What is content management system (CMS)?

General Introduction

CMS stands for Content Management System. Think about what exactly the CMS? How it works? As the name says that CMS allow you to manage content. Manage in a sense to create, edit, and delete digital contents of a certain website. Keep in mind that content is a broad term it could be videos, links, text, pictures/images etc. CMS is basically a software that is used to stores contents and display online when browse that website on internet. It is also known as “Web Engine”, let me explain here with an example. Like Car engine how the car looks alike from the outside, but its engine performs all the functions required by the car user. Such as if he/she wish to move the car. Movement of car is only possible by the help of engine. If he/she wish to switch on music it needs electricity which is generated by the same engine. In case of hot and cold weather, AC and heater work with the help of engine mediated electricity respectively. It is only possible to perform varieties of functions in a car if engine is running in perfect manner. In case of any disturbance in engine, several functions are automatically disturbed. Consequently, this leads to create panic situation for the car user. Similarly, CMS control and manage all digital content of a website that is visible to common reader.

CMS could be sum up in easy words that a digital system uses for content management in such way that provide an opportunity for non-skills administrator to manage digital contents efficiently and present effectively to audience. 

Side of CMS

There are two things which are important to understand before moving forward to start learning of CMS. One is known as Back-end and the other one is known as front-end. Back-end it normally is visible and controlled by the admin while front-end is only the front site of CMS mediated webpage that common visitor sees.

Here few questions that may be arising in your mind for example

1. Why people use CMS?
   • In simple words, publishing online contents need proper management. It is impossible to manage online contents without using proper CMS.
2. How many type of CMS available?
   • There are number of CMS (i.e., WordPress, Joomla, Drupal etc) details post will be published about these different types of CMS.
3. If there are many CMS available which one is the best among these CMSs?
   • Simple answer to such types of questions is people use CMS for their ease, comfort as well as for speed. Use that CMS which provides maximum features among the available CMSs and have friendly use. Consider the following points when choosing a CMS for a new website designing.

Benefits of CMS

CMS can provide you speed, security as well as stability. You can memorize these words. (speed, security, stability) by “3Ss”. It can help you to connect your website to social media.

Features of CMS

Using a friendly CMS for a new website designing it is recommended to check which CMS provides the following features in friendly way.

1. Template. CMS allows you to use different type of Templates. If we think again about car engine, morphologically it does not look good although it role is crucial for all type of car functionality. Similarly, CMS provide us different types of Themes and templates. By changing these themes and templates you can change the look and feel of that website.
2. SEO feature, CMS has usually great built-in feature like Search Engine Optimization. SEO feature can be used to bring on the top all websites (having similar contents) when search in search engine like “google”
3. User Management Tool. Using this feature, you (as an admin of the website) can manage all visitors. The visitors may of different types such as visitor may be reader in case of blog/news websites such as well-known news websites are bbc, cnn, DW and many more. The visitors may be customer in case of e-commerce website such as amazon, ebay, Alibaba etc. The visitors may be students enrolled in some specific education program, offered by e-learning website such as cooursera etc.  Additionally, numbers of physically educational institutes (including schools, colleges, and universities) which provide educations via physical methods i.e., class-based teaching. However, some had already started different e-learning program and number of such types of institutes switch to e-learning method due to COVID-19 pandemic situation. CMS provide you subscription/registration/enrollment features to manage all types of visitors. 
4. Email Management, In parallel, CMS also provides an opportunity to contact your users/audience by sending an automated email. 
5. Support Document Management. File type like html, pdf and so many other types can be easily managed by built-in feature of CMS.
6. Track changes . CMS can also use to track any type of changes (i.e., addition/deletion/substitution of words) made to uploaded file and/or published post. In simple word, CMS can provide you the “editing” functionality to you to apply for your files and posts. 
7. Extension. There is possibility that you may need some unique type of functionality for your website but in by default CMS it would be not present. You don’t need to worry about this. CMS functionality can be further enhanced by using some specific type of software that are commonly known as “plugin”. Just search for right plugin install in your website and get the desired features for your website. Mostly plugin are free available but for some plugins you need to pay some amount.

Cons of CMS

Instead of lot of benefits, CMS also possess some drawback as well. Here in this section, these drawbacks would be briefly overviewed as well as some major concern associated with CMS. But all those who are going to start learning of CMS should not be worried about these concerns. Number of IT, networking and computer experts are working day and night to sort out the best solutions for the facing issues in order to strongly secure CMS.

1. Security risk. Some point makes the CMS unpreferable for common users.  For example, Security risk is one of the main threads. All though CMS are updated to tickle security risk, but they take time. Therefore, still there is a gap for leaking out secret content or stored information to culprits. Therefore, it is recommended/encourage to use latest version of the CMS.  
2. Design Problem. Difficulty in design is another challenge in using CMS.
3. Limitation of functionality. You can also face limitation of functionality when using CMS. Keep in mind that in this section of blog writing I will share tips and tracks to handle all such type of limitations and many other problems.

Some Popular CMS

There are plenty of options for choosing suitable CMSs. Here I am describing some names of the popular CMS that are currently applied to design new websites. Such as BigCommerce, Drupal, Ghost, Magento, Joomala, WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Wix, WooCommerce and so many.

How to check CMS of certain website?

CMS of most of the website can be checked by simply write website URL in the search box of the following links. These links will online check the CMS of the requested website and will display you the name of CMS. Just search in Google “CMS detector”. Google will display a number of CMS detector websites.