CMS is an acronym for Content Management System. Your website can be built upon a Content Management platform which allows you to modify your own web site content directly in a browser. You just bring up your website in Internet Explorer or the browser of your choice, log into your website and edit away. You do not need to know html or any programming. Editing your website is just like working in a Word document. You can add bold text, color, italics, and bullets – just about anything you can do in Word – without having to contact your web designer for help. Read More
CMS Technical Support: Fee or Free?
September 8, 2010 By
I have this dilemma that I thought I’d throw out to my blog readers to get your opinion. Some of my readers are customers, some are colleagues, some are competitors and some readers have no relationship to my company at all – so I’m eager to see how varied the response is.
A little background info
As little as 5 years ago, web sites were developed in programming languages that required special software for editing (i.e. Frontpage or Dreamweaver) and sometimes required programming knowledge (i.e. PHP, Perl, etc.) In those days, it was easier and cheaper to have your web designer update your web site for you. So in addition to designing and building new web sites, I also had a steady stream of income from maintaining web sites for my customers.
In January of 2009, I saw that the web site industry was moving toward Content Management Systems and I embraced this technology by learning WordPress and Drupal so that I could offer my clients multiple options. Yes, this meant less income because now my customers could update their own web sites without paying me, but I knew in my heart that this was the right thing to do for my clients and my business. Read More
Buyer Beware: CMS Templates
June 8, 2010 By
Cheap templates may end up costing you more in the long run
I recently received a call from a small business owner who purchased a $50 template for his Drupal web site. He already had an existing Drupal installation but wanted to “upgrade” the look & feel of it. His website had well over 50 pages including blog articles. The template company offered to install the template for an additional fee and requested that he provide them with a backup of his database.
Three days later his website was a mess and he was on the phone with me.
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Keep Your CMS Up-To-Date With a Maintenance Plan
February 24, 2010 By
As I work on more & more content management systems, I’ve come to realize that keeping your CMS up-to-date and in good working order is critical to a properly functioning web site. A nice feature on most content management systems is that the admin program warns you when the core program or any installed modules require updating. Sometimes these are minor updates to improve features and other times these are major updates that affect the security of your web site.
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Adding Features to Your CMS
February 3, 2010 By
One of the wonderful things about a Content Management System is the ability to easily expand your web site with new pages and new features.
Once your web site is built on a CMS, the options are practically endless – especially if your CMS is Open Source, such as WordPress or Drupal. These are two of the open source Content Management Systems that I typically work with. Open Source means that the source code is available to the public and therefore developers from all over the world can expand on the functionality of the CMS by adding new features. These new features are called modules, widgets or plug-ins, which you can download and add to your own CMS web site.
Take Control of Your Website with a CMS
October 5, 2009 By
Technology never stands still. As the owner of a web design business, I have to keep on top of the moving trends in my industry or become obsolete. This year, the technology I have embraced is Content Management Systems. Once you have a CMS, you’ll fall in love and wonder how you ever survived without it (just like your cell phone!)
The Benefits of a CMS include:
- Take control of your website! It’s a great feeling to be in charge. Update your own website whenever you like, without having to wait for someone else to do it.
- Save Money! You no longer have to pay your web developer to make those minor updates any more.
- Easy to Update! No technical skills or HTML knowledge required. Most CMS platforms have a built-in editor that is as easy to use as Microsoft Word.
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