Articles - Page 52

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

matt-garrepy

Up until the oculus Go came onto the market, I've never felt the need to get into the VR scene. I always felt like the cost was too prohibitive and the technology was too new.With the introduction of entry level headsets such as the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.oculus.com/go/">oculus Go</a>, this barrier to entry is now gone and I'm now diving in head first so expect to see new VR related content in addition to the usual stuff. Today, I'm going to offer up my oculus Go review and share my thoughts on this inexpensive VR solution.The price point on the oculus Go is just shy of $300 at the time of this review (around $270 Canadian) and is a reasonable price point in my mind. It's a good spot to be in and is reasonably affordable by the average person looking to get into VR.It certainly is far less expensive than any other option out there (aside from those junky VR sets you see floating around). There are plenty of poor vr headsets out there from tons of brands that I've never heard of and most of them end up donated to thrift stores. I know because I've seen tons of them there.<h2>The Headset</h2>The headset that comes with the oculus Go is comfortable and fits nicely. It has two side velcro adjustments and one top one so that you can modify it to fit comfortable.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/oculus-go-review-the-headset-e1562534092694_lbsqch.jpg" />oculus Go Review – The Headset<h3>Eyeglass Spacer</h3>It also has an eye glass spacer that pushes the lenses out a bit further so that you can comfortable fit it on with eyeglasses.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/oculus-go-eyeglass-spacer.jpg" />oculus Go eyeglass spacerHere's a look at the three pieces separately; the headset, the eyeglass spacer and the foam shield.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/oculus-go-headset-components.jpg" />oculus Go – Headset components<h3>Comfort</h3>While it was a bit uncomfortable and awkward at first to put on.. once I adjusted the straps and figured out an easier way to put it on (put the lenses on first and then pull the straps over my head) I was good to go.The one thing I did notice is that I was able to see light through the nose area as it doesn't seal fully over the bridge of the nose. I've read other reviews that state this as well so just be prepared for it. I didn't find that it took away from the experience but it may be annoying to some.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/oculus-go-review-the-headset-lenses.jpg" />oculus Go review – The Headset Lenses<h3>The Components</h3><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/oculus-go-review-the-headset-e1562534092694_lbsqch.jpg" />The power button is the center top button shown in the picture above and is (obviously) used to turn the power on and off. The volume rocker is located to the left of the power button and is easy to reach when wearing the headset.Along with the typical VR component of the goggles, the headset has an integrated microphone which allows you to voice chat with friends and other players in multiplayer games (of which there are quite a few).The headset, in my testing, lasted about 1 1/2 – 2 hours per charge and it took on average about the same amount of time to charge. Typically, it was good to go in about 1 1/2 hours.<h2>The Controller</h2>The system also comes with a single controller used to navigate within your virtual world.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/oculus-go-the-controller.jpg" />oculus Go – The ControllerThe Controller has three buttons and a circular touch surface which can be used to navigate the menus and games.The bottom button is emblazoned with the oculus logo and is the equivalent of a home button. It will bring you back to the home menu and reorient yourself within a game. Above this, there is a back button and above that, the circular touch surface.You'll also note the trigger button which is used to make selections, fire weapons in game and more.It's light and easy to hold and comes with a wrist strap. It's a motion controller so moving your hand back and forth will translate similar to how a Wii remote would work on the Nintendo Wii (if you are familiar with it). The controller uses a single battery (included) to power it.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/oculus-go-controller-battery-compartment.jpg" />oculus Go – Controller Battery Compartment<h2>The oculus Interface</h2>The interface once you put on the headset is easy to navigate and use. There's a settings panel at the bottom of the screen and a selection of icons and thumbnails on the screen above.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/oculus-go-the-interface.jpg" />oculus Go – The InterfaceTo navigate, you simply use the handheld controller to point and click on the individual items within the interface. to scroll up and down, you slide your finger on the touchpad of the controller.Under Sharing, you have the option (as you can see above) to share content to Facebook (obviously, since they own oculus) as well as to Cast your screen to a phone or TV so that others can watch you play. You can even record videos and Go Live from the sharing menu.Under People, you can add friends, remove friends and similar activities. Within the main tab, Navigate, you can browse the store, your library, your gallery and more.Battery life is depicted in the top right of your panel for both the controller and the headset.<h2>oculus Go Review – My Conclusion</h2>In my day or two owning this, I've enjoyed it thoroughly. The library of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.oculus.com/experiences/go">oculus Go Games and Apps</a> that are available is quite extensive. There's everything from apps like Netflix and YouTube to Games such as Drop Dead (super fun zombie shooter) and Deer Hunter VR make it a great budget VR console. I highly recommend picking one up and if you do, let me know.

