Name: BLOX CMS
Author: TownNews

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### User Interface
User sentiment regarding BLOX CMS's user interface capabilities is somewhat mixed. While users appreciate the platform's ease of use in accessing and managing customer information, tracking data, and uploading classified ads, there are concerns about the search criteria not being user-friendly and the system updates taking longer to go into effect. Additionally, users have highlighted issues with spam filtering in the email system and the lack of control over outdated information in the marketplace section. Despite these challenges, users acknowledge the system's security features and its ability to streamline processes such as self-service ad placements.

### Search and Navigation
Users generally have a mixed opinion about BLOX CMS's search and navigation capabilities. While some users appreciate the ability to access and track customer information efficiently, others find the search criteria to be less user-friendly and requiring specific inputs. The system's functionality to upload classified ads and manage customer data is praised, but issues with updates taking longer to go into effect and spam filtering in the email system are noted as areas for improvement. Additionally, users express a desire for more control over the marketplace section to manage outdated information effectively.

### Content Creation
Users' feedback on BLOX CMS's content creation features is predominantly positive, highlighting its ease of use in uploading photos, stories, and articles. The platform's ability to streamline the process of placing ads through a self-service system has been particularly praised for its efficiency and cost-saving benefits. Additionally, users appreciate the system's security measures and its capability to track key business information effectively. The consensus among users is that BLOX CMS offers a robust and user-friendly solution for content creation needs.

### Content Management
Users appreciate the ease of uploading photos, videos, and articles onto their websites using BLOX CMS. They find the process of creating, editing, and customizing content to be straightforward and intuitive. The ability to schedule posts, track edits, and manage content effectively has been highlighted as key strengths of the platform.

Users of BLOX highly recommend the following based on their experiences with the tool:

1. Take the time to learn how to use BLOX effectively: Users suggest being patient and investing time in understanding the features and functionalities of BLOX. This enables businesses to maximize the benefits of the tool and optimize their customer data tracking.

2. Compare BLOX to other CMS software options: Reviewers advise businesses to evaluate BLOX against other content management system (CMS) software solutions available in the market. This comparison helps in determining if BLOX aligns with their specific requirements and offers the best value for money.

3. Recognize BLOX's security features: Users appreciate BLOX's strong security measures that protect customer data. They recommend considering this aspect as a crucial factor when making a decision about adopting BLOX for their business needs.

Overall, these recommendations emphasize the importance of investing time in learning how to utilize BLOX effectively, comparing it with other CMS software options, and considering its robust security features.

BLOX CMS is a content management system developed by BLOX Digital. According to the vendor, it is designed to maximize revenue and streamline multimedia content production for media organizations of all sizes, ranging from small local newspapers to large media conglomerates. The product offers a comprehensive set of tools and features to efficiently manage digital content.

## Key Features

**Content Management**: According to the vendor, BLOX CMS allows users to easily create, edit, and publish multimedia content across multiple platforms. It offers features such as keyword and category metadata fields for organizing content, as well as convenient cross-browser video management and automatic thumbnail image generation.

**Audience Development**: The vendor claims that BLOX CMS helps media organizations engage and grow their audience through personalized experiences. It offers features to target users with custom offers and convert casual visitors into paying subscribers. Additionally, it provides tools to boost subscriptions with targeted offers and specialty e-Edition paywalls.

**Advertising & Revenue**: BLOX CMS is said to provide a turnkey digital advertising solution for monetizing digital content. The vendor claims that it delivers guaranteed rates, optimal sell-through, and fast payment. The platform also offers high-performance, non-intrusive advertising positions to generate revenue.

**Video Management**: BLOX CMS enables efficient management and distribution of video content across various platforms, including web, mobile, social, OTT/CTV, and over-the-air. According to the vendor, users can edit and schedule videos using an intuitive, cloud-based application. The product also supports multiple bitrate formats for optimal delivery and provides opportunities for video monetization through server-side ad insertion and various video advertising options.

