How to get access to a huge audience that doesn't know absolutely nothing about your company yet? The most common, simple and reliable solution is to create and launch a company website. The site is a kind of "virtual office", your representation in the network. A place where you can introduce the client to yourself and your products.
All is well, one problem is the creation of the site. There is a simple solution (but it may not always suit you) - website development on an online constructor... You can cope with such a task yourself, you just need to sit a little and understand the editor. A more difficult way is to use a bundle of CMS + hosting. In this case, specialized knowledge is required. Which option is right for you?

uKit is one of the most successful website builders on the market. Allows you to create business card sites of various types (company website, portfolio, personal website), landing pages and small stores. The business card can be supplemented with a laconic blog feed.

Compared to any well-known CMS, Yukit is noticeably easier to use. The kit includes adaptive thematic templates, you do not need to install anything additionally (modules, plugins, scripts, etc.) for successful work. It is mastered in 1 evening without experience.

Beginners will love the quick start: short registration in a couple of clicks, and you are already at the stage of entering basic information about the site. No need to buy hosting, set up an engine from scratch, look for templates, and more. The result is decent. The sites look good.

Website builder is a good alternative to CMS. Saving money, time. It is easy to administer, and the promotion process is no different from CMS-based sites, the creation of which, for sure, will be offered to you by freelancers and web studios.

It is desirable for a beginner webmaster to have an understanding of the CMS. At least, to feel confident in negotiations when ordering a site. It will not work to create a website without preparation in a CMS, unlike a constructor, but we will now analyze the main points: which of them, for what purpose and for whom they are suitable.

What is CMS

At its core, a site is a web application; it is code that is read and displayed by the browser. Various programming languages ​​(PHP, JavaScript) and markup languages ​​- HTML, CSS are used to develop sites.

Ten or fifteen years ago, every self-respecting programmer tried to write a site from scratch himself. That is, everything that is, was created specifically for the client, there were no ready-made solutions. But the sites at that time were much simpler than the current ones.

Each site has a standard set of functions, a standard architecture. It is logical that it was much easier to think over and make some kind of standard solution, template, backbone, on the basis of which different projects could be created. Sites became more and more complex, more and more functions were assigned to them. It was necessary to somehow publish the content, manage it, have access to editing. Self-written engines have not always made it possible to do this simply and easily.

This is how the first CMS appeared, popularly called "engines". The abbreviation stands for "Content Management System", that is, the content management system of the site.

It is a program that is used to organize the creation, management, filling and sharing of site content. Based on the engine, you can create projects of any kind and of any complexity.

In its basic form, any CMS is just a framework, the backbone on which additional functions are built up with the help of plug-ins - plugins. These are also mini-programs that integrate with the system and perform the desired function. For example, there are plugins for collecting subscribers, for SEO, for connecting the functionality of an online store, etc. Depending on the engine, sometimes such plugins can be connected and configured without even knowing the code. Sometimes you need to mess around and sit in the program code.

That is, developing a website on a CMS is figuratively a kind of "constructor game" - to take a ready-made framework, build up the necessary functions on it by connecting the correct plugins, and make "repairs" by purchasing or choosing a theme with a suitable design. Only a programmer should be engaged in such a "game", who understands what to connect to, and will be able to configure everything correctly.

CMS solves the following tasks:

• reduces the time for website development - many solutions are already ready, all that remains is to connect and configure;
• later allows the site owner to manage content (add, edit, delete) without involving a third-party programmer;
• the site works on a stable system that is constantly updated and adapts to new realities;
• you can easily choose an engine for your tasks, and as a result, get a site that suits you perfectly.

But be aware that if the site is on a ready-made CMS, it will not be more expensive. And the site will not be worse or defective - today almost all sites on the network work on ready-made engines, even sites of large companies. You will get a good resource with the right set of features.

But if an agency offers a self-written engine, then you already need to think about it. Because they will take at exorbitant prices, and it is not known how convenient and stable the engine of their own development is. It is better to opt for time-tested solutions.

What solutions are proven and popular? Read on.

Types of site engines

In general, there are a huge number of CMS themselves. Today, according to CMS Magazine, there are about 350 registered. How can you choose the one that suits you best among all this? You need to focus primarily on your tasks.

Let's see what types of engines are.

Depending on the license CMS are divided into free distribution and commercial. In a simple way - onpaid and free ... No need to think that freeCMS means bad. No, there are a lot of really good and stable systems among the free ones. Moreover, individual modules may be paid. Free engines are growing and improving together, supported and developed by enthusiasts.

