What is a CMS?

With a Content Management Systeem (CMS) you automize the process of managing, presenting and publishing content for internet and intranet sites but also extranet, database publishing (print), portals, iDTV, etc... An internet site is accessible for everyone through the World Wide Web. An intranet site is an internet technology based upon a communication platform for interal use. It can be compared to the internet in terms of technique and possibilities but it remains within the company. 
The most important characteristic of a CMS is that it realizes a separation between the content itself and the presentation of the content. The lay-out and structure of a site and the presentation of information are in advance determined in patterns and templates with a CMS. The management of a site afterwards only exists out of adding, changing or deleting the content. The CMS ensures that the content is automatically published on the site in the right place and in the right shape. The separation between content and lay-out offers many advantages.  

Advantages

The use of a Content Management Systeem offers many advantages for the management of sites on the internet and intranet. The most important ones are: 

  • With a CMS it is very simple to keep your website up-to-date. Just think of publishing company news, product information, prices, online catalogs, special offeres, etcetera.
  • With a CMS it is easy to control the responsiblities of people (autorisation) who can make changes. You determine who has access to which parts of the website. The chance of 'unauthorized' persons rewrite or delete good content by accident or violate the lay-out and the structure, can be excluded. 
  • With a CMS you can maintain your own websites or intranet without having the technological knowledge of HTML, format codes or certain script languages. You no longer have to depend on your webmaster or automizing department for any changes. Because of this the costs of managing your website can be reduced. 
  • With a CMS you can personalise the information a user sees on your website or intranet. This means that you can just show a user the information of which the user has made clear it belongs to his or her preferences. Also selectively offering information that fits the user's needs is possible. 
  • With a CMS you enlarge the consistency of your website or intranet. The lay-out and structure will remain conform the in advance determined pattern. Because of this it is very easy to give more people the responsibility for managing the website or the intranet. Persons only have access to certains parts by which they are authorized. None of the users have the possibility to apply modifications in lay-out and structure. 
  • With a CMS it is easy to link content and keep it linked even if you move the content. If something changes in the 'chain', the whole chain changes automatically. Links will be maintained and information will be easy to find. You can also go back to former versions and archiving of once published content remains possible. 

Web and Enterprise CMS

There is a difference between Web CMS and Enterprise CMS. With a Web CMS, one refers to the management systems which are developed for the management of web pages on the internet. Enterprise CMS has a broader area of application and integrates all other data sources and technologies within an organisation with the management system.