Articles - Page 134

Not All Heroes Wear Capes. Here's Why CMS Is Your 'Unsung Hero' in 2025

janus-boye

Today, via the <a href="http://www-01.ibm.com/software/commerce/summit/" target="_blank">IBM Smarter Commerce Global Summit</a> in Tampa, Florida, IBM announced <a href="http://www-01.ibm.com/software/marketing-solutions/experienceone/" target="_blank">IBM ExperienceOne</a>.
ExperienceOne is a new integrated portfolio of cloud-based and on premise offering that brings together marketing, sales and service practices, enabling organizations to create deeper, more valuable customer engagements.
 The International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is an American multi-national technology and consulting corporation. Currently, seven out of the top ten commercial banks, financial services companies and U.S. retailers today use IBM’s world renowned customer engagement solutions.
Using their vast experiences through working with over 8,000 organizations worldwide, IBM's newly released ExperienceOne delivers a set of pre-defined engagement solutions delivered with IBM consulting services.
Craig Hayman, General Manager, Industry Cloud Solutions, IBM, had this to say about the news:
<blockquote>
“Smarter Commerce is about helping clients continuously reinvent themselves around the customer experience. IBM ExperienceOne provides a secure and simplified portfolio – including innovation from more than 1,200 partners – to help clients design and deliver more valuable customer engagements.  With cloud, on premise and hybrid options, IBM ExperienceOne quickly scales to engage every customer in the moment while protecting their privacy.”
</blockquote>
ExperienceOne is delivered with market-leading consulting, agency and system integration services from the  <a href="http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/43041.wss" target="_blank"> IBM Interactive Experience</a> practice, as well as the company’s $100 million investment to open 10 IBM Interactive Experience labs and add 1,000 employees to help clients deepen engagement through data-driven design. 
<h2>Maximize Sales &amp; Deliver Empowering Experiences</h2>
In addition to this news, IBM introduced enhanced software capabilities that support three of the new engagement solution sets:
<ul>
<li> Understand Your Customers:  At the heart of this solution set is IBM’s newly integrated Digital, Behavioral, Social Media and Predictive Customer analytics offering to help clients identify real-time trends based on internal and external customer data.  It features new mobile analytics that can replay individual user sessions on both Android and iOS device apps, enabling marketers and commerce professionals to pinpoint the exact moment when a customer decided to browse, buy or abandon a transaction. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Maximize Sales, Profit and Loyalty:  This solution set helps clients quickly act on insights and maximize customer value using IBM's enhanced omni-channel merchandising capabilities.  It enables merchandising professionals to automate price optimization, maintain real-time transparency and competitive pricing across all physical and digital channels to deliver the right offer to the right customer at the right time. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Deliver Empowering Digital Experiences:  As the gateway to each customer touch point, this solution set is supported by enhancements to IBM’s customer digital experience software.  Marketing, sales and service professionals now can more easily leverage dynamic customer, pricing and performance analytics by embedding real-time offers into their mobile, social and rich media experiences. The real-time offer engine automates personalization across the customer experience at scale, increasing engagement, satisfaction and sales.</li>
</ul>
Furthermore, IBM added three new cloud business solutions to give clients more flexibility in how they purchase and deploy IBM ExperienceOne. These solutions combine consulting services, IBM ExperienceOne software and cloud infrastructure powered by SoftLayer, an IBM company. They include:
<ul>
<li> Customer Data as a Service:  Enables clients to combine disparate customer data from internal and external sources to improve marketing performance and revenue growth.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Customer Analytics as a Service:  Helps organizations quickly identify new customer trends, anticipate future behavior and suggest next best actions to deepen engagement.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> Digital Commerce as a Service:  Allows business leaders to deliver exceptional digital experiences and accelerate time to market for a range of customer engagement solutions from order capture through fulfillment. </li>
</ul>
Find out more about <a href="http://www-01.ibm.com/software/marketing-solutions/experienceone/" target="_blank"> IBM ExperienceOne</a>.

