Articles - Page 63

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

matt-garrepy

JotForm today announced <a href="https://www.jotform.com/products/mobile-forms/">JotForm Mobile Forms</a>, a version of its popular form service that works on all mobile device types.
The new app is designed to remove limitations on where and how you can collect data, with advanced features like offline capabilities, kiosk mode, and the ability to quickly access and share forms. It works well for users who want to fill out their own forms from remote locations as well as users who want to request that others fill out their forms.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/asset11_nnlgnx.png" /> <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/asset1-scaled_b5rlnx.png" /> <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2019-06-13-at-175122_zp7zz9.png" />
Photographers and marketers especially will benefit from JotForm Mobile Forms, since it improves remote access to much-needed forms. 
Photographers can quickly and seamlessly collect signatures on the go, which makes getting model releases and session agreements incredibly simple. Marketers can leverage kiosk mode, which automatically resets their form after someone fills it out on a public device — great for collecting feedback or emails on a signup form at a booth.  
Key features:
<ul>
<li>Collect data offline.</li>
<li>Create and edit forms. </li>
<li>Assign and share forms. </li>
<li>Record your voice as a form submission.</li>
<li>Use geolocation to pinpoint exact locations.</li>
<li>Turn your phone into a public kiosk station.</li>
<li>Customize notifications.</li>
</ul>
JotForm has always worked well on mobile devices; however, JotForm Mobile Forms substantially improves access to users’ forms.
The new product also makes JotForm an attractive data-collection option for industries that haven’t typically been JotForm users, including safety inspectors, oil and gas workers, repair professionals, and construction workers. In use cases that have traditionally involved collecting information using paper and pen, JotForm Mobile Forms is designed to improve speed and accuracy, while reducing expensive and wasteful paper.
JotForm Mobile Forms is available for free on the Google Play store and the App Store. Learn more about its capabilities by visiting <a href="https://www.jotform.com/products/mobile-forms/">https://www.jotform.com/products/mobile-forms/</a>.

JotForm Mobile Forms launches to improve remote data collection

mike-johnston

As you may already know, the nomination stage for our 2013 <a href="/cms-critic-awards/">Critics Choice CMS Awards</a> has been open for almost one month. There is one month to go before nominations close and we begin shortlisting potential candidates for the voting stage.
We've prepared this handy badge to use on your site to help inspire your supporters to cast their nominations. Please feel free to use it in your efforts to boost your nominations.
<img style="max-width:250px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/nominate-us.png" alt="nominate us - cms awards" />
We're coming down to the wire now for the nominations to get them in while you still can. Remember, these awards are not just here as a popularity contest either so if your community is small and you are worried about not getting enough nominations, don't be. There's a reason we've broken these awards into two types; Peoples Choice and Critics Choice. The latter does not require nominations at all. (more details on the <a href="/cms-critic-awards/">awards page</a> as to how it works).
Best of luck to you all!

Nominate your Favorites for the 2013 Critics Choice CMS Awards!

<a href="http://www.hannonhill.com/products/index.html" target="_blank"> Cascade Server</a> version 7.12 is now <a href="http://www3.hannonhill.com/c/1921/172220/55376" target="_blank">available for download</a>.
Cascade Server is a Java-based “push” CMS that can either be installed locally or hosted in the cloud by Hannon Hill – the company behind Cascade Server.
Version 7.12 of Cascade Server is another step taken by Hannon Hill to, “improve the user experience”. They have focused on content reporting and content authoring by adding improvements to the draft and editing interfaces. Let's take a deeper look at what's new.
<a href="http://www.hannonhill.com/products/index.html" target="_blank"><img style="max-width:224px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/cascade_server.jpg" /></a>
<h2>UI Tweaks, Link Checkers &amp; More</h2>
Cascade Server 7.12 features a brand new site-wide broken link report. We all know that keeping up with the quality of your site’s internal and external links is no easy undertaking, but it's an essential part of maintaining a high caliber website. This feature will regularly scan your site for both internal and external links, allowing users to find and fix these links before they ever go live.
This new feature will check all publishable Pages and Files in the system for broken links on a daily schedule. Any broken links encountered are stored in the database as a report which can be viewed on the Link Checker dashboard. Accompanying the Broken Link Report is the new Link Checker Summary dashboard widget, which provides a summary of the status of broken links on the current site.
Below are some more notable features from version 7.12:
<ul>
<li>Improvements to the Editing and Drafting UI. We’ve revamped the drafting experience to be more seamless and less obtrusive.</li>
<li>Stale Content Filtering. You can filter down your Stale Content Dashboard and see only what you want to see.</li>
<li>Improved support for inserting and link-checking scheme-relative links. This will allow you to keep up with the trend towards more HTTPS-enabled sites and a secure web.</li>
</ul>
The Hannon Hill team will be releasing a series of informative blog posts to give users more details about the major improvements in 7.12, but you can also learn about the new features in the  <a href="http://www3.hannonhill.com/c/1921/172220/55375" target="_blank"> 7.12 Release Notes</a> and by checking out the  <a href="http://www3.hannonhill.com/c/1921/172220/55374" target="_blank"> 7.12 Press Release</a>.
You can <a href="http://www3.hannonhill.com/c/1921/172220/55376" target="_blank"> download Cascade Server 7.12 right here</a>.
To find out more about Cascade Server, <a href="http://www3.hannonhill.com/c/1921/172220/55376" target="_blank"> visit their website</a>.
Also, be sure to check out <a href="/products/cascade-cms/" target="_blank"> Cascade Server via our CMS Directory</a>.

