Articles - Page 86

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

matt-garrepy

<a href="http://www.webnodes.com/" target="_blank">Webnodes</a>, an ASP.NET enterprise CMS and eCommerce solution, has unveiled its latest version. The release, Webnodes 5.0, has a focus on, “developer productivity and responsive technologies.”
The Norwegian platform boasts flexibility via its semantic content engine, while at the same time offering a user-friendly interface.
Webnodes 5.0's standout feature for developers is the new ontology module, which has been rewritten from scratch as a Visual Studio plugin. The plugin makes it easy and quick to create advanced data models. Advanced data models have been one of Webnodes’ main selling points, and this release makes it easier to take advantage of the power of their semantic content graph engine.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/visual_studio_plugin700x0.png" />
But that's not all this update brings about.
<h2>Responsive Forms &amp; Compressed Images</h2>
According to Webnodes, almost 90% of new Webnodes projects use responsive templates rather than separate mobile templates (although both approaches are supported). In response to this, the Webnodes forms module now renders in a responsive manner by default.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/responsive_form250x0.png" />
Another challenge when it comes to building a solid responsive website, is the strict limits regarding data traffic limits and the varying speed of mobile networks. This means that the size of a responsive web page plays an important role for the overall user experience.
Webnodes 5.0 introduces a built-in function that automatically compresses images and/or adjusts the image size for mobile devices. These two features results mobile page sizes are often just 20-60% of the original, even if the html is identical between mobile and desktop.
Impressively, this works without using external services or proxy servers. It just works.
<h2>Focus Point &amp; Image Scaling</h2>
The content in a web solution is often exposed through different templates and in different channels. The consequence is that the images are displayed in different sizes and with different proportions.
As an editor in Webnodes you can now apply a focus point per image. Webnodes will automatically ensure that an area around the focus point is always included in all generated versions of the image. All the cropping of images will be performed based on the focus point, and not based on the center of the image.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/image_editor_focuspoint700x0.png" />
By adding a focus point, Webnodes achieves all the benefits of automatic cropping (loose coupling between content and presentation and little manual work), while retaining better control over what parts of the image the various generated images contain. The website gets a perfectly generated image every time, regardless of channel or device used.
To learn more about Webnodes, <a href="http://www.webnodes.com/" target="_blank">visit their website</a>.
Also, be sure to check out Webnodes via our CMS Directory.

Webnodes 5.0 Arrives With Focus on Developer Productivity & Responsive Technologies

mike-johnston

Java is one of the most popular programming languages today with support for a myriad of applications, content management being one of them. When it comes to reliability and the ability to deploy it on a wide range of hardware, Java is hard to beat. Today, we're going to look at the project we selected as the Critics' Choice winner for Best Enterprise Java CMS.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/cc-best-enterprise-java-cms-1200x0.png" alt="best enterprise java cms" />
This particular award goes to the project that has shown the best combination of enterprise capabilities, the ability to focus on being agile within the industry and the project that has shown strong growth and word of mouth from customers in 2014.
This year, that project is <a href="http://jahia.com">Jahia</a>.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/logo-jahia200x0.png" alt="Jahia" />
The CMS Critic team was shown first hand at the Jahia conference in Paris this year how committed they are to being the best of the best. Jahia has shown incredible growth and strong word of mouth. The team at Homeaway, who implemented Jahia as their solution of choice, couldn't say enough good things about the product and the same applied to all of their customers. In our discussions throughout the year with customers, we've seen nothing but positives and it seems that Jahia is well poised to continue their strong growth year after year.
Jahia deserves this award and has worked hard for the recognition so please join me in congratulating them on their win. If you want to learn more, visit them on the web at <a href="http://jahia.com">http://jahia.com</a>

2014 Critics' Choice Award Winner - Best Enterprise Java CMS

The latest version of <a href="http://typo3.org/" target="_blank">TYPO3 CMS</a> has arrived, and it's a big one, both technically and visually.
TYPO3 is a free and open source web content management framework based on PHP. The Swiss software company was founded in 2004.
Let's take a look at what TYPO3 CMS 7 brings to the table.
<h2>Speedier &amp; Far Better Looking</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/backend700x0.png" alt="TYPO3 CMS 7" />
According to the TYPO3 team, their main focus with this release was to clean up the back end – both technically and visually.
First of all, it’s the fastest release in TYPO3’s history. It now features twice as many merges in the same time frame into the current codebase than previous releases did. This has been achieved thanks to TYPO3 replacing their previous combination of PHP, HTML and CSS, simplifying Javascript and optimizing PHP.
Also, TYPO3's “new” core now runs Twitter Bootstrap under the hood. Not only does this make everything look a little better, but it also gives TYPO3 more an “app style” appearance.
Buttons that initiate actions are now clearly marked as such, the color scheme is more streamlined, and comes with less distraction in general. By using this new icon set, all icons look ultra-crisp even when scaling up the back end or using hi-dpi or retina displays.
Speaking of scaling, the first important steps have been made to make TYPO3 CMS’ back end mobile ready, which is something TYPO3 want to introduce at some point in the future.
<h2>A HTML Crusade</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/backend-list700x0.png" alt="TYPO3 CMS 7" />
The TYPO3 team also started what they referred to as a, “crusade to make the HTML markup of the backend more clean and semantically ready.”
What sounds rather technical at first is in fact a very big deal for editors – simply because the aim is to get the back end to behave more organically.
The same thing goes for all forms in the back end. A new, better markup for form fields (which will pave the way for adding a lot of accessibility features in TYPO3) is also being laboured over.
For more information on TYPO3 CMS 7, <a href="http://typo3.org/" target="_blank">check out their website</a>, and their <a href="http://typo3.org/news/article/the-typo3-community-publishes-typo3-cms-70-a-new-version-of-its-free-content-management-system/" target="_blank">blog announcement</a>.
Also, you can explore more of <a href="/products/typo3/" target="_blank">TYPO3 via our CMS Directory</a>.

