Articles - Page 59

The Top 10 AI Tools for Small Business: From Automation to a Coordinated Team of AI Agents

matt-garrepy

Despite evident backing from the likes of Apple and Samsung, Smartwatch technology is still viewed by many to be a passing fad.However, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kentico.com/">Kentico</a>, the enterprise-grade CMS, CXM and eCommerce solution, has thrown its weight behind the Smartwatch industry by setting out some research-backed marketing guidelines.<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kentico.com/"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/kentico_rgb_bigger_400x0.png" /></a>Brands as large as Starbucks, Mazda and Twinings all trust Kentico with their online presences.Kentico carried out their research in aid of their newly released White Paper, entitled, “Smartwatches: The Opportunities &amp; Challenges for Marketers“<h2>The Marketing Era of Respectfulness</h2>The White Paper highlights a number of key points surrounding Smartchwatch marketing, although one of those points in particular stood out for me.<blockquote>“More than anything, advertisers and marketers will need to learn how to be even more respectful of their audiences.”</blockquote>This statement from Kentico is in reference to the hyper-personal (and perhaps one might argue, hyper-public) nature of Smartwatches.Push notifications sent to a smartphone are typically viewed when the user is alone, or at least in an environment where viewing messages and marketing material are appropriate. In other words, the user gets to choose when and where to start reading notifications.When it comes to Smartwatches though, marketers must realize that those same push notifications will be seen almost immediately, and perhaps by more than just the Smartwatch owner.Unlike with other smart technology, the owner has far less choice over their environment when receiving such messages, thanks to instant wrist vibrations and the ability to quickly glance down at whatever just popped up on their Smartwatch screen.Marketers will have to further consider the timing of their content, its wording and the importance of each push notification. Because without a doubt, even semi-regular messages that disturb a user's day or environment will be enough to warrant them tapping the unsubscribe button.<h2>Too Expensive &amp; Not Enough Functionality</h2>Kentico's research also included a survey, conducted around the question, “Which of the Following Reasons Are Keeping You from Buying a Smartwatch?”Respondents mostly opted for the answer, “Too expensive” (69%). The second most selected answer though, was “Not enough reasons to use one” (38%).To be fair to the Smartwatch industry, those same two obstacles are traditionally faced by new tech. The iPod was, once upon a time, a fairly expensive and one-dimensional piece of equipment. Many thought it was too expensive, while others couldn't find enough functionality to warrant any cash at all.With this research, and with the resulting marketing guidelines, Kentico is a company that sees a future for the Smartwatch. And I for one, totally agree with them.Download Kentico's White Paper here.And as always, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/kentico">Kentico via our CMS Directory</a>.

More Than a Fad: Kentico Research Implies That Smartwatches Are Here to Stay

mike-johnston

<a href="/products/shopify">Shopify</a>, one of the most popular eCommerce solutions on the market, has rolled out free SSL Certificates for all its users.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2010_6_23_shopify-green_256x256-1.jpg" />An SSL Certificate displays a padlock icon before all URLs, and adds an extra “s” to the “http” (to make it https) at the start of each URL. These are all indicators of a secure connection between the web server and the browser.A typical SSL certificate will set you back a few bucks depending on where you shop for it, while free ones are difficult to come by, even when making use of an eCommerce solution.In other words, Shopify didn't have to make this move, which is why I admire it.<h2>Security, Trustworthiness &amp; Pleasing Google</h2>Along with this announcement, Shopify outlined their concern for the security of their customers, and in turn, their customers' customers.<blockquote>Today, we’re pushing for a safer, more secure internet by ensuring all pages, content, data…everything, on all 200,000+ online stores powered by Shopify can be accessed using SSL encryption. Not only will this ensure that no data could be intercepted as it goes over the network, but it will also help merchants build customer trust. This is the right thing for ecommerce in 2016.To make this possible, we’ve issued and set up SSL certificates for every Shopify store. And because we feel this is important, we did it at no additional cost to existing or future Shopify merchants.</blockquote>Also, although buyers look for the padlock icon on eCommerce websites, it's also true that Google values an SSL certified connection, too. So, the SEO efforts of Shopify merchants should be aided by this move.<h2>Generous? Maybe. Beneficial? Definitely.</h2>Shopify could have continued providing their software on its own, with the option for an SSL certificate being there for those who want to offer their customers extra security.That strategy would have continued to work, with no liability falling back on them if and when a security issue crops up on a merchant's Shopify-powered website. After all, that's exactly how its been since Shopify started up.Shopify will of course benefit from this move too, simply by being able to offer a free SSL certificate to all new users for added value and security out of the box. I'm sure they'll market those benefits accordingly.So, although merchants will be getting some very real benefits from their free SSL certificates, it seems like good news all round.To find out more about this new, free offering, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.shopify.com/blog/73511365-all-shopify-stores-now-use-ssl-encryption-everywhere">check out the Shopify blog</a>.And as always, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/shopify">Shopify through our CMS Directory</a>.