What is the advantage of paid CMS - you have guaranteed support from the developer of this system, to whom you can make a complaint if something went wrong.

Depending on the type of project it is very difficult to split CMS. There are those that are considereduniversal, that is, suitable for almost all tasks, but still, each of them has some limitations. There are also those that have taken root in their niche - for example, CMS for online stores, for blogs, for social networks, etc.

Also share enginesby the degree of alienation :

• individual or studio - these are self-written CMS that are used by a specific studio or developer and no one else;
• box solutions that are used by a wide range of developers;
• SaaS – online website builders, which we have already talked about.

Popular CMS for your site

Which CMS should you choose? Let's take a look at the most popular ones today.

WordPress

Every third site on the Internet runs on this CMS. This fact speaks for itself - it is the most popular engine in the world. It is free, and therefore there are a lot of plugins developed for it. As a result, you can do anything on Wordpress - both a small blog and a full-fledged online store. But it is noticeable that he started his journey as a solution for blogging, and it is the blogs that are best done on it.

WordPress sites are easy to create, easy to support, fast to promote. Stable, understandable engine.

Of the minuses, I can only note a long load in the event that you hang a lot of extensions on it (but this will be with any engine), and recurring vulnerability problems.

Suitable for you if:

• you have a limited development budget;
• you do not want to understand the complex admin panel - here it is just very simple and intuitive;
• you want a blog or corporate blog site.

Another universal free engine on which you can create almost anything. The second most common in the world.

It is also quite easy to create sites on it, but I cannot say that this engine is very good. It is leaky and easy to crack. Often creates duplicate pages, which can lead to problems with promotion. The administrative panel, I would also not call it so easy to understand.

Joomla! well suited for large portals, and by expanding Virtuemart on its basis, you can create a functional online store.

Suitable for you if:

• you are a more or less confident PC user;
• want a website that is easy to develop and transform in the future.

Reliable, multifunctional free CMS, which is suitable primarily for large portals and sites of large companies - for example, if you want a blog, and sections with services, and an all-in-one online store. A well-protected, stable system, but it requires a developer to have good skills in developing sites on it. The dilettante cannot cope.

Suitable for you if:

• you want a large portal with many sections and functions;
• you have the opportunity to hire a good web developer (understandably, for a good fee).

1C Bitrix

Developed by 1C, paid CMS... The price differs from version to version. It can be used for corporate sites, and it has one feature, if you want an online store, it is integration with 1C.

But what is in development, what is in support, what is in use - a very complex engine. In addition, it was noticed that sites on it take a very long time to load and work unstably, especially with a large online environment.

Suitable for you if:

• you want an online store with integration with 1C;
• you have a good budget to develop and maintain this site.

These are the most popularCMS on the market, but not all. When choosing an engine for yourself, be guided first of all by the functionality you need, and whether you have a budget, resources and people to work with the site and support it. Most often, a simple solution based on a free engine is enough for a small company.

Often, a ready-made CMS is used to create a site, which becomes the basis for deploying a site. Some users may have a question: how to make a content management system (CMS) yourself?

It should be said right away that creating your own CMS is not an easy process. To develop any suitable system, you need to have a good level of website development technologies from scratch - that is, you need to know one of the web programming languages ​​(for example PHP), know and be able to write queries to the database (MySQL), be able to write scripts in JavaScript know HTML and CSS. Of course, in some cases it is possible to abandon some of the above technologies, but often these funds cannot be dispensed with. Let's consider a simplified creation process.

System design

Creating a content management system should start with its design. It is necessary to determine how the system will function, draw up schemes for the interaction of its main parts. For design, you can resort to various special tools, for example, use software or draw up the simplest diagrams on a simple sheet of paper. Typically, the system has several main components that will solve the main typical tasks, such as administration, content management, user registration and login, and so on. If it is necessary to use clean addresses in the system, then first of all it is necessary to think over how they will be processed.

System implementation

After solving some basic questions concerning the basic principles of the system's functioning, it is necessary to proceed to the direct implementation of the system, or rather its main components. A typical example would be a system that has one entry point to the application (usually the index.php file), this entry point then processes all requests. Usually it is worth creating a kernel file that will contain frequently used functions (API), and then use the functions from this file in all necessary places in the system. Most of the functionality is implemented in additional core files. When the foundation is ready in the form of basic functions for building the system, you can proceed to the implementation of any specific tasks in the system.

