CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

WHAT IS A CMS?A Content Management System (CMS) is a computer system that allows publishing, editing, and modifying content as well as site maintenance from a central page. It provides a collection of procedures used to manage workflow in a collaborative environment.

Wikipedia

WHY USE A CMS?Does your company update its website content frequently?

Does your website contain over 10 pages?

Do you constantly outsource simple website updates to third parties?

CMS ALTERNATIVES If you do not create your website using a Content Management system, any page edits will have to be made directly to the code. Though non-CMS sites are usually less expensive to develop initially, they are much more expensive in the long run. And don’t think that means that you will be getting more work if you designed the original site, companies will often outsource their edits to a third party.

Client is in control of contentEasy updatesNo page limitSecurityCollaboration (multiple authors)Easy to redesignBetter SEO resultsEasy to back up contentLess expensive in the long run

CMS BENEFITS

Consider the functionality of the following components as you choose which CMS to implement.

Text Editor (WYSIWYG vs simple)Managing media filesSearchabilityLayout CustomizationUser Interaction (comments, customer service, members)Roles & PermissionsMultisite supportSecurity

KEY DIFFERENTIATORS

TYPES OF CMSThough larger companies often have the budget for a custom developed CMS, it is more common for a site to run off of one of the popular systems that are available to download and install. The two most popular types of CMS are blog based and e-commerce, and the type that you choose depends on the emphasis of your site: content or retail. If you have a site that requires a full shopping experience AND flexible content, your best solution may be a hybrid of two systems.

BLOG BASED CMSMany of the popular CMS platforms started out as blogging tools. In fact, many of these systems still refer to new content as “posts”, and these posts are then displayed on related pages. Creative developers saw the potential in these layout based designs and realized that the same systems can support any kind of content. Now some of the most popular websites on the web are powered by a CMS like WordPress or Drupal.

WORDPRESSArguably the most popular CMS, WordPress started out as a blogging platform. The software is easy to use and install, and templates now exist for every type of site imaginable, or you can code your own. WordPress runs off PHP templates that format posts and pages based on CSS styling.

Advantages: Free (themes cost $), Easy interface, Many widgets and plug-ins, large user community, SEO friendly

Notable Users: NY Times Blog, CNN Blog, Lolcats, Mashable

DRUPALDrupal is an open source CMS that is being constantly updated and improved upon. Though there is more of a learning curve, Drupal can be the perfect solution for a project requiring more power than WordPress.

Advantages: Free, Open Source, Fully Customizable, Advanced Admin Controls, Many Plugins, SEO Friendly

Notable Users: The White House, The Economist, The Onion

JOOMLAThough less popular than WordPress or Drupal, Joomla might be the most user friendly. This inviting interface makes it easy to customize your site or add new content.

Advantages: Free (some plugins cost $), Open Source, Customizable, Robust Database, Many Plugins, SEO Friendly

Notable Users: Guggenheim, Linux, The Hill

OTHER BLOG BASED CMSModX

TextPattern

RefineryCMS

Concrete5

DotNetNuke

TinyCMS

E-COMMERCE CMSThough most blog based CMS platforms allow for e-commerce plugins, if the main goal of your site is to sell products you should consider an e-commerce specific CMS. These systems can help the client easily manage their inventory and track sales, and you can customize the framework using templates.

MAGENTOMagento is probably the most popular E-Commerce CMS, but like Drupal, it sacrifices usability for functionality. If you can navigate your way through the somewhat clumsy interface, Magento provides many robust tools for your online store.

Advantages: Free (some plugins cost $), Open Source, Plugins, Flexibility, Scalability, SEO Friendly

Notable Users: Samsung, Olympus, Goodyear

OPENCARTOpenCart is a user friendly alternative to Magento. Based on a powerful open source community, OpenCart is the perfect solution for small to medium sized businesses.

Advantages: Free (some plugins cost $), Open Source, Plugins, Easy to Customize, SEO Friendly

PRESTASHOPAnother user friendly alternative to Magento is Prestashop. This platform includes many impressive Web 2.0 features, but is still fast and easy to install. Like other CMS platforms, you can customize your theme to get the exact look you want.

Advantages: Free (some plugins cost $), Open Source, Plugins, Fast, Clean Code

OTHER E-COMMERCE CMSZenCart

Shopify

Business Catalyst

SEO & CMSIn the early days of the internet designers had to manually code SEO information into each page, and forget about generating site maps. Using a CMS to manage your content makes it much easier to input SEO titles and descriptions, and most CMS platforms offer easy to install SEO plug-ins. The only downside is that CMS allows clients to post new content, and many of these users will not be familiar with SEO guidelines.

DEVELOPER TOOLS

DEVELOPER TOOLSWhen you’re developing a website, it’s helpful to be able to inspect your code directly in a browser. This is even more helpful for debugging once a website has been launched. You can also learn some new tricks by inspecting the code of a site that you like.

Here are some browser plugins that let you inspect code.

FIREBUGFirebug is the most popular web development tool, and many web designers prefer Firefox simply because it features this plugin. Firebug is very powerful, and driven by a huge open source community, so it contains a few features that the average web designer will never use. Regardless, it is a solid tool with a stripped down interface that has set the precedent for all other development tools.

How to install: Download from getfirebug.com

FIREFOXFirefox recently came out with its own development tool based on Firebug. Though this preinstalled plugin has less advanced features, it makes up for it with a superior interface. It even features a 3D mode that really helps you visualize a page’s code.

How to install: comes with the latest version of Firefox

CHROMEAnother powerful set of developer tools are those included in Google Chrome. This preinstalled plugin closely mimics the functionality of Firebug, making it a great alternative for Chrome users.

How to install: comes with the latest version of Chrome

SAFARISafari’s preinstalled set of developer tools is virtually identical to Chrome’s. A good workflow for cross browser testing would be to use Firebug, Chrome, and Safari, as there is no learning curve between each of these developer tools.

How to install: comes with the latest version of Safari, to activate check “Show Develop Menu” in Advanced Preferences

IE9The latest version of Internet Explorer also includes Microsoft’s own set of developer tools modeled after Firebug. Though most developers stick to Firefox or Chrome, this is a great feature for cross browser testing.

How to install: comes with the latest version of IE