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In-depth insights on content, code, and creativity

Setting up custom Events in GA4

Events are the buzziest change between Universal Analytics (UA) and Google Analytics 4 (GA4). There’s a good reason for that — they mark a very substantial shift in how property owners track data on their sites. This is a daunting prospect and an opportunity. As a property owner, you will need to reevaluate how you use your analytics and how you can make the new system work for you. As you make the switch to GA4 before UA’s End Of Service date (July 1, 2023), you might be focusing on just recreating a familiar pattern and making your GA4 property look the same as your old UA dashboard; the better option is to clarify exactly what you need from your site’s analytics and leverage GA4’s superior flexibility to accomplish your goals.

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eep-bundle: eep is back, this time for eZ Platform / Ibexa DXP

We’ve discussed eep (Ease eZ Publish) several times over the years. It’s a powerful tool we at Mugo Web have used for innovative solutions. For the uninitiated, eep is a collection of scripts to support developers working with eZ Publish. Now that eZ Publish is a legacy product, we needed a new option for eZ Platform and Ibexa DXP. Introducing eep-bundle, a collection of Symfony commands specifically selected to work with the new system! We’ll dive in and look at some of the more useful functions eep-bundle provides, such as commands to work with cache, content, content field and type, location, section, and user data.

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An introduction to what's coming with GA4, or: How I learned to stop worrying and love analytics

If you have a Google Analytics property, you’ve probably heard about the upcoming switch to GA4. You might have seen the banners across the top of the page when you log into UA. “Universal Analytics will no longer process new data in standard properties beginning July 1, 2023”, a polite yet vaguely threatening notification, easily ignored as a problem for next year. If you are proactive, you might have already started the switch to the new platform, having heard the recommendation to run both concurrently until the switch. And if you are like many, that might be as far as you’ve gotten.

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Explore flexible commerce features with Mugo’s ReaderBound platform for publishers

Specialty presses have specific requirements that aren’t met by run-of-the-mill websites or standard e-commerce solutions. Their readers are among the most demanding consumers you’ll find online, and they want precise details about your publications, trustworthy reviews, and recommendations from a community of like-minded readers.

A retail shopping cart e-commerce system isn’t up to the standard these customers expect.

This is part of the reason why Mugo built ReaderBound, an all-in-one, a feature-rich website platform for publishers. The specific demands of this industry require an integrated, purpose-built commerce experience.

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Seven examples of how libraries use Mugo Library's Custom Forms to engage with their patrons

Libraries provide a myriad of services for their patrons, which requires a lot of coordination and communication. Patrons need multiple ways to interact with their librarians; in-person, via phone, social media, chat, etc. A modern library needs tools to quickly collect information and requests with an intuitive workflow for staff and the public.

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Tales from the Developer: Troubleshooting and fixing issues with Varnish

When things go seriously wrong in a well-built but complicated system, the cause is often a cascade of small failures that pile up. Not that we’re building rockets over here, but an excellent example is the ill-fated Ariane flight V88. Solving the issues behind such failures can be problematic. Many things contribute to the difficulty, from the extensive use of caching to the need to convincingly reconstruct the failure in retrospect. Debugging this kind of failure, especially under pressure, is hard. We consider the ability to do this to be the hallmark of a senior developer. Even so, it is essential to have a team of experts working together to troubleshoot issues and find solutions promptly to help keep your site running.

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Cross-domain tracking in Google Analytics: Excluding domains in GA4 and GTM

If you manage one of the millions of websites affected by the Google-mandated migration from Universal Analytics (UA) to Google Analytics 4 (GA4), you might be following the best practice of simultaneously running UA and GA4 scripts until you’re ready to adopt GA4 fully. One of the analytics features that needs special attention is cross-domain tracking.

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New TURI P2OASys site continues course for improved UX, performance

The Toxics Use Research Institute (TURI) at the University of Massachusetts Lowell wanted to add memos to records in its Pollution Prevention Options Analysis System (P2OASys), a database for evaluating and comparing the safety of chemistries. TURI could have elected to simply add a field to its database structure, but it saw a bigger opportunity to reinvent a key system that had not been updated for more than five years.

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Investing in a great publishing website pays off in the long run

A great deal is only “great” if it ends up paying off in the long run.

