Articles - Page 148

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

janus-boye

Good websites are able to provide consistently enjoyable experiences for the end user. In addition, they’re able to provide benefits for the website manager, like increasing company sales. The best websites take into consideration the lifestyle, beliefs, and abilities of their target audience, utilizing user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design to further the ultimate purpose of the site. If you’re interested in improving the experience on your website, start by following the 8 UI design tips described below.
1. Have a Clear Call to Action
First and foremost, you need to focus on converting your viewers into leads, be it through an email signup, a contact form, or a free download. No matter what approach you take, make sure that the call to action is clear and prominently featured on the page. Simplify content as much as possible to bring the call to action to the forefront, and be especially observant on the homepage and any landing pages.
2. Take Note of First Impressions
In the same vein of thought, make sure you keep a fresh perspective on the first impression you’re creating. You have literally a matter of seconds in order to hook viewers into actually browsing your site, so the initial impression is everything. Make sure that the page is well designed and that the content is at the forefront. Ask others to give you a fresh eye and always revise in order to make the best pages.
3. Keep Your Navigation Consistent
Consistent navigational elements are necessary in order to ensure that viewers can find their way around, navigating both backwards and forwards as needed. A good website builder should make sure the primary navigation is consistent throughout your entire website. Of course, this rule applies in other ways. Make sure that you use consistent navigational elements throughout page content, not just in the menu bar. Implement a breadcrumbs system if you think it will benefit site viewers and take care to make sure it looks the same every time.
4. Always Consider Readability
Content is key, so make sure that readers can fully absorb the content. Take the time to observe readability throughout the site, noting font choices, color contrast, the effect of text effects and more. Things like text-shadows and decorative fonts are hard to read in large amounts and are more suited to large headlines, while small body text should be a light and simple font, with good background contrast. You must also make sure that your text is easily understood and not cluttered with other page elements.
5. Remove as Much as Possible
Simplicity is key in modern web design. This same principle extends to user experience design, so you should always think about what you can take away. Removing all extraneous content helps to clarify the message and ensure a good experience.
6. Follow the Rules
As a society, innovation is a praise-worthy skill. This extends to web design, but don’t get too caught up in the idea. Some new, exciting and innovative sites provide a solid UI, but many neglect these principles in flavor of fluff and fancy effects. Sticking to the established rules of good web design like established layouts or navigation elements make for an easily understood site favored by most viewers.
7. Open links in new windows
This rule is simple but important. Every time you add a new link to your page, make sure you set it to open in a new tab or window. You don’t want viewers to exit your site completely every time they click a link.
8. Build for Your Target Audience
Last but not least, always keep your audience at the forefront of your website management. Your audience should influence every design and content decision, every marketing choice and really everything you do in terms of creating and utilizing a website. Make sure you have a clearly defined idea of who your audience is, comprised of their beliefs and abilities, demographics and lifestyles.
When it comes to user experience design for a DIY website, you really need to just stick to the basics. These UI design tips are simple and straightforward, but provide a good starting place. Take the time to make sure you’re following all of the tips and you are sure to see an improvement in consistent viewership and reader conversion.
Have you tried to improve your UI and UX design? What techniques did you use? Share your advice below.

Improving Websites Through User Experience Design – 8 UI Design Tips for DIY Websites

