They say – and we’d be apt to agree – that content is king. And that’s why it deserves some special treatment. You wouldn’t throw your king out there unprotected, and in the same vein, you can’t simply craft content and then toss it into the digital world like a million shreds of confetti. To use content for all its worth – build your unique brand proposition, explain your products and services, and market your business – you need a robust and flexible content management system (CMS).
What is a CMS?
A content management system, or CMS, is an application that supports the creation and modification of digital content. Using a simple interface, you can draft, edit, format, publish, and promote content through your website and, depending on the system, other digital channels. Another key feature is that it allows for multiple users to work in a collaborative environment, and with varying permissions, so that all team members can do what they need to and keep the process moving.
Popular CMSs
In recent years, a number web-based CMS tools have become available. The following are some of the most popular:
- TYPO3
TYPO3 is a free and open source web content management system. It is credited to be highly flexible and has more than 5000 extensions currently available. It can be extended and is available in more than 50 languages. Its built-in localization system supports publishing content in multiple languages.
- WordPress
WordPress is also a free and open source web content management system. It is designed for creating template-based websites or blogs. It is very easy to use and has over 40,501 plugins available. WordPress is used by more than 26.4% of the top 10 million websites.
- Drupal
Drupal is another free and open-source content-management framework. Flexible and highly scalable, Drupal publishes a single website or shares content in multiple languages across many devices. Drupal is the #1 platform for web content management among global enterprises, governments, higher education institutions, and NGOs.
- Joomla
Joomla is an award-winning open source content management system that enables you to build websites and powerful online applications. Many aspects, including its ease-of-use and extensibility have made Joomla the most popular website software available.
Why do you need a CMS?
Ease of creation = better brand story
A CMS allows your business to manage its content efficiently. Through the CMS, writers can create and save drafts, gatekeepers can review and edit, and developers can publish pages to your website with ease. CMS interfaces are designed to be easily used by those without a coding background, so there is no fear of a writer accidentally deleting an important part of a page. And the cloud-based programs allow employees to access the CMS any time, anywhere. The result is a system that allows you to hone, refine, improve, and add to your site and brand proposition easily.
Internal management = cost savings
A CMS allows the content to be controlled by the people who own it. This means no more relying on developers to make changes to the web content – simply log in, make the edit, and hit save. Creating a simple website or blog? CMSs allow even the most novice web designer to create or update the entire website’s design and layout – some even offer mobile optimization for different devices. This means no more desperate calls to offsite developers for minor edits and tweaks, small changes that can add up into big bills.
SEO performance = better visibility
Being on the top in the search results is really hard nowadays. To improve or maintain your search engine ranking, your website’s content has to remain relevant. Thanks to the ease of editing, you can quickly respond to trends and seasonal activity by adding in keywords or adding sub pages dedicated to these areas as quickly as they become popular. With powerful CMS search engines new content is indexed automatically so it can be found instantly by those searching the web.
CMSs also automatically turn dynamic content areas of your site (for example, news items, blog posts, new products, events) into RSS feeds, which rank high in search engines.
So why should you use a CMS?
A CMS is the simplest way to organize and manage your content, plus it offers the added perks of in-house control and optimization. Compare a popular system to your current process and see just how much time, money, and sanity you could save by upgrading to this now mainstream set-up.
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