Articles - Page 79

Agentic AI Is Coming. Is Your DXP Ready?

dsfaltudo

<img alt="sshot-1" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-1.png" />The world's largest event for the <a href="http://typo3.org/">TYPO3 </a>community is set to take place on October 26-27 2016 in Munich, Germany.
The TYPO3 Association has been promoting the development of free software projects that have arisen from the TYPO3 community for ten years.
“Make Innovation Happen” is the conference motto, with a Business Day and Future Day day planned to reign in IT decision makers, agencies, marketing managers, developers, designers, and editors.
Throughout the conference, TYPO3 will be focusing on communicating the potential of TYPO3 as a platform, content management, and the web in general. The whole program will be rounded off by a two-day Expo that the products and innovations will be presented at.
<h2>TYPO3 Awards &amp; A Call for Speakers</h2>
Like last year's event, TYPO3 awards will be presented once again at #T3CON16.
A panel of judges will select the best TYPO3 websites from various industries, and the award ceremony will take place as a separate gala event on October 27 at Löwenbräukeller in Munich, Germany, and is also open to visitors who do not have tickets to the main conference.
Here's how the<a href="https://award.typo3.org/" target="_blank"> TYPO3 awards went down back in 2015</a>.
Furthermore, there are still a few months to go before the event takes place, which means that speakers are still being accepted.
If you want to present at T3CON16, <a href="http://t3con.eu/speakers/become-speaker/">you can apply here</a>.
<h2>Tickets</h2>
Ticket sales for the T3CON16 at the Hilton Munich Park am Tucherpark have already begun. Tickets can be <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/t3con16-tickets-21295778246">purchased here</a>.
Discounted “Early Bird Tickets” are available up until June 7, 2016. “Bring Your Friend” tickets are also still available.
To learn more about T3CON16, check out the <a href="https://typo3.org/news/article/typo3-conference-t3con16-october-26-27-in-munich-call-for-speakers-and-papers/">official announcement</a>, as well as the <a href="http://t3con.eu/">official website</a>.

#T3CON16: TYPO3 European Conference Set for October 26-27th

mike-johnston

Looking for our <a href="/socialengine-review/">SocialEngine Cloud Review</a>?In my view, there’s a notable lack of capable social network builders out there. They exist, sure, but if you compare it with the eCommerce industry, there’s a serious shortage of vendors.SocialEngine though is one platform that has been around for a number of years (since 2006, actually). It was also voted in as the <a href="/announcing-the-2015-winner-for-best-social-network-software/">Best Social Network Software of 2015</a> here on CMS Critic.It comes in two flavours; SocialEngine Cloud and Social Engine PHP.As for SocialEngine Cloud, it’s a SaaS (Software as a Service) solution that lets you launch a community from SocialEngine’s servers. You can read our <a href="/socialengine-review">SocialEngine Cloud Review</a> for more information.SocialEngine PHP on the other hand is a downloadable and self-hosted version of the platform which I’ll be focusing on throughout this review. Let’s get started!<h2>Getting Started</h2><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/socialengine-get-started.png" />You can download a free trial of SocialEngine which lasts for 30 days, or you can try it out via their online demo.In either case, what you’ll find is a functional admin panel that lacks decoration.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/socialengine-app.png" />It serves up recent SocialEngine news, site stats, and some quick links to help you find vital areas of the dashboard. It does it’s job, but it’s not as beautiful as the SocialEngine Cloud dashboard – which I find odd.The rest of the dashboard is equally bare in terms of design, but it is quick and easy to navigate.<h2>Core Features</h2>SocialEngine really is feature-rich – there’s no denying that. Here's an overview:<ul><li>Mobile Web App</li><li>Chat and IM</li><li>Private messaging</li><li>Social feeds</li><li>Photo galleries</li><li>Groups and sub-groups</li><li>Events</li><li>Forums</li><li>Blogs</li><li>Polls</li></ul>You can also use drag-and-drop software to visually arrange content, customize widgets, create whole new pages, and position banner advertisements.This is all after you piece together your social network using themes, addons, and social frameworks. Here’s a breakdown of those features, and more.<h3>Plugins &amp; Themes</h3>SocialEngine boasts a plethora of addons in the form of plugins at themes, many of which are third-party contributions.The quality of the addons vary, and although themes have started to look a lot more modern, I wouldn’t put them on par with the average WordPress theme – if I were to use them as a benchmark.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/socialengine-plugins-and-themes.png" />All SocialEngine addons can be found via the SocialEngine marketplace.<h3>Full Content Ownership</h3>Your community’s content is yours to own. Unlike most hosted services, SocialEngine PHP never prevents you from moving your community or serving your own advertisements.SocialEngine PHP gives you a simple, unbranded network that you can customize in any way. You’ll have the freedom to maintain fine-grained control over all aspects of your site and content.<h3>Site Stats</h3>SocialEngine offers a relatively stellar site stats solution, and I’m a fan of native analytics systems within content management systems, even if they aren’t that detailed.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/socialengine-site-stats.png" />SocialEngine’s analytics system is fairly well detailed, though. They offer site-wide stats, referral stats, as well as stats within your community. That includes metrics on things like:<ul><li>Private messages</li><li>Friendships</li><li>Comments</li><li>Abuse reports</li><li>Sign ins</li></ul><h3>Multiple Social Frameworks</h3>SocialEngine lets you choose from two-way friendships (like Facebook), one-way followers (like Twitter), verified/unverified friendships, and more.This lets you build a community around common frameworks that your members will be familiar with.You can also add sub-networks to segment members by factors such as age, workplace, location, gender, or anything else you deem necessary.<h3>Moderators &amp; Membership Levels</h3>Create multiple levels of membership in your community to give some members access to special content or extra privileges. You can also assign moderators to help you maintain your community and remove unwanted content for you.<h3>White Labelling</h3>Thanks to SocialEngine have been generous by not including their branding on licensed versions of their product. That means you can go ahead and white label it – so it looks like the software is your own invention.This goes a long way in convincing potential community members of your website’s autehticity and prestige.<h2>Pricing</h2>Unlike SocialEngine Cloud – which requires you to pay a monthly fee – SocialEngine PHP is available at for a one-time fee.There are three deals currently on offer, as seen in the image below.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/socialengine-pricing.png" />Starting from $299, you can’t say that SocialEngine is pricing anybody out, but it’s not exactly cheap either. You could say it’s pretty well priced, actually.However, it must be said that, despite being well priced, the $299 version doesn’t give you access to SocialEngine’s best features.As for the higher plans, they afford you extras like mobile apps, instant messaging for members, forums, blogs, polls, marketplaces, and so forth. Those deals come in at $499 and $699. Which is kind of pricey.<h2>Getting Help</h2>With every purchase of SocialEngine PHP, you get 30 days worth of ticket-based support. Which isn’t a lot.Further help can be found via the <a target="_blank" href="http://community.onsocialengine.com/">global SocialEngine community</a>, as well as through detailed documentation. But to be quite honest, for a product that costs at least $299, I expect ongoing support from the SocialEngine team that lasts longer than 30 days.You can get extended ticket-support access, but that comes at an extra cost.<h2>Verdict</h2>SocialEngine PHP is indeed a platform with plenty of history, and a strong community. It ships with a wide range of features, and it has the potential to power a seriously epic social networking website.But I must say, it is still a platform that’s rough around the edges.Regardless, if you’re in the market for a social network builder, SocialEngine PHP is certainly worth a try.<h3>Pros</h3><ul><li>Awesome amount of features out of the box</li><li>Different social frameworks to choose from</li><li>A solid community to help you grow and provide you with addons</li><li>No SocialEngine branding</li><li>An industry veteran</li></ul><h3>Cons</h3><ul><li>Templates and plugins lack quality for the most part</li><li>Support options are very limited unless you pay extra</li><li>The $299 deal gets you a very bare-bones version of SocialEngine PHP, while more feature-rich plans are far from cheap.</li></ul><h2>Final Remarks</h2>SocialEngine is a solid social networking solution, with an excellent range of features. Themes, plugins, and the admin panel aren't of the highest quality though, and you will have to pay a high price to make use all of features,<a target="_blank" href="https://community.socialengine.com/signup">Click here to sign up for a free trial with SocialEngine</a>.

