Usually a CMS is build into a preset template page, meaning you will add pages based on that template. So in that sense its not a way to 'build websites' from the ground up.
There are certain requirements to setting up a CMS. In most (if not all) cases you will need a web host which uses PHP. To find this out, you can contact your webmaster or hosting provider. In many cases you'll also need a MySQL database. This holds all your information including administration login, your content for the pages etc. Again, ask your webmaster or hosting provider if this is available.
But do you really need a CMS?
Most Content Managed Systems are built on the basis of creating a website from scratch, customising an existing preset template. If you already have a website and want to implement a CMS system into it, you may need a custom CMS system built specifically for your website. You need to justify the reasons why you would need a content management system.
What are the alternatives?
Say you only need a CMS for certain pages. For example you need a Content Management System for your latest news. A better option would be to link to a blog with your latest updates and news, or use an online website such as twitter. This also can be beneficial to your online presence, as it spreads your business out more on the web.
If you need an updateble photo or video gallery, the most affordable option would be to:
-Open a youtube/flickr account
-Link your own webpage to an RSS feed of your youtube/flickr account
-Everytime you add or change your youtube/flickr account, the changes will automatically be reflected on your webpage.
What's an RSS feed? It's kind of a cheating (but ethical!) way to get fresh dynamic content on your website. Promise i'll explain it fully in a future post, as it's slightly off topic here!
CMS systems are best used for huge expansive websites that demand a lot of changes to different pages regularly. Examples would be Content Driven websites such as wikipedia, large community websites and company intranet resources. Content Managed System Admin areas avoid most technical knowledge requirements and so is ideal if you want to give your website updating job to your admin staff. In the past I worked in a few civil service roles which made use of huge Content Managed Systems for managing all their online content. Like I said CMS is extremely good for editing content, but there are other avenues to look into (such as the RSS feeds) before making a decision. Depending on your requirements, a custom CMS on your existing website might prove to be a much more expensive option.
So are you sure you're sure you want full CMS?
Places to start looking for CMS :
opensource CMS
This website has lots of demos of different available systems. Opensource means they are free to use. Some might be more difficult to set up than others.
A really little content management system
Just like what it describes, is very affordable and comes with minimal features for ease of use and quick set up
www.minicms.eu
A similar system to perch
XML Based CMS
Content Managed Systems which don't use MySQL. Not really recommended if you have heavy traffic updating your website all at once.
There are also other opensource options such as wordpress(mainly for blogs) and joomla, which are heavy duty Content Managed Systems. Some Technical knowhow preferred!
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When putting links to your website online, make the link text your target keyword e.g:
web design blackpool
This is especially effective for niche websites or if you are aiming for a certain geographic area.
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1. The more descriptive plain text the better, include your keywords. Keep it relevant and interesting! Consider occasional rewrites of pages. Search engines love new content!
2. Make sure your pages, links and domain name work. Anything broken or not working can lower your rankings over time.
3. Expand your online presence. Get links to your website on other websites (that are relevant to yours), maintain a blog, post (useful!) posts on forums. If appropriate, use social marketing such as twitter and facebook. Be creative. Want to know who is linking to you right now? Use the yahoo site explorer.
4. Submit your company to the google business listing. You'd be surprised how many businesses don't do this!
5. Make sure your website can be navigated without javascript enabled. Search engines prefer indexing plain old html.
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A site with good SEO (search engine optimisation) that gets good web traffic -and maybe even paying customers- is all that we really want from our website right? Without online traffic, how can people get hooked into our website? And you want the right traffic of course - mostly your target audience. Now the difference between marketing online and traditional print marketing is the cost. For the price of just a few hours or so per week you can increase the amount of potential customers to your website. So how is this done?
1. Focus your target audience
Depending on the size of your audience you may want to focus on your particular niche. The amount of potential traffic may lower but remember, these visitors will be more in tune with your particular niche - and will be more interested in what you have to offer. For a small business, an example specific sector might be "Solicitors Services in (your town/city)". For help on figuring out your keywords (what words and phrases people use to find your website on a search engine) you can try out the Google Keyword tool.
2. Give your customers freebies
This might be controversial for you if you're a business, but information can be considered a valuable freebie. You can make yourself the expert in your field and can give out useful information for your potential customers. For example if you ran a garage website you could provide a free e-book on how to do basic vehicle checks like check your oil, air pressure and water level. Then you can market this free e-book as part of your service. Then go crazy with the marketing of this 'freebie'. There are lots of ways to give something to your customers for free, without actually leaving you out of pocket.
3. Engage your customers
This could be an elaboration on the above. Give your customers reason to come back to your website and interact. A regularly updated blog with useful info related to your area of expertise can add to your search engine rankings. Give them a testimonials page or guestbook where they can say 'hi, you guys were awesome, thanks!'. Some social marketing websites might work for you, such as facebook and twitter. However don't lose sight of who your customers are. If you have a retirement home website, you may not find your customers on sites like facebook and myspace! Do you sell a special niche product? If you're not shy about being in front of a camera, get a video of it on youtube with a demonstration of its benefits. Remember though to keep it informative and engaging, not too salesy! Youtube is an information medium, rather than a place to sell.
4. Put your website out there!
This is most important of all. Your website won't get traffic by simply 'being there'. You get out of it what you put in. Now I'm not claiming to be a marketing whizz but here are a few ideas to help you get started. The important thing is to be creative, and target your main audience at all times.
- Use your web address in all your print media, business cards, print ads. Make a point of mentioning your website to everyone you meet. That includes friends and family, businesss associates. They might not have a need for your business, but they might know somebody who does. Which leads me to...
- Get your customers to refer other people, and reward them for their efforts.
- Join a couple of forums relevant to you and post away, remembering to include your link in your profile signature (the best way to do this is mentioned in the left hand column).
- Try and get a press release or media coverage of your site in the local paper.
- In your print advertising you could offer 'online only' discounts available on your website.
- Team up with other websites related your field, and trade links. A wedding dress website could swap links with the local florist, caterer and wedding jewellery websites.
- Use as many online mediums as you think is appropriate to your website. Post comments on other peoples blogs, review the service and products of others, Upload photos to websites such as flickr, twitter on twitter! All these things can bring -apart from curious visitors-backlinks to your website which = better search engine rankings!
- If you have a budget, consider using a pay per click campaign such as Google Adwords. They appear on the first page of search engines results under "Sponsored Listings".
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