Articles - Page 135

Agentic AI for Agencies in 2026

bmckeiver

<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/kontent-ai-raises-40-million-to-bring-the-power-of-ai-to-content-management/">Kontent.ai</a>, an award-winning modular content platform, shared some big news yesterday that's reinforcing its ambitious growth plans. Along with stellar additions to its executive team, the company also announced a newly minted membership in the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/the-future-is-composable-a-conversation-with-new-mach-alliance-president-casper-rasmussen/">MACH Alliance</a> and the opening of new offices in New York City.
In addition to covering the announcements, CMS Critic had a chance to ask <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vojtechboril/" target="_blank">Vojtech Boril</a>, the company's Vice President of Growth &amp; Marketing, a few questions about the news.
<h2>Kontent.ai prepares to enter its next phase of growth with two key hires </h2>
The senior executives joining the Kontent.ai team are <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/olga-stuck-480207/" target="_blank">Olga Stuck,</a> who will serve as COO, and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/montewilson/" target="_blank">Monte Wilson,</a> who has been named Head of GTM Strategy and Field Operation. According to the company's press release, these key executive appointments will serve Kontent.ai during a time of major growth and change, energized by a recent <a href="https://kontent.ai/blog/kontent-ai-has-raised-40-million-in-growth-capital/">$40 million growth capital</a> investment from Expedition Growth Capital.
With more than 20 years of experience in organizational development, Stuck has guided companies like Moravia IT and RWS Moravia through organic growth as well as acquisitions, scaling from 500 to 3,000 employees in 23 locations. “My mission is to help Kontent.ai scale and bring the organization to a new level while preserving our unique culture, relationships, and DEI at the center of what we do,” she said. 
Wilson's role at Kontent.ai is to fuel growth, developing innovative go-to-market plans and efficient sales and operational structures. Wilson's impressive pedigree includes successful builds, turnarounds, and rebuilds of organizations for companies like <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/sitecore-updates-experience-platform-and-experience-commerce-releases-new-sitecore-content-hub/">Sitecore</a>, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-monthly-recap-wordpress-acquires-parse-ly-siteimprove-releases-upgraded-accessibility-product-twilio-segment-releases-2021-cdp-report-and-more/">Oracle</a>, and <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/adobe-experience-cloud-adds-new-headless-cms-capabilities-updates-to-commerce-integration/">Adobe</a>.
“Martech is a highly competitive business segment, so it is vital that you have the right product, the right team of highly talented individuals, and be with the right ecosystem of partners," said Wilson. "Kontent.ai is perfectly positioned for high growth, especially since composable, headless technologies are really taking off in the market. We have unique advantages that I’m certain will allow us to quickly separate from the pack and help customers realize the potential of this new space. The talent in this team and the capabilities of the product speak for themselves, and I’m honored to be a part of the Kontent.ai team,”
<h2>Kontent.ai joins MACH Alliance to deepen cooperation with other vendors and empower large organizations  </h2>
Another critical accomplishment for Kontent.ai is achieving <a href="https://kontent.ai/blog/kontent-ai-joins-the-mach-alliance/">membership in the prestigious MACH Alliance</a>, a group of more than 70 independent technology companies advocating for open, best-of-breed technology ecosystems. MACH architecture – which stands for Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS, and Headless – empowers organizations to adapt to customers’ changing behaviors and deliver results.   
A true cloud-native service since its inception, Kontent.ai meets the Alliance’s stringent certification standards, with its membership serving as strong validation of the platform’s impact and future vision. Becoming a member of the MACH Alliance will also allow Kontent.ai to deepen technology cooperation with other MACH vendors and deliver even more value to customers.
"Joining the MACH Alliance, Kontent.ai is pleased to shine a light on our long-standing dedication to MACH technology principles," said <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/bartomlo/" target="_blank">Bart Omlo</a>, CEO, Kontent.ai. "Our customers’ measurable success with our modular content platform is evidence of the transformative power of MACH, not only for engineering teams but also for global content teams.” 
<h2>Expanding Kontent.ai’s global footprint with an office in New York City </h2>
To meet increasing global demand, the company has opened another office in the U.S. to support its growing customer base on a local level. The new office – located in the iconic Chrysler Building in New York City – will serve as the main hub for all U.S. operations, enabling professionals at Kontent.ai to help US-based clients reach their ambitious goals.
According to the company's press release, the decision to choose New York City was reinforced by a successful New York-based session of the <a href="https://horizons.kontent.ai/" target="_blank">Kontent.ai Horizons conference</a> in November. The Kontent.ai team believes their presence in New York City will provide a great platform for establishing stronger and closer relationships with customers and partners. 
Kontent.ai's distributed team continues to work from multiple different locations around the globe, with offices in London, Amsterdam, Brno, Olomouc, Sydney, and previously Bedford, New Hampshire. On its mission to help people tell stories that change the world, the company is rapidly growing with new hires across engineering, sales, customer success, and other departments. 
<h2>Q&amp;A with Vojtech Boril, Vice President, Growth &amp; Marketing at Kontent.ai</h2>
Our CMS Critic editorial team had the opportunity to connect with Boril and follow up with a few questions regarding the company's recent announcements.
CMS Critic (CC): Large technology companies are announcing layoffs and adjusting expectations for 2023. With your recent investment news, Kontent.ai appears more bullish. That said, how do you see a potential recession affecting your new business strategy?
Vojtech Boril (VB): We keep a positive outlook for 2023 and plan to continue hiring across the board (for both commercial and technical roles). We can still see strong traction for Kontent.ai, and while the growth rate may slow down due to a recession (that would eventually impact every business), we're still confident that we will significantly grow year-over-year. 

CC: How will the new MACH Alliance membership help Kontent.ai better differentiate in what is becoming a more crowded space? Which vendors or categories do you see as key for growing your composable opportunities?
VB: Kontent.ai has always been focused on what we do the best: content management at scale. While the market is becoming more crowded, we strongly differentiate from other headless CMSs by providing key capabilities for business and marketing teams too, including real-time collaboration, superb content governance, or content collections. That being said, since we focus solely on content management (and do not plan to change this focus), it's critical for us to build strong relationships with other MACH vendors to provide customers with a composable DXP offering. We see the biggest partnership opportunities with vendors in areas of commerce (eg commercetools or Vue StoreFront), personalization (eg Uniform or Conscia.ai) and localization (eg Phrase or XTM Cloud).
CC: You mention an aggressive hiring strategy. Will more of the investment be made in specific regions like the new NA/NYC office?
VB: We're building and scaling Kontent.ai as a global, remote-first organization with office hubs in some critical locations. While our office in New York City is our main hub for North America, we're hiring across the entire US without any specified location requirement, as we aim to bring on the right talent. Over the next few years, we expect significant growth in NA, which is why the location is a focus for us from a hiring perspective, but we're also hiring in Europe (most significantly in the Netherlands, UK and the Czech Republic).
<a href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff23/program" target="_blank"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2022/12/cms-kickoff-2023-banner-1024x151.jpg" alt="CMS Kickoff 2023 banner" /></a>
<h2>Meet Bart and Vojtech at CMS Kickoff 2023</h2>
January 17-18 in St. Petersburg, FL
Don't miss the only conference tailored for everyone working with content management systems, from beginners to experts! Featuring two packed days with a carefully curated mixture of talks, workshops, activities, world-class facilitators, thought provokers, speakers, and session leads. Meet Bart Omlo and Vojtech Boril from Kontent.ai and mingle with CMS experts and users from around the globe at this exclusive event in beautiful St. Petersburg. 
Register today at the <a href="https://www.boye-co.com/conferences/cmskickoff23/program" target="_blank">CMS Kickoff 2023 website</a>. 
<h2>About Kontent.ai</h2>
Kontent.ai is a leading modular content platform that enables marketers and developers to plan, create, and deliver content at scale. Business teams collaborate daily in the intuitive authoring experience designed for governed content production and management, real-time reviewing and approvals, and modular content reuse. In parallel, developers leverage the total flexibility of the headless solution, best-of-breed technologies, and composable AI to deliver digital experiences via API to any channel. With hubs in New York, London, Amsterdam, Brno, and Sydney, Kontent.ai helps companies like Zurich Insurance, Algolia, Vogue, AC Milan, and Oxford University unlock the full potential of their content and connect with customers worldwide.

