Articles - Page 46

Bland Brands Beware: Optimizely’s New Identity Brings Human Creativity to its Agentic AI and AEO Ambitions

matt-garrepy

Joomla Review - An In-Depth Look at the Popular CMS

mike-johnston

Lights, Camera, Action! Jahia's first ever conference being held in the City of Lights, Paris is getting ready to begin. With double the expected attendees, this is sure to be an event to please.
This first ever conference is being held at the beautiful  <a href="http://www.pan-piper.com/"> Pan Piper conference center </a> in downtown Paris.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/banner.jpg" />
The event opens with an introductory keynote from Elie Auvray (CEO of Jahia) and Mick MacComascaigh,  Research VP with Gartner and the Lead Analyst for Web content management, this event is sure to bring the latest knowledge about the goings on at Jahia and the future of their position within the content management industry.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/img_0084930x0.jpg" alt="Eli Auvray, CEO of Jahia" />
Elie Auvray, CEO of Jahia
The program for the event can be found here: <a href="http://www.jahiaone.com/program">JahiaOne Schedule.</a>
Stay tuned for more from the conference throughout the day by <a href="http://twitter.com/cmscritic">following us on Twitter</a> or following the <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23jahiaone&amp;src=typd">#JahiaOne</a> hashtag on Twitter. Of course, we'll be offering up many posts throughout the event on the site as well.

