Articles - Page 70

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

matt-garrepy

<a href="https://www.agilitycms.com/" target="_blank">Agility CMS</a> has rolled out an update along with several bug fixes to polish off 2015.
The cloud-based, enterprise-grade platform was the focus of a <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/search/?q=agility+cms&amp;sort=-date" target="_blank">featured week here on CMS Critic earlier this year</a>. I personally got to explore the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/fun-fitness-community-outreach-why-working-at-agility-cms-looks-truly-awesome/" target="_blank">community feeling within the Agility camp</a>, as well as the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/why-agility-cms-doesnt-partake-in-feature-bloating/" target="_blank">platform's aversion to “feature bloating”</a>.
Here's a look at what's new.
<h2>Media, Documents, Reports &amp; More</h2>
Notably, Agility's “Choose Files” fly-out has been updated with a “New Folder” button.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/media-and-docs-flyout-new-folder.jpg" />
This fly-out appears when a user chooses to upload and insert a new image within a Rich Text Editor, for example, or chooses to upload/insert an image within any module.
According to Agility, this update gives users the option to create a Media folder for easy organization without having to navigate to the Media &amp; Documents Section. Much simpler.
Also, Reports within the Legacy content manager are now available in Beta. These reports include; Recent Changes, Ready to Publish, Domain Status and Configuration Status.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/new-reports1.png" />
The Save Validation pop-up has been updated too. It now includes an itemized list of all fields that have been edited but not saved. So, when a user navigates away from a page, module and other Agility CMS elements, they will be made aware of exactly where their unsaved changes are.
Furthermore, Agility CMS has unveiled a fair few bug fixes that come bundled with this update. Those bug fixes revolve around URL validation, page re-ordering, multi-language copying, and more.
To find out more about Agility CMS, <a href="https://www.agilitycms.com/" target="_blank">visit their website</a>, or check them out through our <a href="/products/agility-cms/" target="_blank">CMS Directory</a>.

Agility CMS Caps Off 2015 With an Update

mike-johnston

Nibbleblog is a blog platform that uses XML databases as opposed to MySQL and others. It is small, weighing in at less than half a megabyte and easy to install with a simple 1 step installer. Today, I bring you my Nibbleblog Review.
Some of the main features of this blog engine include:
<ul>
<li>Video posting (for video blogs)</li>
<li>Multilanguage support</li>
<li>XML database, no MySQL or similar DBMS needed</li>
<li>Plug-in support</li>
<li>Template and themes support</li>
<li>WYSIWYG Editor ( elRTE http://elrte.org )</li>
<li>Simple file manager ( elFinder http://elrte.org/elfinder )</li>
<li>SEO Optimized</li>
<li>Open Source. Free under the GPL license</li>
</ul>
Not bad for less than a meg is it? Is it worth checking out? Read on to find out more.
The default look of the blog once installed is pretty good. You get a decent looking template with a single right sidebar ready to be customized for your needs. Heck, for the most part, you could probably get away with just using the template as is if you just wanted a quick and easy blog that's ready to go.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2011-02-26-at-11_18_37-am-580x372.png" alt="Nibbleblog Review" />
There aren't many options for available templates / themes available ( 3 total ) but for those who are willing to put a little bit of work into customizing (or just using one of the 3) this is not a major detractor.
The dashboard is very well put together and is snappy and responsive:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2011-02-26-at-11_18_56-am-580x313.png" alt="Nibbleblog Review" /> It's clean and easy to navigate with all of the options on one page.  Working from the top down, you get your content editing functions first.
Adding a post is easy to do with a resizable Wysiwyg editor:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2011-02-26-at-11_19_52-am-580x376.png" alt="Nibbleblog Review" />
All of the typical options are available and work as expected. Overall, it was a pleasant experience to use this editor.
What I especially liked is the next option available.. Video blogging.
Adding a video post is very, very easy. Simply add the URL and the system goes out and grabs the description automatically.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2011-02-26-at-11_21_04-am-580x394.png" alt="Nibbleblog Review" />
You can of course modify these should you wish to do so. You can also add tags.
Here is what a published video post looks like with no modifications, just plug in the URL and publish:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2011-02-26-at-11_21_40-am-580x525.png" alt="Nibbleblog Review" />You also have the ability to modify your user profiles within the system as well, including adding your social network links:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2011-02-26-at-11_22_39-am-580x454.png" alt="Nibbleblog Review" />
Last but not least, the settings page allows for a good set of configuration options. In the top section, you will find the basic blog configuration.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2011-02-26-at-11_22_56-am-580x344.png" alt="Nibbleblog Review" />
The next are your more technical settings:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2011-02-26-at-11_23_05-am-580x306.png" alt="Nibbleblog Review" />
Next come permalink settings (including suggested htaccess rules, which is a handy option), comment options and theme selection.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2011-02-26-at-11_23_15-am-580x359.png" alt="Nibbleblog Review" />
Plugin management is well done with an easy drag and drop interface:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2011-02-26-at-11_23_37-am-580x439.png" alt="Nibbleblog Review" />
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
After testing our their demo, I was impressed with the amount of functionality that is present in this tiny software package. Not only does it feel snappy and user friendly but it just works as one would expect.
I think this product is a great option for those looking for a quick and easy to setup blog. It would be nice to see more themes and plug ins but this only comes with the community expanding more.
If you are a developer, a curious user or just someone who wants a quick and easy to set up free blog alternative to traditional platforms, check out <a href="http://nibbleblog.com/">Nibbleblog</a>. I think you just might like it.

