Are you in the middle of setting up your web project, everything is running smoothly and are you now bothered by the countless content management systems? No problem, because we at Projektify explain everything you need to know in this article when it comes to choosing a suitable program. From the definition of the term to the various areas of application and the presentation of the five most common programs to the decision-making for the right content management system, we bring light into the dark.
What is a content management system?
A content management system, or CMS for short, is simply the management of content and content on the web. Since the internet has become indispensable as a presentation platform for companies and entrepreneurs and can even represent a decisive competitive advantage, building a web presence that is supposed to represent more than just a business card can no longer do without a CMS.
With the help of such a program, texts, images and other media content can be developed in the background and published in the front-end as required. Visitors to the site only see the complete content and have no insight into the development process. Since content and layout are not linked in content management systems, the presentation is not influenced by adding ideas. Most content management systems also have the option of being used by several users at the same time, as the distribution of roles and rights management are precisely defined within the system.
Fields of application
The use of content management systems can mainly be divided into three areas:
Web content management
Web content management describes the creation, administration and publishing of website content in the form of texts, images, videos and other media content. A wide range of user and rights management as well as the option of multilingual versions are often indispensable for this.
Social Web Communities
Web communities are characterized by the fact that several users often work together on the creation of content and engage in lively exchange with third parties within their own forums. The aim of web communities is usually to continuously evaluate and optimize their own content through comments and discussions in the forum.
Blogs and News
The creation of blogs and the provision of news are also an important area of application for CM systems. The right content management system must have properties such as categorizations, logical relationships and a comment function. For an individual and high-quality appearance on the web, the decision for the right program also plays an important role here.
The 5 most famous CMS
The choice is often anything but easy. There are countless versions of content management systems on the market. But since costs play a major role for many with their own web project, more and more users are turning to so-called open source solutions. These are free downloadable content management systems with an unlimited useful life. 5 programs in particular are very popular. We would now like to introduce you to these five systems:
WordPress
WordPress has existed for 14 years and has developed into the most popular content management system around the world. Its market share in the one hundred most successful blogs worldwide is a whopping 50 percent.
In Germany alone, the program has around 50,000 users and is not only very popular because of its more than 5,000 different expansion options. WordPress also scores with its easy handling and user-friendly administration. With its structured and clear structure, it is also particularly suitable for beginners. You can find a more detailed description of WordPress here .
JOOMLA
Joomla is one of the most popular CM systems in the United States and saw the light of day in 2005. Internationally, the program’s community has more than half a million members. Joomla is particularly characterized by its numerous plug-ins, some of which can be purchased for free. The high degree of widespread use of the system makes it much easier to familiarize yourself with it, as first-time users can access many explanatory videos and forum descriptions.
Joomla is one of the few CMS that can already be used on tablets and smartphones. The possibility of generating several sub-templates from a main template is also a significant competitive advantage, for example to connect the main company with the subsidiaries in the CMS area.
We still have more articles on Joomla , where you can learn more about the program.
Typo3
Typo3 was created in 2001 in Denmark under the direction of Kasper Skarhoj and is now particularly widespread in Europe. With its 50 different language settings, over 5,000 different plug-ins and a community of around 100,000 members, it is one of the most popular open source solutions in the CMS area.
Typo3 is based on the PHP programming language and has numerous interfaces to common ERP formats. It is particularly characterized by its property that users can manage several domains at the same time. New customers are provided with a starter package that is intended to facilitate the introduction to the system using many examples. Existing customers, however, have access to new installation options for plug-ins and extensions.
Do you like Typo3? Then this way for more information.
DRUPAL
Drupal, which was created with the purpose of enabling the exchange of information on the web for communities, has developed into a real competitor for other common CM systems. The program has been downloadable as an open source solution since 2001. The system has reached almost a million users since its publication and has now expanded to include around 12,000 plug-ins.
With its lean structure, it is strongly geared towards use by groups and communities. As a result, Drupal is ready to use quickly, but lacks some of the other common features. It can stand out in the role and rights management, which makes the creation of multiple domains possible without any problems. Do you want to find out more? For more articles on DRUPAL simply here click.
Contao
Contao, which was first published in 2008, is often traded as the little brother of Typo3. Despite many similarities, the programs differ in some essential points. Contao is mainly represented in the German-speaking area and has a completely different structure than Typo3 in terms of its code base.
It is particularly characterized by its manageability and ease of use. It is particularly suitable for small and medium-sized companies whose web projects are characterized by individual articles and a large number of users. With around a thousand expansion options and a large community, it is in no way inferior to other CMS.
Do you like Cantao? You can find out more here .
Direct comparison
Now you know 5 of the most popular content management systems on the market. But how do you find out which of them suits you and your needs best? To make your decision easier, we have summarized the most important criteria for a good CMS in a table. Here you can easily see how the different programs differ and filter out the right system for you.
| WordPress | Joomla | Typo3 | Drupal | Contao | |
| Installation time and updates | Fast and easy | Fast and easy | Fast and easy | Comparatively difficult as it can only be carried out manually | Quick and easy, partly automatically |
| programming language | PHP | PHP | PHP | PHP | PHP |
| handling
|
Easy and quick to learn | Easy and quick to learn | Easy and quick to learn | Easy and quick to learn | Easy and quick to learn |
| Extensions and plug-ins | Over 5,000 | Over 1,000, but only a little included in the basic package, the rest of them comparatively expensive | Over 5,000 | 12,000 | 1,000 |
| Community
|
Approx. 20 million users (worldwide) | Approx. 500,000 users (worldwide) | 100,000 | 1,000,000 | No exact dates |
| safety
|
medium | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| costs
|
Free (open source) | Free (open source) | Free (open source) | Free (open source) | Free (open source) |
| target group
|
Beginners and budget users | Broad mass with enough budget | Small and medium-sized companies within Germany | Company websites with a high number of users, group or community websites with a lot of content | Small and medium-sized companies with individuality requirements |
Conclusion
As you can see, it is not that easy to choose a CMS. All content management systems have overlapping good and bad properties. Therefore, if you still have not been able to come to a decision, there are different approaches.
In order to find the right CMS, you should make yourself aware of the goals and visions you are aiming for with your web project. Perhaps the number of visitors to your website is still comparatively low at the moment, but you are pursuing the plan to increase this significantly. Then it makes sense to rely on a content management system that can handle high click rates and a lot of content. Looking into the future is particularly worthwhile if you plan to expand. Not all CMS react equally well to use by several users and a wrong choice could result in unnecessary complications.
So take enough time to choose before making a decision. There are many experts online who can help you with this. Sometimes such an investment can have more added value than the resulting budget reduction. After all, opting for the wrong content management system means not only financial losses, but also lost time and unnecessarily strained nerves.
CMS projects with Projektify
Are you curious and want to find out more? Just have a look around our website, here you will find a lot more about the topic of web projects. Perhaps you already know your way around and can imagine buying or even selling your own web project. Projektify can also help you here as a free service provider. To get to our advertisements, just click here .
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