Content Management Systems
Plone is the open source Content Management System that is most frequently recommended by Six Feet Up.
Plone is entirely web-based and platform independent. It allows content contributors to easily manage content (text, images, files, links, pages, folders, questionnaires etc.) through the setup of templates that follow web style guides in place. No technical knowledge is required from site editors other than the basic usage of a web browser.
Content Edits
In addition to plain text, Structured Text and HTML, recent versions of Plone now feature the Kupu visual editor which provides content contributors with a WYSIWYG editing interface “a la” MS Word in their browser.
Kupu makes adding, editing, removing, reordering pages and subpages, as well as uploading common file types (PDF, MS Word, MS Excel, MS Powerpoint, gif, jpeg, etc.) extremely easy.
Smart Navigation
Plone features built-in advanced navigation functionalities that contribute to website scalability. The dynamically-generated navigation system ensures that websites grow in an organized and coherent fashion, and ensures a quality user’s experience by preventing broken links from happening.
Plone’s navigation system also enables the creation of “smart folders” that aggregate content from all over the site using canned queries into one specific area, creating an automated alternate navigation system.
Automatic Content Syndication
Custom rules can easily be set up to automatically syndicate specific content to the home page and/or other related pages.
For instance:
- Recent news items and upcoming events may be automatically listed on the home page with a dynamic link to the detail page;
- Specific sponsors logos may be automatically featured on the home page with a link to the sponsor/partner’s information page;
- Featured products and/or related products may be automatically displayed throughout a product catalog;
- Etc.
Membership Management System
The Plone content management system makes it easy for visitors to contribute content in a coordinated way through secure passwords. Plone provides the tools to create extremely custom editing rules addressing a variety of business needs.
There can be multiple user levels, such as staff members, contributors, reviewers, partners, etc., and multiple roles. For instance, contributors may only submit specific content (e.g. news or events) in a specific section of the site, and reviewers may only be able to approve or reject the submitted data inside their own section. Yet site managers may be able to edit content throughout the site.
Personalization
The Plone CMS can support multiple skins (in the graphical sense) to present various target audiences with a custom view of the site. Depending on their role and/or group, web visitors may get access to password-protected areas of the site that are hidden to the general public. Each demographic group may get a specific visual experience as developed by the web design team, and get access to a different set of premium content and tools.
Translations
LinguaPlone is a Plone third-party tool that helps manage and maintain multilingual content. LinguaPlone provides site editors with an easy interface to enter content in various languages. The tool automatically links content together without the need for a duplicate site structure.