JahiaOne Paris - Jahia Shines in the City of Light

<a href="https://www.1202software.com/" target="_blank">1202</a> is a highly flexible CMS which describes itself as a, “Multi-purpose, pluggable, cloud-based system for managing, publishing and sharing any kind and any amount of content.”
The cloud based platform, which boasts a source code that's ten times lighter when compared to WordPress, can manage, and publish any kind of content.
You can use 1202 to create a website, manage, categorise and archive content, make plans, databases and directories, as well as a whole lot more.
Quite frankly, 1202 can be used for almost anything data or content related, giving it uses for both online and offline projects. This makes it a very malleable platform, a characteristic which has its pros and cons, which I will be exploring throughout this review.
Furthermore, 1202 is pluggable, meaning that you can integrate it with existing softwares and platforms in order to add functionality. 
<h2>First Impressions</h2>
As per usual, I will begin this review from the product’s digital doorway — the vendor website.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-2700x0.png" alt="1202Software" />
1202’s website is clean and simple, but the layout and navigation didn’t sit well with me.
The introductory video, which is a core part of the homepage, gave a five minute walkthrough of how to use some of the software’s features, but it didn’t actually explain the product. What (and for whom) was it for? I wasn’t really getting the message.
The navigation menu at the top of the page wasn’t saying much either. Where was the “About” or “Features” menu item?
Thankfully, I was able to find such information by scrolling down the homepage, where 1202 gives some insight into their product:
<blockquote>“The development of 1202 was fueled by the need for a system that was versatile and easy to implement as well as use. It was originally intended as a content management system, like WordPress or Joomla, but the scope broadened considerably due to client demands.”</blockquote>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-3700x0.png" />
Okay, now things were making a little more sense. Good thing, too, since I was about to jump into exploring the product itself.
<h2>A Look at What 1202 Actually Is</h2>
Before I talk about actually using 1202, I thought it would be appropriate to delve into exactly what it is.
Frankly, 1202 isn’t a typical CMS.
Kasimir den Hertog, the founder of 1202 software, has stripped away the user friendly interfaces which he deems to be limitations to those who truly want to build something powerful and unique.
The removal of those limitations makes 1202 tough to use for the average website builder.
Reminiscing on his thought processes when developing 1202, Kasimir den Hetog said:
<blockquote>“…I asked myself: “How can you build the most flexible system possible, a system that can manage virtually anything and has the least limitations?”
The database is ultimately where all content is stored. You can’t really run a CMS without a database. This means the database is the true limitation. Having the least limitations therefore means staying as close as possible to the database.
This is basically what 1202 does: it interfaces with a database in a very direct fashion.”</blockquote>
1202 currently powers Dutch care organisation Omring, as well as the <a href="https://cyclingdatabase.com/">Cycling Database</a>, which contains data for the thousands of Cycling races, teams, rankings and more.
<h2>Getting Started</h2>
My first (admittedly minor) gripe with 1202 came when I went sign in for the very first time.
1202 sends you an automated password once you sign up — a mixture of jumbled letters and numbers — which is absolutely fine.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-5.png" />
What isn’t fine however, is the fact that the login screen rejects copy and pasted versions of this password. Instead, you have to type it all out, even when you are automatically logged out after inactivity. Granted, this isn’t a huge deal, but for a platform designed to be simple, the login process really should be more, well, simple. 
When I finally signed in, I was presented with yet another pretty, but slightly overwhelming dashboard, giving me a big indication that 1202 isn't for newbies. It's not ugly by any stretch of the imagination, but it is quite plain, and it is very professional.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-4700x0.png" />
1202 is divided into four sections: ‘Content', ‘Model', ‘System' and ‘Log'.
<h3>Content</h3>
The “Content” section is where you can manage core content like text and images, as well as files, tags, users and guides.
Via the “Text” section, you can create page content. This section includes a simple WYSIWYG editor, enabling you to insert images, configure text fonts and colours, insert hyperlinks, align elements, and so forth.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-9700x0.png" />
You can upload images within the WYSIWYG editor, or you can use the dedicated “Images” section, where you may then add filters if you wish.
Creating filters is done via the “Content” section, appearing a sub-menu on all the possible sections. For example, clicking on “Text” brings up a second menu, where “Filters” is listed.
A filter is basically a search query, which can be used to easily find items, and also to hook items up to model blocks. This will ‘feed' the model block with the items in your filter. Perhaps this will make a little more sense when I discuss the “Model” section, later on.
If there are saved filters for the particular container/view, these will be shown at the top of the “Overview” section. Clicking a filter changes items listed according to the filter selected.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-8700x0.png" />
<h3>Model</h3>
Models translate the system's content for retrieval, for example, in order to view your content as a website. Each model consists of one or more blocks, which you ‘feed' with content by linking them to content filters. You can output the content as JSON or model the blocks with tags like HTML or XML and “1202 script”, which can manipulate the content you feed into it.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-10700x0.png" />
The “Overview” section here works just like in the “Content” section, showing you a list of current models.
Clicking “New Model” will allow you to give your model a name, description, group (which allows you to filter through models via the “Overview” section), and also a URL. Further down the page though, is where it gets interesting.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-6700x0.png" /> 
A drag-and-drop interface allows you to create new model blocks, within which you can drag-and-drop filters. Model blocks can be given names, and they can all be arranged in a whatever position you like, allowing you to essentially design a webpage.
Each model can be given one of two output types; JSON or Custom code.
<h3>System</h3>
System-wide information, settings and features are brought together in the ‘System' section.
<img style="display:block;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-7700x0.png" />
You can change the title of your entire project, switch between languages (Currently English and Dutch only), set remote access permissions by IP address, view storage usage, and more.
Furthermore, the “System” section also allows you to create new containers, which then show up on the “Content” section, ready to be populated. You can also use the “System” section to import data via copy and paste.
A final feature of the “System” section, is “Trash”. Here, you can retrieve recently deleted items, like images for example. Such a feature could save a lot of trouble over the course of a project set up, I definitely like the fact that 1202 has it in its arsenal. It's a simple, yet effective feature which we unfortunately don't see often enough within the CMS world. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-12700x0.png" />
<h3>Log</h3>
The last section of 1202, is the “Log”. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-11700x0.png" />
As the name implies, here is where you will find all user activity, neatly logged. It also displays recent errors which may have occurred. Again, this is a handy feature, and one which 1202 makes easy to use as an everyday management tool, just like with the “Trash” feature.
<h2>User Experience</h2>
As I tinkered with the configurations and different areas of 1202, I slowly began to understand the way in which it worked. The key word here is slowly, because to be honest, 1202 simply isn't very easy to use. There's a steep learning curve, that's for sure.
Don’t get me wrong, the general functions and features of the platform made sense, and worked very well.
But because 1202 is relatively unique in its workings, and extremely flexible in the way that it can be used, I wasn’t able to rely on my past experiences of using CMS. It was a completely different animal.
Is this a problem within itself? No. New and daring products like 1202 deserve praise for working outside of the box.
What I’m saying is, 1202 needs to ease users in. Sure, there’s documentation (which I will discuss later), but after signing up and logging in, you can't help but feel a little overwhelmed and alone.
I’d suggest implementing an interactive user guide, which is activated when a new user signs up. The guide could give users a tour of the product, and perhaps offer to walk the user through some simple tasks — like building a website homepage.
Website builders (which are of course, much simpler beings) use this method to make website building newbies feel as ease. 1202 should do this to make everybody feel at ease, simply because it doesn’t work like most other platforms out there in the general market.
Overall though, I thought 1202 was pleasant to use. It got confusing at times, but never annoying. One issue I found though, was the “Update”/”Save” buttons on the right-hand side of the screen, found when editing items. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-13700x0.png" /> 
The problem is, these item pages can be quite long, but the buttons don't scroll with you. So, working further down the page means you have to scroll up before you can click save. Not a major issue, but definitely something than can be improved.
<h2>Getting Help</h2>
1202 offers some comprehensive documentation, along with a ticketing system.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-14700x0.png" />
The documentation is extremely detailed, and actually very helpful. Each section is broken down and explained, although I wouldn’t quite call it layman's terms. Once again, 1202 isn’t for beginners.
The ticketing system is found via the “My 1202” section on the 1202 website. It's straightforward stuff, thanks to a simple form. The “My 1202” section is also where you can view your account settings, logout, delete your account, and so forth.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-15700x0.png" />
<h2>Pricing</h2>
1202 charges $12 per month (or €10.89 for EU users) for a reasonable service.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-17.png" />
This monthly fee only gets you 1GB of storage though, with each additional GB costing another $1 per month. So, if you have a large project on your hands, you will end up dishing out quite a lot more than the initial $12 per month.
I'm not a fan of this payment structure, as I'm sure many people would prefer to pay for a set amount of storage. 
<h2>The Verdict</h2>
1202 is an extremely powerful platform — that’s a given. Yet it can also be used for simpler tasks, if need be.
As far as functionality goes, I have zero problems with 1202. It’s multi-purpose, it’s fast, it’s flexible. It does exactly what it says on the tin.
It can be used to create a myriad of website types, apps, databases and so forth. However, you do need to know your way around coding and web development. Working with 1202 is a very elemental experience. It’s certainly not for those looking for a spoon-feeding CMS.
So, my worries are not about 1202’s ability. My worries are about its execution.
Design and user experience tweaks need to be made to both the 1202 website and the product itself, just to smooth off the edges and tighten the overall brand of 1202.
Furthermore, 1202 is still a relatively raw product. It’s pluggable, but there are no readily available plugins or integrations to begin working with. It’s extremely flexible, but there aren’t any templates or starting points to get your creative juices flowing.
It’s like a lego set, in a way. Everyone loves building with lego, especially if you know how. But the pictures on the box and in the instruction manual give you something to aim for — something to build on.
As previously mentioned in this review, 1202 needs something to ease users in, and show them the ropes, perhaps to showcase the power of the product. Because as of right now, It's feels like a platform reserved for those who already know how to use it.
<h4>Pros</h4>
<ul>
<li>1202 has an extremely wide range of uses. The platform encourages developers to be creative in this sense.</li>
<li>Although slightly plain, 1202 is sleek and highly professional when it comes to aesthetics.</li>
<li>Cloud-based, super fast and super lightweight.</li>
<li>Pluggable, ideal for hooking on to existing projects/integrating with other platforms.</li>
<li>Multi-user support and user roles, with the ability to create guides.</li>
<li>Easy uploading, importing and exporting features. </li>
<li>Very detailed documentation with a simple ticketing system for extra support.</li>
<li>The “Log” section lets you keep track of all user activity, with users, dates, times and IP addresses all being logged.</li>
<li>“Trash” feature allows you to recover recently deleted items.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Cons</h4>
<ul>
<li>1202 needs an interactive tutorial/demonstration if it is to attract a broad user base.</li>
<li>Not the easiest platform to use.</li>
<li>More storage needs to be included in the price plan, or additional price plans needs to be introduced.</li>
<li>General design flaws: the 1202 website needs to be tweaked for easier navigation, the product itself looks a little bit bland, and saving/updating buttons should scroll as the user scrolls for better usability.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Final Remarks</h2>
Simply put, 1202 gives you the building blocks to build almost anything content and/or data related. The blocks aren’t conveniently arranged for web development newbies, but maybe that just means that the pros out there can have more fun figuring it all out.
Perhaps the full potential of 1202 lies within its ability to attract a community. 1202 is a product that will likely thrive under the banner of the masses, as each developer crafts a new type of website, app and ready-to-use integration/plugin into existing software, thus further expanding the product’s scope.
To obtain such a following though, 1202 needs to now turn towards the “smaller” stuff, as I have mentioned throughout this review. I would recommend focusing on introducing a more inviting website, an interactive tutorial of some kind, and an overall better user experience right from the start.
Until then, 1202 is essentially a young, powerful, flexible, yet very raw platform.
Update: 13/02/2015
Since the completion of this review, some additions have been made to 1202, improving it as a product. 
The 1202 website is now much swankier than before. It's also far easier to navigate and understand, too. This is mainly due to a much needed colour injection, and also to some quotes from this very review which help to describe what 1202 does. Kasimir, the 1202 founder, has even incorporated my previous “Lego” reference, making it part of the website's design — which I thought was pretty awesome.
Furthermore, 1202 now has a detailed tutorial <a href="https://1202software.com/support/tutorial/setting-up-1202-as-a-website-cms" target="_blank">which explains how to set up 1202 as a website CMS</a>.