IBM Launches ‘IBM ExperienceOne’

mike-johnston

<a href="http://wid.gy/" target="_blank">Widgy</a> is a new heterogeneous tree editor, built on Python/Django, that takes the “tree” analogy one step further. By integrating with <a href="http://mezzanine.jupo.org/" target="_blank">Mezzanine CMS</a>, it allows users to edit or create (“groom and grow,” if you will) web pages and other data as if they were branches on a tree.
This HTML editor claims to be much more. Its drag-and-drop interface targets website creators who want control without knowing code, but if you happen to already be tech-savvy, this translates into a system that’s simple and easy-to-use. Repositioning widgets is a breeze, and because Widgy is proudly open-source, you’ll have a lot of add-ons to choose from.
This tree editor is the latest brainchild of Fusionbox, a Denver-based web design firm started in 2001. While they mainly focus on client-specific online marketing and design, they also develop software to help there clients—and everyone else—with DIY projects. Widgy is their latest in a series of open-source software committed to simplifying the lives of online businesses.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/widgy2700x0.png" alt="Widgy CMS" />
Widgy was recently unveiled at the PyCon 2014 conference in Montreal in mid-April. The fruits of their “baby” come after more than a year of building it and even longer conceptualizing it. The reception was generally positive, with interested programmers already coming up with ideas for what it can do. “This is exactly why I wanted to open source widgy in the first place,” remarked one of Widgy’s programmers.   
Now, let’s look at the fine points of what Widgy offers.
<h3>Edit any heterogeneous, tree-structured data, not just HTML</h3>
This could be an immense relief to those in an industry that uses such data, but for the majority of us just looking for something to help our websites, it’s irrelevant.
<h3>Integrate with Mezzanine CMS</h3>
If you’re looking to expand your variety of page types beyond TinyMCE, Widgy can help.
<h3>Widget Mastery</h3>
Widgy handles widgets well, which makes sense considering its name. Widgets are Django ModelForms; no additional JavaScript is needed for most widgets, and it’s possible to override the form template or include your own SCSS files to customize how they work. 
The compatibility framework ensures that widgets go where you put them and stay there. Plus, with its advanced link network, widgets like Button can link to other models.
<h3>Page Builder</h3>
Widgy can shoulder the burden of building web pages if you don’t know HTML, and has common and advanced widgets to help.
<h3>Review Queue</h3>
Standard review queue lets you set permissions on who can see what, review version changes, schedule future publications, and preview changes.
<h3>Benefits of Django</h3>
Feel free to use the Django authentication framework for choosing who sees what, the Django haystack search for advanced searches, the Django debug toolbar for troubleshooting, and Django-require for optimizing your editor static assets. It’s all part of the package. You can also use any Django apps you want with Plug-ins.
<h3>The Bottom Line</h3>
Widgy is still just a newborn, but it shows promise. It seems to be geared to a specific type of user with specific needs, so perhaps most of you don’t have a use for it. 
However, if you’re interested in what it can do and want to try it out, <a href="http://wid.gy/">test the demo version or install the whole thing here.</a>

Widgy: New Tree Editor Has Roots in CMS

Today, <a href="http://www.wix.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wix</a> have treated their 46 million strong user base with a new and exciting animation feature which will bring Wix websites to life.
Wix is an extremely user-friendly website builder, giving users of all skill levels an opportunity to build a beautiful web presence for free, or on enhanced paid plans.
With this new animation feature, those beautiful websites can now get a face lift. Page elements like images and text can now be individually animated before visitors' eyes, which means they can fade in to view, slide in from the side, and more.
Now, let's take a quick look at what Wix users can now start experimenting with.
<h2>Animation Made Simple</h2>
Features like animation are usually beyond the skill-set of website builder users. But not anymore. Wix is now the first leading drag-and-drop website builder to bring animation features to the fingertips of their user base. 
Below is a short video showcasing exactly how it works:
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XQiMvYuimYg?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Eric Mason, the Wix Director of Communications, US, had this to say upon the animation feature release:
<blockquote>“[The release of Wix animations] demonstrates just how far and how fast Wix is pushing the HTML5 envelope. We’re really proud to bring this sort of dynamism and flexibility to our users.”</blockquote>
Sign up to create your <a href="http://www.wix.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">free Wix website today</a>.
Also, you can explore more of <a href="/products/wix/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wix via our CMS Directory</a>.

