Articles - Page 124

What I Mean to Say: A Practitioner Perspective on AI, Semantics, and Content Evolution

msalvatierra

<a href="https://umbraco.com/" target="_blank"> Umbraco 7.2 </a>  has arrived with, “incredible enthusiasm and unseen amounts of jazz.”
Launched in 2003, Umbraco has grown into a free, open-source, .NET CMS with a reputation as a solid solution for small as well as enterprise-level projects.
<img style="max-width:295px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/umbraco-logo.gif" alt="Umbraco 7.2" />
I covered the <a href="/umbraco-7.2-final-release-edges-closer/" target="_blank">details of Umbraco 7.2 </a>  when the final release candidate went live. Now though, there are two new handy videos to help you get acquainted with that's new with Umbraco.
First up, it's Umbraco's new Grid layout, which is designed and engineered to deliver maximum flexibility for editors, yet deliver high-quality semantic markup for CSS grid systems.
http://vimeo.com/113604752
Next, Umbraco's responsive preview feature, which complements the new Grid layout.
http://vimeo.com/113603024
Not only is this the most thoroughly tested version of Umbraco to date, but the Umbraco team has labelled this as the best Umbraco release ever. The user response on the <a href="https://umbraco.com/follow-us/blog-archive/2014/12/4/umbraco-72-released?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UmbracoBlog+%28umbraco+blog%29" target="_blank"> blog announcement</a> seems to be very positive already.
You can <a href="http://our.umbraco.org/contribute/releases/720" target="_blank">download Umbraco 7.2 right here</a>.
Also, be sure to explore more of  <a href="/products/umbraco/" target="_blank"> Umbraco via our CMS Directory</a>.

Umbraco 7.2 Released

mike-johnston

The latest version of <a href="http://typo3.org/" target="_blank">TYPO3 CMS</a> has arrived, and it's a big one, both technically and visually.
TYPO3 is a free and open source web content management framework based on PHP. The Swiss software company was founded in 2004.
Let's take a look at what TYPO3 CMS 7 brings to the table.
<h2>Speedier &amp; Far Better Looking</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/backend700x0.png" alt="TYPO3 CMS 7" />
According to the TYPO3 team, their main focus with this release was to clean up the back end – both technically and visually.
First of all, it’s the fastest release in TYPO3’s history. It now features twice as many merges in the same time frame into the current codebase than previous releases did. This has been achieved thanks to TYPO3 replacing their previous combination of PHP, HTML and CSS, simplifying Javascript and optimizing PHP.
Also, TYPO3's “new” core now runs Twitter Bootstrap under the hood. Not only does this make everything look a little better, but it also gives TYPO3 more an “app style” appearance.
Buttons that initiate actions are now clearly marked as such, the color scheme is more streamlined, and comes with less distraction in general. By using this new icon set, all icons look ultra-crisp even when scaling up the back end or using hi-dpi or retina displays.
Speaking of scaling, the first important steps have been made to make TYPO3 CMS’ back end mobile ready, which is something TYPO3 want to introduce at some point in the future.
<h2>A HTML Crusade</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/backend-list700x0.png" alt="TYPO3 CMS 7" />
The TYPO3 team also started what they referred to as a, “crusade to make the HTML markup of the backend more clean and semantically ready.”
What sounds rather technical at first is in fact a very big deal for editors – simply because the aim is to get the back end to behave more organically.
The same thing goes for all forms in the back end. A new, better markup for form fields (which will pave the way for adding a lot of accessibility features in TYPO3) is also being laboured over.
For more information on TYPO3 CMS 7, <a href="http://typo3.org/" target="_blank">check out their website</a>, and their <a href="http://typo3.org/news/article/the-typo3-community-publishes-typo3-cms-70-a-new-version-of-its-free-content-management-system/" target="_blank">blog announcement</a>.
Also, you can explore more of <a href="/products/typo3/" target="_blank">TYPO3 via our CMS Directory</a>.

