Content Management Systems
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When we talk about Content Management Systems (CMS), we are referring to (well basically our environment here is the world wide web) websites that offer an automated way of creating web content, particularly web pages.
In fairly recent times, companies or individuals wanting to have a presence on the web, had to hire the services of a web designer. This web designer would create individual pages for each topic or item that the client wants on their website. Items like: 1) Corporate Profiles 2) Products/Services 3) Contact Information and sometimes 4) a Contact page.
With the development of web scripts like ASP, ASP .NET, JSP, PHP and tons of other technologies capable of creating dynamic content on the web, we now see so many sites that offer free or paid services that provide the user with different ways to upload, create, update, edit and even delete pages.
Anatomy of a CMS
Basically, a blog (short for weB LOG), can also be classified as a CMS. Currently blogs have breathed new meaning to the word "Website". Most companies and individuals now use blogs/CMS that take on many forms. Some of these are open source like WordPress, Drupal and Joomla.
There are also sites that offer free blogs like Blogspot/Blogger, Multiply and so many others.
A Basic CMS would include the following modules (or programs, or components) that help automate the whole process.
a) Index Page - is the main page that displays data from the database.
b) Dashboard/Control Panel - is a module that serves as your gateway to other modules.
c) Post page - module that accepts a user's post/entry
d) Album page - module that provides the user a place to upload photos and create albums
e) Database - is where all the new post/entries are stored for later retrieval.
b) Dashboard/Control Panel - is a module that serves as your gateway to other modules.
c) Post page - module that accepts a user's post/entry
d) Album page - module that provides the user a place to upload photos and create albums
e) Database - is where all the new post/entries are stored for later retrieval.
Once a post or an entry is submitted, the data is then saved to the database. This operation then counts as a single page within the blog/CMS. Each post or entry may include an image or may have an attached album. Albums may also be displayed by themselves in a separate page.
This whole bunch of codes saves the user a whole life of time by minimizing contact time with web designer/developer and file transfers and uploads. The user also saves a lot on consultation fees with their web designer/developer. Not only that, whenever the user needs to update information, all they have to do is to log-in and edit the page content. And upon submitting the edited content, the content on the web page is updated in real-time.
Updated by Alphonse Tan on June 22, 2009 07:50