Wix Releases New Animation Feature

Everyone is singing the praises for Chorus, Vox Media’s own CMS and the platform behind the recently launched <a href="http://www.vox.com/" target="_blank">Vox.com</a>.  
 Patrick Thornton of the <a href="http://interchangeproject.org/2012/05/10/chorus-the-best-content-management-system-i-have-ever-heard-of/" target="_blank"> Interchange Project</a> calls it, “the best CMS I’ve ever heard of.” 
 The New York Times credits it for the success of the Vox Media, while even Eric Eldon, of the rival blog <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/07/a-closer-look-at-chorus-the-next-generation-publishing-platform-that-runs-vox-media/" target="_blank"> TechCrunch</a>, is “very impressed”, and calls it a next-generation platform competing against those that are decades old. 
 But perhaps the best vote of confidence comes from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra_Klein" target="_blank">Ezra Klein</a>, the man steering the wheel of Vox.com. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ezraklein.jpeg" alt="Ezra Klein" />
Ezra Klein – Vox Media
Ezra Klein is best known as the founder of the  Washington Post ’s <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/" target="_blank"> Wonkblog</a> and the publication’s loudest online voice – until he resigned from this lucrative job that garnered him fame and fortune. The reason boils down to the content management system in place.   
Klein, 29, felt that print journalism is outdated in that its publishing system revolves around publishing daily papers. He believes the future of journalism is online, and wanted new and effective technology that reflected this. That’s what Vox Media offered.
So, what is it about Chorus that causes competitors to swoon and journalists to quit their high-profile jobs? As you might expect, there’s more than one reason to love it.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/vox.png" alt="Vox Media" />
<h3>Unilateral Editorial Workflow</h3>
Story assignments, schedules, editing, and all other workflow items are synced with both the user ID system and the publishing system. That makes it easier for users to organize their projects and move them along to the next step. This is a modern feature at a time when competitors are still organizing with whiteboards, spreadsheets, or third-party systems like Basecamp or Asana.
<h3>Automatic Reference and Linking</h3>
Chorus is doing most of the duties of online journalists for them! It conducts automatic word scans, then finds and links it to other related texts. It also brings up relevant (and licensed) photos and videos available for use. That frees up the writers to focus more of their time on writing.
<h3>Specialization</h3>
This dream CMS is always updating; it refuses to lose any of the ground it put between itself and its competitors. Do you need a home page that features real-time updates without refreshing? Done. Shortcut keys for faster navigation through the comments? You got it. Part of the allure of Chorus isn’t what it does, it’s what it can do.
<h3>Solidarity</h3>
A user ID can get you anywhere, with easy transfer between sites. Comments can become easily become posts, and commenters can easily become authors. But doors can just as readily be closed, and administrators can ban certain users (or groups) from commenting.
<h3>Statistics</h3>
A lot of online industries are number games. With a simplified dashboard and a direct connection to Google Analytics, the staff can see clearly and quickly just how each post is doing. But that’s not even the best part. A special analysis examines past data, Google search trends, and other secret sources unrevealed to the public to suggest the best possible date and time to publish your story.
<h3>The Bottom Line</h3>
Last month, Vox Media launched Vox.com with Klein at the helm. 
 It’s still too new for a definitive pass/fail, but we can say that we like its fresh new look and modern, easy-to-browse style. 
While it’s not fair to attribute the success of Vox exclusively to its CMS, we can certainly assert that Chorus played a large part in attracting the talents of Klein and his team. And on top of all the other praise Vox.com is getting, that’s really saying something.

