Bryan Ruby’s CMSReport.com

Posted on August 21, 2007
Filed Under Real Estate News | 2 Comments

If you have ever wanted to just snag some good information on Content Management Systems then I’ll suggest a blog for you. I was doing my routine searching for some reliable information sources for ideas to write new posts in my college blog and my real estate blog among others when I stumbled upon a truly impressive resource. I love well rounded and informative information. Bryan Ruby, the author, publisher, webmaster for CMSReport.com has a SPANK of good information and resources regarding many of todays top CMS solutions on the web.

What is a CMS and why should I care?

A CMS is a content management system and a content management system is used to manage content. What content? Articles, downloads, images, files, folders, navigation elements, images, media elements like video, podcasts, flash animations and the list goes on and on. Some of my top favorites are Joomla, WordPress and Drupal for obvious reasons; I design for them. But that really doesn’t articulate what a CMS is until you look at from the perspective of a publisher of content. Take this example;

Your morning news paper is organized in such a way to present information according to a criteria or format that applies an age old principle for presenting information. A way that is familiar and comfortable to the readers which lends to its appeal and credibility. In a newspaper writers express ideas and thoughts in the articles they write without altering the structure even though the newspapers articles change frequently. Essential for readability, the familiar structure helps readers quickly locate material and information relevant to their interests. Beautiful, familiar and standard, right? People tend to gravitate towards the familiar. Hence the birth of the CMS formula. Now granted, the newspaper isn’t a CMS but a CMS certainly has the features of a good newspaper.

A CMS does with the web what newspapers do in print. They provide a familiar relatively unchanging structure with intelligent guided navigation (hopefully) and informative content. When it comes time to pick a flavor, needs are assessed and objectives analyzed but fundamentals never change. The idea behind a CMS as mentioned above is the creation of a fundamental look and feel wherein the content changes. So which ones should you choose? Well you should visit Bryan’s site for that answer. For Real Estate I suggest only one as mentioned for my own personal bias. I’m a true fan of Joomla and you can’t stop me with WordPress because WordPress is unique in ways that can make it function as both a CMS and a blog. Check out this article from the Adobe Edge: July 2006 Edition.

Its important to note that CMS’s are not just the future of professional websites; they are in my professional opinion absolutely essential for delivering current and competitive content to your viewers. Lets face it, static HTML is as dead my old Atari Game System and if you are not a publisher for lack of a better term, you risk passing into the realms of other types of dying technology. Some proprietary systems are also on their way out as these age old web based scripts are falling off left and right. Consumers, end users and publishers of web content demand features that are friendly. Yes, “Friendly”, because it applies to every aspect of your site, friendly to customers, visitors, search engines and hopefully every other entertainer of your invested interest being your website. A CMS empowers you with this ability.

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2 Comments so far
  1. Bryan August 22, 2007 5:20 pm

    Thanks for putting CMS Report in the spotlight with your post. I’ve had a lot of fun the past couple years discussing and promoting Web content management systems. More rewarding is the number of people I’ve met through the site.

    By the way, I have an Atari Game System that still works!

    Cheers…Bryan

  2. admin August 22, 2007 6:55 pm

    Most welcome Bryan, I would tend to agree with you that the people we meet makes it worthwhile. I’ll be adding you to the cms professionals section in the new design once its up and to my new article section which will be Joomla. http://www.jaredritchey.com/articles/


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