What are Open-Source content management systems (CMS) and how can they help your business?

They are programs that run on a Web Server (host) and provide the basic framework for feature rich websites that are intended to be frequently updated by the website owner rather than a developer. Examples are blogs (online diaries), photo galleries, forums, e-commerce sites and community sites. Using them allows the complex technical aspects of modern websites to be taken care of and thus more time can be spent creating the productive and informative content of the website - the most important element.

They are Open-Source which means groups of volunteers collaborate to produce and enhance these applications and make them freely available. They are free to install and use and the computer code they are written in can be changed if required. This means developers like me can customise their core features to specific business needs.

Websites built using these applications can be setup more quickly, are written in modern, standards compliant code, have sophisticated administration areas that allow site owners to update and manage most elements of the site, and are more reliable than those developed from scratch: they avoid the need to “reinvent the wheel”.

Once developed, they can be updated and added to very easily. If, for example, you have a piece of news you’d like to share with your customers such as a new product launch, simply login to the password protected administration area of your site and write an article using a user-friendly editor. You can preview your work and when you are happy with it just press a button and it will be inserted onto your website immediately! There is no need for web design programs or FTPing.

The Two Open-Source Web applications Netcode use to build Modern and powerful websites

• WordPress - A sophisticated blog (online diary) that as well as allowing articles to be written can be used to create and manage an entire website such as creating and editing pages, a contact form, a forum, photo gallery and all the other features of modern websites. Advanced features can be added by installing plugins. This site is using WordPress right now!
• Zen Cart - A complete e-commerce shopping cart solution. Create categories and add/edit/delete products in them. The shopping cart is integrated as is the interface to card payment services.

Although these powerful programs are free they still need to be installed and customised to the needs of the site owner and this does require the technical expertise I can provide. If this exciting development in Internet technology interests you find out more about the process or look at my portfolio.