1202 Review

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/forms-approval631x0-is.jpg" />
Today’s workplaces are being crippled by an avoidable parasite. We’ve all been overwhelmed by it at times… Desks cluttered with papers, inboxes clogged with unread messages, paralyzing and restricting our productivity. Even with so much technology available, many businesses struggle to reduce email traffic, automate forms, and simplify processes. Thankfully, there’s an easy answer: an office intranet. This platform is a fantastic tool for streamlining communications through forms workflow. Not only will this increase productivity, but it will also bring additional business benefits, which we’ll look at below.
What Is ‘Forms Workflow’?
Firstly, it’s important to understand what forms workflow actually is. To break it down, ‘workflow’ refers to the sequences of activities needed to complete a task; while ‘forms’ refers to all of the related paperwork and processes. Essentially, forms workflow is all of the standard tasks you go about on any given day at the office and anything that’s related to getting them done.
Paper-based Systems: Why They Belong In The Stone Age 
Let’s look at a common issue that occurs with paper-based systems. Suppose one of your sales team calls in sick and wants to file for a day’s sick leave. He can’t remember where the right form is kept, and after a few minutes searching through the company’s shared folders, he emails one of his colleagues to ask for a form. They send him the appropriate form, he fills it out, and emails it through to his line manager for approval. Come pay day, the sick leave doesn’t go through. Your rep calls his line manager looking for answers and finds out the form was lost in an <a href="https://www.myhubintranet.com/too-much-email/">overflowing inbox</a>. When the manager finds his form, turns out it can’t be approved because the form was outdated by several years!
Even if the above example is a little over the top, it’s clear that relying solely on paper and email is a flawed system. Countless hours are wasted through duplication and distraction, and this is happening across thousands of businesses as we speak. Such wastage extends beyond sick leave requests and includes performance reviews, training, inductions, expense filing, sales orders, and all manner of HR activities. Avoid these inefficiencies, and your organization will gain a distinct advantage.
It’s clear that switching your business to automated processes comes with significant advantages. However, what’s not so clear is which system to adopt, at least initially. A lot of choices exist, all promising to streamline, automate and enhance your forms workflow. One of the most important questions to keep in mind while evaluating options is whether or not to use a cloud-based solution. Many businesses overlook cloud-based intranets as a viable option when in reality they meet all of the requirements for effective forms workflow and generate several other organizational benefits too. Below we compare two potential workflow management solutions, one software-based and the other cloud intranet.
Software Solution For Forms Workflow
Starting with the positives, the majority of forms workflow software solutions are capable of providing security, and simplicity. Most will allow you to automate requests for leave, sales orders etc., and the subsequent <a href="https://www.myhubintranet.com/approval-forms/">approval process</a>. Features such as exchanging and tracking documents are also standard.
However, your typical forms workflow management software does come with some rather significant disadvantages. Mobile and remote access is generally not available, meaning that your sales people out in the field are handicapped, as well as your executive traveling to a conference, and your IT manager working from home. Not having access to such an important part of your workforce is really not a viable option in today’s world with the flexible nature of work. As well as this, any software solutions which do have mobile access typically aren’t optimized for small screen sizes. Text can be hard to read and links difficult to click.
As well as this, the target market of forms workflow software is usually large-scale businesses, with a range of complicated needs. For such organizations, such a solution may actually be the answer. However, for smaller-scale businesses, there’s no need to pay for expensive features that will go unused, and only serve to complicate the service. Software solutions also require regular updates and management, and struggle to integrate well with other office systems due to their stand-alone nature.
Is Cloud-based Intranet The Answer?
Want all the advantages outlined above, but none of the disadvantages? Then the answer is cloud intranet. This solution offers forms management on a single, integrated platform, with a range of business tools such as news, blogs, corporate calendars, forums, surveys and newsletters.
Customisable business forms are standard with <a href="http://www.myhubintranet.com/category/cloud-intranet/">cloud intranets</a>. Often built-in templates will exist, easy to select and modify. You can even create personalized business forms with simple drag and drop features. This vastly transforms your employees’ experience of tasks such as applying for sick leave. Imagine how much simpler it would be for one of your sales team to file their sick leave when all he needs to do is log in to the company intranet? No more searching for archaic forms, using up the time of colleagues and waiting on email-swamped managers to approve. Just a few clicks of the mouse and the issue will be sorted at both ends. Now that’s refreshing.
Adding to this, the document management systems offered by cloud intranet is truly one of a kind. Both secure and efficient, these systems feature tools such as tagging, full content searching, permissions, indexing, bulk movement of documents, and file sharing. All of this, in an easy-to-use, manageable format.
You’re probably sick of losing contact with your field staff and traveling executives. One of the big benefits of cloud intranet is its ability to be accessed remotely—all that’s needed is a device with an internet connection. Fully compatible across devices, there’s no need to worrying about cloud intranets being mobile optimized. On top of this, intranet security is high, with most offering two-way SSL encrypted connections, combing with layers of security embedded. Company data will be as secure as possible with a cloud intranet
But Wait, There’s More (Beyond Just A Cheesy TV Line…)
As well as a great <a href="https://www.myhubintranet.com/forms-workflow-office-intranet/">forms workflow system</a> and thorough document management, cloud intranets come with several other additional business tools, which:
<ul>
<li>Greatly improve communications</li>
<li>Allow information to easily flow throughout your business</li>
<li>Decrease time spent on company information updates</li>
<li>Enable and encourage collaborative work</li>
</ul>
Productivity and efficiency are enhanced by the many features that come with a cloud intranet. Collaboration with colleagues is easy, even across different time zones and locations; all company events and deadlines are held in an easily visible company calendar; while breaking news, info and celebrations can be shared through the newsfeed. These benefits will guarantee a far greater return on investment than a standard software solution ever can.
If you are looking to improve your forms workflow, then talk to the team at <a href="https://www.myhubintranet.com">MyHub</a> about how a cloud intranet can assist with this and many other business processes.

