How CMS Online Tools Are Helping In Powering Your Web Presence

The advent of the Internet has changed the world of business. While on one hand it is helping organizations connect with their clients and customers, it has also truly empowered the customers. In the information age consumers research about products and services on the Internet and share experiences with their peers. Amidst such competitiona business websites is in the forefront of your marketing campaign. Web development has also undergone an evolutionary change as Content Management Systems have redefined the way organizations build their websites, publish content and manage it.

What Is A CMS?  
CMS online tools allow you to create and manage a website on the go. In the traditional world of web designing, organizations were solely dependent on people with technical and design skills to create and publish their website. CMS technology has shiftedus from traditional means of web development where websites were coded in HTML and other languages and hosted on a web server. Content Management Systems allow you to access your website from anywhere using any device. The modular architecture allows you to add and remove functionality from your website without having to alter the content or the design.

Solving The Old Business Problem  
If you have had a website for many years you would be finding it difficult to manage tons of pages that have organically grown over time. Tools such as Frontpage or Dreamweaver that you may have used earlier had created a complex maze of content and design that severely restricted your creative freedom when it came to redoing the design and content on the website. This often resultedin dated design and irrelevant content not only to harm your brand image but also opening up opportunities for customers to sue you. Switching to a Content Management System gives you complete control over the design and content of the site. You can add, remove and manage content seamlessly.

Helping New Businesses Develop Online Footprint    
If old businesses are benefitting immensely from Content Management Systems, new businesses aren’t far behind. These tools offer you web design inspiration to create a strong impression in the minds of your target audience. You would be able to create a responsive website from scratch and manage it without any technical knowledge. There are several small business CMS online tools that have been specifically developed to serve the interests of small businesses and individual professionals. They allow you to adopt a DIY approach to web development and take your business and services to the world.

Benefits of Using Content Management Systems

Ø  Design inspirations and ability to DIY we development

Ø  Consistency in design and form

Ø  Flexibility in alteration/addition and higher capacity of growth

Ø  Streamlines scheduling and allows multi-user admin access

Ø  Ease of website management and maintenance

Ø  Faster turnaround time in terms of new pages and sections

Ø  Modular architecture allows easy implementation of features

Ø  Search engine friendliness and higher rankings

Ø  Reduced chances of content duplication

Ø  Better security and easy accessibility

Ø  Reduced creation and maintenance costs 

How Do Content Management Systems Work?          
At the heart of the Content Management Systems are three core functions – creation of content, its management and finally publishing.

# Creation of Content                                
Popular Content Management Systems offers an easy MS Word like environment to create content. These WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) Editors that help you create content complete with images, graphics and other multi-media elements. This self-authoring environment also allows you to manage design and structure of your website without any knowledge of HTML coding or other languages. Many CMSs allow drag-and-drop restructuring that ease the task of designing. This online dashboard can easily be accessed from anywhere allowing you to create content at will. You can easily offer access to different sections of the site to different teams such as products, sales and support teams and let them manage their respective sections within the website.

# Content Management   
The second important role of a Content Management Systems is to facilitate the management of design and content on the website once it has been created. Every CMS creates a repository on your server where every design element and content is stored along with all their attributes. Here you would be able to add, edit and modify any piece of existing content and also keep track of the different versions of the page along with the changes. The inbuilt workflow capabilities of the CMS delegates pre-assigned tasks to different individuals and teams. For instance in news publishing once the news has been created it alerts the editor to take the process forward.  The entire workflow process can be defined by the admin.

# Publishing         
It is the last and important phases of the process where the content that has been created and managed goes live on the Internet or on the Intranet. The publishing tools work in real-time and publication of content is immediately reflected on the site. Depending on your needs you can also publish the content on multiple sites from the same dashboard. The publication of any content can be scheduled to a later time period. Some CMS tools also allow you to publish content by sending an email to a designated address.

How to Choose A CMS Online Tool?               
There are hundreds of Content Management Systems and hence you need to make a choice carefully. There is no ‘one size fits all’ application out there so you must objectively choose a tools that addresses your needs, keeps you ready for the future and offers you value for money. You need to do a thorough background research on these three aspects of the CMS before making a final choice. If you are a small business or a start-up there are a number CMSs that cater to your niche needs. 

The Final Word    
Content Management Systems are the future of web publishing and irrespective of whether you are launching your site or want to add flexibility in site management to your existing one, you must opt for them. They have truly demystified web development and management and have created the opportunity for every organization to create a strong digital footprint.