Introduction

A Content Management System or CMS is a web application used to create and manage HTML content online.

The CMS provides authoring, content control, editing and other essential web maintenance functions in a simplistic way to users who have little knowledge of programming languages.

A CMS typically requires an experienced programmer to set up and add features, but is primarily a website maintenance tool for non-technical administrators.

YourCMS.co.za provides Wordpress as a CMS, which may be implemented as either a traditional website, as a blog or both. The difference between these two methods of  implementation is that blogs are comprised mainly of date-driven articles whereas websites typically communicate their information over set pages which tend to change  less frequently. There is no limitation on how often you may change your content.

One of the core benefits to publishing your website on a CMS Framework is that you can harness the functionality and flexibility of an existing web application with relatively low financial investment. Simply put, you are not paying to have the wheel re-invented.

Flexibility

Plug-Ins

The default functionality of Wordpress can be enhanced with the addition of 3rd party plug-ins. These plug-ins are specially written programming functions which alter the behavior of what Wordpress is able to do by default.

There are hundreds of plug-ins available within the Wordpress development community which may be used in conjunction with your website.

Some Plug-In Uses Include:

• SEO Enhancement: Manages your websites Search Engine Optimization impact.
  * (included in basic package)
• Contact Forms: Collect detailed user information with the addition of forms.
  * (included in basic package)
  
• Website Caching: To improve page display times and overall website performance.

• Photo-gallery: Adds feature-rich photograph management to your website.

Theme & Styling Options

In much the same way as Plug-ins may be added to Wordpress, you are also able to add  a theme to your website. A theme adds the graphics, styling, colour, and layout characteristics to a website and is usually customised to your requirements to reflect your own logo and colour choices.

The themes shown above have been designed for Wordpress

Once a theme has been added to your website, all new pages and blog posts will inherit it’s characteristics. This means that you do not have to re-design each page that is added to the website, but can add new pages and articles to the site with a few clicks of a button.

When the time comes to change or alter your theme, the changes need only be made in one place, and they will automatically reflect throughout the website instantly.
This flexibility in adding and altering new pages keeps your overall website maintenance costs low over the long term.

YourCMS.co.za offers a semi-customized theme solution which allows you to customise your colour scheme and layout options.

Layout options include one, two or three column designs with a typical website header, footer and navigation bar located above or below the header image. These options allow for flexibility and help to make your final website design that much more unique to your own requirements.

You will be asked to complete a questionnaire about your design requirements that will help YourCMS.co.za direct your design vision.

Simplicity

The Administrative Back-End

Once logged in to the administration back-end; the Wordpress dashboard provides a quick summary of your website.

Get meaningful information about your site at a glance, approve comments, delete spam, manage pages, and edit posts.

Adding new pages and posts to your website could not be more simple with the WYSIWYG-Styled editor.

You will notice how similar this interface is to conventional word-pressing applications.

Easily insert images and other media, or format and provide additional styling to your text.

The editor also provides spell-check, full screen editing, bulleted and numbered lists, symbols and the ability to paste from Microsoft Word.

Statistics

Google Analytics

Track website performance and page popularity with Google Analytics. Analyse where your website traffic comes from, by country, search engine, keyword usage, which pages your readers view, and how long they spend on your website.

Wordpress can easily be integrated with Google Analytics to provide detailed website statistics.

Key Benefits

Wordpress is open-source software and has been scrutinised by thousands of developers around the world. It continues to enjoy on-going feature and security enhancements in order to remain on par with the latest technological advancements in website management.

Having a well-structured website allows search engines to easily index your website which will allow for your site to be found by your potential readers when searching for key phrases which your website has been indexed for. When drafting your website content, be sure to keep these key phases in mind so that you can introduce them into your content organically. Key phrases should always be on topic, and never be manipulated or over used to gain a higher search engine listing.

Key Features

		Full Standards Compliance Wordpress generated code is in full compliance with the standards of the W3C. This is important not only for interoperability with today’s browser but also for forward compatibility with the tools of the next generation.			Full User Registration Wordpress has a built-in user registration system that can allow people to register and maintain profiles and leave authenticated comments on your website. You can optionally close comments for non-registered users.
		No Rebuilding Changes you make to your templates or entries are reflected immediately on your website, with no need for regenerating static pages.			Multiple Authors Wordpress’ highly advanced user system allows for having different (and configurable) privileges with regards to publishing and editing.
		Comments Visitors to your website can leave comments on individual pages or post entries. You can enable or disable comments on a per-page and per-post basis.			Password Protected Posts You can give passwords to individual posts to hide them from the public. You can also have private posts which are viewable only by their author.
		Spam Protection Out of the box Wordpress comes with very robust tools such as an integrated blacklist and open proxy checker to manage and eliminate comment spam on your website.			RSS Feeds Keep your readership informed with RSS notifications on comments and posts.

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