The very thought of launching a new website is exciting. However, if website design is Greek and Latin to you, you may find yourself befuddled by jargon. In your search for a website design agency in Toronto, you might have carried out some research and found that some web designers build websites in HTML whilst others use a CMS.
So what is a CMS website? Why should you care? In this guide, we answer these questions and explain the difference between a CMS website and an HTML website.
What is HTML?
HTML is short for HyperText Markup Language. It’s a coding language that website designers use to design and build websites. Of course, it’s not the only language that web developers use. Other options include XML, LaTex and GML. However, HTML is the most popular language.
Without HTML, we’d have websites that look dull, drab and boring. HTML makes it possible to add style to text, add images, customize fonts, embed video and add colour among other things.
What is a CMS?
A content management system (CMS) is a software program that helps integrate a website’s database and the user interface effortlessly. Moreover, it makes the task of publishing, managing and editing content as well as maintaining and organizing the website effortless.
In essence, a CMS makes it easy for even novice users to manage a website. If you can use a Word Processor, you can easily use a CMS and add new pages, blog posts, video content and more to your website.
A CMS not only allows you to manage the media and content that’s displayed on your site but it also allows you to track user sessions, collect visitor comments and feedback, handle search queries, host forums and more.
Instead of building a system to create web pages, storing data and images and other features (like in the case of an HTML website), your web designer can leverage the power of a CMS to create the basic infrastructure of a website. This allows your Toronto web design agency to focus on the more important facets of your website such as user interface, user experience, SEO, imagery and more.
There are hundreds of content management systems including Wix, Drupal, Joomla, Gride and WordPress. Each CMS platform works differently, allowing the webmaster varying levels of control and permission. In fact, this blog post has been written using WordPress.
Although a CMS platform is comprised of admin panel, database tables and front-end display, choosing a CMS boils down to the user-friendliness of its admin panel. And WordPress is a very popular CMS owing to its user-friendly admin panel and its extensive plugin library.
How is CMS Used to Build a Website?
A CMS cuts down a web designer’s work. A CMS provides a solid foundation for a website, allowing your agency to focus on creating a tailored solution for your brand and aimed at your target audience.
Instead of reinventing the wheel each time, web designers use a tried and tested platform to build a website that’s not only easy to use for your visitors but also business owners and website managers.
To build a website with a CMS, your web design Toronto agency will take these steps:
- Buy web hosting space
- Install your CMS on the webserver
- Create a custom web design tailored to your brand and target audience
- Configure the CMS
- Add content using the CMS platform’s interface
- Customize each page for SEO, branding and other aspects to maximize traffic, engagement and conversions
In short, with a CMS, your web designer is focused on creating the perfect user interface and functionality for you instead of creating the basic infrastructure from scratch. For instance, to add a user-friendly contact form, he simply has to use a plugin from the hundreds of thousands of plugins available in the WordPress library and customize it.
Think of a feature and most likely the top CMS systems like WordPress, Joomla and Drupal are likely to have a plugin for it. They just have to customize it and set it up for you in no time.
Benefits of a CMS Website
Website management becomes a breeze with CMS. This is especially true if you are building a large website with several pages or if you intend to make additions or changes to your business website in the near future.
Another benefit of using a CMS platform to build your website is that it speeds up the production time. Customization is also effortless with CMS. Making design changes to an HTML website is not only difficult but it is time-intensive too. With a CMS, website, whether you want to change a photo or edit the text, the job is easy and hassle-free owing to the frontend admin panel.
Need a Website? Talk to Us Today!
Here at Magenta Web Design, we build modern, user-friendly, mobile-friendly websites on all popular CMS platforms. Talk to us today to know how we can help you boost your online presence with our web design services in Toronto!