Faster & Cleaner: TYPO3 CMS 7 Released

Let's face it, there simply is no other CMS that has even come close the the level of popularity that WordPress has managed to achieve. It's an admirable accomplishment that is well deserved. WordPress has taken what used to be complex functionality that only technical people could accomplish and dumbed it down to make things, for the most part, easier for the average user. As with most things however, it's only a matter of time before a better solution comes around. Nothing can stay on top forever so the question I will pose today is, what will it take to dethrone WordPress?
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/bigstock-on-the-throne-59317109600x0.jpg" />
In this article, I'm going to reference  <a href="https://ghost.org/"> Ghost </a> quite a bit. The reason is simple, there are still some things I feel they are doing incorrectly but for the most part, they are following what I consider to be a successful strategy.
<h2>Branding</h2>
If there's one thing Matt and his team have done well, it's branding. Branding is the key to everything. If you can get your brand out there and make it stand for something, you are pretty much guaranteeing yourself success. What is WordPress known for? Simplicity.  
The funny thing, however, is that it simply isn't the easiest CMS out there but none of that matters because for years, they've been telling you it is and so has everyone else. That's the key to branding. It doesn't matter if there's a better product out there, if you can convince people your product is the best at something, you will conquer the market. People will not only believe you, they'll tell everyone else they know that it is as well, if only to appear as though they know what they are talking about.
That's in no way a slam against WordPress or the people using it either. It's simply the way marketing works and has worked for years. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and WordPress certainly wins that battle. 
The downsides to this kind of thinking, however, is that people will often recommend it immediately without any thought even if it is indeed the absolute worst tool possible for a situation. The same applies to any brand.
<h2>Theme Availability</h2>
There are plenty of content management systems out there that offer nice themes but WordPress is, again, the king in this arena. There are more themes for WordPress than any other CMS in the world and that's an impressive achievement. Why are there so many? First, people are using the product therefore theme developers know they have an active community of users who they can convert into potential customers. Second, creating themes for WordPress is relatively easy to do (and there's good documentation showing how to do it). Third, the product is very flexible and easy to manipulate meaning the opportunities to create something unique exist for developers allowing them to be less limited with their imaginations.
Is it the perfect system? Of course not, but there are plenty of very successful theme companies making millions of dollars selling WordPress themes. Something that cannot be as easily stated when it comes to other CMS out there. Sure, there are lots of great Joomla template houses but nowhere near as many as WordPress.
<h2>Plugins</h2>
No plugin system is perfect but WordPress has the advantage that their plugin system offers huge amounts of additional capability to users of the product. This is largely thanks for the open source model that WordPress operates under. Freely available code means the massive community now has the ability to extend the product on their own and that means a large number of freely available themes. There are some premium ones as well but the bulk are free and updated regularly.
<h2>So what will it take to dethrone the king?</h2>
We've seen some successful upstarts come out of the wood work to try to take a piece of the pie and some are doing quite well in gaining momentum. One particular contender that comes to mind is Ghost. The product is far from perfect but managed to come out of nowhere, generate a ton of interest via their Kickstarter campaign (a brilliant marketing strategy) and gain the interest of theme developers. As a result, there's a brand new  <a href="https://www.cmscritic.comhttps://www.cmscritic.com/themeforestcategory/blogging/ghost-themes?ref=cmscritic"> Ghost Themes </a> category in Themeforest and plenty of themes being submitted to it daily.
To beat WordPress one must focus on a several step process:
<ol>
<li> Focus on Marketing to Developers 
 The right product needs to target themselves towards the massive blogger community (like Ghost has) and focus on marketing to the developers. If you can get developers on board and get them working on pounding out themes and plugins for the product, then the product will be in the position to start attracting the interest of the userbase.</li>
<li> Offer a Migration Path 
 Implement an easy migration path for those already on WordPress to easily move to your platform. This is something that currently does not exist within Ghost but needs to in order for them to succeed. Yes, they have the beginnings of a method ( <a href="http://ghostforbeginners.com/how-to-transfer-blog-posts-from-wordpress-to-ghost/"> shown here </a> ) but it's still not easy enough. People who have invested large amounts of time pounding out content on WordPress don't want to go through a million steps just to move their stuff over. A simple one-plugin process that imports from WordPress would be the ideal solution. Granted, the fact that one currently exists (even if it is a bit complex) is better than nothing.</li>
<li> Offer Hosted and Self Hosted Options 
 Here's another way Ghost has attempted to duplicate the WordPress recipe, by implementing a hosted solution. The problem is that Ghost has offered this only as a paid option which has limited appeal to the millions of people on WordPress.com that currently don't pay a dime. If Ghost was to alter their monetization platform to offer it up for free with paid upgrades, they'd be in a better position to compete. As it stands right now, I don't think they have chosen the right path as of yet. Furthermore, the pricing is too high in my mind. $10 / month, while it may not seem like much is simply too high for a beginner pricing model.</li>
<li> Build up a Community
 The next step is to build up a community and stay active in it. If you can show that your community is active and that your developers (or at the very least, a team of volunteers) are actively answering questions and encouraging users, this will naturally make other potential users feel like they won't be left alone in the dark if they move to your platform. Nobody wants to move to a platform with an inactive community. If you can make people feel welcome and supported, they will move.</li>
</ol>
<h2> Conclusion </h2>
Those are my thoughts as of the moment. I'll be adding to this article as more ideas come to mind but I think it warrants an interesting discussion. I'm not suggesting that WordPress needs to be dethroned either but rather opening up a discussion for those to celebrate the success of the product and to offer up recommendations for other projects looking to become more successful. I personally feel WordPress will be around for many more years and will continue to evolve in its functionality and I'm looking forward to seeing how things change.
What do you think? Join in below in the comments.

