A software that lets users publish, edit and modify content from a central page is referred to as a content management system (CMS).
A CMS organizes certain sets of procedures, to facilitate an ordered workflow when working on a project that has multiple contributors.
Since there are different types of collaborative environments, different types of content management systems exist to meet varying needs.
However, some of the features are common among all content management systems:
- Management of pages’ content
- Information definition: articles, numbers, pictures, texts, videos, documents, pro forma, etc.
- Remove redundant content
- Test the validity of data being inserted in a certain field
- Limit accessibility of certain information to certain users
- Enable users to share information among themselves on the collaborative environment
Types of Content Management Systems
As mentioned earlier there are different types of CMS’s, which are tailored to meet varying organizational needs. The three broad categories that content management systems can be classified into are:
i. Enterprise CMS
Enterprise content management systems have five basic objectives to fulfil, which are:
- To maintain the integrity of information stored by its users
- To optimize settings to prevent any breach of information within or outside the organization
- To recognize and manage the complications that arise due to files with multiple formats
- To eliminate bottlenecks in the system and improve user experience
- To streamline users’ access
The primary users of an enterprise content management system are large organizations because they have large volumes of content, which only certain departments and team members should be able to access at any given time. ECMS are also responsible for the organization of company records, contacts, and documents that belong to the organization they are used by.
ii. Web CMS
Web content management systems are used as applications to create and deploy the design of web pages. Users can:
- Personalize content on web pages and present it differently to various site visitors. This is done with the help of a database that contains information regarding files, images, content, links, etc.
- To index or catalogue content in search engines
Web CMS is mandatory for the successful creation of web pages. They may be used in a stand-alone manner or be bundled with other web CMS’s for the creation, management, storage and deployment of web pages.
iii. Component CMS
Component CMS’s are different from the two other types described above. They are used to create documents from a set of individual components.
These documents may be textual, audible or visual. The same components may be reused more than once in one or more documents.
There are tons of features that users take into consideration when comparing different content management systems. Some of the most important ones include the following.
E-Commerce made simple
One of the most exciting features of the modern CMS is the ability for users to setup online stores and have everything connected to one single database.
Anyone now has the ability to craft an online store for his or her products and/or services. They also get all the features that one would expect from an online store; wish lists, shopping carts, pluggable tax, shipping and payments, inventory management, etc.
What’s more, these systems also place paramount importance on security: from managing login history, to inserting CAPTCHA phrases when filling out forms, users and visitors alike know that their information is safe and secure.
Photo credit: Vin Crosbie
