Does this situation sound familiar to you? You want a web site, but don't have a clue about setting one up. Or, you have successfully managed to create a web site and it has been growing at a healthy rate. Your existing site is becoming increasingly costly or difficult to manage. Or, your site looks dated compared to current design standards. In any case it may be a good time to learn about content management systems (CMS).

A content management system is a system or software application that helps you manage web page content. Web page content can be digital content in any form - audio or video files, computer files, electronic documents, text and so on. A web content management system is used to create and manage a large collection of web related material - usually a dynamic collection of HTML documents, associated images or other files. The main advantage of a web content management system is the ease it brings in not just creating and editing content but also in many technical web maintenance functions.

How a Content Management System Works

The main purpose of a web content management system is to allow a non-technical person to make essential changes to an existing web site with little or no technical knowledge. Some of these systems may require a technical person to set up the initial web site, including the major features and initial configuration. After that, various aspects can be very easily maintained by non-technical people. Let's see how a CMS works for a large site.

Consider an online magazine company. A team of professionals will initially design the web site giving the various pages the look, feel and flow that the company wants. They will then set up the system so that these pages act as templates and the only editable parts are the new images or text for each page. A CMS may allow varying user editing rights. For example, writers may be allowed to edit or add text through simple web based forms. Editors may be able to correct them through the same form and just clicking on a button will allow them to place this live on the web site. There are easy options for linking to various other files like images or audio or video files. Other non-technical people can easily check for broken links or outdated information and rectify them, all through a simple web interface. Now let's see how a CMS works for the average web site.

WordPress and Joomla are free CMS programs. You can download the software and install it yourself. Once installed, you can get a free template or theme to match your design needs. The themes are easy to install. You can also purchase premium themes to better match your design goals. Once installed, an interface is provided where you can add new content in the form of text, audio, video, links or whatever makes you happy. You can also add multiple users that have varying rights to change the content on your system.

Advantages of a Content Management System

A CMS allows you complete control of the design and the content of your site. Master templates ensure that there is a consistent look to the site throughout your web pages. If you desire to make changes later, you can incorporate them site-wide by making changes in a single master template. You can publish updates and content faster than ever and can even schedule the publication or expiration of particular pages.

Another advantage of a CMS is the active online communities. These communities have many passionate and creative people resolving technical issues and creating excellent templates (themes). If you have questions or problems, there are many sites where you can ask questions, get answers and find creative ideas.

Disadvantages of a Content Management System

A CMS is designed around a software application which may or may not meet all of your needs. For example, WordPress was originally designed around blogging. If you want a site based on pages rather than blog posts and blog categories, you may need technical help designing a site around pages. You may also need a technical person to install and configure your site. Additionally, if you want to make changes to the template, this may require a technical person as well.

CMS - Innovation for Today

Recently, CMSs like Joomla, Drupal, Mambo and Wordpress have become extremely popular because of their powerful features and even medium to large web sites and companies are beginning to realize the advantages of using them. These systems can be installed and configured by someone with basic technical knowledge. If you're setting up a new site or considering an overhaul of your current site, check into a CMS.

Kurt R. Hansen
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