The Inner Core of your Website ” Is it a CMS?
Are you thinking about starting your own website for your personal interest? Whether you are looking at a topic related creative outlet or a site designed to promote a product or service, the first thing you should consider is the tools available to you.
How do you go about writing and publishing a webpage? You can use Microsoft Word, but while the capability is built into this popular software, there are limits. There are many other options to consider.
You can also purchase a program designed to create web pages. These programs give you more control over the design of your web pages. You will find options such as using CSS files, a common file that contains all your website formatting. With a CSS file it is easier to make global changes to your website, and all the pages linked to this file will automatically change with those simple changes to the font sizes or text formatting.
There is another direction you can take, and that is choosing a content management system. These systems are integrated web site design and pubishing programs that give your website a foundation. Themes and add on features are always available for these systems.
There are two very popular content management systems that are available as open source, meaning that the code is freely shared with other designers to create and promote community and free enterprise. Wordpress is a very well known name in content management system, as well as Joomla. Both take a little learning, but are worth the time spent.
Joomla has been around for many years, and offers many great features. Start by visiting their website, look at some of the free templates offered, as well as the plugins. Joomla also has a forum that is well managed and supported.
As far as popularity goes, Wordpress is a great system. There are many websites that offer templates as well as the additional features known as plugins. Many articles are published to support and enhance your use of Wordpress as well. You can have a wordpress site hosted at wordpress, or use the software on your own hosting site. Many hosts have Fantastico which automates the installation of the software.
Speaking of Wordpress, there is also Wordpress MU, which stands for multi user. Multi user opens the door to hosting multiple sites build on the same domain, with one installation of wordpress at the core.
It takes time and energy to build a website, and giving a little thought to the underlying system can save you hours of hard work. Once you delve into your chosen content management system you will find many powerful options available for producing a great website.
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