Articles - Page 66

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

matt-garrepy

<p>How do you figure out whether a CMS is good or bad? More to the point, how do you know whether the CMS you're using at this selfsame moment is hurting your business or harming it? Selecting the right CMS is a really, really big decision. It's no overstatement to say that your CMS choice can either propel your business to success or drive it to the ground in abysmal failure. Rather than scare you with doomsday tails of people who made bad decisions, I want you to provide a measuring stick by which you can determine whether your CMS is tall enough for your needs.</p>
<p style="text-align:center"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/shutterstock_88875994600x0.jpg" /></p>
<p style="text-align:center"><a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-88875994/stock-photo-final-exam-marked-with-isolated-on-white.html"> Exam picture </a> by Shutterstock</p>
<p>Here are five questions that you can ask yourself <em> right now </em> to figure out if your CMS is good enough.</p>
<h2>1. How does the user interface make you feel?</h2>
<p>Okay, this is a subjective question, but CMS choices aren't always cut-and-dried. When it comes to the UI, it's an intuitive thing. You can get a sense pretty quickly — I'm talking seconds, not days — if the interface is helping you out or slowing you down. Here are a few sample questions you can ask.</p>
<ul>
<li>Do you have trouble figuring out how to complete a simple operation?</li>
<li>Is there something that should be easy to do, but you have to click 14 times and open 5 menus just to get to it?</li>
<li>Do you avoid certain CMS tasks because they take too long, or “it's just a hassle.”</li>
</ul>
<p>Are you getting a sense of things? If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, then your CMS may have a user interface problem. I've asked this question first, because without a clear and clean user interface, you're going to have a really rough time with your CMS going forward. Simplicity, clarity, and functionality are important here.</p>
<h2>2. Does the CMS have a healthy and responsive support network?</h2>
<p>One day, you're going to face a problem you can't fix on your own, unless you're the Chuck Norris of CMSes. In this case, you need help. There are some CMSes out there (I've used them) where zero help exists. Whether the CMS developer was running a solo operation from his parent's basement, had retired, or had passed away, I know not. All I know is that a CMS without a help network is like a hot air balloon without a gondola.</p>
<p>Check to make sure that the CMS of your choice has the following. One or more will suffice. You don't need all four.</p>
<ul>
<li>You can pick up the phone and talk to a live human being.</li>
<li>You can hop on a forum and get an answer within 24 hours.</li>
<li>You can email a problem ticket, and receive a response within 48 hours.</li>
<li>You can attend a class to gain additional information.</li>
</ul>
<p>Don't simply rely on a fat documentation PDF to help you through your struggles. You'll need more.</p>
<h2>3.  Is the hosting customizable and/or rock-solid?</h2>
<p>One of the biggest oversights in selecting a CMS is the hosting issue. Often, users and testers tend to gaze at the CMS itself without remembering that everything needs to be hosted somewhere, somehow. To complicate issues, when you test a CMS, you're often doing so in a web-based environment, meaning that hosting is going to look a lot different once you've paid up and get all situated with the shiny new CMS in its hosting environment.</p>
<p>Many businesses use Windows VPS hosting. If this is your choice, make sure the CMS supports it. Otherwise, ensure that the CMS offers a hosting solution that guarantees uptime, can maintain traffic surges, and gives you control and flexibility as needed, such as <a href="https://www.inmotionhosting.com/">InMotion Hosting</a> or <a href="https://www.servint.net/">Servint.net</a>.</p>
<h2>4. Does the CMS have active developers?</h2>
<p>When I look at a CMS, I try to notice something really simple — the version number. When a CMS has a name like “Sitesuper <em> v. 6.1.5, </em> ” I consider that a good thing, based on the string of numbers alone. Why?</p>
<ul>
<li>It's been around for a while, and will probably be around for a little while longer.</li>
<li>It's changing, most likely for the better.</li>
<li>It has people who are actively developing it.</li>
</ul>
<p>That last point is clutch. If a CMS is left to survive on its own merits apart from the constant work of team of developers, it will die within a matter of months. The turbulent and ever-changing nature of the web demands that a CMS be constantly changing in order to adapt.</p>
<p>Let me get specific here about what kind of developmental changes should be present and/or available in your CMS:</p>
<ul>
<li>Responsive design adaptations. If they don't already have one, most businesses will need a responsive or mobile site within the next 12 months.</li>
<li>Social capability. This is a must-have.</li>
</ul>
<p>A team of developers is the lifeblood of a CMS.</p>
<h2>5. Does the CMS offer extensive customizations?</h2>
<p>Finally, you're going to need a CMS that meets <em> your </em> needs. In other words, you want your CMS to give you options — design options, user options, plugin options, color options, video upload options, analytics options, ecommerce options, etc., etc. Some CMSs attempt to place every user within a box, usually a very small box, that dictates how the site looks, feels, and works. This may work for some people, but if you want a scalable and robust online presence for years to come, look for something that offers a bounty of options.</p>
<p>If you answered “no” to any of the above questions, it may be time for you to go shopping for a new CMS. By way of disclaimer, the fewer CMS needs you have, the less important these qualifications are. If, for example, you're a photographer who's happy with a nice-looking site, you probably won't need a big enterprise CMS. For most businesses who depend on publishing, ecommerce, web traffic, or web solutions, each one of these points above is imperative for long-term success.</p>
<p>So, what about those qualifications of your CMS that didn't quite measure up? The good news is that here on CMS Critic, the Internet's best source of CMS critiques, you're in the right place.</p>


Is Your CMS Good Enough?

