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Simplified Content Management with CMS Made Simple

CMS tools are quickly replacing traditional web design and management utilities.  These software applications are robust and offer far more capabilities than your typical site builder.  Most CMS applications are usually dubbed as “easy to use” but in actuality, that is always up for debate.  Even systems like the world renown Joomla and Drupal especially, can be more than a handful.  You can find yourself in a jam when the community isn’t providing the level of support you need, which is often a harsh reality on the open-source market.  Unlike many others, one CMS that lives up to its name is an intuitive software package called CMS Made Simple.

What is CMS Made Simple?

CMS Made Simple is an open-source content management system that takes the complexity out of the management aspects.  The name says it all.  The platform is easy to install, set up and maintain.  Thanks to a user-friendly interface, managing all of your content is made simple, allowing you to save time by working more efficiently.  CMS Made Simple offers a unique ability that lets you create and run multiple websites while maintaining the content of each one independently.  Instead of spending time wrecking your brain on trying to figure out how the software is supposed to work, you can walk through a short learning curve and get your projects done much faster.  These are a few of many qualities bundled in CMS Made Simple.

Instant Search Engine Appeal

Before deciding on an CMS, it is good idea to research and find out how the software ranks in terms of SEO .  If visibility matters to you, it is important to go with a platform that is capable of generating URLs that appeal to search engines such as Google and Yahoo.  Even the mighty Joomla platform has its shortcomings in this regard.  In order to create your pages in a search engine-friendly manner, you have to install add-on modules, which presents more complexity to the inexperienced user.  CMS Made Simple has you covered from an SEO aspect by enabling the easy creation of search engine-friendly web pages to keep the spiders crawling to your site.  With this CMS, there is no need to install any add-on modules that may or may not work correctly.  This factor alone gives CMS Made Simple a huge advantage over some of the most highly touted open-source programs.

Additional Features and Capabilities

CMS Made Simple offers a fast and simple way to create a content-rich website and effectively manage all of its key components  Although most of the tools you need to integrate blogs, polls, and forums are available by default, this CMS is fully modular and highly extensible.   Aside from search engine friendliness right out of the box, the software also provides a facility for easy user and group management, a nice selection of built-in templates, a file manager, WYSIWYG editor, multi-language support and much more

A Simple CMS Choice

CMS Made Simple is light on server resources and runs efficiently with the support of a MySQL database on any server running PHP.  If you are hunting for open-source content management tools, this is one you definitely want to put on your list.

How to Find a Host for Your CMS

Unless you possess your own servers, you will need a web host in order to run a CMS package like Joomla, Mambo or PHP Nuke.  While most software do not require any fancy features to run smoothly, the actual results all depend on the host.  There are literally thousands of hosting providers out there and matching one up with your CMS needs can be somewhat of a challenge.   This article will provide a few tips to make your search a bit less painless.

Web Hosting Reviews

You need to learn more about different hosting providers before deciding on a service and one of the best ways to start is reading reviews.  There are numerous review sites online but you should be very selective on where you read them.  Some reviews are written by unbiased web hosting experts, some come from affiliates and some of the more unscrupulous hosts have been caught tooting their own horn.  You can get the best insight from a good mix of expert and consumer reviews as opposed to those that are hyping up companies like they can do no wrong.

When going over these hosting reviews, it is advisable to read them carefully and never put too much into one person’s opinion.  For instance, one customer may have had a terrible experience with a particular host while another may state that they are delighted with the service.  Everyone is picky in their own way and pleasing every single customer is simply not impossible.  Because of this, you shouldn’t get too alarmed when running across a few negative reviews.  You should however, start to get a little cautious once the number of negative comments begins to multiply.

Leverage Available Search Tools

Another good way to find a quality CMS hosting solution is to utilize your preferred search engine.  Google and Yahoo are both great tools that will help you move beyond reviews and delve further into the world of content management systems.  With the right search, you will run across sites and communities that can not only help you find a hosting service, but also a CMS that suits your needs.  Although the popular free systems get a lot of the spotlight, there is a lot more out there besides the open-source variety.  Content management is prevalent in many areas and a search engine can put you on the path to a wealth of relative information.