Revolutionising Business Processes With An Office Intranet

Concrete5, the winner of the CMS Critic Award for Best CMS for Designers of 2015, has approved <a href="https://mithra62.com/projects/view/backup-pro">Backup Pro</a> for inclusion into the <a href="http://www.concrete5.org/marketplace/addons/backup-pro">Concrete5 Marketplace</a>.
This means that developers of Concrete5, version 5.7 and above, can have a solid backup solution built just for them that's been vetted and approved by the Concrete5 community. This marks the 6th version, and 5th CMS, that Backup Pro has released for, previously releasing versions for WordPress, ExpressionEngine 2&amp;3, PrestaShop, and Craft.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/backup_pro_screenshot_0_1455484724.png" alt="Backup Pro - Dashboard" />
If you're not familiar, Backup Pro is a CMS agnostic backup plugin/module/package for various content management systems. Backup Pro has been around for over 5 years and been under development the whole time, constantly adding new features and innovating, and contains everything a solid disaster recovery solution should have.
You can take backups from web requests, REST interaction, and the console or terminal, store backups wherever you need (Amazon S3, Rackspace Cloud Files, Dropbox and 5 other locations), and customize the “what” and “how” to your hearts content.
And now, Concrete5 users can backup their website files and database using Backup Pro, being as granular as they need/want, and then store those backups where ever they need in however many copies they need.
You can purchase Backup Pro for Concrete5 from the <a href="http://www.concrete5.org/marketplace/addons/backup-pro">Concrete5 Marketplace</a> as well as backup-pro.com.

Concrete5 Marketplace Gets Backup Pro

I will be the first to admit that I do not have the best recall. If I do not somehow capture what is inspiring me at that moment, odds are it will be forgotten and lost forever. Bo.lt allows you to keep whatever inspires you on the web, forever! Here is a quick review of this service.
<h3>Bo.lt it and its Yours … for Good</h3>
Save photos you find across the web or just save the whole page. Bo.lt Makes it easy to save and share what you like on the web. We have seen similar services before and sharing web pages and photos is not new. Where Bo.lt is unique is that when you save the photo or you save that website it is yours forever. They actually make a copy of the whole page and thus eliminating broken links.  Bo.lt boasts that you can save anything you find on the web forever.
<h3>Using Bo.lt</h3>
The act of “bolting” stuff you find on the web is quite simple. Bo.lt give you several ways to save what you find on the web, add a comment, and assign a picture:
<ol>
<li>Chrome extension Just browse to a page you want to “Bo.lt” and click on the icon in Chrome's toolbar.</li>
<li>Bo.lt Bookmarklet similar action as the Chrome extension for other browsers.</li>
<li>Email to photo@bo.lt or email@bo.lt</li>
<li>Use the plus sign at bo.lt</li>
<li>Use bo.lt/url method</li>
</ol>
<a href="/bolt-quick-review"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/bolt_addpage.png" /></a>
Creating “bolts” is easy enough what about sharing? You can share individual bolts or an entire collection using the “share” links provided. Others can follow all of your bolts or just a collection. Commenting is also allowed on bolts which makes collaboration fast and simple.
<h3><a href="/bolt-quick-review"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/bolt_comment.png" /></a></h3>
<h3>Why would I use this?</h3>
Lack of consistent recall aside, I can think of at least a couple of reasons this service could be useful.
<ul>
<li>Saving the site's look at that moment.
<ul>
<li>Most web pages are dynamic and therefore change often. If you want to share a snapshot of the way a site looks at the moment, this would fill that need.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Web Design Portfolio
<ul>
<li>Make a collection of your website designs across the web and easily share them with clients. Perhaps before the owners of these sites made design changes after you handed them the finished product.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
For more information and to try it out yourself visit <a href="http://bo.lt" target="_blank">http://bo.lt</a>

Bolt - A Brand New Social Network for Saving Web Pages Forever

I kid you not, if you want a high-converting marketing strategy that can help you get qualified leads — or even sales from the get-go — then you need to start running live webinars.
What makes live webinars awesome is the fact that not many people use it despite its capacity to bring in money — truckloads of money, to be more specific.
I mean, sure, there might be several people using live webinars right now. However, unlike those who market through blogging, publishing social media posts, and other marketing methods that don’t require them to interact with their audience in real-time, those who run live webinars can still be considered as a minority among marketers.
Of course, you can’t blame others for not joining the live webinar bandwagon. After all, running a webinar requires preparation, technological know-how, and confidence that would enable the presenter to engage with their audience without choking in fear (among other things).
<h2>Which Webinar Platform to Use</h2>
While there are several amazing webinar platforms online, I’d like to highlight <a href="https://clickmeeting.com/" target="_blank">Clickmeeting</a> since it is down hands down one of the best in the industry.
Not only that, but the platform is dead easy to use, and their subscription plans are very affordable, too.
Without further ado, let’s look into the strategies that you can use to turn your live webinars into money-making machines.
<h2>1. Affiliate Links + Resources Page</h2>
The idea is quite simple, when running a live webinar, you can add a resource page where you can direct those who are participating so they can use the same tools or products you’re using.
You can add all your tools to your resource page then use an affiliate link for each of your tools. That way, should your participants use them, you’ll get passive income.
If not in your resource page, you can add the affiliate links to your online tools in your “Waiting Area.”
Because Clickmeeting’s platform is very intuitive, you shouldn’t have any problems setting up your waiting area and adding your tools and your affiliate links there.
When setting up an event, Clickmeeting will allow you to set up the specifics of your live webinar (like your waiting room).
Here’s how setting up your waiting room looks in Clickmeeting.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pic1678x0-is.png" />
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pic2566x0-is.png" />
The platform looks pretty intuitive, doesn’t it?
When you have your affiliate links in your waiting area, your participants won’t have a hard time finding all the tools you’re using so they can start purchasing it for themselves,
<h2>2. Offer a Coaching or Membership Program</h2>
Coaching programs and live webinars are a match made in heaven.
Whether you’re still in the process of bringing your prospects into your membership program, or they’ve already subscribed to it and are now looking to learn from you, you can use live webinars to help you accomplish your goals.
For example, in the case where you’re still convincing your audience to signup for your program, you can tell them about your coaching offer within the live webinar.
Also, since you’ve already captured their email addresses during registration, you can retarget them by sending compelling email messages in the future.
When setting up your registration form, be sure not to overwhelm your audience with questions or unnecessary registration requirements.
Checkout ClickMeeting’s registration templates to have a better idea of what information others are asking for on their registration page.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pic3737x0-is.png" /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pic4.png" /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pic5.png" />
As you can see, asking for your participant’s name and email address are often enough. However, if you need to add other fields to your registration to run your live webinar effectively, then you can go to the “Fields” section. You can also go to the “Other” section if you’d like to add more details about your event on your registration page.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pic6.png" />
<h2>3. Sell Your Live Webinar</h2>
Why make money out of your webinar one time only — during your live event — when you can record the whole thing and sell it again and again, instead?
If you do this, you’ll get more mileage out of your live webinars.
For as long as your webinar isn’t outdated, you can continue offering it to your audience.
What’s more, there are several ways you can use a recorded webinar:
<ul>
<li>
You can use it as a lead magnet.
</li>
<li>
Sell it as premium content.
</li>
<li>
Turn it into a gated content so others would have to make some sort of action (like sharing, liking, commenting, etc.) before they can access it.
</li>
<li>
Turn it into a freebie.
</li>
<li>
Or you can add it as an upsell on one of your other courses.
</li>
</ul>
If you use your imagination, the possibilities of what you can do with your live webinars are limitless. And it all starts with you recording the entire thing so you can use the content several times over.
If you aren’t familiar with how to record your webinars, Clickmeeting has a built-in feature for that. You no longer need to use third-party apps to start recording. Simply go to the “Settings” tab, then tick the “Recording Auto-Start” box.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pic7.png" /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pic8.png" />
<h2>Bonus Tips for Conducting Live Webinars</h2>
Just like in most things in life, live webinars will only do you wonders IF you’re doing it right.
No matter how powerful the method is, if you’re doing everything haphazardly, you won’t get far with what you’re trying to accomplish.
That being said, allow me to share with you four tips to help make your live webinars more successful:
<ol>
<li>Pre-market the event. Think about doing a mini product launch. It wouldn’t be wrong of you to approach your live webinars with that kind of mindset because webinars are, in fact, products in their own way.</li>
<li>Engage your audience. Ask them questions. The last thing you want is to keep on blabbering for countless minutes. If you don’t mix in questions or other engaging activities in your webinar, your participants will most likely get bored.</li>
<li>Don’t be afraid to pitch your products/services.</li>
<li>Focus on benefits and not features. 99% of the time, your participants joined your webinar because they need something and they think your webinar can help them obtain what they need.</li>
</ol>
That being said, quit talking about how your product has hundreds of features. Instead, focus on telling your audience how easier their life would be if they had your product.
Remember that there is a big difference between features and benefits. Be sure to highlight the latter.
<h2>What’s Next?</h2>
How have you been milking your live webinars?
Is there a <a href="https://blog.clickmeeting.com/live-webinar">webinar guide</a> that you can share with our readers that can help them with their journey towards monetizing their live webinars effectively?
If you answered with a “yes,” then please share your thoughts in the comments section below. Cheers!

