Articles - Page 98

Not All Heroes Wear Capes. Here's Why CMS Is Your 'Unsung Hero' in 2025

janus-boye

If you're a business owner or marketing professional that’s looking to tap into the online marketplace to supercharge the sales of your product or service, then it's essential that you have a <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/5-steps-towards-a-more-effective-landing-page/">compelling, well-crafted landing page</a>.
Of course, marketing companies realize this as well – that's why there are so many high-priced enterprise landing page building solutions on the market today.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ipad-605420_1280550x0-is.jpg" />
Although many of the enterprise landing page builders offer a myriad of extras, those additional features may be more than your business needs at its current stage of development. Fortunately, there are also some “no-frills” solutions available that give you the ability to create the sleek, professional landing page you want without costing you and your business an arm and a leg.
In fact, there are several free options available that can allow you to build landing pages that will compel your visitors to convert without putting a dent in your bottom line. Here are seven of the top free landing page builders out there today:
<h2>1. Wishpond</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/wishpond-logo-blue.png" />Simple, yet comprehensive – Wishpond’s free landing page builder makes it easy for just about anybody to build a stylish and effective landing page for their product or service while still packing more-than-expected extras.
It has a drag-and-drop editor, so you can put things exactly where you want them on your page. This allows you to easily create and design the look that you may already have in your head. From there, you can customize it in any number of fun ways – and you won’t need any sort of programming experience to do so.
Once you've got your page designed the way you like it, it's a snap to both integrate it with your website and additional marketing tools, as well as create a popup to capture leads. You can also use the software for email marketing and marketing automation, if you don't already have tools in place for those purposes.
The free plan allows one user to capture up to 200 leads. That's not a huge amount, but you can easily use this software to generate enough business to afford a paid builder. If you find, in time, that 200 leads isn’t enough, Wishpond offers tiered paid plans that allow for more leads, and provide such additional features as A/B testing, social promotions, and API access. If you want to know more about Wishpond, read <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/wishpond-review/">our in-depth review of the landing-page builder</a> or visit their <a href="https://www.wishpond.com/" target="_blank">official website</a>.
<h2>2. Landingi</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/landingi.jpg" />
Another landing page builder with a simple drag-and-drop editor, Landingi gives you all the tools that you need to create beautiful, responsive landing pages without requiring the assistance of a technical team. Once you've got your page up and running, you can easily tweak it on the go with this software.
Like Wishpond, Landingi offers marketing integration and automation options as well. You can generate an automatic reply to anyone who enters their contact info on your page, or you can easily integrate it with your existing CRM or email marketing solution.
You can create as many fields on your page as you wish, and the software helps you to easily organize and classify contacts based on the data received. Of course, if your creative design isn’t your thing, there are plenty of effective templates to choose from as well.
To use their free option, you can have one landing page with up to 100 unique visitors a month. This requires you to keep Landingi branding on your page, but it's fairly unobtrusive. If you like the software and are ready to upgrade, they offer paid options from $19-29 a month.
<a href="https://landingi.com/">Find out more about Landingi</a>.
<h2>3. LaunchRock</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/launch-rock.png" />
LaunchRock is a landing page builder service that actually specializes in start-ups, so it definitely places an emphasis on getting you up and running as quickly – and cheaply – as possible. Its responsive design is a block-based, What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) technology, so you can throw up a beautiful landing page within minutes of signing up.
Not only that, but all of its designs are mobile-optimized, so you don't have to worry about losing customers who are on their phones or tablets.
Beyond their attractive yet simple designs, they also offer lots of reporting and analytics options, as well as email marketing and automated response campaigns. Over 800k start-ups use LaunchRock to get their business off the ground, making it a great option for businesses of every size.
<a href="https://www.launchrock.com/">Find out more about LaunchRock</a>.
<h2>4. PromoJam</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/new-promojam-logo-_navy.jpg" /> 
PromoJam sets itself apart by targeting social media traffic. It works great with all the major outlets, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. If you get a lot of your traffic from social shares, then PromoJam definitely deserves a long look.
The landing page creator itself is pretty simple, but that doesn't mean it's not effective. Again, all of their templates are optimized for social media sites, so you can get great results from a page you put together in just a few minutes.
That's why many major corporations like RedBull use PromoJam for their campaigns. It's great for any business targeting a younger audience especially. While it is used by major corporations, you don’t need an enterprise-level budget for this software; besides their free option, you can also get started for as little as $29.99 a month.
<a href="https://www.promojam.com/">Find out more about PromoJam</a>.
<h2>5. IncomePress</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-1.png" />
There's no other way to say it: this landing page builder isn’t exactly going to win any beauty contests. It looks archaic, but looks can often be deceiving. While it isn’t exactly as intuitive or eye-appealing as the alternatives, IncomePress has a reputation of producing landing pages that get the job done.
IncomePress only offers a handful of templates to choose from, though that’s not necessarily a bad thing. When presented with the sea of options that other landing page generators offer, many people spend way too much time trying to find the “perfect” design, rather than just getting to work.
While the options may be limited, they have all been proven to be effective in the online space, so they should work well for just about any business. IncomePress also offers aWeber integration, so if that's your email provider of choice, you won't miss a beat when you use IncomePress.
Find out more about IncomePress.
<h2>6. Leadsius</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/leadsius.jpg" /> 
Leadsius is a company that emphasizes its goal in providing marketing automation services that satisfy needs of small and medium-sized businesses. While other providers offer free services as a “taste” to get you hooked, Leadsius seems to use their free option as a base upon which to build their premium service.
The basic package is completely free – you pay for the add-ons you need, as you need them. You can also build a database of up to 2500 contacts, which is massive for most free generators. This is great because if you have a database of more than 2500 leads, you should definitely be able to afford one of their paid options.
The free features they offer include the landing page builder, a web form creator, media repository, email creator, analytics, and more. You're limited to 1 user, so it's not a great option for enterprise-level businesses, but if you're handling most of your marketing yourself, this should be all you need and more.
While the landing page editor isn’t drag and drop at this moment, the company claims that one is in the works and will be available shortly. In the meantime, marketing professionals and business owners can use their HTML editor and templates to build a conversion-driven design. <a href="https://leadsius.com/landing-pages/">Find out more about Leadsius</a>.
<h2>7. Kickoff Labs</h2>
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/kick-off-labs.jpg" />
As its name indicates, Kickoff Labs is a landing page builder that is designed to get your online marketing efforts up and running before switching you to a paid account. They have a “forever free” option, which allows you to try the service for free, up to 1,000 unique views per month.
Once you get the hang of it and start seeing a return on your investment, you can start investing in their paid options. They have packages at $27, $48, and $104 a month, and the differences are largely based on how many visitors you can handle and how many sub-accounts you need. You could easily start for free and then climb your way up to the $104/mo business plan, paying for it with the increased revenue you'll generate from your marketing.
Beyond their landing page generator, they also offer an autoresponder service, analytics, and domain hosting.
<a href="https://kickofflabs.com/">Find out more about Kickoff Labs</a>.
<h2>Which Landing Page Builder is Right for You?</h2>
If you're just beginning to dip your toe into the waters of online marketing, then any of these options can help you to build an attractive and effective landing page to capture leads without breaking the bank.
Of course, as your business grows, you'll likely want to transition to a paid (and perhaps enterprise-ready) solution, but in any case, you should certainly test drive the above products before putting any money down. At the end of the day, whichever landing page creator is easiest for you to use – and gives you the best results – will be worth its weight in gold.
Which landing page builder do you prefer? Leave us a comment and let us know.