Nibbleblog Review

Design agencies are in high demand, as just about everyone needs to maximize their digital footprints these days. But not everyone possesses the technical skills or composition know-how to create a visually stunning, intuitive, and search-visible site. This is where agencies come into play.
Fortunately for agencies and their clients, there are several web design platforms that make the task straightforward, efficient, and even (gasp) a good time.
The right site builder must also give agencies the flexibility to build and scale over time as well. So that limits the playing field.
WordPress is often the first tool that comes to mind. However, this platform can be unnecessarily complex, buggy and expensive. 
What most agencies need is a feature-rich, easy-to-use, powerful yet intuitive platform to work with. Choose one with too few features, and you’ll soon hit growth limitations; too many, and you’ll get dragged down by undue chaos and confusion. So let’s stick to the middle of the road.
To help you separate wheat from chaff, we are going to analyze three of today’s best website creation platforms. Hopefully, this will help you identify the one best suited for your growing agency’s needs.
<h2>Duda</h2>
Like many site creation suites, <a href="https://www.duda.co/">Duda</a> is a platform for creating fully optimized multi-screen websites. <a href="/duda-website-builder">Duda</a> is well-suited for small and medium-sized businesses, as this is their primary audience.
<a href="/duda-website-builder">Duda</a> offers a myriad of beautifully-designed templates, a drag-and-drop interface, eCommerce options, and a plethora of elements for design agencies to work with for budding brands. And using Duda helps streamline site development. As the site puts it, “digital publishers on Duda average more than a 50% drop in website build times.”
This is a bold claim for agencies looking to optimize production and site turnaround times. And Duda has a lot to offer in this realm.
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/286281912?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Firstly, Duda’s white label options enable agencies to create a fully immersive, customized experience that screams of professionalism. This includes compelling options for custom login screens, custom color and logo implementation features, and other branding options. Duda also offers user migration and “content injection” options to help migrate existing sites over to its platform. It also features one-of-a-kind templates that can be automatically pre-populated with clients’ business information.
On the communications front, Duda’s white label features provide automatic email generation components that present clients with site stats, analytics, and onboarding instructions for their accounts. Additionally, the content collection form makes it easy to send clients data sheets that include instructions on how they can send exactly what is required to build a stunning website.
What helps makes Duda a premier option for agencies is its rich team collaboration and client management options. Through this builder, users can generate unique dashboards for clients, enabling varying roles and permission levels based on their technical prowess; this includes potential access to publishing and editing permissions, eCommerce enablement, developer access, and more.
<a name="_GoBack"></a> What is particularly outstanding is that Duda supplies agencies with a custom widget builder. This enables brands to not only integrate third-party services, but to build unique, native widgets for clients. This feature can help agencies provide massive customization value to client builds.
And of course, Duda has developer capabilities for HTML/CSS/JavaScript integration, automatic SSL certification (for white label dashboards), and gives a remarkable amount freedom of freedom for SEO optimization.
<h2>Squarespace</h2>
<a href="https://www.squarespace.com/">Squarespace</a> is one of the more popular website builders on the market today, and with good reason.
Like Duda, Squarespace features stunning, mobile-responsive templates that are eye-catching and polished. 
This platform gives users various styling options to help customize websites and give them a more branded look. Like the previous platform, Squarespace enables users to tailor their site’s appearance without having to dive into coding languages; this greatly simplifies the processes for designers. Though, if a client requires it, coding can be applied for a more customized destination.
When compared to Duda, however, Squarespace is less intuitive; this can slow things down and cause frustration. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/squarespace_zlovtc.png" />
Squarespace is lacking in scalability, and SEO is minimal too. Furthermore, integration features for Google Analytics and Search Console, Facebook retargeting, and other necessary marketing elements are hidden within the platform’s Advanced Settings and need to be added using the Code Injector tool. This isn’t exactly client or novice coder-friendly, but at least these features do exist.
When a brand expands their offerings, clients are likely to request the implementation a variety of third-party apps or extensions to enhance functionality. This is where the platform falls epically short of the mark as new features must be rolled out by Squarespace.
Another drawback for Squarespace is its responsiveness. While the site claims to tout fully responsive designs, the site’s contents can often shift when viewed on mobile devices. This means that users are likely to not have complete control over their sites’ appearance, which can certainly be problematic for agencies, as clients demand certain levels of uniformity and professionalism.
But Squarespace has a solid audience for many legitimate reasons. Functional, beautiful sites can be built in a small fraction of time, and updates, articles, images, videos and blogs are a synch to create and publish. 
The tool makes integration with other platforms like MailChimp, Gmail, Facebook, and oodles more marketing and social interfaces a snap – they know how to play well with others. It’s a very, very good option if ease and speed are your agency’s priorities.
<h2>Wix</h2>
<a href="https://www.wix.com/">Wix</a> is another popular option, but it has its own set of pros and cons too.
This platform boasts over 500 templates done by professional designers, making custom designs a breeze. These come pre-populated with content, meaning that designers merely need to replace the existing assets with their own materials. 
The platform’s drag-and-drop builder makes site assembly a snap. Wix also features a new AI-based system that will automatically create the first draft of a site for its users. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/wix-1024x610.png" />
On the downside, Wix makes switching site designs a significant effort. If you opt for another design later down the road, you will need to re-insert your content all over again. It’s essential to feel certain about a template before diving in. This can be quite problematic for agencies seeking to optimize their efficiency as clients may want to apply a different template later in the process, ultimately creating a massive slow-down in production.
This also doesn’t lend to simplicity when a brand scales and needs to re-format a customer’s offerings. 
Wix is also not all that SEO friendly. This is the single most prevalent issue brought up by Wix users; there are many observations that SEO is not a strong suit, so it requires you have your own SEO expertise to ensure you are not forgotten by Google’s algorithms. Again, this can create significant problems for less technically-inclined clients. 
If you have your own SEO expertise, however, Wix can be a stellar option for newly-minted businesses and those who need a stunning site with intuitive versatility. 
The Verdict
You know what your agency really needs to get a sophisticated and impressive site up and running. Narrow your focus to these three excellent offerings and find the one that fulfills most of your business’s needs. 
Choose the one that will enable your company to turn professional websites around the fastest, and that will allow you to scale with minimal issues.

How to Choose the Best Website Building Platform for Your Agency

The latest beta of the upcoming WordPress 5.0 release is now available for testing.
The upcoming 5.0 release brings with it the terrible Gutenberg editor that Automattic feels they need to try to cram down the throats of WordPress users everywhere.
<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gutenberg-3_nn5asp.png" /><figcaption>Fear the Gutenberg!</figcaption></figure>
This editor basically takes normal tasks that were / have been easy to perform and adds unnecessary extra steps in an attempt to make WordPress' editor look more like that of Squarespace (not that theirs is terrible but it's definitely not as easy as the existing WP one.
If you want to hear real world experiences with Gutenberg, just look at how many bad reviews are coming in daily over at the WordPress plugin database: <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/gutenberg/#reviews" target="_blank">https://wordpress.org/plugins/gutenberg/#reviews</a>
In a nutshell, it's full of bugs and really ticking off users:
<blockquote>If you type, you have to wait for ages just to see it appear on screen. 
If you delete, you have to wait at least 2 seconds for it to go away. 
If you highlight, you have to hold your mouse button down for like 5 seconds at the place you want to highlight to until the highlight actually appears so you can release.</blockquote>
The response from the Gutenberg team to this review was “it's a known bug” however this is just ONE of a huge number of complaints about the editor.
To perform a simple task such as using bold, what was once a single click process has been turned into a two to three click one, reducing productivity of users by a large margin for what should be a simple task.
To give you an idea, here's how the editor looks when editing a post:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/screenshot_20181128_092915_mgn8wq.png" />
In the above example, I wanted to show you the process to get to bold. It shows up like this with a bunch of expandable categories and a search. Want to bold your text? Well to make that intuitive, we've made it harder for you to find the bold button! Now you get to search for it in a menu instead of just clicking on it.
Sense my annoyance in this post? That's the intention. I don't understand how a company so focused on ease of use and intuitiveness can stray so far from them.
<h2>Can you keep the classic editor?</h2>
Yes, you can. Thankfully the WP team is smart enough to include it as an installable plugin so that you don't have to be forced to use Gutenberg and for those who are currently on WordPress, I'd recommend installing and activating it now to prevent Gutenberg from taking over when WordPress 5.0 comes along.
For those who want to try this beast out, you can actually install the Gutenberg editor on your blog now (as a plugin) but I'm not sure why you'd want to do that. The best bet, test it in a dev environment  first and make your decision. Fortunately, you can still use the classic editor even when this 5.0 release hits so you won't be stranded in a desert full of frustration.
Wanna learn more? Go here: https://wordpress.org/news/2018/11/wordpress-5-0-release-candidate/
For those who are tired of this and want to just be able to write a blog post without the mess, try one of these great WordPress alternatives instead:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://write.as/">https://write.as/</a></li>
<li><a href="https://withknown.com/">https://withknown.com/</a></li>
<li><a href="https://ghost.org/">https://ghost.org/</a></li>
<li></li>
</ul>
Good luck out there!
~Mike

The first release candidate for WordPress 5.0 is now available (and sadly it brings Gutenberg with it).