SocialEngine PHP Review

<a href="https://wpengine.com/" target="_blank">WP Engine</a>, the managed WordPress hosting solution, has been very busy lately.
<a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/wp-engine-page-performance/">Page Performance</a> was recently rolled out by the company, a feature that makes WP Engine the first managed WordPress hosting platform with a web page speed performance tool built into the user dashboard. This new interface gives users actionable insights to help quickly and dramatically improve the speed of their websites.
WP Engine also just <a href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160707005380/en/WP-Engine-Unveils-Web%E2%80%99s-Wordpress-PHP-7">unveiled a PHP7 compatibility checker</a>, which is a plugin that they're toting as the internet's first tool to verify PHP 7 compatibility on WordPress website.
Amidst all this news, I managed to grab a moment with WP Engine's Vice President of Product, Jason Jaynes.
<h2>Who is Jason Jaynes?</h2>
<img style="max-width:175px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/biopic_jaynes_web.jpg" alt="Jason Jaynes" />Jason Jaynes is an experienced software executive with eighteen years of practice across multiple functions including marketing, product management, sales and software development; and multiple disciplines including social media, security, mobile, online advertising, and SAAS.
Jason is currently the Vice President of Product at WP Engine where he oversees product management and product strategy. Prior to WP Engine, Jason served as the co-founder and CTO of Apptive where he oversaw all product strategy and development. Prior to Apptive, Jason has served in numerous roles including Vice President of Business Marketing for Demand Media, Vice President of Product and Marketing for Demand Media's social division, and Director of Product Management for Credant Technologies.
Jason holds an MBA degree from the University of Texas and a B.S. in Computer Science from Texas A&amp;M University.
<h2></h2>
 
