Sample Friday Talk

We decided to spend the late Friday evening with benefits and talked with a bright representative of the MotoCMS team. He knows everything about the system and a little more. So, get acquainted, almost live on TemplateMonster blog, product analyst MotoCMS Victor.



If you go through the foreign forums of 2010-2013, MotoCMS is mentioned in connection with Flash technology, which simply dies. What is MotoCMS 3, how does it differ from previous versions?

MotoCMS 3 is not a modified version of previous products from Moto, but a completely new product with relevant solutions for modern business. That is, all the best from the past products are inherited and what is demanded by the market is added. In general, we do not strive to support the product while waiting until the associated technology disappears - we are creating a new one that responds to the real requests from our customers. For example, previous versions of MotoCMS did not support mobile devices, the development of a mobile site was a separate service. MotoCMS 3 templates are fully adaptable for all mobile devices: tablets, smartphones. Creating such adaptability for each released template is not easy work, but we do it, it turns out well. MotoCMS 3 was released over a year ago and the emphasis is on the most advanced programming technologies, namely, a bunch of JavaScript + CSS.3 + HTML5 and, of course, not without PHP.

What is happening with the speed of loading the site on MotoCMS 3?
')

Compared with the Flash version, the page loading speed increased to 70%, and when compared to the previous MotoCMS HTML, by 25%.

How is it working inside the admin itself? What's new brought MotoCMS 3?

In terms of site management, MotoCMS 3 has received many interesting new products. One of them is the technology Drag & Drop, which was previously absent in the product. Already by the name it is clear that the elements of the site can be dragged with the mouse - this is a very convenient and friendly designer. But especially I want to stay on Presets Builder. It did not appear by chance, but again during the fulfillment of client requirements, for which it is important to change the colors and fonts of individual elements, for example, buttons on the site. The trick is that you do not need to change all the buttons on the site - just change the design once, and the changes are inherited by all objects of this type. In Builder, you can freely change the properties of widgets and objects without having the slightest programming knowledge. In fact, a customer, buying one template, can do anything with it, develop a turnkey solution. Speaking easier, buying MotoCMS 3, you buy not just a template, but functionality that solves the problems and tasks of a business in a simple constructor.

What is in MotoCMS 3 from familiar to sites sites?

In principle, everything you need. What is not, then our team is very quickly finalized at the request of customers, support and sales. MotoCMS 3 has standard widgets, it also includes the MailChimp widget, which has long been requested by our customers. You can also connect third-party widgets (so-called embed widgets), for example, social networks. You can insert pieces of code in JavaScript, CSS, HTML, which is necessary for your site. Sliders, carousels, grid-gallery, all this, of course, is. Admin panel is available in three languages: Russian (Russian market is trendy for us), English and German. Localization in other languages ​​will be available soon.

Google Analytics and Google Webmaster now have embedded analytics in the admin panel, and next week similar Yandex services will appear in the same section. In the Code Injection section, you can add / codes for testing hypotheses. By numerous user requests, we have made the SMTP server configuration section. In the integrations section it is possible to add Disqus IDs. In addition, MotoCMS 3 has its own media library. Inside it, you can use pictures, video files, music, documents, archives, etc. If you need to add some type of files, we do this on request. On board MotoCMS 3 there are about 40 different types of animation and always the actual parallax effect for images.

I am sure that the audience is interested in online shopping. What is there about MotoCMS 3 and can it even exist?

Of course it can. In absolutely any selected template, you can connect the functionality of the store. This is generally convenient, as implemented by the plugin in our admin panel. For example, you created your website, after a while you saw the prospect of online trading. It is possible to separately purchase a plug-in, you install the functionality of an online store in the admin area, you can work with orders, payment system, etc. Of the features of the store there are: actions after adding the product, increasing the product picture, editing the price field, setting a special price, the ability to turn off the fields when paying, searching the store and more. Frankly, this functionality costs $ 99, and so far it is one of the few services for which MotoCMS takes a fee. By the way, this week came the second release of our store.

Are there separate online store templates?

Right now there are no ready-made templates. However, I’ll open a secret for Habr's readers: the development of such templates is already underway and they will appear in public access very soon, you will learn about the new category of E-commerce MotoCMS 3 templates. It will be an interesting, strong solution that will be able to gain a foothold in the market of online stores.

How are things with SEO, search engine optimization? Is any work being done in this direction?

Yes, each new update includes fresh SEO solutions, which we also test on our official website, and do not just take it. For example, in the latest release, solutions targeted specifically at the Russian market will be added: the ability to connect Yandex.Metrica, Yandex.Webmaster, canonical URL. This has long been waiting for and now it will be next week. Well, all sorts of title, human-readable URL, descriptions have long been present in our admin panel and this is not news. I note that all the SEO innovations that are becoming available are free for customers, while competitors take the path of paid subscriptions and shift services onto the shoulders of users.

Since we are talking about updates. How is it with them? Released and forgotten, or users periodically fly any buns?

Not periodically, but monthly. In addition to the edits we make, we carry out monthly updates, information about which the user can see in his admin panel. That is, you pay once and get not an aging template, but a website that is constantly improving. Updates of our product go through several stages: the first is the update of the admin itself, the second is the update of templates. Thus, you can find quite old templates with new functionality. The team develops an update in two sprints: in the first we make major changes, we seriously change the functionality, in the second we either finish the first one, or make minor changes. After that we roll out the monthly build of the product.

