Articles - Page 124

Agentic AI for Agencies in 2026

bmckeiver

Is the Birth of DXC the Death of DXP? A Conversation with Darren Guarnaccia, President at Uniform

matt-garrepy

Sometimes, you just want use basic tools to build websites quickly.
You want to skip things like the server and database configurations, but at the same time, you want the code to be your own.
<a href="http://900dpi.com/" target="_blank"> 900dpi </a>  is a hosted CMS which enables you to build websites using nothing but HTML, CSS and Dropbox.
You can code your website to suit your own needs, although 900dpi offers features like form handling (the results of which are written to your Dropbox folder), blogging, and server side includes (SSI).
Today, I decided to give 900dpi a quick test drive.
<h2>Seamless Dropbox Integration</h2>
900dpi works seamlessly with Dropbox, meaning that all your assets and web pages are safely stored in the cloud. All you have to do is simply drop your files into Dropbox and 900dpi will host them for you.
The 900dpi sign up process asks you to link your Dropbox account to your 900dpi account. After that, you just choose a password, and you're ready to go.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/900.png" alt="900dpi Dropbox" /> 
Your dashboard – where user friendly instructions and calls to action lead the way – is where the action begins.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/9003700x0.png" alt="900dpi Dashboard" /> 
The dashboard lets you create new websites, edit existing ones, invite new content editors, setup your domain name, and so forth.
Creating your first website is as simple as clicking a couple of buttons. Within a few seconds, you're taken straight to your brand new 900dpi example website. Pure speed was what stood out for me. In under a minute, I was ready to start editing the example website by clicking on text in order to change it for example.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/9004700x0.png" alt="900dpi Example Website" /> 
900dpi's example website looks very nice, but I wanted to test out just how easy it was to throw up my own code. So I switched back to my Dropbox, which was now home to my 900dpi website files.
I quickly navigated to my website files via Apps &gt; 900dp &gt; CMS Critic, and uploaded my new “index.html” file. Essentially, Dropbox was now my FTP client.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/9005700x0.png" alt="900dpi Dropbox" /> 
My new html page was uploaded in seconds, and thus my 900dpi website was now displaying my brand new web page. Once again, 900dpi was quick off the mark, and I came across no issues at all with getting my web page online.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/9006700x0.png" alt="900dpi Website" />The 900dpi toolbox located on the left-hand side of the preview mode offers all the same options found on the dashboard, plus an option to toggle the “Edit Mode” on and off. With “Edit Mode” on, I could get back to editing things like text and other elements on my website, just like I did with the original example website.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/edit700x0.png" alt="900dpi Edit Mode" />
<h2>A CMS For Experienced Designers</h2>
Although its user interface is as friendly as they come, 900dpi isn't a content management system built for laymen. To get the best out of it, you will need to know your way around HTML and CSS. For instance, if the (extremely simple) piece of code below baffles you, I'd steer clear.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-1700x0.png" alt="900dpi code" /> 
Although, that's not to imply that 900dpi is difficult to use or manage.
For example, to make elements editable with 900dpi via the “Edit Mode”, you only need to add the “900-edit” class to the element in question. Thankfully, 900dpi's Dropbox integration makes changes like this extremely quick and easy.
So, if you're hunting for a super easy website builder for Internet newbies, 900dpi isn't for you.
However, if you know your way around basic code and Dropbox, 900dpi will become second nature for you in no time, making it a great fit for your upcoming projects.
To find out more about 900dpi, visit their <a href="http://900dpi.com/" target="_blank">official website</a>. If you decide to sign up with 900dpi, be sure to use the coupon code “SPRINGFLING”, which gives you 75% off the monthly subscription.

900dpi: Build Websites With HTML, CSS, Dropbox and Nothing Else

mike-johnston

The latest version of <a href="http://www.woothemes.com/woocommerce" target="_blank">WooCommerce</a>, the popular WordPress eCommerce plugin, has just landed. And it's a helpful one, apparently.
<a href="http://www.woothemes.com/woocommerce" target="_blank"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/logo-woocommerce.png" /></a>
Named the “Helpful Hedghog”, the WooCommerce team claim that this update, “[focuses] on making store settings more intuitive for store owners by creating a brand-new onboarding wizard, simplifying setup for standard shipping options and improving how WooCommerce handles products with many variations.”
Here's a look at what's new.
<h2>Get Started Easier</h2>
There are <a href="/10-reasons-why-woocommerce-is-perfect-for-ecommerce-startups/" target="_blank">lots of reasons to start a store with WooCommerce, especially if you're new to the selling scene</a>. Now though, it's easier than ever.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/woocommerce-2_4-onboarding-macbook_1.gif" />
New store owners will get to use a brand new set up wizard, which:
<ul>
<li>Recommends commonly used settings to make it easier to get started</li>
<li>Helps the user quickly set data like store location &amp; currency based on geolocation</li>
<li>Helps the user to configure PayPal standard with just an email address</li>
</ul>
Further updates include:
<ul>
<li>Variations will load 20 at a time to make it easier to navigate</li>
<li>Loading happens via AJAX and Javascript, so you don’t have to wait for a page to refresh</li>
<li>Simpler flat rate and international shipping options</li>
<li>Shipping options can be prioritized by store owners</li>
<li>Geolocation now works with static caching</li>
</ul>
Developers will be pleased to hear that WooCommerce hasn't forgotten about them, either. Here's what Version 2.4 means to code fiends:
<ul>
<li>Custom AJAX Endpoints have been introduced to improve loading times on the frontend during events such as adding to cart. Previously, admin-ajax.php (the standard WordPress ajax endpoint) was used but this had the disadvantage of loading the entire WP admin just to make a request. The custom endpoints work around this.	 </li>
<li>A Visual API Authentication Endpoint has been added. Services which integrate with the REST API can now use the visual authentication endpoint so a user can login and grant API permission from a single page before being redirected back.</li>
</ul>
So all in all, a pretty robust set of enhancements across the board.
To find out more about this update, <a href="http://www.woothemes.com/2015/08/woocommerce-2-4-release/" target="_blank">head over to the WooCommerce blog</a>.

