Articles - Page 56

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

matt-garrepy

Last week, our focus was on <a href="http://www.solodev.com/" target="_blank">Solodev CMS 8</a>, as we made our way through yet another featured week.
<a href="http://www.solodev.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/soldodev-logo-1_400x0.png" /></a> I got to <a href="/exploring-solodev-cms-8/" target="_blank">explore the enterprise platform’s core features</a>, its <a href="/solodev-cms-bringing-multi-site-management-to-healthcare-organizations/" target="_blank">presence within the healthcare industry</a>, the role it plays for <a href="/solodev-cms-powering-next-generation-local-government-websites-to-improve-constituent-services/" target="_blank">numerous local government bodies throughout the United States</a>, and the <a href="/solodev-cms-facilitating-successful-project-launches/" target="_blank">Solodev team's willingness to help launch large scale projects</a>.
As usual, the featured week gave me, and all our readers, an intriguing glimpse into a capable CMS.
<h2>A Walkthrough of Solodev CMS 8</h2>
To garnish that glimpse, here's a video walkthrough of Solodev CMS 8's features, led by Joe Forgét, Chief Innovation Officer at Solodev.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ws5LzRTK77g?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
To find out more about Solodev CMS, <a href="https://www.solodev.com/" target="_blank">check out their website</a>

A Video Overview of Solodev CMS 8

mike-johnston

Drupal has long been known for it's incredible extensibility and today we're focusing on two projects that make the best use of this strength. What follows are two of the best Drupal based projects we've seen so far.  Let's get started.
<h2>OpenPublish</h2>
First up comes an incredibly good project for those looking to use Drupal as a publishing platform and is called OpenPublish. OpenPublish is a project created by <a href="http://www.phase2technology.com/">Phase2 Technology</a> and is geared towards publishers looking to take advantage of Drupal's flexibility to create a unique and powerful publishing site.
OpenPublish works with:
<ul>
<li>Apache Solr (faceted search index)</li>
<li>Pressflow (Drupal performance enhancement)</li>
<li>Open source cache technologies for performance (e.g. Memecached and Varnish)</li>
<li>Content Delivery Networks like Akamai</li>
</ul>
Some key features include:
<ul>
<li>Semantic Tools like: Content autotagging, geotagging and map integration, topic hubs and content suggestions.</li>
<li>Monetization with: In-stream advertising and gated content,</li>
<li>Engagement options such as: Facebook integration, topic hubs, comments and talkback, multimedia and contextual highlights with apture.</li>
<li>Syndication and Promotion with: Featured Content, Social Bookmarking and Email forwarding and RSS Feeds.</li>
<li>Asset Management using: Source Documents and Image Management.</li>
</ul>
What does it look like?
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/imcreatorxx_bh2psk.jpg" alt="OpenPublish" />
More info: <a href="http://openpublishapp.com/" target="_blank">OpenPublish</a>
 
<h2>MediaMosa</h2>
Next in line comes MediaMosa. This projects is best described as software to build a Full Featured, Webservice Oriented Media Management and Distribution platform.
The main features of a MediaMosa platform are:
<ul>
<li>Delivery platform for audio, video (and in fact any other content)</li>
<li>Streaming of any format (e.g. Flash, H.264 MPEG-4 and WindowsMedia)</li>
<li>Transcoding based on FFmpeg</li>
<li>Flexible Metadata Element Sets</li>
<li>Access management functions on Media</li>
<li>Enhanced Still functions</li>
<li>Open Source under GPLv2 license</li>
</ul>
For more information, visit <a href="http://mediamosa.org/" target="_blank">MediaMosa</a>
Do you have a project that you think should be listed here? Let us know in the comments.
Keep checking back for the latest updates or join our newsletter to win prizes and stay up to speed once a month.

Best Drupal based Projects

<a href="https://www.ecwid.com/" target="_blank">Ecwid</a> has taken steps to improve their order status listings, making them more descriptive.
Powering over 500,000 online stores across 175 countries, Ecwid is a popular eCommerce platform with a growing user base.
The new order status system will help existing and new Ecwid merchants by making order management easier for them and their customers. Let's take a look at how Ecwid hope to achieve that.
<h2>Five Order Status Improvements</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/statuses_header_1700x0.png" alt="Ecwid" />
Ecwid have implemented five changes to their order status system, covering more bases and making situations easier to understand for both merchant and customer. Here they all are:
<h3>1. Two New Statuses</h3>
<ul>
<li>Refunded in the Payment statuses list</li>
<li>Returned in the Fulfillment statuses list</li>
</ul>
Ecwid have decided that ‘refunded’ and ‘returned’ each deserve their own status to allow merchants to better track their sales and react to any possible issues.
<h3>2. “Queued” &amp; “Accepted” Statuses Renamed to “Awaiting Payment” &amp; “Paid”</h3>
These two new names better describe whether the money has been received from customer or not. This update is sure to clarify each status for both the merchant and the customer.
<h3>3. “Declined” has merged with “Canceled”</h3>
Although an order becomes Declined or Canceled under different conditions (declined is set by the payment gateway while Canceled is set manually by store administrator), the store owner sees both as a canceled order. Now, the formerly independent Declined status appears as Canceled.
<h3>4. “Chargeable” Replaced with “Awaiting Payment”</h3>
Ecwid have claimed that the Chargeable status became redundant because it is either Queued or Awaiting Payment. To eliminate unnecessary complexity, Chargeable no longer exists as a separate status.
<h3>5. “New” Renamed to “Awaiting Processing”</h3>
Similar to Awaiting Payment in the payment status list, Awaiting Processing will say much more to merchants and customers about state of the order rather than New.
And that's it. Subtle changes for some, but they will come in very handy for merchants – especially for those with large amounts of orders.
To learn more about these Ecwid changes, check out the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/ecwid-introduces-improved-order-statuses/" target="_blank">official blog announcement</a>.

