Content Index
Introduction
You may have heard the term CMS which stands for Content Management Systems, though maybe you are not familiar about what it is and what it does, what are its functionalities, components etc.
The best answer to What is a CMS aka content management system is one of the crucial components of building an easy-to-update website with very little technical knowledge and resources. This article will let you know about What is a CMS, How does it work, What are its components, and much more.
Along with these elements, the article will let you know about how you can use a CMS to handle the infrastructure of your website so you can focus on creating entertaining, exciting and engaging content that results in more conversions and leads for your business.
At last, we will wrap up by looking at some of the most popular CMS platforms present in the market. So, let’s get started one by one!
What is CMS? How does it Work?
A CMS is software that allows you to create, modify and publish content to a blog or website without having knowledge of coding. Well, it means, you are not required to have any HTML or advanced coding skills to create content on any CMS platform.
Now, you must be wondering how CMS does all of this. To answer this confusion, let’s take a closer look at how it works?
How does a Content Management System (CMS) work?
To understand how a CMS works, you first require to understand what it’s likely to build a website from scratch. You’d start with HTML to add text, images, navigation bars, and other building blocks of a website. Then you can add CSS to style those elements to match the unique look of your brand.
Also, you can finish up by writing some JavaScript code to add more advanced functionality to your website, such as adding slide-in CTAs. Then you would have to upload this HTML file to your server to be filed away in your database.
Remember, whenever you want to make changes like updating a small content then you have to download files from the server, open them, and change the HTML code manually. Then you’ll have to ensure that you don’t break any links or something else before uploading the files back to your server.
Sounds complicated? For developers and other advanced users having exposures in website development, building a website from scratch might be absolute. But for those who don’t have the coding skills or time and resources to build a website from scratch and maintain it, they can utilize a CMS. Now, let’s take a look at HOW?
A CMS is made up of two core parts like a content management application and content delivery application (CDA). Combined, these applications essentially handle all code, database queries, and infrastructure in the back end so you can focus on the front end of your website.
Moreover, WordPress is a good example of a content management system. Without a content management system, you would require to write a static HTML file and upload it to your server. With a content management system such as WordPress, you can just write your content in an interface that looks a good bit like microsoft Word:
Creating content with WordPress CMS seems easy, right?
Similarly, to upload and manage media, such as images, you can just browse the media library instead of requiring to interact with your web server directly:
The content management system isn’t just a backend management interface, though. It can also show up all your created content to your visitors/users in the exact form that you desired.
Why do you require a CMS for your website?
We have already implied some benefits of using a CMS, but have a look at some specific ways it can smack your set-up process, team’s productivity, and visibility online. However, you can require CMS for multiple reasons:
1. No coding language required - By enabling non-developers and other users to build websites without coding, CMS systems have helped transform web design. Just remember, gone are the days of depending on web developers and designers to establish an online presence for your business.
You can create and manage content, customize the design of your website, and install extensions to add functionality to your website, all without coding. As an outcome, having limited technical resources and time you can still build a powerful website for your business.
2. Easy Combination - Multiple users can approach and work in the CMS backend at the same time, which means on any given day, your marketers can be producing content, your IT professionals executing security protocols, and your developers adding custom code to your theme. Along with that, your team of developers or users can work on the same landing page at the same time. In short, a CMS can help enhance workflows and productivity across your team.
3. SEO features and Extensions - CMS platforms offer built-in features as well as add-ons to help you optimize your website for Google (Search engine). However, along with that you can also use below-mentioned points for better outcomes:
- Choose SEO-friendly URL structures
- Customize your websites page titles and meta descriptions
- Create XML sitemaps
- Add image alt text
- Create 301 redirects
- Comprise breadcrumb navigation for your website
- Optimize page load times
Using these practices will help improve your chances of ranking on Google and other major search engines.
4. Use Predesigned Templates for your website - Various CMS platforms such as CMS Hub come with a selection of predesigned templates you can use to quickly customize the appearance of your website. Choosing a responsive template, for example, will ensure your website looks good on any device, without requiring you to write a bunch of code. Not only do templates save your design time before launching your website, they can also make a website redesign much faster and simpler down the road.
5. Simple Updates - As discussed above, a CMS authorizes you to make changes on your site faster and easier from major updates, such as website redesign, to minor updates, such as changing the image on your website redesign, to minor updates such as changing the image on your home page. If you don’t have enough budget to hire a professional or don’t require professional hiring then you can visit your CMS dashboard to update and edit the content of your website.