Faster & Cleaner: TYPO3 CMS 7 Released

Let's face it, there simply is no other CMS that has even come close the the level of popularity that WordPress has managed to achieve. It's an admirable accomplishment that is well deserved. WordPress has taken what used to be complex functionality that only technical people could accomplish and dumbed it down to make things, for the most part, easier for the average user. As with most things however, it's only a matter of time before a better solution comes around. Nothing can stay on top forever so the question I will pose today is, what will it take to dethrone WordPress?
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/bigstock-on-the-throne-59317109600x0.jpg" />
In this article, I'm going to reference  <a href="https://ghost.org/"> Ghost </a> quite a bit. The reason is simple, there are still some things I feel they are doing incorrectly but for the most part, they are following what I consider to be a successful strategy.
<h2>Branding</h2>
If there's one thing Matt and his team have done well, it's branding. Branding is the key to everything. If you can get your brand out there and make it stand for something, you are pretty much guaranteeing yourself success. What is WordPress known for? Simplicity.  
The funny thing, however, is that it simply isn't the easiest CMS out there but none of that matters because for years, they've been telling you it is and so has everyone else. That's the key to branding. It doesn't matter if there's a better product out there, if you can convince people your product is the best at something, you will conquer the market. People will not only believe you, they'll tell everyone else they know that it is as well, if only to appear as though they know what they are talking about.
That's in no way a slam against WordPress or the people using it either. It's simply the way marketing works and has worked for years. Word of mouth is a powerful thing and WordPress certainly wins that battle. 
The downsides to this kind of thinking, however, is that people will often recommend it immediately without any thought even if it is indeed the absolute worst tool possible for a situation. The same applies to any brand.
<h2>Theme Availability</h2>
There are plenty of content management systems out there that offer nice themes but WordPress is, again, the king in this arena. There are more themes for WordPress than any other CMS in the world and that's an impressive achievement. Why are there so many? First, people are using the product therefore theme developers know they have an active community of users who they can convert into potential customers. Second, creating themes for WordPress is relatively easy to do (and there's good documentation showing how to do it). Third, the product is very flexible and easy to manipulate meaning the opportunities to create something unique exist for developers allowing them to be less limited with their imaginations.
Is it the perfect system? Of course not, but there are plenty of very successful theme companies making millions of dollars selling WordPress themes. Something that cannot be as easily stated when it comes to other CMS out there. Sure, there are lots of great Joomla template houses but nowhere near as many as WordPress.
<h2>Plugins</h2>
No plugin system is perfect but WordPress has the advantage that their plugin system offers huge amounts of additional capability to users of the product. This is largely thanks for the open source model that WordPress operates under. Freely available code means the massive community now has the ability to extend the product on their own and that means a large number of freely available themes. There are some premium ones as well but the bulk are free and updated regularly.
<h2>So what will it take to dethrone the king?</h2>
We've seen some successful upstarts come out of the wood work to try to take a piece of the pie and some are doing quite well in gaining momentum. One particular contender that comes to mind is Ghost. The product is far from perfect but managed to come out of nowhere, generate a ton of interest via their Kickstarter campaign (a brilliant marketing strategy) and gain the interest of theme developers. As a result, there's a brand new  <a href="https://www.cmscritic.comhttps://www.cmscritic.com/themeforestcategory/blogging/ghost-themes?ref=cmscritic"> Ghost Themes </a> category in Themeforest and plenty of themes being submitted to it daily.
To beat WordPress one must focus on a several step process:
<ol>
<li> Focus on Marketing to Developers 
 The right product needs to target themselves towards the massive blogger community (like Ghost has) and focus on marketing to the developers. If you can get developers on board and get them working on pounding out themes and plugins for the product, then the product will be in the position to start attracting the interest of the userbase.</li>
<li> Offer a Migration Path 
 Implement an easy migration path for those already on WordPress to easily move to your platform. This is something that currently does not exist within Ghost but needs to in order for them to succeed. Yes, they have the beginnings of a method ( <a href="http://ghostforbeginners.com/how-to-transfer-blog-posts-from-wordpress-to-ghost/"> shown here </a> ) but it's still not easy enough. People who have invested large amounts of time pounding out content on WordPress don't want to go through a million steps just to move their stuff over. A simple one-plugin process that imports from WordPress would be the ideal solution. Granted, the fact that one currently exists (even if it is a bit complex) is better than nothing.</li>
<li> Offer Hosted and Self Hosted Options 
 Here's another way Ghost has attempted to duplicate the WordPress recipe, by implementing a hosted solution. The problem is that Ghost has offered this only as a paid option which has limited appeal to the millions of people on WordPress.com that currently don't pay a dime. If Ghost was to alter their monetization platform to offer it up for free with paid upgrades, they'd be in a better position to compete. As it stands right now, I don't think they have chosen the right path as of yet. Furthermore, the pricing is too high in my mind. $10 / month, while it may not seem like much is simply too high for a beginner pricing model.</li>
<li> Build up a Community
 The next step is to build up a community and stay active in it. If you can show that your community is active and that your developers (or at the very least, a team of volunteers) are actively answering questions and encouraging users, this will naturally make other potential users feel like they won't be left alone in the dark if they move to your platform. Nobody wants to move to a platform with an inactive community. If you can make people feel welcome and supported, they will move.</li>
</ol>
<h2> Conclusion </h2>
Those are my thoughts as of the moment. I'll be adding to this article as more ideas come to mind but I think it warrants an interesting discussion. I'm not suggesting that WordPress needs to be dethroned either but rather opening up a discussion for those to celebrate the success of the product and to offer up recommendations for other projects looking to become more successful. I personally feel WordPress will be around for many more years and will continue to evolve in its functionality and I'm looking forward to seeing how things change.
What do you think? Join in below in the comments.

