New technology under the hood
The older HTML frames and only partly object-oriented PHP are being replaced by the modern Symfony framework on the server and Vue.js in the front end of the administration. Modules, extensions, and scheduled tasks will be switched on directly in the administration, much as in Drupal, without touching the core of the system. Distribution as a standard software package (Composer) is planned as well. Page addresses, the database, and the behavior of the system all stay as they are, so there are no broken links, just a more modern and more pleasant interface.
An interface that can breathe
A short video shows what it all looks like in action:
The administration has shed its frames: the screen always shows either a list or a form, never both side by side in a confusing way. Drag and drop has been added, along with a light and dark mode switch, a unified look across the whole administration, and a range of improvements to the admin interface (deleting articles or changing their status including sources, a visual view of content revisions, and so on). Thanks to the responsive interface, the content management system is comfortable to use on a phone as well.
Click a thumbnail to open the gallery
Artificial intelligence directly in the hands of editors
Right in the Body field, you can issue a command with a button or a slash (“/”) and have the editor rephrase the text or add links to sources, and when you paste from Word the HTML stays clean. We also used AI while developing WebToDate 6 itself, including testing that the old and new versions match.
Assistance in the editor is only the first step. We are preparing modules that extend AI into other parts of the administration and we are heading toward an MCP interface for WTD. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standardized protocol that lets artificial intelligence, such as AI models and agents, communicate securely with external data, applications, and tools. For us it will make it possible to manage content or set up smaller websites without knowing the WebToDate administration. WebToDate is therefore moving from a content management system toward a complete publishing platform.
What comes next
WebToDate 6 is under active development. Part of the administration is finished and we are working on the rest. Get in touch if you want to know what the change will bring for your website.