The Business Problem

You have a website, (or if you're a large business, maybe an intranet). Perhaps it has grown organically over time, and - while it is very useful, and you know it's an important aspect of your business - it is far from perfect. Keeping your site up to date - how do I find the time? Much of the site content is now out-of-date or inaccurate, it's hard to find things... but you feel blocked because continually updating the site is either too expensive, or (if you have some basic web skills) just too complex and time consuming.... but meanwhile the image of the site is becoming dated and you find yourself making excuses to your customers. It seems too complex and confusing? Worse yet, you've lost track of all the pages on the site, and by being caught in a situation where all the changes must be made by your skilled webmaster, the much needed updates are just piling up and not being implemented. You're just too busy running your business... Then there are other issues: What was on the site last week, or last year? You couldn't say. In the back of your mind, you know that this could leave you in a difficult position if a customer sues, but you feel there is little that you can do. You are not alone... If this sounds grim, it's actually a fairly common situation to find yourself in. In fact, it's the natural by-product of maintaining a site using manual html tools such as Dreamweaver or Frontpage with too little time or expertise. Don't let this problem stump you - an effective web site is crucial to your business For people with business insight this situation is one they instinctively avoid - which makes people stall in getting their first business web-site up, even though a good web presence is a fundamental aspect that must be addressed for growth and competitiveness of a contemporary business. There IS a solution Thankfully, these problems are what a content management system is specifically designed to solve.

CMS: A working definition

A content management system (CMS) supports the creation, self-management, publishing, and discovery of corporate and business information. It covers the complete lifecycle of the pages on your website, from providing simple tools to create the content, through to publishing, and finally to archiving. Some of the leading Content Management Systems available have been created under the umbrella of the Open Source Coding sytem - one of the internet's lesser known but great idealistic features - which makes them free to the user, saving the expense of purchasing and up-grading specialist web editing software. That's right - advanced and simple-to-use CMS software is available free! Once the CMS is installed and set up by Inner Spring Media, the owner of the site can log on to a simple online interface (that is similar to Microsoft Word). The user can then simply and easily edit and update pages or create new pages. The changes or new content automatically conforms to the established design of the site and changes are quick and easy and look clean and professional. Once set up for a business or personal domain name, a CMS also provides the web-site owner with the ability to manage the structure of the site, the appearance of the published pages, and the navigation provided to the users, without highly specialised web design skills or deep knowledge of HTML coding.

Business benefits

There are a wide range of business benefits that can be obtained by implementing a CMS for your web-site, including: * streamlined content authoring process * faster turnaround time for new pages and changes * greater consistency and overall professionalism * improved site navigation * increased site flexibility * support for decentralised authoring - simple training to delegate sections of your site updating to staff members * increased security * reduced duplication of information * greater capacity for growth * reduced site maintenance costs Beyond these, the greatest benefit the CMS can provide is to support your business goals and strategies. For example, the CMS can help to improve sales, increase user satisfaction, or assist in communicating with the public. GuideToByron.com - the information, entertainment & business portal for Byron Bay, is itself is a great example of a huge complex web-site made easy to handle, navigate & maintain with a CMS. Because CMS web sites are connected to a database, you can collect information about your customers, build mailing lists, and personalise the experience of visiting your site for your customers. A database-driven CMS allows the web designer to add specialised pre-programmed "modules" to extend the power of your web-site - including shopping carts, forums, real estate and auction modules and a host of other add-on advantages depending on your business needs.

Conclusion
	Content Management Systems are relatively new in the web-design market, and while many businesses are still not familiar with them, they have the potential to dramatically simplify the creation & maintenance of websites and reduce costs.