Content Management
Content Management (CMS) Systems
When we review potential content management systems for our clients we consider:
- The system will make it easy for our clients to add and edit content without knowing HTML code, as easily as they would edit a word-processing document
- The site will be search engine friendly, with English-language page names and structure
- The look and feel of the site will be defined by templates, and individual contributions will flow into the defined look
- The site will be secure and resistant to attacks by hackers.
- The system will be flexible, easily allowing new content and sections without requiring a redesign
- The system should not be proprietary, but instead be based upon readily-available technologies available from multiple providers
- The system should be portable across a number of web hosts
- The site's manager will be able to delegate responsibility to others to author or edit content in definable areas while still maintaining overall control of the system
- The system will enable both public and private areas
- The system will be adaptable to changing marketing thrusts as the program develops. It will be easy to add and subtract content
- The system will have a published interface for enhancements and maintenance
We examined a number of content management (CMS) systems to find one that is robust, cost-effective, flexible and well-supported. In many cases we recommend the free, open source TYPO3 CMS product. TYPO3 is an established CMS with active use in North America and Europe. It is enterprise class, capable of handling sites with thousands of pages, yet is intuitive and easy for individual content providers to use.
Over 5,000 sites have been built with TYPO3, ranging from large scale commercial sites to those for non-profit and governmental organizations. Details and examples may be seen at the web sites TYPO3.com and TYPO3.org. The system has developed over time, and is now on version 4.x.x, and the road map is established for version 5. In other words, it is a proven product producing professional results with a large international support community in both commercial and non-profit sectors.
TYPO3 is built upon open source components that are also well-supported. It will operate on a variety of servers and is published using the GPL license. Content, structure and design are entirely separate, so in the future our client can change the look of the site just by changing a template. The entire site will flow into the new look automatically.
Flexibility
Over 1,900 open source plug-in modules have been developed for TYPO3 and are readily available under the same GPL license. These include:
- Calendars
- Link farms
- Forums
- Banner advertising management
- E commerce systems
- News Articles
- Newsletter mailing
- Photo galleries
- Document download systems
- etc.
Ease of Use
In TYPO3 authors use a web interface to create and edit pages. To the right you see a page on a TYPO3-driven site. Below it is the administrator's view, including a WYSIWYG view of the same page being edited.
An author who is permitted to edit only one page, for instance a Member Club's page, would only have access to the page they could edit. Authors can copy and paste a word processing document with images directly into the TYPO3 system and the images will be automatically inserted into the site.
Once logged in, an author may even edit the page(s) they are permitted to work on while browsing the public view of the site (without using the back end).
Multiple editor and administrative levels are permitted, giving the site manager excellent controls. The authoring environment can be set up so that an author's work is immediately made public, or must be approved by their editor(s) first.
When pages are changed, original versions are saved and the administrator can revert back to earlier versions. Content may also be time-managed, only to appear after and/or until specified dates.
The site's menus, even drop-down, multi-level menus, are adjusted automatically as new pages or sections are added or removed. Member-only sections or pages would only display to those authorized to see them.
Content that appears in several places need only be modified at one location, automatically changing everywhere else.
Site Management
As improvements in TYPO3 and its modules become available, upgrades can be managed through the back end interface, without the need to use code editing programs or FTP programs. The sites are entirely managed through the browser interface.
The back end interface also permits the creation of document libraries of files for download from the site.
Multiple templates are allowed, so different sections of the site can be designed appropriately.
Resources
TYPO3 is supported by a large international community of users. See some of the tutorials and other resources that we use.