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In the past, building websites required advanced skills in internet technology and various programming languages. Webmasters needed to be well-versed in HTML, PHP, CSS, and other programming fields, in order to create even a relatively simple website. Many times website owners would have to pay web developers a hefty fee to set up their website for them, and in many cases this still happens today. However, as the the internet has become more user-friendly, and with the advent of web 2.0, website owners can now use what are called CMS (Content Management Systems) to build, organize and maintain their websites. Some of these content management system let users upload preset themes that can be customized easily within a user-friendly interface. One of the most popular content management systems available is WordPress.

What is WordPress?

Although WordPress is actually a blogging platform, it is commonly used to create static web pages and complete websites. WordPress is basically a website administrative interface that lets you control every aspect of the site using tools that even the most novice users can utilize. These tools let you post text, images and any other kind of media quickly and easily without having any programming knowledge whatsoever. WordPress is updated on a regular basis you don’t have to worry about it becoming obsolete at all. WordPress can be installed by a complete novice using tools provided by your web host such as Fantastico or Simple Script.

Wordpress Plugins

One of the most appealing aspects of WordPress is it’s expandability. By using a vast array of plugins, users can do just about anything they desire with ease. New plugins are being created everyday, and they can be installed in less than one minute by even the most inexperienced webmaster. Once installed the plugin resides in the left side of the WordPress interface in the navigational bar, where you can easily adjust the plugin settings and control every aspect of your site’s functionality. Using plugins like the All-in-One SEO pack, you can even automatically optimize your site’s pages for the search engines.

Creating Static Web Pages with WordPress

Since WordPress was originally a blogging platform, creating a regular website can present some challenges to the novice user. The main problem is that the latest post will always be displayed at the top of the main page, which makes it hard to design a website as you would like it. Every time you add a new post, the order of your content will be disrupted since the latest post will be displayed at the top of the front page. This obviously is not desired if you want to have your content arranged a certain way. So how do you fix it? Well the answer is actually quite simple – use a plugin! There is a plugin called StickyOrderer that will let you organize your posts in the fashion want them, and you can do this on every page of your site! Using this plugin alone you can create well organized websites, instead of scattered blogs.

You may be familiar with the more commonly used software, such as control panels, and content management systems. However, many people don’t realize that these site management tools are expandable in a practically infinite nature. The functionality and features of both control panels and content management systems can be greatly enhanced with the use of web applications. Web applications let you modify an already fully functional site administration software, and transform it into a solution that is capable of carrying out brilliant automated tasks and improving the overall appearance and functionality of your website.

Using Web Applications to Improve Content

Perhaps the most basic advantage offered by web applications is the ability to automate or simplify content creation, uploading, organization and editing. There are a literally hundreds of content-oriented web applications available that can be installed to your control panel within a few short steps, especially if you have cPanel with Fantastico. By optimizing your site’s content automatically, you’ll be boosting the productivity of your online business and saving employee cost by cutting out unnecessary outsourcing. In fact, with the right web applications, you can manage literally hundreds of websites easily within the same user interface. If you did need to outsource work, it would be minimal, and you may only need to contract a developer temporarily to create a new web application that you can use to boost productivity even more!

Using Web Applications to Enhance Your Site’s Design

You can also use web applications to change, create, organize and find templates and themes for you web pages. In fact, you can even eliminate the need for a web designer altogether! Some web applications will remove the complex HTML editing that is usually associated with site design, and will let you complete the site customization process with an automated system that inputs HTML coding for you based on your preferences. You can even set up cron jobs and have the applications complete tasks automatically on a scheduled basis, which allows you to focus on more important aspects of your online business while the software works for you.

Using Web Applications to Generate Traffic

Of course, while the above to advantages of web applications will most definitely contribute to a busier website, you can also generate traffic with certain web application regardless of your site’s appearance or relevance! Perhaps the most beneficial use of web applications would be their ability to market to a wide audience through social networks and RSS feeds. There are web applications available that will actually submit every post on your website to multiple social bookmarking sites simultaneously. There are also applications that will post comments on related blogs and attract visitors in this fashion. With so many ways to generate traffic using web applications, it would be impossible to mention all of them.

Conclusion

Although it may take a little bit of experience to master all of the web applications at your disposal, usually the most novice website owners can learn the functions of these programs with ease. In fact, most web applications are designed specifically with the novice user in mind. If you are having trouble managing your website efficiently, you may want to consider installing a few useful web applications to help you out.

