Content Management System (CMS): Building Website Made Easy

What is Content Management System or CMS?

Content Management System is a tool (basically a Software) that allows users to create, edit, organize, manage, delete and publish CONTENT.

But this is a definition of CMS. Definition is necessary for students to pass the exam. But we, in Netplanter, always emphasizes the practical and productive aspect of a thing rather than its theoretical approach. If you like to run a research on CMS, explore Wikipedia. We won’t go that way.

So, here is your way to walk through-

CMS: How came into Web Technology

Let’s as again, What is Content Management System?

CMS is a system, tool or application that is used to manage Digital Content. In crude word, CMS is combination of many code-files whose interconnection essentially makes a program possible to be built-up.

Now question, what type of Digital Contents does CMS mangae?

Especially, web-based contents although CMS was previously used (also is used now) to manage application, document and contents in Intranet and personal computer.

Beyond this, every website should have or must have CMS in need to run and manage that website by the users who know no coding.

However, we’ll emphasize on CMS as web-based or web-site based Content Management System that has been built up throughout the history of WWW as Public Blogging platform or Website-building platform. This means we’ll focus on implementation of CMS as a tool to build, publish and manage website or webpage that is offered by different CMS providers.

To build up a website, simply you have to acquire coding skill of different web languages like

These are minimum requirement to structure a dynamic website.

By using this language, you build a website structure first which might includes- Website Header, Footer, Menu, Sub-menu, Sidebar, Blogging area, Sign-up/Login page, Billing page and numerous other elements.

Having expertise in all of these is really difficult, needs intellect, time, energy money and patience. It is a life-term skill-earning faculty. Everybody’s view, aim of life, merit and interest may not be appropriate for such a job.

But uses and necessity of website as well as web development is increasing everyday. Today there are about 1.5 billion website around the world among which 200 million are active. The number is going upward every second.

But what if there were a free website structure (with all the elements mentioned above) which you could download and modify them as you wish to build up website of your own where-

• You won’t need any coding skill or web language knowledge
• You could restructure everything by clicking or using drag-and-drop method
• It was possible to Write and format something as you do in MS Word.
• You had facility of one-click publicaiton

It would really be dreamy! No?

But this dream is now reality. Over the history of WWW (World Wide Web) since 1989, such Pre-structured websites had been grown and developed bringing about a revolution in the world of Blogging and and website building. Such ready-made website structure is called Content Management System (CMS). Most of such renowned and popular CMS’s are open-source, easy to run and manage and free to use. Some are paid and in some case, advanced features are paid.

However, some of such popular CMS platforms are listed below. They were originally started to serve the purpose of building blog site. But gradually some were modified to build other type of website also. They are-

Among these, WordPress is the most popular and influential CMS platform which can be used to build up all possible types of websites.

Have a glassy understanding of what WordPress is from the following link-

How is CMS featured?

Here we’re bringing about some common features of a CMS. Not that every CMS has each of the features and functionalities but most CMS’s have.

• customizable templates to manage content presentation.
• Content Editor: Currently used more user-friendly content editor is WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor with which a user can create and edit contents like Microsoft Word. In WYSIWYG editor, a user creates exactly what visitors see.
• content organizing structures such as hierarchy and taxonomy.
• permission-based access control: Feature to implement permission for all types of users.
• SEO-friendly URL and feature: This include permalink structure ensuring SEO benefits.
• Extensibility and integration: feature to add third-party themes, plugins and more.
• Advanced security management: Features Ensuring customizable content permissions, module permissions and user roles.
• Online marketing tools: This might include Social Media integration.
• Multisite support.
• Multilingual support.
• Support for mobile devices: This might include Mobile responsive web design feature or separate Mobile website feature.
• install and upgrade wizards

If anybody can understand the possibility of the above-mentioned features completely, anybody, devoid of web language skill, would never be interested to build his/her sites hiring a developer going beyond CMS.

Why you should use CMS and which one

In the light of above discussion, we can easily identify the reasons why CMS, as a website and blog builder, has gained immense popularity all around the world. Also these are the reasons why a fully-featured CMS should be your first option to build your blog or site-

If you’re knowledgeable enough about CMS features, you can have a look into available features before you choose a CMS. If you’re beginner and aren’t sure of what CMS features are, then our suggestion is: Start using WordPress to build any Blog or Site. For this you needn’t get back ever as there are numerous resource sites and thousands of video tutorials around internet to help you with WordPress which is impossible in case of other CMS’s. And, who doesn’t know about 35% of the total websites in the globe use WordPress Project. In this statistical chart, Joomla stands in second position with 2.4% websites.

Hope you have gained a decent understanding of Content Management System (CMS).

If you’re one who already use WordPress or any other CMS’s; do you feel ease with that or face any trouble? If you aren’t; have you already decided to use one. Expecting your sincere comment.