<h2>The Interview</h2>
KI: Can you briefly tell us a little bit about yourself, and your role at WP Engine?
JJ: I am responsible for product management and product strategy across the entire company. I work extensively with customers to understand overall market needs and to define and create the next generation of product features. A few months ago, WP Engine released Page Performance, a solution that empowers customers to obtain and utilize actionable insights that boost site performance. It's helped many of our customers improve their site speed, typically a 15% increase in front-end performance.
However, you can only optimize your code so much. Sometimes, the answer is putting a race car engine on your site, that is what PHP 7 is, a high performance PHP engine that will bring even greater performance to our customer base. However, it’s an involved process, so we created this <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/php-compatibility-checker/">PHP Compatibility Checker plugin</a> to help our customers ready their sites for PHP 7, coming to our platform later this fall. As a managed platform, we are enabling our customers in many ways to reach their peak website performance.
KI: As the internet becomes more and more ingrained into the daily life of the human race, can you tell us (preferable with some statistics), just how demanding the average internet user is for fast-loading websites?
JJ: We actually have a great infographic on this, which explores all the ways in which the “need for speed” has evolved over the years in a range of ways:
<ul>
<li>Desire for instant gratification</li>
<li>Online shopping expectations</li>
<li>Mobile site speed expectations</li>
<li>The emotional toll of load times</li>
<li>Site speed in the real world</li>
<li>How to improve page load time</li>
</ul>
KI: What does your latest product, Page Performance, bring to the table?
JJ: It’s clear that a poor digital experience sinks sites in a heartbeat — a <a href="https://blog.kissmetrics.com/speed-is-a-killer/">study</a> by Akamai and Gomez showed that even a one-second delay in page load time will result in 11 percent fewer page views, a 16 percent decrease in customer satisfaction and a 7 percent drop in conversion. With site owners and developers literally on the clock, it’s critical that the customer experience be seamless in order to not affect the bottom line – it’s all about performance and conversion.
Our latest intelligence product, Page Performance, empowers customers to obtain and utilize actionable insights that boost site performance. Integrated into the WP Engine user portal, Page Performance provides a detailed site speed report and actionable recommendations to solve for technical issues impacting digital businesses, resulting in higher visitor retention, improved Google rankings, increased conversions and positive reputations and customer experiences. Key benefits include:
<ul>
<li>Access to key metrics on any Page with report history to see improvements over time. Report includes such metrics as cacheability, render start, visitor complete, render complete and other data.</li>
<li>Actionable recommendations with rich context, including links to a library of support material enable users to make fast, significant, measurable impact to site performance.</li>
<li>Integrated into WP Engine user portal to support a convenient developer workflow.</li>
</ul>
KI: What sets WP Engine apart from other managed WordPress hosting solutions?
JJ: WP Engine powers amazing digital experiences for websites and applications built on WordPress.
With award-winning customer support and state-of-the-art technology, our managed WordPress platform provides performance, reliability and security to brands, agencies, SMBs and individuals. Engineered at a code level to make resource-hungry WordPress deployments run faster, the WP Engine platform displays stunning speed while incorporating an industry-leading hardened infrastructure that allows webpages to load up to four times faster than any non-WordPress platform. Offering different plans to fit the needs of customers ranging from individuals to the enterprise, our platform helps our customers create robust and reliable websites with direct SFTP, Git version control, built-in CDN, enhanced security, one-click staging, automated migrations and restore and more.
Through our efforts, WP Engine has contributed significantly to establishing WordPress itself as a platform that can be reliably deployed in a range of enterprise scenarios. We were involved in introducing or popularizing platform features that have become key characteristics of hosting, including site staging (as we mention above), integration with developer workflow tools and advanced caching strategies.
With the recent launch of our Page Performance service (noted above), WP Engine is adding a layer that is likely to continue evolving customer expectations of a managed WordPress offering. Performance Intelligence for sites, of which Page Performance is the first product, will be an area of continued investment for us.
To find out more about WP Engine, <a href="https://wpengine.com/" target="_blank">visit their website</a>

Interview With Jason Jaynes, VP of Product at WP Engine

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/bigstock-golden-gate-in-fog-90494108.jpg" alt="California Golden Gate Bridge in Fog. Foggy Day in San Francisco California United States." />
I will be in California the week of July 20th visiting CMS, CRM, eCommerce, Hosting and Marketing vendors in the area. If you or your team is interested in having CMS Critic visit your offices, we'd love to have you on board. To get involved, simply drop me an email to <a target="_blank">mike@www.cmscritic.com</a>.
Our office visits are a very popular offering here at CMS Critic and in exchange, you get a full featured week on our site complete with lead gen pop-up, video interview, product walk-through / review and articles written by our team with your direction throughout the week. You pick which week you want the content to go live and we shut things down and focus on just YOUR product.
During the next few weeks, we'll be hitting places on the west coast. We'll then be heading to the east coast and down to the Florida region in September – October time frame. If you want to get on board with any of these locations, let me know.
The office visits were a huge success last year and we visited over a dozen vendors in North America as well as Europe. Places are selling out fast so if you want to get in on the action, let me know as soon as possible.
As a bonus, I'm offering 25% off the packages below which you'll find are veryreasonably priced.
Plan 1: $3,500 
Lead generation popup on CMScritic.com (5 days, Mon-Fri) – Controlled by YOU Lead generation Hellobar on CMScritic.com (5 days, Mon-Fri) 3x Articles written by our team with your input (spanned over one working week) Featured email to subscriber base (vendor provided content) Vendor Office Visit &amp; Tour (pictures, article coverage &amp; social media coverage included) Video Interview with executive (during visit) Video Product Demo/Walkthrough with Mike
Plan 2: $4,250 *Best Value* 
Lead generation Popup on CMScritic.com (7 days, Mon-Sun) Lead generation Hellobar on CMScritic.com (7 days, Mon-Sun) 5x Articles (spanned over one working week) Featured email to subscriber base (vendor provided content) Vendor Office Visit &amp; Tour (pictures, article coverage &amp; social media coverage included) Video Interview with executive (during visit) Video Product Demo/Walkthrough with Mike White paper or other link promotion via CMScritic's social media handles (Twitter, Facebook page, Google Plus and LinkedIn
Again, to get involved, shoot me a message here or drop me a line to <a target="_blank">mike@www.cmscritic.com</a>

We're heading to California and the West Coast!