<a href="http://www.wix.com/" target="_blank">Wix</a> is a popular, cloud-based website builder which powers millions of websites worldwide. 
 With Wix, individual users and business owners can create a beautiful, professional web presence – with no coding skills required.  
 Founded in 2006, Wix has over 550 employees, boasting five offices across the globe. Recently, I got the chance to chat with the Director of Communications at Wix, Eric Mason. We spoke about what Wix offers, how it stands out in a competitive market, and even managed to find out some of Eric's favourite Wix-powered websites.
<h2>The Interview</h2>
<h3>1. Please tell us a bit about yourself and your background as well as how you came to be at Wix.</h3>
I came to Wix from my own small business, Wigdawg Marketing and Communications, where I helped organizations, small businesses and non-profits shape their message and brand, and then get online to launch their companies, drive sales, build community, motivate and educate. 
During that time I was lucky enough to build and design sites on nearly every major platform as well as coding sites from scratch too. 
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/eric_mason_color350x0.jpg" alt="Eric Mason" />
In March of 2012 Wix launched the industry’s first HTML5 editor, a true WYSIWYG drag-and-drop web canvas that allowed for maximum flexibility without the need for coding. I knew immediately it was going to be a game changer. I’d spent years watching first-hand as frustrated entrepreneurs and small businesses had to be satisfied with either limited blocky template style builders, or forced to spend significant resources in money, time or technical education (and often all three) to truly launch their vision on the web.    
I had a real desire to continue to work with, and provide meaningful solutions for entrepreneurs, non-profits, small businesses, students, etc… who aspire to share their vision and dreams. Wix provides me that opportunity each and every day. 
<h3>2.What is Wix?</h3>
Wix.com is a leading cloud-based web development platform with over 50 million registered users worldwide. Built around our industry leading HTML5 drag-and-drop editor, Wix offers a true What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) creative environment where users can create their unique web presence all without need for coding or technical expertise. 
Because Wix is built in layers it’s something more powerful than a “template” site builder (though we’ve 100’s of beautifully designed templates) and is increasingly becoming a one-stop shop small businesses with integrated ecommerce, business management tools, marketing and contact management capabilities, and a vibrant app market eco-system.  
 Wix was founded on the belief that the Internet should be accessible to everyone to develop, create and contribute. Through free and premium subscriptions, Wix empowers millions of businesses, organizations, professionals and individuals to take their businesses, brands and workflow online. The Wix Editor and highly curated App Market enable users to build and manage a fully integrated and dynamic online presence. Wix's headquarters are in Tel Aviv with offices in San Francisco, New York, Vilnius and Dnepropetrovsk.
<h3>3.What is your personal favorite feature of Wix?</h3>
I get really excited about new features. Like, little kid excited. Part of this is because I know how difficult they are to build and execute. This experience is magnified when, for example in the case of our recently announced animations or anchors feature, I see how fun and easy our developers and engineers have made the process for users. Drag, drop, click, customize, go! The delight factor for me is really high because I know it’s going to be off the charts for our users.  
 My favorite feature recently was the launch of our new “beyond responsive” mobile solution. Everyone is considering mobile these days as more and more of our screen time is spent on our phones and on the go devices. Our team developed an algorithm that converts the full sized version of your HTML5 website into a mobile optimized version in a single click. We then allow you to enter a mobile editor and hide and manipulate elements of the mobile version customizing it even further for your mobile visitors. Your full size site remains unchanged in this process. 
 We do all this while maintaining a single source code making it great for SEO too.  It’s a unique and nuanced solution. While lots of platforms give you responsive sites by simply re-stacking blocks of content, the Wix mobile solution allows true flexibility and freedom to shape the mobile experience for your users. That’s powerful and is directly in line with our overarching goals for any product or feature we release. 
<h3>4.What differentiates Wix from the other website builders on the market?</h3>
Wix is a significantly different product and company than anything else on the market for several reasons. We’re a product and technology driven company, and were also user and customer focused in everything we do. As I mentioned earlier Wix is the only real fully flexible drag-and-drop editor on the market. Wix has hundreds of beautifully designed templates but we’re unlike any template site builder. 
 While all the others are built in blocks limiting creative expression, or needing extensive code, time, resources to customize, Wix and the Wix Editor are built in layers, fully flexible, and fully customizable. It’s more than just a technical difference but a philosophy of giving users the most robust tools without the need for coding. You see this cascade throughout the organization and right into the sites that are designed by our users too. People build amazingly unique, beautiful and functional websites when given the tools to do so.  
 As a technology company Wix has a rapid and ambitious continuous development methodology and roadmap. This is supported by an R&amp;D methodology where developers, who represent 50% of the total employee base, have complete ownership and ongoing responsibility for monitoring and improving the new features they create. This enables Wix to stay on top of a constantly changing technological landscape and quickly commoditize the continuous innovation in web design and interaction into new features offered to users.  
 As a customer focused company, this continuous development cycle is tied closely to our users feedback, support infrastructure and community. Our constant advancement and improvements to the platform are a direct reflection of listening and interacting closely and continually with our users. 
<h3>5.What kind of customers choose Wix as their website builder of choice?</h3>
We see all types of small businesses, artists, photographer, students, solo-preneurs, etc… gravitate towards Wix. Of course we fit a real need for those looking to do-it-themselves, but need to have a fully functional, scalable, beautiful and professional web presence. 
Ecommerce is critical for many of these businesses and in addition to our easy to use native Ecommerce engine; Wix has several other options through the app market. What this means is any business can design their site and then pick a suite of apps, Ecommerce to social and more that fit their specific needs.  
 We’re also seeing an increasing number of more experienced and tech-savvy web folks migrating to Wix as they come to discover the power of our drag-and-drop editor to build quickly and easily. That’s exciting to see. Website designers and developers are showing up too. If I’d had Wix’s HTML5 editor back when I was running my own businesses building sites for clients I could have easily tripled or quadrupled my business overnight. Others are figuring this out as well and we’re seeing more and more web professionals leveraging our tools for their clients.   
<h3>6. What are some examples of the best Wix built websites out there? Please share links.</h3>
As mentioned above, all sorts of people build websites and manage their businesses with Wix. We just crossed the 50 million-user milestone and highlighted 50 great websites to celebrate.  Check those out <a href="http://www.wix.com/blog/2014/06/flaunting-50m-users-with-50-kick-ass-wix-sites/" target="_blank">here</a>. 
 On our Explore Page you’ll also find examples of great Wix built site.
 Finally, we publish an ongoing series called “<a href="http://www.wix.com/blog/?s=Own+it!" target="_blank">Own it!</a> Our Template Your Website” where we show the amazing flexibility of the Wix editor by highlighting a variety of websites all created from a single template. As the evidence shows, Wix users were able to use any single template to design individual and powerful sites with a distinct vibe. 
<h3>7. What types of integrations does Wix provide with other platforms (ecommerce, analytics, etc.)?</h3>
Wix launched its <a href="http://www.wix.com/app-market/" target="_blank">App Market</a>, just a few months after the HTML5 editor in 2012. The Wix third party SDK – see dev.wix.com – allows any developer to seamlessly integrate their HTML5 apps into Wix platform via the Wix App Market. Once integrated, our users can add these third party apps to their personal websites. 
 To date we have more than 200 curated native and third party apps that greatly expand the capacity of Wix built sites. Some of the more popular apps include, Google Apps, 123Contact, Search, Instagram, Google analytics, Shopify and Ecwid Ecommerce packages, chat and social apps, business management apps, and many more.  
 With more than 50 new apps in the pipeline, expanded functionality is coming online all the time. And of course, we insist all apps in the market are easy to use and integrate seamlessly into Wix built sites. We recently announced the WixHive API which captures a variety of actions or “activities” taken by a user's website visitors such as contact information, messages, purchases, bookings and more. 
 The activity data for each site is stored and managed in a centralized database dedicated to that site, and can be accessed by installed apps and the site's owner through a dashboard.  Formerly stand-alone apps will now share the gathered data, giving site owners the ability to make business decisions, manage customer relationships and take other actions based on the strength of the integrated insights.
<h3>8. What type of support do you offer your customers? Phone, email, live chat, 24/7? Please share the details.</h3>
Wix support begins directly inside the editor. Throughout, we’ve got links to helpful videos and tutorials to assist at any stage of a users web creation process. Our continuous development cycles means that we are always monitoring where there might be issues and work diligently to address those quickly and efficiently.  
 In addition Wix offers online support through our Answers area, forum support, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/wixmypage" target="_blank">video tutorials</a>, <a href="http://www.wix.com/about/contact-us" target="_blank">phone support</a>, and finally email support via support@wix.com.
Sign up to create your <a href="http://www.wix.com/" target="_blank">free Wix website today</a>.

