Articles - Page 144

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

matt-garrepy

<img alt="sshot-10" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-10-e1469806225126.png" />
<a href="https://ellislab.com/expressionengine">ExpressionEngine</a> has just released some new features in the form of ExpressionEngine 3.4.
ExpressionEngine is a multi-purpose content management system developed by American software company <a href="https://ellislab.com/">EllisLab</a>.
This update comes just a couple of months before the <a href="https://ellislab.com/blog/entry/expressionengine-conference-2016-call-for-papers">ExpressionEngine Conference 2016</a>, which kicks off on October 3rd 2016.
<h2>Customizable Control Panel Menu &amp; Security Improvements</h2>
The ExpressionEngine v3 control panel was always responsive and well laid out, but now, users have a way to add custom navigation for further ease of use.
<figure></figure>
There's also a new and improved <a href="https://docs.expressionengine.com/v3/cp/settings/menu/index.html">Menu Manager</a>, which allows for nested menus, with responsive design built in.
ExpressionEngine has also taken steps towards better security with version 3.4, working with the security researchers at HackerOne to shore things up. ExpressionEngine said that they aim to, “remain the most secure Content Management System on the market.”
<a href="https://docs.expressionengine.com/v3/about/changelog.html#version-3-4-0">Check out the changelog</a> and <a href="https://ellislab.com/blog/entry/expressionengine-3.4.0-released">blog announcement</a> for extra details, and grab a fresh download of <a href="https://store.ellislab.com/manage">ExpressionEngine 3.4</a> if you like the sound of their newly updated tune.
<h2>ExpressionEngine Conference 2016</h2>
The ExpressionEngine Conference is being hosted in America's midwest on October 3 &amp; 4th 2016.
Details for attendees will be made available soon via the <a href="http://www.expressionengineconference.com/">conference website</a>, although ExpressionEngine have already called for speakers and presenters to apply via their social media accounts, and they say the response has been, “fantastic.”
If you haven’t submitted your proposal to speak yet, you can still do so by <a href="https://ellislab.typeform.com/to/To5klu">filling out this form</a>.
More details can be found on <a href="https://ellislab.com/blog/entry/expressionengine-conference-2016-call-for-papers">EllisLab's blog post</a>.
To find out more about ExpressionEngine, <a href="https://ellislab.com/expressionengine">visit their website</a>.

ExpressionEngine 3.4 Released Ahead of ExpressionEngine Conference 2016

mike-johnston

Since launching its public beta in early 2014, <a href="http://www.sitesupra.com/" target="_blank">SiteSupra</a>, a newly open-sourced website builder, has come a long way.
I initially <a href="/sitesupra-review/" target="_blank">reviewed SiteSupra</a> a few months after its release, but since then, the platform has <a href="/sitesupra-introduces-new-themes-features/" target="_blank">released a slew of new features</a> and has even <a href="/sitesupra-cms-launches-open-source-edition/" target="_blank">gone open source</a> in order to ignite interest. All positive moves ahead of the advancement from public beta.
Here's an introductory video to give you an idea of what SiteSupra does.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHo0vxJ2sis
<h2>More Accessible For Small &amp; Mid-sized Businesses</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sitesupra-text-edit700x0.png" />
Seeing a developing, open-source project make advancements like this is always good to see as far as I'm concerned.
SiteSupra's CEO, Anton Sulsky, made the following comments:
<blockquote>“Our customers love SiteSupra's powerful CMS features, gorgeous templates and responsive layout. After a full fifteen-month test in beta version, we are proud to present a stable and capable yet simple user interface without interfering with the programming code.
We've made the website market significantly more accessible for small and mid-sized businesses, as SiteSupra now has one of the lowest pricing plans on the market”.
The company wanted to create something which would incorporate a powerful interface, highly-professional layouts, drag-and-drop page builder and responsive designs by default into one platform.”</blockquote>
<h2>Pricing &amp; Availability</h2>
SiteSupra offers up three subscription options: the Standard package costs $4.99 for 2GB of space and 5GB traffic. The Business package includes e-commerce, unlimited traffic and unlimited space, at the price of $12.99. The advanced free plan is available with 50MB of space, 500MB traffic, and 20 entirely customizable pages.
<a href="http://www.sitesupra.com/" target="_blank">Check out the SiteSupra website</a> to get started on your project today.
Plus, you can explore more of SiteSupra and SiteSupra Open Source via our CMS Directory.

