Articles - Page 133

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

matt-garrepy

The first beta for Drupal 8 was released over a year ago, on October 1st 2014. Now though, <a href="https://www.drupal.org/node/2605142" target="_blank">Drupal 8 finally has a release date</a>; November 19th 2015.
<img style="max-width:400px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/drupal_logo-blue-1_400x0.png" />
It's been a long time coming, but the Drupal team and community seem to have worked hard on honing this latest version to what we hope will be an extremely high standard.
For those unaware, Drupal is an open-source platform that's used and maintained by a community that's almost 700,000 strong. During the 2014 CMS Awards, Drupal was named the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-critic-awards/">People's Choice Best Enterprise PHP CMS</a>.
<h2>What to Expect from Drupal 8</h2>
Durpal has been working on a number of improvements that are ready to roll out with Drupal 8. These include:
<ul>
<li>WYSIWYG editing</li>
<li>“Significantly improved mobile support”</li>
<li>New object-oriented backend leveraging <a href="https://symfony.com/">Symfony</a> components</li>
<li>Revamped configuration management</li>
<li>Improved multilingual support</li>
<li>Easily customize the front page, listing blocks, and more</li>
<li>Better markup with HTML</li>
</ul>
Drupal also sent out a message of appreciation to their community members who gave a helping hand:
<blockquote>“Thanks to the nearly 3,300 people who contributed to the codebase of Drupal 8 as well as hundreds of others who organized events, conducted usability tests, mentored contributors, found sponsors, etc.—in short did all the awesome things that made Drupal 8 happen.”</blockquote>
There's no doubting that the arrival of Drupal 8 will be a big milestone in the platform's history. Indeed, it's big news for the world of CMS as a whole, as they don't come much bigger than Drupal.
You can find our more about <a href="/products/drupal/" target="_blank">Drupal via our CMS directory</a>.

Drupal 8 Release Date: November 19th 2015

mike-johnston

Your CMS is where you turn to publish articles and share news publicly. But where do you turn when you want to share something privately?
<a href="https://gethermit.com/" target="_blank">Hermit</a> is a charming (and surprisingly feature-rich) hosted writing platform for those who want their words to be their point of recognition, instead of their name.
<a href="https://gethermit.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/hermit.png" /></a>
With Hermit, you can write, share and even publish your work in total anonymity.
<h2>Write in Private, Share Anonymously &amp; Connect With Strangers</h2>
With well over 8,000 users, Hermit has a growing community to match its unique approach to handling written content.
It's a place to air your opinions, rant and perhaps even spread knowledge, without anybody ever knowing who you really are.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-11274x0-is.png" />
Here's a breakdown of Hermit's core features:
<ul>
<li>
Double encryption for fortified privacy
</li>
<li>
Public &amp; private sharing
</li>
<li>
Publish anonymously for other Hermit users to read
</li>
<li>
Connect &amp; write to people from around the world, personally
</li>
<li>
Powerful auto-saving
</li>
<li>
Weekly reports
</li>
<li>
Optional author name
</li>
</ul>
<h2>The Hermit Library</h2>
Written something worth sharing?
The Hermit Library is where users can anonymously publish their work for the entire community to read, like and comment on.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-2855x0-is.png" />
It can be an inspiring, yet sombre place.
The library holds everything from depressed daily memories to motivational speeches. People from around the world are pouring their hearts out anonymously, and you can feel it.
There's no categorization, as the published “books” are listed according to the amount of likes they attract. As a result, different genres, moods and thought-processes are bunched together randomly. It's weirdly immersive.
<h2>The Penpal Experience</h2>
If you would rather build a more personal bond with somebody, Hermit's Penpal system is an excellent avenue to explore.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-4868x0-is.png" />
Hermit pairs you with somebody who speaks your language from somewhere in the world – always keeping things anonymous, of course.
You may then send them a letter, to which they can reply. The twist? Each recipient must wait 12 hours before they can respond.
This suspense-building buffer zone of time is designed to mimic the feeling of sending and receiving letters in the good old days, back when long distance communication actually meant having to wait a while for a response.
I'm new to Hermit myself, but I'm already a fan. It's different, fun and extremely cool thanks to the air of mystery it has about it.
Interested in joining the Hermit community? <a href="https://gethermit.com/" target="_blank">Try Hermit yourself, for free</a>.

