Articles - Page 144

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

janus-boye

Sometimes I forget that CMS Critic started off back in 2008 as a blog and for 2014, I've decided to start sharing not just news and reviews but also more related personal stories that are relevant.
We've had the fortune to have been in business for over 6 years now and 2014 needs to be a year of being grateful for all of the amazing experiences we've been able to achieve with this site. So watch for not just news and reviews but also more editorials, personal stories (related of course) and many more interviews.
Now that that is out of the way…
I'm excited to announce that Jahia has invited us to join them at their first ever conference in Paris, France from February 6th to 7th of this year. Since they were so kind as to cover our costs for travel from wintery Canada to attend and cover the event, we've decided to ensure that we get to check out as many things as we can along the way.
Since <a href="http://thekitchenmagpie.com">my wife</a> is a bit of a Disney fanatic, we've chosen to fly in several days early (we arrive February 1st) and visit Disneyland Paris prior to attending the <a href="http://jahiaone.com">JahiaOne </a>conference. Given that we've just arrived back from a crazy long vacation of over a month (including a Disney Cruise, New Orleans, Disneyland and Phoenix), you might think we're Disney'd out but when I said she was a fanatic, I wasn't joking. As soon as she found out it was there, going became a must. Not that I'm not looking forward to it, it's going to be an amazing experience. 
Not only will we be visiting Paris, however. Once the fine folks at <a href="http://www.magnolia-cms.com/">Magnolia</a> found out we were going to be in Europe, they quickly arranged to have us take a train from Paris to visit them for a few days in Switzerland for an interview and tour of their offices. They are located in beautiful Basel, so we get to enjoy some time there as well before flying home mid-month.
Having never really had a chance to explore Europe before, I'm looking forward to the opportunity to do so while also getting to connect with two amazing CMS vendors. If anyone is going to be attending the <a href="http://jahiaone.com">JahiaOne</a> conference, be sure to swing by and say hello. We'll be the crazy people taking tons of pictures and covering the event.
Kaya will also be joining us for the Paris portion of the trip which is great since he's been writing for CMS Critic for quite some time and we've never actually had a chance to meet. He resides in London so this works out perfectly and we're looking forward to connecting.
Watch for plenty of updates on the site from these two adventures throughout February!
~Mike