Strategies to Turn Your Live Webinars into Money-Making Machines

Power your CMS on AWS

Manage your websites & apps in the most trusted cloud.

#ffffff

With the exponential use of mobile devices it is becoming common to expect sites to adapt to tablet and smartphone screen resolutions. You want mobile site visitors to have a pleasant browsing experience and ClickTale Mobile gives you a unique perspective in this regard.
Site owners go through many pains at times to make sure their site brings the best mobile experience possible. Maybe you hired a developer to morph your site into mobile-friendliness using CSS and media queries. Maybe you spent hours finding just the right WordPress mobile responsive theme. Whatever path you decided to travel you have put in the effort, now you want to see if it has paid off.
ClickTale is bringing their web experience analytics to mobile. While it is important to see if mobile users are accessing your site, ClickTale takes it a step further in that you can actually “watch” the user as they browse the site. Now before you call “foul” and start making references to 1984's “big brother”, think about what valuable information is obtained when you actually see somebody browse your site:
<img style="max-width:577px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen_shot_2016-03-02_at_18_34_40_jhznbo.png" />
<ul>
<li>Are users tilting their device into landscape or portrait mode?</li>
<li>What areas are being tapped and swiped across most often?</li>
<li>Are users zooming in more than you had planned?</li>
</ul>
In order to present the best mobile experience, you need answers to these questions. ClickTale Mobile can give site owners and developers the aggregated data to make informed decisions on mobile design improvements. You can even watch individual sessions as video playback. This way you can actually see what is working and what is causing your users frustration. Do you have a high bounce rate for mobile users? ClickTale Mobile can show you why.
This becomes even more apparent when we think about mobile eCommerce. Online shopping is huge, but when not using a huge screen it can be a huge frustration. Keep your users on your site even when using mobile browsers. Design your eCommerce to respond and do not lose potential buyers. The buyer may be inspired to purchase while all they have is their phone or tablet. If they have to wait until they get home to their computer to have a decent shopping experience you have probably lost a customer, forever. Don't let that happen! Use these tools and make your site part of the mobile experience hall of fame.
For more information and to join in on the private beta go to <a href="https://contentsquare.com/clicktale/" target="_blank">www.clicktale.com/mobile</a>.

Watch Your Mobile Site Visitors with ClickTale Mobile

JahiaOne day two opened with a introductory keynote from Jahia CEO, Elie Auvray.
During this announcement, a number of key announcements were made including the official date of the new major release of Jahia 7.
For those who've been following along  <a href="http://twitter.com/cmscritic"> on Twitter</a>, you'll be aware that Jahia 7 is a significant improvement over the prior 6.6 release.
For all of the latest details about the conference, feel free to follow us using the link above or tracking the hashtag, <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23jahiaone&amp;src=typd"> #JahiaOne</a>.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/eli.jpg" alt="Elie Auvray" />
Elie Auvray, Jahia CEO
Here are the main points from the keynote:
<ul>
<li>Jahia 7 will officially be available on April 1, 2014.</li>
<li>Jahia xCM is being renamed and will now be known as Jahia Digital Factory.</li>
<li>Jahia Wise is being renamed and will now be known as Jahia Workspace Factory.</li>
<li>There is a new and improved Jahia Studio paired with the Jahia 7 release.</li>
<li>One of the key features of Jahia 7 is the introduction of Private App Stores.</li>
</ul>
To get more details on everything that the Jahia 7 release includes, visit the dedicated website: <a href="http://www.jahia7.com/">http://www.jahia7.com/</a>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/emanuel_1jpg.jpg" alt="Emmanuel Garcin" />
Emmanuel Garcin, Jahia VP &amp; General Manager Americas
In addition to these announcements, Emmanuel Garcin, VP &amp; General Manager Americas presented Jahia's new partner program initiative that strengthens the company's relationship (and the way they work) with their existing and future partners.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/emanuel.jpg" alt="Emmanuel Garcin" />
More details on this new partner program and how it works will be unveiled soon. In the meantime, you can visit the Jahia Partners portion of their website.
As always, stay tuned for our upcoming day two roundup later after the close of the conference and for full conference coverage, be sure to <a href="http://twitter.com/cmscritic">join us on Twitter.</a>

