to cap off the evening. What more could you ask for?
For more information on the Hippo Get Together 2014, <a href="http://hgt14.onehippo.org/" target="_blank">check out their official website</a>.

Looking Back on The Hippo Get Together 2014

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.django-cms.org/">django CMS</a>, the free and open source platform trusted by NASA, L'Oreal and other major brands, is on the brink of releasing its latest version in the form of django CMS 3.2.0.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/djangocms_green909x0-is.png" />The first release candidate is scheduled for the beginning of October 2015, but today we're taking a quick look at the Preview Release, which was recently made available.django is encouraging its users to put this Preview Release to the test, in order to help them iron out the more subtle issues ahead of the final version.<h2>Touch Support, An Improved Interface &amp; More</h2>According to the django team, “[Version 3.2.0] brings various performance and user interaction improvements such as touch support and a much improved structure board.”<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/preview-1_png_1170x0_q90_subsampling-2492x0-is.png" />Here's a summary of what's new with django CMS 3.2.0:<ul><li>Full touch support (Tablet, Tabletops, Phablets)</li><li>Enhanced and polished user interface</li><li>Much needed improvements to the structure board</li><li>Enhancements to components such as modal, sideframe and the toolbar</li><li>Significant speed improvements on loading, http requests and file sizes</li><li>New <a target="_blank" href="https://github.com/divio/djangocms-admin-style">djangocms-admin-style</a> look &amp; feel</li><li>Restarts no longer required when changing apphooks</li></ul>​So, in line with their publisher-friendly ethos, django seems to be gearing their platform towards publishers on the move with mobile-friendly interfaces. Never a bad idea in today's multi-screen world.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/preview-4_png_1170x0_q90_subsampling-2492x0-is.png" />For more screenshots and information on this release, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.django-cms.org/en/blog/2015/09/25/django-cms-32-preview/">check out django's official blog announcement</a>.You can also explore more of <a href="/products/django-cms">django CMS via our CMS Directory</a>.

A Look at The django CMS 3.2.0 Preview Release

SocialEngine have released version 4.8.3 of the non-hosted flavour of their social networking CMS, <a href="https://www.socialengine.com/" target="_blank"> SocialEngine PHP </a> .
Coming out of the box completely unbranded, SocialEngine PHP can be customized endlessly. Also, thanks to the large SocialEngine Community, a hug range of addons and themes are available to apply to your SocialEngine website.
With SocialEngine PHP 4.8.3, HTML5 video compatibility has been introduced, alongside a number of bug fixes.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/se2.png" alt="SocialEngine" /> Here's an overview of what's new:
<h3>Features:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Added ability to upload and encode HTML5-compatible videos</li>
<li>Added HTML5 video player on mobile</li>
</ul>
<h3>Bug Fixes:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Site-wide statistics now work in Chrome</li>
<li>Corrected an issue where auto-suggest would only suggest friends</li>
<li>Corrected an issue where mobile sign-ups didn’t require a photo in spite of it being required</li>
<li>Login history is now sorted by timestamp by default</li>
</ul>
<h3>Other:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Removed deprecated/unused functions (If you have a lot of 3rd party addons, contact them to ensure everything still works)</li>
<li>Corrected some typos in the Engine library</li>
</ul>
<h2>Uploading HTML5 Videos on SocialEngine</h2>
HTML5 video support is obviously the big news here, and I'm sure many SocialEngine users will be excited at the prospect. However, there are some steps you'll need to take before you're up and running.
To be able to upload HTML5 video, your SocialEngine FFMPEG must be compiled with h264 encoder support. Also, HTML5 Support must be enabled in your SocialEngine PHP video settings.
If that sounds a little too technical for you, SocialEngine have put together a walkthrough video:
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/J4cYUE2fCMM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
You can download SocialEngine PHP 4.8.3 from the SocialEngine Client Area .
Also, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/social-engine/" target="_blank"> SocialEngine via our CMS Directory</a>.

