| A content
management system (CMS) is a system used to manage
the content of a Web site. Content management systems
are deployed primarily for interactive use by a potentially
large number of contributors. For example, the software
for the website Wikipedia is based on a wiki, which is
a particular type of content management system. For the
purposes of this page, Content Management means Web Content
Management. Other related forms of content management
are listed below.
The content managed includes computer
files, image media, audio files, electronic documents
and web content. The idea behind a CMS is to make these
files available inter-office, as well as over the web.
A Content Management System would most often be used
as an archive as well. Many companies use a CMS to store
files in a non-proprietary form. Companies use a CMS
to share files with ease, as most systems use server-based
software, even further broadening file availability.
As shown below, many Content Management Systems include
a feature for Web Content, and some have a feature for
a "workflow process."
"Work flow" is the idea of moving an electronic
document along for either approval, or for adding content.
Some Content Management Systems will easily facilitate
this process with email notification, and automated
routing. This is ideally a collaborative creation of
documents. A CMS facilitates the organization, control,
and publication of a large body of documents and other
content, such as images and multimedia resources.
A web content management system is a content management
system with additional features to ease the tasks required
to publish web content to web sites.
Web content management systems
Web content management systems are often used for storing,
controlling, versioning, and publishing industry-specific
documentation such as news articles, operators' manuals,
technical manuals, sales guides, and marketing brochures.
A content management system may support the following
features:
- Only of documents and multimedia material
- Identification of all key users and their content
management roles
- The ability to assign roles and responsibilities
to different content categories or types.
- Definition of the content work flow tasks, often
coupled with event messaging so that content managers
are alerted to changes in content.
- The ability to track and manage multiple versions
of a single instance of content.
- The ability to publish the content to
a repository to support access to the content. Increasingly,
the repository is an inherent part
of the system, and incorporates enterprise search
and retrieval.
- Some content management systems do allow the textual
aspect of content to be separated to some extent from
formatting. For example the CMS may automatically
set default color, fonts, or layouts.
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