Hermit: Private Publishing & International Penpals

<a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/" target="_blank">BlackMonk</a>, the CMS specializing in portal, has stretched out a hand to startups.
The Banglore-based platform is built to power online newspapers, magazine sites, business directories, city portals, community portals and similar projects.
<a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/bm_200x0.png" /></a>
Traditionally, BlackMonk aimed themselves directly enterprises, quoting no less than $6,000 for a license. Now though, startups have a chance to get in on the action.
<h2>BlackMonk Small Business Edition</h2>
With prices starting from just $80 a month, small businesses can enjoy the following BlackMonk features on a SaaS (Software as a Service) basis:
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/features/articles-news-management/" target="_blank">Articles</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/features/directory-software/" target="_blank">Directory</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/features/photo-gallery/" target="_blank">Photo Gallery</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/features/video-gallery/" target="_blank">Video Gallery</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/features/banner-management/" target="_blank">Banner Ad Management</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/features/user-management/" target="_blank">User Management</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/features/custom-pages/" target="_blank">Custom Pages (WYSIWYG)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/features/social-share/" target="_blank">FaceBook Integration</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/features/social-share/" target="_blank">Twitter Integration</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/features/social-share/" target="_blank">Google+ Integration</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/saas/plans/#" target="_blank">Google Maps Integration</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/features/payment-gateway/" target="_blank">Payment Processing</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/features/email-templates/" target="_blank">Transactional Email Templates</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/features/seo/" target="_blank">Search Engine Optimization</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/features/data-migration/" target="_blank">Data Import/Export</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/features/data-migration/" target="_blank">Data Migration Tools</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/features/reports/" target="_blank">Reports</a></li>
</ul>
There are <a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/saas/plans/" target="_blank">three plans are on offer</a> alongside the traditional Enterprise plan; Basic, Premium &amp; Professional. Basic gets you everything on the list above, whereas higher plans grant you access to features like Google Maps integration and community forums.
A demo of BlackMonk can be <a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/saas-request-demo/" target="_blank">applied for here</a>.
To find out more about BlackMonk CMS, <a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/" target="_blank">check out their website</a>, or read our <a href="/blackmonk-cms-review/" target="_blank">BlackMonk Review</a>.

BlackMonk Small Business Edition Released

From Chatbots to ContentOps: How AI is Coming to Your CMS (Whether You Like It or Not)

An android with its eyes closed, and a cloud above showing it dreaming of electric sheep.

Currently in Beta, <a href="http://www.online.me/" target="_blank">Trident</a> is a self-professed SCMS — a Social Content Management System.
Trident is being driven by the highly experienced team behind Boonex Dolphin, and can be downloaded and installed to a hosting server before being extended and tweaked through various apps.
<a href="http://www.online.me/" target="_blank"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/97413screen11079x0.jpg" /></a>
At first glance, Trident looks like the sleek and sexy platform which the social networking space has been crying out for. But let's not judge this book by it's cover. Here's what Trident can do.
<h2>Beautiful &amp; Uber-Friendly</h2>
On top of looking the part, Trident is designed for responsiveness.
Most traffic to social networks come through mobile devices, and Trident have prioritised accordingly:
<blockquote>“We test on mobiles, tablets and desktops, and make make sure that all graphics support 1x and 2x resolution, and all interface icons are vector-based. Typography, link targets and navigation are all optimised for tap-control and reading from compact screens.”</blockquote>
Here's a further breakdown of Trident's responsive features, as well as all of its other capabilities.
<a href="http://www.online.me/" target="_blank"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/p2zze0w.jpg" /></a>
Mobile-Friendly
Every page and every action in Trident is designed for mobile devices first and foremost.
The Trident team says that they have, “acknowledged that today's social networks receive more mobile traffic than desktop traffic. So, we've created the system that is not just adapted for mobile devices, but is built for them from ground-up.”
Retina-Ready
All modern mobile devices have beautifully crisp screens, and Trident isn't looking to be a platform that lags behind in terms of aesthetics (like many other SCMS). Trident is 100% retina-optimized with all its vector icons, CSS-based layouts, and hi-resolution graphics.
Trouble-Free
Almost all web platforms require a lot of technical maintenance – installation of new modules, version updates, module updates, modification, customization – all these tasks require technical skills and a lot of time.
Trident is not like that. Instead, everything is automatic and simplified.
Multi-Profile
Previously, this feature was something only ever found in the top-tier global social networks like Facebook or Google+.
Trident though, supports multiple profiles under single account, meaning that one user can create a Person profile, an Organisation profile, and other kinds of special profiles. Users can also switch between their profiles on-the-fly.
Studio
Trident features an unprecedented configuration system, called Studio.
The idea behind Studio is in the separation of site content administration and general site configuration. Administration can be done by trusted site members (such as moderators) or by hired admins, whereas configuration is a creative process that is best suited for the site operator or owner.
<h2>App-tastic &amp; Down Right Exciting</h2>
The aforementioned Studio is the place where all of Trident's site settings, pages, modules, languages, templates and plugins are controlled. These are called Trident Apps.
<a href="http://www.online.me/" target="_blank"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/61610screen21079x0.jpg" /></a>
Every app adds and changes functionality, just a building block. Users can mix and match Apps to achieve whatever type of social networking site they have in mind.
Essentially, Trident is aiming to make social network building easier for developers, designers, and administrators on the go.
For me, this level of responsiveness, flexibility, and accessibility ties in perfectly with <a href="/cms-in-2015-what-we-want-to-see/" target="_blank">what I called for from social networking space at the beginning of 2015</a>. Because Trident seems to have hit the nail on the head so well, I'm personally excited to see how this Boonex project progresses in the coming months and years.
Learn more about Trident and try out a demo by <a href="http://www.online.me/" target="_blank">visiting their website</a>.