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.duda.co/">Duda</a>, the website builder with a focus on mobile, has announced the availability of free SSL Certificates for all their users, made possible through a sponsorship and integration with <a target="_blank" href="https://letsencrypt.org/">Let’s Encrypt</a>.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.duda.co/">Duda</a> was ranked 97th in Deloitte’s Fast 500 list for 2015, and as of 2016, is listed as one of Google’s Preferred Website Builders.The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.duda.co/">Duda</a> website builder is used by small-to-medium sized brands to craft mobile-specific websites that are optimized for conversions. A white label website reseller program, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dudamobile.com/dudapro">DudaPro</a>, is also available for those wishing to offer Duda’s technology under their brand.With this move, Duda becomes the first website builder to offer SSL Certificates as an integrated part of its platform at no additional cost. Which is impressive.<h2>Catering to the Demand for a Secure Internet</h2>Itai Sadan, Duda's CEO and Co-Founder, pointed to the importance of encryption in today's security conscious digital world:<blockquote>“The need for a secure internet is a mission shared by both Duda and Let’s Encrypt. Data and communication belong to website owners and their customers — not anyone else — and at Duda, we feel that everyone has the right to expect this without having to pay an additional cost for it.”Duda will provide encryption technology to all users, without the hassle and expense previously experienced while installing SSL certificates, which is especially beneficial to small businesses and the professional community that serves them, who up until now have forgone this online security measure.“We are proud to be joining a community of other industry-leading companies and internet security advocates who share this vision.”</blockquote>I managed to speak with Duda's CEO back in 2015, and he was optimistic about the future of the product – and with over 5 million websites running on Duda, he has every reason to be.Learn more about the <a target="_blank" href="https://letsencrypt.org/">Let’s Encrypt initiative</a>.To learn more about Duda, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.duda.co/">visit their website</a>

Duda Teams Up With Let's Encrypt, Gives All Users Free SSL Certificates

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/office-1209640_1280-1-e1467896589420.jpg" alt="content marketing strategy" />
If you want to create an effective content marketing strategy, there are two critical stages that your organization needs to move through.
The first contains the things you need to consider before you start, and the second contains the processes you need to pass through  in order to implement it effectively and keep it on track once it is released.
<h2>Stage One (3 Steps)</h2>
Here's what stage one consists of:
<h3>1. A List of Topics</h3>
This keeps content on-topic making idea generation easier and avoids it becoming too “salesy”. The nature of content marketing means it is important to choose topics with audience appeal.
Businesses should approach content strategy from an audience perspective when compiling a list of topics by asking themselves the following two questions:
<ol>
<li>What questions does the audience have that obstruct a purchasing decision?</li>
<li>Is this topic a sales pitch or a description of a problem and its solution?</li>
</ol>
<h3>2. Define a Set of Goals</h3>
These enable content marketing plans to maintain a results-oriented approach. Is the main goal, for instance, to boost webinar enrollment or generate new leads? The best way to devise a set of goals is to examine current problems and brainstorm how content marketing might solve them. Ask questions like, “what effect do we want our content marketing to have?”
<h3>3. Stylistic Guidelines</h3>
These enable writers to craft purposeful, high-quality content, with a seamless editorial process. This includes what voice to use, how to format content, and how to make it more accessible. Content guidelines keep content marketing on-brand for organizations requiring a larger content development team.
<h2>Stage Two (9 Steps)</h2>
Here are some manageable guidelines to get you through stage two of your content marketing strategy planning:
<h3>1. Formulate Your Strategy</h3>
While the formats and planning methodology can vary depending on the organization, the main questions you want to answer in your plan include the following:
<h3>2. Set Your Goals</h3>
The first step and quite possibly the most important question to answer. This is where you define your goals and objectives. Typically, your broad goal is probably to drive sales and grow your business. But you want to be more specific in identifying this. The more specific you are, the easier it is to create more meaningful content.
<h3>3. Identify Your Audience</h3>
A thorough understanding of your audience is essential. This includes clearly defining demographics, psychographics and the behavior of your audience. Also, clearly understanding the triggers that motivate them to action will help create a content strategy that gets results.
<h3>4. Nail Down Your Voice</h3>
Most business describes their tone with a few words, but when bringing their content to life it lacks a clear personality. What are your company’s tone and voice for content? What tone could best achieve your marketing objectives and speak to your audience. An apparent personality or tone in content makes it more relatable and allows your audience to feel connected.
<h3>5. Decide on What Content Should be Created</h3>
The next step is to decide what content you should create. The content creation plan should include the themes, messages, and topics. To create a good content strategy, it is helpful to research the landscape and look at the discussion forums, twitter, search, and blogs to understand what your audience is interested in. Also consider the action that you want someone to take as a result of engaging with your content. Bridge the gap between brand objectives and audience desires.
<h3>6. Decide How The content Will be Created</h3>
Once you complete the strategy, next determine how the execution will occur. Make sure the right people are creating the right content. Do you need to hire writers? Unless you build the content, people can’t come. Good content needs a good syndication and promotion plan. Consider paid and owned media options. Use social networks to spread the message and integrate social media sharing into the design of your content, and don’t make it an afterthought.
Content marketing is highly targeted. Campaigns are about getting your message in front of the largest and most targeted audience as possible. A large audience means more people know about you, and a more targeted audience means they are more than likely potential buyers. With Content marketing, you develop content specifically produced for your customers. This is the type of content that brings buyers back to your website. This in turn draws a targeted audience of people to your site. Things that you want to keep in mind when you write your content.
<h3>7. Provide Content That Your Customers Want</h3>
Many people make a simple but fatal mistake. They write their content about their business. Why is this bad? Because most customers don’t care about your business, they care about themselves. Content marketing wants to take advantage of this by providing valuable content that customers want and need in exchange for their attention.
<h3>8. Avoid Shameless Self-promotion (Mostly)</h3>
Providing value to customers means you mostly write content for the customer’s benefit and occasionally promote your products. People are interested in content that helps them – not ads that promote your product or service. By giving customers what they want nine times out of ten, you’ll be rewarded with an engaged and targeted audience.
<h3>9. Do the Research</h3>
Sometimes it’s hard to know what your target audience wants to read about. One way to find this out is to visit sites within your industry – check popular blogs, review Twitter, Facebook, Google, to name but a few. Do the research to find out what’s needed and then write that content.
<h2><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/laptop-849800_1280-e1467896662225.jpg" alt="laptop-849800_1280" /></h2>
<h2>Content Marketing Best Practices</h2>
The essence of effectiveness is in knowing how to optimize your strategies. But how can you focus on those that allow more efficient connections with various stakeholders across a number of social channels, drive conversations, and influence customers? When opening up content contributions to more users across your organization, you provide more opportunities to connect and engage your customers in social channels, and you extend your online reach.
In order to engage users and keep visitors returning to your site, it is necessary to deliver fresh, compelling, and appropriate content, and then extend this to your social channels. Make sure you provide content that covers broader issues and doesn’t only focus on things that advertise the features and benefits of the product. Through tailoring this content to your audience, you are constantly identifying the right content which is imperative to the success of any content.
Take the time to listen to the online conversations of your target audience and then optimize content and strategy based on the insights you gather from them. And like any marketing activity, setting goals for the expected outcomes of any of the content produced means sometimes being ruthless. Don’t be afraid to test new ideas continually, expand and optimize what works and dump what doesn’t.
<h3>Content Marketing: Basic Techniques</h3>
Aligning sales and marketing to determine your target audience helps create a content and editorial plan of relevant topics. Don’t forget to produce content regularly that is fresh, relevant, timely, and audience-optimized.
<h3>Content Marketing: Advanced Techniques</h3>
Develop personas to understand better your customers and create a map that identifies the process of information each of your personas needs throughout the buying process. Provide website visitors with the ability to socialize and amplify content using Twitter, Google +1’s, and Facebook Likes, and build your backlinks for better SEO to ensure they contain high quality, relevant links.
<h3>Content Marketing: Optimization</h3>
Review data to better match the right communication to the right customers, and review and produce content based on the keyword phrases that are driving your organic search traffic and conversions. Continually review lead scoring and criteria to provide the most accurate score possible and re-imagine content in different forms (blogs/whitepapers/webinars, etc.)
<hr />
This post is <a href="/advertising/">sponsored</a> by Kentico. Find out more at <a href="http://kentico.com/">Kentico.com</a>.