Having a capable Content management system is one of the most important parts of maintaining and operating a website successfully. A good CMS will facilitate and expedite the process of uploading, organizing and editing content on your website within a centralized- user-friendly interface. Having a tool like this at your disposal will boost the overall productivity of your business, allowing you to focus on other aspects of the business, such as marketing and advertising.

It should be noted however that not all content management systems are the same. Each CMS has a list of features that differs slightly, and the user interface of each CMS also varies greatly. In this review we’ve outlined the key features of a commonly overlooked, yet very useful CMS – Cushy CMS.

Implementing Cushy CMS

Using Cushy CMS with your website is a simple process that can be set up in a matter of minutes. You also don’t have to worry about the risk of using a software that you may not enjoy, as the software can be tried for free with full functionality. This means you can use the software on as many websites as you’d like, and as many computers as well. Cushy CMS is an unlimited free CMS solution that is easy to use, and can be installed by even the most novice user.

Ease of Use

Aside from being free, one of the best aspects of the Cushy CMS is it’s user-friendly visually appealing content creation/organization module. In fact, the process is so simple, it is explained in less than three minutes on the official Cushy CMS website. Users can add content, optimize pages and create search engine friendly websites with a few clicks and some simple editing. The learning curve for the Cushy CMS is almost non-existent, as even the most novice user can add photos and text to their web pages with very little effort.

Branding Cushy CMS as Your Own

Perhaps one of the most appealing aspects of this CMS i that it can be redistributed as your own CMS solution, for whatever price you’d like. The only catch is you’ll need to purchase the Pro Plan for $28 a month to re-brand the software and resell it. Aside from having reselling rights, you’ll also have access to any future upgrades of the software as well. The Pro Plan also offers a plethora of features that make re-branding and customizing the software simple and fun. For example, you can change the color of the user interface, and you can even use whatever domain name you’d like to sell the CMS. With the Pro Plan users also have access to RSS feeds that let you easily track page changes and other site updates. The pro plan also includes direct email support, and compatibility with 12 different languages.

Conclusion

Overall, Cushy CMS is a very capable content management solution for both the novice and experienced user. Any web designer looking to create their own CMS for their clients should definitely consider Cushy CMS because of it’s reselling capabilities.

Drupal is one of the most popular CMS solutions on the market, along with Joomla and WordPress. All CMS give you the ability to choose templates for your website, and most of them have the same features in terms of design function, however Drupal seems to simplify the process of using themes with your website, even more than the average CMS.

The beauty of Drupal is that the design of your entire site can be controlled within one central database. Although the process is fairly simple, to fully take advantage of Drupal’s design features, there are a few things you should know.

Choosing Your Theme

Obviously the first thing you’ll want to do is select several themes that would fit your website. You can find themes in many places on the internet, such as third party websites. Simply do a web search for website design templates and themes, and you will find a huge selection to choose from.  While selecting the themes it is important to note whether or not the theme is supported by the version of Drupal you’re using. If you’re having trouble finding a theme that suits your needs, then you may want to hire a web designer to assist you in creating a custom made template.

You can find web designers that are willing to work for a relatively low price on many of the freelancing sites and forums online. Make sure you only work with reputable freelancers, as this presents the least amount of risk possible. You’ll also want to hire someone that is familiar with Drupal’s compatibility, and you’ll need to make sure they are wiling to make revisions if you are not satisfied with the template. Designing a website has to be a collaborative process that involves team work and trial and error. Make sure you theme matches the goals of your website as well. For example, you wouldn’t a soccer theme on a site about American football.  Once you’ve selected your theme, it is time to install it.

Installing Your Theme

Now that you have the theme of your dreams, it’s time to get it up and running on the world wide web. The first thing you’ll need to do is go through any README files or other support documentation that was included with your theme, as they may contain important information regarding the correct installation of your theme.  Once you’ve become familiar with the installation process, you can upload the them to the correct location. Usually this location will be: /sites/all/themes/yourThemeName. (Note that your user name and hard drive precedes the previous file path.)