daniel-threlfall

<p></p>
<p>Fostering a successful online discussion forum is no easy feat.</p>
<p>There’s a whole host of things that need to work just right both on and off your website in order for a community to form and thrive. It’s far from a simple process.</p>
<p>So, choosing the right forum platform to host your community is pretty damn important. The last thing you need is shoddy software piling on more issues.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ninjapost.com/" target="_blank"> Ninja Post</a> has been in business since 2009, and now supports a range of online forums bringing in thousands of visitors a month.</p>
<p>Built to integrate with existing websites, Ninja Post is a mobile-friendly forum software hosted completely in the cloud. It boasts a focus on real-time updates, helping members feel like they are participating in a live, thriving community.</p>
<p>Before I begin looking under the hood, here’s a Ninja Post introductory video to get you started:</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hNc7cUgEuhE?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<h2>Initial Thoughts</h2>
<p>For those of you who don’t already know, I like to start my reviews off from the place every customer and client will begin their journey. The vendor website.</p>
<p>Ninja Post’s site is clean, simple and tells you everything you need to know about the product.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/np700x0.png" alt="Ninja Post" /></p>
<p>Core software features are nicely laid out and explained, whilst the pricing page is easy to understand.</p>
<p>There’s also a regularly updated blog, which many software vendors undervalue as a sign of good health.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-2700x0.png" alt="Ninja Post" /></p>
<p>I wasn’t browsing for very long before the live-chat window popped up on the side of my screen. Somebody was asking if I needed any help looking around. It was none other than Mike Wilt – founder of Ninja Post.</p>
<p>Although he knew somebody was going to be reviewing his software, I never announced when I’d be browsing through his site. In other words, Ninja Post’s founder is still very much in touch with the grassroots of his business – the new website visitor.</p>
<p>Impressed, I began asking Mike Wilt about his involvement with Ninja Post, and he gave me a thorough breakdown of the software’s history, mentioning how he still, “Loves bringing communities to life”.</p>
<h2>Feature Overview</h2>
<p>After a helpful chat with Mike Wilt, I continued digging around Ninja Post’s features found both on the website, and within the admin panel – which I will assess in due time.</p>
<p>I soon realised just how much Ninja Post offers out of the box. It looks a little something like this:</p>
<ul>
<li>Custom &amp; responsive design to suit existing websites</li>
<li>Real-time updates</li>
<li>Photo galleries</li>
<li>Rich media support</li>
<li>User profiles, rewards, reputation and rankings (Gamification)</li>
<li>Free updates and backups</li>
<li>Monetization through banner ads and member subscriptions</li>
<li>Single Sign On (Forum can be bridged to existing user databases)</li>
<li>Newsletter management</li>
<li>Analytics</li>
<li>Privatization option</li>
<li>WordPress Plugin to display recent content</li>
</ul>
<p>And that’s not even all of it. There’s more to be seen on <a href="http://www.ninjapost.com/features/" target="_blank"> Ninja Post’s features page</a>. Needless to say, I was once again impressed by what I was seeing.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-1700x0.png" alt="Ninja Post" /></p>
<p>Perhaps the most interesting dimension of Ninja Post is its real-time updating feature.</p>
<p>Not only are new threads automatically updated like a newsfeed, but subtle alerts within threads let you know when other members are typing replies. This is probably best illustrated with a video, so here's Ninja Post's real-time updating feature in action:</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cJ0oTDQMAGc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<p>This inclusion of live feed updates and typing notifications makes Ninja Post feel organic and alive.</p>
<p>I can definitely see how they can help nurture a growing online community. It’s a forum and chat room hybrid, taking the best of both worlds and rolling them into one solution. I think that’s pretty damn cool.</p>
<h2>The Front End</h2>
<p>Okay, so the website, friendly founder and extensive features list had got me excited. But I know all too well that the phrase, “Never judge a book by its cover”, applies heavily to the world of software.</p>
<p>It was time to have a look around some live Ninja Post examples, to see exactly how things fit together – if at all.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-3_700x0.png" /></p>
<p>Thankfully, I found Ninja Post’s interface to be quite charming.</p>
<p>The live-feed forum is neatly laid out, adjacent to a bold, “Compose Thread” button, which sits on top of a sidebar menu. </p>
<p> Within the menu can be found image and video galleries, groups, subscribed threads, a search option and a list of existing tags. These tags can be added to threads by their authors, helping other members find relevant conversations quickly and easily using the sidebar. Having the tags so visible and accessible will undoubtedly help the flow of engagement across the forum. </p>
<p> Inside a thread, things are kept simple once again.  </p>
<p> <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-4_700x0.png" /><br /> The familiar forum thread layout is employed, with avatars and user information on the left, and post content on the right.  </p>
<p> Options within threads allow you to up-vote comments (which adds to the authors reputation), quote posts, @ members and even send private messages without leaving the thread in question. Members can also choose to subscribe to threads, and receive email updates. It all works very well, too. </p>
<p> Admins and moderators also have the added ability to delete and edit posts on the spot.  </p>
<p> <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-5.png" alt="Ninja Post" /> </p>
<p> The interface is clean and quick, but not particularly dazzling, which is no big deal in my book, as I'd take functionality over glitter any day of the week, and NinjaPost gives you just that. </p>
<p> So, overall, I’m happy to report that things do indeed fit together, and quite nicely at that.</p>
<h2>The Admin Panel</h2>
<p>After a self-guided tour of the front end, it was time to get my hands on Ninja Post’s admin panel, the home of every Ninja Post forum owner.</p>
<p>Housed within the forum itself, admins will never feel too far away from the community. All you have to do is click “Admin Panel”, which is located via the drop-down menu within the top navigation bar.  </p>
<p>Then, the main forum section will be replaced by the admin panel, keeping the left-hand sidebar menu in place. The admin panel itself is made up of eight pages.</p>
<h4>Forum Info</h4>
<p>The main page of the admin panel, is Forum Info.  </p>
<p> <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-7700x0.png" alt="Ninja Post" /> <br /> It's a fairly simple page, displaying some basic information and contact details. In fact, it's a little too basic, and I'd suggest Ninja Post integrate this page, and the following page – Overview &amp; Stats – into one. </p>
<h4>Overview &amp; Stats</h4>
<p>As the page name suggests, this is where all the analytical data and statistics are kept, all of which are nicely laid out.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-6_700x0.png" /><br /> This page gives you an outlook of how your forum has been doing over the last fifteen minutes, so far today, and the last twenty-four hours, which I think could be really helpful for those with large, active communities.  </p>
<p> Furthermore, daily site visits are shown, along with new post frequencies, devices used by visitors, new member information, external links to Google Analytics, and so forth.  </p>
<p> <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-8-1.png" /></p>
<h4>Review Accounts</h4>
<p>This page allows you to search for users, view their profiles, find contact information, location, and so on. </p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-9-1.png" /><br /> The Review Accounts page is also where you can edit such information, remove posts and ban users. It's simple enough to understand, so it shouldn't be difficult for anybody to use.</p>
<h4>Moderation Queue</h4>
<p>Here is where deleted threads and posts go for evaluation. Admins can assess incidents, see which moderator took which actions, and read/add/edit notes and moderator comments. </p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-10.png" alt="Ninja Post" /><br /> Threads and posts which have been deleted can also be restored via this section.</p>
<h4>Manage Groups</h4>
<p>As the name implies, here is where groups can be created, edited and deleted. </p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-11-1.png" /><br /> Admins can see a list of all groups, along with which members are a part of which groups. </p>
<h4>Tagger</h4>
<p>The Tagger page lets admins add, remove and edit tags added to threads. </p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-12.png" alt="Ninja Post" /> Like the Forum Info page, I think this page could be replaced by allowing admins and moderators to add, remove and edit tags within each thread when they enter upon it. </p>
<h4>Trending Content &amp; Analytics</h4>
<p>This page displayed which threads are being visited, by how many visitors and for how long. </p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-13-1.png" /></p>
<p> Other useful metrics like bounce rate and average visit duration exist, alongside organic search terms used by visitors to access the forum. A handy tool to have in any admin dashboard.</p>
<h4>Design</h4>
<p>Finally, we come to the design page. I was excited to see how far the forum could be tweaked, but I was dissapointed to find only a handful of colour options. </p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-14.png" alt="Ninja Post" /><br /> Headers, buttons, links and so forth can all be customized as far as colour goes, but that's about it. Personally, I think Ninja Post is crying out for some more design customization features. </p>
<h2>Notable Extras</h2>
<p>Ninja Post offers more than a simple forum script. There are some some notable exras that come out of the box, </p>
<h4>Gamification</h4>
<p>If you know what gamification is, you’ll know how much it can help keep a community bubbling over. Thankfully, Ninja Post can accomodate.</p>
<p>Gamification means implementing game mechanics in a non-gaming environment.</p>
<p>In an online community, that means giving your community members a virtual (and sometimes material) incentive to interact more.</p>
<p>Ninja Post gives each member a user profile, along with a reputation system. Other users can up-vote comments, contributing to the commenters reputation which is displayed under their avatar.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-15-1.png" /></p>
<p>Furthermore, badges have recently been introduced, giving members another incentive to post and interact more.  </p>
<p> Badges act as rewards for reaching certain reputation benchmarks and can also be given out by administrators, whilst other sets can be freely handed out by other members. </p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/forum_badges.png" alt="Ninja Post" /></p>
<h4>Membership &amp; Monetization</h4>
<p>With Ninja Post, you can restrict your forum to be seen only by (paying) members.</p>
<p>This places a simple landing page on your homepage, prompting visitors to either sign up, or sign in.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-16700x0.png" alt="http://whitepebble.ninjapost.net/" /></p>
<p>This is a handy feature, especially if you’re looking to make use of Ninja Post’s option to introduce member subscription fees.</p>
<p>Or, you may just be looking to create a forum for a controlled number of people within a corporate or social setting. Either way, Ninja Post has you covered.</p>
<h4>Groups</h4>
<p>Groups can be set up for users to join.</p>
<p>This allows a private forum to exist, away from the public one located on the main page. Group members can post and mingle privately together, discussing their own agendas.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-17.png" alt="Ninja Post" /></p>
<p>Groups can only be set up by admins, and members need to be added manually.</p>
<p>This would work well in most cases, although it would have been nice to see a list of groups appear publically, allowing members to request permission to join.</p>
<h4>Photo &amp; Video Galleries</h4>
<p>Ninja Post also supports image and video galleries.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-18700x0.png" alt="Ninja Post" /></p>
<p>Photos can be presented above the main forum, or they can be given a separate page, accessible via the left-hand sidebar.</p>
<p>Images and videos can be added by members, who only need to provide a valid YouTube link or upload images from their computers.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-19.png" alt="Ninja Post" /></p>
<h2>Getting Help</h2>
<p>As mentioned earlier, Ninja Post founder Mike Wilt and his team seem focused on delivering a personal touch when it comes to helping new customers and clients.</p>
<p>They help hone design, integrate the software with existing websites and databases, and so forth. On top of this, there is a small FAQ section along with a live-chat feature, phone number and email address to help get problems seen to.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-20700x0.png" alt="Ninja Post" /></p>
<p>Contacting support for help is great, but not if it’s your only option. Having some dedicated support pages can really help clear up confusion for new and learning customers faster.</p>
<p>The FAQ section needs expanding, and some documentation and/or video tutorials could also be used to help new admins get to grips with their forum software.</p>
<h2>Pricing</h2>
<p>Ninja Post offers three price plans, starting from $99 per month.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-21700x0.png" alt="Ninja Post" /></p>
<p>For what you get, the pricing is justified. As previously mentioned, you get cloud hosting, a ton of features out of the box, plus a helping hand to get your community buzzing.</p>
<p>However, I do think that having your lowest plan start from $99 per month cuts out a large chunk of aspiring forum owners. Startups would find it difficult to cough up that kind of cash every month.</p>
<p>Having said that, Ninja Post’s competitors Vanilla Forums have very similar pricing plans, also starting from $99.</p>
<p>But I’ll stick to my guns. Both platforms – although fairly priced for what they offer – could do with a stripped down plan to bridge the gap for those looking to invest less to begin with.</p>
<p>For now though, Ninja Post is reserved for those with some fairly decent cash flow.</p>
<h2>The Verdict</h2>
<p>NinjaPost is a clean, simple and efficient forum software. </p>
<p> The hands on approach taken by the Ninja Post team will without doubt help when it comes to technicalities and design, leaving forum owners to focus on actually building a community.  </p>
<p> There truly is a wide, wide range of features ready to roll straight away, and they all seem to work seamlessly. Real-time updates, thread subscriptions, reputation sharing and the neat tagging system all come together to create an atmosphere of organic activity.  </p>
<p> Sure, I've picked out a few areas which need adding to, as you will see below, but all in all, I'm very happy with the functionality, speed and user friendliness of Ninja Post. </p>
<h3>Pros</h3>
<ul>
<li>Ninja Post offers an extremely user-friendly forum software for both administrators and end users.</li>
<li>Real-time updates to the forum feed and threads makes the forum feel alive.</li>
<li>Looks neat and tidy on all devices.</li>
<li>Cloud-hosting, Single Sign On, automatic backups and automatic updates makes things a little easier for forum owners when it comes to the technical stuff.</li>
<li>Ninja Post founder Mike Wilt and his team seem to take a hands-on approach to helping users set up their online communities, which means help is never too far away.</li>
<li>Private groups can be set up to keep certain conversations for a select few members.</li>
<li>Threads can be tagged by users, moderators and admins to maximise visibility. These tags are then displayed neatly via the sidebar menu.</li>
<li>Photo &amp; video galleries are nice additions, with the former coming with the option to display images above the forum itself.</li>
<li>Built-in gamification features work well.</li>
<li>Images, videos and GIFs can all be embedded into threads and replies.</li>
<li>Fair amount of analytics and stats to be found within the admin panel.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Cons</h3>
<ul>
<li>Small things like a slight lack of emoticons, no polling features and a missing “Who’s Online” section means that there is room for Ninja Post to improve. </li>
<li>A dedicated help/documentation/FAQ section would be handy.</li>
<li>Ninja Post focuses on presenting one live-feed type stream of threads, which is great. But the added ability to bring in forum sections and sub-forums would be useful too.</li>
<li>Although the default look of Ninja Post is clean, simple and mildly customizable, I think some further design options are needed.</li>
<li>Ninja Post’s prices are fair when you consider what’s being offered. However, a lighter, cheaper plan would be extremely welcome for smaller communities.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Final Remarks</h2>
<p>I like Ninja Post. It has a humble charm about it.</p>
<p>There’s nothing too fancy about it generally speaking, and the forum layout itself isn’t going to blow anyone's mind, but it works – and it works well.</p>
<p>The real-time posting feature – made up by the live-feed updates and member typing alerts – is refreshing, and yet it remains only one of a huge list of features and tools to help forum owners succeed. From gamification to analytics, and pretty much everything in between.</p>
<p>The fact that I could only muster up cons regarding what could be added to Ninja Post tells its own story. Sure it can be improved, but it’s also pretty damn good as it is.</p>
<p>All in all, Ninja Post has impressed me, and if I was building an online community, I would definitely add it to my list of forum platforms to consider.</p>
<p>But don’t just take my word for it. <a href="http://www.ninjapost.com/" target="_blank"> Ninja Post offers a 15-day free trial </a> , so check it out for yourself.</p>
<p></p>