Introducing WooCommerce 2.4: The Helpful Hedgehog

To wrap up our featured week with <a href="https://dotcms.com/" target="_blank">dotCMS</a>, I’m taking a look at how the platform opens doors for developers.
The enterprise-grade Java, open source CMS recently beat off stiff competition to win the <a href="/2014-critics-choice-award-winner-best-cloud-cms-for-smb/" target="_blank">2014 Critics' Choice Award for Best Cloud CMS for SMB</a>.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/dotcms-250h.jpg" />
Previously, we <a href="/cms-critic-interviews-dotcms-ceo-tim-brigham/" target="_blank">interviewed dotCMS CEO Tim Brigham</a>, caught a <a href="/a-walkthrough-of-dotcms-3.2-with-cms-critic/" target="_blank">product walkthrough from CTO Will Ezell</a>, discussed the <a href="/whats-new-with-dotcms-3.2-and-the-3.x-series/" target="_blank">dotCMS 3.x series</a>, and caught up with dotCMS both <a href="/dotcms-at-home-or-on-the-cloud-fast-and-flexible/" target="_blank">on the cloud and at home</a>.
Now though, here’s what the award-winning platform is doing for developers.
<h2>DotCMS as an xCMS</h2>
DotCMS is many, many things, and according to Will Ezell, the platform’s CTO, one of those things is an xCMS.
Otherwise known as a User Experience Platform, dotCMS defines xCMS in the following way:
<blockquote>
“An xCMS is a system that provides native content management, search, APIs, rapid development tools and personalization [features] that allow an organisation to centralise presentation and/or management of disparate content and UX systems.”
</blockquote>
Will Ezell goes on to explain in more detail in the video below.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gMTdG4A_fLM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Essentially, what Will Ezell has done, is successfully make the case that dotCMS is more than just a CMS for websites. It’s a “hub” which can push content through all sorts of different channels. It’s a product ready for the generation of Internet-of-things.
DotCMS provides easy and open APIs to query, retrieve (xml &amp; json) and write content, binary assets and even remote widgets. These API calls have been built specifically so that content can be retrieved in real-time and used by external systems.
<h2>Hyper-friendly to Developers: Geolocation, Frameworks &amp; More</h2>
To take a closer look at how dotCMS makes the leap beyond standard websites, here are some of its key features used on the ground.
First up, dotCMS is extremely framework friendly. It can be used with any responsive framework, including Bootstrap, Foundation, Gumby and Skeleton.
Due to being able to use their preferred tools and frameworks, developers can decide between working with a fully customized site, or a completely template and theme controlled presentation or frankly, anywhere in between
Just take a look at dotCMS’ pre-designed themes and templating documentation for a better idea of how this entire process can be streamlined.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-49.png" />
Furthermore, no proprietary tools are needed for web or Java development either, making life even easier and more familiar for development teams.
Elasticsearch driven Geolocation is another feature worth noting. As long as there is a content type with a field supplying latitude and longitude coordinates, content can be dynamically displayed or hidden using Elasticsearch Geolocation queries.
Developers can also have a bit of fun with dotCMS’ remote widget API. Widgets (essentially little apps) can be delivered, fully rendered, as snippets of code to remote systems by calling a RESTful url. All it takes is javascript to pull and display content rich widgets into any webpage or external system.
Support for Spring &amp; OSGi -dynamic plugins as well as CMIS support provide even more room for creativity and options for integration.
DotCMS touts themselves as the developer friendly CMS. No doubt, they might just be your new CMS BFF.
To find out more about dotCMS, <a href="http://dotcms.com/" target="_blank">visit their website</a>, or explore more <a href="/2014-critics-choice-award-winner-best-cloud-cms-for-smb/" target="_blank">via our CMS Directory</a>.