Shopify Hands Out Free SSL Certificates to All Shopify Stores

Marketing automation was one of the hottest topics of 2015 and the source of many heated discussions amongst marketing professionals.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/image850x0-is.jpeg" />
Whilst some professionals see marketing automation as the holy grail of an evolving industry, others still see it as a cold and impersonal way of doing business. And both parties are right.
When it’s done well, marketing automation can work wonders for the growth of a business. But when it’s not done well, it can have the opposite effect.
Fortunately, it seems that 2016 will be the year where businesses really start to get to grips with the marketing automation process, and learn how to make it work for their businesses rather than against them. In fact, according to a 2015 survey by Ascend2, 42% of businesses are now using marketing automation – which is a massive jump up from previous years.
Here are a few reasons why I believe 2016 is the year that marketing automation will really take off:
<h2>Increased Knowledge/Understanding</h2>
In early 2015, businesses became more aware that they needed marketing automation – but not all of them were sure why they needed it, or what to do wiith it. However, this has changed alot over the course of the past few months as businesses have developed a better understanding of exactly what marketing automation entails.
This will lead to more and more smaller businesses getting on board in 2016 as they become more confident in their investment.
<h2>Better Implementation</h2>
Getting marketing automation set up is a lot of work, and some companies just don’t have the time or resources for it – especially if they’ve blown their budget on a pricey product.
However, as companies begin to understand the importance of proper implementation, they’ll see a much better return on their investment and begin to really understand what can be achieved with marketing automation.
2016 will see the rise of third party companies offering to manage the implementation process, and perhaps even see better offerings emerge from the software providers themselves (we’ll talk more about this later), thus making life much easier for companies who want to get on board.
<h2>Pricing: More Accessible For SMEs</h2>
One of the main issues with marketing automation in 2015 was the associated cost and this was especially true for small businesses.
Many of the major marketing automation providers expect a 12 month commitment and payment up-front – which is a massive issue for smaller businesses who can’t afford to invest in something without trying it out first.
in 2015, larger enterprises had no problem with forking out for new systems, proper implementation processes, and ongoing management – but smaller companies didn’t really have the luxury of that extra spend. This meant that many SMEs spent all of their budget on the software and then didn’t follow through with proper staff training and implementation in order to get solid processes in place.
However, this is changing rapidly as new providers emerge with software options that specifically target smaller businesses. These new software solutions don’t ask for sign up fees, don’t tie companies into long term contracts, and allow for monthly payments. In fact, some of them are free. <a href="/12-free-or-super-cheap-marketing-automation-systems/">Click here</a> to check out our list of 12 Free Or Cheap Marketing Automation Systems.
<h2>The Transition To Software + Service</h2>
Bots can’t run the world… Yet. So the move to a more service oriented solution for marketing automation is pretty inevitable in 2016. Automation isn’t the endgame solution to marketing a business; it’s simply a tool for professionals to utilize in order to make their work more effective.
If businesses want their marketing automation processes to actually work, then they have to ensure that there’s an actual person running the show – and that person has to know what they’re doing. If they don’t, there’s little point to using the software at all.
2016 is definitely going to see more of a focus on how this software is implemented and on ensuring an adequate return on investment for companies. There are already a number of third party providers who will manage the implementation process for businesses, but perhaps 2016 will see software providers themselves providing an added service option in this regard.
Either way, marketing automation is on the rise and there’s an interesting year ahead.
What do you think is on the cards for marketing automation in 2016? Why not let us know in the comments section below.

Is 2016 the Year of Marketing Automation?

