Right Mind Creative

It seems that everyone in the world of web design is talking about content management systems (CMS), but most people outside the web design industry don’t quite understand what that means. In the interest of demystifying what us Internet savvy are talking about I will try to explain what a CMS is and what it can do for you.

To start we’ll break CMS down into its parts.

Content — The meat and potatoes of your website. The content of a website is the writing and images. If you were to take away the design and layout of the page you would be left with just the content. This is what people visit your site for.

Management — Keeping your content organized is key to help visitors find what they are looking for and for you to add, subtract and update content.

System — Through a CMS a work flow is created for you and your staff to maintain the organization of your content.

How can a Content Management System work for you?

We say that websites are built on a CMS, meaning we design and build your website over the framework of the CMS. Here are a few examples of the benefits you will gain by using a CMS.

Instant Updates

Add, remove and edit content to your site instantly from anywhere in the world. The process of maintaining the content on your site is easy and typically works like this: Log into your site using a username and password, select the type of content and where you would like it to appear on your site, type your content as you would in a word processor like Microsoft Word, then click save and your content is available instantly on the internet.

Scheduled Content

You have the ability to write content and have it appear and/or disappear from your site at a predetermined date and time. This is especially useful for retailers offering promotions for a limited time.

Make One Change, Update a Whole Site/Reuse Content

Let’s say you change phone numbers, and you need to change the phone number across the footer of every page of your website. Make the change once and it will affect the entire site. Or, have your latest news appear not only on a news page but also on the homepage of your site.

Delegate Content Publishing

Different people within your organization can be given unique usernames and passwords, each with access to limited areas of your website to create content. This will lead to a website that is updated more often, and ease the workload placed upon one person. If you wish to keep control of the content on your site a work flow can be developed where content is submitted to you for approval before being published live on your website.

Content is Independent of the Design

The formatting of your new content is controlled to maintain continuity in the design and avoid a layout disaster. Also, as the content is separated from the design, any future design changes can be made without having to re-enter all the content you have already published.

The Disadvantages of a Content Management System

There aren’t many disadvantages to using a CMS for your website, but there are a few that should be considered before you decide if it’s right for you. There are numerous CMSs on the market, each one geared towards a unique type of website. Some are more flexible than others. Some CMSs give the designer limited control over the design and layout of a website, which can lead to a website looking “cookie cutter” and are easily identified as templates. Implementing a CMS also requires additional coding, design, and often some training for those who maintain the site.

Is a Content Management System Right for You?

It’s no wonder there are so many web designers insisting on using a content management system for new websites. For a site that will need any modifications to its content, even if not immediately, the time and money saved submitting changes to a web professional make investing in a good CMS worth while. Having your content updated, and new content posted regularly will increase your ranking in search results and keep your audience returning to your site for more.