The Ultimate Guide to Formulating a Content Marketing Strategy

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/cms-265127_960_720-1.jpg" alt="cms-265127_960_720" />
Any visitor to this site can see that there’s a huge array of content management systems on offer that all aim to help create a common user interface for dealing with the creation and maintenance of digital data.
But many people who are building websites will be unsure as to whether to jump into this complicated area. And so here’s a quick rundown of reasons why you may need a content management system, and which are some good options.
Controlling content
Ever since Bill Gates stated that ‘<a href="http://www.silkstream.net/blog/2014/07/content-is-king-bill-gates-1996.html">content is king</a>’ in 1996, there’s been hundreds of websites being created each minute, and many ways that organisations have sought to try and control the huge amount of data being produced.
Although there are many informative sites that are relatively static and won’t require frequent updating, for most modern dynamic websites, there has grown the pressing need for the usage of a content management system (CMS).
A CMS is an invaluable tool in the upkeep of a website, and in a collaborative domain such systems are critical to avoid the disorganisation of data which can lead to delays, confusion and productive inefficiency.
CMS in operation
CMS systems work by featuring a common user interface that allows multiple users to add, remove and edit content on a website to a predetermined template. And such preset designs mean that a site can benefit from a harmonious aesthetic and allow the content producers to focus on the message, rather than having to deal with unwieldy HTML or CSS.
Such systems have a wide range of applications and can be very handy to use when creating a news blog that needs to be constantly updated with latest stories. The entertainment blog at Lucky Nugget Casino uses such a system to talk about their <a href="http://blog.luckynuggetcasino.com/big-movie-slots-to-expect-in-2016/">latest slot games offerings</a> in a way that’s stylistically coherent across the whole of the site so that gamers can easily find the relevant information and even share such stories via social media.
The great thing about the CMS system found at the casino gaming site is that it allows for a much more dynamic approach to content creation. This is especially important at a gaming site where there is a constant supply of new gaming products to promote in a way that necessitates a flexible way for site builders to organise the content that is created.
CMS choices
As examples like the ones above have frequent updates, many content management systems will also feature a buffer so that <a href="http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/guide-great-content-marketing-buffer-case-study">posts can be scheduled</a> without the webmaster being present. This is particularly handy in the social media age where timing can have a surprising effect on the efficacy of a post.
And with a range of software like the WordPress CMS, as well as SharePoint and Joomla constantly offering an impressive range of features, it looks like we’ll all be gaining easier access to the latest news stories, shopping products and online games in the future.

