When counseling our clients about building their websites, there is often a great deal of discussion as to whether the website development package should include a content management system (CMS).

While many clients want their web developers to handle all updates of images, text designs and videos on their websites, others want the ability to handle those chores in-house. That’s what a CMS allows them to do.

So, what exactly is a CMS?

In simplest terms, a CMS is a software package that facilitates the creation, publishing, distribution, organization and management of online content. As you will see below, most CMS look very similar to word processing software, like Microsoft’s Word.

A CMS not only creates the structure of how information- articles, video, design elements and images- will be presented, it gives all of the tools for populating a website. A CMS assists the web editor by providing tools for the creation of content, the publishing of the content, and, ultimately to archiving and storing the content.

Depending on the client’s needs and staffing, the CMS can be designed for use by a highly technical webmaster or can be so simple and intuitive that even the most technologically challenged editors can use it effectively.

PUBLISHING TOOLS: CREATING CONTENT

In the early days of the Internet, it was essential to have strong HTML and other coding skills. Most CMS give web editors and writers tools that allow them to compose content as if they were creating a Word document.

Most quality CMS also give you the opportunity to preview content before it is published. The preview page looks exactly like what the page would look like if it was “live” on your website. Any errors in spacing, alignment, look and feel can be detected and fixed before the page is published.

Below you can see an example of the publishing tools on a CMS and a comparison to the editing tools on Microsoft Word.

(Above) writing and editing tools in a CMS

(Above) Writing and editing tools in Microsoft Word

As you can see both Word and this CMS provides the writer/editor has a full range of editing tools. The tools are similar to what you would find in most any word processing software:

• Fonts and font sizes
• Text colors
• Bold, italics and underlining
• Alignments
• Bulleting
• Hyperlinking
• Page breaks
• Importing photographs and video
• Importing from a word document

Many CMS also provide built-in page templates. These templates provide for a uniform look and feel for content in each section of the website.

CMS: MANAGEMENT TOOLS

Of course, a CMS can provide many more tools than just editing tools. The CMS can be designed to handle a variety of sophisticated management tools as well.

A CMS can provide a wide range of work flow tools. These tools allow a company to provide a series of permissions for all users.

For example, you can have multiple “authors” in your company, individuals who are assigned to write content that will appear on the company website. A CMS can limit the powers of these authors, giving them the power to submit an article, but not to edit or publish.

Once the story has been written, a CMS can automatically send out an alert to an editor, who then has authorization to change and update content. Your CMS may give your editors the power to edit copy in the system, but not give the editors the power to publish the story online.

In this case, the power to publish (final approval and review of a story), will just be in the editor-in-chief’s hands. Some companies will only provide authorization to publish in the hands of the legal department.

The CMS can also set rules for who can author different sections of the website. If you have an e-commerce site, you might limit updates to inventory to your product managers. Similarly, if you have an “In the News” section, access may be limited to members of your communications team.

Also, a CMS can used for image, video and banner management.  If programmed correctly, most CMS have the capability to allow for the addition and removal of images and videos from galleries.  The can also be used to change specific banners on pages where an ad might be placed.  Keeping content fresh is essential in the Web 2.0 environment, and having a CMS is a great tool to give your company the ability to do this.

CMS: DISTRIBUTION TOOLS

Your CMS can also be designed to automatically broadcast new content to the world. This would include automatic RSS feeds, search engine notification and e-mail alerts.

Choosing a CMS

Some examples of CMS platforms: WordPress, Joomla!, & Drupal are the most popular.  According to this report (http://www.cmswire.com/cms/web-cms/report-in-depth-most-popular-open-source-cms-2009-005800.php), Joomla! is the most popular and WordPress has the best brand strength.  I think the only reason Joomla! is ahead of WordPress in the CMS department is that WordPress is geared more towards blogs

• Websites Using Joomla:
  • MTV Networks Quizilla (Social networking) – http://www.quizilla.com
  • IHOP (Restaurant chain) – http://www.ihop.com
  • Harvard University (Educational) – http://gsas.harvard.edu
  • Citibank (Financial institution intranet) – Not publicly accessible
  • The Green Maven (Eco-resources) – http://www.greenmaven.com
  • Outdoor Photographer (Magazine) – http://www.outdoorphotographer.com
  • PlayShakespeare.com (Cultural) – http://www.playshakespeare.com
  • Senso Interiors (Furniture design) – http://www.sensointeriors.co.za
• Websites Using WordPress
  • Wall Street Journal Magazine – http://magazine.wsj.com/
  • UPS Racing – http://www.racing.ups.com/
  • Fisher Price Expert Series – http://www.fisherpriceexperts.com.au/
  • Best Buy Stores – http://stores.bestbuy.com/577/
  • GE Reports – http://www.gereports.com/
  • I Love Typography – http://ilovetypography.com/
  • Entertainment Weekly PopWatch – http://popwatch.ew.com/

IN CONCLUSION

For those companies that choose to take control of all content updates on their sites, a robust CMS can make life remarkably easy. Where online content creation and editing was once the province of the technically sophisticated, now anyone with basic word processing and editing skills can publish attractive, professional looking content on a website. At Blue Fountain Media, we’d be happy to discuss your web development needs and answer any questions you may have about content management systems. Give us a call at 212.260.1978.

Tags: blogging, CMS, content management system, web development