Archive for content management systems
WordPress Plugins – Making the Most of the Your Site
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While we talk about the advantages of the different content management systems frequently, their strength is far more determined by how you use them. Each CMS has a world of plugins that programmers all over the world have created. Some of them are powerful enough to negate any problems inherent in your CMS of choice, and add functionality to it that you may have never considered.
This is the first in a series of articles that will go over some of the best plugins we found out there for the most popular contention management systems. We start today with the king of CMS’s, WordPress and WP Plugins. Note that we are going to be focusing on for-pay plugins in this article. Free plugins have their place, and we will cover those eventually as well. This is for the webmaster who is willing to shell out a little cash for the best.
This sleek calendar system gives the webmaster an easy-to-use interface with which they can create professional-looking calendar and event pages. Among the options available are the ability to integrate Google Maps into the event page, and using “Pretty URLs”. The calendar of events can be displayed in a number of attractive, easy-to-read formats.
2) All in One Shortcodes Plugin
Much of what you’ll want to do with your WordPress site might benefit from some simple stylistic addition. You may not want to pick up a book and spend a few hours learning the code necessary, though. This $20 plugin lets you do these easily. Buttons and text boxes of all different sizes and styles, image and text sliders (meaning content that rotates through a limited set every few seconds), embedded video, and social bookmarking are all available. It’s a veritable WordPress Swiss army knife.
3) Custom Widget Areas for WordPress
One of the most useful additions to a standard WordPress account is the ability to make customer sidebar sections, or widgets. This inexpensive package allows you to do just that. The webmaster is presented with an enormous variety of options for what to display where, and how. Widgets can be included in main body text, and all pages down to 404 error code pages can be customized.
4) uPricing – Pricing Table for WordPress
This one is a bit specialized, but the right user will really appreciate having it. This little package lets the user make a business-quality pricing table. Tables are often one of the first things a new HTML editor learns how to make. They soon learn thereafter how much worse a bad-looking table can make your web site appear.
5) Twitter Ultimate-WordPress Plugin
Finally, no article about improving your website would be complete without somehow working modern social networking into it. Of the available packages we looked at for the most popular social hangouts, Twitter Ultimate-WordPress Plugin seemed to provide the best functionality for the least cost ($8 as of this writing). It allows the user all sorts of controls over whose tweets are displayed when, and how often.
There are even more good plugins, and we’ll go into them when we later cover some of the free ones available for WordPress. For now, this should give the WordPress webmaster looking for some very nice enhancements to their site an excellent starting point.
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Say it with me – Joomla!
Posted by: | CommentsContinuing on with our series of reviewing the most popular content management systems out there, this week we shall explore Joomla! (The exclamation point is there’s, not mine.
Joomla!’s origins are a lot more exciting than a lot of software, being born out of a tech divorce worthy of a Maury Povich show. The team that created Joomla bailed from a previous software package called “Mambo” after a very public spat over differences in approach, and whether or not the old team had violated open source principles. See the discussions if you’re really curious: the discussions are too complex to be summarized easily.
After the storm
What’s important is what came out of it, and that is a content management software package that won awards straight out of the starting gate. Like it’s rival Drupal, Joomla!’s open source nature has created around a worldwide community of developers who are loyal to it, and who have authored for Joomla! more than 7,000 extensions.
The package has been downloaded more than 20 million times, though to date this hasn’t resulted in the impressive resume that Drupal has acquired. Still, if it can’t claim whitehouse.gov, it can claim Linux.com: from some geeks’ perspective, that’s arguably better.
The facts of the case
The reason behind this lower profile showing can be considered both its primary advantage and disadvantage: Joomla! is invariably described as being easier to use. This manifests itself in an easier installation, less work on those who just want to setup a simple website or blog, more comprehensive tutorial support (enter “Joomla” into Youtube and you’ll get dozens of hits, including its own channel), and a more extensive administrative backend.
While this may make it more attractive to the new webmaster, however, this makes it less attractive to the expert developer. The user is usually locked into a page or website design that doesn’t allow for much customization: and while a number of plug-ins can fix some of the issues that you’ll encounter, not all of them are free.
Joomla! also has a curious number of technical shortcomings. It is considered bulkier, slower, and more resource hungry than Drupal (though both being open-source, one of them has to be). It is also not SEO-ready (search engine optimization) out of the box: again, you’ll need do add some extensions for this. It also doesn’t come initially with the capability to support more than one login.
A middle ground?
