A content management system (CMS) is a software platform used to manage the creation and modification of digital content. There are two types of content management systems: enterprise content management and web content management.
A CMS generally consists of a content management application and a content delivery application. The former is the front-end interface that allows users to add, modify, and remove content from a website with limited expertise, while the latter compiles the content, updating the website. Typically, users would log into the private interface in order to make whatever changes or additions they wish to make. Once done, they would save their work, triggering the content delivery application, creating the new public side of the website, which is what a site would see when visiting the site.
A CMS allows users to make changes their site without the intervention of a webmaster.
The core features of a content management system are indexing, search and retrieval, format management, revision control, and management. The exact features will vary from one system application to another. Typically, intuitive indexing will allow site viewers to search by attributes like publication dates, keywords, or author. Format management features often allow uploaded scanned documents to be displayed as HTML pages or PDF documents. Content can generally be updated and edited after initial publication, while any changes made are tracked. Many CMS products can be integrated into custom or existing websites. Templates are often used to control the overall appearance of aesthetics of the published site.
Depending on the application, other features might include options for SEO-friendly URLs, integrated help systems or discussion boards, full template support and customizable templates.
Content management systems are often available as a one-click install as part of a web hosting package, while others include easy wizard installation and updating. This is particularly true of web content management systems.
While several CMSs are free, others can cost thousands of dollars just for the software, not including the cost of design, development, customization, hardware, and support services.
The main reason for a web CMS is so that an individual user or an in-house team can manage some of a site's content, including text and images, without hiring a web designer or webmaster for simple changes. They also offer a great deal of prebuilt functionality out-of-the-box, allowing for the creation of basic or even advanced web features without custom-coding anything.
An enterprise CMS extends the features of a CMS by adding a timeline for each content item, with options to enforce processes for the creation, approval, and distribution of them. There will also be a method for importing content, bringing new items under management, with several presentation methods for making the items available for use. An enterprise CMS can resolve problems experienced with traditional shared file systems.
Simply speaking, an enterprise CMS is a technology used to capture, manage, store, and deliver contents and documents related to organizational processes. It is an umbrella term that covers document management, web content management, search, collaboration, records management, digital assets management, workflow management, capture, and scanning. It is generally made available to businesses and organizations via SaaS subscription.
The focus of this category is on content management systems, whether web CMS or enterprise CMS.
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Created as part of the European Commission’s telematics for education and training programs in 1996, Ariadne includes, at its core, a distributed library of digital, reusable educational components known as the Knowledge Pool System, using in academic and corporate contexts. The open-source CMS features an intuitive user interface, supports multiple languages, and is scalable, flexible, secure, and reusable. Documentation includes an installation guide, user manual, and tutorials.
https://www.ariadne-cms.org/
Available in several hosted and non-hosted editions, the Asbru Web Content Management system is a ready-to-use, full-featured, database-driven, CMS that includes integrated community, databases, e-commerce, and statistics modules for creating, publishing, and managing Internet and Intranet websites. Its product suites and add-ons are highlighted, along with its features, prices, volume discounts, and source code availability. A trial offer is available.
http://wcm.asbrusoft.com/
Originally a message board, when it was created in 2000, Drupal is currently an open-source community CMS and blogging application. Distributed under the GNU General Public License, Drupal is the platform for more than two percent of worldwide websites, used for a variety of purposes. Editions are available for developers, marketers, and agencies. Case studies are published to the site, along with documentation, distributions, and themes. Training and hosting services are available.
https://www.drupal.org/
Available under the terms of the GNU General Public License, Exponent is a web content management system designed to allow site owners to easily create and manage dynamic websites without having to learn HTML or to manage site navigation, with everything accomplished from within the system. The CMS is flexible so that content management can be mirrored throughout the site, and multiple site themes and CSS stylesheets can be integrated.
http://www.exponentcms.org/
Developed by Rick Ellis, ExpressionEngine was the flagship product of Digital Locations, which closed in 2019, after which the ExpressionEngine CMS was sold to Packet Tide. The content management system is written in PHP and uses MySQL for data storage. Licensed under the Apache License, three support plans are offered by monthly subscription, with discounts if paid annually. Its features and support options are posted, and add-ons may be downloaded from the site.