What It Will Take to Dethrone WordPress

Today, we're going to share with you the judges' selection for the Critics Choice Award for Best Open Source CMS in 2013.
With an incredible amount of Open Source CMS available worldwide, making a decision as to which is the ‘best' is virtually impossible, therefore, in order to do so, we must have a set of criteria to judge by.
Being an open-source CMS means you have a commitment to the open-source community. This means that not only are you taking advantage of a vast group of exceptional developers worldwide but that you give back to that community as well. This year, when selecting the Best Open Source CMS for 2013, we decided to make this a major factor in the awards selection for Best Open Source CMS.
We also wanted to select a CMS that is different from the ones you would normally expect. The purpose of these awards is to bring to your attention the many incredible products on the market, not just to highlight the usual suspects over and over. Therefore, without further adieu, the winner of the 2013 Critics Choice Award for Best Open Source CMS is…
<h3><img style="max-width:200px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2013/11/best-open-source-cms-1_whd9pd.png" /></h3>
<h3>Hippo CMS!</h3>
Hippo CMS is a heavy contributor to the open-source community with a large number of Apache committers and is a strong advocate and promoter of the open-source methodology. They are members of OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) &amp; the Java Community Process (JCP) and very open about their love of open source. You can read more about how they contribute and why <a href="https://www.bloomreach.com/en">here</a>.
Due to their overwhelming commitment to the open-source movement, we feel that they deserve a nod and recognition as the 2013 Critics Choice Award Winner for Best Open Source CMS.
Congratulations to the team at Hippo, you are well deserving of this award.
<a href="/products/bloomreach">Learn more about Hippo</a> or visit them <a href="https://www.bloomreach.com/en">on the web</a>

2013 Critics Choice for Best Open Source CMS

MailChimp is integrating their service into so many other apps it is almost time to ask: “Which service does not have MailChimp integration?” The latest apps to join the list are: Pinterest, Instagram, and Hootsuite.
<h3>Put a Pin in it</h3>
Pinterest has a sharp inclining user base to say the least. With over 100 million (yes I said million) unique site visits in one month it is easy to see why it has MailChimp's attention.
<blockquote>“Pinterest ‘lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web' with anyone. This popular pioneer in the new trend of visual bookmarking is a free service for everyone.”</blockquote>
So Pinterest is wildly popular attracting more and more users because of its easy to share pinboard style interface. Do you want to have a fun way to “bookmark” your interests? Done. Do you want to share these “pinboards” with whomever you wish? Done. But why is this integration between MailChimp and Pinterest attractive to businesses already using MailChimp for email newsletters?
For years a challenge for a typical company was connecting to their customers. It seems that the larger the company the easier it is for a communication gap to develop between said company and the end customer. What are our typical customers interested in? How do they communicate everyday? These questions beg answers and marketing departments need to tailor campaigns to the customer demographic and easily track the success or lack of success of a particular campaign. “Oh what ever can be done?” (southern ‘damsel in distress' voice)
Aha, now we see why this app integration and others like it are so meaningful for a company. If company “A” is submitting traffic on networks that potential customers frequent, company “A” stands a much better chance of engaging these individuals perhaps becoming part of their “circle” if you will.
Now you may think that it would be difficult to work with this “merging” of two different apps. MailChimp does not do “difficult”.
<blockquote>“To use this integration, head over to the Pinterest Chimplet. We’re always trying to find new ways to accomodate the needs of our users, and this integration is no exception. Type in your Pinterest username and you will instantly see a drop-down menu of your individual boards to choose from. You can create your campaign using all of your pins, or your pins from just one board!”</blockquote>

Make your Pinterest “pinboards”, add them to a MailChimp campaign, and share share share.
<h3>Instagram</h3>
Another MailChimp integration is with Instagram. Like Pinterest, Instagram has grown tremendously. Over 27 million users in a little over 2 years. Simple and easy photo sharing, “Instagram is a fast, beautiful and fun way to share your life with friends.”
Now MailChimp can pull in your instagram photo stream and share via an RSS campaign. ‘Hang on, maybe I do not want all photos going out over to a MailChimp list.” They thought of that.
<blockquote>“You will find that not only can you choose to create your RSS campaign from your Instagram username, but you can also create a campaign from a common hashtag, like #pugs.”
“Now let’s say you’re managing your company’s Instagram account. You’d like to send a campaign using not only your company’s images, but also all of the images taken by other users who have tagged your company’s account. You can do that, too! Just select “Include photos uploaded by or tagged as this hashtag” and enter your company’s Instagram username.”</blockquote>
<div>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2013-11-11_07_11_23-mozilla_firefox_1125x0_tvhcfk.png" alt="Instagram_Integration" />
Pictures are so engaging it only makes sense to share!
<h3>Hootsuite</h3>
With all these social media outlets it could be a full time job just keeping them all up to date. You could use some type of social media management dashboard or something right? Well fortunately there are services like Hootsuite.
Social media management is powerful alone, but now you can link to MailChimp campaigns and push them out to your social networks. Hootsuite's stats are an added benefit to using this integration of social media and email campaigning.
<blockquote>“The link to your campaign will be shortened with HootSuite’s link shortener, ow.ly, instead of our link shortener, eepurl. The ow.ly link shortener allows HootSuite to track how the campaigns are shared across your social networks. Now you can see stats on your email campaigns’ social reach in context with the rest of your social-media metrics, from within HootSuite.”</blockquote>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/hootsuite_stats.jpg" alt="hootsuite_stats" />
<div>
These latest integrations can bring businesses closer to their audience. These add-ons make it easier to communicate effectively across not only email, but social media as well.
</div>
</div>

