Articles - Page 68

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

matt-garrepy

JIRA 4.3 and Confluence 3.5 were released today by Atlassian and promise to offer significant integration improvements and features.
Application links allow you to:
<ul>
<li>Create JIRA issues when writing specs or planning projects in Confluence.</li>
<li>Create quick reports on the status of JIRA issues without leaving Confluence.</li>
<li>Manage all of your JIRA and Confluence users in one place.</li>
</ul>
<img title="http://blogs.atlassian.com/news/assets_c/2011/03/create-new-jira-issue-thumb-600x478-6429.png" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/create-new-jira-issue-thumb-600x478-6429.png" />
More info on the <a href="https://blogs.atlassian.com/news/2011/03/confluence-wiki-jira-issue-tracker-new-releases.html?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AtlassianBlog+%28Atlassian+-+News+Blog%29&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader" target="_blank">Atlassian Blog</a>

JIRA 4.3 & Confluence 3.5 Released

mike-johnston

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.phpfox.com/">PHPFox</a> has kicked off 2016 with some promise. Last week, <a href="/phpfox-4-2-on-the-horizon/">I reported on their upcoming PHPFox 4.2 release</a>, which promises a number of improvements.Now though, they're unveiling <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.phpfox.com/">a totally revamped knowledgebase</a> to help get new users up and running, and to help existing users out of any trouble they might face.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/phpfox-emblem.png" />Let's take a look at what that means for the average PHPFox user.<h2>A Complete User Manual</h2>So far, PHPFox only have a User Manual uploaded, but they claim to have Developer Documentation on the way, too.On top of being responsive, the documentation page looks well populated, and it's also easy to navigate thanks to page-trees on the left and an alphabetical menu on the right.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/phpfoxdoc867x0-is.png" /> Interestingly, documentation is now totally downloadable, segment by segment. Users can choose to download each article as a PDF or even export it to Word. Quite handy.This may seem like a slightly trivial update, but in fact, a strong level of documentation is what can set two products apart. As I've been harping on about for months now, <a href="/the-world-of-cms-highlights-from-2015/">the online community building space needs to inspire itself</a>, and improvements like this are encouraging to see.It's the relatively small and simple moves just like this one that make the entire platform that much more approachable.To find out more about the new PHPFox knowledgebase, <a target="_blank" href="http://blog.phpfox.com/2016/01/07/introducing-our-new-knowledgebase/">check out their official announcement</a>.

PHPFox Introduces New Knowledgebase

KnowledgeTree has recently been making headlines here on CMS Critic with their recent shift to a SaaS based document management platform and we decided to take some time to find out the reasons for their move. In this interview with CEO, Daniel Chalef, we discuss the reasons behind the move to SaaS and his vision for the future of document management, among other topics of interest.
Enjoy…
CC: Can you give our readers a bit of a basic rundown as to how you came to be with KnowledgeTree and a bit about your background
 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/knowledgetree-daniel-chalef-100x100_vvqzgp.png" />
DC: Mike, the genesis of KnowledgeTree was a product developed for a South African customer by a South African systems integrator. At the time I was CTO of the SI and we decided to open source the results of the project.
We put the project up on to SourceForge.net and started seeing many thousands of downloads per month and we figured there was a business model to be had.
We subsequently started up a company in the US, of which I became the CEO, and redeveloped the software which is the incarnation of KnowledgeTree's document management solution that is available online today.
CC: Interesting. Compared to competing DMS products, what do you think made KnowledgeTree peak the interest of potential customers/users?
DC: To business users:
<ul>
<li>simplicity</li>
<li>fast time to value (i.e. what equipment, people, configuration and customization, and training is required to start seeing value from the product)</li>
<li>affordability versus very expensive enterprise content management suites.</li>
</ul>
For technologists running KnowledgeTree on-premise:
<ul>
<li>The accessibility of KnowledgeTree's code. Being written in PHP it is easy to modify and extend</li>
<li>The fact that KnowledgeTree is delivered as a service, a cloud offering, really assists both business users and technologists with seeing value very quickly</li>
</ul>
KnowledgeTree is designed to allow users to quickly start managing documents online, and to go beyond other basic content management services available today in in allowing users to manage their document lifecycle with tools such as workflow and contracts management features.
KnowledgeTree also has pretty neat integration with Microsoft Office applications, the desktop and even HTML5 drag and drop.
CC: Can you explain a bit further how your customers see benefit from moving to your platform now that it's SaaS based? What is the primary difference to the end user between a SaaS cloud offering and a locally managed install, in your opinion?
DC: Document management as a Service provides the following benefits:
<ul>
<li>Customers don't need to make capital expenditure on equipment and software;</li>
<li>The software can be implemented immediately, without requiring IT's assistance, reducing IT's workload and streamlining the purchasing process</li>
<li>their content is stored securely, with many vendors servicing customers out of datacenters that have undergone stringent physical and logical security certifications (such as SAS70 Type II certification) often this level of security is higher than their own infrastructure</li>
<li>coupled with security, DM as a service provides for very high availability and data integrity – again, the massive redundancy available on cloud infrastructure often far exceeds what a customer can economically implement themselves</li>
<li>In a mobile, or geographically dispersed workforce, a customer can ensure that all knowledge workers can access content from wherever they may be, without having to lay on additional network connectivity into their own datacenters.</li>
</ul>
Additionally, with software as a service, all upgrades and improvements are managed by the vendor, and this further reduces the burden on internal IT teams, and ensures that the customer is always running the latest, most capable and most secure product.
CC: Those are certainly compelling reasons. You mentioned the mobile workforce.. how well does KT integrate with the increasing number of mobile platforms on the market?
DC: Our web interface can be used from Webkit based phones (Android, iOS) and we have Android and iOS apps in the works.
CC: What is your vision for the next 5 years as to how people will be interacting with and manipulating their data? Do you see a change with regards to how it is being accessed? Do you anticipate more mobile applications coming into play? How is KnowledgeTree preparing itself for these shifts in the way content is managed?
DC: We will have greatly increased need to manage content. Currently, very few organizations are managing all sources of content – IM, social streams (whether generated internally, or on external social platforms), the majority of email etc are not currently managed, with adverse effects on an organization's ability to manage risk.
This problem is only going to increase and often times, the burden of doing so is too large (expensive) to manage centrally. As a result, line of business managers are often bearing the costs, both in terms of risk and in terms of operating efficiency. The costs of managing this explosion of content have until now been very significant, primarily due to two factors: available software, and the model the software was taken to market.
The available software has been expensive, difficult to implement and difficult for the line of business to maintain. It's required expensive consultants to configure, and often manage and the software was only available on-premise – with all the associated capital investment required in physical infrastructure.
Alongside the explosion of content, we've also seen the rise of cloud computing. Storage costs and computing costs have plummeted and software running on that cloud infrastructure has taken cues from consumer software:
<ul>
<li>It's become accessible for business users, with easy to use interfaces, the removal of “tech” or “ECM industry” geek-speak.</li>
<li>It's also mobile and accessible</li>
</ul>
So going forward, business users will grow ever more empowered to manage their own content, drive efficiency within their line of business, and manage risk.
Some very practical examples:
A CFO in a 200 person company no longer requires the implementation of an expensive on-premise ECM and document capture solution to manage the workflow around invoicing, purchase orders, and accounts payable.
Document management as a service offerings, such as KnowledgeTree, allows the CFO herself to build workflows, integrate on-premise scanners etc that support the above uses, all from a very accessible (as in easy to use, free of jargon) web UI.
You've got me started, but I can go on if you'd like ? It's a topic I quite enjoy.
 