Singing the Praises of Chorus

<a href="http://www.dnnsoftware.com/Solutions/Evoq-Social" target="_blank">Evoq Social 2.0</a> has arrived. It comes bearing an array of features designed to empower online community managers, primarily through enhanced community monitoring tools.
<a href="http://www.dnnsoftware.com/" target="_blank">DNN Software</a> provides a suite of solutions that make designing, building and managing feature-rich sites and communities fast, easy and cost-effective.
The DNN Platform CMS – which powers Evoq Content – is the foundation for over 800,000 websites around the world.
Evoq Social is DNN's newest solution, which enables businesses to create immersive and interactive online communities.
Now, let's take a look at what version 2.0 of DNN Evoq Social brings to the table.
<h2>Powerfully Enhanced Community Management</h2>
Evoq Social's new dashboard offers up some powerful community monitoring and analytical tools.
For example, graphs reporting on things like Adoption &amp; Participation, along with a breakdown of the areas where your members are most engaged are displayed. The dashboard also lets you monitor popular trend tags and content, or get basic (but essential) stats like how much time is spent on the site.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/cme-dashboardoverview700x0.png" alt="DNN Evoq Social 2.0" /> 
Interestingly, the new dashboard also lets you quickly see which members of your community are the top contributors, influencers, and reputation leaders.
You can delve far deeper into these stats to get filtered details about each module, or change the comparison period.
“Community Health Cards” are specific to the module being viewed, identifying several potential problem areas within each module. This will naturally help community managers take a proactive rather than reactive approach to community management.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/cme-communityhealth700x0.png" alt="DNN Evoq Social 2.0" />
Areas of the community in question that are in bad shape are easily identified with red warning icons and listed first in the list. Other areas of the community which are doing well can be identified with a green icon and are listed last in the list.
<h2>User Management &amp; Tasks</h2>
Managing users in an online community is typically quite different from managing users in a CMS – but is no less important. After all, different user roles are necessary in order to keep communities running smoothly.
For example, as a community manager, you may need to promote a normal user to moderator status – but at the same time, you may wish to restrict some of their capabilities. Evoq Social 2.0 gives you that power.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/cme-usermanager700x0.png" alt="DNN Evoq Social 2.0" />
You may also need to see details about the user's engagement with the community. For example, their most recent site activities, what their engagement/influence scores are, and so forth. Once again, Evoq Social now makes that happen with ease.
Furthermore, “Tasks” have been introduced to notify community managers of things like content pending moderator approval or reported content that hasn’t been reviewed yet.
This persists throughout all views of the dashboard and helps community managers not only address the notifications from within the dashboard but also helps identify bottlenecks within the community.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/cme-tasks2.png" alt="DNN Evoq Social 2.0" />
The Tasks section also groups similar notifications, such as two users reporting the same piece of content, in order to make addressing the potential issue easier by handling all grouped notifications with a single click.
These grouped notifications can be expanded and paged through if necessary, so you can see who reported it, when they reported it, and why.
<h2>Mobile-optimization &amp; Much More</h2>
All of these newly introduced features can be made use of via a tailored mobile device experience. Community managers can any mobile device – wherever they are – to keep their community on track. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/dnn-evoq-social-mobile-view.png" alt="DNN Evoq Social 2.0" /> 
Several sections of the dashboard make use of gestures and are displayed in different formats when compared to desktop views. For example, line charts become donut charts, grids have fewer columns, and so forth.
Additionally, here are some miscellaneous improvements introduced by Evoq Social 2.0:
<ul>
<li>Enabled friendly URL's for the six main content-oriented modules. The friendly URL's help with SEO and also avoids duplicate page titles.</li>
<li>Surfaced comment moderation in additional areas: Discussions, Events and Ideas.</li>
<li>Added “Upcoming Events” view in Social Events and made it the default view. It shows only events currently in progress or scheduled in the future.</li>
</ul>
Overall, version 2.0 of Evoq Social gives online community managers a boost in analytical firepower.
From anywhere and on any device, they can understand top performing areas, monitor participation in popular trending topics, and moderate discussions. Data-driven decisions can also be made, helping to keep engagement of membership at its peak performance.
To dig deeper into the features Evoq Social 2.0 brings, check out <a href="http://www.dnnsoftware.com/blog/cid/429694/introducing-the-community-manager-experience-for-evoq-social" target="_blank"> DNN's latest blog post regarding the release</a>.
<a href="http://www.dnnsoftware.com/Evoq-Social-Free-Trial" target="_blank">DNN Evoq Social offer a free trial</a>, so be sure to test it out.
Also, you can explore more of <a href="/products/dnn-evoq-social/" target="_blank"> DNN Evoq Social via our CMS Directory</a>.

Evoq Social 2.0: a Look at What's New With DNN Software's Community Platform

<a href="https://drupal.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Drupal</a> have released their second Drupal 7 update in a month, in the form of Drupal 7.28.
Drupal is an open source platform which boasts over 630,000 users and developers, many of whom help to maintain the product.
This is thanks to Drupal's open development model, which enables users and developers to constantly refine the platform, keeping it a cutting-edge CMS that supports the latest technologies that the Web has to offer.
Last month, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/drupal-release-versions-7.27-and-6.31-to-fix-security-vulnerabilities/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Drupal released versions 7.27 and 6.2</a>3 with security updates and bug fixes. Today, Drupal users will be happy to hear that more bugs have been zapped.
<h3>Here are just a few of the changes made via Drupal 7.28:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Fixed a regression introduced in Drupal 7.27 that caused JavaScript to break on older browsers (such as Internet Explorer 8 and earlier) when Ajax was used.</li>
<li>Changed the pager on the Tracker module listing pages show the same number of items as other pagers throughout Drupal core (minor UI change).</li>
<li>Fixed a bug which caused caches not to be properly cleared when a file entity was saved or deleted.</li>
<li>Fixed a bug in the Taxonomy module update function introduced in Drupal 7.26 that caused memory and CPU problems on sites with very large numbers of unpublished nodes.</li>
</ul>
Drupal 7.28 contains bug fixes and small API/feature improvements only. The full list of changes between the 7.27 and 7.28 releases can be found by reading the <a href="http://drupal.org/drupal-7.28-release-notes">7.28 release notes</a>. Also, Drupal have made no changes to the .htaccess, web.config, robots.txt or default settings.php files in this new 7.28 release, so upgrading custom versions of those files is not necessary.
To apply these bug fixes to your Drupal web presence, you can upgrade to Drupal version 7.28 <a href="https://drupal.org/upgrade/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">right here</a>.
Also, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/drupal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Drupal via our CMS Directory</a>.

