Name: CommonSpot
Rating: 7 (4 reviews)
Author: PaperThin, Inc

Help Desk

Web and Video Conferencing

Customer Support

Beta Testing

Cross-Browser Testing

Feature Management

Functional Testing

Performance Testing

Product Analytics

Virtual Reality

Development

Business Intelligence (BI)

Collaboration

Contract Analysis

Emissions Management

Payment Facilitation

Enterprise

Accounting

Accounts Payable

Accounts Receivable

Crypto Tax

Travel Management

Finance and Accounting

ACA Compliance

Applicant Tracking

Compensation Management

Corporate Learning Management

HR Management

Payroll

Relocation

Talent Intelligence

Talent Management

Workforce Analytics

Workforce Management

Human Resources

API Design

Cloud Storage

DevOps

Fraud Detection

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)

Network Performance Monitoring

Privileged Access Management

Software Components

Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

Storage as a Service (STaaS)

Time Series Databases

Vendor Risk Management

Information Technology

A/B Testing

Ad Serving & Retargeting

All-in-One Marketing

Content Management

Content Marketing

Data Management

Email Marketing

Marketing Automation

Online Reputation Management

Product Intelligence

Social Media Management

Survey & Forms Building

Web Analytics

Marketing

Project Management

Task Management

Professional Services

Customer Onboarding

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

eCommerce Analytics

Sales

Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management

Virtualization Security

Security

Aviation

Banking

Church Management

Digital Forensics

Fleet Management

Geographic Information

Hospital Management

Insurance Claims Management

Intelligent Document Processing

Internet of Medical Things

Veterinary

eDiscovery

Vertical-Specific

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### Content Management Systems
Users generally praise CommonSpot for its efficient content management systems capabilities. They appreciate the ease of modifying sub-sites with custom templates and the real-time WYSIWYG page editor that simplifies handling components like paragraphs, images, and custom components. The ability to view the template and styles being used directly in the page editor sets CommonSpot apart from other CMS platforms. Additionally, the streamlined asset management process within CommonSpot saves users valuable time by centralizing all assets in one place, eliminating the need to search through multiple folders or contact various colleagues.

### Website Templates and Customization
Users consistently praise CommonSpot's website templates and customization capabilities for their ease of use and flexibility. The ability to easily modify sub-sites with custom templates and the real-time WYSIWYG page editor have been highlighted as standout features. Additionally, the platform's fast page loading times and the clear display of templates and styles in the editor have been commended. CommonSpot's website templates and customization options have proven to be invaluable for creating and maintaining modern websites, catering to a wide range of needs from external marketing sites to custom applications.

### Editing and Content Creation
Users seem to appreciate the ease of editing content and making updates in CommonSpot. The platform's real-time WYSIWYG page editor, coupled with the ability to handle various components, has been highlighted as a strong point. Additionally, the extendable nature of the content editor using Coldfusion has allowed for more in-depth customization when needed. Users have also noted the platform's efficiency in generating a large number of pages quickly during content migration processes. Despite some limitations in flexibility, CommonSpot's editing and content creation capabilities have generally received positive feedback for their user-friendliness and functionality.

### User Experience and Navigation
While some users appreciate the engagement of the customer care team and the system's ease of navigation, others find it challenging to navigate, especially for larger businesses with multiple tiers. The deep menus and tree selections can be confusing, leading to difficulties in locating specific features. Despite some positive experiences with user support and ease of use, the overall consensus on CommonSpot's user experience and navigation remains varied.

### Learning and User Training
Users generally praise CommonSpot's user-friendly interface and the ease of learning to navigate the platform. The training provided was sufficient for users to feel comfortable using the software efficiently. Despite acknowledging a learning curve associated with any new tool, users found the customer support team to be responsive and readily available for assistance. The platform's templates and integration capabilities were highlighted as beneficial features that facilitated the learning process. Additionally, users with varying levels of technology experience, including those with minimal background, found CommonSpot to be easy to understand and navigate.

CommonSpot has proven to be a versatile content management system, successfully used by various industries and organizations. Users have found the software effective for managing websites both internally and externally. Schools have utilized it to update their graduate sites, while universities, including well-known higher education institutions, have relied on it to handle high volumes of traffic on their websites.

Content managers benefit from having all assets in one centralized location, saving time and simplifying the process of finding images and copy. The software has also facilitated rapid application development and improved work efficiency by generating a large number of pages quickly during content migrations.

One advantage of CommonSpot is ensuring consistent branding and collaboration through multiple logins. It allows easy creation and maintenance of modern websites, with real-time display of templates and styles through the WYSIWYG editor.