JahiaOne Day Two - The Opening Keynote

Retiring a content management system and moving to a new platform always requires the (sometimes tricky) process of content migration.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/website_1464700489.jpg" />
Content migration is the process of moving existing web content to a new platform. Every website's content migration is unique depending on how much content you take with you as you jump from one platform to the next, as well as a handful of other factors.
<h2>Content Migration Tools</h2>
Each content migration process will most likely need both automated software/scripts and good old-fashion manpower to get the job done. Common content migration tools are outlined below.
<h3>A Project Manager</h3>
A dedicated project manager makes all the difference in facilitating a smooth transition to a new CMS. A project manager will keep everything on track by breaking the entire content migration process into smaller phases and assigning out roles and responsibilities. They will also promote communication between all team members, including content editors, content managers and IT.
<h3>Project Tracking</h3>
Project tracking is the process of mapping out aspects and phases of content migration. Examples includes listing out an inventory of your content and the all the steps involved in the manual migration workflow (including editing and reviewing web pages). Excel spreadsheets are your best friend when it comes to project tracking.
<h3>Automated Tools</h3>
You can purchase software or create custom scripts that can take existing content from your legacy CMS and shift it over to the new one. These content migration tools are ideal for large databases, document and media libraries, etc.
<h2>Getting Started: Evaluating Your Content</h2>
To make the content migration process an easy one, a solid foundation must be laid. It all starts with an understanding of your content and how it will be handled.
<h3>Take Inventory</h3>
Taking inventory of your content means understanding what and how content is managed through your legacy CMS platform. This includes metadata, webpage hyperlinks, file types, etc. Before any migration can start, it's a best practice to create lists for every type of content on your website. Each list should include where/how it is kept and managed in your current setup, and how it will be handled during the migration to the new platform.
The creation of each list can be done automatically using a software package or by developing a custom script.
<h3>Create a Content Strategy</h3>
This is where the manual work comes in. The next step is taking your content inventory and creating a strategy for moving it to your new platform.
This step includes combing through and assessing content and deciding what to take with you and what to leave behind. If content isn't necessary, it can be deleted and excluded from the migration process.
Another aspect of your content strategy should outline how much cleanup and revision is necessary for migration. If content has any technical requirements, like custom coding, this should be hammered out during this phase.
Additionally, this is where you should decide whether content migration will be carried out in an automated process or manually.
Tip: Moving to a new CMS platform can affect your content and how its handled and presented on your new website. For this step, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with your new CMS and understand how the platform handles everything, including aspects like page titles, authors, etc.
<h3>Map Out Your Metadata</h3>
Categorizing and tagging content becomes a really important organizational tool during the content migration process. Using a spreadsheet to track how content relates to each other across different sections of the website and other variables using tags and categories.
The overarching goal of mapping out metadata is to make all of your content easy to search, sort and filter within the back-end and front-end.
<h2>The Migration</h2>
After taking inventory of your content, creating a content strategy and mapping out metadata, it's time to migrate. If you've decided to go with the automated route, then it's a matter of developing scripts, migrating content, cleaning it up and then testing everything.
For those that are going with manual migration, a workflow should be set up that breaks down every step required to take an existing piece of content and turning it into a new piece of content on your new platform. The workflow should include steps like entering metadata, page titles, etc.
Finally, we've arrived at the testing/reviewing stage of the content migration process. It's important to make sure that your content looks good and displays correctly in all browsers and on desktop, mobile and tablets.
<hr />
[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”lifted-both” width=”auto” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]The Agility team provides professional services to ensure that our customers are smoothly migrated onto the Agility platform along with offering on-going customer support. <a href="http://agilitycms.com/services/support">Click here</a> to learn more about our support services. [/dropshadowbox]
<hr />
* * *
This post is <a href="/advertising/">sponsored</a> by AgilityCMS and written by Jillean Kearney, Marketing Manager at AgilityCMS. Find out more at <a href="http://www.agilitycms.com/">agilitycms.com</a>.

Best Practices: Migrating Content to a New CMS

<a href="https://lemonstand.com/">LemonStand</a>, the ecommerce solution that <a href="/lemonstand-1-25m-funding/">recently secured an additional $1.25M worth of funding</a>, has made some significant updates to its admin panel and documentation section.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/lemonstand.png" alt="lemonstand" />
Unlike some of its competitors, LemonStand gears itself towards small, medium and enterprise-grade businesses, rather than to novice online merchants looking to dip their toes into the world of ecommerce.
<h2>“Lookin' Fly”</h2>
First of all, LemonStand are keeping themselves looking fresh:
<blockquote>
“We’ve completely rethought the admin panel based on your feedback. Not to mention, we gave our logo a facelift to keep us lookin’ fly in 2016 and beyond.”
</blockquote>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2016-05-18-at-12_09_08-pm.png" alt="Screen-Shot-2016-05-18-at-12.09.08-PM" />
But the updates to the backend are more than just aesthetic. LemonStand has focused on improving the workflow through various ways, such as:
<ul>
<ul>
<li>More efficient use of screen space</li>
<li>A slick new sidebar</li>
<li>Reducing scrolling by having the save button always visible</li>
<li>No hidden fields while adding a product</li>
<li>Rethinking the menu to distinguish Setting up vs. Running your store.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<h2>Documentation Design Overhaul</h2>
<a href="https://docs.lemonstand.com/">LemonStand's documentation</a>, which is meant to guide users through the basics of running their online stores, has received a pretty big facelift.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/blog4-lemonstand-docs-2016-05-20-13-41-50.png" alt="blog4-LemonStand-Docs-2016-05-20-13-41-50" />
LemonStand themselves admit that, “Our old docs were kind of bunk, and we know it.”
As well as making some design changes, they've filtered out a lot of older and less useful information, and kept all the good stuff.
Documentation plays a big part in the support system of any CMS, so although many will see this as an insignificant change, it's actually a very important one.
To find out more about this update, check out <a href="http://blog.lemonstand.com/doc-revamp-visual-refresh/">LemonStand's blog</a>.
And as always, the <a href="/lemonstand/">LemonStand hub</a> is a good place to start your research on the platform.

