Magnolia vs. TemplateToaster

A colleague here being another business. Magnolia is on its way to being a 'good' product but the 6.2 implementation simply isn't there yet (6.2.26 as of this writing). The admincentral UI could use a complete overhaul to be better streamlined for devs and content editors (the two who actually use it).

Incentivized

TemplateToaster has the best features which include: BOOTSTRAP 3 support, W3C compliance, all devices and all browsers compatibility, clean and concise code generation, and extensive designing options. A big pack of sample templates comes free with software installation, and all the designing options have been provided as per the latest web design trends. Templates made in TemplateToaster make clients say, “wow, it’s amazing”. TemplateToaster is a designing tool as well as a development tool. In short words, it provides a GUI for designing templates, after the accomplishment of designing, the template can be exported into a fully-fledged web template, which is ready to use as a website design.

• Use of YAML to define content models with code.
• Versatility of defining actions for custom handlers.
• Reloading classes when code is modified in a local dev environment is nice. While it doesn't seem to work when changes extend beyond the method body (i.e., adding methods), it remediates the pain of long startup times.

Incentivized

• Advanced designing features and using these advanced features very easily e.g. Bootstrap 3 support that makes flawless responsive templates.
• Encapsulated all the major designing trends with respect to particular CMS.
• Optimized code is produced for every theme/template as such the coding standards are perfectly followed by this software.
• All WordPress themes made with this software pass the Theme Check test.
• Because of W3C compliance it ensures consistency of websites over the web.
• HTML5 and CSS3 also ensure better look of designs on small screens.
• Apart from making web templates, one can make full fledged websites too. TemplateToaster allows making static websites with YouTube video inclusion. It has inbuilt FTP, so that user can easily move its website to the server.
• An amazing and exclusive feature it provides is the option to draw custom widget/module/ block area.

• As a developer the learning curve is long, you can start developing relatively quickly but getting to know the platform in depth takes time.
• Having a history of modifications not only at the page level but also at the Content Apps level would be very useful.

Incentivized

• It is not available for MAC operating system.

We have invested a lot of time and energy into tailoring a solution that works for the company.

We think the new features in v6.2 will help us get to the next level

We also don't have the resources to rebuild a website platform from scratch even if we wanted to

Incentivized

I see two main pains: 1. A new user need training to be able even to start using the platform, the onboarding is difficult 2. The platform needs a server with a relevant amount of memory to run properly, the dependency on the memory is really high

Incentivized

I gave [it] 7/10 only because of the loading time of pages. Otherwise, I think it deserves an 8. Normally this is not an issue per [se] but considering the rating matrix and as I have been asked to honestly write about it. Yes, the page loading times could be improved.

You always get an answer based on your SLA. But you always get a solution. That's the successfactor in this case. To often i was frustrated about people in a company without even a clue what there product is about or how to solve a problem. Magnolia's Support Team does a very good job and try to help you in most of the cases

Prior to using Magnolia as an enterprise CMS solution, different teams leveraged different website platforms including WordPress, Weebly, and others. While these other platforms may be slightly more user friendly to the content editor, they don't offer nearly the same amount of customization and digital best practices out of the box that are customizable by web development teams like Magnolia does. The other solutions may work better for a quicker/simpler web implementation without technical resources but don't have the depth and breadth of capability and functionality that Magnolia has and fall flat.

Incentivized

No, I never used any other similar software, its completely a new experience

• Magnolia has brought about positive impacts. For instance, we need not outsource web design and marketing services because thanks to this software, we can handle most work inhouse
• The software is affordable with no compromises on capabilities and therefore it is gives us value for money.
• The templates makes the whole process easy

Incentivized

• TemplateToaster returns full value of money.
• It helps in finishing my projects ahead of time, hence I can finish more projects in less time. In other words, it helps in increasing my efficiency, which brings monetary benefits to me.