grainne-logue

<a href="http://www.sitecore.net/Events/SymposiumNA2014/Home.aspx" target="_blank"> Sitecore Symposium 2014 Las Vegas </a>  is right around the corner.
Scheduled to be held in the Aria Resort, Las Vegas from September 8th – 10th, Sitecore's latest symposium is promising to offer plenty in the way of best practises and customer experience insights. Not to mention, the thoughts of industry leading experts concerning the latest customer engagement trends will also be present.
<a href="http://www.sitecore.net/Learn/Blogs/Business-Blogs/James-Smith/Posts/2014/08/Symposium-preview.aspx" target="_blank"> According to James Smith</a>, Sitecore's VP of Marketing in North America, “Symposium is our most important event of the year, and we’ve designed it to help marketers and developers deliver personalized and measurable experiences that build customers for life.”
Let's take a closer look at what will be on offer.
<a href="http://www.sitecore.net/registersymna"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/symposium_las_vegas_2014_bannerjpg.jpg" alt="Sitecore Symposium 2014" /></a>
<h2>Sitecore Symposium 2014: What's to See?</h2>
With 1,200 expected attendees, Sitecore's 2014 Symposium is aiming to provide each and every guest with information about breakthrough technologies, along with the chance to learn about how to make the most out of their customer experience management investments.
To achieve this, Sitecore have <a href="http://www.sitecore.net/Events/SymposiumNA2014/Sessions.aspx" target="_blank">packed out their sessions with three tracks</a> – offering something for everyone:
<ul>
<li>The Business Track: Building lifetime customers. 
Attendees of this track will learn how to get the most value out of the Sitecore Experience Platform through how-to sessions from Sitecore business optimization experts and customers.</li>
<li>The Developer Track: Harnessing big data to own the experience. 
This track will give attendees the chance to lisen in on tips from Sitecore developers about how to implement solutions across the Sitecore Experience Platform. Also, attendees will have the opportunity to receive hands-on assistance with their projects.</li>
<li>The Product Track: Know every customer. Own every experience. 
During this track, attendees will learn how to use the Sitecore Experience Platform “right out of the box,” hear the most compelling customer success stories and be the first to learn about what’s coming next from Sitecore’s product team.</li>
</ul>
Furthermore, Sitecore has <a href="http://www.sitecore.net/About/Press-and-Media/Press-Releases/2014/08/Symposium-keynotes.aspx" target="_blank"> just announced a number of keynote speakers</a> scheduled for appearance at their Las Vegas symposium.
The keynote speakers will include the likes of Sitecore CEO Michael Seifert and David Meerman Scott, a world-renowned marketing and sales strategist.
To get a feel for how all three days of the even will pass, check out the <a href="http://www.sitecore.net/Events/SymposiumNA2014/Agenda.aspx" target="_blank">Sitecore Symposium 2014 Las Vegas Agenda</a>.
<h2>We'll Be There</h2>
CMS Critic has been on the ground at a number of major events this year already. But we aren't finished yet.
Mike Johnston, the founder and Editor-in-Chief here at CMS Critic, will be attending Sitecore Symposium 2014 Las Vegas. You can follow his live coverage via the <a href="https://twitter.com/cmscritic" target="_blank">CMS Critic Twitter page</a>. Mike will also publish coverage via the blog, so make sure you check back both during and after the event.
For more information on Sitecore Symposium 2014 Las Vegas, <a href="http://www.sitecore.net/Events/SymposiumNA2014/Home.aspx" target="_blank"> check out the event's website</a>. To register now, <a href="http://www.sitecore.net/Events/SymposiumNA2014/Registration.aspx" target="_blank"> click here</a>.
Also, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/sitecore/" target="_blank">Sitecore via our CMS Directory</a>.