What It Will Take to Dethrone WordPress

<a href="http://www.webnodes.com/" target="_blank">Webnodes</a>, an ASP.NET enterprise CMS and eCommerce solution, has unveiled its latest version. The release, Webnodes 5.0, has a focus on, “developer productivity and responsive technologies.”
The Norwegian platform boasts flexibility via its semantic content engine, while at the same time offering a user-friendly interface.
Webnodes 5.0's standout feature for developers is the new ontology module, which has been rewritten from scratch as a Visual Studio plugin. The plugin makes it easy and quick to create advanced data models. Advanced data models have been one of Webnodes’ main selling points, and this release makes it easier to take advantage of the power of their semantic content graph engine.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/visual_studio_plugin700x0.png" />
But that's not all this update brings about.
<h2>Responsive Forms &amp; Compressed Images</h2>
According to Webnodes, almost 90% of new Webnodes projects use responsive templates rather than separate mobile templates (although both approaches are supported). In response to this, the Webnodes forms module now renders in a responsive manner by default.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/responsive_form250x0.png" />
Another challenge when it comes to building a solid responsive website, is the strict limits regarding data traffic limits and the varying speed of mobile networks. This means that the size of a responsive web page plays an important role for the overall user experience.
Webnodes 5.0 introduces a built-in function that automatically compresses images and/or adjusts the image size for mobile devices. These two features results mobile page sizes are often just 20-60% of the original, even if the html is identical between mobile and desktop.
Impressively, this works without using external services or proxy servers. It just works.
<h2>Focus Point &amp; Image Scaling</h2>
The content in a web solution is often exposed through different templates and in different channels. The consequence is that the images are displayed in different sizes and with different proportions.
As an editor in Webnodes you can now apply a focus point per image. Webnodes will automatically ensure that an area around the focus point is always included in all generated versions of the image. All the cropping of images will be performed based on the focus point, and not based on the center of the image.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/image_editor_focuspoint700x0.png" />
By adding a focus point, Webnodes achieves all the benefits of automatic cropping (loose coupling between content and presentation and little manual work), while retaining better control over what parts of the image the various generated images contain. The website gets a perfectly generated image every time, regardless of channel or device used.
To learn more about Webnodes, <a href="http://www.webnodes.com/" target="_blank">visit their website</a>.
Also, be sure to check out Webnodes via our CMS Directory.