Ninja Post Review

mike-johnston

<p>On December 29th, 2000, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.drupal.org/">Drupal</a> was born into the world of web content management.</p><p>Today, over fifteen years later, not only is it one of the biggest players in the industry, but it's also still growing.</p><p>Drupal powers millions of websites, some of which are high profile. For example, Weather.com, NBC, Tesla and many other big brands all make use of the capable platform.</p><p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/drupal_logo-blue-1_400x0.png" /><br />With the passing of this massive milestone, <a target="_blank" href="http://buytaert.net/">Dries Buytaert</a>, the Founder of Drupal, recently <a target="_blank" href="http://buytaert.net/drupal-15-years-old-and-still-gaining-momentum">published a blog post on his personal website</a> reminiscing over his open source project's history.</p><h2>Little Drupal, All Grown Up</h2><p>The blog post revolves around the context of Drupal's conception, as well as the platform's successes, failures and future plans.</p><blockquote><p>“Drupal is now 15 years old. In internet terms, that is an eternity.</p><p>In 2001, only 7 percent of the world's population had internet access. The mobile internet had not entered the picture, less than 50% of the people in the United States had a mobile phone, and AT&amp;T had just introduced text messaging.</p><p>People searched the web with Lycos, Infoseek, AltaVista and Hot Bot. Google — launched in 1998 as a Stanford University research project — was still a small, private company just beginning its rise to prominence. “</p></blockquote><p>Dries Buytaert even touches on some of the changes in his own life over the last fifteen years, aligning his own journey with that of Drupal's.</p><blockquote><p>“I've undergone a lot of personal reinvention over the past 15 years too. In the early days, I spent all my time writing code and building <a target="_blank" href="http://drupal.org/">Drupal.org</a>. I quickly learned that a successful open source project requires much more than writing code.”</p></blockquote><p>He even turns his attention to the current political and social factors impacting on the web today.</p><blockquote><p>“Today we risk losing much of the privacy, serendipity and freedom of the web we know. As the web evolves from a luxury to a basic human right, it's important that we treat it that way.</p><p>To increase our impact, we have to continue to make Drupal easier to use.”</p></blockquote><p>I personally love to see this typically hidden dimension of large CMS vendors.</p><p>The humble beginnings, the initial years of growth, and the human effort behind it all. It can be fascinating.</p><p>We often forget that the biggest content management systems that we all know and love today were once just a simple code commit. And before that, a mere idea inside the mind of a future software mogul.</p><h2>Years of Global Recognition</h2><p>Drupal can be positively proud of its strong history.</p><p>It's a platform with a thriving community that's also recognized across the world as a leading open source CMS. Here on CMS Critic, we've contributed to that recognition with CMS Awards <a href="/drupal-wins-2009-open-source-php-cms-award/">from 2009</a> right up <a href="/2014-best-enterprise-php-cms/">until 2015</a>.</p><p>Such awards have been for; Best Enterprise PHP CMS (2015), Best Free CMS (2013), and Best Open Source PHP CMS (2009)</p><p>In any case, I think we can all agree that as Drupal 8 will surely leave its mark on 2016, the rest of Drupal's teen years (and beyond) are well worth keeping tabs on.</p><p>Congratulations to Fifteen years, Drupal! Here's to many, many more.</p><p>To find out more about Drupal, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.drupal.org/">check out their website</a>. Or, explore more of <a href="/products/drupal">Drupal through our CMS Directory</a>.</p><p> </p>

