Best Web Design Software

What to Expect From a Content Management System

By D. J. Millard

A Content Management System, or CMS, is a great way to build a website. If you are considering having a website built for you using this system, then this article is written for you. If you are considering building a website for someone else using a CMS for the first time, then you may find some useful suggestions here, but it is really written from the user’s perspective so you may find another of my articles, “Properties of a Good Content Management System” more useful.

What a CMS is and what it isn’t

A CMS is essentially a content editor that allows users to change the content of a website without any special or technical knowledge, with nothing more than a web browser and from anywhere in the world. The system works by using in effect just one or two pages and adding content to them from data stored in a database. Navigation is usually created automatically, and different levels of access can be granted to different groups of users. What a CMS is not is a “web-builder” that allows individuals to “drag and drop” elements into a framework to create a simple website.

What will a CMS allow me to do?

If you have never used a CMS before, you are in for a treat! Simply put, a CMS lets you edit the content of your website yourself. Depending on the permissions you have been granted, you could:

• Add new pages
• Delete existing pages
• Edit pages
• Re-order pages
• Add pictures, sound, video or other content
• Change the look of the website
• Re-order items on a page
• Add or remove news items

In short, a CMS will allow you to make your website your own. You may work for an organization that uses a website, possibly a company Intranet, built using a CMS. If this is the case you will be able to generate your own fresh content whenever it is suitable and without waiting for a technician to get round to it.

You might have to have the content sanctioned by a line manager or other superior before it is published, and you almost certainly will have a set of rules to adhere to when writing content, but apart from organizational restrictions you should find the freedom this system gives you a refreshing change.

Adding text

Many people unfamiliar with content management systems are worried that they might find difficulty in writing for a website, but Google says you should write for human beings, not search engines, so you should write as you would do normally. Most CMS have a fairly sophisticated text editor a bit like a mini word processor that will allow you to type right in the window or paste from another program like Microsoft Word. This is a great advantage as it means you won’t have to duplicate content you have already.

Text can be formatted in the usual way – like bold, italic and underline – and you can change the font face and size, the indentation and also the style, for example Heading 2 or paragraph text, from a drop down menu in most editors. Some will also allow you to insert pictures, and others allow the inclusion of code for things like adverts.

Including Images

One of the things that makes the web such a vibrant place is the graphical capabilities modern browsers have. Pictures and video are commonplace online and if your CMS has the appropriate functionality, you can add these too.

One type of text editor lets you edit images right there in the window. You can alter the size to fit a particular area of the page, change the resolution so that the page loads quicker and even crop away some redundant parts of an image. As a general rule of thumb, no image on your page should exceed 20KB in size, and the total of all your images should not be more than 200 KB per page.

Saving changes

Don’t forget to save any changes you make, otherwise the site will not be updated. Most CMS have an option to save any editing so far but to leave the page open for more, usually called “Apply” and another that saves and closes the page in one operation. When the page is saved you normally get a notification that the database has been updated so you know it is OK.

About the author
D. J. Millard is a Microsoft Certified Trainer based in the UK. He holds a degree in Education and is a college tutor in the south of England. He is also a web developer and publisher, and the Managing Director of Netresult Training http://www.netresulttraining.com

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