2018 – Founding of Webspell-RM

On September 12, 2018, Webspell-RM was launched after the team from Design Performance took over the project. Previously, the project webSPELL-NOR was discontinued due to the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Even after adapting to data protection requirements, NOR was internally ended on 31.10.2018 and the website was shut down.

Many ideas originally planned for NOR could not be implemented. With the consent of the then NOR administrators, webSPELL | RM was founded with the aim of realizing these ideas anew and taking the popular CMS to a new technical and design level.

All existing plugins were completely revised to be compatible with the new RM version. Webspell-RM was thus the last active Webspell project before the later switch to nexpell.

2019–2020 – Introduction of New Features

• Integration of Bootstrap 5 framework for a modern design
• Introduction of CKEditor 4 for improved text editing
• Plugin and template installer for easy extension
• Multilingualism: German, English, Italian
• Updater for easy system updates
• Up to 84 plugins and 13 templates available

2021 – Security and Performance Updates

• CKEditor update to version 4.16.0 (security vulnerabilities fixed)
• Personalized avatar icons for modules
• Reworked dashboard with "Express Settings"

2023 – Compatibility and Usability

• Admin center modernized with Bootstrap 5
• PHP 8.2 compatible
• Widget positioning & plugin configuration simplified
• New welcome page in the admin area

2024 – Further Optimizations

• Module overview for better plugin management
• Language editor for easy content translation
• Sticky navigation options for admin navigation

2025 – Redevelopment as nexpell

In 2025, the system was completely redeveloped under the new name nexpell with a modern, responsive admin area.

• Integration and switch to Bootstrap 5.3 as design and component basis
• Introduction of a modular admin system with separate areas for Pricing, About, Gallery, Resume, and more
• Improved drag & drop sorting with AJAX, including page preview for galleries and content
• New theme and template switcher with live preview and comfortable saving
• Completely restructured plugin architecture with independent admin panels and database control
• Systematic expansion of help texts, tooltips and modal preview to improve usability (UX)
• Numerous core functions from Webspell-RM 2.1.6 were revised, optimized or completely rewritten
• Significant improvements in security:
  • Introduction of CSRF protection in forms
  • Prepared statements for all database access to avoid SQL injections
  • Improved user and rights management
  • More secure password hashing methods
• Improved performance through modern PHP standards and optimized code
• Integration of new features such as SEO-optimized URL structures and improved multilingualism
• Simplified extensibility and maintainability through consistent separation of logic and presentation