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A Content Management System (CMS) is a software system that provides tools designed to allow users with little knowledge of web programming languages to create and manage website content with relative ease. What makes a CMS so desirable is the capability to load basic site information in a browser window and not have to reload it everytime the user selects a new page to view. It uses a database to store page content including text and images with a presentation layer displaying the content to website visitors based on a set of templates.
Think of your website like it were a play and each page of your site is like a new scene in your play. Using a CMS, each time the scene changes you only need to move the image boards, the actors, and the props. What you don't have to do is stop and re-build the stage, the surrounding frame, or the main background. Think how long it would take to get through a night of Hamlet if this were the case!
In a traditional HTML static site the entire site is reloaded every time a page changes which is analogous to rebuilding the stage with each scene. From a developer's point of view this requires additional time writing code which results in increased cost. Having a static site also means that unless you have the right software and skills, even the most minor website changes are going to need to be done by the developer. If for whatever reason you and your developer no longer meet eye to eye or you are being charged excessively for minor changes you may have to pay someone else to rebuild your site all over again - not good!
So that our clients can more easily make their site updates without technical help or experience we have chosen to develop the majority of our sites using a content management system called Joomla. To understand our decision a bit of background is in order.
When the World Wide Web was born, creating even the simplest web page required learning the language of the web: HTML. Since then, great strides in the power of web authoring software have been made with professional web editors such as Microsoft FrontPage and Adobe Dreamweaver. Despite these advances, when a website grows beyond a few simple pages, even these advanced editors begin to crack under the pressure. Routine tasks such as adding fresh content, monitoring broken links, and implementing a menu system can make website deployment a full-time job.
Content Management System Overview
To solve these problems, large media publishers turned to a special type of software called a content management system (CMS). The CMS application automated site content management and provided the capability for nontechnical users to make updates to site content with no knowledge of HTML. With the implementation of a CMS, most of the headaches of site management disappear. Features such as a site map and a site search will automatically update without the need for custom programming. Additional features such as shopping carts and picture galleries are either built into the software or widely available as plugins. All of this minimizes the amount of custom development (and the associated expense) required for more traditional website deployment. For large corporations, CMS use grew dramatically during the 1990s but had very large development costs.
The Joomla Content Management System
Joomla is an open source content management system. Joomla came into being during the past several years as the result of a development team formed to distribute information to users, developers, web designers and the community in general. The Joomla CMS has been embraced by a wide spectrum of individuals, corporations, nonprofit organizations, boutique businesses, and public organizations.
Large organizations using Joomla for part or all of their web presence include companies such as: The University of Alabama in Birmingham, Avis, Burger King, Jetstar, Nikon Instruments, Olympus, Porsche, Sprint, and Yamaha. A very large and vibrant Joomla developer community exists and numerous resources are available to draw from to meet almost any website requirement. Over 3,500 add-ons and plugins are available (many of them open source also) which extend the functionality of Joomla. These plugins include image galleries, shopping carts, forums, blogs, project management tools, etc.
Using Joomla allows a very professional site to be created in an affordable manner. Once the site is created, you or your staff will be able to easily make site changes such as updating basic article information, updating products, adding news, and posting announcements without having to be technically skilled.