DotCMS: Breaking Down Barriers for Developers in Content Management

<a target="_blank" href="http://zesty.io/">Zesty</a> is an enterprise-grade modern SaaS (Software as a Service) CMS that has a demolition plan for “traditional” enterprise content management systems. The ones that, at present, dominate the enterprise market.<a target="_blank" href="http://zesty.io/"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zesty-io-rgb_rgb_400x0.png" /></a> The claim is simple. <a target="_blank" href="https://blog.zesty.io/c/industry/saas-cms--the-mid-market-brands-key-to-keeping-up-with-customer-needs/">Zesty provides an avenue away from these traditionally inefficient and clunky platforms</a>, offering up a leaner and more flexible approach thanks to newer, versionless technology, combined with all the other benefits of the SaaS model.To suggest that the end is nigh for such big market players is bold, but Zesty certainly has its reasons.<h2>Patchy &amp; Community Reliant</h2>Zesty has sprung from the notion that “traditional” open source, on-premise, and, “cloud based” web content management systems hinder business to keep connected to customers.Too often, we see brands failing to adapt to customer demands and market trends, typically because of a slow-moving CMS that neither boasts the features nor the flexibility to produce what is required. And what’s required is constantly changing.Why? The accusation is simple, and difficult to argue against.Many leading WCMS are patched together platforms. They are the result of years (and sometimes decades) of community input, cemented together by vendor updates – many of which only serve to throw a spanner in the works of the platform’s existing features and plugins.Zesty’s solution, lies in SaaS. That means it’s versionless, infrastructure-less, and requires a whole lot less input from IT.<h2>A Look at Zesty’s Core Features</h2>Zesty is a modern SaaS enterprise-grade platform that empowers businesses to build and deploy intricate and effective web properties with efficiency.It was built to support and empower mid-market brands who have stuttered in the face rapid market change, due mainly to their sluggish CMS.According to Randy Apuzzo, Zesty’s CEO, Zesty customers see:Reduced IT costsAccelerated deployment of digital web propertiesServer management costs cut to zero (all infrastructure is covered in license)Reduced implementation labor costsPage load times faster than leading competitorsReduced team facilitation and communications timeMore accurate, usable, customer data when tracking conversionsGuaranteed uptimes of 99.99%Highly flexible data management capabilities<h2>Zesty Satellite &amp; Zesty EcoSystem</h2>Zesty comes in two flavours.First up, is Zesty <a target="_blank" href="https://zesty.io/satellites/">Satellite</a>™. A Zesty Satellite setup is built to equip brands with a one-stop-shop platform, providing everything needed to easily create, deploy, maintain, and optimize enterprise web properties with a lean attitude.The same lean attitude that produces the benefits listed above.Alternatively, Zesty <a target="_blank" href="https://zesty.io/ecosystems/">EcoSystem</a>™ puts brands in a position to oversee all of their <a target="_blank" href="https://zesty.io/satellites/">Satellite</a>™ properties from one, unified platform.With an <a target="_blank" href="https://zesty.io/ecosystems/">EcoSystem</a>™, businesses can manage a group of websites and gain valuable insights on multi-site performance, like traffic analytics and user behaviour.Furthermore, third party analytics systems can seamlessly integrate, to work alongside, or instead of, Zesty’s native features.<h2>Lean Machine</h2>Zesty claims that their technology enables brands capture data more effectively from across multitudes of web properties and mobile applications. Multi-site traffic analytics and user behavior reporting is built in while seamlessly integrating with third-party analytics platforms.All of these features provide brands more time and energy to innovate and drive revenue instead of worrying about IT and deployment challenges.To sum up, Zesty has been built with speed, efficiency and end-to-end lean deployment in mind.To learn more about Zesty, <a target="_blank" href="http://zesty.io/">check out their website</a>.Also, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/zestyio">Zesty via our CMS Directory</a>.

Zesty.io: Rivalling Traditional Enterprise CMS With Lean SaaS

If you are in the market for an inexpensive, yet powerful email marketing platform for your business (or multiple brands) then you are in luck. In this Sendy review, we'll provide you with all of the details about this low cost alternative.
Email Marketing platforms such as <a href="https://www.aweber.com/">AWeber</a>, <a href="https://www.constantcontact.com/">Constant Contact</a> and others are great solutions but they can end up getting costly as your subscriber count increases. Fortunately, there are alternative solutions out there. In our case here at CMS Critic, we found that as our subscribers grew, we were creeping up on over $100 / month for a traditional cloud based email marketing platform. We decided to explore alternatives and ended up landing on a great self-hosted email marketing solution called <a href="https://sendy.co/">Sendy</a>.
What makes Sendy great is that not only is it hosted on our own servers (and btw requires very little overhead) as well as using Amazon SES in order to send out the emails. The good thing here is that Amazon SES is extremely inexpensive and highly reliable for getting emails to the inbox rather than getting blocked by spam filters. Furthermore, Sendy itself is an inexpensive $59 one time fee when compared to the hundreds of dollars per month you could be spending on cloud-based email marketing. When you add hosting, Amazon SES costs together, you might be paying $1-10 monthly at the most for up to $10k subscribers.
<h3>Multiple Brands</h3>
Don't think that Sendy isn't powerful because of the cost either. You can set up Sendy to work with multiple brands easily so not only can you use it for your primary business, but you can use it for multiple brands for the same low cost of $59.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screenshot1-11380x0-is.jpg" alt="sendy review" />
<h3>Custom Fields and Multiple Subscriber Lists</h3>
Setting up subscriber forms with Sendy is quick and easy as well. You can not only add custom fields but it will also provide you with passthrough URLs and embed codes for signup forms so you can quickly and easily add more subscribers to your mailing list.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screenshot6894x0-is.jpg" alt="sendy review" />
You can also have multiple subscriber lists allowing you to quickly and easily segment your subscribers. Sendy also supports a number of methods to add subscribers to your list. You can use the API or a subscribe form to pass users to your lists.
<h3>Automatic bounce, complaint &amp; unsubscribe handling</h3>
Bounces, complaints and unsubscribes are automatically handled in real time once your newsletter is sent. There is no need for any manual post campaign cleanups.
<h3>Signup and activity reports</h3>
Subscriber signups are captured within a nice interface that allows you to quickly see what has happened recently with those on your list, if they have subscribed, unsubscribed or are pending confirmation. Another important thing to note is that Sendy allows you to enable or disable double opt-in so you can choose whichever you prefer.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screenshot2838x0-is.jpg" alt="sendy review" />
<h3>Designing your Newsletter</h3>
Designing your newsletter is very straight forward. You can use their WYSIWYG editor to build out what you'd like and insert images as well as some specialized tags so you can personalize things if desired. You can even use an html template builder or find some on the web and paste them into the editor while in “source” view to use them with Sendy.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screenshot3-2756x0-is.jpg" alt="sendy review" />
<h3>Send newsletters via Amazon SES</h3>
Sendy uses multi-threading to send emails via Amazon SES which is not only significantly cheaper than virtually all email marketing platforms on the market but also has a high deliverability rate. Most traditional email marketing platforms restrict you based on the size of your lists, but not Sendy.
<h3>Beautiful Reporting</h3>
Once you've sent your campaign, Sendy will show you a number of statistics about your campaign within the reports section. One thing we noticed here at CMS Critic is that once we started using Sendy and personalizing our newsletters, we saw a large boost in the open rate and click through rates on our newsletter. The reporting system within Sendy is excellent and presents the data in a great way.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screenshot4-2773x0-is.jpg" alt="sendy review" />
<h3>Autoresponders</h3>
You can also easily configure autoresponders to specific users.. an example might be to send them an email on their birthday (if you are capturing this). Sendy allows you to create drip campaigns to follow up with your subscribers, send an email annually or one off emails at a specific date.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screenshot7-1828x0-is.jpg" alt="sendy review" />
<h3>Give your client access and charge them to email your subscribers</h3>
Sendy has one very sweet feature that I haven't seen before in any email marketing software and that is the ability to white label the platform and allow your clients to login and send emails to your subscriber list for a fee. You can even set a monthly send limit for them.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sendy_review383x0-is.jpg" alt="sendy review" />
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
Overall, we've found Sendy to not only be an excellent alternative to MailChimp, but to blow it away as far as speed, usability and functionality are concerned. Sure MailChimp has drag and drop but Sendy is fast, reliable and cheap.
If you are looking for something that is powerful, flexible, and not based on subscriber list size like most cloud-based email marketing platforms, this is the software for you. At $59 you can't beat it. From me, it gets a 5 out of 5.
<a href="https://sendy.co/">Grab your copy of Sendy today.</a>