Upcoming Paris and Switzerland Trips

mike-johnston

CMS Critic is proud to announce their status as a media sponsor for the <a href="https://conference.modmore.com/" target="_blank"> MODX Weekend by Modmore conference</a>.
The event begins on Friday 19th and ends Sunday 21st of September 2014. 
The venue is to be within the Netherlands, in the heart of a privately owned 111 acre forest. Along with all-inclusive hotel rooms, food and drink, attendees can enjoy listening to a range of speakers who will be speaking on all the latest goings on at <a href="http://modx.com/" target="_blank"> MODX</a>. Additionally, the weekend talks will serve to update the MODX community on whatever is coming soon for the platform, as well as the Web industry as a whole. 
 The MODX Weekend conference promises to offer a high quality experience on a number of fronts, so let's take a closer look at what's on offer.
<h2>All-inclusive Treatment at a Stunning Venue</h2>
Attendees of the MODX Weekend by modmore conference can essentially kick back and relax, as the hosts take care of pretty much everything – from start to finish. 
 Luxurious VIP coaches are scheduled to pick up attendees from local airports and train stations, taking them right to the Conference Center Woudschoten, where the event will be held. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/woudschotenbovenaf700x0.jpg" alt="MODX Weekend by Modmore" /> The Conference Center Woudschoten is home to a professional conference center, complete with three star hotel rooms, multiple bars and restaurants, and a breathtaking view. 
Every hotel and conference room has a beautiful view of the natural environment surrounding the buildings, which will certainly enhance the typical conference experience. To explore the forest, attendees are also more than welcome to go for a stroll or even a bike ride. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/woudschotenhotel700x0.jpg" alt="MODX Weekend by Modmore" />
The rooms provided all have a great view of the surrounding grounds, and come with two single beds, a shower, a flatscreen TV, a desk to work on and some friendly amenities. 
A full list of what's on offer throughout the conference can be seen below:
<ul>
<li>3 nights in an on-site three star hotel room (Check-in Friday afternoon/evening, checkout Monday morning)</li>
<li>Breakfast Buffet on Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning</li>
<li>Lunch Buffet on Saturday and Sunday</li>
<li>Dinner on Friday (buffet), Saturday (three-course menu) and Sunday (BBQ)</li>
<li>Unlimited coffee, tea, water and a variety of soft drinks and snacks during the day</li>
<li>Drinks (including a selection of alcoholic beverages) and snacks every evening</li>
<li>Munchies and water in the hotel room</li>
<li>Evening Entertainment, including live music on Friday and Saturday, a Fussball tournament and more</li>
<li>Complimentary maps of the estate for walking or biking</li>
<li>Bikes are available at no charge at a first come-first serve basis</li>
<li>Access to at least 15 sessions on MODX and the Web</li>
<li>Unlimited streaming access to professionally recorded and edited videofootage for the sessions, available within a week or two after the event.</li>
<li>Pick-up on Friday from Schiphol Airport or Utrecht Central Station with a luxury VIP Coach.</li>
<li>Drop-off at the same location on Sunday evening or Monday morning.</li>
<li>Free goodies from modmore and event partners</li>
</ul>
<h2>The MODX Weekend Programme</h2>
MODX's weekend event boasts over 15 individual sessions, all of which will stretch from between Friday 19th to Sunday 21st of September 2014. 
The official programme can be seen below.
<blockquote>
 Friday (Sept 19th): We look forward to welcoming you to the venue on Friday afternoon/evening. There will be a dinner buffet served in the bar at 6pm, with plenty of drinks and opportunity to socialise while the lounge band plays. 
 Saturday (Sept 20th): The conference starts around 9.30. The morning programme is all about the latest and upcoming techniques to use in MODX and the web in general. After lunch we look at performance and workflow in the broadest sense of the words. Attendees are also invited to do a 5 minute lighting talk at the end of the day. After a three-course menu in the restaurant there will be a good ol' fashioned party night in the bar complete with live band, stand-up comedy and more…
 Sunday (Sept 21st): On Sunday there will be two tracks of sessions. In the front-end track we talk about web techniques and front-end integration with MODX. The back-end track will be about developing custom components, plugins and other techniques on the manager or framework level. To end the conference we're firing up the BBQ and enjoying the last evening together.
 Monday (Sept 22nd): After breakfast it's time to check out. We're looking into some activities for the monday morning.
</blockquote>
Early Bird Tickets are available at €699 (including VAT) until February 28th. After that, the price goes up to €799. So, make sure you <a href="https://conference.modmore.com/register/" target="_blank"> take advantage of the massive €100 discount</a> before it's too late! 
 To find out more about the all-inclusive MODX Weekend by modmore, check out the event's <a href="https://conference.modmore.com/" target="_blank"> official website</a>.

All-inclusive "MODX Weekend by Modmore Conference" Set for September 2014

<a href="http://www.squarespace.com">Squarespace</a>, winners of our Critics' Choice CMS Award for Best Website Builder (see here: <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-critic-awards/">http://awards.www.cmscritic.com/past-winners/</a>) have announced a new free tool for the easy creation of quick and simple logos.
Dubbed Squarespace Logo (creative name isn't it?), this new logo tool may not be the next biggest thing in the world of logos but what it does do is offer a quick tool for those who are struggling to come up with something unique for their website.
The video below shows how it works:
http://youtu.be/jBQ3FW8HaTA
With the help of <a href="http://www.thenounproject.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Noun Project</a> and Google Fonts, this new tool provides a huge number of symbols (7,000 and growing!) and fonts that you can easily turn into a unique logo for your business. To give you an idea of how your logo will look, they have also provided previews to see your new logo on a business card, a website, or a t-shirt. When you’re ready to download your logo, the tool provides you with white on black, black on white, and full color images in a variety of formats.
Squarespace Logo is free for anyone to use for non-commercial purposes. Hi-res logos for commercial use are free for Squarespace customers and just $10 each for everyone else.
Check out Squarespace Logo today.