7 Landing Page Builders That Can Boost Sales

mike-johnston

<a target="_blank" href="https://wordpress.org/news/2015/10/wordpress-4-4-beta-1/">WordPress 4.4 Beta 1</a> has been released for users and developers to tinker with, and it comes with a December 8th release date, too.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/wordpress-logo-stacked-rgb_400x0_1.png" />Version 4.4 will bring about a new default theme, responsive images and a wider variety of embeds. Developers will also get some goodies, including REST API and Term Metadata.A little bit bare, then.<h2>Underwhelm-Press</h2>I'm aware that this is WordPress 4.4 and not WordPress 5, yet I still can't help but want more from this update.For those of you who are familiar with WordPress' default themes, you'll know that this newest one, Twenty Sixteen, is nothing to write home about. Just like almost all other default WordPress themes before it, it's painfully plain.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/00_twentysixteen-886x1024354x0-is.png" />Once again, I'm aware that the default theme should be as minimal and as simplistic as possible, but that doesn't explain away the lazy design. It's simply not attractive in any sense, and that's not really good enough for the most popular CMS in the world.Additional updates include WordPress delivering more appropriate images to users depending on a variety of conditions like screen size, viewport size, and screen resolution. Embeds have also been added to, with it now being easier to embed a wider range of media, including post previews from other WordPress websites.Again, hardly groundbreaking stuff.My criticism would be harsh on any other platform, but I have to demand more from WordPress here. I can't remember the last time I saw a “semi-major” update like this worth getting excited about. And for your average WordPress user, there's nothing WordPress 4.4 does to change that.I'm a WordPress fan (and for good reason), but recent updates, including this one, ooze complacency.To get your hands on WordPress 4.4 Beta for yourself, try the <a target="_blank" href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-beta-tester/">WordPress Beta Tester</a> plugin.More details for WordPress 4.4 <a target="_blank" href="https://wordpress.org/news/2015/10/wordpress-4-4-beta-1/">can be found here</a>. Meanwhile, <a href="/products/wordpress">our CMS Directory holds everything you need to know about the award-winning platform</a>.

