CMS Systems, what are they and do I need one?

If you’ve shopped around for a website in the last couple of years, undoubtedly the web-developers you talked to have mentioned the term CMS at least once. Be honest, did you have even the slightest clue about what he or she was talking about? For those who don’t know, CMS is an acronym for Content Management System. Now that you know what CMS stands for, does it bring you any closer to knowing exactly what a CMS is? Probably not! Well, hopefully after this edition of Word Up!, you will know all there is to know about Content Management Systems.

In the good old days of the web, when you wanted to update content on your website, and you were slick enough to do it yourself, you had to login to your server’s FTP (another acronym!), download the file(s) you wanted to work on, change them, then re-upload them to the server. Sounds complicated right? Well, honestly after you’ve done it a few times, it’s really not that bad. Honestly, most web-developers follow this exact work-flow for the majority of simple websites that they manage. Yes, it’s tedious, and wide open to human error, but it does work. What kind of human error? Well, let’s just say that a certain web-developer I know (ok… me!), has on more than one occasion overwritten the wrong file, or forgotten to upload a file that I changed. Yes, that’s right, you have to keep track of every file you change, and be sure to re-upload it to the server. It can easily become an exercise in futility for the average user who does not have fancy synching applications like most web-developers have. After trying this work-flow, most people ask the question “Can’t I just change the files right on the website so I don’t have to worry about all of this?” That’s exactly where a CMS comes in.

A CMS abstracts you from having to worry about HTML coding, uploading, downloading and all the fun stuff associated with editing your website manually. With a CMS, when you want to edit a page, you simply login with your user account and click the ‘Edit’ icon for the region you want to edit. From there, you work inside your browser window, changing your content with a Microsoft Word like interface. It’s all built right into your website, no need to download special software or learn new skills. To follow the cliché of pretty much every CMS developer out there: “If you can use Microsoft Word, you can use our CMS!”

While page editing is the core of content managers, the CMS’ functionality can extend way beyond simple page edits. Most content managers have modules that get plugged into the base CMS, extending the functionality to do things like website menu management, online event calendars, online job listings, member only areas, blogs and of course social networking integration. Even beyond that, most CMS packages are built with custom expansion in mind. So, having the base content manager as the engine with a series of custom developed modules that plug into it is something that is completely possible, and normal.

Ok, so now that you are a CMS expert, you should know that there are a lot of choices out there when it comes to Content Management Systems. These choices range in price from free, all the way up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s not always a case of “You get what you pay for” when trying to figure out which CMS is best for you. Some of the most expensive ones are the hardest to use, and have really clunky user interfaces. Working with a good web-developer who can guide you to the best CMS for your needs is typically the best approach to avoid the trial and error of finding the right CMS for you.