Business jargon can be confusing if you are new to the industry. Whether it’s SEO, CRM, SERP, CDN, Google Adwords, digital marketing, CMS, and more. These are just a few essential terms that you should understand. Unless you do this, you won’t be able to expand your business online profitably.
In this article, we will discuss one particular jargon from the above-mentioned list, and that is CMS. CMS is very important in order to run a website with a lot of viewers, audience, and customers. Alternatively, if you are just starting out with your website, then CMS could be a great way to see where you can improve your viewer retention. This article will teach you everything you need to know about Content Management systems, so let’s get started.
What a Content Management System?
What do you need to understand about CMS?
A CMS is a software-based application that makes it possible for an individual to create their own website and even manage it from the same dashboard. In most cases, when you are using CMS, you do not need to know how to program from the heart. If you do know about it, that would be a plus, but even without it, you can still easily create and manage your website.
A CMS is a platform that allows users to create a website, publish content, purchase templates, add extensions to your website, and more without having to code. On the other hand, you can make more than one person work on the same website alongside one another without having any problems. Now you might be thinking about how a single piece of software is able to do all this. Well, the answer is located in the section below.
The Working of CMS
In order to give you an idea of how the content management system works, let’s break it into its main components. The first one is the content management application (CMA), and the second is a content delivery application (CDA). The CMA is your graphical user interface, and it helps in creating, modifying, and removing content from the website without even using HTML.
Speaking of the CDA component, we can see it is used to provide the back-end services that come with the support of management and allow you to deliver content when you have created it using CMA.
1. Example of CMS
On the other hand, let’s take an example to understand the working of a CMS and how it helps a website developer in maintaining and creating content for the website. Suppose you are making a new website, and you are adding text, images, and navigation bars, along with other parts that are necessary for a website to have. Once you are done adding these, you are now creating the CSS stylesheet for your website in order to give all the elements of your site a unique component to match the look and feel of your brand.
2. The Dilemma with Manual Code Writing
In the development of advanced features, you are using JavaScript as the programming language. An advanced feature could be to have information pop out when a user hovers over it. Or slide in CTA’s when the user is looking at the images of your product. Once you are done creating everything for your website, you need to upload these HTML files to your server, where your website’s database is also secured.
So now, if you want to make any changes to your website’s content, you first need to download the file in which you want to make a change. After that, you will open it on your system, make changes to it using the appropriate software, and then re-upload it to your server in order for it to go live with the updated content. During this whole process, you have to be careful not to break any of the links present on your website, apart from other errors that could potentially make your website go offline.
The whole process that we described in the above section seems a little daunting to you, right? The thing is, developers and advanced users who have been creating and running websites for a long time now may feel like this is a simple process, and it needs to be no matter what. But when it comes to us, or even a newcomer who is trying to build a website without having knowledge of programming, this whole concept of downloading the file, editing it manually, and then uploading it once again to the server is quite complicated. In that case, having a CSM can do wonders, and it will also assist you in creating a website from scratch in no time.
How CMS Solve this Problem?
The two parts of CMS that we discussed in the above section will be used here as well. So, when you are using CMS, you don’t need to edit the code manually or download it offline. Instead of this, you are getting a content editor that allows you to add text, buttons, links, and CTAs to your website with ease. Aside from that, if you want to add other types of elements to your website, you can do so with a simple drag-and-drop method or by clicking a few buttons rather than writing manual code in HTML, CSS, or JavaScript.
Changing Links, Structure, & Installing Extensions Using CSMS
Apart from adding content, add images, buttons, and videos to your website if there are any other things you need to do to make it more appealing to your viewers, such as changing the permalink structure, installing a new extension, or anything else. You can do that too by quickly visiting the appropriate section of your CMS panel. All of this is CMA doing the work, as all the changes that you are making are being completed using an intuitive interface that allows you to make changes without writing the code.
When you are done editing and creating new content for your website, the CDA will be inputting all the content you have entered into the CMA. From here, CMA is going to assemble the code for you, display the new changes to the front-end visitor, and then store them on the server. In the end, if you are looking to publish a new post on your website, all you have to do is hit the “Publish” button on your CMS instead of doing the whole process manually. Now that we have understood the working of a CMS, let’s move to the part where we find out why you need to have a CMS for your website.