CC: You recently wrote an article on the KnowledgeTree blog entitled “<a href="http://www.knowledgetree.com/blog/idc-saas-momentum-skyrocketing">Is traditional software dead?</a>” in which you pointed to some numbers by IDC that showed a steady decline in the licensed software model that most corporations have been tied to for years.
What methods are being employed by KnowledgeTree to assist these users with large time and customization investments in place with their current software to move to your platform?
DC: We are building technology that assists customers with migrating their content, and broader taxonomy (metadata, workflows, etc) from on-premise to the cloud.
We positively want to make it as smooth as possible for a customer to get from their existing legacy ECM app to KnowledgeTree in the cloud.
Already in place, we have technologies that assist organizations with putting large volumes of content in the cloud, either as the bare documents themselves, or with some migration development of XML files, the documents and their metadata.
So we have some tech already in place, and are building more to ensure a smooth migration.
CC: Has KnowledgeTree seen a growth in adoption due to this decline of late?
DC: Yes, we have seen strong interest from customer organizations for a SaaS / cloud solution and from surprising places that have validated our belief that mid-market organizations are very ready to see the benefits of SaaS. The sizes and types of organizations we are seeing certainly indicate the coming of age of SaaS.
CC: Do you feel that Knowledgetree has a leg up on it's competitors when it comes to the migration to a SaaS based solution?
DC: Our Hot Folders technology, which is specifically designed to assist with this process has certainly been well received by our user community.
CC: Can you describe Hot Folders a bit for us?
DC: It monitors a folder for files or folders and releases them into the KnowledgeTree service. What's cool about it is that it can work as simply as that, or you can train your scanner, fax server, or even other line of business apps such as accounting apps, to output an XML file alongside the document.
This file describes the document in more detail, perhaps providing a barcode, a customer number or similar. This metadata is then associated with the document in the KnowledgeTree repository. You can then report on documents added to the repsoitory, based on that metadata, using KnowledgeTree's search engine or even kick off a workflow that manages the newly added documents through their lifecycle.
For example, newly scanned in invoices could go through an approval cycle before being paid. 
This very same technology can be leveraged when migrating from a legacy on-premise ECM application to KnowledgeTree in the cloud. That is, your existing metadata can be migrated alongside the documents themselves.
CC: Thank you. Back in June, you mentioned an upcoming launch of Salesforce.com integration. When can users expect to see this and what other integrations are in the works, if any?
DC: We are able to right now provide it to customer organizations who'd like to try out the beta and will be publishing it on the AppExchange later this quarter.
We have a number of other line of business application integrations in our sights, and will be announcing these over the next few months. Our lightweight and easy to use REST interfaces do already provide a powerful mechanism for custom integration efforts that customers or partners would like to undertake.
CC: It sounds like KnowledgeTree is well positioned to be even more of a contender in the market. Where do you see the company in the next 5 years?
DC: Continuing to deliver great, innovative software that our customers enjoy using, and see significant value from, and with that, healthy growth that we and our investors can be proud of ?
CC: Can you share with us whom some of your largest or more recognizable customers are?
DC: We're proud to have a number of very recognizable organizations using KnowledgeTree. 
These cover federal agencies, such as the US GSA, the FAA, DoJ, etc to companies including folks such as Virgin America, Papa John's Pizza, and IBM. We also have a whole bunch of universities using our software.
CC: Excellent. Thank you for your time, do you have any parting comments or remarks you'd like to share with our readers?
DC: Mike, thanks for the opportunity discuss content management today, and KnowledgeTree's cloud solution for SMB document process management. I'd like to invite your readers to sign up for a free 30-day trial of KnowledgeTree to experience the contacts management, workflow and collaboration features themselves: https://www.knowledgetree.com/free-trial
About KnowledgeTree
KnowledgeTree makes sharing content and controlling document processes simple with secure, affordable online document management solutions for growing SMBs and departments at larger companies. Designed for business professionals, KnowledgeTree is easy to use, does not require extensive training and enables content to be accessed and managed anytime, anywhere via cloud computing. Rich and open APIs allow for seamless integration of popular third party business applications.
KnowledgeTree accelerates return on investment by streamlining document-centric business processes and increasing collaboration with workflow, document alerts, version control and full transaction histories. KnowledgeTree is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.knowledgetree.com/">www.knowledgetree.com</a>.