Sendy Review - Cheap Email Marketing for the Masses

Having a marketing automation system to accompany your CMS is slowly but surely becoming the norm.
After all, once your website is up and running, it's time to market it, right? It makes sense.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/person-731479_640619x0-is.jpg" />
But with every new trend, comes a handful of entrepreneurs, startups and small companies who go a little overboard; spending far too much time and money than they need to. And I assure you, things will be no different with this trend.
So, before you go and blast the rest of your yearly budget on a marketing automation system, take a read through my four good reasons to hold off. For now, at least.
<h2>1) Your Product/Service Hasn't Been Honed</h2>

On the day their website launches, many companies will be tempted to jump right into marketing automation, even before they work out the kinks in their product or service.
In the first few months of business, you're better off focusing more on your own offering, before anything else. That way, you can generate interest, followers and subscribers to market to at a later date.
Without sounding too corny, focus on being the best that you can be, before thinking about mass marketing campaigns.
<h2>2) Your Audience is Still Small</h2>

Contrary to what you might think, a typical marketing automation system is built to market to an existing audience. That includes a large email subscriber list, a big social media following, and so forth.
Do you really need premium automated email campaigns and landing pages on demand when your website is only getting 23 visitors a day?
As mentioned in point number one, focus on building your brand and your following, before you think about marketing to them.
<h2>3) It Probably Wasn't Built For You</h2>

Is your company at enterprise level? Is it a medium sized business with big ambitions? If so, <a href="/8-enterprise-marketing-automation-softwares-to-complement-your-cms/" target="_blank">we can't recommend these enterprise-grade marketing automation system enough</a>.
But if it isn't (and it most likely isn't) I strongly suggest steering clear of such products for a while, because they weren't built with you or your buisness in mind. Thus, it can be tricky to learn the technicalities behind its features.
Think about it this way, a product that demands a massive fee will likely demand massive attention and technical know-how to set up and manage.
<h2>4) You Can Get One For Free (or Super Cheap)</h2>

That's right. Marketing automation may be what all the biggest brands are doing, but that doesn't mean that you have to use the same products they use.
In fact, there's a wide range of <a href="/12-free-or-super-cheap-marketing-automation-systems/" target="_blank">free and super cheap marketing automation systems</a> on the market, all of which are a great fit for a budding business. Who said you needed a budget of epic proportions to keep up with the big boys?
<h2>Choose the Right Marketing Automation Software</h2>

If you still feel like you need marketing automation software for your company, your next step is to choose the right one for you and your staff.
Thankfully, we've got you covered with a <a href="/choose-the-best-marketing-automation-system-in-3-easy-steps/" target="_blank">three-step guide towards selecting the best marketing product for your business</a>.
Are you jumping on the marketing automation bandwagon, or are you holding off for now? Let us know in the comments below.

4 Reasons to Not Pay for Marketing Automation Software

Call Tracking + AI 

Call Tracking + AI that Turns Calls into Leads

#ffffff

Since its launch in 2005, Google Analytics has been the ‘go-to’ analytics tool for most online businesses – it seems like everyone is using it or has used it.
Google Analytics is easy to access and it’s free, making it one of the most popular analytics tools on the market, but does that mean it’s right for your business?
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/analytics-925379_1280548x0-is.jpg" /> Well, that’s the thing – it may not be. There are lots of alternative options out there and it’s worth doing a bit of research to see if any of these are a better fit for your business.
I’ve put together a few of the most popular choices on the market to narrow down your search.
<h2>1. Kissmetrics</h2>

Kissmetrics is one of the more popular alternatives to Google Analytics and it has gained definite approval from the online community.
Kissmetrics is ‘people based’ and it differs from GA by focusing more on customer retention and actionable metrics, rather than cold, hard data. Kissmetrics will find out where your customers are coming from, how they got to your site, and what journey they took to the checkout. If they didn’t check out, Kissmetrics will identify the obstacles that got in their way.
With this knowledge, you can increase your sales by improving the customer journey – from the moment they ‘check in’ to your site, right to the moment they ‘check out’ with your product/service. Kissmetrics price plans range from $200 for the starter package to $2000 for the pro deal. And if that seems a pricey for your budget, you can also sign up for a free trial and ‘try before you buy’.
Find out more about Kissmetrics <a href="http://www.kissmetrics.com">here.</a>
<h2>2. Clicky</h2>