Ecwid Introduces Improved Order Statuses

<blockquote>
Update: It has come to my attention that this software was actually forked from a free product called Offiria and is almost a complete copy (aside from a logo change). Offiria is free and available from <a href="https://offiria.com/">https://offiria.com/</a> for those interested in getting the software from the original source and for free!
</blockquote>
There are plenty of products out there that add social networking functionality on top of Joomla via plugins but to date, there haven't been any that have used Joomla as a framework to develop something uniquely different. Today, this changes. We recently were contacted by developers of a new social networking platform built upon Joomla called Undiscuss It  who have done just that.
While the name of the product might be a bit odd and confusing, the product itself looks quite promising.
Here are some screenshots of the system in action:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/undiscuss-it1010x0.jpg" />
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/undiscuss-it-21010x0.jpg" />
As you can see, the system is quite the departure from what we normally see from Joomla and we think there's definitely potential (with enough interest and support from users) for this system to evolve nicely.
Interested? Check it out at <a href="http://www.undiscuss.it">http://www.undiscuss.it</a> and let us know what you think in the comments!

Social Networking with Joomla just got better

<a href="http://www.sitesupra.com/" target="_blank">SiteSupra</a> has announced significant price cuts for its Standard and Business packages.
Fresh after announcing new templates and features, SiteSupra has made this move, “in response to market demand”. 
 From here on out, the website builder will be charging just $4.99 per month for its Standard plan, rather than the $9.99 in previously charged. Further to this price drop, SiteSupra has improved its drag-and-drop interface and “liquid” page grid.
<h2>Following Their Vision</h2>
SiteSupra now offers one of the lowest pricing plans for website builders on the market. Their plan is to make SiteSupra more available to students, bloggers, small businesses, and other clients who previously may not have been able to afford a professional website.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sitesupra700x0.png" alt="SiteSupra" />
The Standard package will now cost $4.99 for 2GB of space and 5GB traffic. The Business package includes e-commerce, unlimited traffic and unlimited space, and will now cost $12.99.
Regarding the price drop, Anton Sulsky, SiteSupra CEO, made these comments:
<blockquote>
“We have faced a dilemma for the last six months, but have decided to follow our vision and stay committed to providing the maximum support for small businesses that do not have bottomless pockets. These new prices are valid with immediate effect, and have increased SiteSupra's own web traffic by 35%”.
</blockquote>
For more information on SiteSupra, <a href="http://www.sitesupra.com/" target="_blank">visit their website</a>, or check out my <a href="/sitesupra-review/" target="_blank">full review of their platform</a>.

