HTML coding is complicated and can easily get messed up, and when it does it seems like it takes an eternity to fix it. One wrong move and you can create a mess that takes all day to fix. Without a full understanding of HTML, even when using a WSYWIG program like Dreamweaver or FrontPage, you'll find yourself spending more time than you have.
A content management system, on the other hand, does not require specialized technical skill to use. Managing or expanding the web site is a centralized process. More advanced coding knowledge would only be required should installation of additional functionality be desired.

So, What is a Content Management System?
In a nutshell, a CMS is software that organizes, powers and monitors a web site. It includes a "front end" viewable by any web surfer and a password-protected "back end" the general public never sees. Depending upon how the site is built, a content management system could include features for archiving older content, entering new content, accessing traffic metrics, managing navigation, banner rotation, polls, streaming media uploads and shopping carts, for example. The possibilities are limited only by the content management system's configuration and capabilities.

Using a CMS or Content Management System allows you or your staff, who are not experienced web designers, to add, delete or edit pages, through a web-based administration interface. They can paste their content (articles, service information or news) straight into web pages, click on a submit button, and have these pages immediately display on the web.

Major benefits of a Content Management System

A major advantage of a CMS is in reducing the costs. A Content Management System separates the site framework and design so that the customer can safely manage content and navigation.  This can result in big savings because instead of using a web designer every time you need to add or update your web pages, you or your staff can add / update the content any time you want. It can also save costs if you still outsource your site maintenance to your web designer. Site updates can be made significantly faster for us as well.

Customer benefits of a content management website:

• Freedom to change the website whenever they please
• Minimal website designer fees for changes
• Basic style makeovers can be made to their site faster and cheaper because existing content does not need to be changed

So Easy a Caveman Could Do it!

Users should be able to maintain their sites with less than 1 hour of training.

Coding skills are not required. A good CMS will be as complex to use as basic word processing software. Adding content is a simple matter of entering and formatting the text. Accessing features should be no more complicated than using a pull-down menu.

Editing pages is easy with a built-in WYSIWYG (What You See is what you Get) editor which allows you to edit pages similar to popular office applications. No HTML knowledge is required to edit a page, yet an integrated source code editor allows experts to exert full control over the HTML source. With the help of the WYSIWYG editor, pages with ‘unstructured content’ and complex layouts can be easily created. Insert images or links to downloads from galleries, create complex tables with the table wizard and add links with the link dialog box.

The Ability to Conveniently Add or Delete Text and Images
To modify a CMS website simply change the content of articles in an online control panel. Once the changes are confirmed the site is immediately updated. The greatest benefit provided by online content management systems is the ability to update the website from any location with internet access. For example: users can update their website while abroad.

Integrated User Management and Permission System
Access to all content controlled by the CMS is optionally restricted by an elaborate user and access permission management system. This guarantees controlled access to protected areas and allows easy creation of non-public areas (e.g. extranet sites, membership areas and blogs… ). Consequently, multiple users can manage their respective areas of the site or a single user can run the site in its entirety.

Documentation and Support
Our CMS of choice is Joomla. We like it because it’s Open Source. Open Source is good for a few great reasons. There is a community of about 90,000 programmers in 40 languages. 90,000 programmers! Now that’s support! There is always someone, somewhere, on hand when issues arise. You won’t get that kind of support from a web development company with two or three tech guys on staff from 9 to 5. It’s also free software – something we like to pass on to our customers!

Integrated Search Engine
Full text search is fully integrated in our CMS. The integrated full text search engine supports indexing the content of all structured and unstructured content items in the CMS. In addition to that, the meta information (see below) for images and other binary files are also indexed.

Meta information (properties)
Various properties can be attached to every resource in the CMS content repository in order to store individual meta information. The value of a property can easily be changed by the user. Custom properties and functions can easily be added, e.g. for attaching target addresses to email forms.

Scalability
A properly configured CMS can accommodate the management needs of a growing website as well as accept "add-on" components to power new features as necessary.

Design
There are tons of professional looking website templates you can choose from for your site that require you only to add your logo. These template can be modified drastically if your want to develop an even more unique site to match your company image.

Customarily, an IT programmer is hired to set up your CMS site. They are often required to work with graphic designers to develop entirely new designs. There really is no limit to how your site is designed.

How to Know if a CMS website is NOT for You?
Web sites created to act only as a point of contact for a brick and mortar business may have no need for CMS functionality. Small informational web sites with no plans for future growth would not benefit from a content management system's scalability. Unless you plan to continually add new articles, images and / or streaming video, a uniquely developed CMS site is not for you.

Other CMS downfalls

• The systems are database driven and are sometimes slower loading than other sites, especially if a lot of modules are used.
• These systems aren't usually as search engine friendly as other types of sites.
• The core system and different modules are often written by different programmers so there is no guarantee the coding will be as clean or secure across each module you use. 

Choosing the Best Website Format

Whether or not your website should be CMS-based or good 'ole HTML depends entirely on your site's purpose, plans for growth, functionality, and the availabilty of a webmaster or somewhat technically-savvy personnel to manage it. A CMS would be the ideal web design choice for a business seeking to offer its customers the convenience of internet orders, membership access, blogs, newsletter registration and more.

Now that you know the facts, the informed choice is yours!

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