What is a CMS and Do I Need One?

What is a CMS?

A Content Management System (CMS) is software that allows authorized users to login and create, edit, and delete content. This content consists of menus, pages/articles, and modules/widgets. Menus help the visitor navigate through your site, pages/articles are the main content of the site, and modules/widgets can include advertisement, announcements, popular content, etc.

Do I Need a CMS?

Here are a few questions I'll ask a potential client to determine the best software solution for their website:

1. Does your business or organization have frequent changes that your customers or community will receive from your website?
   Examples of these changes include:
   • Announcements, Promotion, Sales, Specials
   • Service Availability
   • Events
2. Would you like the ability to update your website in-house?

Those simple questions help me determine whether a CMS is required for a particular project. If the site is a infrequently updated, brochure website, I'll most likely stay away from the increased overhead of a CMS. While future scalability is a topic to discuss, my experience has been that sites, if done right the first time, rarely switch software solutions.

If you're interested in more information, please contact my Albuquerque web design company