Event Preview: Sitecore Symposium 2014 Las Vegas

How well do you know your customers? Sure, they follow you on social media and their contact details are listed in your CRM, but how much do you actually know about them?
If you haven’t yet utilized the connection between your CRM and social media management, then you're definitely not investing enough time in developing your customer relationships. And without investment, you’ll never see results.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/bigstock-young-business-man-connection--30132587604x0-is.jpg" />
The line between customer relationship management and social media management has become increasingly blurred over the past few years and today’s customers are much more likely to send a tweet than to pick up the phone. In fact, many companies have stopped listing customer service numbers on their websites at all.
Instead, their customer service teams are redirecting their focus to the 24/7 monitoring of their social media channels. After all, it’s pretty crucial to be on the ball when a disgruntled customer has unleashed a 0 star review on your Facebook page for everyone to see. Not to mention the Twitter onslaught that can occur if you don’t respond to a tweet within an hour – max.
As a result, Social CRM services are on the rise and businesses have started to recognize the importance of taking control over their online customer relationship management. It’s absolutely essential to turn your social media presence into an asset rather than a liability, whether it’s to gain valuable customer insights, drive extra traffic to your site, or simply to measure the overall sentiment of your brand.
By integrating social media with your CRM, you can develop your customer relationships on a much more personalized level and acquire data that you’d never have had access to otherwise.
If you’re not sure where to start, these 10 steps will set you on your way to social CRM success.
<h2>1. Make Sure You Have The Right Platform In Place</h2>
The first thing you need to do is to select a social media management platform and it’s important to select the right one for your business. This is where you’ll manage your social media presence across all channels, schedule posts, and interact with customers. Don’t forget to look for a platform with decent analytics capabilities too.
The platform you choose is really dependent on the size of your business and your budget, and there are a number of popular options to choose from such as <a href="https://hootsuite.com/">Hootsuite</a>, <a href="https://buffer.com/">Buffer</a>, and <a href="http://sproutsocial.com/">Sprout Social</a>. Remember, this platform also needs to integrate seamlessly with your existing CRM.
<h2>2. Put The Right Resources In Place</h2>
Most company social media channels will be managed by members of the marketing team, but it’s not always a great idea to have your marketing manager doubling up as a customer care agent.
Your social media channels will be bombarded with various customer queries every week and your marketing team won’t always know the answers. Sure, they can try to find out – but that takes time, and your customers don’t want to wait 24 hours for a reply to a tweet.
The best way to successfully manage your online customer care queries is to have a well-rounded team in place to address them. This team should include experts from both your marketing and customer care departments so that you can cover all bases and respond to all queries in a prompt and efficient manner.
<h2>3. Get Up Close And Personal</h2>
If your customers wanted to read the FAQ’s they'd go to your website, so please don’t simply redirect them there or copy and paste a few one-liners to answer their queries. These kinds of generic responses on social media are not going to go down well with your online audience.
It’s also really important to personalize your interactions and make your customer feel valued and listened to. This can mean something as little as addressing them by their name or simply responding in a friendly tone – but it makes a massive difference to the way your brand is perceived and will help to establish a sense of community within your customer base.
<h2>4. Find Your Focus</h2>
You don’t need to dedicate an equal amount of resources to every social media channel out there, and you don’t need to be on every single one of them either. For example, if your business is an IT company then you probably don't need to go jumping on Pinterest anytime soon.
Find out where your customers are and focus on those platforms, even if that means simply sticking to <a href="https://twitter.com/?lang=en">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/">LinkedIn</a> to get started. You definitely don’t want to spread yourself too thin when it comes to dealing with customers on social media.
<h2>5. Start Listening</h2>
It’s important to keep track of what your customers are saying about your brand if you want to stay one step ahead. This is all about putting the fire out before it starts. If your customers aren’t happy with an aspect of your product or service, you can change it before it becomes a major issue.
This kind of social listening also gives you the opportunity to gain valuable insights into your customer needs and use them to improve your product or come up your next idea.
<h2>6. Segment Your Customers</h2>
You can get smart with social by further segmenting your customers into target audiences. By using lists on Twitter and groups on Facebook and LinkedIn, you can add specific customers and tailor your interactions to ensure that they’re engaged.
<h2>7. Set Customer Expectations</h2>
Your customers are going to expect you to be available 24/7 on social media unless you put some expectations in place. If your team is only going to be active from 9-5 Mon-Fri then it’s important to make your customers aware of that. Otherwise, you’ll log in to a world of chaos come Monday morning.
A quick note on your bio with active monitoring hours and expected response times will sort this out.
<h2>8. Join The Dots</h2>
The whole premise of integrating your social with your CRM is to utilize the mountains of information available to you, so don’t forget to actually do it. By doing a bit of data mining within your customer social media profiles, your marketing team can quickly identify trends within your target audience and gain some valuable intel for future campaigns.
<h2>9. Centralize All Of Your Customer Communications</h2>
There are tons of ways for your customers to get in touch with your business and it’s important that you have a central hub in place to list every single one of these interactions. This will improve communication lines between departments and ensure that customer queries get solved sooner rather than later.
It’s essential to make sure that every call and every email is logged on your CRM, as well as your social interactions. The last thing you want is to have an irate customer on the line who says she spoke to someone on Twitter the night before, when you have no record of what was said or who was monitoring the account that day. Sure, you can go searching for the info, but your customer won’t be happy about the wait and your whole online audience will probably hear about it too.
<h2>10. Reward Your Customers</h2>
Nothing breeds loyalty like a freebie now and then. Use incentives such as discount offers, free ebooks, and promotional codes, to reward your customers. By reaching out to key influencers especially, you can start to build a real community online.
It’s important to remember that your social CRM is a valuable addition to your traditional CRM system but it’s definitely not designed to replace it. Integrating a social CRM will help you to convert opportunities into customers by getting to know your target audience better and getting involved in their daily conversations about your business.
How is your social CRM going for you at the moment? Whether you’re a newbie or a veteran to the world of social CRM, we’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments section below.

10 Steps To Social CRM Success

We are now accepting nominations for the Critics' Choice portion of the CMS Awards. These awards will be selected by our panel of judges however, we are allowing everyone to submit products for consideration as well.
Remember, this is the second half of our awards. We have the People's Choice awards which are selected by YOU and are currently in the voting stage (you can vote <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-critic-awards/">here</a>) and this is the Critics' Choice portion which is selected by our panel of judges (to be announced soon).
<img style="display:block;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/awards-logo.png" />
To be considered, you must enter a complete and full answer including a several paragraph mini essay describing why you feel the product you are nominating is worth consideration for the specific award.
To begin submitting products for nomination, go to <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-critic-awards/">https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-critic-awards/</a>

