Content Management System

A content management system is software that generates web pages dynamically from information stored in a database. Content management systems separate the content of the page from the design and code, making it possible for someone who has no knowledge of programming to create new pages and update existing pages in the website.

The primary advantages of content management system include:

• The site content can be easily updated by unskilled personnel.
• The site design can be changed in one place, and applied across the site without recreating every page.  This allows updating the look and feel of the site without breaking the URL's or harming page rank.
• The presentation of the pages can be standardized so as to ensure each page is optimized for Search Engines.

Choosing a Content Management System

There are dozens of content management systems to choose from. Some are commerical and require payment for a site license.  Many are open source and are freely available for both commercial and personal use.

Joomla and Drupal are the two most popular open source content management systems.  They are relatively easy for an unskilled webmaster to set up.  However, they are also large systems with a lot of extra functionality that the average small business doesn't need.  They are also rather inflexible on site design and creating design "themes" requires expertise in both PHP programming as well as HTML and CSS web design.

CMS Made Simple is the content management system preferred by Clinch Mountain Communications for this site and for all of our client websites.  It has a powerful but lightweight core that can be extended with modules.  It uses SMARTY templating, so that web desigers can easily create new themes for existing sites.

Most importantly, CMS Made Simple makes it easy for the average person who knows little or nothing about HTML to update their website.