**Data & Analytics**: BLOX CMS offers features to gain valuable insights into audience behavior and content performance. Through integration with Google Analytics, users can access detailed statistics and analytics. According to the vendor, this data-driven approach helps media organizations optimize content strategies and revenue generation.

**Digital Publishing**: According to the vendor, BLOX CMS enables media organizations to deliver personalized mobile news app experiences to drive engagement and subscription revenue. The platform supports the creation of a 24/7 TV-like experience on connected TV app platforms like Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV. It also enhances the print replica experience with BLOX Live e-Editions, featuring modern, mobile-friendly user interfaces and multimedia capabilities.

**Flexible multi-channel design**: BLOX CMS allows users to customize the look and feel of their website, mobile app, and CTV/OTT apps. The vendor claims that the platform offers a click-and-drag interface for effortless tweaking of content and layout. It also provides SEO-optimized templates to drive traffic and allows the creation of multimedia magazine-style stories directly in the rich text editor.

**Lucrative revenue opportunities**: According to the vendor, BLOX CMS offers various revenue-generating opportunities for media organizations. It helps grow reader revenue through a smarter paywall/metering solution and provides turnkey managed programmatic advertising to boost digital revenue. The platform also allows the creation of a high-traffic local business directory with customizable small business micro-sites and enables the conversion of print display ads into SEO-friendly online ads with SearchBoost.

**Your integrated content, revenue, and engagement ecosystem**: BLOX CMS aims to streamline editorial processes with flexible workflows. It allows media organizations to engage their audience across multiple digital platforms and provides insights into visitor engagement and monetization. According to the vendor, users can manage the design of their website, mobile app, and CTV/OTT apps in a unified interface.

**Centralized layout and pagination**: BLOX CMS supports multiple geographically dispersed publications from a single install. The vendor claims that it offers efficient page production tracking with the Page Tracker, enabling remote users to produce pages without a VPN. Additionally, BLOX Live e-Editions help reduce processing and storage costs.

Easy-to-use Platform: Multiple users have praised Blox CMS for its user-friendly interface and intuitive design. They have found it easy to navigate through the platform and perform various tasks such as creating, editing, and uploading content. The simplicity of the system has made it accessible even to those with limited technical skills.

Convenient Content Management: Many reviewers have appreciated the convenience offered by Blox CMS when managing website content. They have highlighted features such as the ability to share stories, upload different types of media like photos and videos, add break-out boxes and widgets, make comments and notes, track article edits, and schedule posts throughout the week. These functionalities have streamlined their workflow and enhanced efficiency in content creation.

Comprehensive Customer Management: Users have found Blox CMS to be a valuable tool for managing customer information effectively. It provides access to necessary customer details, allowing users to search for specific information and print it when needed. Additionally, they appreciate the capability to communicate with customers after completing service requests and update customer data within the self-contained system provided by Blox CMS.

Challenging Customization: Some users have found the customization process in BLOX CMS to be challenging due to the intertwined templating and logic in the code, which can make it difficult to change the layout without risking losing support.

Lack of Plugin System: Several reviewers have expressed a desire for a plugin or extension system in BLOX CMS, as this would provide more flexibility and functionality for both TN and vendors. They believe that having a marketplace system for extensions would greatly enhance the software.

Time-consuming URL Building: A common complaint among users is that building URLs for sections and other elements manually in BLOX CMS is time-consuming compared to other CMS platforms like WordPress. This extra effort can slow down website development and maintenance processes.

Users of Blox CMS have found it to be a valuable platform for building new sites and streamlining content management. The system allows users to focus on higher-level tasks such as providing quality news products and revenue ideas, while the platform takes care of the technical aspects of website creation. This has allowed businesses to stay organized and has enabled teams to work together seamlessly on content creation, editing, and scheduling. With the easy-to-use interface, users can easily upload photos, stories, and articles for newspaper website publishing. The self-service system also empowers customers to place ads at their leisure and make payments, saving time and money. Moreover, Blox CMS has proven to be effective in detecting fraudulent ads by reviewing ad wording and IP address origination points. By doing so, it helps newspapers avoid noncollectable charge-backs. Despite some initial challenges, users have found that once they figure out how to work around the problems, they are able to improve the appearance of their websites, upload content efficiently, and seamlessly manage both online and print content. Overall, Blox CMS provides a comprehensive solution for digital publishers looking for an efficient and user-friendly content management system.

