Webdiro Directory : web information guide

A content management system is simply a program or system used to manage content on a website. These systems are primarily used for managing content that is maintained by multiple contributors – for example, the Wikipedia website. Content management systems are used for storing and maintaining content, while allowing multiple users to edit, proofread, add to, or change the content from their location. This creates a “live’ document that is constantly being updated and changed to reflect the newest and most up to date information available.

 

A Content Management System (or CMS) can be used either over the Internet or over a corporate intranet. Content managed can consist of text files, images, audio, documents, or web content. The CMS makes these files available to multiple users at the same time, which is incredibly convenient when doing business. In the corporate world, news, policy manuals, sales brochures, and human resources documents can all be stored via CMS for easy access throughout multiple offices. This gives all users access to the most recent update of the documents and eliminates the need for storing multiple paper copies.

CMS’s can be network based, operating on a company’s own intranet, or web based, operated on the world wide web. There are many popular programs available today for running web based CMS’s – this article will provide an introduction to them as well.

Content Management Systems possess a variety of features that make them user friendly and popular among businesspeople today. They are convenient for storing multiple types of files, for access from different locations and workstations. They provide identification and access for multiple users – this access can also be tailored at different levels based on the users position within the company. Roles and positions can be added to different types of content – allowing for certain categories of content added to the system to behave in certain ways. The system is extremely customizable, allowing for personalization for individual companies and workforces.

Content management systems allow for amazing advances while tracking changes made in the content itself, as well. Event messaging is often built into the software, allowing users to be alerted if changes are made in certain areas of content that they have chosen to keep track of. The software itself also tracks changes and manages multiple versions of the same content, allowing managers to revert to the last saved instance if necessary. No change is permanent when using a content management system – one can always revert to the previous version of the document in question.

Content Management Systems, once installed, provide many advantages for users. They are user friendly, allowing users with no programming skills to add and maintain content using basic point and click technology. Creating and managing content is easier than ever after installing a content management system.

Web based content management systems are becoming more popular, as well, and offer distinct advantages of their own. Web CMS’s allow users to manage a large amount of Internet based material in the same manner as a traditional CMS, making building and maintaining websites with large amounts of material easier than ever before.

Web based CMS’s generally have automated templates, which makes them extremely user friendly. Once the template is installed, it is applied to all new and existing content throughout the website. The appearance of the website is consistent from page to page, and users don’t have to struggle with coding or programming to make each page appear identical.

Web based CMS’s, like traditional CMS’s, are easy to edit and update. Web based CMS’s generally use a WYSIWYG editing tool, allowing even novice computer users to create professional looking web documents and update existing documents with ease. In the professional world, where computer skills often vary from employee to employee, software such as this is in high demand.

Web based CMS’s also aid the user with tasks like document management, allowing multiple users to add and track changes to the same document. This means that a rough draft could be completed by one employee, then edited by another and proofread by another, all within the same file, using the CMS to access the file. Collaboration on projects is easier than ever before using web based CMS software.

There are several popular CMS programs available on the Internet today. Three such programs are Joomla, Drupal, and Wordpress. Each is used to create a CMS, allowing multiple users access to documents, files, and information.

Joomla is a CMS that, according to their website, separates the content of the CMS from the functionality, as both serve different purposes. Joomla is template based, allowing the user to change templates and change the look of the site – arrangement, position, and functionality of elements.

 

 

Templates can be installed to provide different looks to the website. Users access the functional parts of their website through an option called Administrative control, where they can create text modules, change access levels, assign users, and perform many more functions.

Drupal is free software that allows users to create a CMS. It is useful for blogs, collaborative websites, and other websites that require giving editing privileges to multiple users.

 

Drupal operates on a module based system, and the add on modules are also free to download. It is open source software, meaning programmers are free to expand it or add to it, as they deem necessary.Wordpress is a popular blogging platform that can also be used to allow multiple users access to websites. More and more site designers are building static sites, in addition to blogs, in Wordpress.

 

 

Wordpress is free to download and install, and multiple plug-ins are available for customization. Multiple users can be given access at varying levels, allowing them add to, change, or customize account information on the website.

Whether one chooses to install a web based CMS application or add a CMS to the corporate intranet, doing so will greatly add to corporate efficiency. CMS’s are a wonderful way to allow multiple users to collaborate, change, edit, and track documents and revisions. Their technology truly allows employees or partners to work together as a team, collaborating on projects with great success.