What is a Content Management System?

When building a website there are several methods we take – being a web developer part of my job is to look at the project and the client to decide which is the best way to build the website.

Normally it boils down to two main options a static website or a website built with a Content Management System (CMS) . A CMS is a system that lets the client update parts of the website themselves without requiring my input, this normally includes the copy of the web pages and the management of the blog or news sections.

There are several benefits to building a website with a CMS the most obvious is the fact that you will be able to update the content of the website yourself – if this is something you are likely to do often (and you should!) you can save allot of money by doing it via the CMS and not having to pay your website developer to do the updates for you.

Other benefits include the ability to edit the SEO strategy of your website yourself – or get a 3rd party who specialises in SEO to look at it for you, while SEO can be a complicated industry if you talk through the basics with your web developer and apply what you learn to your website it will make a huge difference to your SEO performance and again by doing it yourself you will save money.

Another key benefit of a CMS is the ability to update your website quickly, this means you can take advantage of trends or maximise the impact of a new product launch because you will be able to update the website as and when you want to.

The downside of a CMS is that it will cost more money to implement as it takes longer to build and for the web developer to train you on how the system works but in the long run the investment will be worthwhile as you wont need to pay for the majority of the updates.

There are two main types of CMS, the first is a pre made solution such as the open source CMS WordPress (click here to learn more about using WordPress as a CMS) the second is a bespoke system created purely for your project, normally a simple website will make use of a pre made solution however if the requirements of the project mean this is not possible a bespoke system will be created (you can learn more about bespoke websites here). The benefits of a totally bespoke system is the fact that it can be tailed specifically for your website making it more efficient however it will take longer and therefore require a larger budget.

If you have any questions or comments about websites or CMS development please feel free to leave a comment below

Blog post by Alex Wells

Blog post by: Alex Wells

Based in Saffron Walden, Essex, I have over 10 years experience in crafting bespoke websites for a wide range of clients, I love helping businesses and individuals achieve their digital goals through smart deployment of modern web technologies.

Follow Alex Wells on LinkedIn