mike-johnston

On November 7th 2013, Liferay held their first ever UK Portal Solutions Forum. The event promised an overview of the <a href="/liferay-portal-6.2-announced-at-liferay-s-north-america-event/#.UnwZhPkvlyU" target="_blank">newly released Liferay Portal 6.2</a> along with a full day of presentations, workshops, and much more.
<a href="http://www.liferay.com/" target="_blank"> Liferay</a> are a world-renowned provider of a leading enterprise-class portal solution, which is used as a digital platform by a number of Fortune 500 companies. With a respectable past, a bright future and a brand new version of their flagship product released just a few days ago, there was plenty for Liferay executives to talk about.
Naturally then, Liferay's Solutions Forum itself – held in the heart of London, was thoroughly enjoyable and full of content. So, let's delve into exactly how it went down.
<h2>Liferay Executives Kick Off the Event</h2>
After making my way down to the Solutions Forum on a chilly London morning, I was welcomed warmly by Liferay staff, and introduced to some of the event's organisers. I then swiftly made my way over to the breakfast area, where I filled up on Tea before the main event began.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/liferay_flag2.png" alt="Liferay Portal Solutions Forum" /> 
I was going to be live-tweeting the entire event via the <a href="https://twitter.com/cmscritic" target="_blank">CMS Critic Twitter account</a>, so I made myself comfortable in the main conference room – with my Tweeting finger poised.
Eddy Dueck – Liferay's marketing associate in charge of leading the event, started the proceedings, and was followed up by an impressive presentation given by company CEO, Bryan Cheung. He spoke extensively on the importance of understanding the evolution of customer relations, as well as how information should be presented to users and customers in general.
<blockquote>“The future of Portal Technology is to provide access to the right information, within the right context.” ~ Bryan Cheung <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23LPSF2013UK&amp;src=hash"> #LPSF2013UK </a>
— CMS Critic (@cmscritic) <a href="https://twitter.com/cmscritic/statuses/398398080015687680"> November 7, 2013 </a></blockquote>
Bryan Cheung delved deep into the history of company-customer relationships, discussing how time has helped evolve and shape today's customer interaction. The example of a Suit Tailor was initially given, focusing on the personal relationship a Suit Tailor would have with his or her customer.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/bryan_cheung.png" alt="Liferay Portal Solutions Forum" />
As technology advanced, Bryan Cheung said, that personal, close relationship shared between a service provider and his or her customer was lost, simply due to companies focusing on a wider reach, rather than a personal one. However, the Internet, especially in its current form, helps combine both a personal touch and a wide reach.
<h2>Networking, Consulting &amp; Expert Exchanges</h2>
Along with the continued talks from various Liferay executives and other professionals, the Liferay Portal Solutions Forum also had something to offer outide of the conference room.
On top of the Breakfast before the main event, attendees enjoyed two networking Coffee breaks, where they could grab a hot drink, a slice of cake and converse with both their colleagues, and other professionals.
<blockquote>The networking Coffee break in full motion. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23LPSF2013UK&amp;src=hash"> #LPSF2013UK </a> <a href="http://t.co/PNdqY3ZOox"> pic.twitter.com/PNdqY3ZOox </a>
— CMS Critic (@cmscritic) <a href="https://twitter.com/cmscritic/statuses/398410366256185344"> November 7, 2013 </a></blockquote>
Additionally, Liferay laid out a deliciously looking – and tasting lunch. Once again, the atmosphere was social, with attendees networking and exchanging details as they enjoyed their lunch.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/lunch.png" alt="Liferay Portal Solutions Forum" />
Following the lunch break, time was set aside for “Expert Exchange Discussions”. The idea was that each table had twenty minutes to discuss a pre-defined question, generally relating to internal company policy and approach to customer engagement.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/expert_exchange.png" alt="Liferay Portal Solutions Forum" />
Each discussion was moderated by a Liferay professional, and the event was topped off with session summary, which compiled the different opinions and ideas gathered at each table.
<h2>An Overview of Liferay 6.2</h2>
Towards the end of the Solutions Forum, Liferay made time to talk about their latest release, Liferay Portal 6.2.
Product Manager Juan Fernandez took to the stage, and began speaking about the new features boasted by their latest upgrade, made just days ago. He touched briefly on the new user interface, which he believed would help users get the most out of Liferay.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/liferay_6_2.png" alt="Liferay Portal Solutions Forum" />
He then moved on to the responsive nature of the templates supported by Liferay Portal 6.2, and how simple it now is for users to quickly and easily review and customize their responsive website via the Liferay mobile preview option.
<blockquote>“The new App Manager is now even easier to use when managing, activating and deactivating applications.” ~ Juan Fernandez <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23LPSF2013UK&amp;src=hash">#LPSF2013UK</a>
— CMS Critic (@cmscritic) <a href="https://twitter.com/cmscritic/statuses/398492725659852800">November 7, 2013</a></blockquote>
After touching on the subject of Liferay's new App Manager, Juan Fernandez mentioned the enhanced multi-language options, and the ability for users to localise their URLS.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/liferay_6_22.png" alt="Liferay Portal Solutions Forum" />
Eventually, after some detailed presentations and interesting questions posed by the audience, Liferay's first ever UK Solutions Forum came to a close. A round of applause was given, and as the room emptied, you certainly got the feeling that every attendee was leaving satisfied with what they had seen, and heard.
For more information on Liferay's platform, <a href="http://www.liferay.com/" target="_blank">check out their website</a>. Additionally, you can explore more of <a href="/products/liferay/" target="_blank">Liferay via our CMS Directory</a>.
Also, if you'd like a better idea of how the events went down at the 2013 UK Liferay Portal Solutions Forum, <a href="https://twitter.com/cmscritic" target="_blank"> check out our Twitter feed</a>, where I live-tweeted all of the events directly from the Solutions Forum.

The Liferay Portal Solutions Forum UK, 2013 - #LPSF2013UK

The SMB market is a hot one right now and while some former SMB CMS solutions are focusing on the Enterprise space, this has opened up a ton of opportunities for some other players to gain market share. Today, I'm going to announce which Small to Midsize Business CMS was selected by the judges to win the Critics Choice award Best Small to Midsize Business CMS for 2013.
To begin, a little about the selection process. To make things fair, we sent a list of the various categories to each judge with no individual products listed anywhere within the document and asked them to list their top three choices for each category. They were not restricted in any way with their selections and were free to choose from any of the products on the market. We agreed that if any judges came back with the same answers in the same categories, we would automatically select that answer as the winner. This keeps the awards unbiased and makes the selection of the winner fun and fresh each year as we never know what options might be brought to the table.
This year, the CMS that we feel is most deserving of the Critic's Choice Award for Best Small to Midsize Business CMS for 2013 is…
<h2>eZ Publish</h2>
<img style="max-width:150px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/best-small-to-midsize-business-cms-1150x0.png" />
Why eZ Publish?
eZ Publish is an incredible platform that has really grown over the years. Within the publishing sector, for example, they are second to none in the industry and offer an excellent all-in-one solution with the eZ Publish Platform – Web publishing, mobile and multichannel content delivery, digital marketing, e-commerce, and workflow. eZ Publish also offers a community edition that has been developed under the open-source development model, giving them access to thousands of eager developers worldwide who contribute code to better their platform.
eZ Publish has been continuing to make great strides in the industry since the release of version 5 and now, with 5.1 have really started to strut their stuff. We can't think of a better platform to give this year's award to and would like to congratulate eZ Publish on their win.
Check out this video to learn more about eZ Publish:
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/koDex3KhHNM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Want to learn more about this great CMS and the winner of our Critic's Choice Award for Best Small to Midsize Business CMS? <a href="https://www.ibexa.co/">Visit ezPublish</a> or learn more in our <a href="/products/ibexa/">CMS Directory</a>.