Drupal 7.28 Released With Numerous Bug Fixes

Today sees the launch of GOSS iCM (intelligent Content Management) <a href="http://www.gossinteractive.com/v10-0-1-0">version 10.0.1.0</a>, the latest upgrade to the Web Content Management Solution built by GOSS Interactive.
The latest Business Process Mapping, Forms and integration capabilities of GOSS iCM are designed to significantly improve the ability for councils to deliver online transactions and so reduce these costs with the significantly lower budgets they have available.
Business Process Mapping
The new release comes with a fully-functional Business Process Mapping tool providing the field types, forms, reports and development environment necessary for producing and managing workflows and their processes. The tool uses industry standard BPMN2 so that Business Analysts can use it with minimal training. GOSS iCM Forms can be used for each step of the process to capture and display information and payments.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/business_process_mapping_tool400.png" />
GOSS Form Expert enhancements
GOSS Forms Experts is part of GOSS iCM and is included with all instillations. Several new enhancements have been made to GOSS Forms Expert including a forms importer to replicate forms built with alternative sources, new integration accelerators for Civica and Capita payments, address/post-code look-ups and Google Analytics to track form actions. These, in addition to the already impressive suite of forms capabilities, make GOSS Forms Expert the obvious choice to deliver online forms.
Integration capabilities
Developers can easily connect GOSS iCM to a huge range of web applications such as Google, Zapier and hundreds of SaaS tools. Such integrations enable organisations to easily present to customers information about pending and past orders, service status and special offers.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gossicm.png" />
Rob McCarthy, CEO at GOSS Interactive comments;
<blockquote>
“With the latest version of GOSS iCM we are leading the way in delivering the tools and expertise to enable organisations to successfully deliver Channel Shift, make savings and improve service delivery.”
</blockquote>
For more information on this release, visit <a href="http://www.gossinteractive.com/v10-0-1-0">http://www.gossinteractive.com/v10-0-1-0</a>

New GOSS Software improves Channel Shift potential

Semrush - Be an SEO hero

Be an SEO hero with Semrush

#ffffff

Users of the popular platform Wix will be pleased to know that improvements to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and connections to third-party tools and networks has been introduced through advanced meta-tagging.<a target="_blank" href="http://www.wix.com/">Wix</a> is a user friendly website builder which boasts over 46 million users across 190 countries.Meta-tags allow your Wix website to Header code supported services include  <a target="_blank" href="https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35659">Google Webmaster tools</a>,  <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bing.com/webmaster/help/how-to-verify-ownership-of-your-site-afcfefc6">Bing Webmaster Tools</a>,  <a target="_blank" href="https://dev.twitter.com/docs/cards">Twitter Cards</a>,  <a target="_blank" href="https://en.help.pinterest.com/entries/22488487-Verify-with-HTML-meta-tags">Pinterest Verification</a>,  <a target="_blank" href="http://www.alexa.com/siteowners/claim">Alexa site owner claim</a>, and many more.Wix have put together a straightforward video to guide you through the process of adding these header codes to your Wix website: <h2>What are Meta-Tags &amp; What Can They Do For Me?</h2>If you don't know what meta-tags are for, it might be worth your while to find out, simply because of the benefits they can bring.As Wix recently <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wix.com/blog/2014/05/meta-tags/">detailed in their advanced meta-tag announcement</a>, there are two types of meta-tags – Ownership Verification and Rich Media Experiences. Let's take a brief look at what both of these terms mean.<h3>Ownership Verification Meta-tags</h3>Search engines like Google and Bing along with other services offer added benefit to website owner who can prove they own certain website. One way you can do this, is using meta-tags.For example, verifying your website with Google via meta-tags – as shown in the intstructional video above – gives you access to extremely important metrics: your site’s traffic sources, the keywords which drove traffic to your site, how your site ranks for different keywords, and statistics about how Google indexes your site.Similarly, adding a Bing site verification meta-tag to your website header means that Bing will be able to index your website, giving a healthy SEO boost.<h3>Rich Media Experience Meta-tags</h3>Meta-tags don't just expose you to hidden benefits and administrative tools. They can also greatly increase search engine optimization and broader marketing efforts in a more direct way.One example which you might have heard of, is the Google Authorship. Adding a Google authorship meta-tag changes the way your site will appear in Google's search results page. Adding this tag enhances the way Google displays your content: your name, photo and author byline will prominently appear next to relevant search results.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/meta-tags31.jpg" alt="Wix Google Authorship" /> To learn more about the different types of supported Wix meta-tags, and how to use them, visit the Wix Learning Center. Alternatively, you can <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wix.com/">start your totally free Wix website today</a>.Be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/wix/">Wix via our CMS Directory</a> too.