Now you’ll need to log into your site as an administrator to finish the process. You can access your site’s administrative interface by typing: “thenameofyoursite.com/admin”: in the URL address bar in your browser. Once you’re in the in the administrative interface, locate the Site Building area, and the click on Themes. You should see the theme you uploaded on the list. To set the theme as your default theme, simply check the appropriate boxes. You can make this theme your default theme by checking the radio box. Once you’ve finished clock on Save Configuration to finalize the process.

Building a website by yourself is a very difficult task. So difficult in fact that it is rarely done. If you do decide to build the website without assistance, unless you have extensive experience in website design, and you’re an excellent author at the same time, then chances are your site will be mediocre at best. Cooperation and collaboration is standard in the website creation industry. There are very few people that can establish a professional website without at least seeking the knowledge of another person before hand.

When you work on a site building project with multiple users, having the ability to set restrictions and delegate website duties is imperative. You’ll need to be able to run the operation with precision and authority, in order to same yourself time and frustration. To do this you’ll need a good content management system. Selecting the right open source content management system be a difficult task in and of itself. To make the task easier on yourself, perform the following steps.

Assess Your Needs

The first step is to find out what kind of features you’ll need in a content management system. Will you be delegating work to authors? Will you be working with multiple programmers and designers? If so then you’ll definitely need a secure administrative interface that will give you the ability to designate certain tasks to each of your team members. Write down what kind of features that will be most essential and then you can begin the search.

Look For Compatibility

It is important to remember what kind of operating system you’re using and remember that not all content management systems are compatible with all operating systems. You’ll also need to remember what kind of operating system your sever operates on. It is also important to note which programming language your site uses. The most combination that you will find is PHP language and MySQL databases, being run on an Apache servers. If you don;t want to go through the hassle of finding a compatible content management system, then you may want to find a host that has these features, which most content management systems will be compatible with.

Compile a list of Suitable CMS

Now that you know exactly what you’re looking for it is time to compile a list that will narrow your options and make the final decision easier for you. Open a word processor  or pull out a sheet of paper and a pen and get ready to do some web searching. Finding the top content management systems will not be as hard as you would think. There are many review sites that have already compiled long lists of all of the top content management systems for you. All you have to do is eliminate the content management systems that are not compatible with the needs we assessed above.

Narrow Your Options

Now that you have a large list of CMS to choose from, all that is left to do is to narrow the list down to one CMS. One by one, check of each one as being compatible or not compatible. When you’re finished you should have a list of about 3-5 content management systems. Next visit each one of their websites and test their support team. The final decision will come down to reliability and cost efficiency.

Having a useful content management system is a great way to boost the productivity of your online business. Once you become familiar with the administrative interface you can gain supreme control over your entire website, accomplishing tasks in minutes that could normally take hours. You can update your site every day in just a few short clicks, and you can even assign tasks to your workers form within the main interface of your content management system. Using one of these systems as-is is a great way to increase your efforts towards building a successful website, however adding web applications to an already qualified content management system is a sure way to boost productivity beyond comparison.

Creating a Website on Autopilot

Creating and maintaining a website without a good content management system can be a hassle. However simply using a content management system with the included features is not enough to completely streamline website management. There are actually ways to setup a website, put in a few hours of work and let the content management do the rest. By installing highly capable web applications, users can gather content form website automatically via RSS feeds, spin the content automatically, add related pictures, video, or audio to the post and schedule daily postings at any desired frequency. All of this can be done by setting a few preferences and inputting a few RSS feeds into the right web application. To make sure your content management system will be able to accomplish tasks like this, it is important to find out what the most popular web applications are for any prospective content management systems.

Marketing with Web Applications

Content management web applications not only help you build and maintain your website, but they’ll also assist you in marketing your website to a larger audience by automatically handling SEO and viral marketing tasks. For example, there are social bookmarking web applications that will automatically submit every post on your website to a wide selection of social bookmarking sites as soon as they’re posted. There are also web applications that will spin content to be as search engine optimized as possible.

Enhancing Appearance with Web Applications

The right web applications will also help you enhance the appearance of your website by making the changing of templates and other design factors simple and quick. In fact, there are many web applications that are specifically created to automatically improve the appearance appeal of your website. Some applications can even schedule template changes for you, to create the most diverse experience possible for your website’s visitors. There are also applications that automate the tedious tasks involved with adjusting template attributes such as font size, color, and style. Using these kinds of applications is a good way to save time and money on the design of your website.