Oculus Go Review - Small Package, Great Experience

mike-johnston

Oculus Go Review - The oculus Go headset and controller

As usual, WordPress have named their latest release after yet another Jazz star. This time, it's <a href="http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinah_Washington">Dinah Washington</a>. Oh, and it's available for download via your WordPress dashboard, too.
I covered much of what's new when WordPress released their <a href="/first-beta-released-for-wordpress-4.1/" target="_blank">first beta for version 4.1</a>, but it won't hurt to recap, because there has been a couple of new features thrown in since that first beta.
<h2>Twenty Fifteen &amp; Distraction Free Writing</h2>
As mentioned in my previous coverage of WordPress 4.1, Twenty Fifteen, is perhaps the first default WordPress theme ever which doesn't make me want to immediately swap it out for a third party solution. It actually looks pretty darn good.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2015-laptop-1024x533700x0.png" />
There's also a brand new (and productive) way to write.
When you turn on “distraction-free writing mode”, all distractions outside the editor will fade away as you begin typing. But don't worry, all your editing tools instantly return when you need them. I'm personally eager to try this out. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/dfw-screen-1024x614700x0.png" />
<h2>Vine Embedding, Plugin Recommendations &amp; More</h2>
On top of the two core features above, here's what else WordPress 4.1 has to offer:
<ul>
<li>Choose a language: Right now, WordPress 4.1 is already translated into over forty languages, with more always in progress. You can switch to any translation on the General Settings screen.</li>
<li>Log out everywhere: If you’ve ever worried you forgot to sign out from a shared computer, you can now go to your profile and log out everywhere.</li>
<li>Vine embedding: Embedding videos from Vine is as simple as pasting a URL onto its own line in a post. See the <a href="https://codex.wordpress.org/Embeds">full list</a> of supported embeds.</li>
<li>Plugin recommendations: The plugin installer suggests plugins for you to try. Recommendations are based on the plugins you and other users have installed.</li>
</ul>
Head over to your WordPress dashboard now to update, or check out the .

WordPress 4.1 “Dinah” Released

Well folks, the 6th annual CMS Critic People's Choice Awards have come to a close.
I'm excited to tell you that the winners have been announced on our awards page (along with the runners up). We had tens of thousands of votes come in this year, making this the biggest year yet! A big thank you to all of you that participated!
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/content_grattitude.jpg" />
Congratulations to all of the winners! Please reach out if you'd like a physical copy of your award or a graphic for display.
You can see the full list of winners here: <a href="/awards/" target="_blank">2017 Award Winners.</a>