Cascade Server 7.12 Released

Purple Parrot is a proprietary CMS with plenty of out-of-the-box features for a variety of website needs. Purple Parrot caters to small business, e-commerce, and online education sites. The CMS is cloud-based and multi-user.
<h2>Overview</h2>
<a href="http://www.purpleparrot.com/about/" target="_blank">Purple Parrot</a> is a full-fledged CMS, including a web design and software solution firm. Purple Parrot has been in business since the early days of widespread Internet usage (over 20 years). Part of their sell is the ability to take an existing website and place it into their own CMS, giving you the ability to take full control of a website. In spite of having plenty of features, Purple Parrot has some features that users may find limiting, including difficult site design process, lack of access to code, and some unwieldy operations in the CMS.
<h2>Creating a Site</h2>
I'll walk through the process of creating a site on Purple Parrot.
When I log in for the first time, the Admin Dashboard is a bit bewildering. Here's what I see.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple1-620x463.jpeg" alt="purple1" />
SiteBuilder
The most prominent category is “SiteBuilder Features.” Within this category are the following features, including a brief onscreen description.
<ul>
<li>External Widgets – External widgets are portable chunks of code supplied by third-party sources that can be installed and executed on any of your site's pages.</li>
<li>General Information – Provide general information about your company.</li>
<li>Menu Designer – Design the menus that will help your visitors navigate through your site.</li>
<li>Page Manager – Create the custom or module pages you have selected for your site.</li>
<li>Select Your Color Theme – Select or create your own color theme for the site.</li>
<li>Select Your Font – Choose the font to be used throughout your site.</li>
<li>Template Manager – Design the templates that contain the header, footer, and/or sidebar for the pages of your website.</li>
</ul>
I found the descriptions of each feature to be helpful, but was nonplussed as to which I should choose to start my site.
The dashboard links are replicated in the menu bar. So, instead of clicking one of these dashboard links, I chose the “SiteBuilder” menu link, and chose “General Information.”
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple2.jpeg" alt="purple2" />
General Information
On this screen, I edit my site's general information, including the company name, a description, and a login option.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple3-620x463.jpeg" alt="purple3" />
The customization options at the bottom are denoted with green checkmarks. When I attempt to “select site width,” I receive the following information:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple4.jpeg" alt="purple4" />
To “check the page out,” I go to the top of the page, where I see the following:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple5.jpeg" alt="purple5" />
Clicking the lock image then “checks out” the page, where I can complete further operations.
Site Width
There are two options for site width:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple6-620x393.jpeg" alt="purple6" />
These two options are standard. I do notice, however, there is little flexibility to change these options, nor is there a responsive design option. The customization is limited, which is acceptable for someone with limited web experience.
Metadata
There is an area to edit the metadata, which is helpful for SEO purposes.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple7.jpeg" alt="purple7" />
The logo upload process is fairly straightforward, if not a wee bit clunky.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple8.jpeg" alt="purple8" />
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple9.jpeg" alt="purple9" />
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple10-620x359.jpeg" alt="purple10" />
Font Selection
Finally, I go to select my font. I find it a bit unusual that selecting a font takes me to a new edit page. Here's a look at it.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple11-620x463.jpeg" alt="purple11" />
After choosing “Century Gothic, 14px,” I move on to “Go to Color Selection.”
Color Selection
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple12-620x463.jpeg" alt="purple12" />
The color selection page allows me to choose color themes, which “will affect elements such as text boxes and the search button on your visitor pages.” Customization is available to “edit this theme.”
I choose the “Neutral Green” theme.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple13-620x463.jpeg" alt="purple13" />
A word about navigation so far. The navigation does not immediately strike me as intuitive. However, as I have been creating the site, I realize that I am following the order of the menu elements under “Site Builder.” (See menu screenshot above). At this point, I've come to the “Menu Designer” element on the site.
Menu Designer
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple14-620x463.jpeg" alt="purple14" />
In order to edit an element of the menu, I first must click the lock icon. Then I click the pencil icon to edit the menu element. This brings up a new screen:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple15-620x463.jpeg" alt="purple15" />
The right area of the screen displays a preview of what the menu looks like. Changes are instant.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple16-620x74.jpeg" alt="purple16" />
The menus are prepopulated with the demo elements. I had to remove these one-by-one in order to create my own menu items.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple17.jpeg" alt="purple17" />
Renaming menu elements required a multiple-click process. Each time I create a new one, I am redirected to the beginning of the process.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple18.jpeg" alt="purple18" />
Overall, the menu customization is somewhat cumbersome and confusing. When I finish editing my menu elements, I click “Save,” and am prompted to click a lock again,  click “Save &amp; Close.” I arrive at the main menu designer page.
External Widgets
The next element to customize is “External Widgets.”
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple19-620x463.jpeg" alt="purple19" />
The widget option is helpful in that it allows a variety of codes to be added to the site. Purple Parrot allows an unlimited number of widgets. When a widget is added from this main External Widgets page, it can be added to any page on the site, or added to the sitewide template.
Adding a new widget prompts a popup to paste the code.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple20-620x511.jpeg" alt="purple20" />
Template Manager
The next element for me to modify is Template Manager.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple21-620x463.jpeg" alt="purple21" />
I am prompted to design a new template for the header, footer, and sidebar. The first step is to “Add New Template.”
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple22.jpeg" alt="purple22" />
Once I add the new template, I can edit it after selecting it from the template list.
This is the template editing page.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple23-620x463.jpeg" alt="purple23" />
The persistent WYSIWYG preview pane is a helpful at-a-glance perspective of how the template customization is going. The downside of the large preview pane is that it allows limited space for customization.
Under template properties, I can select a background style, layout, and title style.
Under the Standard Toolkit Menu options, I am provided with the following toolkit items:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple27.jpeg" alt="purple27" />