Trident Beta Released: Build Mobile-Friendly Social Networks

<a href="/products/squarespace">Squarespace</a>, the popular website builder, has unveiled two new product experiences, one of which makes Squarespace available for as little as $3 per month.<a href="/products/squarespace"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/imagescauzpt5i-1_2.jpg" /></a> In addition to the core website builder, Squarespace is introducing a lower price plan via Squarespace Cover Pages and a revamped Squarespace Commerce platform with a number of new features aimed at e-commerce merchants.Squarespace have reported seeing their subscriber rate remain above 100 percent throughout 2013 and 2014, stating that this steady growth was one of the reasons for this pricing and product shake up.<h2>Cover Pages &amp; Commerce</h2>Cover Pages aren't new to Squarespace. <a href="/squarespace-releases-squarespace-7/">They came as part of the release of Squarespace 7 back in 2014</a>.Now, though, they come as a standalone product alongside the Squarespace core platform. Before, you needed to dish out the full $8 per month in order to access Cover Pages.Similarly, Commerce has been on offer for a while, but now comes with a little more under the hood, for the same price of $26 per month.Here's what Squarespace users can now expect:Squarespace Cover Pages:Affordable Price Point: Starting at just $3 a month, Squarespace Cover Pages allow simplicity and sophistication to coexist within one page.28 Cover Page Layouts: Customers can choose to highlight social media accounts, share podcast episodes or album singles, and much more.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-1809x0-is.png" />Squarespace Commerce:4 New Commerce Templates: Templates designed specifically with Commerce needs in mind.Commerce Mobile App: The easiest way to manage a Commerce business on the go, now in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.squarespace.com/commerce-beta">public beta</a> for Android and iOS.Abandoned checkout Recovery: Send email reminders to customers who leave items in their cart without completing their purchase.Real-time Carrier Rates: A new integration with UPS and FedEx provides more accurate shipping estimatesCommerce Metrics: Later this month, Squarespace will release brand new Commerce metrics that help sellers better understand their sales and customers.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-2928x0-is.png" />The new $3 plan allows users to build one-page websites in order to stir up interest in their product or service. essentially, it's a landing page builder from Squarespace; which, at $3 per month, is a pretty sweet deal as far as I can see.The additions to Squarespace Commerce are also good to see, particularly as there is no increase in price.Anthony Casalena, the CEO and Founder of Squarespace, says that this update is all about beauty:<blockquote>“Our goal is to provide the tools customers need to build a beautiful brand.As we’ve grown, we’ve noticed the opportunity to provide more tailored experiences to particular customer groups. Not every Squarespace customer launching a simple idea needs a multi-page website; this led to the Cover Pages product.Conversely, the merchants on our platform have shown an increasing demand for more sophisticated functionalities, which led to the development of a distinct Commerce product.”</blockquote>To find out more about this update, check out the Squarespace blog.And as usual, you can explore more of <a href="/products/squarespace">Squarespace through our CMS Directory</a>.

