CMS, Digital Library, Podcast

What is a CMS and why is it needed?

Written by Pratham Yogendra
Posted on - 5 min read

In the simplest of terms, a Content Management System (CMS) is a dashboard that helps to manage and distribute content on a website.
It runs in the back end and allows you to manage the contents displayed on your website in the front end.
You could manage the pages, publish/unpublish & schedule blogs. In addition, it makes it easy to change the theme of your website.

Why does a CMS matter?

 

Think of it this way; you visit your favorite blog, say https://www.nexgi.com/blogs. Here, the content you read on the website is published daily.

And we schedule a few posts before their publishing time.

Now, this scheduling is only possible due to the use of a CMS.

And, speaking of the visual overhauls you usually notice on a website, it would take us at least a year to change all the pages individually. But, with the CMS in play, all it takes us is to create a specific template for a particular purpose.

For instance, for a static page, the developers need to develop a single template, which they can use for every static page created on the website.

And, for a dynamic page such as a blog, a single framework allows us to publish multiple blog pages in the same format.

Thus, the use of a CMS is essential as:

1. Reduces the workload by ten folds.

2. It Makes it easier to deploy and manage pages.

3. It allows us to specify a perfect framework for every page type.

4. Post and schedule content as per the requirement.

How does a CMS work?

 

Content Management works in the back-end. And in a few cases, it integrates with your hosting service plan to manage and push visual content on your website directly.

To understand how it integrates with your hosting service, we’d recommend that you read/listen to Hosting plans for Brands: A definitive guide!

It works by allowing you to deliver and manage content on your website quickly. In addition, it will enable you to test different aesthetic frameworks/templates for the content.

Content managemnt system

It works on two fronts:

 

1. Content Delivery:

This phase allows you to specify a default template for a specific category of pages.
Who will use this default template every time a new page of the required category is published.
For example, you could test & deploy a template for your website’s “your services” category.
Now, whenever you expand your business and add a new service category, the CMS would only ask you to type the necessary content instead of rewriting the code for the page. And it would use the template and do the work for you.

2. Content Management:

Now that the content has been published, it allows you to make changes to it in real-time.
A few content pages’ relevancy is time-bound, which means that the content (visual or text) on such pages needs to be updated with time to be relevant.
And, in the case of such pages, a CMS allows you to make the change and updates the changes on the same template in real-time.
In addition, it allows you to manage the outreach of the content. The SEO Tools and the analytics page in content management will enable you to optimize the page to rank on the search engine.
And the analytics page will give you a brief description of how the page is performing. It provides an insight into the number of visits, bounce rate, and user interactions to make informed decisions.

What are the types of CMS?

 

1. Headless CMS:

 

A headless Content Management System is a format-free content management system, which means that instead of pushing the content through a single-fixed front-end template, it goes down the content through a flexible API.

This flexible API adapts according to the device/platform and makes it easier for users to consume the content, no matter their device.

Medium and large companies pushing down content through multiple channels use this form of CMS.

2. Coupled CMS:

It is the most traditional form of CMS. It is used by brands who need a single-phase. What you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) Editor. It allows them to create and edit content using an HTML (or) WYSIWYG Editor.

The content follows the CSS specified for the layout in real-time. 

3. Decoupled CMS:

It is the opposite of a Coupled CMS. Here, the front-end and the back-end are two different operations. This means it simply allows the content creators to publish content in real-time without worrying about how the website visually looks.

It is most useful for small and medium-scale enterprises where the content team only handles the content, and a dedicated web-development team takes web development.

 

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