Why you need a Content Management System

Hotjar - Spot what confuses

Spot what confuses your users with Hotjar & AI

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<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/office-605503_1280-1-e1467755866875.jpg" alt="office-605503_1280" />
Your audience’s very first impression of your business almost always happens online. In fact, a <a href="http://credibility.stanford.edu/guidelines/index.html">Stanford study</a> found that 75% of users admit to making judgements about a company based on their website. If your online presence isn’t up to snuff, a redesign is just the remedy. Below are six indicators that all point in the direction of a revamped, refreshed redesigned website.
<h2>1. Your Website Isn't User-friendly</h2>
User-friendly functionality is an important factor for any website or mobile app. A user should be able to find exactly what they’re looking for within two clicks of a mouse – whether that’s contact info, pricing and even the search field. Navigation should be intuitive. If not, your lead generation and traffic will take a hit.
<h2>2. You’re Not Hitting Your Goals</h2>
Your current website may look great, but it’s not serving its purpose if you’re not seeing the results that you want. If your website exists to generate leads and expand your customer base, it should be doing just that. If <a href="http://blog.agilitycms.com/content-managers/calls-to-actions-best-practices-tips-tricks?utm_source=cmscritic&amp;utm_medium=website">calls-to-actions</a> are not converting or if landing pages fail to peak interest, it’s time to hit the drawing board. A peek at your site’s current conversion metrics is a great starting point in planning to make adjustments for a redesign.
<h2>3. Your Website Isn’t Responsive/Mobile-Optimized</h2>
This is a major red flag. Roughly one fifth of all traffic currently comes from mobile and it’s projected to grow by leaps and bounds every year. (Source) According to MarginMedia, almost half of users say that if they arrive on a business site that isn’t working well on mobile, they will take it as an indication of the business simply not caring. Additionally, Econsultancy found that 62% of companies that have a mobile-optimized website saw an increase in sales.
<h2>4. You’re Outdated</h2>
Whether it’s the look and feel of your site, busted third-party tools – being outdated online is a no-no. Websites, on average, generally last three to four years before they go stale. By then, new design trends have emerged while others have fallen to the wayside. Third party tools, like shopping cart widgets, that aren’t up to the most current functionality can deter customers from going any further with a transaction or to delve deeper into your site.
<h2>5. You’re Slow</h2>
Consumers are moving faster than ever before, and they expect that quick pace to be accommodated at every online touch point. Nearly half of people will give up on a web page if it takes more than three seconds to load. (Source)
<h2>6. You’ve Been Thinking About A Redesign</h2>
If you’ve been thinking about a redesign, there’s no better time than right now. Whether you’re at the end of a three-year commitment to your current site or unhappy with lead generation, if your searching Google for redesign options, it’s time to get proactive in changing and upgrading your online presence.
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[dropshadowbox align=”none” effect=”lifted-both” width=”auto” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]Agility is a cloud-based, agile and powerful content management system equipped with tools and features that make building and managing your online properties easy and stress-free. To learn more, visit <a href="http://agilitycms.com/?utm_source=cmscritic&amp;utm_medium=blog">agilitycms.com</a>.[/dropshadowbox]
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This post is <a href="/advertising/">sponsored</a> by AgilityCMS. Find out more at <a href="http://www.agilitycms.com/">agilitycms.com</a>.

6 Signs You Need to Redesign Your Website

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/auditorium-572776_1280-e1467648402113.jpg" alt="auditorium-572776_1280" /> This is an open and unapologetic letter to CMS vendors who can't figure out why their updates get no love from their community.
More to the point, it's a letter to those same vendors who don't understand why their updates aren't news worthy.
Let's get to it:
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Dear CMS vendors,
As the Editor of CMS Critic, my inbox is battered with “news” of updates from around the world of CMS on a daily basis.
Some of those news items are interesting – but most of them aren't.
Here's why:
<h2>1. You Announced Your Update Horribly</h2>
Here's something that really bugs me, personally.
If you are launching a new product, or perhaps announcing a set of new features for an existing one, you should do so with energy, commitment, and confidence.
But far too often, I see announcements being made with zero effort.
For example, I see blog post announcements that are made up of nothing but bullet points. No introductions, no images, no structure, no nothing.
I also receive abysmally short press releases with minimal information and a short quote from a CEO saying something generic. This approach will bore your community – and repel journalists.
Instead, here's how to best present your update:
<ul>
<li>Blog Post: Publish a well-crafted blog post, with images and preferably a video. These should be directed towards your users first and foremost, but with the press in mind also.</li>
<li>Press Release: Here's where you can focus on journalists. Give them extended (and interesting) quotes from your executives, more images, and some general information about your company. Link to your blog post announcement, too.</li>
<li>Go The Extra Mile: If your update or product launch is worth shouting about, then do some shouting. Feature it in your next email newsletter, talk about it on social media, make custom graphics for it, make a video for it, and start a hashtag. Just do something to stand out.</li>
</ul>
<h2>2. Your Update Ignored User Feedback &amp; Complaints</h2>
You boast about being community driven, but do you actually let your community drive anything?
Releasing updates is almost always a positive event, but if you take years to implement features that your community is in need of, don't be surprised when they don't applaud your latest version – because it's not what they want.
If you have this issue, there is no quick fix. You'll have to go back to the drawing board to begin prioritising the features that your audience has been crying out for.
But it will be worth it, because a happy community is more likely to buy your add-ons, share your news, and <a href="/cms-critic-awards/">vote for you in the CMS Awards</a>.
Plus, a journalist such as myself will be more inclined to cover said news, since it got such an awesome reception.
<h2>3. Your “Major” Update is Actually Minor</h2>
Your product's major updates are golden opportunities for you to gain new customers and claim media coverage. But so often, those chances go begging.
When <a href="/wordpress-4-4-beta-bare-bones/">WordPress 4.4 was released, I accused it of being “bare bones”</a>. Because it was.
But WordPress isn't the only CMS vendor guilty of this. I've seen many “major” updates that are truly disappointing in terms of value.
If you aren't able to bring together a string of genuinely interesting additions to your platform, then I suggest you hold off on releasing it – even if that means having to adjust your product's roadmap.
If it's a chronic problem, you may want to stop releasing so many minor updates in between the major ones, so you have something left over for what should always be the biggest milestone in your product's history.
The fact of the matter is, a lot of CMS vendors are approaching their updates all wrong. Hopefully, the points I have raised in this open letter reach the right people, and sparks the right kind of change.
Yours frustratedly,
Kaya Ismail Editor, CMS Critic
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An Open Letter to CMS Vendors: Why Nobody Cares About Your Latest Update