SiteSupra Public Beta Period Officially Over

Treehouse, an online education platform that teaches anyone how to code, today launched a completely revamped beginner course that teaches students how to create their own website from scratch. Central to the new “How to Make a Website” class is Treehouse’s new innovative code-editing environment called Workspaces. The integrated editor makes it simpl for students to follow along with class instructors and save their work to the cloud. The new course and in-browser editor are available to all Treehouse students at <a href="http://teamtreehouse.com/workspaces">http://teamtreehouse.com/workspaces</a>.
<blockquote>
“We believe coding is a basic skill that anyone can learn and master, no matter what your background or education,” said Ryan Carson, Co-founder and CEO of Treehouse. “Our new course and Workspaces tool makes learning to code even easier, while helping students catalog and showcase their accomplishments. It’s part of our mission to give people the tools they need to achieve their dreams.”
</blockquote>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/treehouse600x0.jpg" />
The Workspaces editor allows students on any OS to begin coding without having to download or install any third-party software. Users are guided through an easy-to-follow training course that includes 10 hours of video tutorials, quizzes and code challenges. Students who complete the course will have learned how to create their own portfolio website to showcase their future work. Workspaces makes the entire learning experience a breeze with the following key features:
●        Simplicity – The tool eliminates confusion when multiple text editors are shown in course materials. Now, instructors and students use the same text editor, making the class more accessible to basic coders.
●        Freedom – Workspaces was created so students can easily build and save a project, then “fork” the source code into entirely new projects. Forking allows students to try out new ideas while also leaving their original project intact. Similar to a native text editor, students can use the tool to code alongside a project or develop something completely different from scratch.
●        Power – Unlike other online coding environments that lack many of the features of native text editor applications, Workspaces provides the functionality developers and designers have come to expect from a full-featured code editor like auto-complete, quick-open and the ability to drop files right onto the workspace to upload them.
To date, more than 50,000 students have taken Treehouse’s first-generation website-building course.
The newly revamped online course and Workspaces tool is currently available to all Treehouse students. To learn more about “How to Make a Website” or to start a free trial, visit <a href="http://www.teamtreehouse.com">www.teamtreehouse.com</a>.

Treehouse Launches New In-Browser Development Tool with Beginner Web Site Coding Course

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-6-1.png" alt="sshot-6" /><a target="_blank" href="https://www.agilecrm.com/">Agile CRM</a>‘s free plan now allows for up to ten simultaneous users. The change gives a wider range of small and medium sized businesses a chance to adopt a serious CRM system at zero cost.Created by the team behind popular live chat product ClickDesk, Agile CRM is still a relatively young product, launching back in 2013. As the name suggests, it's a CRM – but it comes with marketing and service automation functionality out of the box.You can read my<a href="/agile-crm-review"> Agile CRM review</a> here for more details.<h2>“Sell &amp; Market Like the Fortune 500”</h2>Agile’s no-cost plan comes with all the sales and marketing essentials including contact level analytics, appointment scheduling, newsletters, web engagement, form builder, emails and basic reports. With the recent plan change, Agile CRM is now free for the first 10 users with the option to add more by way of paid subscription.The Founder and CEO of Agile CRM, Manohar Chapalamadugu, is hoping this move will give SMBs a chance to match the biggest players in their respective industries:<blockquote>“Agile grew by over 300% in just 13 months. We can now offer the service to more small businesses at no cost.By allowing 10 users to access the free plan, we hope companies can bring on multiple departments to use the software simultaneously to sell and market like the Fortune 500,” he adds.“A collaborative approach for decision-making is the future. More freedom to SMBs and more empowerment to their employees to stay attuned to the automation process is the key.”</blockquote>Agile CRM's updated free plan is detailed below – and as you can see, you get quite a lot of bang for absolutely no bucks:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-7.png" alt="agile crm pricing" />I was a fan of Agile's platform before today, but now that Agile CRM can cater for organizations with up to ten employees at no cost, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Agile CRM before any other free CRM.The original story can be <a target="_blank" href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/07/prweb13531623.htm">found here</a>.To get started with Agile CRM for free today, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.agilecrm.com/">visit their website</a>.

