All you need to know about CMS websites!
In this article I will answer some of the questions that I get asked on a regular basis about CMS websites.
1. What is a CMS website?
CMS Stands for Content Management System. In simple terms, this is a website that YOU can update yourself without knowing how to program a website.
Before we get into some of the benefits of a CMS, we need to establish that not all CMS websites are created equal. The only thing necessary to be able to call a website a CMS is a HTML editor for the main content in each page. When only a HTML editor is used to build a CMS, the website is very limited as to what can be changed without messing something up, unless you know the basics of HTML. The capabilities of a CMS is unlimited. You can develop them so that every element, from the navigation to the photos or flash in a section, can be changed with a simple form similar to the backend of Facebook. In many cases, what is being sold as a fully customized CMS is not what it seems to be. Make sure when choosing a web design company, they can show you a live site they built and how the CMS works.
2. What are the benefits of having a CMS?
There are several main benefits of building a CMS website.
More Control
The first, being the obvious one, is that you have more control over your website.
Dynamic Content
Dynamic content is content that is automatically placed on the home page when you make changes to certain pages in the site, such as blogs, galleries, news updates, testimonials, featured projects or any other type of info. What this means is that every time you add a new entry into one of these areas, it allows it to be published to the home page. Now what is even better, is that you can tell the CMS to make this data in each section change each time the page is refreshed. This is good for two reasons. Number one is because it means that when users come to your site they will not see the same thing each time. This means that your site is less stale and boring for repeat viewers. The second reason is when optimizing your site for Google, one of the elements in Google's algorithm is how often the website is updated with new content. So if each time Google views the site, new relevant content comes up, you benefit.
Adding Pages
You can add and delete pages using the backend of your CMS.
Exporting Info
CMS sites are built using a database. You can capture information from a form (or any information for that matter) and export it as an Excel file for use in an email list or just for tracking leads and orders.
Different Access Levels
CMS websites allow you to create user log-ins for member based sites. It allows content to be viewed or hidden based on the level of access the user is given by the admin. This can be used for many things including giving access to only certain parts of the same page.
Galleries
CMS sites allow you to create galleries that you can update, add and remove images, as well as separate by categories.
Changing the Design
Most companies change the design of their sites every 2-3 years. With a non CMS site, when the site gets old you have to start over from scratch. But with a CMS, you can just redesign the CMS skin and apply it to the same content without all the cost of redeveloping the site.
So in conclusion, if you want a website that gives you the latest and greatest features to help get you more leads and convert them into buyers or new clients, a CMS is the way to go. Click here to contact us for a custom CMS Quote.