2013 Critic's Choice Winner for Best Small to Midsize Business CMS

If you're like many creative professionals in a design business, you're probably not as focused as you should be on growing your company. You'd rather work on your next great design than call former customers to ask for a referral. But without those calls and referrals, the business won't last long. Here are five simple, but often ignored, tactics for expanding a design business.
1. Be a salesperson. You prefer to think you're a designer, producer, or marketer, but to grow your business, you also have to be a salesperson. Selling means asking friends and existing clients for referrals, getting out into the community to network, creating and distributing marketing materials, getting active on social media sites and even cold calling possible customers to introduce yourself.
2. Don't discount. It's tempting to try and grab hold of available projects by offering a low rate, discount, or even a freebie. That's a big mistake. It's much harder to raise your rates once you've set them. Plus, most customers base their decisions on more than just price. So, if you've got a quality service to offer, don't cheapen it with price cuts. This also applies to all the little extras you add in for clients and which you're loathe to add to the bill. If you added a service they requested — a third revision, additional graphics…etc. — put it on the bill. If you don't, you risk starving your business of needed revenues.
3. Set reasonable deadlines – and meet them. We all know we're supposed to meet deadlines, but all too often we struggle to deliver what we’ve promised on time. When you're competing against other agencies for business, meeting deadlines is a major factor in getting repeat business and referrals. The perception that you deliver what you promise is critical. You’re always in control of the timeline, so set reasonable expectations and meet them
4. Return phone calls quickly.  Handle calls immediately when you can and always return missed calls the same business day.  If you find it distracting to talk on the phone while working on a project, then divide your day so some of it is focused on creative tasks with other times set aside for customer calls. Getting back to people quickly will help you land more projects and keep customers satisfied.
5. Specialize. At first, most new agencies will take on every kind of work they can get, from newsletters and business cards to corporate logos and websites. But when business starts coming in regularly, it pays to focus on a specific niche or industry. Sharpening your niche will make your entire business more efficient — from focusing your sales and marketing efforts, to streamlining your daily tasks, to improving your customer support on finished projects. It’s better to become the go-to expert in a specific field than to try and do everything. A focused approach will also produce better referrals and help you grow your business to the next level.
When it comes time to put your design business online, check out <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/out/lightcms">LightCMS</a>, a powerful, yet easy-to-use cloud-based platform for creating beautiful websites and online stores.

Five Ways to Grow Your Design Business

Joomla is one of the most widely used content management systems on the market – and they've just released a record number of new features via Joomla 3.2, the latest version of their award-winning platform.
Over 3 percent of the Internet runs on <a href="http://www.joomla.org/" target="_blank">Joomla</a>, and so these new improvements and additions to areas such as the administration panel will impact the way many websites create, modify and publish their content and applications.
There are over 600 combined improvements and de-bugs brought about by Joomla 3.2, with each one aiming to help make the platform faster, simpler and more secure. So, let's take a look at what's new.
<h2>Improved User Interface &amp; Version Control</h2>
Perhaps the most apparent modification introduced by Joomla 3.2, is the improved user interface, which administrators will have the benefit of using.
The new, sleek interface is now more streamlined and task-focused than ever before, aiding admins to access different areas of their backend faster, whilst being able to view key information at a glance via their dashboard.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/user_interface_improvements.png" alt="Joomla 3.2" />
Another admin panel improvement comes in the form of Version Control. This feature allows administrators to restore previous versions of pages, articles and so forth.
Comparisons of the same content can also be made side-by-side from different dates, allowing users to review the changes made to the content in question.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/version_control.png" alt="Joomla 3.2" />
Being able to review, compare and revert back to older versions of website content will undoubtedly make life easier when editing and experimenting with new content. Thanks to Version Control, you always have the safety net of being able to backtrack on your changes if necessary.
<h2>Simplified Extensions &amp; Rapid Application Development</h2>
The process of searching for and installing Joomla extensions has also been simplified, by allowing users to do search and install directly from within their admin view with just a few clicks.
Previously, administrators had to follow separate steps to first search for extensions, download them to a desktop, and then finally log in to the Joomla admin view and install those extensions. That lengthy process is now a thing of the past for Joomla 3.2 users.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/one-click_extension_installer.png" alt="Joomla 3.2" />
Joomla 3.2 also introduces Rapid Application Development (RAD), which makes it easier for a developer to write their own Joomla extensions; apps that enhance a Joomla site like calendars, videos and polls.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/rapid_application_development-rad.png" alt="Joomla 3.2" />
On top of these core improvements, users of Joomla3.2 will also find an improved template manager, multi-lingual site installer, improved WYSIWYG editor, AJAX interface, micro-data semantics library, and HTML form fields, and more.
Regarding the release of Joomla 3.2, Paul Orwig, president of Open Source Matters, a non-profit created to provide organizational, legal and financial support to the Joomla project, had this to say:
<blockquote>“Joomla is growing at a furious pace, with more than 45 million downloads to date—and a broader audience means it’s more important than ever that the latest version be as simple, stable and straightforward as possible. So, with 3.2 we worked hard to make sure you don’t have to be an expert to quickly tap the sheer power of Joomla!”</blockquote>
As you may have gathered from Paul Orwig's statement, For Joomla, it's all about making powerful software easily accessible to the masses. As a result of this mentality, feedback from more than 2.8 million Joomla forum posts and data from more than 7,100 Joomla extensions were all taken into account during the development of Joomla 3.2.
To find out more about the 600+ improvements and de-bugs found within Joomla 3.2, you can check out the <a href="http://www.joomla.org/3-2" target="_blank">full release notes here</a>. Or, you can jump straight into the action by <a href="https://downloads.joomla.org/us/" target="_blank">downloading Joomla 3.2</a>.
Additionally, you can learn more about <a href="/products/joomla/" target="_blank"> Joomla via our CMS Directory</a>.

