Effective Web Content Management:
Empowering the Business User While IT Maintains Control Abstract More and more, a Web site is the face a business or organization presents to the world. Since 1998 business-to-business and business-to-consumer Web sites have become the single most important vehicle for communicating with customers, suppliers, partners, employees, analysts, and investors. Worldwide revenues for business-to-business and business-to-consumer are expected to be $6.8 trillion by 2004 (Forrester). Unfortunately, Web content quickly grows stale and becomes out-of-date. A new Internet category-Content Management (CM) solutions-allows business users across the organization to easily add or modify their own Web content without the assistance of the IT/Web staff. Additionally,
CM solutions ensure that contributors adhere to company Web site standards while keeping security and navigational elements intact. Non-technical contributors can make authorized changes to Web content without having to master HTML or complicated Web scripting languages and without having to wait for IT or the Webmaster to make the changes. CM solutions are efficient, cost effective, and easy to integrate and use. Web content management solutions help companies maintain and manage Web sites to allow IT, Web developers, marketing, customer support, human resources, and others to add or modify content in a secure, controlled way. Content contributors are empowered to regularly update Web content without compromising Web site quality.
-William Rogers , CEO, Ektron
Table of Contents
1-Introduction
2-Implementing a Content Management Solution
3-Benefits of using a Content Management Solution
4-Market Overview
5-Keeping User Needs in Mind
6-Cost Considerations
7-Recommendations and Conclusions
8-Reference
9-Glossary
10-Sources
1-Introduction:
The purpose of this paper is to educate and inform all stakeholders involved with deploying content onto a Web site about effective content management processes. Individuals who will benefit from this paper are those who are responsible for creating, approving, and/or posting content to the site, plus technical staffers who are responsible for managing and supporting the updating process. Typical stakeholders include:
* content contributors (product managers, marketing manager, public relations, human resources, writers, editors, cross-functional administration)
* mid- and executive-level personnel (directors, CEOs, CIOs, CFOs, presidents, owners, middle-managers)
* technical/creative related staff (Web developers, webmasters, creative content developers, site administrators, IT, technical support).
This paper describes the process of implementing a CM solution at typical small and mid-sized companies and organizations, as well as the benefits derived from using CM solutions. A market overview, user needs analysis, and cost considerations will also be explored. The conclusions and recommendation section provides a list of specific features to look for when selecting a content management solution. In the reference section, readers will find information on Ektron?s CM products, a glossary of related terms used throughout this paper, and relevant sources and articles to further assist in the understanding of Web content management.
What is Web Content Management?
Often a Web site is a visitor?s first and sometimes only exposure to a company or organization. If the information is incomplete, out-of-date, or just plain boring, visitors may go to a competitor?s Web site. Many Web sites have out-of-date content because it is too time-consuming, complicated, or expensive to change. Perhaps their Webmaster is too busy. Perhaps they have exhausted this year?s budget. Companies need an affordable and user-friendly CM solution to be successful online. At many companies the demand for Web content has increased exponentially. While organizations once used the Web to post basic information (i.e., brochure-ware), they are now using the Web to publish different types of content for many different types of visitors. For example, customers want product information, partners want the latest marketing information, and employees want 401k-plan information. Solutions are now available, however: Web content management solutions help companies maintain and manage Web sites to allow IT, Web developers, marketing, customer support, human resources, and others to add or modify content in a secure, controlled way. Content contributors are empowered to regularly update Web content without compromising Web site quality.
For the Entire white paper see http://www.ektron.com/whitepaper/sign_up.cfm
For a Content Manager for PHP see Ektron eWebEditpro and PHP
A sample mini content manager is provided.at http://www.ektron.com/ewebeditpro/php
