A content management system (CMS) is software that allows people to create and modify content on their website. The software is designed to make it as simple and intuitive as possible for non-technical users. CMSs are good because it doesn’t require coding for you to make changes to the website. CMSs automatically do the coding for you, allowing you to focus purely on the content aspect of the website.
CMSs consist of two parts, content management applications (CMAs) and content delivery applications (CDAs). CMAs is the application where it allows you to add content and manage it, the UI aspect whereas the CDA is the backend application that formats the content you put in for the visitors of your website to see.
So what is the benefit?
Well, the main number one benefit is that it helps people without any technical IT knowledge to create and modify their websites. It helps to cut a lot of costs from maintaining a website. While you would still need a developer to help you set the website up using the CMS, you’ll be able to take over once done and publish and edit the website yourself afterwards,
The second main benefit is that it easily allows you to collaborate with other users. Multiple users in one organization can create and publish content, due to how simple it is to use the CMS.
What are some CMSs?
One of the most popular CMSs currently is WordPress, but there are hundreds of different platforms for you to choose. WordPress is an open-source CMS tool used by businesses, large and small alike. Statistics say that WordPress accounts for around 30% of the websites worldwide! Other popular CMS platforms are Drupal, Joomla and Magento.
Alright, how do I get one?
Woah, woah, woah, slow down there, cowboy! Truth be told, while CMSs are very useful, it doesn’t apply to every single website. What are the goals of your website? What do you wanna achieve with your website, and will CMSs help? Here’s a small checklist to see if CMSs can actually make things better or worse for you.
Ease of use
The main benefit of CMSs is that it’s simple and easy to use. Anyone can use it after 5 minutes of exploring the functions. However, this might mean they might lack functionality in some aspect. When getting one developed for your business, ensure that it’s user friendly but covers all the functions you need.
Responsive Design
More than half of internet traffic comes from mobile devices such as mobile phones and tablets. Responsive mobile design is essential and achievable in CMS platforms, make sure that the platform you pick supports responsive web design that can render your website across all devices.
Availability and Cost of Add-ins
You can make your platform much more versatile by purchasing modules, also known as “plugins.” Made by third party developers, it allows you to add more functions to your website. However, not all are free, and while they might add functionality, it also adds more things to maintain in the website, making maintenance a tad bit difficult.
– You can make your platform more versatile by purchasing modules called “plugins”
– Made by third party developers, it allows you to add more functions to your website
– Not all are free, however, and while they add functionality, it also adds more things to maintain in the website, making the process a bit more difficult
Speed
How fast does it take to install software, configure the website and publish content? CMSs are usually pretty fast in that regard, due to how intuitive the user interfaces can be.
But speed also refers to how fast the site loads up. If the website takes too long to load or refresh, visitors might get frustrated and just leave. Ensure that your developer takes this into account when building your website!
Security and Support
CMS platforms do have software security, but third-party developers also create software that can add extra protection to your website. Every website is a target for hackers, and certain CMSs have better security features than others.
Consider what platforms and plugins work best for you. For example, WordPress has high sophisticated security mechanisms, but don’t provide support for CMS installation and maintenance, so you might need to compensate by using more plugins.
If you still aren’t sure of if the website you want needs a CMS, contact us. We’ve done this a thousand times for our previous clients, and we’re ready to do it for you too. We’ll help evaluate how useful a CMS is for your business, and we can move forward from there. Contact us on our social media handles or our website and we can start building for you.
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