Professional Web Design
Professional Web Design
Content Management Systems - (CMS)
Managing online content is a top priority for any business owner. Our clients have many options when it comes to managing their own content. Depending on the project requirements, we have an array of content management systems that we can install on your site including several versions of our own in-house CMS, and/or a variety of off-the-shelf programs - any of which we can integrate into nearly any design.
Managing online content is a top priority for any business owner. Our clients have many options when it comes to managing their own content. Depending on the project requirements, we have an array of content management systems that we can install on your site including several versions of our own in-house CMS, and/or a variety of off-the-shelf programs - any of which we can integrate into nearly any design.
What is a Content Management System?
There are many types of content management systems, but for the sake of this
discussion, we will simplify that a content management system (CMS) provides a
web administrator (company owner or designated staff member) the ability to
create, manage, distribute, publish and archive company information on a
website. Having a CMS is a fancy way of saying you can manage the text and media on your
website without knowing a bit of code.
Some content managers also provide the ability to manage the structure of the site, including the navigation, categories, and general layout of the pages.
Business Advantages of a CMS
We promote the use of CMS's for all types of websites primarily because it gives the important tasks of business management back to the business owner. Businesses who employ a CMS on their site discover a host of important advantages including:
Types of Content Management Systems
There are as many types of content management systems as there are types of online applications. We will cover some of the more popular uses for Content Management Systems.
General Categories and Pages
Most companies want the ability to keep their site fresh and up to date. A good CMS will allow a business manager to add, update, or archive pages as needed. Have a news release? No problem, just add it to the News section. Received an award? Let everyone know right away! Perhaps you realize, after the fact, that your customers are asking questions you didn't anticipate. Simply update the FAQs or Knowledge Base as the questions roll in. Whatever your business is doing, you can keep your customers up to date online quickly and easily by having a CMS incorporated into your site.
Product Management
Some companies have only one product, where as others have a few, and still others have thousands. Each ecommerce site has its own unique product criteria. Some offer discounts and coupons, some offer one payment method, some have datafeeds into product comparison sites. Whatever your scenario, you may need to update product or promotion components. While, of course, we build or customize a shopping cart, there will likely be components you need to or can manage yourself. Having a product CMS is the best way to manage your products online.
Customer Management
There are a million ways to manage and retain customers. Company newsletters, special product announcements, customer rewards, coupons, discounts, polls and surveys, etc. are just a few ways to reach out to new and existing customers. Having a customer management system may be at the core of your project requirements, and if so, we can create or implement a variety of components into your CMS to help you reach your customer-related goals.
Article Management and Blogs
Articles are the mainstream of the web, and they can become quite unmanageable in a hurry. Done right, articles and blogs are excellent way to improve search engine rankings and increase vistor retention. Some sites employ different authors who can participate in putting their articles online for review. Other sites may elect to schedule articles for release on different dates. Whatever your needs, managing your articles, authors, publishing dates, etc. will prove to be quite a challenge without a CMS to help you keep all that virtual paperwork straight.
Navigation and Page Layout Management
Each section of your site may have its own template and navigational menu listing. One of the main concepts behind having a CMS is to reduce maintenance time and costs. As you add or update content, a good CMS will help you guide you to the correct content template and it will automatically update the navigation.
SEO Management
Search engine optimization is so critical to an online business that we'd be remiss if we didn't mention it as a major component of a good CMS. Some content management systems allow for page naming conventions, page and meta tags, tags on the page, and other search engine optimization techniques. Any content management system that you use on your site should incorporate at least a basic level of SEO principles.
How to Select the Right CMS for Your Business
We take many factors into account when creating a blueprint for your project. Our clients have indicated time after time that one solid customized comprehensive CMS is the way to go. In fact, we created one for our own in-house project management system. However, these can be costly, and real world limitations sometimes prohibit clients from signing up for such a luxury, no matter how beneficial it really is. Another issue is that some clients simply don't want to (or don't have the time to) learn a new CMS. Our custom CMS's are very easy and intuitive, but we agree that some off-the-shelf, everything-under-the-sun CMSs can be complex and time-consuming to master. We will take into account whatever limitations you may have to pull in one or more content management systems as defined by your project requirements. Regardless of which CMS is used, the public viewing of your site should be streamlined as much as possible from one section to another for a consistent look and feel.