Webnodes 5.0 Arrives With Focus on Developer Productivity & Responsive Technologies

Java is one of the most popular programming languages today with support for a myriad of applications, content management being one of them. When it comes to reliability and the ability to deploy it on a wide range of hardware, Java is hard to beat. Today, we're going to look at the project we selected as the Critics' Choice winner for Best Enterprise Java CMS.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/cc-best-enterprise-java-cms-1200x0.png" alt="best enterprise java cms" />
This particular award goes to the project that has shown the best combination of enterprise capabilities, the ability to focus on being agile within the industry and the project that has shown strong growth and word of mouth from customers in 2014.
This year, that project is <a href="http://jahia.com">Jahia</a>.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/logo-jahia200x0.png" alt="Jahia" />
The CMS Critic team was shown first hand at the Jahia conference in Paris this year how committed they are to being the best of the best. Jahia has shown incredible growth and strong word of mouth. The team at Homeaway, who implemented Jahia as their solution of choice, couldn't say enough good things about the product and the same applied to all of their customers. In our discussions throughout the year with customers, we've seen nothing but positives and it seems that Jahia is well poised to continue their strong growth year after year.
Jahia deserves this award and has worked hard for the recognition so please join me in congratulating them on their win. If you want to learn more, visit them on the web at <a href="http://jahia.com">http://jahia.com</a>

2014 Critics' Choice Award Winner - Best Enterprise Java CMS

<a href="http://dotcms.com/" target="_blank">dotCMS</a>, the popular Java, open source, content management system, has rolled out version 3.0. Java and Web developers in particular will want to take note.
The update brings about advanced tools and features, including Cluster Auto-scale and Auto-wire, eliminating manual configuration of dotCMS server clusters. This also means that servers can be automatically provisioned or de-provisioned in response to peaks in traffic, making dotCMS more powerful than ever before at enterprise scale.
<h2>Targeted Toward Java Developers &amp; System Administrators</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/clustering-nodes_700x0.png" />
dotCMS 3.0's new enhancements have been targeted toward Java developers and system administrators, with an aim to maximize efficiency and reduce maintenance efforts.
Such enhancements include standard WAR based deployments, moving to modern build and code management tools (Github, etc), and deployment on almost any application server including Tomcat, Weblogic, Websphere, Jboss, etc.
Furthermore, the new built-in Sass and Less Auto-compiler is a unique feature for helping Web developers build modern CSS-driven web applications efficiently. The addition of Multi-type Containers is another example of building features into dotCMS that give developers the freedom and flexibility to build sites the way they want to.
Will Ezell, CTO of dotCMS Services LLC made these comments regarding the release:
<blockquote>“With all the new features in dotCMS 3.0 that help developers move forward, faster, it may not be evident that many of the changes and improvements in version 3.0 have taken place in the background, enhancing the core code. Importantly, this release is a strong step towards building our foundation for delivering more sophisticated and powerful capabilities in upcoming releases. With dotCMS 3.0 we are certainly making our software a powerful delivery system in content management, and the perfect hub at the center of the Internet of Things (IoT).”</blockquote>
My <a href="/a-preview-of-dotcms-3.0/" target="_blank">preview of dotCMS 3.0</a> goes into further detail regarding the specific features of the update.
You can download dotCMs for yourself here: <a href="http://dotcms.com/download/">http://dotcms.com/download/</a> or you could try out the online demo at: <a href="http://dotcms.com/explore/demo/">http://dotcms.com/explore/demo/</a>
To find out more about dotCMS, <a href="http://dotcms.com/" target="_blank">visit their website</a>.
Also, you can discover more of <a href="/products/dotcms/" target="_blank">dotCMS via our CMS Directory</a>.