To add an element, I simply drag it to the live editing pane. Once I do, a setup box appears that allows me to customize that specific element.
Advanced Toolkit
Beyond these basics, I am provided with a variety of advanced elements.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple35.jpeg" alt="purple35" />
Each of these advanced toolkit options has its own unique set of customization options, similar to those in the basic toolkit.
Having finished my template design, I click “Save &amp; Close.” I see a notification that my template was saved successfully, and return to the template manager page.
This process of template creation can be continued to create as many templates are desired.
Page Manager
The page manager menu furnishes me with a list of the pages on my site. The list seen in the screenshot below are the pages already created in the demo site that I have been editing. Each of these pages can be edited.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple36-620x463.jpeg" alt="purple36" />
To edit the page, I first click on the lock button to “check out” the page. Then, I click on the pencil edit icon.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple37-620x463.jpeg" alt="purple37" />
The page editor replicates many of the elements seen in the template editor. The options and editing options are simpler. One addition that is not part of the template editor is the “Search Information” for SEO purposes.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple38.jpeg" alt="purple38" />
The standard toolkit and advanced toolkit elements are all available for adding to these custom pages.
Beyond the pages created for the site, it is possible to create special module pages.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple39-620x463.jpeg" alt="purple39" />
This completes the site creation phase. Depending on the extent of the site being created, this process can take a few hours or up to several days. There are a surprising number of options available. The level of customization is also impressive.
Publish
Having completed my site to my level of satisfaction, I click “Go to Publish.”
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple40-620x463.jpeg" alt="purple40" />
After receiving the publish confirmation, I can also view the custom pages and modules that were created or modified.
Modules
So far, I've only created the general site pages and structure. Purple Parrot has created an extensive list of modules that enhance a site's usability and versatility. Available modules are listed below.
<ul>
<li>Checkout Settings </li>
<li>Classes </li>
<li>Contact Information </li>
<li>Event Calendar </li>
<li>FAQ </li>
<li>Forms Manager </li>
<li>Google Analytics </li>
<li>Inventory </li>
<li>Jobs</li>
<li>Library </li>
<li>News </li>
<li>Release Notes </li>
<li>RSS Feeds</li>
<li>Showcase</li>
<li>Social Networking</li>
<li>Testimonials</li>
<li>Video Catalog</li>
<li>Media</li>
<li>User Management</li>
</ul>
Back to the Dashboard
When I return to the dashboard after exploring every element of Purple Parrot, the dashboard makes more sense. It provides a way to easily access all of the <a href="http://www.purpleparrot.com/features/" target="_blank">features</a> that are also included in the menu above.
<h2>Getting Help</h2>
The persistent top menu in the Purple Parrot admin provides two help menus — Help and Help Desk. (In addition there is a <a href="http://www.purpleparrot.com/m/faqs" target="_blank">FAQ</a> menu.)
Main Help Menu
The help menu provides a readme style help document. It is navigable and readable, if not a bit Web 1.0-looking.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple61-620x610.jpeg" alt="purple61" />
Help Desk
Help Desk is for registered users.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/purple62.jpeg" alt="purple62" />
I was unable to test the response of the help desk.
Overview of Help Availability
One of the most helpful features of Purple Parrot was the way it guided users through each element of site creation and editing. Throughout the editing process explanations are included that describe what an element is, how it works, and what to do to make changes. Purple Parrot provides a good setup for users who have little web design or development knowledge to create an entire site with lots of features and considerable power. In addition to these consistent explanations, there are also question mark and information buttons situated at main junctions for further information.
Sample Sites Built with Purple Parrot
Listed on the Purple Parrot site are several organizations that have used their CMS.
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.severnriverglobal.com/">http://www.severnriverglobal.com/</a></li>
<li><a href="http://itsmalliancellc.com/">http://itsmalliancellc.com/</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.clayhealth.com/">http://www.clayhealth.com/</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.mcecloans.com/">http://www.mcecloans.com/</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
Pros
<ul>
<li>WYSIWYG editing. Seeing changes as I make them is a helpful feature. Although viewing the actual sample site requires a few extra clicks, there are some editing areas in which WYSIWYG performance is available.</li>
<li>Extensive module menu. I was impressed with the number of modules and the extent of power that they provided. This was, perhaps, the greatest advantage of the CMS. Purple Parrot is primed for power.</li>
</ul>
Cons
<ul>
<li>Clunky. The advantages of Purple Parrot as a firm with 20+ years of experience is evident. There are, however, some areas in which this advantage could be a downside. Site navigation is confusing at times. Features of the editor are not at all fluid or easy. Some actions take multiple clicks, creating confusion and delays.</li>
<li>No source code access. Although it is possible to edit a site to a detailed extent, it is not possible to dig into the source code. As a solution designed for the non-developer, it's fine. For those who desire more power, this may be viewed as a limitation.</li>
<li>Lack of ready-made templates. One advantage of Purple Parrot is that they can convert an existing site to their CMS. For the user who doesn't have an existing site, they will need to either contract with Purple Parrot to create one, or try to make their own. There are no ready-made templates that I found except for a duplicate of Purple Parrot's own site in the demo version. This can create a hurdle. First, creating a site from scratch is time consuming and out-of-reach for those who have limited design experience. Second, having Purple Parrot create a site may not meet the user's wishes, due to the somewhat dated design style that is evidently used by Purple Parrot.</li>
</ul>
Overall, Purple Parrot provides a comprehensive and workable CMS. Pricing is provided in a <a href="http://www.purpleparrot.com/solutions/" target="_blank">three-tier model</a>, depending on the user's needs. Purple Parrot may not be the first choice for those who want a polished look with quick-and-easy startup. Although Purple Parrot has a nice array of modules, it is lacking in design beauty and ease of use. I was disappointed and sometimes confused about how to perform a simple function. Furthermore, because of its design limitations and inability to create a responsive site, Purple Parrot will not satisfy customers who desire to adapt to mobile visitors. Unless this CMS make some significant revisions to adapt to updated design trends and mobile access, Purple Parrot will remain in a bygone era of web design.
You can visit <a href="http://www.purpleparrot.com/" target="_blank">Purple Parrot</a> to find out more. To request a demo, you can fill out the <a href="http://www.purpleparrot.com/demo/" target="_blank">demo request form</a>.