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/arastta-welcome.jpg" alt="arastta-welcome" />
Community and Open Source are becoming the two fundamental assets of the software world. Giant companies like Google, Apple and even Microsoft started to develop services based on open source environment.
eCommerce and CMS (content management system) world is familiar with open source since there are big services which share their codes with everyone on platforms like GitHub. But sharing the source code with everyone doesn’t completely fulfil open source philosophy. Because strong, open, vibrant and a volunteer-friendly community is needed to make that project successful. We can see such examples from WordPress, Joomla, Drupal etc…
Arastta eCommerce is an open source project which is <a href="https://arastta.org/community">driven by its community</a>. For a relatively new startup project Arastta has a great community sharing ideas, translating into different world languages, reporting issues and bugs, contributing the source code and helping to plan the future of the project.
Taking part in the Arsatta community is very easy. Anyone can register on any Arastta web sites (<a href="https://arastta.org">Arastta.org</a>, <a href="https://arastta.com">Arastta.com</a>, and <a href="https://arastta.pro">Arastta Marketplace</a>), with a single account.
After you sign up, the following participation channels are available to you:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://arastta.org/community">Community</a>: All community related activities like being friends with others, joining groups and events, creating your own groups etc</li>
<li><a href="https://arastta.org/forum">Forum</a>: For the technical and “how-to” questions</li>
<li><a href="https://arastta.org/ideas">Ideas</a>: Months before the major release of an Arastta version, developers always check Ideas section of the Arastta.org site to understand what is needed and asked by its users and community. And then developers do their best to implement and include those most voted features or needs into the next release</li>
<li><a href="https://github.com/arastta">GitHub</a>: Open Source contributing platform for the users who are able to code and develop with PHP, JS, CSS etc</li>
<li><a href="https://crowdin.com/project/arastta">Translating</a>: Translations are the essential part of the Arastta project since it’s a global project. Thanks to volunteered community members Arastta is translated into more than 35 languages. Everyone can translate Arastta into their own language or contribute the current translations via <a href="https://crowdin.com/project/arastta">Crowding service</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://sponsors.arastta.pro/">Sponsorship</a>: A great way to contribute Arastta project while promoting your commercial service or product to the Arsatta community</li>
<li><a href="https://arastta.com/">Arastta Cloud</a>: Another great way to support Arastta project is the Arastta Cloud service where users can signup for a recurring cloud plan and use their Arastta store on the cloud servers specifically optimised for Arastta. Also auto-backups, one-click restore, support from experts are included in the packages. Thus users will be able to run their Arastta store on a strong infrastructure while supporting the project financially.</li>
</ul>
You are all invited to contribute Arastta project!
<hr />
This post is <a href="/advertising/">sponsored</a> by Arastta. Find out more at <a href="https://arastta.com/">arastta.com</a>.

Arastta: Community Driven & Open Source eCommerce

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-2.png" alt="sshot-2" /><a target="_blank" href="https://www.strikingly.com/">Strikingly</a>, the sleek one-page website builder, just rolled out some small but noteworthy features.The cloud-hosted platform boasts a number of nicely crafter templates to help get businesses off the ground in just a matter of minutes, and also boasts a native <a target="_blank" href="https://www.strikingly.com/online-resume/linkedin">LinkedIn app</a> to streamline the process of making a personal website.Let's take a look at what's new with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.strikingly.com/">Strikingly</a>.<h2>Custom Colors</h2>First up, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.strikingly.com/">Strikingly</a> users can now change the colors of their templates.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/unnamed.png" alt="unnamed" />Previously, themes came with a set color scheme (or in some cases, a set of color schemes), and there was no easy way to change that.Now though, under the Styles menu, you can modify the core colors of any Strikingly template.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-3.png" alt="sshot-3" />I tested the feature out, and interestingly, you can upload your logo as a shortcut, since Strikingly can automatically extract the two primary colors and apply it to your template.However, although the feature allows you to insert any color hex code you like, there's no actual color palette to help you choose. Unfortunately, Strikingly users will have to keep waiting for that particular feature.<h2>HTML Support &amp; New Footers</h2>Furthermore, Strikingly Pro users can now add HTML or App store embeds into their blog posts.And finally, Strikingly team have replaced the old footer with a new one that looks better, and also has new social media boosting functionality.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/unnamed-1.png" alt="unnamed (1)" />Like I said, these are small but noteworthy features – on top of an already impressive platform. Having said that, I still want to see more from Strikingly in terms of templating options.To try Strikingly out for yourself, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.strikingly.com/">check out their website</a>.

Strikingly Adds Custom Colours & Extra HTML Support

I'm pleased to announce that the nominations stage for the 2016 CMS Critic Awards are now open. You can cast your nominations by visiting the <a href="/cms-critic-awards/">awards page</a>.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/cmscritic-awards.png" alt="cmscritic-awards" />
This year, we've decided to go with the following categories so please be sure to submit your favorites in each:
<ul>
<li>Best Blogging Software</li>
<li>Best Website Builder</li>
<li>Best Free CMS</li>
<li>Best Open Source CMS</li>
<li>Best New CMS</li>
<li>Best Enterprise CMS</li>
<li>Best Small Business CMS</li>
<li>Best Document Management System</li>
<li>Best Learning Management System</li>
<li>Best Intranet Software</li>
<li>Best Enterprise Portal</li>
<li>Best Social Network Software</li>
<li>Best eCommerce Software</li>
<li>Best Marketing Automation Software</li>
<li>Best Forum Software</li>
<li>Best CRM (Client Relationship Management) Software</li>
<li>Best Analytics Software</li>
<li>Best Managed Hosting Provider – WordPress</li>
<li>Best Hosting Provider</li>
</ul>
Also, please ensure that when you submit your nomination, you provide a detailed reason why you feel the product or company you are submitting should be included in the shortlist for an award. We appreciate your submissions but single line answers aren't helpful when it comes to determining the best of the best so please do be descriptive.
Thanks!

