Whichever CMS you choose, you will work on your site in a special personal cabinet – the control panel. Sometimes this place is also called admin area or console.
In terms of design, you will have the opportunity to install a ready-made template on the site and customize its individual elements directly in the CMS control panel: fonts, colors, images, logo, buttons, links. Customization options will vary from template to template.
Templates come in paid and free. Usually you can choose among thousands, or even tens of thousands of options. This is done either in a separate section of the control panel, or on special sites like TemplateMonster.
Some CMS besides templates support page builders, with which you can manually assemble pages in the visual editor. Similar to how presentations are created in PowerPoint or Google Presentations.
In terms of site functionality immediately after the installation of CMS on the site will be the necessary minimum, but the missing functions can usually be connected separately. This is done with the help of add-ons. They are also called extensions, plugins or modules. With their help on the site can be added, for example, the functionality of an online store, contact form, pop-up window, newsletter subscription form, online chat, popular in your region method of payment or delivery.
As in the case with templates, add-ons also come in paid and free, and you can find them either in a separate section of the console, or on thematic sites like CodeCanyon.
Advantages of CMS:
- you can create a website on your own and in a short period of time;
- you do not need to understand design and programming;
- development of the site will cost less;
- it is convenient to manage the content of the site.
Disadvantages of CMS:
- you need to keep an eye on updates and compatibility of new versions with add-ons;
- performance usually decreases if the site has a lot of add-ons;
- not all functionality can be realized;
- not suitable for atypical tasks.