Importance of having CMS
1. Ease of Collaboration
One of the most significant assets of CMS is that it allows multiple people to work together on a single project. What this means is that various users will be able to log in and contribute, schedule, and even manage content that needs to be published on your website. This is because the user interface through which most CMS are accessed can run on any type of web browser. That makes it possible for users to access CMS from any corner of the world with ease.
2. Coding is not required.
Apart from having a collaborative nature, the second most significant advantage of CMS is that it makes it possible for non-technical users who don’t know about programming languages to create and manage their own web content. The common feature of drag-and-drop that one can find in almost every CMS gives users the power to enter text and upload a file without having to know anything about HTML or CSS. When a website owner is posting his content using a CMS, it will reduce the reliance on front-end developers. This will make uploading and editing the content much easier and faster.
3. Roles and Permissions
CMS is the software that makes it possible for users to connect in the best way possible while making sure everything is safe. For example, content writers will only have permission to post articles and publish them. But they are not able to delete the plugins or make significant changes to the website’s functionality. Even with the usage of CMS, you are free from coding complicated conditions and checks to create user roles and permissions in JavaScript.
4. Pre-Designed Templates
With CMS, you get a selection of pre-designed templates, and by using them, you are able to customize the appearance of your website quickly. This will change the way users behave with your content. For example, if you are going with a responsive template, your site is going to look fantastic no matter what type of device your user owns. Not only will templates save your design before making your website go live, but You also get to redesign the template according to your own liking in quite a short time.
5 Steps to Find an Appropriate CMS Platform
Given below are the steps that you should be taking when deciding what type of CMS platform will suit your requirements. Make sure to use each one of these for the best possible CMS match for your business.
Step 1: Have a Clear Vision
You need to define what you are looking for in CMS software. The most important question that you are going to ask yourself before the start of a CMS project is, “What am I trying to achieve by using CMS software?” Also, you need to have a critical look at how much you have achieved and whether your requirements are being fulfilled by CMS. You can start by mapping out the content, data tools, and even the interactions that you already have and the ones you will need to make your vision of the website come to life in the shortest amount of possible time.
Step 2: Understanding The Features
Once you are able to chalk out all the features, assistance, tools, and extensions you want from CMS, The next thing to do is find out the features of different CMS software and compare them with one another to find out which one is a better CMS solution for you that also aligns with your vision. There are specific characteristics of CMS that can surely help you move your CMS project at a much more rapid speed and complete daily tasks automatically.
Step 3: Create a Budget
It doesn’t matter if you are running a multi-billion dollar company or a small grocery shop; you need to have a CMS for your website. When you are looking for an enterprise-based content management system, you can quickly invest tonnes of money. Find out what the total cost of using a CMS with all the needed extensions is going to be before putting your money in and purchasing the subscription. This way, you will save yourself from financial surprises that will come your way as you build and expand your website.
Step 4: Determine the ROI
CMS is more like an investment in your business. As a result, you need to measure its returns as well. Thus, your first consideration should be to know how much of a budget is justified to pay for CMS software, and this could quickly be done by measuring the return you will get on the investment.
Step 5: Establish Your Budget
Once you are done estimating the revenue, you will be able to use the CMS, and you will finally see a budget forming for your CMS. The last step is to get approval from the manager and get yourself a CMS that will cater to all your website building and managing needs.
Wrapping Up
To be honest, you can’t get the most out of your website unless you use a secure, robust, and agile Content Management System (CMS). Before choosing your CMS, you need to have a good think about what your website’s requirements are and how your viewers are going to consume the content you will post on your website.
You can quickly manage your website and see it develop enormously with the help of a CMS. Additionally, CMS is the only piece of software you will need to keep all the information, settings, and content for the website in one location. A CMS comes as a full package, thus it is best to take your time before deciding which one to use. We hope this post has clarified the idea and significance of CMS for you. Please leave a comment below if you have any questions about CMS so we can respond to you with the same information. Read more about CMS on our website to discover intriguing information and advantages until then.
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Simran works as a technical writer. The graduate in MS Computer Science from the well known CS hub, aka Silicon Valley, is also an editor of the website. She enjoys writing about any tech topic, including programming, algorithms, cloud, data science, and AI. Traveling, sketching, and gardening are the hobbies that interest her.