Interview with Daniel Chalef, CEO of KnowledgeTree

Elementary OS is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu that features the custom developed Pantheon desktop environment. One of the key aspects, aside from the  unique look and feel, are the custom coded apps and paid app store that are available with Elementary.  Today, we're going to take a look at the  whole picture in this Elementary OS Review.I'm not going to get into the Installation process here as it's  pretty much identical with every other Linux distro out there and there's not much to see. It worked without issue in all of my testing on multiple devices so I'm going to call it stable and solid.<h2>Elementary OS Review – The Desktop</h2>On  boot-up, we're greeted with the Elementary OS Pantheon desktop, which you can tell took inspiration from Mac OS. That's not a bad thing  however as many people are fond of the look and feel and it just works.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/elementary-os-review-1.png" />Elementary OS Review - The Desktop (Elementary OS 5.1)<h2>Welcome Screen</h2>There is now a new welcome screen with the recent 5.1 release. It walks you through some basic options such as enabling location reporting, setting up Night Light which reduces eye strain at specific times and more.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/elementary-os-review-01.png" />Elementary OS Review - New Welcome ScreenAlong the top we have the Applications menu on the left, the date centered in the top panel and the system tray on the right side. At the bottom, the dock where you can launch and pin apps that you use most frequently.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/elementary-os-review-2.png" />Elementary OS Review - The Menu and Dock<h2>The Applications</h2>When it comes to the default apps, the developers tend to go with  those ones that are geared towards simplicity and minimalism. For  example, the default web browser that is installed is Epiphany.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/elementary-os-review-8.png" />Elementary OS Review - The Web Browser (Epiphany)The issue here, however, is that this web browser simply isn't good enough by today's standards. It froze up on numerous websites I tried it on causing the whole system to lock up.While it's not a terrible web browser, it's certainly not something that's commonly used or up to par when compared to the standard Firefox  and Chrome/Chromium browsers. Sure, you can install different ones from  the app store but I think it's a waste to install something most new users are going to find less than adequate. Epiphany is not in the same league as the big boys and is likely going to not be able to correctly be able to display complex sites as well.<h2>Email</h2>Originally forked from Geary, Mail is now developed under the  Elementary banner and is slowly being rewritten to allow for more robust capabilities (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/elementaryos/comments/8a7nc0/pantheon_mailgeary/">source</a>) but it's suitable for most users.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/mail.png" />Elementary OS Review - MailOther included apps are Video, Music, Files, Calendar, Terminal and  Photos to name a few. All of these are custom to Elementary OS.<h2>System Settings</h2>Taking a look at the system settings, we see there are numerous icons to help you configure your new environment:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/elementary-os-review-3.png" />Elementary OS Review - System Settings<h2>Limited Options?</h2>While system settings do exist, the one thing that I personally dislike is the limited flexibility of the environment. The entire distro focuses too much on restricting flexibility with the pretense that it's helping users. The issue, however, is that it's not allowing new users to experience one of the best benefits to using Linux - variety and customization.An example of this is the fact that you simply cannot theme Elementary with any of the default tools without installing a third party (and unsupported) app such as <a target="_blank" href="https://github.com/elementary-tweaks/elementary-tweaks">Elementary Tweaks</a>.For example; take a look at the limited selections available when you click on Desktop within System Settings.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/elementary-os-review---10.png" /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/elementary-os-review---11.png" />Elementary OS Review - Desktop SettingsAs you can see above, you can change two toggles and the text size and that's it for appearance options.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/elementary-os-review---9.png" />Elementary OS Review - Changing the BackgroundYou can also change the background, but that's about it.Some may disagree on this but I feel like Elementary is trying too hard to be like Apple - limiting people to very few choices because they feel that it's for the greater good of the user and that the user shouldn't have flexibility because they might break something.Part of Linux is about breaking something. In fact, breaking something is one of the only ways people learn how to do things. Look at Windows, it's breaking all the time and most of what I learned came from fixing things. Believe me, Mac OS has just as many issues so let's not assume that because things are limited, breaking won't occur but one shouldn't hold people back from discovering what their OS can do, otherwise we're just encouraging sheep to join the flock.Now that I've got that off my chest, let's continue.<h2>Additional System Settings</h2>There are a few key items here that I feel need to be pointed out, notably Parental Controls and Online Accounts.Online Accounts only provides operating system integration for FastMail, Last.fm and Email which is pretty limiting.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/elementary-os-review---12.png" />Elementary OS Review - Online AccountsParental controls are also available within Elementary OS and it's a great addition.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/parental-controls.png" />Elementary OS Review - Parental Controls<h2>AppCenter</h2>AppCenter is Elementary OS' answer to a software store. It's one of  the only one's I've seen that functions on a Pay-What-You-Want model.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/appcenter.png" />Elementary OS Review - App CenterThis has actually worked out quite well for the Elementary OS team  and there are now plenty of developers offering paid apps through the  store. You can, of course, also download free ones, not everything is  paid (just to be clear).Here's what the team had to say about the AppCenter:<blockquote>AppCenter is our built-in app store where users can download free and  paid apps that are purpose-built for elementary OS. With AppCenter we’re  doing things a bit differently from our competitors.</blockquote><blockquote>First, every  single app in AppCenter is open source because we firmly believe in the  world-changing power of freely-licensed code and open source software.  Second, all paid apps are offered with a developer-provided suggested  price, but are ultimately pay-what-you-want. Users choose what to  pay — if anything at all — when they download paid apps.</blockquote><h2>Issues I've Encountered</h2>For some reason, the recent 5.1 update seems to have caused more issues than previous releases for me. I found the system freezing up more often than prior releases.I also noticed that when I went to mirror my display to my TV via HDMI, everything scaled to twice the size and wouldn't display correctly no wonder what I tried. Furthermore, I couldn't get sound to output properly either, and finally I just gave up trying.<h2>Elementary OS Review – My Conclusions</h2>First let me state that the intent of these reviews is to cover the quick and dirty basics that a new user will experience on first use. They are not power user reviews or benchmarked ones. My goal is to give those new to the OS a general overview and some points to consider.There's not much that a new user to Linux can actually customize in Elementary OS. While they do offer easy-to-use apps and an interface that is simple and easy to use, as I mentioned,  I found it quite limiting in capabilities without replacing major apps with better and more mainstream options from the AppCenter. Epiphany seemed to do an OK job but it doesn't support extensions. It does, however, offer Firefox Sync capabilities but it's just not good enough in my opinion.I feel like the Elementary team went a bit too far in being  restrictive with the OS but at the same time, limiting things is something Apple has turned into a successful experience and given that Elementary seems to take inspiration from Apple; perhaps it's not a bad thing. I wouldn't recommend trying to use Elementary if you are like me and love customizing things because you won't be satisfied. If you want a “just works” OS and aren't concerned about this, it's a decent option.I'm giving it a 3/5 on the basis that it's a bit too limiting for new users and with the recent 5.1 update, I experienced more freeze-ups and annoyances than before. I'm basing this on what it comes with by default. Is it a great choice for the minimalist? Absolutely.I'd rather recommend something like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/ubuntu-mate-review/">Ubuntu Mate</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/mx-linux-review/">MX Linux</a>, or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/reviews/solus-review/">Solus</a>.Interested in trying it out for yourself? <a target="_blank" href="https://elementary.io/">Grab it from here</a>. What do you like about Elementary OS?