Review of Purple Parrot CMS

daniel-threlfall

The latest version of <a href="https://www.phpfox.com/" target="_blank"> PHPFox </a>  has been announced, making the social networking platform sleeker and sexier than ever before.
<a href="/phpfox-rebrands-to-moxi9-reveals-pricing-changes/" target="_blank">Freshly re-branded as Moxi9</a>, PHPFox has enjoyed its status as a popular community-building CMS, giving users the ability to offer features found on Facebook, MySpace, and other networks.
With PHPFox V4 – which is due for release during Fall 2014 – brings about a new look and feel. It also pairs with Moxi9 Unity, allowing developers to create powerful apps. Let's take a closer look.
<h2>PHPFox Streamlined</h2>
Reading through the improvements that PHPFox V4 is soon to bring, one word sprung to my mind. Streamlining.
The team behind Moxi9 are pushing PHPFox into modernity with a host of needed features, bells and whistles. And it looks pretty damn good.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-1700x0.png" alt="PHPFox V4" /> 
In fact, users can look forward to a revamped user interface, including cleaner activity feeds, side panels, user profiles an pages in general.
Additionally, Moxi9 have stated that they will include a responsive theme with V4 by default, which all future themes can extend with ease.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-2700x0.png" alt="PHPFox V4" /> 
Perhaps one of the most notable changes though – particularly for developers – is the Moxi9 Unity pairing.
Moxi9 Unity opens the doors to developers to create powerful apps without needing access any server. Plus, they won't be bound to a specific programing language. That means secure, one-click installs for clients and easy updates for developers.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-3700x0.png" alt="PHPFox V4" />
For all the details of PHPFox V4, FAQs about the new software, plus some more screenshots, check out Moxi9's recent blog announcement.
Also, be sure to explore more of  <a href="/products/phpfox/" target="_blank"> PHPFox via our CMS Directory</a>.

PHPFox V4 Announced: Improved UI, Responsive Themes & More

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/bigstock-database-server-management-sys-76883147830x0-is.jpg" />
Information security has become key for any business in the current technological climate. The need for experienced personnel to secure company assets and analyse potential risks to data is increasing daily. Public security breaches are becoming a regular news feature to the embarrassment of large companies responsible for losing vital customer information and security vulnerabilities are being exploited more than ever in the ever-increasing connectivity of our world.
<h2>CIA model</h2>
The ‘CIA model’ is used by security professionals as a guide for policies to ensure the securing of information within an organisation. Confidentiality represents the set of rules that limits access to information, integrity the assurance that the information is trustworthy and accurate, and availability is the guarantee of reliable access to the information by authorised personnel. 
To keep in line with the CIA model, it is important for companies to consider the extent to which information is spread across different applications and members of the enterprise. Content management systems represent a large chunk of internal and external information for a lot of companies, therefore it is important for those responsible to take the security of these systems seriously to prevent the loss or manipulation of important data.
The wide integration of CMS’s is understandable given the sheer amount of data companies have to handle on a day-to-day basis . A one-stop-shop to create and manage digital content is highly desirable for organising and distributing information. These systems are heavily relied upon to store a lot of data, some of which is of extreme importance and if compromised could affect a business’s productivity in a huge way. 
<h2>Security of Open Source Vs. Proprietary</h2>
One of the major questions people ask when deciding about the security of an application is whether it’s open-source or proprietary. Open source projects rely heavily on the community for evolving and maintaining software, whereas propriety projects are built and maintained by a single company and typically do not allow access to the source code.
Some conclude that due to past security breaches of open source projects, which were made public, the open model is inherently insecure. Those who come to such a conclusion believe that because the source code is made publicly available it makes it vulnerable to hackers reviewing the code and finding possible entries for exploitation. On the other hand, supporters of the open model believe that the transparent nature of the source code means that the community behind the project can spot bugs and security holes that are likely to go unnoticed by a smaller team of people. 
The reality is that both proprietary and open source projects have vulnerabilities and are susceptible to security breaches. It would be incorrect to say that open-source is more, or less, susceptible to attacks. The fact that proprietary projects are implemented by employed professionals and are distributed for profit can easily lull a buyer into a false sense of security, but it is important to note that this doesn’t make them wholly immune to security attacks.
<h2>Use Plug-ins sparingly</h2>
CMS’s generically have a wide variety of plug-ins and add-ons available for their platforms, and the benefits that derive from the wide variety of extensions give the user means to customise and utilise features that aren’t included in the original package. The disadvantages of using plug-ins however, is that there is far more vulnerabilities found in the source code of plug-ins than in the CMS itself, and integrating additional application gives hackers more scope for points of entry. Therefore, it is worthwhile finding out the exact requirements that suit the business’s needs to prevent the need for any unnecessary external plug-ins. It is also worth paying attention to reviews and recommendations from those in the CMS community, and not to be too quick to download brand new plug-ins which may have serious security flaws.
<h2>CMS maintenance</h2>
Regular maintenance of any CMS is mandatory to keep security at a high level. If there’s an update, it is worth taking some time to implement the newest version of the chosen CMS. This may sound simple, but the importance of updating can’t be stressed enough, as this is where developers will create patches for discovered bugs and release the most stable version of the system. With large amounts of confidential data, log monitoring should also be implemented to keep tabs on system events. So if anything were to happen, a detailed footprint will prove useful for analysis and in order to prevent a similar event happening again in the future. Log monitoring can be implemented by an experienced admin or utilising plug-ins for various CMS, but as stated in the previous point users should wary of the reliability of any plug-in and take appropriate steps to ensure the plug in is reliable.
<h2>Risk Assessment and Treatment</h2>
When it comes to information security it is a game of hide and seek. Hackers will find a hole in some software and developers will catch up to patch it up as soon as possible, until another hole is found and so forth. For that reason, risk assessment is used by info security professionals to assess the incidents that could potentially occur and what damage could be caused to the company’s assets. Once a detailed report of the potential risks has been developed, this allows for the best possible safeguarding against potential attacks. Using tools such as vulnerability scanners (some free tools aimed at CMS available online) allows admins to determine the weakest aspects of the systems being used and find methods to strengthen up the security. With this information, risk treatment guidelines can be created that will minimise the damage done in the event of a breach and should be implemented as part of an overall disaster recovery plan.
<h2>URL rewrites</h2>
One of the most common attacks experienced using popular CMS’s is through the generic URL’s provided when setting up the system (www.domain.com/wp-admin for WordPress for example). By targeting these generic URL’s, hackers can use sophisticated attacks that undermine the standard log-in procedure and gain unauthorised access to company data. After locating the log-in page, an attacker can use a brute force or dictionary attack to undermine weak passwords to gain access. By re-writing the URL and adopting secure passwords, sites are much less vulnerable to such attacks. Experienced developers can perform a URL re-write themselves and there are also plug-ins out there that will carry out the process automatically. Changing the default ‘Admin’ name from the URL and administrator account will also help prevent hackers stumbling across easy entry points. 
With the growing anxiety surrounding the security of information, provisions will continue to grow to safeguard the data our personal, and working lives have come to depend on. IT administrators should take at least 15 minutes per day maintaining all aspects of company systems, make adequate backups and patch installations if required. It is also worth noting that the weakest part of any security implementation is the human aspect. The most robust security in system on the planet won’t provide protection against staff who are easily manipulated into handing out credentials over the phone. Enlightening staff members to the importance of securing company data is the first step in the right direction in protecting the systems at the heart of any business.

