A content management system is computer software for organizing and facilitating collaborative creation of documents and other content. A content management system is often a web application used for creating and managing websites and web content. Most modern content management systems (CMS) can also be used for storing and publishing documentation such as operators' manuals, technical manuals, sales guides, etc. There are many open source and proprietary CMS solutions available written in many different programming languages, PHP being the most popular at this time.

What is publishing?

In the traditional sense, "publishing" information of any sort was compiled into a single finished form, such as a book or a catalog. So the end product of the publishing process was some kind of publication, which contained its content but was necessarily the single mode of expessing that content. The process of "publishing" consisted, without distinction, of both preparing the content and compiling it into a single, particular format such as "a book."

With a content management system, the act of writing content is separated from the act of publishing it into any particular form or format. Once a particular piece of material has been written, the computer does the work of compiling it into its final deliverable form or forms. A single piece of content may therefore appear in a book, and a catalog, and a magazine article, or any number of electronic formats such as a webpage, ebook or PDF file.

Content management systems routinely provide the means to manage both pieces of content and the various publications in which they appear. Since both content and publications are normally prepared by teams of individuals working together, a complete content management system will provide tools for that collaboration.

Web publishing and Content Management

A web content management system is essentially a way of separating your visual presentation from your actual content — whether that content includes photos, text or product catalogs. This separation allows one to accomplish several key things, including:

• Automated Templating: Create standard visual templates that can be automatically applied to new and existing content, creating one central place to change that look across all content on your site.
• Easily Editable Content: Once your content is separate from the visual presentation of your site, it usually becomes much easier and quicker to edit and manipulate. Most CMS software include WYSIWYG editing tools allowing non-technically trained individuals to easily create and edit content.
• Scalable Feature Sets: Most CMS have plug-ins or modules that can be easily installed to extend your existing site's functionality. For example, if one wanted to add a product catalog or chat functionality to a website, one could easily install a module/plug-in to add that functionality rather than hiring a web developer to hand code that new functionality.
• Web Standards Upgrades: Active CMS solutions usually receive regular updates that include new feature sets and keep the system up to current web standards. These updates are usually designed for easy installation over/on-top of your existing website.
• Community Support: Most active CMS solutions have developer support forums. Since CMS users/developers are beginning from a common base, it's more than likely that developers are encountering the same development challenges and can solve those challenges as a community.
• Lower Cost Maintenance: CMS hosted sites are often easier and cheaper to maintain. Since any CMS powered website would have a community familiar with the tools of that specific CMS, it would be quite easy for a new developer to dive right in and begin updates/maintenance..
• Workflow management: Workflow is the process of creating cycles of sequential and parallel tasks that must be accomplished in your CMS. For example, a user posts a story but it's not published on the website until the editor approves it.

Happy Publishing!

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