Agile CRM is Now Free For Up To 10 Users

There are a variety of CMS options available, ranging from ‘plugging in' to your current website to fullfledged administrative, database-driven, create-your-website-in-our-CMS options. In this post our goal is to focus on simple CMS options. Some of the options below ‘plug-in' to your current website, others require developing your site from the ground up using their CMS system. But, all of them lean towards simplicity: easy to learn and easy to use.
<h2>CushyCMS</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/editing-cushycms-620x385.jpg" alt="cushyCMS" />
<a href="http://www.cushycms.com">CushyCMS</a> is a great option for already developed websites. Add ‘hooks' into your website for CushyCMS to see your website. Then, access your site through CushyCMS. Editing the site becomes much like using a word processor with all the common editing icons at the top of the editing window. Want to add a new page? You can also do that through CushyCMS.
<h2>SimpleCMS</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/editing-simplecms-620x342.jpg" alt="simplecms" />
Make your site quickly editable by using <a href="http://www.simplecms.com">SimpleCMS</a>. Within minutes you can start editing your site. Enter the necessary FTP information, define your editable areas, and you are off and running.
Small icons appear next to the areas that you can edit. Simply click the icon and update the text and/or image. Images can be added to text areas simply by dragging an image into the text area. You can also add new pages.
You can save drafts till you are ready to publish. When all is done, simply click on Publish to update your live site.
<h2>Surreal CMS</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/editing-surreal-620x329.jpg" alt="surreal cms" />
<a href="http://www.surrealcms.com">Surreal CMS</a> is another CMS that plugs into your current website to give you easy editing options. Add the necessary ‘hooks' to your website, then login at SurrealCMS to update your site. The editable regions will have an icon at the top left. Simply click on the icon to open an editing window for that region.
The editing window has all the familiar icons and formatting options to easily update your site.
You can also add new pages by creating a template from a current page. Save a draft of your changes, publish your changes, or schedule date and time to publish your changes.
<h2>PageLime</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/editing-pagelimes-620x375.jpg" alt="pagelime" />
<a href="http://www.pagelime.com">PageLime</a> is another simple CMS option for editing content on your website. After entering the necessary FTP information to access your site and the required CSS class, the content area of your site is editable through Page Lime. Click on the icon next to your editable region. The editable content opens in an editable window with all the common icon options at the top of the window. You can choose to save a draft or publish your changes.
PageLime also lets you create a new pages based on a current page.
<h2>Zimplit</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/editing-zimplit-620x365.jpg" alt="zimplit" />
Zimplit is a CMS that lets you create and edit sites from scratch. It requires uploading just a few files to your server, logging in, and you are off and running. It has an easy-to-use menu on the left side to add pages, change settings, and edit menus. Click within any page area to edit that area. If you want to add media to the page, simply click on the appropriate icon in the edit bar and select the type of media.
<h2>Perch</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/admin-perch-620x386.jpg" alt="perch" />
<a href="http://grabaperch.com">Perch</a> is a CMS that lets you create new websites, as well as integrate it with existing sites. Because of how it manages the content, content can easily be shared across multiple pages.
Within the admin area, drill down to the desired page or to where you want to add a page. A page can consist of multiple regions (content, sidebar, map, etc.). Edit each region is desired.
This CMS is a bit more robust than others. It requires becoming familiar with their admin interface, but with that comes more flexibility.
<h2>GetSimple CMS</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/editing-getsimple-620x375.jpg" alt="getsimple" />
<a href="http://get-simple.info/">GetSimple</a> lets you create websites, then easily manage them. It has an intuitive web editing interface, including options to edit content, add pages, manage pages, and create simple themes. It is designed for the small-site market, keeping the complexity of databases and extraneous features non-existent.
<h2>LightCMS</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/editing-lightcms-620x442.jpg" alt="lightcms" />
<a href="http://www.lightcms.com/">LightCMS</a> is a web-based CMS, offering easy options for creating websites and editing them. Select your design from a variety of themes or create your own, then edit the elements and regions as needed. Each section has it's own editing area for easy on-page editing. It also offers an online store option for your website.
<h2>Concrete5</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/studiopress_sites_review_-_8_ext5jt.png" alt="concrete5" />
<a href="http://www.concrete5.org">Concrete5</a> can integrate with your current site or be used to build a new website. It offers intuitive onpage editing. Simply click in an area and select to edit, copy, move, delete, or design that area. Their editing window contains all the common editing icons and functionality. It's also easy to change color, font, border, and spacing of an area using their design options.
<h2>SilverStripe</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/studiopress_sites_review_-_9_x7ty61.png" alt="editing-silverstripe" />
<a href="http://www.silverstripe.com">SilverStripe</a> is a robust, yet easy-to-use CMS. It can plugin to current websites or be used to create new websites. Editing content is like using a word processor. It's also easy to manage pages through their control panel, as well as manage files and settings. It even comes up with very helpful standard reports for your website.
What has been your experience with a simple CMS? Which ones would you recommend?

