The acronym CMS stands for Content Management System , but it can be a rather ambiguous term without further explanation.
What is a CMS?
A CMS is a software, i.e. a computer system, whose functions are to create and enable the operation of a website. It is, to put it simply, a template with many varieties and adaptability that you can use if you want to create a website, whatever it is (blog, online shop...).
It is the computer skeleton of your website, which arises to cover the structural needs. The CMS allows you to dispense with programming knowledge, extensions or front-end and back-end codes, among others. All this translates immediately into greater accessibility to online business, as well as savings in time and costs. It is not necessary to hire large programming specialists who would take weeks to create and optimise a website from scratch, but it is only necessary to have a person or small team with knowledge in CMS and who knows what your goals, tastes and type of CMS you are looking for. In essence, it converts much of the work that should be done manually into a set of automated actions and functions and creates the interface where the site is hosted.
As well as providing a skeleton to support the creation, the CMS is a great help in the management, organisation and maintenance of the website once it has been created. In some cases, in addition to its own tasks, the CMS acts as a hosting service and you simply link the domain of your website .
The CMS is a derivative of the EMS (Enterprise Content Management), the only difference that creates the terminological division is to eradicate from the CMS the necessary connotation of company, being able to be applied to other different areas.
The CMS is made up of two main elements: The CMA (Content Management App), which allows the web manager to create, modify and delete content without using HTML, and the CDA (Content Dispenser App), which dispenses and updates the website.
CMS features
These are some of the most basic features of a CMS
- Web-based publishing: Publish and upload content managed by the CMS.
- Editing of text and web codes: It has an online content editor.
- Indexing: Compartmentalisation and organisation of the content in a personal way and adapted to the needs and tastes of each manager.
- Revision: Revision of content before publication, drafts and previews.
- Search: Search bars that make the page as accessible and dynamic as possible for the user
- Recovery of information: The CMS allows backup copies to be made of the page so that, in the event of a failure, everything that has been worked on is not lost. It is also these copies that should be used if, at some point, it is desired to change to another CMS that is better suited to particular needs.
- Analysis and control of statistics, whether these are sales, visits or likes, as well as KPI monitoring and performance reports,
- SEO optimisation: The CMS allows you to create conversion paths, landing pages, interlinking, etc.
- In addition to other additional resources that can be added depending on the needs (plugins, extensions, themes)...
CMS functions
- Creates and manages the contents of a website.
As we said, the CMS is mainly a tool for creating a website. It is responsible for providing basic guidelines and guidelines on which to design an Internet page, according to the type of business you want to create. This can be from a blog to an online shop.
- It distributes and publishes the contents and information
Among the creation options is the organisation of the page. The CMS is responsible for organising the content, incorporating updating tools that are the most useful, generating the latest content added to the website to appear in the first place, as well as, of course, generating menus, search engines, bars...
- Allows you to manage content and design independently
Although a CMS offers a skeleton or template through which the page can be created to the manager's liking, this does not imply that it does not leave room for design and aesthetics. Part of the functions of the CMS consist of allowing the owner of the page to devise a design as personalised as possible so that two pages created with the same CMS that visually do not have any similarity can be seen.
- Security, troubleshooting and technical support.
The help of the CMS does not end once the web design has been created and finished, but it also provides maintenance and support staff , as well as guaranteeing the security and privacy of users and managers.
- Speed, efficiency and ease of use
The essence of the CMS is to be an easy-to-use tool that makes it possible to dispense with specialised professionals and that extends the creation of online businesses or blogs to anyone who wishes to do so. A page created through a CMS will be, precisely for this reason, an efficient and simple page, with a fast operation that does not require a high degree of programming.
However, as with design, simplicity does not imply mass production. Although it is possible to create a page in just a few steps and without many additions, the CMS has a multitude of tools that can be added to the main skeleton to favour the adaptability of each business. Examples of these are the different areas, landing pages, plugins, extensions, etc.
- It allows the collaborative work of several editors at the same time
In a business, one of the most common users of the CMS is that several people participate in it. The CMS allows the creation of websites that are collaborative and allow the access of several people at the same time in the interface.
In essence, a CMS covers all the needs of the website you have created, from the time of its first draft to its removal if necessary.
Types of CMS
Depending on the ownership of the CMS
- Open Source: Open Source solutions, which allow free access to the system and code.
- Proprietary: developed by a company and distributed commercially in the form of sales.
- Blogs: pages dedicated to writing articles and texts, with the possibility of adding graphic elements, comments, sharing content, etc.
- E-commerce: online shops, one of the most common objectives of CMS's. An online business is a page that is difficult to create, but can be facilitated with the help of a CMS
- Forum: pages designed for community chat between users on a specific topic or topics.
- E-Learning: Websites created for entertainment purposes, the new e-learning revolution.
- Wiki: Another type of page that can be created with a CMS are social and collaborative encyclopaedias.
As can be seen, there are several types of pages that can be created through CMS, and this means that, before choosing what type of CMS to use, some examples of CMS that can be useful depending on the business you want to create are: Wordpress, Hubspot, Shopify, WooCommerce or Joomla.
Advantages of having a CMS
- It allows online commerce, the digitalisation of the business and with it, the retention and attraction of customers. It allows you to move your business to another level which brings great benefits.
- It allows you to focus on other aspects such as marketing, strategy, or product design, leaving aside the more mechanical and operational part.
- Saving time and facilities is the main thing.
- High performance and zero cost: among the features are the creation of blogs and ecommerce.
However, for the companies that use them, it requires training for workers so that they know how to access the website's interface fluently and efficiently, which electronically means knowing how to move through the corridors and intricacies of a traditional office.
