Different types of websites

Time was when a website was a website was a website. Not any more. Today's websites come with a vaste array of possibilities. Some of these features may be ideal for your business, whilst other might be overkill. Choosing what to include and what not to include needs a fair amount of forethought.

Brochure websites

Brochure websites

A brochure website is a site which is 'static'. That is to say that its content does not change much - or at all - over time. This might be ideal, for example, for selling a house - where building a community of interest isn't relevant. Clear information, compelling text and good photographs are probably all that is required.

A brochure website is probably not supported by a content-management system. After all, if its content doesn't change much, its owner doesn't have any particular need to add new content.

CMS websites

CMS websites and blogs

Content-management websites (otherwise known as CMSs) are systems that enable websites to be updated by content specialists who don't want to be bogged down by the technology (that's you!). The idea is that a specialist (me!) configures the different components of a CMS, wraps it in the clothes that the client wants it to be dressed in, then hands it over to the client with adequate training/instruction. Whilst I remain on standbye and in the wings, you are then in charge of the site's content. This careful separation between the system and the content enables 'non-techies' to work with the content, safe that their involvement won't break anything.

And this process is relatively easy. If you can post a comment to a blog - or even post a whole blog article - then you can modify the content on your own website using a CMS.

A CMS is also a whole lot more than a system for managing content. It's partly a publishing system that enforces all sorts of careful design rules without an author needing to know anything about how it all works. It's also partly a dynamic software system that does what it's been told to do.

You'll find plenty of information on this website about CMSs, particularly:

On my portfolio page, you can view examples of these differences (static brochure websites, blogs and CMS websites).