Bolt CMS

What is Bolt?

In short: it is our super user-friendly open source CMS (Content Management System). And by user, we mean all of you who have to work with it somehow: developers, designers, and content creators.
That is what makes Bolt unique. Most systems focus on one of those groups.

What does Bolt have to do with Two Kings?

Our founder Bob is also the creator of Bolt. Therefore Two Kings is also Bolt HQ, the core development team; our developers dedicate part of their time to improving Bolt. This has a huge advantage: not only can we use our own experience of creating and designing sites with Bolt, but we can actually use the feedback from our own customers. We represent in fact all those user groups: developers, designers, and content creators.

Open source: advantages

• It is free to use. People often choose open source because it is free. Just to discover a couple of years later they all of a sudden have to pay for the use of certain features. We believe that open source should remain free of charge. Forever.
• Less risk of losing support or maintenance. It is not just your developer who knows how to work with it, there are a lot of them out there. Just in case something happens to your developer. Since it is not commercial, there is no reason to pull the plug because it doesn’t generate enough income.
• Safe: it has the latest technology. Again, because it is not commercial. It is made by developers who love their job and follow any new developments out there. Not because an investment in a certain version should get its maximum revenue first, and every new version means a financial investment.

What’s in it for me?

We are going to focus on Bolt for content creators. In other words, most of our customers. If you are a developer or designer who stumbled upon this showcase or are dying to get more technical information: please take a look at the Bolt website. It has a complete listing of features for your particular needs.

So you are thinking about a new website. Besides not having to pay for expensive licenses, it should preferably be easy to maintain, futureproof, and easy to adapt.

Easy to maintain

This means the CMS should provide you with the possibility to add any content the way that suits you best. Edit, sort, tag, SEO, pictures, videos, menu items, multiple languages, you name it. Bolt does not work with modules or plug-ins for a reason: these might offer you almost what you need, but just not 100%. With Bolt, we can create custom functionality. In other words: exactly what you need. You don’t have to settle for less.

User-friendly also means that it won’t require a separate university degree to be able to work with it. We can make it logical, almost instinctive to use. And add some extra user information in case we are afraid something might not be obvious right away. Bolt is created to be used without any technical knowledge.

“Bolt is so easy to use and intuitive that I was able to pick it up immediately. Aside from having a very friendly interface for the non-professional, it’s also remarkably flexible whilst retaining the functionality needed to make a website thorough and pleasing to use on the front end.”
Thomas Ansell, Just Peace The Hague

Futureproof

Of course, your website uses the latest technology. But rules and technology may change. And you would prefer not to have to build a new website in case that happens.

Let’s take the GDPR as an example: the government decides that you should protect your visitor's privacy. Or – because you get government funds – they decide your site should become accessible. You have one year to establish that. Of course, there is no guarantee, because sometimes development is so radical that it will require a completely new version of your CMS. But in general, the latest version of Bolt should support those developments, and adapting your site should be relatively easy. Because we are professionals who keep track of developments and have already been updating Bolt.

Easy to adapt

Let’s say you are expanding and need extra languages. Or you have a new service to offer. Or your clients give you feedback and you want to change certain functionalities to be able to serve them better. Or you are changing to a different CRM, like our customer Vrienden op de Fiets. Bolt is designed to make it easy to add new features or functionalities. Yes, they still have to be built, it will take time (because there are no ready-to-go modules, remember?). But you will not hear that “it is not possible because of the structure of the current website” or: “we need to rebuild the entire site if you want that.”

Budget friendly in the long run

The latter may also be financially important, i.e. because you have to work with a fixed annual budget and might have to add functionalities at a later stage. Or because you are a start-up and need a first version to build up your customer base first. Or because your organisation may develop in general. Re-using a website after a merger or reorganisation might be a much more cost effective option than creating a new website.

Curious what Bolt may have to offer you? Get in touch. Or take a look at our other showcases for some more specific examples.

• Vrijopnaam (Custom functionality, sales)
• Vrienden op de Fiets (API CRM showcase)
• Just Peace (Events calendar, information)