Introducing Squarespace Logo

A new version of MODX Revolution has been released. MODX Revolution 2.2.11 includes a number of security fixes and aims to prevent change loss for those running the popular open source CMS.
This release includes two security fixes including one affecting the phpThumb library that ships with Revolution. In addition, it eliminates a bug that appeared in Google Chrome 32 and adds an alert notifying users to confirm navigation to prevent losing unsaved changes.
Here are the highlights of changes in the 2.2.11 release:
<ul>
<li>Update phpThumb to 1.7.11-beta to close security vulnerability</li>
<li>Prevent XSS on actionVar in header.tpl in the Manager</li>
<li>Eliminate unwanted “confirm navigation” alerts in Chrome 32+</li>
<li>Added intentional “confirm navigation” to prevent loss of unsaved changes</li>
<li>Fix caching of manager menus. Until now, they may not have been ever cached</li>
</ul>
<div>For more details, read the complete <a href="https://raw.github.com/modxcms/revolution/v2.2.11-pl/core/docs/changelog.txt">changelog</a></div>

MODX Revolution 2.2.11 Released

For those of you who are fans of or who are considering using <a href="/products/dnn-evoq-content/">Evoq Content</a> from <a href="http://www.dnnsoftware.com">DNN Software</a>, I just finished this video walkthrough of the product for your enjoyment.
Evoq Content is also the winner of our <a href="/cms-critic-awards/">People's Choice Award for Best Small to Midsize Business CMS</a>.
In the video, I will show you how easy it is to set up a free 14 day trial of Evoq Content and some of the functionality of the CMS.
http://youtu.be/JMt_wX2s0HI
To learn more about Evoq Content, visit <a href="/products/dnn-evoq-content/">their listing in our CMS directory</a>.

A video walkthrough of Evoq Content by DNN Software

B2Evolution has just launched their new revamped skins site for users of the open source blog platform. B2Evolution, for those unaware, is a great alternative to more popular tools like WordPress and Blogger.
With the new Skin repository, users can now browse all available skins for B2Evolution quickly and easily using a ton of handy filters. Skin authors can also submit their skins to the repository for inclusion.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/b2evolution-skins900x0.png" alt="b2evolution-skinsio" />
As of now, there are already a significant number of skins within the repository so if you are looking for a good skin or just want to take a look and see how B2Evolution can look, <a href="http://skins.b2evolution.net/">head on over</a> and browse it.

Looking for B2Evolution Skins? Check out their new Skin site!

For those running Drupal as their CMS of choice, you should be aware that two new security releases have been made available this week. Drupal 6.30 and 7.26 are now available for download.
These releases are security updates only and do not contain any bug fixes. Details can be found in the official security advisory:
<ul>
<li><a href="http://drupal.org/SA-CORE-2014-001" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">SA-CORE-2014-001</a></li>
</ul>
To fix the security problem, please upgrade to either Drupal 7.26 or Drupal 6.30.
You can do so by downloading the latest updates from <a href="http://Drupal.org">Drupal.org</a>

Drupal 7.26 and 6.30 released

Weglot - The easiest way to translate a website

The easiest way to translate a website

#18164c

Some exciting news for Sitecore customers and Microsoft Dynamics users, Sitecore has just announced that they are partnering with Microsoft to integrate their platform with Microsoft Dynamics.
Sitecore, the winner of both our Critic's Choice and People's Choice awards for <a href="/cms-critic-awards/">Best Enterprise CMS</a> this year, is really showing a strong push forward to ensure their platform maintains it's solid footing in the industry.
<blockquote>“In the increasingly competitive e-commerce landscape, retailers need to make customer experiences seamless across every channel where they interact, and personally relevant whether they are in the store, or online anywhere,” said Darren Guarnaccia, Chief Strategy Officer, Sitecore. “This joint solution will bridge the gap between in-store and digital experiences. Sitecore’s experience platform harnesses the power of real-time data insights to deliver a deep understanding of customers’ preferences, wants and needs. When combined with Microsoft Dynamics’ end-to-end omni-channel retail platform, retailers will now truly have the power to offer the right product, at the right time, in the right context – driving sales and delighting customers.”</blockquote>
This combined solution will enhance and extend Sitecore’s end-to-end customer experience management capabilities and deliver true end-to-end e-commerce.
<a href="/products/sitecore/">Learn more about Sitcore.</a>