Joomla 3.2 Released with Record Number of New Features

A growing number of content management systems today either are themselves a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), or offer a SaaS in one way, shape or form.
Today, <a href="http://www.instartlogic.com/" target="_blank">Instart Logic</a> – creators of the world’s first Web Application Streaming Network™, have introduced a new vertical product line into the world of SaaS providers, making it easier than ever before to deliver premium, zero-wait web experiences to their customers on any device, and any network.
The aim of Instart Logic has always been to empower web publishers to deliver current and next-generation web applications that dramatically boost user engagement, customer loyalty and drive new revenue streams. So, let's take a close look at what they now have in store for SaaS providers.
<h2>Boosting the Performance of Browser-Based Applications</h2>
The SaaS market is growing at rapid speeds. In fact, technology researchers <a href="http://www.gartner.com/technology/home.jsp" target="_blank">Gartner</a> has forecast the global value of SaaS spending to hit $45 billion in 2017, up from $15 billion in 2012.
To help capture that growth, web-based SaaS providers such as New Relic, VersionOne, IFTTT and RelateIQ are increasingly turning to Instart Logic to help them accelerate premium “native-like” application experiences for their browser-based applications.
David Peterson, VP of Site Operations at New Relic had this to say of Instart Logic's service:
<blockquote>“We deliver an application performance tool as a service so we needed to make sure that our own web-based application performed at the highest levels of performance for our tens of thousands of customers from Australia to Austin, Texas. We selected Instart Logic because of their innovative approach, their company wide focus on performance and the great support we've received.”</blockquote>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/8700x0.png" alt="Instart Logic" />
Additionally, Ian Cullin, CTO of VersionOne explains how Instart Logic improved their platform's performance by a staggering 50%:
<blockquote>“We provide an entirely web-based system to over 50,000 agile development teams worldwide building mission critical code with our agile project management software. Our customers are largely developers. They are extremely intolerant of poor application performance. So we need to make sure that our own application performs at the highest level no matter where our customers are. Instart Logic’s innovative services give VersionOne users fast, fresh updates from constantly-changing projects and improved our performance by 50% – something CDNs could never do.”</blockquote>
To get a better understanding of just how much Instart Logic's service can improve performance, take a look at the video below, where VersionOne SaaS application can be seen loading both with and without Instart Logic in place. You can also view <a href="http://go.instartlogic.com/Case_Study_VersionOne.html" target="_blank">Instart Logic's detailed VersionOne case study</a>.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMTh-IxM1cs
<h2>Unique Web-Performance Technology</h2>
In a constantly evolving world of web-technology, where users and platforms rely more heavily upon cloud services and mobile devices, CDNs are stuggling to serve highly dynamic web applications.
Previously, WAN optimization controllers could provide some point-to-point relief for internally hosted applications, but even their efficacy has slowly but surely wavered due to application backends moving to the cloud and users continue to become more mobile orientated.
In response, Instart Logic has focused on building unique web-performance technology not available anywhere else. Instart Logic’s performance advantage is based on two new and improved technology offerings, as detailed below.
<ul>
<li> Global Network Accelerator (GNA) uses a new purpose-built binary middle-mile protocol for intra-proxy transmissions. This new protocol, called IPTP (Inter Proxy Transfer Protocol), sets up a persistent matrix of connections between Instart Logic’s global serving locations, and then efficiently frames and multiplexes dynamic transfers through it to erase network bottlenecks caused by distance and congestion. IPTP has been built using Google’s protobuf technology. Google, which uses protobuf extensively for implementing its own internal communication protocols, has open-sourced the technology.</li>
<li> Dynamic HTML Streaming is a new application-intelligent technology that distinguishes between unique and non-unique dynamic HTML. This solution automatically sends non-personalized portions of the application from the closest server so the user can start being productive with the web application much sooner. In this latest iteration the system has been expanded to leverage Instart Logic’s transparent client-side virtualization layer, the NanoVisor™, to allow use with even completely personalized HTML code.</li>
</ul>
Manav Mital, CEO and co-founder of Instart Logic, had this to say about his company's newly enhanced features:
<blockquote>“We are responding to strong demand from SaaS providers with a genuinely disruptive solution that gives them a new class of web application acceleration tools. With these technologies, SaaS vendors are better able to give their end customers exceptionally high performance and data freshness on any device and any type of network.”</blockquote>
To find out more about Instart Logic's newly implemented SaaS acceleration features, <a href="http://instartlogic.com/solutions/saas/" target="_blank"> check out their SaaS Solutions page</a>.

