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CommonSpot

CommonSpot

Overview

What is CommonSpot?

CommonSpot is a Web platform that includes a content management system, an application development framework, marketing solutions, and social media features from PaperThin, Inc, a privately held, MA-based company. PaperThin's customers span multiple industries, including: government, healthcare, higher education, and…

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

CommonSpot has proven to be a versatile content management system, successfully used by various industries and organizations. Users have …
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Pricing

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What is CommonSpot?

CommonSpot is a Web platform that includes a content management system, an application development framework, marketing solutions, and social media features from PaperThin, Inc, a privately held, MA-based company. PaperThin's customers span multiple industries, including: government, healthcare,…

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  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Product Details

What is CommonSpot?

CommonSpot is a Web platform that includes a content management system, an application development framework, marketing solutions, and social media features from PaperThin, Inc, a privately held, MA-based company. CommonSpot is designed to address the requirements of web content management, web experience management, brand management, social media management, document management, and community management, while satisfying the needs of digital marketers and business users at every technical level.

PaperThin's customers span multiple industries, including: government, healthcare, higher education, and association/non-profit sectors. Customers such as American University, Hasbro, Sharp HealthCare, and The National Park Service work with CommonSpot to make their multi-channel digital marketing efforts more effective.

CommonSpot Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationYes
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Reviews and Ratings

(4)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

CommonSpot has proven to be a versatile content management system, successfully used by various industries and organizations. Users have found the software effective for managing websites both internally and externally. Schools have utilized it to update their graduate sites, while universities, including well-known higher education institutions, have relied on it to handle high volumes of traffic on their websites.

Content managers benefit from having all assets in one centralized location, saving time and simplifying the process of finding images and copy. The software has also facilitated rapid application development and improved work efficiency by generating a large number of pages quickly during content migrations.

One advantage of CommonSpot is ensuring consistent branding and collaboration through multiple logins. It allows easy creation and maintenance of modern websites, with real-time display of templates and styles through the WYSIWYG editor.

While some users have encountered challenges due to Coldfusion reliance and editing limitations, others have found value in leveraging the software for website management, integrating updates effectively, and ensuring continuity of service during platform migrations like Drupal.

Overall, CommonSpot serves a wide range of use cases, from managing school websites and intranets to running marketing sites and custom applications. Its effectiveness in tasks such as sub-site creation, template modifications, asset management, and quick page generation makes it a valuable tool for enhancing online presence.

Intuitive and User-Friendly Navigation: Many users have found the navigation of CommonSpot to be intuitive and user-friendly. They appreciate how easy it is to find their way around the platform, allowing them to quickly access the features they need without any confusion.

Flexible and Scalable Platform: CommonSpot's use of ColdFusion provides flexibility and scalability, which has been praised by several users. The ability to customize and expand the platform according to their specific needs has greatly benefited these users in managing their online presence effectively.

Responsive Customer Care Team: Users have consistently mentioned the engagement of CommonSpot's customer care team and their quick responsiveness. The team's genuine concern for the user experience has left a positive impression on many reviewers, making them feel supported throughout their journey with CommonSpot.

Cons:

  1. Quirks and Display Errors: Some users have reported encountering quirks and display errors in the software, which can affect the overall user experience. These issues may include unexpected behavior, glitches, or inconsistencies in how elements are displayed.
  2. Lack of Drag and Drop Functionality and Widget Library: Several reviewers have expressed a desire for more drag and drop functionality as well as a larger widget library to enhance customization options. This would allow users to easily rearrange elements on their pages and access a wider range of pre-built components.
  3. Difficulty in Navigation: Users have found it challenging to navigate through menus and tree selections, especially for large businesses with multiple tiers, leading to potential frustration and inefficiency. Some users mentioned that the navigation structure is complex, making it hard to locate specific features or remember where certain options are located.

