“CMS, CMS, CMS”—we’ve all heard this acronym, especially when it comes to discussing options like whether WordPress or Drupal is better for a website, but what is a CMS, exactly? And why would anyone need one?
CMS stands for Content Management System. It is just a simple name to describe the process and “procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment”
Wikipedia, which oftentimes is done online. CMS is currently used more in a web context (known technically as WCMS), referring to the management of data for websites. Data (aka “content”) can range from anything to the basic text on a website to photos, videos, documents, etc. Anything that can be input into a database or storage can be considered as content or data.
On the web, a CMS is essentially a system that allows management and control of web data—from its initial creation process to management, distribution, publishing, and even discovery of information on the web. For instance, a CMS will allow one to create a website, manage and update its content, distribute the link and data to others, and publish content on the web, and also aid in search engine optimization so that webizens can find the site online. With a CMS, one can change the appearance of the site, how it is structured, and reorganize the navigation of the site for users.
In short, a CMS makes the web a lot easier for you to create and maintain a website. This is what makes a CMS so integral to a website and why platforms like WordPress or Drupal are so popular. They enable users who may not be the most advanced to develop websites that look decent (especially with the open source communities that share template information) without too much of the hassle and actual coding knowledge needed to create a professional site. In addition, any forms that may be uploaded to your site for others to look at or download can be kept and organized all right within the CMS in the Media Library.
For you and your business, a CMS is extremely important because it makes sure that a) you have a site, b) that site is easily maintained and organized, and c) it ensures that all of your site’s content is more optimized for search engine results— without you having to do much at all!
Also with a CMS, it allows multiple people to add to, take away, and change your website without having to have just the one developer be the one to administer all changes. There are even different tiers of permission, where some people have limited access as opposed to others. As long as the username and password are given out to the necessary people, they can then update/maintain content on their own time without having to bother your poor web developer constantly.
But don’t forget one thing! That is, to update your CMS core installation version to the newest one when it becomes available. Otherwise, you may encounter hacks like this one!