Security tips for CMS

Call Tracking + AI 

Call Tracking + AI that Turns Calls into Leads

#ffffff

If you asked today’s web designers which wireframing or prototyping tool is best, you’re likely to get a few different answers. Well, maybe more than a few.As you might have guessed, there are plenty of choices out there: free tools, SaaS apps, and even some that aren’t purpose-built for the job (think <a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/powerpoint">PowerPoint</a>). With so many options to choose from, it may prove challenging to find a single tool that meets your needs.While most platforms offer similar features, few bring the entire design process into a unified experience. That’s where UXPin is changing the game. In this review, we’ll explore the benefits of their all-in-one wireframing and prototyping tool, which offers some slick, integrated capabilities – and is designed to work across every device.<h3>Wireframing and prototyping: what’s the difference?</h3>Building a website or mobile app without wireframes is like building a house without blueprints. Wireframes save significant time in the design process and help bring ideas and concepts into laser focus.But what exactly is a wireframe? Quite simply, it’s a low-fidelity “skeleton” of a website. Wireframes show the general layout of web pages, the elements on those pages, and the size and placement of those elements. Since it is meant to convey a website’s architecture, it is intentionally devoid of any colors or graphics.Wireframes are lightweight and fast to produce, allowing for ample design thinking, lean UX development, and iterative feedback. A lot of designers still start their wireframing on paper, sketching out digital components and entities in the most analog way.Prototypes, on the other hand, are medium-to-high fidelity views of a website or application. They offer more detail, showcasing visual elements such as colors, graphics, and font types. In essence, a prototype is a preview of what a working website or mobile application will look like to a user.<h3>A brief history of wireframes and prototypes</h3>Wireframes and prototypes have certainly been around the block. Wireframing has its roots in magazine mockups for galleys and layouts, while prototyping evolved from software product development with visual UI requirements – and a need for rapid testing and feedback.While wireframes are elemental in nature – using simple shapes and objects to detail the flow and structure – designers have often relied on different tools when moving into prototyping. The first ones emerged in the 1980s with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.adobe.com/products/illustrator.html">Adobe Illustrator</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html">Photoshop</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/visio/flowchart-software/">Microsoft Visio</a>.But it wasn’t until IBM introduced RAD (Rapid Application Development) in the 90s that the concept of minimum viable prototypes (MVPs) took off – and so did the focus on design experience. By the early 2000s, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.omnigroup.com/omnigraffle/">Omnigraffle</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.gliffy.com/">Gliffy</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://balsamiq.com/">Balsamiq</a> were changing the way designers think about wireframing and prototyping by giving them more options to choose from. By 2010, UXPin and other solutions were hitting the market. The rest, as they say, is history.<h3>What is UXPin?</h3>UXPin is a comprehensive cloud-based design prototyping tool that works on any operating system. It brings developers and designers together even if they use Mac and Windows – because UXPin is fully powered by the cloud.With UXPin, you can move seamlessly through every phase of your project – from low-fidelity wireframes to high-fidelity prototypes – with access to rich features like interactive elements and animations. In addition, UXPin allows you to add conditional interactions, variables, and expressions to get your prototypes closer to real, coded apps.One of the best things about UXPin is that it's designed with both individual designers and teams in mind. It's flexible enough for a freelancer working on their own – or a squad collaborating to develop new products or experiences. UXPin offers some dynamite capabilities for enterprise customers to manage their teams and libraries with advanced permissions, making it an awesome platform for an ecosystem of users.<h3>Features</h3>Components<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/uxpin-components.jpg" />Components save you plenty of time by minimizing repetitive and tedious work – allowing you to reuse existing parts across your designs. A button, a footer, an icon, or even a cell in a table can be a Component. UXPin comes with a handy library of pre-made components, but it also allows you to create your own components. You can also share them across your projects through UXPin’s Design System Libraries.Built-in Design Libraries<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/uxpin-expressions.jpg" />Apart from your own libraries, UXPin offers built-in iOS, Material Design, Bootstrap, Foundation, and User Flows libraries – each with interactive elements, colors, text styles, and icons.Design system libraries are the place for shared design patterns (such as colors, text styles, assets, and Components) that allow teams to build high quality, consistent prototypes. This empowers users to save time while keeping projects steadily on-brand. With DS libraries, you can also create a fully-documented Design System.Data For a lot of designers, Lorem Ipsum is still a go-to placeholder for text. Still, for some projects, Latin copy isn't preferable – even at the mockup stage.Another great feature of UXPin is that enables users to add real content to their wireframes and prototypes using the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.uxpin.com/studio/blog/replace-lorem-ipsum-with-real-data/">Data</a> feature. Upload JSON, CSV or URLs and demo a prototype that's even closer to the finished product. If you're early in the process and want to use filler for placement, UXPin also has a database of placeholder components, from mock names to dummy credit card numbers.One other notable feature is stock photography. Most platforms don't provide direct access to image libraries, which can be essential to developing a finished prototype. UXPin lets you upload photos directly from their partner, <a target="_blank" href="https://unsplash.com/">Unsplash</a>. This integration may seem like a small thing, but it can accelerate the entire design process from idea to execution by enabling users to work fluidly in a single, unified platform.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/uxoin-unsplash-integration.gif" />Make Your Designs Interactive Once you build the static version of your prototype, you can use states to add interactive elements such as text fields, checkboxes, and radio buttons.In UXPin, each element can have several states with a different set of properties and interactions. For example, you’ll be able to create a single button that has a default, hover, active and disabled state – and then switch between these states once a specific action is triggered. States also let you build complex components like drop-down menus or navigations.For each state, you can determine an alternative set of properties. In the case of a button, it could be a different fill and content. The important fact is that you’ll still have the same elements, just with various styling options.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/uxpin-element-states.gif" />Import from Sketch One cool feature of UXPin is its ability to import from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sketch.com/">Sketch</a>, which is an incredibly popular design tool. It seems like the UXPin team really understands the value that other applications play in the design ecosystem, and they’ve made it easier to build meaningful connections.Importing designs from Sketch to UXPin is just a simple drag-and-drop. UXPin keeps all of your layers intact, so you can pick up exactly where you left off and turn them into fully interactive online prototypes.Easy Collaboration UXPin is a cloud-based tool that works on any operating system – so you and your teammates can collaborate in real-time. As we've already mentioned, it effectively "unites" designers and developers, even if they use Mac and Windows systems. You can even take your collaboration to the next level with in-app commenting, allowing you to tag your teammates in comments and keep them in the loop when you're working on the same prototype.You can also make the most of your collaborative design process and invite your team, stakeholders, and reviewers to work with you. It's incredibly simple to set their permissions via User Management and control what they can see and do.Preview Designs on Mobile With the UXPin Mirror app, you can effortlessly preview your prototypes on mobile devices to see how they look and behave. As you make changes in the editor, the prototype on your mobile device will update on the fly.Another nifty feature: you can download the UXPin app from <a target="_blank" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.uxpin.mirror">Google Play</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/uxpin-mirror/id1446596008?ls=1&amp;mt=8">App Store</a> and see exactly how your designs look on mobile devices.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/uxpin-preview.png" /><h3>Pricing</h3><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/uxpin-pricing-annual.jpg" />UXPin offers two types of pricing: monthly and annual. There are four tiers:Basic Plan Get everything you’ll need for wireframing and prototyping, including animations, interactions, and states. Basic also offers:<ul><li>Version history for saving iterations of your designs and retrieving them at will.</li><li>Export function for moving your designs to PDF, PNG, and HTML.</li><li>Stakeholder approval for sharing your prototypes with your team or customers, gathering feedback, and obtaining the all-important "OK" to proceed.</li></ul><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/uxpin-custom-workflows.png" /><ul><li>Comments and assignments for keeping your team and stakeholders connected around feedback and assigning specific tasks.</li><li>Password-protected views for securing your prototypes with a password.</li></ul>The Basic Plan is $24 per month but offers a discounted rate of $13 per month with an annual plan.Advanced Everything from the Basic plan, plus:<ul><li>Contextual documentation to set up guidelines or leave notes – and pin them to specific elements on your prototype.</li><li>Conditional logic for setting rules around custom interactions.</li><li>Expressions, which use Javascript to create computational components like shopping carts or validate user inputs such as emails.</li><li>Variables that dynamically update text elements, capture data from inputs, or store user preferences for later use on your prototype.</li></ul>The Advanced Plan is $39 per month. But like the Basic Plan, it offers a discounted rate of $29 per month with an annual plan.Professional Everything from the Advanced Plan, plus:<ul><li>Design systems: package your design, code, and other elements to create reusable Components and style guides.</li><li>Roles &amp; permissions: define what team members can do and what projects they have access to. Each team member has one role – “creator”, “manager”, “owner”, or “collaborator” – and you can control the state and privileges.</li><li>Priority support: get help when you need it via email, phone, or Zoom.</li><li>Advanced security: trust that anything you design is securely encrypted and fully backed-up by UXPin.</li></ul>The Professional Plan is $89 per month with a discount to $69 per month with an annual plan.Enterprise UXPin’s Enterprise plan is perfect for large organizations with dedicated design teams and product development squads. Used by Fortune 500 companies, Enterprise provides unlimited users, unlimited design systems, and advanced security – all of which allows you to facilitate the design process at scale.The Enterprise Plan has custom pricing based on the size and needs of your organization.<h3>Conclusion</h3>UXPin really earns the “UX” part of its name by focusing on the user experience. It’s the perfect blend of features for both wireframing and prototyping, and it brings team collaboration to the next level by working across platforms and operating systems. It definitely feels like an enterprise-grade product, but it’s also a solid tool for freelancers with its affordable Basic Plan.If you’re curious how UXPin stacks up against their competition, check out their “tale of the tape” comparison on their website. They proudly display how they rate against other similar platforms such as Figma, Invision, Framer, Adobe XD, Sketch, Axure, Balsamiq, Zeplin, Marvel App, and Proto.io. They even provide a <a target="_blank" href="https://get.uxpin.com/uxpin-vs-sketch/">checklist of differences</a>.One of the biggest advantages of UXPin is that it’s cloud-based. This allows users to design, prototype, and test ideas together – whenever, wherever. This is a big advantage over Sketch (for example), which only works on macOS. Someone using a Windows system can’t use Sketch, nor do they have access to files sent by other team members using it. Still, with Sketch being such a popular design tool, UXPin lets you import Sketch files and templates directly into their app – so you can get the best of both worlds.There is one con with UXPin: as a SaaS product, you’re on the hook to pay in perpetuity. With tools like Sketch, you only pay for the product once and renew when you’d like to upgrade. Your files belong to you – and aren’t locked into a third-party system. But what if you want to cancel your UXPin subscription? Well, if you want to maintain your libraries and components, you’ll need to “park your account” and keep an active profile. That costs $5 per month and only lets you preview your projects or export them. You can reactivate at any time, but it might be worth considering when you decide to sign up.If you’d like to see some examples of projects done with UXPin, they have a prototype showcase: <a target="_blank" href="https://showcase.uxpin.com/">https://showcase.uxpin.com/</a>You can also <a target="_blank" href="https://www.uxpin.com/sign-up">try UXPin for free</a> for 14 days without a credit card. You’ll be limited to 2 projects, but it’s still a great way to take it for a test drive and experience it yourself as a user.<h3>About UXPin</h3><a target="_blank" href="https://www.uxpin.com/">UXPin</a> is a design platform that for building mockups and wireframes, interactive prototypes, UX document creation, and collaborating with both design and development teams. Features include variables, conditional interactions, expressions, interactive states, and a data generator integrated with Unsplash to get free stock photos directly in UXPin.Unlike in other image-based design tools, anything you create in UXPin is based on html, css and js code. Since it's the same technology developers will work with, their code will match your design perfectly.Why code-based design? Since 2010, UXPin has been on a mission to enable the best user experiences by merging design and engineering into one world of better, faster product development.