Elementary OS Review

Through the years, CMS products have generally been built as a coupled CMS. This architecture includes everything in a single application: the content repository, the back-end UI for editors, the templating system, and all your custom code. It’s a popular approach because it requires only a single environment, and is easy to set up and manage.
<h2>Coupled Architecture Has Its Issues</h2>
In the coupled architecture, the CMS code is tightly connected with your templates and custom code. Because of this, both your code and the CMS code need to be maintained at all times (during installation, with upgrades and hotfixes, during code versioning, with continuous deployment, and so on). And, you need to be aware that the CMS code is exposed on the public server. This increases security risks, while the load on your website impacts the performance of your content management back end, and vice versa.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/coupled-cms.png" />
<h2>Better Separation of Concerns with Decoupled CMS</h2>
A decoupled architecture has been introduced by some vendors to iron out the limitations experienced with a coupled CMS. This architecture is based around two environments—the content management environment, usually protected by a firewall, where you make your changes, and a content delivery environment, with which you synchronize the content. With the decoupled architecture, you get better security, much better separation of your custom code, and easier scalability.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/decoupled-cms960x0-is.png" />
<h2>But It’s Not the Ultimate Solution</h2>
Despite the advantages of the decoupled architecture, it still does not solve all the issues. It still consists of multiple environments that need to be managed, which increases the costs of infrastructure, maintenance, and software licenses. And, there are always potential issues with having to synchronize content, especially if your website allows members to contribute their own content.
<h2>Headless CMS—the Solution for the Multi-channel World</h2>
CMSs were originally built for websites and, therefore, provide content in the form of a page. But websites and pages are no longer the only digital medium that content is created for. In the last 10 years, we have started consuming ever-increasing amounts of content through mobile applications. And the new advancements in VR, bots, digital assistants, and Internet of Things have made it even more complex with the possibility of displaying content on multiple devices and via many different formats. How we manage and publish content requires an entirely new approach. An approach that requires us to think of content as a set of components that can be pulled together from a single content repository and displayed in the ways native to the channel and device they are consumed on. The traditional page content model will not suffice anymore.
The answer is headless CMS and component content modelling. By eliminating the front-end, the presentation layer is much more flexible, only needing its API to deliver the content. Also, a good headless CMS empowers users with the tools to model structured content effectively using modules or components that can be displayed as a web page on a traditional website or content elements on a mobile application, or presented in a completely different way when displayed on an in-store kiosk. A combination of delivery and content modelling is what makes headless CMS the ultimate solution for the multichannel world we live in.
<h2>Why Is Headless CMS Architecture Better?</h2>
It’s a new architecture and approach for some people. But here are some of the benefits that the headless CMS architecture brings:
<ul>
<li>Multi-channel and multi-device content use is easy with the API.</li>
<li>You are not restricted by programming language, tools, or development processes when creating your websites or mobile apps.</li>
<li>You are in control without any worries about the CMS code.</li>
<li>Security and scalability are vastly superior.</li>
</ul>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/headless-cms944x0-is.png" />
When learning about headless CMS, it is also important to know that some people use the term API-first CMS. It is intended to indicate that the CMS was built with an API approach in mind, rather than a traditional CMS that just added an API layer and then claimed to support the headless approach.
<h2>Cloud-first Headless CMS: It Doesn’t Get Much Better Than This</h2>
The headless CMS approach does, of course, work with on-premise CMSs, but you will find the biggest advantages when you use it in the Software as a Service (SaaS) model. In fact, it was the headless approach that enabled CMS vendors to provide content management as a true multi-tenant SaaS service.
The cloud-first approach means building the CMS from scratch with the cloud in mind from the very beginning and not just an afterthought like with many traditional CMSs. The cloud-first headless CMS merges the best of headless with the benefits of the cloud. The cloud-first headless CMS approach lets you focus on your website or mobile app while the CMS vendor takes care of everything else, such as the underlying infrastructure, databases, and content delivery network, the installation, upgrades, hotfixes, backup, availability, performance, and security. You still have some work to do, but you don’t need to worry about the CMS code in your environment. It is much easier to secure your code, and the main workload is taken by the cloud CMS, meaning you can handle high traffic levels, even with a modest web server configuration.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/cloud-first-headless-cms972x0-is.png" />
<h2>Headless CMS Fits Most Scenarios</h2>
Headless CMS offers many benefits, and there are very few reasons or situations in which not to use it:
<ul>
<li>A simple website based on a stock template with little custom design—website builders such as Wix or Squarespace may be a better option.</li>
<li>You need to get your website operational quickly with off-the-shelf functionality.</li>
<li>Content editors want to use the page-oriented approach, or want to customize page layouts by themselves.</li>
<li>Your website and content repositories are highly regulated and strict rules and laws dictate that cloud storage is not permitted.</li>
<li>You prefer a robust, all-in-one solution that provides content management, marketing automation, e-commerce, online marketing, and many other features rather than building your solution using multiple services.</li>
</ul>
For almost everything else, headless CMS is the clear option. That's why we created <a href="http://www.kenticocloud.com">Kentico Cloud</a>, the cloud-first headless CMS for digital agencies and their clients. Try it for yourself and see why you should be thinking about a cloud and headless approach for your next project!

Cloud-First Headless CMS: What It Is and Why You Should Use It

I'm excited to announce that the <a href="/cms-critic-awards/">Critics Choice CMS Awards</a> for 2013 have begun! Nominations are now open until the beginning of August. The awards categories for this year include:
<ul>
<li>Best Open Source CMS</li>
<li>Best Free CMS</li>
<li>Best Small to Midsize Business CMS</li>
<li>Best Enterprise CMS</li>
<li>Best eCommerce Solution (New for 2013!)</li>
<li>Best Social Networking Solution</li>
<li>Best Website Builder</li>
<li>Best Hosted/ Cloud CMS (New for 2013!)</li>
<li>Best Forum Solution (New for 2013!)</li>
</ul>
Be sure to let your respective communities know to get their nominations in, the more nominations, the more likely your product will be shortlisted for a Peoples Choice Award.
We've created this graphic for those that would like to use it to help promote the nominations.
<img style="margin-right:auto;margin-left:auto;display:block" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/nominate-us.jpg" />
The page you should link to is <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-critic-awards/" target="_parent">https://www.cmscritic.com/critics-choice-cms-awards/</a> which contains more info and the nomination form.

