WCMS – Web Content Management System

Products of this class are intended for creation of content - web pages, simplification of information management on pages of the website, to the users who do not have the sufficient volume of knowledge, use of languages of web programming or a marking for website content management. Functionally developed WCMS provides opportunities for joint work, offering users of an ability to manage documents, editing, audit.

Basic support

The majority of such systems use databases for storage of content, metadata, other objects which can be necessary for system operation. Control of such systems is usually exercised by means of the web interface, using browsers.

To whom it is necessary

The WCMS setup, expansions of its functionality requires the experienced programmer, but most often WCMS is the instrument of service of websites for nontechnical specialists. Content management systems of web pages allow to manage text and graphic filling of the website, providing to the user the interface for work, instruments of editing, the publication, information storage, automating processes of placement of information in databases and its output.

WCMS or CMS

Class software of content management can be separated into management systems for corporate information (engl. Enterprise Content Management System – ECMS) and management systems for web contents (engl. Web Content Management System – WCMS). Historically it developed that because of a binding to data domains of management of corporate information (HRM, EDMS, CRM, ERP, etc.) the term CMS replaced WCMS, having turned into a synonym of a management system for the websites.

About types and an output

As creation and processing of contents of the websites three main types of systems are selected: with static generation of pages, dynamic and hybrid. These terms designate characteristic of an output of contents of the website prepared by WCMS using certain templates of representation for display on the web pages collected from the structured contents.

Dynamic generation of pages. The pages prepared by systems of this kind and output in a window of the browser of the user are created by the server at each new request.

Static generation of pages. Most often, it is programs for editing a markup language and information contents which at making changes in site content create pages with the static contents (which are not changing in the course of all storage time of the page on the website).

Hybrid or mixed. In them advantages of the first two are combined. The technology can be implemented by caching — the module of representation generates the page once, further it several times is quicker loaded from a cache. Other approach - preserving of some information blocks and assembly of the page from blocks at a request of the corresponding page the user.

What is available

The automated templates

Creation of standard templates of an output (as a rule, HTML and XML) which can automatically be applied to the new and existing content that allows to display contents, doing changes on a centralized basis, from one or several jobs.

Scaling

This property is implemented in most modern WCMS and is shown as capability of distribution of one copy (installations on one server) by several domains, depending on settings of the Web server. A content management system of the websites can create subsites / veb-portaly within the main website.

Easy editing contents

Being abstracted from visual representation, contents, as a rule, becomes editabler. The majority of the WCMS systems has in structure the editorial WYSIWYG tools allowing unskilled users to create content, to subject it to changes.

Scalability of functionality

The majority of the WCMS programs allows connection of the plug-ins or modules intended for expansion of functionality of the websites.

Updating of standards

The open source software WCMS is usually provided with the regular updates including feature sets and supports of systems in compliance to the existing, modern standards for a web.

Management of workflow

Management of workflow - process of creation of cycles of consecutive and parallel tasks which should be executed in a system. For example, one or several creators of content can write article, but it will not be published so far the editor will not check it, and the Chief or publishing editor will not claim.

Collective work

The WCMS systems can act as platforms for joint collective work, allowing to load information contents and to work with it to one or several authorized users. Changes can be checked and allowed to the publication or are ignored, returned to the previous version. At the same time, some developed forms of collective work on content allow several users to change (or to comment) pages, in the course of joint work over material.

Authority delegation

Some WCMS systems allow different user groups to receive the limited rights to change of specific content within the website, distributing responsibility over content management (the most striking example to they are moderators of forums).

Management of the document

The software is capable to provide means of shared control by lifecycle of the document from the moment of the beginning of creation, further changes, the publication, archiving and also its destruction.

Virtualization of contents

The WCMS system provides the means allowing to work with the virtual copy of all website, sets of documents or in the programming mode. It allows viewing changes on several interdependent resources and/or their accomplishment, according to a priority.

