What is a CMS?
Everyone wants to have an amazing website design that will do wonders for their business, but without an easy means to manage the content it is going to be of limited commercial value. Your website or ecommerce store needs to have new products added, prices changed, the business blog updated, and many other regular contents changes. A CMS (Content Management System) is a piece of software that enables you to manage your own web content without the need for a designer or developer. You can easily change text, add and remove images, update products, add videos, moderate comments and lots more. In fact, there a very few things you can’t do within a CMS so long as it’s set up correctly.
Someone without web development and design experience might be sceptical about their abilities to use a CMS. In truth the CMS demands no programming talents and an experienced design team will always limit your ability to do any major damage! There really is no need to break your head with complicated HTML coding and CSS styling. If you know how to use Microsoft Word or another Word Processor then thoughts of working with a CMS should not intimidate you. You can actually edit your web content from a standard web browser, and even make these changes from a mobile device if this is more convenient. With the aid of a CMS web editing tasks can be completed in literally minutes.
Do I need a CMS for my website?
First of all consider the alternatives. Whenever a web content update is needed — and this is going to be a regular occurrence — you will need to turn to your web designer or developer. Not that your web developer is going to turn his or her nose up at the extra income, but to be honest this is money you don’t need to fork out. Once you see how straightforward it is to manage your web content with a CMS the advantages of managing your own website becomes apparent. You can make content changes the instant they are needed and you save money on license fees, maintenance contracts, and many more other avoidable expenses. What could be better?
Which CMS do I need?
It would be great if there was a single CMS that suited every kind of website but this has not yet been developed. The appropriate CMS to use for your website is therefore going to vary according to the specific needs of your business. While basic computer skills are enough for working with a CMS, professional knowledge is essential when it comes to determining the best kind of CMS for you. Only an experienced developer with the necessary technical understanding and experience is able to accurately assess your requirements and come up with the right solution. The most popular (and best) CMS for non-ecommerce websites is WordPress. The most popular ecommerce CMS’s are Shopify and Magento.
If you’ve got a question about which CMS is best for your business or if you need help setting one up (and you almost certainly do need help if it’s a business critical website) then drop us a line. One of our designers or developers will get back to you within 24 hours.
