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Globalization has brought about the importance of localization, as many businesses will realize. Having your content online is the first step. Being able to localize and contextualize it to match your audience will help further your reach. The latest launch of Hippo CMS (news, site) incorporates various features that make localization and contextualization easier.

As earlier hinted in our interview with Hippo CMS' CTO Arje Cahn, this release of Hippo CMS highlights features that will make it easier for content to be localized and contextualized. This way, users have the opportunity to reach a wider audience. This is done through the Hippo template toolkit, translation engine and API.

A summary of what's new:

  • Templates with drag-and-drop layout
  • Localization management through machine or human translation
  • Channel management
  • API access for third-party development

Templates for Drag & Drop

Hippo's website toolkit allows for drag-and-drop editing of your site's layout. In a way, the interface is similar to a widget-type interface, in which editing your website's template will involve dragging and dropping elements around. This helps keep content easier to manage, as editing your website's layout will not require you to manipulate the underlying content. 

Channel Management

Given the popularity of smartphones, tablets and alternative devices, your audience will most likely include a diverse mix of computer, mobile phone, and tablet users. Hippo's toolkit also allows for contextualization of your content into various channels. You can define different target devices, and you can use different templates and layouts for these. Hippo will adjust the template used, according to the client device.

hippo cms mobile screenshot

Hippo offers real-time manipulation of these elements. Drag, drop, and edit components of your website, and these will be implemented in real time.

Learning Opportunities

Reaching Wider Audiences Through Translation

Hippo CMS lets you translate content in two ways. Users can have content localized or translated through online translation engines such as Google Translate. Hippo CMS will let you integrate these systems with your content, so that a user can choose a different language, and the site gets translated for that particular user.

hippo cms translation screenshot

For enterprise users that require a bit more sophistication in their localizations, Hippo CMS 7.5 supports a translation workflow, in which human translators can provide the localized versions of the content. Original and localized versions are kept in sync to ensure the integrity of the content on your website. Hippo CMS lets users work with both machine- and human-translated content.

API for Third-Party Content Access

Another highlight of Hippo CMS is its implementation of its REST API, which enables users to grant third-party developer access to one's content repository. This can be useful when running e-commerce websites that involve selling products both on-site and through third-party websites.

Curious about Hippo CMS? Check out its live trial accounts, which you can use to test the system before deciding whether Hippo is for you.