Static Websites, Static Content

In the early days of websites and webdesign, if (when) there was a need to change, add or modify published information on a clients website we'd get a call (or email) from the client with a markup of proposed changes. Simple stream of workflow, Client to us, us to web.

Dynamic Websites, Fluid Content

The days of static HTML pages has pretty much passed, and that's a good thing. Today, there's a much greater amount of, and need for "fluid content" on the web... Targeted "fresh" information is today's asset, and web-enabled business needs the abilty to keep that content current and relevant. Here's where content management comes in...

Real-World Business uses Content Management

The working model for just about any conventional business with more than one employee already uses a content management structure in real-world, day to day business.

As an example (unless you are a sole proprietor), when your company sells a product or gets an order;

* You get a paper trail upstream from sales * Revisions and approvals are made by you (or lower management) and are passed back downstream to sales and accounting.

Your employees don't physically move walls, change or add doorways or build new additions to the building, they work only with assets, not the physical structure of your business. Employees + Inventory = Yes Employees + Building = No

Same Story, Different Media

Online Content Management works along similar veins by assigning administrative priorities and permissions to all content data available on your website. This structure enables anyone with permission to access, modify and add content to your website within administration guidelines without the need to change global website structure. Content can be anything you currently publish or would like to publish on your website; inventory (catalog/e-store), articles and business information are all considered content assets.

Separation of Church and State

The real strength behind most content management applications isn't the ease of content manipulation but rather, the complete separation of the "content" layer from the "application" layer. In the old days, when we developed a static website, content and interface were assembled together, page by page. Client content (articles, pictures and business information) were designed around navigation menus and the internal structure of the website, therefore, each time we were asked to make a substantial change to the clients content, someone here had to go under the client's hood and change or modify the application layer to reflect the new additions. On some the large sites, changing or adding a menu item or new content section required hand-coding hundreds of pages and took days, sometimes weeks.

Billable yes, cost efficient to client, no... From a design shop standpoint, static content maintenance was not even marginally profitable.

That's where a good content management tool comes in.

By separating all client content from the application layer of the clients website, we now have the ability to make global changes to our clients website in seconds instead of hours or days.

Just Add Water and Stir

There are dozens of exceptional content management applications available on the market today that range from simple Online Journal Tools (Blog Software) to enterprise-capable CRMS (Content Resource Management Software). Most of the popular applications are internet enabled which means the application software needs to be installed on a dedicated intranet or web-server. Once installed, maintenance and editorial changes can be made directly from a secure administration section on your website with no special software needed. Just open up your favorite web-browser on any computer connected to the internet, log in and away you go.
About the Author
Kevin Murray is a managing partner at visual web hosting Visual Web Hosting, a small Florida Web Design and Application development Company the focuses on content managagement solutions for the Arts and Non-Profit Organizations.