1. Because you always have access to your content
Managing content using flat-XHTML and a code editor means you ALWAYS need a code editor. Even if you have a team running a round-the-clock service there will always be gaps. A good Content Management System or CMS means an authorised user can nip into any cybercafé in the world and change stuff to their heart’s content.
2. Because you can keep tabs on who’s doing what
Flat-XHTML is anonymous. A good CMS will include an “audit trail”, a clear record of who’s done what to which. This means sources of error can be pinpointed; ageing content can be freshened up or removed; differences in individual workloads can be managed; and weak areas can be highlighted. This may seem a little Big Brotherish but, in reality, it’s about spotlighting excellence as well as under-achievement.
3. Because you can maintain a style
Even with the world’s best-written style manual, bespoke additions to flat-XHTML content produce differences: it’s human nature to squeeze and poke things into position and cumulative, piecemeal changes can be difficult to roll back. A good CMS enforces style by limiting changes to content to those sanctioned by content managers.
4. Because it helps you to delegate
A good CMS allows access at different levels; from the Site Manager who can do anything, to the writer who can only enter and revise text. Now your website can be built by people with no internet skills, which is most of us.
5. Because things change
A good CMS allows you to change the way your site as required in the least harmful way. So, if your company totally rebrands, then the website can totally rebrand (and at much less cost). And if new rules or ways of thinking come along, you can meet the challenge easily because your content is held as raw data by the CMS.
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