No… well actually kind of. In truth, it’s sort’ve all three. Let me explain.
I’ll start first with a whistle stop tour through what all those terms mean, just so we’re all singing from the same hymn sheet, as the saying goes. Then I’ll explain why it matters and what it can do to transform your website and ways of working into something amazing.
What even is a CMS?
CMS, the acronym for Content Management System, is in Umbraco’s own words “software that is used to create and modify content on a website”. And to paraphrase a little more, a CMS is typically a collaborative environment with more than one user able to use it at any time. A CMS will also usually work as a web content management system, which essentially means it is designed to manage content on websites, including text, graphics, video and audio.
Just like all Jacuzzis are hot tubs but not all hot tubs are Jacuzzis, all web content management systems are content management systems but not all content management systems are necessarily web content management systems. And if the phrase content management system has started to lose all meaning because I’ve repeated it so many times, stick with me, because we’re moving on to “CMS platform”.
So, what makes a CMS, a CMS platform?
It’s really all about the approach. The CMS is what it is, but the platform approach to the CMS, which is unique to Umbraco is all about using features, add-ons and integrations, as well as supporting services like Cloud Hosting to really extend that CMS. Giving it more power, capability and opportunity to help you do amazing things online (with a little help from an Umbraco Gold Partner like us 😉).
So then, what turns a CMS platform into an ecosystem?
This is where things get interesting, and in my opinion exciting. When we talk about Umbraco as a CMS ecosystem, we’re taking about things like Umbraco’s partner network, their community, the architecture that supports it, the .NET foundations, open-source way of working and the extra support and services that surround that core CMS product. This is the stuff that keeps pushing Umbraco onwards and upwards. It’s where innovation and ideas thrive and its where "what if", becomes "what next" – and if you know anything about us here at Pixelbuilders, you know that’s what we’re all about.
Why give a monkeys?
If your business is looking for a way to manage your website content without losing the flexibility to create content and campaigns on demand. If you need a fast time to value so new content can be made available to customers without delay. In short, if you need a CMS that’s offers a great return on investment, Umbraco is always a great option.
Don’t believe me? Think I’ve just been hoodwinked by Umbraco’s marketing materials our Gold Partner status and the affirmations of our Umbraco MVP Andy Boot?
*SNIFF* I’ll stop you right there.
I look after the content on our own website. This blog I am writing right now will be added to our website through the Umbraco CMS by my own fair (small) hands. I use it, I know it and I love it. Trust me, if you’re a marketer, content editor, copywriter, project manager, account manager, SEO… try Umbraco. It makes your life easier.
But that’s only the half of it. If your business is looking to grow in the next few years, whether organically or by acquisition, then the Umbraco CMS platform can grow with you. And that’s worth its weight it gold – almost literally. Investing in a CMS that can grow alongside your business means more for your money, not just now, but in the future. It empowers you to make longer term business decisions about digital, with the looming horror of constant re-platforms, rebuilds and redoing. Instead, it opens conversations up about growing, optimising, refining, extending, reimagining… a far nicer vocabulary and reality if you ask me.
And when you think about that ecosystem… that means you don’t need to do it all alone. You can take on your next digital project or transformation with not just a digital agency, but with the backing and support of a whole open-source, .NET, Umbraco community.
I’d say that’s priceless.
