Content Management Systems (CMS) Definition

Content Management System (CMS) Definition

A cms website is a standard website which has had a program added to it to allow you to login from any web browser and edit the pages or add new ones yourself without the need for a web designer to help you.

Can I setup a CMS myself? 

Most are barebones programs designed for web developers to use,  you have to install them yourself on your sever and then configure correctly to get the best out of them. They requiring a soild understanding of servers, databases and some web development skills to get them to run.  Even if you do manage to install one, there are often so many options that it can take months or years to get to grips with how to use it properly.  

Converting an existing site to a CMS package in a way that looks good normally needs the help of a web developer. Installing a CMS yourself is not a good option for most people wanting a quick and easy setup of a professional looking site which gets results on the search engines.  If you have unlimited time and are prepared to trawl through forums and help guides and little or no budget and no deadline for getting a professional site online, then you may prefer the DIY approach.

Most non "computer nerds" find setting up a CMS a challenge and when they review the process later they wish they had professional assistance, a little money spent at the start hiring professionals can save you months of wasted time and get you top results quicker. 

What is the benefit of Professional CMS setup?

Companies who specialise in CMS setup and support (Like the PumpCMS team)  know how to configure your website to get you the best results.  These specialists can provide you solid advice on how to use the many features to improve service, visitors and sales.  

There are a huge array of features and options in good packages and it is important you have full support and coaching so you can quickly get the results you deserve with your website

Not all CMS packages are equal though - choose carefully

Many packages are confusing and difficult to use, taking a long time to edit pages, or they have a limited feature set or require plug-ins to do basic things standard with other packages. Many people with a fancy new CMS struggle to use them properly and are not even aware of some useful features and take months or years to get to grips with them.

Having a coach to show you how to use it properly and provide full support if you get stuck or want some advice means you can rapidly turn your CMS investment into a money making website which you feel comfortable editing and updating.  PumpCMS is aimed at getting you up and running FAST and with the full support you need to maintain or build a successful and sales focused website.  

Your PumpCMS  coach is not some "computer nerd speaking gobbledegook" but experienced marketing specialists trained to show you how to turn your site into a sales powerhouse without the need to hire expensive specialists and wait for slow developers.

Do all CMS packages "Get Google"

Few CMS packages have comprehensive search optimisation features, they are normally built by web programmers with a focus on functions rather than marketing.   A good CMS should have: editable URLS, editable metatags, automatic sitemap creation and the ability to edit the description (metadescription) which people see if you come up on Google, they should also allow you to set "H1 tags" for each page and "alt tags" and "rollover" tool tips and link text

Make sure you carefully check all these features are present and that you feel confident using them.  Poor CMS design or a lack of support for clients trying to "Optimise their sites" for the search engines will result in low Google positions (e.g. 2nd or 3rd pages on the listings), low visitor numbers and few sales.  "Getting Google" is essential, be sure to check all features thoroughly, as one missing element can make your site lost in the back pages of Google.

Often a CMS will say it is "Search Engine Friendly" but when you study the list of features they do not fully allow you to optimise all the key features of your site for the search engines, almost no CMS packages or web developers will help you Search Optimise your site, most prefer to make extra money out of you and keep "SEO" their secret even if your package does include these features.

PumpCMS was built from the ground up by leading search engine specialistswith a strong marketing focus and the idea that with the right system YOU can get your website on the search engines without the need to hire costly Search engine specialists.  

Every PumpCMS package includes a basic primer in how to use the CMS to get to the top of Google and allows YOU to tweak every feature which the professionals normally charge you thousands of dollars to do. Your marketing Coach (part of the PumpCMS package) is there to help you get top rankings and suggest changes or improvements you can make to get the best results you can from your site.

CMS websites - Build a new one or use your existing custom design 

An experienced web developer can add a CMS  to a website after it has been built retaining all the existing style and design elements but adding extra functionality which comes with the package.  Converting a normal site to a CMS website normally costs $400 - $950 depending on the complexity of the existing site.  PumpCMS would be happy to provide you a quote to turn your website into an editable site.

