A CMS is a Content Management System. It is the software behind more than half of all websites and is an intuitive platform that allows you to build, develop and grow your own website.
All websites are built using the coding language Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). This makes it possible to navigate around a website, display the text with headings and other formatting, jump to pages using hyperlinks and enables video and audio files to be opened. To build a website from scratch requires a great deal of coding expertise and knowledge because all the HTML has to be added.
A CMS takes care of all the hard work. They are platforms with pre-built tools to allow you to edit the text and images across the website utilising basic graphical interfaces and avoiding writing any code. Not only can you edit the content on the website, but many CMS platforms will allow to you add brand new pages and posts. This opens up the ability for you to easily maintain your own blog, which is not only great for your visitors but can also boost your position in search engine rankings.
Some CMS examples
You will be familiar with several CMS platforms, and they are the go-to for businesses who want to build and manage their own websites. Many small businesses and start-ups will have a CMS website. WordPress is the most popular, with over 50% of the market share, largely due to its intuitive set up and vast functionality on offer. SquareSpace is another example.
What are the benefits of a CMS?
Apart from allowing you to edit the content on your website fairly easily, Content Management Systems offer several other benefits:
- No coding expertise needed. As previously mentioned, the HTML required to make a website work is pretty complex. But because a CMS has this built in, you can edit your websites content with no knowledge of coding at all.
- Easy and time saving to update. A CMS makes it easy to update your website or add new blogs posts or pages. It is also possible for several people to work on the website at the same time without danger of overwriting each other’s work. And, you don’t need to employ a coding expert to do it for you. This can all save you time and therefore be cost-effective for a business.
- Extra features. Most CMS platforms come with many additional extras that can be added. WordPress especially comes with thousands of these extras available, called plugins. These can allow for something simple like the ability to clone pages, right up to adding a full fledged ecommerce platform.
At EngineRoom, we use WordPress to build our websites. We love the functionality WordPress offers, as well as the adaptability for many different types of business. Plus we know it inside out, so can develop a WordPress website precisely for your needs and customise it to suit your business model. Take a look at some more info about WordPress or give us a call to see how we can help.