MailChimp Integrations, the Saga Continues

Attracting visitors to your website is half the battle. The real value lies in converting those visitors after they walk through your digital door.
<a href="https://www.truconversion.com">TruConversion</a> is a freshly launched conversion optimization and analytics platform, and it just opened its doors to the public; with a 30-day free trial.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/aaeaaqaaaaaaaai4aaaajduymmy2mty0lty3owutndlkzc05ndaylwzlyzlkzjm0mzdjnq-1.png" alt="AAEAAQAAAAAAAAI4AAAAJDUyMmY2MTY0LTY3OWUtNDlkZC05NDAyLWZlYzlkZjM0MzdjNQ (1)" />
With TruConversion, you can monitor heatmaps, visitor session recordings, conversion funnels, form analytics, and much more.
So, I thought I'd take it for a quick test drive.
<h2>An Overview of TruConversion</h2>
After you sign up for your free account, TruConversion prompts you to insert a script into the header of your website. Just like Google Analytics.
Once you insert that script, you can start putting TruConversion to work.
That involves setting up heatmaps, recordings, form analytics, and more. That can all be done from TruConversion's dashboard.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-6.png" alt="sshot-6" />
The dashboard itself is clean and simple, although I think the sidebar could use a slight re-design to help bring all the icons into the same window. Currently, you have to scroll down to see the bottom two.
<h4>Heatmaps</h4>
I opted for a heatmap campaign, and I was glad to see the help windows were popping up to direct me around the admin panel.
I was able to name my campaign, and then select the number of pageviews I wanted to capture. You can capture up to 20,000, depending on the plan you're paying for. You can also schedule an email notification upon completion.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-7.png" alt="sshot-7" />
You can specify the pages that you want to include and exclude from the heatmap campaign, and you can also choose to exclude certain page elements, like a pre-existing popup.
All in all, there's a healthy balance of complexity and simplicity here. I was able to set up a heat map very quickly, but advanced options were there for me if I needed them.
<h4>MicroSurveys</h4>
I also tried out the MicroSurveys feature, which allows you to display a short and sweet question box on any page of your website.
After naming my survey and selecting where I'd like it to appear on my website, I was able to configure how and when visitors would see the question box.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-8.png" alt="sshot-8" />
I could choose from; show once per visitor, stop showing after response received, and continue showing even after response received.
I then selected he devices I wanted my MicroSurvey to display on. Desktop, Mobile, and Tablet were the options. I could select one, two, or all three at once.
Furthermore, I could select the percentage of visitors I wanted to see my survey, as well as more detailed conditions. For example, I could make it so that only visitors coming directly from Facebook would see the survey.
As for the survey itself, I was able to customize the design in a way which I found quite pleasing.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-9.png" alt="sshot-9" />
TruConversion loaded my website up for me, and then allowed me to customize the colors and position of the question box, in order to optimize the design. Very handy indeed.
And of course, I was able to customize the question itself, as well as the pre-set answers.
Once again, I found that TruConversion struck a nice balance between fine detail and ease of use.
<h2>Important Integrations</h2>
TruConversion also integrates with a range of tools that are likely already a part of your business.
Such tools include; Salesforce, Mailchimp, HubSpot, Optimizely, Marketo, KISSMetrics, and numerous others.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-10.png" alt="sshot-10" />
Essentially, this allows users to automatically add emails collected through TruConversion to the platforms above.
Overall, TruConversion seems to be a promising platform, with quite a few genuinely useful features. I'll be keeping tabs on its progress.
To find out more about TruConversion, <a href="https://www.truconversion.com">check out their website</a>.
Also, you can explore more through the <a href="/truconversion/">TruConversion Hub on our Analytics Directory</a>.

