A Frog in the Valley (a French weblog) links to a post about a new glasshaus book on content management systems:
Book Excerpt: Content Management Systems
The case in favor of Content Management is argued in this excerpt from the glasshaus title, “Content Management Systems.” Included are discussions defining what CMS is, why it is needed, and more importantly, why it can be so difficult to implement. [Via WebReference News]
I’ll have to look at this book. I’ve spent years evangelizing on this subject. Content management is frequently handled as an afterthought, folded in with site admin, designed like a boilerrooom or janitor’s closet. All the emphasis frequently goes on the “face” of the website: cool design, smart navigation, usability.
All very important. But a major “user” of any site is whoever has to update the content, and the user interface on the content admin site of most sites is abysmal. Six months after the launch when everyone realizes what a pain in the ass it is to get new content up in a timely manner, the CMS retrofit project finally begins.