Nominations are open for the Critics' Choice CMS Awards

It’s time to kick off another featured week, this time with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.solodev.com/">Solodev CMS</a>, an enterprise-grade platform built to handle websites, document management, digital marketing, eCommerce, as well as custom and mobile app development.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.solodev.com/"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/soldodev-logo-1_400x0.png" /></a>Launched in 2006, Solodev is a well-established CMS, boasting clients such as OneBlood, MobileHelp, CNL Financial Group, Springstone Hospitals, Dr. Philips Center and the State of Florida Department of Education.They tend to work within industries like: Consumer Services, Education, Healthcare, Government and Financial Services.<h2>Getting Comfortable with Solodev</h2>Solodev can be deployed as an on-premise solution, or as a SaaS (Software as a Service) solution, making it flexible enough for pretty much all corners of the online world.The platform’s core features span WYSIWYG and inline content editing, multi-site management, dynamic drag-and-drop templating features, a built-in Google Analytics dashboard, a landing page builder and a custom form builder.Solodev also has built-in modules (called “Managers” in the platform) that make it easy to manage dynamic features like blogs, calendars, management pages, news items, and photo galleries.It also integrates well with third party CRMs, marketing automation systems and other solutions to unite all marketing efforts under the same digital roof.Furthermore, thanks to enhanced multi-site capabilities, brands can deploy and manage multiple websites from the a single Solodev instance. Those websites can be cloned to easily spin up new sites, and can also share content with other websites managed by the Solodev instance.<h2>From AWS to API</h2>With the release of Solodev CMS 8, the platform was re-architected for maximum optimization in the AWS (Amazon Web Services) Cloud. The re-build means that Solodev can be rapidly deployed across global regions at the click of a button.Additionally, the AWS environment provides for load-balancing in multi-server set-ups and high capacity events. This helps to avoid restricted site access by triggering extra web servers or even a secondary load balancer in a redundant environment. Customers with the highest availability requirements can take advantage of hot standby sites in alternate regions to provide live failover capabilities for disaster recovery.Solodev also provides users with a RESTful API for custom application and mobile app integration.For example, Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority made use of Solodev CMS to develop a website that serves as a portal for developers to request dev keys and access documentation.The built-in API allowed their developers to take advantage of the existing and extensive Miami Beach data set to create mobile apps focusing on things such as: hotels, shopping, dining, arts and entertainment, nightlife, sports, music, transportation and more.<h2>Getting Started with Solodev</h2>Solodev CMS presents three subscription plans for brands to get started with their platform. Plans start from $7,100/year, and look a little like this:Business – single server with standard supportProfessional – multi-server with advanced supportEnterprise – multi-server cluster with dedicated supportTo find out more about Solodev CMS, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.solodev.com">check out their website</a> and the <a href="/products/solodev">Solodev CMS Critic Directory listing</a>.And of course, be sure to stay tuned for more featured coverage during this <a href="/tag/solodev">Solodev CMS featured week</a>.

Exploring Solodev CMS 8

CMS Summit 26

Find out at Open Source CMS 26, October 20-21 in Utrecht, Netherlands

What's ahead for Open Source CMS?

#ffffff

<a href="http://dotcms.com/">DotCMS</a>, a renowned open-source Enterprise Content Management System, has <a href="http://www.azulsystems.com/press-2014/dotcms-and-azul-systems-partner-to-enhance-online-experience-of-web-scale-content-management-systems" target="_blank">partnered up</a> with <a href="http://www.azulsystems.com/"> Azul Systems</a> an award-winning Java runtime solution.
<a href="http://www.azulsystems.com/products/zing/whatisit"> Azul Zing </a> ® is the Azul Systems product in question. Zing is now certified with DotCMS, enabling DotCMS users to benefit from vastly improved scalability, consistent response times and improved reliability.
DotCMS has been <a href="/announcing-this-years-nominees-for-the-2014-peoples-choice-cms-awards/" target="_blank">nominated in two categories in the 2014 CMS Awards</a>; Best Free Java CMS and Best Open Source Java CMS.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/400.png" alt="DotCMS" />
<h2>Speed Behind the Scenes</h2>
DotCMS and Azul Systems made this partnership official following a successful Proof of Concept (POC) at a leading healthcare provider.
The healthcare provider was hosting more than 1,000 websites on a cluster of dotCMS servers running with 40 GB heaps, but was experiencing application pauses of up to 170 seconds. That's a problem.
Now, thanks to the introduction of Azul Zing, the healthcare company is experiencing dramatically improved throughput performance, higher availability and increased reliability. Problem solved.
Regarding the newly formed alliance, Will Ezell, CTO of dotCMS, had this to say:
<blockquote>“Our enterprise customers implement demanding use cases with dotCMS and depend on it to run their business. Deploying on Azul’s Zing enhances the scalability, responsiveness and reliability of dotCMS and assures deployments can deliver consistent, low latency response times regardless of user load.”</blockquote>
The CEO of Azul Systems, Scott Sellers, also chimed in:
<blockquote>“Companies depend on their online presence for revenue and customer service. One of Zing’s design goals was better performance for interactive web-scale applications like dotCMS, particularly those implementing rich, engaging features. By deploying dotCMS on Zing, enterprises can deliver the best possible customer experience, grow online usage without worry, and take advantage of all the advanced capabilities of dotCMS.”</blockquote>
To test Zing with dotCMS, you can request a <a href="http://www.azul.com/trial" target="_blank">free evaluation copy right here</a>.
Plus, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/dotcms/" target="_blank"> DotCMSvia our CMS Directory</a>.

