CMS Explanation and How It Affects Your Business Website

A CMS is always crucial whether you are a fresher or have spent some time working on a website project. To make it clear, CMS is a content management system. It is used to help users create, manage and edit your website's content without coding. 

However, deep-dive knowledge is necessary to make the most out of your current CMS. In this article, we will cover all information you need from CMS. We've got everything from what it is to all the benefits it brings. Now, let’s start the journey for you! 

What is Content Management System "CMS"?

A CMS, which stands for Content Management System, is software that lets users create and manage websites without knowing how to code.

A CMS allows you to create, manage, modify, and publish content in an easy-to-use interface. So, instead of coding, you can customize the design and functionality of your website by downloading or purchasing templates and extensions. 

How does a content management system work?   

Let's take a quick look at the WordPress interface to understand how a content management system works. Without a content management system, you'd have to create a static HTML file and upload it to your server (sounds complicated, right?).  A content management system like WordPress lets you create content with an interface similar to Microsoft Word.    

CMS consists of two core parts, CDA (content delivery application) & CMA (content management application). These applications essentially handle all the code, database queries, and infrastructure on the back end, allowing you to focus on the front end of your website.  

For example, instead of starting with a blank HTML page, you could open a content editor, make text bold, add links and CTAs, drag and drop some modules, click some buttons, etc.   

To make other changes to your site, change the permalink structure or install extensions, go to the relevant section of the admin panel. Here's the CMA in action: All these changes are done in an intuitive interface that hides the code from the end user.  Once the changes are complete, the CDA pulls the entered content into the CMA, assembles the code, presents it to the front-end visitor, and saves it. So, for example, you should click the publish button when publishing a new blog post instead of manually uploading the page to the server.

What constitutes a content management system?

 At a more technical common, the content management system consists of two core components:

 * Content Management Application (CMA) - This component allows you to add and conduct content on your website (as described above).

* A Content Delivery Application (CDA) is the back-end action that properly stores and presents content entered into the CMA to visitors.

Combining the two systems makes website maintenance more manageable.

Why you should use CMS?

We've already pointed out some of the benefits of using a CMS, but let's look at how a CMS can impact your setup process, team productivity, and online visibility.

1. No programming skills are required

CMS systems have revolutionized web design by allowing non-developers and users to create websites without coding. Previously, you had to rely on web developers and designers to build your business's online presence. Instead, now you can create and manage content, customize the design of your site, and install extensions to add functionality without coding. (Most platforms also allow you to add custom code for finer control over your site.)

So, even users with limited technical resources and time can create powerful websites for their businesses.

2. User Roles and Privileges

A CMS allows you to cooperate more effectively and securely thanks to built-in (and often customizable) user roles and permissions. This means, for example, that content writers can have all the rights they need to create, publish, and manage content, but they can't remove plugins or significantly change the website's functionality.

Without a CMS, you would have to code complex conditions and checks to create user roles and permissions in JavaScript.

3. Easy collaboration

Multiple users can access and work on her CMS backend at the same time. This means a marketer can create content anytime, an IT professional can implement security protocols, and a developer can add custom code to a theme. They may all be working on the same landing page. In short, a CMS can help improve the workflow and productivity of your entire team.

4. SEO features and extensions

The CMS platform offers built-in features and add-ons that help optimize your website for search engines.

Using built-in or third-party tools, you can:

 * Customize page title and meta description

* Choose an SEO-friendly URL structure

* Create an XML sitemap

* Added image alt text

* Create a 301 redirect

* Include breadcrumb navigation

* Optimize page loading time

Implementing these best practices will improve your chances of ranking on Google and other major search engines.

5. Security Features and Extensions 

The CMS platform also provides built-in features and add-ons to secure your website. Some would even offer dedicated security teams. For an instant, CMS Hub provides a reliable 24/7 security team, enterprise-class web application firewall, SSL, custom CDN, SSO membership, and other out-of-the-box features.

6. Ready-made templates

Most CMS platforms offer ready-made templates that you can use to customize the look and feel of your website quickly.

For example, choosing a responsive template allows you to create a website that looks great on any device without writing much code. Templates save you design time before launching your website and make redesigning your website faster and easier.

7. Blog Features  

Blogging offers many advantages, especially for businesses and content creators. It helps drive traffic to your website, convert traffic into leads, build authority in your specific industry, generate backlinks, and produce long-term results. Even so, creating a blog from scratch is difficult. The main advantage of using a  CMS is that most offer built-in blogging features (or extensions), so you can quickly start creating and publishing blog content and reap the benefits.

8. Content Planning  

Content planning is essential to any editorial strategy. Building a website from scratch allows you to plan your content, but it requires a combination of coding and tools like GitHub.  CMS makes it easy to schedule content with the click of a button. Of course, most platforms let you design more than blog posts. For example, CMS Hub can schedule blog posts, website pages, landing pages, and emails.

9. Accessibility

A CMS platform allows you to access and edit your website on almost any internet-connected device. This is much easier than the alternative of building a website from scratch, which requires using a device connected to the server or connecting remotely.

Also, most CMS systems have a single dashboard or panel where you can access your website's content, design, plugins, settings, etc., all from one place.