WordPress 4.4 Beta: Bare Bones?

<a target="_blank" href="https://www.ecwid.com/">Ecwid</a>, the eCommerce platform with over 900,000 customers, has teamed up with Square, a Point of Sale (POS) software, to make selling easier for those who wish to do so from physical stores or stalls.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/ecwid.gif" /> The demand for POS systems is increasing throughout the eCommerce community.Many merchants are now aiming to reinvigorate their bricks-and-mortar stores, setting up pop-up shops, attending markets, and so forth. Each of those scenarios requires a POS system in order to run smoothly.<h2>Squaring Up To The Competition</h2>Although native POS systems aren't quite yet standard across the most popular eCommerce platforms, there have already been a few POS system unveilings from around the niche.Ecwid though, can still be classed as one of the first major eCommerce platforms to put their weight behind an integrated POS system.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-1921x0-is.png" /> This partnership between Ecwid and Square means that merchants can now:Expand beyond their physical locations and grow their business onlineAuto-create an online store with Square payments pre-installedEasily add their store to any site online, including their Facebook pageSynchronize and easily manage their product, inventory, and sales dataEssentially, Ecwid imports all products and catalogs from Square user's accounts, and gives its own users the flexibility to use Square's services if they so wish.Products, inventories and orders are all synchronized, too across the two platforms.Jim O’Hara, Ecwid's president, spoke of his company's excitement:<blockquote>“Ecwid is excited to team up with Square, the leader in POS and payments for small businesses. Together our multi-channel solution is helping small businesses grow more quickly and realize their dreams.Retailers need the flexibility to sell anywhere without the complexity of manually managing multiple sales channels. Now they never have to worry about online or offline commerce – just selling.”</blockquote>To learn more about this partnership, <a target="_blank" href="https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/5648-ecwid-and-square">check out Ecwid's website</a>.

Ecwid Adopts POS System With Square Partnership

The Drupal-focused digital experience company, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com">Acquia</a>, has announced the release of the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/products-services/acquia-content-hub">Acquia Content Hub</a>.The aim of Acquia Content Hub is to empower authors and websites rapidly create, search, distribute, and share content across a complex network of sites all from one single “hub”.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/acquia-logo-small.gif" />Acquia are attempting to respond to the contemporary content explosion seen across almost every industry. New channels are constantly emerging, and brands are finding it increasing tough to navigate and manage.Acquia claims that Content Hub will also help such organizations manage their content, as well as access, update, and replicate changes across a complex site networks, incompatible CMS platforms, and external channels.<h2>Repositories, Discovery Tools &amp; Automated Updates</h2><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-11133x0-is.png" />Content Hub gives authors and site owners a higher level of control over their dispersed content, with a comprehensive set of discovery, sharing and distribution tools. These include:<ul><li>A repository that aggregates and normalizes content and data from any external source — such as a news wire — or content management system</li><li>Powerful discovery tools, including content subscriptions and faceted search, to break down silos and enable site builders and editors to find relevant content from other sites, departmental archives or content management systems quickly</li><li>Automated updates from authors to content consumers — both internal and external audiences — in near real time, respecting local changes and workflow rules</li><li>An integration framework to access and publish content within existing workflows</li></ul>Acquia's Co-founder and CTO Dries Buytaert made these comments upon the announcement:<blockquote>“As digital teams race to deliver personalized customer experiences, they must first make sense of the chaos that has resulted from the explosion of content and sites. They need to be able to share, discover and collaborate unimpeded by disconnected legacy systems. Content Hub answers that challenge.”</blockquote>To learn more about Acquia Content hub, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.acquia.com/products-services/acquia-content-hub">check out the official website</a>.Also, make use of our CMS Directory to explore both <a href="/products/acquia">Acquia</a> and <a href="/products/drupal">Drupal</a>.

