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BrowserStack Review: Make Your Website and App Testing Simple and Scalable

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“To code, or not to code, that is the question…”Indeed. And Shakespeare would have loved the drama that followed. This fiery debate around code versus no-code web design has led to some pretty heated arguments. Here’s a snarky Tweet from Jeffery Zeldman, a heavyweight design influencer, from way back in 2009:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/jeffrey-zeldman-tweet-1024x404.png" />And another scathing transmission from Elliot Jay Stocks:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/elliott-jay-stocks-tweet-1024x457.png" />That one poked one too many bears, spurring Stocks to pen a looong blog post explaining his opinion. If you’re curious, you can read it <a target="_blank" href="https://elliotjaystocks.com/blog/web-designers-who-cant-code/">here</a> – but the gist of it is this: to understand design, you need to understand the medium. That makes a lot of sense, but it doesn’t negate the fact that many great web designers barely touch code.Even at the tail end of 2020, this philosophical disagreement continues. But as UI continues to abstract the complexities of code (think simple consoles in front of command line interfaces) the battle between coders and designers – and what constitutes a “web designer” – has grown a little less contentious. Or has it?<h3>A Brief History of Web Designers</h3>Before the dawn of the modern web, software interfaces were stark and cumbersome, lacking the visual elegance and intuitiveness that came later. Engineers ran the show, and front-end experience was often an afterthought.Print and visual designers helped mend the fence, bringing the tenants of their trade from pages to screens – evolving the medium to what might be called “high art.” Developers learned to value UI design, adapting to the principles of the process. Many designers also learned HTML to gain greater control over the experience.Coders learned design. Designers learned to code. And all was right in the universe.Well, not really…With traditional designers wanting to (you guessed it) focus on design, applications began to answer the call. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.adobe.com/products/dreamweaver.html">Dreamweaver</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_FrontPage">Frontpage</a> started as clunky editors with development tools and preview capabilities, but eventually became drag-and-drop builders. And as code started disappearing, designers started relying more on pre-built templates and off-the-shelf libraries.Fast-forward to 2020, and ultra-slim SaaS platforms like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.squarespace.com/">Squarespace</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wix.com/">Wix</a> can turn almost anyone into a “web designer.” The problem: they lack the ability to truly customize with code. And the code they produce is always messy – resulting in slow, low-ranking websites that aren’t always responsive.But what if you could have the best of all worlds: a sleek, drag-and-drop website builder that’s perfect for no-code designers, but a platform that still gives developers access to code, so they can customize at will?In this review, we’ll take a look at Webflow: a platform that claims to do just that – and more.<h3>Enter Webflow</h3>Webflow has become one of the most popular website builders on the market. It provides a drag-and-drop user experience that puts out clean code, creates responsive websites that work well on every device, and doesn’t take a side in the design versus code debate. In essence, it caters to everyone that considers themselves a “web designer” and bridges the design/code chasm.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-interface.png" />What makes Webflow unique is that it’s a hybrid of a cutting-edge website builder and a sleek content management system (CMS). It brings together a complete site designer, e-Commerce solutions, and even hosting – all with the ability to choose what you need, and customize with code at almost every turn.Let’s explore some of the noteworthy features of Webflow.<h3>Webflow Designer</h3><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-designer.jpg" /><img />As Webflow’s flagship product, Designer is where you create websites and visually manipulate HTML, CSS, and other interactions. When you create any elements in Webflow, the code is automatically generated behind the UI.On the left side, there’s the Elements panel where you create elements, the pages panel where you can organize and manage page settings, the Webflow CMS for accessing your collections and dynamic content, and the asset manager where you can upload and organize your stuff. At the bottom of the toolbar, you have more granular controls for working with elements – as well as links to video lessons, help, and keyboard shortcuts.In the middle, there’s the “canvas” where you can interact with your page in real-time. You can select elements, move them at will, and edit the content right on the page.<img /><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-ui-editor.png" />Now, we’ve already mentioned Webflow’s capacity to produce clean code – and it’s true. The platform adheres to modern web conventions, using real HTML elements like divs. When you create a navigation bar, for example, you don’t draw a rectangle; you select a div element and then adjust its height, width, and other properties.Like some other web builders, Webflow uses a box model. All elements are boxes, and they naturally sit next to each other or stack on top of one other depending on their properties. Like Photoshop, Webflow allows you to position boxes anywhere on a given layout while providing responsive actions with clean, production-ready code.At any time, you can export your code or publish your changes instantly without having to worry about FTP or file versions. One immensely useful feature is the preview, which allows you to see and interact with your project as if it was already published.Finally, on the right, there’s the style panel, which is very similar to Photoshop (in fact, it looks eerily close). Here, you can access granular control over your elements. If the left panel is where you organize the structure of your pages with HTML, the right panel is where you control CSS for styling your elements.You can also create custom interactions with the Javascript control panel. Webflow's animation tools bring all the power of CSS and JavaScript into a completely visual tool, empowering designers to build complex, rich animations. You can easily create scroll-based parallax animations, progress bars, or whatever else you dream up – all without touching code.<h3>Webflow CMS</h3><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-cms.png" />Most websites rely on some kind of a CMS. Webflow takes their design capabilities a step further by integrating a rock-solid CMS into their platform. This enables web designers to build and dynamically manage their websites in one place.With Webflow CMS, you can create the content structures you need, add content (by hand, from a CSV, or via Webflow API), and then design it all visually. This makes the Webflow CMS work for editors, designers, and developers alike. In many ways, they’ve simplified the experience of other all-in-one platforms, even the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/gutenberg-2-years-later-is-wordpress-better-off/">WordPress Gutenberg</a> editor.Webflow CMS also allows you to create custom content types with their “CMS Collections.” For example, you can have a collection of blog posts, authors, clients, projects, and so on. For eCommerce projects, that can include products and categories.<h3>Webflow eCommerce</h3><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-ecommerce-scaled.jpg" />The latest addition to the Webflow’s feature set is their eCommerce suite, putting them squarely in the ring with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/shopify-review-ecommerce-only-simpler/">Shopify</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/10-reasons-why-woocommerce-is-perfect-for-ecommerce-startups/">WooCommerce</a>. The strength of Webflow’s eCommerce is that you can fully customize the online shopping experience without being constrained by built-in templates. You can customize everything from product pages to shopping carts to checkout.eCommerce also comes with its own set of pricing plans, which we’ve outlined later in this article.