2017 CMS Critic Award Winners Announced!

To cap off what many would call a highly successful 2014, <a href="http://www.jahia.com/products/digital-factory" target="_blank">Jahia</a> has released its eagerly anticipated <a href="http://www.jahia.com/products/form-factory#ff-video" target="_blank">Forms Factory</a>.
With Forms Factory, marketers can create forms at will without depending on development teams. Plus, marketers can monitor the effectiveness of their forms thanks to the Form Center: a finely tuned engagement tool based on real performance.
Jahia is a popular and rapidly developing enterprise-level Java CMS. Recently, Jahia were crowned the <a href="/2014-critics-choice-award-winner-best-enterprise-java-cms/" target="_blank">2014 Critics' Choice Award Winner for Best Enterprise Java CMS</a>.
<h2>Powerful Forms Management Simplified</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/jahia-form-factory-builder1700x0.png" alt="Jahia Forms Factory" />
According to Jahia's <a href="http://www.jahia.com/company/news/form-factory-launch" target="_blank">original press release</a>, “Forms management is the single most essential tool for digital marketing engagement With Form Factory, Jahia gives it back to whom it belongs: the marketing team.”
Here's an overview of the benefits Form Factory brings:
<ul>
<li>Create multi-step, multi-language, multi-conditions and validation-ruled forms super easily through drag-and-drops</li>
<li>Manage all forms created from a central interface (the Form Center)</li>
<li>Monitor collected data, measure engagement (by form, field completion, period, etc.), export data etc.</li>
<li>Connect each/all/selected forms to external business app such as CRM, marketing automation tools, etc.</li>
<li>Unmatched extensibility and versatility: developers can extend the Form Factory with their own fields, groups of fields, validation, logic and custom consequences.</li>
</ul>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/jahia-form-factory-builder2700x0.png" alt="Jahia Forms Factory" />
Jahia's CEO, Elie Auvray, made these comments:
<blockquote>“This new addition to our content and user experience platform and suite of products is another expression of our Digital Industrialization vision. Our goal is to allow each digital team within companies to produce what they know best in full autonomy, thanks to the most powerful and easy-to-use data collection tools without putting any of the architecture and IT security processes at risk.”</blockquote>
To find out more about Jahia Form Factory, <a href="http://www.jahia.com/company/news/form-factory-launch" target="_blank">check out their official announcement</a>.
Also, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/jahia/" target="_blank">Jahia via our CMS Directory</a>.

Jahia Launches Forms Factory

SendPulse is a marketing platform that offers plenty of options such as a selection of email templates, reporting, a drag and drop builder and more but is it a good marketing platform to consider using? Read on to find out in this SendPulse Review.
It's easy to get started with SendPulse, simply sign up for free on their website and you can begin sending emails. Upon your first login, you will be greeted with the dashboard.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sendpulse_-_review_-_1880x0-is.png" />First things first, you'll need to import your list or manually copy / paste the emails in. The process is pretty straight forward so I'm not going to show screenshots here as it would be unnecessary. Once complete, it's time to create your first campaign. To do so, click Create a Campaign.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sendpulse_review_-_2.png" />For the purposes of this review, I'm going to send myself an email that I'll be building so I can see how the process works. As you can see, I've selected the list I created and have filled in the sender info and subject line. I now have a choice between using a basic layout structure or choosing one of their built-in templates.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sendpulse_review_-_3.png" /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sendpulse_review_-_41082x0-is.png" />
In this instance, I'm going to use the basic layout structure and build my own email. Upon choosing it, I'm taken to the builder screen.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sendpulse_review_-_51048x0-is.png" />
I have to admit, I really like the builder. I've seen quite a few but this one seems to be the cleanest looking and offer quite a few options, which I was happy to see. To use it, simply drag and drop the modules from the left wherever you want them to show up. You can then modify the email body using the options on the right or the individual element itself by clicking the tab Current Element. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sendpulse_review_-_61042x0-is.png" />The one weird thing I noticed was that the editing toolbar goes outside of the edit window, which is rather unclean. I'd prefer to see it wrap or hide some of the options until needed. Otherwise, it works without issue. Once you are satisfied, it's time to send your email. You'll be given the option to customize the sending process as needed below.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sendpulse_review_-_7843x0-is.png" /> Once you are done, basically click Start and off it goes. Now let's take a look at some of the other options that are available such as Automations.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sendpulse_review_-_8.png" />
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sendpulse_review_-_9.png" />For basic users, there are three types of Automations you can select from as you can see above but SendPulse does offer something called Automation360 which is basically a more advanced automation system for Pro users. In this instance, I'll go with the basic option and select Triggered Email. Upon selecting, you are taken to the automation screen where you can begin to create the automation flow.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sendpulse_review_-_10762x0-is.png" /> The basic options are pretty straightforward. You can choose to automate based on three sending conditions and creating the flow is easy and fast. As I mentioned, if you need more advanced options, you'll need to sign up as a pro user.
Now let's take a look at Sign-up forms. SendPulse offers 4 types.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sendpulse_review_-_11.png" />You can choose to build your own using the same builder as used with your email or select from a template.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sendpulse_review_-_12.png" />Options are pretty limited when it comes to templates but for the most part, they will suffice.
That's about it folks. There are plent of options available to work with and I feel as though SendPulse is pretty much on par with most other email marketing platforms as far as how their system works. Where they differentiate themselves is in their other product offerings such as the ability to send Push Notifications to Firefox or Chrome browsers and SMS campaigns. Both are available at an extra cost but the pricing seems reasonable.
One area they did surprise me on is their email marketing plan pricing. It's very well priced as shown below:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sendpulse_review_-_14-1.png" /> When I did a test email to myself, one thing I did find alarming was that the email was instantly sent to my Spam folder in Gmail. This usually is an indicator that the sending service has been flagged for sending spam emails and isn't a good sign. If your customers aren't seeing the emails, there's no use paying for the service. Your results may vary but I would recommend trying to send a sample campaign to yourself while on their free plan before upgrading, just in case.
To learn more, visit <a href="https://sendpulse.com/" target="_blank">SendPulse.com</a>

