Marketing Agencies

Content Management

Content management systems are interesting not only for managing large Web sites, even small sites can be managed in order to save time and update. The PC World presents some free content management systems for different purposes.

Before installing a CMS should be carefully considered whether the proposed CMS fits really well to the operational task and the company's Web site. Too heavy a CMS that is manageable only with considerable learning curve, makes for a small site just as little sense as an easy-to-learn CMS, but given the feature requirements and scope of a website gets nearing its limits and overtaxed.

The biggest advantage of a content management system (CMS): The user must take care not to design, layout and technology, if the CMS is running again. One can instead concentrate on the content: Strict separation of layout and content is thus called for. However, the CMS must be established first, before the first use of what, depending on the complexity of the chosen CMS quite a bit of know-how and takes no time. Content management systems that are open source and free are based, in most cases, stored on a PHP-MySQL system, every major CMS namely its contents in a database. Access to the CMS is then usually via web browser.

The access rights can be in most CMS for each user individually. This ensures that less experienced users or employees who have only occasionally populate content, get fewer rights than experienced staff and administrators. A not too worth noting is the possibility for data imports - to a final data set from another source into your own website quickly take you to - and for data export to output in other media (for example, the color printed brochure of the advertising department). An extensive list of open source and free but also from proprietary and fee-based content management systems can be found on Wikipedia and on this page. Take sufficient time to carefully choose your CMS. Take into account especially your existing IT infrastructure and have made available to administrators and developer know-how. If you are running your company have a LAMP environment, we recommend a PHP / MySQL-based CMS. Do you have access to a Java developer, you can also access to a Java-based CMS. And if in your company's Windows and the. NET Framework dominate the server should be perhaps a suitable CMS for your site.

Design professional web designers, web pages with Dreamweaver, and maintain thereafter, the individual HTML, CSS, PHP, and media files via FTP transfer by hand, like the issue of CMS horrible, but undoubtedly save content management systems, time and avoid mistakes during the daily update the site. Just Checking However, the issue will be cost saving means: Very easy knit web presences have it entered without any major modification work in a CMS, by accepting, for example, already existing ready-made templates. If the site is more complex and is to provide specific functions so often additional programming work for the necessary adjustments required, which costs money, of course - the use of basically free or open-source CMS will therefore usually a hole in the company's cash break. In addition, employees must be trained to use the CMS. Only in rare extreme cases, it makes sense by the way, a CMS program from scratch. Although many textbooks on PHP & MySQL parading like a typical programming examples to develop their own CMS, it is worth it not to be seduced easily done, is doing in general it is a proven product off the shelf, which shall be adjusted and expanded, the better. Also appear ready for CMS software products regularly updates and security patches that you have to play just yet. If, however, has itself a complex CMS program, one must also keep itself on the lookout for security problems and rectify the source code itself.

Before you choose a CMS, you should think carefully about what matters to you, what features you really need, how much time and money you may also want to spend for the maintenance of your website and what should be its scope. You should also self-critical your programming skills and know-how to assess.