Name: Kirby
Price: 89 USD
Author: Bastian Allgeier

Help Desk

Web and Video Conferencing

Customer Support

Image Recognition

Development

Business Intelligence (BI)

Collaboration

Diagramming

Project Portfolio Management

Supply Chain Management

Enterprise

Accounting

Invoicing

Finance and Accounting

Applicant Tracking

Benefits Administration

Corporate Learning Management

HR Management

Payroll

Talent Intelligence

Talent Management

Workforce Analytics

Workforce Management

Human Resources

Cloud Brokers

Cloud Storage

Converged Infrastructure

Data Center Infrastructure Management

Data Lakehouse

Data Observability

Data Privacy Management

Database Load Balancing

Ethernet Switches

File Sync and Share

Fraud Detection

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)

License Management

Log Management

Managed IT Service

Network Performance Monitoring

Network Troubleshooting

NoSQL Databases

Packet Analyzer

Password Management System

Remote Support

SOA Governance

Single Sign-On

Smart Contracts

Solid State Drives

Threat Hunting

Threat Intelligence

Virtual Private Cloud (VPC)

Wireless LAN

Information Technology

A/B Testing

Ad Serving & Retargeting

All-in-One Marketing

Content Management

Creative Collaboration

Customer Success

Digital Content Creation

Digital Signage

Email Marketing

Marketing Analytics

Marketing Automation

Social Media Management

Survey & Forms Building

Web Analytics

Marketing

Field Service Management

Meeting Room Booking

Project Management

Professional Services

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Sales Gamification

Sales

Construction Management

Equipment Rental

Homeowner's Association (HOA) Management

InsurTech

Insurance Suites

Investment Portfolio Management

Tax Practice Management

Vertical-Specific

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### Website Development
Users generally praise Kirby for its website development capabilities. Reviewers highlight the ease of building simple websites and the flexibility to adapt quickly to different needs. However, some users express concerns about Kirby's limitations for more complex sites, citing the lack of certain features like native support for comments and forms. Despite these drawbacks, Kirby is commended for its intuitive UI, customization options, and the ability to create an administration panel with freedom and clean design. The platform's out-of-the-box functionalities, such as multi-language management, are also appreciated by users.

### CMS Comparison
Users unanimously agree that Kirby's CMS capabilities are top-notch. The reviews highlight the ease of use, intuitive UI, and extensive customization options that Kirby offers. Users appreciate the minimalistic approach and clean architecture of Kirby, making it ideal for portfolio sites, storefronts, and micropages. While some users feel that Kirby may not be the best choice for larger, more complex sites, the general consensus is that Kirby excels in providing a tailored backend experience and a streamlined website development process. The flat file approach, coupled with the new block editor, enhances the writing experience and allows for greater flexibility in content creation. Kirby's ability to work without a database, coupled with its clean code base structure and customizable administration panel, sets it apart from other CMS options. Additionally, users value Kirby's multi-language management functionality and its focus on empowering clients to personalize and update their websites with ease.

### Software Maintenance
Users unanimously praise Kirby for its efficient and user-friendly maintenance process. They appreciate the simplicity and speed with which they can update and manage their clients' websites. The software's maintenance capabilities are described as efficient, effective, and easy to understand, allowing users to streamline their operations and focus on growing their businesses. Kirby's maintenance features have garnered high praise for their ability to enhance productivity and reduce the time spent on routine maintenance tasks.

### Performance Optimization
Users consistently highlight Kirby's performance optimization capabilities as a standout feature, emphasizing how it greatly enhances the overall user experience. The platform's efficient performance optimization tools contribute significantly to the smooth functioning of websites, ensuring optimal speed and responsiveness. Kirby's dedication to streamlining performance optimization processes is widely recognized and appreciated by its user base.

Kirby is a Content Management System (CMS) designed for small to large-sized companies. According to the vendor, Kirby provides a flexible solution for managing and delivering content across different devices and platforms. It offers features such as simple text file storage, scalability, a powerful plugin API, flexible templating, user management, a media API, caching options, extensibility, security, and a customizable admin panel.

## Key Features

**Simple Text File Storage**: According to the vendor, Kirby stores content in simple text files, allowing for easy management and editing using any text editor. The file-based storage system enables version control, backup, and syncing.