<h3>Webflow Hosting</h3><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-hosting.png" />We all know that hosting can be a hassle. You have to find the right platform that works with your website and CMS, then deal with endless technical considerations such as domain setup, FTP, cPanel... the list goes on.Webflow makes it easy by hosting directly through their platform. It’s all powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Fastly – a content delivery network (CDN) that accelerates the performance, security, and redundancy of your website. You get fast-loading pages and you never have to pull your hair out updating PHP on your server.Webflow’s hosting also comes with these features:<ul><li>Backups and versioning: Preview and restore your site from ongoing, automatic backups, or create save points to mark progress and track changes.</li><li>Password protection: Gate individual pages or your entire website to protect in-progress work or restrict access.</li><li>Custom forms: Create unique forms to collect data from customers and connect them with marketing automation platforms as needed.</li><li>SEO management: Keep your SEO in check with 301 redirects and a customizable XML sitemap.</li><li>Integrations: Easily add Google Analytics, Google Optimize, and other marketing tools by dropping custom code snippets in your site template.</li><li>Site search: Create a custom search engine for your site with full control over the look and feel of your search results page.</li><li>Zero maintenance: No updates to run or packages to install. Just publish your site and Webflow will take care of the rest.</li></ul><h3>Pricing</h3>So far, Webflow offers a lot of value as a website builder, CMS, eCommerce, and hosting platform for almost any kind of web designer. But from a pricing perspective, things can get a little tricky.There are basically two types of plans on Webflow: Account Plans, which allow you to design and publish websites using a Webflow domain (like “yourwebsite.webflow.io “) – and Site Plans, which let you connect a custom domain.Sure, you can build a killer website with just an Account Plan. But if you want to publish a website on your own domain, you’ll need a Site plan for every website – and that requires hosting as well. Each tier places a cap on the number of pages you can build and form submissions you can receive – unless you go full enterprise, where everything’s included.Account PlansFor all intents and purposes, everyone starts out with an Account Plan. But now, there are two types of Account Plans to choose from.Individual plans are great for solo designers like freelancers and gig workers. You can start for free and upgrade for additional features.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-account-plans-individual-plans.png" />Team plans are designed for orgs that want to work collaboratively.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-account-plans-team-plans.png" />All account plans include:<ul><li>Unlimited hosted projects: With Webflow, your hosted projects don’t count against your plan limits, so you can build as many websites as you want.</li><li>Client billing: Charge your client for your bill instead of paying out of pocket – or charge any amount and make a profit.</li><li>Interactions &amp; animations: Create custom interactions and animations to make your site stand out, all without coding Javascript.</li><li>100+ responsive templates: Don’t want to start from scratch? Select from hundreds of pre-built templates.</li><li>3D transformations: Change positioning, add skews, and rotate objects in 3D space.</li><li>Global swatches: Define key colors as variables, so every instance of that color updates whenever you change it.</li><li>Custom fonts: Upload your own fonts or add free Google Fonts.</li><li>Flexbox: Build flexible, responsive layouts with the power of flexbox in a visual interface.</li><li>Reusable symbols: Turn any recurring element into a reusable symbol that you can update across your site in one edit.</li></ul><h3>Site Plans</h3>With site plans, you can choose from the standard package for personal, blog, and business websites, or the eCommerce plan that enables advanced shopping cart capabilities.Here’s a rundown of what Webflow Site Plans offer:<ul><li>Basic – At $12/month, it’s a solid solution for simple websites that don’t require a CMS. You also get CDN availability, 500 form submissions, free SSL certificate connection, domain connection, and more.</li><li>CMS – For $16/month, you can uplevel your blogs and other content-driven projects with the Webflow CMS. Includes 2000 CMS items, site search, 1000 form submissions, limited CMS API, and up to 3 content editors.</li><li>Business – Coming in at $36/month, this is a great pick for high traffic marketing projects or full-featured blogs. Includes unlimited form submissions, full CMS API, advanced global CDN, up to 10 content editors and more.</li></ul><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-site-plans.png" />All Site Plans include:<ul><li>Backups &amp; versioning: Automatically save and create restore points – so you never lose your work.</li><li>Password protection: As noted before, you can gate your whole site or individual pages.</li><li>Advanced SEO controls: Generate automatic sitemaps and customizable 301 redirects for complete SEO control.</li><li>Fast page loads: Accelerate your performance with Webflow’s Tier 1 Content Delivery Network solutions.</li><li>SSL and security: Get 24/7 hosting, monitoring, and SSL certificates to keep your site secure.</li><li>Immediate scaling: Webflow provides scaling and bursting regardless of how many concurrent users you have on your website.</li></ul>As we said earlier, Webflow’s eCommerce are add-ons to their Site Plans:<ul><li>Standard – At $29/month, this is a perfect starting place for new businesses. You get all the features of the CMS plan plus custom checkout and shopping cart, email customization, a 2% transaction fee, integrated CMS for blogs, and more.</li><li>Plus – For $74, Plus provides a solid solution for higher volume businesses that need more features and capacity. Includes everything in the Business plan plus unbranded emails, 10 staff accounts, and zero transaction fee.</li><li>Advanced – If you’re serious about eCommerce, then $212/month will get you all of the most advanced features on top of the Business plan. Also includes 15 staff accounts, unlimited yearly sales volumes, and more.</li></ul><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/webflow-ecommerce-plans.png" />Finally, if you want to go full Enterprise, Webflow has some custom options that require a phone call. That can include specialized dashboards, enterprise-grade scalability and support, and more.If you’re ready to kick the tires, you can <a target="_blank" href="https://webflow.com/dashboard/signup">sign up for a free version</a> without giving your credit card – and Webflow will let you build 2 projects (meaning 2 websites) for free. These unhosted projects will have a two-page limit, but you can purchase a site plan on a per-project basis to unlock up to 100 static pages and additional CMS pages.<h3>Conclusion</h3>Whether you prefer drag-and-drop over code or vice versa, web designers of any kind can get a lot out of Webflow. It’s a really impressive platform – and does more to unite the ideals of pure web design with coding than ever before. It also manages to bring the power of CMS, eCommerce, and hosting into a single, integrated platform. That simplifies things for a lot of users but might prove too monolithic for others who want to build a custom stack.Webflow offers almost everything you need to launch beautiful, responsive, fast, and secure websites. The only downside is its steep learning curve. In a sense, it almost has its own proprietary or tribal knowledge for cracking the usability. It’s not as simplistic as say Squarespace, and it can take a while for the unindoctrinated user to fully understand.  Thankfully, they do offer a lot of tutorials – another aspect of their product that reminded us of Adobe.If you’re a developer, some users have found Webflow to be a bit confusing – but it still manages to provide a solid platform for building custom apps. With a JSON API for the CMS, it also delivers the hub for connecting and integrating with external data sources.Maybe the loudest complaint across the feedback channels is with pricing. Many users find it too difficult to understand, and more than few suggest that it’s on the expensive side. All things being equal, Webflow provides a lot of flexibility and choice for any web designer (whatever that means) to find the right plan – and start building.<h3>About Webflow</h3><a target="_blank" href="https://webflow.com/">Webflow</a> is a web design tool, CMS, and hosting platform in one. Webflow allows users to design, build, and launch responsive websites visually, while writing clean, semantic code.

