Coaching For Success
Posts tagged Content Management Systems
8 Tips For Choosing a Friendly CMS
Jul 10th
If you update your website content regularly it is likely that you will require a Content Management System (CMS) which affords you the use of good Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) tatics to drive traffic. Choosing an SEO friendly CMS can be difficult if you are unsure of what to look for.
This post looks at 8 essential tips for choosing a good CMS that allows frequent updating and allows you to optimise that content to enhance your visibilty online.
No1: Keyword rich URLs: Afriendly CMS should include custom URL creation to allow for SEO. Most CMS automatically generate dynamic URL’s that may look like the example here – http://www.cms.co.uk/articles/thread.php?threadid=56789&sort= etc, however a friendly CMS will allow you to create a keyword rich, static URL for SEO purposes that look like the following example – http://www.cms.co.uk/articles/friendly-cms. Search Engines love static URLs as they are far easier for both Search Engine spiders and the end-user to understand what the page is about.
No2: Title Tag customisation: It is important that you can change these on a page-by-page basis so that each page describes the information on that page and not site wide.
No3: Meta Tag customisation: A Meta Description is used by search engines to give an accurate summary of the content of that page for this reason the Meta description and robots tags must be editable via the CMS for it to be considered SEO friendly.
No:4 Custom HTML tags enabling: A Good SEO friendly CMS should have a way to stop links on a page being followed if you do not want them indexed. This feature is known as “nofollow” tags on links. A good CMS will have these features which can then be built into the menu or allowed through manual editing of the HTML in a text editor.
No:5 Anchor text editing: Optimisation of internal linking anchor text is critical for SEO and a friendly CMS will allow customisation of anchor text for all internal links.
No:6 301-redirects: An SEO Friendly CMS should allow the proper re-direction of content where necessary. 301’s are a valuable asset when new page versions are created, content expires or you are moving to a whole new website.
RSS / XML: The ability to add an RSS feed to your website can boost site optimisation efforts whether it’s feeding off your website content or refreshing content on your website from another source. Just like HTML web pages, with a SEO friendly CMS, RSS feeds can be optimised to perform better in Search Engine listings.
Image handling and ALT tags: Search Engines cannot read images so all images should be optimised and alt tags are a must have from a SEO perspective. The alt tags serve as the anchor text and allow you to add keyword-rich text. Google Images is starting to be a large referrer of traffic to websites so image SEO should not be neglected.
Joomla V WordPress – NO – Joomla Luv’s WordPress
Jul 5th
Since Content Management Systems became popular there have always been two camps those who prefer Joomla! which is more far more powerful system, rich in features and has a mass following of developers for extentions as well as some serious users including companies like MTV and those who prefer a WordPress a simpler, less complex system that has power but is less techie to use.
Joomla! is not really designed for blogging although it does have a basic blog functionality built in. WordPress on the other hand is designed for blogging but falls down when it comes to simple systems for membership and carts. Before everyone gets upset, we’re not saying WordPress cannot do these things , it can just not as well as Joomla!
Joomla! V WordPress or is it!
So thus begins the debate begins for the pros and cons of both systems and while both systems have merit, this post is about neither. However this post looks to see if these two excellent systems can work alongside each other.
For those acustom to both systems you will know that the two systems can co-exist alongside each other one in the main portion of your site with the other as an extension of this i.e. www.theinternetbusinesscoach.co.uk being Joomla! and www.theinternetbusinesscoach.co.uk/blog being WordPress.
Both systems in the example are in use (actually both are like this in real life for us )but what if you could use the power of Joomla! alongside the flexiblity and ease of use of WordPress – I mean instead of installing both systems seperately and running them seperately you could actually use them as one system, one set of updates, one menu etc.
Interesting prospect right – well a company has made this a reality. CorePHP released an extension for Joomla called WordPress+Joomla that will allow both systems to work together. THe basics of this new system is it is a build on extension for Joomla! 1.5 native that uses a fully loaded version of WordPress that they have managed to integrate so that if you were looking at the backend you might mistake it for a standard WordPress admin page.
Every function with the exception of permalinks, which are coded in, are the same as in a stand alone installation works as it would normally do in WordPress. They have even added a few other new bits of functionality like adding or remove blog title on a per-blog basis, ability to add or remove the sidebar – this is a site-wide option, different options for CSS style sheets – also a site-wide option, enable or disable automatic role syncing with Joomla! – a site-wide option, show or hide the author’s name in posts on a per-blog basis and they have even ported over many of the most popular plugins.
