Description of a CMS

A Content Management System (CMS) makes it easy for non-technical contributors to maintain and expand their website. A CMS uses software and a database to manage and organize website content.  Once a visitor makes a request to the website, the CMS selects the correct content and displays it in a custom interface template.

What is a CMS?

CMS stands for “Content Management System”. In fact, we want to talk about a Web Content Management System (WCMS), which is a set of applications and scripts that run on a web server, and distributes web pages on the internet. 

“How does this differ from HTML”. you ask?

Well, an HTML site consists of a bunch of files made up by the site author. When you click on a link, the web server sends the appropriate file to your browser, which then interprets the code, and puts everything in its place. Viola! a web page!
A WCMS site, on the other hand, stores all its information in a database. If you have ever posted to a blog, or a forum, you have interacted with a WCMS site. When you click on a Content Management link, the software on the web server pulls what it needs from the database, assembles the web page, and sends it to your browser.

"Meh!" you say.
Wait, here’s where it gets good!

Every WCMS site has a "back door". This is where you change the look, feel, and functionality of your website. Because it is a web based software, you can manage every aspect of your site using nothing but your favorite browser, and most operations are no more difficult than creating a document in a word processor.  You can also set up access levels for contributors, so that one person, say, can edit articles, and another can administer a forum, but neither can change the look of the site, or create or delete users, for instance. You can have private areas of your site that are only available to viewers with sufficient privileges.  Want to add a blog, or a forum? It’s as easy as adding one of thousands of free or inexpensive add-ons.
Your viewers on the "Front End" have an interactive experience, too. Blogs, forums, surveys, quizzes, e-commerce, hotel room booking, online teaching – A WCMS site can do it all.

"My business is too small!" you say.

Are you going to stay small forever? The beauty of a WCMS is that you can start out with a minimum web presence, and your website will grow with you, effortlessly, no matter how big your business gets.

"How much does it cost?" you ask?

There is a small initial cost involved in installing and setting up the software on the web server, but other than that, a WCMS site is comparable in price to an HTML site.  The real savings show up later in the ease of managing content, expansion, and functionality. Even if you don’t have time or inclination to manage your site yourself (and this is a good thing), we can do it for you at a far greater saving than a similar HTML site.