Joomla Friends » Web Content Management http://www.joomlafriends.org Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:41:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 What Are the Components of a Good and Effective Web Content Management System? http://www.joomlafriends.org/2011/09/what-are-the-components-of-a-good-and-effective-web-content-management-system/ http://www.joomlafriends.org/2011/09/what-are-the-components-of-a-good-and-effective-web-content-management-system/#comments Mon, 26 Sep 2011 14:54:42 +0000 admin http://www.joomlafriends.org/2011/09/what-are-the-components-of-a-good-and-effective-web-content-management-system/


Once the decision has been reached to purchase a web content management system the issue then becomes “What makes a good web content management system?” Should the purchase be based on brand? Can the assumption be made that Microsoft (for example), because of their name and based on the fact that you are running a Microsoft shop, has a content management system that would best fit your needs?

There are four questions that must be a part of the debate. The four questions address:
What your web content management  needs  are versus what the available CMS’ offer How steep the learning curve would be for your  IT department and especially for your non-technical employees who will now be asked to create and publish their own web sites When can you have this system available for use across the enterprise – days? Weeks? Months? Which content management product is most effective in providing a return on investment that is easily quantifiable?Is the web content management system easy to use? Aside from the ROI, the most important question initially has to be “is this system easy to use?”  Chances are that the desire for a content management system is based on a perceived need to take basic website maintenance out of the hands of your IT department and place it into the hands of those who actually create the content. This saves time and money, but those savings will never be realized if the content managers have so much trouble learning how to use the system that it’s never adopted.

An easy to use web content management system will have:
Training and support in the form of easy to read and use documentation, online videos, and cost effective training  provided by the vendor WYSIWG editors that  make creating and editing content as easy as typing a memo in Word or creating a PowerPoint presentation Easily created page templates and the ability to clone existing pages and or templates Automatic versioning  where new versions are created upon update and the content manager can copy or rollback to a  previous version   Pre-built components that allow the content manager to easily create a feature rich user experience with images, audio, video, calendars, news feeds and blogs Globalization features that allow an entire website to be easily translated into the local languageIs the web content management system feature rich? Does the web content management system provide the built in features that your organization is looking for?  Sure, just about every product has the WYSWIG editors and some type of security and a couple of built in nice to have components. When the discussion turns to features here are just a couple of things to look for:
Just how deep does the” granular security model” go? Is it “role-based” and can it be easily integrated into your existing security model? Can it insure that the right people have access to the right content and can work with the content as required by the business?  How many components does the content management system ship with?  And how many components do you have to pay extra for? For example – will your marketing department be able to indulge their penchant for customer surveys at no extra cost whatsoever? Built in navigation components  for easy and fast creation of horizontal and vertical menus, bread crumbs and  even category specific menus  where needed Inclusion of social media type components – blogs, message boards/forums, personalized web pages, photo galleries. Tools that can be used companywide  such as a news release  manager,  or a Frequently Asked Questions component What if you need document management also? Is it  integrated with the web content management  system and a part of this purchase or does this require a whole new set of purchase orders, licensing fees and sales  agreements?Is the web content management system fast to deploy? I have worked on projects which involved a purchased software package, where the system was rolled out over the course of several years.  This is because there is a certain amount of customization required before the application is ready to go “live”.

You do not want this to be the case with your web content management system. Look for a product that doesn’t cost as much to deploy as it did to purchase. You also want something that can easily be installed by your own IT personnel and doesn’t require a manual to accomplish.

Is the web content management system affordable? I love taking cruises and going to certain resorts. Why? Because they are all-inclusive, I pay one price and am fed and pampered for a week, and any additional costs are clearly stated up front. This is  exactly what your web content management choice should be like – all inclusive and any additional costs clearly stated up front.

Do yourself and your organization’s bottom line a favor and get a test drive of the product – not just a demo. Make a list of the features that your organization is looking for in a content management system and the make sure that most (if not all) are included in the base price for the product.  Nothing shoots holes in a pre-calculated ROI like a product that continues to cost money long after the sale has been finalized.
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]]> http://www.joomlafriends.org/2011/09/what-are-the-components-of-a-good-and-effective-web-content-management-system/feed/ 0 Web Content Management System – 7 Benefits http://www.joomlafriends.org/2010/07/web-content-management-system-7-benefits/ http://www.joomlafriends.org/2010/07/web-content-management-system-7-benefits/#comments Mon, 19 Jul 2010 05:51:51 +0000 admin http://www.joomlafriends.org/2010/07/web-content-management-system-7-benefits/


If you just need a small web site with few interactive features and don’t need to make regular updates then a static html web site may be sufficient. If you intend to build a large web site with lots on content that needs to be changed constantly then consider a web content management system (CMS).