Wix Introduce Advanced Meta-Tags for Professional Users

It’s time to build your website, and one of the first things you need to decide is also one of the most important.  Do you choose one of the popular Open-Source systems (like WordPress or Joomla) and get your hands dirty, or do you use a Proprietary system and pay someone else to get their hands dirty for you? 
<h3>But perhaps the more important question is… What’s the difference!?</h3>
A lot of people think the difference is “Free vs. Pay,” but it’s not that simple.  The technical definition is that Open-Source systems make their source code available to the user, while Proprietary systems don’t.  That means that developers using an Open-Source CMS can modify and update their sites themselves, while users of Proprietary systems leave it to the company that maintains the system. 
<h3>Open-Source CMS</h3>
The most popular choice, but don’t let that sway your decision – they’re popular because they’re often free.  However, their popularity isn’t negligible; more users, combined with the availability of the code, means that any programmer can add to it, which means a Open-Source CMS will generally have a lot of extensions and plug-ins to choose from.  This is pretty essential if you’re looking for something customizable, but keep in mind, the more custom add-ons you want to buy, the less “free” it becomes.  If you’re serious about how your site looks, you should shake the idea that an Open-Source CMS is not going to cost anything.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/bigstock-open-source-33808928400x0.jpg" />
<h3>Proprietary CMS</h3>
Don’t really care how your website is built as long as it works?  Proprietary systems “lease out” existing templates for a fee so you don’t have to stress about the technical aspects of your site.  However, that also means you can’t customize it how you want.  But are Proprietary systems worth the cost compared to the free alternatives?  That depends on which one you use. A good Proprietary system functions smoothly and will update often.  A bad one won’t. 
So which CMS is better?  Again, it’s not that simple.   The first thing you need to know is what you want.  Once you’ve figured that out, it’s just a matter of seeing which system can give it to you. 
<h3>When to Use Open-Source: </h3>
<ul>
<li>You are a tiny business with an even tinier budget.  In this case, you just can’t beat “free.” </li>
<li>You are not afraid of code and feel comfortable making the upgrades you want by yourself.  Techies love Open-Source systems the same way mechanics love scrap-yards. </li>
<li>You may need to move your website to another platform later on.  Exporting data is rarely a problem for Open-Source. </li>
</ul>
<h3>When to Use Proprietary:</h3>
<ul>
<li>You don’t have a lot of time to spend building your site. If your time is constrained but your budget is not, this is the choice for you. </li>
<li>Your industry requires a very specific type of site that you can’t build yourself.  Proprietary systems offer that “right-out-of-the-box” functionality. </li>
<li>You don’t want to worry about bugs, updates, security, or hosting.  Proprietary works best for technology ostriches. </li>
</ul>
<h3>The Bottom Line</h3>
If you want to do it yourself, use an Open-Source system.
If you want someone else to do it for you, use a Proprietary system.

