Summary of website content management systems
A website content system is used to publish a range of content. These can be simple pages or complex pages sourced from databases, training materials, online manuals, or general business documents. The websites can range from large e-commerce sites, personal blogs, school lessons, to corporate sites. There can be thousands of pages with extensive linkage between pages.
The very first thing you need to do in selecting a website content management system is to ask yourself about your future goals and potential needs. Obviously there can be no single best list of requirements which can cover everybody’s future needs and potential goals. Every organization or person is going to have unique requirements.
A website content management system goes through stages of development. It spans from the initial content creation to the final end user delivery. To simplify the process, stages of the life cycle can be categorized into groups: a) Content creation; b) Content management; c) Publishing; d) Presentation; and e) Contract & business.
Content creation is functionality required by authors who are creating the material that shows up on websites. For a system to be successful, it must be easy to create and maintain content. The core of a system is content management, which is a central repository supported by a range of tools for manipulating and managing the content. Key parameters are version control and archiving, workflow, security, integration with external systems and reporting.
Final pages are created by the publishing engine, using content stored in the repository. Primary elements include stylesheets and page templates. Multiple formats such as html, print, pdf, wa, etc may need to be supported. Larges sites will require personalization and usage statistics.
Content presentation is another important aspect that must not be neglected. The appearance and layout of the web pages will be dependent upon decisions made on this facet. To provide the most value to your users, the page presentation must meet certain criteria. They are as follows: usability, accessibility, cross-browser support, speed, navigation and metadata.
The final requirement, contract and business, relates to the project management and business procedures when the website content management system is being implemented by a third party or vendor. Some of the parameters which need to be addressed are training for using the cms, skills required for running and maintenance, documentation, resource requirements in terms of hardware/software or any specific databases, cost, scalability, etc.
A website content management system is often crucial to the popularity of the website that it helps creates. Millions of dollars may depend on the website in the case of complex enterprise system. Therefore, it is imperative that the website content management system meets the neccessay needs of the website. Addressing the goals and necessities remains the most important task, and all persons involved should perform this job beforehand.
- Robert Taylor