DotCMS Partners With Azul Systems to Improve Scalability & Reliability

As a Macbook Pro user, I've always found it frustrating how difficult they can be to upgrade. I realize of course that most of this is due to the way they are built but another aspect is absolutely Apple's desire to have you just upgrade the whole laptop rather than individual components. Otherwise, your Macbook might last too long right?For this reason, I was pretty excited when I received a request from Tardisk asking me to review their Macbook storage expansion device. I was, admittedly, at first pretty skeptical about how well it would work but I am happy to report I was wrong. It works flawlessly and is probably one of the most efficient and cost effective ways to upgrade your hard drive on your Macbook.I should start by pointing out that this is more upgrading your storage than literally upgrading your hard drive although the intent is to make it feel like a single unit. Let me walk you through how the Tardisk worked for me but before I do so, here's a quick video outlining the concept behind the product and it's functionality. The Tardisk comes in two different sizes; 128 and 256 GB and is available for Macbook Air and Macbook Pro laptops.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/tardisk_review_-_1622x0-is.jpg" />The concept behind it is pretty cool. You basically insert the Tardisk into your SD card slot on your Macbook and follow some instructions and it “pears” (their term, not mine) with your Macbook hard drive to form one large partition of space. The best part is that you don't lose any speed or performance!<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/tardisk_review_-_2622x0-is.jpg" />The only downside of course is that it effectively renders your SD card slot unusable as, once it's installed, you don't want to be removing it. The good thing though is that you can pick up an SD card reader (such as the one below) on Amazon for under $10:When you open up the packaging, you will see the Tardisk is a small metallic hard drive perfectly sized for your SD card slot.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/tardisk_review_-_3443x366-cropx304y483-is.jpg" />The drive definitely feels well built and not like some cheap piece of junk that's likely to break or cause you problems. You can tell they worked hard on making it not only look good but match the overall style and aesthetics of your Macbook. Once inserted, you can't even tell it's there (other than the fact that the SD card slot is full that is), it seamlessly fits in with the Macbook body.Installation was pretty straight forward. I wouldn't say it was super easy but it wasn't complicated either. They do a good job of walking you through the steps but I wouldn't give one to my Grandma and expect her to be able to do it. I'd probably give it to someone who's comfortable navigating their Macbook and can follow instructions without getting nervous about the results.I won't go into how the process works as the process can be seen here: https://www.tardisk.com/pages/faq and the setup video is far easier to follow than for me to type out. Let me just say that total time for me was about an hour because I had to do a time machine backup. If I had been doing these regularly, it would have likely taken 1-2 minutes.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/insert800x0-is.jpg" /> I've been using the Tardisk in my Macbook for the last week or so and can comfortably say I've encountered no issues. My Macbook is just as quick as it was before, the only difference is that I have an extra 128GB of hard drive space. I'm suitably impressed with the Tardisk. I love that these guys found an elegant solution to a problem that's long plagued Macbook users and I'm excited to share the news. It's affordable, works beautifully and is crafted with care.If you need an elegant way to upgrade your Macbook storage, look no further. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tardisk.com/">Go grab yourself a Tardisk</a> and start “pearing” today.

Tardisk Review - A Simple, Effective Way to Upgrade your Macbook Storage

In our <a href="/exploring-solodev-cms-8/">first featured post regarding Solodev CMS</a>, I mentioned that the platform has a history of powering government websites.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.solodev.com/"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/soldodev-logo-1_400x0.png" /></a> Making use of built-in features like data-driven forms, document management, workflow management, and the Solodev API, local governments have leveraged the platform to power their online presences.Today, Solodev’s government clientele includes; State of Florida, Seminole County, Osceola County, City of Orlando and City of Miami Beach.<h2>Bridging the Gap</h2>I think it’s fair to say that local government websites are not typically known for cutting edge features and functionality.And yet, town, city and county residents are used to managing much of their lives online – and want to do the same with regard to their interactions with their town hall.To bridge that digital gap, Solodev CMS delivers a full range of features. Let’s take a closer look at the most relevant ones.<h2>Custom, Custom, Custom</h2>On top of websites and apps being mobile optimized out of the box, developers can produce custom applications to handle government data and activities, including;staff directoriesemergency alert functionalityevents, calendar managementnews managementvideo and photo galleriesblogs and landing page managementCustomized solutions can also be produced further thanks to Solodev’s RESTful API, which allows for custom and third-party integrations.<h2>Making Life Easier for Constituents</h2>Speaking of integrations, Solodev also integrates with a range of social media websites, encouraging social sharing and providing single-sign-on options.Solodev’s development team has also put tremendous emphasis on the platform’s easy-to-manage CMS capabilities with SEO optimization, aiming to help residents or other constituents find what they're looking for more easily.Furthermore, 24/7 self-service capabilities around bill pay, service requests, and general information is made available, streamlining those online constituent experiences as much as possible.To round things off, Solodev CMS 8 boasts ADA compliancy, as well as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.solodev.com/">AWS hosting</a> with full disaster recovery – perfect for government bodies who simply cannot afford to lose data.To find out more about Solodev CMS, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.solodev.com/">check out their website</a> and the <a href="/products/solodev">Solodev CMS Critic Directory listing</a>.And of course, be sure to stay tuned for more featured coverage during this <a href="/tag/solodev">Solodev CMS featured week</a>.

Solodev CMS: Powering Next Generation Local Government Websites to Improve Constituent Services

WordPress 4.0 is finally here, and it goes by the name of “Benny”.
As per usual, WordPress has named this major release after a famous Jazz artist. This time, it's Clarinetist, Benny Goodman. But that's not what we're really interested in here (Sorry, Jazz fans).
There are four key parts to WordPress 4.0, all of which work together to make life a little easier for WordPress website owners, admins and authors across the world. Here's a rather charming video which explains it all.