Clicky is one of the most cost effective premium options on the market, with prices starting at $0 per month. It’s a little basic in comparison to GA in terms of data monitoring, but it provides easily accessible information with no learning curve involved.
There’s a little irony in the name too, because Clicky is much easier to navigate than some of its competitors – you can get a lot more done in a lot less clicks! Clicky takes a different view on bounce rates to many other analytics providers and it doesn’t see a 5 minute viewing time on one page as a bounce. A bounce will only be registered if the visitor spends less than 30 seconds on that one page. This makes a lot of sense for websites that promote short articles which most users will click in and out of quickly.
All of the data is up to date and in real time, so you’ll always have a complete view of what’s happening on your site. Clicky offers a free option to start off with, but if your site starts bringing in over 3,000 visitors a day then you’ll have to upgrade your account. That said, paid options start at $9.99 for up to 30,000 annual visitors, so it’s still a very inexpensive option.
Find out more about Clicky <a href="http://www.clicky.com">here</a>.
<h2>3. Mint</h2>

Mint is a tracking tool with a sophisticated design that’s both premium and affordable.
This tracking tool will help you to identify where the most interest is being generated in your site. An at-a-glance view will show you the visitor count, top referring websites, most popular pages, and the most popular search terms for your site. However, it doesn’t track some of the usual stats such as bounce rates or time on site.
Although it’s a little lacking in the features department, Mint offers businesses unlimited site tracking and an extensive plug-in option (peppers) for added functionality. Prices start at $30 per single site.
Find out more about Mint <a href="http://www.haveamint.com">here.</a>
<h2>4. GoSquared</h2>

The GoSquared dashboard is made up of 3 categories: live stats, ecommerce data, and historical data.
GoSquared focuses on real time stats and identifying trends. The initial overview will show you the number of current site visitors, most popular content, top traffic sources, visitor geo locations, and more.
You can also view daily, weekly, and monthly comparisons of historical data on the ‘trends’ board. GoSquared offer a ‘Free Tier’ package for entrepreneurs, which has a limit of up to 100 people and 1,000 data points. After this, price plans start at $18 per month for 100,000 data points. 
Find out more about GoSquared <a href="http://www.gosquared.com">here</a>.
<h2>5. Heap</h2>

Heap is designed with the user in mind and it’s a great option for users who aren’t very tech savvy. The simple point and click interface makes it easy for anyone on the team to monitor your website data.
This tool is set up to automatically capture everything, and it then shows users how to design their own reports based on their individual business requirements. Heap also charges per visit instead of per data point, which differentiates it from a lot of its competitors. The free plan allows for up to 5,000 sessions per month and the startup option costs $99 per month for 25,000 sessions.
However, you can also upgrade to the startup plan for free – by simply joining the Heap Badge Program and adding the badge code to your website.
Find out more about Heap <a href="https://heapanalytics.com/">here</a>.
<h2>6. StatCounter</h2>

StatCounter is has been around for a while and it’s a bit of a veteran in analytics game. It doesn’t have the prettiest interface but it does have all of the basics that you need in an analytics tool – and it’s free. StatCounter provides pretty general reports, including stats such as customer visits, visitor paths, popular pages, and keywords.
Whilst it doesn’t provide a drilled down data overview, it offers more than enough information to get a good picture of your website activity without much hassle. StatCounter is a decent option for anyone who wants to dip their toes into the world of analytics.
Find out more about Statcounter <a href="http://www.statcounter.com">here</a>.
<h2>7. Hootsuite</h2>

Hootsuite is well known for its social media management tool, but did you know that it also offers a great analytics package? Hootsuite acquired uberVU in 2014 to expand its services and the new analytics tool has become popular with regular users.
Hootsuite offers unlimited real time alerts and customized reports, making it a great option for any business that generates most of its traffic via social media. The increased functionality allows businesses to monitor the way the customers find them via social media, which helps businesses to target their advertising to the correct audience. Pricing isn’t listed on the website, but you can contact them directly for a custom quote.
Find out more about Hootsuite analytics <a href="https://hootsuite.com/products/social-media-analytics/ubervu-via-hootsuite/pricing">here</a>.
<h2>8. OpenWeb Analytics</h2>

OpenWeb is free, open source, and easy to set up. The interface is quite similar to the old Google Analytics style in terms of color scheme and layout, so if you’ve been using GA for a while it may feel familiar.
Although it’s free, OpenWeb offers a variety of features including goal tracking, heatmaps, and mouse tracking. There are also a great range of statistics available such as browser type, top pages, search terms, geo-location and search engines. OpenWeb also offers some great visual graphs to represent various statistics.
Find out more about OpenWeb Analytics <a href="http://www.openwebanalytics.com/">here.</a>
<h2>Decision Time</h2>

As you can see, there are a variety of analytics tools on the market right now opposing Googla Analytics, and it’s essential to choose the one that’s most suited to your own business. So make use of the free trials where you can, and choose wisely!
Have any of these analytics tools captured your interest? Do you have a recommendation of your own to pass on? Why not let us know in the comments below.

