What Is a Content Management System (CMS)?
A content management system, often abbreviated as CMS, is software for website design that helps users create, manage, and modify content on a website without the need for specialized technical knowledge.
In simpler language, a content management system is a tool that helps you build a website without needing to write all the code from scratch (or even know how to code at all).
Instead of building your own system for creating website pages, storing images, and other functions, the content management system handles all that basic infrastructure stuff for you so that you can focus on more forward-facing parts of your website.
Beyond websites, you can also find content management systems for other functions – like document management.
Why Should You Use a Content Management System For Your Website
To give you an idea of how a content management system works, we’re going to take a whirlwind tour of the WordPress interface (WordPress is a good example of a content management system).
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 complicated, right?).
With a content management system like WordPress, you can just write your content in an interface that looks a good bit like Microsoft Word:
Here Is A list Of Content Management Systems.
Component Content Management System (CCMS)
A component content management system, or CCMS, differs from a standard CMS in that it organizes content at a granular level. Instead of managing content page by page, it takes words, phrases, paragraphs, or photos (also known as “components”) and stores them in a central repository.
Designed for maximum content reuse, components are only stored once. The CCMS acts as a consistent trusted source that publishes content across multiple platforms, including mobile, PDF, and print.
Benefits of a CCMS
- Reusability: Content reuse within a CCMS saves time during the writing, editing, and publishing phase, and significantly reduces translation costs.
- Traceability: A CCMS enables you to track content in detail. You can see who did what, when, and where.
- Single Sourcing: With a CCMS you can push content to multiple channels, including print, mobile, web, chatbots, embedded help, and more.
- Enhanced Team Collaboration: Improve workflow for your content development team, especially those working remotely.
Document Management System (DMS)
Paper is almost extinct. Tracking business files on paper is a thing of the past. A document management system (DMS) offers a paperless solution to manage, store, and track documents in a cloud. It provides an automated solution for uploading, processing, and sharing business documents without the hassle of printing, copying, or scanning.
Benefits of a DMS
- Eco-Friendly: Organize content digitally and save paper while you do it!
- Security: A DMS offers many levels of security to ensure confidential content stays in the right hands.
- The Mobile Advantage: With a document management system, you can access and edit documents remotely.
Enterprise Content Management System (ECM)
An enterprise content management system collects, organizes, and delivers an organization’s documentation, ensuring critical information is delivered to the correct audience (employees, customers, business stakeholders, etc.)
An ECM gives all members of an organization easy access to the content they need to complete projects and make important decisions. In addition, an ECM deletes files after a certain retention period, ensuring no unnecessary content takes up space.
Benefits of ECM
- Flexible: An ECM lets you capture any file type from any location, and have it processed and stored automatically.
- Increases Efficiency: Now that documentation is taken care of, you can be more productive in your day-to-day.
- Reduced Storage Costs: An ECM saves money by storing only necessary files and deleting the rest.
Web Content Management System (WCMS)
A web content management system lets users manage digital components of a website without prior knowledge of markup languages or web programming. A WCMS provides collaboration, authoring, and administration tools to help manage digital content. Unlike other CMSs, which deal with content destined for both the web and print, a WCMS handles exclusively web content.
Benefits of a WCMS
- Personalization: A WCMS lets users customize a webpage with personalized design and content.
- Automation: A WCMS saves time and improves workflow management by publishing content automatically.
- Scalable: A scalable system like a WCMS allows companies to grow exponentially without worrying about surpassing their website limits.
Digital Asset Management System (DAM)
With a digital asset management system, users can store, organize, and share digital content with ease. A DAM offers a simple, centralized library where clients, employees, or contractors can access digital content. These assets include audio, creative files, video, documents, and presentations. A DAM is cloud-based, so users can access content from anywhere.
Benefits of a DAM
- Centralized Repository: Content is safe and secure in one place.
- Effective Brand Management: A DAM allows you to manage a branded web portal for users to access important files.
- Digital Publishing: With a DAM, you can push digital content to third-party distribution services, social media channels, and more.
Before choosing a CMS, it’s crucial you explore all types of content management systems. Some systems may be better suited for your business. For example, if you publish multiple product versions in a year in several languages, your best bet is surely a CCMS. If you’re looking for more flexibility for publishing on a website, a web content management system might best fit the bill.