Acquia Unveils Content Hub

<a href="http://www.wix.com/" target="_blank">Wix</a> has partnered up with Macklemore &amp; Ryan Lewis to launch <a href="http://www.wix.com/music/home" target="_blank">WixMusic 2.0</a>, along with a YouTube campaign called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9HYfVuXDE4" target="_blank">#OpeningAct</a>.
WixMusic is a commission-free vertical solution that empowers artists to independently introduce, share, sell and distribute their content directly from their Wix website.
<img style="max-width:241px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/wix-musa-1.png" />
Wix was crowned the winner of the <a href="/the-winner-of-the-2014-peoples-choice-cms-award-for-best-website-builder/" target="_blank">People's Choice CMS Award for Best Website Builder 2014</a>, and is one of the most popular website builders on the market.
Recently, CMS Critic toured the Wix offices and got to see the <a href="/new-wix-editor-brings-simplified-code-free-web-design-to-the-masses/" target="_blank">brand new Wix Editor first hand</a>.
Here's a video overview of WixMusic.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OHpnPZehEaY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<h2>A One-Stop-Shop Solution</h2>
WixMusic 2.0 is a comprehensive product suite, not just a rehashed version of Wix. Here's what it serves up:
<ul>
<li>Commission-free sales of high-quality FLAC and MP3 320kbs digital music files directly from a Wix Website.</li>
<li>Distribution to over 120 of the biggest streaming services and online stores including iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, Deezer, Rdio and more.</li>
<li>Tour and show promotion and ticketing through seamless website integrations with BandsInTown or Songkick.</li>
<li>Fan management and communications through Wix ShoutOut for integrated email and social marketing, while maintaining full control over contacts and interactions.</li>
<li>Commission-free merchandise sales through Wix’s eCommerce solution.</li>
<li>Electronic press kit builder to create password-protected and customizable EPKs.</li>
<li>Analytics for sales, shares, downloads, and streams via the artist's Wix website and all relevant distribution platforms.</li>
<li>Tailored website templates specifically built for artists.</li>
</ul>
I did say it was comprehensive.
Avishai Avrahami, Wix.com’s Co-founder and CEO, sees this vertical solution as one which puts artists in the driving seat like no other platform on the market.
<blockquote>“Wix Music was designed to put the artists in control of their brand, their art, and their business. It is the perfect example of our commitment to providing our users with all of the tools they need to make their dreams a reality online.
Wix Music gives musicians an all-in-one technology solution for all aspects of their business from building a stunning website and engaging their fans to selling their music, all while keeping 100% of the profits from their art.”</blockquote>
Although the obvious target market here is musicians, I think it's important to point out that WixMusic could also appeal to a far wider audience.
Podcasters, poets, comedians, public speakers and all other audio-centric professionals could all benefit.
This isn't the first vertical solution from Wix, either. The platform has previously rolled out <a href="/wix-announces-freemium-booking-engine-wixhotels/" target="_blank">WixHotels</a>, a verticalized solution for (yes, you guessed it) the Hotel industry.
To learn more about WixMusic, <a href="http://www.wix.com/music/home" target="_blank">check out the official website</a>.
And as usual, be sure to swing by <a href="/products/wix/" target="_blank">Wix on our CMS Directory</a> to explore more of their award-winning platform.