Webflow Review: Hybrid Website Builder and CMS Bridges the Design/Code Chasm

It’s impossible to deny Wix.
Just ask supermodel Karlie Kloss, the star of their <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4meDcOLeWSs">2019 Super Bowl ad</a> – and founder of a <a href="https://www.kodewithklossy.com/">code camp for young women</a>.
In 30 seconds, she shared her personal Wix website with millions of viewers, highlighting features like the Wix Pro Gallery and SEO Wiz (both catchy names for an event that involves a lot of catching). 
Needless to say, it was a touchdown.
Kloss isn’t the first celebrity to promote Wix as the world’s premier website building and content management platform. A quick YouTube search will bring up the likes of Jason Statham and Gal Gadot in a 2017 Big Game spot. And it’s no surprise they can foot the bill for these heavy hitters and massive media buys: at last count, Wix is host to 160 million websites.
That’s worthy of a Super Bowl ring. Or five.
Wix has certainly established itself as the go-to solution for small, do-it-yourself entrepreneurs (think local florist or photography studio), competing with other “pre-fab” solutions like <a href="/squarespace-7-review/">Squarespace</a> and <a href="/weebly-review-2016/">Weebly</a>.
Like these platforms, Wix has always lead with simplicity. Basic templates and attractive themes allow for mobile responsiveness and limited control over images, color, content, and other dimensions. You can easily add features like photo galleries or browse the Wix App Market for some nifty integrations. It’s also one of the only platforms that allow you to animate elements and offers an AI-driven design bot that (sort of) assists with simple tasks.
When it comes to offering more advanced designers the freedom to explore and customize – while still delivering a low-code experience – Wix has generally fumbled the ball. But the game might be changing with Editor X.
<h3 id="introducing-editor-x">Introducing Editor X</h3>
Previously available as a closed beta program, Wix recently launched its new Editor X, specifically built for web designers and digital agencies that are seeking to push the aesthetic limits without the hassle of coding from scratch. Much of the emphasis has been on adopting drag-and-drop feature sets, which has been the main focus of many CMS platforms – the most popular being <a href="/gutenberg-2-years-later-is-wordpress-better-off/">Gutenberg</a>.
Wix has now entered the competitive field with Editor X, combining advanced drag-and-drop capabilities with cutting edge responsive design, flexible grids with full breakpoint control, and advanced CSS editing and control (in fact, you don’t even need to know CSS). For designers who are seeking to create more bespoke, hand-crafted experiences, Editor X could be a win.
“Gifted and talented creators have the ability to see the invisible and create the unimaginable,” said Wix Co-founder and CEO, Avishai Abrahami. “Until now these creators’ only option was platforms with restricted design freedoms or limited business web infrastructure that demanded code and multiple plugins. With Editor X, we’ve built the world’s best CSS editor and designed a radical new creative landscape for designers and web professionals, one in which the technology keeps pace with designers’ visions and enables them to swiftly create breathtaking websites, applications and digital experiences that continually raise the standard of the web.”
Here's a short video introduction to Editor X:
<figure class="kg-card kg-embed-card kg-card-hascaption"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bpEHKYd51cY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe><figcaption>Introducing Editor X</figcaption></figure>
<h3 id="what-features-come-with-editor-x">What Features Come with Editor X?</h3>
<a href="https://www.editorx.com/">Editor X</a> is made with designers and agencies in mind. It offers advanced layout capabilities that allow you to create more complex website designs for any device – all without using code.
While that’s the main selling point of Editor X, it actually comes with a number of additional features and capabilities for development, business solutions, digital marketing, and SEO.
Main Features
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/HVzjSdXdJCfiAg_T3SxrcCqzypCRDEhp2tyjBcSsc9noz5agWsbPDz5Jx8FF9TM1NZdXVsjScpkEqT0kGvdA5uavmE79DPZWq34zUt8xXy-RAd2MAG142nDy-xCZGKxv_qdnwBMwZA8GNJUPng" alt="A picture containing electronics, table, monitor, deskDescription automatically generated" /><figcaption>Editor X Responsive Views</figcaption></figure>
Editor X manages to solve some of the biggest challenges facing modern designers and web professionals – from custom code to no code. The core <a href="https://www.editorx.com/features">features</a> include:
<ul>
<li>Breakpoint Precision: Create custom breakpoints, rearrange layouts, choose what to show or hide, and fine tune sites at every viewport.</li>
<li>CSS Grid: Design with CSS – without even thinking about CSS! Editor X brings a truly accessible, easy-to-use gateway to CSS.</li>
<li>Flexbox Technology: Let your content automatically adjust to every screen in single, multiple, and repeating layouts.</li>
<li>Custom Code: Integrate custom code and connect to internal/external APIs.</li>
<li>Integrated Business Infrastructure: Access Wix’s expansive range of business solutions to manage multiple sales channels, set up online bookings and scheduling, improve SEO performance, and more.</li>
</ul>
Design &amp; Layout
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/2F6sAkhXXmMn6_jYC4rKjBcvMrQfnsK-lqI1ACjWUfHJL-aKce6TkUJ-tfyqBaSf4RcVQ_v5grWu8mHz_YnusRc_VjLQ0V_BJhbVQU7vjQu36VQ0GZ3Od_aY9ya29C-dnFy3DWliYPFzrbGzow" alt="A screen shot of a computerDescription automatically generated" /><figcaption>Editor X Aligning Elements</figcaption></figure>
Editor X was built to expand the Wix design potential. It offers granular layout capabilities that allow you to create complex website designs for any device, all without using code. Some of the coolest design features include:
<ul>
<li>Grid Layouting: An advanced two-dimensional layout system based on CSS grid.</li>
<li>Docking: Anchors elements to a specific position as the viewport changes.</li>
<li>Stack &amp; scale: Reorient media for seamless responsive behavior.</li>
<li>Text scale: Create scalable font sizes as part of a design solution.</li>
<li>Flex Layouter: A smart layout system that relies on Flexbox technology for automatic reorganization of content while resizing.</li>
