Web Content Management Systems (CMS)

A website content management system (CMS) is software that enables users to author, update, administer and publish the content of their website without having to know much (if anything) about web programming or markup languages. Web-based content management systems make updating HTML documents, website images, and other forms of multimedia easy because they are in what is referred to as a GUI or graphical user interface. A GUI, pronounced gooey,  is a fancy (or funny) term for a user interface that allows for onscreen interaction and manipulation using images, graphical icons, or other visual indicators rather than text commands.

Websites can be developed in a CMS application that is custom built by a developer for a client’s particular needs, purchased from a company with preexisting CMS software and add-on modules, or developed using the increasingly popular open-source CMS platforms such as Drupal or Wordpress.  

Whether you are a business or an individual working on the web, a content management system (CMS) makes life much easier. If you have a website that is not in a CMS or are looking to build a website in a CMS, the possibility of what and how you can manage your site is almost endless. The following are just a few examples of the type of content you can create, maintain and update with a CMS:

• Online articles
• Blogs
• Website pages
• Information guides

• Photos or Images
• Media
• Audio files
• Computer files

• Video files
• Brochures
• Electronic documents
• Web text or content

What are the Benefits of Using a CMS for your Website?

There are numerous benefits when it comes to using a Content Management System for your website.

• Save money on website maintenance by limiting the need of external support
• Keep website content current quickly and easily
• Simplify the authoring process
• Maintain development consistency
  
• Reduce your risk of information duplication
• Quick turnaround time for making changes to your site
• Support remote authoring