What are Content Management Systems?

Content Management Systems

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What are Content Management Systems?

Choosing to set up a content management system is one of the most important decisions you can ever make. That is so because this system not only serves to simplify your life but can also be used without requiring technical knowledge on web development. At edirect, we are interested in keeping you informed about all that you need to know regarding content management systems. Read on to learn more.

In a world where content is key to the success of your organisation, operating without a content management system greatly works to your disadvantage. No single business can afford to operate without one given its collaboration benefit. With this software, multiple users can log in to contribute, schedule and edit content before its publication. The interface is normally browser-based, hence, you can access it from any place on another and by numerous users.

Whether you have technical knowledge in websites or you are just getting started, a CMS lets you enjoy the benefits of technology without knowing how to code. All you would be doing is entering text and uploading images without having to know about the CSS and HTML tags involved.

A company that makes use of CMS in publishing its pages significantly cuts down the dependence on front-end engineers in website creation. In the long run, it is able to quickly and easily publish new content.

So, what is a content management system and its crucial features? The following sections shares all that you need to know.

What is a content management system?

A content management system, CMS, is software designed to help generate, organise, publish, and edit digital content. This software mostly applies to enterprise content management and web content management. The essence of CMS is that you will not require any technical knowledge to manage your website. Within a matter of time, an individual who has never coded in their entire life would be able to perform website operations as though this is something they have been doing for years.

Rather than building a personal system from scratch to create web pages, store information, and execute a host of other functions, the CMS takes care of all infrastructure requirements in order to let you concentrate on taking your website to the next level.

Features of a content management system

The use of a content management system entirely depends on your purpose and structure of the organisation. Despite the fact that each organisation is different, there are some key features of the content management systems that ought to be satisfied for a great experience. These are:

#1: Easy administration

The admin dashboard is the centre of focus of the CMS and it ought to be set in such a manner that all tasks are easily managed. This means that you can easily keep track of scheduled content as well as related assets. Furthermore, you must be able to manage notifications for tasks, monitor administrator and site activity, as well as use plugins and modules to add functionality.

Managing content via a content management system implies that you can control what each person accesses based on their access rights just from a single piece of software. In so doing, content production is streamlined and complexity relaxed.

#2: flexible content repositories

Gone are the days when users were engaged through a single channel. In modern times, if you want to make the most of your CMS to grow the business, you ought to select one that creates a clear distinction between content and distinction. This ensures that content creators would be less concerned about how single front-end displays content. Rather, they are given an opportunity to work with structured content. This is where repositories are needed since they are capable of structuring any type of content.

The essence of structuring your content is so that each independent part can be edited separately or repurposed as you see fit. In the long run, your visitors are given flexibility in that they can quickly find what they are looking for in your website or application. Also, the content is assigned different levels of access for monetization purposes.

#3: Support for numerous languages

The Internet has made the world a global village. This means that you will most likely have on your team, members speaking more than one language. Also, there are legislation processes that require language services in courts, for public safety, for refugees, and immigrants. While trying to meet all these requirements, you will most likely encounter unlimited cases of language barriers, especially if your CMS lacks multilingual support.

Some CMS normally meet multilingual requirements via plugins or extensions. This approach may be effective but it becomes problematic when the plugins/extensions go unmaintained. This could expose your CMS to attacks. As such, what you need is an out-of-the-box multilingual feature that you are sure receives regular updates.

#4: Levels of access

Whatever the Human Resources Department accesses cannot be equated to what the General Manager or even the Accounts Department accesses. In other words, each organisation has various permission levels. The fact that you have many writers does not ultimately mean that they are all assigned editorial or publication roles. You may even find that particular persons are allowed to publish specifically certain types of content like job postings while others can only publish in certain parts of the website.

Due to this reality, the content management system must be capable of segmenting access level in consideration of what a given person can access. As you go through the process of setting up the content management system, be sure to ask what each level is able to do and whether or not each user can be designated in numerous roles. You might also want to find out the permission levels.

