WEB CONTENT MANAGEMENT

Smita Chandra

Librarian

Indian Institute of Geomagnetism

smitac@iigs.iigm.res.in

UNDERSTANDING CONTENT

What is „Content‟

How is „Content‟ different from „Data‟ and

„Information‟ ?

How is content managed ?

What is Content Management

What is Web Content Management

WHAT IS DATA ?

“…facts or information used in deciding or discussing…”. Source : The Oxford Dictionary

“…any form of information whether in paper or electronic form. In electronic form, data refers to files and databases, text documents, images and digitally encoded voice and video”. Source : Computer Glossary

“is a representation of facts in a formalized manner suitable for some sort of technology system, which is called a database”. Source : Encyclopedia of Library & Information Science

DATA

Term appeared in 16th century

Two types –

Structured Data : eg. address of a supplier, customer‟s

list, library catalogue, employee list, etc

Unstructured Data : eg. Letters, proposal, etc

Data are raw and unprocessed unlike information.

WHAT IS INFORMATION ?

“…that portion of the data which impacts our

actions, or if missing, or not available will impact

our actions” Eliyahu M Goldratt

“It is evidence that exists in many forms including

traditional sources like data, books or

documents, and non-traditional sources like events

and objects.” Tomyia J Tidline

Information

Abstract &

Is independent of its form

DATA, INFORMATION & KNOWLEDGE

WHAT IS CONTENT ?

Etymology : „contentum‟ – to contain

„continere‟ – to hold together or enclosed

Content is data or information embodied

“things contained in” – Random House Dictionary & the Oxford

Dictionary

“a list of „preliminaries‟ and chapter headings of a book in

their correct order, or of articles in a periodical, with its

pages on which they begin” – Harrod‟s Glossary & ALA Glossary

… CONTINUED

Literature from 1990‟s takes a broader perspective,

inclusive of all type of materials (external or internal)

all types of format (multimedia)

all data (structured and unstructured)

“Information made available by an electronic medium or

product” – Microsoft Encarta

“Subject matter embodied in some definable format

e.g., email messages, spreadsheets, word processing

documents, videos, reports, etc. It is a process which

generates objects like brochures, price

lists, pictures, metadata, etc.” – Today’s Context

CONTENT MANAGEMENT

Content management stands for the management of any

content ranging from data residing offline on a paper, or in

simple Word document to a complex high-volume dynamic

web publishing, whether as e-catalogues or portals.

“The management of the content by combining

rules, process and/or workflows in such a way that

centralized (technical) and de-centralized (non-technical)

staff can create, edit, manage and publish a variety of

content in accordance with a given framework or

requirements.”

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CM process creates, manages and develops content

while maintaining the content separate from its

presentation

CM integrates traditional Document Management and

Web CM

CM helps to scale websites and save on the cost of

content change

CM helps to fill the gap between building the site and

keeping the site‟s content current

CM helps to provide dynamic, relevant and timely

information

CM provides access to escalating unstructured data

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CM is empowering non-technical content contributors

CM is removing the burden from the traditional

webmasters

CM manages content in ways such that the incremental

cost of each update cycle and output production shrinks

dramatically overtime

CM is Business Management

CM as a concept helps

Non-technical authors to contribute content

Organizations to streamline the workflow

Faster updating and managing of unstructured, dynamic content

embodied in varied formats

Structured and synthesized delivery of content in the format of

users‟ choice

Management of both online and offline content

CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CMS)

A CM „system‟ is a technical environment (hardware

tools, software expertise) that supports the systematic

processing of digital content from authorship to

publication.

