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One main advantage of using CMS is one will be able to manage

the contents of ones websites without having to deal with

complicated technical tasks. Imagine that you are a very

talented writer but you can't show your writings online just

because you don't have any idea how to write webpages

that consist of HTML tags.

With CMS, a writer only needs to type her works in an editor as

if she does it with a word processor. Then the CMS itself that

will show her works online. It is a great time saver for a

webmaster to create and maintain her website. The installation

process is also very easy since many web hosting services have

offered special features such as Fantastico where a user can

install a CMS with just a few clicks of mouse. The process is

done automatically.

Basically, a web content management system consists of two main

parts, a front-end and a back-end. The back-end is a section

where you can do many administrative tasks such as inserting

and editing articles, giving privileges to some people,

managing the look and feel of your website, and so on. The

front-end refers to what visitors see. It is the face of your

website.

In choosing a CMS, you should know what is the main purpose of

using it. There are CMSs which are intended to build portals.

Other systems are mainly used to build photo gallery, forum,

personal or even corporate websites. Then you need to know what

kind of features they have. For example, Drupal, an open source

CMS, provides a feature where you can gather fresh contents

from other sites by adding the sites' feeds. You can even

filter any items so that you only show the items that contain a

specific keyword.

Usually, a CMS also offers additional modules that will enable

you to use additional features without having to put your

efforts in programming. Just download the module you need and

install it in your hosting server.

Don't forget also to know your own desires and abillities in

modifying a CMS. For instance, Mambo should be sufficient for

you who don't want to deal with some PHP coding. Mambo has

already provided many modules to accomplish specific tasks. It

also offers ready-to-use templates you can choose. On the other

hand Typo3 is the right choice for people who need a very robust

and flexible system.

It is necessary to know that there are so many commercial and

free content management system available. Vignette and FatWire

are the example of two commercial systems while PostNuke,

Drupal and Mambo.are free to use.

And, of course there are other things you should consider for

finding the right CMS. So please do a good and thorough

analysis before deciding which system to use. Choosing the

right Content Management System from the beginning is very

important. Make sure it would best fit your needs.

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