Squarespace Introduces New Plans: Single Page & Commerce

Just as <a href="/how-magnolia-cms-responds-to-the-evolving-call-of-multi-channel-content-management/#.UzWeNvl_vvU"> Magnolia CMS responds to the ever-changing call of multi-channel content management</a>, so too has it adapted to the mobile revolution.
With mobile devices becoming such a crucial part of everyday life and business, managing content and staying connected when out and about is now absolutely necessary.
Magnolia ensures that their users can create, manage and publish content for multiple channels on tablet devices, just as easily as they can on a desktop.
<h2>Moving with the Mobile Revolution</h2>
Mobile devices have become increasingly vital to the workings of all modern organizations. Because of this, the Magnolia team felt that they needed to react, as Boris Kraft, CTO of Magnolia, explains in his <a href="/interview-with-boris-kraft-cto-of-magnolia/#.UzVIVvl_vvX"> recent CMS Critic interview</a>:
<blockquote> “When the mobile revolution and the rise of tablets came to the equation, we knew we had to drop how user interfaces of enterprise software are usually done and take a radical new approach. 
 We started from scratch and did more than 3000 mock ups for Magnolia 5. The result is an enterprise software unlike any other, which fulfils all our wishes regarding usability and extensibility.” </blockquote>
The results of these efforts came in the form of Magnolia 5, released on June 20 th 2013. On that day, Magnolia became the first software to bring full CMS capabilities to tablet devices.
Since then, Magnolia users have benefited from touch-optimized usability along with some handy mobile-specific functions, which I will soon discuss.
<h2>More Than Responsive</h2>
Magnolia isn't just responsive to tablet screens. It also boasts specific functions and features which tablet users can exclusively enjoy.
First up, the Magnolia Apps launcher offers a touch-optimized navigation point between content management Apps like pages and assets. This interface is similar to that of most smartphones, making it easy to find your way around.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/cmscritic1700x0.png" alt="Magnolia App Launcher" />
Apps are the centrepiece of Magnolia CMS. Each App allows you to focus on the task at hand, only offering the functionality you need to complete the task. Yet, multi-tasking on tablets is easy, with only a three-fingered swipe across the screen being needed to switch from one App to another.
All features and functions – like page creation and content editing for example – work in the same way as they do on the desktop version of Magnolia.
Further usability options include a simple and intuitive action bar displayed on the side of the tablet screen. The action bar automatically highlights available actions, depending on what you are working on. Optimized for mobile devices, you can easily expand and collapse the action bar with a swipe of your finger.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/cmscritic3700x0.png" alt="Magnolia Tablet Interface" />
Furthermore, Magnolia's mobile-optimized Asset App enables you to manage assets like photos and videos. Within the Asset App, you can zoom in and out of assets to get a clearer view before making a selection.
Meanwhile, images can be resized, cropped, rotated, flipped and so forth, all via the on-screen action bar.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/cmscritic4700x0.png" alt="Magnolia Tablet Image Editing" />
Additional image management features on tablets include the ability to capture, edit, manage and publish pictures and videos taken directly from the tablet camera.
This feature is unique to Magnolia's mobile-optimized CMS, and allows for increased freedom when it comes to tasks like news publishing on the move in ways which are unseen on other platforms.
<h2>Staying Connected, Staying Familiar</h2>
One of the main purposes of a mobile device is to help you stay connected and in control even when on the move, and Magnolia recognizes this.
The Pulse contains information items, warnings, error notifications or workflow items, and is easily accessible at the top of every page on tablet devices. This four-tiered notification system helps mobile professionals assess messages and take action quickly, maintaining control of their processes, even when travelling.
Another useful feature which is maintained on the mobile version of Magnolia, is the Favorites feature.
With it, users can easily create shortcuts for common tasks and group them into semantic “to-do” lists or “recipes”. Authors on mobile devices can work faster, thanks to the luxury of a two-click access route to these tasks, which may include creating a new page or adding a new special offer.
Favorites are also portable across multiple devices and browsers, so Favorites created on your desktop can also be accessed via your tablet.
Along with other features like page editing, the Pulse and Favourites features are just two more examples of how Magnolia has seamlessly introduced their platform for the mobile market by keeping features identical between desktop and tablet.
This means that users will find Magnolia on tablets extremely familiar, with no need to learn any drastically new controls.
To find out more about Magnolia CMS visit their <a href="http://www.magnolia-cms.com/">official website</a>. Also, check out their informative white paper, “<a href="http://www.magnolia-cms.com/resources-directory/white-papers/the-tablet-publishing-revolution.html">The Tablet Publishing Revolution</a>”.
Additionally, you can explore more of <a href="/products/magnolia-cms/"> Magnolia via our CMS Directory</a>.