Nominations for the 2016 CMS Critic Awards are Now Open

<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/study-789631_1280-1-e1467386627900.jpg" alt="study-789631_1280" /> The best customer support portals are more than just web interfaces between a company and its customers. They are <a href="https://financesonline.com/magentrix-pros-cons-top-collaboration-software/">collaboration hubs</a>, empowering a vendor to host its partners and clients to share ideas, come up with new strategies and innovate as a community.
Customer support agents can spend less time answering routine customer cases, and act as community managers to ensure:
<ul>
<li>Knowledge base articles are accurate, current and indexed/tagged for discoverability</li>
<li>News feeds are up to date with current news about product enhancements, security patches and bug fixes</li>
<li>Customers are aligned with resources for training, support, design and/or development as needed</li>
<li>Content is pushed out to customers and prospects via newsletters and social media</li>
<li>Website visitors can engage with customer service through live text chat on their desktop or <a href="http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2956618">mobile device</a> of choice</li>
</ul>
Many companies are looking for omni-channel approach to customer service utilizing one of the many channels available, such as:
<ul>
<li>Email marketing tools</li>
<li>SMS messages</li>
<li>Online ticketing</li>
<li>Live chat</li>
<li>Phone calls</li>
</ul>
If you have a comprehensive, high-performance web presence in place, but want to scale up your customer self-service options, you have at least five possible paths moving forward:
<ol>
<li>Leverage your existing content management system and write code to provide a live, or batch integration with a back office CRM or ERP application</li>
<li>Develop a custom portal, and “bolt” it on to your existing website. Build an API connection to your help desk application</li>
<li>Subscribe to a customer ticketing/support application in the cloud, and embed it in your CMS/custom website</li>
<li>License a separate CMS, and CRM connector bridge application. Or possibly, a CRM portal framework which is installed directly into your customer service application of choice</li>
<li>Subscribe to a cloud-based system which doesn’t require a separate CMS or take up any digital real estate in your support/customer <a href="https://www.magentrix.com/products/features/casemanagement">service case management</a> application</li>
</ol>
Each of these options has its own distinct advantages and disadvantages. How you rationalize these factors will vary based on your business priorities, the technical resources you have available, and budgetary availability.
Customer service and support portals generally offer these benefits:
<ul>
<li>A support knowledgebase, and/or an FAQ page (or pages)</li>
<li>A ticket generation and tracking system</li>
<li>Technical help documentation, and/or how-to videos</li>
<li>A <a href="https://www.magentrix.com/products/features/forum">community forum</a>, where customers can seek out similar questions from their peers, and best practices. Many forums allow members/subscribers to suggest new features for the product roadmap, or find known bugs, workarounds and/or release notes.</li>
</ul>
Considering options 1-5 above, you can probably achieve most of the functionality here with just about any CRM portal you deploy, provided you have enough expertise and funding available. The top ten key decision making factors which determines which portal path businesses should take are:
<ul>
<li>Ease of implementation and ongoing management</li>
<li>Business application integration options</li>
<li>Capital/operating costs</li>
<li>Cohesiveness between your corporate website and the <a href="http://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/customer-self-service-portal-improves-cx/">customer service portal</a>, or option to consolidate on a single platform</li>
<li>The development/design/technical skills required to install, design, develop, publish and management of the portal and related content</li>
<li>The availability of a Software as a Service portal solution</li>
<li>Impact of the portal on the <a href="http://msdynamicsworld.com/story/microsoft-dynamics-partner-roundup-electronic-signatures-retail-self-service-crm-portals-publi">xRM business application</a> performance, and the xRM app on the portal performance for that matter</li>
<li>Opportunities to add extended functionality to the self-service support portal, such as a community hub, acceptance of online payments, and/or e-mail marketing functionality</li>
<li>Reporting capabilities for the portal, either through Google Analytics, or a platform-specific <a href="https://www.magentrix.com/articles/blog/Analytics_and_Metrics-4-01-2015">content analytics</a> engine</li>
</ul>
When you integrate the client experience with your internal case management system, such as Salesforce.com or Microsoft Dynamics CRM, you reduce calls and e-mails into your support center, drive down support costs and improve customer satisfaction. According to a <a href="http://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/industries/telecommunications/our%20insights/lessons%20from%20digital%20telcos%20five%20initiatives%20to%20improve%20business%20performance/higher_satisfaction_at_lower_costs_digitizing_customer_care.ashx">McKinsey study</a>, many companies have realized cost savings with forums and collaborative communities of over 80 percent.
When you combine the ease of deployment and management of a cloud based, collaborative customer portal platform with a powerful online CRM business solution, it’s a win-win for the company and its customers.
Are you reluctant to contract costly, extensive programming projects to deploy <a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3013177/creative-conversations/why-the-future-of-customer-service-is-self-service">self service platforms</a> on enterprise CMS applications like Sitecore or Kentico? Cautious about investing in costly CMS support, maintenance and/or licensing, like with Sitefinity and/or SharePoint? Your existing CRM might be ideal for your static content; but might lack interoperability with your business applications.
Though CRM applications were not built to act as a CMS, some CRM portals such as Microsoft’s CRM Portal (formerly Adxstudio) and Salesforce.com’s native portal platform require their customers to do just that. Purpose-built ticketing apps might be sufficient for small businesses with limited needs.
The Magentrix platform for collaborative customer self-service is at the nexus of ease of deployment, affordability and ease of business application integration. As a complement to an existing CMS deployment, or as a stand-alone customer service platform, Magentrix portals deliver customer service efficiency, minimize technology overhead and controls cost. <a href="https://www.magentrix.com/products/customerportal">Learn More about the Magentrix Solution.</a>
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This post is <a href="/advertising/">sponsored</a> by Magentrix. Find out more at <a href="https://www.magentrix.com/aspx/trypartnerportal">Magentrix</a>.

Customer Service Portals: Fitting in With a CMS or CRM

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