What is a CMS ?
Web Content Management Systems (= Website Content Management )
Web content management systems (WCMS) are software/programs that work as interfaces that provide simplified tools for integrated website management. They allow users with little knowledge of programming or markup languages to create and manage website content (the dynamic collection of HTML documents, images and other media) easily or intuitively in regards to:
- document control, editing and timeline management (content input and updates),
- authoring (e.g. pages and section creation, restructuring, deletion),
- collaboration (a good CMS will allow to manage content by multiple users),
- administration (main and sub-navigation adjustments, internal and external linking etc.).
In a nutshell: CMS software is a system that allows you (user) to make changes to a website with little training. This administration is usually done through browser-based interfaces (login areas).
Content Management Solution
Web design in CMS software
Structures of pages within a CMS website are usually “hard-coded” and work as static (i.e. not user-changeable) templates, within which content is introduced and managed. But – depending on particular system’s flexibility – sometimes also adjustments to the pages’ styling or layout can be done by the user(s). So it is always good to discuss your expectations with your developer beforehand.
Web development in CMS software
A WCMS typically requires a systems administrator and/or a web developer to set up a website’s framework and add features. But once that initial coding development is done, a web content management system is primarily a website maintenance tool for non-technical users.
Website maintenance in CMS software
Most CMS systems use database or back-end backup to store page content, metadata, and any other information assets needed by the system. The content itself, once introduced by the user, is usually stored as XML (Extensible Markup Language, a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form) to facilitate, reuse, and enable flexible presentation options (displaying of the content to the website’s human visitors).
Web hosting of CMS website
It is exactly the same as for any other website and the needed solution (available memory, bandwidth etc.) will only depend on the site’s performance (e.g. size of the website, what type and size of files will it make accessible to visitors, periods of higher activity, its functionalities etc.).