UXPin Review: Elevate Design with All-in-one Prototyping and Wireframing

paris-tuzun

<a href="http://www.sitesupra.com/" target="_blank"> SiteSupra</a> has released some new updates, in the form of three new themes and a new page deactivation feature.
Although technically still in beta, SiteSupra is a hosted website builder and CMS which gives you the tools to create good-looking, responsive websites.
SiteSupra's headquarters lie in Latvia, and users can choose between free and premium plans to build their websites. To learn more about what the platform can do, check out my recent <a href="/sitesupra-review/" target="_blank"> SiteSupra Review</a>.
<h2>Steady Improvement</h2>
Publicly launched at the beginning of 2014, SiteSupra is still a growing platform.
Despite my overall enjoyment of using SiteSupra during my review, there were some issues I pointed out. A slight lack of templates was amongst those issues, and SiteSupra team has clearly been working on this.
Three new templates have been released; Drava, Taillia, and Aira.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ssupra700x0.png" /> 
All three look great and work well, much like the previous seven SiteSupra templates.
Furthermore, SiteSupra users can now deactivate pages quickly in the SiteMap. This feature was brought in to make it easier to remove demo pages quickly, without having to preview them first.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen_shot_2014-07-15_at_18_10_13.png" /> 
For a more detailed look at SiteSupra, <a href="/sitesupra-review/" target="_blank"> check out my review</a>.
Also, be sure to check out the <a href="https://www.sitesupra.com/" target="_blank"> SiteSupre website</a>.

SiteSupra Introduces New Templates & Features

With digital technology advancements – websites and web applications have evolved from static to rich and interactive customer experiences. User perception is most critical – so the poor, rushed design does not cut it anymore. User experience goes beyond on-screen design. It requires well defined web content management, product information management, digital asset management, omni-channel e-commerce and enterprise customer relationship management.
Pimcore helps their customers to create this balance and make things simple – they fit all the pieces together in one place.
They help their customers to build a seamless tomorrow by building rich user experiences and effective integrated enterprise applications.
Pimcore puts the pieces together
Pimcore has a unique platform where everything a software integrator, digital agency, professional or enterprise needs is all together in one place. A total digital transformation can take place with just the use of Pimcore’s own product suite which includes – CMS, DAM, PIM/MDM, and e-commerce.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pimcore1.png" />With Pimcore CMS, users can create, manage and easily maintain a digital experiences and its data all in a single source. It can then be published to all output channels: web, mobile, apps, social platforms, print and digital signage.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pimcore2.png" />
Managing a collection of digital assets can be tricky – but with Pimcore it is made much easier. Pimcore’s enterprise DAM platform enables users to easily consolidate, manage and share all digital assets by assigning meta-data, making them searchable, and delivering assets in the right format to any output channel.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pimcore3.png" />
For any organization with a large product base, storing and managing the enormous amount of product information is challenging. Pimcore’s PIM platform enables easy organization, aggregation, classification, and translation of product information – all in a single location. Because of the consolidated product suite, the data can be easily delivered to all output channels.
Almost all retailers today have online B2B and B2C e-commerce platforms. The Pimcore e-commerce framework creates flexible and responsive online shopping platforms for multi-channel and omni-channel retail. Their methodology is both efficient and effective, creating an outstanding user experience, across all channels – web, mobile, social, and POS.
Pimcore Success Stories
Pimcore has over 80,000 users around the world with success stories to prove it. Major well-known companies have used Pimcore to enrich and enhance their digital world.
Take for example, <a href="https://www.pimcore.org/en/ikea_c1349_233#content">IKEA</a>, an internationally known home furnishing retailer. They wanted to offer in-store shoppers a mobile touchpoint to view sales and promotions. Using Pimcore’s CMS, IKEA could build customized landing pages for each store that could be easily updated as needed. Shoppers were automatically directed to landing pages when connected to WIFI.
<a href="https://www.pimcore.org/en/GANT_c1464_233#content">GANT</a>, an international clothing company used various Pimcore products to achieve their digital goals. They needed a way to manage and distribute their product information. Using Pimcore’s MDM/PIM products they could easily and instantly send all product information to their stores and partners globally. They also used Pimcore’s E-commerce product to enhance their customer’s online shopping experience.
There is, of course, many more examples, all of which can be found on <a href="https://www.pimcore.org/en/resources/casestudies" target="_blank">Pimcore’s case study webpage</a>.

Open-Source Pimcore Digital Platform: Consolidating PIM/MDM, DAM, CMS & E-Commerce

Elgg is a free, open source CMS that has been around for a number of years. Over the years, the community has grown exponentially and now boasts a rather active set of users. With a plugin repository of over 1000 available plugins for the system, it has quickly become the go to CMS for open source social networking.Today, we're going to take you through the CMS and show you what it's made of in this Elgg Review.
One thing to point out before we proceed, however. When it comes to Elgg, one must realize that it is similar to Drupal in a number of ways. Just as Drupal is more of a content management framework than a CMS at heart, so is Elgg. Elgg provides the foundation to build a powerful social networking based website and you, as the administrator, are responsible for deciding which modules/plugins are applied and configured. To some, Elgg can seem rather bare bones at first glance but this is intentional and the real power of the system comes from the ways it can be extended. You decide what will be added, how it will be setup and as you add the individual plugins, the system begins to take on the form of full fledged social networking CMS.
With that out of the way, let's proceed.
Installing Elgg is as simple as downloading their latest zip file and extracting it to your web host. Once you've done so, you can proceed through the install.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2011-04-06-at-5_36_46-am.png" alt="Elgg Review" />
Once you've entered in your database credentials, you will proceed to the next screen. Here is where things get annoying briefly.
One of the fields on the page below requires you to enter a data directory (full path to the directory where uploaded files will be stored, followed by a trailing slash). The issue with this is that it does not tell you that this data directory needs to be outside of the Elgg installation directory. It also does not tell you that it needs to be writable.
In some cases, depending on your web host, you may not be allowed to create directories outside of your public_html folder and if you are installing Elgg directly to this folder, that may be an issue. In our testing, we had to make a data directory within public_html but outside of the Elgg directory (public_html/elgg). It would be helpful if the field info was corrected to alert people of these issues as opposed to not instructing them at all as it can lead to quite a bit of frustration trying to figure things out and proceed. Once you get past this issue, things are smooth, however.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/cck-580x531_sqsqjl.gif" alt="Elgg Review" />
The installation process is pretty straight forward and does not require much as far as user interaction is concerned. Basically, it's just the two pages shown above. Once you get through the installation, you are shown the default homepage (which is fairly plain jane initially).
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/custom-page-600px_r8h1hm.jpg" alt="Elgg Review" />
Logging in with the admin credentials you created during the install will activate the admin capabilities. The first section in the admin interface is the Statistics panel. For more advanced statistics, there are plugins to enable both Piwik analytics and Google analytics tools.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/multisite-580x613_xozifx.gif" alt="Elgg Review" /> 
The next tab down is the System Settings. This is exactly the same screen as was shown during installation, so we'll skip past that for the purposes of this review. Tools administration is where you can add/remove functionality using plugins. By default, Elgg comes with quite a few plugins as part of the core experience. You can see them in the list below.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/form_api-580x677_ungsqq.gif" alt="Elgg Review" />
Let's activate some and see how things change on the front end.  Once you've chosen the plugins you wish to use, you now have the option of editing the page on your Dashboard and adding the ones you wish to have displayed. Clicking on the Dashboard link on the top will bring you to your dashboard.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/duda-review-8_lltdzr.png" alt="Elgg Review" />
Right now as you can see below, it's blank. Time to add some content. Clicking edit page brings us to a drag and drop interface where we can add some widgets to our dashboard.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/duda-review-12_okxs0r.png" alt="Elgg Review" />
Let's add some widgets to some of the sections available.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/new-elgg-site-dashboard-3.jpg" alt="Elgg Review" />
Now that we've added some widgets, we can save and alter their settings from the dashboard.
Back on the dashboard page, the widgets are shown and ready to be configured. Once setup, they begin to show the data on the dashboard as you can see below.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/new-elgg-site-dashboard.jpg" alt="Elgg Review" />
You may also noticed a Tools menu along the top of the screen (the menu bar). Under this Tools menu are shortcuts to the areas for each plugin you enabled.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/new-elgg-site-dashboard-mozilla-firefox_2011-04-06_15-59-34.jpg" alt="Elgg Review" />
Writing blog posts is standard fare with an easy to use Wysiwyg editor and a familiar interface.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/new-elgg-site-write-a-blog-post.jpg" alt="Elgg Review" />
The wire is similar to Twitter except it's for your Elgg system. The same character limitations (140) apply.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/new-elgg-site-all-wire-posts.jpg" alt="Elgg Review" />
Overall, the plugins work as expected and do their jobs well. We didn't encounter any oddities or weird behavior when navigating the site, everything just worked as expected which made for a pleasant overall experience.
There is no doubt that Elgg has tremendous potential from a Social Networking perspective. There are plenty of plugins to use for the system. There is even a hosted version of Elgg available on Elgg.com which allows you to bypass the entire installation process.
Modifying Elgg requires hand editing of the files from what we can tell, so you'll need an experienced developer but for most people who are looking to start a solid social networking site, this isn't an issue.
There are also quite a few good themes available for use from <a href="http://community.elgg.org/pg/plugins/category/themes" target="_blank">http://community.elgg.org/pg/plugins/category/themes</a> to give you a good base to build from.
Elgg is a great system with a large community (perhaps the largest available when it comes to a social networking CMS) and is easy to customize. You can't really ask for much more than that.
Last but not least, should you wish to do so, the team at Curverider that developer Elgg are available for hire for customizations.
Check out Elgg at <a href="http://elgg.org" target="_blank">Elgg.org</a> or if you want to experience it first hand without installing, join the Elgg community which is a live install with tons of active users and a great place to get familiar with the product: <a href="http://community.elgg.org/" target="_blank">http://community.elgg.org/</a>

