Content Management (CMS)
A content management system is a website that is fed from a database. Usually requiring a login, the users can interact with the website and post content (posts, stories, their details, comments, votes on polls etc.) that is stored and accessible by someone else with the correct permissions. There are some really clear advantages in using content management. One of the main ones is that content is separate from design, which means that anyone with access to the web can adjust their own site by just logging on. There is no need for specialist software or experience. Adding content requires a similar skill level to checking one’s bank statement. Managing the site requires a similar skill level to posting an item on Ebay. This means an end to long delays whilst you wait for someone else to update your site. Just log in and make the changes quickly and simply, safe in the knowledge that the system is all locked down and you cannot break it.
Recently I have been creating more and more sites using the wonderful ‘Drupal’ CMS. Highly adaptable in nature and allowing for granular permissions systems, Drupal is also open-source which means costs are kept right down for the client. Drupal is gaining massive market share in Content Management and is the system behind some very high profile websites:
- www.whitehouse.gov
- restorethegulf.gov
- teach.gov (US department of Education)
- University of Washington
- Rafael Nadal
- McDonalds, Australia
- Yahoo! Style Guide
- South Africa 2010 (Government football website)
- Christina Aguilera
…and many more. The creator of Drupal keeps a catalogue of some of the biggest names here.