Content Management System: How It Can Be Used To Manage Contents

A Content Management System, or CMS, is a web application designed to make it easy for non-technical users to add, edit and manage content on a website.

Not only do Content Management Systems help website users with content editing, but they also take care of a lot of “behind the scenes” work, including making content searchable and indexable on search engines such as Google (increasing its visibility and reach).

Content Management Systems offer the ability to enhance content through professional pre-designed templates and plugins such as social share buttons and “Click To Tweet” functions. They also facilitate personalization and responsive design, which is particularly important considering half of all emails are now opened on smartphones and tablets – a 500% growth rate over four years, according to QuickSprout.

Ultimately, a well-chosen CMS can help guarantee a positive customer experience as they consume your content. Popular offerings include: WordPress, Drupal, and Percolate.

A content management system is a single platform that allows a user to control content publishing to a website.

The benefits of Content Management Systems include:

• Automation: saves time
• Cross-publishing: allows for consistent messaging
• Content creation (if applicable): some platforms allow you to create content within them which reduces additional software investment

Task assignment: you can flag tasks to different team members

Some common examples of website CMS platforms:

WordPress: WordPress powers a full 25% of all websites worldwide, making it the planet’s most popular CMS. WordPress has become much more than a blogging platform. It can be accurately described as full-featured CMS with tons of options to add plugins that increase features and functionality. It increasingly powers larger corporate sites, and medium businesses as well as personal blogs. It is relatively easy to set up and has a wide range of support and training materials available (much of it is free).

ExpressionEngine: ExpressionEngine is a multi-purpose content management system with a modular web platform that offers three tiers of licenses: Freelancer, Non-Commercial, and Commercial. One of its benefits is its ease of use. Practically, this means that anyone can use it, without having to know PHP, the programming language EE is built in. The user interface is designed to make websites and content management as simple and friendly as possible, without sacrificing the dynamic power of the platform in any way.

Percolate: Percolate provides software to help teams successfully execute their marketing strategy. Percolate allows you to connect your content plans with the rest of your marketing initiatives. It has a centralized system from where you can coordinate your global content efforts, deliver better marketing results, and deepen customer relationships.

Considerations:

• Dynamism: how easy is it to edit the content? How much access have you had? How integrated is it across the digital and social web?
• Intuitive: how easy is it to use? Is it too complex or technical? It shouldn’t require too much technical know-how.
• Cost: CMS systems all come with an investment cost – what makes sense for your business? Does it provide value to your business or is it an expense you do not need?

Make sure to try out a few before you make a decision. Most CMS platforms will have a free trial option that will allow you time to see if the platform is right for you.