While Joomla! is described as more-user friendly and hence restricted than Drupal, it is alternately described as the opposite in relation to WordPress. Could this be a case of a software package trying to find a middle ground between being easy yet powerful? This could account for its almost schizophrenic set of qualities, that can be seemingly looked at as either half empty or half full.
What does appear to be true regardless of all of this is that Joomla! has become one of the open-source packages to develop something of a fan following. That fan base doesn’t look to be stepping away anytime soon which means that, whatever Joomla!’s current shortcomings, if you go with it and stick with it, you probably won’t have to either.
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An Overview of PHP-Based Content Management Systems Beyond WordPress
Posted by: | CommentsWordPress is far and away the most popular content management system (CMS) on the web. It’s for good reason, but like anyone holding the claim of first place, it still has its critics. If you are working with PHP and want a good content management system for your site, you have a gaggle of options. We’re going to run down a few of them here, and go over their advantages and disadvantages.
Geeklog
One of the most popular of the WordPress alternatives, Geeklog is a feature-full CMS that can use mySQL, PostgreSQL or Microsoft SQL server for its databases. It includes among its features content syndication, forums, calendars, polls multi-language support and mass user deletion. If you need help, it actually uses a wiki for its official documentation. Popular sites Groklaw and Mac OS X Hints have used it for years.
concrete5
Open-source CMS concrete5 has attracted attention for its ease of use. Not only is there easy editing of individual pages without having to go through an administrative interface of some kind, but even images can be edited from directly within its interface. It includes among its features search engine optimization, a tracker to check for latest software revisions, and a page history so that you can revert to any previous version of any page on your site. It’s among the newer CMSs so 3rd party content and themes are still catching up, but it appears that this is happening quickly.
Drupal
Drupal might be the largest and most far-reaching CMS outside of WordPress. In fact, one estimate has one in 66 web sites using it, including the governmental web sites for both the US and the UK. It has about as much compatibility as any software out there, running on any operating system using PHP and working with just about every main database software in existence. Among its arm-length long list of features are multi-user file editing, multiple security restriction methods, support for multiple sites, and support from communities in multiple languages (“multiple” seems to be the central word here). The gigantic community, in fact, seems one of Drupal’s main selling points: the Drupal web site lists more than 11,000 user-created modules.
PHP-Fusion
For something with a lot of miles on it but still simple and lightweight there is PHP-Fusion. It comes with most of the basic features like themes, forums, picture gallery support, spam protection and an in-site search, and it has support sites in 20 countries. It is considered one of the most stable and reliable CMSs out there.
Joomla!
Also, with strong community support is the open-source Joomla! Using object-oriented programming, Joomla!’s features include RSS feeds, polls, search capability, and language internationalization.
WordPress’s reputation is well-earned, but don’t fear the alternatives. One of the advantages of the information era is that there’s almost always more than one right way. If your web host uses them, take a closer look. You’ll find a lot of them to be of a high enough quality to make you not miss the biggest names.
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Joomla: For You, For Me, For Everybody
Posted by: | CommentsAll website developers looking for a CMS to base their projects on try to verify that the software will completely meet their needs with the most desirable features and options. This is expected, considering that customization is an indispensable tool of modern website and software development.
Choosing the best CMS requires one to ascertain as to whether he/she would be able to work with the system effectively and efficiently. Even the top three content management systems, WordPress, Drupal and Joomla, differ to a great extent. All of these CMS’ have their scoring points, and maybe some flaws as well. However, deciding on your suited CMS may become a lot easier after reading this article.
When in Doubt, go Joomla!
It seems like bringing everybody on board was always the idea of the Joomla developers. The makers of this CMS believe that people need to enjoy working on a solid CMS, and this is one of the primary goals of Jooma.
Joomla, by definition, actually means ‘everyone together’ in Swahili and this points to the inherent idea of using the CMS which Joomla has been developed. New entrants in web site development face torrid times when they are made to work with a CMS that makes their tasks difficult, due to complex menus and thousands of options. Making one’s way past all the unknown features and getting onto the right ones takes a lot of time and this is where Joomla scores heavily over its competitors. With the intuitive and easy to master tools, newbies find it extremely easy to use and make rapid leaps into launching their website. Having your way with Joomla is as easy as it comes. There are so many customization options that users find it almost tailor made for them to be basing their websites on.
