A lot has been said lately about content management systems, or CMS. You may know them by their formal names, such as Joomla and Drupal. Perhaps you’ve read the buzz but are unsure if a CMS can work for you.
If you are setting up a website for your business, a CMS can allow you to easily edit the content that you place into your site. A CMS can be purchased or found for free by doing an online search. The CMS template allocates certain areas in which you can add content or photos or easily change data. This makes maintaining your website a breeze, even if you have no knowledge of HTML, CSS or any of the other programming initials.
As with anything there are downsides, though. The actual look and layout of the template can be very difficult to modify if you are unfamiliar with CSS and can be costly if you hire someone to modify for you. Unless you know a little about programming you might have to keep the content where it is situated on the page. If you are going into a business idea and you want your site to look a certain way, a CMS may not be your best option.
As an example, I was contacted regarding a web design project by a woman who knew exactly how she wanted her website to be laid out. We searched for a template that would best fit her needs, but did not find one. In the end, it was less expensive for me to design her site from scratch than to purchase a template and modify that template to suit her specific requests.
But if you need to change content and you don’t use a CMS, how can this work? Many hosts offer packages for hosting your site that include either a site builder or a WYSIWYG HTML editor feature. My company offers a hosting package that includes cpanel, which is an excellent tool that enables the client to go in and update content through the use of a WYSIWYG. If you are looking for a specific site look but you want the capability to change content on your own, this is one option.
Another option is to find a programmer who can create a content management system around your particular idea. The cost might be higher, but in the end, if you can maintain the site on your own, you may actually save money.