CMS Jam Content Management Systems: News and Resources

In case you’ve been living under a CMS rock, I want to make sure you know about the best demo site that ever lived - OpenSourceCMS. This site has a fairly extensive array of open source (free) CMS packages already installed, and you can play with (test) every one of them. You can login as an admin and do whatever you want to them, and then see what the front end results of your test are. Don’t worry about breaking anything (and don’t bother spamming). Every two hours, all the systems are wiped clean and started fresh, so no damage or change is ever permanent. (You can see the countdown to the demo refresh at the top of the left menu bar, so you always… Continue reading

1. Web-based access to your site’s content, so you can edit from anywhere - home, work, vacation - any place with Internet access.

2. Ability to easily assign tasks to different people. Writers can create and edit content without worrying about messing up the design. Designers can tweak designs without stepping on the toes of the writers. Admins can handle the administrative side as well as oversee everyone else’s tasks. Or you can be the master of your site, and do it all.

3. Ease of updating makes it more likely that new content will be added, keeping the site fresh and appealing - both to users and to search engines.

4. Managing menus and page heirarchy becomes a breeze, as a good CMS handles it… Continue reading

It’s only right that the very first CMS I touch on is the one that is my favorite - CMS Made Simple (or CMSMS for short). I chose this system for my own use because it’s name rings true. It really is easy to install, easy to set up, and easy to use…in other words, it’s simple. I’m geeky, it’s true, but that doesn’t mean I want to spend all my time working with overly complex tools. The geek in me can easily appreciate the time-saving factors of working with tools that are rich in functionality, but quick and easy to use.

I create and manage multiple web sites. What I don’t have a lot of is time. Continue reading

Welcome to the official kickoff post of CMS Jam! So, what is CMS Jam all about? CMS is the acronym for Content Management Systems, and that’s what this blog is all about…managing your site content.

There are hundreds (maybe thousands) of content management systems on the market, and I certainly don’t intend to touch on all of them. Some are extremely high-end (or simply high-priced), and are usually aimed at the large enterprise market. You probably won’t read much about those products here. This blog is aimed at a completely different segment of the web population. I’m here to help you determine which CMS is best for your small-to-medium web site. Continue reading