In this rapidly evolving digital world, having a strong online presence is essential for businesses, organisations, and individuals alike. But your website is full of content. As your website grows over time, storing and using your data can become unwieldy. This is where a Content Management System (CMS) comes into play.
Whether you’re running a blog, a corporate site, or an e-commerce platform, understanding what a CMS is and how it can benefit you is crucial for making informed decisions about your website. This article should help you get to grips with what it is, and how it can work for you.
What is a CMS?
A Content Management System, or CMS, is software that allows users to create, edit, manage, and publish digital content on your website. Rather than needing to use code to add this content, it is performed via a user-friendly interface. It provides an intuitive interface that simplifies the process of managing your site’s content, from adding new pages and posts to uploading images.
At its core, a CMS separates the content of your website (the blog articles, and the text and images on the pages) from its design. This allows you to update and modify content without altering the underlying structure, layout, or code of your website.
Why You Should Use One
Using a CMS offers several advantages, making it a popular choice for website management:
- Ease of Use: A CMS is designed to be user-friendly, allowing individuals with minimal technical knowledge to manage their site’s content effectively. It means you don’t have to get your hands dirty with the code of your website if you want to add a picture! This will save time, allowing you to focus on running your business.
- Flexibility and Scalability: A CMS allows for easy updates and modifications to the website. This makes it simple to scale your site over time. You can add new pages or update existing content with ease. A CMS also allows you to store certain information in a single, central location. This content can then be spread across the site and displayed in a variety of ways whilst keeping a single, manageable source of truth.
- Cost-Effective: Many CMS platforms are open-source and free to use, which can significantly reduce the cost of website development and maintenance.
- SEO-Friendly: Many CMS platforms come with built-in tools or plugins that help optimise your site for search engines, making it easier to improve your website’s visibility and ranking. However, we would always recommend you refer to your Digital Agency of choice when it comes to SEO as it is a large and complex topic.
- Security: When it comes to online, once secure is not always secure. A well-maintained CMS provides regular updates and patches to address security vulnerabilities, helping to protect your website from potential threats.
What CMS Should I Use?
Choosing the right CMS for your needs depends on various factors, including your technical expertise, the size and complexity of your website, and your specific requirements. Here are some popular CMS options to consider:
- WordPress: As the most widely used CMS, and for good reason! WordPress offers extensive customisation options, a vast library of plugins, and an incredibly supportive community. At Astro Studio, we use WordPress 100% of the time due to its flexibility and customisation options. Despite having a larger learning curve than the others on this list, its raw power becomes invaluable, especially when in the hands of professionals.
- Webflow: For those looking for a decent degree of customisation and a solid basic CMS, Webflow is a great choice. It doesn’t have quite the customisation of WordPress, but if you’re looking for a friendly first step, Webflow is a great place to start.
- Squarespace: With its elegant design templates and user-friendly interface, Squarespace has grown in popularity among creatives and small business owners who look to build their own site. Squarespace’s CMS is the most basic of the three, but if your website is already on Squarespace, it should help you complete the core tasks.
In conclusion, a CMS is an invaluable tool for managing your website’s content effectively and efficiently. However, building a website to work properly with the most popular CMS, WordPress, is not a walk in the park. That’s why all of the websites we build at Astro Studio are built on top of the solid foundation of WordPress, and we adhere to strong principles regarding the separation of data in the underlying CMS. If you’d like to discuss your project with us, feel free to get in touch!