Contact us to help you determine which content management system is right for you.
Some content managers also provide the ability to manage the structure of the site, including the navigation, categories, and general layout of the pages.
Business Advantages of a CMS
We promote the use of CMS's for all types of websites primarily because it gives the important tasks of business management back to the business owner. Businesses who employ a CMS on their site discover a host of important advantages including:
The benefits for businesses who employ a CMS are almost as endless as the ideas they have for their general business management. The fewer steps a business has to take to turn an idea to reality, the faster the results can be discovered. For online businesses, a CMS is a must-have, critical component to effective business management.
- Improved customer communication and relations
- Increased customer feedback and satisfaction
- Greater control over business goals and strategies
- Increased sales
- Greater site scalability
- Fast turnaround time for new pages, product updates and archiving
- Up-to-date site navigation
- Increased capacity for growth
- Increased data entry capabilities
- Reduced site maintenance costs
Types of Content Management Systems
There are as many types of content management systems as there are types of online applications. We will cover some of the more popular uses for Content Management Systems.
General Categories and Pages
Most companies want the ability to keep their site fresh and up to date. A good CMS will allow a business manager to add, update, or archive pages as needed. Have a news release? No problem, just add it to the News section. Received an award? Let everyone know right away! Perhaps you realize, after the fact, that your customers are asking questions you didn't anticipate. Simply update the FAQs or Knowledge Base as the questions roll in. Whatever your business is doing, you can keep your customers up to date online quickly and easily by having a CMS incorporated into your site.
Product Management
Some companies have only one product, where as others have a few, and still others have thousands. Each ecommerce site has its own unique product criteria. Some offer discounts and coupons, some offer one payment method, some have datafeeds into product comparison sites. Whatever your scenario, you may need to update product or promotion components. While, of course, we build or customize a shopping cart, there will likely be components you need to or can manage yourself. Having a product CMS is the best way to manage your products online.
Customer Management
There are a million ways to manage and retain customers. Company newsletters, special product announcements, customer rewards, coupons, discounts, polls and surveys, etc. are just a few ways to reach out to new and existing customers. Having a customer management system may be at the core of your project requirements, and if so, we can create or implement a variety of components into your CMS to help you reach your customer-related goals.
Article Management and Blogs
Articles are the mainstream of the web, and they can become quite unmanageable in a hurry. Done right, articles and blogs are excellent way to improve search engine rankings and increase vistor retention. Some sites employ different authors who can participate in putting their articles online for review. Other sites may elect to schedule articles for release on different dates. Whatever your needs, managing your articles, authors, publishing dates, etc. will prove to be quite a challenge without a CMS to help you keep all that virtual paperwork straight.
Navigation and Page Layout Management
Each section of your site may have its own template and navigational menu listing. One of the main concepts behind having a CMS is to reduce maintenance time and costs. As you add or update content, a good CMS will help you guide you to the correct content template and it will automatically update the navigation.
SEO Management
Search engine optimization is so critical to an online business that we'd be remiss if we didn't mention it as a major component of a good CMS. Some content management systems allow for page naming conventions, page and meta tags, tags on the page, and other search engine optimization techniques. Any content management system that you use on your site should incorporate at least a basic level of SEO principles.
How to Select the Right CMS for Your Business
We take many factors into account when creating a blueprint for your project. Our clients have indicated time after time that one solid customized comprehensive CMS is the way to go. In fact, we created one for our own in-house project management system. However, these can be costly, and real world limitations sometimes prohibit clients from signing up for such a luxury, no matter how beneficial it really is. Another issue is that some clients simply don't want to (or don't have the time to) learn a new CMS. Our custom CMS's are very easy and intuitive, but we agree that some off-the-shelf, everything-under-the-sun CMSs can be complex and time-consuming to master. We will take into account whatever limitations you may have to pull in one or more content management systems as defined by your project requirements. Regardless of which CMS is used, the public viewing of your site should be streamlined as much as possible from one section to another for a consistent look and feel.
Contact us to help you determine which content management system is right for you.