As your own content management system evolves, you will need to fix bugs in its operation, improve the performance of its components, and add new functionality. Thus, you will develop your own CMS step by step.

Only for Lifeexample readers it is possible to open an online store on Moguta.CMS with a 15% discount

Creation of CMS design stage

Hello, dear blog readers, today I would like to touch upon a topic with which it would be worth starting a series of articles about. We will talk about the process of creating a CMS at the design stage.

What a CMS should be able to do in order to be called such, and at what point the site engine, or a mini-framework, grows into a content management system.

The process of creating a CMS at the design stage defines the tasks, according to the plan of which any CMS should:

• Have your own installer;
• Update without touching user files. Those. update only the kernel;
• Support the use of plugins;
• Have the ability to cache pages;
• Save database backups;
• Maintain templating;

This checklist is the basis of the tasks for any content management system created for users.

Of course, if you are a developer, layout designer, designer, user and administrator in one person, then the above requirements can be performed manually by you.

In the case when a person who has no idea even about HTML wants to use the created CMS, all this should be!

CMS Installer

By an installer we mean a script or a set of scripts responsible for the first step towards using the finished product, namely for installing and configuring the system files necessary for the functioning of the CMS.

To install any system, as a rule, having received a ready-made set of packed files that represent a CMS, the user unpacks its contents to a remote hosting.

At the first start of the system, among the unpacked files, there should be a directory containing scripts for installation, usually it is named - instal.

After unpacking the archive, when accessing the site, the user should already receive a working environment, and not a set of inadequate errors screaming about the inability to connect to the database or the absence of a particular module on the server.

In other words, when first launched, the user should be in the CMS installation environment, physically located in the install directory.

Here is a block diagram of the first run:

As you can see, first, according to the plan, setting up the configuration file, then uninstalling the installer, and launching.

Plugin support

Everything is somewhat more complicated here than with the installer, and it is necessary to clearly design the system to support the plugins. In the simplest case, a plugin can be a class inherited from the properties and methods of the parent Plagin class.

The Plagin class itself must be in the core of the system, and be able to be updated with the release of new versions. This is necessary to increase the functionality of the system in the future.

In a more complicated case, for example, when using a plugin, it can be a set of files, or maybe directories.

System update

Recently I was faced with the task of updating the customer's site created on one developing CMS. The site had missed the last two system updates and was already in need of a good upgrade.

After reading the guide to updating kernel versions, I was a little confused about the need for incremental updates. It was necessary to do the updates in this order v1.5 -> v1.6 -> v1.7, and all this was done in a semi-automatic mode using several interfaces and manually replacing the files of the current version.

In my opinion, when creating a CMS, the update process should be fundamental and occur completely automatically - directly from the administration panel by clicking on the appropriate button " Update to the latest version".

For this to be possible, again, you need to think carefully about the application architecture and directory structure.

I think it will be convenient to put in a separate directory, those files that can be updated in the future, and which users are better off not touching.

Page caching and templating support

A very useful property of storing dynamic data in a static form. It will significantly reduce the use of server resources and speed up the site. To cache pages, you can refer, for example, to the template engine SMARTY, which is easy to use and clearly separates the business logic from the page template, and also has the ability to cache data.

But if we we create our own CMS and even on, then this assumes that all our logic is already separated from the presentation, and, accordingly, no third-party template engine is needed.

All that will be is to write your own caching mechanism using standard PHP output control mechanisms.

Saving database backups

With the support and development of a site created on any CMS, it is extremely important to keep a daily backup of the database.

Often, you cannot find built-in mechanisms for automatic database dumping in CMS. Take even everyone's favorite WordPress, it is the best fit for this example, but the situation is corrected by plugins developed specifically for maintaining database backups.

This once again proves the need to support plugins, which at times can significantly add to the functionality of the system.

The creation of a CMS requires a lot of effort and pronounced motivation, which often overlaps the process of a high-quality design stage with a desire to start making functionality as soon as possible.

As much as you would like to start faster, and complete even faster CMS creation, do not forget that the design stage of any system is the main and most important one. Give it as much time as possible and you will be able to reach the end without folding your hands when faced with a task that breaks the entire application architecture.

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If the need arose to create a website, or the idea came to mind of itself to do something good and kind for the Internet, the bearer of this idea usually thinks about who will make the site, on what, and in what time frame. Usually the answer to the question "Who" is the person himself. It is much more interesting to make your own, native site. The second question - “On what” - is the subject of this article.

