SEO Glossary > CMS (Content Management System)

CMS (Content Management System)


A Content Management System is a software program that is used to upload, modify, and organize content to be published on the internet. The most widely-used CMS software by far is WordPress with millions of installations worldwide. Other popular CMSs include Drupal, Joomla, and Blogger. Some content management systems, WordPress for example, have advanced third-party SEO plugins that help webmasters to optimize their content for search engines.
See a breakdown of market share for various CMS systems



What are the different types of content management systems?



Over time, different types of content management systems have developed.

Traditional CMS


The traditional CMS, known for their simplicity, are designed to create simple websites These platforms allow users to create and edit content using a visual or an HTML editor. The CMS will then display the content according to the CSS used for layout.

Decoupled CMS


This type of CMS has an architecture that decouples the front-end system from the back-end system. The back-end system is designed for storage and content creation, while the front-end system is responsible for taking the data and presenting it to the end-user. Since these are two different systems, an API is used to connect the front-end and back-end.

Headless CMS


This CMS type is similar to the decoupled CMS. It too has a separate system for the back-end content creation and storage system and the front-end publishing system. Where the headless CMS differs from the decoupled CMS is it doesn't have one single designated frontend to serve for the presentation of content. Rather the API delivers information down various channels.

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