Final Thoughts

While having a content management system that doesn’t include any web applications may suffice for many online business owners, having the right web applications will undoubtedly boost anyone’s productivity. In the world of online business, productivity is the single most important factor.

With so many choices available, picking a content management system for your business website can be a very difficult task. All of them claim to be the best, and the truth is that most of them are capable of the same basic functions. However there are some CMS that go beyond the boundaries of what a normal CMS is capable of by offering unlimited expandability within the software. These CMS are called “open source” CMS, because they are an ongoing open project.

Any developer or programmer  that is interested in designing web applications for these CMS can do so without any limitations or legal ramifications. Fir this reason, the features and capabilities of these CMS are rapidly expanding. As the capabilities of your CMS expands, so does the capabilities of your website, and ultimately your online business.

The Cost of an Open Source CMS

With all of these wonderful benefits, you would expect an open source CMS to be very expensive. Surprisingly most open source software is free, including open source CMS! One such example is the ever-so popular WordPress which is used by millions of webmasters around the world to handle everything from everyday tasks such as email, to more complex tasks such as website design. WordPress even gives you the ability to outsource the work to multiple users within a single account. These users can be given certain permissions, such as uploading, content publication, and template administration. This feature alone really helps boost the productivity of your site by giving you a workforce that you can deploy with full control. It really is hard to believe that all of this comes at zero cost!

Just How Expandable are Open Source CMS?

Even without all of the incredible plugins and applications that are available, these tools provide powerful administrative capabilities. Now imagine adding an unlimited amount of features. Imagine having the ability to say “ I want this,” and then making it happen by hiring a freelance programmer. This is the kind of freedom and expandability experienced by open source CMS users on a daily basis! With literally thousands of applications available, even the worst open source CMS can be made into a fully functional super software with just a few additional applications. Although WordPress is already capable of just about everything one could ask for, the applications available for it really take it to the next level. Thanks to CMS like WordPress, webmasters can setup websites with pre-designed themes and templates in a matter of minutes.

Why Use a Free Software When You Can Afford an Expensive One?

The answer to this question is really quite simple – you don’t need to pay, because all of the features you’re “paying for,” are available for free through web applications that can be added to your free CMS in a matter of minutes. In fact some CMS  even have integrated applications that will make the installation of additional applications quick and simple. With features like these, the real question should be Why should you pay for a CMS, when you can get one for free that does the same thing…. and more?

Your website’s content is by far it’s most important attribute. Without interesting content your visitors will not return to your site in the future, in fact they probably will never find it to begin with! Simply uploading good content one time and then leaving your website’s in hopes of creating a megasite is not realistic. If you want your site flourish then you’ll need to update the content daily. This can be a problem for many business owners, because it can be very time consuming. To boost business productivity, many people use content management systems to create, upload, organize and store content for their website. Below are some of the advantages of content management systems.

Templates and Design

Content management systems give you the ability to store multiple templates for your website’s design, making website development quick and simple. With a good CMS you can change the template without affecting the pre-existing content on your website. This makes re-designing your website hassle-free, and eliminates the trial and error that is often associated with doing so. You can also build databases of templates so you have a wide selection to choose from at any time.

Updating Content

Content management systems also let you update content automatically on a scheduled basis, which means you can now set it and forget it as you wish. If you employ the use of freelance writers you can also grant them permissions and controlled access to the site, which will make your job a lot easier. You can let one user upload content and another edit it.

Runs on Your Operating System

You can also make changes to your website while you are offline by editing the content in your content management system which runs on your operating system. Then when you connect to the internet all of the changes will take place immediately. This is probably one of the most convenient features of a good CMS, as you no longer must rely on a constant internet connection to improve your website, and even without a connection you can aces all of your website’s files and databases directly form the operating system.

Polls and Surveys

With a content management system you can also publish polls and surveys on your website with ease. These polls and surveys give good insight into the interests of your visitors, which will ultimately let you know what kind of content you need to focus on uploading in the future.

RSS Feeds

RSS feeds bring traffic to your site by linking your updates to other popular sites within your niche. You can also use RSS feeds to snatch content form other website’s and then spin it using certain applications that can be added to your site’s control panel. RSS feeds also allow visitors to keep track of your updates directly from their browsers toolbar.