**Scalable and Flexible**: The vendor claims that Kirby offers a fast and modern foundation that can scale with projects of any size. It provides a powerful plugin API for extending functionality and can be used as a headless CMS or with a traditional frontend.

**Powerful Plugin API**: According to the vendor, Kirby's plugin API allows developers to customize and extend its functionality. Developers can create custom sections, fields, and templates, as well as integrate with external services and databases.

**Flexible Templating**: The vendor states that Kirby's PHP-based template engine allows for flexible and intuitive frontend development. Developers have control over the markup and can use their preferred template engine. Collections enable the use of reusable data sets across the site.

**User Management**: According to the vendor, Kirby provides role-based user management, allowing for the creation of protected sections on the site. User permissions can be set to control access and actions within the CMS.

**Media API**: The vendor claims that Kirby's media API supports asynchronous image processing and on-the-fly optimization. It also enables responsive images and automatic generation of optimal image sizes.

**Caching**: According to the vendor, Kirby includes built-in caching to improve page loading times. Developers can configure caching options for pages, files, and other content to optimize performance.

**Extensibility**: The vendor states that Kirby's extensibility allows for the addition of custom sections, fields, and components. Core components can be replaced or extended with custom plugins. The routing system can also be customized to handle URL schemes and form submissions.

**Security and Privacy**: According to the vendor, Kirby is built with security in mind, following OWASP standards and best practices. The file-based architecture eliminates SQL injection vulnerabilities. Kirby is also GDPR compliant by default, respecting user privacy.

Intuitiveness: Users have found Kirby to be incredibly intuitive, with many reviewers mentioning that they were able to build their first client's website without the need for tutorials or user guides. The user interface is easy to navigate and allows users to get started right away.

Customization Options: Reviewers appreciate the wide range of customization options available in Kirby. Many mention that there are options for almost everything imaginable, allowing them to create a slicker look that their clients love. This sets Kirby apart from other platforms like WordPress.

Minimalist Design: Users love that Kirby was created by minimalists with a strong vision of what web development should be like. They appreciate the clean architecture and custom-tailored backend that can shrink and expand with a client's needs. This minimalist approach makes Kirby simple and effective, allowing users to focus on building websites instead of dealing with annoying problems.

Hidden Tools: Some users have struggled with the interface of Kirby, specifically in locating certain tools that appear to be hidden. 

Missing Features: Several reviewers have mentioned that Kirby lacks certain features they require for their projects, such as native support for comments or user-generated content forms.

Limited Functionality for Complex Websites: According to some users, Kirby's simplicity may not make it suitable for large websites or those needing a lot of interactive functionality, as its feature set is perceived as limited and may not meet the demands of medium complexity scenarios or larger companies.

Users have found Kirby to be a valuable solution for addressing major business issues, thanks to its efficient file-based management system for sitewide and microsite tasks. The ease of navigation within Kirby is particularly appreciated, allowing users to quickly find what they need. While some users initially struggled with organizing files in folders, Kirby's plugins and search engine have proven to be effective tools for simplifying the process of locating specific files.

Kirby's out-of-the-box customization options make it an ideal choice for building web sites and online portals, facilitating the smooth launching and maintenance of these platforms. In fact, some users have even considered Kirby as a suitable alternative to WordPress, especially for portfolio sites, storefronts, and micropages. Users have successfully employed Kirby for various projects, ranging from one-pagers to medium-sized websites, and have found it both efficient and easy to maintain.

The helpful and supportive nature of the Kirby community has also been greatly appreciated by users. With a strong open-source philosophy, the community offers valuable assistance when needed. Clients of freelance users have expressed satisfaction with Kirby as a reliable CMS, reporting no issues with its usage. Additionally, the simple and fast maintenance process offered by Kirby ensures a pleasant experience for users. Hosting and maintaining Kirby has also been hassle-free for users, differentiating it from alternative CMS options.

Basic

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TemplateToaster is website template and theme generating software. It is developed by AcrossSoft, a software development company in New York, NY. The software is a desktop based application and generates templates or themes for content management systems such as WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, Magento, and Prestashop.

Standard Edition

Professional Edition

TemplateToaster

Kirby

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.

Bastian Allgeier

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.

Security

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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Kirby

Overview

What is Kirby?