12 November 2009
Websites have come a long way in the last number of years. Traditionally websites were just static blocks of content whereby if you needed to update your site, you were required to enter the dreaded coding world and tackle the html yourself – a time consuming process, that required a certain degree of technical knowledge.

As time progressed, website owners became alienated by this system, the result being that their websites content became stale and outdated due to the inefficient updating process in place. Ironic really considering how significant content updates are these days in increasing web traffic and the huge impact it plays in SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). The CMS or Content Management System evolved out of the need to have a user friendly process whereby website owners with little or no technical background could edit and update their websites content by themselves.

What exactly is a CMS?

A CMS is composed of a backend whereby a user/admin can login and edit and update the content of their website. All of this data is stored in a central repository or database.

Features updatable are based on the flexibility of the CMS developed for your website. Most features within the content area are usually completely updatable via a backend. Many CMS will purposely prohibit changes to the main navigation and main appearance of the website in order to maintain site integrity and consistency.

A quick example:

Updating the news column of your website with a CMS could be as simple as logging into the backend of your CMS, clicking on Update News – Adding the news content via an editing tool similar to Word and pressing submit. Links, Pictures and Videos may also be added in similar fashion if of course the CMS supports such media.

What are the advantages of a CMS

There are enormous benefits to having such a system in place, the most significant advantages are:

The speed and efficiency at which you can edit and update your content

Non – technical people can finally update their site content with ease

Archiving helps users manage their older content and provides a record of when data was published

Greater website consistency and overall site navigation as styles are maintained.