Web content cms: managing the core of your website
A Web content CMS (Web Content Management System) is the most common category of CMS (Content Management System). Its primary purpose is to enable users, even non-technical ones, to easily create, edit, organize, and publish content specifically for websites. From personal blogs to complex corporate sites, most websites we visit today are powered by some form of web content CMS. Popular examples include WordPress, Joomla, Drupal (Open source CMS), and various proprietary platforms.
The challenge: editor usability vs. developer flexibility
A good web content CMS needs to strike a delicate balance. It must be intuitive enough for content creators (writers, marketers) to easily add and update pages, blog posts, images, etc., often via a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor. Simultaneously, it needs to offer enough flexibility and extensibility for web developers to customize the design (Responsive Web Design), integrate specific functionalities, and ensure optimal performance and security. Finding a CMS that excels at both can be challenging.
Managing diverse content types
Modern websites contain more than just text and images. They might include videos (HTML5 Video), interactive forms, galleries, social media feeds, product data, and more. The CMS needs to be able to handle these diverse content types effectively, either natively or through plugins/extensions. How the CMS structures and relates these different content types impacts the site’s manageability and flexibility.
Search engine optimization (seo) friendliness
Content is king, but it needs to be discoverable. A good web content CMS should have built-in basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO and HTML5) features or integrate easily with SEO tools. This includes the ability to customize title tags, meta descriptions, URLs, image alt tags, generate sitemaps, and manage redirects. A CMS that makes SEO difficult hinders site visibility.
Security and maintenance
Because CMSs power millions of websites, they are a common target for hackers. Security is a major concern. Choosing a CMS with a good security track record, regular updates, and an active community patching vulnerabilities is crucial. Organizations are also responsible for regular maintenance (updating the CMS core, themes, plugins) to ensure security and compatibility.
Brandeploy: supplying consistent brand content for your web cms
Brandeploy works upstream from your web content CMS. While the CMS handles the publishing and presentation of content on the site, Brandeploy ensures the content *created* for publication is on-brand and effective. Use Brandeploy and its content automation platform to generate structured, compliant copy blocks, descriptions, CTAs, and select approved images (centralization and control of brand assets) according to your brand governance platform rules. This structured, approved content can then be easily copied or integrated into your web CMS, ensuring editors publish consistent and visually aligned (solution for maintaining global visual identity) information without needing to worry about brand specifics within the CMS interface itself, whether it uses HTML5 or other tech.
Power your website with high-quality, consistent content. Understand the role of a web content CMS and how to choose the right one. Discover how Brandeploy streamlines the creation of content destined for your CMS. Schedule a demo.