Interview with Eric Mason, Director of Communications at Wix

If you’ve been considering opting for a headless CMS recently, you’ve most likely come across <a href="https://buttercms.com/">ButterCMS</a> as a suggestion and not without good reason. With more content customization abilities and the entire set up process taking less than a few minutes, it’s no surprise that more teams are making the switch to go the headless CMS route. It comes with many benefits that a more traditional CMS like WordPress lacks and is rapidly <a href="/content-delivery-in-the-modern-era-headless-cms/">becoming a dominant tool in modern content delivery</a>. ButterCMS, in particular, has recently made some impressive product updates that have led to productivity enhancements for their users, both content editors as well as developers. A major contributor to these new changes made by Butter is feedback they receive from their clients as they consistently strive towards improving their user experience.
<h1>Pages Dashboard</h1>
With a completely redesigned Pages Dashboard, Butter offers a lot more capability to easily edit and manage pages for your website including filtering your content and easier localization.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/buttercms1_lhjnfk.png" alt="buttercms1" />
The Dashboard now also provides a bulk edit and bulk publish feature which allows users to select and set several pages live at the same time. Not a complex feature but will come in handy for content editors using Butter to publish more to their site much faster.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/buttercms2_kfgy10.gif" alt="buttercms2" />
If you use different languages to set up your site content, you’ll appreciate ButterCMS’s recently added localization capability that filters down the pages that need to be translated.
<h1><a name="_uh9oeqkhqrlp"></a>Media Library</h1>
Another productivity boost for ButterCMS users comes in the form of the upgrade to the media library based on popular demand to upload multiple images at the same time. This can be accessed directly on the media library page or if you need to use it for your blog posts or pages on ButterCMS, you can access the media library from the WYSIWYG editor.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/buttercms3_zzqqy4.gif" alt="buttercms3" />
I’ve also noticed they’ve made minor workflow improvements by getting rid of additional steps in the process, allowing you to manage your content much easier.
<h1><a name="_iyvhnz8i9jgk"></a>ButterCMS CLI Tool</h1>
ButterCMS recently <a href="https://buttercms.com/blog/building-a-command-line-interface-in-javascript-with-oclif">built their own CLI </a><a href="https://buttercms.com/blog/building-a-command-line-interface-in-javascript-with-oclif">tool</a>, which stands for Command Line Interface and is essentially their own custom tool that’s going to allow developers to release new projects that fully integrate with their system. This tool can be consistently modified to perform new commands and improve older ones according to your customization requirements.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/buttercms4_hvh4ak.png" alt="buttercms4" />
Check out the new ButterCMS CLI on <a href="https://github.com/ButterCMS/buttercms-cli">GitHub</a>.
<h1><a name="_82a0ldhpm7e"></a>ButterCMS Blog</h1>
ButterCMS offers two solutions, a complete content management system as well as a blog engine that integrates with any tech stack and great SEO. They also have their own <a href="https://buttercms.com/blog/">blog</a> with great tips for developers and CTOs as well as a “New to Butter” section with in-depth tutorials on setting up your blog on ButterCMS and getting the most out of the features they offer.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/buttercms5_qcftl8.gif" alt="buttercms5" />
Choosing to go with a headless CMS takes some initial getting used to but the long-term advantages and possibilities it offers are worth making the switch. It takes away the complications of navigating through the website and empowers marketers to easily make changes to the blog pages without the constant need of a developer’s help. 
<h1>Wrap Up</h1>
Headless CMS is on the rise and provides a solid alternative to traditional CMS’s like WordPress. <a href="https://buttercms.com/">ButterCMS</a> positions itself as a developer friendly alternative to WordPress and with enhancements like it’s revamped content dashboards and Media Library, marketers will enjoy it even more as well. It provides localization, multi-site support, search engine optimization and works with all tech stacks. If you’re wondering if a headless CMS is a right fit for your project, they offer a 30-day free trial for you to try out and provide content migration support if you’re moving from an existing CMS.

ButterCMS - Productivity Enhancements for Content Editors and Developers

Power your CMS on AWS

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Content management vendor, Ingeniux, has announced a significant new upgrade of their social collaboration platform, Cartella with their 4.0 release. Cartella comes in two editions, Intranet and Extranet.
Some of the key benefits that Cartella offers include:
<ul>
<li>Social Software Suite One application for blogs, documents, wikis, video, image sharing, and other social software tools. With Cartella you can make social content easy to manage and share without building new silos of information.</li>
<li>Business Ready Solutions Turnkey solutions for online communities, secure extranets, and read/write employee intranets. Use Cartella across your business to accelerate productivity and extend the reach of your brand.</li>
<li>Fast Time-to-Value Launch online communities and collaboration spaces in days to deliver immediate business value. Add Cartella to your existing websites or build new communities with custom themes, applications, and business processes.</li>
<li>Built for the Enterprise Authenticate users with single sign-on, permission people and workspaces, approve content with integrated workflow, connect Microsoft Sharepoint, file systems, and other repositories, and meet key compliance requirements. Cartella is the first solution to provide the ease of social software with the control of a true enterprise application.</li>
<li>Real-Time Analytics and Social Intelligence Use Cartella's built-in analytics to gain 24X7 insight into the performance, usage, behavior, engagement, and ROI of your online communities and business collaboration.</li>
<li>Groundbreaking “Microsoft .NET MVC” Architecture Cartella is built from the ground up with Microsoft .NET's new MVC technology. MVC redefines how .NET software may be developed and extended, making it web-friendly, easy to customize and integrate, and highly secure.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Ingeniux Intranet Edition</h2>
Ingeniux Intranet Edition offers some welcome features to those looking to launch employee directories, manage documents, create secure workgroups and collaboration, and turn content into conversations with forums, blogs, and comment moderation.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/igx-cartella_profile_resize0-620x560.png" alt="Ingeniux Intranet Edition" />
 
Some of the features available in this edition include:
<ul>
<li>Departmental and group workspaces</li>
<li>Blogs</li>
<li>Document collaboration</li>
<li>Mobile access</li>
<li>Employee or member directory</li>
<li>Member profiles</li>
<li>Taxonomy and tagging</li>
<li>Enterprise search</li>
<li>Social networking</li>
<li>Status updates</li>
<li>User syncing with Active Directory, Salesforce.com, and Dynamics</li>
<li>Calendar</li>
<li>Photo gallery</li>
<li>Forum</li>
<li>Video</li>
<li>Surveys and polls</li>
<li>Time tracking</li>
</ul>
Find out more about <a href="http://www.ingeniux.com/portals-and-intranets/intranet-edition">Ingeniux Intranet Edition</a>.
<h2>Ingeniux Extranet Edition</h2>
Ingeniux Extranet Edition offers a wide variety of modules that can be used to create amazing out of the box experiences. It also incorporates integrations with Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics and Active Directory.
Some of the features available include:
<ul>
<li>Blogs</li>
<li>Document management</li>
<li>Digital asset management</li>
<li>Profiles and directories</li>
<li>Galleries</li>
<li>Video</li>
<li>Forums</li>
<li>Polls and surveys</li>
<li>Project time tracking</li>
<li>Calendars</li>
<li>Other tools and solutions</li>
</ul>
Find out more about <a href="http://www.ingeniux.com/portals-and-intranets/extranet-edition">Ingeniux Extranet Edition</a>.

Ingeniux Updates their Social Collaboration Platform, Cartella to Version 4

<img alt="Sitecore7" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sitecore7.png" />
Sitecore is a major player in the web content management (WCM) playing field. We've kept a close eye on this CMS for a long time, tracking their improvements and success. Just today, Sitecore announced the release of Sitecore 7, which is the latest iteration of the company's unified software suite.

