Why Learn HTML When Content Management Tools Are Available

There are many opinions on the subject, but the reality is that the debate may be short lived. As Web content managers come more on the scene, it is easier and easier to put up Web pages with no knowledge of HTML.

What is a Content Management System

Content Management Systems come in all shapes and sizes. Chances are, if you've put up a Web page on a free Web page server or ISP you've had access to a rudimentary content management system.

Several years ago, when I worked at Netcom, they had Personal Web page space, and to add to your pages you had to use a tool called "PBuilder". PBuilder allowed anyone with a Netcom account to create a Web page from a template and put it up on our Web server. It was rudimentary, but it didn't require knowledge of HTML and you could have a page up quickly and painlessly.

Companies then saw that this could be useful within an organization. For example if a PR department needs to get a press release up on the Web site, often it has to go through numerous steps:

1. Write the release and get it approved
2. Send the release out on the wire
3. Send the release to the Web group
4. The Web group then converts the document to HTML and puts it on the Web site
5. Most larger companies have some sort of staging server where Web documents sit until they are pushed live
6. If a press release has sensitive information, it can't be released to the Web group until it has been sent to the wire, but often upper management wants it on the Web site immediately

This situation causes a lot of stress for both the Web group and the PR team. It would be a lot easier if the PR team could post the release to the Web at the same time that they post it to the wire services. But, often they don't know HTML or don't have access to the Web site. This is where a content management system comes into play.

Within a corporation, a content management tool does a lot of things:

• provides Web access to Web page content owners directly
• allows for faster updates of Web pages
• provides an easy-to-use interface where content owners don't need to know HTML
• creates accountability, as most content managers can track logins and changes to various pages within the site
• upholds standardization rules

Content Management Brings Web Access Direct to Content Owners

In most companies, the Web Developers don't write the content for the pages. They simply put it up in a format that is Web ready. With a content manager, the content owner can access the parts of the site that they own and publish them, often directly to the Web site or staging server.

Content Management Means Faster Updates

At my current company, many people know that I put up Web pages, so when they have a request for a change, they often call me directly. However, unless it is simply a text error or bad link, I have to forward the request on to the content owner. Then, if the content owner would like the change made, she or he will request it through our workorder system. With a content management system, the content owner could make the change directly, and bypass the workorder completely. And with some content management systems, the requestor could submit the request through the content management tool, and it would be sent to the content owner to approve.

Content Management Means You Don't Need HTML

Most content managers work in a templated environment. So, if you were to add a link to a new press release, you would enter in the link title, URL, and description into different fields in the content manager form. The content manager would then build the link for you. For longer text blocks, such as a full press release, many content managers aresmart enough to do things like add paragraph tags, make links clickable, and put in other formatting.

Content Management Brings Accountability

Content management software can sometimes be set up with user accounts, and access rights. This means, that some pages may only be editable by specific accounts. And changes that are made to the Web site are tracked and often using change management tools, it is possible to back out of a change that was made in error.

Content Management Brings Standardization

As I said above, most content managers work on a template type system. This means that there are certain areas of Web pages that cannot be changed by the content owner. For example, on this About.com Web site, I am the content owner of this page, but I cannot change the information in the right-hand column, or anything above the title or below the bottom of this article. All of that information is controlled by About.com templates, and is managed by an authority at About.com.

Because I cannot make changes to those areas, this guarantees more standardization across the entire site. If I were able to make changes, I might make a change that would not fit with any of the other sites on the Network. Leaving this out of my control removes the temptation for me and the risk for the company.

Many companies build their own content management tools to meet their specific needs, but in the last year or so, several companies have come out with some good content management software. These tools may not do all that I mentioned on the previous page, but many do other things I left out.

source: http://webdesign.about.com