CONTENT MANAGEMENT
SYSTEM (CMS)
By Joseph Stern
Are Custom Coded Websites Dead?
Why Use a CMS?
CMS is simply just a pre-built system from which
to build a website that includes:
•
•
•
•
Content Creation
Content Management
Publishing
Presentation
Why use a CMS? – Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRLJ-Lie_ks&feature=related
Overview
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Global Developer Communities
Definition of CMS
No HTML Required and it's Free
Most Popular CMS Platforms
Differences Between Popular CMS Platforms
Some Notable CMS Sites
Wordpress Dashboard Demo
CMS Features and Benefits
OMG - I want a CMS! What do I need?
References / Web Resources
Questions???
Global Developer Communities
Definition of CMS
• A content management system (CMS) is a
system providing a collection of procedures
used to manage work flow in a collaborative
environment. These procedures can be
manual or computer-based.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wikiContent_management_system
Definition of CMS Continued
• The procedures are designed to do the following:
• Allow for a large number of people to share and contribute
to stored data.
• Control access to data based on user role (i.e., define
information users or user groups can view, edit, publish,
etc.)
• Facilitate storage and retrieval of data.
• Control data validity and compliance.
• Reduce duplicate inputs.
• Simplify report writing.
• Improve communication among users.
No HTML Skills Required!
Most importantly, an open CMS offers small business's and non-technical
users a way to put content into a pre-established framework.
Isn’t Everything These Days?
CMS platforms are free to download, install and customize.
However, the freemium pricing model for add-ons and modules will cost you
for functionality build outs.
Most Popular Open CMS Platforms
Top 3 in Order of Community Prominence
1. Wordpress
2. Joomla
3. Drupal
CMS Usage for Websites
• Diagram shows the percentage of websites
using various CMS in 2012.
Grey: CMS Usage
Green: CMS Market Share
http://w3techs.com/technologies/overview/content_management/all
Differences Between CMS Platforms
Wordpress
• Pros: Best blog platform by far. Easiest to
install. Very intuitive to non-techy users.
Allows quick posting on pages. Largest user
community. Has a WYSIWYG Editor.
• Cons: Least developer friendly. More
limited options with respect to
customization.
Differences Between CMS Platforms
Joomla
• Pros: Platform is harder than Wordpress but
easier than Drupal to develop. Has second
largest user base and solid community forums
and video tutorials.
• Cons: Low usage in the United States relative
to Wordpress and Drupal.
Differences Between CMS Platforms
Drupal
• Pros: Best platform for developers and handcoders. Custom tweaks are easier. The basic
architecture options are very advanced.
• Cons: Not as user-friendly for novice developers.
Thus, Drupal developers charge more on average
and it takes more time to build out.
• http://www.cmsmatrix.org/matrix/cms-matrix
Some Notable CMS Sites
Wordpresshttp://www.nytimes.com/interactive/
blogs/directory.html
Joomla
http://www.ikea.com.sa/
Drupal
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
Wordpress Dashboard Demo - CMS
Common Features
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Theme
QuickPress
Posts
Media
Pages
WYSIWYG
Plugins
Users
http://josephstern.com/wp-admin/
Key CMS Benefits
• Simplifies activities such publishing content, revision
control, search, indexing, retrieval of content, etc.
• Data can be defined as nearly anything: documents,
movies, text, pictures, phone numbers, scientific data,
and so forth.
• Easy to avoid duplicate content.
• Frequently used for storing, controlling, revising,
semantically enriching, and publishing documentation.
• Serves as a central repository, the CMS increases the
version level of new updates to an already existing file.
OMG – I Want a CMS!
So how do I choose one?
How do I know what’s
right for my needs?
Focus on Main Functionality
What does your website do?
•
•
•
•
•
Blog
E-commerce
Video
Informational
Other
Intuitive UX for All Users
• Think about the average user in the
organization - not a developer. What is too
much?
• At the most basic level, it’s important that it is
easy to post pages, edit pages, change themes
and add photos for the users.
• The developer must involve the administrative
team who will assume control of the website.
Logical and User-friendly Backend
• The backend layout and functions must be
grouped and positioned so they are easy to
navigate.
• Plugins should be easy to find, integrate and
do their job.
• The basic backend architecture should be easy
to ascertain to the average user.
Functionality that Fits
the Project's Scope
• Advanced functionality that you’ll never use
just slows down the whole website.
• Find a CMS that does the one thing you want
to do really well and forget about the other
features.
• Do you really need? e-commerce, photo
slideshows, video playback or is it just a
simple blog.
WYSIWYG Editor
• WYSIWYG editors make life easier for your
users – especially novices.
• Most users don’t know HTML and don’t care
to learn.
• This allows for ease of editing things like:
pages, header tags, text, bold, italics, etc.
Btw, WYSIWYG – “what you see is what you get”
Simple Code = Fast Loading Pages
• There shouldn’t be a lot of extra code or
provisions for unused functionality in the final
page code.
• This makes the page load times faster.
• This lowers the chance for misrenderings and
errors.
Creative Control of Template
• Some CMS templates have very set ideas
about what a website should look like.
• Whatever CMS you choose should let you
design pages the way you want and should
work around your needs.
• Also, there are many CMS template factories
where you can buy designer templates.
• Ie: http://www.rockettheme.com/
Support and Documentation
• You will eventually run into problems with any
CMS you choose. Ie: Updates, add-ons, custom
modules, etc.
• The more active and helpful the user community
is, the better off you are.
• Searchable documentation and video tutorials
are also extremely helpful.
• Documentation should provide information on
everything from basic use to advanced
functionality.
Web Resources
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_manageme
nt_system
• www.Wordpress.org
• www.Joomla.org
• www.Drupal.org
• http://wp.smashingmagazine.com/2011/11/29/
wordpress-cms-crown-drupal-joomla/http://
• www.cmsmatrix.org/matrix/cms-matrix
• http://www.rockettheme.com/
Questions Please