Fifteen Years of Drupal

<p>According to the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.pulsecms.com/">Pulse CMS</a> website, “Pulse CMS is the easiest way to build and deploy a responsive, content managed website”.</p><p><br />That bold statement is quickly followed up by a reference to the platform being a flat-file CMS, meaning that it can be quickly downloaded and uploaded to any server with no database setup process standing in the way.</p><p>With work on the platform officially starting back in 2009, Pulse isn't exactly new to the CMS scene. At the time of writing, Pulse CMS powers just over 3,700 websites.</p><p>The platform boasts WYSIWYG editing, themes, analytics, built-in backups and blogging functionality.</p><p>So, does Pulse live up to its own hype, or does it flat line? Let's find out.</p><h2>Initial Thoughts</h2><p>The Pulse website is sleek and straightforward.</p><p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-1769x0-is.png" /><br />The homepage has a download and buy button, screenshots, feature highlights and some customer testimonials. All good things, all well presented.</p><p>Remaining pages are equally clear and simple. I was looking forward to (hopefully) seeing that simplicity spill over into the software itself.</p><h2>Getting Started</h2><p>Downloading Pulse takes a matter of seconds. Thereafter, you simply need to extract the files from the .zip folder and upload them via FTP. That's all it takes.</p><p>What that then gives you, is a functioning Pulse website right out of the box, with example text and stock images. Not bad for two minutes worth of work.</p><p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-2867x0-is.png" /></p><p>The default theme is basic, but that's not a bad thing. The design would fit well for most small and medium sized businesses.</p><p>To access the admin section, you just need to type “/admin” at the end of your URL.</p><p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-41221x0-is.png" /><br />The admin section is yet again highly simplistic. Maybe too simplistic, since there's no actual home page or anything worth looking at other than a menu.</p><p>On the plus side, since there isn't a whole host of configurable options or menus, getting lost shouldn't be a problem.</p><h3>Adding Pages</h3><p>To add a page, you'll need to head to the admin section, then “Pages” and then “New”.</p><p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-6.png" /><br />When adding the page name, you'll need to specify that it is indeed a page by adding “.txt” to the end of it. Otherwise, Pulse will assume that you want to create a folder instead. I'm not a fan of this.</p><p>There are faster and easier ways of making the distinction, and I think the Pulse team should look into that. Two separate buttons is one way to go; one for a new page, and one for a new folder.</p><p>After you do create a page, you can then start adding code in order to populate it.</p><p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-51016x0-is.png" /></p><p>Pages can be made up of “Blocks” which are accessible from the admin home page.</p><p>Existing blocks include the homepage template, about sections and contact sections. If you want to make use of an existing block, you'll need to reference it when creating or modifying a page.</p><p>New blocks can be created with the help of a WYSIWYG editor. So essentially, you code the finer details of a page via the Blocks section, and then reference them on the Pages section to bring it all together.</p><p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-7987x0-is.png" />The WYSIWYG editor is fairly basic. You can add HTML, images, files and links. Fonts and text can be formatted too, but not to a major extent. Some further additions like a font color pickers and a spell check tool would be nice.</p><p>If you ask me though, I'd rather page creation was more linear. I'm not convinced that dividing the process between Pages and Blocks is all that useful.</p><p>A WYSIWYG editor within the page section without the need to reference blocks would be far easier for those who don't know how to code.</p><p>But in fairness, if you do know how to code, page building with Pulse a piece of cake.</p><h2>Extras</h2><p>There are some useful extras offered up by Pulse.</p><h3>Blogging</h3><p>A blog page comes built in with every Pulse CMS. However, you can also embed a blog into your Pulse CMS website by using a Block reference, too.</p><p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-8.png" /><br />By heading to “Blog” section on the admin panel, you can view your list of blog posts, and click “New” to bring about a new post, which can be done once again using a WYSIWYG editor. Each blog post is able to host comments, too.</p><p>Nothing fancy, but it does what it gets the job done.</p><h3>Backups</h3><p>As for backups, Pulse has that handled out of the box.</p><p>Every time you use Pulse (in other words, whenever an edit is about to be made), it checks if a backup exists for that day. If not, one is created.</p><p>Pulse takes a maximum of one backup per day, and stores the five most recent backups in the ‘content/backups' folder. Now that's what I call handy.</p><h3>Themes &amp; Plugins</h3><p>Pulse serves up four, free themes and three premium ones. They're all fairly simple looking, which is a good thing, although they aren't going to be winning any web design awards, that's for sure.</p><p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-9958x0-is.png" /></p><p>There are six Plugins, including Google Search, Recent Blog Posts and Static Calendar. It would be nice to see some more variation here. Pulse isn't exactly bursting with features, so I'd hope that they're focused on broadening their plugin library.</p><h3>Stats</h3><p>Pulse CMS boasts built in statistics. Simply clicking the “Stats” button on the admin panel brings up a small amount of metrics.</p><p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-101084x0-is.png" /><br />Top pages, top referrers, weekly traffic and daily statistics for bounce rate, page views ans visitors, are all presented. It's not going to rival Google Analytics, but it's definitely a nice feature to have lying around.</p><p>Further features include the ability to create a gallery and a form for your Pulse website.</p><h2>Getting Help</h2><p>As far as support goes, there is a decent amount of documentation on the Pulse website, plus a community forum. Although, the forum isn't exactly buzzing with activity.</p><p>There is a “Help” button on the backend, but it resides at the bottom of the screen, in small, faint font. Plus, it only leads to the documentation section.</p><p>The only way to actually reach out to the Pulse CMS team, is through a contact form on their website.</p><p>Although Pulse is still a relatively small project, I'd like to see a well populated FAQ section, and perhaps some video tutorials.</p><h2>Pricing</h2><p>Anyone can download Pulse and try it out for free, but if you want to use it on a live site, a license must be purchased.</p><p>Thankfully, a copy of Pulse CMS will only put you back $29 – and that comes with lifelong free updates, too. A set of five licenses is available for a discounted $75.</p><p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-11.png" /><br />Now, I usually like to apply some pressure on vendors when it comes to price. I often bemoan the lack of low-level price plans for those looking to experiment, and for those with startup projects. but Pulse hits the nail on the head with its pricing, if you ask me.</p><h2>The Verdict</h2><p>Pulse is a supremely simple CMS. The flat-file platform is incredibly lightweight in more ways than one. The back-end is plain and easy to use, while themes are uncomplicated.</p><p>But that simplicity isn't all good news. There's a lack of customization options across the board, meaning that you'll need to rely heavily upon your coding skills to get things looking pretty. That means more effort, and more time.</p><p>Handy extras like blogging, stats and plugins help round off Pulse a little more, but there's no doubting that its a product in need of further third-party input.</p><p>On the upside, Pulse successfully covers the basics very well indeed. It's quick, responsive, and capable of hosting small and medium sized websites for a range of uses. For its price, it's a very stable solution.</p><h3>Pros</h3><ul><li>Pulse boasts a speedy and uncomplicated setup process.</li><li>Generally quite easy to use, the backend is extremely quick.</li><li>Coding pages and blocks can be done quite easily from the backend.</li><li>Four free themes &amp; six free plugins.</li><li>Backups made automatically every time Pulse is used.</li><li>Blogging functionality.</li><li>Built-in analytics.</li><li>Seems to be a platform with a small but growing community.</li></ul><h3>Cons</h3><ul><li>Only four themes to chose from, none of which are spectacular. Plugins are similarly few and far between.</li><li>If you don't know how to code, you won't be able to customize much at all.</li><li>Relatively minor usability issues, like having to manually add “.txt” to a filename in order to tell Pulse you want to create a page and not a folder.</li><li>Support options could be better.</li></ul><h2>Final Thoughts</h2><p>I like <a target="_blank" href="http://www.pulsecms.com/">Pulse</a>, but it bugs me that I don't love it.</p><p>And actually, that lack of love is less to do with general usability and functionality, because overall, Pulse does a good job on both those fronts. It defines itself as a small and simple CMS, and that's what it is. I get that.</p><p>But such products are usually bursting with personality in one way or another. A quirky admin panel home page would be one example, perhaps with some site stats on display, a welcome message, or something along those lines. Pulse doesn't offer anything of the sort.</p><p>Instead, I feel like Pulse is rigid. It does exactly what it says on the tin – and absolutely nothing more.</p><p>My advice to the Pulse team would be to focus on streamlining every-day processes on the back end (like page creation), and then think about adding a human touch to what is currently a very robotic platform.</p><p> </p>