SiteSupra Announces Major Price Drop

Everywhere you look these days, there are experts and articles talking about the importance of social media for business. Whether it’s discussing Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn, I could point you to 100 articles which offer 100 reasons why each one should be a crucial element of your marketing campaign.
So, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you’re probably pretty clear on the importance of integrating social media into your gameplan for success.
But what’s the next step?
<a href="/social-engine">SocialEngine</a> have answered that question with a social media network that is designed specifically for your customers or employees, and managed by you.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen_shot_2016-02-19_at_18_53_16.png" />
SocialEngine has been around for a while now, and the company have continuously upped their game to meet consumer demands. For that very reason, they’ve been hugely successful with their latest offering.
Available as a PHP download (starting with a one of payment of $299 for their Starter package), or as a cloud-based subscription service for $39 a month, SocialEngine claims to provide the best solution for creating your own social network.
<h2>Getting Set Up</h2>
Everything about the initial online setup is easy and intuitive. Name your site, choose your URL, fill out a few questions (or don’t, it’s up to you), and you’re ready to roll.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen_shot_2016-02-19_at_19_03_43.png" />
When you first log-in, you’re greeted with an incredibly simple layout which allows you to control billing, account information, subscriptions, and support tickets from one screen. A clearly labeled button takes you to your site’s control panel, and I thought this created a nice separation between the overall controls of the site and the visual control of the front end.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen_shot_2016-02-19_at_19_07_03.png" />
The layout is simple, cleanly designed, and offers a ton of options. With SocialEngine, it seems that intuition is the name of the game.
<h2>Excellent Design</h2>
This kind of complex site could have been a design nightmare, but the team at SocialEngine have made their design and admin interface extremely easy to use. Every single thing you need to manage this site is just a click away.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen_shot_2016-02-19_at_19_12_56.png" />
The interface is drag-and-drop based and clearly labeled. From here, you can set your email templates, add Google Adsense or Analytics, manage members, and manage themes and add-ons.
It’s incredibly powerful and all encompassing.
<h2>Price Comparison</h2>
<h3>PHP Download</h3>
The PHP download option is a pricey option, but it allows full control over the source files – which may appeal to some businesses. The Starter package ($299) doesn’t include the option for forums, video sharing, blogs, or instant messaging. So, if you’d like these included, you need the Professional pack which costs $449.
Both Starter and Professional packs come with only 30 days of free support and the option to pay for an installation service for $30 extra.
To get free installation and up to 60 free days of technical support, you need the Advanced download which costs $699. For that price, you can avail of additional features such as music sharing. It’s pricey, but probably worth it if you want complete control of the source code.
Personally, I thought the support packages for the Starter and Professional packs could have offered a bit more, given the price point. Just 30 days of free support doesn’t seem like anything near enough for launching a PHP package of this complexity.
<h3>Cloud-Based Service</h3>
SocialEngine’s cloud-based subscription might be a good option for those with a stricter budget and less technical expertise. <a href="/social-enginesign-up" target="_blank">Pricing</a> runs at $39 a month or the equivalent of $29 a month if you pay a year in advance.
This price includes full access to their customer support service, where you can get in touch via a contact form, email them directly, or use the live chat option. All of these are 24/7.
You get the exact same features as with the PHP download, with the exception that all the information is stored on SocialEngine’s servers.
The yearly service for $348 seems to be a no-brainer. It offers practically all the features the PHP download version does, with customer service included for just $50 more than the Starter package. Sure, it’s a yearly payment versus a one-off payment but it’s seems like money well spent to me.
Both price choices offer a generous 14 day trial to assess their service in full.
<h2>Feature Rich</h2>
Make no mistake, SocialEngine provides all of the tools you could ever need to match <a href="http://www.facebook.com" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="http://www.twitter.com" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.linkedin.com" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>, <a href="http://www.reddit.com" target="_blank">Reddit,</a> or <a href="http://www.pinterest.com" target="_blank">Pinterest </a> – feature for feature. It’s incredibly comprehensive and even lets you pick a theme to match these sites in style and feel.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen_shot_2016-02-19_at_19_15_04.png" />
The extensive gallery of plug-ins will allow you to mix and match all the best features of the social networks to your own preference, so that you can create a completely unique site.
Both download and cloud options have a wide range of privacy options that are incredibly easy to control.
<h2>No Branding</h2>
The SocialEngine team have resisted the urge to allow branding on their build, which allows you to completely control the branding of your site from top to bottom. None of your members will ever know that SocialEngine powers your site. You control the logos, the colors, and the content. It’s a great feature for large companies who want to have a custom build, without the investing the megabucks it would cost to build and maintain this kind of project from scratch.
<h2>Pros:</h2>
<ul>
<li>
One of the most comprehensive community building apps on the market.
</li>
<li>
White label feature lets you brand it exactly as you like.
</li>
<li>
Tons of features and customizable options.
</li>
<li>
Excellent UI &amp; UX design.
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Cons:</h2>
<ul>
<li>
Price-point for the source code download is a little steep and feels like a railroad to their subscription model.
</li>
<li>
Customer service options limited on the cheaper subscriptions.
</li>
<li>
The Basic packages feel a little sparse on features like HD video and audio.
</li>
</ul>
<h2>So What’s The Verdict?</h2>
Whether you’re trying to create the next Reddit or simply make an internal social network for your employees or customers – SocialEngine gives you the power to do it.
Do I have any issues with it? Sure – the PHP download is incredibly pricey and doesn’t offer enough free support, unless you want to drop nearly $700. Having to pay extra for support after the 30 or 60 days expire is a bit cheeky when you consider the hefty download fee.
However, outside of my price concerns for the PHP download, this is a superb product. It has tons of features, an intuitive design, excellent support on the cloud-based version, and extensive free trials. If you’re in the market for something like this, I definitely recommend giving Social Engine a try.
You might not end up as the next Mark Zuckerberg, but SocialEngine will get you as close as you could hope to get on the technical side.
To sign up for a free trial with SocialEngine, just <a href="/social-enginesign-up" target="_blank">click here</a>. And don't forget to let us know what you think the comments section below.