Sitecore and Microsoft join forces to integrate platforms

Colours CMS is a user friendly content management system built by the Norway-based design &amp; communication company, <a href="http://www.colours.no/" target="_blank">Colours</a>.
Originally established in 2002, Colours is a, “strategic design &amp; communication company with expertise in the offshore oil &amp; gas and maritime industries.” The company have demonstrated their dedication to next-generation technology by developing <a href="http://www.colourscms.no/" target="_blank">Colours CMS</a>.
Their content management system is currently only offered to their own customers, although they have plans in place to bring the platform to a wider, more public audience in the future.
Colours' aim was to construct a content management system from the ground up to enhance usability without it causing limitations to the functionality.
So, let's see if they succeeded.
<h2>Initial Thoughts</h2>
The team over at Colours CMS were kind enough to give me administrative access to some pre-built websites in order to test out the capabilities of their platform.
As soon as I began my exploration through the long list of websites they provided me with, I immediately realized that I was in for an extremely easy ride. It all looked so clean and simple.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/0_5.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
Many of the pre-built sites were part of a network of websites, all built under Colours CMS for easy admin access.
After signing in as an administrator, you will be presented with a screen allowing you to select which website you would like to manage. After you make your choice, you aren't taken to the website back end as you would expect.
<h2>Getting Started</h2>
Instead of being taken to the back end, you will see your website as visitors would, with some very handy widgets available across the bottom of the screen. 
 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2_1700x0.png" alt="Colours CMS" /> 
 These widgets are neatly presented across the bottom of every page you visit on your website, allowing you to make use of the drag-and-drop and WYSIWYG features everywhere you go, placing content blocks wherever you want them to be. It all works pretty seamlessly.
<h2>Widgets</h2>
This live-edit admin panel – along with all its widgets, allows you to quickly and easily live-edit your Colours CMS website.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/1_1700x0.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
Below, is a list of the widgets which can be found on this live-edit admin panel.
<h3>Text</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/text700x0.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
Selecting the text option inserts a text block with a headline and some example text, both of which can be modified. You can change font sizes, styles, set alignments, add hyperlinks, and more, all without leaving the page you're live-editing.
<h3>Image</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/image.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
Adding an image is similarly easy. The content block immediately appears, allowing you to add an image which you can either upload, or fetch from a URL. Additionally, you can link the images to specific links, and even resize them using the built-in image resizer. Images can also be used within text blocks.
<h3>Video</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/video.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
YouTube videos can be embedded using the video widget. Videos are accessible from the file manager, can be placed on any page, and support all YouTube control like full screen view, volume control, and so forth. You can also set videos to play automatically, or to play on repeat.
<h3>Feed</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/feed.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
The feed widget allows you to aggregate content on your page. You can create a list of files, links, articles, pages, events or even external content. You can set the size of the list, and even the style in which it is displayed.
<h3>Slideshow</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/slide.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
The slideshow widget is pretty self explanatory. Much like adding images, the slideshow content block enables you to organise images into a slideshow, where you can set the amount of sliders you wish to have, and adjust the size and position of the slideshow on the page.
<h3>Tables</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/tables.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
Tables of information can be presented easily using the tables widget. You can define a set number of rows and columns, populate them with content, and place them anywhere on your page.
<h3>Code</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/code.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
If you're looking to get your hands dirty with some good old coding, Colours CMS can cater for you. The code widget allows you to insert HTML, Javascript, CSS and other elements like QR codes.
<h3>Forms</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/form.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
Whether you want to embed a contact for or a registration form, the forms widget can help. You can re-use existing forms, create new ones, set particular users to manage the form, and so forth.
<h3>Maps</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/maps.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
Colours CMS works seamlessly with Google Maps via their maps widget. Thanks to the platforms use of the Google Map API , you can quickly create and insert interactive maps into your website.
<h3>Products</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/product.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
Using the products widget, you can display product search boxes, category menus and product pages to show off whatever your company has to offer. Headers can be added, along with advanced search options.
<h3>People</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/people.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
With the people widget, you can list staff names, descriptions and bios, or even list particular departments of your organization. This widget also allows website visitors to search for people on the list.
Additional options on the live-edit admin panel allow you to view the website as a visitor, access your user profile, create pages, articles and publish any new page changes.
All the features of the live-edit admin panel are extremely easy to use. They all automatically appear as modules on the page when you select them, allowing you to populate them either directly, or via a pop-up window.
The modules can then be moved around the page using the drag-and-drop functionality.
<h2>The Back End</h2>
On top of the core features listed above, all of which are within easy reach thanks to the live-edit admin panel, Colours CMS does of course have an actual admin back end.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/backend700x0.png" alt="Colours CMS" /> 
By navigating to “Manage”, “More” and then “Backend” on live-edit admin panel, you will be taken to a page which some further options and information about your website.
Key information about your website can also be changed via the back end. Things like site names, contact details, user roles and more can all be modified.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/backend2.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
Additional options for things like Google Analytics codes also exist in the back end, along with the option to enable cross-publishing – which comes in handy if you are running more than one website on Colours CMS. 

