You probably hear a lot of abbreviations and jargon whether you’re new to the web, in a digital function, or updating the online appearance of your firm. Content management systems, often known as CMS, are frequently discussed and are now a regular feature of the majority of websites.
I’ve worked in the digital industry since the beginning of content management, long before it was commonplace to do so, so I’m eager to provide the specifics based on where we have been right now.
CMS (Content Management System)
Without having to dive into the code or hire a developer to do it for them, administrative users may update, maintain, generate, and manage their own material using a content management system.
Typically, admin users have a separate login page or area where they must authenticate in order to access the CMS functionality. From there, they may access a different menu or portal with choices for the particular material that can be modified.
There are several CMS platform types and presentation options available. Later, I’ll discuss some of the top systems for your consideration.
The ability to manage your site and have control over material without coding is strong and may be essential in how you manage your web presence, regardless of how customized or standardized the system is, how restricted or robust, or how bespoke or standardized it is.
Importance of CMS
When it relates to the ability to add and edit text, photos, videos, pages, and other page features and structure to your website, a content management system is a strong tool that saves time, money, and effort.
You must have the ability to change whatever you require on your website. A CMS may be quite beneficial with those built-in stages even in corporate contexts or sectors that demand compliance assessments, approvals, and other requirements for particular content before it goes online.
How does a CMS work?
At its core, a CMS functions by granting you the ability to control the current content on your website through editor boxes, upload choices, and other hidden features.
When editing text, you do it in an editor window, which frequently offers features similar to those of an application like Microsoft Word. Different systems provide different controls and features.
The admin’s user-friendly features let you make changes to the site databases and publish them to the live site whether you’re altering text, adding graphics, or building new pages. Instead of letting a web developer make modifications directly in the code, this is used.
If you don’t have the controls you need or desire, in certain circumstances you can ask your developer or the platform to provide them. In other situations, you can encounter CMS constraints and would need to consider alternative possibilities in order to choose the best platform for your site as a whole.
Types Of Content Management System
There are various types of content management systems:
- Content websites
- Blog-focused
- E-commerce & shopping cars
- Non-profit
- Industry-specific & specific functionality focused (e.g., donations, ticketing, customer portals, etc.)
- Online learning & development
- Open-source
- Proprietary
- Custom-built & functionality
You have options for selecting the appropriate technology and CMS platform depending on the types of content you want your site to include, the level of security you require, the degree to which your site needs to be integrated with back-end systems for fulfillment or customer access (for example, online banking), or the degree to which you want the flexibility of the content you manage.
Moreover, there are content management systems built on closed platforms or SaaS-based products (like Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, etc.), those built on open-source technologies or platforms (like WordPress, Drupal, etc.), and options to have your own bespoke CMS constructed.
Frequently Used Content Management Systems
An estimated 796 million websites utilize content management systems. The top 10 CMS by worldwide market share include:
- WordPress
- Shopify
- Wix
- Squarespace
- Joomla
- Drupal
- Blogger
- Bitrix
- Magento
- Webflow
Be aware that a CMS is used by about two thirds of all websites. This should be sufficient evidence of the value of a CMS for the vast majority of companies and organizations worldwide.
CMS Features
There are several specific content management capabilities that are significant factors in the value of CMS, including:
- Create page
- Navigation management
- Edit text
- Upload and manage images & video content
- Product information management
- Contact forms
- Blog content
- Style and theme management
- Analytics and reporting tools
- Dashboards
- Marketing tools and SEO
- Integrations
- Content staging
- Processes of approval
- Content privacy
Third-party security and support
There are also a great deal more. You may give certain elements more importance than others, depending on your content management requirements’ top priorities and how specialized they are.
Build A CMS From Scratch Or Use A Popular System
Your alternatives would have been constrained two decades ago, and you probably would have considered a bespoke content management system as your best (or only) choice. The choice in CMS planning has changed from “whether” to “what kind” due to the proliferation of possibilities and adoption rate.
