Content Management Systems

"A content management system (CMS) is a computer application used to create, edit, manage, search and publish various kinds of digital media and electronic text.[1] CMSs are frequently used for storing, controlling, versioning, and publishing industry-specific documentation such as news articles, operators' manuals, technical manuals, sales guides, and marketing brochures. The content managed may include computer files, image media, audio files, video files, electronic documents, and Web content."

The entry goes on to list salient features including identification of all key users and their content management roles, the definition of workflow tasks for collaborative creation, often coupled with event messaging so that content managers are alerted to changes in content, and so forth. This fairly dry summary does not do justice to the evolving role and explosive growth of CMS solutions world-wide. Because CMS platforms give control of web site content (words and images) to the end-user, they have become a critical tool for a wide range of web publishing strategies, especially for smaller businesses and organizations that cannot afford to hire a full-service agency or else keep an in-house web support staff. The leading CMS platforms include Joomla, Drupal, Wordpress, Plone, Elgg, Modx, to name just a few. I have worked nearly all of these at one or another. Because each has its advantages and disadvantages, the selection of the best CMS solution for your web site project can be a confusing process. If you have a question about CMS, send me an email and I will be happy to help in any way that I can.