<li>Custom Breakpoints: Tailor designs to any viewport, not just classic devices.</li>
<li>Flexible canvas: Leverage resizing handles to instantly see and customize your design across viewports.</li>
<li>Advanced sizing control: Define your element as fixed or fluid, using wide support for modern CSS units.</li>
<li>Wix Design System: Features sections with built-in responsive behavior matched to the color palette of your site.</li>
</ul>
Development
Editor X also provides plenty of tools for developers who want to add custom code and build data rich websites. Some of these features include:
<ul>
<li>Dynamic Pages: Design one-page layouts or create unlimited pages – each with their own content, URL and SEO.</li>
<li>Database APIs: Use data APIs in your website’s front-end or backend code to manage and organize data.</li>
<li>Built-in IDE: Make coding more productive using the built-in IDE, equipped with syntax highlighting, code completion and more.</li>
<li>Custom Interactions: Create unique user interactions by triggering events when visitors perform specific actions.</li>
</ul>
Business Solutions
Running an online business always requires a few third-party applications. With Editor X and the Wix platform, you can have all of it in one place. Add an eCommerce store and accept payments, or a member section where customers can sign in and manage their personal accounts. You can also offer live chat, set up automations to collect leads, and <a href="https://www.editorx.com/features/business-ecommerce">so much more</a>.
The Wix App Market offers a wide range of integrations like form generators, social plugins, marketing tools and more. But builder beware: like open source marketplaces, many of the apps are made by third parties – and aren’t guaranteed by Wix.
Web Solutions
On Wix, every website you build is completely hosted – and includes an SSL certificate (which is being deprecated and replaced by TLS). Wix provides automatic updates, so your websites stay secure without any hassles or concerns over managing your own security requirements.
You can also search, purchase, and register domains directly through Editor X.
Marketing &amp; SEO
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/19u-wog6LhGCOi3lLpgMVChee4T3Kcx2xuCEK1NLbBzoDAUZrbNpoGNFI0jlt6xL1zv5LZM0ne1hPlxoBP-KpJVvx6a8ajhu_nkAP0MLsJvuDrAKl4XPe3FVk7Ba8lwxR5lpklq4BxR3ZZiCdA" alt="A screen shot of a clockDescription automatically generated" /><figcaption>Editor X SEO Settings</figcaption></figure>
In addition to providing basic SEO tools such as XML site maps, structured data, canonical URLs and 301 redirects, Editor X offers custom SEO plans and email marketing. Every website comes with a tailor-made SEO package that helps ensure your websites rank decently on Google. You can also drive traffic with professional email marketing campaigns, and review how visitors interact with your client sites by tracking visits through their built-in analytics tools.
<h3 id="performance">Performance</h3>
So far, Editor X looks a bit like “Weapon X.” It’s got everything that’s been missing from Wix and gives designers and agencies a more customizable platform to build on. Why choose anything else?
One word: performance.
When testing the <a href="https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.editorx.com%2F">page speed</a> of <a href="https://www.editorx.com/">editorx.com</a>, the score is staggering 34 out of 100 – almost exactly the same as the Rotten Tomatoes score for “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” That’s not good.
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/nsje8VvBnPAjtAcOsfn-F19_BGM9JgOsUeJs4MOxkeNski7caip-zddZcI1bb1brGYdJlwChaywa25b1oTQ69St5e7LN_nL6mZAAK-4QP79S128N8e4orDa6JNhvT62ri_R6IX7iO4w1IAK4qg" alt="Editor-X Page Speed Screenshot" /><figcaption>https://www.editorx.com's Google Page Insights Score</figcaption></figure>
This is not a problem unique to Editor X, of course. All website builders since Dreamweaver have been plagued by the code bloat problem. In case you’re not familiar, code bloat is unnecessarily long or wasteful code that slows down websites. A lot.
When Squarespace pioneered code-free website building and attracted millions with its style and aesthetics, it seemed like everyone could build websites with no working knowledge of HTML and CSS. Over time, as it became more complex and conflated, the entire platform evolved into a page-loading nightmare.
If performance really matters, you might want to think twice about Editor X. 
<h3 id="conclusion">Conclusion </h3>
Editor X was conceived with designers in mind. And it tends to deliver with a richer, more complete set of tools and greater domain over the design experience. Even a small business or solopreneur that craves more control could get a lot of value out of Editor X. The problem lies with performance: if page speed and loads times are critical – and you have a larger, more expansive website – you might want an enterprise-worthy solution that can handle the demands of a content team.
Ready to try it out? Click <a href="https://users.editorx.com/signin?sendEmail=true&amp;view=sign-up&amp;originUrl=https:%2F%2Fwww.editorx.com&amp;loginCompName=Signup_H&amp;referralInfo=Editorx_Signup_H&amp;postLogin=https:%2F%2Fmanage.editorx.com%2Faccount%2Fsites&amp;overrideLocale=en&amp;forceRender=true">here</a>. 
<h3 id="about-editor-x">About Editor-X</h3>
<a href="https://www.editorx.com/">Editor X</a> is an advanced creation platform for designers and web professionals. The platform combines cutting edge responsive design with smooth drag and drop. Those that want to can add custom code and use a powerful CMS to build data-driven sites and complex web applications. Editor X offers an unparalleled range of integrated business solutions from a leading eCommerce infrastructure to professional marketing and SEO tools. Editor X is part of <a href="https://www.wix.com/">Wix.com Ltd</a>.
<h3 id="about-wix">About Wix</h3>
<a href="https://www.wix.com/">Wix</a> is leading the way with a cloud-based development platform for over 170 million registered users worldwide. Wix was founded on the belief that the Internet should be accessible to everyone to develop, create and contribute. Through free and premium subscriptions, Wix empowers millions of businesses, organizations, artists and individuals to take their businesses, brands and workflow online. The Wix Editor, Wix ADI, a highly curated App Market, Ascend by Wix and Corvid by Wix enable users to build and manage a fully integrated and dynamic digital presence.