<h2>Sitecore 7:  Introducing Search Based Architecture</h2>
Sitecore 7 is a big jump forward for their already-advanced suite of products. In fact, the new system marks a milestone in the industry as a whole. Sitecore 7 now has a search-based architecture, which means that the system can be highly tuned to the specific needs of audiences. When CMOs and other marketing professionals possess firm control of the entire range of customer interaction, they are thus able to define and refine the approach to match an audience exactly.
<h2>Less Limits. More Power.</h2>
Sitecore is a customer experience management software (CXM) in addition to a lot of other integrated systems. One major drawback of marketing CMSs or CXMs is their constraint on content and the scalability limitations. Sitecore 7 has completely redefined the playing field with their search based architecture advancement. The search technology is pluggable, meaning that users can select the Lucene/SOLR engine they prefer.
Already, Sitecore is a leader in CXM/CRM technology. They offer one of the only unified solutions in the industry. This enables companies to provide multichannel marketing integrated with CMS, marketing, engagement automation, analytics, business processes, external tools, and databases. The unified software is massive — sure, it requires a learning curve — but it's also very powerful.
By “power” we mean limitless content, too. Chris Odom, a developer for one of Sitecore's clients, sang his praises of the system: “There is no limit to the amount of content we can store.” Another component of Sitecore 7's power is its customization due to the search based architecture. Odom says, “Our marketers can be confident that they can deliver what customers want without worrying about losing customer interest or revenues due to content that wasn’t robust enough, or relevant enough or recent enough.”
<h2>The Power of Search</h2>
It's that search based architecture we keep coming back to that helps to set Sitecore 7 apart. Search is the way we live our lives, from Google queries to that Crtl+F keystroke to find content in a document. Customers and marketers alike will benefit from having a search based system. As Sitecore's SVP of Product Marketing explained, “More ability to seve up exactly the right item at the right time to the right person.”
We think that more CXMs will be drifting toward search based architecture in the years ahead.
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
The bottom line is this:  Sitecore 7 helps marketers better engage their audiences. A good CXM allows a company to better serve their audience. Improved audiences are solid customers. Sitecore 7 is a win-win-win for everyone involved.
Once again, Sitecore has proven that they can produce a system that lets marketers engage with their customers rather than get bogged down in content management and data manipulation. The new Sitecore 7 software suite is a powerful way to supercharge customer interaction, while possessing a powerful backend system.
<a href="http://www.sitecore.net/Landing/Global/Q2-2013/MCOT-XC-Sitecore-7.aspx" target="_blank">Read more about Sitecore 7 here.</a>
<a href="http://www.sitecore.net/" target="_blank">Visit Sitecore's website.</a>

Sitecore 7 Released, Boasting Advanced Search Based Architecture

daniel-threlfall

DotNetNuke has become one of the most popular and formidable open source .NET contenders in the CMS market today and we recently had an opportunity to discuss a bit more about this company and their products with Navin Nagiah, CEO of the DotNetNuke Corporation.
CC: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you came to be with DotNetNuke?
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/dotnetnuke-corp-ceo-navin-nagiah-e1280177961566-100x100_oezy7u.jpg" />
NN: I am an Electrical Engineer by education. I have been an entrepreneurial executive for the last 16 years. I have been involved in three technology startups prior to DotNetNuke Corp.  Of the three, one had a good exit, one not so good, and the third, the jury is still out.  This is my fourth technology startup, and by far the one with the most potential.
Prior to DotNetNuke, I was the CEO of an open-source ECM Systems Integrator, where we did custom implementations of Plone, Alfresco and Liferay.  I was introduced to DotNetNuke by Larry Augustin. I really liked the founders of DotNetNuke, especially their passion and desire to ensure DotNetNuke left a strong imprint in the software industry.  In addition, the market opportunity was huge. I made the move to DotNetNuke, helped raise our Series A funding, and have been delighted with our progress since.
CC: Is this the first CMS project you've been involved in?
NN: This is the first CMS project in which I have been directly involved.  However, in my previous company, as a leading open source ECM system integrator, I watched the Plone, Alfresco and Liferay communities at close quarters.
CC: What was it about the DotNetNuke project that drove you to accept the position as CEO?
NN: The key factors for me were the passion of the founders to ensure DotNetNuke left a strong imprint in the software industry; the thriving community that is DotNetNuke; the massive adoption of the software; and, the size of the addressable market.
CC: What other activities does DotNetNuke Corporation partake in? Is there any involvement with other projects outside of the CMS arena?
NN: The company’s sole, razor sharp focus is on ensuring the success of DotNetNuke as a product, as a project, as a community, and as a company.
CC: What is your company's primary target market and why?
NN: Our primary target market is companies that have greater than 100 employees and for whom their DotNetNuke web site is mission critical or very important to the success of their organization. We sell to a broad range of industries, with no vertical market making up more than 15% of our total sales, with key markets that include government, education, financial services, and technology. Our customers are worldwide and use DotNetNuke for public web sites, extranets, intranets, and web applications. Our customers share a common need for a feature-rich, robust, stable, easy-to-use, and extensible WCM platform to build their web sites and web applications.
CC: What advantages does your platform offer?
NN: We provide all the features that excellent WCM solutions provide today such as a content approval workflow engine, granular user permissions within an extensive security model, extreme scalability, web controls using Telerik, document management, rich taxonomy and folksonomy systems, advanced support for Google Analytics, and distributed caching with web farm support. However, what makes us different and better is essentially two things:
Extensibility – The ability to plug-in and remove add-ons to your web site or web application quickly and inexpensively.
Our Vibrant Ecosystem – A vibrant and rich ecosystem of ISVs who provide thousands of commercially supported add-ons at a low cost, hundreds of System Integrators who can help you custom build your web site whether your requirements are simple or complex, and numerous hosting providers who specialize in hosting DotNetNuke.
CC: Why should people consider using DotNetNuke for their next project?
NN: For Microsoft shops (of which 46% of companies worldwide are according to Forrester Research) which are building a web site or web application on ASP.NET, DotNetNuke provides tremendous advantages. The reasons DotNetNuke is such a great solution include:
First, the product provides a feature-rich web site straight immediately upon installation and is easy to deploy and  maintain.
Second, even if you have features that are not available out-of-the-box, your first option is to buy commercially supported features for a few hundred dollars from the more than 8,000 software add-ons available on our online marketplace, Snowcovered.com.
Third, if your requirements are so complex that your specific feature is not available online, our WCM platform is also a rich web application framework with a published API that makes it easy for you to custom-build and plug-in your own add-ons to add features.
Fourth, some of our customers report up to a 600% reduction in development time using DotNetNuke versus developing a web site directly in .NET.
CC: What specific features does DotNetNuke have that separates it from other popular open source CMS products on the market today?
NN: We are the leader in the Microsoft .NET ecosystem.  We power over five times more web sites worldwide than the next biggest .NET based WCM product.  We have the largest and most vibrant open source community in the .NET ecosystem with nearly 800,000 registered members.
The big reason for our success is we are an extensible platform with more than 8,000 commercially supported add-ons that plug into our platform.  The add-ons are available on our marketplace, Snowcovered.com, and are commercially supported by the nearly 800 ISVs who developed them.  While, there are other add-ons on other stacks with extensibility, none come close to having 8,000 commercially supported add-ons on their platform.
In addition, we make it easy to plug-in and remove add-ons, essentially giving a user the ability to switch on and switch off features or change the appearance of their web site easily.
CC: Can you provide some examples of popular sites that are powered by your product?
NN: We currently power more than 600,000 web sites worldwide. One is the Australian Football League (AFL) which gets about 2.5 million unique visitors a month. DotNetNuke also powers the web site of The Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest tower and the web site for Microsoft’s Open Source Foundation, CodePlex.
Pfizer launched Robitussin using DotNetNuke and ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy), a US Government agency funded to research and promote advanced energy technologies, uses DotNetNuke. The United Nations Public Administration Network is also built on DotNetNuke.
If your readers are interested in learning more about sites that use DotNetNuke, they can download case studies about ExactTarget, York County, Virginia, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, and Green Resources by visiting the DotNetNuke case studies page. They may also be interested to see the winners of our Community Choice Awards, which include Rehab, The Silkroad Project, and Sake Social.
CC: Of the number of current installations of DotNetNuke, what percentage would you say are running on your Professional Edition?
NN: There are well over 2,000 installs of the Professional or Elite Editions of our product.  Given that this is just our second year of commercialization, our business traction has been phenomenal.
CC: What type of support offerings does DotNetNuke Corp. offer?
NN: We currently offer two versions of our product: the DotNetNuke Professional Edition, which comes with web-based support, and the DotNetNuke Elite Edition, which comes with both web-based and phone support.  More details are available at:
<a href="http://www.dotnetnuke.com/Products/EditionComparison.aspx">http://www.dotnetnuke.com/Products/EditionComparison.aspx</a>
These Editions also have product features such as a content approval workflow engine, more granular user permissions, a document management system, a developer license for Telerik RadControls for ASP.NET AJAX, and enhanced web farm support that are not available in the open source version of our product.
CC: We often find it interesting to hear about the different ways that the term “Content Management System” is defined by the people directly involved in the CMS market, how do you define a CMS?
NN: Linguistically, it means any system that helps you manage content – creating, storing, indexing, archiving, publishing, and distributing content.  I think both ECM (Enterprise Content Management) and WCM (Web Content Management) are content management systems.
There is a distinct difference between the two today.  ECM is what is internal to an organization. It is about managing information and processes inside a company. It is about document management and records management.
WCM is about managing the publishing and distribution of information.  In one sense, WCM is about revenue and ECM is about net profit or the bottom line.  WCM is about maximizing reach, while ECM is about internal process efficiency.
However, as people use web applications and portals for managing internal information such as document repositories and Web 2.0 tools such as wikis for collaboration and content creation, it is possible the lines between the two systems will blur over time.
CC: Of the various programming platforms available, what makes .NET the best choice in your opinion?
NN: .NET is the most mature, scalable enterprise development platform available. Microsoft has made a large investment to ensure they provide a complete solution stack including a rich programming API, a highly functional IDE, a database engine, a web server, and more. On other platforms it is common to have to source components in the development stack from multiple parties, resulting in greater integration challenges and life cycle support complications. Although the .NET framework is over a decade old now, Microsoft continues to innovate and enhance it with the latest industry development techniques and practices. We are especially excited to see the introduction of the WebMatrix beta which offers a great toolkit to get Microsoft web site developers up and productive quickly.
CC: What are the future plans for the DotNetNuke project?
NN: Our objective is to ensure that DotNetNuke remains the first choice as a web content management system and web application development framework for users and developers in the .NET ecosystem.
We are investing heavily in further enhancing the richness of our platform with more advanced features so we are attractive to both end users and developers.  We are making a big push in content localization to meet the needs of our users in Europe, Asia, and all areas of the world where multi-language support is critical.  We will also be adding features that are important for running larger and more critical web sites such as content staging, SharePoint integration, and enhanced management tools.
In addition, we will be making a strong play fairly soon in the cloud, in other words, providing on demand web sites and web applications.
Finally, we continue to work with Microsoft to further simplify the ‘install and deploy process’ of our application so we can attract users and developers from outside .NET to embrace DotNetNuke and the Microsoft stack. For example, we worked closely with them on the introduction of the Web Application Installer and the Web App Gallery to ease the download and installation of DotNetNuke.
CC: What can we come to expect from the next major version? Are there any major enhancements that are being worked on?
NN: You will see the next major version in a few weeks.  The major enhancements we are working on are in the areas of Content Staging and Content Localization.
CC: How can people contribute to the project should they choose to do so?
NN: There are many ways to contribute to the DotNetNuke project, depending on an individual’s skill set and interests. At the non-technical level there is always the ability to write documentation or provide assistance in the community discussion Forums. There is also the ability to provide content and feedback through the many community services offered such as blogs, issue tracker, feature request manager, or the open source Forge. For more technical individuals, they can submit an open source extension to our Forge, they can become a team member on an existing Forge project where they can contribute source code and development assistance, or they can develop and sell their own DotNetNuke add-ons on Snowcovered.com.
CC: Thank you for your time.
If you are interested in learning more about DotNetNuke, you can do so on their website: <a href="http://www.dotnetnuke.com">http://www.dotnetnuke.com</a>

