Hey Concrete CMS community! September’s Town Hall is packed with updates, community shoutouts, and new additions to the marketplace that are sure to make managing your Concrete-powered website even more efficient. In this post, we’ll recap the latest news, including some maintenance releases, community contributions, and exciting new add-ons that you’ll want to check out.
September 2024 Concrete CMS Town Hall Recap: Updates, Shoutouts, and Exciting New Add-Ons
Monthly Maintenance Releases
Andy broke the news that version 9.3.4 and version 8.5.19 of Concrete CMS are rolling out. These maintenance releases come with important security patches and a few minor bug fixes. Nothing major, but these updates are critical to ensuring a smooth and secure experience for everyone using Concrete. If you haven’t already, be sure to update your site as soon as these become available!
These smaller, frequent updates are part of Concrete’s commitment to a stable, consistent release structure. The team at Concrete knows that regular updates help keep your site secure and running efficiently without the need for large, disruptive changes.
Community Shoutouts
As always, the success of Concrete CMS is deeply tied to its vibrant open-source community. Whether it’s code contributions, bug reporting, or documentation, the community is the backbone of this platform. This month, several community members stood out for their efforts:
- Code Contributions: A special thank you to aembler for continued contributions.
- Issue Reports: Shout out to hissy, studio108, nayemkh, BHWWills, 6tematik, nakazawazakan, ajenkins-dev, bart-zuiderlicht, aashish-aenow, wtflm, and mhawke for submitting and working on various issues in the core.
- Documentation & Discussions: Huge thanks to simonchilton for helping with documentation and discussions.
Your hard work and commitment help make Concrete CMS better for everyone!
What’s New in the Marketplace?
The marketplace continues to grow, with new themes and add-ons available to enhance your Concrete-powered site. Here are some highlights:
Rating & Reviews from Google by Ryan Hewitt: This handy add-on lets you display Google reviews directly on your website by entering your Google Place ID. Whether you want a simple listing or a sleek slider, this feature-packed block is perfect for showing off what your customers have to say. Priced at just $15, it's an affordable way to add a touch of credibility to your site.
Rating and Reviews from Google
Display Google reviews and a star rating for a business or location
Blue Lagoon Theme by PortlandLabs: Looking for a quirky and refreshing new look? The Blue Lagoon theme includes all the usual page and block templates you need, but with a unique design twist. Priced at $35, this theme is ideal if you're looking to give your site a fun and vibrant feel.
Microsoft Entra ID SSO by Portland Labs: If you're looking for enterprise-grade security, the new Microsoft Entra ID Single Sign-On add-on is a game-changer. It integrates your website with Microsoft’s business tools, offering real-time calendar sync and enhanced security features. This package is tailored for version 9 of Concrete CMS and is available in the marketplace for $395.
PortlandLabs Microsoft Entra ID SSO
$395
User authentication and calendar synchronization with Microsoft, leveraging Azure and Entra ID for seamless, secure, and real-time connectivity.
Behind the Blocks: Proof of Concept vs. Alpha
In this month’s "Behind the Blocks" segment, we took a deep dive into the difference between a proof of concept and an alpha version of a project. While these terms are often thrown around interchangeably, they mean very different things, and it’s crucial to understand the difference, especially when managing expectations with clients.
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Proof of Concept: This phase is all about making an emotional connection and selling the idea. It’s not about building the perfect back-end infrastructure but rather focusing on front-end experiences that resonate with the client or audience. You want something that’s visually compelling and functional for a specific use case—like a trade show demo—even if you’ll be throwing out the code later.
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Alpha Version: On the other hand, an alpha is the foundation for something long-lasting. It’s where you start laying the groundwork with robust back-end structures that you know you’ll build on for years to come.
Understanding where you are in the project lifecycle can save you time, effort, and help focus your team’s energy on what really matters at the moment.
Featured Site: New Lenox School District
Last but not least, we took a look at the New Lenox School District website, a great example of how powerful Concrete’s permissions and multi-site tools can be for larger institutions. With destinations for each school within the district and videos to engage students and parents, the site showcases how Concrete’s robust permissions model allows multiple administrators to manage their respective content, all while staying within a single Concrete installation.
This setup is a perfect fit for schools, government bodies, and other organizations that need a secure, compliant, and easy-to-manage web presence.
Final Thoughts
That wraps up the September 2024 Concrete CMS Town Hall! We’re thrilled about the new updates and contributions coming from the community. Don’t forget to check out the latest marketplace additions and keep an eye out for future updates. We’ll be back next month with more news, insights, and community highlights.
Got questions? Feel free to drop by the forums or reach out to the community for support.
Until next time, happy building!