Hands-on With TruConversion: Conversion Optimization & Analytics United

<a href="http://dotcms.com/" target="_blank">dotCMS</a>, the popular Java, open source, content management system, has rolled out version 3.0. Java and Web developers in particular will want to take note.
The update brings about advanced tools and features, including Cluster Auto-scale and Auto-wire, eliminating manual configuration of dotCMS server clusters. This also means that servers can be automatically provisioned or de-provisioned in response to peaks in traffic, making dotCMS more powerful than ever before at enterprise scale.
<h2>Targeted Toward Java Developers &amp; System Administrators</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/clustering-nodes_700x0.png" />
dotCMS 3.0's new enhancements have been targeted toward Java developers and system administrators, with an aim to maximize efficiency and reduce maintenance efforts.
Such enhancements include standard WAR based deployments, moving to modern build and code management tools (Github, etc), and deployment on almost any application server including Tomcat, Weblogic, Websphere, Jboss, etc.
Furthermore, the new built-in Sass and Less Auto-compiler is a unique feature for helping Web developers build modern CSS-driven web applications efficiently. The addition of Multi-type Containers is another example of building features into dotCMS that give developers the freedom and flexibility to build sites the way they want to.
Will Ezell, CTO of dotCMS Services LLC made these comments regarding the release:
<blockquote>“With all the new features in dotCMS 3.0 that help developers move forward, faster, it may not be evident that many of the changes and improvements in version 3.0 have taken place in the background, enhancing the core code. Importantly, this release is a strong step towards building our foundation for delivering more sophisticated and powerful capabilities in upcoming releases. With dotCMS 3.0 we are certainly making our software a powerful delivery system in content management, and the perfect hub at the center of the Internet of Things (IoT).”</blockquote>
My <a href="/a-preview-of-dotcms-3.0/" target="_blank">preview of dotCMS 3.0</a> goes into further detail regarding the specific features of the update.
You can download dotCMs for yourself here: <a href="http://dotcms.com/download/">http://dotcms.com/download/</a> or you could try out the online demo at: <a href="http://dotcms.com/explore/demo/">http://dotcms.com/explore/demo/</a>
To find out more about dotCMS, <a href="http://dotcms.com/" target="_blank">visit their website</a>.
Also, you can discover more of <a href="/products/dotcms/" target="_blank">dotCMS via our CMS Directory</a>.

dotCMS 3.0 Brings In Enhancements Tailored For Java & Web Developers

Best Video Experience

Give your audience the best video experience

#000000

It took me quite a long time to finally figure this out but thanks to some handy guides out there (and some people that are clearly smarter than me) I did.
My issue was that text in fields was barely visible:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/how_to_fix_dark_theme_issues_with_firefox_in_linux.png" />
To fix this, in your home folder, navigate to:
<code>~/.mozilla/firefox/&lt;profile directory&gt;/</code>
Note: the profile directory will usually be a random set of letters and numbers such as zee4bhai.default or similar. Enter this directory and check to see if you have a /chrome folder. If not, create it with mkdir chrome and enter it.
Now create a new file called userContent.css like so (subbing out your preferred editor of course):
<code>nano userContent.css</code>
Paste the following into the file and save:
<pre><code>input { border: 2px inset white; background-color: white; color: black; -moz-appearance: none !important;}textarea { border: 2px inset white; background-color: white; color: black; -moz-appearance: none !important;}select { border: 2px inset white; background-color: white; color: black; -moz-appearance: none !important;}input[type="radio"],input[type="checkbox"] { border: 2px inset white ! important; background-color: white ! important; color: ThreeDFace ! important; -moz-appearance: none !important;}*|*::-moz-radio { background-color: white; -moz-appearance: none !important;}button,input[type="reset"],input[type="button"],input[type="submit"] { border: 2px outset white; background-color: #eeeeee; color: black; -moz-appearance: none !important;}body { background-color: white; color: black; display: block; margin: 8px; -moz-appearance: none !important;}</code></pre>
Now restart Firefox and you should be good to go!
Happy browsing!
Mike

How to fix dark theme issues with Firefox in Linux

Ubuntu Budgie 17.10 was released yesterday and being a fan of the Budgie desktop (it's not my daily driver but I do love the work they are doing) I wanted to take it for a spin. Here's my Ubuntu Budgie 17.10 review after spending 24 hours with the system. I'll update this as time continues if any issues arise.
Installation is as straight forward as it ever was and went off without a hitch. My test machine is an Asus UX330U laptop, which suffers through my distro hopping addiction right along with me. Upon bootup, you are greeted with the Budgie Welcome screen and the default desktop.
<img alt="Ubuntu Budgie 17.10 Review" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ubuntu_budgie_17_10_review_-_11.png" />
This welcome screen walks you through the process of updating your system and getting everything ready. Just click on Getting Started and follow the steps.
<img alt="Ubuntu Budgie 17.10 Review" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ubuntu_budgie_17_10_review_-_12.png" />
Once completed, you can close the Welcome screen and begin exploring the desktop.
<img alt="Ubuntu Budgie 17.10 Review" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ubuntu_budgie_17_10_review_-11076x0-is.png" />
Budgie uses <a href="https://launchpad.net/plank" target="_blank">Plank</a> for the icon dock you see on the left. It's easy to customize and you will find a Plank Preferences application in the menus with which you can modify the icon theme, position, etc.
The drop-down menu in the top left contains all of your software and options in well categorized sub-menus.
<img alt="Ubuntu Budgie 17.10 Review" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ubuntu_budgie_17_10_review_-_21076x0-is.png" />
Clicking on the far top right icon expands the Budgie panel which is a key feature of this desktop environment.
<img alt="Ubuntu Budgie 17.10 Review" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ubuntu_budgie_17_10_review_-_41076x0-is.png" />
The first tab contains information from the activated applets. In this case, the calendar and sound controls by default. There are, however, other applets which you can install from third parties. You can find a handy how-to for a few of them here:<a href="http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/06/5-awesome-budgie-desktop-applets" target="_blank"> http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/06/5-awesome-budgie-desktop-applets</a>
The second tab, notifications, does what it sounds like. It contains your notifications. Speaking of which, I was quite impressed to see that this new release auto-detected my network printer and made it available, giving me yet another reason not to use my Mac or Windows machines.
<img alt="Ubuntu Budgie 17.10 Review" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ubuntu_budgie_17_10_review_-_51076x0-is.png" />
There are also three icons at the bottom which allow you to access panel settings, lock your screen or access power options. Clicking the “gear” icon will take you to the Budgie Preferences application, which allows you to customize a few things about the desktop.
<img alt="Ubuntu Budgie 17.10 Review" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ubuntu_budgie_17_10_review_-_6756x0-is.png" />
From here, you can also create new panels as well as customize the existing one.
<img alt="Ubuntu Budgie 17.10 Review" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ubuntu_budgie_17_10_review_-_8791x0-is.png" />
To access your full settings, you will need to launch the separate Settings application from your menu. This will be where you customize everything else.
<img alt="Ubuntu Budgie 17.10 Review" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ubuntu_budgie_17_10_review_-_7837x0-is.png" />
Ubuntu Budgie 17.10 also comes with a much better terminal application than the default most are use to with Tilix. It's a very easy to use and customizable terminal application that allows for multiple split screens and many other options. By default, there's also a drop-down “Quake style” version of Tilix you can access by hitting your F12 key. Here's a look at Tilix with three terminal sessions in one.
<img alt="Ubuntu Budgie 17.10 Review" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ubuntu_budgie_17_10_review_-_3854x0-is.png" />Overall, it's a pretty slick set-up. I did encounter an occasional crash, however, which I reported using the bug reporting tool. In my case, it was Nautilus that was misbehaving. Hopefully this can be cleared up with a future update. I'm impressed with the speed and overall progress the Ubuntu Budgie team has made on this variant. Budgie is definitely a stunning desktop environment and it's coming along nicely. It's great to see more applets being included from third party developers. Let's hope the trend continues.
Here's a quick overview video from the Ubuntu Budgie team showing off this release:
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RMDtMe7Lzok?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Interested in trying it? Head on over to the <a href="https://ubuntubudgie.org/" target="_blank">Ubuntu Budgie webpage</a> and grab your copy.

