K L E Society’s

College of Computer Applications – BCA, Dharwad.

BCA V Sem (NEP)

WEB CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

UNIT – I
Back in the early 90s, the first step for managing content online was through the Server Side. What
this means is that it allows you to keep certain sections of your website distinct from the primary
content, for instance, the site menu or the footer of the page. This was also the time when Common
Gateway Interface came into existence that allowed developers to build interactive web forms into
the website.
Today, content is delivered dynamically through Web 2.0, where companies are using the modern,
agile and flexible web content management system.

1 Web content management system (WCMS):

1.1 Definition:
1. A web content management system is a platform that allows organizations to manage different
types of digital information on their website, by creating and managing dynamic content without
any knowledge of programming or any mark-up languages.
By implementing dynamically managed web content, businesses can take informed decisions
based on insights delivered through the platform.

2. A web content management system (WCMS) is a type of content management system (CMS)
that provides an organization with a way to manage digital information on a website through
creating and maintaining content without prior knowledge of web programming or markup
languages.

Managing web content effectively can have useful business applications in the enterprise,
producing insights for decision-making and delivering results, as well as value.

1.2 How does a WCMS work?

A web content management system, also known as WCMS helps in maintaining and controlling
the content on a website. The content is stored in a central database and the same is recalled using
various programming or markup languages such as XML or. NET. Those who want to access the
web page can do so through a web browser. For editing the content, the same can be done through
a web browser-based control panel that not only controls the content part, but also the layout and
other elements of a web page.

A typical web content management system has two parts:

1. A content management application (known as CMA) that helps creators, such as content
writers, designers, developers to create the layout of the web page and further modify it to suit
their requirements. This does not require any support from the IT department.

2. A content delivery application (also known as CDA) that transforms the content created by
users at the backend into a visible format for the visitors in the front end.
There is a lot of flexibility when it comes to hosting the WCMS application. IT can be either hosted
on the own data center of the organization or on a third-party cloud server.

1.3 Why use a WCMS?

Websites are a very important marketing channel for promoting business. In fact, modern
business thrives heavily on websites because it is an important channel for creating inbound
interests. A very critical aspect of maintaining a website is the constant update in its content. This
can’t be done on a manual basis, which is why the need for a web content management system is
inevitable.

If we look at the various digital marketing activities such as emails, social media, print, and other
modes of advertisement and promotion, they all route to the website of the company. Hence, it is
important for businesses to maintain their website for an effective online presence. . A WCMS is
the technology that powers websites that focus on content creation and sharing -- such as blogs
and portfolios. Thus, a WCMS serves as a catalyst to propel a company’s web presence through
the creation of a variety of content and sharing the same. However, we can also see other use cases
of WCMS where companies create e-commerce websites or online stores.

1.4 Capabilities & Features

If we look at the capability and features of a typical web content management system, there are
three
main types such as:
1. Flexibility to create personalized content for a website, which can be easily designed, created,
and maintained through a WCMS.
2. Editors can easily review and approve content before it is published online.
3. A fully automated process for publishing the content.

Over and above these main features, there are a few additional features that a WCMs will have.
These are:

1. Standard and automated templates: Provide users with standard templates that they can use
to create content instantly
2. Access: Empowers administrators to control access to the page of the website who has to
access.
3. Scalability: WCMS are scalable systems, thereby making it easy for organizations to implement
them across the board
4. Ease-of-use plugins: Allows users to further extend the functionality of the website through the
usage of plugins or add-on modules
5. Workflow: This allows users to set up review mechanisms for publishing their content
6. Document Management: Allows users to store multiple versions of documents and maintain a
proper archive of the same
7. Editing tools. Enables users to create and customize content, such as adding titles and headers
to improve
content structure, or designing webpages with drag-and-drop tools
8. Multilingual. Enables the display of content in various language.
9.Versioning. Enables editors to retrieve previous versions of content
10. Software updates. Keeps the WCMS up to current web standards by updating software

1.5 What Does Web Content Mean?

Web content refers to the textual, aural (relating to the ear or the sense of hearing) or visual
content published on a website. Content means any creative element, for example, text,
applications, images, archived e-mail messages, data, e-services, audio and video files, and so on.

