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Sometimes a user may open a page that does not exist. There can be many reasons for this. The page may have been deleted, renamed, or marked as "Private". It is also possible that the address was typed incorrectly.

On such pages, a message appears informing the user that the page is missing and redirects them to the homepage. Starting today, you can add your own content to this type of page, making them more attractive.

To add custom content, go to your site’s main settings and enable this option. Then visit a sample missing page (a link to one is available in the settings) and add elements in the usual way. We recommend adding a clear message that the page is missing and links to other pages that might be useful.

See you soon.

You may have experienced adding an image to your website and seeing it appear rotated (because you rotated your phone while taking the picture). We've added an option to edit uploaded images, specifically for such cases. With just a few clicks, you can correct the image.

In addition, we’ve also added the ability to crop part of an image. For example, if you have a group photo where the people are far away, you can crop everything around them to bring them closer/enlarge them.

When editing this way, the original photos/files are preserved. Only what the visitor sees is changed. This means you can later go back, remove the edits, or make new ones.

To open the image editor, click on the field with the respective image. Next to the options to replace or download the file, you will see the new "Customize" option.

Until next week, when we’ll surprise you with the next improvement.

The next improvement we are pleased to present is "modal windows." This term is used to describe content that appears on top of the page content. It is most commonly used to display additional information. It opens when a button is clicked. The page is dimmed, and the new content is shown on top. The user can close it and return to the main page.

We recommend using modal windows only when they are truly necessary. For everything else, you can use regular pages. Here are a few examples where modal windows are appropriate:

We are already using them for image galleries and search.

To create a new modal window:

As you can see, it’s not difficult at all. We’d love for you to share in the comments where you’ve used this new functionality.

Today we added a new theme called Canvas. The new theme is essentially a white canvas, just like the ones used for painting. With it, we give you the freedom to build a website without guidance or restrictions. Every element can be unique, but you can also share styles and content across the site. In fact, the shared content functionality we recently added will help you create a header and footer - if your site needs them.

The Canvas theme is very suitable for:

You can achieve similar results with the Universal theme, but with Canvas, your site will be lighter and faster to load (within milliseconds, as the platform is optimized for speed). But perhaps the biggest difference will be in how it feels to use. With Canvas, you focus on what to add, whereas with Universal, you need to consider what happens to the other pages if you hide something.

All the themes we offer have strengths and weaknesses. It’s best to choose a theme while planning your website, but as you know, on Bear CMS, you can change the design at any time and keep your content.

Until next week, when we'll surprise you with another new feature.

We are excited to introduce yet another new feature that will make working with Bear CMS even easier and will allow you to create even higher-quality websites.

Starting today, you can create custom blocks with elements that can be added in multiple places on your site. We call this feature "Shared Content". Every time you change the content of a block, that change will be visible everywhere the block is used.

Here are a few examples of how you can use shared content:

Perhaps you already have other ideas for where you can use this new feature. We would love for you to share them with us in the comments below this article.

You can create your first shared content block from the "Elemens sets" menu (next to the button for creating new elements).

Today we're introducing another improvement related to content management on your website.

You can now archive elements that you don't currently need. In the toolbar of each element, you'll see a new button that allows you to send the selected element to the archive. You can view the archive using the new "Elements sets" button located next to the button for creating new items.

The archive is also useful when you want to move elements between different pages.

Stay tuned for more improvements in the coming weeks.

The next improvement we are pleased to present is an alternative view of all elements on a given page. Through it, you can easily see the position of each element relative to those around it. You can access it from the button located next to the one for creating a new element (the one with the "+" sign).

This view is especially useful when you have a structural element like a Container, Columns, or Floating content with many elements inside it. It is also helpful when you've added elements with a fixed position and are not sure exactly where they are. When you click on an element in this list, you'll be taken directly to it.

Below the button for creating a new element, there is another button. We have moved the link to the list of deleted elements there. You may have guessed already, but more features will be appearing there very soon.

See you soon.

Now you have the ability to send deleted elements to the trash. Naturally, this gives you the option to restore them to a location of your choice.

After you click the delete button for an element, you'll see the options "Delete forever" and "Move to Trash".

When you click the button to add a new element, at the very bottom you'll see the option "Restore deleted element". A screen will open where you can see the elements you've deleted. Each element has a "Restore" button, allowing you to retrieve it and place it in a location of your choice on the current page.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this new feature in the comments below the post.

Hello,

We’re excited to show you a brand new feature we call "Tags". With their help, you can tag an element or page to give it a more distinctive look.

Here are a few examples:

Tags are available in the Universal theme and for all elements.

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need help using this new feature. It offers a lot of possibilities, but it also requires some upfront planning for the structure and the design of your site.

Another year has passed. With this post we would like to remind you of the most interesting things about Bear CMS this year. We hope that you, like us, looking back, appreciate the progress you have made.

We’ve started the year releasing new designs that will help you make a beautiful personal website. If you do not have such a website - now is the perfect time to launch one.

Then we added improvements on linking pages. You can also quickly get to the current page’s settings.

Custom fonts support was added too.

Creating a newsletter became possible using our built-in tools.

We’ve added improvements to the admin screens. Now you can search and export data, easily manage global HTML code and add default social image.

There were also updates to the style editors.

There were lot more updates that we did not announce, but hope you saw or feel them.

That was it for 2024. See you in 2025.

We wish you even more health, happiness and success!