Ubuntu Budgie 17.10 Review

Apart from starting to offer its solution to end customers worldwide, <a href="https://www.payrexx.com/?ref=prus">Payrexx </a>is also available as a white label solution for financial institutions, different types of business software providers and large enterprises that are looking to offer innovative epayment and ecommerce solution for their own customers.
Vision &amp; Mission
The vision of Payrexx is to allow anyone regardless of knowledge and funding to accept online payments and sell physical goods, services and accept donations. According to the internal research, more than 50% of today’s employees are launching their own small business on the side. Since they are very limited in terms of time and resources to set up a complex e-commerce solution, a simple and quick solution to set up is a must for them. With Payrexx, freelancers and sme’s can accept their first online payment within 5 minutes and without any IT background, thanks to its user-friendly and innovative ecommerce tools such One Page Shop, Virtual POS and <a href="https://www.payrexx.com/?ref=prus">Business Paylink</a>. The whole onboarding process happens online as well.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/social_media_selling.jpg" />
Social Media Selling Social media has become an important sales channels for many small businesses since it allows to catch the potential customers in a relaxed mindstate, which dramatically increases conversion rates since relaxed customers are less expense-sensitive. With Payrexx, social media selling is further simplified because One Page Shop tool can be easily shared and appears beautifully on a social media timeline. Once the customer clicks on a One Page Shop link, a simple page with products and payment details opens letting the customer to select the articles and proceed with the payment on one page instead of getting forwarded to a complex online shop.
Customers base, partners and pricing Company customer base proves that Payrexx is a truly universal payment solution fulfilling the needs of any company starting from such as Adidas and Sixt and ending at individual entrepreneurs &amp; freelancers.
Apart from the remarkable customer range Payrexx also partners with worldwide leading payment providers such as Stripe &amp; PayPal as well as important national providers such as PostFinance.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/cool_image_20171199x0-is.png" />
Payrexx pricing strategy supports the goal to allow everyone to get started, which is why the service is available for free. Subscription that is suited for medium -and large-size enterprises is priced at 49.- USD/ month and offers the best transaction fees for its users.
<a href="https://signup.payrexx.com/en/?ref=prus">Try Payrexx yourself now</a>. It is totally free and does not require any coding skills!

Payrexx Launches the First One Page Shop Software in the US

Back in December, Twitter introduced a new look for the mobile side of their site, <a href="http://mobile.twitter.com" target="_blank">http://mobile.twitter.com</a>. Yesterday, they announced that they are rolling out this same experience for users of low bandwidth networks and older browsers. The advantage, of course, is that the incredibly popular social network is now more accessible than ever.
<blockquote>
In this updated version of mobile.twitter.com, you can see all the Tweets from the accounts you follow in the Home tab and check your @mentions in the Connect tab. You can see what’s trending in the Discover tab, and access your direct messages and Tweets in the Me tab.
</blockquote>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/8f3eflnz_iytuiy.jpg" alt="twitter for older devices" />The great advantage this offers to users is that the new iteration uses one-third less bandwidth and is fast, similar to the iPhone and Android native apps. They are rolling out this new mobile web experience now, and promise tol continue to make Twitter the most accessible way to connect with the world, even with the weakest signals and the simplest devices.

