A content management system, often shortened as CMS, is the software that helps users in creating, editing, organizing, and publishing content on a website without the need for specialized technical knowledge. It is the tool that helps you build a website content writing without requiring you to write the entire code or even knowing how to code.
CMSes are normally used for enterprise content management (ECM) and web content management (WCM). An ECM helps collaborate in a workplace by integrating document management, digital asset management and records retention functionalities, and providing end users with role-based access to the organization’s digital assets.
There is almost no limit to the factors that must be considered before an organization decides to invest in a CMS. There are a few basic functionalities to always look for, such as an easy-to-use editor interface and intelligent search capabilities. However, for some organizations, the software they use depends on certain requirements.
Let’s start with creating a piece of content. Without a content management system, you’d need to write a static HTML file and upload it to your server (sounds super complicated, right?). WordPress allows users to have full control over the files, documents, as well as the design and display of the content. You don’t have to know a single line of code to publish content using WordPress. The beauty of a good content management system is to allow any user to create and manage their content without any technical know-how.
WordPress is being used in all sort of creative ways. We have seen WordPress being used to power small business websites designing, blogs, large university websites, portfolios, real estate property listing site, internal communication system for companies, web directories, movie databases, application infrastructure base, arcade sites, and basically anything else you can think of. Even entertainment websites find it really easy to use WordPress as publishing blogs is super convenient for instance attaching a GIF without the help of a creative developer to guide you.
Beyond the self-hosted WordPress software, other popular content management systems include:
- Joomla: A free and open source WCMS built on an MVC framework. Joomla is written in PHP and offers features such as caching, RSS feeds, blogs, search and support for language internationalization.
- SharePoint — A collection of cloud- and web-based technologies that makes it easy to store, share and manage digital information within an organization.
- Magento (for eCommerce stores)
- Squarespace: Squarespace is the all-in-one solution for anyone looking to create a beautiful website. Providing you with Domains, eCommerce, hosting, galleries, analytic and so much more.
There are also lots of other less well-known content management systems that target themselves to large enterprises (with an expensive price point to match).
