CMS stands for Content Management System; a way to integrate several functions of a website together. Joomla, Drupal, Moodle, and many of the other available CMS's are open source software, which means that it is developed by many programmers, users, and others, putting together the best functions of a website all into one package.

At one point, content management systems were only available to users who had the funds to pay thousands of dollars, just for the system; that was not including the design, and most of the available functions and plug-ins. Content management systems like Joomla cost way less to implement because the main core software is free; it only costs for particular plug-ins, etc.

Most content management systems are not easier than traditional tools; in fact, many aspects of a CMS make them more difficult than creating a website by traditional means alone (html). There are several factors that must be overcome when it comes to website development using a CMS. It takes a CMS website developer who is familiar with the system to be able to properly implement it.

The reason a CMS is “better” than a traditional website is the ease of implementing major back-end features. For example, designing a website is one aspect of the web development process. If you want a contact form, that’s another script, if you want a database that contains customers information, with a login for customers, etc. that is another script; thus, costing more money and taking more time. With a content management system, most of these features are already integrated in the core program.

View this for more information on content management systems and website design.