Top 10 Simple CMS

GraphCMS – the first GraphQL-native <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-free-headless-cms-platforms/" target="_blank">headless CMS</a> – has just <a href="https://hygraph.com/blog/graphcms-is-now-hygraph" target="_blank">rebranded itself</a> under the new moniker of "Hygraph." 
Why Hygraph?
The company says the word is rooted in an amalgamation of "hypertext" and "graph" data structures, which aligns well with Hygraph's vision of a future – one where the majority of information humans and machines will process is highly complex, structured, and connected.
Along with the epic shift in naming, the company also introduced its new <a href="https://hygraph.com/blog/introducing-content-federation" target="_blank">Content Federation</a>. This powerful set of features will enable customers to unify all their backend services into one universal content API and serve third-party or programmatically created content alongside editorial content.
"We're excited about this new chapter in our company's history." said CEO and co-founder Michael Lukaszczyk. "Launching the Federated Content Platform as a new product category captures the essence of what we're all about: we enable building a mesh of connected content graphs to effortlessly manage and distribute content from any source to any destination. The resulting development velocity within composable architectures is simply mind-blowing."
According to the company's press release, the new brand direction also includes a refreshed website at <a href="https://hygraph.com/" target="_blank">www.hygraph.com</a>.
<h2>Building on the success of GraphCMS</h2>
As with all rebranding endeavors, there are inevitable questions from the market. How companies shape the narrative is a key part of making its rebrand successful – and that's precisely what Hygraph has done. 
According to its website, the company embarked on refreshing its identity and visual presence in an effort to "reinforce the commitment they have made toward enabling outstanding digital experiences on day one." The shift comes at a milestone moment in the company's history, and the new brand provides a stage for promoting its Content Federation features and creating excitement around the offering.
Originally launched in 2017 under the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/graphcms-brings-graphql-to-headless-content-management/" target="_blank">GraphCMS</a> banner, Hygraph is still defining itself as an enterprise-class, API-first content management system known for its versatile GraphQL content APIs. Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Hygrapgh is also <a href="https://machalliance.org/members" target="_blank">MACH-certified</a> – and currently powers over 50,000 projects, including those at companies like Dr. Oetker, Philips, Samsung, and Ashley Furniture.
On the more philosophical side of the market ledger, Hygraph has stated its belief that headless CMS has reached a sort of tipping point – and that frontend-agnostic benefits are no longer enough. Rather than adding yet another service to complex stacks, they wanted to expand upon the possibilities of allowing content aggregation from multiple sources programmatically, essentially becoming backend agnostic as well.
From an investment perspective, Hygraph <a href="https://hygraph.com/blog/series-a" target="_blank">recently raised a $10 million Series A Round</a> to build out its vision of unified content APIs and federating the content layer. 
<h2>What is the Hygraph Federated Content Platform?</h2>
Hygraph has provided a detailed view of its Federated Content Platform in a recent article, which we've denoted here. 
The company points out that while cross-platform content consumption and API-first delivery have become the "new normal," content architectures are increasingly complex.
With the rise of best-of-breed systems design and modular architectures, content is now maintained in a myriad of disconnected data silos, resulting in an overwhelming complexity. The risk of serving outdated data and lack of data consistency in distributed architectures is becoming a maintenance burden.
Many organizations perceive custom middleware development as a solution to these challenges, but building and maintaining this is time-consuming and complex.
With the new Content Federation capability, you can bring content from other systems and sources to the Hygraph API without migrating the content itself. There are many use cases where moving content into the content repository isn't possible or desirable. Examples include content for which there is a different system of record (e-commerce/product data such as price or availability, content from a different vendor such as GitHub or IMDB) and content that is maintained in legacy systems that can't be easily migrated.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2022/07/federated-content-platform-e1658872762419.png" alt="Federated Content Platform diagram" />
<h2>Extending the Hygraph Content API with Remote Sources</h2>
Hygraph's concept of Remote Sources allows customers to extend Hygraph's Content API with content from all these different sources, providing flexibility for front-end developers and downstream applications.
The Hygraph Content Federation architecture consists of the following components:
<ul>
<li>Remote source: a system or product that holds content that needs to be combined with content in Hygraph and which can be queried through a RESTful or GraphQL API.</li>
<li>Custom type: a GraphQL type used for content from a remote source.</li>
<li>Remote field: a field inside a Hygraph model that connects specific remote data to an entry of that model.</li>
<li>Configurable cache: a TTL-based caching layer that guarantees optimal API performance for remote content.</li>
</ul>
Hygraph allows true composability of your tech stack while taking away the heavy-lifting in the backend. As a result, Content Federation can lead to a massive reduction in development time and costs when integrating with multiple APIs.
Interested in learning more? Hygraph offers a free tier for personal and small-scale projects. You can <a href="https://app.hygraph.com/signup" target="_blank">sign up here</a>. 
<h2>About Hygraph</h2>
Hygraph (previously GraphCMS) is the enterprise-grade federated content platform that enables ambitious digital products at scale. With the industry's most versatile GraphQL content API and a novel approach to external data sourcing, the federated content platform enables use cases beyond existing market solutions. Hygraph's capabilities can be extended as a database highly optimized for structured content while giving content creators the tools to build their ultimate content pipeline. Hygraph is headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and is currently enabling more than 50,000 teams across the world, including Dr.Oetker, Shure, Samsung, and Philips to rapidly build and deliver tomorrow's connected digital experiences at scale.

GraphCMS Rebrands to Hygraph, Launches New Federated Content Platform

paris-tuzun

Image of new Hygraph logo against a dark background with a graph pattern

Just weeks after <a href="/terminalfour-announces-new-jobs-for-boston-headquarters/" target="_blank">announcing a $2 million investment</a>, TERMINALFOUR, a digital engagement and web content management platform for higher education institutions, has revealed a host of new clients.
The clients include the likes of Lynn University, Santa Clara University, University of Witwatersrand, and SUNY New Paltz. These new acquisitions push the number of websites powered by TERMINALFOUR up from 10,000 to more than 11,000.
<img style="max-width:350px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/terminalfour.jpg" />
<h2>Moving Forward</h2>
TERMINALFOUR have been steadily moving forward since their <a href="/terminalfour-releases-new-higher-education-digital-engagement-platform/" target="_blank">platform update towards the end of 2014</a>, which saw the introduction of 150 new features. They then <a href="/terminalfour-announces-new-jobs-for-boston-headquarters/" target="_blank">recently opened a Boston headquarters</a>, before unveiling this piece of news.
Mike Taylor,  TERMINALFOUR's Vice president of Worldwide Sales, made the following comments:
<blockquote>“We're absolutely thrilled to announce these wins and to have such prestigious institutions join the TERMINALFOUR community. The millions we've invested in product development coupled with our experience in the global higher education sector have really put us in pole position in our sector and universities are taking notice.
As competition for quality students intensifies and becomes more global, it's all about universities maximizing the impact and influence of all their marketing and communications.
They are looking for solutions that show a measurable impact on performance online and we believe that these new clients are an endorsement that TERMINALFOUR will help them achieve these goals.”</blockquote>
To find out more about this news, <a href="http://www.terminalfour.com/pr/terminalfour-wins-eight-new-higher-education-clients-.html" target="_blank">check out the official press release</a>.
And of course, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/terminalfour-site-manager/" target="_blank">TERMINALFOUR via our CMS directory</a>.