Users commonly recommend the following when using CommonSpot:

  • Investing in training for employees to ensure they are proficient in using the platform.
  • Thoroughly researching and understanding needs and goals before implementing CommonSpot.
  • Having a knowledgeable staff member or team available to provide training and support.
  • Organizing content and training authors prior to implementation.
  • Evaluating possible future scaling issues and integrations with other software.
  • Considering alternative options like Drupal or Adobe Dreamweaver if CommonSpot doesn't meet specific requirements.
  • Being present in every meeting when new releases are made to stay up to date with the platform's updates.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-2 of 2)
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Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Commonspot is being used by my department and organization to construct and maintain websites. We are also able to focus primarily on content as well as integrate updates across various web pages for the wider public. Commonspot is a great business investment because a person can become skilled at building web pages and managing this web content system easily thereby making them more efficient in their work performance thereby reducing staff turnaround.
  • CommonSpot allows any person with basic web abilities to edit and maintain sites.
  • CommonSpot allows anyone with basic web abilities to focus on content management and to not be consumed with the complexities of HTML .
  • My organization's marketers are able to optimize digital content and email campaigns across all web channels especially social media.
  • Commonspot needs to improve on its authoring feature. It is impossible to author on more than one page at a time . (One must always click on "View work on all changes") before switching between pages otherwise, the changes will not be saved.
  • CommonSpot does not support sharing the definition of any custom element or any template layouts. Therefore, one must recreate these in each site.
  • In Commonspot, a user who has to manage content in multiple sites will have to log in to each site to see and act on any actions.
Commonspot is well suited for web content management to be conducted by individuals with low-level web skills.
Web Content Creation (8)
46.25%
4.6
WYSIWYG editor
N/A
N/A
Code quality / cleanliness
60%
6.0
Admin section
80%
8.0
Page templates
80%
8.0
Library of website themes
70%
7.0
Mobile optimization / responsive design
N/A
N/A
Publishing workflow
80%
8.0
Form generator
N/A
N/A
Web Content Management (5)
78%
7.8
Content taxonomy
80%
8.0
SEO support
70%
7.0
Bulk management
80%
8.0
Availability / breadth of extensions
70%
7.0
Community / comment management
90%
9.0
Platform & Infrastructure (2)
N/A
N/A
API
N/A
N/A
Internationalization / multi-language
N/A
N/A
Security (1)
70%
7.0
Role-based user permissions
70%
7.0
CMS programming language or framework
N/A
N/A
  • Better customer service
  • Improved accountability as it regards tracking the tasks assigned to which employee
  • Improved accountability led to increased employee efficiency
Commonspot works in tandem with Zendesk very well to accomplish tasks an an efficient manner.
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
CommonSpot is used by all departments within the organization to host and edit the website. The organization as a whole utilized CommonSpot for editing of the main website pages, while each department used CommonSpot to edit their individual web pages. It's sole usage, as far as I was able to understand it, was to host and edit the web content for the organization's website.
  • I think CommonSpot's greatest strength is its ease of use. It's relatively intuitive in it's usage, so it therefore makes it easy to train new people to use it.
  • Within my usage of it, our options were limited, which again added to it's ease of use.
  • It was difficult sometimes to make edits once they had been done. Going back and adding something would cause the whole page to reformat and made it incredibly difficult to make small changes.
  • This is perhaps due to the limited options from our organization, but the options were boring. As a result, CommonSpot often bore the brunt of our frustrations in not being able to make the site more attractive.
  • Adding a link was a tedious process that always seemed like it could have been done with a cut and paste instead of uploading the link address and connecting it to the word.
I do actually think CommonSpot is pretty well suited when the organization that you work for requires very specific parameters on site design. It was very clear what could be used and what could not in the design of individual department pages. The other thing I think CommonSpot is best suited for is website content management done by people with little or no website content management experience. It's very intuitive and easy to use and thus, easy to train people on.
Web Content Creation (8)
26.25%
2.6
WYSIWYG editor
N/A
N/A
Code quality / cleanliness
N/A
N/A
Admin section
50%
5.0
Page templates
60%
6.0
Library of website themes
N/A
N/A
Mobile optimization / responsive design
N/A
N/A
Publishing workflow
60%
6.0
Form generator
40%
4.0
Web Content Management (5)
28%
2.8
Content taxonomy
70%
7.0
SEO support
70%
7.0
Bulk management
N/A
N/A
Availability / breadth of extensions
N/A
N/A
Community / comment management
N/A
N/A
Platform & Infrastructure (2)
N/A
N/A
API
N/A
N/A
Internationalization / multi-language
N/A
N/A
Security (1)
N/A
N/A
Role-based user permissions
N/A
N/A
CMS programming language or framework
N/A
N/A
  • I was working in a religious institution and based upon our usage and audience, there was no ROI to speak of. Our usage was more for providing information than having any type of interaction. In that instance, it worked very well.
CommonSpot is the only web content management program I have used.
  • Adding pages is really easy.
I had no previous background in content management, and found it very easy to use. If I could figure it out, I am pretty certain that just about anyone else could as well.
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