Announcing GearsCMS Version 2!
Easier, Better, Faster, Stronger
IdeaBank is proud to announce the release of our second generation of GearsCMS. Built on MODX's new 2.3 Content Management Framework, the new GearsCMS Content Management System brings improved performance, focused design, and a wealth of new features.
The entire manager user experience has been retooled and streamlined to produce noticeably faster page interactions and screen loading. The clean, updated design puts focus on what's important: content management.
A wealth of new features
It's not all about looks and speed (well, most of it is); the new system also brings with it a new generation of standardized tools and functionality to help you maintain your site.
Improved Search and Navigation
The new system is designed to help you find what you need, when you need it. Our focus is making GearsCMS easy for you to pick up and put down. Here are some new features:
Template Icons
The new template icons will help you quickly identify what template a page is using before you open it. This will help to quickly identify which page might be using the wrong template in a section.
Überbar
Tired of looking for the page you want to edit? The new überbar is an extremely responsive search mechanism designed to quickly find pages by title or content.
Breadcrumbs
Each resource you edit now features a breadcrumb trail to help you identify where you are. Want to go back to the parent page? Just give it a click!
QuickBar
Ever notice something wrong on a page, and want to quickly fix it? The new QuickBar allows you to jump back into the manager and edit a page. You can also use it to create new articles in a news section, or add child pages.
Tabs!
Do you want to edit two pages at once? GearsCMS now fully supports tabbed browsing, by allowing you to right-click and edit or create a page in a new tab.
Multi-Item Upload
If you've ever gotten tired of selecting one file at a time to upload, you can now rejoice. The new multi-item upload system lets you select all the files in a folder to upload at once.
Increase Search Presence
GearsCMS2 features some pretty spiffy new SEO tools to help you with your marketing and search efforts.
SEO Pro
The SEO Pro tool shows gives you better insight into how your page is appearing on a Google search engine listing. It is designed to help you develop a better content strategy for a page, and increase your rankings.
SEO Tab
The new SEO Tab allows you to set up and maintain custom marketing URLs and redirects on each page. You can now set up a permanent shortened URL, or simply forward a URL to your page.
Google Analytics
Quickly view your site's performance every time you log in with our updated Google Analytics Dashboard. You will now be able to see the last months performance results laid out in a simple bar graph. You can click through to view more detailed information, including keyword performance, browser technology, locations, and more.
Wrap Up
Some may recognize a few of the features we've been working into newer iterations of GearsCMS over the last year, but all of these features will be rolled in to your GearsCMS2 environment. We stand behind GearsCMS and the MODX platform it is built upon. We are currently working on a process to enlist volunteers to try out our new platform, so check back here for a signup.
One more thing...
You may have noticed some features missing that you wished were part of GearsCMS. We are beginning to offer à la carte premium add-ons for GearsCMS2. These features take a little more time and resources to set up, so they will not be included as part of a standard install. Below are a few examples of premium add-ons:
Version Control
With a version control system, you can jump back to a previous save of a page.
Preview
Preview allows you to check your changes before you commit them. You can view a side-by-side comparison of page changes, as well as schedule page changes to happen in the future.
Redactor Content Editor
If you've ever found yourself lost in the complexity of TinyMCE (our standard, Word-like content editor) you may find Redactor to be a breath of fresh air. It is a much simplified content editor designed for easier writing and formatting of a page.
