An Introduction to CMS

A content management system (CMS) is an online platform that allows you to create and manage your website content.

CMS's use an intuitively designed, easy-to-use dashboard interface to help you update your website content without needing the skills of a coder.

You can download this White Paper, or keep reading

The Benefits of CMS:

• Dynamically update your website content whenever you want through a single easy-to-use dashboard
• Increase productivity by creating, editing and managing content from a centralised place
• Reduce costs by eliminating external suppliers
• Fresh website content ensures your website remains current and relevant to your target market
• Continuously streamline your website content using analytics to inform the process

The 3 main components of CMS

1. Templates

   

   Templates are basically the wrapper of your website. They dictate how your content is displayed and ensure design consistency throughout the site. It is imperative for your website to have a coherent look and feel that reflects the brand.

   Earlier CMS platforms allowed users too much control over design, which resulted in incoherent, badly designed websites that compromised the brand image of many companies. If you are not a web designer you shouldn't try to be one. Trust the experts for that.

   Good CMS's allow for content to be updated without hindering the overall look and feel of your website. Wordpress offers a wide range of customisable templates, making their content management systems a first option for a large number of designers.

2. Content

   

   Content management systems allow you to create, edit and manage content, as well as upload files using a WYSIWYG editor. Good website content is vital to the success of any website. Informative, SEO-friendly content that is updated on a regular basis will translate into a higher ranking on search engines and generate more traffic to your website.

3. Meta Data

   

   Meta data is all the information on your website that helps search engines list your site. Meta data can be defined as categories, authors, dates, keywords and descriptions. CMS's usually have built-in meta data generation and editing functionality, further improving SEO.

Do you need CMS?

If you are a medium to large sized company you will more than likely need a decent content management system. The internet is a dynamic and competitive place. Your website content needs to be up to date and evolve according to the needs of your target market. Content management systems allow you to update your content in a timely fashion. If you have a large website with multiple pages, a content management system can help to order, edit and manage your content through a central dashboard. CMS's also allow multiple users to log in to the platform with varying editing permissions. This could help when there are a number of people creating, approving and managing content on a single website. Another motivation to invest in a CMS is expenditure. If you are spending large amounts of money on a third party supplier that does not always update your website timeously, it is definitely worth considering investing in a content management system. The CMS platform will help you to cut costs and increase productivity.

If you are interested in finding out more about content management systems feel free to contact us. Nicework is a creative communications and web development company with a design-driven ethos. We count ourselves lucky to be involved with people and projects we are passionate about. Our aim is to deliver client satisfaction through great design and nice work.