1.6 What Is Content Management System?

A Content Management System (CMS) can be defined as a tool or software program containing a
set of interrelated programs used for creating and managing different digital or online content.
Some famous examples of CMS software are Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, TYPO3, etc. The typical
use of CMSes is in two areas:

1. Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and

2. Web Content Management (WCM)
1.7 Web Content Management System Types
1. Offline processing. This type of WCMS processes content before publishing it to the live server.
Offline processing systems enable users to work on content when they are not connected to the
internet. Using this system, content that a user uploads to a CMS does not go live until the content
author agrees to publishing it. Some examples of offline processing systems include Vignette or
Adobe Contribute.
2. Online processing. Online processing systems employ templates on demand and whenever
the user adds content to a webpage for publication. Whenever a user is logged into their CMS via
a web browser and accesses a webpage, HTML is generated. an online processing system
processes templates only when the user requests it. As and when a change is made, the update is
published instantly on the live web page. Online processing systems include Joomla and Drupal.
3. Hybrid processing. Hybrid processing systems use a combination of offline and online
processing. These systems can produce executable code, such as JSP, ASP or PHP instead of HTML,
meaning that the system doesn't need to be installed on every web server.

1.8 Traditional CMS vs WCMS

The word CMS and WCMS are quite often used interchangeably. This is primarily due to a lot of
similarities between the two. However, there are dis-similarities too between the two.
 A traditional CMS is used by companies to create, manage and modify content, which can be
any structured content such as documents, records, video, and audio content.
 However, a WCMS is a solution that is used to create, manage and modify the content of a
company’s web page. This includes content that is textual in nature along with audio, images,
graphics, and others.

2. Content Types and Formats :

2.1 MIME types (IANA media types)

A media type (also known as a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions or MIME type)
indicates the nature and format of a document, file, or assortment of bytes. The Internet Assigned
Numbers Authority (IANA) is responsible for all official MIME types.

2.2 Structure of a MIME type:

A MIME type most commonly consists of just two parts: a type and a subtype, separated by a slash
(/) — with no whitespace between:

type/subtype

The type represents the general category into which the data type falls, such as video or text.
The subtype identifies the exact kind of data of the specified type the MIME type represents. For
example, for the MIME type text, the subtype might be plain (plain text), html (HTML source
code), or calendar (for iCalendar/.ics) files.

Each type has its own set of possible subtypes. A MIME type always has both a type and a subtype,
never just one or the other.

An optional parameter can be added to provide additional details:

type/subtype;parameter=value

For example, for any MIME type whose main type is text, you can add the
optional charset parameter to specify the character set used for the characters in the data. If
no charset is specified, the default is ASCII (US-ASCII) unless overridden by the user
agent's settings. To specify a UTF-8 text file, the MIME type text/plain;charset=UTF-8 is used.

MIME types are case-insensitive but are traditionally written in lowercase. The parameter values
can be case-sensitive.

2.3 MIME ( Multi Purpose Internet Mail Extension)/ CONTENT TYPES

MIME Content Types consist of a type (such as `` text'') and a subtype (such as `` html'').

The most common MIME types relevant to the WWW are:

1. A `` text'' Content-Type: which is used to represent textual information in a number of

character sets and formatted text description languages in a standardized manner. The two
most likely subtypes are:
o text/plain - text with no special formatting requirements.
o text/html - text with embedded HTML commands
o text/csv – text with CSV format.
o text/javascript – text with JAVASCRIPT
o text/css – text with CSS

2. An `` application'' Content-Type: which is used to transmit application data or binary

data. Two frequently used subtypes are:
o application/binary - the data is in some unknown binary format, such as the results
of a file transfer.
o application/postscript - the data is in the postscript language, and should be fed to
a postscript interpreter.
o application/octet-stream.
o application/pdf,
o application/pkcs8,
o application/zip.
3. An `` image'' Content-Type: for transmitting still image (picture) data. There are many
possible subtypes, but the ones used most often on the web are:

o image/apng: Animated Portable Network Graphics (APNG)

o image/avif : AV1 Image File Format (AVIF)
o image/gif: Graphics Interchange Format (GIF)
o image/jpeg: Joint Photographic Expert Group image (JPEG)
o image/png: Portable Network Graphics (PNG)
o image/svg+xml: Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)
o image/webp: Web Picture format (WEBP)

o image/xbm - an image in the X Bitmap format.

