Content management refers to the practice of disseminating organizational information in a method to effectively categorize, store and manage thousands of files, pages and information across a website. It is also specific to the timely release of program information to constituents in a method that provides governance, standards, and control over the display of the site content. A Content Management System (CMS) provides a framework for solving a problem that all organizations have: to have a friendly way to manage their public website and communications, maintain a member’s website, and have a portfolio of pre-built solutions to leverage. 

Formerly limited to web developers and users familiar with HTML, content management has been a manual process that historically consumed tremendous organizational resources. It also created dependency on third parties to home grow original solutions and handle routine organizational communications at a very expensive price point. The advent of Web 2.0 provides a new generation of tools and technologies that reduce the technical complexity of producing dynamic web content. As a result, web publishing is democratized and no longer the exclusive domain of technical developers.

Through use of a content management tool, organizations are empowered to directly control their website and program communications with internal resources. By creating a “distributed authored” environment, departments take ownership of their sites, pages or libraries and can directly update them through any browser and at any location.