Name: Finalsite Composer
Rating: 7.6 (5 reviews)
Author: Finalsite

Help Desk

Web and Video Conferencing

Customer Support

Service Mesh

Development

K-12 Online Learning

Education

Business Intelligence (BI)

Collaboration

Demand Planning

Policy Management

Enterprise

Accounting

Accounts Receivable

Crypto Accounting

Tax Compliance

Finance and Accounting

Applicant Tracking

Corporate Learning Management

HR Management

HR Service Delivery

Payroll

Talent Intelligence

Talent Management

Time Tracking

Workforce Analytics

Workforce Management

Human Resources

Application Infrastructure

Cloud Management

Cloud Storage

Code Review

Converged Network Adapters (CNAs)

Data Center Networking

Data Integration

Density-Optimized Servers

Embedded Database

Fraud Detection

Identity Verification

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)

Intranet

Low-Code Development

Managed Detection and Response (MDR)

Mobile Device Management (MDM)

Network Performance Monitoring

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)

Technology Business Management

WAN Optimization

Information Technology

A/B Testing

Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

Ad Serving & Retargeting

Affiliate

All-in-One Marketing

Click Fraud

Content Management

Customer Journey Mapping

Digital Rewards

Email Marketing

Marketing Automation

Mobile Analytics

Social Media Management

Survey & Forms Building

Web Analytics

Marketing

Project Management

Video Conferencing

Professional Services

Auction Software

Call Recording

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Lead Management

Predictive Sales Analytics

Product Configuration

Quote to Cash

Sales Engagement

Sales

Application Security

Database Security

Virtualization Security

Security

Civil Engineering

Inventory Management

Mobility as a Service

Physical Therapy

Vertical-Specific

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Finalsite Composer is a content management system (CMS) designed specifically for educational institutions. According to the vendor, it allows schools of all sizes, including K-12 schools, independent schools, international schools, charter schools, and higher education institutions, to easily manage and update their website content, create engaging communications, and streamline various school processes. This software solution is utilized by education technology specialists, school administrators, communications and marketing professionals in the education sector, IT professionals in schools, and web developers in schools.

## Key Features

**Efficient Page Creation**: Finalsite Composer enables users to quickly and effortlessly create and edit website pages. According to the vendor, the user-friendly drag-and-drop interface simplifies the addition and arrangement of content elements. Users can select from a range of pre-built page layouts to create visually appealing and responsive pages. The platform's customizable design elements allow users to personalize each page to reflect their school's branding and style. The vendor claims that all websites managed using Finalsite Composer are fully responsive, ensuring a seamless user experience across devices.

**Effective Communication**: According to the vendor, Finalsite Composer provides powerful communication tools that facilitate effective engagement with the school community. Users can easily create and send targeted email newsletters, announcements, and alerts to parents, students, faculty, and staff. Additionally, the system allows for the integration of social media feeds and calendars into the website, ensuring up-to-date and comprehensive information sharing.

**Streamlined Form Management**: The vendor states that Finalsite Composer streamlines the management of online forms for schools. The platform offers a user-friendly form builder that allows users to create customized online forms for various purposes such as admissions, event registration, and surveys. Schools can securely collect and manage form submissions within the system, eliminating the need for paper forms and manual data entry. Users can also configure automated workflows and notifications to optimize form processing.

**Robust Media Organization**: Finalsite Composer provides a comprehensive media management system, enabling schools to easily organize and share photos, videos, and other multimedia content. Users can create galleries and albums, upload files, and seamlessly embed media into website pages. The platform supports various file formats and offers options for optimizing and resizing media to ensure optimal display quality and fast loading times, according to the vendor.

**Integrated Calendar and Event Management**: According to the vendor, Finalsite Composer includes a feature-rich calendar and event management functionality. Users can create and manage events, publish event details on the website, and enable online registration. The system supports recurring events, RSVP tracking, and event reminders. Schools can also integrate their calendar with other popular calendar platforms for seamless synchronization.

**Secure User Access and Permissions**: The vendor claims that Finalsite Composer offers robust user access and permissions management capabilities. Schools can create user accounts with varying roles and permissions to control access to website content and functionality. Administrators can easily manage user accounts, assign permissions, and monitor user activity. The platform also supports single sign-on (SSO) integration, ensuring a secure and seamless login experience for users.

**Powerful Search Functionality**: According to the vendor, Finalsite Composer features a powerful search capability that enables users to quickly locate specific content on the website. The system indexes all website content, including pages, documents, and media, facilitating accurate and relevant search results. Advanced filtering and sorting options further enhance the search experience.

