Content Management Systems
Content Management means many different things to many different people. It can be as simple as the ability to update the content of a scrolling news ticker on a homepage, or as complex as full editorial workflow management with access controls, multiple levels of approvals, and revision control. Content may be structured with precisely defined fields or more free-form ("page oriented"). Many times, Content Management will be specific to a web application, such as the ability to add, edit, and delete job listings or calendar events.
Content management is not a simple "one size fits all" endeavor. Identifying how the content management system works within your business processes is key. The specific implementation flows from that starting point.
We have implemented systems for clients using a number of technologies and solving many different kinds of problems.
Structured Data, Advanced Workflow, Web Application Integration
When a client needed a CMS that provided complex workflow with multiple distinct user roles and approvals, we developed their site using Ingeniux. Ingeniux can serve out pages dynamically or bake out static pages. We used this latter approach to bake out PHP files for a seamless integration between managed content and other web applications.
Structured Data and Data Aggregation
Other clients required the ability to submit articles, product descriptions, event information, and file uploads, which then may be approved or rejected by editors. These systems also needed to bring in XML data from a variety of sources. We implemented these systems using VerticalSite, which provides all of the CMS function. Then we added in custom Java EJBs for the data aggregation.
Page-Oriented Content
We are core developers in the award-winning CMS Made Simple project, which is a free, open source, page-oriented site management tool written in PHP. We have built numerous sites using CMSMS as the entire content management system or as the framework for more complex web applications. If you don't require complex workflow, CMSMS provides great flexibility at a lower price point.
Other Content Management Systems
For clients needing a blogging platform, we've set up Wordpress and created custom configurations.
Other clients wanted a community-oriented site. While we have often added forums to existing sites (using SimpleMachines or PunBB), this particular site needed pervasive community-provided content, which made it the ideal candidate for Drupal.
Also, we have integrated content management into a variety of other web applications, including an online auction site and an e-commerce system.