Knowing of and understanding Content Management Systems, known as CMSs, is crucial to anyone responsible for their company’s online offering. This has become the case following years of complicated website coding that saw a push for an easy way of developing websites. But what is a CMS and how can you use one? Below we’ll cover what they are, and give some examples of different platforms.
CMSs have been around for a couple of decades now, starting off as a way for large corporations to stock and maintain digital documents. As has usually been the case within a progressive and capitalist society, the desires of the wider consumer base was seen as an opportunity – in this case the desire to have easy access to their own websites for blogging amongst other things – and along came the modern CMS platforms we know today (like WordPress). These are now available via multiple platforms and through numerous offerings like paid or free/template or custom.
What Does A CMS Do?
Well, a CMS is basically a way to store files, but when we’re speaking in the context of a website this includes coding that tells the Internet how to read the site (that’s a simple way to put it!) and various media like images and videos. So a CMS like WordPress can be used to quickly build your own website for anything from e-commerce to a portfolio of your model shots!
Can Anyone Use A CMS?
Certainly. It’s possible for just about anyone with a computer to kick off a website with a CMS. But there’s a big difference between a single page of basic text and some of the beautiful and complex websites you see online. Basic themes in Content Management Systems are available, but technical coding is required for websites that will achieve optimal performance – and that includes showing up top in search engines like Google – which is why professional help for your company website is still critical.
Is WordPress the only CMS?
There are plenty of platforms available. These include e-commerce systems like Shopify and OpenCart and more technical versions like Adobe Business Catalyst. The latter is, along with WordPress, one that we use here at Wolf, and allows us to create powerful, unique websites for many types of companies.
In Summary…
We could go on for days about Content Management Systems. There is plenty of reading online, but we hope we’ve given you a good rundown so you can get your head around what it is when someone says ‘something something CMS’! We’ll talk more in-depth about some of the platforms mentioned above in other posts so stay tuned.