This allows you to keep your content dynamic and relevant. If your website is growing, you may require to upgrade to a CMS to meet your requirements. You can initiate your search by checking out a few of the best CMS systems below.
How to Build a Website with a Content Management System?
Do you want to build your own website with a content management system? If so, the usual process looks something like this:
- Purchase new web hosting and a domain name for your website
- Install your CMS of choice on your web server
- Configure your CMS to dominate how your website looks and functions
- Initiate writing content using the CMS interface
It’s actually simple to use and using hosts like Kinsta can even help install the content management system for you, so you can instantly get straight into building your website without any technical setup.
What are some popular content management system examples that you can consider?
There are multiple popular CMS platform available in the market:
1. WordPress - It is one of the most popular content management systems and has the largest market share amongst its competitors. It is used by over 30% of websites. The New York Times or BBC America or Forbes are some of the WordPress CMS websites. Working on WordPress is very easy as you can create a really professional seeking website with it. A CMS which is both reliable and flexible, which offers performance to your visitors. Along with that, posting new content on Wordpress is also smooth as it also includes a powerful editor that helps you format your content as per your need.
2. Joomla - Do you know? After WordPress, Joomla is considered to be the second most popular Content Management system over other CMS. It may not be as beginner-friendly as WordPress, but it is very flexible in a number of ways of web development and creation. Such as WordPress, it is also an open-source CMS that enables you to develop and build engaging and professional seeking web pages without having the requirement to know coding or any other technical skills.
Joomla offers multilingual support, which saves you from using plugins or extensions for adding languages to your website. You can also use more than one template or themes at once on the same website for various types of content.
3. Drupal - Drupal has all the features you need for a good CMS. Though it is not as easy to use and is more complicated than WordPress or Joomla, it is considered to be a good content management system. Drupal is considered to be a more secure platform than WordPress and Joomla. It is because Drupal is well-known for its scalability and advanced security features. These features make Drupal a better option for business CRM websites.
4. Typo3: Typo3 is not much more popular CRM than Drupal, however, that doesn't make it a lesser option for building a CMS website. However, the main differentiation between Typo3 and other CRMs like Drupal, WordPress can be done based on their scalability.
After knowing about certain CMS platforms, Now you may be wondering which will be the best CMS platform for your website. Well, it's not that hard as it seems, the choice of CMS depends on your budget and exceptional requirements.
Moreover, being professionals, we would say that WordPress is the best CMS to be considered for any website. It is the most popular and also user-friendly platform that owns around 35.2% market share among CMS websites as compared to other CMS platforms.
Which CMS is right for my website?
You need a CMS for sure, but which CMS is right for your website totally depends upon your needs. However, you should always set out on the task to get some information about the CMS the professionals will use for your website. You can also demand a demo at that point. Despite that, you should make sure that CMS is difficult to use and you should have every highlight related to it.
There are truly a large number of Content Management Systems accessible, contingent upon your site’s application and stage picked. Being in contact with a professional CMS development company can help you understand this better.
The following are a portion of the mainstream decisions and Pros & Cons:
WordPress:- WordPress is an extremely prominent open-source decision for little, straightforward, or entry-level sites. It started as a blogging stage and stays a well-known device for running a blog. It is very easy to understand however not a generally excellent decision for big business level CMS on account of known customization, security, and versatility issues
Drupal:- Drupal is a superior open-source decision for complex or propelled sites or sites that require a complex organization of data. It is fit for creating increasingly complex sites.
Joomla:- Structured as an open-source network stage, with solid long-range informal communication highlights. It offers more adaptability than WordPress however not as flexible as Drupal.
Sitecore:- Sitecore as of late got one of the business’ driving CMS. It is an incredible endeavor level .NET CMS that highlights a Windows-like interface and numerous highlights, yet it has a moderately significant expense of possession.
Still, confused? Talk to our tech experts!
Final Thoughts:
Hope, now you have a clear picture of what CMS is, Why is it used and How does it work? Running a business requires a lot of hard work and brings multiple responsibilities on the shoulders of the business owner. Which is why, it is necessary for you to choose the best possible CMS platform for your business website to get better outcomes and be ahead of the game.
In case, you are still facing any confusion or issue in building your website design then you are free to contact our professionals. They are always there to help you in your hard times!
Share your views on using CMS platforms for your respective websites with us in the comments section below!!
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