CMS in the field of website development stands for content management system.
A CMS website is a type of web application that enables you to manage the content that displays on your website (aka content management system) . Content is stored in a database (often MySQL database) separate from code. Password protected tools are coded to enable users to add, edit and delete content right from their web browser.
Why Use a Content Management System?
The main reason people build websites with a CMS is because its much easier to manage content on your website. Anyone can be quickly trained to use tools to edit data, rather than having to have a webmaster manage the task.
Do You Need a CMS Website?
CMS websites are definitely a buzz word these days. Just because “everyone else” has one though, it does not mean its the right solution for your website project.
As the Internet evolves and websites age, volume of content your website often grows. Often it gets to the point of being inefficient to keep content up to date. This gets expensive to maintain, which often turns to it being pushed off your priority list. This is a good reason to consider converting your website to a CMS.
On the flip side though. If you have a simple informational website with a low number of pages (< 20) that you seldom update, I would not recommend the cost and effort to convert your site to a CMS.
When you need features beyond text and images like search engine websites, eCommerce websites or member registration portals, then you need a content management system web application. You can’t build functionality like this without one.
Consider the following
- Once a content management system is built, it makes managing content much easier. You no longer need to directly edit code, but can make changes easily right from your web browser.
- You have control of your website content and can make changes faster. You can edit content whenever you want instead of sending requests to your web developer and waiting for them to get done.
- You can build functionality into your website. Instead of just showing text and images on your website, you can easily add in features like photo galleries, blogs, reporting, shopping carts…
There are many options to build CMS websites. The best CMS for your project depends on your budget and the features and functionality that you need built into your site. I build custom CMS websites from scratch and WordPress CMS websites. You can see some CMS examples here.
