An Overview on Content Management System
In general sense, Content Management System (CMS) is an expression that is widely used in relation to Web site development and maintenance all over the world. There are many searches to know about Content Management System. It is a special one. This article explains about what Content Management System and its whereabouts.
CMS
A simple and small traditional Web site built of static HTML pages works well if there is no change in its content often, whereas if you need professional help to add/delete or modify a page and upload it to the site, you have to get one who works in a CMS.
All content including metadata like page title, description, keywords, etc. is added to the database and used by the CMS to dynamically generate Web pages. In most cases, there is no need to install any special administrative software on the user's computer.
There are different kinds of content management systems. A simple and easy-to-use CMS can be sufficient for an individual or a small business, while a large company may require a more sophisticated solution. A sophisticated CMS may be used to manage company workflow by setting roles and permissions for different employees. Some of them may be allowed only to upload their material, others are to review and edit it, and the others are to approve and publish it.
A CMS creates and modifies content to publish it well. You can type or paste text in special boxes and upload images using the placeholders in a form, or if the CMS provides a WYSIWYG editor, you can even work on a page and at the same time view what it will look like. Managing a Web site becomes easy even for non-technical business people - all they have to do is to log on via their browser, create or change a Web page or several pages, and then have the CMS publish the content to the Web server at the click of a button.
Advantages of CMS
You can break free of the HTML coding dependency trap and start working on the content yourself.
You can make changes to your Web site quickly and easily, correct mistakes as soon as you notice them.
It reduces the costs of professional assistance.
A CMS helps the clients with little Web authoring skills to re-design, maintain, and update their Web sites themselves.
It is possible to change the entire site quickly and easily using templates.
The design of a Web site always remains consistent because the content obtained from the database can be inserted into pre-designed templates.
You can modify the template in each and every page.
CMS work smarter and it is not a hard one.
You will be able to use a CMS if you can use your Web browser.
Disadvantages of CMS
A CMS is usually a fairly expensive product. Even if you get an open source solution, you will most certainly have to pay for installing it and setting it up. Don't be surprised to find out that your initial costs are higher than if you had your Web site built of static HTML pages.
A Web site based on a CMS tends to work slower, and that search engines index it worse than a static HTML site. These problems can be solved by adding a function that allows you to publish the site as static HTML pages or simply by choosing a CMS that uses search engine friendly URLs.
The ways to obtain a CMS
Different ways are there to get CMS in your web site.
Create it in your work firm:
You don't need to be a professional to develop a CMS with you. Your technical staff can do it for you but it is a risk, if they leave. And also it is difficult to find someone who is expert in this job.
CMS through Outsourcing:
A lot of vendors will offer you to develop a CMS that will fit all your needs. There's no doubt that most of these vendors will have enough experience for that. The problem is that even if you want to have a CMS based site with rather modest functionality, you're probably looking at the $6,000 range as a minimum. Developing a CMS with a respectable number of functions and modules costs several hundred thousand dollars. It is very expensive.
Possibility of buying CMS:
These systems are normally well tested, and they work smoothly. On the downside, the affordable systems aren't very flexible or efficient, while the high-end sophisticated ones are extremely expensive. This option is probably the easiest and the most reliable one. Besides, you need to hire professionals to have the system deployed and set up. There are varieties of such products on the market, so you may choose the one that suits you best.
Open source CMS:
Open source systems are usually as good as commercial ones, and you don't have to pay for them because software distributed under the GNU public license is free to use, modify, and redistribute. Development teams and users all over the world have spent years working with open source systems, so the core functionality of an open source CMS is thoroughly tested and improved. This option seems to be the most effective one. It is also easy to extend because the development community continuously create new features and modules.
Two of the two open source systems are:
WebGUI: It is based on the Perl scripting language. It allows the user to modify Web pages right on the site in the WYSIWYG mode, but its installation and configuration require professional expertise.
Mambo: Here you need to do it at the administration area instead. It is based on the PHP scripting language, it's simpler to deploy, its requirements are relatively low, but you can't add or modify the content directly on your site.
You have to install the Linux operating system to deploy both of these systems and check whether it provides MySQL database support.
Conclusion
If your Web site simply establishes your presence on the Internet, it doesn't have to be frequently modified, and if you or your staff is competent enough to maintain it in house, you can stay comfortable with flat HTML pages. A CMS is usable if your Web site is a complex project that should be regularly updated, and especially if you need outside help to do it - in this case, a CMS will set you free. Actually CMS helps you a lot in your business systems.
