The 2010 CODiE Award-winning iAPPS Content Manager got even better today with the release of iAPPS v4.1. In addition to its bevy of fixes and basic enhancements, v4.1 boasts some exciting new capabilities.
Getting started with a web content management system is a huge priority for many business. Many marketing departments need full control to create and edit their web pages. Often, this can lead to a back-and-forth between Marketing and IT, with some frayed nerves along the way! But finally, you’ve gotten budget for a CMS implementaton, and are ready to crank out some content to lure in some leads! After performing some searches on Google, browsing a few forums, and listening to recommendations from peers, you may gotten varying opinions on many content management systems, leaving your more confused before your search began. How to do you choose the best CMS for you and your company?
Bridgeline has assisted many customers with CMS implemenations and we’ve come up with a pretty thorough list of factors to consider that will guide you along your decision-making path. Give our latest eBook a read to understand the points below.
I found myself in a debate with a colleague the other day regarding file sizes for advertisement banners on a website. We are in the process of setting image size specifications for static advertisement banners to give to ad vendors who will be creating the final ads. Based on the width and height of the ads in question I proposed a conservative yet realistic file size of 20kb, just to keep sizes down where possible. I was met with some resistance, and an argument that went something like “with all the broadband connections out there, why would we not allow for 50kb so that we can get the best image quality?”. My view on this is actually the other way around. Why would you not optimize your website wherever possible? Why not force the smaller file sizes (which were well within reason to begin with) so that page load, file storage, bandwidth, etc. can all benefit, even if just a tiny bit, from the savings. It all adds up.
Let me use an example outside of the web to draw a comparison. When Mazda was redesigning their latest model of the Miata MX5 a few years ago, they were faced with a car that was going to be larger, with more safety features, and would represent a vast improvement from the previous model. However, with a small, great handling car like the MX5, weight is the enemy – and this car could have easily gained hundreds of pounds through the model change. Mazda tasked all of their engineers and designers to shave weight wherever they could. They saved a few grams off of redesigning the rear view mirror, for example. They did this with hundreds of components within the car. In the end the new model only ended up weighing 27 pounds more than the previous model. An amazing accomplishment considering what was involved to get it there.
So back to my point. 20 or 30kb here or there may not seem like much. But when you account for thousands of page loads and potentially hundreds of banners, it eventually all ads up (pun intended). We should always adhere to best practices, even if technology seems to grant us more leeway than we are used to having.
While each implementation has unique goals and intricacies, here are some common themes we see on a regular basis.
Expectation #1: A CMS should solve the most urgent business problem at hand without regard to specific department, person or function.
More sites are lining up in their support of Google’s first move to drop Internet Explorer 6 from the internet. This past week saw notices from Salesforce.com, Atlassian, and even Facebook. Whether we credit Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8 Campaign, or more savvy users, IE8 is currently the market share leader within the IE family. That being said, IE6 still equates to about 15% of global browser use (average of sources @ Wikipedia).
I’m no stranger to eCommerce, I’m proud to say I am a regular contributor to this $129.8 billion industry. But it has always been on the consumer side. Now I’m getting a whole new view into the online commerce world from the application side. There are so many eCommerce platforms to choose from and each one has something different, their own secret ingredient that sets it apart from the rest.
Bridgeline Digital is a developer of web application management software and award-winning interactive business technology solutions that help organizations optimize business processes.
