Content Management System (CMS) – Flexible & Dynamic

So, you want to manage a website?

Over the years, the publishing of websites has become more about preservation and upkeep than the single action of just launching a website onto the internet. Of course, the ever-changing nature of the internet is one of the prime reasons many businesses and users are looking to ensure that their website can change with those times.

What Is a Content Management System?

A Content Management System (CMS) allows for the organization of websites through which users can create, edit, and publish content with little-to-no need for an advanced coding degree. The simplicity of these systems makes the process of uploading, writing, and modifying content simple by offering templates that work within the designs of the website. In short, a user can modify content or add pages all without breaking the overall look and feel of the site. This leads to an ever-changing, always up-to-date website that evolves with the business.

One of the cornerstones of a well-thought-out CMS is its ability to embrace a collaborative work environment where multiple team members can monitor and manage web content. This provides flexibility as the website can be managed in a piece-by-piece manner. That is, the assignment of roles (how one team member interacts with the website vs. another) helps to alleviate the need for one person to have to manage all aspects of the website. What’s more, most content management systems have the ability to integrate with third-party systems, which means the website can be managed by targeted teams, each with their own focus:

• Marketing
• Design
• Content Creation
• Hosting Upkeep
• Security
• Development
• Search Engine Optimization

Over the years, clients have sought flexibility with their CMS of choice (WordPress, Sitefinity, Drupal), particularly in the realms of user management and administration. Here, most modern systems do an amazing job of ensuring there are built in (or easily integrated) solutions for flexible user and/or multi-site management. As a business grows, its need for more users and/or more websites managed under a single umbrella can grow as well. The following are just a few solutions often employed with these management systems.

Sitefinity Multi-Site Management and User Management

Being a certified developer with Progress Sitefinity and Sitefinity development solutions, Media Genesis often utilizes this CMS for clients looking for solutions for website management in the .NET or Microsoft Azure space. While Sitefinity boasts a number of user-friendly functionalities, its ability for multi-site management is pivotal for many clients. 

Wondering how to manage multiple websites? 

As stated by Sitefinity:

With multisite management, you can configure different languages for different sites, you can assign permissions per site and per content source. The content of one site can be shared among the other sites. You have the ability to enable or disable, certain modules per site, thus every site can have its own configuration.

You can have different domains for different sites, such as www.mysite.de and www.mysite.pl or you can have sites as subfolders of another site, such as www.mysite.com/de and www.misite.com/pl. You can also have nested folders such as www.mysite.com/support/de.

In addition to this robust multi-site management, its user administration also mirrors that of Drupal, allowing super admin-controlled roles and permissions setup that can be viewed/edited with user grids. All these functionality tools are essential in helping Sitefinity shape a website that can expand its reach both internally (in terms of management) and externally in terms of web presence.

The Interconnectivity of WordPress

What is WordPress? This is another common CMS on the PHP-side of coding. Like Sitefinity, WordPress has also invested a significant number of resources toward the development of multisite management. Basically, a multisite installation with WordPress allows for the creation and management of multiple websites – all housed on a single WordPress dashboard. The advantages and flexibility of this setup – along with WordPress’ ability to define user roles and share plugins and themes across sites, make this solution ideal for those seeking the creation and management of more interconnected websites (corporations and schools especially).

A huge library of WordPress plugins exists to further expand the CMS’s base functionality, and this includes dealing with user management and/or user roles. A common request often revolves around more easily changing or modifying user roles within WordPress. Here, WordPress offers multiple options via highly-rated (tested/trusted) plugins that make role assignments, multi-role capabilities, and customizable roles quite easy to manage and setup. A core requirement is how these tools work and are deployable within multi-site installations.

While the focus on a ‘good’ website is important – that is, how does it look? Who can access it? Is it responsive? – the additional question that needs to be asked is: how can I ensure my website can change and be worked on efficiently for the foreseeable future? While there is no ‘future-proof guarantee’ in the world of the ever-changing web, taking the time to evaluate and validate the right CMS solution for your website now and in the future is key to keeping your web presence growing alongside your business.

Media Genesis has worked with and is proficient in multiple CMS tools and solutions, always aiming to ensure every integration or amplification of your website helps its visibility and ease of management. If you would like to know more about multi-site management or user management or planning for your website, please feel free to reach out.