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What is a Content Management System?

A web-based content management system (CMS) is a software application that allows you to develop, administer and control the information and format of your Web pages. A CMS stores all content information (such as text, images, graphics, Flash movies, style sheets) in a central database.

A CMS program only has to be installed once on the server of your service provider. All operations thereafter are performed through a standard Web browser. There is no need for you to install any additional software on your local terminal.

The architecture of most systems reflects the philosophy of separating content and layout. Your web content (text, images, etc.) is stored in a database; the layout and style of your web pages is controlled by style sheets and templates.

 

Ending the maintenance nightmare

If you have a website, you know that keeping it up to date is a primary goal. Unfortunately, with most static sites, you have to rely on web resources — internal or external — every time you want to correct a typo, change a date, add a press release, or highlight an upcoming event. Web resources quickly become a bottleneck as low-end tactical changes compete for priority with high-end application and web development.

It doesn't have to be this way.

Creative-Ops builds robust Content Management Systems, which let anyone you designate edit all the website pages easily and quickly via a browser. In fact, it's just as easy as making changes to a word processing document. A word processor-like menu at the top of each page facilitates the editing process. The system also allows for quick and easy generation of new pages within the site and control over the ordering of the menus.

If you don't need a website redesign, Creative-Ops can still add Content Management capabilities to your existing site and end this maintenance nightmare. Then you can have your own staff edit your site quickly, revising pages, adding text, adding images, adding links, and uploading files and images, all while maintaining the site's look and feel.

Because all of your content is stored in a database, the HTML-coded web page itself does not have to be edited if the content has to be changed. An editor only has to change the database entry using a simple WYSIWYG interface and then re-save the corresponding page. In addition, the content stored in the database can be rapidly searched (and modified) or used in other ways (for example, as a central data repository). Moreover, the database runs primarily in the background, and once installed, its operation is transparent to the user.

About templates and web page layout

A CMS works with templates, (although this isn't the same concept as the generic templates for websites that you can purchase). CMS templates are more like style sheets, in that they make certain that the look and feel of your site is maintained. Templates impose a consistent format upon your Web site, and permit only certain areas of the page to be edited.

 

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