4. An `` audio'' Content-Type: for transmitting audio or voice data.

o audio/basic - the data consists of 8KHz 8 bit mu-law audio samples. This is the
standard way that audio is encoded digitally for the telephone system in the US and
Japan, and because of this, many inexpensive hardware devices exist now on
computers for input and output in this form. Basically, the analog audio is sampled
in 8 bit chunks 8000 times a second, and each chunk assigned a "pulse" value. mu-
law refer to the way the "sound" of the pulse is converted to an 8 bit values.
o audio/mpeg

o audio/vorbis
o audio/wave
o audio/wav
o audio/x-wav
o audio/x-pn-wav

5. A `` video'' Content-Type: for transmitting video or moving image data, possibly with
audio as part of the composite video data format.
o video/mpeg - the data is MPEG format video

o video/quicktime - the data is QuickTime format video

o video/ogg - the data is OGG format video
o video/webm - the data is WEBM format video
o video/mp4 - the data is MP4 format video
2.4 Content Formats:

1. Blog Posts
2. Long Form Articles
3. Original Research
4. Video
5. Infographics
6. Images
7. Case Studies
8. White Papers/Reports
9. EBooks
10. Presentations
11. Webinars
12. Quizzes and Polls
13. Podcasts
14. Checklists
15. Email Newsletters

1. Blog Posts :

A blog post is any article, news piece, or guide that's published in the blog section of a website. A
blog post typically covers a specific topic or query, is educational in nature, ranges from 600 to
2,000+ words, and contains other media types such as images, videos, infographics, and
interactive charts.
Blogging covers many types of articles. These include reviews, lists and more. Many of these are
among the most shared content online.

2.Long Form Articles :

Long-form content describes a piece of writing that is between 1,000 — 7,500 words.
• According to the data, people love to share long-form articles on social media. That results
in more traffic to your website. You also get the indirect
• If we want to use the long-form content format, then need to research and write content
with real depth.
3.Original Research:

it is the report of a study written by the researchers who actually did the study. the researchers
describe their hypothesis or research question and the purpose of the study. the researchers detail
their research methods. the results of the research are reported.

4.Video :

the recording, reproducing, or broadcasting of moving visual images.

• As our article on video marketing statistics shows, video is a proven attention-getter
online. Most age groups watch video. It’s also one of the most popular content formats for
mobile device users. And data from Google shows that video is a trusted source for 40% of
millennials.

5.Infographics:

An infographic is a collection of imagery, data visualizations like pie charts and bar graphs, and
minimal text that gives an easy-to-understand overview of a topic.
infographics use striking, engaging visuals to communicate information quickly and clearly.

6 .Images :

An image is a visual representation of something,

• Every internet minute, 15,000 GIFs are sent on Messenger, and 46,200 Instagram posts are
uploaded.
• Images make people more likely to share written content on both Facebook and Twitter.
7. Case Studies:

a process or record of research into the development of a particular person, group, or situation
over a period of time. a process or record of research into the development of a particular person,
group, or situation over a period of time.
• Case studies are one of the most effective content marketing formats for winning new
business.
• Case studies give you the chance to feature your customers and to:
• Show off what you’re doing right
• Create niche-specific content
• Build trust and authority
• Highlight your competitive advantage

8.White Papers/ Reports :

A white paper is an authoritative, research-based document that presents information, expert

analysis and an organization or author's insight into a topic or solution to a problem.

A white paper is an informational document issued by a company or not-for-profit organization

to promote or highlight the features of a solution, product, or service that it offers or plans to
offer.
White papers are also used as a method of presenting government policies and legislation and
gauging public opinion.

9.EBooks :

An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication
made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both readable on the flat-panel
display of computers or other electronic devices.
• Ebooks are another great way to create content quickly. Done right, an ebook can be an
excellent lead magnet and can help solve your customers’ problems.

