Content Management

What is content management?

A Content Management System (CMS) is an application which makes it easy to create and maintain websites.

Most CMS's contain these type of features:

Separation of content and presentation

By separating these elements it means that you can completely redesign the look of the site without having to re-enter or recreate the existing content.

Easy production of content

An easy to use editing tool means that content creators do not need special knowledge to create the website content. They can write text, add images and other multimedia elements, schedule content and much more. As the content is stored separately from the design, it also means that it is presented on the website with the same consistent design. If you can use a word processor you won't need much training to be up and running.

Common advantages of a CMS:

Decentralized maintenance.
Typically based on a common webbrowser. Edit anywhere, anytime. Bottlenecks removed.
Designed with non-technical content authors in mind.
People with average knowledge of word processing can create the content directly. No HTML knowledge needed.
Configurable access restrictions.
Users are assigned roles and permissions that prevent them from touching content which they are not authorized to change.
Consistency of design is preserved.
Because content is stored separate from design, the content from all authors is presented with the same, consistent design.
Navigation is automatically generated.
Menus are typically generated automatically based on the database content and links will not point to non-existing pages.
Content is stored in a database.
Central storage means that content can be reused in many places on the website and formatted for any device (webbrowser, mobile phone/WAP, PDA, print).
Dynamic content.
Extensions like forums, polls, shopping applications, searching, news management are typically ready-made modules. Good CMS's also allow for truly user defined extensions.
Daily updates.
You don't need to involve a web agency or programmers for every little modification - you are in control of your website.
Cooperation.
Encourages faster updates, generates accountability for authored content (logs) and cooperation between authors.
Content scheduling.
Content publication can often be time-controlled, hidden for previews or require user login with password.

Of course, TYPO3 offers all of these and a lot more. If you need further convincing, why not try our demonstration or find out how TYPO3 can help you.