Custom website designs can be created by a graphic (or web) designer and a new site built with a CMS backend or you may prefer to just start quick and easy with a simple cms template.  

The PumpCMS package lets you start editing your own template site within three days, quick to get online with minimum cost and hassle (priced from $450 with the current launch special).

Source : http://www.pumpcms.com/content-management-systems/

History and Definition of Content Management System

	Definition
	A content management system (CMS) is the collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based. The procedures are designed to: Allow for a large number of people to contribute to and share stored data Control access to data, based on user roles. User roles define what information each user can view or edit Aid in easy storage and retrieval of data Reduce repetitive duplicate input Improve the ease of report writing Improve communication between users In a CMS, data can be defined as nearly anything - documents, movies, pictures, phone numbers, scientific data, etc. CMSs are frequently used for storing, controlling, revising, semantically enriching, and publishing documentation.
	Background
	The Drupal project was born around 2000, and was built by several students from the University of Antwerp. In the beginning stage, Dries Byytaert and Haans Snijder were inspired to work on a small news sites with a built-in web board which allows the group of friends to share, discuss, and announce. During that time, Drupal was called “Drop” which is the Dutch word for ‘village’, which was considered a fitting name for the small community. It was only later, in January 2001, that Dries decided to release the software behind drop.org as "Drupal." The purpose was to enable others to use and extend the experimentation platform so that more people could explore new paths for development. The name Drupal, pronounced "droo-puhl," derives from the English pronunciation of the Dutch word "druppel," which means "drop."
	Application In Education
	For educational purpose, Drupal can be used for creating dynamic learning communities to supplement the face-to-face classroom or as a platform for distance education classes. Academic professional organizations benefit from its interactive features and the ability to provide public content, member-only resources, and member subscription management. Source : http://www.ipangfu.net/EPS415/phase1/history-and-definition-content-management-system

Wordpress is a Content Management System (CMS), but what is a CMS?
The best definition of CMS is the one from Wikipedia which is more business oriented but it is applying to any environment or purpose or level of your sites and skills:
"A content management system (CMS) is the collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment...
The procedures are designed to do the following:

• Allow for a large number of people to contribute to and share stored data
• Control access to data, based on user roles
• Aid in easy storage and retrieval of data
• Reduce repetitive duplicate input
• Improve the ease of report writing
• Improve communication between users

In a CMS, data can be defined as nearly anything: documents, movies, pictures, phone numbers, scientific data, and so forth. CMSes are frequently used for storing, controlling, revising, semantically enriching, and publishing documentation."
It is also a well defined  Enterprise Content Management System (ECM) with main purpose being:

• to streamline access
• eliminate bottlenecks
• optimize security and
• maintain integrity 

Those definitions are created on purpose to cover a big area, but I am a believer on understanding the big picture so  I'll continue to elaborate on this direction.

Source : http://wizzley.com/wordpress-as-content-management-system/

Content Management System

 

Software that is used to create and manage the content for a Web site. It provides for the storage, maintenance and retrieval of HTML and XML documents and all related image, audio and video files.

Typically dependent on a particular database, which may be part of the package or available separately as in the case of open source versions, a content management system (CMS) may provide all the programs necessary for Web site development. It may include or accept plug-ins that provide banner advertising, shopping carts, blogs, wikis, newsletters, opinion polls, chat rooms and forums. Such systems may be able to publish not only to a Web site, but to a CD/DVD or print as well.

Source : http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Content+Management+System

What is a Content Management System (CMS)?

Content Management System (CMS) and other spin-off terms definition(s)

CMS became a buzz word in the web development industry because of its benefits.

CMS stands for Content Management System. It is a term and has not been endorsed with a solid definition. A CMS can have multiple meanings depending on the scenarios and the person's or project objectives.

To add to the confusion, an organization named AIIM (Association for Information and Image Management) claimed the acronym ECM (Enterprise Content Management) and WCM (Web Content Management) as their creation and came up with their own definition that suites their organization's services. AIIM changed their definition of ECM a few times and submitted their definitions to Wikipedia, which is now published.

