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Content management system (CMS)
 One
of the main reasons people revisit a Web site is to look for
updates. It is human nature to be curious and attracted by the
possibility of discovering new things.
On the other hand, one of the main reasons why Web editors (company,
organization, etc.) do so few updates is because they have to
call upon a third party (supplier) which involves various steps,
costs and delays.
This is why more and more Web editors want to move to Web 2.0
and equip their sites with a
content management system
(or CMS) so they can do the updates themselves.
The advantages of a content management system
The CMS is a Web console that works somewhat like Word
and allows multiple users to modify, add or delete texts, images
and even entire sections of a site without having to know any
programming languages.
The console is accessible from any computer by any user with an
access code, thus permitting on-line collaboration and
telecommuting.
In addition, the console can be programmed to let you manage
your mailing list and e-mail your subscribers, include a forum
or a blog, and to up/download documents in PDF, PPT, DOC, etc.
so you can make them available to visitors.
The independence you gain gives you great flexibility and
control over your content so you can make large and small
modifications whenever needed and at little cost.
What a content management system involves
Once a site is finished and the initial content has been set up
by a team of professionals, it is relatively easy for the site
editor to make basic modifications to existing pages. It can be
as simple as copy-pasting a text and replacing one photo with
another. Anyone who has already used Word can do it.
But because Web 2.0 consoles allow you to do so much more, it is
tempting to go further and modify the layout of an existing
page, to create new pages, and even entire sections. This opens
the door wide to total independence and the advantages that come
with it.
To perform these more complex kinds of tasks, you do, however,
need someone (an edimaster) with the requisite experience
and basic training, as well as artistic talent.
People who will be able to access the content management system
must master site folder and file management as well as content
architecture, and must also be able to make the modifications
while preserving the integrity and homogeneity of the site.
The skills and knowledge needed to make full use of a Web 2.0
management console are not therefore as much on the
technical level (like we said before, no knowledge of
programming is required) as on the level of secondary talents
and abilities which are what allow this tool to be used to its
full potential.
For example, everyone knows how to use a hammer and a saw and
can drive in a nail or saw a piece of wood; no major technical
knowledge is required. But give different people a hammer, saw
and wood and ask them to build a table and the finished products
will be of unequal quality, depending on their experience,
knowledge and talents. It is the same thing for using the
advanced options of a 2.0 content management console.
These are not just the prerequisites for using the
particular content management system we use at Nexun
Media; all Web 2.0 content management systems require
basic skills to function at peak, no matter what the competition
and CMS makers say.
Unlike the others, we at Nexun decided to show you what a
management console really involves, because we believe that
this understanding is key to a well thought-out decision on the
scope of operation that the CMS should have (and, consequently,
the knowledge and skills required for that scope), a choice that
will end up as a crowning success.
Content management system examples
A few examples of interactive content management systems produced by the Nexun Media team:
Please visit our portfolio to see more examples
of content management systems.
Nexun Media
335, Saint-Joseph East
Suite 300
Québec, Québec, Canada
G1K 3B4 |
8550, Pie Ix
Suite 193
Montréal, Québec, Canada
H1Z 4G2 |
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