#5: Content personalisation

A good CMS must feature personalisation capabilities so as to meet the increasing demand for personalised experiences. This is a CMS that has what it takes to integrate the personalisation capabilities on the basis of user activities such as purchases, page views, and clicks. In addition, it considers demographic data including job role, language, location, industry, among others.

“Here at edirect, our experts can find the perfect CMS for your business.”

Types of content management systems

As you consider the numerous features of a content management system, it is also paramount to consider the different types of CMS in order to choose exactly what suits you. There are 5 different types of CMS, each built to meet particular business needs.

#1: Component content management system (CCMS)

The CCMS is differentiated from the standard CMS by the manner in which it organises content in a granular level. Rather than considering content management as a page by page task, the CCMS stores the photos, paragraphs, phrases, and words in a central repository. The motivation behind CCMS is to maximise content reuse, hence, components are stored only once. In this case, you can use the CCMS to publish content across numerous platforms like print, PDF, and mobile.

You might find it viable to use CCMS when you need to explore its benefit of traceability. That is, you are able to track content to a great detail. You can easily spot what was done, by whom, and where. Also, it makes it possible for single sourcing as you can push content to multiple channels.

The CCMS is often a good choice in cases of desired team collaboration. Workflow is improved for the content development team, more so for those that do not meet at a physical location.

#2: Web content management system (WCMS)

WCMS is designed specifically for the management of digital components of a website without having any technical knowledge on web programming or markup languages. This system has collaborative, administrative, and authorisation tools that assist in the management of digital content. As opposed to the other content management systems which can be used in print as well as web content, the WCMS is set to handle web content exclusively.

There are a couple of benefits that can be accrued from the WCMS. The first one is the extent to which it achieves personalisation. The WCMS makes it possible for users to personalise their webpage on the basis of content and design. Also, it has automation features that come in handy with regards to saving time and improving workflow. For instance, content can be published automatically.

Be sure to use the WCMS if you want to manage web content and you are seeking a scalable system to grow with your website.

#3: Enterprise content management system (ECM)

The ECM is designed to help with organisation processes. It collects, organises, and delivers organisation documentation, making sure vital information is sent where it is supposed to be – to the customers, employees, business stakeholders, among others. With the ECM, you can be assured that all members of your organisation will have an easy time accessing required content to finalise on projects and make decisions. You can also set it to delete files after a set amount of time so that it does not take up unnecessary space.

An organisation that uses ECM achieves one of the highest levels of flexibility. You are able to retrieve a file from any location, process it, and automatically store it. There is also increased efficiency that the documentation is taken care of so that you can be more proactive throughout the day.

Use an ECM to reduce storage costs. It saves you money as only necessary files are stored and the rest are deleted.

#4: Document management system (DMS)

As technology takes root, paper slowly becomes extinct. The need for a document management system is to have a paperless solution which manages, stores, and tracks documents. Components of cloud technology can be brought in, which means that these documents would not be stored in the organisation’s infrastructure resources. The DMS has a seamless and automated solution that uploads, processes, and shares documents without the need to print, copy, or scan.

A bigger plus for the DMS is that it is eco-friendly. Content is digitised, saving paper in the process. It also offers higher security as confidential content is kept in the right hands. The mobility advantage is featured in the sense that the content can be accessed and edited remotely based on existing access rights.

#5: Digital asset management system (DAM)

The DAM is used to easily store, organise, and share digital content. It provides a central source for clients, employees, and business stakeholders to access digital content. Some of the assets that the DAM covers include video, creative files, audio, presentations, and documents. Being a cloud solution, the DAM can be accessed from any location.

What are CMS

Conclusion

These are the crucial details you need to know about content management systems before you choose to use any. At edirect, we conduct a full analysis of your business before suggesting an appropriate CMS. Get in touch with us today to find out what we can do for you.

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