Each CMS also provides a web publishing tool that allows one or more users to publish updates live on the Web. The editing component is called the content management application CMA , while the publishing tool is called the content delivery application CDA.
These two components are integrated together in a CMS to streamline the web development process. Content management systems are available as installable applications and web-based user interfaces.
Most people prefer a web interface, since it simplifies the website updating process. Additionally, most web-based CMSes are updated automatically, ensuring all users have the latest tools to manage their content. Some CMS tools are free to use, while others require a monthly fee. Many CMSes provide free basic components, but charge for high-quality templates , web hosting , custom domain names , or other features.
Before deciding on a CMS, it is a good idea to review multiple options so you can choose the one that best fits your website goals. If you would like to reference this page or cite this definition, you can use the green citation links above. The goal of TechTerms. We strive for simplicity and accuracy with every definition we publish. If you have feedback about the CMS definition or would like to suggest a new technical term, please contact us.
Want to learn more tech terms? One way is to do it the way I do for thesitewizard. I write the articles on my computer using a type ofprogram called an editor.
I then save those articles as web pages, that is to say, I format the articles ina special way so that they can be displayed using a web browser the program which you're using to readthis article.
When I'm done, I transfer the article to a special computer on the Internet run by a companycalled a 'web host'. Once I do that, the article is 'live' on the Internet, and can be read by anyonevisiting thesitewizard. Or it can just be a plain text editorlike Notepad that comes with Windows. Yes, I know. The title of the article seems irrelevant to what I'm talking about here, but the contentexplains what a visual web editor is in the course of addressing the question. Don't worry. It's in plain English.
In other words, using this method, you run the editor whether a visual web editor or a plain text editor on yourown computer and create the complete web page on that computer. Only when you're done is the page transferredto your website on the Internet.
Although most people call the programs I mentioned above'web editors', there are some who alsorefer to such software as 'site builders'. I suppose they think that since their editors can be used tobuild websites, they are 'website builders'. This is particularly so of programs that pattern themselves afterdesktop publishing software,such asNetObjects Fusion andSerif WebPlus.
So that I don't get you more confused, let me elaborate a bit, even though I'm going off the track here. In order to makethings easier for people to use, web editors either behave the same way asword processors ie,programs like Microsoft Word or they act as though they aredesktop publishing software programs that people use to create brochures, newsletters, and other sorts of printed publications.
Don't be too worried about the distinction though. Both are just normal web editors that workon your computer and produce web pages. No matter which software you use, you still have to learn how to use it. To get back to the topic, such 'site builders' are really only web editors under another name. You run themon your computer, and when you finish designing your page, you use them to transfer your files to your actual website. The only reason I put this under a separate point is because of the confusing use of the term 'site builder' bysome people to refer to these web editors.
Some web hosts also provide a service which they sometimes advertise as a 'site builder'. To design your website, youtypically have to use your web browser to log into the web host's site and design it directly on their site usingyour browser and no other software.
A web host is just a company thathas computers that are permanently connected to the Internet. When you put your web pages on their computers,everybody on the Internet can view them.
For example, thesitewizard. The difference between using such an online site builder and a standalone web editor is that you don't run any program onyour own computer at all.
The pages are created directly on the web host's computer and are automatically placed on your site. Each web host has a different site builder, and they all work differently with different pre-made designs available for youruse, which you can customise 'customize' if you use adifferent variant of English to a greater or smaller extent.
Realising that some people like to design their website on their own computer before transferring it to the Internet,some web hosts have an 'offline' version of their site builder. You typically have to download the software fromtheir website and install it on your own computer.
Using that program, you can design your site and only transferit to the web host when you're done. Such a site builder does not belong to the same class as the general purpose web editor that I mentionedearlier.
It is tied to a specific web host, and suffers from the same problems I mentioned in my article ononlinesite builders vs standalone web editors. Not only can you not use the site builder when you move toanother web host, there's a chance that you also cannot transfer your web design to a new host as well, sincethe builder may create designs that use elements owned by your web host.
A content management system, usually abbreviated as 'CMS', is basically just a piece of software thatyou install on your web host's computer. That is, instead of installing the program on your own computer,the way you do a web editor, you install it directly on your website.
You then use your browser to loginto your website and use it to add articles, photos, or whatever to your website. I have discussed thepros and consof using a CMS as opposed to a web editor elsewhere, so I will not repeat the points I have alreadymentioned there.
