Content Management Systems (CMS) permit the users to take care of their own custom sites — after professionals have created them — the end-user can maintain them and make changes. As an example, you can make a site that lets the client add or update employee contact information, schedules of events, and other dynamic content independently, without any knowledge of HTML.

You can choose from several CMS systems, and some of them are even free – and many of the free ones are quite good, actually. Choose which one to use based on the website you need. This list isn’t complete. There are a number of Content Management Systems to choose from. Read the information at the provider’s website to make sure that a specific CMS suits your needs.

Joomla is incredibly versatile. You can use it for almost any kind of website. It doesn’t matter whether you are talking about a personal website or a business site (whether large or small), online publications or even an E-commerce site (however, if you are dealing with an e-commerce site, you may fare better with a dedicated e-commerce package like Zen Cart or osCommerce). Joomla is not difficult to install and, if the web host offers Fantastico, the setup can be completely automated.

Website Baker is PHP-based to make it uncomplicated. The PHP based system permits the user to manipulate text and images with great precision. If the user has familiarity with PHP, it can be completely re-done. Guru.com can refer you to PHP programmers available for contract positions. YOu will find this a surprisingly affordable solution. Useful add-ons are easy to incorporate into a Website Baker site; some popular add-ons include message boards, photo albums, catalogs, and acceptance of online payments.

Drupal. Unless you have been specially trained for Drupal, you probably don’t want to even consider it. They even tell you on their website that there is a big learning curve.

Mambo is very versatile, easy to use, and popular. Given the array of available themes, only a few small modifications are necessary to create a really great website.

phpWebSite is very versatile and powerful. Additions consist of document manager, photo album, polls, calendar, and a form generator. Like every Content Management System, it takes a while to learn the program. Unless you have experience in PHP, then you won’t be able to do much personalization.

Stephen Grisham, Sr. is a copy writer for InfoServe Media, LLC. InfoServe Media is a Houston, TX web design and web hosting company. If you just need periodic updates to an existing site, InfoServe Media also offers website maintenance.