Where are you looking for inspiration for such frequent updates?

New requests for updates come from customers and tech support: this is how we got Mail Chimp, Disqus widgets, connecting social network tapes, Slideshare, SoundCloud, etc. We try to keep up with the times and change the market ourselves, and not just look back at our competitors.

Really go to the user Moto Flash and Moto HTML in MotoCMS 3 and what is needed for this?

This is a really relevant question that is worth talking about. Many clients are interested in this opportunity, and we ourselves offer a similar migration. We are ready to transfer a client without any problems with both Moto Flash and Moto HTML, but since the product is new, customers should pay extra for transferring their site to a new platform. We have two solutions for the transfer: we transfer either the default template or the entire site along with the content. Plus, if the client asks to transfer the site from Flash to the new platform, we suggest transferring the site to the new MotoCMS 3 template. And this solution is more interesting for the client than working with the old design.

Can a client be able to drastically alter the site for themselves?

In fact, we have two types of customers: ordinary users who are looking for the magic button “Make it cool and right away” and professional webmasters for whom MotoCMS 3 is a tool that makes money. Actually, for webmasters we have the Presets Builder tool, which I have already mentioned above, additional presets for widgets, the ability to insert our own JavaScript, HTML, CSS code. And there is also a silver bullet for any webmaster - a white label, where you have the opportunity to replace the Moto logo, remove the user guide inside the admin panel and much more.

And what about those who did not find the magic button?

For these, we have a site service turnkey (Ready-Made Website). Within 10 days, the buyer of the template usually asks us to add a logo, change the color scheme, add its unique content. As a result, after a couple of weeks, the client has a full-fledged working site on which he can conduct his business.

How many kinds of patterns do you have?

Over the year, we released about 200 templates based on MotoCMS 3 and this is not the limit, as in the previous Moto 2 product there are more than 1,600. We strive to cover all the niches: from the top business category, finance, consulting, etc. It's hard to name a niche that we did not cover. When creating templates in both Moto HTML and MotoCMS 3, we try to satisfy both popular and narrow-profile user requests, for example, we also do websites for taxi services. They can be found in the corresponding section on TemplateMonster .
By the way, about the templates. We have an Engine template with its own history, since it was released first and so far all new changes are created and added based on it.

Show us popular MotoCMS 3 templates, what is interesting for your users in 2015?

Here, for example, a small TOP of our templates on MotoCMS 3. As you can see, among them there are both universal templates and popular among professionals, for example, photographers.



If you leave in particular, then the business subject is very popular, here they are:



Interesting and patterns for cafes and restaurants - this topic is now in trend:

Does tech support work?

Technical support is an advantage of any MotoCMS product, since it is she who creates the overall image of our company. These are professionals who can help with everything: from hosting setup to adding a MailChimp widget. In fact, they can all and even more. With each release, the user guide and training video for all new features comes out. For users who installed MotoCMS 3, an assistant in the admin panel is available in the form of a pop-up pop-up with a recommendation on how to use this or that widget. As soon as you feel like a pro, you can turn it off in the settings and it will no longer bother you.

And here's a picture of our office. Here we work for our customers.

Well, the last, hard question. What is the point of buying a MotoCMS 3 template for $ 199 when you can purchase premium WordPress for $ 50-70?

Actually, before MotoCMS, I worked in one of the web studios of our country, where a primitive business card site was worth literally beyond reality - $ 500 or more. And here for $ 199 you become a webmaster without a lot of training.

Perhaps I will repeat. Buying MotoCMS 3, you get a full-featured solution that meets all the needs of your business. And then it does not matter what kind of work you are in: finance or sell your own knit mittens. If I put myself in the client's place, the following advantages really matter to me:

• Constant product updates that keep up with the changing trends of the IT market. This is not just eliminating bugs, but a real extension of the functional.
  
  
• Customization - I want to change my website as much as possible and do it without the help of web developers, for example, who own WordPress.
  
  
• I do not want to purchase third-party WordPress plugins, but I want to get the functionality I need in delivering my own admin panel. This is a great rarity when a client’s request is listened to as strongly as the MotoCMS team does.
  
  
• I need updates not only for admins, but also updates for my current template, which I probably won't get from competitors.
  
  
• Support, we talked about it before, it really is your indispensable assistant when working in the MotoCMS admin panel, which you receive 24/7 365 days a year.

Friday evening. Share some good news with Habr.

There is a lot of news. As I said, online shopping templates will appear soon. In the near future, there will be something more, much more than just an update of MotoCMS 3, here I want to keep the intrigue. MotoCMS has its own blog in which you can find news not only about the product, but also about market trends.
From the very pleasant - MotoCMS company was nominated in the category “Best Website Designer - 2015” on cmscritic.com . Well, yes, all weekends and Monday you can buy MotoCMS 3 templates on TemplateMonster with 40% discount , what's not good news?

Thank you, Victor! We hope you will come back to us with a story about super-updates.

So do I. Thanks you! And have a nice weekend for Habr's readers!

PS: if you find the time, watch a few video stories of our templates. Handsomely.

Template for consulting company:



Template for photographer and photo artist:



Template for web design studio:



Universal template for business: