What is a Content Management System?

The traditional model for a web site has been a file for each page. The 'home page' might be a file named index.html, and for the About Us page, another file named about.html. This model works fine for an unchanging (static) 'Hello—here is what we do—come see us—Bye' site, but for a site where the content changes often, or a site where showcasing content is what you do, it's a horrible model for someone who is not a web site developer to maintain.

With a CMS, the goal is to segregate the content (the text and images) from all of the cryptic computerese, so that in many cases, adding and editing content is no more complicated than creating a document in your favorite text editor.