8 Awesome Alternatives to Google Analytics

grainne-logue

Following up from an <a href="/cms-critic-interviews-dotcms-ceo-tim-brigham/" target="_blank">interview with CEO Tim Brigham</a> and a <a href="/a-walkthrough-of-dotcms-3.2-with-cms-critic/" target="_blank">product walkthrough with CTO Will Ezell</a>, it’s time to delve into what makes <a href="http://dotcms.com/" target="_blank">DotCMS</a> tick.
The Java, open source, content management system was recently crowned winner of the <a href="/2014-critics-choice-award-winner-best-cloud-cms-for-smb/" target="_blank">2014 Critics' Choice Award for Best Cloud CMS for SMB</a>.
<blockquote>
“Quick to deploy, open source, Java-based, open APIs, extensible and massively scalable, dotCMS can rapidly deliver personalized, engaging multi-channel sites, web apps, campaigns, one-pagers, intranets – all types of content driven experiences – without calling in your developers.”
</blockquote>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/dotcms-250h.jpg" />
DotCMS is available in a Community Edition and Enterprise Edition, the former being the free version.
With the recent release of dotCMS 3.2, the platform has taken on a range of new features to go with an already powerful product.
<h2>Exceedingly Responsive &amp; Massively Multi</h2>
After prompting visitors to test out the responsive nature of dotCMS by resizing their browser window, the details of the product’s dedication to responsive design are revealed.
Thanks to built-in support for 13 CSS frameworks, as well as theme based templates that automatically adapt and optimize content, images and videos to fit mobile devices, it’s easy to deliver engaging customer experiences across all devices.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/phone-bg-g4-1.png" />
Custom themes can also be developed to accommodate various mobile device capabilities such as geolocation services.
When it comes to developing sites, dotCMS comes equipped to handle multiple micro-sites, mega-sites, mobile apps and multi-channel projects. In fact, dotCMS’ multi-site capabilities can host thousands of sites in just one, manageable system. And as we saw in the walkthrough demo, new sites can be launched easily, in a matter of a few clicks.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/multi-everything.png" />
The tools are there for you to build your own SaaS CMS solution with granular, site based permissions, and manage all content in multiple languages without the added expense.
<h2>Super Scalable, Fantastically Flexible &amp; A Whole Bunch More</h2>
dotCMS has been built with growth in mind. Horizontal scalability, to be precise.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/cloud-banner.png" />
The platform offers up a configurable, multi-level caching infrastructure which maintains state across nodes in a cluster. In fact, dotCMS is architected to never hit the database once the cache is loaded (you can even turn the database off completely), even while pages and content stay completely dynamic.
For dealing with high levels of traffic, dotCMS is able to cluster; enabling multiple dotCMS instances to run as a single unit that can scale to meet massive traffic loads. (And yes, dotCMS is available on premise or on the cloud)
To help further facilitate that growth, dotCMS is also highly customizable.
dotCMS provides easy and open APIs to query, retrieve (xml, json) and write content, binary assets and even remote widgets. These API calls have been designed to perform at scale so content can be retrieved for real-time use by external systems. This means dotCMS is easier to integrate and can be used as a hub for content management, easily pushing or pulling content from other systems.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/cloud-enterprise.png" />
On top of open APIs, dotCMS users have access to Widgets (which are essentially apps) that can be managed just like content.
DotCMS' remote widget API can deliver these fully rendered widgets as snippets of code to remote systems by calling a RESTful url. All it takes is javascript to pull and display content rich widgets into any webpage or external system.
Developers also have the power to hot deploy whole Spring web apps in dotCMS without a restart, thanks to dynamic plugin support. Meanwhile, CMIS support allows dotCMS content and files to be read and written by any system that is a CMIS client, including Sharepoint, Liferay and even Drupal.
Further to the aforementioned features, dotCMS also boasts a GUI based workflow engine along with remote publishing capabilities — with support for a variety of publishing architectures. (e.g., authoring&gt; staging&gt; production)
<h2>A Powerhouse for Powerhouses (And Normal Houses)</h2>
dotCMS has claimed a desirable chunk of the enterprise market by landing and working alongside large clients such as Standard &amp; Poor’s, Wiley Publishing, Thomson Reuters Foundation and Hospital Corporation of America. As such, it’s reputation as an enterprise solution is growing fast.
DotCMS is also an attractive platform for small to medium sized businesses, thanks to its open source nature, active user forums, plugin and theme library, as well as its accommodation for codesharing on its website.
To find out more about dotCMS, <a href="http://dotcms.com/" target="_blank">visit their website</a>, or explore more <a href="/2014-critics-choice-award-winner-best-cloud-cms-for-smb/" target="_blank">via our CMS Directory</a>.

Free, Open Source & Feature Rich: An Overview of DotCMS

<a target="_blank" href="https://modxcloud.com/">MODX Cloud</a> users will be pleased to hear about a new hosting environment recently unveiled by the MODX team.<a target="_blank" href="https://modxcloud.com/"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/modx-color.png" /></a> The popular website host is designed specifically for MODX sites, although it's also widely used to host other platforms, such as WordPress.They've called this new cloud type, “Flex Clouds”.<h2>What is Flex Clouds?</h2>Ryan Thrash, the MODX Co-founder, <a target="_blank" href="http://modx.com/blog/2015/11/04/more-flexibility-for-your-projects-in-modx-cloud/">talked users through the details of Flex Cloud in a recent blog post</a>. It gets a little technical, but here's what it means in a nutshell.Flex Cloud is a standalone Cloud type that comes with an empty database, SSH and SFTP, ready for the installation of virtually anything that runs on a modern nginx/MySQL/PHP stack.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/flex_1.png" />This new hosting environment will make it easier for users to implement a wider rage of PHP apps, and features automatically rolling 7-day offsite backups to keep everything safe and sound, too.For front-end developers, Flex Clouds support Sass and Compass Watch. Furthermore, lovers of IDEs and Text Editors can use the command line for modern developer tools like Composer, Git, cron, shell scripts, rsync, Nano and Vim.As for how this update impacts existing MODX Cloud users, I'll let Ryan Thrash fill you in directly:<blockquote>“Many customers have been holding on to legacy hosting accounts to run their MODX Evolution and WordPress sites; today we have removed the barrier to <a target="_blank" href="https://modxcloud.com/signup/studio?trial">moving to MODX Cloud</a>. You can now have all your legacy and current projects in a single place, and update them to MODX Revolution when the time is right.For customers on the original plans, we will shift your WordPress Clouds to the new Flex Cloud type; you won’t need to do anything. If you need a new WordPress Cloud, use the Flex Cloud type and install the latest version from the web installer or from a CLI tool of your choice. We’ll add instructions for installing WordPress and MODX Evolution, and other apps that you request.”</blockquote>.This looks like a healthy move from MODX. It's also refreshing to see Flex Clouds come in as a direct upgrade for existing users, rather than a separate plan that requires time, money and effort to migrate to.More details on Flex Clouds <a target="_blank" href="http://modx.com/blog/2015/11/04/more-flexibility-for-your-projects-in-modx-cloud/">can be found here</a>.And as usual, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/modx">MODX via our CMS Directory</a>.

