As business changes, so must your web content. After all, your site exists to communicate to your clients. They need to know whenever you offer a new product, service or sale; when your calendar changes; or when you post a new edition of your newsletter.

One way of making the necessary updates to your website is by sending the changes to your web developer. If your site’s content needs to change quickly and often, this may proof to be an inefficient and costly process.

A better way is to use a Content Management System or CMS. A simple definition is: A tool designed to allow for the creation, modification, organization and removal of information from a website.

What does this really mean? Let’s dig deeper by going over some of the key features of a CMS.

1.  It uses automated templates
A CMS uses already made design templates that can be automatically applied to new and existing content. This means that you can edit content without worrying about altering the look and feel of the site.

2. It provides editable content
A CMS includes simple to use editing tools for creating and editing content. This means that formatting content can become as simple as using any text editor.

3. It includes document management
A CMS allows for the uploading of documents to the web server. This means that you can upload graphics and files for use on your website without having to use special software to communicate with the web server.

4. It has scalable feature sets
Most systems include plug-ins or modules that can be easily installed to extend an existing site’s functionality. This means a site can grow and evolve easily.

These features may give us a better idea of what a Content Management System is and what is does, but we still haven’t touched on the key part of the definition…

… which is…

Although a CMS requires an experienced coder to set up and add features, it is primarily a website maintenance tool for non-technical administrators.

This is really the beauty of a CMS. Anyone can now edit text, upload files, create hyperlinks, and even add pages to a website without knowing any code whatsoever!

In the past, site owners have been dependent on web developers or even on a few internal resources that learned a particular software program to make any changes to their sites. Now, the management of a website has been freed up from the need for technical expertise. It has also been freed up from the web developer’s schedule. Sites can now be updated by anyone on the site owner’s end at any given time.

If you are considering adding a CMS to your site, we offer online demos of our own system from time to time. Email us at thegoldmine@marissaberger.com if you would like to sign up.

You can also read this posting: Why should you consider a CMS?