Choosing a Content Management System
Nearly all professional websites employ a Content Management System (CMS) to manage their web content. A CMS can store, version, publish, organize, and control all the information published, so choosing the right one is important.
The advantage a CMS brings to the table is in making a website more efficient and productive. One of the most obvious ways it saves time is by pouring fresh content into an HTML template. This frees the writers from having to do any kind of coding, and ensures that the look and feel of the website remains uniform.
Besides this posting advantage, there are other considerations that depend on both the site the CMS will be administering and on the staff that will be using it.
Lightweight CMS systems are geared more towards what could be called a blog approach. These products are intended for content that is updated often, includes standard formats of photo, words, and/or video, and is hosted by fairly static pages.
For specific industries or content, there are custom and niche tools. The advantage of moving to one of these is in knowing it was meant specifically to manage your kind of site. A custom CMS will do exactly what you want and belongs distinctly to your company to update or alter as needed.
Enterprise-level content management (ECM) systems are much more robust and come with a higher price tag to show for it. They commonly offer options like revision control, access rights management, and security. Although associated with large corporate sites or e-commerce initiatives, they are becoming more common for mid-sized companies who are savvy to their multitude of options and their lower maintenance costs over time.
The right CMS product should fit your website needs not only today but with room to grow for the near future.