Instart Logic Launches New Web Acceleration Service for SaaS Providers‏

Nuxeo, the provider of a content management platform for business applications, today announced the availability of Nuxeo Platform 5.8, a major Long Term Support version of the open-source content management platform. With advances in workflow, content synchronization, and REST APIs, this version is a major step forward for developers and product managers who build content-centric applications to manage business information.
An accumulation of three previously released 5.7.x Fast Track versions, this new version contains a host of new features and enhancements for developers, administrators, and end-users that have already been fully vetted by early adopters in the Nuxeo community. Nuxeo Platform 5.8 includes a new set of resource-oriented endpoints for the REST API, adaptive capabilities for the integrated workflow engine, improved processing and navigation of digital assets, and Nuxeo Drive, a desktop synchronization client for the Nuxeo content repository.
In addition, this version benefits from the initial groundwork for nuxeo.io, the upcoming PaaS offering, with expanded REST API endpoints and increased flexibility for quickly building web applications.
<blockquote>“This new version of the Nuxeo Platform offers the increased flexibility and easy access that developers and product managers need for building business applications to manage structured content,” said Eric Barroca, Nuxeo CEO. “We believe that providing a complete application building environment enables those closest to a particular business problem to provide the right solution, faster.”</blockquote>
Highlights of Nuxeo Platform 5.8 include:
<ul>
<li>New REST APIs designed for direct consumption by JavaScript or other scripting languages, enabling fast development of content-centric web applications,</li>
<li>Nuxeo Drive, for bi-directional device-to-repository content synchronization,</li>
<li>Enhanced support for designing adaptive workflows, with rule-based escalation and a new task management service,</li>
<li>A new, highly configurable media asset navigation user interface for Digital Asset Management applications,</li>
<li>Deep application monitoring and metrics collection using the Yammer Metrics library, with easy integration with most metrics storage systems,</li>
<li>Full OSGi compliance for the Content Automation client, a fluid Java wrapper for the Nuxeo REST API which runs on the JVM or on Android,</li>
<li>Optimizations in the Nuxeo content persistence engine such as support for Oracle on Amazon RDS and Microsoft SQL Server 2012, and faster updates of complex properties,</li>
<li>Enhanced user experience with saved search sharing, a workflow tab to group tasks and run bulk operations, and a CSV importer, among many other new features.</li>
</ul>
Nuxeo Platform 5.8 is available for download immediately. The installation wizard gives access to a free 30-day trial of Nuxeo Connect, a portal providing maintenance upgrades, easy installation of add-ons, and Nuxeo Studio, a design environment for easy configuration and customization of the platform. A special release webinar will be held November 6 at 2pm ET. More information about the release is available at <a href="http://www.nuxeo.com/en/products/nuxeo-platform-5.8">http://www.nuxeo.com/en/products/nuxeo-platform-5.8</a>.
<h3>Gallery</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/parallel_workflow-nuxeo_platform58600x0.png" alt="parallel_workflow-nuxeo_platform58" />
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/dam_configurable_ui_nuxeo_platform_58600x0.png" alt="dam_configurable_ui_nuxeo_platform_58" />
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/dam_all_docs_nuxeo_platform_58600x0.png" alt="dam_all_docs_nuxeo_platform_58" />

Nuxeo Releases a Major Version of the Nuxeo Platform

The latest iteration of elcomCMS is now available. elcomCMS 9 features new integration points with leading applications such as Marketo, Salesforce.com, SugarCRM, Box and Google Drive. In addition, new core enhancements have been completed which make it easier for the non-technical users to create better, more engaging content.
This new release is built around 6 areas:
<h3>Marketing Automation via the Marketo Connector</h3>
The new Marketo Connector provides the ability to synchronise lead, contact and membership information collected in elcomCMS with Marketo. Organisations will benefit from streamlined lead generation, lead nurturing and ROI management.
<img style="display:block;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/elcomcms_9_-_1817x0.png" alt="elcomcms_9_-_1" />
<h3>CRM Integration – Salesforce and SugarCRM Connectors</h3>
elcomCMS is now connected with market leading CRMs, Salesforce and SugarCRM to provide seamless contact and relationship management. Create web-to-lead forms from within elcomCMS and synchronise data with your preferred CRM to bridge the gap between sales and marketing.
<h3>Learning Management</h3>
Great new features have been added to the elcomCMS Training Manager Module. The module now offers the ability to manage refresher, CPD and repeat training through automated rescheduling. Enhancements to the user experience and SCORM management have also been made.
<h3>Social</h3>
iPhone and iPad, Apple device users will be excited to learn that Elcom has released a new elcomCMS Mobile App. The app allows elcomCMS intranet and portal users to chat with their social connectors and groups from anywhere at any time.
<img style="display:block;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/elcomcms_9_-_2_png.jpg" alt="elcomcms_9_-_2" />
Crowdsourcing has also been introduced in elcomCMS 9 with the new Social Q&amp;A module. The module offers users the ability to ask and answer questions, all within a secure and managed environment.
<h3>Cloud Docs</h3>
Elcom has extended their library of cloud connectors with new Box and Google Drive Connectors, so organisations can collaborate and share documents using the applications that they know and love.
<h3>Key Enhancements</h3>
A significant number of core publishing enhancements have been made to elcomCMS. New functionality includes a new Carousel feature, improved video support, A new Document List explorer, extension of Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft Office and Ephox Connectors and more.
Commenting on the latest release, Anthony Milner, Elcom’s Product Director said “It’s certainly an exciting time for Web Content Management. elcomCMS 9 continues to add new productive features for your digital ecosystem making it powerfully simple for you to unleash marketing, social and document management capabilities in the enterprise. If you work in Marketing, HR or Information Management you now have a best of breed integrated toolset for enhancing user engagement and delivery of information and services.”
To find out more about Elcom please visit <a href="http://www.elcomCMS.com">www.elcomCMS.com</a>

