Michael Kinkaid

Top 7 in Kentico 7

October 03, 2012 / Outside The Box / Permalink

Kentico 7 has been released and is running rampant throughout our office (Ektron is still sulking by the water cooler). New installs, upgrades, client demos and developer tinkering have allowed us to form an early impression of this shiny new version of the popular CMS. There are some really exciting features, some much needed UI enhancements (no more pop-ups, thank heavens) and some additions that have us scratching our head a little. In order to keep this blog post to a reasonable size, and to facilitate a catchy title, we have limited our praise to what we feel are the top 7 features. There are MANY more things to be found in version 7.

The "Oh my word, how did we ever live without this" features include:

1

Advanced Workflow

Kentico has developed a seriously impressive workflow engine. This engine can automate not just content but also marketing tasks and translation services. Using new visual workflow designer, an editor can create bespoke workflow scenarios. Workflows now feature conditions, logic branches, user choice and my personal favourite: custom actions that allow our developers to go even further. Perhaps we can build the Kentico version of IFTTT. Once I get a little R&D time I want to see what custom processes we can wrap this workflow designer around.

2

Macro Rule Designer

In previous versions of Kentico macros were written in "raw" code format - pretty impossible for clients to understand and use. Version 7 has fixed this with a visual macro builder. Developers can create complex reusable macros and have these expressed in plain English. Content editors, marketers, etc. can then select and edit these macros in - you guessed it - plain English. With both parties speaking the same language, everything becomes a whole lot easier.

3

Translation Services

As a Canadian company we regularly develop domestic sites for our two National languages - English and French. Given building multilingual sites is the norm we were really excited when we heard about the new translation services in Kentico CMS 7. Content editors can now get a pretty decent "first version" of their content using services such as Google Translate. Content can also be exported into XLIFF which is a format professional translators work with. We recently launched a project that features 6 languages and this feature would have really helped the initial translation effort.

4

On-Line Marketing

The Kentico EMS V 7 Online Marketing Solution has been enhanced with automation, built in geolocation with MaxMind and also new connectors for services such as Salesforce and Data.com. Whereas EMS felt a little unfinished in version 6, in version 7 it is a seriously impressive tool for marketers.

5

Device Layouts

We've been doing a lot of responsive web design over the past year. One slightly annoying aspect of responsive is the need to deliver all of the markup to every single device. Kentico provides better support for server side device detection alongside rather nifty options for dynamic and conditional templates specific to each end user device. We can use a responsive design at the core of our solution but, when required to do so, throw in a little device specific goodness. Another great addition for content editors is the ability to preview pages at the media size of the target device. We can also create and register additional devices when new ones come out.

6

Web Farm Synchronization

OK, so these last two features are pretty much for the geeks. I haven't kicked the tires of the new web farm setup yet but on paper it is pretty exciting. We have rolled out many gigs that operate in a web farm. We also use the web farm model for local team development (no one wants to check in media library files). Configuring the web farm in previous versions was a bit of a pain. The new approach to have the synchronization operate via the database is just a smart idea.

7

Progressive Caching

This is another smart idea. There are times when caching is off. It could be in development, or, although infrequent, it could be a production site where up to date data is required all the time. Kentico have introduced a nice feature whereby although caching is disabled, queries for data are cached between active threads on a code block.

7.1

Ecommerce Updates

I couldn't end the list without mentioning the fantastic update to the ecommerce website template. The new look and features will really help with selling Kentico 7 as an ecommerce solution. The CMS Desk has been updated to make product management a lot simpler.

The [scratches head] "not sure this really works for us, probably some other folks will get a kick out of this" features include:

Wireframing

Frankly, the implementation of wireframes in Kentico CMS 7 is a little too basic and a little inconsistent with how most UX specialists either create wireframes or generate useful demos/specifications from them. Before I get a barrage of angry emails (mkinkaid@ecentricarts.com) let me explain where I am coming from with this. Wireframing is the cornerstone of our specification phase, they are the common dialogue between the client and our team. We develop interactive wireframes and from these we generate functional, technical and content specifications. At present a tool such as Axure makes more sense for our team. We will certainly keep our eyes on this feature and are interested to see where Kentico takes it.

JavaScript Management

JavaScript files can now be managed with the CMS. For me storage here makes sense but I can't see anyone preferring the editor over something like Visual Studio or Aptana.

Michael Kinkaid

Kentico Connection 2012

October 03, 2012 / Outside The Box / Permalink

We're just back from the 2012 Kentico Connection in Denver, Colorado, USA. Keith, Sean, Fisseha and I went down to present a case study on ecentricarts' recent Bell Media project. All in all, it went grand, even with the obligatory Power Point technical snafu. Our target presentation time was 15 minutes which we were comfortably hitting when we practiced. Our real time was, well, let's just say there is a reason why we are soon to re-record the session.

The convention was a two day event with two main tracks: one focusing on business topics and the other on tech. Sessions were about 1 hour long and always ended with questions and answers. Most of the attendees were solution providers, i.e., competitors, who we readily gave the evil eye to. More accurately, we readily had a pint and a good chat with. There really is a great community of people using this product. There were also a few potential Kentico CMS customers who had attended in order to do some diligence on the product. The solution providers were obviously rather keen on making their acquaintance.

We were one of the sponsors. A perk for doing that was being able to add something to the swag bag to promote ourselves. We went with this rather nifty infographic.

Highlights of the trip included a fantastic e-commerce workshop, access to senior Kentico big wigs and a sincere feeling that our feedback and aspirations for the product were being listened to. The guys from the Czech Republic are very friendly and professional. They are also really eager for feedback on all aspects of Kentico CMS. On the evening of the first night we all left the confines of the hotel and had a little fun playing pool, laser tag and 10 pin bowling. I am happy to announce that, due to Keith's lethal aim, team Canada ~~destroyed~~ overcame team USA. It is a good thing Mr Durrant was on form as the Northern Irish contingent of our team (me), came in last. If only Rugby was considered a team building exercise...

The content of the convention is obviously going to depend on the features being announced at the time. It did feel like a little bit of a stretch to extend the version 7 features across two days. I personally think that the convention could be improved with more workshops with senior Kentico developers on both new and existing features and more implementation presentations using real world examples.

The litmus test for any convention is to consider whether or not you will bother going the next year. We most certainly will, and perhaps even head off to the convention in Prague.

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