Content management systems (CMS)

Keeping the material on a web site up to date is very important. It helps to ensure you provide the most accurate and persuasive information to current and potential customers. And it can also help improve your search engine rankings.

Whilst we are very happy to handle updates on behalf of our clients, some clients will want the ability to update content themselves whenever they like. This is where a content management system or CMS comes into its own.

Content management system (CMS) for web sites

Some clients require more than simple text and picture editing. Larger web sites can store the articles in a database to enable more options for displaying that content.

Interact can build web sites using a powerful and easy to use content management system (CMS) with these features:

  • organisation of content into a hierarchy of categories
  • virtually unlimited number of articles, stored in a database
  • display of articles is controlled from administration area - for example, how many articles should be displayed on a page
  • can display in blog format - a list of article headlines and click to see the full article
  • search function
  • random picture
  • latest news
  • surveys
  • static and dynamic pages
  • WYSIWYG editing of content
  • upload new photographs
  • set publishing start and end dates for individual articles
  • control the access rights of different user groups and individual users
  • author can write new content
  • editor can write and edit new content
  • publisher controls what gets published on the site
  • users can be required to log in or the site can be open access
  • send emails to users
  • control page titles and header tags to improve search engine rankings

Examples of content managed web sites

Many of the sites I've produced recently have been built using a content management system - here are just a few examples:

  • The Tranquil Otter: content-managed web site for the luxury Lake District lodges at Thurstonfield near Carlisle, Cumbria
  • QICPrint: web site for the Carlisle printing business, built using a CMS
  • Gilsland Spa Hotel: web design using CMS for the hotel at Gilsland near Carlisle, Cumbria
  • Hough Halton & Soal: CMS web design for the Carlisle personal injury solicitor
  • Story Homes: CMS web site for the housebuilder based in Carlisle, Cumbria

Joomla

Joomla is a very popular and powerful content management system. I've had considerable experience building sites with Joomla and it can be worth considering for many web projects, especially if any of these criteria apply:

  • the volume of content on the web site is expected to grow over time
  • there will be sections on the web site like "News", "Blog" or "FAQs" where content may be continually added over a period of time and the display of that material on the web site would benefit from being controlled by a CMS - for example in date order or by categories
  • you want to be able to edit the web site yourself
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