Twitter introduces improved mobile experience for low bandwidth networks and older mobile devices

Forks up! We've got one more slice of news as we leave November in the rearview.
Along with the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., it was a month full of "stuffing" at the CMS and DXP table. We shared the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/postman-releases-2021-state-of-the-api-report-shows-global-trend-towards-api-first-digital-era/" target="_blank">Postman "State of the API" report</a>, which further cemented the global trend towards an API-first digital era. We also covered <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/kontent-by-kentico-aims-to-take-enterprise-headless-cms-to-a-new-level/" target="_blank">Kontent by Kentico's continued efforts to transform headless CMS</a> for the enterprise through committed innovation.
From a mergers and acquisitions perspective, November was a bit cooler than in previous months. But there was one piece of news to dish about: <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/commercetools-acquires-frontastic-adds-composable-frontend-capabilities-to-headless-commerce/" target="_blank">commercetools devoured Frontastic</a>, adding composable frontend capabilities to its headless commerce offering. We'll be following the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/top-headless-commerce-platforms/" target="_blank">headless commerce</a> sector throughout 2022 as we expect to see more consolidation, investment, and expansion – particularly as Omicron reinforces the focus on digital transformation.
Finally, <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/solodev-cms-for-kubernetes-now-available-with-contract-pricing-in-aws-marketplace-for-containers-anywhere/" target="_blank">Solodev launched its CMS for Kubernetes with contract pricing</a> options in the AWS Marketplace. Announced at <a href="https://reinvent.awsevents.com/" target="_blank">AWS re:Invent</a>, this heralds a new era of container offerings, allowing users to deploy in-cloud or on-premises in almost any environment. Solodev was the only CMS in the mix to offer the new capability.
Enough on the leftovers. Here are a few more tidbits to chew on:
 
<h2>MACH Alliance announces eight newly certified companies as Global Membership nears 50</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/11/mach-alliance-new-members.jpeg" alt="MACH Alliance new members logos" />
The <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3366290-1&amp;h=2364601792&amp;u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.machalliance.org%2F&amp;a=MACH+Alliance" target="_blank">MACH Alliance</a>, a group of independent tech companies dedicated to advocating for open, best-of-breed technology ecosystems, announced that it has certified eight new members in its ecosystem: 
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.actindo.com/" target="_blank">Actindo AG</a>, a digital operations platform enabling efficient e-commerce</li>
<li><a href="https://www.appnovation.com/" target="_blank">Appnovation</a>, a global digital consultancy specializing in the design, development, and support of engaging experiences</li>
<li><a href="https://www.builder.io/" target="_blank">Builder.io</a>, a platform to visually create and optimize high-speed app and website experiences</li>
<li><a href="https://www.convictional.com/" target="_blank">Convictional</a>,  a supplier enablement platform for retailers and marketplaces</li>
<li><a href="https://www.fast.co/" target="_blank">Fast</a>, a one-click and headless checkout solution making it easier to buy and sell online.</li>
<li><a href="https://graphcms.com/" target="_blank">GraphCMS</a>, the GraphQL Content Federation System</li>
<li><a href="https://www.objectedge.com/" target="_blank">Object Edge</a>, a consultancy that builds digital experiences for enterprise B2B/B2C/D2C commerce and content</li>
<li><a href="https://www.storyblok.com/" target="_blank">Storyblok</a>, a fast-emerging headless content management system. You can check out <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/interview-headless-cms-storyblok-expands-partner-program-with-u-s-agency-campbell-ewald/" target="_blank">our interview with Barry D'Arcy</a>, VP of Partners at Storyblok.</li>
</ul>
The Alliance estimates that roughly 100,000 tech professionals around the globe are now involved with MACH. This is based on the headcounts of member companies and in-house tech teams of enterprises deploying MACH initiatives. 
The Alliance's growth comes as IT budgets are expected to rise faster in 2022 than they have in over a decade – and spending in support of flexible, composable business and IT initiatives will be prioritized as organizations struggle to be digitally agile and meet consumer demands.
"We've reached a moment of reckoning where digital leaders are realizing legacy technologies pose greater risk than reward, and the pandemic has made it more clear than ever that composable architecture is the way forward for the enterprise," said Sonja Keerl, MACH Alliance president. "Even big tech has started slowly moving in this direction, which is all the more reason why the Alliance upholds its high certification standards since MACH-washing has become increasingly common. The Alliance exists to help organizations weed through that noise and be their guide throughout their MACH journey."
MACH stands for Microservices-based, API-first, Cloud-native SaaS, and Headless. The move towards MACH has accelerated in the past few years, leading to the start of the <a href="https://machalliance.org/" target="_blank">MACH Alliance</a> in 2020. Founded by commercetools, Contentstack, EPAM Systems, Valtech, and 15 members at launch, the MACH Alliance is a non-profit cooperation focused on introducing a new, open, and best-of-breed enterprise technology ecosystem. 
Maintaining Exclusive Certification Standards
The MACH Alliance maintains the <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3366290-1&amp;h=2299048448&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fmachalliance.org%2Finsights%2Fmach-certification-a-seal-of-confidence&amp;a=highest+standards" target="_blank">highest standards</a> in order for companies to become certified. The high bar provides enterprises with essentially an insurance policy that guarantees future-proof technology. Choosing a certified MACH vendor helps ensure the following:
<ul>
<li>Connectability: other applications connect easily through API</li>
<li>Scalability: cloud-native SaaS ensures seamless rolling upgrades that don't require human intervention</li>
<li>Swapability:  companies can easily add and replace software and make changes on the fly without disrupting front end UX/UI</li>
<li>Adaptability: the functionality of the software can be used with multiple front ends</li>
<li>Flexibility and Transparency: prevents vendor lock-in, allowing companies to stay in charge of their own technology and be able to respond to any situation</li>
</ul>
Gaining Investor Attention
MACH Alliance vendor members have accumulated more than $2.5 billion in funding, and the valuation of the category just by its vendors is estimated at over $20 billion.
The Alliance has played a key part in fueling this interest, with the group referred to by Forrester analyst Joe Cicman as being "...the bouncers controlling the velvet rope at the entrance of the Coolest Tech in Town Club." In his July write-up, "<a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=3366290-1&amp;h=3090673364&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.forrester.com%2Fblogs%2Fbuy-an-integrated-platform-not-a-box-of-rocks%2F&amp;a=Buy+An+Integrated+DXP+Platform%2C+Not+Just+A+Box+Of+Rocks" target="_blank">Buy An Integrated DXP Platform, Not Just A Box Of Rocks</a>," Cicman noted how the MACH Alliance enforces the definition of modern technology. He also reinforced the importance of composable set-ups, stating the only practical playbook today is one that is cloud-native.
Learn more at <a href="http://www.machalliance.org/" target="_blank">www.machalliance.org</a>.
<h2>GoDaddy data breach impacts over 1.2 million WordPress accounts</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/11/binary-g2d4825f8f_1280.jpg" alt="Hacker and binary numbers" />
Alas, there are WordPress woes in the land of GoDaddy...
In a statement released by <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1609711/000160971121000122/gddyblogpostnov222021.htm" target="_blank">the Securities and Exchange Commission</a>, GoDaddy's Chief Information Security Officer Demetrius Comes said they discovered unauthorized third-party access to their managed WordPress hosting environment.
<div>Comes also stated that upon identifying this incident, they immediately blocked the unauthorized third party from their system. They have determined that beginning on September 6, 2021, the culprit used the vulnerability to gain access to the following customer information:</div>
<ul>
<li>Up to 1.2 million active and inactive Managed WordPress email addresses and customer numbers: The exposure of email addresses presents a risk of increased phishing attacks.</li>
<li>The original WordPress Admin password set at the time of provisioning: If those credentials were still in use, GoDaddy reset those passwords.</li>
<li>sFTP and database usernames and passwords for active customers</li>
<li>SSL private key for a subset of active customers: GoDaddy is in the process of issuing and installing new certificates for those affected.</li>
</ul>
<div>The investigation is ongoing and GoDaddy is contacting all impacted customers directly with specific details. If you're concerned, contact GoDaddy via their <a href="https://www.godaddy.com/help">help center</a>.</div>
 