Wix Introduces Editor X, Offers Designers Advanced Tools for Building Custom Websites

Reid Hoffman, the serial tech entrepreneur and founder of LinkedIn, once said: “If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you've launched too late.”
Of course, in the world of open source software like WordPress, it’s hard to know exactly when anything will launch. And when it does, there’s certain to be a lot of bugs.
That was the case with Gutenberg, the long-awaited upgrade to the WordPress visual editor that was first introduced in late 2017. At the time, the WordPress editing experience had grown stagnant, and content managers were hungry for new page building capabilities. There’s no question that the impetus to develop a more robust editor was a reaction to the rise of authoring platforms like Medium and easy page-building competitors like Wix and Squarespace.
But as is often the case in software, things don’t always go according to plan. And when they don’t, end users are the first ones to let you know.
Time flies, and it’s hard to believe that it’s already been over two years since Gutenberg’s launch. Much like the printing press of its namesake, the first edition was fraught with issues and drew a lot of negative feedback. Nonetheless, it brought the promise of more modular page building capabilities within a modern, React-based UI. This helped circumvent some of the massive tech debt and backward compatibility challenges that exist with WordPress, favoring a more forward-leaning solution over fixes to the core software.
Over time, users have adapted to the good, the bad, and the unpredictable. Now, Gutenberg has graduated to a core role in the WordPress platform. In fact, the WordPress 5.0 release in 2018 <a href="/the-first-release-candidate-for-wordpress-5-0-is-now-available-and-sadly-it-brings-gutenberg-with-it/">featured Gutenberg as the default editor</a>, cementing its place in version history. But fear not: the WordPress Classical Editor is still available and supported, although it should be officially sunset on December 31, 2021.
Change is always scary – especially for long-term users. While some of the early adopters have grown to prefer (or even love) Gutenberg, the general reaction continues to be tacitly negative.  So far, Gutenberg has amassed more than 3,000 reviews with an <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/gutenberg/reviews/">average rating of 2/5.00</a>. Considering two years have passed since Gutenberg was released, the reviews indicate the major issues with Gutenberg – specifically the UX – have yet to be resolved.
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gutenberg-reviews.png" srcset="/wp-content/themes/cmscritic/img/cmscritic/content/images/size/w600/2020/07/gutenberg-reviews.png 600w, /wp-content/themes/cmscritic/img/cmscritic/content/images/2020/07/gutenberg-reviews.png 626w" /></figure>
When it comes to WordPress reviews, users seldom hold back (just read a few of the posts and you’ll see more rants than raves). While Gutenberg hasn’t garnered a lot of stars, the picture isn’t all bad. The most common reactions are that it’s slow, not intuitive, and requires a lot of extra mouse clicks to get where you’re going. But many users agree that it’s heading in the right direction and addressing persistent issues like accessibility.
After two years of pressure-testing in the real world of web development and CMS, we’ll look at what Gutenberg gets right – and where it misses the mark.
A Brief Overview of Gutenberg
If you’re not at all familiar with Gutenberg for WordPress, it’s a visual editor with a dynamic drag-and-drop interface. It fully replaces the WordPress TinyMCE editor (aka the Classical Editor) as the default editor within the package. Most of this is being spearheaded by <a href="https://automattic.com/">Automattic</a>, the open source development company behind WordPress.com
Unlike the Classical Editor, Gutenberg uses “blocks” rather than text fields to manage content. In fact, everything in the experience is represented as a block: the paragraphs, buttons, images, quotes… everything. By using the inherent drag-and-drop functionality in the editor, you can arrange the order of your blocks around your specific content needs.
The block-based model is nothing new. Visual editors such as Wix and Squarespace are similarly designed, helping users create and manage content faster and easier. In addition to these platforms, there are also page builder plugins for WordPress such as Divi, Elementor and Beaver Builder, which use drag-and-drop functionality with a simplified UI. All of these feature embellishments have empowered content editors to be more productive with less coding.
With more than 74.6 million websites using WordPress, including major brands like Disney, TechCrunch, BBC America and more, the platform’s pervasiveness is undeniable. But this level of market penetration is understandable: content managers and editors want to focus on content, not code – and from the beginning, one of the main selling points of WordPress has been its low-code/no-code experience. It abstracted most of the complexity with building and managing websites by relying on libraries of pre-programmed themes and plugins. These widgets, both diverse and abundant, enabled any user to add functionality to their website – from schedulers to lead forms to shopping carts – with just a few clicks.
There was, however, one big exception: the TinyMCE editor. It still required editing HTML for deeper customizations. 
Open source platforms struggle to provide a roadmap that is both complete and reliable, and WordPress is no exception. While the market waited for improvements to the visual editor, other plugins emerged to address the challenges. When assessing the pros and cons of Gutenberg, it’s easier to compare it to these alternatives to see where the opportunities and issues exist.
How does Gutenberg differ from the Classical Editor &amp; How it Compares to Page Builders
So how does Gutenberg stack up against the Classical Editor and other page builder plugins? Well, the rise of these new block-based options has certainly stoked innovation. That said, it’s important to keep in mind that while Gutenberg is quite similar to these other WordPress page builders, it’s currently not a good replacement. In fact, WordPress doesn’t even classify Gutenberg as a “page builder” per se. While it might evolve to one in the future, WordPress more appropriately refers to it as a “block editor.”
Let’s compare just a few of the more notable features between Gutenberg and other page builders:
1.     Drag &amp; Drop Capabilities
Traditionally, to type text, insert content, or write code using the Classical Editor, you would have to manually shift your content around by cutting and pasting. With Gutenberg, you can assign each content component as its own block – such as a paragraph – and re-arrange the order of your blocks by simply dragging them up and down. 
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gutenberg-dragging.png" srcset="/wp-content/themes/cmscritic/img/cmscritic/content/images/size/w600/2020/07/gutenberg-dragging.png 600w, /wp-content/themes/cmscritic/img/cmscritic/content/images/2020/07/gutenberg-dragging.png 737w" /></figure>
Paragraphs aren’t the only content blocks types. With Gutenberg, you can define headings, rows, columns, images, buttons, symbols, custom boxes, and even templates as blocks – and use the same drag-and-drop features to reorder your content. 
Although Gutenberg offers this slick drag-and-drop block feature, you’ll be compromising on customizations. For example, you can’t adjust the height and width of elements or add custom margins and padding, and elements can only be aligned to the left, right, and center. You can get around some of these limitations with additional CSS classes, but that means more coding and complexity. It all comes down to how much control you want over the details. 
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gutenberg-image-aligning.png" srcset="/wp-content/themes/cmscritic/img/cmscritic/content/images/size/w600/2020/07/gutenberg-image-aligning.png 600w, /wp-content/themes/cmscritic/img/cmscritic/content/images/size/w1000/2020/07/gutenberg-image-aligning.png 1000w, /wp-content/themes/cmscritic/img/cmscritic/content/images/2020/07/gutenberg-image-aligning.png 1499w" /></figure>
2.     Front-end Visual Editing
There’s no question that Gutenberg does a better job than the Classical editor of displaying your front-end styling within the visual editor. That said, it doesn’t provide the same level of accuracy as when you’re using a page builder like Elementor or Divi. With other page builders, you can see all of your changes rendered in the back-end – so you know exactly what your page will look like when published. With Gutenberg, you still need to manually click on the “Preview” button to see a draft page, which can be limiting from a content management perspective. For example, here is how a page looks in back-end editor versus in the preview mode:
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/preview.png" srcset="/wp-content/themes/cmscritic/img/cmscritic/content/images/size/w600/2020/07/preview.png 600w, /wp-content/themes/cmscritic/img/cmscritic/content/images/2020/07/preview.png 650w" /><figcaption>Back-End view of the page</figcaption></figure>
<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption"><img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/backend-editor-2.png" srcset="/wp-content/themes/cmscritic/img/cmscritic/content/images/size/w600/2020/07/backend-editor-2.png 600w, /wp-content/themes/cmscritic/img/cmscritic/content/images/2020/07/backend-editor-2.png 885w" /><figcaption>Preview of the page</figcaption></figure>
3.     Design and Styling
While Gutenberg is a big step up from the TinyMCE Classical Editor, it still falls short of page builder plug-ins when it comes to customizing styles. The Gutenberg editor will reflect any specific theme you’re using, which is quite useful – but that’s the extent of it. Page builder plug-ins not only offer complete control over styling from the ground up, but you also have the ability to override your theme’s visual settings.
We’re just scratching the surface on the pros and cons, but does this mean you should ditch Gutenberg for a page builder? Not necessarily. It all depends on what you want to accomplish. If your website has a simple layout and you want your content to fit harmoniously into a theme, going with Gutenberg might be a good idea. But if you crave more control over your page layouts and styles, a page builder is likely your best bet.
To Gutenberg… or not to Gutenberg?
That is the question! The answer? Well, that’s a little more complicated…
The real Gutenberg could never have imagined the evolution of his printing press. If only he could marvel at the invention of four-color digital presses that can instantly print thousands or even millions of impressions – all with a few mouse clicks. Sadly, innovation is sometimes slower than we would like it to be, and mistakes are all part of the process.
Much like these digital presses, the Gutenberg editor is a milestone in the evolution of the WordPress platform. It continues to demonstrate the commitment of the open source ecosystem to serve the needs of millions of web developers and content creators, each with their own set of goals – from managing a basic blog to crafting a custom experience.
Making things more “user friendly” is key to any software’s growth, and that’s where Gutenberg is endeavoring to shine. Unfortunately, it’s still not at a point where page builders like Divi or <a href="/elementor-hits-3-million-sites/">Elementor</a> compete. But that’s the beauty of WordPress and its ecosystem of plug-ins: there’s an incredible amount of choice, and that only seems to be expanding.
Custom is always the costliest commodity, and even the real Gutenberg knew that. That’s why his first books were simple and limited in their scope. But over time, the block components became more elaborate and decorative, and font styles more abundant. Eventually, it all felt “custom.”
The same might happen for the modern digital incarnation. The real question is: when?