At the time of this writing, for most scenarios, when someone in the web development industry is talking about CMS (Content Management System), or ECMS (Enterprise Content Management System), he / she is more likely referring to either the first or second definition below.

In this article, I'll put the emphasis on the common CMS definitions and not the one created by AIIM. The detail of the purpose, use, and examples are all in the area of the commonly used definition.

Content Management System (CMS) common definition #1

The definition of a CMS is an application (more likely web-based), that provides capabilities for multiple users with different permission levels to manage (all or a section of) content, data or information of a website project, or internet / intranet application.

Managing content refers to creating, editing, archiving, publishing, collaborating on, reporting, distributing website content, data and information.

An example of a CMS application is a Web Application that provides the following administration, control panel or website management functionalities:

• Create, Edit, Publish, Archive web pages
• Create, Edit, Publish, Archive articles
• Create, Edit, Publish, Archive press releases
• Create, Edit, Publish, Archive blogs
• Add / Edit events into an Event Calendar
• Add / Edit Inventory (products), description, product specifications, prices, photos, etc.
• Enter, Edit, or View orders and print packing slips and invoices
• View reports and statistics site data
• Create and Edit system users which have different permission levels to different section(s) of the above administration

Content Management System  definition #2

(This definition is similar to the definition of WCM (Web Content Management System) which is set forth by AIIM. )

In this definition, when someone refers to CMS, he / she is referring to a web application that provides capabilities for multiple users with different permission levels to manage web page (content) without the need to have HTML knowledge.

Below is an example of a simple CMS Application which provides web page editing capabilities:

Administration or Control Panel:

• Create, Edit, Publish, Archive web pages
• Create, Edit, Publish, Archive articles
• Create, Edit, Publish, Archive press releases

Enterprise Content Management System (ECM / ECMS)

When someone refers to Enterprise Content Management System (ECM / ECMS), he / she may be talking about any of the following definitions:

1. A Content Management System (CMS) application with a credible track record designed to serve and support the needs of a large size organization or a large scale Content Management System.

2. An application with multiple functionalities that provides a full-scale Content Management System tailored for a company's organization and processes.

3. An application that provides the tools and capabilities to manage, store, and deliver content and documents tailored for a company's internal organization, workflow and processes. (AIIM's definition in brief)

Content Management System (CMS) Purpose

The main purpose of a Content Management System (relating to web) is to provide the capability for multiple users with different permission levels to manage a website or a section of the content.

For example, you can take a website which has Articles, Blogs, Press Releases, Store, Events and assign each section or a part of a section to user(s) to create, edit, and archive.

Content Management System (CMS) Pitfalls and Misconceptions

1. One of the largest misconceptions about CMS is that it is the main ingredient for a website's success. That is completely untrue. A CMS should make it easy for a website owner or webmaster(s) to manage and distribute content, but a website's success has nothing to do with CMS; it has to do with the quality of content, quality of services, marketing and many other factors that are outside of the realm of this article.

2. The second misconception about CMS is that it will eliminate a need for hiring a web developer or programmer to make changes to a website. That is not true in many cases.

Most CMS systems especially the Open Source CMS systems that are bloated to cover every possible functionality (whether needed or not) will require an experienced web programmer to make any customizations for tailoring to one's business objectives and for maintaining a large scale project.

A very good example of a bloated open source CMS system is Drupal. Most end-users are told that Drupal is the best and most cost effective solution for any website. That is completely untrue. It requires a web programmer to setup and customize a Drupal project, and due to its complexity and bloated nature, it will require an experienced webmaster or web developer to maintain and manage a Drupal site.

So, if you are a small business and the cost is a factor in developing your website, you may consider a CMS application that does not require a substantial number of programming hours for set up and on-going maintenance.

3. One of the important ingredients for a website's success is to build a brand that users can remember, revisit and tell their friends.

Unfortunately, most CMS systems are written by programmers. Programmers usually do not have the design, branding and usability experience. That is why most of the out-of-the-box open source CMS sites that have not been customized have no branding and personality.

Source : http://www.comentum.com/what-is-cms-content-management-system.html