Website content management systems make it easy to update your website.
Most people understand the difference between creating a website from scratch and utilizing a content management system (CMS) but we still get questions asking us what a CMS is. Here’s a quick primer.
Not Familiar with HTML?
CMSs allows the non-technical and savvy HTML users the ability to easily make changes to the website anywhere and anytime. Simply log-in, post your update using a rich text editor, and save your changes. Some content management systems even allow you to create new posts via email.
Who Knows Your Company?
No one knows your business better than you do. Having the capability to modify your site allows you to be in control. If you manage a team, a CMS permits you to appoint multiple authors with full or limited permissions. For example, you may assign one person to mange the careers page and blog on the site, but they are unable to change content on the home page. When changes are made to the following pages, the system will display the last person who approved and uploaded the content.
Easy Editing Tools
Each sections of the website can be changed without damaging or changing the layout and design codes of the template. If wanting to change the template (design and layout), systems offer a variety of templates, choose one and upload it. The template will change, but the content will stay the same throughout the site. Most editing tools are similar to the layout of a Word program; capable to bold, underline, create unordered list, ordered list, insert links, redo, undo and upload media files effortlessly.
Saves You Money
An array of HTML programs and editing tools can cost you hundreds of dollars. By having a CMS, there is no need to purchase any of those programs. Making the changes yourself or by a co-worker will eliminates the transfer of money to an outside consultant or service saving you money every time you would like to make changes to the site.
Save and Preview Pages
When someone creates a page or making edits, you can save as a draft. Not only can you save to edit later or have someone else edit, you can view it in the browses ensuring the end result is 100% accurate. Take a minute to test before publishing, making sure the links are correct, images display correctly and the overall design is accurate. Some of the better CSM systems allows authors to move pages and sections without any difficulty. This can be helpful but it’s usually not performed regularly.
SEO Friendly
When creating a page, the title becomes the pages link. For example, the title of your page could be “Charlotte Web Development.” Some CMS automatically generate the link for you and could be written as: http://www.yourwebsite.com/charlotte-web-development. Having the link automatically generated makes the page easier to be crawled by search engines. This is an area that is generally overlooked by most authors and is extremely important in utilizing SEO. By having your page SEO friendly will produce more results through search engines and potentially increase the number of new visitors. There are SEO packages available to download, emphasizing on title tags, page descriptions, and keywords; all are very useful in having search engines find your page or product.
Conclusion
Executing a Content Management System into your website can be very beneficial for a number of reasons. The main purpose for a CMS is to allow the user an easy and quick way to execute content edits. Also, most systems continually offer upgrade functions, which will help your site grow and scale for newer programs as they become available.
Our next article on Content Managment Systems will look at the difference between open and closed source programs and provide a guide to help you determine which system is best for you.
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