| A website builder is software that enables | | | | of the rest of the website. The website owner |
| someone with no computer programming | | | | uses a username and password to log in to the |
| knowledge and no website design skills to be | | | | administration area (so that no one else can |
| able to create a website with a look and | | | | make changes to his or her website), and then |
| content tailored just for that person. The | | | | chooses a website page to work on. To add a |
| heart of any website builder is a content | | | | paragraph of text, the website owner simply |
| management system, or CMS. As a software | | | | types text in a text box. To add a graphic |
| engineer, I know about the technical details | | | | image, the website owner simply clicks an |
| of developing content management systems. As | | | | Upload button to upload a graphic file from |
| the author of numerous programmming books, | | | | his or her computer to the website. |
| including several books in the "For Dummies" | | | | |
| series, I know about describing technical | | | | To the website owner a CMS appears to be one |
| information to non-technical people. In this | | | | thing - the pages of the website that act as |
| article I'll skip the programming aspects of | | | | an administration area. There is, though, one |
| a CMS and instead provide you with some | | | | other very important and complex component to |
| basic, generalized information about content | | | | the CMS - a database. In general terms, a |
| management systems. | | | | database is something that stores data, or |
| | | | information. A phone book can be considered a |
| A website can be created without a content | | | | database in that it stores information - each |
| management system (CMS). In fact, most small | | | | entry, or record, consists of a person's |
| websites don't use a CMS. A website developer | | | | name, address, and telephone number. In |
| defines a web page by typing the content - | | | | computer terms, a database is a collection of |
| the words that are to appear on the web page | | | | related information, or records, that are |
| - in a text file. The developer applies tags | | | | stored electronically. A database allows for |
| - special sequences of characters - | | | | the fast storage, retrieval, and updating of |
| throughout the file to provide the desired | | | | the information it holds. |
| formatting. The formatting can be effects | | | | |
| such as adding bold or italics to text. This | | | | A CMS stores a website's content - the text |
| non-CMS approach to creating a website is | | | | and graphics displayed by the pages of the |
| fine and dandy for a very small website that | | | | website - in a database. Every time a visitor |
| is meant to be static. A static website is | | | | to the website visits a web page, the |
| one that doesn't change. Once the look and | | | | visitor's web browser retrieves the proper |
| content of the site is established, the site | | | | content for that page from the database, and |
| is basically "done." If at a later date the | | | | displays that content on the page. If the |
| website owner does want changes to the site, | | | | website owner uses the CMS administration |
| making those changes can be time-consuming. | | | | area to make a change to a page, what he or |
| The website owner needs to manually edit the | | | | she is doing is making a change to the |
| files that make up the website pages, typing | | | | information in the database. Because every |
| in additions and corrections, and making sure | | | | time a visitor arrives at the page the page |
| that any changes don't negatively affect the | | | | information comes from the database, any |
| layout, or look, of the site. | | | | visitor to the page will see the newly |
| | | | changed content. |
| The purpose of a content management system is | | | | |
| to make the initial creation of a website | | | | To summarize, a CMS consists of an |
| easy, and to make future changes and | | | | easy-to-use administration area that allows |
| additions to the website easy as well. The | | | | for fast, simple updating of a website's |
| CMS consists of an administration area that | | | | content, while hiding the technical details |
| is a number of pages of the website where the | | | | of how a database stores and retrieves that |
| website owner can add, remove, or change the | | | | content. |
| text and graphics that serve as the content | | | | |