Chat with Prospective Providers

When looking for somewhere to host your CMS, it is never a bad idea to do a little conversing with the hosting provider.  After all, you will need to know what, if any scripts they have available as well as those they support.  There may be limitations that prevent you from running the CMS that delivers the most benefits.  Aside from making sure the host meets all the system requirements, you must also make sure they are able to provide you with a reliable service.  Content management can be a real drag on a server that is slow or constantly going down.

A Worthy CMS Battle: Joomla vs. WordPress

Joomla vs. WordPress has become one of the hottest topics around the web.  In actuality, the comparisons aren’t all that fair because these platforms are designed with different purposes in mind.  WordPress is more of a website engine based on the premise of installing the software, running it and publishing basic content in a fast and easy manner.  Joomla is completely different, built for publishing and managing all types of content.  This gives Joomla many capabilities WordPress lacks.

Distinguishing the Two

A good way to compare the two systems would be to look at the fundamental differences.  With Joomla, you can place ten different menus on a web page in any position or style you like.  Much of this can be done from scratch in a few easy clicks.  Its functionality is ideal for multiple users who have their own roles on the site as well as the administrator who needs to control the whole operation with ease.

If it has to be a user-friendly publishing tool for simple content that only requires one administrator, WordPress is the way to go.  This platform covers the blog scene with more efficiency, which is exactly what is designed to do.  It is very useful for attracting search engine bots with features such as ping and tracks, tag capabilities, and optimized URLs.  Though Joomla can be configured to produce clean URLs, it does take a little more work.  The overall theory is that blogs are search engine friendly and WordPress makes up a good portion of the argument.

WordPress as a CMS

WordPress has many beneficial uses but the results aren’t always that good when using it for larger jobs.  When the page count starts to add up in different categories, you may start to experience management issues  Joomla on the other hand, is made to handle such jobs and does it with relative ease.  If you’re looking to use WordPress for something that was created with a true content management system, you could be in for a rude awakening.  This platform will support a couple of hundred pages and basic content but don’t expect more than that.  Try to over do it and you could find yourself spending time on things that wouldn’t have been an issue with the proper software.

The Last Word

If your goals call for a blog or even a more interactive website, WordPress could be a viable option.  This platform is highly regarded as the most streamlined publishing tool available, allowing you to get online fast with little to no technical knowledge.  Joomla is better for managing a larger amount of more complex content.  In the end, an expert user should be able to make the most of both solutions.  With all the available plugins, WordPress can be extended to the point where you wouldn’t know the site was power by a blogging tool.  If this platform can’t deliver the functionality you need, a genuine CMS such as Joomla makes a great choice.  The key is knowing what you need to get the job done and making the right choice from the start.

Is WordPress Really a CMS?

Blogging is still soaring in the Web 2.0 era and WordPress is easily the most popular engine on the market.  This multipurpose blogging software is used for everything from personal diaries to business applications, helping many achieve online notoriety and even more bring in consistent revenue.  Although WordPress is generally referred to as a weblog publishing tool, some are calling it a CMS.  Do you agree?  We don’t.  And this article will explain why.

In order to determine whether WordPress is a CMS or not, you should first become acquainted with the three main types of content management systems, as outlined below.

Open-source Systems – Software packages like Drupal and Joomla that are becoming more popular for small to medium sized ventures.

Enterprise Systems - Proprietary solutions like Microsoft Content Server.  This type of CMS is geared towards corporate users that require powerful business applications and frequent database interaction.

Home Grown Systems – These systems are developed in-house by webmasters who have specific requirements for content management.

When comparing the WordPress platform to the software in these classifications, it falls short as merely an over-hyped content delivery system.  Though it has a tremendous following and a number of benefits, WordPress doesn’t have what it takes to be called a real CMS.   In fact, it lacks several of the necessary protocols the average CMS provides as standard.  This includes update features, security tools, user permissions and more complex content management functionality.  When considering the all the capabilities it is missing, calling WordPress a CMS may be like unfairly moving it up in weight class.