Magnolia: The World's First Mobile-optimized CMS

As we move forward with our featured coverage of <a href="http://www.agilitycms.com/" target="_blank">Agility CMS</a>, it’s time to take a look at look at something the company’s CEO, Jonathan Voigt, calls, “Feature Bloat”.
Agility CMS provides cloud-based digital content management solutions for top brands across the globe.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/agilitypaw.jpeg" />
According to Jonathan Voigt, the feature set of any given CMS should be seen as but one dimension of the total solution — no matter how long the feature list happens to be. I’ll allow him to explain in his own words, directly from his recent interview with Mike Johnston:
<blockquote>“[One CMS will say], “we have all of these features, and another will say we [also] have all of these features.
[The problem is that] CMSs are rated on their feature sets, without looking at the bigger benefits.
People just do a feature comparison, saying, “this CMS has 200 features, I’ll go with that.”
But then you can’t even use those features because they’re either too complex or too expensive to implement.
[Instead, the customer should ask themselves], “What’s my budget, do I need support, and what’s the top few features that I need 100%?”</blockquote>
<h2>Making Great Use of a Diverse Partner List</h2>
In line with the above quote, Agility focuses more on doing what they feel they do best — building and managing great websites.
By welcoming partnerships with a range of other companies and third-party tools, Agility aims to form the best solution possible for different customers and projects each and every time.
Jillean Kearney, Agility’s Marketing Manager, explains:
<blockquote>“We partner with other companies and third party tools to get the very best in e-commerce platforms, ticketing systems and more.
This way, each solution built on Agility CMS is specifically tailored to exactly what each customer needs. Our partner network is really important to us for this very reason.”</blockquote>
These numerous partners mentioned by Jillean Kearney <a href="http://agilitycms.com/partners">can be found right here</a>.
One example can be found in the partnership between Agility and Bushfire North. Together, the two Toronto-based companies have built websites for Chapman’s Kids Club and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Bushfire North praised Agility for its multi-lingual capabilities, cloud-based nature, scalability and its excellent level of support to the customer.
Agility have also teamed up with Point Alliance in the past, <a href="http://agilitycms.com/resources/case-study-hockey-canada">taking them as a development partner for the Hockey Canada website</a>.
Craig Cameron the Senior Manager of the Hockey Canada website also praised Agility for their support system, speed and ease of use.
<h2>A CMS First &amp; Foremost</h2>
Essentially, Agility are setting themselves apart from the rest of the herd by going without “one-size-fits-all” solutions.
Their approach has an objective of being more refined, more tailored and more about actual content management in the truest sense of the term.
To find out more about Agility CMS, <a href="http://www.agilitycms.com/" target="_blank">visit their website</a>, or check them out through our <a href="/products/agility-cms/" target="_blank">CMS Directory</a>.

Why Agility CMS Doesn’t Partake In “Feature Bloating”

Weglot - The easiest way to translate a website

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Many companies across the world, both big and small, endeavour to make work as enjoyable as possible for their employees. <a href="http://www.agilitycms.com/" target="_blank">Agility</a> though, seem to be amongst the select few that are genuinely succeeding.
Agility CMS provides cloud-based digital content management solutions for top brands across the globe.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/agilitypaw.jpeg" style="max-width:500px" />
Following an <a href="/cms-critic-interviews-jonathan-voigt-of-agility-cms/" target="_blank">interesting interview</a> and a <a href="/agility-cms-walkthrough-video-with-cms-critic/" target="_blank">sneak peek at an upcoming release</a> with CEO Jonathan Voigt, Agility’s CEO, I’m taking a look at the culture that drives the Agility CMS team.
Speaking of Jonathan Voigt, here’s what he has to say about the role and quality of his employees:
<blockquote>“Agility's greatest attribute is its people. We have an amazing team that is made up of smart, passionate and committed individuals, and we're all aligned under the same goal of providing the best experiences for our customers and anyone that comes into contact with the company.”</blockquote>
Jillean Kearney, Agility’s Marketing Manager, also chimed in on what it’s like to work at Agility:
<blockquote>“Our culture is something we’re really proud of and we’re always fostering. Agility is a fun place to work. It’s a great team to be a part of.”</blockquote>
Let’s now take a look at this company culture in action.
<h2>Healthy Bodies, Healthy Software &amp; Lots of Fun</h2>
The stereotypically unhealthy tech geek staring at a screen for twenty hours straight isn’t an attractive image — nor is it a professional one. Thankfully, the software buffs at Agility CMS are helping to break the mould.
A recent Go-Karting trip for instance, is one way by which the Agility team bonds in a healthy and competitive way.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/dsc_0123_11079x0.jpg" />
The team’s <a href="http://agilitycms.com/News/What-its-Like-to-Work-at-Agility" target="_blank">participation in the Toronto Warrior Dash</a> is another example.
Made up of over three miles of tough terrain, it’s the largest obstacle race in the world. So naturally, the Agility team saw fit to conquer it together.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/before-after-warrior-dash.jpg" />
Aside from matching t-shirts, there’s nothing quite like crawling through mud to bring a team together!
<h2>A Community Conscious Company</h2>
On top of making life (and work) more pleasant for its own employees, Agility’s company culture also encompasses the wider community. Here’s how.
Four times a year, one Agility employee chooses a cause that's important to them, and the entire team rallies together to think of ways to actively help.
For example, the company recently <a href="http://agilitycms.com/News/The-Agility-Team-Donated-200-Books-to-the-Childrens-Book-Bank" target="_blank">donated 200 books to the Children’s Book Bank</a>, a charity that provides free books and literacy support to children in the city's low-income neighborhoods.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/childrens-book-bank-collection.jpg" />
On another occasion, the local Toronto Zoo received some attention as Agility fittingly adopted a Jaguar.
She’s called Zambuca, and she is apparently the coolest member of the Agility team — which isn’t something I’m going to dispute (at least not to her face).
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/zoo-zambuca.png" />
Agility also took time out to support the Leukemia &amp; Lymphoma Society of Canada (LLSC), participating in a “Light the Night” walk.
Amy Wong, Agility’s Technical Project Manager, sums things up nicely:
<blockquote>“It's pretty awesome to work for a company that cares as much about the community as Agility does. Not only is it good for the community, but it brings us closer together and is great for team-building.”</blockquote>
And that’s why it looks truly awesome to work for Agility. So, kudos to the entire Agility team, for both their fun-loving nature and their charitable work.
To find out more about Agility CMS, <a href="http://www.agilitycms.com/" target="_blank">visit their website</a>, or check them out through our <a href="/products/agility-cms/" target="_blank">CMS Directory</a>.