SendPulse Review - Is it Worth it?

In today's market, there is certainly no shortage of cloud-based content management systems. In fact, offering a cloud-hosted service is becoming something of a necessity for all platforms across the board.
But of course, some products do it better than others. <a href="/the-winner-of-the-2014-peoples-choice-cms-award-for-best-cloud-cms-for-smb/" target="_blank">LightCMS were crowned the winners by the people</a> — and also qualified for in-depth coverage over at <a href="https://www.websitebuilderscritic.com/website_builders/reviews/lightcms/" target="_blank">Website Builders Critic</a>, but now it's the turn of the judges.
<img style="max-width:376px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/bestcloudcmsforsmb-1.png" />
And the winner is…
<img style="max-width:250px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/dotcms-250h.jpg" />
<a href="http://dotcms.com/" target="_blank">dotCMS</a> is a Java, open-source, content management system with a giant reputation. It has been in the running for a number of awards this year, and with the successful (and recent)<a href="/dotcms-3.0-brings-in-enhancements-tailored-for-java-web-developers/" target="_blank"> release of DotCMS 3.0</a>, it's not difficult to see why they've managed to bag this one.
Congratulations to everybody at <a href="http://dotcms.com/" target="_blank">dotCMS</a>!

2014 Critics' Choice Award Winner - Best Cloud CMS for SMB

In advance the upcoming winter release of ImpressPages 4.0, the ImpressPages team have asked us to share with you some of the new features and changes about the upcoming release. And here you go!
 So what's new in ImpressPages 4.0? 
 New MVC engine 
ImpressPages CMS 4.0 has a lightweight and clean MVC Framework under the hood. If you are familiar with MVC, you can start coding on ImpressPages CMS straight away by just having a quick look at the file structure. You’ll have access to Request object and your answer will be a Response object or View as it is with most of the frameworks. 
Other MVC implementation details:
<ul>
<li>
Views are plain PHP files. No templating engine;
</li>
<li>
It is an HMVC, so you can do subrequests;
</li>
<li>
Use a tiny helper to execute operations on the database or take a PDO connection.
</li>
</ul>
 PSR standards-compliant class naming and autoloader 
Forget “require” and “include” functions. ImpressPages CMS now loads all classes automatically. And it is extremely simple as filenames identically correspond to the class names.
 IDE autosuggestions always work 
We care a great deal about the coding experience. For this reason, beautiful class structure and methods as well as a clean workflow in your IDE are all present at ImpressPages CMS 4.0. We took care to make IDE autosuggestions always work seamlessly. Whatever method you use, you will always get autosuggested methods by IDE. You will never want to go back once you try this feature.
 Bootstrap styles 
Nice and clean admin panel based on Bootstrap styles is available in the 4.0 release of ImpressPages CMS. This means you can code your own plugins without worrying about CSS. Want to change the default HTML? All view files can be overridden in your theme or plugin.
 Key-Value storage 
ImpressPages CMS 4.0 provides Key-Value storage for all plugins by default. It is implemented in MySQL and can work on any shared hosting. But if you have a real Key-Value engine on your server, you can switch to use it and to improve the performance. The code on the plugin side doesn’t change because of that. As a plugin developer, you no longer need to care about the engine you’re using. Use the same easy set / get functions and create your superfast plugin.
 Options service 
Add different type options to your plugin and theme using json configuration file or setOption / getOption methods. For language specific options, just use appropriate option type and you will have an option for each separate language on your website.
 Easy plugin development 