Open-Source vs. Proprietary: It’s Not Always About the Money

Every athlete says their team will win before the game, and yet afterwards half of them are sure to be wrong. 
It’s hard to trust someone gloating about their own product, so we’re a bit skeptical to believe Selectica CEO Blaine Mathieu when he describes the sixth version of their Contract Lifecycle Management system as “CMS on steroids.”  Still, their newest installment boasts an array of advanced features, so is polite modesty really necessary? 
<h3>Everything Contractual</h3>
Selectica CLM spans the entire lifecycle of a contract, from birth to death to rebirth (renewal), and is said to simplify all the stages in between.  It categorizes its service into nine key stages:  Contract Request, Authoring, Negotiaion, Approval, Execution, Obligations Management, Amendment, Audit &amp; Reporting, and Renewal.  It can be configured to any platform you’re already using, with full mobile accessibility on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.  Plus, due to the sensitive nature of contracts, each document is protected with an industry-grade 128-bit encryption, and is backed up and recoverable if need be. 
That all sounds luxurious, but do you really need a management system for your contracts?  Selectica seems to think so, and they make some good arguments.  They claim that their CLM will “turn potential revenue leaks into revenue generators,” and that its implementation will “accelerate sales cycles, create opportunities, mitigate risk and prevent revenue loss through a streamlined process that’s fast and compliant.”  It makes sense:  some of the most important, strategic business decisions are made surrounding contracts.  Better organization means you’re better informed, and if you’re better informed, you make better decisions. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/clm-process-wheel-621.png" />
<h3>By the Numbers</h3>
The statistics of Selectica CLM are indeed impressive: a 1-2% increase of revenue, a 50% reduction in contract cycle times, a 25% increase in contract renewal rates, a 55% improvement in contract compliance.  Plus, these numbers come from Forrester and Aberdeen, so they’re a bit more trustworthy than the brags of the product’s CEO.  It seems that more and more companies are coming to understand the importance of organizing contracts. 
<h3>New Additions</h3>
And what does version 6 bring to the table that makes the CEO so excited?  Most of the new features involve better integration with other platforms, namely DocuSign, Salesforce, and Microsoft Office.  Further, users can now create contracts using a variety of templates, and examine documents simultaneously, which is a great advantage if you need to compare information or need to check-in a lot of documents at the same time.  Aside from these, the new version offers faster navigation and improved user interface. 
<h3>Bottom Line  </h3>
Organization and compartmentalization can give your business a subtle edge, and today businesses need every advantage they can get.  That’s why we’re supporters of Selectica, whether or not it’s as great as Mathieu says. 
But if you’re still skeptical about whether Selectica CLM is right for you, why not try it yourself?  Selectica is <a href="http://www.selectica.com/demo"> offering a demo version </a> of their product, a bold move to back up a bold claim.  See for yourself if it lives up to its own hype.

Selectica: Is this Contract Management System Really a “CMS on Steroids”?

LightCMS have announced some useful social features along with some interface enhancements to be released tomorrow, May 7th 2014.
As a popular cloud-based website builder, LightCMS offers an array of tools which help users to build professional websites, online stores and blogs in just a few clicks.
LightCMS have claimed that these new changes come as “highly-requested additions”. So, let's take a look at what's new.
<h2>Social Icons &amp; The Social Token</h2>
LightCMS's new social token and social media settings enable you to display social icons simply, and allow your clients to manage their icons without tinkering with your website design on any major level.
Once the feature is launched, you'll see a new section on the advanced tab of your website settings. This section allows the user to choose any number of social icons to include and to provide the URL to use with each associated social icon.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/social-media-add-admin700x0.png" alt="LightCMS Social Icons" />
To add icons, you only need to click the “Add” button before selecting the icons you want to add. Once selected, your icons will show up in your list where you can re-order them by dragging and dropping.
Phone and Email icons are also available along with the social icons. So, when visitors touch the email icon from a smartphone, it automatically loads up a new email. When they touch the phone, it automatically starts calling.
However, in order for the icons to display on your website, your website's template must include the new <a href="http://help.lightcms.com/social-token" target="_blank">social token</a>. All of LightCMS's “featured” designs (plus a few others) will be updated to include the social token by the launch of the social feature.
<h2>The SEO Tab &amp; Developer Role Assignment</h2>
A further enhancement to LightCMS comes via a new tab on the Website Settings screen – the SEO tab.
This tab is home to a range of SEO-related features for your website, including; 301 Redirect Management, Robots.txt, and the Google Analytics / Additional Header field. These features aren't new, but simply housed in a different tab. This tidies up the user interface by setting SEO-related features apart while keeping the Advanced tab shorter and cleaner.
LightCMS Partners are also in for a treat this week, thanks to a new client Sign-up Element. This allows you to enable the sign up element to assign the “Developer Role” to new users when they sign up. The Developer Role allows users to view and manage designs for their website via the <a href="http://www.lightcms.com/design">Design Manager</a>.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/blog-feature-signup.png" alt="LightCMS Role Assignments" />
This new feature will be available on the Sign-up Element's settings screen.
These new LightCMS features are scheduled to go live on the morning of May 7th 2014. So LightCMS users better set their alarm clocks!
To find out more about LightCMS, check out their website. Full details of these scheduled updates can be found via the LightCMS Blog.
Also, be sure to explore more of LightCMS via our CMS Directory.