Nominations are now Open for the Critics Choice CMS Awards

<a href="http://modx.com/" target="_blank"> MODX </a>  have announced the release of <a href="http://modx.com/blog/2014/07/15/revolution-2.3-brings-a-revamped-manager-user-experience-and-much-more/" target="_blank"> MODX Revolution 2.3 </a> . This long-awaited and “huge” release incorporates over a thousand commits by dozens of code contributors, translators, and bug reporters.
MODX offers customizable core to fit almost any project requirement or scale. It aims to be the go-to product for projects involving a multi-domain global presence, a mobile API, or anything in between.
Revolution 2.3 features a refined and updated MODX Manager, boasting a new and improved theme. In 2.3, the user friendly and less intimidating workspace enables you to build and manage your sites faster and easier.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/modx-2_3_1-manager-ui-search-2.png" alt="MODX Revolution 2.3" />
<h2>Faster, Sleeker, More Accessible &amp; More Secure</h2>
Here's what users can expect from MODX Revolution 2.3 in terms of the newly improved MODX Manager User Experience:
<ul>
<li>Noticeably faster page and screen loading / more performant ExtJS DOM</li>
<li>New überbar to find any Resource, Element or User by a variety of criteria</li>
<li>All new default Manager theme with Gravatar support</li>
<li>New Manager theme customization workflow using Sass</li>
<li>Open Manager Views in Tabs or New Windows</li>
</ul>
On top of these interface and usability enhancements, MODX Revolution 2.3 also brings about the following new features:
<ul>
<li>Custom Headers for Content Types</li>
<li>FontAwesome icons replace PNGs in the Manager UI</li>
<li>Open objects like Resources or Elements in new Tabs or Windows for a multi-tabbed workspace</li>
<li>Updated languages from our many translators and proofreaders thanks to moving to Crowdin for group translations</li>
<li>Five new manager translations added: Chinese, Finnish, Indonesian, Romanian, Danish and Belarusian</li>
<li>Full-screen Media Browser</li>
<li>Security patches from all 2.2.x releases</li>
<li>Hundreds of bugfixes, enhancements and more</li>
</ul>
The full list of improvements can be found via the <a href="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/modxcms/revolution/v2.3.0-pl/core/docs/changelog.txt" target="_blank"> changelog </a> .
Here's the <a href="http://modx.com/blog/2014/07/15/revolution-2.3-brings-a-revamped-manager-user-experience-and-much-more/" target="_blank"> official blog announcement of MODX Revoluton 2.3 </a> , with further details.
<h2>MODX Cloud Updates</h2>
On top of the new MODX Revolution 2.3 release, updates have also been made to the MODX Cloud stack.
In addition to numerous behind the scenes improvements, here's an overview of what's new:
<ul>
<li>PHP updated to latest stable release version 5.4.30</li>
<li>Added the Libevent extension to PHP</li>
<li>Browser-based file upload limits increased from 8MB to 25MB</li>
<li>Updates to ensure Composer works from the command line</li>
<li>Convert database connections from Unix to TCP sockets to improve command line functionality with MySQL and MODX</li>
<li>Updated Sass and Compass to work for MODX Manager theme development</li>
</ul>
Here's the <a href="http://modx.com/blog/2014/07/15/modx-cloud-updates-jul-15/" target="_blank">official blog announcement</a>.
For more information on MODX, check out <a href="http://modx.com" target="_blank">their website</a>.
To see an introductory video and an overview of features, visit <a href="/products/modx/" target="_blank">MODX via our CMS Directory</a>.

