Version 2.6.1 Released - Menu Manager Fix

We're releasing a small update today to fix some issues in 2.6, mainly the Menu Manager problems where it sometimes would not save the menu you created.

As per usual, you can download the update here and install by simply uploading over your old files.

Version 2.6 released!

We have released Caribou version 2.6!  It is available for download here and includes a variety of bug fixes related to file uploads, user newsletters, and the control panel.  Furthermore, it brings more affiliate system upgrades like the ability to modify/add affiliate links post-purchase (useful for those who don't simply track link referrals).

New blog at ElectricFunction.com

Electric Function, Inc., the developers of Caribou CMS and other web applications, have launched a new blog about web development, their products, and online business.

Version 2.4 Released - PayPal Pro now a supported gateway

Caribou CMS v2.4 has been released with a few bugfixes and features.  The main feature of note here is payment gateway support for PayPal Pro.  PayPal Pro acts like a true merchant account and does not require your users to leave your site to complete payment during the the checkout process.  This gateway has been integrated with auto-recurring billing (ie. it's a fully-featured payment gateway and highly recommended).

For more information on the updates in this release, click here. To download the latest release, click here.

Caribou CMS now a division of Electric Function, Inc.

Caribou CMS will now operate as a product of Electric Function, Inc.  This new corporate structure paves the way for new products and services to be launched by Electric Function, Inc.  Some of these new products and services will complement Caribou CMS while others are unique in their functionality and target market.

I (Brock Ferguson, the owner) am very proud of how Caribou CMS has grown (by over 400% last year!) and we have big ideas for the next year.  We have added software/design developers to the staff and are ready for 2010.

How will this affect Caribou CMS?

Caribou CMS as a product will not be affected by this restructuring.  Management/ownership have not changed, the business will now just function as a brand of a private corporation.  Caribou CMS clients will not notice anything outside of the "Electric Function, Inc." name in new releases because of this restructuring.

Version 2.3 Released - Control Panel Update!

We have released version 2.3 of Caribou CMS which provides some much-needed new features to the control panel.  Administrators can now specify the type of "Frontpage" they would like their site to have.  They can specify either a blog-style frontpage or a static frontpage.  Furthermore, a search bar has been added to many areas of the control panel where you have large datasets to sort through.  For example, you can now search by title, date, topic, ID, or author through your content database or search your member database by any number of fields.  For more information information on this release, click here.  Or, if you're ready to upgrade, download here.

How does Caribou handle recurring billing and stay 100% PCI compliant?

Caribou CMS works with ten payment gateways (not including offline payment methods) and, for many of them, uses automatic recurring billing.  For many companies, recurring billing requires the storage of credit card information.  This requires that the company adhere to the Payment Card Industry (PCI) security standards.  This is both expensive and tough for small- to mid-sized businesses.  So, how does Caribou perform automatic recurring billing and remain PCI compliant?  Caribou combines each gateway's unique recurring billing system as well as unique in-house-developed techniques to remain 100% PCI compliant and easy to use with any gateway.

Caribou v2.1.3 released - small bug fix

A new release of Caribou CMS has been posted for download.  It fixes a small bug based on feedback of the AJAX Active User check included in version 2.1.2.

Caribou v2.1.2 released with enhanced security, Google Analytics, and more

Today marks a major upgrade for Caribou CMS: version 2.1.2.  This release includes some high-demand features that we've taken the time to integrate just right prior to releasing.  What are these shiny, new features?  Read more to get a compact list.

Caribou CMS v2.1 Released - Multiple Active Subscriptions & E-xact Payment Gateway

Caribou CMS v2.1 was released today and is available for purchase here and download here.  This release brings the major change of multiple active subscriptions to the masses.  The main Caribou CMS website has been using this feature for a little while.  What does it mean, for you?  Now, you can have users with multiple active subscriptions to the same package.  We use it so that users can have multiple license subscriptions at $29 per month with us.  By the old application logic, Caribou would treat users who wanted to buy a second license subscription as if they were just extending the subscription of their previously-purchased license.  This way, they can maintain multiple subscriptions of the same type.  Continue reading for a full list of fixes and additions in this release.