Kontent.ai Adds Key Executives, Joins MACH Alliance and Opens NYC Office: Q&A with Vojtech Boril

cms-critic-staff

Kontent.ai logo against a black background

<a href="https://www.weebly.com/" target="_blank">Weebly</a> is one of the most popular website builders on the market, and they've just unveiled the third generation of their platform.
It's called <a href="https://www.weebly.com/">Weebly</a> Carbon, and it's being honored with a total Weebly re-launch.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WiJGGbcUOag?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<h2>More Mobile Than Ever</h2>
According to Weebly:
<blockquote>“Carbon is a complete relaunch of the Weebly platform that delivers a new line up of services to help both seasoned and budding entrepreneurs create, build and grow their business and eCommerce store from any device, anywhere.”</blockquote>
With brand new iPhone, iPad, iWatch, and Android apps, Weebly Carbon puts the total power of Weebly into mobile, enabling users to design websites from the ground up, entirely from a smartphone or tablet.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/dashboard491x0-is.png" />
Updates to Weebly's Dashboard also mean that Weebly users and merchants can get a quick insight into traffic, sales and a number of other useful metrics.
<h2>New Responsive Templates &amp; A New App Center</h2>
A brand new App Center gives entrepreneurs easy access to dynamic apps that integrate directly into the Weebly editor to help them through hurdles like getting found on search engines, international shipping, funding, marketing, text message enabled customer support and social media integration.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/theme_gallery438x0-is.png" />
Further to these apps, Weebly has rolled out new responsive templates, and has also given their users the ability to “try on” any theme for free in order to change the look of their site in seconds – all while preserving their content.
Weebly's CEO and Founder, David Rusenko, made the following comments regarding Weebly Carbon:
<blockquote>“Weebly Carbon will give a business of any size, or entrepreneur of any age, a complete platform to build their business like never before and the flexibility to do it from anywhere.
We believe the trifecta of beautiful design, ease of use and unprecedented mobile access is the future of small business.”</blockquote>
To find out more, <a href="https://www.weebly.com/" target="_blank">visit Weebly website</a>.
Also, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/weebly/" target="_blank">Weebly via our CMS Directory</a>.

Weebly Carbon: Introducing The Third Generation of Weebly

mike-johnston

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/work-1515801_1280-1-e1470658642294.jpg" alt="work-1515801_1280" /> Business owners are well aware that increasing staff equals increasing expenses (and, often, an increase in headaches!). But a DMS – a Document Management System – can be a worthy alternative.
A DMS allows for a range of techniques that grow sales without incurring additional costs to your business. Some of these strategies vary based on industry, but there are things you can do no matter what type of business you’re in that can boost your sales without requiring additional employees.
Here are three techniques to consider:
<h2>1. Increase Customer Satisfaction</h2>
In this age social media, never has it been more important to keep your customers happy. If someone loves the service they received while interacting with your company, you may get lucky and get a rave review on Twitter, Facebook, or Yelp.
However, if they have a bad experience, chances are much higher they’ll post all about it online. Focusing on customer experience is a very effective way of increasing sales. If your customers (or prospective customers) have a better experience with your company than with that of your competition, your sales opportunities expand without increasing staff.
Research states that the key drivers of customer satisfaction have to do more with customer experience than cost. Price falls lower on your customer’s list, somewhere between #4-#6 in priority. And, if your happy customers tell other prospective customers, they’ll do the selling for you with their valuable referrals, and referrals are the best kind of lead to close.
Ensure your business is employing technology and business process solutions that allow your employees to provide quality care to your customers. Choose systems that allow speedy turn-around times when responding to customers. The easier it is for your team to take care of the customer, the better they will be at it.
<h2>2. Increase Operational Efficiency</h2>
If your employees are spending large chunks of their time doing non-billable tasks, it’s eating into your bottom line. Studies indicate that office workers spend 5-15% of their time reading information, but up to 50% (yes, that’s 50%) of their time looking for it. And that’s just one way your employees’ valuable time is being underutilized. There are many ways to become more operationally efficient, which means more customers are serviced with the same number of headcount.
Effective employee training is an important piece of office efficiency. Ensuring everyone knows how to do their job well and is familiar with all procedures and processes makes employees not only more effective, but is also proven to help boost office morale.
And, if your office is running smoothly, you’ll feel at ease dedicating a percentage of time to continual employee education, which delivers a myriad of positive results. With the right technology, you can easily provide excellent training materials in easy-to-access, user-friendly online repositories. This makes training affordable and accessible to employees at all levels.
It’s also important to define and understand current work processes. The better your workflow is defined, the more efficient it will be. For example, do you have a lot of confidential documents? Is compliance an issue? How are your invoices tracked? Who needs access to documentation? Where is financial information kept? Who owns which step of each workflow? How do you manage office accountability? The proper technology can greatly simplify these processes and manage workflow. Make sure you don’t let technology dictate workflows and office processes; rather, know what your business needs to stay cutting-edge sharp, and build or buy your technologies to fit.
Encourage your team to continually evaluate what is working and not working. Learn from mistakes and failures, give and receive feedback, and then adjust. Keeping your team (and their processes) from becoming ‘stale’ is key to being an efficient office, and being an efficient office allows more flexibility for growth that results from smart evaluation.
<h2>3. Reduce Other Office Costs</h2>
It’s simpler than you might think to reduce costs typically associated with running a business. Office space is valuable real estate. How much of it is currently being used by filing cabinets and other paper-heavy materials? When was the last time you tallied your mailing costs, or how much you really spend on paper supplies and the true cost of printing? These expenses are easier to track than the vast amount of time your labor force spends doing paper-heavy tasks that generate no revenue.
Paper – and all the expenses associated with it – is pricey. Storing documents in paper forms costs businesses worldwide roughly $30 billion a year.  According to research by efilecabinet.com, a business with 50 employees spends an average of $612,620 per year just to house paper.
Again, technology plays a vital roll in the solution. Choose solutions that offer both security and mobility while freeing valuable employee time for revenue-generating activities. Not only will it save your business money, it will make for a much happier workforce.
<h2>The Right DMS Goes a Long Way</h2>
The right Document Management Solution addresses each of the three sales growth tactics detailed above.
It allows businesses to serve customers with improved quality and speed, increases operational efficiencies in almost every area while maintaining security and compliance, and eliminates all costs associated with paper.
DMS is vital to boosting sales without having to increase your headcount, and you may just be surprised by all the additional benefits the right solution provides your business.
<hr />
This post is <a href="/advertising/">sponsored</a> by eFileCabinet. Find out more at <a href="http://www.efilecabinet.com/">efilecabinet.com</a>.

