A content management systems, or CMS, is a great way to manage the content of your website, especially if you have a larger website and different people who are responsible for different parts of the website.
If you have a large website with many static website pages and you re tired of waiting for your IT staff or webmaster to make changes to the website, a content management system will put you in the driver s seat and make it easy for you
Advantages:
Administration system for updating content without the need for HTML
Easy to change look and feel using a few templates
Database is used to manage text content
Non technical staff can create, edit, approve and approve website pages
Control over approval of changes
Ability to deliver different content to public and registered users
Three CMS examples
There are many different content management systems available, some of which are free, open source applications such as Joomla! and many commercial systems such as Interspire s Website Publisher. Depending on your website requirements, Design First will recommend the best CMS solution.
Joomla!
Joomla has emerged in the last few years as one the most popular open source CMS applications. Joomla! uses PHP and mySQL and is extremely versatile. It is more than simply popular—it just works well and a volunteer community keeps making it better and better.
Because it is open source, there are thousands of extensions or small mini components created by individual programmers and commercial software companies, which work within the Joomla! framework to give your website many different capabilities—from social networking to ecommerce and more.
Joomal features include:
Search by keyword and advanced search capability
Registration system for users with different menus for different groups
Users can be assigned editing and publishing privileges
Entirely web based administration system
Uses PHP and mySQL
Open source code
Over 3,000 extensions to provide many exciting website features
Interspire Website Publisher
While Website Publisher may not be considered as versatile as Joomla! in terms of available extensions, it is a robust, mature, well supported CMS product with many great built in features.
Website Publisher Features:
Search by keyword and advanced search capability
Users can be assigned editing and publishing privileges
Entirely web based administration system
Uses PHP and mySQL
Search engine optimized
Article, news and blog sytem
Many built in templates
WordPress
WordPress is a content management system focused around blogging. Like Joomla!, it is open source and it supports a plugin framework, allowing websites using WordPress to have different capabilities, based on different website requirements.
WordPress Features:
Search by keyword and advanced search capability
Easy to use web based administration system
Uses PHP and mySQL
Search engine optimized
Hundreds of available plugins
Open source code
Thousands of templates
What Content Management System is right for your website?
This depends on your business needs or website goals for the most part and how quickly you need your website up and running.
If you are building an informational website that you plan to expand into a portal or community website, Joomla! will be a better choice. Joomla! would be overkill for a simple blog website.
For many businesses, Interspire s Website Publisher is a great choice for managing hundreds or even thousands of pages, and has blogging capability built in.
Author Resource:
Vann Baker, President of Design-First, has been creating websites since 1995, from small business websites to large ecommerce, social network and informational websites using content management systems. For more information on creating a CMS website and more, go to: http://www.design-first.com/website
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