In ImpressPages CMS 4.0, everything can be achieved by writing a plugin. Each plugin is a single folder in the “Plugin” directory. Your controllers, models, views and assets will now go there. And so your whole business domain can be in a single place. This is unheard of not only in the CMS world, but also among the frameworks! And still, you can move all your PHP code outside of the public directory.
 New translations engine 
Translate any string in your code with a simple function. It works the same as on most frameworks and CMSs.
 PSR compliant logger 
It is always too late when customers start complaining about broken features on website you have just developed. Yet now you can use the ImpressPages CMS logger to log important situations and exceptions of your plugin by simple functions. PSR standard compliance makes it easy to understand the code, adopt third-party log aggregators and notifiers.
 Grid 
Add create / read / update / delete interface providing simple json config file. Add your custom layout and functions as you go.
 Ecommerce architecture 
Ecommerce support by CMSs is always poor or simply nonexistent. Each shopping cart plugin has its own way to add payment methods and products. Two separate plugins never “talk” to each other. Luckily, ImpressPages CMS 4.0 features an e-commerce interface that makes communication between the plugins easy.
<ul>
<li>
 Payment method interface . Write plugin which implements payment method interface and your payment method will be available on all shopping cart plugins;
</li>
<li>
 Products can be shared. Create your own catalog with products by extending default Product interface. This way your products can be added to any shopping cart implementation;
</li>
<li>
 Checkout methods are also separated from the shopping cart. You can have a shopping cart from one provider and checkout method from another, or even your own;
</li>
<li>
 Format prices and currencies in the way you like even when you use third party currency converter.
</li>
</ul>
 Uploaded assets repository 
It is always a pain to control user-uploaded assets. We solved it in ImpressPages CMS 4.0. Use simple JavaScript method to invoke repository browser and get list of files selected by the user. ImpressPages CMS 4.0 stores all the originals and tracks which plugin uses which files. So you know what resources can be deleted. ImpressPages CMS provides you with methods to get resized / cropped versions of originals on the fly and removes unused files when the original file is removed. Creating thumbnails has never been easier!
<h2>Content management improvements</h2>
<ul>
<li>
 Text can be edited fully inline . We had inline editing previously, yet now it’s made much friendlier to the user;
</li>
</ul>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/impresspages-edit-content_02715x0.jpg" />
<ul>
<li>
 Better user interface across all menus. Now ImpressPages CMS has more functionality with twice as little menu buttons. Pages are easier to manage, to create and to delete. Language management has also been significantly improved. Flat design makes everything crisper and clearer;
</li>
</ul>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/impresspages-meniu_02715x0.jpg" />
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/impresspages-pages_02715x0.jpg" />
<ul>
<li>
 No need to leave the CMS when downloading translations and installing plugins from our Plugin Marketplace.
</li>
</ul>
<h2>ImpressPages CMS 4.0 in a nutshell:</h2>
<ul>
<li>new MVC engine</li>
<li>
PSR standard-compliant class naming and autoloader
</li>
<li>
IDE autosuggestions always work
</li>
<li>
bootstrap styles
</li>
<li>
Key-Value storage
</li>
<li>
Options service
</li>
<li>
easy plugin development
</li>
<li>
new translations engine
</li>
<li>
PSR compliant logger
</li>
<li>
Grid
</li>
<li>
Ecommerce architecture
</li>
<li>
Uploaded assets repository
</li>
</ul>
Visit them online at <a href="http://www.impresspages.org">www.impresspages.org</a>

ImpressPages CMS 4.0 - Better Interface, New MVC Engine and ECommerce Support!

Power your CMS on AWS

Manage your websites & apps in the most trusted cloud.