3 Ways to Increase Sales With a DMS (Without Hiring More Staff)

2014 was not just another year for <a href="https://www.prestashop.com/" target="_blank">Prestashop</a>.
The eCommerce giant, which powers over 230,000 websites, took leaps towards becoming one of the most powerful and accessible online store solutions in existence. And that’s no mean feat.
They did that by revamping their entire platform with Prestashop 1.6, before launching Prestashop Cloud, a totally free and cloud-based eCommerce solution.
Yes, you did read that correctly.
The launch of Prestashop Cloud was an exciting move by Prestashop at time time, it still is today, and it probably always will be. That’s why I’ll be focusing on it with this review.
Here’s a video to kick things off.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KZLXokFnl8
<h2>Prestashop Cloud &amp; Prestashop Download: The Difference</h2>
So what’s the difference between Prestashop Download and Prestashop Cloud?
Well, not a lot, really. That’s the beauty of it.
Prestashop Cloud gives you a quick, automatic installation, followed by totally free cloud hosting.
The only drawback is that Prestashop Cloud users don’t have access to the source code or database, whereas Prestashop Download users do.
Other than that, it’s the exact same product — both of which are free.
<h2>How Can PrestaShop Cloud Be Free?</h2>
It’s hard to imagine such a comprehensive and cloud hosted platform being completely free, but Prestashop cloud really is just that. Free.
I’ll let PrestaShop themselves explain how that’s possible:
“PrestaShop Cloud and PrestaShop Download are entirely free and ready to support your ecommerce activities.
PrestaShop earns money through modules-specific features-you can add to your store using our marketplace, PrestaShop Addons (it's like the Apple Store for iPhone or the Play Store for Android).”
<h2>Initial Thoughts</h2>
If you are familiar with my reviews, you’ll know that I start my journey as any customer or client would, which is with the vendor’s website.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-181079x0.png" />
Prestashop’s website (which was revamped along with the launch of Prestashop Cloud) is sleek and inviting.
The features of the platform are well laid out and simply explained, and that’s accompanied by a live demo of the product, which anybody can quickly get into.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-191079x0.png" />
It’s a shame more products don’t offer such accessible live demos, as they do a great job of showing potential users the interface first hand.
<h2>Getting Started</h2>
It all starts with clicking “Cloud” on the Prestashop homepage.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-20.png" />
You can then type in your store’s name, followed by your email address.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-1.png" />
After that, you can configure your store’s URL (which, by default, is your store name), along with your location and why you’re using Prestashop. This includes “I am just trying Prestashop” and “I have a physical store”.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-2.png" />
The final step asks you for your first and last name, as well as a password.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-21.png" />
Now, the signup process isn’t long or difficult. But it definitely could be made shorter and simpler.
I don’t see why the user needs to specify what kind of customer they are using Prestashop. I also think that their location and full name could be configured later on within the Prestashop dashboard.
An email, store name and password should suffice at this stage.
<h3>Prestashop Cloud Dashboard</h3>
Once you get past signup, you’ll be presented with your admin dashboard. Here, you can see all of the stores you have control of, along with a bunch of administrative options.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-3.png" />
The dashboard enables you to configure the more technical stuff, like your domain name, password, and other settings.
You can also access help and support from here, but I’ll be touching on that later on in this review. To get access to your store, you just have to click “Manage My Store”.
<h3>Back Office</h3>
Prestashop's admin panel for each store is also known as the back office. Clicking “Manage My Store” will take you there.
However, I was surprised to see that I needed to log in again, despite just clicking a link from my Prestashop dashboard.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-5835x0.png" />
But as for the back office itself, it’s pretty damn sleek.
As I mentioned in my hands-on preview with PrestaShop 1.6, it's a colossal improvement on the previous PrestaShop admin panel.
It isn't text heavy, nor does it suffer from crammed menus and pages. Instead, it’s spacious and modern.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-221079x0.png" />
The top menu, which provides access to latest orders, registrations, messages, achievements, and more, is very neat and unintrusive, even with its drop-down menus. The left-hand sidebar contains the bulk of available features and functions, all of which are listed below a handy search bar.
The biggest attraction though, is the array of stats and facts presented on the main page of the dashboard.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-23.png" />
You can monitor the amount of visitors currently online, active shopping carts, order totals, net profit, and much more. It’s a thoroughly impressive hub of statistics, all of which are relevant.
I covered Prestashop’s love affair with statistics recently, if you would like to know more.
<h3>The Tour</h3>
Prestashop Cloud gives users a quick, yet very useful guided tour to get their stores up and running.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-241079x0.png" />
It’s the first thing you see when logging into your back office, until you complete it. (Although there really should be a way to close it without having to actually use it first).
The four steps of the tour are; “Customize Your Shop”, “Add Products”, “Configure Payments” and “Choose Your Shipping Options”.
<h3>Customize Your Shop</h3>
The first step takes you to a page where you can adjust some of the default theme’s settings, including your logo, invoice logo, website icons and so on.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-6.png" />
Clicking “Theme Configurator” will present you with a range of theme options (which will change depending on which theme you’re using).
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-7.png" />
Such options include the appearance of social media icons, banners, logos and so forth.
Clicking “Advanced Settings” will enable you to define things like the number of products displayed per page, column positions and more.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-171079x0.png" />
<h3>Adding Products</h3>
The process behind adding a product is perhaps the most important element of each eCommerce platform.
Prestashop lets you get to uploading quickly, by clicking the “Quick Access” button on the top menu, followed by “New Product”.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-9.png" />
The page for adding products is initially quite simple, letting you configure a name, condition, description, and more. You can also specify whether the product is physical, virtual or a pack of products.
However, Prestashop Cloud also lets you get technical and very, very detailed. If you want to.
The list of options down the left include pages dealing with SEO, images, product features, attachments, and much more.
<h3>Configure Payments</h3>
Configuring payment gateways is relatively easy.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-111079x0.png" />
The default options are bank wire and payment by check, although PrestaShop Cloud has a nice variety of free options in the form of modules.
PayPal, Stripe &amp; Skrill are amongst the popular names. Further options like PayPal Pro are available, but only at a price.
<h3>Shipping &amp; Taxing</h3>
When it comes to shipping options, PrestaShop does a solid job of allowing you to set up different carriers as you would expect. Additional options include the ability to set handling charges, default carriers and so on.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-131079x0.png" />
If you wish, you can also configure at what order value free shipping begins at.
Things get a little confusing when it comes to taxing though. To set up taxes for different locations, you need to head over to “Localization”, and then “Taxes” on the sidebar.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/tax_700x0.png" />
Firstly, you can simply add the name of the tax, before giving it a percentage value.
However, to actually configure tax rules for these same taxes, you'll need to navigate to another page called “Tax Rules”, where you may then select your existing taxes, before assigning things like location, zip/postal code range, etc.
I don’t see why these options can’t be presented on the same page.
<h3>Front Office</h3>
The front office of Prestashop Cloud lets you see your store as though you are a visitor. But there are also some further settings which you can access by clicking on the gears button located on the left.
Here, you can adjust the colours of your theme, and also the fonts used across the store.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/frontoff2_700x0.jpg" />
I personally expect there to be some further settings here, though. Setting colours and fonts is great, but things like logos, favicons and so forth should also be present on the same menu.
Also, the “Reset” and “Save” buttons at the bottom of the menu can only be seen once you close either the theme colour or font sections, which are open by default. This issue is compounded by the fact that there is no scrolling feature on the menu.
For me, Prestashop could go a few steps further with their front office feature. It’s a little light when it comes to functionality beyond simply previewing your store.
<h2>Apps &amp; Extras</h2>
Prestashop Cloud users get the exact same access to apps as Prestashop Download users.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-29.png" />
As previously mentioned, Prestashop’s primary income stream runs straight through their app and theme marketplace. It’s no surprise then, that the marketplace is filled with a wide range of extensions to help with everything from marketing to website design.
Over 2,000 templates are hosted there, some of which are made by Prestashop, while the rest are from partners and the community.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-30.png" />
PrestaShop Module Marketplace also hosts hundreds upon hundreds of modules to browse through, many of which are free of charge, to be fair.
However, many modules aren’t free. Many are quite expensive, actually.
In fact, some modules can be as expensive as $260, while the most expensive template on offer comes to a sum of $245.
Although in fairness, the templates demanding such fees are generally extremely well crafted. The same can’t always be said for the free templates, but that’s hardly surprising.
One thing's for sure though, Prestashop offers a great deal of flexibility and extensibility with an array of modules and templates.
<h3>Stats &amp; Real Time Profit Margins</h3>
The “Stats” page found on the left hand sidebar offers metrics for things like; best product categories, best customers, best sellers, search engine keywords, visitors, best vouchers and many more.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/stats.png" />
PrestaShop really flexes it's statistical muscles here, giving you a huge amount to monitor. Yet, the simple graphs and lists associated with each parameter makes that monitoring a piece of cake.
Another unique Prestashop feature comes in the form of “Real Time Net Profit Margin”, which enables you to keep track of your takings in real time.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/9.png" />
<h3>Intelligent Merchant KPIs &amp; Forecasts</h3>
Two highly interesting Prestashop Cloud features worth mentioning, are intelligent merchant KPIs and forecasting.
Firstly, remember all of those stats found on the Prestashop Cloud dashboard? Well, forecasts can be found alongside those.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-16.png" />
As the name suggests, the feature literally forecasts your store’s sales based on recent activity and sales records. It’s a supremely useful and downright interesting tool.
The graph forecasts traffic, conversions, average shopping cart values, and sales.
As for intelligent KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), they are non-obtrusive metrics which appear on numerous pages within the back office.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/7_700x0.png" />
They offer up statistics which are relevant to the page you’re viewing.
For example, the Intelligent Merchant KPIs found on the “Orders” page display conversion rates, average order values and net profit per visit over the last 30 days, along with abandoned carts per day.
In the grand scheme of things, this feature is but a small touch. But those small touches across the Prestashop back office definitely add up.
<h2>Getting Help</h2>
You might think that a free and cloud hosted solution would need to scale back it certain areas, but Prestashop continues to impress when it comes to support.
This is mainly due to the awesome Prestashop community, which is arguably the backbone of the support system as well as the platform itself. <a href="/a-closer-look-at-prestashops-global-community/" target="_blank">You can read more about Prestashop’s community right here</a>.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-311079x0.png" />
Official support options include a helpline which is open during business hours only, along with a standard contact form. It should also be noted however, that there is a large quantity of documentation available from the PrestaShop website, which provides help and support concerning the platform's different features and functions.
Despite this, I felt that the most useful support feature was located within the dashboard itself. A “Help” button is located in the top-right corner of every page on the back office.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/help_700x0.png" />
When clicked, the Help button brings up a window with information relevant to the page you happen to be viewing. For example, if you hit Help on the Statistics page, you will be presented with a window detailing all the workings of the Statistics page.
I found this little feature to be extremely useful.
Finally, it's worth noting that Prestashop Cloud users are given 10 free support tickets to get them started.
<h2>The Verdict</h2>
PrestaShop is a very sleek and very detailed platform, which offers a heavy dose of statistical data for merchants to study and work with.
All the core functions needed for an ecommerce solution are present, and in good working order. Meanwhile, additional features like Intelligent Merchant KPIs and Forecasted Data add further quality.
In fact, those graphs and counters all work in tandem to make PrestaShop a seriously powerful ecommerce analytics engine, on top of being a well oiled ecommerce solution.
Also, I previously mentioned the “small touches” dotted around Prestashop’s back office. These include the intelligent merchant KPIs, module suggestions, help buttons, stats and more.
For me, these small, individual touches come together to give Prestashop Cloud an edge. It feels like the platform is constantly speaking to you, and that’s pretty damn awesome.
And finally, Prestashop’s bubbling community and expansive module and theme marketplace help to round off the product quite nicely indeed.
<h3>Pros</h3>
<ul>
<li>Prestashop Cloud is totally free and cloud-hosted, and that’s nothing short of epic.</li>
<li>The dashboard is sleek, modern and easy to use.</li>
<li>Stats and helpful facts are everywhere, and yet are not overwhelming.</li>
<li>Product creation can be quick and easy, but the options to set up more complex products are all there too. </li>
<li>Huge amount of modules and templates, many of which have been developed by PrestaShop and certified partners. </li>
<li>Templates are generally of a very high standard, while various front end features make shopping easy.</li>
<li>Unique features like Intelligent Merchant KPIs and Forecasting adds tremendously to PrestaShop's statistical prowess.</li>
<li>Getting support is relatively easy</li>
<li>Prestashop has a global community which is as helpful as it is massive.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Cons</h3>
<ul>
<li>No access to the source code or database for Prestashop Cloud users.</li>
<li>Although many templates are of a good standard, the pricing system concerning community built and premium themes in particular, are in need of review. </li>
<li>Module &amp; template prices can add up quite easily if you're looking for a truly professional set up. Not a great amount of built-in marketing options.</li>
<li>Minor menu display issue in Prestashop Cloud’s front office.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Final Remarks</h2>
In case I haven’t spoken about it enough during the course of this review, Prestashop Cloud being totally free is seriously epic.
It’s the kind of thing that friends and family won’t believe straight away. “There’s got to be a catch”, they might claim. But there isn’t.
Sure, the Prestashop Addons marketplace is where you’ll likely spend a few bucks, but there’s no necessity on that front at all. Plus, the marketplace offers its fair share of free content, too.
The platform itself is stellar. There’s no denying that Prestashop is now one of the world’s best eCommerce solutions, as it combines simplicity with optional complexity like very few other platforms can.
Prestashop has come a long way, and thanks to its community, open-source nature and cloud offerings, it’s here to stay.
To conclude, it’s safe to say that there is simply no other software available that’s as good as <a href="https://www.prestashop.com/" target="_blank">Prestashop</a> which also offers a free, cloud-hosted route into the world of eCommerce.

