Choosing a Content Management System (CMS)

Choosing a Content Management System (CMS)

Interested in using a Content Management System to update and manage your Web site content? There are many CMS features to consider.

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A Content Management System (otherwise known as CMS) gives Web site operators the capacity to easily update and manage their content.

CMS style Web sites have become increasingly popular in recent years, content can swiftly be updated, allowing businesses to communicate to their target audiences in an efficient and timely manner. In turn, Web site visitors like to be met with fresh and relevant content when they browse the Web, so having up to the minute content can give companies a real competitive advantage against their online competitors.

CMS Benefits and Features
CMS sites have a range of features and benefits that have made them an attractive online solution for many businesses.

• Flexibility - CMS sites can use pre-designed templates or fully customised with new template designs.

• Easy and Practical - Site administrators don't have to come equipped with design or technical skills. Good CMS' are easy to use and simple site-wide updates can often be completed in just minutes.

• Extensions - A CMS site allows you to add extensions and plug-ins such as calendars, blogs and forums.

Ensure Your CMS is Search Engine Friendly
Some CMS-driven sites used are not designed to be search engine friendly. Whilst the usability and design features of these CMS' can be faultless, the content is presented in a format that search engines can't access. If a site does not carefully consider the needs of search engines, then a dip in rankings would mean a subsequent drop in Web site traffic, obviously not a desirable outcome from a site marketing perspective.

Example CMS Options
Here are two noteworthy example CMS options. Joomla! is a popular option for managing large volumes of Web site content and is highly extensible with comprehensive community building features. WordPress on the other hand is a smaller and easier to use CMS with excellent blogging functionality.

Joomla! : www.joomla.org

• Relatively easy to use

• Extensive CMS functionality, very powerful

• Excellent login / community-orientated functionality

• Thousands of available extensions and design templates

• Well supported by the developer community

• Open source and free to use under GPL agreement

WordPress : www.wordpress.org

• Very easy to use

• Good CMS functionality, suitable for many sites

• Easy to install and suitable for a wide number of hosting accounts

• Excellent blogging functionality

• Thousands of available extensions and design themes

• Well supported by the developer community

• Open source and free to use under GPL agreement

Choosing Your CMS
If you feel a CMS Web site would suit your online requirements, get in touch with your Web design company. They will be able to show you samples of their work and talk you through the most common and popular features.

Finally, make sure you investigate all the costs involved for design, development, hosting and maintenance so you know the ongoing cost of your proposed CMS. Feel free to contact Avatar for more information about Content Management System solutions.

Credit:
Mark Rocket
Avatar - New Zealand Web Design

Website Design images from Flickr: CMS, Technographica and Mac + Starbucks.