CMS Benefits

There are many different types of CMS so your decision will depend on what you want to achieve with your web site. Here are some features to consider when looking for the most suitable CMS for your business.

1. Update Content

A CMS has an admin panel that you access with a user name and password. Within the admin panel you can update and add content automatically across all web pages.

2. Create Online Surveys and Polls

This is built in to the CMS so you can easily collect, store and publish the results.

3. Templates

Templates allow you to separate the design from the content. If you wish to change the design you just use a different template. The new design will change the whole look of your site without altering the content.

4. Author Access

You may want other people beside yourself add content to the web site. You can set up different permissions for each person i.e. one person can just add content; another can have the ability to change the template.

5. Runs on your computer

A CMS contains the files for the front end of the site which is stored on your computer and a database that stores the information. The database runs on a hosted server. Many web hosts already have a number of CMS systems to choose from. You simply install it from the admin panel manager of your web host. Check your web hosting service first before you decide to use them as not all have this feature.

Running the web content management system on your own computer enables you to have more control over your files. You can alter and upload them to your server as needed.

6. RSS Feeds

Really simple syndication or RSS is allows your content to automatically be published to RSS directories. Also visitors can access your content with their feed readers. This will attract lots search engine traffic.

7. Accessibility

A CMS allows you to update the content from anywhere in the world as long as you have internet access. Even if your authors are located in different countries they can all still contribute to your site.

If you have a large site that needs frequent updating by different authors, consider building a web content management system.
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]]> http://www.joomlafriends.org/2010/07/web-content-management-system-7-benefits/feed/ 0 How to Choose the Best Web Content Management Services http://www.joomlafriends.org/2010/04/how-to-choose-the-best-web-content-management-services/ http://www.joomlafriends.org/2010/04/how-to-choose-the-best-web-content-management-services/#comments Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:44:19 +0000 admin http://www.joomlafriends.org/2010/04/how-to-choose-the-best-web-content-management-services/


If you run a firm, even if it’s just a small company, but your website consists of more than a dozen pages, don’t you want to find a way to properly maintain it and update its content? Because there has to be a much better way than to individually coding the content through HTML. Not only is it time consuming, but it also requires a lot of effort to whoever is tasked to do the updates. For this reason, it is important that you choose the best one among the many web content management services that can help you with your online requirements.

What are the things that you should look for in a content management system or CMS? This is the software that a web content firm will be offering to you so you can easily update your web pages, without the need to hire a web developer each time new content has to go online. There are a few factors you should consider and the most common ones are the following:

1. Ease of use

What good is a content management system that is not intuitive and requires too much training for anybody to use it? The whole system has to be easily understandable that someone who is not highly technical in terms of web technologies can easily put up new content on your website.

2. Support

Does the web content management services that you choose offers good support? And for how long? You know that technology gets updated very fast and you surely don’t want to be owning a piece of software or system that is already obsolete two or three years from now. That is why support is highly important.

3. Cost

Definitely price is a major factor. Unless you have unlimited cash or resources, but like most firms, you don’t have that luxury. There are a lot of price points that you can consider that can match your content management requirements. But remember the old saying, you get what you pay for. Just consider this venture as a necessary investment on your part.

4. Compatibility with current web standards

If you are not knowledgeable enough to tackle issues that refer to web standards, then find someone who can help you understand them. This is because you must know if the content management system you will be purchasing strictly adheres to such standards. This is important because it will result to greater website usability and ease of use on your part.

5. Turn over period

You have your deadline. You know that your website’s readers will not tolerate a site that is constantly under repair due to the implementation of a new system from your web content management services firm. You certainly do not want to lose a considerable chunk of your audience. Therefore it is important that you have a clear understanding of when the whole content management system will be fully ready. This is also to give you enough time to fix any bugs in the system should something like those arise.
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