TerminalFour: Winning Clients & Moving Forward

Best Video Experience

Give your audience the best video experience

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LightCMS have released another short list of updates, allowing users to set default page elements, heading levels and favicons.
LightCMS, is a website builder suited for building blogs, online stores and more in a matter of minutes, <a href="https://www.websitebuilderscritic.com/website_builders/reviews/lightcms/" target="_blank">as demonstrated on Website Builders Critic</a>. LightCMS was recently voted the <a href="/the-winner-of-the-2014-peoples-choice-cms-award-for-best-cloud-cms-for-smb/" target="_blank">People's Choice for Best Cloud CMS for SMB</a>.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sf59439logo-1.jpg" />
<h2>New Pages &amp; SEO Simplified</h2>
Default Page Elements are designed to simplify how you create new pages, particularly if you use the same “template” over and over.
It stops you having to create elements all over again whenever a new page is created, because they're already there are a default part of the new page.
Default page elements which can be set include; blogs, images, links, calendars, forms, donation buttons, and so forth.
Furthermore, the introdction of the Element Title Default Heading Level feature enables you to set a default heading level to apply to each element title displayed on the page.
This means when you create an element and check the Display this Title Box, the title will be given the heading level you specify here. With this latest LightCMS release, all element titles will remain at the H1 heading level.
Finally, LightCMS now gives users the option to easily upload a Favicon. This can be done via the site settings and on the “Basic” tab.
To find out more about this release, check out the official announcement.
And of course, be sure to explore more of LightCMS via our CMS Directory.

LightCMS Introduces Default Page Elements & Heading Levels

So you have managed to choose a CMS, perfect your website design, and invest in some banner advertising. But despite your efforts, your traffic remains frustratingly low.By definition, a content management system is built to manage content first and foremost. Some CMS do come bundled with extra functionality, but if you're serious about your marketing efforts, you'll need to find ways to bolster your chosen platform from the outside.Below, I've listed seven simple ways to add marketing features to your CMS which will help to bring in visitors, measure their activity, and convert them into customers.<h2>1. Landing Pages</h2>A landing page is a page that's designed with one specific goal in mind. Marketers often design one or more landing pages for specific types of visitors to use them as entry points for those coming in from banner ads and other specific sources.For example, if you have a banner ad that pushes a certain product, you can link that banner to a landing page on your website that does nothing but describe and sell that same product. Additionally, a website's homepage can also be a type of landing page – if designed correctly.Here's an example of CodeAcademy's landing page, which as you can see, is funnelling visitors towards a sign up form:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-3-1.png" alt="sshot-3" />Many landing page builders exist, but I'd recommend <a target="_blank" href="https://instapage.com/">Instapage</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://wishpond.com/">Wishpond</a> before any others. You can read my <a href="/wishpond-review/">Wishpond Review</a> for my detailed analysis of the platform.<h2>2. Analytics Systems</h2>An analytics system may not directly bring in traffic, but it will help you study the traffic that your website already brings in – and that's absolutely vital.An analytics platform, like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.co.uk/analytics/#?modal_active=none">Google Analytics</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://clicky.com">Clicky</a>, will tell you things like:<ul><li>How your visitors move through your website,</li><li>Where visitors come from</li><li>Which pages on your website are most popular</li></ul>Once you know all of the above, you can construct a powerful marketing strategy (and content strategy) based on your audience's behaviour.<h2>3. Marketing Automation Software</h2>As the name suggests, marketing automation software automates tasks to help you draw in a crowd.Popular features offered by most marketing automation systems include:<ul><li>Behaviour-based triggers</li><li>Audience tagging, tracking, and segmentation</li><li>Landing pages</li><li>Web forms</li><li>Email marketing</li><li>Lead tracking and reporting</li></ul><a target="_blank" href="http://leadsius.com/">Leadsius</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.marketo.com/">Marketo</a> and solid options, and you can find more on our Marketing Software Directory.<h2>4. CRM Systems</h2>A CRM (customer relationship management) system is designed to house and manage your business contacts, projects, and meetings. However, many CRM systems come with their own marketing features, too.For example, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.agilecrm.com/">Agile CRM</a> includes email marketing, landing page building, and web rules to configure pop-up ads and subscription boxes. You can read my<a target="_blank" href="https://www.agilecrm.com/"> Agile CRM review</a> here for more details, and check out our <a href="/products/">CRM directory</a> for other options.But before you research CRMs, be sure you actually need a system to manage your contacts – because that's what a CRM does before anything else.<h2>5. eCommerce Systems</h2>Selling products will give you something to shout about on social media, as well as within your blog content. But what if your CMS isn't built for eCommerce?Well, there's good news. You don't need to start out with an eCommerce platform in order to sell through your website.There are many eCommerce platforms that are built specifically to be integrated with existing websites, no matter how those existing websites are powered. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ecwid.com/">Ecwid</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://selz.com/">Selz</a> are two reputable options, but you'll find more on our <a href="/products/ecommerce">eCommerce directory</a>.<h2>6. SumoMe</h2>Launched in 2014, <a target="_blank" href="https://sumome.com/">SumoMe</a> is a fairly new marketing and conversion tool – but that hasn't stopped it from being adopted by millions of webmasters.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-4.png" alt="sshot-4" />It unites a range of features under one roof, simplifying them so that even novice marketers can make the most of their website traffic. It provides:<ul><li>More traffic with SumoMe's <a target="_blank" href="https://sumome.com/app/discover">Discover</a> feature</li><li>Pop-up email list builders and ads</li><li>Heatmaps</li><li>Social sharing buttons</li><li>Smart bar</li><li>Image sharer</li><li>Contact forms</li></ul>SumoMe also integrates with popular email marketing platforms like Mailchimp and AWeber, so you can build your subscriber list easier.<h2>7. Jetpack</h2>This one is for WordPress users only (good thing a quarter of the internet is WordPress-powered!).<a target="_blank" href="https://jetpack.com/">Jetpack</a> is a plugin created by Automattic, the company behind WordPress – which adds tonnes of functionality to any self-hosted WordPress site.As far as marketing goes, that functionality includes:<ul><li>Automated social sharing via the Publicize feature.</li><li>Site stats via the <a target="_blank" href="https://jetpack.com/support/wordpress-com-stats">Stats</a> feature</li><li>Social sharing buttons via the <a target="_blank" href="https://jetpack.com/support/sharing">Sharing</a> feature</li><li>A mobile theme to attract mobile visitors via the Mobile Theme feature.</li></ul><h2>Give Your CMS a Helping Hand</h2>By itself, a CMS will rarely be equipped to handle a full blown marketing strategy. You need to give it a helping hand with some of the options listed above.Do you use any other tools to extend the marketing capabilities of your CMS? Let me know in the comments section below!

