We Use Drupal CMS

You may be asking yourself, "What is a content management system, or CMS, and how does it work?" A CMS is a method of creating websites that utilizes a database for storing the site's content and information about how the site should function. This is complemented by a set of files that contain the programming of the site (the HTML code, the design layout, and the functional programming). Together they create a "framework" upon which the site is generated. Pretty boring, right?

So, why is this important to me as a client?

To answer this would take more space than is practical here, but the most basic answer comes down to just updating a page's content and your ability to do it.

• No special knowledge required

  Before the CMS, someone who wanted to update their website had to have at least a basic knowledge of HTML—the language used to present a web page to a user—and had to access the HTML code in order make the changes. This involved downloading files from their website to their computer, making changes to those files, and then uploading them back to their website, all the time worrying about "messing something up." The other option is trying to contact that web designer who built the site for you and paying for a simple update or, even worse, not getting any response them*. Okay, you get it, so how is a CMS any different?

  *I am not one of those web designers. I usually respond the same day to any request, even if I say "I can't do it."

  The CMS allows administrators to make changes through a simple user interface, which looks much like many of today's word processors. In this aspect, the difference is visibly clear:

  This...
  ...vs. this

• You will update your site more often

  It's fairly basic; if you know you can update your website, you probably will, and that's important for a number of reasons. For one thing, it shows your audience that you are active, and as such they are more likely to engage your enterprise, whatever it may be. If nothing else, it will give you more confidence in your own web presence, because you'll know that you have a site that is up-to-date (and if it's not you'll have only yourself to blame!). There is also evidence that updating your website often can help to increase your search engine ranking.

• You will always have something to fall back on

  With a CMS, you can keep a history of the revisions you make to the site, so that if you do "mess somthing up" you can always revert back to a previous version (and then try it again). Again, this should give you more confidence when you update your site, because you have a safety net when you need one.

Does this mean I won't have to get help updating my site ever again?

Well, that depends. If all you do is update the content of your site, then you should be able to do it yourself. However, if you want to add functionality to your site that doesn't already exist (for example creating slideshows), then you'll probably still need my help.