Tuesday, November 6, 2012

CMS v Framework

I just had a long conversation with a customer who had asked whether we were using a CMS or Framework to build his site. I find it interesting that I was asked this question in the first place as few customers care deeply about the technologies involved in their site. Secondly I was intrigued in how a CMS was confused with a Framework.

A CMS is a system where pages are loaded with data that is stored in a database* and the the customer has direct control over the page contents and much of the formatting.

A Frameworks is a set of rules that sets up how files are organized and how they work together. These 2 things have very little to do with each other.

"So why not alway use a CMS?"

Because not all sites are used for delivering content. Publishing houses deliver content, as do eCommerce sites, but some sites are applications and frameworks are used to build these applications. An application may be a Content Management System but it need not be.



* Yes it can be a NoSQL or flat-file solution as well.