SocialEngine PHP 4.8.3 Released with HTML5 Video Compatibility

Contegro is a commercial Website CMS solution for medium to large organizations that is targeted at design focused Web Design, Graphic Design and Advertising agencies looking for a high end Website CMS for their clients.
Contegro’s key point of difference over other Website CMS systems is that it removes the developer from the website lifecycle. Allowing design focused companies to deliver functionally rich websites, without the need to employ developers for any coding. This is achieved by building in an extensive level of control within the User Interface, providing partners with all the control they need to produce functional, high end websites while providing their clients (the end-user) with total control over the management of their content within a very user-friendly interface.
In a nut shell, it simplifies the website development life cycle while delivering a feature-rich, technically advanced website solution for their client.
Due for release on November 17th, Contegro's fourth rendition of their popular WCMS is still in testing but we've been granted a chance to dig deep and see what this system is made of.
Contegro has a number of addon modules that can be used to extend the system to allow for additional functionality. The modules available include: Blog, Directory, Document Library, E-Card, E-Commerce, E-Commerce Lite, Email Marketing, Form Builder, Image Gallery, Investor Relations Suite, Microsite Ability, Podcasts, Product Catalog, RSS reader, Seminar, Store Locator, Vehicle Booking and Voting Poll. For more descriptions, see <a href="http://www.contegro.com/Contegro-CMS/Add-on-Modules/default.aspx">Contegro Addon Modules</a>.
When you first log in to the Administrative Interface for Contegro, you are greeted with a familiar look and feel to what you would expect from a Windows Desktop:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/contegro-management-console-mozilla-firefox_2010-11-19_09-13-57-580x407.jpg" alt="Contegro 1" />
Double clicking on the editor on the Contegro web desktop pops up an editor that allows you to browse the various aspects of the site and edit them.
Within editor view, there are three icons located on the right side of the window that allow you to switch between the various modes:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/contegro-management-console-mozilla-firefox_2010-11-19_09-16-05.jpg" alt="Contegro 2" /> 
The icons in order that they appear are: Preview, Compact Edit and Preview Edit.
Preview mode should be pretty obvious. It shows you a preview of the site without any obstructions. Compact edit shows the site layout with the individual module boxes and no previews available:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/contegro-3-580x242.jpg" />
Lastly, Preview edit shows the site as you see below:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/contegro-4-580x300.jpg" alt="Contegro 4" />
Right clicking on any of the pages on the left pane brings up a context menu with various options:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/joomlacode-mozilla-firefox_2011-03-24_09-48-03_fwbwtg.jpg" />
Do you wish to change the order of your pages? You can do so by simply clicking and dragging the page to it's new location directly from the left pane of the window in the screenshot above.
Should you move a page to a new parent page, you will be prompted to create a 301 redirect to ensure that you maintain your search engine visibility. This is a handy and well thought out addition that makes rearranging your site's structure less daunting.
Modifying the individual modules is easy to do as well. You simply click on the wrench icon and a new window with the various settings for that module appears. Let's say you want to change the categories to display by order of popularity instead of by name. Simply click on the wrench for the category list:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/contegro-6-580x459.jpg" alt="Contegro 6" />
There is a dropdown menu available called “Group Items By:” that you can simply adjust to use popularity. It's as simple as that. As you can see, there are plenty of options and ways to customize the individual modules to best suit them to your needs.
Each area of the template can be given a specific set of design rules or CSS attributes and you can see how this works very easily. Simply drag your module from the left pane of your website to the middle pane and the module will automatically reskin itself based on the CSS attributes of that pane. This saves you a ton of time when it comes to making adjustments to your site's appearance.
Adding modules to your site is also fairly straight forward. To add a module to an area, click on one of the green + signs beside your module name:
This will bring up a dropdown box for you to select your new module from. In the drop down box are a number of modules for you to select from.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/contegro-7.jpg" />