dotCMS 3.0 Brings In Enhancements Tailored For Java & Web Developers

<a href="https://ghost.org/" target="_blank">Ghost</a>, the freshly crowned winner of the <a href="/2014-most-promising-cms/" target="_blank">2014 Critic's Choice Award for Most Promising CMS</a>, has taken another important step forward in the world of blogging platforms — by buying up some competition.
<a href="https://roon.io/" target="_blank">Roon.io</a>, like Ghost, was a young blogging platform. It launched in June 2013, making it only a few months older and Ghost. Along with over 100,000 users, Roon had a deep focus on making content creation easy, although its standout feature was its markdown editor. So standout was this feature in fact, that it sparked the interest of Ghost. 
Here's some of the story behind the move, along with some hints at what will happen next. 
<h2>Going Ghost</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/roon-announcement700x0.jpg" alt="Ghost Roon.io" />
Via the Ghost blog, founder John O'Nolan remarked that Roon.io was, “a beautifully designed, Markdown powered, modern blogging platform.” Notable praise from a man who knows his stuff.
O'Nolan went on though, pinpointing Roon's markdown editor as a reason for the acquisition:
<blockquote>
“One of Roon’s biggest strengths as a product has always been its beautiful Markdown editor, which should come as no surprise given Sam’s background. His other main project is a beautiful desktop Markdown editor for OS X called Whiskey. We’re incredibly excited about making an even more functional, beautiful Ghost editor.”
</blockquote>
So, the deal should see Ghost's own markdown editor improved over time. Howev, this move has also brought about a more immediate impact. 
Ghost have ported Roon’s front-end design as a brand new official theme for Ghost, so existing Roon users can start feeling at home straight away. Here's the demo, and here's the download.
Speaking of Roon users, Ghost has tried to make their migration process an amicable one.
Roon's hosted services will come to an official end as of December 31st, 2014. after that, Ghost will be providing full data exports as well as migration options for all of Roon’s 100,000+ users to the Ghost platform. Anyone who has paid for a premium Roon.io account will receive 12 months of Ghost Pro for free.
Plus, Ghost are extending a3 month free trial to any other Roon users who would like to give Ghost Pro a try. Ghost is of course free if you wish to self-host.
More details (and a short FAQ which should put Roon user nerves) can be found on the <a href="http://blog.ghost.org/roon/" target="_blank">Ghost blog</a>.

