What is a Content Management System Website?

content management system website

Content Management Systems ( aka CMS websites)

In the field of website development CMS stands for: content management system.  A CMS is a web based application that enables a user to manage website content through a collection of tools. The website data, or content, is stored separate from the code with makes it much easier to manage the website.  Most of the time the content is stored in a database. It could be stored in flat files, xml format too. A database is the most practical and mostly used approach though.

CMS website are essentially website builder software. Code is kept separate from the content. This makes it easy for non programmers to be able to edit content on the website.

Why use a content management system?

The main reasons I recommend building a CMS  website are:

  • Development time. I can build a website faster most of the time starting with a CMS.
  • Basic core functionality like user registration and login functionality is built in.
  • It’s well  tested so there are few bugs to worry about.
  • It’s easier to maintain a website ongoing that it managed through a CMS rather than having to edit pages by logging into the web server and modify source code.
  • It’s easy for my clients to handle basic website maintenance related to content, rather than having to depend on their web developer for any changes.
  • It’s easier to build in functionality beyond a simple brochure website when you use a content management system.

What is the best CMS for a small business website?

Most of my clients are small business owners. What I would recommend for a small business or startup website would differ than from a large company website.  Speaking for small busines sites, there are many open source and paid content management systems to pick from.  WordPress is by far the most popular CMS on the Internet.  Hiring a web developer to build a custom content management system is also an option. If you have a unique web development project or just need a few simple web based tools, a custom CMS may be a good solution.

Related Post:   What Does PHP Stand For?

The best CMS for your site depends on things like:

  • The functionality you need in your website.
  • What your budget is to build a website.
  • If you plan on managing content once it’s built, how technically savvy you are.
  • How diligent you will be about website maintenance and keeping your code up to date and secure.

I work mainly with 2 types of self hosted CMS websites

  1. WordPress (.org not .com)
  2. Custom CMS

All custom CMS  websites I code are built with PHP and MySQL database. Most of the time I recommend WordPress . Depending on a project requirements though, I may suggest custom CMS solutions for your project.

You can view content management system website examples in my web developer portfolio.

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