A few years before, building a website by using HTML/CSS was not a big deal, but these days, there is a whole wreath of Content Management Systems, or CMSes, out there, that are making the jobs of the developers much easier. Many content management systems are difficult to understand and may require suitable programming knowledge of languages such as of PHP.
Criteria for Selecting A Simple CMS:
Every designer wants to use a CMS, which does what is being asked for without getting overly bloated and is simple to use. In selecting such a system, a CMS should be:
- Easy to learn
- Have simple functioning techniques, should not require advanced PHP, and have a simple HTML and CSS language
- Must be easy to use
- Have an intuitive Control Panel
- Have a good documentation and a strong community
The quality options regarding the extensible content management systems is growing more and more with each passing year. Consequently, it is important that the designers must know about these systems and make their work easier.
Top Five Content Management Systems for Designers
Take a moment and look over the list below to know the top five content management options available for every website designer over the web.
1. ExpressionEngine:
One of the most favored systems is this one. ExpressionEngine is said to be one of the best ones for designers due to its simplicity and usability. Here are some of its more benefits:
- This CMS uses its own templating language that is similar to HTML
- With limited template tags, it is easier to understand
- You can create any type of static html template you want, and easily drop it into the system
- Any html template is an ExpressionEngine template
- You can also create a completely static website and have it in ExpressionEngine
- You can easily wrap the template tags around the content you want to allow others to edit or to become dynamic
- The documentation in ExpressionEngine is good. In addition, the community is active and helpful as compared to WordPress or Drupal, and is smaller
- ExpressionEngine offers customer support via the forums
The only complaint about this CMS is that it is not an open source. You have to pay per license of the software.
2. MODX
MODX is the closest open source alternative, which resembles to ExpressionEngine in many ways:
- It completely control your html and CSS templates
- Consists of a similar control panel, called the Manager
MODX also have a lot more intuitive than other CMSes like Drupal. If you have proficiency in HTML and CSS, you can learn this CMS in a few weeks.
3. Concrete5
It is another open source CMS. Although there is no templating in Concrete5, it is easier than the other two CMSes.
It is most efficient in making editing the content for clients super simpler. With this, you can do everything from the front end of the website.
4. WebPop
WebPop is a very different from others and is a cloud based, hosted CMS. To work on this, you have to buy an account and pay a monthly fee where they host the website, the data, and the Control Panel. You have an option of just buying a couple different levels of accounts, instead of paying per website. This option may seem a bit pricy at first, but would actually cost less than individual hosting plans.
WebPop is also the best solution for a freelance company who builds many little static websites. However, there are a few things lacking in WebPop. There is no community or any kind of documentation available.
5. WordPress
WordPress is the most widely known CMS there. It used to be a blogging platform before but worked its way and today you can find most things you will need as a plugin. The reason behind its success is the ease of use and the premium templates it offers.
A few drawbacks of WordPress include its lacking in the CMS department as it does no templating very well as the others mentioned above.
In summation, the above stated top five content management systems will be perfect for the any web design services provider firms or designers and the clients alike. If you want to move your website in the greener pastures, in minimal time, you should apply one of these CMSes to your website.
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