7 Simple Ways Turn Your CMS Into a Marketing Powerhouse

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2e1ax_yoo_master2_entry_marketplace-1.png" alt="2e1ax_yoo_master2_entry_marketplace (1)" />
Most Arastta store owners don’t need to extend Arastta core to sell their products, thanks to the <a href="https://arastta.com">Arastta Cloud</a> platform which boasts features that let anyone create an online store in seconds.
But online stores vary and store owners may need to extend their store’s capability with extra extensions like payment gateways, themes, translation, shipping modules, and so forth.
All of the popular eCommerce platforms support 3rd party extensions, but sometimes it become a complex procedure to install an extension, especially for beginners.
This is because you need to register on their marketplace site, find the extension you need, purchase and download it, and then think about how to install it. Some eCommerce platforms even redirect you to third-party developer sites to download certain extensions, which can be risky in terms of compatibility and security.
<h2>Streamlining the Installation Process</h2>
Even if all goes well, you now need to log in your admin panel and install your new extension via extension(s).
This can often be tricky, and it's also a common time for errors to occur – frustrating you further.
Arastta solves all of these problems with its fully integrated and built-in marketplace feature which we call the Arastta Appstore.
Just like Apple’s Appstore and Google’s Google Play platform, it’s a peace of cake to install an extension in your Arastta admin panel. Yes, that’s right, you don’t need to leave your Arastta admin panel and browse another website to purchase, download, or install an extension.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y-dsiV_-EDI?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> If you are an Arastta Cloud user, it’s even easier (as Arastta download users need to get an API key from within their admin panel first).
Cloud users just have to navigate to the Marketplace menu from the admin panel and find the desired extension. Then, users can simply click on the plus icon – and bingo! – it’s installed on your store.
<div>What if the extension you want to install is a paid extensions? Thanks to built-in Arastta Appstore you can purchase any extension without leaving the admin panel and marketplace area. Simply purchase and install!</div>
<h3>Uninstalling an Extension</h3>
Uninstalling an extension is also very easy. You can uninstall any extension from your Arastta store’s Extensions page but also you can directly uninstall them from your marketplace. Just find the extension you want to remove and click on the minus icon to uninstall it.
<h3>Multiple API Keys</h3>
Let’s say you are a web design agency and have one Arastta marketplace account. You purchased all the extensions you use generally on your customers site. But how to install those extensions for different Arastta installations and marketplace instances? No bother!
Arastta marketplace provides multiple API key management. So you can create unlimited API keys and use each of them for your each customers. Even better, you can assign each API key to any extensions, so one key can download some of the extensions, while another one cannot access those extensions. It’s all up to you and very easy to manage yours and your customers’ extensions via Arastta marketplace.
<h3>Web Version</h3>
<div>
Arastta marketplace is also available as a website. So you can always visit Arastta.pro[<a href="https://www.evernote.com/OutboundRedirect.action?dest=https%3A%2F%2Farastta.pro">https://arastta.pro</a>] website and browse, signup, download and purchase extensions. Also if you are a developer you can even add your own extension to the Arastta marketplace and start earning money.
Visit <a href="https://arastta.pro">Arastta.pro</a> website for more information.
<hr />
This post is <a href="/advertising/">sponsored</a> by Arastta. Find out more at <a href="https://arastta.com">arastta.com</a>.
</div>

