A content management system (CMS) is a collaborative platform that allows multiple users to create, post, publish and modify digital content. Every website and web publishing platform runs on the basis of a content management system model.
In short, a content management system is an application to manage content digitally. While some CMS platforms follow a strict and defined author or ownership, many systems offer a multi-user front-end user interface for content management and publishing.
A Working Definition
Many companies use website content manager software to organise and automate digital contents and tasks.
Popular CMS platforms offer a web-based site to publish and edit posts, pages, and archives. While most content management systems (CMS) support the running and distribution of digital contents, some offer format management and indexing options with the help of plugins and widgets.
What Can You Do With a CMS?
Technically, a CMS allows a user to perform web-based publishing and content management tasks. However, the nature of CMS is to separate content and presentation. To keep all your data secure, CMS systems allow users to assign different permission to multiple users for content management tasks such as editing, presentation, and publishing.
enterprise content, web content and marketing content initiatives. Image source: Unsplash @homajob
Content Management System Features and Functions
A CMS’s features, while seemingly basic, are incredibly important for a business’s success. Whether a CMS is being used by an entrepreneur, a small company or a multi-industry corporation, a CMS’s features can make or break an entity’s growth, marketing ability and ROI.
An enterprise-ready CMS is surprisingly useful for managing small-scale content marketing activities. Also, small and medium-sized businesses can buy cheaper product editions, giving them the ability to leverage features, product output and growth. Below are today’s most-sought-after CMS features:
Flexibility in Content Management
A modern CMS offers a defined content presentation structure that lessens the tasks of the users. Gone are the days when the content creators have to design, create and edit the front-end displays for the best results. When working on a good CMS platform, all you have to worry is the structure of the content.
The flexible CMS user interface allows content authors to create a dynamic piece with SEO for the best traffic and boosted online visibility. This eventually helps the author to target a niche and audience for content monetisation.
Open Application Programming Interface (API)
Application Programme Interfaces offer a convenient platform for content creators, authors and website managers. They can analyse and share data, connect webpage with external web application systems and run their website smoothly.
When it comes to data sharing, the most critical issue is data loss and identity theft. API is a software intermediary that makes it easy for the users and website owners to create, share and connect.
Websites that are e-Commerce based often include a secure payment option so that users can purchase their products and services without any hassle. For easy transactions, CMSs make use of API to connect with external systems such as ERP.
Personalisation
CMS platforms are designed to give users a personalised suite to edit, manage, create and publish digital content. These systems offer many personalisation options such as adding unique header and footer, integrated apps and banners, and choosing a personalised template for their digital diary or website.
Most CMSs offer a number of free and premium templates to select and create a personalised website as per the users’ interests.
Themes and Changing Design
Many CMSs offer a wide variety of themes with pre-designed themes with index, ‘About Us’ and ‘Contact Us’ pages, social sharing buttons, and header and footers.
Users always have the option to customise the theme and choose the color pattern, add a personalised logo and select fonts. In this way, they can create the type of webpage that best suits their interest.
Easy Installation Wizard
With the options of easy installation wizard of CMSs, a non-tech-savvy person without any knowledge of content management system training can create a website in less than an hour.
The easy installation wizard, with pre-designed and predefined codes, helps to download the interface in minutes and allows users to set up the website by creating a personalised domain, logo, and pages.
Scalability
A proper CMS will be able to cache. Caching is a process that stores copies of data or files in a temporary storage location (or cache) so they can be accessed faster. It is important to your website’s performance, and your CMS should support multi-level caching to assist with customisable content initiatives. Additionally, a solid CMS has the following:
- Consistent performance reports
- Cloud accessibility
- Web farm support leverage
Integration
Next, an effective CMS will need flexibility. Regardless of a business’s size, their CMS will need to integrate with the following:
- Other CMS systems
- Social networks
- ERPs
- Mobile apps
Additionally, a CMS should have ready-to-use connectors capable of ‘plugging in’ to today’s common platforms. This decreases development costs, and it makes a CMS accessible to constantly changing digital environments.
