A Content Management System (CMS) is a software application used to create, customise, and manage information. Most CMS can be used alone or in conjunction (integrated) with other applications. They can be set up directly on a network, the Internet, or even locally on a computer.

In a traditional CMS, the architecture links the back end to the front end. Content is created, managed, and stored, along with all digital assets, on the site’s back end. The back end is also where website design and customisation applications are stored. This content management back end and database is bound within the same system that delivers and presents content to devices and end users (front end). So, a CMS is comprised of:

• A database where content and digital assets are stored (back end)
• A content management back end where content is created (back end)
• An application where publishers and designers create and apply design schemas (back end)

• A front end that displays published content on HTML pages

   

CMS can be broken into two main types: Proprietary CMS and Open Source CMS. The term open source refers to software whose source code — the medium in which programmers create and modify software — is freely available on the Internet; by contrast, the source code for proprietary commercial software is usually a closely guarded secret. This means only people with access to the code, can modify and change it.

What is an 'Open Source' vs a 'Closed Source' website?

In simple terms, there are two main ways to build a website: either using an Open Source Content Management System (CMS) or a Proprietary or closed one.

The term open source refers to software whose source code — the medium in which programmers create and modify software — is freely available on the Internet; by contrast, the source code for proprietary commercial software is usually a closely guarded secret. This means only people with access to the code can modify and change it.