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A content management system (CMS) is a system used to manage the content of a Web site . Typically, a CMS consists of two elements: the content management application (CMA) and the content delivery application (CDA). The CMA element allows the content manager or author, who may not know Hypertext Markup Language ( HTML ), to manage the creation, modification, and removal of content from a Web site without needing the expertise of a Webmaster . The CDA element uses and compiles that information to update the Web site. The features of a CMS system vary, but most include Web-based publishing, format management, revision control, and indexing, search, and retrieval.
The Web-based publishing feature allows individuals to use a template or a set of templates approved by the organization, as well as wizards and other tools to create or modify Web content. The format management feature allows documents including legacy electronic documents and scanned paper documents to be formatted into HTML or Portable Document Format ( PDF ) for the Web site. The revision control feature allows content to be updated to a newer version or restored to a previous version. Revision control also tracks any changes made to files by individuals. An additional feature is indexing, search, and retrieval. A CMS system indexes all data within an organization. Individuals can then search for data using keywords, which the CMS system retrieves.
A CMS system may also provide tools for one-to-one marketing. One-to-one marketing is the ability of a Web site to tailor its content and advertising to a user's specific characteristics using information provided by the user or gathered by the site (for example, a particular user's page sequence pattern). For example, if you visit a search engine and search for " digital camera ," the advertising banners will advertise businesses that sell digital cameras instead of businesses that sell garden products.
Two factors must be considered before an organization decides to invest in a CMS. First, an organization's size and geographic dispersion must be considered especially if an organization is spread out over several countries. For these organizations, the transition to CMS is more difficult. Secondly, the diversity of the electronic data forms used within an organization must be considered. If an organization uses text documents, graphics, video, audio, and diagrams to convey information, the content will be more difficult to manage.
Many companies build their own content management tools to meet their specific needs, but in the last year or so, several companies have come out with some good content management software. These tools may not do all that I mentioned on the previous page, but many do other things I left out.
Interwoven TeamSite
TeamSite is a very powerful, but also very expensive enterprise content management system.
Typo3
Typo3, by contrast, is a powerful enterprise-level free Open Source content management system.
Vignette Content Management
Vignette is another popular enterprise content management system.
DynaBase
DynaBase allows you to deliver your Web site using XML for more flexibility.
EGrail
A server side content management solution that will write the HTML, plus it will interact with automatic data delivery such as news feeds
EGrail is open source.
RedDot Web Content Management System
A content management system that allows you to edit documents directly on the Web - no HTML required. Access control and more.
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