Content Management System
A content management system (CMS) is software that enables users to create, manage, edit, and publish digital content without requiring technical coding knowledge.
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What is a Content Management System?
A Content Management System (CMS) is software that lets you create, manage, and modify digital content on websites and apps without knowing how to code. These platforms give business users, marketers, and content creators the tools to build, organize, publish, and update content on their own, without waiting on developers. While a CMS handles external content, organizations often pair it with a knowledge management system to handle internal documentation.
Most CMS platforms have two main parts working together. There's the content management application (CMA), which is the front-end interface where you add and edit content. Then there's the content delivery application (CDA), which compiles everything and pushes it to your website. This setup means non-technical users can manage their website content while the CMS takes care of all the code and database work behind the scenes.
The numbers tell an interesting story. As of 2025, roughly 68.7% of websites run on a CMS, and WordPress alone powers about 43.6% of all websites worldwide. The global CMS market is on track to hit $54 billion in revenue by the end of 2025, which shows just how central these systems have become to digital operations.
Key Characteristics of Content Management System
- User-Friendly Interface: Think drag-and-drop editors, visual builders, and WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) tools. You can build and edit pages without ever touching code.
- Content Organization: Good search, indexing, and categorization features help you find what you need quickly, even when your digital library grows large. This is where solid information architecture becomes essential.
- Collaboration Tools: Multiple people can work at the same time. Role-based permissions, workflow management, and version control keep things organized and secure.
- Publishing Capabilities: Automate when content goes live, schedule posts in advance, and maintain consistent formatting across different channels and devices.
- Extensibility: Plugins, themes, templates, and integrations let you customize your CMS and connect it to other tools your business relies on.
Content Management System Examples
Example 1: Small Business Website
Picture a local restaurant using WordPress to run their website. The owner updates the menu, writes blog posts about new seasonal dishes, uploads photos, and handles reservations, all without hiring a web developer. Pre-built templates keep the branding consistent, and plugins handle things like online ordering.
Example 2: Enterprise E-commerce Platform
A major retail company might use a headless CMS like Contentful to manage product information across their website, mobile app, in-store kiosks, and even smart home devices. The content team updates a product description once, and the system pushes it through APIs to every customer touchpoint automatically. No copy-pasting, no inconsistencies.
Content Management System vs Knowledge Management System
Both systems manage digital information, but they serve pretty different purposes.
| Aspect | Content Management System | Knowledge Management System |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Create and publish content for external or public-facing websites | Capture, organize, and share internal knowledge and expertise |
| Scope | Website content, blog posts, product pages, marketing materials | SOPs, training materials, process documentation, institutional knowledge |
| When to use | Building websites, managing digital marketing content, e-commerce | Internal documentation, employee onboarding, process training, knowledge retention |
How Glitter AI Helps with Content Management System
Glitter AI works alongside traditional CMS platforms, but focuses on a different problem: internal documentation and knowledge management. A CMS is great for publishing content to the outside world, while Glitter AI is built for creating, capturing, and maintaining internal process documentation, SOPs, and training materials. Many organizations use both. The CMS handles their public website, and Glitter AI powers their internal knowledge base.
With Glitter AI's screen recording and documentation features, you can create visual guides and training materials that live in your knowledge management system or get exported to a CMS for external sharing. This combination of internal documentation tools and content management platforms helps keep information consistent and high-quality, whether it's meant for employees or customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Content Management System mean?
A Content Management System (CMS) is software that lets you create, edit, manage, and publish digital content on websites without needing to know how to code.
What is an example of a Content Management System?
WordPress is probably the most well-known CMS, powering over 43% of all websites. Other popular options include Shopify for e-commerce, Wix for small businesses, and headless platforms like Contentful when you need to push content to multiple channels.
Why is a Content Management System important?
A CMS puts website management in the hands of non-technical users. Teams can create and update content on their own, which saves money, speeds things up, and means you don't need a developer every time you want to make a change.
How do I choose a Content Management System?
It depends on what you need. WordPress works well for straightforward websites. Headless options like Contentful are better for multi-channel content. SaaS platforms like Wix get you up and running fast. And enterprise solutions like Adobe Experience Manager make sense for large, complex organizations.
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