Social Engine Review

grainne-logue

Recently, we spoke with Bryan Cheung, CEO of Liferay about the future of the Liferay platform and his thoughts on the future. Liferay has been expanding rapidly and experiencing a large increase in interest thanks to a tough economy and a need for companies and organizations to find low cost, efficient solutions. Here is the interview in full, enjoy.
CC: Recently, you announced a <a href="/liferay-to-ship-mulesoft-tcat-server-bundle-new-offering-makes-web-deployment-faster-and-easier/" target="_blank">partnership with Mulesoft</a> to provide an alternative method of packaging Liferay, do you think this is going to change the dynamic of Liferay in the market?
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/bryanweb.jpg" alt="Bryan Cheung" />
BC: I think the larger story here Mike is our emphasis on Liferay as a platform. Really moving beyond just the software to Liferay and you know, some of the adjacent technologies all working together to provide solutions for businesses. So a big part of that story for example is our developer tools that we've been building over the last couple of years, some of the presentation layer frameworks that we've been building like Alloy but then on the deployment front, we want to make sure it's as easy as possible for people to get Liferay running in a number of different environments. We've already been doing that and I think it's been one of the more defining differentiators for Liferay since the inception of the product. So, the Mulesoft offering is really just an extension of that. Liferay's always been able to run in all of these different application servers and now we're targeting the Mulesoft offering as well.
CC: What prompted your decision to go with Mulesoft? Were there specific reasons for its selection?
BC: We had a number of customers in Europe who were interested in obtaining official professional support for Tomcat in addition to Liferay. It was something that we had offered unofficially as part of our support subscription but for those who wanted a little bit more assurance there, we thought that having this relationship would be helpful.
CC: Since the release of Liferay 6 back at the West Coast Symposium, it seems to have put more focus on Liferay as a multi purpose platform. I think prior to it, most people including myself thought of it specifically as a portal and now people are seeing it more as an all purpose tool for multiple deployments. Have you seen a growth in enterprise deployments since 6 came out in a significant number?
BC: We had momentum prior to the release of 6 itself and it's hard for me to separate out Liferay 6 itself versus the overall momentum of the company but we're definitely seeing a lot of growth and momentum overall. I would like to think that Liferay 6 has a good deal to do with it just because we introduced so many aspects of the product that enterprises need, workflow obviously being one of them, some of the auditing capabilities and then the overall ease of use.
CC: What changes have you seen from your customers since the release of 6? Have they had more unique requirements that they now feel they are more easily able to adapt to now with Liferay?
BC: We're seeing a lot of hype around the whole concept of social these days and I think people are adding the social moniker to whatever their existing application category is sort of making a big marketing push for it. It's interesting because portals have always really been about connecting the right people to the right information and the right applications, getting them in touch with other people and I think the social element is now broadening and deepening that where it's not just about personalization anymore but it's also community and context.
When you add that social dimension to all of these traditional solutions: intranets, portals, websites, online marketing presences, Liferay or a platform like Liferay, really makes it easy to bring all those things together and to put that social context around it.
CC: We've been hearing a lot more about Liferay than we did about a year ago or so, what do you think is contributing to this momentum and to your growth?
BC: I think it's a combination of the arrival of the product at a certain stage of convergence, bringing a lot of the features into a cohesive whole and then it's also the larger industry trends and economic trends that are going on. On the industry trends side, I think we are seeing a convergence and consolidation among a lot of these adjacent technologies so people aren't really thinking so much in terms of “I need a content management system” or “I need web publishing” or “I need collaboration” but more like “I need to put a lot of these things together and build this thing that I have a vision for and it involves people, it involves stuff, it involves getting people into groups and teams” and Liferay just does a lot of this well. On the financial side obviously with the prices we've been dealing with since 2008, that was really a driver for people to explore more cost efficient solutions like Liferay. More efficient not only from the perspective of the initial costs and the subscription costs but also, as companies are being shaken up, they need to move quickly, they need to bring great ideas to market more quickly. When you use a more flexible and all inclusive platform like Liferay, you are going to be able to response more quickly.
CC: Do you attribute that flexibility to the fact that Liferay is an open source platform or do you think thats more of a combination of that factor and the fact that your team has been able to develop with a decent turn around?
BC: Well, it's definitely both. Open source is a huge part of it and I think our team is also a huge part of it. On the open source side, when you have that kind of scrutiny across such a large number of customers and community members, you really are forced to build a leaner, better product. You can't have bloated code and you are constantly improving the code so thats definitely a factor. Another part is just not having the legacy that some of the other bigger software vendors might have of being older products and being less agile. Of course, huge kudos to my engineering team who are able to spot all of the upcoming trends and respond to them so quickly.
CC: Does Liferay have any plans to expand integration capabilities with any other platforms such as ERP solutions or any other vendors?
BC: Our general strategy is two fold. I think there are some major software packages that its in our interest to develop integrations for. For me personally, things like Lotus Notes or Microsoft Exchange and Outlook would make a lot of sense to have some preconfigured integrations for. Not intending to replace those systems but really to work alongside them. I think one of the reasons that SharePoint was so popular is because of the way that it works nicely with office and outlook and so we want to look at some of that. There are a whole lot of Lotus Notes customers out there, maybe not as much as on the Microsoft side but it's still a good 30-40% of the market that have so much legacy information in their Notes installations that they are not going to be able to migrate out so having a good solution for bringing that content into a Liferay deployment and then putting social and other contexts around that content will give customers the best of both worlds where they've still got all of their content but we're modernizing it and adapting it for the 21st century.
The other major thing, and you will definitely hear about this in the coming months, is the Liferay marketplace. The marketplace is really going to enable people to have integrations with some of these systems that our partners are going to be able to build for us and deliver to a Liferay audience really quickly through and online presence on the website.
CC: Is Liferay capable of functioning within a cloud deployment?
BC: Yes, Liferay has been designed to deploy to any number of environments. You know, that covers a number of considerations. One is obviously if you've already got some infrastructure pieces then we don't want to force you to swap that out for other stuff. If you've already got IT folks that are well versed in those environments, then you don't want to swap out that expertise. This makes Liferay as widely addressable as possible as far as the different environments it can run on. We do have some customers that have deployed Liferay into cloud environments.
CC: What is the next major packaging project you are working on?
BC: Our next major project is Social Office. Our first real attempt at a solution within the Liferay platform and then we've got some other ideas as well as to some other packaged solutions we can build.
CC: Great, well thanks for taking the time to speak with us Bryan!
BC: Ok thanks a lot Mike.
Do you want to learn more about Liferay? You can read the rest of the <a href="/tag/liferay">Liferay news</a> or <a href="http://www.liferay.com" target="_blank">visit their website</a>.

Interview with Bryan Cheung, CEO of Liferay

SilverStripe has introduced a new preview release of the upcoming 3.0 version. Some of the main changes are in the separation of the Sapphire framework from the CMS module.
There is also quite a bit of work underway to redesign the user interface as well. Here is an example of some of the work being done so far:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ss3-ui_content-add-image-from-web-580x564.jpg" alt="ss3-ui_content-add-image-from-web" />
Check out the latest version by grabbing a copy from here: <a href="http://silverstripe.org/pre-releases" target="_blank">http://silverstripe.org/pre-releases</a>

