CMS Vs HTML

This section is to give a brief explanation on the different types of website available. These are then reflected in our packages offered for the website designs.

HTML based web pages

The first type is a HTML based web page. These are static pages similar to a newspaper in nature. The pages are constructed in the HTML language with the text information inserted inside the code. This can be done with different types of editor, but usually if any changes need to be made to the page, the page needs to be edited off-line then re-uploaded to the webspace.

Font styles and formatting are applied using what's known as a CSS script (cascading style sheet). It used to be that the font settings (height, colour etc..) were set in the html file (along with the text of the website). It is good practise that the font settings are set up in a CSS script, if any changes need to be made to a particular font - a single reference can be changed in a CSS document and that difference will be reflected in all of the pages of the website. This is because the html document references to the stylesheet for how it is meant to look.

Because the pages are built using HTML, there are no special requirements needed for the website hosting. There are additional script languages that can be used for different effects (java, javascript, php) - some visual and some functional. This means that a page can be constructed very quickly compared to a larger CMS based website.

The disadvantage of having a website constructed using this method is that it requires a web designer to edit the pages (unless you have knowledge of HTML or scripting yourself). This can be time consuming and if any mistakes are made these mistakes are reflected on a live running site. If your website employs any of the additional script types (php / javascript) this makes the website significantly more difficult to edit.

An on-line CMS (Content Management System)

There are hundreds of different pages on-line with explanations on what a CMS is.

Explained simply, instead of the pages being static (fixed like a newspaper) - imagine all the text information of a webpage is stored inside a database on-line. All the photos and music that your website has is stored on your web space on-line too. When a user visits your website, the system sends a command to pull the text information from the database when required (in this case, the text needed for the 'Front Page'). The system then applies a template to the text to define the look and feel of it. Then it adds any relevant images or music that is referred to in the text from your web page. To a viewer, they have simply visited your site and are viewing a complete page. When that user selects a hyperlink to another page within your website, the process begins again. This usually takes a fraction of a second from click to display. This page and website you are viewing now have been built using a CMS system.

A CMS system can be very advantageous to a business. Once the system is running it is very easy to add and edit content on the website. A CMS system is a useful tool with an easy to use interface that allows technical and non-technical staff to create, delete and amend content on a functioning website without the need of a web designer. If your business relies on the need to update and add content on a daily or weekly basis, it is a great advantage when those updates can be made in-house.

Along with the ability to store text and images on a CMS. You also have the option to embed mp3 players and photo galleries into the system whilst still maintaining functionality for the user. The other advantage is that because the system employs an easy-to-use 'back end' to edit or maintain the pages, there is little or no code involved in the page construction (to the user). This means that pages can be edited (while the website is running live) without affecting the construction of the site itself.

The only (main) prerequisite is that your web hosting packages need to be able to support the installation of such a system along with the support for a mysql database or similar. We can help and advise you what package would be best for the application.