MODX Revolution 2.3 Released With Enhanced Manager User Experience

Like many other hosted website builders, <a href="http://www.gutensite.com" target="_blank"> Gutensite </a>  allows you to easily create a simple and beautiful website in as little time as it takes you to figure out what you want to say. And because of its robust framework, advanced functionality, and ability to customize anything , Gutensite has become a refuge for non-profit and business websites that realize they need more than just a pretty online brochure and contact form.
If you want to stand out from the crowd and make sure your website brings you value, you need to optimize the design and functionality of your website to help you achieve your unique conversion goals . A good website should empower your clients/members and integrate with your existing business processes. On the Gutensite platform, you can work with directly their team or a third party designer/developer to customize your design and functionality. Or if you are ambitious you can customize the design the yourself and this tutorial will show you how.
Gutensite provides many <a href="http://www.gutensite.com/Free-Website-Designs" target="_blank"> beautiful, free design templates </a>  to get you started, so you can either tweak the template that is closest to what you want, or start completely from scratch. If you are a designer (or just adventurous), you can access the design files to work directly with the HTML, CSS and Javascript. Gutensite also uses the <a href="http://www.smarty.net/docsv2/en/" target="_blank"> Smarty templating engine </a>  to introduce logic and system variables into your HTML, so it’s very powerful.
<h2>Getting Started</h2>
From your Admin home page in the main “Content” tab, click on the “Design” icon and in the left sidebar, click on “ Design Files ”.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/01_-_gutensite_design_files_folder_structure700x0.png" alt="Gutensite folder structure for editing your design files." />
On this page you will see the structure of your website, with folders related to whatever content types you have activated on your site. Gutensite has core system files that all websites use, but it will first look in your template to see if a “better” version of the file exists and use that instead. And if you customize a file personally for your website, the system will use that file instead of the template or core file. The folder view shows all these files as if they were “stacked” on top of each other so you can only see the “best” version. Colors are used to indicate which version your site is using:
<ul>
<li>
 black : the default core system files.
</li>
<li>
 red : files that have been customized for the template you are using.
</li>
<li>
 green : files that you have customized for yourself.
</li>
</ul>
Whenever you edit a file, the CMS makes a copy of the core or template version and puts it in your custom files. You can easily restore the original if you make a mistake.
<h2>Which Files to Edit</h2>
Gutensite uses common file extensions to help you figure out which file to edit:
<ul>
<li> HTML/Smarty (layout and elements): .tpl</li>
<li> CSS (styling): .css</li>
<li> Javascript (interactivity): .js</li>
</ul>
Each content type has it's own folder (e.g. /blog/), but all the generic website files are located in the /site/ folder. Below are some common files you may want to edit:
<ul>
<li>
<h3> Layout </h3>
<ul>
<li> Home Page: /site/site.home.tpl</li>
<li> Secondary Pages Shell: /site/site.shell.tpl
<ul>
<li>This is the shell that surrounds all the secondary pages content.</li>
<li>You can create custom shells for special landing pages or sections if you want, e.g. /site/site.shell_Store.tpl and then in the CMS you can assign a single page or an entire section of the site to use that alternative shell.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li> Header: /site/includes/site.header.tpl
<ul>
<li>Usually a reusable header file is included in the home page and shell.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li> Footer: /site/includes/site.footer.tpl
<ul>
<li>Usually a reusable footer file is included in the home page and shell.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li> Modules: /site/includes/site.module.*.tpl
<ul>
<li>These are the templates for various promo modules you may include on your home page or other pages.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li> Content Type Layouts: e.g. /blog/blog.home.tpl or /blog/blog.details.tpl
<ul>
<li>Any special content types will have their own folder and generally consist of a list page (multiple records on a page) and a details page (single record on a page).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<h3> Style </h3>
<ul>
<li> Site Design Styles: /site/css/site.css
<ul>
<li>These styles will load on every page of the site.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li> Core Styles: /site/css/core.css
<ul>
<li>These styles will also load on every page of the site, and include some default styles that the CMS will use. It can be customized or completely gutted and replaced with your favorite CSS framework (e.g. Twitter Bootstrap). But be aware that you probably want to keep some of the default classes for errors and other system generated content.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li> Content Type Styles: e.g. /blog/css/blog.css and /blog/css/core.css
<ul>
<li>Any special content types (e.g. blog) has it’s own css that you can customize, which works just like the general /site/ content type.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>Example 1 – Changing Font and Color</h2>
Let’s say we want to change the default font and theme color of our template. The first thing we should do is go to our website and use your browser’s developer tools to “inspect element” that has the color we want to change in order to find the CSS that is styling these elements. Every browser has a developer mode (which you need to enable) that will let you do this. If you use Chrome, <a href="https://developers.google.com/chrome-developer-tools/"> read this tutorial explaining how to inspect elements </a> (it will be similar for other browsers).
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/02_-_find_correct_element700x0.png" alt="Find the correct element on the page that has the style you want to change." />
Use the inspector to click through the DOM to find the element that has the styles. You can change the values directly in the inspector to test your new styles live.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/04_-_editing_the_color700x0.png" alt="Edit the background color of the element on the page." />
The inspector will also tell you the file where the css is located (e.g. site.css) and the class or id name controlling the style for that element.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/03_-_finding_the_class.png" alt="Find the relevant CSS class that controls the styles for the element." />
Once you know the file and class, you can find and edit the design file in the Admin and make the change. In this case, we’ll edit the .home_main_content class in / site/css/site.css and change the background-color from #FF7A4D to #E2D75A .
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/05_-_edit_the_site_css700x0.png" alt="Edit the site CSS and change the background color." />
You may want to search the rest of the CSS for the original value and swap out your new value so that the new color is used everywhere the old color was used.
To change the font, repeat the process to find the font for a specific element. Or if you want to change the font for the entire site, edit the same /site/css/site.css file and at the top you’ll see the body element styles, i.e. change: “font-family” to some acceptable font style. We recommend using <a href="http://www.google.com/fonts/"> Google Fonts </a> for free and easy fonts to include beyond the basic web fonts. You can use @import method to add the font to the top of your CSS and <a href="https://developers.google.com/fonts/docs/getting_started?hl=en"> follow their tutorial for more instructions </a> .
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/06_-_edit_font_family700x0.png" alt="Edit the site CSS and change the font family to a font included with @import." />
<h2>Example 2 – Add Variables or Logic to your Templates</h2>
Let’s say you want to add a custom button to the Shell that goes back to the last page the user was on, but if they visited the page directly you want the button to go back to a default page.
So first you want to edit the template file, e.g. /site/site.shell.tpl and add the element to the html. You can find a list of available variables by looking at the <a href="http://gutensite.com/gutensite/v/2.0/docs/1.0/installs/Standard-Variables"> Gutensite 1.0 docs variable page </a> . You can also add {debug} to the template and then view your page in report mode (http://www.domain.com?report=gutensite) which will make Smarty show you all the variables that are available (in a popup window).
The variable we want is {$PAGE_TRACKING.last} (which shows the url for the last visited page). After we know the variable, we just just use Smarty to add some logic around a link to go back to the previous page. Something like this:
<pre>{* Add Button to Go to Last Page *}{if !empty($PAGE_TRACKING.last)} &lt;a href="{$PAGE_TRACKING.last}"&gt;Go Back&lt;/a&gt;{else} &lt;a	href="/"&gt;Go Home&lt;/a&gt;{/if}</pre>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/07_-_add_logic_button_to_go_back700x0.png" alt="Add Smarty Logic to the HTML template to make a button that goes to the last page." />
This is just a very basic introduction, but Gutensite's open framework allows you to literally customize anything within your skill level. To learn more, read through <a href="http://www.gutensite.com/How-To-Customize-The-Website-Design-Files"> Gutensite's advanced design editing documentation </a> or call their customer service and ask for help. Happy coding!