10.Presentations :

A presentation is the process of communicating a topic to an audience.

If you’re already promoting your business with presentations, then this is a useful content format.
Plus, it’s pretty easy to put them online with a SlideShare account.
To get started with SlideShare, just create and upload a presentation that’ll interest your target
customers.

11.Webinars :

A webinar is an online seminar that allows participants from anywhere in the world to come
together in a virtual classroom to share information via the internet. Webinars use virtual
classroom software to host participants.
A webinar is a live, online broadcast that companies present to their audience around the world.
A webinar is also sometimes called a webcast or web seminar. They allow the hosts of companies
to share videos, presentations, web pages or other media to their audience in a condensed,
interactive broadcast.
 12.Quizzes and Polls :

polls are similar to quizzes in that they're meant to be fun and engaging Use a poll to gather
opinions or votes. Polls excel at collecting data on one very specific thing.
• quizzes are one of the most engaging content formats. They will definitely get your
audience’s attention.
• Similarly, polls can boost engagement by making participants curious about the results.
• Shareable, fun content makes a good addition to any content strategy. And since they’re
usually easy to complete, that’s an added bonus for your audience.
• To create quizzes online, use a tool like Quizzr or Playbuzz. For polls, use the tools built
into many social sites, or try WPForms.

13.Podcasts:

1. a digital audio file made available on the internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device,
typically available as a series, new instalments of which can be received by subscribers
automatically.
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet.
In simple terms, a podcast is a digital medium consisting of audio (or video) episodes that relate
to a specific theme. The hosts of a podcast are referred to as "podcasters." While many forms of
media have barriers to entry, a podcast is simple to create.
• podcast is a great content format to engage your audience. Podcasts let people access your
content at their own convenience. They are also another great option for repurposing
existing content.
• For example, if you’ve created a video, the audio can easily become a podcast. And you can
also read a blog post to make that into a podcast episode too.

14.Checklists :

A checklist is a list of all the things that you need to do, information that you want to find out, or
things that you need to take somewhere, which you make in order to ensure that you do not forget
anything.
• One of the easiest content formats to create is a checklist. They’re insanely popular,
attracting hundreds of thousands of shares in some cases.

15.Email Newsletters :

An e-newsletter is an email that is sent to your subscribers regularly to keep them informed about
the latest news and updates about your product or brand. Depending on the kind of content you
have to share and the frequency in which subscribers expect newsletters, we can send them on a
weekly or monthly basis.
3. Norms and Guidelines of Content Development :
The Internet and other electronic documents users often come across problems such as
incompatibility of forms and formats, download time, difficulties in comprehending the content,
incomplete information, etc. Adherence to some general practices and ethics by the content
developers are necessary to assure reasonably well-written and organized resources for the end-
users.

3.1 Norms of Content Development :

i) Well-tested and widely used packages : Well-tested and widely used packages in designing
web pages should be used. It .is better to avoid recently released software, especially if there is
use of plug-ins such as Flash or PDF. A good rule is not to use upgraded versions immediately till
they mature. Software vendors require time to fix their bugs and offer reasonably reliable
versions. It also gives users time to upgrade.

ii) Scripts in web pages should be avoided : As far as possible Scripts in web pages should be
avoided. Adding code means that there is also a risk of bugs (or faults). If scripts are a must then
they should be tested and debugged on all combinations of platforms and browser versions.

iii) Simple point-and-click web navigation: It is advisable to have simple point-and-click web
navigation. Special menu controls often fail, especially for users who move their mouse fast or
who have motor skill impairments.

iv) Website should made as compact in size as possible : The website should always be made
as compact in size as possible. It is good to have spare server capacity so that your site can cope
with traffic surges.

v) Server software must be robust : Server software must be robust. When selecting vendors,
ensuring code quality must be a priority.