WixMusic 2.0 Goes Live

I recently sat down with Sam Minnée, the CEO and Co-founder of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.silverstripe.org/">SilverStripe</a>, the New Zealand-based free and open source PHP CMS.We sipped on some Coffee at the Renaissance Hotel in Kings Cross, London, as we discussed StripeCon Europe and SilverStripe 4 in particular.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/hotel494x0-is.png" /><h2>StripeCon Europe 2015</h2>Our meeting preceded SilverStripe's European conference, which was also held in London on the 16th and 17th of October 2015.There, Sam Minnee and his team presented keynotes, discussed the state of eCommerce, SilverStripe as a platform, and gave clients the chance to share their experiences with the platform.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sammineestripecon614x0-is.jpg" /> Sam Minnée told me that they were expecting over 80 attendees, which was an improvement on the numbers from their last conference.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/stripecon2015-group-photo1023x0-is.jpg" /> More details and pictures from <a target="_blank" href="https://stripecon.eu/">StripeCon Europe can be found on the official website</a>.<h2>SilverStripe 4</h2>The discussion also covered the success of SilverStripe in the realm of government and local authorities. The 2008 US Democratic National Convention website (when Barack Obama was elected as a Presidential candidate) was powered by SilverStripe, while the New Zealand government make use of it before any other platform.Sam Minnée and I also discussed SilverStripe 4, a project which is currently being developed.I asked about some of the key components of SilverStripe 4, and the bubbly CEO gave me some insights:<blockquote>“Interoperability is a big focus for us. We want to make SilverStripe more easily interpreted with other applications.[We want to] focus more on being able to respond to changes quickly, rather than tryn to predict what's coming.[With SilverStripe 4, we want to] allow for more flexible authoring via intuitive interfaces for block-based designs, without locking [the user] into that. Instead, we want to say that this is just one of the tools you can use.”</blockquote>As for a release date, Sam Minnée was understandably coy:<blockquote>“The first Alpha release will be early next year [2016].”</blockquote>So, plenty of detail there for the 20,000-strong SilverStripe community to sink their teeth in to.I could sense the enthusiasm in Sam Minnée's voice when he spoke of his team's latest project, so I'm personally looking forward to the first Alpha rolling out, which hopefully, will be in just a few months.Explore more of <a href="/products/silverstripe">SilverStripe via our CMS Directory.</a>

A Chat With SilverStripe CEO Sam Minnée: StripeCon Europe & SilverStripe 4

The free PHP open source CMS, <a href="http://processwire.com/" target="_blank">ProcessWire</a>, has made some announcements to do with its latest project.
<img style="max-width:200px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/pwpw_200x0.png" /> 
ProcessWire 3.0 Alpha 1 is here, with promises of its own namespace, multi-instance support, and more. There have also been improvements made to the current version of ProcessWire, <a href="http://processwire.com/blog/posts/processwire-2.6.20-and-surprise-processwire-3.0-alpha-1/" target="_blank">via version 2.6.20</a>.
As far as a release date is concerned, the ProcessWire team has simply said that a stable release won't be available until spring 2016.
<h3>What's New with ProcessWire 3.0?</h3>
At this early stage, ProcessWire 3.0 is identical in functionality to the current dev branch (2.6.20).
However, it differs greatly on the code side:
<ul>
<li>ProcessWire 3.0 runs in its own PHP namespace. Previous versions of ProcessWire ran in the root namespace.</li>
<li>It supports the ability for modules to optionally use alternate namespaces. Modules that use dedicated namespaces also benefit from more autoloading options.</li>
<li>Multi-instance ProcessWire support is partially there already, though not quite ready for you to use just yet. What is multi-instance support? That means you can have one script that's issuing API calls to multiple installations of ProcessWire, different databases, and so forth.</li>
<li>ProcessWire have done a lot of code cleanup, getting rid of old-style API calls, deprecated methods and more.</li>
<li>Composer support is partially there and in progress.</li>
</ul>
According to ProcessWire, “the above [list] is how this version is different now, but of course there's a lot more on the way”.
As many readers will know, CMS Critic is currently powered by ProcessWire, and as a free and open-source project, we're always eager to see how it evolves at a platform.
More information on this Alpha release <a href="http://processwire.com/blog/posts/processwire-2.6.20-and-surprise-processwire-3.0-alpha-1/" target="_blank">can be found on the ProcessWire blog</a>. To download the first Alpha for ProcessWire 3.0, <a href="https://github.com/ryancramerdesign/ProcessWire/tree/devns" target="_blank">visit GitHub</a>.
And as always, be sure to check out <a href="/products/processwire/" target="_blank">ProcessWire through our CMS Directory</a>.

ProcessWire 3.0 Alpha 1 Released

Power your CMS on AWS

Manage your websites & apps in the most trusted cloud.

