Facts
- Open source enterprise content management system
- True WYSIWYG editor (inline editing)
- Search engine friendly URLs
- Publishing and management tools for mobile solutions
- Planned expandability to connect other systems such as shop, CRM, or ERP solutions
System requirements Neos CMS 7.x:
- Web server: Apache, NGINX#
- Middleware: PHP >= 7.3.0 (PHP CLI must have the same version for development)
- PHP modules: mbstring, tokenizer, xml, pdo_mysql, imagick, or gmagick
- PHP functions: exec(), shell_exec(), escapeshellcmd() and escapeshellarg()
- Database: Officially supported: MySQL > 5.7.7, MariaDB > 10.2.2 and PostgreSQL > 9.4
- Optional: Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, SAP Sybase SQL Anywhere, SQLite, Drizzle
- Hardware: at least 256 MB RAM
- Further recommendations: Individual extensions may require additional software
“Content’s first choice” is not only the motto, but what Neos strives to achieve in their day to day. Right from the start, Neos was designed to be especially user-friendly. The focus is on so-called inline editing: a real WYSIWYG editor. In contrast to other, classic content management systems, editors no longer have to fill out dozens of form fields for headings, titles, etc. to get a rough preview of the new content via the preview button. Instead, they edit the content directly in the layout of the later page.
The same applies to different display formats such as a tablet, smartphone, or the display of Google search results. Users can easily switch back and forth between views without having to leave the page. This allows content to be quickly and easily optimized for different channels.
Another special feature is the so-called “Content Dimensions”. The highlight here is that editors can create any number of versions of content for different target groups. The content is not only available in different languages, but also for different target groups (gender, culture, country, region, etc.) Marketing campaigns can thus be controlled in a targeted manner. The maintenance of large quantities of multi-sites in a Neos system is also part of the standard repertoire.
New content in companies often goes through several review and approval processes from creation to publication. Using user and group workspaces, supported by flexible rights management, Neos easily integrates into existing processes.
Despite its focus on content, Neos is not “just” a CMS. Neos was developed for integration and extensibility. It is a powerful CMS that comes with an equally powerful PHP framework called Flow. Developers can design Neos the way they need to use it. The community calls Neos a “Content Application Platform”. This should make it clear that the strengths of the CMS are in addition to classic websites, by allowing the user to create complex projects. The integration of third-party software, connection to external systems (ERP, CRM, etc.), shop integrations, and so on are all achievable with Neos. Existing extensions can be easily installed via Composer (e.g., Google Analytics, IBM Watson, Elasticsearch, etc.).
Nothing stands in the way of individual extensions either. Neos 4.0 introduced the Assets API. This enabled direct access to external media resources (Google Drive, Dropbox, OwnCloud, etc.). You can also effortlessly use photo services such as Fotolia or Unsplash to edit your images, without having to leave the page.
There are hardly any limits to the expandability of Neos. For example, the “Neos Award 2018” went to a project that exports a publisher’s online content directly from Neos to a printable InDesign template - including special markups for prepress. This eliminates the need to enter and check content twice.
After the recently completed revision of the user interface in React, the developers are currently working on the integration of machine learning or the reimplementation of the Neos Content Repository with CQRS and EventSourcing. The latter makes Neos particularly interesting for banks, insurance companies, and public authorities, as it saves various content revisions safely from later changes.
Pros | Cons |
True WYSIWYG editor (inline editing) that displays the content as it will later be displayed when writing, without the user having to click a preview button. | Setup for smaller projects usually quite challenging |
No PHP knowledge required to build complex pages | Getting used to the platform takes a while for newcomers |
Helpful community with over 2,000 users in official Neos Slack | A range of Neos functions may require professional-level hosting |
Linking of CMS and PHP framework facilitates the extension of Neos considerably | |
Supports two-stack CMS architecture for large projects with maximum scalability, resilience, and security | |