<h2>Adding Pages</h2>
Creating brand new pages with Colours CMS is simple thanks to the option being present on the live-edit admin panel.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/page.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
You can choose between creating a standalone page, a page which redirects to another link, or even a clone of an existing page. Moreover, you can add tags to the page, define the template you wish to use, and then start adding images, videos and other widgets.
The option to set pages as children or parent pages of other existing pages also exist. This means you can define exactly where the page appears on menus.
<h2>Adding Articles</h2>
In a similar way to adding pages, you can also add articles, as the option to do so is once again right there on the live-edit admin panel.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/articles.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
Articles are like blog posts, ideal for publishing news and general information about your organization. During the process of adding a new article, you can define a header, an introductory paragraph, and tags. You can then add media, text, and so forth.
<h2>File Management</h2>
Managing documents, images, videos, slides and more are all integral for any website owner. Colours CMS does a good job of presenting uploaded media in a neat fashion.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/file_manager700x0.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
Using the live-editing admin panel, you can quickly navigate to the file manager, where all media is categorised and listed. You can browse by searching, switching between categories, or toggling between listing types.
It's great that reaching your media is also an option on the live-editing admin panel, as the last thing you want to be doing is leaving the page when attempting to piece together a slideshow or page.
<h2>Templates &amp; Design</h2>
Colours CMS offer new users a look at a range of pre-designed websites, each with its own theme. Each of the themes have unique templates and multiple page layouts built in to them.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/templates.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
At the time or writing, Colours' custom build websites come with three or four page layouts for example, whereas others may offer only two – depending on the needs of the user.
These layouts are used in order to place content blocks and modules via the drag-and-drop system.
At the time of writing, all Colours CMS websites are limited to their pre-defined templates. It’s currently not possible to customize the templates nor are there any shared templates. Thankfully, the module-positioning system helps to add some flexibility.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/templates2700x0.png" alt="Colours CMS" />
Although these layouts are well designed and work well, it would be great to see Colours CMS implement a specific selection of themes are page layouts for all their sample websites, so that users may pick and choose the designs which they like most.
Interestingly, Colours CMS have indicated that they do indeed plan on create several standard templates that new users can select from, along with the option to change and try out these templates.
<h2>Getting Help</h2>
Seeking out help for your website when you run into difficulty is hugely important. Thankfully, If you become a Colours CMS user, there are a fair amount of ways to get access to help and support.
From the beginning, the company offer new users the option of having a 1-2 hour hands-on training session to familiarize themselves with the functions of the content management system.
Furthermore, you can make use of Colours CMS' direct office phone line or support email address to get your issues resolved.
However, at the moment, only the core features of Colours CMS are defined on their website, but that's as far as it goes.  It would have been great to see some more detailed end-user information and documentation, along with some online support solutions, such as forums or online chat.
<h2> The Verdict</h2>
Colours CMS is brilliantly simplistic. The live-edit admin panel which floats at the bottom of every page is the ideal way to quickly and easily modify page elements.
With the drag-and-drop content management features, paired with the impressive WYSIWYG editor, you can create beautiful looking web pages in a very short space of time. Images, videos, forms, slideshows and more can all be incorporated with just a few clicks, making it quite fun to peice together a good looking website.
Yet, improvements can of course be made. The ability to customize page layouts, or perhaps even create your own, would greatly impact the way in which Colours CMS is used, opening up the door to user creativity. A lack of user documentation, independent themes, widgets and plugins also hinder the platform somewhat.
All in all however, Colours CMS delivers on what it promises to. The usability of the platform is excellent, whilst there is also plenty of functionality to experiment with. Without a doubt, Colours CMS has itself a fantastic foundation to build upon going into the future.
 Pros 
<ul>
<li>Colours CMS is supremely easy to manage, thanks to the live-edit admin panel, as well as a fully functioning admin back end for more detailed settings.</li>
<li>Elegant pre-defined themes and page layouts make the websites aesthetically pleasing.</li>
<li>Good range of widgets available, including slideshows, maps and products.</li>
<li>Creating pages and articles are just as easy as creating a widget.</li>
<li>Users can be added and modified easily.</li>
<li>File management is made simple, with the live-editing admin panel giving you quick access to all uploaded media.</li>
<li>Multiple websites can be managed in networks, with cross-publishing making content management easier.</li>
<li>The entire platform is well constructed, with simplicity in mind. To put it simply, it looks professional – and that's very important.</li>
</ul>
 Cons 
<ul>
<li>There is a distinct lack of end user documentation and online support options.</li>
<li>Themes and templates are predefined, with no option to customise, or mix and match page layouts between themes.</li>
<li>In order to appeal to a wider, more public market, open-source theme, widget and plugin libraries or marketplaces need to be introduced in some form, as the core functionality of Colours CMS isn't breaking any boundaries, despite being a joy to use.</li>
</ul>
<h2> Final Remarks 
</h2>
In conclusion, Colours CMS is excellent for the job it currently has on its hands, but needs some adjusting if it is to be successful when introduced to a wider audience.
At the time of writing, Colours CMS is primarily for clients and customers of Colours. They build bespoke websites for their clients, offer basic training, and then allow their clients to enjoy tweaking and adding to their brand new website via their content management system.
This has evidently been a successful way of working, but a public audience will want far greater freedom. Theme, widget and plugin “marketplaces” would be hugely welcome, whilst a wider range of user documentation and online support options would also help round off the platform. However, apart from that, it's an extremely pleasant CMS to use, with a healthy amount of functionality.
Perhaps the most promising aspect of Colours CMS, is that the developers have recognised the need to adapt for the public market, and seem ready to do so. You can't really ask for much more than that.
Want to see <a href="http://www.colourscms.no" target="_blank">Colours CMS</a> in more detail? <a href="http://www.colourscms.no/page/6285/Contact" target="_blank">Click here to schedule a live demo</a>.