PrestaShop Cloud Review

<a href="http://vlinksmedia.com" target="_blank">Vlinks Media</a>, the company behind LearnCore, have recently introduced some new usability improvements and branding features for their platform.
<a href="http://learncore.com" target="_blank"> LearnCore</a> is an interactive learning management system designed to provide a user-friendly experience to both administrators and learners. The feature-heavy platform can help you create personalised courses and tests to help learners progress.
LearnCore is ideal for educational institutions, as well as corporations looking to induct new staff, or provide training to existing team members. A few months ago, <a href="/revolutionize-corporate-staff-training-with-learncore/#.UzFdR_l_vvU" target="_blank"> I covered LearnCore's features in detail</a>.
For now though, let's take a look at what's new.
<h2>Improved Test Creation &amp; Branding Options</h2>
First of all, LearnCore administrators can now benefit from a newly improved test creation interface.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/survey_1700x0.png" alt="LearnCore Surveys" /> 
The delivery of test questions has also now been randomised, whilst a new Survey System has been introduced. The surveys allow learners to give feedback and suggestions straight after their test or course is completed. In order to function, the surveys need to be set up prior to courses being published
Furthermore, custom branding for companies and educational institutes is now available. This includes a custom login page, custom URL, customized initial e-mail and customized accolades.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/custom-accoung-management700x0.png" alt="LearnCore Branding Options" /> 
All custom package items can be configured under “Account Management” in the LearnCore admin panel.
To learn more about what LearnCore can offer your organization in terms of training and learning, <a href="http://learncore.com/" target="_blank">visit their website</a>.
Additionally, you can explore further key information about LearnCore via our CMS Directory.

