Content Management Systems
Posted on November 4, 2008
Filed Under Business Computing, Internet, Open Source/Freeware, Software |
Everyone needs a web site, right?
That’s especially true if you’re in business. A web site helps customers find you, learn about what you do, and can even give them an easy way to buy your products or services. Tied in with other marketing material, a web site is a great place to send people to learn more about who you are and what you do.
In the beginning, the web was only hypertext (text that you can click on and be taken to another document or web site) documents that had little or no graphics or embellishments. It quickly replaced older technologies like Gopher and dial-in BBS’s and it wasn’t long before it became apparent that the World Wide Web would revolutionize the way we share information.
As the Web evolved, an industry grew around designing Web pages and buzz phrases like “web presence” came into vogue. Software packages like FrontPage and Dreamweaver promise to make it easy for anyone to create nice looking web pages and they’re reasonably straight forward to use. Many of these programs are really not a whole lot different than using a word processor like Microsoft Word.
A lot has changed in what web pages are capable of however and for the most part, static web pages made in one of these software programs just doesn’t cut it for a dynamic web sites that are meant to drive business. Today’s buzz phrase is “content management”.
Content Management Systems (CMS) are a framework around which a Web site can be built. The CMS provides the functionality for the site while the look and feel of the site can be changed without affecting content (the information you publish) or functionality. In fact, most CMS’ allow you to completely change the look of the web site without ever having to worry about the content changing.
To manage the look of a site, many CMS’ use the concept of a “skin”. A skin is a web design that is applied to the site and provides the look and feel only. One would typically design the look of the site, make some changes to it specific to the CMS, and then install the skin on the site.
The CMS will have some type of backend where content can be created and managed. Sadly, there isn’t much of a standard – let me rephrase that, there is no standard – way of dealing with content in a CMS. Some use “news” items, some “content” items, you name it. The trick is to decide on the CMS you like and get used to how you create and edit content in it.
CMS’ also offer functionality that you just can’t easily get with static web pages. Most come with options to offer special content to users who register on your site. Many also have add-ons that supply shopping carts, blogs, discussion forums, wikis, you name it. They fit right into the look of the site and they are usually not too difficult to use.
The beauty of CMS is that you can add and edit content at will without messing up the functionality of the site or having to call your web designer to modify it for you. The added bonus is that you can do some pretty advanced stuff with your web site using the built-in tools or some add-ons.
Many of the best CMS systems are also free. A great place to start is http://www.opensourcecms.com
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