#ffffff

We've all been there.
You stumble across a new CMS, and your eye immediately fixates on the “Themes” button on the platform's homepage.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/heart-762564_1280548x0-is.jpg" />
Perhaps it's part of Human nature to want to see something visual before we digest any technical information, like the CMS' actual features and capabilities. I don't think there's anything unhealthy about that, in and of itself.
But what happens when you start falling in love with platforms simply because of their stunning library of themes?
<h2>Lust, Not Love</h2>
Often, we come across themes that match up the exact design we imagine inside our head.
We couldn't describe what we wanted before, not even if we really wanted to. But now, we can see it right in front of us, with beautiful stock imagery and demo content to boot. It's tantalizing, and we simply have to have it.
Similarly, it's common for well designed themes to give you brand new business ideas right there on the spot, even if you're already knee deep in your current project. That's the power of good design.
But in both of those scenarios, one has to understand that, at this stage at least, it's lust – not love.
You may be besotted by a particular theme, but you really must weigh up the pros and cons of the CMS you're now so tempted to sign up for, especially if signing up involves a fee of any kind.
<h2>Beauty is Skin Deep</h2>
A platform may have some dazzlers in its library, but how well does it handle media? Will you have to rely on several third-party plugins? What's the user interface like? You catch my drift.
The last thing you want to do is jump on board for nothing but a pretty theme, only to realize that the CMS itself lacks the functionality needed for your project.
I've seen this happen with Squarespace, for example.
Squarespace is an excellent website builder with epic themes and a strong set of features; but it's not a platform I'd recommend for large projects, like a regularly updated news blog.
Yet, its awesome template selection continues to attract customers, despite other platforms being far better suited to the project in question. Kudos to Squarespace for their eye for design, but I can't help but try to warn those approaching Squarespace with a complex website idea, hoping that it can handle it. Because it probably can't.
The result? Wasted time, wasted money, and another unneccessary hurdle between you and your project's launch.
Rather, you're far better off choosing a CMS that's technically prepared for your vision, rather than just visually prepared. Today, developers easily found on popular freelance job boards, and they'll be more than happy to design something custom for you for a price. But they can't improve your chosen CMS.
So, by all means, indulge yourself in the theme libraries, but don't forget to check out the rest of the platform before taking the plunge.

Theme Temptation: How to Avoid Falling for a CMS with Stunning Themes

It's easier than you might think to add eCommerce to your website. No matter the platform, you can quickly and easily add an online store within minutes and not only that, you can do it for free!
Recently, I had an opportunity to visit the offices of <a href="/ecwid1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Ecwid</a> (short for ecommerce widget) that makes this very functionality available for anyone to use. It's so incredibly easy that if you aren't using it, you are missing out. Not only does Ecwid let you sell things on your website easily (we're talking set up in 5 minutes or less) but you can even sell on Facebook with it.
Here's a quick video showing off the product:
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y1b7m3uzaOo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
The best part about Ecwid in my mind is that it's already integrated with a large number of systems such as WordPress, Drupal, Joomla and more. It's also fully responsive and integrates directly with your site. In the case of the plugins, it will even adopt the styling based on your theme. There's even a mobile app that lets you manage your store from your phone or tablet, making adding new products very easy to do.
You don't, however, have to just have an existing website to use Ecwid. You can also sign up on <a href="/ecwid1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">their website</a> and host your store there for a very low cost. When I did a comparison between Ecwid and some of the other big players in the eCommerce space like Shopify, for instance, the cost if significantly lower with Ecwid and you actually get more integrations. The average store can be created for free whereas other packages are priced between $15 and $99 (with this high end package, you get an enormous amount of functionality).
The $15 package that Ecwid offers quite literally should be more than enough for the average person looking for slightly more functionality than the free offering (although the free offering is also loaded with quite a few features you won't find free elsewhere).
Here's a look at a sample product page, keeping in mind of course this is from the demo, which you can try out on the Ecwid website.
 
When it comes to payment processors, you can use any of their over 30 different ones they support which is pretty extensive. Further to this, shipping options include an automatic shipping calculator for UPS, Fedex and other shipping partners and a huge list of other features which you can read about on their website.
Just to clarify, this isn't a sponsored post. I'm a huge fan of Ecwid and think they are doing amazing things and wanted to share. Making eCommerce easy is something that alot of companies want to do but I think Ecwid is definitely leading the charge here. The capabilities of this product are quite extensive and being able to not have to worry about changing your CMS in order to accommodate a store (or being forced to move to an ecommerce platform) is a huge bonus.
If you are in the market and considering adding an online store to your site, you definitely need to <a href="/ecwid1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">check out Ecwid</a>.