LearnCore Release Survey & Branding Updates

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/shopgate.png" alt="shopgate logo" /><a target="_blank" href="https://www.shopgate.com/">Shopgate</a> has just rolled out marketing and design services to compliment their mobile commerce platform, which integrates with major eCommerce platforms like Shopify and <a href="/products/bigcommerce">Bigcommerce</a>.The addition of marketing services is expected to give retailers a lift in both app downloads and customer engagement, continuing Shopgate’s dedication to driving mobile revenue for their customers.Shopgate’s SaaS platform enables online retailers to create, maintain, and optimize native apps and mobile websites for the iPhone, iPad, Android smartphones, and tabletsPreviously, Shopgate was offering online retailers the technology needed to build and maintain mobile apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Android smartphones and tablets. But with this new suite of marketing features, Shopgate retailers now have the option to build and execute sophisticated marketing campaigns that maximize reach and improve key metrics like app downloads and sales conversions.Here's how it all works.<h2>Fully-fledged Mobile Marketing</h2><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/section1_imagery-768x512.jpg" alt="Shopgate marketing" />Here's a breakdown of what mCommerce marketing includes:<ul><li>Quarterly marketing strategy review</li><li>App store optimization (ASO)</li><li>Push notification campaigns</li><li>Targeted app downloads</li><li>Design packages</li></ul>Shopgate has announced different packages which are designed to accommodate every size retailer from small to mid-size – particularly those with no in-house marketing resources at their disposal. They also cater to larger enterprise-scale retailers with what it calls its “High Volume” package.<h2>Marrying Mobile eCommerce &amp; Mobile Marketing</h2>Casey Gannon, VP of Marketing at Shopgate. thinks that marketing was the perfect match for Shopgate's existing eCommerce platform:<blockquote>“Shopgate Marketing Services represents our effort to marry best-in-class mCommerce technology with proven marketing strategies to help our customers gain a competitive advantage over other online retailers.Help with marketing has been a popular request from customers for some time and we are finally ready to bring out a range of helpful marketing tactics and strategies to a large audience. Our mCommerce technology continues to be our primary source of revenue but we expect as much as 25% of current and new customers to utilize our services by the start of 2017.”</blockquote>For more information about Shopgate and its services, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.shopgate.com/en/services?utm_campaign=Services&amp;utm_source=PR">visit their website</a>. The official press release  can be <a target="_blank" href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160803005807/en/Shopgate-Adds-App-Marketing-Services-mCommerce-Offering">found here</a>.

Shopgate Adds Marketing Features to its Mobile eCommerce Solution

<img alt="zoho crm" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/workspace-820315_1280-1_fuama1.jpg" />
Zoho has just rolled out the latest major version of <a href="https://www.zoho.com/crm/">Zoho CRM</a>, making it, “the industry's first multichannel CRM” in the process.
Zoho CRM, which is free for up to 10 users, helps manage the contacts and sales processes of small businesses, enterprise-scale organizations, and everyone in between.
Here's what the latest version brings to the table.
<h2>Zoho CRM: Multichannel Customer Engagement</h2>
Thanks to this update, Zoho CRM now supports email, social media, live chat, and phone communications, enabling salespeople to engage their customers and prospects across all major channels.
Highlights of the latest version of Zoho CRM include:
SalesSignals: SalesSignals keep salespeople informed in real-time about customer actions on various touchpoints like social media, satisfaction surveys and support tickets helping them act in time and make speedy sales.
SalesInbox: Zoho is completely changing the way salespeople go about their email with the launch of a new product that works with ZohoCRM: Zoho SalesInbox, a dedicated mail client for salespeople. Emails are organized as per CRM data, adding more context. Metrics like template analysis, version comparison and open rates make sure quality of email keeps improving.
Mobile apps for field sales: Salesreps can check-in at customer locations, find prospects nearby, track sales activities, and close more deals on the move with Zoho CRM's new mobile app. Sales managers can foster desired practices among their teams with metric-driven sales contests using the new Zoho Motivator app for iOS, which works in sync with Zoho CRM.
<h2>A Revamped UI</h2>
To accompany the newly supported channels, Zoho also took to their CRM's user interface. Now, it boasts usability innovations such as Timeline View, Page Layouts, and Gamescope to improve salespeople's ability to close deals.
Here are the highlights:
Clean and minimalist new interface: The latest version of Zoho CRM is designed to minimize the processes involved in sales and maximize selling. It does so with an intuitive new interface and smart new features:
Timeline view: Salespeople can see their customers' historical data and interactions with their team, all in one place. They can also see any upcoming action items that have been assigned to members of their team.
Advanced filters: This insight-discovery tool allows businesses to probe their CRM data based on activities such as tasks, notes and emails.
Page layouts: Many businesses face the challenge of having to handle sales processes that might not always fit into the common CRM sales cycle. Page Layouts enable companies to handle multiple products and processes using a single CRM account.
Gamescope: With this feature, anyone, not just sales managers, can create contests and invite their peers to play a game for a friendly wager. Sales activities like making calls and closing deals could win an employee points, trophies and badges. The use of game playing elements promotes healthy competition within a team. GameScope complements Zoho Motivator, which is a metric-driven gamification tool.
<h2>“Enhancement to Help Close Deals”</h2>
Raju Vegesna, Zoho's Chief Evangelist, says this release is all about helping salespeople close more deals:
<blockquote>
“Today, every progressive sales team needs a CRM that connects with customers and prospects regardless of their preferred communication channel.
At the same time, the CRM must remain flexible enough to advance the sales process through any channel. Our aim with this release of Zoho CRM is to provide the multichannel support that connects salespeople, prospects and customers and provide the usability enhancements that close more deals.
“The new additions to our CRM speak to our growing commitment to being a key player for mid-market and enterprise businesses.”
</blockquote>
For more information on Zoho CRM, visit<a href="https://www.zoho.com/crm/"> www.zoho.com/crm</a>.