Syndication of content

The software of content management systems often helps with broad content delivery by creation for other systems of channels of data of RSS and Atom. They can also inform users by e-mail on availability of updates as parts of workflow.

Content localization

Possibility of display of contents in several languages.

Support of versions

As well as in the electronic document management systems (EDMS) the software of WCMS supports version control of the document (content, the page) when pages are checked in WCMS or out of it, providing editors the previous version, further work from the selected point. Support of versions is convenient for work with content in which it is required to change something eventually, requires its updating when it is necessary to refer to the document or for the early version.

To results

Today about fifty names of different web content management systems (CMS), products open source, license - proprietary, free and conditional and free, created on the PHP, Java and ASP.NET platforms, from eminent vendors and little-known developer firms are known.

All these developments are integrated by uniform space for which results of their work - worldwide network are intended: 1C-Bitrix, ABO.CMS, Amiro.CMS, Atilekt.CMS, B2evolution, CMS Made Simple, CMSimple, Concrete5, DataLife Engine, Danneo, DotNetNuke, Drupal, E107, e2, eZ publish, Joomla, HostCMS, MODx, Mambo Open Source, MediaWiki, Movable Type, NPJ, Nucleus CMS, OpenCms, PHP Fusion, PHP Nuke, Plone, Prestashop, S.Builder, Sapid, SharePoint, Site Sapiens, TYPO3, Textpattern, Typolight, TikiWiki, uCoz, UMI.CMS, WikkaWiki, WordPress, XOOPS, Xaraya, Zikula

"Clouds" "remade" the market of WCM

According to a new research, customers are already ready to perceive solutions for content management (WCM) as separate business applications. At the same time the most demanded are universal and flexible products and also "cloud" WCM.

The Gartner analytical company released an annual research of the market of WCM solutions at the end of 2011. It agrees to the data provided in it, now similar products begin to consider as components of strategy for optimization of communication with clients via different online channels (use of tools of web analytics, digital asset management, web CRM and another softwares). According to analysts, this trend causes four connected investigations. So, WCM begins to be perceived by customers as the business application, but not just work productivity solution. Besides, becomes more and more outlined the aspiration to receive a cross-platform and hybrid technology. In addition, in understanding of clients the value of integration of WCM into other solutions increases. And, at last, demand for "cloud" WCM grows. Not only retailers, media and the IT companies, but also NGO, public industries and educational institutions become customers of such products now.

Gartner states revenue of vendors of the WCM industry in 2011 at the level of 1.2 billion dollars (in 2010 it was 1 billion dollars), at the same time 61% of the market are concentrated in North America, in EMEA region – 28%, and in Asia-Pacific – the remained 11%. Analysts predict annual growth of the market – by 2014 it will double and will make a considerable part of the parent ECM market (at the end of 2010 the share of WCM in ECM was at the level of 27%).

On the basis of comparative strengths and weaknesses analysis of market strategies of vendors of WCM of analytics of Gartner made the current quadrant of leaders and outsiders of the industry.

Of course, as a result all business processes, especially during the work with clients and at sales of products and services will be in online, but as for Russia, now it on initial stage, however the same online stores and so forth is certain very preliminary stage on the way to WCM, as for the practical sphere. Besides, as the mobility is put at the head of a corner and owing to this fact business requires bigger dynamics, WCM systems will be demanded also in Russia, but for this purpose should "culture" of work in online, works with documents and with clients/partners will settle at first". According to her, the existing players move in this direction, offer the market opportunities for work on such format, but to tell that today there is a large number of cases, it is impossible. The market is very young, it did not settle and only forms. Madam Ivanova is sure that for its formation financial component, i.e. economy of financial, temporary, labor resources by the companies, in other words, an opportunity for work not just in WCM, but also as SaaS will be a big driving factor.

Literature and links

• Sokolov Sergey Aleksandrovich. HTML and CSS in examples, standard solutions and tasks. Professional work. — M.: Williams, 2007. — Page 416. — ISBN 978-5-8459-1192-6
• List of CMS
• List of content management systems