Your Love And Wish About Ektron CMS

In my current job, I have to handle various projects run on Ektron CMS. Just like other content management systems, it too have functions and features which I love and some I do not like at all. We all now in every thing or activity there will be pros and cons. The same is for our own Ektron CMS400.NET. Anyway, I would like to say that I really enjoy working with this content management system with so many smart features in it. I would like to say that I really love two features of this CMS and I wish I could add one to make it unique.

I love to access entire history of pages and content

Do you know which feature of Ektron I like the most? HISTORY. It is a feature which I use quite often. It is helpful for what it is made for. I can check history of content updates, that is, when the website content was last updated by whom and check whether any relevant comments are available with the same click. You can compare the current and the previous versions and do necessary modifications if required. Here are two scenarios of how we can use HISTORY:

Scenario 1 - If you edit and publish a content block, but the results are not what you expected, simply revert back to the previous version and start again. Also, comparing the two versions might help you figure out where things went awry.

Scenario 2 - If you update a content block to include a special message or promo, simply revert to the previous version when the promotional period is over.

Scenario 3 - If this year’s conference schedule is more similar to the conference from two years ago than it is to last year’s, go ahead and revert to the 2013 version to use as your starting template. You do have the opportunity to edit any version before making it live again.

I love the ability to make fresh content live even if I am not there

One of the most powerful tools in Ektron is scheduling. It allows to set start or/and end dates for fresh website content and content edits. Here is how you can use this wonderful feature:

Scenario 1 - If you have a news release that needs to go live to coincide with a news conference, but you will be off site at the news conference, simply schedule the release to go live the exact minute you need it to.

Scenario 2 - If you post a special announcement on your website about a promotion that expires August 15, schedule the content to expire and be removed from your website on the expiration date. This will help keep your site up to date, but you only have to touch the content once.

Scenario 3 - If your early bird registration is ending at the end of the week, get ahead of the game by editing your content to reflect the new registration fees and scheduling the edits to go live on the date they become effective. This can be an effective time management tool if you have some days that are busier than others.

Finally, I wish there was no such undo button for deleted items

I think one of the most common issues among our clients is accidentally deleting items or data or even content. Folks delete entire folders when they intended to delete a single item; they delete entire menus when they simply wanted to remove one thing. In fact, I often tell my clients that it’s hard to really mess up something unless you delete it.

In Ektron, once you delete something, it is gone forever. At least it may as well be. The only way to restore the deleted item is to restore your entire website database, and of course that is assuming you have a backup.

There have been feature requests for things like an “undo” button and/or a recycle bin that works a lot like Windows. That is, nothing is deleted permanently until you empty the bin. Perhaps this is something Ektron will consider and implement in the near future.