<h2>Manage Media, Edit &amp; Embed Easier</h2>
WordPress 4.0 is all about streamlining those everyday publishing and website improving tasks. The changes are subtle, but powerful.
First of all, WordPress' media manager has been polished up. Now, you can explore your uploads in a neat, infinitely scrolling grid. Plus, the new preview mode makes viewing and editing any amount of media simple, thanks to live previewing and handy navigation buttons, which enable you to quickly scroll through your uploads.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/media.jpg" alt="WordPRess 4.0" /> 
Writing, editing and publishing is now also smoother than ever. WordPress' editor now expands to fit your content as you write, and keeps the formatting tools available at all times. You scroll, they scroll.
Embedding things into your posts is also now easier than ever before.
Instead of having to preview your post to see embedded objects, those objects now appear in the editor as they would on your website. You can paste in a YouTube URL on a new line, and watch it instantly become an embedded video. The same rule applies to Tweets.
So, embedding with WordPress is now a visual experience. You paste some code in, and watch it come to life – right there in front of you.
To make embedding even sweeter, WordPress have also expanded the default supported services. You can now embed CollegeHumor, YouTube playlists, TED talks, an <a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Embeds" target="_blank"> much more </a> .
Finally, WordPress 4.0 brings about another cosmetic revamp for the plugins library.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/add-plugin1.png" alt="WordPRess 4.0" /> 
It's now easier to find the right plugin for your needs, with new metrics, improved search, and a more visual, grid-based browsing experience.
WordPress 4.0 is still hot off the presses, but if one thing is for sure, it's made WordPress prettier. Grid style presentation of media and plugins, along with visually pleasing embedding, has turned WordPress into a bit of a looker.
For more information on WordPress 4.0 Benny, <a href="http://wordpress.org/news/2014/09/benny/" target="_blank"> check out the official annoncement </a> .

WordPress 4.0 "Benny" Released With Editing & Interface Improvements

For years, <a href="http://www.prestashop.com/" target="_blank">PrestaShop</a> has been well-known for its free and open-source eCommerce solution.
So well-known in fact, that the Miami based company has just been <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-critic-awards/" target="_blank">nominated in two categories for the 2014 CMS Awards</a>; Best eCommerce Solution for SMB and Best eCommerce Solution for Enterprise.
Not to mention, the platform currently boasts well over 4 million downloads to date.
Since the <a href="/hands-on-with-prestashop-1.6/" target="_blank">release of Prestashop 1.6</a>, the platform has been presenting itself in a new, more merchant-friendly light. For example, along with a slick new interface, the newly introduced <a href="http://www.prestashop.com/blog/en/prestashop-v-1-6-back-office-whats-new-and-improved/" target="_blank">Intelligent Merchant KPI</a> has given PrestaShop merchants a statistical edge in their ever-evolving battle for conversions.
Now, although these recent improvements are important, Prestashop has another dimension which is all too often missed by those from the outside looking in.
That dimension, is a thriving global community.
<a href="http://www.prestashop.com/" target="_blank"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/download.jpg" alt="PrestaShop" /></a>
<h2>PrestaShop Worldwide</h2>
Thanks to the work of their excellent community management team, headed by Benjamin Utterback, PrestaShop has a lofty reputation in almost every world continent.
They have stores based in 163 countries, a global network of certified agencies and have recently expanded their empire by <a href="http://www.prestashop.com/en/press-releases/2014/07/17/prestashop-announces-plans-to-expand-throughout-europe/" target="_blank">appointing a new community manager</a> to operate in Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands.
As a result of this global presence, there aren't many eCommerce platforms with user bases as diverse as PrestaShop's.
The Prestashop online forum for example has dedicated sections for a myriad of languages, including French, Spanish, Italian, German, Bahasa, Polish and Turkish. Plus, a host of mini-communities exist within the wider forum community, accomodating Japanese, Lithuanian, Arabic and Urdu speakers. Now that's diversity.
And yet, the PrestaShop forum isn't just a multi-ligual chat room. It is much, much more.
<h2>The Headquarters</h2>
PrestaShop's online forum acts as the headquarters for PrestaShop users everywhere.
With over 670,000 registered users and 1,700,000 posts, the forum is constantly alive with activity. Questions are being answered, solutions are being found and breakthroughs are being made.
As previously mentioned, the multi-lingual inclusively of the forum makes it a pretty welcoming place – no matter which part of the world you happen to be from. That kind of online hospitality is precisely why PresaShop's community has grown so organically and successfully.
The forum is designed to allow users to discuss general PrestaShop issues, customizations, search engine optimization, third-party modules, themes, and even job offers.
Putting practical usage aside though, when things get tough, it's nice to have such a large community to rely on. PrestaShop users have exactly that.
<h2>A Community Bearing Fruits</h2>
The PrestaShop community wasn't created by accident, nor was it cultivated without reason. It was grown to not only bring users together, but also to improve PrestaShop itself.
Alongside a dedicated <a href="https://www.prestashop.com/en/support" target="_blank">PrestaShop support system</a>, users can naturally refer the the highly experienced community to help solve problems, and that in itself is a highly valuable asset for both PrestaShop as a vendor, as well as for the everyday PrestaShop user.
Also, PrestaShop showcases the “Shop of the Week” on its homepage, giving PrestaShop users an added incentive to hone their stores and make the most of the tools available. Not to mention, a bit of friendly competition is healthy for any community.
The fruits of the PrestaShop community don't stop there though.
PrestaShop doesn't confine the voice of its users to the forum and website alone. They interact and listen to their community members – and then act on their advice.
In July 2014 for example, <a href="/prestashop-1.6.0.9-brings-about-long-list-of-tweaks-enhancements/" target="_blank">PrestaShop released version 1.6.0.9</a>, citing that 69 different users helped them make improvements. Not to mention, <a href="/prestashop-1.6-released/" target="_blank">PrestaShop 1.6</a>, which was a major release, was filled with tweaks and enhancements suggested by community members.
In fact, after repeated requests from the community, a number of previously premium features were integrated into the final release of PrestaShop 1.6, making them completely free. Now that's a community with a strong voice.
The PrestaShop community is one of the most powerful, cohesive and diverse weapons in PrestaShop's arsenal. It gives users a real voice, a sense of belonging and a free, helpful resource.
Personally, I can't wait to see what the PrestaShop community can achieve next.