3.2 Guidelines of Content Development:

According to Mick Wood, following guidelines help content developers to-cater for the needs of
all Internet users.

i) Screen Layout
Screen layout should be consistent. The more consistent a website is in its
design, the easier it will be for users to navigate. Users, especially persistent
users, tend to learn and remember the location of key, functions and controls.

ii) Logos
Screen layout should include logos, navigation buttons and footer information.
Putting the logo in a consistent place on every page (usually top left) ensures that
visitors are fully aware that they are on the same site.
iii) Update Information
'Page Last Updated' information needs to be included. Visitors will quickly know
if you have added any new content to your site, and it may prompt you to do
so. The date format should be understandable, i.e., 1st February 2003 is better
that 02-01-03. In the UK 02-01-03 means 2nd January 2003 and in USA it
means 1SI February 2003.

iv) Links
A link to the home page should be added to every page except the homepage
itself. Pages should not link to themselves as this can confuse some users.
Making your logo the home page link is considered to be a good practice.

v) Image Sizes
Considerable number of Internet users still use modems with connection speeds
of 33K or less. Pages should therefore be kept to a maximum of 35K ensuring
download times of less than ten seconds for these users. Visitors may not wait
if your pages take too long to download. All images, including spacer images,
should include alternative text. The alternative text should describe the function
of the image, if applicable.

vi) Use of Frames

Frames should not be used unless absolutely necessary. Frame-based sites can
be confusing for the visually disabled, particularly those using -screen readers or
speech browsers - users can easily become disorientated, Additionally, users
cannot easily bookmark individual pages within a frame-based site.

vii) Page Title

Each page should have a descriptive and different title, clear and helpful headings,
and a logical structure. Titles are used by search engines to identify web 'pages,
If two or more. pages have the same title they cannot easily be differentiated by
users.

viii) Font Attributes

The FONT tag should generally be avoided III creating accessible websites
While attribute specifications like SIZE="+ 1" or SIZE=" -1" are relatively harmless,
absolute sizes like SIZE="l" can result in text that is too small to read. Instead:
Cascading Style Sheets should be used to font web pages. Style sheets allow
authors to suggest relative changes in font size with much greater flexibility than
is allowed under FONT.

ix) Color Attributes

The COLOR attribute of the FONT tag should always be avoided since many
browsers still display the font color when the user tries to override authorspecified colors. The
result could be an unreadable document if the font color
does not contrast well against the reader's chosen background.

x) Text Size and Font

Text should be the equivalent of size 12 points to enhance reading performance.
Research has shown that there is no noticeable difference in reading speed or
user preference between Times New Roman, Georgia or other serif fonts and
Helvetica, Arial or other sans-serif fonts. The FACE attribute of the FONT tag
cannot be overridden by the user in many browsers. This may result in the author
choosing a font that is very difficult to read given the user's platform and
environment settings. The same font may display strangely on different platforms.

xi) Link Identification

Links should be Clearly identified and it should make sense when reading out of
context. Blue underlined text is the preferred choice for all links. Some users miss links
because the text is not underlined. Research shows that users can easily find
links which include visual cues, that is, links that are underlined, rather than
having to move the mouse to see when the pointer changes to a hand (this is
known as mine sweeping). Visited links should be designated using a different
color. Many users use link colors to identify which parts of a site they have
already visited.

xii) Page Display

Pages should be fluid/flexible because users browse the Internet using a variety
of screen resolutions. Pages should be designed to expand or contract according
to the user's settings, thus preventing horizontal scrolling. Horizontal scrolling is.
a particular problem for screen reader users because the screen reader does not
automatically scroll horizontally - users may miss important content.

xiii) Device Independence

Pages should be device independent. Not all users navigate websites using a
mouse - many disabled users use Assistive Technology. All users should be able
to navigate the site using the input device of their choice. Keyboard shortcuts,
using the 'access key' attribute, should be provided for key links.

xiv) Readability
Paragraphs and sentences should be kept short. Readability improves when
sentences 'and paragraphs are kept relatively short. Users tend to scan web
pages and will often skip over large chunks of text.