A Closer Look at the Arastta Marketplace

<a href="https://www.weebly.com/">Weebly</a>, a website builder with over 30 million users, has announced Weebly for Hosts, a solution for web hosts and domain registrars that allows them to provide an intuitive, Weebly-powered site creation service and complete ecommerce platform to their customer base.
This news comes just weeks after <a href="/weebly-for-enterprise-announced/" target="_blank">Weebly announced Weebly for Enterprise</a>. Weebly has also been selected for special coverage over at <a href="https://www.websitebuilderscritic.com/website_builders/reviews/weebly/" target="_blank">Website Builders Critic</a> as a recommended product.
Many website hosting companies already offer their own website builders alongside platforms like WordPress when users set up new websites. Weebly are aiming to have their platform offered in the same way.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/weebly700x0.jpg" />
<h2>All Core Packages &amp; Multiple Integration Options</h2>
As well as publishing their customers sites using Weebly, website hosting companies will have the option of providing their customers with Weebly’s core packages, including free, starter, pro and business accounts.
This is cost saving for the customer and creates a new revenue stream for the hosts. Weebly for Hosts is a turnkey solution that requires minimal IT implementation and management on the part of hosting customers, and features a centralized dashboard that allows hosts to add staff and manage permissions, as well as comprehensive customer support provided by Weebly.
Weebly for Hosts features include:
<ul>
<li>Powerful Site Creation and Editing: Users can create and edit sites easily, choosing from a variety of responsive themes and incorporate ready-made building blocks such as text, images, buttons, contact forms, maps and videos, and publish them online within minutes.</li>
<li>Multiple Integration Options for Hosts: Weebly for Hosts comes equipped with full API, CPanel and WHMCS support (coming soon), easing the process of integration with existing host IT structures, meaning hosts can go to market with Weebly’s site creator easily and quickly.</li>
<li>Core Weebly Packages Give Range of Product Options: Hosts can resell Weebly’s core customer packages, including free, Starter, Pro and Business accounts, allowing them to service a wide variety of customers from individual online blogs to high-volume ecommerce sites. Powerful and flexible cross-selling triggers mean hosts can easily introduce customers to Weebly’s service and upgrade their account level as needs change.</li>
<li>Client-side Hosting: Weebly for Hosts allows hosting companies to house the static content for customers’ websites on their own servers, so that they can maintain and manage direct relationships and billing with their customers.</li>
</ul>
Endurance International Group and Namecheap.com are two current customers of Weebly for Hosts.
David Rusenko the CEO and co-founder of Weebly, made these comments upon the release of Weebly for Hosts:
<blockquote>“We’re really excited about opening up the Weebly platform to hosting companies and making easy website creation accessible to a broader audience of millions.Last month we announced Weebly for Enterprise, which lets organizations customize Weebly and leverage our CMS to empower their employees and customers at scale.
Today, we’re following up with Weebly for Hosts, giving web hosts and domain registrars a complete solution to offer Weebly to their customers on their terms.”</blockquote>
Weebly for Hosts is available to web hosting providers of all sizes and is built on the same technology as Weebly’s recently-announced Enterprise Platform. Website packages are available in 15 languages, including German, Spanish and French.
If you represent a hosting company which is interested in Weebly for Hosts, <a href="https://www.weebly.com/" target="_blank">check out the Weebly website</a>.
And of course, you can explore more of <a href="/products/weebly/" target="_blank">Weebly via our CMS Directory</a>.