Zoho CRM Goes Multichannel

To complete our featured coverage of DNN Software, we're taking a look at how <a href="http://www.dnnsoftware.com/products/evoq-content?utm_source=cmscritic-article-april-2015&amp;utm_campaign=cmscritic-april-2015" target="_blank">DNN Evoq 8</a> handles day to day content management.
Over the course of this week, I have delved into Evoq 8's <a href="/a-closer-look-at-dnn-evoq-8s-integration-options/" target="_blank">integration options</a>, <a href="/how-dnn-evoq-8-charges-advocate-marketing-with-gamification/" target="_blank">advocate marketing features</a>, <a href="/blending-analytics-personalization-for-optimum-results-with-dnn-evoq-8/" target="_blank">analytics &amp; personalization features</a> and more. Mike Johnston was also given a <a href="/a-video-walkthrough-of-evoq-content-by-dnn-software/" target="_blank">personal product demonstration</a>, before his <a href="/mike-interviews-navin-nagiah-ceo-of-dnn-software-video/" target="_blank">interview with DNN's CEO Navin Nagiah</a>.
For those of you who still aren't familiar with DNN Software, the .NET giants are trusted by over 2,000 brands across the globe, including a number of Fortune 500 companies, DNN was named the <a href="/2014-critics-choice-award-winner-best-small-to-midsize-business-net-cms/" target="_blank">2014 Critics' Choice Award Winner for Best Small to Midsize Business .NET CMS</a>.
<h2>Craft &amp; Manage Content (Without Calling IT)</h2>
In my coverage of <a href="/blending-analytics-personalization-for-optimum-results-with-dnn-evoq-8/">Evoq 8's analytics and personalization features</a>, I mentioned that DNN Software's CEO, Navin Nagiah, recently said that:
<blockquote>“Websites are now being owned more and more by marketers. But if you go back five, eight, ten years ago, website were owned by IT.
So the CMS [Evoq 8] had to pivot to be one for marketers. Super easy to use, super simple to update content.”</blockquote>
Obviously, the words of the company's CEO are reflected in the finished product that is Evoq 8. The platform has been designed from the ground up to be used by marketers, rather than by IT.
Adding pages is a simple process, with details like page descriptions, titles and tags being easy to configure.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/content-creation-add-page.png" />
Evoq 8 also provides pre-built page layouts for marketers to choose from, alongside the option for them to craft their  own and save it as a template for re-use.
This includes the ability to drag-and-drop resizable page elements in order to perfect the design of each page with ease.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-341079x0.png" />
Marketers can also resize, crop and rotate images on the page without accessing an external image editor. Evoq 8 automatically resamples the image for best quality.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/content-creation-image-editing.png" />
<h2>Every Asset, One Interface</h2>
DNN Software has done very well to streamline the entire asset management process with Evoq 8.
The platform <a href="/a-closer-look-at-dnn-evoq-8s-integration-options/" target="_blank">integrates with a number of popular storage solutions</a> including; Box, Dropbox, Amazon S3, Azure Storage and Microsoft Sharepoint.
More impressively though, DNN Evoq 8 doesn't just integrate with these individual solutions. It centralizes them, bringing every asset from every storage solution to one manageable interface.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/content-creation-asset-manager1079x0.png" />
As with all other interfaces, the asset management page within Evoq 8 is sleek and beautiful. Files and folders are neatly tiled, while convenient search options top the page.
Furthermore, marketers can subscribe to notifications in order to be alerted any time a file or folder is added or changed, in any connected repository.
<h2>Lexus-like</h2>
I'm going to end our featured coverage of DNN Software with another quote from the company's CEO Navin Nagiah, which I found highly interesting.
<blockquote>“We're like a Lexus. Very good value for money, high utility, really well designed, and we're going to stay with you for a while.”</blockquote>
Find out more about DNN Evoq Content 8 by <a href="http://www.dnnsoftware.com/products/evoq-content?utm_source=cmscritic-article-april-2015&amp;utm_campaign=cmscritic-april-2015" target="_blank">visiting their website</a>.
Also, you can explore more of <a href="/products/dnn-evoq-content/" target="_blank">DNN Evoq Content through our CMS Directory</a>.

DNN Evoq 8: Getting To Grips With Content Management

Best Video Experience

Give your audience the best video experience

#000000

Thanks to today's technology, courses that don't require meeting in a classroom are not only possible; they're increasingly common. In fact, these days, even classes that do meet in person very often have an online component (even if that just means that the syllabus is posted on a website and assignments are turned in online). Students in traditional, in-person courses are increasingly required to participate in interactive online activities as part of their course work – such as contributing to a discussion forum, adding information to a wiki, or taking part in video web conferencing. Regardless of how many (or how few) online components a course entails, today's learning management systems (LMS) give instructors many options for how to handle important aspects of teaching, from enrolling students to organizing lessons and tracking student progress. Moodle, Course Toolkit, EDU 2.0, JoomlaLMS, and ATutor are all impressive and versatile systems available for educators.
<h2>Moodle</h2>
Moodle is a free source LMS used by educational institutions and businesses alike. This LMS makes it simple to add whole groups of students to a course, assign administrative privileges, create interactive and engaging course content and activities, and track and comment on student progress. Moodle allows instructors to set up workshops, quizzes, or course blogs – as well as to add PDF resource documents, set up discussion wikis, and embed film clips into a lesson. The simple user interface makes it easy to export items to Google Docs, Dropbox, etc. The fact that Columbia University's Teachers College (considered the premier graduate school of education in the United States) uses Moodle as its default system for courses is quite an endorsement.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/moodle_interface.jpg" />
Learn more about <a href="/products/moodle/">Moodle</a>
Visit their website: <a href="https://moodle.org/">Moodle Website</a>
<h2>Course Toolkit</h2>
Course Toolkit is a free, fully customizable LMS in PHP, allowing instructors to create and manage all types of educational course content – from quizzes and tests to collaborative wikis and multimedia content. Instructors may create HTML documents, but Course Toolkit's easy-to-use WYSIWYG visual editing tools makes the system easy to use without any technical knowledge whatsoever. This LMS allows instructors to invite students to join the course (and to control who has access to which materials), as well as to track student activity. It comes complete with gradebooks, automated grading, live test results, attendance monitoring, and other built-in reporting tools. This system enables a high level of interaction via a variety of tools, from messaging to an interactive whiteboard and video chat.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/course_toolkit_interface.jpg" />
Visit their website: <a href="http://www.coursetoolkit.com/">Course Toolkit</a>
<h2>EDU 2.0</h2>
EDU 2.0 is a cloud-hosted LMS that's free for schools that have up to 2000 students. Such a plan never expires and includes access to online help and community support forums, as well as unlimited storage and bandwidth. Custom CSS and HTML are both supported for deep web customization, but no technical knowledge is necessary to use this highly customizable system featuring dashboards and dropdown menus. A help menu is available, with detailed instructions and screenshots featured for most help topics.
EDU 2.0 supports instructor-led, blended, and self-paced classes alike. Given that courses can be saved in a library as templates for reuse later, it's easy to automatically create new classes and sessions just before the start of the term, as well as to teach multiple sections, using the unique “class sync” feature to publish changes from a master copy of one class to others on the list.
EDU 2.0 allows for many different account types (for parents, administrators, and others, for example), and it simplifies registration and course access by allowing student enrollment via file import, student roster, email, or self-enrollment through access codes. Only students in the course may access resources, and URLs cannot be shared outside of the roster without instructor permission. Instructors may also enable and disable whether and when resource links are displayed for those enrolled. Students may be deactivated through a time-based system, too. The system also allows for automatic generation of certificates of course completion at the end of the term, at which time grades may also be downloaded via CSV file or API through the gradebook feature – which also allows for many grading and weighting options. (Many other reporting tools are also available).
This LMS comes equipped with a curriculum builder; alternatively, instructors may use preloaded US Common Core standards and analyze how well a class covers the curriculum. It is also has full multimedia capability, with built-in support for messaging, forums, chat rooms, wikis, surveys, debates, and blogs. Resources may be archived and shared with colleagues.
Instructors using EDU 2.0's LMS may create student groups, and the lessons and section order may be reordered by simply dragging and dropping. The system allows users to easily return to where they left off in a lesson. Instructors may also track attendance (easily recorded in a PDF) and lesson progress, as well as time spent on the site. They may also receive alerts to any possibly offensive content. Rubric builders and many types of assessments (including portfolios) are available, including a variety of quizzes and personalized assignments. Instructors may even decide how many late assignments the system will accept (if any), tailoring this parameter for individual students as needed.
EDU 2.0 also integrates with many common systems, including Skype (for web conferencing), Google Docs, LDAP, Calendars (iCal), and Paypal (for paid courses). A school-wide activity feed is also available.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/edu_20_interface.jpg" />
Learn more about <a href="/products/neo/">EDU 2.0</a>
Visit their website: <a href="https://www.edu20.org/">EDU 2.0 Website</a>
<h2>JoomlaLMS</h2>
JoomlaLMS is an on-premise, proprietary, fully functional learning management system used by schools and corporations alike. JoomlaLMS offers custom development services and a variety of course templates. The system allows for self-enrollment and administrator-approved enrollment, at which time students may also pay ( if applicable); instructors may set a maximum number of students who can enroll, too, as well as establish a waiting list. An instructor can also control who may access what (and when) – as well as at what level, depending on the user roles that they define. At the same time, it's easy to toggle between student and teacher modes – in order to see the interface as the students see it when they're logged on.
Once users are enrolled, they may create customized profiles. After that, aside from access to features like a homework drop box, quiz creation, and the ability to monitor student activity on the site, many instructors love being able to create a virtual interactive classroom through JoomlaLMS's live conference tool, featuring audio/video streaming, a virtual whiteboard, and the ability chat within a conference (and even record the session).
Other communication-enabling features include course announcements, a calendar of due dates (and other time-sensitive information), a discussion forum feature, and the ability to exchange files and messages without having to use email. Files that may be uploaded and managed include HTML documents, .zips, .pdfs, text, audio, video, etc. It's also easy to set up a library of course material – and to control the order in which students may access information (to ensure that they don't skip any lessons). JoomlaLMS also shows users where they last left off.
Finally, this system makes evaluating student progress simple. Instructors may view (and download, in a number of formats) many types of reports. Quiz results are easily emailed, and course grades are also simple to record. Instructors may even issue certificates of completion at the end of the term. In turn, JoomlaLMS also allows students to rate and comment on the course.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/joomlalms_interface.jpg" />
Learn more about <a href="/products/joomlalms/">Joomla LMS</a>
Visit their website: <a href="http://www.joomlalms.com/">Joomla LMS website</a>
<h2>ATutor</h2>
ATutor is a free, open source, web-based, on-premise LMS in PHP that conforms with international accessibility standards. An automated installer and upgrade are both available for a more worry-free experience, and a link to the full user handbook is always in sight. Instructors will be able to start their courses off on the right foot by importing a comma-separated list of students for enrollment and enabling CAPTCHA and email confirmation to ensure registrant validity. The enrollment manager also allows instructors to control access levels.
Once students are enrolled, they can set up personalized network profiles, including a profile photo. The system allows them to control the theme and display settings that they see when they log in – and shows them where they last left off in a lesson. Adaptive navigation allows students to move through content in a variety of different types of sequences, and an FAQ section and search engine enable students to quickly and easily find the information that they need. Like any great LMS, ATutor allows instructors to set up a discussion forum and collaborative groups. Other means of interactive communication include chat rooms, user inboxes, and group blogs.
Both students and instructors can add web links to the site, and instructors may create course content in either HTML or, if they prefer, plain text. It's simple for instructors to create course reading lists and glossaries, too – as well as to set up tests in almost any format imaginable. They can even create quick polls to get student opinions. When all is said and done, teachers won't need to reinvent the wheel from one term to the next, as content is easily stored to a local computer, and a master copy of a course (which is easily populated by available backups) may be created for future use.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/atutor_interface.jpg" />
Overall, the type of learning management system that instructors prefer may largely depend on course content, structure, and subject matter. Some courses may lend themselves more to an LMS that simplifies standardization and automation, while courses in which student creativity and participation in discussions are more highly prized may value other LMS features. The good news is that popular LMSs – such as those mentioned here – have many features from which to choose (by design), making them versatile for a variety of teaching situations.
Learn more about <a href="/products/atutor/">ATutor</a>
Visit their website: <a href="http://atutor.ca/">ATutor Website</a>
Do you know of a good Learning Management System that we've missed? Let us know in the comments below.