Interview with DotNetNuke Corp. CEO Navin Nagiah

WordPress is, without a doubt, one of the most popular open source blog / CMS on the market but it suffers from several issues that make it less than ideal for complex or high traffic websites. For years, CMS Critic ran on WordPress and today, I'm going to pit our current CMS, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.processwire.com">ProcessWire </a>vs WordPress and explain why we made the switch and how things have changed.Before I get into this, however, I think its important to point out that a number of popular websites that previously used WordPress to help establish themselves as major brands, have since made the switch to different CMS. Take <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mashable.com">Mashable </a>for instance, one of the most popular websites in the world dropped WordPress in favor of a more custom solution.In a post over on Quora when asked if Mashable still ran on the WP platform, Chris Heald, Chief Architect @ Mashable stated:<blockquote>Mashable is now running on a custom technology stack. The public-facing bits are a Ruby on Rails backend, with a lot of the templating work pushed to the front-end with Handlebars and Backbone. We'll be doing a full writeup on the build in the near future.</blockquote>Now, this is just one example but there are many. Having said that, there are also plenty that are successfully making use of WordPress as their platform of choice and likely have no plans to switch. Each situation is unique. This isn't intended to be an “abandon ship for the end is nigh” post but rather to show another side of things. Sometimes the “WordPress is the best 3ver !!!?!?!” posts we see all over the Internet get a bit old and it becomes necessary to point out that it's not always the best option out there.Since our first site back in 2006, we ran on WordPress. I selected it for a number of reasons; it was easy to get up and running quickly with little effort, there were plenty of themes available for it and it was gaining in popularity which meant it would be easier to find support if needed. WordPress served us well for a number of years but we began to run into issues with the CMS that still plague it to this day. I'm going to break down the issues and address the differences in how things are handled between ProcessWire vs WordPress and why we prefer the former.<h2>Plugins – Getting rid of Bloat</h2>The #1 reason why we switched to ProcessWire from WordPress was bloat. Sadly, WordPress suffers from massive bloat issues that plague the CMS and cause countless headaches for those using the platform.What do I mean by bloat?WordPress; like a lot of CMS platforms; relies heavily on plugins for extra functionality over and above the core services. The main issue, however, is that these plugins are not actively vetted out (or tested) by core team members to ensure they use optimized code and are safe for your site. This means that by installing a plugin, you can bring down your whole site and cause yourself mountains of headaches all because you wanted to add some extra functionality.Sure, you can have an extra instance of your CMS in a development state (and you should) in order to work on it but the average joe isn't going to go install two instances of WordPress for their blog. They most likely will simply choose to install and assume everything will continue to work as it should. An assumption that should be realistic.Countless times when we were running on WP, we would have no idea that a plugin we installed broke some other functionality within our site until a user let us know. Let me tell you how embarassing it is to get an email from a user telling you your RSS feed is broken (and all because you wanted to add some fancy new widget to your sidebar).<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/processwire_vs_wordpress_-_overwhelmed.jpg" alt="processwire_vs_wordpress" />With ProcessWire, most of the capability we require is already present within the system and anything over and above this can be added quickly and easily. We took the approach of having the author of ProcessWire (the amazing <a target="_blank" href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ryan-cramer/0/414/292">Ryan Cramer </a>) adapt the system by modifying templates and teaching us how to best utilize the platform to function better than what we had with WordPress.What did we get by doing this?A sleek system that works as intended with code that works alongside the core and does not compromise anything along the way. Yes, it cost to have this developed but this is not something you can do with WordPress. You cannot go to Automattic and ask them to build in some new capabilities for your site. Their platform is developed for a huge user base and unless that whole user base wants something, it won't be built into the core CMS.Other frequent issues we encountered when running WP as our CMS was downtime thanks to our web hosts. We initially ran on HostGator when we first started but another frequent occurrence we would run into would be some rogue plugin causing a huge spike in memory usage which would then result in an email from HostGator support stating that due to memory or CPU load issues they've taken the site offline until I can figure out what is causing the spike. Picture yourself getting this email while trying to take your kids to the local Science Center. This happened to me quite frequently.Since moving from WordPress, I've never received this email again.Raise your hands if you are sick of updating your CMS and your plugins / themes every 2 days?I'm guessing a lot of you have your hands up and rightfully so. Nothing is more annoying than the constant need to update plugins daily (I'm talking to your WordPress SEO!). While it's great that the authors are constantly updating to resolve issues and add functionality, it distracts from the sole purpose of your site in the first place, to publish content .Furthermore, every time you update you are at risk of something breaking or causing a conflict with another plugin you have installed. Do you want to spend all of your time just trying to keep your site from breaking or do you want to get that article you've been thinking about and planning published for the world to see?Me, I'm for the latter.Don't get me wrong, it's great that there are people that work hard to constantly improve their product offerings by updating to resolve bugs and add features but do we need to update daily? The problem with the way things work here is that the end user typically has no idea if they need to update right away or if it can wait so they tend to update everything every time they see that there's a need. This simply compounds the opportunity for something to go wrong with a crash or conflict.Believe me when I tell you that the plugin developers don't work together to ensure their plugins don't conflict with one another. With ProcessWire, I know that when something hits the modules directory, Ryan has had a look at it (90% of the time) and made suggestions on improvements. This doesn't mean that crashes can't and won't happen but they are far less likely (and haven't happened yet since switching in May 2013 to ProcessWire).Caching for SpeedThe next issue is with caching, WordPress has lots of great caching plugins such as WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache and many others and while they work great to a point, they suffer from the same issues that I spoke about earlier. They simply aren't vetted out to work reliably and they overwhelm users with options and prompts to buy upgrades.With ProcessWire, we have one plugin called ProcessWire ProCache that is installed, automatically enabled and simply does its job without annoying me with options or prompts to clear the cache. If I need to do so, I can turn it off or on and clear the cache with a simple checkbox but rarely do I ever need to touch it. Furthermore, our site loads far faster than it did in the past with a huge difference in response time over anything we had built with WordPress.Making the move to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.processwire.com">ProcessWire</a> was the best thing we've ever done. We have an amazingly good <a href="/products/">CMS directory </a>that was built specifically for our needs, our system is rarely down and if it is, it's because I broke something playing with code and not because of the CMS itself.As our writer, Kaya, will attest;<blockquote>“When CMS Critic made the switch to ProcessWire, it was the sheer speed of the system which struck me hardest. Whether you're creating, editing or deleting a post, ProcessWire just seems to snap into action a lot faster than any WordPress setup I've ever used – and I have used many.Furthermore, I've grown to prefer Processwire's interface over WordPress'. Post creation features like summary text, featured images, tags, etc, are all presented in a linear fashion, via toggle menus. It's all very clean and tidy. Paired together, the speed of Processwire along with its sleek interface makes the “ProcessWire vs WordPress” question well worth asking.”