The rise of open-source content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal has opened the field of website development to people with no coding skills. Companies now have the opportunity to use templated themes to build their websites in no time without writing a single line of code. This shift has made open-source CMS platforms vital tools for businesses looking to solidify their online presence.
Moreover, CMS platforms not only let you build websites in no time, but they also allow you to create, store, and manage your web content more efficiently – be it text, video, or image content.
This article provides a brief guide to effective CMS development services. It also explains the types of websites you can build using a CMS and how to use these platforms to build one.
Let’s start!
What is a Content Management System?
A content management system (CMS) is a software application designed to streamline content management. It helps you create, manage, store, modify, organize, and publish digital content on websites.
What makes content management systems special is that they don’t require any coding or technical expertise to manage digital content. Most CMSs out there offer intuitive UIs that are easy to use, enabling content creators to seamlessly manage the creation, storage, modification, and publication of web content.
It allows content teams to break down silos and improve collaboration, helping the business deliver a consistent brand experience to its online users. Before we discuss the types of websites you can build with WordPress headless CMS and with other CMS, let’s first highlight the leading features of content management systems.
CMS features include:
- Content creation, storage, and modification
- User roles
- Collaboration
- Content publishing
- Pre-designed pages, templates, and themes
- Extensions and plugins
- SEO updates
- Responsive and easy-to-use user interfaces (UI)
- Security updates
- Data analytics and insights
Types of Websites You Can Build With a CMS
Before you go looking for a CMS development company, you will first have to identify what type of website you want to build for your business. Once you have identified your website type, you will have to choose a CMS. We have listed the top 12 CMS in 2024 – go through the list and choose the one that best suits your business needs. The article also explains how to choose a CMS.
Here are the different kinds of websites you can develop using content management systems:
-
Static Websites
Whether your business is large or small, you can utilize CMS platforms to build static websites for your business. Static websites are designed to offer information about a company, its products and services, and contact details and may also provide e-commerce capabilities. A good content management system allows you to build a static website using templates, themes, and other tools.
-
Blogs
Content management systems are the most popular go-to options for developing content-related websites like blogs. In this regard, WordPress, Blogger, and similar CMS provide users with handy tools and intuitive interfaces to create, store, edit, and publish content, empowering experienced as well as novice content creators and bloggers.
-
eCommerce Websites
Leading content management systems offer e-commerce capabilities to their users. This includes themes, features, and various plugins. You can easily build an e-commerce store and sell your products online using WooCommerce, Shopify, or Magento.
-
Forums
You can build an interactive forum using CMS. For example, you can start a forum for discussions related to vintage cars – such a forum is based on user-generated content and serves as a social media network for like-minded individuals – in this case, vintage car enthusiasts. WordPress and Drupal are known for offering seamless forum integrations into websites.
-
Social Networks
Just like forums, you can create a social networking site using popular content management systems like Drupal, BuddyPress, etc. These sites thrive on user-generated content and interaction between users. Content sharing and connection building are also vital elements of social media sites.
-
eLearning Courses
Online education has proliferated in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. You can use learning management system (LMS) plugins with your CMS to deliver course content online. LearnDash is a popular plugin that can be used to create and manage learning content in the digital space.
-
Membership Platforms
You can easily develop membership websites with profound user management capabilities using CMS platforms like WordPress. You can restrict content for certain users and provide a subscription-based model for subscribers.
-
Portfolios
Top CMS platforms offer customizable templates that users can tweak to develop portfolios. You don’t need to know how to code – just upload the content to showcase your work.
CMS Development Services – How to Build a Website Using CMS
Having a website in this digital age is a must for businesses. That’s because the target audience of nearly every industry in the world exists in the digital realm, where it’s much easier to reach them and sell services or products. Online presence helps you earn money, and a website is critical to lend your enterprise credibility in the digital space.
Once you have decided which CMS development services to go with, follow the steps below to build your website with website development services.
-
Buy a Domain Name
The domain name is one of the most important aspects of your website. It conveys the purpose of your website. You should choose an easy-to-understand domain name for your website – it should be short, SEO-friendly, and resonate with your target audience. Keep your brand identity in mind.
-
Select a Website Builder/CMS
The website builder or CMS you select should be based on not only your needs but also your expertise in web design and development. There are several CMS options you can look into to build your website, including WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla. Make sure you do thorough research into the pros and cons of each option before deciding which one to go with.
Popular website builders include Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, and Shopify (for e-commerce).
-
Choose a Hosting Plan
Hosting is also an important element in having a robust online presence. Although every CMS offers an integrated hosting solution, you can choose a provider of your own choice based on factors such as pricing, security tools, uptime performance, and integration options.
-
Select & Customize a Theme/Template
One of the best features of CMS platforms is that they offer pre-designed customizable themes from which you can choose the best CMS. You can customize whichever theme you want to design a website that best communicates its purpose and brand. You can also purchase templates if the free ones aren’t to your liking.
-
Enter General Settings
Set up your CMS website’s general settings regarding SEO, permalink, privacy options, and user roles. These settings are vital for ensuring a robust user experience.
-
Install or Buy Plugins
Plugins and extensions play a critical part in enabling you to deliver the right user experience. From social media integration to e-commerce integration, you can choose the ones that fit your business needs. Although paid and free options are available, opting for paid plugins is advisable due to increased reliability and security during website development.
-
Add Pages
Create a website development roadmap and determine the number of pages you will add to your site. This is an important decision as it impacts the website’s complexity, length, development cost, and development time required. You should carefully add pages that meet your website goals.
-
Upload Content
Once you have customized the website design as per your needs, start uploading content to the various web pages. Web content management systems make this process streamlined and easy to work with by offering niche-specific templates. You can fill in your content in the template using the CMS text editor.
-
Test & Review
After uploading the content, you should test your website and review its performance before making it live. Consider things like appearance, design, and functionality. If everything is as you want it, go ahead and publish it for your audience.
Conclusion
Developing a website using a CMS platform is something a person with little to no technical experience can do, given that they read up on the basics. However, proper CMS website customization requires expert support, especially if you want to create a complex website. Here’s where Xavor steps in.
We have delivered top-notch IT services solutions, including customized CMS development services, for over 27 years. Xavor’s team of software developers and CMS experts work closely with you to identify your requirements and deliver CMS development services that perfectly align with your goals.
Drop us a line at [email protected] for a free consultation session with our enterprise web presence team.