It is easy to say that a content management system or CMS does exactly as it says on the tin: it stores and manages content.
It is both an effective and efficient way of managing large amounts of content which enables people to make changes as and where necessary.
Content can be created, edited, published, viewed and stored although not necessarily in that order. It can be updated as part of a series of revisions or removed altogether.
This improves communication between users and more importantly, reduces the risk of duplicate content. This is literally, a time saver, for SME’s and large corporations.
But, the simplicity of this definition often creates a great deal of confusion when considering which CMS to use and why. There are numerous products available which are, going by first impressions, are content management systems, but after closer inspection, are somewhat different.
The right CMS for the right job
Basically there are products which appear to be a CMS but do not quite fit the traditional definition of a content management system. The reason for this lies with the definition of the term ‘content’.
So, it is important that you understand about the type of content you wish to manage, the processes you need to do so and the end result/s. This will help you to trawl through the numerous options available to find the right system for you.
The type of content will determine the type of CMS.
Another issue is usability. There are some systems which are easier to use and further develop, mainly due to the efficiency of the software.
This gives them an advantage over other similar systems.