Benefits of using a Content Management System (CMS)

We are often asked if we can rescue existing websites and just edit the HTML files – this article explains why you will get better value from upgrading to a content managed website.

Flat HTML

A flat HTML site uses a different file for each page. Most of the file is the same in each case and contains the site structure, design, text, images and links. Only the bits that are different between each page actually change.

So, a ten page website built with flat HTML files will have ten files, one for each page. To edit something that is consistent across the site, you would have to edit every file and make the change in each file for it to be displayed on every page. So adding a navigation item for example would mean editing all ten pages.

“Includes” to the rescue?

To counter this repetition, it is possible to use “include” files. With this method, common items such as navigation are kept in a separate HTML file and are inserted in the page using include code. This means that a change to the navigation need only be made once, and it will then be reflected across all ten pages. Includes are a BIG time saver!

Content Management – The way forward

While includes can reduce the amount of time spent on editing a website, there is a better way. A Content Management System (CMS). This is a piece of software that is installed to your web hosting server and holds all your website content in a database that also lives on your web server.

Examples of Content Management Systems are Expression Engine and Textpattern. With both of these systems, each kind of page has a HTML “template” – for example the homepage might have a special template with a rotating banner on or the contact us page template might have an enquiry form. Only a few templates are needed to structure the whole website, and any changes made are only needed on the templates – not a whole bunch of flat HTML files.

Add useful new features

Added bonuses of using a CMS include:

• You can convert any section of website content into an RSS news feed
• Automatically create consistent image galleries
• Your content can be reused in any combination once it is in the database – for example you can have a random image shown or a list of latest news or articles on a certain page.
• Search function becomes possible

In summary

It is indeed possible to edit an existing flat HTML website to include a new design or new features. However, once the labour costs have been taken into account, that money would have been better spent on installing and configuring an up to date content management system that will provide a powerful and flexible platform for current and future development of your website.