While some users have encountered challenges due to Coldfusion reliance and editing limitations, others have found value in leveraging the software for website management, integrating updates effectively, and ensuring continuity of service during platform migrations like Drupal.

Overall, CommonSpot serves a wide range of use cases, from managing school websites and intranets to running marketing sites and custom applications. Its effectiveness in tasks such as sub-site creation, template modifications, asset management, and quick page generation makes it a valuable tool for enhancing online presence.

Intuitive and User-Friendly Navigation: Many users have found the navigation of CommonSpot to be intuitive and user-friendly. They appreciate how easy it is to find their way around the platform, allowing them to quickly access the features they need without any confusion.

Flexible and Scalable Platform: CommonSpot's use of ColdFusion provides flexibility and scalability, which has been praised by several users. The ability to customize and expand the platform according to their specific needs has greatly benefited these users in managing their online presence effectively.

Responsive Customer Care Team: Users have consistently mentioned the engagement of CommonSpot's customer care team and their quick responsiveness. The team's genuine concern for the user experience has left a positive impression on many reviewers, making them feel supported throughout their journey with CommonSpot.

Cons:
1. Quirks and Display Errors: Some users have reported encountering quirks and display errors in the software, which can affect the overall user experience. These issues may include unexpected behavior, glitches, or inconsistencies in how elements are displayed.
2. Lack of Drag and Drop Functionality and Widget Library: Several reviewers have expressed a desire for more drag and drop functionality as well as a larger widget library to enhance customization options. This would allow users to easily rearrange elements on their pages and access a wider range of pre-built components.
3. Difficulty in Navigation: Users have found it challenging to navigate through menus and tree selections, especially for large businesses with multiple tiers, leading to potential frustration and inefficiency. Some users mentioned that the navigation structure is complex, making it hard to locate specific features or remember where certain options are located.

Users commonly recommend the following when using CommonSpot:
- Investing in training for employees to ensure they are proficient in using the platform.
- Thoroughly researching and understanding needs and goals before implementing CommonSpot.
- Having a knowledgeable staff member or team available to provide training and support.
- Organizing content and training authors prior to implementation.
- Evaluating possible future scaling issues and integrations with other software.
- Considering alternative options like Drupal or Adobe Dreamweaver if CommonSpot doesn't meet specific requirements.
- Being present in every meeting when new releases are made to stay up to date with the platform's updates.

CommonSpot is a Web platform that includes a content management system, an application development framework, marketing solutions, and social media features from PaperThin, Inc, a privately held, MA-based company. PaperThin's customers span multiple industries, including: government, healthcare, higher education, and association/non-profit sectors.

Wordpress is an open-source publishing platform popular with bloggers, and a content management system, known for its simplicity and modifiability. Websites may host their own blogging communities, controlling and moderating content from a single dashboard.

Personal

Premium

Business

Commerce

Microsoft's SharePoint is an Intranet solution that enables users to share and manage content, knowledge, and applications to empower teamwork, quickly find information, and collaborate across the organization.

Plan 1

Plan 2

Office 365 E3

Microsoft SharePoint

CommonSpot

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.

Likelihood to Recommend

Usability

Web Content Creation

Web Content Management

Role-based user permissions

Code quality / cleanliness

Admin section

Page templates

Library of website themes

Publishing workflow

Form generator

Content taxonomy

SEO support

Bulk management

Availability / breadth of extensions

Community / comment management

PaperThin, Inc. is a privately held, MA-based company.  Its flagship product CommonSpot™ is a secure Web platform that includes a content management system, an application development framework, a suite of marketing solutions, and Web 2.0 and social media features that help organizations create world-class Web experiences that drive high-impact results.  PaperThin's customers span multiple industries, including: government, healthcare, higher education, and association/non-profit sectors.  Customers such as American University, Hasbro, Sharp HealthCare, and The National Park Service work with CommonSpot to make their multi-channel digital marketing efforts more effective.  To learn more, visit PaperThin at www.paperthin.com or follow us at www.twitter.com/commonspot.

PaperThin, Inc

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 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.

The admin page is easy to navigate and use.

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.

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.

The software allows users to set up a custom workflow for updating the website, including approval processes.

Users can build website forms for visitors to fill out.

Content scheduling

Users can schedule content to publish at a certain date and time.

Internal content search

Users can use a search index to find content.

Users can create multiple levels and types of content categories including tags.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

CommonSpot

Overview

What is CommonSpot?