If you're interested, please see that article. In one sense, using a CMS has some superficial similarities to using your web host's online site builder, which is probablywhy the visitor asking me this question was confused. For example, when you use a CMS, you don't needto install any program on your own computer to create and update your website.
You just connect toyour site with your browser and modify it directly. Having said that, there are substantial differences between a CMS and a web host's site builder.
Firstly, with aCMS, you control the software, the visual design of your site, and the end product. You're not tied to your webhost at all. If you ever have to change hosts, you can bring your entire site, lock, stock and barrel, over tothe new web host, much the same way you can when using a standalone web editor.
Secondly, a CMS is typically much morethan a site builder. You can use it to create an online community with it,with visitorsbeing able to create their own accounts, have their own member pages, and so on. On the other hand, CMSes also have their own disadvantages over a web host's site builder. For example,they rarely have the huge range of web design templates that an online site builder has.
However, if you use a CMS platform that is very popular, you can probably find some free template somewhere on theInternet, possibly even directly on the CMS author's own website, that you can adapt. CMSes are also much harder to set up. Youhave to learn how to do things liketransfer filesfrom your computer to your web host's computer, set up a database, and configure the CMS for your site. Once you're through with the initial stages, however, it's probably easier, since you have much greatercontrol over the CMS than an online site builder since the latter is controlled by your web host.
Manypopular CMS programs even have add-on modules that extend the functionality of the CMS, so even if thebasic CMS package doesn't have everything you want, you can often install one or more of these modules to providethe missing feature.
Anyway, if you're looking for CMS software, you can find many listed on thefreecountry. Blogging software are for the most part a subset of CMS software. That is, they are mostly like the CMSsoftware I mentioned above, except that they have fewer features since they are designed primarily for peoplewho just want to blog write short articles.
Nowadays, though, the feature set of somefree blogging softwarehave increased to such an extent that they should probably be considered as fully-fledged CMSes. In other words, you typically have to install the software on your web host's computer the same wayyou do a CMS. All the other advantages and disadvantages of a CMS that I mentioned above apply here as well. Like I said, they're mostly the same thing. Note that I'm talking about the blogging software here.
I'm not talking about theweb hosts that let you blog directly from their site, such as those mentioned on theFree Blogging Web Hostspage. That's an entirely different kettle of fish. Such blogging web hosts not only have thedisadvantages of a freeweb host, they may also have the same issues that I mentioned in relation to the online site builders as well.
And if you don't use your owndomain name for your blog, there's also the problem I discussed in the articleIs itPossible to Create a Website Without Buying a Domain Name? The High Price of 'Free'.
Some of the blogginghosts also impose restrictions on what you can do with your blog. Sometimes, the more you learn, the less you feel you know. I'm sure some of you, at this time, probably feellike giving up the idea of starting a website altogether. And somany unknowns! Everybody feels that way when starting out in a completely new field. It getseasier as you go along. Although there are no hard and fast answers as to which method you should use to create your website, hereare a few pointers that may help you narrow your choices, and hopefully make the decision moremanageable.
The first question you have to ask yourself is whether you will be frequently adding new pages toyour website. Note that I'm not talking about updating the information on an existing page, but adding completelynew pages. For example, if you want to write daily or weekly or monthly or whatever interval articles about thingsyou encounter or experience, you are considered as someone who will be adding new pages to your site on a regular basis. On the other hand, if your website is just a site for you to sell your goods, and you keep a fairly fixedinventory of things to sell, chances are that you won't be adding many new pages on a regular basis toyour site.
Even if you add a new item or two to your online shop, and thus a new page for that item as well,adding new pages is not the norm for your site. In such a case, I consider such a site as being fairly staticin nature.
That is, after the initial creation of your website, the site remains mostly the same with therare addition of a new page. People with sites that rarely have new pages may want to consider creating the entirething in a web editor. Since the creation of your website is a one time affair, and adding new pagesis so infrequent, in my opinion, using a CMS is a bit of an overkill. For such sites, a web editorallows you to get started with your site far easier than using a CMS, since it's easier to customise theappearance of your site with a web editor than with a CMS which often requires you to have some technicalknowledge.
Using a web editor also lets you avoid theoverheadof using a lot of resources on your web host which CMSes tend to do. That is not to say that people who regularly add new pages to their site need to use a CMS orblogging software.
For example, I still use a normal editor to create all the pages on thesitewizard. All I'm saying is thatif you have a site that rarely changes, you may want to consider just using a web editor. The converseis not true. The fact that your site changes frequently doesn't mean that you have to use a CMS.
0コメント