| Content Management Systems (CMS) have simplified | | | | usability factor of a content management system |
| the way content is published on websites and | | | | also takes into account the following: |
| intranets these days. A CMS is an easy-to-use tool | | | | - Simple to design layout, publish the content, and |
| that requires minimal technical skills. Any lay-man can | | | | speedy deployment. |
| easily create text and multimedia rich web pages | | | | - The ease with which the CMS can be learned. |
| using content management systems. However, a | | | | - The manner in which the errors are reported and |
| content management system is not just confined to | | | | controlled. |
| designing and publishing web pages. It also allows | | | | - Portability between versions and scalability on |
| maintenance of documents and other content | | | | various platforms. |
| A CMS can also be used for specific purposes like | | | | Apart from easy functionalities, a content |
| document management, knowledge management, | | | | management system should ideally include the |
| website content management, and so on. There are | | | | following features: |
| many content management systems available that | | | | - Customizable templates that can readily applied to |
| are bundled with more or less similar features and are | | | | content. |
| equally effective. Many of these can be tailored for a | | | | - Workflow management and document |
| specific type of working environment and are usually | | | | management. |
| referred to as bespoke content management | | | | - Advanced plug-ins and upgrades that comply to |
| systems. Broadly content management systems can | | | | latest web standards. |
| be classified as enterprise level CMS and Open | | | | - Content virtualization, where a virtual copy of the |
| Source CMS. Enterprise content management | | | | content can be worked on by multiple users. |
| systems have advanced elements like workflow | | | | A bespoke CMS is usually employed in web site |
| management and security features. Open source | | | | content management. It allows the users to renew |
| CMS are free-to-use tools with all the required basic | | | | the content on any page or portion of the website. |
| functionalities. Content management systems also | | | | Bespoke content management systems are best |
| depend on the type of platform used like the | | | | used when there are distinctive requirements like |
| programming language (ASP, PHP, JAVA, and so on) | | | | multi-lingual support, automatic link check, access |
| and the supported databases (MySQL, Oracle, and so | | | | rights depending on the roles, convoluted database |
| on). | | | | systems, and so on. It is useful to have requirements |
| Much of CMS success can be attributed to its | | | | and implementation objectives clearly defined before |
| usability aspect. The ease of use does not | | | | selecting and finalizing a content management |
| necessarily mean how simple it is for the author to | | | | system. |
| get the content published on the web page. The | | | | |