SilverStripe 3.0 preview 1 is here

Call Tracking + AI 

Call Tracking + AI that Turns Calls into Leads

#ffffff

<a href="https://www.weebly.com/">Weebly</a> is a user-friendly website builder that first launched in 2006 and hit 1 million users by 2008. The platform now hosts over 30 million sites and it's touted as one of the most popular drag-and-drop website builders around.
Weebly has undergone many revamps since its initial launch, and its latest facelift for 2016 offers more features than ever before. The popular site allows individuals to create a website in less than an hour, regardless of their level of expertise, and it’s become popular with both hobbyists and professionals alike.
Seems too good to be true, right? I decided to check it out and see for myself.
<h2>Getting Set-Up</h2>
Getting started with Weebly is simple. Users can log in with Google Plus, Facebook, or by inserting their email address – all you need for this is your name, email, and password.
One thing I’d add here is a ‘sign up with Twitter’ function, as it just seemed a bit odd to have left it out. Maybe that’s just me, though, being the Twitter addict that I am.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen_shot_2016-02-12_at_01_48_57494x0-is.png" />
There’s a little box you can tick if you want to sign up for updates and offers which is pretty standard, but what I really liked about this was that it was unticked by default. Many sites leave it ticked automatically, so you have to go and untick it if you’re not actually interested in receiving these emails. It’s one of my pet peeves because you just know they’re trying to catch you out. Sneaky rascals.
Once you’ve registered, the below screen will pop up and you’ll be asked what the focus of your site is, i.e. standard website, blog, or store.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen_shot_2016-02-12_at_01_50_06574x0-is.png" />
After this, you can categorize it as business, personal, group/organizational, wedding, education, or portfolio. If you don’t want to or none of these apply, you simply can tell them to stop asking you (they’re cool like that – there’s even a tick box for it).
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen_shot_2016-02-13_at_17_35_17430x0-is.png" />
Then comes the fun part, choosing a design theme.
<h2>Themes and Design</h2>
Weebly offers over 100 attractive, professional, and well laid-out themes, so it’ll be difficult not to find one you like. Most come with customizable color sets too, so you’re spoilt for choice.
Every single theme is mobile responsive and just one click at the top of the screen allows you see your site as a mobile viewer would. You can’t add elements to the mobile version but you can get a like for like preview that should allow you to see them.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen_shot_2016-02-12_at_01_50_19871x0-is.png" />
<h2></h2>
<h2>Choosing Your URL</h2>
If you have a free account, you’ll receive a ‘weebly.com’ domain name. If you want your own custom domain then you’ll have to sign up to a $39.95 registration fee. Is it a little high? Maybe, but I think it’s worth it if you want to create a professional site. Weebly make this whole process really easy, but you can also run it through an independent domain registrar such as <a href="http://www.godaddy.com">Godaddy</a>.
<h2>Website Editing</h2>
The website building interface is very easy to use, with a double row of elements/apps on the left hand site and a menu bar at the top. In a lot of sites like Weebly, adding pages can be a bit of a treasure hunt. But Weebly has its Pages section clearly labelled and easily editable, so you can just add pages and rearrange them with your mouse as you see fit.
Designing each page is simple. Want to edit that title? Just click on it and type. Want to make it bold? There’s a familiar toolset to let you edit it on the screen. There are no gimmicks and no multiple click paths – you just edit what you see and it’s done, instantly.
Everything is very clearly labeled and users can design a site by dragging elements onto the various pages. There are a variety of elements available such as a contact form, map, social buttons, slideshows, and more.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen_shot_2016-02-12_at_01_56_05798x0-is.png" />
The contact form offers tons of options, such a custom confirmation URL, file uploads, drop-down selects, a phone number field. It definitely gets a thumbs up from me.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen_shot_2016-02-13_at_17_38_19920x0-is.png" />
However, the real player here is the App Center which launched in August 2015. The new and improved App Center is a real bonus to the site, and you can now add any number of site boosting elements to your Weebly site with a minimum of fuss.
Everything is drag and drop. They have a number of apps for free and, as you’d expect, a number of premium ones too. All of these add value and are handily categorized into their retrospective uses – Marketing, Site Tools, eCommerce, Communication.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/picture_14608x0-is.png" />
Everything is cleanly laid out and all of the apps are compatible with Weebly, so you won’t encounter any of the plug-in mishaps that can happen with sites like <a href="https://wordpress.com/">WordPress</a>.
<h2></h2>
<h2>Pricing</h2>
There are 4 pricing options available on Weebly, ranging from Free, Starter ($4 p/m), Pro ($8 p/m), and Business ($25 p/m). The free account is decent enough and provides unlimited pages, but you’ll also have to deal with Weebly branding and promotions. With the Starter Plan, you can add your own URL and the Weebly branding is removed. You also get to avail of premium support.
If you opt for the Pro account you’ll get additional multimedia features and added password protection. And the next step after this is a Business account, which offers SSL support and fully integrated ecommerce. For more on the specifics of each package, click <a href="https://www.weebly.com/pricing">here</a>. The choice is yours.
<h2>Pros:</h2>
<ul>
<li>Extremely user friendly with a drag-and-drop system</li>
<li>Variety of professional, sleek, and mobile responsive designs available that can be further modified with HTML/CSS</li>
<li>Pre-designed layouts</li>
<li>New and improved app centre</li>
<li>Good eCommerce functionality</li>
</ul>
<h2>Cons:</h2>
<ul>
<li>You need to fork out for the Business package for fully integrated eCommerce</li>
<li>Customization options are limited if you are a coding whiz-kid</li>
</ul>
<h2>Should You Use Weebly For Your Website?</h2>
For me, it’s a no-brainer. Weebly is a superb site with an excellent and intuitive design system that makes everything as easy as possible, for even the most novice user.
Weebly’s biggest strength is the intuitiveness of its layout. Everything just ‘makes sense’, and everything that is clickable – is editable.
It really seems to have something for everyone. Want a simple drag and drop? It’s there. Want more sophistication? You can add media, embed code, add Google Analytics – all from the one page and taskbar.
The learning curve is very graduated and it can be scaled to adapt to the skill levels of all users. Personally, I’d rate this as the best site builder out there right now.
The prices are pretty reasonable too, with Weebly’s premium package coming in at a quite reasonable $25 a month. The basic package is maybe a little thin on features like HD video and audio, but they are the little extras worth paying extra for.
The guys behind Weebly seem to really care about their users and continuously strive to meet the needs to those users by improving their service offering. If you’d like to know more about what they provide, check them out over <a href="https://www.weebly.com/">here</a> (their blog is worth a look too).
Have you used Weebly yet? Why not share a link to your Weebly site with us in the comments section below.