Pulse CMS Review

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<p>Marketing isn’t the easiest thing in the world.</p>
<p>Go around and survey a bunch of business owners, and they’ll undoubtedly tell you how critical marketing is to building consumer-brand trust and building a solid relationship with their customers. This is because marketing and sales go together like mac and cheese, and is the foundation that keeps companies strong and able to continue growing.</p>
<p>While business evolves, it becomes nearly impossible to keep up with daily operations and still maintain value-driven, personalized relationships with each and every customer. This is when marketing directors get called in to build performance-driven programs that create the conversions business owners need for their company.</p>
<p>However, having an efficient marketing director means that company’s marketing program is once again too large to comfortably manage. Budget meetings get held. Expenses get cut. Valuable time and money are wasted on menial, repetitive tasks like email blasts and social media updates.</p>
<p>Fortunately, there’s such a thing as marketing automation software, which plays a huge role in helping professionals grow their business.</p>
<h2>About Marketing Automation</h2>
<p>When you pare it down to the basics, marketing automation is an offshoot of customer relationship management that uses software and web-based services as means of implementing, managing, automating, and even optimizing various tasks and processes that would have otherwise taken up valuable time. This includes things like email marketing, website integration, lead generation, customer profiling, form and page building, and A/B testing.</p>
<p>Basically, it does all of the repetitive tasks that take time and money away from the budget for your marketing department, like email and social media marketing. All of those tasks are replaced by marketing automation software and its applications, which are both designed to optimize the performance of your business.</p>
<h2>How Marketing Automation Works</h2>
<p>Marketing automation creates a web of connections between multiple marketing channels, such as content marketing, email marketing, and social media marketing. This makes sure your leads are generated, scored, and nurtured to better allow your team to focus their attention on other aspects of running your business.</p>
<p>With the help of marketing automation software, it becomes a million times easier to send targeted emails and other messages with personalization so you can build consumer-brand trust by ensuring your brand and the services and/or products offered are directly relevant to the needs and interests of your target consumers.</p>
<p>This automation means your marketing department is then better able to focus on the quality of the campaigns being run, rather than the quantity of the campaigns. Additionally, the software collects data on your prospects’ interests, demographics, purchasing behavior, and needs, to better nurture those leads and personalize any future offers being sent.</p>
<h2>The Benefits of Marketing Automation</h2>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/marketing_automation_img_1703x0-is.jpg" /></p>
<p>The list of benefits that come from using marketing automation to optimize your business is a long one, but there are some benefits that really stand out and are the key to growing your business and getting new leads.</p>
<h3>Saves Time and Money</h3>
<p>Through the use of marketing automation software, a single individual can send out a massive email blast of hundreds of messages and do the work of a large sales and/or marketing department – all on their own.</p>
<p>Implement the software and your business will have automated marketing campaigns in a short amount of time. Your business will be able to send out hundreds – or even thousands – of personalized emails every single day, in addition to generating and nurturing leads while spending less time and money on doing so.</p>
<h3>Increases Revenue</h3>
<p>Increased revenue comes with decreased time and expenses, and makes up the biggest benefit marketing automation has to offer. In fact, last year’s <a href="http://www.hatchbuck.com/blog/the-pulse-of-marketing-automation-platforms-in-2016/">report by Adestra</a> revealed a staggering 74% of all survey respondents claimed their marketing automation software’s ability to save them time was the biggest benefit, with customer engagement being a close second for 68% of all respondents.</p>
<p>With all of this time being freed up, 80% of businesses <a href="http://www.hatchbuck.com/blog/the-pulse-of-marketing-automation-platforms-in-2016/">surveyed by VB last year</a> found that using marketing automation has resulted in significant increase in leads. Considering the fact these are the very lifeblood of a business’ sales, this is one benefit that shouldn’t be taken lightly.</p>
<p>Even better, the same study found that these leads aren’t just any type of leads either – they are generally quality leads that brought about an increase in conversions for 77% of businesses.</p>
<h3>Consistent Branding is Easier</h3>
<p>There’s no question about it: Consistent branding is essential.</p>
<p>With marketing automation software, it’s a million times easier to create a consistent brand that spans across your multiple marketing channels.</p>
<p>Considering how much money and time you save with this, your marketing is better able to focus their efforts on expanding your audience to better reach your target demographic across emails, social media channels, mobile applications, direct mailers, and more. You can spend more money on <a href="https://99designs.com/web-design">perfecting your web design</a>, landing pages, content marketing, and other aspects of building your brand and growing your business.</p>
<p>By making your business more available to your customers, your visibility is gets the boost it needs to turn those website visitors and prospects into customers.</p>
<h3>Versatile and User-Friendly</h3>
<p>Even with all of its uses and benefits, marketing automation is actually surprisingly easy to use. After all, the software is all about optimization and making it easier to grow your business. Because of that, even the employees that aren’t so technically-gifted will be able to use it with little training.</p>
<p>Most marketing automation software packages come with templates, editors, and helpful guides that walk you through the while process all the way from initial creation and design to final distribution.</p>
<p>It doesn’t require your employees to know any coding, graphic design, or other technical skillsets. They can jump right in and get to work once it’s implemented.</p>
<h2>Lead Generation and Nurturing</h2>
<p>Having to spend time reaching out to each individual lead and nurturing that lead through an entire sales funnel takes time. It takes money.</p>
<p>With marketing automation, you can reach out to a potential lead right away from the very first interaction, even if it’s just a simple list subscription.</p>
<p>Let’s say a website visitor spends time reading through your content and offered products/services, and decides to sign up for your mailing list. Once you’ve got that email added to your list, you can send out one of several types of automated solutions.</p>
<p>They’ll receive a welcome message and that confirmation notice (always a good idea), and then the prospect will be immediately guided through the sales funnel. You can use the automation to offer discounts and other offers that are directly relevant to your customer’s needs, interests, and past purchase behavior. As the customer is guided through the sales funnel, the software collects even more data to fill out their customer profile, enabling you to better target your emails and other marketing campaigns.</p>
<h2>Choosing Marketing Automation Software</h2>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/marketing_automation_img_2.jpg" /></p>
<p>Just like with any other type of major software implementation, it’s essential to go through a full assessment of your business before purchasing and implementing marketing automation software. Even with its numerous benefits, you may decide your business hasn’t yet reached the point for it to need all those extra components for your marketing.</p>
<p>You need to go over the needs of your business, such as your staffing capabilities and revenue goals, how much you can invest in new marketing software, and what your current employee skills and abilities are.</p>
<p>Some things to consider are:</p>
<ul>
<li>The type of marketing automation software that would best fit your needs</li>
<li>Your sales and marketing goals</li>
<li>The size of your staff – Do you have enough staff available to implement a marketing automation solution?</li>
<li>How you will measure the marketing automation software’s success – What benchmarks do you have in place?</li>
<li>Your income and expenses – Do you have the financial resources required for this?</li>
</ul>
<p>After taking these things into consideration, it’s best to take some time to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-prepare-your-business-marketing-automation-alexia-p-bullard">prepare your business for marketing automation</a> before implementing the solution. Just like with anything else in the world, whether it’s business-related or not, marketing automation software isn’t perfect. This is why business owners need to take the time to understand both its benefits <em>and </em>limitations.</p>
<p>While it automates most things, it doesn’t automate everything. You will still need staff available to do hands-on marketing, including sending out messages and interacting with customers. While it optimizes and streamlines a good portion of you business’ workflow, it doesn’t replace a human employee.</p>
<p>A big part of the confusion people have when they purchase marketing automation solutions from a vendor stems from the implementation and utilization being driven by someone who doesn’t think about the fact they need involve the CRM, content, email, and/or SEO teams.</p>
<p>At one point or another, all of these different teams within your marketing department should be expected to handle this technology, so they should be informed of how it works. If they never get to learn about it, explore its different uses, or discuss it with the CMO or the vendors, conflict is bound to come up.</p>
<p>There should also be a discuss of who should be the one in charge of running the marketing platform once it’s introduced and set in place. This person, as well as the rest of the team, should be able to test out the platform and speak to the vendors.</p>
<p>To do this, find a vendor and schedule a demo for your team. Things to consider are:</p>
<ul>
<li>How easy the marketing automation solution is to use. Does it take a lot of time to learn, or is it basic and straightforward?</li>
<li>Your marketing needs, and whether or not the vendor is offering a solution that aligns with these needs and goals</li>
<li>The key features – Will they make a significant difference, or do they simply amount to expensive upsells you could do without?</li>
<li>How difficult or easy it would be to implement the new software within your company. Will it integrate well, or will it be too hard to get everyone on the same page?</li>
<li>The amount of time it will take to implement</li>
<li>Whether or not the vendor offers free trials – You should always test a new business tech before investing in it</li>
</ul>
<h2>Picking a Vendor</h2>
<p>As you can see, marketing automation software can certainly yield a whole host of benefits that grow your business and streamline your marketing efforts.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the software isn’t exactly “one size fits all.”</p>
<p>There are tons of marketing automation platforms available, and they vary widely depending on price, features, and complexity. This can make it a bit difficult to find one that will best meet your needs.</p>
<p>Once you’ve taken an assessment of your business and prioritized your revenue and marketing goals, it’s time to take the next step in selecting the right marketing automation platform.</p>
<h3>Key Features</h3>
<p>Most of them offer the same basic features across the board, but it’s the key components that set them apart.</p>
<ul>
<li>Are you looking for comprehensive inbound marketing? You’re going to need something that integrates your blogging, social media, and email tools.</li>
<li>Do you want your sales reps to have access to your team’s marketing data? You’re going to want a platform that has its own CRM or at least CRM integration capabilities.</li>
<li>Do you want to be able to create landing pages that convert? Then you’re going to want one that has pre-made landing page templates that make it easy to design a page in the shortest amount of time possible. Those platforms that offer drag-and-drop processes, much like <a href="http://www.sendlane.com">Sendlane</a> offers, are the type you want to look for.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Price Point</h3>
<p>Key features aren’t the only thing marketing automation vendors vary in – price is also a huge factor. Some platforms are bundled packages that are all-inclusive, but others come with a basic package with extra add-ons available for purchase. Pricing also tends to be affected by the number of contacts you have, so you may want to get one that reflects your next benchmark goal rather than your current numbers. This way, you have more time between upgrades.</p>
<p>It all depends on what your industry, budget, and marketing goals are. <a href="https://www.hubspot.com/">HubSpot</a> is more expensive than <a href="https://www.act-on.com/">Act-On</a>, for example, but Act-On doesn’t have a content management platform and essential sophisticated analytics. If you’re focusing on content strategy, HubSpot would be the better choice.</p>
<p>The most reliable marketing automation companies make the purchasing, testing, implementation, and utilization process as easy and efficient as they possibly can. This solution should grow your business, not bring it down with complicated tech components and expensive add-ons that won’t directly benefit you. You want to pick software that is best for your business, rather than one you were talked into buying.</p>
<p>The following is a list of additional vendors that have proven to offer the solutions that best fit their customers, and make everything as easy as possible.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://snaptactix.com/products/">Snaptactix</a></li>
<li><a href="https://sendlane.com/#features">Sendlane</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.salesforce.com/">Salesforce</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.marketo.com/">Marketo</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.sas.com/en_us/home.html">SAS</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.oracle.com/marketingcloud/products/marketing-automation/index.html">Oracle</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.infusionsoft.com/">InfusionSoft</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ibm.com/us-en/">IBM</a></li>
</ul>
<p>That about sums up all the basics about marketing automation and picking a platform – well, at least for this article. As you can see, marketing automation truly is the key to giving your business a boost, regardless of industry or size. This should give you a fairly good idea as to what marketing automation software is and what you should be considering when selecting the best marketing automation platform for your needs.</p>
<p>Do you have any comments or additional vendors you would add to this list? Let me know in the comments below, or get in touch with me over at <a href="http://www.alexiapbullard.com">www.alexiapbullard.com</a></p>
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Don't Panic! The Ultimate Guide to Picking a Marketing Automation Tool.

