What's New in the Plone 4 Demo Site?

Six Feet Up has launched its Plone 4 Demo Site, and we are very excited about it. A lot of time and discussion went into creating what is our best Plone demo yet. When our team was deciding how we wanted the demo to look, we realized that we wanted our visitors on the Plone Demo Site to have a robust, comprehensive experience without overwhelming a new user.

We started by creating some new features that allow the users to have a more organic interaction with Plone. Our goal was to create a demo that shows users a realistic Plone site vs. an out-of-the-box Plone release. We think we have done that with this site very effectively. This makes the demo more interesting, as it offers a hands-on learning tool.

First, the demo has a custom theme. This allows users to choose a theme, which gives it a more personal feel instead of a manufactured, sterile demo. Even though the demo is wiped each night, the theming option adds a sense of individuality.

Second, we included sample content. When a new visitor is using the demo, they doesn't want the pressure of creating content while assessing Plone. With sample content, users can focus on the functions and features.

Third, the new Plone 4 Demo Site offers a guided tour. Instead of users trying to intuit how to use Plone and trying to understand how features work together, we decided to map a logical direction for them. Visitors using the guided tour will explore the features that they would be most likely use on a regular basis.

Each time a tried-and-true, well-known product like Plone releases a new version, it can be met with some skepticism. When people ask, "What's so great about Plone 4?" we hope that our demo will offer some concrete answers.