#ffffff

<a href="http://www.pikock.com/" target="_blank">Pikock</a>, a website builder which makes user of a <a href="/the-first-of-its-kind-pikock-launch-layout-slider-to-simplify-website-building/" target="_blank">rather interesting “Layout Slider”</a>, has released a new update.
Pikock was founded in Paris in 2012. The user friendly drag-and-drop website building platform, is designed to make website creation as easy as possible.  
Here's what's new with Pikock.
<h2>Smart Blocks, Beautiful Backgrounds &amp; More</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/size_3_new-system-blocs700x0.jpg" />
<ul>
<li>Smart Blocks Editor: Build your page in minutes thanks to our 100 pre-designed with structured content blocks based on your essential needs. </li>
<li>New image uploader: Import your images twice faster and sublime them when you want with our in house Photo editor.</li>
<li>Beautiful background images: Create beautiful pages with our designer selection of background images.</li>
</ul>
Furthermore, Pikock's new update brings about a cleaner interface, favicons, archived versions, Google and Pinterest site verification, and more.
You can find out more about the latest version of Pikock <a href="http://www.pikock.com/30/new-pikock-a-radical-new-way-to-build-websites" target="_blank">right here</a>.

Pikock Releases New Smart Blocks Editor

Enonic XP Review

WordPress has been evolving at an incredible rate these last few years, changing from a straight forward blogging platform into a powerful content management system. As a business owner, there may come a time when you will want to be able to handle your billing and invoicing from within WordPress, well, it's a lot easier than you might think.
Enter WP-Invoice. WP-Invoice has been around for a number of years in numerous iterations but has consistently become better and better and today, we're going to share with you some of the excellent functionality you can get when you implement this handy plugin.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/wpi-overview-hero-splash.jpg" alt="Billing and Invoicing with WordPress" />
<h3>How does it work?</h3>
You create an invoice from you WordPress installation’s admin section, an email with a brief invoice description and a unique link is sent to your client. Your client follows the special link to your blog’s where their invoice is automatically displayed for them. After reviewing the invoice, your client pays their bill using a credit card or PayPal account, and you are immediately notified.
Credit card payments can be accepted via Authorize.net, MerchantPlus' NaviGate, PayPal or Google Checkout account. For recurring billing, there is Authorize.net's ARB API that will allow you to setup payment schedules along with invoices. Subscriptions can also be implemented using PayPal Subscriptions and Google Checkout Subscriptions.
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/27887971?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<h3>What can it do?</h3>
Here is a list of some of the features offered by WP-Invoice:
<ul>
<li>Automatically import invoices from Web Invoice plugin.</li>
<li>WP-CRM Integration</li>
<li>Brand new user interface for much improved invoicing filtering and searching</li>
<li>Minimum and Split / Partial Payments</li>
<li>Invoices can be reassigned to a different recipient</li>
<li>Receipt Page with Invoice Log</li>
<li>Per-defined Line Items</li>
<li>Discount Line Items</li>
<li>Custom Payment Entry, and administrative adjustments</li>
<li>Customizable Invoice and Receipt Templates</li>
<li>Create invoices from the WordPress control panel</li>
<li>Prefill customer information using the WordPress user list</li>
<li>Send invoice notifications to customers with a secured link back to the web-invoice</li>
<li>Accept credit card payment via Authorize.net or MerchantPlus NaviGate</li>
<li>PayPal available if you don't have a credit card processing account</li>
<li>Setup recurring billing using Authorize.net's ARB (Automatic Recurring Billing) feature</li>
<li>Force web-invoice pages to be viewed in SSL mode</li>
<li>Archive old invoices</li>
<li>Easily use old invoices as templates for new ones</li>
<li>Dynamic and intuitive user interface</li>
<li>Custom tax label, states input, and PayPal button URL</li>
<li>Insert an “Invoice Lookup” form using PHP or WordPress Shortcode anywhere</li>
<li>Create users directly from WP-Invoice</li>
<li>Customize billing settings per invoice</li>
<li>Customize invoice notification email per invoice</li>
<li>Invoice notification, reminder and receipt templates</li>
<li>Export/Import Invoices [Power Tools]</li>
<li>Sales Visualization [Power Tools]</li>
</ul>
Pretty impressive isn't it? This is not just your mom and pop invoicing plugin, this literally turns WordPress into an excellent invoicing and billing system and is something every business owner should take a look into. Even if you decide to go with the premium features, the whole package costs less than $250, which is quite reasonable considering what you get for your dollar.
The good news is that you can use a large amount of the features this plugin offers for free. There is a bundle that offers upgrades such as single page checkout, premium themes and additional plugins but for the most part, the majority of the features within the plugin won't cost you a dime.
Peaked your interest? Check out WP-Invoice today in the WordPress Plugin Directory: <a href="http://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-invoice/">WP-Invoice</a>

