Content Management Systems

Where is the Pain

Let’s assume you have a website, or intranet which has become inundated with content over time. Although you find it useful, there is much room for improvement. There is a lot of outdated content, it’s very difficult to find the information you need, updating the site is not easy, and the interface looks archaic. Besides, HTML or any other relevant language skills are far from being your strongest suits and it takes too much time to solve all these web content-related issues. In this case, it would be reasonable to employ a CMS.

CMS Defined

CMS... Is that just one more incomprehensible acronym this IT crowd came up with to befuddle all of the non-technical people? No, this one is rather simple, meaning nothing else than Content Management System.

CMS can be defined as a set of processes, applications, and databases that is used to facilitate the process of creation, storing, coordinating, and publishing content in a certain format.

Benefits of Using a CMS

One of the most important advantages of deploying a CMS is that all three layers of the website - design, structure, and content - become separated. It means that you are free to recreate or adjust each area of the site without the need to make changes in other areas. The design of a website can be subject to significant changes and this will not require any adjustments to structure or content. New features can be added to the structure with design and content remaining the same. Content can be added and updated with no need to adjust neither design nor functional structure. By means of the separation of these three layers, a CMS gives a website owner the flexibility that otherwise would be lacking.

A CMS makes all the content-related processes time-effective. Additionally, a good CMS provides you with better content security by controlling who has the access to publishing on the website, as well as who is allowed to read certain types of content.

With the help of a CMS you have an opportunity to estimate the success of your publishing efforts without any difficulty. It is easy to track who is publishing what, how often a website is updated, whether the publication schedule is being followed, whether unnecessary content is being deleted in a timely manner, etc.

A CMS is particularly indispensable when you have multiple content writers and editors, based at different locations, who publish huge amount of content on a regular basis.

Since non-technical staff can easily do all the editing work on a website, IT people do not get overloaded with extra tasks and have more time for solving more urgent issues than uploading a picture or correcting a mistake. The ease with which the content is added and managed also stimulates staff to make a website well maintained and up to date. Thus, if a mistake is spotted by a customer, it won’t take more than 5 minutes to correct it, whereas without a CMS the same task would entail having to make changes to the new version of the affected page and uploading it via an FTP account. By facilitating the process of writing content with the help of their default word processor, your content writers get more time for generating better content instead of having to be bothered by technical issues that can be quite discouraging and out of their competence.

However, modern CM systems can do much more than simply manage web content and template Web delivery. A vast array of features of a good CM System also include photo galleries, shopping baskets, forums, and even messaging boards for making use of different Social Marketing strategies.

Moreover, most CMS let you choose eye-catching and user friendly URLs instead of endless parameters and numbers that are impossible to grasp. In fact, this simple feature is invaluable for search engine optimization as it will surely make your website show up higher on search engine results.

Major CMS Styles

Hosted CMS

The vendor or the developer provides CMS hosting and maintainance, which exempts the customer from a number of time-consuming administrative responsibilities.

Commercial CMS

The developer creates a CMS and sells it to the customer, who assumes all the responsibility for maintenance. The customer has more control, but more hassle as well. Generally, a commercial CMS is more costly up front.

Open Source CMS

With open source CMS, the customer doesn't pay anything for using the software. The customer has much control and responsibility. In case some issues arise, the customer consults the Open Source community. The main disadvantage is the lack of sufficient documentation.

How to Choose the Right CMS

If you have no doubts that you need CMS for your website, you'll probably have to go CMS hunting as they come in a variety of flavours. However, the wrong choice of CMS can turn managing your website into a real nightmare. It is essential that all your requirements are met in one solution. Get started by evaluating the needs of your website, analyze your own situation rather than the available CMS or those used by your competitors. Try to identify the types and amount of content you need to use. Then, think of those involved in the process of managing content on your website. Once you have a clear picture of what you want out of a CMS, examine all the options available and make your choice.

Popular Content Management Systems

WordPress

This PHP based CMS is a good open source solution for personal blogs and small websites out there. It boasts an extensive documentation covering nearly every aspect of customization.

Drupal

Drupal is another popular open source project with a dynamic community. A full-fledged CMS rather than just a blogging platform, it has an impressive variety of powerful features, including OpenID, role-based permission system, user blogs, forums, etc. This CMS would be a great choice for those who need support for multiple blogs and multiple authors. However, trying Drupal without the knowledge of PHP, CSS, and HTML is not recommended.

Joomla!

Joomla is a pure CMS and a highly configurable one. Its functionality is appreciated by newbies and IT professionals alike. More than three thousand of free and paid extensions are at the disposal of Joomla’s users. However, those who are planning to create a portfolio site, for example, should look for a less sophisticated CMS solution.

ExpressionEngine

ExpressionEngine is paid software offering much flexibility and elegance to its users. Heavy on extensibility and ease of modification, it has a clean and highly intuitive administration panel. Among a plethora of its useful features one can name the global search, replace functionality, and a powerful templating engine.

Anuko CMS

Although less known than the other four, it is also a good CMS solution for entry-level and small business websites. Where it really shines is the ease with which its users manage their websites. One of its most useful features is ecommerce which makes it a piece of cake to start selling online with no need to pay for a merchant account.