Elgg Review - The Social Networking CMS

Linux Mint is one of the most popular Ubuntu compatible distros on the planet, even more so in some cases than Ubuntu itself. Most of this comes from it's focus on ease of use. Installing Linux Mint is relatively straight forward but to help make things easier for those who are new to Linux and aren't familiar with the process, we've put together this handy How to Install Linux Mint guide.<h2>How to Install Linux Mint</h2>To install Linux Mint, you need to first download a disc image from the Linux Mint website here: <a target="_blank" href="https://linuxmint.com/download.php">https://linuxmint.com/download.php</a> (see screenshot below for what the page typically looks like).<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/how-to-install-linux-mint_wdvalv.jpg" alt="how to install Linux Mint" />How to Install Linux Mint – Download an ISO image<h3>Choosing an Edition to Download</h3>On this page, you'll be given numerous options to choose from. The three desktops listed are Cinnamon, MATE and XFCE. The primary desktop that most people use is Cinnamon, due to the fact that it is developed by the Linux Mint developers specifically for the platform; although in true Linux fashion it's also available on most other distros as well.If you've never used MATE before, that's OK. You can get a general idea of how MATE works in our <a href="/ubuntu-mate-review/">Ubuntu MATE review (opens in a new tab)</a>.  To get a look at XFCE and see if it's something you might want to consider using, you can learn a bit more about it and see how it looks in our <a href="/mx-linux-review/">MX Linux Review (opens in a new tab)</a>. Keep in mind that in both of these reviews, there have been some customizations made but they will give you a general idea of how these other desktop environments work.Assuming you've decided on which edition you wish to download, you'll now need to ascertain whether or not you need the 32 bit or 64 bit versions of the ISO image. If you own a computer made in the past 5 years, chances are you are will need a 64 bit version. If you are unsure, however, here's how to tell:<ol><li>Windows users:  Here's a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001121.htm">handy guide</a> that will help you figure it out.</li><li>Mac users: <a target="_blank" href="https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/12666/how-to-check-whether-my-intel-based-mac-is-32-bit-or-64-bit">read this</a> answer on StackExchange.</li></ol>Once you've downloaded the correct edition, you'll need to write it to a USB drive. If you do not have a USB drive, you'll need to purchase on first. Here's the one we tend to use: <h3>Writing the ISO image to the USB drive</h3>Now that you have a USB drive on hand and have downloaded an ISO image, it's time to write the image to the drive so that you can properly install Linux Mint.There are numerous tools to use for this but the one I find the easiest is Etcher. It also works on Windows, Mac OS and Linux so it's cross compatibility makes it a good choice. Go ahead and download and install Etcher. Once you've finished installing, launch it and you will be greeted with a window that looks similar to this:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/how-to-install-linux-mint-etcher_fskoms.jpg" alt="How to Install Linux Mint - Etcher" />How to Install Linux Mint – EtcherEtcher is very easy to use. Simply click Select image, find the ISO image that you downloaded and choose it. If you have a USB drive already inserted into your laptop or desktop, Etcher will usually find it right away. If not, insert it and select it with the Select drive button. Once you've done this, simply click Flash! and you are on your way.Once the USB drive has been written to, it's time to install Linux Mint. Whether you are trying to install Linux Mint alongside an existing operating system (such as Windows) or replacing it entirely, it's very important that you ensure you have a proper backup of your data beforehand. There is always a chance that issues will arise and that the install will fail, although this is typically a rare occurrence. I'd also recommend having a backup laptop or desktop (or smartphone) you can use just in case it does, this way you can look up solutions online.Back up any files you wish to keep BEFORE proceeding here. We are not responsible for any loss of data or potential issues that may arise.<h3>Beginning the Install</h3>To begin the install, you need to boot from your USB drive. Leave it inserted in your laptop or desktop and then follow the necessary instructions. Here's a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acronis.com/en-us/articles/usb-boot/">handy guide</a> to help you do so.Once the USB drive has been booted, you'll see a Linux Mint logo and it will automatically boot to the Linux Mint desktop you have chosen.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/how-to-install-linux-mint-the-install-process-1_gc6tdc.png" alt="How to Install Linux Mint - The Install Process - 1" />How to Install Linux Mint – The Install ProcessFrom here, double click on the Install Linux Mint icon to launch the installer.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/how-to-install-linux-mint-the-installer_osklsh.png" alt="How to Install Linux Mint - The Installer" />How to Install Linux Mint – The InstallerIt's now time to choose your language. Since you're reading this guide, I'll assume you are English so go ahead and click Continue (or select a different language).Next up is your keyboard layout. Most of the time, the defaults are correct for most people so I typically have never changed this but you can if you like. Click continue here once you are done.You'll now be asked whether you wish to install third party software.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/how-to-install-linux-mint-third-party-software_vhsbl2.png" alt="How to Install Linux Mint - Third Party Software" />How to Install Linux Mint – Third Party SoftwareI recommend checking this box but it's not mandatory. In some cases, however, it is best to do so in case your system requires third party drivers or software.Next up, you'll be given the option to either install alongside your existing OS and resize the partitions or you can choose the Erase Disk and Install Linux Mint option (Note: doing this will wipe your disk and install Linux Mint exclusively, so make sure this is what you want to do, there's no going back).<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/how-to-install-linux-mint-disk-choices_fronyq.png" alt="How to Install Linux Mint - Disk Choices" />How to Install Linux Mint – Disk ChoicesYou'll now be asked to confirm your changes.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/how-to-install-linux-mint-confirm-changes_kj9n0i.png" alt="How to Install Linux Mint - Confirm Changes" />How to Install Linux Mint – Confirm ChangesOn the next screen, you'll be presented with a map and asked to choose your location. Normally, Linux Mint will detect this automatically but in some cases it may be incorrect. You can choose to either click on the map and find your location or start typing it and select it from the drop-down list.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/choose-your-geography_csyqm7.png" alt="Choose your Geography" />Choose your locationNow you'll need to add your information including a username and password. On this screen, you can choose to have the system ask for your password at login or simply boot straight to the desktop. I typically use the latter if I know I'm the only one using the machine and it's not a laptop. For laptops, I recommend leaving the first option (require password) checked for security reasons.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/adding-your-user-information_vlqve8.png" alt="Adding your user information" />Adding your user informationWhen you click continue, the system will the installation. It's simply a waiting game here.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/installation-progress_tsn7ao.png" alt="Installation Progress" />Installation ProgressOnce the installation is complete, you'll be asked if you want to reboot or continue using the live session. Click reboot and you'll be booted into your brand new Linux Mint desktop!If you experience any installation errors, here are some resources to help:<ul><li><a target="_blank" href="https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewforum.php?f=46&amp;sid=ef0e557a38bf991f2ee45e7ed5729d8d">Linux Mint Forums – Installation Help</a></li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://linuxmint-troubleshooting-guide.readthedocs.io/en/latest/">Linux Mint Troubleshooting Guide</a></li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxmint">Linux Mint Subreddit</a></li><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions">Linux Questions Subreddit</a></li></ul>If you found this post helpful, please share it so others can find it as well. I'd also love to hear your experiences with Linux Mint and if you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below. I'll do my best to reply to them all.