LemonStand Revamps Admin Panel & Documentation

Consumer shopping can be dated as far back as ancient Greece, with the earliest known shopping list dated between 75-125AD. 
Customers know what they want, when they want it, and where to get it. Or do they?
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/bigstock-graph-growth-success-strategy-118377602-1-e1464866123599.jpg" alt="Data-driven Marketing Strategy" />
Impulse buying has long been a trait of which savvy shop owners have been able to take advantage. But, in this new digital era, can a company influence impulse buying when they never physically meet the customer? Can companies know what a customer wants or needs before the customer does, and put that product in the right place for them to influence their buying habits? The answer is yes! 
By using an actionable, data-driven marketing strategy, companies can influence customers by providing them with what they want, when they want it, and where they want it without ever being given that information by the customer.
As much as it is a new concept, the idea of data for marketers is as important as the air we breathe. In fact, it is hard to think of any B2C or B2B marketing done today that does not revolve around data. So, what is data-driven marketing?
<h2>What is a Data-Driven Marketing Strategy?</h2>
Data-driven marketing refers to the insights gained and the consequential decisions made from the analysis of data about customers. The sources of that data can come from many places and people in all walks of life. It can include tracking online social interactions, online search behavior, web browsing history, geographical location of IP addresses, or even more direct information gained from surveys or contact forms. 
All that gathered data then needs to be sorted, calculated, formatted, and understood to allow marketers to use it in an actionable way, because a mountain of data is no good if it can’t be used for the overall company benefit. 
Additionally, the data shouldn’t be examined just to understand a result or a customer touchpoint, but rather to better understand why such results take place and why a customer appeared at that specific touchpoint in the first place. Armed with this in-depth information, specific to each individual customer, it is then the job of the marketer to put their brand in front of the right people, at the right time, to delight them and engage them with a special “wow factor”.
This sounds straightforward, doesn’t it? Collect data, analyze it, pinpoint the right people, and sell them your product. The question, however, is why, as <a href="http://www.teradata.com/Resources/Teradata-Studies/Data-Driven-Marketing-Survey-2015-Progressing-Toward-True-Individualization/?LangType=1033&amp;LangSelect=true">Teradata’s 2015 Global Data-Driven Marketing Survey</a> found; “only 50% of marketers routinely apply data-driven marketing to individualize marketing messages and offers to enhance the customer experience.” 
The answer; they have not, or have only recently started to, implement data-driven marketing strategies. The Teradata survey found that “today data-driven marketing is either embedded or strategic for 78% of marketers”. That is in contrast to the <a href="http://www.teradata.com/Resources/White-Papers/Teradata-Data-Driven-Marketing-Survey-2013-Global-Full-Results/?LangType=1033&amp;LangSelect=true">2013 version of the same survey</a> which indicated that “only 34% of survey respondents said their data-driven marketing was embedded or strategic.” The process of collecting data, analyzing it, and using it effectively can be quite long. 
It is also a learning process as to whether the correct data was collected, whether the correct analysis had been carried out, and whether or not the resultant sales or advertising campaigns were successful. Therefore, a two year advancement in data-driven marketing strategies may not yet be enough to achieve the results that every marketer desires. It might take several more iterations before their strategy becomes perfected and fully-applicable to individual marketing messages and offers which enhance the customer experience.
However, don’t be deterred by the process. The importance of implementing an actionable strategy can’t be stressed enough. Working with ad hoc analysis and data collection for each campaign can be time consuming and does not give you the opportunity to develop a more refined approach; which can only happen with an underlying strategy.
What are the most important steps of an actionable, data-driven marketing strategy?
<h2>1. Determine What Drives Your Decision Making</h2>
Before any data can be collected, before any analysis can begin, and before any results can be sought you must first decide what the key driving factor is for any decisions you make. 
What are your KPIs? Are you solely looking at revenue or income? Do you want to create an exceptional customer experience for your current customers? Are you only interested in attracting new customers or would you like to re-engage with old ones? Knowing what you really want to achieve sets you on your way to finding out how to achieve it.
<h2>2. Deduce What Data You Need to Collect to Help Your Decision Making Process</h2>
Collecting the right data is what could make or break the entire process. Having the wrong data will send you spinning into markets you just can’t handle or will just leave you scratching your head about where to go next. Divide your search criteria into quantitative (what happened? – number of site visits, number of downloads, etc.) and qualitative (why it happened? – customized landing page, customer specific offers, etc.). There is a myriad of information that can be collected. 
You also need to decide if you want information on a person’s buying habits, what pages they like to visit, what do they interact with most, etc., or their personal info such as email, address, age, etc. Decide on the right info to give you the correct view of the customer to allow your decision making to become simpler.
<h2>3. Collect the Data</h2>
Now you know what data you are looking for; go and collect it. 
Determine how you can get the information in the least intrusive manner possible to avoid annoying your customers. Are you going to use contact information forms on your website? Will you have surveys available at certain touchpoints on the customer journey? Do you require the collection of geographical locations based on IP addresses? Does the number of page visits on the “About Us” page of your site have a bearing on buying habits and if so do you collect that information? As well as all the online information that can be gathered there are also offline situations to consider. Do you have club membership forms? Are you carrying out in-store surveys? There are a whole host of opportunities to collect data, but make sure you are collecting the right data to benefit you. 
This particular step should also be a continuous one even as you move through the entire process. The data will not fade but the opportunities to collect data certainly do. The moments also change. Buying habits differ with the seasons, new trends emerge, technology advances, and people change. Don’t miss the opportunity to learn about your customers.
<h2>4. Analyze the Data and Create Buyer Personas</h2>
Once you have your data collected you must then analyze it from as many angles as possible to develop buyer personas. These are 360 degree views of your customers. Who they are, what they like to search for, what they like to buy, what interests them, what influences them; basically anything you can use to your advantage later on. 
The more accurate and individualized these personas can be the better, as then the more accurate and individualized the content can be that you will present to the customers.
<h2>5. Roll Out Your Customer Focused “WOW” Information</h2>
You now know what you are trying to achieve. You have decided what data you need. You have collected the relevant data from various channels. You have analyzed it, found insights, and built your personas. Now it is time to build your content around your personas and put the right information in front of the right people at the right time. 
You want to “WOW” your customers with how well you know them and delight them with the fantastic “personal” offers you have for them. Show them new items and trends that match their persona that they may never have seen without you. In every channel and through all stages of the buying process, provide an experience akin to a personal shopper in a top boutique and keep your customer coming back for more.
<h2>6. Measure Your Marketing ROI</h2>
This is without a doubt the hardest step in the entire process because you have to be honest in your own evaluation. Has all the work you have done up to this point been successful or a complete failure (don’t worry, it can never be a complete failure as you can always learn from your mistakes)? 
According to the Kentico Marketers’ Survey <a href="http://www.kentico.com/Product/Resources/Surveys/What-to-digital-marketers-really-want-in-2015">“What do digital marketers really want in 2015?”</a> online marketing effectiveness is not being measured enough with “only 17% doing it constantly”. How can you know if you have succeeded in your efforts if you do not measure it? Your job, at this stage, is to highlight the importance of the marketing team in the overall business value. Refer back to all your answers from Step 1 and use data to show the influence the process has had. Do you now have more customers? Are older customers returning? Have page visits or downloads increased on your site? 
All these things can point towards a successful data-driven strategy helping to improve the business value.
<h2>7. Repeat &amp; Improve</h2>
The landscape in which we live is forever changing and what worked today might not work tomorrow. A good, actionable, data-driven strategy must be flexible and move with the times. Embrace the past, but don’t live in it. Move forward, learn, adapt, re-think your position, improve your decision making, collect new data, learn from your mistakes, and always be aiming to deliver that “WOW” factor.
The good news is that you are not alone in implementing the entire process. There are a number of products on the market which can help you from design, through to implementation, and beyond. Integrated Marketing Solutions help with the process by allowing you to collect all the data you require, analyze it to get a 3600 view of your customers, use content personalization and personas to create the right content for the right person, and utilize marketing automation to deliver this content at the most opportune moment
Ultimately, the marketing done by a company can present it as an industry leader or an industry follower. That impression is going to be determined by the customers and the experiences they have with your company. If you can make a customer feel special, provide them with personal treatment, and show them the brighter things in life, then you are on the right track to success. By implementing an actionable, data-driven strategy and combining it with the powerful tools currently available you can impress and delight your customers at every turn and convert a simple customer into a company promoter.
<hr />
This post is <a href="/advertising/">sponsored</a> by Kentico. Find out more at <a href="http://www.kentico.com/">Kentico.com</a>.
Image Credit: <a href="http://www.bigstockphoto.com/image-118377602/stock-photo-graph-growth-success-strategy-marketing-computer-concept">RawPixel</a>