Introducing Weebly for Hosts

<img alt="Joomla-3.6-Imagery-infographic-1280x720-en" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/joomla-3_6-imagery-infographic-1280x720-en.png" /> <a href="https://joomla.org/3">Joomla 3.6</a> has arrived, and it wants to make you a better web designer.
More than 400 commits of improvements and bug fixes were merged to produce this major release – including plenty of user experience (UX) and developer enhancements.
Here are the highlights.
<h3>Improved Joomla! Updates</h3>
This update adds an option for reinstalling Joomla’s core files at the click of a button, overwriting any modified file(s) and reverting them back to the default. The option to update Joomla! by uploading the update file has been restored, as it was requested by feedback that the Joomla! Production Leadership Team (PLT) received from the Joomla! community.
<a href="https://www.joomla.org/3/180-improved-joomla-updates">Learn more</a>.
<h3>The Revolution In Joomla! UX Improvements</h3>
Joomla! 3.6 contains a lot of UX improvements. Now you can find your modules faster, have tasks done by dropdown, improved user management and so much more.
<a href="https://www.joomla.org/3/161-the-revolution-in-joomla-ux-improvements">Learn more</a>.
<h3>Sub Form Field</h3>
With the new Sub Form Field function in Joomla! 3.6 we added some extra additional functionality next to Repeatable fields. Now you can nest XML forms inside each other or reuse your existing forms inside your current form.
<a href="https://www.joomla.org/3/160-sub-form-field">Learn more</a>.
<h3>Create Categories On The Fly</h3>
It can get frustrating when you create a new item, and you realise that you haven’t created a category yet. Joomla! 3.6 now lets you create a category on the fly for articles, contacts, newsfeeds and banners.
<a href="https://www.joomla.org/3/159-create-categories-on-the-fly">Learn more</a>.
All in all, administrators will benefit from a revamped UX, saving them time when it comes to managing modules, menus and categories.
For developers and designers, the ability to use and re-use of XML forms, complex database queries and improved storage of dynamic JavaScript variables will make life easier.
<h2>“We've Listened”</h2>
George Wilson, from Joomla's Production Leadership Team, stated that Joomla had listened closely to developers prior to this release:
<blockquote>
“Joomla! 3.6 is a release focused on listening to our users. We've listened to our administrators who said that removing uploading Joomla! packages caused issues on intranet sites. We've listened to developers who were having practical issues with repeatable form fields.
We've listened to site administrators who wanted an even simpler article and category creation workflow. Finally we've fixed large numbers of bugs affecting our users and administrators.”
</blockquote>
Of course there are many more features and improvements and more details can be found at <a href="http://joomla.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=fc57bf0c5dade4c32b33c845e&amp;id=3b36495524&amp;e=0ca73f4c1d" target="_blank">https://joomla.org/3</a>
Joomla! 3.6 is available as a one-click upgrade to all Joomla! 3 site owners directly from their website’s control panel.
<h2>Kudos Where Kudos Is Due</h2>
I must admit, this looks like a stellar update from the guys over at Joomla. UX improvements are always welcome (especially on Joomla) while the category creation feature is a big step in the right direction.
The ability to “reset” Joomla seems useful too, while the return of updating via update file upload will certainly be well received by the Joomla community.
In short; kudos, Joomla!
To find out more about this release, check out <a href="https://joomla.org/3">Joomla's website</a>.

Joomla 3.6 Wants to Make You a Better Web Designer

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/woman-1191828_1280-e1468331873944.jpg" alt="woman-1191828_1280" />
One of the major factors currently influencing the user experience on a website is eliciting subconscious responses through site interaction.
It is important to understand that as web design is a functional design, beauty is not perceived from the design itself but from its usability.
<h2>The Bauhaus and Gestalt Schools of Thought</h2>
Trends come and go each year, however, it is possible to find their origins in established design principles dating back to the first half of the twentieth century, such as Bauhaus and Gestalt.
Gestalt first appeared in 1910, its main principle being that in a group of items, such as in web content, we perceive the whole rather than the constituent parts. This is based on understanding the principles of perception and human vision and the ability to interpret visual information as an understandable, meaningful and usable form.
Likewise, the Bauhaus school of thought, dating from 1919, also addresses this simplicity in functionality, and is a key factor in contemporary design, such as that of logos, in its use of clean lines, geometric shapes, logic and conciseness.
Using balanced space among all parts of a logo assists in its visibility, and white space is considered an important building block in functional design. Similarly with fonts. This emerged during the modernist and constructive ideals of Swiss Style graphic design and its pursuit for simplicity through uniformity, use of whitespace, grids, rhythm and its visualised structure of information.
This, in turn, led to a minimisation of the elements of style in the typography and content layout over an emphasis on texture and illustrations. And with Material design from Google and Flat design from Windows, these typography styles have once again become commonplace.
<h2>The Principle of CRAP</h2>
CRAP, or Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity, offers an easy, yet useful approach to design. Here's a brief summary of each point:
<ul>
<li>Contrast focuses a user’s eyes on important functions – all design requiring a functional response is based on contrast because its difference in appearance clearly defines a call to action.</li>
<li>Repetition is based on similar tasks with a similar function always having a consistent design, so users at all times know what the function of them is.</li>
<li>Alignment entails everything lining up vertically and horizontally, making web design less disturbing on the eye. Its simplicity in design reduces the chance of usability error because it leads the user’s eye.</li>
<li>Proximity defines unity, as mentioned earlier with Gestalt. If you place similar items close together, people perceive them as being related, making it easier for users to find what they are looking for.</li>
</ul>
<hr />
This post is <a href="/advertising/">sponsored</a> by Kentico. Find out more at <a href="http://kentico.com/">Kentico.com</a>.

The Historic Principles Behind Visual Marketing

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