MODX Cloud Introduces Flex Clouds

Yesterday, <a href="http://buddypress.org/" target="_blank"> BuddyPress</a> released their latest version – BuddyPress 2.0 Juliana.
BuddyPress is a powerful WordPress plugin that transforms WordPress.org powered websites into social networks, with features like user profiles, activity streams, user groups, and more.
In keeping with WordPress's knack of naming major updates, BuddyPress 2.0 Juliana was named after <a href="http://julianaspizza.com/" target="_blank"> Juliana's Pizza</a> in Brooklyn, New York. The Pizza establishment is frequented by two core members of the BuddyPress team.
So, let's take a look at what Juliana brings to the table.
<h2>A Range of New Administrative Tools</h2>
BuddyPress 2.0 brings about a number of new tools that simplify and centralize common administrative tasks, including:
<h3>Profile editing</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/1700x0.jpg" alt="BuddyPress Profile Editing" /> 
Need to manage a user’s profile information? We’ve integrated a new “Extended Profile” tab into the Dashboard &gt; Users interface, where you can manage profile data, avatars, user status, and more.
<h3>Spam User Management</h3>
 <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2700x0.jpg" alt="BuddyPress Spam User Management" /> 
 WordPress Multisite has long had the ability to manage spam users from the Dashboard. We’ve brought the same capabilities to non-Multisite installations.
<h3>Pending Users</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/3700x0.jpg" alt="BuddyPress Pending Users" /> 
The Pending users tab in Dashboard &gt; Users lets you see a list of signups that have not yet been activated. You can also perform useful tasks like manual account activation and resending activation emails.
<h3>Repair Tools</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/4700x0.jpg" alt="BuddyPress Repair Tools" /> 
Occasionally, BuddyPress friend counts and other data can get out of sync. The new Tools screen lets admins manually reset these values.
<h2>Improved Performance &amp; Activity Stream Enhancements</h2>
BuddyPress 2.0 Juliana also comes served with an impressive performance boost.
For example, the BuddyPress team have worked to streamline some of the most common problematic queries – such as those in the Members and Activity directories – to shave up to 95% of the query time off of certain individual queries.
The sheer number of queries has been dramatically reduced as well, so that single page views access the database up to 50% less than in BuddyPress 1.9. And we’ve totally overhauled the way that BuddyPress utilizes advanced caching systems like APC and Memcached, so that users of these systems will see up to 75% fewer cache misses on costly queries.
BuddyPress 2.0's third primary enhancement comes in the form of an updated Activity Stream.
First of all, BuddyPress 2.0 now automatically lets you know when new activity is ready to be loaded.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/5.jpg" alt="BuddyPress Activity Stream" />
BuddyPress' activity stream is better integrated with blog posts now too. Comment on a blog post, and an activity item is posted. Comment on a blog-related activity item, and a blog comment is posted. No more worrying about fractured conversations.
Phrases like “Boone posted an update” have also been reworked, so that they’re always up-to-date and always translatable.
There are many more new features introduced by BuddyPress 2.0, so make sure you check them out via the complete <a href="http://codex.buddypress.org/developer/releases/version-2-0/" target="_blank"> BuddyPress 2.0 Juliana changelog</a>.
Also, you can explore more of <a href="/products/buddypress/" target="_blank"> BuddyPress via out CMS Directory</a>.

BuddyPress 2.0 “Juliana” Serves up New Administrative Tools & Performance Enhancements