Editing content and settings from here is as simple and straight forward as clicking on the appropriate icon. Should you wish to edit content, for instance, you can simply click the icon for editing and up pops the window:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/contegro-8-580x394.jpg" />
Right now, the editor shows the full set of available options but can easily be restricted to show only specific buttons, should you wish.
The file explorer can be found by clicking on the Document icon on the Contegro desktop. This window allows you to browse the hierarchical structure of your documents and images as well as manage the contents within.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/contegro-9-580x353.jpg" />
As you can see in the screenshot above, you can also edit the metadata of the individual documents as well as their access levels should you choose to do so. One thing I encountered and I initially found a bit inconvenient is that there does not appear to be a way to upload multiple documents to the repository from this application. It seems to only allow you to upload them one at a time.
I was informed, however, that there is a document Library add-on module that is used for managing large volumes of documents as it takes away the manual linking. The Document Library includes an import feature that allows you to zip all documents and import as one file and is ideal for managing from 100 – 10,000 + documents.
When it comes to managing images, you can easily select and upload multiples in one go and it uploads them quickly without issue.
Moving to the security management aspect of the product, I found access permissions to be quite easy to configure with numerous restrictions that can be applied quickly and easily:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/contegro-10-580x438.jpg" />
What I especially like is the ability to modify HTML Editor Permissions. Often in my consulting work, I am asked if the systems that are available can be made as simple as possible and this is a great way to do so. You can restrict the toolbars within the editor to only show the basics so as not to overwhelm those who are not as comfortable with technology. This is a great addition and you don't have to hunt and peck around the software to find it, which is nice.
Developers will love the template management that Contegro offers as well. You can add, move, replace quickly and easily from the template menu. There is also the ability to lock the module in place so it cannot be moved, allow or disallow additional modules to be added to a defined template area and allow or disallow module deletion.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/contegro-11-580x351.jpg" />
Creating new templates is quick and easy and you can specify custom CSS files to use for each template within the system. Contegro also allows you to create and add snippets of code into your templates quickly and easily. To find your available snippets, simply click on the Contegro start menu, Content, Snippets. You will be able to see all prepopulated snippets and be able to quickly and easily insert your own.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/contegro-12-580x446.jpg" />
Once you've created a snippet, adding them to your template is as simple as selecting the template area you wish to add it to and selecting it from a drop down list.
Workflow management is an integral part of any CMS and Contegro is no exception to the rule. It has an extensive 2 &amp; 3 step workflow process that can be managed down to page level. To setup workflow for different groups, click on the Contegro Start Bar &gt;&gt; Accounts &gt;&gt; Administrator &gt;&gt; Group Permissions.
Do you need the ability to manage multiple sites? Contegro can easily handle this as well. New sites can be created directly from within the CMS using the following menu item:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/contegro-13.jpg" />
Once created, switching is as easy as selecting the new site from a popup on the right side of the screen.
Conclusion
In summary, if you are a developer or designer looking for a stable product with plenty of functionality that offers scalability, ease of use and excellent security management then Contegro is a great choice.
With it's easy to use template system, ability to integrate code snippets and multi-site management capabilities.. Contegro is sure to be a hit among the design community.
Do you wish to learn more? Check out these videos showcasing Contegro's capabilities:
<ul>
<li>Content Editing plus Image &amp; Document Upload – <a href="http://video.ushost.contegro.com" target="_blank"></a></li><a href="http://video.ushost.contegro.com" target="_blank">
</a><li><a href="http://video.ushost.contegro.com" target="_blank">Introducing Contegro –  </a><a href="http://video.ushost.contegro.com" target="_blank">http://video.ushost.contegro.com</a></li>
</ul>
Alternatively, you can peruse their user guide here: <a href="http://www.contegro.com/UserGuide/" target="_blank">http://www.contegro.com/UserGuide/</a>
Website: <a href="http://www.contegro.com">http://www.contegro.com</a>

