CMS Templates: Understanding Content Management Systems
While in the process of seeking out the options available to you when putting together a website, one term that will likely jump to the forefront of the conversation: content management systems (known commonly as CMS). What is a content management system? Well, in short, it is a software solution allowing website owners and/or operators to upload files (both images, content, audio files, etc) to a web template without the use of an HTML editor.
What is the advantage? Well, to use an HTML editor one needs at least a basic understanding of HTML. HTML is the coding language used to structure a particular web template page. What a content management system does, as all good software does, is shortcut the process; acting as a middle-man if you will, to convert your basic instructions into recognizable HTML that web browsers will be able to interpret within the presentation of your website template.
The end-user experience usually involves the dragging and dropping of content into certain prescribed locations in the CMS display screen. For instance, one would take a new article, perhaps written in Microsoft Word or some similar program, and simply input it into a prescribed window. The CMS software then takes this article and re-formats it with HTML so that it can be uploaded to the Web.
Simply solution to a complex problem, right? Yes. This is why content management systems have become so popular over the last few years. After all, the alternative is to have someone on staff at your company, organization, or church, to manage those files via an HTML editor. Many companies, churches, etc, do not have the budget to pay such an IT person. And so content management systems do that work for you. At least to a certain degree.
Ah, what of that last comment? Are there drawbacks to the use of CMS programs? Yes. There are some drawbacks. For one, by definition, a content management system needs to work within certain finite parameters. And as such, these parameters somewhat limit your options. One has to input information into certain prescribed locations on the webpage. If you want to make a structural change, which you could easily do with the use of HTML, your options will certainly be limited with a content management system. In order for a CMS to operate smoothly and efficiently, these limitations must necessarily exist; at least in today’s iterations of content management systems. No doubt better, more sophisticated options will arise in the future.
Besides structural limitations, content management systems also tend to be a little boxy and one dimensional when it comes to the design appeal of web templates. Often this seems to be the case more so than is inherently necessary. And this might just be due to the fact that software programmers are not necessarily designers. This is simply asking to much of one IT person. However, even beyond the skill limits of the programmer, again, a CMS is going to have design limitations, or at least design moderation limitations, because it needs to follow a certain pre-coded structure.
Content management systems began within larger organizations who were publishing large amounts of material to the Web. Take for instance an online periodical. Such an organization is likely to load to the Web dozens of new web pages (representing articles) each and every month. For such an organization, having one pre-formatted way of presenting this material is just “common-sensical”. By definition, a site such as an online newspaper is going to want to follow a similar format each and every time a page is loaded. In such a circumstance, having software ready to convert basic Word files into recognizable HTML versions within a pre-formatted web template just makes sense.
With the advent of server side technology, these content management systems were imported to the Web and therefore available for use among the masses. Blogs are perhaps the best known example of common content management systems. Today anyone and their dog can publish material to the Web via a blog (short for weblog). And how to blogs operate? Well, they work via the server side technology of a massive, sophisticated content management system. The user chooses from amongst a group of pre-formatted web templates – commonly referred to as “themes” within the content management system world, and then simply begins to operate their blog by dragging and dropping new articles, images, etc into the interface of a particular content management system.
Blogs also serve as demonstrations of the limitations represented by CMS published materials. Blogs tend to render information in a vertical, top to bottom format. In such a format new material appears at the top of the page. To view older posts the web user must scroll down the page. Why this vertical organization? Well, it just represents the simplest way to organize the chronology of information. Besides, human beings are pre-conditioned to read from top to bottom. So, to a certain degree, this organizational structure is again, “common-sensical”.
However, what if an individual with a flare for design decides they want their new postings to appear next to their older ones? Or what if they decide they want new post to appear in an unusual format- as an expression of artistic creativity? Well, in such an instance a content management system is going to feel a little barbaric and inflexible. But what can you say, by definition a software program, designed to follow certain finite web template parameters, is going to feel a little inflexible on occasion.
The Open Source movement has been the true champion of the content management system industry. Rather than having to resort to the leasing of expensive, exclusive software, many content management system options are free to use. Joomla!, Mambo, Druapal, and WordPress are just a few of the many examples of popular open-source based content management systems available on the Web. This will explain why you will come across sites that offer Joomla templates, Mambo templtes, WordPress templates, etc. These are all content managed themes working within the infrastructure of these respective open-source software sources.
Of course, even with these server-side software solutions there is some pre-requisite knowledge required; at least in the set-up stage. And here is when paid for services - such as those offered by web templates design companies - can combine with open source CMS options, to provide a simple, effective, comprehensive website solution for the end user. Like we mentioned earlier, these open source developers might not be design gurus. Fear not, once the basic CMS infrastructure is created a template designer can come in and re-work the presentation elements to make something truly beautiful.
The use of CSS has really added to the design possibilities for these CMS templates. Why? Well because CSS (cascading style sheets) move the presentational elements of a webpage, off the page, to an external source. As a result, changes can be made on the externally linked cascading style sheet, without interfering with the PHP or ASP code responsible for the working infrastructure of the CMS system itself. CSS was not created specifically for this reason. It was created in order not to make HTML do the work it was never intended to do- which was simply to render data in tabular format. But as dynamic languages entered the fray, and server-side technologies really became more prominent, CSS served as an able companion in the endeavor.
Therefore, by definition, CMS templates are most often going to be CSS templates. Now this might be a little confusing because, on the other hand, CSS templates aren’t necessarily CMS-based. This is because even static web templates will make use of CSS- because this adheres with the latest standards prescribed by the W3C. Fear not, all you really need to remember is that CMS web templates are formatted in such a way as to keep the design/presentational elements, the user-interface, and the final rendering aspects of a website separate- so that everything functions within nice, neat parameters. And then everyone’s happy: the web browser, the design guru, the web developer, the site owner/operator, and most importantly- the end user.
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