Elcom releases elcomCMS 9, featuring core enhancements and improved integrations

Weglot - The easiest way to translate a website

The easiest way to translate a website

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The winners have been selected and contacted by email. This contest is now closed. Thank you for participating.
Great news everyone! Today we're starting a giveaway with which you have a chance to get one of 10 MotoCMS website templates (normally priced at $139 each). Our good friends from MotoCMS are known for providing beautiful website templates with a built-in admin panel. The best thing about their products is that they are functional enough to be used by professional web developers and at the same time are simple enough for the end users who actually know nothing about coding.
On November 4th 2013 folks at MotoCMS celebrate their company's birthday (they're 4 years old by the way). As a part of the celebration, they are giving away 10  <a href="https://www.motocms.com/website-templates/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> MotoCMS website templates</a> to CMS Critic readers and subscribers. So in case you're planning to create a new website sometime soon, or if you're working on a client's project you definitely want to take part in the giveaway – you may be lucky enough to win a free license!
<h3>Why Exactly Should You Be Interested in MotoCMS?</h3>
 Every MotoCMS license includes: 
<ul>
<li>Content management system;</li>
<li>Professional website template;</li>
<li>Mobile website template;</li>
<li>WYSIWYG editor;</li>
<li>A set of media galleries;</li>
<li>Free lifetime updates of the CMS;</li>
<li>Free 24/7 support.</li>
</ul>
<h3>How to Participate</h3>
Ok, you're now very close to your free template. And entering this giveaway is very simple – just register and activate a free trial version of the MotoCMS template you like. And that's it! Click the button below to browse MotoCMS templates and to find the design you like. On the template's page click the ‘Try It Free' button and enter your email address. Then make sure to confirm your participation by clicking the confirmation link in a message you'll receive (only confirmed trial accounts are eligible to win in a contest).
A week from now, on November 11th, 2013 we will announce the contest winners. The winners will be contacted at the email addresses they use for registering trial accounts. Another nice birthday surprise from MotoCMS is a big discount – for those who don't want to wait for the giveaway results or simply need more licenses. No one is leaving this birthday party without presents today. During the whole month of November 2013 you can buy a MotoCMS website template for as low as $99. Here is the discount code to use:
 “MOTO99” (copy the code without quotes, paste it on the checkout page to have the price reduced) 
Happy MotoCMS birthday everyone!

We Have 10 MotoCMS Website Template Licenses to Give Away!

Whether you're looking to create your very own version of Facebook, a fan site, an education project or even a formal company social network, Oxwall has all the tools you need.
Oxwall was crowned the winner of our <a href="/peoples-choice-winner-for-best-social-networking-solution-is/#.UnbSBvkvlyU" target="_blank">2012 People's Choice for Best Social Networking Solution </a> , and was also nominated within the same category for our most <a href="/2013-people-s-choice-winner-for-best-social-networking-solution/#.UnbaJ_kvlyU" target="_blank"> recent CMS awards</a>.
Their platform offers a sleek solution to social networking, and also enables you to add functionality via various plugins, which compliment the powerful admin panel already in place. Let's take a close look.
<h2>Take Charge of Your Community</h2>
With Oxwall, you can build an online community from the ground upwards, just the way you want it. You can then exercise complete control across a number of a different areas of the website and community.
Things like menus, pages, blogs and forums can call be customized to your liking, simply by using Oxwall's drag-and-drop system to create navigation menus and organise different social modules on each of your pages.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/33.png" alt="Oxwall" />
Oxwall even enables you to create user types, giving each one specific privileges and restrictions. This opens the door to paid membership schemes, where users of your social network can pay a fee to access more content, or even to share their own.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2.png" alt="Oxwall" /> 
What's more is, your Oxwall admin panel comes bundled with built-in Google Analytics, an advert manager, access to your website's code, and much more.
<h2>Connect in Style</h2>
When it comes to socializing, Oxwall provides some pretty useful features. You can set up your own pages and modules to encourage users to interact, or even give those same users the freedom to submit content themselves.
For example, groups can be created by users which revolve around specific subjects. Different users can then come together and join these groups, and discuss the topic at hand. Groups can be listed by both popularity and age, whilst owners of the group can send out invitations.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/5700x0.png" alt="Oxwall" />
Additionally, and perhaps most impressively, your Oxwall website can have a main dashboard, where things like user uploaded photos, videos and blog posts are all displayed together in modules, alongside upcoming events, and even a list of all other users currently online.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/6700x0.png" alt="Oxwall" /> 
To top off the social integration features offered by Oxwall, a built-in chat feature also exists, allowing users to talk in privately if they wish, away from the eyes of other users.
<h2>Develop, Customize &amp; Grow</h2>
Making your social network unique will be your toughest job, but thankfully, Oxwall has it all covered once again.
You can start to customize your website by browsing through the <a href="http://www.oxwall.org/store/themes" target="_blank">Oxwall Themes Store</a>, where you can find a healthy number of themes, the vast majority of which are free. Each theme appears professionally polished, and have been built with Oxwall's social features in mind.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/4700x0.png" alt="Oxwall" />
If you would like to delve into the code of your chosen theme, you can. This allows you to customize and even expand your website even further, in any way you like. That unrestricted ability to add your own personal touch to your online community is precisely what Oxwall is all about. Simply put, you're in control – all the time.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/7700x0.png" alt="Oxwall" />
The icing on the socially shared cake is most certainly Oxwall's plugins. Found within the <a href="http://www.oxwall.org/store" target="_blank">Oxwall Plugin Store</a>, you can search through a vast array of extensions and applications which can enable your website to mimic the functions of other popular social networks, add functionality to existing modules, automate maintenance, and so forth.
All in all, Oxwall offers a pretty extensive approach to building online communities, giving you complete freedom thanks to it's free and open-source nature.
If you're interested in Oxwall, you can find out more about the community building platform <a href="http://www.oxwall.org/" target="_blank"> via their website</a>. Or, you can skip right to their <a href="http://www.oxwall.org/download" target="_blank">official download page</a>.
Additionally, you can check out some information about <a href="/products/oxwall/" target="_blank"> Oxwall via our CMS Directory</a>.