Weebly Review 2016

<a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/" target="_blank">BlackMonk CMS</a> users received good new this week, as version 3.4 of the platform was released.
Founded in 2012, the Banglore based CMS can power online magazines business directories, community portals and more. For more information on BlackMonk, you can read my full <a href="/blackmonk-cms-review/" target="_blank">review of BlackMonk CMS</a>.
Version 3.4 introduces reports for guiding business decisions, a brand new design for a better mobile experience and a range of features which offer greater value to advertisers &amp; partners. 
<h2>Business Reports &amp; Content centric design</h2>
BlackMonk v3.4 introduces business reports which provide an accurate indication of user engagement, content submission and revenue generation.
The reports provides information relating to popular pages, monthly revenue streams and so forth.
Publishers can now generate reports for varying time lines and download data in CSV format for further processing in spreadsheet applications. The BlackMonk team have also upgraded the transaction reports, so publishers can now view transactions history of individual users as well download transaction logs in CSV format.
<h2><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/204a3653-85fd-41ba-b830-54d087d35013700x0.jpg" alt="BlackMonk" /></h2>
BlackMonk v3.4 puts content on the center stage with the introduction of new content centric template. The new template takes a minimalist approach, making it easier for users to browse and read content – even on mobile devices.
In fact, thanks to the new, easy and intuitive navigation, the new template delivers a great user experience across both computers and mobile devices.
<h2><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ea04b009-52c3-4ac1-b7e2-8531574e438b700x0.jpg" alt="BlackMonk" /></h2>
In addition to the features mentioned above, BlackMonk v3.4 brings forth an enhanced DEALS app, FAQ page options, content management for advertisers, numerous workflow improvements and more.
To get the low down on everything BlackMonk v3.4 introduces, check out the <a href="http://www.blackmonk.com/blog/2014/09/announcing-blackmonk-v34-with-new-templates-business-reports-and-more" target="_blank">official blog announcement</a>.

BlackMonk v3.4 Released With New Templates & Business Reports

The fine folks at Telerik just released Sitefinity CMS 4.1 and with this release, they bring about a ton of cool new features and enhancements. Here is a breakdown of what you can expect from this release.
<h3>Ready for the cloud.</h3>
Sitefinity 4.1 now offers native support for Windows Azure and SQL Azure.  What does this mean to you? It means that all websites created with 4.1 are ready for the cloud. Since the Azure operating system runs on virtualized hardware, there are no hardware specific dependencies.
<h3>Faster than a speeding bullet (by about 35%)</h3>
This new version also offers a 35% boost in speed! This is a part of an ongoing initiative to refine and optimize the product with each new release. Furthermore, 4.1 includes several important improvements that enable non-technical end-users to automatically take advantage of Sitefinity’s existing performance engineering. All pages are now cached by default and Sitefinity’s Cache Expiration Monitor will automatically &amp; intelligently refresh the page cache when required.
<h3>New flavours!</h3>
Now you can enjoy Sitefinity in the following languages with the new language pack that has been introduced.
These new language packs enable content creators to be more productive by interacting with fully localized user-interface. The languages available out of the box are:
<ol>
<li>English</li>
<li>German</li>
<li>Dutch</li>
<li>Italian</li>
<li>French</li>
<li>Spanish</li>
<li>Portuguese</li>
<li>Turkish</li>
<li>Arabic</li>
</ol>
<h3>Reusable Content = More bang with less duplication</h3>
In order to avoid content duplication (which can have negative impacts on both speed, consistency and SEO performance), you can now use Share Content. Using Sitefinity Shared Content this text can be typed once and shared everywhere. If the content ever changes, it can be modified effortlessly in a single location.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webstarts11-620x433_k4mvwy.jpg" alt="SharedContent" />
 
But that's not all! For a full list of new features, visit <a href="http://www.sitefinity.com/asp-net-cms-features/whats-new.aspx">http://www.sitefinity.com/asp-net-cms-features/whats-new.aspx</a>

Sitefinity 4.1 - Ready for the cloud and a lot faster!