5 Learning Management Systems with Educator-Friendly Features

This week, <a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/" target="_blank">BlackMonk CMS</a> – a platform designed to power online newspapers, business directories and community portals, released version 3.2 of their product. 
I recently carried out an in-depth <a href="/blackmonk-cms-review/#.Uywg7fl_vvU" target="_blank"> review of BlackMonk </a> , where I detailed their range of functionalists and features which make community, directory and news portal website building easy. 
Now, with the release of version 3.2, BlackMonk users can make use of some interesting enhancements – some of which I called for during my review of their platform. 
<h2>Rich Snippets &amp; Rich Static Pages</h2>
First of all, BlackMonk version 3.2 increases the click worthiness of your content in search engines by leveraging Google’s rich snippet feature.
Rich snippets is a feature of Google Search which structures the description of a search listing based on nature/type of targeted content. For example, listing of a news story comprises of story headline, name of news service, time elapsed since publication and a brief summary of the story.
<img alt="BlackMonk Rich Snippets" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/blackmonk.jpg" /> BlackMonk now optimizes your content in line with the benefits of Google’s rich snippet feature, resulting in a substantial increase in Click through Rates (CTR).
Furthermore, the BlackMonk team have also added rich formatting and multimedia content insertion features, making it simple to create rich static pages. This was a feature which I felt was missing in my <a href="/blackmonk-cms-review/" target="_blank">review of BlackMonk CMS</a>, and to see their team react so quickly to that concern is admirable.
Not to mention, it also gives their platform a boost in a very important area.
<h2>Disqus Comments &amp; More</h2>
Version 3.2 of BlackMonk also brings about built-in Disqus comments with Single Sign in Option (SSO).
<img alt="BlackMonk Disqus Comments" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/disqus_comments.jpg" /> You can now allow users to engage with content via the popular Disqus comments system, which allow users to reply to comments posted by fellow users. The Single Sign In Option allows users to post comment without the need for creating a Disqus account.
Additional features included in version 3.2 are CSV upload histories, error logs and over 100 other fixes.
To find out more about BlackMonk CMS, or to request a demo, check out their <a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/" target="_blank"> official website</a>.
Also, be sure to check out my <a href="/blackmonk-cms-review/#.Uywg7fl_vvU" target="_blank"> BlackMonk CMS Review</a>.

BlackMonk v3.2 Released

“Online learning” is a term most of us have probably heard by now, but how exactly are instructors able to run every aspect of an online course – from assigning work to collecting it and monitoring student participation? (And what exactly does “participation” even mean or look like in an online environment?)
Actually, while online learning can refer to “online only” courses – such as the MOOCs we've begun to hear so much about recently (massive open online courses) – on today's university campuses, online learning is often just an additional tool that's used in what we think of as traditional courses (ones that meet in a classroom several times a week), too. For instance, while many professors still collect hard copies of student papers, an increasing number of university instructors are ditching the drop box outside their office doors for the virtual alternative. While some may just ask students to email their work, thanks to today's LMS (learning management systems), better and more centralized ways to collect and track student work are available today. While signed in to an LMS, students and faculty can also access a whole host of other features for organizing a course and enabling more effective and efficient communication.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/atutor_screenshot.jpg" alt="ATutor screenshot" />
While an LMS such as LearnCore is commonly marketed to corporations for training purposes – allowing employees to complete training modules, for example, as they pass tests and move up to the next level – ATutor, on the other hand, is marketed to educators who teach in settings that we more traditionally associate with a university (or some other type of school) in the most basic and classic sense of the word. An LMS such as Edu 2.0 – or BrainX, Moodle, or Joomla – is a popular choice among traditional educators and corporate trainers alike.
Visual Features Help Span the Distance
Among instructors of online-only university courses, a very popular feature (that virtually every LMS offers) is the capability for instructors, with just a few clicks, to set up and monitor a discussion forum. In a 100% online course (where the instructor may never meet the students in person – and they may never meet each other), a discussion forum gives students a chance to interact simultaneously with both one another and the course material (and also provides a way for instructors to consider a “class participation” component when grading). What is more, an LMS that allows students to create user profiles with photos helps to put a face to the names on the roster. In addition, video conferencing (and the ability for both students and professors to upload videos) allows the course to expand beyond reading and writing black-and-white text. Interactive Whiteboard technology can often be added to a live video conference so that all communication tools are available, all at once.
Many Creative Options
Regardless of whether a course only meets online – or is a “hybrid,” only integrating some virtual features into the ways in which students interact with one another and their professors – an LMS allows instructors and students alike to use their imaginations, bringing a multimedia approach to learning. While instructors can still assign and collect – through online means such as an LMS – old-fashioned term papers and the like, LMS blogging capability also allows professors to add a contemporary and creative twist to writing assignments and make student work available for the whole class to read and comment on.
In addition, instructors can post key vocabulary, FAQs, or a library of course reading materials, as well as design quizzes that students take online (which may be graded automatically). They can also create wikis that students add to in order to demonstrate what they know in a way that's more fun and interactive. Students also enjoy the opportunity to create and share educational videos (which, for example, can take the form of a skit that engages key course concepts). These can be created by individual students or through collaboration for group projects, which are considered an increasingly valuable part of a well-rounded university education.
Organizing Basic Course Logistics
On the practical side, an LMS will usually allow professors to invite (and, often, enroll) students – and post not only a course calendar but also important announcements. What's more, the instructor may control when students access any or all information on the website. Many also come with a system for sending individualized messages to students, as needed – as well as giving students grade information and other feedback. An LMS will often also come with an attendance-tracking system. Student groups may be set up for collaborative projects, in which case the messaging also allows students to easily contact one another.
Increasing a Sense of Community
In fact, within an online class environment, what happens quite naturally is that students will often want to be able to message each other anyway, even if there are no group projects. That's the thing about a really good LMS; while many might fear that online learning “distances” students from each other and their professors, really these systems can be used to remind us of one of the most humanizing aspects of learning: it's just plain fun.
Simply put, an LMS can help increase the amount (and quality) of communication between stakeholders. In fact, students who are shy in person – perhaps because the course is held in a language that isn't their first or perhaps because they have a fear of public speaking – will often open up and thrive in a virtual environment. An LMS can also allow professors to create and easily administer student polls and surveys, allowing them to get to know the group better – and to get a better sense of which elements of the course and teaching are effective and which aren't (and make adjustments accordingly). The truth is, rather than making education feel impersonal, a good LMS, when used to its full advantage, can make a class what it should be: a real community (in every sense of the word) of fully-engaged learners.