https://expressionengine.com/
Developed by eZ Systems, the eZ platform is an enterprise CMS available in open-source and commercial editions. Available under the terms of the GNU General Public License, the open-source application can be used and modified according to the GPL, and a commercial license allows for its use under conditions different from the GPL. Paid support, cloud hosting, e-commerce personalization, integrations with third-party platforms, and add-ons are also available.
https://ez.no/
The origins of Jojo were around 2000 when it was an unnamed PHP CMS, used for small business websites. It became Alexandria in 2005, becoming Jojo when it was released as open-source in late 2006. Its multi-site install allows users to run unlimited sites from a single set of core files, and its functionality can be extended through product databases, blogs, image galleries, and other means. Its features are highlighted, and both downloads and plugins are available from the site.
http://jojocms.org/
Developed as a fork of Mambo by Open Source Matters, Joomla is a free and open-source content management system created in 2004, and currently maintained by Open Source Matters and the Joomla Community. Written in PHP, the CMS uses object-oriented programming, storing data in MySQL, MS SQL, and PostgreSQL. Its benefits and core features are noted, along with case studies, a brochure, documentation, training, and certification.
https://www.joomla.org/
Originating in 1998, LightCMS is a web-based content management software platform used to build websites and webpages. The application includes a large selection of responsive designs that adapt to desktop screens, laptops, tablets, and smartphones, and which can be customized with its integrated design editor. Other features include blogs, calendars, forms, photo galleries, file management, media, and other choices, including an online store. Pricing is based on a monthly SaaS model.
https://www.lightcms.com/
Serving as a lightweight CMS and open-source blog application, Nucleus CMS is used to manage frequently updated web content. Available under the terms of the GNU General Public License, it was first released in 2002, a sunset was announced in 2014, but the project was revived in 2016. Available for download from the site, it supports the maintenance of one or more weblogs, multiple authors, drafts and future posts, and is extensible through plugins.
http://nucleuscms.org/
Formed by Scott Goodwin in the early 2000s, Open Source CMS is a guide to open-source content management systems, now managed by GFDK, a Berlin digital advisory company. The site offers reviews and user ratings of open-source CMS applications, along with fully-configured standard demos. Listed resources are categorized by the chief functions they were designed for, as well as those with popular demos and new demos. Advertising opportunities are available.
https://www.opensourcecms.com/
Written in Java, and distributed under the GNU Lesser General Public License by Alkacon Software, OpenCMS is a content management system application with a browser-based work environment, asset management, user management, workflow management, support for internationalization, content versioning, and a WYSIWYG editor. Screenshots offer a guided tour of the application, and full documentation is also available, along with a demo and support data.
http://www.opencms.org/
Supported across shared and dedicated web hosting plans offered by major hosting providers, phpWCMS is a flexible, web-based content management system and CMS framework running under PHP and MySQL. The development of the application is supported by JetBrains, and released under the terms of the GNU General Public License. It is compatible with any standard web host that supports PHP/MySQL and has been tested on Windows, macOS, and Linux/Unix.
https://www.phpwcms.org/
Maintained by the Plone Foundation, Plone is a content management system designed to allow non-technical people to create and regularly update a website on the Internet or Intranet. Based on Python and Zope libraries, Plone integrates with several popular third-party applications and runs on Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, FreeBSD, and Solaris. Full documentation and other resources from the Plone Community are available, including an online forum and training.
https://plone.org/
Featuring an out-of-the-box web-based administration panel that allows users to modify content portions of their website without learning HTML or employing a webmaster. Including a WYSIWYG editor, the core of the application is the Silverstripe Framework, PHP-based web application framework. Released under the terms of the BSD open-source license, Silverstripe offers cloud hosting services, web development, and design. A gallery of sites is included.
https://www.silverstripe.com/
Developed by TYPO3 Association, the free and open-source CMS application is available under the GNU General Public License, and can run on several web servers, including Apache and IIS, and those running Linux, Microsoft Windows, FreeBSD, macOS, and OS/2. Current versions of the application may be downloaded from the site, which includes release notes, an installation guide, and an online composer package. Full documentation and extensions are also available.
https://typo3.com/