</blockquote>That's not to say that WordPress doesn't have its own place. It most certainly is the top blog platform out there and if you are looking for a quick way to put together a site based off of a host of themes that exist on the market, then WP is the way to go. When it comes to the requirements of a full fledged CMS (speed, simplicity, stability) then I would quickly dismiss WordPress as a viable option.I know for a fact that there are plenty of you who will disagree and that's great that you are experiencing success running WP in different environments but I will say that when I need something I can rely on, I will, in every instance, turn to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.processwire.com">ProcessWire</a> as my CMS of choice.What's your CMS of choice? Is it different than these? Do you have differing experiences? Feel free to let us know in the comments below.** Update 7/30/14 **I've noticed a few WP based bloggers have misinterpreted this article to mean that all publishers and bloggers should switch to Processwire because it's better at blogging. I'm not sure how this happened or why anyone would get that from this article but apparently a few people have so let me clarify a few things.<ol><li>I am not saying that Processwire is better for blogging than WordPress. That's ridiculous.</li><li>I am saying that WordPress has a number of inherent issues such as bloat and problems with the plugin directory (I've recently expanded on this <a href="/wordpress-joomla-and-drupal-are-not-the-best-cms/">here</a>) Anyone who disagrees with this point is simply arguing for the sake of doing so. There is no question that there are better alternatives and I've seen plenty of them. I can guarantee you I've tested more CMS than anyone out there and better options exist that do a better job of vetting out their plugins.</li><li>There are plenty of other great platforms out there for just writing. I'm sorry, WP may be the most popular but for straight up blogging, I am more of a fan of the more minimalistic options. I've provided a huge list of alternatives here: <a href="/minimalist-blogging-platforms/">Simple Blogging Platforms</a></li></ol>~ Mike

ProcessWire vs WordPress

When you launch a site, you will find that most bloggers and marketers will recommend you to use the WordPress Content Management System (CMS).
Although WordPress is the most widely used CMS it might not be the best option for you. There are several other systems like Joomla, <a href="https://www.weebly.com/">Weebly</a>, SquareSpace or Drupal that might be better suited for you.
So, to help you make the right decision I have written this simple guide that will help you determine if WordPress is the best CMS for you…
Your skill level:
The first thing you must assess while choosing a CMS is your skill level. If you haven’t got much experience with design or coding, <a href="https://wordpress.com/">WordPress</a> is probably the best option for you as it makes it easy to manage sites with easy to use themes and plugins. They are even third-party tools like <a href="https://coschedule.com/">CoSchedule</a> that let you manage your site better.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/wordpress-best-cms-for-you-1_okkejl.png" />
But the problem with WordPress is that all these short cuts through the use of plugins and easy to use themes will limit the amount of custom modifications you can make. Also, using too many plugins can affect the loading time of your site. Plugins can also lead to more security risks.
This is why if you have some experience with developing and are looking for a platform that makes it easy to create a custom site, <a href="https://www.drupal.org/">Drupal</a> would be a better option. This is because you develop Drupal sites with blocks. They let you create any type of site. Also, it offers better security than WordPress.
If you are looking for a platform that is in between WordPress and Drupal in terms of ease of use <a href="https://www.joomla.org/">Joomla</a> would be a better option. And if you are looking for a CMS that is even more easy to use than WordPress, <a href="https://www.squarespace.com/">SquareSpace</a> would be a better option.
But when you use a platform like SquareSpace, the number of customisations you can make will be more limited than on WordPress.
Your budget:
Another factor you should take into account while choosing your CMS is your budget. If you have a small budget WordPress is the more affordable option.
<a name="_GoBack"></a> For example, if you decide on running your site on WordPress and are looking for the <a href="https://hostadvice.com/hosting-services/wordpress/">best web hosting for WordPress</a>, it is going to be very affordable even if you choose a managed hosting or a dedicated server. This is because it is a popular open source CMS and many hosting services are battling it out to offer the most affordable service.
But on the other hand if you were looking for managed hosting for a site that runs on Drupal or Joomla it can work out expensive as fewer companies offer it.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/wordpress-best-cms-for-you-2-1024x469.png" />
The popularity of the WordPress CMS also makes it easy and affordable to find developers and virtual assistants to help run your site. You can also make many more modifications easily with the use of free and premium plugins.
On the other hand finding people to help modify your Drupal site can cost you more as there are fewer experienced Drupal developers. But they will be able to customise your site a lot better than a WordPress site.
So, if your budget is tight and you need a simple website, WordPress would be the best option. But if you want something unique and you have a high budget it would be better to choose Drupal.
The purpose of your website:
WordPress is a great option for running a simple basic site or blog. But it is not the best option for creating something more sophisticated like an ecommerce store or social media site or news site.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/wordpress-best-cms-for-you-3_yr07mb.png" />
<a href="/choosing-the-best-cms-as-the-foundation-for-your-e-commerce-site/">For creating an ecommerce store</a> it would be better to use a CMS like <a href="/shopify/">Shopify</a> or <a href="/bigcommerce/">BigCommerce</a> as they have been specifically created for this purpose. And they provide access to dozens of apps that can make setting up and running your ecommerce site a lot simpler.
For creating a social media site a better CMS would be Drupal and for creating a more sophisticated commercial blog or news site <a href="https://www.rebelmouse.com/">Rebel Mouse</a> would work best.
Now choose your best CMS. It doesn’t have to always be WordPress
WordPress might seem like the best CMS in the world because it is so widely used and is recommended by some of the top bloggers. But as you can see in this post it isn’t the best option for everyone. If you plan to set up a simple site or blog, WordPress can work well for you, but if you want to create something more sophisticated there are better content management systems.