**Multilingual Support**: According to the vendor, Finalsite Composer offers multilingual support, allowing schools to create and manage content in multiple languages. Users can easily translate and localize website content to effectively reach diverse audiences. The platform provides language selection options, automatic translation features, and language-specific content management capabilities.

**Comprehensive Analytics and Reporting**: Finalsite Composer provides comprehensive analytics and reporting tools to help schools measure and analyze website performance. Users can track website traffic, user engagement, and content popularity. The platform offers customizable reports and dashboards, enabling schools to gain valuable insights and make data-driven decisions, according to the vendor.

**Seamless Integration with Third-Party Systems**: According to the vendor, Finalsite Composer seamlessly integrates with a wide range of third-party systems and services. This allows schools to leverage existing tools and resources by integrating student information systems (SIS), learning management systems (LMS), payment gateways, and social media platforms, among others. The integration capabilities enable schools to streamline workflows, enhance data accuracy, and provide a seamless user experience across different systems.

Users of Finalsite Composer have found that the software effectively solves a range of business problems related to website management and communication. One key use case is the ability to make real-time changes to websites, allowing users to update entire pages in just minutes. This level of agility and ease-of-use greatly enhances efficiency, as users can quickly and easily keep their websites up-to-date with the latest information and content.

Another business problem solved by Finalsite Composer is the need for professional-looking mass emails. Users have found that the software provides a seamless solution for creating and sending mass emails that not only look professional but also effectively reach a larger audience. This feature enables users to efficiently communicate important information, updates, or announcements to stakeholders without the need for one-on-one contact.

Additionally, Finalsite Composer helps alleviate the workload of IT teams by empowering multiple trained individuals across various departments to update website information easily. This reduces the reliance on the IT team for routine updates, resulting in increased productivity and streamlined processes.

Moreover, Finalsite Composer offers a variety of templated products, accommodating different budgetary options for an expanding clientele base. This versatility ensures that organizations of diverse sizes and financial resources can utilize the software to create appealing and user-friendly websites.

Overall, users have found Finalsite Composer to be a valuable tool in solving various business problems related to website management, communication, and efficiency. Whether it's making real-time changes, sending professional mass emails, or reducing IT workload, this software provides a comprehensive solution for organizations in need of an effective website management platform.

User-Friendly Interface: Many users have praised Finalsite Composer for its extremely user-friendly interface, describing it as the easiest CMS they have ever used. They appreciate the intuitive nature of the software, which makes website creation and back-end management a breeze.

Flexible and Customizable: Several reviewers have highlighted the flexibility and customization options offered by Finalsite Composer. They find that the software's intuitive interface and strong functionality make it easy to use and adaptable to meet their unique needs. Users especially appreciate its ability to handle multiple campuses with varying admissions and website requirements.

Seamless Integration: A number of users have expressed satisfaction with Finalsite Composer's seamless integration with other Finalsite products. They find that this integration provides a complete solution for their needs, eliminating the need for separate systems. Reviewers mention being content with the available tools and modules, although some note that it can feel overwhelming for smaller schools.

Integration Challenges: Some users have reported difficulty integrating Finalsite Composer with Rediker, requiring a more hands-on approach than desired. 

Formatting Issues: Several reviewers have expressed frustration with occasional formatting issues when using the software, which can be time-consuming and disruptive to their workflow.

Messaging Interface Complexity: Many users find the messaging interfaces in Finalsite Composer challenging to navigate, particularly when it comes to sequencing messages for specific audiences.

Education technology company Finalsite offers Composer, a CMS, but also the engine of the company's communications tools also featuring tools for email newsletters, inbound marketing, news, calendars, and social media to keep the school's community engaged. The service also includes Finalsite's cloud-based hosting which is backed by 24-7 support. It will likely replace the Blackboard Web Community Manager (WCM), after Finalsite's September 2022 acquisition of the Blackboard K-12 division from Anthology.

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Content management systems (CMS) are software platforms used to create, manage, and publish digital content. They provide a user-friendly interface to handle tasks like editing and formatting without requiring deep technical knowledge. Most CMS solutions support collaboration, workflow automation, and multi-channel delivery, including headless architecture. Explore our verified user reviews and comparisons to find the best content management system for your business needs.

Finalsite

Finalsite Composer | CMS for Schools and Districts

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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Finalsite Composer
Formerly Blackboard Web Community Manager (WCM)

Overview

What is Finalsite Composer?