CMS is an acronym meaning Content Management System. What exactly is it? Why should I care?
CMS web development has become a key part of any business with lesser knowledge of coding. In short, a CMS is a software that allows editors to create and edit content using a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor interface. This means they don’t have to go through code lines or HTML code. They can simply click around their site and add/edit content.
They offer features such as drag-and-drop editors, publishing tools, as well as templates built into the platform. These tools save developers time and ensure consistency across sites.
With the basics out of the way, let’s go ahead and take a deeper dive into what exactly a CMS is and how it can be beneficial for you and your business.
How do CMSs Work?
To understand how CMS web development works in the grand scheme of things, it might be easier to look at it from the other side. Let’s take a look at how websites are built from scratch, without the use of a CMS.
You would begin by creating an HTML code document to add text, pictures, navigational elements, etc. Next, you would add CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) to style those items to fit the aesthetic of your brand
You would end up writing some JavaScript to add additional features to your site, like adding slide-in call-to-action buttons. You would then need to go back to your web host and ask them to add this HTML file to their database so they could store it for future use.
You need to manually update any content whenever you want to make changes, including simple things like adding new images or changing text. You would need to re-download the HTML file, change the actual code itself, and then re-upload it to the server to make any changes to your website, all by hand. You’ll then need to make sure that nothing has broken when you upload the files back to the web server.
Does it sound complicated? For sure. If you’re a developer or an experienced web designer, creating a new site from scratch may be ideal for you. For those without the technical know-how or the necessary resources to create their own websites, it would be far easier if they implemented a content management system (CMS). Let’s discuss how.
How Do You Use a CMS?
A Content Management System (CMS) is made up of two main components: a content management application and a content delivery application. Together, they form the backbone of your web presence. Without either one, you wouldn’t be able to publish anything online.
The content management application handles everything related to publishing content on your site. In addition to managing the layout and design elements of your site, a good CMS makes it easy for you to manage posts, pages, comments, tags, categories, and much more. Some even offer features such as eCommerce functionality, contact forms, galleries, and other tools to help you run your entire operation.
Content delivery applications take care of delivering your content to visitors across the internet. They do this by making sure that your site loads quickly and securely while providing a great experience for readers. Many CDAs also provide analytics software to track the performance of your site.
To use a CMS effectively, you must learn about both the application itself and how it works behind the scenes. You can find tutorials online for the most popular platforms, including WordPress, Joomla!, Drupal, Magento, and others. Once you understand what each tool does, you’re ready to begin building your next project.
We have more information on CMS web development here in an article we published in the past.
Why Use a CMS?
We’ve already mentioned a couple of benefits that you get from CMS web development, but let’s take it further and break it down:
- No Coding Needed
CMSs like WordPress, Joomla!, Drupal, and Squarespace make it easy for anyone to set up a professional-looking website. They give non-technical people access to all of the tools needed to develop a robust, fully functioning website. These platforms are built around a content management system (CMS), which allows users to edit HTML files directly. This makes it possible to change the look and feel of your site without having to rely on a developer.The process of creating a website with a CMS is simple enough that even those with no experience can easily navigate it. With just a few clicks, you can upload images, insert text, and link to external sites. Once the basic framework is established, you can start adding functionality to your sites, such as forms, email marketing, e-commerce features, and social media integration.You don’t need to know how to write PHP, JavaScript, CSS, or anything else related to programming to use a CMS. Instead, you focus on what matters most: building great content for your audience. - Updates are Easy!
CMSs are great tools for updating your website quickly and easily. You don’t need to hire a freelancer or spend hours editing the code yourself. Instead, you can simply log into your CMS and make changes. With a few simple steps, you can add new images, change text, and even upload new files.The best part about using a CMS is that it keeps your content up-to-date. If you’re constantly adding new content, such as blog posts and product descriptions, your site won’t become outdated. Plus, since the information is stored in one place, you’ll always know what’s happening with your site. - Collaboration
A content management system allows multiple people to collaborate on one project simultaneously. You can set up different roles within your organization, such as marketing managers, web designers, copywriters, and programmers. Each role can contribute to the overall project in his or her area of expertise. This way you can keep things organized, streamlined, and efficient.The power of collaboration is why we chose to use WordPress for our site. We wanted to make it easy for anyone to edit any part of the site, no matter what their skill level. Plus, there are thousands of plugins available to expand the functionality of the CMS even further.
- Blogs Made Simple
Blogging offers a range of benefits to businesses. From driving traffic to generating leads, establishing authority in a particular industry, and achieving other long-term goals, blogs are one of the best ways to build brand awareness, increase sales, and gain loyal customers. However, starting a blog from scratch is challenging, especially if you don’t know how to code. Fortunately, many Content Management Systems (CMS) now offer blogging capabilities out of the box. These systems make it easy to start writing and publishing content while providing features like automatic RSS feeds, commenting, tagging, and social sharing.
- SEO Compatibility
CMS web development offers both basic features and additional tools to help you improve your site’s performance regarding SEO.
You can use built-in or third-party tools to
(Source: HubSpot)- Customize page titles and meta descriptions
- Choose SEO-friendly URL structures
- Create XML sitemaps
- Add image alt text
- Create 301 Redirects
- Include breadcrumb navigation
- Optimize page load times
These best practices will help improve the likelihood of your site appearing high up in Google searches.
All in all, a CMS web development allows you to create and update your own web pages from within your browser. It stores them in one central location, supports collaboration among multiple people, makes changes fast and easy, and offers templates and extensions to customize the look and feel of your site.
What CMS Platform Do We Recommend?
WordPress has become the de facto standard for building dynamic websites because it is free, open source, and widely supported. As of August 2022, WordPress is used and contributes to 45% of all websites on the internet. As a result, its popularity continues to rise.
We’ve been doing this for 21 years and have used multiple systems, however, we’ve been a firm believer in WordPress because of the size of the user group. It’s one of the biggest in the world and we have found that it’s very SEO friendly. Since it’s ubiquitous, if you ever change the members of your writing team, for example, they can very easily pick up where they had left off.
As opposed to other, less known, or custom CMSs, new web developers might have trouble integrating into the new system and might have to start from scratch.
WordPress isn’t just for small brands. Companies with vastly great size differences implement WordPress on their website as well.
For instance, take The Walt Disney Company. The popular Walt Disney company uses WordPress for its website. It has a large main page featuring a large picture, recent articles, and various sections including About, Careers, Philanthropy, etc.
Check out Facebook too. Facebook, the most popular social media platform, publishes its news and announcements using WordPress. The site has a featured page for top stories and a list format for news and announcement posts.
Heck, even the nation of Sweden uses WordPress to run its official website!
We couldn’t stress enough about implementing WordPress into your business. It’s simply too great for anybody to pass up.
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