Enter the CMS (Content Management System)

Also known at times as a portal a CMS is an simplified WYSIWYG interface for a myriad of programming languages. Depending on which you use, a CMS may use any conbination of code like PHP, .NET, AJAX, JavaScript and others. Once setup and configured, a user with very little programming knowledge can add and edit the pages with relative ease. If you can use Microsoft Word you can edit your site. Some instances, of course, do require some programming know-how, but there are loads of information on the web regarding the mre challenging tasks.

Even the difficult setup procedures can be achieved through a hosting service's user control panel. Many use Fantastico and it allows easy setup of a CMS or many other programs. In most cases setup only requires a few mouse clicks and the program is installed. It would only require some tweaking and you have a brand spanking new site!

A Content Management System is of a modular design. Whereas the site is divided into module positions. You can add various modules into these positions. Modules will range from a simple chunk of text to RSS Feed display or a login panel. You can even choose which modules will display on certain pages or even which will be seen by which users!

Which One?

Firstly, you must consider if a CMS is right for your site. Sometimes a simple HTML site will do as well- if not better- for your business. Your company may only need a site that needs to have the What/Where/Who.

There are a handful of portals to choose from. Some only work on certain servers. Whether you have a Windows Server or Linux you will have to choose one that will work on your hosting server. This can be answered by your administrator or hosting service control panel. There are plenty of CMS's for both servers. The one we use most is Joomla as it works with either.

Some of these portals are:

• Joomla
• .Net Nuke
• Drupal
• e107
• ...and more!

The other thing to consider is how many extensions are avilable to add. With Joomla being one of the more popular and higher rated portals there are numerous third party extensions that are very powerful. The real task is discovering which extensions play well with the others. Be sure to test out a few of the higher rated ones before you finally decide.

Doing More

As mentioned before, there are a lot of extensions or add-ons out there. Some you must pay for, but many are free or have "Lite" versions that you may use. For Joomla, extensions include modules, plugins and components. These will either add-to, alter or extend the core functions of the CMS. These are what make a Joomla powered site more... well... powerful.

Some extensions we use and like:

• Community Builder
• Acajoom
• AVReloaded
• Modules Anywhere
• JCE Editor
• ...and more!

We Can Do It For You

Even though the use of a CMS is fairly easy the modern small business owner does not have the time to setup, configure, tweak and edit their website. It is what we do. However, if you already have a portal installed and running we can maintain it for you too! But if you are considering having us- or anyone else for that matter- build a CMS for you try it for yourself. Give us a call and we can give some more advice.