LightCMS Announce New Social Features & Interface Changes

<a href="https://www.socialengine.com/">SocialEngine</a> PHP users will be pleased to hear of the platform's latest release, version 4.8.2.
The widely popular social network software comes in two editions; SocialEngine Cloud and SocialEngine PHP (non-hosted).
SocialEngine is completely unbranded and can be customized to no end. Thanks to the large SocialEngine Community, there are also plenty of addons and themes to be experimented with.
With SocialEngine PHP 4.8.2, numerous bug and performance fixes have been introduced. Here's a quick overview of what SocialEngine PHP users can expect.
<h3>SocialEngine 4.8.2 Features:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Added ability to sort and filter login history</li>
<li>Added option to not automatically friend request invited members</li>
<li>Select language based on the browser’s Accept-Language header</li>
</ul>
<h3>SocialEngine 4.8.2 Bug fixes:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Improved request backoff for activity feed and chat polling</li>
<li>Deleting a photo from an album no longer will remove album from your activity feed</li>
<li>Made searching members less strict</li>
<li>Users who don’t meet the privacy criteria cannot be added as guests to an event</li>
</ul>
Additionally, SocialEngine have also implemented a Core Zend update, which was originally outlined in their <a href="/socialengine-php-4-8-released/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">4.8.0 Release Notes</a>. They upgraded Zend to 1.12.3, which resolved a long list of bugs in the software. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work for everybody who upgraded to 4.8.0 at the time – but with 4.8.2, all Zend-related issues have been fixed.
SocialEngine offer a 14-day free trial. To test the software out, or to find out more, <a href="https://www.socialengine.com/">visit their website</a>. For more information on this new release, the <a href="/socialengine-php-4-8-2-released/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">4.8.2 Release Notes</a>.
Also, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/social-engine/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SocialEngine via our CMS Directory</a>.

SocialEngine PHP 4.8.2 Released

Have you ever wanted to publish a blog post without the hassle of actually starting a blog in the first place? Well, with <a target="_blank" href="http://pen.io/">Pen.io</a>, you can do just that. Pen.io is a remarkably simple yet brilliant blogging tool. You choose an available domain name, create the page in seconds with just one click, and start typing. You can even drag-and-drop images into place. It's that easy. What's more is, you can create as many pages as you like without signing up, handing over your email or paying a penny. That's a pretty sweet deal. <h2>How Pen.io Works</h2>The short journey to publishing a Pen.io blog post starts on the Pen.io <a target="_blank" href="http://pen.io/">home page</a>. There, you simply enter your domain name followed by a password before clicking “Create New Page”.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pen1700x0.png" alt="Pen.io" /> Seconds later, you'll be staring at your new Pen.io page. You get an editable page header and some standard text. Nothing fancy, but it's all you need.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pen2.png" alt="Pen.io Blog Post" />Thanks to Pen.io's inline editing feature, you only need to click the text boxes to start editing, right there on the page. Only the password holder can do this of course, but the page looks no different to those simply visiting. <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pen4700x0.png" alt="Pen.io Blog Post" />You can also drag-and-drop images from your desktop or other file locations right into the Pen.io editor. In just a few minutes, your Pen.io blog post might look a little something like ours. <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pen3.png" alt="Pen.io Blog Post" />You can re-edit your blog post at any time by clicking “Edit Page” in the footer and typing  in your password. <h2>The Blogging Middle-ground?</h2>When it comes to sharing thoughts and opinions online, Internet users seem to be torn. Do you stick to word-stifling microblogging websites like Twitter? Or do you go ahead and set up a free blog through one of the many <a href="/products/blogging-software">blogging platforms</a> on offer?Pen.io offers a middle-ground.With it, you can literally start typing up a blog post within seconds. It's as easy as writing out a tweet, minus the character limit. Yet, there's no actual set up or sign up needed to get going.Also, Pen.io can be used for more than just a personal thought diary. It can be used for online resumes, anonymous letters, ebooks, short stories, lecture notes <a target="_blank" href="http://youcanusepento.pen.io/">and more</a>. The only features I'd personally add to Pen.io is an optional comments system and perhaps some social sharing buttons. Other than that, Pen.io is a great blend of traditional blogging, modern microblogging and some good old fashioned anonymous publication. Get your blog post published in seconds with <a href="pen.io">Pen.io</a>.

Pen.io: Blogging Without a Blog

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