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Web Content Management Systems Most websites will require some technical knowledge relating to content management to update them and keep them fresh. Good examples are online shops, estate agents, used car dealers and those that need special offers and events. Static HTML pages are excellent particularly if your website is small and straight forward, with may be some interactive features like a forum, or you have an experienced webmaster. Often websites grow through success and managing content becomes much more difficult. Even more so if the site needs updating frequently and only one individual understands content management
Content isn't just text, it is the bulk of what your visitors see. A web Content Management System (CMS) is a software tool that helps web publishing become an easier task. Imagine dividing your website into two divisions; The corporate image and design is one and the changeable content being the other. Accidently change the design code and you have problems. Design With a CMS (content management system), your website designer can concentrate on creating your website design and structure without being too concerned content management. The website designer creates templates that you wouldn't need to change. Contextual information is drawn from a database and plugged into those templates. Content. The webmaster can concentrate on writing content without being concerned about the website design . Content can be added simply to the database and displayed on a web page by typing into ready-made fields in the CMS administration form. If it is a new page that is being created, metatags will also need to be added such as title, description and keywords. These can be added on to the form too. Once you have approved a preview page, it is easy to submit it. CMS systems are not restricted to small static websites within 'one man bands'. they can be used my an administrator to manage a number of individuals and tasks. It may be that you would like facilities for customers to add content and would like to approve them first, then CMS is for you. A CMS can therefore
allow people without technical web authoring skills to easily update
and maintain a website. It all depends what you want a CMS to do. It may be important to seek an industry standard content management system so that it can be understood by other website designers. Below is a checklist, it is worth browsing this to create a list of your ideal contebt management system. Facilities to run on your existing equipment. Ability to add, remove or save material with a time sensitive tool that can upload and/or delete material such as news releases and special offers. Facility to simply type text without knowledge of HTML. Security device to restrict users in certain areas. Facilities to allow simultaneous users with clashing and creating log jams. Integration with other software such as Word, Excel, Access etc Tools to create surveys and store such information for retrieval and publishing. Ability to record the author and inform the same if another user changes that work with the option of permissions. Facilities to add images, video clips and hyperlinks. Management system to ensure that if a page is deleted, all links are repaired and continuous. The above offers a few ideas but Content management systems vary, some are simple and others have highly sophisticated management. Some content management systems may require users to know basic HTML whilst others may require 'one finger typing skills'. It may be a case of 'you get what you pay for' and if you want a cheap system, don't expect high end facilities and top quality support resources. Some CMS systems off free trials and moneyback guarantees, if you are talking with a developer, forget jargon and 'web-speak'; explai exactly what your requirements are.
DIY ? - Do you have the technical skills in house? If they leave, can someone pick it up? Deploy the skils of a website developer - You might find a designer that has already developed a CMS and could easily adapt it to suit you. Honest ones will divulge this, othes will charge you from scratch! Ensure you have ongoing technical support. Don't expect to may much less than £2,500 and don't be shocked at wtice that figure. Buy a ready-made content management system. - There are some free ones and the more expensive go up to about £300. Add to this the installation fee. The free ones may cost more to install than other that offer free installation. Open Source - These are often free and have good community forums as an excellent knowledge base and support system. Installation skills still apply. Check your server to see if it will run PHP, MYSQL (database) etc. The bottom line
for those with restricted budgets is this; how much do you spend in
hard cash or lost time managing the content of your website?
How much
is your prospective CMS going to cost? Is there a saving?
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