Add an Online Store to your Site in Minutes

<a href="https://www.shopify.com/" target="_blank">Shopify</a> merchants in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago can now offer their local customers same-day delivery, thanks to Uber.
<img style="max-width:256px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/2010_6_23_shopify-green_256x256-1.jpg" /> 
The eCommerce and transportation giants have teamed up, with Uber (or UberRUSH) reinventing itself as a courier service to carry out its end of the deal.
Shopify has been extremely busy as of late. They have slowly but surely rolled out social media selling across <a href="/buyable-pins-shopify-teams-up-with-pinterest/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>, <a href="/shopify-rolls-out-shop-section-on-facebook-pages/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="/shopify-brings-ecommerce-to-twitter/" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, and have also made <a href="/shopify-shipping-launched-us-shipping-now-faster-cheaper/" target="_blank">shipping cheaper for North American merchants</a>.
<h2>UberRUSH: Same-day, Hand-delivered</h2>
Here's how it all works.
When a customer requests same-day delivery, Shopify merchants in the three cities listed above can simply pack the order before scheduling an UberRUSH pickup from the order’s fulfillment screen. An UberRUSH courier will then arrive “within minutes” to pick the order up, and hand-deliver it anywhere in the city.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/uberrush_tracking_page-5_1673x0-is.png" /> 
Just like with a normal Uber car, both the vendor and the customer can track the location of the item in real-time as it makes its Uber-powered journey.
For now, only selected Shopify merchants based in the three chosen cities will have the chance to set up UberRUSH, which is supposed to take no more than a minute.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/uberrush_homecard_v03.png" /> 
Suffice it to say, this is pretty awesome. Uber has its critics, sure, but Shopify has taken this opportunity to change the face of local delivery forever. Potentially, anyway.
However, there's no word yet on how much UberRUSH will cost. It will be interesting to see how pricing is set out, and whether many customers will feel that the added cost is worth the immediate dispatch.
To learn more about Shopify's union with UberRUSH, <a href="https://www.shopify.com/blog/57839493-shopify-and-uber-reinvent-local-shipping?utm_source=shopify-blog&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=shopify-daily-blog&amp;mc_cid=de69813548&amp;mc_eid=92b452624a" target="_blank">check out their official announcement</a>.
Plus, you can explore more of <a href="/products/shopify/" target="_blank">Shopify via our CMS Directory</a>.

Shopify & Uber Team Up For Same-Day Deliveries

In an industry filled with platforms constantly trying to re-invent the wheel, I'm a big fan of website builders that do things differently.
<a href="https://picnic.sh/" target="_blank">Picnic</a> is one such platform, which I happened to stumble upon. It boasts an abnormally plain approach to website building, and that made me want to explore it further.
<a href="https://picnic.sh/" target="_blank"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/sshot-10.png" /></a>
Launched in April 2015, Picnic is designed to make one page website building quick and easy. Well, easy for those who don't mind getting down and dirty with some HTML, anyway.
You simply choose a domain name, enter your code or text, and then enter you payment details.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/picnic478x0-is.jpg" />
Websites can be edited whenever, and moved away to a different web host at no additional cost. Plus, Picnic also has <a href="https://picnic.sh/api" target="_blank">an API</a>.
“Templates” are served up too, although they are nothing to write home about. There are templates for redirects, images, videos and so forth. Nothing fancy, which is a bit of a shame.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/picnic2712x0-is.jpg" />
The price though, is impressive.
It takes just $17.99 to purchase a domain, set up your website, and have it hosted for a whole year. That's a pretty sweet deal, especially since Picnic has the site live and ready to visit in around five minutes.
<h2>But Who Would Use Picnic?</h2>
The average website builder tries its best to remove the user from coding as much as possible, whereas Picnic drops the user right into it.
So, I'm not about to start recommending Picnic to novices looking for a simple yet sleek startup site. Nor can I see much benefit for small-to-medium sized businesses. Many other website builders on the market (most of which offer far more functionality) already have those two areas of the market well and truly covered, anyway.
I think the web development community would be the most interested party by far. Those looking to code simple resume websites, landing pages for startup projects and so forth, could easily benefit.
For me, Picnic is for people who like website builders, but miss coding.
The only thing missing seems to be a premium-looking template or two. Then again, perhaps the lack of those shiny looking pre-made themes is precisely what sets Picnic apart from the crowd.
But in any case, Picnic is young, in beta, and has some potential. I'll be keeping tabs.
<a href="https://picnic.sh/" target="_blank">Find out more about Picnic</a>.
What are your thoughts on Picnic? Let us know in the comments below.

Picnic: Abnormally Simple One Page Websites

3dcart, the popular eCommerce platform, has unveiled a Point of Sale App that is compatible with the Apple iPad. With it, merchants using 3dcart for their online stores can now present their products and process sales from their physical outlets, pop-up stalls, and while on the move. Here's a video explaining how it all works.<figure class="media"><div data-oembed-url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPUE-Xo3NYA"><div style="position:relative;padding-bottom:100%;height:0;padding-bottom:56.2493%"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZPUE-Xo3NYA" style="position:absolute;width:100%;height:100%;top:0;left:0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe></div></div></figure><h2>A Fully Integrated Retail System</h2>3dcart users can make use of the POS App as an additional arm of their retail business.The cloud-based app synchronises all sales and activity for online and offline sales, keeping everything under one roof for easier management.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/grow-and-expand511x0-is.png" />Features include:<ul><li>Presenting products and catalogs to customers via the iPad</li><li>Accepting card, cash and cheque payments</li><li>Processing refunds</li><li>Sending email receipts</li><li>Discount code generation and application</li></ul>3dCart provides the hardware in the form of a card reader, and other optionals like a barcode scanner, a register drawer and/or a printer.Not many of the world's leading eCommerce platforms offer a native Point of Sale app, so this is definitely a noteworthy win for 3dcart and its users. There's no word on how much the extra hardware costs, although I'm guessing it won't be cheap.3dcart's website <a target="_blank" href="https://www.shift4shop.com/">also sheds more light on their new app</a>.

A Look at 3dcart's New POS App

The final release of Drupal 8 is drawing closer, as the first release candidate becomes available for users to tinker with.
<a href="http://www.drupal.org/" target="_blank">Drupal</a> is a widely popular open source platform, used and maintained by a community that's nearly 700,000 strong. During the 2014 CMS Awards, Drupal was named the <a href="https://www.cmscritic.com/cms-critic-awards/">People's Choice Best Enterprise PHP CMS</a>.
<img style="max-width:400px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/drupal_logo-blue-1_400x0.png" /> 
There's no sign of a release date yet, though. Drupal have simply said that they will continue releasing release candidates twice a month until they are confident in the project's stability.
That's a fair stance to take, although I'm sure Drupal users are growing impatient. After all, <a href="https://www.drupal.org/core/dev-cycle" target="_blank">Drupal 8 has been in development since 2011</a>, with the <a href="/drupal-8.0.0-first-beta-released/" target="_blank">first beta releasing over a year ago</a>.
<h2>WYSIWYG Editing, Improved Mobile Support &amp; More</h2>
Drupal 8 is going to bring web development closer to the average web user, thanks to a revamped user interface that boasts WYSIWYG and in-place editing.
“Significantly improved mobile support” is also on the cards, along with added and improved modules including Views, Date, and more. I suppose that means an easier ride for those making edits on smartphones and tablets.
Further enhancements include:
<ul>
<li>New object-oriented backend leveraging <a href="https://symfony.com/">Symfony</a> components</li>
<li>revamped configuration management</li>
<li>improved multilingual support</li>
</ul>
Plus hundreds of other improvements, <a href="https://www.drupal.org/drupal-8.0">many of which are detailed here</a>.
<h2>Ready for Action</h2>
According to the Drupal team, Drupal 8 in its current form is highly functional straight out of the box, and boasts many of the top Drupal 7 modules. They're confident that, for most standard website projects, Drupal 8 has everything needed built into its core already.
It'll be interesting to see how the final stages of Drupal 8 pan out. According to Drupal, there are no known issues with this latest version – as far as they know.
So, let's hope nobody finds anything major, enabling Drupal to get this show on the road for real, sooner rather than later.
The official announcement for this release candidate <a href="https://www.drupal.org/drupal-8.0.0-rc1" target="_blank">can be found here</a>. Also, be sure to check out <a href="/products/drupal/" target="_blank">Drupal via our CMS directory</a>.

First Release Candidate For Drupal 8 Now Available

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