Blogging Platform Roon.io Acquired by Ghost

<a href="http://buildwithcraft.com/" target="_blank">Craft CMS</a> has just released its latest version, bringing about a wide range of updates. It's not a “major” update, but it's definitely not a minor one either.
Flexibility, simplicity, and control are the three buzzwords Craft use to describe themselves. With tailorable sections, custom fields, and content creation tools, Craft is designed to be able to suit the needs and wants of each user.
Craft 2.3 brings about over 230 new features, improvements, and APIs. Impressive. Here's a video, followed by the highlights.
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/113308175?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<h2>Index Page Editing &amp; Matrix Revamped</h2>
With Craft 2.3, it’s now possible to make changes to your entries, categories, assets, or users right from their index pages. You can edit a user from a modal window, update the status on a batch of entries, replace a file with a new one, bulk-delete a few unneeded categories, and so forth.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/entry-index-editor_2x700x0.png" />
Matrix fields also have a new look, and it’s now possible to reorder, expand, collapse, enable, disable, and delete multiple blocks at once. Plus, Craft's Matrix block type fields can now have instruction text.
They are also no longer required to have names, helping to streamline block creation.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/matrix-field-batch-menu_2x700x0.png" />
<h2>More Scalable, Extensive &amp; Understandable</h2>
Craft's Control Panel has been enhanced in a number of areas. According to Craft, the control panel is now better equipped to handle sites with thousands of entries, categories, users, and assets.
For example, plugins can now add their own tools to element index pages using the new <a href="https://buildwithcraft.com/features/%7Bentry:plugins/element-actions%7D">Element Actions</a> APIs, and there are some <a href="http://buildwithcraft.com/docs/plugins/hooks-reference#modifyEntryTableAttributes">new hooks</a> that make it possible to customize the index pages’ table columns.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/assets-index-in-hebrew_2x700x0.png" />
Finally, the Craft Control Panel is now as accessible as ever. It has been translated into five new languages: Simplified Chinese, Hebrew, Korean, Spanish, and Swedish. That brings Craft's grand total up to <a href="http://buildwithcraft.com/help/cp-languages">15 supported languages</a>.
For more information on Craft CMS 2.3, <a href="http://buildwithcraft.com/" target="_blank">check out their website</a>, as well as their <a href="https://buildwithcraft.com/features/new" target="_blank">roundup of what's new</a>. The full release notes can be found <a href="http://buildwithcraft.com/updates#build2615" target="_blank">here</a>.
Plus, you can discover more of <a href="/products/craft-cms/" target="_blank">Craft via our CMS Directory</a>.

Craft 2.3 Arrives With Flurry of Features

Kontent.ai - Agentic CMS

Meet the world's first Agentic CMS

#ffffff

eZ Systems has announced the release of version 5.4 of their enterprise content management system, eZ Publish. According to the release notes, 5.4 introduces several new features which makes it easier to use, faster to develop on and also continues to improve performance.
Like earlier 5.x releases for this release the developers have heavily contributed to existing projects in the Symfony ecosystem to bundle powerful components under the hood which together takes extensibility in eZ Publish Platform to a new level.
 Here are some of the major highlights regarding the release: 
<ul>
<li>
eZ Publish Platform 5.4 brings 28 new features, 45 improvements, and 184 bug fixes that were present in 5.3 or lower. Release notes are <a href="https://doc.ez.no/display/EZP/5.4+Release+Notes" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> available here </a> .
</li>
<li>
A new Cluster System, inspired from the previous cluster system that has now been ported to the new architecture based on Symfony. This offers much more extensibility and also make it much simpler of use.
</li>
<li>
A new native images and binary I/O system based on the new architecture and without legacy dependence.
</li>
<li>
Out of the box native support for Varnish HTTP cache system.
</li>
<li>
New possibilities to deploy images in a cloud infrastructure like Amazon Web Services (AWS) or to use dedicated and highly optimized web servers for the delivery of images and rich media.
</li>
<li>
Out of the box premium content controlled access based on roles and permissions.
</li>
<li>
Many other new platform level features such as a new image alias system, an improved HTTP cache system, dynamic settings injection, url decorators and more.
</li>
<li>
eZ Publish Platform 5.4 is the last of the 5.x generation and will be available for long-term extended support up to fall 2019.
</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
“We are excited for developers to get their hands on the latest version. We believe that eZ Publish Platform 5.4 is our most stable and most powerful version to date. We also would like to thank the many contributors that help us to create quality open source commercial CMS software, this is a great foundation for the future eZ Platform.” – Aleksander Farstad, Co-founder and CEO
</blockquote>
Why upgrade?
<ul>
<li>
The release significantly improves developer experience thanks to a system that relies very little on the old legacy system. For developers, this makes 5.4 more agile and more powerful than before thanks to the Symfony framework.
</li>
<li>
eZ Publish Platform 5.4 makes it easy for Symfony users to use and integrate with other Symfony projects.
</li>
<li>
The release makes it easier for newcomers to eZ to learn the new platform.
</li>
<li>
eZ Publish Platform 5.4 makes it easy for current eZ developers to move to the new stack and take advantage of all its benefits.
</li>
<li>
With 5.4, there is now a standard way to implement the management and delivery of premium content, a clear case where content really means business. You can promote your premium content to all your readers and deliver it in its full version only to the subscribers that have the right permissions for it, whether it’s based on a subscription or on any other mechanism.
</li>
</ul>
To find out everything about this new release, check out their brochure which covers the changes and enhancements in detail. You can find it here: <a href="http://ez.no/content/download/22784/440859/version/2/file/eZ+Publish+Platform+5.4+brochure.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">5.4 brochure</a>.

eZ Publish Releases version 5.4 of their flagship CMS

<a href="http://www.elgg.org/" target="_blank">Elgg</a> has released an update with a focus on improving their documentation for the benefit of their users.
The open source social networking platform has been around for a number of years. It enables businesses, schools and universities to create their own social networks and applications.
<h2>Learning Elgg Has Never Been Easier</h2>
Along with a number of bug fixes and general tweaks, version 1.9.6 is laregly about Elgg's documentation. Specifically, the update has involved moving moving pages from <a href="http://docs.elgg.org/">docs.elgg.org</a> to <a href="http://learn.elgg.org/">learn.elgg.org</a>. Here's what got moved around:
<ul>
<li>“Finding plugins” page moved.</li>
<li>“Plugin order” page moved.</li>
<li>“Getting help” page moved.</li>
<li>“Duplicate installation” page moved.<a href="https://github.com/Elgg/Elgg/commit/53dfaca85a65ebba492bef45947d935c037eb0f8"> 
</a></li>
<li>“Backup and restore” page moved.</li>
</ul>
The purpose was of course to migrate Elgg's user documentation from <a href="http://docs.elgg.org/">docs.elgg.org</a> to <a href="http://learn.elgg.org/">learn.elgg.org</a>, which was a much needed move in my opinion. The new home for Elgg's documentation is far easier to navigate, and is easier on the eyes.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/elgg700x0.jpg" />
Not only will this update help existing users, but it should also allow potential social network developers the chance to learn more about what Elgg can do.
The full list of bug fixes and updates for Elgg 1.9.6 can be found here.
Also, you can discover more about Elgg via our CMS Directory.

Elgg 1.9.6 released

When it comes to innovation, the world of Content Management is at the forefront. With ever changing requirements and technologies and the ever increasing power of social media, change is happening every day. These days, a CMS has to be agile and innovative to survive.Today, we're going to announce our pick for Most Innovative CMS for 2014.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/most_innovative_cms200x0.png" alt="most innovative cms" />This year, one CMS showed us how truly innovative they were and that CMS was Sitecore.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/logo_black_with_tagline400x0.png" />With the <a href="/exploring-the-newly-announced-sitecore-8/">introduction of Sitecore 8</a>, we saw first hand how Sitecore aims to innovate and stay on top of the latest trends and this year, we feel they are on the top of their game and worthy of this award.Sitecore 8 brings to the table a ton of new features such as:<ul><li>Automated Testing &amp; Optimization: Marketers can feel confident that the customer experience is being optimized constantly, in real time, through every interaction, over any platform. This confidence travels up through the marketing organization, all the way to the Chief Marketing Officer.</li><li>Resulting Focus: Because customer experience testing and optimization occurs effortlessly, marketers can now focus on other critical tasks. </li><li>Customized for Each Business: The customer experience can be managed based on how the business runs, not how the software dictates. </li><li>Consistent Customer Experiences: Sitecore 8 breaks down the silos among functions, enabling them to work together to create a consistent customer experience. </li><li>The Whole Picture: Marketers gain a complete view of how customers are interacting with the company, even in other systems, websites, or with other permission-based, customer- facing functions. </li><li>Insight Sharing: Marketers can provide insight about customer interactions to other organizations/functions within the company.</li></ul>To get the full details on this release, check out their Sitecore 8 page: <a target="_blank" href="http://www.sitecore.net/Platform/Sitecore-8.aspx">http://www.sitecore.net/Platform/Sitecore-8.aspx</a>Congratulations to the team at Sitecore. Keep innovating!

