What is a CMS website

This article aims to describe what a CMS website is and how a CMS website can help your business. So let’s first start off with what CMS stands for:

CMS = Content Management System

A CMS website can be developed in many different ways, it all depends on what your business does. For example, if you are selling products online you may decide to build an e-commerce CMS website, this will give you the ability to add categories and products to your website using a secure control panel.

A CMS website is not limited to just and e-commerce shopping website, you may be running a different type of business that does not sell products online, for example, a business consultancy company, accountancy company or events management company but we would still like to be able to make updates to your website yourself.

A content management system (CMS) website gives you the ability to take control of your website and make updates as often as you like.

A CMS website can give you access to all of the pages on your business website, having the ability to make updates yourself will save you cost in the long-term as you will not need to pay your web developer to make updates on your behalf. Is a good idea to get a basic understanding of image editing as probably you would like to also have the ability to add images to your website.

A CMS website can also give you the ability to update module-based content such as an image gallery, a news section on your website, articles, case studies, a portfolio of your work and much more.

There are many different ways to create a content management system (CMS). Some developers prefer to use open-source CMS solutions such as Joomla or Drupal but if your business requires more complex interaction a custom made CMS website would provide you with a more elegant and interactive solution.

Once your website has been created you want to be able to make updates yourself at any time. This would normally be done via a password protected Control Panel. Your developer should give you training so that you fully understand how to make backups of your content before you make edits, this will ensure that you never lose any of your vital website content.

A content management system can be created on many different platforms but the most common are MySQL and PHP running on a Linux server or an ASP.NET and MS-SQL Server running on a Windows server. In most cases, a PHP website is more cost-effective to develop.

To get your content management website up and running there are two vital elements required. The first is a domain name, this can be registered for very little cost and you can do this yourself (visit 123-reg.co.uk), you also need to have adequate hosting for your website which is typically renewed every year, you can also source your hosting solution but most web development companies will provide you with a cost-effective hosting solution.

You may also require domain-based e-mail accounts which can also be created by your web developer or within the control panel of your hosting provider.

Before you commission web designers to create your website you should consider the content and structure you require. Your web developer should be able to help you understand what is the best solution for your business.

A content management solution may not be required but in most cases, it is a good idea to have a solution that you can manage yourself.

Article created by: DCP Website Designers London