Content Management Systems Websites Nairobi Kenya Content Management Systems Websites Nairobi Kenya

When you’re shopping around for a website designer, you’ll likely hear a lot of talk about a content management system – or CMS – in relation to your future site.


What is a Content Management System?

Years ago a business would need to have a webmaster, programmer or a dedicated team of technical wizards on hand to update the content of their business website. This proved to be costly and over-complicated. Nowadays, with a CMS website, anyone can update the site with a few keystrokes.

Most CMS websites run on a software framework that connects to a database and provides an administration area for the website owner to login and make updates through. This allows you, the client, to update the images and text on your website with the same ease that you would open and use a Word document. There is no coding to learn, no hoops to jump through. No extra software needed on your computer.

You simply log into the website and upload your images or type your text.

Advantages of CMS Web Design

  • CMS websites allow for quick access to content changes
  • Allow your website to grow in functionality as needed
  • Allow you to add new pages, sections and menus to your website
  • Allow you to add previously complex elements to pages in your site, like galleries and videos without any complicated code

Overall, it’s much cheaper and easier than having a dedicated team of webmasters coding for hours on end if all you need to do is add a few sentences in a product description or update an article with an extra paragraph. You can also get things done in your own time, without waiting forever for people to get back to you just for a few minor changes.

Should You Use a CMS for your new Business Website?

A CMS website is beneficial for almost every type of business.

In today’s world it’s absolutely necessary for your business to have current information. That’s why a CMS website can be such a beneficial tool for your business.

Most sites require frequent changes to images or text that reflect current news, sales, or promotions. With a tech team having to overhaul code each time you wanted your site updated, this may have taken hours. Now, with the capability of a CMS website behind you, your marketing team, administration team, or even you, can update the site on the fly to reflect any pertinent information for your customers.

When should I consider using a CMS?

  • If your site requires frequent updates to images or text content
  • If your site carries large amounts of content
  • If you want to update and maintain your site yourself
  • If you want other people to contribute to your site
  • If you want to be able to add to your website’s features over time

A Content Management System is also extremely useful for sites that want to keep in touch with their customer-base through article and news publication and other blogs. Updating your website with fresh content not only increases customer repeat engagement with your website, boosting traffic and on-going sales through the site, but also is a prime strategy for increasing your Search Engine Rankings.

A CMS website can also be extended by include a variety of plugins that add functionality. Plugins such as Galleries, Calendars and Event bookings, Social Media integration and Ecommerce all help you get the most of your business website and offer your customers a platform for ongoing interaction.

Open Source CMS vs Proprietary CMS webdesign

Using an open source CMS is ideal for small and medium businesses, as it is much more cost-effective, saving you money on an upfront licence cost, or monthly on-going fees that proprietary CMS charge. As a website owner this not only saves you indefinite on-going costs, but also ensures you are not “tied-down” to one Web Design company and are instead free to move your website to another company should you outgrow the framework you’re currently on.

Generally speaking, open-source CMS’s are more scalable and flexible than proprietary ones, allowing it to grow with your business and adapt to your needs. Extending functionality through Plugins is very cost effective on Open Source platforms, with many plugins available free of charge. These plugins range from simple add-ons, like Facebook “Like” buttons and Video galleries, to Ecommerce booking and shopping cart plugins. The result is a very flexible, scalable solution which will future-proof your new website as much as possible.

Ask for an “Open-Source” CMS

When considering a framework for your new CMS website, choose an Open-source platform, such as WordPress.

As opposed to proprietary frameworks, there are no initial or on-going licence fees to use Open-source frameworks and you are not tied-down to a single specific company.

With many proprietary Content Management systems, you’re tied to a third party and their often limited collection of available plugins. This makes it more difficult to get the exact functionality you are after and often inflates costs dramatically.

Proprietary systems are also less customisable than open-source systems because of the nature of their code: Proprietary systems can’t be edited by a web designer, only the original development company that created it; whereas, an open source CMS is built specifically to keep it’s code “open” for web designers to customize for their clients.

What is WordPress?

About 75 million websites are now run on the WordPress CMS, making it the most popular Content Management system worldwide. Why is it so popular? Initially launched in 2003, WordPress  has been updated regularly with new versions and is now finely tuned to be one of the most stable and user-friendly CMS software available that makes updating websites a breeze.

It doesn’t hurt that it’s Open source and free-of-charge to download either.

WordPress is also one of the most Search Engine Friendly  CMS platforms, making it a prime choice for business owners who want their website to rank well in Search Engines. With close to 30,000 plugins available to choose from, using WordPress for your new business website will also allow it to scale and grow as your business needs do.

Versatile Tech Limited can build your new Business website in WordPress to give it the edge it deserves with all the benefits of the world’s most popular CMS. Click here to find out more about WordPress Development.

How It Affects Your Traffic to your website

With a quicker response time for website updates, you’ll find that your traffic increases by leaps and bounds.

A great CMS website will allow any user of the site with the proper credentials to post updates, articles, blogs, calendar notifications, images, and many other things as quickly as you need them.

Google’s algorithm checks for sites that are updated frequently to ensure that searchers get the most recent content available from the best sources. Becoming one of those trusted sources will boost your visibility and your traffic.

What’s more, with more fresh content, you’ll be able to attract readers through your use of keywords in the easily-updatable articles. It’s proven that the more content you have, the more traffic you get. With more traffic comes more recommendations. And that all comes from your decision to use a quality CMS website!

A CMS Website is also far more Search Engine Friendly and includes all the bells and whistles necessary to help your website perform well in Search Engine Rankings.

Mobile-Friendly and Responsive Web Design

With an increasing percentage of users researching services and purchasing products from Tablets and mobile phone, a key focus of any online business should be to deliver the best possible browsing experience at all times and on all devices. Having a mobile-friendly website is no longer an optional extra, but now a crucial, core ingredient in online marketing strategy and business success.

Versatile Tech Limited can design your CMS website to be Responsive and easy to navigate on all devices.