What is a content management system?

It’s used to create, edit, manage, and publish website content in a consistently organised and templated manner.

You should use a content management system if you’re going to be writing a lot of pages, or if several people want to write pages on the same site, and you want it to have RSS feeds and be searchable.

It’s also excellent if you don’t like coding work.

Once installed, it’s a bit like using a simple word processor to create an article … you just write and publish.

It’s particularly useful if lots of people will have access, some limited and some at administrator level.

I’d recommend it for school, small business and club websites, but would suggest considering a straightforward blog if it’s just you going to be adding articles for the benefit of others.

Alternatively, the IO WordPress installation uses an excellent plugin called Role Manager which adds this functionality to the site.

Why do I need to know about content management systems?

• If you work in journalism – papers/online/TV/radio – the chances are that you will encounter one of these in your working life
• Content management systems are used across the industry now – they allow journalists to contribute their material across different platforms without having to have coding skills
• Most content management systems are similar in terms of the principles they use, so it’s worth being familiar with the basics.

What are you going to do with this information right now?