Having a good content management system is crucial to the success of any online business. With so many to choose from, it can be hard to decide which ones will live up to their promises. In fact, it can be difficult just to find the top three! Below we’ve given you an overview of the three best content management systems; Drupal, Joomla, and Mambo. The information below should aid you in conducting your own thorough investigation, based on your needs.

Drupal

Drupal has quickly become one of the most popular content management systems. It’s recent popularity boom is due to the fact that it is an open-source software, which means it can be improved by any developer with an interest in doing so. Drupal has been said to be a perfect solution for people who are building community-based websites such as forums. This is because one of it’s most notable features is it’s user permissions system. With it’s extensive administrative control, webmasters can control every aspect of their forum. Drupal is also preferred over Joomla in terms of development because it is easier to interact with and expand.

Joomla

Joomla has also gained popularity because of it’s powerful features and easy user interface. While Joomla also includes forum managing features, these features are not it’s strongest points. Among the more notable features of this CMS is it’s administrative functionality for image galleries, search engine optimization, shopping carts, and forum management. Some users choose Joomla over Drupal due to it’s user-friendly interface. Although there is some learning curve involved with Joomla it is often described as the easiest CMS around.

Mambo

The Mambo content management system was one of the first popular open source content managements systems. While it has been around for quite some time now, it still have a group of developers backing it that maintain it’s functionality and reliability. Even though it was one of the pioneer content management systems, it has fallen somewhat behind the newer CMS softwares available. The primary reason for it’s recently decreased popularity is it’s code incompatibility due to it’s age. For this reason many developers shy away from developing applications that can be used with Mambo. With each new advance in the consent management industry, Mambo becomes more obsolete.

Making the Decision

The first thing you’ll want to do when investigating your options, is go to the main site of each of the content management systems above. Make sure you review all of their features and ensure you’re going to be able to fulfill all of your needs by using the software. Even though one of the softwares may be more suitable for you it is still likely that you will need to install additional applications. It is very unlikely that you will find all of the desired features within one CMS, therefor you’ll want to do some research and find out which CMS has the compatible applications you need. Once you’ve made your decision, you can install the CMS of your choice simply with the Fantastico program.

I am sure you are familiar with the phrase “Content is King.”  However, poorly written and organized content is not going to do your website any good. Even a website full of well-written yet disorganized content is not going to prosper as much as it would with the use of a good content management system (CMS).  Adding content to your website manually is a tedious process that involves a lot of time and effort, and a successful website needs to be updated daily with quality content to keep the visitors intrigued. If all of your time is spent gathering, creating and updating content on your website, then you will not have time to focus on other important aspects of your online business. As you continue reading, the benefits of a good content management system will become more apparent.

Updates and Accessibility

All content management systems come with an administrative interface that allows webmasters to add content automatically throughout the entire website. Content can be organized into sections, and setup to be distributed on a certain schedule. This kind of scheduled content distribution is especially beneficial for blog owners and publishers with an expectant daily audience. Content management systems also allow the webmaster to create user accounts for multiple authors. The webmaster can then set permissions for each author account, giving them access to certain functions. For example, one author may be allowed to publish content, whereas another may only be allowed to edit site templates. This control of accessibility is especially useful for webmasters who employ the services of several  freelance workers.

Freedom of Creativity

Content management systems also allow webmasters to test various templates without changing the content of the website. This freedom of creativity gives your web designers the flexibility needed to edit your website and make judgments based on real results instead of guesswork. Each web page can have a new and unique template. You can even store entire folders of templates in your administrative database, establishing a vast collection of templates that can be used throughout the year. This will ensure that your guests do not become bored with the overall appearance of your website. In fact, it is even possible to schedule template changes in certain content management systems! Scheduling template changes will give your website a surprising new look every time your visitors return.

Ease of Use and Automation

Content management systems let webmasters control the content of their website from the comfort of their own operating system. All of the information stored on your website is also stored on your hard drive, making it easy to access your website’s content even without an internet connection. Another useful feature included with a good content management system is RSS. RSS feeds let your website’s visitors receive daily feeds of the content you publish. Likewise, you can use RSS feeds form other sites in combination with content spinning applications to keep fresh relevant content published on your site daily.  If you already have a hosting account with a hosting company, then chances are you already have access to a good CMS, as most hosting accounts come equipped with one. Make sure you investigate the features of the content management system before you decide to use it. If you are not in the position to buy a content management system, then of course using the one provided with your hosting account would be better than not having one at all.