Joomla gets past a very fierce competitor in the form of WordPress, and it does so by letting the users exercise full control over the appearance and outlook of their website projects. No wonders, the most attractive looking websites these days happen to be made with Joomla. Thus, jut in case you are considering making your own website to take the Internet world by storm, make sure that you do not forget to get a hang of this amazing CMS called Joomla.
Technical Requirements for Joomla 1.7.x and 1.6.x
PHP 5.2.4+
MySQL 5.0.4+
Apache (with mod_mysql, mod_xml, and mod_zlib) 2.x+
Microsoft IIS 7
More information can found at the Joomla official website: http://www.joomla.org/about-joomla.html
You can install Joomla with just a few clicks with any web hosting provider from our Top 10 Hosting List.
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SharePoint’s Affect on Information Management
Posted by: | CommentsFor many years content management systems have faced the challenge of a lack of discipline with regards to users effectively controlling the scope of the effort. It is easy to take advantage of any product immediately released. However, the launch of Microsoft SharePoint may be able to properly scope company initiatives.
Although SharePoint will not solve all of a firm’s problems because it is only a resource, the content management system has enough features that can provide increased business value over the previous method. On the other hand, many established vendors have additional features that Microsoft must compete with.
On that note, is primarily used for file sharing and the distribution of information across many departments. Due to its popularity, the system has grown and become extremely critical for many groups within an organization. In its simplest form, SharePoint is a transparent records management system that archives data from today, last week or a year ago. Many other content management systems offer the same task with plenty of other features.
However, where SharePoint shines is that the system is an excellent starting point for any initiative. Although it can be replaced by a more feature rich system, the platform answers the true needs of its users. For instance, there are several advantages to the system including:
- Records management
- Process automation
- Invoice processing
In many organizations records management is a priority. Therefore, Microsoft SharePoint was designed to enhance the existing architecture of any system without the user being aware of the change. Users can create, delete, edit and perform many tasks common to records management.
Also, when developing the system, Microsoft determined that many processes needed to be automated. Therefore, a simple analysis determined that 87 percent of processes can be implemented into SharePoint with minimal effort. The remaining processes only impact a small amount of the work force.
At any organization, there are thousands of invoices processed every year. Therefore, procurement departments can easily manage all of them within the SharePoint environment. Therefore, the system can managed these documents regardless of size, file type and fax type. As a result, organizations do not need to purchase a separate software license for a program to manage the files and integrate them into SharePoint.
Microsoft SharePoint has been an extremely successful content management system that has been implemented into many major organizations across the globe. Although it may not have many of the other features found in its competitors, the system relies on simplicity for the average user.
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The Venetian’s New Web Standard
Posted by: | CommentsEktron is a provider of web content management systems, marking optimization tools and social software solutions. On May 18th, 2011, the company announced that the Las Vegas-based Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino is utilizing the Ektron Web Content Management platform in an effort to re-launch its website, Venetian.com.
The Corporate Director of eCommerce Technology for the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, parent company of the Venetian, released a statement noting that the organization researched several different content management systems but Ekron fit their corporate structure. Furthermore, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation is committed to building working business relationships with top-tier partners that provide excellent support.
The Director has recognized that Ektron offers a pure .NET content management system that integrates Microsoft technologies. This was the primary reason for the decision to use Ektron. The software also features open architecture and API which delivers unlimited scalability. Sands information technology professionals are planning to tie the Ektron API to the back-end data systems and other third-party tools for full functionality.
The site was redeveloped by Vana Technologies, one of the best full-service development firms in the industry. Ektron worked closely with Vana and the Las Vegas Sands eCommerce team to create best practices and develop a robust infrastructure to host the installation of the content management software.
The first three migrations from the old site to the new are planned during 2011 and will include:
- Lasvegassands.com
- Palazzo.com
- Marinabaysands.com
The new content management system will allow for the easy management of installation for support modules as well as future updates to all websites. Also, the software will allow all properties across the globe to connect and share content. Ultimately, all websites under the Las Vegas Sands Corporation umbrella will run a single instance of Ektron and be able to share content across all sites.
The founder of Ektron released a statement detailing that the organization will help the Sands ensure the online experience will be enjoyable while providing value to the websites and enhancing visitor’s experiences. Further, the company is excited with the relationship they have built with the Las Vegas Sans Corporation and Vana Technologies.
This appears to be an excellent upgrade for the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and will prove to be a worthy investment in the future. Since all websites owned by the Sands Corporation will be able to communicate with one another, information can easily be passed for a more connected system of casinos.