Content Management

The promise

The promise of content management is phenomenal: anybody can update a website. A Content Management System (CMS) is web-based and requires no special software; all it takes is a web browser. Adding a new page to your website is simple: fill out a few fields and enter your content into an editor that bears a striking resemblance to Microsoft Word. Simple.

With great power comes great responsibility

Should a secretary be writing marketing copy or doing design work? Should an exec be performing search engine optimization? If you’ve answered a resounding “No!” to these questions, bless you. Far too many Content Management Systems and web development companies, directly or indirectly, promote these very scary scenarios.

Separation of Content & Design

The gold standard of content management is the separation of content from design. This prevents the person handling content changes from inadvertently wrecking the website design. It also means that a website can be redesigned without touching the content; only the overall site “template” must be changed.

The reality is that content and design can’t always be separated and still maintain easy edit-ability through a CMS. This is especially true with highly stylized pages with precise layouts such as a homepage. In such cases editing raw HTML is sometimes required. Edit-ability must sometimes take a back seat to the greater marketing objectives of the site. But don’t be worry; we’re here to help you out if you get stuck.