A long time ago, in a browser far, far away, the World Wide Web was born. Its first baby steps included Archie (the first search engine), eBay, AOL and Amazon. Now, far past dial-up puberty and sporting a more cynical demeanor, the Internet you use on a daily basis enables you to do so many things. You can read, view, post, learn, play, buy, sell, bank, even live every moment of your life for all to see (if you’re into that sort of thing)
If you’re under 30, you can’t even conceive of a life without the web. And you can thank Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the real inventor of the internet (sorry Al Gore). Lee created the first version of HTML (HyperText Markup Language), the glue that holds your online existence together.
Simply stated, without HTML, there would be no WWW. HTML is the programming language that makes communication between web pages and the browsers that render them possible. HTML, along with the later development of CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and Javascript, form the foundation from which all modern Internet technology has sprung.
Today, the web has evolved in many ways, utilizing technology never even imagined by its younger, grungier self of 1995. Improvements such as broadband connectivity (to move massive amounts of data), wireless networks (hello mobile!) and larger-than-life bandwidth have made your online activity much more efficient and enjoyable — not to mention accessible from virtually anywhere.
As for websites, they too have evolved, both in design and function. The capabilities of a modern website are mind-blowing compared to those primeval renderings of twenty years ago.
Although HTML is still the core element of all websites, now there are many other technical cogs in the online machine that contribute to a website’s ability to provide an awesome user experience. One that stands out is the content management system (CMS), a total website game-changer.
A CMS (like WordPress, Drupal, etc.) enables you to make changes to your site in real time, but it’s so much more than just an editor. A CMS saves you production time, development costs and all-around website headaches.
With its ability to handle countless types of applications and functions, a CMS-driven website can help your business grow like never before. A CMS allows your site to be an administrative assistant, appointment setter, answering service and social media reporter — and that’s just for starters!
HTML-only sites were once mass accepted, but this is no longer the case. With the advent of mobile devices and ever-changing technologies, today’s internet users have higher expectations. And you should too.
A CMS makes your site dynamic, robust and intuitive — and three dimensional. In short, a CMS takes your site from flat, to phat!
Conversely, an HTML–only website is not dynamic (with little or no dimension), thus it is considered flat, or static, and will quite often yield a less-than-satisfying user experience. It can pretty much do nothing but sit there in cyberspace, unless you hire a team of developers to make it work even remotely like a CMS.
Looking at the table below, you can see the advantages of incorporating a CMS into your website. Compared to an HTML-only site, it’s a no brainer.
Well, there you have it. If you want to use the web to promote your business and expand your profits, a CMS-driven, phat-with-features website is the way to go, grow, and keep growing.
Or, you can have a flat-as-a-pancake, just-sitting-out-there-in-cyberspace kind of website that never changes — unless you wait for your developer to get around to helping you every time you want to change a word.
To put it another way, a phat site is the penthouse apartment of websites, and a flat site is the old security guard sleeping at the desk in the lobby. And nobody wants to be that guy.