Fun, Fitness & Community Outreach: Why Working at Agility CMS Looks Truly Awesome

I recently sat down with Sam Minnée, the CEO and Co-founder of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.silverstripe.org/">SilverStripe</a>, the New Zealand-based free and open source PHP CMS.We sipped on some Coffee at the Renaissance Hotel in Kings Cross, London, as we discussed StripeCon Europe and SilverStripe 4 in particular.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/hotel494x0-is.png" /><h2>StripeCon Europe 2015</h2>Our meeting preceded SilverStripe's European conference, which was also held in London on the 16th and 17th of October 2015.There, Sam Minnee and his team presented keynotes, discussed the state of eCommerce, SilverStripe as a platform, and gave clients the chance to share their experiences with the platform.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sammineestripecon614x0-is.jpg" /> Sam Minnée told me that they were expecting over 80 attendees, which was an improvement on the numbers from their last conference.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/stripecon2015-group-photo1023x0-is.jpg" /> More details and pictures from <a target="_blank" href="https://stripecon.eu/">StripeCon Europe can be found on the official website</a>.<h2>SilverStripe 4</h2>The discussion also covered the success of SilverStripe in the realm of government and local authorities. The 2008 US Democratic National Convention website (when Barack Obama was elected as a Presidential candidate) was powered by SilverStripe, while the New Zealand government make use of it before any other platform.Sam Minnée and I also discussed SilverStripe 4, a project which is currently being developed.I asked about some of the key components of SilverStripe 4, and the bubbly CEO gave me some insights:<blockquote>“Interoperability is a big focus for us. We want to make SilverStripe more easily interpreted with other applications.[We want to] focus more on being able to respond to changes quickly, rather than tryn to predict what's coming.[With SilverStripe 4, we want to] allow for more flexible authoring via intuitive interfaces for block-based designs, without locking [the user] into that. Instead, we want to say that this is just one of the tools you can use.”</blockquote>As for a release date, Sam Minnée was understandably coy:<blockquote>“The first Alpha release will be early next year [2016].”</blockquote>So, plenty of detail there for the 20,000-strong SilverStripe community to sink their teeth in to.I could sense the enthusiasm in Sam Minnée's voice when he spoke of his team's latest project, so I'm personally looking forward to the first Alpha rolling out, which hopefully, will be in just a few months.Explore more of <a href="/products/silverstripe">SilverStripe via our CMS Directory.</a>

