What is a Website Content Management System (cms)?

A website builder is software that enablesremove, or change the text and graphics that
someone with no computer programmingserve as the content of the rest of the website.
knowledge and no website design skills to be ableThe website owner uses a username and
to create a website with a look and contentpassword to log in to the administration area (so
tailored just for that person. The heart of anythat no one else can make changes to his or her
website builder is a content management system,website), and then chooses a website page to
or CMS. As a software engineer, I know aboutwork on. To add a paragraph of text, the
the technical details of developing contentwebsite owner simply types text in a text box.
management systems. As the author ofTo add a graphic image, the website owner
numerous programmming books, including severalsimply clicks an Upload button to upload a graphic
books in the "For Dummies" series, I know aboutfile from his or her computer to the website.
describing technical information to non-technicalTo the website owner a CMS appears to be one
people. In this article I'll skip the programmingthing - the pages of the website that act as an
aspects of a CMS and instead provide you withadministration area. There is, though, one other
some basic, generalized information about contentvery important and complex component to the
management systems.CMS - a database. In general terms, a database is
A website can be created without a contentsomething that stores data, or information. A
management system (CMS). In fact, most smallphone book can be considered a database in that
websites don't use a CMS. A website developerit stores information - each entry, or record,
defines a web page by typing the content - theconsists of a person's name, address, and
words that are to appear on the web page - in atelephone number. In computer terms, a database
text file. The developer applies tags - specialis a collection of related information, or records,
sequences of characters - throughout the file tothat are stored electronically. A database allows
provide the desired formatting. The formattingfor the fast storage, retrieval, and updating of the
can be effects such as adding bold or italics toinformation it holds.
text. This non-CMS approach to creating aA CMS stores a website's content - the text and
website is fine and dandy for a very smallgraphics displayed by the pages of the website -
website that is meant to be static. A staticin a database. Every time a visitor to the website
website is one that doesn't change. Once the lookvisits a web page, the visitor's web browser
and content of the site is established, the site isretrieves the proper content for that page from
basically "done." If at a later date the websitethe database, and displays that content on the
owner does want changes to the site, makingpage. If the website owner uses the CMS
those changes can be time-consuming. Theadministration area to make a change to a page,
website owner needs to manually edit the fileswhat he or she is doing is making a change to the
that make up the website pages, typing ininformation in the database. Because every time a
additions and corrections, and making sure thatvisitor arrives at the page the page information
any changes don't negatively affect the layout, orcomes from the database, any visitor to the
look, of the site.page will see the newly changed content.
The purpose of a content management system isTo summarize, a CMS consists of an easy-to-use
to make the initial creation of a website easy, andadministration area that allows for fast, simple
to make future changes and additions to theupdating of a website's content, while hiding the
website easy as well. The CMS consists of antechnical details of how a database stores and
administration area that is a number of pages ofretrieves that content.
the website where the website owner can add,