CMS is a tool or combination of tools to facilitate the

efficient and effective production of the desired web

pages using the managed content

Analogy : difference between CM and CMS is the same

as the difference between Library Management and

Library Management System (LMS)

Web Authors

Context Diagram

Content

Management

System

Intranet

Servers

Extranet

Servers

Web ContentWeb Pages

Web Surfers

Students, Staff

Interested Parties

Services Provided :-

Ease of editing

Collaborative Authoring

Standard templates

Backup and Archiving

Routing and Approval processes

Version Control

Metadata Management

Directory and

Security

Services

Template

Designers

Approvers

Template

Approved Page

BENEFITS OF CMS

WHAT IS NOT CONTENT MANAGEMENT

It is NOT a library, archive or museum management or

cataloguing system

It is NOT word processing or other kinds of files, text or

presentation

It is NOT multimedia application

It is NOT authoring tools

Content Management

Variations Purpose Examples

Enterprise Content

Management (ECM)

It is a formalized means of

organizing and storing an

organization's documents, and

other content, that relate to the

organization's processes.

e.g. Banks use ECM

to keep track of

checks

Web Content

Management (WCM)

Ensures that complex website

content is complete, up-to-date

and properly linked

e.g. Amazon.com

Digital Document

Management (DDM)

Manages complex document-

based information so common

elements can be reused, and

documents can be dynamically

assembled for publishing

Management of

overlapping and

constantly changing

information in

automobile user

manuals

Digital Asset

Management (DAM)

Allow a mass of multi-media

electronic content (photos,

audio, video, etc) to be stored in

a way that a proper content can

be easily found

Finding artwork for

developing

advertising creative,

archiving news, video

clips, etc

Variations Purpose Examples

Digital Records

Management (DRM)

Ensuring that critical

records are secure but

accessible, and are

deleted when should be.

Management of a

required documentation

at a nuclear power plant

Business Process

Management (BPM)

Aligns an organizations

business process with

the needs of the clients .

Human resources,

finance, customer

relations, sales and

marketing and research

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THE CM SPECTRUM

Data from RDBMS Formatted descriptions Audio/Video, Bitmap files

e.g. lists, tables e.g. letters, proposals e.g.mpeg files, wave files

DRM / DDM CM WCM

Highly Structured Unstructured

WEB CONTENT MANAGEMENT

“A set of tasks and processes for managing content

explicitly targeted for publication on the web

throughout its life from creation to archive.” –Ovum

Ltd.

“Managing content that drives an externally facing

website and facilitating multichannel publishing of

content in digital form. --Gartner

Content Management Web Content Management

Manages both online & offline content Manages content explicitly created for

web delivery

Input and output of content is in varied

formats

Input and output is in the form of „web-

document‟

Includes wide range of processes like

systems and software to manage

content

Core functions viz – loading content to

central repository, managing the content

life-cycle, including publishing the

content to the live website

Various information technologies put

together make a CM e.g. DDM, DRM,

DAM

Not all information technologies help to

manage web content e.g. DDM, DRM do

not fit in the WCM role

The process includes organizations of

content

The process typically begins after the

content is organized. WCM will not

support disorganized content

COMPARISON BETWEEN CM AND WCM

DIFFERENCES

WCM is different from Web-Site Management

In Web site management content not managed

comprehensively, but done on ad-hoc or as-needed

basis. WCM offers complete process of content life-

cycle in a comprehensive, programmed and scheduled

manner.

WCM is different from Portal Management

Portal is aimed at bringing together information from

multiple sources and delivering it directly to the user.

WCM is concerned with back-office tasks of managing

the creation and maintenance of content and publishing

content to a server.

HISTORY OF WCM

Content has existed for 5000 years

Printed Page

Electronic Publishing (1990s)

Decentralized Content

Information

Management Information Technology

Imaging Technology

Document Management

Internet Publishing

CM XML, SGMLWCM

WEB CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (WCMS)

A web content management system (WCMS) is

a software system that provides website authoring,

collaboration, and administration tools designed to

allow users with little knowledge of web

programming languages or markup languages to

create and manage website content with relative

ease. A robust WCMS provides the foundation for

collaboration, offering users the ability to manage

documents and output for multiple author editing

and participation.

CHARACTERISTICS OF WCMS

It manages small units of information (web pages) - each

unit of information is interconnected via a navigation

structure or path.

