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Content Management Systems have made it easy for the average computer user to manage the content of their website, decreasing the dependency on website professionals (such as myself...
wink wink) for maintenance.
They provide an easy way of storing and indexing information using databases.
All of the coding, such as html and php, is taken of for you giving you more time to focus on creating and uploading content.
In other words, they do all the dirty work.
It gets better.
There are no special restrictions when it comes to the design.
It can be customized as you see fit.
To add the latest event, change the main banner, or publicize your latest promotion or product, all you need is a few minutes.
Some CMSs even have apps for your smartphone so you can even edit content on the go.
They also have practically revolutionized the way news is communicated to the masses across the Internet.
In what way? One word.
Blogs.
Blogs allow users to post an article with minimal effort and great efficiency at a rapid pace.
With blogs, you can have website visitors give feedback through comments, making it easier to gauge what holds their interest.
There are tons of additional features, such as managing forums, directories (ex.
Craigslist), and social networking sites.
OK.
CMSs are great.
They make website maintenance easier and allow for visitor participation.
But which CMS should you use? Well, let's cover the top three open source (free) titans: WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal.
WordPress This would be the most popular one, with vast plugin support.
Plugins allow you to add even more features to your website.
This has to be one of the easiest if not the easiest to use.
The admin panel is so simple that you can just figure it out in a matter of minutes.
That's one of the biggest reasons that it's so popular and is usually the choice for blogs.
But it's not all sunshine and glory with WordPress.
Let's draw up a little scenario.
You found this great plugin that adds animations and interactivity across your site.
All you have to do is install it and having it up and running in a few, right? Wrong.
WordPress can sometimes be a nightmare on the development end.
Even professional web developers have nightmares about WordPress due to its ability to make our lives miserable.
Sometimes the lack of documentation doesn't always make overriding the core functionalities easy.
The more plugins and functionality you add to a WordPress site, you can expect the website performance to seriously suffer.
Drupal Drupal is the crème de la crème when it comes to website development.
If your website is going to be fairly complex, Drupal is your best bet.
Some built in functionalities include forums, blogs, and polls.
Drupal allows you to add modules to your sites that add functionality without requiring you to change the code.
It also has built in features to make your website SEO friendly.
As flexible as Drupal is on the backend, the interface is a never ending maze of submenus and options.
There's a huge learning curve when it comes to navigating the interface and developing for Drupal.
If website development is not your forte, enlist the help of web professionals to bring that feature rich website, based on Drupal to life.
Joomla Joomla is sort of a mixture of the two previously listed CMSs.
It's harder to navigate the menus than in WordPress but easier to use than Drupal.
For tweaking and customizing the look and features of a website, Joomla is easier to work with than WordPress, which is why designers usually prefer it.
It also has great add-ons, such as eCommerce and social networking.
These add-ons are also available for WordPress, but these types of plugins for Joomla are usually more feature rich.
Web designers tend to gravitate towards Joomla because of its usability and flexibility.
Compared to its counterparts, this CMS tends to have more bugs and security issues.
There really isn't an obvious choice when it comes to these three.
If you want to start a basic blog, then WordPress is your go to guy.
If you want to build a website with a CMS as a backbone, yet not have that blog look, Joomla would be more beneficial due to its flexible design framework.
For a website with a complex hierarchy such as large scale forums, social networking websites or eCommerce, Drupal can provide all the tools you need to make that happen.
The real question is...
which CMS platform is best suited for your needs? http://www.
illuvation.
com/blog/2011/01/26/empower-your-business-website-with-a-cms/
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