What is a Content Management System (CMS)?

Content Management Systems, also known as a CMS, help organizations and individuals manage, create, and track content — typically just for their website(s) and application(s). This content can take the form of several different media types including, images, video, and written content. Typically, your CMS makes up the backend of your site, which will then push your content to the front-end that your visitor sees.

A CMS also provides version control and management, multiple user access, and make it easier to keep your global voice and image consistent across multiple online outposts. Classic content management systems are still able to serve the needs of brands that primarily publish content across desktop and mobile devices.

But, as the needs of content personalization and omnichannel marketing have risen, so have the demands from your CMS. Some CMS are able to offer content personalization rules and management across multiple devices. But typically this need will be filled with other forms of software, which only increases the amount of time to push out new content and adds more moving pieces to your marketing technology stack.