7 Steps to an Actionable Data-Driven Marketing Strategy

For the second consecutive day on a lovely Parisian morning, the Jahia One conference was about to begin. <a href="/jahia-one-day-one-jahia-7-glowing-feedback-and-more/" target="_blank"> Day one of Jahia One was a success </a> , with Mike, his wife Karlynn and myself had all in attendance.
Day two however, had promised to deliver on some news for Jahia 7, and so we quickly grabbed our seats within the packed Pan Piper conference hall, and once again set up to live-tweet the event from the  <a href="https://twitter.com/cmscritic" target="_blank"> CMS Critic Twitter page </a> .
As the lights dimmed, we buckled up for some exciting product announcements and release dates which we – along with the entire Jahia Community, were eager to hear about.
<h2>News on Jahia 7 &amp; Other Products</h2>
In the build up to some major announcements, Jahia CEO Elie Auvray started the second day off with a short overview of what Jahia truly is. He touched upon Jahia's Open source nature and subscription concept before going on to praise the Jahia community as a whole.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/eli.jpg" alt="Elie Auvray" />
Elie Auvray, Jahia CEO
Much like in his opening keynote a day earlier, Elie Auvray's passion for Jahia was evident. His tone was full of conviction, and his words were laced with optimism.  
<blockquote>
“Our customers can really have an impact on the roadmap of Jahia” – Elie Auvray (Jahia CEO)
</blockquote>
Next, Elie Auvray got into the juicer stuff. He got talking about all the big announcements concerning Jahia, which the community is no doubt looking forward to. Below is a concise round-up of what's new.
<ul>
<li>Jahia 7 will officially be available on April 1, 2014.</li>
<li>Jahia xCM is being renamed and will now be known as Jahia Digital Factory.</li>
<li>Jahia Wise is being renamed and will now be known as Jahia Workspace Factory.</li>
<li>There is a new and improved Jahia Studio paired with the Jahia 7 release.</li>
<li>One of the key features of Jahia 7 is the introduction of Private App Stores.</li>
</ul>
After these announcements, Elie Auvray introduced Jahia VP &amp; General Manager of Jahia North America, Emmanuel Garcin. He addressed the crowd regarding Jahia's new partner program initiative and map, where certified partners – meaning those who are trained and certified, are now classified by their number of projects.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/emanuel.jpg" alt="Emmanuel Garcin Jahia One" />
Emmanuel Garcin, Jahia VP
Whilst Jahia's CEO and VP were announcing these products and upgrades to Jahia One's live audience, we here at CMS Critic were busy breaking the news to the wider community, which you can see in more detail right here: <a href="/jahiaone-day-two-the-opening-keynote/" target="_blank"> Jahia Day Two – The Opening Keynote </a> .
<h2>Making the Upgrade</h2>
Darcy Carrie, got into the technical stuff regarding the upgrade from Jahia 6.6 to Jahia 7 – which a colossal chunk of the Jahia community will soon be doing.
Before commencing with the demo, she explained how Java 6 and Tomcat 7 were both needed in order to run Jahia 7. The entire process was over in well under twenty minutes, which tells you everything you need to know about how quick and easy the move from Jahia 6.6 to Jahia 7 will be.
It is of no wonder then, that Jahia insist on calling it an upgrade, and not a migration – because that's precisely what it is, a quick and simple upgrade.
<h2>Secrets &amp; Surprises</h2>
Throughout the second day, Elie Auvray had hinted at some surprise announcements to come at the very end of the event. Thankfully, he didn't disappoint. 
 <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/eli1_1.jpg" alt="Jahia One Elie Auvray" />
Elie Auvray, Jahia CEO
The Jahia CEO had not one, but two secrets to reveal – and here they are: 
 Jahia Portal Factory: A simple user interface which allows you to create, modify and deploy a range of different portals. 
 Jahia eCommerce Factory: A complete ecommerce solution with out of the box CMS and Portals. Huge array of features including multi-shop management, strong SEO capabilities, analytics &amp; sales report management, and much more. 
 Now that's what I call a surprise. 
 What's more is, both of these new products are set to arrive within three months of Jahia 7, which will be launching on the 1st April 2014. So, the Jahia community can definitely look forward to the upcoming weeks and months, as new products, content and possibilities begin to flow. 
 After these announcements, the event came to a close. Attendees were elated with the news, and the Jahia team were visibly content with the way Jahia One panned out. A roaring success, to say the least.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/conferencedayone6.jpg" alt="Jahia One Conference" />
Jahia One: A Roaring Success
Next week, I'll be looking a little deeper into the Jahia One event, giving you a more personal insight into how things went down, so be sure to watch out for that. 
 In the meantime, check out the coverage of <a href="/jahia-one-day-one-jahia-7-glowing-feedback-and-more/" target="_blank"> Jahia One: Day One </a>  to get an idea of how the opening day unravelled.

Jahia One, Day Two: Jahia 7 Release Date, Demos & Surprises

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