This free, open source content management system is designed to enable novice users and people who are less technical to build and manage a website. This includes small scale sites and large corporate websites.
It is used by content authors/editors, developers and programmers and is based around a simple package which can be extended as and when needed. This extensibility is a leading feature of this system.
About CMS Made Simple
CMS Made Simple was first released in 2004 and since then has been used by developers in various locations around the world. It was released under the terms of the GNU Public Licence; this means that this community based CMS is available to download, develop and then share with other like minded people.
One of the most attractive features of this CMS is its ease of use and simplicity. As the name says – it enables users with little or no technical skills to create websites with the minimum of fuss and stress. The user is not overwhelmed with numerous features, add-ons and functionality and instead, is able to customise their site as per their requirements.
Characteristics of CMS Made Simple
This system is written in PHP, supported by a MySQL database, and contains a range of features which include a series of customisable templates, WYSIWYG editor and numerous third party extensions.
A particular aspect of this CMS is the fact that it is available as a simple base package which is suitable for novices and non-technical people which also comes with several ‘out of the box’ features such as SEO friendly URLs’
However, there is the option to extend the functionality which is attractive to programmers and developers. The system comes bundled with a few core add-ons such as the WYSIWYG editor, search feature and a news manager but others can be added as and when necessary. Popular extensions include blogs, image galleries and shopping cart systems.
Other features include:
- Easy to install and user friendly, especially for novice users
- Conforms to accessibility standards
- SEO friendly URLs which help improve page rankings
- Robust API which allows unlimited expandability
- Customisable themes
- Integrated help and support plus backup provided by the CMS Made Simple community.
- Ability to integrate other features and add-ons, e.g. blogs
These are the main advantages of this CMS. What appears to be its strongest feature is the ease of use which is mentioned repeatedly in any number of online reviews.
This makes it an ideal choice for new content authors/editors or people without any knowledge of programming or markup languages such as HTML.
Disadvantages of CMS Made Simple
There is a performance issue with this CMS in regard to slow speeds which is a problem for large, corporate websites or sites which receive a high volume of traffic on a daily basis.
This CMS may be a better option for small scale websites.
Other disadvantages include:
- Memory intensive
- Browser is required for editing
Other problems may arise but these vary according to the project. Each project throws up a new set of problems for the CMS to deal with which differ from one project to the next.