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Porto 3 introduces a new Shortcodes Packager that allows complete control over number of external libraries. A minimal version is under 300 KBytes1
YSlow Analysis
1 Must enable Client Resource Management & GZIP Compression
We’ve just released a new version of our bestselling DNN Theme – Porto 2.
It has many new features, but in this post I’ll focus on just one: Speed & Performance. That’s right! Performance is a feature. Page speed is a significant factor in SERPs (Search Engine Result Page) rankings and bounce rate. It’s even more important now with responsive designs and mobile rankings. There are many articles on web on why fast page speed is better. So for rest of this post, let’s look at what is considered fast within DNN ecosystem.
Our goal was simple. Make Porto as fast as possible within technical limitations of DNN framework. We settled on Google PageSpeed Insights as our measuring tool. For comparison, we looked at http://www.dnnsoftware.com itself along with top selling DNN Themes. We used the following best DNN Themes as our benchmark to set a new standard of performance.
5 DNN Theme vendors were selected from Top Vendors on 9/18/2015
2 themes were selected for each vendor based on Best Selling Revenue – Last 2 Weeks (as of 9/18/2015)
dnngo.net
EasyDNNSolutions.com
bestdnnskins.com
DNNSmart.net
DNNVista
Results are ranked based on Desktop Speed. Click on the Vendor name to view its profile and Theme name to view the analyzed page. Scores can change based on server load and content changes. Individual scores and results are linked with snapshots at time of analysis (9/18/2015) Use the Test Now links to see the current analysis.
It was no surprise that the DNN Theme in use on DNNSoftware.com was the best performing theme; hence it became our benchmark.
We’re happy to announce that Porto 2 sets a new benchmark for performance within DNN ecosystem.
Disclaimer: Porto 2 was tested with Client Resource Management feature enabled. No other changes or modifications were made to DNN Core or other files.
Luis Cabrera released an improved version of the DIXIT custom template for the Official DNN Blog Module.
DNN has always had myriad of extensions to meet almost any business requirements. So many that it’s always a challenge to decide on one module from many competing products.
Consider the following checklist before clicking on “Checkout” for your next DNN Module(s):
DUPLICATE CONTENT: Make sure that the module does not duplicate content. For example, if the module uses query parameters such as www.yoursite.com?ItemId=12or www.yoursite.com?article=dnn-module-features then every unique URL should have a distinct Page Title, Meta Description & Keywords.
FRIENDLY URLs: The single most effective SEO consideration is to ensure that the module integrates with your Friendly URL provider and creates friendly URLs. This is no longer a concern with introduction of improved URLs beginning with DNN 7.1.
AJAX: Make sure AJAX is limited to back end interaction and not used as a primarily driver of content. Automatic content fetch on page scroll is great but if not implemented correctly would result in content that’s not indexed by search engines. If the module uses AJAX extensively then ensure that the URL Hash (such as www.yoursite.com#section-1) is changed with every change in content presentation and Hash URLs exist in static/root document to be indexed by search engines.
The average web users’ attention span is under 7 seconds so it’s crucial that the DNN Module is performance optimized and renders as quickly as possible. CACHING: Every DNN Module should implement caching to replace frequent round trips back to the database and / or file system. CLIENT RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: Introduced in DNN 6.1, CRM framework allows the site to load much quicker by combing all JavaScript & CSS resources into composite files reducing the number of HTTP requests required to render a page. Ensure that the DNN Module implements the Client Resource Management framework.
JQUERY FRAMEWORK: Confirm that the module integrates with DNN API to request jQuery or jQuery UI framework rather than injecting their own scripts which results in increased page size and conflicts across other modules and components.
INTUITIVE USER INTERFACE: Make sure the User Interface is intuitive and easy to follow. If you as the admin/integrator can’t accomplish basic tasks without looking over documentation again and again then it’s likely your clients / end users will be calling you over and over again as well.
WELL DOCUMENTED: Make sure the module includes documentation with easy to follow screenshots and/or videos. EXCELLENT SUPPORT: Any software is as good as its support. Make sure the support is prompt and competent to address your business requirements. It’s always a good idea to start with a pre-sales question.
It's always great to hear that we're adding value to the DNN ecosystem with our products and services. What's even better is when community members add-on to our products and share their work with others.
Last week I recieived an email from Luis Cabrera with a link to download a responsive DNN Blog Template matching with out DIXIT Skin. Following is the email in its entirety.
Hello Mandeep,
A few months ago I purchased your Dixit skin from the Dnn Store and I am not only very happy with your product but also extremely satisfied with the customer service your company provides. I posted a few issues on your ticketing system and I always received a prompt reply and the best service.
The reason for this email is to share with you why I created the Dixit Dnn Blog Template, which is a custom template for the official Dnn Blog module.
When I decided to create my site I had a small budget and I knew I wanted to purchase your Dixit skin for sure. I also needed a good blog module and I considered several including the Ventrian News Articles module and your Live Blog. But due to budget reasons I decided to use the official Dnn Blog Module, despite of its shortcomings.
The official Dnn blog includes a template that is outdated not responsive. So I decided to create my own template based on your Dixit skin and share it as open source. By promoting the Dixit Dnn Blog Template I am also promoting your site and especially your Dixit skin and I think there will be many people like me who may benefit from it.
You can read more about it here
I hope you find this as positive as I did and I hope to hear from you.
Thank you, Luis Cabrera
I'm happy to announce that our entire DNN Essentials module collection is now fully compatible with Azure. Many of our modules have long been Azure compatible but the entire collection now adheres to official DotNetNuke Azure Compatibility guide including:
Azure Database Compatibility All modules have been updated to support the Azure Database layer. This change requires modification to existing SQL Scripts for compatibility with limited Azure SQL Database.
Azure Caching Provider Azure uses an out-of-the-process caching provider and requires that all cached objects be binary serializable. We've updated our entire collection of modules to support Azure caching provider.
Azure Web Farm / Scaling It's quick and easy to scale with Azure using DotNetNuke and its inherent Web Farm support. We've ensured that all of our modules are not using Session State which is not compatible within a Web Farm configuration.
Lastly, all of our modules now pass the EVS - Extension Verification System provided by DotNetNuke. This also ensures that you're not greeted with an unsupported message when installing our extensions on your Azure powered DotNetNuke site.
The DotNetNuke Boston User Group is dedicated to the design, development, and use of DotNetNuke - the leading web content management system (CMS) and application development platform for Microsoft .NET. It’s a group mix of designers, developers and end users with one thing in common – they all use DotNetNuke in one way or another, and freely share their knowledge about how to get the most out of the platform.
Mandeep Singh will be the guest speaker at the November 13th, 2012 meeting.
Find out more about the meeting and the User Group @ http://www.dnnboston.org/
This meeting is virtual via WebEx and there are very few spots left so please RSVP if you’re interested. To reserve a space at the meeting, send an RSVP with your name/email to info@dnnBoston.org. In return, you will receive a WebEx invitation that will include connection details and a toll free call-in number.
One of the highlights at DNN World 2012 is that DotNetNuke strategically partners with Microsoft Azure for next 4 years. This virtually translates in cloud driven DotNetNuke sites available at instant notice with ability to scale up as needed.
DotNetNuke has finally laid the foundation for Cloud driven DNN Sites and we will see a significant adoption for Microsoft Azure with the DNN ecosystem.
The good news is for our customers is that we’ve been actively working to support Azure for all of our DNN Modules and as a matter of fact all of our recent offerings support Microsoft Azure. Going forward, all of our modules will be Azure compatible.