A content management system (CMS) allows publishing, editing, and modifying content as well as site maintenance from a central page. It provides a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based.

Main features

The main features of Content Management Systems depend on the type of the system itself; often, some systems will highlight and/ or offer one or two features only, while other systems are “open-net” systems which attempt to offer all features with some features more predominantly marketed and developed – thereby making them more user-friendly and effective – than others.

The following is a partial list of popular CMS features:

• Allow for a large number of people to share and contribute to stored data;
• Control access to data based on user role (i.e., define information users or user groups can view, edit, publish, etc.);
• Facilitate storage and retrieval of data;
• Control data validity and compliance;
• Reduce duplicate inputs;
• Simplify report writing;
• Improve communication among users.
• Define data as almost anything: documents, movies, texts, pictures, phone numbers, articles etc.

Data types and usage

In a CMS, data can be defined as nearly anything: documents, movies, text, pictures, phone numbers, scientific data, and so forth. CMSs are frequently used for storing, controlling, revising, semantically enriching, and publishing documentation. Serving as a central repository, the CMS increases the version level of new updates to an already existing file. Version control is one of the primary advantages of a CMS.

Enterprise content management systems

An enterprise content management system (ECM) organizes documents, contacts, and records that are related to the organizational processes of an enterprise—i.e., commercial organizations. It serves to manage the enterprise's unstructured information content, rendering the multiplicity of file format and location more manageable. It achieves this goal by streamlining access, eliminating bottlenecks, optimizing security, and maintaining integrity.

Component content management system

In a component content management system (CCMS), content is stored and managed at the sub-document or sub-component level for greater content reuse. CCMS has five main functions:

1. Maintaining Security
2. Managing Objects
3. Managing Servers
4. Managing Auditing
5. Maintaining Reports

Web Content Management System

Web content management (WCM) is a bundled or stand-alone application used to create, manage, store, and deploy content on Web pages. Web content includes text, graphics and photos, video, audio, and code (e.g., for applications) that renders other content or interacts with the user. WCM may also catalog or index content, select or assemble content at runtime, or deliver content to specific visitors in a personalized way, such as in different languages.

See also

Software portal

• List of content management systems
• List of content management frameworks

References

• Dr. Andreas Mauthe; Dr. Peter Thomas (2004). Professional Content Management Systems: Handling Digital Media Assets. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0470855423. http://books.google.com/books?id=9RgicHXGNcYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=content+management+system&hl=en&ei=9HfaTrPEHcObiAKT5bDYCQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CFkQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=content%20management%20system&f=false. 

External links

• Media related to Content management systems at Wikimedia Commons
• Content Management Systems at the Open Directory Project