Each unit (web page) is defined by its location on the

site

There is extensive cross-linking between pages

It is focused primarily on page creation and editing

It provides a publishing engine that allows created or

amended content to be made available to a website

visitor

It often provides an approval process or workflow that

ensures that content is validated before it is released or

published to a website.

CAPABILITIES OF WCMS

A WCMS typically has the following features: Automated templates

Access control

Scalable expansion

Easily editable content

Scalable feature sets

Web standards upgrades

Workflow management

Collaboration

Delegation

Document management

Content virtualization

Content syndication

Multilingual

Versioning

TYPES OF WCMS

Offline processing

These systems, sometimes referred to as "static site

generators", pre-process all content, applying templates

before publication to generate web pages.

Online processing

These systems apply templates on-demand. HTML may

be generated when a user visits the page or it is pulled

from a web cache.

Hybrid systems

Hybrid systems combine the offline and online

approaches.

ADVANTAGES OF WCMS

Low cost

Easy customization

Easy to use

Workflow management

DISADVANTAGES OF WCMS

Cost of implementation

Cost of maintenance

Latency issues

Tool mixing

NOTABLE WCMS

WordPress is the most popular content management system. It originated as a blogging CMS, but later evolved into a full-fledged CMS.

Joomla! is a popular content management system that can be used to easily create and edit webpages, but it is more complex than Wordpress.

Drupal is the third top used CMS and originated before WordPress and Joomla. It is more difficult to learn and understand than the above two CMSs, but is the most secure. It powers the White House site.

OSS IN WCM

FREE/OPEN SOURCE CMS SOFTWARE

WCMS IN LIBRARIES

Many libraries have started to use content management

systems as a tool to build and manage their web

presence.

The advantages of using a CMS to build a library website

include:

Separation of content, logic, and data

Ability for multiple content providers (many staff members can

edit the website, rather than just one expert)

Easier or automatic integration with Web 2.0 tools (built in RSS

for instance)

Many cool add-ons that provide added functionality to the

website (an Events Calendar for instance)

WCM / LIBRARY LIFECYCLE

WCM Life-

cycle

Collect

Create

Aggregate

Review

Organize

Categorize

Metadata

Taxonomy

Transact

Access

Personalize

Life-Cycle

Analysis

Re-use

Archive/Destroy

Track

WCMS IN LIBRARIES

What libraries are using

Drupal : http://drupal.org

Joomla : http://www.joomla.org

Plone : http://plone.org/

Expression Engine : http://ellislab.com/expressionengine

Wordpress : http://wordpress.org/

Silverstripe : http://www.silverstripe.com/

SURVEY OF WCMS IN ARLS

SURVEY OF WCMS IN ARLS

SURVEY OF WCMS IN ARLS

SURVEY OF WCMS IN ARLS

Reasons for / against considering a new CMS

Considering a new CMS because: Not considering a new CMS because:

“[There are lots] of options available.”“[We currently have a very] flexible

system … [it] can adapt to complex

needs.”

“Cascade Server does not suit dynamic

webpages that often are used in library

applications.”

“It is controlled by others at the

university.”

“We are now in the process of moving

towards Drupal so that we can benefit from

the Drupal tools that others create.”

“Campus decision.”

“Maintaining a homegrown CMS is a

challenge. We’d prefer an open source

system. However, we’ve yet to find one that

meets all our needs and haven’t had the

staffing to add on the functionality we

needed.”

“We are happy with the features and

capabilities of Drupal. We have briefly looked

at other systems, but they seem far less

flexible and suitable to our needs.”

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR WHEN CHOOSING A

WCMS

ensure that you will be provided with good

development and technical support

find a CMS that will integrate with (at least) some of

your main applications, such as Outlook

it should support a degree of document

management

ensure your CMS is user friendly

WCMS TODAY

"Don't annoy, or worse alienate,

prospective customers because your

cousin's friend's aunt's next-door

neighbor's brother volunteers to design

your website on the cheap"