Designing Websites with CMS
- By Ade Lewis
- Published 09/15/2011
- Web Design
- Unrated
Popular CMS (Content Management Systems) have revolutionised the web design industry, by providing a way of building websites that avoids having to use hard coding and a platform that is easy to update with new content. These systems are extremely popular with people who want to build a website but have no experience of HTML, CSS and other more complex programming languages which can take a great deal of time to learn and understand. With a CMS there is little need to study web-based coding, the set-up and administration of content management system websites is fairly easy to navigate allowing many people to create their own website with only a little technical knowledge.
Content management systems are a really practical choice for small businesses or those on a tight budget. Because they are easy to use it is possible to build a remarkably professional looking website using a CMS without the need to pay a professional web designer to do the job for you. This provides you with a great deal of control over the appearance and content of your site.
Regularly refreshing the content and information on your site; for instance adding an update about new merchandise or latest news, helps you to retain the interest of your site visitors and can also help to increase the quantity of traffic your site receives. If you decided that you wanted to change the look of your site at a later date, but didn't want to alter the actual content, this is a relatively straightforward process as a CMS has separate structures in place for the design and content elements of a site with can be easily modified.
With a CMS you can effectively manage and store all of the information within your site systematically in designated folders. Access to the information held within these folders is
appropriately restricted. Whilst you are not likely to require assistance with managing the content on your website in its early stages, this assistance will become vital to you later on as your website begins to develop and grow. There is an emphasis on security and sophisticated technology protects websites from hackers and viruses etc.
Content management systems are able to create interactive sites capable of supporting multiple users which allow you to communicate freely and effectively with both clients and visitors through email, instant messaging, social media platforms and forums. This versatility and appeal often leads to a higher number of visitors and subsequently a higher search engine ranking.
Some websites can experience issues with the amount of time it takes for pages to load when they have large quantities of visitors to their website. CMS however have a number of features in place to resolve these types of issues, allowing web pages to load at a faster rate.
Currently the top three most popular content management systems available are: Joomla, Drupal and WordPress. All three of these are open source software which means that you can freely download the software and make modifications as you wish, to suit your requirements.
Joomla is a popular choice with web designers, as it has many features which can be personalised and is designer friendly. It is best suited to individuals with some experience of web building as it can be tricky to integrate the software.
Drupal has advanced features and is sometimes referred to as the 'developers CMS' it is excellent for building more complex websites and more experienced developers are able to modify its code with ease. It can however lack in its design features.
WordPress is commonly considered to be the most straightforward of these three to learn, particularly for beginners with little or no experience.
Content management systems are a really practical choice for small businesses or those on a tight budget. Because they are easy to use it is possible to build a remarkably professional looking website using a CMS without the need to pay a professional web designer to do the job for you. This provides you with a great deal of control over the appearance and content of your site.
Regularly refreshing the content and information on your site; for instance adding an update about new merchandise or latest news, helps you to retain the interest of your site visitors and can also help to increase the quantity of traffic your site receives. If you decided that you wanted to change the look of your site at a later date, but didn't want to alter the actual content, this is a relatively straightforward process as a CMS has separate structures in place for the design and content elements of a site with can be easily modified.
With a CMS you can effectively manage and store all of the information within your site systematically in designated folders. Access to the information held within these folders is
Content management systems are able to create interactive sites capable of supporting multiple users which allow you to communicate freely and effectively with both clients and visitors through email, instant messaging, social media platforms and forums. This versatility and appeal often leads to a higher number of visitors and subsequently a higher search engine ranking.
Some websites can experience issues with the amount of time it takes for pages to load when they have large quantities of visitors to their website. CMS however have a number of features in place to resolve these types of issues, allowing web pages to load at a faster rate.
Currently the top three most popular content management systems available are: Joomla, Drupal and WordPress. All three of these are open source software which means that you can freely download the software and make modifications as you wish, to suit your requirements.
Joomla is a popular choice with web designers, as it has many features which can be personalised and is designer friendly. It is best suited to individuals with some experience of web building as it can be tricky to integrate the software.
Drupal has advanced features and is sometimes referred to as the 'developers CMS' it is excellent for building more complex websites and more experienced developers are able to modify its code with ease. It can however lack in its design features.
WordPress is commonly considered to be the most straightforward of these three to learn, particularly for beginners with little or no experience.
Ade Lewis
Web Design Bristol company Willow Tree Design has created many successful, high ranking websites. We can give you help and advice setting up your new business website. Web Design Somerset.
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