Security
The online world can be a dangerous place. As you include more content providers, you’ll need a CMS capable of handling advanced security management operations. All security option should offer the following:
- Content permissions
- User roles
- Module permissions
- Customisability
CMSs offer permission control for each user, so the website owner can decide on assigning the level of access to each user. Additional helper plugins can help to secure the website data in a better way by backing up the data, monitoring the access IPs and blocking restricted users from logging in. That’s how you can manage your website without taking much hassle to keep the data secure.
Digital Marketing Tools
Today’s best CMS products have in-depth digital marketing tools. Today, it isn’t enough to simply manage content. A business needs to have good outreach, and they need fully integrated content marketing tools to manage the ins and outs of customer-centric marketing campaigns. Ideally, a CMS will support multi-channel marketing, helping users and consumers alike maintain access to quality content.
Training Services
Finally, a viable CMS will offer user tools. As a business hires on more CMS editors, it’ll need more training. Understandably, a business’s time, training expenses and ability to enhance user experiences are limited. For this reason, a good CMS will offer the following:
- Immediate access training
- In-depth user guides
- Up-to-date training services
Choosing a CMS
As per the current market share statistics, WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal are three top CMS platforms. However, there are many other popular and old CMS platforms available too. Here out the pros and cons of the hosting options below, promoted by Vandelay Design and Web Designer Depot:
Light CMS
Light CMS is powered by ElementFusion, and it’s a solid CMS geared towards designers. If you’re a designer, you can create a free Light CMS account and initiate a re-branded CMS experience.
That said, Light CMS is limiting for end users. Designers can generate revenue through individual clients, making it a fantastic small business option. As it scales, however, the platform’s monthly fees will need to be accounted for.
Vae
Vae, which used to be called Verb, is an e-commerce-centric CMS platform. It offers email marketing, too, making it one of the market’s top-performing digital marketing CMS options. While typical CMS options include modules, templates and blocks, Vae hands users total control over CSS and HTML files. This markup permits dynamic content generation, element maintenance and intensive management options.
Vae, however, is highly particular to e-commerce. While the system is flexible, its functionality may be limiting to some users. Vae offers a built-in subversion repository, video encoding tools, AJAX support, email marketing tools and a wealth of other benefits, but these options come with a hefty monthly fee spanning between $19.95 and $249.95.
Squarespace
The ever-popular Squarespace offers easy-to-use content creation tools. It has an integrated blog, portfolio website and the powerful tools needed to generate robust, yet simple, content design. It uses a build-as-you-go approach, helping users generate material on the fly.
Squarespace doesn’t have an admin panel, and all processes occur in real-time, which may not be useful to larger businesses with set-in-stone content creation and output plans. Squarespace uses a function-oriented angle, too, which relies heavily on a point-and-click interface.
Benefits of Using a CMS
Manage Your Content
You have the authority to write, edit, create and manage your digital content just the way you want. Even formatting web-based content is easy when you have a CMS platform because it lets you manipulate the coding and design just by using shortcodes or by installing some plugins.
Secure Data Access
In this vast digital content publishing world, securing your data is the key. A CMS platform allows you to offer selective access to each user, which includes separate permissions for authors, editors, contributors, and administrators. Plus, you have the choice to give restrictive access to contributors too.
SEO
With a CMS, your task of search engine optimisation is minimal. With helper plugins, you can easily target keywords, write metadata and eliminate no-follow links to make each of your posts more SEO-friendly.
Easy Updating
Even while having an administrative interface, you can update your website to stay compliant and updated when you have a CMS. Most content management systems offer auto-updates or one-click updates that are quick and effortless.
To answer ‘what is a content management system?’ – it’s an incredibly potent business tool, when used effectively, that can assist multiple users in creating and publishing content.
Understanding the benefits of a CMS and how it can serve your needs is vitally important. Based on your business and marketing requirements, and digital content distribution demands, you need to select the right CMS for your needs.
No matter what your need for digital content management is, a CMS platform can drastically simplify your system maintenance, website management, and digital content publishing tasks.
For more advice or information, get in touch with us today.
