What is a Content Management System?

All Web Sites are made up of three elements:

• Structure - The skeleton of the site. What is the basic layout? Are there to be menus? Will there be a single block or will the site be in columns?
• Style - Once the structure is decided, what will the overall site look like: colours, themes, types of navigation buttons, etc.
• Content - The words, images and links that will make up the complete site.

The structure is normally developed by a designer, using a program such as DreamWeaver or FrontPage. The style is normally added by using the same programs, but with modern designers increasingly style is applied through Cascading Style Sheets (css). The designer will then add the content supplied by the client.

Once the designer has finished, the Web site is published to a Web server somewhere in the world and everyone should be happy.

If the client wishes to change anything on the site there is a return trip to the designer to make the changes. If the change includes adding or subtracting pages, the resulting cost can be as big as the original for developing the site.

With Content Management the client purchases a product such as Cobra-cms and pays the designer to develop a ‘Skin’, that is a single page, or two different pages, that have all the structure and style built in.

The client can then, with a little basic training, manage and maintain the Site: adding content, changing content, adding pages, removing pages, changing graphics, etc. The menus will change automatically to reflect the changes.

In addition there are facilities such as Search and secure Logins to further enhance the client’s Web Site.

Ballybar Solutions would be pleased to offer a general or specific quotation depending on client requirements. This site is developed using Cobra-cms.

Web Site Management with Cobra-cms

The simple and cost-effective way to construct, administer and maintain a secure Web site.

• Cobra-cms enables organisations to manage their online communicating by simplifying and automating many aspects of web publishing.
• The product enables non-technical people to easily maintain and publish web content. Complex tasks such as maintaining navigation menus and removing outdated content are fully automated.
• Cobra-cms reduces the time and cost to manage your web site or intranet. It also reduces the dependency on highly skilled individuals, putting you back in control.
• Rich-text editor: allows people to edit information using a familiar interface that provides ‘What You See Is What You Get’ editing an without having any knowledge of HTML.
• Microsoft® Office integration: Content can be easily cut & pasted from MS Word and Excel into the content editor.
• A secure membership area can be created.

Process

• Produce a basic Web design (May require a Web Designer - Ballybar Solutions, for example)
• Incorporate a few Cobra-cms controls into the design
• Create all the pages, content and menus automatically in-house.

Contact Ballybar Solutions for more details about Cobra-cms and what it could do for your site.

To see Cobra-cms in action take a look at www.cobra-cms.com