Gutenberg, 2 Years Later: Is WordPress Better Off?

Linux Mint is one of the most popular Linux distributions on the planet. It was originally started back in 2006 and is based on Ubuntu. It retains compatibility with Ubuntu to this day but has surpassed Ubuntu when it comes to ease of use. You'll be hard pressed to find a Linux user that doesn't agree that Linux Mint is a great option for new users and those who love the Cinnamon Desktop. Let's dig a little deeper in this Linux Mint Review.Installing Linux Mint is very easy to do so I'm going to bypass that in this review. You can however, read my <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/how-to-install-linux-mint/">How to Install Linux Mint</a> article if you want to see the process in depth.<h2>The Cinnamon Desktop</h2>No Linux Mint review is complete without screenshots and this one is no exception. My goal is to show you the basics and explore some of the functionality to help you make a decision as to whether it's something you want to try. The Cinnamon desktop is a very well put together desktop environment that is in version 4.0 as of the latest Linux Mint release.Here's how it looks post-install:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/linux-mint-review-welcome-screen_q4n5d2.png" />Linux Mint Review – Welcome ScreenYou'll notice that the first thing to pop-up is a welcome screen introducing you to the system. This is also present in several other Linux distributions such as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/ubuntu-mate-review/">Ubuntu Mate</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmscritic.com/mx-linux-review/">MX Linux</a>.<h2>The Welcome Screen</h2>The welcome screen is intended to provide you with quick shortcuts to useful information as well as some things you should consider exploring after installation. Clicking on First Steps showcases some of the post-install tasks to explore.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/linux-mint-review-welcome-screen-first-steps_qcdhib.png" />Welcome Screen – First Steps – Linux Mint ReviewHere's a quick summary of each of the sections:<ul><li>System Snapshots – this app is intended to help you set up automatic backups of your system that you can restore if something breaks.</li><li>Driver Manager – this driver manager provides you with a means of scanning your system to see if any drivers are available for any of your hardware.</li><li>Update Manager – this one speaks for itself, it checks for updated software in the repositories and initiates the updates.</li><li>Desktop Layout – New in 19.1 is a layout tool that allows you to choose between two different panel layouts; traditional and modern.</li><li>System Settings – Offers quick access to all of the settings for items such as appearance settings, preferences, hardware and administrative tools.</li><li>Software Manager – This allows you to manage software on your system and install new software from a massive repository.</li></ul>Now that we've explored the welcome screen, which I feel is one of the best ones out there. Let's take a look at some of the individual components available to Linux Mint users.<h2>System Snapshots</h2>With system snapshots, you can choose either RSYNC or BTRFS for snapshots. If you aren't sure which one to choose, click the HELP drop-down for more information on each option. I typically choose RSYNC but if you formatted your partitions with BTRFS, then feel free to choose it. The choice is yours.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/system-snapshots-linux-mint-review_dyssyt.jpg" />System Snapshots – Linux Mint ReviewOnce you've made a selection, Timeshift will load allowing you to configure your snapshots. For more information on using Timeshift, visit <a target="_blank" href="https://github.com/teejee2008/timeshift">this link</a>. The inclusion of Timeshift is a smart one. It's a very useful tool and given that Linux Mint is geared towards new users, it's a good idea to offer some sort of recovery option. This will not only bolster the confidence of new users to try new things with the system without fear of breakage but also offers peace of mind overall.<h2>Driver Manager</h2>The Driver Manager, as mentioned, will scan your hardware and check to see if there are any hardware drivers (third party Nvidia for example) that may be required. It will then let you choose whether you want to install them or not.Opening the driver manager will kick off an update of the cache so that Linux Mint knows what's available.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/linux-mint-review-driver-manager_iphi5c.jpg" />Linux Mint Review – Driver ManagerOnce the cache update is complete, the Driver Manager will load and present you with the available drivers, if any.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/linux-mint-review-driver-manager-2_qgyzea.jpg" />Linux Mint Review – Available DriversThe driver manager is an essential app for Linux Mint and is similar to the one included with most Ubuntu derived distros. This simple offering helps make Ubuntu and related distributions such as Linux Mint stand out when it comes to ease of use for those being introduced to Linux for the first time.<h2>Update Manager</h2>The update manager allows you to check the Linux Mint repositories for updated software and security fixes. Launching it, you'll be presented with the following screen:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/update-manager-linux-mint-review_jh3blc.jpg" />Update Manager – Linux Mint ReviewOnce you click OK on this screen, the update manager will do a scan of the repositories to see if there are any security or version updates that are available to install. You'll then be presented with a list of updates which you can either choose to install all of or select individually.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/update-manager-available-updates-linux-mint-review_e7c6ls.jpg" />Update Manager – Available updates – Linux Mint ReviewLike any good distro, there's multiple ways to perform system updates and Linux Mint is no exception. While the hardcore user will likely end up using apt commands in the terminal, the new user has an interface that's easy to understand and use until they begin to discover the wonders of the console.<h2>Desktop Layout</h2>This is where you can choose between either the modern layout which Linux Mint has by default or the traditional layout from older releases. Here's what the Traditional Layout looks like in comparison to the Modern Layout.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/traditional-panel-layout-linux-mint-review_lgjdn9.png" />Traditional Panel Layout – Linux Mint ReviewI like that the devs chose to include the previous panel layout as an option. For those who are old school Mint users, this keeps them happy and choice is never a bad thing. While I personally thing the new panel look and feel is better overall, I'm pleased to see that they are offering the choice to switch if desired.<h2>System Settings</h2>System settings is where you get access to all of the, well, settings that are available in Linux Mint. Launching it will present you with the following window:<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/system-settings-linux-mint_lsuvyd.png" />System Settings – Linux Mint ReviewWe won't get into every single option here as that would be very time consuming but what I will do is touch on some of the key items within this window that I think are worth pointing out in this Linux Mint review.<h3>Effects</h3>Cinnamon comes with numerous options for desktop effects. Within the Effects icon, you'll find two tabs.The first tab presents you with ability to enable or disable effects for individual components of the desktop as well as choose from some pre-defined effect styles.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/linux-mint-review-effects_oiqmwp.png" />Linux Mint Review – EffectsThe second tab offers you more granular control over your settings by allowing you to customize them individually.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/linux-mint-review-effects-2_gyqoje-1.png" />Linux Mint Review – Effects-2<h3>Themes</h3>While Linux Mint does offer a slick default look and feel, you can also change individual components of your theme or download new ones. Clicking on Themes will launch the related window so you can do this.The first tab lets you customize the themes for individual areas of the desktop.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/linux-mint-themes-individual-settings_e17gec.jpg" />Linux Mint – Themes – Individual SettingsThe second tab gives you the ability to add or remove themes that are available for download. Once you download a new one, switch back to the first tab to make your customizations.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/linux-mint-themes-add-and-remove_aiokpu.jpg" />Linux Mint – Themes – Add and Remove<h3>Applets</h3>Applets are small apps that run inside the Cinnamon panel and offer additional capabilities or information. You can manage them by clicking on Applets inside the Settings Manager.The first tab lets you manage your applets – functions such as adding and removing them from the panel, etc.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/linux-mint-review-applets_jk4pbq.jpg" />AppletsThe second tab gives you the ability to download additional applets from the Linux Mint applet repository.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/linux-mint-review-applet-download_q5ltgc.jpg" />Applet DownloadExtensions functions similarly to these as well, allowing you to customize and download additional extensions for Linux Mint.The remaining settings dialogs are all pretty self explanatory and I encourage you to explore them each individually to ensure you have a solid understanding of what Linux Mint is capable of and what can be configured.<h2>Applications</h2>Be default, Linux Mint comes with numerous applications installed by default such as Firefox, Thunderbird, GIMP, Rhythmbox, VLC and LibreOffice.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/linux-mint-applications_xq3nzr.png" />ApplicationsYou can always download more via the Software Manager app.<h3>Nemo</h3>The file manager, Nemo, is excellent as well and offers more than just basic file management capabilities. You can also connect to servers and mount locations via various protocols.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/linux-mint-nemo_toqpdq.png" />NemoThere are also numerous plugins that can be used with Nemo, which you can access from the Edit menu.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/linux-mint-nemo-customizations_tobcnr.jpg" />Nemo Customizations<h2>Performance</h2>Performance wise, Linux Mint is pretty good. With Firefox, Calculator, GIMP, Terminal and Nemo running, memory usage was pretty reasonable. The CPU usage was pretty high but I was also running all of this under a limited VirtualBox session.<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/linux-mint-system-monitor_yf0y8j.png" />Linux Mint – System Monitor<h2>Conclusions</h2>Overall, it's easy to see why Linux Mint is so popular. It's visually appealing and highly customizable use of the Cinnamon Desktop lends itself well to new and old users alike. The choice of applications and ease of installing new ones is broad and well thought out. Little things such as an app for backups make it easy to recommend. I'm giving it a 5/5. What do you think? Are you a fan of Linux Mint?

