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Q: What is Web Content Management?
A: Content management systems enhance an organization's ability to create, organize, control and manage Web content. These systems make it easier for non-technical staff to add content to Web sites. Organizations benefit by enabling the creators of Web content (typically business professionals) to also become the publishers and managers of this Web content. The result is streamlined operations as:
- Business users maintain the Web site without the aid of Web/IT professionals
- IT bottlenecks are eliminated as workflow/process are applied to managing Web sites
- Ability to control access to content: only authorized users can view, update and add content
- Reposition content for customers, partners, and other important visitors as well as other output media devices such a WAP, PDF, and PDA
- Control consistent design and navigation schemes
- Eliminate inaccurate / outdated / redundant / unauthorized content
- Help site visitors find what they need
- Help content contributors find what they need
- Search engine friendly content
- Prevent contributors from overwriting content / files accidentally
- Web managers can "roll back" a page to a previous version -- perhaps for legal or regulatory reasons
- Manage media assets and files
- International language support
- Syndication to other web sites
Q: How easy it for users to create and maintain Web content with Ektron CMS400.NET?
A: Very easy. Ektron CMS400.NET incorporates Ektron's XML editor—Ektron eWebEditPro+XML. Additionally, users can simply "drag and drop" content from Microsoft Word or other Microsoft Office applications.
Navigation is intuitive for users and administrators alike because within the personal workarea is a Windows Explorer-like interface with familiar folder and content layout. Adding content is as easy as opening the desired folder and clicking the "Add Content" button. Alternately, your Web site can double as the Ektron CM interface giving users a choice on how they wish to access the content they need to maintain.
Q: How does Ektron CMS help maintain my site's navigation, links, and usability?
A: The following features maintain site navigation, links, and usability:
- ecmCollection - The ecmCollection function is highly customizable, allowing developers to easily define how the collection data will be displayed on the Web page. Site administrators can designate "super users" to manage site navigation (or a similar display of information) within a new folder titled "collections". They can add and remove items from a navigation menu (or for a press release listing) and easily re-order them. This powerful feature makes site navigation as easy to manage as the content itself and reduces the need for IT or Webmasters to be involved with all navigational site changes.
- ecmListSummary - This function/tag dynamically displays summary information and automatically creates links to all content blocks within a specified folder (and optionally within sub-folders). The display information includes: title, user selectable information, and the summary field (AKA teaser). Each time the Web page using this tag is viewed, Ektron CMS looks for updated content, new content, and/or deleted content, and then automatically displays the summary information with a link to the content. Examples: press releases and job listings.
- ecmSingleSummary - Similar to the ecmListSummary tag above, the ecmSingleSummary tag operates on a single content block instead of on all the content blocks within a folder.
- ecmSearch - This function/tag provides enhanced search capability for site visitors by letting them browse all specified folders for specific words or word phrases. It automatically creates the navigation to the content blocks meeting the specified criteria. When using this search function, site visitors can search by all the words, any of the words, and/or an exact phrase.
- 508 compliant
Q: Should I be concerned about site security?
A: No. Here's why: site administrators can create users with individual passwords that are encrypted in the database to prevent theft. The login page for accessing Ektron CMS can use SSL to transfer the username and password, and it validates users with a combination of cookie and database driven information. This should prevent the theft and illegal use of a user's cookie located on the client machine.
Content security is handled by a flexible user/user group permission association model. Unlimited users and user groups can be specified. Each user or group can by given, or denied, a wide range of permissions to folders or even content (e.g., each user can exist in an unlimited number of user groups).
Q: How are content changes tracked and workflow processed?
A: A complete document check-in/check-out process is incorporated in Ektron CMS. After a document is checked out by a user, it may not be edited by another user until it is first checked back in. This prevents a user from overwriting another's content changes. Users may save the content as many times as they like before checking back in the content. Once checked in, another user may continue the editing process (if needed).
Users with editing permissions then "submit" the content for approval when their changes are complete. During the approval process, approvers are notified by e-mail, and also from within their personal workarea, that content is awaiting their approval. At that point, the approver can approve or decline the content.
Q: Can administrators easily organize their site and content?
A: Yes. Administrator functions are accessed through a Windows Explorer-like interface where content is organized by an unlimited number of folders and subfolders. Each folder can have its own style sheet and default template. This gives the administrator the ability control the look and feel of different parts of the Web site. A few more details:
- Each folder can inherit permissions and approval chains from its parent folder
- Every folder can designate its own permissions and approval chain if desired
- The content blocks can also have their own permissions and approval chain or inherit from their parent folder (i.e., the folder just above)
- User access to content blocks is controlled by an "OR" function of both individual user permissions and group permissions
- This functionality emulates the familiar Windows 2000 permissions model
Q: Can I "brand" Ektron CMS with my own company's logos, images, and style?
A: Yes. Web developers can now easily "brand" Ektron CMS to match the graphics or style of either their own company or their client's company. This branding lets developers alter the graphics, colors, and styles of the application. Extensive documentation is included to aid developers with the available customization options.
Q: Is Ektron CMS search engine friendly?
A: Yes. The metadata support feature has made Ektron CMS into highly flexible, search engine-friendly product. Because both internal and external search engines rely on metadata (i.e., data that describes data) to help site visitors locate relevant information, it is critical for business users to be able to add and modify metadata. Ektron CMS offers a unique solution to the challenge posed by search engines and dynamic Web sites through the use of the ecmMetadata function/tag. With this function/tag, intranet and Web site administrators can:
- Define site specific metadata
- Control properties (i.e., user editable, required, remove duplicate information)
- Determine what metadata to include in the Web page
- Exclude specific metadata from any content block
- Remove duplicate metadata content and make the removal case sensitive
- Limit access to certain metadata by denying edit capability
- Specify the metadata as required (i.e., forcing users to fill out the metadata before the content can be submitted or published)
- Allow metadata to be merged from an unlimited number of content blocks into one page
Q: Is the process of controlling the Web site's style straightforward for Web administrator or developer?
A: Yes. Sites managed by Ektron content management solutions can easily take advantage of cascading style sheets (CSS). Style classes can be applied to content within the editor. Style sheets store presentation information about the content in a separate file. When content is copied and pasted from Microsoft Word into the editor, the content will contain information such as embedded style attributes, fonts, and other coding the editor cleans up.
Access to administrator functionality is through a familiar and intuitive Windows-like interface. Web professionals can easily create external content templates to control the Web site style. Site administrators can control style and format in several ways:
- Specifying which templates business users can use
- Specifying folder and content approvals—allows only business users with interest to specific content the ability to read, edit, add, restore, and/or or delete this content
- Determining the approval chain for folders or content—creates a verification process to occur before changes are allowed to propagate to the Web site
- Creating up to an unlimited number of users and user groups—this allows for an extremely flexible permission and approval process
Q: Is Ektron CMS 100% Web browser based?
A: Yes. All functionality can be controlled and accessed through an Internet, Web based interface using Netscape 4.7x, Netscape 6, or Internet Explorer.
Access to administrator functionality is through a familiar and intuitive Windows-like interface. Web professionals can easily create external content templates to control the Web site style. Site administrators can control style and format in several ways:
- Administrators control users, user groups, folders, content blocks, and metadata through the Web-based interface
- Content contributors and/or site publishers can access their personal Workarea, login, check out documents, add content, edit content, add metadata information, and—with appropriate rights—upload files/images/hyperlinks, delete content or approve content
- Site visitors can view any public content block using any Web browser
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