Science knows many ready-made solutions based on CMS, such as Drupal or Joomla. It would seem, what is easier? I installed the package from the installer, filled in a couple of pages, chose an unbroken pretty template - and you enjoy life. At the same time, no programming, cheap and cheerful. Pros when using a CMS:

1) Simplicity and speed of deployment. You can make a website in 5 minutes.

2) The presence of many modules that will expand the site's functions in the future.

3) Ease of support, since there is a ready-made admin panel, which can be taught to anyone in 5 minutes.

But at first glance, this is all so good. As you know, free cheese is only in a mousetrap. What's the catch? Here's what:
1) Any CMS is universal. She can easily ignore your narrow focus. For example, you need to create a department website - no CMS contains modules for working in such a specific area (students, teachers, grades, attendance). In general, sooner or later you will have to finish writing, if you do not have a business card site.

2) Since the CMS tries to cover the whole range of tasks, then it will probably contain those functions that you do not need. And you will have to put up with them, which by itself will slow down page loading and load the server. Try to estimate how many unnecessary SQL queries go to the database in a standard CMS? But most people do not even think about what is happening inside there, and there often everything is not very well optimized.

3) Yes, at first glance there are a lot of free modules that you can download and install if you need to expand the site's functions. But as soon as such a real need arises, it immediately turns out that one module of the curve, the other is simple, the third does not quite what is needed. As a result, you still have to work with a file, waste time, spit from nonsense in someone else's code, put endless crutches.

4) The quality issue should come first. Who writes these endless free modules? With all due respect, they are written by enthusiasts, whose level of knowledge can easily turn out to be very low. Are you ready to entrust your project to illiterately written code?

5) Standard tools have standard holes. If a hacker sees that you are using a certain component, he is 100% likely to hack it - either he will find a ready-made exploit, or he will calculate the hole himself (knowing the source code is not a problem).

This list can be continued indefinitely, it is just obvious that you can use standard CMS only when the relative value of the project is low and the projected load will also be low. If you want a high-quality website, just for your needs, you cannot do without programming. But this is labor costs, which by itself increases the cost of the project. Even if a person does everything for himself and for himself, he is still wasting his precious time, which can and should be counted and evaluated.

Of course, if you started programming your site yourself, you will have your own CMS, which you will polish and build, using in the next projects. You can, of course, finish the standard CMS with a file - but the labor costs in this case will be quite comparable, because it also needs to be studied, to figure out how it works.

In short, the balance of power is important everywhere. If you feel the strength to support and patch someone else's standard CMS, you can do it. But always before starting work on a site, you need to carefully think over and design everything, and it is quite possible that it will turn out that it will be cheaper to write a site yourself. It's better to invest wisely once, than to regret and throw away good ideas and spoiled sites in the trash.

Although any webmaster should know HTML / CSS and be able to style something on their own, it is not at all necessary to create sites from scratch using only these tools.

The Internet developed, the information flow grew, and the purpose of most sites did not change, and from resource to resource people needed approximately the same set of functions. Naturally, constantly reinventing the wheel, and one and the same, is a thankless, costly and useless task. The solution to the problem of quickly creating sites that are similar in functionality and became CMS - content management systems.

What is CMS

CMS is a so-called "engine" or "skeleton" of the site - the basic functionality with ready-made themes. The webmaster only needs to upload the CMS files to the server, customize it to fit his needs, select and, if necessary, correct the theme, as well as fill the site with content - text, photos, videos, etc.

CMS are written in different programming languages ​​(mostly PHP), but they must use CSS and HTML code, so knowledge of these development tools will always come in handy.

CMS can be compared to a program or even an operating system - you install it, configure it and use it. You do not need to have programming skills for this - you can manage the site through a convenient administration panel, and you can expand the resource's functionality by installing pre-written extensions - plugins.

CMS advantages

CMS almost completely relieves you of the problems associated with creating a website - installation and configuration of any modern engine is simple and does not take much time.

To change the text or add a page to a site created manually using HTML and CSS, you need to edit the code. In the content management system, everything is done through the admin panel with a convenient user interface.

Sites on CMS are dynamic, they can contain thousands and even tens of thousands of pages, they are easy to expand, they are easy to manage, their design can always be changed with minimal intervention or even without touching the system code at all.

CMS classification

All content management systems can be conditionally divided into free, paid and self-written.