Jimdo, the widely popular website builder, has <a href="http://blog.jimdo.com/introducing-the-new-jimdo-experience-2014/" target="_blank">recently unveiled</a> a newer, sleeker version of itself.
Originally founded in 2004 under the name “NorthClick”, Jimdo has grown into one of the most user-friendly website builders on the market. Now, with the arrival of this “New Jimdo Experience”, the platform is pushing itself even further up the website builder ladder.
This new and improved Jimdo brings about a revamped user interface, modern templates, and much more. Let's take a look.
<h2>New Templates, More Design Features &amp; Smoother Editing</h2>
Along with this update, Jimdo released 30 new templates, with more being prepared. Plus, each new template comes in numerous pre-styled variations, which you can preview with your page’s content before making the change official.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/design_variations700x0.gif" alt="Jimdo" />
Plus, this reformed version of Jimdo allows you to insert and edit text directly on your page, rather than having to open up a separate window or pop-up box. This inline editing feature naturally makes building web pages faster, and a little more fun, too.
To further enhance the design process, Jimdo’s new style editor gives you access to hundreds of customization settings. All you have to do is click on a piece of text, a header image, or a background, before making it look exactly how you want. There's a full colour palette and hundreds of Google Fonts to experiment with.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/fonts700x0.png" alt="Jimdo" />
But that's not all. Jimdo has sprinkled this update with a range of smaller enhancements.
These include an improved shopping basket, new social buttons, improved widget/HTML elements, and even an opacity option for coloured areas.
For some more information on the all new Jimdo, check out their <a href="http://blog.jimdo.com/introducing-the-new-jimdo-experience-2014/" target="_blank">official announcement</a>, plus their <a href="http://blog.jimdo.com/8-jimdo-updates-youll-want-to-try-today/" target="_blank">coverage of the eight notable features</a> that Jimdo users can now enjoy.
Also,be sure to check out <a href="/products/jimdo/" target="_blank">Jimdo via our CMS Directory</a>.

A Look Inside the New Jimdo Experience

Photoshop is the first word in graphic design software and like most leading software products, it demands a fee from anyone who wants to use it. In fact, to access Photoshop, you'll need to fork out about $19.99 every month. Personally, I don't have an issue with this given how powerful Photoshop is but there are those who do.
Thankfully, there is a solution to this price problem.
Free alternatives to Photoshop do exist, and they hold their own in terms of quality, too. Here they all are. You can check here for non-free <a href="/paid-photoshop-alternatives/">Photoshop alternatives</a>).

<h1>1. GIMP</h1>
Announced to the public in 1995, GIMP is one of the most popular free Photoshop alternatives on the market. It's also likely to be the most powerful graphic design tool on this list. It's free and open source, but packs a professional punch nonetheless.