alexia-bullard

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<p>Studiopress has been a major player in the WordPress community for years with their flagship theme framework, Genesis. I’ve come to expect a certain level of quality from the people behind StudioPress. When I heard that they were offering a moderately reasonable managed WordPress hosting service. I had to check it out myself in this <a href="/studiopress-sites">StudioPress Sites</a> review.</p>
<p>In this review, we look at the pros and cons of using the new <a href="/studiopress-sites">StudioPress Sites</a> managed hosting service.</p>
<h2>Overview</h2>
<p>Before getting into the details, I want to go over a brief overview of my main thoughts on the service. Consider this a quick reference to what I consider the top three pros and cons of going with their service.</p>
<h2>Pros</h2>
<ul>
<li>Responsive time from support was more than adequate.</li>
<li>Having 20 of StudioPress’s themes included made this a great value.</li>
<li>From a security standpoint; having their intrusion detection and malware scanning is comforting.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Cons</h2>
<ul>
<li>The “fast loading performance” could have been faster. I have set up sites on a standard SSD VPS that ran faster. The fact that I had to contact support to enable a caching plugin was slightly frustrating.</li>
<li>I felt the “partner plugins” was a bit misleading. There should be some sort of label on the ones that have affiliate links. I don’t have a problem with affiliate links; but appreciate transparency.</li>
<li>The bloat. I’m so used to StudioPress products being light. Having to remove a bunch of demo content from the get go was less than satisfying. I think they should incorporate an option on install whether or not to create the demo pages and posts.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Getting Started</h2>
<p>Genesis is known for being light and fast. Right after setting up my StudioPress Site (complete installation guide below) I ran a speedtest on Pingdom Tools. I thought this an important metric to track since StudioPress advertises as “Fast Loading Performance”.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/studiopress_sites_review_-_1.png" /></p>
<p>The speed was alright. I would have expected it to be a bit faster but without having a caching plugin installed it is more than acceptable. So that’s what I did. I installed and activated WP Super Cache and was returned with an error. This was a great opportunity to test their “World-class support” as they advertise it.</p>
<p>Support answered the question within just under 24 hours. Their answer: “Caching plugin are not necessary on StudioPress Sites since we include a very powerful caching technology that is 100% compatible with our stack.”</p>
<p>I also asked them in a separate ticket a non-technical question (that I already knew the answer to since it is on their <a href="/studiopress-sites" target="_blank">sales page</a>)</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/studiopress_sites_review_-_2.png" /></p>
<p>I was pleased to get an answer within just over an hour. Pretty good response rate in my opinion.</p>
<h2>Overview</h2>
<h3>StudioPress Software Monitor</h3>
<p>After setting up your StudioPress Site (instructions below) you will have access to the standard WordPress Dashboard.. plus some extras. We aren’t going to dive into the default WordPress dashboard as you can <a href="/products/wordpress/">read about that here</a>; but rather focus on the StudioPress stuff.</p>
<p>First we’re going to take a look at the <strong>Site Tools</strong> under the StudioPress header in the dashboard.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/studiopress_sites_review_-_3.png" /></p>
<p>There are several helpful (and some not-so-much) items here. Think of this as a general “how healthy is my site?” type of information. This tells you if you have any inactive themes or theme issues as well as the ability to take a snapshot of your current themes.</p>
<p>I don’t see the real benefit to the snapshots as it doesn’t save any settings from your themes. I could see this being handy for those who add custom CSS.. if it backed that up. The StudioPress Software Monitor also has the same features for plugins that it does for themes.</p>
<h2>StudioPress Themes</h2>
<p>Yes, you read that right. StudioPress Sites comes with access to many of the popular themes created by StudioPress. This has got to be one of my favorite pros. Installing a theme is a simple as clicking on <strong>Use This Theme</strong>.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/studiopress_sites_review_-_4.png" /></p>
<h2>Partner Plugins</h2>
<p>StudioPress has a built in list of what they call their Partner Plugins. At first glance I didn’t think anything of this.. until I saw OptinMonster was included? Could this be? Although I prefer ThriveThemes as my optin plugin.. If OptinMonster is included for free with your StudioPress site that is a huge win as it would normally cost you a minimum of $108 per year.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/studiopress_sites_review_-_5.png" /></p>
<p>Sure enough.. I clicked the blue Activate button and unfortunately, <strong>it isn’t free</strong>. My Dashboard now prompts me to “GET OPTINMONSTER NOW”. Nope. I have a feeling that these “Partner Plugins” are just a sales funnel with affiliate links. Yep.. that big green button teasing me to get OptinMonster is a shareasale affiliate link. Well played, StudioPress.. Well played.</p>
<h2>Content Optimizer</h2>
<p>Not much to be said about the content optimizer settings. When enabled, it allows you to set your SEO tool preference, URL, security method (ssl or non-ssl), user permissions, and post types.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/studiopress_sites_review_-_6.png" /></p>
<h2>Mobile Menu Bar</h2>
<p>I think this feature is absolutely great. We are in a mobile-first world and having the ability to fully customize your mobile menu is a must. This allows you to make only the important menu items appear on mobile.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/studiopress_sites_review_-_7.png" /></p>
<h2>SEO Settings</h2>
<p>You don’t want to gloss over these settings. If you want search traffic to your site (<em>you do</em>) than you need to have things set up right from the get-go. The Genesis SEO Settings gives you the ability to customize default titles, meta descriptions, meta keywords, robot meta tags, and the ability to remove unnecessary header tags. The robot meta settings is important as you can noindex category archives, tag archives, etc.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/studiopress_sites_review_-_8.png" /></p>
<h2>Setting Up Your StudioPress Site</h2>
<p>As with my previous experiences with StudioPress; I expected setup to be elegant yet straightforward. And <em>for the most part</em> they met those expectations. As noted previously you will need to have your own domain registered elsewhere.</p>
<p>Once you have your StudioPress account made and logged into the dashboard you will see a page similar to what we have below. After which you will want to click on <strong>Setup a New Site</strong>.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/studiopress_sites_review_-_10.png" />Great! Now we are at the point of actually getting to start setting up our new website. Click <strong>Got it. Let’s get started!</strong> to begin the process. You will be prompted to enter your domain name, site name, and create an admin username.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/studiopress_sites_review_-_9.png" />Fill in the required information and click on the <strong>Complete and Review</strong> button.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/studiopress_sites_review_-_11.png" /></p>
<p>Now that you have these first steps finished you need to connect your new hosting account to your domain. It is essentially as simple as managing your DNS records to point to the StudioPress IP address.</p>
<p>We aren’t going to be able to show you how to perform this step because it varies per your domain registrar; but StudioPress does have instructions for most popular registrars.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/studiopress_sites_review_-_12.png" />After connecting to your domain, you will now have access to view your <strong>Live Site Info</strong> (the globe icon). After your domain name finishes propagating you’ll be able to log into the WordPress dashboard. This should be located at yourdomainname.com/wp-admin.php as shown below.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/studiopress_sites_review_-_13.png" />After clicking on your URL login you’ll be prompted to type in your username and password. This is case-sensitive. Click Login and you’ll be in the standard WordPress Dashboard</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/studiopress_sites_review_-_14.png" /></p>
<p>Now at this point we see that StudioPress has, by default, propagated your new website with loads of posts and pages.</p>
<p>I know StudioPress did this so you can see what the website could look like fleshed out with content; my suggestion would have an option during setup to include or not include demo content. We need to go in and delete all of that content so we have a fresh slate for our website. This includes posts, pages, and menus.</p>
<p>After removing the bloat you’re left with a standard WordPress installation on <em>moderately </em>fast servers.</p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p>I did not like feeling mislead with the plugins (such as OptinMonster) being included only to lead me to an affiliate link. Felt kind of like a bait and switch. Some sort of label would have been nice indicating purchase required.</p>
<p>Although I get that StudioPress is proud of their fast servers and “built in caching technology” I don’t like not being able to activate and use a caching plugin. With speed being a ranking factor for Google and users not wanting to wait.. I want my website as fast as possible. I’m not sure what type of caching technology their support was referring to since Pingdom Tools indicates the need to leverage browser caching.</p>
<p>I did like that StudioPress includes 20 of their premium themes with the service. I’d say if you are looking at purchasing one of their themes and it is one of the included 20 it may be worth just going for the service as a whole.</p>
<p>For non-technical questions support was very prompt; answering in just over an hour. For a technical question support took nearly a day to get back with me. I didn’t like the answer support gave me on the caching plugin; and unfortunately there was no support phone number for me to call and discuss options.</p>
<p>Here’s my final thoughts on if StudioPress Sites is worth the money. If you’re looking for a managed WordPress hosting solution than <a href="/studiopress-sites" target="_blank">StudioPress Sites</a> would be a candidate worth considering. If you’re more tech savvy and can handle your own than I would suggest getting hosting with more flexibility. If you need help designing your website, we do that too!</p>
<p></p>