Should WordPress be a CMS?

Perhaps the real issue should be whether or not WordPress needs to be more like a genuine CMS.  While this software gives you a lot, there are limitations and thus disadvantages.  Ask a fan of Mambo or PHP-Nuke and they will probably tell you that WordPress is highly inferior.

Despite the shortcomings, it still is a very efficient tool and rightly embraced by millions of users around the world.  It can also be a nice alternative to some of the more complex and intimidating content management systems.  For the most part, the user community is happy with the functionality and would probably prefer to keep things as they are.  After all, turning the platform into a true CMS would tamper with a relatively clean code and possibly cause the software to lose some of its natural appeal.  Besides, simplicity and ease of use are two of WordPress’ biggest advantages.

Conclusion

There is no denying the capabilities of WordPress.  The overwhelming enthusiasm the community shares for this platform is certainly warranted.   It is very cost effective and makes and ideal tool for small to medium sized operations and can even move up to a larger scale as well.   Be that as it may, tagging WordPress as a content management system is not inherantly accurate.   In order to earn that title, the software would require a major overhaul which would in turn, cause it to lose so much of the qualities that has made it so popular.

Introducing the phpWebSite CMS

PHP Nuke is responsible for many of today’s popular content management systems and phpWebSite is one of the them.  phpWebSite began in 2001 as a fork of the original PHP Nuke CMS.  It was released as open-source software under the GNU GPL and LGPL (Lesser General Public Licence), free to use, modify and redistribute.  In a very short time, phpWebSite was implemented with functionality that gave the system its own identity apart from PHP Nuke.   phpWebSite is now supported by a large community as well as a number of add-on modules that extend its functionality.

Common Usage

The phpWebSite application is mainly used by community groups and for educational purposes.  While it is available to the public for other uses, the software’s primary focus is serving staff at Appalachian State University.  In fact, phpWebSite was initially designed to make it easier for university staff to create and manage their websites.  Over the years, the system has been greatly enhanced with features you will commonly find in other popular content management systems.

phpWebSite Features and Capabilities

PHP is a fully modular, customizable software package, allowing you to install, modify and update numerous components.  Its customization is extended through a wide variety of themes and HTML templates.  Although phpWebSite extensions typically consist of common features like photo galleries, blogs and bulletin boards, these elements don’t offer the functionality of standalone applications like Coppermine, WordPress and phpBB.  Because many of phpWebSite modules are intended for university users, they tend to lack the features you would find in applications such as Joomla or Drupal.

By default, the phpWebSite CMS offers functionality that makes it useful in many situations.  Some of its major capabilities include:

Content Creation and Management – phpWebSite’s built-in tools allows administrators and users to create, display and manage content on the system.  This includes text, files, images links and other forms of content.

Content Organization and Navigation - With phpWebsite, you can easily organize and present your content in a way that is simple to access and mange.

Communication – phpWebSite is ideal for running a community-based side as the software enables communication through various mediums.  This includes email, internal messaging and data interchange among other methods.

Configuration and Administration – As the website administrator, you have the ability to assign administrative privileges to staff and assign other permissions to users.  phpWebSite allows you to effectively manage every member within the community.

Development – Because phpWebSite is open-source, anyone can write extensions to enhance the software.  The integrated development tools allow you to set permissions for your internal developers to custom build modules for the system.

Presentation – phpWebSite offers a nice mix of pre-designed themes but there are many options for customization.  If you are familiar with CSS stylesheets, you can design and incorporate your own templates.  If not, there are several themes available on the web, ranging from free to premium.

phpWebSite Requirements

The features and user-friendliness of phpWebSite makes it a good choice for an open-source CMS.   In order to get the best out of this software, you will need a server equipped with the Apache web server and PHP programming language.  Though the PostgreSQL is supported, MySQL is recommended.