Businesses cannot function without a content management system (CMS) in place. It lies at the very heart of all well-managed business processes and needs to be integrated into a business website to ensure data management and control.
What is CMS?
CMS is essentially a coming together of various procedures, whose primary goal is workflow management in an environment that facilitates collaboration. CMS is mostly computer based and performs the following functions:
- It enables data contribution and sharing of stored data amongst a large number of people
- Data access is based on user roles
- Facilitates convenient data storage and retrieval
The functions of a CMS can change from one organization to the other depending on their scope and scale of workflow. But, its core concept remains the same, which is making sure that all business data is managed and controlled in an effective and result oriented manner.
Why CMS?
Its functionality apart, why is a CMS important for businesses? The answer lies in the kind of benefits it brings to organizations, irrespective of their size. When it comes to a CMS for a website, a well designed and structured CMS helps edit, modify and update website content easily and quickly. More importantly, it helps in faster decision taking. With a CMS in place, you can not only upload data, but make sure that it is used in a way that helps promote business growth.
Why Open Source CMS?
Now, you can either get a CMS developed from scratch or you could think about going for an open source CMS. The latter is a very good idea for small business websites, because of their affordability. But, being cost effective doesn’t mean they lose out on the performance aspect. Open Source CMS is the kind of system, which makes available ready-to-use modules that only have to be integrated into the website. These modules can be customized to suit the needs and requirements of the business. Its good news for small business as these modules are readily available; can be customized quickly and deployed securely.
Types of Open Source CMS
There are numerous choices available when it comes to open source content management systems. Here are some of the more popularly used systems:
- WordPress - WordPress is web software that is popularly used for the creation of content management systems. The popularity of this platform stems from the fact that it is secure, stable and gives a numbers of customization choices. It’s been around since 2003, so there are thousands of widgets and plug-ins available that can be used to give CMS a boost.
- Drupal - Drupal is one of the most commonly used content management platforms that can be customized in accordance with any business need. The reason why so many small business websites have a Drupal based Content Management System is because of its robustness, flexibility and the fact that constant improvements are occurring on a daily basis.
- Joomla - It’s easy-to-use; has proven extensibility and offers a platform for the creation of a powerful content management system. A large number of developers out there swear by the efficiency of Joomla, which is why it’s an integral part of numerous small business websites.
- TYPO3 CMS - TYPO3 is a CMS solution that assures maximum compatibility and improved longevity for a website. One of the many advantages of this open source system is that it has been specifically developed to cater to the requirements of small and medium businesses. With its detailed user permission system, it has emerged as one of the top choices for designing a website for small businesses.
- Expression Engine - Expression Engines supports each and every website design and is used by developers because of its flexibility, stability and security. It’s been in business for over ten years, which means there is a tremendous amount of support system available for its CMS.
Choosing the right Open Source CMS
The choice depends on your needs and objectives. Either one of the content management systems mentioned above, can do the job for you. But, it’s best that you get an expert developer’s opinion on the matter. There might be a particular feature or functionality that you want, but it might not be available on some of these systems.
Choosing the right open source CMS is in large part also dependant on the experience and expertise of the web development company that you choose to do business with. It’s only a company with a proven track record in the field of designing small business websites on open source platforms that tells you which CMS is your best bet. Not only that, but such companies will also help you optimize the use of the CMS chosen by you.
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