Contegro Review - A review of version 4.0

Although document management system (DMS) execution requires an understanding of the <a href="http://www.efilecabinet.com/what-is-a-document-management-system/">solution’s features</a> and the impact of their benefits, a strategy involves myriad components: organizing content in an intuitive way, creating a buy-in to follow the strategies, and incentivizing this buy-in from the top down.
Although DMS improves content and information strategies, it can have the opposite effect if the organization’s strategy has too many unregulated components. For instance, focusing on the two most important content management goals of the organization is more important than organizing DMS around fifteen goals.
Even if the two aforementioned goals have subsections that could in and of themselves be construed as independent goals, creating a strategic umbrella will effectively guide employees within the organizaation.
<h2>Document Management Strategy Should Make Processes Transparent</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/woman-typing-writing-windows_1579x0-is.jpg" />
Whether through phased implementation and deployment, all-at-once implementation and deployment, or localized vs. dispersed deployment, all employees, not just executives, should understand the roadmaps, strategies, and processes surrounding the installation and use of a DMS solution. Otherwise, DMS will not be fully potentiated and generate less ROI.
<h3>Rerouting the Content Revolution: Cloud Technology’s Impact</h3>
DMS is one of the enterprise technologies most responsible for introducing organizations to the cost-efficiency, security, and other benefits of <a href="http://www.efilecabinet.com/efilecabinet-online/">cloud-based document management</a> technologies. If hybrid solutions do not supplant the cloud vs. on-premise distinction, the cloud will continue to garner a greater market share of DMS users.
So much so, in fact, that the International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates in its <a href="http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS40846815">Worldwide Content Collaboration Forecast</a> for 2015–2019 that the cloud for this market will grow 23.1% annually over this four-year period, whereas on-premise solutions will stagnate, growing 0.9% annually over this four-year period.
<h3>Resolving Information Overload in Knowledge Workers During DMS Deployment</h3>
DMS benefits both knowledge and process workers, but in two different ways. The knowledge worker will require a different deployment road map to adhere to than the process worker.
Knowledge workers’ biggest challenge in DMS deployment will entail identifying and making use of the insight relevant content will provide. For instance, financial professionals will need to determine which documents and content matter to their business objectives by virtue of this content’s information.
Although DMS vendors are steadily gearing features and product development toward knowledge workers, the process worker benefits more from going paperless via DMS than any other worker demographic.
<h3>Workflow and the Paper Free Document Management Process During Deployment</h3>
The process worker, as stated above, is affected most immediately by the paperless component of DMS, relieving them of burdens involving printers, fax machines, and paper filing.
For the process worker outside the office, these benefits can be made most immediate through DMS vendors’ mobile applications. Additionally, if deploying a DMS for an organization comprised of process workers, such as a construction company, going paperless can eliminate the need to bring blueprints to construction sites, keeping important plans safe from decay and weathering.
<h3>Ensuring Document Management System Throughput Continuity</h3>
As mentioned earlier, throughput measures a scanner’s automated ability to upload a certain number of documents and content to a DMS. A common error post-deployment, however, is forgetting to continue the throughput process.
Doing so duplicates information, attenuates the ROI of DMS, and confuses employees. Although roughly 70% of content worldwide is already digital, the content not uploaded to the DMS can compound quickly. Therefore, post-installation throughput to the DMS is important as mail or other paper documents arrive at physical office locations.
However, bringing throughput continuity to its fruition will require understanding how the digital space can be just as disorganized as filing cabinets and other physical storage spaces—particularly if DMS is not utilized correctly.
Ensuring the relevant use of Zonal OCR, file versioning, metadata, and other DMS functions can prevent digital data from being stored outside the DMS system. Digital information can be stored in many, many different places—making it arguably more disorganized and unstructured than even traditional paper-based office processes.
Developing a protocol for uploading all content to the DMS can preclude this issue. Generally speaking, most vendors provide solutions designed to harness an organization’s content in its entirety. Thus, choosing to not upload all information to the DMS prevents the system from being utilized to its fullest potential.

How to Align a Document Management System Strategy and Execution

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

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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

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

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.prestashop.com">Prestashop</a>, the rapidly growing eCommerce solution, has just unveiled its latest version in the form of PrestaShop 1.6.1.It's been over a year <a href="/prestashop-1-6-released/">since the release of PrestaShop 1.6</a>, and just a few months since the unveiling of <a href="/prestashop-cloud-review/">PrestaShop Cloud</a>, the worlds first totally free, yet premium-grade cloud-hosted eCommerce solution.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gi_149548_vertical-logo-2015.png" />It's worth noting that this update comes just days after <a target="_blank" href="https://www.prestashop.com/en/press-releases/2015/06/22/corinne-lejbowicz-as-the-company-s-new-ceo/">PrestaShop announced the arrival of their new CEO, Corinne Lejbowicz</a>. She thrived at organizations such as AOL and Vivendi, and will be looking to push PrestaShop to new heights.You may have also noticed that PrestaShop now has a new and quirky logo.With this latest update, PrestaShop have served up performance enhancements and some design tweaks to their Back Office. Lets take a closer look.<h2>Better Looking At The Back &amp; Faster Everywhere</h2>Cosmetic adjustments have been applied to the PrestaShop Back Office, mainly in relation to contrast and visibility in the navigation. Changes include new logos, images, colors, and a few other design elements.PrestaShop has also worked on improving the installation process, the update process, the search function and back office controls.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/new-design-b-2-1024x528793x0-is.png" /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/new-design-b-2-1024x528793x0-is.png" />As for performance enhancements, PrestaShop has targeted SQL queries. Thanks to some optimization, PrestaShop stores are now up to 200% faster at carrying out back office operations. Which is impressive.The optimizations also mean that stores will be better equipped for traffic spikes.Finally, PrestaShop 1.6.1 sees the insertion of 15 new options into the “Advanced EU Compliance module”, helping European merchants meet the legal requirements of their land with greater ease.To find out more about PrestaShop 1.6.1, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.prestashop.com/blog/en/delivering-new-improved-v1-6-1-0/">check out their blog announcement</a>.Also be sure to explore <a href="/products/prestashop">PrestaShop through our CMS Directory</a>.

PrestaShop 1.6.1 Released With Performance Improvements & Back Office Facelift

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