Stateless Systems has launched a professional, subscription based version of its hosted content management system CushyCMS.
I interviewed Guy King from Stateless for the CushyCMS launch in April (the post includes a demo video) and he mentioned then that the long-term plan for CushyCMS was to offer a professional subscription version. King tells me that the demand for a professional version of CushyCMS was strong from the day the service launched, so they immediately started building it. As of last week, the free version of CushyCMS has more than 4,600 active users, a tidy number given this isn’t an every day consumer based product.
CushyCMS is a simple content management system that aims to make life easier for web designers by simplifying content management. Web designers use CushyCMS to give content editors (for example a client) access to part, full or many pages at a granular level (headings, images, sidebars, etc), enabling them to update or create standards-compliant content directly from a browser without messing with the sites coding.
CushyCMS Pro is being offered at $28/month and features branding support, including a custom logo, colors and domain (e.g. acmedesign.clienteditor.com). There is no set-up fee or minimum subscription length and both PayPal and AlertPay are accepted.
In addition, several new features have been added to the free version of CushyCMS, including SFTP support (secure FTP), Improved WYSIWYG editor and Support for IIS and other Microsoft-based FTP servers.
Former TechCrunch writer Duncan Riley edits The Inquisitr, a daily dose of tech, pop and penguins.
UserVoice offers a hosted way to harness the innovation and ideas of customers and potential customers that replaces email.
San Francisco based UserVoice improves the signal-to-noise of user opinion by allowing the moderation of the ideas of one person against the opinions of the many. UserVoice allows users to voice opinions, suggestions, and complaints. The video above demonstrates how it works (it’s difficult to pigeon hole) but think focus groups for companies that can’t afford focus groups, with elements of a forum and even Digg style voting thrown in for good measure.
For companies, UserVoice offers an open and transparent process for customer feedback to any company. The system also allows site owners to ask the community more directed questions (e.g. by a poll) about how users like a new feature or what they think of a specific idea.
I first saw UserVoice when I interviewed Guy King for CushyCMS (post here), King loves the service and although I didn’t video it, he spent 5 minutes showing me how they were using it. It’s always a good sign when people not involved with the company spontaneously evangelize a product. CushyCMS’s UserVoice page here and the official demo page for UserVoice can be viewed here.
The service is completely free during the public beta. UserVoice competes with SalesForce (IdeaExchange) and GetSatisfaction.
CushyCMS is a fast, simple and free content management system that aims to make life easier for web designers by simplifying content management. Using CushyCMS, web designers can give content editors (for example a client) access to part, full or many pages at a granular level (headings, images, sidebars, etc), enabling them to update or create standards-compliant content directly from a browser without messing with the sites coding.
I sat down with CEO Guy King Monday (Sunday PST) for a demo of the service. The key for CushyCMS is that it’s not a WordPress or similar CMS replacement, it’s a content management interface in the simplest meaning of the term that can be applied to any sort of site. The video walkthrough above or there’s a demo video on the CushyCMS site.
The service opens to the public April 15, but if you want to try it now we have 150 invites for TechCrunch readers. Visit the CushyCMS site here and enter the code TECHCRUNCH to sign up.
Community coupon site RetailMeNot has today launched a social network on top of their coupon portal.
RetailMeNot comes from Melbourne, Australia based Stateless Systems, who would be best known to TechCrunch readers as being the company behind bypass registrations page BugMeNot. I sat down with Guy King from Stateless Systems on Friday for a demo, video above.
RetailMeNot is pushing through some amazing figures for a bootstrapped (non-funded) startup with three employees. The site averages $4 million a month in sales that are accurately recorded through affiliate channels, with only 40% of codes on the site having a direct benefit for RetailMeNot. Estimated total sales through the site are $10 million a month or approx $100 million a year. 600,000 non-affiliate clickthrus were recorded in February 2007 and 440,000 affiliate clickthrus. The site offers 71,000 coupons from 13,000 merchants and is adding 200-300 new coupons a day, 300-400 new comments per day and 9000 votes per day. Traffic and revenue grew at 20% per month through 2007. King wouldn’t tell me how much the site was making, but told me that it was profitable in seven figures.
King sees the social networking side of RetailMeNot as an extension on their core shopping community that will provide hard core bargain hunters a space to talk shopping.
Stateless Systems has launched a professional, subscription based version of its hosted content management system CushyCMS.