A Chat With SilverStripe CEO Sam Minnée: StripeCon Europe & SilverStripe 4

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/mobirise722x0-is.png" />
When I first got my hands on <a href="https://mobirise.com/" target="_blank">Mobirise</a> (and published my <a href="/mobirise-review/" target="_blank">Mobirise Review</a>), I was impressed by the just how sleek and approachable the desktop-based website builder was.
I used the Bootstrap website builder offline to drag-and-drop elements into place, edit content inline and publish via FTP. It was so pleasant to use, I even selected it to help me finish a small personal project a few weeks after the review was published.
But things have changed a bit since then.
Today, Mobirise 3.0 stands as a far more rounded version of its former self.
<h2>A Video Walkthrough of Mobirise 3.0</h2>
Recently, I dedicated <a href="/software-explorer-mobirise/" target="_blank">episode one of Software Explorer</a> – CMS Critic’s first YouTube series – to none other than Mobirise.
I tinkered with many of the new features found in Mobirise 3.0, and I found it to be an excellent update.
Check it out for yourself:
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M9Xr9yFMLLY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h2>What’s New With Mobirise 3.0</h2>
Where do I begin?
First up, the brand new default theme for Mobirise kicks the old theme’s butt. And the old theme wasn’t even bad.
The new theme comes with a darker color scheme (which can be customized), new blocks, and new fonts.
Here’s a summary of the other Mobirise 3.0 features:
<ul>
<li>A new dropdown menu</li>
<li>Over 40 new page blocks</li>
<li>Accordions, toggles, and tabs</li>
<li>Progress bars &amp; cycles</li>
<li>Icons are now available in default theme</li>
<li>New slider and gallery which includes video slides</li>
<li>Many new block parameters</li>
<li>The inline editor is now faster</li>
<li>Animation on scroll</li>
<li>‘Cookies Alert' extension</li>
<li>‘PayPal Shopping Cart’ extension</li>
<li>Image gallery with a tag filter</li>
<li>A ‘<a href="https://mobirise.com/extensions/blockpack/" target="_blank">BlockPack</a>‘ with 50+ unique blocks including sliders, animated backgrounds, ‘typed’ text effect, and countdowns.</li>
</ul>
The inclusion of a PayPal shopping cart adds a new dimension to Mobirise. It makes it more than just a simple website builder – it makes it an eCommerce solution, too.
In an exclusive interview, Mobirise told CMS Critic that, “the concept of the new Shopping Cart was devised a long time ago, since we got large numbers of requests from our customers. Now, we are very pleased to introduce this new [eCommerce] extension that will enable our customers to create modern looking e-store websites straight in the application, without coding and server-side integration.”
Interestingly, I’ve also noticed that the Mobirise team has already busied themselves with building upon Mobirise 3.0. In fact, there have already been five additional updates to Mobirise 3.0 in the space of three months. Now that’s what I call work ethic.
<h2>Third Party Development</h2>
The mobirise community is already forming on the official Mobirise Forums. But what’s more exciting is the fact that third party development has started to take shape.
Despite Mobirise announcing that their API for themes and extension is still not publicly available, third party themes like Unicore have already sprung up.
Mobirise say they will be unveiling their first API release, and they hope it will spark even greater third party development projects. Which is awesome news.
I also sincerely hope to see the Mobirise team continue with the same enthusiasm, because if Mobirise 3.0 is anything to go by, Mobirise has a bright future.
Get started with <a href="https://mobirise.com/" target="_blank">Mobirise</a>.

Mobirise 3.0: A Strong Step for the Simple Website Builder

Getting to the top level is what <a href="http://www.hygraph.com/" target="_blank">Hygraph</a> does best. 
Today, the next-generation headless CMS announced a major update to its enterprise-grade federated content platform by introducing <a href="https://hygraph.com/blog/introducing-top-level-remote-fields" target="_blank">top-level remote fields.</a>
The new capability is a significant part of Hygraph’s overall <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/why-content-federation-represents-the-next-evolution-of-the-cms/">federated content vision</a> to power a many-to-many relationship between content sources and devices as organizations look to create new digital services and business models at scale.
“Top-level remote fields empower enterprises to unify distributed content from across multiple systems, to deliver to any destination and without duplication,” said <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/critics/michael-lukaszczyk/">Michael Lukaszczyk</a>, CEO and Co-Founder, Hygraph. “For example, in the context of e-commerce, organizations can now fetch data from their commerce, digital asset management, and CRM systems from Hygraph’s content API in one single query. This promises to be a real game changer.”
<h2>Evolving the headless CMS landscape</h2>
Hygraph’s federated content platform allows organizations to innovate faster and at lower cost, replacing tedious custom software development associated with many of today’s headless Content Management Systems (CMS).
With the recent proliferation of composable architectures, federated content enables enterprises to seamlessly develop and run content-rich features. Top-level remote fields further enable the advantages by streamlining and modernizing content connections. Rather than making multiple API calls to different systems, top-level federation capabilities allow users to fetch all content and data from a single Hygraph GraphQL endpoint.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/07/top-level-remote-fields-press-release-image-1024x576.png" alt="Diagram of Hygraph top-level remote fields capability" />
Consider an e-commerce use case where you might want to fetch product data from your commerce system (e.g., <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-monthly-recap-shopify-invests-in-sanity-dotcms-updates-content-authoring-experience-wp-engine-acquires-plugins-and-more/">Shopify</a>), digital assets from your DAM (e.g., <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-monthly-recap-acquia-gets-feature-boosts-cloudinary-and-contentful-partner-big-acquisition-updates-and-more/">Cloudinary</a>), and rich content stored in Hygraph. You can now fetch all this data from Hygraph's content API in one query.
The key benefits of the new top-level remote fields capability include:
<ul>
<li>Simplified tech stack: All frontend applications query data from one universal Hygraph API.</li>
<li>Ease of management: All backend APIs are managed in one place.</li>
<li>Simplified authentication and authorization: One API simplifies the authentication and authorizing front-end applications.</li>
<li>Quicker application integration: Low-code tools eliminate the need to write and maintain middleware code to stitch multiple systems together.</li>
<li>Improved content integrity: Eliminate duplicates and ensure that changes are consistently reflected across all front-end applications using the data.</li>
<li>Enhanced performance: Querying content from a single API and Hygraph’s advanced caching capabilities allow for high-performance content distribution.</li>
</ul>
“Organizations are currently unable to unlock full value from their content, as custom software and integration challenges slow the creation of new digital services at scale," added Lukaszczyk. "Top-level remote fields capabilities represent a powerful next step for enterprises to dramatically streamline and modernize content connections and drive the next generation of customer experiences."
For more information on top-level remote fields, visit <a href="https://hygraph.com/blog/introducing-top-level-remote-fields" target="_blank">Hygraph's website.</a>
<h2>About Hygraph</h2>
Hygraph (formerly GraphCMS) is the enterprise-grade federated content platform that enables content and engineering teams to rapidly build and deliver tomorrow’s connected digital experiences at scale. As the next generation of CMS, Hygraph powers a many-to-many relationship between different content sources and devices. Hygraph’s modern API approach allows organizations to innovate faster and at lower cost, whether building content-rich applications or managing large product catalogs or internal knowledge management systems. Hygraph is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and works with 400+ customers globally, including Dr. Oetker, Shure, Samsung, and Philips.