2014 Critics Choice Winner - Most Innovative CMS

<a href="http://www.oxwall.org/" target="_blank">Oxwall</a>, a CMS for social networking websites, has released some notable updates in the form of Oxwall 1.7.2.
Seen as a steady solution for a number of years, Oxwall is a free and open source software package for building social networks, family sites and collaboration systems.
Let's take a closer look at what's new.
<h2>Avatars, Messaging &amp; Flagging Improvements</h2>
“Finally!”, the Oxwall team said via their announcement. Users can now choose avatars from their existing photo albums. It's been a long time coming, but it's here now at least.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/capturecapture700x0.jpg" alt="OXwall Avatars" />
Selecting an image to be your avatar will also allow you to crop it before it goes live.
Oxwall have continued to add to their new Messages plugin, which is another essential feature for a social networking CMS. Here’s what they came up with:
<ul>
<li>Increased conversation body area;</li>
<li>Improved conversation list (back icon, attachment indicator, group actions);</li>
<li>Text formatting for input;</li>
<li>Various performance optimizations</li>
</ul>
The Oxwall team also conceded that, “flagging content has always been an underdeveloped aspect in Oxwall. We are focused on optimizing daily experience with Oxwall, that’s why we came up with a new, completely redesigned moderation interface in the admin area.”
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/img_18112014_171039700x0.png" alt="Oxwall Flagging" /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/img_18112014_171039700x0.png" alt="Oxwall Flagging" />
This new interface will be populated with various types of flagged content for administrators to review.
For more information on Oxwall 1.7.2, check out the <a href="http://blog.oxwall.org/2014/11/oxwall-1-7-2-beta-release" target="_blank">official blog announcement</a>, as well as the <a href="http://oxwall.org/1.7.2/CHANGELOG.txt" target="_blank">complete changelog</a>. You can download Oxwall 1.7.2 <a href="http://www.oxwall.org/download" target="_blank">here</a>.
Plus, you can explore more of <a href="/products/oxwall/" target="_blank">Oxwall via our CMS Directory</a>.

Oxwall 1.7.2 Brings Avatars & Messaging Improvements

Selz, an eCommerce solution which integrates with existing websites, has released a handy content editor.
Thanks to its recently released <a href="https://selz.com/blog/new-store-pro-app-make-store-even-beautiful/" target="_blank">Store Pro</a> feature, Selz has expanded its functional scope past Facebook and WordPress integration, giving users a fully functioning stand-alone store with its own domain name.
The Selz team has been busy in recent months, improving things like its <a href="/selz-releases-new-shopping-cart-app/" target="_blank">shopping cart app</a>, <a href="/selz-steps-up-google-analytics-integration/" target="_blank">Google Analytics integration</a>, <a href="/selz-gives-users-more-uploading-power/" target="_blank">uploading power</a>, and more. Let's take a look at what the content editor now brings.
<h2>Point, Click, Type</h2>
The new Selz Content Editor allows you to style your product descriptions just the way you want them. Now you can tidy things up with headings, bulletpoints and links. 
All you need to do is click on the example text and start typing. For further editing options, you can highlight a bit of text, which will automatically bring up a pop up text formatting editor.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/content_editor.png" alt="Selz Content Editor" />
You can go bold, italic, add a link, use 2 different heading sizes and even bullet or number your points. The result? Clear product descriptions that are even more gorgeous than before.
Naturally, the main purpose of the contend editor is to give users more power over the look and feel of their product listings. It's not the most powerful content editor around, but it's certainly a start. Plus, it looks extremely simple to use.
You can check out the Selz announcement of this update <a href="https://selz.com/blog/new-feature-content-editor/" target="_blank">via their blog</a>.

Selz Rolls Out Content Editor

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