Colours CMS Review

Oxwall 1.6 was released recently and brings with it a number of new additions to the popular open source community software / social networking CMS.
With each new release of Oxwall, the team brings a new theme to the CMS and this release is no exception. The new theme, entitled München, is not only a shoutout to the town but also a great example of the attractiveness of the platform.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/munchen-1024x513845x0.jpg" alt="oxwall new theme" />
On the topic of theming, this release also introduces automatic theme updates directly from the Oxwall servers, just like their plugins currently do. This is a great addition and helps you stay on top of the latest changes.
In addition, the new social share plugin included in this release offers easily integrated share buttons beneath your content (see screenshot below).
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/social_share845x0.png" alt="oxwall social share" />
The most important new change in this release, however, is the introduction of mobile responsiveness to the platform. This isn't just a responsive theme or hack to make your content mobile friendly, the entire platform has been redeveloped to ensure full functionality on all major phone browsers (including an increase in performance).
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/img_4691.jpg" />
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/img_7274.png" />
Check it out today: <a href="http://oxwall.org">Oxwall Community Software</a>

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Marketing and IT departments are always perfectly aligned, with systems in place that guarantee every goal of the organization is effortlessly met.
Does this sound like your company? If it does, you can stop reading here and return to your utopian existence. For those of us who live in the real world, let’s talk about the different pressures marketing and IT face and how a CMS bridges organizational gaps.
Let’s start with marketing. In most companies, marketing is tasked with: lead generation, product positioning, thought leadership and general communication. Of course, this is an oversimplification but, for the sake of this article, it suffices to illustrate that content creation and distribution comprise the root of marketing’s day to day activities. Without content being constantly pushed to market, it is impossible to accomplish any important marketing goals. Common tasks like updating the company website to announce new products, services, projects, news items, fundraising initiatives, and events need to be done regularly. Doing this work needs to be fast, easy, and controlled by the marketing department. 
A CMS empowers communication by putting control back into the marketers’ hands; giving them the tools they need to create and publish content instantly. A good CMS contains features specifically designed to help marketers manage company webpages, schedule webpage publication, and have content removed automatically when it’s no longer relevant. A CMS should also give the marketer complete control over workflow of projects, not merely acting as a publication tool. With this in mind, it makes sense for the marketing team to choose the right CMS for their needs and to utilize its functionality to accomplish more sophisticated marketing projects.
At this point, if you are your companies IT professional, I bet you’ve broken out in a cold sweat. With the responsibilities of keeping the company infrastructure running smoothly, your concerns surely include system security and ensuring that the website (along with all the other pieces of IT infrastructure) continues to work properly. Maintaining control over tools and keeping non-technical users (like the marketing team) out of your systems is the safest course of action. With this strategy there is no risk that a bumbling marketing team will make a mistake that you’ll have to clean up. 
As every IT professional knows, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Unfortunately, with control comes the burden of responsibility. If you don’t grant the marketers’ access to the CMS, they’ll be forced to rely on you to publish content. With marketing constantly creating and revising content, it means you have to have more resources to accommodate them or restrict how often content can be updated. This is place where the conflict lies, arguments rage, work doesn’t get done and everyone gets ulcers.
So here’s how the CMS rides in on a white horse and saves the day:
<a name="_GoBack"></a>A modern CMS enables the marketing team to create and publish content as well as launch campaigns. This means that the people tasked with marketing are not in the IT office complaining or loading your ticketing system with requests for website updates. The CMS vendor should provide technical support for the tool so that the IT department does not need software experts on staff to troubleshoot if something goes wrong. As a stakeholder in the selection of a CMS vendor, you’ll want to know that they provide the service and technical support your organization needs. 
If you want to learn more about the value a service-enriched CMS, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/confidence-and-support-why-a-cms-vendor-should-provide-more-than-just-software/">check out this article.</a> There are significant advantages to seeking out a SaaS based CMS. With a good cloud-based CMS, IT is no longer responsible for maintaining and patching the software or worrying if it will run your local hardware.
Imagine a world where there is no conflict between marketing and IT because they don’t rely on each other to be successful in their respective jobs. What a wonderful world it would be…