What is a Learning Management System (LMS) and What Does it Do?

Next week, I will be attending the 2014 Adobe Digital Marketing Summit in Salt Lake City, Utah. Held at the Salt Lake City convention center, this event is definitely a unique one that I do my best not to miss. 
Not only is Salt Lake City a beautiful place but Adobe tends to put 110% into their conferences and this years will be no exception. Two of the speakers I'm most interested in hearing from this year are Robert Redford (actor &amp; director) and Yancey Strickler (CEO and Co-founder of Kickstarter.com).
Adobe also knows how to throw one helluva party (<a href="/the-summit-bash-at-the-adobe-digital-marketing-summit/#.UymfP1f5a0M">see past pictures of the Summit Bash here</a>). This year, we will be treated with a concert by Vampire Weekend (last year was an amazing concert by The Black Keys).
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/adobesummit2012.jpg" />
It's not all about the party though. The conference is a great place to see the new innovations that Adobe is bringing to the forefront and each year, I'm impressed with what they are doing. As a major player in the online marketing space, it only makes sense to keep up on what they are doing to see how they are staying competitive and relevant. I also tend to connect with quite a few related vendors that attend the show and have booths there, so it's a win-win for me.
Stay tuned on the site and on Twitter as I'll be live tweeting from the event starting mid next week. For more info on the Adobe Summit, check out their website: <a href="http://summit.adobe.com/">Adobe Summit 2014</a>.

See you at the Adobe Summit!

Our featured coverage of DNN Software continues this week, and this time we're looking at the analytics and personalization features of <a href="http://www.dnnsoftware.com/products/evoq-content?utm_source=cmscritic-article-april-2015&amp;utm_campaign=cmscritic-april-2015" target="_blank">DNN Evoq 8</a>.
Trusted by more than 2,000 brands worldwide, including a range of Fortune 500 companies, DNN was named the <a href="/2014-critics-choice-award-winner-best-small-to-midsize-business-net-cms/" target="_blank">2014 Critics' Choice Award Winner for Best Small to Midsize Business .NET CMS</a>.
DNN Evoq 8 was released with a focus on a few different fronts, including both analytics and personalization. Let's get into how the platform helps marketers combine the two.
<h2>The Metrics Come Easy</h2>
Evoq 8 serves up detailed and relevant metrics, in a way that's both stylish and yet easy to process. Even for laymen.
<a href="/a-video-walkthrough-of-evoq-content-by-dnn-software/" target="_blank">Much like the rest of DNN Evoq 8</a>, the analytics dashboard is very easy on the eyes.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/page-level-content-analytics700x0.png" />
The sleek nature of the dashboard doesn't come at the cost of functionality though. With it, marketers can easily:
<ul>
<li>Track Page View activity over any length of time, comparing time periods as well as visitors to views.</li>
<li>Monitor the average time spent on each page, along with the bounce rate for the time period.</li>
<li>See the top referring domains driving traffic to the page, top operating systems used, and the top conversion activities.</li>
<li>Understand which traffic channels are driving visitors to the page, and which devices those visitors are using to access the page.</li>
<li>Analyze how are visitors are navigating to and from the page, segmented by traffic type.</li>
</ul>
In other words, Evoq 8 provides marketers with ample information regarding their visitors, arming them with the information they need to adjust content and form marketing campaigns.
However, what really caught my eye, was the presentation of these stats and facts.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/analytics-nav-summary.png" />
The use of flow charts, pie charts, and line graphs may not be anything new, but Evoq 8 actually makes them fun to look at. And that's new.
Everything is quirkily colour-coded, while the interface itself is elegantly minimal on every area of the analytics dashboard. In short, these are seriously important metrics presented in a brilliantly casual way.
<h2>Multi-layered Personalization</h2>
DNN Evoq 8 is capable of tailoring content based on device, behavior, location, or user profile. The end goal is of course to increase both engagement and conversions by dishing out the most relevant content to each visitor.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/dnn700x0.png" />
To craft personalized experiences, Evoq users can set personalization rules.
Through these rules, marketers can arrange specific and tailored content which will only be seen by select groups, all of which are determined by the initial personalization rules.
For example, a banner promoting a North American competition can be configured to be displayed on the website for US and Canada based visitors only.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/personalization-rules_1.png" />
A simple rule can be set to display this version of the website specifically to North Americans, while the rest of the world are shown another version, perhaps without the banner.
Naturally, Evoq 8 lets marketers view, edit, and delete their different page versions.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/personalization-pages.png" />
The natural link between these two marketing features is obvious. Without the stellar analytics system, DNN Evoq 8 users would have trouble identifying their customers, making personalization almost impossible.
Likewise, DNN's personalization features would be of little use without the helpful information provided by its analytics system. Together, they offer valuable stats and metrics, paired with some powerful tools designed to make optimum use of them.
<h2>The Marketer Shift</h2>
Evoq 8's supremely simple approach to both analytics and personalization is no accident.
During <a href="/mike-interviews-navin-nagiah-ceo-of-dnn-software-video/" target="_blank">Mike Johnston's recent video interview with Navin Nagiah</a>, DNN Software's CEO made these telling comments:
<blockquote>“Websites are now being owned more and more by marketers. But if you go back five, eight, ten years ago, website were owned by IT.
So the CMS [Evoq 8] had to pivot to be one for marketers. Super easy to use, super simple to update content.”</blockquote>
I'd say that the shift towards marketers is on track, as “super easy” and “super simple” are two apt descriptions of the analytics and personalization features within Evoq 8.
To find out more about DNN Evoq Content 8, <a href="http://www.dnnsoftware.com/products/evoq-content?utm_source=cmscritic-article-april-2015&amp;utm_campaign=cmscritic-april-2015" target="_blank">visit their website</a>. Also, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/dnn-evoq-content/" target="_blank">DNN Evoq Content through our CMS Directory</a>.

Blending Analytics & Personalization For Optimum Results With DNN Evoq 8

CMS Summit 26

Find out at CMS Summit 26, May 12 - 13 in Frankfurt, Germany

What's ahead for CMS in the agentic era?

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