<h2>WordPress 5.9 Release Date Gets Delayed to January 25, 2022</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/11/wordpress-59.jpg" alt="WordPress 5.9" />
Keeping up with WordPress version releases is a bit like playing pool with a rope. While Gutenberg gets new enhancements almost every two weeks, bigger releases are much less reliable. 
Case in point: the latest version of WordPress – 5.9 Beta – <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/5-9/" target="_blank">was scheduled for release</a> on November 16th. Apparently, that news was a bit premature, and the organization <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/11/17/wordpress-5-9-beta-1-delayed/" target="_blank">shifted the release to January 25, 2022</a>, to accommodate 5.9's new features.
Perhaps this is understandable given that WordPress is the most widely used open-source CMS on the planet. Maintaining standards is key, and even the most minor changes can impact users. That said, WordPress has a documented philosophy around development: <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2010/04/20/deadlines-are-not-arbritrary-theyre-a/" target="_blank">deadlines are not arbitrary</a>. Schedules can shift if results demand it, but there's a clear focus on making commitments and sticking to timelines. 
Such is life. We hope to see 5.9 on January 25th.
What is included in WordPress 5.9?
According to WordPress, 5.9 is expected to be a ground-breaking release. It will introduce the next generation of themes with <a href="https://make.wordpress.org/core/2021/10/06/introducing-twenty-twenty-two/" target="_blank">Twenty Twenty-Two</a> joining the party and over 30 theme blocks to build all parts of your site.
Here's a sneak peek video of 5.9:
<div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XvEG9XWD4JI" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></div>
 
<h2>commercetools Acquires Frontastic, adds composable frontend capabilities to headless commerce</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/11/commercetools_frontastic_featured.jpg" alt="Composite image of the commercetools and frontastic logos on a blended background" />
commercetools, a leading headless e-Commerce platform, recently <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/commercetools-acquires-frontastic-adds-composable-frontend-capabilities-to-headless-commerce/" target="_blank">announced</a> the acquisition of Frontastic, a composable frontend platform.
The purchase comes just a few months after commercetools announced a $140 million <a href="https://commercetools.com/press-releases/commercetools-secures-140m-series-c-funding-round-to-accelerate-global-growth" target="_blank">Series C funding round</a>. The company hopes it will broaden the reach of its game-changing commerce technology for creating differentiated user experiences.
"We've been partnering with the Frontastic team since the very beginning and see a huge market opportunity for their Composable Frontend Platform around the world," said Dirk Hoerig, CEO and Co-Founder of commercetools. "With this powerful combination, we're bringing the MACH (Microservices, API, Cloud, and Headless) movement to the mid-market as well as to digital business teams so that more companies can benefit from modern commerce experiences."
It's worth noting that commercetools was one of the earlier headless commerce platforms on the scene, helping to shape the modern standards for headless commerce. Their decoupled environment now enables a multitude of commerce capabilities across an ever-growing network of channels and endpoints. Like other platforms in the composable field, commercetools also embraces the <a href="https://machalliance.org/" target="_blank">MACH principles</a> – providing a truly open, modular environment that enables businesses to embrace innovation and respond to change quickly.

CMS Monthly Recap: MACH Alliance Announces New Members, GoDaddy Data Breach, commercetools Acquires Frontastic, and More

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