4.Creating Digital Graphics:

4.1. Definition:

Digital Graphics are any image/object that is displayed or created on a digital device such as a
computer and stored as data. A Digital Graphic series of images that is sometimes accompanied
with text to form a story.
OR
Digital graphics are visual images or objects that are displayed on a digital device such as a
computer. They often combine both pictures and text to gain the attention of viewers on a website
or digital space.
4.2 Where do you find Digital Graphics:

Magazine Covers/Adverts
● CD/DVD/Blu Ray Covers
● Game Covers
● Film Posters
● Cartoons
● Web Images
● Game Art (Concept Art)
● Logos
● Banners

4.3 The purpose and audience will influence the design of the graphic:

● To Entertain
● To Convey a Message
● To Persuade
● To Advertise
● To Inform
● To Educate
The design use of color, composition white space and style will change depending on the
purpose

4.4. File Types:

JPG – small file size, used by cameras and for images on the internet.
GIF – small file size, used on the internet for images that have large blocks of color.
PNG – small to medium file size, designed to replace
GIF. It is slowly growing in use.
BMP – large file size, rarely used these days.
TIFF – very large file size, primarily used in the print industry.
BMP - A bitmap (or raster graphic) is a digital image composed of matrix dots.
PDF - Store a wide variety of data including formatted text including vector and raster images.

4.5 Types of Digital Graphics :

Although digital graphics have thousands of potential applications, designers rely on two main file
types to produce their work.

 Vector: Using complex mathematical equations, vector graphics connect curves or lines,
known as vector paths, to form the shapes of the image. This is the most popular graphic
type among designers, as images can be scaled up or down without losing image quality.
These files are also smaller to store because they’re composed of gradients and flat colors
only.
  Raster: Small squares known as pixels make up raster graphics, aka bitmap images.
They’re most commonly used in graphics that are saved as JPG, PNG, or GIF file formats.
Scaling a raster image can be difficult due to the pixilation, which may result in a blurry
final image, but they are most effective when working with detailed visuals like
photographs since they can support a wider range of colors.

4.6 Basic elements of digital graphics:

All digital graphics, regardless of type, contain the same seven basic design elements:

 Color. Building from the three primary colors of red, yellow, and blue, designers use a color
wheel to find the most visually appealing options for their work. Color theory is closely tied
to psychology, so graphic designers often incorporate those concepts into their digital
graphics to influence the viewer’s behavior.

 Scale. Different elements of a design should have varying sizes that give a viewer a focal
point, with other elements secondary. How the disparate parts of the image work together
in terms of their proportions is known as visual hierarchy.

 Line. The lines of a digital graphic convey movement, even if nothing is physically moving
on the screen. Mood lines are an important part of graphic design that helps designers
create a particular “feel” in their work.

 Shape. In basic terms, a shape is something that is defined more by its boundaries than
what it actually contains. Geometric shapes have uniform proportions (like a square or
triangle), while organic shapes have less well-defined edges and don’t fit into a particular
category.

 Alignment. The way images relate to each other in their space is often due to alignment.
This is the invisible line that connects separate graphics together by their edges or centers.

 Space. The empty spaces around a graphic are just as important as the shapes within. In
some cases, the arrangement of white space around the design can completely change the
sentiment of the graphic.
 Contrast. Designers can manufacture visual interest by juxtaposing the elements of a
design. For instance, white text on a black background is a high-level contrast that draws
attention to certain parts of the graphic.
5. Audio Production and Editing :
5.1 Definition:
Audio describes any sound or noise in a range the human ear can hear. An audio signal is measured
in hertz and on a computer is generated using a sound card and heard through speakers or
headphones.

5.2 Audio production:

Audio production is a wide range of audio tasks. audio production covers everything related to
recording, editing, mixing, and mastering audio in order to get it ready to be released publicly.
Audio production is most notably used for the creation of music, but there are several other
industries that require the full spectrum of audio production skills.
5.3 Advanced Audio Recording, Editing, Studio Production, Music Composition
 5.4 Best Audio Editing Software of 2023

 Best Overall: Audacity

 Best Free: GarageBand
 Best for Live Music: Adobe Audition
 Best for Podcasts: Hindenburg Pro
 Best for Music Production: Ableton Live
 Best for Professionals: Pro Tools
 Best for Apple Devices: Logic Pro
 Best for Android Devices: AudioLab