A separate line is "mobile CMS", which run sites optimized for portable devices. Among them there are also paid, free and self-written ones.

Paid CMS

It is believed that paid CMS is safer than free, and there is some logic in this. Fewer sites work on them, that is, they are less popular, which means that there is much less information on the Web on how to hack them. And the developers of paid engines care about their image, and therefore eliminate vulnerabilities in a timely manner and try to prevent them. When purchasing a paid system, you can count on official technical support.

Usually, the site of a paid engine offers several editions, from which the user chooses the optimal one, depending on his needs. Versions differ in functionality and, as a result, in price: fewer features - cheaper. When it comes to choosing a CMS, "More expensive" in no way means "Better". The editorial choice should be based solely on how the site should turn out, and what functions it really needs.

Among others, there are three very popular paid content management systems.

• 1C-Bitrix. A product that is best used for really large business projects and complex online stores integrated with 1C. The system has a huge amount of reference information in Russian. Due to its popularity, it will not be difficult to find a site administrator specializing in "1C-Bitrix".
• NetCat. A fast and undemanding system with an intuitive interface, a convenient admin panel and good technical support. Any site can be made on it: from a business card to a portal, but NetCat is not very suitable for creating an online store.
• UMI. CMS. The system has well-thought-out documentation and a user-friendly control panel. UMI.CMS even has its own mobile application. However, now the Umisoft company has moved towards the development of its website builder umi.ru.

Free CMS

People do them not for the sake of profit, but "out of love for art." Hundreds and thousands of developers from different countries support free open source CMS. New plugins, themes are constantly being created for them, updates and patches are released.

In principle, on a free CMS, you can also make an online store and a corporate portal, and not just a blog or gallery. These CMSs also have disadvantages. If one company deals with paid systems, for which the image of its brainchild is important, then anyone can write a theme or module for a free engine. Because of this, extensions are not always safe, not always of high quality - the stability of free systems suffers.

Let's take a look at the three common CMS that are distributed free of charge.

• WordPress. A huge number of sites have been made on this system; today it is the most popular engine. A sea of ​​themes, thousands of extensions, wide support, ease of use are only a part of its positive qualities. But the flip side of popularity is the large number of vulnerabilities and the increased interest of hackers. The security of a WordPress site has to be fought. It is believed that the resources on this CMS are not favored by search engines. This can be explained, again, by popularity. There are too many sites of the same type with template structure and themes. It's no secret that for better optimization, the site design also needs to be optimized. See also tutorials on how to create a WordPress website.
• Joomla!. The second most popular CMS. It is harder to learn than WordPress, but more flexible in settings. See also tutorials on creating a website on Joomla.
• Drupal. In mastering the system is even more complicated than the previous ones, but it is distinguished by incredible flexibility - if you wish, you can create a site on Drupal that suits almost any needs.

Self-written CMS

These are custom-made control systems. Such a CMS will fully meet all the customer's requirements, fully suit the needs of the project. It can no longer be hacked by any schoolchild, because there will be no information on the vulnerabilities found in it on the Internet. In principle, there is only one minus of a good self-written system - the price. Moreover, the price of both development and maintenance, after all, modules and themes in the future will also have to be ordered exclusively for this CMS - third-party developers will not write ready-made extensions.

What to choose?

There is no definite answer. It all depends on budget, purpose and personal preference. Of course, a large portal or online store cannot do without a CMS, an online constructor can only make sites "for yourself", and HTML / CSS is more suitable for static and small business card sites. Otherwise, the choice is yours, my preferences will be as follows:

• For business card and blog sites - WordPress since this CMS is the simplest and the easiest way to make a project on it in terms of labor costs;
• For sites with catalogs and filters - Drupal, a very flexible CMS that allows you to make an optimal structure for SEO tasks, also with minimal effort you can make a project with elements of social networks and small portals. Many people do the same on Joomla, but I personally do not like this engine, although I learned to make the first sites on it and it is more popular;
• For client sites I often use Netcat since it has a convenient admin panel that is intuitive for users even with minimal computer experience. Also, in terms of labor costs, projects are deployed on it quite quickly, which is very convenient for me for commercial purposes;
• For online stores where there is integration with 1C I use Bitrix, especially in cases where it is necessary to apply the multistore technology (if there are several warehouses in 1C with different prices and balances), I also sometimes use narrow-profile engines for online commerce Shop Script(paid) and Opencart(free).