We have been asked several times why we insist on using the full Content Management System (CMS) for even the smallest of websites. So here is our explanation.

What is a Content Management System (CMS)?

In short, it is a database-driven software that sits behind a website that allows site manager to quickly and easily update website and reconstruction (stuff).

A content management system allows you to more easily manage your website and web content. With CMS, the site can be easily added. You simply copy (or type) in the text of the page you are adding, say CMS where you want the site to site menu structure and click the Send button. The software automatically adds page according to the settings you’ve specified, the global design of the site.

Why use a content management system (CMS)?

It is rare to find a company today that does not have a robust and scalable web presence, especially given the rise of multimedia digital content such as blogs, forums, podcasting, news, music and video. The only way to properly manage all of this is to use modern CMS.

With the traditional method, you (or perhaps your web designer) would create a page, create menu links (including any links to the site of the rest of the site) and then submit it to the website.

By doing all the technical work for you, a CMS reduces (and often eliminates) the need for a web programmer to manage website content.

Long-term, this reduces the costs associated with site management and makes the process much faster, where the content goes live when submitted by the site administrator.

What kind of CMS should you use?

There are many different options available today CMS is. The majority of CMS software used on the internet at the moment is what is known as “Open Source.”

An Open Source (OS) software is one that has been developed by a community of programmers around the world, using widely available technology and is released as a free, fully licensed download. All the changes and improvements that you make to the code behind the software are usually released back into the OS community.

benefits using OS software is that it is free and it is great and ready availability of support available through the OS community. The code behind the software is available to the developer and therefore very flexible. Also, because of the size and availability of the OS community, it is always possible to find someone to help, even if the website development gives goes bust.

Many website development companies write their own CMS place in accordance with the requirements of customers. The danger with this approach is that if the website the company goes bust, the code behind the CMS may be hidden and it can be difficult and expensive to find support. Not only that, but many web development companies license their CMS and if you tend to use them as a supplier they may take down the site and / or withdraw all support.

It is also possible to buy commercial CMS on the shelf. Again, this means that the code will likely be hidden and most of the time the software is only granted on the basis of certificates. Even worse is that many software vendors insist that you pay an annual subscription license or charge you for updates.

So the best CMS option?

Those who know me will probably know that I’m a big fan of open source software. I just do not like having to pay if I do not. And this saving is passed onto my clients if they ask me to build a website for them.

So these days we use CMS called WordPress. This is an open source CMS packages available http://www.wordpress.org

However, it is not the only open source CMS available. Drupal and Joomla are also very popular.

But as with WordPress because it is very quick to work with and very flexible as well as being well supported by the huge WordPress community. It provides all the functionality most customers do like to give us the opportunity to add the following as requirements change.

Having said that, we have built several websites with Drupal and it’s great if you want to debate or many blogs on the website.