Month: September 2022

Looking for the best CMS software to build your website? A CMS, or content management system, can help you create a high-level functional website without having to build each page from scratch using code.

However, different CMS programs have different pros and cons, so you should choose the tool that is best for your specific needs and budget.

What is a CMS?

Before we get to our list, let’s answer the question: What is a CMS?

A content management system does exactly what the name says: it helps you “manage” your website’s content in a “systematized” way.

Instead of having to work with code when you want to add content to your website, with a CMS you can work in an easy-to-use editor that might look something like this:

When you then want to “publish”, the CMS will correctly display that part of the content to the visitors according to your wishes.

A CMS also manages the organization of your entire website’s front end. For example, if you publish a blog post, the CMS will automatically display it at the top of your blog page and add a timestamp.

However, a CMS is more flexible than just a blogging platform. A blogging platform is basically a CMS for a specific type of content (blog posts) while a CMS can help you manage virtually any type of content.

The “content” of your CMS could be, for example:

• Blog post
• Static pages
• E-commerce products
• Forum posts
• Private course content
• Membership

It can even be several types of content at the same time! A good CMS platform can help you manage just as many different types of content as you need.

What is a Headless CMS?

In the list below you will see another term: Headless CMS. With a headless CMS, you use your CMS to manage all content on the backend. Then you can build your own frontend by querying data via an API.

The advantage of this “headless” approach is that you can use your content pretty much anywhere. It can be about everything from a website to a mobile app and much more.

A headless CMS requires much more technical knowledge but gives you more flexibility in how and where you use your content.

What should you consider when choosing a CMS?

Here are some of the most important things to consider when choosing a CMS:

• Pricing – every CMS comes with a cost. Some are free and open source, but you have to pay to host them. Others may require you to purchase the software from the company that creates the CMS.
• Support & customer experience – some tools are open source with no central support options, while others have 24/7 support – make sure you understand what you’re getting.
• SEO – it’s important that your chosen software gives you the tools to rank in Google and other search engines.
• Customization – If you run a business, a CMS that allows you to create personalized experiences for visitors can help you improve your marketing and conversion rates.
• Ease of use – if you are not a developer, you should choose a tool that is easy to use without development knowledge.
• Security – some CMS tools put you in charge of website security, while other tools handle this for you.

The 5 Best CMS Software Solutions in 2022

1. WordPress— Price: Free

WordPress s is by far the world’s most popular CMS – it powers over 37% of all websites on the Internet. WordPress started as a blogging platform but has since turned into a powerful CMS that you can use to build any type of website. It can be about everything from E-commerce stores to membership sites, forums, and much more.

In fact, WordPress, through the WooCommerce extension, is also one of the most popular platforms for creating an e-commerce store. Some of the reasons for WordPress’ great popularity are:

• It is free and open source.
• You can find thousands of WordPress themes to influence the look of your website.
• You can access 55,000+ free plugins to extend your site’s functionality (Here are some of the best).
• Advanced users can also use WordPress as a headless CMS with something similar to Gatsby.

2. Drupal — Price: Free

Drupal is another popular open source CMS that is quite similar to WordPress.

With its flexible taxonomy system, Drupal excels when it comes to managing sites with large amounts of content. It also has a built-in user access system that gives you good control over what registered users can do inside the CMS.

Like WordPress, you can control the look of your website using themes and extend Drupal’s functionality with modules.

3. Joomla — Price: Free

Joomla is the third player in the trio of popular open source CMS software, along with WordPress and Drupal.

Like WordPress and Drupal, Joomla has large marketplaces for templates and plugins, helping you create a website that matches your needs.

In terms of the technical knowledge required, Joomla offers a nice middle ground between WordPress and Drupal.

4. Grave — Price: Free

Grav is an open source flat-file CMS. The “flat-file” designation means that Grav does not require a database to function. Instead, it works via content from text files. This makes Grav very easy to deploy anywhere as all you have to do is upload the site’s files.

You can still create dynamic content types and filter content, but you’ll also be able to use a Markdown editor to create content.

5. Shopify — Starting at $29/month

Shopify is a hosted e-commerce platform. It is the second most popular way to create an eCommerce store after WooCommerce.

Shopify’s biggest advantage is simplicity. Since it’s a host-based tool, you don’t have to worry about your store’s security or maintenance. You can simply focus on finding customers and expanding your store.

You still get a good dose of flexibility thanks to the Shopify App marketplace, but you won’t have full access to your store’s underlying source code.

Businesses that need more flexibility can get Shopify Plus.

Color psychology in marketing and branding is very complex. Consider these research studies to make better decisions.

Do you feel calm when surrounded by green fields and blue skies? Have you ever wondered what the color red represents and why you feel a little uneasy when you stare at a stop sign? These are just two of the many effects color has on the human psyche. It is part of a study called color psychology.

What is Color Psychology?

Color psychology studies how different colors affect human behavior. Color psychology is used in advertising and marketing to evoke emotional responses. It sounds simple on the surface, but you quickly realize that there is so much more underneath.

Before we look at how the meaning of color affects human behavior (and how certain colors evoke different reactions), let’s take a quick trip through the history of color.