Wordpress is an open-source publishing platform popular with bloggers, and a content management system, known for its simplicity and modifiability. Websites may host their own blogging communities, controlling and moderating content from a single dashboard.

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BLOX CMS

A content management system (CMS, or alternately WCMS for "web content management system") is a system used to manage the content of a Web site. Typically, a CMS consists of two elements: the content management application (CMA) and the content delivery application (CDA). The CMA element allows the content manager or author, who may not know Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), to manage the creation, modification, and removal of content from a Web site without needing the expertise of a Webmaster. The CDA element uses and compiles that information to update the Web site.

TownNews

Web Content Creation

Features that support the creation of website content.

WYSIWYG editor

What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get editing tool allows users to build pages without writing code.

Code quality / cleanliness

Code generated by WYSIWYG editor is clean and validates according to W3C standards.

Content versioning

The system tracks versions or has some sort of content archiving in place, so that users can go back to a previous version of the website if problems arise.

Admin section

The admin page is easy to navigate and use.

Page templates

The CMS has standard webpage templates or types of web pages (e.g. homepage, article page, interior page, blog page, etc.); users can also build custom templates.

Library of website themes

A library of website frameworks or themes is available as a starting point for building a website.

Mobile optimization / responsive design

The CMS helps users build webpages that work well on mobile devices – whether m-dot pages or responsively designed pages.

Publishing workflow

The software allows users to set up a custom workflow for updating the website, including approval processes.

Form generator

Users can build website forms for visitors to fill out.

Content scheduling

Users can schedule content to publish at a certain date and time.

Web Content Management

Internal content search

Users can use a search index to find content.

Content taxonomy

Users can create multiple levels and types of content categories including tags.

SEO support

The CMS helps users create the right website infrastructure (pagination, page headers, titles, meta tags, url structure, etc.) to increase the site’s visibility in search engine results.

Browser compatibility

The CMS helps users build webpages that function well on all or most Internet browsers.

Bulk management

Users can change an attribute on a group of documents or sites all at once through features such as global search and replace, making bulk changes easier.

Page caching

The CMS uses page, template, query and tag caching to optimize website speed.

Availability / breadth of extensions

There is a broad library of extensions, plug-ins, modules or add-ons that allow users to easily customize their websites without building custom code.

Built-in e-commerce / shopping cart

The CMS natively allows for product management, including pricing and shopping cart functionality.

E-commerce / shopping cart extension

The CMS has an extension or plug-in that allows for product management, including pricing and shopping cart functionality.

Community / comment management

Users can put post/page comments through an approval process, auto-approve commenters based on their email addresses, block commenters by IP address, delete comments, etc.

Import / export

Users can batch import or export content.

Website analytics

Built-in feature or plugin allows administrators to evaluate site traffic.

Platform & Infrastructure

Features related to platform-wide settings and structure, such as permissions, languages, integrations, customizations, etc.

An API (application programming interface) provides a standard programming interface for connecting third-party systems to the software for data creation, access, updating and/or deletion.

Internationalization / multi-language

The software supports multiple languages, countries, currencies, etc.

This component helps a company minimize the security risks by controlling access to the software and its data, and encouraging best practices among users.

Role-based user permissions

Permissions to perform actions or access or modify data are assigned to roles, which are then assigned to users, reducing complexity of administration.

Multi-factor authentication

User-level audit trail

Version history

Simple roll-back capabilities

CMS programming language or framework

Which programming language is the CMS and most extensions written in?

Python

Java

.NET

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BLOX CMS

Overview

What is BLOX CMS?