Hygraph Introduces Major Update to Federated Content Platform with Top-Level Remote Fields

cms-critic-staff

Considered to be one of the biggest names in eCommerce industry, <a href="/products/bigcommerce">Bigcommerce</a> has just released an interesting new feature, named Bigcommerce Insights.<a href="/products/bigcommerce">Bigcommerce</a> already has an analytics system in place for its merchants, but the platform seeks to add a whole new layer of effectivity through the introduction of Insights.According to Bigcommerce, “Bigcommerce Insights is a brand new premium report in Bigcommerce Analytics that automatically interprets your product and customer data, and then delivers actionable recommendations you can use to improve your business. Like your very own data analyst, Insights works for your store, helping you to identify opportunities to drive more revenue. “<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/main-insights.png" /><h2>Marketers Rejoice</h2>Clearly, this new feature is one for the marketers among Bigcommerce's user base.The added performance metrics will help marketers make better decisions about their campaigns, while recommended actions will only make life easier.Here's a break down of all the new features that come with Bigcommerce Insights.<h3>Product Insights</h3><ul><li>Products to Improve: Among your most visited products, these are your worst converters.</li><li>Rockstar Products: These are your most visited, best-converting products.</li><li>Non-Sellers: These products are not selling at all.</li><li>Most Discounted Products: See the performance of your discounted products.</li><li>Hot Products: These products had the most revenue growth from the week prior.</li><li>Cold Products: These products had the largest revenue drop from the week prior.</li><li>Products Purchased Together: For each of your top-selling products, this shows the related product with which it is most frequently sold.</li></ul><h3>Customer Insights</h3><ul><li>Best Customers: These recent customers purchase often and spend the most.</li><li>Customers at Risk: These are high-value customers who last ordered between 30-365 days ago.</li><li>Repeat Purchase Rate: The percentage of customers who made a repeat purchase, and how long in between orders repeat purchases take place.</li><li>Best Products for Repeat Purchase: Customers who purchased these products were most likely to purchase again.</li><li>Viewed But Did Not Purchase: These customers viewed the same product more than once but didn’t purchase.</li><li>Customer LTV (Lifetime Value): This is the average amount the customer has spent by a certain point after registering.</li><li>Best Full Price Customers: These are your customers that buy even without discounts.</li><li>Low AOV Customers: These are customers who are in the top 20% for orders but lowest 20% for spending.</li></ul><h3>Abandoned Cart &amp; Marketing Insights</h3><ul><li>Most Abandoned Products: These products have the most associated abandoned carts.</li><li>Customer LTV By Channel: This report shows which marketing channel brings customers with the highest lifetime value.</li></ul>You can read more about <a target="_blank" href="http://blog.bigcommerce.com/bigcommerce-insights/">Bigcommerce Insights via the official blog announcement</a>.Also, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/bigcommerce">Bigcommerce via our CMS Directory</a>. Plus, you can check out our <a href="/bigcommerce-review/">Bigcommerce review right here</a>.

Bigcommerce Bolsters Built-in Analytics With Insights

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