StudioPress Sites Review

vince-polston

<p><a href="http://www.telerik.com/" target="_blank">Telerik</a> have announced a brand new release of Sitefinity, bringing about productivity and information governance enhancements.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sitefinity.com/" target="_blank">Sitefinity</a> is a Web Content Management (WCM) platform by Telerik with a 70,000-strong user base. It offers responsive web design, mobile websites and mobile apps – all from one CMS user interface.</p>
<p>Here are some highlights of the new release, along with some further details about the information governance and productivity enhancements:</p>
<ul>
<li>The System Audit Trail which provides a measure of transparent protection and full accountability by helping organizations supervise processes while managing digital assets.</li>
<li>The newly-released Recycle Bin functionality complements the framework’s comprehensive versioning system by helping content authors archive and revert content items.</li>
<li>XML sitemaps to make content more discoverable, content duplication, which helps content authors copy and repurpose content items, and template thumbnails to help users quickly find the templates they need.</li>
</ul>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sitefinitylogo_wtagline_rgb-1700x0.png" alt="Sitefinity" /></p>
<h2>Enhanced Information Governance</h2>
<p>Every day, more private critical business and customer information goes online.</p>
<p>Accordingly, using an automated and streamlined environment to manage digital assets and deliver digital experiences is now nothing less than a necessity.</p>
<p>The System Audit Trail – now available in the Telerik Sitefinity CMS – provides a measure of transparent protection and full accountability by helping organizations supervise processes while managing digital assets.</p>
<p>Additionally, Sitefinity's new Recycle Bin functionality complements the framework’s comprehensive versioning system by helping content authors archive and revert content items.</p>
<h2>New Productivity Features</h2>
<p>Alongside Sitefinity's newly implemented information governance enhancements, this new Telerik Sitefinity CMS release also boosts developer productivity.</p>
<p>The framework now offers XML sitemaps to make content more discoverable, along with content duplication which helps content authors copy and repurpose content items. Also, template thumbnails have been introduced to help users find the templates they need faster than ever before.</p>
<p>Regarding this new Sitefinity release,  Martin Kirov, Executive Vice President, Telerik Sitefinity, had this to say:</p>
<blockquote><p>“With the current release of Telerik Sitefinity, we are aiding our customers in their quest to properly govern important customer data. Coupled with an array of productivity advancements, Telerik Sitefinity CMS is even more aligned with better business practices. These are not only practical in implementation, but also critical to business success.”</p></blockquote>
<p>To find out more about Sitefinity's new features, check out <a href="http://www.telerik.com/company/press-releases/2014/07/22/telerik-enhances-information-governance-with-latest-sitefinity-cms-release" target="_blank">their announcement</a>, and their <a href="http://www.sitefinity.com/" target="_blank">official website</a>.</p>
<p>Also, be sure to explore more of <a href="/products/sitefinity/" target="_blank">Sitefinity via our CMS Directory</a>.</p>


New Sitefinity Release Brings Improved Productivity & Information Governance

Call Tracking + AI 

Call Tracking + AI that Turns Calls into Leads

#ffffff

<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.ezoic.com/" target="_blank"> Ezoic</a> – a fully-automated website optimization and A/B testing platform – has officially launched after a one year closed beta period. </p>
<p> The purpose of Ezoic is to help website owners determine the best layout for their content and page elements.</p>
<p>Content and website layout has a big impact of user experience, and Ezoic provides the tools required to test different layouts at once, whilst measuring efficiency in terms of visitor experience, ad income, conversions, and so forth.  </p>
<p> Over 1000 small publishers benefited from Ezoic's year-long closed beta, where it was used to test over 1 Billion web pages, helping to boost ad income by a whopping 730%. Mobile ad revenue was also increased by an even more impressive 960%.</p>
<h2>Five Steps to Optimization</h2>
<p>To use Ezoic, you can either point your name servers to Ezoic's servers, or place a simple script on your website pages. </p>
<p> Here's a video which helps break down the five steps between your website, and your website with Ezoic's optimization tests in place:</p>
<p><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/95669945?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>
<h2>A Tool For One &amp; All</h2>
<p>Perhaps the most exciting part of Ezoic's emergence, is the fact that it is not just for enterprise clients.  </p>
<p> Ezoic has a free plan, an affordable business plan and a plan based on ad revenues for clients with bigger budgets. What's more is that all three plans include a 60-day no-obligation, unlimited-use free trial. <br /> <a href="http://www.ezoic.com/" target="_blank"> <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ezoic700x0.png" alt="Ezoic" /> </a> <br /> In the wake of Ezoic's launch, John Cole, Ezoic’s Chief Customer Officer, made these comments:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We solve a problem that many small publishers don’t even know they have. They’re missing out on millions of dollars each month in lost ad revenue, as well as unnecessary bounced or frustrated visitors, all because their website layout isn’t efficient.</p>
<p>Leading eCommerce sites such as Amazon have been endlessly testing and optimizing their sites for years to get users to buy more online, however, this technology hasn’t really filtered through to publishers of content sites, who should be working on usability.   </p>
<p> Either they just don’t know about it, or they don’t have the time, money or technical expertise. We handle all this technical ‘heavy lifting’ so they can focus on what they do best – creating great original content.</p>
<p>We give ordinary people the freedom to earn a living through a subject they’re passionate about; their site is often their main source of income and Ezoic technology can increase it almost eightfold. It’s life changing money.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>To find out more about Ezoic, and to sign up for free, <a href="http://www.ezoic.com/" target="_blank"> visit their website</a>.</p>
<p></p>


Website Optimization Platform Ezoic Launches After Year-long Closed Beta

<p>LightCMS has announced a major update to its WYSIWYG editor, due for release on July 29th 2014.</p><p>This update – labelled as release 2014.8 – is the latest in a flurry of recent LightCMS improvements.</p><p>Acquired by NetSuite in 2013, the team behind LightCMS have made no less than four major updates so far this year, with these WYSIWYG editor improvements making up the fifth.</p><p>I've been covering those very same updates, coming in the form of LightCMS'  interface changes, security improvements and blogging enhancements, with the latest news being about the new LightCMS Partner Platform.</p><p>Now though, LightCMS' busy 2014 continues, with a new WYSIWYG Editor. Let's take a look at what's new.</p><h2>Revamped &amp; Responsive WYSIWYG Editing</h2><p>Most noticeably, LightCMS have made some cosmetic changes to their WYSIWYG editor toolbar, giving it a sleeker feel.</p><p>In the process, icons and dialogue boxes for Image Manager, Flash Manager, Insert Media, and Document Manager have been revamped. Apart from those design tweaks though, all buttons have remained in familiar positions, so users shouldn't have trouble adjusting.</p><p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/wysiwygtoolbar700x0.jpg" alt="LightCMS " /><br />LightCMS users will be pleased to hear that this new look spreads to mobile devices too.</p><p>Previously, HTML-only editing was on offer for mobile device users, until now. There are still a few key features missing – like the file manager and full screen editing mode, but otherwise, the mobile WYSIWYG editor is the same as that found on desktops.</p><p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/mobile-editor.png" alt="LightCMS " /></p><h2>Full Page Editing &amp; Image Properties</h2><p>Although full page editing isn't supported on mobile devices yet, it is now available for desktop users.</p><p>Clicking a new toolbar button (or pressing F11) is all it takes to switch between full screen and traditional editing modes.</p><p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/wysiwygfullscreen700x0.png" alt="LightCMS " /><br />Another key feature within this release is improved control over image properties. The Image, Hyperlink, and Image Map properties dialogue boxes now include a Title text box. When set, the title will be displayed when visitors hover over images with their cursors.</p><p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/imageproperties.png" alt="LightCMS " /><br />But wait, there's more.</p><p>With LightCMS release 2014.8, the LightCMS team have also removed the “Convert to XHTML” content filter from the text editor to allow HTML 5 attributes, and have also made some improvements to the way Stripe payments are taken.</p><p>Personally, I'm very much liking the way LightCMS are constantly improving and enhancing their platform with genuinely useful updates. LightCMS users will be happy, although I'm not so sure about LightCMS competitors!</p><p>You can read further details and the full release notes on update 2014.8 via the official LightCMS announcement.</p><p>To find out more about LightCMS, check out their website.</p><p>Also, be sure to explore more of  LightCMS via our CMS Directory.</p><p> </p>