How to Customize Your Own Website Design on Gutensite

Call Tracking + AI 

Call Tracking + AI that Turns Calls into Leads

#ffffff

<a href="http://www.woothemes.com/" target="_blank">WooThemes</a> – the company behind the the free and flexible WordPress eCommerce tool,  <a href="http://www.woothemes.com/woocommerce" target="_blank"> WooCommerce</a> –  has released an iPhone App for its merchant users. 
 <a href="http://www.woothemes.com/woocommerce-ios/" target="_blank"> WooCommerce iOS</a> is what they're calling it, and it's designed to let you see detailed product information, customer orders, specific order details, and a range of statistical data illustrating your store's sales performance – all from your iOS device. Plus, it looks pretty snazzy. 
 To get started, all you need to do is <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/woocommerce/id888758244?mt=8&amp;ign-mpt=uo%3D4" target="_blank"> download the app from the App Store</a>, connect your WooCommerce store by logging in, and watch as your orders and products are automatically imported and synced. 
 <a href="http://www.woothemes.com/woocommerce-ios/" target="_blank"> <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/woocommerce-ios-650x311.jpg" alt="WooCommerce iOS" /> </a>
<h2>Your Store in Your Pocket</h2>
Here's a quick breakdown of what you can expect from WooCommerce iOS:
<ul>
<li>See your total revenue, number of new orders/customers, and top sellers</li>
<li>Get insight into trends by checking your numbers for Today, the last 7 days, or the current month</li>
<li>Get a quick count of your open orders (processing/pending/held)</li>
<li>Quickly see a list of all orders with customer name, order number, status, and date</li>
<li>Scroll through orders and easily search them by customer name</li>
<li>See the summary for an order, with customer info, order status, products, and payment/shipping details</li>
<li>View order notes to help you see the history for an order</li>
<li>For registered customers, you can see previous orders and their lifetime order total</li>
<li>See a complete list of all your products with name and thumbnail</li>
<li>Quickly search your products by name</li>
<li>See full product details including inventory and variations </li>
<li>Add up to 4 separate WooCommerce stores</li>
<li>Easily switch between your stores using the side menu</li>
<li>Delete shops you're no longer using</li>
</ul>
WooThemes have also revealed details about what's to come for their new app. They plan to release updates pertaining to; editing &amp; managing orders, individual customer views, Push Notifications for new orders, and more.
 You can <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/woocommerce/id888758244?mt=8&amp;ign-mpt=uo%3D4" target="_blank"> download the WooCommerce iOS</a> from the App Store for $4.99. 
 To learn more about WooCommerce, check out the  <a href="http://www.woothemes.com/woocommerce" target="_blank"> WooCommerce section on the WooThemes website</a>.

WooThemes Rolls Out WooCommerce iPhone App

It's official! The latest offering from the enormously popular WordPress developer, StudioPress is now live and you get to hear about it first here on CMS Critic. StudioPress has launched a brand new website builder called <a href="/studiopress-sites">StudioPress sites</a> that gives you the ease of an all-in-one website builder with the flexible power of WordPress!
<h2>What do you get with StudioPress Sites?</h2>
<h3>The Incredibly Powerful Genesis Framework</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/genesis-sample1209x0-is.jpg" />
<a href="/studiopress-sites">StudioPress Sites</a> are built on the extremely popular Genesis Framework, of which the majority of the most popular WordPress websites on the internet are built. The Genesis framework powers over 1/2 million websites worldwide and offers search engine optimized code, airtight security, instant updates, customizable widget and layout options, and a huge developer community.
<h3>20 Supremely well designed and mobile optimized themes</h3>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/infinity-pro1209x0-is.jpg" />
StudioPress sites comes with 20 of their best mobile optimized themes based on the Genesis framework. These HTML5 designs provide beautiful frames for your content and you can personalize any of the them by adjusting the CSS or you can choose to use your own custom Genesis child theme.
<h3>Fast Loading Websites and a Focus on Performance</h3>
StudioPress sites are hosted on an optimized for WordPress infrastructure that focuses on speed and page load times. You will never experience a crashing website just because you happen to get large amounts of traffic.
<h3>No Hosting Hassles</h3>
Choosing a hosting provider can be a nightmare. With StudioPress Sites, you no longer have to worry about setting up hosting or any of the hassles that come with trying to set up your WordPress website. There are no surprise charges for bandwidth, storage or memory. Even if you get a spike in traffic, you won't get charged extra for the short term success.
<h3>Rock-Solid Security and Exceptional, World Class Support</h3>
StudioPress Sites extend the already impressive security features built into Genesis and the included automatic plugin and theme maintenance. The architecture is built to offer maximum security and performance with intrusion prevention, scanning and monitoring for malware and denial of service protection.
<h3>SEO That Can't be Beat</h3>
Thanks to the Genesis framework, the SEO features of your new StudioPress Site are above industry standard but in addition, StudioPress Sites offer advanced schema control, XML sitemap generation, robots.txt generation, asynchronous JavaScript loading, enhanced Open Graph output, breadcrumb title control, AMP support, and more.
<h3>Plugin and Theme Updates? Yes Please!</h3>
The most common method hackers use to attack sites is via outdated plugins and themes. Worry no more! With StudioPress Sites, you get automatic plugin and Genesis updates at no extra charge. No more expensive third party required.
<h3>One Click Install of Included Plugins</h3>
<h3><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/partner-plugins.jpg" /></h3>
With StudioPress Sites, you no longer need to worry about whether a plugin is trustworthy. They've done the hard work for you and picked out an ever expanding repository of exceptional plugins that you can install with a single click. Choose from an ever-expanding selection including WooCommerce, Design Palette Pro, AMP, Beaver Builder Lite, OptinMonster, AffiliateWP, Soliloquy Lite, Easy Digital Downloads, Restrict Content Pro, Ninja Forms, WPForms Lite, and more to come.
Ready to get started? Be among the first to try this brand new solution which launched today and get a headstart on the competition.
<a href="/studiopress-sites" target="_blank">Create your site today.</a>

StudioPress launches StudioPress Sites - The ease of an all-in-one website builder with the flexible power of WordPress