How to Manage Billing and Invoicing with WordPress

When it comes to the inner workings of most medium and large sized businesses across the world, intranets play an integral role. Their purpose is to simplify communication, promote collaboration and streamline work flows. 
Products like Liferay, Bittrix24, Entando and ocPortal are the front runners in this category. <a href="/2014-best-cms-for-corporate-intranets/" target="_blank">Liferay was selected by the people</a>, but now it's time to see who the judges selected.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/bestcmsforcorporateintranets-1.png" />
And the winner is…
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/4sup_0yw.png" alt="Bitrix24" />
<a href="http://www.bitrix24.com/" target="_blank">Bitrix24</a> by <a href="http://www.bitrixsoft.com/" target="_blank">Bitrix Inc</a> is a high-end enterprise social network, mobile intranet portal, CRM and collaboration suite. With a wide range of features and over 300,000 organizations making use of the platform, Bitrix24 is a highly respected intranet solution. What's more is, on top of a totally free plan, Bitrix24's higher plans are far more reasonable than some of its competitors. 
Congratulations to everybody at Bitrix24!

2014 Critics' Choice Award Winner - Best CMS for Corporate Intranets

When building websites, you’ve probably always made it a top priority to ensure you provide a positive user experience to your end users. Of course, this is one of the most important parts of building a site. However, as a CMS company with over a decade’s experience in the industry, one of the things we consistently see among new customers is that their websites failed to take into consideration the user experience of a key audience: their content editors.
As a behind-the-scenes audience, providing content editors with a positive user experience isn’t given high priority. However, what a lot of companies don’t realize is that a positive user experience isn’t just about making your editors happy; in fact, it will lead to massive increases in efficiencies, and potentially higher revenue. In other words, you could be missing out on a lot of potential if your content manager’s UX is not up to scratch.
The question you should be asking yourself is: is your CMS set up in such a way that it meets your content editors’ key workflows? This means ensuring that your content editors can carry out their daily tasks as easily and seamlessly as possible.
<h2>The benefits of a positive content editor UX</h2>
So what benefits could you be gaining by streamlining your CMS to meet your content editors’ workflows?
<ul>
<li>
Increased efficiency: By making it easier for your editors to carry out daily tasks, you will obviously create higher efficiencies among your editors, enabling them to build and distribute content better and faster.
</li>
<li>
Improved speed-to-market: Being able to build content faster means that you will stay more competitive by allowing your editors to build and deliver timely content as fast as possible.
</li>
<li>
Reduced bottlenecks: A positive UX also means making it easier for your content editors to intuitively overcome any hurdles that may arise. The more intuitive your CMS is, the easier it will be to fix any issues.
</li>
<li>
Faster onboarding: Finally, creating a positive editor UX doesn’t only benefit your current editors; imagine how much time you will save onboarding new ones. New employees will respond much better to a CMS that has been configured with their user experience in mind.
</li>
</ul>
So what can you do to make your CMS as intuitive as possible?
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/agility-image.png" />
<h2>1. Consider your objectives from a content editor’s perspective</h2>
Your content editors will be largely responsible for managing all your web content, so it makes sense to make it a top priority to ensure they can easily fulfill their objectives.
This may go back to the very start of the process of choosing a CMS platform for your business. Does the CMS place a strong emphasis on content architecture? Is the CMS highly configurable? A solution that can be configured to meet your unique business needs and processes will be key here.
When it comes to building the content architecture, it will also be important to think about the specific processes your editors will need to carry out daily, and ensure that your CMS is streamlined to meet these. Bonus points if you can find ways to automate these tasks!
<h2>2. Make it easy for your content editors to make decisions</h2>
Part of making your CMS as user-friendly as possible for content editors is allowing them to intuitively work out the ways to carry out specific tasks.
One way you can do this is by offering in-line guidance within the CMS itself, such as descriptions assigned to specific text boxes or page components. This will allow editors to quickly become familiar with the purpose of each element.