<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/free-photoshop-alternatives---gimp.jpg" alt="Free Photoshop Alternative - GIMP" /><figcaption>GIMP Screenshot</figcaption></figure>
There are big similarities between Photoshop and GIMP in terms of  functionality and user interface, so many find migration from one to the  other to be easy. GIMP is also capable of opening and working with PSD files, which are Photoshop specific.
GIMP has a number of high quality features which definitely hold their own against those of Photoshop. The  professional features available in GIMP such as color adjustment tools, customizable brushes, gradients, and auto image enhancement tools, make it easy for users to create artwork from scratch and edit  photos/images.
The in-depth tutorials cater for all users from beginners to advanced level. This makes it super accessible to everyone, including users who aren’t familiar with the open-source application
Learn more at the <a href="http://www.gimp.org/">GIMP website</a>
<h2>2. Inkscape</h2>
Inkscape is a free and open source  vector graphics editor. It’s perfect for creating icons for apps and  websites, cartoon illustrations, and logos. Despite being free, Inkscape  looks and feels incredibly advanced. Some of its many features include  intelligent drawing tools, the ability to import and export multiple  file types, add-ons, and multilingual support. These powerful tools and  its intuitive UI make it an excellent option for beginners.
Although it’s probably a little more  comparable to Illustrator, Inkscape is a great free Photoshop  alternative, especially if you want to save some $$$ (since it’s free).
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/free-photoshop-alternative-inkscape.png" alt="Free Photoshop Alternative - Inkscape" /><figcaption>Inkscape Screenshot</figcaption></figure>
It's also one of the few options on the list compatible with Linux (along with GIMP that is).
Learn more at the <a href="https://inkscape.org/en/">Inkscape website.</a>
<h2>3. Pixia</h2>
Pixia is a raster painting program and graphics editor specifically well–suited for many forms of digital painting.
It offers a lightweight painting environment for digital painting and artwork of all types! Unlike other digital painting and editing tools, Pixia strips the bloatware features away, leaving a fast, focused environment that ensures you can paint without any distraction.
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/free-photoshop-alternatives---pixia.jpg" alt="Free Photoshop Alternative - Pixia" /><figcaption>Pixia Screenshot</figcaption></figure>
It is also freeware making it a great free Photoshop alternative.
Learn more at the <a href="http://www.ne.jp/asahi/mighty/knight/index.html">Pixia website</a>.
<h2>4. exPhoto</h2>
exPhoto is another application by the same developer that created Pixia and is more geared towards photo editing and print graphics. The advantage is that you can choose which application best suits your needs at the time. 
Doing some digital painting? Load up Pixia. Looking to touch up a photo? Time for exPhoto. Sure you have to install two apps but it keeps the features geared towards the task at hand, which is smart.
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/free-photoshop-alternative---exphoto.jpg" alt="Free Photoshop Alternative - exPhoto" /><figcaption>exPhoto Screenshot</figcaption></figure>
exPhoto is also capable of handling and saving as PSD, just like GIMP.
Learn more at the <a href="http://www.ne.jp/asahi/mighty/knight/exphoto.html">exPhoto website.</a>
<h2>5. Pixlr</h2>
Pixlr comes in two distinct flavours.  Pixlr Express is ideal for quick fixes and simple edits, while Pixlr  Editor is for power users. Both are both free, and both are  browser-based web apps, so there's never any need to download the  software. This makes it ideal for Chromebook users, too.
Pixlr is feature-packed but has a clean UI that makes it easy to navigate these features without seeming  “cluttered” or overwhelming the users with the number of options  available.
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/free-photoshop-alternative---pixlr.png" alt="Free Photoshop Alternative - Pixlr" /><figcaption>Pixlr Screenshot</figcaption></figure>
One super useful benefit to Pixlr is that it runs free Android and iOS apps that allow you to edit right from your smartphone.
Learn more at the <a href="https://pixlr.com/">Pixlr website.</a>
<h2>6. Krita</h2>
Krita was created by artists with the  aim of making art tools affordable to everyone. This is an open source digital sketching and painting studio that is geared towards concept artists. illustrators, and designers who want to sketch from scratch. So, if you want to edit existing imagery, this one isn't for you. Krita  also offers training material to kickstart your illustration career (or  hobby), and can open PSD files, too.
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/krita_animation2_pssib7.gif" alt="Free Photoshop Alternative - Krita" /><figcaption>Krita Screenshot</figcaption></figure>
There is a bit of a learning curve to software and the UI isn’t too user-friendly, so its best suited to users with some experience. But once you get the hang of it this is an excellent Photoshop alternative that’s full of great features for  painting and design.
Learn more at the <a href="https://krita.org/en/">Krita website.</a>
<h2>7. Canva</h2>
Canva is a browser-based web app that provides everything a graphic designer needs. For those who like to work on their phones or tablets, there are apps for iOS and Android as well.
Used by over 10 million people, Canva  serves up millions of stock images, hundreds of fonts, and a wide range  of filters, icons, and shapes. With their resources to hand, you can  drag and drop images into place before editing them. The simplicity of Canva makes sophisticated design accessible to everyone with a diverse range of templates available, and even the most amateur of users will get decent design outcomes with the help of this app.
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/canva_hepqwn.png" alt="Free Photoshop Alternative - Canva" /><figcaption>Canva Screenshot</figcaption></figure>
Seasoned graphic designers may find Canva to be a little lightweight, but it’s a useful app to have on hand when you need to take a few shortcuts and don’t want to sacrifice quality in the process. This is a freemium app and more experienced designers will definitely want the paid version, but pricing is nowhere near Photoshop territory. Check out our <a href="/canva-review/">Canva Review</a> to learn more.
Learn more at the <a href="https://canva.7eqqol.net/c/12549/647168/10068?adcampaigngroup=Pro_LP">Canva website.</a>
<h2>8. Paint.NET</h2>
Thanks to its image based tabs system  which makes it easy to work on multiple projects at once, Paint.Net is a great free alternative to Photoshop. Also, the inclusion of layers – a feature normally reserved for expensive professional software – makes Paint.Net tough to beat. The UI will feel familiar to Photoshop users but it’s also very easy to pick up for newbies.
I see it as a halfway house between Microsoft Paint and Photoshop, making it easy for graphic design newbies  to grasp. And it's for that reason – among others – that I've personally been using Paint.NET for all my image editing needs over the  last few years. It’s simplicity combined with the advanced features  available makes it a tough one to beat and also a great option for users  that have difficulty with software that’s geared more towards  experienced users. Features include a number of special effects that can  sharpen, blur, emboss, distort, and eliminate red-eye from photos in a  few clicks.
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pdn40_kirkland_y8gqzp.jpg" alt="Free Photoshop Alternative - Paint.NET" /><figcaption>Paint.NET Screenshot</figcaption></figure>
It's bad news for Mac users though, as Paint.NET is available only for Windows.
Learn more at the <a href="http://www.getpaint.net/">Paint.NET website.</a>
<h2>9. Seashore</h2>
If you're a dedicated Mac user, Seashore may be for you. Available only for Mac OS X's Cocoa framework, Seashore takes inspiration from GIMP (number one on this list) by serving up similar functionality and using the same native file format.
However, unlike the GIMP, Seashore is  aimed at a broader audience who just want to do some basic image editing. It’s ideal for new users who with little experience in this area, although the UI is pretty basic and definitely leaves room for improvement.
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/1_tdzwny.jpg" alt="Free Photoshop Alternative - Seashore" /><figcaption>Seashore Screenshot</figcaption></figure>
If you’re an amateur photographer or just need to perform some basic image editing, Seashore will do the trick.
Learn more at the <a href="http://seashore.sourceforge.net/The_Seashore_Project/About.html">Seashore website.</a>
<h2>10. SumoPaint</h2>
SumoPaint's slogan is, ‘Photoshopping  in your browser' – which is pretty self-explanatory. It's an incredibly powerful web app with an answer to most if not all of Photoshop's best features.
It’s also super fast to navigate and  the interface is definitely pleasing to the eye. All of the standard  features are accessible for free, such as gradient fill, blur, smudge, line tools, and other features you’d expect to find in Photoshop.
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sumopaint.jpg" alt="Free Photoshop Alternative - SumoPaint" /><figcaption>SumoPaint Screenshot</figcaption></figure>
You can use it through your browser and tolerate the ads, or upgrade to SumoPaint Pro to use it without ads and utilize more features.users to access all the basic image manipulation features for free. SumoPaint Pro also allows you to download the software so you can use it offline.
Learn more at the <a href="https://www.sumopaint.com/">SumoPaint website.</a>
<h2>Free Graphic Design Software That Doesn't Suck</h2>
Photoshop is a powerhouse, but if you're struggling to justify its  rather heavy price-tag, then the eight Photoshop alternatives listed  above should tide you over.
If you are curious as to what options exist with a price tag, check out our list of <a href="/paid-photoshop-alternatives/">Paid Photoshop Alternatives</a>.
Do you know of any other free Photoshop alternatives? Share them with us in the comments section below!

10 Free Photoshop Alternatives

CMS Summit 26

Find out at CMS Connect 26, August 4-5 in Montreal, Canada

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