How to Install Linux Mint

Please introduce yourself and your position with Kentico.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/petr-palas-500x500200x0-is.png" />I'm the founder of Kentico Software, one of the leading CMS vendors. I started Kentico in 2004 with a vision of making content management easier for both developers and business users. Over the past 13 years, we grew into one of the leading vendors with 230 employees and a partner network of over 1,000 digital agencies in 80 countries that use our products to create websites and online stores with a personalized digital experience. We're headquartered in the Czech Republic, with sales and support offices in the United States, UK, Australia, and the Netherlands.
Please tell us a bit about your product and its latest release.
We launched our completely new product Kentico Cloud in November at our user conference in Las Vegas. It's a cloud-first headless CMS. Cloud-first means that it was built as a true multitenant SaaS product from the very beginning. We take care of the CMS, including its upgrades, security, performance, etc. As a result, customers can focus on developing their applications and managing their content. Headless means that you store all the content in our cloud-based content hub and you can use it through our API on any channel—on your website, in your mobile app, or even in your chatbot. Since we provide a standard REST API, you can use your favorite platform and programming language to build your applications.
What do you think businesses need to keep in mind when selecting a platform?
They should certainly start with their business needs and look how the CMS supports them today, but also how it fits the latest trends. Many traditional CMS products were built for managing web pages, but we have seen a growth in the use of mobile, virtual reality, IoT, etc., which requires a more granular content model so that you can reuse that content across channels. The other major trend we see is a growing need to be more agile—companies want to launch new projects in a matter of weeks, not months, so they are increasingly looking for cloud-based solutions.
What makes Kentico the go-to choice for the enterprise?
Actually, Kentico Cloud aims to support a broad range of customers—from small to enterprise. You can start with a free plan and upgrade it when needed. For the enterprise customers, we provide a strong product as well as all the extras they need for mission-critical projects, like 24×7 support provided by our experts on three continents, SLAs, training, consulting, and a dedicated customer success manager who takes care of their onboarding and long-term success. Plus, they can choose from a growing number of Kentico Cloud partners—digital agencies who can build the projects for them if they do not have an in-house development team.
What do you consider to be the biggest trend for CX vendors in 2017?
We already see vendors moving to the cloud, and that will continue in 2017. However, most traditional CMS or CX vendors just take their existing products that were built for the on-premise world and offer them as managed hosting or PaaS, which is certainly not the most efficient model. We expect more customers are looking for true SaaS CMS options, which will give rise to new cloud-first headless CMS offerings.
How is Kentico positioned to be at the forefront of these trends?
We've been preparing for this for a couple of years as we always believed the cloud is the future. Our experience with the cloud started back in 2011 when we were the first CMS certified for Microsoft Azure. In the past two years, we built Kentico Cloud from scratch as we wanted to provide a true SaaS product and make sure it's ready for the multi-channel world we live in. At the same time, we leverage our experience, our skilled team, and the market presence we've built over the past years.
How do you see the market changing in the next five years?
I believe the CMS market is at just another inflection point. The cloud-first headless CMS will start replacing traditional CMS products as customers realize the benefits of the SaaS model. The vendors who don't make the shift to the new architecture and business model will disappear from the market. It will be similar to the shift from on-premise document management systems to cloud-based file sharing services. In five years from now, we will laugh at how we used to install and babysit a CMS.
What kind of evolution can we expect to see from Kentico?
We will continue enhancing our existing product, Kentico EMS, that fits well to customers who want a sophisticated all-in-one solution or do not feel ready for the cloud yet. At the same time, we will invest in the future and make progress with Kentico Cloud—we will grow its capabilities every week, and it will become a mature CMS during this year.
Final thoughts?
I would wrap up with a quote by Clayton Christensen, the author of Innovator's Dilemma, who said: “You may hate gravity, but gravity doesn't care.” Cloud-first headless CMS is a major change for many, but it's inevitable. We're at the very beginning of a new era of the CMS industry. The vendors, customers, and digital agencies who adopt this model first will gain a competitive advantage by being more agile and ready for the new communication channels that will go mainstream in the upcoming years.

Interview with Petr Palas, CEO of Kentico

Webs' DIY Website Builder has received a massive boost, with <a href="http://www.webs.com/themes" target="_blank"> 450 brand new themes</a> being released. 
 <a href="http://www.webs.com" target="_blank"> Webs</a> – or Webs.com – is a hosted website builder designed to let users of all abilities build beautiful websites. That should now be a lot easier, thanks to this huge amount of extra themes. 
 The new templates include designs tailored to 20 different industries, are all mobile-optimized and even come with theme-matching physical marketing products (like business cards), courtesy of Webs' parent company VistaPrint.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/download.jpg" alt="Webs" />
<h2>More Than a Website</h2>
450 new themes is big news for Webs' website builder, but perhaps the most exciting element of this news is the theme-matching marketing products. 
 Thanks to VistaPrint, business owners choosing any of the 450 new themes will be able to complement their online presence with matching merchandise, from business cards and flyers, to apparel and signs.  
 So you aren't just getting a theme, you're getting an all-in-one marketing package. 
 Regarding this mass theme release, Webs' General Manager Scott Bowen made these comments:
<blockquote>
“We sought our customers’ feedback on what they need to build and manage their online presence and found additional themes to be the most-requested item.
We answered this demand by creating multiple layouts for the different industries we serve. With the addition of more than 450 new themes and availability of matching physical marketing products, we offer small business owners an opportunity to create a professional brand presence with affordable, easy-to-use tools.”
</blockquote>
The new themes can be found via the <a href="http://www.webs.com/themes" target="_blank">Webs Theme Gallery</a>, where you can search by industry, cost and keyword. Webs users can also switch seamlessly between themes at any point, evene after adding content to their websites.
To find out more about Webs, <a href="http://www.webs.com/" target="_blank"> check out their website</a>.

Webs Releases 450 New Themes for Its DIY Website Builder

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