LightCMS Announces WYSIWYG Editor Enhancements

<p>Recently, Telerik released version 4.0 of their popular .NET based content management system, Sitefinity (<a href="/telerik-unveils-powerful-sitefinity-4-0-content-management-solution/" target="_blank">announcement</a>). Today, we delve in to this new release to see what is different and what has been improved upon in this Sitefinity Review.</p>
<p>Setting up a demo of Sitefinity for testing is very straight forward. They offer a sandbox edition which can be created from <a href="http://www.sitefinity.com/download.aspx">this page</a> and takes about 10 minutes before you are ready to start using your own private hosted version of Sitefinity.</p>
<p>We set up our sandbox using the Charity (nonprofit) template for the purposes of this review.</p>
<p>The default look of the website using this template pack is shown below.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2012-07-16-at-5_57_51-pm-620x511_kubg0i.png" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>The dashboard (where the magic happens) is accessible by appending your sandbox URL with /sitefinity.</p>
<p>This should bring you to a login prompt. Once logged in, your dashboard should look similar to the one below:</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2012-07-16-at-5_58_14-pm-620x496_hlobbv.png" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>Some things worth mentioning with regards to the dashboard. Telerik has done a great job with this setup. They've integrated numerous video tutorials right into the dashboard to provide quick and easy access to usage tutorials. This is a great idea and something that other systems should consider following suit on.</p>
<p>It's always interesting to see how the various contenders in the CMS marketplace work to alleviate customer apprehension when it comes to learning curves.</p>
<p>Once you've logged in to the back end, you have the option of working from within it or working directly off the site. Should you choose the latter, you can return to the main page of your website and you should see an icon on the right of the site similar to the one below. This lets you enable inline editing for the site.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sitefinity3.jpg" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>When enabled, a edit button appears in each content area to represent that the area is now editable by clicking on it.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/1-620x158_yplnjt.png" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>Clicking edit will bring you to the editor for that particular content type:</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sitefinity5-580x417.jpg" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>Logging back into the dashboard, you will see several options in the menus across the top. Clicking on the Pages link brings you here:</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/tablet-gallery-back-620x390_ag4kr9.png" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>From here you can manage and edit every page on your site. If we click on a page, we are then taken to a drag and drop interface where we can add and remove elements (as well as resize) from the pages.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sitefinity6-580x387.jpg" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Should you need to make changes to any of the individual components that already exist on the page (or new ones you add), you can do so using the edit or more menus as shown above.</p>
<p>Adding blocks of content is very easy. You may notice in the screenshot above that there is another button labelled “Layout” in the top right of the screen. Clicking this switches you to layout mode where you can drag and drop various sized content blocks. Once thing noticeably missing here is the ability to resize the existing ones. If the option is available, we weren't able to find it easily.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-1-620x431_qxzkht.jpg" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>Taking a look now at the settings menus, there are two difference views. Basic, as shown below, or advanced, where far more settings are available to tweak.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-2_f0awve.jpg" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>Sitefinity also has built in workflows that can be added and altered in the dashboard.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-4-620x62_l8dxoc.jpg" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>These work as one might expect and are a very welcome addition.</p>
<p>Under the content menu, you will find the various types of content that Sitefinity has been configured to manage.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-4-1-620x435_icl6c7.jpg" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>We won't cover these all too in-depth as that would take the fun out of exploring for yourself in your own sandbox demo but some of the new additions here include the forms and (unless we are mistaken) the newsletters option.</p>
<p>The new forms builder is very intuitive and easy to use. As you can see, once you've created a new form and named it, adding components if just drag and drop and done.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-6_sxyhsv.jpg" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>Using the new form builder was a pleasure and works like a charm. There is also a new settings button which allows you to further manage the form by restricting the number of submissions per IP address and more.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-7-620x114_suqt58.jpg" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>The newsletter builder worked quite well considering it's in beta status at the moment. Adding a new mailing list was quick and intuitive and once done, we were able to see and manage our campaigns from the screen below:</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-8-620x414_nen5wo.jpg" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>Creating new campaigns are very simple. Click the create a campaign button, choose your mailing list and to/from details and you are taken to a screen where you can choose one of three available formats for your newsletter:</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-invite-620x452_knbjho.jpg" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>The first two types of fairly common place. Should you choose the third, you are given drag and drop content types just like you would if you were creating a web page within the dashboard:</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/papyrs-review-theme-620x639_tqhnt3.jpg" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>How well this third type displays in conventional email clients remains to be seen but it's a very interesting option, for sure.</p>
<p>Under the administration menu, there are a number of choices.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sitefinity8_2.jpg" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>You'll notice under the heading Alternative Publishing that there is an option called Feeds &amp; Notifications. Within here, you are able to create various types of content feeds.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/3_3_0-timeline-620x472_hiujf2.png" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>What's especially interesting here is that you can also choose how to publish them. Some of the choices at the moment include Twitter, RSS or as Content within Sitefinity.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/3_3_0-photo-theater-620x284_preheb.png" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>Next in line to take a look at is file management. Sitefinity comes with very well done file management using an interface very similar to windows explorer.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/3_3_0-membership-compare-620x272_cwvvf4.png" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p>Adding/removing and modifying various types of content is very straight forward and works without a hitch from our testing.</p>
<p>Last, but certainly not least, is the Analytics.</p>
<p>For testing purposes, we were not able to test this functionality as it requires a link between a Google Analytics account and Sitefinity to be present in order to display analytics information. From what we have read in the Sitefinity release announcements, however, it sounds like a great addition and what better tool to use than Google's own?</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/3_3_0-share-item-on-wall-620x474_be7bbj.png" alt="Sitefinity Review" /></p>
<p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>
<p>We'd say that this is one of Sitefinity's best releases to date. They've put a lot of work into simplifying the interface as much as possible and reducing new user anxiety. Nothing will put off a new user more than a feeling of being overwhelmed with options and Sitefinity has found a good balance between usability and extendability.</p>
<p>If you haven't yet had a go with their <a href="http://www.sitefinity.com/download.aspx" target="_blank">sandbox</a>, we highly recommend you do so.</p>
<p>To learn more about Sitefinity, visit their website: <a href="http://www.sitefinity.com" target="_blank">Sitefinity.com</a></p>


Sitefinity Review: First look at Sitefinity CMS 4.0

Drupal Review

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<p>In our previous post, we listed a selection of <a href="/eight-free-photoshop-alternatives/">free Photoshop alternatives</a> for those looking for something without a price tag. In this article, I'll be sharing with you some paid Photoshop alternatives.</p>
<h2><a href="https://skylum.com/aurorahdr" target="_blank">Aurora HDR</a></h2>
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<p class="looks-info__text sk-subtitle sk-subtitle_type_clean sk-text_of_b">Aurora HDR is an advanced image editing application. Over 80 unique Looks instantly take your photos from raw to awesome, with just one click. Designed in collaboration with Serge Ramelli, Trey Ratcliff, Randy Van Duinen and other acclaimed photographers, Aurora HDR Looks bring you top-notch results in a snap.</p>
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<h2><a href="https://www.picmonkey.com/" target="_blank">PicMonkey</a></h2>
<p>I still use PicMonkey pretty much exclusively for the majority of my photography work / edits. In most instances, it's more than enough to handle the job and I find it preferable to Canva so tend to use it instead.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/desktop-mobile-features_s9o3zt.png" alt="picmonkey - paid photoshop alternatives" /></p>
<p>Picmonkey has tons of easy templates for all kinds of scenarios and plenty of font / graphic options to keep you going for years to come and is a great paid Photoshop alternative.</p>
<h2><a href="https://www.coreldraw.com/">CorelDraw</a></h2>
<p>You might be shocked to see this name listed but believe it or not, CorelDraw is still around after decades in the industry – and it's also still incredibly good! CorelDraw is the granddaddy of photo editors and has stood the test of time. It's one of the best paid Photoshop alternatives out there.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zjVWcw_lJw8?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>If you're looking for an excellent Photoshop alternative, CorelDraw is an exceptional choice.</p>
<h2><a href="https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop-lightroom.html" target="_blank">Adobe Lightroom</a></h2>
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Believe it or not, Adobe Lightroom is, to me, like an easier version of Photoshop for photo editing. Where Photoshop is excellent for the professional that likes complete control over things.. the interface can be a bit overwhelming.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/4272-what-is-lightroom_step-3_j2hxnb.jpg" alt="Paid Photoshop Alternatives" /></p>
<p>With Adobe Lightroom, things are more simplified and it feels more intuitive.</p>
<h2><a href="https://www.fotor.com/" target="_blank">Fotor</a></h2>
<p>Powerful, user-friendly and globally accessible, Fotor is an online photo editing suite, utilizing exclusive technology to bring an unprecedented level of editing control to anyone and everyone.</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/fotor_bu53al.jpg" alt="paid photoshop alternatives" /></p>
<p>The combination and integration of specialized image editing technologies, coupled with unique features and community competitions allows for Fotor’s continual growth and development.</p>
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<p>This post will be ever expanding so as I have an opportunity to test out new products, I'll be adding them to this listing. For now, these are the ones I can confidently point you to as <em>worthy</em> alternatives. Is there something I'm missing? Do you know of a product that should be here? Let me know in the comments.</p>
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Paid Photoshop Alternatives

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<p>So you've started an online store and now you want to find products to sell? No worries there, with a drop shipping supplier, you'll easily be able to find products that you can sell directly from the manufacturer for a profit.</p>
<p>There's one excellent way to do this and it's through a company called <a href="https://f2081pq029240ckol8j7pe5t04.hop.clickbank.net/ ">SaleHoo</a>. SaleHoo helps you find drop shippers using an easy to find interface but it doesn't stop there. It also helps you search and located trends, hot products and more using a convenient filtering system and many years of experience.</p>
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<p>While most places might charge you a monthly fee for access to such a wealth of information, SaleHoo charges a paltry <strong>$67 per year </strong>or <strong>$127 for lifetime</strong> <strong>access</strong> to their robust directory.</p>
<h2>What do you get for your money?</h2>
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<li>Access to SaleHoo Supplier Directory</li>
<li>Access to Market Research Labs</li>
<li>Access to members forum</li>
<li>Personal email support</li>
<li><strong>60-day money back guarantee</strong></li>
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<h2>What if I don't find the right drop shipping supplier or product to sell?</h2>
<p>Here's the key… you get a <strong>60 day money back guarantee</strong>. They don't just give you access to over 2.5 million products in various categories; they flat out <em>give you back your money if you don't find what you're looking for</em>. If that doesn't offer peace of mind, I don't know what does.</p>
<p>Here's a look at their interface for finding trends and products that you can sell directly to your customers:</p>
<p><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/hpv3-img-directory_2x_g755li.png" /></p>
<p>SaleHoo has been around since 2005 so they've got plenty of time under their belt doing a great job for their customers. This isn't some quick start-up just looking for a quick buck, these guys have years of experience helping people find a drop shipping partner.</p>
<p>So, if you are in the market and need to find either products to sell or a drop shipping supplier, look no further. <a href="https://3392fel88837-8pgqbtdyncm9e.hop.clickbank.net/">Check out SaleHoo today</a>.</p>
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How to Find Products to Sell or a Drop Shipping Supplier

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