A Closer Look at PrestaShop's Global Community

On July 2nd 2013, Koken released version 0.9 of their popular content management system, built from the ground up for Photographers, designers and other creative media publishers.
Koken 0.9 brings about an array of over 50 updates relating to image editing, media organization, essay presentation and social sharing. Let's now delve into the most exciting features of Koken's latest update.
<h2>Featured Images &amp; Essays</h2>
One of the updates brought about by Koken 0.9 is featured images, which can be assigned to different essays and pages. Users can now quickly and easily insert images from their media library into various content, which prompts Koken to assign it as the featured image for that particular publication.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/1.png" alt="Koken 0.9" />
Additionally, Koken 0.9 brings about the ability to set featured essays, allowing users to display a certain essays in a way which is more distinct, and will thus draw the direct attention of their website visitors.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2.png" alt="Koken 0.9" />
Users can now simply click the star next to any essay to give it its featured status. Koken has also updated the vast majority of its themes in compliance with this feature, to allow all-round featured essay support and display capability.
<h2>Image Focal Points</h2>
Like many themes across a variety of CMS, Koken's templates often crop images to fit certain thumbnail and page sizes. Previously, images may have been cropped in a way which removes the focus of the picture itself. For example, faces or wording which hold value may have been cropped out of the image altogether. 
As a solution, Koken 0.9 introduces an image “Focal Point” tool, which allows users to pinpoint an area within an image which must always kept within the frame, even after cropping. This ensures that all forms of cropping never negatively affects the impact of the image.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/3.png" alt="Koken 0.9" />
<h2>Better Media Organization</h2>
Photographers and others who wish to upload large amounts of images and other types of media will be happy to see Koken's improvements relating to media organization, searching and general management.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/4.png" alt="Koken 0.9" />
Users are now able to search and sort their content by filename, displaying media is ascending and descending order. Additionally, a “Reverse Order” button has been added, which flips the order or albums, making older uploads easier to locate.
<h2>Improved HTML Editing</h2>
Koken 0.9 also presents a completely revamped HTML editor. The new editor offers features such as syntax highlighting, code completion and the ability for users to view their changes in both edit modes. Essentially, the HTML editor provides an instant preview of the changes being made.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/5.png" alt="Koken 0.9" />
<h2>Tumblr Sharing</h2>
Also amongst Koken's new features, is the ability to share content directly to the extremely popular social network, <a href="/could-tumblr-become-the-next-cms-powerhouse/">Tumblr</a>.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/6.png" alt="Koken 0.9" />
The Tumblr sharing option has been added to Koken's default themes, as well as the Library section located within Koken's administration console. This allows users to publish content to Tumblr without ever having to leave their admin panel.
<h2>Additional Features</h2>
In addition to the new features and capabilities mentioned above, Koken 0.9 also introduces changes such as, RSS feed improvements, navigational enhancements, slideshow titles &amp; captions, and much more.
Also, just hours after the release of Koken 0.9, a much smaller update in the form of <a href="http://blog.koken.me/essays/2013/07/koken-091-released/">Koken 0.9.1 was a</a><a href="http://blog.koken.me/essays/2013/07/koken-091-released/">nnounced</a>, which fixed a number of minor issues relating to the previous burst of updates and enhancements.
For further information on the changes we have highlighted, and a full list of Koken 0.9's CMS features and updates, check out <a href="http://help.koken.me/customer/portal/articles/848339-release-notes">Koken's official release notes</a>.

Koken 0.9 - Feature Roundup

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