All About CMS Systems

Crystal CMS is a web based Content Management System. It is a system for creating and managing HTML content and it is used to manage and control a large, dynamic collection of Web material (HTML documents and their associated images). Web content management systems (WCMS or Web CMS) in general facilitate content creation, content control, editing, and many essential Web maintenance functions.

WCMS systems provide authoring (and other) tools designed to allow users with little or no knowledge of programming languages or markup languages to create and manage web content with relative ease of use.

Unlike traditional website building software like Microsoft FrontPage or Adobe Dreamweaver, a WCMS allows non-technical users to create websites and make changes to an existing website with little or no training. Most WCMS typically require an experienced coder to set up and add features, however it is primarily a website maintenance tool for non-technical administrators; Crystal CMS is different in this respect because it is a ready to use, live hosted pre-configured environment that requires no set-up or configuration by the end user.

Crystal CMS and traditional website building methods compared
This is our comparison of traditional web publishing with Microsoft FrontPage / Dreamweaver and Crystal CMS:

The Traditional method
 The Crystal CMS Method
  • You startup your chosen website building software on your local computer (FrontPage / Dreamweaver etc)
  • You create or edit an existing webpage on your local computer using your chosen software
  • You save the page to some location on your computer or local area network
  • You startup your chosen FTP (file transfer protocol) software on your local computer
  • You locate the new or edited file to be uploaded to your webserver in the FTP program
  • You then upload the webpage to your webserver via FTP
  • The new or changed page then becomes publicly accessible on the internet
  • You login to the Crystal CMS secure control panel using your private username and password to gain access to the tools to manage your website
  • You select the web pages option from the menu at the left hand side of the screen and click New or Edit for an existing webpage
  • You create or edit an existing webpage on your local computer using Crystal CMS in your browser
  • You click Save in the Crystal CMS control panel when you have finished creating or editing the webpage
  • The new or changed page immediately becomes publicly accessible on the internet without requiring the use of FTP software to upload the webpage

There are a number of benefits to note when using the CMS method for building a website.
The principal benefits include:

  1. There is an immedate cost saving because there is no need to purchase a software license for FrontPage/Dreamweaver etc.
  2. There is another immedate cost saving because there is no need to purchase a software license for FTP software. With Crystal CMS the requirement for using FTP software when building a website is completely eliminated.
  3. As the software mentioned above in (1) and (2) is no longer required with Crystal CMS, there are reduced costs in TCO (total cost of ownership) because there is no software to install or support. The only requirement for Crystal CMS is a standard internet browser.
  4. Additionally because the software mentioned above in (1) and (2) is no longer required with Crystal CMS, there is a reduced learning curve to enable anyone to manage your website content.
  5. With Crystal CMS there is a reduced time to LIVE for your web content because there are less steps involved to publish web pages and other web based content
  6. The Crystal CMS method of managing your website is always secure because all access to your web content is via the Crystal CMS control panel which uses SSL encryption. FTP methods of uploading web content can be, but are not always secure.

But please don't just take our advice alone; You can read more general information about content management systems here and also here