Read up on CMS before you buy.
There are several types of content management tool suites available, and the main decision comes down to what type of online business you run. For example, some content management systems will handle tracking page views and click-through rates to afford you more data on your customer patterns. Others focus on web content management of pages and provide only content and publishing functionality. Yet others, called Enterprise CMS, are set up for large coproations that have thousands upon thousands of pages on their website. A good website to start is http://www.cmswatch.com/ where they offer daily news on CMS as well as content management system reviews.
How to choose your web content management system.
There are several vendors for web content management systems. The best resource to research various content management software side-by-side is at cmswatch.com. Their in-depth coverage of web content management systems is excellent and can guide you in the right direction.
Web content management without going content crazy.
Sometimes, its not having content that is a problem, but the content management. With some sites having thousands of pages and articles published monthly, web content management is essential for running a smooth operation.
Building your site without HTML knowledge.
You don't have to be an expert in HTML to handle your content management needs. Aside from using an HTML editor or WYSIWYG html editors, you can choose to use a web content management system. Employing use of a web content management system will allow you to launch content and products on your website quickly using a template-based system and plugging content in directly from the content management tool interface. Knowing HTML is good, but as an online business entrepreneur, the less time you spend in the code or building your ecommerce web site, the more time you have to devote to running your business and marketing your website.
Content Management Case Studies
Content management advice: The web is filled with CMS resources, most of them selling their own content management system. The best article we've found on web content management and choosing a content management system would be the case study provided by about.com at http://webdesign.about.com/library/weekly/aa021102a.htm. This article explores the use of a CMS in detail with a fictional company and allows the internet business owner to reflect on whether they need content management or not.
About Enterprise-level content management systems.
Enterprise is just another way of saying that the software package you are looking at is good for a large-scale company and can do more than just content management. Generally, an enterprise content management system software can handle tracking of content views, reporting as well as traditional web content management functions involved in publishing.
Putting it all together online with an HTML editor.
While most content mangement folks prefer to use an html editor such as DreamWeaver, Coffee Cup or FrontPage, some die-hard html coders still prefer to use notepad. The general rule is, use the content management software you feel most comfortable with, but understand what the html editor is creating when it spits out the code to you.
Putting it all together online with a WYSWIG HTML editor.
WYSIWYG is an acronym for "What You See is What You Get". In terms of wysiwyg html editors, they allow you to see what you are building in a split-screen rather than just showing you code. This allows you to handle content management without having to launch a web browser with each line of html code.