Additionally, you can help them reduce risk of error by making it required to fill out certain elements of a page or post. In this way, if the editor tries to save or publish a page or post without having filled out every required field, a popup or a red text box will appear to let them know.
Another often overlooked way in which you can assist your editors is by limiting the amount of functionality they have access to. As the saying goes, less is often more, and your editors will thank you for making their job easier when building a piece of content. Your CMS may offer different access levels which you can use in order to limit editor access.
<h2>3. Protect the site architecture from inexperienced editors</h2>
This goes hand-in-hand with the previous point and it comes down to this: if you give your editors tools that they don’t understand, they will make a mess of it. That’s why access levels are so important too, because they help you prevent inexperienced users from making changes with potentially vast consequences.
All you need is to limit the editor access level to areas that are relevant to their job and their job only. This includes designs too; can you assist them in building pieces of content through layouts or templates without requiring them to deal with any of the code? By doing so, you will not only protect your site but you will also empower your editors to build better content.
<h2>4. Leverage dynamic content </h2>
Using dynamic content is extremely handy when it comes to replicating content across your site. Imagine having to add a page component, such as a banner add, to every single page of your site, manually. This is a very inefficient process that will take up a lot of your editors’ time that they could otherwise spend creating great content.
By offering dynamic content, you can empower your editors to create a piece of content once and seamlessly publish it across the site. What’s more, this will make it easier for them to keep that content up-to-date, as if they will be able to push any changes to that content across the site at the click of one button.
<h2>5. Automate repetitive tasks</h2>
Finally, another way to significantly reduce your editors’ workload is to empower them with the right tools to carry out repetitive tasks in bulk, and even automate them. This will largely depend on your CMS, but an example would be publishing or unpublishing a large volume of pages in bulk.
On the other hand, an example of an automated process would be if your CMS automatically sets up a redirection whenever there’s a URL change; imagine the time your editors will save!
Bulk and automated tasks are not only great for your editors’ UX, but they will also help reduce the risk of error significantly and give your editors peace of mind that everything is in order.

5 Ways To Build A Website Your Content Editors Will Love

Remember that story we shared with you on May 11th about <a href="/twitter-picks-up-staff-from-email-marketing-startup-restengine/">Twitter acquiring the staff of the email marketing firm, RestEngine</a>? There was quite a bit of conjecture circulating as to how they would be making use of these people and now, things seem a bit more clear.
On Monday, Twitter began offering a Twitter email digest which is delivered to your inbox once a week and summarizes the top stories from the popular network.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/email-screenshot-620x514.png" alt="twitter to email" />
According to the announcement:
<blockquote>This summary features the most relevant Tweets and stories shared by the people you’re connected to on Twitter.
Stories feature a design similar to the recently updated Discover tab, emphasizing who shared each story beneath summaries to help you decide which ones matter most to you. Click any headline to finish reading the story, add your take by tweeting directly from the email, and see related Tweets from the people you follow.
This new email digest also features the most engaging Tweets seen by the people you follow, even if you don’t follow those who wrote them. You can see who from your network retweeted or favorited these Tweets and click “View details” to retweet, favorite, reply or view the conversation around them.
We’re rolling out this new email out to everyone over the next few weeks, so keep checking your inbox for new messages from Twitter. Like other Twitter email notifications, you can manage your preferences for this new digest in your Notification Settings.</blockquote>
What's interesting about the wording in this announcement is that it Twitter has deemed it OK to simply opt every one of its users in by default. Take a look at our notification settings, for example:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/optimizely_logo_blue_700x0-is-hidpi_tzsdz9.png" alt="twitter email notifications" />We're not sure how we feel about being automatically opted in to these emails, even if they are weekly. How about you?

Twitter automatically opts all users in to new Weekly Email Digest offering

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