The booming state of subscription websites

No, it's not your eyes deceiving you.  The number of subscription websites being launched each month is increasing.  Why?  Well, all it took was a little economic downturn (or not so little...) to remind people that giving away your products and services for free isn't always the answer.  In fact, it's rarely the answer.  Sure, sites like Facebook can make it work, but they have millions of dollars in venture capital to burn through.  Read the rest of the blog entry.

jQuery base href named anchors fix

Any web developer who uses <base href> tags in their sites has eventually run into the named anchors problem.  Essentially, anchor links (e.g. <a href="#testanchor">) which, when clicked, position the browser at a pre-defined point break when using <base href> tags because the link is considered relative to the base URL.  So, the user ends up in your base href directory and not at the place they were meant to be.  Read more for the quick jQuery JavaScript fix to this problem.

However, with the simple bit of jQuery javascript below, you can rewrite all anchor links on a page to work correctly.  It's SEO-friendly, easy, and semantically-sensible:

Now Hiring: Web Developer at Caribou CMS

Caribou CMS is looking to hire an off-site PHP/MySQL web developer with design experience for client customizations and web development projects.  For more information, please visit the job posting and application page.

Caribou CMS v2.0.2 Released (Doc update, as well)

Caribou CMS v2.0.2 was released today with a variety of fixes.  Click here to read more about the fixes.  Information on how to upgrade is available in the documentation.

Client Spotlight: Revolver Entertainment

Revolver Entertainment, a film distributor primarily operatinging in the UK/Ireland, recently launched their new site powered by Caribou CMS.  The website offers the Revolver films in DVD and BluRay format in an online store, has a members-only Press area, a streaming video section for trailers, and a news section all managed in one integrated Caribou control panel.  Read more to see how Revolver worked with Caribou to create their new website.

Caribou 2.0.1 Released

This latest version of Caribou provides some bugfixes and tweaks on the current version.  It is not an urgent upgrade but recommended if you are experiencing troubles with the styling of forms in the control panel or site topic / blog management and the menu manager.  Click here to download and, check out the documentation for upgrading instructions.  Read more for full patch details.

New Affiliate Program

Many Caribou licenses are sold thanks to the generous referrals of former clients and friends of Caribou CMS.  These referrals are greatly appreciated and a key to any business (you can only pay for so many leads!).  Today marks the launch of the Caribou CMS affiliate program.  If you signup as an affiliate, you can earn $50 per license sale simply by referring your clients and friends to Caribou for their membership website systems.  Furthermore, you earn $25 per license sale for every license that someone you refer to the Caribou affiliate program sales.  Learn more about the Caribou Affiliate Program.

Start a PayPal Membership Website with Caribou

PayPal is a simple, global payment gateway and one of many payment gateways supported by Caribou CMS.  With Caribou and PayPal's subscription system, you can process auto-recurring subscription payments and de-activate member accounts when a subscription payment is not made.  In this post, I'll examine why using PayPal for your membership website with Caribou is the easiest way to get your site off the ground.

Version 2.0 Released

Finally, after much preparation, I'm excited to launch the release of version 2.0 of Caribou CMS.  This version takes the power of Caribou that I as a developer have known and been using for over a year as I built client sites and passes it on to developers (both novice and expert) everywhere.  How so?  Well, this release includes full user guides and technical documentation, a menu manager (one of the easiest things for a developer to do but tedious and tiresome for a non-developer), downloadable products out-of-the-box, and a Forms module to build new control panel components and frontend forms in minutes.  Furthermore, payment integrations are even easier to create and modular.

New Look at CaribouCMS.com

With the release of Caribou CMS v2.0 comes the new look at www.cariboucms.com.  The new site includes a documentation section (includes a PDF download of the user guide as well), a more in-depth features review, and instant trial sites with version 2.0 powering them.  I'm really happy with the new look.  Any comments or suggestions can be sent to brock@cariboucms.com - I'd love to hear them.