Linux Mint Review

mike-johnston

We last reviewed Concrete5 in 2009 when it came onto the scene with a bang. Designers everywhere reacted to this new CMS with mixed feelings. Most of the people who tried it, were blown away and loved it. Today, we've gone back and put together a more current Concrete5 Review for you.
There were a lot of WordPress and Joomla fans who were unimpressed with the way the system was being marketed at the time. Concrete5's fearless leader, <a href="/concrete5-founder-franz-maruna-interview/" target="_blank">Franz Maruna</a>, was quick to point out that his system was better than the big two (Drupal and Joomla) and wasn't mincing words about it. This, of course, set off a lot of people on a “how dare you?” tirade that only served to market Concrete5 further and peak people's interest.
Whatever side you were/are on, there is no denying that 2 years later, this system is thriving and still seeing large numbers of people converting to it.
How does Concrete5 stack up? Let's take a look.
First off, Concrete5 has a couple of options for those interested in using it. You can get it hosted on their own servers for pricing ranging from $45 / month and up. Alternatively, you can just download it and put it on your own server. It's always good to have options.
<h3>Working with the System</h3>
When you first use Concrete5, you will be presented with your standard page once you've logged into their admin interface. Being that Concrete5 was primarily designed to allow you to work with the page as you see it, all of the tools are available in a toolbar along the top of your site.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2011-04-16-at-6_52_41-am-580x322.png" alt="Concrete5 Review" />
Clicking on the Edit Page button on the toolbar enables edit mode which lets you begin working with the content and layout.
Edit mode is shown below:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/screen-shot-2011-04-16-at-6_53_23-am-580x299.png" alt="Concrete5 Review" />
As you can see, the toolbar along the top has changed to provide you with options available for edit mode. Hovering over an editable area (defined by the red outline around the content) and clicking will bring up a context menu which options to work within that area.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gutensite-about-the-company-700-620x435_tangne.jpg" alt="Concrete5 Review" />
Clicking Edit brings up the applicable properties page (or editor if you have selected a text area) with which you can modify the area in question. In this case, we're going to take a look at the navigation bar.
<img style="max-width:521px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gutensite-what-makes-us-unique-700-620x442_bpmpur.jpg" alt="Concrete5 Review" />
For this area, we're given options to work with and modify the navigation of the site. Any time you click on the edit when working with C5, you'll be given the applicable dialog box depending on the type of area you select.
For instance, should you choose to edit a content area that contains a slider of images, you'll see a dialog such as the one below:
<img style="max-width:561px" src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gutensite-sign-up-info-700-620x529_rhvetm.jpg" alt="Concrete5 Review" />And of course, choosing a content area will give you a pop up WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor window:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gutensite-sign-up-design-700-620x484_v6dbtl.jpg" alt="Concrete5 Review" />
Accessing the Page Properties button on the toolbar opens the settings for the page you are on.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gutensite-control-panel-dashboard-700-620x544_qlpxjy.jpg" alt="Concrete5 Review" />
Concrete5 has implemented meta tag functionality on a per page basis, so if you want to edit the Meta Keywords, Description or Title you can do so on the Custom Attributes tab of the above window. You can also add your own attributes should you choose to do so.
On the Speed Settings tab, you can modify your caching options to either full or off and how much time the page is cached for. What's nice is that you can set this on each and every page at will.
On the Design button on the top toolbar, you are given the ability to modify the page type and/or choose a theme to apply to the page.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gutensite-control-panel-tour-content-700-620x457_ffkzqt.jpg" alt="Concrete5 Review" />
The Permissions button is pretty obvious and allows you to modify who can and cannot see the page. C5 also has built in versioning, meaning you are able to work on a page but revert to an old revision if you need to do so. This is an extremely useful function and has been well implemented. You can access your revisions from the Versions button on the toolbar.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gutensite-control-panel-basic-page-700-620x550_wmavj9.jpg" alt="Concrete5 Review" />
Concrete5 also has a dashboard where you can make modifications to global settings and see site statistics. It can be accessed using the Dashboard button on the toolbar and looks like this:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gutensite-basic-page-700-620x899_os6lbs.jpg" alt="Concrete5 Review" />
Look familiar? For some of you who've used WordPress, you'll note that the C5 dashboard is very reminiscent of the popular blogging platform. Is this a bad thing? Not at all, if you see something that works, then follow suit and there's no harm in that.
On the dashboard, you can instantly see site statistics and a number of other areas that you can navigate. Starting from the top, the Sitemap button is pretty straightforward and gives you a birds-eye view of your site in a sitemap. Next in line is the File Manager where you can upload and work with the various files on your site.  The Reports button should show you any data from forms or logs you may have on your site. When attempting to use it on our demo system, it told us we had created no forms. It wasn't immediately obvious how to do so, but thanks to C5's great documentation, we quickly found out the process. If you want to know, here's the how-to: (<a href="http://www.concrete5.org/documentation/general-topics/add_a_form" target="_blank">Creating forms in C5</a>).
Users and Groups lets you modify access rights and privileges to the site and worked as expected.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gutensite-profile-list-700-620x466_tnkasn.jpg" alt="Concrete5 Review" />
Next down the list are Scrapbooks which is a rather interesting feature. Here's a video explaining how they work: <a href="http://vimeo.com/3023508" target="_blank">Concrete5 – Scrapbooks</a>.
In a nutshell:
<blockquote>Everyone on the site gets their own “clipboard” if you will, we call it the scrapbook. When you roll over any block in edit mode, you can Copy to Scrapbook on it and save it to your personal scrapbook.
Later, if you're on another page and want the same block, instead of adding a new block you can choose Paste from Scrapbook and see a list of all the blocks you've saved for later.
When you add a block from your personal scrapbook you are making a new instance of that block. That means this is totally not useful if you want to have the same block show up in many placed but be editable from a single location.</blockquote>
Pages and Themes are pretty obvious. Here you can access and apply various page templates and themes to your site.
The Add Functionality option lets you connect your site to the Concrete5 marketplace. The marketplace is a community addons repository where you can search and purchase / download addons and theme for the system.
Under System and Maintenance, you are able to perform backups, see scheduled jobs, and more.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gutensite-control-panel-profile-700-620x550_o0rshi.jpg" alt="Concrete5 Review" />
Last but not least, Sitewide Settings does just what it says and lets you configure your site to your hearts content.
<h3>Conclusions</h3>
In testing the demo on Concrete5, we found the system to be sleek, responsive, and easy to use. What's interesting is how it's akin to what you would find inexpensive commercial products but you can get it for free. The inline editing is a pleasure to work with and the system seems powerful and responsive. Can it be compared with Joomla and Drupal? I think it's a different type of CMS. One that is in a different realm from these two and as such, comparing them would be fruitless. Concrete5 was designed to be easy, you can see it in the way the system works and the logical way everything just does what is expected.
It's a fun system to use and with the growing number of add-ons and themes, it's getting better all the time.
One thing that should always be considered is how well the pages generated by the system are coded and whether or not they validate properly. One small concern we found is that when submitting the demo system we were using with no modifications by us to the W3C validator, it came back with an error.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2023/08/gutensite-profiles-details-700-620x829_ehwhem.jpg" alt="Concrete5 Review" />
Now, before you jump to conclusions, this is a pretty minor validation error. Hopefully, the team at C5 see this and quickly correct it. Having said that, it would have been more reassuring to see none at all but this wouldn't be a major fix.
Overall, we think C5 is definitely a top contender for those looking for easy customization and a great community. If you want to try it out, you can do so on their <a href="http://www.concrete5.org/about/trial/" target="_blank">demo site</a>.
You can download the system from here: <a href="http://www.concrete5.org/" target="_blank">Concrete5</a>

