CMS Fundamentals

In CMS Fundamentals, James Williamson defines content management systems (CMSs) and explains their role in web site development. The course demonstrates the different CMS solutions available today, including WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla; reviews CMS terminology and best practices; and shows how to develop a content management strategy. Guidelines are also included for evaluating a potential CMS, whether hosted or self-hosted, open source or proprietary, and choosing a CMS based on a specific need or focus.

Topics include:
Defining and understanding a CMS
Understanding taxonomy
Assessing an organization or company's needs
Comparing content management systems
Planning a content strategy
Controlling content lifecycle
Migrating between CMSs
Understanding users, groups, and permissions
Using web analytics

Introduction
Welcome 00:01:00
What CMS means for this course 00:01:44

1. CMS Basics 00:22:52
What is a CMS? 00:02:47
The evolution of CMSs 00:04:04
CMS types 00:06:07
Basic CMS capabilities 00:05:04
When is a CMS right for you? 00:04:50

2. Choosing a CMS 01:23:13
Comparing CMSs 00:04:28
Core features to research 00:04:41
Commonly overlooked issues 00:04:12
Properly assessing needs 00:04:39
Knowing when to seek assistance 00:04:15
Choosing a CMS for designers 00:04:45
Choosing a CMS for organizations 00:04:12
The pros and cons of hosted solutions 00:02:58
Hosted solution examples 00:05:51
The pros and cons of open source solutions 00:04:36
Open source CMS examples 00:07:06
Proprietary CMSs 00:07:48
A closer look at Drupal 00:05:07
A closer look at Joomla! 00:04:00
A closer look at WordPress 00:05:33
Resources for comparing CMSs 00:09:02

3. CMS Terminology 00:43:58
What is an open source CMS? 00:03:04
What is a LAMP stack? 00:02:53
What are WebDAV and FTP? 00:02:39
What is MySQL? 00:02:24
WYSIWYG editors 00:03:56
Understanding users, groups, and permissions 00:04:12
What is metadata? 00:05:19
Understanding taxonomy 00:03:35
What is version control? 00:04:23
What are themes and templates? 00:03:30
What is SEO? 00:04:42
What are web analytics? 00:03:21

4. CMS Best Practices 00:36:31
Content management as a process 00:04:38
Properly defining roles 00:05:03
Planning a content strategy 00:04:01
The importance of taxonomy 00:05:07
Controlling content lifecycle 00:06:22
Challenges for CMS migrations 00:03:45
Steps for migrating content 00:04:16
Avoiding distractions 00:03:19

Conclusion 00:04:30
Additional resources 00:04:30