What on earth is a content management system?

D o you have a content management system website? Do you know what a content management system or CMS website is? People talk about them all the time when they start thinking about websites.

What are they and do you really need one?

A content management system allows you to easily change the contents of the website without the need to understand HTML, CSS or other Web technologies. You simply log into the system and find the article you want to change. You’re then able to use a wordprocessor type program to adjust the article. The exact details vary from content management system to content management system. At Websites4Christians we use a system called Joomla!. We also use a blog system called WordPress.

The systems are great because they enable anyone to add content to their website. You’re able to add images, tables, sound and all other types of material. This simple content ability goes to the heart of what I believe makes a successful church or Christian website: the need to add new content on an ongoing and regular basis. Regular and interesting content engages visitors and encourages them to return. If the website software is a barrier to putting up new content then that is a BIG problem. That’s why content management systems are such a powerful tool for websites.

Not all content management systems however all the same. Many of them don’t allow you a great deal of flexibility in the building of pages and the layout of the content. Often web development companies are keen for you to use their own content system. One of the reasons for encouraging you to use their content system is to lock you into their system. This makes it difficult for you to move away from them. This is good for their business model but doesn’t offer you the flexibility that you need.

It is estimated by W3 tech that just over 3% of all websites use Joomla!. That’s why we at websites4Christians beleive Joomla is a good choice.  So when you’re looking for a website company, somewhere to put your website, make sure that they use one of the top content management systems and not a bespoke system that may cause you problems at a later date.

It’s a similar situation with blogs. We picked WordPress because over 50% of the top 100 blocks in the world to use it. It’s an extremely popular blogging platform.

Going to lots more detail about the technical benefits, the security benefits, the backup benefits and the other benefits that you get by using a world-class contact management system would take too much time and space in this blog post. If you want to know more about a particular I should drop me a comment.

So in a nutshell use a content management system, something that’s world-class like Joomla , or if you prefer is a blogging platform WordPress. You don’t need to worry about the technical details they are the top platforms for good reasons.