IT vs. Marketing: Stop the Bloodshed

With the release of version 9.1 of its multi-channel publishing system Enterprise, WoodWing continues to further advance easy multi-channel publishing and communication, from creation of content to distribution via various channels. With new options to quickly label content during production and to efficiently tag content destined for the Web, WoodWing addresses issues often seen as problematic and time-consuming. Updated connectors for Facebook and Twitter embed the social media channels fully transparent into daily multi-channel publishing workflows.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/woodwing-pr-enterprise91919x0.jpg" />
The new version 9.1 of WoodWing´s multi-channel publishing system Enterprise offers updated connectors for Twitter and Facebook (left), enables slide shows for web sites (middle) and supports the tag suggestion service Open Calais (bottom) (Click to enlarge).
WoodWing introduced version 9 of its publishing system Enterprise in early September of 2013, paving the way for further innovation in multi-channel publishing. With version 9.1 of Enterprise, WoodWing further refines the way publishers, agencies and marketing departments can efficiently create content and distribute it via any channel to reach their audiences.
<h3>More efficient content management</h3>
In Content Station – WoodWing’s editorial management application – all content related to a specific story is collected in a dossier. Version 9.1 offers new functionality to label the content in a dossier, enabling users to quickly filter their content to see only what they want to see. WoodWing also added support for slideshows for the Web, eased the creation of related dossiers, and added a number of other improvements users have been requesting. 
<h3>Semantic tagging made easy</h3>
For many users, quickly tagging content for the Web – making online content more accessible and valuable – is still a cumbersome and time-consuming activity. Enterprise 9.1 offers flexible tagging options out-of-the-box. Users can add their own tags, use pre-defined tags and use a tag suggestion service, depending on the required way of working. Enterprise ships with an integration with <a href="http://www.opencalais.com/" target="_blank">Open Calais</a> – a service from Thomson Reuters. Open Calais analyzes the text targeted for the Web and returns tagging suggestions users can directly apply to their articles. Leveraging its open plug-in architecture, Enterprise can also support other semantic systems.
<h3>Using Facebook and Twitter to promote your brand and content</h3>
WoodWing also released updated connectors to integrate Facebook and Twitter fully transparent in the daily multi-channel workflow, making it easy to promote Web content via the leading social media platforms directly from within Content Station. The Facebook connector also supports the posting of images and the creation of photo albums.
<h3>One system for all channels and any workflow</h3>
<blockquote>
“We want to enable publishers, agencies and marketing departments to manage all their content and media channels using just one application,” said Erik Schut, President of WoodWing. “No matter how the customer wants to work – with one consolidated team responsible for all channels or separate teams for print, online and digital, we support all workflows.”
</blockquote>
Enterprise 9.1, including the editorial management application Content Station, is available immediately as a perpetual purchase license as well as in an attractive subscription model with monthly fees.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/p8wVLHLOHMA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h3>WoodWing Trend Survey</h3>
Currently WoodWing conducts a survey on the publishing trends 2014 – which “First” strategy and which social media platforms will be in the focus worldwide, what are the most common goals for the use of social media, and more.The questionnaire can be found at http://ow.ly/rQBHx (deadline is January 15, 2014). Participants have the chance to win an Apple TV.