Grow a Thriving Online Community with Oxwall

This year, as you may know, we decided to bring in a panel of two additional judges to add some diversity to the selection process for our Critics Choice Awards. Namely, <a href="/introduction-to-the-judges-john-coonen/">John Coonen</a> and <a href="/introduction-to-the-judges-adriaan-bloem/">Adriaan Bloem</a>, two well respected voices within the industry. Today, I'm going to announce which Website Builder was selected by the judges to win the Critics Choice award Best Website Builder for 2013.
To begin, a little about the selection process. To make things fair, we sent a list of the various categories to each judge with no individual products listed anywhere within the document and asked them to list their top three choices for each category. They were not restricted in any way with their selections and were free to choose from any of the products on the market. We agreed that if any judges came back with the same answers in the same categories, we would automatically select that answer as the winner. This keeps the awards unbiased and makes the selection of the winner fun and fresh each year as we never know what options might be brought to the table.
Selecting a winner is never an easy task but part of the process involves analyzing the following key areas of the various website builders to assess which one we feel best represents a well rounded and solid solution for you. Those areas may include:
<ul>
<li>User interface – How easy is it to use, how visually appealing.</li>
<li>Value – Is the cost reasonable for what you receive in return.</li>
<li>Functionality – What type of functionality is built into the system.</li>
</ul>
This year, the website builder that we feel is most deserving of the Critic's Choice Award for Best Website Builder for 2013 is…
<h2>Squarespace</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/best-website-builder150x0.png" alt="Best Website Builder 2013" />Why Squarespace?
Without a doubt, Squarespace has been one of the most innovative website builders to come along in a long time. This year, they added an amazing eCommerce component to their platform which made Squarespace an even more powerful contender in the Website Builder market. (Check out our <a href="/squarespace-review-the-long-awaited-commerce-solution">Squarespace Review</a> to learn more about that release.)
With a clean, minimalist interface one of a kind interface that offers both power and simplicity, it's hard to beat. Squarespace offers incredible value of what it brings to the table with pricing ranging between $8 – $24 / month (within the U.S). With a host of features including beautiful integrated analytics, a solid eCommerce platform for those wanting to build up a shop and a full array of beautiful templates, you can't go wrong with this website builder.
The Interface:
<a href="http://www.squarespace.com"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/squarespace_-_best_website_builder_for_20131102x0.png" alt="squarespace_-_best_website_builder_for_2013" /></a>
A Couple of their templates:
<a href="http://www.squarespace.com"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/squarespace_-_best_website_builder_for_2013_-_31104x0.png" alt="squarespace_-_best_website_builder_for_2013_-_3" /></a>
<a href="http://www.squarespace.com"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/squarespace_-_best_website_builder_for_2013_-_21104x0.png" alt="squarespace_-_best_website_builder_for_2013_-_2" /></a>
What I personally find is a good sign is when they are so confident that you'll love their product that they are willing to offer a free trial of the product with no credit card. That means, you can test it out and if you love it like we do, you can stick with it and pay monthly but if you decide it's not right for you, you can walk away without having spent a cent. I think it's great when companies offer this to potential clients (and a lot of them do).
If you haven't tried Squarespace yet, we encourage you to do so. You can do so here: <a href="http://www.squarespace.com">Squarespace</a>.
Congratulations to Squarespace on their win. We look forward to much more amazing things in the years to come.