Concrete5 Review

Power your CMS on AWS

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SquareSpace has been getting alot of attention of late for their revolutionary CMS. SquareSpace is an incredibly powerful and unique, hosted solution that gives the designer/developer unprecedented control over the look of their site and it's content. Today we're going to take a look at it in this SquareSpace review.
SquareSpace is available with a number of plans ranging from $8/month to $50/month (more details on their<a href="http://www.squarespace.com" target="_blank"> pricing page</a>).
When you first log into your account, you will notice a menu along the top of the site that offers a number of options:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/squarespace1-580x104_egtoha.jpg" alt="Squarespace 5 Review" /> 
Clicking on the overview option provides a number of statistics for your website using some nicely rendered charts (it's nice to see some well done integrated analytics):
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/squarespace2-580x308_uajfu5.jpg" alt="Squarespace 5 Review" /> 
Squarespace CMS also has inline editing which you can access directly from the site.
You can see the links once you log into the CMS:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/squarespace3-580x309_peyxdu.jpg" alt="Squarespace 5 Review" /> 
Clicking the “Post new entry” button overlays an very well designed editor that has literally every function you could want (and more) including video embedding, photo embedding and much more. Using their editor is a snap and works beautifully. Embedding a YouTube video into a post, for example, is as easy as pasting the URL.. the editor will then provide a preview and give you a number of options for sizing and alignment.
Here's a screenshot of the editor:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/squarespace4-580x426_rfyj7g.jpg" alt="Squarespace 5 Review" />
Entering Tags and Categories within the editor is just a click and type function and works exactly as one might expect.
Article references can also be inserted with ease thanks to a handy References button within the editor:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/squarespace5-580x365_kadawj.jpg" alt="Squarespace 5 Review" />
The editor in the top right of the screen (shown below) allows you to switch between modes such as content editing, structure editing, style editing and preview mode.
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/squarespace6_enfg5a.jpg" alt="Squarespace 5 Review" />
We've already shown you content editing mode, let's move on to Structure Editing mode.. (the 4 square blocks shown in the menu above).
Structure editing mode allows you to add and insert sections, add/modify widgets, edit the headers and more. Clicking on this mode will show a number of options as well as page configuration:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/squarespace7-580x410_zdye76.jpg" alt="Squarespace 5 Review" />
Clicking on configure this page will bring up the dialog below which lets you make modifications to the individual page itself. There are far too many options to possibly show with screenshots so we'd recommend trying out their demo if you'd like to see the options and play around. You can get a demo for 14 days (no credit card required) from their website.
Switching to style editing mode (yes, the options never end with this software..) provides you with even more functionality. Now you can switch templates using this screen:
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/squarespace8-580x165_ey9tnc.jpg" alt="Squarespace 5 Review" />
Once you've found the right template, you can copy it into your own style and make whatever changes you want. Clicking on Banner &amp; Navigation provides the following functions (column configuration, customized banners, etc):
<img src="https://cmscritic.com/ms-content/uploads/2021/07/squarespace9-580x210_t8h0xt.jpg" alt="Squarespace 5 Review" />
Once you've made the necessary changes on this page, you can take them ever further by modifying individual CSS, fonts, sizes and more all from a number of handy menus.
There really are far too many options to possibly cover in one review, but this SquareSpace Review should give you a good idea of what to expect from SquareSpace.
For those of you who are thinking that with all of these positives, there must be something wrong, surely support must be poor or something is lacking… the short answer is No.
Support responses were the fastest we have ever had from any support ticket we have filed. Literally within 5 minutes of submitting a request, we had a reply back.. they are fast, polite and efficient and we highly recommend them. Now, having said that, we don't expect this fast of a response all of the time but it certainly was a pleasant first experience.
One thing is for certain, SquareSpace rivals most installed CMS systems when it comes to ease of use, beauty and functionality and this SquareSpace Review was a pleasure to write.
<h3>Pro's:</h3>
<ul>
<li>Beautifully designed interface that is both snappy and well designed.</li>
<li>Huge number of options and configuration possibilities.</li>
<li>Images are uploaded and hosted on super fast Amazon S3 servers.</li>
<li>Cost is incredibly inexpensive for such a powerful system.</li>
<li>Support from SquareSpace is remarkably fast.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Con's:</h3>
<ul>
<li>It won't do your laundry.</li>
</ul>
Website: <a href="http://www.squarespace.com" target="_blank">http://www.squarespace.com</a>
Do you have any comments about this CMS? Have you found this SquareSpace review helpful? We'd love to hear from you in the comments below.

Squarespace 5 Review

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