WoodWing Enterprise 9.1 – the next steps in multi-channel publishing innovation

In both small and large organizations, Sales and Marketing functions are interconnected. These two teams have never been more entwined than they are today. As the majority of Marketing efforts goes digital the ability to generate and qualify leads and pass information rich prospects to Sales means a shortened Sales cycle and more Sales. Creating an efficient interface between Marketing and Sales can be accomplished by implementing best practices and excellent technology.
While Sales and Marketing can operate independently, they can only reach the pinnacle of effectiveness when working together towards the common goal of landing new clients. While these two teams travel in the same direction the intersection of Sales and Marketing will always be new leads. Billions of dollars are spent annually by Marketing teams investing in varied tactics to generate coveted leads for their Sales counterparts.
Marketers are responsible for creating content and for publishing that content to receptive prospects. They are also responsible for creating demand and nurturing existing leads through the buying process. Managing advertising, publishing blog content, writing whitepapers, and maintaining their organization’s website should result in leads that the Sales team can close. On the other side of the wall the Sales team is responsible for their process of accepting the Lead, Qualification, Project Scoping, Negotiations and Closing the deals. Each team under pressure to deliver the results their organization needs to be successful.
“More leads, more leads!” is the message that comes from the Sales team. “Where are the leads I gave you last week?” asks Marketing. It is the inevitable debate about the quality of the leads. Sales teams complaining about the quality of leads gives Marketing migraines; putting Marketing in a defensive position, trying to justify their work, and usually under intense scrutiny from senior management.
Advances in technology have brought much-needed insight and a level of accountability to this process. Modern marketers can focus their attention and budget dollars on developing digital campaigns and engagement with their audience. Each component of these efforts is tracked using their CMS and email Marketing tools and synced to the company’s CRM. With tracking in place, marketers can illustrate how they have nurtured leads through the demand process and into the Sales funnel. The conversation between Sales and Marketing can shift to talking about which strategies are effective and bearing fruit rather than debating the definition of “quality”.
There is no doubt the data gathered from prospects behaviors (such as downloading a whitepaper or registering to attend an upcoming webinar) has value to both Sales and Marketing. Sales can use this data to assess the stage a prospect is in on the buying journey while the same data allows Marketing to further segment leads and deliver relevant, targeted messaging. Connecting your CMS to your CRM provides even more information to both the Sales and Marketing teams than has ever been available before. This insight into the prospects’ journey deepens the relationship and provides intimate details to the Sales team; giving them the foundation to nurture and move the prospects through the Sales funnel. With rich insight into the types of content that attracted prospects, Sales can pitch the right message to prospect. Ensuring that initial conversations that are relevant to potential customers’ needs and interests means building trust faster and shorter Sales cycles. Marketing is also rewarded as they are able to see the leads life-cycle beyond their own efforts. This data can be used as the basis for content development, campaign development, Marketing strategy and overall success.
Leads entering the pipeline can be viewed in the CRM by Sales with the details of their journey included. This invaluable data is now available for Sales to harness and used to determine the validity of the leads. Marketing can see what leads are being accepted and what leads are being rejected. T Data gathered through the Demand/Lead Generation and Sales processes create an environment for informed decision-making. Even if we are passionate about what we do, emotions are removed from the equation, and the data speaks for itself.
Through their CMS, Marketing learns the effectiveness of their campaigns and which type of campaigns result in the best leads for their Sales team through campaign analytics. Since they have visibility into campaign metrics; Marketing is equipped with data to optimize effective campaigns and discontinue ineffective campaigns. Reiteration based on real data empowers campaigns. Opportunities can be associated to a specific campaign and lead source, thus alleviating the question – “Where did this lead come from?” Conversations between Sales and Marketing are more meaningful when they are based on metrics driven by both parties’ efforts. We can clearly see where we have succeeded and where we have room for improvement and all of this is made possible by having the right tools in place, including a powerful CMS
Sales &amp; Marketing teams have different day to day tasks. Related but not necessarily dependent, their goals have to be a reflection of each other’s efforts. Marketing launches intelligently crafted targeted campaigns with the ultimate goal of generating good qualified leads for Sales. Sales accepts these leads and continues the nurturing process to a close. It is a carefully choreographed dance that can only be mastered with time, practice and the right tools.

Sales & Marketing – Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers or Oil and Water?

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