An open-source CMS is frequently the ideal option for content websites, e-commerce platforms, and websites that don’t require an exceptional amount of customisation. Even open-source content management systems (CMS) can offer a wide range of customization choices via plugins or custom code to produce the required features, functionality, and integrations.
However, developing a bespoke CMS could be the ideal option if you have a particularly special good, service, or online application. The absence of the required open-source technology, particular integration requirements, special client or user features, or the requirement for closed systems and access restrictions due to security concerns are a few possible explanations.
Challenges that agency Face using CMS
All CMS (like essentially all websites or web-connected interfaces) call for certain attention and effort in order to keep a site safe. If not maintained and updated to remain ahead of any known vulnerabilities, custom code and CMS might have code and database concerns.
Similar risks can arise from using old CMS cores, plugins, and versions, as well as from not properly monitoring versions to ensure they are current and fixed as soon as practical. Beyond security, it may be difficult to effectively manage a large number of plugins, extensions, or add-ons. For instance, altering a setting in one plugin may disrupt functionality in another.
The appropriate QA and management of plugins and other third-party CMS components can be difficult. Additionally, scaling on a CMS might occasionally be challenging. Building new features frequently necessitates the removal of outdated plugins and code, followed by a rebuild, to avoid conflicts and incomplete functionality.
The Top Content Management System
It is challenging for me to tell you what the best CMS is without partiality. Finding the greatest one for your online presence and content requirements is the aim, as I mentioned before, and that is what I want for you.
WordPress is the most widely used CMS in the world. You can take that into account if you disagree or believe I’m prejudiced. It just so happens to be my favorite and the main technology that my team utilizes to create websites. We have discovered that WordPress is capable of doing almost whatever we want.
It may be combined with a broad variety of different technologies, is user-friendly, and enables for all the SEO optimization that we want. Compared to simpler content management systems and platforms like Squarespace and Wix, it has a greater ceiling.
However, just as there is a need for more robust and heavy systems, there is a place for lighter systems. There is a case to be made for some businesses to be on other ecommerce CMS, notably Magento, or a lighter/easier-to-on-board platform, like Shopify, even if WordPress is wonderful for ecommerce with WooCommerce.
Once more, there is no objective “best” CMS. Choose the one that best suits your demands for your digital presence in terms of features, functionality, scalability, pricing, and simplicity of use. In the end, you must consider the following aspects particular to your circumstance:
- Support and upgrade the quality of the CMS (for open-source or how you will handle custom).
- The quantity of plugins or extensions that are available, which you must manage.
- Self-hosted versus hosted.
- The short-term and long-term costs of licensing, hosting, administration, and general continuing upkeep.
- Your long-term objectives and the return on investment the website can offer.
- Opportunities for SEO, marketing, customisation, and scaling by particular systems, as well as their restrictions.
- Other distinctive features of your company or group.
The Best CMS For Marketing
When it comes to marketing, you need to be sure that the CMS you choose can support your campaigns if you’re performing any kind of digital marketing. How simple is it to construct landing pages using this CMS, for example? to combine event and conversion tracking? to put analytics to use? to perform on-page and technical SEO?
Be cautious and pick a platform that doesn’t restrict you if any of those are significant to you. For instance, I frequently deal with clients who are dissatisfied with the limitations of the more basic content management systems and who must invest again in a new website and platform (e.g., moving from Squarespace to WordPress).
This is what might happen if you don’t plan ahead enough or don’t ask the appropriate questions before completely developing a site on a particular platform.
Conclusion
It’s crucial to comprehend how content management systems operate, why they’re significant for your company, and how to pick the best one for your demands. After you’ve established your site and content, switching platforms may be time-consuming and expensive.
To choose which is ideal for you, I advise going through a comprehensive process and considering both the short- and long-term. This will help you make the greatest choice and investment for your company.