2013 Critic's Choice Winner for Best Website Builder

Redaxscript, which initially started as a fork of sNews CMS in 2008, has now reached version 2.0.0 of their simple, yet powerful CMS. Let's take a look at some of the new features in this release.
<h2>PHP 5.0 Now Required</h2>
Given that some of the functions in Redaxscript have been rewritten into OOP classes, PHP 5.0 is now a requirement in order for the system to run correctly.
<h2>Redesigned and Responsive Admin</h2>
Redaxscript's admin interface has been redesigned to work on any device without compromising functionality and usability. Want to use it on your tablet or smartphone? No problem!
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/redaxscript_fully_responsive_admin795x0.jpg" alt="redaxscript_fully_responsive_admin" />
<h2>Templates got a facelift!</h2>
Lead designer for Redaxscript, Jörg Steinhauer, has replaced most of the graphics within the templates with modern SVG, icon fonts, and improved typography giving them a better overall look and feel.
<h2>Bye Bye IE8</h2>
Sorry IE8 lovers (if there are any of you) but given how far web browsers have come, maintaining support for something this old just isn't in the cards. IE8 support has been dropped to focus on CSS3 and HTML5.
<h2>Includes jQuery and Zepto</h2>
Redaxscript now includes the latest versions of jQuery and Zepto. For those who like getting their hands dirty, try out the new experimental <a href="http://redaxscript.com/download/templates/zepto-template">Zepto template</a> to see what it's made of. Not all JavaScript-powered plugins and modules are working due to a limited API, 
so you'll need to extend Zepto using some of their modules as well.
<h2>Feature detection</h2>
They've added HTML5 elements support for old browsers and feature detection available inside the r.support object.
<h2>Plugins and Modules</h2>
<ul>
<li>Tab character for textareas plugin</li>
<li>HTML validator module using validator.nu</li>
<li>Live reload module for CSS</li>
<li>Google maps module</li>
<li>Lazy load module for images</li>
</ul>
<div>Want additional information? <a href="http://redaxscript.com/develop/changelog/changes-for-2-0-0">Read the changelog</a> or visit <a href="/products/redaxscript/">Redaxscript</a> in our CMS Directory.</div>

Redaxscript 2.0.0 Released

It today's CMS market, it's not difficult to come across a user-friendly website builder. However, it's rare to come across a service as holistic as <a href="http://www.ucoz.com/?pguid=2228558660" target="_blank">uCoz</a>.
With over 1.2 million websites now built using uCoz, it's fair to say that the open-source platform – which has a strong Russian user base, is amongst the top website builders in the world. Part of uCoz' appeal is their range of features, modules, and templates on offer which enable you to build an array of website types with ease.
Recently, uCoz was nominated in the <a href="/2013-people-s-choice-winner-for-best-website-builder/#.UnQNgvkvlyW" target="_blank">2013 People's Choice for Best Website Builder</a> category for CMS Critic's annual CMS Awards. So, now would be a good time to take a look at just what makes this popular content management system tick.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uXrmdbGkogs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<h2>Master of all Trades</h2>
With uCoz, you can build pretty much any type of website. Not only is this appealing to those looking to build a particular type of site, but it's also useful for anybody thinking about creating a range of different website types, either right now, or over time.
Instead of using one CMS to create a community forum, and another to create a blog, both can be done under the same roof with uCoz. That means that you wont need to learn and adjust to different platforms, and can spend more time perfecting your skills with uCoz specifically.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/11.png" alt="uCoz" />
Below is a list of just some of the website types uCoz is capable of building:
<ul>
<li>Blogs</li>
<li>Online Stores</li>
<li>Personal Homepages</li>
<li>Portals</li>
<li>Fan Sites &amp; Communities</li>
<li>Educational Websites</li>
<li>Government Websites</li>
<li>And More</li>
</ul>
As you can see from this list above, uCoz has no shortage of functionality. On top of these options, uCoz websites can be used with personal domains and even come bundled with built in WYSIWYG editor, a drag-and-drop design system, statistics, security and technical support. All for free.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2.png" alt="uCoz" /> 
uCoz users can also incorporate hundreds of different widgets, which help your website to branch out in terms of functionality via Twitter, Flickr, Skype, Wikipedia, eBay Search and more.
<h2>Strength in Depth</h2>
Despite being able to build a wide range of different websites types, uCoz has a surprising amount of depth when it comes to website-specific features.
In other words, you won't just get to enjoy the flexibility of building different kinds of sites, but you'll also have the ability to focus on each one of them using different modules, apps and features, all of which can be managed via the feature-rich admin panel.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/5700x0.png" alt="uCoz" /> 
You may also be thinking that, in order to convincingly build all of these different website types using the same CMS, a lot of coding and technical knowledge will be required, especially in terms of design.
However, thanks to hundreds of pre-built uCoz templates, found within the <a href="http://ucoztemplates.com/" target="_blank">uCoz Template Store</a>, customizing your website's design is easy. You can install some of the free or paid-for templates quickly and easy, without having to touch any code – unless of course you want to.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/3700x0.png" alt="uCoz" />
Along with the flexibility of hundreds of different, customizable templates, uCoz also enables you to integrate a number of popular third-party applications and services to add functionality to your website. These apps include Paypal, Google Maps, YouTube and more.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/4.png" alt="uCoz" /> 
With access to all of these apps, along with hundreds of templates and a robust admin panel filled with features, it's incredibly easy to create a range of different kinds of website, all using the same, reliable platform.
To learn more about the capabilities of uCoz, <a href="http://www.ucoz.com/?pguid=2228558660" target="_blank">check out their website</a>. Or, if you've heard enough, you can start building your free website today by <a href="http://www.ucoz.com/?pguid=2228558660" target="_blank">registering with uCoz</a>.
Additionally, you can find more key information regarding <a href="/products/ucoz/" target="_blank">uCoz via our CMS Directory</a>.

uCoz: The Universal Website Builder

Power your CMS on AWS

Manage your websites & apps in the most trusted cloud.

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