How CMS Works
Content Management System is software that resides on a server and replaces web pages as a means of displaying a website. The pages do not exist as such, and instead are created from a database on-the-fly, by the CMS software. The owner can edit content online without recourse to a webmaster.
Page design is based on templates instead of the free-form method used in normal web pages, and this means that content is separated from design, so that each does not affect the other. In practical terms it means that design issues are resolved more easily and quickly.
A website CMS is therefore the best way to run a large website, or indeed any site where regular edits or changes are made; and where additional functions will be needed at a later date. A large or complex site will be far quicker and cheaper to build with a CMS.
Here are the main points of a CMS:
- Pages are edited online via a normal browser.
- Edits go live immediately.
- The site owner can easily edit, add or delete pages.
- With minimal training, the site owner may be able to add new menu items and even sections to the site.
- Design and layout are controlled by templates – no custom design is necessary, though of course it can be utilised in order to extensively customise the page appearance.
- Additional features are added via plug-in – no custom work is needed.
- Plug-in are (or should be) widely available.
- Content of many different types can be organised and presented in many different ways.
- Content is completely separated from presentation – ie the page content does not affect its layout.
- Rich media capability is usually better than that for standard websites.
How a page is created
A normal HTML website’s operation is completely different from the way a CMS works. On a standard site, all the pages exist on the server. However, with a server-side web application such as a CMS, pages are built on the fly; they do not exist before a browser requests one. The sequence might go as follows:
- The visitor’s browser requests a page from the server.
- The server looks in its cache to see if that page is in memory, having been previously served within a set time period. If yes, it supplies the page and its associated files.
- If not, the server requests the page from the CMS.
- The CMS looks in its own cache, if it has one, and if it locates the page pre-built, it then supplies it.
- If not, it builds the page: it gets the publishing parameters and the text from the database, then graphics, images and other components from the relevant folders, builds the page, and passes it to the server app.