In the 17th century, Sir Isaac Newton observed sunlight passing through a glass prism and how the light was reflected in different colors. He initially identified six wavelength hues: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.

But color psychology predates Newton’s time by thousands of years back to the Egyptians. They studied the effect of color on mood and used color to achieve holistic benefits.

More recently, the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung called color “the mother tongue of the subconscious”. His psychological studies led him to develop art therapy. He believed that self-expression through images and colors could help patients recover from trauma or distress.

Have you noticed how colors go in and out of style? In the 1970s, earth colors were popular but gave way in the 80s to turquoise and purple. Later, pink and blue-grey came on the wallpaper.

When it comes to marketing, people often focus on the big things like text, search engine optimization, branding, social media, email marketing and PPC advertising. But there is a tremendous amount of value in getting to the point of getting the finer details perfect. One of these details is color. More specifically, you need to embrace the concept of color psychology and how the human brain perceives different shades of light.

How color psychology is used in marketing

The meaning of colors and the psychology of colors can strongly influence people’s behavior and decision-making. People make subconscious judgments about a person, environment or product within seconds or minutes. Color plays a big role in this first impression.

That fact is not lost on brands and advertisers. They know that certain colors and shades evoke emotions and make people act. This effect is both subtle and powerful.

Through their choice of color in logos, packaging, signage and advertising, brands can influence consumers to buy on impulse, or choose their product or service over a competitor’s.

Think about your favorite brands and how certain colors dominate. Are their logos bright red like Coca Cola or Netflix? Or are you a person who likes the colors black and white like Nike? Maybe you prefer yellow and are drawn to McDonalds.

The psychology of common colors

In this episode, we explore the ten most common colors and emotions and the psychology associated with them. This should allow you to strategically choose certain colors and optimize your website, online branding and digital presence.

• Red is a color that stimulates and attracts attention. Positive connotations include love, power, passion, energy, strength and warmth. Negative associations mean danger, warning and anger. Red can often be used to promote a sense of urgency and drive people to action (as in the actionable study we referenced earlier.) Lots of successful companies use red as their primary branding color, including Netflix and Coca-Cola. If you want something bold and edgy, this could be an option for you.
• Orange sits next to red on the color spectrum and shares some of the same warm attributes, albeit with a little less stimulation of the senses. Orange has positive associations with warmth, courage, success, kindness and confidence. But it can also evoke feelings of inertia or ignorance. It can also feel cheap. (When was the last time you saw a luxury product or brand use the color orange?) Brands that use orange are usually fun and lively, such as Fanta and Nickelodeon.
• Yellow is a bright color that demands attention and creates very distinct associations with consumers. Positive emotions include optimism, happiness, fun and sunshine. Negatives can link a brand to feelings of instability or irresponsibility. Like orange, yellow tends to be more of a “cheap” or budget-friendly color and is rarely used in luxury settings. (Although it’s interesting to note that Ferrari, a very advanced brand, uses yellow as a primary color. It just goes to show that there are exceptions to every rule.) Popular brands that use yellow include Subway and McDonald’s.
• Green is a color of refreshment. It is relaxing and very easy on the eyes. Green evokes positive feelings of peace, tranquility, growth, nature and health. Although it can also be used to produce emotions such as guilt, envy and jealousy (usually associated with money). Well-known green-centric brands include Starbucks and John Deere.
• Blue is a reliable color that insinuates strength and confidence. It has a calming and cooling effect on people, making them feel relaxed and light. However, it can also be seen as cold and masculine in some scenarios. So remember this if you are trying to create opposite effects. Blue is often used in companies where trust is very important – such as finance or healthcare. (Companies like IBM, Pfizer, and Oral-B use blue.) But it can also be used in a variety of other industries. Companies like Facebook depend on blue to connect with customers.
• Purple is the combination of red and blue – and it shares some common attributes with both. It is seen as a royal, creative and luxurious color that moves people to action. It can also be seen as mysterious (which can be positive or negative depending on your brand’s goals). Although less common than some primary colors, purple is a popular choice for brands looking to let loose and have a little fun. Examples are Barbie and Footway.
• White is a color of balance, calm, innocence, purity and freshness. It is a minimalistic color that helps people feel centered and balanced. However, it can also be boring and uninteresting. That is why it is paired with other colors, where it provides pure contrast. While we’ll let you debate which color is the primary and which is negative, brands like Apple and Wikipedia have white as one of their primary colors.
• Gray is slightly different than white. It usually evokes similar feelings, but is seen as more luxurious. It is also a very high-tech and glamorous color. You’ll see many tech and luxury companies, including Apple, Lexus and Peugeot, use silver.
• Black is often used together with white or grey. It sends signals of formality, drama, class and protection. It also has a shadow side, where it can possibly create feelings of mystery, death or evil. Black is a common choice for brands such as Nike, Puma and The New York Times.
• Brown is often forgotten, but it has its place in brands. It is often associated with kindness, longevity, down-to-earth and the outdoors. However, it can also give off an unappealing aesthetic that feels conservative. Brown is not a popular color in the big brand, but you will see it in popular companies like UPS and M&M’s.

As you can see, each color provokes a different set of responses. Some are obvious and intuitive, while others are more subconscious and under the radar.