Advantages of CMS CMS Debate: Challenging the Consensus Piero Tintori - TERMINALFOUR Stephen Pope - Eduserv

Agenda Defining Web Content Management –What is a WCMS? –What isnt a WCMS? The key advantages of a WCMS Life without a WCMS

Defining Web Content Management Our definition: –Software automation of the tasks involved in publishing and managing content on a website –A system that allows users update content on a website

Defining Web Content Management –What is also WCMS? Blogs – simple content management Wiki Discussion boards –What isnt a WCMS? A database on its own (no business logic) Unstructured files

The key advantages of a CMS Stephen Pope

The Manual Edit.. Someone in the company wants an important press release put on the web site. Release is ed (probably in word format) to the web team (or external company) Web team have to download the original page from the website / create a new page from a template then manually convert the text/formatting into HTML. Press release has to go live at 12 midnight so someone has to wake up and upload it at 11:59pm :¬/

Workflow Enforce standards Editorial Control –Editor final approval / Preview content in place. –Version control – instant rollback – nothing overwritten.

Workflow Publishing Control –Hide / Schedule / Expire / Archive Quality Control –Compel alt tags / tidy html / check spelling Accountability / Paper trail

Security Granular role based security –No more Pandora's Box – people only see what they are allowed to see. Delegate Responsibility –Different people can be in charge of their own parts of the web site (press/events) –No need for everything to pass through the web team!

Content Delivery Scheduled Publish / Archive Multiple Platforms (Web/Mobile/RSS) Multiple Languages Multiple Audiences (Metadata) Edit in place Publish to Staging / DR / Static SES URLs / Aliases Snapshots for FOI requirements

Rapid Development Separation of content from presentation –People of all skill levels involved –Design –Content Migration –Quick re-skinning Reusable elements such as templates and renderings (breadcrumb / nav. menus) Centralised Content / Documents (extranet / intranet) / Links – Update Once ! Security / Workflow controls Modules - Probably been written before !

Maintenance Rapid Updates –Common Interface –Quick to train –Content users in charge of their own content not web devs. Import / Paste from office apps Manage many users Workflow –Distributed contributions –Rollbacks Centralised document management

System Integration Doesnt all have to be out of the box –Security - Integrate with LDAP/Athens/Shib –Documents – Sharepoint / Central Store –Search Engines – Google/Dtsearch/Ultraseek –Data-Providers (XML/SQL) –Stats Will always needs customisation

Open Standards Information freely available Data in XML –Route out –Minimise Migration Presentation in XSLT –Small changes can be made by people with HTML knowledge –Not locked into custom API for presentation XAML / SAML / XACML

Life without a CMS Stephen Pope

Problem Areas Tedious Web Management The Webmaster Bottleneck –Enterprise Cut and Paste Corporate Governance Reuse of Content

Tedious Web Management Your spend most of your time making minor changes to areas that wont even be appreciated by people –Fixing broken links –Restructuring Site Map –No time to work on more interesting features and developments

The Webmaster Bottleneck You become the typing pool of the organisation –Enterprise Cut and Paste –Build up of frustration Publishers want to publish faster and have control Webmasters find that Cut and paste is boring work –Would be publishers dont understand the work involved

Corporate Governance Extra bureaucracy to cover ourselves from complaints –Version control – snap shots = Lots and lots of backup tapes! –Who signed off what… in the absence of an audit trail who is responsible?

Reuse of Content If you have good content… get more value from it… reuse it –Five websites = five times the work –5 Languages = five times the work excluding translation –Different versions of the same content in different places

Conclusion WCMS will make you life easier… Your internal publishers will be happier… Your visitors will have up-to-date and consistent / accessible content…

Conclusion CMS may change your life….