There’s a new flavor of entrepreneur emerging from the online/offline tumble we are in: the Master of Her Domain. Small business owners who can do just about everything themselves to market via their website. Versus ending up with a static site because changing it through outside vendors is just too slow and costly. This capability is greatly enhanced if your site is built with a Content Management System. And there’s nobody better to talk about (and build) CMS websites for small businesses than Alan Vickers. So, enjoy this post written by Alan and get with him if you want to take the next step with your website. Take it away, AV. . .
Ever heard of a content management system (CMS) website? How about WordPress, Drupal, or Joomla? Maybe not, but you’ve probably visited websites that were designed with these systems—there are millions of them out there. One of the more prominent examples is the WhiteHouse.gov website, which now uses a Drupal CMS.
CMS websites are the latest buzz in the web development industry. I’ve designed several websites “from scratch,” but I probably never will again. There is no reason to. CMS websites are predesigned with complete website code, a database, and hundreds of features that quickly and easily “plug-in” to the website.
Simply put, the main advantages of CMS websites are that they allow you to:
- Manage your own website content. Most CMS websites provide “front-end” editing, or the ability to log on to the website from any browser and use a simple editing screen to enter text, upload images, and much more.
- Easily and inexpensively add features to your website. There are literally thousands of features that have been developed by countless programmers all over the world. Thanks to their efforts, you can quickly set up your website to do things such as set up direct-marketing newsletters, connect to (or create your own) social networkings sites, and integrate sophisticated shopping carts and e-commerce applications.
- Have more flexibility with website design and changes. CMS websites separate the content (text) from the structure (template), so you can easily change your website design or structure without losing important content.
- Keep up with the latest technologies available in the web development community. I know lots of very talented, intelligent “computer geeks,” and none of them know everything there is to know about computers, the Internet, and the global community, all of which drive the evolution of international communication, e-commerce, and, quite frankly, our future on this planet. CMS systems are designed, maintained, and carefully nurtured by a community that understands the direction of global communication and is aggressively blazing the trail for the world to follow. Why would I want to put that kind of responsibility on my shoulders alone?
So there’s no reason to be satisfied with a “static” website when you can have an interactive website at an affordable price. Regardless of the business you’re in, you need an effective online presence to be successful in today’s Internet-based markets.
CMS websites are quickly becoming the most popular option in modern web development, so go ahead and fire your webmaster (you know, the guy who’s always too busy to update your website) and join the CMS community—it’s here to stay and leading the way (please forgive my clichés)
