Content Management Systems (CMS) are getting a lot of exposure at the moment. Find out what they are, and what they are not, and find out how you can get a free CMS.

The web thrives on content. Many search engine optimisation techniques (methods for getting better ranking in search engines) are basically just about writing good content. Content Management Systems allow you to manage the content on your website, without requiring a tech savy web designer to actually put the content online

What a CMS is not.

A CMS is not about making pretty web pages. It is all about information - content and managing it. Content Management Systems cannot change the way a page looks. They only change what a page contains. If you want complete control of every aspect of your web page, you are better off grabbing software like Dreamweaver (US$399), or Nvu (free) and building your website yourself.

Advantages of a CMS

It's website building at the speed of thought. A web designer can be working on the layout of your website, your content editor can be entering in the content required for different pages, and a web developer can be integrating, or building back end systems to bring more functionality to your website all at the same time.

By working on these tasks simultaneously, your website is going to come to life very quickly.

The good news is we don't sell you a content management system. We GIVE it to you. It's free. You can even have it without using our services.

Drupal - our choice of CMS

Drupal is a completely free, open source content management system that many companies (including Playstation, Warner Bros Music, Yahoo!) are using today to provide for their needs. Drupal's many features and add-ons allows it to be used for a variety of website needs; perhaps for marketing, internal communications, informational websites, or for social networking purposes. If a needed feature is not currently available, there is a proven community of developers who can be paid to do the work for you. Drupal's access control system means that it can be easily applied to your organizational structure. Overall, Drupal is a good choice for today's companies of any size because it is free, easy, and incredibly flexible.

Hidden Traps - don't get caught

Many web companies offer their own CMS. Be careful! Some of these content management systems only work on their own servers. If you choose to move to another host, or web company, you may not be able to take the website you paid for with you. Additionally, if your web company disappears, you loose all support, and bug fixes.

In comparison, Drupal has a very large community of developers. It is actively being improved and there are a large number of Drupal developers both in Australia, and worldwide. Drupal is very portable, and can be moved to any hosting server running PHP and MySQL, which is a very common hosting environment.

Finally, with all this free stuff floating around, you might decide you don't need someone to build your website. You can do it yourself. If you do try it yourself, we're here to offer a hand if you get stuck