This truth is perhaps best expressed by author Terry Pratchett in his “Boots theory” of economic value, as laid out in his iconic Discworld novel series:

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Integrating Ibexa DXP with Salesforce for powerful marketing automation

Business data is inevitably distributed across multiple systems. However, we know that customers are not prepared to deal with that kind of complexity, especially when they see little relevance or value to the task at hand. A typical location for this kind of friction is in the integration of the Content Management System (CMS) and the Customer Relationship Management system (CRM). Integrating the two can help provide a seamless experience for the customer and increase the overall usability of your website.

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Reasons why your business needs a new website

Websites are not static things; they are a dynamic part of your company and the actual storefront for all of your online customers. Most companies acknowledge the importance of upkeep on their brick and mortar branches, websites often aren’t given the same consideration. Your website should constantly evolve to keep up with current standards, trends, and the functionality your clients deserve. We often don’t realize what opportunities we are missing and what we are leaving on the table by relegating website maintenance to the bottom of the list.

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Send automated email reminders to attendees with Mugo Web’s library event notification feature

Promoting events and managing attendee registrations is one of the key ways a modern website supports a public library's educational mission. Here at Mugo Web, we’ve developed a comprehensive Custom Event Registration System that lets library staff schedule recurring event series, create waiting lists for popular programs, and even manage sign-ups for multiple children from one family.

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How to find the right strategic web development partner to help grow your business

A major website project requires a lot of planning. You need to evaluate the tactics and resources needed to meet your launch date, but you also should be planning on how to select the right development partner to ensure that your initial investment in a site launch continues to pay dividends as your business evolves.

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Seven steps to prove the case for working with a web development partner

Virtually every company, from mid-sized businesses to large-scale enterprises, can benefit from working with a professional web development partner. Professional web developers understand how new features and workflows can elevate your business and can add valuable insight as well as reliable execution to your website projects.

But before you choose a web development partner, you have some homework to do. You not only need to clearly define the strategic goals and success metrics for your site project, but you also need to honestly evaluate how much of the project you can tackle internally – both in terms of bandwidth and expertise.

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Habitat Magazine looks to grow its audience with new case law tracker

As the publisher of a successful online magazine, Carol Ott is always looking for ways to diversify her publication’s revenue streams. In fact, building and executing on multi-channel digital strategies has been the focus of the partnership of Ott’s Habitat Magazine and Mugo Web for the better part of a decade.

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Keeping accurate counts of library event registrants with Mugo Web’s Add Child feature

Libraries are much more than stacks of books that you can borrow. They are hubs of community activity; every library website should have features that make it easy for patrons to find and register for events and programs for their families.

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Authenticating user login with external systems using Symfony’s Guard Component

One of the most common features in any website is the login system which validates a user’s credentials and grants role-based access to certain content and functions. The Symfony-based Ibexa DXP includes a standard login system which checks encrypted login credentials against user information stored in the CMS’s database.

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Modifying field formats and the Content Name Pattern in Ibexa DXP

Content management systems, including the Ibexa DXP, typically create a Content Name for each content item stored in the database. Content Names are automatically generated from attributes required for a content type, and so do not necessarily match other content attributes, such as Title, that users can edit directly.

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Using Lambda scripting to automatically cost-optimize on-demand AWS resource use

Using on-demand compute resources from Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a great way to optimize the infrastructure costs associated with your site or application.

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Managing on-demand AWS infrastructure for maximum cost optimization

On-demand IT infrastructure is a great option for cost-conscious companies that want enterprise-class technology without investing in physical hardware or dedicated space in a datacenter. And Amazon Web Services (AWS) is as a leader in the on-demand infrastructure category with plenty of options for cost optimization.

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Picking the right pricing plan for AWS storage and compute resources

Amazon Web Services (AWS) can be a great solution for businesses that want to host their data and applications in a flexible, on-demand environment.

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Google’s FLoC signals the need for publishers to grow diverse revenue streams

Google’s recent announcements about its “privacy sandbox” – a collection of browser-based technologies the tech giant is pushing as the new industry standard for programmatic ad targeting – offers a glimpse of online advertising’s probable future following the inevitable demise of third-party cookies.

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Questions to ask as you plan a library website project

Prioritizing features for your library’s new website goes well beyond bells and whistles. How will the new site encourage patron engagement, what are the exact hurdles you will need to clear during the project, and how will the site eventually justify your investment?

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Disciplined development process guides Business of Apps’ innovation on WordPress CMS

Business of Apps is always looking to add features to its WordPress websites to keep pace with the rapidly changing apps market, the focus of the B2B publisher’s daily news coverage, opinion, and events.

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