The new system will allow you to define your site design in such a way that it can be either Joomla! or WordPress or a mixture of both i.e. a WordPress home page but with module placement for arranging the page whilst still allowing you to have your blog rolls, tags etc.
You then get Joomla! options which allow you to start an online community, membership subscriptions or publish an online magazine or offer registered users an area to publish their own blogs. All in all this new extension is quite a big development in the debate for and against, infact to an extent it makes the debate moot as the two clearly can function as one allowing the power and flexiblilty, ease of use and simplicity of either to be incorporated into one.
On the downside categories still need to be synced individually, not a major issue if static content is handled by Joomla! and constant changing posts is handled by WordPress. Personally the biggest drawback would be the lack of extensions for WordPress at this time, which may put a lot of people off using it, this will change as with all things, if you are a developer or dabbler then this will not be an issue for you. Currently the main plugins avaiable are the all important SEO-All-In-One, Akismet, Lightbox and Sociable.
WordPress+Joomla MU is developed by corePHP and costs $79.95 a year which is via a subscription. You can find more information at CorePhp.
Open Source CMS for Business
Jul 1st
There are many types of website you can have these days and of all the different ways to design a site open source platforms have become increasingly popular for there ease and usability factors. Unfortunately for many internet business owners they never even get to hear of such platforms as many web designers do not use them although more and more are coming round to these fantastic systems.
So what is a CMS exactly? Well CMS stands for Content Management System, which is the collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. Basically it is a system that allows people with very little technical knowledge to manage the data such as content i.e. articles, music etc on their business website without the unnecessary cost of having a web designer do these changes to their content – a serious plus for a small internet business owner.
It is very important that a website must have content that attracts internet traffic. As a rule of thumb, a website’ content must follow Search Engine Optimisation i.e. SEO rules to get traffic. It therefore follows that if using a CMS that you choose one that is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) friendly.
Content Management Systems (CMS)
‘Need for a CMS’
A CMS is used to control content for business websites that require updated very frequently, say daily or weekly. It is an automated tool that facilitates content development and control for a Webpage. In addition to development, it can also perform maintenance functions. Everyone acknowledges the importance of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) in web content development. Without incorporating SEO, you struggle to get your website visible. Hence if you are using any CMS, then you better choose a one which incorporates SEO.
‘Basic features of a SEO friendly CMS’
The first and foremost feature of a CMS is to generate a ‘Keyword rich URL’ for your webpage. A URL should ideally be a static one, which means it should not contain a reference to some html code like ‘../threadid=12345&sort=date’. A static URL is easily recognised by search engines.
The next important function is to manage the tags. For ‘Title tag customisation’ a CMS must be able to customise tags on a page by page basis. The Meta Description is very crucial as well, it is a guide for Search Engines to use as an accurate summary of a page’s content in the search result. Hence, Meta description and robots tags must be editable via the CMS for it to be considered SEO friendly. This feature is known as ‘Meta Tag Customisation’.
Finally ‘Custom HTML tags enabling’ should offer the function of putting tags or “nofollow” tags on links. So, any CMS you choose must provide such features to manage your tags.
‘Other website functions’
Due care should be taken while designing the architecture of a website. A CMS must support a ‘Sensible site structure’ by providing as much flexibility as possible to design a good business website. So, features like customisable navigation are a must. When we talk of navigation, a CMS must provide ’301-redirects’ to allow the proper re-direction of content where necessary. Apart from that, a CMS must provide the ‘ability to access all areas’ of a website including footers and side-bars.
Some add-ons can be very handy like ‘RSS feeds’ on your website. An ideal CMS offers Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) in RSS feeds as well. With the power of RSS feeds to bring internet traffic combined with SEO, you are sure to see good results.
Last but not the least, since a search engine cannot read images, all images should be optimised and alt tags used as a must from an SEO perspective. The alt tags serve as the anchor text and allow you to add keyword-rich text. Thus a CMS must have the feature ‘Image handling and ALT tags’.
The choices are endless and up to you, do a bit of research first do not accept someone elses word that a particular CMS is right for your business, you will know what is a best fit for your business model. Hence, you must wisely select a CMS for your business webpage which will allow your business to both be visible online by having good SEO properties and also ease of use and good functionality for non-techies.
As mentioned above there are numerous options available such as Joomla! which is both popular, powerful and functional, WordPress which is very popular with total web newbies if you want to talk to potential clients, then there is drupal, Magento and too many to mention. What you need to do is to select the best among them for your internet business needs.