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/office-620822_960_720.jpg" />
There’s no denying that collaboration has reshaped the way that humans are getting things done in the workplace.
Since shifting from an individualistic mindset to a collaborative one, a new story is emerging where collective action and interdependencies play a role in survival and success. <a href="https://www.magentrix.com/articles/blog/Redefining-Collaboration-in-a-Digital-27-6-16"> Collaboration</a> is defined as a process where a group of people explore their ideas to search for a solution that extends beyond their individual limited visions. Collaboration has always been about working together as a team, but now it’s all about how we collaborate that needs to adapt to our society. As businesses continue to grow and move at an increasing rate, working in isolation is a disadvantage. Content Management Systems (CMS) have made it easier to organize content and make it accessible. Some CMS don’t require coding skills which makes it easy for everyone of all skill sets to use. By using a CMS, you are able to organize information in a way that would be available for everyone to use and collaborate on.
The challenge with collaboration is that it drains resources, but doesn’t always have immediate benefits. It takes time, space, and money to bring people together and change their behaviours, especially in a large organization. Implementing a collaborative approach to work can be difficult, especially when you’re trying to change the focus from individual accomplishment to team success. A CMS is only the first step to encouraging collaboration in the workplace, but what if you need to collaborate on data? In this case, a CMS won’t be enough to allow others to access the data that they need.
From these challenges, we have identified a few tips that will help you take the first steps towards collaboration, and turn your team into a more engaging and dynamic organization.
<h3>Encourage Open Communication</h3>
A pivotal part of collaboration is effective communication. Effective communication is critical to ensuring the success of team effort, whether the team is charged with creating a new product, making improvements, or planning future enhancements. When team communication skills are strong it raises the chance that good ideas and best practices will be shared openly.
Collaboration removes the limits of bringing people together, beyond the traditional departments and organizations. In order to be productive working collaboratively, you need to get rid of working in silos, both physically and mentally. This can come in the form of more open office space or sharing ideas through meetings and files.The beauty of opening up communication lines is that it allows more transparency between different members and efficiency will come of it.
<h3>Don't Rush It</h3>
Transitioning a team from an individualistic culture to a collaborative culture won’t happen overnight. Push your team too hard and you’ll kill the impulse to share. It’s an ongoing process that will take time, but will bring you and your team great benefits. Building relationships and trust happens over time, but there are ways that you can further push this process. Start introducing collaboration in situations that require imagination, structure, and the voluntary <a href="https://www.magentrix.com/products/features/blog">sharing of knowledge and ideas</a>. This can happen through brainstorming meetings, coming up with ideas for a project, or even through file sharing online. As your team becomes more comfortable with the idea of working together, you’ll find that everyone becomes more creative and builds stronger relationships.
<h3>Use a Collaboration Tool</h3>
Emails are not productive and they’re not great to use for collaboration. Why? Email will only hurt your productivity when it comes to collaboration because of the delay between responses and the clutter in inboxes when you receive too many. Instead, look into using a <a href="https://www.magentrix.com/products/socialintranet">collaboration tool</a>.
Collaboration tools have made it easier for people to connect from around the world, or wherever they may be. Communication lines have never been so accessible and open as they are now because of the Internet, and it’s time to take advantage of that. Collaboration is a behaviour, but technology aids in fostering collaborative behaviours. Collaboration tools, in particular, are a place where information can be stored over a cloud connection. Administrators can give certain people access to a community portal where they can access the data they need. This way, they are able to collaborate together quickly and efficiently. Collaboration tools improve the efficiency of business processes by allowing storage and access to data in one centralized and highly-secured location instead of sending delayed emails back and forth constantly. Other benefits of implementing a <a href="https://www.magentrix.com/products/socialintranet">portal solution for collaboration include:</a>
<ul>
<li>Saving travel and communication costs</li>
<li>Faster access to knowledge and decision-making</li>
<li>Secure place to store information</li>
<li>Collaborate in real-time</li>
<li>Overall increase in team satisfaction</li>
</ul>
Establishing a collaboration policy is just the beginning. In order for all these tips to be effective, it needs to be consistent with resources dedicated to making it successful. Progressive companies are increasingly realizing the value of collaboration and are looking for ways to foster it within their teams, both traditional and virtual. If you want to see your business boom and turn your team into productive superheroes, it’s time you fostered a collaborative spirit among them.

Overcoming Collaboration Challenges in the Workplace

<img style="max-width:525px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/525px-libreoffice_logo_with_background_svg.png" alt="525px-LibreOffice_Logo_with_background_svg" />If your business is looking to cut costs and reduce licensing fees, you might want to consider cost-cutting alternatives like the free office suite, <a href="http://www.libreoffice.org">LibreOffice</a>.  Not only is it feature-packed for a free office suite, it also offers connectivity options for tying into your existing (or future) content management system (CMS).
With their latest release, LibreOffice 4.0, which was just announced, the connectivity options and features this suite provides make it a great alternative to traditional office suites such as Microsoft Office.
Here is a list of some of the features within LibreOffice 4.0:
LibreOffice 4.0 offers a large number of new characteristics, which are listed on this page: <a href="https://www.libreoffice.org/download/4-0-new-features-and-fixes">https://www.libreoffice.org/download/4-0-new-features-and-fixes</a>.
<ul>
<li>Integration with several content and document management systems – including Alfresco, IBM FileNet P8, Microsoft Sharepoint 2010, Nuxeo, OpenText, SAP NetWeaver Cloud Service and others – through the CMIS standard.</li>
<li>Better interoperability with DOCX and RTF documents, thanks to several new features and improvements like the possibility of importing ink annotations and attaching comments to text ranges.</li>
<li>Possibility to import Microsoft Publisher documents, and further improvement of Visio import filters with the addition of 2013 version (just announced).</li>
<li>Additional UI incremental improvements, including Unity integration and support of Firefox Themes (Personas) to give LibreOffice a personalized look.</li>
<li>Introduction of the widget layout technique for dialog windows, which makes it easier to translate, resize and hide UI elements, reduces code complexity, and lays a foundation for a much improved user interface.</li>
<li>Different header and footer on the first page of a Writer document, without the need of a separate page style.</li>
<li>Several performance improvements to Calc, plus new features such as export of charts as images (JPG and PNG) and new spreadsheet functions as defined in ODF OpenFormula.</li>
<li>First release of Impress Remote Control App for Android, supported only on some Linux distributions. (The second release, coming soon, will be supported on all platforms: Windows, MacOS X and all Linux distros and binaries.)</li>
<li>Significant performance improvements when loading and saving many types of documents, with particular improvements for large ODS and XLSX spreadsheets and RTF files.</li>
<li>Improved code contribution thanks to Gerrit: a web based code review system, facilitating the task for projects using Git version control system (although this is not specific of LibreOffice 4.0, it has entered the production stage just before the 4.0 branch).</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>“LibreOffice 4.0 is a milestone in interoperability and an excellent foundation for our continued work to improve the User Interface,” explains Florian Effenberger, Chairman of the Board of Directors. “Our project is not only capable of attracting new developers on a regular basis, but it also creates a transparent platform for cooperation based on a strong Free Software ethos, where corporate sponsored and volunteer developers work to attain the same objective.”</blockquote>
So if you are in the market for a cost free alternative or a method of reducing your existing licensing fees but still need to retain interoperability with Microsoft Office formats and connectivity with your CMS, you should take a look at LibreOffice and see if it fits the needs of your organization.

Free Office Suite offers Content Management System Connectivity

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