<a href="https://www.shopify.com/" target="_blank"> Shopify</a> has partnered up with Pinterest and Coinbase to bring their users Rich Pins and a new way to accept Bitcoins as payment.
As one of the world's leading eCommerce solutions, Shopify has a wealth of features ranging from a user-friendly interface to physical store Point of Sale (POS) systems.
These two new features have been announced just days apart, making it a pretty good week for Shopify users who make use of Pinterest and Bitcoin. Here's a deeper look at each update.
<h2>Snazzy Pinterest Rich Pins</h2>
<a href="/shopify" target="_blank"> <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/feature_f0825095-06fc-4ccc-8d2b-8220bfe8bf29700x0.jpg" alt="Shopify" /> </a> 
<a href="http://business.pinterest.com/en/rich-pins" target="_blank"> Pinterest Rich Pins</a> are enhanced Pinterest Pins that contain additional information within the Pin. There are five types of Rich Pins – Movie, Place, Recipe, Article, and Product. Online retailers can benefit from Product Pins which include real-time pricing and stock availability.
Before this update, Shopify users needed to add meta tag data to their site's code in order to set up Rich Pins. We’ve partnered with Pinterest to make the process much easier for our merchants. As of today, any images Pinned from Shopify product pages (by the merchant or their visitors) will be automatically published as Rich Pins.
Here's how Pinterest Rich Pins can help Shopify merchants:
<ul>
<li> Click-Through Rate: Improvement in CTR for many merchants. Target reported a  <a href="http://blog.ubervu.com/latest-pins-pinterest-brand-can-use-article-rich-place-pins.html" target="_blank"> 70% increase in traffic from Pinterest</a> when Rich Pins were enabled.</li>
<li> Discoverability:  Images become eligible for Pinterest’s own curated categories. The “ <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/gifts/" target="_blank"> Gifts </a> ” feed, for example, only considers Rich Pins for inclusion.</li>
<li> Price Notifications:  If you reduce the price of your product or run a sale, customers who repinned your products will receive an email from Pinterest notifying them of the price drop and prompting them to buy.</li>
</ul>
Here are some more details, along with how to <a href="http://docs.shopify.com/manual/settings/checkout-and-payment/payment-gateway#coinbase" target="_blank">get started with Rich Pins on Shopify</a>.
<h2>A Bit of Bitcoin</h2>
<a href="/shopify" target="_blank"> <img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/coinbase700x0.jpg" alt="Shopify" /> </a>
Also, following some beta testing from selected Shopify users, Coinbase's services have been drafted in to help Shopify users accept Bitcoin more easily.
Bitcoin is a digitl currency and a peer-to-peer online financial network that people use to send payments to eachother. The video below helps explain n a little more detail.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s4g1XFU8Gto?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Coinbase is an international bitcoin wallet and platform service already used by companies like Expedia and Google. Shopify's newly introduced Coinbase integration can be used alongside other payment services, like  <a href="https://www.shopify.com/payments" target="_blank"> Shopify Payments</a> and PayPal.
Coinbase offers a two-click checkout experience and simple refunds that make accepting bitcoin payments easy and convenient. All Shopify merchants can currently use Coinbase to accept bitcoin and anyone with a U.S. bank account can convert their bitcoin to USD.
Here's some more information, along with how to <a href="http://docs.shopify.com/manual/settings/checkout-and-payment/payment-gateway#coinbase" target="_blank">start accepting Bitcoin with Coinbase on Shopify</a>.
To get started with Shopify today, <a href="https://www.shopify.com/" target="_blank"> check out their website</a>.
Also, don't forget to check out  <a href="/products/shopify/" target="_blank"> Shopify via our CMS Directory</a>.

Shopify Announces Pinterest Rich Pins and New Bitcoin Payment Option

<a href="http://900dpi.com/" target="_blank"> 900dpi</a> have announced the release of a brand new blogging feature, adding another vital dimension to their platform.
900dpi is a charming hosted CMS, which allows you to use DropBox to build a website – which I think is pretty cool. All you need is a DropBox account, along with some basic coding skills, and you're good to go. I covered the <a href="/900dpi-build-websites-with-html-css-dropbox-and-nothing-else/" target="_blank"> features and functions of 900dpi</a> not too long ago.
Using the newly revamped 900dpi toolbar and editing box, you can add dynamic blog content to your website including images, videos, lists, links and more.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ok2o8j-screen_shot_2014-07-13_at_12_54_11_pm700x0.png" alt="900dpi Blogging" /> 
The tool provides all the functionality of more complicated blogging applications, but does so in line with 900dpi's ethos of simplicity. Your blog can have its own dedicated homepage displaying recent posts, whilst authors can be assigned, and so forth. Plus, it's still all within DropBox.
Introducing a blogging function is a no brainer really, but 900dpi gave some reasons anyway, as to why they decided to take the blogging plunge:
<blockquote>The average small business blog garners a 55% lift in site traffic, and as many as 31% of consumers make purchasing decisions based on blogs, according to HubSpot.com. That's a lot of marketing potential for your small biz and self-employed clients!</blockquote>
This release comes just as we brought you <a href="/minimalist-blogging-platforms/" target="_blank">15 blogging tools that encourage you to write</a>.
For information about how to implement a blog into your 900dpi website, check out <a href="http://900dpi.com/help/blogging.html" target="_blank"> this resource</a>.
To find out more about 900dpi, visit their <a href="/900dpi-build-websites-with-html-css-dropbox-and-nothing-else/" target="_blank">official website</a>.

900dpi Unveils Brand New Blogging Feature

Wix has unveiled a <a href="http://www.wix.com/wix-lp/bookings" target="_blank">new and totally free app</a> to help service providers of all kinds take automatic bookings via their Wix website.
CMS Critic recently toured the Wix offices, getting to see the <a href="/new-wix-editor-brings-simplified-code-free-web-design-to-the-masses/" target="_blank">brand new Wix Editor up close and personal in the process.</a> Last year, Wix was voted in as the <a href="/the-winner-of-the-2014-peoples-choice-cms-award-for-best-website-builder/" target="_blank">Best Website Builder of 2014</a>.
<a href="http://www.wix.com/wix-lp/bookings" target="_blank"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-7688x0-is.png" /></a> 
Lets take a look at how this new app works.
<h2>24/7 Bookings</h2>
<a href="http://www.wix.com/wix-lp/bookings" target="_blank">Wix Bookings</a> allows bookings to be taken 24/7, automatically syncing with Google Calendar to keep everything in order across devices.
As soon as a customer makes an appointment, you'll both receive an email notification. Plus, automatic reminder emails will be sent to keep both you and your clients in the know.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/booking-image11527x0-is.png" /> 
The Bookings App works within any <a href="http://www.wix.com/website/templates">Wix template</a>, meaning that any business should be able to make use of it.
Wix Bookings is indeed a good idea, and it looks well put together, too. Essentially, it allows for passive bookings with no real effort needed after installation and configuration. Plus, its free.
<h2>Another One</h2>
Wix Bookings is yet another useful app produced directly by the Wix team.
The <a href="http://www.wix.com/app-market/" target="_blank">Wix App Market</a> is filled with a wide array of functionality boosting tools. But perhaps more impressively, <a href="http://www.wix.com/app-market/made-by-wix" target="_blank">the section dedicated to apps built exclusively by Wix</a> is, in its own right, extensive.
From <a href="/wix-shoutout-goes-live/" target="_blank">WixShoutOut</a> to <a href="/wix-announces-freemium-booking-engine-wixhotels/" target="_blank">WixHotels</a>, the Wix team has outdone itself with the sheer amount of quality apps and vertical solutions that they have produced. That's one thing I've always admired about the platform; there's plenty of extra home-grown functionality.
To find out more about Wix Bookings, <a href="http://www.wix.com/blog/2016/01/take-bookings-get-payments-247-with-the-new-wix-bookings-app/" target="_blank">check out the official announcement</a>.
Also, you can explore more of <a href="/products/wix/" target="_blank">Wix via our CMS Directory</a>.

Wix Bookings App Goes Live

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