Is WordPress the Best CMS for You?

Back in 2014, I published my <a href="/plushforums-review/">PlushForums Review</a>. The hosted forum solution was brand spanking new at the time, and yet it thoroughly impressed me.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/vopggzde_200x0.png" />The startup project has evolved over the last year or so, with new features, capabilities, and styles emerging along the way.I recently sat down with Adrian Flitcroft, the Founder of PlushForums, at a popular London coffee spot. We spoke of Football (I refuse to call it “Soccer”), content management systems, startup culture, and of course, PlushForums.<h2>A Year of Expansion Ahead</h2>As we sipped our coffees, Adrian told me about how 2015 was all about fine-tuning the feature set of PlushForums.Back in April, <a href="/plushforums-undergoes-heavy-improvement/">automated rich links, CloudFlare support, and a variety of media embedding features were all introduced</a>. More recently, features like <a href="/plushforums-celebrates-one-year-on-the-market-with-slew-of-updates/">Mailchimp integration, localisation, Q&amp;A Mode, Akismet spam protection, and more, were all brought in</a>.With the year drawing to a close, Adrian seemed to be content with where his forum solution stood in terms of functionality.2016, he explained, was going to be a year of expansion.With localization now a part of the PlushForums project, Adrian is looking to get the entire platform translated into other languages, with German being top of the list. He also talked me through some of the demands coming from customers in areas such as Germany and France, who wish to have their servers located within their respective nations. A demand which PlushForums, he boasted, can now cater for.<h2>In Good Hands</h2>Essentially, I got the feeling that PlushForums was now well-rounded enough in terms of functionality to begin pushing its boundaries. Adrian certainly implied a broader focus on marketing and branding throughout 2016, and I'm quite excited to see how that turns out.I'm always eager to see startups evolve, and I'm happy to report that fourteen months after PlushForums first came to my attention, it's looking more promising than ever. Adrian Flitcroft himself is enthusiastic and driven when it comes to his project, and that's undoubtedly good news for PlushForums users.To find out more about PlushForums, <a target="_blank" href="https://plushforums.com/">check out their website</a>.

A Meeting With PlushForums Founder Adrian Flitcroft

<img title="WordPress Competition" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/wp-760x427.jpg" alt="WordPress-Competition" />
It is certainly no secret that the world of online content management is dominated by WordPress. Since its release in 2003, WordPress has grown to be the most popular content management system on the internet. In fact, 17.4% of all websites in existence use WordPress as their core CMS.
In terms of popularity amongst the elite, WordPress also fares the best. <a href="http://royal.pingdom.com/2012/04/11/wordpress-completely-dominates-top-100-blogs/" target="_blank">Pingdom</a> recently conducted a survey on the <a href="http://technorati.com/blogs/top100/" target="_blank">top 100 Blogs compiled by Technorati</a>, in order to analyse the diversity amongst their CMS. Unsurprisingly, WordPress was used by 48% of the listed blogs.
However, despite the dominance of WordPress over its rivals, it would be an injustice to ignore the presence and growth of the various CMS which make up the WordPress competition. Each one brings something unique to the table, and thus, each one has its own loyal fanbase.
So, which content management systems are currently forming the major WordPress competition?
<h2>Joomla</h2>
<img title="joomla" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/joomla.jpg" alt="joomla" />
Currently, WordPress' biggest foe in terms of sheer figures, is Joomla. The <a href="/wordpress-vs-joomla-a-perspective/" target="_blank">WordPress vs Joomla</a> debate has been raging for years, but the numbers never lie. WordPress boasts a 7.5million user base, whilst Joomla in the second most popular CMS, with a user base of just 1.8million.
Joomla is usually best suited to small to mid-sized websites. It looks good out of the box, and has a well structured GUI backend that offers plenty of features, and yet is still easy to learn.
The standard templates offered by Joomla are often preferred by businesses and websites offering products or services. The designs are sleek and professional, making it ideal for small to medium sized businesses.
However, the rigid, executive feel of Joomla websites, paired with a backend which doesn't match the simplicity or functionality of  WordPress, makes it unpopular with bloggers and first time web site owners.
<h2>Drupal</h2>
<img title="Drupal" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/blogger2-2.jpg" alt="drupal" />
In terms of numbers, Drupal pales in comparison to both WordPress and Joomla alike. With just a 520,000 user base, Drupal is relatively small time. However, after the release of Drupal 7 in 2011, <a href="http://trends.builtwith.com/cms/Drupal" target="_blank">those numbers certainly seem to be increasing</a>.
By nature, Drupal is slightly more complex than both WordPress and Joomla. Additionally, you will not find as many themes and templates, but the Drupal system is able to create almost anything via “modules”, which can be created, customized and optimized via the backend.
Generally speaking, Drupal is veered towards users who have past experience with web development, and who know exactly what they want from their website. Although you can do pretty much anything with Drupal, a lack of various first and third-party templates makes it difficult for most users to warm to – especially when WordPress and Joomla are offering an easier set up and design experience.
On the other hand, Drupal is renowned for its flexibility, thanks to the versatility of its module design system – which can create almost anything you want, in any way you want.
<h2>Blogger</h2>
<img title="Blogger" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/blogger2-1.jpg" alt="blogger" /> 
Third on the WordPress competition list is Google's Blogger platform. Blogger boasts a relatively modest user base of 280,000, yet is extremely popular with first time bloggers. For individuals looking to start a personal blog or small writing platform, the choice is often between both WordPress and Blogger.
Blogger's strengths lie in its simplicity. A blogging novice can get a blog up and running just as quickly as any expert. The drag and drop design features also make it easy to customize, allowing the user to spend less time designing, and more time blogging.
However, much like Drupal, Blogger lacks variety found within WordPress when it comes to themes and templates. The layout limitations imposed by Blogger maim any creativity. Joomla, WordPress and Drupal websites can be designed to a degree which makes it difficult for most people to guess the CMS behind the site. Unfortunately, a Blogger website is easily distinguishable thanks their all too familiar layouts.
Overall, Blogger's name is a befitting one. The platform is ideal for begginers looking to start up personal blogs, but users looking to excel in the blogging and business world often steer clear.
<h2>Niche Success for the Rest</h2>
Naturally, the content management systems mentioned above are accompanied by a host of others, each with relatively smaller slices of the CMS cake.
Although WordPress is the most comprehensive CMS around, its competition has made no mistake when it comes to appealing to different, more specific audiences. For example, for those looking for the best <a href="/top-8-website-builders-for-photography-websites/" target="_blank">CMS for Photographers</a>, systems such as SquareSpace and Zenfolio offer a more image based themes, which are perfect for online portfolios.
So far, the three major competitors – Joomla, Drupal and Blogger, have successfully secured their places within the sphere of content management. However, as some of the statistics show, their futures remain uncertain in the face of steady WordPress growth, and the emergence of more niche driven content management systems.

Which CMS make up the WordPress Competition?

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