what is the use of a cms?

the need for a cms

[pikeporter]

I currently use frontpage to add and edit pages to my website. I'm in the planning stages of redesigning my website to include a database of available properties. Most of the new pages will display some information generated from the database.

What exactly does a cms do? Will it allow me to do anything that frontpage does not? Would including one into my redesign plans be smart? What options besides cms are there?

Thanks,
Pike

[edited by: encyclo at 3:18 am (utc) on Jan. 4, 2007]

[smatts9]

Well CMS is a content management system, manages your content. Instead of going page by page and changing each one a CMS will allow you to edit all at once, making it easy to make site-wide changes easy. Makes it easy to control your site. Check out CMS such as Joomla, Drupal, Typo3(high-learning curve but powerful).

[jtara]

Here's the reader's digest version: a CMS is similar to FrontPage, but runs on the server instead of your computer. The editor runs on the server, and can be used from any browser.

The advantages over a program like FrontPage is that you can access it from anywhere, from any computer that has a browser, and it makes it easy to give multiple people access to edit different parts of the website.

CMSs usually also keep track of changes, so you can easily determine what was changed by who.

This is a greatly simplified explanation, as CMSs typically have additional functionality (often implemented using "plugin" components), in particular, interactive components that just aren't possible using static web pages. (e.g. forums, chat, blogs, databases, etc.) All of these features COULD be implemented on a server using individual software components, but a CMS typically brings all of the features under one roof.

[mack]

The main benefit of a CMS is to make it easier to manage and maintain your site. A CMS allows you to alter your entire site without having to re-build every page. With a cms you have a theme and content. The content is controled by the admin or the users and it is very simple to add delete of modify content using nothing more than a web browser.

it means that people with little or no experience can manage a site or section within a site.

Most cms apps use themes or templates to control the look and feel of the site. You can edit the templates to suit your requirements.

Mack.

[piplio]

CMS allows you to simplify the process to publish your content online.

Make sure you check out some free CMSes out there to get a feel of it.

Read Read + do some installations. :)

[mack]

with regards to testing, check out opensourcecms.com you can test the various free cms applications without the need to install. You can then work out what is suited to your needs.

Mack.

[pikeporter]

Migrating an existing site onto a cms I assume is done all the time. Are there any general thoughts about what to consider when doing so?

Thanks