Easy-to-use structured authoring solution: an independent review of Paligo

Marc Achtelig is a well-established name in the Information Development and Technical Writing field, having run his own consultancy, Indoition, since 2004. Based in Germany and an engineer by origin, he is a leading expert in the latest tools and trends for technical writers and information managers, with a specialty in software user assistance. He has delivered highly regarded projects for clients in a wide-ranging selection of industries around the world. Learn more about his company, Indoition, here.

In March 2023, Marc was given access to a trial instance of Paligo where he explored the platform in-depth and wrote a product review based on his personal assessment of the features and functionality. This review was initiated by a sponsorship agreement with Paligo; however, the contents of the review were independently written and published on the Indoition website. The purpose of this product review was to have an expert perform a complete overview of Paligo with an unbiased and balanced point of view.

From a technical perspective, Marc found that the platform was robust and reliable. He also appreciated the robust support system and the helpful documentation that was included.

From a usability perspective, Marc found that Paligo was extremely easy to use. The user interface was well designed and intuitive. Overall, he found Paligo to be a great product for those who want to create online content quickly and easily.

Paligo is one of the few web-based authoring tools for technical documentation that can withstand even demanding requirements. Unlike most comparable solutions, Paligo relies on structured authoring with the help of a DTD (DocBook). Yet, it is very easy to use. Also outstanding are the possibilities for reusing content once it has been created.

The best use cases identified for choosing Paligo were:

• Producing and managing a large volume of documentation
• High percentage of / high potential for content reuse across documentation
• Multilingual and localization requirements
• Remote collaboration and SME contributions needed
• Interest in transitioning to structured authoring

Some of the top benefits identified include:

• Single sourcing content – content exists in a database, not a file-based system
• Separation of content and layout for consistency across publications
• No local installation required – everything operates on a web browser and is OS agnostic
• Implementation and “getting started” begins from Day 1 – simply log in to the SaaS UI and utilize the training materials available
• Extensive integration options as well as an API which allows Paligo to be adapted to your workflow
• Version management and branching

Marc’s trial of Paligo revealed a strong, reliable platform with good technical capabilities. The platform’s usability impressed him, thanks to its intuitive user interface and well-designed features. From a balanced perspective, Marc found Paligo to be an outstanding tool for efficiently creating online content. The identified best use cases showcased Paligo’s versatility and suitability for various scenarios. Furthermore, the review highlighted several key benefits, which gave him a good understanding of the platform’s capabilities and potential for businesses. These combined assets contributed to a highly positive review of the product.

Paligo is the choice for some of the world’s top brands. With ISO27001 Certification and hosted in SSAE 16 / SOC 2 certified Amazon AWS data centers, our customers can trust us with their most sensitive product information. For more independent user reviews of Paligo, see what our customers are saying on Trust Radius and G2.