Website Content Management Overview Website Content Management Systems (CMS) allow you to easily manage and edit website content and website appearance. They do this by separating the actual content from the content layout/structure. This means that it becomes very easy to make changes to the appearance of each web page like colour scheme, navigation etc without having to physically edit each page. They are specifically designed so that a very low level of technical knowledge is required. Meaning you don't need to be a web designer to use them. What Does A Content Management System do? The main features provided by content management systems are: There are two common types of content management systems Desktop Based Content Management Almost all modern website editing tools like Microsoft FrontPage have built in content management abilities even though they don't call it that. With FrontPage you can find and replace across the entire site. You can add repetitive content using webbots, and you can totally separate the design from the content using style sheets. It is however much more difficult to use than a pure content management system and requires more technical knowledge. There are purpose built desktop content management systems which although not as flexible are much easier to use. These are not web page editors in the sense of FrontPage, Trellian WebPage, NVU etc but are pure content management systems that allow you to create the website content using a variety of templates without requiring any knowledge of HTML etc. This content is stored in a database located on your PC and can then be published to your website. You cannot use them to edit a web page. Server Based Content Management Systems Server Based Content Management systems provide the same easy content production features as desktop based and more besides. All editing is done on the web. The content is stored in a databases as with desktop based systems but this database is on the Internet. Server based systems come in two forms: Hosted The content management system is owned and maintained by someone else and you access your content and templates and other management features through web pages provided by the system provider. Again you may be using one already without realising it. Site building packages like Sitebuild-it use a Content management system, they are also used in blogging systems like blogger.com and Wordpress. Self Hosted Content management systems usually use PHP or ASP pages and a database e.g. Joomla (ex Mambo). With a self hosted option you are required to install the scripts and database and configure the system. Although this is not extremely difficult it the preserve of the technical and experienced web master. Because you have complete management control this is by far the most powerful option. See WordPress below. Desktop Versus Server Based If you are not permanently connected to the Internet then desktop based would be the obvious choice. Sever based systems are usually much more powerful than desktop based ones and are the preferred choice for professional websites. Do You Need One? The two main features offered by content management systems are: Although content management systems have typically been used by large websites with experienced webmasters they are becoming more popular with smaller sites due to the flexibility and the wide range of attractive templates. Joomla is a free open source content management system which is being increasingly used by small site owners like real estate agents, small businesses, affiliate marketers etc. Wordpress-Although used primarily as a blogging platform it is being used more often as a standard website platform. It is much simpler to set up and administer than systems like Joomla and is your site is mainly content driven then it is sufficient. I am currently running three sites using it and it has become my preferred hosting option. Related Articles and Resources:
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Website Content Management Overview
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